Calcutta Diaries 1

28 May Thursday

Arrived in Kolkata on the 28 th morning at 11. The flight by Indigo was comfortable but I was pretty tense, I guess I am still a huge nube with air travel. also the pilot wanted to land in the main runway but did not get clearance and hence was forced to land in a alternate runway, this contributed to my tension too! Got a prepaid taxi to Jadavpur, was a breeze, the taxi system should be implemented with Madras autos...taximan was on Mr.Ali, told him sheepishly that I could follow Bangla but did not speak any Bangla. asked for running commmentary on the route, found the parts near the airport to be small townish, reminded me of Trichy strangely but soon Ali showed me a Macdonalds (man the americanos want to make the world uniformly shitty :-P)! Not many surprises, Aila has smothered the suburbs. Madipakkam and Velachery need not feel special, all suburbs are meant to be f**ked when it rains. Ali strongly advises to first visit the Kali Bari before beginning my tour of the rest of Central Kolkata, strange considering he is probably a muslim. Kali must be a secular symbol of Calcutta....Ali was happy about the recent electoral reverses of CPM since he is a long time Congress supporter....Damn phone does not work, got a Calcutta phone later...reached IACS and met KS and we almost immediately launched into discussion of what we will work on, interesting stuff ahead....Had great lunch and followed it up with a nap...damn the jet lag, 2 days in Chennai helped but still tired around 4 in the evening...follow it up with excellent chinese dinner at Bawarchi (is this the Sunil Shetty chain??) sadly no hyderbadi biryani on the menu and even if there was my veggie brain might have missed it...the guest house is brilliant, ac and also tea, breakfast in the morning! Crash at 1:00...oh and Kolkata's humidity is very different from Chennai's, Chennai seems drier compared to here, the herr Mayo was right! :)

 

29 May Friday

Great day, good breakfast. Met a grad student from S's group at HRI. Discuss what's going on in grad schools here and also how computing facilities can be improved to tackle the massive needs of the particle physics community post LHC results...work at the library in the morning,followed up with long lunchtime meeting with KS, task identified. Afternoon was ok, still jet lagged and had roadside chai later. Got out around 7, called old friend A...he is part of corporate India now and decide to randomly join him for a Salsa party in the night...Salsa party was pretty loud, lots of very beautiful women and men who dance well.. was mere onlooker, what can you do when you have 200 left feet? had good dinner, couple of beers, the lounge was generally nice, very swish.somewhere near Park Street I am told (fort knox is the name of the building)....notice that I had passed through Shakespeare Sarani...it happens only in Kolkata I believe :) notice lots of police presence on the way back near Park street etc, post Mumbai attacks any place frequented by non-Indians seems to be recieving attention, I would probably increase police protection everywhere, infact protecting citizens must be the first goal.....Satisfying day all in all, crash for a 'good' night's sleep!

Of bees, newton's law and the nature of intelligence

I saw a bee today inside the bus on the way to work. It was desperately trying to run away from the "monster" chasing it, nothing but the back wall of the bus. Now the question that arose in my mind was, why did the bee not slip right down to the floor of the bus? Does it not realise it need not run away from anything then? (of course some dumb-ass might step right on it but in the physicist bee's world, buses are full of vacuum :) )
This led me to the question that if the bumble bee realised this aspect of survival, does it mean that it has learnt Newton's laws? It is fascinating to think if one can do this bee in the bus experiment in a controlled environment to "teach" them Newton's law. This opens doors to many questions including whether there are clever bees, dumb ones etc. This can throw more light on to a often quoted (or mis-quoted) "herd" behaviour amongst smaller animals. Finally, the article about teaching Newton's law for robots which led me to this line of thinking:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090403/jsp/frontpage/story_10767237.jsp

beautiful!

Can you bring together  Moulin Rouge, Mera Naam Joker, Isha Sherwani, Hrithik Roshan and more colours! Yes we can says Zoya Akhtar, take a look at this awesomeness (I usually do not fall for bollywood movie numbers but the choreography in this song is breathtaking!)

