Desicritics

Movie Review: Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail

Saurabh Datar — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:08:28 EST

Madhur Bhandarkar's latest offering is Jail, which claims to offer an inside view on the unseen world of prisons in India. But sadly, all the promises remain unkept.

It is basically the story of Parag Dixit (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who is a well-to-do manager in a company, has a beautiful girl in his life Mansi (Mugdha Godse) and is earning a healthy salary. But all goes wrong for him when his roommate Keshav is shot at during a police chase involving Parag too. Keshav was also secretly involved in drug trafficking, and Parag gets booked as an accomplice. Thus starts Parag's journey in the "big bad world" of prison, wherein he learns the ropes, while waiting for his case to be heard in court.

The prison has a lot of characters (but obvious) like the caring and truthful Nawab (Manoj Bajpai), the underworld don's accomplice (Aarya Babbar), the helpless Gunny bhai and many more. What the film lacks is good research and a strong screenplay, which is loose in most places. Dialogues are weak, and characters appear to be one-sided and spineless. The court scenes especially are stretched out and monotonous, and the second half of the film drags along like a snail on a road. Sometimes, it takes a detour into sub-plots, which themselves aren't too good to grab some attention.

The music is under par, and the background score is very disappointing, considering it comes from Amar Mohile (of Sarkar and Sarkar Raj). Performance wise, Mugdha Godse has very little to do. Neil Nitin Mukesh himself is inconsistent. Aarya Babbar is good, but his character is pretty much clichéd which takes away most of the credit, But he is certainly noticeable in the film. The only saving grace of the film is Manoj Bajpai, who delivers a fine performance. The only grouse is the banal dialogues he has to deliver, especially during the epilogue.

As a final word, this one can be avoided. Wait for it to come on the TV.

Life On The High Seas

Gauri Warudi — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:14:40 EST

Nectar here we come!

What’s it like? 15 years? It almost seems as if time has stood still where ships at sea are concerned - obviously, what else can we expect?? The sea’s the same, ships are similar - just people change!

But let me start from the very beginning. I’d been preparing for this voyage for almost a year now. Ever since Kartik started his applications for courses abroad and I knew now would be the time for me to join Dilip on his voyage, once Kartik went away. Almost everyone knew of my intended voyage! The background work had been going on for months now and sooner than we knew Kartik had flown off to UK and we assumed(rather we were told) that we too would fly out by the first week of October. However we were in for a surprise when we learnt that our departure was postponed by almost three weeks.

Yet, when the time actually came I still went into a tizzy and got the creepies and anxiety pangs. Oct 23rd we are all packed, reach Mumbai and ready to take off when we hear that our departure has yet again been postponed by a day(further extended by another again)…a friend said, “Relax, enjoy your stay in 5 star comfort”…hey all that’s fine, but once one is mentally prepared to take off, it gets rather irritating to keep waiting…

However, on the flip side, while at The Orchid, Mumbai, on the morning of our departure, we had a pleasant surprise- on our way down to the lobby, who should greet us but Mr Vithal Kamat himself! Here we were, stepping into the elevator, and a churidar-kurta clad, bearded, bespectacled gentleman greets us, saying, “Hello, goodmorning…welcome..I’m the President of this hotel. My name’s Vithal Kamat.” And even before we could react or catch our breath, he continued, “Here’s my visiting card…I usually catch people in the lift so they can’t run away from me,” he adds with a chuckle! We were caught unawares and didn’t know how to respond…he continued talking and guided us towards the duty manager’s table asking him to present us with his book and a couple of copper glasses( a gift item from the hotel!) The book penned by Kamat himself, titled Idli, Orchid and Will Power is a translated version from his original Marathi “Idli, Orchid ani me” It was still unbelievable that we’d actually had a bump-in with the man himself.

Anyway coming back to our departure, Oct 25th we finally headed for the CSIA, to board the flight to Doha and then on to Houston. it was fine up to Doha, but on to Houston it was one long never ending 15 and half hour flight! No major complaints. At Houston airport things went off pretty smoothly, and soon enough we were met by our driver and were on our way to Galveston, where (we were told by a rather minimal speaking Afro-American driver) we were to stay at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort for the night. “O 800 tomorrow,” he said like a school headmaster, while telling us about our pick-up the next morning

Tired and waiting to knock off, we however had to pay heed to our gastronomic needs too, huh? The front office dude tells us with a nasal twang, “Dinner’s closed, your agent didn’t tell us about it…however there’s a deli about a block and half down the road, where you could pick up some food,”…..A block and a half away??? Crazy?? We weren’t in any physical condition to even think about trudging there…nevertheless, Dilip convinced him to order pizzas for us; and by the time we had dinner and slept off it was well past midnight; but boy! How we slept.

The Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort is a sea-front resort and is a pretty sight, the first thing in the morning…it wasn’t day-break yet, but one could see the sea and the beach in the dim lights and it was amazing….. “breakfast is from 6 am onwards,” front office guy(Kevin, I think that was his name) had told us. So like obedient kids, we were ready for breakfast by 7 am. The night was wearing away and a very pretty dawn awaited us, as we sat in the glass front restaurant, munching on bagels with cream cheese (for veggy people like us, the choice was limited!) and sipping coffee. The guy at the restaurant was a genial old man, in his mid-60s perhaps who chatted us up a bit, since we were the only people in for breakfast then.

Breakfast done and check-out finished with, we were on our way to Santa Fe, where we were to board a chopper to reach the ship. It was a 35 minute ride and an experience of a life-time. As we went over the US Gulf, I was excited as well as tense - all the Grisham and Denker novels ran thru my mind, imagining worst case scenarios - hahaha. But no untoward incidents took place and presently the chopper captain was like “Maersk Nectar, Maersk Nectar, helicopter here…landing in about 5 minutes”….wonderful!!

There we were and I went shutter happy clicking pictures from all possible heights/levels/angles…gawsh!! Finally here I was, on board Maersk Nectar and this was to be my home for the next four months!! There’ll be more notes coming now, and am firm I’m gonna make the best of this chance given to me.

The first week on Nectar

No sooner had we landed than Dilip was on his way to take over from the off-signing captain. We reached the Captain’s cabin (cabin? It’s a goddamned suite for Chrissake!!). While Dilip got busy with his work, I got into conversation with Deepa, the captain’s wife. Their l’il girl Disha, took to me as if we had known each other for ages!

Deepa took me around showing me the various decks, the mess room, the galley and other places, while Disha clung to me for dear life. God, some things don’t cease to amaze me!

So while Dilip got busy familiarizing himself with the ship and the people, and taking over from Capt Kirupakaran, I kept myself busy nosing around the cabin and its contents…this suite is a luxury really - opening into the Captain’s office, it leads into a day room and then the bedroom. The day room is huge, with a coffee maker, a fridge, DVD/VCD player, TV, music deck and LOADS of space, these supremely fancy yet comfortable TV chairs and what-have-you.

The returning heli flight got delayed due to some technical hitch and Kirupakaran and family got a bit delayed; so a quick lunch and the problem sorted out, they bid goodbye to us and then it was just us settling in and occupying our spaces for our stuff!! Haha, really funny, how I made myself completely at home, calling a certain drawer ‘mine’ and taking control of it!!

The evening went off in a flurry, what with dinner being served (all meals are buffet) at 6:00 PM and then a walk on the aisle/wing on the deck).

Day 2-

Rested plenty with almost 10 hrs of sleep, I woke up quite early and after a nice cuppa, got ready to begin the day - daylight comes rather late, at around 7:00 am…beginning with a good healthy breakfast, I sat down to watch one movie I’ve been longing to watch, Frost/Nixon. Man, what a film!! Perfect in every way. Although I’d say Frank Langella’s resemblance to Nixon wasn’t perfect, but his histrionics left me spell bound! Superbly crafted and scripted, small wonder that it was nominated for the Academy awards, yet I wonder why MILK beat it, will have to find out, because I haven’t watched Milk. It seems as if Nixon is gonna come outta my ears, what with me having watched All the President’s Men on the flight from Doha to Houston - geez!

“There’s a gym on the ship,” Dilip had told me and Deepa repeated the same. Eager to see the place, I ventured in there. Quite well equipped, it has the basic cardio machines and I am quite content with it - I worked out today for about 25 mins to the music of MJ, one of my fave singers. I tried out the tread mill and the rowing machine…wow! Felt good; and then went right ahead and had a cheese sandwich!! Sheesh! Aahh well, but I guess I’m going to be walking and exercising quite a bit over the next four months, so I shall allow myself the occasional indulgence!

