Open Letter to My Super Special Brother Khant A Vyas

Dear Khant,

Our relationship has grown in a very strange fashion in past decade. Am I right? Ok. You may agree or you may not. Let me tell you how I have grown with you. Let me go back into the past and relive all those memories that I have of you and us. This is not a complete account, but just a short quick summary of us. You and Me.

***

Everyone used to say Khant is a very notorious and mischievous boy. You know brother, human mind is such that it easily gets affected by others opinions. One can quickly get influenced and wear glasses of others and then starts seeing the world in different colors and shades. Something similar happened when we were kids. I thought on the same line as that of elders, Khant is a notorious and mischievous boy. However, everything changed drastically when I came to the occasion of your Yagnopavit Sanskar. I first time observed and felt an affectionate human side of yours. I was talking to a very energetic, affectionate, emotional and super active kid – Khant. At that time [and may be today as well] cousin closest to your heart were Krunal and Gopal. Damn it. I wanted to become the most special brother-cousin in your life. I mean it. I was trying my best to talk to you, to come close and become the best cousin. It sounds weird and strange at this moment, right? But, yeah I was in total love with you. Your innocence and intelligence was something I was attracted to.

I remember when you gave a party post that occasion in Jaldhara. At that time, you asked us to have as much food as we can, as the cost of one thali was already fixed. So, you wanted us to vasulify the function. That was so sweet, honest and loving of you. Rushi and I competed for eating maximum Gulab Jamuns and having maximum Aam Ka Ras. Unfortunately I was defeated by Rushi in that competition. Actually, I have been defeated by all when it comes to your love and attention. Always, some or the other has been your favorite brother and not me. I was sad about it, and I am sad about it today as well.

***

When I was at Mangal Villa, that was the best time spent with you and the worst as well. At one side I was fighting an emotional battle and the other side I was fighting an ideological battle. People around us used to treat you and take your words differently than they used to take others. Because they believed you are short tempered, you are hyper active and you are not mature, etc. So to handle the situation and pacify you they used to be like that towards you. But, in spite of having tremendous affection towards you I was of opinion that I will be straight and blunt. I don’t want to flatter you or pretend to be all cool and nice towards you. Because I don’t see you as an abnormal, hyper active, short tempered person. You are as normal as everyone else around. It’s just that you are different than others, you are extremely energetic and emotional and very very innocent like a small kid. That’s it. Because of my this stand, where all other cousins were being sweet and nice to you, I was being real. And may be seemed rude to you. I used to tell your follies and problems I had with you on your face. Because of this, I guess, you started disliking me, you started thinking that I have certain kind of disrespect/disregard for you. But, O Dear Khant, it was nothing like that ever. It was my sheer love for you that I was being REAL and not pretending to make you happy all the time buy flowery words which eventually can make you fragile and incompetent. All the time spent with you, from having special dosa’s at Manek Chawk to having Paan ice creams at Happiness Vadilal, from roaming in Maninagar to visiting Indroda park, from celebrating Kite Festival to doing Masti in social functions, from teaching you Engineering Math to fighting with you on personal belief and issues, was unforgettable.

It was indeed a great time spent with you. I still recall our debates, where we used to reach to an extreme that we will just fight if we don’t stop at that given moment! Wasn’t that amazing brother? To have different opinions about career, about way of life, and present that to each other without a fear of being judged and then debate as if this is the battle field of life and death! Ha ha! I would say that was the time when I discovered an intelligence of yours. Before that it was like “Khant is a very sensitive and emotional boy.” But, through our discussions and debates I got to know how intelligent you were. You know what? Intelligence doesn’t come from 80 percent or 100 percent mark-sheets, it comes form the originality of thought. You have that brother. You are an original thinker. Best thing about you is you don’t just read books and note down lines and then quote it during your speech/discussion/debate. In stead of that, you observe REAL thing, you experience REAL thing, you analyse and think deeply about that REAL thing and then you come to a conclusion [conclusion can be right, wrong or partially right or wrong] and then you present those views to people with utmost honesty and conviction. That’s REAL you. That’s a great sign of being a great thinker brother. [I forgot to add one thing, you are not like other blind stubborn debaters who just can’t listen to others’ views and keep singing their own song. You are quite open to others’ views. You will listen to them and if you find them logical and correct in your world view then you will accept your fault and appreciate their point of view. To accept one’s mistake and learn form others  is a great virtue.]

In this period I learnt one more thing about you. You are a family man. Yeah, I know you have lots of issue with lots of people! Just kidding. But, I have observed this in every event of our lives, taking care of your cousin sisters, or being a host at festivals, or doing house hold work to help your mother, or taking small kids along to gift them few smiles and happiness, you are not only emotional and intelligent. You are the family man. You are the man of people. That is something very good about you. If someday I will be in trouble in life, I know that Khant will be there for me not as an emotional friend or an intelligent partner, but he will be there as my own family.

***

There are few more instances which touched my heart. I would like to share that here. The collage you made from photographs of your father was excellent and touching. It says it all about how strong and close bond you had with Masaji. Moreover, you sketched his portrait, so nice and so next to perfect. It says a lot about you and about him and about your relation.

Similarly, in Krunal’s marriage, [people usually end up buying something and gift that to the bride and groom] you decided to gift your love by the means of your own time and your own skill. That was so lovely and touching. Critically speaking the sketch of Krunal and Zeal was not that great. But that gesture and intention of yours say it all about the love you have for your brother.

The way you studied with dedication for your board examination, just before Rajan’s marriage in Rajkot, and still enjoyed the entire marriage function, shows your boldness and Zindadil attitude of life. It’s really commendable. The way you show commitment to Yoga and Exercise is amazing. I wish someday I become health conscious and take care of my health and fitness the way you do. My health is deteriorating day by day. Your this dedication towards the work you love was also visible in Ehsaan Kureshi’s mimicry you used to do. That was simply amazing brother. When are you going to show us the next mimicry?

You also told one story from your childhood that you went to buy something from a shop and for many hours you just waited there because you committed something to someone. I forgot the exact event details. But, when I heard this story from you, I was really moved to see your commitment. That day I felt that you are the man who can do anything if he decides to that. You will surely conquer in all the endeavor in life when you will work with complete heart and hard work. I am very much sure about it. Go go go, you will nail it bro!

