Desicritics Author: Aaman Lamba

Every Place is Kansas Now, Tiger

Aaman Lamba — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:51:24 EST

Watching Tiger Woods apologize on television yesterday was a disconcerting sight. One was more used to seeing the iconic golfer talk about his game and recent victories. He seemed robotic and uncomfortable. In the end, his apology rambled for too long and didn't quite convince one to pick up the phone and call now, operators standing by. If it was intended as an apology, it stank. If it was an advertisement, it didn't sell the brand - it perhaps diminished it further.

Tiger Woods had no real reason to apologize to the public. He said what he had to say to his family and his sponsors. That being said, perhaps the role of the public figure does make him accountable to some extent to the people at large, but even so, he was apologizing for what will likely not change.

I visited the Kinsey Institute in Bloomington, Indiana, the other day and was struck by how ornate a facade we create around our basic identities. Dr. Alfred Kinsey painstakingly documented the various facets of human sexuality in the 1930s and 40s. When his books were published there was a general uproar, but much of what he documented as outre and the exhibits on display from the period seem quite commonplace today. Our perceptions of sexuality have changed so much in the intervening period that much of it does not shock, as it must have in those days.

Certain tenets still seem to hold good though. Years after Harvey Milk and others tore down the closets people had forced them into, men still resort to lurking in lonely chatrooms and truck stops to find solace. People still make up entire false lives to cover up their basic need to explore or just to have sex. Moral police barge into private homes and expose consensual doings, demanding the 'perpetrators' pay a price for their 'sins'. Celebrities are expected to lead sacrosanct lives, even if that means more pulchritude is shoved under the proverbial carpet than it can bear, until inevitably, the curtain falls and we are left with the sad man behind the Wizard.

Dorothy, it looks like every place is Kansas now.

Travel Review: Louisville, Kentucky - Bourbon, Ali, & Sluggers

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:28:00 EST

Some towns are designed to be iconic landmarks. Whether its the people, the positioning, or the happy confluence of a variety of factors, the town becomes more than a mere blip on the interstates.

Louisville, Kentucky is one such place. Founded on the Falls of the Ohio River as a boat halt in the 1780s, it found rapid growth and become a central inland trading station. It had an active slave trade in the years before the Civil War, but was also a vital point in the Underground Railroad, with Indiana to the north being a free state and escaping slaves finding welcoming hands in Louisville.

The Civil War saw Louisville used as critical rallying point for Union forces and many hallmarks of the city date back to this period. It was after the War ended though, that the first of the famous Louisville attractions took ground in the Possibility City. Louisville is home to Churchill Downs, which hosts the Kentucky Derby each year in May, the first leg of the United States Triple Crown. The Louisville Slugger, a legendary baseball bat was also designed and manufactured here.

One of the most famous residents of the city is Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay in Louisville. The greatest boxer in the world has gone beyond being a sports icon to a globally respected figure, and this was recognized by having him light the Olympic torch in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Louisville and Kentucky are also renowned for their variety of bourbons, most brewed in the state. This has given rise to a Whiskey tour of Louisville, where one visits a variety of classic bars and certifies this on a passport. Each bar carries over 50 varieties of bourbon, many over 18 years old.

I visited Louisville this weekend and was entranced by the city. The bohemian yet cosmopolitan downtown has a lot to offer, from the 4th Street Live Entertainment Complex to numerous museums in walking distance. As time was pressing, I could only cover the Muhammad Ali Center, but this was more than worth the visit.

After the Muhammad Ali Center, I began the Whiskey Trail. A return trip is on the cards to complete the other stops on the trail.

The Seelbach Bar in the Seelbach Hotel was the inspiration for F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and is ranked as one of the 50 best bars in the world, as per The Independent.

The Maker's Mark Tavern is within the 4th Street Live entertainment complex and has over 150 fine bourbons. Their brewery is an hour away from Louisville and well worth a visit.

I'm looking forward to going back to Louisville. It is a city with character. There is much more ground to be covered and bourbons to be drunk.

Roger Federer Wins Fourth Australian Open

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:48:21 EST

Roger Federer, or Fedex, won his 4th Australian Open title against Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13/11). This is his 16th Grand Slam title and shows he's still on top. Andy Murray on the other hand, remains unenviably lacking a single Grand Slam title. Federer holds the longest Grand Slam streak, two ahead of Pete Sampras. After last year's defeat to Rafael Nadal, which saw him sobbing uncontrollably, this victory meant no tears.

The game saw Murray exhibiting a passivity that led Roger to not break a single set, despite the longish third set. After the first set, which was somewhat mixed and Murray had three break points, Federer upped the ante in the second, pouring on the pressure until Andy couldn't bear the burden and Fedex took the set. The third was nail-biting, and Andy could have taken the set at least five times, until Roger broke the stalemate and took his third match point.

