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Well-off and backward
Killings unabated |
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Health and education
Ties with India as a poll plank
The mulberry tree
CINEMA: NEW Releases
A cerebral treat
Quite an adventure!
Not so great
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Well-off and backward
The
government has increased the income ceiling for the other backward classes (OBCs) from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for enjoying the benefits of reservations in government jobs and admissions to government-run educational institutions. This means children of OBC members having a monthly income of Rs 50,000 will compete for the 27 per cent quota in jobs and admissions granted by the Supreme Court in 1992. A person drawing a salary of half a lakh per month can hardly be dubbed "backward". Every right-thinking person believes that the poor need help to improve their living standards. Post-liberalisation, high growth and frequent pay revisions have pushed many people up on the economic ladder. Yet by virtue of belonging to a particular caste or class some well-off people continue to take advantage of the policy of reservations. Since government resources for affirmative action are limited and the corporate sector's participation is negligible, it is important that the benefits and subsidies are targeted better. The use of technology and Adhaar cards will exclude many undesirable and bogus candidates. The Supreme Court had asked the government to define the "creamy layer" so that the benefits meant for the needy were not cornered by better-off people among the OBCs. The government responded by fixing the annual income limit at Rs 1 lakh, which has been raised every four years to accommodate more and more members of the creamy layer. Thus the benefits which should normally go to the poorest of the poor are grabbed by children of better-off families since they usually outshine their brethren from lower income groups. Government policies which intend to uplift the disadvantaged sections end up perpetuating inequalities. There is no provision for one-time benefit to a family or an expiry date for quotas. Practising politics of appeasement to win elections, politicians try to extend patronage to the maximum number. In some states they have violated the 50 per cent reservation limit imposed by the Supreme Court. Their short-sighted actions create heart-burns, discourage merit and lead to agitations and social strife.
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Killings unabated
It
is rather bold of a gang of more than 10 persons to approach a political rally and open fire with at least four weapons. A PPP worker was killed and a Congress candidate’s son was among three injured in the attack in Bathinda district on Thursday. On Friday, a supporter each of the Congress and the SAD was killed in Raja Sansi, Amritsar — the circumstances were not immediately clear. Earlier, a Congress leader was killed in Patti, Tarn Taran. Whether or not directly related, it is hard to ignore the fact all this is happening during zila parishad elections currently under way in Punjab. Another pressing fact is that in most cases of assault, fatal or not, people associated with the ruling SAD are accused. Many would contend that this much of violence is par for the course during district or panchayat-level elections. That is true for the history of the region. But the country has come a long way, passed through many a test in blood. It does not deserve to be subjected to this! Just as the chieftains of yore would spill blood over territory, so is it today. The Bathinda SSP has said the assault was the result of a rivalry between two criminal gangs with political affiliations. The SAD government has to answer for this. How come it has allowed criminals to be affiliated to the party and also permitted them to possess weapons during election time? The PPP and the Congress too would have to come out with explanations on their supporters and candidates’ track records. No association with crime can be condoned. The State Election Commissioner, of course, is acting like a non-entity. If the Panchayati Raj system has to be the real grassroots democracy, as envisioned, such offices have to be made more meaningful, and not allowed to be handmaidens of the government. The fact that criminals affiliated to the ruling parties feel more emboldened than those associated with the Opposition is a reflection on the state of the police. Their confidence obviously comes from the knowledge that investigations will be managed. A statement from the Punjab Chief Minister sincerely addressing all these concerns would be welcome.
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Health and education
Education
and health of children up to 18 years of age have been the prime concern of all those who care to bring about a positive difference to the human development index in our country. Many schemes like the Mid- Day Meals and the Indira Bal Swasthya Yojana (IBSY) were introduced by the government to check a high rate of school dropouts and to improve the health of the young. Since health and education are interconnected, the two schemes were tied to the schools. Results of nationwide surveys showed that about 65 per cent school-going girls suffer from anaemia, the percentage varying from state to state (highest 82 per cent). Girls are worst affected by anaemia, for they are kept on a marginal diet and it is during the school-going period that they get menarche. These factors contribute to their high school dropout rate. In Haryana, the painless and convenient method of haemoglobin (Hb) estimation known as Hb Colour Scale Kit was introduced under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The purpose was to conduct a comprehensive health check-up for all the children of government schools and Anganwadis to diagnose disease, deficiency and disability, so that free treatment could be provided to improve their health. Free iron and folic acid tablets under the IBSY scheme were provisioned in the state for the school-going children. The problem with most welfare schemes is that they appear great on paper, but their implementers carry the schemes as though they were doling out charity, with complete irreverence to the results of their welfare deeds. As a result, reports of children falling sick after partaking of mid-day meal or meals, not cooked because gas cylinders were not supplied at subsidised rates, etc, are common. Twenty students fell sick after taking free iron supplements at Bhunderwas village of Haryana. It’s high time quality check was enforced and regulated by the higher authorities for all welfare schemes. Especially those meant for children.
