Sunday ka Funda

Even before reading a word, this photograph completely shook me up. A woman crying in obvious desperation and a few cops sitting on the same bench, but keeping their distance and going about their job without a glance towards her. What more could express her loneliness and helplessness?

Who is she? I still do not know. The caption in Mumbai Mirror says:

"The mother of Prakash Salunkhe, 14, who was killed by a leopard on his way back from school on Friday, breaks down at the hospital after receiving her son's bloodied body"

Her identity is just that of the mother of a bloodied dead body. I look with discomfort at a cop's bright shoes, and the floor that seems to have congealed remnants.

The fact that it is in the newspaper, front page at that, does mean that in the noise of politics and cult figures the story has been covered. Leopard attacks on children in the Aarey Colony area are not uncommon. It is also not fair to dismiss the reaction of the cops based on what has been captured in a second. They were probably paying attention to her earlier, and could be taking down details about her son.

That is not the issue. It is about us. About how callous we have become to things around. There would be many times when we would be sitting like those cops, not too far, from people suffering. And we would do nothing. And, sadly, at that point in time we would be as helpless as this mother. For, somewhere, without trying to justify the looking away, it is true that we don't do anything because we just can't.

No Comments

The ad copy says:

Address: America

"I saw a white man purchasing Vicco Vajradanti in a shop here.

I felt immensely proud.

Whether it is a grip on the world as a superpower or on the teeth by gum power...Americans have got it!"

Speak Easy

This picture in TOI is taken at Arvind Kejriwal's press conference. The man in grey was apparently asking him how he and his wife, who is with the IRS, were never transferred from Delhi.

He is 'opposing' Kejriwal. Does it seem like it? The latter is not only smiling, but holding the mic for his accuser.

Anything to be 'transparent'. Or, to give the impression of being so?

Gadkari's Basic Instinct

BJP Prez in Sharon Stone moment

This is your friendly neighbourhood BJP party president, Nitin Gadkari. If I were to deconstruct this photograph and the attitude of L.K.Advani and the RSS towards him - the former thinks he should uphold certain values while the latter has termed him the "Nagpur boy" who is pretty much okay - then it is clear that Gadkari does not quite care about what anyone thinks of him. 

His legs are crossed at an extreme angle while his gaze is straight ahead. It means he keeps an eye on what's going on, and yet does not lose touch with who he is and who he is with. 

The generous exposure and view of flesh also conveys that he might preempt his opponents with a 'show me yours, I am showing you mine'.

Look at this...

What does this photograph convey? It was on the day when a mob went
berserk at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.

Here the cop is coolly ambling ahead. What is he reading? Did he not realise there were people on a rampage right behind him? Did he turn to look back later?

He appears to be so immersed in something else. What is it?

This picture, despite it being in-your-face can have its layers unpeeled. Disturbing. Almost dark 'comedy', if it wasn't real.

- - -

Image is from TOI, but there was no photographer's name so not aware
if it's taken from elsewhere.

Sajda and the Sadhu

How sorry are the attempts at communal harmony. This picture is an example. The Times of India used this caption:

"A sadhu prays while a group of Muslims perform namaz in Jodhpur on Eid"

Was the sadhu invited? Is he leading the prayer? He is a distance away, so where is the harmony here? Look at the expression of those praying. Their attention is diverted to this spectacle. Besides, I wonder how the devotees would be bowing before their footwear. Sajda to their chappals?

It's better not to project such images. Really. We can all live without variety.

Cheeky Ganguly

I don't need to watch the IPL matches. The photographs are on the ball.

I don't care much about checking out men's butts, but Saurav Ganguly seems to enjoy a bit of exposure. Mumbai Mirror caught him from behind. The 'Restricted Zone' in the foreground makes sure you only look...no touching, no touching, as one Bollywood song goes.

PS: If the cricketer had been part of Kolkata Knight Riders, instead of Pune Warriors, he'd have been sore.

IPL, Kitsch & Lipstick

Cricket does not interest me much anymore. I liked the white flannels, and whatever money the players may have made, the idea of them being auctioned is somehow quite unpalatable.

