tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52237527661769956262024-02-19T17:18:01.290-08:00My LikhoniMy views. My opinions. My thoughts. My ideology. Just mine!Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-36441797019974184442016-06-21T12:47:00.000-07:002016-06-22T00:00:07.437-07:00Mohenjo Daro Trailer: My Thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am a history nerd. I have loved history ever since I can
remember back to my earliest existence. And because I’m also a movie buff, it
is only natural that I love historical films or period dramas. My tryst with
such films from the stables of Bollywood has not been good. Most of them are
plainly stupid to be honest, both in terms of their execution and authenticity.
Filmmakers in Bollywood have perhaps the worst track record when it comes to
making period films. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When it comes to various aspects of such films, the
portrayal of the era concerned through the medium of costumes, sets and events
depicted, clearly shows that Bollywood has little regards for such things. This
is why a horrendous film like Asoka exists which is nothing but a direct insult
to perhaps the greatest ruler India has ever produced. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The reason I’m even writing this piece is because I had
several thoughts after watching the new trailer for the upcoming film, Mohenjo
Daro. The announcement of this project a couple of years back had gotten me
really excited. As a history nerd, the Indus Valley Civilisation is one of my
favourite eras of Indian history. Very little is known about that era, the people,
their lifestyle and culture, their language, etc. All this because their script
still remains undeciphered. But there is still enough archaeological findings
and other evidences that paint a rough picture as to what kind of people they
were. Even with such findings, a filmmaker can make a rather decent movie about
that era backed up with a solid script and research. <o:p></o:p></div>
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First came in the film’s motion poster. I really liked it.
They used actual scripts from the Indus Valley era into the motion poster as
they conjured up to reveal the film’s name in English. That was clever, I
thought. So I waited for further reveals from the makers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And then came the posters featuring the hero and heroine of
the movie. Hrithik Roshan looked decent in the poster, though it was rather
hard for my mind to digest that he looked like a guy from that era. Most
historians have imagined Indus Valley people to be darker skinned and even
having a mixed population of various races such as negritos, proto australoids
and mongoloids. And Roshan here looked like a Greek god in every single frame. Well
Bollywood, I give up on this one! </div>
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But the poster featuring the heroine dashed
all my hopes of the movie being historically authentic. Pooja Hegde is dressed
in a designer gown with a deep cut cleavage and even a cut in the lower gown from
below to reveal her left leg. Clearly, this dress looks more like one of those
outlandish gowns that you end up seeing in a fashion week parade. The
decoration of bird feathers on her head gear further convinced me that the
makers have taken too much of a liberty while depicting things in this film. There
is a very thin line that differentiates between authenticity and stupidity.
This film may cross that barrier on several occasions, it seems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now let me say that I like Ashutosh Gowariker as a
filmmaker. He and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are still better directors to handle
period dramas compared to other directors in today’s Bollywood. Also, the way
he has tackled the concerned eras in films like Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar clearly
show that he is better equipped in handling such topics. But the new trailer
for Mohenjo Daro clearly shows that perhaps this is out of even Gowariker’s
league. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Indus Valley Civilisation is India’s first civilisation and
is one of the world’s oldest. It was a contemporary culture to the Mesopotamian
Civilisation of Iraq and the Egyptian Civilisation. This civilisation predates
India’s recorded history and is a precursor to the Hindu civilisation that was
brought in by the Aryans after its decline in about 1700 B.C. Whatever we know
of this era is from the archaeological findings that include pottery, toys, jewellery,
seals, metal and stone equipments, and other such artifacts. The biggest hurdle
to uncovering the mysteries of this civilisation has been that the script still
remains undeciphered. It was an urban civilisation and had some of the world's largest
cities from that era. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Watching the trailer was quite interesting for me. It didn’t
blow me away obviously, but it left me wondering as to why a filmmaker like
Gowariker gave in to so many historical anomalies while making this film. I’m only
judging from what I saw in the trailer. We’re yet to see the movie. Perhaps I’ll
be blown away then. Or maybe it will turn into another comedy show for me just
like other period films from Bollywood. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My first gripe with this film is that throughout the film,
the city is referred to as Mohenjo Daro. Mohenjo Daro is a Sindhi word which
means ‘mound of the dead.’ This was the name given by the locals to the
excavation site when archaeologists first dug up the ruins there. Why would
anyone name their city as ‘mound of the dead’ in the Indus Valley era? It
simply shows that Gowariker didn’t do his research well. Compared to this,
