Ernesto 'Che' Guevara- My take

THIS IS THE SPEECH I WROTE FOR MY COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT ON CHE FOR THE SUBJECT MASS COMMUNICATION:

After watching numerous documentaries on Che Guevara and reading many reviews on his book called 'The Motorcycle Diaries, it did give me a lot of different perspectives of different historians and writers about him. But here we come to discuss my perspective and what I understood about this revolutionary- who failed.
             A rich boy's quest for adventure and a journey of life. Belonging to a rich family, 23 years old about to be doctor, Che with his pharmacist friend decided to go on a journey. Only to find himself in the midst of harsh reality. The real world outside the comfy house that he belonged to. A world of poverty and discrimination. Changing his life forever, planting the seed of revolution.
             This young man rippled the world with his socialist ideologies. A man who struck America with the bullet of anger and disbelieve. His belief to free the Latin America from the clutches of none other than the Americans themselves. Introduce you the man responsible for the Cuban revolution, Ernesto Che Guevara. It is hard to be positive about him and equally hard to be negative. But he was the man who preached the belief that revolution can only be attained with arms and wars.  He evokes strong feelings for everyone except for most of the people who wear shirts with his face printed on them. But the people who actually knew him, either tend to hate him and call him a communist murderer or love him, hailing him as a freedom fighter, a hero.
       His dream was a world where all people ( the poor in particular) had the opportunities as the rich i.e. food, shelter, education, health care. He was against capitalism and actively set out to fight against it. Although his intentions were pure, he was an extremist, and the darker side of Che always seem to find a way off the conscience of Che's supporters. His diary contains detailed description of executions he performed. Some people might see him as a hero, but in the process of nationalization the lands and the business of the US corporations in Cuba he also created a bit of a collateral damage. If you ask the millions of middle class people ( Cuban businessmen, because Cuba's middle class was strong) how they feel about the person who took away their grocery stores that their family started or the land that they slaved over to provide for the basic needs of the family, I think their opinion would probably be quite different.
         He was a hero for the poor, the under privileged. But he was not thinking of the society as a whole. He was advocating equality and education but also military training. These ideologies would change the conditions of the poor class but what about the society as a whole? He was a man of passionate convictions who would not compromise, but was essentially after Cuba, ineffective. I think his desire to better people's lives was admirable.
           In focusing on the lower class he was doing the very thing that he fought against, that is social discrimination. He started focusing only on a certain section of the society. When a vision narrows down as drastically as this, it seizes to be a vision and the change from development to destruction makes all the difference. But if we speak of him as a revolutionary, the rise and fall of Che is an ode to the established laws of communication. It was easier to convince the poor class because he promised them what they needed. But what about the middle class? That's where it started to go wrong."
Comparing him to his contemporary Fidel Castro, Fidel remained back for Cuba whereas Che left started looking for other revolutions. He was more focused in destroying than building on what already existed. Maybe the very presence of Fidel among the Cubans physically working 'with'them towards their country's revolution, which mattered more to them than Che's 'world'revolution was responsible for bringing about a sense of abandonment in the hearts of the Cubans and their turning oblivious to Che's plight. Sort of a tit for tat situation.
            Cut to the 21st century even now when revolutionaries stand up with a vision noble in every way the plan of action may not begin with but ends with violence. Violence is not communication. Violence suppresses communication. No one can justify killing innocent lives and the biggest example will be Che where violence spoke louder than his vision.
             But thats just my conclusion. 

Common questions asked to Muslims- My experience and my take

Common questions that are asked to me because I am a Muslim and I chose to wear a Hijab. I have revamped my blog and removed all my old posts, except for one. The one that I truly identify myself with. 

