The Ballad of D K Bose
For the poetic genius please listen to the ‘Bhaag DK Bose Aandhi Aayee’ song from the movie Delhi Belly
Bose is a very common and popular surname in these parts of the world. One is quickly reminded of the great Indian Revolutionary and founder of Indian National Army, Subhash Chandra Bose.Another famous name is J C Bose-an eminent Indian scientist, with notable contributions to radio and microwave optics, and also to plant science. In the west, Bose is the name associated with probably the best kind of speakers you can find. And here comes D K Bose, who beats the popularity of all those boring sounding names I rattled on before.
I will not attempt to write the full name, or even guess what gender this name belongs to. For simplicity, and since everything inexplicable in this world like ‘God’ or ‘Satan’ is a male, let DK Bose be so too. So who is DK Bose, or you may ask ‘What’ is DK Bose? The answer is simple, you, me, we all are DK Bose.
For years, Mr. Bose has been the quintessential expression of our own identities; albeit the suppressed ones. He has come to our rescue whenever we are in a pickle, and helped us channelise our frustrations-with society, relationships, academics, sports anything your poor soul can be easily tormented by. Originally belonging to the Northern Part of the country despite having a Bengali surname, DK Bose has seen his presence grow to the length and breadth of the India. It is still not sure in which century he did originate, but one thing is for sure that his legacy is going to remain timeless.
In the popular culture (by which I only mean Bollywood), DK Bose mad quite late an entry-Kya Kool Hain Hum in 2005. In this movie D.K. Bose lives in a bungalow in Malabar Hill and owns a Mercedes. But nothing can be farther away from such a whimsical portrayal. In reality, DK Bose is a beat down, neglected and looked down upon creature invoked only when a situation is so shitty that his presence becomes inevitable.
“Isn’t he Omnipresent”, would be a natural question as I claimed earlier that he is in all of us. I’d refrain from saying that, as it would end up comparing him to Him. The worrying fact is that today he seems to be on the lips of everybody, bachhce budhe aur jawaan in the form of an immensely popular Bollywood song. I remember as a kid we were forbade to sing some of Govinda’s songs because of certain ‘words’ in the lyrics. It was rather confusing- the parental censorship, and now just over a decade later the same words are part of our general vocabulary.
What this does is threaten the exclusivity with which we used to invoke DK Bose. What Bollywood and the Censor board are doing together is taking the sting away from all such unbridled expressions which used to convey our emotions in an unadulterated fashion. First Dharmendra took away the ‘Kutte’, then Vishal Bharadwaj generalised ‘Kaminey’ and now DK Bose.
All I can say now that it’s in our hands to preserve our Heritage. The loss of D K Bose is huge and the void will be difficult to fill. We must keep our MBCs (don’t ask, don’t tell) close to our heart, and not let the blood sucking -corporate lobby of film-making (Aamir Khan and his cronies) make crores out of exploiting our culture and heritage.
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Baba Baba Black Sheep
Disclaimer: This article is not about the popular Nursery Rhyme, so kids stay away as the contents may be harmful to your future.
So, Baba-‘I’ll bring back all the Black Money‘-Ramdev finally broke his fast. But not before dressing up in a Salwar Kameez a -la Chhatrapati Shivaji ( I apologise to everybody who think only from the Right side of their brains, especially some tiger shaped caricatures, for this ghastly comparison), and jumping in the sea of his drowsy followers -yeah, it wasn’t a Rock concert, and Ramdev is no Kurt Cobain either.
In fact I was hoping he did a Kurt Cobain, not by singing ‘Rape Me’ (although that’s what he literally dared the Govt. to do) but by actually ending his life fasting for a noble cause and making it much bigger and revolutionary just like what Cobain did to alternative music.
Baba Ramdev has disappointed me. While breaking his fast he said that his fight against corruption will continue till his ‘last breath’, and then excused himself to breathe some more. What a sham. I thought that at least a Yoga guru would have more stamina to last more than 9 days. Bhagat Singh and his fellow revolutionaries fasted for 64 days demanding equal rights for Indian and British political prisoners. Blame it on our Baba’s jet-set lifestyle, and the talk shows he has to attend with the Sambhavana Seths on Rajat Sharma’s Janata Ki Adalat, or his visits to his very own island in Scotland (gifted by a follower, before you scream ‘Black Money’).
