Sachin - The God

Being a slothful creature that I am, the sporting world doesn't excite me greatly, not even vicariously. The sports pages of my newspaper are generally skipped over and I can not dream (pun intended) of sacrificing my sleep for a game. Neither is any sport personality in my hero worship league.
But then, Sachin is no ordinary sport personality and the cricket he plays is no ordinary sport. Sachin Tendulkar is the God of cricket.
Which he has amply proved today for the nth time in his career after smashing a double ton - the first by any player in One Day Internationals so far -against South Africa in the Gwalior one-day. Which is why he remains the only sportsman I truly admire.
His cricket is of course the one thing by which we all know him but my admiration is for the level-headed, no-nonsense person he remains, in spite of his obviously exalted position in the annals of the game and in spite of the glory of immense share of our collective Indian mindscape he occupies.
This is truly a virtue in this time of excesses of all kinds, where mediocre players & personalities lose no opportunity to throw their attitude around.
Congratulations to Sachin for this achievement and congratulations to all of us that we have had this opportunity to watch him playing in our times.  

Gandhi - our adhesive

इस बार बात देश को जोड़ने और तोड़ने की.

इसी छब्बीस जनवरी को, जब टी.वी. पर "गाँधी" फिल्म दिखाई जा रही थी, मैंने इस अद्भुत और विलक्षण व्यक्तित्व (चाहे नाट्य रूपांतर ही सही) का करिश्मा एक बार फिर देखा और महसूसा.

हमारे देश में, खासकर मेरी पीढ़ी में, गाँधी को गाली देने का और उन्हें देश की दुर्दशा के बीज बोने का जिम्मेदार ठहराने का फैशन सा है. शायद ये इस लिए है कि हम बेईमान, भ्रष्ट और सत्ता-लोलुप राजनीतिज्ञों के समय में पले बढे हैं. ऐसे में, किसी ऐसे राजनीतिज्ञ की कल्पना कर पाना, जो वाकई निस्वार्थ भाव से देश के लिए जीने और मरने की ताकत और हिम्मत रखता था, अकल्पनीय है. 

अल्बर्ट आइन्स्टीन ने गाँधी के निधन पर कहा था - “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.” 

कोई आश्चर्य नहीं कि उस कठिन समय में इस आदमी ने पूरे देश से "बापू" और "महात्मा" का दर्ज़ा पाया और इसे निभाया. पूरा देश इस संत की आराधना में एक हो गया था, जुड़ गया था.

इसके उलट, छब्बीस जनवरी के बाद, फरवरी शुरू होते होते ही हमारे कुछ आधुनिक नेताओं ने राजनीतिक रोटियाँ सेकने की खातिर भारतीय जन-मानस को तोड़ने के अपने agenda को हवा दी है. 

ईकिंसवी शताब्दी में भी एक विशुद्ध कबीलाई सोच को जीवित रख कर और गरीब बेकार लोगों को क्षेत्र और भाषा के नाम पर उकसा कर  गुंडा-गर्दी मचा पाने में वो आज तक जैसे सफल हुए हैं, वो भयावह है. 

पर ख़ुशी की बात यह है कि इस बार, पहली बार यह लग रहा है कि middle-of-the-road, sensible thinking के बहुत से दावेदार उठ खड़े हुयें हैं. यहाँ तक कि घोर हिंदुत्व-वादी पार्टियां भी इनमे शामिल हैं. आशा है इस बार घृणा के बादल छंट पाएंगे और कुछ मंगलमय  होगा. 

जैसा गाँधी ने कहा था - When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it - always.

Ishqiya

I am just back after watching Ishqiya and am awash with its honesty and originality in all respects. It is not quite often that you find such original films from your usual Bollywood stables.
Ishqiya is a tale of how two ruffians, who are running away from a gang-lord, need to take shelter at a widow’s house and how this stay plays out. “Ishq” (love) is the overpowering emotion that runs throughout the film. All the three characters experience it in their own way, which is why the name.
The widow is played by Vidya Balan, in which we see a powerful female protagonist after a long time. She plays Krishna who knows her mind and speaks it too – cuss words and all. This, according to me, is Vidya’s coming of age movie, where she portrays a real woman, far removed from her earlier plastic glamdoll roles (Though I admit I have not yet watched Paa). I am sure she could be a formidable contender for the Best Actress award in 2010.
The other two protagonists are Naseer and Arshad Warsi. Now, what can one say about Naseer which has not been said before. An actor par excellence, he gets under the skin of his character so beautifully. Arshad Warsi is simply a delight to watch. His body language of a desi ruffian is flawless, complemented by some brilliant dialogues in regional accent. And their hilarious comedy is a treat.
It is a completely desi film set in the eastern UP with gun running and kidnapping industry forming the backdrop. And as I said earlier, the honesty of the film lies not only in the realistic backdrop but also the emotional interplay between the characters. There is none of that soft-lens romance but only raw emotion which flows throughout. 
It is only the ending, which, I felt could have been more rounded off. But that is only a small hitch, which should not at all prevent you from watching this brilliant film from Abhishek Chaubey. Do go and enjoy it.

