Desicritics Category: Culture: Society

Interview: Straight Talk With Onir, Director of My Brother Nikhil

Sakshi Juneja — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:59:48 EDT

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to meet up with Onir, director of My Brother Nilkhil at a coffee shop in Versova. Onir, (who goes only by his first name), arrived a little late and wanted to wrap things up in fast. So without much ado, I went right ahead and asked the first question.

Please tell us something about your creative background?

I always wanted to make films, the only thing I can remember wanting to do is make films. When I joined college I took up literature parallel with film studies. Literature I think is very closely related to films and in India you don't start with film studies after school, you can only after graduation. And then I got my scholarship for Training in Film Making for which I went to Berlin.

And what brought you to Bollywood?

After I trained in Berlin I went back to Kolkata because that's where I did my university and initial training in film studies. I worked there for a while, made some documentary films and all. But anyway my aim was "fiction" and I realized the environment of Kolkata is not where I wanted to work because I was very young and wanted to be respected for what I do. And I found people very patronizing at that point there and it didn't suit me.

I came to Bombay as an editor actually…I started off as an editor. And it took me 10 years to make my first film. But for me it was very clear – I don't come from a film family, I don't come from a family where someone can say, here take 3 crores and make a film. I wanted to do it on my own, on my own terms and make the kind of films I wanted to make. Probably that's one of the reasons why it took that long because I was definite about the kind of films I wanted to make. And for me everything that I was doing while trying to make a film was a step towards that. I mean I produced music, directed music videos, made documentary films and then scripting; basically a whole lot of things.

And all this helped me to be able produce and direct my film within a controlled budget, since I had worked in every possible department.

For your first film, what made you pick a dicey subject like alternate sexuality and HIV?

Actually it became my first film by accident. The first script I wrote was also a dicey subject but it never got made. Hopefully it will someday. It was basically a story of a gigolo and nobody had the guts to finance such a project. And then I wrote my second script but nothing happened and then I wrote my third script. At that time I had just finished editing a documentary script on Dominic D'Souza who was the first known case of HIV in India. And that story kind of stayed with me…you know his photograph haunted me. And at one point I was getting frustrated because every story that I was writing found no one to finance it.

That's when I decided to do it myself. Sanjay Suri is a friend and has complete faith in me. I decided to go ahead with Dominic's story and make it into a docu-fiction and release it on TV. It sounded good and so I started writing. It was something I wrote in 10 days as it had left a lasting impact on me. It just came…just came like that.

And then we started meeting actors and everyone we approached said "yes" so we thought that instead of making it a TV film let's make a feature film.

Actually till I completed the film I never thought that this was a taboo. It was just that this story deeply moved me and the entire crew and cast were doing this for peanuts because they simply loved the story too. It was only after completing the film that I realized – Oh my God! In India, homosexuality is illegal what with Article 377 and there might be problems for release. So I was worried only when the censor time came, luckily that went through smoothly without any controversies.

It became my first film by accident, but all in all, the subjects I generally choose are slightly off the beaten track. Stories, which have already been told do not interest me; I need to tell stories wherein I too grow as a person and not just become a director, that's not my aim.

'Bas Ek Pal' (2006) didn't do well at the box office. According to the tabloids, it didn't appeal to either the critics or the masses. Where do you think the problem lay?

Two things. After My Brother Nikhil I got slotted. People expected My Brother Nikhil Part 2. For me it was however very clear that I didn't want to do that. I wanted to do something totally different which would help me grow as a director. In fact to me I have matured as a director only after Bas Ek Pal. In terms of reception it was a mix. Some critics really raved about the film whereas in print it didn't receive a favourable response.

The first reaction is obviously you get very defensive about everything that you do. But later on I sat down and analysed the film all over again and realized that there were certain things that went against it. The distribution for instance: In Mumbai only 14 prints were released and only two night shows were available in the suburban side. Another thing I believe I messed up with was the execution of the film's climax scene.

Otherwise I think it's a complex, very mature film, which to me was the exciting bit. Unfortunately the current trend involves audience watching comedies and idiotic comedies. And it's very worrying when rubbish films like Welcome, Partner become box-office success. Personally I have nothing against comedies but these are bad films, period. And good, deserving films like Johnny Gaddar and Manorama Six Feet Under are complete washouts.

Sometime in 2006 you were thinking of making an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' starring Hrithik Roshan. Is this project going to see the light of day?

Again, today no one wants to do a dark film. I am talking around, speaking to artists and film banners but everyone is looking for profit. For example Omkara was critically applauded but financially, it didn't do well. Therefore actors are skeptical about taking up such offers. Actors, producers, basically everybody.

You also acted in Schau mir in die Augen, Kleiner (2007) aka Here's looking at You, Boy - The Coming out of Queer Cinema (International: English title). This is a documentary on the history of gay and lesbian film. How was it like acting in an international setting?

