On turning 21

Why didn't you tell me you were not well? 

Because you would have just laughed it off and said, 'You're a horse. You will only die of old age.'. I wanted to have the pleasure of looking you in the eye and telling you, "I'm not a horse. I am a girl. I will not die of old age. I will die of a broken heart." 

Goodbye to the Salim-Javed ideology - Once more

I was raised on the Salim-Javed brand of communist manifesto cinema in India - in which the poor are good just because they are poor and the rich are bad just because they are rich. Of course, if they are rich, they must be bloodsuckers and corrupt bribers because what other way is there to get rich? 

In 1991, India had to physically ship its gold just to retain its financial sovereignty. One of the lowest points any country could see. No one said it then, but I can say it now - THAT low point was the result of the communist policies of our government from 1947 - 1990. What started as a welfare state soon turned into a pseudo communist state, and under Indira, the cultural colonisation of India was completed. (Watch Tashkent Files for details). 

But as one grew up, one realised that not all rich people are bad. In fact, in India. most people - rich or poor - definitely donate a percentage of their earnings to "something good". Common sense states that 10% of a larger pie will lead to a greater impact. 

And that is when the narrative of Salim - Javed fell through for me. The rich are not blood suckers. They are silent philanthropists. Not all of them are good. Not all of them are bad. The poor are not good just by virtue of being poor. They are poor also because they spend their money on alcohol and beat up their wives and kids. Some of them are hardworking and caught in a whirlpool of circumstances. But for many, many of them, the Salim-Javed narrative created a mental exit barrier out of poverty. They were led to believe that the poor have a support system for each other. Exiting poverty would lead to the end of that support system. 

Unfortunately, we now have a country that believes that being poor is a free pass to doing illegal things and getting away with it. 

We also have generations that believe that being poor is not their fault. They have no obligation to create wealth, educate their children, and work towards a wealthier future. And a large chunk of the population that believes it is the government's responsibility to take care of their education, health, and employment. That it is their right to steal electricity, grab land, and generally take advantage of public infrastructure. 

The welfare state may have been a Utopian idea, but it was an idea worth pursuing - one in which the rich can be rich and the poor would be supported.  

But one thing it cannot discount - individual accountability. The state owes you an electricity and clean water connection. But you need to pay for your consumption. The state owes you subsidised medical facilities - but you need to ensure that you use them responsibly. The state owes you subsidised food, but one needs to have smaller families that strive to get out of the poverty whirlpool. 

Is education the panacea? Are small families the best solution? No. there is no one best solution. There cannot be a universal cure. But the INTENT to move out of poverty - the idea of individual responsibility - that has to be universal. 

 

Film Review

 #SheSaid on #Netflix

There are many worlds in our world. But for most women facing sexual harassment at the workplace, there was only one world - the Kingdom of Silence.

Until #MeToo happened. And then, all hell broke lose. Harvey Weinstein went from being a hotshot Hollywood producer to a PNG.

But have you ever wondered how it happened? Who took the first step? Who filed the first report? The first case? How is one of the most important people in the film industry spending 23 +16 years in prison?

This 2022 masterpiece is one of the most powerful documentaries in the already impressive Netflix repertoire. It is important enough to pause other "Continue Watching"s for a day.

Film Review: Fighter

 #Fighter on #Netflix 

Everyone has been panning Fighter, but we cannot underplay one achievement of the director - it takes a LOT to have such terrible casting, incredibly bad choreo, a mishmash of masala mixes that create total confused cacophony, and STILL lend your name to the project. This has to be a broth cooked by too many cooks. One person would have lent SOME personality to the story telling. This is like bhanumati ne kunba joda, kahin ki eent kahin ka roDa. 

It's a proper case of "What were they thinking?" 

I started this film for HR, and he is the only watchable part of the film. But that "Sher khul gaye" step made it hard to even see him! 

Everyone who wanted to see the film already has, but if, like me, you are among the late junta, looking to see some decent movie to kill time, this is NOT it. Unless you are a HUGE Hrithik fan. And even then, its a test of your love. How much nonsense can you tolerate just to see him on screen. #NotExaggerating. 

The only exception being the restaurant "Please" scene - which you can see on Youtube. 

Some ppl have liked the CGI and the action sequences. I wouldn't know. I dont know of a universe in which every other flight goes down with a single hit but one aircraft takes hits like it is a punching bag and keeps going. I also dont know of two aircrafts that collide mid air and the pilots eject just in time, exactly over the battle spot, and continue to become ground warriors. And these are only the parts that one could watch. Baaki to forward karne laayak bhi nahi tha. 

