tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303021342024-02-27T21:58:03.332-08:00B for BihagBihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-58077328089710925762011-04-16T22:22:00.000-07:002011-04-16T22:31:32.337-07:00Hiya!! We're Bihag's blogposts!! After being harangued by clunkiness of blogspot for ages our lazy creator has finally managed to move his blog to a new profile. Our descendents can be found at <a href="http://bforbihag.wordpress.com/">http://bforbihag.wordpress.com/</a> Untill we meet again, then!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-91296857687936242782010-09-22T12:29:00.000-07:002010-09-22T12:56:18.198-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;">"Let Them Eat The Cake"<br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br />When Mr. Amitabh Bachchan tweeted about Mr. Javed Akhtar presenting a slum-shaped cake to his wife Ms. Shabana Azami, I was reminded of this famous quote of last french queen Marie Antoniette.<br /><br />The apathy of this thoughtless action struck me as being too crude from somebody like Javed Akhtar for whom I have a huge respect otherwise (see <a href="http://khidmatefun.blogspot.com/2008/12/bard-would-have-said-it-simplicity-is.html">here</a> and <a href="http://khidmatefun.blogspot.com/2008/12/to-tell-or-not-to-tell.html">here</a>). Parading around pain of coutless, homeless urban poor of India as a personal jest to his social activist wife was ill-done in my opinion.<br /><br />Irony of gorging down dellings of poor was apparently lost on everyone including Mr. Javed Akhtar, the socialist.<br /><br />The guardian calls this <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/slumdog-birthday-cake-shabana-azmi">poverty porn</a> (The link has a photograph of the cake as well). I can't agree more!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-78394057354559627562009-12-26T11:41:00.000-08:002009-12-26T12:09:34.894-08:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>V for Vindication</strong></span><br /><br />I don't know what is our obsession with vindication!<br /><br />I mean granted, it is a very good movie. Great comedy, fair share of emotions, good dialogues and character development. What's more, you also deliver the message you have set out to do in the first place. But after doing everything well, you have to go and screw it all up.<br /><br />Whoa.. I have rambled too far without putting a bit of context to it. I am talking about the movie - "Three Idiots". A movie in which even Kareena puts in a good performance is marred (at least to me) in trying too hard to show that the Protagonist is the winner.<br /><br />Having a school full of children who learn by his methods of thinking, striking blue lakes and pale brown mountains - now that could be more than enough achievement for the lead character. He does not need to be Phunsukh-Wangdu-the-scentist-that-Japanese-are-looking-for.<br /><br />While Chatur seeks (and needs) acknowledgment from Rancho, Rancho is too self-satisfied to be wanting to be a big-honcho in the game that Chatur is playing. To a Rancho, Chaturs don't matter. While Aamir's attitude on the screen shows just that, the director still probably needed that last stroke to make audience feel high as they leave the <span>theatres.</span><br /><span></span><br />और मजबूरी का नाम तो आप जानते ही हो! ;)<br /><br />The point is... Wait a minute... I swear, I had a point when I started writing this।<br /><br />Leave it। It's a great laugh. Watch it. Have fun.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-20289768604485254192009-02-06T11:14:00.000-08:002009-05-11T14:42:01.189-07:00<p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">devdas - the non-hero</span></strong><br /></p><p>92 years later. After tens of adaptations on the screen. The magic of Devdas-the story still draws Indian directors, actors and audiences alike. Umpteen number of times, I have claimed to be a huge fan of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. This widely translated and wildly famous novella - Devdas has been my favorite among all his work I have read.</p><p>Devdas-of Saratchandra- is a pathetic loser. He can't stand up for his love. After his biggest mistake in life (of letting Paro walk out of his life), instead of redeeming himself he indulges in self-distruction. He does not face reality, he runs away from it. He hides behind his inebriated self. When you think the abomination is at its zenith, Devdas drops further. He loathes touch of Chandramukhi, who is the only reason he hasn't died of starvation and ill-health. He dies of his vices and illnesses on the doorstep of Paro. To culminate the loser in him, he is not able to keep his promise of meeting Paro once before his death.