Testing Times

There are times like these
When darkness looms large
When people seem evil
When the whole world plays unfair

There are times like these
When the brain exhibits fatigue
When dreams give way to nightmares
When frustration is what the face wears

And then, these are the times
That I succeed to realize
A pen over paper lightens the heart
A positive attitude changes the world

Enmity is all but a mind with rage
Smile and people will sway your way
Darkness is all but a mirage
Brightness is all but a thought away

Lage Raho

Saw "Lage raho Munnabhai"(LRM) this Saturday. It is an awesome movie that no humour-lover should miss. Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Varsi and Boman Irani carry most of the movie on their shoulders and they have done a great job of it. I have liked Sanjay Dutt in only 2 movies - Munnai Bhai MBBS and LRM. The actor adapts to his role really well. But still, Arshad Varsi as Circuit is even better. His expressions in the scenes where he talks to the invisible Bapu are total fun. Boman Irani is the villain as Lucky Singh, but the movie is such that he is seen in more of a comedy than a villainous role. Well, that's something similar to the prequel.

The mere concept of hearing Gandhi's thoughts through a Bhai in Mumbai (rhymes, doesn't it?) is crazy. Add to that words like "Vinamrataa" and "Durgati" coming out of Circuit and Munna, and we get a laugh-a-minute riot. I'm not sure, but may be the director also wanted to make people think in the Gandhian way. I guess people would listen to a Bhai talking about "Gandhigiri" rather than Mahatma himself talking about nonviolence. There seems to be a section of the society opposing the use of the word Gandhigiri in the movie. I guess it is ok to use it in a lighter sense. It doesn’t sound good only when used in official places like this.

Anyways, the USP of the movie is comedy and it is worth watching for that alone.

Chikungunya

Over the past week I have heard quite a few people getting infected with Chikungunya. The name "Chikungunya" comes from Swahili for "that which bends up" referring to the positions that victims take to relieve the joint pain. Though the disease is not fatal, it causes body pain and makes the patient weak. Here is some info on Chikungunya that I googled out

• There was a Chikungunya outbreak in India 32 years ago.
  Wonder why no one seems to recognize the name!
• Chikungunya spreads only through daytime mosquito.
  Never knew that mosquitoes worked in shifts!
• France says drug against Chikungunya available soon.
  Why don't they just kill the mosquitoes? Wouldn't that be simpler and cheaper?
• For all those who believe that only India has mosquito problems, news is that France is more affected that India. Estimations have indicated that 110,000 people may have been infected by Chikungunya virus since March 2005 in La Réunion

A search on Chikungunya also took me to the site http://www.cbwinfo.com/, which is the site for information on chemical and biological weapons. Wondering why a common fever like disease finds a mention in such a site, I browsed a bit to get to this statement: "The disabling joint pain and fever, the lack of a suitable animal reservoir in Western countries and its lack of lethality make it a very "clean" weapon that could be used against key civilian installations". I am not sure if terrorists know about this. But then, there are numerous sites in the net to give such useful information

Vande Mataram

It is the centenary of India's national song and the feeling that it is evoking is anything but patriotic. Some parties are trying to make singing the national song mandatory while another section is raising its voice that the national song is against Muslims. The reasoning given by Muslims is that "Vande Mataram" is a praise of Goddess Durga and so they can't sing it. This seems to make sense. If they don't want to sing Vande Mataram, then let them sing "Jana gana mana" or "Sare Jahan se Achcha". When the intention is merely to hold our patriotic fervour, then any patriotic song should do. So, why are we getting into these controversial issues again and again? I see no reason but politics. But why does such politics exist? What makes politicians believe that they can garner votes of a particular section by going against another? Everything again boils down to the voting public's reasons to support a party. It is that bad decision that people make once in four or five years that fuels all these controversies 365 days a year.

"Nenju pOrukuthilaye inda nilai ketta manitharai ninainduvitaal nenju pOrukuthilaye"

- Bharathi