The helium surrounding the release of Dasa took me to Sangam theater on a very drab Sunday afternoon. Considering the group reviews it looks like I'll be the only exception. If it has to, so be it - I was much saddened by the movie.
I had the opportunity of working with him on Hey Ram and Anbe Sivam and learnt from him and his crew a few aspects of film making like Continuity, Sets, Lighting, Scripting etc. I defended him after Hey Ram (to my friends) and blamed them for not being able to understand the concept of the great man.
But he's clearly tried to stretch his definition of creativity once more.
The pure novelty of getting to don 10 roles carried him away. The script connecting the 10 characters was very loosely done, bad movie sets, unconvincing background extras, pathetic voice overs of extras, bad make up. But bad make up? Is this not the USP of the movie ??
His makeup was nothing to write home about. He has stretched his novelty with plaster of paris on his face a bit too far. I remember gasping at his do of Indian Thatha and Avai Shanmugi. But the potches on his face in this case seemed very artificial unless you wanted to keep your eyes shut and not question the great man's sense of asthetics of make up.
Thank God for the 12th century priest part of it - he was the Kamal I wanted to see in all the remaining 9 roles.
But why am I looking for sense in a movie?? Ain't I just supposed to see it and forget it?
Well, differentiation has been used by us in every sphere of life... Commercially (WTO Vs Non WTO), Socially (I'll refrain from examples), etc.. and its exactly this that makes us want to set apart a Kamal from the crowd... and chant his name in the same bracket as one would associate a Satyajit Ray or a Akiro Kurosowa. So I guess it was not him, but me, who let myself down.
But yes, if quantity is king then the 10 roles are classic. Period.
Allow me the luxury of a cut and paste job from rediff:
"To tide over the disappointment of watching Dasavatharam, I am going to watch again the DVDs of timeless classics like Nayagan, Moodram Pirai, Sagara Sangamam, Michael Madana Kama Rajan and Pushpak. Let me see the Kamal Haasan I missed in Dasavathaaram."
I would add Anbe Sivam to that list.
The middling Kamal fan,
B.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hi ToI
More than 50% of the countries English speaking population is south of the Vindhyas; and a bulk contributory to that is Chennai. I’ve always been intrigued by the absence of the worlds biggest English daily in Chennai. The Times of India (ToI) finally caught up with the times and launched on the 14th of April ‘08 and I caught up with their Chennai edition last weekend.
I picked up the copy after my daily skim of the Hindu and I was fairly convinced that I wouldn’t find additional news worthy stuff (although what is news is fairly relative). I approached the ToI with a view to compare and contrast it with The Hindu. For an old ‘Hindu’ite, I may be forgiven for having approached the new one with a sense of contempt.
1. In a bid to get Chennai centric, they head lines was dominated by news of a robbery in a prominent Chennai Temple; where as The Hindu covered the India leg of the Olympic torch relay while relegating the news item on the temple to the bottom half of the front page.
2. Every thing else in the ToI cover page was Chennai centric (not exactly warranted of a national daily when u have a dedicated regional content) except one item – Prez Vladimir Putin’s girl frieds pic! Having known the ToI I was’nt as surprised. They showed her in a cheer leader’s attire, and to repeat, on the cover page. Just in case you’re wondering where the Hindu places the pic – it was on page 19 with a close up in formal attire – that’d pass for being a first lady or a diplomat. Hindu’s depiction is not because they perceive the region as conservative - going by the absolute trash Kollywood’s generated over the years its anything but that. It’s just editorial modesty.
3. With the overdose of the IPL in the media, ToI or Hindu or otherwise, it was nauseating to read anything more about the league. The same set of facts across different publications had begun to give me eye sore. It was the day before the IPL inaugural and the ToI had an entire supplement complementing the event with aggressive postures of the 6 team captains. They threw in a six pack flaunting Andrew Symonds as well. The Hindu restricted its coverage to 3 pages with the ‘now-boring-high-adjective-column’ of Nirmal Shekhar (to the uninitiated, Nirmal Shekhar is probably India’s best tennis correspondent and his columns post any of Leander Pace’s Davis Cup heroics make good reading), the ever articulate Peter Roebuck and some other guest columns.
