World at odds (WAO)

Old partner, no surprises here it is a movie/ i shall say a docu drama. Most of you not have heard about it, coz it is a Korean movie and in Korean title it sound as “ the sound of my cow’s bell”.

Why I am writing about this movie coz it is one of the most amazing real life story ever captured on celluloid. It is a story of an old farmer and his old cow, in a distant land. The devotion of farmer is unparallel, who refuses to trade his cow for a tractor. Story has one more character the farmers nagging wife.

The director of old partner wanted to capture a real life story of friendship between man and beast. There are instances in the movie, where you end up felling sympathy and somewhere you get your eyes numb. A farmer and his 40 year old cow, as partners. The scene in the movie where he went to sold his cow is the most touchy one. The farmer quotes to high for beloved that no one end up buying her. It seems he never wanted to sell her.

There is one of the scene in the movie when the cow fails to pull the cart full of logs, farmer took a part of logs and load on his back and start moving slowly along with his cow.There is no script no imagination bit, all that is captured here is truth.

The farmer wife keep on nagging him for his love for the cow, but the farmer never budge, but even a small sound from his cow, he give her all attention.

The movie is a cult classic at least for me, for its reality stuff and an honest attempt to portray an amazing relation.

People you can try some torrent search, if that's too hard for you, sear ch for this amazing story on net.

 

Labels: love, Manthan, movies, Review

I am not writing a movie review, this movie is obviously not that great to have a mention here on WAO. But the phrase used for the movie title is quite contemporary to the modern times. Movie is sensible but it has nothing to be a blockbuster.

Let me put it in Indian context, how we have lambs leading a time of lions. Have you heard we Indians fought one kargil war.I do not we won or lost or it was a draw. But for sure people died and for what no one knew. Enemy was sitting on the doors, but he was not the neighbor like it used to be early years.Few 1000 of jawans lost their lives and we had some good old politician taking credit for some fancy called operation Vijay.

One day few young boys with backpack and motive to kill come by boat to kill few 100 of people in Mumbai. They did it and left few stooges again making a political fuss of it.Still some political sensibility prevails in India else it would have the opposition party who must had hand in it. Again some Lions died and lambs come in praising the utmost selfless sacrifice of the young.

Same goes for America I suppose, some of the senators have direct interest in the company like Harleburton and so, Charlie Wilson sounds cuil now in movies coz it was the days of cold war.

I am predicting what no one has done before, American will go nuclear if tested more, I think they will not take these small defeats in battle well for long, will go down to won the war at any cost.

World will surely will looking for new world order soon, it is getting uncontrolled everywhere, I suppose.

 

Labels: citric, Manthan, movies, Nation, Review

Labels: Generic/vyom, movies, Review

Labels: movies, Review

To
White Tiger,
Australia, US,Chennai,
You wrote a booker wining book, accolade for that. Being honest I did not like it at all. Like your letter to the Chinese Dude did not make any sense, my letter to you also is not going to have any Impact. In both cases concerned party will not read it.
One question why you wrote to Chinese Premier is he your Mama. Balram you are an illiterate, by killing and running a cab business you cannot become literate. Forget that, what the idea of crying about darkness in front of a person who has more darkness in his own country.
You tried to write as you lived inside the body of Balram, man it is easy observing people and putting in elements of real life to make your story authenticate but a real Indian will tell you tiger sighting is rare, white tiger to kuch jayda ho gaya.
White tiger what it symbolize? I am too confused. You want to say we Indians even if born in darkness are so wicked with our ambitions that can do anything to achieve them. Here that guy for sure must have got killed whole of his family for that amount of money.
You in authentic is the Mr. Ashok in real life who has not seen it at all. Wearing tuxedo to Booker does not confirm you are aware of factual India.
I did not like anything about your book because for being an average Indian I knew everything you wrote , just those firangi find it amusing. People like you still want to play the snake charmer card.
And mind you people of Gurgaon are not Panjabi farmer and do not try to taint my north. It ends at Delhi rest of India is south for us, even your land of darkness.
Try to earn a one day wage then you will learn to write the real stuff and do not make a mess of the whole matter.
Vesse it is not that bad, you wrote good part of it with sincerity and continuity but still shame on you, write next time not thinking about the prize you can won.
Your next work is eagerly awaited to be butchered.
Kidding Yaar, lassi thanda lao saab ke lye.
Chal take care.
Man who loves to be hated,
Aj alias west urf pantha