As I was going towards the gym, Chief officer Manish came telling me that they had caught a shark!! Holy Christ, a shark?? “Yes, Ma’am, we’re going to let her off once we show it to Captain,” he announced, so once I was done with the gym and Dilip awoke from his slumber, I went right down to the 2nd deck and took pictures of the hapless baby - she wouldn’t let the bait go out, so it had to be cut off from the line; and then they threw her back into the waters.

The sea was quite choppy; there’s a swell and Dilip explains that had we not been loaded or had we been on a smaller ship (Maersk Nectar is a 3.5 lakh ton ship) people would’ve started getting sea sick oh for small mercies!!

Day 3:

The sea continues to be rough; in fact by the afternoon, they suspect that the anchor is being dragged and they may have to take measures to secure it/put it back in place. Engines are ready if need arises for the ship to be moved and the anchor picked up and dropped again - mercifully there’s no need.

But, as I sit keying in these thoughts, the ship is shuddering a bit-perhaps the anchor will have to be moved? Let's see.

I have been spoiling myself silly, watching films, reading and oh yea, doing some work—like laundry etc!! And I thought I wouldn’t have to lift a finger…hahaha…I reckon its good I have to do some minimal work, otherwise, I’d lose practice and find it difficult when I reach home after 4 months!

If I liked Frost/Nixon yesterday, Sankat City today got me MAD! Grr, why do people make such senseless films? It almost seemed like a diluted and stupider version of another senseless film called Hulchul ( yea, that Priyadarshan film) A huge amount of talent wasted…Kaykay, Anupam Kher - what were they thinking? Chunky Pandey and Rimi Sen - well, the less said the better. Ahh well!

I've been reading Vithal Kamat’s Idli, Orchid and Will Power I don’t think I’m too impressed. Maybe I expected much more. Although it is inspiring, the narrative does not flow smoothly.

Oct 30, 2009

It’s a week since we left home. The sea’s been rough all night. Ship’s been rolling and it felt as if we were being rocked in a cradle! Although it was pitch dark outside, I could see the rain beating down on the port hole and clambered out of bed to capture it on my camera. The sights are all so new, I am shutter-happy all the time.

In the middle of the night, the 2nd officer calls Dilip for some thing. I barely note this and am back into deep slumber for a while. At 6 am though 2nd officer says its raining heavily and visibility is barely 5 miles…that’s when I clambered out of bed….

There’s not been a dull moment hitherto. Weather keeps changing all the time and there’s something fascinating happening every moment…..the day’s just begun!

Oct 31st 2009

The sea has been so calm, the sun has come out and it’s been a beautiful day so far. We had a fire drill and boat drill today. For the first I just had to go to the bridge, but for the boat drill I had to go down to the main deck and join the crew and officers. Go thru the exercise of putting on the life jacket and await while the officers and men lowered the life boat….ahh well, one more experience in my kitty!

While I waited on the bridge, for the fire drill to be over, I saw some dolphins dancing on the starboard side of the ship…a mother and baby perhaps??? Yesterday too, as we were leaving to go down for dinner, 2nd officer Abhay calls in to say, “Captain there are a few dolphins on starboard side, perhaps Ma’am would be interested in seeing them?” Oh yes ofcourse I was!! I ran up the stairs to see them from the bridge wing and tried to take some pictures; but the fellas were too fast for me to be captured!!!

There’s a party being arranged tonight….just an introductory kinda thing. No drinking of course, just games and stuff. People look forward to such events!!

Our cabin: It had been a tiring 24 hrs and more and wasn’t surprising that I knocked off at 8:30 PM!!! Something I’ve never done in the past 10 yrs perhaps!!

All in all I know I’m in for a luxurious holiday…gearing to watch lots of films and do plenty of blogging…there’ll be more coming, watch out!!

Of drills, dolphins and calm seas

Nov 1, 2009

We set our clocks back by an hour last night, so got an extra hour’s sleep!! Went down to the galley to teach second cook (a Fillipino) how to make ‘upma’ I guess I managed to make a decent version of the stuff…lots of unknown/unfamiliar factors, beginning with the quality of the ‘sooji’….aahh well. Now it remains to be seen how the people like it!! Hahaha… Oh but the Fillipino cook really cooks up nice Indian stuff - hats off to him!

Last night we had a few rounds of tambola and yours truly won a small prize of $7!! Small thrills. Back home, I’ve always been unlucky in tambola.

Nov 2, 2009

Ahh what a bright and beautiful day it is today! A long day too, I think…..lots to do, much to key in and more.

