About Sehwag

Regular readers of this blog will know what a massive Sehwag fan I am. Since I started watching cricket regularly at the age of 9, no cricketer (not even Sachin or Lara, although I love them to death), has excited and enthralled me as much as Virender Sehwag. Viru is, hands down, my favorite cricketer ever, I do declare. So I was very very struck by a few facts as I watched him score a century against the Lankans at Kanpur.

- Has our Viru changed a bit? Changed a lot? Changed in the way he thinks about and plots his own innings? Has he become a bit more circumspect? I saw a lot of hints that it indeed is so. And considering the outcome, I welcome this change.

- After getting a life very early on, Viru put his head down and got his eye in. He NEVER EVER does that. Well, rarely anyway. Usually, he keeps going at the bowling in 5th gear. But yesterday, he stepped it down a notch, let Gauti do the scoring, and settled in.

- What is with the straight drives? Viru used to hit one every now and then, but this is the first I have seen him hit so many in an innings. Like his general batting technique early in his career, kinda-like-Sachin-but-kinda-unlike-Sachin, is his straight drive. The bottomline is, it is hit hard and it is hit along the ground, which makes it a high percentage shot. That's the last thing bowlers of the world needed - Virender Sehwag adding a relatively safe boundary shot to his repertoire.

- His leg-side game against spinners.... is it just me or was he making a conscious effort to hit the shots along the ground? As if to preserve his wicket? The angle of his bat, usually used to be expansive and pointing upwards in the past, as if trying to hit every ball from a spinner for a six. But now he seemed to be aiming for along-the-ground fours. Hitting them very very well, mind you.

- In general, does it seem to you, based on this Kanpur innings that Sehwag has decided to play in a more "matured" way? If so, the outcome is astonishing. He still scored at over a run a ball (although one must admit, it was a flat pitch). He still kept the team ticking along at a breakneck speed. Maybe, the way Dravid, Laxman etc coming into the team allowed Sachin to ease up a bit, the purple patch that young Gauuti has hit has allowed Viru to adjust his game somewhat. Viru's test innings are usually pretty solid, no matter what his reputation as a cavalier. But this one was particularly solid, except for the life at the start and the dismissal in the end.

= And speaking of the dismissal, was that a big bombshell for a Viru fan or what? Notice what happened after Dilshan took the catch? Viru put his hand on his face in disappointment and stayed there for a second before walking off. Our Viru! Did that!! When has he EVER EVER shown any regret at getting caught out? Bowled, yeah, maybe he is pissed at reading the line/length wrong. But catch out? Viru's attitude is always "the ball was there to be hit, so I hit it". No regrets. He didn't show a trace of regret when he missed his maiden double century in Melbourne in 2003 when he went for a six on 195 and got caught. And yet here, at Kanpur, he seemed disappointed.

So there is some change in Viru for sure. Whether it is an enduring change, remains to be seen.

Attacking another Marathi Icon? Really?

In the early and mid-90s, Shiv Sena's popularity and appeal was on the rise in Maharashtra. Several columnists and authors have noted with surprise how even non-Marathi Hindus in Bombay seemed to speak approvingly of what the Sena did during the 92-93 riots. They were also seen as clean, in contrast with the corruption-ridden Congress.

It all changed of course, when they came to power. Once in power, the Shiv Sena showed itself to be no different from the Congress. They made a deal with Enron, the very company that they had railed against while campaigning. There were other corruption scandals. And although the Sena did some good for the infrastructure, like building dozens of flyovers and starting the Bombay-Pune expressway project, by and large, they didn't impress the public much. By the time their term neared a close in 1999, it seemed unlikely that they would retain power.

As it happened, Vajpayee had the rug pulled from under his feet after Sonia's miscalculations. And another general election was announced, the 3rd in 3 years. All signs indicated that the NDA would gain seats. And Bal Thackeray, in what was a fairly canny move, decided to dissolve the assembly months before its term ended, so that the Vidhan Sabha elections would happen on the same day as the Lok Sabha elections. He hoped that the pro-NDA wave would help him retain power.

But as we all know, it did not happen. In one of the most fascinatingly nuanced behaviors ever displayed by an electorate in India, Maharashtra gave the BJP-SS alliance the majority of the Lok Sabha seats, but gave the Congress and NCP most of the Vidhan Sabha seats. The national media's analysis was largely spot on. The Sena failed on proper governance, indulged in corruption, and in general, seemed to have taken for granted that their reich would last a 1000 years.