No I did not acted in the film. It was a documentary film which featured 14 directors from across the world on the subject of homosexuality. And I was selected as one of the directors and it was featured during the Berlin Film Festival. A fantastic experience overall.

What do you think about the censor board's stand in today's Bollywood?

Honestly speaking I have been very lucky. Like with My Brother Nikhil I thought there will be plenty of issues but it was cleared without any cuts.

But then it was backed by Yash Raj Films.

No. The censor dealing was done before Yash Raj's takeover of the film for distribution. My team consisted of all first timers, including myself. I was literally shaking once the film was given for censorship approval. When I met them they said that we will give the film a 'U' certificate provided you give a statement at the beginning that it's a fictitious film, which I was ready to comply with. And for me this was a huge thing, I mean we live in a country, which is still very outdated in terms of its views on sexuality, especially alternate sexuality.

Do you think there is a lack of good scripts in Bollywood? If so, why?

Yes it's true. Because apart from actors we don't want to pay anyone else. Actors believe they are the film themselves and therefore charge enormous amounts. Then there is no budget left for anything else. Also our copyright laws are weak that it's an easy job to keep making remakes. Plus financiers prefer to stick with the 'tried-and-tested' formulae and our audience goes ahead and approves such re-creations. And at the end of the day everything boils down to the audience.

Which actor/actress you would like to work with in the near future?

Actually I never had this fascination or inclination towards working with any special set of actors. For me the script comes first and whoever suits it best and is within the budget is offered the role. So no wish list for me as of now.

Any recent movie you wish you were part of?

Johnny Gaddar. I thought it was a brilliant film. Sad it didn't do well. Then there was Manorama Six Feet Under and I also liked Chuk De minus the beginning and the end.

Define 'crossover cinema'?

Frankly I really don't know; I mean crossing over to what? Films from India which are screened overseas are mostly big budget films. It has nothing to do with quality but everything to do with who's backing the project (film).

People perceive that films like Page 3 and My Brother Nikhil are crossover films but unfortunately they don't even get released overseas. Especially the US and UK market, the thing is NRI audiences are worse than the audience back home because they are so nostalgic about India that they prefer to watch its glossy image. And therefore you have big banners making films especially to please them by inserting glamorised costumes and bhangra songs.

Where do you see India cinema going over the next decade, given that in recent times we have seen a shift in the kind of movies being made and scripts being written, as well as the willingness of mainstream actors to try different genres other than commercial flicks?

I don't know really. We keep talking about how big is Bollywood but frankly we are living in a make believe world. For example, if you look at the earnings of a biggest grosser of the past couple of years and compare it to a Korean film, which would be looked at as world cinema, ours would be barely 13% of that.

Our films are not world cinema. When we talk about overseas we simply mean NRI audiences. Our films have still not matured with respect to world cinema. The day we are able to get the local audience in cities like New York, London, Sydney maybe then we would qualify as global filmmakers. But then our population is so huge and spread out that we really don't care much about the world market.

Hopefully 10 years from now we will have audiences which are open to all kinds of cinema.

What is your take on depiction of homosexuality in today's Hindi films?

It sickens me honestly. I find it silly mostly the way it is depicted. I find it stupid how actors are insecure; if it's not making fun they wouldn't want to do the character. They are insecure about how they will be perceived but that's really stupid because enacting a homosexual character doesn't make one a homosexual. Even our double standards are put on display. Today one animal rights group will ask for help and the whole Jing-bang will be there to lend a helping hand but when you talk about human rights, basic human rights let alone homosexuality, no one will give you the time of the day.

Similarly our whole society including the film industry is so homophobic. So they'd rather make fun of it. And what is even more depressing is that some of them are closet homosexuals themselves. I mean they don't have to talk about their sexuality but the least they could do is not make a mockery of others and their sexual preference.

I feel it should be dealt with with a certain responsibility; after all you are talking about someone else's life. But I suppose Bollywood specializes in making mockery of those who are 'different'.

Can you tell us something on your new and forthcoming films?

Well I am working on a film called Sorry Bhai. A romantic film with an interesting star cast. I have Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, Sharman Joshi, Sanjay Suri and Chitrangada Singh is making a comeback with this film. I am looking forward to it because it's a different genre for me, it's a happy film but it also deals with complexities of adult relationships.

Your involvement with HIV/Aids awareness campaign.

After My Brother Nikhil I have been involved in all kinds of campaigns, seminars, conferences dealing with Human Rights. I am also trying to remove time for conducting workshops for Aids infected youth in Shillong, hopefully every year. See the thing is movies and all will keep happening but life also involves personal growth and being part of such activities helps me achieve that.

Straight speak and blunt – Onir was a refreshing change from the run of the mill Bollywood interviewees. Here's looking at you Onir and wish you all the best for your future projects!

