Letters on a Blackboard June 12, 2009 (Friday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: humanity, Life, sri lanka, terror
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In 2003 he was commissioned by the late Foreign Minister Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar to produce a work on eminent Sri Lankan contemporary artist Stanley Kirinde, which would also represent the heritage, landscape and culture of Sri Lanka to the outside world. This work, The World of Stanley Kirinde (2005) was followed by a study of 18th century Sinhalese art, entitled Ridi Vihare. The Flowering of Kandyan Art (2007). His most recent publication is Eloquence in Stone. The Lithic Saga of Sri Lanka (2008).
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in the article are those of the author. Iris does not hold responsibility of the views expressed herein.
By Dr. SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda
The entrance to Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalayam (Kilinochchi High School) is dominated by a large map. Although it is actually a map of Sri Lanka, most of it is blank. One section however, is clear and sharply defined in bright red. Stretching all the way down from the top, it occupies the entire north of the island, snaking down on either side. On the west coast it touches the outskirts of the capital Colombo; on the east, it reaches right down to the deep south. All in all, the red areas encompass more than one third of the entire landmass and almost two thirds of the coastline.
The rest of the country however, does not exist. An empty space in washed out blue, it is barely distinct from the surrounding ocean. The map is entitled “Our Country. Tamil Eelam.” Every day, every student entering and leaving the school would have to file past this map. This was all they knew of Sri Lanka. Recently however, the map has been slighted amended. At the very heart of the blank space, daubed in big letters, are the words “SL ARMY.”
Upstairs the class rooms are bright and airy, painted in pretty pastel colours. In one particular room the letters on the blackboard tell us that on the 26th September 2008, 6 boys and 12 girls, 18 in all, sat down for their final class. The wall beside was marked “Grade 12 A”-everyone in this class would have been between 17-18 years old. As they sat down for their studies, their eyes would have been drawn to the pictures above the board. However there are no maps, diagrams, or even cricketers to be seen. Only a line of posters.
The first is a picture of a portly figure in a business suit, Anton Balasingham, the foreign spokesman of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The face and voice of Tamil Eelam abroad, internationally Balasingham was perhaps the most well known of the Tamil hierarchy. Next to the timetable, is a portrait of a man in uniform. It is a rare picture of the leader of the LTTE’s Political Wing, the ever smiling Tamilchelvam. Everything is in Tamil, the only link with the outside world is a yellow Bank of Ceylon calendar. The calendar’s photographs highlight some of Sri Lanka’s most famous archaeological sites, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Yapahuva. Printed in all three national languages, first English, then Tamil and finally Sinhala, it is the only reminder that Kilinochchi is a part of Sri Lanka.
For more than a decade Kilinochchi was the capital of Tamil Eelam, a separate Tamil state in the heart of Sri Lanka. Its creators and self styled guardians were the Tamil Tigers, the world’s most ruthless and most formidable terrorists. Here the Tigers held absolute sway, controlling every aspect of the administration and ruling the lives of the people. In early 2009 however, Kilinochchi was finally recaptured by the Sri Lanka army. For both the LTTE and the people of Tamil Eelam, Kilinochchi had been the lynchpin of a way of life; the fall of the capital sounded its deathknell.
Although the town was only finally taken towards the end of January 2009, the letters on the blackboard tell us for that the students of Grade 12 A, their lives had stopped nearly four months earlier.
* * * * * * *
KN. Murugananda Maha Vidyalayam lies several miles outside Kilinochchi, amidst rolling paddyfields and thorny lines of palmyrah trees. As the afternoon sun starts to set, its burning glow begins to soften, bathing the building in golden light. The same map is prominently displayed here and it is clearly visible from the roadside. Positioned above it is a large blue sign. It advertises The Bank of Tamil Eelam School Savings Unit. Everybody entering through this way has to pass under this sign.
Built in the shape of the letter “L” around a large green park, the main section is rather beautiful. On one side the corridors are framed by a line of blooming temple trees. As you walk down the narrow spaces, white flowers blow across your face. Set into the wall is a plaque erected during the ceasefire period, dated 9th July 2003.
“Funded by the Government of Sri Lanka
Asian Development Bank
Germany (GTZ)
Government of Netherlands
Opec Fund”
The first room on the left is a clutter of jumbled chairs and tables. This was where the teachers would gather, to gossip, complain and pass the time of day. The blackboard here is mostly blank, with scrubbed out scrawlings here and there. Large English letters in the middle of the board proclaim its function, “STAFROOM”. Tucked away in a corner of the blackboard is another, smaller inscription in Tamil, “Defeat Leads to Victory.”
On the walls above are posters of men in striped uniforms. One commemorates Captain Lara Rangan, “who died in 1984 at the hands of the Sinhala army.” Another remembers the “Admired Servants of Tamil Eelam, Who Died for the Cause in 13 Years of War.” Most striking of all is a darkened, shadowy image honouring the Black Tigers. An élite unit dedicated to suicide bombing and martyrdom the Black Tigers were the LTTE’s most potent weapon and they are honoured as its most revered heroes. Known as “Maaveerar” or “Great Heroes, ” they are amongst the very few to have access to the Leader of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Prabhakaran. They are so highly regarded that the Leader himself hosts a final meal with each and every Black Tiger, before they are sent out on their final mission. July 5th is Black Tiger Day and this poster celebrates Black Tiger Day 2007,
“See the Light from your Face,
Listen to the Sound of Your Deeds.
Remember the Black Tigers”
The posters range right across the wall, remembering other renowned figures-Colonel Devan, the local area commander and Sivakumaran, who became the first cadre to take cyanide when he was captured during a bank robbery.
Upstairs is an examination hall, where students sat for O Level Exams conducted by the government of Sri Lanka. Index numbers on the board – 82928916-82929351 announce the candidates sitting for subjects in the Tamil Medium, Papers I and II in Music and Papers I, II and III in the Arts. This classroom would have been occupied by Grade 10 students, children between the ages of 15-16. All these exams would have been conducted by Tamil teachers, working and teaching in Tamil; all of them government servants, drawing government salaries. It is one of the most extraordinary ironies of this long drawn out conflict.
“During the Ceasefire time the LTTE visited our school. They were at every cultural occasion, sports event and every prize giving.” The speaker was a young cadre who had just defected. His eyes were haunted. Taut and nervous, he leaned forward as he spoke. Holding himself together, he looked intensely into our eyes, lost and now confused. Like all his fellows he had grown up under the LTTE, he believed in them and in their success.
The warm afternoon breeze sweeps through the building. As it gathers strength, nearby trees sway gently to and fro. Leaves dance in the wind, their shadows creeping up the walls. Pieces of paper fly slowly across the room. At our feet, the wind rustles the pages of a book. The book has a shiny blue cover. It is the school souvenir for 2003, the KN. Murugananda Maha Vidyalayam Prize Giving Issue, printed at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Press in Jaffna. Almost entirely in Tamil, it opens with a message in English from a Tamil government officer, K.M. Pathmanathan, the Deputy Director of Education-Planning, from the Zonal Education Office
“This school has a long tradition and it has set an example in
developing a child friendly environment. This has been achieved by the dedicated service of the Principals and teachers who have served this school.”
On page 28 are three colour photographs, congratulating the Best All Round Students of 2003. On the opposite page is a series of verses. At the very bottom of the page is a saying.
“More dangerous than the Enemy
Is the Traitor”
National Leader of Tamil Eelam
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in the article are those of the author. Iris does not hold responsibility of the views expressed herein.
Lambi (Lambretta) to Nano: a Journey of a Generation June 6, 2009 (Saturday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup....Tags: humara bajaj, lambi, lambretta, Life, life style, maruti, nano, Nextgen, scooter
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I was lost in typing some important stuff, when my phone rang…
I picked up the call slightly irritated at the prospect of being disturbed. It was my father, so naturally the tone of irritation mellowed to soft greetings. He sounded excited and breathlessly said: “listen….The new Nano has come to market. Ratan Tata inaugurated it…. I just saw the test drive on the TV….We want to buy three Nanos…can you check the price and tell me…I will book it from here right now or else will send you the money by core banking and you can buy all three and keep one for yourself as a birthday gift….” 
For a few minutes I was speechless….”What! How many Nanos did you say?”
He was slightly embarrassed and now with a softer tone said, “Three” ….
I laughed out aloud and said, “papa..three Nanos are a little too much…we can’t afford it….Moreover, what will I do with a Nano when I don’t even know how to ride a bi-cycle…. 
If you want I’ll check one Nano for you and mom and will tell you if there are cheaper options based on taxes from one state to another….” He was slightly disappointed that I didn’t need a Nano but was Ok in a minute or two. Later, I described him about the EMI and bank credit systems and the one-time money deposit scheme for the Nano….He didn’t seem very impressed…but well….
Later, the idea of “three” cars made me chuckle for an entire evening. I was wondering about the apparent “financial prosperity” of the “Great Indian Middle Class”. This incident took me down the memory lane when we had only an old Lambi (Lambretta) scooter which was forced to accommodate 4 people. I was always sandwiched between the rider and the back seat passenger, dangling in the half space between the two seats. Whereas, my brother would be in a half standing position, between the driver (my father) and the front handle. He would keep on singing or blabbering, while our team scooted away to markets, restaurants or sometimes on long drives. As we started to grow up, father had to crane his head over our shoulders in order to see the road and drive, until the process had to be finally stopped and the lambi was sold off. We were all very sad to part with our beloved orange lambi that had borne our weights and us for such a long time. But, the lambi was not only a scooter, it was a symbol of an entire generation, of a generation which had a connection with early 20th century technology. If you search Wiki entry on a Lambretta scooter, you will find not only the story of a particular make of an automobile, but also can find an entire cultural process associated with it. That scooter was a symbol of a generation which had Beatles, Elvis Priestley, the Hippie culture, etc. as its iconic figure-heads. I do not know why, a lambi brings to my mind a generation which had “rock” and “disco” as its themes and “freedom” and “liberty” as its motto.