Now that the new season of IPL has started, there was the usual glitzy opening ceremony. Nothing these days goes without an opening ceremony. I did not watch it, but saw the pictures – crass Bollywood fare, the top-billed actors looking like courtesans and pimps acting as cheer-leaders.

Since we have foreign players we cannot complain about foreign performers. This time, they got Kate Perry. Her bottom half was Anjuna beach, Goa and the top half was ‘let’s getting married in a Rajasthan palace’.

But, this picture with cricketer Doug Bollinger is such a put-off. I do not know how all you wonderful people look at it, but this appears to be some kind of soft-porn to me, with that wide-open mouth and the mike.

And then there is this. Precious. I will retain the caption as it was, emphasising a couple of interesting phrases:

CALM BEFORE THE STORM: With the IPL and associated entertainment set to drown out all other cricketing noise over the next month-and-a-half, we decided to take a peek back to calmer, more innocent days, when famous men could wear lipstick without fear of retribution. Pictured during India's 1989 tour of Pakistan are (from left) future commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, a zero-international-centuries Sachin Tendulkar, two-Test wonder Vivek Razdan and Indian Express boss Shekhar Gupta before he started walking the talk.

As this was in Pakistan, I naturally call it the $10 million picture.

“It (cricket) requires one to assume such indecent postures” 

– Oscar Wilde

- - -


Both photographs from Mumbai Mirror. The paper has not attributed it to any source.

Benetton's 'Friendly' Lip-service

How can you ‘unhate’? Is it like undress or undo? Benetton is known for its use of stereotypes to display its supposed egalitarian stance. Where money speaks who would anyway care about colour or race? The new campaign has images of people in positions of power, supposedly belonging to different ideologies, getting close and comfortable in a liplock. How does a kiss solve problems?

If we take it literally too, lust does not necessarily overcome hate. It could well result in more hate if it is embedded, for together with that emotion will be the added baggage of guilt: I slept with the enemy. People are also known to wreak vengeance through the sexual route. If we do not wish to get that far, then there is the image of social niceties. A ltitle peck, even on the lips, could be seen as a mere gesture, an acknowledgement of existence and being part of the herd. There is a good deal of it at gatherings, besides the overdose of socialite don’t-mess-my-makeup air-kissing.

The fact that Benetton desisted from using images of the Indian and Pakistani leaders due to cultural sensibilities reveals that it is steeped in these archetypes. There could have been a backlash, but it would not be so much about cultural sensibilities as it would for diplomatic reasons To force-feed friendship for commercial gains is pretty disgusting, especially if you know precious little about how the particular governments wish to deal with each other.

As I said, where money talks, the company need bother about bringing ideologies together. Major American companies have outsourced their technological marvels to China, where the workers are paid a pittance and labour in terrible conditions. So where does free enterprise and Communism clash here? One feeds the other.

The same goes for religious figures. The sheer muscle power of these organisations put them at an advantage. They have millions of people who will follow them for no reason other than that they are seen as emissaries of some god. They have not been able to control any undesirable activities within the fold or even within the hallowed precincts from where they operate. And chances of them being quite willing to put up Benetton’s rainbow-coloured banners to promote peace and sell a few threads are not quite as remote as it might seem. There has been sharp reaction from the Catholic Church and the company has decided to remove the Pope’s image with the Egyptian Imam.

Bringing the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a digital photo-snogg is unlikely to solve the political issue; if anything the images draw attention to the differences.

So, let’s just not play this social consciousness banner game which follows the slapstick prototype rather than anything remotely sensitive to bonhomie. Get the slumboys and girls who work hours to make it happen. No, wait. That too might end up as slcik marketing gimmick. Nothing is left untouched. They’ll dig the muddiest places if there is promise of gold.

Let’s just continue to ‘hate’ without having to dress in ‘unhate’.

- - -

Note: I have used the images because the company cannot titillate and then choose to selectively censor. Besides, the more important issue is not of the photograph but the larger picture of why the need. 

- - -

Update: The Vatican has objected:

Press secretary Father Federico Lombardi said:

"We cannot but express a resolute protest at the entirely unacceptable use of a manipulated image of the Holy Father, used as part of a publicity campaign which has commercial ends. 

