A SMOOTH JOURNEY FROM HOGWARTS TO PAGFORD... FROM HARRY TO BARRY... FROM THE WORLD OF MAGIC TO THE REAL WORLD... [ J.K. ROWLING'S THE CASUAL VACANCY ]

Hardly a month has been passed after the launch of the most awaited novel of this year, J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, and the dust has been settled with a variety of mixed opinions about the entry of one of the greatest child novelist of all times into the adult arena. By and large, what remains the fact is that, J.K. Rowling remains the most promising story teller what ever the subject she takes in her hand. I too have read this novel, and I am registering my thoughts in this post.

Firstly, shortly after the launch of this book, I came across a number of critics in electronic and print media about the comparison of this book with Harry Potter series, which made me to think what is the point of comparing two sets of works, which has altogether a different genre and appeal? Why these people are not willing to exist in a world without wizards, wands, charms and magic?  And here, I am going to commit the same mistake for I have realized later that, Harry Potter Series remains the bench mark of J.K. Rowling, and will likely to be the reference point for any other future works of her, being the simple fact that the 7 Harry Potter Series coupled with 8 block buster movies almost remained a fantasy for a decade, and there are people including me who wants to live in the world of magic for ever.

Secondly, The Casual Vacancy is a novel on contemporary British society, by and large recognized as “dark humored tragic literature”. This novel goes into the depths of human folly and weakness on the lines Machiavellian notion of human nature as selfish, weak, opportunistic driven by the passions for money, lust, power, devoid of reason. J. K. Rowling has ventured into the world of down trodden sections of society riddled with neglect, drug addiction, drug abuse, rehabilitation, racial hatred, prostitution, rape and domestic violence. She has very well exposed the social tensions that exist in a society comprising of the haves and have-nots with an element of local politics lying at the top. The author’s insight and description of the behavior and fantasies of teenage adolescents is highly mind captivating and definitely deserves a special applause. And above all, the author has explored the Art of Gossiping, as the novel slowly unfolds as a sequence of gossips between the families of Pagford, mired in a socio-political tangle, which deeply reminds me of Jane Austen’s all times best “ Pride and Prejudice”.

Thirdly, the novel is a portrayal of a set of events that take place after the uneven death of “Barry Fairbrother”, the councilor of local Pagford Parish council, which sets in motion a cold war of power mongering among various sections of Pagford, to capture the vacant seat left by the former, and to decide the fate of “Fields” and “Bell chapel Addiction Clinic” inhabited/utilised by the socially down trodden sections of Pagford, which the cynic rich considers as a drain on public resources. How the lives of families of Mollisons, Fairbrothers, Jawandas, Walls, Weedons, Prices and Bawdens are intertwined in the fragile societal setup of Pagford provides the momentum. The charcters of Fats wall, Krystal weedon, Andrew Price and Shukwindar Jawanda are beautifully spun and well portarayed. The most entertaining part of the novel is about how the little, dirty, nasty secrets of the contestants of the electoral battle for the post of Pagford Parish council gets revealed in a hacked website, by none other than the very son/daughter of the respective contestants, and the impact in the mindset and future events of the Pagford. At last, J.K.Rowling strikes the core with the death of a neglected three year old infant boy (Robbie weedon) and the suicide of his exploited teenage sister (Krystal weedon), that makes a tragic impact on the mindset of readers about the underlying social manifesto of the necessity of the affordable sections of society to take care of the minimal needs of the down trodden.

J.K.Rowling has proved her grit and mettle by venturing into a different genre. The fan base will slowly and eventually migrate from Hogwarts to Pagford for the times to come. What is more enthusiastic is that the characters of The Casual Vacancy are so beautifully spun to the extent that they have no resemblance to any of the characters in Harry Potter series. Above all, the portrayal of the Sikhism and Indian Sikh family of Jawandas (unlike the minimal role of Patil sisters in Harry potter series), at the centre stage of Pagford limelight is a welcome step. Last but not least, The Casual Vacancy is a must read.

