Saturday, February 13, 2010

Power Game

On the sacred day of Maha Shivaratri, Mumbai was totally SHIVMAI! Not in terms of bhakti but shakti also. The Tigers protested against the most controversial Khan of bollywood. Shiv Sainiks do Maha Protest on Maha Shivaratri on the release of ‘My name is Khan’. With the successful release of the film in 63 screens and arrest of 1200 Shiv Sainiks, the maha day has the happy ending like any bollywood movie but I guess this is not the end but just the beginning.

If it was Amitabh Bachchan, Yash Chopra or Mahesh Bhatt, Shivsena targeted bollywood from years. Recently Karan Johar was opposed to use a word Bombay instead of Mumbai in his film ‘Wake up Sid’! Shiv Sena would not allow his film to be released if he was not asked for the blessing of Mr. Balasaheb Thackeray by apologizing him. Such an iniquitous demand it was! But the worst thing is ‘it was fulfilled’. Nobody wants to take panga with Shiv Sena if they want to live in a Mumbai.

It is in a real sense of Gundagardi. Our Bollywood actors can fight alone with 20 people around him but could not able to oppose this Gundagardi. Their Illogical demands were not tolerable but their violent approach made everybody to obey them. The psyche behind this is notable. Shivsena thinks that Maharashtra is the property of Maharashtrians. They are insecure by the outsiders that they may rule Maharashtra so better to suppress them before they raise their voice. And on the other end, Movie makers are businessmen. They could not afford that their business got affected because of some stupid issues. Everybody wants to live peacefully. But we need to see that what price we are paying for this peace…

Shahrukh is the only hero who stood by his belief and dare to say no to Shiv Sena. But here we need to watch the backup he has! Just one day after Shiv Sena’s opposition, Rahul Gandhi supported Shahrukh and gave statements against Shiv Sena. His successful visit in Mumbai shows the great support for Khan. Chief Minister and all the Maharashtra Police force supported him by providing enough security. This kind of support wouldn’t be possible earlier but this time miracle happens! Why? Just because this time Shiv Sena faced rejection by the electorate in the back to back Lok-sabha and state assembly election. After all it is a power game!

In all this drama a common man is somewhere being victimized. A car show room in Andheri which was attacked by Shiv Sainik was not of Khan but some common man. In Dadar, The shops which were mandatorily being closed by Sena were running by a common man. The owner of the theatre Maratha Mandir is a common man who bared the expense of Rs. 80,000 as the screen of the theatre was torn by Shiv Sainiks. It is a terror. As a common man we feel that how can we protest against the power of Shiv Sena. When Shahrukh wouldn’t be able to protest against the Sena without the back up of congress who are we?

We are public. And in democracy we have all the power. Mind well, it is all power game. The person who is not in power couldn’t do much. Shiv Sena defeated badly in this issue just because the ruling party congress was there to stop them. Alternatively, if the Sena was in power do you think that Shahrukh has any courage to raise his voice? Congress wouldn’t be able to say a word to Sena if he was not in power. A common man is also powerful. He has a weapon through which he can fight against the terror he has facing. That ultimate weapon is Voter ID. The party which has strength of public belief is a powerful party. Shiv Sena is losing that power. Right to vote is the only power of a common man. Use it and live the change.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Hindustan is a Secular Country. Hindusatan will be ???????

Moharram was on 28th of December. Central government declared official holiday on Moharram. Earlier it was not considered as a national holiday so the Muslim community got hurt and asked for the fair justice. Central government is quite sensible so they understood the matter and declared the holiday. Naturally they do not want any secular issue to be raised in the parliament. There was a loss of one working day but that is much lesser then the loss could be happened if the holiday was not declared.

India is a secular nation. So we do respect not just one but all the religion practiced by our fellow citizens. We enjoy more then 30 holidays in a year officially. Some people do criticize the system of holidays in India but I guess that they do not understand the motive behind the system.

