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Think beyond paddy
PPSC clean-up |
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Horror house
Muddling through is not enough
Sharing in scar-city
CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: «««««Excellent I ««««Very Good I «««Good I ««Average I «PoorJoyride alright, not a dream run Nonika Singh From scene one it promises to be a joyride. Delightful capers, witty and crisp one liners and a subject that you don't often see in films invariably loaded with unwanted violence and overdose of glamour. For here is an upright father Rustom Deboo (played by Sharman Joshi) and his equally self-righteous son Kayo (Ritvik Sahore) neither of whom would make compromises for petty gains.
A musical that rocks
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Think beyond paddy
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minimum support price (MSP) for paddy has been increased by Rs 170 to Rs 1,250 a quintal. Yet it may not be good enough for farmers in Punjab and Haryana if the rising input costs and other factors are taken into account. The day the MSPs for kharif crops were announced the government deferred a proposal to raise the urea prices. A hike in diesel prices is under consideration. The 2012-13 Union budget had proposed a hefty cut in the fertilizer and fuel subsidies to mend the government finances. While deciding on the paddy MSP, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices does not include in its calculations the loss of groundwater and soil health in the water-scarce states of Punjab and Haryana. Nor does it weigh the cut in industrial production on account of diversion of electricity from the factories to the fields and the burden on the Punjab government of free power to farmers. Labour shortage has led to higher wages. If all these things are considered, the cost of growing paddy becomes very high, and Punjab and Haryana become the net losers. The Centre suffers loss as it is unable to store scientifically all the paddy it procures and a large quantity goes waste. Paddy and wheat stocks are much in excess of demand and buffer requirements, but high prices make them inaccessible to the poor without ration cards. All this leaves the growers, consumers, the states of Punjab and Haryana as well as the Central and state governments poorer because paddy cultivation in the water-deficient northern region is unprofitable and unviable. Having realised the folly of producing high-cost paddy in Punjab and Haryana, the Centre has lately turned to eastern India for encouraging the water-guzzling crop since water and soil resources in that region are better. The last two Union budgets have tried to replicate the Green Revolution success in the eastern states. Farmers in the North, meanwhile, can think of alternative crops such as fruits, vegetables, pulses and oilseeds as their prices are lucrative. The government can help them by providing adequate marketing and infrastructural support. |
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PPSC clean-up
With the Punjab Public Service Commission conducting a full-fledged PCS exam after nearly a decade and a half, its Chairman was understandably jittery. He signed the last of the results by 4 am, finalised immediately after the interviews. The question papers too had been set and the exams conducted under extreme invigilation. Not only was this transparency required, even the ‘show’ of it was essential to restore public faith in view of the shame the panel was brought to in 1998. The medical officers’ recruitment in 2008-09 had also come under cloud. With such a record, one only hopes no skeletons tumble out this time too. From 1998 till now, the commission has suffered a lot. The functioning of its members has not been above board, and governments of the day have done little to ensure that either. Any Chairman appointed by a previous government is not trusted, which virtually made the commission a vestigial body with no recruitment worth the name being assigned to it. Before the present Chairman was appointed, the government had taken flak for attempting to appoint a lawyer-politician despite possessing little experience to qualify for the job. Now that a beginning has been made — even if it took the PPSC more than two years for the selection — the government should make it a policy to recruit regularly, and through the commission. Recruitments being done directly by various departments cannot be seen as clean. Not filling posts has also affected the government’s ability to deliver. A selection commission is the seedbed where tomorrow’s bureaucracy is sprouted. Any seedling grown through corrupt means is bound to grow into a massive tree of corruption. At present, there are many such trees in the government. Recruitments had been bad long before 1998. The pictures of smiling faces in the papers — many of who made it to the state services from humble backgrounds this time — would be reassuring to future aspirants. |
