Diwali Musings!

Diwali Musings!

They say, "Diwali is a festival of infinite lights & we celebrate it with gay abandon to commemorate the famous victory of good over evil (as it finds its maiden reference in the Hindu mythology when on the occasion of Lord Rama returning back to his constituency Ayodhya after a hiatus of 14 years and immediately after conquering the all mighty devil king Ravana his folks got jubilant and made merry while unleashing all their quota of fun which was suppressed for all these years).

To me it is an opportunity to purge our whole beings of all the impurities we have so (in)voluntarily stuffed in our systems in the past one year. It is also a chance we give to ourselves to let bygones be bygones and make wish for a fresh beginning. For some of us who have had a remarkable last year we celebrate our happiness by bursting fire crackers & by distributing sweets among our near & dear ones. For others who didn't exactly have a noteworthy outing out there it is another fresh dawn today full of promises for the next twelve months (or so) allowing us to get the monkey off our shoulders and make a resolution that we shall strive hard to set the record straight as we bow our heads with uncompromised faith in front of the elephant God Ganesh & Goddess of wealth Lakshmi.

This is also one such festival which helps bonding the losen strings as all family members make it a point to rush to a common reunion joint, mostly their parental homes. No matter where they are across the globe they engineer their plans in such a way (months in advance) that on this day they get to greet each other.

To all those who couldn't find a reason to cherish today, "Go, find your happiness in the smallest pleasures of life. Just don't sulk or wander about with no purpose. Life is so full of surprises, and i am sure you can easily find at least few pleasant ones to bring a cheer to your sombre mood. If not anything else, read this post at least once again along with the never ending archives of the author on his blog but please...." and yes, make merry but do responsibly top it up by making it peacefully rocking!

:-)

Festively yours
Ritesh

(C) Rits Original
Scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Anatomy of the "BigBillionSale"!

Anatomy of the "BigBillionSale"!

It's been over a week since the mad rush n frenzy the entire nation was held hostage to got over. After the "real time" venting of frustration on all possible avenues of social engagement by "most" of the e-commerce patrons (there still were few, who ostensibly finding themselves among the rarest of the rare breed of victors, championed the cause of this sham so very self righteously crowned as "The Big Billion" sale and dared to shower encomiums on the blue eyed protagonists against the popular sentiments) this piece might appear a tad little late in the day. Now that even the government has "seemingly" taken a note of the fiasco and has "promised" to intervene in due course of time to set up some form of regulation over the industry, following could at the best be discounted as merely another rhetoric.

Seriously, it was nothing more than a fraud-gate which warrants a thorough investigation as to how could a handful of e-tailing wizards riding on investors' easy millions (and the naive public sentiments / foolish expectations) have the audacity to take a country of over a billion for a royal joy ride! Goodness gracious me, it was a public holiday in most of the regions or collectively the nation would have lost as much of its productivity that even a zillion of such (Whatever)karts wouldn't have been able to compensate in their life time with all their valuation gimmicky. Phew!

I never had any doubt whatsoever that the entire act and also the climax (of a self fulfilling apology) was very well scripted by someone just too good with Indian law (or the lack of it) and someone who is a master of mind game. Period.

How I wish there was an RTI for privately held cos. which are riding on investors' truckloads of money, public apathy (obviously or nobody in their wildest dreams would dare weave such a plot) and last but certainly not the least, helpless legislations! By RTI in this context I mean scrutiny of granular details of what all that got advertised on ends in every nook n corner of the country. Did any or all of it exist in the first place? And even if it did (obviously to show our law one of the fingers), in what measure?

To put things in perspective, did anyone care to ask these "Billion" bulls how many of Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 they actually sold at 10% of the MRP (or was it indeed a fluke to play its spicy part to the whole of propaganda)? Will the governmental probe go to the extent of corroborating with "real life" customers (and not the imaginary ones likely to find their names n cities among the list of lucky draw winners) so as to look into how deep this muck was (and going by the trend which only looks likely to grow in more colours, with in fact more variety of bells n whistles)? I doubt over the very approach, if and when it will be taken!