As I sit here, I wonder about the wonders of technology. What with the internet, it seems as if we haven’t gone away from home! One has gotten so used to being connected with people, the few days in between that were incommunicado, seemed like ages. Now that we have the internet on board (albeit intermittent) life has returned to normal..(LOL!). Fascinating to say the least. Here I am sitting on the ship, 40 miles inside the US Gulf, and yet constantly in touch with the whole world….if that’s not amazing then what is??

Enough said about the wonders of technology…..I must confess, I stand corrected on the Vithal Kamat book…now that I’ve read every word, sentence and page of the book, I have to admit, it is a hugely inspiring book. My earlier opinion was perhaps rather premature??? Having said that, I also have to reiterate, that the book could have done with better English and a keener editing. Too many typo errors and grammatical mistakes. For a scribe such things don’t go unnoticed!

It’s Guru Nanak Jayanti and Tripurari Pornima today. The moon is full and beautiful! Early in the evening, she had risen in the East and as dusk came on, the changing hues of the horizon and the sea, in that reflected/refracted light, was simply awesome. The reflection of the moon on the sea in the darkness of night, created a very dream like image with the shimmering surface of the waters lending the magical touch to the picture! Naturally I was shutter happy and managed to capture some beautiful sights…..every evening I’m out either on the deck or the bridge wing, looking for the fascinating colors of dusk (dawn isn’t possible, as I’m not much of an early riser!)….life sure is different and one takes a very fresh look at Nature.

Films, galleys and dream homes

Nov 3, 2009

It’s a week today, since we came on board. Days seem to have just flown by. It makes me think about how the next 15 weeks will go by. Perhaps we will continue to remain here, anchored off Galveston or sail off elsewhere. Who knows? Any which way, it’s a relaxed time for me.

While taking an early morning walk on the deck today, we saw different types of little and medium sized birds hopping on the deck, keeping us company…a partridge like bird, a sparrow(??) and of course sea-gulls and swallows are always there, but later in the evening. These little early birds reminded Dilip of such visitors on board when they sail. He narrated how these birds sit on the foremast or on the bridge wing and move with the ship, but a few days later are found dead on the deck…lost their way, left behind or hungry!!!! Such is life and such is Nature!

That brings me to a typical day on board the Nectar--

Wake up by around 6:00 am, freshen up, have tea and go for a walk on the deck. By 8:00 am, get ready for breakfast. Then the day's all mine to read, watch films, surf the net, blog, chat until lunch time that's 12:00 noon.(We have net access on ever alternate day). Again all afternoon relax, gym at 3:30 PM, relax, walk on the bridge wing maybe,and then dinner at 645pm. Post dinner its again reading, writing, walking and then watching film with Dilip if he is free from his work. or then lights out by 830 PM!! Can't believe am actually knocking off so early...wonders never cease, now do they??

Nov 4, 2009

“Maqsad bagair zindagi ka koi matlab nahi hota,” says Victor Banerjee to little Tahaan. I just watched the film Tahaan by Santosh Sivan A very touching film, about misplaced ideals, and end of innocence; there’s a positive end to it all though, but I wonder is this reality? Nevertheless, what the old man tells l’il Tahaan is so true. We have to have a goal to reach, aim to achieve-otherwise life becomes meaningless - am I getting philosophical? Maybe!

The second officer signed off yesterday. He was going home after 6 mths and you could see the excitement on his face while he was leaving. The new guy came in with plenty of goodies like DVDs and magazines and stuff - small joys for people who are here on board without much to look forward to by way of entertainment.

So last night we tried hard to watch at least a part of two really horrid films (from the freshly arrived DVDs. LOL!). Quick Gun Murugan and Do Knot Disturb. Good Lord! I wonder why on earth do people make these films and who on earth finances such disasters!

Out of the newspapers the second officer got, we had this huge heap of issues of the Houston Chronicle. It was fun reading the local news and also looking at the various sales and related stuff announced thru a pile of flyers and sales mailers!!(typical of all US papers)

I got some cheap thrills going thru the realty pages. Dream homes being sold at varied prices. Ranging from $200,000 upwards!! Oh to own one such house!

At the same time, I read an article about various homes lying vacant due to forced-eviction of people who have failed to pay back their loans. These homes are in shambles and are being maintained by some alert and aware neighborhood youngsters in a bid to keep the realty price in check! So much for dream homes, huh??

