Desicritics Author: Melody Laila

Who's To Blame for Scarlett Keeling's Death?

Melody Laila — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:21:45 EDT

Here's the back story for those who aren't yet aware of the "facts" as we know them at this point:

Pretty, blonde, 15 year old Scarlett Keeling, a Britisher from Bideford, Devon was with her mother, her mother's boyfriend and six other siblings on a six month vacation in India. At some point the mother & rest of the brood moved onto a neighboring state, leaving Scarlett in Goa - the mother insists she was in "safe hands" of a "very responsible" 25 yr old tour guide they had met. Some reports label the guide, Julio Lobo, as her boyfriend since she was staying with him.

Scarlett was then found dead on a beach in Anjuna, Goa, last month. Initially police said that she had drowned - but the victim's mother Fiona MacKeown (who has nine children) pushed the police to a second investigation, where they then proved she had been drugged, raped and then killed.

Placido Carvalho and Samson D'Souza have just been arrested for raping and killing her and police today formally declared the case "closed", saying that Scarlett had consumed high doses of cocaine and alcohol (some reports add LSD to this list) when she entered the beach shack during wee hours on the fateful day and was then given ecstasy tablets by Carvalho. After this Carvalho and D'Souza allegedly raped and murdered her.

Meanwhile Congress MP Shantaram Laxman Naik caused quite a stir at the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday when he blamed the ghastly crime on the victim’s folks. And the tourism minister Ambika Soni agreed saying: ""Naik certainly has a point".

While many people have been quick to condemn Naik for his "shocking" statement, lots of people, many of British origin are themselves reacting in a similar fashion:

Why on earth did the mother go off and leave a fifteen year old girl, in a place like that, with a 25 year old man? I'll never understand these parents who seem to have such a casual attitude to looking after their kids and then wonder why something bad happens to them. - Rosy Knight, Sheffield UK

A very bad case BUT Scarlett should have been in school and taking her GCSEs - what was her mother doing taking her and her siblings out of school? Was this the action of a responsible mother? A lot of questions need to be asked. Her mother needs to be applauded by trying to discover the truth BUT she should not have been there in the first place or left while her mother went off elsewhere - she was only 15 and would imagine sexually active - responsible parenting? - Valerie, Colchester

So who's to blame here?

Carvalho and D'Souza?: Both have confessed, so yes - Definitely and without a doubt - and I really think people like these should received maximum punishment possible. Also, a third and as yet unidentified person was also reportedly arrested a few hours ago.

The Police?: While one cannot blame them for Scarlett's death, they are definetely 100% guilty of trying to cover it up.

The "responsible" Tour Guide Julio Lobo?: No news from his end yet. According to the mother, he was supposed to be "looking after" Scarlett. So where was he when she was getting high, being gang raped and then murdered?

The criminalization of drugs/cartels/the Russian mafia: Lots of debate on this point. I've debated this before with a friend (after watching 'We own the night') and I truly believe that it is more dangerous, especially for innocent children, if drugs were legalized.

The Mother/Family?: Allison Pearson of the UK Daily Mail certainly thinks so.In my opinion, leaving a minor alone in Goa is not the act of a responsible parent. Leave aside the fact that she was "on vacation" with other siblings for six months. However I think that before any "case of negligence" is filled against her, the actual perpetrators of the crime and the corrupt police should be severely dealt with.

How about Scarlett herself? : Should she at 15 years be drinking and taking drugs? Was she not old enough to know better? Britain is another place, perhaps it's safe for a 15 year old to be out drinking and taking drugs on her own there (though I would imagine not). Shouldn't she have known better?

Better to have been "safe than sorry?" Or are we completely missing the point here and blaming the victim and her family, when we should be sympathizing with them during this terrible ordeal, made worse by corrupt police?

Movie Review: Jumper

Melody Laila — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:29:57 EST

I really really wanted to see Jumper - the whole idea of teleporting is something I've fancied for a long time ('Beam me up Scotty' long!).

The whole teleportation thing is dealt with really well. I loved the way the special effects were done, barring the drive through Japan in the Mercedes (talk about product endorsements), all the other scenes seemed simple and realistic enough. It was nice because a lot of films tend to overdo the special effects, especially sci-fi films whose very premise demands it.