There are many things to say and share. I am guilty that I was not and am not able to spend much time with you [on call, message or at Ahmadabad] after the sudden demise of your father. I am virtually disconnected from everyone right now. Here, I am also fighting my battle to swim against the tide and make a big name for myself in fiercely scary and competitive world of media and films.I wish I achieve my dreams soon and so as you achieve your goals and live a life of your dreams.

Lots of love.

Yours,

Parth Vyas

PS: No one is perfect in this world. So, keep looking inwards. Be the harshest critique of yourself and keep improving yourself. Keep becoming better. One day you will be the best. I bet!

Peeping into “the sacred shrine” of Tagore – Gitanjali

Blending the devotion to God with intricate consciousness of ego; being rooted in the soil and lyrically weaving the desire of upliftment for human beings, Rabindranath Tagore truly “makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger”.

Rabindranath Tagore

Gitanjali is the collection of 103 poems translated into English (which is a small bunch of huge volume of poems originally written in Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore’s intense experience of life and the self reflects in each of his poems, which acts as a thread that connects shimmering pearls of wisdom, devotion, egolessness and thoughtlessness (Philosophy of nothingness), elevation of individuality and spiritual transcendence. Even though Tagore voyages along human existence, experience and psyche; tranquil songs (“Geet”), ethereal imagery and devotional offerings (“Anjali”) of Tagore leave reader with joy unspeakable.

If one dwells deep into Tagore’s experiential reality, one can experience his utter devotion to God (existence of which is not limited to any idol, ideology or religion), sense of individuality submerged into the collective consciousness of the nature and perennial faith in human action, love and freedom. The expression of self consciousness “…traveller has to knock at every alien door to come to his own,…” echoes the ideas of Dhammapad and Tao Te Ching. Dismissing the human ego “O fool, to try to carry thyself upon thy own shoulders!” resonates the idea of ego depicted in Mahabharata which is later reverberated in Krishna’s dialogues with Arjun (of Akarta Bhaav – awarenesss of being a non-doer, which is dismissing the ego and surrendering one’s self to the divine power) in Bhagwad Geeta. “Prisoner, tell me, who was it that bound you?” “…in wealth and power… I found I was a prisoner in my own treasure-house.” is the same thought which Bertrand Russell weaves in “The Conquest of Happiness” and Alan Watts argues to be the reason for the rise of the western world and the fall of western mind. Gandhi’s answer to capitalist madness and Karl Marx’s quest for equality resides in Tagore’s expression “Day by day thou art making me worthy of the simple, …saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire.” “…when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart” resembles M F Husain’s expression of creation and destruction in the terrain of art. Kahlil Gibran’s constant anxiety of losing the self appears in “I am ever busy building this wall all around; …day by day I lose sight of my true being in its dark shadows.” The idea of Bhrahmn promulgated in Indian scriptures and exalted by Fritjof Kapra distinctly finds place when Tagore says “…he adds his loud voice to every word that I utter.” Thus, Gitanjali becomes the bridge between the west and the east, the self and the divine and the matter and the mind.

Gitanjali is also extremely sensitive towards social issues.  It lionizes the work, human endeavour and human will. It depicts the foray of fear which comes with wealth and power. It talks about the inequality and avoidance of people of the soil. It empathise the one who lives on the top of the pyramid and who can never understand what’s happening at the ground. It mocks their shallowness, emptiness, fears and insecurities. It repeatedly talks about inability of civilized and progressed mind to understand “the poorest, the lowliest and lost.” It gently ridicules (“…they break into my sacred shrine…”) the incursion of the middle man (Priests, Mullah, Bishop, etc) in the places of worship (Mosque, Temple, Church, etc). It appeals people and the nation to awake and rise to their true potential and values. Thus, Gitanjali not only remains the mystical search of consciousness or devotional offerings to divinity but it also shakes the thick ground beneath us corrupted by the “perils of overmuch desires.”

Thus experiential reality and universal sensitivity of Tagore makes Geetanjali an ageless masterpiece.

Decoding, “Deep Focus” a book by Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

“Look at the flowers. They are very beautiful. But you get flowers in America too.”  Jean Renoir tells Ray while researching for his film The River. The question pops up in my mind; if one wants to shoot an opening sequence in the maximum city – Mumbai, what should be included in the frame and what should be excluded? And Renoir continues, “But look at the clump of bananas, and the green pond at its foot. That is Bengal.” This conversation with Renoir brought Ray (and so as me) into the new regime of realism and language of frame, photography and composition. I can say one must shoot Dabba Wallas, slums outside huge multi-stories building of Lower Parel, mischievous waves of Band-Stand and composed nature of Marine Drive. A Mumbaikar may think why not to shoot local train? The answer is Chennai does have similar local trains – though less popular than that of Mumbai’s heart-line. But, now if you dive further, Chennai’s local in southern part of the city revolves from the top hill looking at the city from high angle. If that can be shot then that would be the distinct urban identity of Chennai.

I always had the fascination to turn novel into the visually stunning motion pictures. Films like Life of Pie, There Will Be Blood, Namesake, Raincoat and many more inspired me. But the works of Chaplin and Nolan created the internal conflict of what should be the position for the film maker? Being original or being inspired? There comes Ray saying, “All great filmmakers have fashioned classics out of other people’s stories.” This deepens my understanding of the cinema. Adaption of novel is not just the visual representation of the text but also the interpretation and self-absorption of the film maker. Ray says, “Compare a good film of a book with the book itself and you will find that the original has undergone a process of thorough reshaping.” That is obvious that one cannot capture the details of 400 page book in 120 mins film. But then what is the essence and the objective of the text and that of the interpretation of the film maker should be conveyed. In such scenario what to portray and erect is a talent but what to exclude from the original (which audience will forget and forgive mercifully) is a true art of a film maker. Ray’s remark, “No extended work of fiction has ever been translated to the screen without considerable excision” validates the understanding of the art of inclusion and exclusion. At the same time Ray alarms film makers, saying, “When I say ‘reshaping’, I do not mean reshaping beyond recognition.” This is very significant. Many times we see that something gets lost in translation! Reshaping of original work or adding fiction to biographies or historical events may lead to disastrous interpretation, as it lose the connection with the original where identity of the original is beyond recognition.

Does cinema stands on its own? Is it simply a extended version of photography or a visual representation of literature? Or fragmented version of theater? “It is true that the film partakes both of the novel and the play.”, Ray says, “Like a novel, it describes people, places and events and is free to move about in time and space; like a play, it deals with conflict.”