There is absolutely no issues with doling out the easy money one has but when the very purpose of that is to befool an entire nation by sort of hallucinating them it's analogous to funding "corporate terrorism" (forgive me if I have stretched my imagination far too beyond).

Call me a cynic but I would put all my money on the time of the penultimate version of "the apology" being fine tuned before 8:00 AM on 6th Oct. itself for the "final assault" the following day (the one all of you "registered" users would also have received in your mail boxes on the evening of 7th Oct).

I mean if I am hell bent on "staging" an apology nobody can stop me from doing so! At the end of day I won't lose on anything though I might just be lucky enough (with more than better chances of it being so) to earn a sympathy wave in the bargain! Finding it a stupid joke? Go, check out on the barrage of press over "CEO's with social consciousness" in the last one week alone. Though two entirely unrelated spheres of public engagement, like in politics in transaction business too the "consumer" memory is short lived and is prone to let the biggest of scams be taken in its stride should it find its gullible self convinced about what "might" lie ahead.

Some food for thought! Or merely another form of verbal diarrhea? I rest my case.

(C) Rits Original
Scorpiofury.blogspot.com

p.s.: Above is merely a work of fiction and any similarity with any living individuals and entities could be attributed to serendipity alone ;)

#Modi@Madison - Dawn of a new world order?

#Modi@Madison - Dawn of a new world order?

I don't actually concede that I have two left feet for the simple reason that I never feel shy of shaking more than just one of them at merely hint of an opportunity. At the same time I can never claim to be any virtuoso when it comes to accepting a dance challenge from anyone in my neighbourhood.

Still, I am sure that many of you would agree with my assessment of today's dance performances @ The Madison Square Gardens as being merely enthusiastic (not the kind that N. Sreenivasan sees his son-in-law as) and amateurish at the best. Their choreographers would have earned a serious rebuttal if they were staged in front of any of the routine Indian dance reality show "pseudo" judges. But please spare a thought for these poor souls who don't have regular access to any of Shiamak Davar or Sandeep Soparikar classes in their neighbourhood to hone their skills on popular Bollywood numbers. It probably was their maiden exhibition in public.

That the poor audio feed on the local broadcasters didn't help the cause is also I would like to live with. As I am writing this line Mr. Modi just rotated his index finger to a thunderous applause with an implied air of self approval in, "None of you would have slept here on the day India's recent general election results were announced!"

That performances of these so very excited young NRI kids won't be able to draw any critical acclaim or a nomination to "America's got Talent" is not the point. That what all of the daily "prime time" usual suspects (including the Barkha's, the Arnab's n the Rahul's) have been boasting about the number of rooms booked @ Manhattan for their respective crews for the past few days is also besides the point. That a certain Rajdeep could still (stage) manage to get himself hackled amid all the festivities and thus got trended on Twitter more (yeah, albeit briefly!) than the guest of honour himself is also going to be reported as nothing more than a footnote in the massive media reports on Monday.

What truly leaves indelible mark on the intelligence of both a discerning listener and over the common jurisprudence is much beyond the now established (beyond any doubting Thomas's) trade mark charisma and impromptu oratory skills of the country's "first" worker. In the 67 minutes he gave to himself (the audience world over wouldn't have minded if he chose to double the dosage) he not only successfully touched the emotional cord of the Indian diaspora but also took some "on the fly" (to the best of my available info) decisions to make their lives easier with just one stroke of his pen! That's the power a true leader manager is expected to weild. Quite unfortunately, our politicians of the yester "era" (hopefully with a new era now emerging we have the luxury of calling that one) believed in one dictum only, "Power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely!"

This indeed was a master stroke for not only did he oh, so beautifully mocked fun of his own Visa (status) being denied by the US authorities but indeed discounted it as something that shouldn't be restricted for any of the attending (PIO) audience. I am sure that it would keep reverberating the consciousness of the scores of present US Congress representatives half of which would in some way have played a part in that decade old decision over which better sense prevailed, just in time. That's what is called caning a tiger in his own cave!