This morning, it was decided that tonight’s dinner would be Idli-sambar-chutney…no, it wasn’t an impromptu decision - actually, hua youn ki, almost 2 dozen coconuts had been called for in the ship’s provisions list. Now, no one had a clue as to what was to be done with them, ‘cos you see, if the coconuts were broken, how does one use them, since there was no coconut scraper on board! Now that’s a genuine difficulty ain’t it? So the chief engineer got a scraper made, and then began the planning of how and who would scrape the coconuts? Well, to cut a long story short, they asked me if I’d prepare/teach Chief cook to prepare sambar and chutney. Well, why not? So there we were, getting ready with all the raw material, masalas and what-have-you. Chief cook insisted I should teach him and he’d make the chutney himself.(This dude has a great deal of interest in his work, I must admit most Indian cooks wouldn’t do their work so passionately)

Well, that’s how we went about it. It was a great hit…cook prepared wonderful, fluffy idlis (the instant mix kind) and the sambar and chutney simply added to the joy! All in all a nice dinner…finished off with some nice cinnamon cake.

Now, how can one hope to stay fit and fine? No amount of walking and gymming is going help, I say! Phew!

Change, or the Climate Will Change You!

jay — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:44:56 EST

It is going to be hot in Copenhagen this winter. That is because the United Nations Climate Change conference is beginning in that city on December 7. There is a lot at stake for many nations in this conference as time has come to reach a deal on climate change after postponing the problem for several decades. The Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 and effective from 2005 has been patchy in its effects. The situation has changed considerably in the past decade and awareness about the problem has risen significantly in the past few years. It is no longer beneficial for any nation to behave like an ostrich with its head in the sand when it comes to climate change.

India is one of the more significant players on the field here. The minister for Environment Mr. Jairam Ramesh has been twisting and turning to find the appropriate stance that is palatable to all. As a rising power it is extremely important for India to be seen as a part of the solution rather than as a part of the problem. To be fair, this is the dilemma that all the major nations face. The level of discussions have reached a point where it is no longer fashionable to engage in shouting matches looking to pin the blame for this problem on developed nations anymore. The need of the hour is concerted action from all corners.

It is a battle between the developing and developed nations with China and India assuming leadership of the former while the US and EU are ranged on the latter's side. In my opinion, India needs to act as a bridge between the two sides to play a constructive role in this bargain. The fact of the matter is, whether you like it or not, China is not a reliable partner in this endeavour. China has many strategic aspects to consider including its enhanced role in the world. They can ditch the coalition to appease the crowd in the opposite camp. This is a major cause of worry for India while coming up with its nuanced position.

What is even more critical in my opinion, whether the climate change negotiations bring about legally binding commitments or not, is to start working on implementing the solutions. On this front, China is a leader both on the ground in implementing and at the negotiation table scoring brownie points.

Consider this:

China passed a renewable energy law in 2005 which mandates feed-in power from renewable resources into the energy grid. The aim is to meet 10% of the power needs of the country through renewable sources by 2020. India does not have a law nor a plan of this nature.

More than 10% of the homes in China have solar water heaters installed. India's number is much less.

On Electric cars, China is well ahead in the game compared to the rest of the world. Several companies like Lishen, Coda, SAIC, BYD, Chery have specific plans to make electric cars with several models already on the street. India only has Reva. Also, China is far ahead even compared to the US when it comes to battery technology for electric cars - the most important piece in the electric car jigsaw puzzle. Combined with its manufacturing prowess, this gives China a tremendous advantage in the coming years.

To its embarrassment, China is a world leader in using carbon generating energy sources like coal (India is third). It is quite clear though that the country has taken a decisive turn to address its problems and to move towards a carbon-mitigating future. And when China makes a decision, it sticks to it. It is up to India to make similar moves as soon as possible to jostle for leadership in this space. Even though we may have several constraints including finding the funds for it, it is quite clear that alternative energy is the future.

India needs to gain the strategic and the moral high ground in this game to be a recognized leader of the world. Can we do it?

Poetry: Mdantsane Nights - Poems of Mdantsane

Amitabh Mitra — Thu, 5 Nov 2009 17:20:47 EST

lulama hurries home
mdantsane enters a war zone
an evening creeping into a shelter
of spoken shadows
a dying night screams somewhere
the last breath snatched without pity
happiness now brims in the slaughter
of the unforgotten.

