Firaaq - Movie

 2008. Hindi.

Directed by Nandita Das the movie is set one month after the Gujarat riots of 2002 and explores the consequences of riots on the lives of ordinary people, a young Muslim couple (husband has an auto) whose house was burnt and looted, an elderly musician who teaches music and remains oblivious to the hate around him, a well-t-do couple whose shop got looted, a Hindu wife who is trying to make up for the guilt of not helping a Muslim woman who had banged on their door seeking protection from a mob and so on.

Nicely made. Nasseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Sanjay Suri, Tisca Chopra, Raghuvir Yadav. Can't go wrong.

     

Dave Barry Turns 40 - Dave Barry

I looked for his book to gift Malay on his 40th and could not find it. Vinod, my go-to fairy in all things concerning books fished it out of his magical collection but by then the birthday had come and gone. Since the humour in my life was generally going down, I decided to read it and Dave did not disappoint. It took a while to pick up steam but as it did I was struck down by loud eruptions of laughter that made me want to slow it down - I was making funny guttural sounds and thought that I  could have heath issues if I continued that way.

He starts with an academic quiz to find out whether you are grown up yet  which most won't pass, then moves on to explain how your body is disintegrating, has beauty tips for mature gals, wonders at the midlife marriage, parenthood at 40, planning midlife crises, sex, time management (read this chapter very quickly he advises - but mostly says one should not waste time on meetings and such stuff), financial planning, politic, sports (I loved this chapter - he covers golf,fishing, walking like a dork, shrieking at little leaguers, skiing), dementia and stuff like that. It really had me rolling over. 

Dave never fails. If you haven't read it, do. And thanks Vinod bhai, you have in so many ways added much laughter to my life, Dave Barry's introduction to my reading list being one of them. 

Around India in 80 Trains - Monisha Rajesh

 Inspired by an article she read about how India's domestic airlines now reach 80 cities Monisha Rajesh, a Telugu who has connections in Chennai and Hyderabad but only barely since she and her family lived and grew up in the UK, decided to gingerly test the Indian experience with - around India in 80 days.Also semi inspired by the Jules Verne classic of Around the World in 80 days she found her own Passepartout and they set out on their three or four month adventure of travelling in Indian trains to the farthest tip on four corners of the country and traversing the 64000 kms network that carries around 20 million people a day! 

To start with Monisha dropped in at the UK representative of Indian Rail who gave her a nice break up of trains to travel by - scenic routes, toy trains, luxury trains, Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and some Indrail passes which are available only for phirangs I think. The duo land in Chennai which is home, get their tickets organised by some jugaad, and take the Chennai Kanyakumari express. For some reason Monisha is also obsessed with Chetan Bhagath and ends up reading all his books on these journeys.

Anyway here's how she went about - Chennai-Kanyakumari-Kerala-Goa. Anyway on to Goa and a stay in Candolim where she mentions the River Princess, a ship that ran aground and stayed there till recently, then the Konkan Railway to Mumbai through 92 tunnels. Then they caught a train called the Indian Maharaja which is a luxury train and went to Delhi.  

From Mumbai another luxury train 'The Deccan Odyssey' which took them to Ellora, Udaipur, Ranthambore and to Delhi. Another IndRail pass and they head right back to - Kottayam in Kerala and enjoy a stay in the backwaters of Kumarakom, hopped across to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu for their temple trip - Madurai, Thanjavur, Srirangam, Nagpattanam and so on. While in Madurai she stayed at Hotel Chetnoor which was right behind the hotel we stayed in (Royal Court) and we actually had stopped at Chetnoor's bar for a drink - she mentions the hotel and the bar in not so complimentary terms. It was surreal - me in Madurai reading about the same place written by an author ten years ago. Oh, while in the bar they have an argument over Sathya Sai Baba which freezes their relationship a bit. Then to Chennai.

From Chennai to Hyderabad and to Mumbai where they experienced the local trains first hand, then to Pune where they enrolled into the Osho experience which she did not seem to subscribe to much, to Jhansi, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Dwarka, Diu. And then to Jaisalmer, Kalka on way to Shimla at some point when Passepartout and she have a fall out. She decides to flip between calling it off when she meets known faces and heads on to Amritsar, drops into Kapil Dev's home at Delhi over the wall, back to Chennai, hops on to the Golden Chariot from Mysore which takes her to Hasan, Hampi, Gadag, Goa and back to Bangalore.

From there to the Lifeline Express which offers medical help to remote areas hrough trains, Allahabad,Jammu, Udhanpur, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Tinsukhia, Ledo the farthest station in the East,  toy train from Darjeeling, Kolkata, Puri (where she is sent out of the temple for lack of proof of being a Hindu). Cleanses it all up with a 10 day Vippasana course in Hyderabad and then to Chennai and back home.

