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Stone rush
His son’s father |
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Breaking from traditional politics
Stringing together vague adjectives
CINEMA: NEW Releases
What a journey!
The best of time(s)
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Stone rush Punjab
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal plans to lay the foundation stone of a sewage treatment plant, but Congress leaders beat him to it. The race for credit-seeking ahead of elections is taking on a rather ugly form. The state government in the past couple of months has been busy launching major and minor development projects. This would ideally be very welcome, but the timing and the pace raise a few questions. Is the funding for all projects entirely taped up, or are they likely to remain at the foundation stone stage itself? Reports have emerged of inordinate delays in several projects in Amritsar, where the MP of the ruling alliance itself has been embarrassing the government with his complaints of neglect of the city. Would the government come out with a detailed status report on all the projects launched thus far? The right to seek credit for a project is another contentious issue, as was witnessed earlier in the battle over whose picture should be carried on ambulances in the state. Most development projects are funded jointly by the state and the Centre. In fact, often a major share comes from the Centre. At times projects get delayed because the state did not contribute its share. There is currently a flurry of advertisements being taken out by the government, which state large sums of money being spent on various areas, but these do not give details of the source of the funding. Many of these are in the PPP mode, while some like PUDA housing projects are to be paid for by the end users. Occasionally, the futility of the foundation-laying ceremonies is striking — such as when it is for a mere Rs 25-lakh worth of drainage project, a simple police station or a ‘patwarkhana’. These are the basic blocks of development that have to be laid in the daily course of governance. What Punjab needs is major policy amendments that ensure uninterrupted funds for services that would not come from private investment, such as quality education and health for all. Inclusiveness and accountability have to be the guiding principles of development.
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His son’s father Twelve
years ago Bihar leader Ram Vilas Pawan quit the NDA government at the Centre to protest against the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. While resigning as a minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, Paswan had said that the Centre could not "escape its culpability in dealing with the Gujarat situation". His return to the NDA is thus significant for Narendra Modi. It also opens the door for other former allies to rejoin the NDA, the 2002 pogrom notwithstanding. Also, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had left the NDA before Modi was named the BJP prime ministerial candidate. Ram Vilas Paswan has his own compulsions to embrace Modi. He has to shape the political career of his son, Chirag. His Lok Janshakti Party had performed poorly in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Paswan himself had lost his seat. Given the general perception about the Congress heading for a major drubbing in the coming elections and the conviction in a corruption case of his ally, Lalu Prasad, it makes more political sense for Paswan to abandon the sinking ship. His son can benefit from riding the perceived Modi wave. It is a setback for the Congress, no doubt, particularly after its unsuccessful efforts to woo Nitish Kumar, who had insisted on special status for Bihar as a precondition for support. Being a Dalit leader, Paswan brings to the BJP a sizeable number of committed votes of his community. In Bihar caste is a major factor in swaying votes. Politicians flaunt their caste to build and nurture vote banks. The BJP too at times projects Modi as
a backward-caste aspirant for the office of PM. The tea-boy image has its appeal among sections of society. All this shows a sense of desperation to squeeze political mileage from
anything and everything. Since Paswan will field his son in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP may have to soften its campaign against dynastic politics.
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Thought for the Day
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. —
Khalil Gibran
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THE Hon'ble Sir William Meyer, in reply to a question put in the Imperial Legislative Council, said that the average annual income of an Indian was Rs. 30 approximately in 1901 and in 1880 - it was Rs. 27. He also observed that the Government could not state the present average income on the same basis owing to many elements of uncertainly in the calculation. "Any present attempt to get a complete estimate would," he said "involve prolonged enquiry which would not, in the opinion of the Government, be likely to lead to really reliable results.' Well, any how in the absence of official figures, we think that we may calculate that between 1880 and 1901-a period of 21 years-the average income of an Indian increased from Rs. 27 to 30. Even these figures may be far above the actual earnings. But supposing that they are fairly correct, the increase between 1901 and 1914 cannot be more than Rs. 2 or 3, and if we take into consideration the fact that rupee has depreciated by 35 to 40 p.c. in its purchasing power, the present average income of an Indian would be not more than Rs. 20 - a grim fact which Sir William Meyer may have had in his mind when he so cleverly evaded the suggestion for an enquiry. Wireless Telegraphy in Educational Institutions
WITH regard to the important statement on the subject of wireless telegraph installations, which the Honourable Mr. Vijaraghavachariar was able to elicit from the Honourable Mr. Clark, it would be interesting to note how the question arose. In April last the Punjab Government stated that the Government of India had restricted the importation of apparatus for wireless telegraphy into British India. They are averse to granting special licences to Educational Institutions to import such apparatus for class demonstration.