If I were to handpick just one key take away from this "presentation" without a PPT it would be the fact that quite a sizeable target audience, both physically present at the venue and the wire-listeners, would love to find itself having sold over this sales pitch for "India", the product with a deadly concoction of three D's i.e., Democracy, Demographic dividend and Demand. I won't be surprised if the entire event, its built up, the brouhaha & palpable excitement, ultimately leading up to the opera like performance by the "Maestro" gets included in the Harvard's curriculum shortly, of course with the intended objectives having been already achieved by then.

Yours truly had earlier composed the following piece on 20th May this year and it indeed sounded music to my ears today when after "the speech" got over one emancipated young listener at the Madison Square did indeed compare it with the "originally famous" Narendra's Chicago speech over a century ago.

http://www.scorpiofury.blogspot.in/2014/05/thus-spake-narendra.html

Do I stand redeeming myself today, 130 days after having dared to commit some form of a blasphemy? The jury is already out on this and it only bodes well for our great nation.

I never was an atheist but have been shunning idol worshipping since long. Is it too late for me to convert again? Not really! And it wouldn't dent my ego one bit to embrace a new form of theism openly.

Vande Mataram!

(C) Rits Original
Scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Khoobsurat - indeed!

Khoobsurat - indeed!

There are few words which convey absolutely the same meaning universally. No matter which language you speak if you could get their translation, localized to your own dialect right they would evoke similar emotions cutting across such man made barriers. 'Khoobsurat' indeed is first among such equals. We might not get overtly ecstatic on hearing this mundane word which might lack any of literary aristocracy but one must be in complete disarray if s/he doesn't get a more than barely noticeable contortion between his or her lips and a twinkle in eyes on observing some khoobsurat phenomenon around.

This weekend's reincarnation of the Bollywood's way of portraying civilization's khoobsurati was a mighty and bold adventure for it ran the risk of being labelled its worthy predecessor's illegitimate child. Ah! I am referring to the obvious recollection any one could have i.e., of the Hrishi Da's sumptuous original offering in 1980 (and not the 1999 version which at the best could find its mention in film journals' footnotes) which my generation first relished few years after it coming to life thanks to the omnipresent (and omnipotent as well) Doordarshan. Then of course we didn't mind helping ourselves with its extra servings as and when we were presented with them.

Circa 2014. This is the age of even the older generation using Skype to connect with their folks in the hinterlands of Rajasthan. The nostalgic Lambretta makes way for the convertible BMW. But the thoughts and traditions of the royalty still remain firmly itched to the colonial times. It requires the chutzpah of the careless physio to disturb the equilibrium and challenge the cohesive strength of "goontha hua aata"!

This is a feel good delicacy all through its 130 minutes of running time. There never is a dull moment and for all its over the top characterization where everyone is sort of competing with each other, treading in a risque mode of eventually rendered marginalized in the process they all are surprisingly believable! That's the result of a heady concoction of a tight screenplay and restrained (read mature) performances of the leading protagonists.

Nobody could have essayed the "devil may care" role better than the bubbly Sonam. She is vivacious and doesn't think twice before speaking her mind (and heart) out. Her raw energy is well complemented by the suave Prince charming played by the import from across the border, Fawad and what a debut he has made! Kirron Kher has copyrighted the Punjabi mother's role over the last decade and Ratna Pathak Shah, with her snobbery adds tadka to this delectable curry.

Soft & peppy music keeps sprinkling itself (without any interruption in the smooth flow of the narrative) like chilli flakes on the even otherwise tempting cheese pizza. And make no mistake. It's a pizza that could be shared by all the family members while superseding individual choices yet not compromising on the normally elusive after taste that stays with you for a long while.

For its extremely universal acceptability potential it gets a perfect ten on the REndex. Just go for it even if you haven't hit a nearby screen in ages. I bet you won't curse me. If you do so, I accept the eventuality of public ridicule in advance.

(C) Rits Original
Scorpiofury.blogspot.com

YES, I am the Change!

YES, I am the Change!

Aha! Today is 15th August! It's the nation's Independence Day. Like every year all the festival like celebrations started since early morning as I woke up to the awe-inspiring speech given by our just 80 days old, dynamic Prime Minister from the majestic Red Fort.