இனி என் சிந்தனைகளை தமிழில்க்கூட வெளியிட வாய்ப்பளித்த  கூகளுக்கு நன்றி!

The female god

one thought

touch, smile and yes

a new life

where am I,

where would I have been?

Watch Out

As the year draws to close, I have to admit it has been one of the most fulfilling year for an Indian cricket nut! It is strange that although there has not been a single big win but a set of confident victories (yes, I did call the Aussie bashing series win in India not a single big win). Many a time in the past Indian teams have achieved some big wins but they proved to be flash in the pan and the manner of the team was more of the underdog winning against the odds. Dhoni's men seem to truly understand that they have it in them to be the best team in the world. On this note I think it is a good opportunity to list the set of people (yet to prove themselves) who will contribute to making this team the best and also the set of people who will fight to ensure this does not happen, Watch out for:
Batters:

Rohit Sharma --- The next big thing after Sachin from Mumbai? His temparament is often under question but talent wise he is in line to be a master batsman.

Shaun Marsh ---- This Aussie guy has cricket in his blood and he can hit the ball as far as anybody has ever done, ask the IPL watchers! With the emergence of attacking batsmen like Sehwag as central performers in test cricket, Shaun Marsh is an ideal Test batsman in the new era.

J.P. Duminy --- This guy is a proven ODI performer who has come of age with a gutsy performance in one of the most demanding places to play cricket. He seems to ooze with confidence that stems from having played international cricket for a while. South Africa's middle order is secure in such hands.

Bowlers:

Ishant Sharma: The find of the year for India, what can one say, finally India have a true fast bowler who is also ready to slog it out irrespective of the conditions. As some believe this may be his greatest advantage and possibly a factor that can burn him out. Well, forget what happens later, let us relish him as long as he lasts!

Amit Mishra: This guy is a proven performer at the domestic level and shone against the Aussies. He is a gutsy old fashioned leggie who can turn the ball. He has to take a leaf out of the accuracy book that was the domain of his erstwhile captain, Jumbo.

Dale Steyn: He has proven himself at the international level, but South Africa's future is tied to whether he can be consistent like Donald & co.

Paul Harris: Again a spinner who does not mind tossing it up. He has to come to the party to make South Africa a worthy successor to Aus and a regular challenger for India.

Mitchell Johnson: He, along with Zaheer Khan, has effectively made sure that Wasim Akram will not be the last left arm great to grace the game. His discipline and craft promises a long successful career.

Australian Spinner: What? Aussie spinner? I think I will have to leave this blank but I will fill this place with another spinner who can single handedly take his country to the top, Ajantha Mendis. This guy is a freak in the true sense of the word, if things go right he could be the most unconventional success cricket has ever produced.

All in all, the next decade is going to be a great one for cricket watchers and I hope twenty twenty does not eat up test cricket!

Decembers in Madras

As I listen to MMI's rendition of Rangapuravihara, I am flooded by memories of many a December night of sleeping in the balcony where the gentle breeze put me to sleep. Mornings would dawn before the sun came out, MSS's version of the same song gently wafting in from the speakers of the nearby temple, coupled with the blissful aroma of fresh coffee from the kitchen. Evenings would be spent on more music from the 'season'. Madras in December is closest to heaven on earth :)

Jumbo!

Thankyou Anil Kumble for showing the world that the only indispensable quality to achieve greatness is the willingness to toil for it. If there was any cricketer whose commitment has never been under the scanner even for a passing moment, it has to be Jumbo. Time and again he has won matches for India single handedly and brought joy to the entire nation. He will continue to inspire a lot of cricketers and common men alike!