This is what happens when you try to do a Jasmine revolution in Saffron. In India, if you as much as smell saffron you are termed as an RSS agent by the Grand Old Congress Party. The Badshah of Bullshit, Digvijay Singh has already branded the Baba as ‘Mahathug’ probably hurt by the steep Rs.50,000 fees (his own words) charged by Ramdev to teach Yoga . And what about our so called civil society-when Anna Hazare, with Gandhi’s Teeth and Nehru’s Cap, sat on a fast unto death at Jantar Mantar demanding –you won’t believe it-setting up yet another committee, the whole nation seemed to have suddenly discovered their collective consciousness and somehow convinced themselves that they can all be part of a revolution. And how, by relentlessly spamming our Facebook news feeds. And what did the Lazy Armchair Activism give us; yeah you are right, yet another committee.
Never trust a man with food whose main trick is making his stomach sticking to back bone, giving an impression there is none. Ramdev is now well advised to go back to his Yoga camp, and maybe lower the fees a little so that the Congress party workers (Read: Diggi Raja) can attend the same. As far as how the nation will perceive this event, well we don’t give a damn for the next 4 years; we have already won the World Cup, for Sachin of course.
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The Legacy of MF Husain
Yesterday will be remembered for the demise of the most familiar name on the Indian art scene, Maqbool Fida Husain, aged 95. What won’t be remembered by this generation will be his contribution to art and his eminence as an artist who began with humble means and ended up living in royalty in his exile homes in Dubai and Qatar.
In India, where the understanding and appreciation of art, and especially the avant-garde he had revolutionized is not so widespread, an artist has to rise above his work. Sadly, this generation will remember MF Husain for all the controversies his work attracted. Although his most controversial work was painting ‘Bharat Mata’ in Nude which attracted protests and threats from right-Wing Hindu group, he had managed to hurt the sentiments of some Muslim groups as well by allegedly lifting a direct verse from Quran in his movie ‘Meenaxi-A Tale of Three cities’.
This brings us to the question of what kind of legacy Husain would have left had these events-leading to protests, arrest warrants and his eventual exile to Qatar-not taken place in the first place. It’s true that I feel bad that India’s most celebrated artist didn’t get his dying wish fulfilled-of breathing his last in his birthplace, but at the same time I question his choices and his decisions.
I didn’t expect him to apologies to Hindus or Muslims or any others sect. In these times people can do anything in the name of freedom of speech. Arundhati Roy can advocate Kashmir’s secessation from India, Raj Thackerey can willfully evict North Indians from Mumbai; Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid can declare himself an ISI agent and dare the entire nation and so on. So Husain’s sin, if I can call it that, is no greater than these individuals who not only continue to live in this country but also have the luxury of declaring null and void the very fundamentals this great nation is built on.
Husain has done a great disservice to his craft in the eyes of this generation. The respect he would have commanded is all lost thanks to needless controversies he kept himself embroiled in till his death. The choice of living outside his home land was his own. If you want to stand up for what you believe, you don’t seek escape routes like this. There’s even a theory that he ‘escaped’ to avoid non bail able warrants which would have been issued against him. I don’t buy that since MF Husain was a huge figure and in this communal politics era, he would have found many backers against a Right wing attack.
I hope and wish that in future, maybe a couple of decades later MF Husain is remembered for what he was, a painter, a revolutionary artist and truly The ‘Picasso’ of India.
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Abolish Ministry of Railways?
In response to
Indian Railways is the best possible example of a pure public good and leaving it at the hands of private operators, even to the limited extent as the author suggests is a recipe for disaster. With all the Oil companies being nationalized and the subsequent deregulations all we are experiencing is very high prices.
If Indian Railways is privatized, the impact on the smaller and rural sectors will be huge. Just because of some political considerations we can’t take away/toy with a national asset like Railways. The ministry needs to be run more efficiently and that goes without saying. But looking at the recent track records of other ministries, like Telecom with its ultra-corporate outlook, we all know what that ends up in. The railways are probably the largest and last symbols of a socialist India, and giving up that would have serious consequences.
