Own Goals!!!

2011 has been a turbulent year for UPA. It has battled various issues and last minute fire-fighting has saved its face. The issues of corruption, inflation, Telangana, protests of farmers across the country including infamous incidents of Jaitapur have added a lot to its worries. All the worries are self inflicted because of inept handling of PR. It seems that UPA loves scoring own goals with perfectly wrong timing. How ironic it is that the election symbol of one of its key allies is a watch!!

The skills of PR department or the national spokespersons are necessary to ameliorate the image of the party when chips are down. But they seem to come up with exactly opposite of what is required through their wrong attitude and words while addressing the key issues. Even the ministers from time to time have come out with absurd and bizarre statements. The famous “zero-loss” theory of Kapil Sibal was laughable to say the least. From Sharad Pawar’s statement on price rise to Rahul Gandhi with his ‘game-changing’ idea! After the terrorist attack, the crown prince said 99% of the attacks are prevented. The statements like these hurt even more because of their timing. It’s the last thing a future PM must say to console the grieving families. The antics of Digvijay Singh have completely baffled the masses. As if the Intelligence inputs are first shared with him rather than anyone else in the Government. Every time he comes up with strange allegations which happen to contradict the official party line. Again poor example of PR if UPA wants to improve its public image. The best example of it was that infamous attack on personal integrity of Anna Hajare by Manish Tewari. In absence of Sonia Gandhi, the veteran leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherji has to save UPA from blushes.

The latest salvo was delivered by the PM himself. At the 6th Annual Convention of Information Commissioners, he said that RTI is subject to review. Once again UPA provided fodder to the opposition. Even since scams of Adarsh, CWG and 2G broke out, the importance of RTI has been highlighted. In the absence of RTI, these scams would have never been unearthed. The major issue today is –protection of RTI activists. But PM Somehow dodging these issues opened an unnecessary debate at this point of time. If there are certain gray areas then our judiciary has been more than efficient in handling them through judicial review. The need to review RTI at this period of time is just completely bizarre. If from the same platform PM would have assured safety of activists and praised them for using RTI for improving the governance, it would have been most apt. But UPA it seems has not learnt its lessons and continues to employ self-destructing tactics.

In the age of information revolution it’s ironic that our Government seems to have lost its plot in connecting with public it is suppose to serve.

-N.D.K. Nikhil

15.10.2011

Right Responsibility

With every right comes a responsibility- It’s an age old principle.

The attack on senior advocate Prashant Bhushan has to be condemned in the harshest possible words. The organizations like “Shri Ram Sene” and “Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena” have no place in a civilized society and a vibrant democracy. But to me the issue here is not what Shri Ram Sene did. Even today there are people supporting overtly/covertly the ideas of Fascism and Nazism. These are social miscreants and its better that they are publicly condemned and socially boycotted. For them any publicity is a good publicity so its also better that they should not be given any publicity.

The issue to me is the statement of Prashant Bhushan. He is an erudite and intelligent lawyer. He has also been involved in social activism and famously been called “PIL Bhushan”. Bhushan along with Dr. Swami have been fighting the 2G scam in the courts. It’s almost impossible to defeat him in the arguments of wits. So if you argue with him about ‘freedom of expression with reasonable restrictions’, he will definitely convince you that he is well within ‘freedom of expression’ as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The problem here is Prashant Bhushan is no longer an ordinary Lawyer of Supreme Court/activist. In the fight against corruption, he has been one of the leading activists at the national level. The Team Anna is looking for mobilization of public voice against corruption. He has even represented Civil Society as a member of team of civil society representatives. If he has to represent ‘us’ then he must also understand and respect the sentiments of general public before voicing his “personal” opinions. This is the exactly what was warned about Team Anna. They are not merely an NGO, almost all the Indians look at them as the lost hope. The members of Team Anna must understand the gravity of responsibility now they are carrying. There are hounds waiting for slips like this and Prashant Bhushan has sadly provided them with fodder.

