Siddhartha Bhasker's Blog, page 7
October 10, 2014
Naseeruddin Shah in 21 Jump Street, Ahmedabad getting bored.
Note: This post was written on 10th October and all thoughts expressed were born and died on this very day.
Just finished watching the movie 21 Jump Street. One year earlier this movie would probably not have lasted the whole time in my room. But today I found it pretty enjoyable. Yesterday I was reading ‘And then one day’, recently released autobiography of Naseeruddin Shah. Even if the book would have been written an year earlier and I was reading it then, it seems the level of enjoyment would have been the same. But complete trust is never recommended though and so I am unwilling to completely trust the book to get me out of the sheer boredom of today.
The movie is about two newly appointed cops who have been sent undercover to a school to bust the source of drugs among school students. One of them is the typical dude and confident sort and the other nerdy, insecure sort of guy. They exchange their identities in a comical situation. The nerdy guy then gets to do plays and sports whereas the dude ends up in a chemistry class with a lady teacher who develops something for him at the first instance. And then things keep happening and finally they catch up with the ‘dealer’. In between the nerdy guy falls in love, they get expelled from their police duty and there is a bit of Salman Khan type of fight in a party. I guess the writers would have taken some inspiration from Hindi movies. It ends up with the ’yeh dosti hum nahi chhorenge’ kind of emotion between the two cops.
‘And then one day’ is brutally honest and humorous. It makes me laugh every 2nd or 3rd page. Naseeruddin Shah has led an interesting life ‘Anyway, academic rock bottom was hit when in the final exams of Class 9, I fared abysmally and actually gave in my trigonometry paper empty, with an inscription that I hoped would amuse the examiner: ‘If you know the answers, why ask me? And if you don’t how do you expect me to?’
His recollections are vivid in detail ‘My imagination, at age three or four, was helped along greatly by Ammi’s maternal aunt Nani Baji in Sardhana, sightless and a great storyteller, who would spin for us magical yarns at bedtime. One night after the storytelling session, I had a dream in which I saw orges and fairies and flying horses and vanishing castles, the kind of things she told us about from the Tilism-e-Hoshruba fantasies. When I returned, on a magic carpet I think, I saw myself being transported back to my bed through the ventilator in the cavernous room where we slept. When I awoke I saw a shaft of sunlight coming though the ventilator along the exact trajectory I had travelled.’
In between there is logic ‘In cricket one mistake could be the difference between humiliation and glory. In the movies everything turns out right. You could put your faith in a superhero and rest your head on a pillow and sleep.’
He has had his struggling experiences. Anybody who has seen or read some of his interviews would recollect that he is quite satisfied with his life and considers that he was at the right place at the right time. One gets this feeling while reading the book. His tensions with his father and his being a no-gooder early have been referred in a number of ways and provide a reference frame for his love for acting which gave him an identity or rather allowed him to borrow many identities. There are experiences of his sexual encounters which started since schooldays. One of the best parts is where he realises that theatre is his calling after having failed in a lot of things in his life. People interested should read it for some inspiration if not anything else. I have not even read half of the book but am sure that until this book is unfinished I have something to go back to for my recurrent boredom.
Ahmedabad is a wonderful place if you are a very good person. This may not be true in other cases. Of course work is the same in its most basic form, doing something of supposed value in the eyes of society by using your brain or your body and rarely both. With regards to relaxation, one has ample options of relaxing here like good and sober people. Alternative options are not accessible to common folks like me. Added to that if you can't spend much then you need to do things to relax like write random blogs with misleading titles. I just wonder what Naseeruddin Shah would have felt if he was a student here. My guess is for him Bombay would always be close by!
September 28, 2014
Football Shootball...
It’s a fact that there is no game like football. Especially if you play it on the field. Only thing that comes close is the Games People Play. But that’s a different ball game all together.
When the fields are small or uneven, every field has its own dynamics. Added to it if the population on the field is high, then you have a game which only the ones who play understand the intricacies of. At one point of time a large number of players are on the ball like vultures as if there life depended on having it. Legs hitting legs, ball moving like a helpless soul without any cue and players vying for it with mostly naked feet (some of them prefer to play in sandals). The concept of staying in your position and coordination sound a bit Greek to such a bunch of football enthusiast. Only a master dribbler can make a mark. Otherwise for most of the others, the field is a stage and they merely actors.
