Questions of faith or questionable faith?

Over the past few years there have been questions on faith in a god (i think he doesn't deserve the capitalized "G") , from me as well as from people i know. when i mention god, i have to say before hand that i want to distinguish spirituality vs religion. spirituality primarily deals with questions of existence, about why we are here and what we are supposed to do. it does not need a god as an enabler and in fact does just as well without his/her presence as in cases like Jainism/Buddhism. Religion on the other hand rather concerns itself with all the rules, rituals and restrictions that god seems to be so in love with.

I have always believed that religion's primary role in society was to enforce proper codes of conduct in absence of strong government or authority. therefore it's basic premise rises from the assumption that humans left to themselves would revert to a primal state where mere survival is what matters. this in turn negates any chances of the survival of civilization or society under which an individual's chance of survival are actually better. The first priest would have understood this perfectly, but to impose one person's sanity on a multitude of stupid humanity would require 'divine' intervention and that's when the first god would have been 'invented'. This celestial judge dispensed justice through his 'priests' and helped to maintain peace in society in face of perceived inequalities in life. as with any political/social system, it succumbed to that source of perennial problems, greed. the priests got greedy and what was worse was that they started believing in their own fabrications. it was a case of delusions morphing into reality. soon people started missing the fine print... that you did not need him to follow the rest of the manual. this is where i have a bone to pick. how come a system that preaches unconditional love for all humanity somehow says that you will be punished just because you forgot to serve him lamb once a year or you forgot to fast once a week. that just seems anathema to the 'unconditional' part of love. after all aren't we all supposed to be his children.?!

i could rant for a few more pages, but there have been more eloquent authors out there who have argued for intelligence over religion :). I am slightly more comfortable in the religions of the East where punishment is restricted to rebirth, but still the rituals and stratification of society in terms of castes in Hinduism and the fatalistic and bleak nature of Buddhism put me off. Confucianism and Epicurean systems appeal better but then that takes you away from religion into philosophy, which is where i think all religions should stop at.

My personal belief system is best summed in these following words of Einstein, particularly the last part in bold.

"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty."

I leave you with a cartoon sketch. nothing specific against christ. i am against all gods equally. society has already evolved past the easter bunny and santa claus. i am just hoping that god is the next logical step in the process.

Of donkey love and Kashmir

Before you perverts start filling up your heads with dirty thoughts, let me clarify that this is a post about the movie Tahaan. I had wanted to catch this movie ever since i chanced upon it's review by Baradwaj Rangan. It was a complete coincidence that i happened to watch both the movies featured in that review in a space of a week. But the review got it right to the point. First rate performances in both movies, but talk about A Wednesday is reserved for another post.

Coming back to Tahaan, i am surprised by the sudden rise in precocious young talent , first Darsheel Safary in TZP and now here in Purav Bhandara who plays the protaganist. I just hope some of our 'superstars' could salvage half of what he does in this movie. As far as the story goes, it is about a boy who loses his donkey(can we call a donkey cute??!!! cos it was), Birbal, and his efforts in getting him back and what he manages to come across during the time. There are two things that struck me apart from the fine acting.

First, the cinematography. The scenes look like they are slideshows of picture perfect postcards lined up with characters thrown in to fit. Sadly, I have never been to Kashmir and so am not sure whether it's the place that lends itself to such achingly beautiful images or it's the man behind the camera who manages to dress it up so exquisitely. But thanks to Santosh Sivan for capturing it on camera. Here is a scene from the movie


Second, there were certain scenes in the movie that would have been worth the price of the admission ticket by themselves. There was a particular portion where Tahaan goes around asking the kids in the neighborhood whether they have seen his Birbal. Like all kids they are playing, but instead of the innocuous cops & thieves, they are playing militants and soldiers, gunning each other down. Violence, it seems, has stolen even the innocence of the kids at that point. But then a smile is put back on your face when Tahaan shows up for the security check when the army asks all the men in the village to assemble. I had a huge grin on my face when he tries explaining his presence to the officer. There was this other scene where , in the land of the apples, a Kashmiri pandit's hand reaches out to steal an apple left on a window ledge of a devastated home by Anupam Kher. Forced to steal from their own orchards!! It was indeed sad. It was gems like these in what was still a good story that made it great.

On the whole it was a good 90 minutes spent. Hopefully we get to see the kid in more movies going forward. And hopefully the donkey too.

House

House has been one of all time favorite characters on television. I guess it has to do with him getting away doing and saying stuff that would land most of us in jail. I have come to admire the sheer gumption of the character in doing what he does. And the sarcasm is to die for. But some of the best moments come when House manages to surprise his friends and colleagues. Sample this

Clean Shaven House: which tie should i wear?

Wilson: you shaved!!!

House: The red one then.

Wilson: you have TWO ties???!!!!!!!!

Of mass bunks and politics!!