The story however could have been more developed. It's basically about a boy (Hayden Christensen) who discovers he has the power to teleport himself. A lot of the movie then revolves around him honing his teleporting skills and taking us for a tour around the world. For a travel buff like me, it was fun anyway, but perhaps some of it could have been replaced with some proper storyline on his relationship with his mother (Diane Lane, who has the most ridiculous & disjointed role ever, appearing & disappearing for 2 mins) or his father or even his girlfriend (Rachel Bilson, The OC's Summer) - yes, it would have been nice to have the dynamic between them explored just a tad bit more.

Jamie Bell plays another 'jumper' (that's what them teleporters are called apparently) in the movie and one finds oneself thinking - ah now, the story's finally begun. But then an all too short time after, and rather disjointedly, it ends.

All that said, I still recommend you go see this movie. Despite the failings in the plot, it's a superbly made movie & the whole teleporting thing was enough for me to enjoy it.

In between someone asked, if you could teleport yourself somewhere right now, where would you go? And I thought, no where, I want to finish seeing this movie. That should be testament enough.

===

PS: If you're going to catch this in a theater (& I recommend you do that for this & for any special effects movie) be warned that you might be subjected to rather brilliant people, the likes who can identify the Sphinx when they see it. Seriously, I am worthy of sitting alongside such genius.

Movie Review: Fool's Gold

Melody Laila — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:16:27 EST

My two word review for this film is: "Children's Movie"

That being said, it was a fun children's movie and I had a nice overall time. It was mostly silly, funny at times but best of all (for me) there was a very very very nice bod - Matthew McConaughey that is! After excessive movies flashing women, it was refreshing to see a hot sexy man for a change (though I'd personally have liked him so much better had his hair been short).

The movie's about a sparring couple (Matthew McConaughey & Kate Hudson) who get divorced and then through a series of weird events rekindle their passion to find treasure and finally end up back in each others arms. Oh shush, I didn't just give away the plot, that much was apparent from the start.

What wasn't apparent - and which continued to be very confusing throughout the movie - was how exactly they figured out where the treasure was at. It took a good part of the movie (rather long scenes) and I didn't understand any of it.

The "bad guys" in the film provide the comic relief (though I'm not sure that was the intention!).

Other comic relief - and eye candy for the men (well, there had to be some for them too) came in the petite shape of Alexis Dziena, who I mistakenly thought was Miley Cyrus at the time. Don't they look similar though?

McConaughey & Hudson make a cute couple & this would have been a good date movie had the relationship been dwelt on a little more than the treasure.

All in all, I think this a movie you can take your kids to (ok there's one "sex" scene in a library which isn't really shown, but!) and chances are you'll all have a good time & go to sleep dreaming of pirates, treasure and lots of glittering gold.

The Closet and the Scale

Melody Laila — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:13:08 EST

I've had to empty half my wardrobe because I just don't fit into most of my stuff anymore. Blame it on the sweets. Or blame it on the binging on all the fabulous food at all the fabulous parties the past season had to offer. Or blame it on the rain.

I don't know.

Just don't blame it on me.

Because I honestly don't know how it happened.

I don't know how I went from a size 20 waist (ok, that was a whiiiiiile back) to a size 30 waist (ok, maybe 30 something, less than 40 anyway, so there).

So here I am, de-cluttering.

No metaphors really, just taking stuff out of my closets & putting them into an ever increasingly full suitcase.

Sigh.

One faces lots of dilemmas when junking old clothes:

Ought you to keep the clothes you totally love, even though they don't fit you anymore? Especially when there's sentiment attached to them?
What about the clothes, that you almost (almost) fit into, when you breathe out deeply, suck in your stomach completely (ok, as much as you can) and then, they almost (almost) just fit?
What should you do with the old clothes? Vinnies? Call up friends? (I prefer doing the latter first & then it's off to Vinnies usually)

And then there's the whole "Clothes : Weight Theory" . That you fit into the Clothes that are in your closet. So if you want to lose weight (the theory goes), keep clothes that are the ideal size you want to be. Don't beat me up, this wasn't my great theory, it was explained to me by so-called-friend, minutes after he berated me for putting on "so much weight".