Understanding Myself in the US

Chaitanya S — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:35:39 EDT

The past year in the US have made me believe I’m God. And by God, I’m not talking about my divine experiences of floating in air or walking on water by the grace of the Holy Spirit called Smirnoff. That’s a different story and hard to pen down since all my friends have a different take on that.

The cause of this godly sensation is because I have read in the Bible that 'You shall not put God to the test’. Well paying heed to the Holy book, my university did not test me with a single exam this semester. My belief in my divine abilities were confirmed when my friend heard about the situation in my school and commented in a tone of reverence, “You are in heaven, dude”. Duh, of course, you mere mortal, where else does God reside anyway!

This conversation took my mind to one of my favorite songs “stairway to heaven”. All I want to say is that if you want to take the stairway to a university in heaven like mine, I’d recommend you slog your ass off under the supervision of a “verny” devil in hell called Mumbai University for 4 years and bear the scourge called Mechanical engineering. Toss in another 3 years of working in the city and you’ve won the devil’s sympathy to be granted parole in heaven for 2 years.

“I never knew my first time would be this good”, I said as I handed the pretty blond girl some bills. She gave a smile and said “Come again” before handing me my denims, belt and shoes. I gave her one more look as I walked out of the door feeling rejuvenated. After almost 5 months of self control I needed this. The urge to resist temptation is too great for a single young man to bear. I’d made a promise to my soul before coming here that I would not indulge myself in such acts. But some pleasures come at a price and every person has to pay a price for that. For someone in a distant land, such prices are usually paid either in cash or card.

I’m not ashamed to say my friend had recommended the place to me. He said it was where students usually went to seek “solace”. As I entered and looked around, I knew it would be addictive. Everything about the place was enticing. “Retail therapy never killed anyone”, I smirked as I came out swinging my shopping bags.

I was chatting with my friend the other day and she proclaimed something on the lines of “dancing is more of a mental skill than a physical one”. Now before I contest this statement, let me clarify that I suffer from a syndrome called “dancing dyslexia”. I just cannot read the steps which are being taught. I shamelessly admit that have I fractured my ankle while learning to dance. And it wasn't even break dancing (pun intended). It was jive. The only person who showed no hint of sympathy was my dance partner. To her the “accident” was a blessing in disguise as she had already suffered sore toes because of my flat footed stomping. Also, she almost had her arm ripped off a couple of times and narrowly missed crashing into a pillar when I spun her round.

But before I dwell too much in the dark ages of my youth, back to the mental aspect of dancing. Well I believe if dancing is such a mental activity, Einstein would have been an award winning choreographer. Also, Shakira would have made an amazing physics professor. Not that you’ll ever hear a whimper of a complaint for the latter. Some purists may argue that Shakira lacks the communication skills and knowledge required to teach the subject. Such purists have definitely not attended lectures in Mumbai University then.

I’ve been here for quite a while now and have been picking up some local terminologies. Americans have a habit of saying “I’m good” akin to our “No, thank you”. For example if you are asked by a host “do you want another drink and pastry”, the polite thing to do is smile sweetly and say is “I’m good”. I know I don’t do that for such invitations, but it’s just an example.

Now in my native country, the new age national language is “Hinglish”. Whilst conversing in it, at times you have no idea whether you are conversing in English or Hindi. So saying “I’m good”, if not interpreted correctly, gets a look of scorn from the conservatives, quaking in the boots by the conformists and a whoop of joy from members of the Indian Gay Society (or whatever it’s called).

Had a kind Indian lady ask me the other day, “so beta, do you want me to help you find a nice Indian bride after your graduation”. Instinctively I gave a sweet smile and replied seconds before I saw palpitations for the first time in life, “thanks auntyji, I’m good”.

Ibn-e Eusuf - A Modern Fable

Raza Rumi — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:22:11 EDT

The tale of Ibn-e Eusuf is an old story but like good stories it never gets old.

So, here it is dressed up for modern times. Only the names are changed to protect the identities of the innocent stork and fox.

Once upon a time there was a yellow saw and a wry wind. They had seen better days but they were always in each other’s way and had been so busy quarreling that they were surprised by the lion that came upon them unawares.

It was not that the lion was very wise. In fact, it wasn’t a lion at all; it was a turkey with abrasive rough wings pretending to be a lion. It was just that the cackling heads of the jungle were so exhausted with the interminable wrangling of the yellow saw and the wry wind that they crowed in glee and went along with the pretence, which made the turkey feel enlightened and gave it a swollen head.

The lion-turkey acted first and thought later. It immediately consigned the yellow saw to the attic and confined the wry wind in a holy shroud. Word spread that the yellow saw was rusted and that the wry wind had turned benign. But these were only appearances.