</p><p>And he is our hero. For lots and lots of Indians, Devdas is a story that invokes immediate empathy. In a nation full of inhibitions, tradiations, hierarchies and interjections, a dillusioned youth provides the perfect role-model. Suppressing one's wishes and submitting to the collective decisions based on various bourguise justifcations is a standard state of affairs even today. </p><p>And so the Devdas lives.</p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>The reason for this blog originally was to publish it on the eve of release of DevD. But thanks to my old ally procrastination, it is too late. Now that I have seen the movie, will close out the post with a brief review of Dev D.</p><p><strong>Dev D</strong></p><p>A good watch. Abhay Deol pulls off another wonderful performance in that unassuming way of his. Mahi Gill is easy on eyes. Kalki isn't. Awesome songs.</p><p>That being said, the movie in my view, does not capture the spirit of Dev D. While I can stomach jealousy being the reason of split between Paro and Dev; I can also tolerate Kalki attempting to recreate the magic of pathetic one-sided love (that has been so wonderfully done by Rekha in Muqaddar ka Sikandar and Madhuri in otherwise totally forgettable Bhansali's Devdas) what I can not take is the redemption. </p><p>Devdas the character has a poetic beauty in being beyond redemption. Devdas is a loser by choice. He abdicates the beauty of <em>what is</em> just to get an inebriated glimpse at <em>what could have been</em>. It not so much that he can not redeem himself, it is that he has nothing to redeem himself for. Chandramukhi might be beautiful, wealthy and madly in love but she has one fault that Dev can not overlook. She is not Paro.</p><p>That pain of knowing and that hope of forgetting drives Devdas to destruction. That destruction is his destiny. And I would not have it any other way.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-27343571608789516142009-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:002009-01-27T13:33:29.808-08:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">End of Saurav Dynasty</span></strong><br /><br />Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Who would know this better than our adored prince, the Prince of Kolkatta.<br /><br />If he has courted someone outside his much publicized marriage, it would be the ‘controversy’ herself. From the said marriage to Gilchrist’s recent publicity stunt for his book, Dada has been in the eye of the storm. Love him, hate him, there is no way you can ignore him.<br /><br />Since he first waltzed down to the cricketing ground, the southpaw has changed the Indian cricket forever. Indian teams cowered against bullying of ill-mannered aggression of other teams. Saurav responded to this in kind and paid back with interest. Dada brought in the killer instinct that everyone lamented India lacked.<br /><br />Saurav the player was paled in comparison with Saurav the captain. He was the motivating force behind India’s some of the most unbelievable wins. He backed the players he believed in. As a captain, he nurtured talents of likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj and Bhajji.<br /><br />He played only offside once. He conquers onside later. Those wonderful offside strokes become his Achilles’ heel. He conquers the offside again. He can’t handle swings. But he partners with Sachin to give India an opening pair that would break all the records. When Indian lineup crumbles like nine-pins during formidable second innings chases, time and again Dada stands tall and defies opposition bowling attack. “Waltzing down the track” term was coined in cricket commentary only to celebrate Dada’s exploits on the pitch.<br /><br />If Saurav went to Hogwarts the sorting hat wouldn’t have to wait a minute before deciding. No options to be given. He would be a true-blue Gryffindor. Heart on sleeve, courage touching skies in worst of the times.<br /><br />Aggressive to the core. Blood never ran in his veins, it raged. Dada swinging his t-shirt at winning the NatWest series is a scene Indian fans will never forget.<br /><br />His cricketing career was once burnt down by a poor form and BCCI politics. But the Saurav ‘Phoenix’ Ganguly that rose out of those ashes was all the more formidable, more consistent and more of himself.<br /><br />Now it’s the time for curtains to fall. The prince bowing out one last time from the stage of international cricket. The stage will never be the same again.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-14727306100925905862009-01-27T13:01:00.000-08:002009-01-27T13:36:58.629-08:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">For the love of the Game<br /></span></strong><br />How fascinating it would be to peek in to a diary of a young girl? How painful it would be if the said diary happened to be written during the time of Second World War? And oh, by the way the girl is not a Jew. And to top it all up, the narrator is a presence that has haunted all the life-forms ever since the life started – the Death. All stories about WW2 are stories of death, but this one is narrated by the Death himself (now I don’t suppose feminists would insist that here also I add “or herself”).