The statement becomes even more bizarre as right now there is no issue in Kashmir as such. The team of interlocutors has already been appointed (They have already submitted their report to the Government) and the people of Kashmir have been participating in the democratic process of our country. In our country we will find a lot of places which are seething with public outrage due to non-development. But the solutions for the same cannot be extreme. Telangana is demanding a separate state not a country. If we aspire to be a super power then we must take all the regions as well as different factions together and move ahead.

I must again mention that the cowardly attack on 56 year old man is condemnable in harshest possible words. But I do not attach much importance to anti-social elements. I would rather channelise my energies to support Prashant Bhushan in his noble works. All of us have many freedoms and rights as enshrined in our Constitution. But we must not stretch these privileges. Again not because we are afraid of some cowards but because it’s futile to get into arguments with these groups. When brain stops functioning we feel the necessity to resort to violence!

-N.D.K. Nikhil

14.10.2011

uTouched!!

The word “I” is one of the most powerful words but at the same time self destructing. We are often told not to over-use the word as it can exude “ego”. But when “I” is the prefix of any product, one is assured of the magic it packs. The story of man behind all these products is a perfect recipe for any thriller movie- A college dropout, humble start from his garage, an innovator in personal computing, a millionaire in his twenties, ousted from his own company when he was thirty (!!), made a comeback and helped the company back to its former glory and much beyond but died fighting pancreatic cancer……

The year 1955 must be mystical. The year when we lost ALBERT EINSTEIN but in the same year BILL GATES and STEVE JOBS were born.

Jobs started his journey just as most of early computer entrepreneurs/scientists- a college drop out and first lab as a garage. Teaming with his friend Steve Wozniak, he went on to create the biggest brand on planet.

Much was said about Jobs’ management style. He was once voted “one of the toughest bosses of America” (while in NeXT). But perhaps this was because he was a perfectionist. He always strived to cross boundaries of the industry norm. This was the root of his feud with Bill Gates. Jobs and Gates have always been critical of each other. Jobs disliked Microsoft as he thought they were stagnated and this was in the year 1994!!

Once ousted from his company, upon his return Jobs went on to create one of the most iconic brands of modern world. The success of i-products is unparalleled and may be to a great extent unrivaled also. Jobs at the time of death was credited for not less than 342 patents. The biggest success of Jobs however was in the endless pursuit of technological advancements. With each new product and its new versions, Apple and Jobs discovered new frontiers and every time their peers were catching up and running out of steam.

When iPad was launched I quipped to my friend that I fail to see its worth. But Jobs’ thinking was- consumers may necessarily not know what they want. It’s exactly this thinking which led him to defy the odds and every time come up with inspirational innovations. The revolutionary iPhone completely changed the mobile phones. The existing players were now completely out of sorts and the touch-technology became synonymous with iPhone.

Jobs should be credited for making complex technology appear user friendly. This was evident as even from his earlier Apple series of PCs, which were first to make use of GUI (Graphics User Interface). However, his return to ailing Apple in 1996 was beginning of a history. That was the time only Jobs could have made Apple the market leader once again but even for autocratic Jobs this was the only opportunity to leave an indelible mark in the history. In the process, his NeXT was taken over by Apple and now renowned MAC OS has all that NeXT Technology if one goes through the complex labyrinth of sophisticated technology. The generation of i-products set new parameters in personal computing industry. Apple or Jobs did not really invent music players, mobile phones, tablet PCs or even the touch technology. But they stretched the limits of technology far beyond imaginations of even the nearest rivals.