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Breaking from traditional politics Soon one of his ministers, Somnath Bharti, carried out a raid on his own at Khirkee Extension, and also complained against a few policemen for not carrying out his instructions to act against some foreign women, allegedly indulging in drugs and prostitution. While the Lt-Governor promised to take action after a due inquiry, Kejriwal did not wait and went ahead with a dharna on the road near Rail Bhawan. He sat on dharna for a whole night and provided ample TV footage the next morning when his wife came with breakfast and served him on the road. He abused the Home Minister calling him corrupt because the ex-Home Secretary said so and later ended the drama after the Army, which was in charge of the Republic Day parade, threatened to move in to clear up the road. Kejriwal subsequently announced his intention to bring in the Jan Lokpal Bill, which would be stronger than the Lokpal Act of the Centre. On a reference by the Lt-Governor, the Solicitor General held that before it introduction in the Assembly, the Jan Lokpal Bill would have to get the clearance of the Home Ministry, but Kejriwal remained unconvinced. Subsequently, the Law Ministry also declared that the Bill could not be brought in by the state Assembly since there was already a Central Lokpal Act. However, Kejriwal did not back down on his proposal. The Bill could not be introduced since Lt-Governor Jung wrote to the Delhi Assembly Speaker that the Bill could not be tabled without his approval. Conceding defeat, Kejriwal submitted his resignation to the Lt-Governor and recommended the dissolution of the Assembly and holding of fresh polls. The Lt-Governor, however, recommended that President's rule be imposed and the Assembly held in suspended animation. Prashant Bhushan, a senior AAP leader, contended that if the BJP and the Congress did not stake a claim to form a government, there was no case for imposing President's rule. The LG, according to him, should dissolve the Assembly and order fresh elections. The Supreme Court has now asked the Centre to submit its reply in two weeks. The Supreme Court asked if it was mandatory for the LG to dissolve the House immediately and recommend fresh elections or he had other alternatives such as the recommendation to impose President's rule. Thereby, AAP has made one more mark in its political journey for having raised a valid constitutional question. Kejriwal has announced that his party will contest about 200 Lok Sabha seats and announced his party's candidates for many high-profile constituencies. Kejriwal thinks that he has a "national mission" to end corruption in the country. All the same, the Indian polity has already been sufficiently influenced by the tactics and methods of AAP. Even Narendra Modi, who is no stranger to inventing new methods of election propaganda, has now announced that his volunteers will start road-side discussions over tea all over the country. It is strange that the BJP's prime ministerial candidate should copy AAP tactics. Kejriwal also announced the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the 1984 riots in Delhi in which a number of Sikhs were killed after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. He promised that SITs would be set up to investigate 23,500 cases of rioting across the country if the party came to power at the Centre. He declared, "Wherever we are in power, whether at the Centre or in any state, we will get all riot cases registered and probed by SITs". He said, "If even one case is solved and a senior leader of the party which instigated the riot is put behind bars, no further riots would take place in the country". He added that the two biggest problems facing the country are communalism and corruption. Neither the BJP nor the Congress has done anything for Hindus or Muslims. The parties are concerned only with their vote banks and not in solving the real problems of the affected communities. Notwithstanding the fact that Kejriwal had to resign as Chief Ministers because he could not get through the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly and the accusation from the Congress and the BJP that Kejriwal quit after creating an excuse for doing so since he could not fulfil any of his major promises, Kejriwal and his party have not lost their popularity among the people of Delhi. An opinion poll carried by a
well-known TV channel indicated that 59 per cent of the people who were contacted had opted in favour of the Aam Admi Party and Kejriwal. An example of AAP's undiminished popularity is demonstrated by the fact that no less a person than
Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, has joined AAP and is contesting the elections on the party ticket. The Aam Admi Party has a long way to go, carrying people's support. Time will tell whether its leaders are able to enter the Lok Sabha in adequate numbers and thereby preside over the nation's political destiny.
