Zion National Park

The decision to visit which national park, between Zion and Smoky, was a tough one and by a chance freakiness, Zion won. With 4 days in hand, zion now seemed perfect to live in solitude away from all people.

Day 1: Morning started early with me driving from vegas to Zion. The drive amidst the desert outside vegas is always fascinating. What made it even more interesting was the audiobook with me - The story of O (Not complete yet, review some other time). By the time i reached Zion, i was sleep deprived and exhausted. Visitor center pitstop helped clarify my schedule for next two days. Then, i went to the Zion lodge and slept at the lush green grass right outside it. Sun was almost up but the thick bark tree, standing at the center of the park, provided cool shade. I did a quick hike to Lower Emerald pools, then to Upper Emerald pool via the Middle Emerald. The Upper Emerald pool was a delight. Surrounded by canyons from three sides, it was totally therapeutic to sit there and just watch those large rocks. There were a lot of visitors, today being a saturday, hence, the tranquility of this place was getting disturbed. So, i moved on after about 20 mins or so, walking to the Grotto. A short 0.7 mile trek, but it offers great views of the Grotto, its nice collection of trees on this desert soil. It was a sight to watch. From Grotto, i took the shuttle to Temple of Sinhawa and there did the 2 mile round trip hike that takes you to the entrance of narrows. The hike was ok.  The trail is flat and paved for the most part.  

Day 2: To avoid the Sunday crowds, i decided to go for the 14 mile round trip hike to the arch at Kolob canyons. Kolob canyons are located at a 45 min drive. Even though they are close to Zion, they get much less crowds and are equally scenic. The trail was interesting as it criss-crossed a creek 17 times, yes i counted. Trails at these canyons change from rocky to sandy, and sometimes proper ground if we cross a forest. Sand comes mostly from disintegrated rocks over time. The arch at the end of the trail was not as scenic as one finds in photographs, nevertheless the hike makes up for it. I was tired after the hike and came back to the lodge to sleep and watch game of thrones. 

Day 3:  Hike to Observation point is one of the most recommended hike at Zion and please add my vote to this as well. As usual, i started early, took the the 7:15 am shuttle and at the trail head by 7:45 am. Observation Point trail has an elevation gain of 2100 ft and round trip distance of 8 miles. The trail is carved out from the rocky sides of the canyons. At a point near the middle, it even goes through a tunnel and by the looks of it, it appears humans have made it. In other words, the trail is very interesting, one of the best trails to hike. It is similar to trails at Yosemite, fascinating views as one goes up. The view from top is worth all the effort when going up. You get to see the entire valley. On the day that i hiked, it was a partially cloudy day, by the time i was returning down, it even rained few drops. It was a perfect day to hike.  Overall, i would highly recommend this trail. I did a Thai lunch at Thai Sapa just outside Zion. This was followed by the movie - Zion - Treasure of the gods at the Zion theater where the screen is as big as a six story building. Movie was decent (little bit on the bad side).

Day 4: This was a relaxation day. It started out by a nice breakfast at Bear Claw cafe at St. George. Their waffles look amazing, i had the french toast with Chocolate filling and i still remember its taste. That good! But they didn't had wifi, so i went to a cafe nearby - 25th Main and cupcakes and sat there writing blog and reading stuff, while drinking coffee, ofcourse. At around noon, i headed back to Las Vegas and once again, The Story of O, playing in my car. 

Photos can be seen at -

Zion National Park

Superman of Malegon

Superman of Malegaon - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermen_of_Malegaon
Directed by Faiza Ahmed Khan.

Superman of Malegaon is a documentary covering the making of a film called Malegaon ka Superman. Malegaon is a small town in Maharashtra obsessed with films. Shaikh Nasir is a local director who wants to adapt popular movies/genre into the local context of Malegaon. Previous, he had made Sholay in Malegaon and his latest project was Malegaon ka Superman. Made in a shoestring budget of 1Lakh Rupees, Malegaon ka superman has all the special effects expected in a Superman movie. Malegaon's Superman is seen flying above the town, saving innocent people, fighting the local goons, a romantic relationship with a local girl and showing her around while flying.