For a computer geek, ability of strong persuasiveness and shrewd marketing are rare qualities. As much as people looked forward for a launch of any product, they also wanted to listen to the keynote address of Jobs along with it. So much was the aura of the man that at the launch of iPhone 4S, one of the major attractions of launch was not the phone but an appearance of Jobs. Sadly little did we know that he was battling valiantly his lone war against pancreatic cancer (The rumored disease of Sonia Gandhi) that time. It seemed at one point of time that Jobs had successfully evaded the cancer. But this form of cancer is one of the most fatal ones. The success story of Jobs is even more touching as not only he battled a tough corporate war on day to day basis but at the same time he was fighting with cancer for seven long years.

To me personally, the crowning jewel of Jobs’ life is PIXAR. When he was ousted from Apple by his own recruits, Jobs started NeXT in 1985. In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group which was later renamed PIXAR. PIXAR completely changed animation movie making. If Walt Disney brought life in characters, PIXAR with Jobs at the helm brought those cartoon characters into our lives. Its first movie- The Toy Story – is most innovative way animation could ever be used. The characters in PIXAR movies are woven around heart touching stories. The movie list of - The Toy Story, Bugs Life, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Cars has truly bridged the gap between cartoons and humans. PIXAR was subsequently bought by Disney. Steve Jobs ended up being the biggest individual shareholder of Disney.

Always shrouded in secrecy, not much is known about his personal life. He is not much photographed with his family in public. He virtually spent his entire life within 20 mile’s area. His much awaited autobiography will definitely bring much clarity on his life and ideas. Apple has never marketed its products aggressively in India. And yet Jobs has profound connections with India. Once as a youngster, he has been to India to seek enlightenment at the ashram of Neem Karoli Baba and went back a Buddhist!! He also survived on the meals of Hare Krishna Temple for over one and half year.

A visionary scientist, a persuasive manager, a charismatic marketing genius and a cancer fighter – STEVE JOBS has left an indelible mark on the lives of most of us. If one has to compete with Isaac Newton for the title of “Mr. Apple” then that sums all really!!

RIP Steve. uTouched!!

11/10/11

Pseudo Nationalism

NOTE: I HAD WRITTEN THIS PIECE JUST BEFORE THE INDIA-PAKISTAN MATCH IN WORLD CUP. I COULD NOT AND DID NOT PUBLISH IT THEN AS I THOUGHT IT WILL BE BETTER TO POST WHEN THE DUST SETTLES DOWN.

The Cricket World Cup is indeed the main sports attraction in the Indian sub-continent and India-Pakistan match is simply cherry on the top.

But whenever this sport fixture comes up, all of us flex our muscles (physical as well as mental). The Cricket itself instills a state of mass hysteria into almost all the Indians. All the news channels suddenly become sports channels. And the shouts of “Win against Pakistan, the Cup comes second” grow.

So much is the enthusiasm around that I am sure Indians would not have rejoiced so much even after the real war triumphs against Pakistan. Well all of this is nothing but a case of “pseudo-nationalism”. If I support Pakistan in a game of cricket, do I become a traitor? Should I be tried for charges of sedition? Most of the proud Indians right now think I surely become one. Is the ground of Cricket the only place left to prove patriotism? There are thousands of criteria to prove that as a nation we are far more advanced than our neighboring country. So is the game of Cricket decides which country is better? The things like these which exhibit the sense patriotism are merely transient. What was the outcome of that “candle march” post 26/11? How many of us carry the same patriotism in daily lives?

The same Governments who failed miserably pre and post 26/11 are sitting in the power right now. And our PM has made a diplomatic misjudgment by inviting Pakistani PM for watching the match. Is this goodwill gesture going to solve the diplomatic impasse post 26/11? Is it really going to exert any pressure on Pakistan to relent? None of the questions sadly have an affirmative answer.

Our country has a glorious heritage to be proud of and there will be even better and better future to be proud of. But this pretense of patriotism won’t even last till the next India-Pakistan match. If we can listen and enjoy songs of Pakistani artists then why the Cricket becomes a patriotic barometer? Go and browse different forums. Someone saying India doesn’t have a good chance to win is labeled as an agent of Pakistan. We are taking the game of Cricket too seriously here. Let us not forget that this is game played for an entertainment. Those expecting anything more will only be fooling themselves.

