Desicritics Author: LighterVein

Movie Review: Jodhaa Akbar- Befitting a Shahenshah!

LighterVein — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:48:46 EST

Movie befitting a Shahenshah! Ashuthosh Gowarikar has delivered this jewel by simplifying the elaborate complexities in the royal love story. In his unique way of movie making, he has taken care of all the nuances to give it the most authentic feel without overdoing any bit of the story. The couple were betrothed only for political reasons but thereafter Cupid sets to work and Ashutosh Gowarikar portrays it and how!

Like Lagaan, this period film starts with Amitabh's baritone setting the story in motion with a 15th century map of India. After Baadshah Humayun's untimely death, Prince Jalaluddin had to accept the weight of ruling Hindustan on his early teens. Bairam Khan, the fiercely loyal general of Mughals, set his eyes on expanding the Mughal Empire for Jalal. Hrithik (born to play Akbar), lights up the screen as the teenage prince turned Shahenshah.

The youthful Jalal intends to take his own decisions after a battle between the Rajputana Kings refuse to surrender their kingdom. Bairam Khan is sent on 'exile' to Mecca and the vanquished Rajput king spared to rule his kingdom under Jalauddin. Its been a long time since we last saw such elaborately set war sequences in Indian cinema. The numbers of people marshalled to recreate the Mughal force was itself a treat to watch. Raja Bharmal, played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, visits Jalal and proposes him to marry his daughter to save his kingdom from his nephew Sujamal's conspiracy.

The taming a wild elephant scene by Jalaluddin is fantastic and one of the many 'not to be missed scenes' in the movie. It was very well shot and depicted the bravery Mughal Emperors reputedly possessed. Very unlike the usual Bollywood scenes, the hero did not have 'extraordinary abilities' to jump as high as an elephant but uses his mental ability to do that, not brute force.

When fate gets Jalaluddin and Jodha betrothed, the political drama ceases and gives way to the romance which blossoms in an unconventional way. Jalal, being a just Emperor gives his wife the honour she deserves and also allows her to follow her religion inside Agra fort. This leads to vehement opposition from one particular Mullah/priest in Akbar's court whom he later sends to Mecca (was it Akbar's hobby? :)). The love blossoms within the walls of Agra Fort though it pricks the eye of many including Jalal's foster mother, Maham Anga, played villainously to the core by Ila Arun.

The movie ends with a hand-duel between Jalal and Sharifuddin, his vile conspirator brother-in-law. Though, the villain is more muscular and well sculpted, Akbar's dialogue sets his intentions straight even before the fight begins 'Hindustan ko mein galat haathon mein nahin jaane de sakta'.

A.R. Rehman cannot stop making good music relevant to the theme. He seems to have a disease of enchanting the listeners. Though the music is not catchy as soon as you listen to the songs in the movie, you will have it on your lips sooner than you think. The Sufi song Khwaja Mere Khwaja, is shown without slightest pretense of being what it is not (a regular movie song). The Sufi singers wear the authentic clothes complete with upturned flowerpot-like hats and sing as if they were the real Sufi singers of the 15th century(or so it feels to the viewers). 'Kehne ko jahsn-e-bahaara hai..' is another cherry in the cake baked by Rehman. The lyrics also are written with heart and soul poured in every stanza. The entire kingdom hails Jalal and confers him the title 'Akbar' with the song 'Azeem-o-shaan shhenshah', which is the catchiest song of the movie. It is complete with aerial shots of dance sequences (a la Republic Day parade by different states of India).

The pure urdu and chaste Hindi used in the movie is easy to understand and adds to the charm of the love story. Hritik looks as handsome as ever and Aishwariya is unparalleled in her onscreen beauty. This might be one of the best performances of the duo.

I am unsure whether Ashutosh Gowarikar has taken any historical liberty and modified facts but the movie is an entertainer. See it for Hritik, See it for Aish, see it for Mr. Gowarikar's direction and see it for the love story - see it for yourself.

If 5 stars is the scale you prefer, I would give it a 4 undoubtedly.

Having a Whale of a Time in Wales!