To rate a movie like Superman of Malegaon is a superfluous exercise. It is equivalent to rate first time marathon finish of any runner, or to rate the beauty of natural canyons, or to review home cooked food. They are not made for reviews, they don't give a damn about ratings. There are some things that are made out of heart/nature.  These things serve a higher purpose, a calling that has come from within; these people have surpassed all expectations because there were none; they have borne pain, sacrificed their lives for it. There is an inherent passion in their work, an energy whose potential is unlimited and finally a will that will not rest until it is done in a way they want it to be. For these works exist just because these people wanted to make them and everything else just happened along the way.

Superman of Malegaon beautifully captures the process behind the creation of such an effort. The people behind Malegaon ka Superman are not professional artists, instead a tailor is a costume designer, a carpenter is set director, the local orchestra provides background score and a wedding videography maker is the cameraman, director and the editor. The movie is produced by these people, their families and friends. Story writing is a collective process, generally written during night when everyone has finished their daily duties which is how they manage their day to day lives.

Creativity comes best when you have nothing. The special effects with Superman flying, flying over Malegaon, flying while chasing an Auto, and flying with his love interest. These are no easy tasks but as they go about doing them, you just marvel at their process. Some of the techniques were used in early Kurusawa films before they became mainstream, these guys are creative at that level.

The documentary shines as it is able to reflect the passion of these small town people. In all the domain of arts, the final product conceals the effort that has gone in making it. In rare cases only, the process is equally important as the outcome. In this case the making is much more interesting, inspiring and liberating than the actual movie itself. How many movies can boast such a claim? I am pretty sure you can count them in your fingers.

Watch Superman of Malegaon, but its dvd and share it with your friends. The spirit is indeed infectious.

Silver linings playbook

Disclaimer: The reason i choose to review this film among so many others that i saw recently is not because i liked the film better than the rest. It just that this film aligns itself with a though that had been with me for sometime now and i wanted to share it.


Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy film wherein the hero suffers from bipolar disorder and the heroine is a sex addict, both coming out of a broken relationship and trying to cope up with their lives. The story works sheerly because it is made to work through many small small sub plots and quirkiness of its actors. Jennifer Lawrence is a brilliant actress and seeing Anupam Kher was a treat as well, at least for me.

Silver Lining Playbook also extends the boundary of Romantic films. In reality, the only movies that work in this genre are the ones that go outside the box. Gone are the days where rich girl/poor boy made a good story. The early formula of young birds falling in love but family against it, inter-caste affairs, inter-color relationships have all been explored and gone. All that was for a generation earlier. Our generation brought its new complexities, Jerry Maguire explored the theme of two co-working adults drawing towards one another, one of them was also a single parent. You've got mail extended the boundary wherein people feel in love on internet.  Romantic relationship between adults sharing workspace, in competing workspace (Mr. & Mrs Smith etc), in matchmaking business (Hitch etc) are also coming to a closure. The truth is that in order to make a fresh, genuine romantic film, it has to go into further niche segments and explore what true relationship is all about. If it means extending the boundary or to come up with quirky situations, it has to be done.

 Silver linings Playbook works because it simply keeps the chassis of a romantic comedy film, the three part structure - (a) The initial meetup where girl/guy does not get along or are hesitant to break the barrier (b) They do get along but there is some issue (c) Everything is well in the end.  Other than these three pillars, SLP fills the details in a completely unique way, something that none of us can think off and what gets it going is just our curiosity on how the story will match each pillar as it unfolds.

While at the subject of romantic comedies, i think a film that i would call romantic but it breaks the three pillar definition are the Before Sunset/Before Sunrise movies of Richard Linklater. There are so many movies about romance but so few on cynicism while both these are so related to each other. Richard Linklater brings these two together to create his masterpieces and leaves it to audience.


Bollywood still has to learn its lessons. It is still living in the early days, remaking classics, same wine in a new bottle, but the bottle has to change and the wine in it as well. Amal is a great example of how it could be done - layer the wine with cheese, add more flavors to it.  The days of same old crap may not be over at box office but they will be soon once the sheen is off.


Back to SLP, watch it for Jennifer Lawrence and some really sensible directing. It gets a 3.5 out of 5 stars in my world.

Bentonville 2013

Bentonville in April is a mixed bag of emotions. In my two week stay, i saw the weather go from awesome pleasant, to cloudy with no rains for couple of days, from extreme rainy one day to extreme heat (90F) for next couple of days and then it snowed couple of days later.

