Jodha Akbar

“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” — George Orwell’s 1984

“men and women make their own history, but not in conditions of their making” — Karl Marx 

“The way the protests are raging all over India about one thing after another, one would assume everyone in India had read every book and seen every film.I didn’t partcularly care to see the film considering historical characters always seem to be potrayed as types rather than individuals in our historicals and from what i could make of the trailers J & A doesn’t seem to be an exception.(But to be fair i’ve haven’t checked out the movie yet.)

However the controversy against Jodha-Akbar just goes on to show how people are unaware of the concept of multiple discourses, micronarratives, many histories. We as a culture are just so set in our truths that even in the 21st century an alternate version gets our hackles up.

This is not just an issue of creative freedom regarding history but another example of a disturbing trend in recent times - creative or alternate versions of reality not even being heard out. Historian Romila Thapar is branded an ‘intellectual terrorist’ for claiming ancient Hindu’s consumed beef, the resistance to Deepa Mehta’s potrayal of the wretched lives of widows in Water or of lesbianism in Fire. There seems to be no tolerance for contesting truths. 

But subversion will occur and alternate realities will continue to give autocrats the slip.The truth is fluid and if Jacque Derrida is to be believed every discourse contains within it the seeds of its own deconstruction(in this case read destruction)

Will He review my swoon?

So i walk into the HT office and suddenly glass doors part and before me (actually more to the side of me) stands Vir Sanghvi! In the flesh. For an amateur food critic and a Paulo Coleho reader this is sign enough to take up food as a full time job.

pao-wow

Raj Thackeray has asked the Marathi people to speak “pure” Marathi and avoid English and Hindi words.I wonder what he’s gonna do about Pao bhaji?

This Maharastrian/Indian/foodie favourite could pose a serious threat to Raj’s campaign.Someone ought to warn the poor guy!

After all his whole campaign is based on the question of outsiders coming in and taking away Mumbai-wallas pao.But history and culture have a great sense of irony and as it turns out the word Pao is actually the Portugese word for bread!

 So when a poor soul is talking “pure” Marathi,turns out one is actually talking in many tongues…or should i say palates.My dear Mumbaikers in all honesty, wouldn’t you rather give up Raj’s raj than a plate of delectable Pao-Bhaji any day.India is after all just like that dish, a mash of several ingredients in which its difficult,nay impossible,to trace the flavour back to one.So here’s to pao-bhaji,a true cosmopolitan among dishes!

Misadventures on a bus

I should sue the DTC(Delhi Transport Corp.) for brain damage.Everyday in the crowded bus my precious brain is assaulted from all sides.If i am sitting,people take advantage of my height and use my head as a handrest.If i am standing then the jostlers can’t seem to get by without elbowing me.Its not really their fault that my head is as high as their elbow,but i don’t appreciate the fact. After all, its I who suffers upon impact.

oooogasms

Was just thinking the other day that we need a better word for orgasms. The terms not very suitable for the experience it describes…the ‘gasm’ part is alright.but the ‘org’ part sounds so much like organic or organisation.I’m sure the roots are the same but don’t we need something more sensous sounding.Something closer to the experience and less closer to something that sounds so scientific and sanitised.After all the experience is not purely biological.Something on the tracks of Aaahgasms or ooogasm.

I am working on it.The fact that i am not having any of my own, does not help the project but definetly leaves me a lot of time to think such completely random thoughts.

No longer a blogging virgin

So the time has come..to warn the world..my thoughts have found a way out and as we all know some thoughts can change the world!