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Direct payments
Nowhere to hide
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Killer vaccine?
Confusion on education front
Like a baby kangaroo
This Aashiqui won’t make your heart sing
Absorbing action, awesome visuals
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Direct payments
THE Punjab government has given farmers the option to receive direct payments for their produce. This becomes clear from a government affidavit submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on petitions of certain associations of farmers.
So far payments were routed through commission agents (arhtiyas), who exploited farmers. The Punjab State Farmers Commission, experts from Punjab Agricultural University and the Centre have all been pressing for direct payments to farmers. But the political leadership of the state resisted this, obviously at the behest of the powerful lobby of arhtiyas. The Agriculture Produce Market Committee Act bars farmers from selling their produce in the fields to private parties except for domestic consumption. The Act requires farmers to bring their produce to the designated mandis (markets) where state agencies buy it at the minimum support price for the Central pool. The so-called farmer-friendly government not only charges heavy taxes on farmers' produce without providing matching facilities like warehousing and cold storages but also allows arhtiyas to charge hefty commissions - 2.5 per cent on wheat and paddy and 5 per cent on fruits and vegetables. According to one estimate, arhtiyas pocketed Rs 6,500 crore between 1989-90 and 2009-10. The middlemen - kutcha arhtiyas, pucca arhtiyas and brokers - take away money that should ideally go to the grower. The taxes and the commissions raise the cost for the consumer. Backed by political parties, middlemen are well entrenched in the system. To get rid of them it is necessary to amend the APMC Act to allow farmers the freedom to sell their produce direct to whomsoever they want and at rates they like. The government role should be limited to curbing cartels and interventions when warranted. The country has moved from shortages to surpluses of farm commodities. Corporate investment in infrastructure and marketing can offer better returns to farmers and lower prices to consumers. But the ruling Akali Dal-BJP combine, which has protested against the opening up of multi-brand retail to foreign investment, opposes the direct sale of farm produce. The ultimate sufferers are farmers and consumers.
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Nowhere to hide
SIX policemen with at least three firearms between them, escorting three ‘handcuffed’ under-trial men — a very unequal situation, as Gabbar Singh of the ‘Sholay’ fame would have found it. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out so. The three criminals — who had a previous history of escape — managed to turn the situation in their favour, shooting one policeman dead, leaving another in a critical condition, and making good their escape. It is likely they were not handcuffed and had procured chilli powder to throw on the policemen.
The police, however, deny this. Either way, it does not look good on the police that the criminals in Bathinda were able to outwit them completely. If allegations that the policemen also had a drink while escorting the men from court to jail are true, then it is criminal negligence. Under-trial men getting away while being transported between prison and court is the most common form of escape. On the face of it, it may seem negligence on the part of those escorting the accused, but it is a reflection on the entire system encompassing courts, the police and prisons. Long delays and multiple hearings necessitate greater number of trips between the jail and court. Lack of coordination between prisons and the police at times makes availability of sufficient personnel for escort duty difficult. There is also a shortage of police personnel in any case. Prisons and courts have not been able to extensively set up video-conferencing facility to avoid the need for physically transporting hardcore criminals, as these were. Infrastructural issues can be addressed only in the long run. For the immediate, the police can begin with getting tough on discipline, something that will have a salutary effect on the entire gamut of policing. Training, which takes a backseat with the police being short of hands, has to be given priority. Two carbines in the hands of the policemen in Thursday’s incident were never used, despite it being an open spot near a petrol station in a rural area. They were either too drunk or untrained and cowardly. Nabbed with much effort — by the police itself — we cannot afford to let such criminals on the loose.
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Killer vaccine?
Millions are spent in promoting vaccination as the best defence against killer diseases threatening children’s life. At times, over-enthusiasm to make the immunisation programme a success overrides caution.