Given the size of its brain, the lion-turkey with the abrasive rough wings wouldn’t have survived long. But a magic bush in a faraway land was giving it protection. The magic bush sent it a special feed of reinforced rice and sugar; and whenever it was threatened, the bush dispatched a pointed black barb to unnerve the antagonists. When needed, the bush could also tickle into action an exact offspring that had been transplanted into the city of submission that was the abode of the lion-turkey.

Time passed and the lion-turkey lost a few teeth and a few feathers and the bush too began to wither. In all such fables it is at a time like this that a fatal mistake is made and so what had to happen, happened.

Nobody can say how it happened. Some say the bush simply forgot to warn the lion-turkey because it did forget a lot. Some say the rice and sugar were laced with rum that emboldened the lion-turkey. Some blame the guards it had chosen for itself. One was a deer prone to shortcuts; the others were mostly retarded fowls but some were more retarded than others. The eagle (it was a fowl too but for some reason the chief of the cackling heads, half lion-half cow, called it an eagle) could not tell the difference between treated and untreated effluent and gorged itself on the latter till it became quite beside itself.

It so happened that there were four rugs that were sacred and in safekeeping in the hall of justice. The lion-turkey was protected as long as it kept away from the four rugs. But shortcut deer and raw-effluent eagle egged it on and the lion-turkey was not used to thinking before it acted. It had the four rugs brought to its palace to be aired in public and beaten so that the ancient dust could be removed before it put its foot on them.

No sooner were the four rugs beaten the magic began to wane. The rusty yellow saw came flashing out of the attic and the benign wry wind escaped its holy shroud and began to swirl and scream.

Now all they had to do was to make up and corner the lion-turkey with the abrasive rough wings in its lair. The bush too was distracted and could hear the bugle in the barracks that was the sign of its imminent withering.

But like the scorpion and the tortoise in another fable, the yellow saw and the wry wind were also creatures of habit. It was not in them to change their ways.

The yellow saw invited the wry wind for consultations and proceeded to cut the support on which the latter was resting. The wry wind, in turn, invited the yellow saw to its abode and proceeded to whip sand onto its blades.

They did this and they did that but they could not shake off their old habits. They signed an accord in the brown forest and buried it. They kind of agreed to encircle the lion-turkey’s lair led by their chief warrior, the rising sun, mounted on the four rugs that had now been reclaimed by the rightful owners.

But as the rising sun rose into the sky, the yellow saw could not help undercutting everything that was in the way. And the wry wind huffed first one way and then the other. All this confused the rising sun to such an extent that he quite forgot what he was supposed to do when he finally arrived in the city of submission. The sacred four rugs lay forlorn, lacerated by the yellow saw and seared by the wry wind.

And so the yellow saw and the wry wind got their just deserts. The toothless lion-turkey with the abrasive rough wings had got the better of them.

Meanwhile, the jungle fell dark and the denizens began to starve. The cackling heads continued to cackle quoting Cicero in the gathering gloom.

This is a puzzle that needs to be decoded. The clues are embedded in the text and become progressively more difficult. The reader who decodes the most clues will win a prize of US$100 equivalent. The contest will close on July 30, 2008 and the winner will be announced the next day. Readers can submit solutions here

The Benefits of Joblessness

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:56:40 EDT

Now here's a surprise for you. I quote:

The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds without a job is higher than when Labour came to power in spite of government efforts to reduce unemployment among the young.......blamed the rise on the failure to raise the skills of many youngsters. The New Deal scheme to reduce youth unemployment by providing training, subsidised employment and voluntary work had also failed to maintain its initial success.

What are the solutions? And this is where I disagree:

The OECD said policies such as raising the age to which youngsters must remain training to 18 needed “fine tuning”. It called for increased support for free nursery education; a three-month limit for 16- and 17-year-olds to find work with part-time learning, after which they must return to full-time education or training; more involvement for trade unions in development of apprenticeship schemes; and an expectation that youngsters working under New Deal stay in a job for at least 26 weeks.

See, this is an issue of taking a horse to water but cannot or being unable to make it drink. And here's the actual problem, and I further quote:

One in five youngsters who found work under New Deal held a job for less than 13 weeks, leading to “short employment spells with benefit dependency”.

What these gits do not understand is that for entry level jobs and basic jobs, the difference between the salary and benefits enjoyed is marginal, and in many cases, negative. So what's the point of me dressing up, going to work for a boss who treats me like a coprolite, doing soul destroying work and then ending up after working 10 hours with an amount which is lesser than what my friends earned by sitting at home smoking and drinking and bonking?

Benefit dependency is the issue, link the continued employment to the continued benefit and you will see that economic incentives do work. If you do not work, you do not get the money. And all the kings horses and men, like this whiney article, says, will not make humpty dumpty go back to work again.