Let's make the most of today, I whispered to myself and was up on my feet in a flash. I grabbed a toasted sandwich and harried to catch a "Rick".

Today, yet again all of them seemed to have something against me up their sleeves as they nonchalantly zipped past me without even a trace of willingness of accommodating my 74 Kg mass.

After waiting for over 10 minutes during which 20 of them must have went past me I now started getting into an agitated mode with the resolve of forcibly occupying the next one coming. I had already thought of an enabling move (read strategic jump) to time it perfectly. Here it comes and the counter goes...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5....."Sir, kidhar jaayenge?" The chain broke and thus also my concentration as I was certainly not prepared for this welcome change! Change it surely was! 'Coz the voice was unlike any other I have been used to all these years. It was a "She", a female rickshaw driver! OMG, since when Mumbai has opened its arms for them? "Powai. ....Hiranandani Gardens", I mumbled. "Please come and sit", pet comes the soothing and reassuring guidance.

I set inside the rickshaw and found an instant likelihood for its comfortable seating and well maintained interiors. Wait! It's not just any other neatly kept old piece of public transport. There seems to be lot more to it as I moved my eyes around in disbelief.

I looked in front of the seat and there was a tiny 7" television set! The driver had put on the broadcast from the national channel which was obviously playing some familiar patriotic Bollywood songs to commemorate the occasion.

There also lied a small first-aid box snugly kept beside the TV. It had cotton, dettol and some medicines of routine usage, enough to keep a common cold or a body ache or a headache at bay.

If just this was not enough for me to have realized that I was indeed in a special vehicle, on looking around I discovered some more amusements. There was a radio, a fire extinguisher, a wall clock, a calendar, and few pictures & symbols of all faiths - from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism! There also were pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan. All of this paraphernalia had an absolute place holder for them.

To say that I found my experience until now nothing less than remarkable would be an understatement as I soon realized that not only the vehicle I was sitting in, but also its driver was special. I started chatting with her and my initial sense of skepticism & disbelief gradually diminished and as a matter of fact it got converted into an unparalleled sense of admiration for her self-belief.

I gathered that she had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 months after losing her job in a major IT firm over some "inter-personal" issues with her colleagues. I gently probed as to what kind of these relatively innocuous sounding put-offs would have forced her to take that drastic decision of chucking a well paying corporate job behind and choose such a difficult life for herself in bargain!

She stopped the rickshaw after safely maneuvering it to an earmarked parking place, turned her back towards me and handed over a piece of paper to me while requesting me to read it. Following is what was scribbled on the paper.
___________________________________________

"Rape ho gaya aaj to!!"

"Kya ho gaya bhai? Kyun subah subah dimaag ki dahi kar raha hai?"

"Abe! Suna nahi tune? Tere us hero celebrity writer ka balatkaar kar diya junta ne aaj"!

"Kiski baat kar raha hai mote?"

"Abe wohi jo aaj tak yehi samajhta hai ki usne apni life mein bas teen-heech galtiyaan ki hain".

"Oh, haan suna maine. Ek number ka gadha hai woh! Kab kahan kya bolna hai chamakta nahi hai usko. Ek na ek din to uska rape hona hi tha. Aaj khudne apni ***** li".

With heavy heart n moist eyes I just overheard this coffee table conversation of two of my male colleagues while pushing my poha plate into the microwave. They were obviously completely oblivious of my presence around. Or actually, they might not be!! Working with an equal opportunity employer in an intense n camphor-like volatile environment does make you immune n indifferent to such jocular n casual chit-chats.

On any other day I might have wryly smiled on this. If I were spirited I might have actually cracked a joke on it myself. Worst, I might just have shrugged it off thinking about my own deliverables in next one hour.

But not that day!! Even as the microwave's heating plate had started its noisy n rhythmic rotation for next sixty seconds or so I felt like reliving those brutal n soul crushing moments over n over again which in all earnestness I won't even dream of cursing upon my sworn enemy!!