There was one more element that played a significant role in the Sena's defeat, but only Marathis will remember it vividly. The Pu La Deshpande factor. Pu La Deshpande, the literary genius, a selfless and austere humanitarian, and an independent spirit, was (and continues to be after his death), something akin to a god for most Marathis. He became so loved not only because of his exemplary writing of all hues, but also because of the personal example he set - although he made millions, he donated it all to charity (and actual impactful charities, not religious ones) and lived a simple life in a small apartment. His writing and his life was an inspiration to everyone. Imagine what Tendulkar is to Indian cricket and multiply it by a factor of 1000. That is what PuLa means to Marathis.

The Shiv Sena government established an award.... I think it's name is Maharashtra Bhushan Puraskar. Basically, Maharashtra's equivalent of the Bharat Ratna. The first recipient was, duh, PuLa. In his acceptance speech, PuLa made some remarks that were mildly critical of the Shiv Sena government. Nothing too hardcore, but a rebuke nonetheless.

Bal Thackeray flipped his lid. He made some rude and uncharitable comments about PuLa, something like "jis thali mein khatey ho, usi mein chhed karte ho", the implication being that since Shiv Sena was giving him the award, PuLa should not have said anything critical about them. Now, PuLa had always been an equal opportunity critic. He called it like he saw it. During the emergency, he was at the forefront dissenting against the Congress. And when he saw the Sena making mistakes, he criticized them for it. Bal Thackeray thought this was somehow treachery.

Not only did he lambast PuLa, which was bad enough, but he also made a ridiculous comment that did not go down well with people. He said something like - "When the government decided to institute this award, they wanted me to be the first recipient. But I very generously refused and said that PuLa should be honored instead. If I wanted, I could have got that award. But instead I gave it to him. And he repays us by criticizing us?"

No matter how popular Bal Thackeray was at the peak of his popularity, it was not even close to being in the same league as PuLa's popularity. So his petulant comments earned him uniform backlash from all segments of Marathi society. And played a significant role in eroding the Shiv Sena's support, and eventually losing them the election.

Clearly, Bal Thackeray has forgotten the lessons learnt from PuLa-gate. Now he has decided to attack Sachin Tendulkar, for what are extremely benign comments, even if one was to look at them through the Sena's prism. He has declared that Sachin has hurt the marathi manoos. Hah! Bal Thackeray, after losing 3 elections in a row, the most recent one so comprehensively, does not have even the hint of an authority to speak on the behalf of the marathi manoos.

And if he has forgotten how attacking one beloved Marathi icon played a big role in Shiv Sena losing power, he will be reminded of it very soon as this ill-advised second act could play a role in precipitating the Sena's complete wipe-out in the near future.

The Seinfeld-Curb Crescendo Approaches

It is no secret that I have been super-excited about the Seinfeld reunion arc on this season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The reunion episode earlier in the season, as well as another episode with a big role for Jerry, were both hilarious. But last night's episode - The Table Read, was even better.

The premise of the episode, as the name suggests, was a table read and rehearsal for the Seinfeld reunion show. The bits and pieces of dialog gave ample hints about where our beloved characters are in 2009. And those tiny morsels were delectable enough to warrant a petition for an actual reunion episode.

Jerry still lives in his old apartment and Kramer is still his neighbor. George, who once boasted that he could tell you the location of a usable toilet in the vicinity of any location in Manhattan, has created an iPhone app for it - the iToilet. He made millions from it, and of course, gave it all to Bernie Madoff to invest, and lost it all. Kramer of course, in his cluelessly tactless manner, keeps reminding George of his ordeal, by reading out details from news stories about Madoff. Elaine has a daughter, sired using Jerry's sperm. There are references to Superman, and of coruse, there is a signature Newman appearance, complete with the hissed "hello jerry, hello newman" and the door slamming. Estelle and Bania make appearances. And a lot of previous Curb elements have been incorporated, such as cutting the doll's hair, hiring a hooker to use the carpool lane, and so on.

The behind-the-scenes look recreates the magic of the outtakes. For instance, when rehearsing the Newman scene, Jerry can't help cracking up. Thinking about the scene is an exercise in recursion - did Larry actually want a scene which shows Jerry cracking up? Or did Jerry crack up unplanned, and they went with the flow and used the scene? Or did Larry know that Jerry would crack up and.... mind boggling, but delicious.

And the question of everyone's mind has been answered. Would they make a reference to Michael Richards' N-word outburst? Indeed they did, and in a brilliant way that only Larry could have dreamed up. It is not at all inappropriate, does not make light of the situation, and yet is hilarious. It involved two of my favorite Curb characters - Leon Black and Morty Funkhauser.

