A-political opinions?

Social networking sites like Orkut offer a great chance for doing some random analyses of poeple's opinions about what's going around. A general thing that I have observed -and not just on social n/w sites - is how few people have, or choose to express, a poltical opinion. Most people say they are not political or simply refuse to answer. Within their groups, friends talk about a lot of stuff, but very rarely politics. I myself can't remember having an interesting political discussion with my friends in a long time, mainly because they have been cut short by a severe lack of interest. That can mean two things - people are largely indifferent or simply confused. The former case is particularly worrisome. After all, we the youngest of voters, have to bear the politicians the longest. These guys are the one's who eventually decide what taxes we pay, what is taught in our schools and colleges, how the job market will be when we graduate, our nation's defence ...and a whole lot more. So why this indifference? Even if its because there's no one really good enough (which is very true today) then you got to at least go with the ones that are the least bad. There was even talk going on about having an option of "None" on the ballot. However, if its because you don't follow political news, you are doing yourself and the country a disservice. You are then, being ruled over by people who were chosen by someone else. I for one, was very excited when I got a chance to vote for the first time. However that excitement doesn't seem to spread what with just about half the people, especially in urban areas, going out to vote. I still believe that the political situation hasn't gone irrecoverably bad , but only if more people at least take interest and shed notions of "What's my one vote going to do". Go on, have an opinon and express it.

Kaal

The verdict is out - DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE - not even if someone pays you to watch it. It is that bad. Worthy of a nomination to the Jade Project. Coming from Karan Johar and his troupe, I had very little expectations of it anyway, but since anything that's slightly different from the regular masala that Bollywood dishes out immediately attracts attention, I went ahead with the idea of Kaal. Karan Johar and Co. should really stick with their tried and tested formula of candyfloss romance. Dardevilry and adventure are just not this guy's cup of tea. You got to feel for the poor young director though - I wonder if even Steven Spielberg would have fared better given the script.
I don't really need to tell you how bad it was, but since I have started I shall finish. A bunch of over ambitious young people and a "researcher" along with his wife, hit the Corbett National Park and some of them get themselves killed by - you wan't me spoil the fun (if at all that's possible)? Nah, actually that's probably the most funny part. But I will tell you this - there are precisely three tigers in the movie who appear for not more than five minutes. Imagine the movie now. Lara Dutta and Esha Deol have precious little other than tyring to look hot, scream and in general get scared frequently. The guys as usual have to be macho and fall "prey". Ajay Devgan drops in the odd mildly humourous one-liners here and there. Go for this utterly predictable and throughly un-enjoyable movie only if there's no electricity at home thanks to the MSEB, because the theatres generally at least have good air conditioning.

Sena-speak

In their mouthpiece Saamana, the ShivSena has come out with its take on the recent case of rape of a young girl by a drunk policeman in Mumbai. Now, as right bashing is the flavour of the season, there have been many an opinion expressed about how completely wrong the Sena is and so on. I grant that, true to their nature, the Sena has gone overboard by suggesting that the girl’s dress sense was directly responsible for the cop’s actions. Although anything coming from the Sena generally has to be filtered and tempered down anyway, the underlying social comment behind the article cannot and should not be simply disregarded. Flame me as you wish, but I cannot help but agree with the Sena that much of the ‘fashion’ that young India wears today, borders around indecency. Forget pubs or discos, just drop by in to an upscale coffee house outlet near you and I hope you will know what I mean. I have never been to a pub myself (and don’t intend to, either) but I have no illusions as to what I may witness there. I am all for freedom of choice, but with freedom also comes responsibility. There's nothing wrong in following the latest trends, but the idea of doing it just because 'they' do it, and without regard for ideas of acceptability and decency, is what I cannot get to terms with. Imitating the West, unfortunately is restricted only to the glitter rather than the gold.

I am going to do some wishful thinking here by just imagining the situation reversed - there’s growing influence of Indian culture on the teen population in the West. For instance, girls are opting for totally indecent dresses like, salwar-kameez rather than low-waist tights, guys are boozing less, college drop out rates are at an all time low, pre marital sex and teenage pregnancy are on an alarming decline and so on. Most right wing political outfits and social groups view this as a direct attack on their culture and preach restraint to the youth, but are widely criticized for being too backward and restrictive….

Going by the general notions of freedom these days, wouldn’t that be such a pity for them?

Asking all the right questions

Ravi Shastri scaled new heights of redundant commentary today by popping a question to Inzamam that would have made any captain worth his salt draw on all his life experience to answer it correctly.

Ravi: “Inzy, you are 3-2 up in the series, looking to wrap it up with a win
here?”

How do you answer that question with a straight face over all the din of laughter going on inside your head? Probably, a simple “Yes, Ravi” would carry the right punch without the need of being overly sarcastic. Seriously Ravi, you are wasting your time covering cricket. You would give the world’s best quizmaster a run for his money.

Passport to Bollywood

Just heard somewhere that (former?) Miss India Tanushree Dutta, as expected, is getting into Bollywood films. The pageant is turning out to be the fastest way of getting into Bollywood (if you want to avoid those couches, that is). Something like a campus job. Film makers - be on the lookout for each year's freshers batch! And now that the pageant is turning into an actress college, the organizers might as well consider judging the contestants on their acting merits, apart from the intensity of their desire to strive for world peace.

Another pointless exercise begins

As I type this, India, or should I say the team batting first has got off to a clichéd flying start. As this completely boring and monotonous series rambles on, there was just about a chance of the game getting interesting today, what with some moisture in the pitch. Surprise, surprise!! That would have meant, the captains would actually have to use some gray matter at the toss and the batsmen would have to be a just a tad cautious. The bowlers would have had at least some hope and the game would have actually been watchable. But no sir, the powers that be, in a mad rush to rake in the moolah, have turned this great game into a no-brainer. The game started an hour late to let the wicket, and consequently the game, go completely dry. With guaranteed flat tracks on the subcontinent, bat first and score a bagful of runs is the order of the day. Under the pretext of “fours and sixes is what the crowd wants”, the game has been reduced to a mockery. It has become artificial to the point of being the WWF of cricket. If plain hitting is what the “crowds” want, then why not give them just that – plain mindless, pointless hitting. Twenty 20 cricket’s the way to go then. Let’s do away with ODIs, just play some rehearsed Twenty 20 stuff and go home feeling nothing at all about the game. Something like a Govinda movie. As for me, I shall only yearn for a 240-260-ish match.

That kind of a day...

That term stands to be redefined for me today, coz the day I have had has been irritating enough to add some of its happenings to Murphy's Laws. Some of them being:
1. When you need a bank ATM the most, it won't be anywhere near.
2. When you do find your or another bank's ATM, it will be out of order.
3. If you do find a working ATM, it won't accept your card
4. While you roam around the city looking for these ATMs, you have to stop at every single traffic light
5. All this roaming will be under a blazing summer sun
6. All this will be in a race against time with work on the one hand and having to drop off a packet at the courier's place on the other.
7. When you reach the shop, its credit card machine will be out of order and you will have to hunt for an ATM again.
8. Somewhere in between 1 to 8 you have to code some really complex logic.