A conversation

Bum:(piss drunk and also smoking) Hello, can I get time.
me: what?
b: time(pointing at his wrist)
me:oh sorry, I dont have a watch!
b: you Indian/Pakistani? Pakistani?
me: (stunned, looking at that guy, looks not caucasian, a bit brown but very mediterranean!) No
I am Indian!
b: Brahmachari! Shashi Kapoor? do you know?
me: heard of it but I am not sure! I have not watched many old hindi movies, sorry!
b: You Indians have everything! music, cinema what not!
me: hmm! yes you are right( confused.... :))
b: (some incoherent stuff!)
me: sorry I dont get you. (oh man this guy is crazy!)
b: (says something, I figure out he is speaking french!)
me: i am sorry, I cant understand french! I speak english.
b: (slightly angry and flustered, probably thinks I am an pro-English crazy guy) You english very small! (puts his cigarette butt down and rubs it on the pavement and says) French do this to English!
me: OK! (this guy is getting on my nerves)
b: you know Nehru? he was in Paris, he was English (wtf? Nehru english?) he was small! Paris
me: alright I dont get you!
b: (loses interest walks away and sits on a dust bin!)

Dr. 'Meesai' I.S. Murugesh

Did you know that Meesai Murugesh played with Shakti band? I am bowled over by this discovery on the web. Basically I was listening to this old Shakti concert
At some point in the concert, John McLaughlin introduced a percussionist Murugesh as one of the greatest living percussionists. I was puzzled and a little bit of googling revealed that this guy was none other than our own Meesai Murgesh, who I knew was a crazy innovator who could make a zillion sounds and also play the thavil. His flair for comedy was showcased in a couple of Balachander movies but this new info just blows my mind!
Another Shakti concert where Murugesh played

Women

Its evening
Has been a day where I barely speak a word.
Lonely it was, then comes along this whiff of fresh air
I go crazy, saying stuff that I don't mean, will that make me special?
Thinking instead of existing, speak one too many, words they suck!
It ends on a happy note, so do I think. Until I realise,
I was pathetic, for she said less than me :)
Life falls flat

German Humour

The United Nations initiated a poll with the order "Please tell us your honest opinion about the lack of food in the rest of the world." The poll was a total failure. The Russians did not understand "Please". The Italians did not know the word "honest". The Chinese did not know what an "opinion" was. The Europeans did not know "lack", while the Africans did not know "food". Finally, the US Americans didn't know anything about the "rest of the world"!!

Source::http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_humour

He and She

She was a bitch
so said every sane lady
She said things that were true
She was truth, of our lives and theirs
I loved her.
-------------------------------------------------------------
He laughed, that was his signature
A laugh that can send your roof flying
He spoke as if he owned the world
And you paid him taxes,
He loved people
He said so when he was drunk!

The Death Of Free Television Media in India

With the acquiring of stakes in NDTV by NBC added to the association of IBN with CNN, two of the most daring and free spirited journalists who launched the Indian TV media revolution have fallen prey to trashy American media. This marks the beginning of the end of professional and sincere TV journalism in India!
To Hell with Rajdeep Sardesai and Prannoy Roy!

Taare Zameen Par

Every Indian parent must see this movie! Aamir Khan-- the director has arrived!

Ponniyin Celvan

Over 14 months ! I have finally completed Kalki's magnum opus Ponniyin Celvan, a five part novel in Tamil. Its amazing how I have been so ignorant about the rich literature of Kalki Krishnamurthy for large parts of my life.
I can immediately conjure up a few reasons,
I went to an English medium school and did not even formally learn Tamil for more than 3 years of my entire schooling!
Literature has little or no place in popular Tamil culture which has come to be defined and dominated by cinema and stupid politics.
Its been a while since Kalki wrote his books?
Kalki was a Brahmin and a forward thinking one at that! He was exactly the kind of Brahmin Karunanidhi and other dravidian ideologues refused to acknowledge the existence of! (As an aside I have to describe this scene in the movie Periyar, when Gandhi asks EVR whether there are no good people amongst Brahmins at all and cites Gokhale as an example! To this EVR in his characteristic wit and sharpness retorts, " If a Mahatma like you can see only one good brahmin , how can normal people like us see any good in them", I doubt if Periyar ever gave a thought about Kalki)