LighterVein — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:41:29 EST

One sunny Saturday, we set out for Wales from Reading. After a few initial hiccups, the journey started off enthusiastically. 3 cars-15 bachelors- a splendidly smooth M4 motorway, needless to say was the fire-cotton-oxygen combination. Once we were on the highway, the straight stretch of smooth silky asphalt compelled us to test the cars' potential. It was hard to keep the dictum 'Speed thrills but kills' in mind. Almost everyone was envious of the one in the driver's seat. A rotation policy was set in place, so that everybody gets to control the car for sometime before reaching Wales.

The huge hanging 'Severn Bridge' across the Atlantic was our gateway to Wales from Bristol, England. After a burger break at wayside service 'Welcome Break', we were on our way to Swansea. Trying to interpret the English meanings of welsh signposts and traffic rules on the road, kept us engaged and entertained till Swansea. We gathered and remembered that 'Araf' means 'slow down' and 'Arafwch' means 'Slow down now' by the time we reached Swansea(still unsure on how to pronounce that).

Swansea is a beautiful city with a few beaches, green landscape and mainly the cliffs directly opening into the sea. The sea breeze at Swansea Marina with the vast expanse of water for a view was pretty relaxing, considering, the usual other scenic encounters we have are the windows screensavers. We learnt that Swansea is also called 'Abertawe' or the mouth of river Tawe! Photographs in 'poses like our Darwinian forefathers' and a beer or two later, everyone decided to head to Cardiff, the Welsh capital.

The drive again was a heavenly endeavour and we reached Cardiff Bay. The Cardiff bay was in midst of a summer festival. The folks were blithe listening to live band and carousing. The Wales Millennium Centre was the most dominating structure of the bay. It is a centre of Welsh performing arts. The bronze colour of the dome was beautifully different from the regular buildings, it being created with steel treated with copper oxide. The welsh words on the dome proclaimed "Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration" and in English it said "In these stones, horizons sing". Though it looked a jumble of letters when read there (thanks to the alien welsh language), a simple search on Google cleared the clouds. A wishing well in the compound was a good place to spend some one penny coins we abhor to carry around.

We went around the Cardiff Bay taking in the gala atmosphere. Cardiff bay was lively with every pub, bar and restaurant overflowing with crowd in festive mood. When our stomachs reminded us of their existence, we found a fantastic Italian restaurant called 'Bellinis' near 'Signor Valentino'. The chardonnay we ordered was best we all had ever had and was enough for couple of us to say no to car driving for that night. After gorging on a sumptuous dinner, like sharks in Wales (pun intended), we made the two birthday boys with us, cut the cake.

We were on the road once again. This time, the destination was 'Blacksheep backpackers' in a small village of Abergavenny in Monmouthshire town. The adventure was about to begin. We knocked (and later banged) on the door of the hostel, called them on the phone, but to no avail. Couple of us managed to peep through the back window and bang on it to awaken the sleeping watchman while the rest were revving the cars and discussing the features as if they were to appear in Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson. After about half an hour of toil, the watchman woke up but swore he would never let any of us enter. As we were planning to drive back to Reading, the cops appeared out of nowhere and parked their cars so close to ours, so we couldn't move without hitting it. Luckily, for us, we had the booking printouts handy and cops managed to get us inside the hostel while the watchman apologised (supposedly, the manager hadn't informed of our arrival). Whew! The double decked bed was inviting after a rapid day full of interesting adventures.

Sunday morning brought with it clouds and showers, though it was quite bright. With 15 of us in one small backpacking house, it was almost felt that we had taken over the place. The owners gladly filled the empty racks with cornflakes and bread and made us feel at home. Our next plan was to see Pembroke and head back to Reading.

Pembroke castle was worth a visit as we were able to access the towers and view the panoramic beauty of Pembroke. Though, this was not among the best of the castles we've seen, castle with river flowing beside them always is a treat to see. Castle done, we reached the airfield where we had booked a helicopter ride. The anticipation of being in a helicopter for the first time was big for all of us. Weather played a spoil sport and only four of us could get a ride in the helicopter. The incessant rain hampered the flight and due to safety reasons, pilot decided against taking anymore on the bird.

Plenty of photographs later, we were off to Reading stopping by at the Pembroke beach to adore the scenic beauty of cliff falling straight into the sea. A drive on M4 was again exhilarating. Raring to have a go, all the cars raced against each other, though keeping safety first. The gang in the Volkswagen Golf got a free picture taken by the speed camera.