"The secretariat of state has authorised its lawyers to initiate actions, in Italy and elsewhere, to prevent the circulation, via the mass media and in other ways, of a photomontage used in a Benetton advertising campaign in which the Holy Father appears in a way considered to be harmful, not only to the dignity of the pope and the Catholic church, but also to the sensibility of believers."

While the al-Azhar mosque did denounce it, the Imam was not quoted.

The company immediately started tearing down the posters. Now, had the objection been raised by the Imam or his emissaries, it would have mmediately been branded as an over-reaction and muzzling of freedom of speech.

- - -

On quite another matter, and a bit on the light side of heavy....

Is Barack's Butting Again?

“I want women to be liberated and still be able to have a nice ass and shake it”

- Shirley MacLaine

But, do we want men to watch? President Barack Obama sure likes to stand behind women. Here he is with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra on November 16:

Two years ago, his hindsight was evident when he looked back at a Brazilian girl under the watchful eyes of Nicholas Sarkozy (not in this picture):

Of course, there was a debate then about the 'lying' pictures. Of course, they can lie. But I am curious why other heads of state, friskier than Obama, have not been so captured.

Patriotic songs for Sushma Swaraj's naach

I liked the sight of Sushma Swaraj dancing at Rajghat. The Congress did not. The AICC General Secretary said:

“By dancing at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj has not only insulted Gandhiji but all the freedom fighters and the entire countrymen. She should resign from the post of the Leader of the Opposition and apologise to the people.”

Oh, come on. Giving incendiary speeches, getting leaders of dubious habits carrying wreaths are equally insulting. If we don’t want any public gathering at Rajghat, then just keep the place closed and visit it twice a year.

We all know the whole thing is political from every angle, but this is plain juvenile opposition. The people would be happier if politicians danced to their tune, but that won’t happen. Incidentally, our freedom fighters used song and dance often to motivate people. Ms. Swaraj says she was doing it to boost the morale of the cadres. Of course, there was no “Munni badnaam hui”, but one can say she was acting like “zandu balm” to soothe frayed nerves.

Sushmaji has clarified the songs were patriotic.

Let me twist a few well-known ones that she might have danced to if only they were written:

Mere desh ki dharti bhaqwaa ugley
Ugley Ramdev-Modi
Mere desh ki dharti

---

Kar chale hum fidayeen ke naak mein dum saathiyon
Ab hamare hawaale watan kar do saathiyon

---

Jahaan daal-daal par Sonia karti hai basera
Woh kaisa Bharat desh hai mera

---

Ae mere watan ke logoun
Zara jaldi haath ko kar lo khaali
Jo ‘shaheed’ bhare hai jail mein
Bhool jaao agar hui unke saath diwali

---

Baar-baar haan, bolo yaar haan
Apne geet ho, unki naach haan

- - -



The original songs:

Mere desh ki dharti sona ugley
Ugley heere-moti
--
Kar chaley hum fidaa jaan-o-tan saathiyon
Ab tumhare hawaale watan saathiyon
--
Jahaan daal-daal par sone ki chidiya karti hai basera
Woh Bharat desh hai mera
--
Ae mere watan ke logoun
Zara aankh mein bhar lo paani
Jo shaheed hue hai unki
Zara yaad karo qurbani
--
Baar-baar haan, bolo yaar haan
Apni jeet ho, unki haar haan

----
(c) Farzana Versey

Just wondering

Why is that everytime Digvijay Singh makes or receives phone calls (or says he does) from people who are in some controversial situation they get killed soon after?First Hemant Karkare, now Salman Taseer.

- - -

The TOI had this picture on the front page with the title: "Look, no one's watching the president".  Ms. Pratibha Patil took a  break and decided to get some cool Goan breeze at the beach. She is surrounded by plainclothes security. How many people does the newspaper imagine ogle at women in a saree on the beach? And how do they know no one was looking? Or, is the TOI mighty pleased at getting a picture?

The PM's Babagiri

The Prime Minister of India has every right to believe in whatever he chooses to in his personal capacity. This does not have to be flaunted. He was at Puttarpathi ostensibly for the convocation ceremony at the Sri Satyasai Institute of Higher Learning; it coincided with the Baba’s birthday. As the patron of the institute, Sri Sathya Sai Baba ought to have greeted the PM and such pictures would have been taken by the photographers. What we see here is the holy man sitting on his throne and the PM standing quietly like a bhakt or, worse, one of the assistants.

