Farouk Gulsara's Blog, page 161
July 31, 2016
To know is to know that you know not!
My mother was dead sure 55 years ago that her predicament was induced by poverty. She blamed her father for not ensuring that education was given importance to the girls of the family. In his case, he generally thought that education was quite a waste of time when precious time could be used in the workforce and the continuity of survival. She was crossed that her husband did not have the means to give her pleasure of sitting haughtily cross-legged on her throne as the mistress of her own home but instead had to be contended to make other people's home tidy and clean. She cursed the stars that she was born under that cast a spell that it was necessary to bring in a second source of income to her young family.
And then that happened. It was a series of maladies that were destined to happen as she ventured into her family life. After nine months of carrying an apparently normal baby boy, she delivered a stillbirth! Scrutinising the lifeless stillborn child, she noticed dark marks on his cheeks and back. All through her grieving period, through the consoling words of her friends, she thought she came to learn of the reason for her loss...
Slapped CheekShe remembered that day vividly. The bus had arrived late, and she was rushing to her workplace. To reach her destination on time and to avoid embarrassment in front of her contemporaries and employer, she, in her obviously pregnant state took a short cut. It involved walking diagonally through a Christian graveyard. As fate had it, a funeral procession was in session. She felt a cool zephyr pass by, and suddenly she felt an intense feeling of apprehension as she approached the crowd. She passed it off as tiredness of pregnancy, the heat and her fast-paced movement. A few weeks after that episode, the mishap happened. Her world came crumbling down. The loss of a male heir to rewrite her life history came to zilch. No one could give her a decent explanation for her loss.
Thanks to her street-smart, worldly friends, there was closure. It seems that the Grimm Reaper, in his zest to recruit more souls to his side, was on a wild hunt at the heat of the noon sun. An easy prey was standing in from of him in the form of a gravid mother. All Satan needed to do was to give a tight slap on the fetal cheek and back and viola, another one bit the dust, another soul to the dark side.
Everything fitted in fine like lock and key. She had another reason to be melancholic about life. Poverty drove her to work braving the sun and graveyards to make ends meet. And impoverishment made her lose her child. That was her understanding of her loss. Life moved on. She went to deliver three other children and the grace of God and her unwavering loyalty to the Almighty.
In her mind everything made sense. She, in her gestational state, should have known better that to venture into sensitive areas, like a graveyard where restless souls looked for company. What more, at the height of the time when the sun when it is at its peak above the head! It was her fault, she thought, but she justified her actions and the outcome of her fate.
Little did she realise, she never came to know until her second-born who later made it to medical school enlightened her on a condition called 'slapped cheek syndrome' or 'fifth disease' caused by a virus (Parvovirus B19). It was known to cause stillbirths. It was inconsequential, anyway. Much water had passed the bridge.
One does not have to know the truth, the whole and nothing but the truth to carry on with life. Even though it is unimaginable, life was still going on planet Earth when its occupants though that their planet was a flat pancake. Just like the explanation of interference of unknown forces just work fine for my mother. Many things were accepted with simple, which now seems mumbo-jumbo, explanations. She agreed to the fact that one cannot know everything and some stones are better left unturned. It gave her closure to meet another challenge in life.
Socrates was quoted to have said that 'to know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of real knowledge'. The problem is how far you want to go to seek the truth. Somehow, one has to draw the line somewhere, pacify himself with his limited knowledge and move on to do other things in life.
"What I do not know, I do not think I know"Socratic paradox. http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
And then that happened. It was a series of maladies that were destined to happen as she ventured into her family life. After nine months of carrying an apparently normal baby boy, she delivered a stillbirth! Scrutinising the lifeless stillborn child, she noticed dark marks on his cheeks and back. All through her grieving period, through the consoling words of her friends, she thought she came to learn of the reason for her loss...
Slapped CheekShe remembered that day vividly. The bus had arrived late, and she was rushing to her workplace. To reach her destination on time and to avoid embarrassment in front of her contemporaries and employer, she, in her obviously pregnant state took a short cut. It involved walking diagonally through a Christian graveyard. As fate had it, a funeral procession was in session. She felt a cool zephyr pass by, and suddenly she felt an intense feeling of apprehension as she approached the crowd. She passed it off as tiredness of pregnancy, the heat and her fast-paced movement. A few weeks after that episode, the mishap happened. Her world came crumbling down. The loss of a male heir to rewrite her life history came to zilch. No one could give her a decent explanation for her loss.Thanks to her street-smart, worldly friends, there was closure. It seems that the Grimm Reaper, in his zest to recruit more souls to his side, was on a wild hunt at the heat of the noon sun. An easy prey was standing in from of him in the form of a gravid mother. All Satan needed to do was to give a tight slap on the fetal cheek and back and viola, another one bit the dust, another soul to the dark side.
Everything fitted in fine like lock and key. She had another reason to be melancholic about life. Poverty drove her to work braving the sun and graveyards to make ends meet. And impoverishment made her lose her child. That was her understanding of her loss. Life moved on. She went to deliver three other children and the grace of God and her unwavering loyalty to the Almighty.
In her mind everything made sense. She, in her gestational state, should have known better that to venture into sensitive areas, like a graveyard where restless souls looked for company. What more, at the height of the time when the sun when it is at its peak above the head! It was her fault, she thought, but she justified her actions and the outcome of her fate.
Little did she realise, she never came to know until her second-born who later made it to medical school enlightened her on a condition called 'slapped cheek syndrome' or 'fifth disease' caused by a virus (Parvovirus B19). It was known to cause stillbirths. It was inconsequential, anyway. Much water had passed the bridge.
One does not have to know the truth, the whole and nothing but the truth to carry on with life. Even though it is unimaginable, life was still going on planet Earth when its occupants though that their planet was a flat pancake. Just like the explanation of interference of unknown forces just work fine for my mother. Many things were accepted with simple, which now seems mumbo-jumbo, explanations. She agreed to the fact that one cannot know everything and some stones are better left unturned. It gave her closure to meet another challenge in life.
Socrates was quoted to have said that 'to know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of real knowledge'. The problem is how far you want to go to seek the truth. Somehow, one has to draw the line somewhere, pacify himself with his limited knowledge and move on to do other things in life.
"What I do not know, I do not think I know"Socratic paradox. http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 30, 2016
The right to offend and be offended
http://www.familytrek.org/wp-content/... saw a video clip recently on the social media. It took place within the confines of an underground train. A mother was seen nursing her infant in a sparsely occupied coach. She was admonished for exposing herself in public. The man who accused her of public indecency insisted that his liberty of not wanting to see a naked lady had been denied. Slowly, the fellow passengers joined to support the lactating mother, but the man stood his ground. He accused her of not bothering about how others would feel seeing a naked breast in plain view. The argument went on for some time till it was time for one of them to disembark.A few months ago, a Muslim man is a Hindu-majority village in India was lynched to death when the village holy man announced that a particular occupant was in possession of beef. A mob, primarily vegans who thought that by controlling their cravings for blood and meat would be able to reach eternal bliss and be one with God, decided to ambush the Musalman's abode and make mince meat out of him.
