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Growth is slipping
Cops not bodyguards |
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Jail sale
Idea of India attacked
‘Let me wash my car first’
CINEMA: NEW Releases
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Growth is slipping
The
GDP growth figure of 5 per cent put out for the current financial year by the government’s Central Statistical Office has come as a surprise. A slowdown was expected, but not to this extent. A day before the CSO shocker the IMF had put India’s growth rate at 5.4 per cent, holding out the hope that an improvement in global conditions and the recent reforms in India would lead to a recovery in the next financial year. Last year’s growth figure of 6.2 per cent looks respectable now. But the fall is massive if viewed in comparison with the early 2011 growth rate of above 9 per cent. The CSO data has left the Planning Commission wondering if the calculations were correct. The reformers at the helm who had steered India safely during the 2008 global financial crisis have been unable to arrest the continuous economic decline. China has bounced back. Indonesia has replaced India as the second fastest growing economy after China. India’s disappointment comes from a feeble growth in the service sector, manufacturing and agriculture. The consumption-driven growth has taken a hit as Indians have reduced spending. The RBI has kept up interest rates because of price rise, making capital prohibitively expensive for industry as well as individual spenders. The government itself has cut its expenditure, especially on infrastructure development. Private firms are pulling out of highway projects, frustrated by delays in land acquisitions and environmental clearances. An already under-performing energy sector has been affected by coal shortages. The recently established Cabinet Committee on Investments, which was supposed to fast-track projects costing more than Rs 1,000 crore, has yet to show results. The root cause of slowing development is a sluggish agriculture, which needs urgent reforms like better irrigation, high-yielding seeds, affordable and hassle-free bank loans and an efficient post-harvest supply chain to cut waste. The bottlenecks to growth are known to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. Yet there is a sense of helplessness even though the steps towards fiscal consolidation and subsidy reduction have raised expectations.
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Cops not bodyguards
Soon
after beginning its second tenure in power, the SAD-BJP government in Punjab announced an extensive exercise of withdrawing unauthorised or undeserved security given to officials as well as private individuals. Now it has told the high court that 1,873 personnel of the state police are deployed to protect 703 persons who do not hold any official post and many of them are living outside Punjab too. If both assertions are correct, then it is assumed the number before the withdrawal of security was staggeringly higher than 703. As for the total number of police personnel on ‘VIP duty’ (5,811), it is again the highest in the state, according to the Bureau of Police Research and Development. This is nothing but gross abuse of power to further political interests at the taxpayers’ cost. The state has often cited the cost incurred on fighting terrorism to explain its heavy debt, but the expense on the police not towards securing the general public continues to do the damage. Most of the protected private individuals are not under threat in view of any public service rendered by them, and many would even be rich enough to afford private security. They do not have any right to pursue their commercial interests while being protected on public money, and should be charged for the police security provided. The shooting of protected liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother brought out such police misuse. It would be revealing to know the names of all protectees, which the government has surprisingly withheld. The large number of police personnel deployed on personal security means they are kept away from public security. That leads to a deterioration of the law and order situation, which in turn means an even greater need for security to the ‘VIPs’. This is a vicious cycle that can be broken only by making the state at large secure. Many of the protectees are not even under threat; rather want the ‘security’ to be a ‘threat’ unto others. It is time the police got back to policing and stopped playing bodyguard, if not goon.
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Jail sale
Historically, the visible symbols of heritage in Punjab have fared badly, given the state’s frontier position. Since it was located on the path of various invaders, not much survived. It is because of this that even century-old edifices are seen as heritage buildings in the state. Yet, ironically, little attention is paid to them and often they are a shambles and crumble. Buildings that house various government or other institutions, however, often escape this fate. One such institution is the 109-year-old Patiala Central Jail. Besides being a landmark in the town that served as the capital of the Patiala State as well as the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Patiala has a history that allowed it to escape damage at the hands of the invaders and thus it is rich in buildings and monuments. Yet, now there is a reported move by the Punjab government to sell off the building. Not only would it displace various institutions that have been set up in the 90-acre campus, it would also take away from the city yet another heritage building. For cash-strapped governments, the allure of selling real estate to augment funds available to the state exchequer can be irresistible. It, however, has to be resisted, since more often than not, such funds are used in non-productive ways and can thus whittle away. In any case, too little attention has been paid to the rich heritage of the state, and all too often buildings that have historical significance are neglected till they reach an advanced state of decay. The state government should, instead of selling buildings, preserve historical buildings and also allocate enough funds and resources to showcase the rich heritage of Punjab.
