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Cutting VIP security
Luring tourists |
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NATO supplies through Pak
Trilateral consultations
‘Love to Love You, Baby’
Exotically yours
An eco-centric message
This Department is ailing
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Cutting VIP security
Bowing to criticism, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has ordered the pruning of VIP security, which is often provided whimsically rather than based on intelligence reports. Though militancy ended long ago, politicians, civil servants and top serving and retired police officers still move around with escorts, disregarding the cost to the exchequer. Hearing a petition in 2010, Justice Surya Kant of the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed: “This threat perception is bogus and security a status symbol. Why have you created a new generation of Maharajas? If they (the protectees) are so terrified to come out of their houses, let them lock themselves in … show me a single instance where a single bullet has been wasted on these people”. There may be a genuine threat to the lives of some in high places and their security cannot be compromised. They need to be protected by efficient, trained guards. The Punjab Chief Minister may have an elaborate security network around him but a recent report pointed out that only two of the 100 men in his security ring could shoot straight. A periodic review of security needs and fitness of security personnel is certainly required. The Union Home Ministry had proposed a reduction in the security of both the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister. Keeping this in view, the present security reduction process should start from the top and be done professionally, regardless of the position or party of the VIP. Many lives are lost in accidents as there are not enough policemen to enforce the traffic rules. Instead of serving the ordinary people policemen in Punjab remain at the beck and call of ruling politicians. Police stations have been put virtually under the charge of MLAs. The Deputy Chief Minister knows that gunmen are deployed to humour politicians. The police force is highly politicised and is often used to fix opponents. While security pruning is welcome, Sukhbir Badal should also look into other ailments afflicting the police force. |
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Luring tourists
Hoteliers in the tourist town of Manali are worried over losing business to Kashmir. In winter too the room occupancy in Manali touched only 70 per cent. But the challenge to Manali or Shimla at the moment is only about percentages, not real. What is real is the fact that Himachal has not been able to enlarge its tourist-hosting base beyond the few towns it always had. The only gain it had from the cynical advantage of the ‘Kashmir problem’ is that the number of hotels in Manali, Shimla and Dharamsala went up in a spiral, all without any backing of infrastructure. For two decades, the problems of parking, tourism touts, lack of spots developed for tourist interest — beyond the same old Malls (roads, not the shopping variety!) and temples — only increased. In a world where the tourist has plenty of money but no time to spare, Kashmir is claiming back the position it always commanded in hill tourism. There are certain advantages Kashmir has over Himachal. Weather is one. In winter, the snow is more reliable there. The valley also has unmatched beauty, with the legions of poetry and Bollywood songs only adding to the mystical charm. But Himachal can match all of that if it develops, beginning with access. Build clean roads so people can reach not just the worn-out tourist towns, but the small villages and vast hillsides that remain unexplored for want of knowledge or convenience. Himachal also lacks in features that may interest a tourist who has grown up on video games. Beauty is fine, they need action. If there are no Dal Lakes, gardens or shopping malls, give them adventure. Organise well-guided and Himachal has the advantage of having tourist-filled states of Punjab and Delhi right at the doorstep. Arrange air and road links, and promise some fun for the boisterous lot, and they’ll be there. The trick lies in spreading out, the present tourist circuit is just too crowded, not something one fancies on a hill holiday. |
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NATO supplies through Pak