So, there is a dilemma between what is offensive and when it acceptable to feel offended? Is it all right to offend another as it is an individual's right to do what he wants? Is it not also a person's right not to be ridiculed of his practices and be offended? The world community has agreed that every human creation has been bestowed upon him certain rights. Hence, by right, he should be able to demand those things that are due to him. But, only he alone is entitled to human rights, not the person he is offending?
On the other hand, feeling offended is the story of humanity. This offence drives him to strive harder. The natives who felt offended by the antics of their colonial master for treating them as sub-human were the driving force that pushed them to strive harder to squash the yoke of colonisation. This inferiority complex pushed humanity forward to fight orthodoxy.
Are we mollycoddling the minority or the vulnerable by giving them an umbrella of protection by shielding them from the reality of the world? Perhaps we should reflect upon these two quotations:
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt
“Avoiding offense means that we don't accept each other as equals.”
~Ayaan Hirsi Ali (activist, reformist, opponent of FGM)
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boyhttp://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 29, 2016
Poetry is in the silences and pauses between words!
Aligarh (2016)
Young men flirt with young girls in the open (and vice versa) but most people in an urban setting would not think much of it. But when two consenting men decide to show their passion to each other in the secluded privacy of their home, the public agrees that it is their God-sanctioned duty to shame the deviant couple! They insist that it is against the norm of Nature and would go to great lengths to correct this, even if to kill, in spite of God's plea for the conservation of all of His creations. They are not interested in scientific and medical explanations for their aberrance. They say "it is all crystal clear. He decreed, we follow. It is my duty to ensure that His law is carried out here on earth. Period."
This, is the essence, is the story of a Professor in India's third highest ranking University, Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. Professor Shrinivas R. Siras, a 62-year-old divorcee, six months from his retirement, heads the Department of Modern Indian Languages. He had been honoured for his works, in particular, a romantic poem on the moon at the national level.
The news of his consensual sex with a male rickshaw puller hit the headlines one day. His ungentlemanly conduct cost him his job, created a public uproar, media frenzy and student demonstration.
This film tells his story from the angle for an intern journalist, Deepu Sebastian (Rajkummar Rao). He builds a rapport with the professor (an excellent performance by Manoj Bajpayee) who has been suspended and is on the run from hostile homophobes in the university. Deepu discovers the incredibly lonely life that Siras leads, indulging himself in old songs, poetry, writing and teaching. His post comes with many jealous subordinates who are just out to discredit and disgrace him.
Siras sues the University for reinstatement. At that time, homosexuality was decriminalised by the Delhi High Court and Siras got off the hook. Unfortunately soon after the verdict, he was found dead in mysterious circumstances. His case was closed by the police due to insufficient evidence.
Aligarh University has an ancient history. It was set up in late 19th century by a set of local visionaries who wanted Indians especially of Muslim descent, to seek knowledge to the edge of the world to meet modern day demands. The idea came about when the founder visited Oxbridge. The tradition of intellectual discourse goes back to the Golden Era of Islamic Civilisation when think-tanks of the day used their argumentative skills to impart their input to unravel the mystery of life and universe. They were receptive to new knowledge. Unfortunately, over time, complacency had closed the mind to new critical thinking and clergymen are quite content solving modern day problems with medieval formulas. And it has proved disastrous, so far.
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 27, 2016
Life is a battle field?
A Dangerous Method 2011
This is a classic piece that would probably appeal mostly to readers and students of psychology. As it is neither filled with action packed scenes nor with cliffhanging sequences, it may excite only a niche portion of viewers. In essence, it tells the interaction between Freud and his student, Karl Jung, their correspondences and Jung's search for the meaning of life. Central to the story is Jung's Russian patient, a Sabina Spielrein, who he treats for hysteria and eventually becomes his mistress.
Jung is a diligent Swiss psychiatrist who immerses himself in work, paying scant attention to other things in his life, including his pregnant wife. He receives a troubled Russian young lady (Sabina, Keira Knightley) as a patient. Jung treats her with his 'talking cure', a new technique learnt from Freud's writings. Through his psychoanalysis, he deduces that her tics and appalling behaviour can be related to her father's abuse on her. Even though she abhorred her father's actions, deep inside she seemed to derive pleasure but feel guilty of it at the same time! He nurses her to health, and she pursues her lifelong ambition of being a doctor.
Jung receives a referral from Freud of a wayward psychoanalyst, Dr Otto Gross. He is a disturbed son of a wealthy aristocrat, a physician not by interest but familial pressure and has unorthodox views on patient-doctor relationship. He abuses drugs and has no qualms redefining doctor-patient relationship, submitting to the pleasures of the flesh without having an iota of guilt. His views are so compelling that Jung starts questioning his own code of ethics.
By then, Sabina is well and is helping in Jung's work. She explicitly pours her feelings and Jung, in the turmoil of an empty familial relationship and positive transference, surrenders to the demands of the flesh. He starts an affair with Sabina.
Freud's legendary first meeting in Vienna goes on for 13hours. Even though initially they saw many common grounds, over the years they diverged. Jung found Freud overbearing. He believed the world of medicine is as it is. We, the human species are here, period. We have issues, and we have to deal with the present problem. Sexual issues played a central theme in many of Freud's explanation to our maladies, which Jung could not accept wholesale. Jung wanted to use supernatural forces and mysticism in treatment, but Freud vehemently disagreed.
Jung's torrid affair soon became common knowledge. It also became a reason for him to part ways with Freud. Eventually, he ended his liaison with Sabina and both went separate ways.
Perhaps what the movie is trying to show to us, which may deviate from actually happened in real life, is the interplay of Freud's mind dynamics in interaction in our daily lives. For instance in Jung's relationship, we see Jung as the ego trying to become the compromiser between Sabina (the id, the temptress) and his wife (the superego, the icon of perfection). In his professional conduct, he has to balance between Freud (the superego, the emblem of perfect doctor) against Otto (the id, the one who succumbs to primordial needs without a care to societal norms).
Our daily life is a constant battle - trying to reach the ideal situation and at the same time seeking to enjoy our time on Earth, enjoying ourselves as we only live once. Or is life on Earth is just a testing ground sent by our Maker to determine where we would spend our time in Eternity? How cruel!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
This is a classic piece that would probably appeal mostly to readers and students of psychology. As it is neither filled with action packed scenes nor with cliffhanging sequences, it may excite only a niche portion of viewers. In essence, it tells the interaction between Freud and his student, Karl Jung, their correspondences and Jung's search for the meaning of life. Central to the story is Jung's Russian patient, a Sabina Spielrein, who he treats for hysteria and eventually becomes his mistress.Jung is a diligent Swiss psychiatrist who immerses himself in work, paying scant attention to other things in his life, including his pregnant wife. He receives a troubled Russian young lady (Sabina, Keira Knightley) as a patient. Jung treats her with his 'talking cure', a new technique learnt from Freud's writings. Through his psychoanalysis, he deduces that her tics and appalling behaviour can be related to her father's abuse on her. Even though she abhorred her father's actions, deep inside she seemed to derive pleasure but feel guilty of it at the same time! He nurses her to health, and she pursues her lifelong ambition of being a doctor.