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It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. — Rene Descartes
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Idea of India attacked The idea of India was again under attack by those loudly avowing sentiments of "hurt", "faith" or "hate" in various combinations to disrupt the even tenor of life, unity and free expression. Many spoke of a "cultural emergency". Kamal Haasan's “Vishwaroopam” and the Jaipur Literary Festival sparked the latest round of protests. India is far and away the most plural and diverse society in the world and has flourished through the millennia through accommodation and tolerance, providing space for all manner of faiths, languages, races, cultural tendencies and ideas to co-exist and prosper, despite passing confrontations and controversies. There has been no pressure to conform but space for each to blossom in its own way in a blaze of contrasting colours and fragrances, each with a beauty of its own but together creating something more than just the sum of the parts. That has been the civilisational idea of India. People in distress or aspiring for more have found a home in India; but none has been rejected or expelled. No melting pot here to create one out of many but a way of life that has exalted plurality. It is this idea of India that was challenged by a hollow two-nation theory that has simply not worked but, instead, fatally flawed Pakistan. But similar divisive and narrowly exclusivist tendencies lurk in India too. These we must beware of and combat without compromise. Fraternity and equal citizenship for all across gender, class, caste and faiths are concepts that embrace but go beyond the confines of secularism. These are supreme constitutional values alongside liberty, equality and justice. Unesco warns us that "Wars begin in the minds of men". And minds are shaped by what we learn in schools as well as by the ethical values traditionally handed down by the great religions and cultures we profess. Sadly, "secularism" has come to mean not merely excluding denominational learning from the classroom but its rich ethical content. This has further led to religious exclusivity at the cost of inter-faith understanding and harmony. This last has proved disastrous. We urge equal respect for all faiths without knowing even the bare elements of our different faiths because of the emphasis on “to each his own”. This has encouraged religious exclusivity rather than a more ecumenical temper. The folly has been compounded by treating culture, a wider concept, as synonymous with religion. Preaching exclusivity and consequently evoking a sense of separatism, arrogance and even hatred for the other through textbooks is evident across faiths, regions and political tendencies. The malaise persists and is in some ways becoming worse. A Committee for Resisting the Saffronisation of Textbooks in Karnataka has recently represented its concerns to the HRD Ministry and the NCERT which are inquiring into the matter. The charge is that the new 5th and 8th grade textbooks produced last year by Karnataka's Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) "treat Dalits, women, adivasis and minorities as inferior beings" in violation of the National Curriculum Framework of 2005 that was framed by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) in consultation with all states and experts in the field. It would appear that Punjab textbooks under the Akalis glorify Sikh history by denigrating Muslim rulers, while Maharashtra textbooks under the Congress similarly extol Shivaji by denigrating the Mughals. An NCERT inquiry into the Hindutva bias in Shisu Mandir schools run by the Sangh Parivar several years ago was pigeon-holed. All parties are promoting sub-cultures and undermining national unity by playing vote-bank politics. The SCERT textbooks not merely depart from NCF 2005 norms but are largely read in poorer, state-aided and private schools and, therefore, tend to go unnoticed by the elites though the mischief they cause is greater. The rewriting of history and social studies texts is pernicious. Many of these books are unsupervised and not vetted by experts. Recommendations favouring the establishment of a National School Textbook Board which can scrutinise these books and act as an appellate authority to hear complaints have gone unheeded. It is these shabby, biased books, badly taught in substandard schools that are building divisiveness, misunderstanding and hate. The narrow, disruptive "sentiments" generated by such learning is undermining unity and fraternity. The Tamil Nadu and Jaipur incidents are not spontaneous. They are products of warped education. Yet it is the symptoms of disorder that are being addressed when something erupts and not the root cause. In Jaipur, some Muslims objected to Jet Thayil's presence because he had read from Rushdie's “Satanic Verses” last year. The BJP objected to any invitation to Pakistani authors when Indo-Pakistan relations had soured. Ashish Nandy misspoke in subtle, philosophical terms dubbing Dalits and tribals as the most corrupt categories in India. He was actually seeking to defend these sections but was slapped with a warrant of arrest, now stayed by the Supreme Court which, however, chastised