No more Bollywood for me.

Never in the entire history of my existence have I witnessed a theatre act and ‘Delhi IBSEN festival’10’ gave me a whole new perspective to the concept of what acting is.

‘The Mountain Bird’ by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Lars Oyno (Norway) is a path breaking play that shook my sensibilities towards judging a good act. Despite being surrounded by middle-aged men and women and art connoisseurs that looked like pilgrims, the evening was worth my time. The characters lit up the stage with their exquisite performances and there was pin drop silence in the hall throughout the play. Their performances gripped every audience for nearly two hours. It is amazing to see how each actor breathe the character and how well they presented it. It must be challenging for the director and the casts to coordinate everything flawlessly. The sound of the violent at the background and the feet tapping of the characters reverberates throughout the play. What is interesting is that a good actor need not be a Greek god or anything closer. It is simply the ability to do justice to the character he/she is presenting. It involves a great deal of hard work, dedication and team effort. They performed as if there was no tomorrow and it is this energy, that the show was a great success. My only complaint is the sub-titles because I somewhat got distracted from the story. I couldn’t concentrate and I feel it is too much of multitasking. Guess I need to do a little research on the play to understand it profoundly.

Growing up in India, I am accustomed to a lot of masalas and cheap thrills when it comes to watching a movie so much so that I have unknowingly ignored content, social impact and above all fine acting. These are characteristics that would drag millions to the Oscars.

Given a choice, I would cast my vote to a theatre show and not a cinema hall. It is indeed ‘the new world’ to indulge in.

Go insane with technology.

Dilip Bobb’s ‘Pressing problems’ (TOI Nov’23) talks about the inefficiency of digital substitutes to telephone operators.

Technology for sure has made our lives easier and quicker. Take for instance the metros, online bill payments, ATMs etc. It has also revolutionized the corporate world by eliminating one employee from the corporate food chain and replacing it by what is commonly known as IVR (interactive voice response). Now all that’s required from the caller is to speak to the machine or simply press the buttons on the phone and the call will be directed.

As Dilip Bobb mentioned, outsourcing simple tasks to electronic or digital substitutes is a mistaken belief that it improves efficiency while cutting costs. He also said that sometimes, the human touch matters more than saving money.

It is a tedious pain stalking effort to listen to an animated human voice. It gets worst when one is in a hurry or when the call gets disconnected because for sure he/she would need to go through the same torturous procedure again. The frustration gets further accelerated when the call is diverted to a human being and you’re being asked the same questions. I mean 2-3 minutes just went wasted on the IVR and now another 2-3 minutes explaining the concern to the representative. A sheer wastage of time and credit! Can you just solve my problem? And by the end of it all, all that one can recall is inexplicable frustration and anger.

Companies should take thorough considerations while upgrading their systems to IVR or at least give enough training to their frontline representatives to avoid any disconnect and improve customer satisfaction. Clearly, technology and humans should be well integrated.

The Pope vs. condoms.

In regards to the article ‘A first step’ (TOI Nov’23), it is indeed a welcome step taken by Pope Benedict XVI’s to reconsider the use of condoms to prevent the risk of AIDS infections. However, the use of condoms as a contraceptive is still off limits.

The main motive of using a condom is to prevent infection and conception during sexual intercourse. So they should be encouraged and not abandoned. This is because both HIV and birth control are crucial to human existence. If there’s no cure for the deadly disease at least there should be ways to prevent it and a condom is one of the options. Birth rate on the other hand is growing at an alarming pace not only in India but also in other parts of the world. If this expansion of human population is unrestricted, it could pose a serious threat to the planet. Threats that are certainly unfavorable not only to the present but the future generation too. Nonetheless, the question of religion’s involvement in the issue is trivial.

Therefore, it should be understood that condoms does to a certain extent solve life threatening issues and that their use (whether as prevention of HIV or as contraceptives) should be made mandatory irrespective of whatsoever. It could lead humanity closer to the ‘promise land’.

The myth might just be over.

