Desi In Toronto

I think this article best explains the reaction of the Bush administration to the port’s scandal brewing in America.

Bush was the principal author, along with his straight-shooting Vice President, and now he is hoisted by his own fear-mongering propaganda. The basic hysteria was invented from risks of terrorism, enlarged ridiculously by the President’s open-ended claim that we are endangered everywhere and anywhere (he decides where). Anyone who resists that proposition is a coward or, worse, a subversive. We are enticed to believe we are fighting a new cold war. But are we? People are entitled to ask. Bush picked at their emotional wounds after 9/11 and encouraged them to imagine endless versions of even-larger danger. What if someone shipped a nuke into New York Harbor? Or poured anthrax in the drinking water? OK, a lot of Americans got scared, even people who ought to know better.

So why is the fearmonger-in-chief being so casual about this Dubai business?

Spoiler Warning!!! Plot details to follow. Stop now if you wish to see the movie.
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Imagine you are board a roller coaster, excited and looking forward to a thrill. And the ride doesn’t disappoint you. The ride is awesome; there are ups and downs and twists throughout the ride until for some inexplicable reason, after 80% of the ride is over, the roller coaster slows to a crawl and ends the fun long before the ride is ultimately over.

That’s how I felt.

The pieces were all set, the characters had been well defined, the story had reached to a crescendo and the “big” moment finally arrives in the movie and SPLAAAAAAAT. The movie falls flat on it’s face.

Please someone explain to me, why oh why was there a need for the protagonist and his friends to take law in their own hands and still be the “heroes” of the movie. And how the hell are their actions comparable to the freedom fighters of India?

Let me explain my dilemma a little better.

There was a movie from Bollywood recently called Yuva (Youth). The director did an excellent job in displaying the antipathy of the political class of India towards her citizens. This, by the way, is how Rang De Basanti starts off. In Yuva, the youth of India are portrayed by three main characters, the bad guy, the happy-go-lucky guy and the good guy, who are shown to react in different ways to the antipathy of the politicians. The bad guy wants to join the politicians and share their power, the happy-go-lucky guy wants to skip town and move to the US and the good guy wants to join politics and try and fight the politicians on their turf. The movie had an excellent closure where the three characters’ path intersect and the outcome is that the happy-go-lucky guy and the good guy join politics (there by scaring the daylights of the political system not used to educated people joining politics) and the bad guy is caught by the police.

Now that WAS an ending I was looking for in Rang De Basanti. But what happens is that the antipathetic politician is KILLED by the main characters in the movie!! The youth in this movie take law into their own hands and worst thing about the whole scenario is that the director wants to equate this action by the youth of 2005 with the actions of the young freedom fighters of 1930s!! It was over the top, sensationalistic and in very poor taste. That’s all the youth of India need to be taught right now…..kill politicians.

And how is this action comparable to what Bhagat Singh, Azad, Bismli and the other did in the 1930s? HOW? What they did was fight tyranny when there was no other discourse. The political leaders (the British) of the 1930s used the system to brutalize and suppress the citizens of India. The local population had no other choice in the 30s other than fight fire with fire (even though Gandhi showed that there is a better way than opposing a regime but that was to come almost a decade later). Now the situation is vastly
different. To begin with, India is a democratic state. Yes, it’s got it’s problems but the solution is within it’s citizen hands. The population needs to be more educated about the politicians who run the show and vote accordingly. Moreover, the laws need to be more stringently implemented against a politicians whenever he/she breaks the law. This again requires that corruption be at very low levels and bureaucracy be more creative. This solution is, again, within the citizens’ hands. But for the citizens to take law into their own hands is like throwing gasoline in fire.

The director basically portrayed violence as a means to an end. I would be the first one to say that violence, sometimes, is necessary. What’s happening in Kashmir requires violence on behalf of the Indian government. But here violence is not used as a subjugation but as a facilitator to a political solution (even though Indian politicians are completely inept in the whole process). The director is saying that to oppose the system, kill the offending politicians. Nothing good will come out of this way. The system will stay the same and the offending politician will be replaced by a similar politician. The way to change the system to work within it. It’s along term solution but that’s the only way.