Amish did a better job. The novelist has used the Indus Valley Civilisation as
a backdrop in his Shiva Trilogy novels and there he uses the word Meluha to depict
the entire Indus civilisation as a country. Why is it authentic? Because
ancient Mesopotamian records referred to the Indus country as Meluha. In my
opinion this would have made much sense then taking recourse to the modern era
Sindhi name for the city. They could have chosen any name that would have
seemed relevant to that era. Since the language and script of the Indus people
are still unknown, it is a world open to interpretation. But sticking to the
modern name does not make sense to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The recreation of the city has been done well, as per me. Most
of it is all just visual effects, and though they look fake in many shots, the
arrangements and depiction of the city has been done well. Gowariker has taken
note that most structures of the city of Mohenjo Daro did not have more than
two storeys, and this is seen clearly in the long shots of the city that are
shown in the trailer. But the effects are not done right. The problem is that
after watching a film like Baahubali, we cannot accept any substandard
visual effects in our movies anymore. Special mention must be made of the one
shot where the crocodile jumps out of the water and plunges at Hrithik in the
river. That looked hilarious and fake as fuck! Since when did crocodiles start
imitating dolphins while preying? Even the river dolphins don’t make such high
jumps out of the water for any reason. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The costumes too look quite poor. Most of the costumes that
the peasants have been shown to wear look like recycled items from the sets of
Lagaan. They look more like what a peasant would wear during the Mughal or British
era. I had a facepalm moment when a certain shot revealed a character who was
walking behind Hrithik in a shot as wearing a lower garment which appeared
more like a half pant and not even a proper dhoti. Ugh!!!!! If we go by the
dresses depicted in the seals and statues excavated from the Indus Valley
sites, the dressing sense of that era was quite minimalistic. Both men and
women used to wear one piece cloths and not stitched items. More emphasis was
put on jewellery for body decoration, which was made largely from carnelian
beads and other precious stones. Gold was largely unknown to these people and
hence it was not much in use. The men have been depicted as wearing turbans in the movie,
which I am not very comfortable with since the turban as a headgear is more
associated with the later Aryans than with this era. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The trailer also revealed that the film has a few more
historical errors, which may not go much into the eyes of the general public,
but for a history nerd like me, those are glaring defects. Firstly, horses are
shown in the city. Let me make it clear that horses were largely unknown to the
Indus people. They domesticated the bull and used it extensively for various
purposes. But showing horses is a major error in my eyes. Horses did not make
their appearance on the Indian subcontinent before the Aryans came and they brought
them in from the Central Asian steppes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Another gripe I have is that the river Indus has been
referred in the movie as ‘Sindhu Mata’ or a river mother. This is funny because
the Indus has always been called a male river just like the Brahmaputra and
Nile. Now one can argue that nobody knows as to how the Indus Valley people
referred to the river Indus as. So that makes it open for interpretation. But
it still becomes rather uneasy for me to digest. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I must say though that apart from the depiction of the city,
another thing that the film gets right through the trailer atleast is that it
acknowledges there was no proper currency system in the Indus Valley era. I was
quite thrilled when Hrithik’s character Sarman makes a reference to Lapis
Lazuli as a means of financial transaction. The ancient Indus Valley people largely
practiced the barter system and used semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli and
carnelian beads as means of transactions. Cattle were also used as a means of
transaction here. So I’m glad that the film will get atleast some
aspects of the Indus Valley era right, if not all of them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I will not rant about the regular song and dance routine of
Bollywood in the film. This is something that is expected of Bollywood and
nothing can be done about it. The costumes look stupid and hence the songs will
also be awkward to watch. I just hope the music and choreography don’t degenerate
to the level of those from Asoka. But again, someone like A.R. Rahman has given
the music, so I’m sure we will have a few good songs to say the least. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But I must state here that the person who edited the trailer
is a complete idiot. He literally gave away the entire plot and during my first
viewing I felt as if I had seen a gist of the entire movie in less than three
minutes. We literally know here that Hrithik comes in as part of a prophecy to save
the city, falls in love with the girl, gets into trouble with the evil king and
his henchmen and eventually leads a revolt against the city’s rulers. In my
opinion, a trailer should reveal less about the film’s plot and intrigue the
audience more with clever visuals. This was not the case here. In fact, half
of my excitement for this film vanished as soon as I saw the trailer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Do I still want to go and watch the movie when it comes out?