Just when I thought that we were done with racism and stereotypes I was yet again proved wrong. I have faced judgements like these almost for five years now, five years because that’s how long I have been wearing my Hijab. So with Hijab comes the very expected curiosity especially when I CHOSE to wear it. The most common (good) questions like, why did you choose to wear it? What’s the best thing about it? Etc and the common silly questions like do you feel hot in it? Do you wear this at home too? Not that I mind answering these questions and trust me I do n I will continue to, but these questions amuse me a lot. Because obviously people who ask me are some of d smartest people, even well read but unfortunately blinded by the image and stereotypes created by the media or just blinded because they choose to be that way. In today’s world when information is just a click away, it does get frustrating for me. The questions and the stereotypes don't frustrate me, it’s the people. It’s frustrating because it’s not like the people have come from the jungles of Africa that they need to know like does it feel hot when fully clothed? Hell yes it does, don't you feel hot too in those jeans, hell yeah you do? The temperatures around 41degrees, even a naked man will feel hot. In my case I just would be feeling a little hotter than everyone else, so what was the question again? Do I wear my Hijab at home, for the record I DON'T. The whole purpose of my Hijab is that I decide what I want the others to see. No you cannot see my hair if I don't want you to, no you cannot see my hands, my legs, I have the power, the authority to decide what I want others to see. I feel freedom, I feel confident, I feel powerful and I feel the opposite of oppressed. A piece of cloth, a non living thing cannot oppress me but a human can. I have had these “cool” suggestions given to me like, you can remove your Hijab in the college, your parents wouldn't know etc. Please know that my Hijab is not for my parents, it is for me and for my creator. I am not afraid of my parents, I am afraid of losing myself in this materialistic world of western slavery that we term as being progressive. After the questions that I have been asked by some of the most "modern" people I believe, let me tell you, it’s not the clothes that make you progressive, it’s your mind. Especially us Indians, the western world is our scale to determine the modernisms or progressiveness, why is that? I am sorry to say but I got my independence in 1947 and I don't need a western scale of modernity to tell me how progressive I am. My education, my job, the luxuries I have been blessed with is my point to prove how progressive I am, not my clothes. Women pilot in Hijab, women scientists in Hijab, women doctors in Hijab( fun fact: a survey conducted by Indian express says that in Srinagar, which is a Muslim populated area, there is at least one girl who is a doctor in every house), soon a woman journalist in Hijab( yes I am talking about me, lol), name it and I'll tell you, only that I don't support spoon feeding and I'd rather have the people just take a little time out and start learning about what's happening in the world today and Google it themselves. We haven't progressed if we still continue to have stereotypes ingrained in our brain cells like today someone told me "Arabs with their 10 wives" and Arab women with their Gucci’s and Versace’s inside their Hijab, obviously taken out from the Hollywood movies, I can actually list some out but that’s not my point. No, Arabs don't have ten wives; they are normal family people just like us Indians, in fact traditional just like us. Do some have more than one wife? They probably do but that’s a whole another topic of discussion on polygamy. And true fact, polygamy exists in my country India too, but that’s just the truth, the fact being that according to a survey the percentage of people practising it is NOT the minority community. So my point is, with this fact I'd rather concentrate on my country and try to figure out where the problem lies rather than the country I hardly know about.  All with globalization and, thousands of Indians employed in the Gulf aka the Arab countries I thought people would know better. The Arab countries are one of the most technologically driven countries of the world. The technologies used in Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc are so futuristic that we can only expect to see it in movies when in the real world the Arabs already have it. Modes of travelling: they have camels and horses and then they have the sports cars and bikes, that’s the most progressive the human species can be. And if they still decide to travel on camels( which I find is the coolest ride ever) or decide to wear the Hijab, what with the oil resource and money the creator has blessed them with aaaand still have traditions very much alive and going, then that is progressiveness.

Please know that, this post is not a rant, it’s just answers to the most common questions asked to me. I don't think the questions are going to stop coming my way after this post. And I will continue to answer them in future, patiently, the way I've been doing it. When people continuously ask me questions like these, I doubt their intentions. What do they expect? Do they expect my answers to change every time or what is it? For the record, my answers will remain the same because the questions are repeatedly the same. No, I will not feel embarrassed or insulted, I will only be amused. Yes, I will never stop answering your questions and your doubts because I stand by what I believe because I am strong like that.  This strength comes from the technologies I have, from the hoards of books my Dad has piled in our home, from his knowledge that he passes on to me and my siblings and last but not the least from the faith and belief that I stand by so strongly, that has made me this progressive.  

Life of Pi - Review by Insha

Life of Pi is a tale of persistence, survival and discovery. The movie directed by Ang Lee is an adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel. It is about a young man named Pi, who survives a ship wreck while losing his entire family rendering him an orphan. The movie is a delight for animal lovers as it is teeming with a variety of animals and birds in the backdrop of a zoo with a melodious background music that just works amazingly with the visuals.

The movie begins with the adult Pi’s interaction with a writer who is sent by his uncle who he calls ‘mamaji’, with a promise that it will make him believe in God. The writer and Pi are seen having a conversation while Pi cooks him some vegetarian food. The writer’s question to the protagonist about how he came to be called Pi, who is played by the very versatile actor Irrfan Khan, is how the movie begins, in flashbacks as it is narrated by Pi himself. It shows how his uncle who is an obsessive swimmer, names him after a swimming pool in Paris called Piscene molitor and to avoid being teased he starts doing random things like writing the entire value of the number Pi and giving little speeches during every roll call. Needless to say, he succeeds. But the writer’s main interest remains to be in the promise of making him believe in God which is how the story begins.