The scooter was not very comfortable for four people… but still it was the mark of prosperity and “family-ness” of our parents’ generation, where only the richest people in town had a Fiat car or an Ambassador. Every Sunday, my father would take us to the local haat (Sunday market) on the lambi and would shop vegetables, fruit and pulses for an entire week. Sometimes, he would get the week’s poultry supply or a fresh catch of bhakura fish from the local pond, neatly dressed up hanging from one of the handles of the lambi. We also got one Icecream (which me and my brother had to share) and pencils/scented erasers from the market as incentives to go Sunday shopping with our father. There were neither malls, nor gaming zones nor huge Icecream parlours to entertain us. Sunday market was the only place where we could relax after a week’s schooling and homework.
Times changed and so did automobiles… from Lambi to “Humara Bajaj” with the slogan, “buland bharat ki buland tasveer” (rough transl.: a strong India’s strong image). The advertisement of a Bajaj scooter was itself so alluring that, if you did not own a Bajaj you were left out of the race for prosperity where your friends kept on teasing you with; “you know we have a red bajaj and my father takes us to Chinese Fast-Food center in that bajaj…”. The scooter had something of a national pride and well …. who wants to be left out?
Came the time, when the degree of middle class prosperity suddenly peaked with the 5th Pay commission bringing huge goodies for government, semi-government and PSU employees. We bought a new Maruti home. We had elaborate rituals, “coconut-breaking”, “temple-going” ceremonies to welcome the Maruti. In fact, on our first ride (we had to hire a driver as my father did not know how to drive a car) in the Maruti car, we were given new clothes and sweets and also carried sweets and clothes for relatives whom we went to meet in that car proudly. We were given “special late night rides” during our board exams, to relax after a taxing day of nearly 18 hours study just before the exams. During these rides, we just had one thing to look forward to…the music wafting in the darkness from the car’s stereo system playing a cool number from the latest hit of the time….Hmmm….heaven! One day while I was in Junior college, my parents were discussing my dowry and debating regarding which car to give to the groom (they had thought I might be a college drop-out soon and join some local dancing troupe ). I was listening to the discussion intently, suddenly raised my hand (as if in a classroom) and said: “no… please no car….Give me a Hoodibaba…you know it’s nice to be on a bike on the road, with the strong breeze blowing on your face” …. The event was no less than a culture shock for my parents. 
Times have changed. With the launch of Nano or such smaller cheaper cars, India seems to be moving towards a certain extreme individualistic life where we too will have a “one person one car” syndrome on the Indian roads. No, I am not being fascist or regressive. In fact, my love has always been formula-1 racing cars. I like the thought of being able to afford or dream of a car easily, but also concerned about the strong sense of the “personal” and “one-owner” system that these vehicles introduce as a part of changing human culture. Anyway, changes are inevitable.
Who knows, what the next-gen would like to see and ride?
Kora Kagaz: a Reflection on Relationships May 18, 2009 (Monday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup....Tags: Bollywood, Cinema, Life, Love, marriage, proffessions, Relationships
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Rishte badi mushkilon se bante dekhe, tootne keliye bus ek hi lamha…
(my transl. relationships are built with difficulty over time but can also snap within a moment)
(Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and AR Rahman from “Gurus of Peace”)
Thanks to Moserbaer CDs at least we get to watch original movies in good print at low cost. These CDs have actually contributed substantially to the cinema world and for viewers as well because: (a) They are cheap and easily available; (b) They are not pirated and (c) Some very old black&white and Eastman color movies are available now in the market. I got to watch Kora Kagaz (1974) from one of these CDs yesterday. I had always loved the songs of Kora Kagaz, but did not get the opportunity to watch this movie before. I liked the movie very much and thought of writing an article related to that. However, the theme of this article is not completely cinema and cinematic techniques of Kora Kagaz; the theme is — relationships.
I am slightly nervous while writing this post — relationships are difficult to be written about and feel worried that my own prejudices and emotions should not come in the path of the narration. Anyway…. I begin with the movie.
Kora Kagaz is the story of a young girl (Jaya Bhaduri) from a well-to-do upper middle class family and a college literature professor (Vijay Anand) who comes from a “poor” family. By choosing to remain in the teaching profession in a city college, the professor chooses to maintain a humble lifestyle. He gets married to the girl with a reluctant acceptance of the girl’s mother (Achala Sachdev), who had dreamt of getting her daughter married to an engineer/doctor or a businessman. The actual drama begins after the wedding, when there is a constant interference from the side of the bride’s mother, unacceptable to the “honest” and “prestige-conscious” son-in-law.
Every new day there is a new problem in the couple’s life. One day there is a fridge sent by the mother, the second there is a telephone, third the mother goes and tells some relatives that her son-in-law will go to London and submit his PhD thesis, and so on. The man in turn feels that each of these tokens of “love” are nothing but “nails” hammered on the coffin of his honesty and principles. He believes that these ideas are especially contrived by the mother-in-law to show him down. The newly-wed girl is sandwiched between her mother’s love/influence and husband’s principles. Finally, they separate on a very bitter note to be reunited years later.
Like most Bollywood movies, this movie ends with an optimistic note when the protagonists meet in the railway station years later and decide to live happily ever after. Well, that is the movie but life is not a movie. The protagonists are reunited by destiny and are given a second chance by life. But, that may not happen in “real” life. Actual story may not end/start with a reunion. Reflecting on the movie, many things came into mind. Yet, what appealed to me in the movie was the way the complex threads of relationships have been handled. The Director (Anil Ganguly) has to be credited for understanding and presenting these complex problems related to marriage. Parental interference (both bride and groom’s side), societal demands and finances and importantly communication gap all these form the crux of not only this story but many other real-life stories. I shall discuss each of these four aspects with examples in this article. Personally speaking, frustrations and failures of married/love lives of my friends and relatives based on these aspects came haunting after watching the movie.
Coming to parental interference, most of the times parental interference creates a havoc in the life of a newly married couple. As per most Indian customs, after the wedding the bride is supposed to live with the groom and his family. She changes her maiden title and has to relinquish many of her bonds with the maternal home. Expectations are high on both sides and a new addition to the family creates some amount of anxiety. Often interference at this stage affects long term relationships. Especially, if there is an interference from the bride’s side, things get blown out of proportion. The girl is ‘expected’ to adjust and she might find it difficult because of a very different kind of upbringing. Sometimes the expectations might be just very high. In such situations if there is parental interference, things become very difficult. Sometimes the parents/relatives/siblings of the groom and their constant interference lead to friction in a new relationships. Expectations that the bride “has” to be “meek”, “humble”, “respectful” and “dutiful” are always there, but sometimes these reach the limit of atrocity. Meekness, humility and dutifulness does not mean that one forgets that the person is new into your family, needs time to adjust and deserves to be understood as a “human being”. Sometimes the desire for seeing the bahu as an embodiment of perfection is so high that people become unforgiving.
For an example, a friend of mine kept to sick-bed for months immediately after marriage because she was expected to assist her elder sister-in-law in the kitchen to cook for their joint family. She was finding hard to cope up and there was constant tension with her husband which got severely aggravated when the bride’s sister called up and spoke to the groom regarding the issue. The boy didn’t take it lightly and matters could not be settled until both side’s parents met and had to solve with mutual discussions. But sometimes such simple issues become a huge problem ending in breakups.
One cannot always blame the groom or his family. Sometimes the fathers, mothers, aunties, siblings of brides play no less spoil-sport. In their over-zealous protection for the daughter and in their possessiveness, they land up creating problems for the new couple who need some space to understand each other. One of my acquaintances took her sister on her honeymoon! You can guess the response she might have got from her spouse…. In another instance, the mother of the girl kept calling her frequently, telling her she should pester her husband to switch over from his current employment and should choose a job which is closer to the girl’s home. Result: there were constant bickering on both sides until they separated.
As far as societal expectations and finances are concerned, these are problematic both in marriage and love affairs and are deeply interconnected. These days one can see a trend in which if you are in love/marriage the first thing people tend to ask you is the “CTC” of your husband/boyfriend. I am not sure if males face the same questions for their spouses/girlfriends from their circle and friends. The success or failure of an affair depends on the amount/lifestyle your spouse can “buy” for you from malls and shopping complexes. In Odisha, I have seen a major trend — if the groom is a “software engineer” then only the bride’s family accept it with pride. If not hmmm…hard-luck . One of these days we sat joking in the mess regarding “computer engineers” taking away all the “nice” girls and all the “nice” money . Some of us conceded in tongue-in-cheek fashion that we do not want a “literature” researcher as our spouse for he can feed us only with “love” and not with “pizza” . Well, the scenario doesn’t seem to be new. In Kora Kagaz too there is a firm dig at this trend when the girl’s mother broods over her daughter being married only to a “literature master” who earns 600 rupees per month. While, another newly married girl’s parents boast of their son-in-law as an NRI engineer who earns huge amount in US dollars nearly 10-12000 rupees (in 1970s).
Not just finances, in the University, I remember many of my friends (males) were rejected by the girl’s family on the grounds of their not being a student of engineering/medical. A particular choice of subject is considered to be the hallmark of lasting friendships and relationships…strange! Also, vice versa many of my female friends (doing a “simple” MA/M.Sc/ M.Phil) were taken for a “joy-ride” by engineers/doctors only to be dumped by them for a choice of girls either of the same profession or from professions like MBA, CA, etc., whom they could call their “equals”. Many think that literature, economics, sociology, psychology, culture studies are meant for “freaks” and “time-pass” who have nothing to do but to perenially waste time. However, society forgets that some of these “freaks” like Tagore, Sarojini Naidu or Amartya Sen contributed to the making of the “modern” India, and some other “freaks” like Kant, Hegel, Foucault, Derrida, Spivak and Levi-Strauss have made the “world” that we see at present. In fact, an entire lecture can be given on how Foucault’s theories brought jail reform in the long run or how Derrida contributed to what today can be called the “margin-center”. But, let us keep that discussion for another post.
We have burnt many a midnight oil in the hostel trying to soothe broken hearts where one person was preferred over another either due to his/her social status or education. Especially, some of my close friends fell prey to the so-called glitz and glamor of the world and returned brokenhearted for they were “shown” that they are dunce, good-for-nothing types who have no position in the “soft world”. One of my acquaintances who was a topper in her career suffered huge pain when she was told by the family who had come to “see” her that “will she be able to adjust with their son who earns huge amount after his BCA? Can she show her ‘feet’ to the groom’s family so that they can judge whether she is “lakshmi”?” Irony! Congreve says “way of the world”. For example, once when we were in college I had come across this story of a girl committing suicide for not being accepted by the boy’s family even while the person impregnated her on the grounds that she did not match the status of the boy who was a senior “ranger” in the forest department. Phew!
