Mahatma

                                     I was always intrigued by the policy of non violence preached by Mahatma Gandhi. As a short tempered man, i loathed the non violent means adopted by Gandhi ji to attain freedom, but with time, as i read more about Gandhi ji and tried to understand his approach towards life, i find myself humbled and couldn't stop to admire the virtues of non violence and truth propagated by Gandhi ji and its impact on life.

                                       It is thus sad to see such hate for Gandhi propagated by vested interests that engulfs the gullible people. While the man might have some flaws in his personal life (which no individual has right to judge), his achievements cannot be denied .To accuse him of delaying India's independence is as stupid as crediting him completely for it.Fall of British Empire had to do much with it.While it is great to respect our violent revolutionaries who laid their lives for the country, it shouldn't be done by disrespecting Gandhi.You will realize the importance of Non-Violence movement when you notice the violent struggles for freedom fail all around you.Accusing him as cause of Partition is even more unfounded as he had no control over spread of venomous propaganda of the time. I would suggest reading of more comprehensive texts about the partition.When riots happened after partition, whole army couldn't control them in Punjab but one man in Bengal was able to get things under control .A few wrong decisions and thus hatred cannot describe a person on whom several books have been written, both critical and adulatory, my advice is Try and read them

Sharing an interesting episode between Gandhi ji and Tagore ji  :--

The debate between Gandhi and Tagore, men of hugely different temperaments and world views, on nationalism still makes for absorbing reading.

                                  In the issue of his journal Young India dated April 27, 1921, Mahatma Gandhi published an article titled “Evil Wrought by the English Medium”. This argued that “Ram Mohun Roy would have been a greater reformer, and Lokmanya Tilak would have been a greater scholar, if they had not to start with the handicap of having to think in English and transmit their thoughts chiefly in English”. Gandhi claimed that “of all the superstitions that affect India, none is so great as that a knowledge of the English language is necessary for imbibing ideas of liberty, and developing accuracy of thought”.

                               When this article appeared, Rabindranath Tagore was travelling in the West. Posted a copy, he was dismayed by its general tenor, and by the chastisement of Ram Mohan Roy in particular. On May 10, 1921, he wrote to C.F. Andrews from Zurich saying, “I strongly protest against Mahatma Gandhi’s trying to cut down such great personalities of Modern India as Rammohan Roy in his blind zeal for crying down our modern education”. These criticisms, added Tagore tellingly, showed that Gandhi “is growing enamored of his own doctrines — a dangerous form of egotism, that even great people suffer from at times”.

                              The Mahatma believed Ram Mohan Roy was limited by his excessive familiarity with English. To the contrary, Tagore argued that through his engagement with other languages, the reformer “had the comprehensiveness of mind to be able to realize the fundamental unity of spirit in the Hindu, Muhammadan and Christian cultures. Therefore he represented India in the fullness of truth, and this truth is based, not upon rejection, but on perfect comprehension. Ram Mohan Roy could be perfectly natural in his acceptance of the West, not only because his education had been perfectly Eastern — he had the full inheritance of the Indian wisdom. He was never a school boy of the West, and therefore he had the dignity to be the friend of the West”.

Oft-quoted response

                               C.F. Andrews shared the letter with the press. The criticisms stung Gandhi, who immediately published a clarification in Young India. He pointed to his own friendship with white men (Andrews among them), and the hospitality granted to Englishmen by many non-co-operators. Neither he nor his flock were guilty of chauvinism or xenophobia. His defense was then summed up in these words: “I hope I am as great a believer in free air as the great Poet. I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”.

No modern man provided posterity as many quotable lines or phrases as Gandhi. Even so, the sentences cited above must be among the most regularly quoted of the millions of words the Mahatma wrote or spoke. They are to be found in classrooms, in museums, in auditoria, and on banners, as the most succinct statement of Gandhi’s rooted cosmopolitanism, his openness to other cultures while remaining loyal to his own. However, while I have quoted four sentences, these other invocations choose only to use the last three. Omitted always is the crucial opening caveat: “I hope I am as great a believer in free air as the great Poet”. In July 1921, Tagore returned home from Europe. He was alarmed to find that many members of the staff at Santiniketan had enthusiastically embraced the non-co-operation movement, thus giving themselves up to “narrow nationalist ideas that were already out of date”. In the first week of September, Gandhi met Tagore at his family home in Calcutta. They had a long and argumentative conversation about non-co-operation. C.F. Andrews, who was present, recalled that they had “a difference of temperament so wide that it was extremely difficult to arrive at a common intellectual standing, though the moral ties of friendship remained entirely unbroken…”

A different take

                                    Shortly afterwards, Tagore chose to write about these differences in the influential Calcutta journal, Modern Review. In his recent travels in the West, said the poet, he had met many people who sought “to achieve the unity of man, by destroying the bondage of nationalism”. He had “watched the faces of European students all aglow with the hope of a united mankind…” Then he returned home, to be confronted with a political movement suffused with negativity. Are “we alone to be content with telling the beads of negation”, asked Tagore, “harping on other’s faults and proceeding with the erection of Swaraj on a foundation of quarrelsomeness?”