The Pakistan government has ultimately accepted what was unavoidable under the circumstances. It has agreed to allow the movement of NATO trucks loaded with non-lethal items like food for the multinational troops in Afghanistan. NATO’s loaded trucks can now freely use Pakistani territory to reach Afghanistan, the route closed for NATO by the Pakistan government after 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed last November in US drone attacks as American forces mistook them for Taliban fighters. The Pakistan army had refused to accept the US explanation that the killing occurred unintentionally, and mistakes were made from both sides. NATO trucks were also coming under attack from the Taliban, who would get all kinds of support from local people in the Pakistani areas bordering Afghanistan. The immediate advantage for Pakistan is that it will be participating with little hesitation in next week’s NATO conference at Chicago which will discuss issues relating to security in the Af-Pak region besides other subjects. Now the Obama administration will not allow the blockage of any promised aid to Pakistan. Islamabad had been finding it difficult to get any kind of assistance from Washington DC after the souring of their relations in the wake of the November incident near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The US had resorted to financially squeezing Pakistan after the latter indulged in non-cooperation with the super power. Pakistan has not had an easy time ever since it stopped NATO supplies from its territory in deference to the wishes of the people and the armed forces. People in general and the extremist elements in particular had welcomed the step against NATO, but it was not in Pakistan’s larger economic and strategic interests. Pandering to the people’s anti-American sentiment was proving to be too difficult to bear for Islamabad. It is true that the US too needs Pakistan to safeguard its interests in Afghanistan, but Washington DC has been successful in bringing to bear on Islamabad that this single factor cannot help it for too long. The new course Pakistan has adopted vis-à-vis the US shows pragmatism even if the public and some opposition politicians will not approve of it. |
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It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters. — Lucius Annaeus Seneca |
Trilateral consultations
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to India in the first week of May has drawn considerable media and strategic interests. However, one of her proposals having far-reaching strategic implications has remained generally ignored. In Kolkata, Mrs Clinton called for “building constructive relationship not only bilaterally but among our three countries in fact. The trilateral connection among China, India and the United States will be essential in the future as well.” That she asked for trilateral consultations between India, China and the US soon after her wide-ranging discussions with the Chinese leaders adds to its significance. Surely, she discussed this proposal with her interlocutors in New Delhi, but there was no official reaction. Mrs Clinton’s proposal for trilateral consultations involving India and China is, however, not a new one. It was first sounded by her in New Delhi in July 2011. In her view “a strong and constructive” relationship between India, China and the US was necessary for addressing the “pressing issues of the 21st century”. She admitted that “this will not always be easy. There are important matters on which we all disagree, one with the other. But we do have significant areas of common interest…” Her aids in the Department of State have continued to reiterate the significance of the proposal since then. Addressing the World Affairs Councils of America, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said in November 2011: “Let me explicitly state that (in) the 21st century Asia-Pacific (what) we seek is one in which India, the United States and China all enjoy good relations. Whatever our differences, we know that as this century advances, fewer and fewer global problems will be solvable without constructive cooperation among our three great countries…I have no doubt that Asia and the world are big enough for the three of us”. Again in December 2011, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said: “We believe that it is absolutely critical that the three great states of the 21st century – United States, China and India – begin closer consultation.” He also disclosed that the “US was in active consultation with Chinese friends” on such proposals (including one on US-China-Japan trilateral). India’s response has been positive to the idea of such trilateral consultations. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, speaking at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC in February 2012, endorsed the Clinton proposal saying: “There are a number of regional and global challenges on which India, China and the United States must work together…China is our largest neighbour… We have considerable challenges in our relations, but also enormous opportunities for mutually beneficial partnership at the bilateral and global levels… India is carefully watching to see how the proposal takes shape. An unknown official reportedly said during Mrs Clinton’s recent visit: “Let the US and China talk to each other and then we will take a decision. We are open to the idea”. India hopes to derive a number of advantages when the trilateral consultations get institutionalised. To begin with, it will considerably reduce India’s anxiety about a possible China-US tie-up (G.