4. This apart, most of the news worthy items was on par in both the papers. There were pics of beach wear clad women in the mid pages of ToI and I gave up figuring out their relevance.
5. Lastly, there was a mega page entertainment supplement with a rather average write up on Rajnikanth. The writer was apparently marveled at his stardom and threw in quotes of what his Bollywood cousins thought of him. Was a tad clichéd I thought.
End of day, am not sure what ToI’s trump cards going to be. It’s difficult to wean away reading habits of people and more so ever for readers of the Hindu as it offers a high level of visual and editorial differentiation when compared to the ToI, Hindustan Times, Statesman or the DC. I guess there’s space for all to survive and do well. Would I substitute my subscriptions to the ToI? No.
I picked up the copy after my daily skim of the Hindu and I was fairly convinced that I wouldn’t find additional news worthy stuff (although what is news is fairly relative). I approached the ToI with a view to compare and contrast it with The Hindu. For an old ‘Hindu’ite, I may be forgiven for having approached the new one with a sense of contempt.
1. In a bid to get Chennai centric, they head lines was dominated by news of a robbery in a prominent Chennai Temple; where as The Hindu covered the India leg of the Olympic torch relay while relegating the news item on the temple to the bottom half of the front page.
2. Every thing else in the ToI cover page was Chennai centric (not exactly warranted of a national daily when u have a dedicated regional content) except one item – Prez Vladimir Putin’s girl frieds pic! Having known the ToI I was’nt as surprised. They showed her in a cheer leader’s attire, and to repeat, on the cover page. Just in case you’re wondering where the Hindu places the pic – it was on page 19 with a close up in formal attire – that’d pass for being a first lady or a diplomat. Hindu’s depiction is not because they perceive the region as conservative - going by the absolute trash Kollywood’s generated over the years its anything but that. It’s just editorial modesty.
3. With the overdose of the IPL in the media, ToI or Hindu or otherwise, it was nauseating to read anything more about the league. The same set of facts across different publications had begun to give me eye sore. It was the day before the IPL inaugural and the ToI had an entire supplement complementing the event with aggressive postures of the 6 team captains. They threw in a six pack flaunting Andrew Symonds as well. The Hindu restricted its coverage to 3 pages with the ‘now-boring-high-adjective-column’ of Nirmal Shekhar (to the uninitiated, Nirmal Shekhar is probably India’s best tennis correspondent and his columns post any of Leander Pace’s Davis Cup heroics make good reading), the ever articulate Peter Roebuck and some other guest columns.
4. This apart, most of the news worthy items was on par in both the papers. There were pics of beach wear clad women in the mid pages of ToI and I gave up figuring out their relevance.
5. Lastly, there was a mega page entertainment supplement with a rather average write up on Rajnikanth. The writer was apparently marveled at his stardom and threw in quotes of what his Bollywood cousins thought of him. Was a tad clichéd I thought.
End of day, am not sure what ToI’s trump cards going to be. It’s difficult to wean away reading habits of people and more so ever for readers of the Hindu as it offers a high level of visual and editorial differentiation when compared to the ToI, Hindustan Times, Statesman or the DC. I guess there’s space for all to survive and do well. Would I substitute my subscriptions to the ToI? No.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Arbit
The past month has witnessed a plethora events that’d make great writing material… the birth of Kosovo, myriad run up to the budget, the sinking sensex, Aussie apology to the Aborgs and the consequent brick bats … .stuff I’ve witnessed in Bangladesh.. and sooo many others…
While am contemplate putting my thoughts down on each of them.. Virat Kholi and Co. have done it! I think Whatmore’e played a very big part in this. It was very professional of him to have agreed to coach a national U-19 considering his illustrious CV… Even otherwise… Its been a great period for Indian cricket… barring performance, it was great to see the on field confidence of the Indian team.. and above all their swagger .. something never ever remotely associated with India.