I had never won a football competition as a team until last year even though have been playing it since school days. For some reason, my teams got excluded and that too mostly on penalties. Last year the institute team with me in it won all competitions it took part in. Many of the matches went till penalty shoot outs. Justice done!
When we used to play at home, if it hadn't rained, there would always be a debate whether to play cricket or football in the evening. Football is an egalitarian game unless you are not a goalkeeper. At my home ground without goal posts, a goalkeeper didn't have much to do other than get abused in case he missed or his throw-in fell onto the legs of someone from the opposite team. But rest of the others had an equal opportunity to show their skills with the ball. Cricket on the other hand was preferred by the senior guys. It gave them an option to show bossism by batting at the top of the order, bowling maximum number of overs and standing in a wicket keeping position (the most comfortable position to field if you have positioned a man behind to fetch the ball in case you miss it).
At my undergraduate institute at kgp the facilities were excellent. That is where I learnt to play with some sort of professionalism. The concept of coordination, speed, positioning etc. took center stage besides working on personal skills. To make it clear I never went to the official training camps. Lack of ability is one reason plus the camp was held early morning! But games between halls were also played with a passion only known to kgpians. Halls of residence would have a self-appointed coach (sometimes) and an official captain. My position was in the midfield. Practice matches, team meetings, planning, inter hall rivalries and friendships being back beautiful memories. And then there was the fight for choosing the Jersey colour. Nobody wanted the yellow green one for some reason.
During work it was not possible to play. But Bombay has its own charm and it keeps you involved in numerous sorts of games from trekking in the rains to boarding local trains to meeting suspicious clients. But football was always missed.
Joining Academia at Ahmedabad again brought back the opportunity to kick some dirt. Owing to old age and effects of a thin stick and foggy lungs, it seemed practical for me to strengthen the defense. Looks to be one of the best decisions of my life till now! At professional institutes things happen professionally. Here we had the opportunity to play inter institute matches held at other similar institutes. Our institute team used to fly to the city of the concerned venue. My father made an observation that even the national teams in India do not have the privilege of flying during their tours! I enjoyed every bit of the game for two years with team members apart from a brief abstinence at the end of the first year. Playing football is like sharing a cigarette in the sense that people you do it with develop a certain kind of unique bond even if you may interact with them only on the field.
Then spring ended and so ended my football for around 6 months. 2 days back I went to the field again. The thin stick never leaves you so opted for goalkeeping after a few shots. A goalkeepers slot is generally empty. A cost benefit analysis of a society of people who are aggressive might show the least returns of playing in that position. Narcissists disclaimer apply here but felt good while goalkeeping the first day. In the night though, the superego knocked in complaining about the demotion (childhood biases). So was back to defending the next day.
Football mirrors life. A quote which as far as I know is attributed to Mike Tyson which says ‘Everybody has a plan until punched in the mouth’ suits the game. One could enter the field with all kinds of coordination and formations on paper. But once the ball gets rolling it comes on skills, practice and a bit of luck to win it. And sometimes as in life even these might not be enough!
When the fields are small or uneven, every field has its own dynamics. Added to it if the population on the field is high, then you have a game which only the ones who play understand the intricacies of. At one point of time a large number of players are on the ball like vultures as if there life depended on having it. Legs hitting legs, ball moving like a helpless soul without any cue and players vying for it with mostly naked feet (some of them prefer to play in sandals). The concept of staying in your position and coordination sound a bit Greek to such a bunch of football enthusiast. Only a master dribbler can make a mark. Otherwise for most of the others, the field is a stage and they merely actors.
I had never won a football competition as a team until last year even though have been playing it since school days. For some reason, my teams got excluded and that too mostly on penalties. Last year the institute team with me in it won all competitions it took part in. Many of the matches went till penalty shoot outs. Justice done!
When we used to play at home, if it hadn't rained, there would always be a debate whether to play cricket or football in the evening. Football is an egalitarian game unless you are not a goalkeeper. At my home ground without goal posts, a goalkeeper didn't have much to do other than get abused in case he missed or his throw-in fell onto the legs of someone from the opposite team. But rest of the others had an equal opportunity to show their skills with the ball. Cricket on the other hand was preferred by the senior guys. It gave them an option to show bossism by batting at the top of the order, bowling maximum number of overs and standing in a wicket keeping position (the most comfortable position to field if you have positioned a man behind to fetch the ball in case you miss it).
