Having spent the 1st 1 year of my blogging on blogspot, I have now shifted my blog to a new address as below:-
http://rajeswarisen.wordpress.com/
I'll look forward to your comments!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
'8' roads to a new start!?!
That's what first came to my mind when I finished watching Oscars last night and cheering loudly for SlumDog Millionaire-a good-not-great movie which made a clean sweep of 8 awards even when pitched against great-not-just-good movies such as Curious Case of BB.
It is essentially a rags-to-riches story which may have appealed unimaginably to audiences across borders especially in a time when people are very rapidly getting dragged down to the rags from their riches. And the stark portrayal of the poverty,deprivation,frustration and humiliation that is an integral part of a slum-dweller's life in a less developed country such as India and that too in the financial center of the country, Mumbai, perhaps stunned the rich western world whose citizens hardly know the true meaning of the word 'slum-dweller', let alone witnessing the trials and tribulations of the same. All valid points and indeed this was a well made movie.
But 8 Oscars?
I grew up watching movies and have always maybe naively, considered the Academy Awards as a pinnacle of success in the movie world-not because it is the white world's award but because it is a huge stage that brings together creativity and talent from all parts of the world. But never for once did I feel that SM was a movie which deserved 8 of those awards in so many diverse categories!
Some say it was the magic woven by the publication agencies, some say Danny Boyle indeed is a great film maker,some say the movie is realistic and portrays a unique story-maybe.
But isn't it also possible that all this attention to this one movie was to ensure that a gateway opens up which paves the way to a series of future collaborations between foreign directors and producers and India actors, resulting in movies shot in India based on Indian themes but mainly marketed abroad? Cost of making such movies in Rupees of course, is much lower than producing/shooting movies in Hollywood yet the profits earned especially when the movie hits the bulls eye as SM did..run in billions of dollars! Voila!
Economists love to draw parallels (think current recession and 1930s Great Depression!)...and I don't consider myself an exception!
Circa 1992-Miss World and Miss Universe contests both won by two pretty Indian ladies and rest as they say was history! The floodgates were opened and Indian markets were truly flooded with western fashion brands,cosmetic products-you name it! And on the basis of the pent up hunger of a population of more than a billion..multinational companies in these industries ended up making enormous profits!
Circa 2009-A movie directed by a Brit and co-produced by an Indian wins 8 Oscars and Bollywood is already abuzz with talks of 'collaborations'..(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Hollywood-here-we-come-says-India/articleshow/4179949.cms)..it's a win-win for all ain't it?
Results? Let's just wait and watch!
It is essentially a rags-to-riches story which may have appealed unimaginably to audiences across borders especially in a time when people are very rapidly getting dragged down to the rags from their riches. And the stark portrayal of the poverty,deprivation,frustration and humiliation that is an integral part of a slum-dweller's life in a less developed country such as India and that too in the financial center of the country, Mumbai, perhaps stunned the rich western world whose citizens hardly know the true meaning of the word 'slum-dweller', let alone witnessing the trials and tribulations of the same. All valid points and indeed this was a well made movie.
But 8 Oscars?
I grew up watching movies and have always maybe naively, considered the Academy Awards as a pinnacle of success in the movie world-not because it is the white world's award but because it is a huge stage that brings together creativity and talent from all parts of the world. But never for once did I feel that SM was a movie which deserved 8 of those awards in so many diverse categories!
Some say it was the magic woven by the publication agencies, some say Danny Boyle indeed is a great film maker,some say the movie is realistic and portrays a unique story-maybe.
But isn't it also possible that all this attention to this one movie was to ensure that a gateway opens up which paves the way to a series of future collaborations between foreign directors and producers and India actors, resulting in movies shot in India based on Indian themes but mainly marketed abroad? Cost of making such movies in Rupees of course, is much lower than producing/shooting movies in Hollywood yet the profits earned especially when the movie hits the bulls eye as SM did..run in billions of dollars! Voila!
Economists love to draw parallels (think current recession and 1930s Great Depression!)...and I don't consider myself an exception!
Circa 1992-Miss World and Miss Universe contests both won by two pretty Indian ladies and rest as they say was history! The floodgates were opened and Indian markets were truly flooded with western fashion brands,cosmetic products-you name it! And on the basis of the pent up hunger of a population of more than a billion..multinational companies in these industries ended up making enormous profits!
Circa 2009-A movie directed by a Brit and co-produced by an Indian wins 8 Oscars and Bollywood is already abuzz with talks of 'collaborations'..(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Hollywood-here-we-come-says-India/articleshow/4179949.cms)..it's a win-win for all ain't it?
Results? Let's just wait and watch!
stop thinking!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bloggers-can-be-nailed-for-views/articleshow/4178823.cms
whatever happened to freedom of speech and expression in the world's largest democracy!!
does that mean us bloggers now need to think twice before penning down our thoughts? what's the point of being 'free' netizens then? what's the point of celebrating our independence every year when we don't even have the freedom to express our thoughts! infact..blogging should very well be banned in India then coz who's gonna take up the role of a censor to decide what is allowed and what is not! and in similar lines..bollywood directors should be stopped from making movies coz any theme is liable to be protested against by some group in the country! and Danny Boyle for sure should have been prohibited from making SM coz after all it nakedly exposes the 'slumness' of Indian slums and Dev D should be banned coz it perhaps makes fun of a great Bengali novelist! Likewise, our actresses should be banned coz they are wearing dresses that expose parts of their bodies in so many ways and even indulging in drinking/smoking on screen not to mention the acts of physical intimacy with the opposite sex! Print and online media should be banned too coz they publish articles on as taboo a subject as sex and books/novels on societal issues should be burned coz they pollute people's minds!