Take a look at what Polly is celebrating. She is looking at an estate of 7300 people, and I quote: This vast estate, in much disrepair, had 7,300 residents but virtually no community life, voluntary or council-run. It did have crack houses, prostitution, rubbish tips and violent crime. It did have exceptional numbers of the old, the sick and single mothers.

This is the problem, it was the state's mistakes, the centralised planning, the benefit dependency, the bad public service delivery and the like which landed the estate of Clapham Park in this mess. So Polly is basically saying that the state mucked up, and then the state tried to fix it, and then it again failed. Erm. yes, obviously it will fail, you silly girl, because it was not done by the residents, but to and for the residents by people who never stayed in there. And she is asking for more public money to fix it, keep it going and worse of all, to extend it to other estates and counties where the state has spectacularly failed. Dont you think you should stand back and let the citizens do it themselves?

But here is the problem which goes back to the benefits issue. This state has made a vast swathe of the populace dependent upon benefits and is therefore unable to shift them off it. Take a look at this by-election coming up in Glasgow East. Trace the history of the constituency back and you will see that it has been managed by Labour going back to 1922. Ok? Now let me bring some interesting statistics to bear.

1. From the Spectator:

Nick Clegg drew gasps at a reception in Westminster by observing that there are parts of Glasgow where life expectancy is the same as the Gaza Strip and North Korea. If only this were so. Glasgow City, as a whole, has a male life expectancy of 71 years which is actually lower than the 72 years of both Gaza and Pyongyang. But this includes its lush suburbs. Those in the welfare ghettoes of Glasgow East can only dream of such longevity. The life expectancy of its sink estates is worth recording here. A boy born in Camlachie is expected to live to 64.5 — the same as in Uzbekistan. In Parkhead it is 62, the same as Bangladesh. Just outside its boundaries lies Dalmarnock where the figure is 58 — lower than Sudan, Cambodia or Ghana. The lowest is Carlton, where the figure of 54 is lower than even Gambia’s equivalent.

2. BBC:

Figures for unemployment are also higher, with the rate for men over 25 about 10%, rising to 25% for women.

This year, NHS statistics showed that the east end of Glasgow had Scotland's highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions.

3. Blog:

Look beneath the lies, damned lies and statistics, and factor in the number of people on incapacity benefits, and we discover that around 50% of the adult 'working' population is unemployed.

4. Spectator again:

When you look at Scotland on any statistical dataset, it is one big horror story. Welfarism, health deprivation, drugs, drink – there are reams of data about what a socioeconomic nightmare the country is.

5. Financial Times:

Male life expectancy is 63, which is 14 years below the UK average. Unemployment runs at 25 per cent and about 40 per cent of the constituents live on benefits. About 40 per cent of the children live in workless households. Sadly, "household" is not always the most appropriate term. The teenage pregnancy rate is 40 per cent above the national average.

And this is from a city which, and I quote: Yet just a few generations ago Glasgow was the greatest industrial city of the British empire. At one time it produced half the world's ships and a third of its railway locomotives. It could be argued that many people in the UK enjoyed a prosperity that was in part built on the gargantuan efforts of industrial Glasgow.

6. The Times: male life expectancy is 14 years below the national average, 38% of constituents are welfare-dependent, 46% live in social housing, 60% of households have no access to a car, and deaths from heart disease among the under 75s are 83% above the national average.

Now yes, I agree that you cannot be up all the time, just look at Detroit, but hey, look at California, it reinvented it. And it did not do it by handing out benefits by the ton. The problem is that people are now accustomed to living by the state. So now why would you be surprised that the people will keep on voting Labour? As the quote goes, a government which promises to rob peter to pay Paul will always count on the support of Paul.

If you want to get people employed and productive members of the staff, you need to help them but just like pain killers, do not make them addicted to it, otherwise you will end up with estates like Clapham or Glasgow East. (Incidentally, the SNP and the Labour party are both the same, whosoever wins in this by election will do sweet sod all. Here's a prediction, 5 years time and the statistics will be worse! and I am very happy to be proven wrong).

Technorati Tags: Unemployment, United Kingdom, Welfare, Scotland

Rastafarians, Talibans and Hijabis: Charsis, Afeemis and Purdah-nashins

temporal — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:59:25 EDT

These are not digressions on Dar ul Harb and Dar ul Islam. LINK

Talibans have it to their credit that when they controlled Afghanistan they came down hard on opium growing. From supplying nearly 4 tons (nearly 75% of the world supply) to almost zero was one big achievement.

But they also have it to their discredit that when were driven out of power they used opium to finance their movement. Colonel North of Iran-Contra infamy has not been contacted by any media for comments. Even his patron these days Faux News has been silent over this. My contacts in ISI are not returning my SMS messages.

