The Earth as seen from the Moon

With some time to kill, I wanted to check out on some travel sites for some location scouting. Interestingly stumbled on this on India. The author is possibly an American male and from the volume that he has turned out on wiki, looks like there are fewer places on Planet Earth that he has not been to!! (For the record, i pine for such an achievement someday...till then...blogging it is!).

The adage goes on the lines that when you go on the Moon and stare down @ the Earth, it does not ressemble anything that you have seen or experienced during your lifetime on the surface here!! Without further ado, here are the links, beginning with his brush with Indian bureaucracy @the Indian embassy in Singapore, then onto Delhi, Haridwar, Jodhpur and finally the mecca of India Shining - Gurgaon!

Pros:

1. Refreshingly third party view.

2. Candid. As seen. Devoid of all baggage. A black kettle is nothing but a black kettle.

3. No fancy packaging.

4. Beautifully shows the "shining" to be as epidermal as you can get.

5. The wannabe culture of the tacky "Ruby Tuesday" is a glorious example.

Cons:

1. Limited in reach. Restricted to a typical North Indian tourist circuit (ok, Gurgaon aint on it) but not much besides.

2. The lack of understanding the culture is evident at some places. The author makes several references to cow-dung patties in a derogatory way. Yup, its shit and thats bad in the Western way of things. But, its from a cow and so "Holy Shit!!" and perfectly acceptable to me and the billions back home. Wondering here what he would think on finding out that cow-urine is a staple of most indian yagyas and hawans and is the prime facilitator in the purification of the pooja-site!!

So sit back and enjoy the ride!
1. India 0 - A taste of bureaucracy

2. India 1 - First impressions

3. India 2 - How are you relaxing?

4. India 3 - Jamming with the gods

5. India 4 - D is for depressing

6. India 5 - A jaunt to Jodhpur

7. India 6 - Googling Gurgaon

Slum"Lord" Millionaire

In the many tales of Aesop, one comes to mind of the fox and the crane. The fox invites the crane for dinner and serves it in a plate. The crane returns the favor by inviting the fox for a dinner, which is served in a flask! Both serve what they are used to, but the other way around is difficult.

India is fast becoming a place where the crane and the fox need to co-exist. The dinner here being the movie "Slumxxx Millionaire". First came the accolades, the Golden Globes, the Oscar nominations...now come the dung-bombs.

1.India is shown in a poor light!

A movie about 3 slum kids. I guess Kekta Kapoor should have made this. All characters should have had more mascara and lipstick and should have been draped in fine brocade. Afterall, India is the land of fabric, aint it? Rise up foxes!! A crane cannot eat in a plate! The movies in US have also portrayed some of the abject poverty that exists in the ghettos of America. That you have not seen it, is YOUR fault. If u want to see one such flick, go watch Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness" or Eminem's "8 Mile". Poverty, dsyfunctional social/family structure and other such "vices" in the US has been highlighted in enough movies.

On the contrary, I feel that this is a sign of greatness-en route. As a benchmark, US is what it is today, because it gives one the freedom of speech, the leniency to portray one's thoughts, one's words via cinema and other media. There are nations in the world where it is illegal to even make or screen cinema. DO we want to be one of those or draw parallels to a higher power? It is only in the US that Michael Moore was able to make and screen a movie critical of the President in power!!

2. The group in Goa, the individual in Patna - all are objecting to the word "Dog" in Slumdog!!
Again cranes...in "fox"-ese (which happens to be English here), in any sports, the weaker team is called under-"DOG". How ridiculous can we as a nation get? The word "DOG" is a part of the same theme! And even the creator has given his intentions on this loud and clear. Then why the litigation? And where were you, when the reservations bill was passed without debate? OR where were you, when inspite of everything, the Womens Representation Bill does not pass yet? There are real burning "dogs" amongst us, yet, you choose to file litigation over the literary one? Bow-wow!

Having criticized the opponents so far, I do agree that any writer, painter, movie-maker worth their salt, seeking international recognition, would taste better success by portraying a tattered, shabby, dirty, corrupt India.

But then, isnt this a reality? India is corrupt, shabby, dirty and all that. And then there is more to it. I myself, proudly Indian, know not the full truth to talk about India. Hence my advice to all is - Let SM be a movie about Jamal Malik - a guy from India. It is not India. What i like about this movie is the fact that through the length of the movie, the characters have an uncanny hold on you - start to end.

To conclude - Its easy to read a couple lines, form an opinion and continue to harangue. But we are poised at a position for greatness. We have to go the extra mile beyond the obvious and comprehend what life is beyond our well!! Heres to that journey...

And btw...Kudos Rahman!

Bye Bye 2008...

Yeah...am late. While baby '09 is almost a fortnight old...am still catching up.

2008 sure was a roller coaster. For purely personal reasons, it was a landmark year. One wherein i tendered my resignation from the Bachelors Utd. and setled into a cosy, comfy Marriage Ltd.!! Some part of this is still to sink in. Of course, staying away from the homeland has sheltered me from a full blown realization.

2008 was a mixed bag for India as well. The most successful Summer Olympics, the cash for votes scam of the Parliament...and then the growing menance of terrorism...Ahmedabad, Guwahati and the cherry on the pie...Mumbai.

In the background, the monsters of a slowing worldwide economy and recession are gripping firmer by the day.

2009 has already began miserably with Mr. Raju rocking it for India Inc. A new year blog is incomplete w/o the resolutions. My only noticeable one is to branch out into the workd of blogging - a travelog, a foodlog and a movielog amongst any others that may catch my fancy!!
Stay tuned!