Jedi Knights.

This is an entry commemorating one of the most profound influences in my life - the Jedi Knights that have come from the Star Wars universe.
For the longest while they have served as not only sources of fascination, amusement and ridiculous attempts at emulation, but they have also been sources of guidance and inspiration.
This is an entry dedicated to them. I shall write about some of my favorite Jedi Knights and Star Wars characters, and why I love them the way I do.



Obi Wan Kenobi
The ultimate Jedi.
One of the few star wars characters who is there in all the six movies, Obi-Wan Kenobi has been the living embodiment of all the characteristics that a Jedi must possess. Compassion, serenity, wisdom, love, knowledge, a dry sense of humour and devastating fighting skills are some of his hallmarks. Indeed, it is a pleasure to watch his character evolve from the movies, from the intense, paradox ridden young man in Episode I who is caught between following the orders of his Master and the Order, to the older, wiser Jedi Knight in Episode II who is given the unenviable task of being Master to Anakin, to the almost venerable air he acquires in Episode III. Few actors could have pulled off this role better than Ewan McGregor, and he deserves full marks for doing such a stellar job.
Obi Wan is a master of Form III of lightsaber combat known as Soresu. It is a basic form of combat that evolved in recent times as the Jedi had to face increasingly blaster-armed enemies, and is a highly defensive form. Yet, in this form's simplicity lies its power, and during Obi-Wan's lifetime he had no equal. As Mace Windu tells him in the wonderful book adaptation of Revenge of the Sith when he is selected to battle General Grievous that he is "Not a master. The Master."
Obi-Wan's best lightsaber combat scene in the entire Star Wars saga was undoubtedly his battle with Anakin Skywalker, the Battle of all Battles over the sinking lava fortress of Mustafar, but almost as good was his fight scene with Darth Maul in Episode I. For some reason the dynamic between the young, pure Obi-Wan facing the intense, terrifying Darth Maul and his dual-bladed lightsaber made for some of the most fascinating swordplay that I've ever seen. The whole feel, from the location (the energy station in the heart of Theed city on Naboo) to the background score (John Williams at his best: The Duel of the Fates symphony) to the drama (the auto-locking laser doors) made for one hell of a duel, excluding the corny ending.

Yet, my favorite performance was of Obi-Wan's in Revenge of the Sith. I mean, the serene aura that he seems to acquire around himself in the movie, coupled with the incredible action scenes made it my all time favorite Star Wars movie.



Boba Fett

Another fascinating character, and one that has been the subject of debate amongst star wars geeks who spend hours trying to prove that he is cooler than others such as Darth Maul/Han Solo/General Grievous etc.
Boba Fett is the clone of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian who was the progenitor of the Clone Army. He is among the last of the Mandalorians, an ancient race of warriors of whom the Jedi were sworn enemies.

Yet, Boba Fett's role in the movies is miniscule, save for a brief cameo in episode V when he captures Solo and a little more role in Episode VI where his malfunctioning jetpack sends him comically into the Sarlacc's maw, which even burps after having ingested him!
Fett's true genius comes in non-movie merchandise, such as literature, comics and games. Indeed, some of the best star wars stories revolve around Boba Fett, and the short story A Barve like that is a haunting piece about his time in the Sarlacc's maw, and the conversations he has with the telepathic being.
What really attracted me to Fett were his qualities. Boba Fett is entirely emotionless. All his decisions are made without any emotional influence whatsoever, possibly one of the reasons that make him the number 1 bounty hunter in the star wars universe. In a philosophical context, Fett possibly has the greatest mental clarity amongst all the characters. A deadly, charismatic character, Fett is also adored by fans everywhere for his uber-cool outfit!