-2) on critical Asian strategic affairs. Many in the US have been pleading for such a tie-up. Recall President Obama’s invitation to China in 2008 to help in stabilising security in South Asia. Then there were reports of the Chinese PLA General calling on the US to divide the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific regions for influence and stakes between their two countries. The trilateral mechanisms will set at rest speculations on joint Sino-US management of Asia. This mechanism may also help India consolidate its regional position in South Asia as it would send a strong message to its recalcitrant immediate neighbours, including Pakistan, that there are limits to playing the proverbial China card against India. It may also provide India with yet another forum to build confidence with China, in the comfort of the US presence, in the critical areas of nuclear stand-off, regional water management and the lingering border dispute. The trilateral forum will seek to convince China that India is not conspiring with the US to contain China or exploit its weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the areas like Tibet and human rights. Since all the three countries have deep stakes in the stability of Pakistan and fight against Islamic extremism, their collective efforts and initiatives would hopefully nudge Pakistan towards a constructive role containing Islamic extremism and ensuring greater regional stability in South Asia, including post-2014 Afghanistan. India should, however, keep in mind that the US initiative is primarily aimed at serving the US interests in Asia. It is a reflection of the US dilemma in coping, on its own, with the rise and assertion of China in Asian and global affairs. Through this proposal, the US wants to consolidate its Asia-Pacific ‘pivot’ strategy by occupying the centre of Asian strategic hub. This will limit the damage done to the US by such other groupings as kept the US out like BRICS, the SCO and India-Russia-China meetings. While explaining the rationale of such trilateral consultation, US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell had reiterated: “We see none of these venues as in any way exclusive or exclusionary…We are interested in supporting a range of interlocking, overlapping dialogues in Asia going forward”. The US will seek to ‘rebalance’ the Asian major players by pitting them against each other and playing a moderator or a mediator in their areas of competitions and rivalries. And while doing so, it will sell arms, explore markets for its goods and services and seek to command allegiance from all the intra- Asian competitors and rivals. A Brookings Institute study by Kenneth Liberthal and Wang Jisi released in March 2012 supporting the Clinton proposal had said that “such trilaterals may reduce the chances of developing strategic cleavages that put the US on one side and China on the other and other countries in the region in a position of having to choose sides”. Being the weakest player in triad, the challenge for the Indian diplomacy in these trilaterals will thus be to ensure that neither the US nor China gains at the cost of India’s vital interests. China has been cold to the US proposal for a long time as it did not quite like the idea of treating its Asian neighbours — India and Japan — as its equal and negotiating Asian affairs with them in the presence of the US. But, of late, there is a change in this position. Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng, accepting the proposal in principle, said that China was “open and positive towards such mechanism” as “we believe dialogue is better than confrontation”. It remains to be seen if the Chinese shift is tactical or real. The details of the structure and mechanism of the proposed trilateral are yet to be worked out and surely China, as also India and the US, will have definite views on what issues are put on the table and what
not. The writer is Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies,
Singapore. |
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‘Love to Love You, Baby’
It was the mid-1970s. We were young, wore bell-bottoms and shiny shirts rich with polyester, dressed for the movies, especially the once-a-week English movies that were screened at Phul Theatre in Patiala, grabbed whatever tid- bits of information we could about the West, and shared it with friends. We were students at Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, and the world was neatly divided into students who clung on to their Punjabi feudal roots, and the ‘Yankees’, as the somewhat Anglicised minority of students who were comfortable listening to Western music were called. Among the Yankees were friends like Gupi, Pat, Winnie, Bertie, and seniors like Mandy and Sam. We heard about a singer, Donna Summer, who had just come out with a single that had shaken the music world. “Love to Love You, Baby” was the rage in the West, and we just had to hear it. How to do that? We knew of only one way. Patiala’s Africa connection then via the Bhattal family, and our friend Gupi’s father, Uncle Sukhminder, was an indulgent millionaire. Off went the request. Uncle was to visit India soon and thus this was added to the multiple things he was to get for family, relatives and friends. Uncle travelled around the world, especially between the US, the UK and various African countries. He had thus earned