While I was in Post Graduation one of my relatives asked what were my subjects and I replied that I was doing a PG in literature, and he replied “hmm! there are millions of PGs in literature what difference does it make to the world! If you were a scientist or engineer you could have managed…hmm” . He was right in a sense! Apart from education and finances, societal pressures manifest in other dimensions too. Pressure for “male child”, pressure to buy a house/car like peers or colleagues, pressure to maintain beauty/charm and also pressure to be more intelligent than colleagues/friends’ spouses. These are true for either gender. Societal pressures are huge and excruciating. I observe sometimes people uploading snaps of their intimate moments on social networking sites for the sake of “showing” the world that how amazing and warm their relationship is. How much that is in “good” or “bad” faith can be a subject of research for psychologists dealing with inter-personal relationships….
Communication gaps in relationships are also strongly responsible for the complexities. Everything in this world revolves around the necessity to communicate. Gestures, non-verbal communication and face-to-face discussions play a huge role in determining the “health” and “longevity” of any relationship. In real life, sometimes communication is the only thing lacking in otherwise perfect relationships. Especially, in elderly couples after their children have grown up and left them for their own destination lack of communication creates health hazards.
Finally, one can say that each relationship is unique and has its own beauty and complexity. Starting from friendship to love to marriages relationships are complex, because human beings are highly complex. Freedom to choose and not to choose can be left as a mutual issue between the people sharing a certain bond, unless the concerned parties “seek” advice. If you observe the animal world and especially monkey parents, they too leave the little-one to play, rise and fall as per its pleasure, so that it learns the rules of the game. But when it topples and hurts itself then the parents jump and give support. So also, human relationships are an intricate “game” and one should get the chance and the opportunity to learn the rules of the game and play it effectively in their own style.
Thoda hai thode ki zaroorat hai…zindagi phir bhi yahan khoobsoorat hai
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to hurt any gender/professional sentiments. The author merely records experiences of people.
Amarnath Talkies: Cinema for the Small Town May 3, 2009 (Sunday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: Life, life at iit, Movies, Cinema, IPL, Regional Cinema, Cricket
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The Indian Premier League (IPL) and the tussle between Producers and Mulitplexes in Bollywood has taken its toll on cinema and cinema-goers. IPL has become another name for “reality show”. It is the baap of all reality game shows – these CRICKET matches. IPL has yet again proved that it has a “power” even over the other most important source of entertainment for Indians — TV Serials, Poll Tamasha and CINEMA. This is because Cricket in India is not just a game, it’s a religion. In general, both cinema and cricket make the staple of our entertainment dose, and in fact move beyond entertainment to being the life breath of people who take these as “national pride”. But, the IPL fever has been such that cinema has suffered a serious setback. For a “cinema worshiper” like myself not going to theatre because of the lack of new releases and “good” movies has become some kind of a punishment. Added to this, recession has made the going extremely tough. While, I see many of my seniors and batchmates struggling for a “decent” pay check even after toiling like hell on their thesis or MTPs in IIT, the only thing I feel like having is a heady dose of a real good masala blockbuster in a theatre.
I am becoming nostalgic and slightly angry! I will come to the nostalgia part in a short-while, but first let me recount the reasons for my anger. Let’s pan the camera towards some of the bigger movies that have released in the last few months: Chandni Chowk to China (CC2C), Dilli6, Billu Barber aka Salon Specialist (latter my addition), Aa Dekhen Zara, Firaq, Raaz — the Mystery Continues, Siddharth…. This list is recollected from memory, apologies for slippages if any. Unfortunately, I do not appreciate any of the above movies. The less said about CC2C is better…Dilli6 had the possibilities of an amazing movie with one of my favorite star cast (Waheedaji) and some of the best tracks that I have heard in the recent times (I like Masakali and Genda Phool immensely). But one has to remember that a movie should “speak for itself” rather than “speak about itself”. I went to watch Firaq in the theatres. It is a technically very well-made movie, but if you ask me about its content I would say that it is flawed. Movies which are made with a “social message” are supposedly “balanced” in their “judgement” of a particular incident. Firaq comes under that genre of cinema and so naturally one expects that it shows a certain kind of “balanced” portrayal of the sensitivities associated with both religions. But….
I am having a hunch that in the name of making “serious cinema” or “matured cinema”, our “cinema-making” capabilities are suffering badly. Added to that, media, cinema-makers and actors have made “gossip” a staple for PRing a particular movie. If you observe the current trend of Bollywood, before every release there is a new gossip to pepper the marketing of a movie but no one bothers to look into the subtleties of acting or making a “real good movie“. I suspect it is the PR-ship of a movie which is responsible for the saleability of the movie rather than the movie itself. Take the war between Khans, the over-hyped and sometimes maligned life of Salman, Katrina-Ranbir/Preity-Ness and innumerable such stories. It seems that the “cinema-lovers” attention has now diverted from actual cinema into the rumours and real life drama in the lives of celebrities. We are virtually given the life of Big Boss viewers. Not that there were no gossips or rumors in the yester-year celebrities. Starting from Nargis-Rajkapoor to Hemamalini-Dharmender or Amitabh-Rekha to the current Sanju-Manyata rumour mills have always been ablaze. These yesteryear stars were not only celebrities who gave reasons for rumours because of their public image, they were also great actors and immensely dedicated to their career.
The trend has changed now. Today the personal lives of stars are so flavored and served in such gorgeously decked-up china platters that they appear more delicious than their movies themselves. For instance, while reading articles one on Sharukh’s pay cut and the other on Rishi Kapoor’s recent interview to Rajeev Masand in a famous news channel, I felt a twinge of sadness and sympathy . The life of an actor like Shahrukh is being measured by the “cut in his pay check” and that he had to accept it in a wedding “for not dancing”! Similarly, it was actually not in a good taste to say that Katrina is “better” than Deepika just about the time when a new movie of Ranbir-Katrina Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani is about to hit the theatres. Is this gossip thing not going a little too far and actually destroying the potential of good actors who are now paying more attention to their lives off-screen rather than on-screen?
That brings us to the “small town cinema” aspect and to Amarnath Talkies.
I am sure that hardly any of my readers might have even heard of “Amarnath Talkies“. It is a small single-screen theatre of a capacity not more than a 150-200 people in the sleepy town of Dhenkanal somewhere in the heart of Odisha. The theatre has a balcony that is called sankha and a small arena called samudra. The balcony caters to the “well-to-do” people of the town and also to the newly married couples who get a rare once or twice in a life time privilege of getting away from their extended families in the name of “taking ‘her’ to the cinema” . The cost of these balcony seats extend not beyond 20-30 rupees per head. The movies that premiered in Mumbai are released in the these small-town theatres after nearly a 7-8 months gap. In those days, we used to read reviews in Cine Blitz or Film Fare, read gossips and wait eagerly for a certain movie to release. The release of a certain block-buster movie carried a great fanfare. A peddle rickshaw decked up with huge posters of the movie and a man sitting inside with a bhonpoo (loud speakers) in hand, would be shrieking and announcing the arrival of a new movie in town: “Heyi heyi re! Asantu dekhiba Amir-Juhinka Dhamaka Ishq apanka nijara Amarnath theatre re (Let’s all go and watch the new movie Ishq starring Amir Khan and Juhi Chawla in your nearest Amarnath theatre) !” I always enjoyed listening to these announcements as they really served to heighten the anticipation for the movie .
Well, we hardly got to watch movies in Amarnath Talkies and the reasons were simple — the theatre was always littered with pan thook and smelt of bidi . The hoot and whistling in the hall almost drowned the voice of stars performing on screen. Generally parents were afraid of taking their “grown-up” daughters to such theatres because the comments were somewhat “below dignity”. Yet, there were unique occasions when parents could not deny taking the kids to watch movies. When movies like Saajan, Ishq, Dil toh Pagal Hai, Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai released, their fame was such that they could be avoided at no cost. These movies came to the theatre almost a year after they were released in Mumbai and by then they had already become mega blockbusters.
My own experience with these small town theatres are highly nostalgic. For instance, an entire theatre in Angul (my parents worked there) was booked by a relative as a birthday gift for me. We all went to watch Raja Hindustani with four-five friends and their families and the relatives’ family in that theatre where we were served tea and juice. In general, on most of the occasions it used to be night-shows in Amarnath Talkies with aunts, uncles, parents and friends and that too with “dinner only at home” as the condition (not like cinema goers of Mumbai). Watching a movie was no less than a carnival. In another instance, we had run away from school to watch Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge in one of these theatres. We bunked school after the tiffin-hours and went to the Talcher talkies with friends to watch this movie which had become a cult of our times. But, the fear of being caught and punished kept looming large and made the experience of the movie even more enjoyable. My grandfather took me to a special screening in Amarnath Talkies of the English movie ET and its Odiya adaptation, meant specially for journalists, writers and critics. Those were the times when we could connect to the movie itself and the thought of the movie remained fresh on our minds like the taste of chocolates….
These small town theatres served another purpose. They were the major source of promoting regional cinema in their showtimes. Every Durga Puja or Kali Puja or Id , blockbuster movies released which sustained the regional film industries. But, with the arrival of VCD/DVDs and pirated movies, regional movies suffered huge losses. As a result, today you do not find movies like Amada Bata (The Untrodden Path), Danda Balunga (The Street Loafer) Adina Megha (The Unseasonal Cloud), Samuka (The Shell), etc any more in Odiya film industry. Regional films have actually suffered a huge setback in Odisha (in Maharastra to some extent too) where the audiences are more biased towards Bollywood. Not only the viewers are responsible for the debacle of regional movies, but also the producers/directors are equally responsible with their small investment, verbatim copy of Bollywood movies and very bad cinematography (Telugu and Tamil movies are exceptions to some extent). It is not correct to say that good writers, scripts, directors are lacking in these places. There are good writers, scripts and directors, but the investment is definitely poor and so is the mindset. Moreover, since most of the small-town theatres have closed down so where would the prints be sold? Many of these theatres have been converted into Kalyan Mandaps or worse still have become places where goons, loafers and underworld lives. But the thought of Maharaja theatre, Shreya-Stuti or Amarnath theatre in Odisha arouses the same kind of longing for a “good” movie as does the thought of Regal, Metro or Shreyas in Mumbai.
