You and I

You and I walked together
Under the bright sky
Side by side, hand in hand
With our spirits high.

In the rainy season
In the romantic spring
With a cause in mind
We enjoyed our fling.

Droplets of pearly tears
From your lovely eye
So dampens my heart
That It made me cry.

The  smiles on your lips
As we drank victory wine
We have made our mark
Our friendship will shine.

There came the tempest
Forcefully severing our hand
But we shall meet again
Maybe in a different land.

Picture taken from net

Film review: Bajirao Mastani

The last week had been a pretty hectic for me, as I spun like a teetotum. Also, i had to go through a lot of tensed moments. So, when my wife rang up for permission to buy two tickets for Bajirao Mastani on Saturday evening show, I gleefully said, "Yes, yes, yes". In the last few years, I have found that watching an entertaining movie helps to release tension. I am neither a film critic, nor have I written any film review previously. So, don't take it seriously.

At the beginning, SLB  ( Sanjay Leela Bhansali ) made a disclaimer that even though the film is historical in nature, he does not claim it to strictly adhere to history. After watching the film, I must say that even though his imagination ran high on many occasions in order to depict the warrior as a romantic lover, he did not do injustice to history. This is a story of an eternal love, which does not recognise the bounds of caste, creed, race, ethnicity or religion. Bajirao 1 has been placed in history as one of the greatest Hindu warriors who fought for the establishment of Hindu Pad Padshahi. Bajirao fought over 41 battles and is reputed to have never lost one. But very few people knew about the emotional side of this great peshwa. SLB focused mainly  on the personal life of BR (Bajirao1). Apart from showing romance of BR and Mastani, SBL has also shown machinations of Radhabai and Chimaji Appa, Brahminical dominance in Maratha statecraft demonstrated by Krishna Bhatt, excellent war tactics of Marathas etc.

As far as the acting goes, I think Ranveer Singh has done a fair job. Especially, in the second half, his acting looked quite mature. Vulnerable yet macho, funny and flamboyant, his chemistry with Deepika held well when they sparred  passionately. Both Dipika and Priyanka did a good job.  Acting wise, Priyanka did slightly better than Dipika. But Dipika looked more gorgeous than Priyanka in this film. Dipika struggled extremely hard to show her dancing skills. I think the best acting was performed by Tanvi Azmi as Radhabai, Bajirao's mother.

It is said that the scenic beauty of SLB's pictures are characterised by opulence of colours. This film is no exception. You may love to observe the costumes worn by Dipika and Priyanka. The dialogues are a tad lenthy, some of them are really good, though. The action part was okay. The heroic action by BR at the final part of the movie is highly unrealistic, where BR is shown to mow down the entire bunch of opposition army by himself. To do justice to SLB's tradition of having melodious hit songs in his movie, the songs should have been better. The actor doing Nana Saheb should have been more screen friendly.

As far as entertainment is concerned, I shall give a thumbs up to the movie. Munching tomato-chili popcorn and sipping diet Coke, we enjoyed the emotional blockbuster thoroughly. However, my overall rating would be 6 out of 10.

Pictures taken from net

Ramdev a gift for Hinduism?

I think Ramdev is a gift from heaven for the purpose of revitalizing Hinduism and economy.

Yoga is an inherent part of Hinduism. The rigorous 8-fold (ashtanga) path which can lead one to ultimate spiritual bliss, or should  I say which can join jeevatma with paramatma, is specifically meant for yogis. Grihees, ie, ordinary people, are not prescribed to perform yoga. But apart from spiritual aspect of yoga, it has other extremely beneficial effects on mind and body. For that one does not have to practice all 8-fold steps, but a few asanas and pranayamas can do wonders.

B K S Iyengar, Swami Sivananda and few other yoga gurus laid the foundation for propagation of yoga. But the entire credit goes to Baba Ramdev for making it popular among the masses. I am not saying Ramdev is better than Sri Sri Ravi Sankar or Sadhguru. In fact, I myself do not follow Ramdev's teachings as I don't find them rigorous. But what makes him special is that he has made yoga a pan Indian success. Ramdev's another special ability is his expertise in ayurveda. Very few yoga gurus have this unique quality. Yoga combined with ayurveda is a winning combination. These are the two best advertisements for Hinduism, too.

Many people froth at mouth speaking about importance of FDI to boost economy. FDI is favorable to economic welfare only if appropriate conditions exist in the host economy. This includes such factors as adequate absorptive capacity and human capital, a capacity of domestic businesses to face and hold out foreign competition, abundance of projects and market gaps that cannot be filled up by home producers.

But, I wonder why they ignore the need for swadeshi industry! Temporarily, FDI will infuse dollars in the system,  generate jobs for locals and provide new technologies, capital, products, organizational technologies, management skills and potential cooperation and business opportunities for local businesses, but in the long run more will be taken out of India. One more aspect that is important is that FDI might serve not only a way of doing money, but also a way of acquiring a certain control, both economical and political, in the host country.  Make in India will be a full success when NRIs along with resident Indians will set up industries in India. Ramdev is exactly doing this. If Ramdev can export his products,  he will be a bigger success.