So basically we all should return to our primitive ways of living in ignorance and never think of expressing ourselves in fear that we may be arrested and prosecuted by the powers that be!
Bravo...!!
Reminds me of a popular movie of the 1980s named 'Hirak Rajar Deshe', produced by late Satyajit Ray (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080856/) wherein the king of the kingdom had a machine using which he could brainwash his subjects and make them say whatever he wanted...if bloggers can get arrested..then perhaps Ray had a great foresight!
whatever happened to freedom of speech and expression in the world's largest democracy!!
does that mean us bloggers now need to think twice before penning down our thoughts? what's the point of being 'free' netizens then? what's the point of celebrating our independence every year when we don't even have the freedom to express our thoughts! infact..blogging should very well be banned in India then coz who's gonna take up the role of a censor to decide what is allowed and what is not! and in similar lines..bollywood directors should be stopped from making movies coz any theme is liable to be protested against by some group in the country! and Danny Boyle for sure should have been prohibited from making SM coz after all it nakedly exposes the 'slumness' of Indian slums and Dev D should be banned coz it perhaps makes fun of a great Bengali novelist! Likewise, our actresses should be banned coz they are wearing dresses that expose parts of their bodies in so many ways and even indulging in drinking/smoking on screen not to mention the acts of physical intimacy with the opposite sex! Print and online media should be banned too coz they publish articles on as taboo a subject as sex and books/novels on societal issues should be burned coz they pollute people's minds!
So basically we all should return to our primitive ways of living in ignorance and never think of expressing ourselves in fear that we may be arrested and prosecuted by the powers that be!
Bravo...!!
Reminds me of a popular movie of the 1980s named 'Hirak Rajar Deshe', produced by late Satyajit Ray (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080856/) wherein the king of the kingdom had a machine using which he could brainwash his subjects and make them say whatever he wanted...if bloggers can get arrested..then perhaps Ray had a great foresight!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
An Airport Conversation
Last week,on my way back to California from Calcutta, I had a most interesting and intriguing conversation with Edmund Smith, during our halt at the lovely Changi airport in Singapore-a conversation which left me thinking hours after he had departed, to board his flight back to Melbourne.
At 75, walking around slowly and cautiously with a stick, with his head bent-Edmund had caught my attention from Calcutta airport where he sternly refused being carried in a wheel chair, giving away the impression that his pride was hurt at the very suggestion of it. He sat one seat across from me in the plane from Cal to Singapore, dozing for most of the journey. The TV screen in front of him was causing sufficient disturbance and hence an air hostess was requested to turn it off, as he was hardly familiar with the modern entertainment system of planes. The sight of such an old man traveling all by himself made me feel really sorry for his condition-as it is the sight of old people always hits the soft spot in my heart more than anything else. In the course of my helping him out in small ways, we began a casual conversation which resumed with full vigor when we reached the Changi airport.
And in the 3 hours that followed, I received valuable insights about Australia and the world economy at large from this British man who had spent the formative years of his life in newly independent Calcutta and London, slogging at a bank struggling hard to make ends meet. Hearing him speak of the times then and the times now, about the American supremacy and the perils of capitalism, about his love for Calcutta and appreciation of the warmth of the people thereof, I realized, his generation had thrived in an age much more challenging than what we are in right now, in a world,totally different in so many ways and perhaps more difficult too, in circumstances much more trying that what we complain about now-yet they have lived with a sense of pride and contentment and dignity that is so missing in our generation. It was one of the most memorable conversations in recent times for me.
Having spent several years in Calcutta as a banker in Lloyd's Bank, he eventually shifted to Australia and settled there with his family. (He admitted that Australians are indeed a bit uptight, when I mentioned to him my experiences in Sydney!) He spoke at length about how much he loved the spirit of Calcutta, the friendliness of the lazy people, the richness of literature and culture, the plays and theaters, the conservatism and intellectualism and how all these keep bringing him back to the city over and over again, now that he is retired now. He spoke about how he thinks the whole concept of outsourcing jobs to cheap Asian labor is bringing the Western world down, how illegal immigrants keep flooding Australian cities in lure of a quick resident status as a result of which the cities getting more crowded, unsafe and corrupt. He also warned me the way a grandfather would advice his granddaughter, that earning a degree from a western University is one thing but settling in the West is a totally different ball game, especially now, when he thinks the Western developed world is nearing it's doomsday! He emphasized time and again, how I should earn my degree and return home to start my family and never make the mistake of staying back in the West coz the 'good quality of life' that had once upon a time given the West the status it enjoys today, is fast deteriorating. In his times, people were responsible and accountable for their jobs and duties, governments cared about their own people and not just about the rest of the world, people had jobs,toiled hard, earned enough to raise a family and yet were more happy and satisfied. A world fraught with terrorist threats, developed countries' intervening attitudes, endless mutual blame-game among nuclear empowered nations, an almost grotesque proportion of greed consuming every nation, widespread corruption and violence in the name of religion-it feels as if capitalism has been turned upside down. Ports, airports, railways in Australia, UK and US are all owned by foreigners, the control of the state has progressively gone down over the years, reckless risk taking has resulted in one of the worst crises in recent times affecting the entire world connected through the chains of globalization and governments in the lure of getting more votes pay more attention to the here and now rather than to the long run well being of future generations. What, he asks me, really lures me to leave everything behind in this world and run to the West-dreams of a better future?
