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Peppered over Relief for medicos |
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Naming PM candidate
undemocratic
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
REAL TO REEL:
Filmmaker Kiran Rao says, she is supporting Gulabi Gang, a documentary made on the life of Uttar Pradesh-based social activist Sampat Pal as it has inspired her. CINEMA:
NEW Releases Ratings: It’s magical Humane machine
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Relief for medicos Striking
senior resident doctors and medical students have gone back to their duties and patients in the urban areas have taken a sigh of relief. For the time being the doctors have found relief from the notification by the Medical Council of India (MCI) that made a year-long rural posting mandatory for admission seekers in the PG courses. The flaws of urban-centric development are most visible in the health sector of the rural areas. At places in the hinterland people have to cover hundreds of kilometres to reach a doctor. India has a poor doctor-patient ratio; there is one doctor for every 1,700 citizens while the WHO recommends a doctor for every 1000 people. This is compounded when the available number of doctors, often beneficiaries of urban education and infrastructure, avoid working in the rural areas. The shortage of doctors is just one of the problems; their unwillingness to work in the rural hinterland creates an artificial scarcity in the area and a high concentration in cities. The government has been trying to find a balance by forcing doctors to take up rural postings, ever since Ghulam Nabi Azad became Health Minister. It had even found justification in making doctors sign a bond for rural service in the past based on the argument that medical education is highly subsidised. About Rs 7 lakh is spent by the government on the education of a doctor per annum. So it wants its due by sending them to villages. The government has failed to provide basic health infrastructure in the rural areas and it acts as a deterrent to young medicos. The special rural health course has also failed to work. Expecting medicos to work with a sense of service is not pragmatic. Medical students should be exposed to challenges of rural health care through proper implementation of the current undergraduate medical curriculum, but not through coercive tactics such as extending the 5.5 year-MBBS course to 6.5 years.
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I liked things better when I didn't understand them. — Bill Watterson
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The Punjab Appropriation Report
THE first instalment of a permanent provincial contract has resulted in the issue of an Appropriation Report by the Accountant General of the Punjab and this week’s, “Government Gazette” gives an interesting review of the report for 1911-12. The receipts from land revenue, excise and stamps show considerable increases, which the Government regards as a fairly accurate condition of the general tax-payer. “In view of the prosperity which these figures reveal,” His Honour observes, “an increase of only Rs. 62,000 in the collection of income tax cannot be regarded as satisfactory. Some remedy may be found in the extension of the system recently adopted of appointing special assessing officers in large centres; but no real improvement can be expected while the difficulty of obtaining information for purposes of assessment as is great as it is at present.” The total receipts, however, showed an increase of 10.6 per cent. and the increase in the disbursements amounted to 9.9 per cent. including the extraordinary charges of the Coronation Durbar. A charge of bribery
THE Madras Government will do well to note the procedure adopted by the Punjab Government in regard to complaints of bribery brought against executive officials. We had recently a couple of instances in which the Government appointed a semi-judicial Committee to hold an enquiry into the charges of bribery and corruption brought against public servants. On the report of the Commission, the Government dismissed the men concerned and these wise and prompt measures have had a very good effect on the morale of the public service. We are reminded of this by the clumsy procedure adopted by the Madras Government in respect of the Hindupur Tehsildar's case, which was finally decided by the Madras High Court on the 10th instant, acquitting the pleader who made the complaint of bribery against a local Tehsildar three years ago.
