Educating India?

Recently, we are listening of all the plans of Kapil Sibal, our honourary HRD minister, of revamping the education system of our country. And it is including all kinds of different methods, from eliminating the marking system and introducing grading system, decreasing the board exams to singular, and on the bigger stage, allowing foreign universities, and uniting all the schools under one board are quite motivating for a ministry which was long ignored by the government. Seriously, the last time I heard of any change in education system was the introduction of the OBC quota, which didn’t go well with me. But again, that is a different issue I don’t wish to comment on.

Some people also speculated that Kapil Sibal is moving way too fast than supposed. On this thought, I remember an article by Shekhar Gupta, some days later, titled “Babuji Dheere Chalna” becoming the anthem of our society. Clearly, when we have an important ministry under a person highly educated, we are bound to see such changes coming by.
What even astonished me, that the board exams which were reduced in standards from the time I gave exams, were again re-patterned to introduce some innovation compelling the students to think of what they are studying. Clearly, marks will not alone matter because, the marks are vanished. So, read to gain knowledge, not marks.
Speculations are important part of an democratic country. It helps in the betterment of the society. I was reading a editorial in Indian Express titled “The Marketplace Of Ideas” by Mr. D. Raja discussing the after effects of the redesigning of the Indian educational system. Clearly, an in-depth knowledge and far sightedness can lead to such articles. And I totally affirm with the predicament of the salaried middle-class people. But while reading, I thought, is it “wrong” of HRD ministry, or the psychology of the people. And I will discuss more about this, rather than giving a decision on the decisions.

For a long time, we are seeing the importance of brand-name over knowledge. Getting admissions in the public schools, coached in the best institutes, then IITs, IIMs. The knowledge period starts from a time when the child is just learning its own being. Pre-nursery, nursery, LKG, UKG, school, graduation, post-graduation, the list never ends. And all the parents need the best. If asked, what is best? Most people don’t know the actual reason.

I am not talking about IIT or IIM here. They are the topmost college not for their name only. The curriculum is very tough and is designed specifically to bring out the best. Day-night classes, assignments, two exams in a day. It is a fanatic race of educationists. Clearly, the students deserve big bucks for all the efforts they have put to clear the exams. But is clearing the exam enough to judge a person of his capabilities? If yes, then how many IITians become scientists and how many IIMians become future business leaders? And if IITs have so terrific curriculum, then why most of them choose IIMs, and the biggest question mark, how do companies prefer such people?

The success of a student clearly depends how much he can absorb from the environment. If a student who is liking what he is doing, he will definitely do good, no matter what his alma-mater is. And when we are talking about schools, the differences sublime. I have seen many idiots from top public schools, and many excellent students from government schools. Leaving the fame, we should stress on the quality of the education and the abilities of the child. Let him choose the right path, let parents help him to choose his destiny. When he will do what he likes, he will definitely prosper in it. And that is how, a better workforce will be built for the country.
Recently, there is a beautiful film released which dealt with this question mark in its ulterior. And I clearly remember, “Baccha kaabil ban, kamyabi jhak maar ke piche ayegi”. Go for excellence, success will follow you. And to the larger part of the audience who believe this part is unachievable, the fact is that it is true.

A Different Song: Aik Alif

This is not my creation, but I wanted to post it because I want this song to be my part of life till my demise, and I come back to it when I get depressed..



This is the song in youtube, listen to it when you have time and read the lyrics
(http://www.koolmuzone.com/forum/music-infonews/bulleh-shah-aik-alif-(lyrics-translation-history)/)

I am still posting the lyrics of the song:

Parh parh ilm te faazil hoya
Te kaday apnay aap nu parhya ee na

(You read to become all knowledgeable But you never read yourself)

You read so many books to know it all, yet fail to ever read your heart at all.

Bhaj bhaj warna ay mandir maseeti
Te kaday mann apnay wich warya ee na

(You run to enter temples and mosques But you never entered your own heart)

You rush to holy shrines to play a part, Would you dare enter the shrine of your heart

Larna ay roz shaitaan de naal
Te kadi nafs apnay naal larya ee na

(Everyday you fight Satan But you never fight your own Ego)

You are quick to attack the evil one, yet pride is a battle you have not won.

Bulleh Shah asmaani ud-deya pharonda ay
Te jera ghar betha unoon pharya ee na

(Bulleh Shah you try grabbing that which is in the sky But you never get hold of What sits inside you)

You grab for a star you can control, yet fail to grasp the light in your soul.

Bas kareen o yaar
(Stop it all my friend)

Let the race end, my friend

Ilm-oun bas kareen o yaar
Ik Alif teray darkaar

(Stop seeking all this knowledge my friend Only an Alif is what you need)

Stop trying to be the one who knows, for ‘God is One’ you need to know.