him for irresponsible use of language. Mamta Banerjee debarred Rushdie and Deepa Mehta, who has just made a film on Rushdie's "Midnight's Children", from visiting Kolkata for a cultural event to avoid possible Muslim protests. In Chennai, the AIDMK banned the release of Kamal Haasan's "Vishwaroopam", a spy thriller that has a Muslim hero triumphing over jihadis, because of alleged unacceptable references to the Holy Prophet. Some 24 fringe groups protested and the State challenged the authority of the National Film Censor Board to certify the film. All of Tamil Nadu’s 31 DCs and SPs simultaneously pleaded an uncontrollable law and order situation should the film be released! None had seen the film which was released elsewhere in the country without any harm. The state challenged a High Court clearance for the film and the state's advocate-general was incoherent in his convoluted and irrelevant arguments before the relentless questioning of the media. Ultimately, Jayalalithaa brokered peace by suggesting both sides meet and agree on a compromise. A senior official presided over such a meeting where Kamal Haasan agreed to make seven small cuts to remove the allegedly offending portions. With this, the state will now lift its ban on the film. Relief over this ending notwithstanding, fringe elements pleading hurt sentiment succeeded in imposing cultural censorship and the state government caved in to set a dangerous precedent. The National Film Censor Board, a Central authority, has been defied and rubbished by the state government. Even as these events unfolded, Muslim protesters have silenced a Muslim girls' jazz band in Srinagar and the Hurriyat has started its annual campaign against the dates of the annual Amarnath Yatra. Bajrang Dal activists beat up a Dalit professor in Dhule for "hurting Hindu sentiments" by speaking derogatively of Ram. An annual count points to rising violence against Christians. Hindutva vigilantes have again been active in moral policing in Mangalore's entertainment parlours. Home Minister Shinde is now threatened with a BJP boycott for referring to "Hindu terror", a term coined by the Parivar earlier for Islamic extremism. My sentiments are deeply hurt by all this nonsense. "Hate begins in the minds of
men".
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‘Let me wash my car first’ The water conservation campaign nowadays has become a “slogan most misfit”. Every holiday and every Sunday morning you will find people washing their cars, bikes, scooters or even the roads in front of their houses without caring whether other people of the street are getting water for even drinking or not. Let me give you a description of one such case (a true experience) where just one week-old member of our society, who used to wash his car everyday without fail, was busy in his daily car wash programme when I (in the capacity of the society’s secretary) asked him not to waste so much of water on car wash, a straight “slap on face” like reply tried to shut my mouth from further questioning: “Car hamari, paani hamara, bill hum pay karte hein, aapko kya takleef hai janab? Lagta hai aapke ghar men car nahin hai”. He sounded very arrogant and high headed. Practically, I had no answer to give him on the spot. Gathering some left-out courage, I tried to ignore his splenetic behaviour and with humanitarian mandate, I asked him, “Bhai sahib, in these scorching hot days, people are not getting water even to drink and you are wasting so much of water on your car wash. This is not justified. Have you thought of their thirst even once?” The person looked at me with an expression of anger and non-concern and bounced back, “I have nothing to do with anybody’s thirst, let me wash my car first”. And he kept on spraying water on his soap-soaked car. I left the place quietly. Now, since he was a new member of the society, he did not know that every fortnight for a day there was no water supply because of the maintenance schedule, and everyone was supposed to keep drinking water stored, and the gentleman did not bother for that. He was running here and there to collect just a bucket full of water and no one was ready to help him because of his I watched him for some time and then called him, “Bhai sahib, kya baat hai, bade pareshan lag rahe ho?” With a fake smile, he said, “Kya bataoon, bhai sahib, subah se paani nahin aa raha. Nahana to door, peene ke liye bhi pani nahin hai ghar mein. Hamne kabhi store karne ke bare mein socha hi nahin. Badi dikkat ho rahi hai.” I looked straight into his eyes and said with a smile, “Phir to aaj aapki car bhi nahin dhul payegi.” He could not see into my eyes for a second and turned to go when I called him. “Bhai sahib, hum sabhi padosi hain, hamara farz hai ki hum ek doosre ki pareshaniyon mein madad karen. Aayeye peene ke liye paani hamare ghar se ley jayeye. Aur paani store karne ki aadat bhi ab daal hi lijiye.” Everyone was surprised to notice that the car wash programme of the gentleman was put in abeyance indefinitely and ultimately, understanding the value of water scarcity, he started cleaning (wiping ) his car with soft wet cloth only and that too only twice a week. Let others also learn a lesson from him. Dear friends, the water level of the earth is falling at an alarming rate, let us be
careful.
