And the Magic shall never Die

Last month I was at the hospital for a visit to my doctor for a check-up. I was tensed. I was nervous. To make matters worse I came to know I would have to wait for three hours before I could meet the doctor. I groaned in dismay and contemplated on how I would kill time in the waiting lounge surrounded by sick patients. As I sat there I suddenly remembered I had brought along my Harry Potter book in by backpack. I heaved a sigh of relief. Just then I received a text from a friend of mine enquiring about me. I told her about my condition and the fact that I would have to wait a further three hours here. She sympathized with me. I texted her back, "Don’t worry...I have Harry Potter!”

                                                                      

                                                                   

                                                                                                             ***

It was afternoon now. I was going back home in a bus. The wind slapped my face as I looked outside the window at the overcast skies. My phone beeped. It was a text from the same friend. “Hey, how are you? You are okay na? Hope it went well with the doc!” I smiled and texted her back, “I am fine...Everything’s fine. Harry Potter saved the day...Again...!”

It is strange, bizarre rather when I sit and think of the impact that Harry Potter and its characters have made in my psyche in such a short span of time. For people who aren’t accustomed to the world of Harry Potter these statements might sound very childish and over the top, but for me the significance that the world of Harry Potter holds in my life is truly unique.

Now I am not writing this post to elaborate on J.K. Rowling’s marvelous story, its different characters and the magic behind them. No, I somehow just wished to briefly share this intricate yet beautiful relation I have with this fascinating series.  

My trysts with Harry Potter started way back when the first HP movie came out; the Philosopher’s stone. I was in Udaipur at that time and unfortunately had the bad experience of watching it in Hindi. I never understood the complex storyline and gave up on following it, believing it to be just another fad that the world was having. Over the years I kept following a couple of other movies as well but still never really got the hang of it. It was only in 2005 when the Order of the Phoenix – the book, had released that things changed. By a lucky chance I managed to borrow the book from a friend who had it and took it home without any expectations. I just wanted to see what the fuss was about in this after all.

My life was never the same after that day. Let’s just say I had no idea then that I had got one of the greatest friends of my life right there in my backpack that day.

Yes, sounds stupid but in actuality is very much the truth. I read the book in two days flat and was just completely blown away. It left me gasping for more. I immediately went and bought the other books in the series and just completely devoured them with feverish madness and hence commenced my captivating journey with the Harry Potter mania.

People who haven’t read the books would never understand the real magic behind them. For most, HP is a children’s fascination which has lots of nice special magic stuff. But people who have managed to look through these frivolities would know the real truth. For me reading the Harry Potter books remains one of the most deeply gratifying experiences ever. The reason that I connect to it so deeply is the fact that it is so real despite being set in a completely unreal world. The lead character is not a superhero with extraordinary powers but is as average a person as one can be. He flunks in exams, gets tongue-tied talking to girls and is very emotional about his close ones. However, more than this, what binds me so emotionally to the series are the small real lessons of life it keeps reminding us without trying to say it out aloud. Simple truths of life -that there is no greater gift in life than friendship, that you can never succeed if you don’t have true friends to support you, that if you are loyal to the ones who love you things will always be fine for you in the end and that true love is beyond anything and everything in this world.

I thus make no bones about the fact that I have learnt so much from the HP series. Many dialogues and many situations in the books have left me pondering on them very deeply and they have left me more insightful than I was before Harry Potter hit my life. There are so many small little gems to take in from it that if you genuinely try and understand it you can only be a better person.

However Harry Potter’s impact in my life goes beyond the realms of these niceties. It is as I mentioned before a true best friend of mine; always there for me. At times when I have felt terrible, when I have felt low or hopeless it has always been there. I realized this more in the last few months than ever before. Like the day at the hospital I mentioned at the beginning; it just stays there every time and anytime for me.

Why I chose to write this today? No real reason. That is what it is with Harry Potter, I can talk, write, shout and be crazy about it anytime I wish to. My fellow Potterheads would agree I believe.

For me Harry Potter (the books) is the best, the most satisfying, emotionally overwhelming and enchanting experience that one can ever have. There never was, never has been and never would be another series like Harry Potter. For those who haven’t read the books I have this to say, “Forgive them Lord, coz they don’t know what they have missed.”

I know I will never get bored of the series no matter how many times I read it. I will always laugh and cry with it, no matter what situation of life I am in. That is how it always is. And that is how I wish for it to remain; until the very end.

                                   

                                                                            *****************************************

22 May, 2065. He staggers along in the hallway of his house with the help of his walking stick; finally resting his aching eighty-year-old back on a comfortable armchair beside the window. The afternoon breeze soothes his wrinkled face. With trembling hands, he bends and picks up the book lying on the small table beside the chair. The book looks worn out and the pages bore a yellowish tint. He opens the first page with the same excitement and thrill he had once opened it with when he had first bought it decades back. The title- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - looks a little faded in colour, but it still brings a smile on the old man's crinkled lips. Suddenly he hears the mad cacophony of voices as his two grandchildren come running into his room. They look at him and then at the book in his hands. Rolling his eyes, one of them says, “After all this time?”  He looks at them, and rests his head on the back of the chair; smiling to himself, he says, “Always..!” 

Indian Cricket: Yuvraj returns, T2O World Cup beckons etc. etc.

So the new season for Indian cricket has begun. And begun well one can say. With a comfortable one-day series victory against Sri Lanka on their own soil and a test series victory against the Kiwis at home our start to the new season has been good with quite a few plusses to think of. Bigger challenges lie ahead however and it remains to be seen how the young looking unit copes with better teams like England and Australia in the coming months without the stalwarts like Laxman and Dravid. I have a hunch that we will do well. If we do, without doubt the naysayers would start ranting about us being tigers at home which I believe is an outright stupid argument. I don’t see anyone raising their voices for Australia and South Africa’s domination at home, so what makes our dominance on our own soil so aggravating to people is beyond me. I shall explore this further in another post. 