In a developed country like the USA, an eight-week-old baby, Stacy, was administered a whopping nine vaccines in a day; she died with this strange concoction of vaccines in her body. Sporadic cases of death caused by vaccines have been reported in our country earlier too, but a death occurring after vaccination in a prestigious institute like the PGI, Chandigarh, shakes up the confidence earned by the immunisation programme. Often, poor storage facilities, contamination, pre-existing complications in the child’s health or break in cold-chain had caused vaccine-related complications. In this case, the serious issue of two expiry dates printed on the entire lot and recalling of the lot by the company, twice, has raised serious doubts about the monitoring of the entire vaccination process. In the past several vaccine-related deaths were attributed to NGOs, thereby saving the programme from bad propaganda. But a death in the PGI tends to wipe out all the good work done over the years by the immunisation programme. A few days back a lot of hue and cry was made by a group of paediatricians who expressed concern over the deaths of children in Kerala, following the administration of the Pentavalent vaccine, which is a combination of DPT, Hib and Hep B, and was recently introduced in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In a response to an RTI filed in Chennai, it was found that vaccine-related deaths had increased three-fold since 2007, when the government closed down three public sector vaccine units and began buying vaccine supplies from private suppliers. In 2010, a total of 128 children died due to vaccination. Some activists say the figures are the tip of the iceberg, as the deaths reported by the media were not found in the government record. The entire chain of vaccination should be monitored very carefully; it is meant to save lives, not to kill.
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Patience is the companion of wisdom. —Saint Augustine
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Confusion on education front FROM a simpler, equitable, socially responsible and accountable system of school and higher education, India has landed into a confused, inequitable and commercially oriented system that utterly lacks accountability.
Before Partition of the country, public sector schools and colleges in different states had the same curriculum throughout at the level of individual states both in the urban as well as rural areas. The private schools and colleges were set up as missionary institutions and followed the same syllabi with reasonable orientations towards the religious denomination or the sect these institutions belong to. This provided level-playing ground for all the students at least within the states. After Partition so many committees and commissions changed the very face of the education system; rather blurred it and defaced it so much that it is now in a state of total confusion. State-level School Education Boards, the CBSE, the ICSE, etc, have different syllabi and different standards. Government schools are no more preferred schools and anyone who can afford would prefer private schools, labelled as public schools, which are the least public in their very character and are more of commercial enterprises. It is unfortunate that government schools and private schools covered under the government grants have almost replaced effective education with mid-day meals to the students and that too of indifferent quality. Since there is no examinations stipulated up to eighth class in government schools, in the absence of accountability, the teachers have taken it to be no teaching up to that level. As a result, the status of these students has been rendered to virtual beggars that come to the schools more for food than for education. These ill-educated children, when they enter the high school classes, get totally lost and the drop-out percentage increases suddenly. According to one report, this drop-out percentage is over 50 per cent and hardly 5 per cent of these school students complete higher secondary education. It is particularly true of rural school students. No wonder, therefore, that according to a Punjabi University survey conducted a few years ago, hardly 4 to 6 per cent of the campus students of the three premier universities of the state were from rural areas. Punjab University had only 2 per cent of the campus students from rural areas. The situation has not changed much because the very foundation of school-going children in the rural areas coming from government schools has gone weak and they are unable to compete for admission in professional and technical courses in institutions of repute. On the other hand, compared with the age of five years for entry into government schools, the so-called public schools catch the students early from much younger age of even two and a half years through nursery classes. These private schools test the students continuously as they progress on the coverage of the courses. Imagine, the nursery kids are examined for promotion to the LKG classes and LKG kids are tested for promotion to the UKG classes. Though snatching the very childhood of the tiny tots, these schools, being commercial entities, provide rigorous teachings. These schools do not substitute mid-day meals for education. But, unfortunately, these schools