Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe

To

My friends, wherever they are

Hi y’all

Another vacation is upon me.. but sadly, it is the last one, in the next 3 years. So, I intend to laze around, and make it as unproductive as possible. Of course, being me, that won’t take much effort.

In the grand tradition of all the students, of seasons past, and seasons to come, hols are the perfect opportunity, to catch up on all the movies that you miss while college is on.

I have been averaging around 3 flicks a day.. I am not complaining at all, but my mom is already budgeting the cost of my next, MORE POWERFUL spectacles.

I caught up on Don(no comments please,,,) and vivah.. now that is a movie which is a brilliant example of identifying your core target audience, and catering to them, unabashedly.

It is structured to tug at the hearts and the hands holding the handkerchiefs, of the Bhabhis and saas, across the hindi heartland. While I did not think too highly of it, it remains an ok, watchable film. But word of caution, don’t watch it with the female of the species.. you run the risk of being labeled “ Insensitive”, when you cant help sniggering at several sequences.

I did not think too much of Dhoom2. it remains an expensive, yet thoughtless imitation of several movies which we have committed to memory. And it baffles me, how a skinny bones Ash, can become an object of admiration.. watchable on DVD or Tv, when it comes out.. that’s my opinion..

Gonna catch up on Casino royale this week.

I heard the music of Guru.. as usual, for a Rehman score, you have to grow close to it.. but it is def one of his best scores to date.. 4 and a half thumbs to Mani and A.R.

And for literature, I read Jude the Obscure.. I would recommend this book to anyone, wishing to be a journo or a writer, not because the writing is brilliant, but because I think, that the book is a work of courage.

Let me explain. Thomas hardy wrote it in the 19^th century. The book deals with failed marriage, divorce, marriage between cousins, separation from the church, searing dismissal of the papal doctrines of leading life, child murder and adultery.

Now, imagine writing all this, in today’s times... there would be a parliamentary inquiry, and the book would be banned.. TV channels would have material for their talk shows for a month and so on..

Now, hardy wrote it in 19^th Century, and braved the cold shoulders of the church, the parliament, and ostracism by his peers. As a favor to the publisher, he modified the ending, to show that JUDE, an immoral man, by society’s standards( a point that is debatable, which is the essence of the book), must suffer, as “ Wickedness must be punished!” sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Apart from that, I have been reading a 7 part volume, called the Krishna Avatara, by K.L. Munshi.

It is a practical take, on how the legend of shri Krishna could have come about. It also offers information, that we generally do not get, as most of us, have only grown up on 3 interpretations of Ved Vyasa’s Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana.

I recommend reading it, for those interested in reading about Indian mythologies.

In other news, I watched the Lok Sabha session today, for a change. While the behaviour of the Honourable Members has not improved a lot, I was very impressed by the arguments, put forth by Shrimati Sushila Mahajan( I think that was the name), who raised the issue of inflation, in the house at 5in the evening, when the parliament was empty.

While her points would merit a whole post, I will stick to the last point she made, to Mr. Sharad Pawar, who was also present.

She wanted to know, why, a government, which pays it’s farmers, only 700 per quintal of wheat, and had tonnes rotting away in storage, paid a huge sum, of around 1100 per quintal of wheat, from Australia, to feed the same farmers!!

Mr. Pawar’s mind was noticeably elsewhere( might I suggest, that he was preparing for interviews on ganguly’s return, to the team?)

A scandal of massive proportions, is being ignored by all, in the wake of a delayed sanju judgement, and shibu soren’s conviction.. which exposes BJP’s hypocrisy, as JMM was part of NDA once..

and i am disgusted with a news media, that has more airtime for Aishwarya's Kundali and Sanjay Dutt's judgement, and little on the increasing deforestation in tribal areas( save for the Hindu) and the rise in personal Loans to foreigns Banks.. trust me, that is heading us on the Argentinian way, yet not a whimper of concern, from our Economic experts..

Well, that’s about all I have done thus far.. what have you been upto? Do keep me updated on what’s going on..

Catch up with ya later..

