It was purely co incidental that I could get an opportunity to meet the bare footed painter of international acclaim, M F Hussain, at a restaurant I frequented often, close to K C College, near church gate. The year was 1990 when I was working with a franchising company with its regional office situated opposite K C College.
Today, since past 4 years, he is in exile in Dubai in fear of his life resultant of his infamous nude paintings which desecrated the Hindu god Saraswathi. Probably it was unintentional but the damage was done and no art gallery is willing to take the risk of displaying any of his paintings. He is afraid to step in to Mumbai, a city where he use to walk bare-footed all over. MF Hussein was born in Pandharpur, close to Nashik, but he embraced Mumbai as his home long back, nearly 8 decades back. (Hussein is 94 years old now!) He does not know or fails to acknowledge the fact that the political parties rule the aam aadmi psyche now. Opportunism and sheer competition among political class has got the city defrayed on unconstitutional practices with growing intolerance. No, it is not acceptable any longer to condone free speech or freedom of expression through paintings. What, M F Hussein? Definitely he cannot gallop in to the city on his ‘horses’!
MF Hussein came to Mumbai city as ‘absolutely very broke’ young…very young painter to paint film hoardings to earn a livelihood. Neither he believed nor did we that one day he would become so famous with his paintings on Galloping Horses. But the city embraced him just like it did with every citizen who is dropped in the ‘melting pot’ called ‘aamchi’ Mumbai now. MF Hussein should know that he has to come back (if allowed) to a city that is no longer as resilient as it was and there are many shiv sena variants of different colors and names! Even, if the congress in power at the center and the state, the least the political heavyweights can do is just sympathies with him. When they cannot display his paintings, can they give security to him?
But the 94 year old painter wants to come home to Mumbai. Can we welcome him?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
My way !
As I look back over the years
Traveled far and to many lands
Capsulated life, I quiver
Was I driven and if so
Tell me by what?
Was it only survival or
Was I guided by unknown hand?
What did I gain or lose?
It is long before
The final curtains will fall
But this play has already
Entertained and brought tears
As I laughed and cried
All the way…
It is now clear
That I have led my life
My way!
Met many in the journey
Did not bother to note the names
As I knew these meetings
Were only co-incidental
And only the ‘change’ was certain.
Without mentioning I was
Strong at all times, did not buckle down ever
The bachelor days were lonely
But now I realize
Each to himself and
It is a lonely path always
Why is it so unpredictable?
As if the chartered territory of life
Reveals its story moment to moment
I am glad that I could take part till now
And complete the script given
With energy, enthusiastic and confident
That I have led my life
My way
Regrets are there
But too few to mention
Relationships are definite
As it was not I alone
Though I owned is only ‘myself’
But the play had other actors too
Who carried me when needed
For they are close to me always
now and before
So, how can I forget them?
As the play enters the final phase
I am happy as never before
As if I am glad i made it till here
What else is life?
If not lived ‘positive’
Such an eventful life I did not ask
But then, can we decide what we should get?
Then, Why should I proclaim...
That I have led my life
My way
Traveled far and to many lands
Capsulated life, I quiver
Was I driven and if so
Tell me by what?
Was it only survival or
Was I guided by unknown hand?
What did I gain or lose?
It is long before
The final curtains will fall
But this play has already
Entertained and brought tears
As I laughed and cried
All the way…
It is now clear
That I have led my life
My way!
Met many in the journey
Did not bother to note the names
As I knew these meetings
Were only co-incidental
And only the ‘change’ was certain.
Without mentioning I was
Strong at all times, did not buckle down ever
The bachelor days were lonely
But now I realize
Each to himself and
It is a lonely path always
Why is it so unpredictable?
As if the chartered territory of life
Reveals its story moment to moment
I am glad that I could take part till now
And complete the script given
With energy, enthusiastic and confident
That I have led my life
My way
Regrets are there
But too few to mention
Relationships are definite
As it was not I alone
Though I owned is only ‘myself’
But the play had other actors too
Who carried me when needed
For they are close to me always
now and before
So, how can I forget them?
As the play enters the final phase
I am happy as never before
As if I am glad i made it till here
What else is life?
If not lived ‘positive’
Such an eventful life I did not ask
But then, can we decide what we should get?
Then, Why should I proclaim...
That I have led my life
My way
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Why do we mis-interpret so often?