Monisha wrote very well - witty, packed with the right amount of research, crisp, empathetic, honest - you cannot ask for more. Through all this she keeps her view very honest, meets people easily and except for one time when she runs away from a hotel in some godforsaken place late at night, generally has good experiences with strangers offering help, food, connections, a shoulder, information. From her writing it appears she was open and soaked in the Indian train experience, the many different cultures and people and food that India offers and revelled in it. Makes you want to take train journeys too! Excellent work Monisha  somehow I identified with her in so many ways - her Telugu and Hyderabad connection, the Vipassana in Hyderabad, many of the places she visited, her sense of humour. And to think I bought this book in Madurai where she stayed in a hotel right behind mine and then wrote a book that made it to the bookstore there! 

I'd read her to Naipaul any day.

Flight 814, The Inside Story - Flt Engineer Anil Jaggia and Saurabh Shukla

 Ani Jaggia (1941-2015) was the Flight Engineer aboard Flight 814 which was hijacked from Kathmadu and taken to Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai and Kandahar. The terrorists negotiated the release of terrorists and fled after killing on passenger Rupen Katyal, a honeymooner.

The book delves into the series of intelligence failures that did not help while the aircraft was hijacked - that the flight could have been stopped at Amritsar, that waiting commandos could have stormed the flight etc. The flight was hijacked on December 24, 1999 and ended just before the millennium celebrations, after a week of misery for the passengers and the crew. Four terrorists who nicknamed themselves, Red Cap, Bhola, Doctor and Burger held the passengers hostage and somehow pulled off the impossible.

Edge of seat stuff. The terrorists just walked away and were never caught.

The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

 It is about reclaiming the American Dream and Barack Obama writes honestly an with optimism about how one can balance power and politics with the greater good that's necessary for humankind. It is heartwarming to hear of his early struggles when trying to enter politics, asking for donations, the idea that one can get themselves a private jet and zip around.

That apart the book was a bestseller. The title derived from a sermon given by his former pastor Rev Jeremiah Wright. Obama used the title for his keynote address in 2004 at the Democratic Convention and the 20 minute speech apparently catapulted him into national prominence. The book underscores his policy positions, his personal values, his thoughts on faith, race, family, the Constitution, politics, opportunity, the world outside the US  and so on.

Nice read. I like Barack Obama. He is light on his feet, has an easy smile, looks tough and gentle at the same time. Mostly I like how fit he is and wish I could be as fit. Of course I like his views and honesty and vulnerability as well.

India's Most Fearless - Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh

Two volumes of the same name gifted to me by Mythily. Fourteen stories of valour and courage by the men in uniform under fire. Well researched and well written, I really breezed through the book in a hurry. And gifted it to Nitesh Kanala who is a reader as well.

The first of the stories is about the Uri surgical strikes on September 2016 when Major Tango and his 19 men of Special Forces led an attack to retaliate the killing of 19 Indian soldiers. 3 separate teams accessed 4 launch pads across the LoC and killed 38-40 terrorists and made it safely back. Tango earned a Kirti Chakra and his boss's compliments on his return - bring the bottle, these men eat glass.

Then the surgical strike in Myanmar as a retaliation to an attack on army jawans in Manipur where 18 jawans were killed - 3 units led by Lt Col Delta, bumped off 64 men and returned safely. Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami who died while trying to save his fellow soldier in Udhampur. Havildar Handpan Dada who umped out at terrorists and fired at them killing 3 and injuring a fourth in J&K in 2016. Captain Jaidev Dangi who killed three terrorists including Adil Ahmed Mir in J&K in 2011. Major Mukund Varadarajan who killed a terrorist by using tactical brilliance but died in action. Colonel Santosh Mahadik who died in action, Lance Naik Hanumantha Koppad who somehow survived being trapped under an avalanche and tons of ice

Lt Cdr Niteen Anandarao Yadav in Dabolim Goa who somehow landed his flight despite no electrical power, no navigation, no communication and limited control over his engines. Captain Varun Singh of Indian Navy's MARCOS who killed two terrorists in J&K. Cdr Milind Mokashi who evacuated civilian Indians from Aden where a civil war had broken out on his ship INS Sumitra - and rescued in all over 500 people, including 600 foreigners in dangerous circumstances. Squadron Leader Rijul Sharma whose Mig 29 canopy was shattered and left with an option to bail or stay, stayed despite a damaged shoulder and landed his flight. 'Don't let the situation overwhelm you. You can tackle any situation.' Squadron Leader Vikas Puri who had VIPs on his helicopter when both engines failed and the chopped was preparing for a crash landing - when he tried to relight and restrat the engines and it worked - with only 2 minutes to spare. And Wing Cdr Gaurav Bikram Chauhan whose flight had issues when the wing was destroyed and the flight broke up in Pokhran Rajasthan.

Amazing stories, very well told. I am glad they wrote these stories because we get a peek into the world they live in, the way they work, the way they live..and the way they die. Now to read the second volume.        

The Tirunelveli Diaries - Natham

From Madurai we would travel to Natham, a place near Dindigul,where our final match against Chattisgarh was. It was a scenic place amidst green hills, a well maintained ground. I was by myself since Jyo had left and entertained myself by reading my book and watching the game. The final was a relatively easy affair. Some pics

Across the Vaigai river to Natham

The ground

   

Mentoring

Team meeting

Rohit leading the team out

Cap and vice in discussion

Abhirath and Rahul returning

A pat by coach

Me and Chattu

Me and Rajayji

Captain and coach