Cinema is the canvas where we paint our imaginations, hope, reality, dream, fears, conflicts, relationships, human psyche, experience and realizations. This is something which literature does. But, literature has limited capacity to deal with time and space. If we look at theater, it has ability to manipulate time and space and create an occult open to interpretation. This leaves audience with intellectual delight and satisfaction which is, usually, higher in degree than that of literature. Cinema is a beautiful, willful and harmonious amalgamation of the literature and the theater. Cinema can create everlasting impact as she has bigger room to travel in all three dimensions of narrative, time and space.

Cinema is the scripted interpretation with extreme details. Ray says, “The sharpest revelations of the truth in cinema come from the details perceived through the eyes of an artist”.  This leads us to assume that what is being shown is essential and logical elements of the reality. Usually this is the notion while framing the shot or conceptualizing the sequence. But, Ray differs here and that seems (to me) his landmark distinction for portrayal of essential and inessential elements on the screen. He says, “The existence of an object is beyond logic or essentiality of its being. This inessential objects together creates the frame which stirs the true feel and essence of essentiality of the scene.” Sometimes no matter what the significance is, but the things considered as inessential element of composition actually makes the composition more lively and lucid. Thus, every film maker should have an eye for details, not only for the coherent and essential visual elements but also for the elements which are considered as inessential.

Ray discusses about the challenges of the commercial cinema, equation of financiers and directors, need for recognition of cinema as an art and not merely a channel of entertainment, etc. At this very point he is concerned about the so-called experimentalist and new-age film makers who in the name of break through techniques and narration actually destroy the very fabric of cinema. Ray says, “To destroy the convention, one needs to be aware of what the destroyed should be constructed by, replaced by.” He gives an example of Godard talks about his expertise and genius of destroying conventional practice and erecting the new dimension of cinema. He talks about his films and says, “The same films have provoked opposite reactions. This is inevitable when a director consistently demolishes sacred conventions, while at the same time packing his films with obviously striking things”. This subtle behavioral and ideological observation of Ray and revelation about the craft & art of cinema makes me delightfully surprised.

“INDIA” Ke Side Effects

The film Shaadi Ke Side Effects is a story of Siddhartha (Sid) and Trisha, who are happily married until Trisha gets pregnant. Sid is not ready for baby as he is a struggling music composer. In the urge to become an ideal father and a husband he relies on the advices given by his friends and Trisha’s brother in-law Ranveer which puts him in a deeper trouble.

Shaadi Ke Side Effects takes a brave and an unusual path in Hindi Cinema due to which one cannot say that it is a complete mass culture film. However, at several instances, popular beliefs of social, economical and cultural psyche of India is visible. At the core it is the story of a struggling artist. Conversation between Trisha’s mother and Trisha, body language of Ranveer and Sid and Sid’s narration show how business class is glorified and revered by Indians. Properties you own and money you make is the primary and mandatory criteria to measure your success. Due to this mindset Sid is in constant inward struggle and low at self confidence and self esteem (which is visible through his body language at several instances, e.g. while talking to Ranveer, talking to Trisha when she returns from her mother’s place, etc). This low self esteem later leads him to follow the path of Ranveer and Sid decides to portray himself as an ideal father. This fact is strikingly evident when the baby was born and due to constant “socio-cultural surveillance” by Trisha’s family Sid finds an excuse to go to the medical shop. Later when he was alone, he carries his baby for the first time and play with her.

There are several stereotypes portrayed by the means of cast, class and looks. Ranveer is shown as a typical businessman with extra pounds. As compared to him her wife looks like a newly married woman. Later he is shown to have extra marital affair which is also a predictable story angle and popular belief that all businessmen (rich) are bastards. Ranveer has a son and Sid has a daughter. Here also, script writer signals towards the social triumph of Ranveer to have a baby boy than a baby girl. The person who has a daughter is the looser in India. This message is also conveyed through this layer. Sid’s friends are shown as rowdies, with weird looks, hairstyle and clothing. That is also one of the popular imaginations of struggling music composers.  They are more keen to watch a football match of MANU than to play with a baby. Moreover, Manav, Sid’s roommate, is also portrayed as druggie, sex addict, drunkard, irritating and disorderly. Collectively this portrayal tells us subconsciously that they are not serious, they are immature, they don’t know what they are doing, they don’t have sense of ownership and responsibility, they are driven by high adrenaline, etc. All these inferences can easily be made from the way they have been portrayed. This again links back to how society sees an artist. Artists are not seen as serious people, responsible people. They are seen as who don’t know what they are doing and who do what they love to do in the given moment completely and only influenced by the adrenaline rush.

Shekhar, Trisha’s neighbor, is an engineer. His neatly combed hair, bright outfits, nerdy spectacles and humble body language (and high pay cheque) show how society looks at engineers and especially IT professionals. The fact that Shekhar is an IT professional is emphasized several times in the film. This can be directly linked back to India having highest number of IT professionals, educational institutes offering IT and IT companies. These things push society to push their children to pursue IT as a viable and safe option to shape one’s career to become successful (where success is measured in terms of money as described above). At the end of the film, Sid – the artist is shown to be lost against Shekhar – the IT professional. This fictitious situation also signals to who is what in the society. When Trisha and Sid interview several ladies for the position of maid servant, the people that director has chosen clearly indicates that which class/caste/religion are representative of domestic help workers. Later Aunty’s portrayal and her relation with Trisha tell viewer how this harmonious bond between a boss and a maid (master and slave) is unusual and soothing. This is something which happens in rarest of the rare families. So this kind of understanding and support becomes enjoyable and aspirational at some places.

Throughout the film it is shown that Trisha and Sid are not economically stable and well. But at the contrary their dressing and especially the house, interior and props indicates a well to do upper middle class family. That is the pure aspirational element for Indian middle class audience. At times in soliloquy, Sid seems to be in competition with not only Ranveer but also Trisha. He has constant baggage of not able to earn enough and become successful music composer. That leads him to compete with Trisha who is best at several things and that leads him to go mad about becoming the best father. Moreover, at the games played in play house, who wins is more important than how one wins. That is the brutal reality of India where millions of people complete for the same seat be it in a college, company or public transport. Such scenario ignores the means and glorifies the end. That is humorously and convincingly portrayed in the film (which is a faulty and disastrous teaching in my point of view).