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Believe you can and you're halfway there. — Theodore Roosevelt
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Ties with India as a poll plank IT was an emotional expression of PML (N) leader Nawaz Sharif after winning the polls in Pakistan. By inviting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his oath-taking ceremony, he fulfilled the desire to strike real friendship with India. But it should not come as a surprise. Nawaz Sharif has fought and won an election against Benazir Bhutto on the plank of friendship with India. Unfortunately, New Delhi's response was tepid. I wish there had been an Atal Bihari Vajpayee to travel by bus from Amritsar to Lahore. Then the two Prime Ministers advocated a new path of normalcy which they were trying to pave. Alas, the amity did not last long. Nawaz Sharif is not to blame for the Kargil misadventure. It was General Pervez Musharraf, then the Chief of Army Staff and later military dictator, who thought that he could occupy the strategic heights to harass India. Nawaz Sharif did not know about the infiltrators. Musharraf even today claims that “all were on board.” But this is not true. Nawaz Sharif is being unnecessarily dragged into a war which Musharraf waged, fought and lost. Now that Nawaz Sharif is set to be the Prime Minister, he has done well to order an inquiry to find out what happened at Kargil. I believe that Nawaz Sharif took up the matter of Pakistan forces’ withdrawal from Kargil with the help of America to sustain the morale of the armed forces. He placed before President Clinton the case of Pakistani forces although both knew that Kargil was Musharraf's doing. However, an inquiry will put an official seal on the mistakes committed and who is responsible. A similar kind of probe into the militants' attack on Mumbai (26/11) will be in order. Nawaz Sharif has assured that such an attack from across the border will never take place in the future. Elections in Pakistan are noisy, somewhat disorderly and tamasha-like. Even the kidnapping of former Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani's son did not come as a surprise. Yet political parties were particular about arranging their candidates contest in a manner which would make them winnable. Parties were calculating and knew their strength. Even before the polling, it was known that Nawas Sharif, representing his Muslim League, was strong in Punjab, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) under Asif Ali Zardari in Sindh and Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaaf in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north-west. The results are more or less on the same lines, although Nawaz Sharif's victory is convincing, wining both urban and rural seats in Punjab. One slogan which has been there but was never reckoned with is Pakistan's friendship with India. All political parties asking for good relations with New Delhi was an important plank in the elections. I am not surprised because I have always found the common man on both sides wishing good ties. The governments play politics. They realise that hostility with India or Pakistan does not sell any longer. It is no more a rewarding electoral slogan. Still they emphasise differences, not common points. I recall the sweep of Nawaz Sharif on his stand of friendship with India. Why political parties have woken up so late is something to introspect. Nawaz Sharif has said that he would pick up the thread from where he had left off with Vajpayee. This is a positive development because it means the supremacy of liberalism over parochialism. The heavy turnout of voters goes to the credit of the electorate because the Taliban had threatened them. The blasts all over Pakistan were another impediment. Yet the people were determined to sustain the democratic process. Nawaz Sharif occupies the position of Prime Minister for the third time. This speaks volumes in favour of Pakistanis because they have elected a person who has said that the PM is the boss of the army. Nawaz Sharif has his task cut out clearly. He will have to undo most of what the previous government did. The first and foremost would be to meet the poll promises to people, including providing uninterrupted power supply. The unemployment problem in Pakistan has made a number of misguided youth an easy target for the religious and radical outfits. Sharif's government will have to address them to the satisfaction of the people who voted his party to power. He will have to attend to the problem of rampant corruption in political parties and the bureaucracy, the main worry for the people. Another onerous job at hand for him is to strike a balance between his civil administration and the military against which he has nursed a long grievance. Sharif will be well advised to strengthen the institutions and build up people's faith in them. That is the only way to keep the military out. It has extended its stronghold even on trade and commerce. Corporations by ex-military hands dominate 70 per cent of Pakistan's business and real estate. Government contracts first go to them. No democratic government can be witness to this state of affairs. The military's rule is to defend the country, not to administer it. The polls have shown the sign of maturity in Pakistan. This is the first election held by an elected political party since the country's independence. The army has had a centre-stage so far. Probably, it still has. A fragmented political scene suits the army which still gives a message of normalcy in an otherwise unstable country. Zardari will remain the President until September. Soon after, the PML (N) leader will have to look for an acceptable president who will not meddle in the affairs of Sharif's day-to-day functioning. Similarly, Sharif will have to keep his eyes open on the judiciary which has, of late, been over-reactive. Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary is due for retirement in December and Sharif will have an interest in who replaces the long-serving incumbent. All this will matter for Sharif to keep a tight leash on his government so that he can function independently before he sorts out things one by one. Institutions are important for a democratic polity. Musharraf demolished them to establish his personal rule. No doubt, this election proved that democratic forces have won yet again. People have made sure that democracy, which had begun to take roots some years ago in Pakistan, was not uprooted again. One only hopes this does not turn out to be a pyrrhic victory. It is up to Nawaz Sharif to live up to the people's expectations and keep their faith intact. The comment of The Economist should help Nawaz
Sharif.