are meant only for the families that can afford handsomely. One wonders, other things remaining the same and given a choice, if the parents would ever prefer mid-day meals over rigorous teachings for their wards! This is not to say that mid-day meals should not be provided to these school students. What is questionable is the de facto replacement of effective education with mid-day food. In essence, this amounts to keeping the poorer sections of society out of the pale of meaningful education. As a result, the country’s population is being pushed to the situation of extreme polarisation with acute disparities in social milieu, equity and income levels, because meaningful education is a prerequisite for getting any reasonable gainful employment and making progress in life, which is virtually being denied to the large majority of the poorer family students that are studying in government schools. This is so despite the fact that even after giving a margin for elements of corruption and favouritism, the best of the applicants are selected as government teachers. And, comparatively, they are paid the highest salaries in the system. Why then do they derelict on their duties and do not deliver? The reason is lack of accountability and above that abolishing of tests up to eighth class. On the other hand, private schools pick up teachers out of the left-out who could not succeed in getting the government job. These teachers are paid comparatively much lower salaries, yet surprisingly they perform better because they are accountable for end results. Also, there is irrational distribution of teachers in schools. There are more teachers posted in urban area schools and there is lack of adequate strength of teachers in rural schools. This discrimination against the wards of the poorer sections of society, in particular the students in the rural areas, is further polarising the society in the country. How much it is justified or rational and how long this unjustified system will sustain is a big question. Ideally, the school education should be the sole responsibility of the government through the establishment of neighbourhood schools. There should be equal access to these schools for all the sections of society, rich or poor in the neighbourhood. There should be same course curriculum throughout the state. The state on its part should adopt the best of the curriculum and education system operative in the country in a competitive spirit. Further, school education should be free for all, irrespective of the economic and social status of the families in the neighbourhood. Only then would the free India reflect the true character of an egalitarian democratic society with equal opportunities to all the children of the nation. Recognising that we have travelled too far, although not on the right path and it is difficult, rather impossible, at this stage to steer it away totally on a different path, it should be easily possible to pick up one best system of school education with reasonable local orientation in respect of state language, culture and history as well as due emphasis on courses of civics and ethics and make that system uniformly applicable in all the government and private schools in the rural and urban areas in the state This will provide level-playing ground for all the children of the state for admission to the higher intuitions of learning, especially the professional and technical courses in colleges and universities. Only such a system of inclusive school education will reflect the true colour of socialist democratic republic of India and will considerably reduce inequities in economic, social, cultural and political life of the people of the
country. The writer is the Chancellor of the
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Like a baby kangaroo
THE
other day I decided to surprise the most beautiful woman of my life who has always ruled my heart and lent me sustenance. I secretly planned an exclusive candle-light lunch with her at a secluded place laced with ethnicity where I would kneel to vouchsafe my unflinching fidelity to her for splashing my life with hues of rarity. I tried to sleep early but the charm of her cascading love held me captive through the night. Though the eyelids continually kept offering refuge to roll over, the eyeballs just refused to retire. I kept imagining as to how I would stealthily approach her from behind and whisper my arrival in her ears. She would then turn back and explode into sobbing laughter, opening both her arms to sink me in her bosom. When I revealed to my wife in the wee hours before parting, she had all the reasons to feel outclassed but, having fathomed my intensity, she soon reconciled to free me for the day, having swallowed her pride. However, she extracted an assurance from me to return in time for the candle-light dinner amidst whistling pines in the Shivalik hills as originally planned by her. Having reached the ‘sanctuary’ of my valentine, as I gently pushed the door balancing myself on my toes, I found her trapped in siesta in the rocking chair. As soon as I bent to mutter: “I love you”; lo and behold, my mother stretched her feeble arms to hold me close to her chest like a baby kangaroo. The moment I ushered her onto her bed, she started complaining of her fragility and non-compliant body parts. I somehow found some resemblance