At the end when Trisha says that she is pregnant and she carries Shekhar’s baby. That is a shocking moment for the audience. Ranveer’s infidelity and Sid’s immaturity looks like a regular-normal-legitimate excuse and event, to which audience doesn’t really respond angrily. But, Trisha’s infidelity looks like a sudden disgusting act. However, script writer takes a middle path (may be to avoid possible reality in the name of an-ideal-India-woman and happily-ever-after-ending) and makes that thing a lie to test Sid’s commitment and openness. But, what makes me curious is, if Trisha had carried Shekhar’s baby, Sid might have forgiven her, but as an Indian audience would have we forgiven her? Will it be OKAY to us or will it be disgusting? I am afraid it would have not been OKAY to Indians. The film which seems sensitive towards a mother, a working woman, a modern independent lady becomes (silently and subtly) a victim of deep rooted patriarchy prevailing in Indian society.

Ship Of Theseus: It is what it is…

When I was leaving the cinema hall, one question was poignantly flashing in my mind, what the film was really about? Was it just the Theseus’s paradox or a curious inquiry of Plutarch? Was it just a visual extension to classic 20 marks question asked to literature students or razor sharp paradox disguised under the pluralist culture and society of India? Was it the story of conflict of ideologies, the self, the existence and the belief or was it the visual commentary on the world which we have not seen, understood and experienced?

Welcome to The “Ship Of Theseus” – a journey of conflicts, a space for inquiry & reason and a deep dive into Being and Nothingness.

***

1. Aaliya Kamal, the visually challenged and celebrated photographer, undergoes the cornea transplant and gets her vision back.

2. Maitreya, a Jain monk, who is fighting to ban animal testing in laboratories across India, when diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, refuses to take medicines due his ideology and conviction of nonviolence & reverberation of Karmic theory.

3. Navin, a young stockbroker, who had undergone kidney transplant, finds the poor man, Shankar, whose kidney was stolen under the huge kidney transplant racket, investigates further and decisively reach to the core of the kidney transplant tourism.

[I know the statements written above seems little confusing because of their length and no. of commas used, but] This is the 3-line story of Ship Of Theseus. Is it really a great story? Or as someone said is it really a “hidden gem of the year”? Certainly yes, not because of the story but because of the holistic cinematic experience which Anand Gandhi & Team has painted on celluloid (or digital sensor? I don’t know!).

Story 1:

Aaliya is extremely sensitive to the surrounding. Does she see the world through her senses other than the eyes? I doubt. Other senses are just the instrument to collect information, what she really has is her imagination and ability to produce vivid imagery on her imaginative canvas. She hear every little sound, she identifies colours of curtain, she experiences light and shadow, she imagines the action and tells her subject to enact the same.What does she actually do? She imagines. Her ability to imagine a vibrant visual is her real strength.

Aaliya’s sightlessness and power of imagination have been depicted brilliantly when her assistant gives her every single detail and the camera keep moving around her face. The image is visible to the assistant but not to us (and so as to Aaliya) forces viewers to imagine the photograph. That’s where lie the genius of Aaliya. This particular sequence touched me the most (from that story) as it really put me in the place of Aaliya.

Another sequence when Aaliya gets back her vision and goes to capture the city. is also a  beautiful cinematic experience. Aaliya is under the over bridge. The background sound plays hurriedly, bit and pieces of sound is juxtaposed with the very short shots of street life, movements on the road, people and vehicles around, which depicts the way Aaliya perceives the newly born world (loaded with thousands of images and motion pictures). She cannot hear the sound with the meticulosity with which she used to hear before. Did she loose the power which she had? Is she the same imaginator  – the same photographer – the same Aaliya?

Story 2:

The unseen Mumbai is beautifully and courageously portrayed in the story of Jain monk, Maitrey. The smile and the Sahaj Bhaav (I am sorry, i can’t find the exact English word for the same) of Maitrey is iconic. But the dialogues delivery seems little artificial. It seems someone is mimicking and trying to speak “monklike”. The visual Sahaj Bhaav is not evident in his voice and dialogue delivery, which was the biggest disappoint to me in this story.

The monk seemed to be very quiet, peaceful, internally settled, calm and composed, still when he put forward his idea it seemed like a flow of river, which just keep going without a conscious decision and a thought. Was that the conflict of existential reality and the ideology of monk? Was his calm and composed being was his reality or his ideological podium? Camera had a constant horizontal movement which again referred the celerity of thought and ideas of the monk. [Those visuals reminded me of Attenborough’s visual treatment to Gandhi. Spectacles of monk was similar to that of Gandhi. Was it a subtle point of reference to Gandhi as well?]

The story is visually stunning. The close up of about to die monk, the smoothed visual of Prarthana Sabha (Prayer Hall), the streets of Mumbai, Matunga Road station pavement, laboratories, close up of the animal in the laboratory (once again by close up shots of rabbit, Anand succeeded to make me feel what actually the animal testing is all about, how that rabbit must have felt when it was forced and being tested). Moreover, architecture has been used as the character in this story [the window and the bell shaped door where the sick monk lies and couple of other shots were strengthening the story]. Here once again the sound plays a major role to internal psyche of character, it’s like “POV Sound”! The first time when the monk felt extreme abdominal pain, the background sound of prayer, preaching and surrounding faded out. The sequence when the monk is about to die was the best moment as far as the portrayal of sound is concerned.

One more striking aspect of the story was a young restless, rational, frank, fearless inquiry of a young man and the still, ideological, courageous and self-righteous stance of an old monk! The constant debate and discussion was a wonderful experience for me. The wide shot comprised (where monks were walking through) the narrow road – situated in a wind farm and the shadow of the huge windmill, was the most brilliant moment, stirring the adrenaline of intelligentsia. The shot was followed by the intense discussion on birth, rebirth and karmic theory. The wind farm and the shadow over Jain monks left me with several questions. What is life? What is death? Was windmill a metaphor of cycle of birth, death and life? Something is bound to happen, the wheel of time will keep rolling, what you need to do is to walk, to smile and to be harmonious. This one shot was the essence of the entire conflict with the self and the existential reality of human beings (that’s what I felt).

Story 3:

This was the most accomplished story. The way it unfolds herself had a womanly mystery, warmth, conflict, aggression and realization. The ambitious stockbroker – the idealist social worker, the grandson and the grandmother, the new and the old, the capitalist thought and the Nehruvian ideology, the service to self and the service to society, the individuality and the collectivism, the vyashti and the samashti. The ideation of these character per se was a major achievement of this story. The single shot sequence when Navin facilitates her grandmother, the single shot where poignant silence of Navin becomes a prolonged suppressed outburst, the sequence at Sweden, the sequence where Navin and his friends struggle to find the Shankar and many more was absolutely fantastic.