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Horror house
What had been known all along has been further confirmed by the report submitted by the two members of the four-member committee set up by the Haryana and Punjab High Court. Rohtak’s shelter home is not, without reason, being dubbed as the house of horror. The acts of depravity that were going on within and outside the confines of the very home that was meant to provide protection to its inmates seem to have crossed all limits known to human decency. As more and more shocking details of the perverse sexual abuse involving children as young as five years are spilling out, it’s hard to believe that all this could have taken place without the connivance of government officials. The alleged involvement of policemen in the incidents of abuse only underlines the extent of rot in the shelter home. Ever since the lid was taken off the wrongdoings at a shelter home in Gurgaon, the horrific details of other shelter homes, particularly of the state-recognised shelter home at Rohtak, have opened a can full of murky tales. That the officials concerned turned a blind eye to the irregularities of the shelter home, including financial lapses, leaves a wide door open for doubt and suspicion over their conduct. While Jaswanti, the woman in-charge of the shelter home who shamed the fair name of NGOs, has been arrested along with a few others, clearly it is not enough. In the light of her threat to expose the powerful, it must be ensured that no cover-up takes place. All the officials involved must be exposed and duly punished if their complicity is proven. Whether a probe by the CBI or an independent agency will be able to nail the guilty, the perpetrators of such heinous acts cannot be allowed to go scot-free. The Haryana government, which has decided to set up a child rights commission, must realise that the real test of governance lies in its ability to protect the most vulnerable and susceptible. The least one can expect from it is that such incidents are not allowed to recur. Let the house of shame not become Haryana’s shame. |
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Dreams are necessary to life. — Anais Nin |
Muddling through is not enough
The presidential nomination process has been vitiated by the appalling manner in which distinguished names have been bruited about, scorned and discarded as damaged goods in games of petty politics to pressure, even break, the government and not merely propel “our” candidate into Rashtrapati Bhavan. This has degraded that high office too. The Trinamool-SP gambit proposing Manmohan Singh’s “elevation” to the Presidency is a scarcely disguised vote of non-confidence in him as Prime Minister. Sonia Gandhi too has been bruised by her mishandling of the situation. Confabulations will continue and compromises will be made, with the vice-presidency as a trade-off. But it is not certain that the UPA will fall or be hustled into an early mid-term poll. The situation remains confused as of this writing. Even as it is buffeted by negative global influences and mindless opposition at home, with internal political sabotage by the Trinamool Congress, the UPA is struggling to contain the downward economic spiral whose fallout is beginning to be increasingly felt in terms of investment sentiment, falling demand (as for automobiles and textiles), declining growth, lay-offs and unemployment. The Prime Minister set a Rs1 lakh crore infrastructure investment target at a key stock-taking meeting earlier this month, with specific programmes laid out for the ports, roads, aviation, coal and power sectors. The market rallied. However, the Trinamool is intent on sabotaging the government at every opportunity. It has objected to revised proposals for going ahead with pension reform and allowing foreign airlines to pick up a stake in Indian carriers, something that could give a boost to the ailing Indian aviation industry. She is holding out for a financial “package” which she feels the country owes her for years of Left misrule in Bengal. That alibi for non-performance has worn thin. But as long as the Congress is willing to be blackmailed, it will be. Fortunately, Assam’s Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, has spoken up. He has said that something as crucial to his state and farmers as allowing multi-brand retail cannot be held hostage to the whims of obstructionist governments. Let them stay out if they wish, but none should be permitted to block the progress of others. He added that Assam was short of rural infrastructure and farmers were at the mercy of middlemen and moneylenders. This is true elsewhere too and the Gogoi formula should be followed, with an option to dissenters to opt out and join later - which they will probably do as soon as the results are apparent. It is good that the striking Air India pilots are being dealt with firmly. They too are holding a thoroughly mismanaged airline to ransom and it is astonishing that in the midst of this crisis MPs are