I was born in a Jain family. I lived in a Hindu society in childhood. I hardly know any Muslim as in my class all were hindus and in my locality there was no single house of a Muslim. When I went to bazaar at that time I saw some Muslims. I had the feeling that they are different as they wear Burkha. Most of the things I learn about Muslims are from textbooks of social studies. I got to know about Prophet Mohammad and his principles. I got to know that like us they do a prayer which is named as Namaz. They performed it five times a day. And when teacher had declared- children tomorrow you have a holiday because of Idd-e-milad I got aware that it is a festival of Muslim community. I didn’t celebrate that day as such but I know that today there is a celebration in some families. The familiarity factors occur through these holidays. Today I can run my one hour FM show on Moharram. I know so many things about them but the basic familiarity comes from the school education and the holiday system particularly.

I feel that if the schools do not provide this basic education then the problems related to religions would be five times more then we are facing today. So the schools have biggest responsibility on their shoulders. We read in newspapers about the Madressa that they teach rigid things to their students. We have that impression in our mind that Madressas are not good for the society. May be they are. But it is not that Hindu society does not have such schools. Sarswati Vidya Mandir is a school run all over the India by Rashtriya Svayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). They did not consider holidays on Muslim or Christian festivals. The teachers were told to announce in advance to the students that we are Hindus so we do not celebrate these festivals and there will be no holiday for them. The most surprising thing is there are muslim students too studying in that school. May be they are less then five percent of all the students but so what? The school says that it is fine if they will not come on that day but there is no meaning to declare holiday for other students.

We have Education Board on the state and on the national level too. No body cares for such kind of problems. I feel if you do not teach the syllabus well then may be it is not harmful as they are not learning anything but if you teach them THIS then this is a crime. We need an authoritative body on schools and action should be taken on strict basis. If we did not do anything today the result which will come tomorrow will be hazardous.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Village: Real India, Real Problems

Kalawad and Gali are villages of India but there is no comparison between them. Kalawad is a well developed village of Jamnagar District in Gujarat. It is just two hours distance from Rajkot city. Gali is a beautiful village of Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on Bhopal-Sagar Road. It takes one and half hour from Bhopal to reach there.

The difference between both can clearly understood when you search them on internet. You can easily found the map and the information about Kalawad Village on net but when you want to know about Gali you will not found a single line about it on net.

In childhood I imagined village as a place where river is flowing and farmers are ploughing, where people use lamps and lanterns in the night and wake up before the sun rising in the sky, where the mud houses painted with cow dung and cattle can be found in big chunk. But my perception was changed when I went to Kalawad. I didn’t find a single mud house there before 20 years. In Kalawad the roads are narrow and shops are small. Houses have different structure though it is made of cement and bricks only. It is a small version of a city. Infect if you go to any village in Gujarat you will feel the same.

After marriage I got the opportunity to go to Gali. I was amazed to see Gali. There is only one house in the village which is made of cements and bricks. Not a single person has a vehicle to travel. There is only one school in the village where you can study till tenth standard. People earn on daily bases and spend also in that manner. You can buy milk of 2 Rs. and oil of 4 Rs. too from the baniyas. I have heard about the village which is in worst condition then Gali but to see that and be there for a day is all together a different experience.

As I said there is no comparison between Kalawad and Gali but there is one common problem in both the village. The village boys do not get their bride just because they live in a village. This should be understood that the girls who brought up in the cities do not want to go in the village. But Girls who are living in the villages, do not agree to marry a village guy. This problem is being acute day by day and society is suffering but nobody gives an attention to this problem.

I want to mention one incident here. Patels are wealthy and well known cast in Gujarat. Earlier they lived in villages now they reached to America too. Still many Patels are there in the villages. I know one case where the Patel guy staying at Kalawad was facing the same problem. He got rejected just because he is living in a village. He used his smartness and did the thing which we can’t imagine about. He bought one small shop and a rented flat in Rajkot. He told girl’s father that he is living in Rajkot and doing this business. The girl’s father confirmed the things and he got married with that girl. After six months, he said, “I want to close down the shop and now we will go to Kalawad back.” The girl refused to go there and went to her parents’ house. After 3 months they took divorce.