<br /><br />Too much beating around the bush (or should I say Obama now?). The title is “The Book thief”.<br />And what a book it is. A painting of vibrant colors of innocence and adolescence on dark background full of hatred, bigotry and violence. The novel is definitely not first of its kind nor it is singular in terms of the emotions it conveys. But I somehow am able to identify with the protagonist because I also steal for my love of words and books. Though I have as yet not resorted to stealing books, I steal time. And I understand that unyielding force that makes you resort to stealing, though the motivations of the protagonists might not have been the same thorughout the book.<br /><br />The book captures the humour in death and tragedy of life. It portrays thieves who love and rulers who hate. It has mud-splattered atletes and broken musical instruments.<br /><br />The book reeks of death, smells of life and talks about a girl that has survived both.<br /><br />Read it. It's worth it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-73244657333751949152009-01-27T12:53:00.000-08:002009-01-27T13:00:39.897-08:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Real Virtuality</span></strong><br /><br />Incident dates back to some 7-8 years. I am lying in the bed so thirsty it hurts my throat. I try to summon the will to stand up, but the legs that aren’t there are not going to follow your wish. I curse myself for forgetting where I have kept my crutches. I am on the verge of calling out to the roomie to bring me a glass of water when the sudden shock strikes me. I remember that I can walk. It was the protagonist of the novel I just finished who couldn’t.<br /><br />Even after such a long time reminder of that incident gives me goose-bumps. Was it the skill of the novelist? Was it my involvement in the book? Or does it have something to do with my misplaced priorities in life?<br /><br />If I look in the rear view mirror, my life has been like a long series of case studies of fictitious characters rather than an experiment in itself. It is a hard confession to put on paper and I am fighting a strong urge to delete last some sentences. It basically challenges my way of life.<br /><br />I think that most people treat life like it’s a racing track. Most thinkers talk about achieving something (spiritual, material, emotional whatever that something maybe) at the end of the life. As if life in itself is just a mean to achieve that end. I believe the life is the end in itself. To me, it’s not about reaching any end, winning the 1st or 4,558,495th prize. It’s about enjoying the morning breeze, relishing the punishing sun of the afternoon and welcoming the dusk with one favorite song or five.<br /><br />There might not be much coherence to whatever I have said till now, but I promise it sounded so coherent in my mind.<br /><br />Now that the traffic jam is over and the car is moving, I will stop. There’s a wonderful song being played on the radio and that needs more attention than my analysis of life.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-25641325650928880512009-01-27T12:48:00.000-08:002009-01-27T13:41:24.886-08:00<p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Preface for the next three posts</span></strong><br /></p><p>I am nothing if not a procrastinator. Some of the posts have been lying dormant for ages now in my word processor (MS Word of course).</p><p>Putting them up one by one now. The one about Saurav Ganguly's departure from the international cricket was written during his last test. For other posts, timing really does not matter.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-30656306291451705312009-01-11T06:35:00.000-08:002009-01-21T12:06:38.086-08:00<div style="font-family: lucida grande; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Remakes, memories and disappointments</span></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>One senseless killer. One senseless villain. Two sexy girls. Voila! you have all box-office records broken.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>Truth be told. "Ghajini" need not be compared with any Hollywood movie. As a stand alone movie, it is a wonderful run-of-the-mill masala movie with a new idea.<br /><br />A bit of South flavor (which is to be expected) in limitless incomprehensible futile violence. A hero that can fight with aplomb after being stabbed in chest. And of-course whatz-her-face Asin.