(Im commenting very late on the below... nevertheless..)
Post retirement, I think the North Block should seriously consider grabbing Kumble for the Diplomatic Corps. His handling of the entire tour has been simply marvelous and am sure he’s left a very many in awe with his articulate off field statesman like skills.
While am contemplate putting my thoughts down on each of them.. Virat Kholi and Co. have done it! I think Whatmore’e played a very big part in this. It was very professional of him to have agreed to coach a national U-19 considering his illustrious CV… Even otherwise… Its been a great period for Indian cricket… barring performance, it was great to see the on field confidence of the Indian team.. and above all their swagger .. something never ever remotely associated with India.
(Im commenting very late on the below... nevertheless..)
Post retirement, I think the North Block should seriously consider grabbing Kumble for the Diplomatic Corps. His handling of the entire tour has been simply marvelous and am sure he’s left a very many in awe with his articulate off field statesman like skills.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Budget Gab
In what could be P.C’ last for the next few years, he’s kept his Gab on the whole positive, sans the Rs.60, 000 Cr. Drubbing he’s given to his PSU Banks.
My favorites:
1. Hell with other tax chops – my favorite is the Rs. 50 Crore grant for the Tiger Reserve force :) Yayy... these beauties deserve more.
2. Although I detest to imagining what our roads might look like, the excise duty cut on the Motor segment is welcome. Apart from a little boost to domestic consumption, I think it will give a good fillip to our export competitiveness.
3. We can breathe easy for the first Rs.1.5 Lacs… Ummm.. four thousand bucks..
4. Women power re-enforced with a cool tax break for the first Rs. 1.85 L
5. Removal of dividend distribution taxation b/w subsidiary and holding cos.
What he could have done:
1. Ease the FBT mess for companies by exemption a little more services
2. That he’s increased Short Term capital gains to 15%, he very well could have increased the 80-C investment options to Rs.150,000
3. Rs.44 Crores ain’t enough to attract talent to our defense forces. He ought to have increased marketing for recruitment on this sphere. I hope the next pay commission does more for the defense forces.
4. While a lot of investments been promised for Agriculture he should have encouraged lending for Modernization of Agri. India’s agri productivity has been diminishing over the years and apart from power and fertilizer subsidies, more needs to be done on the mechanization front. I am on purpose not commenting on the whopping Rs.60, 000 farmer write off’s due to want of enough facts on the social .
5. Excise on Tobacco’s and liquor ought to have been increased
Lost his mind:
1. Excuse me for sounding blasphemous but Rs.1,000 for modernization of Madarsa’s ? I remember my colleague Chinmayee quoting a bureaucrat from Assam making this demand and I laughed it off. If only I knew what was coming.
2. Infrastructure’s been feeding a huge part of our 9 % growth rates. Nothing for them? The IT and ITeS is in a large way responsible for where we are today. No reference to any breaks for them? While P.C’s been very benevolent with Auto and FMCG this lack of apathy … especially for Infra beats me.
My favorites:
1. Hell with other tax chops – my favorite is the Rs. 50 Crore grant for the Tiger Reserve force :) Yayy... these beauties deserve more.
2. Although I detest to imagining what our roads might look like, the excise duty cut on the Motor segment is welcome. Apart from a little boost to domestic consumption, I think it will give a good fillip to our export competitiveness.
3. We can breathe easy for the first Rs.1.5 Lacs… Ummm.. four thousand bucks..
4. Women power re-enforced with a cool tax break for the first Rs. 1.85 L
5. Removal of dividend distribution taxation b/w subsidiary and holding cos.
What he could have done:
1. Ease the FBT mess for companies by exemption a little more services
2. That he’s increased Short Term capital gains to 15%, he very well could have increased the 80-C investment options to Rs.150,000
3. Rs.44 Crores ain’t enough to attract talent to our defense forces. He ought to have increased marketing for recruitment on this sphere. I hope the next pay commission does more for the defense forces.