During my undergrad days, it was quite common to find students discussing "mass bunks" when the whole class would fail to show up on a day. Now the point of it was to make sure that no classes were held , so you end up having a day off and not missing out on classes at the same time. Imagine it working the other way around... the professor banishes all students from his class for bad behaviour so that he can have an off day :). Something like that transpired in the TN assembly today where the 'honorable' members put on their best infantile behavior for exhibition. The entire opposition was evicted from the House after demanding an explanation for use of force on lawyers in the High Court promises. No question hour, no dialogue... just valuable taxpayer money at work subsidising the member's tea, coffee and paruppu vadai. the ignominy of it all!! i wonder what the members still in the house had left to discuss... maybe something important like the hem line of shriya's skirts the evening before at a muhurat or the "apparent" bulging of Namitha's waistline.

Now the lawyers are no reincarnated Buddha's but the very notion of use of force seems too regresssive and high-handed. That coupled with the fact that it happened on the premises of the institution that is supposed to protect the rights to protest doesn't bode too well. When the opposition gets voted to power the next time, they will then want their "off" time to discuss relevant issues like the balding head of rajini and want to declare it as an endangered species. Such comedy will ensue that somebody should make a reality show out of this all. Sex sells but stupidity sells better.!!!

-shri

What's in a name?

Apparently almost all alphabets in the English language. Sample this..

Stage Name: Blaaze.

Real Name: Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopala Seshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman

Now that's a real mouthful. But I say that the original name has a lot more character(s), no?
Imagine the possibilities, you need not fear on wagering a name change for a bet... who is gonna notice if you change Seshadri to Susan or Vijaya to Viagra!

UPDATE: there have been some questions about the veracity of the claim.. but here is a link to an interview with the Hindu where he rolls out his name.

-shri

Tolkienation

To say that i am huge Tolkien fan would be a euphemism. if i were not an atheist and i did believe in rebirth.. i would kill to be Merry/Pippin. You might think an odd choice, but if you knew my lazy self you would nod in appreciation. Being Gandalf/Frodo/Aragorn/Sam is basically too much work and pain. Any other character would be too far on the fringes without any scope for proper attention . These guys are there for all the cool parts of the book-the Ents, the battles; and they happen to be end up being the most handsome guys in the Shire. Must have really scored with the girls :p. Anways back to Tolkien, i have read 3 of his works.. LoTR, the Hobbit and the Silmarillion,multiple readings of all of them. While my feelings towards the Hobbit are ambivalent, i absolutely love the other 2. There are outside chances of better plots out there, but i cannot fathom something that is more dazzling in the grandeur and scale of the world it is set in. Imagine a person spending a better part of 2 decades or more, trying to lend as much authenticity and character to these imagined worlds. I hardly have the patience to spend 10 mins posting an update to this blog.

But there are two things that captivate me about the Professor's works. One is the kind of bluesy longing that the writing manages to evoke in the reader. I have never been able to explain why but i always wanted to be a part of that majestic, yet ultimately, a tale of beautiful sadness. The other thing is essentially the lyrical quality of the prose. The words, names and the places are to die for. He seems to innately understand what sounds (and means) good or bad. Not surprising considering he was a professor of linguistics and not literature. Hear about names like Elbereth and Feanor, Brandybuck and Cirdan, Grima and Saruman and places like Eregion and Arda, Shire and Mordor and you don't need to read the book to know which ones are the good ones and which ones belong to the dark side. This is a particularly noticeable aspect of his writings and he talks about trying to excel at this "linguistic aesthetics" in a letter written to the publisher of the Silmarillion.

One of my desires have been to own all of the good Prof's works and already own 2 of them. I am torn about what to buy next , either the Children of Hurin or The Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth. I always felt sad that JRR did not get to publish more but today i had a pleasant surprise. Looks like they managed to dig out an old work of the Master and are going to publish it. Hurray!! It is of course a tale unconnected to the LoTR and it's world, but it does seem to be of the same "legendary" nature as his most famous work. looking forward to it. For folks who have not read Tolkien , i suggest that you give him a chance. Do not be put off by the size of the tome. By the time you are done with it, you would wish that it was another 800 pages longer.

-shri

:)

So true, no?

-shri

House'ism... truism!

House: Religion is not the opiate of the masses, it's the placebo of the masses.

That one just made my day. Perfectly true. Placebos work , no doubt, but you shoot yourself in the foot when you start confusing it for a panacea and think you need nothing else. religion is nothing better.

-shri

my faith renewed in all its noodly goodness!!!

I was an atheist right until i discovered the denomination of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Only then did my life started to mean something and i finally understood the spiritual significance of all the instant ramen noodles i had gulped down as a grad student. i have indeed become a better man because of that. Recently , us faithful have been blessed with a sighting of our dear delicious lord in germany and people have interpreted this as an ominous portent that will be followed in the days to come by shortage of marinara and meatballs. Beware world , for god doesn't like teaching of evolution when noodly design seems infinitely more plausible.

