Of friendship, corruption and commitment!

A couple of days ago, a good friend of mine asked a very simple and direct question; Will you ever get lured by money gained through corrupt or immoral means? If given an opportunity will you make extra buck through corrupt ways? The question was at the backdrop of what is happening in politics, corporate involving bigwigs of media world. The question pushed me to the corner and I needed some time to answer. Anyway, how could I answer such question which will have a direct bearing on my image and it would be mere a lip service as right now I am not in a position to involve in corrupt practices or dispel it . For sure, I wanted to answer honestly with utmost commitment. That’s why I thought to avoid a cliché like, I would be the last person to think about unfair means or corruption or abuse of power--which I don’t have. In order to avoid a direct answer, I took refuse in my innocuous ability to argue things so that the scope and meaning of the subject be widened and gravity of the matter is dissolved.

Before spelling any word, I needed to ask myself--can I be involved into corrupt practices for want of money, power etc. And, a war erupted within. A war between my real-self and doubtful-self. Meanwhile, my friend was laughing at me for deflecting a very trivial question as for her it was simply a question of either ‘yes’ or no’. But for me it was a soul searching opportunity and a chance to give words and live by it.

Despite of a marathon within, I still could not make my mind up for a concrete and honest answer so tried to evade it by bringing in the theory of relativity with various allied meaning and scope of the word corruption, thinking of our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s current situation. A man of rare integrity with cleanest image is in the dock for allowing corruption in his cabinet. You can not question personal integrity of Dr. Manmohan Singh, but of course, there is a big question mark on his tenure as the prime minister of a cabinet fraught with many examples of impropriety and financial fraud. So corruption is a very relative term and it can taint you even while you are not personally involved into it.

My friend fired a salvo by accusing me of delaying the answer and the delay says all. Further it was said, Rahmani you failed the test and so lost the right to question those whose corruption stories are making headlines these days. If you can’t guarantee your personal integrity and honesty, what is a point in taking high moral ground on corruption issues? Yes, her observation was right. I might have failed just because I never wanted to reply without commitment to the words and act dishonestly to a very good friend. Rather than answering, I suggested her: Go and do this test on others and find out how many people pass it with honest admission?

After all, honesty can’t be spoken. It can be displayed through practices.

Ashamed of being an Indian

I feel dejected and ashamed of being an Indian as much India is ashamed of its more than seventy per cent impoverished population.

How elite organizers of the CWG are looting tax payers’ money has been widely discussed and it has jolted the conscience of even the more affluent and urban people.

A very urbane friend of mine, who always lived in Metro cities had foreign trips and is well placed financially, feels embarrassed about how marginalized pupation being driven away from East Delhi so that CWG rosy coatings are not distorted . She has never been to any village. What she knows about village life is through her friends from rural backgrounds. I tried to get her convinced about how CWG has exposed India expecting well polished contradictory arguments from her owing to her pure urbane background. To my utter surprise, she did not contradict me, and, for the first time, was in full agreement with what I had to say. As a human being she was hurt on the sight of policemen driving away rikshawallas, thelawallas and hawkers.

My point is that at personal level, we all human beings are concerned about plight of average poor fellow and would never want to drive them away and rob them of their daily earnings just for the sake of any elitist and corrupt Games show. This is basic human nature. Contrary to this, when we collect our egos in notion of patriotism, which has no virtue, we tend to forget to dissect our various issues and identities. India is primarily identified with its rural masses where majority of populations live in countryside, survive on agriculture.

We forget that these hawkers, rickshaw wallas, population living in bed of Yamuna represent more than seventy per cent of Indian population and their pride don’t lie in successful CWG. Driving them away from Games’ surrounding amounts to depriving them from rights of being Indian.

Here I find the concept of nationalism and essence of being Indian faltering. Precisely, nation is an imagined community which is very taxing and demanding. That’s why unknown taxpayers and marginalized will have to bear the expense of an elitist show which will never bring any change to their life anyway. Rather they are going to suffer.

This is a street in Patna. A street full of hoardings, banners advertisements and billboards reflects how Mc (Mcdonalds), cell and market culture taken sway over a poor state like Bihar. It seems an imposed development......

साँसों की सरगम...

हम आदतन ही सांस लेते हैं और ज़िंदगी चलती रहती है
चुपचाप अपने आप शकलें बदलती रहती हैं...

कभी जीत कभी हार और कभी कभी ढेर सारा प्यार
ज़िंदगी इन्ही लफ़्ज़ों मे ढलती रहती है…

कभी तुम्हारे कदमो से गुज़र जाएगी, कभी हमारी राहों मे अटक जाएगी
और कभी कभी अजनबी बनके खो जाएगी...

एक दिन साँसों की ये सरगम भी ख़त्म होगी
फिर ज़िंदगी वहीं रुक जाएगी…चुपचाप अपने आप...

माँ कहां हो तुम!

हताश हूँ, निराश हूँ, उदास हूँ… माँ कहां हो तुम
खुद अपने और लोगों के झूट से थक के, और चिलचिलाती धूप मे तप्के
जब भी मैं घर आता हूँ….तुम याद आती हो…

दिन चढे तक सोता हूँ, मन ही मन मे रोता हूँ कभी कोई तो मुझको डानटे
मेरे दुख को कोई तो बाँटे
अक्सर यही सब सोन्च्ते सोन्च्ते सोता हूँ…

मेरा ज़िद्दी होना, पेसिल काग़ज़ अक्सर खोंना पैसे न मिलने पे रोना
सब कुछ अब तो छूट गया है…
मेरे बल्ले से तुम को जो चीड़ थी वो बल्ला भी अब टूट गया है….