Gandhi responded immediately, defending the non-co-operation movement as “a refusal to co-operate with the English administrators on their own terms. We say to them, ‘Come and co-operate with us on our terms, and it will be well for us, for you and the world’. … A drowning man cannot save others. In order to be fit to save others, we must try to save ourselves. Indian nationalism is not exclusive, nor aggressive, nor destructive. It is health-giving, religious and therefore humanitarian. India must learn to live before she can aspire to die for humanity. The mice which helplessly find themselves between the cat’s teeth acquire no merit from their enforced sacrifice”.

                               Eighty years on, the Tagore-Gandhi debate still makes for compelling reading. The Mahatma insisted that a colonised nation had first to discover itself before discovering the world. The poet answered that there was a thin line between nationalism and xenophobia —besides, hatred of the foreigner could later turn into a hatred of Indians different from oneself (he was particularly sceptical of the claim that non-co-operation had or would dissolve Hindu-Muslim differences). Both men come out well; Tagore slightly better perhaps. He stood his ground, whereas Gandhi shifted his, somewhat. Pressed and challenged by Tagore, he broadened his nationalism to allow in winds from all parts of the world.

The Mummy

                                        One of the worst movie that i have come across lately. 'The Mummy' is a complete waste of time and resources besides wasting the stupendous acting talent of Tom Cruise. The movie  merges action, mythology, horror and comedy resulting in confusion . No characters are fully explained, silly comic scenes and a plot which sucks big time makes it a nightmarish experience. Some of the action scenes are breathtaking ,alas they by themselves can't lift the story and can't compensate for unnecessary rats and faceless zombie scenes. One doesn't understand the logic behind certain scenes , though action sequences are brilliantly filmed.

                                        The movie starts by accidentally excavating a cursed tomb of an Egyptian princess by two rogue treasure hunting soldiers in the middle of Iraq,how and why were they associated with US Army,please satisfy yourself with feeble explanation. The erstwhile princess thus rises from the death and starts seducing Tom Cruise for inconclusive idiotic reason. The whole story revolves around this plot while traversing between different locations and time. Some other characters are also around like the British archaeologist Jennifer Halsey ( Annabelle Wallis ) who played the love interest of Tom although everything looks plastic, devoid of any chemistry between the two. Russell Crowe as a leader of a shadow organization is irrational and illogical. The only saving grace is ( Sophia Boutella ) Ahmanet a.k.a. The Mummy, her transitions from a creepy, violent monster to a seductive goddess with ease is mesmerizing .

                                     The verdict is out, this movie is a combination of action sequences of many movies, complete inadequacy of story telling. A vague attempt to create a series based on myths which falls short of expectation and hence should be avoided.

                                       

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

                                       A Brief History of Time has the reputation of being the most bought yet least read book. Firstly, why is it being branded the best selling science book ? I won't accept the usual reason, that book is well written and  over simplifies complex science and astronomical theories in intuitive and entertaining way which are easily explained  for the benefit of masses. The real reason behind the success of this book is Stephen Hawking himself.  He is a phenomenon, a rockstar, of his generation wrapped in gigantic achievements . In his twenties, he contracted ALS  thus lost the movement of his legs and arms and was confined to a wheel chair. Eventually, his voice faded with time as the disease progressed . Today, unable to speak, his physical condition has stabilized but he can only move his eyes and a finger. Deteriorating physical situation couldn't impede Hawking from his research and he remained productive as a scientist . His grit and determination helped him in overcoming all odds and scaling new heights .With the help of computers, he is able to communicate and give lectures. The physical condition couldn’t deter him from writing books, acting in a movie ,giving lectures etc. and is ranked among the best scientists of his generation.