4. While a lot of investments been promised for Agriculture he should have encouraged lending for Modernization of Agri. India’s agri productivity has been diminishing over the years and apart from power and fertilizer subsidies, more needs to be done on the mechanization front. I am on purpose not commenting on the whopping Rs.60, 000 farmer write off’s due to want of enough facts on the social .
5. Excise on Tobacco’s and liquor ought to have been increased
Lost his mind:
1. Excuse me for sounding blasphemous but Rs.1,000 for modernization of Madarsa’s ? I remember my colleague Chinmayee quoting a bureaucrat from Assam making this demand and I laughed it off. If only I knew what was coming.
2. Infrastructure’s been feeding a huge part of our 9 % growth rates. Nothing for them? The IT and ITeS is in a large way responsible for where we are today. No reference to any breaks for them? While P.C’s been very benevolent with Auto and FMCG this lack of apathy … especially for Infra beats me.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Lost and Found
My Mom always harps on the fact that I need to learn to read and write Bengali. While I enjoy reading translated version of Bengali literature and while ‘my heart goes mmmmmm’ listening to Tagore, my disciplined laziness ensured that I got no where beyond comprehending a few Bengali letter’s that resembled their Devanagari cousins. Besides, as a bong far tucked far south of the vindhiyas with no plans whatsoever to pursuing anything in the east, I never really pushed myself to get literate in my mother tongue. Over a period of time, the need and my yearning to do so also diminished…
…… until I was lost!
Cut to Dhaka, national book fare for Bengali literature where the only lingua franca in a radius of over half of kilometer was Bangla. I was dutifully toeing my Bengali colleagues who were in search of Bengali classics until an enthusiastic rush of crowd from one particular stall saw me part. Underestimating the efforts needed to trace them I continued my leisurely strolls looking at colorfully decorated book shelves and kids with bright face paintings. I did so for close to half an hour eventually discovering that there was no way I could end up finding my local contact without risking a phone call. I was carrying only my Indian SIM and was in no mood to shell out INR 50 / min to share my co-ordinates. .
(20 Minutes later) I was still doing the rounds and my hopes of finding them without having to speak to them was diminishing. But 50 bucks a call… no way. I remembered reading on how friendly Bangladeshi’s all over the country were and thought this was a perfect opportunity to ‘test’ the national testimonial. I began looking for a guy who’d let me use his phone! It wasn’t a very expensive proposition considering that local call rate are less than 1 taka (INR 0.63 paise).
1st call: So I approach this guy and he readily obliges to let me use his phone. My colleague says ‘look for the Mukto Bahini stall’. I could vaguely figure out how Mukto would spell in Bengali so armed with this confidence I set out to do the rounds again. But 15 mins hence, their fancy fonts ensured that it wasn’t the easiest of things for a novice to read.
2nd Call: I approach another guy (I’d mentally decided that this would be the last time I’m taking a mobile favor and next time it would be my own Aircel for sure). He readily offers me his phone and this time my colleague sensing my utter inability to locate him asked me the stall number I was close to. A few seconds later and after a lot of strain I figured out it was # 318. I figured Hindi and Bangla share similar #’s but the stylized and
fancy fonts and ensured that it was’nt the easiest of things for me to do.
In perspective, while the entire incident was no big deal it left me guffawed on how vulnerable I was in not taking to native tongue seriously. So will I take to learning Bangla seriously now? Will let you know :)
…… until I was lost!
Cut to Dhaka, national book fare for Bengali literature where the only lingua franca in a radius of over half of kilometer was Bangla. I was dutifully toeing my Bengali colleagues who were in search of Bengali classics until an enthusiastic rush of crowd from one particular stall saw me part. Underestimating the efforts needed to trace them I continued my leisurely strolls looking at colorfully decorated book shelves and kids with bright face paintings. I did so for close to half an hour eventually discovering that there was no way I could end up finding my local contact without risking a phone call. I was carrying only my Indian SIM and was in no mood to shell out INR 50 / min to share my co-ordinates. .