Go Read It NOW.

With politicians like this who needs enemies of the state. (Hat tip to Primary Red)

The Minister for Minority Welfare and Haj in the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, Haji Yaqoob Qureishi, has announced a cash reward of Rs 51 crore for anyone who beheads the Danish cartoonist who caricatured Prophet Mohammad.

My folks were here in Canada to visit us during the summer of 2005 ostensibly to spend time with us but they really wanted to spend time with Rhea. At that point Rhea was just beginning to explore the world around her. So she was not really responsive to my folk’s antics.

How I wish that they had paid a visit now. Rhea has under gone a sea change since their visit. Her world now is quite large and she acts like it’s her realm. We are her subjects and if she wishes to throw us in the dungeons she would if only she knew what they were.

Her little things light up our lives and make us laugh all the time. Even after she has gone to bed, Charu and I always go through her latest escapade. E.g.

> Her latest thing is to come running to us and bang her head on our thigh and shout “Shourry, papa”. And then she will do it again and again and again.

> Another thing that she does is to pick up the big box of blocks (where does she find the strength to pick up that 1.5 kg box, I have no idea) and dump in the middle of the basement and toss the blocks one by one back into the box.

> She has begun to count till 10 and with help till 15. She recites her ABCs for a little while before she gets lost and needs help.

But we have bad moments as well. These days the fight between us and Rhea is over Dora. Dora has now officially become the parent that we never were. We never take Rhea on magical rides through story books (regardless of the fact that we read to her everyday) and we never have a sidekick called Boots who can swing on trees and make funny noises (I come close but my inability to
swing from branch to branch is a big let down). We are trying to cut down on the Dora obsession but limiting her TV time to dinners and 30 minutes before bed time. It’s difficult but I think it’s working.

The only thing is that we have to learn new tricks to keep her entertained the rest of the time. So out come the paint boxes, the stickers, the balloons and other assortment of toys. By the time we are done with one activity (which usually last from a few minutes to half an hour!!) it’s on to the next and then the next and then the next. It’s quite tiring but it’s a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Charu takes the bulk of the activity time with Rhea and I pitch in whenever I can. My favourite play time with Rhea is hide and seek. She loves to play that game and to watch her giggle when she is found out is one of the best moments of my day.

Everyone now knows the story. The cartoons satirized Muhammad which is blasphemous to all Muslims who do not believe in images of god and his messenger, Muhammad. Ever since the cartoons came out the Muslim world has seen violence which has resulted in 5 deaths (in Afghanistan) so far.

Should the cartoons be published here in Canada?

My first reaction was, of course not. I have spent a good part of my life with Muslims and I know how sensitive this issue is to them. Any pictorial depiction of Islam as a religion is a big NO and is considered an insult to Muslims. It’s that simple and straightforward. I have never really understood this but I will not question it and participate in any activity that would hurt my Muslim friends.

So, after seeing the messenger of god being depicted in cartoons (and NO, I will not provide the links) and that too being demonized, it’s not surprising to see the volatile reaction of the Muslims. Trust me, the cartoonists hold back no punches. One of the cartoons is quite nice : it depicts Muhammad as a simple man before he might have been declared a messenger from god. But the rest of the cartoons bring forth the cartoonists’ hatred for Islam and the average westerner’s typical bias against Muslims. Muhammad is depicted as a murderer, Satan, a suicide bomber, a woman hater and so on. If a western cartoonist were to do the same to the Hindu gods, I too would seethe with anger.

After seeing the issue in black and white for a few days, I started seeing the issue in shades of Grey.

My opinion changed after seeing the volatile reaction from the Muslim world. As I have said, I can understand their anger and initially did support the angry reactions from the Muslim world. I think the idea to boycott Danish products in Middle East was a great way to protest; hit them where it hurts. And to protest in front of the embassies was required. But lately I have become disillusioned with the way the anger is being channeled by the Muslim leaders. Burning, proclaiming murder, dying and attacking is not the way to protest.

