Slum,dogs indeed

The Slumdog kids are back home.

Life is still the same, no glitz.... no glamour. They tasted honey for a few days, and then the rug was yanked off their feet.

I wrote a letter to Gulf News on how our patriotic Indians took note of this film being very derogatory to Indians and India as a whole. They said Indians lead better lives than what was portrayed. That calling them 'slumdog' was itself insulting. The slums were not like how it was shot in the film.

Then why were there slums? Why did they keep growing in size? Why does Dharavi still hold its long standing record?. Why can't we do something about it?

Why should we? Would helping slum dwellers help us? Would it help change the economy? They were meant to live and die there, so let them be. Remember how the beatles song goes?...

Let it be, let it be...There will be an answer, let it be.

So now the kids are back, back to their lives in the slums. The report here tells of a very tragic case of 2 heartbroken kids who have no more dreams that can be fulfilled. Their lives are the same. They still wear their Oscar clothes.

The Oscars are over, the curtains have drawn to a close.

They still remain the slumdogs that they were. Bravo to all the indians out there, you have made them remain the dogs that they are while paying lip service to them about being verbally insulted....

Two-faced poker-faced Indians, I salute you.

Bidding adieu

I took each small step one at a time. But each step would only fall in the bigger footprints of what others tread.

When I look back at my life, I realise the small steps I took in a different direction, because I'd always felt different. Even when I was a kid, and even now at 26.

I've begun to notice the general flow of things. Of life. Of friendships. Of Work. Of satisfaction. Goals. Aspirations. Ambitions.

I've just broken away from a friendship; rather a friendship that just faded away with the passage of time. Ego's clashed, heated arguments followed, but it couldn;t bring back the good times we'd had before.

I'd always kept reality far away from me. So far that I forgot how nasty it could be when it struck my life with all of its impact. I believe we all live happy, guilt free lives until reality comes in to give us the popular check up.

I've made the decision to keep it where it's always been. Somewhere in the back of my mind. We can have endless check ups later, but I do want to cherish the good times whenever they come by. Should I look at some issue through the eyes of a sinister person? It would've helped if the results of pure logic didn't sting that bad. But then, it usually does, after all the damage has been done.

I don't know how to take the step ahead. For every step brings me nothing but despair. As much as I'd like to savour the good times this new direction could bring forth, I dread the aftermath.

I usually am the afermath. To me, everythings had to have an end. I've never been a tight rope walker, and never will be.

So here's to the good times; times I'll always cherish.

I bid adieu to this friendship I had, and wish myself some luck, happiness, and love to my next rendezvous in a new friendship, however short it might be.

Win.....a bottle of water!

A free t-shirt?
Nope.
A free cap?
Nope.
A free bottle of Jeema water worth a whopping 1 Dh. after redeeming 100 Cash points?
Yikes!

WWII Posters

One of the many solutions to reduce traffic in Dubai, stick this on your back windshield!





We never knew about this...



Yep..Rumsfeld sure did, brotha!


My prediction...this will hold true a decade from now.



Exactly what the marines say....even now.


Bush Jr. is tired of this question.


All images courtesy of International Poster

The Big Apple. Everyone's welcome to take a bite.

Not for Ahmad Razvi, a Pakistani immigrant who's the protagonist of .'Man Push Cart', an obscure indie production which has bagged a couple of awards already.

Ahmad's a bagel cart worker, who pushes his cart through the streets of NYC for several blocks in the wee hours of the morning. The film begins very much like "Taxi Driver", but is shot 'documentary' style. Ahmad's trying to make ends meet through difficult circumstances. His wife expired a year back and his son stays at his in-laws home, with their patience running out as each day goes by. Ahmads in need of some home so that he can stop being a freeloader from the very people who would have been his family had his wife not deceased.

What makes it even difficult for Ahmad is that a customer recognises his past. Being a victim of the myriad ways of fate, Ahmad tries his best to forget his days back home in Pakistan, where he was a successful singer. Catching glimpses of his wife and son under the tin cart he now spends his life in...the past offers little solace to the customer who now steps into his life. I wouldn't want to give out the ending, but it's a refreshing change from the usual hollywood tripe.

From the beautiful and refreshing views of NY, the thousands of people who flock the business capital with many a hope and dream, 'Man Push Cart' takes a step back and offers a view from the other side of the fence. The ego clashes, the apathy from daily co-workers and customers is shot in detail. This is not a movie that makes you delve into the realm of fantasyland. It's brutal, it's honest, and is a sympathetic view of Ahmads claustrophobic life.


After watching the film, I thought of the same person living life in Dubai, in the same circumstances.

Hot dogs and bagels in a tin cart?

What was I thinking.

Change the way you look at the world.

Says the tagline of the movie 'K-Pax'. Indeed it has for me.

The film released in 2001. There was a time when I used to drop in theatres solely on the name of the film, the usual college assignments always held me up..yada yada... I remember the theatre guy telling me that this was one helluva movie, the one I shouldn't ever miss. Baloney, that's what I thought when I heard of the name...it was hard not to watch a Kevin Spacey Movie, that too after the 'American Beauty' effect which hadn't still worn out of my friends VCD collections. But watching K-PAX...are you kidding me? What other PAXes can you get me?....that's exactly what I'd thought of....

Until yesterday, when a casual download of the movie literally dropped my jaw. I was completely blown away by the film. It truly is a masterpiece. Casting, cinematography, you name it...this movie is one which surely deserved a Golden Globe, if not an Oscar. The Oscars as of now have totally degenerated into somewhat of an ADD infested brain.

