Author: Brown Pundits Archive

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We are a fan of old Bollywood songs (the play-acting not so much) but the ones that Srijana talks of are indeed screen classics: Raj Kapoor and Nargis in Shree 420 (Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua) and Amitabh Bachhan and Smita Patil in Namak Halal (Aaj Rapat Jaye). And while we are not too familiar with Nargis as a free-thinker, Smita was a top-drawer feminist and her acting reflected this in full glory. Her millions of devotees were heart-broken when she died so young (see below for details).
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All this really proves is how far the world has moved ahead in depicting “industrial-quality sexiness” (her words). No wonder, feminists like Srijana have succumbed to the pull of nostalgia and finding love in all the wrong movies…..even Sharmila Thakur and Rajesh Khanna in Aradhana (Roop Tera Mastana).
…

…….
As the monsoon caresses India with seasonal darkness, it’s remarkable
how faint the rain song is in Bollywood today — a marked difference
from earlier times when the rain song was the apogee of filmi romance,
capturing love stories of heroes with heroines and heroines with
themselves. Ironically, Bollywood’s rain songs and wet saris were
considered fundamentals of voyeuristic thrills. But Bollywood’s singing
in the shower mirrored more than this — just like the drying-up of wet
saris now reflects romance growing parched.

….
But first, Bollywood began with salutations to the skies. When plots
revolved around rural protagonists, cinema acknowledged the monsoon’s
urgency to farmers, sunburnt by callous states looking everywhere but at
canals under their feet. Hence, Guide’s villagers beseeched, ‘Allah,
megh de, paani de’, Lagaan’s hamlet danced as badras rumbled with
promise.

…
These songs marked a despondent dependency but as films portrayed
more urban legends, monsoon showers became a link between once-agrarian
characters in cities of anonymous footpaths.
…
From there, Bollywood
focussed fully on the rain’s sensuality capturing Indian romance. From
the shy umbrella-twisting of Shree 420’s ‘Pyaar hua’ to Three Idiots’
exuberant ‘Zoobie, zoobie’, rain became the ultimate filmi metaphor for
an Indian couple’s love.

….
This slowly evolved from nervous fears to a full-on French kiss. In
newly independent India, choosing your own partner — and your own fate —
was an act of daring, sighs of apprehension shaking Nargis’s trembling,
‘Kehta hai dil, rasta mushkil, maloom nahin hai kahaan manzil’. 
….
Fears
frequently came true. A couple stepping outside social sanctions,
crossing class and caste barriers, was severely punished, censors rather
liking the rain as a metaphor for trespass. Hence, Aradhana’s ‘Roop
tera mastana’ climaxed in a rainy night, a young couple making love, the
hero later killed, the heroine doing penance as an unwed mother.

…
It took the swinging ’70s with Amitabh Bachchan and Smita Patil —
angry young actors, defiantly declaring while drenched, ‘Aaj rapat
jayein, toh humein na uthaiyyo!’ — to signal change. Alongside, in a
subtle replay of Raj Kapoor-Nargis, Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee
walked through a rain-soaked Bombay, humming ‘Rimjhim gire saawan’, the
couple’s umbrella missing, the unbothered pair holding hands as the
Arabian Sea rose to soak them.

….
This was a new India, more courageous, more confident of itself, its
ability to choose — its right to love. This defiance breezes through the
1990s too. In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Shah Rukh Khan and his see-through
shirt share a hot moment with Kajol — while she’s engaged to another
man. The hero filching another’s girl was a favourite SRK theme, the
rain presenting that crucial moment where a couple decides there’s no
one else they’d rather get soaked with.

….
This was an important juncture for heroines. Traditionally, the
soaked heroine was erotica for male eyes, conventions stylishly framed
by 5th century Sanskrit superstar Kalidasa. In Kumarsam-bhava, Daniell
Ingalls translates, Kalidasa describes rain gently drenching his
heroine, ‘‘With momentary pause, the first drops rest, upon the highland
of her breast, across the ladder of her waist, then slowly, at her
navel, come to rest.” It’s clear where Yash Chopra got it from, placing
chiffon-clad heroines under swollen clouds, conveying what Roland
Barthes dryly terms ‘obvious symbolism’.

….
But Bollywood’s rain songs also offered Barthes’s ‘third meaning’, a
counter-narrative that escapes language, producing the ‘filmic’ — so
much more than the film. In Bollywood’s rain songs, the third meaning is
the heroine discovering herself. The rain is a crossroads in a woman’s
life where she throws caution to the monsoon winds and locks hands with a
man she chooses. In this, she defies elders — not necessarily betters —
for her bit of bliss. She doesn’t know if this will even last
post-rain. But she chooses the right to savour the second — and enjoy
herself.