All said and done I am extremely satisfied that I have finally managed to read a full length novel and a classic at that. I have now become fairly familiar with the Kalki genre of Literature having read a couple of his shorter novels and non-fiction writing. Most notable among these is the book called "Sangita Vizhakkal". This work talks about how Carnatic Musicians in TN started accepting Tamil sahityams and giving them equal importance in comparison to other compositions predominantly in Telugu or Sanskrit! Here Kalki's love for Tamil shines through but he also shows how love for one language need not mean hating other languages( the message for linguistic fundamentalists!) I think it is now time for me to look beyond Kalki and read more modern writers like Jayakanthan. This marks the end for a conscious choice that I made two years ago. I promised to myself that I will read more Tamil literature than English for a couple of years. I have done that and from now on I hope to balance my time between English and Tamil. I got to know about sensible science fiction from Dr.Sitabhra Sinha's(IMSc) webpage and would like to try that genre since I seem to have done very little SF genre after Michael Crichton in high school!

Taslima Nasreen

As an young 10th grade student with naive thoughts about religion, fundamentalism and life in general I discovered this book called "Lajja" which was supposed to be a banned book. It was not a profound piece of literature, considering I have come to read better works in English, but it had an honesty and helplessness about it that nobody has managed to replicate. It was dubbed anti-Islamic but in reality it was anti-fundamentalism at its best and feminism portrayed with rare poignance. Even as a 15 year old I could understand this, but it got widespread condemnation from the Islamic world. I have come to know since then that Taslima had various things to say on Islam some of which were derogatory. I dont have exact knowledge of everything she said but the general import of her statements is that she was trying to voice the concerns of women in Islamic societies.

In 2007 December Taslima is in news again caught in a web of fascist/communist politics and pseudo secularism that has come to play a defining role in Indian social life. The central government must be smiling ear to ear watching the CPI in Bengal behave like the Nazis in Nandigram and then trying desperately to divert attention away from that to Taslima. But the Congress refuses to condemn CPI's conduct of Taslima fearing repercussions from its muslim vote banks! It is crazy how Pranab Mukherjee gave this stupid caveat after promising protection for Taslima::
"Those given shelter in India have always undertaken to eschew political activities in India or any actions which may harm India’s relations with friendly countries. It is also expected that the guests will refrain from activities and expressions that may hurt the sentiments of our people."
As Arundhati Roy pointed out in a IBN program this is like sentencing Taslima to a life time of good behaviour as judged by the skewed political figures that have come to rule us! What does he mean when he says not to hurt sentiments? There are parties like the BJP which hurt minority sentiments every day, his own party which hurts Hindu sentiments by treating them like second class citizens in a country where they are a majority and finally he is in power precisely because of the great old man from TN, Karunanidhi, whose main political platform has been hate Brahmin, Hindi and Hindu(order dictated by current situation). This kind hate politics has been the hallmark of 2o th century India and when such things can happen why gag a poor lady?

Tch!

One moment of indiscretion and stupidity can cost so much! I have discovered it!
It can screw a carefully constructed image of self and shock friends!
But am I my image or the image shattering reality?
Are my friends those who accept me or my image!
Can somebody help put an end to this agony?????????????????????????