Pi begins with his childhood which shows the beginning of his fascination towards different religions. He visits the church and the mosque and starts practising the religions along with the religion he was born in, which is Hinduism.

Pi’s father owns the zoo shown in the beginning of the movie. Pi when still young tries to befriend the tiger in the zoo, but his father in the form of punishment and instilling a little caution shows him how a tiger can’t be a human’s friend, to prove against Pi’s argument of the tiger having a soul too. He shows how the tiger hunts, by letting Pi watch the tiger kill a goat kept in front of the cage at the same place where Pi had been sitting before. After which Pi sobers down his inquisitiveness and his life until his teen years. His life is uneventful until financial troubles and lack of help for the zoo’s maintenance causes his family to leave for Canada. This journey is where begins Pi’s unexpected adventure of discovery.

The shipwreck happens due to some vague, natural conditions and in the process Pi loses his family making him the sole survivor with a zebra and a hyena as his companions on the lifeboat. He tries to save another living form from drowning in the brutal waves, and to his horror he finds that it’s not a human after all and actually a Bengal tiger. As the storm mellows down he also saves an Orangutan. As he tries to come to terms with the loss of his family, he is also scared of the tiger and the hyena that could possibly kill him.

The wild animals soon end up behaving like wild animals and killing each other, Pi finds himself in the company of the tiger. With a survivors guide, few cartons of biscuits and canisters of drinking water, the boy and the tiger make the extraordinary journey through storms and extreme periods of starvation. Even with the tested times they make it through, with immense strength and faith. As the journey progresses the bond between Pi which is played by Suraj Sharma, a commendable job, and the tiger increases and becomes deeper. 

They experience the beauty of the ocean as they have never done before, with amazing fish and nautical creatures, which depict the beautiful gifts of God to mankind, creations that man cannot even fathom. Even Pi is shown marvelled with what he sees and experiences. There comes a time when all seems lost, when the boy has gone through all the sufferings and distress he could bear, and his strength and courage have been tested to the extreme, when they come across a floating island. The island provides them with water, food, shelter and an unbelievable number of Meer Kat. But the boy is in for a toss as the island 'takes everything away at night that it gave by the day’. This makes Pi realise that the journey does not end here. One realises through this that God indeed has provided us with everything in this world, good or bad. But to avoid the trap of human nature, of abandoning a journey forever for a moment’s respite, anything can prove to be fatal if exploited and used excessively. Through all of this the boy’s faith increases even more. It is his faith which gives him the courage to realize that his journey will come to an end sometime and he will live to see the day.

As the boy, exhausted, reaches the Mexican shore, the tiger leaves him for a nearby forest along the shoreline without once looking back. After all that they had been through throughout the journey, Pi realizes the bond forged between them is as yet unbroken, at least for him, and he mourns the loss of his only surviving friend while being carried away by a rescue party. The movie comes back to the present, as the adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) is seen teary eyed, as he recalls the moment of the tiger leaving him without even a proper good bye.

It is not just through Pi and his story that the movie claims to initiate belief in God but through those unseen moments, the unknown creations that humans can never claim to fully explain. It is the beauty of the world, the hope, the faith that keeps the boy alive with the tiger, the belief that the tiger has a soul, has emotions that it remembers the past kindness of the boy. The terrible beauty of the island, the amazing phenomena he experiences, the faith that keeps him motivated, that stops him from going insane and losing all hope, and his gratefulness to God with every new experience, good or bad, it is through all of this that the movie fulfils its promise to increase belief in God, if you have it in you to accept it. That is the whole point of the movie, that there are two kinds of people, one who will watch the movie and only see suffering and chance encounters with help at the right moments but the other kind will watch it and be in for an amazing beautiful ride filled with courage and never ending hope. From the former point of view, halfway through the journey any average person would have completely lost all hope and given up very early, but this loophole is satisfactorily explained to the people who support the latter point of view, that repeated signs from God resulting in the strengthening of his belief even further helped Pi keep faith until the very end of his journey.

With the digitally created beasts, Ang Lee and his technicians have done an amazing job of making these animals look utterly real. The computer generated effects are commendable. The movie as a whole is worth a watch and must not be missed.