Like another aspiring young professional I was full of jest while still in my internship with my potential employer & had indeed took it on to me as a challenging assignment which not many were really excited about. I wanted to prove that I was up for it no matter how it looked like to any one else.

That evening, very enthusiastically I was all set on my mission when my remaining life was forcibly pushed into a living hell by those half a dozen rotten eggs. Their otherwise normal looking outer shells didn't even remotely give me any inkling of how disgustingly smelly & pukish their inner yolks would turn out to be!! I just can't get my thoughts away from those few minutes of absolutely incomparable torture no matter how hard I try to feel strong about my will power n my resilience. It certainly helped that all of my family members stood like rocks beside me all this while. Goodness had it that in those unimaginatively harsh moments of agony I didn't see any of my near & distant, dreaded mausis n bhuajis who I thought would be only deriving pleasures of their lives by mockingly deriding me.

I gathered all my courage to start afresh & that day was supposed to be my first "post rape" day at my workplace! While coming to the office I couldn't believe my eyes when I read in the day's newspapers that those very same outfits which otherwise are perpetually at diagonally opposing views whenever in public domain have tightly maintained a studied silence over a 72 year old rapist who in all likelihood had killed the very self of a poor girl who might indeed be younger than his great granddaughter!! Such a bunch of eunuchs! Our political parties, which won't lose grip on even the sand flowing out of someone's fists but on this day all of them were showing what dog poop you are made of.

Why do people around me have to reignite memories of those not-so-cherishable moments which I just wish could be washed away by a Gajini? Why can't they just discard one word in their vocabulary for good? Why can't people find themselves accomplished in coming up with some other really witty or sarcastic metaphor? Why should they always be programmed to feel that this government has 'RAPED' our economy? Is it too much of an ask?

"Madam ji, poha garam ho gaya hai." I saw Param (our pantry boy) sensitizing me. Within next 15 minutes I had decided that this is not where I should aspire to make a career and I should in fact sensitize the society at large by doing something in public domain where I would get better opportunities to share my thoughts with the learned class through some routine work.
___________________________________________

As I completed reading it she said, "And here I am to interact with people like you!" I felt so very unaccomplished in front of her. I didn’t know if I should console and/or admire her for her grit. With a lump in my throat I continued my worldly discussion with her.

She had two school-going brothers, and she would drive from 8 in the morning till 10 at night to make the ends meet for her family. I realized that I had come across a personality that represents Mumbai – the one having the spirit of resilience, that of work, and that of excelling in life no matter what hardships life throws upon.

I asked her whether she did anything else as I could figure out that she would not have too much spare time after the day's rigmarole. She said that she goes to an old age home for women in Borivali once in a week or whenever she has some extra income, which she donates to this place by gifting tooth brushes, toothpastes, soaps, hair oils, and other items of daily usage to those senior ladies.

She pointed out to a painted message below the meter in her chariot that read - 68% discount on metered fare for the female or handicapped passengers. Free rides for blind passengers up to the metered fare of Rs.68. "Sir, to celebrate the nation's 68th Independence Day this humble discount is 68% or Rs.68 for the entire week and it otherwise is 50." I heard fascinatingly.

This young lady was a HERO in true sense of word! A hero who deserves all our respect! A hero who empowered herself despite of all the vagaries of life which were more than enough to break any other hippo-skinned human being.

Our journey came to an end. 45 minutes of a lifetime lesson in humility, selflessness, and virtues of human will power.

I disembarked, and all I could do was
to pay her a nominal tip that would hardly cover a free ride for few blind men.

I hope, one day, all of you too get a chance to meet her in her auto rickshaw.

(C) Rits Original
Scorpiofury.blogspot.com

p.s.: Beyond an innocuous reference from a WhatsApp story the above is a work of fiction. All the protagonists featured here are from the author's utopian world and any resemblance of any one of them to any real life flesh-n-bone character could be ascribed to serendipity alone.

Thus spake Narendra!

Thus spake Narendra!

"One infinite pure and holy – beyond thought beyond qualities I bow down to thee".