Moving on...  As is the case with Indian cricket these days, a lot has already happened in these last few weeks. Let me just dwell on certain happenings in Indian cricket that I wish to discuss. 

Rise of the Colts

Before discussing anything else, I raise a toast to the Indian U-19 team for their fascinating World Cup triumph last month. To beat the Aussies in their own den, that too in the final of a world event, requires some outstanding skill and courage. Our colts surely had that and in winning the trophy they showed that all the doubts of Indian cricket‘s future can be put to rest. We have found in this side quite a few players who are a class part and would surely be rendering their services to the national team in the very near future. Anyone who would have seen captain Unmukt Chand’s scintillating century in the final would agree that he is made for bigger things. I am quite excited by this guy and hope to see him in our national side soon. He is quite in the mould of Virat Kohli and seems to have a mature head on his shoulders. Besides the batting star Unmukt we have a few others like off -spinner Harmeet Singh, all-rounder Baba Aaparajith , batsman Vijay Zol and a couple of others who look very promising. More than anything else this team shows that India’s bowling and batting cupboards isn't bare as many ‘experts’ have been screaming hoarse. I am certain that over a period of time, once these youngsters are well-groomed, our recent overseas disasters would be a thing of the past. Cheers to the future!

Sachin oh Sachin

                                                  

So Sachin Tendulkar performed below par in the recent Test series against New Zealand and was bowled through the gates thrice in as many innings. Soon enough there has been a rising cry in all of India screaming for Sachin to retire and these people have decided that his time is now up. It’s amusing to think that not too long ago he was being hailed as GOD after he had scored the first double century in ODIs. Now I will not write much on this, as experts have been analyzing every movement of Sachin’s with acute scrutiny in any case and moreover criticism of cricketers is like an everyday exercise for our citizenry. But I do have this to say- someone who has served the country for 23 long years and served it well apparently, believes that he has it in him to serve our cricket for some more time. We should be really lucky he thinks that way. He is the reason that many in our country (and in the team) started watching cricket. He will not take his place for granted ever. Even in his last innings he was stroking the ball beautifully before he unfortunately got bowled. Big deal! So what?  I am certain in my mind that Sachin is already working on the flaw that got him out and would rectify it. We need him now more than ever as our team is going through a transition phase with many young men taking new positions and they would require Sachin’s guidance and experience for as long as they can take it. We have England and Australia coming in next and then there is the tour to South Africa. We need Sachin in all these tournaments if we hope to do well; there are no two ways about it. Sachin is prone to criticism but to ask him to retire should not be our calling; that authority should lie with him and him alone. I think he has deserved that credit.

I know that day would soon come when we would never again see the name Sachin Tendulkar on the Indian team score card, whether in a few months or years, time will tell. But the one above sent Sachin to our land for a specific reason. I have a feeling that that he has his own script for the Little Master for the day he bids us adieu.

T20 World Cup – Will or Won’t?

Now comes the big one, the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka starting in about a week’s time. How will it unfold for team India? Will we go down poorly as we did in the last two editions of the event or would the men in blue make a billion hearts smile again? Remains to be seen

Five years precisely to this month we witnessed the rise of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the daring and cool captain who led a young and talented Indian team to an unexpected World Cup T20 triumph in South Africa. Many things have changed since, but the captain’s hunger to succeed hasn’t. The T20 World Cup is about to commence once again and not many are giving our team much of a chance to lift the trophy. Our T20 performance hasn’t been great to speak of and thus not many are too hopeful on us bringing back the cup. As for me, I am my usual nervous self as the day inches closer. I am quietly confident of our team’s prospects. We have a good bunch of guys at hand. With the likes of Kohli (who by the way is in absolutely sparkling form), Raina, Yuvraj and Dhoni, the middle-order bears a settled look. If the openers fire and the bowlers somehow perform well we might go the distance. We should at least make the semis; from there it’s anybody’s game. Unlike 50 over cricket where I am more confident of our prospects, T20 is like a gamble. One bad over, one misfield or a bad delivery can change the game’s outcome. Hence a lot would depend on chance too. We have good talent at our disposal but the rest depends on a lot of factors. I can only hope that lady luck shines in our favour. Am I willing to take a bet on our chances? I don’t know really. MSD has his fair share of haters in our country and especially in Bengal for obvious selfish reasons, and many of them I know would be licking their lips for India to fail giving them  a chance to target their guns on him again. But knowing MSD he wouldn’t be perturbed by all this chatter; he is a fighter and a champion cricketer and would be focused on doing well. He has nothing to prove to anybody but himself. I also believe that life has its own way of setting things right. Who knows on the night of October 7th  in  Colombo it might very well be our captain cool holding the trophy he first held in 2007. A perfect gift to himself for completing five years as a captain isn’t it? I would surely be rooting for our captain and his team selflessly and would hope for the best no matter what. For now, let the magic begin…

Yuvi can, Yuvi has

Lastly some words on the enigmatic ‘punjab da puttar’ Yuvraj Singh and his much celebrated comeback. Yuvraj made an emotional and confident return to cricket in the last T20 match against NZ. It was sheer pleasure to see Yuvi stroke those sixers which made my heart jump with excitement. He fell short of what would have been an ideal fairytale comeback but was not to be as he got out in the last over of India’s chase, just when we didn’t require him to. Though we lost the match, we gained a lot from the confident way Yuvraj batted. He is without doubt a pivotal member of our team, and his performing well is imperative for our chances in the coming tournament. When in full flow he is one of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball and is also a more than handy part-time bowler as was seen in the World Cup 2011. It would be interesting to see how he excels in the coming T20 World Cup. Perhaps it was good that he didn’t win the game for us in his comeback match. Perhaps it would have blown the lid of the media and the people who would have expected the world from him then. Now Yuvi can just take it easy and enjoy the game. And we can just hope that he does his best; which can be very good news for us.