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Naming PM candidate undemocratic
THE
Congress is a late starter. It firmed up its campaign for the April-May parliamentary elections only two months ago. The party was complacent till it was woken up by the dismal defeats in four of the five states during the assembly polls. The surveys conducted by different media hands confirm the drubbing which the Congress is all set to receive in the 2014 general election. The predictions are that it may not even reach a three-digit figure. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, appointed as the head of the election strategy, was a disaster in a television interview. He made little difference because he repeated the clichés that the Congress has been harping on endlessly. He has unnecessarily revived the controversy of the 1984 massacre. It looked from some of his recent speeches that as if he has changed in tone and tenor, tearing a leaf out of the Aam Aadmi Party's book and talking about a participatory democratic state. He has very little time between now and the polls. Even otherwise, he could not revive the sagging fortunes of the Congress, first in UP and Bihar and, more recently, in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and, finally, in Delhi. It would not be fair to put the blame entirely on Rahul Gandhi. The fault is the non-performance of the Congress-led government at the Centre. A decade is a long enough period to make a dent into the country's chronic problems of poverty, unemployment and disparities. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a well-known economist, has turned out to be an astute politician. His forte does not seem to be economics but political manoeuvres. History may be charitable and infer Manmohan Singh as only the stalking horse. He should have quit in protest against the imposition of certain decisions on him. Yet, not even once did he offer his resignation. The real power is concentrated at 10 Janpath, where Sonia Gandhi and her son live. She could have become the Prime Minister in the Congress' second term in 2009 but Sonia Gandhi did not want to revive the controversy of being Indian. Moreover, she wanted Rahul Gandhi to occupy the chair. Her thinking was that it would be taken as a dynastic succession. Rahul Gandhi has built up the young cadre in the party. This was his plus point. The biggest problem that the Congress faces is to explain the scams which took place during its regime. Corruption is palpable in the Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum regarding mobiles and the allotment of coal blocks. The Prime Minister cannot shrug his shoulders and say that he did not know about them because the PMO has approved all the deals. The Congress cadres belatedly are beginning to be active, yet their predicament is how to rationalise the corrupt deeds and non-governance. No doubt, Rahul, a young face, is at the helm of the party's affairs. But the declaration that he was the party's candidate for the prime ministerial position may have helped to some extent. However, it would have been undemocratic to name him before the elected candidates choose their parliamentary party leader. In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) straightaway nominated Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the office of Prime Minister. The RSS, the party's mentor, insisted on it. Whatever the compulsions, the BJP has imposed Modi on the MPs who are yet to be elected. They have no other choice. Probably, the BJP high command believes that Modi's nomination itself will get it more seats. The calculation may turn out to be correct. Yet there is no running away from the fact that the procedure adopted to name the prime ministerial candidate smacks of autocracy. Indeed, Modi has drawn crowds even in the South where the BJP has a very little base. His appeal in the Hindi-speaking states has been astounding. Still the argument that he has peaked too early has a ring of truth. Modi has had a thin crowd when he had visited a state for the second time. His slogan of development does not hide his saffron plan to polarise society. An analysis of the last six speeches by Modi and Rahul shows that both are playing with the emotions of people in the name of the country's unity. The two are targeting corruption without realising that they are making no impact on the voters who believe that both are hiding corruption of their respective party. The difference between the two is on secularism. Modi avoids discussions on the subject and says that development is inclusive. Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, underlines that secularism is the country's ethos. Modi is invoking the name of Sardar Patel and Rahul of both Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, staying within the dynasty. If he were serious on, he should have taken up some of the scams with the Prime Minister. Combing back to Patel, he was a strong personality but his image was that of being anti-Muslim. By installing a tall statute of Sardar Patel in Ahmedabad, Modi is only playing the communal card. Both Nehru and Patel were Mahatma Gandhi's lieutenants and the picture of those days shows them on either side of the Mahatma. Why the Mahatma named Nehru as his successor was the image the latter projected of being a national and international figure. Nehru never deviated from the path of secularism which the Mahatma infused in the nation. Patel did say during the migration following partition that the Muslims will be pushed out of India in proportion to the Hindus ousted from Pakistan. There is no doubt that the BJP will emerge as the single largest party. Even then Modi's ambition to become the Prime Minister may elude him. Imagining that his party on its own gets 200 seats, it still will have to muster another 72 to give him an absolute majority. Then a more acceptable face to placate the supporting parties may become inevitable. The federal front, which is being riveted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, may become relevant at that time.