Contradiction of the city and our society have been captured beautifully in this story. The space which is a street for one class of people is merely a car for the other class of people. Amen! The grandson who doesn’t believe in his grandmother’s ideology, heartily takes care of her. Look around, do we really have such people who can distinguish between the mind and the body? Between the intellect and the emotion? The utterly spacious bright landscape of Sweden from where Navin calls and the narrows shadowy dark lane (space between two houses) where Shankar receives the call. Navin who is little concerned about the social work is having extreme guilt for his kidney (which was assumed to be stolen from the poor man). Navin’s crazy and courageous search of kidney (justice and truthfulness), Swedish gentleman’s (?) settlement (Cognitive Dissonance – Jugaad) and Shankar’s acceptance of the same (satirical reality of life). Absolutely brilliant ending! Oscar Wilde would have loved this story (for its stark depiction) for sure and so as O’Henry (for its tersity).

The movie ends with the man (who was the donor of cornea, liver and kidney to Aaiya, Maitrey and Navin) exploring (may be the self and existence) the deep caves (may be life and the world) where his existence is his shadow (is that the tribute to Plato’s flickering shadows from The Republic) and his identity is multidimensional (is that the tribute to Jainism’s Anekantavad) and plural reality of Aaiya, Maitrey (not a monk anymore) and Navin.

[I don’t feel like writing more, I am done, but my mind is asking, is it a proper ending? And the self answers, does everything has a proper ending? What actually is a proper ending? What is an ending? Something which ends? Or something where we stop starting a new thing? The long story short. This is The End.]

“હું ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષી…” : બાકી, જલસો પડી ગયો..!!!

ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષીને “હું ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષી…” કેવુ લાગ્યુ હોત?

મનોજ શાહ દિગ્દર્શીત, શિશિર રામાવત લિખિત અને પ્રતીક ગાંધી અભિનીત નાટક “હું ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષી” નો ફર્સ્ટ-ડે-ફર્સ્ટ-શો જોયા પછી આ પ્રશ્ન મનમાં સળવળ્યા કરતો હતો. જે આ અહેવાલ દ્વારા રજુ કરી રહ્યો છું. આ લેખ એ કોઇ જજમેન્ટલ Review નથી પરંતુ “હું ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષી…” એ કરાવેલા આનંદ અને અપચાનો શીરો છે.

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વરસતો વરસાદ અને ભીના ભીના યુગલોથી પ્રુથ્વી કેફે છલકતું હતુ. છતાં થિયેટર કે કેફેમાં જરાય ઠંડી નહોતી, એક ગજબ તેજ અને ઉત્તેજન હતુ. કદાચ બક્ષીનો સલ્ફયુરિક ધુમાડો હવામા તરતો હોય કોને ખબર! લાઇનમાં ઊભેલી હસ્તીઓની શાલીનતા, દાઢીના ઓળેલા સફેદ વાળ, કડક ઇસ્ત્રીદાર કપડા અને અલ્ટ્રામોર્ડન મિજાજ પરથી ખ્યાલ આવી રહ્યો હતો કે કાં તો કોઇક માંધાતા પર નાટક ભજવાઇ રહ્યુ છે અથવા કોઇ શિરોમણિ નાટક ભજવી રહ્યા છે કે પ્રસ્તુત કરી રહ્યા છે. આ વાતાવરણ જાણે કે મુંબઈના શેરીફ રહી ચુકેલા બક્ષીને સલામ કરી રહ્યુ હતુ. નાટકના પોસ્ટર પર અંગૂઠાની છાપથી ચીતરેલો “હું” આવકારી રહ્યો હતો અને નીચે હસ્તાક્ષર હતા સ્વયં બક્ષીબાબુના…!!! આજે ચોક્ક્સપણે ટેસડો પડ્શે એવુ લાગી રહ્યુ હતુ. અને કેમ નહીં? “અપૂર્વ અવસર”, “મરીઝ” અને “કાર્લ માર્ક્સ ઇન કાલ્બાદેવી” જેવા અદભુત જીવન કથન પીરસનાર મનોજ શાહ ગુજરાતના સૌથી ચહિતા, ચર્ચાસ્પદ અને વિવાદાસ્પદ લેખકને સજીવન કરી રહ્યા હોય તો ટેસડો તો પડવાનો જ. નાટક શરૂ થવાને બસ પાંચ મિનિટની વાર હતી અને મનમા અનેક સવાલ હતા. શું બક્ષીનો અવાજ, મિજાજ અને તેજાબ રંગમંચ પર સજીવન કરી શકાય? મુખ્ય ભૂમિકા ભજવવાનો સ્વીકારકરવો એ દુઃસાહસ ના કહેવાય? મોનોલોગના સંવાદની ધાર શું બક્ષીની કલમની ધારને ન્યાય કરી શકશે? પાલનપુર, બક્ષીનુ પિયર (કલકત્તા) અને રણમેદાન મુંબઈને સ્ટેજ પર કઇ રીતે ઉભા કરાયા હશે? શું “માસ્ટર ફૂલમણિ” અને “અમરફળ” જેવા લાઈટ એન્ડ સાઉન્ડથી મનોજભાઇ ફરી સૌને કોઇ બીજા જ કાળ અને સ્થાનમાં લઇ જશે?

***

પ્રતીક ગાંધીનો અભિનય તો વિશેષ હતો જ પરંતુ બક્ષીને ભજવવાનું જોખમ લેવાની હિમ્મત કરવી એ ખરી સિદ્ધી ગણાય. પ્રતીકના “હું” નો રણકાર પોસ્ટર બનાવનાર ગ્રાફિક  ડિઝાઇનરના  “હું” જેટલો જ બુલંદ હતો અને બક્ષીબાબુના માનસ જેટલો પણ. શુદ્ધ ગુજરાતી વચ્ચે શુદ્ધ English અને તેમા પણ વચ્ચે મીષ્ટી બંગાળી..!!! અમ્રુતલાલ પર વિકરાળ ગુસ્સો કરતો બક્ષી, મેરેથોનમા દોડતો નવયુવાન બક્ષી, બકુલા સમક્ષ પૌરુષથી શોભતો સી.કે.બક્ષી, રીવાને રમાડતા પપ્પા બક્ષી, સ્ટુડન્ટ્સના ફેવરીટ ટીપ-ટોપ પ્રોફેસર બક્ષી અને ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય, અને તેથી પણ વિશેષ, પોતાના માનસપટમાં સર્વોચ્ચ સ્થાને (સીઢી પર ચઢેલ) બિરાજમાન “હું.. ચન્દ્રકાંત બક્ષી” – બધા જ સ્વરૂપ અને મિજાજને પ્રતીકે સંપૂર્ણ ન્યાય કર્યો હતો. પણ, પ્રતીકને રડતા નથી ફાવતુ, આમ તો બક્ષીએ પણ ક્યા કદી શીખ્યું હતુ? ક્દાચ એટલે…!!!