Labels: books, Review

Labels: movies, Review

Just finished reading Aravind Adiga'a booker winning novel "The White Tiger..It Was a huge respite after going through jeffery archer's bland story telling in "As the crow flies"...Its a journey of a man called Balram from an obscure indian village, "Darkness" as it is referred to in the novel, to the land of light, to the city life where he makes it big as an enterpreneur after he slit's his masters throat and steals his money...He proves to be a White Tiger...The story vividly describes the indian socio-political system, mocks at our social fabric, our democracy, magnifies our crumbling family system, our rottening virtues, the long lost innocence in children. I nodded all along the novel as the story unfolds and tears apart the great indian hypocrisy of "India Shining"...

But giving it a second thought, I thought the book itself epitomised all the evils it talks about..The book now looked like a cheap attempt at putting all that is bad in india and packaging it with an eye at winning the man booker prize, Well aware that jury that sits out of england has displayed in past its fondness and taste for indian poverty, bribery and Socio-political system..This somewhere pricked the Indian in me..and mind u am no great patriot myself...Just that i couldnt see someone packaging indian poverty and selling it to the west , the way average indian's blood came to boil when he saw Maharashtra CM taking celibrities for Terror Tour of Taj, My blood came to boil as i felt that the author has attempted to take the West to a tour of all the filth and scum of India in return for the booker prize...
Infact its not the Balram of the novel but the author himself who deserves to be called the White Tiger because he has Slit open his nation's throat before the world and transcended from the "Darkness" to the "Light"...Kudos for that !! But no thanks I will stick to the belief that there is more good than bad in this nation..India is certainly not defined and limited by Aravind Adiga's imagination..

P.S. When you become little too well Aware of your disqualities you contract an incurable disease called "No-Self-Respect"...and this epidemic of lack of self respect as a nation ,as individuals needs some urgent introspection


Yours not so faithfully,
Faceless Indian !!

Labels: books, Review

Labels: movies, Review

This is a book I read way back in 2004, when it holds very less meaning to me. Even after 4 years I do not agree or differ on this book relevance to an MBA or a Manager. Henry Mintzberg come out with this book in late 90’s.It’s his cry against the present day management and management institute, he categorically ask the question about what is taught in institute is implemented or what he learn through experience during work is more of importance. This book asks a few honest questions, but fails to deliver. It looks like a man’s attempt to raise the odds.
Let me share some excerpt from the book “What skill-set do you look for when you're looking to hire a manager or team leader? Do you prefer someone who has the technical background and expertise to do the job or someone who has the ability to teach someone else? I prefer to surround myself with MBWA's instead of MBA's. (MBWA's manage by walking around.)”.
This question ignites the long standing debate “managerial skill’s are inherent or at the best they can be sharpened with experience, it can not be taught through books, it all by sharing”.

From my own experience, I do agree on this front, form my two accounts of working I have been assigned managerial jobs. On both instance the skills that were imparted to me in classroom were of little relevance. It’s always been a continuous learning curve through out the job. It’s what you learn at job, that you use most of the time. And if you have the nature of getting involved in your work, have carried some relevant knowledge form classroom, you can always transfer it to work (Note I am convinced that its experience than theory that works).

I think Henry’s observation to carry your experience from work to classroom is a very valid. Indian institute should encourage this and we should see more and more manager’s learning concepts in classroom rather than MBA’s learning concepts in field.