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Stringing together vague adjectives "The
word adjective ... is ... in charge of attaching everything in the world to its place in particularity. They are the latches of being.” —
Anne Carson 1. The “concerned officials” had food packets dropped. Here, the user intended to convey the officials “relevant" in the matter but ended up conveying the officials who were "worried” by placing "concerned" before “officials” instead of after it. The sentence can be rewritten as, "The officials concerned ...” Adjectives such as “concerned”, “involved”, “payable”, etc. can both precede and follow the noun they modify but the meanings conveyed will be different. For instance, “involved criminal” means “complicated” criminal and “criminal involved” means the “relevant” criminal. 2. “Many an actors” deserve this prestigious award. The adjective “many” whether used with the indefinite article “an/ a” or without it means “a large number of”. Therefore, the user writes the plural form “actors” and the verb form “deserve” to match with it. However, as “many” is followed by the singular “an”, it takes the singular noun “actor”. Subsequently, the third person singular, the verb “deserves” should be used. As for the meaning, just a subtle difference exists. While “many” addresses “all” members of the group collectively, “many a/ an” addresses each one in the group. Some linguists call the usage “many a/ an ...” notionally plural but singular
in usage. 3. “The poor's” suggestion about housing loan is being addressed. To refer to a social group, use of the definite article with the adjective suffices. The noun gets dropped, as in “the elderly” the noun “people” gets dropped. In the sentence above, the user stretches the rule a bit too far. While the usage “the poor people's ...” is correct, the phrase “The poor’s” is not. Expressions like “the strong” and “the fortunate” referring to social groups cannot be used with a possessive’s. 4. The “Canadian plastic wonderful” chairs will be on display
in the Mall. Nouns in certain positions can function as adjectives to modify another noun, as is done by “plastic” above. The user has a problem in the sentence above, as he does not observe the rather fixed order of appearance adjectives follow: opinion - size - age - shape - colour - origin - material - purpose. Together they form the acronym OSASCOMP, which makes it easy to remember the order. Accordingly, the order of the sentence should be wonderful (opinion) -> Canadian (origin) -> plastic (material) -> chairs (Noun). However, the order followed by the user can be accepted if it is considered more important to project "wonderful" over "plastic". In the more recent times, writers like Mark Twain have suggested that stringing together vague adjectives like nice, bad, pure, etc be avoided and replaced by more specific terms. *Director, Regional Institute of English, Chandigarh
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CINEMA: NEW Releases  Sweet and sour effect The male of the species is likely to empathise more with the way Siddharth finds marriage stifling and yearns to find his carefree space. That Siddharth is played by talented actor Farhan Akhtar, makes his character doubly believable Nonika Singh
There is no surefire formula to a successful marriage. So you can’t possibly expect a two and a half hour movie to provide a fit for all solution. But what you do anticipate are some good laughs (and the promos did promise that), a story well told and above at all at least a few fresh insights into the man woman relationship bound in holy matrimony. Alas! On all these counts the film only delivers in bits and parts, now and then, Sure it begins well on a peppy note as this couple Siddharth and Trisha (Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan) seem to have mastered the art of spicing up their marriage by playacting. Every once in a while they meet as strangers in a bar, woo each other all over again. But before you can pat them on their back for the perfect recipe to keep the marriage in the fifth gear… trouble descends. Besides, the film can’t sustain its comic tenor for too long despite many a wisecrack tickling your funny bone and hitting home. The one hometruth that every homemaker and of course every hubby knows too well is a husband might be dispensable but never the housemaid. Actually there is something that perhaps each married couple can find relatable. The male of the species is likely to empathise more with the way Siddharth finds marriage stifling and yearns to find his carefree space. That Siddharth is played by talented actor Farhan Akhtar makes his character doubly believable. Equally credible is Vidya Balan who transforms from a sexy wife into a mother hen with effortless ease and loads of conviction. Interestingly, though by and large the film shows the male point of view with Farhan doubling up as a sutradhar of sorts, no one can accuse the writer director of being a misogynist. The scenes where Siddharth acts pregnant, by stuffing a water balloon in his tummy, to understand what his wife is undergoing are truly hilarious as well as touching. Similarly his efforts (even if failed) to be a good father are in sync with the sensitive new age guy of today. However, when it really comes to the crux the film doesn’t really say anything that we didn’t know before. Despite a twist in the end the director tends to play safe. Only expected for marriage isn’t about being risqué or adventurous only practical and sensible. Now the moot point—to watch it or not. Well, even though the film doesn’t proffer any extra or exceptional gyan, it might inspire you to work out your own strategy to keep your marriage intact. And that is a big plus for a film that often heads where many marriages tend to—dull and predictable. But fret not, this won’t bog you down completely. Like marriage it’s sweet, sour and yes bland too.