Bas kareen o yaar
(Stop it all my friend)

End the race, my friend

Allah Sayyaan Allah Sayyaan
(God is the Master, God is All)

God is All we need! God is All!

Nee main jaanaa Jogi de naal

(I shall follow the Yogi)

Follow the wandering dervish!

Jo naa jaane, Haqq ki taaqat
Rabb naa devey us ko Himmat

(Those who deny the Strength of Truth Lord does not give them courage)

If you deny the power of all that’s true, God will not grant strength to you.

Hum Mann ke darya mein doobey
Kaisi nayya? Kya manjhdhaar?

(We have drowned in the river of Self the boat and the flowing waters do not matter)

We are lost in this river of self, no boat or streams are of any help.

Bas kareen o yaar
(Stop it all my friend)

End the race, my friend

Ilm-oun bas kareen o yaar
(Stop seeking all this knowledge my friend)

Stop trying to know it all, my friend.

Allah Sayyaan Allah Sayyaan
(God is the Master, God is All)

God is All we need! God is All!



And ofcourse do remember, according to Old Testament of Bible, We can refer God as our own MIND.

MUMBAI from a DELHITE Vantage

It has been a while now I am doing Up and Down in Mumbai, atleast once in an year, sometimes twice the same year. My half a month minimum of one year is spent in Mumbai. It was always in my mind to compare the two cosmopolitans, both somewhat my home now. Maybe I am under-informed or slightly away from the actual picture. My Mumbai friends can easily rectify me and come up with more points, but following is my spectacle to look at the metro city and what makes it unique and different from its counterpart in the north.

1. People: Lots of them. Mumbai is a crowded place. It may be true that Delhi is crowded too. But it looks more in Mumbai because the area is too less for the people to dwell. While on the road, you can see cars, auto-rikshaws, passersby, and shops on the same road.
2. Time: Mumbai is a fast paced city. It is a city that never stops. Be it a terrorist attack, bomb-blast, floods, rain. Look out of your window, you can see people constantly moving around doing their job. This is because Mumbai has no time for petite issues. Fight for living in the cosmopolitan city takes out the necessary time needed to look into such issues.
3. Weather: Humid. Very Humid, very very humid. That’s the only thing I hate about Mumbai and wish I don’t come here. Sea on the side, you wont expect your clothes dry when you go outside. And the most biggest problem is it feels like someone has put a layer of dirt and sweat on your face to prevent you from more tarnishing. Delhi is as hot as Mumbai, may be even two or three degrees more than that, but I like Delhi summers, because it lives there for five months maximum, and it is not humid at all. The heat can kill you but in the month of June, you will hardly get a drop of sweat on your forehead.
4. Train: I had only once experienced in the locals of Mumbai, that too on a holiday. I was told that I am very lucky I haven’t seen the actual crowd of second class bogey. Delhi metro is going through such crowds nowadays, but Mumbai has this for a long time. It is said that it is the lifeline of Mumbai. And I realized it because a trip which could take 3 hours easily on the road was completed in 30 minutes via the train. People travel from surrounding regions, Thane, Nasik, to work in Mumbai. It is definitely a must fro everyone who visits Mumbai. And yes, do keep vigilance of your belongings. It is highly likely you come out of the train with torn pockets.
5. Autorickshaas: You want to go to Dahisar, Kandivali, Bandra, Ghatkopar, or Santa Cruz, you will get an auto. And that too, with a meter. You don’t have to ask them how much will they charge because unlike Delhi, it is evident in Mumbai that riksha means charging with Meter. There is no u-turn in it. It is highly unlikely that you wont get this public convenience if you are going out. Watch the roads and you will see more of these black-yellow vehicle than the others.
6. Traffic: Oh my god! You get irritated standing in Delhi at Naraina crossing? Come to Mumbai, and you will get a two kilometers of traffic jams. I was lucky I was going to catch a train to Aurangabad and I was on the opposite side of the road. I was just looking at the huge traffic that went on and on. And if you think that Highways may be a solution to all these, then I would like to correct you because I saw the traffic jams on the highways only. This time, it was due to a religious procession going on the small road. Yes, a freeway’s small road because if you have come from Delhi, you will be used to six lane roads.
7. Vada Pao: Desi Burger. I cant get over it. I have been to Mumbai for six to seven times now, and every time I come here, Vada Pao is something I never miss. Even when my sister visits, I expect her to come with lots of them, so that my one time meal includes Vada Pao only. It is amazing to see a conglomerate of potato in bread is so famous in Maharasthra. And I crave for it because not a single place in Delhi sells Vada Pao.

There are many other things special about Mumbai which we read in Newspapers like City of Rain Harvesting, Shiv Sena and now Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and Bollywood, but I haven’t faced any of these in my visits to Mumbai, so wont beable to comment on that. But if I ever come here to live, I would definitely give my take on them too.