However in all this there is also the story of how Yuvi fought back cancer and lived to tell the tale albeit in a heroic fashion. Although I agree that there has been a bit too much of his whole ‘come back’ thing but none can deny that it has been a truly remarkable achievement. I know very well what chemotherapy does to one’s body and thus too see Yuvi strutting around the crease was a pleasing sight. In all this hoopla also lies a lesson for each one of us if we are willing to take it. It is not just about fighting a disease; it’s just the will Yuvi showed. Teaching us that we can fight any situation if we truly have the passion and the belief that the thing is worth fighting for. It can be anything; be it fighting for one’s life, one’s career or one’s love. The standout word here is TRY. If Yuvraj had gone all grumpy and complained how unfair life has been on him he wouldn’t have been donning the Indian jersey today. He chose to fight. Therein lies the lesson. We might not always win, but we should at least give our honest attempt at trying to our fullest and leave the rest to destiny, which isn’t in our hands. But trying surely is. At least then we wouldn’t have regrets. Isn’t that what life is all about? Living in hope, seeing dreams and trying your hardest to fulfill them. It is a very simple theory that we fail to understand sometimes. If we can just comprehend the underlying message behind Yuvraj’s comeback, things would be lots easier for all of us. 

Like I always say to a very beautiful person in my life, “Try karne me kya jaata hai...!”

The ‘Kasab Factor’ and our Media’s skullduggery

( Here I write about two important issues which though not directly connected are somehow interlinked. Do have the patience to read through. )

So, the Supreme Court of India has on expected lines upheld the long awaited death sentence on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab. Does that make me happy? Not really. Unless I am assured by our beloved Govt. that he is to be hanged tomorrow itself which is extremely unlikely. The fact that a terrorist, who was caught red-handed mercilessly slaughtering hundreds of innocent victims in full- view of more than a hundred eye-witnesses, CCTV cameras and the local police- who already have given their statements, has managed to stay alive for close to four years now after the incident speaks volumes of our Govt.’s impotency. The whole world knows it, everyone agrees that a butcher of this caliber should be hanged till death, but what does our Govt. do? Hire him a lawyer and make sure he gets a decent trail. This despite him openly admitting to his barbaric act.  Honestly, how low can they get. People have been screaming hoarse to get this murderer to the gallows but to no avail. The ‘stringent punishment’ that our bechara Prime Minister had promised has fallen flat yet again like most of his other endless promises. I am not even going anywhere near the other endless fallacies of our Govt. as they would require a lot more amount of text added with the frustration I would get while typing them.

You should be rotting in your grave..!! 

The point is, the Govt. has failed miserably in the one serious chance they had to show the people that it means business. In such an open and shut case like Kasab’s they could have easily packed him off to hell at the earliest; it wouldn’t have made any difference to the damage that he and his ilk caused to our country but at least it would have sent a message across that we shall not kneel down and won’t take any more of these heinous acts casually. But that is exactly what our Govt. has done. Why the hesitancy then in serving out a prompt punishment to this terrorist? Again I let my readers guess the reason which I am sure is quite similar to mine. By the time Kasab really is hanged he would have been declared a martyr and a hero in his country including some on our soil who helped him and his folks get their business done. Our beloved neighbour would be laughing their heads off at our impotency and churning out hundreds of more Kasabs with vindictive pleasure while our higher authorities would keep giving those phony speeches and continue with their pseudo- secular image. The delay in giving this ‘justice’ is nothing else but a huge slash in the wounds of the families of the victims. It is an insult to those many lives lost. As a society we should raise our voices on these issues a little more than taking out candle –light vigils which is nothing but a completely bogus and pseudo-intellectual way of showing how thoughtful and sensitive one is. For now I just hope that little filthy rat is packed off to hell as soon as possible, for the longer he stays alive the more of our economy he keeps eating. May that scum never rest in peace!!

The Media Crooks

Now on to some musings over the other beloved pillar of our country; the Media, especially the TV media.  Before I delve deeper into the subject I would like you all to read carefully the content I have posted below. The Supreme Court while in upholding the sentence of Ajmal Kasab has also made some interesting observations on the media’s role during the 26/11 attack.  Trust me when I say it, you will not hear or read about these points in our main stream media. There will not be any debates whatsoever by the Barkhas and the Sagrikas on this issue. Neither will the newspapers (most of them) carry out front page headlines and write editorials on this. They have already completely ignored these observations by the apex body of our country for obvious reasons and continue with their biased reportage on their selective favourite issues. But I implore all my readers, especially those who are Indians, to read each word of this very carefully and understand the larger issue behind this.

The following are some of the extracts from the SC observations on the Role of the Media, (published without any change).  For people who might want to have a look at the original SC document, click here. 

403. Apart from the transcripts, we can take judicial notice of the fact that the terrorists attacks at all the places, in the goriest details, were shown live on the Indian TV from beginning to end almost non-stop. All the channels were competing with each other in showing the latest developments on a minute to minute basis, including the positions and the movements of the security forces engaged in flushing out the terrorists. The reckless coverage of the terrorist attack by the channels thus gave rise to a situation where on the one hand the terrorists were completely hidden from the security forces and they had no means to know their exact position or even the kind of firearms and explosives they possessed and on the other hand the positions of the security forces, their weapons and all their operational movements were being watched by the collaborators across the border on TV screens and being communicated to the terrorists.