खवाब मे ही बस एक बार आ जाओ अपनी ममता दिखला जाओ!!!

'Any film made is a political statement given'

Few weeks ago, I had attended a lecture on films studies where many Bollywood movies were discussed in political perspective. At the end of the lecture I was fairly convinced that no film is made in isolation, without any political influence. In fact, stories are told at the backdrop of major socio-political developments. I was on a high about my knowledge of Indian cinema, especially after attending that insightful lecture. To flaunt this newly acquired knowledge, I had put my gmail custom message as “Any film made is a political statement given.’ Only to be rebuked by a movie bug friend of mine with whom I share common fondness for films, food and SRK. She bombed me with name of movies in which you can, at surface level, hardly find any element of politics. She was furious as for her it was a sweeping statement which undermined the entertainment values of cinema.

I was forced to agree and changed my custom message.

In the pursuit of knowing more about Indian cinema, I came across “The Muslim Others of Indian Cinema: Questions of Nation and Narration’, the book by Nadim Asrar, a working journalist and Ford scholar. The title itself made me curious not because I am a Muslim and wanted to know how Muslims and films are related. Neither I was excited to read a book written by a close friend. Rather out of vengeance, I was in search of few books on politics and cinema. As I was bogged down by my friend I wanted to avenge her on the same topic. And, vengeance is like a fire, the more it devours the hungrier it gets.

In the book in question, the author discusses few popular Hindi movies in a political perspective. The author discusses films at the backdrop of two major incidents: demolition of the Babari Masjid by Hindu extremists and the attack on the World Trade Center by Muslim 'terrorists'. While the book doesn’t dwell on the specific details and interpretations of the two incidents, this study draws from the way these two incidents have influenced the representation of Muslims in contemporary Indian cinema.

The study takes serious note of films not only as a means of amusement, rather puts emphasis on textual analysis of the scripts, characters, semantics and symbolism. He sees politics in how a negative character like Gunda, Bhai, pimps, drug peddlers are often given a Muslim name, sometimes skull cap and quite occasionally beard too. Even certain notorious streets in films have to be Salampur, Khanbadi etc. These names create stereotype image of Muslims.

It’s interesting to note that the author charges Bollywood of depicting Muslims in a negative way, despite of the fact that the entire cinema industry is ruled by Khans and they are so powerful that the entire government machinery is put to use so that release of a Khan’s movie can’t be disrupted…..

Well, the book makes an interesting reading and it reinstated my faith in my own saying ‘Any movie made is a political statement given.’ But still I may not be able to make my apolitical friend believe in my statement as the book does have cinematic relevance, though very limited, to the politics of religious identity assertion only.

Am I being educated by daily dose of news or it has corrupting effect on my mind?

When a friend of mine put her facebook status saying she was having a very strong feeling about India TV making a program on ‘Paul, the octopus as Vishnu ka avatar’, I was not amazed neither it filled me with Nitrous oxide. Though she is one of the funniest persons around, and I should have laughed it away as one of her jokes. But this was so believable that I feared it was coming on India TV. After all, any stupidity can not be ruled out from India TV. And, why only India TV, most of the Hindi news channels are in the same league. They thrive on mythological stories aimed at capturing the imagination of people thus making them fear from the unknown and unforeseeable future. That’s why they so often predict the doomsday!!! This is simply an abuse of news channel license.

What comes on India’s number one Hindi news channel at 11.30 prime time is not only misleading but offensive as the repulsive anchor in her promo of the program ‘Tez Taare’ says “Tarraqi milegi ya nahi ye to sab bata denge, lekin Boss ko ‘khush’ kaise kia jaaye ye kaun Batayega?’ How offensive the word ‘Khush’ seems here. For me, it’s an audacious example of corruption of language. Not to mention here about Datti Maharaj of India TV. Watching these channels can make you believe: cancer can be cured by bamboo sticks; there is a grave full of life; Kalp viriksh (wish tree that had emerged during Samundramanthan) is somewhere around in Delhi etc. Mind it, most of aam aadmi is gullible like me— believing what is shown on the powerful medium of the masses.

I watch all news channels and a few entertainment channels too. Since entertainment channels are busy selling telebrands, robbing people with SMSes based games and often staged reality shows, I am left with no option but to believe what aajtak, India TV etc. present as news.

As seeing is believing goes an adage, I, now believe in ghost, haunted-house, taare, tarrot cards, rashis and stories beyond reasons that suspend my ability to disbelieve. Am I being educated by daily dose of news or it has corrupting effect on my mind?

Not a rumour indeed

C K Zafar Shirf was a union railway minister and important Congress leader from Karnataka. In 1971, Mr. Sharif served as a driver to then chief minister and state congress president of Karnataka. It is alleged that he was rewarded with congress primary membership for providing crucial information on revolt against the then Prime Minster Indira Gandhi in Karnataka Congress. It’s amazing how a driver could reach to Prime Minster and strike a deal? And, that driver one day becomes Union railway Minster…..