This BV trip was full of events. Days were filled with meetings and evenings were spent in exploring different restaurants and cafes. I reached BV Friday evening, on saturday while thinking of best ways to beat my jet lag, i remember somebody's suggestion that if you spend the day under the Sun, the jetlag will go away. In order to test this, i decided at the last moment to go for a hike A quick search showed Devil's den state park only at an hr's drive, Somnath joined in at the suggestion as well and after 1.5 hrs, we were at the park. We did two short trails and then returned back after 4 hrs.  It was beautiful to see the Ozark trees, up and close.

The Devil's den hike did little to my jetlag, i think it actually had a detrimental effect,  as at 6:30 pm i was completely exhausted both physically (from the hike) and mentally (from being up for 15 hrs), that i went down to sleep. I was up at 3 am next morning and spend Sunday morning in Zombie state. I tested the Sun theory again to beat jetlag by going for another hike to trails around Crystal Bridges museum but this time we went at 2:30 pm and hiked the area for about 2-2.5 hrs. Trails around Crystal bridges museum are beautiful, perfect for running and spending your evening. That you can get to these trails at 15 mins drive from your workplace is enough for me to switch my place of work. From one point on the trail, we could see a String quartet playing some beautiful symphony under a clear blue sky, next to flowing water.  The trees were not as beautiful as they were in Fall when we visited last time but the beautiful weather made up for everything. Walking near Crystal Bridges is a must-do thing in BV.



On the Wednesday evening, our calendar got free early and we decided to go for a trip to Eureka Springs. Being a weekday and being in Arkansas, it was almost empty. Being unknown to the area, we decided to checkout the springs on foot and it was a very smart decision. Walking through the historical area, with empty roads, silence all around us, big open homes with trees in their backyard, architecture reflecting what it was to live there 100 years ago, water coming out of springs as clear as it can be - A perfect way to de-stress after a busy work schedule. We ended up walking to almost 6 of the springs. At Eureka Springs where Indian population would be less than 100 and most of the Indians even living in BV would not have been there, there is a New Delhi cafe serving Indian food, their definition of Indian food means serving dished primarily with garlic :) but they have samosas in their menu as well. I had soup and sandwich and it was amazing. The surprising fact is that i will not find an equivalent cafe in New delhi but i found one in Eureka Springs.



Butterfield hiking trail is a 15 mile loop trail that goes through the Ozark national forest. Starting at Devil's den park, it is an almost flat trail (450 ft of elevation gain) about 12 miles of the trail is into the forest and it crosses couple of springs in between. It was my plan to do it on Saturday but BV weather forced us to change it on to Sunday. The cloudy weather with just enough Sun made it a beautiful day to hike. Ozark trees were lush green in color and waterfalls were flowing with water at this time of the year. We finished it in 8.5 hrs which included a 25 min nap time for me in between. Napping under the shade of trees with the sound of flowing water right next to you, giving rest to tired feet, is an experience not to be forgotten. 20 min nap invigorates like a deep sleep of 6 hrs. The trail overall was decent.

From Bentonville 2013

We also saw a musical called Next to Normal at the Walton Arts center.  Next to Normal is a story about a family where the mother is depressed as their son died when he was very young. The play revolves around the dynamics of this family where everything is just next to normal.  Good story, well acted and very good lyrics, the only downside was that the music was not that exciting to me. I was constantly thinking about music in Les Miserables and how good it was. I think couple of background scores in les Miserables are so generic that they could be applied anywhere. If they were played in Next to Normal, it would have been much better.

On other days, i checked out Cabella's a outfitting showroom which also sells guns. I think it was for the first time in my life that i help an actual rifle in my hands. The craze here is indeed incredible. On the last day, i checked the Native American Indian museum for about an hr. Pretty well done, need to spend more time there next time. Thai food is aplenty in BV and i ate 4-5 times and enjoyed it. Mexican food was also quite authentic.  Atlanta Bread Company became my goto cafe as they also had great internet. Working from cafe was back in fashion and i also tried to infect Somnath with it but i don't think i succeeded.  But thanks to Somnath for the company in all my hiking ventures.