Jung receives a referral from Freud of a wayward psychoanalyst, Dr Otto Gross. He is a disturbed son of a wealthy aristocrat, a physician not by interest but familial pressure and has unorthodox views on patient-doctor relationship. He abuses drugs and has no qualms redefining doctor-patient relationship, submitting to the pleasures of the flesh without having an iota of guilt. His views are so compelling that Jung starts questioning his own code of ethics.
By then, Sabina is well and is helping in Jung's work. She explicitly pours her feelings and Jung, in the turmoil of an empty familial relationship and positive transference, surrenders to the demands of the flesh. He starts an affair with Sabina.
Freud's legendary first meeting in Vienna goes on for 13hours. Even though initially they saw many common grounds, over the years they diverged. Jung found Freud overbearing. He believed the world of medicine is as it is. We, the human species are here, period. We have issues, and we have to deal with the present problem. Sexual issues played a central theme in many of Freud's explanation to our maladies, which Jung could not accept wholesale. Jung wanted to use supernatural forces and mysticism in treatment, but Freud vehemently disagreed.Jung's torrid affair soon became common knowledge. It also became a reason for him to part ways with Freud. Eventually, he ended his liaison with Sabina and both went separate ways.
Perhaps what the movie is trying to show to us, which may deviate from actually happened in real life, is the interplay of Freud's mind dynamics in interaction in our daily lives. For instance in Jung's relationship, we see Jung as the ego trying to become the compromiser between Sabina (the id, the temptress) and his wife (the superego, the icon of perfection). In his professional conduct, he has to balance between Freud (the superego, the emblem of perfect doctor) against Otto (the id, the one who succumbs to primordial needs without a care to societal norms).
Our daily life is a constant battle - trying to reach the ideal situation and at the same time seeking to enjoy our time on Earth, enjoying ourselves as we only live once. Or is life on Earth is just a testing ground sent by our Maker to determine where we would spend our time in Eternity? How cruel!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 25, 2016
Do we do it for love?
I
rudhi Suttru (இறுதிசுத்த்று, Final round, Tamil; 2015)
This flick which falls under the new category as far as the Tamil cinema is concerned, sports drama, was recommended by a long time connoisseur of Indian arts, music and performing arts. I decided to give it a go.
I was floored by what I saw. It breathes a fresh of new air into an otherwise stereotypical exploitative misogynistic world of Indian cinema which pays more attention to the erotic female part of the anatomy rather than exploring themes of empowerment and positivity. For the outset, one can kind of predict the direction of the movie, just as most stories from this genre are. There are more things to see here than the mere storyline and eye-candy. It is the setting, the simple real to life acting and realistic boxing that are the selling points of the offering. Sorry, no glamorous, exotic looking Aryan beauties in psychedelic-hued garbs to savour, just sweaty girls from the fishermen's village in boxing shorts (not boxer shorts!).
The songs are not sung by actors but form as a background score to set the mood to the flow of the story. The songs most sound like traditional village songs with understandable Tamil wordings and skeletal accompanying percussions.
A disgruntled sportsman with loads of potential failing to rise to the occasion due to unavoidable circumstances, own follies or external manipulation is all too familiar to us. Due to non-conformity to rest of the corrupt officials with personal agendas and self-gratification, Prabhu is non-ceremoniously sacked from his coaching job in Delhi and is sent off as a punishment to an under-sponsored under-performing amateur boxing club by a fishing village. Prabhu lives a bitter life after failing to hit it big in the international boxing arena after a sabotage and after his wife walked out from his life.
He detects an unexpected talent in an untameable crude young fisherwoman, Madhi. In the sea of mediocrity, he sees raw trainable talent for world class boxing. All through the turmoil of sibling rivalry, the sister's passion for making it to the police academy, family poverty perpetrated by a drunken father, attitude problems, puppy love and sabotage from the top, the hero expectedly, extracts the pearl from the mud which harvests the oyster!
Two things struck me as I was watching this movie. Firstly, the concept of love in the modern world, no thanks to the lingua franca of the world with its limited vocabulary for the word 'love', every gratifying feeling is equated to passionate lustful love. Perhaps because of the fear of growing old and unproductive, modern man subconsciously tries to keep the fire for lust burning in his belly way past his shelf life, sometimes with the help of pharmaceutical agents.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who was thechief guest, with Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Ellis during a boxing match in Madras on January 31, 1980. Next, everybody in the film seems to be behaving as if they are sacrificing for another. Madhi is frustrated as she has to give up so much to take care of the family as the father neglects his duty as the head. The father feels he is suffering by having two female heirs, instead of sons, as a curse for marrying outside his caste. The elder sister believes her sister, Madhi, is spoiling her chances by boxing better, but she gives in. The mother feels she gives in to the whims and fancies of her alcoholic husband to ensure the family stays intact. The coach uses his own funds to sponsor the boxers, another sacrifice! Are they all genuinely going out of their way for the love of it, the game, the bond, the passion of the sport or the DNA-blood relationships? Is it based on self-interest? The pride of having a kid who is a world champion, the coach who geared his student to the world stage or the fame and wealth behind these?
Another subtle message that is sneakily made evident is how different generations, particularly the women folks, go with their day to day challenges. The older GenX ladies appear more fatalistic in expecting many outcomes in life. They accept their second-class role in society almost willingly. The millennials take nothing lying down. They give a good fight, standing shoulder-to-shoulder challenging the obstacle ahead eye-to-eye with their counterparts of the opposite sex!
A highly recommended movie. Remade in Hindi as well (Saala Khadoos). An example of the direction of the new wave of Indian cinema. In the same vein as ' Bhag Milka Bhag', 'Mary Kom.'http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
This flick which falls under the new category as far as the Tamil cinema is concerned, sports drama, was recommended by a long time connoisseur of Indian arts, music and performing arts. I decided to give it a go.
I was floored by what I saw. It breathes a fresh of new air into an otherwise stereotypical exploitative misogynistic world of Indian cinema which pays more attention to the erotic female part of the anatomy rather than exploring themes of empowerment and positivity. For the outset, one can kind of predict the direction of the movie, just as most stories from this genre are. There are more things to see here than the mere storyline and eye-candy. It is the setting, the simple real to life acting and realistic boxing that are the selling points of the offering. Sorry, no glamorous, exotic looking Aryan beauties in psychedelic-hued garbs to savour, just sweaty girls from the fishermen's village in boxing shorts (not boxer shorts!).