Thankfully, everyone was smiling at the time!

RP Singh - The Unsung Great of Twenty20

LighterVein — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:32:47 EDT

Why is nobody talking about RP Singh? This lad showed potential par excellence, scalping wickets with fantastic variation in line and length. Three crucial Pakistani wickets were his gift to Indian cricket team in the finals and he did it with a temperament like a cucumber. His contribution throughout the series cannot be overlooked.

I have been googling to find out the awards showered on him and I am sorry to say there are barely any. UP Govt has announced one award(Manyavar Kanshiramji International Sports Award) which holds a cash award of Rs.10 lakhs and this is the only individual award he has been conferred.

The cash awards being recieved by the other players completely overshadow Rudra's achievements. Joginder Sharma, who was a dream bowler for any batsman, gets Rs. 21 Lakhs from Haryana government. This award is not because, he did his job right in the last over, but because Misbah commited a cricketing crime. The poster boy Yuvraj gets a deserved cash award for 6-sixes but isn't Rs.1 Crore a wee bit excessive?? These are but a few examples of cash and kind awards for the few popular ones.

If I was a certain Mr.Modi, I would have split Rs. 1 Crore between Yuvraj, RP Singh, Rohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan. Yuvraj and Pathan are mainstays of Indian Cricket for a long time now but RP Singh and Rohit Sharma should be encouraged.

We would not be so elated today if the contribution from RP Singh and Rohit Sharma was missing. Rohit Sharma atleast stole the thunder in Semi finals by hitting 50 runs but RP did his job to keep Australia from reaching that score. RP Singh is one of the most prmomising bowler in the phalanx of Indian pace bowlers and yet he is being neglected like a hockey player(yes, they are neglected in our country). RP Singh's reticient approach to cricket is the distinguishing factor. RP’s figure in semifinals 4-0-13-0 were the key in India reaching the finals.

Are the rich and famous, who can sponsor awards listening? Is BCCI listening? Is the government of UP listening? RP Singh is here to win matches and be a mainstay in Indian cricket and looks as bankable as any excellent cricketer can be.

India's T20 World Cup Win: Is There Any Better News Today?

LighterVein — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:07:32 EDT

Yay!

Adding to the copious amount of digital ink understandably spilled over India winning T20 world cup, here is my part. In the sheer ecstatic state of mind, I congratulate every Indian in the world. It was our day without doubt as lady luck was beaming at the well prepared team. Though Misbah almost vanquished her, she came back to give us glory by dropping the ball in Sreesanth's hands. Everyone in the team played their part, and everyone excelled.

Hearts skipped a few beats, blood in veins froze, when Misbah launched the ball skywards off Joginder in the last over. Only after the ball came down into Sreesath's hands, the bodily functions restarted normally but this time, adrenaline flowed with the blood. The high-decibel sound of victory which rose from my apartment in a quiet place in Reading sure did send the english neighbours scurrying to their phone to call the cops. But they understood the state of mind when they switched on sky sports.

I am not one of those hyper-enthusiastic fans to criticise Indian team whenever they lose but when they win, and win with dignity, I cannot resist a skip, a hop and bhangra! I am sure there was a prayer going skywards from every cricket fan. I, though not too superstitious, went to the temple after the win.

Malik and Pakistan team need PR coach

I really admire the way they played yesterday and almost snatched a winning match from India and I respect Malik's captaincy. But Shoaib Malik, shouldering the huge responsibility of being captain of Pakistan cricket team, needs his PR skills or atleast his interview skills honed - the unwanted statement thanking all "muslims" in the world for supporting Pakistan Cricket team. This could have been a slip of tongue or ignorance, but neither is a defence in the court of law, in this case on 'international podium'. Ironically, Irfan Pathan came immediately after Malik's interview to collect man of the match award. Did a Muslim send three top Pakistan batsmen back on the bench for 16 runs... nah, an Indian did!

