Desicritics Category: Media: Radio

Songs for Pakistan

Zia Ahmad — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:49:12 EDT

Some time ago I was watching a local TV show with a friend in which some utterly forgettable pop band was invited to play a patriotic song. Like the band itself, the ensuing song was utterly forgettable with the frequent done to death chants of "...choollaingay aasman" (something to do with touching the skies and breaking the sound barrier). The friend wondered aloud if there was any other country that produces patriotic songs so prolifically. We shared a chuckle and switched to some other channel.

It is a fair possibility that there might be some other nation on this planet who expresses musical nationalistic fervour in such prodigious amount. I can only recall the amount of airtime that was devoted for milli naghme while I was growing up watching the only TV station in Pakistan. Other than 14th August and 23rd March holidays, patriotic songs were generously sprinkled throughout the year on TV and music albums. And it wasn't such a bad thing for the songs actually used to be good.

As kids, it used to be comforting to know that we lived in a "Sohni Dartee" which was "Tera/Mera Sub ka Pakistan". The patriotism transmitted through these songs was infectious and appeared to help a great deal to retain our collective self dignity. The songs I was exposed to came through the thick and thin days of Zia's dictatorship. In retrospect, the wholesome unadulterated nature of the songs was in direct contrast to the government's two-faced ideology. Works of resounding beauty were hijacked for propagandist ends in which Sub Ka Pakistan was turning into a sick joke.

Vital Signs' ubiquitous Dil Dil Pakistan altered the patriotic song genre for the newer generation. Consequently, the proliferation of pop bands all around appeared to make patriotic songs more out of obligation than a sense of patriotic zeal. Virtually every album by a Pakistani band or singer had atleast one token flag waving song. One notable example is Junoon, which successfully avoided jingoistic gestures on their initial three albums but eventually gave in (and cashed in big) and delivered Jazba Junoon, a song that sounds more at home as an elaborate jingle.

More often than not, these songs did indeed sound like afterthoughts as if the artists wanted to provide a filler in their respective standard 12 song albums. Some of the lazy attempts were audaciously turned into equally banal videos. There was a music video by another utterly forgettable band in the early 90s that I don't remember much of, for good reason. Though what I distinctly remember of the video, other than the image of four adult men running by the beach carrying a flag, is another image of the same four band members in front of a map of the world pasted on a softboard. The next shot was a close up of our part of the world on the map with four index fingers clumsily moving about and converging at the cartographical position of Pakistan.

This manner of expressing fidelity to one's country is insulting and a gross dis-service to prescribed patriotism. Over the time countless other attempts have been made to churn out such mediocre fare in the name of patriotism. The reasons may vary from apologetically seeking imagined approval from a section of people who look down upon popular music as a western inflection, to articulating some sort of nation-wide insecurity. Harking back to the question posed at the start of this article, the constant generation of such songs might be a mechanism designed to give us some sort of validation - constantly reminding ourselves that indeed we are a nation of winners poised to reach the skies and hit a sixer to the moon. Cricket season also brings with it a deluge of jingoistic ditties.

Good patriotic songs have an innate quality to rouse its audiences and strike a genuine chord throughout the nation. Similar morale boosters are required today where the need to stand together against an identified black turbaned foe is paramount.

I'd like to share a song by Habib Wali Muhammad that communicates patriotism with dignity and good taste. The innocuous sensibility of the words and images in this video has achieved a bittersweet resonance over the time and proffers a suitable call for decisiveness in this time of strife.

The Voice of America & Other Voices

Shantanu Dutta — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:49:57 EDT

It was another day and age when the cold war was still raging and the world was still multipolar. Sitting in my Air Force base, I would twiddle my radio knobs in search of some entertainment. Sooner or later, the radio would settle into one of four stations, the BBC, the Voice of America, Radio Moscow and Radio Beijing. Leading the pack would be the venerable BBC with an eclectic mix of music, news, book readings, and even live concerts like the BBC’s Proms in the Park. Radio Moscow was strong on classical music and Radio Beijing on orchestral music and the Voice of America for talk shows.