discussing, even seeking, “facilitation” privileges and “compliments of the captain” at airports while travelling Air India. This moral collapse is blood brother to corruption that has become a way of life for so many, with endless discussion substituting for bold and essentially simple action. Corruption has now become political currency with everybody flinging every allegation and rumour at everybody else and demanding the immediate resignation of those thus maligned if holding office even though being investigated by due process. Witness the brouhaha over a court order sanctioning further proceedings in an election petition concerning Home Minister Chidambaram, minus two salient charges. Yes, the hearings should proceed but why need the minister resign when nothing is proven, only alleged? Likewise, the absolutely absurd clamour for an SIT against the Prime Minister on “coal-gate”, based on astronomic calculations of loss contained in a draft paper of the CAG which stands modified or withdrawn. The CBI is investigating the matter but now the demand is for a court-appointed special investigation team to take over as the CBI will be influenced by the government. This amounts to damning the highest political executive on an unproven allegation and reducing the government to a lame duck or worse at a time of global and domestic crisis and turbulence. The global rating agency, Standard and Poor’s, comment on this may be gratuitous and excessive but cannot for that reason be lightly disregarded. Anna and his team, now reduced to clowning, and Baba Ramdev, a dubious character, must beware of being seen as out to oust or paralyse the government as they seem woefully unaware or unmindful of the implications of their actions. Yet it is foolish of government spokespersons to label them anti-national or to hint darkly of a “foreign hand”. The government’s public relations has been and remains appallingly poor in the absence of any communication policy, with sundry ministers sounding off like loose cannon. While the effort should be to get the economy moving, the report of the parliamentary panel on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill makes some odd recommendations that reflect old mindsets. Take for example the plea that land should not be acquired for projects that entail profit. India has remained poor because of such ideological idiocy. Profit, honestly made and subject to tax, is no crime. Then again, the report defines “public purpose” too narrowly and views land acquisition for private enterprise or public-private partnership with suspicion. Is the creation of social and industrial infrastructure and the creation of jobs not public purpose? Do these investments not have a huge multiplier? And is barring acquisition of agricultural land in the interest of “food security” in any circumstances not too sweeping? The 12th Plan proposes private investment of the order of $ 500 bn for infrastructure. Should this not be encouraged while ensuring fair terms to the landholder? B.D. Sharma, that indefatigable fighter for tribal rights, has gone too far in opining that life has got worse for tribals in independent India. It has in some ways, as previously untouched lands have been opened up to development and mineral exploitation without the protection of the Fifth Schedule, which has been brazenly set aside. Yet, many tribal people have gained and most want progress and change and do not wish to be condemned to live as noble savages. Properly regulated development and natural resource exploitation in partnership with them under the Fifth Schedule and PESA would benefit the tribal people. Critics have simply begged the question. We cannot return to the past to build the future. And time is a vital resource. The agitation against dams to “Save the Ganga” and other so-called sacred sites or pristine nature is also blocking progress and welfare on dubious grounds. The triumphantly stalled multipurpose Subernarekha project in Jharkhand is finally moving forward after 35 years. According to some news reports, sullenness has turned to expectancy as tribal beneficiaries look forward to the water, electricity and jobs so long denied them. The story has a moral. The scrapping of dams in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Sikkim and Arunachal is likely to cause much national loss and human hardship for any good that it does. Regulating ecological flows, controlling pollution and ensuring proper compensation and resettlement are most important issues that can be dealt without bringing development to a
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Sharing in scar-city
I