LET THE LIGHT FROM THE TAHRIR SQUARE ENGULF THE ARAB WORLD [JASMINE REVOLUTION IN TUNISIA... RISE OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN EGYPT... ]

The United nations can declare the year 2011 as the "YEAR OF DEMOCRACY" or as the "YEAR OF ARAB UPRISING". Last month(January 2011), the world has witnessed "JASMINE REVOLUTION " in Tunisia which has resulted in the fall of its president BEN ALI ending 23 years of his reign. Later this month(February 2011), the controversial president of Egypt HOSNI MUBARAK was made to resign after 30 years long presidency. The reasons for the civil resistance in both the countries are more or less similar:- lack of freedom of speech and expression, poor living conditions , ineffective socio-economic development, corruption, police brutalities and the need for democratic reforms of political system. Political scholars also estimate that this trend would continue in the rest of the Arab world in general and Algeria, Yeman and Jordan in particular. These incidents are just the tip of the iceberg with far greater implications.

1. ARAB RENAISSANCE:- Generally the Arab governments are known by the twin aspects of "dictatorial style of functioning" and "religious fanaticism". These two aspects have no place in real democracy, as the latter relies on "popular accountability" and "secularism". Hope the succeeding governments in Tunisia and Egypt provide a real democratic solution to the impoverished masses.

2. THE RISE OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD:- "Muslim brotherhood" is the largest and the influential islamic organisation operating in the Arab countries . They mostly function as opposition parties or align themselves with the opposition parties in most of the Arab countries. It has played a decisive role in the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. It is widely percieved that its intention is to topple the Arab governments that adopt pro-US posture. Its immediate targets are percieved to be Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

3. UNCLE SAM'S DOUBLE STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY CANNOT CONTINUE FOR LONG:- USA on the grounds of "GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR" has invaded Iraq and Afghanistan with the so called purpose of installing democratic regimes in these countries. How ever, in other countries, it has actively supported various dictatorial regimes. Especially when Arab world is taken into consideration, USA is not at all concerned with the form of government, unless and until it is ensured with uninterrupted oil supplies.

4. ISRAEL HAS NO ALLY IN THE ARAB WORLD:- The Hosni Mubarak regime of Egypt is an ally of USA in the Israel-palestinian peace process. With the conclusion of camp David Accord, Egypt has been recieving Billion dollars military aid from USA. This was evident from the neutral reaction of Egypt during the Gaza blockade. USA has strategically used Egypt in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

5. IRANIAN ROOSTERS OR TURKEY CHICKENS:- Whether the new governments of Tunisia and Egypt will adopt the form of "softcore secular state of Turkey" or "hardcore Islamic state of Iran" is a big question for the west.

Thus the political surge of the Arab countries is no longer an isolated event. It is deeply entangled in the global balance of power, peace and security of the middle east, Islamic terrorism, democracy and so on. It is of no use if these newly emerged regimes, do not cater the genuine aspirations of the Arab masses.

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, RUN... RUN... RUN... [R.K.PACHAURI'S HIMALAYAN BLUNDER]

THERE ARE SOMETHINGS MONEY CAN'T BUY, FOR EVERYTHING ELSE THERE IS MASTER CARD [ THE SANCTITY OF GREAT AWARDS]

Nobels, Oscars and Padma awards are the sign of individual excellence, recognition of genius, acknowledgment of superior intellectual faculties ,encouragement of creativity, and by for the noble symbols of greater contribution to art, science and mankind. This is the most popular belief, but not devoid of deviations, which I would like to comment in this blog. I have a mild feeling that lobbying and favouritism may also play an equal role along with the merit and hard work.


1. BARRACK OBAMA IS THE FIRST WAR CRIMINAL TO BE AWARDED WITH NOBEL PEACE PRIZE - The reason cited for his merit is in improving the international diplomacy and cooperation with the people. The atrocities of the U.S. forces is continuing in Iraq and Afghanistan. US drones continue to ravage the tribal Waziristan. His response and his future plans for these war torn regions remain the same as that of his predecessor, George Bush -another war criminal. It seems that, this leader does not have a proper exit plans out of these regions. He does not even under stand the simple truth that, only the presence of US forces is responsible for aggravating these problems. US invasion has not changed the Afghan scenario. Afghanistan is still in the hands of warlords. How the tag "cooperation with the people" is associated with his style of functioning is a miracle. One of the other reasons cited is, he has created new climate in international politics. How a leader who is not able to make his country to reiterate the binding commitments in climate change talks could have created a new climate in international politics. Even developing countries like India and China having relatively poor development index, have the guts to go for non binding commitments, why not US, the largest per-capita polluter do not go for binding commitments like the other European countries. What is Obama doing here in this context? As for me, Obama's remark "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges" remain only in paper. Obama's role as the president of the US is exactly like all his predecessors -"We have more nukes and we have the ultimate right to pump what ever the shit out of you".


2. SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE IS THE FIRST PIECE OF CRAP TO BE AWARDED WITH OSCAR AWARD IN THE BEST PICTURE CATEGORY - SDM was selected as the best picture for the year 2009, outwitting the fellow competition from "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button", "The Reader", "Milk" and "Frost Nixon". I have seen all these films. And in my opinion SDM is no where near the rest of the four films. First,The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is a never before told story portrayed in a never before way. The film revolves around what would happen if a person is born as old and die as young. It is a master piece when it comes to the expression of human emotions. Second, The Reader revolves around the trial of an illiterate Nazi security women guard for her crimes against the Jewish prisoners. She is not ashamed of being a part of Nazi perpetrated genocide, but she is ashamed of being an illiterate. This film aptly expresses the emotions of being an illiterate. Third, Milk is a classic film about gay rights movement in USA. Fourth, Frost/Nixon is about an interview between Richard Nixon- the then president of US involved in water gate scandal, and George Frost- the British reporter. These are classics that are no where to be compared with SDM, which is a very average film, with average story, with very average reach. But how this film is able to win Oscars is a mystery.


3. SANT SINGH CHATWAL IS THE FIRST ACCUSED TO BE AWARDED WITH PADMA SHRI AWARD- There are allegations that SS Chatwal was charge sheeted by CBI regarding some financial scam and irregularities involving a 9 million dollar default with SBI and other public sector banks. How these coveted awards like Padma end up in the hands of CBI chargesheeted man remain a mystery. More over, the exclusion of Vijendar Singh and Sushil Kumar, the bronze medal winners of Beijing Olympics from the preliminary list and Sushil kumar from the final list raises the apprehensions of fairness and transparency in the selection procedure.


I have no other go except to think about the sanctity of the committees that awards these prestigious awards.....

KING'S XI PUNJAB VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS [2 STATES - THE STORY OF MY MARRIAGE]

Recently, i read Chetan Bhagat's 2 states novel. It was original, novel and mind blowing. The story revolves around the love marriage between a Punjabi guy and a Tamil girl. Despite the fact that, they are the students of India's premier Management institute (IIM-A), when it comes to love, it is not that easy. Especially playing the guy's role in winning the lady love is a damn shit, and getting approval from both the families is a damn hell. There are many instances in the novel that makes me think that the author is erratically brilliant while narrating how he felt in those instances. I would like to comment on those parts which i enjoyed really a lot.

1. The writer describes his campus as "testosterone charged and estrogen starved campus". How poorer sex ratio affects the psychology of the students. Even in ordinary campus with the balanced sex ratio, "girl friend" is a privilage of a selected few. It is always the guy who turn as the hunter, virtually hunting for the scarce games, that are simultaneously being hunted by fellow hunters. And especially in those premier institutes where the girls compose only 10% of population, the situation is even graver as exactly said by the writer.

2. The writer's view about "just friends" clause with a beautiful girl is laudable. How this "just friends" clause is most acceptable to almost all the girls. Why would any guy want to be just a friend with a girl? When it comes to the opposite sex there can be no such relationship as friends, well it can be a starter, but should lead to some other relationship. Chetan Bhagat scores when he aptly describes "It's like agreeing to be near a chocolate and you can never eat it".

3. Chetan reiterated one more universal rule in love. When it comes to sex, the girl stands back. When it comes to marriage, the boy stands back. Girls want commitments with out sex. Boys want sex with out future commitments. This rule applies anywhere and everywhere.

4. Chetan has introduced the novel term "WPM". When he was asked what his career ambitions are, he outrightly says i will work for anyone "WHOEVER PAYS MORE".Most of us choose careers not because we can develop our own area of expertise, it is because those careers come under "WPM" category.

5. The writer's proposal of marriage to his lady love, when she was being interviewed by an MNC, though it looks filmy, it gets going very well along with the novel. These incidents donot take place in real life, even in books it is not that exciting.