Hell yeah! This is the first time that the Indus Valley Civlisation would be
depicted on the big screen and I would not pass up the chance to see it for
anything. I may end up liking the movie as I have done with Gowariker’s earlier
period dramas. Or maybe it will give me heartache and headache as it happened
with Asoka. But anyways, I’m willing to give this film a chance and I shall
enter the theatre with low expectations from the movie. I advise you do the
same as well.<br />
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-45838388415522338392016-06-07T11:18:00.000-07:002016-06-07T11:18:53.658-07:00A Bird Lover’s Paradise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Watching birds is something I have enjoyed a lot ever since
I was child. Around the year, quite a variety of birds land in our house’s
compound and hence I had a good time watching and observing them throughout my
childhood. When I grew older and got into photography, I started capturing
their images and hence this hobby took me to various places in search of
different types of birds. But one place that is perhaps my favourite birds
watching spot of all is the Deepor Beel. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Deepor Beel has been a treat for bird lovers at Guwahati
and has been a getaway for people like me who prefer for some isolation from
the noise and daily humdrum of the busy city life. It is the perfect setting
where you have a huge lake, hills on one side, farming fields on the far
distance and lots of birds to satiate your curiosity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Situated in the south western side of Guwahati, the Beel is
located on the NH 31 and lies between Garchuk and Jalukbari. The area is quite
huge and a broad gauge railway also skirts on one side of the lake. The Beel
was first made a bird’s sanctuary in 1989 and then a protected wetland in 2002.
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I’m not the only one who enjoys holding a camera in hand and
scouring the lakeside looking for exotic birds. While you can visit the Beel
area any time of the year, it is advisable to go there during the winters. That
is the time when several species of migratory birds come in for their annual
breeding. It becomes quite a sight to behold and clearly the observers can watch
these birds from a safe distance and learn first-hand information about them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ornithologists have recorded about 219 species of birds that
can be seen in the Deepor Beel area. This includes over 70 species of migratory
birds that come in during the winters. During
the rest of the year, you shall find several birds species like the egrets,
pond herons, storks, cormorants and even pelicans. These are the birds that you
will see roam among the water as they prey for fishes. Off the water, you will
find several other species such as the red-vented bulbul, sparrows, drongos,
hoopoes, woodpeckers and many more. Among the migratory birds that I have found
to be frequent to spot are the Siberian crane, barn swallows, Asian open-billed
storks, pied wagtails, yellow wagtails and several varieties of ducks and other
birds. Because of its closeness to the Rani and Garbhanga reserve forests on
the south, the Beel is also frequented by herds of elephants that come for an
occasional drink and a bath. I, though, have never witnessed a single elephant
during my visits there. Apart from elephants, other animals that can be found
around the Beel area are leopards, wild cats, porcupines, barking deer and
spotted deer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Beel is a source of livelihood for several of the villages
around it whose fishermen depend on it. Boats moving around the lake are a
common sight here as the fishermen throw their net into the water hoping for a
good catch of freshwater fish. What is heartening is that overfishing is never
the case here and the local people are also well aware of the need to preserve
this rich piece of wetland to sustain the ecosystem of the area. There have
been serious cases of land cutting, waste water disposal and land grabbing in
the vicinity that has raised serious concerns regarding the dangers faced by
the Beel’s ecosystem. Hunting and trapping of birds happens occasionally and
more manpower is needed for the authorities to look into these matters.
