Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
'If' by Rudyard Kipling
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,'
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
‘Invictus' by William Earnest Henley
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have winced but not cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance,
My head is bloodied but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears,
Looms but the horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years,
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Do not stand at my grave and weep...
I am not there... I do not sleep.
I am the thousand winds that blow...
I am the diamond glints on snow...
I am the sunlight on ripened grain...
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you waken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of gentle birds in circling flight...
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry—I am not there... I did not die...
Unspoken words...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Death be not proud by John Donne
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die."
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Happy Diwali...
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Batla house...
"Mr Mammootty? I'm Tony Kurishinkal...Tony Kurishinkal."
Monday, September 29, 2008
Cheeka...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
The weekend...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Morons...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Varnachitram...
Update!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
And back...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Home...
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Three kings!
PS: NDTV should take off this report from its website. NOW.
PS2: CNN-IBN called Sushil Kumar a 'boxer', complete with a tag-line, 'Packing a punch'
on its early web reports. Heh.
PS3: Indian sports writers never had it so good, eh. I'm waiting to read what Nirmal Shekar has to say.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The worst headline ever!
It's all over for Michael Phelps
I demand that the entire sports desk of the newspaper which carried this headline (in yesterday's edition, and never mind what the strap line was!) be arrested.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Cricketer 'writers'
"You might worry about Adam Gilchrist, say, butchering an attack and smashing a bowler to smithereens," notes Atherton, "but Lara made captains, and bowlers, look silly. If you knew you were going to die, you'd prefer a single bludgeoning blow to the head, or a quick bullet to the brain, rather than death by a thousand ever-so-precise cuts."
Nice, eh? Care for a counter-view? I remember reading Ted Corbett in Sportstar:
"He has shown that all over again in what you might call a net for his big trial at The Times. He has commentated and written every Saturday in a Sunday newspaper. His TV work does not appear to have suffered — indeed he has now improved to a standard which makes him about the best in the country. His articles of perhaps 2,000 words each Sunday show the same reliability, the same insight and the same level-headed choice of words you might expect from his performances as a — mainly losing — Test captain."
Read the full article here.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
RGV
"But then he's got cinematic sense," a journalist friend told me recently. Fine, but then again, am I to understand that if Raja Sen or any other reviewer/film critic/writer overdoes it in a film review, he or she is faffing, simply showing a flair for doggerel, while B-Rangan can go on and on about anything related to cinema and leave readers enchanted?
PS: I like reading Raja Sen's reviews. They make me laugh. Wasn't it Alfred Hitchcock who said, "It's only a movie."
Friday, August 15, 2008
Independence Day
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Brijnath on Tiger Woods...
Something to write home about (from Beijing)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Gold...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Touché -The Sizzler...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Kuselan...
However, the cinematography by Arvind Krishna is fantastic. And there is something about that photo of Rajini of the '80s, (it's a movie still I guess, but don't know from which film it is) which is shown hanging on the wall of a room in Balakrishnan's (Pasupathy) house, which leaves you in no doubt of the sheer charisma and star power of the man.
PS: Soumya Bhattacharya is the new RE of HT, Mumbai.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Whoa...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Here we go...
Mild earthquake jolts Maharashtra
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
According to sources...
PS: Nah. I personally don't think this is going to happen. He's got too much at stake.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Power shift...
Brilliant stuff...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Chances are...
Sorry for the victim now
Though my days are filled with sorrow
I see years of pride tommorrow
Chances, chances are some might not hold out
Chances are, hang on right now
Though-oh-oh-oh my-my days are filled with sorrow
I see years of pride tommorrow
Chances, chances are some might not hold out
Chances are, hang on right now
Chances are, oh chances, you're my chances
Chances are, hang on right now
Chances are, hang on right now
Deal with loneliness, I'll take some tear drops
Chances are we'll have to win
Chances are, hang on right now
Chances are, chances are...
Bob Marley and The Wailers
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A Dream Deferred...
Redemption and all that...
Ali vs. Frazier...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Poor dastards...
A sneaking, malicious coward.
[Middle English, probably alteration of Old Norse dæstr, exhausted, from past participle of dæsa, to languish, decay.]