Dan Brown

It takes a lot of time to compose a Dan Brown. And the earlier books are even more complex than the newer ones. Probably, after Deception point and Digital Fortress, Dan Brown realized that research in science is not worth the moolahs, so he switched to Religion and tasted success. Bestseller success.
I was skeptic of reading Lost Symbol, but after I completed it, I thought to read his last book i didn’t touch, or the very first book he wrote, Deception Point. Although I must discuss it, but I don’t find it much worth because now that I have read all his books, I want to give a whole synopsis.
Dan Brown is a master researcher. He puts way more effort to bring out the maximum thriller. He describes the vision so beautifully that you can actually see a movie going on in front of you in the books. One of my friend was upset by such style, but I felt it is important to make the plot. And when you actually start getting bored by his description, he includes a twists. In each of his chapter, you will find the story going forward and leaving you in an urge to read the next. Believe me, because I finished my first tour of Dan Brown named “The Da Vinci Code” in abysmal conditions. I just couldn’t concentrate on my studies for an entrance exam three days away due to the growing suspicion in the plot.
Secondly, he will never give you a hint what will happen in the end, who will end up to be the villain here. I read all his books, assumed one as the negative person, and every time, a good person came out to be the biggest rogue of the novel..
Apart from all these, he has a certain speed in his storytelling, not too slow like Ayn Rand(mainly because hers is a proper philosophy class) and not too fast(Sidney Sheldon I heard has a very huge speed of storytelling, I have to check that though). For new readers, his books are a must have. Atleast, it will germinate the seed of reading in you. I don’t know how much voracious readers would like it, but readers like me, Dan Brown is a feast.

MNIK : A Movie, A Message

My Name is Khan and I am not a Terrorist.
The movie is not just a movie, it is a message for the whole world. It is not meant for Americans or white people, it is not directed towards one group, but it is for every person, every nation and every religion. It is a world issue camouflaged in a movie.
I will term it as a brave movie, it is a movie which needs guts and conviction to be told. Karan Johar has matured from being a romantic director to something too serious. His last venture, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna may haven’t topped the box office collection, but it is his best movie after MNIK. ShahRukh Khan has given his career best performance and you will recognize him only as Rizvan Khan in the movie.
It deals with two issues. One is, our perception that every muslim is a terrorist. Second, for those people who are deteriorating the position of common Muslims by their belligerent nature. The film tells us, that it is time that we stop classifying people on the name of religion, but just good and bad. There is no religion in the world, which promotes killing and terrorism. Every war has personal motives of few people. They influence young minds by giving them wrong interpretations of religion and making them believe that their deeds will seek them a place in heaven. Or I should say, their hatred grows so much that they forget which is the path of God. And this thing is not only for one religion or one cast, it happens everywhere irrespective of religion. We have examples in our daily life. Bombings in India, Pakistan, America shows that bombs knows no religion and terrorists belong to no castes.
My name is Khan touched me deeply. It has all the instances of everything I said above, told beautifully. It is a must watch movie for the whole world, including all religions. It is a movie to kill the perception that every Muslim is terrorist. It is time we focus on mankind, providing them love and friendship, because that is the most important thing required as of now. Judge people by their deeds and not on their caste and creed. Atlast, we are all human beings living together in a society, trying to be happier every second of our life.
(P.S – I don’t know whether ShahRukh Khan and Karan Johar will receive award for this because it is too early in 2010 and a lot of movies yet to hit the screens, but I surely feel that this movie will receive the RamNath Goenka Screen Award)

