The Confused Haider

The talent of Vishal Bhardwaj is neither supererogatory nor Lilliputian. Being the only director in Bollywood who has the ability to both man the camera and play with notes (he is also a composer, in case you do not know), Vishal Bhardwaj deserves all the adulation he receives for his poetic filmmaking style. He is justifiably admired for his craftsman-like ability to transform an anachronistic Shakespearean tragedy into a critically acclaimed cinematic fare. It is, therefore, no surprise that his latest, Haider, is being hailed by critics and moviegoers alike, and is being feted as a masterpiece that unfailingly presents a contemporary take of one of the most evocative dramas of the Bard of Avon – Hamlet.

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Gas, Gurudas, Moily and Reliance

I do not trust mega corporations, but before you jump to any conclusion on my political leanings, let me assure you that I am not a ‘commie’. But does that mean that I must accept, praise and defend everything that the mega corporations do? Being a human being, a common man whose life is dependent on the slightest shift in the economic and political landscape of this country, it is imperative that I keep an eye on the developments that tend to have an impact on my future and the futures of those like me. This is why the allegations of CPI(M) leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily matter to me as much as it should to you (unless you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth or have children born with silver spoons in theirs).

The rest on corporate subterfuge is here:

http://www.newsyaps.com/gas-gurudas-moily-and-reliance/30597/

Edward Snowden has noble intentions but NSA is just doing its job

How would you react if someone told you that you are being spied upon by the people you trust? You may feel offended, perhaps angry, at the disclosure; you may also profusely thank the informant. The revelation may also make you paranoid of those around you. You may start acting in the most unusual manner and will, obviously, feel terrified of those you once trusted.

But there will be others who, instead of recoiling themselves in a cocoon, will protest in the most outrageous manner against the perceived injustice done to them. They will raise their voices in the most indignant fashion against the ‘betrayal’. At the same time they will also be thanking and supporting the one who told them of the betrayal in the first place because if it were not for that one individual, they would have never known the truth. The informant will be further elevated to a messianic stature if it becomes known that he is a whistleblower.

A whistleblower is someone who decides to reveal the dark secrets of his group for the sake of peace, humanity, righteousness or justice at a huge personal risk. Over the last couple of years, the term whistleblower has been used as a sort of honorific, an unofficial knighthood for those who disclose information hidden by a government or any of its various bodies from the general public. The term gained significance with the arrival of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and has since been regularly used by the media to better describe the deed of such a daredevil.

A new name has just been added to the growing list of whistleblowers: Edward Snowden. Snowden is a 29-year-old American techie whose conscience made him tell his countrymen, and the world, that they were being spied upon by the National Security Agency (NSA) – one of the biggest spy agencies of the world meant to protect America’s interests. His revelation shook America and the world when it was learnt that the NSA used famous tech companies like Google, Facebook and Apple to spy on a vast network of people. The documents Snowden leaked to Britain’s Guardian newspaper also show that companies like Yahoo were forced to become part of the massive snooping program called PRISM by a court order. This shows that the PRISM had legal backing. NSA not only used the tech companies to spy on Americans but also citizens of other countries including India.

I argue that even if Snowden may be having noble intentions - ensuring right to  privacy - the NSA should not be blamed for its act because that is what a spy agency is supposed to do.

Read the rest of my argument here:

http://www.newsyaps.com/edward-snowden-has-noble-intentions-but-nsa-is-just-doing-its-job/28721/

Advani is wrong but should not be an object of ridicule

"How dare you challenge my authority?"

I am not a political expert, but today I cannot help but pat my back for recently vaticinating that the chances of BJP coming back to power in 2014 are weak. I cannot say for sure whether the Congress will continue in power but given the fact that there is practically no opposition, the chances of the country’s oldest party winning a third term are strong. The BJP had some chance of applying the brakes on the ruling UPA government given its pathetic governance coupled with unbridled corruption across all levels. But the recent decision of Lal Krishna Advani has definitely thrown away any hopes of BJP’s victory out of the window.

With BJP declaring that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would be the one who will lead the party’s campaign charge in the 2014 General Elections, the 85-year-old Advani decided to hang his boots showing clear signs that he was unhappy with the decision. In his resignation letter Advani wrote that the reason behind his decision to quit from all the main executive bodies of the party was because he was “finding it difficult to reconcile either with the current functioning of the party, or the direction in which it is going”. He also alleged that “most leaders of ours (BJP) are now concerned just with their personal agendas”.