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The mulberry tree Back in Quetta, before Partition, my “nanaji” owned a gold souk and did roaring business. My mother recalls those happy days when the family hired a truck, complete with “khansama” and helpers, to take off for a picnic in nearby hills and jungles. My “nanaji” was a gifted cook and would occasionally dish out gourmet meals for the family during these sojourns. The eldest of five children, my mother, all of 10, revelled in languid luxury. My “nani” had her silk taffeta and heeled black belly shoes imported from England and a woman came bi-weekly to aid her in her toilette; to wash, plait into “medis” and adorn her long hair with ornaments befitting royalty. When the rioting started my grandfather remained in denial till the morning when he came to open his souk and found two bodies lying across the entrance. He was finally persuaded to leave immediately for India by the local Muslim police chief who was also a close friend. In a daze, my shell-shocked grandfather asked the womenfolk to wear and hide as much gold as they could on their person to see the family through till they returned. This parting broke his heart and more fatally his spirit. He cried silently letting the tears drop while the family locked the house and piled into the police jeep waiting to transfer them to a train to India. He covered his eyes when one of his baying cattle broke its chain and ran after the jeep. He had also brought with him a mulberry plant, his favourite fruit which grew in abundance in his Quetta backyard. He enjoyed looking at the long wine red shahtoot dripping with delicious goodness more than he liked to eat it. Coming from the cold hilly arid land bordering Afghanistan, the family found Delhi hot and stifling. Miraculously the mulberry plant survived the long journey and my “nanaji” planted it lovingly in front of the tiny quarter allotted to him. By now he knew there would be no return. He grieved, unable to come to terms with the reversal of his fortune. When the family had long exhausted its gold reserve, what had erstwhile been a pleasant hobby now became a means of livelihood. He opened a dhaba where he cooked and served food from North West Frontier Province. Unable to bear the indignity, my “nanaji” would not sleep in the night and took to wandering around the railway station seeking out trains to Pakistan. Many a times his sons would bring him back from the station forcibly to return to the drudgery and derelict conditions which were now their lot. As his dhaba prospered and grew into a hotel, my “nanaji” withered and shrank within. Meanwhile, the mulberry tree bloomed, grew quite large and showered its largesse around. In season, local urchins climbed to shake the tree while neighbours gathered mounds of shahtoot in “thaalis” and “chirimchis”. My “nanaji” tended to the tree like he would tend a baby. It was his sole link and reminder of his glorious, happy past. Long before I was born he passed away at a comparatively young age of 57 after a heart attack. The mulberry tree still stands, but it is a matter of time before it shrivels up and dies. And with it will end my family's last tangible link with our roots and troubled history. I, too, grieve deeply for the mulberry tree and for the stoic sufferance it was witness
to!
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CINEMA: NEW Releases  Nonika Singh At
one level it's a mother of confusions…it takes a long while before who's who, let alone who's against whom, sinks in. Indeed, the story of land sharks set against the backdrop of Gurgaon, of our hero Arjun Kapoor in a double role avatar, swapping of the two brothers and a police chief who is more criminal than any underworld don is likely to be…Aurangzeb had the potential of becoming a fine thriller.