I am amazed at how filled-to-the-brim the episode was. Apart from the Seinfeld-script elements, Seinfeld backstage elements, and the involvement of Curb regulars, the episode also had two of Larry's favorite tropes - a tiff with a kid and a misunderstanding with a waiter. When the episode ended, I could hardly believe that it was just 35 minutes long.

One small inconsistency though. Worlds collided! A paradox was created! Vicki Lewis plays Stacy, who is ostensibly in the set crew, in charge of lighting. She had also played the role of George's efficient bespectacled secretary when he worked for the Yankees. They could have just had her playing herself. But oh well.

Next Sunday is the big season finale. Which will also be on the sets of Seinfeld, and hopefully give more glimpses into the reunion episode. Watch it!

Gabhricha Paus in New York

Got this email -

Hi Gaurav,
Had read a couple of days ago on your blog that 'Gabhricha Paus' would be playing in a couple of cities across the US.

We are also screening it at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York on the 1st of November at the SVA theater (333, 23rd St, NYC).

Will be great if you could give us a plug on your blog :)

www.saiff.org
www.facebook.com/southasianfilms
www.twitter.com/southasianfilms

P.S. The movie will play at 5 pm on Nov 1. Many other desi movies will be screened too. Full schedule here - http://www.saiff.org/2009/index.php?p=filmsbyday

On Raj Thackeray

I just read Shobbbhaaa Daey's (or however she is spelling her name now) open letter to Raj Thackeray.

And it spurred me to write something I have been thinking about for a while. As a marathi-speaking Maharashtrian who disagrees with almost everything Raj Thackeray says and stands for, I am surprised to find myself sympathizing with him for being misrepresented by the national media. Not that Raj minds it. I am pretty sure he does not. In fact, I am sure he relishes in how the national media is playing into his hands by demonizing him. It has given him the attention and mindshare he was struggling to gain in the first couple of years after leaving the Shiv Sena. The problem with the national media is that they just focus on a few sound bytes and twitter-length talking points, and often tend to talk past Raj. Like Shobha De has done above, they raise and ask questions that he has already addressed. Read or watch his interviews after the election, and he has addressed quite a few points raised by her.

It's not that Raj is not wrong. Of course he is. But the media never goes down to the granularity of the points he raises and instead goes after him with a hammer, when a scalpel would be much more appropriate. They don't exactly build a strawman, but take a legitimate target and dump so much straw over it gratuitously that the original point gets lost. What that does is, gives him lots and lots of material (and watch any rally or speech by him and you'll see how he comes equipped with printouts and citations) to go to his base and say - see, these national media people are misrepresenting me and demonizing me and are anti-marathi-manoos.

Take for instance the whole "anti-outsider" thing. Listen to his speeches in marathi, and you will realize, he is not explicitly anti-outsider or even anti-North-Indian. He is anti-UP-Bihar. And there too, he is opposed to the hordes of uneducated homeless people that supposedly pour into the city, adding to the competition for jobs and burdening the infrastructure of the state. Not a position I agree with. But slightly more nuanced than the broad-brush way in which it has been painted by the national media. And that gives Raj fodder to complain. In one rally, he said to his supporters, he is not anti-North-Indian. North India also has Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal, all states that have built their own economies and infrastructures. So he has no problem with people from those states coming to Maharashtra, because when they do, he says it is because of their unique skill or competence that helps Maharashtra. Those states don't send hordes of unqualified homeless people to Bombay. He said his problem is specifically with UP and Bihar. And then he said, let's see if a single national news media organization reports this. He claimed that they will still describe his speech as anti-outsider or anti-north-indian.

Raj Thackeray and the MNS is not good for Maharashtra politics. His divisive agenda is dangerous. And the election results show his appeal among voters is growing at an alarming pace. Which is why he must be tackled in the right way. Not in the sophomoric college-debate-ish way it is being done.

And the media's biggest fault has been to treat him like another Bal Thackeray. Sure, he wants to occupy the place Bal holds. And he wants that image. But believe you me, he is a lot more intelligent and articulate than Bal which makes him so much more dangerous. Much more dangerous because his appeal is spreading to marathi-speaking college-educated youths. Shiv Sena has always been a, well "subaltern" party. The MNS is going one step forward. And it is able to do so, because in his marathi speeches, between his explosive and provocative soundbytes that the national media focuses on, he talks a lot of substance. He crafts his arguments reasonably well, unlike Bal whose speeches were and are downright stupid. Raj's substance and arguments are still wrong, but they need to be addressed directly and intelligently by his opponents and critics, instead of calling him a frog, Hitler and so on.