The songs are not sung by actors but form as a background score to set the mood to the flow of the story. The songs most sound like traditional village songs with understandable Tamil wordings and skeletal accompanying percussions.
A disgruntled sportsman with loads of potential failing to rise to the occasion due to unavoidable circumstances, own follies or external manipulation is all too familiar to us. Due to non-conformity to rest of the corrupt officials with personal agendas and self-gratification, Prabhu is non-ceremoniously sacked from his coaching job in Delhi and is sent off as a punishment to an under-sponsored under-performing amateur boxing club by a fishing village. Prabhu lives a bitter life after failing to hit it big in the international boxing arena after a sabotage and after his wife walked out from his life.
He detects an unexpected talent in an untameable crude young fisherwoman, Madhi. In the sea of mediocrity, he sees raw trainable talent for world class boxing. All through the turmoil of sibling rivalry, the sister's passion for making it to the police academy, family poverty perpetrated by a drunken father, attitude problems, puppy love and sabotage from the top, the hero expectedly, extracts the pearl from the mud which harvests the oyster!
Two things struck me as I was watching this movie. Firstly, the concept of love in the modern world, no thanks to the lingua franca of the world with its limited vocabulary for the word 'love', every gratifying feeling is equated to passionate lustful love. Perhaps because of the fear of growing old and unproductive, modern man subconsciously tries to keep the fire for lust burning in his belly way past his shelf life, sometimes with the help of pharmaceutical agents.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who was thechief guest, with Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Ellis during a boxing match in Madras on January 31, 1980. Next, everybody in the film seems to be behaving as if they are sacrificing for another. Madhi is frustrated as she has to give up so much to take care of the family as the father neglects his duty as the head. The father feels he is suffering by having two female heirs, instead of sons, as a curse for marrying outside his caste. The elder sister believes her sister, Madhi, is spoiling her chances by boxing better, but she gives in. The mother feels she gives in to the whims and fancies of her alcoholic husband to ensure the family stays intact. The coach uses his own funds to sponsor the boxers, another sacrifice! Are they all genuinely going out of their way for the love of it, the game, the bond, the passion of the sport or the DNA-blood relationships? Is it based on self-interest? The pride of having a kid who is a world champion, the coach who geared his student to the world stage or the fame and wealth behind these?Another subtle message that is sneakily made evident is how different generations, particularly the women folks, go with their day to day challenges. The older GenX ladies appear more fatalistic in expecting many outcomes in life. They accept their second-class role in society almost willingly. The millennials take nothing lying down. They give a good fight, standing shoulder-to-shoulder challenging the obstacle ahead eye-to-eye with their counterparts of the opposite sex!
A highly recommended movie. Remade in Hindi as well (Saala Khadoos). An example of the direction of the new wave of Indian cinema. In the same vein as ' Bhag Milka Bhag', 'Mary Kom.'http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 24, 2016
Humanity or rules: which takes precedence?
Unnal Mudiyum Thambi (உன்னால் முடியும் தம்பி, You
can do it Brother, Tamil; 1988)
Direction: K. Balachander
A young Brahmin boy is busy chanting hymns under his breath as he walks to the temple lake to perform his daily abolitions. He sees a blind, hungry beggar struggling to pick up a piece of banana throw for her. He can see that she is going to fall off the stairs, but he does not help her. He does not want to break his ritual. Another beggar who sees the whole scenario helps her but admonishes the boy for giving more importance to rituals than humanity. Herein lies the dilemma that plagued the adolescent for the rest of his life. One one hand, his father, is a dogmatic stickler of Vedantic scripture and a classical Indian music maestro who would rather die than have the age-old Hindu traditions. One the other hand, the boy, Udayamurthi (Kamalhasan), can see so much social injustice around him that his father, a big man in the society, is turning a blind eye.
Udaya is the younger of the two sons of the maestro (Gemini Ganesan). The pressure is mounting on him to continue the family tradition as the older brother is vocally challenged. Conflicts arise as the father has set his bar too high to achieve, and Udaya is just not cut for it. His attention is in social work. To make matters worse, he falls for a firebrand same minded girl who is from the untouchable caste.
The rest of the story is how Udaya reforms the working class people of his area. He gets the men to stop drinking and getting the kids going to school again instead of working as child labours in an illicit match factory nearby to finance their fathers' unquenchable appetite to the bottle.
This social motivational movie is a feel good one to impress upon the masses that their fate is within their control. They should not surrender everything to fate but instead, grab the bull by their horns and change things for the better. It hints that traditional rituals are selfish in that it is only to prosper one's own self for their afterlife or karmic cycle, not for the present life on earth. As to serve the needy is divine, there is no need to search far to seek the real purpose of life. It is staring right at our faces.
Keeping with the times, the 80s, when there was a renaissance of sorts to revive the richness of South Indian music, the various ragas and talas are highlighted here. The doyens, Gemini, Manorama (as Udaya's sister-in-law) and Kamal himself gave sterling performances.
The burning question remains. Are we living for the now or is our sole purpose of survival here is to accumulate points for the afterlife which is a mighty long time? Is living a hedonistic process of self-indulgence, self-gratification, being happy and self-centred? Or is a life dedicated to other fellow human beings need? We will never know in our lifetime just like the many who have tried and left their thoughts behind for us to ponder and stay ever confused and non-wiser!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
Direction: K. Balachander
A young Brahmin boy is busy chanting hymns under his breath as he walks to the temple lake to perform his daily abolitions. He sees a blind, hungry beggar struggling to pick up a piece of banana throw for her. He can see that she is going to fall off the stairs, but he does not help her. He does not want to break his ritual. Another beggar who sees the whole scenario helps her but admonishes the boy for giving more importance to rituals than humanity. Herein lies the dilemma that plagued the adolescent for the rest of his life. One one hand, his father, is a dogmatic stickler of Vedantic scripture and a classical Indian music maestro who would rather die than have the age-old Hindu traditions. One the other hand, the boy, Udayamurthi (Kamalhasan), can see so much social injustice around him that his father, a big man in the society, is turning a blind eye.Udaya is the younger of the two sons of the maestro (Gemini Ganesan). The pressure is mounting on him to continue the family tradition as the older brother is vocally challenged. Conflicts arise as the father has set his bar too high to achieve, and Udaya is just not cut for it. His attention is in social work. To make matters worse, he falls for a firebrand same minded girl who is from the untouchable caste.
The rest of the story is how Udaya reforms the working class people of his area. He gets the men to stop drinking and getting the kids going to school again instead of working as child labours in an illicit match factory nearby to finance their fathers' unquenchable appetite to the bottle.
This social motivational movie is a feel good one to impress upon the masses that their fate is within their control. They should not surrender everything to fate but instead, grab the bull by their horns and change things for the better. It hints that traditional rituals are selfish in that it is only to prosper one's own self for their afterlife or karmic cycle, not for the present life on earth. As to serve the needy is divine, there is no need to search far to seek the real purpose of life. It is staring right at our faces.