It is now 74 years since the British have won a Grand Slam title, since Fred Perry beat Don Budge in 1936. Roger Federer acerbically termed the period "150,000 years" ahead of the match Friday. As master of the Grand Slam, he might be excused this grandiloquence.

Photo Essay: Flowers From Our Winter Garden

Aaman Lamba — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:16:16 EST

It might be best to begin with a disclaimer. While I did take most of the photographs in this essay and have benefited from the salubrious climes induced by the beautiful array of plants and flowers, the true credit and labours are those of Deepti Lamba, and thus the kudos.

We are fortunate to have a large yard. My mother and father were ardent gardeners, but of the functional variety. While we had a few rose bushes and gladioli, the layout was oriented towards fruit trees, garden vegetables, and some special breeds like the elephant's foot. I recall quite a few good bonsai, and that is a special art indeed.

Our garden today is quite different. The fruit trees grow strong, except for a couple cherry and banana that had to be removed. We suffer from acute water shortage though, like most of Bangalore, that odd city which wasn't built next to a major water source, and has murdered the few rivers that flowed through it. Our choice of plants is therefore oriented towards ones that can go without frequent watering and also our aesthetic tastes run to colorful vibrant flowers.

This January seems to have produced a fine crop of blooms. Here are some for your appreciation.

There are more than flowers in our garden, as with any ecosystem.

We got this Violet orchid recently.

This tom is a frequent visitor to our garden.

Book Review: Holmes of the Raj

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:56:39 EST

The long annals of Sherlockiana, as the Americans call the writing of fan fiction related to the Master, that immortal creation of Conan Doyle, has seen many a strange tale. As long as back as 1974, over 6000 instances of Sherlockiana were extant. The number has only grown since then, and the recent Guy Ritchie film will surely bring a new generation of fans, not that the interest in Sherlock Holmes has died down ever since the stories were published in late 19th century Victorian England.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle disliked the adulation, feeling it overshadowed his other literary works, but didn't mind the adaptations, writing to the American actor William Gillette, who asked if he could give Holmes a wife in his play, that "You may marry him or murder him or do what you like with him."

A new addition to the extended Canon of Sherlockiana is Vithal Rajan's Holmes of the Raj. This brings Holmes to India for a variety of cases and has him deal with a variety of notable characters - real and fictional. This is not the first time Sherlock Holmes has encountered India, having dealt with Tibetan issues in The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes, the exquisite Laurie King novel The Game and being familiar with Dr. Watson's service in Afghanistan.

Holmes of the Raj is a good book in many ways, some of which will be evident only to true Sherlockians, as we fans call ourselves. The book is richly researched and has a strong sense of contemporaneity - the scenes are redolent of the Raj era, with familiar characters, food, social traditions, etc. Familiar Holmes traits are played upon, such as Sherlock's tendency to keep Dr. Watson in the dark until the very end, and the good doctor's gallantry and sense of fairness.

The cases themselves have more historical significance than being intricately plotted mysteries. Each seems designed to provide a vignette into Raj events of note. The book begins with the Case of the Murdering Saint, wherein Holmes and Watson are asked to help resolve an intricate matter concerning the murder of the accountant of a Tamil monastery, purportedly by the Shankaracharya, who has confessed to the crime. The duo encounter various tropical threats, meet notables such as Madame Blavatsky of the Theosophical Society and the Rev. Dr. William Miller of the Madras Christian College. They play cricket with the members of the Madras Cricket Club and Dr. Watson sees the ravages of the tsunami of 1883, which had wreaked much havoc and led to 'disaster capitalism' of the modern kind, with German and English missionaries proffering donations in exchange for souls and trading rights.

Once the case is disposed of, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson travel to Hyderabad on a matter of some urgency, as the young son of the Nizam is suffering from malaria and Dr. Watson's medical services are of need. Not as much a murder mystery as a medical one, this story is centered around Dr. Watson as he tracks the cause of malaria to the anopheles mosquito, leaving his notebooks to a young Dr. Ronald Ross, medical Resident of Bangalore, who would later go on in real life to be recognized for this discovery and receive a Nobel Prize.

They also make the acquaintance of a journalist down from Central India, Rudyard Kipling who accompanies them to the region as they are called on to address a crisis that could rip the Indian empire asunder - the manifold tribes of the hills were rumoured to be coming together against the depredations of the Raj, not dissimilar to modern Maoist movements.

