Krishnavatar

ఓ సగటు భారతీయుడు

మారాలి మారాలి నా భవిత మారాలి,

ఆకలి మంటల ఆర్తనాదం, కాలిన కడుపుల కొత్తవాదం,
తీరని అప్పుల ఆర్థిక భారం, పెరిగిన వడ్డీ విడ్డూరం,
పండని పంటల పేద బతుకు, మింగటానికి లేదు మెతుకు ,
రాలిన గింజ చేసిందా నేరం, గిట్టుబాటు లేకపోవటం మరింత ఘోరం,

ఇంకా ఏన్నాళ్ళు, మారాలి మారాలి నా భవిత మారాలి,

పట్నం లో ఓ మూల పని కోసం వచ్చా, దళారీల దోపిడీ లో నలిగిపోయి చచ్చా,
పని కొసం పది మైళ్ళు వెళ్ళా, ఖాళీ కడుపుతో కాయ కష్టం చేసా,
పెరిగిన ధరలు గుదిబండై మీదుంటే, తరగని ఆశలు తల్లకిందులు చేస్తున్నాయి,
రుపాయికెడ్చా , రోగానికెడ్చా, ఏమి చెయలేక ఆశల చితి పేర్చా,

ఇంకా ఏన్నాళ్ళు, మారాలి మారాలి నా భవిత మారాలి,

కులం పేర కుళ్ళు రాజకీయం, మతం పేర మతతత్వవాదం,
పబ్బం గడిపే ప్రజా ప్రతినిధులు, వెర్రి తలలు వేసిన వేర్పాటువాదులు,
కడుపు నిండిన వాడి దగా దౌర్జన్యం, కడుపు ఎండిన వాడి బతుకు దా"రుణం",
తూటాలతో తూట్లూ పోడుస్తున్న తీవ్రవాదం, ఊరుకుక్కలా విరుచుకుపడుతున్న ఉగ్రవాదం,

ఇంకా ఏన్నాళ్ళు, మారాలి మారాలి నా భవిత మారాలి,

అవును, లేవాలి లేవాలి నీ రాత నువ్వే మార్చుకోవాలి,

కడుపుమంటలోని కసి ఎంతో చూపు ,
మండుతున్న గుండెల మంటల్లో కలుపు,
కష్టాల కన్నీళ్ళు ఉప్పెనలా మార్చు,
ఉవ్వెత్తున ఎగిసే జనాగ్రహం లో ముంచు,

అవును, లేవాలి లేవాలి నీ రాత నువ్వే మార్చుకోవాలి,

ఓ సగటు భారతీయుడు.

-- సాయి కార్తీక్

One year in Chennai

On 22nd December 2009, i was about to leave to Chennai in the 2 tier AC of Charminar Express, it was Hyderabad Winter and we still preferred to go by AC coach, as the money would be reimbursed by the company. I had very minute excitement in crossing the borders of Telugu land.

Chennai Central:

Train reached its destination, my friend and i will be escorted to the outskirts of Chennai with the help of my friend's friend. I came out of Chennai Central and took a good look at the Chennai Central railway station, the telugu films of pre-1990 era came into my mind, as Madras was the base for telugu films too.

I was struggling to carry my luggage, somehow reached 'Park Town' station, got into the local train, got down at 'Thiruvanmiyur' railway station. I was still struggling to carry my luggage, suddenly from no where there were 4 auto drivers obstructing us from moving forward, my friend's friend was saying 'Venda' .. 'Venda' .. to them, yes 'Venda' is my first tamil word. At last with the help of some good bargaining tactics a MoU was struck between the auto driver and my friend's friend. We got down at Sholinganallur, I know that non-tamil guys find the name 'Sholinganallur' as a tongue twister, my friend's friend made it easy by breaking the word into his own etymology. He said "Its simple yaar, first pronounce 'Shoe'.. then 'Linga'…then 'Nellore', now combine them and pronounce it." My friend was quick and was able to pronounce it at the first attempt and it took 3 attempts for me to get it right.

After couple of days we completed the joining formalities, staying as a Paying Guest in a 3 bedroom apartment and found a hotel which serves Tiffin’s located at Sholinganallur junction.