     

THE BLOG BEST FORGOTTEN...

  So here I am typing away on my computer, lost in thought, in the middle of the night. The night is quiet and chilly. Not a single dog barking, there's a weird silence. Silence and quietness can be anything from peaceful, for someone, to scary, to another. Speaking of scary, my mind's now thinking about all those horror movies that I have watched, picturing the scariest of scenes that I would give anything to forget. The Exorcism and The Ring make it first on the list ( And as I am typing, I sneak a peek at my widely open window). Sure that something's about to make some noise, or a dog's about to howl, as always. But its not happening, so that's a relief.

Anyway, its like me and my brain have a love-hate relationship ( I am also trying to decide which one's more dominant, 'love' or 'hate'?) It wants to remember the crappiest of memories when I don't want to, but when I want to remember something for real, something extraaaa important, it makes sure I can't, real mature! So like right now, I had this amazzzzing topic to blog about and it just wants me to concentrate on the eerie silence that surrounds me. And now that it has succeeded in doing that, and brought back those awesome memories of my daredevilry of watching hardcore horror movies, I sign out of the blog, shut the PC down and go off to sleep, with the lights in my room on and a blanket over my head aaaaand probably a nightmare to look forward to.....sigh, my brain hates me.

THE GREAT INDIAN FOOD ‘TAMAASHA’ - Insha Khan

You might be familiar with these words,

MAHARASHTRIAN:

A typical Maharashtrian lunch or dinner usually starts with Poli (chapati), accompanied by one or more bhaaji(s) (cooked vegetables) and a koshimbir (vegetable salad) along with some sides (usually pickles, Chutneys, or papad (Poppadom)). This is usually followed by a second course of varan (lightly or unspiced Daal preparation), aamti (spicy Daal preparation) or rassa with rice.

NORTH INDIAN:

North Indian food includes a lot of spices, chilies  saffron, milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese, ghee (clarified butter) and nuts.

SOUTH INDIAN:

Idli, sambar, vadai, rasam, dosa, thayir sadam (yogurt rice), kootu (vegetables in wet style), poriyal/kari (vegetables in dry style), uthappam and papadum (baked lentil-flour crisps).

BENGALI:

Bengali Cuisine generally consists of a variety of rice dishes and fresh water fish delicacies. Bengali Food consists of curries, fish dishes, chicken cuisines, pulses, fries, chutneys, Bengali sweets, snacks and many more.

Wipe that trickle of water from your mouth. You might have guessed by now where this article is going. Behold! The great Indian food tamaasha! And no it’s not our fault, this obsession (yes, I shall use that word) with food is a legacy that has been handed down to us for generations dating back to the Indian mythological Gods Ganesha and Krishna. Now who are we to question the wisdom of the ages?

People grab lunch or leave without breakfast or just make it to dinner but we, we plan our entire schedule around our food. People all around the world just eat. Period. We? We like to eat with a capital A. I mean really eat. It’s a ceremony in itself, there’s no denying the fact.

There is a certain way a typical Indian household works its way to dinner. A common thing about every Indian ‘Gharaana’ is the way we have a timetable for our daily meals. Everything can wait; everything can be delayed, except for the meals. The meal starts from the pre-breakfast tea, breakfast, elevenses, lunch, post-lunch naashta, evening tea and last but not the least the extensive dinner. Let it be a Gujrati, a Punjabi, a South Indian, North Indian or even a Maharashtrian, the above list is a must for your survival, or you have a serious eating disorder according to the Indian health standards. The Indians unite on one thing, which is clearly food, no exaggeration; we Indians are crazy about food and have a very intimate relationship with it. Let us forget the diabetes, the cholesterol, the obesity etc. that is just not our concern. Our love for food goes beyond all the diseases that can happen with the amount of spice, oil and dairy products we have every single day.

Every morning starts from the ‘Masala Chai’ that has the strong scent of the ‘adrak’ which gives a tingling feeling in the throat as you drink it, without that, the ‘chai’ isn’t even worth it. And not forgetting the ’Dubuk’ which can be anything from the popular Parle-g or Marie biscuit to the traditional ‘khaari-toast’, this makes the pre- breakfast. Then there’s the breakfast that varies state to state or even house to house. In a typical Maharashtrian household it is the spicy ‘Kaanda poha’ or the ‘Saabuddaana wada’, in a north Indians house it is different types of  ‘Paraathas’ which is a variety from ‘Aaloo Paraatha’ to ‘Paraathaas’ that are made using fresh green vegetables and flour. Fried in oil the paraathaas are crispy outside and soft inside, the filling spicy. It is served with heap of butter or ghee melting because of the steam right infront of your eyes. Last but not the least ‘Lassi’, which is essential to complete your meal if you are a Punjabi or ‘chaas’ if you’re a Maharashtrian. Burping is a necessity or you aren’t full and satisfied. Then the South Indian breakfast that has the ‘Idlis’ and ‘dosas’. The common thing between all the above is the spicy green chutney.