….
And there is much to enjoy. With every drop naughtily running into
places no one but lovers know, the rain makes a woman come alive to
herself, her physical body, her soul that a cool breeze infuses with new
life. In a violently misogynistic land, this rain-fuelled renewal is a
marvellous thing, powerfully subversive in Bollywood, Mr India’s ‘Kaate
nahin kat te’ famous for an absent Mr India, Sridevi writhing in the
rain all on her own.

….
Against this backdrop, the current drought of Bollywood’s wet saris
is a matter of concern. It signifies romance growing more plastic,
increasingly complex — instead of a drenched couple intertwined on a
lonely lamp-lit street, ardour now involves motorbikes, brassy bras,
designer heels. But it also expresses marked trepidation around
tenderness.

…
While industrial-quality sexiness is expressed via assembly-line
‘items’, pure romance — which involves both confrontation and bliss — is
nervously sidestepped. The fear is understandable with even elected
representatives talking like khap captains about women’s deportment and
dress today. Hence, Bollywood heroines look oddly acquiescent now,
acceptably saucy, yet lacking the self-belief to lie back soaked in the
rain, a la Sridevi who cooed, ‘I love yoooou’ — to herself.

….
Yet, after every oppressive spell comes renewal, when creative winds
blow away the dust of dry, prohibiting minds. As civil society sticks
out its tongue at hypocritical diktats, Bollywood’s lovers will soon
defy more than their diet plans, leading ladies again learning to love
themselves the most.

Until then, preserve those wet saris — they have stories in their folds.
…..

Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times, Patil appeared in over 80 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.


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Patil graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and made her film debut with Shyam Benegal’s Charandas Chor (1975). She became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, a New Wave movement in India cinema, though she also appeared in several mainstream movies throughout her career. Her performances were often acclaimed, and her most notable roles include Manthan (1977), Bhumika (1977), Aakrosh (1980), Chakra (1981), Chidambaram (1985) and Mirch Masala (1985).


….
Apart from acting, Patil was an active feminist (in a distinctly
Indian context) and a member of the Women’s Centre in Mumbai. She was
deeply committed to the advancement of women’s issues, and gave her
endorsement to films which sought to explore the role of women in
traditional Indian society, their sexuality, and the changes facing the
middle-class woman in an urban milieu.


….
Patil was married to actor Raj Babbar.
She died on 13 December 1986 at the age of 31 due to childbirth
complications. Over ten of her films were released after her death. Her
son Prateik Babbar is a film actor who made his debut in 2008.

….

Link: blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/unravelling-bollywoods-wet-sari

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regards

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[ref. Wiki] The Governing Board of Nalanda University: Amartya Sen (Harvard), Sugata Bose (Harvard), Wang Bangwei (Peking University), Wang Gungwu  (National University of Singapore), Susumu Nakanishi (Kyoto City University of Arts), Meghnad Desai (London School of Economics), Prapod Assavavirulhakarn (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), George Yeo (Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore), Tansen Sen (Baruch College, CUNY), Nand Kishore Singh (Member of Parliament – Rajya Sabha), Chandan Hareram Kharwar (Pune University). 
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So what of the future? We remain sceptics as there is no visionary leader willing to lead the fight.  They should have paid top dollar and got a high priced CEO to be present on-site (in remote, law-less Bihar) and lead the effort from the front. Prof Sen (junior) seems to be just the right man (age, qualifications, plus the gift of a syncretic name like Tansen Sen) for the job.
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As rumors have it, things are being remote-controlled by warm bodies residing in Delhi, which does not exactly inspire confidence. We hope that for once Indians can rise above pettiness.

Also for people who are sitting on their hands, check out this profile of Chandan Hareram Kharwar: is this a hoax or what? Curious minds want to know (siliconindia.com/profiles/chandan-Hareram-Kharwar)
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[ref. Wiki] Nālandā was an ancient higher-learning institution in Bihar, India. The site is located about 88 kilometres southeast of Patna, and was a religious centre of learning from the fifth century CE to 1197 CE. 
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Nalanda flourished between the reign of Śakrāditya (whose identity is uncertain, who might have been either Kumaragupta I or Kumaragupta II) and 1197 CE, supported by patronage from the Gupta Empire as well as emperors like Harsha and later rulers from the Pala Empire.