Apparently he is accusing Modi and his supporters within the party for harbouring “personal agendas” but it seems Advani himself is the one full of those. His personal agenda? To be the Prime Minister of India. Evidently, his self-centered action invoked the indignation of Modi’s supporters who vented their anger on Twitter. Most tweets took a jibe at Advani comparing him to a sulking young boy who won’t play cricket if he is not allowed to bat first because he owns the bat and ball. It appears that even with over five decades of experience in politics L.K. Advani has yet to learn the basic lesson: step-aside when the time is right or you’ll be pushed aside.

Read why Advani has blown up any chances the BJP had ahead of the 2014 General Elections here:

http://www.newsyaps.com/advani-is-wrong-but-should-not-be-an-object-of-ridicule/27858/

Thank you for being an inspiration Mr. Srinivasan

"Mention not"

Dear Mr. Srinivasan,

I write to you with thanks for not resigning from the post of BCCI president, something which your detractors were hell-bent on. I admire your tenacity and the tactic you used to ensure your power doesn’t wane during the course of investigations into the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

Yes, it is a shame that a few useless cricketers brought disgrace to the money-minting machine erected by Mr. Lalit Modi in 2008. Of course, your own son-in-law, Mr. Gurunath Meyiappan, is also an accused. But I agree with those who say that you should not be punished for the sins of a son-in-law and a bunch of unsuccessful blokes. And since the “sins” are yet to be proven, asking for your head is unfair.

Read the rest of the letter here:

http://www.newsyaps.com/thank-you-for-being-an-inspiration-mr-srinivasan/26464/

3D printing: Will the world end or will it be better?

Objects made using 3D Printer

This is 2020. I am about to board my plane for Tokyo. I am at the concourse waiting with other passengers when suddenly a man appears out of nowhere brandishing a weapon, white in color but looking like an assault rifle. Before anyone can react, he starts shooting. There is no fire coming out of the nozzle but bullets do fly past me. Before anyone is seriously wounded, the man is subdued by the authorities and taken away. We are later told that the man was a terrorist who used a “printed version” of an assault rifle which made it impossible to be detected by the airport’s electronic security systems.

This is 2013 and I am not boarding any plane but this does not mean that I am not living in fear anticipating a similar incident in the future because that is very much likely because of a particular technology that has sparked concerns across the world.

A seemingly harmless but era-redefining technology, in existence since 1981, appears to be taking the shape of a formidable threat to the future of the world itself. The severity of the threat can be gauged from the fact that the US Department of Homeland Security published a bulletin highlighting one of the most dangerous uses of the technology – undetectable and unstoppable guns.

Read how 3D printing will impact our world here:

http://www.newsyaps.com/3d-printing-will-the-world-end-or-will-it-be-better/24323/

David Beckham and Sreesanth: A hero we hail and a villain we hate

Like any other world, the world of sports, too, has its own heroes and villains. And the heroes and villains in the world of sports do what the heroes and villains of other worlds do. They are expected to perform in accordance to their conventional behavior. The heroes, therefore, overcome obstacles; fight for honor; keep hopes alive; and, win the right way. The villains, on the other hand, employ deceitful methods for victory; cheat; dash expectations; and, above all, betray the very game they play. On May 16, the world of sports was shaken by two huge revelations. One was about a hero announcing his retirement and the other was about a villain caught tarnishing the reputation of sports.

David Beckham and Sreesanth are two different individuals, with sports as the only common thread joining them. But even here, the two are vastly dissimilar because of the games they play. While Beckham is a world famous footballer, Sreesanth is a cricketer who is now been accused of spot-fixing in IPL. As Beckham ended his magnificent career on May 18, the fate of Sreesanth (and those arrested with him) is yet to be seen.

Beckham (the hero) is a man whose contribution to English football is immense. He may not be having an enviable goal-scoring record or any Ballon d’Or to his credit but Beckham is one of the principal reasons behind the rise of football fans the world over. He is the poster boy of the beautiful game and has been so for years now. Throughout Beckham’s illustrious career no one has ever raised a finger on his integrity as a footballer. He may have sometimes faced scathing criticisms for his form but his devotion to whichever team he has played with stands unquestionable to this day. He has had his own highs and lows in his career but the highs are so high that the lows just fade away.

Such was Beckham’s fame that his mere arrival with a particular club boosted its popularity like never before. For instance Real Madrid already had a strong fan following in East Asia but their tour in 2003 with Beckham was a financial windfall for the Spanish club. Every club he has played for in his career has financially benefitted because of his presence, including Paris Saint Germain (PSG) – his last club. One cannot help but wonder in amazement at the charisma this English footballer carried all throughout the 22 years of his professional career.