Each of those stations had their niche and loyal fans and although except for the BBC, even though the other stations were unabashedly propagandistic, listening to two or more stations helped to form a some what more well rounded view of the world. Where else would you hear coverage of Cuba’s health care system? Or the land reforms in the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Laos? Not surely on CNN.

Over the years the world change the radio stations have changed and of course technology has changed. All these stations broadcast on short wave frequencies and listeners had to battle static, fluctuating signals depending on local weather conditions( political or meteorological weather, both ! and stations with more powerful signals broadcasting on a near by frequency.

Over the years, all the stations have changed their character and focus as the cold war ended and other broadcasting platforms became available. The BBC has adapted to the era of the cable television and the satellite radio but the others have not – not in their original avatars and one of them… the Voice of America died a silent death for India as VOA’s Hindi service comes to an end at the end of this month.

The Voice of America, more the Voice of the US Government than its people of course has in a review of its priories in the post 9/11 era decided to wind up the fairly popular Hindi service. I suppose that it has in ways outlived its strategic utility. In the cold war time, with the Indian government firmly tilted towards the Soviet Union, the VOA was a helpful tool for the American media to connect with the Indian public. I suppose that with no Soviet Union left today and both the major political formations in India today – the NDA or the UPA firmly looking to the USA for anchor, the VOA is no longer needed to whisper Uncle Sam’s sweet nothings to Indian ears.

While that may be so, the radio programs always have had loyal listeners’ clubs in the country and these will be devastated. Many of these clubs have been nurtured through the generations and indeed “VOA listeners clubs" have existed in small towns and villages across India, where radio is still a part of daily life. People there have no internet, cable television or even reliable electricity. But they have radio and the defining point for many is to on air for a brief while in the “Call In” programs. VOA pampers its listeners with pens, caps, diaries, T-shirts and key chains. Probably the most popular freebie is the colorful VOA calendar that adorns the mud walls of many homes.

Meanwhile the big daddy of broadcasting in India, the venerable BBC is extending its footfall by engaging further with radio in the FM Mode. BBC has a stake in one of the local stations Radio One and although the Indian government still does not allow the broadcast of news by private channels, the BBC is positioning itself to do just that hoping for the policy to change some day soon. Of course the BBC has always been a commercially run business house and is making its business decisions based on long term business goals and not political agendas. The Voice of America and many of the other voices have been muted because their political objectives have been met. And yet for all the propaganda and the blatantly one sided coverage of news – these voices will be missed; if only they taught you to recognize propaganda well when you heard it over the air waves.

News Analysis, Electronic Media and Journalistic Integrity

temporal — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:35:35 EDT

News Analysis

Journalism is a vast field. I wish to examine a sub-genre called News Analysis. Good Analysis demands objectivity and fairness in reporting. In brief, be truthful and factual. While complete objectivity is not entirely possible to achieve, good analysts (and journalists) recognise it by being open, by being fair and by being guided by their conscience.

A good host or anchor wears many hats simultaneously. S/he has to be a good listener, a sharp analyst, a diligent investigator, fair and balanced and above all, given the time constraints, should be quick on foot.

When reporting or interviewing, they stick to facts, research them diligently, offer insights, counter points and counter-claims with references to balance the assertions and claims of the interviewee or the guests and are quick to explore misuse of facts and the biases, tilts and spins of their subjects or guests.

Electronic Media

The electronic media in India and Pakistan are still very much in their infancy. The anchors and reporters have still a long way to go. With some, one can see the influence of print media. They repeat incessantly - oft times repeating verbatim nanoseconds later what their guests had just uttered.

They speak on TV as if they were on radio - or worse - in a classroom. The anchors discuss subjects with their expert guests on which their knowledge is scant or non existent and oft times their homework is shoddy or non-existent.