Somehow, as an ardent movie-fan I wish for a change we made some real cool masala hits, forgetting the “technicalities” and the “processes” of movie making. Recently, I was talking on phone with an aunt in Odisha and she was going gaga over Salman’s God Tussi Great Ho which she got to see in one of these smaller theatres. I was wondering what was so intelligent or cool about the movie? I went back and watched that movie and I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed it much more than Singh is King (the latter was a huge hit)….
Hmm! how I pray that this war between producers and multiplexes end soon. I have already started missing the movies….
Who is a Human? April 16, 2009 (Thursday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: Life, Mumbai, Books, Human, Authors, Slumdog Millionaire, Poverty, India, Elections
12 comments
For the last few weeks, I was absorbed reading Arvind Adiga’s novel The White Tiger which had borrowed from Eddie’s Kitchen . My interest in the novel was based on the Booker Award that it received last year. Frankly, I was not aware of Adiga’s writings before I came across the piece of news that he had beat Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies in the race for Booker. The blurb claims that this novel is a “page turner” and can be read at one go. But I took longer to complete it than my usual pace since I found the “realities” described in that text very difficult to digest. Not that the “realities” described are “unrealistic”, but rather are too “harshly-realistic”, sometimes at the cost of language, style and aesthetic sensibilities. Probably, the author had deliberately chosen a style that is anti-aesthetic or “anti-literary-ness”. However, Adiga is not the first author to have presented “India” in this fashion, there are many known and unknown authors who have headed the brigade. In fact, Adiga seems to be directly influenced by none other than Sir Vidya, i.e., V.S. Naipaul and his India writings, especially An Area of Darkness. Adiga keeps invoking the term “darkness” in his novel reminding us of Sir Vidya’s experiences of India as a mind-boggling, problematic “area of darkness” in the first of his India trilogy.
Keeping aside the literary jargon that we usually get entangled with, Adiga’s novel brought some of my own real life experiences fresh into memory. I have been asking the question, “who is a human?” from the past few experiences that I have had. About a month ago, while I was waiting for a friend to arrive at the Ghatkopar station had a strange experience. Mumbai starts sweltering by mid-March and noons are especially hot. It was around 1 pm and the station was apparently less crowded than usual. I stood at the magazine vendor, peeping into some of the new titles that are on stand this year. Each local train that arrived at the platform dumped hordes of unknown, unnamed faces, each face seeming no different than the other and then another departing local would come and scoop away half the population like mushrooms scooped with a soup spoon from the soup bowl. The heat made people angrier and more restless than possibly they would be. Each one seemed to be in a hurry to reach some mysterious destination. With perfect nonchalance, I kept my eyes fixed on the new numbers displayed at the magazine stall and muttered under my breath a distorted version of T.S.Eliot’s Wasteland: “March is the cruelest month that mixes sweat with anger” (original: “April is the cruelest month mixing memory with desire”) .
Suddenly, I spotted a tattered old man, more clarification, a tattered blind old-man, trying to alight from the footbridge connecting the platforms. He was desperately seeking help from commuters requesting them to guide him down the stairs of the steep footbridge. No one listened to the old man and none stopped to help him either. I was in the other end of the platform and far away from the old man, could only helplessly observe him faltering in his steps, trying to balance himself as he got down the stairs of the bridge. Somehow he did manage to get to the platform, but his ordeal did not end there. The man intended to board a local train bound for Ambernath and evidently he was unable to board it himself . He badly needed help and went on requesting people to help, but to no use. Finally, in utter desperation the man put one hand on the shoulder of a passerby and requested him to just make him board the train. The passerby who probably was also one of those innumerable faces who had to hurry for some destination, rudely and angrily jerked away the blind man’s hand. He was so rude that the poor old man just lost his balance, lost his stick, tumbled and fell down badly on the platform. He was bruised, hurt and the dark glasses he had was broken into pieces. Except a young student who came running from the farthest end of the platform to assist the man to get up, no one else bothered to even stop for a second. The gentleman had tears in his eyes — tears of frustration and tears of blindness. I had come running from the another end of the platform to see if he was ok, and could make out that he was just very shaken and hurt. He just said to me in Marathi that he wanted to go to Ambernath to meet his daughter and son-in-law, but people thought he was a beggar and was just creating nuisance. Hmmm! What difference does it make to have or not to have eyes? We are also blind….
My friend reached on time and we came out of the station. Outside Ghatkopar station there was a queue for the BEST buses. It did not contain 5, 10 or 15 people; there were thousands waiting for one bus. The queue snaked down to the streets and almost covered a kilometer distance. Frustrating! In the heat, in the full summer noon, thousands standing in queue to board a bus. My friend sighed and said; “thank god! we have auto rickshaws here! It would be a torture to wait in queue for these buses!” We had to pay just 40 rupees to reach IIT by an auto, quiet simple and affordable. But for some of those who were standing in that queue for a bus, that 40 rupees was half-a-day’s salary.
These days I wonder what happens to the “super-power” nation that India is prophesied to be. With elections just round the corner and each political party bragging of its greatness, the question of “who is a human?” becomes even more pertinent. “Murk” is the only word that defines the situation here. Maybe we will have a “super-power” consumer nation down the years, all that we have now is easy money, minority politics and post-election alliances. The rest are indifferent people like us who get an easy ride through auto and taxis, a comfortable room, malls to shop, air conditioned labs, air conditioned airplanes to gain a safe passage out of the country and lead rest of the life in some “cool” place, sighing over the deteriorating human situation of India. People like me, Adiga, Arundhati Roy, Danny Boyle, etc. have one aspect that is similar — we all live in safe ghettos while talking or writing about the “inhuman”. I bet I will never stand in a long queue to get to board a bus and so will Danny Boyle who can never substitute real “shit” for his “peanut butter” to shoot another Slumdog and so will Adiga who may not choose to visit the “darkness” that won him a Booker. The question of who is a human applies to us as well.
If being “human” has certain values, “virtues” or “expectations” attached to it, then the term has got really problematic dimensions. But, if being human means just being a higher-ape, a biological being, I have no issues. In fact the term “human” has of late come to substitute “man”, as the latter was considered to be gender insensitive by some thoughtful critics. Terms like “physically challenged”, “mentally challenged”, etc. also came into vogue as terms which carry “sensitivity” towards the “lesser capable” and to give a more “humanitarian” angle to certain physical disorders. But, that day in Ghatkopar when I saw the gentleman struggling and being insulted in the platform in front of thousands, my idea of these “sensitive” terms completely changed. They are mere terms in critical jargon having hollow meaning, because there are millions out there who will not sympathize or empathize with a man as “physically challenged”, but might just identify a person as a “blind man” or a “leper” or a “deaf” person. The physical attribute goes as an identification mark, because all these jargon of gender-sensitive, physical attribute-sensitive, are limited to bookish, snobbish, aristocrats like us who hardly venture out into the platform to help a “blind man” cope with his “blindness”.
Who is a human? Still the questions lurks in my mind…
Sunset to Sunset – a Day in IIT March 26, 2009 (Thursday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: hostel life, Life, life at iit, PhD, research scholar
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This guest post by aamjunta is a sequel to an earlier post in which Anne de Plume had written on a day’s work in the life of a researcher in IIT Bombay. At that time there was a huge demand that we should highlight on the “male” researchers too as the post concentrated only on the life of the character “Radha” a female researcher at IIT Bombay (Sunrise to Sunrise: a Day’s Work @IIT). So, we present the sequel to the story written by aamjunta:
—-
Swana, Swana, Swana, Swana,
Haan… bolo Shan
will we go for breakfast?
Haaan.. chalo, aata hun
Oh… it is breakfast time now.. my god… it is 9.25am. Have to be there in hostel mess in 5 minutes — 9.30 am the breakfast time closes. Sid manages to reach the mess area within 5 minutes, half brushed and half washed face . This is not only the story of Sid; it is the story of Ram, Karim, Hari, Sanju, Anne, RP … many such Sids in every hostel…. each morning.
The routine tune of the life of an IITian just plays on, with a few unusual hiccups and occasional highs. Life here is routine. Even then, the life of a Research Scholar (RS) differs significantly from an MTech or a BTech. The flexibility of working hours and working style allow and encourage many Sids to wake up late or to go to the department/lab at their convenience. Many researchers wake up just before breakfast time, some wake up just before the end of lunch time (some time event after lunch time). For many lunch is the 1st meal of the day, popularly known as brunch (breakfast + lunch), 2nd for some and 3rd for the rest (heavy food in late night canteen, quick breakfast and lunch).
Though the working style and hours of male RSs are different from their female counter parts to a certain degree, it is not completely incomparable. While some researchers like Swana or Shan wake up very early in the morning and get ready for breakfast after morning exercise, it can be next to impossible for Anne or RP or Gyan. For Anne, waking up before 9.30 am happens once in a blue moon, where as for RP or Gyan,waking up before 12.30 pm happens once in 2/3 blue moons . These people can’t be blamed because they sleep late in the night (they claim that they sleep almost at dawn). Sometimes these night-outs happen because they are studying/working the entire night, but often they also happen due to chatting/telephone or gossips or movie shows or something of the type. Even if they sleep on time, waking up before 9.30 am…. just next to impossible. Body clock does not allow . For instance, it does not matter, whether you put 10 alarm bells or 20 wake up calls, if Anne does not want to wake up, no one can break her sleep. The person calling will lose patience and the alarm bells will go to snooze mode after some time… but nothing would destroy Anne’s kumbhakarna sleep. Fortunately or unfortunately, the alarm bell of the mobile non-stop rings and wakes people who are sleeping some 2 floors up/down or 10 rooms away.