Happy Republic Day!

गणतंत्र दिवस के अवसर पर आप को, हम सब को बधाई और हमारे तिरंगे को सलाम.
आशा है कि तमाम मुश्किलों के बावजूद यह गणतंत्र कायम रहेगा और उत्तरोतर उन्नति करेगा!
कल पुरानी दिल्ली की गलियाँ छानते हुए दो बंद पडी दुकानों के shutters के रंग देख कर दिमाग में तिरंगा छा गया, तो एक फोटो ले डाली. मन चंगा तो कठौती में गंगा, कहत हैं न?

पुष्प की "अभिलाषा"

In the selfish times that we inhabit, people who would stand up for the larger good of the community are a rarity. Most of us lack the time, inclination and courage to think about and work for anything which lies beyond our immediate concerns. 
It therefore gives me pleasure to introduce you to Abhilasha, a dear old family friend. She has successfully spearheaded a community movement and prevented MCD (Municipal Commission of Delhi) from turning one of her colony parks into a parking lot. 
Above is a recent article in the Hindustan Times of 8th Jan'10 which applauds this effort. I apologize for the slightly tacky look of the article but because I could not blog it directly from the HT, I had to scan and put it up for you to see. I am however sure the beauty of her intent and work would more than compensate for this. 

Saal Mubarak- 3 Idiots

At the onset, let me wish all of you a great 2010 ahead! I wish we all grow happier, richer and wiser in this year, far removed from the gloom of 2008 and 2009.

In this first post of the year, therefore, I would be talking about a happy film which I caught over the last weekend - 3 Idiots.

3 Idiots is a delightful and intelligent movie – a fun story with a message, exactly the kind you would expect from the coming together of Rajkumar Hirani & Aamir Khan.

The basic story idea of a journey of 3 friends through their engineering college years is from the famous book “Five Point Someone” by Chetan Bhagat. Beyond the story idea, however, Hirani has fleshed out the characters and situations in his inimitable style and yet again has succeeded in making a movie with a message without being didactic. And he has been immensely helped in this endeavour by all his actors.

Aamir Khan it seems is now capable of bringing gravitas to any script with his sincerity. This film is no different. Far removed from the beef-cake look of his last film Ghazni, he now wears a diminutive look of a fresh college student with perfect elan. Sharman and Madhvan as the remaining 2 idiots are also extremely good - specially Sharman, who has developed in to a fine comic actor. About Boman Irani, what can one say! His thorough transformation in to the character is a treat to watch. And Kareena is surprisingly very good.
But even more than the actors, the message around which the film has been built is the real star - that pedagogy should be trounced in favour of real merit and that excellence begets success and not the other way round.
I would admit that there are fleeting moments where, as my dear friend Manish put it, one gets the feeling of Taare Zameen Par meets Munna Bhai but in the end the whole turns out to be greater than the sum of parts.
So go watch it. ALL IZZ WELL!!

Rocket Singh

Rocket Singh is such an obviously sincere film with 3-or-above-star rating from every critic in town that I am scared stiff of speaking anything against it.

The fact however remains that apart from a new theme of office politics (no, its definitely not an ode to entrepreneurship), some extremely good acting by Ranbir, and brilliant dialogue by Jaideep Sahni, it has nothing else to offer.

It seems Shimit Amin is suffering from the same moral dilemma as his hero does - he is not able to decide how to project honesty & truthfulness - as a virtue or as a vice. Overall, I do not find it a well-rounded film - not in the league of Shimit's Chak De et al.

And what is with the नकली mustaches I do not understand! Couldn't the characters of Naveen Kaushik (Nitin Rathore) and Manish Chaudhary (Puri) have grown real ones?

'Many'cure?

हमारे देश में अंग्रेजी के बलात्कार का एक नमूना आप की नज़र. (नज़दीक से देखने के लिए फोटो पर डबल क्लिक करें).