Photos can be seen here -

Bentonville 2013

Observation Point

Observation Point

ऊपर चदते हुए सांस ऐसे हाफ्ती है 

जैसे एक  ट्रेन घने जंगल से गुज़र रही हो 

नीचें उतरते हुए जोड़े रो देते हैं 

रुक जाओ , थोड़ी देर के लिए, ज़रा रुक जाओ 

मगर उस चट्टान की चोटी पर 

जिसे observation point  के नाम से जाना जाता है 

एक सुकून का आलम है 

यहाँ समय रुक गया  है

ऐसा दृश्य जो आँखें बंद करने पर भी नहीं हटता  

ह्रदय देह से कहता है - "धन्यवाद । बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद "

उस पत्थर की चोटी पर 

जीवन का निष्कर्ष , 

हमारे अस्तित्व 

का  पता चलता  है 

अपनी रूह देखने को मिलती है 

अतीत, भविष्य, सब चिंतन व्यर्थ है 

अभी । ज़िन्दगी है अभी 

नीचे उतरने के पश्चात,

एक संतुष्टि की भावना बस जाती है 

होटों पर मुस्कुराहट चाप जाती है 

आज ज़िन्दगी उम्दा है 

आज ज़िन्दगी सफल है 

TV Series Review: The West Wing

The West Wing
Created by Aaron Sorkin

To everyone who thinks that television has to be dumbed down in order to appeal to masses; to all those who believe that government office work will make  boring entertainment and finally to all those factions who doubt that drama can be entertaining without action or emotion or sex, please see The West Wing.  TWW proves that the roots of  good drama lie in good writing and solid performance.

The West Wing falls under the genre of political drama. It highlights how the US president's office performs its duties on a day to day basis. Set under a fictional democratic administration of President Bartlett, played brilliantly by Martin Sheen, the show starts one year into his office and covers his next seven years in seven seasons.   Created and written by Aaron Sorkin,  the series has been credited to portray quite accurately the inner workings of the White House.

The Dream Job
Working in the White House is like the dream job; an opportunity to work and serve your country.  Characters in TWW are often involved in more than one event at the same time, they get a sleep time of no more than 5 hrs, weekends are working and they enjoy, care and respect what they do.  The opportunity to serve your country, the potential to affect policy that would benefit millions, working with colleagues who understand you and are your best friends, a belief in yourself that what you do matters, and the power to build a future as you want it to be, this is everybody's dream job. Ours is a time when most people do not like their jobs, today the ultimate fantasy of any individual is to find the one, his true calling,  dedicate his life to fulfill this purpose of his life. The feeling that his existence has not been in vain.
Among the many accolades that i want to express for Aaron Sorkin, if i have to choose the one that resonates the most it is his ability to create such ordinary yet powerful characters who feel proud of what they do and making us believe in them. At the same time, Sorkin reminds us that all of this comes at a cost. In an episode, Leo (John Spencer),  Chief of Staff to the President, after forgetting his marriage anniversary because of a last minute meeting, tries to convince his wife to not leave him. His wife asks him - "... what you do, is it more important than your marriage?" To this he replies that it is and his time at White house is more important than anything that he has done or will ever do. She leaves him the next day.


The Dream-pragmatic administration
Imagine how an ideal democratic government would look like? A corruption free group of really smart individuals who are truly concerned for the welfare of people. People who know that policy making is an art as much as it is a science.  A government that is more about the future as it is for the present. TWW delivers this ideal structure. TWW juxtaposes it with  republicans who come off with their alternate ideologies, with congress who has its own pace of working, with media which acts as a watch-dog but at the same time is also hungry for daily trivialities such as the shoes of the first lady at a state dinner.

 In the last season, an entire episode is dedicated that focuses on presidential debate between the democratic and the republican candidate, a great performance by Alan Alda. The debate as it unfolds is an ideal debate that citizens want from their candidates, a discussion on policy and ability to question where there are differences in an open format. As a subtext, the episode completely ridicules the current debate format where questions are pre-determined and even the answer/rebuttal time is pre-ordained.