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CINEMA: NEW Releases  Truly special Nonika Singh Harking back to late eighties, the film might actually take on from a real incident but has been crafted in the cinematic idiom of a thriller in which the focus is on four conmen posing as CBI agents. But before you think that the vigilante of A Wednesday now comes in fourfold avatar, here they are no Robinhoods. To be honest there are no poverty-stricken weepy tales to justify their doings and manoeuvrings. The director writer which in this case is one person Pandey himself has wasted little time in giving you detailed backgrounds of four conmen. Yet the brief insights, besides the love tale of the hero (Akshay Kumar) he provides, are enough to make them both credible and human. Sterling portrayals obviously serve as the film's backbone. Between Akshay Kumar, the man who leads the 'conpack" and his accomplice Anupam Kher and the real CBI officer Manoj Bajpai, it is difficult to decide who is a winner. All three essay their roles with conviction and with aplomb. Akshay has smoothly moved from commercial masala to intelligent cinema. In his part effortlessly Kher transforms from a tough as nails CBI agent to a father of a brood of children. Gifted actor Manoj Bajpai is as always brilliant as the officer out to get the men masquerading as CBI agents.One moment a concerned father yet another a patronising husband and essentially an upright officer who means business, he shows many nuances of his character. Plus Punjabis have every reason to be heartened by the sprinkling of Punjab's own home-grown talent. While Jimmy Sheirgill truly impresses in a significant cameo, Divya Dutta despite the brevity of her role, too makes her presence felt. Rajesh Sharma, who tickled our funny bone in Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, proves his versatility with a self-effacing character Joginder. Of course, the film's real strength lies in the way it has been edited even though for a few moments it does slack when a marriage and mandatory song and dance sequence is thrown in without much effect. The script too isn't flawless but moves on an exciting track and does engage more in the second half with just the necessary unexpected twist in the end which anyway you anticipate but can't predict. Where the film becomes a tour de force is the attention paid to details right from getting the political and sports background right to the attire of its characters to ensuring that none of new gen cars are seen on Delhi's road. Come to think of it, the director has ensured that there are no gaffes in reminding you it's eighties when there were no mobiles and CBI was a much feared organisation. Actually, the homework that the conmen do before pulling up their new trick is matched by the precision with which Pandey has mounted his cinematic vision. Of course, this time over the vision is sans any direct message. Corruption might be at the heart of the story but beyond that there are no sermons just a fleeting acknowledgment of honesty in the anticlimax. If cat and mouse drama minus the spectacle is your cup of tea, go for it and enjoy the straight to the point yet layered nuances.
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Dance pe chance! Any Body Can Dance…this is slightly confusing and maybe debatable. If you are saying 'anybody' can dance like Prabhudeva, Remo D’ Souza, Ganesh Acharya or the well-groomed ex-contestants of different seasons of Dance India Dance, then we doubt if anybody can dance! ABCD…everyone is dancing leaving countable space for dialogues. Remo believes in the language of dance, so there is not much room for speaking. And whatever little you hear here and there in terms of dialogues comes from yet another choreographer-turned-director Prabhudeva and another choreographer Ganesh Acharya. The storyline is simple, a heavy base of dance steps, a thin layer of Prabhudeva and Ganesh's acting, and fresh topping of the fresh faces seen before on reality TV show Dance India Dance. Among all the dancing stars, actor KK Menon shines confidently. ABCD is all about dance, locking, popping and all that jazz. This is where the contestants of Dance India Dance, Salman Yusuf Khan, Dharmesh Yelande, Prince Gupta, Mayuresh and Vrushali Chavan score. They know their job well, which is to dance at the drop of the hat; surprisingly they can act well too. As for Parbhudeva, ayi o appa, thoda Hindi theek karna maangta! Had Remo put in some more dialogues, had he given us some break from loads of dance, the movie would have attracted those who have two left feet!
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Patriotic flavour one
of America's greatest Presidents is Abraham Lincoln who, among other things, abolished slavery in the late nineteenth century and his long and hard battle he fought against the racist South is now byword. It was an intimate and ugly battle and covered a large canvas and veteran director Steven Spielberg has tended to go too much in detail in Lincoln which may be okay for patriotic Americans of today who are seeing an erosion of democracy but not for the world market who are sure to find it hard to sit through 150 minutes. Why, even within the family Abraham (Daniel Day Lewis) and Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) there were differences which get to a boil over drafting their son Robert (Joseph Gordon) into the war. Spielberg does well to authenticate the debates over slavery with the different senators pulling their weight in effective cameos which grew with every frame, especially Tommy Lee Jones. Tony Kushner's screenplay is at best average though both Day Lewis and Field had some excellent, especially the President's reference to mathematician Euclid to bolster his argument. Daniel Day Lewis is excellent in the lead role and apart from cutting the right Lincoln profile turns in an immaculate performance. It could well earn him his second Best Actor Oscar later this month. But the same cannot be said of Sally as she doesn't have that much exposure. After a weak middle, the story picks up in the latter half to culminate in a chilling climax. But by then the damage has already been done. Spielberg's trusted hands cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, John Williams (music) and editor Michael Kahn make their presences felt though Kahn could have exercised his scissors more liberally. Gloria Reuben and Tommy Lee Jones provide effective cameos. An authentic account of an important slice of American history but a tad tedious.
