Lion King Bald Narendra has become old… so old that he could not hunt even his Mice. He deputed his friendly wolves Bambani and Badani to do the hunting for him. They are supposed to bring him a prey every day and Bald Narendra will let them rule the forest as Proxies. He was ably aided by a Fox(y) cook, Dumeel Shah for prepping up the food.
Now, Bambani and Badani are seasoned wolves, grown to become the richest in the Bald Narendra’s Lion Kingdom. In their search for prey, they came across an Ass, named Vikas, who seemed well to do then for a sumptuous Biryani. They went to the ass and proclaimed, “Long live the Ass King! Lord Bald Narendra has come up with a democratic rule for his Lion kingdom and wants you – Vikas, to be the new King.” The ass was so happy but was a bit afraid of the rabid old Lion and Wolves’ scheming ways. But the Wolves cajoled him with all their money and propaganda power that Ass is worthy of becoming the King.
The ass got convinced of its own Kingly powers and arrived at the Lion’s den along with the wolves. The Hungry old lion attacked the Donkey and tore off its ears. The horribly bleeding Vikas ran away from the Lion and escaped the den. But, Bambani and Badani being seasoned aide-in-chiefs of Bald Narendra remained unperturbed of the development, peddled in more propaganda. The media of the Lion Kingdom said the Lion was cutting off ears of Vikas, just to ensure the crown fits well on its head. But, the poor ass could not understand it. They pleaded that it should return to the Lion’s den to reclaim the throne. The lie was repeated several times in the Forest, that the Vikas ass truly believed it.
The Ass again arrived at the Den for the second time. The hungry lion voraciously caught hold off its tails for its long awaited meal. The Ass could not believe its misfortune, its tail got cut off. But it somehow it recovered itself, to run away from the clutches of the old Lion. The angry Lion scolded its aides, warning them with a last chance to bring the Ass -Vikas back.
The media propaganda in the forest hit a feverish pitch. The Loud speakers cried that the Donkey did not understand the pre-coronation ritual performed by the Lion called as “Amrit Kaal”. Amrit Kaal is a ritual wherein the Lion flattens the ass’s ass so that it could smoothly sit on the throne. The propaganda went on in a loop that the Ass started believing it and imagined it’s “Achhe Din” has started. So, with complete back-ache and head-ache induced by the Lion’s surgery it again returned back to the Lion’s Den.
As soon as the Ass arrived at the den for the third time, the angry and hungry Lion, smashed its head and so called King of Democracy died. The Lion called up its Cook Dumeel Shah Fox to prepare a delicious meal with the body parts of the Ass. Dumeel Shah assumes itself as Chanakya for its criminal brain. So, it made a nice fry of the ass’s brain and fed it to himself and its kid BUCCI Shah.
The Hungry Lion came to the dining table having its meal of democracy to Heart’s content prepared by Dumeel Shah.
Dumeel Shah asked humbly, “Boss. How was the Meal?”
Bald Narendra said,”It was excellent. But I don’t remember I ate the Brain fry.”
Dumeel Shah Quipped, “If the Ass had brain, would it have come to your Den for the third time?”
Story narrated by renowned Tamil speaker Suki Sivam.
Happened to watch masterfully made Jigarthanda XX from Karthik Subburaj. It churned out mixed feelings. The brilliance of film making strikes first, especially when he comes from a self learning stable of movie makers shaped by a TV reality show. This is not a well meaning criticism as it requires to understand film making and its nuances. This is more from story hearing perspective on what hits or misses the common audience.
SJ Suryah shows off a subtle version of himself, when we compare his over the top performance of previous blockbuster films. Surprisingly, it still works out very well. He is the Ray of the film. Raghava Lawrence reminded me of young Rajinikanth on his closeups amped up by Santhosh Narayanan’s music. No wonder Balachander identified the spark in him. The show stealer is Nimisha Sajayan who does her character effortlessly and still stands tall. She is the emotional pole of the film. The signature twists of Karthik works very well, It makes one wonder what is still left in the film as the antagonist gets captured. It actually gets emotionally riveting just after that.
One of the marked differences between the prequel and this film is the Karthik Subbaraj has revered the film making in not so subtle ways and his work also justifies the same. But, has the glorification of cinema actually helps or stands the test of time. The answer will be a “No” as cinema has moved on to be a mindless magic show rather a sensible messenger. There were carefully laid propaganda on War by Hollywood with its favourite theme of Second World War II with the main antagonists as Nazis. Has that changed anything other than glorifying wars? It only changed the past victims to present remorseless murderers in Gaza. Of course there are exceptions like Nolan’s Haunting Dunkirk and I am yet to watch Oppenheimer. Wish Hollywood makes its mark on the futility of wars too.
I always liked Karthik Subbaraj conviction in his films on the social topics, where he stays true. But what lacks is the conveying part where it works on a superficial layer. The tribals and their issues reverberate still today along with the Government’s apathy with their focused obsession on reckless development. Joshimath and Himalayas are the latest visible victims as they are in the news, while other coal field agitations irrespective of the Parties rule are silenced on the National media, owned by the same Cartel.
Where the movie could have weighed on is on exploring their world as the set piece is synthetic and their life is shown in voices rather visuals. Understand it’s already a long convoluted film with filmy reverence on Films, but there are many flabby scenes which does not add to the story, like Lawrence’s monotonous antics of beating up everyone around and the unnecessary fight scene in the Court campus around Gandhi statue. I am personally fine with his strong opinions on Gandhism. At least he remembers Gandhi more than anyone else in Films. But it’s about being practical and factful. I have not seen any gandhian family as portrayed in Mahaan movie. But this movie deals with such criticisms better… with actually a better criticism.. Who cares for Gandhi nowadays. Haiku!
Instead of mass heroic flabby scenes, the movie could have dwelled on the Couple’s life on both their sweet, bitter and bittersweet moments, which forms the emotional core and introduced us to the tribal setting pre-interval so that, we are familiarised to the end objective. It’s like we have religiously sighted Clint Eastwood but forgot on Hollywood’s tried and tested screenplay template of setting the plot context after the impressive introduction. Even the elephant conservation part sounds bit preachy when it could have been visualized, rather on plain talks. For example, someone has to explain us that the elephants have come to thank Lawrence which could have been an emotionally powerful game changing visual, justifying the immaculate graphics. Jeyamohan’s Yaanai Doctor explains a similar scene with just plain prose but still impactful. Even Kumki does it visually. This is also where Blockbuster Kantara beats other films of similar genre. Kantara has its negatives as poorly made film, but it immerses us into the tribal world and its rituals, that it starts mesmerising in the end with the Hero’s transformation. Even the objective and the context set very beautifully in Kantara, that the climax gets larger than life with a simple disappearance. Subburaj could have attained box office pinnacle by fine tuning the screenplay.
Similarly, Lawrence’s motive towards filmmaking is too subtle that it gets ignored. Either they could have built his character sketch with his introduction on that he takes challenges seriously or gets offended on his complexion, or it could have been with a forceful scene, rather a bar brawl with insensitive exchanges by Ilavarasu. That could have made his fight with Shettaani even more meaningful and not just for a Phot0-Op. The game changing scene is shot poorly making the premise shallow. On the other hand SJ Suryah scores very well with a clear character sketch and impresses a lot till the end.
This is not for nitpicking or fault finding an already well made film. It’s about what will I tell my Kid as story I savoured for 3 hours. Whether it’s about an insane rowdy artist or equally insane acting Director trying something ridiculous for their moment of fame or about forest conservation or about a fiercely fighting couple or a plotty political film, the problem of becoming all in one but being master of none. Also, it is a question if what exactly affects me or I take home… as this has the effect of Sethu type climax but still goes off as a whiff of twisty air. Wish the movie added a bit of intensity and focus on screenplay with clear objectives, to achieve its pinnacle. It reminded me of Ponniyin Selvan trying to do an amazing lot and ending up not so convincing, lacking the novel effect we see in Pudhupettai or Aayirathil oruvan – both the films have a clear cut fall and rise of a Hero story. Even Viduthalai hs a clear cut cop dilemma as its theme, though it’s about a similar social issue.
With due apologies on my uninvited comic post… afterall I am just a deadwood, it’s just a lament about why our filmmakers could not reach the crest amidst exhibiting exceptional filmmaking skills as much deserved reward. But filmmaking is still a journey hopefully not as twisted or convoluted as Jigarthanda Double X does. It’s a must watch for its make believe world, earthy humour and signature twists. Jigarthanda Double X is an All-in-One package, doubling up as delicious treat with beautiful characters and also a slight whammy on failing to reach its hidden potential lacking a refined presentation and lack of intensity.
There is a lot hullabaloo going around on our Cricket team’s shock Defeat to Australia, only an indicator of how we are seeing Cricket ODI World Cup as a sort of Shopping souvenir as we spend a lot on Cricket. Its bit worrying as we have not asked ourselves have we equipped ourselves bullet proof for all near death circumstances, to win this mega-event. Instead, our World Cup effort turned out to be a theorem of Money alone can’t buy Happiness. Since we fretted too much on our loss like a Kid suddrdenly grabbed off his imaginary lollipop, let’s understand why we imagined the lollipop first, by digging deeper.
Playing Catch me if you Can with the Law of Averages
There are again lot of theories if the Law of Averages really work out or not. I go through seven traffic signals on my work. Sometimes I am lucky to pass through 4-5 green lights but it will be never all green. Ofcourse I am not Israel and the traffic signal is not mindless Biden to give green light without considering consequences. It’s painful to see even a supposedly dumb traffic signal is so smart nowadays if not All knowing American President.
So, what are my ways to work out a winning solution to bypass traffic signals. I could change the rules by asking the Office/ School timing to change to early morning hours to avoid traffic, if I am a big Dumbo, or skill myself and start early, accepting the norms. Tell me which will help in the long run? The problem with the law of averages is that I don’t know if such thing exist or it really works out, but what BCCI did under its crooked Gujarat model is to change the rules of the game to suit our Win, rather looking to build a balanced team delivering consistent results. For starters, BCCI changed the rules of recent Asian Cup mid-event to allow reserve day just for India-Pakistan match.
”Focus on taking the right actions, regardless of immediate outcomes, as the act itself is what truly matters.”
Mahatma Gandhi
I was part of an average satire during my college days on cricket, where we worked out a scenario where the ball got caught in a rat hole in the cricket outfield and its administrators deciding to use a football bigger than the rat hole, to avoid such scenarios. With the current BCCI leadership, we are in a danger of such poor satires turning to reality, with the blind blessings from ICC.
Consider this scenario… BCCI banned Srilankan Board when it realised it might not be controlled like a lap dog under Arjuna Ranatunga. It got suspended on the grounds of political influence on the Cricket Board. Wonder if we could adopt same measuring scale, how would someone like Jay Shah who got no credentials in Cricket except for sharing the common surname of Home Minister of India, is not a political influence but a true blue cricket administrator. At least Ranatunga was a World cup winning Captain. Someone from ICC need to bell this fat nepotist cat, on the same grounds applied to Sri Lankan Board, to keep the spirit of the game alive and bright, which is currently going reckless with autocratic whims. Other countries should understand BCCI, could be a champion revenue generator, with an ornamental hand like Thanos, but it could just deliver only one handed clap or a meek flip, destructing the International Boards.
“You’re Strong, But I Could Snap My Fingers And You’d All Cease To Exist.”
Thanos
A beautiful Op-ed by Barney Ronay distills the prodigy Jay Shah’s achievements. Clue: it’s a Birth achievement not on silly merit or performance.
This is Jay Shah’s World Cup in more ways than one. It is, after all Jay Shah’s sport to start with. Shah, who has been head of the BCCI for the last four years, is the most powerful single person in any sport anywhere in the world.
The real issue with Shah’s status as unelected world boss is that he appears at first glance to be a prodigy, an administrator of such skill he was able to rise to become head of the BCCI aged just 31, and to do so while, by a startling coincidence, carrying the same surname as Narendra Modi’s right-hand man and chief minister Amit Shah, who, in an even more profound coincidence – just fancy that – turns out to be Jay Shah’s dad.
In the last few months alone Shah has run a World Cup, taken over the running of the Asia Cup because he felt like it, while maintaining a guiding hand on the world’s second most potent franchise league after the NFL. This week Arjuna Ranatunga accused Shah of running Sri Lankan cricket as an after-hours hobby.
Ranatunga is of course right because, in effect, Jay Shah runs all cricket, right down from the international calendar, to when the County Championship gets to play, to what ends up on your Sky subscription. At the end of quite a short chain of cause-and-effect, it is Jay Shah who decides whether the cricket you love is going to be allowed to breathe, or indeed to exist at all.
There has been a campaign to fluff Shah’s image in recent times, to portray him as a fearless and go-getting moderniser, with a PR agency engaged to gloss his media profile. Against this a brilliantly detailed study of cricket’s ruling regime by Sharda Ugra published in the Caravan magazine shows Shah behaving as an autocrat, taking months to OK basic office admin, surrounding himself with sycophants, trailed by bodyguards and aides. As for the BCCI’s lack of detailed accounts, this same organisation that sluices such a vast proportion of the sport’s money through its coffers, well, that remains another untold story.
As cricket aficionados, if we are real well wishers of our Cricket, we should have questioned such BCCI antics of becoming “Masters of Entire Cricket Science” without even drafting a syllabus or exam, where only certificate matters not the hard studies. Unfortunately, we did NOT! So, when BCCI said it will design the pitch on its own cheap wish and dig its own grave, we happily chummed “Yes!”, like succumbing to the Pied piper guiding the mischief to the cliff, craving for a global validation by competing in a contest involving countries countable on fingers.
“The hardest choices require the strongest wills”
Thanos
The post is just not about the Shahenshah of Cricket as he is not a lone wolf devouring cricket. Indian Cricket has always had a symbiotic relationship with indian politics which has helped them mutually. But, it was restricted to the level of administrators and bit of team selection. Now, its a case of team turning as Saffron Brigade to help the Indian politics where the benefits are more tilted towards politicians than its players, who became the scapegoats irrespective of their willingness. This could have dampened the fighting spirit when they are just employees of Hindutva election Corporate.
Jugaad Indianness Vs Spirited Australianism
I kept wondering why cricket deviations from the norms and ethics by BCCI is so abominable. It could just be harmless way of winning by bending few rules. Ofcourse, we saw such glimpses of madness when New Zealand was denied World Cup when the match was decided on the number of Boundaries scored, rather another Super over. So rules could also be a culprit right?
Mahabharat could be complete epic as it deals with all human nature adorned with fascinating characters. A huge war starts sparked by a mocking laughter of Draupadi when Duryodhana falls down. The egotistic wound aggravates to an obscene gesture of thighs by Duryodhana avenging his fall and subsequent disrobing Draupadi. Bhima vows to kill Duryodhana for his misdoings. Kurukshetra war begins. Duryodhana’s Mother blesses with her divine vision to make him an immortal. There is one character which runs all through the happenings – Krishna. Krishna helps Draupadi when her modesty was breached. He again nudges Duryodhana to wear a banana leaf, as mark of respect, before getting blessed immortality by his mother, so that his waists still remain weak after blessings. In the war, Duryodhana chooses a fight with mace against Bhima where the rules clearly states that no one gets beaten down the waist. Krishna now hints Bhima to hit Duryodhana’s thighs, breaking the rules of the game. Pandavas win the war eventually and rule Hastinapur for 36 years.
I liked the full circle of how fate plays around, the disrobing guy gets disrobed before his Mother. Thunder thighs gets blown up avenging the injustice to Draupadi. But how does fate treat people breaking rules to win at any cost? Let’s continue the story. After 36 years of ruling Hastinapur, Pandavas along with Draupadi march onto Heaven as they assume themselves worthy of it.
Pandavas… Draupati first, followed by Sahadeva, Nakula, Arjun and finally, Bheem. It is said that Yudhishthira did not turn his back even once and refused to help any one because he had renounced everything when he embarked on this journey. He also thought that renouncing everything would fetch him a place in Swarga, else he too would die.
As Yudhishthira and the dog continued climbing the mountain, they were welcomed by Lord Indra in his chariot. Indra said that Yudhishthira had been the true King of Dharma by being virtuous at all times and invited him into his chariot, offering him to take him to the final door of Swarga. Yudhishthira requested Lord Indra to permit the dog to come along, to which Indra disapproved. Yudhishthira stayed adamant on taking the dog along.
Yudhishthira refused to enter Swarga without the dog. He believed that both have equal merits and said that he will either enter Swarga with the dog or not enter at all for the sake of justice. Indra was pleased by Yudhishthira’s principles and integrity and welcomed him into heaven. It was later revealed to Yudhishthira that the dog was Lord Yama in disguise. Eventually, Yudhishthira entered Indra’s chariot to reach heaven.
On reaching Swarga, Yudhishthira could not find any of his virtuous brothers or his wife. Instead he was shocked and enraged at seeing the adharmi Kauravas enjoying in heaven. It was brought to his notice that they were in heaven because of the land of Kurukshetra.
The Kauravas, who had died at Kurukshetra doing their duty as Kshatriyas (warriors), found a place in Heaven.
Different versions of this incident portray that this explanation to Yudhishthira was given by Lord Indra, Lord Yama or Narada. Whatever the version of this story maybe, it is important to learn from this story that unless and until a person gives up on hate, anger, greed or lust, one cannot reach heaven. More than meaning Heaven or Hell in literal sense, it’s about seeing them as states of mind. One must relinquish anger and hate to achieve peace (heaven), else they tend to suffer (hell).
Now, the Law of averages did not work for Yudhishthira. But, what I could not understand on the Judgement Day type of ending is that both Indian epics talk of Heroes bending rules. Epic Heroes doing that Indian jugaad, innovating by breaking ethics and rules. They even beat our wretched reality shows and its stupid dilemmas. Lord Rama kills Vaali on his back hiding somewhere else, rather fighting him one to one. Krishna almost kills the Kaurava clan leveraging deception and illusion. They all win their war games momentarily, by bending rules, but they lose in the end. The epics are too deep and may be it takes in depth knowledge and understanding and I am a surface skimmer.
The person who does many good deeds, first goes to hell for some time duration and then is sent to heaven. A person who has done more bad deeds, gets a glimpse of heaven and is then sent to Hell for the rest of his time.
Indra to Yudhishthira
Now let’s move onto the Karta, the choreographer of Kurukshetra… Krishna. Gandhari, mother of Duryodhana cursed Krishna and his clan Yadavas that they will perish on their own. Krishna accepted the curse for his own misdoings.
It was the 36th year after the great Kurukshetra war. The Yadavas were so much in bliss in Dwaraka that they started taking things for granted. They forgot the importance of values, morals, humility and good conduct. They were arrogant and spoilt by all the wealth they were enjoying.
Once, the Sapta Rishis (the Seven Sages) decided to visit Krishna in Dwaraka. Hearing about their impending arrival, Samba, the son of Krishna, decided to test their powers. The young man dressed himself as a woman and placed a mace under his dress, to make himself appear as a pregnant woman. He, along with two of his friends, approached the rishis. One of Samba’s friends went up to the rishis and, introducing himself as the “woman’s” husband, requested them to predict the gender of the unborn child.
With their siddhis (spiritual powers), the rishis realized that this was a hoax and were angry at being treated with such disdain. One of the sages, Kanva Maharishi, immediately grabbed his kamandala (little water pot) and, sprinkling some water on the youth, cursed that whatever he bore in stomach would be actually born to him. He further declared that the thing would eventually lead to the extinction of the entire Yadava clan. The youths were stunned for a moment. But being arrogant and foolish, they just laughed it off and left the place, without even bothering to apologize to the rishis for their behavior.
The sage’s curse took effect the very next morning. Samba developed labor pains and soon delivered a mace from within him. The Yadavas now realized their mistake and became fearful. They took the mace and rushed to Akroora and Ugrasena. They all then went to Krishna and related the whole story to him. Akroora immediately ordered them to grind the mace to a fine powder and throw it into the sea.
Krishna merely smiled and remained silent. He knew that Gandhari’s curse had started working and that Samba was merely a medium for their collective karma to unfold. Thirty-six years ago, Krishna had prayed to Shiva for a son like him. Shiva had bestowed the boon upon him. However, Shiva was the God of Destruction and a son like him would ultimately end up destroying everything around him.
The Yadavas worked hard to grind the mace to a fine powder. They had followed all of Akroora’s instructions. However, there was one triangular piece of the mace that simply could not be ground. They tried their level best, but could not grind it. Fed up, they finally threw the powder, plus the triangular piece, into the sea. Once that was done, they returned home, assured that all would be well from then on.
The triangular piece was swallowed by a fish. Jara, a hunter, caught the fish and, upon finding the sharp metal piece in its belly, used it to craft a fine poisonous arrow. In the meantime, the fine powder washed back ashore and settled itself along the impressive coastline of Dwaraka. There, a type of grass, called eraka, grew in abundance, all along the coast.
Yadavas gathered near the coast to pray for their well being. Instead they started fighting within themselves. Krishna knew that the curse had started to take effect. He plucked the eraka grass that grew by the beach and placed them near the warring Yadavas. Still not quite aware of what they were doing, the Yadavas started throwing the blades of grass on one other.
Kanva Maharishi’s curse came into being and each blade of the eraka grass became a mace. These maces hit the Yadavas, killing them instantly. All the Yadavas died within a matter of minutes. Thus, the entire clan lay dead, right in front of their King. The bereved King renounced his Kingdom and went to Forest.
Krishna rested against a tree, stretching his legs in the front. Meanwhile, Jara, the hunter, was roaming in the forest, on his usual hunting expedition. Seeing Krishna’s foot sticking out from the bushes, he mistook it for a deer and shot it down with his poison-tipped arrow. The arrow was the very one he had crafted from the little triangular piece of mace that had not been powdered.
It is said that Jara was none other than the mighty Vali in his previous birth. At that time, Vishnu had taken the avatar of Lord Sri Rama and had slain Vaali, the then Monkey King. Rama had no enmity with Vaali and had killed him for no reason; and that too; in a cowardly manner, hiding behind a tree. Vaali later took birth as Jara and was responsible for killing Krishna. This story points out the fact that the laws of Karma apply universally to everyone; and that even God cannot prevent it from impacting his own life.
Our Gods are reflection of our own ancestor’s culture. Our ancestors kept their gods flawed and more human as easier version of imparting religious scriptures to masses, like how the Right wing captured Bollywood and imparting Hindutva. We don’t see any visionary Rama / Arjuna carrying AK 47 / Laser guns. So are we restricting ourselves to bows and arrows? Maybe we are a fighting race from the beginning with all gods equipped with versatile weapons. But we got a sense of individual freedom only when we started following Buddhist / Mahaveera inspired Mahatma Gandhi for whom even clothes are an expression of desire, forget about weapons begetting more weapons.
Without elaborating further on how Justice got served for Gandhari and Vaali’s sufferings, indian epics are classy just because they address the events in a full circle beautifully, however complex and layered they are. Like many movies ending up in happily ever after unlike reality where many end up in divorce and distress, the Judgement part of the epics are not elaborated / celebrated in our country. Conventionally televised Mahabharat ends up with Pandavas ruling Hastinapur happily after Duryodhana’s death and Ramayana with Rama’s coronation at Ayodhya. As per our epics even mighty Krishna, the happiest god ever, might have winced in pain during his death by Jara’s arrow. Rama spent many years searching for his wife only to abandon her on a petty comment, could not live happily with his family even after establishing Ram Rajya, ruminating on the futility of life. Ironically, the famed Ram Rajya did not work him and his family. Well! They accepted the pain gracefully. But, nowadays nobody likes a Loser, even when we all end the same way!
“Whatever happened, happened for the good.Whatever is happening, is happening for the good.Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.”
Gita
Coming back to the ICC World cup hosted in England where they won by a ridiculous rule, the important derivative could be that, both the team played by rules in the right spirit of the game, rather bending rules. It turned to be an even contest and cracker of a match matching wits and guts, with a graceful felicitation ceremony.
I remember Australians of the past teams for their sledging and and slandering crook-smiths employing all means to win. They are no saints afterall just like our epic Heroes. The Law of averages did not work for them too in 2000s world cups. But Ian Healy once part of the Australian team depicted as arrogant on their behaviour, observes this generation of Australian team as “Indian”. Maybe Yellow is the new Blue as Blue has now turned to Saffronish Orange and Netherland’s Orange is turning grey with right wing racism. Maybe IPL exposure and India being the financial core of cricket might have changed them a bit. What is more startling is that they have studied the Indian Kurukshetra pitches better than Indian team. It’s up to individuals to decide if the Karma cycle is complete or incomplete, but the eternal cycle keeps continuing… eternally.
Spoilsport for a Photo-Op
Our silence in the stadium and poor reception of the match just proved we are still colonial slaves who still need the validation of the west to celebrate a sport. We still get 60 days Summer Leave so that our still White Bureaucrats don’t get tanned in the sun, when our Kids need to do the hardship of braving rains in tough rainy season. Our Indian Calendar quotes peak summer (Agni Natchathiram) goes for 21 Days, but our Summer Holidays are 60 Days to please whom? The Britishers? And Chennai Collector says there won’t be holidays for rains ranging in 8-10 cms since it is light rain(?).It was even worse in Mettupalayam. If Collectors could declare that education is only for those who can afford rich transportation, the problem gets an easy closure, so that he could pack his bags to Ooty in advance. நீங்க உல்லாசமா ஊட்டி போறதுக்கு மழையிலே எங்க உசுர ஏன் வாங்குறீங்க!
Rules? Bend it like Beckham!
Indian Leadership from Politicians to Bureaucrats to Sports Administrators is such that it still runs on Facebook / Instagram achievements, always flying inches above ground in AC vehicles. The Rule bending is evident everywhere in our (lack of governance). Maybe they invited David Beckham to symbolise their lawlessness. They did not build an emergency exit as planned, when building Uttarkashi tunnel, but do everything to garner Hindutva votes, screwing up fragile himalayan ecosystem. I don’t know if Gods will object for majoritarian mixing politics with their belief systems, like local folklore attributed the crack of Joshimath to beginning of Kaliyuga, but sport is a different animal prefers to be clean to perform well, without any need for adulterated political Mixer.
The Government don’t even have buffer days reserved for emergencies in education but NCERT is ready to saffronise the study material with Gandhi and Nehru disappearing as myths but Ramayana as authentic history. Hey Ram! Nobody killed Gandhi. Laughable rules emerged for NEET exam, entrance for Medical students, where Zero is an eligible cut-off. Now even students who have not learnt Biology are eligible. If things go haywire with our newly “engineered” non-bio-logical Doctors, there might even be a new rule that NEET-Doctors can kill neatly. If you are enraged on the previous line, you should get enraged at our Government. Our Make in India products lack the build finish or design thoughts to make it word class, but we think we can rule the consumer Market by being chinese cheap. Since the public is also conditioned for such Photo-Ops, rather looking for real substance, the sporty loss sounds too bad for us, since we are accustomed to enjoy the style more than Sporty substance. Afterall, we miss that Selfie moment!
நீதி, உயர்ந்தமதி, கல்வி – அன்பு நிறைய உடையவர்கள் மேலோர்
Bharathiyar
If you think how a simple Selfie could do harm? Ask Chandrayaan II a Million Dollar Moon Project, which failed due to software glitch. The fact was someone who wanted limelight rushed up the Project, not to miss a selfie moment, only to end up with a miserable sob selfie with its failure. For Chandrayaan III ‘Lead Scientist’ PM’s Divya Darshan happened through Video conferencing, staying away but still stamping his face. Then there was a Kangana Ranaut type Tejas Fighter Selfie which has still a long way to go to become production ready. But you know elections are nearing. Some well wisher could have done him a favour whispering to him how Run-out’s Tejas Movie fared at Box office. Now, Modi’s Selfie craze has gone beyond limits, to highlight non-existent achievements of his Government, by installing Selfie points. Only Vishwaguru can imagine that a selfie can garner votes of the youth and not employment. As long as there are fools ( That included me too ) democracy flourishes…
“Our selfie-obsessed and self-obsessed PM is so insecure in the run up to Lok Sabha polls that he’s leaving no stone unturned to save his flailing image. First, it was the Army being asked to set up selfie points. Then, he asked IAS officers and other senior govt officials to take out ‘Rath Yatras’. Now, he has directed UGC to set up selfie points in all universities”
– Jairam Ramesh
Sharda Ugra‘s piece on state of Cricket enlightens anyone who can’t think beyond the thin veil of Indian cricket just as a sport.
Cricket is merely one of the many engines in the BJP’s dream of cultural expansion. Everyone on the BCCI payroll — players, former and current, officials, broadcasters — seems to have fallen in with the party line and has been herded under the umbrella of uncheerful nationalism. Indian cricket today is playing second fiddle to the political ideology in power because none of its faithful will speak for it.
In order to push the Lodha reforms into mothballed irrelevance, the BCCI’s cross-party grandees first edged out its professional management. What they now have is the ruling regime’s iron fist. Jay Shah, a semi-conductor of his father’s authority, has become Indian cricket’s front-line commander over and above the player-president, Ganguly. Checkmate.
The president of India travelled to Ahmedabad to inaugurate a stadium named after his constitutional subordinate, the incumbent prime minister. Seats in the lower tier most visible on television are coloured orange, the BJP’s party colour. During its day-night Test debut, the orange wall made the sighting of the pink ball difficult in natural light for fielders, but who cares.
It must be mentioned here that the only stadium bigger in the world than the Narendra Modi Stadium is the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. It’s enough to kill irony with a sniggering fit.
Indian cricket is being marinated in the ideology of the ruling regime, in this case, the Bharatiya Janata Party.
OK! to summarize BCCI and BJP just made saffronish chicken manchurian out of everyone involved, and got everyone fried too.
The Propaganda of Invincibility
In my adolescent age, I got fascinated by the tag “Dream Girl”. I used to wonder why that Aunty is not coming in my dreams. Maybe only Gharamji will get such poly-comic dreams. As I mature, Nowadays I get bloody dreams of Palestine violence but could not do much other than waking up sleepless and blogging uselessly about it. The Dream Girl is nothing but a cinematic “propaganda” to make the silver screen look palatable and sexier. The wishlist for such sweet dreams when you are in reality, better off without seeing it sans makeup, is just a blind or fake “Belief” that it’s gonna be a great dream. Amrit Kaal and Vikas comedies belong to this sweet dreams category/
When you are helpless about the ongoing Palestine nightmarish violence which will one day come down to New India if remained unchecked ( as we are in the initial stages of genocide – discrimination and polarization of Minorities) but leave it to the God, “The Lord of uncontrollables”… its “Faith”. Because, what we have in India is not Gujarat Model of Politics, but Netanyahu’s working supremacist Model aiming at consolidation of majority by ethnic cleansing and circumventing international pressure with arm-twisting diplomacy. Little wonder Modi is still the lone member of BRICS, shying away from the meet, so as not to support Gaza Ceasefire. If this sounds like a “sober global statesmanship” as propagandized, welcome yourself to the Brahma-Nazism – Modi brand of “sober” supremacist hyper-chameleonism conquering nation by misinformation, dividing its own people and silencing the diplomatic lambs internationally with opportunistic rude diplomacy!
“Fear is the true adversary; although we often mistake it for hatred.”
Mahatma Gandhi
What Modi’s BJP does not understand is that Israel’s homogenous origin is different from our diverse backgrounds, just like our cricket team, one of rare few quasi-meritocratic institutions, not because of our corrupt administrators but because of the fear of losing its loyal consumers. If they replace players just like they did with elite administrators. How about elite vegetarian fast bowlers. No? Ok! Eggetarian. No? Ok! Let’s take Halal guys. However it works, India’s diverse origins could be correlated with multi-racial USA rather monolithic Israel. So any desperate attempt to enforce homogeneity and majoritarianism in India will only erupt to civil war rather work like the infamous Gujarat / supremacist Israel model which rewarded the supremacists. BJP already learnt the hard lesson with Himachal and Karnataka State elections where welfare trumped hatred. The self proclaimed Chanakya is still looking to polarise with Nuremberg type CAA law just before elections. Like Son, Like Father when it comes to Vinaasa Kaale Vibareetha Budhdhi.
Coming back to that elusive trophy… In New India, the age old Dream Girl is that ICC Trophy which is something almost every other country has won including organizationally weak West Indies in last decade. Our Belief that we are invincible could be partially right. But, its been awhile India focused on ODIs which needs sustained tenacity and resilience to pluck the victory from the Jaws of defeat. In my adolescence any chance of India winning ODI rested with Sachin’s innings. People used to switch off TV to save electricity as soon as he gets out as if other ten is brought on “Buy One Winner get Ten Headaches” Offer.
“Reality Is Often Disappointing.”
Thanos
Our positive belief gradually grew, when a steely Rahul Dravid and silky VVS Laxman played a solid test innings in Eden Garden to resurrect our hopes. My memory have not registered if we have won or drew the Test, but it just showed we have arrived in Cricket as a steadfast Force and not anymore a meek and selfish reed swaying even to the weak wind, hoping not to break. We had enriching experiences under Ganguly and Dhoni who have at many times imparted the belief in our Team snatching victory from the Jaws of defeat transforming Indian cricket as a force to reckon with.
With the current team, unfortunately the middle order was not even tested in the current World cup as we never got into a crisis like the Final, thanks to the diligent venue selection to suit Indian team strengths for a cake walk win. It’s time we should ask ourselves if we have really retained that “Never Say Die!”, instead resorted to spoiling even ICC to accommodate our unjust interests and loopholes just to show off a win and paint even the World cup as a Saffron show, only to end up brutally up with a bloody nose, wishing the bleeding was saffron. There are differences between carefully nurtured Potted plant in a controlled environment and a wild plant, organically grown under testing conditions. The differences naturally comes to spotlight when tested with adverse circumstances like storms and floods.