404. In these appeals, it is not possible to find out whether the security forces actually suffered any casualty or injuries on account of the way their operations were being displayed on the TV screen. But it is beyond doubt that the way their operations were freely shown made the task of the security forces not only exceedingly difficult but also dangerous and risky.

405. Any attempt to justify the conduct of the TV channels by citing the right to freedom of speech and expression would be totally wrong and unacceptable in such a situation. The freedom of expression, like all other freedoms under Article 19, is subject to reasonable restrictions. An action tending to violate another person’s right to life guaranteed under Article 21 or putting the national security in jeopardy can never be justified by taking the plea of freedom of speech and expression.

406. The shots and visuals that were shown live by the TV channels could have also been shown after all the terrorists were neutralized and the security operations were over. But, in that case the TV programmes would not have had the same shrill, scintillating and chilling effect and would not have shot up the TRP ratings of the channels. It must, therefore, be held that by covering live the terrorists attack on Mumbai in the way it was done, the Indian TV channels were not serving any national interest or social cause. On the contrary they were acting in their own commercial interests putting the national security in jeopardy.

407. It is in such extreme cases that the credibility of an institution is tested. The coverage of the Mumbai terror attack by the mainstream electronic media has done much harm to the argument that any regulatory mechanism for the media must only come from within.

          

It is quite evident then that the terrorists alone aren’t our enemy.

Shouldn't the media guys be trending out a public apology in response to these observations, as they so often have ‘demanded’ from many public figures? But of course they won’t. Such is the case our blatantly hypocrite main stream media.

I am willing to bet that most of you are not surprised after reading this. But the point I want to stress on is the level of standards that our media has fallen to. The 26/11 was not just a one-off case. Our media, the fourth pillar of a democracy, is openly flouting all norms of decency and is hell – bent on its selective and biased reportage. Spewing venom on people and parties it doesn’t like and making the average citizen forcibly believe their point of view is the norm in most of the TV media shows these days. It is no hidden fact that more than a couple of them are open mouthpieces of the Govt. The Padmashree that some ‘renowned media personalities’ have been bestowed with is nothing but a pat on their backs for their loyal ‘services’ to the Govt.

The unfortunate fact is that most of the common folks follow these TV news programmes and take in whatever they are being fed to be the truth. They cannot see how they are being misled by the cunning ignorance of some facts, the hiding of details, favouring of one party’s spokesperson over the other in debate shows and other such slyness. Most people today follow the ‘sheep theory’, where they will follow whatever the masses believe without caring to delve deeper into the facts and the root cause. They will openly jump to conclusions as and when the media declares it.  The tale of many personalities like Gujarat CM Narendra Modi is a case in point where most people without knowing the true facts just declared him a ‘mass murderer’; as because that is what the media would maniacally make them believe for it serves their high-ended purposes. The reportage on him has been so scathingly biased by some sections of the media that it is purely filthy and nasty. Someday soon I shall write more on this subject.

This skullduggery by our media is what makes me despise them. The fact that they are beyond any control whatsoever and refuse to do a ‘check-in’ or self-regulation on themselves is highly despicable. The main stream media today in cahoots with a fair number of pseudo- intellectuals, who can be found in plenty in our country, keep on with their biased, hypocritical and selective reporting and we continue to take it in. Be it the ‘Aman ki Aaasha’ with our neigbours, or biased targeting and at the same time mollycoddling of some political leaders, even film stars and cricketers is something that if you sit and ponder honestly over would perhaps make you see reason. There are so many questions today that I would like to ask them. Whatever happened to the Afzal Guru case- the terrorist involved in the parliament attacks of 2001? Why is his case being completely forgotten and not discussed on by you?  Why was there such a prejudiced reporting of the Assam riots case recently? Why does the ‘prince’ Rahul Gandhi find such a huge amount of favour with you people without any credentials whatsoever? Why are people like Baba Ramdev scathingly put-down by you folks? Why does the colour saffron invoke so much hatred in you people? These are questions to which we shall never find any true answers; but deep down inside they know it and thankfully as I realize today many of my fellow countrymen too.

So with an impotent Govt. and a vile media system should we completely lose faith with our country? No. Without being over preachy I can safely say that the answer to a better future of our country solely lies within each of us. If we truly want to, we can make a difference. (And by that I do not mean candle-light vigils). I will try and do my bit. I cannot change the system, but I can and will do what I am capable of as a countryman. I will keep trying to do what I am best at; write my thoughts on issues such as these and let as many people aware about them as possible. Even if 10 out of you agree with me and think about it deeply, it would have been a job well done. For now I have decided to completely boycott the TV media. I do not watch it at all. The newspapers, howsoever genuine few remain, I read selectively. The internet is where I am these days. Thankfully this is where some ‘true’; unbiased and genuine reporting is taking place. I can’t ask you to follow my route but I will definitely ask you to think for at least a minute on this issue.  I believe the more we keep listening to these retards the more we become like them. There is a famous quote which goes like this - “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”  This stands completely true of the psychology used by our lovely media folks.

For people who do want to follow my lead I would be more than willing to share with you some of the best and refreshing blogs and websites that are around today. Just drop me a mail.

Lastly, I have repeated this time and again and I will do so again. The best way we can make our society and country better is through sound knowledge. The more ‘proper’ knowledge we have of the things around us, the better off we will be and would not fall prey to those wanting to mislead us. It is not that hard really, just takes a little effort on your part.

I end this by again using a famous line from the Harry Potter series- Dark and difficult times lie ahead. The time has come for all of us to make a choice between what is right and what is easy.

Ponder on this while I think of my next story. 

Ek tha... ‘So called star’..!!