I know several of the kind. Slow, amateurish dastards who like to think they're damn smart, but are actually incompetent bunglers who don't have a clue what's going on around them. Till the shit hits the fan. And we'll just leave it at that, alright? : D
Friday, July 18, 2008
Lots of work...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
If I am not for myself...
Errands...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Hmm...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The King "will be back next year."
People have been asking why I haven’t written about India losing the Asia Cup to Sri Lanka and Fedex losing to Nadal. Well, it is because I haven’t quite recovered from Federer’s loss. I was hoping Fedex would whup Nadal, but nothing could have prepared us for what transpired on the Centre Court that day. One newspaper carried a headline that added insult to injury: The King is dead. Long live the King.
PS: Does anyone care that India lost?
Left wondering no more...
It's finally happened. The Left has pulled out before... well, they've pulled out. Interesting days are ahead, eh.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The government’s conduct disgraceful, a shame for the entire nation: Arun Bhatia
JULY 6
REFERRING to the poor attendance at the funeral of Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, who passed away on June 27 at the age of 94, Arun Bhatia, former municipal commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said the manner in which the government behaved was ‘disgraceful’ and a shame for the entire nation.
“Is this how those in power show respect to a Field Marshal, a devoted soldier who served the country faithfully all his life… by not bothering to turn up at his funeral? He has done so much for the nation and we, the people, demand an apology from the government for this shameful conduct,” he told a gathering organised jointly organised by him, retired Armed Forces personnel and citizens, as a mark of respect to the late Field Marshal Manekshaw.
Punekars turned up in large numbers to pay homage to Sam ‘Bahadur’ Manekshaw, one of India’s greatest military heroes. It may be recalled that President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A K Antony and the three Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, among others, were conspicuous by their absence at Field Marshal Manekshaw’s funeral at Wellington, Tamil Nadu.
Reiterating the view that the Field Marshal did not get the honour he deserved, Brig (Retd), A K Sahukar, said, “It was unfortunate that those in the government did not feel it necessary to attend the Field Marshal’s funeral and pay their last respects to an unparalleled military leader.”
However, Lt Gen Nanavatty (Retd), former Colonel, 8th Gorkha Rifles, and former Army Commander, Northern Command, pointed out that the military ceremony at the funeral was carried out in a ‘befitting manner.’ “The Army can proudly say that Field Marshal Manekshaw was given the respect he totally deserved, irrespective of who attended and who did not,” Nanavatty said.
Discussing the Field Marshal’s illustrious military career, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) and former Chief of Air Staff, H Moolgavkar, said Sam Manekshaw was an outstanding, spirited soldier who led from the front to give India one of its greatest military victories in the war against Pakistan in 1971, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.
Lt Gen (Retd) Ashok Joshi summed up by saying, “Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was a man of great credibility who accomplished several things each one of us aspire to, but never achieved.”
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Homage paid to Sam Manekshaw
JULY 5
THE late Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was one of India’s greatest military leaders and touched many lives during his illustrious career, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj, said here on Saturday.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a memorial service organised by the Southern Command, during which several retired and serving Army officers paid glowing tributes to Field Marshal Manekshaw, who passed away on June 27, at the age of 94. “Field Marshal Manekshaw was a peace-loving man who did not expect too much from anybody, be it the government or his colleagues. He was at ease with all his fellow officers, including those much junior to him. In fact, several of those who served under him felt as though they were ‘one to one’ with him,” Thamburaj said. “He lived a full, vigourous life and we can safely say that he got the best possible treatment in his last days,” he added.
Maj Gen S K Singh, Colonel of the 8th Gorkha Rifles, Manekshaw’s former regiment, said the Field Marshal’s last rites were conducted in a manner befitting his stature. “He was the first Colonel of the 8th Gorkha Rifles, a position he held from 1953-73. He was a perpetual optimist and was always positive, even if his health did not allow him to be.” Drawing attention to the Field Marshal’s distinguished military career, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) and former Chief of Air Staff, H Moolgavkar, said Sam Manekshaw earned the trust of all those who associated with him, including that of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “Field Marshal Manekshaw was a great personality who crafted one of India’s greatest military victories in the war against Pakistan in 1971,” Moolgavkar said.