बाकी सब तो फिर भी चला लेंगे पर child cutting? वीभत्स!

Bigg Boss

When it started, Bigg Boss – the reality TV show – was somewhere at the top of my “most hated TV programs” list – voyeurism at its worst. In its 3^rd season, however, I am surprised, even a little bit ashamed I admit, that I am hooked on to Bigg Boss! I now find it among the most interesting programs on the telly!

I understand an explanation is due.

The initial ice-breaker was the new host Amitabh Bachchan who for me upped the credibility of the show. It seems to me that the general flippancy abounding in the earlier shows has been replaced by a certain gravitas, even though studiously manufactured.

But more than that, it is the format which I have now started seeing in a new light. I earlier considered it no more than putting a few celebrities together and enjoy their shenanigans.

As I watched however, I have been increasingly fascinated of this unique psychological laboratory where human subjects, completely shorn of their celebrity status, act and react to real and imagined pressure cooker situations. Of course, like all reality TV, much of it must be manufactured reality but even then, it is done quite subtly.

Of course, one last and important reason is the participants themselves, all of whom are quite interesting this time. Of course, beneath their different personalities, quirks and idiosyncrasies, they reiterate how similar all human beings are, how we value ourselves more than anything or anyone else and how we love to see others fall.

Any guesses on who would be the winner this time?

Kaise Hota Hai

A young friend of mine recently passed away in a most unfortunate manner. 29 is no age to go, not by a cardiac arrest, not in any manner.

While at his funeral, I could not bear the sight of his father - helpless, desolate and apparently bereft of any emotions. Cheated by life, he seemed to me. I can not even imagine the hell he must be going through. I just wish & pray he and the whole family is able to pull themselves together and come out of this.

Curiously, at this time, I am also reminded about a poem I wrote 4 years ago about how when a child is born, s/he fills up, lights up our entire lives. I reproduce it below, with a strange hope that as times go by, happier memories would soften the cruel blow of destiny:

कैसे होता है?

कैसे होता है,

कि

मासूम हंसी का एक तार

सी देता है ज़िन्दगी के सारे पैबंद

और

एक मुस्कराहट भर के लिए

दम भरती है ज़िन्दगी

करती है - इंतज़ार

कैसे होता है

कि

बंजर दिल की ज़मीं को

तर कर देते हैं

सिर्फ दो नन्हे आंसू,

और उदास एक नज़र से

मानती है खुदाई भी हार

कैसे होता है

कि नन्हे दो हाथों में

उतर आता है

सारा आसमां

और

छोटे छोटे कदम

बन जाते हैं

आहट ज़िन्दगी की

कैसे होता है

कि

एक किलकारी भर से

होती है बसावट

पूरी ज़िन्दगी की!

(19.01.2004)

Good Bye JP.

Manohar Shyam Joshi

हिंदी और अंग्रेजी के बहुत से उपन्यास, कहानियां और पत्रिकाएँ मैंने पढी हैं - साहित्यिक, माडर्न टाइप, पुराने क्लास्सिक्स, लुगदी साहित्य, और न जाने "कैफे कैफे". एक आम पाठक की हैसियत से मैंने यह पाया है कि साहित्य के मोटे तौर पर दो ही पहलू हैं - एक कथानक, दूसरा भाषा. इन दोनों की गुणवत्ता और सामंजस्य ही उस कृति, चाहे वो कहानी हो या कविता, की गुणवत्ता, प्रखरता और प्रभाव निर्धारित करता है.

इस लिहाज से मेरे विचार में बहुत थोड़े से ही लेखक ऐसे हैं कि जिनकी शैली, यानी लिखा हुआ शब्द और कथानक यानी शब्दों के बीच की कहानी, दोनों इतने दमदार, ओरिजनल और अनूठे होते हैं कि मानो पन्नों से निकल कर सीधे अन्दर के इंसान से डायरेक्ट रिश्ता बना ले जाते हैं. इस श्रेणी में सबसे ऊपर मैं रखता हूँ मनोहर श्याम जोशी को.

हम में से अधिकतर लोग मनोहर श्याम जोशी को दूरदर्शन के पहले मशहूर टी.वी सीरियल "हम लोग" के लेखक के रूप में जानते होंगे, जैसा कि मेरे अल्प-ज्ञान की बदौलत मैं जानता था. जैसा कि उस वय में हमारे साथ होता था, एक टी.वी सीरियल की सफलता में हमें सिर्फ परदे पर चेहरे दीख पाते थे, परदे के पीछे नहीं. इस लिए यह नाम आया गया हो गया, जो कि बड़ी भूल हुई.