This complicated case behind them, the duo repair to Nainital where they encounter various luminaries including Motilal Nehru, Capt. Francis Younghusband, and Kim of Kipling's fame, not to mention a certain mysterious American who goes by the name of Clark Gable. This is a truly enigmatic case and one can sense the author hinting at greater matters than he reveals which could have some significance for Indian history.

The penultimate case brings Holmes and Watson to the capital of British India, Calcutta and an old enemy, who is the last they might expect.

The slim volume wraps up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson called out of retirement, the former from his beekeeping in the Sussex downs. They are faced with a modern threat to the British Empire, circa 1913, with India riven by terrorist plots, a unified Congress, and dark conspiracies in the halls of power. Sherlock Holmes must take a hand in history, not for the first time, and leave a lasting mark on the refined barrister Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who until then had striven for Hindu-Muslim unity and the rightful place of India in the commonwealth of the Empire.

Copious notes follow the cases, giving them a richer context and being the norm for Sherlockiana, as we have seen with the masterful The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, both by S. Baring Gould and the recent one by Leslie Klinger. One can only hope the author has more lost annals of Sherlock Holmes to discover and bring to us, as that would be a treat indeed.

TV Review: Colors Bingo Fails to Click

Aaman Lamba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:39:58 EST

Colors Bingo premiered after a melange of promos over the last month, including a muddled Twitter campaign termed @iamaarami - that had little connection with the show. This wasn't the last thing to go wrong with the show, which is Abhishek Bachchan's television debut.

To put it baldly, Colors Bingo is the worst, most ill-conceived poorly produced product-promo show ever on television. Amitabh Bachchan rendered a few dialogues, random people stood up and a trusty sidekick seemed to have no role to play other than interrupt proceedings randomly. The other sidekick was even less relevant than a gangster's moll to the main action.

The first episode garnered viewership with the presence of the Big B, but the repeated Paa shtick seemed tired and overdone. The game is stacked against the viewer/audience, with the celebrity guest standing to win over Rs. 25 lakhs while they can get only Rs. 1 lakh. Psychologically, seeing the celeb win doesn't do much for the viewers or the audience. Amitabh Bachchan did give his winnings away to charity, setting an excellent example, but there's no guarantee other celebs will do this.

Online reactions seemed to be universally negative, ranging from opinions that the show was boring to views that it was confusing. People seemed to be clicking away to other channels, such as Star Plus' Music Ka Maha Muqqabla, which featured Shah Rukh Khan. Some pretty good singers were on the show when we switched to it.

It seems unlikely Colors Bingo will sustain beyond the first season, but the fan following is sure to give it quite a bit of momentum.

Software Review: Seesmic Look - Twitter For The Masses

Aaman Lamba — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:27:04 EST

Innovation comes in little steps, it has been said, until one finds a new paradigm has been reached, and then its like things were always that way. Back in the old days, as it were, a telephone connection was a wondrous thing, connoting affluence of sorts, or at the very least, connections to the powerful.

Connections have become the currency of the social age, and a telephone is no more a means to share news and views with people one knows. It is fair to say that more information is broadcast to strangers today than to one's own family. This might explain the explosion in popularity of services like Twitter, which allow you to listen to the chatter of the masses as much as to the thoughts of the powerful.

There still seems to be a magical barrier though that Internet communication services have not yet crossed - that between the extraordinary and the mundane, where a mode of communication becomes commonplace enough to be accessible without needing to learn how to use it.

Seesmic claimed to have cracked the puzzle with their launch of Seesmic Look, a new Twitter client built on Microsoft's Silverlight platform, styled with Windows 7 thematic elements, and Tablet-friendly.

It is structured into channels that move in and out of the central space. Lists finally become easy to view and navigate, appearing as sub-folders in the Social space. Tweets vary in size as you scroll up and down, a somewhat disconcerting effect at first. The fonts are also not one's first preference, and there doesn't seem to be any way to tweak the interface other than to switch between light and dark.

Hot topics and trends have their own zone, and are visible even to not-logged in users. This is the first innovative step as Seesmic Look provides a preloaded set of channels and topics, giving the general Internet user a look-see without having to sign up. This does not translate to ubiquity but does increase the curiousness factor, making Seesmic Look more immersive than the lame Twitter home page. The application carries a 'Powered by Twitter' seal, quite unusual among third-party apps.

The most interesting innovation is the Playback mode, where recent tweets appear and disappear as floating bubbles. The effect palls after a while, though.

The channels are actually sponsored timelines by brands such as Red Bull, the Huffington Post, and Time. A channel has its own color theme and logo. Photographs and videos auto-expand, though not all sites. It isn't a feature regular users will stay with much, though.