Once upon a time when I was very young, there used to be a ‘mastaan’ who used to reside in my locality.  He wore floral shirts, tied a bandanna on his forehead and paraded along as the king of the town. He had a swagger about him; he would drink and abuse people and was even known to have committed murders. But he still had a loyal gang of cronies who worshiped him, thus enhancing his arrogance further. They would all say he is a gentle-hearted man; ‘you should see beyond his tough exterior’ they would proclaim. He would organize a few Pujas in our locality then, making some worship him further. But they ignored the fact that he would abuse and fight his way for snatching all the ‘chanda’ he could collect from innocent citizens. None mattered to him; many took to him as their idol and tried to emulate him and his antics.  But as is the way of nature, things changed. The last that I heard of him was that his body was found near a gutter; he had drunk himself to death. Neither his family nor any of his ‘ worshipers’ were there beside him. They got wiser...!! Sanity prevailed..!!    

Now why have I bothered to recite this even from my past? I shall not elaborate on it. I consider my readers to be fairly intelligent and let them decipher its meaning by themselves.

So Ek tha Tiger has garnered crores of rupees at the box office. How nice. Right, so has Indian cinema got a reason to celebrate for a fantastic film to have hit our lives? Err... Well I had the pleasure of watching this movie at a theatre and all I can say is I am glad I don’t have claws instead of nails else I would have shredded myself to death out of sheer frustration. Ladies and gentleman Salman Khan has arrived again, with absolutely nothing new to offer and has given his ‘followers’ reasons to rejoice yet again. But it has given me, finally a reason to write something about this arrogant scumbag who parades across as a star.

Now I will not waste my time here comparing Salman with SRK. Nope. That, I have always believed is a laughable and digressive argument and utter humiliation for SRK to be even compared to this fellow. (I am not an SRK fan, but have grown to be fond of him and even respect him for his contribution to our cinema). Let me just focus only on Salman and his so called stardom.

Salman has been extraordinarily famous since ‘Wanted’ hit our screens. But he generally has a particular type of ‘worshippers’ or ‘fans’ who just love ‘Bhai’ in action.

Ask most of them some intelligible question, like for example what has Salman’s biggest contribution been to our cinema? They would just shrug their shoulders, wave their greasy hair and grunt, “Whatever...Bhai rocks...!”

Okay and what part of Salman’s ‘acting’ do you like the best?

Blank stare. Then, “Bhai is awesome...!”

Right...Umm...Would you like to see Salman play some other ‘meaningful’ characters like Mohan Bhargav?

Blank stare. Grunt. Wave of greasy hair, “Mohan who??

Well that’s SRK’s character from Swades. Never mind..Oh wait... SRK can’t be brought into a conversation concerning Salman Bhai. Hmm...Okay how about him playing a part in a relatively lesser known film like Dasvidaniya?

“Das what?”... Confused look. Scratches his head and turns away, shouting. “Bhai is zindabaad!!”

Is this my generalized opinion? Of course it is. It’s my blog you see. Anyways, coming back to stardom. I would like you all to close your eyes for a minute and feel who according to you a real movie star is. Without taking any names, I presume it should be someone who is intelligent and has a worldwide appeal and not just fans who reside in shanties, someone who has a pleasing public demeanor and someone who is an ideal role model for youngsters. Not to forget the fact that he/she should have made their contribution to take their respective country’s cinema on a global platform by doing meaningful films. In short someone whom all and sundry respect. Isn’t that right? Now think again for a minute about Salman Bhai.  He carries that fake arrogant swagger, that irritatingly arrogant smile and deliberate fake behavior in TV interviews. Not to forget that horribly fake accent he carries which he believes comes from the US but sounds more from the slums of Dharavi. On the point of intelligence; I recently read his interview where he spoke about business economics of the film industry. Well let’s just say watching Salman speaking about economics is quite similar to imagining Rakhi Sawant playing Sita in the Ramayana.

But all this doesn’t matter to his fans of course. Bhai has a heart of gold you see. Its strange how even some industry folks keep ranting about this ‘heart of gold’ rubbish. ‘The man with the tough exterior and a soft as a baby interior’. Chooo chwweeet... Bullshit..!!

People conveniently forget that this 'golden – hearted' person killed half a dozen people in their sleep while driving full speed and being heavily drunk. So many families were ripped apart that night. But none shall speak about it. He is roaming scot-free, enjoying his success, despite being a murderer.

He is the very ‘golden-hearted’ person who killed a few animals just for the fun of it. It is a legal crime in our country. But of course, he is Bhai yaar.

This golden- hearted person was also found heavily drunk beating down the door of a respected woman and shouting abuses at her in the middle of the night. Not to mention the fact that he has also been seen beating a few media persons in broad daylight. But come on yaar, he is Bhai after all you see.

Imagine for a minute if say a Ranbir Kapoor today was found doing these very things. The media and the people would have completely devoured him alive. He would have been branded a criminal and anti-social. Inhuman.  

Inhuman...Does that ring a bell?? The thing is Salman has very cleverly hidden all his atrocities behind the mask of his group 'Being Human' and now parades across as a social activist. But he is not fooling everyone thankfully. For many I know he will remain a low-life. 

Oh wait a minute. Salman the ‘golden-heart’ Khan also celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi every year. Awww... Such a nice guy know? But hang on, how does the media cover every detail of his antics?  How do they get this privilege? Hmm...  I thought ‘pujas’ are extremely close private family affairs. Did I mention that SRK has a mandir inside his home too? Or the fact that he celebrates Diwali with his kids with equal aplomb as he enjoys Eid. The cameras of the media aren’t there to cover all this. They shouldn’t be. It’s a private family affair and not be showcased to the world. In doing this SRK isn’t doing any favours to humanity, but the one who uses this to shine his ‘golden-hearted’ image is pure derogatory. Does that ring a bell in some thick skulls?