फिर अभी करीब पांच साल पहले एक सह-ब्लॉगर "सिलबिल" ने मुझे "कसप" के बारे में बताया, जिसके जरिये मेरा बाकायदा परिचय जोशी जी की लेखनी से हुआ. "कसप" पहाड़ी पृष्ठभूमि में लिखी गयी एक हिंदी प्रेमकथा (उपन्यास) है, जिस का नायक एक अनाथ और निर्धन युवक डी.डी. (देबिया या देबिदुत्त तिवारी) है और नायिका है बेबी नाम्नी एक खिलंदढ़ कन्या. मैं आपसे सच कहता हूँ, ऐसी भावप्रण और ईमानदार प्रेमकथा मैंने आज तक न पढी है और ना ही परदे पर देखी है. पहाडी आंचलिक परिवेश और भाषा इस प्रेम-कहानी को एक अलग ही आयाम दे देते हैं. यह मुझे बाद में पता लगा कि इस उपन्यास को लोग हिंदी साहित्य के एक मील के पत्थर की तरह मानते हैं.

इस शानदार उपन्यास के बाद मैं इनका एक अन्य उपन्यास "कुरु कुरु स्वाहा" पढ़ पाया, जो कि एक और अजब ही, करीब करीब वर्णातीत सी चीज़ निकली. उपन्यास के जैकेट पर भी ऐसा ही कुछ वर्णन है, नोश फरमाइए - "नाम बेढब, शैली बेडौल, कथानक बेपेंदे का. कुल मिला कर बेजोड़ बकवास. अब यह पाठक पर है कि "बकवास" को "एब्सर्ड" का पर्याय माने या न माने". और, इसी के एक पात्र के शब्दों में - " अईसा कामेडी है कि दर्शिक लोग जानेगा, केतना हास्यास्पद है त्रास अऊर केतना त्रासद है हास्य." आंचलिक भाषाओँ पर अपनी बेहद मजबूत पकड़ का परिचय जोशी जी यहाँ पर भी दे देते हैं - पंजाबी और बम्बईया लहजों से सराबोर हिंदी से पाठक का परिचय करवा के.

"स्वाहा" के बाद बारी थी "ट-टा प्रोफ़ेसर" की, जिसे मैंने बड़ी शिद्दत से ढूँढा. आखिरकार, लैंडमार्क स्टोर पर हिंदी किताबों के निष्कासित और भूले भूले से सेक्शन में मेरी किस्मत जागी. एक ही सिटिंग में मैं इसे पढ़ गया और बिलकुल भी निराश नहीं होना पड़ा. यह उपन्यास भी "स्वीकृत मानदंडों की दृष्टि से पूरी तरह तर्क-संगत और प्रासंगिक नहीं होने के बावजूद हिंदी उपन्यासों में एक विशिष्ट दर्जा रखता है....एक पात्र की ही नहीं, एक कहानी की भी कहानी है....." (जैकेट से).

एक जीवंत और प्रमाणिक भाषा के अलावा जोशी जी के लेखन में दो चार बातें और मैंने पायी. एक तो यह कि हर कहानी के केंद्र में नायक का अकेलापन है जो पूरी कहानी को एक अबूझ और attractive उदासी दे देता है. दूसरा यह कि पूरी कहानी के दौरान एक तीसरी आँख कैमरे की तरह फिल्म बनाती चलती है, जो शायद उनके फिल्म अनुभव की वजह से है. इस से कहानी में एक अलग ही dynamics और perspective पैदा हो जाते हैं और कहानी को एक अलग ही गति दे देते हैं. तीसरी बात यह है कि कोई भी कहानी किसी मेसेज के ढकोसले में फँस कर पाठक के बौद्धिक स्तर का अपमान नहीं करती. कहानी सिर्फ कहानी होती है. चौथी बात शायद आपने अब तक नोट कर ही ली होगी - उनके अनूठे और रहस्यमयी से शीर्षक.

कुल मिला कर यह कि पहली फुर्सत में जोशी जी को पढ़ डालिए और रसास्वादन कीजिये. तब तक मैं इनकी अन्य कृतियाँ जुटाता हूं.

Dev. D

The best tribute any filmmaker can pay to his favorite work of art is when s/he retells it in his own way.