Bye

archith

a century ago

some very significant things, that took place, a hundred years ago:

• Britain finally adopted an Indian Standard Time.. thus setting into motion, a century long struggle, for the college student, to arrive in class, on TIME
• Rolls Royce was officially registered.. and true beauty and snobbishness, made a graceful merger, a long long time, after cleopatra's passing away( AHH! What a pretty nose!)
• The Great Earthquake of San Francisco, happened. and i am not such an inhuman beast, to make a triviality, of such a tragedy.
• the first Phonographic Player, called the Victorola, was manufactured. think of it as the first steps of man, before he WALK(man)ed away, to the gradens to music, to pluck the delicate (I) Pods
• SOS was internationally adopted as a distress call.. and dolphins were laughing, at how, despite all our so called " Intelligence", the only language, on the high seas, were CLICKS
• the first Commercial feature film, called " the story of the Kelly Gang" was released. and thus, people unfit for any other decent job, suddenly found themselves, fully occupied and paid, for not doing anything noteworthy, but just bitch in general. we also call them Movie Critics..
• The All India Muslim League was formed. and so, Sunny Deol could, ninety years later, make a comeback, and shout his lungs out, and indian music composers no longer had to feel guilty about lifting western music. oh, and we became a nation of great batsmen..

much thanks to wiki, for making this possible..

A Civil Right Part 1

Well, this post is strictly aimed at a very niche junta.. I know that most of you might feel this post is not worth your while, to go through, so go ahead and skip this. This is serious fanboy stuff here.

Now, ordinarily, being the only guy in my class, who actively spends hours online, to keep track with what the comic book industry is dishing out these days( I think), I am accustomed to being the outcast.

So yeah, I did identify with Peter Parker and ilk, way back in school. Which resonates with most comic geeks, I know.

And being in India, was a toughie, as the DC and Marvel issues we got in libraries, were old stuff. I mean , I even read an old issue, with the 1^st appearance of Superboy in it.

That issue is now worth a cool 50K $, but I never told my librarian that.. anyways, I was on the verge of quitting on comics for good. Cos most stories were meting out the same thing over and over again. I had also almost quit on Bruce Wayne, when they healed his broken back overnight, and Peter Parker, when the awful Clone saga started.

So, till 2003, I kept in touch with the continuity, intermittently, but still, querying FTP servers, for old issues.

But last 3 years, saw a renaissance of sorts. First off, I think Jim Lee is the best thing to happen to comics, since Frank Miller. I fell in love with Selina Kyle, again( for like 3^rd time), after reading HUSH.

I seriously recommend it to people, who aren’t remotely interested in comics, to go through it, for the artwork alone.

Then, Marvel unleashed the powerful, gripping House of M. I mean the characterization was on the lines of what we read, in good novels. And for once, a big crossover, had a serious repercussion on the comic universe( after 84, when the Crisis on Infinite Earths, wiped out BILLIONS of people).

I mean, the biggest change was, that the mutants, were down to a real MINORITY for a long long time.

Then, DC came up with the Infinite Crisis, which has thankfully removed all the darkness that had crept into the comics industry. Face it, most children wouldn’t feel right, reading the stories that were written upto 2004.

And now DC has 52 which is slowly unfolding into a beautiful piece of comic storytelling.

But, now back to the relevance to the photo on top. Read part 2 below..

A Civil Right Part 2

Marvel has started the best crossover of all time, titled Civil War. Why?

For a change, the two sides battling it out, aren’t villains Vs the Heroes. Oh no..

For the first time, it’s HEROES VS HEROES..

Beat that DC..

Well, the story line goes something like, due to certain events, unfolding in the marvel universe, the American government makes it mandatory for super heroes to register with the government or not operate at all.

Which effectively meant, that unless you complied with the government, you were an outlaw.

Which kind of resonates with the Patriot Act.

So, there are two sides. One Pro registration, and one anti Registration. And unlike regular comics, the split goes right into the heart of the Superheroes tribe.

Some, like Iron Man and Spiderman, are for registration, and join with the US government.

And, the biggest result of this, is that PETER PARKER REVEALS HIS IDENTITY TO THE WORLD!!!!

Now, I have never seen an action with such ramifications, for a long long time.

And for the greatest irony, the celebrated World War veteran, that American icon, the man with the red white and blue on his dress, and the star on his shield, Captain America, decides not to register!!

So, now, the government and it’s registered supers, are on a hunt, to round off all the dissenters.

Meanwhile, Cap is trying to gather those who feel like him, and have an army of sorts.

It’s leading up to something really big.. and the thing is, the basic concept is about the dilemma we all face. Where do we draw the dividing line, between subservience to the state, and individual conscience..

And what are the foundations of friendships? How will you treat someone, who disagrees with you, on a core level?

The writing is fanatabulous, artwork is tops, and the pacing is brilliant. I just hope, that they are able to end it on a satisfying level.

Marvel has redeemed my faith in comics.

And yeah, the geek in me still lives on...