I still remember the day, when Disho came back from the dept after a heated argument; he was supposed to meet a person in the main building for his registration on 2nd Jan, but went to meet him on 3rd Jan. He was adamant that it was 2nd Jan and not 3rd Jan, could not accept and believe; he slept on the late night of 1st Jan and woke up only on 3rd Jan morning (after some 27 hours of non-stop sleep) thinking that he woke up only on 2nd Jan. He still could not believe that 2nd Jan was gone, called me and his aunt to verify the date 2nd or 3rd. Poor Disho, paid Rs 200/- as fine for the delay of registration 
Some times I wonder – is there any body clock that actually controls? Is there any time for sleeping, working, playing or eating? The TT tables are fully occupied even at 3.00 am in our hostel; TV room is almost full at 2.30 am; big queue at the canteen at 1.00 am; serious discussion among groups at 4.00 am; whispering on phone with sweet hearts/would-bes from their room/playground/culvert; chatting with their GF/BF sitting close to him/her with a very low tone in the playground/culvert or near H12 cone at 4.30 am; going (coming) to (from) the dept at 3.00 am…. everything happens here, in the chilly winter, in the hot summer and the horrible rainy season. Quite interestingly, one day when I woke up at about 3.00/3.30 am, in my half-sleep I went to the bathroom and found one bathroom occupied and the shower was running… someone was taking a bath at this time !! For some time I stood fixed and got confused, is it morning bath or night bath?
Coming to the issue of a bath, in an average one RS baths 5 times a week (very high average for H12 inmates, even less in other hostels); some bathe twice/once in a day.. some bathe once in 14 days, some once in a week. In winter, the frequency goes down, some bathe once in 30 days or more; really saving water and electricity… .But, of course we spend more on chemicals… Deos and perfumes.
Sometimes I wonder… Should we close all the bars/L-shops? Should we regulate liquor in the hostel? IIT Rule says…yes, liquor is not allowed but in practice.. how far is it being followed? I am not against personal consumption, that is a matter of personal prerogative. But I strongly feel that if you have to have liquor that should be without disturbing others. But that does not happen every time. For most when they are drunk, it is the time when they are high and do some thing wrong or right. Once drunk, they get into interesting acts: catching fish in the room, dancing on the some high pitch-full volume item song, or sleeping in the toilets (some drunk gentleman even sleep while they are standing), or crying in the mess with a plate full of food in hand or laughing in the midnight, attempting to fly in the aeroplane or give non-stop philosophical lectures. For some it is fun, for some it is inconvenient, for some it is enjoyment and for the rest it is a part of life. It happens! Bachelor life – partying with friends is common and natural .
On a different note, marriage for researchers is a big task. Searching for a good groom or a bride is always an important assignment from the day one they enter the institute. Some try to optimize their search with the options available here in the campus, some try to get some one from their native place, some still wonder what to do? Searching the right partner is tough though, many try their luck and burn their fingers in the process; a mix of sweet and sour experiences. Those who are married and have not got any married accommodation… tough life . But they also search for enjoyment in the official entry time of IITB: 7.00 am to 10.00 pm (Some have even paid fines for violating the official time).
With all these fun it will be incomplete if I do not highlight the research work or TA work or Ghodagiri of a Research Scholar. For some the burden is evenly placed throughout the year and for some only during the deadlines; APS, Presyn, Conferences, Journals. For some 24 hours per day is just not enough; spending even more than 28 hours in the lab at a stretch are very common during deadlines. The impact of success and failure of self and the other is also quite visible on the daily life of an RS; some get frustrated, some enjoy and some become composed. Research and Re-search continues, papers after papers published, country after country visited, party after party celebrated and life goes on non-stop, with speed-breakers in between; ego clashes with guide and colleagues, fighting and love with sweet hearts, extending stays in hostel until one gets a job, buckling under the pressure of parents to complete PhD and getting married, or just sleeping aimlessly through days and nights or enjoying 6 movies in a day… It happens and starts with a new evening (morning… hardly any RS sees the morning) till the next evening; from Sunset to Sunset – a day in IIT.
Note: All the names and incidents mentioned here are fictional. Aamjunta/Anne De Plume does not hold any responsibility for any resemblance of the incidents or the characters with any person dead or living.
Lonely or Alone? March 17, 2009 (Tuesday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup....Tags: Aloneness, Books, D.H.Lawrence, Life, Literature, Loneliness, Love, Philosophy
2 comments
Apologies for being away from the blogosphere for nearly a month. You can say the muse has been a bit sleepy or maybe I have been lazy. But, there is one aspect of life that has been haunting me for some days now which I wanted to share in my post — loneliness versus aloneness.
Have you ever felt that utter loneliness when you are in a huge party? Have you ever got that sinking feeling when you are taking a walk in the evening? Have you ever felt futile after a grand success? Have you ever stood on a huge podium listening to a thunderous applause and yet expecting someone to appreciate you? Have you ever gone to the shopping complex with a bunch of relatives, yet found yourself lost and alone? Have you ever had a huge bunch of amazingly vibrant colleagues, teasing you and cheering you up and yet you are left desiring for a friend? Have you ever had a fantastic group of close-knit friends but still you desired to be just by yourself? Philosophical it might sound, and to some might look boring and brooding but I felt must share this experience.
D.H. Lawrence, the famous British novelist of early 20th century in the novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, poignantly reflected that there is a difference between “loneliness” and “aloneness”. By “aloneness” Lawrence perhaps meant our very state of being — that state of mind which is an indivisible part of us. While, by “loneliness” he meant the acute sense of a need to be with oneself. One might choose to be lonely, but one cannot choose to be alone.
I remember once during my Postgraduation days in the Lawrence lecture series when we were taught Women in Love, my Professor had explained us this difference between “loneliness” and “aloneness” through the novels of Lawrence. He said that to be lonely is a matter of one’s choice. You can be lonely for as long as you want, but to be alone is beyond priorities and prerogatives. Aloneness is our very state — we are all essentially alone. I had not understood the implications of that statement then — perhaps was too naive to understand and perhaps had chosen my moments of being “lonely”. Those were the days when our lives and times were filled with people. But as time passes, the realization of that statement made some 7-8 years ago slowly dawns upon me. In most of the cases, loneliness can be tackled by the society, call it friends, colleagues or family. It is desired also. Else, the social bonding will be destroyed by the lonely mind and soul. In a quite different equation, the feeling of aloneness can not be handled by the society. Feeling of aloneness is sometimes desired because it gives personal space to some one to come out from a trauma, to reconcile from a personal problem. But, one has to keep an eye or there can be psychological problems leading to other social problems.
Recently, while reading through my old notebooks I came across that statement taken down from my Professor’s lectures with a red-mark, which meant that I have not understood the meaning of the particular note. I hunted the original quotations of Lawrence and what I read and discovered was something very new — very unfamiliar to what I had understood in PG days. Lawrence writes:
“It’s no good trying to get rid of your own aloneness. You’ve got to stick to it all your life. Only at times, at times, the gap will be filled in. At times! But you have to wait for the times. Accept your own aloneness and stick to it, all your life. And then accept the times when the gap is filled in, when they come. But they’ve got to come. You can’t force them.”
— (Lady Chatterley’s Lover)
Thus, the people and the events that our lives are usually filled up with are but intermissions, a kind of “stop-gap” arrangement to fill our “aloneness”. They come and go and you have to reconcile with their coming and going and with your being “alone” after they come or after they go. I understood the implications of these lines after such a long forgotten phase. When I now read Lawrence after so many years, it seemed the words were his but the feelings were part of my old tattered lecture notes and the life — it is the life that I lead today. After every success, life makes you more keenly perceptive that you are alone.
In a place like IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), where practicality has more importance than anything else, aloneness or loneliness is very common. The value of time or money has more importance than sentimental excess and professionalism always outcasts the personal. In the personal front, people are very private, difficult to fathom. Some play computer games for hours, some keep walking by the lake side, some work and work, while some others watch movies relentlessly. These are the company that many choose and those who can not choose are left meandering through the alleys of darkness. Yet, I have realized that we are basically alone — after watching a movie what next? After submitting a journal paper what next? After playing 10 hours of computer games what next? This “what next” keeps haunting most of us. May be some of us accept it and may be some of us laugh at it as foolishness — yet there is no excuse.
These elemental differences of being “lonely” and being “alone” still do exist — you might name it sentimentalism, sensitivity or ground realities or life but most of us perceive it at some or the other point of our lives. While some of us can theorize it, some can philosophize it and some can define it — others just live it knowing not what to call it and how to brand it.
Slum Who Millionaire?: a Critique of Slum Dog Millionaire February 12, 2009 (Thursday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: Art, Cinema, Culture, Life, Movies, Mumbai, Riots, Slum Dog Millionaire
14 comments
I seriously have been resisting getting into the debate over Slumdog Millionaire (2008 ) and thought like every busy-for-nothing “type” let film critics, media and editorials battle it out. I was happy with the “Golden Globes” and “BAFTAs” pouring in for A.R .Rehman (one of my favourite music Directors). Moreover, who cares what the rear view of a mirror is as long as it clearly reflects my image on its surface! Then, I watched the movie… re-watched with some friends…then re-watched it alone, this time to understand what comes in the way of my appreciating it and the already famous awards and acclaim that have come for it. I read the reviews, the debates and counter-debates raging over the movie. Decided to forget it — but strangely couldn’t! So, had to plunge into…better than being “sleepless in Mumbai” .