Blame it on Saffron
Why this sudden decline of cricket? Once we lose the moral faith of playing fair to win by the rules, but fine with BCCI fine tuning pitches, rewarding the curators of the pitch, we actually have let down our own steely self, self occupied with unethical guilt, helplessly waiting for someone hand hold us out of trouble rather fighting it on our own, just like the helpless goldfish in aquarium. Also the present team is more of Saffron Warriors who had enough faith to propagandize in Twitter rather on winning trophies. Our Sports Persons are content if Modi is kept happy / BJP wins elections rather winning trophies.
We have successfully transformed our Cricket warriors to election agents including Bharat(!) Ratna(?) Tendulkar. The Sanatanic BCCI chose to facilitate Tendulkar for his “elite upper” records, rather even bothering to invite the World cup winning Teams and its Captains Kapil Dev and Dhoni. As a website quoted, Kapil was replaced by his Bollywood version Ranvir Singh in the stadium. Even the “elite” commentary got muted on the defeat analysing its mistakes while it was bombastic while referencing India’s string of victories prior final. Overall, It was a very carefully choreographed winning celebration involving all glitz and glamour except for the substance, that did not happen due to Australian Party poopers. Of course, we have had our moments like Test win at Australia and occasional brilliance, but collective sportsmanship needs efficient Leadership, to train the team to win at all costs not to get broken when things don’t go our way. That’s missing.
Real strength isn’t about winning; it’s about enduring hardships without giving up.
Mahatma Gandhi
I can’t write like Suresh Menon, so let’s copy his playful phrases, summarizing the state of Indian cricket.
Years from now, it is likely to be remembered not as Kohli’s or Stokes’ or Bumrah’s World Cup so much as the BJP’s World Cup, placing it among examples of the symbiotic relationship between sports and politics. In India, at least.
At the recent Asia Cup, India (who not only have the clout but want to constantly remind other teams of this) changed the rule in the middle of the tournament, adding an extra day for their match against Pakistan. Perhaps during the World Cup, we will see the cricket board honcho commanding the rain to stop. And discovering, like King Canute who ordered the tide to halt, that it would carry on regardless.
Three of India’s team, Pandya, Jadeja and Bumrah, were born in Gujarat where the world’s largest cricket stadium awaits the action. But it is a fourth man born in the State who is confident of winning at the World Cup — and not in a narrow cricketing sense.
Instead of diagnosing the defeats, the BCCI ritualistically replaced the Captains after every world Cup without acting on the actual root cause – its corrupt Administrators originating from political backgrounds. Actually, Dhoni / Rohit / Kohli are not at fault. They have all exhibited talismanic abilities at field. After all these replacements, we have only deteriorated further in ICC events. In fact the Indian media is silent on the future of BCCI as it involves Jay-Hush-Shah while speculating on the poor Cricketers. We even have a Dumboo BJP Minister who just played a Match to hold Office, so as to bypass the State Cricket Board rules. The only difference now is that BCCI is comfortable enough to change the rules itself even with the nod from Supreme Court bypassing the reforms it initiated.
“We have to be better than what they feared we would be. We have to surprise them with compassion, with restraint and generosity”
Nelson Mandela appearing at the South African Sports Committee, after they had elected to disband the Springbok rugby team, Invictus Movie
No, we are not emerging as the new Chokers, but the players are just afraid of future and the huge pressure of invisible-but-omnipresent National elections on them, when International events like G20 or ICC World Cup are conducted as side shows with the main event as a Photo-Op with Vishwaguru. The team lack the fighting spirit to change the fortunes without any help or support from the toxic administration, weighed down by huge pressure on their shoulders in ICC events. The Indian team is Hercules shouldering earth with out-of-the-world Modi on top of it.
Today’s Indian Cricket is not just a Sport, but an amalgamation of fake Nationalism with the current political establishment making it look like a war / surgical strike between countries, empty Pride of Vishwaguru as we are emerging International force when we are languishing behind Pakistan in the hunger index and as election winning machine where BJP’s political campaign was planned on cricket victory and Ram temple as they got nothing else to show off as achievements, with the indian food plate getting reduced gradually owing to inflation and cronyism. We even got Hindutva Pooop err… Pop ( of course with multiple Oohs and Aahs to kindle communalism ) as part of the mainstream songs played on the stadium, provoking even elitistic audience with Jai Sri Ram. As part of multi-million victory celebrations planned, we might have even got an Indian version of Invictus to portray Modi as Saviour of cricket. Only difference would be while Mandela fought for country’s resurrection in post apartheid South Africa, Modi’s Invictus will be about the “Supremacist apartheid” Returning back to India mushrooming under the shades of elite BCCI.
– Nelson Mandela: How do you inspire your team to do their best?
– Francois Pienaar: By example. I’ve always thought to lead by example, sir.
– Nelson Mandela: Well, that is right. But how do we get them to be better than they think they can be? That is very difficult, I find. Inspiration, perhaps. How do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do? How do we inspire everyone around us? I sometimes think it is by using the work of others.
Invictus Movie
Victory is a Journey… not an election Destination
We have not prepared enough for ODIs which is different from mumbo jumbo T20 without any major twists but offering only cheap thrills. ODI needs more patience and guts to pass through the brilliant start, middle slog and bombastic finish and clever enough to make up for any troughs through such phases. We are still not a complete Champions team.
As Dhoni says, victory is a Process. When Chennai Super Kings got many victories on the home ground, but lost miserably on other Indian grounds and even abroad, they did not complain or look to change rules. They just modified the home pitch to stay neutral and even to an extent, playing a tough game, so that they are prepared for knockouts. The oldies very near retirement homes had enough wisdom to play the game on strengths rather looking for opponent weakness. What did Rahul Dravid do as a Indian coach. He used to drop by early, to analyse the pitch, sometimes few days even before the game starts. Unfortunately, he got trumped on his own game when Australia got its superior tactics and analytics overwhelming the indian side. This “Someone else will take care” attitude has solidified the Indian team’s belief that everything is tweaked and taken care of well by BCCI and Admin that they can win without breaking sweat, only to end up in tears. All is not lost… We just need to steel up our temperament with clear tactics for every scenario, rather relying on the literal ground work, so that we never feel like lost child at carnival. Only then the victory process will take care of itself.
“It’s not about how much we lost. It’s about how much we have left.”
Tony Stark / Iron Man, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
For example, the Indian team had initial euphoria after taking 3 wickets of Australia. But when the partnership got steady, taking the sting out of the indian bowling attack, the team members were just dropping their shoulders and some on tears even before the loss, increasing the confidence of Aussies. They clearly could not rise up to the occasion or digest a probable defeat, just like the unsporting crowd at the Stadium, evident in Pakistan and Australia matches. Rohit could have brought in Bumrah who showed a knack of getting wickets before it was too late or tried something else when the spinners were clueless on the dead pitch. They got into a brain freeze as they were never got tested on the tournament. They restricted Head on his playing side ( I don’t know anything technically like gully or cover but only about silly mistakes and its coverups ), they should have deployed few fielders on his scoring areas, taking bowling risks and tempting him to make mistakes where he ultimately fell in the end. Head scored predictably on the same areas. But, there was no novelty in the bowling attack. Contrast this with Rohit falling prey to carefully orchestrated Head’s catch. Data never lies or forsakes any one who trusts, even a crooked Politician who choose to accept rather ignore at his own peril!
“We never lose our demons, Mordo. We only learn to live above them.”
The Ancient One, ‘Doctor Strange’ (2016)
The Gladiator-esque Final
Remember the classic Russell Crowe movie Gladiator’s climax where he need to fight the King-ish Joaquin Phoenix who thinks people could be kept quiet and happy by distracting with Theatrics at Coliseum? Crowe gets stabbed before the contest so that he can’t fight Phoenix on his full strength. Even then he will manage to overpower Phoenix. Phoenix, at the verge of losing will ask his Army’s help guarding the contest on the boundaries. But, none would budge, nudging him to fight a good fight or perish. In the end Phoenix loses at the same theater he built to distract people from his evil rule. Coincidentally, Russell Crowe is an Australian.
“The measure of a person, of a hero… is how well they succeed at being who they are.”
Frigga, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Ricky Ponting has mentioned the Australian team was hesitant before the Finals, fretting about the nature of the Pitch. He quipped every pitch is 22 yards, like a Champion. Pat Cummins knew how to derive energy just by silencing the crowd, offering a different perspective to crowd dynamics eager to chant “Jai Sri Ram!” even in a Cricket match. The Australian Batters made minimal mistakes after the clinical bowling to fetch the Cup. Indian team also had its winner in brilliant Kohli and selfless Rohit. But where the Australians trumped is that they changed every hostile condition to their advantage. Fortunately, ICC had not ashamed itself to the level of delegating corrupt officials, keeping it an even game at least on that front. Even the umpires got booed by Ahmedabad crowd when they did near perfect Job.
“Just because something works, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”
Shuri, ‘Black Panther’ (2018)
Fortune favours the Brave even if the meek survives for Finals.
Happened to watch the Spy Web series from Cohen, masterfully crafted and mimicking very close to reality. It sings peans to Mossad’s ability to infiltrate for intelligence gathering. Cohen rises from a modest typist to almost Deputy Defence Minister of Syria, thanks to Israel’s money power begged from USA and Syria’s greed for power and infighting then. He gets exposed by one paranoid individual, supposedly the only thinking person from the Syrian side. More than the expose, it’s the Spy’s arrogance, who could not even question the frequent power cuts happening around, despite holding high table. It partly explains Mossad’s or Israel’s superiority complex that their intelligence will never get countered, just like the terror crisis of late and how they are killing innocent civilians leaving out the Hamas guys in the name of retaliation. Only the creamy intelligentsia could work out such miracles.
Harrowing image from Israeli border towns attacked by Hamas @Reuters. Nothing justifies the terror attack even if we go down 75 years history of oppression from Israel rendering Gaza to an Open Air Prison depriving them of everything except life – Airport, Power and what not… Hamas need to be hunted down and served Justice, but not by Bombing down Gaza. it just shows how superficial and showy instead of substance, the Israeli leadership has become.
When the West said, “What Ho Jews!”
The World’s most intelligent community, who once weeped that they got nowhere to go, has already amassed Palestine in novel ways with the blind blessings of the west, acting like the proverbial three Monkeys, See / Hear or Do nothing about Israel’s evils, especially when it comes to Palestine. The West Bank is lead by corrupt leader an omen on what will happen to Israel, if their rulers are corrupt. While Gaza is under brutal siege, West bank got slowly occupied slice by slice.
I remember the young Palestinian children who had never met their mothers because they were never given the permit to travel within the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinians never get a chance to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. Today, West Bank is facing another Al Nakba (exodus). In the worst-hit cities and refugee camps such as Jenin, Aqabat Jaber, Qalqilya, and Qalandiya, smaller Bedouin communities are being evacuated, land is being grabbed, and farms are being vandalised.
Had a friendly chat with my fishermen friend who provides me fresh seafood, while bargaining for crabs. He just explained on his professional hassles and how difficult it is to catch crabs. Those inhuman or (incrabby?) crabs bite with their claws and not so easy to catch them. Wonder what will the crabs do when they realise its their last fight for survival. While the massacre of Israelis is terrible, if you are not biased, could equate the decades long Palestinian struggle to that of crabs fighting for their survival, as another perspective. Hamas or any other outfit may not emerge victorious or even alive from lethal opponents – Israel and USA and they are very well aware of it. I don’t know how Israel-USA act like “Mad for each other Combo”, let’s take it up for later. But it could be Hamas’ last chance for their cause of free Palestine state, now occupied by Israel like a malignant tumour. It could be their last desperate suicidal surgery to further their cause.
“I hadn’t the heart to touch my breakfast. I told Jeeves to drink it himself.”
PG Wodehouse
Israel’s Racist Dream / Nightmare of Palestine without Palestinians
When Netanyahu is pretty good at ethnic cleansing, pervading like cancer, slice by slice, why he should attack Gaza? Israel’s gameplan is outed by Mr. Jeeve – Blinken, scoring same side goals for USA with his misplaced loyalty ( owing to his bloodline? ). Their idea is to establish Palestinian Authority, a corrupt puppet of Israel, leveraged to gobble up West Bank and Jerusalem, to rule Gaza so that they could eventually slice up the strip with Jewish enclaves. The other option proposed by Mr. Jeeve is that entrusting the administrations through UN, a dummy stooge of US where everything could be controlled through a Proxy like how Israel controls USA with its inimitable Jewish lobby. None of the so called “peace” solutions offered is going to work for Palestinians who may find Hamas like alternatives as better option in granting them autonomy and semblance of independence from the clutches of Israel, seething to grab everything from them.
“The voice of love seemed to call to me, but it was a wrong number.”
“We are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes, and the Organisation that we serve appears powerless to stop it… The current wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people, rooted in an ethno-nationalist colonial settler ideology, in continuation of decades of their systematic persecution and purging, based entirely upon their status as Arabs … leaves no room for doubt…
This is a textbook case of genocide… European ethnic-nationalist, settler colonial project in Palestine had entered its final phase to destroy the last remnants of indigenous Palestinian life in Palestine. The genocide we are witnessing in Palestine is the product of decades of Israeli impunity provided by the US & other western governments & decades of dehumanization of the Palestinian people by western corporate media. Not only are these governments refusing to meet their treaty obligations to ensure respect for Geneva conventions, but they are actively arming the assault, providing intelligence support and giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s atrocities.”
Palestinian dead Bodies in Israel post Hamas attack.
Prior to that, let’s keep in mind John Oliver’s excellent observation…
“The tendency to collapse leaders and citizens when discussing this. To assume that Netanyahu speaks for all Israelis, or that Hamas speaks for all Palestinians, because that is emphatically not the case.”
John Oliver
Innocent Jewish Question #1: I could not understand how Democratic Socialists of America could rally for Hamas and other Palestinian leaders who became billionaires in part by stealing from their citizens. While most of the Gazan population live below the poverty level, their leaders live in the lap of luxury.
My answer would be that, Firstly, Corruption is not just amongst Palestinian Leaders. Netanyahu is a shining example of bending the Supreme Court on his Corruption cases, to escape unscathed. Secondly, The Right Wing extremists and settlers are not just corrupt on the dimension of money but abysmally morally corrupt to the level of making Arabs go through apartheid and bloody violence meted out by settlers. Lastly, At least the Gaza residents resisted the corrupt PA and its Leader Abbas, by electing the Hamas. On the contrary, what Israelis did is giving absolute power to an extremist Netanyahu for fifteen years, succumbing themselves to the extremist sentiments.
There are some “huge asterisks” about Gazans’ election of Hamas, such as that it was elected in 2006 without a referendum since; that children born after the election make up roughly half of Gaza’s population; and that Hamas won only a plurality of votes by presenting itself as a moderate organization against a rival party, Fatah, widely known for corruption.
Even if all Palestinians in Gaza did support Hamas – which they do not – the relentless bombings of civilians there would still be abhorrent,” Oliver argued. “Collective punishment is a war crime. But the fact is, there is much more criticism of Hamas in Gaza than Americans in general and these dipshits in particular are willing to admit. Palestinians in Gaza are not a monolith and nor, importantly, are Israelis.”
“We pay tax to Israel. We pay a tax to Fatah. We pay a tax to Hamas. We have three governments. They all shoot us…. We are very oppressed.”
Wa’el Al Wadia, the founder of Gaza’s largest food manufacturer. He used to export 80 percent of his products to the West Bank. But now his operation is just a fraction of what it used to be: there’s nowhere for his bags of chips and snacks to go. He had to rebuild his factory after Israeli bombs destroyed it in the 2009 and 2014 wars, losses which he hasn’t made back.
Israel accuses Hamas of using its money and resources to build more tunnels for smuggling in arms and to wage violence, and not for helping its population beset by a state of de-development. Inside Gaza, many Palestinians told me they are angry that Hamas officials are living large while people are struggling to just both eat and have a place to sleep. But, while living under siege, people say that frustration has nowhere productive to go. Instead, Gaza’s problems keep feeding off of each other.
“You can improve the condition of the prison a little bit, but still it’s the prison,” said Shaban.
The UNRWA cuts are just the latest kick in the gut to Gaza’s already starved economy and society. After all, to understand the folly of weaponizing food policies, just ask someone in Gaza what they are eating and why.
Innocent Jewish Question #2: Did they seriously think that Israel is responsible for Middle Eastern violence? Did they realize that all of the wars involving Israel have been defensive wars?
The facts say otherwise. It’s the Israelis who captured the Palestine through unethical means, rooting from the deceitful Balfour declaration. They waged war against neighbours and captured land in Yom Kippur War as an “act of self defense” ( Does this ring anything?). The First Lebanon War was again an act of “Self Defense” citing an assassination of Israel’s UK ambassador by a terrorist cell, not by any country. All the Gaza Hamas uprisings were due to Israel’s inhuman oppression of its residents stealing their occupation, income and autonomy including Airport, Power and now down to Hospitals, all in the name of “Self Defense”. I would bet every war Israel wages, to acquire supremacist power will be “self-defense”, but Palestinians could NOT do that so called “self-defense” even if the Jews occupy their land driving them out with cruel Nakbas.
Zionists say that all attacks on Israel are genocide. Let us look at the fatality count in some of the Israel-Palestine wars. Yom Kippur, 1973, saw 2,700 Israeli deaths and 19,000 Arab/Palestinian deaths. In the First Lebanon War, the numbers were 1,200 and 20,000. First Intifada: 179 and 1,200; Second Intifada: 900 and 3,300. The four Gaza Wars: 144 Israeli deaths and 4,800 Palestinian deaths. As this goes to press, the corresponding numbers for the ongoing war are 1,400 and 7,300, respectively. Hamas has stones, homemade rockets, tractors, and motorcycles. Israel has the world’s most sophisticated weapons. Israel is a nuclear nation while the Palestinians barely have a nation. Wasn’t it Voltaire who said killing is a crime unless you “kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets”?
A Palestinian man from al-Badrasawi family carries the body of his child who was killed in Israeli strikes, at Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in the central Gaza Strip, October 31. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
Innocent Jewish Question 3: Did these protestors honestly believe that this was a struggle over land? If so, how could they explain the fact that there was no peace even after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, giving the Palestinians all of the land? In addition, the Palestinians received billions of dollars in international aid. Instead of investing in infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and factories, Hamas invested in terrorism, building rockets and terror tunnels.
No, it was never a struggle over Land for Palestinians and it’s a Freudian slip from a ranting semitic fanatic, who is obsessed with others Land, where Live and Let Live as a philosophy cannot Live. Palestine has schools and Hospitals which are now bombed in the name Hamas Command Posts. Even by the theory of Israel predicting 500 Km long tunnels, they must be omnipresent running across civic amenities. Can’t they just fight it out from other entry points of the tunnel? Why would any sane person would bomb those civic amenities and come up with stories in Kids room, laying out weapons? In terms of funding, it was Netanyahu who allowed such funding to hamas, strategizing to weaken the PA and capture Jerusalem.
In 2009, pasta and lentils were removed from the banned list after then Senator John Kerry and other US representatives visited the Gaza Strip and were appalled to find out they were forbidden, according to Israel’s Haaretz Newspaper.
“The food blockade instilled in Gazans a strong sense of uncertainty and complete lack of control over their food choices,” Gross and Feldman wrote in a 2015 study in the Berkeley Journal of International Law. “Some of the additions to the list were even made to further Israeli economic interests, such as protecting the market prices of local Israeli farmers with excess agricultural produce.Israeli-produced tahini, or sesame paste, took over the Gaza market after Israel periodically banned the import of sesame seeds. Red tahini, made from specially toasted seeds, is a Gazan favorite that has become too costly to make.“
What Israel has accomplished so far is preparing the Gaza and West Bank for a genocide. Now, it has got a free hand to do what it itched for long to proceed through other stages of Genocide.
And like all processes, genocide has its stages – 10 stages in all if we are to refer to the list prepared by Dr Gregory Stanton, founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch, an organisation that does exactly what its name implies.
One of those stages is dehumanisation. This is an important one because committing genocide is not easy; murdering men, women and children in thousands tends to take a toll on the psyche, causing one to perhaps face all kinds of uncomfortable questions, to counter all manners of unwelcome thoughts that intrude into even the most closed of minds like single spies sneaking into a well-guarded fortress.
Those who pull the trigger on children, those who drop bombs on schools and hospitals, are after all presumably as humans as the ones they murder. How then, one wonders, do they sleep at night? How do they not see the blood on their hands every waking moment, like Lady Macbeth wandering the halls of the Dunsinane castle?
The answer is simple; you live with it by convincing yourself that those being killed are not in fact human, or at the very least not as human as you are. If you do that right and repeatedly, you will successfully convince yourself that murder is not murder; it’s pest control.
Well, Israel is just on the last stage of Genocide. The Denial Phase, where It justifies killing unarmed Civilians, even to the extent of clamping down Hospitals, denying treatment. Just keep in mind Israel is yet to uncover the Tunnel Headquarters under Al Shifa Hospital. All we get is few rusted Rifles laid down everywhere, making one wonder why the Hamas militants who escaped through those tunnels left them in Hospital.
John Oliver on gaza nails it…
“Any conversation around this has to begin with empathy, or we’re just fucked. We know that dehumanizing people leads to violence. We know that violence leads to even more brutality and destruction, and we know that crucially, breaking that cycle is unfortunately going to require leadership significantly different than the ones currently in place.”
To sum up, Israel never withdrew from Gaza. it just treated them like a Rat Farm, calibrating its feed after caging through Checkposts. Hamas is just a brutal Warden of the Gaza Prison. The real Culprit is Israel, completely dehumanizing the inhabitants through constant degradation of their lifestyle where Death looks like a nicer option. If you are not convinced, google yourself on Palestinian Kids Photos. Changing Warden never helps unless the Superior authority changes for good.
Innocent Jewish Question #4: Did they know that Hamas uses its citizens, especially children, as human shields, whereas Israel uses its soldiers to protect its citizens?
First of all demanding millions of people to leave their home, just because Israel wants to fight few thousands of militants is like cutting your thumb to avoid growing nails. Secondly, Hamas has no control over Gaza or its civilians as demonstrated by the inhuman siege enacted by Israel. IDF mentioned Hamas could not even stop the movement of Israel troops in Gaza equipped with just stones, grenades and rockets. It’s pretty clear Israel wants to play out the tricky urban warfare in a fast and furious mode, competing with hamas on revenge saga. Thirdly, Israel does not like Gaza Civilians resisting to leave their homeland and are scared more about their armless resistance across West bank / Gaza than Hamas. They will do these civilian evacuation just to make sure there are no Arab roots even after the war. Hamas and their undoing is just a cover for the cunning Israeli administration. Israel’s perceived self defense is fighting an unjust war, in a closed environment without any network access, simulating a gas chamber, suppressing civilians even before they try to resist.
Israel’s claim of Hamas is using civilians is just a narrative to smoke Hamas Militants out of their dens / holes. The fact is Israel controls even the food intake of Gazans by calibrating the controls at Borders.
In 2012, Gisha published some of this information after attaining it through a freedom of information petition. The documents showed that in 2008, the Israeli military precisely calculated the daily amount of calories needed to avoid malnutrition in Gaza (2,279 per person, in line with World Health Organization guidelines) as part of determining how much food to let in.
“The [Israeli government] thinking was we don’t want Gaza residents to outright die of hunger but we definitely don’t want them to be too full or happy and fulfilled,” Marmur told me in June. She called it a form of “economic warfare” aimed at “trying to squeeze people to put pressure on them to topple Hamas.”
Innocent Jewish Question #5: Did the same people who champion the rights of indigenous people know they were denying Jewish people, the indigenous people of Israel, the right to their historic homeland?
To address the historicity of Jewish Homeland, Jews did not rule Jerusalem before Second World War. It’s the Caliphs and Ottomans who ruled Jerusalem and were magnanimous enough to allow Jews peacefully without any segregation, except for few Caliphs who segregated with higher taxation. But History states Jews lived peacefully in Arabia under the able leadership of Islam rulers and migrated to Palestine from Europe owing to violence and forced exodus. If you are curious why they should face exodus across the globe other than Arabia, is because despite being famed Merchants with integrity, they did not gel with other races / communities isolating themselves in enclaves and characterized by greyish supremacist attitude treating others as secondary servants, extracting exorbitant lending rates from uneducated poor people, even grabbing their lands and corrupt undertakings by bribing Officials. To sum up, historically Palestine belonged to Arabs for centuries after Christ AD.
For the next part of Rights Champions standing with Palestinians, let’s say hypothetically, tomorrow tables turn and someone else got upper hand in the region. Should we all sit tight and watch when the new Superior Badass sadistically asks all Jews to evacuate Israel so that they will fight with IDF alone? Should we all be fine with a badass cutting off water, power and communication in Israel so that people die on their own? Should we just cruelly entertain ourselves, rather asking blood boiling questions, while watching videos of Jews getting bombed, Jews begging on the streets for food and Jewish Kids drinking sea water and Jewish Babies are buried in Hospital campus? Personally, I as a lame blogger will resist that atrocity too, just like the righteous BLM Movement or god fearing Christians are doing now.
Innocent Jewish Question #6: Were they aware that in recent years millions of Muslims have murdered other Muslims in wars and violent upheavals in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria? If indeed Israel left, there would be more bloodshed.
First of all some of the Arab countries have not even recognized Israel and others are lured with western incentives. One of the major reasons Palestine is burning is because of the factions of the Arab world. One could observe cracks with the Arab summit, lack of mutual trust allowing external parties to leverage them, rightfully so with everyone’s enmity track record. Israel’s grievous war crime of this century yet, got blessings of the West, UN and even few Arab countries who are implicitly complicit to this massacre, while paying ferocious lip service to soothe the Arab streets, as evident in the Last Arab summit and dummy UN resolutions.
But, Israel is just acting as a catalyst of separating Arabs, propping up Iran as the trouble maker and seeking to make peace with Abrahamic Accords signed States, only to stabilise themselves in the region with recognition. Israel is not looked upon as Peace-Maker but as offering Piece-Meal solutions and eating them up too, like the story of Monkey and two cats.
The two cats went in search of food, they found a loaf of bread. They both wanted the bread as they were very hungry. They began to fight over it. one cat said, “I found it first it’s mine.” Another cat said, “No I found it first, give it to me.”
A monkey in the tree seeing them fighting said to himself, ‘It will be great if I get that bread. It looks yummy.” He came to the cats and said, “Friends why are you quarrelling? I will settle your fight”. Both the cats agreed to his proposal.
The Monkey split the bread into two uneven pieces. One piece was large and the other piece was small. Then he ate a portion from the larger piece. But this made the other piece larger. So it took a bite from the other piece. likewise, the monkey ate the whole loaf of bread. It climbed back the tree laughing at the cats. Two foolish cats couldn’t able to eat anything.
Innocent Jewish Question #7: Did they know that in 1948, there were actually more Jewish refugees expelled from Arab countries than Palestinians expelled from Israel?
Firstly, it confirms more Jews have lived with Arabs peacefully before the birth of Israel, ruled by the Ottomans. Secondly, Ottomans failed in the second World war deceived by the Western powers. When the western powers split up the land as per their secret agreement, Britain gifted Israel splitting the Palestine leveraging the UN, as a return gift for Jewish Lobby and their help in war efforts and most importantly after the holocaust recognising the need for a separate land for Jews. The original inhabitants – The Arabs were rendered secondary citizens subservient to the new Masters – The Jews, and resisted the Split. This led to violence on both the sides. Lastly, Of course Jews suffered violence but Israel has displaced more Palestine’s Arabs than Jews from Arab land throughout History and is evident even now at gaza and west bank.
Israel is repeating the genocide with impunity from 1948, like the current happenings at Gaza, by denying the natives even basic living needs.
Innocent Jewish Question #8: Most importantly, were they aware that all of the bloodshed between Arabs and Jews could have been avoided with one word: YES! When the United Nations offered both the Jews and the Arabs a country of their own, the Jews said YES, but the Arabs said NO, choosing war instead.
Israel is the geopolitical historical use case of Western Police aligning with the Thief, ensuring the actual owner is dispossessed of belongings, so as to share the loot. Let’s say tomorrow, some greedy Idiot conquers Israel and wants to gift it to Arabs back where Israelis can live but without any rights on their homeland, will the Israelis say “YES!” or move on to somewhere else? Just keep in mind, the Israelis have extracted blood revenge in multiples throughout their history on their Arab neighbours, even amassing their land. Infact, the Middle east was relatively peaceful before the birth of Israel, except for the crusade and World wars. Formation of Israel was not a marriage, where the odd couples kiss each and live happily ever after, but slaughter of rights of inhabitants and their descendants doomed for the future. Ethnic Cleansing was never about Simple “Yes” or “No”.
Innocent Jewish Question #9: Did these “peace advocates” know that Israel has offered the Palestinians peace agreements multiple times over the years, only to be rejected every time and met with an increased level of Palestinian violence?
Israel’s Birth got nothing to do with Peace. It has a lot to do with the petroleum reserves in the Arab which the Western world realised as golden grail of the future then, just as it got to wash off its guilt with Holocaust. Infact, prior World War II, Britain was ready to offer Jews some land in Africa. Israel was their western agent installed to keep the Arab world on leash with the western military strategic control installed there.
Israel never acted like a Peace agent but as a Loot agent. Israel got a method of pressing for Peace once it has stolen enough land from Palestinians and neighbouring countries. It has criminal track record of amassing Palestinian Lands by settling villages near the Borders. Peace treaties for Israel are nothing but the act of a mischievous kid stealing the chocolates from an innocent and seeking the help of his Guardians to legalise the loot. The Peace treaties were always a deceitful way of legitimizing those illegal jewish settlements. Irrespective of the Peace deal outcome, Israel has aggressively encroached the Arab land causing disturbances, throwing away the treaties to bin. With Netanyahu, it has lost its moderate greed succumbing to extremist attitude of apartheid in West Bank and suppressing Gaza as a Prison Block, with an agenda to assimilate Jerusalem. I would bet Israel’s next Peace treaty proposal will demand Palestinians to leave off Jerusalem at Western Gun point along with West Bank and Gaza goodies ruled by proxies. It’s just a namesake agreement so that World will not question their colonial attitude.
Innocent Jewish Question #10: Is it willful ignorance or intellectual laziness that has brought the level of antisemitism to where it is today? At a time when it is increasingly unacceptable to be racist or homophobic, antisemitism continues to be a cancer that briefly recedes only to return with a vengeance.
“Let me be very, very clear. Being pro-Palestinian is not being anti semitic, being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism,” Jordan Queen Rania explained it well.
If we start generalizing, anyone reading proper History will be deemed anti-semitic. Anyone reading unbiased Newspaper will be deemed anti-semitic. When Israel learns the actual meaning of Apartheid, when Israel learns the value of lives other than Jews, when Israel learns what it means to live suffocated in Prison for generations… the world will learn to respect Jews a lot more than now, not just for their smartness and dedication but as peaceful and peace loving Humans. Miles to go… before the restless minds find their peaceful sleep.
Consider the Old Testament, where the Prophet Samuel warns the Israelites of the dangers of accepting a king. It is one of the most prescient – and sinister – passages in the Bible:
These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
The advent of settlements and private property had ushered in a new age in the history of humankind. The 1 per cent began oppressing the 99 per cent, and smooth talkers ascended from commanders to generals and from chieftains to kings. The days of liberty, equality and fraternity were over. – Robert Bergman, Humankind
Poor Peaceless Jeeve…
Only Mr. Jeeve could decipher how his resolution will bring in lasting Peace. Even for short term resolution, to calm the protestors enraged by the 10000+ lives bombed at Gaza, happening solely at US expense, Jeeve has come up with a unique idea of Humanitarian pause, analogous to giving life support to a terminally ill patient at scheduled interval, like checking how long he could survive without life support. By any illogical logic, one could not decipher, how the so called peace loving Peace Broker could bring in peace by killing more people. If at all there is one logic it’s about complete erasure of Palestinians with a deadly silence brought by WMDs. After killing 10000+ Palestinians as revenge for 1500 Israeli lives, Mr. Jeeve lamented that, “It is striking, and in some ways shocking, that the brutality of the slaughter has receded so quickly in the memories of so many, but not in Israel and not in America”. If at all Mr. Jeeve can tell us on the multiplication-table-of-Palestinian-sub-humanness, he uses to avenge his Israeli shock to end this might-mare… World could witness his double standards in open light.
I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.
PG Wodehouse
On 8th November 2023, Mr. Jeeve and fellow Jews ruling USA came up with another Jewish gem, that USA will not allow Israel to control Gaza, after successfully making it a Cemetery of sorts, a city without water, flour or communication and Just dusty air to live until.. Death. Israel as such knew better than anyone else that occupying Gaza will be biggest blunder in Country’s history. It’s better to be a small time thief silently slicing up West Bank making use of border loopholes rather doing a complete Land grab heist only to become the global enemy caught with pants down on their Neo-nazism.
A story on what happens when you got a nuisance as your settler neighbour.
The gypsy and the doctor are both in the market looking for houses. So the doctor decides that he wants his own custom house. So he buys a plot of land. And, seeing the doctor as a smart man, the gypsy does the same.
Once construction on the houses had begun, the gypsy copied everything the doctor did. The doctor put stones on his house, so did the gypsy. The doctor built an interlock drive way, so did the gypsy. In the end, both had identical houses. A few months later, being the flexible person he is, the doctor decides to get his house appraised, and so does the gypsy.
When the real estate agent asked the doctor how much he thought the house was worth, the doctor immediately said 1 million dollars. And so the real estate agent put up that price. Then the real estate agent asked the Gypsy what he thinks his house is worth, and instantly the Gypsy says 1.2 million dollars. The real estate agent asks the Gypsy why he thinks his house is worth more if they both have the exact same, identical house.
And the Gypsy responds “because who ever buys my house has a doctor for a neighbour, but whoever buys his house gets a Gypsy!”