I do recommend this book, as it does solve the purpose of writing it to an extent. It is a view of a learned teacher and he can debate at his level of expertise or some top Managers or people who shape big corporation can have some insight to even debate or assert his observations.

For us the the label of book appeals and that all for real it has to offer.

Labels: books, Review

I simply had to watch this one..too many praises from the family..Times 100 list of movies to watch..bollywood's all time 25 great movies...Pheww...Last sem of MBA and not much to do..I looked for this movie everywhere..Then one day Anuj veer comes up with the CD..Thanks for that..

Time-less classic...The movie captures the contemporary socio-economic scenario of 1957 era...the average indian citizen's infatuation with new found freedom and the great indian democracy was fast coming to an end, Nehru's govt. had failed them on all fronts..Idealists seldom make good leaders...Guru dutt plays a jobless poet who is shunned by all..a prostitute whom he falls in love with gets his poems published while the ppl think he is dead..But when he shows up alive ppl close to him refuse to identify him...disillusioned by the rampant hypocrisy all around he leaves everything to start a new life...

The thing that really startles one is the fact that the movie made in 1957 seemed even more relevant in 2008, a widenend gap between "have" and "have-nots"...The two india's , the rich and the poor, potrayed in the movie seemed to have become even more obscenely pronounced today..Have we really changed between the gulf of two periods?...I have no answers..and any review would be incomplete without a tribute to "Sahir Ludhianvi's" lyrics...poetry at its best..Poetry was lyrics sometime back !! ..looks unbelievable today....seeing the recent terror attacks i remembered the famed lines "Jineh Naaz Hai Hind Par Woh Kahaan Hain" from the movie.."Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai" ridicules the epidemic of mad rush we see all around thesedays..

P.S. : For all those quasi-socialists like me who have germs of socialism resting somewhere in their blood are advised not to watch...the movie's theme coupled with sahir ludhianvi's lyrics ( he was a staunch socialist) tends to activate them to levels unacceptable to ur Jobs..."Caution" is the word here ..The movie will give u a hang-over the kind u would have got had u read Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man"...for all others a moser-Baer CD for 30 bucks is not a bad buy at all...

Labels: movies, Review

Hi All, this is a new section, where we will like to cover movies that are worth mentioning for there brilliance or sometime for there failed expectation.

Covering up on my first post is DHARM (2007) directed by Bhavna Talvar.This is one of the finest movie I have seen in last year or so. It was never a movie made for masses. The honesty and simplicity with which this complex topic is handled is commendable. The story line goes like this Hindu Priest Chaturvedi ((Pankaj Kapoor).Pandit Chaturvedi is a highly revered and learned priest. A child is abandon by a woman and brought in his house by his daughter. He agrees to adopt the child due to requests from his wife (Supriya Pathak) .Life takes a turn when he finds out that the child is a Muslim after he has become attached to the child. The family gives back the child to his mother. Chaturvedi engulfs himself in the purification process to cleanse his body, mind and soul due to contact with a Muslim soul. By the time, Chaturvedi thinks he is fully purified – the child reappears – seeking refuge, due to Hindu- Muslim riots. This is the time Chaturvedi finally realizes that the true religion is humanity.

May be pop corn lovers will say why I should go and see this movie. I am always keeping distance from the fanaticism of DHARM; I don’t hate any DHARM.I am secular to my last breath. I will request you to still watch this movie. It in some way really transfer the Gyan from Holy text and there relevance in some context in the movie. No DHARM, is hard lined or tell you to hate others.Pandit was too good a soul to hate someone. He was in conflict with the DHARM he knew and the DHARM he was practising.We may not have to face such conflicts, but watching this movie will give a wider prospective of our nation, where lots of people are engulfed in such tough situations.
Brilliant work all around, makes even the viewer question why EKLAVYA a box office dud was our entry to OSCARS?

Labels: movies, Review