The annual US government estimate for Afghan opium poppy cultivation shows that approximately 172,600 hectares (426,503 acres) of poppy were cultivated throughout the country this year, an increase of 61 percent over 2005, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said Friday. Two southern Afghan provinces -- Helmand and Oruzgan where the Taliban has been the most active -- are responsible for the bulk of the increase. Poppy planting there was up 132 percent from last year, compared to an 18-percent increase in the remaining 31 provinces. LINK

Hijab is banned in France. Other western countries are also succumbing slowly to Islamophobia and consider measures to check what they deem threat of Islamic encroachment in their backyards. Yesterday a hijabi woman was denied citizenship in France.

France's ban on religious symbols and apparel in public schools took effect Sept. 2, 2004. The ban includes all overtly religious dress and signs (including Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses). However, the furor over the ban has focused mainly on the banning of Muslim headscarves or hijabs.

There are about five million Muslims in France – five to 10 per cent of the population – the largest Muslim population in Europe. LINK

Enters former Emperor Haile Selassi of Ethiopia, a god incarnate and the Rastafarians (The name Rastafari comes from Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke), and Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I.) LINK

Who Are Rastafarians?

Last year Italy's Court of Cassation said cultivating even a single cannabis plant was a 'punishable offense'. And yesterday the Court ruled that Rastafarians can use cannabis.

Rastafarians have always regarded Ethiopia as the promised land, but Italy could rank a close second after its Supreme Court ruled that smoking or possessing cannabis is not a criminal offence but a religious act when the person doing it is a Rastafarian.

Italy's Court of Cassation has said Rastafarians use marijuana "not only as a medical but also as a meditative herb. And, as such [it is] a possible bearer of the psychophysical state to contemplation and prayer". LINK

We love Bob Marley. And Jamaica has beautiful beaches also in Negril and Ocho Rios. About Hijabis and Talibans we know less. And here, if ever, less is surely more. And if you have a clear MY on the scrabble board, with these seven letter D C I T O H O you can score big.

Aarushi Talwar Murder Case: The Truth Locked In

Ritu Chandra — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:58:40 EDT

After months of capturing the media headlines, the Aarushi murder case has finally seen some answers. Dr Rajesh Talwar has been released and the three accused arrested. Despite the many versions of truth making its way to the media, the real truth is still at large and the motive still remains hazy, the answers provided merely serve as a launching pad for more questions.

From the day this tragic murder came to limelight it has been a whodunit that would not feel out of place in an Agatha Christie thriller. A young girl murdered in her own bedroom, parents sleep through the murder, man-servant missing only to be found dead two days later on the terrace of the same home and father arrested as a prime suspect. Unfortunately in the three month handling of the case both the Noida police and CBI have more than proved they are no Hercule Poirots. The case has seen one goof-up after the other. And even as the proceedings near a close there is no Poirot style neat tying up of the facts. Only a presentation with many dangling loose ends.

For those who grew up on a staple of Enid Blyton books, Mr Goon of Five Findouters is a memorable character. The bumbling village constable who always is beaten by the children in solving the crime. The buffoonery of Noida police in the recent past has been of Mr Goonesque proportions, only the gravity of their blunders is far from the realm of children's fiction. In their over zealous drive to crack the case, they first jumped the gun by naming Hemraj as the prime suspect, only to shamefacedly admit two days later to the discovery of his corpse on the terrace. Obviously, the terrace is too far placed from the scene of crime to need checking. Soon after they made another breakthrough by arresting Dr Talwar and coming up with a cock and bull story that would put all C-grade Bollywood pot-boilers to shame. Father has affair, daughter does not approve, daughter has affair with servant to spite father, father catches them in an "objectionable but not compromising position" and murders both of them in a fit of passion. While all this drama unfolds, mother sleeps peacefully in her bedroom. In true Bollywood tradition, Noida police's crack at the case begs you to leave your brains behind.

The lack of sensitivity and accountability in our current world is all pervading. The Noida police's pot-boiler script was lapped up instantly by the electronic media and made into a complete tear-jerker film, replete with dialogue-baazi and songs. Anyone who has caught the coverage of the case on TV would have cringed at the cheap manner in which the media 'bollywoodized' this human tragedy.

The serious aspersions that the police cast on the character of the child started another circus. The police comes up with a theory, the media adds their own colourful yarn, the blogosphere intellectualizes it and soon there are reports of Arushi being a nymphomaniac and the parents being a part of a wife-swapping cult. Where is the dignity for the dead? If it takes a procession of school-children (from Aarushi's school) to shake the adult world to its senses, it is indeed a sad situation. Freedom of press is a powerful tool, but when that power crosses the line, it is time to sit back re-consider our liberties.

The CBI, admittedly has handled the case with far more restraint. They have succeeded to a great degree in keeping the media circus at bay, yet their deconstruction of the events leaves a lot of loose ends. Did Krishna and Raj Kumar murder Arushi merely to get back to Dr Talwar for his high-handedness? Is that a motive enough? Do these individuals have a history of violent behaviour? Not all people commit murder merely because they got a dressing down from their boss. There has been no mention of the sexual assault angle before. Did Aarushi's post-mortem reveal any such assault?