So wonderful is the chemistry between the lead pair that the eventual kiss scene had my brain going - Tissot Meets Rado (Not making this up. Seriously this popped up in my head as that scene played). 

If you are into action cinema, this *might* be your thing. Might. 

For everything else, there's plenty out there. 

Quick Summary: Hrithik Roshan is great, but even he can't save this film. 

Book Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon

 Brilliant book! Easy to read. Classic Sidney Sheldon content. 

yun hi

कृष्ण  बाल सुलझाते 

रास रचाते 

वैकुण्ठ में बसाते 

लडकियां 

व्रत रखती हैं 

जटाधारी, रूखे 

निर्जन कैलाश वासी 

शिव के लिए. 

 #एकपत्नीव्रती  

Pustak Sameeksha / Book Review - Rochak Kahaniyaan by Ramakant "Kant"

 

सबसे पहले तो ये कि पुस्तक का शीर्षक एकदम सटीक है। सभी कहानियाँ बेहद रोचक हैं। ये कहानियाँ 8 - 12 साल के बच्चों के लिए एकदम ठीक हैं। कहानी में इतने उतार चढ़ाव हैं, कि तनिक बड़े बच्चों की रुचि बनी रहे, और इतनी सरलता भी है, कि कुछ अच्छा समझने को मिले। 

"जेब खर्च" कहानी मुझे सबसे अच्छी लगी क्यूंकि एक सर्वव्यापी समस्या का इस में सरल समाधान दिया गया है। अगर सभी थोड़ी सूझ बूझ से काम लें तो बचपन की जटिलताएँ कितनी सहल हो सकती हैं। लखपति भिखारी भी बहुत अच्छी लगी क्यूंकि अमूमन बच्चों कि कहानियों में आसान से हाल दिए जाते हैं, पर इस कहानी में पूरा तरीका विस्तार से समझाया गया। 

10 कहानियों और केवल 56 पन्नों वाली यह पुस्तक किसी भी उनींदी दोपहर को एकमुश्त पढ़ी जा सकती है।  

हर कहानी सोचने पर विवश करती है। इस पुस्तक को जरूर पढिए। 

The title is absolutely accurate! The stories are really, really interesting. 

They are complex enough to appeal to a young adult, yet the themes are challenges that are relevant to older children. It is not easy to weave a story that is just right. 

The book is a pithy, quick read at 10 stories and just 56 pages. It is a delight to go through this book. 

The story - Jeb Kharch is my favorite, bcs it forces us to think of things and shows us how easy it can be to manage life's problems with just a little maturity on the part of everyone. 

The other good story is Lakhpati Bhikhari, because it takes a problem and illustrates a good solution approach in adequate detail. 

The book is highly recommended. Please do get this book for adults and young adults. 

इन रंगों को जानते हैं?

इन में से कितने रंग पहचानते हैं आप? 

धानी 

कत्थई   

प्याज़ी 

सुरमई 

फिरोज़ी 

मेहंदी 

तोतिया 

सलेटी 

आसमानी 

सुर्ख 

सिंदूरी 

  Scroll down for answers: 

धानी - Bright green - the colour of the rice crop 

कत्थई   - brown 

प्याज़ी - magenta

सुरमई - dark black 

फिरोज़ी - turquoise 

मेहंदी - Henna 

तोतिया - parrot green

सलेटी - grey 

आसमानी - sky blue 

सुर्ख - blood red 

सिंदूरी - Vermillion red 

Book Review: Unofficial Crimes by Nupur Luthra

I have a weakness for going to bookstores and picking up indie books. 

This has led to the reading of many good books. 

Unofficial Crimes by Nupur Luthra is a book of short stories. Most of the stories have a component of the supernatural. It would have been nice to put that more prominently on the blurb, instead of a passing reference in the last line. 

The stories are intriguing, for the most part. The book is short and you can decide quickly whether or not a story is working for you. The writing style is good. 

Unfortunately, for me, this book is an avoidable miss. The plots did not speak to me at all. The first story started with two murders and completely side-stepped into a ghostly adventure for the girlfriend of one of the victims. From there, it kind of went downhill. If some plots held promise, that promise was soon washed out by quickly glossed over solutions. But the pace was excellent. The stories were not slow. If anything, they were, at places, too fast-paced to allow the reader to get the scene before moving on to the next event. 

The book is available on Amazon India and has decent reviews. 

https://www.amazon.in/UNOFFICIAL-CRIMES-COLLECTION-SHORT-STORIES/dp/B0B6SK6G6T