If the Kalawad a develop village is suffering with this problem then what we say about Gali? The guy from the richest in Gali did not able to find a girl for him before a year. In their Society the Dahej problem is heightened. Boy’s mother was expecting good Dahej for his son but the scene got changed when she faced the reality. She needed to search for a poor girl as there is no girl who is ready to marry her son. Finally she found one. In this case they need to pay money to the girl’s parents. This is the first case in the history of Gali where boy’s parents give money to girl’s parents rather taking dahej from them. These are not just two cases. If you know anybody who lives in a village ask him.

I am worried about the 70% population of India. This is a sensitive issue. Marriage is a social institution. The way we make it and break it is hazardous. Village was being considered as strength of the nation but today the scene is different. In the time of development all wants to grow. The growth is faster in the cities as compare to villages. So everybody wants to catch that speed. This issue is difficult to deal with as we can’t able to change the mentality of the society. We talk so much about complicated marriage life of cities i.e. Increasing divorce cases or unfaithful partners. But we hardly care about the major issues with whom we are not attached. We can’t think that it will not affect us. We have to face consequences of this problem in our nearest future. Get ready for that.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Peeping in to TV industry

I went to TELLY AWARDS on 20th November and Ita-Indian television academy awards on 30th November. I want to share some observation with you so you also get to know the real face of the reel people. Many people know about the industry through newspapers. I was amongst them only before a year. I got married and shifted to Mumbai. My husband is working as a supervising producer in a reputed production house. In a year I met so many artists on shooting or in the parties. They are so different. A layman cannot imagine the life of his favorite artiste.

Their lives are not so glamorous as we think. They work min 18hours and max 22hours a day. Such a laborious job! I met more then 200 industry people personally and till today I do not find a single one who do not drink or smoke. That is their need. Most of the couples are not loyal to each other. They know about their partner’s affair but there is nothing much to do about that. Another thing you might not know. Most of the artistes are not well educated. They are hardly graduates. I met a senior artiste from a popular show. He told me that he was not well last week. He went through check up which shows lacking of hemoglobin in his body. He said, “I ask the doctor what is it? I heard once but I don’t know what hemoglobin is?” I couldn’t able to understand what kind of response I should give to this learned man!

Even cameramen, technicians and set designers come to industry directly in very small age. They learn their work here only. If we talk about writers, most of them learn the art from their seniors not from any reputed institute. Today many students are facing the problem in recruitment as they think they should learn first so they took admission in a reputed colleges but industry does not value degrees, it values only experience.

People might know Sara Khan, a leading actress of the serial Bidaai. She does not know what is so special about the 15th august? I was there when one of the reporters asked her this question. When she got to know the answer she did not feel sorry. In industry people feel that we should know about the industry well else they do not care.

Talking about the award functions, it looks as a glamorous part of their life but insight it is nothing but simply a business. A company who gives the award wants to maintain a good relation with the production houses and channels as well. People who are seating at the function know in advance who will win which award. It is a prior condition. They confirm first that if they will get the award then only they will come. Naturally they are not interested to come for clapping only. I really can’t understand that they all know the politics behind the awards well still they feel proud on the awards they get and the same way they get annoyed and feel offended when they loose. They know the reality of the awards. That is why almost all the artistes have crave for the national award. Hina Khan, the lead actress of a famous show on star plus says, “I have won five awards this year but still I hope for the national award.”

The funny part of the award function is all the big artistes (mostly film artistes) will be awarded in five minutes of their arrival and after that they will not stay there for five minutes too. Still you can see Rani Mukherjee, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor in all over the telecast as they took the shots in that five minutes and insert it in all over the telecast. After all the prestige of the award depends upon how many stars have come for that. No matter how much time they spend there. Through editing they can show that they were there for the whole show!

Thanks to media, many people do not believe in reality shows. Recently, Rakhi Sawant is doing a reality show on NDTV imagine called Pati, Patni aur Woh! She came for her performance in Telly Awards. How can she come there if she is doing a reality show? She should be in the house/set only with her husband and the kid she got. Well, She does not allow her work to suffer for any show! She can shoot there and here simultaneously. Who cares?