(20 Minutes later) I was still doing the rounds and my hopes of finding them without having to speak to them was diminishing. But 50 bucks a call… no way. I remembered reading on how friendly Bangladeshi’s all over the country were and thought this was a perfect opportunity to ‘test’ the national testimonial. I began looking for a guy who’d let me use his phone! It wasn’t a very expensive proposition considering that local call rate are less than 1 taka (INR 0.63 paise).
1st call: So I approach this guy and he readily obliges to let me use his phone. My colleague says ‘look for the Mukto Bahini stall’. I could vaguely figure out how Mukto would spell in Bengali so armed with this confidence I set out to do the rounds again. But 15 mins hence, their fancy fonts ensured that it wasn’t the easiest of things for a novice to read.
2nd Call: I approach another guy (I’d mentally decided that this would be the last time I’m taking a mobile favor and next time it would be my own Aircel for sure). He readily offers me his phone and this time my colleague sensing my utter inability to locate him asked me the stall number I was close to. A few seconds later and after a lot of strain I figured out it was # 318. I figured Hindi and Bangla share similar #’s but the stylized and
fancy fonts and ensured that it was’nt the easiest of things for me to do.
In perspective, while the entire incident was no big deal it left me guffawed on how vulnerable I was in not taking to native tongue seriously. So will I take to learning Bangla seriously now? Will let you know :)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Assam Calling!
To the uninitiated, the very mention of Assam conjures an image of expansive greenery and seamless scenic splendor and relentless anxiety to explore the bounties of nature … an indeed rightly so… Assam is a splendiferous paradise on earth for all those urban stressed souls.
A dreamy journey takes off as one moves from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. The contrast of the noisy melting into a silent rendezvous with nature highlights a magical trance to leave anyone spell-bound in ecstasy. On the hinges on North Bengal and spilling well into Assam, begins the majestic spread of rich tropical greenery with little hillocks regularly spurting up from the vast tracts of plains replete with a thick canopy of bottle green landscape. Complimenting the luscious mix of shades of green are swelling water bodies which would take one by surprise… a smoothly blended contrast of nature’s best shades of greens and blues to soothe the eyes of every onlooker. And well, this is just the beginning.
As one reaches the destination of this eventful journey, Assam, the grandeur, gets bigger and greener. Roads carefully maneuver through the deep vegetation and the never-compromising thickness of the vegetation engulfs you making you feel meek in a cacophony of emotions like excitement, curiosity, contentment and happiness. A look in any direction reveals only a lush expanse and a bounty of greenery with little hills poking out in regular intervals. And then there is the mighty Brahmaputra gushing along its way with an insatiate fervor and fury, completely unmindful of its surroundings. Its frightening to imagine the reckless fury it unleashes in the monsoons.
In a gist, it is the beautiful blend of vivid range of terrains with the terra firma and of course, how could one forget the ever smiling faces of the locals which gives Assam a distinct identity… an identity which at the end of the day restores a well needed sense of serenity on ones self. Of course, there is the question of man poaching on the territories of the Branhmaputra… which does seem contrasting to the all pervasive serenity and calmness…but that’s another story.
The variety in the Culture of Assam is rich too, with various forms of arts and music emanating from the traditional and tribal groups…this is indeed an art connoisseur’s paradise…
In the midst of all this beauty there are signs of an economy in its infancy, with real estate activity in the form of glass structured buildings and mini malls… and with 'Aid' money pouring in it has a long way to go until saturation..
Well, if I have left out anything, then it’s the Rhino’s at Kaziranga …(There’s an exclusive write up on that coming)
But I must conclude that at the end of the day, when one’s retired to bed, you do feel complete with nature… with the pristine surrounding lending a whole chunk of tranquility… and its ever-rejuvenating freshness soothing the worked up minds. In the mean while, do not think twice about planning your holiday to Assam. Or, if there is any work coming along in Assam, don’t think twice about volunteering for it! Like we did! (R, C, M - comments please !)