Keeping with the times, the 80s, when there was a renaissance of sorts to revive the richness of South Indian music, the various ragas and talas are highlighted here. The doyens, Gemini, Manorama (as Udaya's sister-in-law) and Kamal himself gave sterling performances.
The burning question remains. Are we living for the now or is our sole purpose of survival here is to accumulate points for the afterlife which is a mighty long time? Is living a hedonistic process of self-indulgence, self-gratification, being happy and self-centred? Or is a life dedicated to other fellow human beings need? We will never know in our lifetime just like the many who have tried and left their thoughts behind for us to ponder and stay ever confused and non-wiser!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 22, 2016
Hair on end talk!
We were meeting after 30 years and what do we talk about? Hair. Understandably, many had lost their crowning glory or their beauty mane. In the place of David Starsky's luscious fluffy hair and John Denver's mop hair is Kojak's shining scalp. Comparing each other's tonsorial assets was the order of the day.In the land of baldies and the receding hairlines, emerged a man with assets of Samson proportions. Standing steadfastly defiant against his wife's tirade and Delilah-like threats of trimming his lock, Samson stays adamant not to part with new found interest in trichology. Amongst the crowd also stood a gentleman with a scalp thick of Sultan Azlan-type of majestic thick silvery hair and another with a heavy white beard to compensate a somewhat bald head.
Samson justified his penchant for keeping long hair to the same reason why sages and philosophers stay unshaven. It is same justification for psychiatric ward policy of shaving patients with serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia. Besides posing a health risk if these patients decide to indulge in hair bezoar, shaving the head serves as an electromagnetic 'jumpstart' to offset their unusual brain activities, so it seems! We are all aware of the gravitational effect of the moon on events on the tide, mood and lunatics. By keeping their hairs untrimmed, brain activities stay unperturbed, they say.
That would explain why barbers think that they are one step ahead of an average man. Since hair is so important in man's thinking, being constantly immersed in the sea of hair may rub some of the clients' intelligence on them! My barber's philosophy, a topic for another day.
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 20, 2016
Can we be masters of our minds?
BBC Four: Genius of the Modern World (Part 3; Sigmund Freud)
The way I look at it, nothing much was happening till about the Industrial Revolution. Human beings were just vessels to live, work and make the number to ensure that the powerful remained in power. Science and technology not only shook the status quo, it also revolutionise people's thinking. Three individuals who contributed to the revolution of the mind are covered in this set of documentaries - Marx attacked social and economic order, Nietzsche on Christian morality and Sigmund Freud questioned the essence of our mind and existence.
Growing in the cosmopolitan Vienna in the Habsburg Empire, he was exposed to law, philosophy and finally pursued the Natural Sciences. Initially fascinated with Charles Darwin's work, he gave it up for a medical research and later for medical practice.
There was a time when Freud, joining the bandwagon of practitioners who thought that cocaine was the panacea of all ailments, consumed and prescribed it in abundance for the most trivial of reasons like indigestion, insomnia and even alcoholism!
Freud was quite a romantic at heart as seen in many of his actions. Between him and the love of his life, Martha Bernays, they had exchanged 1600 over letters.
In 1885 Paris, hysteria was a common occurrence and was a convenient catchall diagnosis. After working with a renowned neurologist there, Jean-Martin Charcot, Freud continued his research on hysteria in Vienna with a physician Joseph Breuer.
Working with a patient, Anna O, through hypnosis, he postulated of her melancholic past and unpleasant sexual experiences as the cause of her partial paralysis. Since hypnosis was not exploring many of the causes of neuroses, he ventured into talk therapy which evolved to what is now known as psychotherapy.
His explanations to sufferers of hysteria were not taken kindly by them as it involved unproven sexual connexions. He was accused to be fixated with sex when sexual abuse in childhood was suggested as the reason for neuroses. It was dismissed as a scientific fairy tale. He and his fellow-kind were frowned upon as condescending bourgeoisie trying to clamp down their ideologies and exert their superiority over the high browed women. Freud himself later thought that his theory could be flawed as his family members too fell ill with this ailment. The idea of his father abusing his siblings proved just too much.
Freud then explored into the subconscious mind. He thought dreams were the window to this part of the body. His 1899 book 'Interpretation of Dreams' explains this and more. Even in our day to day lives, our unfulfilled desires are accidentally uttered by us in our speech via what was later termed as 'Freudian slip'.
Freud has the honour of making every modern person a psychologist wannabe through his introduction of the terms oedipus complex and penis envy in our vocabulary. He had this idea after watching Sophocles' play about Oedipus Rex slaying of his father, subsequent marrying to his mother and gorging of his own eyes after realising his folly. He proposed the sufferers of neuroses have repressed sexual energy.
Through his case study Dora, a patient with hysteria, he thought she lost her voice after being aroused by her father's friend. He understood the process of transference of energy to the therapist when she became defensive when told about the dynamics of her ailment.
Freud started the Wednesday Psychological Society where psychologists got together and the result of it was three essays on the theory of sexuality. He expanded the concept of sexuality which was beyond just having sex and the discovery of sexual orientation. For a short while, Carl Jung was his messenger to broadcast his new ideas. Jung, a gentile, was just the best catch to spread his new science which was at danger of being labelled 'Jewish Science' but unfortunately Jung left the group unable to stomach Freud's over-dominating demure.
Freud started questioning his own theories after his sons, having returned from the Great War, developed a type of neuroses, termed then as shell-shock (PTSD). Sexuality could not solely explain its occurrence. He thought, beyond the pleasure principle, there must be a death drive. He introduced the 3 elements that controlled our actions - id, ego and superego.
It is said his works were used by his nephew, Edward Bernays in the USA, to use psychological elements in business to entice the animalistic desires of people to buy and indulge in things that they do not need.
1938 was a bad year. Hitler's men moved to Vienna. Freud had a brush with the Gestapo and decided to migrate to England. By then his overindulgence in cigar smoking (20 sticks per day), which he refers to as his single greatest habit, had caused serious repercussions. His mandibular carcinoma had recurred. He could hardly open his mouth but still smoked his cigar by opening his mouth with a clothes' peg. He ended his life by arranging for a lethal dose of morphine.
Sigmund Freud's theories have been ridiculed and disapproved over the years. Nevertheless, he is revered for telling the world that it is normal to be abnormal. Even though his theories have been accused of being tall tales, MRI studies shows that most of our thinking is at sub-conscious level. His ideas have excited advertisers to promise sweet nothings to potential customers. The lure of youth, beauty, sexual prowess and prestige are placed in advertisements. We make sense of who we are. We talk openly about our emotions and its complexities. We place a lot of importance to childhood experiences We are told to face up our past to live a better life. We are told to look inwards to critique ourselves but sometimes we wonder whether this gave rise to our narcissistic culture of self-absorption and self-obsession.