<br /><br />But the problem is that you have already seen "Memento"! And unlike the protagonists in both the movies, you do remember beyond 15 min. BTW this 15 min is more of an indicative figure and treates as such in Memento whereas in Ghajini, the villain keeps emphasizing on 15 min only memory, lest audience might forget that he mentioned it some half an hour before.<br /><br />In one-on-one comparison Memento is a classic, Ghajini is a superhit; Memento is about forgetting Ghajini is about remembering; Memento is a thrilling chase, Ghajini is a forgone conclusion; Memento shocks with the end, Ghajini shocks by breaking all the box office records. Memento is subtle in its depiction of protagonist's love and agony, Ghajini needless to say is over loud on that front; in Memento the protagonists is incorrigible, in Ghajini the protagonist is infallible.<br /><br />In short, Ghajini is an out-an-out Bollywood recipe masala flick whereas Memento is a master-piece.<br /><br />Though humour, Amir and Asin make the movie watchable, we could have so done without the Villain. Go watch it if you don't have a life, the movie is for you.<br /><br />My rating - 2/10<br /></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-41139181432885257232008-10-07T13:20:00.000-07:002008-12-09T11:06:03.733-08:00<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;"><strong>Mobs, Bombs and My Country</strong></span><br /><br /><br /><br />To overexert a cliche "History repeats itself". And it really does for the people who don't learn from it the first time around. Some 51 years ago, this country failed an exam of History and it tore up the geography. No. Not the geography textbook. We tore up the geography of the country.<br /><br />Over the last few years we failed exams of Social Sciences and this time we might end up with torn up Moral Sciences at the end of it all.<br /><br />It is distressing to see how religions become bandwagons for all crooks thirsty for blood of "the others". VHP, Bajrang Dal, SIMI, IM, Al Qaida each one of these organizations have been able to motivate people to either burn "others" alive or bomb "others" for the confoundingly vague purposes.<br /><br /><br /><br />When I was a kid, if I had to go somewhere alone in the dark I would shiver with fear. So mother would suggest, remember the name of a god and you shall fear no more. Now when I am walking among the crowds and by accident I remember gods, and the fear returns to me. The mortal fear not of ghosts or ghastly animals who might be lurking in the shadows of my imagination, but of some of the foulest creature in my own race.<br /><br /><br />PS - This entry was written before the lemantable 26/11 episode and does not consider Indo-Pak relations as a dimension.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-59441998926594394522007-08-25T15:13:00.000-07:002007-11-06T05:39:25.466-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">For the love of the game - CHAK DE INDIA<br /></span> </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I am a big time movie buff and I have always enjoyed movies on sports or games. When I watch ed wonderful movies like "Remember the Titans", "Coach Carter", "The Mighty Ducks", "Rocky", "Million Dollar Baby", "Seabiscuit"; I used to wonder that why can't we make such movies in Hindi?<br /></span><br />Recently "Lagaan" and "Iqbal" wandered in this area but no one seemed to be interested in it more. Moreover, both the games were based on cricket, the only game where we have some respectable stand. And just then someone dares to come up with a movie on hockey! Women's hockey!! (Hockey is our national sport is a detail remembered only in GK quizzes.)<br /><br />Chak De is a wonderful movie with some similarities to the story of Ex-Indian goal keeper Meer Ranjan Negi. After conceding 7 goals to Pakistan Negi faced a lot of public humiliation and was made to leave Professional Hockey. He returned as a defense coach to Indian women's hockey team which won 2002 commonwealth games.<br /><br />I believe we have more than enough stories to tell even in Sports arena. There are wonderful games and legendary heroes who need to be remembered and immortalized in the memory of public.<br /><br />For Example -<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Legends</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Dhyaanchand, Gavaskar, Kapil Dev(Lot of drama to go along in his life), Paes and Bhupati, Dinco Singh (Now who is he?), Darasingh, P T Usha, Richard James Allen (</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Hockey Goal Keeper - </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Conceded only 3 goals in 3 Hockey Olympics) etc.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Events</span><br />- India won three consecutive Olympic Golds for hockey - 1928, 1932, 1936<br />- Olympic Final 1948 - when Independent India faced their past rulers England for the first time in Olympic hockey games. Britain confident of winning the game. India wins the match 4-0.