કલકત્તા, મુંબઇ, શીવાઝ રિવર શોભાવતો ડ્રોઇંગ રૂમ, સર્વોચ્ચ શિખર સમાન સીડી અને એકલતા સમાન સ્ટેજનો ડાબો ખૂણો. દરેક સ્થાન મનોજભાઇએ માર્મીક અને અસરકારક રીતે લાઇટ્સ અને પ્રોબસથી ઉભા કર્યા હતા. પરંતુ બેકગ્રાઉન્ડ મ્યુઝીક થોડુ નબળુ જણાયુ. કલકત્તાની મિઠાસ અને અજંપો, મુંબઇની તેજી અને તોફાન, પાલનપુરની નિર્દોષતા કે બક્ષીના અંતઃમનનો ઝંઝાવાત મ્યુઝીક દ્વારા ઝીલવાનુ ચુકાઇ ગયુ હોય તેવુ લાગ્યુ. સંવાદ ધારદાર (જે બક્ષી લિખિત જ હતા) હોવા છતાં નાટકની સૌથી નબળી કળી હતી લેખાંકન. “બક્ષીનામા”ને ક્રોનોલૉજિકલ ઓર્ડર ચેન્જ કરીને ઓડિયો સ્વરુપમા રજુ કરવામા આવ્યુ હોય તેવુ લાગી રહ્યુ હતુ. અમ્રુતલાલ પરનો ગુસ્સો કે હીજડાની વાત, કલકત્તાનુ પિયર કે ઉત્પલ દત્તનો ઉલ્લેખ, મેરેથોનનુ વર્ણન, બકુલા અને રીવા સાથેનો પરિવાર, કુત્તીનો કેસ, ચીમનભાઇનો ઉલ્લેખ, મોરારીભાઇનુ આમંત્રણ, જાણે બધું બક્ષીએ લખેલુ જ બોલાઇ રહ્યુ હોય તેવુ લાગતુ હતુ (કારણ કે બક્ષીનામાની રજુઆત અને બક્ષીના ઇન્ટર્વ્યૂના સંવાદોનો આધાર લેવાયો હતો). શિશિરભાઇની મૌલિકતા અને બક્ષીની કલમ ઓગળી હોત તો વધુ સુંદર ચિત્ર સર્જાત. નાટકમાં બક્ષી ખેદ વ્યક્ત કરે છે કે મારા લખેલા નાટક ક્યારેય ભજવાયા નથી, પરંતુ મૌલિકતા અને ઓરિજિનલ સંવાદના અભાવે મન થયુ બક્ષીબાબુ ને કેહવાનુ કે “લો તમારુ “બક્ષીનામા” ભજવાઇ ગયુ!!!”

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ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષીને “હું ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષી…” કેવુ લાગ્યુ હોત?

“પ્રતીક, જૈન થઇને હું બધુ જ કરુ તેમ ગાંધી થઇને પણ તુ તેજાબી અને હિંસાત્મક પાત્રો ભજવે છે? બ્રોડ-વે પછાળવાની ક્ષમતા ધરાવે છે દોસ્ત, બસ થોડુ રડવાનુ શીખી લ્યો, બધા બક્ષી નથી હોતા! શીશીરભાઇએ બક્ષીનામા જ ઉતારી દીધુ છતાંય આ રજુઆત બીજા બાઉન્ડ્રી-ફાઉન્ડ્રી અને ગુજ્જુભાઇઓ કરતા લાખ દરજ્જે ચઢિયાતી છે. જરુર આવજો મળશુ અને શીવાઝ રીવરનો એક પેગ મારીશું. અને હા, આ પાંચ મહીનાની ગર્ભવતીનુ પેટ ભલે હોય, સાથે છત્રીસની છાતી પણ છે હો! મનોજભાઇ, બક્ષીને સજીવન કરવો જેવા તેનાનુ કામ નથી..!!!

બાકી, જલસો પડી ગયો..!!!”

When ADAM met ECONOMICS… :Episode 6: Indian Housewife Disorder, Incentive & Employment

7:00 PM                (I am) Returning from office. (Alone)

7:10 PM                (I am) Buying 250 gm potato, cabbage, onion, tomato, cauliflower at small vegetable shop.

7:15 PM                (I am) Changing cloths & getting fresh.

7:30 PM                (I am) Meticulously cutting vegetables as a 100% commitment to make delicious Pulao for four of us.

8:00 PM                (I am) Preparing masala, cooker, etc.

8:05 PM                (I am) Waiting for them.

8:10 PM                (I am) Waiting for one who is supposed to go and bring curd.

8:15 PM                (I am) Prompting him and getting answer “Can you ask two of them to go and bring”.

(Later come to know that Curd of his share was already there residing in Refrigerator)

8:25 PM                One of them is going to bring curd.

8:35 PM                (I am) Doing vagaar and finally preparing in cooker Pulao.

8:55 PM                PULAO is ready…!!!

(One of them is cleaning utensils, rest are busy with their individual life…!!!)

9:00 PM                (I am) Shouting and screaming the name of the sleeping fellow to wake him up.

9:05 PM                Finally (We are) having delicious Pulao.

9:20 PM                Dinner is almost over.

9:30 PM                (I am) About to finish dinner.

9:40 PM                Cleaning my dish and bowl and glass.

9:50 PM                Everybody is again busy with their lives.

9:55 PM                (I am) Cleaning dinning space. (Alone)

Does this sequence seem familiar?

***

You may think that the sequence written above is an excerpt from an autobiography of some working woman.  You may think it’s a classic tale of – Hum Do Humare Do – a four member family.  “Can you ask two of them to go and bring” can be irresponsible behavior of husband (or he might truly be engaged with some unavoidable – important  activity!!!). One who is helping can be husband (Am I being too optimistic…?!? (S)He can be one of the children who is either sensitive or submissive…!!!) Whatever the permutation and combination you set or reset, the fact remain the same that, from the beginning to an end, the protagonist who eagerly, lovingly and voluntarily prepared Pulao (“for four of us”) was alone.