Poem and Drawing by Amitabh Mitra

When Dyscalculia Strikes

Deepti Lamba — Thu, 5 Nov 2009 13:28:49 EST

I stood at the ATM machine and fumbled. I had forgotten the numbers. There was a dude talking away on his cell phone next to the other ATM machine. I fed in the numbers and the ICICI machine showed a grumpy face. I got stressed and I had brain freeze. Numbers danced before my eyes and I felt a surge of panic drown my lungs and bank against the back of throat demanding a scream and I blinked.

My disability kicked in and I knew I had to lay off the machine. My daughter grabbed my fingers and asked why we were returning home without money and I bit back the comment that we were returning home because her mother was an idiot. Self recriminations are the side effects of my disability that I give in to once in a while.

Driving back home, I got a call someone asking for my husband's cell number and in my stressed out mode I mixed up the cell numbers. The person called back and my mind drew a blank again and panic rose again. Numbers skidded and slipped as if on thin ice before my eyes and as I shifted the gears of the car, I apologized and gave the correct number again hoping I didn't let myself down again.

The individual on the other end must have thought I was an idiot. I, too, called myself an idiot - an idiot who couldn't help herself because of her disability.

Dyscalculia is not easily accepted by people. It isn't as simple as forgetting numbers or being bad at simple maths. Its about being colour blind when it comes to maths. The brain interprets everything differently - the values of numbers seem flexible, they blend into each other like warm reds blending into the cool blues, giving you a muddy black that makes no sense. Its a vortex that sucks the person in and panic steps in, aggravating the situation further.

Dyscalculia fucks up my sense of direction. Under stress I mix up my right and my left. Put me in the driving seat and scream -right- RIGHT! and I will inadvertently take left. Stress isn't good for a person suffering from dyscalculia.

The mind shuts down, unable to process or perhaps unwilling to process. Its a disability that I have to live with and I have to live with people trying to explain to me that it isn't a disability. I then have to extricate myself from a long drawn conversation as delicately as I can since their intention is to make me feel better about myself, as if the stigma of the term disability shouldn't smudge my sense of self-worth.

But it does cause little tremors to shake my sense of well being when it strikes, and that's natural. Wouldn't a blind man feel fucked up if he found himself in the middle of speeding cars and there was no way of getting to safety? Wouldn't he rue his disability?

But I live normally despite my disability, what choice do I have? I could scream there is more to me than my disability but it isn't the world I'd crying it to but to myself in those blinding moments when helplessness gnaws my innards.

I feel like a dog bound on a short leash, knowing her potential and yet held back by what is obviously not under her control. Its a feeling I have come to accept and yet continue to rage against. Its a disability - something I have to work around, something that makes me a wee bit different from majority of people and something I have accepted but rage against once in a while.

India v Australia: Sachin Tendulkar Delivers In Aces

Aaman Lamba — Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:04:11 EST

It was a pitch made for batsmen. India and Australia faced off in the 5th ODI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. It was a dry wicket and Ponting naturally chose to bat first when he won the toss. Munaf Patel and Gautam Gambhir were brought in by the Indians, while the Australians made three changes.

The Australian batting started somewhat slowly and they were 56 after 10 overs. Watson and Marsh pushed the score to 126 after 20 overs and stayed at the crease until Shane Watson was caught by Jadeja off Bhajji for 93 in the 26th over. Ricky Ponting and Marsh carried on the attack, taking Oz to 236 in 39 overs, when they lost Ponting. Marsh went on to 112, and Cameron White provided a surge of runs, scoring 57 (2x4 5x6) in his inning, being caught by Tendulkar off Praveen Kumar in the last ball of the inning. Australia ended at a handsome 350/4, setting India a stiff target.

The Indian batting started somewhat tentatively, allowing Sachin Tendulkar to cross the significant record of 17,000 runs in ODIs, the highest for any batsman. Following this achievement, Tendulkar soon enough took charge, and India were 68/1 after 10 overs, having lost Virender Sehwag in the 8th over for 38 with a run rate of 126. Gautam Gambhir didn't last long, and neither did Yuvraj Singh or Dhoni, but Sachin soldiered on, finding his groove with SK Raina, and crossed his century, and then the 150 run mark, with Raina making over 50 runs. Raina was caught by Manou off Shane Watson in the 43rd over for 59 (a run rate of 100), and India lost Harbhajan Singh in the same over. As Jadeja got his feet wet in the 44th over, India took the mandatory Powerplay in the 45th over. 46 runs were needed off 36 balls, and the Master Blaster, or God as some called him, stood at 172.