So, all the best to Ramdev.

Vulgar pay hiking by Kejriwal

The WWE fans should know that the winner of a Money in the Bank match gets a contract for a championship match kept inside a briefcase, which he can encash at a time and place of his own choosing. In most cases, the winners of these matches have been able to win the title. This egregious salary hike by the AAP government is like gifting a Money in the Bank match to the two main opposition parties, viz., the BJP and the Congress. Let's see who can successfully climb the ladder to get the contract!

The approval of a whopping 400 per cent hike in basic salary of MLAs and Ministers besides hefty increase in perks and allowances by the AAP government is like a tight slap on the face of an Aam Admi. While a hard working ordinary people struggles to make both ends meet with a salary of Rs 10000 per month,  the AAP MLAs will take away a cool sum of Rs 2.1 lakh per month. If this is not open loot, tell me what it is? Looting the public exchequer like this is far worse than corruption. This Kejriwal guy is absolutely shameless. When pointed out that he would draw more salary than the Prime Minister of this country, he bluntly replied that the PM should follow his blatant misuse of power.

Anyway as I said, this is a very sensitive issue for a hard working Aam Admi. This is a good time for the opposition parties to hit the road; to go for door to door campaigning;  to make the people understand what kind of dacoits they have chosen! Aam Admi Party is no longer  for the Aam Admi , it's now Khas Admi Party.

Previously, hugging the epitome of corruption, Laloo, and now this conspicuous salary hike: I think the AAP is going downhill.

Pictures taken from net

Amir what's in your mind?

Unlike other Khans, Amir has a good head on his shoulders. As is seen in his selection of films, he takes every step calculatively. He leaves no stone unturned to make his films successful. Therefore, judging by his character, I don't agree with those who think that he merely joined the bandwagon of protests against perceived intolerance. So what made him open his mouth?

He must have calculated that by taking a political stand, he will antagonise a large number of people. He must have known that 31% of voters had cast their votes in favour of the current ruling party. Little known writers or rather unknown film directors  can afford to do that. But for a film hero, the number is huge. That's why we generally don't see film stars taking a political position during the peak of their career. The bitter experience of Amitabh Bachchan is worth remembering in this respect.

Before Amir, Shahrukh Khan also took a position against the ruling party. But he had, at least, some reason to do so. He has been hounded by the ED for sometime.  But Amir had no such issue.

Did he really believe that India has become intolerant?  As I said he is an intelligent guy, that's an impossibility. No logical person can believe that as this perception is not backed by facts. So, what made him do this?

Is he contemplating to join politics? Again, the answer is negative,  as he has, at least, good 5 to 6 years left in his career. He knows public memory is short; people will forget this before the release of his next film.

Therefore, I am left with only two possibilities. Either, he wants to show solidarity with King Khan, who thinks he is beyond the scope of ordinary laws.

Or, he has done it on the behest of some people, who must have promised him of some extraordinary reward in future. Now, it's any body's guess who the people and what's their motive are.

Pictures taken from net.

What will Bihar election results mean?

Now that the fates of candidates for the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly Elections 2015 -- where 56.8% of 6.68 crore electorates had exercised their franchise -- have been sealed in the EVMs, the days of shrill campaigning, cacophonous rhetoric and hitting below the belt (yes, this was a no-holds-barred contest) are over. Now it's time for a couple of sleepless nights for the politicians. All eyes will be glued to the news channels on 8th November 8 AM onwards. In the meantime,  the conflicting exit poll results have not at all  helped to soothe the nerves of politicians belonging to either alliances.

While ABP News- Nielsen   and India TV-C Voter predicted a clear majority for the Mahagatbandhan, Times Now-C Voter predicted a thin majority for the Mahagatbandhan. On the other hand,  India Today-Cicero predicted a thin majority for the NDA. Up to this point, it was pleasant news for Nitish  and Lalu. But suddenly News 24 - Today's Chanakya came up with a shocking result for them: NDA winning 155 while Mahagatbandhan winning only 83. Dejected NDA supporters got a booster to cheer up their sombre mood. Chanakya is the only agency which had hit the bull's eye in  LS 2014. So, they cannot be easily discounted.

Now let us discuss the probable snenarios, with respect to the  main four political parties, emerging after the results are out. Let's take the BJP first. It's a win-win situation for them. If they win, the stature of Modi will rise at the national level. The ambitious politician NiKu thought himself as a prime ministerial candidate in the last LS election and competed with NaMo. He got such a humiliating defeat that he had to resign from the post of Chief Minister. If that can be called an away match for NiKu, this is his home match to take revenge. If Modi succeeds to defeat him again,  Modi can be said to have completely demolished Nitish. The critics may not stop criticism,  but in their hearts they would know that their efforts are going in vain.