The elements of journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel
Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
Its first loyalty is to the citizens.
Its essence is discipline of verification.
Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
It must strive to make the significant interesting, and relevant.
It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
It must protect and enhance the rights and responsibilities of citizen

Should networks and their anchors be neutral?

It is not possible to be entirely neutral. We see with our eyes and hear with our ears. The moment we hear we, our, I, me -- the neutrality is gone the way of Dodo bird.

We bring our personal take, our prejudices, our slant into what we say or write. While this is largely and universally true and applicable to the bloggers, netjournos and the media world over, the best in the media stand out because they try harder. They make that extra effort to compensate for their inherent shortcomings by listening fairly to the other view point, by being diligent in their research, by being fair in their comments and analysis.

Not every network or media person fits this portrayal. That is where one can sift between the wheat and the chaff - between the genuine and the erstaz - between the authentic and the wannabee - between the fair and the agenda driven media person.

The best in the media see the issues and persons as coins - they examine the contours, shape, metal, markings and symbols discernible on the coin - and - they also examine the other side of the coin similarly. And they try to do so with utmost fairness and integrity.

Photo Essay: Sunfeast World 10K Run

Tanay Behera — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:15:50 EDT

For a moment forget the regular kvetching that one hears in various sources of news and media regarding Bangalore's woeful infrastructure issues. Keeping aside all these daily resentments, everyone rushed to the Kanteerva Stadium on a bright Sunday morning.

But what for? To be a part of the Sunfeast World 10K run, this is an international annual event, and was organized in India for the first time. The Sunfeast World 10K was touted as the richest 10K runs with total prize money of 150,000 USD up for grabs.

The event comprised of six races: World 10K Elite Men, World 10K Elite Women, Senior Citizens run (4 KM), Wheelchair event (4 KM), Open 10K Run and Majja Run (5.7 KM). Since the event was slotted between 6AM and 10:30AM, the city police authorities had made punctilious plans for minimal diversion of traffic during the four-hour marathon which saw active participation of around 20,000 people.

When I reached the spot around 7:30AM, preparations were in full swing for the Senior Citizens run which saw an impressive crowd of 700 plus participants. Most of senior citizens were aged above 60 but the energy and the exuberance that they displayed, quashed the roar of helicopters circling the stadium. Harmony, an NGO organized the senior citizens run. Each of the participants was given a T-shirt by Harmony and once they were dressed, there was a wave of uniformity at the starting point, very similar to a sight when children assemble in schools for morning prayer before classes commence. The highlight of this race was the high energy level of the senior citizens making them feel as if they were still in their teens. Jokes were cracked, few laughs were shared and there was an infectious air of camaraderie among these people who came not only from Bangalore but also from different parts of India.

Oprah Winfrey once said running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it. This was the kind of perseverance exhibited by a group of steel-willed people. Braving the heat and the dust, the handicapped persons maneuvered their wheel chairs, reflecting the true spirit of participation.

Suddenly the action shifted to inside the stadium because the World 10K Elite Men/Women had entered the final stage. In a closely contested run, Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea bagged the 1,50,000 US Dollar Sunfeast World 10K title by completing the marathon in 27:51 seconds just three seconds ahead of his rival Moses Kipsiro of Uganda. The women’s section witnessed the rarest of rare photo finishes in any 10k run, with both Grace Momanyi of Kenya and Elevan Abeylegesse of Turkey, declared joint winners. The complete results can be seen here.

There was cut throat competition in the Open 10K run which had large groups of amateur runners, trying their level best to live up to their own expectations. Few ran, few jogged and rest others just walked in the spirit of sport.

Everyone was indeed up and running. It was a place where the east met the west while running.

The most delightful aspect was to see each one run irrespective of caste, creed, color, religion, sex, age, language, region, etc.

There was one single motive to be a part of the excitement and ebullience.

The Majja Run as the name signifies (majja means fun) merriment was the epicenter of frolic and liveliness. Though the distance to be covered for this particular race was only 5.7 kms, what separated this one from the others were the variety and the diversity. There were runners turning up in varied costumes with powerful messages, banners and placards.