have always considered Chandigarh to be the real Maximum City. Take into account clean air, green spaces, good roads, uninterrupted power, unlimited water supply, low crime and the availability of everything within its 140 sq km limits. In every way that counts, Chandigarh looks and feels like the Paradise of the Pampered. But the southern sectors had power and water supply cuts while the northern sectors breezed through summer uninterrupted. The socio-economic dimensions of the sectoral divide may have been unintended but they do make for lively urban discourse. The demand is for equitable distribution of ‘lack of resources’ (if ‘lack’ is a thing) in addition to the resources themselves. Having lived on both sides of the sectoral divide for an equal number of years now, I realise that architecture shapes society in multiple ways. This summer we have really struggled with the water supply in Chandigarh. The newspapers have been full of our water woes spilling over in anxious paroxysms. Not having been used to water shortage, it is very difficult to adapt to dry taps and storage drums all of a sudden. It is only slightly easier for someone like me who grew up in a water-scarce city where the municipal supply officially arrived once in 48 hours, for two hours. This was in the eighties when I was a student. Storage drums and buckets were part of a new bride’s takeaway to the marital home. Social events were scheduled around water-supply hours. Neighbours bonded over shared buckets of water and newcomers were introduced to everyone at the ‘common tap’ — a community water-filling point where the water pressure was highest. Not a very comfortable way to live but that is how we did manage back then. Industrialists rubbed shoulders with professors and doctors - living as they did in fairly expensive flats whose storage tanks would not fill up due to the limited supply. You lived simply and frugally because everyone else did. Money in the bank usually did not translate into water in the tank - you only got as much as everyone else. After all, even if you could afford your own personal water tanker, where would you house it? The stilt housing concept had other features that revolved around water scarcity. The under-belly of the building was the epicentre of ‘optional’ activities (like washing clothes or cleaning cars — as opposed to ‘compulsory’ activities like bathing and cooking). Some apartment complexes made space for laundry rooms where a group of six flats (one floor, to be precise) had its own heavy duty washing machine. On a Sunday, extra water was arranged through specially brought-in water tankers and you could hose down your scooter or car and wash your clothes in the group machine. These services were paid for and consumed as a group. Someone who left a tap running was considered the equivalent of a sinner and a criminal combined, while a leaking pipe merited frantic emergency calls to the plumber. In short, you learnt to share and collaborate, to preserve and conserve. It wasn’t such a bad thing after
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: «««««Excellent I ««««Very Good I «««Good I ««Average I «PoorJoyride alright, not a dream run Nonika Singh
Movie: Ferrari Ki Sawaari Till he comes at a crossroad and the man who pays fine for crossing the red light voluntarily even when traffic policemen are not watching, who even helps regulate traffic, takes a wrong turn himself. Metamorphically that is. And the story moves on a bumpy ground. How and what he does to send his 12-year-old son to Lord's for a cricket camp makes for the rest of the plot. You bet as the movie's title suggests there is a Ferrari in store. How it gets woven in the life of an ordinary clerk who has to scrounge every corner of his house to raise even Rs 2,800 for his son's bat is where the drama lies. Now part of that drama is interesting and heart-warming and partly dragged. Indeed, superlative performances from Joshi and Boman Irani as the grumpy and disgruntled grandfather, once a Ranji trophy player and not to forget the young child actor Sahore who is both restrained and so child like in his portrayal, keep the tempo going. If Joshi's cheesy smile warms the cockles of your heart, his tears tug at your heartstrings too. Seema Bhargava as the boisterous wedding planner Baboo didi is commendably impressive too. Sadly the film that could have fallen in the genre that raises the bar of filmmaking makes an impact only in parts. As it pits dreams vs reality, as it reinforces the power of dreams through the sport that is almost like a religion in India, it says and conveys much. Parents as role model, politics in cricket and why it pays to be on the right side …. much that is meaningful and insightful finds its way here. Rajkumar Hirani's dialogues add both punch and substance to the film. Only the narrative gets waylaid in between and attempts to introduce humour, which is easy and open initially gets laboured too. Sure the film redeems itself in the anticlimax and also in the finale that climaxes on an emphatic feel-good note. Yet one can't help but wish that the Ferrari ride could have been more joyous and wholesome. Still, it's a watchable fare. With or without Vidya Balan's Laavni, this sawari takes you to a different turf inhabited by real human and humane people but doesn't quite keep you there all the time. But as Joshi keeps reiterating throughout the film, "look at the brighter side", the aspiring sportsmen too can focus on the sunny side up of the film. |