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Saturday
February 9
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a 2010 comedy directed by Ashwni Dhir. It was produced by Amita Pathak. It is the story of Puneet (Ajay Devgan) and Munmun (Konkana Sen), a happily married couple living in Mumbai whose lives take an interesting turn when a distant relative, chachaji (Paresh Rawal) turns up and refuses to leave. ZEE CINEMA 10:10AM Viewers Choice 1:30PM Ram Lakhan 5:20PM Aankhenn 9:00PM Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...! STAR GOLD 6:10AM Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? 8:55AM Ferrari Ki Sawaari 12:05PM Wanted 3:30PM Suno Sasurjee 7:00PM Celebrity Cricket League : Kerala Strikers vs. Mumbai Heroes 11:10PM The Power of Narsimha SET MAX 6:40AM Mission to Finish Terror 10:00AM Dil To Pagal Hai 1:50PM Welcome 5:15PM Kaalia 9:00PM Sooryavansham STAR MOVIES 9:55AM The Scorpion King 12:05PM Bean 1:45PM Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 4:04PM Tangled 6:12PM The Avengers (2012) 9:00PM The Artist 11:18PM 2 Fast 2 Furious SONY PIX 8:35AM Beverly Hills Cop II 10:30AM Transporter: Hot Ice 11:30AM Transporter: Give the Guy a Hand 12:30PM Shark Tale 2:15PM Safe 4:00PM The Silence of the Lambs 6:05PM Madagascar 8:00PM Transporter: Sharks 9:00PM Mission Impossible 2 11:30PM So Close MOVIE OK 9:40AM Garam Masala 12:55PM Golmaal 3 4:15PM 10ml Love 6:15PM Chakradhaar 9:00PM Makkhi 11:55PM Auzaar MOVIE NOW 9:45AM Home Alone 11:45AM Ip Man 2 2:00PM The A-Team 4:30PM Journey to the Center of the Earth 6:30PM Three Kings 9:00PM Casino Royale FILMY 9:00AM Bewafaa 12:00PM Himmatwala 3:00PM Dosti Dushmani 6:00PM Sherni 9:30PM Vaastu Shastra sunday FEBRUARY 10
Fatso is a story of Nandini (Gul Panag) and Navin (Purab Kohli), who are about to get married when a disaster strikes. Navin, a hugely overweight friend Sudeep (Ranvir Singh) and his friends, go out to celebrate. An accident occurs on the highway and Navin is dead. Then begins the real story. ZEE CINEMA 10:45AM Krantiveer 2:15PM Mohra 5:40PM Nayak 9:00PM Tirangaa STAR GOLD 6:00AM Soldier 9:10AM Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! 12:00PM Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... 4:50PM D-war: Dragon Wars 6:40PM Fatso 9:00PM Mar Mitenge SET MAX 5:20AM Maharaja 9:05AM Sooryavansham 1:00PM Max Stardust Awards 2013 4:55PM Ek Tha Tiger 8:00PM Max Stardust Awards 2013 STAR MOVIES 7:44AM Terminator Salvation 10:11AM 2 Fast 2 Furious 12:29PM Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 2:13PM The Artist 4:32PM Ghost Rider 6:51PM The Scorpion King 9:00PM You Pick The Flick 11:38PM The Fast and the Furious SONY PIX 9:55AM Transporter: Give the Guy a Hand 10:55AM Transporter: Sharks 11:55AM The Pink Panther 2 1:40PM Mission Impossible 2 3:50PM Desperado 5:20PM The Da Vinci Code 8:00PM Transporter: City of Love 9:00PM Slumdog Millionaire 11:25PM Once Upon A Time In China 2 MOVIES OK 9:45AM Little Krishna I: The Darling of Vrindavan 11:50AM Dabangg 2:45PM Sarfarosh 6:20PM Return Of Ghajini 9:00PM Ready FILMY 9:00AM Sandwich 12:00PM Malamaal Weekly 3:00PM Chachi 420 6:00PM Rustom 9:30PM Patthar Aur Payal
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Hold this thought and step up to watch India's first 3D dance-based film Any Body Can Dance (ABCD). Coming from the house of choreographer and director Remo D Souza, this one looks like a sincere effort to show the country different forms of dance ( all contemporary by the way). After a FALTU stint, Remo definitely has stepped up as a director. 
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge
Fatso