Even though cricket as a sport has seized the national imagination of India, other sports like boxing, weightlifting, rowing, shooting, swimming and even gymnastics might dominate the Indian sporting arena soon.

Following the XIX Commonwealth Games, India witnessed 101 medals coming in from different sporting categories, categories that were once considered as accomplishments that Indians would take decades to actually fit in. Despite the usual problems of sports administrative bodies and government departments to do everything but promote athletes, success or failure now seems to be dependent on the individual athlete. It is the newly globalize attitude of both the strength and the resources to compete, that most Indian athletes are currently aspiring for. The ongoing XVI Asian Games in Guangzhou, China is yet another example of how India is slowly breaking its norms from conventional sports. A few of what the country have achieved so far at the Asian Games: Sandhyarani Devi Wangkhem silver medalist in 60kg shanshou category, Bajrang Lal Takhar won the gold in men’s single sculls category, Commonwealth champion Dinesh Kumar assured himself a medal entering the light heavyweight 81kg semifinals and Vijender Singh stormed into the 75kg boxing quarterfinals. Glorious achievements and a breakthrough in Indian sports.

Let’s not forget that India is a developing country and that sports is one aspect that no doubt needs a make over. Yet, it is promising that we have at least seen a few symptoms that would elevate not only cricket but other sports too. There is light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

Say goodbye to caste and communal divides.

Who would have expected a three-fourths majority from an underdeveloped state divided by caste and communalism? It was certainly a relief not only for Bihar but also for the rest of the country. Nitesh Kumar’s win over the Bihar assembly election is extraordinary.

He not only boycotted Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi’s chaotic rule but also justified a pre-election statement, “If people vote me to power, I would change the fate of the nation/state”. His dedication and commitment to the state was his weapon to cut across every possible division that Bihar is inflicted and this is that one weapon that most of our ministers ignore by default. His triumph is not only a prospective hope for Bihar but also a slap to other ministers who have failed to elevate the state. He is the perfect epitome to a universal fact that deeds and words can make a massive difference. Apparently, there are good Samaritans.

If only India had more of such Nitesh Kumars…by now the success rate of the country would have soared as high as the D&G price meter.

Is the media compromised?

Has the real essence of what a free press means dwindling? This is the question that the nation is contemplating.

 Following the CWG and the Adarsh scams, we’re now slammed by the 2G spectrum scam. Corruption was there and will always be there. But, the degree to which corruption has crept in is alarming. Now people who are by virtue of exposing what is corrupt are apart of the malfunction, because they have abandoned ethics.

The tapes that were recorded were explicit. Apart from overstepping their bounds, they eventually created a sense of distrust amongst the masses. It simply gives an impression that lately not only politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt but, also our media professionals. They are happily shaking hands and sailing in the same boat. The question is not ‘the degree of involvement’ but ‘the involvement itself’.

However, it is worth noting that one or two media professionals cannot distort the image of the entire media industry. This is because they don’t solely represent the media world. There are others who cling on to ethics and it is unfair to generalize them. We just need to discard the rotten apples soon less they spoil the entire basket. 

Give a JPC a chance.

In regards to Lt. Gen (retd) S P M Tripathi’s article ‘who’s afraid of a JPC…and why’.

                                                

S P M Tripathi was the chairman of the joint parliamentary committee constituted in 2001 to investigate the stock market scam. JPC’s successfully unearthed the stock market scam that not only brought the stock exchanges under its scanner but also other entities involved. I am not quite sure as to why the UPA government should turn down the opposition’s demand for a JPC.

The debate however, is not only on who or who will not investigate but also the degree of corruption, relating to both the 2G spectrum and the CWG. The main issue is a thorough examination of the scams and not on who will examine it. The government is wasting time in turning down the opposition’s proposal which directly affects the smooth functioning of Parliament.

In the opposition’s defense and given a JPC’s prior success, the government should reconsider the proposal and work together for a common cause. Not to suggest that a JPC would be the best way to curb the menace but, it might just be worth taking a risk. There shouldn’t be any reason for the government to be insecure. It’s just extra help.