At my undergraduate institute at kgp the facilities were excellent. That is where I learnt to play with some sort of professionalism. The concept of coordination, speed, positioning etc. took center stage besides working on personal skills. To make it clear I never went to the official training camps. Lack of ability is one reason plus the camp was held early morning! But games between halls were also played with a passion only known to kgpians. Halls of residence would have a self-appointed coach (sometimes) and an official captain. My position was in the midfield. Practice matches, team meetings, planning, inter hall rivalries and friendships being back beautiful memories. And then there was the fight for choosing the Jersey colour. Nobody wanted the yellow green one for some reason.
During work it was not possible to play. But Bombay has its own charm and it keeps you involved in numerous sorts of games from trekking in the rains to boarding local trains to meeting suspicious clients. But football was always missed.
Joining Academia at Ahmedabad again brought back the opportunity to kick some dirt. Owing to old age and effects of a thin stick and foggy lungs, it seemed practical for me to strengthen the defense. Looks to be one of the best decisions of my life till now! At professional institutes things happen professionally. Here we had the opportunity to play inter institute matches held at other similar institutes. Our institute team used to fly to the city of the concerned venue. My father made an observation that even the national teams in India do not have the privilege of flying during their tours! I enjoyed every bit of the game for two years with team members apart from a brief abstinence at the end of the first year. Playing football is like sharing a cigarette in the sense that people you do it with develop a certain kind of unique bond even if you may interact with them only on the field.
Then spring ended and so ended my football for around 6 months. 2 days back I went to the field again. The thin stick never leaves you so opted for goalkeeping after a few shots. A goalkeepers slot is generally empty. A cost benefit analysis of a society of people who are aggressive might show the least returns of playing in that position. Narcissists disclaimer apply here but felt good while goalkeeping the first day. In the night though, the superego knocked in complaining about the demotion (childhood biases). So was back to defending the next day.
Football mirrors life. A quote which as far as I know is attributed to Mike Tyson which says ‘Everybody has a plan until punched in the mouth’ suits the game. One could enter the field with all kinds of coordination and formations on paper. But once the ball gets rolling it comes on skills, practice and a bit of luck to win it. And sometimes as in life even these might not be enough!
September 22, 2014
Dear Mr. Dear Mrs.
Dear as a word had a different meaning in my student days. One would actually think if the person was dear before addressing him/her so. A friend of mine from who after passing out from a premier institute joined a big consultancy firm as his first job. These firms in big metro cities have plush offices which have plush conference rooms which have HR’s speaking and talking very cordially during the introductory sessions. My friend was emotionally surcharged in his introductory session. Immediately after the session they were provided laptops. The first mail he received was from his female HR which started as ‘Dear Mr…….’. He told me later that he was so taken in by this address that he smoked double his normal quota of cigarettes that day. The poor soul had completely misunderstood his HR’s intentions.
Recently Mr X and Mrs Y exchanged few emails. Mr X is a housing agent in a posh society in Mumbai whereas Mrs Y is a tenant in one of the apartments. Their mail exchanges were short and primarily related to the issue of non-payment of rent by Mrs Y for the last month. Let me add that both of them have had a pretty cold relationship since Mrs Y has rented the apartment sometime back this year. The email exchange is produced below:
Dear Mrs. YSubject line: UrgentYour payment of 30k as monthly rent is pending. You are required to pay the money in the Housing agents office urgently.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XI have already spoken to the owner and he is fine with paying the two months’ rent together at the end of this month. Will do it for sure. Thanks for reminding.Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YThe society is undergoing maintenance work and is in need of funds. Kindly request you to cooperate and pay your rent as soon as possible. Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XI hope you read my previous mail properly. Kindly request you to read it again. I WILL PAY THE RENT AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YWe have been repeatedly telling you to pay your dues. There are other applicants for your apartment. So don’t pressurize us anymore.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XWhat do you mean there are other applicants and how have I been pressurizing you?Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YThe landowner is out of the country so we are not able to reach him. When I had talked to him sometime he didn’t tell me anything related to this. Your non-payment will be considered seriously with him after his return. But for now we need to get money to clean the drainage sewer in the society. Pay urgently.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XI am not sure whether you are reading my mails. But I can’t pay you this month. I hope the maintenance work and drainage cleaning are not affected by the absence of my small rental charges.Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YThis is against the rules of the contract.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XPut the contract up your *s* ***h***. Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YI belong to a good family but have been forced to write this because of your indecent behaviour. Shut up **t**.Thanks,X
X and Y definitely do not find each other dear in the sense it is generally known. They also seem to thank each other for something that is not very clear.