…
The complex was built with red bricks and its ruins occupy an area of 14 hectares (488 by 244 metres). At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Greater Iran. 
…
Nalanda was ransacked and destroyed by an army of the Muslim Mamluk Dynasty under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193 CE. 
 …..
The Nalanda University in nearby Rajgir is an effort to revive and re-establish this ancient institution of learning.
…

Nalanda University was one of the world’s first residential university
as it had dormitories for students. It is also one of the most famous
universities. In its heyday, it accommodated over 10,000 students and
2,000 teachers The university was considered an architectural
masterpiece, and
was marked by a lofty wall and one gate. 
///
Nalanda had eight separate
compounds and ten temples, along with many other meditation halls and
classrooms.
On the grounds were lakes and parks. The library was located in a nine
storied building where meticulous copies of texts were produced.

…
The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim and scholar Xuanzang studied, taught
and spent nearly 15 years at Nalanda University. He has left detailed
accounts
of the university in the 7th century. Yijing has also left information
about the other kingdoms lying on the route between China and the
Nālandā
university. He was responsible for the translation of a large number of
Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese.

///
According to records of history, Nalanda University was destroyed three times by invaders, but only rebuilt twice 

Library of Nalanda University which is reported to have burned for three
months after the invaders set fire to it, ransacked and destroyed the
monasteries, and drove the monks from the site.

Japan and Singapore are financing the construction work, with
contributions totalling around US$100 million. Gopa Sabharwal has been
appointed the
first Vice-Chancellor of this university in February 2011.

…
It has been estimated that US$500m will be required to build the new
facility, with a further US$500m needed to sufficiently improve the
surrounding
infrastructure. The group is looking for donations from governments,
private individuals and religious groups.

…
The State Government of Bihar handed over 443 acres of sprawling land
acquired from local people, to the University, where construction work
has
begun. It is a dream project of the former Indian president APJ Abdul
Kalam.

..
For best architectural design, a global competition was held for
construction of an international state-of-the-art institution.Vastu
Shilpa
Consultants have been selected as the winner of the design competition
with dbHMS providing the triple net-zero energy, water and waste
strategic
plan  


Classes for the School of Ecology and Environmental Studies and the
School of Historical Studies. Right now there are 15
students and
11 faculty members at the campus. Sabharwal said there were two reasons
for starting on a small note as she wanted the students and teachers to
settle
down, and that Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj would be
visiting on September 14.

…
More than a thousand students from various countries across the globe
had applied for the seven schools on different subjects that will
function at
the university, of which only 15, including one each from Japan and
Bhutan, were selected.

….
The NU came into existence by the Nalanda University Act passed by
Parliament. Economist Amartya Sen is the Chairman of the Governing Body
of the
university, while renowned teachers from various countries are its
members

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Link:

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regards

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The title is derived from a famous quote from a wise man (which finally came true after 50 years, less 11 days, when the son of a tea-seller became PM on May 16, 2014):
…….
…..a description of Nehru by
the Australian diplomat Walter Crocker…..After Nehru died on May 27, 1964 ….Western press pondered whether India would fall apart…….As
Crocker put it in his biography of Nehru…”In propagating ideas of
equality, Nehru and the upper class Indian nationalists of English
education abolished themselves….Nehru destroyed the Nehrus”….. 
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Then there is the NGO driven non-violent social justice movement (much better than the Maoist driven violent one) which ensured passage of the Right to Education (RTE) act that dictates that 25% of the elite school seats must go to the slum-kids in the vicinity. Ashok points out (and we agree) that credit must also be given to the UPA-II regime for this achievement, however it must be emphasized that without the enthusiasm of the NGOs such a law would never get implemented in reality.

As per the law, not only will the tuition for Economically Weak (EWS) students be free – presumably all this will be cross-subsidized by upper middle class parents – the students have a right to free books and uniforms as well. Naturally, the resistance is huge, the elite class will not easily abolish themselves. But make no mistake, this is the face of soft revolution.

There is a lot to be said both for and against reservations. But there is no doubt that the Indian policy of running the largest affirmative action program in the world is designed to do two things: it gives people at the bottom of the ladder hope (one day, their children can be Prime Minister just like the chai-wallah’s son). Secondly,  it reduces the resentment just a little bit and thereby increases the stake of the poor in the democratic order.