Abdul The Evangelist

Today I had an experience that'll stick with me for a while to come.
Professor Sudhakar keeps telling us in class, and even a politician I once met in Nanded had told me, "के जिस काम मैं तुम्हें आनंद मिलता है, उसी काम को करो। " and today I did something which I enjoyed a great deal, and which has given me a lot more renewed hope about future career options.
We have this project in TY Journalism about the Right To Information (RTI) Act. It's basically a survey about awareness levels amongst students about the RTI, and I've covered a lot of colleges and its very sad that the majority of them have next to no clue about what the RTI is. Many of them haven't even heard of it! Only a few students from town colleges had some idea about the procedure, and that too was a dismal number.
Anyway, so in my quest to find out more about RTI awareness and my follow up awareness sessions I finally ended up in the Anjuman-I-Islam campus. My initial reaction upon entering the building was, "What a dump!" and that reaction became more and more descriptive the more I explored the campus.
I wasn't really kidding myself that I'd find anyone who would tell me about PIOs and CICs and Clauses and Exemptions from the Act, but it was still worth a try, and more importantly I'd be able to spread awareness where it was needed more.
I first spoke to the Principal of Junior College. Imagine my shock at seeing a lady! I mean, seriously, in the predominantly patriarchal Muslim society it was very welcome seeing a lady Principal.
She was eloquent, courteous, and very, very helpful.
JC exams were going on when I went, so I came back after they were done. Unsurprisingly, most of the students were eager to run out of the place and just get away.
I felt a bit let down, but managed to grab a few students and started telling them about the RTI.
Now, this will probably sound obnoxious, but I guess it was the fact that someone was speaking loudly and fluently in English that began drawing crowds. Within minutes, I had a horde of students who were listening if not intently, at least curiously. After I was done (my closing section almost always has to bet the lack of political awareness amongst today's youth :P) a few of them asked me to come to one of their classrooms and address some of the students sitting over there. I was glad to oblige, and walked into a classroom that contained about 10 students, mostly girls, staying back and discussing their paper, as all girls are apt to do (snort!).
Oddly enough, I was feeling very much at ease, and after securing their attention, started telling them about the RTI. A few more people came in, drawn by the scene, but it was far too noisy for me to continue, so I shut the door and continued like a true lecturer, writing down facts and details on the board, addressing their queries, telling them how the RTI could help and empower them, how they could take corrupt corporators, administrators and wild policemen to task. The bonding I felt with my community was so strong it was almost terrifying.
After I was done, I passed around a sheet for them to fill in their names and streams, and was chatting with the girls.
Apparently, most of them wanted to do medicine and be doctors, and when I asked them if their parents would let them work, for the most part I saw a sad shaking of heads. A truly sad part, and my query on whether their education was only to embellish a matrimonial was met with laughter, but I thought it had sad, morbid undertones, a grim joke.
Anyway, walking away from the college I felt on top of the world. The complete whole hearted support I got from almost all the teachers and students, both of whom requested me to come again so I could address a bigger audience, and the sincerity and hope of the students themselves made me feel like I was walking on air.
The whole experience was some kind of preview to the kind of satisfaction I would experience in the line of work that I have chosen, and I eagerly await the beginning of my career as a civil servant.
And yes, the experience did also reaffirm my long-term political ambitions. :D

मुन्ना बजरंगी!!

Today I saw my first bhojpuri movie, and it was an amazing experience that I don't think I'll be forgetting anytime soon.
To answer the first question. Why bhojpuri movies?
The very concept of bhojpuri movies has fascinated me. I mean, seeing something that can be actually more in-your-face than bollywood, with all those hoardings and posters of actors dancing away with fat babes in fields having ridiculous titles such as "Kab Hoga Hamaar Biyaah" ( a common enough conundrum in North India apparently) had an irresistable pull for me. Yet, I never really got around to actually dragging myself to one of those bhaiyya-full theatres till I saw the promos of Munna Bajrangi.
Munna written in green, and Bajrangi written in saffron, with munna apparently a Muslim villain, and Bajrangi the saffron hero. I was entranced, and expected a VHP-RSS-Sangh Parivar financed movie (the amount of advertising and publicity the movie had certainly supported the belief) that showed saffron activists ripping muslim foetuses from stomachs and feasting on them and so on, but the movie turned out to be a big surprise.

Shockingly, Munna Bajrangi is about two friends, a (shia?) Muslim named Munna and a true-blue-Bihari Bajrangi. Munna and Bajrangi join forces to defeat 'Babua', the local crime lord who ravages Bihar's fields and womens with equal ferocity. In the promo both Munna and Bajrangi looked very promising, intense, serious expression that promised good performances and nice action scenes, but when I actually watched the movie, Munna outshadowed Bajrangi by a MILE, I mean, the guy is CHARISMATIC!! From the moment he entered the scene, the audience was howling and rooting for him, cheering "Munna! Munna!" (with me and Raoul joining the voices later on) and shrieking with joy during his action scenes.
I was touched. I mean, really, really, touched. We all think that people have these prejudices and communalism is omnipotent, and that the villages and rural areas are the most sensitive, but if the response this movie got was anything to go by, my perception got a serious kick in the ass.

Another shock was bhojpuri. I always imagined it to be some strange language with every word ending with "va", but if you know even decent Hindi, then you will have absolutely no problem understanding bhojpuri.
I came to the conclusion that I'm as much a sucker for patriotic and sentimental stuff as when I was six years old, sobbing my eyes out watching Poorab aur Paschim.