If she was a woman – a working woman – a housewife – a homemaker – a mother – a Bahu, it seems a pretty normal (and boring as well) sequence. But what if I say that no one but I was the protagonist…!!! (I experienced the same sequence on, 31^st July, 2012 while preparing The Pulao was “for four of us”! Four = Three incredibly individual and intellectual flat mates and I).

Then?

What would be your first (honest) reaction?

Why the hell you should do this?

Why the hell you should do it all alone?

Why the hell you should be doing what I am doing?

Why the hell you should do without giving any negative reaction?

This scene gets played every day in every home, millions of time in millions of home with a single person called – a woman/mother/housewife…!!!

And thank god that that wonder woman doesn’t ask, think and seek answer for “Why the hell” questions…!!!

***

India’s all housewives are frustrated from within.

Have you ever thought that on occasions…

Why does your mother burst out, shout or scream?

Why does she tell so many “irrelevant” things to you and to your family members which she thinks as highly relevant to her “20 years of experience in this house”…?

Why does she always think that she is being neglected…?

Why does she think that everybody is taking her for granted?

Why does she doesn’t feel secured, valued, recognized, loved, cared?

Why does she possess minority complex of being nothing more than just a homemaker?

All mothers/housewives are incredibly similar when it comes to reiterate her “irrelevant” tale and pouring her frustration before people whom she loved the most… Her family… Why so?

The answer to this ubiquitous Indian Housewife Disorder (IHD) resides in the regime of Economics…!!!

To Be Continued…

Butter Chicken In Ludhiana – Delicious But Difficult To Digest…

Prologue leads to the story. But what does exactly state the significance and timeliness (or timelessness) of the story? – The page adjacent to the “Prologue”. This “unnamed” and the most ignored page of all time reveals (“First Published In 1995” and then published – revised editions – by other half-dozen publications of western world) that why “Butter Chicken In Ludhiana” is not just a travelogue but a living history of shocks & sensationalism, religious conflicts, false idols and cultural synthesis.

Despite of all odds, Indian rigidity and non-sense critiques, Amir Khan comes every Sunday to divulge the real India and the Indian-ness. Pankaj Mishra did something similar as an observer (and not as an activist) a way back in 1995 when Reliance was the only torch-bearer of (read North) Indian Middle Class and Infosys was not yet aspiration and pride of Young (read South) Indians. Those were the days when Tendulkar was unstoppable and Hansie Cronje was rising as one of the most successful captains (of South Africa) and one of the most respectable captains (of the world).  Those were the days when Babri Demolition was a matter of hidden pride for most of the Hindus and Bombay serial blast was the first national shock. Those were the days when “Vibrant Gujarat” was not the brand and the slogan “India Shining” – both illusive and disastrous – was not yet aired. In that India, Pankaj Mishra, roamed – not in metros to get dazzled by the city lights but – in small towns of India – from Simla to Kottayam and from Benares to Pushkar to capture the synthesis called Bharat.

His observation of Indian duality, deep-rooted casteism, Hindu-Muslim divide, high spirit of women liberation, westerner’s take on conservative India, A story of a boy from Bihar (especially from Scheduled Caste), presence of homosexuality in the name of raging and in the name of means of existence, A Brahmin joint family – their big business – stringy spending – small and fallacious outlook of self-dignity are few remarkable pieces from the delicious read of 267 pages. There is a whole bunch of books (Idea of India, India Unbound, The Great Indian Middle Class, Being Indian) on India to decorate the shelf, amidst which Butter Chicken shines like the oldest and the most glittering gem with her curves, sharpness, innocence and openness…!!!

Critical Muslim – A Ray Of Good Hope

[Read Part-I]

My Experience: Good Intention –Bad Insistence

I saw a pure white banner with pure green text – “Free Distribution of Quran to Non-Muslims”. I, perhaps read between the lines: Good intention of Muslim volunteers to chisel Non-Muslim minds positively with the dagger of miraculous and mystic wisdom of Quranic Verses. I walked swiftly and reached the distribution stall pronto. I gave my contact details and collected the copy of Quran. Till here everything seemed “Good Intention”. Then what followed was the “Bad Insistence”. An enthusiast of Islam, and a humble volunteer of trust (GFM – Guidance For Mankind – Trust), started asking some existential questions to fascinate my mind and that inquiry followed by his explanation of Essence & Soul of Quranic Verses, The Day Of Judgment, Concept (or as he said The Only Truth!) of “One GOD” (and not god), why one should worship (ONLY) that “One GOD”, and everything other than “One GOD” is unreal (This was the reason why Muslim Rulers in ancient times eradicated Temples saying “This is unreal as it doesn’t represent One GOD!” – This is called a classical radicalism of fundamentalism and horrific misinterpretation of sanctified verses of Quran).

I highly appreciate the spirit and Good Intention of that young man who was revealing (with all knowledge and innocence that he possessed) secrets and wisdom of Islam to an unknown like me. But I bluntly object his insistence. Though he was neither fundamentalist nor radical, but his insistence – which was his innocent love for his religion – to obey and accept Quranic Verses was the first step – say seed – to the dreadful path leading towards fundamentalism.

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If you believe that this “Insistence” has been installed only in “Muslim Mind” then you are awfully wrong. Non-Muslims have the same “Insistence Hysteria”. The palpable question is: What is the source of this “Insistence” in human mind? The source of this “Insistence Hysteria” is our belief that “Religious texts are the end in themselves”.

“There is consensus among Muslims that Sharia is a reflection of God’s will for humankind. Sharia must therefore be, in its purest sense, perfect and unchanging” (Emphasize added). The reference which leads to above statement is said to be “You shall not find change in Allah’s Course” (Quran 48:23).

[One can find similar verses in Hindu scriptures, at the beginning of Manu Smriti (Laws of Manu), it is stated, “The true Hindu should obey four Vedas and Manu Smriti rigorously”]

Such verses, giving these scriptures the status of “Immutable”, are justifiable keeping in mind that common intellect of mankind was inferior in ancient times (before scientific progression and renaissance). May be to follow the scripture rigorously was the way to attain law and order in those primordial societies. But, today the same scriptures create sentimental havoc and religious tension across the geography. If the current interpretation of these Holy Scriptures is correct, than even, we should understand with all gentility that it’s irrelevant to be rigorous or insistent towards one’s own religious sentiments. One should have scientific and skeptic approach to redefine and restructure one’s own religion to make it competent with the modern time.