The stand vis-a-vis Dr Talwar is even more intriguing. The CBI, to note, does not absolve Dr Talwar of the crime, it is merely letting him off for the lack of evidence. What does that mean? If they do not absolve him of the crime where does he fit into their reconstruction of the event? CBI is mysteriously silent on that one.

The position of the parents in this case is truly tragic. To have slept peacfully as their child was murdered in the next room is something that will haunt them for long. Yet, based on what has been made public, there are certain sub-texts that are slightly disconcerting. Going through the details of the case, a small seemingly innocuous fact suddenly pops out.

"The CBI had stated during Rajesh Talwar's bail hearing that Arushi's bedroom was locked every night....Dr Nupur had the keys"

The bed-room was locked every night? Provided that is true, doesn't it seem a little strange? Modern homes are cosy apartments where safety within the house is rarely a concern. Yet in that cosy apartment a girl is murdered as her parents in the other room have no clue. Did the Talwars fear such an eventuality that made them lock their daughter up in her room every night? Did their actions have any other motivation other than (fatefully justified) paranoia for their child's safety? If parents need to lock their children into the bedroom every night, it is a scary reflection on the level of security in our society.

With CBI coming out with the arrests, this case is on it's way out of the public domain. Quite like the earlier Nithari murder cases, the media and the world will soon move on to more exciting things. The victims however, will only get justice when the truth comes out from under the lock and key.

Rocket Science, Parenting and Beyond

Pingu — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:02:04 EDT

Every now and then one hears the catchphrases “It doesn’t require a degree in rocket science to figure out that….” Or “I may not be a rocket scientist but I know that…”

Rocket Science on Wikipedia leads us to a tiny article, 80% of which is:

Due to the complexity and depth of this area of engineering (requiring mastery in subjects including mechanics (fluid mechanics, structural mechanics, orbital mechanics, flight dynamics), mathematics, control engineering, materials science, aeroelasticity, avionics, reliability engineering, noise control and flight test), it is also informally used as a term to describe an endeavor requiring great intelligence or technical ability. More often, the term is used to describe an endeavor that is simple and straightforward by stating that the aforementioned endeavor "is not rocket science".

This is amusing.

I think that as such the courses one does in aerospace engineering (aka Rocket Science for the layman) do require a high amount of intellect, but then so does training at Langley or John Hopkins. I think it’s the whole feel of having thousands of buttons around you and being responsible for manning something which is so colossal and worth so many billions of dollars (with minimum scope for error) that enables Rocket Science to be revered as the final frontier in terms of intellect. As specialization increases, we perceive the task to become monumental because we start to dissociate from the field . It just happens that compared to other engineering branches, probably aerospace has a very high percentage of people going into specialization (for I don't think NASA really wants a jack o all trades).

Speaking of specialization, medicine also requires it, but then I guess, there are just too many doctors around.

I remember asking my mother, one of the best retina consultants in India today, about what she thought was the toughest job on the planet. True, I did expect a standardized answer. I placed my money on Rocket Science. I will never forget what happened next. She looked at me, and gently whispered

"Parenting"

Poetry: Grains - of Truth, Sand and Biofuel

temporal — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:57:17 EDT

Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

in our wakeful moments
we're legends, walking time
but when mother time wins
we'd be grains of sand
on the spacious shoreline
of the sea of history

with six billion plus
demanding more and more
the planet's patience
not inexhaustible
the poor feel the pinch
with increasing pain

oil, non renewable
we look for alternatives
and bio-fuel lures
grains get diverted
making a few relieved
but the plenty
go hungry and riot

unprepared, unable
to solve their leaders
entrench and buy more arms
the hungry millions
up in arms, without
can only whimper, die

the gleeful arms merchants
seeing profits in grain
smile obliviously
less is more, they think

***

biofuel
secret report

High School Education and Society

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:46:02 EDT

This article talks about how the overall American worker is getting less educationally qualified as time goes on and the baby boomer generation retires. I realise that this assumes that having higher qualification is good in today's knowledge globalizing society, but that's besides the point. I quote the main point:

A startling and profoundly important fact about the US economy has received surprisingly little attention. The educational quality of the country’s workers is starting to decline – not just relatively (because other countries are catching up and moving ahead) but also, for the first time, in absolute terms. Over the coming years, baby-boomers departing from the labour force will have better educational qualifications than the younger workers replacing them. If the ultimate source of an economy’s ability to grow and prosper is its human capital, the US is in trouble.

