Whenever I think about the origin of hate politics in India, I end up concluding that it is wrong to blame any political dispensation for this mess. They do not wield that kind of power even though there is proven relationship between hate and votes.
These short films were made in 1995 as part of my college project. It was a wonderful opportunity to marry my two interests – poetry and film making. So many years have passed by and the idea still excites me.
There are few words that we know well but seldom put to use. For me, oxymoron and paradox are two such words. I have a good connect with the word paradox due to nostalgic reasons. And also because paradoxes in real life are not so amusing.
A heinous crime took place. The perpetrators were convicted and sentenced for life. After fourteen years there was a request for their release. Courts consented. Everything happened within the ambit of law. Except justice!
We often blame the system for the evil we see around. We believe that the evil is imposed upon us. We seldom stop and ask ourselves – who imposed it? More often than not, we get what we deserve. Be it the government or a social hierarchy. They are nothing but a manifestation of our collective worldview.
Every piece of law ensures that constitutional promises are well kept and legal remedies are readily available to the citizens. Then why do we need the remedial laws? Does their existence suggest that the existing legal system has failed to keep its part of the promise?
As a child I used to often wonder about God and had many ifs and buts. I was almost sure that I was not a believer. But I was also unsure about being an atheist. Thankfully there was no urgent need to stake any claim.
Rituals are often seen as the remnants of our undesirable past – a baggage which, as a society, we failed to unload. They are often linked with the continuance of many ills that societies face. But it is important that we understand their context prior to rejecting them.
Though Bangalore is now to be called Bengaluru, but somehow name changes do not go well with me. These conflicts about nouns are nothing but ploys to distract people. But this note is not about distractions. It is about strange observations.
People my age grew up in a world of limited choices. Career wise, the primary push was for an engineering or medical degree, and of course the armed forces. How I ended up as a designer is a story of strange coincidences.
This is a headline from the future – a future not so far away because it is highly likely that by 2027 Uttarakhand will cease to be ‘devbhoomi’ – a hill state carved out to meet the unique socio-political & socio-economic needs of the mountain people.