Few celebrities like Dino Morea, Rahul Bose, Charu Sharma and Vijay Amritraj had the crowd screeching as they made their appearance for the Majja Run. Everything here resembled a mini-carnival and fancy dress competition. Girls with different attention-getting dresses very much like the Indianized version of IPL cheerleaders attire.

Someone even put on special clothes to appear princely, like the mighty Tipu Sultan.

The one that surpassed every other costume in terms of ingenuity and colorations was the Ravana attire. Participants were pulled in towards this individual dressed as Ravana to take a few snaps in the midst of the race.

There were lots of groups and voluntary associations such as Parikrma, Harmony and others who all came under one umbrella 'Bangalore Cares'. This aggroup participated in the race for a number of causes such as children welfare, greener and pollution free Bangalore, togetherness, etc.

How can an event of such extensive magnitude and variety happen without the support from corporate and business sponsors and advertisers? Well of course there were some sponsors from a wide spectrum. DHL was the logistics partner and it participated in big numbers, with few of the team members having flown from Mumbai. To name a few, Nike was the running partner, Kingfisher, the airline partner, Radio Mirchi as the radio partner, Manipal Cure and Care, as the medical and health partner, etc who passionately supported the cause and diversity of the World 10K experience. Steve Young, General Manager, Nike Inc., Asia Pacific Region, had flown in from Portland, U.S., to participate in the Sunfeast World 10K run. CNBC-TV18 was media partner and it brought the event live to millions of Indians on that day, to the television sets from 7AM onwards, along with a potpourri of other coverages and programmes related to this the event.

All in all, it was a well organized event with got an equally receptive reactions from all those who participated for this run. This race put Bangalore in the map of conducting with dynamism and zings a global marathon. More so, it was a testimony to the fact that multiple goals can be achieved through sports and citizen’s active participation and above all how sports are a social leveler.

In this huge ocean of human beings, I could see some human faces which pulled my attention like a magnet pulls pieces of iron. There was this elderly woman selling ground nuts who was a bit perplexed to see a sea of people just running, a very new site from what sees in her day to day life.

This man was also confused to see this sudden wave of sneaker lovers on an otherwise traffic struck road.

But one of the most satisfying moment in this entire event running with my camera was to capture this bubbly toddler, who had come with her dad and brother (if you can see, the young brother is just hidden from the father) to be a part of this race. She was giving poses which to me meant, 'Daddy isn’t allowing me to run or crawl this year, well next year I would be there to tip toe with other people'. That's a smart and emotionally charged expression, so I and my fellow Bangaloreans would wait for you, sunshine girl, till we meet again.

The rest of the pictures are in this album.

Blogging and Journalism: Amongst the Best the Line is Blurry

temporal — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:56:21 EST

With easy internet access and free blog hosting sites many people are sharing their thoughts on different topics. Some share their special interests and form groups. Others publish their creative writing. But the biggest beneficiary of blogging has been journalism - specifically citizen journalism and its impact on professional journalists.

At this time let us get some descriptions out of the way.

Journalism: reporting, writing, editing, broadcasting, as an occupation.

It flows from above that a journalist is a paid reporter working for a media organisation or as a freelancer for several media organisations. He may directly report on news or may interpret news and write view points and investigative reports. He is usually a specialist who covers a specific field or interest.

The journalists are covered by a code of conduct by the media organisation that employs them or it could be self imposed. They are team players.

A blogger could be any person who has access to a PC and internet, has a host blog and writes entries in it. They are the solo fliers. Generally, there is no compulsory code of conduct, though this distinction is increasingly getting blurred as journalists working for major media organisations are encouraged to have have their own blogs.

What is this code of conduct for journalists? Broadly it covers accuracy, objectivity, truthfulness, fairness, and impartiality. For a more detailed examination you can read the codes for Al Jazeera, CBC and BBC in order of complexity and depth.