<br />- India won 8 Olympics gold in all. 6 of them consecutively between 1928 - 1956. These 6 olympics, India played 24 matches, won all of them, scored 178 goals (avg. = 7.43 goals/match) and conceded only 7 goals.<br />- India's rise in 1983 Cricket world-cup starting from oh-we-had-it game with Zimbabwe to the I-don't-believe-it final against almost invincible West Indies team of Clive Loyd.<br /><br />These films might not make players out of sloths like me but they might give a boost to a lot of young players who are disillusioned about our record in games and sports in general.<br /><br />We desperately need heroes (the ones are not interested only in endorsing soaps and toothpastes but also love the game they play) in sports and these might be the ones.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-43294174987801042222007-08-19T14:06:00.000-07:002007-08-19T14:11:56.995-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">FORESIGHT</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=295138&leftnm=3&subLeft=0&chkFlg=<br /><br />Even without thinking at personal level this seems ridiculous. One set of experts already implemented their feeling that students are earning too much by increasing tution fees with apparently no change in facilities provided.<br /><br />Now this!<br /><br />Will government be able to put the money to a better use or will it be spent on knee surgery of another PM? These people deserve license raj.<br /><br />Do they even consider contributions of people like Sam Pitroda and Vinod Khosla? Don't they understand that India gets a lot of attention because of overseas Indians?<br /><br />What is the use of discouraging companies as well as students from foreign placements? What does government wants to achieve? It is not able to take care of citizens who remain in India. Why retain some more? To get killed like Manjunath and Satyendra Dubey?<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-72779448899103908332007-08-19T11:55:00.000-07:002007-08-19T11:59:46.570-07:00I don't have an agenda against journalists but somehow I keep running in to fourth estate time and again. This time it is Ms Sagarika Ghosh from IBN.<br /><br />http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/author/223/2220/sagarikaghose.html<br /><br />This lady is surprised by the fact that most of the people convicted in Bombay Blast case are Muslims. I would request you to check records of cases registered in Gujarat Riots. Surprisingly, you will find only Hindu names there. Would you say that Gujarat is discriminating against Hindus??!!!<br /><br />How ridiculous is your logic?<br /><br />Police did not do a random survey and come up with those names in either cases and the fact that both record books have names from one community only doesn't mean there is ill will against either of them.<br /><br />Same logic about delay of justice. For delay in cases in Gujarat, this same lot screams that the delay will benefit the culprits. Now all of a sudden in case of Muslims delay of justice will cause harm to the accused.<br /><br />In either cases delay is not to cause harm or for benefit of culprits / accused, it is just the lacunae of our judicial system. So please don't see ill-will where there is none.<br /><br />On the question about having terrorists in your houses and not knowing about that, go find children and tell them this fairy tale. Women, Muslim or otherwise, would know what is happening in their homes. Even the uneducated ones.<br /><br />Muslims are as much citizens of this country as anyone else. No party or organization can alter that fact. If there is injustice being done to them, or for that matter to any community, it is prerogative of media to come forward and support them.<br /><br />But finding faults where there are none and portraying sheer incompetence of the system in to evil planning against any community is despicable. A responsible media should stay away from such sensationalization of issues.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-76514884932516903072007-07-30T00:44:00.000-07:002007-07-30T00:51:00.248-07:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rita Skeeter in our world</span></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Article in reference:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2007/07/iim-bangalore-and-order-of-admissions.html">http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2007/07/iim-bangalore-and-order-of-admissions.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Shiv Khera narrates a story of a bird hunter in his book “You can win”. This hunter buys a bird dog that can walk on water. When he shows this amazing feat of a dog walking on water and asks if his friend noticed something unusual about this dog. His friend says “Yes, in fact I did notice something unusual. Your dog can’t swim.