HE was Narendranath Dutta whose famous quote (from the treasure trove of his admirers' collections) I have reproduced above. You could be forgiven for your bewilderment on this sudden surge of literary blood (that too sighting an ungainly and ordinary sounding name) in my otherwise (self confessedly) not so elegant stream of thoughts. But trust you me if you feign ignorance on hearing the name of Swami Vivekananda you sure would qualify as a front runner in the race to be The (next) Pappu!

It's a fascinating story to read on how this transition from Narinder (as he would be fondly addressed by his illustrious guru) to Vivekananda happened for a young man who at a very young (in fact tender for many) age of 30 mesmerised the audience from across the globe when he thundered in the World Parliament of Religions with an unmatched power of conviction in his oration. His sheer aura and clarity of thoughts in the lectures he delivered shook America and the whole world.

It's been over 120 long years since then and as a fascinated young kid I often kept wondering if indeed such a charismatic personality did ever walk on mother earth! Last year the nation celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of this great visionary and not so surprisingly the modern day Narendra was at the forefront of all the jubilations to pay homage to The Swami.

Today, this Narendra delivered his first speech after marking his maiden entry into the pantheon for all the politicians from across the country in some style. Oh! Was that 5 second head bow at the very first step of his next five years' (the minimum expected) battle zone merely a hog wash peppered with an eye grabbing drama for the shutter bugs? What with that choking with emotions and taking a 'strategic' pause (which seemed to have lasted for eternity) midway through the half an hour long address which certainly was more to the people who were outdoors (and even across far off shores) than to the audience which had the privilege to relish it unfolding like a million dollar block buster right in front of their eyes? And yes, why so much of mushy talks for the same political adversaries who you decimated in 'an eye for an eye' high pitch electoral fight not many nights ago?

Aha! Here comes the modern day Kautilya who knows what he is talking and how each movement of even his eye lids gets translated into at least half of the world's spoken languages, almost immediately. He is well aware of all the national expectations which manifest themselves onto his dreams. He knows that he doesn't have absolutely any margin for error and that the same admirers who have unquestionably uplifted him to the unimaginable heavens would take lesser time to dump him onto the same old, much smaller canvas to reinvigorate the rest of his political life (if at all any such thing still remains for him by then).

His virtue? The entire nation (or just the 31% of it, as so jealously pointed out by a senior 'non-Congressi' Gandhi) wants him to do well for them and they have already paved way for him by giving him a thumping victory over his 'shamed-to-be about' predecessors. He has a reputation for delivering than merely 'offering' (what sham it is to hear about someone offering to resign and their coterie of sycophants crying hoarse over it? You either resign or you don't, simple! What's this self serving path of 'offering' to resign knowing fully well won't even pierce the melted butter, forget it cutting any glacier ice?)

From among the dozens of juicy sound bites from his speech today I particularly liked when he declared with a very child like exuberance that, "I am a very optimistic man and only an optimistic man can bring optimism in the country." Knowing him there shouldn't be many self doubting Thomas' questioning this bold arrival. People have indeed voted for the sense of well advertised yet understated achievement he is associated with albeit on a much smaller platform. Optimism across the length and breadth of the horizon is the least we long for now and nobody, absolutely nobody can hold a candle to him on positivity of thoughts.

For all his reputation as one of its kind of an orator it indeed was a proud moment for the entire country (almost totally unexpected for its high voltage billing having already relinquished its fate to the deaf and dumb genre of cinema) to listen to its manager. Yeah, you read it right. It's going to be a long, steep walk up the hill before he could be promoted as a leader. Until then, he carries a name which doesn't deserve to be soiled. Will the future Narendra's be forced to go back to even more ancient history (than our generation) to look for a role model or would they get inspired by a walking figure on their TV screens stays pregnant in the womb of time. Until then, just bring it on Narinder!

(C) Rits Original

Scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Manjunath - The Name, the Hero!

Manjunath - The Name, the Hero!

Circa 2005. Barely six months into my first 'job' (that's what most of us end up doing, few choose to define their lives and that of the surrounding ecosystem with their 'karmas') from the campus I heard the nerve shattering news of a senior alumnus from my B-school getting brutally murdered, thousands of miles away from his native place but not very far away from the very institution where he enthralled his buddies with his not so glamorous visage but with his captivating charm & endearing attitude towards life.