I know I sound quite the idealist but the truth is that when the protests started, they were largely peaceful and they were probably supported by a large section of the world’s population. I think most of the people around the world understood that you don’t impinge your opinion on someone’s beliefs especially when you know that your opinions would not be taken lightly. This move by the editors across Europe was an insensitive move and came at the wrong time. The time right now is to heal the wounds caused by 9/11 and subsequent US actions. And to come out “in support” of the cartoons, editors of the newspapers in Europe have thrown gasoline in the fire. All in the name of Freedom Of Speech.

But here we arrive at the Grey area. Freedom of speech is one of the basic rights of an individual in a democracy and that is what the editors of the European newspapers were proclaiming. They had a right to print the cartoons AS MUCH AS THE MUSLIMS NOW HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROTEST. Isn’t that what’s happening in Europe? Yes, the protests have turned violent but are they not extremely violent in non democratic countries where the politicians are shamelessly cloaking their existing problems with this issue. In other parts of the world there are protests but they are by and large peaceful.

What about Canada? I think there should be no action against an editor who decides to print them. And the Muslims in Canada should protest at this depiction of Muhammad in poor light. That’s democracy. Bring forth the differences in opinion and discuss them out in the open. Having said that, we already know that Muslims feel they have been insulted by these cartoons. A smart editor would not try and test waters by printing the cartoons here in Canada. A smart editor would acknowledge his/her right to print the cartoons by NOT printing them. The editor should loudly claim that nothing is going to stop them from printing these cartoons but as a respect to our Muslims readers he/she will not do so.

I hated, detested, loathed all types of Reality TV over the years. I equate the reality TV to WWF; faked to put on an “exciting” show. But I could understand why they were so popular. Every person on this planet has a need to see the intimate details of their fellow being. Be it an old maid in the corner of a small village in India or be it a high flying executive in Toronto. The voyeuristic bug has been with mankind for ages and ages and will continue to be with us until the sun burns out. Reality TV software was an excellent outlet for most of the western audience but the networks (like the greedy pigs that they are), instead of waiting for the gold egg, killed the goose. The absurd bundle of reality TV software that has been coming from the networks lately bordered on the ridiculous. The western society already has tremendous pressure to conform to a certain image and the new shows in which you got an makeover to become “better” person were the probably scrapped from the bottom of the gutter from which all the reality shows came from. I also think these new shows (E.g. The Swan (?) and Extreme Makeover (?)), broke the camels back. By now it’s fairly obvious to all but a few people that reality shows are anything but real. And, thankfully, the deluge of reality shows affecting the networks in the last 2 - 3 years is ebbing. Finally, some sitcoms and series are making a comeback.

I guess you can decipher from above that I really have no love for reality shows but I, being human, am voyeuristic. I too crave to know what goes on in another person’s life. So far I had been satisfying my voyeuristic lust through Dooce, Dairy Of A Fired Flight Attendant and the like. But lately I have begun to regularly follow these (1, 2 & 3) young people’s lives. Their lives are really no different from mine in the aspect that it’s fairly mundane everyday stuff. But the way these people write about their lives is so engrossing that I need to know what happens next. I need to know if they got through a relationship OK or are they even more messed up. I need to know why they like a certain type of food and not the other. I need to know what they do for fun. I need to know where do they live. I need to know why they do the things they do. In other words, I need to know how they lead their daily lives.

I know I make fun of my wife when she watches her reality shows but how exactly am I different from her? Except maybe I know that the blogs I go through are far more real than the TV shows she watches. Other than that I am no less a voyeur than anyone else on this planet.

Holy cow!!! I completely forgot to close my “Greatest Tennis Player” series. Sorry about that.

So, why is Steffi Graf the greatest tennis player ever?