The caption in the TOI uses the phrase, ‘SAI SARANAM GACHHAMI’. It is used for the Buddha and in this instance would mean ‘I take refuge in the Sai’. I should hope this is tongue-on-cheek, but given the record of certain powerful media houses and their penchant for ‘speaking trees’ and ‘sacred spaces’, it might be quite literal.

This is an insult to the nation. He was invited as a public servant, not as Manmohan Singh, private citizen. I assume he is aware that there had been cases against Sathya Sai Baba. But then, the PM isn’t untainted either, is he?

I guess we should be happy that we at least do not have a picture of him touching the godman’s feet (which he could have done, as many politicians did) or carried his footwear.

Bared? Marilyn, Oprah, Sunanda…

I do not know which of these ‘outings’ is the worst.

THIS:

Fans of Marilyn Monroe will be able to bid for an intimate snap of the star at an upcoming auction. An xray of the stars chest is set to go under the hammer. The medical photograph was taken at a Florida hospital in 1954 when the actress was being treated for endometriosis. The x-ray shows Monroe’s ribs as well as the outline of her famed cleavage.

I would understand a dress from some film, a personal belonging. This has become quite the norm for the public that seeks such vicarious thrills. But the woman was ill, for god’s sake, and it is an x ray. Isn’t there any shame left? And, why is there a mention of her cleavage. This is beyond disgusting.

OR THIS:

Oprah Winfrey has repeatedly lied about her upbringing and made up stories about sexual abuse to boost her reputation, claims biographer Kitty Kelley in her new book. Where Oprah got that nonsense about growing up in filth I have no idea, the New York Post quoted Winfrey’s cousin Katherine Carr Ester as saying in the book. I’ve confronted her and asked, why do you tell such lies ... Oprah told me that’s what people want to hear, the truth is boring.

Kitty Kelly has her kitty full of tell-all tales. I have my reservations about Oprah’s modus operandi that caters to the most basic instinct – voyeurism. It has often been camouflaged as catharsis, but you can see right through the tears, which often reveal that some of it has been staged. She is also her best subject, using everything from her weight to her money. Just as well. However, I can understand exaggeration as a possibility, but to make up stories of sexual abuse, especially as a child, somehow seems unlikely. If it is true, then it is cruel. Cruel to the telly-viewing world that trusts her implicitly, cruel to herself for needing such a ruse. Also, I’d like to know a bit more about this high moral ground adopted by her cousin. How much was she paid for telling this 'truth'? If she knew about it and felt so strongly, why was she silent all this time? There are hundreds of tabloids and channels waiting for such exposes.

OR THIS:

Sunanda Pushkar's face recently launched a thousand IPL controversies. However, if you've had enough of it, you could try an older variation. The one you've been spotting these days is only a new and improved version. City sources say that the woman, who is in the eye of the Modi-Tharoor storm, had a nose job done by a leading Mumbai-based cosmetic surgeon ten years ago. Sources said that Pushkar also had two other fat reduction surgeries before the nose job.

(Latest reports say she has withdrawn her stake in the IPL.)

Take her to task for the franchise deal, but this is low. The Medical Council should take note of the plastic surgeon Dr Ashok Gupta for revealing these details. It goes against the ethics of his profession. Incidentally, Mumbai Mirror that carried the story showed the before and after pictures and amazingly in all of them the lady is wearing the same lipstick. Is it her fealty towards a certain shade or is someone tampering?

Besides this, it might help if those who socialise with bottle blondes stopped mentioning this aspect of her. It is amusing to see the ladies who lunch get all concerned about power women, which of course Sunanda is not because she has not yet had a chance to appear on Page 3. She is an insult, apparently. She is telling us what to think about Tharoor. How dare she? Phew. People who opine about piffle should not be wondering about how her opinion does not count.

- - -

The sainted and the tainted - Lalit Modi with the Dalai Lama:

No Comments

Citizen Husain?