Very often, our communication with others around us is driven by our thoughts at that moment. We actually form sentences by our interpretation of the situation as a result of our perception.
Did you ever notice that we like some people instantly just as reverse with other people? I have noticed something strange…i.e, we form opinions based on our perception of a situation. Very few are gifted with non-biased perception. They have a clear head.
Reasons for mis-interpretation:
1. Rules -ordered structure of behaviour – we form certain set ways or rules to interact with others. We interact differently with close ones/ relatives while compared with outsiders. Metaphysically these interactions are need based
2.we organise ourselves into groups – Such groups are small or large depending on the proximity of the members, requirements of the members or position of the members in the group.
3. habitual thinking - The strength of these habits, then, has a powerful positive/ negative influence in the direction of accuracy of communication.
4. What we do and say has a high level of predictability,We find that we say the same things to certain people in our lives...like between husband - wife, brothers, parents etc.
5. The capacity to adapt or adjust to others – there seems to be within us a drive to understand, a predisposition to make sense out of what others do and say.Again, these are driven by our indvidual capacity... that decide to adjust or not.
Did you ever notice that we like some people instantly just as reverse with other people? I have noticed something strange…i.e, we form opinions based on our perception of a situation. Very few are gifted with non-biased perception. They have a clear head.
Reasons for mis-interpretation:
1. Rules -ordered structure of behaviour – we form certain set ways or rules to interact with others. We interact differently with close ones/ relatives while compared with outsiders. Metaphysically these interactions are need based
2.we organise ourselves into groups – Such groups are small or large depending on the proximity of the members, requirements of the members or position of the members in the group.
3. habitual thinking - The strength of these habits, then, has a powerful positive/ negative influence in the direction of accuracy of communication.
4. What we do and say has a high level of predictability,We find that we say the same things to certain people in our lives...like between husband - wife, brothers, parents etc.
5. The capacity to adapt or adjust to others – there seems to be within us a drive to understand, a predisposition to make sense out of what others do and say.Again, these are driven by our indvidual capacity... that decide to adjust or not.
'ALL THE BEST'
A Quick review of the movie ‘ALL THE BEST’ i saw today..with my son...
On the performance front, full marks can be given to Sanjay Dutt who manages to elicit laughter every time he enters the scene. And the best thing is he has stepped out of his Munnabhai image in this movie at last and yet looks distinct. For the actor who has done action roles for more than three decades, it's commendable to re-explore himself at this stage and come out with different comic tricks everytime. Interestingly, in the movie he says, "Action to main 30 saal se kar raha hu, comedy tho ab shuru ki hai". The only problem is the actor's weight because of which he's started resembling his father Late Sunil Dutt now. Need to shape up a bit! And his teeth or missing teeth ...oh! They look awful.
Ajay Devgn (his new ‘numerolgy’ spelling in his name), the producer of the movie, has become a regular at Rohit Shetty's movies (He is a close friend of Rohit Shetty in real life) He is a natural and performs every role with an effortless ease. Beside comedy, he provides some emotional-relief too. One contact scene is where Ajay realizes that the net of deceit is affecting his personal equation with Bipasha (who's playing his wife). Here, I felt objection to the ‘suggestive’ dialoques etc. Hindi movies never change as they address the uneducated mass to get box office earnings.
Bipasha Basu is new to the comedy genre. Beginners in comedy tend to overact, but Bipasha has managed to impress with her subtle comic timing. With a little more experience in the genre, the best in her can come out. But her sensuality always shadows everything she does on screen. Unfortunately she is not able to rid of that image.
Mugdha Godse doesn't get into the skin of her character. She certainly needs a tonic to boost her energy levels and acting too!
Fardeen Khan is comfortable in his comic zone and comes out with a nice performance! At times he resembles Feroz khan, his father.
Overall, the movie is a laugh-riot ( for kids) and if you want to enjoy with your child, it is absolutely not a bad idea at all! I was more happy seeing my son enjoying the comedy in the movie. And yes. It reminded me of my stay in Goa as the shooting is done in Goa primarily.
On the performance front, full marks can be given to Sanjay Dutt who manages to elicit laughter every time he enters the scene. And the best thing is he has stepped out of his Munnabhai image in this movie at last and yet looks distinct. For the actor who has done action roles for more than three decades, it's commendable to re-explore himself at this stage and come out with different comic tricks everytime. Interestingly, in the movie he says, "Action to main 30 saal se kar raha hu, comedy tho ab shuru ki hai". The only problem is the actor's weight because of which he's started resembling his father Late Sunil Dutt now. Need to shape up a bit! And his teeth or missing teeth ...oh! They look awful.