Of course, Israel’s greed for land heist is not something new. It has been doing this for long. But this time it’s just taking revenge giving back a massacre of ten fold civilians rather capturing land. A Thief gets easily caught when he complicates doing both stealing and killing and Netanyahu being a seasoned thief, filled with Right wing hatred to the brim, will never attempt that as he is silently stealing West Bank for long. So, when Mr. Jeeve came up with this unpartial(?) magnanimous posture of freeing(?) gaza from Israel after the war err… Massacre, during his meet with Arab leaders, they just roasted him on his delusional gameplans for Gaza…
PEOPLE MOURN NEXT TO DEAD BODIES OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN, WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING ISRAELI ATTACKS, AL-AQSA HOSPITAL, DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA, NOVEMBER 8, 2023. (PHOTO: OMAR AL-DIRAWI/APA IMAGES)
“How can we even entertain what will happen in Gaza when we do not know what kind of Gaza will be left after this war is done?” asked Ayman Safadi, as he stood next to Blinken. “Are we going to be talking about a wasteland? Are we going to be talking about a whole population reduced to refugees?”
Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister and deputy prime minister
Of Course America is a mighty shining example for that Hypocrite Doctor who always makes the successful Hippocratic surgery, ensuring the Patient dies to live a happily ever… afterlife. If you scoff at Hospitals who erect Billboards for publicity, America is Picasso of such institutions, pretty at good at sponsoring inhuman catastrophe masterpieces with its cutting edge tech, ruthless weapons and funding around the world and at the same time act like a good doctor advising people to eat that Democratic Apple everyday. It’s also pretty ironic that Democratic America’s philosophical enemies – Dictatorships, have delivered much calmer regimes, needling others a lot lesser, like Communist China or Arab Monarchies. Maybe they have not fully evolved into weapon merchants. If you ask Biden, if he will hold a fair democratic election in Palestine, he will talk about everything else in the world except a simple Yes or No, just like infamous ceasefire comics. Its simple.. Palestinians will not support the corrupt PLA acting as Israel’s collaborator enabling its autocratism. The reality is… Biden will never cross that red line laid out by Israel, because when it comes to Israel, the world order goes topsy turvy.
“It was a confusion of ideas between him and one of the lions he was hunting in Kenya that had caused A. B. Spottsworth to make the obituary column. He thought the lion was dead, and the lion thought it wasn’t.”
Ring for Jeeves – PG Wodehouse
Hypocrite’s Hippocratic version – Bombing is the man’s best medicine
America’s Hippocratic Hypocrite avatar is exactly displayed in full glory at Gaza. Picture USA providing 15 Billion Dollar alms to Israel for the war funding, is actually begging Israel for a ceasefire. If you are confused who are the real masters here, you need to check the Jewish electoral funding, establishing the zen theory of what goes in circle as Aid, comes in perfect circle as election funds, like a racist hawala ( Illegal Money exchange using foreign bypass circuits ). Only USA can pinch the baby asleep in the cradle and also rock it like a loving Mother, singing lullabies to calm the world and its own people. Only Holy Mother USA, holding a flaming torch of Liberty, could pull off a world heist by burning the unarmed civilian World in the guise of Self-defense.
I am an unashamed ardent admirer of USA and its open culture, but it’s also pretty ironic that its Government and its people act like two different entities working on opposite polarities. Maybe that’s what keeps their cowboy democracy powered. Giving due credit where its due, one gotta acknowledge, nowhere else… Christians, Muslims, Hindus and rainbow coalition of races can cohabit peacefully along with the Americans, I mean the native Indians. I owe my decade long (modest) earnings and career to a company founded by a Jew and his tech. Irony is that, I never even thought about such origins till date. That is ( or was? ) the beauty of USA, incredible people and two-faced Politicians having their own selfish agenda.
‘What ho!’ I said. ‘What ho!’ said Motty. ‘What ho! What ho!’ ‘What ho! What ho! What ho!’ After that it seemed rather difficult to go on with the conversation.
My Man Jeeves, PG Wodehouse
Currently Mr. Jeeve is on a trip which is as useful as him… for Palestinians and USA. What Ho Jeeve!
Prem Shankar Jha explains below on how Israel may never win the ethnic cleansing process with sandwich enclaves. Their only option seems to be mass displacement of native Arabs to Egypt and occupy the territory establishing a Proxy ruler.
If the current trends in population growth continue, Jews will become a minority in Palestine in less than 10 years. This could happen despite a recently noted rise in the fertility rate of Jewish women in Israel, because the immigration of Jews is bound to slow down in the coming decade, particularly if the violence now being witnessed in the West Bank and Gaza becomes a constant feature of life in Israel.
The Israeli far right’s dream of recreating ‘Eretz Israel’, a Jewish nation that will encompass all the land that was inhabited by Jews in Biblical times, is therefore destined to fail because of the simple working of biology. Given this disparity in population growth rates, Israel’s current attempt to expand the Jewish domain by building apartment blocks and pressurising reluctant Palestinians to sell their properties in East Jerusalem, and by clearing Arabs out, enclave by enclave, from the West Bank, will be like trying to climb onto a train that is moving faster than they are able to walk.
It would therefore have been surprising if the failure of the strategy of “annexation by incremental occupation”, pursued by the Netanyahu government for the past 14 years, had not increased the attraction of a quick, genocidal war to push most, if not all, Arabs out of Palestine. Hamas’s October 7 attack, and the western world’s instant and unqualified condemnation of it, has given the Netanyahu regime the opportunity to contemplate such a ‘solution’. The forced emptying of north Gaza, the continued cut off of power and water supply to, and occasional bombing of targets in, the hugely overcrowded south, the reluctant renewal of water supply to parts of south Gaza only upon American insistence, and the continuing cut-off of electricity and blockade on food supply, are almost certainly intended to create a desperate humanitarian situation that will force Egypt to open its gates to the Sinai and allow the population of Gaza to pour in. Needless to say, once they are gone, Israel will never allow them back, so the ethnic cleansing of Gaza will be complete.
“It just showed once again that half the world doesn’t know how the other three quarters live.”
Much Obliged, Jeeves – PG Wodehouse
Cohen’s OMG Moment- How can you make me so intelligent by Birth… I am gonna hang myself Now!
The Spy Web Series explores the meteoric rise of Cohen to the level of possible Syrian Ministership, only to get hanged to death, without holding a gun or firing a bullet, a dumb Spy movie would want us not to believe in, on how a spy operates. Maybe MI6 spies wear a Tux and saying everyone around, “Here comes the womanising drunkard on rocks, working as part time Showstopper Spy!”, just like Rishi Sunak won his Nobel peas prize by establishing two state treaty, by visiting Israel. It’s quite ironic, Israel of late, is victim of its own over-smartness. Terrorist outfit Hamas was able to outwit Israel’s Aman, Mossad and Shabak and all other BS intelligence organizations, just like Israel’s own Spy did to Syria. Hamas was acting meek asking for work permits and other economic favours from Israel, to outwit it’s stupidly headstrong corrupt Leader Netanyahu, got carried over by his imagined Right wing Supremacy, like all dictators do, even when working under the guise of democracy – focusing on his failing attempt to subvert Justice System to hide over his “Unreasonable” Corruption, only enabling hamas unraveling its true face, cruelly unleashing a bloody heart wrenching massacre on Jews.
“A true agent has instinct, and that cannot be taught. He either has it or he doesn’t.”
The Spy Web series
One could easily imagine Netanyahu performing the Syrian President act in the Spy series for real, shell shocked by Eli Cohen’s treacherous betrayal, after Hamas terror. He did not help himself, by weakening Israel’s democratic institutions with Justice reforms, creating unrest among righteous Israelis, polarising the Jews who have shown utmost Unity throughout their violent history, placed either at giving or receiving end.
“Oh, This Guy’s A Lunatic. Oh, Look At That Psycho, He’s Going To Get Us All Killed.”
Hitler about himself in Jojo Rabbit Movie
Netanyahu’s fiery honeymoon with Hamas and Hezbollah, at Israel and Palestine’s expense.
Netanyahu could be the best ally Hamas or other terror outfits could have imagined, to bring themselves to relevance. Just imagine someone who is from the supposedly smartest race in the World, dissipating World’s sympathy and support gained due to the gruesome Violence inflicted on the Israelites, which could have been leveraged to neutralize the global Arab powers, helping Israel on the long run whitewashing their three quarter century long ongoing sins to Palestinians, instead choosing to his characteristic Palestinian hatred, effeminately waging a direct a war on Gaza civilians instead of targeting the terrorists with meticulous surgical strikes. If this would have happened in India like Godhra, it could have favoured Netanyahu, riding on the hatred and its powerful emotional quotient, but sadly seems does not work with Israelites, who are exhibiting admirable resistance on his democratic attacks and jewish extermism. Honestly, Israel deserves a better Leader, if they still stay true to their heritage.
An Israeli woman cries as she holds a photo of a woman who was kidnapped. Photograph: Petros Giannakouris/AP
Karma – One thing about tables… They always turn.
Now, Israel’s Leadership is treating Hamas just like Eli Cohen deserved of Syria’s punishment for treason. Ironically, Cohen’s public execution only helped Mossad to gain a global Brand image of mythical proportions. Syria turned out to be a Government run by bunch of Jokers allowing Israel to operate at will under their factionally clogged nostrils. Israel is just going through the same scenario now, trying to blood-wash off their intelligence failure and shame to avert a crisis at homeland by killing innocent civilians at Gaza.
Here are some of the most recent images coming to us from Gaza from Guardian.
Members of the al-Zanati family killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza, are taken to a waiting vehicle to be driven to a cemetery for burial in Khan Yunis on Monday. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesA Palestinian man arrives at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza after an Israeli strike. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty ImagesWounded Palestinians receive treatment at al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City. Photograph: Abed Khaled/APA Palestinian child is brought to Nasser Hospital after an Israeli attack on Khan Yunis, Gaza on Monday. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty Images
“We’re Like You, But Human.”
The Jew in Jojo Rabbit Movie
Ok! but Savagely Animalistic when placed at the giving end.
Netanyahu’s “Why do I fall..? So that I learn how to make others fall by pulling their legs” Career Profile
Before we dive further on Netanyahu’s extremist atrocities, he has a track record of a Warrior who always wants to fight… but the problem being he always fought the bad fight and sometimes even when there is no fight. His career in IDF started with Yom Kippur War capturing large chunks of Arab land in six days and rescuing hostages. He has even lost his Brother to terrorism. His political career slowly progressed in early phases skyrocketed with opposing Oslo accords giving dignity to Palestinians and become PM soon after the assassination of then Israeli PM by a Jewish extremist, whose widowed wife blames Netanyahu and his counterpart for his death. Grain of Salt?
He ensured his Politics of Jewish Supremacy never got compromised so far and have always thrived on crisis like below.
In September 1967, a few months after the June war, Arab countries passed the ‘Three Nos’ resolution in the Khartoum summit — “No peace with Israel, No negotiations with Israel and No recognition of Israel”. In an indirect reference to the Khartoum resolution, Mr. Netanyahu later came up with his own policy of “Three Nos — “No withdrawal from the Golan Heights, No discussion of the status of Jerusalem and No negotiations under any preconditions.”
Arab countries have walked back on the Khartoum Nos. In 1994, a year after the first Oslo Accord was signed, Jordan reached a peace treaty with Israel. In 2020, four more Arab countries — the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan (where the Khartoum summit took place) and Morocco — normalised ties with Israel. But Mr. Netanyahu has not compromised on any of his Nos. On the other side, he tightened Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and enforced a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, which saw repeated, disproportionate Israeli bombardments in retaliation for rocket attacks by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
Despite US displaying mad love towards Israel, Netanyahu never acted as a trusted Partner across his Prime Ministership. Its just his unethical mechanisms adopted at US political landscape utilizing his pitfalls and getting the super strong lobbies to work for his agenda is enabling him to steer US to his wild wishes so far.
Clinton has been an effective President maneuvering the Israel Palestine crisis to acceptable levels of peace with Oslo accords. But even Clinton could not rein on Netanyahu in his last phase of Presidency. Dennis Ross, U.S. President Bill Clinton’s peace envoy, then said “neither President Clinton nor Secretary [of State Madeleine] Albright believed that Bibi had any real interest in pursuing peace.”.
A beautiful picture of how American Big Brother Presidency could still achieve World Peace. Bill Clinton with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat at the White House in 1993. (Larry Downing / Getty)
Netanyahu was able to milk Bush administration to clamp down Gaza cutting the residents off their livelihood with fishing business citing smuggling and terror threats. He also shut down the Gaza Airport and even power Plant to make it a full fledged Prison. For Netanyahu 9/11 was a blessing in disguise and US was caught up in a shock and Islamophobia, enabling him to further oppress Palestinians, citing terror threats, with US blessings.
One day in the future, George Bush has a heart attack and dies. He immediately goes to hell, where the devil is waiting for him. “I don’t know what to do,” says the devil. “You are on my list, but I have no room for you. You definitely have to stay here, so I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ve got some folks here who weren’t quite as bad as you. I’ll let one of them go, but you have to take their place. I’ll even let YOU decide who leaves.”
Bush thought that sounded pretty good, so the devil opened the first room. In it was Ronald Reagan and a large pool of water. He kept diving in and surfacing empty handed. Over and over and over. Such was his fate in hell. “No, George said. “I don’t think so. I’m not a good swimmer and I don’t think I could do that all day long.”
The devil led him to the next room. In it was Richard Nixon with a sledge hammer and a room full of rocks. All he did was swing that hammer, time after time after time. “No, I’ve got this problem with my shoulder. I would be in constant agony if all I could do was break rocks all day,” commented George.
The devil opened a third door. In it, Bush saw Bill Clinton, lying on the floor with his arms staked over his head, and his legs staked in a spread eagle pose. Bent over him was Konica. Bush took this in disbelief and finally said, “Yea, I can handle this.”
The devil said “OK, Konica, you’re free to go.”
Obama never had an easy relationship with Netanyahu. Netanyahu leveraged VP Biden to calm him off his atrocities meted out to Palestine. NY times states how Obama was pushed to the the level of letting down Israel at UN a very rare move in US history.
Mr. Obama’s decision on Friday not to block a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements laid bare all the grievances the two men have nursed since shortly after they took office in 2009. For Mr. Netanyahu, it was the final betrayal by a president who was supposed to be an ally but never really was. For Mr. Obama, it was the inevitable result of Mr. Netanyahu’s own stubborn defiance of international concerns with his policies.
The two sides did little to hide their mutual contempt. After talks led them to conclude that Mr. Obama would not veto the resolution, as presidents of both parties have done in the past, Israeli officials essentially washed their hands of the incumbent and contacted his successor in the wings. President-elect Donald J. Trump promptly put out a statement calling on Mr. Obama to veto the resolution.
When that ultimately did not stop the Council from acting, Mr. Netanyahu’s team expressed blistering anger at Mr. Obama. The Israeli official said. “The U.S. administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel’s back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts and effectively make the Western Wall occupied Palestinian territory.”
Trump enjoyed a split personality type relationship with Netanyahu, siding with Israel on their supremacist attitude against Palestinians and even to the extent of handing over the White House keys to his best Friend Netanyahu and officially declaring East Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Afterall Trump is a shining example of what Money could buy, even the mighty American Presidency. Trump played a major role in establishing peace treaties of Arab Nations with Israel when everybody ( of course, except Netanyahu ) said “Three Yes” to the orgasmic Corruption and selfish benefits it brought along forgetting Palestinians’ misery. Now, as a losing Presidential Horse with Netanyahu staying away from his miseries courting Biden and his corrupt relationship souring, Trump exposing his hostile face, spilled out how Netanyahu let him down on crucial stage.
“Israel was going to do this with us, and it was being planned and working on it for months,” he said about the coordination to kill Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. “We had everything all set to go, and the night before it happened, I got a call that Israel will not be participating in this attack.” “Nobody’s heard this story before,” Mr. Trump said. “They didn’t tell us why. I’ll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. We were disappointed by that. Very disappointed,” he said. “But we did the job ourselves, with absolute precision … and then Bibi tried to take credit for it.”
For Israel and his lobbying team, American Presidents are just Use and Throw placeholders, helping their cause. Its sad they have reduced themselves to that level of “swamp” as Trump rightly pointed out before his election and bathed in the same swamp during his Presidency. Now, Israel has come strongly against Trump. “We don’t have to bother with him and the nonsense he spouts,” Israel communications minister Shlomo Karhi said. Asked if Trump’s comments make it clear that he can’t be relied on, Karhi replied, “Obviously.”
Obviously!
Biden never talked about West Bank settlers and even brushed off the quantum of Palestinian deaths as just exaggeration of Hamas. It shows the grip Israel has with American establishment, treating them like a Puppet. Exactly, the reason why Obama or even Trump acted as better Presidents handling Netanyahu. I got no doubts Biden will suffer humiliation especially with Netanyahu, just like Obama or Trump once his utility got over, while walking a tightrope of balancing his reelection and aiding the genocide of Palestinians. It only shows one thing, Israelis are vile cold blooded negotiators who will go to any extent to play with any country’s system, breaking it down for their selfish benefits.
Netanyahu’s “Save your own Ass First” Strategy
Israeli Leadership might have a strategy behind attacking Palestinians, which they are doing well for decades to stamp on their supremacy. It might unite the Israelis divided under Netanyahu slow poisoning his own democracy, for selfish sakes. Netanyahu has so far refused to take any responsibility on the massacre so far, where he is genuinely responsible for focusing on his selfish agenda rather national security. He has remained silent to talk at opportune moment where euphoria could ran high…if at all… The War Cabinet is just another ploy to save his own ass if the Army fumbles on this Gaza invasion. He reminds me of Modi who takes all credit for good happenings but deflects and never answers when he is in hot soup, a characteristic of wannabe dictator caught up in a democratic framework.
The current blockade does not have a clear strategy to defeat Hamas. Infact, there are many unknowns like Hamas’ drone capacity along with the web of underground tunnels which could be claustrophobic with booby traps, playing to the psychological advantage of Hamas. The Air force raining bombs on Gaza strip just shows how cluelessly paranoid the IDF is. They have fired at Ambulances claiming Hamas militants were traveling. They bombed refugee camps imagining the underground network of Hamas got destroyed. All happened without even a shred of evidence with USA / CIA meekly supporting without drawing any red lines, like (s)cared husband adhering to his arrogant Wife’s irrational claims. It’s just plain optics / politics to soothe the hurt Israeli sentiments, raging with nerves of revenge, by starving and gifting the Palestinians a slow death, and instant death by raining bombs, but still clueless on uprooting Hamas and its terror counterparts, or even solving the immediate hostage crisis. One could see Israel putting up pathetic display of hostage families to gain sympathy of the world.
“Attila the Hun might have broken off his engagement to her, but nobody except Attila the Hun, and he only on one of his best mornings.”
PG Wodehouse
Good Bad-Bye Biden?
The open theater apartheid has the blessings of the West who once wanted to eradicate Jews from their part of the Planet, deeper down the history, and it’s not just Hitler, only coinciding as the wholesome full stop for such evil acts of terror and genocide. Sadly, Jews are now doing the same atrocities, they have painfully endured, to the poor Palestinians, without any remorse. More than the violent history, I never imagined Biden’s bloodlustness, acting like a stumbling Cowboy Bush, placing a misfiring pistol on Planet’s head. I have never witnessed mighty American Presidency getting treated by Israel like an idle couch getting soiled by mischievous kids. With all the dubbing of mighty voice of military power, Biden looks like a confused fused out Leader, who cant connect his own past and present.
Wonder if it’s the same Biden who wanted Saudis to pay the Price for Khashoggi in 2020 but found close ally in MBS. Why such bombastic campaign words when ultimately he is gonna be a fused out cracker with a meek sound.
Wonder if it’s the same Biden who wants to fight for Ukraine freedom but when it comes to Palestinians chooses to jail them as per the jewish lobby wishes. If Biden can’t differentiate between Hamas and Palestinians, can he at least distinguish between Democrats and Republicans, or go on extinguishing Democrats in Presidential race.
If I don’t run for president, we’ll all be OK.
Joe Biden
While Biden could be the right President making wrong decisions, as there is no other way to console ourselves, what is more disconcerting is the silence of the so called Democratic Socialist Saviours…. When they opened up they looked up to Israel to stop bombing Civilians, rather questioning their own President. If at all cowardly Israel did not bomb civilians like a mad racist Hitler, the question of ceasefire would not have been raised, making it a rightful fight between Hamas and IDF Forces. But Israel has declared a siege against millions at gaza just to conquer the 40K Hamas terrorists, targeting 25000+ targets in 30 days ( Just get your Maths done 25K Bombs for 40K Militants so far ) without any care for civilians out there, hitting all the essential services, including Water wells, communication companies and even Hospitals and Ambulances. This is completely intentional war crime, directly targeting Civilians instead of Hamas, as IDF is fully aware that they are not on the ground but hiding under the ground.
No nation should stoke instability in its neighbor’s country.
Joe Biden
What happens when you are not careful on what you wish for, even if you got an (American) genie on your back?
A gypsy man caught a golden fish And the fish said “Dear fisherman, if you throw me back in the water, I will grant you three wishes.”
The gypsy threw the fish back and went “I want to be white, I want to be 8 inches long and I want all women in the world to want me.”
Fish did it’s magic and the man turned into a sanitary pad.
If someone opines that, Biden on his worst day is Hundred times better than Trump, one could easily argue Trump on any day is thousand times better than a two faced Biden, treating civilians all around like getting rid off dirt on his shoes. Its the same Biden who proudly proclaimed that he was the one who opened up Rafah Border for trickling Humanitarian aid while showing up his grave-digger trait with War funds and warships to Israel. Even if Biden kept quiet like Trump used to do in warlike situations, Netanyahu will not be dancing on steroids on top of Palestinian dead bodies. Trump openly displayed his Islamophobia and White Supremacy ( When he himself looks like native red Indian in his mug shot. I am fine being called a Racist in this world where it’s perfectly gentlemanish to bomb unarmed people. ) to cater to the basal instincts of his supporters playing to the gallery. Biden is talking like a Poop err.. Pope, while in reality being a deadly murderer, toying with his military might and funds, to hide his inefficiencies and wrong decisions.
“A melancholy-looking man, he had the appearance of one who has searched for the leak in life’s gas-pipe with a lighted candle.”
PG Wodehouse
Wonder if it’s the same Biden who was an awkward peace maker withdrawing troops in Afghanistan but looking to bully in other parts of the Planet for contradicting reasons. Maybe he got points to score and settle after his illogical, hasty, haphazard and cowardly step back at Afghanistan, trying to shore up his floundering image through Ukraine and Gaza war.
Obviously, no wonder he is going through such a low approval despite the powerful democrat media lobby. If any individual does this, he could be deemed schizophrenic, but not USA and its President. Afterall, it’s the same Biden who sends Baby diapers to Palestine as Humanitarian Uncle while shitting on them by sending sponsored Fighter Jets and Drones to bomb Palestine and bullshitting the Public on his Saintly credentials. Where Biden excels is that, he trumped Trump on his opportunism on very issue he stood for during election as if flipping a pancake, maybe his best fit for retirement career. With all his vulnerabilities and war criminalities with so much successful murders on his Name all over the Planet, still carrying the coalition of democrats like a Trojan Horse, Biden may still win his Presidential race. But the real question is how tolerable will he be for world, ( forget about peace), with a supreme ego of “We’re US, for God’s sake!”, going on a rampage for every step he stumbles.
“Breakfast had been prepared by the kitchen maid, an indifferent performer who had used the scorched earth policy on the bacon again.”
PG Wodehouse
There is a democratic euphoria around their recent poll wins. Biden promptly washed off the opinion polls which washed him off, citing the latest election results. While the math of opinion polls don’t tally well where certain demographics did not back the Democrats surprisingly, there is other side to the small but streak of wins. Andy Beshear who got elected from conservative Kentucky stayed off even from uttering the Biden word. While the election results stands as a testament against Republicans trampling on American rights, it also rings warning bells to Democrats where things could be different for Presidential elections. Post pandemic challenges and Biden’s inert and bland Presidency could act as a deterrent to moderates and it may even spring a surprise of new Parties taking up major share of democrat votes. USA is at a cleavage phase where a new entrant could do more damage if he/she could enthuse as alternative to blabbering Biden or toxic Trump.
US-Israel love story is just like the below stuff of mad for each other love, driving the world insane…
A rich American falls in love with a gypsy woman…
He tells her he loves her, but she says she can only marry him if her father approves. The American goes to the father and tells him he would do anything for the hand of his daughter.
The gypsy wasn’t that eager to give her away, so he tried to find reasons not to.
He first tells the American – “If you want my daughter you have to buy her the best car there is”
To which the American says: – “If American loves, American buys.”
After the arab buys the house, the gypsy again tells him: -if you want my daughter, you have to build the biggest and nicest house there is –
“If American loves, American builds “
And so he builds the biggest house ever. The gypsy was starting to get angry, so as an ultimate request, He says – “If u want my daughter, you have to have a 14 inch penis”
“If American loves, American cuts.“
The bottom line is Biden has not excited his voters or made a compelling cause to re-elect him so far, with the actual economy not bailing him or voters out, which could also affect voter turnout. If he loses it won’t be his fault but that of Democrats who did not course correct their progressive movement with compelling Leadership or efficient PR disguised as content, just being content with petty victories. It’s easier to wash off consistent scientific polls where Biden’s approval rating is going down gradually as illogical prophecies. It’s much easier to brand Dean Phillips as Quixotic for his Presidential contest, where in reality he could be an outlier addressing the raging democratic faultlines, others afraid to talk openly. It’s easier to censure Rashida Tlaib for her open criticisms about Israel and Biden citing a lame slogan, but it may come back to bite Biden where the swing states just swing by few hundred votes.
US for so much to boast about its mighty military is only performing premature ejaculation – be it Afghanistan / Ukraine or other places like Iraq where it messed up after conquering. USA has an unenviable history of forgetting its own Presidents before George Washington, just because they did not contribute anything to the US History. It declared independence in 1776 while George Washington became President in 1789. Let’s hope atleast Google will remember Biden for all his failings and fumblings.
Don’t…. Dream Presidency, Work for it!
If at all Democrats look for another chance in 2024, they should first wake up from their slumber and illusionment of good governance, because with all their absurdities, they made Trump look like Socrates. More than war, which is just American Politicians’ side business as weapon brokers, Americans might look for economic rescue, by working the retail cartels, solely encashing on the Bidenomic doles, to make food and basic necessities even more affordable. I am not sure if Central Bank tuning economy or Democrat’s PR work on positive economy really helps or connect with voters like Supermarket prices. Price reduction could work better than reckless handouts which boosts Inflation further. Sometimes, modest Apple, Onion or tomato at higher price could do more damage than missiles. Inflation could be the democrat’s monster killer if they dont slay it in next few months. While obamacare inadvertently started as stigma but went on to become a nice brand, Bidenomics is just a topsy turvy PR work, touted as a Winner while failing at all sides with sagging perception dynamics.
“Intoxicated? The word did not express it by a mile. He was oiled, boiled, fried, plastered, whiffled, sozzled, and blotto.”
PG Wodehouse
The Palestine crisis is anyway going to blow out of proportions with Netanyahu, they may need the magic of putting a lid on Israel lobbies for now to stay clean and shore up their bases or atleast play act like Moderates with weeps and sobs here and there. Unless US / UN takes over control of Gaza, of course soon after few news cycles to soothe Israelis craving for revenge… soon after Netanyahu brings in fake issues like indefinite security at gaza, when in reality Israel is struggling to even capture Gaza and it will be a hot potato for anyone who wants to consume… soon after Dummy Biden, confused on which traffic light he is showing to Israel, play acting superior to Israel to convince the World and American voters of his Boss and Peace Maker credentials… soon after killing enough children to satiate Israel’s bloodthirst… soon after Israel declares that ritualistic win, when nobody knows what they have won except for the multiplication table they used to avenge their Massacre by killing innocents, that too from a meek air warfare, as if they are fighting Corona and not Hamas militants… Don’t even go near them… ( Maybe Israel could have uprooted Hamas by gifting those hapless Vaccines and its five or six booster shots. Hamas would have got tired like Guinea pigs suffering too many injections, making even their nemesis Israelis look good before those vaccines). If at all every above scenario happens sooner than later, Democrats may find it easier to shore up support in swing states, the rainbow coalition of races which ignorantly propped them up in 2020, hoping they are different from Republicans without knowing both are two sides of the same coin, funded by the same Israel Lobby Bank.
Its upto Biden if he assesses he could be that floundering contradicting but still a nice President at 84, beating the perception that he is getting babysitted by his handlers, maybe hire Stormy Daniels as Baby President-sitter for that glamour / quotient, just joking…. Jokes apart, personally I would adore a Yodha for President with wisdom rather a Rambo cut loose on military steroids. Unfortunately Biden’s army of handlers are doing a lackluster work, making him actually talk like Yodha, (Remember? “Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you…”) as if they are taking car of the President on vacation at Hawaii in an Old age home, burp around exporting bombs as if suffering from constipation. No… it’s not about stutters or physical weaknesses but the lack of clarity or assurance in his message, where even an armchair President could score well. They make take criticism from all corners with a grain of salt, but anyone worth their salt will not be acting in Hubris like Biden’s team, maybe his Presidency got too salty with all the blood acquired, that they are throwing up the Presidency itself, for there is something about salt… it just disappears in water unlike Blood on hands.
Biden Team’s indifference to the opinion polls, strengthens independent observers views that the Biden Administration is not even having open and good discussions on contentious issues. Biden’s approval ratings dropping down in slow motion for months just shows how lackasaidal team, they are so far. Perhaps, they might be hoping that Trump disappears from Presidency race with all his indictments, but it will only showcase Biden as another hapless person who can’t fight it out, instead choosing to bomb it out, just like Netanyahu and IDF, helping out the authentic Islamophobes – Republicans.
Donald Trump is in Berlin for his first state visit with Angela Merkel. Trump quickly asks what the secret of her great success is. Merkel tells him you just have to have a lot of intelligent people around you. “How do you know so quickly if someone is intelligent?” asks Trump. “Let me demonstrate.” She picks up the phone, calls Wolfgang Schäuble and asks him a question, “Mr. Schäuble, it’s your father’s son, but is not your brother. Who is it?” Without hesitation, Schäuble answers, “Quite simply, it’s me!” “You see,” Merkel tells Trump, “this is how I test people’s intelligence.”
Thrilled, Trump flies home, immediately calling Mike Pence, to ask him the same question. “It’s your father’s son, but is not your brother. Who is it?” After much back and forth, Pence says, “I have no idea, but I will try to find out the answer by tomorrow!”
Pence just can’t figure it out and decides to seek advice from former President Obama. He calls him, “Mr. Obama, it’s your father’s son, but is not your brother. Who is it?” he asks Obama. “Easy, it’s me!”
Happy to have found the answer, Pence calls Trump and says triumphantly, “I have the answer, it’s Barack Obama!”
Trump rages and says, “No you jackass, it’s Wolfgang Schäuble!”
Democrats need to remember even Obama was struggling with a flailing economy during his reelection, but he had the support of the youth and progressives. Biden may need to act like an admirable adolescent in comedy shows if he could not repeat Clinton’s show-offs ( Fireside chats or Monika.. My darling type shows whichever suits well), or like Hipster Jesus or atleast good old Santa claus enthusing the youth with goodies. Currently, he looks like a Grandpa whom nobody will trust with their car key. Adolescent role is easier for him… anyway he is acting like juvenile with all his (l)ego wars and uttering baby faced awkward humanitarian comedies, while turning cities to graveyard. Sadly, wars don’t suit him like that Cowboy in ambush after that Iraqi disaster. The more he tries more he looks like a loser. Just satire guys.
There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine.
PG Wodehouse
Michael Angelo, Albert Einstein, and George W. Bush die and end up at heaven’s gate… Michael Angelo walks up to the gate and St. Peter tells him. “Listen, we have had some recent intruders faking who they were. Is there any way you can prove that you are the real Michaelangelo?” Michael Angelo requests a board and he then proceeds to draw the most beautiful painting ever seen by St Peter. St Peter tells him, “Congratulations! Welcome to heaven.”
Next comes Albert Einstein and St Peter proceeds to tell him the same thing. Albert Einstein asks for a board and starts explaining everything about his Theory of General Relativity. St Peter tells him, “Congratulations! Welcome to heaven.”
Lastly comes George W. Bush. St Peter tells him, “Listen George, Michael Angelo and Albert Einstein were both able to prove that they were who they said they were. What can you do to prove that you are actually who you say you are?” George goes on, “Who are Michael Angelo and Albert Einstein?”
St Peter sighs and says, “Come on in George.”
Liar… Liar… Pants on Petroleum Fire!
First I saw Biden on TV as VP nominee announced by Obama. It’s still memorable for an outsider. He looked so cool and impressive in his aviators like a Last bench Student still trying to clear the Presidential Exam. He was an amicable VP with a simpleton attitude to complex problems, an asset for a Politician. But what Biden was metamorphosed to now, is on the shades of George-Doubting-for-Nothing-Bush. Apart from sending uninhibited war aids and funds to support Israel’s massacre, what is more dangerous is his (im)moral backing of Israel’s atrocities, first brushing off the Palestinian civilian casualty count as exaggeration, hoping the pliant media will create a US-Democrat friendly narrative. Unfortunately for the Murderers of Gaza, all the lies got debunked. Hmm… day-dreaming Boss Babies in Internet era where fake News gets hushed off like Birthday Candles. The real problem is not Hamas, Osama or even Saddam Hussein, for nothing has changed even after their death / termination. The extremism has only grown taking various monstrous forms like mass shootings. Its time for the World to introspect and chart out a new Path to stay away from the Weapon merchants’ incentivized interventions who are using Arab land as Test laboratory for their weapons, making poor Arabs and pliant Israelis the guinea pigs.