many frequent-flyer points, and could stretch baggage and other rules to his, read our, advantage. When he arrived in London and asked for the LP, a ‘long-playing’ record for those who belong to the post-vinyl era, he was told that it was simply not available there. It was, however, much in news, because of an informal ban by "Auntie Beeb", as the British Broadcasting Corporation was un-complementarily called. Now Uncle Sukhminder was someone who wanted to not only say “Love to Love You, Baby,” but also show it. He was known to have showered gifts on Mohinder Kaur, the love of his life who became his wife, and also on his children and friends. So, “What was I to do?” The query was rhetorically repeated in the later years. Off he went, to the city that celebrates love, Paris, and from there he got the LP, which was delivered with a certain ceremony. “Oh! You rascals, here it is, I had to go all the way to Paris to get it for you.” Now the record was there, it was quickly whisked out of their house, and taken to Mandy and Tina’s house, which gave more privacy to us young souls. We heard the song. Its seductive, sensuous synthesised sound, interjected with minimal lyrics and many suggestive moans and groans soon had everyone enthralled. Donna Summer, who died after a long battle with cancer on Thursday, became our favourite. Her music was era-defining. She was called Queen of Disco and had many No. 1 hits like "MacArthur Park," "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls". Then there came a period when she said she would sing anything but "Love to Love You," though eventually she did that too. Her voice rang true, it had a power that allowed her to transcend the genre that she had launched. As for the man who introduced us to Donna Summer, Uncle Sukhminder could be heard saying: “Oye, Where’s the LP that I got for you? Let me hear it at least once.” Now, that was not something we could afford to let happen, not after we had heard the
song! |
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS:
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«Poor The full name is “… for the elderly and beautiful” and this eccentric seven start with missing the connecting flight to Jaipur and having to make it the hard way by bus and a tuk-tuk (motorcycle rickshaw). The hotel is hardly what it was advertised as, but it has an effervescent young manager Sonny (Dev Patel of “Slumdog” fame) with promises to keep but miles of problems on his plate. Evelyn (Judi Dench) is a widow forced to leave her home as her daughter’s business venture failed. She has never worked before but is willing to take chances and finds in retired High Court judge Douglas (Bill Nighy) a common bond. Muriel (Maggie Smith) is a former housekeeper in need of a knee replacement and just about “tolerates locals reeking of curry” till she visits her help’s house and does a quick about-turn after seeing how the other half of the world lives. Jean (Penelope Wilton) is Douglas’ wife and polar opposite while Graham (Tom Wilkinson) is returning to India after 40 years and an embarrassing relationship with an Indian male he cannot get out of his mind. Norman (Ronald Pickup) is young at heart and looking for love while Madge (Celia Imrie) is lonely and hoping to do something about it. Sonny is in love with pretty Sunaina (Tena Desae) who works at her brother’s call centre but both the brother and his mother (Lillete Dubey) are against the match. Yet, amazing things happen. The time spent together by these social misfits helps them probe their inner selves. It is a bitter-sweet story with hilarious asides but deep down it strikes a deep chord, thanks to a scintillating script by Ol Parker based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. All this handled most sensitively by director John Madden who shows that life is indeed a pendulum betwixt a smile and a tear. The ensemble cast of veterans works wonderfully with veteran Maggie Smith stealing the show but Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson not far behind. Dev Patel too does rather well though the romance with Tena Desae is outrageously contrived. Lillete Dubey’s cameo is also pathetic. But The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a real winner, all 120-odd minutes of it. Don’t miss it for anything. |
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An eco-centric message Based on The Lorax by Dr Seuss (this is the third of Dr Seuss’ stories-turned-films) it is centred on 12-year-old Ted Wiggins (voice of Zac Efron) who is keen on finding out why there is an absence of greenery and things are so ‘platicky’ in his Walled City of Thneed-Ville. After much searching he is asked to go out of Thneed-Ville to meet Once-ler (Ed Helms), the one responsible for this state of affairs. As a young man Once-ler learnt to make capital on chopping Trufulle trees to trade on its roots, thinking his invention (thneeds) will be needed by everyone. This led to the extinction of trees. Enter Lorax (Danny DeVito), an orange creature who speaks for trees. But Lorax’s biggest enemy is the financial king O’Hare (Rob Riggie), who has cashed in on the felling of trees. Ted wants to woo