-N.D.K. NIKHIL

PS: Just to spice up the issue- According to an affidavit filed by the BCCI sometime back in Court, “Indian Cricket Team” represents BCCI and not “India”!!

Media Trial - and Error

And once again I have summoned all my energy so that what ever is stuck in my brains for ages will come out!! This is a desperate attempt to shed some weight as I have always believed, its just all the thoughts which have been occupying my cerebral make me look slightly over weight!! But there are very few moments where the locked matter crawls out and then I am compelled to post it. I am still trying hard to fathom which exact force does that.

Anyways, to the business!!! We have always been taught that there are four pillars of the democracy- the judiciary, the legislature, the executive and the press (and now whole lot of media included). While the 2^nd and the 3^rd pillars try hard to collapse every time, 1^st and 4^th pillars which have always kept the edifice of the democracy erect – albeit until recently.

The Press was largely limited to print media i.e. newspapers, magazines and other publications. However, the advent of electronic media has changed the rules of the game dramatically. And by very nature the impact of this media is transient. So in a bid to create an impact, sensationalism remains the only successful (!) mantra.

The sensationalism of electronic media has different aspect to it. The different tricks pulled out of a hat are more than even a great magician can ever conjure up. So right from flashing any damn news as a breaking news to their SMS polls on any news, one can go on and on and on. But I wish to carry out an inquisition into the gravest of them all- Trials by media.

Each night and on every news channel, there is a similar scene. A judge sitting confidently, sometimes with a touch of arrogance of know-all, with a chargesheet and the investigation report. (A dual and confused role of a policeman and a judge) A panel of experts including political spokespersons if the charge is a political. And at the bottom of TV screen are the constant updates of opinions of Indian people (!).

I am myself an avid follower of this kind of debates which are turning into quasi-judicial proceedings very fast. But in recent months some of the anchors have quite seriously assumed the role of a judge. And frankly they are all too serious for anyone’s comfort and well being. My basic problem with these people is that they come with an agenda every time. Eg when the court ordered the filing of the chargesheet against Rajesh-Nupur Talwar, a chief editor of a popular English news channel was almost hysterical. His team carried on their own investigations. They are tabling all the crucial evidences live on TV and the panelists involved were giving their verdict within that one hour debate!!! Now in the same case, a rival news channel interviewed the Talwar couple and the tone of the debate was to completely exonerate the couple of all the charges.

Another high profile case was of Mr. Binayak Sen-convicted on charges of sedition; when the verdict was announced against him almost the entire media was against the judgement. It was a case of mass bashing of the Court- the kind of bashing normally is enjoyed by our beloved governments. And even worse and shameful is inviting public opinions through the SMS polls. A commoner on the streets is hardly aware about the nuances, technicalities and detailed procedures that are associated with any judicial proceeding. An animated and in some cases hysterical presenter puts some facts and pieces of investigations to solicit an opinion. If this is not the contempt of the Courts then what is it? There is a very thin line of difference between criticizing the Courts and making a complete mockery of the Court proceedings. And with these kinds of debates on the Court’s verdict, it is definitely an attempt to take the legal proceedings to a completely inappropriate level.

And yet another shocking example- Mi Nathuram Godase Bolatoy- a controversial drama based on Nathuram Godase was cleared by the High Court but even then NCP disrupted its show in Thane. And on top of that makers of the Drama and a NCP leader were debating in the newsroom about the merits of the drama. And at the end of the show they reached an agreement where producer was ready to listen to objections of NCP to the script!! And that’s it my Lord!!

The sanctity of our democracy is in the hands of our Courts. There are times when the same media has taken an aggressive stand against the judiciary and it is lauded by the judiciary itself (Jessica Lall case). But these cases are far and few in between. Because, a TV presenter carrying an overt bias and prejudice cannot be and should not be expected to carry out any viable and constructive debate.