For a few minutes, I honestly did not have an answer. Here was this man-old and barely able to see anything, with his walking stick as his best friend, yet a mind so clear, having seen the world in so many different times and having lived in so many different countries, telling me that while he himself is the citizen of the so-called first world, he would never advise someone like me to settle down there and here I was, wanting desperately to argue against everything he was saying and scrambling to find a valid point in my favor-in the end I left it as an unfinished conversation-realizing that no matter what I say from the perspective of a young Indian woman who has left her homeland in dreams of a better future in a far away land, just as her grandfathers had done years back, I would still not be able to convince this wise man who has seen it all. With age sure comes wisdom and seldom do we get the chance to slow down in our rat-race to hear what the old have to say-but if we do, I am sure it will be a memorable experience-as was mine and am glad to be able to share this with you all.
Leaving me, an Economics PhD student, still thinking and arguing in my own head about the pros and cons of outsourcing, immigration, globalization, privatization and so on..Edmund slowly walked away towards Gate no. A12 to board the Melbourne bound Singapore Airlines...nodding his head as if expressing his sheer disappointment at the utter irresponsibility and selfishness he sees all around him now ...he does not have an email id...and I have no other way of ever being in touch with him..(though he suggested that sometime I should visit Wellington, Dunedin and Halbot in Tasmania..3 beautiful places in that part of the world)..but I was indeed fortunate to have known such a knowledgeable and insightful old man even if it was for such a short span of time.
After a while I left too..to board my long flight to reach the other half of the world...and resume my quest..for a better life (?!?)
At 75, walking around slowly and cautiously with a stick, with his head bent-Edmund had caught my attention from Calcutta airport where he sternly refused being carried in a wheel chair, giving away the impression that his pride was hurt at the very suggestion of it. He sat one seat across from me in the plane from Cal to Singapore, dozing for most of the journey. The TV screen in front of him was causing sufficient disturbance and hence an air hostess was requested to turn it off, as he was hardly familiar with the modern entertainment system of planes. The sight of such an old man traveling all by himself made me feel really sorry for his condition-as it is the sight of old people always hits the soft spot in my heart more than anything else. In the course of my helping him out in small ways, we began a casual conversation which resumed with full vigor when we reached the Changi airport.
And in the 3 hours that followed, I received valuable insights about Australia and the world economy at large from this British man who had spent the formative years of his life in newly independent Calcutta and London, slogging at a bank struggling hard to make ends meet. Hearing him speak of the times then and the times now, about the American supremacy and the perils of capitalism, about his love for Calcutta and appreciation of the warmth of the people thereof, I realized, his generation had thrived in an age much more challenging than what we are in right now, in a world,totally different in so many ways and perhaps more difficult too, in circumstances much more trying that what we complain about now-yet they have lived with a sense of pride and contentment and dignity that is so missing in our generation. It was one of the most memorable conversations in recent times for me.
Having spent several years in Calcutta as a banker in Lloyd's Bank, he eventually shifted to Australia and settled there with his family. (He admitted that Australians are indeed a bit uptight, when I mentioned to him my experiences in Sydney!) He spoke at length about how much he loved the spirit of Calcutta, the friendliness of the lazy people, the richness of literature and culture, the plays and theaters, the conservatism and intellectualism and how all these keep bringing him back to the city over and over again, now that he is retired now. He spoke about how he thinks the whole concept of outsourcing jobs to cheap Asian labor is bringing the Western world down, how illegal immigrants keep flooding Australian cities in lure of a quick resident status as a result of which the cities getting more crowded, unsafe and corrupt. He also warned me the way a grandfather would advice his granddaughter, that earning a degree from a western University is one thing but settling in the West is a totally different ball game, especially now, when he thinks the Western developed world is nearing it's doomsday! He emphasized time and again, how I should earn my degree and return home to start my family and never make the mistake of staying back in the West coz the 'good quality of life' that had once upon a time given the West the status it enjoys today, is fast deteriorating. In his times, people were responsible and accountable for their jobs and duties, governments cared about their own people and not just about the rest of the world, people had jobs,toiled hard, earned enough to raise a family and yet were more happy and satisfied. A world fraught with terrorist threats, developed countries' intervening attitudes, endless mutual blame-game among nuclear empowered nations, an almost grotesque proportion of greed consuming every nation, widespread corruption and violence in the name of religion-it feels as if capitalism has been turned upside down. Ports, airports, railways in Australia, UK and US are all owned by foreigners, the control of the state has progressively gone down over the years, reckless risk taking has resulted in one of the worst crises in recent times affecting the entire world connected through the chains of globalization and governments in the lure of getting more votes pay more attention to the here and now rather than to the long run well being of future generations. What, he asks me, really lures me to leave everything behind in this world and run to the West-dreams of a better future?
For a few minutes, I honestly did not have an answer. Here was this man-old and barely able to see anything, with his walking stick as his best friend, yet a mind so clear, having seen the world in so many different times and having lived in so many different countries, telling me that while he himself is the citizen of the so-called first world, he would never advise someone like me to settle down there and here I was, wanting desperately to argue against everything he was saying and scrambling to find a valid point in my favor-in the end I left it as an unfinished conversation-realizing that no matter what I say from the perspective of a young Indian woman who has left her homeland in dreams of a better future in a far away land, just as her grandfathers had done years back, I would still not be able to convince this wise man who has seen it all. With age sure comes wisdom and seldom do we get the chance to slow down in our rat-race to hear what the old have to say-but if we do, I am sure it will be a memorable experience-as was mine and am glad to be able to share this with you all.