Dev D, though of course based on the original story by Shart Babu, is an out and out Anurag Kashyap film – completely hat ke, and very bold – not recommended for your usual Bollywood aficionados. I watched it a couple of days back, and it is only now that I have been able to shake off its stupor.

It is not only that the story has been made contemporary by placing it firmly in rural Punjab and Paharganj, and dovetailing it with certain current happenings in Delhi. The undercurrent of emotions that run through the film is also so palpably real and so modern, not far-fetched and unfathomable for we the real people. And the characters, including the protagonist Dev, are very realistically etched out, away from the “classic” and “pristine” characters of all the earlier versions.

Of course, the film would not be what it is without some marvelous acting by Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill and Kalki. Thank God for actors like Abhay, and directors like Anurag Kashyap, who have tried hard, and been successful, in growing apart from the formula land of bad Bollywood. Without them, we would be so much the poorer.

Talking too much about the film would spoil the fun for the unlucky ones (or simply out-of-date types like me) who have not watched it yet. Just let me say that ten years down the line, it would surely be counted as one of the milestones of Hindi cinema. So, go ahead and watch it. Pronto.

Jaat Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki

भारतीय रंग-कर्म के लेखन क्षेत्र में विजय तेंदुलकर एक कद्दावर नाम है, यह मैंने पहली बार बीस साल पहले तब जाना था जब स्कूल में उनके लिखे एक प्रख्यात नाटक "खामोश, अदालत जारी है" पर आधारित (सिर्फ़ "आधारित, क्यूंकि स्कूल के बालकों के लिए इस की थीम काफी बोल्ड थी) एक नाटक का मंचन देखा था।
कल एन.एस.डी रंगमंडल की प्रस्तुति "जात ही पूछो साधू की" देख कर लौटा हूँ और एक बार फिर शिद्दत के साथ विजय तेंदुलकर, और साथ ही में रंगशाला के कलाकारों का और हिन्दी अनुवादक डॉ। वसंत देव का, कला-कौशल महसूस रहा हूँ।
"जात.." एक बहुत ही आम, कस्बाई युवक महीपत की कहानी है जो हमारे देश के लाखों युवकों की कहानी की तरह तीसरे दर्जे में एम्.ए पास से शुरू हो कर, जात-पात, भाई-भतीजावाद, गंवाई राजनीती और असफल प्यार से होती हुई अंततः बे-रोजगारी पर ख़त्म होती है.
कहानी बिलकुल सीधी-सादी, या यूँ कहें कि एक-आयामी ही है पर विजय तेंदुलकर के हाथों में एक farce का treatment पा कर, और वसंत देव के शानदार हिंदी अनुवाद और आंचलिक संवादों से सज कर यह एक घनघोर हास्य नाटक में बदल गयी है. और इस पर रंगमंडल (NSD repertoire) के कलाकारों के उच्च स्तरीय अभिनय ने इस नाटक की प्रशंस्नीयता को अक्षुण रखा है. नायक महीपत की भूमिका में अम्बरीश सक्सेना बहुत दमदार हैं, और इसके अलावा बबना, नलिनी और चेयरमैन (सुरेश शर्मा) भी कमाल के हैं. सुरेश शर्मा रंगमंडल के प्रमुख हैं, और इन्हें "घासीराम कोतवाल" में नाना के रोल में देखना भी एक अनुभव ही था.
ऐसे नाटकों को देख कर यह अहसास होता है कि वाकई अभिनय कला की सही कसौटी मंच ही है, फूहड़ फिल्में, भद्दे टी.वी सीरिअल और रियलिटी टी.वी प्रोग्राम नहीं.
नाटकों के बारे में और बातें फिर कभी.

Police Sensitization

A few days back, I was reading an editorial in the Hindustan Times which talked about an unfortunate incident in which some policemen & women beat up a mentally ill girl because she turned violent.

The editorial argued that the police force needs to be reformed and sensitized about such matters.

My response, in an unpublished letter, is as follows:

This is apropos your editorial "Are we really a police state?" in HT dated August 27, 2009.

You have rightly raised a very apt question about the lack and immediate need thereof of sensitization of our police force. It was indeed painful to learn about a mentally ill girl being thrashed mercilessly in public, which is yet another instance of police behaviour at its worst.

In my view, however, this is not the problem per se; it is only a symptom of a deeper malaise. Police force, like any other institution, is not a faceless entity. It is essentially a group of people who, rather than being unleashed by the heavens above, are common people drawn from the society itself.