An example of how he is way smarter than his uncle is how he chooses to speak only in marathi in interviews with the national media. Raj is no uneducated bumpkin. I have heard him speak english as well as hindi very fluently. But he knows that he can have maximum impact with rhetorical flourish in marathi. And even if he is being seen on a national channel, his core audience is marathi. So unlike Bal and Uddhav, who have given interviews in english and hindi in the past, and coming off looking like stuttering mumbling fools or nutcases, Raj has managed to hold his own against people like Rajdeep Sardesai. Just watch IBN's Thackeray-vs-Thackeray show on youtube, and the contrast between Raj and Uddhav can not be clearer.

Which is why Raj needs to be combated a lot more thoughtfully and substantively than his uncle or cousin. Sadly, I don't see that happening. The national media is happy focusing on a concise caricature of the man. Raj, fully aware of it, keeps pulling stunts and instances of gundagiri, to keep the national media distracted. And meanwhile, he speaks to his base in a different, more nuanced language. And his support grows.

We all thought that when Bal dies, the Shiv Sena and its divisive ideology will wither away soon. Not likely. In Raj's success I see the ominous portents of a political entity in Maharashtra that will make us pine for the Shiv Sena. Unless people start taking Raj well and truly "seriously".

Get rid of the bling, orders Raj

Hilarious. Just hilarious. This video speaks for itself. Be it Wanjle or the Star journalist or the voice-over and the graphics. It's all just...well, precious.

Diwali - The Festival of Lights....and Forts??

Diwali is almost over. Yet another Diwali in a foreign land, to be filed away marked by nothing but emails and calls from friends and relatives with wishes. No firecrackers, no lights, no sweets. In fact lots and lots of snow!

But being in a foreign land has little to do with the low key Diwali observation. Even the last few years when I was in India, I didn't really celebrate Diwali too lavishly. It was mainly a day spent with family, doing my best to minimize my involvement in the poojas and such, wincing at the cacophony of the fire crackers, and focusing my energies on the snacks. A far cry from childhood, when diwali was a really big deal. A festival of snacks, but also the elaborate lamps, lighting, fire crackers and my favorite part - the forts.

Only someone who grew up in Maharashtra can understand the natural connection between diwali and forts. Because it is one tradition I have seen observed only in my home state. A few days before diwali, kids start building "forts" in their backyards or apartment compounds. Specifically, Shivaji's forts. The "fort" is usually just a miniature hill made by piling rocks and bricks and covering them with wet mud. A few, very few forts actually have something fortlike on top - makeshift walls or ramparts made from cardboard. Most forts only have on top a figurine of Shivaji Maharaj sitting on a throne.

But that does not mean the fort was just a mound of mud and stones. A lot of effort and imagination went into making it "realistic". We'd sprinkle mustard seeds all over the fort, and within a couple of days, there would be greenery on it. The ground around the fort was also painstakingly made to resemble a village, with farms, wells, temples and so on.

And the figurines. Ah, the figurines. The Shivaji figurine at the top was a no-brainer. But we also got a lot of other figurines. Guards with handlebar moustaches guarding the Maharaj. A couple of sword-wielding maratha warriors slugging it out with bearded mughal invaders at one corner. Villagers, vegetable sellers, cows, dogs, priests, and so on also dotted the whole region. And for a few eyars after the Ajinkya Dev starrer 'Sarja' was a big hit, it was mandatory to have a Sarja figurine perched on a particularly tricky cliff, making his way up as his wife stood below hammering a dholak.

Every year, during the dussehra holiday, we would sit down for meetings to decide how the fort would be that particular year. How much money could each of us cajole out of our parents to make sure that our fort was hand down the best one in the neighborhood. We'd brainstorm about the basic design, architecture and the features. The most popular fort to emulate was always Pratapgad, which is visually awe-inspiring and also the site of arguably the coolest story featuring Shivaji - killing Afzal Khan. But we did fashion our own designs over the years too.

The fort required regular maintenance. Since it was after all made with mud dug up from the yard and mixed with water, in a couple of days, the fort would develop big crack. We then meticulously had to fill every crack with wet mud. The figurines were not exactly high quality, so an arm would fall off. We'd have to go buy new ones.

And every year at the end of diwali, we had just one goal. Try and blow up the fort with leftover diwali bombs. Never happened. At the most, a couple of rocks would roll off, but the overall structure stayed largely intact with remarkable tenacity. The dream of watching the whole fort blow up remained unfulfilled.