There were some close shaves, and India reached 320 after the 46th over, with 670 runs scored off this fine ground. Ravindra Jadeja took two successive boundaries to the exultation of the crowds. The 47th over brought in 12 runs, leaving 19 off 18 balls. Sachin Tendulkar fell off the next ball, leaving the field to a standing ovation, scoring 175 off 141 balls. Ravindra Jadeja seemed to come unhinged, losing his wicket to a foolish run-out, and India were left stranded at 333/7.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh had pulled off an impressive win against Zimbabwe, scoring 222/9 in 49 overs. Thus, one might believe this could be an achievable target for the Indians. The Indian team had lost their anchor, though, and it showed on the field, with desperate attempts at runs between the wickets, almost as if the tail-enders wanted to give their icon a victory to crown his record.

Cricket is not just about winning, though, and Ashish Nehra was caught on the first ball of the 49th over. A six followed though, by Praveen Kumar, showing the game was not over till the last ball. India needed 7 runs off the last over at 341/9.

Praveen Kumar took strike after Munaf scored a single, but returned it back to Munaf, the two traded again, with 5 needed from 3 balls. Unfortunately, there was a hair's breath run out, and Praveen Kumar was run out, leaving Australia victorious.

In a TED India talk at Mysore today, Harsha Bhogle praised the Twenty20 Format for reinvigorating cricket. Today's One-day International showed why it didn't need any revitalization, particularly between two great teams.

The Symbionese Liberation Army - US Naxalism Nipped in The Bud

Ledzius — Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:04:04 EST

Most Indians would have never heard of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a revolutionary pro-black militant group in the US that lasted from 1973-75.

It was founded by Donald DeFreeze, a black. He had escaped from prison while serving a sentence for robbing a prostitute.

He was convinced that the large black prison population in the US was a white conspiracy against blacks. Therefore he started this group to liberate blacks, through violent means if needed.

The SLA had a number of white supporters. In fact, DeFreeze was its only black member.

During the two-year period of its existence, it had committed bank robberies and two murders.

But the most notorious incident which catapulted it to fame was the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst (who is the subject of the classic movie Citizen Kane). In an interesting twist, she became a victim of Stockholm syndrome and became a member of the group, and even participated in a robbery by it. The picture shows her posing in front of the symbol of the SLA.

The SLA's success was quite short-lived. DeFreeze, along with a few other members, died in a shootout with the police in 1974, less than two years after his escape from prison.

The SLA managed to survive after DeFreeze's death and went underground for a while. It finally died when Patty Hearst was arrested along with another female member in September 1975. She served 21 months in prison and was eventually pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

The SLA has a lot of interesting parallels to India's Naxalism. Like the SLA, the initial support for Naxals came from leftist intellectuals from the upper classes of society (like Kobad Ghandy).

Both the SLA and Naxalism believed that the underprivileged (Dalits in India and blacks in the US) could never receive a fair deal from the socio-political system, and were therefore subversive and anti-establishment.

I wonder what would have happened had the SLA thrived and created a black militant movement instead of dying off. In India, Naxals operate in rural areas. In the US, black militants would have operated out of inner city neighbourhoods.

Given the high rate of gun ownership in the US (even among blacks and Latinos), traditional law enforcing agencies like police departments would have had a tough time dealing with it. Just like in India, a plain law and order situation would have been projected as a race war.

Just like in India, it would have led to excesses committed by both sides, with innocent blacks caught in the cross-fire.

I am not ruling out other movements in the near future catching on and attaining critical mass. When the police officers who brutalised Rodney King were acquitted, Los Angeles erupted in flames. A few more incidents like this will see the rise of another militant black movement, this time much longer lasting and more vicious than the SLA.

The Times of India - Not For You and Me?

Truman — Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:12:36 EST

The Times of India's website carries a report on how the late Andhra CM, YSR Reddy met a sudden death on his Bell chopper. With the report, it also carries a picture of the body of the CM, that was found by the search party more than 24 hours of the disappearance. The picture is probably the most horrifying picture I have ever seen on any leading media house's website. Charred remains of the body of a man beyond visual recognition are out there for full view. A link below invites you to see more pictures. Its gory enough to make the average human being feel sick and maybe puke out.