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The importance of pronouns The
poet’s reflection on personal pronouns, modern and archaic, says a lot about their relevance in the language. While replacing nouns and noun phrases, pronouns help avoid repetition of words. Binding words together, they lend unity to the discourse. At times, personal pronouns also reflect our personalities and attitudes. Some illustrations follow: 1. Myself Mahesh Rawal. I am a salesman. Using the reflexive pronoun “myself” to introduce oneself is common among Indian speakers. An unacceptable structure, the usage also sounds pompous. “I am Mahesh Rawal/ My name is Mahesh Rawal” or simply “Mahesh Rawal” are correct options. Often, “myself” and similar words are used for emphasis. The closest a reflexive pronoun gets to positioning itself at the beginning of a sentence is in sentences like “I myself painted the picture”, where the stress falls on “-self”. 2. A good leader has a clear vision for the company. He inspires the team to work towards it. The personal pronoun “He” in the second sentence stands for the noun phrase “A good leader”, the subject of the first sentence. It is used as a generic pronoun to represent a single person, whose gender is not disclosed. But it is considered to be sexist. In certain places, one also comes across the use of “he or she”, which is rather awkward. The other version “he/she” is not widely acceptable. The best alternative indeed is the plural “they”, used with a singular meaning. Therefore, the second sentence can read as “They inspire the team to work towards it.” 3. The students believe there are many employers waiting to hire them. The boys are not interested in pursuing any more courses, as they may not find them useful. The sentence is ambiguous due to a somewhat clumsy construction. In particular, the word “they” fails to indicate clearly whether it refers to “students” or “employers”. In such a situation, repetition of the referent is a way out with the sentence reframed as “… the prospective employers may not find them useful.” 4. Everybody was asked to collect his/her belongings before leaving. Besides being gender sensitive, the problem under consideration pertains to singular and plural forms, too. “Everybody” is an indefinite pronoun because it does not refer to any definite person. Despite the use of the singular verb “was”, in informal language the sentence may take the plural “their” in place of his/her. This will make the sentence read as “Everybody was asked to collect their belongings before leaving.” (reference: John Eastwood, Oxford Guide to English Grammar, 1994, Page 244). Travelling across continents, English collects its own share of controversies and its pronouns are no exception. When in doubt, it is good to consult several sources but follow one Guru. Regional Institute of English, Chandigarh
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CINEMA: NEW Releases Ratings: Nonika Singh
Till death do us part…well, on this Valentine’s Day you get to see friends and not lovers living by this time-honoured vow! Yeh dosti hum nahi chodenge…tenacious friendship between two Bangladeshi refugees forms the backbone of the action film Gunday, set in the early seventies and eighties. The narrative starts off from the historic moment, creation of Bangladesh in 1971 and maintains its hold for a while. The sequences involving young Bala and Bikram, two orphans left to fend for themselves and how they escape to Kolkata, are riveting. Their bonhomie and camaraderie as grown up adults (Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh), the kingpins of illegal trades of bustling Kolkata too keeps you interested. But before you raise a toast to this ode for friendship (or bromance as they say in modern lingo), friends turn foes. Yawn, yawn… actually and seriously, for the bone of contention is — you guessed it right, a woman. And the Shakespearean adage is turned around to give you, "Hell hath no fury like a man scorned." The lovely lass that divides friends, otherwise enjoined together, is cabaret dancer Nandita (Priyanka Chopra). Her entry into the film (unapologetic she walks into men’s room) is as ‘namkeen’ as the chutzpah and attitude of ‘gunday’. To be honest, the ‘gunday’ are somewhat lovable and their chemistry too is endearing, especially in the scene where the duo confess their love to Nandita at one go. But, just as the story of friends falling for the same woman transforms into a love triangle, the jagged edges add little to the dramatic tension. Rather the romantic angle becomes a damp squib, lacking conviction and credibility. Love songs make you doubly weary. Long length of over two hour twenty minutes doesn’t help matters. Sure, there is a teaser (call it surprise if you wish) close to the climax but that neither redeems Priyanka’s character nor lifts the film. Does Irrfan Khan’s guest appearance as ACP? Well, he certainly gets better dialogues and has a few taut moments with the bad men of the film. But the police outlaw confrontation isn’t really played out well to complete effect. The film, of course, has some elements of novelty and bits of spice. The setting in coal mines and coal-laden trains gives it a piquant flavour. Action scenes are well-orchestrated and throwback to theseventies and eighties is authentic. But predictability overpowers the narrative in greater measure, sapping it of energy and substance. As for acting, Ranveer has an edge but Arjun is earnest too. Irrfan is, as always, faultless but doesn’t really have much to do and is more or less a bystander. Gifted actor Saurabh Shukla has even lesser to do. Should you be a spectator to the tale of love lost and regained? Well, if you are looking for reflective and introspective cinema, don’t come within five-mile radius of it. On the entertainment count, lower your bar and the spicy tadka might entertain you in bits and parts, but not consistently.
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It’s magical
The story is centered on petty thief Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) who finds his way into the house of a consumptive Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay) but beautiful woman who has never been kissed on the mouth. The charmer (her description of him) hero soon sees to that despite her somewhat protective dad (William Hurt) and a sweet liaison ensues with lyrical overtones like "magic is everywhere around, you just have to look" And that’s what we experience right through its 118-minute duration.
There’s fantasy seen through the flying white horse Althamsor who saves Lake from some tight situations. Time also flies by, like the white horse, and decades later our hero is never out of trouble. Comely librarian Virginia Gamely (Jennifer Connelly) meets Lake who is now being pursued by a grim and ruthless Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe) who is baying for his blood. But he battles on bravely like some marathon man. There are more cameos aimed to hold the attention span like Lucifer/Judge (Will Smith) who in inimitable style reels out some cute lines and of course last but far from the least veteran Eva Marie-Samt and an adult Villa whose opening lines "I think I’ll have some milk shake, with chocolate and cream" do justice to her image who’s been doing the rounds even before Hitchcock’s North by North West. As if all this isn’t enough, there’s Caleb Deschanel’s dazzling camerawork to say nothing about Goldsman’s stunning debut. Farrell continues to draw from his vast repertoire and Crowe makes a good villain. The two females Findlay and Connelly vie with each other and can we ask for more?
