Violent Hindu Parishad (VHP)

Been meaning blog about this for sometime. But just didn’t get around to. A bunch of colleges guys stage a Modern Ramayan during a college fest and one of the scenes depicted Sita grappling to take her mobile, while Ravana is abducting her-this obviously did not go down to well with the self-declared custodians of Hindutva, the VHP who stormed the college and staged a protest in the only way they know: VIOLENCE.
This is absolutely ridiculous who is the VHP to stage a protest on this. The fact that students could spoof Ramayana only shows that they know and understand it-which is something to be proud of. I don’t see any of the so called Hindutva party teaching the next gen our epics, mythological stories and other things, so what right do they have to protest.
A decently done spoof or dramatization or interpretation should not be objected to by anyone least of all a wing which does nothing to promote it. All they are doing is successfully alienating the younger bunch from our culture and religion (if Hinduism can be called that) by showing we are bunch of Neanderthal cave men.
Thank god for small mercy that when Kundan Shah made Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, the so called Hindutva parties were not strong or there would only two outcome :You wouldn’t have the classic Mahabharata scene with Satish Shah as Draupadi or the theaters screening it would be stoned, Kundan Shah’s office would be attacked etc etc

A bigot's view

My husband has labeled me a bigot and which I think is true to some extent. Each time we are subjected to terror attacks and some more people get killed, theMr.Hyde in me emerges and totally dominates. There is not even an iota humanness in me then and all I can think of condemning an entire community. Thankfully, the Dr.Jekyll emerges soon and I am back to rational, humane person. Why am I telling you this? Been reading the comments of people on of the blogs and am amazed and amount of hatred and violence stored within a bigot. Given a chance they would be no better than the Terrorist who go about blowing up hospitals. I mean that must be an all time low- how anxious must you be to blow up ill people. That’s real below the belt. Wonder what religious texts they read which justifies killing of innocent.
If there is any one who is a part of these outfits and had been reading the comments they would be kicked and happy-they have finally succeeded in not just sowing seeds of hatred but creating an entire jungle filled with hatred, violence and venom.
And you know what we have political parties who feed on this like parasites , you will have the congress wooing the Muslims (vote for us or the BJP will levy POTA if they come to power), the BJP will woo the so-called majority (vote for us or you will continue getting blown up). Each of these parties will pray on our fear, will ensure that by election time the ‘BIGOT’ in us is alive and spewing venom. What better way to be in power without promising to do work. No one talks about a manifesto or doing time bound work- they still beg for votes on the basis of caste, creed, religion.
Even after 61 years we are still voting on grounds of religion and not on abolishing poverty, creating a better education system, and economic growth. Sad but true.

Serial Blasts rock Bangalore

Today afternoon 5 low intensity blasts rocked the IT city of India. Not too sure how many lives have been lost or injured, but it has definitely shaken the nation. We have been reminded again, how vulnerable we are and just how easily our security can be compromised. Maybe if our political parties focused a little more on working on real threats instead of the perceived ones we may have been safer. Obviously the terrorist organizations also want to take advantage of the cat fights and political instability plaguing the nation.
I am sure BJP will jump on the cart provided by the terrorists to gain votes and am sure lot of people will be swayed, I too would have been a few months ago but not now. What has changed? Nothing but yet everything. Think it over guys why is it that we are the one country that gets attacked repeatedly . What makes us so vulnerable? Why are we such a soft target? Do we need to change our policies? Are there better laws required (not talking about stringent laws)? Quicker turn around times for accused in cases, No negotiation policies (irrespective of who it is).
A lesson to learn and beat the terrorists at their own game is to realize that we need a Government which takes care of all this and more-cause terrorists have no religion or community.