Dosa:

I ordered a Dosa, the Dosa was big in length, chutney was served and the hotel worker was about to pour hot sambar on the dosa, I reacted quickly and said NO, he gave back a serious look as though I have committed Blasphemy, and when I was reluctantly asking him for more chutney to complete my dosa and he was reluctantly serving chutney.

FYI: Telugu guys eat a lot of Chutney

Summer:

There are 3 seasons in Chennai, I don’t know about the rest of Tamil Nadu but for a Hyderabadi guy like me, the seasons are Hot, Hotter and Hottest. The January climate of Chennai was making me sweat a lot and I was already missing the Hyderabadi Winter. At first it was horrible for me, later I wasn’t complaining much and after that I got used to it.

I was now moderately adjusted to Chennai, one thing I could find is that there isn’t any Hanuman and Vishnu temples, this observation compelled me to read the history of Aryan-Dravidian divide. Everyone was talking about Saravana stores and I with my roommates decided to visit the Saravana stores at T.Nagar. I was shocked to see the rush in Saravana stores, I could only think of suffocation and nothing else until I left the Saravana stores. I admire people who shop for the whole day in Saravana stores. On my way back I find a Vishnu and Shiva temple.

Note: Scientifically it’s proven that there is no Aryan-Dravidian divide.

Cinema:

Maayajaal was the nearest Cinema Theater for us, and it is the biggest multiplex in India, I wouldn’t comment about the interiors of Maayajaal even though it’s owned by a political family. One thing which I will remember forever is the day when I watched ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’ in the second row from the screen in Maayajaal.

Marina Beach:

If you have read Chetan bhagat’s ‘Two States’ then you would know the Marina Beach, the book has elevated my expectations about the beach as Ananya Swaminathan refers to it as the biggest beach, but I was totally disappointed when I visited the Marina Beach due to the crowd and the beach was clearly struggling to adjust with the pollution.It has been one year and I am still living in Chennai without much complaints. Lets see how the future is gonna be.

Marina Beach

Trivia: I was in Chennai when I saw Sachin Tendulkar scoring 200* agsinst South Africa.

Update: I miss Chennai :(

మన భాష - తెలుగు భాష

తేనేలోలుకు తెలుగు మాట, తీయనైన తెలుగు మాట,
వేయి దివ్వెల కాంతి బాట, తీయనైన తెలుగు పలుకు,
బుద్ధినిచ్చు వెలుగు బాట, తీయనైన తెలుగు మాట,
పలుకు పెంచు పసిడి మాట, తీయనైన తెలుగు మాట.

తీయనైన తెలుగు మాట, చలువనిచ్చు చద్దిమూట,
తీయనైన తెలుగు పలుకు, వెలలేని వెన్నెల జిలుగు,
కమ్మనైన తెలుగు పాట, అమ్మ చేతి వెన్న ముద్ద,
అందమైన తెలుగు నేల, ఆనందాల విరుల కోట,

ఈ కమ్మదనాన్ని అమ్మదనాన్ని సంకరం చేయకు, ఓ తెలుగువాడా,
అతిథిలాంటి ఆంగ్లాన్ని అక్కున చెర్చుకో చాలు, అందలం ఏక్కించకు , ఓ తెలుగువాడా,
అమ్మ వడి ఆనందాన్ని అనుభవించు కాని కాలదన్నకు , ఓ తెలుగువాడా,
మాత్రుభాష మరువకు మరిచి నీ ఉనికిని కోల్పోకు , ఓ తెలుగువాడా.

-- సాయి కార్తీక్

Counterpoint

Digvijay Singh is back in news again, due to the remarks which he made on the death of Hemanth Karkare. Long back he was in the news because of his remarks on Naxalites and he was also in the news when he questioned the authenticity of the ‘Batla House Encounter’.