Leaving me, an Economics PhD student, still thinking and arguing in my own head about the pros and cons of outsourcing, immigration, globalization, privatization and so on..Edmund slowly walked away towards Gate no. A12 to board the Melbourne bound Singapore Airlines...nodding his head as if expressing his sheer disappointment at the utter irresponsibility and selfishness he sees all around him now ...he does not have an email id...and I have no other way of ever being in touch with him..(though he suggested that sometime I should visit Wellington, Dunedin and Halbot in Tasmania..3 beautiful places in that part of the world)..but I was indeed fortunate to have known such a knowledgeable and insightful old man even if it was for such a short span of time.
After a while I left too..to board my long flight to reach the other half of the world...and resume my quest..for a better life (?!?)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
world under siege?
A few hours back Mumbai was attacked by the terrorists in one the deadliest and ghastliest terrorist incidents in Indian history...foreigners held hostages..innocent civilians killed in randoom shootings...top notch hotels burning in fire...total chaos and helplessness prevailing everywhere...with cops and army and firemen putting their own lives in jeopardy to save people...
I was shocked,stunned and stupefied beyond words...sitting far away from the homeland..and getting such news on international channels..makes us feel so helpless and hopelessly in despair...
what's the world coming down to? Just when I was getting tired of reading endless news about unemployment rates soaring everywhere and people losing jobs rampantly and next year predicted to be even worse...here comes even worse news from my own country about lives being taken and the financial center of the country being held seige by a bunch of mindless, horrifying,murderers or terrorists..whtever they are called..I wish I had more severe adjectives but my mind is just blocked with anger and frustration and shock right now...
What do you do when you are caught in this kind of a situation of borderline anarchy wherein there is no safety whatsoever of your life even when you are living in a time where technology and science have progressed by leaps and bounds and countrie have become financially sound and human race as a whole is supposed to have become more educated and civilized? but honestly..how are we any better of than the stone age people or worse..animals..who keep killing each other? only difference being that humans know how to apply their minds! yes right..apply our minds to do what? kill fellow humans? and for what? in the name of religion? stupid hypocritical beliefs? faith? what does that even mean?
noone in any country is safe in today's world...coz anywhere anyone can be attacked not by robbers or rapists but by terrorists...a bunch of people who themselves have lost their sanity and have no respect for anyone else,forget about respect for themselves. And these people claim that they respect their religion?
A world which also gave birth to peace leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa,Nelson Mandela...is now witnessing world war III-not between any 2 groups but everyone against everyone! But for what? to gain supremacy? over whom? the muslims want to rule the world? no right..coz they themselves are torn apart by their ideals in Iraq, Iran and the entire middle east.
What do they really want? (I concentrate on the muslims here coz there's been widespread evidence that this one religious group is repsonsible for so many terrorist attacks worldwide).
In my linited knowledge, this is beyond me.
All I know is that the world is becoming less and less a safe place to live in. and we ourselves are responsible for this. What kind of a world are we really leaving behind for our next generation? One which is fraught with conflicts and wars and killings and bloodshed, even when there's apparent progress on the surface?
Throughout my years of growing up, I would hear bout the riots at Ayodhya, Bombay, Calcutta-what has changed even when I am grown up? Nothing! What will change when my kids are born? Maybe things will worsen...with countries getting nuke power and so much of under hand dealings going on in trillions of dollars in arms and ammunitions..who is innocent in this fierce war? Maybe no one..but setting aside the blame game..why can't we for once be happy and peaceful with what we have? Why this non-stop ferocious greed to conquer more?
This greed has gotten the better of us everywhere...in financial world..world's most powerful country is now under the most severe financial distress just coz of sheer greed..the rest of the world is reeling under the pressures too...everywhere there's so much of greed..to get more and more and more...why? I understand you need a certain amount of greed perhaps to succeed in life..you need to want something...but when did it cross the limits and reach an extent whereby it was no more manageable?
All I hope is that someday somehow in future..some miracle happens and this world actually becomes a better place to live in..for everyone..from Somalia and Sudan to Chile and Venezuela to Ohio and Detroit to Iceland and Ukraine to Iran and Israel to Pakistan and Bangkok, to Tibet and Indonesia...a safer place to breathe and enjoy life...with no fear. Hope it is less complicated than what it seems now.
I was shocked,stunned and stupefied beyond words...sitting far away from the homeland..and getting such news on international channels..makes us feel so helpless and hopelessly in despair...
what's the world coming down to? Just when I was getting tired of reading endless news about unemployment rates soaring everywhere and people losing jobs rampantly and next year predicted to be even worse...here comes even worse news from my own country about lives being taken and the financial center of the country being held seige by a bunch of mindless, horrifying,murderers or terrorists..whtever they are called..I wish I had more severe adjectives but my mind is just blocked with anger and frustration and shock right now...
What do you do when you are caught in this kind of a situation of borderline anarchy wherein there is no safety whatsoever of your life even when you are living in a time where technology and science have progressed by leaps and bounds and countrie have become financially sound and human race as a whole is supposed to have become more educated and civilized? but honestly..how are we any better of than the stone age people or worse..animals..who keep killing each other? only difference being that humans know how to apply their minds! yes right..apply our minds to do what? kill fellow humans? and for what? in the name of religion? stupid hypocritical beliefs? faith? what does that even mean?
noone in any country is safe in today's world...coz anywhere anyone can be attacked not by robbers or rapists but by terrorists...a bunch of people who themselves have lost their sanity and have no respect for anyone else,forget about respect for themselves. And these people claim that they respect their religion?