Biden then steeled himself for further lies targeting Al-Shifa Hospital, stating Hamas is operating underground, as if Hamas’ version of Pentagon is down under. Even US engineers who built a miraculous Panama Canal, will find it difficult to build such sophisticated huge tunnels under such heavy structures. There is no denial, there will be tunnels connecting to Hospital for emergencies, of course with various other major connecting tunnels around, but Hamas operating its Pentagon precisely under Al-Shifa is nothing but a Quixotic quip shot. Unfortunately, it’s the public who are getting fooled. Al-Shifa is just a war episode, to clamp down the Independent Media using the Hospital as a Nerve center to dispense the truth, leveraging the only Internet working there. Israel has already bombed down the network infra of Gaza to restrict the information flow and depriving them of fuel. Also, it satisfies Netanyahu’s extremist ego that there is no place in Gaza he can’t touch, like he openly declared soon after taking control of the Hospital. Maybe there is just one thing he can’t do involving his own orifices or we just need to provoke his ego? Bet that Israel’s Hagari will take out US media for a Picnic to a Palestinian Children’s bedroom and show off the weapons used by the Child to annihilate Israel, once everything is staged well. How so Dangerous!
[ Update 21st Nov 2023.
By now Israel has already done the propaganda part of Hamas operating under Hospitals. It came up with a video of weapons captured from MRI room. Anyone who would have visited such test machines will be aware that they don’t even allow jewels as it works on the principle of magnetic resonance. Israel certainly needs an MRI check to diagnose its own blood lustness. Another propaganda video with a Mexican Israeli actress claiming Hamas in in Hospitals got busted. Maybe time to hire quality PR team that everything they tell Is-real. There was another video of Hamas militants taking up Hostages for treatment to Hospitals making rounds as a proof of Hospital as terror hub. Maybe IDF will take their wounded ones somewhere else rather to Hospitals for treatment. Seems Hamas is slightly more humanitarian than IDF in treating its victims gracefully. ]
Why should US and Biden lie before the entire world shamelessly partnering with Israel. It’s the same shameless reason why Bush similarly wanted to capture Iraq. It’s just that Texan oil Lobby replaced the vocabulary of secret ingredient with presence of WMD in Iraq, to fool common public. They did not have a governance plan then for Iraq nor even now at Gaza. Afterall, their wars are not for People or ideology but for Oil companies. It is same shameless reason why US is attracted towards Arab land for decades and fighting its factions keeping the regional unrest simmering – Petroleum.
Such a project could have laid the groundwork for a win-win collaboration between the Palestinians and Israel. But as the Israel-Palestine conflict has dramatically escalated in recent weeks, that no longer appears to be on the horizon, with the project frozen for the foreseeable future.
Instead, on 29 October, as the war continued with no ceasefire in sight, Netanyahu’s government awarded 12 licences to six companies, including BP and Italy’s ENI, for natural gas exploration off the country’s Mediterranean Basin area.
The new resources of oil and natural gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean are valued at an astounding $524bn. However, according to the UN report, a significant portion of the those assets will have to be sourced from within the occupied territory of Palestine.
Its (war) economy Stupid!
Two thieves come to a village to steal from the richest guy. They go to the village temple Festival to assess the richness. conventionally Richness is usually measured by the first respects provided at the temple depending on the public clout or donations. Instead the thieves gather their intelligence by following up a Professional Sex worker in that village… on whom she wooes and pays attention. There is a colloquial saying, a professional sex worker eyes the Purse well than the Bulge. Though I am crude, this is a beautiful humorous scene in a movie, Thiruda Thiruda passing in few seconds but holds very well for Uncle Sam for its decades of violent history and his niche eye for natural resources around the World, standing up to its dubious and shameless name of Worldwide Wild West. One can easily understand the land is blessed with natural resources if US voluntarily gets involved as Uncle Sam got die-hard habit of placing himself in the middle of any richie rich swamp, acting like a gunslinging Global Bandit. US might be acting like a Saviour of Panama when their eyes are just on the Canal.
US handling of Palestine has a similar track record, where US saved the Israeli ass many times in the name of peace talks nudging Palestine on Forgive and Forget but encouraging Israel to misgive terror and beget land. The recent discovery of petroleum in Gaza only makes its natives suffer more with the conniving US. It is disgusting to write about the harsh vulgarity about the senseless violence, that too on a futile Jobless Job with zero outcome, because the privileged World does not care duly for Palestinian lives and it gets bitter day by day seeing wretched images and happenings reminding of brutal Israeli pest control just as their Minister quipped – “Human Animals”.
The Petroleum theory has weightage to it as the Israel extremist Government is keen on throwing Palestinians out through various forms of torture – Starvation, Violence and Bombing. Netanyahu does not seem to care at all for the hostages when the US mediates from his end through Qatar. Only time will tell the truth or expose their true intent of such brutality.
John Perkins in his Book, “Confessions of economic Hitman”, states this…
The United States spends over $87 billion conducting a war in Iraq while the United Nations estimates that for less than half that amount we could provide clean water, adequate diets, sanitations services and basic education to every person on the planet. And we wonder why terrorists attack us.
The United States made no secret of its desire to have the House of Saud bankroll Osama bin Laden’s Afghan war against the Soviet Union during the 1980s, and Riyadh and Washington together contributed an estimated $3.5 billion to the mujahideen. However, U.S. and Saudi participation went far beyond this.
In my opinion, the difference between the crusaders and us was a matter of degree. Europe’s medieval Catholics claimed their goal was to save Muslims from purgatory; we claimed that we wanted to help the Saudis modernize.
While Israel is essentially a geopolitical guinea pig for the Western world, to establish its presence in the Middle east, it has quietly transformed itself into a grey market weapon supplier of the World. Its major selling point being, tried and tested ( on Palestinians ) cutting edge weaponry, sold with least restrictions to many countries. Israeli weapon export figures have doubled over the past decade, totalling $12.5bn last year.
Over the years, the Israeli army has tested rubber bullets, artificial intelligence-powered robotic guns and various forms of crowd dispersal solutions, which have inflicted severe injuries on Palestinians.
Nabeel al-Shawa, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon who has worked in Gaza since 1978, treated many Palestinians wounded by Israeli firing on the Great March of Return in 2018 – when tens of thousands of Palestinians demanded they be allowed to return to the land they were forcibly removed from in 1948.
“For Israeli snipers, this was merely target practice with humans,” he said. “Most patients had been shot in joints deliberately to cause maximum damage, but not kill. “These new rounds the Israeli army used caused injuries I have never seen before. In some cases the limb appeared intact, however, during surgery, I could not distinguish between bone and soft tissue.”
“If a weapon’s main purpose is proven in the actual battlefield or in as near realistic circumstances as possible, then they are battle proven,” he said. “You cannot blame countries for buying from Israel. You can test all you want in a lab, but Israel is testing in the field, and as there are never any lags of time between one period of combat to the next, the development cycle is virtually in real time, said Zoran Kusovac, a geopolitical and security analyst.
Dr Ahmed el-Mokhallalati from the burn and plastic surgery division at al-Shifa Hospital, in an interview with the Toronto Star, described the wounds as “very deep – third and fourth-degree burns, and the skin tissue is impregnated with black particles and most of the skin thickness and all the layers underneath are burned down to the bone”. El-Mokhallalati said that these weren’t phosphorus burns, “but a combination of some kind of incendiary bomb wave and other components”.
The Israeli military has not commented so far on the statement made by Gaza’s Ministry. But the mystery incendiary bombs, the Iron Sting’s debut and the reported use of the new Spark drone in the current war suggest that Israel is once again testing new weapons in conflict.
“Israel’s weapons will continue to remain attractive to international buyers based on performance in the occupation,” Loewenstein said. “But Israel is not just selling weapons; they’re selling the ideology to other countries – of getting away with it.”
Back to the bloody blog… If Netanyahu commits palestinian genocide in the name of “Right to self Defense” so did Hitler on Jews. While we may hate Hitler rightfully by making Schindler’s list / Jojo Rabbit, wonder in what way Holier-than-Hitler-Netanyahu and his staunch ally USA doing to Palestinians is a lesser crime than jewish genocide of the past, by denying them everything required to live? They have just turned the Gaza strip, previously an Open air Prison to an open air Gas chamber by just cutting off supplies with an inhuman siege, without caring for the lives out there. Wonder how much of Israel’s sob videos would be able to wash their sins off, arrogantly happening under broad daylight.
Palestinian children injured in Israeli air raids are being treated at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 24, 2023 [Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images]
“What more provocation is required.. than what Israel has done to the Palestinian people for three-quarters of a century?”
Saudi Prince Turki
When Being a Dick is not making it any bigger.
What Netanyahu did post unforgivable terror act by Hamas is even more unforgivable. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s sentiments of this exchange of violence between the magnificent races. But… But, let’s go through the history and absurdities of Jews and their bloodline brotherhood, the Christians and Muslims as violence only begets irreverence. They are all supposed to be descendants of Abraham. Abraham went through a lot in his life, Circumcision at 99 and fathering kids in his 90s, first testing on his maid and then doing his impregnation experiments with his Wife. The Maid ‘s descendants are supposed to be the Arabs and his wife’s descendants are Jews who got divided further into Christians, as Jesus was more interested to work on the Jews rest day – Shabbat and Jews could not digest him changing their “sanatana” conventions. Maybe it’s just a Palestine property war among the sons. But, why so bloody? Wonder what Abraham would be thinking from heavens, all such hardships of procreation for this, to perform cruel family planning / erasure with Rockets? Get a life Guys!
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”
– Bible Genesis 17
Maybe God could have cautioned on the grim future of his descendants, so that Abraham refrained himself, taking pain or pleasure to create those good for nothing fighting Kings. What is the point in (pro)creating something for nothing. Sometimes, I wonder if the God and his three Messengers – Moses the Jew, Jesus the Jew turned Christian and Nabi the founder of Islam, got to save themselves from Us – The barbaric Humans of AI era sitting like ducks on ticking atomic bombs, maybe waiting for AI to trigger them.. thinking of Good riddance or just a barbeque party at AI cyber ville! Wonder what happens if AI starts hating humans like Hitler hating Jews or Jews hating Palestinians. Having successfully screwed up all the ten commandments, for the fake sake of Jerusalem, maybe the revised Jewish first Commandment should read, Thou shall not kill God in the name of Humanity by killing Humans! Hopefully AI will learn to respect Divine messengers but stop short of doing its own Crescent-Crusade unholy war.
Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways, for the Lord detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.
Jewish proverb
Apart from Gods and Messengers, Gandhi’s simple “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.” explains the consequences on terror whether sponsored by countries or rabid outfits. USA is insufferably dealing with domestic terror while making sin money with lucrative weapon deals. Unfortunately, it seems we are already blind enough to realise the deep $hit we are into.
When Brahmanical-Jewish Supremacy become conjoined twin.
Sadly but also funnily, some Op-eds of Israeli origin talk about how they were massacred by Hamas, unprovoked, as if they were new born without any baggage of sins. Remember persistent and immoral occupation of Palestine throwing the treaties to bin, slowly deprive them of even basic facilities like Airport or electricity Plant or even Fishing Business casting them as terror threats, degradation of Palestinians to an Open air prison restricting their movements and occupation, rendering them as substandard humans, depriving them economically, military and settler induced violence and finally corrupting the Palestine Authority and Hamas to keep them enslaved to Jewish terror. If they are still suffering with selective amnesia, they can depute Wonder Woman to screen the bloody history of Palestine and their robbery in broad daylight for a century on how they captured Arab lands through Jew Land Banks and driving the Arab inhabitants out to draw a disproportionate border by pocketing colonial Britain’s lawmakers and if that’s not enough, rewind to recent history of slow steal of Arab Land like relishing cheese sandwich, bite by bite… just to enlighten the Israelis of what they have done to Palestine.
40 Gypsies arrived at heaven’s Pearly gates. St Peter said “we’ve only got room for 12. So decide among yourselves who is coming in. Five minutes later St Peter says to God, “They’ve gone.” God says, “What, all 40 of them.?” St Peter says, “No ..the fcuking gates!”
Apart from the stealy innocence of Israel, their Op-eds accuse Indian Congress and others – ideologically non-aligned to their Supremacist hate crimes, as Vote politics, appeasing Muslims. Don’t know how Indian Muslims will get related themselves to Palestinians, as they dont bind together by bloodline or race. If religion is a binding factor like our Barbaric history, one can’t sense any equality or belongingness in the Arab world for Indian expats, just being poor secondary labour force, unlike democracies like US.
“I was in Gaza last week, visiting a school sheltering thousands of people. It was heart-breaking. Children who used use to learn and laugh in this school, today they plead for a piece of bread and a sip of water.”
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA
When Arab countries like UAE and Bahrain allied to Israel and profess open love for their expansionist cause and Palestine as their Parking Lot, treating Palestinians like puppy caught on the wheels, wonder how someone could bind distant Indian muslims to Palestinian cause, unless, the linking factor could just only be Humanity and righteous choice of voicing support for someone who have been plundered and rid off their homeland to suit the new Camel in the Palestine tent driving out its original inhabitants. Wonder why such Op-Eds don’t question USA’s appeasement politics, which has a larger population of Jews and Biden is bending Head over Heels to stumble at the feet of Jewish Lobby and Vote bloc. Because it suits their sweet talk and smooth slay election Politics?
“The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October were heinous, brutal and shocking, they were war crimes — as is the continued holding of hostages. The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians. The lifeline has been unjustly, outrageously thin”
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
A recent blast in Kerala at Minority convention is getting diverted by BJP with communal agenda, calling it as appeasement politics of Congress and Communists. New India envisioned by BJP-RSS is a mimic of current Israel, slicing up the Minorities and gobbling up the majoritarian hate towards them, in the name of God and Religion. They got a Place of worship issue in common Ayodhya / Jerusalem to make a living out of it. Maybe God never lives in their sacred hearts. They got people to hate while carefully summing up the Majority to their side. They have their most self-loved supremacist attitude like Twice borns descending from Brahma’s head – Chosen children of God theory. There is no point on betting on a fact – hatred has its limits and saturation with expiry date, especially when the saffron Politics is all about making hatred hay while New India burns. No wonder India under Modi has changed its stance towards supporting Israel abandoning Palestine’s cause. New India is nothing but, Israel’s camel in the Palestine tent replaced with a holy cow in a Minority tent.
Every year, the highest number of killings of children by any of the actors in all the conflicts that we witness is the maximum in the hundreds. We have in a few days in Gaza thousands and thousands of children killed, which means there is also something clearly wrong in the way military operations are being done.
Antonio Guterres, UN Chief
The Pathetic sign of our times is that the UN supposed to the Jury of such tussles is doing an helpless open commentary just like any Nilly-Willy like me could do on social Media. Either UN works in cahoots with Israel+USA, just lending a soothing moderate voice rather being a silent witness to all inhumanities or it’s just a powerless dummy entity where the World will be a better place even without it. If just one country could veto against rest of the World, UN should atleast make that country bear the responsibility of repercussions rather doing hapless social commentary. What is the point in serving Justice when the damage is already done, and the cycle of violent struggle keeps on happening.
If Ukraine war led us the trend of Drone wars, Hamas to a different trend of terrorism and abduction, what Israel has opened up to the world is a very dangerous trend of killing children and civilians, matching up to the one and only… Hitler. These new trends will affect USA and Ukraine war more than Israel or Palestine, as Israel has pushed boundaries of the war crimes and emerges unscathed. as Zelensky has warned. Let’s see if the West still wears the rose tinted glasses if it is Ukraine. Afterall, there should be an iota of difference between Terrorists / Occupiers and sovereign elected democracies. Else, so called terrorists look good, just by provoking supremacists.
Can’t caption it! At a hospital in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 24. | Photo Credit: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP
OK! back to the Israel model of Supremacist governance in India… Apart from all above similarities, Modi makes use of the present Netanyahu’s racist Israel model for establishing and strengthening their Majoritarian government. For example, Israel never tries to capture a country / Government. Their understanding is pretty simple. Any mighty Government is nothing but a handful of pliable Lawmakers and resourceful Influencers ( Lobbies ). They dont waste time on the streets but only at the high offices as high profile negotiators, hijacking Governments. The Balfour declaration from the Britain, vouching for a Jewish nation, stands as an example how Jews make use of the Lawmakers to suit their purpose with appropriate incentives. If you are not convinced, just ask yourself why would present USA offer Israel with yearly aids and multifold wartime aids? The ultimate winner of American elections are Israel’s AIPAC lobby, irrespective of Democrats or Republicans, as they spend 30 Billion USDs as bipartisan election fund in 2020 elections. One could see very similar takeover of the India by the minority RSS Brahmanical supremacists, just capturing handful of local lawmakers if they fail on winning on their Majoritarian cause. Israel is the only country to invite Modi just after the brutal Godhra riots when the western world blacklisted him. Unethical spying, Corrupting the Influencers and Buying Lawmakers are part of copied Israel’s template. BJP’s rule is nothing but a combination of fascist model for propaganda and Netanyahu’s Israelist Model for crooked governance.
AIPAC-linked pro-Israel groups are a massive source of campaign funding for American politicians, totalling over $30 billion in 2020, which means that unless a candidate comes from a wealthy background, whether or not she toes the line set by AIPAC could have a significant impact on her political future. To avoid the disclosure requirements and restrictions associated with being designated as a ‘foreign agent’, it was incorporated in 1963 under its current name, as an organisation managed wholly by prosperous Jewish-Americans.
AIPAC has followed a three-pronged strategy since its inception. Firstly, it has focussed on developing a vast number of grassroots activists — a methodical outreach that today extends beyond Jews to evangelical Christians, Afro-Americans and Latinos. Numbering more than 3 million according to its website, these activists are organised into ‘caucuses’ who meet their Congressional representatives, talk to them, and assess them on their pro-Israel agenda, helping to profile every political contender on the basis of their stance on Israel.
Today, military, financial and political support for Israel is the lynchpin of America’s West Asia policy. As American political scientists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt explain in their book, The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, such unconditional support may have made sense during the Cold War when Israel was a bulwark against Soviet influence in the region. But the Cold War has ended, and with it, so has any geopolitical justification for unconditional military aid to Israel, which runs to about $3.8 billion a year, making it the largest beneficiary of American largesse.
The old consensus, that the prime obstacle to regional stability was the Israel-Palestine conflict, and resolving it was the key to securing Israel’s security and a sustainable peace, which drove successive American Presidents, including George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, to pressure Israel to stop settlement expansion in the occupied territories, has given way to a new one — that the biggest threat to Israeli security and regional stability is Iran. This new narrative has been accompanied by calls for dishing out to Iran the same treatment as was meted out to Iraq. AIPAC has been instrumental in building this consensus, which has clear gains for Israel: it keeps the tap of U.S. military aid open while foreclosing any let-up in U.S. involvement in the region, regardless of the ‘pivot to East Asia’ announced by the Obama administration.
One could correlate how RSS hijacked Tulsi Gabbard and others even pushing them to contest for American Presidency, with similar AIPAC methodologies. Iran is the new Bogeyman for USA lawmakers, so that they don’t worry about Netanyahu’s trample of Palestinians. One could observe paranoid arguments about Iran from American lawmakers now, rather answering about the Massacre happening at Gaza in the name of War. One even wanted a war on Iran, maybe too much hummus does a lot of damage to thinking, especially to a puppet of AIPAC parroting its message. Rashida Tlaib gets isolated out here because Palestine don’t have any such lobbies nor run payrolls to Lawmakers like AIPAC. If at all only US Politicians who are not nourished by Israel lobbies are allowed to speak against Rashida Tlaib, I bet it would be deadly silence.
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone against her’. And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir’. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again’.
– BibleThe woman threatened with stoning / John 7:53-8:11
Iran might be the instigator behind the Hamas and Hezbollah. But what is the root-cause of such brutal resistance? Why people polarise towards Hamas like terror organizations? When people of India got emotional about Kashmir and its nemesis Pakistan, it got relatively calmer during Manmohan Singh regime. He just improved its economy and meaningful infrastructure along with limited autonomy opening more avenues for income and most importantly an occupation so that people are productive rather destructing with war. Frustrated Pakistan had to incite India with Mumbai terror attacks then. Iran knows very well if it repeats the work of Pakistan, it will doom by itself collapsing on its inefficiencies, following Pakistan’s history. So, Iran will not confront USA directly knowing consequences. So far Iran backed forces have not calibrated any assaults to induce human casualties to the US Military force. Their vily tactic is to just frustrate the forces keeping them on edge.
In a 2023 report, U.N agencies estimated that 58% of Gaza Strip residents required humanitarian assistance with 29% of Gazan households living in extreme or catastrophic conditions, the top two tiers of severity, against 10% in 2022.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says food assistance is required by 1.3 million people. More than 90% of water in Gaza is unfit for drinking, the Palestinian Water Authority says.
Gaza’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the world, according to OCHA. The jobless rate stands at 46%, and is higher still among youth at around 70%, latest data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics says.
These are conditions of Gaza before the Hamas attack. The Gaza residents are not allowed for free travel across the border exits. If they would have been allowed to work free in Arab countries, the issue would not have been this grave. Hamas could not have recruited so many of them, as they say an idle mind is Devil’s workshop. It’s actually Israel’s decades of ill doing, keeping Palestinians impoverished, spawning terrorist cells for their own detriment.
Moreover, If America is against Iran because of its funding to Hamas, it may also need to fight Netanyahu’s Israel as it was part of his strategy to fund Hamas and keeping their revenues unchecked, so as to keep the Arab land polarised and isolated with Hamas acting as counterweight for West Bank Fatah / PLO. Netanyahu did deliberate funding despite many uprisings from Gaza. Apart from insignificant skirmishes from Iran / Israel, America’s main challengers will be Russia and China Axis, need to be restrained to put off Iran. Financing and arming Israel to take care of Iran, as Israel pitches in the Boogeyman Iran, is following Law of diminishing returns for USA. It has not worked for long and much worse than Afghanistan. Their geopolitical ally is only keeping America in hot seat with skirmishes across borders for their expansionist cause. Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and Biden’s talks on hostages reined in Iran better than fighting them with Israel. I maybe a fool to say Iran is not a big deal in gaza crisis, but the root cause of unemployment and impoverished economy combined with Israel’s oppressive apartheid regime.
“We are seven families. All of our houses are gone. Nothing is left. We couldn’t take anything — no clothes, no water, nothing. The way here was very difficult. If something falls, you are not allowed to pick it up. You are not allowed to slow down. Dead bodies everywhere.”
A Gaza Resident
Coming back to the Hezbollah, it has clearly stayed away from the war even with its calculated stance coming up only after a month of carnage in Gaza. Hezbollah is the first Arab military force to make Israel go for a strategic retreat. As Trump mentioned they are the smartest among all the fighting groups. It clearly wants to keep the border simmering to engage the Israel army else would be fighting in Gaza in full force. At least it knows when to fight a war and when not to. Hezbollah is the interesting case of how militant Organizations, if empowered with political power could be a positive force, restraining from War. Iran is doing a similar strategy to engage the US forces in Iraq by just jarassing them. Again, Iran could be that Villain who tries hard to be a Villain, but the root cause of Hamas and Hezbollah is not Iran, but Israel’s occupation and aggression, going on unchecked with the blessings of the West and silent spectatorship of UN.
Back to the similarities between the Right Wing extremist Israelis and Indians, If any criticism of Israel gets characterized as Anti-semitism, any criticism of BJP is (il)legally branded as Anti-nationalism gets oppressed with colonial times sedition laws. India’s Modi is just playing the China card with USA, just like Israel playing the Iran card, so that he gets a freehand on his trample of human rights and muzzling Press freedom. The ongoing Joke here is that Modi has not even pronounced China word when they ate away Indian LAC and sided with Russians on unfair occupation, but for USA, India is the antidote to China.
“Our Only Friends Are The Japanese And Just Between You And Me, They Don’t Look Very Aryan.”
Jojo Rabbit Movie
Having said the negatives, India PM Modi has strongly condemned the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. A welcome move along with India’s commitment to a running Joke called as Palestinian Two State Solution where only one State parasites on the other. India could have been pressured from the Arab world, but acts much better with independent stance, than the West and US’ blind approval for war crimes with justifications of fabricated beheadings and burning to elevate the pitch for brutal Justice for Israelis.
What Israel could have done better?
A massacre of any race, is wrong by any means but the cutting edge Israel, spying the whole world while building an iron dome for themselves, does not understand Newton’s third law. Maybe according to them all evil actions from them will never lead to equal and opposite reaction as they were specially chosen ones of a superior God. But reality always bites. Israel should have ideally played a wait and watch game with Hamas, perfected an agenda and gone for a shock and awe surgical strikes which has been a minimally invasive strategy of modern warfare.
Genius is patience.
Isaac Newton
I am not a defense specialist but as an observer, any instant Justice amounts to injustice and sometimes madness. Israel will go through more consequences and destruction with the open urban warfare in Hamas Playground designed and built for a decade. It’s common sense, Hamas or any other weak terror outfits, having nothing to lose on this war, waiting out for moments like this, craving for retribution, will be more lethal than Israel, recovering out of shock and rage and fighting on compulsions. The war may end once Israel could boast of sucking out gallons of Palestinian blood as payback, settling up on a truce with hostages. But, for outfits like Hamas, simple victories are more than enough to grow further in future, giving a bigger headache than now. They have already won the perception game.
There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.
Sun Tzu, Art of War.
Israel is giving Palestinians a bigger score to settle with them. When US and Israel jointly says, its avoiding another Hamas attack with their Bombing and whatever bloodlusty logic they hold, they are only ensuring yet another attack. It’s not me but… History says so. Israel has suffered more casualties with each and every attack though it has paid back in multiples. The crux is that, the cycle is not ending for Israel. Hamas might already have an escape strategy with the border at Egypt and sea, in case they get pinned. So, sanitized Gaza could be left empty for a puppet Leadership to take over. But Israel might have just relocated the battles, as the root cause of Hate keeps growing somewhere else…
Right Wing extremists / future Netanyahus might be replacing Hamas with maybe Hummus terror group, helping them grow with aids, hoping to divide the Palestinians only to fight it out when it bears the poison fruit. The root cause of this issue is that Nature has in abundance for anyone who is in need but not enough even for one man’s greed. Such greedy conquests never end. For example, India’s Right Wing Party BJP, made a sensation out of building a Ram temple in the place of a Mosque. Once they achieved it now they are looking for more sensational religious issues to capitalize upon. Right Wing Politics is like TV reality shows, once you are hooked to an absurdity or evil show-off, the show makers struggle a lot to beat that shock by feeding us more crap which yields TRP leading to more money. Greed is the only thing going green in our entire Planet.
Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.
Jewish Proverb
Jews’ time tested asset is their intelligence displayed throughout history is to wait and watch, build up, equip with resources and pounce when the opportunity arrives. They have won their wars and dominated the world when they played wait and watch with their vileness. They have failed every time they thought they could dominate the world openly. They did not participate even in crusade-crescent war, though they had ancient understanding with Nabi / Islamists to resist and fight enemies together, but never followed the agreement. They never defended or fought for Jerusalem as if it was Islam ruler’s duty for last few centuries. In second World War, they played well along all sides of Axis and Allied for free Israel, as Spies and Warriors and clinched the prize. Unfortunately, they have become very dramatic with the power and stature accumulated over last century, powered by the USA fuelled by its jewish lobby. Sadly, It’s always their historical cycle to peak up and then very sadly… lose the momentum.
What goes up must come down….
I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.
Isaac Newton’s Quote Combo
Maybe global warming / Planet destruction will not happen with assholes firing Rockets and Bombs but only through the Cattles’ assholes emitting methane, reasoning just like Israel treating Palestine like a cattle class. Maybe it’s time to screw Mars, with a visionary paywall to defecate and all to make Melon Musk richer and Mars shittier! When life gives you lemons…make lemonade, drink it and make sure you pay Musk for relieving it. Right now, Poor guys can choose to blog soon to be renamed XXX rather tweet on X.
“You Were Chosen By A Pathetic Little Man Who Can’t Even Grow A Full Mustache.
The Jew in Jojo Rabbit Movie
To Bear(d) or not to Bear(d)…
This is an era of World Leaders – Bushes, Netanyahus and Bidens, who are fully shaved and more lethal than Hitler and assholic enough to save their asses by raining rockets on their perceived enemies, opening up more fixed deposit account / future landmines like Hamas, Al-Qaeda, ISIS etc, exploding on our Kids… and this is happening for centuries. If these Leaders feel itchy… ideally, they should fire their sophisticated rockets and shove it to their own Bush / ass, kissing it with an Ode to Rockets – “Darling! You got nowhere else to go.”
The Biden-Blinken comic duo might have restrained Israel to an extent, but they are wholly responsible for making it a Frankenstein monster or present, without checking its occupational excesses and battles. They are just making the one who grabs by whatever, look like a straightforward Holy saint. On his stormy days, he just played inky-pinky-ponky rather stealing land and souls. Though he acted like the concubine of Netanyahu, handing him over the key to the White house, at least there were no such crazy acts of genocide-on-slow-motion on his rule(?), especially when the western world powers at present, are watching it with rose tinted glass of self defence by killing neighbours.
“If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
Do(it)Land Trump
Just like the above quote, Trump’s madness got a method to it, however undermining it was on diplomacy / empty pride, exhibiting some rational / corrupt business goals, catering to the basal instincts of his admirers and voters. Trump was essentially a businessman keeping the stakeholders happy many times with just lip-service. Just imagine Mexico paying for a shiny wall built by USA, well one can’t even imagine someone else pay to build his/her fence. But Republicans and his supporters took his hypothesis like a cake, a situation which can only arise if Mexico is doing far better in living standards than USA, trying to restrict Americans entering their country. Wow! So Shiny!
2 Trump Supporters go to heaven St. Peter greets them at the Pearly gates and asks if there is anything in the universe they’d like to know before meeting God.
The fist guy asks, “What was really in Hillary’s emails?” “Nothing incriminating really”, replies St. Peter.
The other guy turns and whispers, “Wow, this goes higher than we thought.”
With Biden-Blinken Duo it’s more like every method or their decision explodes to madness, deepening the crisis and aggravated by their cluelessness on handling it. Maybe if Trump was content playing golden shower water Olympics at Petersburg, Putin’s ego could have been pampered enough to leave Ukraine to live in peace, imagining he has pocketed the President of USA. With all Biden’s NATO BS carrot for Ukraine, he just ensured a costly war. All these egoistic eggheads, disguised as World Leaders need is sense of world supremacy and tend to fight, when they sense a semblance of danger to their utopian pride.
My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.
I look very much forward to showing my financials, because they are huge.”
McDonald Trump’s Quote Combo
Trump’s love letter to Netanyahu, recognizing Jerusalem as capital of Israel, resulted in angering Palestinians, but what the deadly Pissidential duo of present, brought down on us is a reckless siege blinded by wrath enabling genocide with Blinked-in shamelessly and staunchly declaring his ethnic love towards Israel, however wrong they are, giving them a blank cheque for all future atrocities, as if all Humans other than Jews are non-humans. More than Israel, US’ sad state of political affairs with majority of Jews at the helm, controlling the puppet show, could get more concerning. No doubt Hamas terrorist activities need to be eradicated, but not by creating a “Terrorist Israel State” reminiscing of how it originated as independent State through terror and violence, displacing native Arabs who far outnumbered Jews then.
Dissecting the Joe’s Jonah – Trump
To be fair to Biden, all the International crisis was not his own making. But he equally fumbled on his warring steps. Guardian’s another side of the perspective, where Trump is always the western Media’s “Stable Genius”, but they will never declare Biden as the distinguished “Saviour of Cemeteries”, quoting many of the crisis we are into are of Trump’s making, like his secret talks with Putin or open love for Netanyahu giving away Jerusalem as if its his Trump tower. While the arguments have substance, the larger difference between Trump and Biden arises out of the lack of World Supremacist Mindset of Trump. He was generous on his praises to dictatorial world leaders which might have calmed their nerves especially when uttered from the pedestal of American Presidency. That’s how Jews rule this world with sweet words and deadly lobbying. More than that, Trump single handedly stopped blowout of war with Iran, to avoid casualties.
He called off a planned military strike against Iran because it would have been a disproportionate response to Tehran’s downing of an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone, adding that more sanctions have been imposed.
“We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights (sic) when I asked, how many will die,” Trump wrote in a series of morning tweets. “150 people, sir, was the answer from a General”. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone. I am in no hurry.”
I don’t know the inner workings or calculations, but Trump despite his own weaknesses and soft corner for greed and corruption, has always ensured a bloodless diplomacy. Only Trump and Obama were able to address on the actual Donkey in the room – Israel with their “Pivot to East Asia”, rather making Iran as No.1 enemy to suit Israel’s agenda. Compare it with Blinken crying hoarse on Iran now, when gaza is under fire, even when they are not directly involved. There are rumours that even Hamas political wing was not even aware of the Al Qassam brigades’ ruthless attack. But for Blinken Iran is the root cause. Just another parrot parroting AIPAC’s message. Trump was also a refreshing change of Leadership from Bush-Biden types who always pushed missile button whenever they were in doubt of their might. The western media has always bent towards democrats however traitful they were due to their vested interests.
Trump and Biden tied in a hypothetical 2024 matchup: poll 5% for Biden, 5% for Trump, and 90% said, “God no!”.
Compared to Trump, Biden actually has not displayed any leadership traits so far, acting like a dumb Trojan horse operated by the representation of the hidden lobbies with contrasting interests. Let’s dig further… Biden need not have pulled out the troops from Afghanistan, just because of Trump’s peace deal, but he chose an abrupt withdrawal where no one except himself could be blamed, irrespective of whoever acted as proxy President. His irrational decisions seeded the big bang effect on World unrest happening now.
Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, now senior director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, says what he called Biden’s myopic approach ( on Afghanistan troop withdrawal ) resulted in the president shutting out critical warnings.
“In the face of significant pushback from the senior military advisers, he overrode all their concerns and recommendations, and executed an absolutely catastrophically bad policy,” he argued in an interview with ABC News.
“He clearly has foreign policy bonafides. But with this president, there’s a blind spot,” Montgomery said, maintaining that attitude has now seeped through the ranks. “I do not believe that they are willing to have an open transparent discussion of what went wrong.”