An Ageless Character

Very recently, I have been surrounded by words of appreciations for Aamir Khan from all parts, be it newspaper, magazine, critics, friends and my parents. His movie, 3 Idiots has broken all time records of Hindi Cinema. Everybody is applauding his character of a 20 year old boy. I always love his performance, but when asked about my favorite actor, I always choose Shahrukh Khan. But at this moment, I couldn’t restrict myself from writing about the all-age actor, Aamir Khan.
I hardly remember earlier movies of Aamir Khan. He was just another actor for me before Lagaan. I do remember some of his movies, which I liked the most. Sarfarosh, Ghulam, Ishq to name a few. But in current Bollywood, he is a raging moolah. His past six out of eight films were runaway hits, some of them even breaking records becoming the highest grosser. And most of the time, Aamir Khan’s movie is breaking the record of another Aamir Khan’s movie. What makes him the Midas touch of films?
I was watching a tata sky advertisement of Aamir Khan, in which he is the husband of Gul Panag and introducing us with the advantages of Tata Sky Plus. Then I remembered a few more advertisements by the same actor but in totally different and unrecognizable getups.
1. An gray beard Sardar, fed up with Tata Sky.
2. Husbandfrom one part and Wife from the other part, introducing Tata Sky.
3. A Nepali offering a couple with Coca-Cola.
4. A whole family, with each member played by Aamir Khan, in a Coca-Cola advertisement.
These are some of my memorable ads of Aamir Khan. Maybe, there are some more, but the above four really left a mark in my memory. All these advertisement are different from one another. And what fits Aamir in all of them is his meticulous effort in each one of them. He makes the character so real that it is hard to believe that you are actually watching Aamir Khan in the role of a sardar or a middle-aged auntiji.
What really attracted me about Aamir Khan is the huge age differences between him and his roles and the diversity in each of them. If we take a look at some of his last fewblockbuster movies.
1. 3 Idiots – A 18-20 year old student studying Engineering.
2. Ghajini – An amnesia patient in search of his lover’s murderer.
3. Taare Zameen Par - A teacher and also, the director of the film.
4. Fanaa – A terrorist
5. Rang De Basanti - A 25 year old spoilt lad but immense guts.
6. Mangal Pandey – Historical figure
7. Dil Chahta Hai – An aimless young guy (perhaps my all time favorite)
8. Lagaan – A villager in pre-independence time.
Lately, he has chose all different and diverse roles, and in none of them, age is being a factor for him. Whether it’s DJ, who doesn’t care about his country but can die for his friends, or an amnesia patient with a physique difficult to achieve in the age of 43 when your metabolic rate has slowed down. And the most important and the latest one, a boy full of chirpiness and gaiety, Rancho, played by an actor more than twice than the age of the character. Not even once, I felt that Aamir has grown old to fit in such kind of roles. I was watching Rancho and his naughty innocent expressions found in every college boy.
I am not trying to epitomize Aamir Khan, what I am merely trying to imply is that Aamir is god-gifted. His acting has really broken all barriers of age, and has shifted the focus on square one, perfect acting.
I never think that I will ever say Aamir Khan is my favorite actor, since I am used to write ShahRukh Khan’s name in every slambook I fill, but I would always remember that the actor with great abilities will always amuse people worldwide with just pure acting, may be every year till earth lives.

FPS vs 3I

Thursday, 24 December 2009. Paid premier of 3 idiots. Rumored to be a Five Point someone adaptation, but foiled by Chetan Bhagat himself, an interview I saw in the television days before. I clearly heard him that the only thing same about the two entities is that the boys involved are Engineering Students. So, while watching the film I completely forgot about comparing them.
The movie is surely a hit. A master plot penned by Rajkumar Hirani, with drastic twists and turns, compelling you to laugh and cry at the same time. And if you are an engineer, you can relate and learn more from it. A heavy movie, that’s what I said when my friends asked for reviews.
Its only after my father, who has read and criticized each and every book of Chetan Bhagat including the latest, 2 states, told me that it’s a true adaptation with maximum plots taken from the book. But I refused to accept it because both of them made different marks in my mind, then how can be both of them similar?
Five point someone is a book with a tagline, what not to do in IIT. It tells the story of Chetan Bhagat with fictionalizing some of the parts. But 3 Idiots is totally a different motive film, it focuses on the lost causes of life and education. It stresses on the point that Excellence is more important than success. So, are we forcefully trying to prove that both the novel and the film are the same thing?
No. We are not trying to prove the same. Neither Chetan Bhagat is. The film production team came to him and bought the rights of the film, and paid him the commission he is entitled to. He was told that the movie will be only 5-10% of the book. It doesn’t matter when you have bought the whole rights of the book. What matters is that Chetan Bhagat has no name from starting to the end of the movie. He does have a name in the end of the film, in the rolling credits, but to see that, I had to go to the hall and sit till the end for the second time to catch a glimpse of it. The name of the novelist and the book appears after a long list of the cast. More than that, the director of the film, Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi took the whole credits of writing the story, without mentioning that it is adapted or re-adapted.

Generally, when a film is made on a novel, in the very start or just after the last scene of the movie, the name of the novelist appears, atleast the phrase, “BASED ON”. Many films in Hollywood are made in the same manner and they gice due credits to the original writer, no matter what or how they adapted it. Even our bollywood movie KAMINEY had the initials, “based on the story of CAJETAN BOY”. So was it so hard for The 3 Idiots team to give due respect to the original writer, or do they think they can escape this plausible situation?
Even if they deny and say that Chetan Bhagat is doing all this for mere publicity, people of India know which part of the story is correct. Those who have read the book and have seen the film, must have lost some respect for Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan.
I liked the book and the film too. And according to me, it was wrong in the 3I’s part that they didn’t give the respect Chetan Bhagat deserved. Novelist in our country need to be encouraged and not merely discouraged with such incidents, because truth can be barely hidden in such cases.