Two Ls

I have had this favourite phrase 'Americans are bad at two things, Liquor and Literature'. About both, my conviction has been proved right again and again. Recently my friend recommended Catcher In the Rye by J D Salinger. I tried reading the book despite the warning that it's Bill Gates' favourite. I couldn't go past 30 pages. I didn't know where the story was going and since it was about world in the eyes of a cynical loser, I found myself asking, what's the point?

Another friend was shocked when I told him I haven't read To Kill a Mocking Bird. Well, to be fair, I did try. I couldn't follow the weird slang-tinged language, which was a major deterrent. Later I went in for a compromise and saw the movie. After watching it, I realised something. Americans get very pretentious when they get serious. To Kill a Mocking Bird attempts to say something but it takes itself quite seriously and hence comes across quite shallow and pretentious.

The writers who have affected me deeply were French, British and of course Indians. Till I turned 25, I did not know Roger Waters (and Syd Barret) is English. And when I heard even ColdPlan is a British band, I squealed and said 'no wonder'! I used to find Erica Jong amusing but grew out of her quite quickly. On the other hand, I still find Maugham relevant and get goosebumps when I re-read Herman Hesse.

And, just for the records, I don't like Bourbone.

Genuine questions



Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) was innuagurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week. Sonia Gandhi and Karunanithi were the cheif guests. V. Gopalsamy who fought for the project for years was not even invited as Karunanidhi wanted to hod the limelight all by himself. Jayalalitha boycotted the event. What I want to talk is not about the Sethu politics but the project itself.

Technically it's not Sethusamuthram but Sethu Canal, as in Suez Canal. If you were wondering, SSCP is a new project approved by central government which is touted to redefine the economy of South Eastern Tamil Nadu. SSCP envisages dredging of a ship channel across the Palk Straits between India and Srilanka so that ships sailing between the east and west coasts of India can use India's territorial waters, instead of having to circumvent Sri Lanka. This will save upto 424 nautical miles (780 Km) and upto to 30 hours in sailing time.

As idealistic and profitable as this project seems, it's basically wrought with a lot of inherent issues. Despite the tall claims made in the government Web site, many issues are not even considered in the project study.

1. The ships circumventing Sri Lanka currently use Colombo as a temporary base. Post Sethu, they may have to use Tuticorin Port but Tuticorin Port does not have capacity nor infrastructure to manage these ships.
2. The Palk Straits will be deepened to clear the shallow waters. This is not a one-time investment. The sand beds will reform and they have to be cleared again. This will be an ongoing maintenance work. This is neither factored nor budgeted in the project.
3. The deepening of the straits will negatively impact the occeanic life immensely. This will have some unexpected ecological turnabouts. This may not be a good news for an already tsunami affected south-eastern coast.
4. Changes in occeanic life will also impact the fishing business. There are close to five lach fisher-folk dependent on the project-affected area.
5. As must as this project will help international ships from saving money by cutting travel time, there is no saying how much will they be charged for using the canal (like a toll) and what will be the difference between saving fuel costs vis-a-vis the toll. Refer to a Hindu essay on the feasibility
6. There is no cost-benefit analysis or ROI done for this project and also how the project-affected (like fishermen) will be compensated.

After reading this, you may have a very genuine question. If all this were even half-true, why are our politicians so gung-ho about this project and why are they going ahead with it? Our policy makers aren't ignorant to these observations. During the innauguration, T. R. Baalu, the Minister for Shipping was quite rhetoric calling those doubting the project as anti-development.

I can't help recalling Sardar Sarovar Dam project in Narmada valley. The people who opposed the dam were/are called traitors, unpatriotic or anti-development.

But the questions still remain unanswered.

Till date, the governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have not answered the pertinent questions on resettlement, deforestation, desilting and other econological impacts of Sardar Sarovar project. Instead, those who raised the questions were called backwards. The same is happening with Sethusamuthram.

Then why are they still going for it? SSCP is going to cost some 2233 crores. Imagine the number of contracts and tenders and businesses it will generate and how much money can be made by these ministers and political parties concerned. Ten years later, who is really going to be bothered if Sardar Sarovar or Sethu bomb miserably?

Basically who cares?

Pottermania



Yes, I haven't read a single instalment of Harry Potter. But for now, I'm enjoying reading all the news about the latest Potter book. That's because I find the whole thing hugely amusing and with a child-like curiosity I'm lapping it all up. For instance, I don't know how to digest the news that someone has sold five million copies of her book within an afternoon of releasing it. I've read a lot of best sellers in my life and used to be excited when I see the boldfaced and big-lettered 'MILLION COPIES IN PRINT!' on the cover. That basically means that world-wide, all translations included, the book has a million copies in warehouse to be sold in another few years. As an aspiring writer, I'd be a runaway hit if I manage to sell a lach copies in India.