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The Govt. has made a mistake by taking on the people head on. The action they took hoping that it will end the movement against it, is inappropriate and will be counter-productive.
In India we have a proper judicial system which is now asking the govt. to explain its action. The present central govt. is in a weak position and hence there is no harmony among its constituents on terms of dealing with issues like black money or corruption.
Govt.’s message is clear-we are ready to adopt cheap and illegal antics to prevent people from destabilising it, and this will only strengthen the opposition leading to the eventual demise of this corrupt and inefficient government
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The Ravindra Jadeja question
For the last several months, every time India plays a one day match, there’s one question on everybody’s mind, whether Ravindra Jadeja is in the playing eleven or not. I must clarify that this doesn’t come from people who think he should play, which is generally the case-people worried about someone not being included in the line up. On the contrary, there are an ever growing number of people being shocked and surprised at his frequent selection and subsequent failure. As far as I remember following cricket, or at least in my generation, this kind of a response towards a player’s inclusion is unprecedented.
Indian cricket has done away with the practice of Zonal quota in team selection, so certainly his selection is not just for representation purpose. When it comes to merit, statistics don’t speak too highly of RJ either. Some think he’s in the team because of his slow bowling abilities, but a bowling average of 42+ hardly paints a flattering picture. As far as batting is concerned, his career is a typical example of missed opportunities. If he would have grabbed even half the chances that came across him, he’d have been a permanent member of the team, at least till World Cup 2011, and would have proudly filled the ever vacant all-rounder spot in the line-up.
As I write this, I am reminded that he already is a permanent feature in the Indian team. Since his debut in Feb,2009 he has already played 34 ODIs, scoring a meagre 535 runs at a more respectable average of 31.47, not too great for a number 7 batsman. So at least it’s not the statistics that makes the captain select him for every other match.
Every time India plays an ODI, I silently pray that I don’t have to see any more of him. Today (India-Sri Lanka Micromax Cup final) was one of those days. Unfortunately India lost, and for once RJ wasn’t directly responsible for it, or was he? Since he is our only all-rounder (in absence of a better term), and Dhoni decided we must have extra batting firepower, he had to make way for Rohit Sharma, who is an equally big failure-something we can probably discuss in another post altogether. But let’s stick to Jadeja for now.
We all remember Sachin’s epic 175 against Australia which was adjudged the best ODI knock of 2009, alas in a lost cause. India was well poised for a victory when Jadeja joined Sachin who was in swashbuckling form, and the batting power play was taken. The smart thing would have been to let Sachin play those overs, which would have probably brought his 200 as well, but that’s another matter. But quite inexplicably, RJ took it upon himself to play those power-play overs which brought down the scoring rate to a level that Sachin had to play the risky shot, which eventually cost him the wicket and India the match.
Jadeja along with his fellow young cricketers has mastered the art of getting out in most bizarre ways at most crucial junctures in a match. At no. 7 he could learn a lot from the way other finishers play their game and win.
A lot of people talk very highly of his bowling. He has indeed bowled some very nice spells, but match-winning? I don’t think so. He has taken wickets only as a support bowler. I am not sure whether his bowling could be credited with any Indian victory. And who would forget the 6 consecutive sixes off his bowling from the Aussies in the 20-20 world cup.
We all remember the slap gate of IPL 1, which cost Harbhajan Singh a 5 ODI matches ban. I was quite surprised that after being banned for the entire IPL 3 due to a contract breach (he was selling himself to another team while still under contract), it was business as usual for RJ when the international season started.
I personally feel that the young cricketers in India have been given too much protection, both by the BCCI and their franchisees resulting in totally unprofessional and irresponsible behaviour both off and on field. They don’t seem to put a price on their wicket or on their international careers.
Ravindra Jadeja stands for what is wrong in the way cricket is being ‘controlled’ in India by its big bosses. I think, for fans like me as players like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and Sehwag fade into their sunsets, so will the passion and love for this great game.