As I write this, below the link and the story are about 37 comments posted by people like you and me. Out of these 37, at least 26 people have condemned or requested (or both) the TOI editors to remove the picture of the corpse as it defies sensitivities and sensibilities. The comments section is moderated by someone at TOI, surely not someone like you and me -- for moderation means that the comments are read. And since the picture is still there after 24 hours of the story, it probably means that someone at TOI does not give a damn.

But yes, the story features in the "Most commented" section of the website.

I think responsible organizations and media houses draw their own lines in reporting and journalism. Ideally, I think every single word and picture that goes into the website should pass through the same filtering that is applied to its counterpart in the print media. I raise up this point because the same article in print, in yesterday's TOI's copy does not carry this gory picture. Clearly, the filtering mechanism, if it ever existed for Times Of India's website, failed here. And since the forum below the article at the website is moderated, it would be a safe assumption that the comments of the readers were read but those guys at the TOI chose to discard them. It is dangerous -- a newspaper is supposed to be for the people. Is this newspaper run by insensitive incompetents?

Among all things, it baffles me what TOI achieved by letting this picture be a part of their online article. Does a degree of real life horror and vulgarity help them getting more hits? And more comments? Even if the comments are nothing but a collective condemnation of the report?

Poem: Through The Spider's Web

Kashkin — Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:33:36 EST

In the bars of Havana, let's sit down together
Let's stumble upon conversations of new dimensions
Let's go fly fishing, in the deep blue ocean
Where once characters were drawn
The old sketch book and its torn pages
Let's see it ourselves again, through antiquity

Echoes that are drawn out from that stillness
Inside you, the celestial objects, as I turn to look
As dolphins follow the human touch, amidst that chaos
As tales of laughter and journeys return to paper
Relief from the episodes of madness, the momentarily bliss
The old sketch book and its torn pages,
Let's see it ourselves again, through antiquity

As I make notes in haste, as I write on yellow sheets
All that destruction that the mind has created
The old relationship of the intellect and reasons
As the old butterflies find refuge in metaphors of deserts
The masses on the move, stories of revival and its spirit
As moons follow us in its stupor, as I walk out in Havana

Let's roar ourselves into these deep blue oceans
Let's speak of the world and its clocks in between
The beautiful faces entombed in its own reflections
In bars of Havana, let's sit down together
You catch and I watch, through spider's web
The old moons and the world in between
The old dust as the characters begin to born
Let's see it ourselves again, through antiquity
Stands there alone, with all the stories of time
In the bars of Havana, as I watch the distant moon
From the days of the desert to the eternal times
Through the spider's web, for momentarily bliss!

Smoking, Cancer and Maoism

Suresh Naig — Tue, 3 Nov 2009 10:10:06 EST

We all know how easy it is to get into the habit of smoking and how difficult it is to get out of it. In spite of several efforts by the health ministry, by banning smoking in public places such as hotels & restaurants, Airports, Railway Stations and Bus stations smoking habit has not abated. Even conveying the statutory warning visually has done precious little, in weaning the habit. However we all know that people eventually stop smoking once afflicted by lung or throat cancers. Cancer only ultimately stops a person from smoking. Honestly, how many of us would prefer cancer as a cure for smoking?

Once a person is afflicted with cancer, it is combated with equally painful treatments as that of the cancer. No sane person would resort to a futile analysis of how the cancer is caused at this stage. In the case of cancer of the human body we all accept it as a malady and all of us are very clear as to the treatment, however painful it might be.

In the case of Maoism many of us lose sight in recognizing it as a disease. Whatever could be the reason for the existence of Maoism – social, economic, fanatic or a plain idiosyncrasy, Maoist terrorism should never be accepted as a mere manifestation of something else, but a disease by itself. Apparently Maoism survives due to social and economic disparities, from which it derives its sustenance and how one could expect the movement to eradicate its survival plank?

In other words, even if we buy the argument that the Maoists are striving for the upliftment of the deprived, wouldn’t they turn redundant once the cause is removed.

Certainly the movement would invent other reasons to exist, because for them the cause is secondary, but the enemy is the establishment. That is the reason the movement miserably failed in Nepal, because they became their own enemy by becoming the establishment. Democracy is a lesser evil with in-built safety measures towards improvement, whereas Maoism is a movement with evil propensities towards leading a nation to doom.

Let us not look up to cancer as the effective step to stop smoking.