Gandhi My Father-----Mahatma Unravelled

There are very few films that move me since I think I have "grown" now to appreciate the fact that often times film makers in general and Indian masala ones tend to be deliberate and conceited in their attempts to move audiences! Rarely do you see such gems as "Gandhi-My Father", which by the very nature of the story and story telling captures the undivided attention of the audience and moves them completely!
This movie is based on a Gujrati novel by Dinkar Joshi and was originally a play(Gandhi vs Mahatma) by the guy who directed the movie, the famous playwright Feroz Abbas Khan. (side note:The role of Gandhi in the original play was done by none other than Munna Bhai fame Bomman Irani). Darshan Jariwala as Gandhi,the immensely under rated but super talented Akshaye Khanna (a.k.a. the Sanjeev Kumar of our times) as Harilal Gandhi,Shefali Shah as Kastur Ba, Bhumika Chawla as Gulab Harilal Gandhi have lived in their roles and have done justice to the script in more ways than one!
The subject is the troubled relationship between Gandhi and his son Harilal. Gandhi due to his active political life neglects basic education of his first son Harilal Gandhi and this one mistake in some sense sets the tone for most things that follow! At every step in Harilal's life he takes a path his father envisages for himself until he finds that his calling and his father's calling are not the same! Gandhi who has decided to dedicate his entire life happily to the service of his people expects his dear son to follow suit, but his son sadly wants a simple successful life as a barrister and a good family man. His lack of scholastic ability and Gandhi's own expectations thwart his attempts to succeed in this. As the movie develops one starts to understand that even though Gandhi has a fair share in his son's failure,which he and Kastur Ba acknowledge in two of the most moving scenes ever to have been shot, Harilal as a person is largely unable to come to terms with the reality of his life. He falls prey to one thing that his father despised,alcoholism,and finally meets his ailing mother drunk! His business attempts fail miserably and his bad company lands him in a ditch and tarnishes Gandhiji's image as well! The first scene opens with Harilal as a drunk tramp in a Mumbai hospital, penniless! When asked for his father's name he says Mahatma Gandhi but people obviously think he is just endearing himself to the father of the nation! This scene is beautiful and in a nut shell describes Harilal's predicament, to quote the tag line, Gandhi was the father Harilal never had!!
There are many remarkable things in the movie. The camera work by David McDonald(multiple golden lion winner at Venice) is so beautiful and spell binding yet completely non intrusive. One of the most moving images are Gandhi and his son sitting on a mountain slope silhouetted against the morning sky,awesome! The sound recording and background score are as supportive and complementary as Mani Iyer and TN Krishnan to a carnatic concert!
One must give it to the director Feroz Khan for such a complete and beautiful movie. More often than not, theatre directors do not make the switch this well. They tend to be verbose(e.g. K.Balachander in his initial days) and dont show proper understanding of the fact that Cinema as a medium is very different. I suspect from what ever little I have read of Feroz Khan that he has done very unconventional theatre which must have stood him in good stead! One example of his brilliance is the scene when Harilal enraged by his wife's cribbing about their lack of income goes out on the street shouting to every body "Mein Gandhi Ka Nalayak Beta hoon"while a Mahabharat drama troupe on the background looks on in astounded silence, acknowledging probably the fact that real life incidents may sometimes be more shocking than fantasy tales. As far as performances go Akshaye Khanna has done once in a life time job of it and I hope he gets the National Award for the best actor. Shefali Shah is an actress I love personaly and I have seen her excel even in smaller roles and finally she has got a role that justifies her stature and talent! Darshan Jariwala is a familiar face in the Parallel Circuit and he plays the role of the repentant,loving and strict father with panache! Another revelation is Bhumika who plays the role of Harilal's wife with such conviction and lack of melodrama. I have seen a movie called Missiama in Telugu where she is the hero of the movie and I was convinced she can act but here I feel sad that the Indian film industry is not using her full potential.
This is a film that in some sense begs for a global audience because of its theme and brilliant performances and direction. I only hope this film will be sent as the official Indian entry to the Oscars(I bet this will win one if sent) instead of some stupid Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie that is going to release soon. With people like Feroz Abbas Khan and Nagesh Kukunoor around Indian cinema is in safe hands! Hip Hip Hurray to the cast and crew of Gandhi, My Father!

kanne, nee pirandha naeram
yen Marupiravi
naan kanmoodum varai
kannukul nee iruppai endraen
kan imaikkum naerathil
kaalan unnai parithu vittan
kan irukku
kannil eeram irukku
en kannan enge?