K-Pax, which I still find to be a horrible name for a movie to be christened with, is based on the Sci-fi novel by Gene Brewer. It's the story of an alien who visits earth to obtain information to take back to his home planet, K-Pax. Along the way he finds himself in a mental institution, befriends everyone there..a la One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, blurs the line between being an unbelievable delusional and an extra terrestrial in the human form. In his brief stay he exhibits a mixture of pure emotions, emotions only a human can express while satirically puncturing his comments with comparisons on humanity to K-Pax-ity, if you will. His pscyhiatrist, played by Jeff Bridges tries hard to find the chain of Mr. Prote (the alien) and his past life. For Jeff believes that this is a con act, a 'savant' in the making. Ultimately the heart warming finale leaves you breathless, it's one which which will keep you guessing till the very end.

K-Pax is a planet that has no laws because they all know right from wrong. They have no family structre, because it's futile as they look after everyones offsprings, there's no concept of 'mine' and 'yours'. Ones wishes are well known to others, so that they could 'co-ordinate' amongst themselves. And so much more, I wish to find more of in the novel.

What is so different about this movie?. What is it that makes it stand out?. What is it that makes me think about it all day?. It's the subtle underlying current of philosophy in the movie, which is so discrete. The casting, the cinematography, the background score. There is not a single wasted moment, not a single swear. No explosions. No excessive special effects. No religious mumbo jumbo. And what I most liked about it, was that the whole movie focused on Earth and humanity from a purely scientific view.

I'm so happy that Hollywood still produces such little known masterpieces. They are extremely rare to come by. With people not even giving such movies the customary lip-service...I find it distressing that people cannot understand simplicity.

Simplicity as in any art film is where the film 'falters' from a typical film fanatics view. It doesn't push anything down on you, its not excessively arty, and most imortant of all - theres no female lead. Its beyond comprehension how a novel could be brought to life in such vivid detail.

Right now I'm itching to get my hands on the novel. Someday when I get a Gold Credit Card, it'll be just an Amazon.com away. I guess.

You'd better not miss this movie for anything in the world. I'm glad I dug this one out.

Reality bites

GN is getting better at their articles. The irony it all was in the open within the very first line.
"I am ready to punch anyone ... who calls Mumbai rude," said Rekha Nigam from
Mumbai, now a Dubai resident.

Yes, finally, the truth is out. Much to the chagrin of fellow Indians who hate to be told the truth. It first began with this story on India topping the UNAIDS list. This was promptly followed by rebuttals, name calling, cannot compare-apples-to-oranges, India-haters, etc.

Now, Readers digest cliams that Mumbai is the worlds rudest city. Damn right, and I couldn't agree more. Besides, it isn't in our culture to help anyone. Except women that is. And make that fair women. The obsession for "extremely fair" women is accentuated by fellow Indians since the day they are born. Even the toothless 99 year old granny whom you've forgotten will have a special place for you in her heart (if you're the fair damsel), even if you can't remember what her name is. Enough of that psycho-analysis. But onto another psycho-analysis.

THE SELF DENIAL SYNDROME.

We come across it everyday. It exists and feeds on our guilt. We all have a self denial syndrome. But how many of us transfer this syndrome and make it a part of our nation?

The responses from Mumbaikars have been overwhelming. NYC is 'ruder', (insert any top city here) is much worse, etc. Why not agree with the truth. That it is rude, not because it wants to, because it has to.

Yes, it has to...

You see, we Indians are a sorry lot. We do not conduct business in a fair manner. We do not form relationships in a fair manner. We do not step up and say 'hello' in a fair manner. Why, a simple 'hello' on a trip somwhere is usually met with a scorn (fair damsel exceptions apply here). The scorn immediately dissolves once you prove that you:
(a) Aren't a salesman.
(b) Aren't a person in need of anything.
(c) Just wanna know the time.

Why don't we conduct business in a fair manner? Because if you did, you'd be the butt of jokes at the income tax office. It's mandatory to bounce / issue late cheques just to prove that you are indeed a tough nut to crack. If you ever commit the crime of being straightforward, be prepared to be knifed.

When it comes to relationships, its just a bloody extension of this too. 80% of us haven't married someone whom we were in love with. We marry expecting to fall in love. The dowry is usually large enough to forget about your significant other for a significant amount of time. Thats usually until her father starts using you as a doormat.

Mumbaikars have forgotten too much too soon. It wan't long back a street urchin was brutally raped within the gaze of many office goers on a public train at midnight. Not one person lifted a finger. It still is a practice to treat women like prostitutes if they are seen at bus stops or phone booths anytime after 8 pm. It still is a practice to push standing passengers off the train when its jampacked without an inch of space.

In all fairness, Reader Digest is right. But we aren't wrong. Don't we have to be rude in order to be macho and show our toughness? There was a time when I never was tough with kids, the kids you see on the street playing cricket. But times have changed. Even they would make an ass out of you if you smile at them. Chin up, no smile, a 1000 yard stare elicit subconscious admiration in the hearts of these little devils.

This is what I found out, the hard way.

There's nothing wrong in being rude when the system you inhabit is rude itself.

Lets keep that in mind, before you go 'punch' people up. After all, the tigers of Mumbai surface only on Valentines Day and thats when you could don a yellow panther thong and get yourself some justice.