Toby Ziegler
Although each TWW character is likable, the one that impresses me the most is that of Toby Ziegler, the Director of Communications. Toby stands for the pure, the ideal in the messy game of politics. Where compromises is the key to keep all factions happy, where every step gained comes at a sacrifice of equal cost, Toby comes off as the countenance of an idealist with his pain, an image of the right thing to do but also with a realization that the world does not work as he wants. Richard Schiff plays Toby Ziegler in a controlled and mature manner. It is a performance that requires multiple viewings to understand its full depth. He is also Jewish and Sorkin adds more flavor to him by providing him with a satirical tongue. 
Toby is also one of the few people who can stand up to the President and argue with him on policy.

Josiah Bartlett
What do you mean when you say this person is or is not "presidential"? What are the qualities that makes one presidential?   Yes, it involves an ability to deliver speeches with impact and grace, it involves the ability to listen to others, to work collectively with everyone, to enforce yourself at the right time and countless more. Martin Sheen as Josiah Bartlett brilliantly portrays all of them and among all presidents ever portrayed in big screen, he surely is the most "presidential". To add to that, Josiah Bartlett is also a Nobel prize winning economics professor, a geek, a nerd, and is an aficionado of facts, history and chess who never fails to enlighten others with his knowledge.  With all these qualities, you want Josiah Bartlett to be your president, you want him to lead.

One day

A day will come,
believe me,
when you will be tried,
in front of a judge
accused.

For,
a crime that you didn't commit,
a sentiment that you didn't believe in,
a thought that you had not expressed,
an identity that is your opposite,
a face that is not you,
a voice that is not yours.

All in the name of,
national interest, for a nation of hypocrites,
collective conscience, a conscience which sleeps in a coffin,
public good, while you wonder who is this public.


Alas for when you are executed,
they will say,
Better late than never,
whatever happens, happens for good,
truth has prevailed,
justice has been served.

For every finger that is pointed at you,
One day,
There will be fingers pointing to that finger
and so on....
A day will come,
believe me.
One day.

Life in Dec 17 - Jan 31

Sometimes it is better to forget. After what can be described a highly successful last year,  2013's first month was a lot below the expectations. Or perhaps i had punted the difficult decisions of 2012 on to 2013 and am now reeling under the weight of failed expectations. In any case, tomorrow is a new day, a new month and i am still alive.

Highlights of this time period in the life and times of the great, if not the greatest, the one and only me are -

Trip to Shillong: Bangalore-Ranchi-Kolkatta-Guwahati-Shillong-Bangalore. Shillong stay was awesome with typical touristy stuff, board games, playing cards and family fun. Pics are uploaded here

Shillong trip

Trip to Delhi: Bangalore-Nagpur-Delhi-Bangalore. Finished Nagpur work. Met relatives, old college friends at Delhi and attended Nikhil's sangeet and wedding ceremony.  Overall a good trip.

Books:
The Dune
Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Courses:
Game theory (half done)
Critical thinking in global challenges (yet to start)
Consumer Law is still going on. Need to decide thesis topic.

Movies -
Inkaar  (3/5). An extra half mark just because of the subject matter. Sudhir Mishra, it seems, begins with the right ideas, has the correct intentions, gets most things right but somewhere in the process gives in to the mundane pressures of film making and his end products instead of being bold and defining (as the subjects are)  movies of our times are reduced to yet another commercial movie. It is a sincere request to him to please take more risk, we are there to support him.
Les Miserables (4/5). A very good movie. Loved the  the direction, songs, lyrics, acting and almost everything. Perhaps one of the few hollywood musicals that i have enjoyed. Directed by Tom Hooper (of King's speech fame), Les Miserables is a treat to watch. It almost comes off as an opera.
Broken city (1/5): Trash movie.
The impossible (3/5) Decent movie.  Tsunami sequence is really well done.
Lots of movies at BIFFES
The Hobbit: An unexpected journey (3/5) Delighted to see Dr.Watson as the hobbit. Fills some nostalgia of LOTR but still not as good as them.

Attended Yamini - the overnight classical concert at IIMB ,Spicmacay. Came mid way as i got fever. But attended Malvika Sarrukai's awesome Bharanatyam performance followed by violin instrumental.

Went to National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) with Nandini.  Decent collection. Almost empty. Ample parking, lots of trees and a decent cafe. A place for future hangouts :)

Cricket with office colleagues. A different kind of chess and Cities and Knights expansion.

Lots of office work and more coming in the coming days.