To begin with, the maze that it weaves out does seem interesting and gets your attention too. But soon caught in the crossfire of its own making, despite fine editing, pace and a battery of fine actors it buckles, if not completely crumbles, under its own weight. So what you get is a chess game where each pawn has its own reason to be part of the game and defeat the enemy, but the motives are befuddled. Except of course one man Rishi Kapoor as DCP Ravikant, who like a colossus rides above all else in the department of acting and is able to bring forth the dark shades of his character with conviction. Indeed, as a man who would brook no opposition, not even from his own kin, in his ride fuelled by power and avarice, Rishi reminds us what a good actor he is. Prithviraj Sukumaran as Arya, the police officer torn between the goodness of his father (Anupam Kher) and the wily tactics of his uncle, impresses. So does one-film-old Arjun Kapoor and overcoming the flaws in the script, he pulls out a credible act. Do they? Well, in the climax, expediency takes the better of the directorial skill. What you see is convenient elimination. But then in a film packed with so many characters, guess one has to dispose off the excess baggage. Talking of excesses, well there is the new find Sashaa Agha. Predictably, in a film already crowded with too many good actors not to forget the hero in the double role she has little to do. Except, perhaps, add oomph factor, a mission in which this new import from Pakistan, never mind the dare bare act, succeeds only partially. The film's mission remains as much a mystery as the fluctuating emotions of our hero. Indeed, it could have been an incisive insight into the machinations of real estate developers. It could have been a heart moving peep into human relationships. Alas, the film ends as neither. In fact, as the film moves in two tracks one of crime and another of human emotions it can't quite become a tour de force in either. Sure there are some tender moments, but then moments alone don't make a film. Still, it can be watched if nothing else for it reinforces the power of acting.
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A cerebral treat This is easily Mira Nair's most challenging film as it probes deep into the psyche of a Muslim after the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers of New York and the backlash faced by bearded Muslims. Erica's character is too fickle. Director Mira Nair then resorts to the docu-drama format. Though it gives the narrative an immediacy, it flatters only to deceive. Om Puri comes off well with some good lines and Shabana Azmi shows great maturity by underplaying her part. The Lahore ambience is well captured (though much of it is shot in New Delhi) by cinematographer Declan Quinn who goes to town with the Oriental visuals. Riz Ahmed does an excellent job. It is a painstaking effort and quite cerebral. It is well worth watching.
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Quite an adventure! The
actual name of the movie is just Epic and it is in 3D which is not just mentioned. But this one is really epic in word and deed, the visuals are awesome, the characters countless and the theme is about forest life and decay with the usual forces of good and evil slugging it out. Then there's Mary Katherine (MK), who sets out trying to save him but encounters hordes of eccentric characters from flying creatures to ride piggy back on, to creepy, crawly reptiles, even a fully grown White Bitch of Gnarnia (Jennifer Coolidge) whose White Castle is a prison. The forest is 'oh so wooded' with cinematographer Shaun Maurer excelling in vertical camerawork for depth. In good time, or rather bad, the Queen dies leaving behind a royal pod for her successor. The curator's doggie Ossie is cute and can smell MK much earlier than her adoptive father. There are Leafmen and Stompers and MK is quite lost in the milieu but ever willing to discover. Then out of the blue Edward Shearmur's music sets in and the song Ms New Booty by Bubba Sparxxx is a real winner. There are references to other animation films like Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia but the latter half gets as bit too much. Too much of a good thing also palls. Having said that one must say Epic certainly breaks new ground and must be seen.
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Not so great known
to be one of the greatest American novels this is the second remake of The Great Gatsby (the earlier ones in 1949 and 1974) but a great literary classic is not always a great movie. Still, this reviewer saw the Jack Clayton version (Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) and loved it, despite being panned by renowned critics like Judith Crist and Stanley Kauffman.
The Buzz Luhrmann version too has not been received too well by the critics and I think it tries too hard to raise this Fitzgerald novel to epic status. The entry of that enigmatic hero almost 20 minutes into the film is effective. But the same cannot be said of the rest of the film that covers all of 143 minutes. The overkill tends to pall. Carey Mulligan is expressionless and Joel Edlington's Tom Buchanan not much better. It is Elizabeth Debicki who catches the eye. May be with the accent on scale and glamour, the niceties of acting went out of the window. A bit of a let-down but Fitzgerald fans should see it nevertheless.
