Taare Zameen Par

This film has captured my imagination as I have enjoyed another Aamir Khan movie after quite some time of bearing with boring Bollywood stuffs! This picture says it all about the movie, the sentiments behind it and most important it's relevance in Indian Society today.

The "Monkey" and the Dreaded finger - Part 2

The dreaded finger is holding a stick now. That's funny ! ICC has bowed down to BCCI and have removed Steve Bucknor from officiating the next test match at Perth.I have a feeling that the next test match would be a cracker.According to one Blog http://blogs.cricinfo.com/pakspin/ the Power of the Cricketing world have shifted to South Asia, India to be precise. Every dog has it's day ! But then I do support the writings of Kamran Abbasi.
Another funny aspect was revealed in yesterdays' Times of India column where it was mentioned that Harbhajan actually told "Teri Maa ki...." to Andrew Symonds. Poor Symonds took the phrase for "Mon ..key". Alas !! Although bhajji seems to have uttered the "M" word it was "Ma" not "Monkey" !! Pavanputra Hanuman must be laughing by now :)

The "Monkey" and the Dreaded finger - Part 1

Let me start this post with a piece of Joke. Then I would try to relate the events on the cricket fields in Australia between India and the Aussies. The joke says once there was three men, a hindu, a muslim and a sikh. They were debating on the original religious identity of Hanuman, the Hindu(Indian) Mythological Superman.Hanuman belongs to the genre of Apes.In stricter terms, in the same category as the monkey (Or a stronger/bigger version of it). The hindu fellow argues that Hanuman was/is being idolised and worshiped among Hindus from Ages, he is all over the place in Ramayan. He has to be a hindu ! The muslim suggests not to go by the writings and the ancient scriptures for Hanuman's identity. He says, "Let's take a look at the names, the nomenclature...we have so many Rehman, Suliaman ..even a Talisman...why cannot we have a Hanuman" ... There is no reason to Deny that Hanuman was a Muslim ! The debate was getting interesting and heated up. It was up to the Sikh (A sardar !) to say his final opinions. He was confident..."Aare ...you both are foolish to go by identity and names...go by the works he did".... Ravan kidnapped Sita, Ram's wife... Hanuman does the jumping around by putting fire on his tail.... ridiculous isn't it ? He must have to be a Sardar ! " The reasoning was funny enough for the judges to tilt in favour of Hanuman being a Sardar ! We that's the joke ..but in the cricketing field a Sardar has been banned for three test matched for calling a Aussie a Hanuman (Read "Monkey"). Could it be more ironic ? Harbhajan singh might have remembered the joke while calling Andrew Symonds a "Monkey". Whether Bhajji actually uttered the "M" word remains a matter of debate, but only if Symonds were aware of the role of Hanuman in Ramayana and Indian ethos..he would have happily wanted to join the Sardar Gang ! Now it is up to the BCCI and the ICC to soft out the issue and go ahead with what has been a test series of controversy. The umpires also chose to be the "Ravana" was their dreaded finger "did not" go up as expected when the Indian's were fielding. The Aussies might have gotten away with the bad decisions, but really Harbhajan Singh do not deserve a ban for three matches ! Thus goes the story of the monkey and the dreaded finger !

Benazir

Her name portrays what she really was, what she stood for in her real life...Benazir ! Her tragic assassination signals not only a gloomy scenario in Pakistan but also for her neighbours ...should I say India to be particular ?? ! A parallel could be drawn with India's Gandhi family and the Bhutto family... both had to offer a series of martyrs to their countries. Kennedy family of the United States were the initiators though. Among all the tragedy and it's repercussions , what struck me was the Pakistan Govt's efforts to cover up the real reason of her death. What a shame !! Sometime I really feel, a country which got formed due to all wrong reasons can have nothing right in it's history and political scenario.No personal prejudices against Pakistan or it's people. May be Mohamed Ali Jinnah would be able to tell better ? Or Jia Ul Haq ?? You sow what you reap.. Pakistan is getting back what it had invested in ... terrorism & fundamentalism !

Last but not the least, may the departed soul of Benazir rest in peace !!!