The Trust vote

Like everyone else I have been waiting for the trust vote and am really really praying hard that it goes in favor of the Ruling Party. Not that I am a supporter of Congress or the UPA Government but just so the Left learns its lesson. The Left has is behaving like a child who has been denied its candy and is holding the entire nation to ransom. A responsible party who truly cares about its people, would not have behaved in such an irresponsible manner. The Country is going through a rough patch with inflation at its peak, companies slowing on recruitments and they want to add to the woes by forcing a mid-term election. Elections cost crores and its my money which is being utilized just because they want to throw a tantrum and try and teach Congress a lesson. Ridiculous!
The elections are due in less than a year and they could have continued to support the party at this stage, there are better ways to show displeasure. They could have tried educating the people about the deal if its so detrimental. And of course, not forged an alliance the next term if so required.
But the Left has always been a self obsessed party with no concern for the common man. The importance that the Left has in the eyes of the common man is clear from the spike in the stock market after the Left withdrew their support. High time they actually judged themselves on the people meter.

Have managed to watched both the episode’s of Mahabharata aired in the last two days. I grew up watching B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharata and was obviously curious to know how would Ekta match the epic. The whole household sat to watch it, it was the KBC of our times. Some of the characters like Mukesh Khanna playing Bhishma, Kiran Juneja as Ganga, Rupa Ganguly as Draupadi Nitish Bharadwaja as Krishna, Puneet Issar as Duryodhan have been etched in our minds forever. Was wondering how the current characters would live up to this.
So let me give you a low down on the good and the bad.

“The Good”
1.Well researched- loved the way the part about Ganesh writing the Mahabharata has been included.
2.The locations are beautiful
3.Excellent start-Very uncoventionally they started the episode with the game of chausar

4.The men look real hot –had no clue that Bhim & Yudhistra could be so handsome
5.The costumes are easy on the eye
6.Some good casting- Picking up Kiran Karmarkar as Shantanu was nice, just don’t remember who played Shantanu in the earlier version
7.Sakshi ‘Parvati’ Tanwar is good as Ganga- Understated and Elegant. Definite match to Kiran Juneja
8.Most importantly, the pace is fantastic it moves real quick, the mystery of Ganga would be sorted in just one episode.

“The Bad”
1.Some really bad animation-specially the when they showed the ‘Sudharshan Chakra’ during the ‘Chirharan’ bit
2.Sticking to the ‘Sudharshan Chakra’ it would have made just so much more sense to show Krishna than the image
3.Playing of ‘Om jai jagdish’ while the Chakra appeared to save Draupadi- definitely thumbs down
4.Shakuni is way overboard with his acting-sounds & looks psyched rather than a cunning and evil
5.Anita Hansadassani as Draupadi looks nice, but acting way overboard. Her shrieking would definately shatter the glass
6.Definitely needs to tone down on the jarring music and the facial expressions of some of the actors.
All in all I think I would definitely give it a 6/10 and keep my fingers crossed that sticks to the pace and doesn’t stretch it like her Saas-Bahu saga. Worth a dekho once.

Shame on the media!

Centimeters and meters are wasted in tracking the Aarushi murder case, profiling of Maria Susairaj and hours of programming is created on Amitavbh sneezing, Aishwarya having German measeles and Ekta Kapoor reciting the Mahabharat Sholka, but not even ten minutes is spent on the Greyhounds being gunned down in Orissa.
Greyhounds are the elite anti-naxal force created in 1989 to curb the growing insurgency. Due to a tactical error the commandos of the greyhound force met a watery death and were gunned down by the Naxals. This is worst ambush since their formation and the guys used rocket launchers to attack them. They are still trying to look for the missing Commandos, but hell do we care. The rescue of Prince is more exciting and will get more eyeballs than a couple of Commandos.
Someone needs to remind them journalism was never about garnering eyeballs!

Ciggies OK, Hookas not ok….