A world which also gave birth to peace leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa,Nelson Mandela...is now witnessing world war III-not between any 2 groups but everyone against everyone! But for what? to gain supremacy? over whom? the muslims want to rule the world? no right..coz they themselves are torn apart by their ideals in Iraq, Iran and the entire middle east.
What do they really want? (I concentrate on the muslims here coz there's been widespread evidence that this one religious group is repsonsible for so many terrorist attacks worldwide).
In my linited knowledge, this is beyond me.
All I know is that the world is becoming less and less a safe place to live in. and we ourselves are responsible for this. What kind of a world are we really leaving behind for our next generation? One which is fraught with conflicts and wars and killings and bloodshed, even when there's apparent progress on the surface?
Throughout my years of growing up, I would hear bout the riots at Ayodhya, Bombay, Calcutta-what has changed even when I am grown up? Nothing! What will change when my kids are born? Maybe things will worsen...with countries getting nuke power and so much of under hand dealings going on in trillions of dollars in arms and ammunitions..who is innocent in this fierce war? Maybe no one..but setting aside the blame game..why can't we for once be happy and peaceful with what we have? Why this non-stop ferocious greed to conquer more?
This greed has gotten the better of us everywhere...in financial world..world's most powerful country is now under the most severe financial distress just coz of sheer greed..the rest of the world is reeling under the pressures too...everywhere there's so much of greed..to get more and more and more...why? I understand you need a certain amount of greed perhaps to succeed in life..you need to want something...but when did it cross the limits and reach an extent whereby it was no more manageable?
All I hope is that someday somehow in future..some miracle happens and this world actually becomes a better place to live in..for everyone..from Somalia and Sudan to Chile and Venezuela to Ohio and Detroit to Iceland and Ukraine to Iran and Israel to Pakistan and Bangkok, to Tibet and Indonesia...a safer place to breathe and enjoy life...with no fear. Hope it is less complicated than what it seems now.
Monday, September 8, 2008
3Ps...
That title could mean anything...during my college days in Calcutta, they meant "prem,politics & porashona" (strictly in that order: prem meaning 'love' & 'porashona' meaning studies in Bengali!). During my PhD days in California,I write them to mean "patriotism, politics, parties"(not sure about the order that is and/or the order that should be). Confused?
Circa July4,2008: Hundreds and thousands of people gather in different big cities of the United States to enjoy fireworks,parades, baseball games and celebrate a very special day: the American Independence Day. In the capital city this is further accompanied by live concerts and playing the national anthem in front of the US Congress building where people gather in scores waving the American flag. From Detroit to New York to Florida to San Francisco-it's celebrations time everywhere.And one will be surprised by the number of people who actually come out of their homes, not only to use the national holiday as a day for visiting museums, relatives and amusement parks but also to take part in these festivities, as proud Americans wearing t-shirts/caps that have the emblem of the national flag. And as they gather in one place, you can overhear snippets of conversations about what is going on in Iraq, what should be the next health policy legislation, what should we do about climate change so on so forth-bunch of aware,opinionated,vocal and passionate Americans. It's clear as you hear them whether a person talking is a Democrat or a Republican. Seldom will you come across someone who does not have a view and who is 'independent'. This is fascinating to me!
It suddenly dawns upon me, what is the American Independence all about?Who is it that they got their independence from? Not surprisingly the British who had were the most prominent colonizers in the 1700s. But how many of us living in the US right now really know the details of how America won its independence, how severe were the wars, who were the main freedom fighters so to say,how long did the wars continue etc, without immediately doing a wiki search on it? I bet very few or I could be wrong-does not matter. What matters is they are proud of their country irrespective of what had happened in the past.
Circa Aug15, any year: It's the Indian Independence Day. The PM delivers a speech in the capital city of Delhi, hoists the flag and it's telecast all over the country. How many Indians living in India on that day actually listen to his speech? Maybe the media should do a survey but I would not quote a very optimistic number. I remember 15 Aug newspapers would always be in big volumes coz with every passing year, there's always more to write about the past. They write long provocative articles about the great freedom fighters, the 200 years of oppression, the current 'shining' India and the glorious future. But other than these, what exactly happens in the other big cities of the country? How do we celebrate our Independence Day? Well, it's a national holiday and so we Indians get a day off and hence we......enjoy in our own ways!!
(Surprisingly, a wiki search on July 4 vs Aug 15 yields striking results in terms of the length of things to write about-- in utter contrast to the duration of time for which these 2 countries were under the British colonial rule!!!)
However, if we Indians, were so oppressed for as long as two centuries and if our forefathers gave their lives to win the so coveted freedom and when tons of movies have been made and songs have been written to commemorate this huge event..then why is it that a country of millions of people does not celebrate this most special day with pomp and grandeur, not just in Delhi but EVERYWHERE? If we can have fashion weeks like Paris and Milan and rock concerts inviting Michael Jackson and Bryan Adams and if we can use the images of Mahatma Gandhi in every possible way to glorify our dear country, then why on earth can't we spend money to enjoy this special day with extravagant festivities with flags and the national anthem and blatantly express our pride?
Coz we just don't care enough!
Despite having one of the most brutal and violent freedom struggles in the entire world, we have taken this freedom so much for granted that it does not matter to us anymore.
It may sound silly when I say why we don't celebrate-intellectuals with a lot more 'depth' will say just by celebrating you can't show the love for your country! Well my question to them is, forget what I said but how exactly are we at all showing our love for the country, not just on Aug 15 but on any given day of any given year?