There are no exaggerations with Montgomery’s views. Biden assured Ukraine NATO membership in 2021, only to go for his characteristic flip flop to reverse his judgement in 2023 after the ongoing cruel war, that Ukraine is not ready for NATO membership yet, with his earlier statements resulting in Putin’s uneasiness with Ukraine as lurking danger. On the contrary, Trump cancelled the whole war scare with his uneasy relations with Zelensky citing his complicity with Bidens. Immediately after October 7th massacre, Biden’s knee jerk reaction of sending Big Boy warships to Israel, without evaluating the situation, emboldened Netanyahu to go for his long cherished dream of Palestinian genocide, even when he did not enjoy better terms with Biden compared to Trump.
One of the things I’ve never been accused of is not caring about people.
Joe Biden
Two Trump supporters die and go to heaven God meets them at the pearly gates and asks if they have any questions.
One of them says, “Yes, what were the real results of the 2020 election and who was behind the fraud?”
God says, “My son, there was no fraud. Biden won the electoral college fair and square, 306 to 232.”
After a few seconds of stunned silence, the one guy turns to the other and whispers, “This goes higher up than we thought.”
While such ‘Peace Lover Biden’ image is getting created by the Media, let’s also keep in mind that, VP Biden had a bigger hand in pacifying Obama, when he sought to stop the illegal Jew settlers in West Bank. President Biden sent unconditional war funding to Israel, while doing lip service of Humanitarian pause at Gaza. Media states… With all his two faced talks, Poor Biden is just a Mannequin PM with his levers getting controlled somewhere else. Why would Netanyahu care for hapless White-house-keeper when he got the keys with Blinky Winkies, who call the actual shots. Confused on which media theory to buy? Me too! Because, all in all Biden embodies a mess of contradictions, catalysed by a deprecated supremacist attitude seeking to restore the world order and vested interests. Nobody really bothers on American Supremacy nowadays. For, America’ supremacy does not lie in its military might but in its exceptionalism, its marvelous innovative free culture.
How do you get Donald Trump to change a lightbulb? You tell him Barack Obama installed it.
If Israel helped US save its image on Vietnam earlier, it’s pretty probable, current US-Israel retaliation will end up as the Vietnam war II, if their aggression is allowed unchecked and the war drags on, shaming themselves again like they did to themselves at Afghanistan, a premature ejaculation of a World’s supremacist pride ending up with a meek, “Go Fcuk Yourselves!”, gifting fairy tale ending for talibans, who they actually vowed to annihilate. When will USA understand, a live cemetery in making is much more dangerous playfield for any living paradise? Perhaps it’s their arms Business hoping an Iron dome makes things safe? Can a Boxer buying an iron man-ish underwear brings in mental peace, especially when it gets too itchy?
“I’m a negotiator, like you folks.”
Doland Trump on Judaism.
When Biden could eat up Khashoggi issue and go for a fist bump with a butchering Saudi Prince, don’t know what kind of biases are overwhelming his warring stint with Palestinians. Maybe they got nothing to give back to Uncle Sam, other than their rich history and original ownership. With Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel and forthcoming battles… confused Biden has invited a bigger mess, than what he inherited from Obama and Trump, dragging USA down from status of supremacy towards schizophrenic insanity, emboldening the enemy forces.
Very sadly, From Obamas Vs McCains / Romneys, it’s now down to Biden Vs Trump and honestly the other options, especially for Republicans are even more scary… for America. USA is gradually moving towards the dirty politics of choosing between the devil and deep sea – well known phenomenon happening in what Americans proudly call as Third World, the distinguished community distinguishing themselves, by extinguishing hapless ones for an exhibitionist show on their supremacy. If you happened to hear about Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy’s debate exchanges for the Battle of (Des)troy, involving achilles heels you will get Third World goosebumps. The only Edifice / Infra to be built in future in USA could be that shiny Mexican border fence built at Mexico’s expense, to save Mexico from these presidential badasses, which could be used as Mirror by American Presidents, to see what exactly they have let down / destroyed.
And the Indian scout, the Indian looks at John Wayne and points to the Union soldier and says, ‘He’s a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.’ Well, there’s a lot of lying, dog-faced pony soldiers out there…
Biden
Biden’s mad love for Israel, even if it damages his own presidential prospects, losing the faith of the youth who want a good life not wars, reminds me of the story below.
A woman and her husband were experiencing marital problems, to the point where they were no longer having sex. After visiting several counselors the problems were not resolved.
The woman grew desperate, and was afraid to ask her husband for sex. In her desperation she visited a Gypsy, and explained her problem. The gypsy rummaged through her chest, and pulled out a jar with a pickled penis in it.
She told the women to say the words “Pickled penis my vagina” and it would have sex with her.
The woman takes it home and says the words. The pickled penis worked great.
As she reaches her climax her husband burst through the door and screams,” What the fcuk is that!” She tells him its a pickled penis.
The husband unfortunately replies,”Pickled penis my ass!”
“I will be phenomenal to the women. I mean, I want to help women.”
Donald Trump – Face the Nation, 9/8/15
Who would win in a street fight between Joe Biden and Donald Trump?
Everyone watching
For Abraham’s sake, rather singing peans about your mightiness of destruction, when he took hundred years to create one (or two) common ancestor, why don’t you guys talk or pinch each others asses till it turns pink, for that self satisfying bloody race test of supremacy, rather killing innocents on your name, race and religion? Call this rant preachy or pinky, feel free to go to hell in the name of God, race or religion, but don’t make this Planet a Hell suffocating others, who want to live a good life, however short it is. We can’t fight for centuries to restore your stupid Pride of your race, because your crooked reputation looks otherwise.
“I Think You’ll Find That Metal Is The Strongest Thing On The Earth Followed By Dynamite And Then Muscles.”
The Nazi Kid on Love in Jojo Rabbit Movie.
Gaza – the new Auschwitz
It will be of grave injustice,if we don’t reminisce the sacrifice of Jews for a better Planet in various fields and especially Humanity. What Jews went through the Holocaust and even before that across entire Europe is not something any other race could have endured or survived, forget about thriving amidst such hatred and jealousy. That’s something divine. Their dark history prior 1947 spanning centuries are written with blood of their ancestors. Free Israel could be eternally thankful to their ancestors who have sacrificed everything for their cause, including twenty lakh lives lost in World War II. Jews have paid a very big price for their freedom and land. Its now upon this generation to introspect, whether they have done deserving justice, to all such atrocities endured by their ancestors, by NOT acting like Mini-Hitler. Anyone who would have endured Auschwitz, sacrificing themselves, sending their kids as refugees somewhere else, hoping for better life, would not have dreamt of their own clan doing similar atrocities to another race, acting just like Hitler’s evil twin with irrational and unfathomable hate for Palestinians.
None of the sides are innocent, but it’s up to the people with enormous vested Power, with Mighty militaries to toy around like trained pet bulldogs, to ask themselves if they want yet another Holocaust, a deadly nazism, perpetuated by Hitler, which started modestly with making Jews second class citizens and then progressed towards providing small incentives to nazis just for the killing of innocent Jews and went on to achieve incorrigible levels of psychopathic madness as it progressively evolved with concentration camps. Such wicked Barbarism is not natural to Humans. it just happens by cultivating and nourishing the such habits in due course of time. If racism starts with wondering about one’s origins, nazism starts with wondering how to mete out a sadistic death to its hapless perceived enemies and it’s already a month of madness like, nazis shortlisted Auschwitz inmates to mete out further cruelty. Afraid we are in such a phase at Gaza. There are enough evidences, where Palestinian children are plain targets. Hamas tunnels are everywhere, but Israel, cleverly targets hospitals in the name of Hamas.
Afterall, you don’t need to be a Nazi to perform Holocaust. Anybody, irrespective of Hamas / IDF made to “Follow simple Orders” could be gradually trained to that of psychopathic Nazi level barbarism.
In a 1962 letter, as a last-ditch effort for clemency, Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann wrote that he and other low-level officers were “forced to serve as mere instruments,” shifting the responsibility for the deaths of millions of Jews to his superiors. The “just following orders” defense, made famous in the post-WWII Nuremberg trials, featured heavily in Eichmann’s court hearings.
Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist, conducted a series of famous experiments that tested whether “ordinary” folks would inflict harm on another person after following orders from an authoritative figure. Shockingly, the results suggested any human was capable of a heart of darkness.
“Gradualness” of harmdoing. Milgram’s subjects initially used very low, harmless levels of shock, and only gradually did the intensity of the shock increase. This may have created a sense of psychological entrapment or dissonance for the subject during the course of the experiment.
Even I am not convinced with Milgram’s plain coercion theory for such a brutal massacre and it got a 8-20% exception cases of People defying orders. Let’s consider another theory which evaluates devaluation of Jews by Nazis as below.
In Nazi Germany, innocent Jewish victims (including infants and children) had been systematically devalued to the point where their lives were considered to be “unworthy of life.” Centuries of antisemitism, a decade of legalized discrimination, and an intense, unrelenting onslaught of vicious, hateful propaganda depicting Jews as vile enemies, intent on domination, exploitation, and victimization of the German people, had allowed many Germans to remove Jews from the circle of human obligation, ultimately preparing the perpetrators to accept, and perhaps even welcome, the vilification and eventual destruction of the Jews.
Now, that’s a systematic way of reducing Jews to substandard Humans. Now replace the above paragraph – Anti-semitism with Islamophobia, Germans with ‘Israeli Right Wing extremist Jews’ ( Should we call them Razis?) and Jews with Palestine Arabs, we are just repeating History where a certain race gets dehumanized to the extent of no utility, except for its extinction.
Maybe I will complete reading Bible rather doing in parts or reading it on the back of auto rickshaws. Its rich… but more that, its writings also stand the test of time. Let’s sample the Parable of Tenants.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit (Matthew 21:33-34).
It was commonplace in the first century for a wealthy investor to buy property for a farm or vineyard and then leave it in the care of tenants. Come harvest, they’d send someone to collect their portion of the proceeds.
In this parable, the landowner is God, the vineyard represents Israel, and the tenants are the religious Jewish leadership.
The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son,” he said (Matthew 21:35-37).
What Jesus is saying is that God had sent the prophets to Jerusalem, but they were mistreated and even killed. But now God had sent Jesus hoping that He’d demand the respect that was not given to the prophets.
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.” So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Bible
I am not a believer of prophecies and miracles. Irrespective of how sophisticated we have becomes we are ruled by primitive emotions and characteristic traits and it’s no big deal that history repeats perhaps in different scales and dimensions. What makes Bible amazing is things worked as told in Bible much to Jesus’ prophecy, even after centuries to come. Israel was not ruled by Jews for centuries. Even after bloody war after war, they captured and ruled Jerusalem for just few years, only to wane losing to the Romans and Caliphs, failing to restore their Kingdom eventually settled themselves across Europe and USA. On the contrary, Arabs have never left Jerusalem / Palestine even after waves and tsunamis of war. Afterall, everyone being descendant of Abraham. It was only after Holocaust, part of the world acknowledged their miseries to give them their own homeland. In centuries of Jerusalem’s history, audacious people like Netanyahu may just get few lines of history of yet another failure of a greedy dream through wrong means. Maybe Israelis could introspect themselves and chart out a happy and peaceful path for every tenant of “God given Israel”. If Israelis still want to reject and remove such cornerstones, it will only damage their own structure however strong their iron dome is.
Oskar Schindler: Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.
Amon Goeth: You think that’s power?
Oskar Schindler: That’s what the Emperor said. A man steals something, he’s brought in before the Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for his life, he knows he’s going to die. And the Emperor… pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.
Amon Goeth: I think you are drunk.
Oskar Schindler: That’s power, Amon. That is power.
Schindler’s List Movie with a title card – There are fewer than 4000 Jews left alive in Poland today. There are more than 6000 descendants of the Schindler Jews. If you wonder what one act of kindness could do to this world.
Netanyahu or his racist leadership can never instill hope to gazans. Such Lip services from a seasoned Liar only reveals how dangerous its gonna be for the Palestinians, if world allows him to rein over Gaza. Unless the International bodies intervene, reviving their reputation of forming Free Israel, it’s going to be a meticulous cold calculated ethnic cleansing, diverting the world’s focus somewhere else.
When Netanyahu did not understand Sun Tzu’s “Every Battle Is Won Before It Is Ever Fought”
In modern times, Any war which is going to be long is nothing but an acknowledgement that Israel has lost it already, just like Russia is going through convoluted war without an ending in sight, slowly burnings its fingers, hands and it still goes on… struggling like a fly got stuck in a zipper. More than damaging Ukraine, it got Putin crippled up and his close allies choosing lifeboats out of crisis. That’s the power of Human spirit when they believe they are fighting the good fight. I doubt if IDF will have the same conviction as Ukraine after making Gaza a merciless killing field. They only got vengeance and fear, and it may damage human instincts a lot more.
It’s Hebrew, it’s from the Talmud. It says, “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
Schindler’s List Movie
More than Netanyahu, it seems like IDF is working as per the command of Hamas, with Israel losing all its diplomatic capital with the siege and bombings, except for its all weather ally USA, which may change with elections as nobody likes a sore loser in USA irrespective of the race and superiority. Israel’s mighty brand of mythical proportions is jaded, with its vulnerabilities stand exposed. All enemy needs is to hurt few jews to provoke them and they lose their mind, fuelled by their greed to colonize Palestine. Its mighty warfare mechanisms needing an overhaul where every defense mechanism got destroyed with evolving warfare techniques.
“The wise warrior avoids the battle.”
Sun Tzu, Art of War.
Finally, it means they are not so intelligent nation as claimed, because intelligence is not doing stupid acts of revenge but making use of crisis for betterment, focusing on big picture. Instead of hunting for the rats hidden underground they chose to burn down the entire Gaza to get rid off the Rats… Such acts are blind hatred not a sign of any intelligence the world experienced from the Jews. They are too afraid for underground combat, that they have chosen to fight blindly by bombing civilian targets where even children look like terrorists to such jaundiced eyes. They have clearly lost their ego of supremacy after the Hamas massacre, the same ego which granted them the guts to oppress Gazans for three quarters of century. Instead of searching what they have lost by improving on the defences, they chose to look for lost ego in Gaza, like a foolish man searching for the lost key in the dark somewhere else lighted enough to search for nothing. Their only logic seems to be crippling Palestine to a level where they can’t ever rise again. Even their own Jewish History will teach them enough lessons how such oppressions only made them stronger and vilier.
Revenge is a very sweet thing even for a Diabetic…
Two ancient statues in a Roman park had been locking eyes for over 1000 years, their bodies arched toward each other with the promise of a warm embrace.
One day a mystical witch stumbled upon the statues in the park and had an idea. She used her dark gypsy ways to bring the statues to life promising them an hour to do what they will before they once again must stand still for the rest of time.
Eagerly they took each other’s hand and rushed into the bushes. The witch smiled as she heard giggling delight and the undeniable sounds of pleasure from near by. Soon the witch heard the female statue crying aloud “I’m going to get one I’M GOING to GET ONE!….. Oh Yesss I got it!”
To which the male statue replied “Good, hold that dirty pigeon down while I shit on its head.”
But what happens after taking that sweet revenge? It turns bitter-gourd-ish nightmare waiting forever scared on paybacks. Guess who will win after that orgasmic One hour of borrowed life. It’s the pigeon each and every time if feels like defecating.
The reason why Israel think it got the better of revenge is with its catastrophics damages it has caused in its wars as Proxy of the west. It’s been its signature killing in multiples of its own casualties. Only difference being this time, it has gone savage killing civilians.
For Israel, justice is served as long they kill a lot more and it has always lived like a Coward shielding itself with iron dome and automatic guns, from its created enemies. The irony is they should have ideally paid back their revenge on the western countries in the same coin of Holocaust, meted out to their ancestors. A debate is still going on why their new western Allies, who got a history of driving Jews out of their countries, did not bomb Auschwitz and other concentration camps during second world war, the Jewish genocide centers in Germany. Whether its a moral dilemma to bomb the Jews there who are anyway going to get killed and save the future martyrs or they were just too busy to worry about Jews then, is anybody’s guess / judgement. Instead Israelis chose to kill and suppress hapless Arab inhabitants while getting aids from the countries who made them pariah of the world before 1947… Pure Vile not Valour!
A woman embraces the body of a Palestinian child killed in Israeli strikes, at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Can they really sleep in peace with so much of bloody history having created enemies at all fronts? If at all Biden-Blinken did not come up with unflinching support, blessing israel like the witch blessing the statues in the above story, this tiny nation, too tiny to fill its name on their land strip in World Atlas, would not have gone this far with its inhuman atrocities in Gaza. It would have silently continued its foxy work of slicing West Bank till the Jews become minority succumbing to the Palestinian fertility rates. Israel’s dream of Biblical Nation ‘Eretz Israel’, with ethnic cleansing of Arabs, is just future sour Grapes either way, just like Jesus predicted the future of their temple, which astonishingly stands still.
“Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.”
Jesus on Jews temple in Jerusalem.
A question to all those who call anybody questioning Israel as Anti-semite, when the Israel multiplies their one Jew Israeli live to approximately 10 Gazan or X American lives, and goes around killing Gazans with an insane mathematical retribution, everytime in history, how would you call that mentality… Harmless racism? Killing people as self-defence is the most cowardly thing when the actual question that need to be answered will be, Why would someone be so angry to kill an innocent Israeli.
There is a level to which we can talk about peace. That is till the blood river flows below our head, allowing us to breathe. History has always taught us one ultimate lesson, when we fight nobody survives. Peace talks don’t have any meaning as some can’t learn by history, gets to understands peace only with what future holds. All that victory and loss are momentary, such meaningless moments are built upon numerous innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives. Nobody other than Jews stand as true testament to this theorem and they will stand as testament to the future. The Arab Muslims in Palestine will be feted / fated similar to Jews, showing a mirror with time lapse to the Israelis who are blinded by bloodthirst and vengeance. For the American past and present Presidents who love Israel and its lobby more than their Spouses, start drinking Gasoline as Gaza has enough for you to satiate your blood thirst. Afterall all killings are an “investment” right?
Palestinians work to pull the dead body of a girl from under the rubble of the municipality building which was hit by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10. The girl was taking shelter with her family in the building after they fled their home due to the strikes. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Finally made it to Jawan after SRK announced BOGO offer. What a Masala Express it was!
Jawan worked well for many reasons, the main reasons being its Multiple SRKs, each coming in different avatars. Jawan is a Jack in the Box puzzle of peeling an SRK only to find another SRK to be peeled, and he keeps on coming like matrix Army, in different variations and modulations. Even the antagonist VJS plays around with Red and Blue pill like Morpheus, when we are struggling to buy expensive Popcorn to keep the excited Kids pacified, making me wonder about Birth control Pill.
SRK is the USP of this film. If you missed his teddy Bear avatar, we get a sweet cuddling SRK. If you want more of his Pathaan, you get a Baldie who sounds more like Anniyan Vikram instantly changing his tone and tenor with his each dialogue delivery, from a caring citizen to Lover to Fatherly nurturer of his team, a Three-in-One Guy. If you wanted SRK for real, getting himself promoted to Mufasa from Simba, you got a stylish Oldie, who plays things subtle like a Hollywood Hero but still evokes awe with his macho mannerisms and stunts. So, for every Hundred Crore invested in the Movie you get a SRK, like failsafe Load balancers. You also get a Divine SRK as Disaster recovery Bonus wondering – “Who Am I?” A Super Star who rested enough and now on a rampage on Silver screens, treating us with satisfactory mini vacation.
From his opening line (“who am I?”), Khan draws us into wondering what relation the bandaged warrior liberating a village in a prologue has to the gruff baldie laying siege to Mumbai’s metro, and the prison warden clinging to a second chance at love. A one-man Cloud Atlas, Jawan is a puzzle movie where the star proves the puzzle; it’s a great showcase for Khan to play everything under the sun: godly badass, dandyish army vet, total sweetheart with a prospective stepdaughter. There’s ego involved, undeniably, but few stars in any cinema could model such radically diverse hats with this much flair. – Guardian
In fact SRK had so many avatars, my Kids got so confused that they took a selfie with Manish Malhotra cutout at Multiplex, after the movie. When asked why… they said it was the SRK who comes off after removing the Mask. Maybe it’s due to too much Popcorn as my Kid thinks Theatre is some kind of Hotel without a dining table, finally chiding me – for spilling so much popcorn, like a kid, once lights come up. But also thanks to too much de-aging Makeup / Technology which made young SRK look like Robot Rajinikanth. I am someone who always liked SRK for all his graceful Dil Se-ish wrinkles. Other than this episode it’s very difficult to point out any issues with this well polished Pot boiler.
The Movie looked like Atlee had a dream as an Editor of many Tamil movies and Hollywood references. Well, that’s his USP. If anyone mocks him about copying his inspirations, how would you explain Jailer and Vikram share the same story and still become blockbusters. Coincidence? or Just we don’t know the “History of source”. At least Atlee is copying references from many films.
The worldwide Movie Industry is becoming a Comic Book Theme park of Sorts as rightly lamented by Scorcese. I would not be surprised if the Multiplexes started attaching Vibrators in our seat to add yet another dimension to our adventure ride. For a change the movie looked more like Shankar’s rather Atlee’s with rich and unique action set pieces and the story on a Nation-wide big canvas. The way he has skillfully made a collage of so many narratives, acts as testament to his skills of getting disparate things together, like a Movie Integration Engineer. You may Mock Atlee or Admire Atlee but you cannot ignore him for the decade to come.
It’s good. But, What could have been better?
To improve Atlee’s career span for few more decades, Atlee could work on Original / improvised screenplay at least for every alternate ten minutes rather reminding us of all movies we have watched. It actually spoils his own meticulous craft of weaving a compelling emotional wholesome narrative, not many Directors of his generation could master. Every new Wave Director excels on a field like black comedy or action, but seems like failure on other Departments. Atlee is a rare Bull’s eye hitter, extracting the exact emotion as required. As an use case, I liked the portrayal of a lethal villain with Bane Mask and a Cheetah, conveying the deadliness in a shot. Money heist pulled off a perfect heist when it comes to such creativity with Masks. They just improvised on Guy Fawkes mask to an artistic form which become a statement by itself rather being a cheap copy.
The screenplay comes down as an abrupt jigsaw puzzle slowly unraveling by itself. But we have seen better Saviour dramas even from his Master Shankar himself, where we get intelligent cat and mouse chase and the flashbacks gets unravelled by the Chaser rather by simple cuts and edits. In Jawan such surprise elements comes sparingly with the narrative getting rescued by stunning action sequences and inimitable SRK.
The flashbacks are intense especially the Farmer’s plight and depressing Hospital scene. But the entire set up especially the Jail sounds like a Barbie land, without any realistic flavour. Shankar always keeps his set pieces very close to reality, which helps us gel with the screen. The puzzle does not connect all the Justice redemption flashbacks to the Protagonist well. Ramana did a very good job on this aspect where the logic was lucid enough and the investigation was also kept interesting slowly unraveling the core plot, with the direct involvement of the Protagonist at all occasions. The screenplay is just not fluid as it has too many stories to tell. Maybe Atlee needs to be a “Gentleman” Screenplay writer for cracking such saviour templates, as it does a beautiful presentation of the Jack in the Box storyline, slowly unraveling the Protagonist with the help of Investigator, in a believable make-believe world and at the same time larger than life on the slowly expanding big picture scenario, upgrading its extravagance rather just being an embellishment. Maybe there could have been better emotional investment for the supporting Characters, rather acting like screen cosmetic.
Is Jawan a Propaganda Movie?
Now there are lots of debate about what SRK endorses with this movie. There was even a Smart Alec Op-Ed on how SRK smartly milked up all sections of People and Parties with his commercial potboiler. To me, cinema itself is a mind(less) magic show fooling people with its antics or at the worst could be scam with badass aspirational intentions of hollow Stars dreaming to become haloed CMs or political encashment, by creating a positive mental imprint at our own cost. In Tamil we call as Sontha Selavula Sooniyam – Inviting Maleficent’s Black magic at our own call.
For example, I have cherished a Saviour Drama from Shankar – Gentleman which portrays the evils of quota system and how poor Brahmins are denied their opportunities, exposing the cleavages in the society with the help of lot of female cleavages and double entendres. Same Shankar is yet to come up exposing with the cleavages on evils of EWS Quota. So, Cinema could be just a visual social commentary at it’s best. Nothing changes except for a public mental imprint on the state of affairs. But Shankar is genuine master masala blender without any political aspirations, leveraging social issues for a mass connect as it glues everyone of us with a common concern.
Nasruddin and his wife lived in a small house and shared a small bed; they had just a single pillow.
One night Nasruddin’s head itched so badly that the itchy feeling woke him up. He scratched and scratched, but it didn’t do any good. “What an itch!” he thought to himself.
Then his wife yelled, “Stop scratching my head! I’m trying to sleep.”
“My apologies, dearest,” said Nasruddin. “Go back to sleep.”
Nasruddin then felt around until he found his own head.
“Ah,” he said to himself, happily scratching the itch. “That explains it. I was scratching the wrong head.”
The above story is dedicated to Quota Directors with a social message scratching others head to cure their own itch. But, the real damage to Tamilians’ psyche happens with movie stars acting like prospective CMs in real life by playing larger than life role in movies, trying to create a make-believe world that they can rule the world. Indian cinema in such cases could be the height of deceptive entertainment, if you don’t count the Political theater, playing on our minds like a Piano, slowly and gradually creating an alternate universe in our own mind, when the reality could be totally different and unpalatable. Modi is just replicating that “Pompous Popcorn act” well outside Cinema theaters and very well aware of its mass psychology swaying potential.
Dare hue log aksar alfazon ke peeche chupte hai. (Means) People who are scared often hide behind words
SRK in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Movie
One Nation… One Movie… Mera Desh Chala raha hai!
More than anyone else Modi deserves an Oscar for running a compelling Show on National level canvas. Don Ko Pakadna Mushkil Hi Nahi… Namumkin Hai just became Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai. Movie’s teasers are replaced with Demonetisation and Midnight GST, with the screwed up public, scratching their heads, wondering – “Picture abhi baaki hai?” on how to handle this New India Tughlaq Sultan’s eccentricities. Audio launch happens with every state or Panchayat or Ward election where Modi speaks what people want to hear while doing what Adani likes. Mass moments happen with the help of Delhi Police arresting Modi critics for every silly reason one could imagine. Emotional moments with Bulldozers and engineered riots. Apart from this, bloody comic relief is handled with aplomb by Fringe outfits, Pragyas and Bidhuris. There are no antagonists to this story as Modi doesn’t like anyone else hogging camera space. Even if someone gotta fight him, he just fights in air – Mann ki Baat Mukt Bharat. Only guest appearances are allowed for World Leaders to create RajaBabu movie type photo lineups, where Modi guides them… to Dinner table. Overall, It’s a complete Paisa vasool propaganda sucking the taxes from public. Nobody could beat that.
Call him shahenshah ka shahenshah or Lol-lapalooza of entertainment, Modi is so much of an occupant of our Mindspace, like Israel occupying Palestine forcefully, Tamil Meme Makers have rendered all super hits in Modiji’s voice using AI, making a navarasa movie of it. No wonder Modi supports crazy atrocious, his unethical spy partner Israel, flipping India’s historical support to Palestine, instead of targeting Hamas, and Israel going greedy to capture Gaza making use of the crisis situation.
While Hamas is brutally keeping the war alive with the initial provoking, it’s now Israel’s Jews who always aspired for world domination through intelligence, irrespective of their own allies’ history of brutally crushing them in the past, now joining the same aggressors, showing their inhuman side to the poor Palestinians. If the “forever fighting race” in History, who have always exhibited tenacity, finding a way to win, but make it short lived victory with meaningless aggression, are calling themselves children of Light, they should have ideally lit a candle of Peace rather firing rockets pounding Gaza.
It’s sad, the Children of Light could not even rebuild their own temple even after stealing 91% of Palestine, even after amassing enough clout and resources to kill a certain race, with the help of the same ones who killed their own ancestors in their bitter past. For Israel, the lessons learnt from history is always Zero. They have always chosen to the intelligently vicious Path of backstabbing and betrayal creating a roadmap for self-destruction. Sincerely wish they adopt the Truth and Diplomacy mode which has always helped them in their past to be at peace with Arabs.
If Obama could erase Osama with a clean strike and nil casualties to the Public, Biden seems to be mimicking Toxic texan Bush, addicted to fireworks, singing forgotten hymns on the Mighty USA currently suffering from inferiority complex doubtful of its Big Brother / Bully status, who could only prove it’s supremacy to the world by killing innocent People around. It’s just wicked mockery – USA condemning Gaza Hospital attack, when the Gaza is dying a slow death with Israel’s ‘Method in Madness’ siege amounting to genocidal ethnic cleansing. If at all war happens at different places in Ukraine, Palestine, Taiwan etc, China will be the ultimate Winner riding from Chaos, toppling the World’s Supremacy Order. US might be already sensing its waning influence with Ukraine crisis and now at Gaza, for its stupid doublespeak fighting the occupiers of Ukraine and shamelessly supporting the bloodthirsty occupiers of Gaza.
Enjoy! Soothe your monstrous suffering inflicted by Modi with Modi’s melodies, the snake venom which could be both PR Poison and laughter Medicine. PS: The Video has been removed now. But search for AI Modi to have Fun.
Back to Movies.. Personally, I would happily listen to any genuine Movie crew without any selfish / political aspirations whole heartedly. But only time will tell their truth. Just a Jolly good Quote below, from brilliant Shankar to wrap this social messaging charade.
Journalist: Can anyone kill just for this?
Ramanujam ‘Ambi’ Iyengar: [as Anniyan] Do you do this out of the confidence that no one will kill you?
Journalist: Such a large punishment for such a small sin?
Ramanujam ‘Ambi’ Iyengar: [as anniyan] As if sin come like vest, in small, medium, large, extra large, sizes?
Anniyan Movie
[ Update 5th October 2023
Initially kept the above quote for fun on how social message films manipulate our emotions with ridiculous justifications. But looks like we got “Political Anniyans” in real life too, who can’t bear even a Mini-Kerchief size criticism from Journalists, when they just quoted the reality that, the Emperor got no clothes. Modi obviously should be ashamed of himself and course correct, rather getting offended on a piece of Opinion or media coverage.
Around 2019, Modi got his robust image where “Modi hai toh Mumkin hai!” got oomph factor with a tinge of reality, pulling out sick rabbits out of hat like Demon / GST. I don’t know if ten years of power makes people arrogant habituated to unquestioned subservience from the executive and from other pillars, that they go full throttle oppressing everyone around, making Jokers out of themselves. New India is going through “Dark Room” episode, a boogeyman, teachers use to control unruly Kids. But it got its own validity. They can’t keep going on that lie and it works till kids are ignorant and they start laughing at them upon maturity.
By 2023 end, BJP has successfully achieved the expiry of “Dark Emergency” scenario where none are going to fear Mo-Sha. They have maxed out the fear factor and if they overdo it, they will end up creating situations like uncontrollable Manipur / Kashmir crisis. If they dream on derivative positives like after effects of such Polarisation, it’s going to work out like reverse mandal Politics, where BJP is losing sleep to counter and still clueless as pathetic campaign weeps from Modi is sticking to the public mindspace. RG cracked it with a very simple code, Quota will be proportional to the demographics, irrespective of caste or religion.
There existed a good chance of Mo-Sha duo coming back after 2024, as INDIA alliance is a Juggernaut pulled from all sides and elected power only spoils / corrupts them further aggravating their selfish egoes. By burning all bridges with ED / IT / Intelligence fireworks – be it Executive, Judiciary, Honest Media and Public, Mo-Sha is entering their own “Political Death Well”, going nowhere but on a downward spiral. Sadly, Modi is just entering the Phase of “Modi hai toh Nothing hai!”. Personally, I will miss Modi’s decisiveness, energy and efficiency on rolling out schemes, however useless and backfiring they are. It is sick fun so far.
Kabhi kabhi jeetne ke liye kuch haarna padta hai….aur haar kar jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hain” (Sometimes to win you must also be prepared to lose ….and the one who ends up winning the end game is called a Baazigar)
Baazigar Movie.
]
Propaganda and Atma Nirbhar Theater
Of late, Some Political Parties have taken Cinema too seriously investing a lot of money on Propaganda movies, so as to instill a fake pride, burning their own fingers and crony money, crying Mera Crony Money Jal raha Hai! They believe Rang De Basanti type movies helped them create unrest among masses. They could be right then, but currently, we don’t have a situation where a movie could make or break political situations. Earlier, we had an engaging government providing RTI and other schemes where People felt a sense of belonging believing they will also find a way out of corruption, along with their new found hope and prosperity. Now we have a situation of peeing ourselves on our own “prosperity” by voting ludicrously..
“We have one leg in the past and one leg in the future … that’s why we’re peeing on the present.”
Rang De Basanti Movie
The reasons why movies are just movies in Amrit kaal being… Firstly, People are immune to such silver screen emotional arousals nowadays, as Bollywood lost its respect with attacks from the very side it promoted once. The Social media generation, apart from creating memes to make fun of things around, are fighting for their own survival tackling Inflation and unemployment. If at all you think bad of Government we got it’s Master who will increase fuel price. If you still crib, LPG price will be increased. If Farmers crib on Crony friendly Farm laws, our usual Villains Onion, Pulses and Tomato will become costly helping out the “New India Hero Crony Billionaire Middlemen” to stock them up and inflate the prices. After all these blows, you might have forgot why you started cribbing. But the empty-purse-pain still exists. Sometimes, the best way to lessen pain is just don’t focus on the pain and start playing Tic-Tac-Toe with Bharat or India coins, a country naming game as if our country is someone’s pet puppy or watch Movies like One Nation-Gaddar election-One Begging Bowl. Essentially, every citizen is playing survival chess with the well oiled Mighty Government Machine powered by Crony electoral bonds working with full strength when he just gets a Pawn to his side to play. Purse-Mate!