The television channels

All programs were postponed and every advertisement put on hold, or so it seemed, when all you could see was shirtless Dhoni, dancing Bajji, assaulted but grinning Sehwag, calm Sreesanth and the ecstatic Pathan brothers. Yuvraj, RP Singh and everybody else, needless to say, was over the moon. Any other day, I hate Star news and Aaj tak to the point of revoking their licenses if I had my way, but I didn't mind their crap headlines and pathetic news presentation as they showed the jumping jacks in the country and fireworks being burst like as if to announce the win to the world. Aaj Tak even made Kapil paaji dance to their DJ's tunes. NDTV bought in Imran Khan, who had to put on a plastic smile but as usual, spoke sense. Sidhu went berserk on NDTV and asked everyont to become 'talli' and claimed he would have given Yuvi the 'man of the tournament' award instead of Afridi.

I know, you all know what I just wrote, but dudes (and dudettes too), I am over the moon too!

Sidhuism: 'Today was a colossal moment in the Indian cricketing history and I am as proud as a cat's whiskers!'

Book Review: The Greatness Guide, Robin Sharma

LighterVein — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:47:45 EDT

Robin Sharma, the leadership guru, who was catapulted into worldwide fame with his book The Monk who sold his Ferrari, has added another feather to his cap with his next book The Greatness Guide. This book will appeal to his ardent fans while broadening his fan base. His compilation of keen observations and inferences make it worth a read and a re-read. The ideas in the book are provocative and high-impact challenging one to lay claim on greatness. Contrary to the extremely idealistic ideas presented in the previous book, The Greatness Guide is practical and the ideas detailed can be effectively put into practice in daily life.

The ideas in the book are divided into 101 chapters thus proffering a to-do list of ‘101 things’ for achieving greatness. This is not a book to be read like a novel but a chapter a day can give you a daily dose of greatness. Each chapter is self-contained and discusses an idea by illustrating them with germane quotes and adages by the greats of the world. The content of the book is a good collection of practices of the known greats and anecdotes from author’s own experience. He delivers small but priceless tit-bits in a platter where you just need to pick and choose the dish you want to commence your meal of greatness with.

The language used in the book and the way of writing is admiringly "simple". The book is easily understandable as it is written in a manner that seems like Sharma wants to personally sit and talk to you over a cup of coffee. Sharma’s wisdom is framed in an accessible way and can influence a reader at any level. Sharma reconfirms that there is no Prof. Dumbledore’s magic potion with the help of which one achieves greatness but at the same time, his ideas emphatically tell you that no Lord Voldemort has to be vanquished to attain greatness. Doing the few simple things excellently and regularly is the key.

On the downside, there are plenty of repetitions throughout the book. This might feel like a flaw but it does help in drilling down the more important points. Further, though the small chapters keep the lessons precise and simple, you may soon forget few as you read ahead for the reason that lesser the time you linger on an idea, sooner you forget. Furthermore, though the book has its unique features, it is reminiscent of few other self-help/motivational books.

I suggest you to read the book with the purpose of knowing what you need to be like ‘Bono’, a brand like ‘Diddy’, speak like a Superstar and act like a rock star. Also read it to think like a CEO while leading without title, adding value to clients and be a “Merchant of wow”.

You would have already heard lots of advice in the book before, like I had, and thus to me, the book was a wake up call to just do what I already know. This book in plain and simple terms told me to stop procrastinating and start climbing the ladder to greatness. If you are the kind who just brushes off counsel, then this book will not be of much help. It tells you what to do and how to do it but doesn’t force you enough to do it. The person with a little motivation in himself can go great lengths with the ideas in the book.

There are a few counsels I disagree with like “Work Hard, Get lucky”. This mantra alone will not suffice to get stuff done; you need to add a dash of smartness to get lucky. I would rather say “Work smart, Get lucky”. Though I closed the book with my own doubts on few things he said, I had a clear picture and an adequate list of things to do.

The author, being a leadership guru for various multinationals provides massive inputs on customer satisfaction and enjoying work. Sharma says “Customers buy with their hearts”, which can be understood as “move the chords of human emotions and they will be with you forever”. Give the clients what they want and something extra, add a freebie, celebrate the clients’ achievement and you are guaranteed projects.

Contrary to the popular notion that leader is one who is liked by all, Robin claims in “Leadership isn’t a popularity contest” that being a leader is not about being liked but only about doing the right things. No wonder the majority hate their bosses.