“My daughter speaks such good English, like they do on TV” is a phrase that will melt the heart of the harshest cynic. We hope.
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This leads us to a question that has always been a point of confusion for us: who are the Arabs and what are the major Arab communities? Just like India can be (imperfectly) divided by linguistic communities (and except for the South these communities are all loosely tied together through an ancestral Sanskrit bridge), we may get a better understanding of Arabic communities by observing the distribution of Arabic dialects [ref. Wiki-map below]. 
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Is anti-Americanism motivated by specific U.S. policies or a more
generalized antipathy to American culture? Do people who hate U.S.
foreign policy also hate Americans? 
…
These are among the questions addressed in an innovative new study
of anti-American attitudes among Arab Twitter users, which was
presented at the American Political Science Association annual meeting
here in D.C. last week. 

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Link: slate.com/whatever_america_does_arabic_twitter_will_hate_it.html

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regards

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More than the temples, what is of interest is the life and precarious times of the Balmiki community (Dalits) who themselves seem to be highly spiritual (as in they appreciate all religions).
…..
Reema Abbasi, the book’s author, traveled the country to write this
narrative of about 40 old religious sites, including Hindu temples in
the jagged terrain of the western state of Balochistan. She also visited
the Thar desert and the Indus River valley in the state of Sindh, as
well as Karachi, Lahore, Punjab and dangerous stretches of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, along the border with Afghanistan.

……………
Born a Pakistani in the Netherlands, she went to school in England,
college in Karachi, and then worked as a journalist. A self-described
“spiritual Muslim,” she has aspects of most religions in her home, such
as an idol of Sai Baba, the cross and quranic verses.


….
“In the last 10 years, I have been focusing on socio-political
[reporting] and then the whole hardliner issues here, and sectarianism.
Not in the cities, but in upper north where there are pockets of
extremists and terrorists. Given that climate, the kind of issues that
were arising at the time and what I was writing about – I think that was
the part towards this [book].


….
“[The shrines] were spellbinding. For me some of the structures were
imbued with so much energy. … These places continue to bring so much
together and serve multiple functions in their own capacity — their
shelters, their inscriptions, their half-way houses for travelers, they
provide relief to homeless. So in their very being they are doing so
much. I think that’s the beauty of all ancient faith. Mosques do that,
churches do that. 

That’s where all ancient faiths merge. It is very
important to celebrate that kind of unity in diversity, rather than deny
it,” Abbasi told India Insight in a telephone interview from Karachi.


“This book concentrates on Pakistan’s fraying social order and the
sad prospect of it bringing about its own destruction by documenting
Hindu places of worship, major festivals, prominent orders of
priesthood…,” she writes in the book’s introduction, which is dotted
with Urdu poetry on faith and identity.

Pakistan’s Hindus, Christians, Ahmadis and Shi’ite Muslims make up about less than 5 percent of the nation’s 180 million people. In a recent report, the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom said the government failed to adequately protect minorities.


…
Parts of the book mirror this anxiety, like a visit to the Balmiki
Temple located in a nondescript street in Lahore, the capital of Punjab.


….
Hindus, Christians and Sikhs congregate at the shrine of Balmiki,
deity of the untouchable caste. The devotees come together in the belief
that renders their respective religions “irrelevant to humanity”.
Muslims also join them on important festivals. A cross is also seen
inside the temple.


…
The utopia turns out to be a facade when Abbasi writes that the Hindu
residents are expected to adopt Muslim names or Christianity to “avoid
upheaval”. Followers of Balmiki, the author adds, consume chicken and
fish to avoid being “conspicuous”.


….
In her travels, Abbasi stopped at shrines that faced backlash from
Muslims because of the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India by a
Hindu group.


….
She contrasts stories of desecration of temples, whether due to a
backlash or land disputes or commercial gain, with visits to shrines
that represent a fusion of faiths, untouched by social disturbances.


….
One of the reasons why minorities are worried is because of Pakistani blasphemy laws. The Ahmadis, for example, are not recognized as Muslims in Pakistan. The Supreme Court has ordered the government to look after the minorities, and its human rights panel says conditions are worsening.


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In far-flung Balochistan rests an idol that is revered by Hindus and Muslims. Umerkot, the birthplace of Emperor Akbar,
becomes the symbol of a “confluence” of Hindu god Shiva and an
important part of Mughal history. In the central chamber of a colorful
temple is pictured a stone shiv-ling, believed to be present during a
visit by Humayun, father of Akbar. The shrine attracts many Muslims for
“curative purposes or to ask for a child”.