I read news that are quite exciting and can't help wondering what if my book were the subject of this news. Amazon registers 1.5 million fully paid pre-orders. One month before the release, the book enters number 1 in the bestseller list. An army security is organised for the trucks transporting the copies. The bookstores sign an agreement with the publisher for not releasing the copies before 12.01 am of the release date. An adolescent commits suicide on the rumours of who dies in the sixth instalment. This who dies itself has become a sensation and on the release date at least three people have asked me if I have the information knowing fully well that I haven't read even one page. The Regional Director of Microsoft who is on a visit to our office can't wait for the meeting to get over so that he can take a cab to Landmark to pick up his copy. The kid who has pre-ordered a copy wants to go with a security gaurd on the release date because of the fear that he will be robbed off his copy!

Still, I haven't even touched the surface of the enormity of the Pottermania. The religious fervers of Star Wars, Rajinikanth, Windows 95 or even Ford Mustang come nowhere near the magic wowen by J K Rowling. How many out of sheer love for the book and how many out of the pressure to be part of one of the biggest events of the year. But it's actually immaterial. It's a very commendable thing it's not a movie, a computer game or a rock show but a 650 page book that's attracting such a following, even if the book is about a worn-out underdog-orphaned boy in the neighbourhood who turns into a 'Chosen One' magical wizard. I know it's a sacrilege saying this and my apologies to the cultists. Ater all, I'm an unbeliever.

I went through the site of Rowling and the sheer arrogance of being the richest woman in Britain is brimming through her words. Albeit understandably. I don't know if I'll even communicate with my fans if I were selling five million copies in a morning. The fever and the rush is so infectious and also after getting that unbearably insulting look with the words 'Oh, you haven't read Potter?' from my friend, I just can't wait to go to the library to rent the philosopher's stone.

Life, Rock and Roll and a Movie



There are great movies, classics and then there are personal favorites. I have my own list of personal favorites, of them some are not commercially or critically successful. For instance, I don't think there can be a movie that's better than Monster's Ball. In this list, I have recently added Almost Famous. I am not sure if it was a hit or won any awards other than a couple of Golden Globes. But I simply fell in love for a lot of reasons. Like, this movie

* is about 60s America, my favorite period
* is about Rock and Roll, my favorite music
* is a semi-road flick, my favorite theme again. I don't remember a single road movie that I have not liked
* is about a teen-journalist traveling with a rock band to write a cover for Rolling Stone
* is full of clippings from Simon & Garfunkel to Ozzy to The Who. Boy, can't ask for more!

Above all these, this movie is fun yet very sensitively treated and on certain layers, talks about insecurities of a society in transformation. The sixtees America was arguably one of the most rapidly changing societies and such change was wrought with insecurities at various strata. This movie subtly deals with many of them, from parenthood to love to friendship, quite mockingly at times. There are even very existentialistic tones on what is a 'real' society from the point of a pot-induced psychedelic one. There's this line where a lead-singer from the band Stillwater says 'Rock and Roll can save the world!'. How true!

Shah Bano - After 27 years



After the last posting, when some readers wanted to know who Shah Bano is, I bitterly realised that many haven't heard about this case. I consider the event to be immensely important to our Post-Independence History, I thought I'll open the old wounds.

Shah Bano, a 62 year old Muslim woman and mother of five from Indore, Madhya Pradesh was divorced by her husband in 1978. The Muslim personal law allows the husband to do this without his wife's agreement. She tried to get maintenance through Indian court system, and seven years later her case reached the Supreme Court. Maintenance is an area of the law that falls under the personal codes, and Muslim law does not entitle women to ongoign maintenance. A divorced Muslim woman is entitled to her mehr, which is a payment to her from her husband at the time of marriage, and three months of maintenance. Following that, her family and community may help to support her.

When Shah Bano's case reached the Supreme Court in 1985, the court ruled in favour of the estranged woman and ordered her husband to pay her maintenance. The controversy and subsequently the riot erupted. The whole of Islamic community thought this was an injustice and the Judge -who was a 'Hindu'- adding a statement along with the verdict that 'the time has come to take a good look at common civil code to avoid such dilemmas' made them enraged.

The dilemma actually was passed onto Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. He was just back from a huge scar left on him because of the Delhi riots that killed more than 3000 sikhs. He didn't want to rub another minority community on the wrong. But in order to overrule the Supreme Court verdict, a bill with two third majority in parliament is required. Rajiv Gandhi, using his mammoth majority of 401/508 MPs, passed Muslim Women's bill that overruled the Supreme Court rule and brought in Sharia to contitution. According to this bill, a Muslim man divorcing his wife does not have to pay any maintenance other than the regulatory three months alimony prescribed by Islam.

The riots subsided but the controversy continues. This brought in a huge divide between the Hindus and Muslims and especially the radical right-wing BJP which was already on the rise due to its Ram Temple campaign gained huge inroads into the enraged Hindu bastion in North India.

For more on the case and specific legal details, visit Shah Bano page from University of Cicinnati site site.

One fatwa and three seculars

As Arundhati Roy says 'Crisis is a fast food commodity'. It has to be bought, packaged and sold quickly and you must move on. The media doesn't run after stories. They run after crisis.