Book Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in Mumbai Undercity
By Katherine Boo


A non-Indian writing about a slum in India. An Amazon Bestseller. A darling among neo-liberal elites. I had a lot of hesitation on reading this book before i decided to make it part of our book club meetup. My reluctance arises because non-Indians writing about India often had a very monothematic view of a multidimensional nation. Moreover, often under the pretext of reporting, these books quickly devolve into a venting medium for their opinions (aka "feelings") . Either India is glorified or criticizes depending on filters applied to their viewing lens.

My view was changed after i carefully read this article - http://www.caravanmagazine.in/books/honey-gatherers  and no matter what i write, my review will always short of Girish Shahane's writeup.  I think the concluding paragraph is superbly written and should be read by everyone - 

"In scripting Peter Brook’s Mahabharata two and a half decades ago, Jean-Claude Carriére reduced to a single allegory the long (perhaps ‘interminable’ is a better word) disquisition delivered by the dying Bhishma in the canonical text. Asked by Yudhisthira about the cause of the world’s savagery, Carriére’s Bhishma raises his head briefly from a cradle of arrows to say, “A man is walking in a dark, dangerous forest, filled with wild beasts… He falls into a pitch-black hole. By a miracle, he is caught in some twisted roots. He feels the hot breath of an enormous snake, its jaws wide open, lying in the bottom of the pit. He is about to fall into these jaws. On the edge of the hole, a huge elephant is preparing to crush him. Black and white mice gnaw the roots from which the man is hanging. Dangerous bees fly over the hole letting fall drops of honey. Then, the man holds out his finger—slowly, cautiously—he holds out his finger to catch the drops of honey. Threatened by so many dangers, with hardly a breath between him and so many deaths, he still isn’t free from desire. The thought of honey holds him to life.” Bhishma and Yudhisthira view the man’s reaching out for honey as a great defeat, but for those like myself who see only oblivion beyond the earthly life, the protagonist embodies a resilient, even heroic, human spirit in his refusal to let wretched circumstances overwhelm him. The people of Annawadi lead lives so precarious, so circumscribed and powerless, their situation appears analogous to that of the man in the pit. Some, like Kalu, are trampled by the elephant. Others like Meena let themselves fall into the snake’s jaws. But many like Abdul and Sunil stay resolute, clinging to what support they can find, and stretching out to catch a few drops of honey."

Yet, inspite of the Caravan review, i must persist just to add my support to this precious book that provides strength to me just because of its existence. 


To begin with, i would like to offer a standing ovation, a salute, to Katherine Boo for boldly covering a topic that many would not dare to do so. My respect comes with a tinge of sadness as i expect current Indian journalists to write such accounts, to cover other aspects of society that are not faced by middle class. The task would have been a lot difficult for any Indian but for a foreigner to come and report such detailed accounts of people living in slums, people who hardly speak English, would have been a herculean task and kudos to Mrs. Boo to deliver it with conviction.

Almost the first reaction that hits you within first five pages of reading is "I can't believe it is non fiction". Written in a detailed literary narrative prose, with book elements such as prologue wherein a suicide becomes a murder, chapters that are character introductions, the book almost comes off as a well scripted three act play. Katherine frequently describes inner emotions of book's people,  keeping us, the readers,  hanging in the dark as we can't be sure if they really confided in her or is this an author's artistic liberty with the subject.  As a result, even after we have come to terms with the fact that it is indeed a factual documentation of true events, the feeling of detachment lingers on. Personally, i could not identify with the people described but it was only after a few days of finishing the book, once the trance of novel's prose got over, i  discovered the sadness in it, the failure of our times.

Behind the Beautiful Forever chronicles lives of people living in Angadwadi, a slum next to the Mumbai airport. The book captures events after an old woman known as One-leg burns herself to spite her neighbors. Her death is seen as a murder and its blame falls on Abdul, a young muslim garbage tradesman whose little rise in class, owing to his quick ability to sift through garbage, causes jealousy among people around him . The book also covers the slumlord Asha, her daughter Manju and other people, their hopes and aspirations and how the system works at that level. 

Once you accept the prose, there are two things that makes this book a success that it has been getting. For one, Katherine Boo successfully stays away from letting her feelings cloud the narration. It is indeed a difficult task to not be judgmental about people and throughout the book, you can feel the strain. It is only in her closing remarks she shares her thoughts and opinions. The second feat of this book  is by giving such a detailed account of their lives, it changes the perception of middle/upper class people towards them.