No matter how much we interrogate ourselves, there will still be a part of our mind that stays in the dark. It may manifest when we least expect.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
The way I look at it, nothing much was happening till about the Industrial Revolution. Human beings were just vessels to live, work and make the number to ensure that the powerful remained in power. Science and technology not only shook the status quo, it also revolutionise people's thinking. Three individuals who contributed to the revolution of the mind are covered in this set of documentaries - Marx attacked social and economic order, Nietzsche on Christian morality and Sigmund Freud questioned the essence of our mind and existence.
Growing in the cosmopolitan Vienna in the Habsburg Empire, he was exposed to law, philosophy and finally pursued the Natural Sciences. Initially fascinated with Charles Darwin's work, he gave it up for a medical research and later for medical practice.
There was a time when Freud, joining the bandwagon of practitioners who thought that cocaine was the panacea of all ailments, consumed and prescribed it in abundance for the most trivial of reasons like indigestion, insomnia and even alcoholism!
Freud was quite a romantic at heart as seen in many of his actions. Between him and the love of his life, Martha Bernays, they had exchanged 1600 over letters.
In 1885 Paris, hysteria was a common occurrence and was a convenient catchall diagnosis. After working with a renowned neurologist there, Jean-Martin Charcot, Freud continued his research on hysteria in Vienna with a physician Joseph Breuer.Working with a patient, Anna O, through hypnosis, he postulated of her melancholic past and unpleasant sexual experiences as the cause of her partial paralysis. Since hypnosis was not exploring many of the causes of neuroses, he ventured into talk therapy which evolved to what is now known as psychotherapy.
His explanations to sufferers of hysteria were not taken kindly by them as it involved unproven sexual connexions. He was accused to be fixated with sex when sexual abuse in childhood was suggested as the reason for neuroses. It was dismissed as a scientific fairy tale. He and his fellow-kind were frowned upon as condescending bourgeoisie trying to clamp down their ideologies and exert their superiority over the high browed women. Freud himself later thought that his theory could be flawed as his family members too fell ill with this ailment. The idea of his father abusing his siblings proved just too much.
Freud then explored into the subconscious mind. He thought dreams were the window to this part of the body. His 1899 book 'Interpretation of Dreams' explains this and more. Even in our day to day lives, our unfulfilled desires are accidentally uttered by us in our speech via what was later termed as 'Freudian slip'.
Freud has the honour of making every modern person a psychologist wannabe through his introduction of the terms oedipus complex and penis envy in our vocabulary. He had this idea after watching Sophocles' play about Oedipus Rex slaying of his father, subsequent marrying to his mother and gorging of his own eyes after realising his folly. He proposed the sufferers of neuroses have repressed sexual energy.
Through his case study Dora, a patient with hysteria, he thought she lost her voice after being aroused by her father's friend. He understood the process of transference of energy to the therapist when she became defensive when told about the dynamics of her ailment.
Freud started the Wednesday Psychological Society where psychologists got together and the result of it was three essays on the theory of sexuality. He expanded the concept of sexuality which was beyond just having sex and the discovery of sexual orientation. For a short while, Carl Jung was his messenger to broadcast his new ideas. Jung, a gentile, was just the best catch to spread his new science which was at danger of being labelled 'Jewish Science' but unfortunately Jung left the group unable to stomach Freud's over-dominating demure.
Freud started questioning his own theories after his sons, having returned from the Great War, developed a type of neuroses, termed then as shell-shock (PTSD). Sexuality could not solely explain its occurrence. He thought, beyond the pleasure principle, there must be a death drive. He introduced the 3 elements that controlled our actions - id, ego and superego.
It is said his works were used by his nephew, Edward Bernays in the USA, to use psychological elements in business to entice the animalistic desires of people to buy and indulge in things that they do not need.1938 was a bad year. Hitler's men moved to Vienna. Freud had a brush with the Gestapo and decided to migrate to England. By then his overindulgence in cigar smoking (20 sticks per day), which he refers to as his single greatest habit, had caused serious repercussions. His mandibular carcinoma had recurred. He could hardly open his mouth but still smoked his cigar by opening his mouth with a clothes' peg. He ended his life by arranging for a lethal dose of morphine.
Sigmund Freud's theories have been ridiculed and disapproved over the years. Nevertheless, he is revered for telling the world that it is normal to be abnormal. Even though his theories have been accused of being tall tales, MRI studies shows that most of our thinking is at sub-conscious level. His ideas have excited advertisers to promise sweet nothings to potential customers. The lure of youth, beauty, sexual prowess and prestige are placed in advertisements. We make sense of who we are. We talk openly about our emotions and its complexities. We place a lot of importance to childhood experiences We are told to face up our past to live a better life. We are told to look inwards to critique ourselves but sometimes we wonder whether this gave rise to our narcissistic culture of self-absorption and self-obsession.
No matter how much we interrogate ourselves, there will still be a part of our mind that stays in the dark. It may manifest when we least expect.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 18, 2016
You calculate your survival!
BBC Four: The Story of Maths (2008)
Part 1: The Language of the Universe
If one were to look at the history of the world, there was never a time there was peace on Earth. At every moment, there was some turmoil somewhere. In spite of all that upheavals, destructions and loss of lives and civilisations, we as a human race, have progressed on the long run. In the time of peace, people start becoming curious about their surroundings and start trying to understand its intricacies. They try to explain its pattern and perhaps try to predict its recurrence. Attacking forces usurp this knowledge as theirs and try to improve this further when the dust settles after their inquests. Slowly, learning from to count numbers with our digits, we developed formulas and managed to calculate unfathomable numbers of gargantuan proportions.
Mathematics is said to be the language of the Universe. Marcus De Sautoy, a Mathematician, takes the viewers on a journey of discovery of how Mathematics changed humankind. In this episode, he traces the origin of the field of which predates the Greek mathematicians we are familiar.
Economic reasons to quantitate the taxes to be collected and predict weather pattern in the Nile were strong enough reasons to put maths to full use.
Prof Marcus du SautoyAll the while, I have been wondering why the hour has 60 minutes and so does the minute has 60 seconds. It has to do with the base of 60 that the Babylonians used for calculation. On one hand, the three knuckles on the four finger made 12, and the five fingers eased calculation of bigger numbers. They also had binary numbers. Syrians, which is now in turmoil now, used to the cradle of advanced mathematics. Even before Pythagorean theorem came known to the world, which incidentally may not his discovery, the Egyptian had thought of it.
The story of Mathematics spreads beyond these shores. Alexandria used to the centre of Mathematics with people like Euclid and Hypatia. Legend has it that Hipassus, a member of the Pythagorean cult, was drowned when he could resist the temptation of telling the world about irrational numbers! It is interesting to see how long it took for Man to comprehend concepts that we look at today as a known fact.
