I'm patriotic but not nationalistic

For those who don't know - nationalism means excessive patriotism bordering on chauvinism. A belief that one's country and its ways are sacrosanct and criticizing them is unpatriotic. Of course, I have provided you the liberal's definition. For a politically conservative person, the lines between patriotism and nationalism are blurred as it is one and the same thing for them!

I love my country, but there are lots of things that I feel ashamed about and that does not make me unpatriotic. It just shows that I care enough to be ashamed! Let me list a few of them and it is just the tip of the iceberg.

Female foeticide.
Approximately 50 million female foetuses are destroyed through abortion every year. That is 5 crore! I am not against abortion but definitely against sex selection. Add a million female infants being killed after they are born to that! What worries me is that mothers are very much a part of their decision, either because they have no choice or because they actually believe it is the right thing to do. Not only I am ashamed as an Indian but also as a person belonging to the other sex.

Dowry and the related deaths.
Pardon me as I don't have the stomach to research on the net as to how many such deaths get registered per year as it will leave me upset for a long time. Forget the deaths, the concept of dowry itself is nauseating - the woman is an added burden to the family so she should bring the appropriate compensation with her! This is not only restricted to villages as I see people in the city proudly carrying it out as a part of 'tradition'.

Honour killings.
Killing your own children to preserve your honour because they have dared to love someone against your wishes. Isn't murdering your children the most dishonourable thing to do? What's so precious about one's stupid honour anyway?

Caste based politics.
Voters being stupid enough to vote for someone belonging to the same caste as theirs even though they have been kept hungry and poor for 5 years by that same person! Let's face it there is NO "Unity in Diversity" in India. We are a prejudiced people*.The spinoff to such politics is reservations for the 'oppressed' community thereby killing merit!

Attitudes towards women.
We all know how backward are villages are and heinous crimes are committed against women. Personally, I have not been to any villages so I can tell you what I see in cities and it still is not a good picture. I know families in cities who are prejudiced against a working woman because it is against the 'culture'. I know of my female friends who seem modern but end up calling their husbands as 'aap' or 'tammey' (Gujarati) after marriage and/or give up their shining, promising careers! According to me, the undertone of 80-90% of families in cities too is that women are the weaker sex and should be treated that way.** It goes to show how insecure we Indian men can be not to let the women in our lives be treated the same way as us, lest they outshine us!

Aukaat
The obsession with status! The compulsion to talk rudely to people belonging to a supposedly 'lower' status than you or the compulsion to genuflect to someone with a 'higher' status. It makes my blood boil seeing people self-righteously talking rudely to waiters, drivers, etc. It saddens me to see bus conductors, watchmen and peons looking surprised when I talk nicely to them!

The list is endless!

I haven't added corruption to the list as that happens everywhere and is not unique to India.

Let us not get nationalistic and be proud of our country by only looking at its GDP growth, the number of billionaires, the film industry or the fact that we invented the zero and the decimal system. Let us also be aware of the darker side of our worn out customs, traditions and attitudes! And let us do our bit to eradicate these flaws.

*-see Racist Indians
**-see Bharatiya Naari Kismat ki Maari

Why "Commonwealth"?

I'm pretty sure we are all going to make a fool of ourselves in the upcoming commonwealth games that we are hosting. We should stop fooling ourselves to believe that we can actually pull it off! What bothers me more is the Rs. 80,000/- odd crore* we are spending on it. We've got to accept that we still are a poor country and money spent on some sporting event which is hardly going to be watched could rather be spent on development of naxal affected districts!

Anyway, that is not what I want to primarily talk about. My main objection is with the word "Commonwealth". Inspite of the British Empire which ruled half the world being reduced to a tiny island, we still want to bow down to their Queen and be called her majesty's "Commonwealth".

Apart from 2 countries, all other countries which were once part of the British commonwealth take part in this event. I ask why give such significance to the British Empire which has been dismantled decades ago? Why still continue with these games when there is literally no "Commonwealth" left. Why should we let a handful of uppity British folk who live in the past feel good about themselves that the countries they once ruled upon still want to be called a part of the "Commonwealth".

I know I am ranting and being repetitive but I strongly believe that these games should be discontinued and the money should be spent somewhere else!

* - Rs. 80K crore may not be the exact figure as I have taken it from another blog.

Two types of classics

This post is about movies that have been immortalized as 'classics'. Movies that people have a positive association with and can be watched over and over again. My insightful brain has done some analysis regarding such movies and has classified such classics into two mutually exclusive categories.

Also, before I present my analysis, let me inform you that restricted myself to Amitabh Bachchan movies so that I can keep it in context and hence it becomes easier to understand.

Category 1: Plot-heavy classics.
This includes movies whose storyline is very strong. The unravelling of the plot scene after scene creates excitement and generates interest. These are generally mentally stimulating movies which tell a good story. I would include movies like Don, Amar Akbar Anthony, Kala Patthar, Mr. Natwarlal, etc. All these movies had a thick plot and superb characterizations. I would go to the extent to say that such movies need to be kept on being remade in order to adapt to contemporary times - only superficial changes need to be made while the plot should remain intact. That is why I applaud the effort to remake Don - it showed the plot in a fresh light.

Category 2: Screenplay-heavy classics.
This includes movies whose scenes are immortalized. The dialogue delivery, the sequence of events and the dramatic timing are spruced up to perfection! Unlike the previous category, which is mentally stimulating, this category includes movies that are emotionally stimulating. I would include movies like Sholay, Deewar, Trishul, Zanjeer, etc. Dialogues like "Kitne aadmi the?" and "Mere paas maa hai!" tingle our senses even now! The plots in all these movies are pretty simple - it is just the handling of the plot from scene to scene that makes such movies stand out. Kindly note that the screenplay writers in all these movies was the duo - Salim-Javed who specialized in such classics. One non Amitabh Bachchan movie that simply needs to be mentioned here is the 1994 classic - Andaz Apna Apna. Thin plot but the scenes stand out. Such movies should never be remade - people will keep comparing them scene by scene with the original one and that can't be good. You cannot recreate a "Teja mai hoon, Mark idhar hai" or a "Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti?".

Now let me take my analysis further and explain why a particular classic cannot fit into both categories. If the plot is heavy and the director wants the audience to follow the story - a highly dramatic scene might derail the viewer's thought process. Do notice how Zeenat Aman's character is shown to quickly get over her brother's death and start training to fight in the movie Don - things need to happen quickly in such movies to keep the viewer engaged.

On the other hand, if the plot too simplistic, the only thing that can save the movie are impact producing dialogues, comic timing and a high confrontational drama content.