between my mother’s vulnerability and “…that old familiar ache…” described by Kamala Das about her mother in her poem, “My Mother at Sixty-six”. To soothe her as I placed her head in my lap, she felt amused, finding it a reversal of our roles. Soon she turned nostalgic about my childhood pranks. She vividly recalled when I was initiated into formal learning in the bucolic, rustic government school at Bawal which still stands there, amid ruins, as a testimony to having propelled me into the stratosphere of elitist service. She had then applied ‘kaajal kaa teeka’ on my forehead before inducting me on my voyage to ‘vidya kaa mandir’. She had also taught me how to make ‘kaghaz ki kishti’ so that I could imbibe some practical tips to wade through the tsunamis of real life. Her throat choked while she was trying to recapitulate her maiden arrival in Bawal immediately after her wedding. But her tears wouldn’t roll since natural moisture in her eyes had dehydrated long ago, inducing her reliance on ‘artificial tears’ to maintain lubrication in her eyes. Finding her reeling under emotional stress, tears instantly swelled in my eyes and started falling in her eyes like droplets. My son too joined his head to lend his tears to her. I could clearly mark the merging of two emotional rivulets, akin to the Ganga and the Yamuna, into the extinct, invisible Saraswati, meandering downwards through the wrinkles on her face. With my son peeping through the prism of her ‘borrowed’ tears, “my mother at ninety-six” sprayed her typical childlike joviality while “…all I did was smile and smile and smile” in befitting reciprocation to Kamala Das. In order to catch up with my wife as promised, we decided to quit but with a promise to meet yet again to continue the
chitchat. |
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This Aashiqui won’t make your heart sing
HE
squanders away his stardom. She aspires for it. He becomes her mentor and makes her successful. Yet its stardust that stands between these two star-crossed lovers; an interesting premise even if not exactly earth-shaking. However, it's in execution that the love tale of singing superstar Rahul Jaykar (Aditya Roy Kapoor) and aspiring crooner Aarohi Shikre (Shraddha Kapoor) not only becomes too intermingled but sadly also quite insipid. And it's not only the hero drinking himself to destruction who is in a mess, but also the writing and the direction. In fact, there are few moments in the film that lift your
spirits or make you fall in love with the idea of love. Unlike say a Devdas, the reason why our dear hero is in a self-destruct mode is seldom evident. Unlike Rockstar here his condescension towards stardom remains inexplicable. Beyond comprehension is also the affection dripping bites of long-distance father who makes his presence felt only on the telephone wire. His concern over his son's welfare seems as phoney as a lot else in the narrative. In this unexciting love tale, however, the lead pair holds ground. Shraddha Kapoor, a refreshing relief from the glamour pusses that are crowding the silver screen today, proves her talent in more than one scene. Her nude make-up look
goes well with her character of a lower middle class girl with stars in her eyes.
Caught between his failure and love, Aditya is convincing if not that consistent. As with other Bhatt films, in this one too other characters even Shaad Randhawa as Rahul's buddy-cum-manager don't have much to do and make no impression whatsoever. Music surprisingly, otherwise the backbone of most Bhatt productions, is not even half as lilting. Quite unforgivable for this is a film that hovers around the lives of singers. Any wonder the film doesn't make your heart sing! Love makes the world go round and true love makes us complete and wholesome, yet in the world of rich and famous clearly even love can become one's bête noire. If the movie had paid attention to detail, had it worked harder to flesh out its characters maybe this would have come alive with greater impact. But in the given format, this Aashiqui is not even appealing candy floss. Bubblegum romance would have been any day better than this one touted as an intense love story. Actually the supposed intensity neither blazes the screen nor reaches to your hearts. Even if you are a die-hard romantic or sentimental fool whose heart goes dhak dhak at the slightest hint of love you are unlikely to be swept away by this romance whose lofty intentions are nowhere matched by the treatment. |
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Absorbing action, awesome visuals
Sequels rarely measure up to the parent film, but in this case Iron Man 3 3D things are different. Thanks to some awesome visuals handled by Leek Sopper, the film goes a notch higher. And of course we have the same duo of Robert Downey Jr, goatee et al, and the anaemic Gwneth Paltrow carrying on from where they left off, supported by an impressive Guy Pearce and the amiable Don Cheadle who made his debut in the "Police Academy" series. "We create our own demons," is one of the opening lines
and that probably accounts for the slam-bang fireworks that pass for action and reaching all corners of the frame, but the establishing shots are weak till we encounter our hero - genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist Tony Stark/Iron Man who jumps out and in his armour like the proverbial Jack-in-the-box. But it's hard times with his