In “The Innovator’s mantra”, the author says ‘The enemy of the best is good’. A brilliant thought. This statement bluntly dares one to make things better than before. The bottom line is let innovation be your heartbeat.

From the personal viewpoint, there are many perfect ideas to be instituted in our system. Sharma’s quote "As you live your hours, so you create your years. As you live your days, so you craft your life." made me realize the moments I have just let pass by lying down and staring at the ceiling. It should be action time every minute. He stresses as much on slowing down sometimes to think ahead and meditate but he never mentions the word ‘stop’. I learnt that my hours make up my life rather than days and years.

I have learnt that I may do best when I am faced with the worst as Sharma so wisely says "Great achievement often happens when our backs are up against the wall."

In “Drink Coffee with Gandhi”, the author says that reading a book by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you. In "Your Schedule Doesn't Lie," Sharma pin points the need to schedule and prioritize the things you really want to do in your life.

“Be a merchant of Wow” says Sharma. This is something I knew and reading it in the book repeatedly in different styles just made me wonder what all can be achieved by just making people around you happy, not to mention the customers.

To make a précis of Sharma’s book of ideas, each of these chapters can be considered as groundwork to construct your monument of greatness. Reading each chapter either will implant a new idea in the brain or refine an old one.

Lonely on X'mas!

LighterVein — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 10:28:21 EST

The cold winter night was at its bitter best. But thankfully the cold blanket was calm and not being blown about by wind making the cold prick. The white snow blanket on the ground made the city seem like an oasis on white sand desert. He walked in no hurry, devouring every ounce of the winter night's beauty. Though his mackintosh was pulled tightly over him, he felt the chillness in the air on his face. His nose had the reddish tinge. He walked slowly along the banks of Tyne, admiring the twinkling lights and the monuments built along it. The bridges stood proud illuminated with twinkling colourful lights, inviting the passers by to stop and admire. He admired and walked about, to nowhere in particular.

The serenity was only broken by the occasional pub he passed which had the gentry drinking and making merry. "Holiday season is the best", he thought, "so vibrant and abuzz with activity yet comes with peace of mind". The bend on the road along the river brought him to the city church. 'Make poverty history' claimed a big banner on the church. Ironically, right there at the corner, the tramp with a saxophone and a dog sat and was trying hard to reproduce what sounded like a Kenny G. He didn't care tupence about the beggar who was sure to do nothing better but drink with his money. He walked on, caring for nothing else but not slipping on hardened snow patches. The fun part was to leave your footprint on the soft snow which hadn't been trodden upon. The continuous snowing soon made your footprint disappear giving a chance to another pedestrian trying to enjoy imprinting his boot on the soft snow pillow.

No one could have thought of anything ugly in this beautiful setting. By now, he was completely absorbed in the heavenly vibes of the environs. The 'Pitcher and Piano' was the place he thought befitting for tonight's ambiance. The slow music, the view of the Tyne and the bridges wearing white garb was the perfect way to spend an evening when alone on Christmas night. All he could see inside the pub was some couples in cosy corners, a few old timers sitting and talking over pitcher of Guinness. Dim bulbs lit up the place and slight Christmas decorations in red and green made it doubly inviting. He ordered a Stella and was soon lost in thoughts with strains of music reaching his ears.

Merry Christmas to all!

Eat - The 'Iyer' Way!

LighterVein — Thu, 7 Dec 2006 06:40:40 EST

An Iyer by birth and traditions being followed at home, I have met more than enough Iyers to confirm my belief that 75-80% of us are "horizontally-unchallenged", or should I just say 'fat' without using the politically correct phrase. It wasn't very difficult to find the pretty evident reason for Iyer-flab. Its not only the special gene which hides in an Indian's body and stores the fat as it comes in but it also is the Iyer's appetite combined with traditions(aka 'reasons to eat' in Iyer lingo!).

Iyers, as a community, believe in 'pehle pate pooja, fir kaam dooja'. Every occasion: diwali/dussehra or pongal; avani-avatam/skandashshti or krishna jayanti; karthikai or any other day has a specific food item, most of them fried or sweet but all fatty. And if you are thinking, it's just on occasions, try counting the number of occasions and festivals and I am sure the number will be comparable to the number of cricket matches India has lost.