He didn't beat around the bush. Unlike the people who call you "healthy". You know, not the nice ones trying not to use the word "fat", but the nasty ones who are pretending to be nice:

"My, my, Melody, you're certainly looking... healthy" *smirk smirk*

Back to junking clothes though, one also makes lots of realizations like, we love spandex. In fact, I want to take a moment here and give spandex the credit it deserves. Go Spandex, you are truly a friend who grows with us.

Unlike those pants, that don't even make it up my hips. Like my oh-so-expensive pair of black Versace jeans (yes, they were a gift before you ask) which I had to huff and puff and blow the house down and I still didn't fit into. After almost 5 minutes of jumping: left leg kick in air, pull, right leg kick in air, pull, buttocks squat, pull - I realised the workout I was having wasn't helping me reduce the weight I needed to get into the dash pair. C'est la vie.

It had a belt with it, and I thought, let me at least keep the belt; the people who go to Vinnies don't need a Versace AND a belt. Until I realised it just about fit me on the last loop. Pseudo benevolence kicked in again & I decided not to separate pant from belt.

There are also lots of other things one realizes. For instance, one had Hideous taste in clothes like, upto 3.5 minutes ago. WHY oh why are there so many hideous clothes in my closet? Seriously, I'm talking high waisted pants, Bell botts (which are sure to come back into fashion the minute the guys from Vinnies come around to pick up my stuff) and purple animal print leggings. Seriously, when were those ever in vogue?

And I've discovered I so can do S&Ms. I have enough of leather. Pants, shorts, skirts. Now I just need to buy a whip (& perhaps some 'cuffs) & I'll be good to go.

But enough of grumbling already. For the longest time my stomach was like an endless pit that could down any amounts of junk food without it showing anywhere on my body. Gone are those days. And while I'm thankful for those days (& sorry for the times I made fun of those who used to try & diet while I gorged pizza after pizza in front of them) I have reached almost the top of the hill and I need to be all determined and such.

So, resolution time: LOSE SOME WEIGHT.

Present weight: 54 kgs.

Ideal weight: 50 kgs.

Which if you think about it is just 4 kgs (yeah, I'm brilliant at Math) and with my young metabolism etc I'm sure it can be done. Watch this space. 2008 is going to be Melody's-blog-turns-Bridget-Jones-diary. Except that I'm not addicted to alcohol or smokes. Though I do like 'em English men.

But that's stuff for another post.

Meanwhile, I'm still eating & checking the scale. FYI, it hasn't budged an inch. Sigh.

Losing Your Life, One Post at a Time

Melody Laila — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:45:49 EST

My archive section at my blog will tell you that this is my oldest post here.

The truth is though, it wasn't my first blog post ever. One of the early ones on the Indian blogosphere, I started blogging in May of 2002 at Blog-City.com, my url - melody.blog-city.com

Don't bother going there, because all you'll find is this:

This is what happened - I was living away from home in those days in a place with no internet access. I used to write all my blog posts in a word document with the correct dates & then copy paste them whenever I got home in my blog on the corresponding dates.

My "system" was really working for me, until one day, I reached home & omg, my blog - and all my blog posts - completely deleted. To my utter dismay I checked my email and found 3 "notices" that had been sent to me in the past month to update, or lose the blog. Since I hadn't been home in over a month, I, by default, "lost" my blog - and along with it, over two years worth of entries.

Blog-city turned a pay site and lots of others who were regulars, are no longer around. Added negative: I also lost lots of "friends" - like Leah, a young teacher from the UK, who wrote one of the best blogs I read in those days - Ducksecho.blog-city.com. Why "Duck's echo" ? Yeah, that was the question I first asked her too, before we became online friends who read each other's blogs. I do hope she's out there somewhere still blogging, she really is a fabulously funny writer.

As any serious blogger, whoever has lost any post for whatever reason will tell you, losing a blog post is like losing a part of you, and losing years worth of posts, is like losing a bit of your life.