“On this side of the college gate we make life to dance … and on the other side of the gate life makes us dance”
Rang De Basanti Movie
Secondly, People are kept busy by the Government engagements with Aadhaar PAN Ration linking exercises or Clean India initiatives creating a psychological Master-Slave behaviour edging on Stockholm syndrome. From UPA’s citizen empowerment era we are now reduced to Kartavya-era, reducing ourselves to no-questions-asked-duty-bound-slaves till we reach Amrit Kaal in 2047, that is… if we are alive to realise the Amrit/Vish-kaal truth then.
“Even now whose blood doesn’t boil, then that blood is water … the youth who doesn’t serve the country is a waste.”
Rang De Basanti Movie
Thirdly, Leaders across spectrum who act as catalysts for Movements and Protests, fondly called as Urban naxals by our Dear Leader, are caught in fear psychosis of enforcement and Law agencies. The Law Enforcement Agencies evidently even plant evidence in Laptops using Israeli Spywares. On an insignificant bit, even so called socially conscious Shankar’s Gamechanger movie, discussing about Indian Polls got silently postponed to sneakily appear only after the 2024 Polls. Gear up yourselves for a movie “bravely” talking about necessary Poll reforms, but only after the election gets over, obviously does not want to be a real game changer but more of a Dummy one cashing on mass connect with ex-voters. Enjoy your Political cold popcorn then. Remember “Sunil, Your Din is getting cold!” from Sunil Gavaskar’s Boss?
“Here you try to change the system and the system changes you.”
Rang De Basanti Movie
Fourthly, Most people are blissfully ignorant of who is looting them with taxes and stealing National assets, without realising they are in much worse situation than before, as they only hear sensational synthetic headlines like Cricketers’ BCCI antics / Chest thumping G20 Vishwamitra comedy enacting Mossad type dirty works, powered by Whatsapp University courses. Majority of people might even assume that such Farmer plight and poor hospital conditions portrayed in Jawan existed a decade back and they are now in Singapore, unless otherwise BJP exposes themselves by making a lot of fuss around Jawan / Dunki. BJP is acting tax thief for long and they know how to react when the scorpion bites, at work. So, In this fascist world, we are kept happy and proud, entertained by the Government at least until we feel hungry. If we are hungry, fascist Government usually ask us to just fry pakoras or just die silently… Shhhh… no dissent please…
“To the millions who have to go without two meals a day… God can only appear as bread”
Mahatma Gandhi as Quoted by MS Swaminathan
Lastly, nobody goes to a movie shelling out thousands just for a social message which could be read cheaply in twitter (not X) or Whatsapp. I don’t think anybody reads these loong blabber logs.
These people don’t fear death. Ajay used to say “Let death come… Anything for the country”
Rang De Basanti Movie
The below story is dedicated to our Nationalist Heroes with foreign citizenship and Agnihotris suffering with (P)Files problems, who got a knack of creating an unrestive narrative out of nothing and make a living out of it.
ModduNasruddin and his wife awoke to the sound of men quarreling outside. The shouting got louder and louder.
“I’ll go see what they are quarreling about,” said Nasruddin.
He then lit a lamp and went downstairs.
His wife heard him open the front door. Almost immediately, the shouting stopped. She wondered what Nasruddin had said to stop the quarrel so quickly.
“What happened?” she asked when he came back to bed.
“When I opened the door, one of them grabbed my lamp, and then they both ran off,” Nasruddin replied. “I suppose they must have been quarreling about my lamp!”
With that said, I also differ on the perspective of SRK milking his audiences for monetary benefits. If that sounds like contradiction, which I felt too initially, just compare the Rang De Basanti dialogues with Jawan’s to get yourself convinced. As someone who is thoroughly bred on South’s vigilant movies, where a solo Hero kills an Army holding Dozens of Guns but personally end up falling on the feet of Politicians for personal survival and favours, Jawan is certainly not the one milking our emotions for any selfish interests. SRK obviously had taken a lot of pain enacting powerful stunts / energetic dance moves and the Khan couple has poured in lot of money, to justify our hard earned movie tickets. Such sincerity cannot be attributed to milking the audience emotionally, but just to establish a pan-india massy masala connect, providing justice to the narrative.
“Even now whose blood doesn’t boil, then that blood is water … the youth who doesn’t serve the country is a waste”
Rang De Basanti Movie
Quintessentially Jawan is just Pushpa fighting from another end of Justice spectrum. So, I would not be surprised at all if the entire Bollywood takes a selfie with a Government Head just before elections like 2019, after giving us sermons on Voting wisely. Are we headed by a ridiculous Government which invites Film stars for the New parliament Building inauguration cautiously ignoring the First Citizen of our Country?
“Wish they live happily forever. May the insanity and the romance never die.”
Rang De Basanti Movie
Akhand Bharat or Celebrity Bharat?
Well, the reality behind Government inviting Celebrities for New parliament inauguration is not that the Government is ridiculous, it’s just that we are ridiculous enough to hero worship Celebrities taking their endorsements seriously but underestimate our precious votes. If at all we understood our value, the 50K Crore meaningless grandeur – Kartavya Central Vista, New PM Planes and New Parliament Building just to please One man – Modi, would have been non-existent. Any government afraid / ashamed of accountability would have spent such huge sum on Governance / welfare rather egotistic / luxury edifices, rather covering themselves behind celebrity veil. We Indians are not that rich enough to be spendthrift like Modi, when we are ranked 107th out of 121 countries on Global Hunger index. India also ranks below Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99). Taliban ruled war ravaged Afghanistan (109) is the only country in Global South Asia that performs worse than India on the index. Maybe our rulers thought, Viswagurus should be on starvation / diet to shine as Vishwamitra, if we ignore political Pot bellies.
When we ask so many questions buying a Mosquito coil which burns for 5 hours, Why are we not raising questions when we elect a 5 year tenured Government? It can’t be put simpler than this.
It’s our Cinema tradition that Angry Young men sell BP pills very well, then partially retire to sequence their tweets, shamelessly supporting Fascist Government, to save their Panama err.. Pan India image. Swachh Bharat? …Present Sir! Shitler hailing tweet? Sure Sir! Election time endorsement of Dictator? Done Deal Sir! Don’t know about what future holds, but only side SRK has taken is to deliver a movie with social responsibility in an entertaining manner, staying apolitical- but also being loyal to his base, asking everyone to think before they vote. In a well functioning Democracy, you are your own Superhero. Make your Opinion matter by voting responsibly. The way he delivers it, he makes us feel like DDLJ Kajol and even the Political Parties behave like Amrish Puri with an acknowledgement to voters – “Jaa Simran Jaa”. Only SRK can do this in New India!
“There’s no childhood, no adulthood. One is as grown-up as one feels.”
– DDLJ Movie
Love always looks good at least until the climax… of course whatever you think as Climax… of course our Political Amrish Puris will make sure Simrans and Rahuls don’t get away so easily, even if they board Bullet trains. There are rumours of theaters getting booked for Ugram err… Salaar, compelling the theater owners to club Salaar with Animal movie distribution. The Bollywood blackmail is such that, If screen owners choose to screen Dunki, they cannot screen Animal. I am just a Cinephile who admire any decent movie. The way we have made our Movie industry politically dirty just like BCCI at the hands of arrogant political paternity, any cinephile including me is at loss of good and healthy entertainment.
“…I Bet You Ain’t Never Seen A Donkey Fly!”
Donkey, Shrek Movie
Quotes apart, it will do a lot good for the Dunki crew if they choose to release on non-competitive January 1st week with the monthly income demography helping them out in the first few weeks. It may be healthy for the Industry too, avoiding clashes like wrestling matches out of pure political Hombale pressures and bruised hitless egoes. Just a harmless plain opinion.
Nasrudin used to take his donkey across a frontier every day, with the panniers loaded with straw. Since he admitted to being a smuggler when he trudged home every night, the frontier guards searched him again and again.
They searched his person, sifted the straw, steeped it in water, even burned it from time to time. Meanwhile he was becoming visibly more and more prosperous. Then he retired and went to live in another country.
Here one of the customs offices met him, years later. “You can tell me now, Nasrudin,” he said.“Whatever was it that you were smuggling, when we could never catch you out?”
“Donkeys,” said Nasrudin.
The Propaganda Playbook – If thought corrupts language, can language corrupt thought?
One more observation is that, the Society / State which accepts / encourages or atleast hears out opposite voices and opinions, tend to have very high social indices. One could see Movies like Parasakthi(1952) providing an entirely different perspective of then status-quo becoming a Hit in Tamilnadu. Parasakthi’s dialogue writer become a 5 time Chief Minister for his wit and wisdom and excellent administrative and organizational skills, only to be rivalled by other tinseltown stars who exploited movie psychology to the hilt creating themselves a mass persona. Such movies thrived on the open environment created by the then Rulers, acting like Barometer for the Government to gauge the public mood rather keeping them isolated and enclosed, fooling themselves on masterfully putting a lid, like kashmir crisis where silence itself is becoming a strong opposition, making BJP tremble to conduct election.
The easiest way to propagandize people is to let a propaganda theme go in through an entertainment picture when people do not realize they are being propagandized.
Elmer Davis
Happened to watch Thuramukham a brilliant but slow moving Film, making for a painful watch where the entire family of two generations toil and even die for nothing except for making a very feeble resistance, but contributing to a larger cause of “Resistance for fairness and equality”. Seems like the movie got adapted from a Stage Play which worked across Kerala prior to the movie. Thuramukham stands as a testament to what made Kerala, “God’s own Country”, where there were many Gandhi-alikes biting the bullet to empower the future generations. No wonder Kerala is scoring very high on Social indices, by keeping that culture alive.
“It’s hard to change something that has been rusty since a long time. “
Rang De Basanti Movie
Looks like BJP wanted to make a playbook out of such societal evolution through Movies and heavily investing on it luring the Top filmmakers to incorporate Hindu Pride opposing Minority Villains, though the History and fact states otherwise. While some have been inflated Hits, most of them failed to attract audience failing miserably in Box Office. Kashmir Files was a hit because it was Political, just like Jawan, though very low on facts, obfuscating History just like BJP’s fake narrative on Pandits.
Movie is just a mirror to the society. Distorting the mirror does not alter the reality especially in social media era where everything becomes an instant Meme and potently travels virally as good as the Movie. After watching a goosebump-ish actioner Vikam movie, got diffused by a simple meme which stated, Vikram is just a story of how KH saves his own Grandson by killing his entire undercover team, who managed to dodge the establishment for decades. When someone talks loud of sanatana dharma, there is a simple meme which questions whether all castes will be allowed to enter Sanctum Sanctorum or will be disallowed citing lame reasons like Agamic temples. Maybe God did not exist before agamic laws got formed by the elites.
Only time will tell if BJP can make an Hallowed achievement out of Fake narrative films without any improvement on Social Indices, on the ground, like the South accomplished with their fruitful Movie-Society nexus, in pre-internet era.
Those who are capable of tyranny are capable of perjury to sustain it.
Lysander Spooner
INDIA alliance – The Antagonist and Protagonist of the 2024-202X Elections!?
As a Congress sympathiser, the movie also made me think of their deficiencies leading to their own self destruction. Of course they were callous and Corrupt rulers. If Modi is comparable to Ravan abducting the idea of India, Congress at its best has acted like Kumbakaran, unaware of its own strengths, origins and ideologies, as if confused between Indrasan / Nidrasan. Maybe it’s because, Congress is also full of brahmanical elites just like BJP. Much credit for 2019 loss should go to the Brahman Group of Congress who were able to weaken the Party from within like termites, chanting “RIP / Om Shanti!” to the same party which allowed them to prosper. Of course there are exceptions to generalizations.
I still wonder how Modi in 2019 was so invincible then, looks pathetic now? What exactly has changed by now as Modi remains the same Mediocre Fascist Ruler helping Crony cause? Is it because half the Congress elites were busy killing Congress rather attacking BJP, secretly happy with it upholding brahmanical supremacy? Wonder how they have suddenly found a Leader in Gandhi palatable after a yatra? Wonder if they they think, walking make someone a greater Leader or it’s just a chameleonic / opportunistic sense of stars getting aligned at present?
The question that needs to be asked is whether Congress leaders, particularly those belonging to the upper caste, have had a change of heart or are overwhelmed by Rahul’s leadership qualities? After all, throughout the UPA years, particularly during 2010-2011, the caste-based census was a vexed issue, causing a lot of division and disquiet.
It is a matter of record that when the then law minister Veerappa Moily in 2010 called for the collection of caste/community data in Census 2011, his cabinet colleague and Union minister P Chidambaram had raised several “vexed questions” such as the issue of a central list of OBCs and state-specific list of OBCs and some states not having a list of OBCs.
The reasons for OBC-SC-ST social Empowerment will work for the alliance is multifold. Firstly, except for Minorities and Upper castes heavily aligned towards Congress / BJP , the rest are not amalgamated to a strong cohesive voter base fragmented by regional / casteist Parties, who may have a say in State elections but may not be so impactful in Union elections.
Secondly, it’s much better to talk about the Voters – the real vote base, than targeting Modi with “Chowkidhar Chor hai” type attacks, pushing him to cry hopelessly that no Party is mentioning him except for Himself with Modi’s guarantees. Modi’s lame defence of opposition alliance dividing Hindus with OBC quota is nothing but the case of Satan preaching Vedas, especially when he did the same division by enacting Economically weaker Section Quota exclusively reserved for upper castes.
Thirdly, Social Justice empowerment has really propelled South states with far better economic and social indices. It is very well the need of the hour. Focus could be on economically weaker sections and first generation graduates to uplift masses. This is very much similar to Indira Gandhi’s “Garibi Hatao!”, connecting with the masses.
Fourthly, Modi could come back strongly with “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” attacks, like in 2019, making even SC spray Gangajal on him, transforming him to a holy saint winking at Kedarnath for cameras, just with a closed envelope (maybe containing secret overtures of a future BJ(M)P ) pressing for an apology from Congress in last minute. But when it comes to Social Justice plank, his only option becomes forming half baked Laws like Reservation bill to a appease his vote block., antagonizing his own loyal base of upper castes. Anyway, Merchants and SMEs are already a disgruntled base and the opposition just needs to nudge them with incentives.
Finally, this has the potential to make Congress grounded shedding its suave and elitistic outlook, a crucial factor when competing with a Maverick-PR-Beta-Modi, who could go to any extent to exhibit his connect / groundedness with stunts like cleaning the feet of sanitary workers and blowing it up with PR about it, to completely change the narrative.
More than anything else, Congress / INDIA alliance Parties are weak on creating “Political emotional Plank”. They have approached all elections objectively with Social Problems and Manifestos. With too much anti-incumbency and weaker sections getting even more weaker under BJP regime, INDIA alliance is handed out 2024 election on a Platter. Its up to them whether they will choose to be the Protagonists for next five years or Antagonists by fighting themselves for power and selfish interests. Modi might be right is calling out the next few decades as Amrit Kaal, where an United front of Asuras and Devas got divided once the mission of churning Amrit got accomplished. Now, its upto the alliance, whether they turn Indian Politics to Ganges of present or Cesspool depends on their own inactions prior elections and actions afterwards, as Indian Politics is running out of options. Apart from Congress, only few AK-types are promising but with small footprint to sway / impact Union elections. The Problem could be coming from the same mercurial and ambitious types who want to gobble up others vote blocks.
UPA brought in RTIs and Food security Bills. Wish they could have also instilled a sense of Duty / Participation among citizens for any resolution, at least a gram Sabha or signature exercise, rather just blind empowerment, making us demanding Cry babies, without realising our own accomplishments as a Nation. For making a winning narrative, Congress / INDIA alliance has a long way to go. More than usual Census and Quotas, there is a need to go beyond on empowering the socially backward. Social Justice movements are rooted movements establishing direct connect to the people. Congress is still perceived as elitist party, as Modi leverages to hit with coinages like “Lutyens elite” or “Khan market gang”, especially before elections. Unless Congress breaks it with a grounded approach like Gandhi did with Yatra and senior leaders kept a simple profile during it, it’s an uphill task for them to get the trust of the masses.
The best part of yatra – bringing out the simplicity of the Party leaders and tenacity of the Gandhis.
Can INDIA bypass Mo-Sha’s Election Jugalbandhi?
BJP scored on the participatory aspect, by successfully transforming elections to “Dramatic Hungama”, making it a sort of Masala Movie like Jawan incorporating “Nationalistic Identity” politics poking a weak Pakistan, “Social identity” politics like stealing their respective Leaders, hitting their sweet spots and gain political mileage out of it, without even doing anything for the backward masses and lastly, “Proud Personal Identity” politics with exceptional ‘Toilet -Ek Prem Katha’ level PR and Door to Door canvassing with Beneficiaries on how Modi uplifted the poor to become Zamindars who are now rich enough to clean their orifices with the milk and honey flowing through the streets, originating from Namo’s head. Modi’s real masterstrokes happens just before elections where he cools various demographics, EWS Quota for upper castes and Farmers Income for lower castes. The way he swiftly rolled out after election rout in 2018 elections marks the excellent success traits of Modi, meaning Business. The way he creates an election time euphoria among his Beneficiaries, along with a heady cocktail of identity politics of various layers, is something the opposition need to replicate, with Door to Door canvassing on guarantees, if at all they fancy any chance to usurp BJP in cow belts.
INDIA Alliance might be doing well momentarily on the emotional political plank by pitching the Caste Census, but the issue is still yet to be reach the masses with a connect like a comprehensive Quota system ( now an old tactic needing better presentation on identity politics ) or how it will benefit the masses as a Union / Demography. BJP gave a refined touch to Elitist Quota system with economically weak coating. Also, Both UPA and NDA have recruited on their own strong belts so far like Laalu making Railways a Bihar Cultural center and Modi converting Institutions as Brahmins and Cow belt exclusive domain. Regional quota for Union jobs could work well for South and other states deprived of representation, of course with its own backfiring disadvantages in the cow belt. The propaganda for 2024 may yield more benefits if tackled at both national and localized levels to suit the needs of regional aspirations.
The secondary factors like BJP’s governance failures are well addressed with guarantees, but INDIA alliance is seemingly failing on emotional “Social Justice Plank”, which has worked very well in the south states and remain one of the strong reasons for its immaculate social indices. However Modi cries about the “evils” of the Quota when its for all backward classes, linking with Minorities and Delimitation, he still remains a Culprit pushing the “economically weaker section Quota” which does not essentially include the weak SC-ST-OBC groups, making them even weaker. As RG mentioned, Modi remains as an incapable failure on conducting Caste Census, owing to his Brahmanical Political system which thrives by leeching the bottom to feed the top creamy layer.
Reducing powerful election as a “Mass Masala Political Drama”, by showering vacuous political popcorns on the voters, like Women’s reservation bill which gets cold / stale even before anyone enjoys it, is not a failure of our Political System alone. As Jawan rightly points out the root-cause, “We” as Voters have not done our Job well so far. We have invested enough on juicy celebrity gossips but not on knowing our MLA / MP / Politics. We had enough time to peel Celebrities like Onions till they are reduced to nothing, but simultaneously unaware of how crony Middlemen make huge profits by hoarding Onions. We Hopefully it’s not too late for a turnaround within us. Maybe if at all we voted responsibly our Filmmakers will be busy with making “Shah Rukh – Ken – Khan” movies. Afterall, Entertainment is just Business and they just sell what is in demand.
I’m a soldier … and I can bet my life a thousand times… but only for my country … never for people like you who sell the country
What are the various options of timepass for an heavily unemployed guy… He started thinking about it… How about gazing at sky for stars, counting them for a positive statistic, rather getting depressed with the dwindling bank account balance. He actually started doing it. The problem with miracles is that it just never happens. We need to create miracles out of our own imagination. And it happened. While ruminating on his worrying financial future, he somehow identified a bespectacled figure in the sky.
Unfortunately, he had to rely on aerial aspects rather on his own technical prowess of late. Now, he is not a very confident person as he was earlier. Gone are his shiny days as technocrat where he could churn out components and innovative frameworks, even if not put to use at-least helped him derive Job satisfaction. Unfortunately, jobs at his motherland was still elusive compared to back to back Job assignments he used to get abroad. Now, he only had his rustic inner self to hold on as walking stick to climb the seemingly steep career mountain to survive his family. He many not be the confident person but whenever he thought of his career / finance, he crazily looked upon the sky to derive any worthy belief supporting his weak inner self. So, the bespectacled cloudy stuff while worrying on his finances reminded him of his own Father and his past survival as lower middle class guy. Maybe he will be there for him watching from the skies?
Your Friendly Neighbourhood – Cloudy Man
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.“
Buddha
The Lord’s Piggy Bank
As if his Father is not enough to carry on his burdens, He appointed God as Partner on his earnings. Maybe it’s loosely based on a comedy where the thief steals after making God as Partner as safety insurance. The revenue sharing was based on a novel idea. He will throw all the stolen money on the floor of the temple. Whatever falls into the Hundi, the piggy bank hole meant for devotees to donate, belongs to God. God’s Piggy bank had a small hole and maybe God is not so greedy or he is just making sure nobody gets their hands into it. On the similar veins, He appointed God as his Partner sharing his profits proportional to the Hole in his Piggy Bank hoping to outsmart the Lord.
“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn’t work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me..”
Emo Philips
He then climbed the Mountain, after huffing and puffing to reach the Lord’s abode to issue his Appointment Letter as Partner. But the Lord turned out to be what he is… just great by having a large mouthed piggy bank opening / Hundi hung high enough that no one can take from it but can only drop offerings into it. But much to the disappointment, the Hundi, comes along with a Board indicating all that goes in Hundi does not belong to God but as a Corpus fund. Don’t know if Gods are genial while sleeping, but certainly his so called trustees who could perform a daylight robbery on him erecting a simple Board. It’s just like Modi’s masterstroke. If the opposition called themselves as India, let’s rename India to Bharat. Ideally he should have renamed it to Brahm-Hindustan to uphold his fascist Brahmanical supremacy. If China is creating border problems, let’s park the Akand Hindu Rashtra near Russia far away from China.
“I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays.”
Henny Youngman
Somehow such crazy inspirations and his belief on his Father and Lord Partner pushed him towards performing his corporate comedy or at-least try… well… why not… Once again.
The Trek to assess Hundi. * Pics are for illustrative purposes only.
You are sadly (dis)Appointed…
Fortunately, ( or Unfortunately? ), he cracked an appointment after going through Marathon interviews of his supposedly Superior followed by his own Superior followed by his own Superior followed by Office Boy and Admin. Everyone had different shades of questions. One said the different JDs he got as part of Job opening does not mean anything, maybe only the salary matters. One said he will mould him to whatever Apology Savarkar or Skewered Shawarma whichever pleases him, when he himself sounded like a stylish immature kidor as PB Mehta describes – a thuggish crybaby reminding of his own Sarkar Head. One stated the Organisation is a frugal retail shop, not a fancy IT Firm and atrociously declared he alone has the rights to preach inside the Org, however illogical and unequal it is, just because he holds the Purse. Wonder who gave the purse tphim. All he needed to loosen his purse strings was few donut shaped charts on absurd resource utilization with subservience to bourne supremacy. The Chief Powder officer aiming to keep his fire pow(d)er high and dry, boasted it as an elite company (of assassins? Or whatsoever). Hopefully he will not kill himself out of habit. So, it was a warm half hearted welcome to the elite-Ops club.
Truth is singular. Its ‘versions’ are mistruths.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
No Big Deal, because even I don’t know or understand!
He entered the Office like a well dressed Bakra in formals, as he could not take his Kids’ welfare casual. The Office proved to be a great one, simple and frugal but very functional. It had desk and Chair and most importantly dining table and small pantry with a smart Admin serving good Coffee. The HR induction threatened him not to get political ideas as they are quite ethical but was proud to compare Europe’s GDPR with India’s PDP when actually both acted like antonyms in reality with PDP hiding the wolf in it with the sheep hide in the guise of National security empowering the Government to spy on what it wants unrestrictedly, So much for their Government and Corporate ethics. The tech induction was impressive and he was rest assured the company’s vision is in right track and a safe career if he does not ruffle any feather or get into rough weather.
Enter the Chameleon.
His reporting Manager’s first task assignment was to go through an Architecture “Bible” document, which he could not understand the head or tails of it. It sounded like a Muniyandi Vilas Restaurant Menu Card, Don’t know how much of bloodletting it took to frame that document. The lavish Menu was like it had everything without caring for how much the Diner’s purse carries. Of course it had its own history and revisions like the layers of Mona Lisa with its own Da Vinci type code. Unless you understand the history you cannot understand the Document. When you understand the History of the Document, and figure out whether Mona Lisa actually cries or smiles, you will be obviously become the Corporate Neo-Convert baptised to the new Religion – “How to burn company cash in 30 seconds without burning yourself”.
“The Night Is Darkest Right Before The Dawn. And I Promise You, The Dawn Is Coming.” – Of course by burning cash.
“No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: he is always convinced that it says what he means.”
George Bernard Shah err… Shaw
The Tech Bible which changes colour like Corporate Manager Jesus.
The Reporting Manager was very cautious to call the Architecture Document as Bible. Nothing should change or deviate from Bible or one will be punished to walk in the water till they drown. It was quite funny how he was able to correlate a Document which provided us a way of life and faith and did not change for 2000+ years and still holds good for future, compared it to a Document which should ideally change and innovate, with the technology going through a paradigm shift every 5 years or so. It was lot more fun when it got changed for every roll-out to accommodate for the insufficiencies of the Partner Developer. Maybe its a writ from the “God of Cost-cutting” – You can only withdraw money using Demand Drafts and not NEFT/UPI. “Yes… My Lord, as long as I get my Salary!”
“I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me . . they’re cramming for their final exam.”
George Carlin
Knowledge transfer – Just a cake walk on Water!
The sky gazer was supposed to help a team on uploading files to cloud without any access or knowledge of it. His peer who was already in a sour mood for scheduling early morning 10 AM meetings and pokes to join, decided to stay silent. His loyal subordinates from Partner Firm followed his path of silence for the mails, making him wander Pillar to Post just to understand the issue. Weekend was followed by Peer’s sick Leaves and measured silence from everyone else that progress could not be made. The Reporting Manager exhibited Polymorphism rather genuine steps to expedite, making him cry “OOPS!”.
There was another discussion on using file or API calls without throwing light on the quantum of data for a week, pushing the star gazer to spell out what they wanted. Assuming its a guge data, looks like they have already decided to take a rudimentary file approach and chunk the data manually instead of simply paginating the API call. Wonder how they will convince every intelligent system delivering APIs to give them files. The underlying problem seemed to be that, one wrong decision getting snowballed into a bigger wrong decision, as they try to cram everything into a prototype they believe doing fine if not future ready. A proper resolution could be rewrites, which they are lazy and procrastinating.
The sky gazer completely lost hope of doing anything useful with the setup. It sounded like a very novel way of unwelcoming Team member as he might have crossed the sacred rule of scheduling early morning meetings and raising questions on their Noah’s ark built with a large hole at the bottom to facilitate their drainage.
“Often it does seem a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat.”
Mark Twain
He has worked across various implementations, seen the best and worst, amazed at the implementations being done like a reinventing networking company’s amazing Architectural turnaround or apparel company for the skinny types’ robust implementation and also disappointed at few places. In most of the situations, he must have felt like a blind man trying to figure an elephant by touching upon various parts, but this is the first case, irrespective of his shortcomings, the implementation seemed as if built by three blind men / team hoping that they will be never be discovered on their shortcomings with the so called madly authoritative IT Governors. The ray of light came in that, though he could be rustic, at least he is still good enough to build good enough implementations.
Atleast building in On-premise Stone is better than building castles in the Cloud?
The Knowledge transfer sessions were more like an interview where he was supposed to figure out solutions with their own Biblical err.. technical components. The approach was as if how dare someone can question or criticise them. Also came a veiled threat from the Polymorphic reporting Manager Chameleon that Early Morning Rising Peer is the go-to guy who knows everything, and not documentation like any mature company will do. He got further warned on any other infringement of bypassing early riser will even lead to firing of everyone in the meeting. The sky gazer was the only guy in that meeting who could get fired by that chameleon as others are from well to do Partner Firm, who seemed to have upper hand on everything including the poor chap who acted like cheaper version of Donald Trump – “You are Fired!”. Maybe their partners are experts who have seen through the entire charade as Divine comedy and navigate well. The below quote aptly fits them though.
“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.”
Neils Bohr
Writing the Access imposition X times…
The access to the Servers and Code went through a large SDLC cycle where even the Corp ID’s Department / Reporting Manager attributes become faulty. It was made even worse as the Service Ticket will be closed as per the temperament of the Service Engineer and another ticket need to be opened up even to continue the conversation to update the attributes. He again lost hope of navigating the access maze and just stayed stuck. Now, he started enjoying the warm unwelcomeness in every aspect of it. Killjoy!
“I think Smithers picked me because of my motivational skills. Everyone says they have to work a lot harder when I’m around.”
Homer Simpson
You will get used to Corporate BS if you just manage to stay long enough.
Meet the Maverick – Mad child playing with expensive lego bricks.
The useless Sky gazer got assigned to useless Project that was about to be rewritten due to various data and scalability issues. After multiple interrogations he understood nobody followed the so called Architecture for the reference component, the chameleon wanted him to treat like sacred Bible. The rollout was just a development of convenience by the Partner Firm milking a clever acceptance from the early morning Peer, who always had someone who has resigned to blame and the blessings of Architecture team.
“Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.”
George Carlin
The useless Project was led by an useless Maverick Man-Child having shades of eccentricity throwing tantrums in heavy proportions. The project become a three pronged headache, fix the data errors, fix the scalability / performance issues and do everything with a disjointed architecture as the Company seemed to be rich enough to buy three products doing the same thing and the design was as if writing a property will allocating work asset to those three components to please everyone around, rather making it work.
If you want to survive Corporate IT just get used to the perspective!
Fortunately, at-least one among three technology product, a good and simple tech sibling was mysteriously found to be bad for some reason or other nobody cared to know and got abandoned out of the will. So, it was a tussle to squeeze work / property share between two components a cutting edge and a legacy one. It got further complicated by the Partner firm as they had more legacy developers rather cutting edge tech cloud developers. When he raised the resource plan mismatch with the proposed design, the Chameleon hushed it up claiming it as Team Secret. He still wondered why do they do vendor-lock-in by developing on a proprietary language rather choosing easily portable language across cloud or on-premise like Java… who knows it could be just another team secret. All-in-all it sounded like he was brought in as a low shelf life contractor to cover their sins with the new entrant’s justifications and thought process.
“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
Bill Gates
So, the implementation was factually a design driven by the Developers’ availability instead of any design or architecture. But, their designs were made to look cutting edge. How? Just put a small box for legacy layer having a lot of “hidden” functionality and make the cutting edge tech look big enough with the biggest box for anyone trying to understand. It was like a creating three cots for a person to sleep, but with its own size shortcomings and the architectural decision was to cut the leg of the Person as required to fit him in the cot. If he still whines on why three cots instead of one, just cut him to three parts to make use of the cots, as cost justification matters more than anything else.
The Big Bang Idea
As if the issues were not enough, the eccentric Maverick manager came forward with an idea, to kick out a legacy product and adopt the tech sibling who was thrown out for mysterious reasons. It actually sounded like good design, but to convince the team where everyone had an agenda of their own, is like climbing Mount Everest without Oxygen supply and blood flow. In any Organisation, there are two types of people / role-play responding to the Management, one who strictly adhere as Master-Pleasers without trusting their instincts or skills, like the chameleon Manager and the other who make noise and fall in the bad books but still tolerated for their skills and performance like the eccentric. The Sky gazer is someone who neither had the courage to break rules nor the “talent” and will to be Master’s lapdog licking around and lingering there, as hapless fresh entrant without any foothold of accomplishment. He was just trying to get access to understand the mysterious pandora box. He decided not to take any stance but organise a discussion together and allow them to fight and arrive at a conclusion.
“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?”
Edward Bergen
When the Big Bang is not so Big Bang.
Putting everyone to Bed.
The best part of conflict arrived when the proposed discussion was assumed to be for adding an additional sibling to the property will even without any discussion / clarification by the chameleon and Co. The apprehension had its reasons. There was a lot at stake as the resource allocations and everything about the most important component of the Project – Money… will change, where ultimately, they will questioned on their decisions.. So, the property will panchayat got assigned to the “Lord of the Purse” on whether to adopt the thrown out sibling or just go with the legacy darling. Funnily, the thrown out sibling was already bought and kept aside sparingly used and was also logically the rightful heir to the design, if designed carefully. The Lord of Purse was given enough dog whistle by the chameleon and Company, that a new component was getting added which was falsely assumed to cast a deep hole on his purse. Lord of the Purse angrily replied that he wanted to put everything to Bed at rest as if he is running no-questions-heard-or-asked-Corporate-Zombie-Hospital.
“Sometimes I spend the whole meeting wondering how they got the big meeting table through the door.”
It’s Not me / May be it’s Me
Praise the Purse Lord!
I “swear” to Mother friendly God!
Now, the eccentric Maverick Manager got into his synthetic anger mode for no reason. He questioned the reason for opening the discussion on third sibling’s adoption as the entire discussion should have been discussed without naming the third tech sibling. He derived a genial reasoning that all the anger of the Lord of Purse was because the third sibling was named. Maybe we should have called him Pariah so as to adopt him unknowingly, out of empathy or sympathy, accommodating it with a minute box in the Powerpoint. The logic illustrated was out of the world. Only corporate IT could do such miracles, like Elon musk renaming twitter to X made it look anew and profitable, if still not working make it Why… err… “Y ” or “?”. Jai Hindustan!
Don’t know if Lord or Purse’s “Putting it to Bed” retort triggered / aroused the eccentric, he started calling out consummation in a very in-dignified way and lamented how come everyone acted like a King but they were essentially babies need to be fed with… documents, which nobody asked except for him. He then assigned the sky gazer to create more documents with more boxes, where the Lord of the Purse could put his money into, to avenge his sorrow. The choicest abuses were reserved for the so called Property Will – Architecture, in reality just the customary one which nobody else really bothered and efficiently circumvented.
“If A equals success, then the formula is A = X + Y + Z. Where X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.”