'The Iyer food guide' or 'Eat - The Iyer Way', if written will be the book Iyers will never bother reading because eating is a trait which passes on from parent to child as effortlessly as Rajnikanth catches his cigarrete with his mouth. A minimum of three courses with a 'payasam' (the dessert) round in between the second and third course, is the most common sight in lavish food arrangements in any proper joint family, Iyer household and with mamis ever-ready to cook.

The first course begins with rice, a generous helping of ghee, and small amount of dal with Sambaar in tow. The second course is rice and rasam, with chips or papadaam. All this is served with a minimum of four torans/poriyals/kootaans (aka curries). A 'payasam' round (short & sweet) before the third course. Finally, the main course consisting of the famous 'taeer-saadam' (curd rice for the uninitiated).

Christians have the time of Lent, when they give up something for God - meat, alcohol and the likes. Muslims fast during Ramzan. And Ramzan is a whole month. Most North Indian Hindus fast atleast one day a week: for Lord Shiva on Monday, Hanuman on Tuesday, Ganapati on Wednesday, Shirdi Sai on thursday, Santoshi Mata on Friday or Shani bhagwan on saturday. At least they rest on a Sunday (or there might be some fasting for Sun God). 'Iyers and fasting' can never be written in the same sentence (Did I just attempt the impossible??). Even on the amavasya nights, when we think we are fasting, its okay to have palahaaram, that is stuff like dosas, idlis, upma et al.

Anyways, I am not going to change any of that and eat food, the iyer-way. And I bet many Iyers will agree. If Popeye was an Iyer, his song would start with something like ...

'I am what I am, I eat, what I can! I am Popeye the Iyer man!!'

Advice For Free

LighterVein — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:25:01 EDT

Why do you give advice so often,
I accidently ask a wise one.
Smiling wide he tells me; Son,
Advice is free, one or a ton.

He continues as if I had urged him on,
Non-stop he just goes on and on.
Opinions galore, he never does stop,
Give him hints and he still prods on.

For no reason, he squanders advice,
His wisdom has become his biggest vice.
For no reason, he tells one and all,
What to do, and not take a fall.

Free advisors are a pain in the ass,
one chance, and they start their class.
Most advice they give are trash,
in the smallest pause, just make a dash.

I beg the gratitious advice givers to stop,
don't bore us till we die or drop.
Only when asked, show wisdom,
or can the crap, you stupid bum.

Comics Review: Virgin Comics Issue # 0 & #1

LighterVein — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:26:36 EDT

Issue #0
The free issue which can be downloaded from the Virgin comics site shows a sneak peek into Virgin Comics venture. This preview contains two stories - Devi and Ramayan Reborn.

(The pics are taken from respective Virgin Comics' online edition. For enlarged view click here: Ramayan Reborn, Sadhu, Devi )

Devi

Devi, an audacious feminine warrior,the wonder woman from India, sent by the gods to save the world sounds like any other super-human story. Devi is a mystic heroine who kicks some rakshas(demons/monster) butt in the world corrupted by renegade gods and demons. Devi's storyline, as per this preview, is rather conventional and it doesn't impress me as much. The artwork is brilliant and fantastically coloured. A novelty in the storyline is what I will be looking for in the next issue, if writer Siddharth Kotian wants me to be Devi's fan.

Ramayan Reborn

"Scratchy art at places, slapdash appearances" were the first to hit my mind while reading Ramayan Reborn preview. The Ramayan has been reborn with unimpressive artwork. We are directly plunged into the mythological battle between Rama and Ravan. The pace of the story is lighting fast and hectic. There are only three characters shown in this preview, Rama, Laxman & Ravana but I was unable to connect with any. The epic Ramayan has the immense potential to be made into one of the best comic books ever. Will the comics live up to it? The preview may be a misleading here. Anyway, I will pick up the first version when it comes along to see if they can tap the inherent supremacy of the epic.

Issue #1

The Sadhu story
"The Sadhu" has been written by Deepak Chopra's son, Gotham Chopra. It is about a young Englishman, James Jensen, inducted in Queen's army as a soldier and stationed in India. His transformation into a spiritual warrior in India is the story behind Sadhu. Issue 1 runs two parts of the story parallelly :
1) Introduction of warriors in India (Bengal, East India specifically) led by sadhu named Dadathakur and
2) A young lad named James Jensen trying to find a life with his wife in London.