When I first saw her (I think it was the 1986 Wimbledon semi final with Martina Navratilova) the first thing that struck me about her was the seriousness with which she played. But at the end of the game when she lost she let out this anguish cry of frustration and promptly left the court and I felt that this person lives and breathes tennis (later on I found out howtrue that was).

Her forehand is legendary; her sliced backhand is still considered one of the best; her serve accurate and hard; her smashes were overpowering. There is not one aspect of her game that I can criticize. Her domination of women’s tennis in the late 80’s was considered bad for the game until the critics saw the new breed of women players who aped Steffi and,collectively, took women’s tennis to new heights.

Why was she the best?

Short answer : because she WAS.

Long answer : it takes the greatest player :-

• to be able to dominate over established, albeit older, players;
• to be able to redefine women’s tennis with a completely in your face attitude;
• to be able to shun the personal pressures and injuries and go on to win 22 grand slam and 174 tournaments;
• to be able to retire when at the top of your game (she was ranked number 3).

Her game relied on speed, accuracy and cunning and she had ample supply of them all. Her forehand was truly amazing. I remember watching the 1988French Open final against Natalia Zevereva who was utterly demolished by the power of Steffi Graf. And it was her forehand that did most of the damage. Natalia had absolutely no answer to that forehand. It was a short swing and the follow through was clean with body moving back to generate immense power. And her back hand slices…oooooh. Those were another potent weapon which she developed in her later years. Again a short swing with the racquet close to her body. The really good thing about those slices was her placement. The ball would invariably land in a corner which the opponent had great difficulty in returning. Not many critics comment on her net game but I think that she was one of the best net players. It’s true that she preferred to stay back but during her later years she preferred the net game to the baseline and was always very good at it.

No one has been able to achieve this kind of success in tennis, male or female. Even though her domination over the sport ended in 1990 with the arrival of Monica Seles (who would probably have ranked right up there with the greatest were it not for the lunatic who knifed her during a tournament) and Arantxa Vicario, a slew of personal problems and injuries (she developed
a bone spur in her back which was to remain with her for the rest of her career), she regularly won tournaments, especially, the grass courts. Her era is called the golden era of the women’s tennis when it truly came fore and stayed in the imagination of the public.

Even in retirement, she is one of the most beloved tennis stars. I know that it will take an exceptionally brilliant player to surpass her record.
And with that we end the greatest tennis player series.

Ok. I have been hit by a major blog block in this past week or so.

I couldn’t think of a thing to write about!! I have been busy with getting the safety inspection done on the car that I got from US. It’s an absolutely frustrating experience to get ripped off (and know that you are getting ripped off) and not be able to do anything about it. So I just relaxed and started to see the way I was getting ripped off without any say over the process. So far my laid back attitude has cost me $3,000!!

The car needs to be cleared by a licensed mechanic for safety and that’s where the rip off started. I was informed by Registrar Of Imported Vehicles that I can get my car inspected only by Canadian Tire mechanics. Ok. So I went to a Canadian Tire shop. The first thing they did was shaft me for the Day Running Lights (a mandatory requirement here in Canada). I paid a hefty amount for it (way over what I had budgeted). Then instead of a smooth safety inspection, I was handed a list of things that need to be replaced/fixed else the car, apparently, would fall into pieces!! And the obscure list (change Rack and Pinion, flush brake fluid system etc.) totaled up to $2,500!! And, of course, the car did not pass through inspection.

At that point I found out that I need not go only to Canadian Tire!! I could have gone to any licensed mechanic. I found this out after I started to call other mechanics to have the car fixed for a lower cost than what Canadian Tire was charging me. Each one of the mechanics said that Canadian Tire is ripping  me off and the quotes from all these mechanics was less by 22% to 27%!! Needless to say that I gave my car to one these mechanics who has promised to go over the list and pass the items which he thinks is borderline. I am hoping that I can cut down on my costs. 

I know that at the end of the day I will have another car in my driveway but my dreams of a free car have long been blown away by Canadian Tire. Damn Them!!