In the times when general public is full of cynicism towards the politicians and the governments, the sanctity of the judiciary has to be preserved and respected. Those with the means to influence public perceptions should not get themselves embroiled in frivolous battles of TRPs. And if the edifice of the democracy should always stand tall then all the pillars should give each other strength and keep on fortifying the foundations.

-N. D. K. Nikhil

And the Oscars went to……

My recent blog which seems like an eternity now, was on a film. Since then there have been a lot of topics which kept me teasing but are locked somewhere in the attic. So it’s just some amazing and never ending lethargic attitude which makes it a coincidence that the subject on hand is – The Oscar 2011!!!!

“Oscar’ - the word presents a world of movies which is stamped on the hearts for as long as you will live. For someone like me, it is a guide to watch finest movies to have ever been made. But nothing in this world is perfect and so is my guide. Because, there are times when the ultimate choice of the winners is very diplomatic and in some cases result of the great marketing strategies. Just as there are trends in the fashion world, even with the Academy there are certain preconceived notions which decide the awards or at least it seems so. So in recent years, I have faced utter surprises and bitter disappointments and I am sure there are many with me on this. But this year was a lot better, not only most of my predictions were correct but the awards seemed largely just and fair. Although the ceremony left enough room to make few people invidious, including me.

I always wanted to do a review of the Oscar nominated films. I had given it a thought earlier but to review all those movies would have taken quite an enormous effort and I pride myself as a “lazy”!!! The King’s Speech collected major honours. And each of them was worthy enough.

In the Best Film category, this year unprecedented 10 films were nominated. The race to the wire was clearly between The King’s Speech and The Social Network, as the Academy and Nolan have some serious issues to sort out. But my completely biased choice was “Toy Story 3” - the finale to the Toy Story franchisee-the movie had each and every element for a perfect movie. But to compete with the live action category is always a herculean task.

The award for the Best Director was a bonus to The King’s Speech, as I felt David Fincher should have won that.

The competition in the Writing Categories was also equally fierce. In the Adapted Screenplay, all of them were great movies. It would have been very interesting if The King’s Speech was in the same category. In the Original Screenplay category, there was a tough competition. Many tipped “Kids are all right” as a surprise winner. But to my delightful surprise “The King’s Speech” won it. And again Nolan was not picked for reasons beyond my comprehension!!

The Best Actor was always going to be Colin Firth. And this year it was a fatal five way competition. Jesse Eisenberg invested so much into the character. The original “True Grit” had won “Best Actor” and Jeff Bridges looked very promising for the second award in a row. James Franco also was brilliant in “127 Hours”. Javier Bardem carried the entire movie on his shoulders. It’s unusual that a non-English film has a nomination in this category. But the King to be coroneted had to be Colin Firth who performed with such poise, poignancy and the required elegance. He hooks you with his predicaments and dilemmas. An amazing performance befitting to an amazing character.

The Best Actress award was Natalie Portman’s from the day “The Black Swan” released. The movie was 100% Natalie Portman. It was sad that Jennifer Lawrence had to fight with the likes of Portman and Kidman. In some other year, she would have pulled out the Oscar!! Annette Bening was being considered as a competition to Portman which is just a glorification of an above average performance and open favouritism towards the homosexuals in the Awards.

And the Batman had risen!!! The Dark Knight was robbed of few Oscars for sure. But this time The Batman has done the job!! Christian Bale could have just played the role of his career!! He hooks you and locks you the moment you see him as thin, bumbling, vulnerable and ever zealous Dickey. And although Geoffrey Rush delivered one of his finest performances, the energy Bale has shown in Dickey is nothing short of a phenomenon. My only disappointment was in the Supporting Actress category, where Amy Adams and Helena Carter were my favorites. Young Hailee Steinfeld could have been a sensational choice. Mila Kunis missed out on a deserved nomination.