Then the lunch which is a combination of vegetable ‘Sabzi’ cooked in oil and spices, ‘Roti’ made of wheat flour, rice and ‘Daal’ with a ‘Tadkaa’. Mind you, the ‘Tadkaa’ is important, without which the daal is simply inedible. The ‘Ghee’ is cooked hot, added are ‘Jeera’ aka Cumin seeds, ‘Rai’ aka Mustard seeds, ‘Kadipatta’ aka Curry leaf, green chilies and ‘Hing’ aka Asafoetida which makes the necessary ‘Tadkaa’ put in the Daal, sometimes rice and even curry. And that’s not it, a little dessert is important that is the sweet ending to a yummy lunch.

Post lunch is another time for ‘Chai’ and snacks. The packets of banana chips, wafers and cream biscuits are put in front of everyone. It is a perfect combination, hot tea and crunchy chips. A time for the whole family to sit together and chat; and then begins the preparation of dinner. Dinner is a huge affair, a spread of food, buffet style. The dinner is not at all formal, it is extremely casual, where anyone can pick up food whenever they want, mingle around and chat about politics, the ‘good old days’ or even love. The important thing is that food should be accessible all the time. The dinner includes the usual ‘Roti’, ‘Daal’ (not forgetting the Tadkaa), more than two types of vegetable sabzi most of the time and if non vegetarian, then chicken is a must. Last but not the least the dessert, without which an Indian meal is incomplete. Gulaab Jaamun in ‘Chaashni’, Jalebi, ‘Kheer’ made out if thick milk, sugar and rice or ‘Shahi Tukdaa’ with a layer of cream on it makes a perfect end to a day.

That is what happens even when one visits their village, the grandmothers make sure the above timetable is followed and you are stuffed with all the “healthy” food that they have.  They will on no account believe that you are stuffed enough to puke, prejudiced as they are that the people from the city starve themselves.

Food and Indians have a connection that goes beyond the conventional concepts of ‘man’s basic needs’. As is commonly heard, some people eat to live and some live to eat. Needless to say, we fall in the latter category.  What is a festival without a big buffet of mouth-watering delicacies? What is a wedding without the guests blessing the food available as much as the bride? What is a cricket marathon without several bags of farsaan, samosas and wada paos? What is a baby’s naming ceremony without the guests’ mouths working as much as the baby’s? If you ever need to find Indians among a crowd of foreigners, just hold up a tray of food and see the magic. As the Indian saying goes – “Ek anaar, sau bimaar!” 

EFFECIENCY, DISCIPLINE AND TIME

Effeciency depends on discipline and discipline is the value of time. A thing which is hard to observe in todays world. when a person values his time and others, he is disciplined about doing things on time and not procrastinating something and making it a burden on himself and others.When a person is disciplined he tries to prevent any future problems by taking care of it before hand without wasting time, then he is truely effecient.....This is a part of one of my articles on Indian government system. Really philosophical but very true. I asked my mother to read it and my mommy told me ," ummm, the article's good, but , don't we need a little introspection". It was realy funny and I could not wait to blog about it ;)...lol

MASS MEDIA AND THE FREEDOM IT OFFERS!!

Being a student of mass media, everyday there is a barrage of some new debate, some new discussion,some new argument, some new doubt,some new clarification, some new question, some new answers, which eventually helps us learn some new things. Taking mass media as a career option not only has become a learning experience for me but also has become a great source of knowledge about the different views of different people on worldly matters like terrorism,politics,corruption etc etc. Being able to share my views freely with people who may or may not agree with me on such issues is satisfying.
Even though certain questions raised to me have been challenging but I have been able to answer them with pleasure and to my own personal satisfaction and I am thankful to god about it. I am like the sole representer of my community(in college) and I happily accept ths responsibilty because not only is my community, my religion 'ISLAM' is being misunderstood but also wrongly quoted and is judged in a negative manner only because of the blind latching on to the 'ISLAMIC TERRORIST' steriotype.
Being a student of mass media and a muslim has enabled me to express my views fearlessly.