Some football fans are of the opinion that David Beckham was not as magical on the field as he was off it. I cannot argue with hardcore football fans but experts agree that Beckham’s long pass – the 50 yard shot – stands unmatched in execution to date at least in English football. Beckham is also the only English footballer to have won the league cups of four countries having won the Premier League title six times for Manchester United in England, the La Liga once for Real Madrid in Spain, MLS cup twice for LA Galaxy in USA and Ligue 1 for PSG in France. Besides this he also has a Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League title under his belt. To top it all, Beckham won the last match of his career, for which he was made the honorary captain by his club.

The name of David Beckham is also synonymous with the world of fashion and glamour. His face sells a wide array of products, usually high-end fashion accessories. Such is his fame that in February 2012 the bodyguards of Xi Jinping, who was in line to become the next Chinese President, left the leader unguarded to grab an autograph of the footballer at a meeting held between the two.

He is one of the richest sportspersons on earth and undoubtedly one of the most influential, too, but his humility makes him appealing to all classes. Unlike many other footballers, Beckham is the perfect example of a devoted family man. Of course, a few doubts on his character have been raised in the past but David Beckham has braved all of them and stands tall with dignity. Anyone with some knowledge about the world of football should be aware of the numerous distractions that threaten the career of an otherwise splendid player. David did not succumb to those Goliaths. 

He is a brand worth millions of dollars; is a doting husband and an ideal father to four children; is a devoted countryman (it was he who secured the 2012 Olympics for London), and has always behaved in a manner Englishmen should be proud of. He is the gallant knight in shining armor for football clubs because of his crowd pulling abilities, and the ideal icon for millions of sportsmen and common people because of the unusual modesty which he continues to display. He is the hero who has given back more to the game he played than the game to him.

Thousands of miles away in India people are wondering what went wrong with the men they ‘prefer’ to see as gods. There is no need to revisit the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal because there is nothing worth ‘discussing’ about it. Such things will continue as long as India remains a hotbed of corruption. That’s the sad truth! But this, however, does not mean that ‘gods’ take the gullible devotees for a ride and start abusing their faith. Unfortunately, Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Anket Chavan allegedly did just that.

Almost no one in this country would have been fully aware of the names of the other two players were it not for this revelation but Sreesanth was too famous a name not to elicit an expression of shock. The common cricket fan might wonder what went wrong with Sreesanth. He had everything going for him. He has played 25 Test matches and 53 ODIs scalping 87 and 75 wickets, respectively. Not a bad statistics! With persistence and focus, perhaps Sreesanth could have achieved more but he squandered away all the chances BCCI, the media and the fans kept on giving him. 

He could have, perhaps, got back into the national squad and enjoy many more years of play. The BCCI is already the richest of all cricket bodies in the world and continues to grow richer each day. The IPL, too, is a cash-cow. The only thing a cricketer needs to do is to perform well and even Midas would turn in his grave if he sees the wealth of a successful Indian cricketer. But it is sad to see that instead of working hard to get it all, Sreesanth lost them by running down the wrong way.

Over the past few days the Indian media, as usual, has carried out its own trial and blames Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Anket Chavan for everything that is wrong in the game. Today, the media is calling Sreesanth a “boy who never grew up”. It is the same media which sang praises for Sreesanth when he danced around Andre Nel swinging his bat in the air after slamming him for a six in what is still one of the ugliest displays of arrogance and unsportsmanlike behavior. Today, the media recalls many of Sreesanth’s similar previous aggressions calling them “ugly” but back then this very media painted those aggressions in different colors. The Indian media has a habit of hailing any Indian cricketer who badmouths or stares down a cricketer of foreign origin as a champion. It did the same back then, it does the same even now.

This media had sympathized with him when he was slapped by Harbhajan Singh during the 2008 IPL. Today, people are talking about that incident in jest calling it Harbahajan Singh’s foresightedness of things to come. Whether or not Sreesanth is guilty of the crime he is been accused of, it is beyond doubt that he is one of the bad boys of Indian cricket whose conduct both on the field and off it has been despicable to say the least. 

A little dignity and humility goes a long way in furthering a player’s career; no one can deny this simple fact. A player can have the liberty of acting arrogantly on the field only if he is exceptionally gifted – someone like Diego Maradona or John McEnroe. A player with a bad performance record is called a fool if he behaves like an egomaniac on the field. But he becomes a villain the moment he decides to cheat the game he plays. He becomes a villain in the eyes of the devoted worshippers of the game. Unlike the legendary hero who is hailed wherever he goes, the villain is rebuked, scoffed at; and, relegated to the darkest corners of public memory, forever.