Ajay Devgn (his new ‘numerolgy’ spelling in his name), the producer of the movie, has become a regular at Rohit Shetty's movies (He is a close friend of Rohit Shetty in real life) He is a natural and performs every role with an effortless ease. Beside comedy, he provides some emotional-relief too. One contact scene is where Ajay realizes that the net of deceit is affecting his personal equation with Bipasha (who's playing his wife). Here, I felt objection to the ‘suggestive’ dialoques etc. Hindi movies never change as they address the uneducated mass to get box office earnings.
Bipasha Basu is new to the comedy genre. Beginners in comedy tend to overact, but Bipasha has managed to impress with her subtle comic timing. With a little more experience in the genre, the best in her can come out. But her sensuality always shadows everything she does on screen. Unfortunately she is not able to rid of that image.
Mugdha Godse doesn't get into the skin of her character. She certainly needs a tonic to boost her energy levels and acting too!
Fardeen Khan is comfortable in his comic zone and comes out with a nice performance! At times he resembles Feroz khan, his father.
Overall, the movie is a laugh-riot ( for kids) and if you want to enjoy with your child, it is absolutely not a bad idea at all! I was more happy seeing my son enjoying the comedy in the movie. And yes. It reminded me of my stay in Goa as the shooting is done in Goa primarily.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Say again…George W Bush to become a Motivational Speaker ?
I was amused to read the story that Dubya (as George W Bush is fondly called) will become a motivational speaker soon and get paid for it too …after getting his country as well as his 8 year presidency clouded with two unsuccessful wars (Iraq and Afghan) and a great recession! Finally getting shoes thrown at his face but then he ‘ducked’ as always.
George W Bush is one of the six children born in his family and had his childhood and formative years spent in Midland and Houston, Texas. He went to Yale to graduate and got his business degree from Harward Business School. So what made his presidency unsuccessful? To be voted as the most Unpopular?
Well, Dubya was obsessed with security concerns for himself and his country.
Dubya likes to present himself as a straight-talking, regular guy. But that is a lie!
Definitely, Dubya was a spoilt rich kid in one of the richest families in US. He was well-known for his flamboyant days - during his adulthood, courting with President Nixon’s daughter besides drugs n alcohol abuse etc. Really a party animal! Sex, drugs and Party!
So after all this background, this guy meets Billy Graham, the Preacher and claims to be born again! He claims he has quit drinking, drugs, women (‘W’ stands for women in his name) and is now a 'true' loyal husband to wife Laura and father to twin daughters.
No doubt, he was really motivated to do all this jaaz! Now he can motivate others too!
Uh! strange ways of living and luck!
George W Bush is one of the six children born in his family and had his childhood and formative years spent in Midland and Houston, Texas. He went to Yale to graduate and got his business degree from Harward Business School. So what made his presidency unsuccessful? To be voted as the most Unpopular?
Well, Dubya was obsessed with security concerns for himself and his country.
Dubya likes to present himself as a straight-talking, regular guy. But that is a lie!
Definitely, Dubya was a spoilt rich kid in one of the richest families in US. He was well-known for his flamboyant days - during his adulthood, courting with President Nixon’s daughter besides drugs n alcohol abuse etc. Really a party animal! Sex, drugs and Party!
So after all this background, this guy meets Billy Graham, the Preacher and claims to be born again! He claims he has quit drinking, drugs, women (‘W’ stands for women in his name) and is now a 'true' loyal husband to wife Laura and father to twin daughters.
No doubt, he was really motivated to do all this jaaz! Now he can motivate others too!
Uh! strange ways of living and luck!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Memories do not fade away...
The early childhood days
Times of innocence
Mysterious & lovable
Walking in the rain and following
The school bag with the maid
Splashing water and mud
With sweetened candy in lunch box
I look forward to
Oh! Those childhood days!
They are so vivid in my mind
Playing big brother at times
The feeling of a protector
Back to home
To play and bully other kids
Picking up a quarrel
Thus inviting neighbor
To complain about me
To my mother in vain
Climbing to the first floor
Over the grilled balconies
The diwali crackers
Were fun really
But for luck my eyes would be gone
As I bend to see what is lit
Close and involved to ignore
The obvious
Oh! Those childhood days!