And coming to his movies and the success. I have a theory on that too. Think about all his recent success, they all follow a similar pattern. That same old arrogant swagger, same done to death emotions and failed attempts at 'acting', slow-mo action scenes where he beats up a 100 goons and delivers cheap no-meaning one-liners. His ‘fans’ love that. I would like to see him ‘try’ some well-meaning films playing a serious character or even for that matter a romantic film. Things will change then.

Just think for a moment. Will you be saying this to your children years down the line, “Beta please watch these films- Bodyguard and Ready. These were the biggest hits of our cinema at one time.” Rest assured, you would have to spend a considerable amount of your time in old-age homes if you take this course of action. Point is, after 20 years in the industry, name a few films of Bhai which you can proudly showcase to the world and let them have a glimpse of our cinema’s rich standards. In fact every time his film hits the theatres, it’s a step backward for our cinema; all in the name of ‘masala’ entertainment.  It takes our cinema from class to crass.

But like I said things will soon change in anyacse.

Oh yes they will. His fans will scoff at this. Four centuries in a row you see- they will proclaim. Yes, there might be a fifth and a sixth too. But things will change and he will fall. The public will get bored of him. This is a particular ‘wave’ that will and I repeat will die down. That arrogance will go and so will that swagger. Oh yes, things will change you will all see. To quote from cricket, “Form is temporary, and class is permanent.” Seeing that this so-called star hasn't got an iota of class whatsoever I do see a very bright future for our cinema which won’t have to bear with the garbage that he dishes out at us.

Laugh all you want Salman fans, but that day will come. And then I will re-post this and mock you with all my heart. A word of caution to all Salman fans who might be reading this. DO NOT comment on this post. For all the articles I write I always invite criticism. But this is different.  I don’t need your views. I will delete them the moment I see any negative comment or the ones that don’t agree with me. I don’t care about you. This is purely for the pleasure of pouring in all my hatred towards your low-life Bhai. In all the posts I have written in my blog, this is the one that I had the most fun writing. This is purely for me and people who agree with me. We will have the time of our lives ridiculing him further. I don’t know if I will ever feel this pleasure again. Just for once I have kicked out the journalist in me. Am I being too prejudiced against Salman? Of course I am. And I am loving every bit of it. People like him are a threat to the well-being of our society for many reasons and I will do whatever I can to vent out my ire against this person.

For now though, I will just keep ignoring him with all my might. And wait for that beautiful day when this ‘so-called’ star falls. 

And sanity waits..!!

The Ghost and the Darkness- The Legend of the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo

(This obviously isn't my story, but my work on an episode from history that really fascinates me. Had to do a tremendous amount of research to bring it all down to this. Hope you all like it. Read it, you will surely find it interesting.) 

"On reaching the spot where the body had been devoured, a dreadful spectacle presented itself. The ground all round was covered with blood and morsels of flesh and bones, but the unfortunate jemadar's head had been left intact, save for the holes made by the lion's tusks on seizing him, and lay a short distance away from the other remains, the eyes staring wide open with a startled, horrified look in them.”    -   J.H. Patterson, "The Man-eaters of Tsavo", 1907

Artist John Banovich's version of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo

The beginning of the tale

The above snippet features in the famous chilling account of Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, (an Anglo-Irish soldier) who wrote about his experiences in the book whilst his stay in the African continent in the late 1890s.  The story of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo is laced with some of the most adventure inducing events that can be - terror, thrills, drama and mystery. It is a fascinating chapter from history that not everyone is aware of. But two lions over a hundred years back had managed to create ripples in the British Empire at its peak and the story, over the years, is now intriguing researchers and scientists from the world over.

The story bears its roots in the small African region of Tsavo (incidentally, the word Tsavo in the African language means ‘place of slaughter’). In the year of 1898, the British had commenced the construction of a railway bridge over the Tsavo river in Kenya. It was supposed to connect the Uganda region to Kenya through rail which the Empire was interested in to further strengthen its colonial territories. Furthermore, the project was intended to link Mombasa, Kenya to Lake Victoria in Uganda in order to create a trade route for raw materials and British goods into Uganda. Apart from some African locals, the workers involved in building it were primarily Sikhs and Hindus from Britain’s India colony. Since the designer’s plan was to build the bridge over the river, the workers had to stay put beside the waterway in small tents which was near the African bush. However, even the best designers wouldn't have foreseen what was to happen next. They had no inkling that at that time monsters roamed the African night.

The coming of the ‘Ghost’ and the ‘Darkness’

The front cover of Patterson's book

Sheer panic gripped the work camp as one by one, slowly, workers began to disappear, dragged screaming into the darkness of the night by some unknown predator only to be found the next morning torn to shreds. As was later found out, the killers stalking the unfortunate workers were, in fact, two large adult mane- less African male lions (not known to be brothers). In a desperate bid to save themselves the workers built massive fires around their campsite to scare the ‘monsters’ lurking in the night. They even built thorn fences around the entire encampment to stall the predators. But apparently, nothing could stop the ‘monsters’, who continued their killing spree. The size, cunning, and ferocity of these lions was so remarkable that the natives feared that they weren’t lions but were, in fact, demons or reincarnations of ancient kings who had been reborn to fight off the British invaders. The lions were thus nicknamed by the natives as ‘The Ghost’ and ‘The Darkness’.

From March to December of 1898 these lions terrorized, attacked and ate more than a hundred people from the region. (Patterson put the official figure as 135, but recently some scientists have claimed these figures to be ‘inflated’ and placed the actual number as 35). Whatsoever the figures might have been, there is no denying the terror that these lions created in those nine months.