Most of us, I'm guessing, do not go into our archives and read our old posts. But there's a certain security in just knowing that they're there, if ever we do feel like reminiscing. Or if we want to double check a date or a fact or to link to something that we felt/went through a long time ago that has some relevance currently.

Saket Vaidya knows what I'm talking about - he lost three and a half years worth of posts. His controversial posts (any of you remember his preference for North Indian women over their South Indian counterparts?!) that wrecked havoc on the Indian blogosphere, his funny posts (like his preference for small breasts! Viva Kate Moss!) and so much more, all gone. To quote him:

"that psychopath is yours truly, and is deeply pained"

Hardik Shah, a new friend, was telling me just yesteday of his similar woes he faced pre 2004. All he could do, was keep shaking his head and say: "Tcshay".

Sadly, I'm sure there are many others, perhaps many of you reading this now, who have lost blog posts. I empathize, it is indeed like losing part of our lives.

Then again, it may not be the big deal that I'm making it out to be.

Movie Review: We Own the Night

Melody Laila — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:33:45 EST

Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg team up to produce and act in this Crime / Drama / Thriller, in a movie that's as much about family dynamics as it is about war between drug cartels and police forces.

It's about a family, a father & a son in the police force - and another son, who manages a busy night club. This second (seemingly prodigal) son, with a completely hedonistic lifestyle (starkly contrasting with the holier-than-thou images of both his father & brother) slowly by virtue of his job, gets sucked into a drug cartel against his wishes. He is faced with classic dilemmas of family versus career & reputation, good versus evil, finally life versus death.

Though this is not an action film (it's mostly drama) the movie moves along quickly and is interesting enough, but somehow after 'The Departed', this seems rather less for Wahlberg. Phoenix is brilliant in the main role however, the role completely became him.

Eye candy & a brilliant performance (though most men, I'm betting only paid attention to the former) by Eva Mendes, who sizzled in every which way in the movie as Phoenix's girlfriend.

Not a date movie definetely, this movie is filled with lots of blood and gore - including a scene where a man slits his own neck - and you see the blood gushing & spurting out.

The movie is scary, moving and makes you think all at once. Coming home we had a long discussion on whether drugs should be legalized (surprise surprise, I'm against that) and the implications of the legalization of drugs and it's effects on society as a whole.

Breaking the Cycle of Consumerism and Poverty

Melody Laila — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:20:52 EST

Rs. 1000/- Entry, Rs. 600/- for a Jack Daniels. That's what it costs us, relatively rich, Mumbaikars for a single night out at an average night club. And that's not counting how much we spent on dinner before we reached the club. Or the number of drinks we had there. Or the cost of the clothes we wore. Or the fancy car we gave to the valet.

And then there's this and this, where parents of young girls are, "Caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, the cash-strapped parents can ill afford to refuse an offer that helps them earn Rs 100 per night"

Rs. 100/- a night. Imagine that.

Here's me. I want:

A new Video iPod
A new Phone too - preferably the iPhone (yes, loving apple these days)
New Shoes (can never have too much of those)
New Jeans (I can't seem to get the right shade of basic blue I want)
- not to mention the daily entertainment I crave. I want to go out with my friends; see movies, club, eat, drink & be merry.

And then there's Moushumi, a 10 year old girl, one of the Bengali girls rescued from Bihar after being locked up, beaten and forced to dance sleazy numbers in front of violent, gun-toting crowds.

Here's what she says:

"Although they beat us up, they served good food. It was much better than what we get at home"

Because of that, 10 year old Moushumi is willing to risk everything and go back on the stage.

And I? I'm now questioning what I can do, I know I must do something... Suggestions?

Marry me for my Money

Melody Laila — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:31 EST

Imagine this: A young marriageable girl from Tiruchi with parents anxious to get her a 'good' husband. There must have been much rejoicing in the Jenita household when the boys family agreed to the marriage with their son, an Infosys employee. To make it better, the future son-in-law for the Jenita family was from the 'US'; a prestigious alliance no doubt.

The young girl, though an MBA herself, must have no doubt been excited. And then there probably was a wedding. Again undoubtedly, dhoom-dhamal. The Jenitas must have proudly told family & neighbors about the "good catch" their daughter had got. Sweets. Saris. Flowers.