The fault line is ever shrinking between Blogging and Journalism. Blogging - specially News and Political blogging has come of age. Gone is the period where it was words and opinions essentially unsubstantiated and based on murky half baked thoughts or hearsay borne out non-conviction and lacked clarity, vision and conviction.

Journalists - serious journalists - even if they are freelancers abide by a code of conduct, keep slant or bias to a minimum, language straight forward and error free.

In the earlier days bloggers were deemed to be free of any constraints. It was their blog, they could write whatever they wanted, they thought.

I once rejected a shoddily written, plagiarized article. The writer submitted another atrociously written article the next day. I patiently pointed out the deficiencies and errors in detail and suggested a serious re-write. He submitted a third article that was also filed under G. He complained.

In his defense the writer claimed all those articles were found acceptable and published at another site and provided a link to it. It was another site that hosted member blogs and his "articles" were "published" on that site under his blog! He was subsequently caught for plagiarizing, sacked and all his articles deleted from that site.

Today, bloggers have matured and an increasing minority is serious about their writing. And their efforts are being recognized. Read this: A Landmark for Bloggers -- and the Future of Journalism.

The journalist also has a distinct advantage over the blogger. He has support of the organisation - editors, fact checkers, proof readers all help in delivering a good copy.

The blogger in most cases is on his/her own. That makes the job not only arduous but also more interesting and gratifying.

As the lines get blurred between good journalists and good bloggers, the bottom lines becomes clearer - the best among both are those where the writing is well grounded in facts, clear, lucid, precise, objective and geared for the target audience.

Will This Cyber Revolution Fly or Fizzle?

temporal — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:25:04 EST

Utho meri duniya ke ghareeboñ ko jagaado
Kaakh-e umara ke dar-o deewaar hilaado

Rise, awaken the poor of my land
Rattle the palaces of the rich men’s band
– “Allama” Mohammad Iqbal Link

Khomeini’s cassette revolution that he launched from Paris suburbs to oust US backed Shah opened a new era in mobilizing the masses.

The ‘free’ electronic media in Pakistan turned its guns on its benefactor. It refused to be silenced even when it was locally muzzled. It spawned another cyber movement, this one led and aided by bloggers.

The western media co-opted it and gave it further impetus. BBC, NYT, Slate, WP et al appealed for their help and contribution.

Benazir is sensing a kill without thinking it through. Nawaz Sharif is marginalized. JI and other parties in opposition act impotent.

Electronic Media is brimming with righteous indignation. Lawyers’ protests seem to have been over shadowed by those of the Press. Students have confined their shouting on the campuses only.

How much of this flow of information and views filtered down to where it really mattered? How much of the aftermath of protests affected the ordinary Pakistanis?

This raises two important questions. Can the political parties effectively mobilize any street power? Or are they in collusion with the Army and prefer back door negotiations for power realignment and share in the pie?

If the citizens refuse to come out no real change of power structure will occur. Street power is the only force that can effectively take on the occupying army. In ’88 Asia’s best equipped army refused to come to the Shah’s aid when it confronted the street power of the Iranians.

The other possibility is what Pakistanis have experienced previously and seemingly refuse to learn from. The pressure is brought on but merely results in a change of face. Sweets will be distributed and everyone will go home with a smile.

That is what happened when Ayub was removed – and Yahya, Bhutto, Zia, Benazir, Nawaz, Benazir again, Nawaz again and Musharraf. And if things are not calculated wisely perhaps the past will be repeated with another Khaki face.

The ‘upright, professional soldier’ will take over and make the right promises – free and fair election - in 30 days, 90 days, one year, next year! And in another ten years, if Pakistan survives, the dissatisfied elites would again band together to demand freedom and justice and free and fair elections.

Who will make the citizens rise?

Movie Review: Om Shanti Om

Aditi Nadkarni — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:45:25 EST

The film begins with a quick reference to the 70s film Karz where Rishi Kapoor is prancing around the stage looking as adorable as ever, tapping his feet to the memorable notes of "Om Shanti Om". In the cheering crowd is a bell-bottom clad Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan), his eyes brimming with dreams of becoming a superstar in Bollywood.