If the BJP loses the election,  they don't have to lose much. As per Times Now-C Voter survey, they are going to emerge as the single largest party with 91 seats. That means good number of Rajya Sabha seats for the next few years. With that number of seats, they will become  a formidable opposition. In the centre, or in the forthcoming UP election, this result will have no bearing. Because, at centre the BJP enjoys a huge majority, and as for UP election, each election is a different ball game.

As far Nitish is concerned, it's a lose-lose scenario for him. If he loses, he will be finished. If he wins, it will be almost impossible for him to work with the RJD.  Because the RJD cannot change its spots. Hooliganism and corruption are in their DNA. Whatever goodwill Nitish had will be lost in no time. He may not be able to complete his term. Maybe within 2 years, there will be another poll, where he will be politically finished.

For the Congress, it's a lose-lose situation. They were an insignificant ally ( in Bengali it is called  "dudhe bhate") of the Mahagatbandhan in this battle; nobody took them seriously. Nitish and Lalu meticulously avoided sharing dias with Rahul Gandhi. At best, they would win 4 seats. What will they do with that number? Rahul's dream of building a strong organisational base in the state has already taken a hard beating. Instead of standing on their own feet, they would be lackeys of Nitish and Lalu. And if they lose, they would be subjected to further ridicule.

But as far as Lalu is concerned, a win will definitely rejuvenate his party. It will be interesting to know what will happen if the RJD manages to win more seats than the JD (U)! A loss will completely demoralise the party workers.

So, all eyes on 8th November.

Pictures taken from the net

Bihar elections outcome

Why are so many venomous serpents slithering towards the sandalwood? Is it the sweet smell that is attracting them? A closer look reveales  a snake charmer dressed like a tantric is offering milk sitting under the tree. Everything was going nicely until a bunch of angry buffaloes barge  into the scene chasing the snakes away. Does this give enough fodder for a nightmare?  I don't know, but the Bihar state assembly elections have become a nightmare for poll observers like me to predict the outcome. Conflicting reports, claims and counterclaims are pouring in.

In the last parliament elections, when the NDA under the leadership of Narendra Modi  bagged 31 out of 40 seats (with a vote share of 38.8%) in a 3-cornered fight, it appeared that winning the state elections would be a cakewalk for them. But the incumbent CM Nitish Kumar was not the guy who would accept defeat so easily. He was down, but he was not out.

The wily politician calculated that if he combines 20.1 % of RJD, 8.4% of INC and his 15.8% it would add upto 44.3%, which is 5.5% greater than the vote share of the NDA. His relationship with Lalu was nothing short of a relationship between  a snake and a mongoose. Besides, allying with Nitish, Lalu would lose the anti-incumbancy votes. There was an apprehension of revolt within the JD (U), too. So, this political marriage looked very unlikely.  But like a magician, and with the help of Sonia Gandhi who was ready to cut off her nose to spite BJP'S face, Nitish forged the alliance. It tested the waters in  the by elections held in August last year, when they won 6 out of 10 seats.
The experiment was successful.

However,  Nitish received  a jolt when the lead actor, Jitan Ram Manjhi, in the political drama of resignation enacted by him after the poll drubbing to win public sympathies decided to listen to his inner voice instead of acting like a stooge. As Manjhi belonged to the extreme backward class, BJP got a great opportunity to brand Nitish  as anti-Dalit when he sacked Manjhi. Everything was going hunky dory for the BJP until Mohan Bhagwat from the RSS scored a self-goal in saying that reservation policy needs to be reviewed.

 It was a politically incorrect statement uttered in wrong time. The mahajot lapped up the opportunity  provided by Bhagwat to create an atmosphere of fear among the schedule caste and other backward caste voters. They were told that the BJP would abolish the current reservation policy. The BJP was late in their damage control act.  The unfortunate incident of Dadri lynching somehow consolidated minority votes against the BJP. So, in the first 2 rounds, it was advantage Mahajot.

But the game hasn't ended yet. The misconception has been dispelled. So, there's every reason for the BJP to give a hard fight. There has been some negative report in the media about the BJP'S possible loss. I don't know how such reports can surface during the poll period!  Has the ECI taken note of this? There has been some reports of the BJP'S star-campaigner Narendra Modi cancelling his scheduled xmeetings. No matter  whether Modi campaigns or not he will have to face severe criticism in case the NDA loses. So, it's better to give his best shot instead of thinking about the results.

After the loss in Delhi elections,  the BJP said they were not perturbed by the outcome, they would work relentlessly. That should be the approach. Politics is a continuous phenomenon.  It doesn't stop with one result. Even if I assume that the Mahajot wins the poll, it will be extremely difficult for Nitish to work with the RJD. The RJD cannot change its spots. Whatever goodwill Nitish has will be lost in little time. It may not be possible for the Mahajot to complete the term. There maybe polls within 2 years. And at that time it will be very easy to politically finish off Nitish.

As far as the Congress is concerned, it's nothing  short of a harakiri. Rahul Gandhi's dream of creating strong organisational set up in the state has taken a hard  beating. It will be lucky to win even a single seat, and will have to be a lackey of Nitish.

Pictures taken from the net