6. The real crux of the story is how the Punjabi and Tamil house holds bang against each other. All the Tamil girls are like SriDevi and HemaMalini, who finally end up with fair complexioned North Indians. The dark complexioned Tamils have inferiority complex for milk like white north Indians. North Indian bosses always corner the south Indian subordinates and take their credits. South Indian girls are only endowed with brain and nothing else. When it comes to marriage the Tamils value education much, where as the Punjabis value the assets much. Tamils live in families, Punjabis live in clan. Tamil fonts resemble optical illusions that can create headache if stared long enough. Tamil heroes picture make you feel that even your uncles can be heroes. A foreign degree to a Tamil is equivalent to a marble house to a Punjabi.The writer also clearly differentiated the marriage ceremony of Punjabis and Tamils.

7. There are some other comments which I very much enjoyed. "When a MNC corporate finds a great future in you, You have a FUCKED UP present or no present life at all" , "Stinky rich customers are the priority banking clients" , "IIT'ians and IIM'ians are the endangered species in a corporate priority banking zoo" , "In acustomer service, you need to smile more than a tooth paste model" and much more...

All I would say is Chetan Bhagat's latest version is worth reading.

A TOURNAMENT WITH OUT THE CHAMPIONS[EXCLUSION OF PAKISTAN PLAYERS FROM THE THIRD SEASON OF IPL]

With out elections and cricket, India is a dull country. When all the cricket lovers are hopefully expecting the third season of IPL to smoothly roll over with a bang, the exclusion of Pakistan players from the IPL auction is most unfortunate. Not even one player from the T20 champion side has been selected. IPL version of cricket is definitely going to miss the excellence of Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul.......

Pakistani interior minister, Rehman Malik's reaction was natural and genuine. No country would have expected this. The Pakistan players have been disgraced. Though IPL is a corporate entity, it should have taken into account, the aspirations of the spirit of sports. Even dirty politics can mar the attire of sports and IPL is no exception.

Politically, Pakistan is being isolated from the international sphere due to its lack of control over the militant outfits. The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket players last year has further isolated it from the sphere of international sports. At present, no major cricket playing nations are touring Pakistan due to security concerns. This IPL episode has aggravated the pain in the wound.

The reasons for the exclusion of Pakistan players are not open. The IPL franchise does not come out with the truth. Earlier, there was an allegation that Indian government is not in a mood to have Pakistan players in the IPL format due to post Mumbai mayhem hangover. The Indian government deliberately delayed the visa procedure. But before the auction, all the players willing to take part have been granted visas. Even then, the deliberate denial has raised the suspicions.

What ever, one day the same IPL house is going to exclude the Indian players. We are once again going to be dumbstruck with out reasons. And the reason to be quoted is... we are minding our business and you do the same...

A BAD OMEN FROM OUR NEIGHBOUR [BANGLADESH RIFLES (BDR) VS BANGLADESH ARMY (BDA) ]

   On February 25^th, the world witnessed the lifting of about 70 army officers from the mass graves in the Bangladesh rifles military compound. This is the worst military mutiny ever to have happened in the Asian continent. Once again, it has raised the doubts that whether Bangladesh is our reliable neighbor in terms of security aspects. The reason for the revolt is assumed that the director-general of BDR is extremely unpopular among the soldiers of the lower cadres because of his corruption and bad treatment of the lower officers. As the director-general did not allow the soldiers to meet the prime minister sheikh hasina wajed, and express their grievances, they became violent and shot down the DG of BDR. They even held hostage of some army persons and later killed them. This incident has many implications.

First, Bangladesh civilian administration does not have good control over their military counterparts. Military is expected to occupy a prominent place in Bangladesh politics. Despite the PM of Bangladesh holding the defense portfolio, she could not control the mutiny.

Second, in order to combat the Indo-Bangla border insurgencies, drug &human trafficking, we need a responsible force of Bangladeshi rifles. So India is upset in this regard.

Third, setting up of two independent committees, one by the army and the other by the government to probe the mutiny, reflects the lack of confidence between the two parts. This is not desirable in a democracy.

Let us hope that the armed forces of Bangladesh remain with in their constitutional limits and be subservient to the civilian administration. This a lesson for Bangladesh that armed persons cannot be treated as mere casual labourers. Only now Pakistan has moved from military cover to civilian cover. Let Bangladesh do not repeat the same mistake.