By renaming our major cities in native languages so that they don't have 'foreign' influence in their names? By killing people in the name of 'demand for regional autonomy' as in the North-East? By demolishing mosques to build temples and temples to build mosques? By burning the priests of a church? By instigating riots/strikes at the drop of a hat whenever some demand of some party somewhere is not fulfilled? And I could go on....
When I see hundreds of Americans standing together singing the national anthem to remember their own freedom struggle I think, why have I not ever seen hundreds of Indians do the same thing except for school functions or a few national concerts and shows where it's more a ritual rather than a matter of pride?
Maybe on that particular day, celebrating our independence, standing altogether in one place does count. Maybe holding the flag in our hands and once again listening to Nehru's famous speech does help. To remind us forgetful Indians, what we were, what we are, how we have come this far, what was the extent of sacrifice involved, what we owe to our country and what we should do to move forward---together as one whole....as one entity...Indians.
Maybe there's reason why America today is still world's most powerful nation-despite being perhaps the most disliked country elsewhere. They care less about what others think about them and more about what they think about themselves. They love their country, are proud of it and do not feel ashamed to show that pride to the rest of the world. They criticize bad leaders and glorify the good ones. On their independence day I have seen and felt the expression of patriotism-in every possible way; have seldom seen that back home. They have politics and they have parties-they have problems too and tons of it; but they belong to a nation which values patriotism. Why don't we ever hear a certain state of the US, say Louisiana or Michigan or whichever, in today's new millennium, protest for autonomy? They have diversities too-ethnic,religious and cultural and most importantly in skin color. Yet they coexist-as the most successful nation; as a nation that draws people from all over the world.
We have the largest democracy in the world and a multi party system.
Surprisingly, most young Indians today when asked can't say which party they belong to or which party they support!!! They are mostly 'independent' coz very few people have an idea what each of the zillions of parties we have, stands for! Hence, young, educated middle class Indians often refrain from voting coz we don't know who to vote for! We have opinions and views but after a point of time we don't express it coz we feel hopeless! So we all leave the country for the 'land of opportunity' and feel very patriotic for India from thousands of miles way. We have Indian cultural festivals in the US where we invite Indian celebrities and heck, we even listen to the PM's Independence Day speech on youtube.com !! We even harbor dreams of some day going back to India and do 'something' for the country. And my bet is, as NRIs we will perhaps do more coz from the distance, patriotism genuinely sprouts when you are amongst people from so many different nationalities. So I would at least hope for that.
Circa July4,2008: Hundreds and thousands of people gather in different big cities of the United States to enjoy fireworks,parades, baseball games and celebrate a very special day: the American Independence Day. In the capital city this is further accompanied by live concerts and playing the national anthem in front of the US Congress building where people gather in scores waving the American flag. From Detroit to New York to Florida to San Francisco-it's celebrations time everywhere.And one will be surprised by the number of people who actually come out of their homes, not only to use the national holiday as a day for visiting museums, relatives and amusement parks but also to take part in these festivities, as proud Americans wearing t-shirts/caps that have the emblem of the national flag. And as they gather in one place, you can overhear snippets of conversations about what is going on in Iraq, what should be the next health policy legislation, what should we do about climate change so on so forth-bunch of aware,opinionated,vocal and passionate Americans. It's clear as you hear them whether a person talking is a Democrat or a Republican. Seldom will you come across someone who does not have a view and who is 'independent'. This is fascinating to me!
It suddenly dawns upon me, what is the American Independence all about?Who is it that they got their independence from? Not surprisingly the British who had were the most prominent colonizers in the 1700s. But how many of us living in the US right now really know the details of how America won its independence, how severe were the wars, who were the main freedom fighters so to say,how long did the wars continue etc, without immediately doing a wiki search on it? I bet very few or I could be wrong-does not matter. What matters is they are proud of their country irrespective of what had happened in the past.
Circa Aug15, any year: It's the Indian Independence Day. The PM delivers a speech in the capital city of Delhi, hoists the flag and it's telecast all over the country. How many Indians living in India on that day actually listen to his speech? Maybe the media should do a survey but I would not quote a very optimistic number. I remember 15 Aug newspapers would always be in big volumes coz with every passing year, there's always more to write about the past. They write long provocative articles about the great freedom fighters, the 200 years of oppression, the current 'shining' India and the glorious future. But other than these, what exactly happens in the other big cities of the country? How do we celebrate our Independence Day? Well, it's a national holiday and so we Indians get a day off and hence we......enjoy in our own ways!!
(Surprisingly, a wiki search on July 4 vs Aug 15 yields striking results in terms of the length of things to write about-- in utter contrast to the duration of time for which these 2 countries were under the British colonial rule!!!)
However, if we Indians, were so oppressed for as long as two centuries and if our forefathers gave their lives to win the so coveted freedom and when tons of movies have been made and songs have been written to commemorate this huge event..then why is it that a country of millions of people does not celebrate this most special day with pomp and grandeur, not just in Delhi but EVERYWHERE? If we can have fashion weeks like Paris and Milan and rock concerts inviting Michael Jackson and Bryan Adams and if we can use the images of Mahatma Gandhi in every possible way to glorify our dear country, then why on earth can't we spend money to enjoy this special day with extravagant festivities with flags and the national anthem and blatantly express our pride?
Coz we just don't care enough!
Despite having one of the most brutal and violent freedom struggles in the entire world, we have taken this freedom so much for granted that it does not matter to us anymore.
