In my great timeworn country

In my great timeworn country

Of ancient wisdom and modern idiocy

The rich somehow get richer

But the poor succeed better

As more people join their ranks.

Social equity is our mantra

But we sell healthcare to the highest bidder,

We have five-star hospitals

But millions die like flies.

Our education gets costlier

And bungalows, air tickets cheaper.

We’ve more shopping malls than before

But fewer primary schools,

Some of the finest colleges in the world

And more illiterates than anywhere else.

We call our politicians crooks

But happily, elect them again and again.

We always loved two-faced leaders

But of late, we’ve started adoring

Monks who talk like thugs,

Leaders who kill.

When we stand before the mirror

We don’t see the cheat

Who would bribe the police

Or any babu when it suits them.

Deep down, we admire suited robbers

Who often live in South Mumbai

And make their piles bigger

As a forgotten Mahatma smiles

His toothless smile of approval.

In my great timeworn country

Of ancient wisdom and modern stupidity …

30 December 2019

Through the eyes of a child

The world has changed beyond recognition in the last 60 years or a little more. The Malabar coast of today is vastly different from what it was in Raja Rao's Kanthapura in the 1930s. It could not have been a perfect world then, but one cannot but feel that in many ways, it was indeed better and more humane than the world today in which a relentless pursuit of creature comforts outweighs everything else. It was a time when a trader would rather give away a truckload of oranges for free rather than sell them at a distress price and get cheated in the process. It was also a time when when an elderly chess player would allow himself to be cheated so that the "game could go on".

Malabar Musings are stories of the eternal childhood as seen through the eyes of a child. A world in which children in a village uninitiated to factory-made toys would turn dappled sunlight seeping in through gaps in the thatched roof of the classroom into eggs and have a competition in catching them, leading, sometimes, to strange consequences. These are simple, beautiful stories narrated in exquisite English.

I was fortunate because the author, my friend Ktr KT Rajagopalan​ shared the manuscript with me. Loved reading every page of the book, and as I read, I couldn't but reflect on how the world has changed in our lifetime.

I also bought the Kindle edition of the book just now. If you have a smartphone, I would strongly recommend that you buy it too from Amazon.in. My only regret is that a hard copy of the book is not yet available and therefore, I am denied of the pleasure of holding this wonderful book in my hands.

22 December 2019

Straws in the wind?

The Legend of Bhagat Singh star, Sushant Singh has recently said, "I am very disturbed, especially with the way students are being treated. First, it happened with JNU, where doctored videos were circulated, and they were given the tag of Tukde Tukde Gang. No one apologised to them, and they are still called by the same name. Similarly, the Jamia kids were not involved in any kind of violence, and the police even clarified the same. Even then, we all know what happened with them. It’s so strange that there’s footage of the bus burning but no visual of who lit it? There has been a constant effort to bring down one community and students’ voices. They are our future, and we cannot stay silent over this."

Kankana Sen Sharma and Swara Bhaskar are old sinners, but sadly, a constellation of stars like Anurag Kashyap, Sushant Singh, Tapsi Pannu, Manoj Bajpai, and Rajkumar Rao have joined the ranks of anti-national Pakistan lovers and the infamous tukde-tukde gang. Anurag Kashyap has written, quite khullam khulla, "This has gone too far.. can’t stay silent any longer. This government is clearly fascist .. and it makes me angry to see voices that can actually make a difference stay quiet."

A star from from the South, Siddharth has gone beyond the limit. He has the temerity to speak against the two men who are tirelessly working -- one of them hardly sleeps, as you know -- to Make India Great Again (MIGA). Siddharth tweeted, “These two are not Krishna and Arjuna. They are Shakuni and Duryodhana. Stop attacking #universities! Stop assaulting #students! #JamiaMilia #JamiaProtest.”

After watching videos of police beating up Jamia students mercilessly, actor Taapsee Pannu, the brave girl from Pink, tweeted, “Wonder if this is a start or the end. Whatever it is, this is surely writing new rules of the land and those who don’t fit in can very well see the consequences. This video breaks heart and hopes all together. Irreversible damage, and I’m not talking about just the life and property,”

Manoj Bajpai, the ever so resilient man, says, "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. With the students and their democratic rights to protest ! I condemn violence against protesting students!!!!!"

These are high stake individuals. The government can make their life miserable. But can it, now? If there was an IT raid in Anurag Kashyap's house tomorrow, you would know that the government is shaking. It would be the end of the beginning.

Hats off, My Dear Wonderful People! You have the guts to speak out knowing well that the cost could be high. The Kauravas will try to see that you don't get another contract, just as they have made sure that Karan Thapar or Barkha Dutt doesn't get another job. (Sushant Singh's contract as the host of the TV show Savdhaan India has been terminated immediately after he took part in a protest against CAA.)

You have shown that you are not just cardboard heroes. From you, we have learned that even the screen image of Bhagat Singh cannot lick the boots of third-rate rulers. You, Tapsi Pannu, have shown that your struggle against crass misogynistic masculinity was not just acting. In fact, metaphorically speaking, through your tweet, you have broken a bottle on the collective head of countless bastards.

Let me end this brief write-up with another quote from the star of The Legend of Bhagat Singh: “As for fear of losing work, I cannot comment on others’ choices. But for me, I have a very simple principle. I sell my talent, not my conscience. When my kids grow up and ask me what I was doing when students were being tortured, I should have an answer”

Will you have an answer, Dear Reader?

[Information sourced from two reports published in the Indian Express today.

All the pictures courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

18 Dec 2019