And then the day she had to depart for the US with her husband and his family there were tears. Her parents must have come home from the airport, taking solace in the wedding photographs, feeling now they had finally done all they could for their daughter.

Now she was "settled" in life.

At what stage did dreams turn into nightmares for the girl Smalin?

In a shocking case of dowry-harassment, a 23-year-old pregnant woman was beaten by her husband and in-laws and thrown out of a moving car, while she was in the US. The 7-month pregnant Smalin Jenita was comatose till a week ago, and had sustained 52 fractures while being harassed for dowry by her husband and his family in the US.

Perhaps we'll never know. Perhaps we'll never know if from day one she was harassed by Christy Daniels, the man who was meant to be her life mate. We'll never even know how she got pregnant, whether she had a good union with her husband.

What we do know is that shortly after her marriage, Smalin got pregnant. And we do know that even in her seventh month of pregnancy, she was being harassed, beaten and ultimately thrown out of a car! by her husband and in-laws. We know she was abandoned in a hospital in the US in a coma. We know her family in India wasn't even informed by the in-laws of her condition. We know it was only by the intervention of a kindly good Samaritan, a Pakistani doctor in this case, that these matters were brought to light. More details here & here.

(Smalin is currently in the ICU at Mehta hospital in Chennai. She and her unborn child are in stable condition. Besides the 52 fractures suffered, Smalin is now paralysed on the left side due to the brain injuries she suffered)

Smalin Jenita's case brings one more ugly fact to light. It is something that everyone knows but justifies in many ways - that Dowry still exists, and not just among the poor, uneducated class in India, where women do not know their rights, but even among rich, wealthy and educated families.

Another family in India might have gone through a similar ordeal like the Jenita family - had it not been for very plucky action from the bride's family.

On the night before the wedding was to take place, the grooms family demanded a dowry of Rs. 50 lakhs. Instead of canceling the ceremony or paying the dowry, the brides family went ahead with the function - and then in front of all their relatives told the prospective in-laws to be that they had filed a complaint with the Patiala police. The girls side of the family was enraged with the behavior of the groom & family & actually beat the groom up before he was whisked away by the police.

Again, both families were wealthy and educated - here both prospective bride and groom (Gurpreet Singh) were doctors.

Last minute dowry demands are as common as they come.

Can India forget the story of Nisha Sharma the bride-to-be called the police after her father was asked for more dowry money just minutes before her wedding ceremony? Her act was heralded as "brave" and overnight Nisha went on to becoming an anti-dowry icon, being featured worldwide on the BBC & even on shows like Oprah.

However Nisha Sharma & the (unnamed) bride at the Gurpreet Singh rebellion against dowry demand stories are few and far between. It is still unfortunately stories of Smalin Jenitas that are still common.

I've long since been in "the marriage market" and I have seen all sorts of "proposals". One thing I know is that dowry is still asked for. It is shrouded in many different ways, often so indirectly that a novice may not realize it, but it does exist.

And since it exists, it's important to make sure that one has a plan in place to deal with it. My personal stance gainst Dowry is this - my family and I are both very clear that there will be no dowry given. If the boy's family even so much as hints that they are interested in what my parents are giving me, I refuse to even see the boy.

Though I do wish I find my soul mate - I definitely rather remain single than marry the wrong guy. And someone who is interested in how much money my family is bringing to the table is in now way close to being "right".

I am very vocal about my attitude towards Dowry because I hope it will positively help even one other person from the ordeal Smalin Jenita & her family have had to go through. Let us realize that this problem is still rampant among educated people & it is upto us, those who are anti-dowry, to speak out about it, as loudly & as often as we can.

Sports and Religion Do Not Mix

Melody Laila — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 07:05:23 EDT

"First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world."

Wen I first heard the Pakistani Skipper Shoaib Malik saying those words during the cup ceremony at the Twenty 20 finals after losing to India, the first thought that went through my mind is "He must be scared to death". I remembered all the mystery shrouding the death of Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer after the ODI World Cup earlier this year and I thought - how could he be anything but scared?