Well, let me try to piece together my confusion…
The movie is brilliantly packaged, technically sound with a contemporary story-line and significantly “cleverly marketed” as a “rags-to-riches” and a “feel-good story of the decade”. The movie lives in its strongly strewn “moments” — of love, of anger, of orphaned existence, of communal riots, of beggary, of brother seducing a brother’s love, of betrayal, of honesty versus crime, and finally the feel-good factor of “love winning it all” and “virtuous-victorious” kind of ending, which of course makes you sit up in the theatre. “And they lived happily ever after…” thus ends the movie on an optimistic note. But, considering the deaths of Salim (the brother of Jamal Malik) and the Don, if we know the underworld well, then Jamal and Latika will hardly be left in peace, they were after-all the reasons for these deaths and also they have 2 crores in hand. If the cops can be after Jamal, so can be the underworld. However, we are not supposed to question while watching a movie–suspension of disbelief. We all love “happy endings”. But, then why did some of us not smile as we came out of the theatre? Two reasons: (a) We have seen something of this movie in many other Bollywood movies, maybe better versions; (b) The cultural part: I mean the “dog” part…
The first point is the crux of my blog: (a) We have seen something of this movie in many other Bollywood movies, maybe better versions. Let me take you back to a series of movies of late 1980s and 1990s, which had similar subject lines: of course not a “Kaun Banega Crorepati?” kind of story, but stories which you identify as “Mumbaichi Katha” with love stories set in the backdrop of “problems”. They were vibrant, pulsating and often “true” pictures of Mumbai, may not be clinically and technically as evolved as Slum Dog , but had in my opinion superior content narrated in a casual matter-of-fact style. Movies that immediately come to mind are: Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989), Parinda (1989), Baaghi (1990), Sadak(1991), Bombay (1995), Satya (1998 ). No I don’t mean to compare and critique Slum Dog in the lines of these stories, my comparison rests on the fact that they belong to the same genre and to the fact that Slum Dog wins a “Golden Globe”, while some of these movies are not even known in the home audience. When you watch Salim Langde pe Mat Ro… you tend to realize how far the tentacles of the underworld seeped into the chawls of Mumbai. There is no glossing over, no overboard styles and no Mr. Bachhan prototypes in the movie. Of course one of the best examples of parallel cinema that I have ever viewed. The plot is set in the chawls of Mumbai, even the restaurants that Neelima Azim and Pavan Malhotra (in title role) frequent can be imagined as any second restaurant near railway stations like Kanjurmarg or Ghatkopar. The Hindu-Muslim equations which Slum Dog tried to portray for our western and diaspora viewers in 2008, has actually already seen its consummation in Salim Langde pe back in 1989.
When you watch Parinda, the aspect that hits right on your face is the innocent love story of Karan (ironically played by Anil Kapoor) and Paro (Madhuri Dixit) and the way they were killed by the underworld Don Anna (Nana Patekar) on their wedding bed. As far as my understanding, Parinda defines the grammar of movies in this genre. Amazing cinematography (watch the pigeons flocking and un-flocking along with gun shots near Gateway of India in the movie) and extremely touching love-hate relationship between the brothers Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff.
Baaghi and Sadak make you fall in love with the young, angry Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt as they battle it out for girls stuck in the red-light area of Mumbai. Sadak especially brings out amazingly well the horror of attempting to tinker with the “business” of these people. Sadashiv Amrapurkar roaring and maneuvering against Sanjay Dutt as Maharani makes you literally shiver. The “murk” of the profession is menacingly narrated with a “shrug-off” kind of narration.
Bombay of Mani Ratnam and Satya of Ram Gopal Verma are cult movies. The first, set in the backdrop of Hindu-Muslim riots of 1991 featured Arvind Swami and Manisha Koirala — a Hindu-Muslim couple strangled in the riots, are looking for their lost twin kids Kabir Narayan and Kamal Basheer in the gullies of riot-ridden Mumbai. The pain of parents who have lost their kids, the pain of two frightened siblings torn-apart by violence and the dangerous communally instigating speeches of the Hindu and Muslim leaders, Bombay is truly a Golden Globe material. I love the A.R.Rahman of “humma-humma” or “Tu Hi Re…” unabashedly more than the A.R.Rahman of “Jai Ho!” The second, Satya of RGV, marked some of the all time highs of Bollywood art.The “cool-suave” Chakravarthy playing the title role gave a new-look to new-generation underworld-operating Mumbai. Urmila Matondkar in the role of “Vidya” makes you fall in love with “innocent love” all over again.
Watch these movies if you have already forgotten them! Mr. Boyle — India has seen it all! But thanks for showing it to the “West”. Slum Dog is a cock-tail of some of these movies, combined with the cultural dimension. That brings us to the second point: (b) The cultural part: I mean the “dog” part…. Unless we learn to love ourselves for whatever we are and whatever we have, we will be kept calling “dogs” . Mr. Sekhar Kapur says in his blog that even Bandit Queen was funded by the West and so was Elizabeth, what’s wrong if Boyle makes a movie on India? Of course, nothing wrong. Except for the “Millionaire” part. Danny Boyle has chosen to make a movie on the slums of Mumbai — he has lived, shot the movie in slums and even appointed slum children as his protagonists. That’s philanthropic! But that is also forms of capitalism and neo-colonialism. Mr. Kapur doesn’t visualize the future where instead of him being a film entrepreneur, he might end up being “employed” by the huge number of Hollywood production houses investing in Indian cinema. I don’t want to see small-time Indian production houses being engulfed by the large MNCs of Hollywood. We will then have cinema made only for people living in the West. The “dog” isn’t actually slums of Mumbai. In fact, “slum dog” can be seen as a metaphor for Indian cinema, for Bollywood especially, and for India which is visualized by the “West” as a gigantic mind-boggling slum. Considering the huge success of Bollywood worldwide, “slum-dog” seems to pun on the fact that Bollywood (the slum of Hollywood) is making it big in the world film circles. However, what seems unfortunate is not the West seeing India as a “slum” but Indians perceiving themselves “through the lens of Slum Dog Millionaire” . Yes! we have slums, we have underworld, we have poverty we have communal tension! Face it! But which country in the world doesn’t have it! Racism in US or England is a different form of communalism. Look at Southern United States, the situation is extremely difficult there. There is poverty in US too — and the poverty there is worse because of its psychological dimensions. In India people who live in chawls, many of them wouldn’t want to leave those chawls for their entire lives. Some of them choose to live there. For example, look at Tehelka’s recent report on Chawls in their website.
If you intend to watch Slumdog Millionaire, watch it for its clever concoction of “Indian” stories and for its cinematography. I have high regards for Mr.Boyle, because he could actually “sell” a Bollywood masala to the West, and showed that India also has its unique story-telling capacity. But my point was that Indian cinema is also capable enough to sustain on its own. The yardstick for Oscars, Golden Globe and such awards should not define our cinema-making capabilities. The movies that I cited above in my article are some examples drawn from both parallel cinema and main-stream commercial cinema. We are capable of matured movie making even without international acclaim.
Maybe that’s what they call — “art for art’s sake” …
Who is Interested in a PhD? February 5, 2009 (Thursday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: justice, Life, life at iit, Research
10 comments
For My Readers: Some part of the content of this post is very IIT Bombay specific, related to the internal dynamics of Undergraduates (UGs) and Postgraduates (PGs) in IIT Bombay and to an ongoing event in the campus called the PG Cult and my personal experience with it. Apologies if the post doesn’t appeal to all….
Prologue: Three years ago when I joined IIT Bombay as a researcher, I was starry-eyed and full of stuffs of which dreams are made. Lot happened with me and by me in the past three years, lot of things changed including the fact that I got “tamed” to a certain extent, but still the wild-wacky passionate spirit is very much a part of my personality. There are certain things which intrigue me, anger me and trouble me deeply, the most apparent one being — who is interested in a Phd? Do PhDs need to be “pretending” perennially that they are nerds and geeks — are they not supposed to be witty, fashionable, academic and versatile? The mentality of the general public about research, research in India is extremely dicey.
Let’s begin by questioning, who is into research? People who want to get a promotion in their jobs? People who did not find a suitable job and decided to try their hands at academics? People who are so impatient that they cannot wait for one year rigorous research to get a degree? People who fret and sulk about “jobs”, “partners” and a “hung” life?, people who take research as integral part of their lives, as a commitment and a luxury, who feel research should make them a little more insightful and enrich them (romanticism and idealism to some extent)? All these “kinds” comprise the fraternity of researchers in any place (may be around the world, am not so sure).
Whatever it is, for the last three years, my personal endeavour has been to win respect and admiration for that “job” called “research” through our group activity called “Research Scholars’ Forum (RSF)” at IIT Bombay. Time and again our team is confounded by the same question: who is interested in a PhD? Sometimes this question is posed by research scholars who are groping in the darkness of finding a suitable topic, adjusting with the IIT ecosystem and finding a suitable supervisor; sometimes by institute authorities some of whom are divided between making IIT a place for Undergraduate excellence or Postgraduate and Research excellence; sometimes by some non-academic staffs who think researchers are being unnecessarily paid higher scholarships when they are “good-for-nothing” creatures and are just “students”; sometimes by “friends” who claim that they are being paid such-such amount in X-X organization; sometimes by parents, society who worry that these are outcasts who may not get a bride/groom; and sometimes painfully by a part of the Undergraduate IIT population who think that researchers are “second-class senior citizens” of an institute which has been basically formed for them and by them.
The list can go until an nth point but still research thrives and survives. Mysterious? Yeah…
The Story: This rather long prologue was meant to be the backdrop for a story of my personal experience, something that happened on 31st Jan…
There was a huge publicity campaign a few weeks ago regarding the “First PG Cult” (cultural) event of IIT Bombay. Many were excited as the event was meant to be for PGs (which includes the PhDS, Project Staffs, M.Phils, M.Techs). The title of the event in its promotional was: “Are you a PG I am interested in you…”. Many PhDs had never got such an opportunity to showcase their talents because the scale of Mood-Is and Techfests are too large and noisy for the quieter population of IIT. There were enthusiastic discussions, planning and gossip about the forthcoming event at our hostel mess tables. The rules were: (a) More the number of entries from one department, the more the points that are awarded to that particular department. (b) The competition is open for all PGs, M.techs, Project Staffs and PhDs.
Some of us decided to participate in all the major competitions so that we win maximum points for our department. There are two stages of this competition: (a) Stage 1: (30th and 31st Jan) Elocution, PG Idol (prelims), Paintings, Quiz, Ms. and Mr. PG (prelims); (b) Stage 2: (7th and 8th March) Dance, Dramatics, Ad Making, PG Idol (finals) and Ms. and Mr. PG (finals). I sent my entry for the on-line elimination of a speaking event called Ms. PG. Only 15 could make it for the prelims, including me. The schedule for the competition was 8pm of 31st Jan. My intention and expectation from the event was high as some of us (can speak for some friends from PhD) thought that it will give a chance to rediscover our selves and our talents. However, as often is the case in IITs, that all fun is followed by deadlines, 31st Jan was a deadline for me for a major submission. I have very high opinion about my own capabilities of multitasking and kept reminding myself that I will be able to complete my submission procedure and reach the venue of the competition on time as 8pm was far off. Kept working on the paper from morning, had a meeting with my guide in the afternoon with the pre-pre-final draft.
