Muddled Minds

Why is it impossible to concentrate on anything continuously, while sitting in front of a computer? I’m working, while looking up the cricket score. I’m reading news, while checking e-mail. I’m watching a movie, while chatting on my IM.

Is internet the culprit or the deeply flawed individual who uses it?

Review: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

There is something deeply disturbing about this novel. Behind the restrained prose, the reader is allowed to sense the arrival of an impending doom. In this terrifying indictment of middle class suburban life (one that most Indians desperately crave for), Yates portrays lives that are uncharacteristically unhappy. The characters seem to have every material comfort in life that is seen as a pre-requisite for happiness, but such is the deep tragedy of his vision, even a remotely un-tragic ending is not possible.

The novel happens in 1950s suburban east coast America. Frank and April are the seemingly perfect couple with beautiful kids. Frank describes his job as “the most boring job in the world.”, but is unwilling to leave his job for something unknown. April is a deeply conflicted person who fails to come to terms with her domesticated life. Before marriage she sees Frank as a charming man destined to go places. But his obvious unwillingness to move away from a secured life creates a sense of disillusion and unhappiness.

As they make their way from one domestic crisis to another, one last attempt at happiness is made. Frank and April decide to move to Paris, where she would support the family and he would have time to find himself. But such is their tragic story that even this move ends unhappily.

In many ways 1950s suburban America is symbolic of our lives today. As the Indian middle class withdraws into plush offices and gated communities, as we live in artificial toy-lands and form relationships on the internet, we refuse to see our metamorphosis from citizens to consumers. We fail to realize that most of us are looking not for better lives, but for easy and less responsible ones.

Colbert endoroses Tharoor for MP

Stephen Colbert has officially endorosed Shashi for MP from Thiruvunanthapuram (http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=224786).

He ofcourse said about himself,"I hate to pat myself on the back, I hired an assistant to do it. ".

IPL in Tawang

After finishing my thesis work at IIT Kanpur, I ran off to Tawang all by myself. Why Tawang, most people would ask and why alone? Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, is the eastern most district of India. It shares a border with China and is a disputed territory (or so the Chinese
claim). As I reached Tawang, I was filled with a Seven years in Tibet-esque excitement. A land of Buddhist monasteries, monks, serene surroundings and simple living. The aim was to go with the least amount of planning. Don’t book hotel rooms, don’t read too much about the place, no solid travel plans, just go and discover.

Tawang is also a garrison town. A perceived threat from China results in huge military deployment from the Indian side. One needs the military police permission to visit the famed lakes and mountain tops. As I finished a day’s loitering around, I was stopped by an army guard. “Where are you from….”, he asks. “Sir, from Kanpur, but I’m originally from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh”. The guard is too happy with my answer. He hailed from the same state. In a distant land, there is something wonderful about finding someone who speaks your own language. He winks and asks me to drop by for drinks and dinner.

Since sleeping alone in my room was not very exciting, I reach the army mess quite early. The guard who invited me hands me a drink and we walk to a large dark room to watch the IPL. The match was Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders. The initial support was clearly with Shah Rukh’s Riders. But Ganguly’s inability to capitalize on a start did not go down well with some of his supporters. 150, they said, was clearly not enough. The Royals got off to a good start. Graeme Smith’s dismissal to a stunning catch was met with roaring applause. As Pathan walked in I was wolfing down yummy chicken fry and parathas. It wasn’t really clear what hit the crowd after that. Pathan’s demolition of the Ganguly was met with stoic silence. Towards the end though someone conceded ,”Pathan ka tho jawaab hi nahin” (There’s no one like Pathan).

A few years ago electricity would make fleeting appearances in the town of Tawang. Today they enjoy IPL through satellite dish networks and participate in endless arguments over which team is better. I went searching for solitude, but ended up meeting some wonderful people in a beautiful land and understood why cricket is so important for this country.

Review: A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

It is hard to pinpoint why this novel is good but not great. Maybe it is the lack of anger, maybe an overdose of satire, maybe the protagonist is not dark enough and the antagonists not wicked enough. In any case this is a valiant effort for a first timer.

Hanif's tale takes place in a Pakistani version of catch-22 airbase. Ali Shigri is a lazy, not-so-motivated, the-world-is-nuts type spectator protagonist with a dark past. The airbase itself is populated with sex-crazed, incompetent bullies. His plan is to kill the President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq at a drill ceremony.

Zia is portrayed as a religious fanatic, self-obsessed, petty dictator surrounded by sycophantic generals. Like most Pakistani army men, he shares a contempt for any non-military people. Pakistan and Afghanistan are turned into arenas for ghost wars by Americans and Soviets. Political intrigue results in macabre games played by ISI and CIA. Ultimately, Zia is assasinated in a plane crash along with the American ambassador. Shigri claims he had something to do with it, or maybe it was Zia's deputy, or the CIA, or the KGB.

Credit card blues

Why is it so damn hard to get a credit card? I just had two banks (HDFC and ICICI) reject it. It doesn't make any sense. I receive atleast 2 calls everyday asking me to get a credit card. They make you supply all these ridiculous documents and then reject it for no good reason. What does a brother need to do to get a credit card around here.

Review: Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid

The sixteenth chapter of this book is titled "Who lost Uzbekistan?". I wanted to look up Ahmed Rashid and say, "Oh.... you're a relentless man." Almost every incident and detail is narrated, analyzed and placed in the larger picture. I particularly enjoyed the book since it was my first brush with Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan).

Before 9/11 Afghanistan and Central Asia enjoyed very little international attention inspite of their chronic internal problems, human rights violations and lack of political freedoms. Post 9/11 though the region enjoyed enormous attention. With the US setting up bases in Pakistan and Central Asia preparing for an attack on the Taliban. Most liberal intellectuals in this region expected that this would bring a gradual political change. But with increased American funding, most of the despots moved from a position of strength to strength.

It is here that Rashid points the American failure of state building exercises. That instead of pushing the ruling elite in Pakistan and Central Asia for greater transparency and democracy, the US policy supported existing regimes to extend Pax Americana.

Musharraf and the ISI run with the rabbits and hunt with the hounds, in their search for Al Qaeda and Taliban. His domestic and foreign policies are heavily criticised and portrayed as self-serving at best. Musharraf undermines every institution of the state and portrays himself as the only man who can save Pakistan from a total collapse. The heaviest criticism though is reserved for the ISI. The orgaization first espouses the idea of jihad as a cheap way to destabilise India. But it is reluctant to destroy the funding and support for the extremist organizations, even as they become a threat to the state of Pakistan.

Afghanistan's Karzai is seen as a well intentioned but weak President. Ruling a country destroyed by decades of civil war, ethnic tensions, and warlordism is probably the toughest task for any person.

The best part of the book though is the analysis of why Pakistan is the way it is. Pakistan was created with the idea of homogenity of religion, without acknowledging the differences in ethnicity, language and region. This search for identity gave rise to a certain insecurity and paranoia about a threat from India, thus creating a national security state. Every country has an army, but in Pakistan the army has a country.