Albert Einstein
This Blog “Document” is complimentary.
Blame it on the Cloud.
The sky gazer felt like laughing out loud on the loud and empty logics on display. But the after taste of eccentricity and swear words started weighing heavily on him. He just “resigned” to fate as counting stars seemed as better useless Job than solving this property share where everyone is preying around like vulture for the corporate fortune. The real Losers on this episode was the Corporate fund and then the Sky gazer who got deprived of month’s salary citing non-existent policy as return of vengeance from his Chameleonic reporting Manager and Co, who could not make him toe the line.
He could just blame everything on the cloud, as in retrospective it was just a laughable Circus he got pulled into. Except for the resignation act none was his doing. But what good is holding a Job without any sense of self-respect or dignity? Afterall all brown skins are not born thick enough to withstand abuses. If he entertains such swearing nut cases, it’s only going to get aggravated. The clueless management seem more inclined towards such authoritative and egoistic “governance” without even knowing what is happening under the hood. As such, there was no logic burning millions on IT investment, but cautiously saving on his peanut salary. Maybe this is just Corporate version of better being Sorry than staying safe. When such decisions explodes its going to be sure big bang like Meteors on Dinosaurs. Maybe Karma has its sweet way of financial balancing.
For any Tamil-Filmy-Japanese Guy… You know what is Karma…? Well I know better about you trying to suck upon controversies for publicity and end up burning as much bigger controversy. And that is called Karma.
“A man is accepted into a Corporate for what he believes and he is turned out for what he knows.”
Modified Mark Twain Quote
The age of Cloud-Mine
Choosing freelance consulting is both of blessing and curse. It’s a curse where you need to work on limited resources compensating for the instability of the career, it also richly rewards with a lot of exposure to different companies, their best practices, turn around moments and also their pitfalls. There was a leader of conviction who did not sway to any open source or cloud ecosystems, but chose to perform a proper checklisting of the features required and tallying it with RoI. There was a Principal Architect who got pissed off with the so called configurable products and sluggish performance and was taken aback with the simplicity of POJOs – The plain old Java objects performing better and chose to rewrite everything in On-Premise JEE framework, “boldly”. There were few meticulous companies which tracked resources and allocation better than JIRA with a clear vision of what they want without flashy namesake projects. The best thing to learn on short term consulting is that you get to rub shoulders with the greatest who are yet to be discovered while getting your own sweet independence and time to change diapers of babies while putting up with your spouse on housing chores.
“No one will need more than 637Kb of memory for a personal computer.”
Bill Gates
Unfortunately, in star gazer’s Motherland, of late, except for few eminent personalities like Harsh Goenka, none provided a proper Final settlement citing some lame reasons like making you sign NDA on last day or swallow PF deductions. But Karma has always had a funny way of turning around this company culture. A company which withheld PF was running a 30-40% bench and bleeding on ransomware calls due to cost cutting. It’s NDA imposition competitor is still working on low level projects as glass ceiling can never be shattered by small minds.
“Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.”
Bill Gates
Recently, the city of Birmingham declared bankruptcy, trying to replace a SAP system with Oracle and burning their fingers. This proves a point cutting edge tech has nothing to do with data management and if at all cutting edge need to be employed, it has to happen where the data transfer happens around. Bankruptcy is reserved for people who acquire teacups for the want of better tea. One thing as a Consultant one frets over is that, he can never change things for good. If he does… he is just trying to flip a Dosa/ pan cake stuck on a hot tawa without a “spatula” of in-house accomplishment, just ending up burning his own fingers. But, he can always mail and leave the rest to Karma and take bed rest.
“If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good.”
Bill Gates
The CIOs tend to get caught themselves on the trendyish cloud-webs they find fascinating in the consumer centric world. You got enough sexy and glitzy forums aptly scheduled at Las vegas to gamble around with company funds. First of all, there is no clear idea on how to use the cloud and the project cost with the increasing data management. Secondly, they forget that Cloud is just a startup laboratory for their IT experiments. Once they have a matured technology solution which will stand for a decade, it’s much more profitable to move to On-premise creating an in-house micro services setup. Thirdy, they don’t have a clear exit plan for Cloud by writing in native code like C# rather than Java or any other portable language, and then wasting resources by jumping around cheaper corners finding shoe racks to stuff their data in. They should have kept portability to On-premise, Quantum of data and exponential billing in mind for their implementations.
“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.”
Bill Gates
Ironically, by investing on the Cloud Vendors who are supposed to to be the “cheapest” solution providers, CIOs also made them the world’s biggest revenue generating Firms. We need to ask ourselves who the ultimate Bakra is if we create our own IT apocalypse with irrational hiring and investments and vengeful firing methodologies.
“I can understand wanting to have millions of dollars, there’s a certain freedom, meaningful freedom, that comes with that. But once you get much beyond that, I have to tell you, it’s the same hamburger.”
Bill Gates
Whoever opined “Money can’t buy you happiness” obviously had far too much of the stuff.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Moving Survival Mountain
While the crazy sky gazer could not figure out the corporate rat race, at least he figured out the reason for bespectacled Father figure in the clouds. He started utilising his Mom’s pension amount inherited from his Father as the last lifeline to survive his family. Ultimately, his Father’s savings helped him like Naai Sekar’s Magic Box, when the sexy Corporate Trishas and Nayantharas flying high on the cloud left him high and dry, depriving him of his well earned salary, squeezing him to stress out. Maybe he is oh-so-tasteless.
“Now I’m a spent firework; but at least I’ve been a firework.”
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
He then turned desperate for any cloud signs or magic looking at the sky to calm himself with an imaginary rope to get out of the froggy well with despair pulling the legs of Hope finding a way out. On a Super Blue moon day, he at-least got a sign if not salary. He queried his daughter nearby, “What do you see in the Clouds?”
She replied, “Mountain!”
The Moon Rise. Moonu Moonu Moonu Unnoda Love Sceneu
My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
PS: This is just an imaginary post not subjected to any Non Disclosure agreements, just like never credited salaries of Idiots who still find hope in hopeless Corporate Culture, drafted by ego heads treating themselves as fascist Religion, and religiously followed by Corporate Minions without understanding one day they will be on the receiving end of the same atrocious toxic inhuman culture they helped to groom.
If this correlates / resembles anything in reality, it’s just coincidencidental incident or incidental coincidence like the numerous synthetic coincidences leeching on Blogger’s blood and life.
Jailer is an Out and Out Rajinikanth film rather being anything else. But, Nelson brings in his brilliance by making him an Old saintly person, who does not hesitate much to tackle his opponents in a fitting way. It was refreshing to see Rajnikanth in a calm demeanor but still getting menacing as and when required. His gradual ascent to mass elevation happens in a very measured way, combined with Nelson’s intelligent scripting of bringing out the best out of grim situations. But still I would rate Doctor as his best film , which fired from all cylinders from the start till the end.There were lot of positive reviews and equally hateful reviews too, but the film dusts off everything in a flick by making it a watchable and even enjoyable treat. I especially liked the way Rajnikanth admirably making himself a adorable grandpa dancing on the sideline compared to his sacrilege with Sonakshi Sinha. But he never disappoints audience with his massy and blessed screen connect, be it teary eyed Rajini or the gaiety one in the Climax or flashback. I could not see any negatives with the first half and second half, may be I am inherently biased towards his screen persona.
Now what could have been better?
The first 15 minutes worked out like Veedu movie, where Rajini plays out like stylized version of Chokkalinga Bhagavathar, without any high moments. The mass moment of his kidnapping could have been far better, with few more intelligent moves from him, maybe like showcasing it as accident to avoid displaying his other persona. Ramya Krishnan could have been a lot more engaging, compelling and competing character, unknowing of his persona, shining back on their legacy, which could have elevated her impactful Dialogue, blaming the Hero on his son’s death. She could have even elevated the pre-interval scene, like how Kamal Hassan surprised his spouse in Vishwaroopam.
The Father-son bonding is the core of this film. But except for a beautiful song and easy to miss shots on their bonding, the movie fast forwards to his death. The climax twist is even more indigestible as there are no scenes earlier to underscore his chameleonic character. Vikram again handled it quite well at the appropriate segments to stress on the weight of emotions. Nelson could have done better with impactful Dialogues and making compelling shots which required to be registered on audience minds. For example, Rajinikanth opens all windows in the pre-interval scene does not register well or convey any meaning, unless you watch it second time or in trailers. Maybe Ramya Krishnan could have questioned on such mad behaviour. Such buildups adds up well later with Snipers.
Anirudh has played a large catalyst on this film. He does not hesitate amping up the BGM, where even ARR shies away. Kudos to him, though he could have done a lot better replacing Jujubee song.
Shiva Rajkumar gets a better massy intro than Rajnikanth. Both of his scenes were quite enjoyable. I have endured an unbearable Kannada movie in KSRTC bus, but it’s quite awesome how the industry have turned tables in an admirable way. He made me an instant fan with his climax shot carrying a box of tissues. Mohanlal gets a stylish scene just like Lucifer. Few more scenes could have amped up the excitement. Maybe Nelson thought of bringing in Balayya in the place of brilliant Kishore on the Heist scene. Well it could have been pretty massy rather prolonging Sunil’s portion though I enjoyed it and nothing to complain there. Maybe Balayya could have been that CBI officer who gives his best on Sunil and his triangular sob story and the educating the goon who asks for his ID but could not read. He could have handled the heist better with an equally massy fight between the two veterans. Just plain wishful thinking, but Nelson has certainly opened the gates for multi-starrers with interesting cameos. Audience love such Limited editions be it Rolex or Shiva Rajkumar.
I don’t know what honesty Ramya Krishnan was speaking about Jailer. How can a honest cop could throw a bomb using another goon and take pride in the next scene of reforming the same goon. Doctor had a better character build up rather Jailer, But Rajini being Rajini defies all the logic and science involved and lifts the film with his emotional connect. It’s no wonder this movie become a blockbuster as it manages to touch the right nostalgic moments in a very new backdrop. I especially liked Rajini playing a chess master like character, delegating to others, rather doing unbelievable action scenes.
Honesty is the worst policy
Just like the film’s honesty, we could see Rajini touching the feet of Bulldozer Baba in UP for real. It just reminded me of the eagle you see in the Karumegangal Kalaigindrana trailer, where GV Menon is that legal eagle who flies high but feasts on its hapless prey for its own survival. I always felt Rajini is different as an actor or as part-time politician. Hopefully this eagle does something good for the society or atleast dont hurt the society, becoming an irrelevant “Blue Shirt” in Politics, just like that youtube comedian. Let’s pray Rajini as an eternal Superstar keeps on winning people’s Hearts, rather aspiring for meaningless political chair.
I had a very satisfying experience at Tirpati-Tirumala, all thanks to the Lord Venkateswara who took me through this, amidst TTD’s specially laid out problems and barriers for his Bhakts, to make it a memorable and cherishable moment of my life.
The Lord of Seven Hills
Tirumala is always a beautiful experience from my childhood. Apart from the long queues, there was nothing much to complain till the recent past. My father used to complain about the rampant corruption in Tirumala 35 years back, where any service is proportional to the tips staff receive. Then, a Super Bhakt appeared on the scene. I still faintly remember an NTR cut out at Tirumala in saffron clothes is if he is watching TTD directly. Don’t know if his gaze helped, NTR ensured a golden experience for the poor visiting Tirumala. He brought in various free amenities which still holds good along with the famous sign board, not to give any tips to the staff, something I read many many times just to enjoy an almost corruption free experience, a rarity in India of that time. From then onwards, there was no looking back on Tirumala experience with brokers getting eliminated and innovative online bookings to avoid cumbersome queues for availing basic facilities. But, nowadays, I am afraid if Tirumala is on a downward slide on whatever goodness accumulated by its beautiful administration of the past….
The Ali Piri Pilgrimage – Climbing steps From 420 to face 840:
The Rule of the Jungle experience started at the auto-stand where the Auto guys started bargaining trying to squeeze as much as possible from the hapless passengers. What is your rate? It actually depends how soft and pliable you are, allowing the driver to take a ride on you. After fooling myself I managed to reach the footpath starting point. The trek to Tirumala called as “Ali piri” has always been a very blissful route. I started it during my college days owing to long queues and lack of Buses and money then and eventually started falling in love with the beautiful journey. Twenty five years back, Ali piri was just uneven steps with few Mandapams and mostly People trek with their footwear on, so as to beat the heat. Last decade changed things, providing special care for Ali piri pilgrims with the uneven steps standardised along with a nice roof making it a safe passage for footwear free experience. I could sense a genuine care extended by TTD then, for people who tried to walk the extra mile for the Lord, providing good facilities all along the Path.
Now, the serene trek is kind of commercialised replacing the 24×7 the only open organic trek with synthetic crowd controlling measures, simulating rush hour scenario, allowing pilgrims in batches along with barricades. So, even if you start at 3 AM, you are only allowed at 4:20 AM along with few hundreds accumulated by then, leading to the rush hour scenario in the steps, just like the familiar scene “creation” in Tirumala. TTD – the organisational body governing the temple, blames it on a Cheetah. There was a stray incident of a Cheetah happened to nab an infant on the Alipiri footpath. While the crowd controlling rush hour marketing seems well intentioned, due to the newly found Villain Cheetah, there seems no remorse on harassing Bhakts or regretfully lack of resolution on this. TTD conveniently avoids the following questions just like a newly trained Fascist. Why a cheetah should cross over to its alien human world? What made the cheetah hungry for prey? Why it’s changing the path now, when not for last 30 years? What has actually changed in the Forest, driving the cheetah out of its habitat? Is it a sign of the Lord unhappy with the current greedy administration treating him like a well decorated Barbie-Ken type Doll, rather treating his Bhakts well? Well, rather answering any of this, TTD made it simple, by just implementing its masterful marketing technique – make it “look” big with crowd collation creating mad racing scenario.
So, as expected, once they opened gate at 4:20 AM, there was a mad rush to the Lord’s abode with varying trekking pace of the People. It should have been a sight to behold, at least for the so called Double 420s – TTD Administrators. Ok! All seems well! I started climbing like a tortoise at my own slow pace. Honestly the footpath imparted an illusionary on-steroids-magic in me, as I am someone who struggle hard to climb two floors of a greedy entity who squeezed the stair space to accommodate for profits. Now, Alipiri pilgrimage kept me in a state of trance. I planned few things to keep up my energy and even song playlists to keep me up. But, nothing came to mind for the whole trek. Just pure bliss! I am not sure if it was just my own illusional Mind or the almighty makes us push through any physical adversities, once we keep the faith on him. Whatever… when in doubt, just Praise the Lord!
But, there were always testing times sponsored by TTD. Seems PET water bottles are not allowed in Tirumala. Strangely, buttermilk is available in non bio-degradable plastic packs, but not water in plastic packs. Tetra packs are available in plenty, but no water tetra packs. It’s still debatable why only PET bottles are disallowed, while all other sorts of toxic consumerism are allowed. I am not sure if TTD is getting lessons from Tamilnadu’s TASMAC, promoting junk beverages rather plain and simple water. Anyone who wants water in the steps, need to buy a 1 liter Glass bottle for 30 Rupees water and take it in a single gulp. If you still insist keeping the bottle, get ready to pay yet another 60 rupees for the glass bottle. To make matters worse, one person dropped the glass bottle in the 2000th step office queue, for anyone to bleed if they dare to step into the queue, after all, blood is organic, if not PET water right? I do not know if the TTD officials are reverse engineering our beliefs on the Alipiri route, to shed confidence on the belief and start wearing footwear.
After daring the glassy queues, walking like cinderella on glass shoes, one had to suffer another strange “innovation” of Token system for Darshan. Usually, people taking footpath, are given a Divya Darshan Token which eases the Darshan atop. This is normally given in the 100th step when you begin and you cannot miss the queue. If you quit the trek, there is a guard placed on the reverse direction to take the token. It’s made foolproof further with sealing by the officials at various vantage points till completion. Now, everything got removed and looks like you are provided a token somewhere else. So, anybody who understands the route can easily bypass the footpath, and reach the Galigopuram at the nearest road-footpath intersection, and easily get stamped. TTD is just making way for all corrupt processes, which was eliminated by earlier administration. Current TTD and EO DramaReddy is acting like a Monkey who does not know what to do with a divine bouquet / garland.
“If you kept the small rules you could break the big ones.”
1984 George Orwell
Strangely, there are no sign boards, instructing the yatris to take the token first to avail Darshan, or other tips to bear with the flimsy administration, throwing up process tantrums, now and then without any rationale, like bringing own water bottles in hand rather trusting them to take care of our most basic need. Maybe it’s a well kept Tirumala TTD secret! Having missed such tokens and information, I was asked to take the Free Darshan queue. It’s not a big deal to me, as I usually go with backup plan like a Seva ticket. But, wonder what stops TTD from telling the yatris about it during the start of the Journey, who are too innocent to see the grey side of TTD? Should we rely on the Touts and Merchants for any such “insider” tips and information every-time?
Tirumala was shining under the able leadership of NTR and NCBN.
Maybe there are guardian angels along the Path lifting our spirits up, making the trek still a nice experience, bearing with all the TTD’s tests thrown on the way. Luckily I did not feel thirsty to sip water and helped up with Drinking water taps installed every few hundred steps. But, At least, take a tumbler or water bottle to avoid any major hiccups / thirst as some taps are not functioning and their hygiene is still a question. Only TTD Jalaprasad Kiosks seem to have potable water and they are scarce. If the present TTD administration don’t even bother simple sign boards, how can we expect hygienic water?
Along the trek, I was searching for the newest Villain of Tirupati, the Cheetah guy. I could only see few deers. But looks like TTD is more obsessed with Cheetah, that they used the Speaker system, ( actually “after” you finish climbing ) to caution Bhakts to go in groups and chant Govinda nama, making one wonder if Cheetah is roaming in Tirumala or on the hill steps. Maybe they can only announce where it’s convenient to them. It was funny to hear about chanting Govinda nama to avoid Cheetah, because the Speaker system in the steps was not even functioning like earlier. It was used to create a nice ambience with Govinda chants. Only God knows, why can’t they use the Speaker system on the steps for divine chanting. The only electrical mechanism which worked was prompt switching off the lights in the steps early morning even when it was moderately dark and cloudy.
“We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.”
1984 George Orwell
With blessings of the Lord, the trek appeared to be faster for me and reached Pilgrim Amenities Center in approximately 5 hours. PAC is one of the best amenities provided by TTD for anyone who could not avail separate accommodation. Luckily, PAC was not crowded and the occupancy of its lockers was around 30%, an indication of crowd strength. I had a Seva ticket for 5:00 PM which should take another 3 hours for the Darshan to complete around 9 PM. But, I usually make Darshan as the first task. Having run out of Divya Darshan token for the footpath, I was forced / decided to take Sarva Darshan, the free one and managed to get into the compartment by 10 AM. The slip had 10 PM as Darshan time, but the pilgrims were hopeful of a quick Darshan as it was rainy with very low occupancy. There was no rational explanation of why someone should wait for twelve hours, as even the TTD Live TV showed thin and casually trickling crowd at the temple.
The Not so “Free” Darshan
But TTD being a vile fox, running the Darshan event like a Blockbuster movie had its own plans. Before we dwell on the Darshan aspects, we need to understand what provides the “oomph” factor at Tirumala. It’s actually their flash news and crowd collation – “Free Darshan is taking 12-24 hours!”. Is it really so? How does TTD handle 4-8 times the crowd in festive occasions? Well, the secret lies in how TTD segregates the Haves and Have-nots in different compartments and uses them for their scheming purpose. Of course, VIPs take the easiest path and let’s not get into that. The Haves who could afford a paid Darshan are allowed within 3 Hours for payment. The Have-nots who don’t have the “VIP power” or the “money of the Haves” are segregated in a distant compartment, after circling around whole Tirumala to reach there. They actually pay more than any others by spending more energy by circling around for nothing and more time in the cage so as to create a crowd spectacle when they are opened for Darshan, to create a flash news on incredible waiting times. Afterall, these are the innocent folks who are content with the Sambar rice provided every 3 hours and seemingly fine to submit themselves to endless waiting on any information on gate opening time, a growing trend of lack of TTD’s transparency nowadays . The Clueless flock attentively wait for any Lock rattling sound or a “Dog whistle” from the Security team, usually a sign of gate opening, like Jail wardens waking up people in the morning as they show in movies.
“Between pigs and human beings there was not and there need not be any clash of interest whatsoever.”
Animal farm, George Orwell
Earlier, TTD allowed Free Darshan based on the crowd strength. Usually the gatekeeper and sign boards will tell us how long it takes, which is not more than 5-6 hours. I have made free Darshans in just 2 hours in the past, usually in the nights as the VIPs will not bother the Lord in night times, as they get busy themselves. But, now we are left with a huge digital sign board at the cage for the expected time of opening the gate. Only difference now, is that it just shows Zeroes, maybe signifying the Have-nots gathered there.
Now, it looks like Free Darshan is a standardised stigma. If you don’t have money just wait for the flash mob show orchestrated by TTD. After all, it’s the way TTD is displaying its massy theme of massive crowd, like any Politician or Celebrity could crave for. Else what good it is for the VIPs to take pride on their extra special quick Darshan unless they are shown the difference of them placed at Hilltop while the Have-nots are struggling to peek a Darshan just for a second staying at foothills?
The waiting compartments are treated like mini Jails with the food provided in the most haphazard manner possible. I was looking for a cup of milk provided through an iron gate holes and the crowd was rushing towards it as if they never knew Milk was white in colour. Obviously you cannot blame the innocent flock, because they don’t even understand how they are rendered to become animals in the animal Farm as they are encouraged to do such antics without any restrictions. The same vending could have been possibly provided with a much more civilised queue system, but what good it for administration who wish to create mob spectacles? The major disadvantage lies with the females who had to compete “physically” for a cup of milk. So, there were not many who were willing exchange their modesty for a cup of milk.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
Animal farm, George Orwell
The TTD Animal farm served with Sambar Rice
The painful part of the Compartmentalised Animal Farm Show Event is that, it creates an Inferno for ten hours and then try to show them Heaven in a very clever way, installing air cooling mechanism at the temple entrance to make them enjoy the synthetic bliss of the Lord. But, few hard questions kept lingering in my mind… Why can’t they be allowed to enjoy bliss in the Compartments? Can’t food get delivered in a civilised manner? Can’t mobiles be allowed inside Compartments in case of any emergencies or just for recreation? Can’t they tell the actual time of Darshan at various places with sign boards, like earlier rather keeping the crowd in hopeful darkness waking up for each and every dog whistle from the Security? Transparent intimations, used to happen earlier would have allowed people to carry their Medicines and other essentials based on the wait times, before they get themselves locked in cages? Is it too much for people to ask for basic needs in this growingly secretive and fascist TTD organisation? In my case, I had to miss my tablets and I could see a miserable Diabetic going through recovery from low blood sugar.
“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
1984 George Orwell
Of course, the “Free Darshan” is free of cost, but comes at the expense of our own valuable independence and dignity.
If I had to put it honestly, unlike TTD, the Lord did not disappoint me with his blissful Darshan. Either availing Seva ticket or Free Darshan I would have completed by Darshan at 9-10 PM. Also, God never allowed me to be greedy, allowing back to back Double Darshans as I usually buy two tokens to avoid TTD’s atrocities. But, this time he gave me a glimpse of how the poor people are used like an essential tool for crowd gimmicks, as if TTD is running a fake Blockbuster and they cant take up any bad news that the crowd has dipped in the weekdays. Hence the need for 12 Hour waiting time make-believe-magic-shows.
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
1984 George Orwell
When the Lord did not give Tea or Coffee for his Staff.
There was another point of concern – the corruption mushrooming among the middle segment officials, who seem not to be inhibited of asking for their Tea or Coffee expenses. The Person delivering Smart Phones from locker insists on Tirupati Balaji is not proving him Tea / Coffee. Same case with Laddu vendor in Tiruchanoor who demands 5 rupees extra for giving Adai, deeming it is only for Seva but gets sanctified/degraded enough to be provided for everyone just for 5 rupee more. The PAC locker in charge who does not shy of demanding tea coffee to make an entry of giving the lock back on behalf of another incharge. I am no Super Bhakt like NTR, but at least I could write a blog, if not sign boards, requesting for the Lord to take care of himself first from these corrupt ones, and the message is not for the all knowing Lord.
The RSS-Reddy trouble… All atrocities in the name of God…
It also made me wonder, what good is TTD building a temple in Jammu and Kashmir, just to help envision RSS’ Hindu Rashtra, if they could not provide the people with proper information and protect pilgrims with basics like food and water in a dignified manner. Maybe, TTD is becoming just another apparatus of the RSS fascist ploy to build a fake Hindutva utilising the Lord’s influence and his own money. To reinforce such thoughts you could see TTD chief Dharma Reddy, boasting about being the richest temple in the world having close discussions with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. If you refer to the mythology of Lord Venkateswara, he is just a humble and mighty being, still paying debts to Kubera with his earnings at Tirumala. But the megalomaniac TTD Chief is on a different ego-trip .
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Animal Farm, George Orwell
After all, what good is such mythology, if TTD’s sole focus is to create show pieces and event management with a corrupt Reddy mafia at the helm, occupying the all powerful Temple Board. One such well known Sand Mafia Sekar Reddy , a power Broker who bartered TN sand with ADMK powers for Tirupati Laddu, was arrested by the RSS BJP government to take over the ADMK Government after then TN CM Amma’s demise. He is now turned a holy white washed saint as the ADMK Party is fully in control of BJP. But the Reddy domination continues under the noble(?) Rule of a most corrupt AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, who escaped imprisonment by licking Modi’s boots.
“To die hating them, that was freedom.”
1984 George Orwell
Recently, Jagan Reddy’s uncle, a Christian Evangelist Subba Reddy was appointed as Chairman of the Hindu TTD Temple Board. I am not someone with Faith bias, but RSS talking of proud Hindu Rashtra is quite fine with all these corrupt atrocities, as long as the Lord’s Sri Vari Hundi is turned to a generic Corpus fund to propagate their Hindutva interests, establishing the fact that Hindutva fascism has no limits of greed or shame as long it suits their selfish brahmanical supremacy agenda.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
1984 George Orwell
Srivani trust allocates money gained by Darshan diverting it towards other shady works as raised by the opposition. As usual TTD denied even before trying to introspect why it should use Balaji’s money for RSS work. There were even VIPs claiming on corrupt practices at Tirumala. As usual TTD denied it as misunderstanding, as they don’t collect bribe but only “special tickets”. There were complaints on the laddu weight, forget about quality for now. As usual TTD denied and blamed it on their own faulty weight machine and not Laddu. Looks like even Lord Venkateswara may be at fault, but TTD can never be never at fault or fail.
All Tirumala needs is a few good men
Just few good men at the helm could change things for better. Tirumala was brimming golden under the able leadership of NTR and NCBN then CMs. For another example, Tamilnadu’s endowment Minister wants to remove the VIP Darshan at all TN temples. A noble thought process which could strike only if you are genuine and ardent devotee rather silly political clouts who does not understand the religion or progating caste supremacy. Earlier, TTD was a role model for efficient corruption free crowd management. But its toxic methodology of pushing people out of Sanctum Sanctorum was adopted by mushrooming temples where pilgrims will get pushed even if there was no one behind them waiting for Darshan, for gaining TTD like mass publicity. Just like Politics, we are at devotional cross roads on which way we want to be. Godly Good or Devilishly Greedy?
The TTD rat who ate my raisins and cashews
Finally, at home, after completing Puja, I handed over the Laddu Prasadam to my Mother. She informed, the laddu looked like a cheap imitation version of its own of its glorious past, without any signs of raisins or the biggest cashews it’s usually loaded with. It used to be a fun ritual earlier like plucking the raisins and contesting with peers on who got the biggest of the biggest Cashews. Now, TTD has saved me from the competition as there were no traces of raisins and few cashews were broken and tasteless. I wonder which TTD rat ate those ingredients. After tasting the Laddu, my mother simply asked a simple question? “Did you really went to Tirumala?”. My wife threw a playfully cold stare not believing the whole story, checking my card statement for any Laddu shopping in A2B. At least, that would have tasted better rather this gram flour dung. Obviously only the Lord could save me from that stare, if at all I could survive Jail compartments and managed to get squeezed in for a Darshan.
Now, I am not very sure if I had to praise my Lord or just pray to him to protect himself from the seemingly powerful Reddy Mafia controlling His Majesty. Well, God has his own mysterious ways of tackling the evil forces. Afterall, you just cannot hide from his ever watchful eyes by covering with Ornaments.
TTD = Paise the Lord?
To make things light, let’s dwell on a beautiful tamil story by renowned author PudumaiPithan – The God and Kandasamy Pillai abridged in english. It’s a funny story of Lord Shiva visiting our Earth in human form meeting a Siddha Doctor by name Kandasamy. He tries to find a Job for his living along with his spouse Parvathi as his savings are soon to get expended. He decides to make a living by what he does and enjoys best – Thandavam – Dancing. The Sabha orchestrator, Diwan Bhagadhur, could not bear God’s original form and asks him to move out of his place.
Shiva Tandavam
Hey Koothanar (dancer)! Stop your koothu (dance)” Diwan Bhagadhur shouted.
“This is a sham. Why are they dressed like barbarians of Borneo”
The God just stopped his dancing feet and reclined on his Trishul and stood like a statue.
“Hey! Do you know anything about the Art? You have worn Tiger Skin. If you have to wear a snake, you should wear an imitation. Would you wear a live snake? You should wear silk which looks like tiger skin. The Art should be pleasing to the eyes. Even if Goddess Parvathi and Lord Shiva dance like this, it will not be called dance according to the art of dance. First you put all the snakes in a bag and remove your make-up. Children are playing here. Be careful!” said Diwan Bagadhur.
He did not leave Kandasamy Pillai also. “Hey! Just because you are giving me medicine I can’t watch this dance and introduce them to the club. I can’t walk on the street if I do this!”
After fifteen minutes they were sitting in Pillai’s magazine office. The Devi was not there. Kandasamy’s child was sleeping on a mat.
Both were keeping quite. After few minutes The God said, “looks like I can’t survive with the skills I have.”
“You did not like what I suggested. The world does not like what you like; may be you should run a Vedic School!”
The God sighed.
“So already the earth is sour for you?” asked Kandasamy Pillai.
“When I have seen one human being it means I have seen the world.” Replied The God.
“We can only stay afar and give boons to human beings. But we can’t live with you.” Said The God.
“All The Gods are only good for that!” said Kandasamy Pillai.
After that there was no one there to speak to.
The child woke up asking, “Dad, has Grandpa left for his village?”
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.”
Personally, I don’t have a loving experience with Chennai. It started with intimidating auto drivers fleecing money above meter rates in my childhood to till date crooked Optician fooling around with the cheapest available lens getting foggy in few months and worst specs frame going off in few months still managing to fleece few thousands. There was another optician who even threatened and manhandled to remove my google review. You get variety of roady rowdies and juveniles flocking around School campus. The Climate making you feel like you are getting fried in a giant Oven.
You get fired or fired up by Tam-Brahm Managers who are shameless enough to talk about all nuisance and dirty political culture to push their agenda ahead. Unless you love something here, it’s very difficult to stay put in Chennai. Also, it is tough to love when you are in a pattern of getting slapped up on your eye while sleeping at home like modern gorilla attack, making you lose balance as other ways of inciting anger gone fruitless. Love obviously must be blind. The pain says so. In short, Chennai ennai Poda vennai endrathu…
To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
David Viscott
When all you need is not a Sweater but a swatter of sorrows
In Chennai the above quote could be an equivalent of barbecuing me, well done on both the sides. Modern Love Chennai offers excuses making the mention of scorching Chennai pleasant. Ilayaraja is one such compelling chill factor making this series a treat to watch. The soft interludes played on budding love or infatuation in Margazhi is more than enough as testament to his genius. But, it’s just a starter with the master serving his main course in Ninaivo Oru Paravai.
Margazhi is supposed to be the coolest month of Chennai where Chennaites pretend as if it’s snowing for a 25 Degree weather. Well, I bought two sweaters for my Kids. Don’t know if it was the Discount or just pretending like a proud Penguin in the Arctic. Margazhi is a simmering budding love tale of teenagers. IR just rendered a flat slow paced story very beautiful with his music, aided by a mystical Sanjula’s appearance. It’s a slow burn teenage story, still beautifully crafted with a tinge of soft pleasantness. Really don’t know or infer on the repetitive scenes including the monotonous cycle locking. But the love or infatuation tinged with the teenage innocence makes it pretty much close to reality, making it a warm experience. Sometimes, all you need is an admiring Crush…
Love is the answer, but while you’re waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good questions.
Woody Allen
To believe or not to believe…
As TK is someone who is keen on opening avenues of thought provocations rather prioritising commercial success, would like to delve a bit on the beautiful and humorous scene, I liked, wherein Church Pastor attributes Sanjula’s happiness to the grace of God, while she gets simpy enamoured by her Crush. While this may deliciously sound like attributing human intervention to the credit of God, I have seen many instances where atheists, sticking “There is no God” sticker in alarm clock, mature into ardent devotees of God.. with due respects to the atheists for the same attribute, asking questions to themselves, till they are convinced of the answers.
As Yuval Noah Harari mentions in Sapiens, the greatest power of Humans is – Imagination. Humans created Associations and Business entities out of their imagination and conveniently ensured such entities becomes liabilities or casualties for their own individual faults. It’s the imagined Corporate, with mere existence on Billboards and Papers, goes Bankrupt never its physically present owner, check with Anil Ambani for any doubts. God is one such imagined entity to cover up “God’s creators” faults.
Apart from Corporates, Self styled God-men of all flavors, on direct business with God, enjoy all pleasures and fame due to his Godliness USP. When it comes to troubles, they can just blame it on God and remain unblemished with a teflon coated image. Our derailed economy is just “God’s own act”, if you ask our FM, not due to stupid demonetisation, reckless GST, Crony friendly Farm laws, looting of national resources among the big Four Gujaratis and poor handling of pandemic. God can never pay your Hospital bills, but you will be guided to pray and avail his helpline, indirectly blaming the almighty for your sorrows when bitter things happen, while someone else happily harvests your savings. Panam oru pakkam Pazhi oru pakkam. This is where atheists get things right about God.