In the afternoon, I got a call from adviser asking me if I can reschedule the meeting for 6.30pm in the evening as he was caught up with some urgent work. I said a “yes, of course” to him and gave up the idea of being able to make it to the competition. But, some part of me kept telling me “oh we can make it”. Reached sir’s place dot at 6.30pm (he stays away from campus), had a rigorous discussion with him on the paper for the next one hour fifteen minutes and kept marking my hard copy with his suggestions, modifications and corrections, and simultaneously kept looking at my watch — 6.45pm, 7.00pm, 7.15pm,7.20pm….Finally, at 7.21pm just as we were about to finish the last dot mark on the reference page, gathered the courage to tell him, “sir, there is a PG cultural competition going on in the campus. My entry has been selected for Ms. PG, the competition begins at 8.pm. Can I go for it? I will definitely incorporate the changes suggested by you by tonight and send it to them.” Seeing me nervous and fidgety, he smiled and said, “you should have told me before…I would not have kept you so long.” He went inside quickly and got an idli and some chutney for me on a plate, gave it to me and said, “have it…you may not have had anything for tiffin. Eat this and go and remember everything is important, if academics is important so is your personal life. Go for the competition it is a very good event to prove that researchers are capable of a lot of things.” I just mumbled a “thank you” …ran down the three floors of the staircase as the lift was held up somewhere on the 7th floor…almost toppled a gentleman down on the street, vehemently stopped an auto which was being stopped by another lady (she must have thought this is a medical emergency), jumped into the auto and shouted at the autowallah with one finger raised like a shot into the air : “bhaiyaa jalddiiii! IIT campus…!” Poor chap he panicked seeing me panicky, looked helplessly at three different routes, and then drove like mad through the shortest possible route. The clock kept ticking 7.35pm… 7.40pm…7.45pm…we entered the back gate of IIT Bombay…7.52pm we were there at SAC. I offered the autowallah a twenty rupees extra, but he replied :” na didi it’s allright…aaplog ishstudent ho…zaroor kuchh kaam hoyega tabhi hum itni jaldi aye” . He scooted away and I ran to the SAC yoga room.
Congratulating myself on my diligence and punctuality, I entered the place to find no one around. The yoga room was pitch dark and latched from outside. I had no clue if the event was happening at all — I was dressed up in a slightly formal fashion as a mark of respect for the competition that I was entering into. At 8.05 pm a young gentleman came, introduced himself and said that he was both an organizer and a participant. We opened the room, switched on fans and lights and sat…sat…sat…8.45 pm…no trace of a single soul…9.00pm one or two participants turn up…9.15pm I start getting worried about my paper and there is a slight hustle-bustle, someone announcing — “judges are here!” We got alert, enter the judges. Most of them know each other, they give me an astonished glance (a PhD here? :0 ) I smile back…concealing my nervousness. We wait for some more time…some organizers call up the participants who had yet not turned up. Lazily people sit chatting, enjoying and cracking jokes….
Finally at 9.25pm the event starts, judges casually discuss their strategy to judge these participants.There was no tailor-made format to judge the participants, that’s what appeared from their body language. There were seven girls and eight boys in all. The judges were introduced as “Mr. X.and X…JEE rankers, CAT cracks, winner of many national competitions, B.Tech 3rd year/4th year IIT Bombay….” I couldn’t believe my ears. Cracking JEE or CAT is no doubt great, but that does not mark the end of competition and life. A PG event where PhDs have chosen to participate is being judged by UGs? Anyway, I will compete in the game, doesn’t matter who judges, who wins and who loses.
The first round was announced: a GD round! I was not clustered in the first group. The topic that was given to the first group rhymed with the predicament of the judges: “Should UGs judge PGs?” Majority in that group kept saying that “UGs are better and more talented than PGs” . The pain of not being able to make it in the the JEE seemed to shadow the debate. Each one, had the same opinion. Then came the turn of my group in the GD, the topic that was given to us was: “should co-ed hostels be setup in IITs?” Honestly, I found the topics clever but unimpressive. However, the group was divided between men telling that a co-ed hostel is necessary and women claiming that co-ed hostels destroy “Indian” culture. I was the only female in the group who supported the idea of a co-ed hostel not because of any implicit sexual need but because co-ed hostels are a necessity considering the infrastructural limitations of IITs. I tried to tell them that the philosophy of a co-ed hostel is not to “share” rooms or “bathrooms” but to share a living space. If we think that “Indian” culture is so flimsy that it is destroyed by a co-ed hostel, then we are mistaken. Many Defence academies, IAS academy, TIFR have co-ed hostels. No one’s modesty or cultural values are outraged because you share a wing or a living space with someone from the “other” sex. Anyway, I made it to round 2 after an elimination of the 15 to 12 and it was 10.00 pm by then…
The second round was something which went completely against my personal ideologies. The round was named: “Quote-Unquote” where you have to speak for a topic the moment judges give the signal and change your stance in no time as judges clap for you to speak against the topic. We used to have this competition in school when our English teacher taught us “conversation skills” in class. I myself had used this tactics as a Lecturer in Communication Skills class for first year B.Techs. The format showed the apathy of judges and their gross disregard for the competitors who are of PG level. But, I decided to fight back, now it was an intoxication rather than a competition for me and I thought if that’s what it takes to prove that we are good (researchers) then I will prove it. I was given the topic “Valentine’s Day goes against Indian culture” … managed to do a fairly good job of it. The judges went on with each participant for more than 7 minutes with each participant….I had not thought the event will go on for so long.
Now, I felt helpless,looked at the watch and it was quarter to 11. Thought, better give it up, nothing is more important than my deadline. I told a “quit” to the judges and organizers, voiced my opinion that even though I did not like the format, yet I tried my best to keep competing, and finally came out of the venue. I was hungry and sad…. The competition was not merely a “cultural” competition, but it meant a lot for some of us. I had no friends with me to cheer me up. There were tears in my eyes — tears of my stubborn ego, tears of frustration, tears of loneliness and tears of ageing. Yeah, I felt I am growing old for the first time in my life…my spirit doesn’t go with the content of the world….I asked myself: “is there anyone who is interested in PhDs, their lives and their activities?”
I walked to Gulmohur, ordered for a Dal-Khichdi…fortunately was just on time for the last servings of Gulmohur. Had my dinner, walked to Hemant’s lab (I was afraid of this loneliness), borrowed his laptop and started with the editing job of my paper. The moment I saw my paper, I was jolted back and cheered up — yeah this is my life! Cleared the clouds of desperation and typed vehemently until 4.30 am, when I finally sent the paper to an international destination. Came back to room, slept barely for a few hours, woke up by 8.30 am to check for any revisions in the sent draft. Found some errors and retyped and resent the paper once again. I went finally to a peaceful sleep at 10.00 am and woke up at 4.00 pm in the afternoon when my guide called up saying: “good morning! I realized you haven’t slept through the night as I got the copy of your paper at 4.30 am. So how was the competition? Did you make it? ” My throat choked and I had only half a line: “sorry sir…I couldn’t…”.
Epilogue: I still did not give up. Wrote feedback mails to the organizers, to the present coordinator of Research Scholars’ Forum and the PG Nominee acad. Some fellow researchers who went for other competitions like elocution and painting had similar experiences. Some of them used my mails as rejoinder mails. But, who cares for the real “aamjunta“? Neither the RSF co nor the PG Nominee bothered to reply even in a one-liner. One of the organizers replied with a non-committal “we will take note of your points” kind of answer. But, there was no concrete response. When I met the RSF co he said that “this involves all PGs and not just researchers, so I can’t interfere.” I don’t understand the politics involved in choosing between UGs and PGs, I don’t understand the “procedures” of approaching, all that I understand is unless researchers whether Postgraduates or PhDs understand and respect themselves, no one will respect them or their position. Research doesn’t mean only academics, research means life and love…we are the ones who can bring the real small/big changes.
And here, the change is big, coming in small packets though. The initial fight might seem insignificant to some, but the fight has gathered momentum down the line in both the number and arguments. Looks like the second phase of the event will no longer be judged by the UGs. The more the number of the RSs participating, the more vigorous will be the change, not only in PG Cult, but also in other institute activities.
But, one thing I learnt from the entire episode, “don’t give up, fight till the end for justice. It will come some day, sooner or later”
Sunrise to Sunrise: a Day’s Work @IIT January 20, 2009 (Tuesday)
Posted by Anne De Plume in Arbit..., Gup-shup..., Think-tank....Tags: fun, Life, life at iit, Research
8 comments
By The Powai Lake
” A day’s work at IIT“… tough theme…. Each one here is peculiar in his/her working style, time-table and pace. Perhaps, you will find all varieties of working styles and personal choices in people here. But, since we are more acquainted with the research ecosystem of IIT Bombay, we will discuss about the researchers and their lives. If you observe researchers closely for a few months, you can write a thesis on the people working here, their lives and their behavioral patterns.
From ultra work freaks who spend 24X7 in the labs to people who spend 24×7 in hostels — sleeping, watching movies, roaming around unshaven/unbathed for days or taking more beauty sleeps than required, you will find all sorts of people here. From hyper-social to hypo-social, atheists to ascetics, geniuses to mediocrity, each one is a sample in their own right. In the last three and half years, I have had the privilege of watching, talking and observing my fellow specimens from a close perspective. Again the course work phases are different from the post-coursework times. But an average day for a researcher differs in its output and magnitude. Sometimes the day doesn’t move beyond a 0.00 output and at other times it just soars into +100. Well, I am a sample in my own way .
Let’s narrate the story of “Radha”, another researcher at IIT Bombay and get a peek-a-boo into her life and working style.