He is, however, only a junior artiste, living in a small shanty near the studios with his very filmy mother Bela (Kirron Kher). While Om's fun friendship with Pappu (Shreyas Talpade) keeps his spirits high, the highlight of his young life is his love for superstar Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone).

The good-hearted and sentimental Om wins Shantipriya's friendship while rescuing her from a fire on the movie set and thus begins a love-story that somehow trickles into the after-life.

In the first half of the movie, Shah Rukh Khan does as good of a job as his ridiculous costumes would've allowed of playing an awkward, dreamy eyed and even comical junior film artist. Something tells me that not only were the art directors going for a 70s Bollywood look, the sets and gawdy costumes were probably meant for a theatre musical. Shreyas Talpade as Pappu and Shah Rukh Khan compensate for the flawed and utterly humorless script with their comic timing and spontaneity.

Kirron Kher goes back and forth between playing a very filmy mother and trying to salvage a neither-here-nor-there, undeveloped character which teeters dangerously at times towards being annoying. The villain Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal) lacks the sleazy and wicked countenance that would've been fitting for the bad guy of a film showcasing a typical Bollywood masala. That being said, I would rather have Arjun Rampal be a quiet and scheming old man with a pony tail or a painfully thin moustache than a lover boy hopping around in chick flicks.

The first half of the movie has some very funny moments. The parody of South Indian cinema, references from old Bollywood and Shah Rukh Khan's naive and unaffected persona made for some very entertaining episodes. Somewhere along the line however the audience is left wondering whether director Farah Khan couldn't make up her mind about whether she wanted to make a Bollywood masala parody, a homage to Bollywood hits of the 70s or an actual contemporary commercial film that would belong to any of today's Hindi cinematic genre. As a result at times during the film when one is laughing, it isn't really at the well-written dialogue or at the humor shown by the characters but more or so at the farsical depiction of 70s Hindi cinema.

The first half unwittingly mocks some of the biggest stars of the yesteryears and while that is minimally funny, on scrutiny seems like a distraction from the film's lack of an original plot.

Debutante Deepika Padukone is undoubtedly the star of Om Shanti Om. Her astonishingly restrained, graceful and confident performance as both Shantipriya the 70s heroine in the first half of the film and her look-alike Sandhya a.k.a Sandy in the second half. While Ms.Padukone bears some resemblance to Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra in terms of looks, her acting skills thankfully puts her several glorious notches above both these contemporary heroines. Very few actresses manage to hold their own amidst the melodramatic performances, theatrical dialogue and crazy dance numbers that define practically all mainstream Bollywood films.

Stealing the show from the flamboyant King Khan also is no ordinary task. Ms.Padukone accomplishes all this with remarkable ease in her very first Bollywood endeavor. It is safe to say that with Deepika Padukone's arrival Bollywood's commercial scene has a new swiftly rising star on the horizon.

The scene where female fans will finally be able to ogle at Shah Rukh Khan's well-toned body and get to see a masculine form flaunted instead of the usual heaving bosoms, is oddly refreshing. His comic timing in this film is vaguely reminiscent of his uninhibited performance in Chamatkar all those years ago.

Shah Rukh Khan's own dazzling success in an industry teeming with starlets is an inspiration to many a struggling Bollywood actor who arrives in tinsel town without a Bolly-baap to usher him in. And hence the periodic cracks about having to be a Kapoor or a Kumar to be successful in Bollywood are apt.

The music is lilting and pleasant and quite a happy distraction when the plot stagnates at times. Particularly meoldious are Ankhon Mein Teri and Agar Main Kahoon. My personal favorite however was the picturisation of Dhoom Tana which uses some very nifty graphics to incorporate actors from the golden years into Deepika Padukone's foot tapping dance sequence. The numerous and noteworthy guest appearances in the catchy title song Deewaangi were very welcome sights and reminded one of the immense talent in the industry and sadly how little scope at times there is that calls for it.