They are so vivid in my mind
Traveling to new metro
Learning tamil from tutor
And those tiffins in the evenings
That mother made
With care
And those stories of jaykumar
In the school
Too good and lively
The football games in the ground
With the shoes getting torn
School days are mundane
I felt then
But everyone has to go through
As life was bound to school
I grimaced
Helping my twin when there were fights
Naturally I was stronger
‘Might had the way’ always
I felt
But that’s what I had to flaunt
I am big brother, right?
And those ‘exams’ were too many
Managed to be first class
Public speaking was a fear then
Soon got over the same
In the graduate school
New found organizing strength added
And adolescent years were
Replaced slowly
With ‘so to say’ adult likes and dislikes
Reading fiction became a passion
Ayn Rand topping them all
Idealism and perfection
Imagined and sought after
Loss of mother
Was unbearable being a momma’s boy?
Affection was sought always
Then too
The swimming was refreshing
So was the gym
Personality is important
I advised myself
Oh! Those childhood days!
They are so vivid in my mind
Times of innocence
Mysterious & lovable
Walking in the rain and following
The school bag with the maid
Splashing water and mud
With sweetened candy in lunch box
I look forward to
Oh! Those childhood days!
They are so vivid in my mind
Playing big brother at times
The feeling of a protector
Back to home
To play and bully other kids
Picking up a quarrel
Thus inviting neighbor
To complain about me
To my mother in vain
Climbing to the first floor
Over the grilled balconies
The diwali crackers
Were fun really
But for luck my eyes would be gone
As I bend to see what is lit
Close and involved to ignore
The obvious
Oh! Those childhood days!
They are so vivid in my mind
Traveling to new metro
Learning tamil from tutor
And those tiffins in the evenings
That mother made
With care
And those stories of jaykumar
In the school
Too good and lively
The football games in the ground
With the shoes getting torn
School days are mundane
I felt then
But everyone has to go through
As life was bound to school
I grimaced
Helping my twin when there were fights
Naturally I was stronger
‘Might had the way’ always
I felt
But that’s what I had to flaunt
I am big brother, right?
And those ‘exams’ were too many
Managed to be first class
Public speaking was a fear then
Soon got over the same
In the graduate school
New found organizing strength added
And adolescent years were
Replaced slowly
With ‘so to say’ adult likes and dislikes
Reading fiction became a passion
Ayn Rand topping them all
Idealism and perfection
Imagined and sought after
Loss of mother
Was unbearable being a momma’s boy?
Affection was sought always
Then too
The swimming was refreshing
So was the gym
Personality is important
I advised myself
Oh! Those childhood days!
They are so vivid in my mind
Consumer driven economy - Perils and dangers
A consumer driven economy rests on consumer confidence, purchase behavior, availability and pricing.
If you look at the right example of consumer driven economy- the US Economy, you will realize that there is great level of confidence amongst the consumers, manufacturers, retailers and hyper markets! A conscientious consumer spends readily only when confident of a secure tomorrow, else tightens the strings bracing against wants. With a secure tomorrow (though it is provided by the credit companies in many cases) there is little hesitation to spend what you have! But what will happen when the income does not increase proportionately to increasing wants?
When there are cash flow jitters (read too many credit card payment defaulters), even the developed economies are shaken up. And that leads to fear among buyers to decide whether to buy or not? The consumer is controlling a consumer driven economy unlike market driven economies which are controlled by producers, service providers, and manufacturers. Here we could also differentiate between ‘Market pull’ mechanisms and ‘brand push’ strategies. Earlier the mechanism was to study the market and respond accordingly. But this has changed in developed countries where the approach is to ‘sense and respond’ which is nothing but bombarding the consumers with plethora of products’ information and study their behavior and respond accordingly. Hence though it is called consumer-driven it is a brand push strategy hidden so that it is not visible. The techniques could be simply ‘sales’ offer over the counters, collecting data of consumers to ascertain interests and wants regularly, With the excessive penetration of internet, mobile communication these techniques are very easily practiced.
So, what happens when the consumer drives an economy? Clearly the economy grows but so do debts or deficit budgeting. The needs are replaced by wants! This leads to growth of credit lending companies, schemes to create demands, financial tools to enable speedy recoveries and competition of banks to make available funds. Now this becomes a balloon that can expand or burst too if not properly regulated…..