Seesmic Look has really nailed Twitter Lists, with the easy navigation between a list and the main timeline. I'm running Windows 7 and the UI renders beautifully. There is an occasional graphic glitch though where a blue bar that appears when you switch windows from Look to another application. The application does freeze occasionally when scrolling through the timeline. The 'in reply to' link between a response and the original tweet also seems to have been lost in the interface design. A final quibble is the poor placement of the refresh button - bottom right of the window, leading one to click the settings button which is right next to the update bar on top.

Overall, it is a good departure from the norm and fits more smoothly into the new Windows UI metaphors than Adobe AIR apps, for example. The television-style interface and glossy feel will draw it many followers, although it will be hard to measure Twitter usage uptick purely as a result of Seesmic Look.

Jyoti Basu, Grand Communist, Dies at 95

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 06:15:58 EST

No sooner were the reports of Jyoti Basu's death at the age of 95 confirmed that Mamata Banerjee proclaimed him 'the first and last chapter of the Left Front government'. He had a strong camaraderie with even her, and his towering leadership over the Bengal Communist party cadre was in a large part responsible for the 23 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPI(M) in West Bengal.

While West Bengal might have fallen behind in the developmental race, Jyoti Basu's land reforms and labour movements made a strong mark on West Bengal. The inability of the party and ideological freeze made it impossible for Jyoti Basu and the state to move into the market-led economic transformation in the nineties. Nevertheless, his legacy extends beyond strikes and industrial inaction.

His biography is almost a chronicle of international Communism, from his student organizing activities in the United Kingdom during the War. The Communist Party was declared illegal in India between 1940 and 1951, and Comrade Basu continued to work behind the scenes to facilitate underground leaders' meetings and interactions with the Congress Party. When the CPI split in 1964, he opted for the CPI(M) and joined the Politburo. He was first elected to the West Bengal Assembly in 1946, and became Deputy Chief Minister in 1969. His first stint as Chief Minister of West Bengal commenced in 1977, and he ruled uninterrupted upto 2000, when he retired for health reasons. He almost became the Prime Minster of India in 1996, until the Politburo vetoed the idea, which he termed a 'historic blunder'.

The Left Front is at a crossroads, with declining vote shares and the prospect of losing its home base, West Bengal, in the Assembly elections next year.

The Haiti Earthquake - Do Your Part for Relief

Aaman Lamba — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:14:51 EST

The Haiti disaster is beyond belief in terms of impact and relief organizations are scrambling to meet the need. Please contribute to the Haiti crisis through your local charity, company, or organizations such as the International Red Cross.

The situation is dire. The Haitian President said over 7,000 people were buried in a mass grave. The infrastructure is defunct, and the geopolitical implications are bleak for Haiti as a country. After shocks continue, with the mass of people on the streets amidst uncleared debris. Thousands of people are missing, presumed dead. Google has established a website for helping people find their missing loved ones, People Finder.

Relief flights are tied up in air traffic and at the small airport in Port-au-Prince. The police are insufficient to keep order and a U.N. food warehouse was looted as the people grow more desperate. American troops arrived in Haiti to speed up relief operations. While one might decry disaster capitalism, now is not the time to pick holes but to step up and do your part. As an illustration of how disasters can bring humanity together, Cuba allowed U.S. flights to fly over the island, reducing the flight time to Miami by 90 minutes. Major U.S. Telecom companies have waived charges for calls to and from Haiti, and on fees on SMS messages to charity organizations. Over $5 million has been raised through SMS campaigns thus far.

Here is a link to contribute through Google Checkout - Indian credit cards accepted - through UNICEF and CARE.

The International Red Cross donations page to efforts such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, and more zones is another useful page.

As the ICRC puts it, when talking about this international disaster:

Our World, Your Move - In Haiti

Photo Essay: Dakshnineshwar Kali Temple, Kolkata

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:25:26 EST

The Dakshnineshwar Kali Temple is most familiar through its association with Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, who was its head priest from 1855 till his death in 1886. His mystical visions and experiences at the temple brought it much acclaim and a strong following. The unceasing retinue of visitors continues even today.

On our recent Christmas holiday to Kolkata, we decided to visit the place along with some Western friends. The journey was a varied ones, passing through many versions of India, from colonial buildings to modern crowded streets.

The temple was closed for viewing, but the queues of visitors waited patiently for the doors to open.

The central temple has an Orthodox Russian feel to it. It is a traditional Bengali Navaratna style, though, with nine spires.

Close to the temple grounds, are an array of shops and small restaurants.

There's also a wide array of people, poverty, and animals.

We took a boat ride across the Hooghly from Dakshnineshwar to the Belur Math. Many people are constantly bathing, alighting, and crowding the ghats.

This was an unusual sight, I'm not sure what was happening here.

Check out the complete set on Flickr.