Thankfully, the local people realise it and have been active with several
groups and NGOs to counter these maladies and keep the Beel fit for all
purposes.</div>
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The Deepor Beel is very important for Guwahati and its
surrounding ecosystem in the sense that it provides for a natural heritage to
exist within easy reach for the citizens of Guwahati to enjoy. Bird lovers like
me enjoy hours roaming along the Beel area and it is an easy way to connect
ourselves with nature in its unadulterated form and experience its beauty and
majesty right in front of our eyes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-36981794912183945422016-06-02T00:29:00.000-07:002016-06-02T02:23:57.836-07:00Exploring the Cole Park <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I love Tezpur. I have always called it the cleanest city in
Assam, and recently the WHO gave it the distinction of being the cleanest city
in India. Having my paternal roots to the city and its nearby areas, I have
loved this city ever since I was a child during our visits there. It is a
beautiful city that has so much to offer in terms of sightseeing. Though the
options are many here, my favourite among the lot is definitely the Cole Park.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Located in the central portion of the city, Cole Park is a
basically a park built around an archaeological site. Recently, after
undergoing renovation, it was renamed as the Chitralekha Udyan. But old timers
like us still refer to it as the Cole Park.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once you enter the place, it takes you into a surreal world of bygone era where Assam’s ancient history comes out alive. The archeological
remains here affirm that it was originally built during 9th or 10th century
A.D. The prime attraction of the park is the two majestic pillar constructions
in stone with exceptional carvings that is believed to be the remains of Bamuni
hills built during the 9th century.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some of the most exquisite statues and structures that one
can ever think of seeing out in the open and not inside a museum can be found
here. There are statues that show dancers in exquisite poses, nymphs in groups
on certain stone panels and also rock structures that have been kept in the
exact same positions when they were found out. They point out to the majestic
structures that once stood on the spot ages ago. Most obviously, the highlight
among these stone structures is the main panel of pillars that is the central
attraction of the place and houses a rock panel with engravings of several gods
on it. This was the main portion of the temple that used to exist on the spot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another attraction is the famous Bhomoraguri inscription
that explains the ancient strategy of building bridges across the river
Brahmaputra. At present, the Kolia Bhomora Setu or the bridge that is built
with concrete exists across the river. The ancient Bhomoraguri inscription is
kept in the park for public view. This ancient strategic inscription describes
the intellectual approach to the construction or engineering strategy of
bridges that is relevant even today. The Kolia Bhomora Setu is named after one
of the greatest Ahom generals that Assam ever saw in its history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another attraction of the park is the horseshoe shaped lake
where paddling and rowing are allowed. Several exhibitions are also conducted
in the park. It is a great picnic spot for students and school children as the
place serves the purpose of recollection of historical importance and
recreational activities. Limited yet exciting amusements are the major
attractions for children. The display of jet fighter model MIG 21 of Indian Air
Force and concrete made map of India never fails to get the attention of
children and adults alike. Over the years, the place has added other
attractions as well such as bumping cars, restaurants and others. But the main
attraction remains the archaeological remains that mesmerise everyone who
visits the place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Cole Park is also located close to other worthy sightseeing
spots of Tezpur such as Agnigarh Hill and Padum Lake. Though one can visit the
park at any time of the year, I highly recommend you to go there during the
winters. If by luck there is a mild fog in the area, the archaeological remains
among the mist gives out a surreal feel of other worldliness. It is a feeling
which can only be experienced, but never described properly. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-68631723204426002632016-05-18T00:43:00.001-07:002016-05-18T00:46:03.206-07:00Experiencing Shiva in the midst of Nature <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Guwahati is home to some very holy sites of Hinduism.
Everyone is familiar with Kamakhya Temple. And now more and more people are
visiting the other temples of Guwahati such as Umananda and Navagraha. But one
temple that is still not many people’s knowledge is the Bhimashankar Templee
that is situated at Pamohi on the outskirts of Guwahati.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nestled within the surroundings of trees and flowing
streams, the Bhimashankar Temple is perhaps the most unique spot that devotees
will find to worship Lord Shiva. This temple is situated on the Dakini hill at
Pamohi and situated near to the famed Deepor Beel birds sanctuary. You can take
the Pamohi road from Garchuk on NH 37 to reach the temple. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The unique thing about this site is there is no proper
temple structure. It is basically an open air temple surrounded by trees and
the Jyotirlinga resides among the rocks that has a stream flowing around it
that comes up from the nearby hills. Devotees consider this to be the 6<sup>th</sup>
Dwadash Jyotirlinga and is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples situated all
over India. References to this temple can be found in religious texts like
Shiva Purana and Koti Rudra Samhita, where it is stated that the Bhimashankar
Jyotirlingam is situated in Dakini. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Legend has it that this temple is situated on the spot where
Lord Shiva killed a demon named Bhimasura to save his devotee Kamrupeshwara,
the then king of Kamrup. Bhimasura has been refered to as the son of
Kumbhakarna, Ravana’s brother from Ramayana, and Karkati, the daughter of the
king of the underworld. At the requests of the gods, Shiva transformed himself
into a Jyotirlinga at that very spot and made that place his abode. It is said
that sweat from Shiva’s body that fell down to the ground formed the Bhimarathi
river that flows down through the Jyotirlinga and the surrounding rocks today
in the form of the stream. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Apart from the main Jyotirlinga, there are sites for the
worship of other gods and goddesses in the area as well. Before you reach the
temple site, you reach a Ganesh temple on the hilly road. At the temple site,
there are also monolithic manifestations of various gods and goddesses such as
Parvati, Ganesh, Durga and others. The river stream which flows from among the Jyotirlinga
and its surrounding rocks flows in five different directions and is known as
Panchadhara. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is advisable to visit the temple during the winter months
and avoid going there during the rainy season as continuous landslides make it
unsafe. Most of the people living around the area of the temple belong to the
Karbi and Bodo tribes. Even the main priest is a Karbi and other members of the temple
trust are Karbis and Bodos and not strictly Brahmins as is seen mostly with
other Hindu temples. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is a most unique temple that any devotee of Shiva will
visit as it makes a beautiful site of religious surrounded by the radiance of
nature. The flowing stream and the sounds of its gushing waters make the
experience surreal as you sit in front of the Jyotirlinga and pray. Even people
who are not very religious will find this place interesting because of its
beautiful natural setting. This place is worth paying a visit for anybody who
wants to experience peace of mind while sitting on a road amid gushing waters
of a stream. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-4570926218720334622016-05-12T14:04:00.000-07:002016-05-12T14:05:13.480-07:00Meet the Rhinos!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The rhino is
the pride of Assam. We here have the most sizeable population of the one-horned rhinoceros
on the planet. We have a reason to feel pride over this magnificent beast.