The mystery behind the man-eaters

Their trait of being mane-less is not uncommon as lions from the Tsavo region are known to bear similar characteristics. However, there are several other theories and mysteries that surround these legendary man-eaters. By Patterson’s own account the lions were unnaturally large, measuring close to 10 feet. Furthermore, the man-eating behaviour of the lions was greatly discussed. Lions are known to attack humans from time to time, but generally when they are found to be alone and not when they are congregated in large numbers. This bit of behaviour of the man-eaters has puzzled researchers. It has also been said that the lions eventually became so fearless that they wouldn’t even drag their victims into the bush, but would start devouring them just a few yards away from the tents. Another theory claims that sometimes the lions killed just for the sake of killing, and not for eating. Patterson in his book also mentions having found the lair of the lions which was a cave near the Tsavo river bank where he found several human skulls kept by the lions almost as their ‘prized trophies’. Meanwhile, as the killings continued, the workers decided to flee for their lives and the project was coming to a screeching halt.

The killing of the lions

Back in Britain leaders were getting restless and the project was being touted as a massive failure and a colossal waste of money. At the House of Lords the Prime Minister at that time, Lord Salisbury, lamented on the way the project was going downhill: "The whole of the works were put a stop to for three weeks because a party of man-eating lions appeared in the locality and conceived a most unfortunate taste for our porters. At last, the laborers entirely declined to go on unless they were guarded by an iron entrenchment. Of course, it is difficult to work a railway under these conditions, and until we found an enthusiastic sportsman to get rid of these lions, our enterprise was seriously hindered"

Eventually, the Chief Engineer in charge of the railway project John Henry Patterson (who was also a skilled hunter) decided to take matters into his own hands. He deduced that the only way to stop this ‘reign of terror’ was to kill the lions. The account of his hunt was penned by him in details in his book. As Patterson claims, he realized in the process of hunting the beasts that he too was being stalked and was very nearly killed too. In true monster movie fashion, the lions refused to go down easily. Finally, though Patterson managed to track and kill the lions. The first of the man-eaters was killed in the December of 1898 where Patterson shot him in the hind legs. However, it returned at night to stalk him even as Patterson tried to hunt it himself. He had to fire several rounds at the brute to bring it down. The second man-eater, who was killed three weeks later, didn’t go down easily either. It took ten shots to kill the second lion. In Patterson’s own words:

The second man-eater

"...in a short while, I heard the lion begin to creep stealthily towards me. I could barely make out his form as he crouched among the whitish undergrowth; but I saw enough for my purpose, and before he could come any nearer, I took careful aim and pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot was at once followed by a most terrific roar, and then I could hear him leaping about in all directions. I was no longer able to see him, however, as his first bound had taken him into the thick bush; but to make assurance doubly sure, I kept blazing away in the direction in which I heard him plunging about. At length came a series of mighty groans, gradually subsiding into deep sighs, and finally ceasing altogether; and I felt convinced that one of the "devils" who had so long harried us would trouble us no more."  - J.H. Patterson, “The Man-eaters of Tsavo", 1907.

The aftermath of the man-eaters’ death

The wave of euphoria that followed the demise of the man-eaters culminated Patterson to heroic status. He went on to become the game warden in Kenya and the book he wrote about his time in the African bush came out in 1907 and went on to become a classic.

A few years later, in 1924, Patterson visited the Chicago Field Museum to share his experiences with the Man –Eaters of Tsavo to the audience. The enthusiastic response he received there prompted him to offer the remains of the two lion skins (which had adorned the floors of Patterson’s home for 25 years before this) to the museum for a price of $5000.

The lions in The Chicago Field Museum

It is largely thanks to the skills of taxidermist Julius Friesser that the bodies of the lions have been preserved efficiently for display for such a long time in the Chicago Field Museum. The resulting pair of lions on display are somewhat smaller than the size mentioned by Patterson in his book, but that may be due to various reasons. Patterson might have exaggerated or maybe mismeasured the length of the lions or there might have been some trimming of their skins by the museum staff. The lions are kept near their skulls which were also preserved by Patterson. Incidentally, Kenyan authorities have shown interests in building a whole museum dedicated to the two lions where they hope that ‘The Ghost’ and ‘The Darkness’ could return to their original home.

Poster of the movie

Movies on the legend

The legend of the Tsavo lions has enthralled people everywhere and it was only about time before the thrilling tale was re-told via the cinematic medium given the ingredients the story had. The first movie to be made on the episode was a 3D picture (incidentally America’s first 3D movie) titled Bwana Devil (1952) starring Robert Stack, Nigel Bruce, and Barbara Britton. The film was inspired by the Tsavo man-eaters and cannot be called an exact retelling of the incident. The other film made on the subject is The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) starring Val Kilmer as John Patterson and Michael Douglas as a fictional master hunter. This movie is, in fact, the only one yet that has stayed true to the story and attempted to tell the real tale albeit some cinematic liberties. 

The Unanswered Myths

The story of the Tsavo lions had remained unexamined for nearly a hundred years until Field Museum scientists began to dig deeper into the myths. They deduced by thorough research that the number of deaths couldn’t possibly have been 135 as Patterson states but somewhere close to 35. In 2000, researcher Tom Gnoske discovered that the railroad office in London had records of only 28 deaths of foreign workers. The rest, he has been mentioned as saying, might have been locals but it could not have been anywhere close to what Patterson claims and that he believes is ‘part of the myth’.

The other more intriguing aspect of the episode that remains unanswered till date is to why the lions turned such savage man-eaters. There are a few theories to support this. The most common one is prey depletion due to a Rinderpest epidemic among cattle and wildlife that hit Kenya in the 1890s. Some have also claimed the workers who were mainly Hindus might have been indirectly responsible for this as the Hindu practice of cremating their dead left partially burned bodies for the lions to consume. There is also a theory stating that because slave caravans often crossed the river at the location, the lions may have been quite used to human bodies being disposed of in the river. All this might have given the lions a taste of the human flesh.