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What a journey!
An
old man walks alone on the highway, seemingly lost in thought. When asked by a passerby where’s he going, he points in one direction. Asked whence he’s come from he points in the opposite direction. He’s a man of few words. Meet alcoholic Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) who’ll keep you company for 110 minutes of Nebraska, an absorbing, touching drama of a geriatric. Following him closely on the road in a car is his younger son David (Will Forte) who decides to let him have his way as it will provide this drifter a break from his routine and would also get a chance to know his dad better. But Woody is not the only geriatric. There are others like his brother Ray (Rande Howard), and his wife Martha (Mary James Wilson) and his former partner Ed Pegram (Stacy Keach). There are also two nosey nephews Cole (David Ratray) and Tim (Tim Discroll) who also have an eye on his “fortune.” Like his nephews, there are other acquaintances who want to lay their hands on his fortune. The screenplay by Bob Nelson is strewn with witty lines though many of them are bitter-sweet. The cameos too are well fleshed out to embellish the narrative. As a backdrop is the difficult, near-Depression times, our hero is an ex-Korean War hero and it has had an adverse effect on him. Is this a way of showing the war-mongering Americans getting the equalizer? It seems to be a familiar trend in recent films. Actually, all aspects of the drama are deftly handled, including the soothing, lilting musical score by Mark Onton starting with the harmonica then switching to other stringed instruments and even the piano and finally returning to that harmonica. Just perfect for the drive from Montana to Nebraska fetchingly shot by veteran Phedon
Papmichaerl.
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The best of time(s)
Mr
Peabody & Sherman is a delightful animation film about a talking dog/man Mr Peabody, who is the smartest thing in the world and his dog/son Sherman. It is a movie that takes pot-shots at historical figures with utter disdain. Mr Peabody (voice of Ty Burrell) is a dog who is too clever to be adopted by man. So, he does the inevitable —adopts Sherman (Max Collins). In school on the first day, Sherman gets into a tiff with nosey classmate Penny (Ariel Winter) and the principal sends for Mr Peabody. The point oft mentioned is that the space-time continuum, whatever it means, must not be destroyed. |
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Saturday March 1 The Hangover Part II is an American comedy film produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the sequel to 2009's The Hangover and the second film in The Hangover franchise. ZEE CINEMA MOVIES NOW ZEE STUDIO MOVIES OK STAR GOLD SONY PIX FILMY ZEE CLASSIC Bodyguard is an action film directed by Siddique. It is the third remake of the director's own 2010 Malayalam film of the same name, the second being the 2011 Tamil film Kaavalan starring Vijay and
Asin. ZEE CINEMA MOVIES OK ZEE ACTION STAR GOLD ZEE STUDIO ZEE CLASSIC INDIA TALKIES FILMY
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The
Adjectives have struggled through the centuries to establish their status. In the ancient times, their very existence was doubted. Later, they could creep into grammar as a subset of nouns. It was much later that they were accepted as a full-fledged part of speech. The way adjectives place themselves in contexts for functions assigned to them defies their traditional definitions. Sentences below explore them in action, not always appropriate: 
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