The Social Network was considered a clear winner in many categories but a late surge by the King’s Speech took the awards away.

The Animated Film category, in the recent years has treated us with some wonderful and delightful movies. Toy Story 3 is as good as it gets. The movie also made it to the Best Film category which was a deserved salute.

In music awards, our very own A. R. Rehman was also nominated. And when his name was announced with mention-"two times winner”- it felt special. His original song nomination had a fair chance but in background score, Inception’s score was equally deserving, the Social Network was a deserving winner.

Christopher Nolan- What can I say? Arguably my favourite director of last decade or so. With Dark Knight he was blatantly ignored for an award. This year he was not even nominated as a Best Director, it is simply an outrage as a Nolan fan. Although Inception won a handful of technical awards, the concept of Inception truly deserved the Best Story/Original Screenplay. And the most bewildering was the non inclusion in the Editing Category. But a lot more is expected from this man and I am sure one day he will compel the Academy to bestow the Oscar.

The most disappointing part of the Awards was their presentation. James Franco after an amazing performance in “127 Hours” was expected to put up a fine show. In fact, it was Anne Hathaway that people were reluctant of. But she was pushed to the walls to give a charming performance as James seemed completely disoriented and disinterested.

But the real intention of the Awards was achieved with almost perfection. With no eye widening surprises in the winners’ list, the ceremony may not have been a spectacular one but it surely felicitated those who deserved, yeah almost!!

-N. D. K. Nikhil

Elephantastic Experience!!!

History has been one of the fascinations for me. There are many who feel that the pages of history are nothing but the old memoirs which are hardly relevant in current times and possess any vision for the future. And there are some others who strive to create a better future by drawing inspirations from the same old, crumpled, worn out pages, such an inspiration is at south-east of Mumbai Harbour.

Elephanta Caves- situated on an island some 10 kms from the harbour of Mumbai, is a place of historical and archaeological significance. The way to it goes through the Gateway of India. A ferry boat takes you to these islands. In a journey of approximately 1.30 hrs; one will come across many cargos and the famous ‘Bombay High’, if one is lucky enough, you will catch a variety of seabirds floating and flying by the water. However, the luckier ones will have a NatGeo/Discovery channel scene of ‘the bird catching a fish!!’

The breezy voyage takes you to a small harbour near Elephanta. The first sight of it is a vintage and quaint stony bridge, which goes to the heart of the island. Those who are less adventurous have an option of the toy train. The village Gharapuri of around 1200 population prides itself with one of the most iconic symbols of our history. A classical stony staircase will take you to the top of the hills, en route plenty of stalls keep you engaged and help to regain breath.

The main attraction or rather the only remaining attraction is ‘the Great Cave’. The Cave has nine forms of Lord Shiva in various avatars. Most of them are damaged far beyond recognition.

The places like this remind us about our shabbily written history. On the entire island not a single word is written to offer any kind of historical insight into these structures. It is believed to be built somewhere between late 5th to the late 8th century AD. The island of Gharapuri has been strategically and politically important having served as the capital of the Konkan Mauryas. It was also a frequent stopover for ships traveling from abroad en route to the Kalyan Harbour.

The present condition of the sculptures, idols and the entire edifice is nothing but appalling. For major part of recent history it has been neglected which led to a continuous dilapidation of the whole structure. It was as late as 1970s when some sort of restoration work was carried out. But even in its current glory it inspires us. We can only envisage albeit with our frivolous imagination about the glory days of this place. Apart from the Great Cave, what has left of other caves is just a big cavity.

Through the passage of time, most of the magnificent art work has been ruined and some or many others must have been stolen. The broken idols only remind us of our neglect towards this ancient treasure. And whatever broken pieces are now left asking us the question- “what did we do to protect it and what are we going to leave for our future generations?”

Don’t go there to experience some vision defying art work. It’s long gone!! Just go there once; those old pages of history will haunt you for at least one second.


-N. D. K. NIKHIL