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I was reminded of this when I read article on IIMB’s admission procedure by Ms. Rashmi Bansal (I'm the Editor and Publisher of a popular youth magazine called JAM - Just Another Magazine). What disturbs me most about the article is not that it is somewhat antagonistic to my alma mater but that Ms. Bansal provides an opinion not because she has one, but because she thinks that she has to have one. Hence, she ends up filling her page with what IIMB has announced for most of the part and through rest of it she keeps jumping on conclusions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Last things first. When she contends that past performance cant predict future achievements of a person, I couldn’t agree more. We can easily solve that if IIMs leave CAT-GD-PI path and instead start Crystal Gazing futures of all prospective candidates? I am sure at least her favorite Shri Harry Potter wouldn’t like it!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does IIMB do when it chooses students based on consistency in past academics? It just looks for commitment levels of candidates in whatever they had done. Is it too much to ask for? IIMB gives weightage to work experience. All B-schools worth their salt around world do that. Work experience helps in gaining a perspective for B-school education. Too bad that Ms. Bansal can’t appreciate it just because a particular B-school doesn’t do it (or is at least not open about it).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">IIMB gives importance to various factors like 10<sup>th</sup> score, 12<sup>th</sup> score, Bachelor’s level acad performance, work-experience and hence is likely to end up with well-rounded geeks. Surely, considering only CAT scores is a much better way to end up with less-rounded geeks and there are campuses full of such people too. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Numbers involved in the decision processes astound her, but these numbers try to instill as much objectivity as possible in the selection process. No one can take out subjectivity from any selection process, but at least one institute is trying. Just because general public can’t understand it (in her opinion), is it worth to question the integrity of the process? Or does she hate this transparency in the process because she can’t boast about similar transparency from another B-school?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On her suggested study about success rates of students etc. is she somewhere suggesting that IIMB is choosing all the wrong people? Does she have a right to comment on institute’s every individual alumnus and student’s progress? Does the article spring from some complex about status of a particular B-school’s relative status in her mind?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the end, Does IIMB or for that matter any institute needs to justify it’s selection procedure to each and every person with free time on her / his hand?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">IIMB might not produce the “well-rounded” persons achieving the success levels of Madam Bansal’s liking, IIMB still provides us with a good chance at corporate world and we <b style="">will</b> take it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">IIMB doesn’t stand in the way of people who want to shed baggage of past and make a future. Actually, no one can. The people with dreams and people with passion grow irrespective of any IIM or any B-school takes them or not. Regardless of what Rita Skeeters of the world might say!!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-62037878168091737382007-06-14T13:23:00.000-07:002007-06-14T13:46:20.618-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rights of a nOBODY</span><br /><br /><br />Every now and then, I keep running into these discussions on God, his existence and his illustrative line of followers.<br /><br />At the fall of a hat, theists come with examples of faithful scientists and mathematicians "If THEY believed in God, who are you to deny His existence?"<br />Answer "Nobody" looming large in the air.<br /><br />I could almost see angels swooshing past in air doing cheer-leading dance singing "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Q</span><span style="font-size:-1;"><b>uod Erat Demonstrandum</b></span>"<br /><br />Well, Not so sure about this one. That's where the critical difference between Logic and faith comes in.<br /><br />Logic, I believe, means No person, No concept, No theory is too sacrosanct to be questioned. Whereas faith keeps drawing lines(lakshman-rekhas, are they?) everywhere. The fear that what will happen if the old structure of explanations collapses, does not endanger logic. Actually, the zeal to question norms is what logic thrives on.