While we know that rhinos are found in Africa as well, there is a misconception
among many of us that rhinos are found nowhere else but Africa and Assam. This
is not so. We are hosts to one of the species of the greater Rhinocerotidae
family that hold five species in total.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of us
also think that rhinos are found only in Assam and nowhere else in India. This
again is wrong. The Indian one-horned rhino is distributed in the states of
Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. In Bengal, the rhino is found in the
reserved forests of Gorumara and Jaldapara in the Dooar region and in Uttar
Pradesh, they are in the Dudhwa and Katarniaghat reserved forests. But yes,
without doubt, Assam takes away the prize in having the highest population of
rhinos in India. But again the Indian rhino is not found in India alone and there
is a presence of around 645 individuals in the reserved forests of neighbouring
Nepal, with the highest number being in the Chitwan National Park. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of
India, we are well familiar with the two-horned rhinos of Africa. These beasts
are marginally larger than the Indian rhino and often have massive horns in
comparison to the smaller ones of the Indian variety, which give them the most
majestic look in the rhino family. African rhinos are divided into two species
of the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros. These two types of rhinos
dominate the African landscape and the white variety has the largest population
of a rhino species in the world. The white rhino is divided into the northern
variety and the southern variety depending on their distribution throughout the
African continent. The black rhino is spread all over the continent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of
Africa, the continent of Asia houses three species of rhinos. Apart from the
Indian rhino, the other two are the Javan rhino and the Sumatran rhino. The
Javan rhino is very similar in appearance to the Indian rhino but is smaller in
size. It is found on the island of Java in Indonesia and is on the verge of
extinction. According to an estimate only about 60 remain, all in the wild.
They are single horned and are considered to be a sub species of the Indian
rhino, but their smaller size and exclusive availability on the Javan island
has given them the distinction of being a separate species. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The last
remaining species in the global rhino family is the Sumatran rhino which is
found in the jungles of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. This is a unique
rhino and has a seemingly different appearance from the rest of the rhinos in
the world. It is two-horned but they are not as big as those of their African
cousins. This is the smallest rhino species in the world and does not possess
an armoured covering but a hide like that of a boar. Also it is the only rhino
species that has body hair on it. Also, it beak like mouth gives it a distinct
look from the rest of the rhinos in the world. This is also a critically
endangered species and about 275 of them remain today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rhinos are a
fascinating species. They are a force of brute strength and are perhaps one of
the most well armoured animals created by nature. Though they may appear
peaceful, they are known for being short tempered and are very protective about
themselves and their territories. Even predators like lions and tigers do not
dare to go up against them. The Sumatran rhino is considered to be the most
docile among them and is not very aggressive in nature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rhinos have
always fascinated me. I have always been awed by the presence of these
magnificent creatures during my visits to Kaziranga and Pobitora. They are one
of the oldest surviving species on the planet. Having descended from the woolly
rhinoceroses of the bygone Ice Ages in the prehistoric era, the rhinoceros was
once spread throughout the </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">continents of Africa and Asia. By the end of the 20</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
century, rhinos vanished from everywhere in Asia except India, Nepal, Java and
Sumatra. In India and Nepal, they remain confined to certain pockets of
protected forests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Poaching is
the single biggest threat to the rhino today. Kaziranga continues to witness
rhino killings by poachers occasionally. Although their numbers have increased