Recently Mr X and Mrs Y exchanged few emails. Mr X is a housing agent in a posh society in Mumbai whereas Mrs Y is a tenant in one of the apartments. Their mail exchanges were short and primarily related to the issue of non-payment of rent by Mrs Y for the last month. Let me add that both of them have had a pretty cold relationship since Mrs Y has rented the apartment sometime back this year. The email exchange is produced below:
Dear Mrs. YSubject line: UrgentYour payment of 30k as monthly rent is pending. You are required to pay the money in the Housing agents office urgently.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XI have already spoken to the owner and he is fine with paying the two months’ rent together at the end of this month. Will do it for sure. Thanks for reminding.Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YThe society is undergoing maintenance work and is in need of funds. Kindly request you to cooperate and pay your rent as soon as possible. Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XI hope you read my previous mail properly. Kindly request you to read it again. I WILL PAY THE RENT AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YWe have been repeatedly telling you to pay your dues. There are other applicants for your apartment. So don’t pressurize us anymore.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XWhat do you mean there are other applicants and how have I been pressurizing you?Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YThe landowner is out of the country so we are not able to reach him. When I had talked to him sometime he didn’t tell me anything related to this. Your non-payment will be considered seriously with him after his return. But for now we need to get money to clean the drainage sewer in the society. Pay urgently.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XI am not sure whether you are reading my mails. But I can’t pay you this month. I hope the maintenance work and drainage cleaning are not affected by the absence of my small rental charges.Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YThis is against the rules of the contract.Thanks,X
Dear Mr. XPut the contract up your *s* ***h***. Thanks,Y
Dear Mrs. YI belong to a good family but have been forced to write this because of your indecent behaviour. Shut up **t**.Thanks,X
X and Y definitely do not find each other dear in the sense it is generally known. They also seem to thank each other for something that is not very clear.
September 1, 2014
A small bit of Delhi
Few incidences in life make you realize that invisible forces have a hand in them. That something or somebody was trying to prove its point to you not out of a personal vendetta but to maintain their own existence and maybe their supremacy in the general working of humankind. For example if you hold an idealistic opinion chances are high that you will be tested hard as if idealism has a high cost. Why should you!
If you cause pain to somebody by taking an upright position you better be prepared to get it back sometime in your life. And when you realize that ‘the thing’ has got back to you, has regained its throne one feels remorse looking back. Is this right! First of all contexts change and stories as they are stories move around consuming and excreting their energies while changing their forms. What was the context of the previous event need not remain in the story anymore. Or may remain in different degrees in different stories about the same occurrence. But this is how ‘the thing’ works. Complexity and confusion are powerful tools. The costs of clarity could be enormous and hence ‘the thing’ whether it’s God, fate, change or the theory of everything that physicists are after will keep playing with us again and again.**
Link for the pic
These thoughts might have been with me on a Delhi metro. But probably I was thinking what would happen if there was something above the city of Delhi which was unable to see plastic and steel but could see the rest. How would it feel looking at people sitting at funny positions moving without any effort! Imagine how things would look for the Mumbai local.**"Raaskin Raaskin!" a man spoke out in a peculiar tone at the Pragati Maidan book fair at the adjacent stall. When I raised my head I noticed he was speaking to his little boy. I and my sister roamed around the stalls of different publication houses. The books were cheap and the ambiance peaceful if the stall was not small. We bought a number of books. Among others I bought a book of nature by Ruskin Bond and two books from the NCERT store: one on the evolution of philately and other on the types of plants found in India. Had been ages since one bought an NCERT book, was like meeting an old acquaintance. This was the last day of my stay.**Staying near the colony of UPSC aspirants, I was mostly among the student crowd. I took a metro every day to take care of the work for which I had gone. As long as you have the round plastic electromagnetic coin in your pocket you somehow feel that you have arrived at a different place all together. Only thing that stays are the crowds and the ogling of men at women.