What is patriotism? Now, that’s one question which has hounded us for a long time now. After waves of strong xenophobic sentiments and sometimes even complete indifference, Indians face yet another definition of the same heavy duty term. Amman Madan, a professor of IIT Kanpur, puts forth:

a) Patriotism is not based upon kinship. So, in the modern Indian context it has to be different from the love for one’s community, unlike the ancient and medieval times.

b) The feeling of patriotism comes from the idea of a nation and its central institution.

In other words, Madan finds the definition of ‘patriotism’ in the current times. The feeling is the same but the definition keeps on evolving to attune itself to the social context. He quotes the example of USA, which apparently is a melting pot of identities. If we forget the famous superiority complex of the Americans, we will see the depth in Madan’s words. The man sees Indian patriotism as a strong influence that overcomes all the boundaries of caste, creed and religion to combine everyone born on the Indian land as the citizens of India. But he doesn’t stop there. He says we can always develop a sense of identification, a feeling of brotherhood without melting in a pot!

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Barbers in India go a long way in history. Perhaps, that’s the reason why our friend caught fancy of one of them at the unimaginatively titled Barber Shop in Dallas. Non-Indians will be quite fascinated by the concept, but barbers also called ‘nai’ in Hindi hav always been close associates of those in power. Imagine a King who is too busy fighting, winning and ruling his kingdom. Well, he barely has time for his wife forget anything else. But there is one activity that he always indulges in and that is getting his haircut.

During the exercise, a commoner (the barber, of course) is brought into close contact with the ruler. Now, the two will definitely share a few words and with that promising beginning, the two usually hit it off pretty well together. As a result, the King ends up sharing his deepest feelings with the nai, sometimes even the dark and gory ones. Most of the times, the nai was happy just being patronized by “His Highness” but there were instance more than only few, where the barber thought of trading the King’s secrets with his enemies for rich favors. And so, the hair stylist influenced the politics of power in the days of yore.

Via BlogBharti

 
Not much has been written about John Coltrane in the recent past, but that does not mean the man’s music is not taken sincerely anymore. Actually, so much has already been written about Coltrane that there isn’t much left for writers like me to talk about. Hmmm…well, yes there are a few Trane tunes I feel should have got more recognition than they did. His rendition of Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Lush Life” is truly the best version ever. Even “Central Park West” is a wonderful tune in its original form though Joe Lovano later topped it. And of course, who can ignore the title cut called “Traneing in” from the 1957 session Coltrane had with pianist Red Garland.
For the uninitiated, John Coltrane and Red Garland were a part of Miles Davis’ quintet in the mid-fifties. But side by side Trane was out of it and spent time woodshedding under Thelonius Monk. Red too headed his own little trio on the side, comprising Paul Chambers and Art Taylor who later joined Davis.
One can actually point at a heap of tracks from John Coltrane’s later career that made him reach great heights. Fans found a new grooviness in them, which was missing, in his early numbers.
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Who must have not heard of the much respected and the much trusted name of Britannica Encyclopaedia? Well, the brand is planning to dust off itself to attune the processes of their working to meet the demands and requirements of the savvy reader. With that in mind, Britannica has launched itself into the blogosphere. Most would feel slightly awkward with a decision like that considering the long history of factual authority and cool-headed objectivity that follows Britannica. For me, it would indeed be very interesting to see this brandname with the reputation it has to throw off-the-cuff commentary and discussion-generating observations at the readers.
But the buzz is that Britannica has already begun to prove that its union with the world of blogs is awkward only in theory. Yes, the encyclopaedia is pulling prominent voices from various fields to promise an intelligent range of entries ranging from music to international affairs to ‘Diana and the Cult of Celebrity’.
Britannica’s education section will have regular posts from sharp-sighted brains like Joanne Jacobs and Karin Chenoweth. Yes, I do know it is great news for educators who wish to weigh in on current issues dominating their field.
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The most conventional myth that overruns the west with regard to working in India goes as, ‘one has to unlearn a lot of the wisdom that you have acquired while in working in the west’. Endless articles have been written preaching and analyzing the same. There was one written on the cultural differences between east (read India) and the west. Quite a strange khichdi (that’s an Indian term for ‘a mix’), nai?

The article I am talking about here went at length about the hierarchical nature of business in India and why one should not try and change it. Interestingly, it quoted that any attempt to do so will be seriously frustrating. But then what about the new India with a 9% growth in GDP and all the IT professionals wracking their brains all day and all night? Agreed, an empowered, flat structure with no hierarchy would be the ideal western dream for India. But don’t you think, we are getting there? I would be lying if I say that Indian business is not about hierarchy but then I would also be lying when I say that situation isn’t changing drastically.