I never knew him personally but that handicap couldn't dilute the impact of the 'persona' I had subconsciously weaved in my thoughts over a period of time. "That's the way of leading the life, with clarity of thoughts & purpose that shouldn't wither under adverse or intimidating circumstances." He was a real life hero, for me and for scores of others. If there still was a real world, selfish dilemma over the meaning of his martyrdom merely a recall of the fact of his having roamed around the same hostel corridors and the hang out places in the dead of nights was good enough to restore the semblance.

Eight more full winters went past since that fateful cold evening when even the blood of the 'near' eye witnesses chose to remain frozen as they shamelessly denied having 'experienced' any event as loud as pumping of half a dozen bullets in the body of an officer on duty well past his expected patrolling hours. It was a real life story which deserved to be told to a wider audience. So when I heard about the release of the cinematic adaptation of it I felt like having already adorned fifty six stars and stripes on me (like all of his alma mater would feel) while our politicos are fighting over the measurement of their chest in their bid to woo the electorate of the nation.

What pained me was a bitter realization that when a certain, almost mythical figure which allegedly all the daddies and uncles of today's generation are very much more than just aware of gets a rousy welcome at the box office the real hero doesn't get more than a couple of shows across any of the plethora of multiplexes in and around Mumbai! What a disgrace!

This afternoon I couldn't wait to have a dekko at the reel Manjunath and reached one of such multiscreen theatres ten minutes ahead of the '(reluctantly) publicised' show time. To my horror I was informed that the management decided to cancel the show sighting lack of patrons for the 'movie'! What more, they suggested me to watch some other movie running in their theatre including Mastram! Such an intolerable insensitivity. Not everything in life is guided with just the money making agenda on cards. I gave them a peace of my mind and not so surprisingly none knew about who Manjunath actually was! I didn't feel any bad in putting my foot down and asking them to go ahead with the show. As a last ditch attempt to dissuade me from pushing them against their chosen comfort the manager warned that the money spent on the ticket won't be returned should I later find the movie not to my liking!

That's the state of affairs of our collective consciousness. We choose to be selectively 'conscientious' when we know that our friends are getting notification from us (on FB, where else?) as we express our anguish over secularism or corruption or propriety or blah blah. We also choose to publicly relish opportunities of someone peeping into the private life of a septuagenarian (who is still active in politics) and his couple of decades younger paramour.

Sitting absolutely alone in an auditorium with a capacity for three fifty could be nauseating as it makes one realise about one's eccentric taste but I indeed felt aghast over the lack of sensitivity on part of the cinema owners and more over the missing audience' 'interest'. Common guys! If you could have been lacking the patience while waiting for your fill of that 'Khan' (or 'Kapoor') bummer why can't you shell out half the sum of money and even lesser time to salute the hero who actually breathed in flesh & blood unlike some of the VFX dummies? And why can't the state be woken up from its slumber in making this praiseworthy project tax free?

While we can continue contemplating over some of the above uneasy questions let me share my take on the two hour long cinematic experience.

What stood out during the entire length of the movie was its understated yet profound narrative supplemented with some very fine performances with the on screen Manjunath and his mother (played by the ever so reliable Seema Biswas) taking the cherry. Sasho Sattiysh Sarathy has more than reasonably managed to get into the skin of the character he is playing. His being an unknown entity gives him that much extra edge in portraying a real life character. Made on a shoe string budget all its support cast delivers more than what you would expect them to do. Yashpal Sharma has done a remarkable job in essaying the wiley petrol pump dealer. He says to Manju, "Gandhi har koi chahta hai, magar pados me. Apne ghar har koi Golu Goyal chahta hai." (Every one wants a Gandhi but in their neighbourhood. In one's own house they secretly long for a hoodwink). That pretty much sums up the ethical dilemma most of us find ourselves forced into. There won't ever be easy guidance coming in from inside. Just a name "Manjunath" could come handy. Try it once and see if it makes a difference.

(C) Rits Original
Scorpiofury.blogspot.com