Reiterating this viewpoint, Lt Gen H M Khanna, (Retd), former Colonel, 8th Gorkha Rifles, and former Army Commander, Northern and Southern Commands, said Field Marshal Manekshaw carved a niche for himself in the history of the sub-continent following the ‘total victory’ in the ’71 war, which resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh. “Though always firm and tactful, Sam ‘Bahadur’ Manekshaw was a charming, loyal, magnanimous man who held no malice against anybody, including his critics,” Khanna said.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Forced insomnia…
That’s life, you might say, while nodding your heads wisely. Well, I have an important message for them, i.e. whomsoever it may concern: Buzz off. See you after I wake up. Maybe.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Atlas Shrugged...
Spain rule Europe!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Copy editing...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Stuff journalists like...
"Are you my bag?"
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Quick take on sports writing.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Nice to meet you, Mr Editor!
Business Standard, who was chief guest at the function. As is to be expected, he gave a mature, balanced convocation address that was informative and insightful. My boss later told me, "You are extremely lucky. I hear my former boss (at ET) spoke at the function you went to. Too bad I couldn't attend it myself. Would have liked to catch up with him."
Thursday, June 19, 2008
2050...
'Reporter'speak...
[Silence]
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Can journalists be unreachable?
The top ten mass communication colleges in India, according to Mint.
“We are allergic to the word ‘communication,’ as it has been abused by many university colleges in the past. We are more of a journalism institute,” Sashi Kumar said.
Sashi Kumar is chairman of the Media Development Foundation, which runs the ACJ.
Another quote: It is a view shared by alumnus and deputy news editor at business television channel CNBC, Harsha Subramaniam. “I feel it is not right to call ACJ a mass communication institute, as it is purely a journalism school. I feel mass communication institutes also teach advertising, public relations, corporate communications as part of their curricula,” he adds.
But what should we make of the fact that the ACJ made it to number two on a ranking of mass communication institutes? In Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, where in August 2006, I was part of a documentary team from ACJ, I met a lady who was working with a non-governmental organisation after graduating from a prominent mass communication college. "ACJ? Oh! You guys specialise. We don't."
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
AMMA vs. MACTA!
First things first: Where is (that bad actor) Dileep? It was he who triggered the showdown by backing off from a Thulasidas film after having pocketed the advance signing amount. The reason? Dileep thought it was not smart on his part to work with a director who hasn’t made a hit film in a while. To quote from a PTI report: “The whole issue cropped up when Dileep, who was to act in a film being directed by Thulasidas, refused to play his role after taking an advance, allegedly because Thulasidas’s last film was a flop.” Hello, who can remember when Dileep himself was last seen in a good, let alone successful, movie? The guy’s career is floundering because he refuses to do the one thing he is good at — comedy — and instead insists on working with directors who wouldn’t even have dreamt of casting him if he hadn’t approached them first. That said, Dileep has found alternative ways to stay afloat. He takes more than a passing interest in the booming real estate sector in Kochi. And he craftily offered to produce the multi-starrer Twenty:20, which is sure to rake in the moolah owing to sheer star power. Oh, Dileep is also one of the vice-presidents of AMMA. Ha! Anyway, he seems to have purposely opened a can of worms and stealthily disappeared from the scene.
Meanwhile, with MACTA general secretary Vinayan proving once again that he is a foul-mouthed, pigheaded (literally!) person with a huge inferiority complex, (apart from being the most awful director in the history of Malayalam films) the split would have happened sooner or later. With several members resigning, MACTA is as good as dissolved. Actor Innocent, who has been president of AMMA since its inception, while speaking at a recent meeting, is reported to have said, “It is high time that MACTA closed its open door, or else more and more technicians inside may jump out through it.” A new organisation is on the anvil. As a friend said, I really ought to give a clearer picture, but owing to time pressure, I will direct you to this Sify report instead. It’s fairly informative. Cheers to Malayalam cinema.
Monday, June 16, 2008
On Dasavathaaram...