Via BlogBharti

The world has caught scent of the professional disagreement between INX CEO Peter Mukerjea and famous journalist and columnist Vir Sanghvi. Agreed, the two released a joint statement saying that they will resolve the differences in good faith. However, the buzz is that Mukerjea has already started scouting for a new chief executive officer for his news channel NewsX.

The core of the problems lie in the opposite point of views of Peter’s wife Indrani and Vir regarding the presentation of news on the upcoming channel.
Insiders reveal that even the delay in the launch of the channel is perhaps because of the inefficient executives lined up by Indrani. Also, Vir is not being allowed to function independently. On top of all this, Vir’s parting from the channel is still not very clear as he holds a 3% stake in INX News.

Wonder what the true picture is. Only one thing is evident, that the mudslinging is getting dirtier. I guess, we’ll just have to wait and watch for the volley of words between the new baron Vir and his counterparts, a famous TV producer couple.

Via Livemint

Husbands harassed by their wives under false dowry charges have finally, yelled “charge” as we saw in the recent incident in Bangalore almost a week ago. The banner accompanying them says ‘Save Indian Family Foundation’. For the uninitiated, it is a seven years old organization and has 8000 members.

It has been found that are increasingly being falsely implicated under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and anti-dowry law (of 498a). These Acts have been found to be draconian as they are “non-bailable, non-compoundable (complaint that can’t be quashed) and cognizable (arrests without investigation or warrants) on a report from a woman or close relative. In fact, they have been compared to the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act as it is cognizable. Mind you, POTA was scrapped.
Of course, women groups are refusing to compromise because the crime bureau reports every second Indian woman commits suicide because of dowry demands. However, the time has come when men are not taking things quiet. Why should they when they are being battered by the law without a fault of theirs. A very tricky situation for the law of our country to be in, that too because of those who love to “misuse”.

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Rajat, a school kid, is reminded of his English teacher each time he sees the ‘Bum Bhole’ song of ‘Taare Zameen Par’. And like in the movie, Rajat’s teacher was not liked by the school authorities because of his teaching methods.

Despite the decades that have gone by, I still remember studying…naah…enjoying a poem called ‘The Frog and the Nightingale by Vikram Seth in our textbook. The reason I remember it still is because of my teacher and the fun he added to Seth’s writing style. He enacted the poem and became the frog as well as the nightingale. Imagine, a fully grown man jumping around like a frog in the class so that his students can enjoy and understand better. His classes were always so much fun. I loved studying drama the most as his voice changed with the tenor of statement and that of the character. Yeah, there was a play with an android in it and guess what, he even spoke like a robot whenever he read the android’s lines. His classes were never boring and I remember that I always played complete attention when he was teaching. I think it’s true when they, all study and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

Via BlogBharti

I can’t believe an NDTV production could be so disappointing! Yeah you guessed it right; I AM talking about NDTV Imagine. No, I didn’t have to pay an extra fee for the subscription as it came as a part of the Tata Sky package. Imagine my ordeal when it began with the super-tiring ‘Shava Shava’. I can’t imagine why Simi Garewal and Karan Johar agreed to form the jury when it has unoriginally been taken off from ‘Nach Baliye’ but this time with vocal chords. But that wasn’t all as ‘Ramayana’ followed soon after.

Imagine an orangey-yellow screen haunting you. The actors can’t act to save their lives and the characterization is nothing but weird. I missed the dignity in the mythological characters. Indeed, it is nothing but a poor cousin to Ramanand Sagar’s efforts that we witnessed decades ago.

Saroj Khan’s ‘Nachle Ve’ was the only saving grace. It is a show where Saroj Khan teaches absolute novices how to dance. It was great fun to watch the mistress of dances add spunk to a non-imaginative NDTV Imagine with her witty comments and observations. No doubt audience love her both onscreen and behind the screen. The best part is that Saroj Khan doesn’t spare anyone when it comes to giving her 2 cents even if you are Sunny Deol paaji or Sanjay Dutt.

YouthCurry

Disney hosted a special screening of their latest offering ‘The Aristocats’ at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Similar to a previous film by Disney that went by the name ‘Lady and the Tramp’ fifteen years earlier, the film’s a bagful of fun. Yes, ‘The Aristicats’ has a cat and her three kittens living happily in a plush mansion. Soon we witness the dying owner of the cats leave all her riches for them in a will and nothing to her butler. So, the vindictive butler kidnaps the cats and abandons them in the middle of nowhere. And here begins the adventurous journey of the feline creatures back home with the help of an alley cat.

All in all, the film is an assured fun ride that you will like taking with family. The animation is stylish and the characters are funny and full of life which will make them endearing to everyone. The new release features a virtual kitten game, a nostalgic behind-the-scenes featurette that showcases the music of the immortal Sherman Brothers, a deleted song, and much more.

Via Amazon