I feel bad for the child artistes. Many of the people feel great about the child artistes as they earn fame and money in such a small age. Some feel lucky that in this age they got the chance to work with big stars. But I feel pity for them. I feel that in that age this kind of exposure is hazardous for the children. The life of the industry is not easy to digest. I saw that they lost their innocence.

If you meet Avika Gaur (balika vadhu fame) you will feel like meeting some great star. She is so professional. In this young age child doesn’t know what the professionalism is! She is no more a teenage girl. I saw that child artistes have been pressurized to maintain contacts with the producers by their parents. They go to big producers and shake their hands with them and introduce their selves. All is so weird. I couldn’t able to see nine years old is struggling to make contacts in the industry. It is terrible. I beg all the parents who want their child to be on screen please don’t ruined your kid’s childhood.

There is so much to tell about our great industry! May be you found this so negative but it is the truth. Well, that does not mean that industry does not have anything positive to talk about! That I will do some other time!

Monday, November 23, 2009

How can we save our self?

I went to home after Diwali. I met my Faiba (father’s sister) who settled in Godhra from last 23 years with her family. She is in search of a nice girl for his son. Her family is considered as one of the rich and renowned families in Godhra and her son is quite settled so there shouldn’t be problem for her to get a perfect girl for her son! But unfortunately it is not so… Whomever she approached for this matter everyone denies for just one simple reason- GODHRA!

On Feb 27, 2002, the unfortunate incident happened which later got famous as ‘Godhra hatya kand’. 59 passengers were set on fire in a Sabarmati Express. This fire was spread in all over the Gujarat and took a form of communal riots between Hindu and Muslims. Gujarat lost its thousands of people and the reputation of a peaceful state too. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat was portrayed as a terrorist particularly by English media. There was a national committee also which has proved that the fire was an accident not a diabolic act. Everything was disastrous but the most noticeable thing is Gujarat came out of it by showing a grand development in last seven years. Narendra Modi has transferred his image from a terrorist to endowed leader. Gujarat has achieved GDP Growth rate over 10%. With this we feel good and think that everything is solved but is it so?

My Faiba who has no relation with Godhra Kand is facing consequences of that after seven years. Many people feel that Godhra is not a safe place so they don’t want their daughter to marry and settled in Godhra. As a rational people we will find this reason very illogical as today not a single place in the world can be consider safe. It can be anyplace- America, London, Delhi or Malegaon. Godhra (the place) is not responsible at all for the mishap. This is crystal clear answer from our Mind! But what our heart says? It is still beating fast when it travel by a local train. It still doubts when it shows an orphan Tiffin box anywhere. Though we are living a normal life, it is full of fear, doubts and uncertainty.

26/11 Mumbai terror attack is an incident that changed the life of Mumbai completely. Though media published that Mumbai is on track just after the three days of the incident. On the surface level we can say yes it is but on the ground level it is not. Still after a year Mumbai is not out of that trauma! As it is not only about the people who directly targeted, it is also about them who could be the target. When you see tight security at railway stations or near malls you should feel secure but unfortunately you feel threatened. Why there is so much security? Is anything wrong? Then some great person will disclose the truth that there is a threat from al-queda that they will attack on Mumbai again. He will surprisingly ask you that don’t you read in newspaper? firstly, You call your wife and advise her to do not let your children go out. Suddenly you become a vigilant citizen and doubt on every single thing you see. At night when you come back home you feel like a saved a person!

Attacks happen. Hit us badly. We as a human beings try to recover our self from that. We feel that it is our fate and we have to accept it. Life cannot stop so we start walking. In the physical world we are able to make over everything so we repaired the Taj hotel. We started new trains. We compensate so many lives too. What about psychological aspect of it? What about the repercussions we are facing? What about the girl who feels threatened to see more security? What about a woman who couldn’t able to find a girl for her son? How can we save our self from that? How?