We have Padma Shri Barkha Dutt who gives good amount of time for Digvijay Singh on NDTV with her interviews. After 26/11, Mr. Antuley comes with his conspiracy theory over the death of Hemanth Karkare and it takes more than a F*****g week for Home Minister Chidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to pacify Mr. Antuley. Digvijay Singh talks about his views over Naxalism and Batla House Encounter with his good little smile on his face and replies to brilliant questions asked by Padma Shri Barkha Dutt. In a detailed interview on the ‘Batla House Encounter’ Barkha Dutt asks various questions to Digvijay Singh but fails to recollect one single important fact that the autonomous body National Human Rights Commission had given a clean chit to the Delhi Police over the Batla House Encounter. It takes less than common sense to understand why such so called ambiguity exists in the Congress party over sensitive issues, anyone who knows the power of the Congress HIGH COMMAND would never open their shitty mouths unless they are told to do so and accidentally? We find those views being aired on national news channels.

The recent cablegate leaks by Wikileaks have proven what the Internet Hindus and lynch mobs have been saying for very long time. "Hoping to foster that support for upcoming national elections, the Congress Party cynically pulled back from its original dismissal and lent credence to the conspiracy"~David Mulford . Digvijay Singh blames the BJP for the above comment, we understand that Digvijay Singh is not a tech savvy and misunderstood Wikileaks for Wikipedia.

Counterpoint

Its sad that Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi are unfairly targeted by the Internet Hindus and Lynch Mobs by labeling them as #Barkhagate and #Virgate over the leaked audio tapes related to 2G scam, which is the biggest scam in the history of our country.

Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi are recipients of the Padma awards for their contribution in the field of journalism. It is obvious that people who have received the Padma awards should carry some morals and ethics related to their profession, unfortunately the recent tapes have questioned the morality and ethics of Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi.

Padma Shri Barkha Dutt who vehemently talks about morals, rights, wrongs, justice etc…is now a soft target for her detractors. People who know her contribution towards secularism and nationalism will never doubt her ethics but it is for those people who have questioned her journalistic ethics need to be answered, the best way to answer them is by giving away the Padma Shri title, because it would be a tight slap for the lynch mob and serves as the role model for many journalists and women in india. I am quite sure that Barkha Dutt who emulates the highest standards of morality and ethics will give up her Padma Shri award. I wish she would appear in more bollywood films and her role will be emulated in many films.
Below are the excerpts from the audio tapes which tried to malign Padma Shri Barkha Dutt.

“Oh God. So now what? What should I tell them? Tell me what should I tell them?”

"Congress ne tho statement thank god issue karva diya. Barkha ne karvaliya usay. It is not about individuals."

Vir Sanghvi who is also a padma awardee and is one the most experienced journalists in India, now a target of Lynch Mob. Vir Sanghvi who has generously shared his wisdom with the fellow Indians with his counterpoint column in the Hindustan Times is now being asked to prove his integrity. It’s a shame that Indians forget the good deeds done by others, the beautiful and thought provoking articles written by Vir Sanghvi like the one on Air India, Reliance Gas dispute, etc… and how can anyone forget the campaign instigated by him to deny the Padma award to Sant Singh Chatwal.

Its now necessary that Vir Sanghvi who stands for integrity and morality to act, as he is constantly being targeted by some who are jealous of his achievements, time has come for Vir Sanghvi to prove his integrity by giving away the Padma award and display to the whole world that he can go to any extent for his values.Below are the excerpts from the audio tapes which tried to malign Vir Sanghvi. Recently Taslima Nasreen accused Vir Sanghvi over twiiter saying..

Vir Sanghvi once wrote a column full of lies about me to serve the purpose of someone influential who wanted me to leave the country.

“What kind of story do you want?”

"I have dressed it up as a piece about how public will not stand for resources being cornered, how we’re creating a new list of oligarchs"

I hope Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi will give away the Padma awards which will teach the Internet Hindus and Lynch mobs a good lesson and will stay as a testimony to their commitment towards journalism.

Mahesh KHALEJA: Logics of Faith

Trivikram Srinivas is perhaps the only director after jandhyala in Telugu Film Industry whose dialogues are often discussed and interpreted to enjoy the wittiness. Trivikram who has a impressive background in Nuclear Physics comes with a semi-supernal film 'Mahesh KHALEJA' and it gives an end to Mahesh Babu's 3 year hiatus on Silver Screen.