The second half of the movie is dragged to a point where the recurring dialogue Yeh picture abhi khatam nahi hui starts to seem like a malicious jab mocking the worn audience. A masala Bollywood package should not have to compromise on entertainment value just to make the three hour stretch. While the 70s film Karz fit right into the times, Om Shanti Om sorely sticks out for having an obsolete “rebirth” storyline. Also, it is about time Farah Khan demonstrated some directorial prowess instead of letting King Khan deliver the film from flopsville. A quick comparison between the song and dance routines versus actual sequences within the film will reveal that Farah Khan in spite of donning the director's hat is still more of a choreographer than anything else.

A very rich Bollywood history generously allowed plenty of scope for the director to borrow from for this film and while originality is not one of its strongest areas, entertainment most definitely is. In the end, that is probably what tipped the box office in Om Shanti Om's favor.

Who Will Listen to Para's Silent Screams?

B Shantanu — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:31:30 EDT

I read about this shameful and horrifying rape in Tehelka's recent issue and it filled me with rage and a deep sense of frustration - rage at what happened and the indifference of police authorities and frustration that these kind of crimes are still being seen through the prism of caste. Here is a shocking excerpt of what happened to Para Devi (from Tehelka):

"On June 23, Para, a Dalit daily wage labourer from Santoshpura, left home for work at 8am with her husband, Ranglal.

Feeling unwell during the day, she set out for the hospital; on the way, her neighbour Kalu Ram offered her a ride in his car. Two other men, Harsahai and Kajod, were in the same car and three others, Sohan Lal, Indraraj and Jagdish, were later picked up.

For the next three days, the six men drove Para from village to village, raping her in turn. When she protested, they beat her; when she asked for water, they gave her country liquor mixed with Limca. She was made to urinate in the car and given no food.

On June 26, Para was dropped, wounded, torn, only half-conscious, at the Phagi bus stand with Rs 20 and a threat not to open her mouth or her family would be killed. When her husband tried to lodge an FIR, he was turned away..."

What happened to Para was not (just) a crime against a Dalit women - it was a crime against a helpless woman, it was a crime against humanity, it was a murder of values that we cherish. Sadly the story has been published under "Dalit Window" in Tehelka)

All the talk of women empowerment comes to naught in the face of such incidents and no amount of condemnation will ever heal Para's wounds.

What will help is a steely desire to bring the culprits to book - and make an example of them.

What I also find very disturbing is the "silence" of the mainstream media, the political parties and the NGOs on this issue.

But then why should anyone bother?

Para comes from a remote village in Rajasthan, which most of us would have never heard about. She is poor, illiterate and unemployed.

To a glamour-obsessed media, she has zero value and offers no sound bites.

To the vote-obsessed political parties, she represents nothing - except the insignificant votes of 20 Bairwa families.

To the publicity-obsessed NGOs, she is not a good opportunity since the Women's Commission seems to have got there first.

The Women's Commission is probably the only one that comes out of this cesspool with some credit (in as much as it intervened to get the police to register an FIR).

But is it not ironic that in a state with a woman as Chief Minister, the women had to organise a "dharna" to be heard?

My head hangs in shame today.

Politics in Pakistan: Beating the Same Tabla But Still No Guinness Record

temporal — Tue, 9 Oct 2007 00:09:23 EDT

Quick quiz: MMA comprises of how many parties? And can you name them all?

And then we have PPP, PML (Alphabet soup) Poonam, ANP, Mazdoor Kissan, Ahrar, and scores of ITT (Islam This and That) parties, PTI and various other Tehreeks, fringe and special interest groups.

You have seen and read their leaders' earnest platitudes on the media circus shows of the likes of Kashif Abbasi, Talat Hussain, Javed Malik, Kamran Khan, Hamid Mir, PJ Mir and many other earnest and sincere sounding hosts.