Boo's elegance and sharpness shows off  as she connects the dots that seem very far apart. By juxtaposing two unrelated yet factual events, she is able to chart out the scale of disparity that exists between what is commonly called as India and Bharat. 

In her description of Angadwadi, she writes -
'…almost no one in this slum was considered poor by official Indian benchmarks. Rather, the Annawadians were among roughly one hundred million Indians freed from poverty since 1991, when, around the same moment as the small slum’s founding, the central government embraced economic liberalization.'

She begins the chapter on Manju as - 
'The plot of Mrs Dalloway made no sense whatsoever to Manju. Doing her college reading, Asha's daughter felt so sluggish that she feared she'd caught dengue fever or malaria again - hazards of living thirty feet from a buzzing sewage lake. No, she decided. It was simply the weather.'
Later, in the third act, after couple of suicide attempts in the slum, Boo writes '...Manju and her friend Meena, in the secret nightly meetings at the public toilet, began discussing more foolproof means of suicide' 

Abdul, who is beaten in prison after being falsely accused of One-Leg's murder, later recounts
'They will probably beat him(Kasab) lots in the jail, but atleast Kasab knows in his heart that he did what they say he did. That had to be less stressful than being beaten when you were innocent'


I used to wonder why would anyone or what kind of people  steal bulbs and mirrors from train coaches, or steal cables connecting telephone/internet lines to our homes. I often thought that those who stole would be habitual thieves and are doing so just to be an additional inconvenience to society. But as i read about Sunil's escapades and his stealing of aluminum pipes (known as German silver) and other un-rusted construction material from the airport, i realize the necessity behind it.  Instead of looking at the action condescendingly, i can now empathize with Sunil.  We cry foul as stealing a light bulb is again the societal rules but for people living in Angadwadi, the entire concept of a society is now a fantasy. Rules of fantasy-land do not apply in real world. 


I used to believe that people living in slums would be part of a very tight knit community, everyone knowing what is happening with everybody else and in my mind, this image was a positive image with people helping each other in times of need. Angadwadi shatters this image by repeatedly striking a mirror with a strong hammer. That the corruption has gone so low that people feel nothing when taking something from those who have nothing, that our moral compass has gone for a toss as people with active ferocity take advantage of anybody that can be trampled, that those who were supposed to help (the orphanages, the govt. hospitals etc), and those who were supposed to protect  (the police, the state) are the ones exploiting them in a manner that  even animals would walk away. 

How did we get to this? Is there a way out and if so, how do we get to it? I do not have any answer and Boo does not offer any. Instead Boo closes the book with a section titled Author's Note where she describes her reasons behind this project and the process behind it. She describes so by asking questions like -  '... After all there are more poor people than rich people inthe world's Mumbais. Why don't places like Airport road, with their cheek-by-jowl slums and luxury hotels, devolve into arrant violence? Why don't more of our unequal societies implode?' I too do not have any answer to them.  In her note, Boo's outlook is still optimistic. She acknowledges the positive impact of globalization, she believes that better policy will get formulated as ordinary lives are understood in more detail.  This book is her attempt in this direction.  

Book Review: The Dune

The Dune
By Frank Herbert


We, human beings, have always been tempted by the science of astrology - namely the prescient knowledge of events before they take place. There is a strong desire in everyone of us to know what is to happen before time. It is not that the current events are boring that we look towards the future in hope of excitement. Perhaps it has more to do with the present bleakness that pushes us to look towards future out of our ingrained perpetual optimism. Or may be we need a comfort to sustain ourselves, a consolation that our efforts will not go in vain. Maybe its both or neither.  It is with this nuanced understanding of the unpredictability of our psyche that makes Frank Herbert's Dune an excellent novel.

The Dune is set on a desert planet Arrakis where water is so scarce that people wear suits that collects water released by body pores and purifies it back into a tasteless liquid which is again consumed back by humans. These suits work with extraordinary efficiency such that the only water loss happens due to sweat from palms of our hands. Just as winter governed everything in the LeGuin's Left hand of darkness, everything happens in Dune either because of water or spice (a highly desired element that can be manufactured in desert only. It comes as no surprise that Dune started a niche sub-genre under science fiction namely - Eco-science fiction. 