The preponderate explanation, however, which is based on the examination of the lions' remains, claims that one of the lions had severely damaged tooth which kept it from eating its  normal prey and thus made it hunt for prey which was easy to catch and eat- humans; provided in plenty albeit unknowingly by the British Empire. However, most consider this theory pretty inconclusive as it fails to answer as to why did the other lion turn man-eater. 

These are questions to which we would perhaps never get any answers. 

It is precisely for these myths and the aura surrounding the Tsavo Lions that their legend remains etched in history. 

This one's for Friendship

“A warmth was spreading through Harry that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.”   - From Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

So today happens to be Friendship day; that fantastic day where we celebrate and cry out from our rooftops about how we love our friends. Is that the reason I write this post today? No.  It just happens to be a happy coincidence that I somehow wanted to pour out my thoughts on friendship, which I realize even more today for certain reasons and found this the best way to let it all out.

Now am not much of a philosophical writer and neither is this post concerning long sermons on what exactly friendship is. As I have always mentioned, you go through various phases in your life and learn from them. I too am going through one of those phases and have felt and realized the importance of friends and the effect they have in my life more than ever before.

The dearest friend I have always tells me, “Dosti dunia ki sabse hasin chiz hoti hai.” That is probably the purest thing you all will ever hear but to actually feel it, realize it and inculcate in yourselves is what makes the world of a difference to our lives. I have always valued friendship and believed in investing in it with all my heart. Funnily enough my friends have been very kind to me and have sometimes put me in a pedestal I feel embarrassed to be in. Today, at this juncture, when I look back at my whole 26 years of existence, I see a massive montage of memories with friends who made all the difference in my life.  Starting from the first best friend I made when I had still not crossed double figures to this day where I am luckily surrounded by the most beautiful and loving friends one can have, making my life sweet, cute, simple and normal in varied ways. I want to thank each and every one of you all. We actually never truly realize the real meaning friends hold in our lives. All of them, in some ways or the other have had effects on me that made me the person I am today.

It is impossible of course to mention all the friends that I have made and the precious moments I have shared with them. But I still am grateful to all of you from the bottom of my heart. Many of you probably will never read this, but I still go ahead. I start with my first best friend whom I met in the early days of my schooling and who was a very cool and laid back kind of person. He used to live near my house and we used to study in the same school. It was cool being with him; strolling around on bandh days, playing holi and sharing sweets on Dilwali. We bonded pretty strongly and I never thought we would ever separate, but as we grew up things changed. He made new friends and so did I. But in spite that we used to respect each other a lot even when we wouldn’t talk; I could sense that in the way we would smile across at each other from the milling corridors of our school.  I know that wherever he is, he will always remember and respect me for the beautiful period we shared. Then of course there are so many other friends from school, whom you fought with, played with, laughed with and lived with. A selected few have stuck with me all along, right from the time we shared our lunch boxes in the 3rd standard till the date when I was struck by tragedy and needed someone to hug and let it all out. It didn’t matter that we were from different castes; that was something we rarely discuss. That, in fact is the beauty of our friendship as we enjoy visiting pandals together on Durga Puja and share hugs and sevai on Eid. All we know is to enjoy our friendship, and try and be there for each other. I thank that particular friend of mine for coming in my life and showing me this beautiful colour of friendship. There of course are many more, with some I never discuss emotional stuff and just be cool and forget some issues plaguing me. Right from the school time, where we would discuss movies, argue on whose favourite actor is better, share lady issues, exchange music and many more. I cherish all of those moments and hope that we remain friends for life. I can of course keep writing on all my school friends, but then again it is seemingly impossible to mention all of them and the impact they have had. So to each and every one of you, here goes a massive thank you for coming into my life, because I can't express this to you all directly.

I would like to briefly discuss friendship with the opposite sex here. This is something that is probably the most confused of all friendships that can ever be, but we hardly realize the importance of it and generally waste it away with disconcerted emotions. I have been lucky enough to have the most precious of female friends in my life, some of whom are already married, but the impact they have had in my life is immense. There are certain emotions and feelings that you can only discuss with the opposite sex. I believe that true friendship with the opposite sex is essential, as it makes you respectful towards them, makes you understand their varied emotions and most importantly celebrate life’s greatest treasure in its purest form. The day we all understand this, we would have learnt a great lesson in life.

Lastly, there are those very rare few who go beyond friendship and attach with you in a peculiar kind of a way which alters your life course and make you realize emotions you never had, makes you understand the true meaning of love. Yes, love is something we ponder a lot over but hardly understand the definition it holds in our lives.  I consider myself lucky that I have some special persons like those at this point in my life, people from whom I have learnt a lot, who have motivated and inspired me without even realizing it and are standing by me through and through. Surely, I must have done something good in life.

The lines from Harry Potter which I have mentioned at the beginning of this post probably signify a lot on what friendship is all about. In fact, Harry Potter (the books), to me is probably the best example of true friendship that can ever be. People who can see through its magical world would know that Ron and Hermione and their friendship for Harry is the real hero from the Potter books. They chose to stick to Harry at all times, evading all of their fears and dangers and making things easier for him in ways he could never imagine. That is what friendship is all about isn’t it? Going beyond your apprehensions, your egos and just being there for your friend when they need you the most.

In the end that is the most important thing which you will take with yourself in life; the bonds of friendship you make. When I look back at my existence in my concluding days I hope I would have created a canvas of friendship so huge that it would sustain me to breathe my last in peace. I again thank all of my friends without whom I would really be nothing.

There really is no life without friends, I realize this today more than ever. As there are times when you are scared, depressed, worried, and everything seems dark, but out of nowhere comes a hand on your shoulders and says “Don’t worry”. You realize then that the knot in your chest is slowly dissolving and your soul feels relaxed and cathartic like never before. That is the moment you can say it out aloud, “I am not worried...I have you.”