Radha snaps angrily at the alarm clock buzzing next to her bed at 9.00 am (early morning!!). She decides a 10 minutes snooze will do the job of getting her a little more accomplished sleep. The 10 minutes snooze moves into a 20 minutes snooze, and again to a 30 minute snooze. Every time, Radha wakes up with the buzz and she decides a 10 more minutes of sleep will do the job, she doesn’t forget even in her deepest dream to put the alarm into snooze. From 9.00am the alarm keeps snoozing and buzzing…till its 10.00 am…and then…the phone rings! Still half asleep, Radha takes the call and droopingly says…“heeeeeeelooo! who..os that?” the voice on the other side curtly replies…
“Hello, Radha are you busy? I want you to meet me by 10.30 am sharp and don’t be late.”
Lol!!!!! all sleep vanishes with the “hello”…
Guide!! 
… .
Wiping away traces of the last lovely sleep, Radha is alert and wide awake, “Oh no maam/sir! I am just coming back from the breakfast table. Of course, I am ready! Will be there @ your office by 10.30 am sharp! Thank you maam/sir!” She struts out of the bed rubbing her eyes badly, hits the bed post, curses it loudly: “damn! why do I always have a zero ground clearance?” and runs.
Oh! Gosh! Only thirty minutes left to go to the department!! Radha takes the brush and face wash…pours the largest quantity of face wash and literally bruises her facial skin in order to remove the last traces of sleep. The face wash goes hand in hand with brushing…one hand you hold the brush and the other you keep massaging your face with the face wash – in the last few years Radha has become an expert in multitasking and “risk management” … . While brushing, she decides, “OK will come back after the meeting and take a bath… can’t afford that luxury sweety!” Hunts the almairah for some decent salwar kameez…but “oh gosh! forgot to iron them after washing… forget the salwar kameez! Let me hunt for that jeans which I wore last week…oh here it is!” Promptly a tee-shirt and jeans is hunted out, Radha changes into it…forgets to comb her unkempt hair… looks at the watch…10.20am…picks her bag and runs downstairs. She hunts into her bag for a Tum-Tum ticket, but… “oh! heck! I left the ticket bunch in my last to last jeans pocket! I put that jeans in the washing machine…It must have been cleaned away along with the jeans. Ok, let’s get an auto-rickshaw.” No auto in the vicinity, have to walk to the department! Through the entire distance people observe Radha mumbling curses to herself, “Dammn! I shouldn’t sleep so much! Why God, why does it happen with me! ” People smile at Radha and she’s oblivious of the world.
10.35 am: Radha reaches department, panting, red-faced (the way from girl’s hostel to the academic area is a steep hillock)… Guide is already there in his/her office. Radha takes a second to calm down before entering the office, forces a smile, “May I come in”…Guide looks at the watch and looks up at Radha from his/her computer stifles a smile and sternly says…”Come in Radha…you are still five minutes late. Anyway, come in, sit and drink some water. I want you to tell me your progress. What happened to the book that I gave you two weeks ago? Have you read that? Can you summarize it for me?”
She has not even opened the Preface page of the book . But…”Oh yes! Actually you see I am still stuck in the tenth page of first chapter. I didn’t get the philosophy behind the lines of the sixth paragraph, but I forgot to get that book today else you could have helped me understand …” . Guide cuts her short, “Alright… I got it! You take one more week and come back next time with the complete summary. Radha when will you increase your pace…I am worried about you” … Radha looks out of her guide’s office window, spots a chimpanzee making faces at her from a branch of the tree outside, immediately averts her gaze and thinks, “yeah I have to increase my pace…will work day and night from today and “STUDY”!How happy that chimpanzee is…it doesn’t have to write a thesis.” The guide understands and looks at her speculatively asking, “is everything Ok?” … “Yeah…yeah…fine…I wrote that paper…it’s almost complete“. Some more sessions in the meeting and Radha comes out of the office, panting and puffing, determined to work more diligently.
12.00noon: Radha comes to her lab from guide’s office…sees that others are lost in books, papers and notes. She walks seriously and grabs a PC hurriedly, opens her own books, opens her paper that she’s been editing since last four weeks and seriously decides to “STUDY” ! One half page later, she thinks…“Oh some important mails…I haven’t checked my mails since morning” …. Opens her Gmail, GPO, Yahoo, Rediff … EE mail and ponders over them, including the forwards. Suddenly, people start popping out from chat boxes of her Gmail… “Hey Radha…”, “hi Radha”…“did you see Rab Ne? Slum Dog Millionaire” … Radha happily chats with the red, green chat buttons….
And then… “Radha! are you busy? Please come after you finish to my office…have to give you some papers to review”! … Guide! …He/she saw her chatting, Radha knocks her head down on the table…“yes sir/maam coming in a moment…!”
1.15pm: Tired and bugged with her half day stint Radha decides to go back to hostel for food and decides to “STUDY” in the afternoon. Hostel-11 mess is crowded…Radha grabs a chair close to some friends and colleagues. Puts her bag to reserve her seat, goes inside the mess to get a plate…comes out to get food…realizes that she forgot to get bowls for dal and curd … goes inside to get two bowls…. She is starving! The food is chawal and lauki sabzi (a kind of vegetable), she makes a face at the sabzi, quickly serves herself some dal-chawal, pickle and curd…comes back to the place she had reserved for herself…all her friends have already finished and left. Tired…her hunger by this time is already forgotten. “But oh heck! I forgot to get a spoon and a glass of water…Shit! Why am I a researcher?” …She rushes back all the way inside the kitchen and gets a spoon and a glass of water…quickly pushes spoonfuls of food, keeps her plate at the wash area, ascends the three-storey B-wing to her room in the third floor .
2.00pm : Radha loves her room…neat, gorgeous and a girl’s heaven. It’s a den in the afternoon, you pull the curtains and it becomes a cool-dark cave. She decides to get up at 3.30pm and “STUDY!” … Takes her favourite quilt, sleeps….zzzz…..
5.30pm: Phone buzzes… Radha wakes up with a start. “Is this a missed call for breakfast or tiffin? It’s morning or is it evening? ” Radha can’t decide…she keeps rubbing her eyes…but the clock refuses to budge from a “5″ and a “30″ pm … . Determined to “STUDY” she goes downstairs with her satchel, eats and gossips with friends…6.00pm, 6.30pm…”Oh I have to run to the department” …. Gets up, walks with her bag towards the department…half way down…she talks to herself , “evening is beautiful, in fact poetic…let’s go to the lake side for a short-brisk walk…an evening walk boosts memory power scientists say” … And, then she scoots down the convo road, takes a short-cut and lands near the Powai lake. The evening is gorgeous indeed! Radha sits “evening-dreaming” …spots a young couple (probably B.Techs) sitting close to each other and talking sweet nothings…. Radha decides that after she “STUDIES” she will like to have such a boy friend …. The clock says it’s 8.15pm…”Oh God why Does this clock run marathons! Dinner time! Why did I come to lake side? can’t go to department now…will go back have dinner and “STUDY” “…
8.30pm: Mess, same people, same faces, same gossips…. One girl says: “you know I have twenty five papers accepted in thirty two journals, 30 conference papers and a handful of corporate offers with a package of 28lakhs p.a” …. Another lady keeps asking, “so when are you submitting your thesis? I have been here only for a year and half …I am ready with my pre-synopsis” …. Radha thinks “I will go to my room and “STUDY” ” Another beauty conscious lady suggests “Radha why don’t you do something about your pimples? And for god’s sake stop wearing those grey tees and red-framed specs…you look so god-damn oldie!” There’s another lady who’s ultra-interested in others’ lives and other people’s researches. She knows the “a,b,c…z” of everyone’s personal and professional lives, including who joined PhD in which lab, who left PhD from which lab…. Radha too has her share of gossips, she discusses the couple sitting by the lake side and in her stupidly romantic clichés, she manages to extract a mass sigh: “hmmmmmmm”….
9.30pm: Back to room…all quiet on every front. Radha opens her books, papers and really “STUDIES” till 12.00 midnight…. LAN Ban in hostel and so no more work …
12.05am: Movie time! Radha had downloaded her favourite Dev Anand movie from DC++ …. She’s lost in Dev Anand and his left-bent puffed hairstyle and sings loudly with him: “badal bijlee chandan pani jaisa apna pyar lena hoga janam humein kayee-kayee bar… aaa…”
1.00am: Knock! Knock! Radha, still singing with Dev Anand, goes to open the door…”didi can you lower the volume of your singing and of your movie…we have our assignment and midterms!” “Oh sure!” Radha comes back fuming, gives a kick to her sound box so that it stops playing, shuts down her PC and mutters mimicking her neighbour: “didi! volume…unhh! when we have APS these people dance on the floor on ‘bidi jaleyile’ and now my Dev Anand, my sweet Dev Anand is creating problem for their assignment! Bull s****!”
2.30am: Still no sleep…Radha keeps turning and twisting…and with each turn she decides to “wake up early in the morning…do some Yoga…take a bath (she could not bathe the entire day)…pray God…and “STUDY!” She tinkers with her phone, then sets it to FM mode and a voice huskily announces: “doston yeh hai Akashwani aur aap sun rahe hain FM Rainbow… main hoon apka pyara humsafar Milind Inamdar aur yeh hai humara show “Dil se”…aaj humare paas jo dil aya hai woh hai padhne wala dil …jo dil ek nazar mein sab kuchh padh sake” and then the RJ plays, “kitaben bahut si padhi hongi tumne magar koi chehra bhi tumne padha hai?” (Transl. “Friends this is All India Radio and you are listening to FM Rainbow. I am your friend Milind and this show is called “Dil Se”. Today we have the studious heart on our show, the heart which can read eyes”) Radha is now satisfied, she sets her alarm for “9.oo am” and with every new song slowly trails to sleeeeeeppp and in her dreams decides to “STUDY”!
10.00am: Phone rings, “Radha! can you come…?”
P.N.: This is a fictional character and the only resemblance that it has to any person dead or living is “Anne De plume” …. But it’s just one aspect of our daily lives…there are many more….I thank my readers to have extracted the “honest” narration from Iris … But, on a serious note this perpetual thought of “STUDY” is common to all researchers in IIT Bombay and this thought itself is enough to keep you always on your toes and makes research such a gratifying job.