In another warped endorsement, the Bombay HC has supported the BMC’s claim that Hookah parlors are ‘Injurious to Health’ and must be shut down. Congratulations Mad-am Raul (pun intended)! So what if you didn’t succeed in getting the pot holes repaired, you definitely shut down one more place for people to socialize. Maybe this is another way for BMC to earn money, probably they will declare that you need a special license to serve Hookah.
Cigarettes are being sold at every nook and corner and contains more nicotine than what a hookah does. Why is the BMC and Ms. Raul not fighting to get them banned. I think it has more to do with the fact that the cigarette industry accounts for a large share of tax revenue. If I was in place of the hookah parlors I would have filed a case against the BMC and Ms.Raul for malafide intentions, discrimination. If these guys are going to keep getting their way then soon we will have no avenues for our entertainment and do what we want.
Please stop ‘Policing us’!

Hail Narendra Modi!

Narendra Modi maybe a monster according to a lot of people, but he seems to be the only man with an intact backbone. Loved the way he decided to go against his party and not support the band. Gujarat was the most peaceful state yesterday with shops and schools remaining open. He knows that you don’t attract investment and confidence of people who want to do business with an unstable state. What makes it even more commendable is the fact that he stood by a rational and correct decision and not obey because his party decided to do something stupid.
On the other hand Mumbai which is being led by the Congress (its not a BJP strong hold) witnessed violence. Mumbai has become a free for all-MNS, Sikhs, RPI and now even the VHP and BJP can come cause chaos and get the streets to shut down.
Maybe Mr.Deshmuk should learn some lessons from Narendra Modi
Hat’s off dude!

The ‘FORCED’ Nationwide Bandh:

Just read this and am totally livid- How can anyone bring this country to a stand still. You shut shops, forcibly, stop trains. Do the BJP guys understand that they are disrupting the normal life of people who have a life beyond the ‘Amarnath Issue’ –they need to earn their living. Lot of people live on daily wages and a shut down deprives them of it. People may be travelling for interviews; visit relatives who are ill-people have responsibilities and a tough life. Who the hell do you think you are to take up the bastion of a non-issue?
Two things, sure hope the Government has the gall to fine them for the damages. Remember Shiv Sena only supported it ‘morally’. They have been burnt once, stops them from the senseless bands.
Second, I a staunch follower of the BJP will not vote for them, dude this one vote could cost you the government.
I don’t vote for goons who hold people like me to ransom to gain a little bit of print space.

A mountain out of a mole hill

"Making a mountain out of a mole hill" is a proverb that we are all familiar with, but the only ones who seem to be practicing it are the politicians. The communalization of the ‘Amarnath land issue’ is the latest addition to it.
The controversy reared its head over a month ago when the Government handed over 100 acres of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board to create a temporary shelter for the pilgrims who travel each year for the pilgrimage. This land happened to be a forest land and supposedly any construction on this land could cause environmental degradation of the forest. This I am prepared to believe and if the land transfer was analyzed under this it would make logical and rational sense.
But this issue has now been communalized and politicized at the cost of the common man. Separatist party Hurriyant says that this a ploy to settle non-local Hindus into the state. How ridiculous can we get? Kashmir is still a part of India and anyone can settle anywhere. The issue is now a Hindu vs. Muslim issue or Kashmiris vs. Non-Kashmiris issue.
Every party worth its salt has jumped onto the bandwagon and is claiming their pound of flesh, the BJP, VHP have call for a nationwide strike. People, do you know how much we will lose in revenue with this strike? But obviously it doesn’t matter.
The one head which will be sacrificed is that of the Governor who decided to hand the land back to stop the senseless violence. I mean, how can someone take a rational decision and stop violence and contain instability. Don’t they understand that there wont be any reason to ask for votes.
The fires have been repeatedly stoked by forces who want to ensure that Kashmir stay volatile and instable. The militants are both from within and outside India- the politicians are no less than militants. They all thrive on instability, that’s where they get their votes from. If the Kashmir issue is resolved, what’s the plan for asking for votes, if the animosity ceases to exist between Hindus and Muslims, how will the Congress and BJP survive.
Pity that sometimes we cant see through them. The only thing to do is wait and watch how many lives are sacrificed at the altar of this non-issue.