What caught my eye was this bit:

Yet one key indicator suggests real cause for concern: the declining high school graduation rate, which affects the supply of those seeking to go to college. This too has been a bitterly contested statistic in the US. The country’s highly decentralised education system causes a proliferation of conflicting data sources and definitions. But a recent careful study by Nobel laureate James Heckman and Paul LaFontaine found that the high school graduation rate “has been falling for 40 years” and that this “explains part of the recent slowdown in college attendance”.

This indeed was curious and rather alarming so I went digging. This article has more information on this issue. The problem seems to be, broadly speaking, a hollowing out or hourglassing of American society (something reflected in UK as well I believe) where more people are going to university but at the same time, more people are dropping out of school. And the statistics that these chaps quote are startling:

the U.S. high school graduation rate peaked at around 80 percent in the late 1960s and then declined by 4-5 percentage points;
the actual high school graduation rate is substantially lower than the 88 percent official estimate;
about 65 percent of blacks and Hispanics leave school with a high school diploma and minority graduation rates are still substantially below the rates for non-Hispanic whites. Contrary to claims based on the official statistics, we find no evidence of convergence in minority-majority graduation rates over the past 35 years.
Exclusion of incarcerated populations from the official statistics greatly biases the reported high school graduation rate for blacks.

Their reasoning for this refers to the changing role of the family. If you are raised in a good, presumably two parent, well off family, then you will do good in school, graduate from a good university and go and be a good egg. But if you are, as is visible increasingly, from a poor household, a single parent household or from a household where educational attainments are not high, then you are stiffed. See here for a great list of statistics on various bits on the family, unfortunately a bit old, but still very useful.

Here was a startling list. Only 56.3% of fathers ever read to their age 5 and under kids when they were resident and only 17.1% did so when they were non resident. Presumably reading is crucial to the development of a child and also having a father is also good, but surely those statistics are not good. Why wouldn't you read to your child? Its amazing to see the play of emotions on their face when you growl like a lion or bark like a puppy or cry like a baby.

Here's the statistics for divorce and marital disruption which has a huge impact on children. 1 in 5 men will no longer be married after 5 years of marriage and almost 1 in 3 will no longer be married after 10 years. Considering that you might have kids from the first marriage, that means (assuming 1-2-1 relationships between marriage breakdown, kids in marriage), that 30% of the kids are in a broken home at least by the time they are 9-10 years of age. So are we surprised that their educational attainment sucks?

So here are some random questions. If the educational attainment of American workers is so driven by family structure and demographics, what can one do? make it more difficult to get divorced or make divorce impossible for the sake of the children? make adultery punishable by making it a crime? provide tax benefits for you to remain married? give you more money to be and remain married? But if you do not graduate despite clear economic incentives that you will get more money for being a graduate than not, then will economic incentives (invectives?) work?

What can civil society do? the kids need to do something. Vocational training for those who are not academically minded was all very nice and good, but increased automation and shipping of manufacturing jobs offshore means that they do not have that route out either. Dont know, bit confused.

HIV+ By Marriage - High Court Denies Rights

Sakshi Juneja — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:10:06 EDT

The question of pre-marital HIV testing has been debated in media and on blogs. We are still searching for a balance between:

A) A nation’s effort in curbing a dreaded disease

B) Freeing the society of its prejudices/taboos

C) An individual’s right to protect what is ultimately a private and confidential matter regarding his/her health

While we are fighting this battle, there are causalities like this 29-year-old woman from Satara.

The woman said she was infected with the HIV virus from her husband, who had been suffering from the disease before their marriage which took place in 1997. Their child who was born in 2000, she said, was also diagnosed as HIV positive.

Her only hope was of course the judiciary, but just yesterday, that door too has been shut. The Bombay High Court rejected her plea stating that her applications under sections 498 (a) (dowry harassment) and 420 (willful cheating) of IPC does not hold, because these laws are only meant for property-related matters.

These offences (dowry harassment under section 498A) relate to property of a person. The body of a woman can, by no stretch of imagination, be treated as property, and therefore sections of cheating and willfully cheating (Section 420) would not attract in this case," ruled Justice Nishita Mhatre. […]

Though the court agreed that the woman's husband and her in-laws were fully aware that he was HIV positive at the time of their marriage, it disagreed to try the accused for willfully cheating.

As a bystander this is what I understand or more suitably can’t get a grip of…

Doesn’t withholding such vital information constitute the vilest form of cheating – that of snatching her entitlement to a healthy life – something we all regard as an unquestioned given?

In reaction to the court’s verdict, the victim’s lawyer Uday Warunjikar said

This is a case of cheating and should be treated as one of the 'rarest of rare' cases, where a HIV positive woman has come to the court saying she was cheated by her husband. The authorities should treat such cases sensitively, but here they failed miserably. The local police did not even bother to record her statement, hence she was forced to approach the court.

As someone who is very particular about her individual freedom, I cannot even begin to imagine what this woman would have gone through – to be duped twice; her marital family and the Indian judiciary.