PS: Below is a video of the rare sighting of the TOP ramen. any blasphemous comments will be promptly served with a Fatwa from the lord's religious priests, the chow mein. you don't want to imagine what it is to suffocate on chinese chopsuey!!!!

-shri

Free Hugs in India..

Note to self: stock up on deodorant next time I land in india :p

-shri

one down, rest to follow?

I am sure that folks in India find it hard to believe when pakistan says that it has problems dealing with terrorists on its own soil. Maybe the news that the government has agreed to impose Sharia law in the Swat district will go some way in convincing people. This will turn out to be a major source of concern for US and India. But the reason i linked to this specific article is that I have issues with its tone, which argues that the government is trying to undercut the militants and also points to benefits of speedier justice under the new system. Speedier justice is not necessarily the right justice. The author is essentially clutching at straws, trying to find a light at the end of the tunnel. But i don't see how it's good in anyway except maybe buy the government some time before the militants make the same case for regions outside Swat. And it is a graver cause for concern considering that Swat is not part of FATA, which has traditionally been the cause of headaches for the Pakistani administration.This is a decision that the government will probably regret moving forward. They have just awarded the "Achievement of the Year" award to the taliban. Having tasted success with terror , the mentally deranged are bound to expand their scope of operations and next thing you know, education for girls is banned and all the barbers are going out of business. The trouble with Sharia or with any other religious justice system is that it is arbitrary, subjective and highly interpretive. I am not sure when the civilian pakistani government is going to grow a spine and tackle this problem head on. I am sure the Americans are hoping and wishing that Musharraf was allowed to remain power in right now. For the sake of the region, let's hope that this is the last area that needs to be ceded to Taliban authority in Pakistan

As a side note, for people looking for a Pakistani point of view on the geo-political situation in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, do drop by for a cuppa at Pak Tea House. Worth your time!!

-shri

story of india

There was a time up until 6-7 yrs back when i was infatuated with the BBC and its content. i am pretty sure that i could it put it down to IQ busting quality of programming on other Indian channels. I also couldn't stand reruns of some version or the other of the wildebeest migration on Discovery/NatGeo. I didn't need these guys to tell me we were related to the gorillas/chimps/monkeys and other simian species.... i had the guys at NDTV as living proof. any more 24hr new channels, and i would have cost my dad a new tv every week. I have since seen these news channels track their way back from the monkeys to even more slimier lifeforms. darwin would have rejoiced seeing this reverse engineering at work. now back to BBC.. i was in awe of their production quality and depth of their programming material. there was never a 2 hr special. they were always a minimum of 6 one-hour productions. and i absolutely loved their narrative style. the english had their own charm which i found missing in the american productions. if anyone wants to watch "planet earth", i suggest you pick up the BBC version presented by Sir Attenborough. there were many such documentaries that made my sunday afternoons, like the wonderful Seven Ages of Rock and the dark and sad, The Nazis. The second one in fact gave me enough material to give a small presentation that made the girls in my class take note of my existence :).

But after moving out of home i neither had access to the Beeb nor sadly the time. Last week i came across a series titled "The Story of India" at a torrent exchange and downloaded it. It was produced by the Beeb as part of 60yr celebrations of Indian independence. Presented by the celebrity historian Michael Wood, it traces India's history right from the Harappan times to the Independence movement. It was a fairly engaging commentary and was typical of an Indophile's romantic notion of the region. i had my own share of the quibbles with some of the stuff but i did learn some interesting things. like there is a library in tanjore which is older than the Congressional library in the US and that the Cholas were sea faring people whose empire stretched as far as Cambodia. I was also surprised to learn that Buddha ate meat and he died falling sick after eating bad pork. There was a bit about the East India Company having made 13 million pounds a year back in the 1800's and i almost lost my breath at that number. i am pretty sure that number is north of a billion dollars factoring in inflation over 2 centuries!!! Moving over to my peeves, there was a bit that questioned whether the vedic mantras were pre-language vocal sounds rather than words. I am no theist or cultural romantic, but to know that this assumtion was thrown out there based on the work of one graduate student was disappointing. the beeb should know better. there wasn't much information about where the dravidians had come from either. but the one thing that angered me the most was the continuing English hard headedness at refusing to acknowledge the death toll at Jallianwala Bagh. Here again they say that it was around 400. It is hard to believe that 1650 rounds fired in a matter of 10mins in such a narrow area had resulted in only so few casualties. but then again fighting over numbers seems a bit shallow.

overall it was a good watch... nice way to spend a rainy saturday evening.!!

shri

and thus it begins....

welcome to the blog... this is my first post. now having done with the customary welcome to what i hope to be a regularly updated blog , but rather what i know could well be the last post on this page, i would like to remind the one poor soul who might end up here... "you can find better blogs to spend your 5 mins" :). for the other soul that chooses to press on... you will find 20 virgins waiting in heaven for having humored this author :).you can believe that i will try to make ur suffering less miserable, but then of course u can be tricked into believing anything if you bought that 20 virgins thing ....

shri