Part 2: The Genius of the East
Chinese calculation with rodsThe colonial masters who landed on this side of the world came with a chip on their shoulder. In the eyes, they saw themselves as saviours of humanity who came to liberate them from dark ages. They spread their cultures to the offspring of their subjects who in turn also looked up highly at the masters' knowledge whilst being ashamed of their assumed ignorant past. Little did all of them, barring a few, knew that beneath their history lay a rich past with a wealth of mathematical knowledge.
The Chinese had their way of calculating big numbers with sticks and symbols, volume approximation and complicated equation. Mammoth structures like the Great Wall of China are testimonies of their engineering feats. The Indians introduced the decimal system, the number zero which paradoxically helps to calculate big numbers and even added another plane of number- the negative numbers. Civilisations before them, like the Babylonians and Chinese, only left an empty space to denote nothing (zero). The concept of infinity, pi and trigonometry were thought of by Indians long before 15th century Europe.
The 5th century Islamic Era was a time when knowledge from other regions to bring mathematics to yet another level. Algebra was introduced. Omar Khayyam, the poet, also tried his hand in solving equations.
The first modern European mathematician can be said to be Fibonacci. His endeavour to replace Roman numerals with the easier Hindu-Arabic numbers was met with scorn and suspicion. Fibonacci's number helped to explain many patterns in nature. Bologna was the place where mathematical sorcery took place and from it borne complex cubic equations. The history was rewritten by the Europeans.
Part 3: The Frontiers of Space
Descartes thought of this!As the Golden Age of the Eastern civilisations takes a back seat, modern European mathematicians, many of whom wear many hats, as scientists, painters, philosophers and even sword-yielding sorcerers, go on to discover many peculiar traits of mathematics. Their practical use of this field helps them to propel their race to greater heights.
Many of the icons who thought of new ideas were actually men of faith. The beauty of the thinking trend at that time was that thinking was allowed. They did not feel that humankind had learnt everything that needed to be learnt. They were receptive to changes and had the burning desire to reach even greater heights. Complacency was not the order of the day. Thinking outside the box was allowed. Everybody was trying to outdo each other to show-off their discovery, sometimes with disastrous outcomes.
Fermat's number playPiero Della Francesca used mathematics to perfect his painting of 'The Flagellation of Christ'. We always think of Rene Descartes (of 'I think therefore I am' fame) as a philosopher. He actually started off as a mercenary soldier. In his spare time, I suppose, in between killing people, an epiphany of sorts must have flashed upon him. He tried to merge geometry and algebra, describing curved lines as equations. Marin Mersenne, an ordained priest, was also an accomplished mathematician who even corrected Euclid's calculations. Pierre de Fermat discovered that a prime number which will give a remainder of 1 when divided by four could be rewritten as additions of two squares. His other patterns in maths are used in credit card encryption.
Isaac Newton, besides being a physicist was also a mathematician who was interested to know about acceleration. He had a long battle with Leibniz accusing him of plagiarism. Gottfried Wilheim Leibniz must have been an extraordinary individual. A philosopher, a lawyer, an engineer, a learner of languages, he must also be the first computer engineer for venturing into the binary system through his interest in the Chinese language.
The Bernoulli family from Basel, sympathisers of Leibniz, were great in their own right, introducing the subject of the calculus of variation. One of their student, Leonard Euler, left his mark in St Petersburg. One of his many discoveries is that the addition fractions of squares in descending order equals to π2/6.
The documentary goes on to talk about Gauss, who challenged Euclid geometry which is based on flat topography, János Bolyai with his hyperbolic geometry and Riemann with his high dimensional geometry. I was surprised that there was no mention of Blaise Pascal, who spoke of probability and was instrumental in the discovery of modern calculator.
David Hilbert
Part 4: To infinity and beyond
The final part of the series talks about complicated mathematic theories. In 1900, a German mathematician extraordinaire, David Hilbert, put forward 23 unsolved problems that needed to be tackled. Over the years many experts contributed in one way or another to solve them one by one.
Cantor explained the pattern in the infinite set of whole numbers and fractions. Poincaré worked on geometry, the topography of 2D surfaces and inadvertently suggested the chaos theory and butterfly effect. Leonard Euler used the seven bridges in the town of Kaliningrad to study topology.
Perelman in 2002 finally used flow studies to appreciate 3D shapes.
Euler's problem of crossing Kaliningrad through all itsseven bridges without missing a bridge or passing it twice.Gödel used logic to answer one of Hilbert's question through his 'Incompleteness Theorem'. The death of many mathematicians during WW2 with the dissipation of experts away from the continent marks the end of Europe as a powerhouse of Mathematics.
Europe's loss is Princeton's gain. Many Jewish exiles gain employed at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS). IAS saw Gödel working with Einstein and Paul Cohen, an American. The narrator goes on a spree of name dropping of doyens in the field - Julia Robinson, Yuri Matiyasevich, Galois, Andre Weil, the fictional author Bourbaki and Gronthedieck.
The unsolved problems in Mathematics are the one that makes it a living subject.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
Part 1: The Language of the Universe
If one were to look at the history of the world, there was never a time there was peace on Earth. At every moment, there was some turmoil somewhere. In spite of all that upheavals, destructions and loss of lives and civilisations, we as a human race, have progressed on the long run. In the time of peace, people start becoming curious about their surroundings and start trying to understand its intricacies. They try to explain its pattern and perhaps try to predict its recurrence. Attacking forces usurp this knowledge as theirs and try to improve this further when the dust settles after their inquests. Slowly, learning from to count numbers with our digits, we developed formulas and managed to calculate unfathomable numbers of gargantuan proportions.
Mathematics is said to be the language of the Universe. Marcus De Sautoy, a Mathematician, takes the viewers on a journey of discovery of how Mathematics changed humankind. In this episode, he traces the origin of the field of which predates the Greek mathematicians we are familiar.
Economic reasons to quantitate the taxes to be collected and predict weather pattern in the Nile were strong enough reasons to put maths to full use.
Prof Marcus du SautoyAll the while, I have been wondering why the hour has 60 minutes and so does the minute has 60 seconds. It has to do with the base of 60 that the Babylonians used for calculation. On one hand, the three knuckles on the four finger made 12, and the five fingers eased calculation of bigger numbers. They also had binary numbers. Syrians, which is now in turmoil now, used to the cradle of advanced mathematics. Even before Pythagorean theorem came known to the world, which incidentally may not his discovery, the Egyptian had thought of it.The story of Mathematics spreads beyond these shores. Alexandria used to the centre of Mathematics with people like Euclid and Hypatia. Legend has it that Hipassus, a member of the Pythagorean cult, was drowned when he could resist the temptation of telling the world about irrational numbers! It is interesting to see how long it took for Man to comprehend concepts that we look at today as a known fact.
Part 2: The Genius of the East
Chinese calculation with rodsThe colonial masters who landed on this side of the world came with a chip on their shoulder. In the eyes, they saw themselves as saviours of humanity who came to liberate them from dark ages. They spread their cultures to the offspring of their subjects who in turn also looked up highly at the masters' knowledge whilst being ashamed of their assumed ignorant past. Little did all of them, barring a few, knew that beneath their history lay a rich past with a wealth of mathematical knowledge.