The latest flavour seems to be the word Imrana. Those who came in late, Imrana a poor muslim wife was raped by her father-in-law. The rapist is now languishing in jail while the Diobandh Muslim Law Board has slapped a fatwa on Imrana. Since she has been 'had' by a man other than her husband, Imrana has become 'haraam', that's unclean so she has become unfit to be a wife. Now if that's not worse, since she has been 'had' by her the husband's father, she should treat him as her 'son'.

No, please don't laugh and it's not a joke. Now Imrana can't live with her husband and because of the controvery and community pressure she has decided to accept the fatwa and now is on the streets with her three kids because her new 'husband' is in jail. A woman will be able to fathom the enormity of the torture than I. But I guess I'm sensitive enough to be agitated by this.

BJP made the noise first, which was understandable. As the secular media put it, 'The muslim law boards and ulemas are 'giving' the Sangh-Parivar a stick by these announcements'. Well you need to read it carefully. The Ulemas' mistake is not slapping the 'fatwa' but 'giving' a stick to BJP. That's a bigger mistake.

And where are the other 'secularists'? Mulayam Singh Yadav, one of the secular torch-bearers, who proudly calls himself 'Mulla Mulayam', has already endorsed the fatwa. He feels 'sad' for the woman but adhering to the religious principles is more important than, than what? Well, than anything. And the next torch-bearer, Lalu Yadav whom intellectuals like Vinod Mehta supports because he is 'secular', is conspicously silent on the issue.

And, and, the biggest secularists of them all, the Congress party is acting as if such an event has never happened. Grija Vyas, the spokesperson simply refused to comment in front of the camera. As if 'No Comments' is some sort of protest against that religious atrocity.

Secularism has long since come to mean Hindu-bashing. Any atrocity of Islamic institution has to be endorsed and even given an official seal such as in the Shah Banu case. It can harm economy such as family planning, it can endorse male-chauvinism, such as Sha Banu or Imrana, or it can promote terrorism such as scrapping POTA. However, any lame request by BJP has to be termed as 'communal' and brand them 'untouchables'.

Some months back, when I wrote a small piece stating I voted for BJP because they are less hypocrites than Congress. I was ripped apart by the self-professed seculars around me. May all those secularists please come out of their closet and explain the congress stand on Imrana?

Thiruvasagam in Symphonic Oratorio

Thiruvasagam in Symphonic Oratorio, Composer and Orchestrator: Ilaiyaraaja, Conductor: Laszlo Kovacs, Orchestra: Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Publisher: Tamil Maiyam



For an Indian, Ilaiyaraja does not require any introduction. Non-Indians, please visit his site to learn more.

Thiruvasagam is a collection of classical hyms in Tamil written by a twelth century Saint called Manickavasagar. The album is a symphonic adaptation of the ancient literary text. The Tamil and English verses are seamlessly blended into the western classical with ample Hungarian choruses adding to that enigmatic effect of the mood.

Now the back story. Raaja, began as a film music composer, has been, in his own hadwork and passion, evolved beyond simply writing and orchestrating 'running-around-the-tree' songs. He innovated with carnatic classicals, created new ragas and ventured to write western classical pieces. He made certain valiant yet half-hearted shot at western/classical fusions in the past.

Some years ago, he made waves by announcing that he has composed a symphony which will be conducted by the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The whole of Tamilnadu erupted with joy at the thought that the first Asian to ever compose a western symphony was a Tamilian. The joy, though didn't last long as the 'symphony' never got released and there were mixed reports about the validity of the composition. Raaja then began evading questions on the symphony. Then, a kid called A R Rahman stormed in, swept everyone off their feet and the new era of Indian music was born. Subsequently Raaja's fame waned.

I -as an ardent fan of Raaja- was and is still upset with him for not hanging his boots. I would rather have preferred him to continue his experiments and focused on symphonic compositions rather than trying to prove a point with Rahman.

Well, it seems that he has got the hint finally. His 'Thiruvasagam', thankfully is not a symphony. It's technically an Oratorio. The hyms are sung by Raaja himself with chorus from the Symphony Orchestra. The English verses of the hyms and certain choruses are breathtaking. Raaja's soothing violins, which lost their magic in the 90s are back with their magical touch. There are certain moments in this piece that may give you goosebumps. And I had tears rolling in the last number where Raaja actually enacts discovering an orchestra and attempting to fit in a Tamil verse within the symphony format. That's what you call a genius stuff. The sound is fresh and the blend of western in an ancient text is simply brilliant.

And mind you, this music is not done using a computer with couple of synthesisers and edited with SoundForge. It's a real music written with real notes and conducted using real instruments by the real people. And such an event is a rarity in today's India. In the sad, gloomy days of ear-numbing synthesised sound being dished out as music from sound engineers who call themselves composers, blending two different centuries of two different corners of the world takes hardwork, passion and more importantly, genius. Listening to this album proves that there's still hope left in this world. Welcome back Raaja.