LET'S CELEBRATE 8 OSCARS. CHUCK THE COMPLAINING

With Slumdog finally bagging 8 Oscars, I'm sure the debate on whether the movie portrayed India in a 'certain light' has far from ceased. I think most of us have read Arindam Chaudhri's "Don't see Sumdog Millionaire" article where he has gone on to crucify the movie totally, even to the effect of changing many of my friends' outlook towards the film.

Here's a link to this particular rant:

http://arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.com/2009/01/dont-see-slumdog-millionaire-it-sucks.html

But what he has come up with is hypocrisy in a sense, as none of us would be fighting over our 'image' worldwide (which according to people who share his views, has portrayed India as an accidental 'Millionaire') had Slumdog turned out to be an ordinary movie.

Also, I've heard people complaining about how Rehman has come up with better music to be getting this sort of recognition only when he's associated with a Hollywood banner. That's nothing short of silly, since you need a 'good' movie for people to acknowledge the music that's part of the package.

In the end, Slumdog won, and not because of the idea of 'India pigeonholing its identity into the straitjacket of depraved poverty for a global audience.' For the movie portrays realities, only with exaggerations here and there (as if we could come up with a single Bollywood flick that hasn't been romanticized). Plus the cinematography was unique (Could an Indian have brought us to go wide-eyed looking at Dharavi), screenplay adapted near-perfectly and amazing direction.

We all tend to love the underdog, and derive inspiration from Cinderella stories. You want it? So be it!

COPING WITH A FAST WORLD

I was 15 minutes into nerdy conversation, when I realised that I had crossed the threshold I had set for myself. Occasionally, I do indulge in such guilty pleasures. Really in no mood to go forward with where this discussion might lead...

Ahem...I’d been socialising with the gang-leader of this tribe of nerds for a while now...trying to get a peek into his psyche before an exam...kind of hoping I could tap the vibes of genius around him . I saw myself suppressing the playful desire to bring up topics of girls or vodka – the expression on his face would be least photogenic!

Anyways, this isn’t what I was driving at. I wanted the prose to lead to this – Our Nerd leader, obviously pissed off at the total mismatch of frequencies between us came up with – ‘Okay, I need to study speed adders ! bye’. Grammar being a soft spot with many over here, I got myself to believe that he actually meant being done with the 'adders' portion as soon as he could.

Only 12 hours from that little chat did I come to terms with another of fate’s unique ways of slapping you in the face - Question 4 (b) surprised me with -‘Differentiate the normal binary adders with fast adders in terms of calculating carries and propagation delays.’ That’s why it’s advisable not to miss classes (duh!). At least stay aware of what’s being taught. Not that I’m too bothered leaving 4 (b) unanswered; it’s just one case in point. There are a dozen others.

Talking about speed, let me tell you I visited the post office a week ago to send out a speed post. I found only a bored woman behind the counter with a pile of enveloped content stacked around haphazardly; and bespectacled worn out postmen. Not too enthusiastic about the job at hand. Whenever these guys come to our rooms with the once in a blue-moon mail (usually courier or speed post) the contorted glare dims only upon handing out a Rs 10 note without their prodding.

Can’t really blame them.

Surprising your loved ones with a papery something when they dig into the mailbox is something that’s not done much often nowadays. The idea that words soaked in ink so far away made their way through storm and scorch all the way up to your doorstep – the touch of the brown cover – the scent of starchy gum – the hurried tiff with the adhesive – finally to the sound of paper being ripped - reading word by word...mentally imagining how each syllable would have been mouthed had it been actually said...

I love it, and I’m sure, so do most of us. Can’t we chuck the email once in a while to do it the tortoise’s way? Let’s see more people frequent the college post office now on.

Chuck fast for a change...

At least you won’t be losing out on Question 4(b)!

Cheerio.