It may sound silly when I say why we don't celebrate-intellectuals with a lot more 'depth' will say just by celebrating you can't show the love for your country! Well my question to them is, forget what I said but how exactly are we at all showing our love for the country, not just on Aug 15 but on any given day of any given year?
By renaming our major cities in native languages so that they don't have 'foreign' influence in their names? By killing people in the name of 'demand for regional autonomy' as in the North-East? By demolishing mosques to build temples and temples to build mosques? By burning the priests of a church? By instigating riots/strikes at the drop of a hat whenever some demand of some party somewhere is not fulfilled? And I could go on....
When I see hundreds of Americans standing together singing the national anthem to remember their own freedom struggle I think, why have I not ever seen hundreds of Indians do the same thing except for school functions or a few national concerts and shows where it's more a ritual rather than a matter of pride?
Maybe on that particular day, celebrating our independence, standing altogether in one place does count. Maybe holding the flag in our hands and once again listening to Nehru's famous speech does help. To remind us forgetful Indians, what we were, what we are, how we have come this far, what was the extent of sacrifice involved, what we owe to our country and what we should do to move forward---together as one whole....as one entity...Indians.
Maybe there's reason why America today is still world's most powerful nation-despite being perhaps the most disliked country elsewhere. They care less about what others think about them and more about what they think about themselves. They love their country, are proud of it and do not feel ashamed to show that pride to the rest of the world. They criticize bad leaders and glorify the good ones. On their independence day I have seen and felt the expression of patriotism-in every possible way; have seldom seen that back home. They have politics and they have parties-they have problems too and tons of it; but they belong to a nation which values patriotism. Why don't we ever hear a certain state of the US, say Louisiana or Michigan or whichever, in today's new millennium, protest for autonomy? They have diversities too-ethnic,religious and cultural and most importantly in skin color. Yet they coexist-as the most successful nation; as a nation that draws people from all over the world.
We have the largest democracy in the world and a multi party system.
Surprisingly, most young Indians today when asked can't say which party they belong to or which party they support!!! They are mostly 'independent' coz very few people have an idea what each of the zillions of parties we have, stands for! Hence, young, educated middle class Indians often refrain from voting coz we don't know who to vote for! We have opinions and views but after a point of time we don't express it coz we feel hopeless! So we all leave the country for the 'land of opportunity' and feel very patriotic for India from thousands of miles way. We have Indian cultural festivals in the US where we invite Indian celebrities and heck, we even listen to the PM's Independence Day speech on youtube.com !! We even harbor dreams of some day going back to India and do 'something' for the country. And my bet is, as NRIs we will perhaps do more coz from the distance, patriotism genuinely sprouts when you are amongst people from so many different nationalities. So I would at least hope for that.
Friday, September 5, 2008
dreamland...
Just finished listening to Randy Pausch's last lecture and am in a trance of my own.A professor at Carnegie Mellon University with pancreatic cancer and only a few months to live..gave one of the best lectures I have ever heard..about childhood dreams :-) (couldn't help that smile coz pretty much thruout the lecture I have been smiling only to realize how long it's really been since I stopped to notice that am smiling!) and as it always happens with me..this got me into a wondering and wandering mode....asking myself...what were my childhood dreams?
I wanted to be a teacher..as far back as I can remember..when I was only 6 years old..in a fancy dress competition of my school, I dressed up as my favorite teacher(Mrs. Karmakar-I never told her and wonder whether she would ever read this!) wearing false glasses(just the frame and with no glass) and proudly walking with others in the fancy parade.I didn't win but that sure did leave some impression somewhere in my mind when years later I voluntarily chose to be in the academics shunning the lure of the wall-street-type corporate world. And as I write this, I remember my childhood dream all over again..something I had so totally forgotten in the pursuit of more short term objectives and goals and in the mad rush of the last 20 years!!
Do we all have childhood dreams? I bet we do coz as kids we have so much more imagination and such pollution free, simple minds that ANYTHING seems possible. But how often do we really remember what those dreams were, what they meant to us then and how close we are now to fulfilling them, if at all?
And I also realized, even childhood dreams are so much a function of one's own surroundings which in turn get influenced by the whole cultural-social-national-familial gamut of attributes that at times when you sit with a bunch of girls from different countries and hence diverse backgrounds, you realize what a wide range of dreams there can be even amongst kids!
It's all so much a function of where we belong, what kind of set up we are used to and what values are being instilled in us. And it's so much fun to take a stock of things after so many years have passed! As I was growing up and watching more television and traveling more to different cities with my parents who loved traveling, I developed this enormous liking for fashion and 'good life' (of course when I understood what it even meant!) and a love for going to new places and meeting new people. Wherever we would go, I would end up talking to strangers and making friends with them and then after we came back home, would eat up my mom's head about how I so wanted to keep in touch with all my travel-friends! And the fashion and party thing really got me hooked on to it and with it brought a whole new dimension in my dreams..I not only wanted to become a model(and hence appear on the TV of course!) but also wanted to enjoy life--whatever that meant at a young age! and I also wanted to write..I would read these short stories in Bengali and immediately visualize myself writing as well and other people reading whatever I write! The very thought of it was such an adrenaline rush!
And when I look back..it feels good to realize that luckily I had dreams which are not very difficult to accomplish..nothing like being in a space ship or being a national sports player!!!
But my point here is...do we really follow our childhood dreams as we move on with our mundane lives crossing one hurdle after the other, earning one degree after the other and moving from one city to another? Or is it that somewhere in the hectic competitive maddening race to reach 'somewhere' almost on a daily basis, we forget what we actually loved doing when we were kids? How many of us are right now doing things or are close to doing things we wanted to do as kids? I sincerely hope the answer is most of us..coz if it's not, then there's high chance we are spending hours and days living a life we never wanted to but we end up sleeping at night saying it's all a function of destiny!