And close to Umerkot
is the only Ram temple in Pakistan, situated in a Hindu-majority town.
In a Sunni Muslim town, more than 200 km from Karachi, Dalit Hindus and
Muslims worship a Hindu saint who embraced Islam to embody Hindu-Muslim
brotherhood.


…
Such instances of the fluidity and opaqueness of faith abound in this
book. Particularly striking is the image of Muslim men in skull caps
worshipping Kali inside the Kalka cave in Sindh, which attracts Hindus,
Muslims and Christians from all over the subcontinent.

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Link: http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2014/09/01/reema-abbasi-and-a-glimpse-of-pakistans-hindu-past

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regards

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Backstory: The victim and her family are tribal people who have been reliable voters for the Communists (CPI-M), currently in opposition. The power-brokers are aligned with the ruling Trinamool Congress led by a woman: Mamata Banerjee. The thugs apparently want to grab the land of the tribals, hence the kangaroo court. The man was asked to lick his own spit off the ground. His teenage daughter desperately tried to save him from being humiliated (and beaten up). In retaliation, she was raped and murdered in broad daylight.

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Political parties in India of all colors (affiliations) are always ready to shed copious crocodile tears on behalf of the poor. They each claim that they represent the sarbo-hara (the people who have nothing). In reality it is the poor who have to use all the tools that democracy gives them in order to claim for and fight for their rights. This can be the right of education for poor children in posh city schools (the law mandates up to 25%), the right to have a bank account (under the Jan Dhan Yojana instituted by the Govt)….and even the right to have a life with dignity.

India (and Indians) will have to learn how to ensure a life with dignity for all brothers and sisters. Part of that surely is the right to protest when the heavy boot of the local thug lands on your shoulder. Specifically, a daughter must be able to protect her father from public humiliation without getting killed.

The only reason the tribals of Dhupguri (not far from Naxal-bari) do not form a gang of their own and burn down the homes of the well-off (with the people inside) is that they are basically kind people. Even when buried under poverty and stress, they will not behead you and upload the video on the net. The elites should be grateful for this but not take things for granted. Else, the day of reckoning will surely come and the price in blood will be paid with full interest.
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(September 03- Wednesday)
The naked body of a girl, who tried to save her father from being beaten
up at a village kangaroo court for failing to pay for a rented tractor,
was found near the railway tracks at Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri district,
police said today.

…
The ‘Salishi Sabha’ (self-appointed village court) was convened at
Dhupguri on Monday night and the girl’s body was found yesterday,
Jalpaiguri Additional Superintendent of Police James Kujur said.

After identifying the body, the victim’s father lodged an FIR against 13
persons at the Dhupguri Police Station for “rape, murder and
kidnapping” of his daughter.

…
Trouble began at the ‘Sabha’ when the farmer’s request for some more
time to make the payment was turned down, the police said adding local
Trinamool Congress councillor Namita Roy and her husband were present at
the meeting.

The girl rushed out of her house pleading with the villagers not to beat
her father, but a person known to her took her away from the meeting
and she went missing since then, the police said.

The councillor was not available for comment.

…
District TMC president Sourav Chakrabarty, however, said the police were
investigating the incident and there was no need to give “political
color” to it.

…
Jalpaiguri Superintendent of Police Kunal Agarwal and the ASP rushed to the spot last night. Kujur said the Government Railway Police would probe the matter as the girl’s body was found near the rail tracks.

…
Two persons were initially detained in this connection, but were released later. A juvenile, aged about 14-15 years, was apprehended today in connection
with the incident, Superintendent Railway Police (Siliguri) Debashis
Sarkar said.

…
Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi assured a Left Front
Parliamentary team during the day that he would seek a report from the
state government on the incident. “We have expressed our concern about the incident and the Governor has
said he will seek a report from the state administration on the
incident,” CPI(M) MLA Anisur Rehman said. 
…..
The Left Parliamentary team, which for the first time met Tripathi after
he assumed office, also expressed deep anguish over the “lawless”
situation in the state. A delegation of the LF women’s wing also met Tripathi and complained
about rising incidents of rape and molestation in the state. SFI and DYFI, the student and youth wings of the CPI(M), observed a
students strike and ‘Black Day’ in Dhupguri block today demanding
punishment of the culprits and also put up road blockades on NH 31.

…
BJP activists had staged a demonstration in front of the Dhupguri Police Station yesterday, the police said.

…….

Link: http://www.outlookindia.com/news/printitem.aspx?858186

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regards