Hazards of democracy....

I always did feel there was something a bit off with the whole fasting business of Anna Hazare. It seemed too good to be true that an activist would do something like that just for an ideal.

The latest news is that he's going to fast against the Congress candidates in the election for Hissar. He seems to be getting just a little too political here. I thought fasts were supposed to be directed against corruption in general, not a party in particular! Fasting does seem a lot like blackmail, too. People are just not interested anymore.

I really am not anyway.

He is completely not like Gandhi!

Gandhi was the genuine article, whereas this guy seems to be a cheap imitation, and seems to associate with the weirdest of people at that.

But since no one else is doing anything at all to reduce corruption, since politicians flaunt crores' worth of land and possessions and behave like kings when everyone knows their salaries are in no way even a hundredth of that, and since the sight of those irritating blokes in white dhotis makes one want to change the channel immediately; if all this natak helps to reduce corruption even a little bit, I'd have to say go Anna!

Democracy is a weird thing.

A pool of light

Shines out of nothing

In the dark night

Eyes around clamp shut for moments

Then follow it...

Follow the brightness

Which twinkles and dazzles

The little piece of the heavens on earth

Casablanca

Just re watched one of the most famous movies of all time. I did watch it as a kid but I had forgotten most of the plot, remembering only the fact that it ends unhappily, with the leading lady going off with her husband.

Well, now I've watched it again I have to say that it can't be so easily chracterised. It certainly is very poignant. A major theme is the fact that refugees fleeing German-occupied Europe are stranded at Casablanca, desperate for visas to reach Lisbon, which can only be had by paying vast sums to petty thieves. Being released as it was during World War 2, so many people actually lived out stories like this one, many of the actors in the movie included. (The actress who plays Yvonne and the actor who plays the dealer Emil were in fact a married couple who fled France, and were actually stranded in Lisbon for two months before managing to leave for the US.) The whole business of being forced to leave a place is very heart-wrenching- and if they have to leave, you desperately want the characters to be able to escape to safety. That's exactly what Casablanca is: a trap.

Humphrey Bogart as Rick carries the film. He's got such a cynical sense of style: his brooding, incessant smoking, white jackets, drawling, gruff manner and insistence that he 'won't stick his neck out for anybody' only makes it obvious(given the sentimentality of American cinema) that he eventually will. And all the while he's pretending he doesn't care about sides, he employs people who are part of the Underground and has a past which is distinctly pro-Allied. Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa is amazing, too, she's very sweet and charming in the starry- eyed kind of way. And smart too- I like most the part when she's threatens to shoot him! It's odd them actually loving each other, though. Ilsa seemed rather better suited to her husband, and as was mentioned several times, she scarcely knew Rick. Anyway, it's good they don't end up together and it was good for ensuring the movie would be remembered!(look at 'Gone With The Wind') The anthem duel scene is very memorable too and the last ten minutes are full of suspense, leading one to try to figure out whether Rick would finally give in or become a better man, all the while saying he's not of course!

The supporting cast is great, all the staff at the saloon, Sam, Carl, Sasha. Ilsa's husband, Laszlo is okay but definitely comes second to Rick in sheer presence. Renault, the Police Chief is hilarious! 'Round up the usual suspects'!! The movie's quite funny, surprising given the atmosphere. And very quotable. Especially the last line of the movie. What a classic!

Here's looking at you, kid!

(whatever that means ...:))

the kitten(check previous post) is dead...

osama's dead...

first the kitten.

it was inevitable.

in spite of being pampered silly by everyone,

she decided to take a leap into the big bad world,

and returned after two days in a hopeless state

throwing up everything we give her

even a visit to the vet being fruitless

she lay in a carton, shivering, 'midst a pile of old clothes

became weaker, weaker and died...

the end.

it happens.

now osama.

what to say.

the whole world (non islamic world that is)

is so jubilant

that the face of terrorism

that the very reason

for the holy war(our holy war on terror that is)

is put to death.

it's justice, isn't it?

the king pin terrorist

assassinated

by a group of righteous warriors seeking to bring an end to evil

and the face of evil.

right now though....

jihad and the 'war on terror'....

afghani jihadists and US Navy Seals...

whatever the start

right now

is there a penny to choose between them?

dog meets cat(or tries to)

Jugaad

I just hate the word.

In my opinion it's the thing responsible for quite a lot of our country's problems.

People seem so proud to say we got this internship or this ticket or this card by 'jugaad'.

Where does corruption end? It's such a vicious cycle.

Why is honesty never appreciated?

Is there even a line between right and wrong in most people's minds anymore? Or is 'what's best for me' the only thing that's right?

It's still a mood of cricket fever now, so why is a batsman who 'walks' condemned for not sticking by his team? If a team wins unfairly, shouldn't they actually be ashamed of winning?

Why is being tough and hard-nosed admired in preference to consideration and gentleness?

Why don't the nice guys win??

I guess only eternity will tell....

Choices

Indecision: the very worst enemy.

I wonder why there is so much of that in life.

It's like life is a whole series of choices, a whole set of roads you go down.

I can imagine it right now......wandering through a thick green forest over mountainous terrain. You wake up suddenly, and realise you are wandering down one of the paths; you have no idea why you're there or where you're going. Suddenly you begin to think and you have to choose how to go forward, one fork at a time.

You could stay where you are of course, but something inside instinctively pulls you toward a destination you feel you know.Each choice you make affects everything you do. Sometimes paths join together, forming a large path, but the way you reach the large one could be via a pleasant green leafy path or a narrow pebbly path overhung with thorny bushes and on the edge of a cliff. You may choose a path, go down it, reach a certain milestone and then sit there wondering whether you could have got there faster.You may suddenly reach a dead end, a beautiful waterfall that you spend ages looking at, but which offers no help to going onward. And there's nothing to do but retrace your steps.

You wander through, wondering how far you have left to go. Other travellers cross your path at times, diverting you now and then, some offering you guidance. Nothing they say is certain, though, even if it seems so for a time. Most of them seem as lost as you are. And if you take the wrong advice, there are paths which can make you slip, slide and fall...

But along the way you can choose to find help and purpose. There is a guide who could lead you, even in the darkest valley. And just maybe he'll have a resting place waiting for you at the end of the journey.....

Valentines Day musings

flowers?

chocolates?

teddy bears?

how ridiculous love being limited to such things ................and to days like this!

Or:

Scene Change...

gundas bashing up girls and boys spending time together on V-Day.....

how ridiculus is the world?

what matters

what doesn't

a moment which can last a lifetime

a moment at which time freezes

and the whole universe waits with bated breath

which way will the coin fall

will you trump life

or fall

...again

lower each time

which way?