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Humane machine
There are a variety of cameos that further embellish the story like television anchorman Pat Novak (Samuel L Jackson) who supports mechanised weapons, villainous CEO Raymond Sellers (Michael Keaton), who is an arms manufacturer, scientist Dr Demmet Norton (Gary Oldman) and of course police detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinneaman), who is soon transformed into a Robocop by Dr Norton.
It doesn’t take time for Murphy to be mortally injured in a blast; the result is that he is more machine than man. It is this human element that is subtly dealt with, his wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) and son David (John Paul Rutton) appear in flesh and blood cameos. What follows is the good old creation of a Frankenstein. Will it destroy itself ? The pressure on the armament industry grows and Dr Norton is being made a scapegoat. But it is a tightrope walk and creditable performances by veteran actors Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Joel Kinneman, Abbie Cornish and Samuel L Jackson lift up the show. The film has doses with ‘slam-bang’ that actually make little sense, but form a part of the Hollywood formula since Spielberg’s Star Wars. The cerebral element is ably dealt with.
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TV movies
11:47AM Hindustani Yodha 5:13PM Mard 8:30PM Hum Saath Saath Hain
10:30AM Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge 5:30PM Student of the Year 9:00PM Shuddh Desi Romance
12:35PM Baby's Day Out 4:20PM Demolition Man 6:35PM Ocean's Twelve 9:00PM The Hangover Part II
12:00PM Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi 2:05PM Makkhi 8:00PM Indian 11:25PM Return of Khakee
11:46AM Geraftaar 6:30PM Flashback 7:00PM Leader 10:08PM Dharam Karam
11:40AM Bol Bachchan 5:45PM The Return of Sikandar 8:00PM Son of Sardaar 10:55PM Sabse Bada Don
10:30AM Insaaf 5:30PM Nagin Ka Inteqam 8:30PM Purani Haveli
9:07AM Fillers : Movie (The Animal 72 Mins) or Transporter: Sharks 10:50AM Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle 12:59PM Mission Impossible 2 6:04PM Spider-Man 3 9:00PM The Tuxedo 11:03PM Blue Lagoon: The Awakening Sunday February 16
ZEE CINEMA 8:31AM Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki 11:17AM All the Best 2:13PM Mohra 5:28PM Yamlok 8:00PM Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...!
9:54AM Fast & Furious 12:01PM The Mummy 2:27PM Silver Linings Playbook 5:02PM Bean 6:48PM Ratatouille 9:00PM The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 11:07PM Waterworld
9:25AM Bhoot Unkle 11:40AM Golmaal 3 2:35PM Nafrat Ki Jung 4:45PM Avtaar 8:00PM Dulhe Raja 11:10PM Force
7:00AM Nagin Ka Inteqam 10:30AM Real Don No. 1 1:30PM Yamraaj 5:30PM Zakhmi Sipahi 8:30PM Tada
8:35AM Agneepath 12:10PM Mard Ki Zaban 2:20PM Return of Ghajini 4:45PM Bhagam Bhag 8:00PM Garv: Pride and Honour 11:10PM Jung (1996)
8:21AM Trishul 11:39AM Mere Humsafar
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Every
IF
the original Robocop (1987) was essentially slam-bang action,
this remake tries to humanise the characters a bit. Also, one just
cannot miss the jingoism associated with Hollywood. Joshua Zefummer’s
screenplay is imaginative; director Jose Padilha exercises restraint and
imbues it with the right pauses.
Novak
tries to highlight the need of not losing manpower as in Vietnam,
Afghanistan and Iran, but it isn’t easy to erase the bloody American
hands in the theatre of war, as major American critic Noam Chomsky has
pointed out.
Saturday
February 15
Shuddh
Desi Romance, is a romantic comedy film directed by Maneesh Sharma
and produced by Aditya Chopra. The film features Sushant Singh Rajput,
Parineeti Chopra and newcomer Vaani Kapoor in leading roles.
Silver
Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy-drama film written and
directed by David O. Russell, adapted from the novel The Silver
Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. The film stars Bradley Cooper
and Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris
Tucker, Anupam Kher, and Julia Stiles.