And it is our societal collective mindset – essentially feudalistic, acutely class-conscious, intolerant of the maginalised of any manner and opportunistic of the first order, rules be damned – which is being reflected in each one of us, policemen included, only with different degrees of manifestation in line with the opportunity provided.

It has to be recognized therefore that without a corrective action on the root cause, therefore, it would only be a symptomatic treatment at best.

Sincerely Yours

Kaminey

Yesterday, after we had unfurled the Tricolour at our residence apartments, I went to watch Kaminey, the new Vishal Bhardwaj film.

Kaminey is a story about how the lives of two identical brothers, one a small time gambler and the other an idealist, crisscross each other in a series of incidents and after many manoeuvers, culminate in a happily–ever–after end. The title Kaminey (hindi), which loosely translates into a wicked or a vile fellow, derives from the wickedness of the gambler brother and how he uses this trait to survive in the world.

It is now beyond dispute that Vishal is surely an above-average film-maker, with gems like Omkara, Maqbool and The Blue Umbrella to his credit. It has to be said, however, that Kaminey falls just a whisper short of the high standards and expectations one has of him.

It has a rather clichéd story line, reminding one of the old 70s films, complete with bura bhai - achha bhai clashes, villain ka adda and late entry of the police et al.

Admittedly, the treatment and the screen-play is authentic Vishal but the earthliness and the gritty reality which seeps through each of his films has this time been replaced in part by a sort of flight of fancy – what else can you say when you see Priyanka Chopra holding and firing a machine gun!

And the characterization and role-etching, which is always a high point of his films, also leaves something to be desired. Not only were there many small characters which were just introduced and left on fringes completely unexplored, the good brother character of Shahid also suffers from this.

Lest you be scared of the movie, however, let me reiterate that the standards by which I am judging Kaminey are a bit harsh - those which have been set up by Vishal’s earlier films. As a stand-alone film, Kaminey is a gripping movie, exemplifying Vishal’s superior understanding of this craft and has its strong points.

First, the film unearths a different Shahid Kapur – it stands to surely catapult him from the “boys’ club” to “men-only” section. It could be termed an out-and-out Shahid film. Add to that a surprise villain in Amole Gupte.

Second is the delightful music score – a combination of some brilliant lyrics by Gulzar (who else can write Dhan Te Nan with such élan?), music by Vishal himself, both riding on the voices of Sukhwinder and Mohit Chauhan.

Third is the fast pace and slick editing of the film, which keeps the adrenaline flowing.

All in all, the movie merits a must-watch-once tag.

White Mughals & Hyderabad

It was in May that I was reading White Mughals by Willian Dalrymple, when a lovely coincidence resulted in my visit to Hyderabad during that time.

White Mughals, though technically classified as a history book, is essentially a true & moving love story between an English resident James William Kirkpatrick and a Hyderabadi noble woman Kahirunnissa, set in Hyderabad of 18^th century. Kirkpatrick took to Islam to marry this woman.

Keeping this love story in the foreground, Dalrymple has explored and evidenced the inter-cultural and inter-racial mingling of an improbably large number of British people with the Indians at that time.

Having considered the English as mostly colonial masters and India-haters, I was really surprised to learn that there were actually a large number of Englishmen who not only did not hate India, but loved this country so much that they embraced the Indian culture in totality– dress, cuisine, lifestyles – everything. The rare photos reproduced of the Englishmen including the protagonist show them all decked up in Indian finery, complete with hookahs et al. A large number of them had Indian wives. Many of them spoke fluent Persian and Hindustani, got their palms hennaed and even nursed the ubiquitous Indian symbol - moustache.

For a historian, Dalrymple has an excellent narrative style. Considering that he does not have the luxury of a fictional plot, the story he has pieced together from the available sources including private letters is truly a compelling one, and I could feel the passion of the main characters.

Another surprise protagonist which emerges from the story is the city of Hyderabad. Dalrymple has been able to create a lively approximation of Hyderabad of yore. The painstaking research, though digressive sometimes, sparkles through each and every page.

(Image Courtesy: FlytoHyderabad.com)

When I first visited Hyderabad around 7 years back, I was pleasantly surprised to find a clean, energetic city with wide roads (it was during the reign of Chandrababu Naidu) in place of a stinking city which some people had warned it to be. There is however a more important thing about the city which I felt - it seems to present a delightful confluence of North and South Indian cultures, as symbolised by the language (ready understanding and acceptability of Hindi in this southern state) and food (delicious cuisine which is able to satiate even a North Indian palate).