Anyway, I liked Rangaraja Nambi, the hardcore Vaishnavite. But many of the other avatars seem to be forced into the narrative. For instance, what the hell is the Afghani guy all about? What is he doing in the film? And the less said about Krishnaveni, the better. Ugh. But yes, Balram Naidu is funny. Telugu raadu. Heh. My favourite, however, is Vincent Poovaraghan, the tribal chieftain who leads a crusade against the sand mafia. It is as Poovaraghan that Kamal shows us, once again, his sheer genius… the make-up is good here, but then it wasn’t really required. Hmm… My friend Pavitra pointed out that the music was far from impressive. Which is precisely why I thought it did not merit a mention. I liked the pleasant Ulaga Nayakane… but the other songs don’t stay with you. Watch Dasavathaaram for Kamal. Once. And do check out this column by Shobha Warrier of Rediff.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
'Of myths and men' by Nirmal Shekar
Fists of stone!
Silence! The Greatest speaks...
No one left...
—Martin Niemoeller
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Success...
I will be posting some of my favourite quotes, picked randomly. Those on my Gtalk list (and a lot of those who aren't!) would have seen most of them before.
Yawn…
What’s (The) Happening?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
'Frankly speaking...' Blah!
Btw, according to some friends of mine at the TV channel concerned, the A is a terrible boss.
Covert…
“For reasons that need not detain us, I must say farewell. I was under the impression that I might have been able to do so with more grace. But judging from this morning’s edition of our paper, it seems I might have overstayed my welcome… We may not have been the biggest, but we held our head high because there was one nonnegotiable asset in our family: We could not be bought. We were independent. We were free. We held our head high. Never let your head stoop, not as long as you are a journalist.”
Not one to get bogged down and stay out of the newsroom, Akbar has already launched Covert, an unabashedly political fortnightly, which is now two issues old and features columnists such as Seema Mustafa, Kuldeep Nayar, Khushwant Singh, Arif Mohammad Khan and so on. And yes, Byline is alive and kicking. The design isn’t the greatest, but the forceful political content might just make Outlook, India Today and (ahem!) Tehelka sit up and take note. I really don’t have much to say on the cover story on Sharad Pawar in the first issue as well as the one on Kalam in the second, except that they are quite audacious in more than one sense of the word. Anyway, here’s some more wordplay. The mission statement of the magazine reads:
“Power is secretive about truth and propagandist about claims. Democracy demands media that reveals the covert and sifts the overt to peel off propaganda. Knowledge is the ultimate asset of the citizen. We hope, in COVERT, to tease the truth out of the wrinkles of secrecy. Our weapon is the scalpel, not the sword; we prefer the soft-spoken word to the scream, a smile to anger.”
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
“It was his year…”
Thought of posting this photo caption, which I took from the Orkut album of a good friend of mine, H. This guy wears his political lineage lightly and has opted for a career in banking. That he has an abiding interest in films goes without saying.
Scorsese should have won for Taxi Driver. Or Raging Bull. Or Goodfellas. Or even Casino. But he won for The Departed. Which I really liked, by the way.
PS: Having studied and worked with a talented and eclectic bunch of people, it has somehow been a regret of mine that very, very few of my friends and classmates have (as of now) chosen careers in:
A) Politics. (A lot of people I know say they are ‘apolitical.’ That too, proudly. I wonder if it’s possible to be completely that way. Since we are all part of a political and social system, I guess it would be rather difficult. Just one or two of the people I studied with are still active in politics. One of them is doing very well for himself back in Kerala. And hopefully, he is finding time to serve the public as well. Heh.)
B) The Armed Forces. (There are two or three, but that’s all. Oh well. The reasons are now common knowledge.)
The 54th National film awards and all that…
And yes, I liked Sarkar Raj. A little over-the-top at times, but definitely worth a watch. A journalist friend and former classmate (school, college, J-school) of mine, B, who is a credible film critic in his own right, told me, “I liked Abhishek’s performance. No one else from the current lot of actors can do that role.” Hrithik Roshan, I suggested. (Ha!) No way, he said. “RGV would have had to make him flex his muscles. Tight close-ups won’t work.” Hmm. Anyway, good comeback by RGV. Contract and Phook are coming up soon. I think he’s back on track. But with RGV, you never know.
By the way, I will be watching Manoj Nelliyattu ‘Night’ Shyamalan’s latest, The Happening, this weekend. Shudder. Heh.
New blog!
This is my new blog. Will try to post something useful once in a while. Most of the stuff will be media-related. I will also write on films, cricket, politics and try to provide links to other write-ups that may be worth a read. Cheers!