his girlfriend Audrey (Taylor Swift) with a gift of a tree and he is aided in his efforts by his sassy granny Norma (Betty White). How Ted goes about his task is what the film is all about. But directors Chris Reanud and Kyle Baide imbue the narrative with a healthy pace aided by some cute lines and excellent animation. John Powell’s catchy music is an added bonus with some delightful songs. There are also some amusing twists and turns with granny Norma providing the dramatic relief. The dancing and choreography completes the visual delight, while neatly putting across the environmental preservation message. If one must find a fault it is the somewhat poor editing. Had 10 minutes been snipped off it would have been absolutely unbeatable. Still, Dr Seuss the Lorax is ideal kids fare for this holiday season. Not to be missed. |
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This Department is ailing
It starts with a bullet and ends with one. And as viewers we have little option but to bite the bullet and submit ourselves to the dance of blood and gore. Once a master story teller of the goings on of the murky underworld, Ram Gopal Varma, fails to get his act right with this one. Indeed, his yet another take on underworld and the devious machinations of the police force and politicians has some impressions of his signature hallmark style. The menacing notes, the bristling high tension underscored by a background score are reminiscent of what RGV is capable of. But here the mind-numbing violence is so deafening that nothing else registers. Sure the movie has a plot even if a tried and tested one, many twists and turns and for the first one hour a superb mindboggling pace too. But just when Amitabh Bachchan enters as the Sarjerao Gaikwad, a gang lord turned politician, just when you expect the film to take off to a new level, it actually nosedives. No fault of Big B though or of other members of the cast most of whom have put up credible performances. Take trigger-happy Rana Daggubati who as the encounter specialist Shiv Narain puts up a credible performance. But neither his talent nor of the other actors right from Sanjay Dutt to Big B can salvage the film. Big B who quips “apna style different hai” does delight with his hat ke “now jester now mighty dangereous” act. But the same can’t be said of the movie. The experimental cinematography, multiple cameras panning different angles instead of becoming the movie’s USP distracts and jars more. The item number by Nathalia Kaur neither sizzles nor tantalizes and is actually a disgrace. The tadka by way of moll-cum-female gangster (Madhu Shalini) who keeps making lascivious gestures even while she is having an ice-cream, adds little to the entertainment quotient of the film. What could have been an insight into the underworld and it’s political and police nexus instead turns into a disappointing fare. And all the while you keep yearning for the RGV of movies like Company, Satya and Sarkar to surface. Alas, he makes his presence felt only in bits and parts almost like a guest director. |
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Movies on TV The Incredibles STAR MOVIES 6:46 AM The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated, comedy film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. The starring voices are Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr, Holly Hunter as his wife Helen Parr; Sarah Vowell as their teenage daughter Violet; Spencer Fox as their young son Dash; Jason Lee as the villain; Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone and Elizabeth Peña as Syndrome’s beautiful assistant, Mirage. ZEE CINEMA 7:30AM Ghatak: The Destroyer, 2:20PM Seeta Aur Geeta, 5:55PM No Problem STAR MOVIES 6:46AM The Incredibles, 11:48 AM The Transporter, 1:44PM True Lies 4:25 PM I Am Number Four, 6:40PM Speed, 9:00PM Tangled, 10:59PM Ghost Rider HBO 9:00AM The Ant Bully, 11:00AM Sex and the City, 2 1:55PM Around the World In 80 Days, 4:30PM The Mask, 6:45PM The Back-up Plan, 9:00PM The Score, 11:35PM The Adjustment Bureau 9:00AM Ek Aur Atyachar, 12:30PM Yaaron Ka Yaar, 4:00PM Indra: The Tiger, 8:30PM Malamaal Weekly SUNDAY FILMS MAY 20 Desi Boyz Zee Cinema 2:15 PM Desi Boyz is a Hindi comedy film directed by debutant Rohit Dhawan, son of director David Dhawan. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangda Singh in lead roles. Sanjay Dutt features in a cameo. The film received mixed reviews from critics. ZEE CINEMA 7:25AM Nehlle Pe Dehlla, 10:40AM Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, 2:15PM Desi Boyz, 5:10PM Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, 9:00PM Ishq HBO 1:55PM Rush Hour, 4:05PM Step Up, 6:20PM The Twilight Saga: Twilight , 9:00PM Honey 2, 11:20PM Sanctum FILMY 9:00AM Astitva, 12:30PM Chachi 420, 4:00PM Prem Geet, 8:30PM Abhimaan STAR MOVIES 8:29AM AVP: Alien vs. Predator , 10:27AM Avatar, 1:28PM The Mask of Zorro, 4:10PM The Legend of Zorro, 6:45PM Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, 9:00PM Ong Bak, 11:02PM I, Robot |
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Raising
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Movie: Department
Saturday MAY 19
FILMY