However the world is shaking it's head against Shoaib Malik's comments. Many non-Pakistani Muslims are speaking out about the fact that they are patriotic to their own countries and not to Pakistan. And that Shoaib's comments were completely out of line.

Sample: Sohel NR at BanglaCricket forums says "Pak does not represet all Muslims..India has more muslims than Pak ..he does not have to apolgize to Phatan"

and hsheth01 from IndianPad who says "think the persons who should be most offended would be the muslims of the world who do not hold the same view as Shoaib Malik. They should launch an offensive to get an apology from Pakistan. Muslims all over the world are not supporting Pakistan".

I remember, even after the first India v/s Pakistan match (where India won in the Bowl Out), I was gTalking with another blogger Abdul Qabiz - he was as ecstatic as I was that India won. He's a Muslim and he supports the Indian Team completely "and I guess that goes for all the Indian Muslims" he says. After the finals he simply posts:

India has won ICC twenty-twenty cricket world-cup. Final match was entertaining, breath-taking and totally cool. Congratulations to everyone. I hope and wish, Indian team continues the same form and wins the upcoming series with Australia.

However the comment has spurred more than just the Indian Muslims (& indeed non-Pakistani Muslims) to condemn the statement. It has raised bigger issues - of how and why the skipper should feel like he had to apologize to Muslims all over the world in the first place?

Mukul Kesavan from Cricinfo makes this summary:

The problem here isn't the syntax, it is the sentiment. I don't expect Shoaib Malik to be a politically correct intellectual, but it is reasonable to expect him to know the world of cricket that he inhabits.

It is a world where Muslims, Hindus and a Sikh currently play for England, where Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and a Hindu play for Sri Lanka, where Hashim Amla turns out for South Africa, where a Patel plays for New Zealand, where Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Hindus play (and have always played) for India.

Why would Shoaib think, then, that the Muslims of the world were collectively rooting for the Pakistan team or that they felt let down by its defeat? Did he stop to think of how Danish Kaneria, his Hindu team-mate, might feel hearing his Test skipper all but declare that the Pakistan team is a Muslim team that plays for the Muslims of the world?

The Times of India (TNN dated 26th Sept) hit the nail on the head (the ball on the wicket?) with this comment:

While the charitable explanation for Malik's remarks was that he was trying to preempt an Islamic backlash at home and did so with poor command of English, the general feeling was he unwittingly revealed the growing radicalisation of the Pakistani cricket team.

The world online and off has made a huge noise about Shoaib's comment. I hope any radicals sit up and listen. And perhaps next time, we can keep religion off the sports field.

Movie Review: No Reservations

Melody Laila — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 02:31:15 EDT

I went for the premiere of No Reservations two nights ago.

It was the regular star-studded affair; lots of models, actors, press and other creatures associated with the Indian glamour world.

If I were the dissing type I'd tell you that Lascelles Symons is looking ridiculously thin (but good nevertheless) and that Nina Manuel (which is now Man- U-Elle, or didn't you know dah-lings?) is seeing some guy with the most horrendous hairdo on the planet ~ very sad indeed. A. D. Singh of Olive catered but it was nothing to write home about.

The movie, too, rather disappointed, but perhaps I was partly to blame. I was expecting a romantic comedy - and there was absolutely no comedy in the film (barring a few measly scenes which I refuse to categorize the movie from).

Rather, there was lots of drama.

Both Catherine Zeta Jones (Kate) and Abigail Breslin (Zoe) do brilliant jobs with their characters, who have a pretty sad and difficult relationship due to the fact that Zoe's mother has just died leaving her with Aunt Kate, a fanatic but top-of-the-line chef who's in therapy on her boss' strict instructions.

Aaron Eckhart (Nick) is introduced way too late in the movie and has way too little screen time for the movie to be termed as a romance. If you are to see the film, then see it for the wonderful dynamic between Kate and Zoe.

The movie opens in Mumbai this Friday, 21st September.

---------

Leaving you with this thought:

Why is it that the first part of so many movies have the principal character coming home, checking her (or his) answering machine which then promptly tells her (or him) that "You have no new messages"?