Gabhricha Paus in Los Angeles

Last month I made a post about Gabhricha Paus (The Damned Rain), the first marathi film to get an arthouse release in the US and posted its screening schedule here.

The US distributor of the movie came across it and has asked me to post the following information about the screenings in Los Angeles -

The film is being released in LA at Big Cinemas on Friday Oct. 9 at Big Cinemas 13917 Pioneer Blvd. Norwalk, CA 90650 Phone: (562) 804-5615. Showtimes: 1:00pm, 4:00pm, 7:00pm, 10:00pm. The film will run there for a limited engagement of one week.

So those of you in LA, go, watch!

Nobels (plural) for Obama?

Almost everyone is shocked and amused that President Obama will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year, less than 9 months into his first term. People think it's a mistake and very premature to give him an award before he has done anything meaningful. I vehemently disagree. The Nobel committees' mistake has been to give him only that one prize. This should have been a year of a total Obama sweep.

This horrendous mistake can be at least partially atoned for by announcing him the winner of the Economics prize next week. The Swedish bank should take note. He rolled out the biggest stimulus package in history and managed to stimulate the economy by spending just a fraction of it! He caused a shocking (although temporary) upswing in GM's year-on-year sales figures for a couple of months! And he has managed to convince the smartest man in the world (himself) that he can spend trillions on everything and yet reduce the deficit, a miracle that defies the laws of math. How can some bald, bearded, bespectacled professors whose achievements are limited to academic journals, ever compare to such achievements in Economics?

The Literature prize should also have gone to him. He has written two books, both bestsellers. Books that served as launchpads for the most remarkably historic election win in human history. Anyone can write books that launch revolutions. But books that launch campaigns? How could the committee have overlooked that? Herta Muller's writings depict the "landscape of the dispossessed", they say? Obama's books have made most of the country act like they are possessed!

Now we come to Medicine. Obviously! Like duh! Healthcare reform! Winners of the Medicine prize are usually recognized for one idea that. Obama has had so many ideas on healthcare in the last 2 years. He went from talking about a single payer system, to talking about a Congress-like plan for America, to supporting a public option, to spurning a public option, to whatever he thinks should be done now. If the Peace prize is meant as encouragement or impetus for what he is trying to do, the same logic could have worked for healthcare reform. I don't see how anyone other than the President deserved this prize.

Physics is next. This might seem like a bit of a stretch, but bear with me here. You the reader might not agree, but I am sure the Nobel Peace Prize committee will back the soundness of my argument. Think about the laws of motion. The first one. In the absence of force, a body maintains its state of rest or motion in straight line at constant speed. Obama, not through his research, but through his behavior, has debunked this so-called law. Without anyone applying any force or pressure whatsoever, he has seamlessly changed the direction of so many of his policies. Don't-ask-don't-tell was, he said as a candidate, something that is not just morally wrong, but practically wrong, and should be repealed right away. Nine months later, he seems to be traveling in the opposite direction. The same story with torture, rendition, personal privacy, limits on executive power, and so on. A remarkable 180-degree shift without any force being applied. Screw you, Newton! Physics Nobel for Obama!

Chemistry is, admittedly the hardest. And after contriving phony reasons for all these prizes, I am as mentally exhausted as the Peace prize committee must have been after crafting their press release. So I am just going to say..... he catalyzed the whole nation and indeed the whole world with his election. Catalysis - chemistry - give him the effing prize already.

And don't think I have forgotten about the Fields Medal. By not getting anything meaningful done after having huge majorities in both chambers of Congress, he has dealt a telling blow to the universally accepted mathematical canard of "Majority". But that can wait until he gives 2 full years worth of empirical evidence of being able to do anything even with those huge numbers.

Written with inputs from Aadisht G. Khanna.

Sadness!

I feel bad for Michael Moore and his fanboys. The fanboys have to fork out 10 or so dollars, a big chunk of which goes to evil corporations that own multiplexes and distribute films (AMC, Viacom, Harvey "Polanski is innocent" Weinstein etc), to watch a stupid utterly wrong screed against capitalism. Just imagine! Being forced to reply on evil corporations while decrying them. So sad.

If only there existed some sort of a technology....some sort of a world wide web of media that would have enabled Michael Moore to selflessly release this earth-shatteringly important and noble movie for free, so everyone could watch it. Without paying a cent, in a "democratic" way. So Moore wouldn't be forced to help the corporations make money....and wouldn't be forced to make millions himself. If only such a technology existed!