Be ready to experience and enjoy the oneness with nature, in store for you in one and only Assam!!
__________________
Hang on – have’nt you wondered why I’ve bothered to be so nice and formal in what I’ve written above? Well, it was written excitedly for my companies monthly journal and being early days then I ‘believed’ that they were gonna publish it. As you can guess by now, it did’nt happen :) But what the hell.. here I am anyway …
And btw, don’t take every thing I’ve written up there on face value. You can’t write bad things about places where you’re sent to work when you write stuff expecting it to be published right?!
Anyways, its not about the place.. its whom you are with. What say ?
Peace,
Baidik.
A dreamy journey takes off as one moves from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. The contrast of the noisy melting into a silent rendezvous with nature highlights a magical trance to leave anyone spell-bound in ecstasy. On the hinges on North Bengal and spilling well into Assam, begins the majestic spread of rich tropical greenery with little hillocks regularly spurting up from the vast tracts of plains replete with a thick canopy of bottle green landscape. Complimenting the luscious mix of shades of green are swelling water bodies which would take one by surprise… a smoothly blended contrast of nature’s best shades of greens and blues to soothe the eyes of every onlooker. And well, this is just the beginning.
As one reaches the destination of this eventful journey, Assam, the grandeur, gets bigger and greener. Roads carefully maneuver through the deep vegetation and the never-compromising thickness of the vegetation engulfs you making you feel meek in a cacophony of emotions like excitement, curiosity, contentment and happiness. A look in any direction reveals only a lush expanse and a bounty of greenery with little hills poking out in regular intervals. And then there is the mighty Brahmaputra gushing along its way with an insatiate fervor and fury, completely unmindful of its surroundings. Its frightening to imagine the reckless fury it unleashes in the monsoons.
In a gist, it is the beautiful blend of vivid range of terrains with the terra firma and of course, how could one forget the ever smiling faces of the locals which gives Assam a distinct identity… an identity which at the end of the day restores a well needed sense of serenity on ones self. Of course, there is the question of man poaching on the territories of the Branhmaputra… which does seem contrasting to the all pervasive serenity and calmness…but that’s another story.
The variety in the Culture of Assam is rich too, with various forms of arts and music emanating from the traditional and tribal groups…this is indeed an art connoisseur’s paradise…
In the midst of all this beauty there are signs of an economy in its infancy, with real estate activity in the form of glass structured buildings and mini malls… and with 'Aid' money pouring in it has a long way to go until saturation..
Well, if I have left out anything, then it’s the Rhino’s at Kaziranga …(There’s an exclusive write up on that coming)
But I must conclude that at the end of the day, when one’s retired to bed, you do feel complete with nature… with the pristine surrounding lending a whole chunk of tranquility… and its ever-rejuvenating freshness soothing the worked up minds. In the mean while, do not think twice about planning your holiday to Assam. Or, if there is any work coming along in Assam, don’t think twice about volunteering for it! Like we did! (R, C, M - comments please !)
Be ready to experience and enjoy the oneness with nature, in store for you in one and only Assam!!
__________________
Hang on – have’nt you wondered why I’ve bothered to be so nice and formal in what I’ve written above? Well, it was written excitedly for my companies monthly journal and being early days then I ‘believed’ that they were gonna publish it. As you can guess by now, it did’nt happen :) But what the hell.. here I am anyway …
And btw, don’t take every thing I’ve written up there on face value. You can’t write bad things about places where you’re sent to work when you write stuff expecting it to be published right?!
Anyways, its not about the place.. its whom you are with. What say ?