The story of Dune after all its fantasy layers are unveiled is a story of revolution, a hero's journey from an ordinary man to a legend against all odds, the struggle of small vs the big.  A young kid, Paul, suddenly finds himself fighting first for his own survival, then soon as a savior of an entire tribe of people. The magic of dune lies in unraveling of its plot. Not only the elements of fantasy are creative but they are applied with caution and sense.   The plot moves at a comfortable pace with lots of action happening in quick succession.

For me, the added layer of prescient knowledge shared in just a few lines at the introduction of each  chapter added a level of complexity that was just too much to bear as it filled me with a curiosity that was unstoppable. Is Paul the Muad'Dib? Is he going to eventually marry the Princess? Should i believe these opening lines? If so, is it really going to happen as it says? What if Frank Herbert is just messing up with my mind? They say that  a little knowledge is dangerous but knowledge of events about to happen is debilitating. One starts to question the present and future seems more uncertain than before. From a plot point of view, it adds nothing as we eventually witness those events. But from a literary perspective, it is a masterstroke. It prevents the novel from being an extremely sad, pessimistic one to one with hope and adds a philosophical layer that is needed to deliver the enormous wall it wishes to climb.

In addition to environment and ecology, Frank brings in his incredible knowledge of different religions especially Islam. The book can be also be seen as a study in sociology, or an application of  political science, or micro-analysis of human psychology. The fact that Dune does a great job in so many departments is what makes it such an interesting read. One can feel that it is a result of lots of research, endless hours and a lot of passion.

Dune also has its sequels wherein Frank analyzes the negative aspects of Heroism - blind belief in anybody could be dangerous as well. I have not read the follow-ups, nor i intend to do so in any near future. Dune itself was fulfilling and one never likes their heroes to fall.

Gulzar - BLF - Untitled

(At 2012 Bangalore Literature Festival, Gulzar on the topic of mountains recited a poem. I can not find it either in Selected or Nelgected poems. But i had an audio recording, based on which it is copied below. To me, this was the best poem that he read during those two days.)

 

पिछली बार भी आया था
तो  इसी  पहाड़ ने
नीचे खड़ा था
मुझसे कहा था
तुम लोगों के कद क्यूँ छोटे होते हैं ?

आओ हाथ पकड़ लो मेरा
पसलियों पर पांव  रखो  ऊपर आ जाओ
आओ ठीक से चेहरा तो देखूं 
तुम कैसे लगते हो
जैसे मेरे चींटियों  को तुम अलग अलग पहचान  नहीं सकते
मुझको भी तुम एक ही जैसे लगते हो सब 
एक ही फर्क है
मेरी कोई चींटी जो बदन पर चढ़ जाए
तो चुटकी से पकड़ के फेक उसको मार दिया करते हो तुम
मैं ऐसा नहीं करता

मेरे सरोवर  देखो,
कितने उचें उचें कद हैं इनके
तुमसे सात गुना तो होंगे
शायद दस या बारह गुना हो
उम्रे देखो उसकी तुम, 
कितनी बढ़ी हैं, सदियों जिंदा रहते  हैं
कह देते हो कहने को
लेकिन अपने बड़ों की इज्ज़त करते नहीं तुम
इसीलिए  तुम लोगों के कद
शायद छोटे रह जाते हैं

इतना अकेला नहीं हूँ मैं
तुम जितना समझते हो
तुम ही लोग ही भीड़ में रहकर भी 
तनहा तनहा लगते हो
भरे हुए जब काफिले बादलों के जाते हैं
झप्पा  डाल के मिल कर जाते हैं मुझसे 
दरिया भी उतरते  हैं तो पांव  छू  के विदा होते हैं
मौसम मेहमान है आते हैं तो महीनों रह कर  जाते हैं
अज़ल अज़ल के रिश्ते निभाते हैं

तुम लोगों की  उम्रें देखता हूँ
कितनी छोटी छोटी मायादों  में मि
लते और बिछड़ते हो
ख्वाबें और उम्मीदें भी
बस छोटी छोटी उम्रों जितनी
इसीलिए क्या
तुम लोगों के कद  इतने छोटे रह जाते हैं