**The only part of the work I would like to remember was the gatekeeper at the embassy. Humility could be dangerous in Delhi especially if you get down from an auto rickshaw at a place where the gatekeeper has to open the doors of BMW’s and Audi’s. The first day he showed me the notice stuck outside the glass window of his wooden cabin which said that it was a holiday for Janmashtami. Then as I went everyday he showed me emotions of distrust. He would ask me to stand under a tree for 15 minutes one day before letting me in, just like that. He also took interest in my application asking me every time I came out for the result of my efforts inside. On the second day I told him that I was supposed to come at 11:30 the next day which was basically not true but I said that just to spare the whole story to him. Next day I arrived at 12:30 and he was really angry at me as if I was a pundit and had arrived late at his marriage. But he looked like a good man.**One day while searching for a Cyber cafe, I came across the most ancient looking Cyber cafe one could find. It was long down a narrow but crowded lane in the Munrika village. Dusty worn out pillars greeted me and when I entered the smell of old age was palpable. Few boys were hanging around a computer and loud music was being played. One of them showed me to the inside. The computers were dust laden and when I tried to open Gmail it said that the website was dangerous. If there was ever a national heritage cyber café tag this one should be in it.
If you cause pain to somebody by taking an upright position you better be prepared to get it back sometime in your life. And when you realize that ‘the thing’ has got back to you, has regained its throne one feels remorse looking back. Is this right! First of all contexts change and stories as they are stories move around consuming and excreting their energies while changing their forms. What was the context of the previous event need not remain in the story anymore. Or may remain in different degrees in different stories about the same occurrence. But this is how ‘the thing’ works. Complexity and confusion are powerful tools. The costs of clarity could be enormous and hence ‘the thing’ whether it’s God, fate, change or the theory of everything that physicists are after will keep playing with us again and again.**
Link for the picThese thoughts might have been with me on a Delhi metro. But probably I was thinking what would happen if there was something above the city of Delhi which was unable to see plastic and steel but could see the rest. How would it feel looking at people sitting at funny positions moving without any effort! Imagine how things would look for the Mumbai local.**"Raaskin Raaskin!" a man spoke out in a peculiar tone at the Pragati Maidan book fair at the adjacent stall. When I raised my head I noticed he was speaking to his little boy. I and my sister roamed around the stalls of different publication houses. The books were cheap and the ambiance peaceful if the stall was not small. We bought a number of books. Among others I bought a book of nature by Ruskin Bond and two books from the NCERT store: one on the evolution of philately and other on the types of plants found in India. Had been ages since one bought an NCERT book, was like meeting an old acquaintance. This was the last day of my stay.**Staying near the colony of UPSC aspirants, I was mostly among the student crowd. I took a metro every day to take care of the work for which I had gone. As long as you have the round plastic electromagnetic coin in your pocket you somehow feel that you have arrived at a different place all together. Only thing that stays are the crowds and the ogling of men at women.**The only part of the work I would like to remember was the gatekeeper at the embassy. Humility could be dangerous in Delhi especially if you get down from an auto rickshaw at a place where the gatekeeper has to open the doors of BMW’s and Audi’s. The first day he showed me the notice stuck outside the glass window of his wooden cabin which said that it was a holiday for Janmashtami. Then as I went everyday he showed me emotions of distrust. He would ask me to stand under a tree for 15 minutes one day before letting me in, just like that. He also took interest in my application asking me every time I came out for the result of my efforts inside. On the second day I told him that I was supposed to come at 11:30 the next day which was basically not true but I said that just to spare the whole story to him. Next day I arrived at 12:30 and he was really angry at me as if I was a pundit and had arrived late at his marriage. But he looked like a good man.**One day while searching for a Cyber cafe, I came across the most ancient looking Cyber cafe one could find. It was long down a narrow but crowded lane in the Munrika village. Dusty worn out pillars greeted me and when I entered the smell of old age was palpable. Few boys were hanging around a computer and loud music was being played. One of them showed me to the inside. The computers were dust laden and when I tried to open Gmail it said that the website was dangerous. If there was ever a national heritage cyber café tag this one should be in it.