girlfriend Virginia "Pepper" Potts (Paltrow), long-time CEO of Stark Industry, better known as
Pepper, because there looms a rival in shapely Dr Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) with her name evoking enough mystique to say nothing of her relationship
with the vengeful Aldrich Killian (Pearce). Col James "Rhodey" Rhodes is with the hero in the fight against "alien forces" for which Stark has to consult his navigator Jarvis. With Pepper off screen for a long while, it is Killian and Dr Maya who come more into the picture with one of two more females thrown in to confuse the viewer. But the hidden enemy is Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and there's also a trite line on the origin of a particular Chinese dish. This doomsday plot (familiar in Marvel Comics) also includes the US President Ellis (William Sadler), who seems to enjoy his exalted image. So, between this, that and the other and 'Chistmassy' music to soothe the tired nerves the story is almost absorbing for its 130-minute length, but it is the cute witty lines that keep the narrative going and scriptwriter Drew Pearce must get the credit for it. Downey is his usual suave self but is challenged closely by Pearce. Cheadle is academic but it is pathetic to see Ben Kingsley in a ridiculous role as the villain. Sadly, that's the plight of some yesteryears heroes. So, all said and done, Iron Man 3 3D is highly recommended for action-movie fans. Must watch this splendid movie that offers a good action dose. |
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movies on tv
Saturday April 27 ZEE CINEMA 9:00PM Phir Hera Pheri is a comedy film sequel to 2000 classic Bollywood film Hera Pheri directed by Neeraj Vora. The film stars three men from the previous film namely Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Suniel Shetty. Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen are the leading actresses of the film. The movie was inspired from Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. ZEE
CINEMA 7:10AM Fool N Final 10:40AM Arya: Ek Deewana 5:35PM Aitraaz 9:00PM Phir Hera Pheri STAR GOLD 6:00AM The Power of Narsimha 8:40AM Kaal 11:30AM Sivaji: The Boss 2:35PM Taqdeerwala 5:50PM Billu 9:00PM Son of Sardaar STAR MOVIES 8:43AM The Front Row with Anupama Chopra 9:43AM The Green Hornet 12:12PM The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift 2:01PM Woman on Top 4:20PM Gone in 60 Seconds 6:42PM Wanted 9:00PM Contraband 11:17PM Terminator 2: Judgment Day SONY PIX 7:35AM Rescue Dawn 10:00AM Underworld: Rise of the Lycans 11:35AM The Spy Next Door 1:25PM The Forbidden Kingdom 3:20PM Bad Teacher 5:00PM Ninja 7:00PM John Rambo 9:00PM Friends With Benefits 11:05PM Step Up 3D ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Fareb 10:30AM Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja 1:30PM Yeh Hai Jalsa 5:30PM Karz Chukana Hai 8:30PM Khalnayak HBO 8:15AM Beethoven's Christmas Adventure 10:10AM A Monster in Paris 12:00PM Paranormal Activity 3 1:50PM Shaolin Soccer 3:35PM Happy Feet Two 5:30PM Tower Heist 7:25PM Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 9:00PM Ong Bak 2 11:20PM Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM The Rocketeer 10:20AM Big Business 12:30PM Guthy Renker 1:00PM Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 3:00PM George of the Jungle 5:00PM Animal Kingdom 7:30PM Derailed 9:45PM Robin Hood Sunday
April 28 Wall-E Star Movies 2:21PM ZEE CINEMA 9:35AM Ishq 1:00PM Heroine 4:30PM Taarzan: The Wonder Car 8:00PM Heroine STAR GOLD 9:40AM Vroom 12:00PM Housefull 2 3:40PM Black Water 5:45PM Hera Pheri 9:00PM Makkhi STAR MOVIES 8:00AM Woman on Top 10:04AM Bean 11:58AM Terminator 2: Judgment Day 2:21PM WALL-E 4:36PM Contraband 6:55PM Lockout 9:00PM Hot Shots! 10:53PM The Lost World: Jurassic Park ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Jeevan Daata 10:30AM Bandh Darwaza 1:30PM Sher-E-Hindustan 5:30PM Loha: The Ironman 8:30PM Loafer HBO 9:00AM The House Bunny 11:05AM Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 1:00PM Hugo 3:20PM Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol 5:50PM Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo 7:20PM Ong Bak 2 9:00PM Hugo 11:50PM Rush Hour 3 ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM The River Wild 10:20AM Outrageous Fortune 12:30PM Guthy Renker 1:00PM The Break-up 2:55PM Robin Hood 5:55PM The Karate Kid Part 2 8:20PM Cold Creek Manor 10:50PM Crazy on The Outside FILMY 9:00AM Malamaal Weekly 12:00PM Hanuman 3:00PM Gair 6:00PM Chori Chori Chupke Chupke 9:30PM Vishwanath |
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So while the first half focuses on the decline of one star and the making of another one that too at rather languid pace, post-interval the narrative goes back and forth on the same tangent to finally climax on a rather unconventional note. Yet by that time it's too late and manages to lift the film only marginally. 
As for Stark, he is accustomed to sleeping only three hours in a year. 
Phir Hera Pheri
WALL-E is an American computer-animated romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future. He falls in love with another robot named EVE, who also has a programmed task, and follows her into outer space on an adventure that changes the destiny of both his kind and humanity.