The caption in TOI says:

CARD-CARRYING INDIAN: M F Husain, who has recently taken Qatari citizenship and has had to surrender his Indian passport, shows his Overseas Citizen of India card in Dubai. It denies him voting rights but the artist claims he was never interested in the political process anyway

This is a rather telling statement. I absolutely do not understand how the word 'citizen' is used in such a card when individuals are not interested in the political process. Husain was candid about it, and we know from his stint in the Rajya Sabha that he came up with caricatures/illustrations of politicians and Parliament proceedings since he said that he was an artist and that is how he could make a statement. (Are Rajya Sabha MPs nominated to convey statements? That is another issue.)

What about all those overseas Indians who want to intervene in every aspect of political life in their home country? There has been a demand to grant them voting rights too. If we pull up electoral candidates for not knowing their constituencies, then on what basis must we permit expats to vote for someone they know precious little about or political parties that have outgrown their memories of it?

These are people of Indian origin and not citizens. They have chosen another country, another passport.

As for M.F.Husain, much in the manner we dig up our ancient Indian heritage, he is more Pandharpur than India to flaunt his commitment to the soil.

HIV installed

Before - unknown volunteers

After - socialite Parmeshwar Godrej with her American designer of the AIDS awareness installation

- - -

Article to follow later.

Hot cross buns

BJP chief Rajnath Singh attended the RSS Vijay Dashami function dressed the part.

Wonder where the moral police is. Besides being an ungainly sight - he was not attending a soccer or baseball match - he ought to learn some basics about etiquette.

Obviously, he was accorded respect and given the front row seat. What was he trying to prove?

There is nothing 'Rashtriya' about it. Is it 'Swayamsevak'? Where does that leave the Sangh?

Just wondering...

Updated on October 5, 6 PM IST

I am amazed at the reactions to the above picture.

It isn’t a 'joke' and we are not talking about John Abraham and the exposure of the male body in films or modelling. It is also not a casual picture taken at the beach. This was at a political event. The khaki bermudas are the RSS uniform. But there is a matter of etiquette, and etiquette means knowing how to sit when you wear certain kinds of clothes, and where. Most people do follow these rules of social behaviour, especially if they happen to be in positions of power and expect public respect.

It might be no big deal for some – and the usual rant of this blogger being against the RSS/BJP ideology creeps in, quite forgetting that I do not need a man’s bare legs to express disapproval of the party. Then there is this bit about being critical of ‘fellow Indians’. I cannot fathom such a comment because it makes absolutely no sense.

As for being below the belt, the picture was not taken by me and the man chose to sit the way he did. There are studies on body language…but I won’t waste my breath over it for this particular example.

There are men who do know how to sit, even with full trousers and legs crossed:

Gunning for whom?

On Dussehra it is customary to commemorate good over evil. I have seen pictures of the police placing flowers over weapons. Understandable. They are in a sense worshipping their job. Although it ought to be more than the use of weapons. If the armed forces do so, again fine. What is the chief minister of Gujarat doing bowed before guns?

He ought to be at his office offering prayers to all those musty files that have let him off. Or he should be arranging money to give as compensation.
- - -

Image courtesy The Times of India

Charlie's ass

Camilla Parker-Bowles gives Prince Charles a helping hand as he checks a helicopter in Wattisham Airfield, in England.

I love this couple.

There is intimacy, friendliness, naughtiness and togetherness evident here.

The great depression?

This is a party in Berlin. They are indulging themselves. The theme is the Great Depression. It is supposed to mock at a time in history when people had little to eat and little to hope.

Today, this mockery seems like nervousness. To grab the momentary. To look at history through wine glasses. To mimick misery and therefore feel less miserable.

It is a sad way to be happy.

Jest like that

Brazil’s President Luiz Lula Da Silva presents a soccer shirt signed by the Brazilian national team to PM Manmohan Singh in Italy

Why does our PM’s expression convey that ‘man mein laddu photo rahe hai’? Chak de phattey!

- - -

Malayalam superstar Mohan Lal with defence minister A K Antony after he was conferred the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army

If mascot is what the Indian Army wants, Mohan Lal can be like Bheema instead of this Lt.Curl-null business. What happened to Kapil Paaji and his army stint that I had talked about? And that Viveik Oberoi?