Trivikram uses GOD as a backdrop and tries to convert the intangible comprehension of the meaning of GOD by mutilating it in a structural format. This huge budget film which was under ustulation by time has been at the receiving end of mixed views. The trademark dialogues of Trivikram are very much visible in the film, he refers 'Barista' as గుమాస్తా and makes a sarcastic dig at the coffee served. Looks like Trivikram is also a bit uncomfortable with the so called independent modern women, the protagonist asks whether the heroine has forgotten to wear a pant when she appears in a miniskirt to meet him and he also points out that these days the urban youth are tattooing their bodies without the difference of gender.

The focal point in the script is about the village named Paali where the people are dying with an unidentified disease, the people of the village are in fear and they look for benediction.

Due to unusual circumstances the hero has to go to Rajasthan, faces some adventures and eventually he comes to the village Paali with the heroine. The villagers see him as GOD who has come to save them from the current Cataclysm. The villagers are convinced that he is the GOD but our hero refuses to believe so, symbolism's like flowers falling from a tree, water flowing on the ground etc...he is not convinced with explanations given by the villagers and categorizes them as mad people but the protagonist is sent into a Imbroglio when he gets back the life of a dead girl. All the above mentioned instances and scenes may or may not be on the brighter side of the film but trivikram gives us a very convincing moment when the hero realizes that he is GOD, some might have been disappointed with the same but i don't find any better way to show the realization of god in a human being and i don't think there are any directors in Telugu Film Industry who has a better way to capture it on the screen.

Its a fact that the Telugu Film Industry is facing the threat of bankruptcy of artists who have the intellectuality and who can cogitate over our indigenous culture, literature and epics. Trivikram Srinivas gives a brilliant explanation on his theologoumenon of GOD in 'Mahesh KHALEJA' with apropos to Lord Rama of Ramayana and Lord Krishna of Bhagvadgita. Watch the video embedded here to comprehend the concept of GOD which he infused in the film. His explanaton starts at 6 min 15 sec.

I am happy to find the typical punches and humor which we expect from a trivikram film. Indirectly Mahesh Babu refers to his fans and says 'Expectations tattukolekapotunnau' and ...

" Kota: ఫొను చెయొఛ్చు కదా ?
Mahesh Babu: అక్కడ సిగ్నల్ లేదు ?
Kota: ఉత్తరం రయోచ్చు కదా? ఏ పెన్ లొ ఇంక్ లేదా? "

and the best one.....

" అధ్భుతం జరిగేటప్పుడు ఎవరు గుర్థించలేరు, అధ్భుతం జరిగిన తరువాత ఎవరు గుర్తించాలసిన అవసరము లెదు... "

I have many issues with 'Mahesh KHALEJA' and there are gray areas in the film, there are few scenes in the film which weren't cogent enough for me. Mahesh Babu is good and his expressions are tangential with his Godavari slang. The first fight of the film looks insipid, heroine refuses to give her Armani Scarf but how come a taxi driver wears such stylish clothes? if Anushka was acting with an other hero who is not as thin as Mahesh Babu then i wouldn't have any complaints on her body which carries some extra calories but trivikram tries to cover it by referring to calf of her legs and the biggest disappointment for me is that the climacteric of the film is ruined, if G.K (played by Prakash Raj) is equal to billion dollars, 10 Corporate companies, 100 M.P and ministers then why would he go and kill a single man instead of choosing other simple ways? . For me 'Mahesh KHALEJA' falls short of what i expect from a Trivikram film.

Originally published on Passionforcinema.com

Coens, Cars and the Highway

Its not strange that filmmakers have their own way of conveying their perceptions and shooting the scenes in a particular format. Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese and Sergio Leone are the first names which pop into my mind when i think of resembling shots and scenes.

Coen Brothers have a peculiar style too, in most of the films we find a character driving a car on the highway. The shot usually starts with the camera facing the character and later showing the highway, sometimes conversations between the characters. These shots which show the highway through the front window of the car takes place at an important time in the film. Coen Brothers use these scenes for juxtapositions which involves objects of a crime scene, murder, guilt, apprehension...

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