And…

Here we have “A Ray Of Good Hope” from London, few visionaries, as The Hindu states “a group of concerned British Muslims, mostly from South Asia, has set out to put this idea of Islam on its head by stimulating debate around the very issues that “good” Muslims are forbidden to explore”, are harvesting the golden future, with the apt name “Critical Muslim”, The Hindu continues, “The Critical Muslim, a new international quarterly from the London-based Muslim Institute, is as much an attempt to intellectually reclaim Islam from fundamentalists and reshape it for a modern age as it is a response to those who believe that there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim or moderate Muslim viewpoint”

Official site of Critical Muslim states, “Critical Muslim is a quarterly magazine of ideas and issues showcasing ground-breaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world.”

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Is my religion perfect? Should it be unchanging?

Ziauddin Sardar, Professor of Law and Society, Middlesex University, and a co-Editor of Critical Musli, answers (in context to Islam, but all other religion should voluntarily realize the importance of Ziauddin’s words in context of their own religions as well) that “Lack of critical thought, over centuries, has allowed extremism and obscurantism to become intrinsic in our societies. Without criticism, and an openness to embrace the wider world, Islam and Muslims are reduced to ciphers — incapable of generating new and original ideas, solving the pressing problems of our societies, and making their mark on the world”.

Though few Muslim’s are brainstorming and spreading critical wisdom through quarterly magazine Critical Muslim, I feel, everyone (Muslims and Non-Muslims both) should read Critical Muslim to ensure that the critical zeal and sensibility of this intelligentsia meet its destiny.

***

 Will ETs have Islamophobia?

I think it depends on sincerity of A Critical Muslim and sensibility of A Non-Muslim…!!!

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” – Winston Churchill

Will ETs have Islamophobia?

We are in Year 2020. Finally human race has come to know the existence of ET and (perhaps, on seeing their supernatural powers!!!) have, not only welcomed, but also, extended the sentiment of brotherhood…!!! ET community has been accepted worldwide, leaving all sorts of religious, national, political incongruities aside. Moreover they have been provided world citizenship!!! Leaders of the community roam around the world. They explore and embrace the spirit of dazzling Time Square of New York and tranquil colonies of Paris, glittering Great Golden Bridge of London to sweaty hustle and bustle of Mumbai. They trigger their mind (installed with supernatural power of tracing the past, the present and the future of the place they breathe in) and out of fear, anxiety, unease they all encounter with the same phenomenon (which human beings refer to the dark reality of our times and they gradually have accepted the co-existence of the same!!!) called, TERRORISM…!!!

Their super-minds have analyzed the first set of data and that states:

New York, America:

The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/11) were a series of four suicide attacks that were committed in the United States on September 11, 2001, coordinated to strike the areas of New York City and Washington, D.C. On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally piloted two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. The hijackers also intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and intended to pilot the fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, into a target in Washington, D.C.; however, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to take control of the jet from the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks including the 227 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes, none of whom survived.

London, UK:

The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in London which targeted civilians using the public transport system during the morning rush hour. Fifty-two people, as well as the four bombers, were killed in the attacks, and over 700 more were injured.

Mumbai, India

The 2008 Mumbai attacks (sometimes referred to as 26/11) were 11 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India’s largest city, by terrorists who allegedly came from Pakistan. The attackers allegedly received reconnaissance assistance before the attacks. Ajmal Kasab later confessed upon interrogation that the attacks were conducted with the support of Pakistan’s ISI. The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday, 26 November and lasted until Saturday, 29 November 2008, killing 164 people and wounding at least 308.

Paris, France

Two months after he was shot dead by French special forces, a 23-year-old Algerian origin terrorist was found to have been plotting to attack the Indian embassy in Paris on the direction of his Taliban handlers in Pakistan. Quoting sources from the French Internal Intelligence and the Special Forces, Le Monde reported that Mohamed Merah’s Taliban handlers in Pakistan had tasked him to attack the Indian mission in Paris.

CUT. CUT. CUT.

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Let’s come out of the fictional plot of ETs. ET community is nothing but the metaphor of the community of young generation, entered this “holy” earth in the post 9/11 era. After such (unfortunate) findings, what comes to their mind pronto?

1. Attackers were…                                         …Muslims

2. In the name of…                                          …Jihad

3. At the root of all this…                             …Islamic Fundamentalism

4. They are following…                                 …Quran

What is Islamophobia?

Asking Wikipedia, answer goes like this:

“Islamophobia is prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or Muslims The term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.”

Will “ET”s have Islamophobia?

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Islamophobia is spreading incessantly. The Hindu sates (May 17, 2012) “Mohamed Merah, the terrorist who was shot dead by the French Special Forces in Toulouse on March 22, had also planned to attack the Indian Embassy in Paris, French daily Le Monde reported.” This seems like usual junky terror news. But what comes next is subtly shocking, and something which is the doomed danger, humanity is entering into, The Hindu continues, “Well-placed sources in France who cannot be quoted say the French intelligence services are extremely worried over the growing radicalisation within the Muslim community here. France has the largest concentration of Muslims in Europe, an estimated five million and it is often the young, under-educated and unskilled Muslims of Arab origin, who are radicalised and lured into jihad.”

Intelligentsia, torch bearer of human rights, social activists and creative humanist souls (film-makers to painters, writers to cartoonists) roar again and again, “Terrorists are Muslim, Muslims are not Terrorists”. The poignant question is “Will this logically correct statement work to squeeze humanity undivided?” I seriously, and sincerely, think it won’t. If coming generations will put themselves into a catastrophic divide, I would equally condemn inert (precisely young) Muslims who overlook the issue of rebranding and restructuring Islam and Non-Muslims who are insensitive towards the religious and righteous sensitivity of Islam.

What is the way out from this suffocating smoked air of Islamophobia?

What can we do as a normal human-being (who is indifferent to “Idea of Islam and non-Islam”?) to save ourselves from the possible catastrophic divide?

Stage is all open to pour your thoughts; I will come back with the “Ray Of Good Hope” soon…!!!

[Note: Author finds himself beyond any religious and fundamentalist partisan. Author has high regards and reverence for Quran, he is proud to have such a holy and beautiful text, living for so long with such an overflow of prevailing insanity. Soon, scholastic and modern interpretation of Quran will be published from these journals…!!!]

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