My Buzz 18 Video is done!!

The Video is DONE!! Watch and Enjoy!!

Jimmyism

This post is rather delayed, but finally my fingers wouldn't stay quiet any longer!! This once in a lifetime experience has to be narrated.

Date: 10th May 2008
Venue: Cinemax Goregaon
Company: Family
Mission: Survive Jimmy

And yes. It was in these very circumstances that I attained Nirvana.
Albeit for a brief two hours.
When the "movie" (calling Jimmy a movie is like calling a gyrocopter a crab's spleen; it's just not 'it') began, and the opening credits showed Jimmy's silhouette rapidly flexing his thighs in all imaginable directions, I immediately realized that what I was witnessing was not an ordinary experience, it was something else, it was something different, it was an experience on a different plane of existence. And as the minutes progressed, my poor five senses, mundane creations as they are, finally succumbed and I felt myself being taken away to a far off place, experiencing a state of transcendence that would make Vishwamitra jealous.

When I finally came to, about two hours later, I knew that this was an experience that could be had only once in a lifetime. My mind was filled with the Truth, that terrible, all conquering thing known as the Truth, and I am here to share it with you.

Concentrate every fibre of your existence on the fundamental question that forms the very basis of Jimmyism and you will know it for your self:

Why Not Jimmy.
क्यों नहीं जिम्मी।
வி நாட் ஜிம்மி.

Mi-Moh Shaanti Shaanti Meee-Mooohhh.

Operation Orissa

Come on guys. Let's admit it. There is nothing called the State of Orissa.
It's a conspiracy. The government of India felt squeamish after Independence and they decided to colour a bit of the Bay of Bengal and call it Orissa so that India would look bigger and more 'in-shape'.
But they can't fool us any longer! Their lies are slowly coming to the fore. They can't fool us anymore about a State that doesn't exist.

Now I know you'll think I've finally gone nuts. But wait! Before you scoff at my seeming delinquency, ask yourselves the following questions:
Have you ever been to Orissa?
Have you ever come back from Orissa?
Have you ever planned to go to Orissa?
Have you ever met anyone from Orissa?
Do you have any idea of what goes on in Orissa?
Ever wonder why it never comes in the news?
Ever wonder why almost everyone connected to Orissa is named 'Patnaik'?
Ever wonder why the government says that all kinds of natural calamities take place there and take hefty donations as foreign aid?
Ever wonder what the hell they speak in Orissa?

If you have answered the majority of these questions with a blank, then you must admit the truth of my theory! It's all a lie!! A conspiracy!! A propaganda!!



(P.S - the above post was written during one of my more bored moments; I was studying the latest NSS reports. But still, think of it. A state that was once home to the great Ashoka of Kalinga has been steadily neglected for years on end by the Central government. Its people are poor, frustrated, angry (and also largely named Patnaik) and the condition of the state has been steadily deteriorating. Today, Orissa is home to the largest number of Naxalites after Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and is a political time bomb. The government better wake up to this sad reality, as to how they are not only excluded from the Budget's sections, but also from the cultural identity of India. We actually hardly know anything about them. My heartfelt sympathies are with the people of Orissa. )

Jahannam

Jannat had all the essential ingredients of a Hasmi flick - a bland storyline full of loopholes, feeble performances, lots of bedroom scenes and a sleazy new nerve grating heroine who failed in her minimal requirement of providing "eye-candy" to the audience.
Yet, these are things that are unsurprising and expected, though what prompted me to write about Jannat was that yet again the Muslim terrorist/gangster/don/villain/bad guy found his way into a Bollywood flick, this time under the guise of the enigmatic "Abu Ibrahim" (a possible amalgam of Dawood Ibrahim and Abu Salem; he had Dawood's glasses and Salem's looks) who is a vastly rich South African "beach magnet" who specializes in match fixing, betting, etc, and of course all of this ill earned wealth has to go into the funding of "terrorists".
All of his Igor-like cronies are muslims, as are the cricketers who are part of the match fixing nexus. One of the cricketers, an apparent sex maniac, keeps saying mashallah whenever supplied with fresh (possibly Serbian) feminine stock.
I was getting increasingly irritated, as the usage of words like salaam waleikum, khuda hafiz, etc in such contexts was really sad to watch. Just a week ago I had watched Iron Man, where once again the bad guys are Afghan Muslim terrorists, whose portrayal is curiously very similar to that of the Russians in Rambo 3.
Sick.