The Chinese had their way of calculating big numbers with sticks and symbols, volume approximation and complicated equation. Mammoth structures like the Great Wall of China are testimonies of their engineering feats. The Indians introduced the decimal system, the number zero which paradoxically helps to calculate big numbers and even added another plane of number- the negative numbers. Civilisations before them, like the Babylonians and Chinese, only left an empty space to denote nothing (zero). The concept of infinity, pi and trigonometry were thought of by Indians long before 15th century Europe.The 5th century Islamic Era was a time when knowledge from other regions to bring mathematics to yet another level. Algebra was introduced. Omar Khayyam, the poet, also tried his hand in solving equations.
The first modern European mathematician can be said to be Fibonacci. His endeavour to replace Roman numerals with the easier Hindu-Arabic numbers was met with scorn and suspicion. Fibonacci's number helped to explain many patterns in nature. Bologna was the place where mathematical sorcery took place and from it borne complex cubic equations. The history was rewritten by the Europeans.
Part 3: The Frontiers of Space
Descartes thought of this!As the Golden Age of the Eastern civilisations takes a back seat, modern European mathematicians, many of whom wear many hats, as scientists, painters, philosophers and even sword-yielding sorcerers, go on to discover many peculiar traits of mathematics. Their practical use of this field helps them to propel their race to greater heights. Many of the icons who thought of new ideas were actually men of faith. The beauty of the thinking trend at that time was that thinking was allowed. They did not feel that humankind had learnt everything that needed to be learnt. They were receptive to changes and had the burning desire to reach even greater heights. Complacency was not the order of the day. Thinking outside the box was allowed. Everybody was trying to outdo each other to show-off their discovery, sometimes with disastrous outcomes.
Fermat's number playPiero Della Francesca used mathematics to perfect his painting of 'The Flagellation of Christ'. We always think of Rene Descartes (of 'I think therefore I am' fame) as a philosopher. He actually started off as a mercenary soldier. In his spare time, I suppose, in between killing people, an epiphany of sorts must have flashed upon him. He tried to merge geometry and algebra, describing curved lines as equations. Marin Mersenne, an ordained priest, was also an accomplished mathematician who even corrected Euclid's calculations. Pierre de Fermat discovered that a prime number which will give a remainder of 1 when divided by four could be rewritten as additions of two squares. His other patterns in maths are used in credit card encryption.Isaac Newton, besides being a physicist was also a mathematician who was interested to know about acceleration. He had a long battle with Leibniz accusing him of plagiarism. Gottfried Wilheim Leibniz must have been an extraordinary individual. A philosopher, a lawyer, an engineer, a learner of languages, he must also be the first computer engineer for venturing into the binary system through his interest in the Chinese language.
The Bernoulli family from Basel, sympathisers of Leibniz, were great in their own right, introducing the subject of the calculus of variation. One of their student, Leonard Euler, left his mark in St Petersburg. One of his many discoveries is that the addition fractions of squares in descending order equals to π2/6.
The documentary goes on to talk about Gauss, who challenged Euclid geometry which is based on flat topography, János Bolyai with his hyperbolic geometry and Riemann with his high dimensional geometry. I was surprised that there was no mention of Blaise Pascal, who spoke of probability and was instrumental in the discovery of modern calculator.
David Hilbert
Part 4: To infinity and beyond
The final part of the series talks about complicated mathematic theories. In 1900, a German mathematician extraordinaire, David Hilbert, put forward 23 unsolved problems that needed to be tackled. Over the years many experts contributed in one way or another to solve them one by one.
Cantor explained the pattern in the infinite set of whole numbers and fractions. Poincaré worked on geometry, the topography of 2D surfaces and inadvertently suggested the chaos theory and butterfly effect. Leonard Euler used the seven bridges in the town of Kaliningrad to study topology.
Perelman in 2002 finally used flow studies to appreciate 3D shapes.
Euler's problem of crossing Kaliningrad through all itsseven bridges without missing a bridge or passing it twice.Gödel used logic to answer one of Hilbert's question through his 'Incompleteness Theorem'. The death of many mathematicians during WW2 with the dissipation of experts away from the continent marks the end of Europe as a powerhouse of Mathematics.Europe's loss is Princeton's gain. Many Jewish exiles gain employed at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS). IAS saw Gödel working with Einstein and Paul Cohen, an American. The narrator goes on a spree of name dropping of doyens in the field - Julia Robinson, Yuri Matiyasevich, Galois, Andre Weil, the fictional author Bourbaki and Gronthedieck.
The unsolved problems in Mathematics are the one that makes it a living subject.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
July 17, 2016
Diversion to maintain sanity or wrong priorities?
Son of Saul (Hungarian; 2015)
Just how far would you go to maintain cultural and religious practices? Even went your life is in danger? In a World War 2 concentration camp when Jews are shovelled into incinerators by Nazis? Well, this is what Saul does. In this disturbing Hungarian movie, set over two days in one of those camps, Jews are lined up, 'processed' to be killed, burned alive, shot and buried in mass graves, emptied their coats of their belongings, and have their ashes spread unceremoniously by the river. It is just a banal activity that goes on there. Saul is a sonderkommando, a run-around helper of the Nazis, who is threatened with death if they do not help the German soldiers in their nefarious act.
Probably to avert his attention from the stresses of yells, screams, and cries of dying people around him, he goes around looking for a rabbi to do the last rights of a young Jewish whom he tried to help and died.
His search for a rabbi amongst the captured Jews in the midst of the morbidly tense atmosphere of the camp and the imminent uprising by his colleague set a high-wire drama of the Holocaust.
Being a Holocaust sympathising film, there are no surprises here. It had been feted with many accolades including the Oscars and Cannes.
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
Just how far would you go to maintain cultural and religious practices? Even went your life is in danger? In a World War 2 concentration camp when Jews are shovelled into incinerators by Nazis? Well, this is what Saul does. In this disturbing Hungarian movie, set over two days in one of those camps, Jews are lined up, 'processed' to be killed, burned alive, shot and buried in mass graves, emptied their coats of their belongings, and have their ashes spread unceremoniously by the river. It is just a banal activity that goes on there. Saul is a sonderkommando, a run-around helper of the Nazis, who is threatened with death if they do not help the German soldiers in their nefarious act.Probably to avert his attention from the stresses of yells, screams, and cries of dying people around him, he goes around looking for a rabbi to do the last rights of a young Jewish whom he tried to help and died.
His search for a rabbi amongst the captured Jews in the midst of the morbidly tense atmosphere of the camp and the imminent uprising by his colleague set a high-wire drama of the Holocaust.
Being a Holocaust sympathising film, there are no surprises here. It had been feted with many accolades including the Oscars and Cannes.
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
