Housesitter (Review)

               Steve Martin is an incredibly talented actor who has a huge fan following across generations. Although with time, one gets acquainted with his style of acting but still his capacity to mesmerize with his comic timings and punches fascinate the audience. The movie "House Sitters" has an adequate ingredient for audiences and gives a glimpse of perfect comical prowess of Steve before the "Pink Panther" series re-introduced Steve and raised his stature universally.  

        Steve who plays an architect in the movie, designs a dream house for his childhood crush Dana Delany(during the proposal) which she declined, tormenting the life of the young architect who in the meantime accidentally met a waitress at the local bar. The waitress 'Goldie Hawn' was a hitchhiker and was fascinated by the reason behind the house and manages to track it down(town & house). Once there, she introduced herself as Steve's wife and befriends locals including his parents and Dana. By the time Steve figured out the truth he was himself seduced by the idea of using Hawn to get a job promotion and get back his lost love(Dana). What follows thereafter was a web of lies and stories loaded with comic twists and turns. 

          As the movie flows one can't stop oneself from admiring the performances of Steve and more specifically Goldie Hawn who has performed with zest and is a delight to watch. The light-hearted comedy despite some flaws is a good comic relief for movie buffs.

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'Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho (Review)

                  The book 'Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho is a fictitious journey of an aspiring "religious master" across the road to Santiago de Compostela in the Spanish countryside to recover his 'sword'. The journey is a pilgrimage across various historical sacred centers with stories, innuendoes and messages for disciples en-route. As the story progresses, the protagonist was joined by his guide to tread the revered path and in the meantime teaching him exercises of RAM, which enabled him to eventually understand his true path and meaning of life. The guidance of the mentor and the hardships faced during the journey are reminiscent of everyday life struggle to some extent and encourages humans to follow principles (of Christianity) to catapult themselves into higher beings.

            The author has drenched his story in mythology with constant sermons on the Bible(some of them are difficult to understand) and its verses while mischievously usurping other faith teachings and projecting it as Christian with missionary zeal to influence and hogwash naive readers. The book is a feeble attempt to knit an adventurous pilgrimage trip with biblical overhang (stuffed with miracles) to impress upon readers to lead the righteous path for that will bring blissful solitude in one's life in tune with God. I finished this book disappointed and people who want to read it as a fictional story can clearly avoid this book. 

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Challenges Ahead

Pluralism and tolerance are the foundations of every society that takes pride in being democratic. Since time immemorial, Indian culture, composed of 80% Hindus, has been diverse and tolerant towards different religions and perspectives. 

However, the Indic society as a whole is experiencing challenges that are peculiar in modern times. 

The detrimental influence of Abrahamic faiths on Indian civilization became apparent once the Abrahamic religions mushroomed from the medieval century onwards, making it patriarchal and fiercely hierarchical. 

The Historical Background

Even if we leave out the medieval background of Islamic attacks on indigenous religions and people, the Indian subcontinent has a blood-soaked history of deceit and division. 

The post-Independence religious division of India and the consequences endured by religious minorities in their respective countries of choice are stark reminders of how different ideologies treated their respective populations. 

On the strength of the majority of Hindus who were secular and tolerant of others, India became pluralistic, secular, and inclusive of its minorities.

Pakistan (and Bangladesh) adopted religious theocracy as the Muslim majority abhor other faiths, actively pursuing the path to proselytization to convert or kill others. 

The Current Scenario

For long, the hallowed path to secularism appealed to the majority population. As a result, the social fabric remained largely intact. However, the rising radicalism and ghetto mentality among a segment of the Muslim population is a new danger to Indian culture. 

For a long time, politicians' appeasement politics instilled in Muslim populations an attitude of entitlement. As a result, sporadic violence against other religions (Hindus) in society was rejected or disregarded, resulting in the emboldening of fanatical Islamic groups.

Gradually, such fundamental organizations became politically active, their intolerance grew tremendously, and they began to attack even coreligionists who did not follow their diktats. 

 Rise in Islamic Fanatical Attacks

The vicious attacks and fatwas issued against Padma Shri awardee Kazi Masum Akhtar of Bengal serve as a chilling warning. The fact that his tormentors are still free to roam and that his life is at risk reflects well on the cooperation of a few politicians and the appeasement tactics of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress administration, which may be counterproductive in the long run. 

Similarly, trolling of three Muslim girls for dancing in Malappuram, Kerala, or fatwas declared against teenager Nahid Afrin from Assam by Islamic bigots rightfully points fingers towards increasing Islamic fundamentalism and demonstrates the growing radicalization and intolerance among Indian Muslims. 

Condition of Minorities in Pakistan 

Let's look around the state of Pakistan and check the social fabric. We find growing Islamic radicalization, increased cases of violence, and forced abduction of young girls from minority communities has become a regular feature.

The condition of the most vulnerable religious minorities in Islamic societies is highly disheartening and deplorable, not to mention the state of the LGBT community, which is viewed with disgust in Pakistan.

The forceful abduction, killings, and rapes of minority community girls coinciding with their dwindling population reflect medieval-oriented societies' lack of empathy and tolerance towards human values. Ironically, this ethnic cleansing of persecuted minorities is in its last phase, as the minority population has already reduced to 1%.  

The headache is such sectarian societies refuse to transform and embrace the transition in human civilization and instead take pride in their oblivion. The plight of 14-year-old Mehak Kumari testifies to the sorry state of affairs in neighbouring Pakistan and challenges Indian secular society to tread the future path with caution. 

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Hotel Mumbai (Review)

                 As one would have inferred, the movie presents some graphic violent scenes and narrates the true story of the heinous terror strike at Mumbai in 2011. The story is about the heroic deeds of the staff of Hotel Taj, who valiantly and selflessly sacrificed their lives, in exchange for the safety of their guests. The zombies of terror who carried out the dastardly act were inspired and guided by their handlers from Pakistan were shown dramatically was both agonizing and shocking to watch. The scourge of terror, emanating from  Pakistan is the center-piece of the movie and is showcased brilliantly and realistically, for the whole world to watch and understand.

            There aren't many movies available that focuses on the plight of terror victims and this is where this movie stands out. It presented the facts without any provocative undertone for the audience to draw a conclusion. Dev Patel has performed with honesty and one is infatuated with his skills, Anupam Kher is an old hand who can mesmerize you with his performance every time. The movie has been banned in some countries which is ironic and sad, but then, hypocrisy suits the narrative of few and hence should be another reason for people to go out and watch. The movie is a painful reminder of what India has confronted for long and bares naked the ugly face of Pakistan sponsored and abated terrorism in the world. 

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