Art

Artist Jeevan Kang (Gotham Comics' "Spiderman in India" fame) has proved his mettle again by designing The Sadhu in a form which will appeal internationally. A visibly strong and muscular figure with liberally flowing cape, long wooden staff, long hair, beard and rudraksh necklace makes the sadhu look as much a saint as much as a combatant of evil. The tilak on the forehead completes the authenticity of the sadhu. The art in this first issue is excellent. The characters are distinctive and the action is good.
The minus (if you would want to call it so) in the action, is the war cries include cries like 'Bhagwanji', which doesn't fit in an international comics until the meaning is explained specifically.
The facial expressions have come out great as Kang and S.Sunderkannan (color) do an extraordinary job of portraying emotions. The colour conveys the message, place, time et al extremely well eg. The London of yore is shown in a white snowy background etc. In short, Jeevan Kang kicks ass.

Conclusion
"The Sadhu" a nice book to read and I am eagerly waiting to read the next issue. And if it will be as Gotham Chopra says 'an epic quest: the conflict between two quintessential human longings--enlightenment and revenge. ', then I am doing a sadhu's penance on one leg for Virgin Comics to release further issues of the comics.

India Uses WMD Against Pakistan

LighterVein — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 13:16:01 EDT

Now, I apologise if the heading sounds more serious than satire-ish. But thought hard as I did, I could not find something more apt. And the heading is surely not "punny", so as to derail you from the context of the post.

You don't need to rub your eyes, you read the heading right. With the help of women folk in Pakistan, India enters the houses in Pakistan and sets off Weapons of Mass Destruction every day. The television industry in India headed by one Ms.Ekta Kapoor, has taken it upon itself to help Indian Government by detaining Pakistani women in front of the television crying over the split between "so-motherly" a saas and "sarv-guna-sampann" bahu. This weaponry has successfully wreaked havoc on Pakistani males. Husbands are getting weaker by not getting food on time and fretting over the rising electricity bills. They are further tortured by remotes being hidden and barrage of tears on the telly and from their wives.

IBNlive reports that TV serials like Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Sas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kasauti Zindagi ki, Kahin to Hoga, Kum Kum and K-Street Pali Hill are some of the more popular serials among the Pakistani women. All these I am sure are very strong and concrete measures to slowly but steadily eliminate the brain cells of Pakistani women. There will be a day, sooner than later, when Pakistani women will be more interested in who married whom but whose child was born to whom in the serial, rather than making sure if their own child had dinner before he slept.

IBN informs "We watch TV after completing our housework. When the government banned these programmes, my mother-in-law and I used to spend our time talking and discussing different things. But now we spend most of our evenings watching tele-serials and then discussing these programmes," a housewife said.", thus reinforcing the fact that Pakistani women, young and old are with India in this technological warfare.

Infowar monitor claims that "Indian drama and soaps are so popular that Pakistan cable operators went on a week-long strike in late August to protest PEMRA's decision on the ban, which is the just latest reminder of the perennial problems in India-Pakistan ties. " .
A 'Pat on the back' to cable waale bhajaans who are with India in operation 'ghar-ghar per WMD'

Usually all countries have two kinds of people, those who like soaps and those who don't. But as per infowar monitor's quotes from interviews, we see there is a third kind - those who hate soap but are addicted to them - ''These Indian dramas may be extremely trashy but they are nevertheless so absorbing that its hard not to get fixated on at least a couple of serials,'' adds Amina Sadiq, another homemaker. ''They also provide a fascinating insight into the devious Indian mind...can you imagine any of our dramas being so complex and yet so utterly absorbing?'' ..... DEVIOUS INDIAN MIND?? Ah, must be Devi-ous meaning 'Devi - like' (Devi, referring to goddess). Of course, all bahus in the said serials think they are re-incarnation of some devi.

Lets hope that these soaps get terrorists in Pakistan hooked on to them and they forget the so-called jihad.

Long live Ekta Kapoor (worth a Param Veer Chakra??)!