Well..maybe it is..but maybe sometime if we try we also have the power and the capacity to change our destinies if we really believe in something. Maybe the dreams we had as kids or even as we were growing up, are made of stuff we really feel passionately about and enjoy even thinking about them and maybe what we are doing now is so far removed from it-could be circumstantial pressures, could be so many different reasons but I am sure it's never too late and that it surely is worth giving those things a sincere shot coz after all we do have just one life! And yeah..we would always have demands of others to fulfill...parents,spouses,kids,relatives,friends,bosses yada yada yada..and there would be endless forces trying to pull us away from what we really want to do (coz they would seem impossible now or silly or even absurd to achieve) but maybe that's we love and at the end of the day..we have the right to do something for our own sake too and the heck we deserve it!
When was the last time we had a dream to do something or be someone and when was the last time we wanted to achieve it and went for it?
As I take stock of what my dreams were and where I stand today...I realize the even better part of it...the wonderful journey and the feeling that I am getting an inch closer to fulfilling some dream of mine and that is what counts to me as I go to bed and that is what I want to tell everyone who is reading this...to dream and feel happy about it and maybe even try to accomplish a part of it..and as I write this..I fondly remember a good friend of mine who only today told me to just stop for a while, slow down,take a break and drift away into my favorite dreamland...I did that and trust me friends, it's all so worth it:-)
I wanted to be a teacher..as far back as I can remember..when I was only 6 years old..in a fancy dress competition of my school, I dressed up as my favorite teacher(Mrs. Karmakar-I never told her and wonder whether she would ever read this!) wearing false glasses(just the frame and with no glass) and proudly walking with others in the fancy parade.I didn't win but that sure did leave some impression somewhere in my mind when years later I voluntarily chose to be in the academics shunning the lure of the wall-street-type corporate world. And as I write this, I remember my childhood dream all over again..something I had so totally forgotten in the pursuit of more short term objectives and goals and in the mad rush of the last 20 years!!
Do we all have childhood dreams? I bet we do coz as kids we have so much more imagination and such pollution free, simple minds that ANYTHING seems possible. But how often do we really remember what those dreams were, what they meant to us then and how close we are now to fulfilling them, if at all?
And I also realized, even childhood dreams are so much a function of one's own surroundings which in turn get influenced by the whole cultural-social-national-familial gamut of attributes that at times when you sit with a bunch of girls from different countries and hence diverse backgrounds, you realize what a wide range of dreams there can be even amongst kids!
It's all so much a function of where we belong, what kind of set up we are used to and what values are being instilled in us. And it's so much fun to take a stock of things after so many years have passed! As I was growing up and watching more television and traveling more to different cities with my parents who loved traveling, I developed this enormous liking for fashion and 'good life' (of course when I understood what it even meant!) and a love for going to new places and meeting new people. Wherever we would go, I would end up talking to strangers and making friends with them and then after we came back home, would eat up my mom's head about how I so wanted to keep in touch with all my travel-friends! And the fashion and party thing really got me hooked on to it and with it brought a whole new dimension in my dreams..I not only wanted to become a model(and hence appear on the TV of course!) but also wanted to enjoy life--whatever that meant at a young age! and I also wanted to write..I would read these short stories in Bengali and immediately visualize myself writing as well and other people reading whatever I write! The very thought of it was such an adrenaline rush!
And when I look back..it feels good to realize that luckily I had dreams which are not very difficult to accomplish..nothing like being in a space ship or being a national sports player!!!
But my point here is...do we really follow our childhood dreams as we move on with our mundane lives crossing one hurdle after the other, earning one degree after the other and moving from one city to another? Or is it that somewhere in the hectic competitive maddening race to reach 'somewhere' almost on a daily basis, we forget what we actually loved doing when we were kids? How many of us are right now doing things or are close to doing things we wanted to do as kids? I sincerely hope the answer is most of us..coz if it's not, then there's high chance we are spending hours and days living a life we never wanted to but we end up sleeping at night saying it's all a function of destiny!
Well..maybe it is..but maybe sometime if we try we also have the power and the capacity to change our destinies if we really believe in something. Maybe the dreams we had as kids or even as we were growing up, are made of stuff we really feel passionately about and enjoy even thinking about them and maybe what we are doing now is so far removed from it-could be circumstantial pressures, could be so many different reasons but I am sure it's never too late and that it surely is worth giving those things a sincere shot coz after all we do have just one life! And yeah..we would always have demands of others to fulfill...parents,spouses,kids,relatives,friends,bosses yada yada yada..and there would be endless forces trying to pull us away from what we really want to do (coz they would seem impossible now or silly or even absurd to achieve) but maybe that's we love and at the end of the day..we have the right to do something for our own sake too and the heck we deserve it!
When was the last time we had a dream to do something or be someone and when was the last time we wanted to achieve it and went for it?
As I take stock of what my dreams were and where I stand today...I realize the even better part of it...the wonderful journey and the feeling that I am getting an inch closer to fulfilling some dream of mine and that is what counts to me as I go to bed and that is what I want to tell everyone who is reading this...to dream and feel happy about it and maybe even try to accomplish a part of it..and as I write this..I fondly remember a good friend of mine who only today told me to just stop for a while, slow down,take a break and drift away into my favorite dreamland...I did that and trust me friends, it's all so worth it:-)
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