This time, however, I long to see beyond the present, and explore the forgotten monuments like the British Residency, Begum's Garden, Raymond's Tomb etc, and visualise the past in places like Banjara Hills. But whenever I do this, I am sure I will be armed with this gem of a tome.

छुट्टियाँ ख़त्म या छुट्टियां शुरू

Now that the summer vacations of my son, who is in Class III, have ended, it seems mine and my wife's have truly started.

Till the last week, as we raced towards the deadline of school re-opening, we were fully consumed after our office hours in making charts, sticking pictures, tying up project-reports and what have you, all in the interest of timely completion of his "holiday homework". I talked to some "fellow travelers" in distress and the common refrain was - इतना तो हम हमारे टाइम में पढ़ लेते तो आज IAS कर चुके होते !!

The phrase "Holiday Homework" truly must rate amongst the top 10 oxymorons in the Indian English. After all, what remains of holidays for a poor child with so much homework to complete is anybody's guess. I fondly remember our times when holidays were pure fun, untouched by anything remotely curricular and academic. And this did not make us any poorer in education, my contemporaries would agree.

I am sure I state the obvious in saying that it is we parents who are to blame for this sorry state. Today, when most of us are maniacally driving our children towards super-human goals, we expect the schools to play their part. Driven, therefore, by our anxities and in their zeal to provide us a better "product" that education has now become, the schools work out unassailable tasks for the children as homeworks, which even parents find quite tough. No wonder then that there have sprung up specialised shops catering to school projects and homework!

I wish the educationalists and acamedicians would recognize this as a problem and devise some such simple assignments, if needed at all, which could make the lives of our children more relaxed and fun, and ours more relieved.

Happy and Gay?

Apropos the Delhi High Court judgement over gay rights, it is amusing to note that both the opponents and proponents of the judgement have, even if inadvertently, reduced this issue to just a Freudian debate.

This judgement is an endorsement of personal liberty and rights and inclusiveness, which any sane and civil person already understands. That the state also now does so is all the more welcome. It is one less opportunity for the insensitive law enforcerers to harrass civil people on imaginary pretexts. So far so good.

However, the accompanying celebrations and felicitations and the whole picture painted in the media has twisted this issue out of context. It almost seems like a glorification of the LGBT lifestyle choice, if there is one, over our less interesting, boringly normal heterosexual lifestyles.

This we definitely do not need. It has to be clearly understood that the issue is about inclusiveness towards the "differently normal", if I may dare to coin a term, and not about their validation as normal.

The same sentiments are carried in my letter to the editor in today's edition of Indian Express, Delhi.

I would love to hear what you think about this sensitive topic.