But, God-imagination has its own benefits, based on what you imagine and expect out of it. If we healthily imagine God as that omnipresent Camera, looking upon us as ARR said, our conscience gets better. If we imagine God’s prayer as a means of self resolve, we get motivated.
Jesus is sexy. A handsome Jewish boy, just like you. I ask him to come into you. Ask him to enter you.
You can’t ask Jesus to do tricks to impress you.
FabelMans Movie
Think, sensible prayer or childish craving for magic wand lollipops like, promoting things cheaply or getting more views with hit-job on someone is clearly our choice. Prayer is just another form of convincing ourselves – Neraiya sothippaan aana kai vida maattaan to quote Rajinikanth.
There is a saying… Trust in Allah but tether your camel first.
Why trust Allah if you are tethering the camel? — because a tethered camel can also be stolen. You do whatsoever you can do: that does not make the result certain. Then he knows best.
It is very easy to trust Allah and be lazy. It is very easy not to trust Allah and be a doer. The third type of man is difficult — to trust Allah and yet remain a doer. But now you are only instrumental; God is the real doer, you are just instruments in his hands.
Osho
Apologize if all of the above is bit preachy, but hope it opens few more doors for healthy discussion. Enna sariyaathaan pesuranaa? OK. Now a preachy story…
Mulla Nasrudin, a wise yet sometimes foolish man, was invited by village elders to speak in their village mosque for three consecutive weeks.On first friday morning, he stood at the door of the mosque, puffed out his chest and decided to wing it. He turned to the people and asked,
“Do you know the subject I am going to discuss today?”
“No” said the people.
“Then I refuse to preach to such an ignorant assembly. How could you not know given the events of the past week?” asked Nasrudin and left hurriedly.
Next Friday he went up the pulpit and asked: “Do you know the subject of my sermon today?”
People fearing a repetition of what had taken place a week before nodded and said: “Yes yes, indeed we know.”
“Well, then. There is no point in telling you what you already know”, said Nasrudin and left.
On the third Friday he ascended the pulpit and asked: “Do you know what I am going to speak about today?”
Not knowing what to say, some said yes and some said no.
“Then those who know can tell those who don’t”, said Nasrudin and left.
Jokes apart, God / Belief works better when unexplained and un-imposed on us. As a Confused-Atheist-Religious-Nonconformist, trying to find answers, my version of god exists in all of us. God exists in Ilayaraja’s Music. God exists in TK’s screenplay, where Dhanasekar in Superdeluxe gets questioned on his blind belief as he gets saved by a floating Jesus statue at sea, what happens when he gets a teddy bear to crutch on instead of a statue, will he worship that Doll? In my case, why not “Teddy God”, when Hindus worship every benevolent entity in the Universe including Sun / Sea. God exists in all our questions, making us find answers on our own rather blindly go by tutored / spoon fed fables.
Whether its Jesus walking over water or splitting seas, Vasudeva crossing the river with infant Krishna, they are all metaphors to establish our beliefs rather taking it up literally. It’s just a story to impart belief that God will help us out in crisis and he will arise when the evil tries to win over good. If we believe that as reality, missing the subtext god lies in the good, we must be having Jesus Waterways or Krishna Snake safari offering ride on snakes now.
Faith… must be enforced by reason… when faith becomes blind it dies. – Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Unfortunately we miss the reality but carried over “magical and shiny metaphors” like fake pride on Ganesha’s mythical plastic surgery. Sometimes, we may need to correlate ourselves with Buddha’s story of giving life to a deceased kid as per his Mother’s request, for a reality pinch. He simply did not perform any such miracle, but made her realise the inevitability of death by asking her to get mustard from a Home where death never happened. It’s easier to instill belief with a miracle which works best among the impoverished and uneducated. But it’s much better for society when people understand the reality and work towards their own salvation. This level of understanding, surmises the difference between scientific and communal mindset.
Godly Quote from Osho…
The man who has the sense that “God exists, and I am needed by God,” never feels worthless — never. To the last moment, to the last breath of his life, he is functioning, serving something higher than himself. He has a context bigger than himself; in that context, meaning arises.
Meaning is always in a certain context. A single word is meaningless; when it is arranged in a poem it has tremendous meaning: now it has a context. The color in a tube is meaningless; once it is spread on the canvas and becomes part of a picture that is bigger than it, it has a context, suddenly meaning arises.
It is reported that once a very rich man asked Pablo Picasso to make a portrait of him. Picasso said, “It will be very costly.”
The man was so rich, he said, ”Don’t bother about it. You need not even talk about the cost, money doesn’t matter. Make my portrait and whatsoever you demand, I will give.”
After six months the portrait was ready.
The rich man came, but the price that was asked was fantastic: one million dollars, just for a small canvas and a few colors! The rich man said, ”Are you joking? Just for a few colors and a canvas?”
Picasso said, ”Then okay, you can take an empty canvas and a few tubes full of color and you can pay as much as you want.”
The rich man said, “But that is not the same.”
Picasso said, ”That’s what I am trying to point out to you. I have created a context, I have created a gestalt, a pattern. And nobody else can create it, hence the price. It is a Picasso painting: nobody else can do it the way I have done it, it has my signature on it. The harmony of the colors, the music of the colors, the poetry of the colors – that is the thing. I am not asking the price for the colors, but for something that has become expressed through the colors.”
A real painting is not just the sum total of the colors, it is more – and that “more” is the meaning. A real life is not the sum total of what you do; unless there is something more to it, you live an inauthentic life. That ”more” is God. That poetry is God, that music is God, that surrounds you and floods you.
People come to me and ask, “Where is God?” It is not a question of asking “where”; God is a meaning, not a person. I cannot indicate, “There – go there, and you will find him.” God has no address, God cannot be located, it is a meaning. You have to create meaning in your life, then God is. God has to be created.
Maybe, the idea of “Belief” is to just believe in us first, for the idea of healthy and good God does not seem to be the Micromanaging Dictator who makes each and every one of us, and eventually control like Puppets. We wished for one such character in early 2010 and now we know where we are after enduring nine years of divine comedy.
2024 Election in a single Cartoon.
It’s not Modi or God to be blamed on our craving for Dictatorship then. Even recently, after 9 years of enduring harassment from BJP, we all knew how Karnataka Congress fought like uneducated children fighting for power goodies, rather worrying about their responsibilities / guarantees. Now they have moved on to stir the Mekedatu pot arousing regional sentiments to hide their failures. It’s only during Congress / DKS / Siddaramaiah regime, we get Cauvery sensationalization and water riots. Modi may have his shortcomings, like his well known poor judgement skills and ruthless majoritarianism, but he is decisive and fights for his beliefs till the end rather giving into power cravings and petty greed. His decisiveness and resolve, like his notion of water as national resource, not to be politicised along with concrete steps, may want people crave for more such dictatorship in future, rather looking upon to resolve weak leadership crisis in Congress, like SG/MMS UPA2 regime, good intents but weak and indecisive leadership.
Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Let’s take this Political use case of BJP making even Machiavelli blush, BJP is ruthless enough to convict RG on a simple defamation case and getting ready with much more brutal version colonial sedition law to tame the Opposition and democratic groups, with Modi “shamelessly” ( the signature style of Modi Rule ) coining it as “Hindutva Vision”. But, Congress could not convict the gujarati duo on most brutal Riots post independence or other grievous cases and the w*nising Judge who judged them innocent, under Congress regime, earned(?) himself a Kerala treat at Governor’s Bungalow, under their nose. Even Vajpayee with all of his empty actions but a good “Rajneeti” quote made himself look better on this issue. Granting Death merchants, such allowance is Congress’ big heartedness or just… let the country go to dogs type inefficient and lazy rule? If Kejriwal is the new challenger to BJP, just like Mo-Sha to congress in 2014, we all know how they are clipping his wings even if it’s immoral and unjustifiable.
A thermometer is not the only thing that gets a ‘degree’ without having a ‘brain’! – Anonymous Quote
The dictatorship cycle may go on if Congress Mother-ship does not fix its sails and cracks, at least now, to avoid a repeat of 2014 in 2025-30. The only treatment RSS-BJP understands is the same treatment it metes out to others. If not convinced, lets question ourselves why the mighty tentacled, ever demanding RSS group’s current head Mohan Bhagwat is so silent nowadays, like Modi’s pet little lamb? Is this anyway related to the desperate saffron terrorism orchestrated to win 2014, and the after-effect of sins knocking on his door? If Gandhis are the glue for Congress, Blackmailing their own Cadre and public deceit is for Modi’s BJP.
Moving away from dictatorship cravings, the God Delusion / healthy imagination, unfortunately, often gets hijacked for selfish gains and communal violence, creating more doubts than belief. Jai Bajrang Bali! Just like there is a Partner behind anyone’s success, there is always a mythical and illogical story woven around dubious Godly Dictator. Om Namo Shivayah!
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Searching for God in “God’s own Party”
In the name of God, We, Indians have torn ourselves to polarised opposites – EWS quota Elites Vs Nuremberg/Sedition-Law-in-Process Dalits and Minorities as vote shares of last few elections factify. As TK rightly questioned on God’s futile existence when so much of atrocities happening around, maybe middle class and well to do People who pray to God thanking for their morsel of rice granted by the divine grace, should also question the so called… “God powered God-Men”, when it becomes out of reach or unaffordable to poor by the policies leveraged by the so called God err… Adani’s own Party’s misgovernance.
“My mother always used to say: The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana ( or BJP ) ” – Betty White
Current BJP Government runs on finding solutions to problems that don’t exist like Upper class pleasing, expensive and glossy Vande Bharat trains, for some empty pride ride, rather focusing on real problems – basic train safety systems like cheap Autonomous Driving technology with alarms foreseeing collisions. After the drastic three trains collision piling up on one another, as if its traffic jam in a congested road signal, Modi wants to punish the culprits severely. It’s anybody’s easy guess who made Railways perform poor Vande Bharat magic on weak tracks, as if plying Vande Bharat trains on waters and failed miserably. Because, All who pretend are not Jesus ( like Bharatiya Jesus Party). Just yet another alarm bell for people in Metaphor-land. Even magician like PC Sircar who magically makes train disappear cannot save this Government from accountability, for their sins on poor and unprivileged.
Faith is much better than belief. Belief is when someone else does the thinking.
R. Buckminster Fuller
Life is Beautiful Metaphor
Modi installing the “Sengol for Fair Governance” in Parliament, is a metaphor, yet another imagined fable for good governance, like the symbolic miracles of religious literature, like the Vande Bharat train, a lipsticked Pig among our god forsaken trains. The real question is how fair and impartial he is, to his subjects, and I am not talking about “entire political science” miraculous graduation, but the real people. BJP has trained us so much to live and breathe in metaphors setting aside the realities, that I will not be surprised if one day Modi asks us to eat empty plate, imagining Amrit in it. We are already in advanced stages of such amrit kaal wherein our Parliament got Amritkalash now, if not ethics and dharma.
But are not our beliefs are beautiful metaphors? I was happily enjoying by afternoon siesta after a gruelling session of breakfast and GST Nil filing with late payment. I was trying to milk GST with input tax credits to make something out of it. But our Taxies are too smart that they recovered money from me. My wife woke me up in a rushed manner informing on a bomb scare at my Kids’ school. She acted more like a terrorist terrorizing me with the possible outcomes. I was pretty convinced Indian terrorists of any colour / shades are more human than Israel’s IDF or that weak kneed old Psycho terrorising the world towards Third World War to establish his supremacy pulling down once mighty country to third world democracy. Still it was bit fearsome for 0.01% in case of a hoax turning to reality for my dearsomes.
She rushed me to drive fast. Unfortunately, my Royal Enfield was going through a tough phase of molestation by the Burglar Mechanics stationed well inside like trojan horses as it usually surprises me in the morning with hiccups. It reminds me of the Captain Miller / Vivek’s Minor Kunju joke. Maybe the burglar mechanics thought on the Bike as my bodily extension of Brother leg and got expressive with all their vengeance. Only god knows how it becomes magically restrained. TO whomsoever concerned, my little brother’s name is not Thunderbird. Once touted to be a war horse of World Wars, my Enfield slogged like a Bullock Cart, tugging along with the heavy luggage – my wife. Now, I don’t know whom to blame… whether its a weight issue or pickup issue or both or just my bad times. Thinking in futile about it, we concluded our slow procession of reaching the bomb scared school after half an hour. I was bit scared if the school will levy additional fee of Bomb scare relief fund just like our FM waiting to charge on us by some way or other like non-onion-eating-high-profile-pickpocket.
Now, on the way back, my spouse was mocking on the Bullock cart I am maintaining, maybe I am that bullock, wishing that she hired Lord Murugan’s peacock after sighting his image and his vehicle on the way.
Spouse: Wish we had that peacock for a ride to avoid bomb scares and rush to school.
Kid: How can a peacock carry such heavy weight. It will fall.
Spouse: Lord Murugan will power it to carry.
Kid: What if we fall down?
Spouse: Lord Murugan will take care of our safety.
Looks like Kids are Born Periyarists. We ensure them turning to believers with all our metaphors, only to be utilised of by Modi types in the guise of Hindutva. I pray to the Lord, she always thinks analytically and critically. Long live Periyaar for being the eternal Kid and enlightening us on our blind beliefs.
The Fall of PR daredevilry
It’s the same metaphoric gaslighters gambling on the gullibles, on Opposition’s voice deeming them as insanity / dim wit-ness, carefully position themselves closer to God, building swanky temples, while secretly hand shaking with parasitic Crony Corporates, shadily invested with self interest. Correlate yourself with 100 Lakh Crore Loans by our Government in last nine years from , with the Government’s only accomplishment is pushing a Crony puppet / benami to Top 5 Rich list with that money. The real question is how long one can build castles in the air, ride on unicorns, singing Mon-Key lullabies and make citizens feel better in Utopian world. the answer seems to be 10 years.
Not lance gives kings the victory, But sceptre swayed with equity. – Thirukural
Maybe (to the squared), There won’t be any need for God, if the religious ones are bound by their dharmic beliefs set by their religion and atheists do a little bit more to the betterment of humanity, rather just raising questions, where even science struggles to convincingly explain / answer.
Back to the Barbie Dolls.
Coming back to Modern Love Chennai, Raju Murugan’s Laalagunda Bommaigal is a brilliant stuff, lacing humour even in heavy situations, giving the audience the much needed “Glucose” after surgery. I did not sense a clue on where it starts and where it goes but the narrative was gripping enough to keep things engaged packing up even a nice song. It had pleasant twists or ugly twists made pleasant by “mixing” up witty dialogues with awkward situations. The end was riotous with the ex lovers or flames showcasing their better halves. It’s still a mystery if the Flame got 6 Paani Pooris or just 4 in the end, from Nathuram, serving his (aborted) love. I did not expect this pleasant firecracker from Raju Murugan, kickstarting on a high note. Un Kuththama… En Kuththama…yaara naanum kuththam solla.
My best birth control now is just to leave the lights on.
Joan Rivers
When all you need is blind love.
Balaji Sakthivel’s Imaigal is an intense film. TJ Bhanu is something special on screen, delivers a magnetic performance, with even more special eyeliner making the theme jet black, reminding of Chandramukhi Jyothika. Ashok Selvan gets a superficial character or he just underplays… I am not sure. The verbal duel in the end could have been more impactful and end could have been a lot better. Wish it could have been much better boosting confidence of Heroine rather just making her play Veena. Short stories need a punch in the last line / segment to have an impact, which is sadly missing in this well crafted story. Baalu Mahendra’s anthology of great stories still remains a benchmark. Balaji Sakthivel is one of my favourites who could turn simple moments to great pleasure or pain like he did in Kadhal and Vazhakku En. Who could forget when the Kadhal‘s lovers are lured back to their home, only to get betrayed brutally. Here, I expected a lot better from him… Ennamo Poda Maadhavaa…
Love is blind but marriage is a real eye-opener.
Pauline Thomason
Romantic Master-bation
Krishnakumar Ramkumar’s emoji story is essentially a Gowtham Menon’s film rehashed. It starts with Ritu Varma dancing in rain as School going(?) girl and then she eventually matures ( Thank God! ) With no luck in love. It ends up very well on a satisfying note with rain dance of the couple, thanks to that 90’s Kid who seem desperate to do anything on his First night to fevicol his marriage and its blackhole-ic after effects. He even exclaims “Fck the World!” instead of doing it to his spouse, to please her with his pea-Cock/Mic dance. Varma’s transformation is bit ridiculous like growing obese just with a sweatshirt and ageing just with hairstyle changes. Don’t know if my mind unconsciously moves back to Vaaranam Aayiram with a marvellous Suriya and his brilliant transformations. But, this story is light in treatment and also very light in its making. We get many Filmmakers dating Ritu Varma on Tinder, somehow all escape, maybe after seeing her hairdo. We also get the man with best hairstyle Bharadwaj Rangan in a cameo declaring, “Cinema is the most beautiful Fraud on Earth”. Could not agree more as my Father used to say Frauds know much better about fellow Frauds, just kidding, no offence intended. Nalla Irukkaam… Yaaru sonna… Devave sonnaan…
Romantic love is mental illness. But it’s a pleasurable one.
Fran Lebowitz
When Deers elope in a dignified manner.
Bharathiraja’s story is a pretty mature mid life crisis story turned to a triangular love story. Wonder what happens if everyone starts loving the fellow traveller in Metro just because they happened to attend a wrong call. Anyways, “En Iniya Pon Nilaave” comes to the rescue, to forget the logic, as Vishal Bharadwaj says in Kuttey, fck the logic, it’s all about character, frog jumps, scorpion stings, Humans love everyone else even in a Metro other than their spouse , etc. I did not see any rationale with this so called love. But, the matured treatment of after effects of that whatever makes it a credible one, thanks to Ramya Nambeesan’s role. BR is just brilliant in few shots like the two selfies at the start and end, Delhi Ganesh’s superb performance, justifying from audience perspective. Finally, BR escapes any scrutiny by thanking legendary Balu Mahendra. As an Op-ed noted, BM’s Marupadiyum empowers women rather fall-guys. But this story and its warm ending reminded me of BM’s own short story creations, crafted with finesse and flair. Kudos to BR’s ability and his art of convincing the inconvincible. Legends don’t fade! Nalam vaazha ennaalum en Vaazhthukkal.
Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe.
Jackie Mason
When Memory is a Monster…
Thiyagarajan Kumararaja’s Ninaivo oru Paravai comes with a notification not to adjust brightness as he wants to highlight cigarette lighting. One would wish for another notification that he starts with an intensely orgasmic scene, so that any kids peeking around should be kept away, so that people could avoid advising kids that fatso Aunty is smoking as punishment and Uncle is punishing her severely, for heaven’s sake, just borrowing from the BR episode. This one more or less sounds like TK’s own story at-least on the romance part with the actor looking like a dyed up version of TK. TK is always something special. Think this is the longest of the anthology and it goes off in a jiffy with so many enjoyable moments, mind blowing performance and captivating music, sometimes looking like extension of Super Deluxe, exploring sex and love. Thanks to his initial film making Gurus… I meant the Protagonist’s initial Film gurus, to play it safe. Don’t know what he did to Ilayaraja, to tickle or pinch his creativity. If he could share that secret to other Filmmakers Cinema will be blessed with a lot more musical masterpieces from this 18 year old Amadeus. Raaja… Raajathi rajan intha Raaja. Applies to all Rajas involved.
Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.
H. L. Mencken
I liked this scene, as I could relate… like me going to Restroom for Interval, to dump the load and memories.Just Kidding.Beautiful scene though, from Full-time Architect and Part-time Filmmaker!
Tamil OTT has been serving mediocre fares, except for Sony Liv for its clever choice of web series rather investing on the done and dusted cheaply made Whodunits or other inferior love stories with flat action scenes on Bed. Modern Love Chennai is a refreshing and lovable experience taking Chennai a bit closer to heart, breathing warmth and relatability, like Cadbury silk chocolate ads, getting shot in Chennai rather scenic Goa or Puducherry, tough task though, but well accomplished.. Maybe it could have showcased Chennai landmarks rather just cliched claustrophobic set pieces, just for the chennai vibes. Still, it is a sincerely crafted series with pretty good film-making elements, even for its “action” scenes on the smallest landscape.
Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all they have.
Enjoyed watching Insomnia movie with inimitable Al Pacino. The story goes like this, Modi-No is a legendary Detective to whom, ends justify any immoral means. He gets sucked up committing few crimes which gets shady eventually. He then cooks up enough evidence to save himself from prosecution. Now Badani, a homicide criminal gets the scent of Modi-No’s misdoings, leverages the situation to get himself out of the grievous crime he had committed. Modi-No gets trapped in the rat-hole. He grows so restless and sleepless with Al Pacino portraying weak and nervous Modi-No on every frame increasingly struggling to secure himself. Finally, Badani and Modi-No shoot each other.
“A good cop can’t sleep because he’s missing a piece of the puzzle. And a bad cop can’t sleep because his conscience won’t let him.”
Insomnia Movie
Now, the Congress has won massively in Karnataka, no mean feat in the adverse circumstances, Congress and their Leaders are into. There are many theories floating around, on this massive win. At least to me Congress won when RG retorted to Modi on his as usual whining on his Ninety-first-cry, “The Election is not about Modi, it’s about the YOU, the people of Karnataka”, shedding off his Modi Virus obsession for long. This is also the first election Congress did not step back on any of the issues / muckraking by BJP. It handled Bajrang controversy in a spirited fightback. I especially liked how Kharge minced no words on It-is-what-it-is, though he may need to be carefully aggressive and giving them back with a Cry-PM campaign. Congress kept its campaign pretty local. Apart from spirited campaign from Senior Gandhi and Siblings, credits should also go to the Karnataka’s heavyweights in top leadership, Kharge, JR and local heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DKS and most importantly the Cadre.
But, If congress derives too much from their Karnataka success, wherein Bommai Government acted just like 2009-2014 UPA Government, giving the rule to the opposition on a golden platter, they will digging their own failure in 2024. Karnataka got a history of punishing the corrupt, with a robust system even to the level of arresting then CM BSY. As a personal opinion, it will do a lot good for Congress if Siddaramaiah, a Mass Leader allowed to helm the Government. Much to his credit he ensured a robust governance for five years giving much lesser ammunition for BJP. No mean feat! Congress should also keep in mind that he is a career Politician with ground support, who could also play spoilsport just like he did to the Congress backed JDS Government with its family atrocities and political excesses. Of course DKS is a capable and loyal leader, but if Congress fancies any real chance of 2024, it needs to keep its Karnataka engine up and running seamlessly, with very less anti-incumbency for BJP to harvest in 2024, like they failed in 2019.
Despite a government that, by all accounts was a disaster, the BJP has still managed to hold onto its vote share in Karnataka. Even in a campaign where everything went wrong, the long-term changes the BJP has brought about in cultural preferences should worry us. The most you can say is that just Hindutva alone will help you retain a base but not push you over the margins of victory. This is small comfort. But it will not be enough to secure either Karnataka or India from the rising tide of communalism.
P. B. Mehta
If DKS is smart, he would have played a soft ball game, replicating the same electoral success in 2024 rather exposing himself on his mind games with the Gandhis. While it is fair to expect gratitude for all his hard work, he did not do it alone. Congress is an organization seeded by AO Hume, watered by many of our great Leaders, manured by Mahatma Gandhi with Nehru as the meticulous gardener. The current generation of Congress leadership of all tiers, has enjoyed fruits from Congress more rather giving back to its growth. If everyone would have handled UPA-2 more responsibly with vigour, they would not be stuttering like this.
DKS cleverly banked on the Senior Gandhi’s weakness on rewarding unflinching loyalty, rather looking for competence and merit, despite her stellar judgement skills. Will you reward someone who takes care of the nest well or the one who waits at the snake pit, hoping somehow to recover the eggs stolen from the nest, already swallowed by the snakes. DKS did not even mind his own State level cadre’s majority leanings, undoing all his good deeds on this success.
Even Pilot is long due for dressing down, holding his closeness to Gandhi trump card, rather actual performance at polls. Most of his chosen candidates had failed last time, so much ado for nothing. Congress leadership need to draw a “line of intolerance” rather allowing such elements weakening the Party from inside, especially when its facing a dire crisis from lethal BJP. The more Congress leadership gets exposed on their factionalism and individual rants, with top leadership standing helpless confused between freedom of expression and governance ethics, BJP’s troll army will ensure the weak leadership gets clearly etched in voters minds for 2024.
The Congress and its state-level leaders have a penchant for punching above their weight and their claim that the Congress is the main opposition party could become a stumbling block in efforts to forge alliances. Even with a rejuvenated Congress, we cannot think of the next parliamentary battle without meaningful adjustments among non-BJP parties. Thus, if the Karnataka election result strengthens the Congress, it indirectly poses problems for non-BJP, non-Congress parties.
Suhas Palshikar
The major difference between previous Congress regimes and now could come from BL Santhosh, a Master in entire Criminal Politics, who honey-trapped his own BJP cadre to keep them on leash. I would expect more Audio Video political entertainment, along with behind the screen Operation Lotus, as old habits don’t die easily. BJP is politically shameless, wickedly ambitious and also growing brutally communal, imagining on reaping the non existent majoritarian dividends, covering up all their stink in the name of Hindutva, abusing the same ideology. Congress may need to save its own flock by restraining them from misdemeanors with a careful watch, unlike giving them a free hand in Maharashtra.
“You shouldn’t knock misdemeanors.”
“Oh, but it’s small stuff. It gets so boring.”
“It’s all about small stuff. You know, small lies, small mistakes. People give themselves away, same in misdemeanors as they do on murder cases. It’s just human nature.”
– Insomnia Movie
This loss could be a blessing in disguise for Amit Shah. He may not like humiliating losses, but also certainly may not be keen on establishing BJP Government owing to its organisational weaknesses and dismal corruption. There is an undercurrent pattern of People choosing the alternate Party, based on who rules their State. I have personally seen people voting One Party for State and another for Lok Sabha, even when elections are held simultaneously, as if they are sharing their properties between their children. The real dirty work of Amit Shah employing his EVM Diwali Fireworks could happen in 2024, on the crucial cliffhanger constituencies. The problem with Shah is that he is a no holds barred / no stones unturned fighter till the end. He might have sensed an imminent defeat in 2024 by now, but never gives up, trying to win by hook-or-Shah. Any defeat energises the RSS and its Cadre who are now well settled in their iPhone enabled air conditioned life, thanks to Modi and Adani.
“This his blood?”
“Ketchup maybe. Was he eating a hot dog?”
Insomnia Movie
BJP had so far cast a magic spell that they are unstoppable and undefeatable force, keeping the opposition in a defeatist mindset, which is wearing out much like their worn out election playbook, from last two elections as people are tired with livelihood struggles rather being proud about empty lies like G20 King of the World comedy / How Modi stopped Ukraine War(?) tragedy.
BJP may try to play with LS election dates, to their advantage. Congress could be nimble footed thinking of another round of yatra to gently shake up the people with the right questions on governance and stressing on “Their Election, as Indians own India, not Modi ( and Adani )” dropping Modi from the campaign wagon footboard. They may also consider an organic circuit of blending all four directions of the nation to an extent, or catering urban pockets with heavy concentration of LS seats separately to maximise the outreach.
“So the end justifies the means. Right?”
“I’m in no position to judge.”
Insomnia Movie
The Opposition needs tailored campaigns for rural and urban pockets. They need to make people talk about the Governance failures, dictatorial arrogance, crony capitalism affecting common people with merciless taxation and unemployment due to careless privatisation and poor fundamentals. Rather a winding walking marathon, covering distances with no people around, the focus could be on the mass outreach yatra with a blazing pace and mobilising the cadre with the much needed encouragement. RG certainly radiates charisma and natural / effortless ease to gel well with people of all backgrounds. Hope Congress leverages it to the the fullest extent.
Would like to reminisce the Sufi story of ‘Holy Shadow’ as retold by Osho below, though I don’t equate anybody to anyone here with this story, but there are few parallels. I have critiqued Congress enough without even moving a straw for them. But credit should be given where it’s due. I don’t see RG as an astute Politician. Through any seasoned Politician’s eyes like Obama or Pawar, RG could be a nothing special person. But, he brings in raw and unique goodness which only a Political heirs could bring in parachuting to the Indian Political landscape. The next versions of yatra could still do a lot better than its first version. To Osho now….
Let me tell you one very famous Sufi story, “The Holy Shadow.”
There once lived a saint so good that the angels came from heaven to see how a man could be so godly. This saint went about his daily life diffusing virtue as the stars diffuse light and the flowers scent, without being aware of it. His day could be summed up by two words — he gave, he forgave — yet these words never passed his lips. They were expressed in his ready smile, his kindness, forbearance, and charity.
The angels said to God, “Lord, grant him the gift of miracles.”
God replied, “Ask what it is that he wishes.”
They said to the saint, “Would you like the touch of your hands to heal the sick?”
“No,” answered the saint. “I would rather God do that.”
“Would you like to convert guilty souls and bring back wandering hearts to the right path?”
“No, that is the angels’ mission. It is not for me to convert.”
“Would you like to become a model of patience, attracting men by the luster of your virtues, and thus glorifying God?”
“No,” replied the saint. “If men should be attracted to me, they would become estranged from God.” “What is it that you desire, then?” asked the angels.
“What can I wish for?” asked the saint smiling. “That God gives me his grace; with that would I not have everything?”
The angels said, “You must ask for a miracle, or one will be forced upon you.”
“Very well,” said the saint. “That I may do a great deal of good without ever knowing it.”
The angels were perplexed. They took counsel and resolved upon the following plan: every time the saint’s shadow fell behind him or to either side, so that he could not see it, it would have the power to cure disease, soothe pain, and comfort sorrow.
When the saint walked along, his shadow, thrown on the ground on either side or behind him, made arid paths green, caused withered plants to bloom, gave clear water to dried-up brooks, fresh color to pale children, and joy to unhappy men and women.
The saint simply went about his daily life diffusing virtue as the stars diffuse light and the flowers scent, without being aware of it. The people, respecting his humility, followed him silently, never speaking to him about his miracles. Soon they even forgot his name, and called him “The Holy Shadow.”
This is the ultimate: one has to become the holy shadow, just a shadow of God. This is the greatest revolution that can happen to a human being: the transfer of the center. You are no longer your own center; God becomes your center. You live like his shadow. You are not powerful, because you don’t have any center to be powerful. You are not virtuous; you don’t have any center to be virtuous. You are not even religious; you don’t have any center to be religious. You are simply not, a tremendous emptiness, with no barriers and blocks, so the divine can flow through you unhindered, uninterpreted, untouched — so the divine can flow through you as he is, not as you would like him to be. He does not pass through your center — there is none. The center is lost.
This is the meaning of this sutra: that finally you have to sacrifice your center so you cannot think in terms of the ego again, you cannot utter “I,” to annihilate yourself utterly, to erase yourself utterly. Nothing belongs to you; on the contrary, you belong to God. You become a holy shadow.
Now, there are very good chance Congress could play spoilsport with alliances, after few more surprise wins in upcoming MP-Chattisgarh-Rajasthan elections, just like in 2019. But, 2024 will be turned as a national narrative on Modi Vs Who. Congress needs every ounce of opposition support to sap out BJP. The hyper Local and “Your Election Not Modi’s” narrative may work out to some extent. But Congress will need a better campaign combining both spiritual and economical dimensions to tackle BJP in its strong belts.
Congress could also avoid Bajrang Dal type controversies which could blow up in sensitive states. Even in Karnataka, BJP has ket its vote share intact, meaning their distortions still attract masses, in a sea of governance failures. South is a different place, allowing Congress to survive on such communal issues. Not sure how such manifesto promises could consolidate Muslims, as there are multiple ways to do that like reinstating their quota. Congress guarantees and their outreach aided by corrupt BJP’s bottomless greed saved the day for Congress.
It is often forgotten that in 2014, the BJP did not come to power on the basis of a Hindu nationalist campaign. It sought a vote against the corruption of the Congress and its dynasty. But once it started ruling, it used state power to enhance itself ideologically, both at the level of institutions and mass consciousness.
Analogously, capturing state power will be critical for attacking Hindu nationalism as an ideology. Winning elections is central to this project.
Ashutosh Varshney
In Karnataka, fortunately, Congress turned tables with the cadre worshipping Bajrang who seemed to be on their side gifting victory, like he guarded Arjuna’s chariot. Sadly, BJP forgot God is for everyone and still powerful enough to punish betrayers who foolishly equated criminals backed outfit with Hanuman. Mo-Sha’s version of Hindutva is like the “War of the Worlds” story, people get clueless on the sudden all powerful, seemingly invincible alien attack, with many succumbing to the alien attack. Eventually, the mighty aliens lose their winning war, not getting defeated by humans but since they could not survive like Humans lacking immunity and resistance, getting sick infected by bacteria on earth, dying eventually. Likewise, current rabid Hindutva version of BJP’s downfall could be very well scripted by the humble Roti / Rice, like Srilanka, even with DKS waiting at Delhi for his CM post forever.
“Man was no longer a master, but an animal among the animals, under the Martian heel … the fear and empire of man had passed away.
[ enters Bacteria… ]
The Martians—dead! … slain, after all man’s devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.”
H. G. Wells – War of the Worlds
Coming back to the story of Insomnia, Detective Rahunka, unravels the entire plot with underlying dirty works of Modi-No and Badani. Rahunka insist on closing the case as no one knows about it anyways and Modi-No is becoming no more. Modi-No cautions Rahunka not to lose the way, just like his foolish compromises, leading himself to a rat-hole . He then goes back to much wanted deep sleep.
“Nobody needs to know. You didn’t mean to do it, and I know that, even if you don’t.”
Timepass Politics 