Peace,
Baidik.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Dhaka – First impressions
Even as Taslima was scurrying for cover in a pretentiously secularist West Bengal, I was planning my first trip to East Bengal. Like most post ’47 first generations Bengali’s in India, my parents were born in erstwhile East Pakistan and spent a few years there before moving to India. Having witnessed the pain of partition first hand and the angst of having to leave every piece they owned they’ve always felt strongly emotional about this piece of land. Consequently, I grew up hearing a lot of stories about Bangladesh and knew many places by heart. I did the normal routine of reading up whatever lonely planet could dish and other travel blogs and surprisingly most of them had something good to tell about the place. Not that I believed a word of what I read. Am not sure why, but I strongly believe that a nation construed on religion can never be anything near ‘good’. So I set forth with my set of conservative prejudices.
20 minutes from NSCB International and the captain announces that we were ready to descend. I suspect it was a ploy to keep passengers quite and not pester the crew for stuff coz we kept circling a good 20 minutes before the actual descent begun. In the middle, the crew hurriedly scattered lunch boxes reminiscent of a toned down flood time food packet distribution ceremony.
As we touched down in Zia International, the first things that hit me was “Bismillah Airlines”. It hit me hard on how religion was deeply etched into every aspect of an Islamic nation. Anyway, it looked a World War II relic and I wasn’t going to fly that for free. A long walk down the arrival terminal led to the immigration counter the person there didn’t bother much about my tourist visa. But one of my managers who was on a tourist visa as well wasn’t so lucky. The immigration person quizzed him on what the places to visit were and after a barrage of other questions and suspicious retorted “On this fare you could have visited Bangkok, why come to Dhaka of all places?” Whatta reality check J
Anyway, as I stepped out and drove out into the city I was greeted with an array of palm trees. Have always wondered if palm trees have a symbolic connection to Islamic Countries. And the next thing that struck me was the barrage of gleaming Toyota’s all over the city! Apart from the rampant corruption I got thinking on what other sources of disposable income the nation was privy to .. it did’nt add up …and then it hit me – Aid Money! Doles from the ADB’s and WB’s and other loan peddlers.
Those were just the initial feelers … and im here for the long haul .. till later…
Peace,
Baidik.
Even as Taslima was scurrying for cover in a pretentiously secularist West Bengal, I was planning my first trip to East Bengal. Like most post ’47 first generations Bengali’s in India, my parents were born in erstwhile East Pakistan and spent a few years there before moving to India. Having witnessed the pain of partition first hand and the angst of having to leave every piece they owned they’ve always felt strongly emotional about this piece of land. Consequently, I grew up hearing a lot of stories about Bangladesh and knew many places by heart. I did the normal routine of reading up whatever lonely planet could dish and other travel blogs and surprisingly most of them had something good to tell about the place. Not that I believed a word of what I read. Am not sure why, but I strongly believe that a nation construed on religion can never be anything near ‘good’. So I set forth with my set of conservative prejudices.
20 minutes from NSCB International and the captain announces that we were ready to descend. I suspect it was a ploy to keep passengers quite and not pester the crew for stuff coz we kept circling a good 20 minutes before the actual descent begun. In the middle, the crew hurriedly scattered lunch boxes reminiscent of a toned down flood time food packet distribution ceremony.
As we touched down in Zia International, the first things that hit me was “Bismillah Airlines”. It hit me hard on how religion was deeply etched into every aspect of an Islamic nation. Anyway, it looked a World War II relic and I wasn’t going to fly that for free. A long walk down the arrival terminal led to the immigration counter the person there didn’t bother much about my tourist visa. But one of my managers who was on a tourist visa as well wasn’t so lucky. The immigration person quizzed him on what the places to visit were and after a barrage of other questions and suspicious retorted “On this fare you could have visited Bangkok, why come to Dhaka of all places?” Whatta reality check J
Anyway, as I stepped out and drove out into the city I was greeted with an array of palm trees. Have always wondered if palm trees have a symbolic connection to Islamic Countries. And the next thing that struck me was the barrage of gleaming Toyota’s all over the city! Apart from the rampant corruption I got thinking on what other sources of disposable income the nation was privy to .. it did’nt add up …and then it hit me – Aid Money! Doles from the ADB’s and WB’s and other loan peddlers.
Those were just the initial feelers … and im here for the long haul .. till later…
Peace,
Baidik.
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