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movies on tv
Saturday may 18 Meet the Fockers Meet the Fockers is an American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to Meet the Parents. The film stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo. It was followed up by a sequel, Little Fockers, in 2010. SONY PIX 8:10AM Jerry Maguire 10:35AM Transporter: Dead Drop 11:40AM Kung Fu Panda 1:25PM Hancock 3:10PM Original Sin 5:10PM Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 7:20PM Cruel Intentions 9:00PM Meet the Fockers 11:20PM Welcome to the Jungle ZEE CINEMA 7:20AM Tahkhana 10:20AM Veeraana 1:35PM Mohra 9:00PM Dhamaal STAR GOLD 8:55AM House Full 12:10PM Son of Sardaar 3:20PM Ghayal 6:40PM Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi 9:00PM Ek Tha Soldier STAR MOVIES 10:42AM The Lorax 12:40PM X-Men: First Class 2:50PM Eragon 5:00PM Salt 7:03PM Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 9:00PM The Viral Factor 11:31PM The Mummy ZEE ACTION 10:30AM Love 1:30PM Tridev 5:30PM Cheetah 8:30PM Jaadugar HBO 11:10AM Waterworld 1:45PM Shaolin Soccer 3:35PM The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption 5:35PM Due Date 7:25PM StreetDance 2 9:00PM The Matrix Reloaded 11:58PM The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe 9:50AM Baat Ban Jaaye 12:52PM Roti 3:55PM Hum Paanch 7:00PM Boond Jo Ban Gayi Moti 10:02PM Charas ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM Race to Witch Mountain 10:10AM Shanghai Noon 12:30PM TV Products 1:00PM The Contractor 2:50PM Flubber 4:50PM Uninhabited 6:45PM Sniper 3 8:30PM George of the Jungle 10:30PM The Shadow Sunday may 19 Bol Bachchan Bol Bachchan is a Bollywood romantic action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty, and featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Asin and Prachi Desai in lead roles. Bol Bachchan was a hit film. SONY PIX 10:15AM Transporter: Hot Ice 11:15AM Hancock 1:00PM Total Recall 3:25PM Meet The Parents 7:25PM Resident Evil 9:00PM Total Recall 11:25PM The Expendables ZEE CINEMA 7:10AM Namastey London 10:30AM Coolie 2:05PM God Tussi Great Ho 5:30PM Vivah 9:00PM Ishq STAR GOLD 9:45AM Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii 12:00PM Dhol 3:30PM Black Water 5:35PM Bol Bachchan 9:00PM Om Shanti Om STAR MOVIES 10:26AM Bolt 12:28PM The Mummy 2:28PM Land of the Lost 4:42PM Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 6:55PM Kung Fu Hustle 9:00PM Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Rakshak: The Protector 10:30AM Pratibandh 1:30PM Saudagar 5:30PM Shola Aur Shabnam 8:30PM Geraftaar ZEE CLASSIC 12:41PM Shirdi Sai Baba 3:34PM Geet 7:00PM Karz 9:59PM Nastik HBO 8:05AM The Matrix Reloaded 10:30AM The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe 1:00PM Mirror Mirror 3:05PM StreetDance 2 4:55PM Kick-Ass 7:10PM Ong Bak 2 9:00PM Mirror Mirror 11:33PM Act of Valor ZEE STUDIO 10:10AM The Shadow 12:30PM TV Products 1:00PM Big Business 2:50PM Kiss of the Dragon 5:00PM George of the Jungle 7:00PM Loins of Punjab 8:45PM Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation 10:30PM Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
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Where the film lacks credibility is in building up of the character of Jackie Shroff as mafia lord Yashovardhan (no fault of Shroff though). Nowhere does he seem like a despicable man, who so disgusted his wife that she feigned her and her son's death for him. Rather one's heart goes out for him. No wonder his sons are ready to die for him. 
The format is a single interview that takes place at an outdoor Lahore Café between protagonist Aramgez (pronounced Genghis, played by Riz Ahmed) and American journalist Bobby Lincoln (Live Schreiber). It is a frame story which shuttles back and forth on the life of this prodigious middle class student who completes his Bachelors degree in Finance from Princeton and gets a job at a leading financial firm Underwood Samson. His boss Jim Cross (Kiefer Sutherland) takes a fancy to him and all is hunky dory till that 9/11 disaster. It is then he experiences the other side of the great American dream and how the rest of the world looks on them. 
His girlfriend Erica (Kate Hudson) poses a major problem having lost her fiancé a few months ago. She cannot take his attachment to his family, dad Abu (Om Puri) and mother Amme (Shabana Azmi) and the family wedding he has to attend in Lahore.
Narrator Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) seems to relish his part but the liberties taken by Craig Pearce with the screenplay do not necessarily improve the action. The wild, wacky parties, the place to be in, for celebrities as well as underworld dons, is fetchingly recreated and that's where our own Amitabh Bachchan comes in as Meyer Wolfshum, a shady operator who fixed the 1919 World Series, but it is as fleeting a role as one can expect an Indian to grab. Leonardo Di Caprio is probably the only one who really performs well. 
sony pix 9:00PM
ZEE CLASSIC