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Beggar and The Beauty
Poor Jamuna Das was a beggar
He begged and begged but never got bigger
His best friend was his aluminium plate
And they never let their job wait
Every morning both got together
And did what they had done forever
One day Jamuna was hungry
No one gave him anything that day
So, Jamuna was in dismay
But, as he passed by a big house
He saw its gates open
He hurried in with haste
And started munching the lawn grass with taste
Suddenly a beautiful lady came out
We were all set to hear a shout
But surprisingly she pitied him
Seeing this Jamuna’s eyes got wide
She said, “ Poor man, come inside”
Jamuna went inside with her
There he saw riches everywhere
‘Gold plated chairs, shiny floor of glass
Diamond studded curtains, and many a gold vase’
They reached the dining table
It was full of dishes in glassware
But the woman didn’t stop there
She stopped at the end of the house
Jamuna thought, “What’s going on?”
Then the lady said, pointing to the lawn
These are greener, softer; give them a try”
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My first flight..
I am back to writing here. Will try to be more regular now on. This post is about my first ‘aeroplane ride’. It was on 5th Oct I got the first chance to board an aircraft. Although the circumstances that forced me to take this flight were not something to be proud of as my grandfather is very ill and I had to visit him urgently. Thankfully he’s better now.
Coming back to the experience. As i said earlier I was pretty worried and preoccupied while I was undertaking the journey there wasn’t much excitement about travelling on a plane earlier on. But the moment I took my seat on the plane I realised its gonna be one hell of an experience so I better keep my eyes and ears open.
It was an Air Sahara flight to Patna from Bombay with a stopover in Lucknow. As expected there was a delay in the start and that was pretty irritating as the plane would do rounds and rounds and then stop. Finally it was ready for take off. When the plane was about to leave the runway its speed suddenly got increased to something like an F1 car ( I suppose!) . Then it took off to the clear blue sky. I gripped my seats tightly as the transition from being on land to flying in air was the first one I had experienced. I am someone who does not like getting on ‘rides’ in amusement parks o r even the giant wheel so you can understand what I was feeling then.
Before boarding the flight I had spent almost six hours on the airport. Only pastime there was to look at various kinds of people and of course the air hostesses topped the list. They were pretty good. But the flight was a disappointment in this respect. There were two guys attending on us. the other two airhostesses were for the business class passengers. That hardly mattered but. The airport ones were much better.
Now for the flight. It was one hell of an experience. when I looked at the ground below it just seemed that I was watching google Earth on my computer screen. But when I looked at the sky, it was a beautiful sight. I was literally flying in the clouds, or over them. When the plane would tilt, it seemed like there was sky above and sky below. Wonderful it was. I was like continuously looking out of the window.
The best part of the journey came when we were flying from Lucknow tp patna. At 40,000 feet we could clearly see the snow clad Himalayas. I would have mistook it for clouds had not my co traveller pointed out it for me. It was beautiful. Then when we closed in on Patna, the view of the Ganges was also too good. I didn’t know it was such a huge river.
The most scary moment in the ride for me was when the plane was just about to land in Lucknow. As the plane descended and came to the ground level things were fine. But as soon as the wheels touched the ground the plane started shaking. God it was terrifying. I initially thought that something was wrong, but when I looked around all other passengers were calm and cool. That was a real relief. And so the next time when the plane landed in Patna I was ready for it.
It was a three hour flight . I would rate the overall experience as a good one. I hope I get more such opportunities to ‘fly’, but certainly at lower fares.. More… later..
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Where art thou, my friend?
When rain drops trickle down
Wetting my face.
It reminds me of an old friend
Who was there with me, always.
Eternity had blessed me
That I discovered him.
He was there with me, ever.
No, it was not a whim.
We spent time together,
Laughed and enjoyed life.
And prayed not to be separated,
Even when our time was ripe.
But suddenly it came one day,
‘Separation’ was the devil.
“Where art thou, my friend”, I cry
And curse that deadly evil.
Now the only prayer that rings in my heart
When I think of thee.
Is, O my dear, lost friend,
“Never forget me”.
Copyright ©2006 Sushmit Nath
Filed under: My Poems | 2 Comments
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