If you look at the right example of consumer driven economy- the US Economy, you will realize that there is great level of confidence amongst the consumers, manufacturers, retailers and hyper markets! A conscientious consumer spends readily only when confident of a secure tomorrow, else tightens the strings bracing against wants. With a secure tomorrow (though it is provided by the credit companies in many cases) there is little hesitation to spend what you have! But what will happen when the income does not increase proportionately to increasing wants?
When there are cash flow jitters (read too many credit card payment defaulters), even the developed economies are shaken up. And that leads to fear among buyers to decide whether to buy or not? The consumer is controlling a consumer driven economy unlike market driven economies which are controlled by producers, service providers, and manufacturers. Here we could also differentiate between ‘Market pull’ mechanisms and ‘brand push’ strategies. Earlier the mechanism was to study the market and respond accordingly. But this has changed in developed countries where the approach is to ‘sense and respond’ which is nothing but bombarding the consumers with plethora of products’ information and study their behavior and respond accordingly. Hence though it is called consumer-driven it is a brand push strategy hidden so that it is not visible. The techniques could be simply ‘sales’ offer over the counters, collecting data of consumers to ascertain interests and wants regularly, With the excessive penetration of internet, mobile communication these techniques are very easily practiced.
So, what happens when the consumer drives an economy? Clearly the economy grows but so do debts or deficit budgeting. The needs are replaced by wants! This leads to growth of credit lending companies, schemes to create demands, financial tools to enable speedy recoveries and competition of banks to make available funds. Now this becomes a balloon that can expand or burst too if not properly regulated…..
Thursday, October 15, 2009
How Obama could earn the Noble Peace Prize ( that he has already won)?
It was a practical joke, i thought when i came to know that Obama has won Noble Peace Prize...i cross checked in various media to ascertain the truth! Yes, Obama has indeed won it!
Sometimes, I wonder whether Obama is destined to achieve greater success for himself and USA...At a very young age of 48, he not only became the President ( with just 4 years senate experience that is considered very less) but drew attention of the entire world due to his triumpant hope over inexperience. He is a good Orator and can tie down others to his words of Hope and is destined to get re-elected. The task placed in front of him could not be completed in one term, i firmly believe. Definitely, Obama will earn the credits during the course of his Presidency. He has to as there is so much faith placed on him in return to the hopes he has raised in others.
Let us look at the US Foreign Policy where he has already got some achievements. He has successfully created a worthy dialogue on Nuclear Disarmament. He does not say " You are with us or against us" like Bush said. I am sure that he knows that he has to bring about Peace in the Middle East... He has to rebuild the tarnished image of US Foreign Policy...he has to decide quickly whether US should exit Iraq or not...whether he should send additional troops to Afghanistan or not...whether he should continue or free POW in Guantanamo prison or not.
The major task is getting his country out of recession quickly..the effort should be to focus completely on this aspect. There is one good thing..about Obama. He is enthusiastic and very hopeful that he can meet the requirement! Definitely, money would not be spent on Wars as done in the past.
Sometimes, I wonder whether Obama is destined to achieve greater success for himself and USA...At a very young age of 48, he not only became the President ( with just 4 years senate experience that is considered very less) but drew attention of the entire world due to his triumpant hope over inexperience. He is a good Orator and can tie down others to his words of Hope and is destined to get re-elected. The task placed in front of him could not be completed in one term, i firmly believe. Definitely, Obama will earn the credits during the course of his Presidency. He has to as there is so much faith placed on him in return to the hopes he has raised in others.
Let us look at the US Foreign Policy where he has already got some achievements. He has successfully created a worthy dialogue on Nuclear Disarmament. He does not say " You are with us or against us" like Bush said. I am sure that he knows that he has to bring about Peace in the Middle East... He has to rebuild the tarnished image of US Foreign Policy...he has to decide quickly whether US should exit Iraq or not...whether he should send additional troops to Afghanistan or not...whether he should continue or free POW in Guantanamo prison or not.
The major task is getting his country out of recession quickly..the effort should be to focus completely on this aspect. There is one good thing..about Obama. He is enthusiastic and very hopeful that he can meet the requirement! Definitely, money would not be spent on Wars as done in the past.
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