                                   Now, coming back to the book, the book is very interesting and despite the complexity of the subject Hawking has tried of making it about as understandable as possible and in the words of Einstein “make everything as simple as possible but not more so.” The complex theories and explanations are definitely mind taxing and I had to read a few sections a few times also had to google at times to fully understand what i was reading. This book covers wide areas from Big bangs,time travel to black holes and from origin of Earth to intelligent life forms and question the orthodoxy religious beliefs. From Greek philosophers contribution towards science and rational thinking to modern times. Hawking beautifully summed up by telling that earlier everything was believed as God's creation, with time, science started explaining things.By 20th century God gets credit for whatever can't be understood or unexplained but now most of the erstwhile enigma has been successfully deciphered by science.

                                        This book is a treasure trove for young minds and ordinary people alike. This book is fascinating for science students however people with no interest in astronomy might find it boring . Even though some hypothesis explained in this book were beyond me, still i highly recommend this book for everyone .

'karma is a Bitch'

                                      It is dreadful and gives goosebumps to infer what might have gone through, the mind of Mrs. Sahani in her last few days while breathing her last . By hallucinating and trying to gauge her ordeal send shivers down the spine of any sane person's mind. The shear helplessness of an elderly, lonely lady confined to her home, where she had been reduced to become an unwilling security guard, is enough to understand the pitying condition of elderly personal like the deceased and many more like her in our society today. The senior citizens seems to have lost their voice and influence they once commanded in today’s transforming society . Indian society and culture we all are proud off and boast about, is decaying, the moral values are nonexistent and lethargy towards elderly is omnipresent . Look carefully and one can easily grasp the myth of happy united family . This is not something we should take lightly but is a scary scenario starring at our face.

                                As I have mentioned earlier, Mrs. Sahani's case isn't the first case or a secluded case, we should read the recent government reports, testifying to the rotten state of affairs in our society . With increasing westernization as well as economic opportunities available outside the cities of our parents , elderly are left to fend for themselves with no physical or emotional support in their our of need as youngsters leave for greener pastures . In this particular case, the elderly lady begged her son to register her in some old age home, a bare minimum, she can expect from him who was settled in USA , which was unfortunately denied or whatever maybe the truth we may never find out as the dead don’t speak. The news about decomposed body of Mrs. Sahani discovered almost three months later from the last phone call also points towards indifferent attitude of people in general .

                                 We have often come across news about elderly people abandoned in fares(Kumbh mela is notorious), these illiterate people couldn’t return to their homes knowingly or otherwise, but such malice remains hidden in the hysteria of fares. The widow homes of Mathura presents a starker reality, that should force society to look deep within and comprehend some tough uncomfortable questions to itself . We read reports regularly about scores of country’s elderly people are forced to live a life of humiliation, abuses and isolation in their homes but no murmurs of justice to victims is ever heard . Such humanitarian issues are conveniently ignored and is a nonentity till ghastly case like Mrs. Sahani jolts ones consciousness. The murderous campaign of lonely elderly citizens of Delhi, that shook the nation made everyone took notice of the deteriorating crime conditions prevalent in major cities, towards safety and wellbeing of elderly with better literacy levels , one can just imagine about the humiliation and exploitation elderly have to contend with in illiterate and inhuman poverty conditions of hinterlands .

                           The case of a retired elderly judge being deprived of his home by his son, and almost, identical case of an industrialist in miserable condition after his retirement due to betrayal from his son, points towards a sick pattern of selfish, egocentric society, where parents howsoever rich and powerful in their heydays are confronting within their homes . The recent report by UN points towards the increasing elderly population in India which according to reports will treble by 2030(around 300 million) and hence the civil society should impress upon government to take immediate steps, to work for the needy and distressed senior citizens for their health , residential and other social issues plaguing them as our elderly deserve our respect and undivided attention. Laws should be formulated with senior citizens be provided with more attention, rights, psychological support with counseling if required and safeguards as they are one of the most vulnerable section of the society.

                            And finally to the unworthy son of the deceased Mrs. Sahani, what I wanted to say couldn’t be said in a civilized manner, and might actually pain the departed soul who silently endured all hardships. Some might argue my unnecessary intervention in a private family matter , unfortunately I don’t see this death as personal affair, in my opinion its murder by negligence with necessity to fix responsibility and being a part of society I find myself duty bound to speak against repression and injustice in all its kinds. The death of Mrs. Sahani should act as an eyeopener for any civilized society and lessons must be learnt to avoid such frightful instances to reoccur ever again . As for the children, the laws of Karma is non negotiable and is constant, you will repent and pay dearly for what you sow cause Karma spares no one .