The tabla these leaders beat, and the tabla the sombre sounding media analysts beat has the same beat.

tuk, dhin, dhin, dhin, tuk! tuk, dhin, dhin, dhin, tuk! tuk, dhin, dhin, dhin, tuk!

Islam, poverty, corruption, democracy, free and fair TAT (This And That). Turn to any radio, any TV and almost any time and you will find this tabla beat being played.

They should (collectively) make it to the Guiness Book of Records. Like the other Jagjit Singh!

After five days at drums, man beats world record - Daniel Girard

The beat went on.

And on and on and on.

Jagjit Singh Batalvi tapped his way into the record books yesterday, fingering his tabla, an Indian percussion instrument, for a fifth straight day. Fuelled by soups, fresh fruit juices and four-minute yoga meditation sessions every 10 hours, the Brampton man now unofficially holds the Guinness World Record for the individual drumming marathon.

When Batalvi eclipsed the previous mark of 101 hours at mid-afternoon, dozens of people in a room attached to the Shiromani Sikh temple in Mississauga let out a cheer led by men in traditional dress holding ceremonial kirpans, or daggers. Outside, handfuls of yellow and saffron-coloured balloons were released into the sky.

Tech/Music Review: Musicovery

Tanay Behera — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 01:16:22 EDT

Wow, what fun to hear lots of music and just the fine tunes, the type you feel like hearing. Pick a genre and then the mood energetic or calm and then the shade, dark or positive, what I meant was choosing from the platter what so ever you like in this pretty extensive collection. At least in the World Music , Soul, Jazz and Latino, that I explored, I am pretty much impressed with this online music booth.

What am I talking about? It’s all about a web-based custom application streaming music radio, capable of satisfying the musical taste and mood for just about anyone and everyone. It’s called Musicovery. Check it out here.

What is good about the this application is the way it has been presented and looks like an Apple IPod to a certain extent for its user interface as far as the look and feel is concerned. To add to it, a selection on a particular genre opens up typically like the rangoli, with the splosh, the spill, the splatter, the splash, the squish of colors, each color denoting the aesthetic appeal of the experience with a pulsating matrix format.

Some of the thanda thanda cool cool features of this application, which I tried myself, are as follows.

Each time you change your preferences in the navigation bar the music selector jumps across the screen and plays another song. The best feature is that the music flows effortlessly without any disruption or interruption and having CD music sound clarity. With a good Internet connection there's no lag or song loading time, so you can expect smooth listening from start to finish. This is one of the smartest features of the application.
To me it’s something of a blurred interface between an interactive plaything and radio, of course for the better. If you see the navigator bar, there is a time frame (i.e 50’s, 60’s, etc) and you can set it according to the timeframe that you want to. Then indulge as per your taste and let the music soothe your mood and ‘Satisfy my soul’ as says Bob Marley. Find new songs and pamper yourself with different styles of music. It isn't really a game, but it's got the same sense of exploration, oddment and fun free flowing on the Internet. I don’t need to save songs and waste my disk space.
On the flip side, Musicovery plays songs in a noticeable Lo-Fi format (for any user free for cost), reserving the better quality for paid users. Subscriptions are reasonably priced but the registration process is befuddling and points at a number of hidden sign-up fees indirectly. I didn’t see it further beyond the initial list of points, as I am better to stick with the free version and enjoy the thrill of musical exploration and its free harvest.

Free tip in Ek Lo Ek Muft ishtyle (can do that gracefully for the music listeners): For a really interesting experience and a curious mind, try un-checking the "hit" box and checking "discovery". You'll unravel a treasure trove, a mine of obscure bands you just might learn to love.

The masterminds for this application are Frederic Vavrille and Vincent Castaignet. To have a detailed cook book approach to the know-hows of this application, the pros and cons, the business model, etc, check here.

Freaking Awesome, isn’t it and go here and enjoy. Next time you listen to any number, do let me know so that I can gauge which mood you are in. Will you ?