गोरा

मैंने अक्सर किताबें पढ़ते हुए सोचा है कि ऐसा क्या है जो एक लेखक को औरों से ज्यादा पठनीय बनता है, एक महान लेखक को आम लेखकों से अलग करता है, और सबसे बड़ी बात - उसकी रचनाओं को कालजयी बना देता है।
बहुत साल पहले जब प्रेमचंद को मैंने पहली बार पढ़ा था तो इस प्रश्न से मेरा पहला साबका था। इस बार, मैंने गुरुदेव रबिन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर का उपन्यास "गोरा" ख़त्म किया है , और मुझे लगता है कि मैंने उत्तर पा लिया है। "गोरा" मूलतः बांगला भाषा में है, जो मैं नहीं पढ़ पाता हूँ। इसलिए कुछ दो-एक महीने पहले जब मुझे सत्चितानंद वात्स्यायन "अज्ञेय" द्वारा हिन्दी में इस उपन्यास का अनुवाद मिला तो मैंने तुंरत इसे उठा लिया - गुरुदेव को पढ़ पाने का इस से बेहतर और प्रामाणिक अनुवाद और क्या हो सकता था।
"गोरा" एक ऐसा वृहत उपन्यास है जो स्वतंत्रता के कुछ दशक पहले के कलकत्ता में स्थित किया गया है और जो मित्रता, देशप्रेम, पारिवारिक सवाल-जवाबों और स्त्री-पुरूष प्रेम के ताने बाने में गूँथ कर तत्कालीन बांगला, या कहें कि भारतीय समाज की, न केवल वास्तु-स्थिति प्रस्तुत करता है बल्कि उसके अन्तर-विरोधों और रूढियों पर भी चोटें करता है। गौरमोहन नामक युवक इस उपन्यास के मुख्य पात्रों में से एक है, और इस उपन्यास के नाम का कारण भी। कहानी जानने के लिए आपको उपन्यास में डुबकी लगानी होगी।
यहाँ मैं आपसे मेरे प्रश्न का उत्तर बांटने में ज्यादा उत्सुक हूँ, चाहे साहित्य के गंभीर पाठकों और विद्यार्थियों के लिए शायद यह सब इतना नया न हो।
निपट सरल भाषा में जटिल से जटिल बात कह देना सभी महान लेखकों का संभवतः पहला विशेष लक्षण है। मैंने अंग्रेज़ी में सलमान रश्दी को पढ़ा है, और कदम कदम पर शब्दकोष की आवश्यकता महसूस की है। इस के बाद, शायद मेरे शब्द-ज्ञान में तो वृद्धि हुई होगी, लेकिन कहानी का रस कहीं बीच ही में छूट गया। इसके उलट, गुरुदेव और प्रेमचंद और इनके समकक्ष अन्य रचनाकार अपने पाठकों पर धाक ज़माने से ज्यादा अपनी बात को कहने और समझाने में विश्वास रखते हैं - वे सरल शब्दों का प्रयोग करते हैं और इस लिए आम जन से अपने आपको सायास ही जोड़ लेते हैं।
दूसरी महत्त्वपूर्ण बात - इन सभी रचनाकारों में मानव मन की गांठें खोल पाने का, और गहन भावनाओं को पाठक तक अपने शुध्ह्तम रूप में पहुँचा पाने का अद्भुत कला कौशल है। सभी पात्रों की सोच और उनके विचारों को इतनी ईमानदारी से हमारे समक्ष रख पाना कोई मामूली बात नहीं है।
तीसरी और आखरी बात जो मैं समझ पाया वह कारण से अधिक परिणाम है - महान कलाकारों की रचनायें बूढी नहीं होती। देश, काल और समय के परे यह आज भी हमें छू पाने का माद्दा रखती हैं।
आज इतना ही। साहित्य के बारे में आपके विचारों की प्रतीक्षा रहेगी.

Trichy

Every time I travel out of Delhi NCR to far-flung cities and small towns, it is a pleasure to be relieved of my claustrophobic, Delhi-centric vision and be treated to the varied cultural experience that real India has to offer.

We (my friends DD, K and I) are just back from a week long business tour to Trichy in Tamilnadu, which I had earlier considered to be an inconsequential “Madrasi” town, mainly an industrial area. It is an industrial town, yes, but has other interesting facets too.

Trichy (or Tiruchirapalli) is the fourth largest city of Tamilnadu. Apart from being an important centre for industry (major energy sector related industry), it is a big religious tourism hub (many temples) and an education centre too (Dr. CV Raman and Dr. Kalam and some of the renowned “alumni” of the city).

The industry visits took my maximum time, which was why we were actually there. It has a dense concentration of BHEL ancillaries which are manufacturing varied equipments for the energy sector.

To complete the religious itinerary, we visited the two major temples - Shree Ranganathan Temple, which, as wikipedia informs, is the largest functioning Hindu (Vaisnava) temple in the world and Rockfort Temple, a Shiva temple on an 83mtrs high rock, which is a geographical anomaly in an otherwise flat landscape (see pic).

Both the temples are generally well-managed from a devotee’s point of view, as temples down South are known to be, but for a small anomaly - none of the important historical and mythological information is displayed in any language other than Tamil.

Owing to this, it was frustrating for me to not being able to decipher these markers and delve deeper in to so much history and culture and mythology right in front of me. Somebody needs to seriously look in to it.

We also visited an ancient Grand Anicut (dam) which is still functional (see pic) but did not seem to be very well promoted. With a little more effort, I am sure it could be developed in to a good resort.

There is a small army cantonment area which I suspect might be from the colonial times but it has remained completely unexplored by me.

Apart from this, we had a limited interaction with the city as a civic centre, but it was delightful to be treated to actual Tamilnadu, beyond the cosmopolitanism of Chennai. From what we could see, Trichy is a well maintained city with good civic services. Most notable for us Dilliwallahs was the extraordinarily large, well managed and sparklingly clean fleet of city buses.

The food is unapologetically south Indian, as is ought to be. To be fair, there are a lot of eateries “specializing” in different cuisines – Bombay Chappathy, North Indian dhall tharka, Chow mein and what not but everytime we deviated from the staple fare, it was an adventure best forgotten. Except the unfailingly excellent “kaapi” every time and the ubiquitous “paan”.

Trichy would remain with me as my first window to the mofussil Tamilnadu.