<br /><br />I was thinking that maybe logic follows a meritocracy, but no. It's not about concept of merit decided based on past performance data. Maybe a democracy then. But no again. More people supporting a theory does not make it a correct theory, unless it can be proven.<br /><br />The truth is, logic hardly worries about hierarchy. Tallest of the seats are open to question by smallest of the people. "Nobody" has a right to question anything and everything. Take the inverted commas out, and that's exactly what faith says. Irony, is it?<br /><br />Who are these Einsteins, Newtons, Gallelios, but nobodies of their youth?If these nobodies were afraid to ask questions about what Archimedes thought to be the laws of physics?<br /><br />Guess, we would still be amazed why apples fell down and would be celebrating Eureka days running around the streets wearing but waterdrops.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-50592425709044908182007-06-02T14:18:00.000-07:002007-06-03T00:08:08.938-07:00It's 02.50 am in the morning or night and I am dizzy but in a mood to blabber.<br /><br />This heady half-asleep condition feels like being drunk. (Arthur: "what's wrong about being drunk?" Ford: "Ask a glass of water.")<br /><br /><br />Alright, so almost 12 months to write second entry on Blog and I start by being delirious. I feel some confessions lurking behind my loquaciousness. Let's have it out if someone is going to read this at all he(and yes... she) has a right to know about this humble but magnanimous, simple but intelligent, innocent but wicked, stingy but large hearted, lazy AND lazy and then some more lazy author.<br /><br />I have always loved two basic entities - Words and Numbers. Number theory and literature has the effect on me that light has on moth. But when it came to critical decisions of my life, I sold my soul to devil (Read engineering and then MBA) in anticipated return of green pieces matter made out of local vegetation. Number theory got angry and left me. But language could not leave me like that. We have long lasting relations you see.<br /><br />Gujarati is like mother. Always there. Whenever I am short of words, she brings a mouthful of them and rescues me out of situation. By virtue of this relation, Hindi is like a sweet maternal aunt who pampers me with mumbaiya flavour. Urdu is daughter of Hindi from her outside caste marriage with Farsi. So Urdu is like a distant cousin. I am fond of her, but I don't know her much. English is a language that grew up with you from Ba ba blackship to the girl singing in valley. She was so so attractive during college and later became a part of your life. English is like my wife. "I love her a lot, but I don't have command over her."<br /><br />Well, that does it. Not much remains to be said. (Well, there are things, but you better not ask me. ;P)<br /><br />Statutory Warning:<br /><br />Now that I plan to be a regular blogger, come to this page at your own peril. I will be and will not be contradictory. I will use wrong places at wrong words. I shall not cares to know the rules for the grammar. But ye thinketh twice before you shall open your tongue trap because this is MY BLOG... And I rule here....<br /><br /><br />Buhhuahuhauhuhuahahahahaha....<br /><br /><br />And of course... welcome etc. etc.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30302134.post-1151355289449261492006-06-26T13:45:00.000-07:002007-08-01T21:52:07.309-07:00<em><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Moses saw a burning bush on mountain of Horeb and he heard a voice talking to him..<br /><br />'Moses, take off your shoes, you are standing on sacred ground'<br /></span></em><br /><br />So I am on the holy ground and already got stones but of course with commandments. The list goes like ...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Thou shalt never be late for class</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Thou shalt never talk back to placecom member</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Thou shalt dress for occassion</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Those who shalt not follow this get lower grades and hence shall roast in a low paying job for rest of his life.</span><br /><br />****<br /><br />This is my first day at college and this is already 2.30 am of the next day and I am finishing an assignment.<br /><br />SO, THIS IS WHAT A B-SCHOOL LOOKS LIKE.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div id="shelfariFlashcontent">This plugin requires <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash 9</a>.</div><script src="http://sws.shelfari.com/flash=shelf.swf,username=bihagbhatt,width=325,height=355,shelftype=user,booksize=large,alpha=0,bgcolor=FFFFFF/flashwidget.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script></div>Bihag Bhatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328575403174672337noreply@blogger.com0