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A musical that rocks Movie: Rock of Ages Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) is one such dreamer, an Oklahoma small-town girl who lands in Los Angeles but within minutes of arrival, the dream almost turns into a nightmare because her prized collection of records is snatched away from her. But Drew (Diego Boneta), a busboy from the nightclub Bourbon Room helps her to get a job as a waitress there. Incidentally both are wanabee musicians with similar dreams. Not surprisingly Cupid is lurking around the corner. Meanwhile, Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) is having a last show for rock idol Stacey Jaxx (Tom Cruise), who has just split from the band Arsenal and is having trouble keeping his night club alive. His right hand man is Lonny Bartnett (Russell Brand), a rock 'n roll freak who wants to bring back the moment. Paul Gill (Paul Giamatti) is the much sought after music manager doing Stacey's show and Constance Stack (Constantine Maroulis), a Rolling stone reporter who makes Stacey aware of the warts in his life. Agitating against the "vulgar, indecent music" is the Mayor's wife Patricia Whitmore (Catherine Zeta-Jones). It is only later that we come to know that she was a Stacey Jaxx groupie till they parted ways. Chris D'Anenzo, who directed the Broadway musical has co-written the screenplay with Justin Theroux and has done an excellent job. From the aura of the big city (like Paris and New York the romance is created by movies), it moves on two fronts to hold the attention span. Slick editing by Emma Hickox helps but it is director Adam Shankance who is always in control. Music lovers will lap up the music by Bon Jovi, Guns 'N Roses and a string of familiar songs like Just Like Paradise, Juke Box Hero and I've Been Waiting for a Girl Like You. Kudos to Adam Anders for handling the music so adeptly. Yes, it is 120-odd minutes of riveting fare by an ensemble cast led by Tom Cruise and ably supported by Juilianne Hough and Diego Boneta as the young dreamers. Alec Baldwin too is excellent in a difficult role with Paul Giamatti in a regular cameo. But Catherine Zeta-Jones is not only miscast but also seems lacklustre. Oh yes, there's a real monkey "Hey There" for dramatic relief. A welcome musical after a long time. Don't miss it. |
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Movies on tv
Saturday june 16 INDIAN TALKIES 8:00PM After his wealthy family prohibits him from marrying the woman he is in love with, Devdas Mukherjee's (Shah Rukh Khan) life spirals further and further out of control as he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays his love interest, Paro. Chadramukhi (Madhuri Dixit) comes to his rescue. ZEE CINEMA 7:15AM Run, 1:45PM Big Brother, 4:45PM Taarzan: The Wonder Car, 8:00PM Agneepath 9:00AM Curious George, 10:50AM Save the Last Dance 2, 12:50PM Rush Hour, 2:50PM Poseidon, 4:55PM Hop, 7:00PM Crossroads, 9:00PM Torque, 10:50PM Small Soldiers STAR GOLD 6:15AM Om Jai Jagdish, 9:30AM Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, 12:05PM House Full, 3:00PM Kaalo, 4:45PM Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., 9:00PM Ra.One INDIAN TALKIES 6:00AM One Two Three, 9:30AM Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, 1:00PM Khoon bhari maang , 4:30PM Keemat, 8:00PM Devdas STAR MOVIES 8:56AM Kung Fu Hustle, 10:59AM As Good as it Gets, 1:37PM Home Alone 3, 3:42PM Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, 6:37PM Total Recall, 9:00PM Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End FILMY 12:30PM Heer Ranjha, 4:00PM Devdas, 8:00PM Rustom Sunday june 17 ZEE CINEMA 7:15AM Magic Robot, 10:20AM Salaakhen, 1:35PM God Tussi Great Ho, 4:55PM Dhamaal STAR GOLD 6:00AM I Hate Luv Storys, 8:50AM Billu, 11:45AM Sivaji: The Boss, 2:35PM Chup Chup Ke, 6:00PM Taqdeerwala, 9:00PM Bodyguard HBO 9:00AM Hop, 11:05AM Shrek Forever After, 1:05PM Small Soldiers, 3:25PM Torque, 5:15PM Cobra, 7:10PM Black Water, 9:00PM Final Destination, 11:05PM High Lane INDIA TALKIES 9:30AM Devdas, 1:00PM Rehguzar, 4:30PM Yuvvraaj, 8:00PM Rehguzar FILMY 9:00AM Main Aisa Hi Hoon, 12:30PM Tathastu, 4:00PM Humjoli, 8:00PM Chachi 420 STAR MOVIES 7:08AM The Transporter, 9:03AM Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 12:13PM Predator, 2:23PM Predator 2, 4:30PM Armour of God, 6:32PM The Lincoln Lawyer, 11:29PM Armour of God II I Hate Luv Stories STAR GOLD 6:00AM Simran (Sonam Kapoor) loves Bollywood romances so much so that her life has begun to resemble one. With her awesome job and a ‘Mr. Perfect’ fiancé, Raj (Sameer Dattani), she lives a dreamy life. But then comes Jay (Imran Khan), who brings a fresh joy into her life. He first hates Simran for her obsession with romance, and Simran also has a bad impression of him, but soon after, the two become best friends. |
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