over the years, the continuous activity of the poachers is a major cause of
worry. The Javan and Sumatran rhinos are on the verge of extinction and if
strong steps are not taken to protect them then we might lose them in this
century. The illegal trade in rhino horn has been the biggest cause of worry
here and it will not be over till the governments of various countries take
steps to eradicate this evil trade for good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-41186308655839830942016-05-06T11:40:00.000-07:002016-05-07T00:57:17.990-07:00The Fantastic Desi Dog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is
something unusually fantastic about the desi dog. It’s a dog breed we see daily
out on the streets and everywhere else. Many people keep it as pets although it
is not really seen as a classy option for a pet. But there is something
absolutely fantastic about this breed of dog that makes it different from the
rest of the imported breeds that we come across and makes it unique and special
in its own way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3BWgliGnGMK3qyv29uAKyFW96JZaY4JHl-H7A7zhBtn8c7U8WRHPC-R2PL5jMiKmxMg7PYYUawizZUMSDeL2pUC072KXC2SKavMr0Hf1Vi0DLzIF-ir8d4AsYYSMecl3XUjZq2NuKZE/s1600/Dogs_1479300f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3BWgliGnGMK3qyv29uAKyFW96JZaY4JHl-H7A7zhBtn8c7U8WRHPC-R2PL5jMiKmxMg7PYYUawizZUMSDeL2pUC072KXC2SKavMr0Hf1Vi0DLzIF-ir8d4AsYYSMecl3XUjZq2NuKZE/s400/Dogs_1479300f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking in
more professional terms, the desi dog is known among pet lovers as the Indian
Native Dog or the INDog. It is a species native to the Indian subcontinent and
is a part of the worldwide family of pariah dogs who are the direct genetic descendants
of wolves without any hybridisation. The Indian pariah dog is a part of the
same global family from which belong some of the oldest surviving dog breeds
such as the Canaan Dog of Israel and Dingo of Australia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Desi dogs
are often dismissed as street dogs or mongrels with little value as pets. They
are not seen as a viable option by affluent pet keepers and are often ignored
in favour of breeds imported from outside. Almost every dog breed in India
apart from the desi dog is an imported variety. But desi dogs are unique in
their own ways and are perhaps best suited to be man’s best friend as per the
standards and conditions of India. They are rarely kept as pets among the rich
and affluent but are widely accepted among the lower sections of society as
good pets. The thing with them is that they are readily available everywhere
and there is no breeding programme for them as is the case with the imported
breeds. Anybody can pick up a desi dog from anywhere on the streets and keep it
as a pet without having to worry for paying for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAozMZfzi5DMxLnNZXS8E3gxcolJG_YfjJdzF99_d138GMB3TI-kx-Fbwm-meNj3c6-sEZc6sLFp7I6lxT_vJIYBTfs_AJxSvtxIJwQb818a4ab6QygykBds9AKYI6ZWVlcd4PDqNETzc/s1600/1951993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAozMZfzi5DMxLnNZXS8E3gxcolJG_YfjJdzF99_d138GMB3TI-kx-Fbwm-meNj3c6-sEZc6sLFp7I6lxT_vJIYBTfs_AJxSvtxIJwQb818a4ab6QygykBds9AKYI6ZWVlcd4PDqNETzc/s400/1951993.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nowadays
many animal NGOs and pet foundations have organised drives for people to adopt
desi dog puppies. This is a more systematic and proper way to adopt a desi dog
instead of just randomly picking any one puppy from the street. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The desi dog
has many advantages to its credit that the imported breeds do not have. India
is a country with a largely hot and tropical climate. Most imported dogs are
not suited for such a hot climate and hence extra efforts need to be taken to
keep them confortable. This is not so with the desi dog. They are acclimatised
to withstand hot temperatures and can easily survive in the hot Indian summer,
something which is rather difficult for the imported breeds. The desi dog also
has a thin fur coat which makes it a better survivor in a hot country like
India. Their thin and coarse fur coats make it easier for their owners to
maintain them as they don’t need much grooming. Bathing them just once a week
is more than enough to keep them clean and healthy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking of
the health part, these dogs are also sturdily built and are not prone to
diseases. They are a hardy breed of dogs as they have the original hunter genes
of their ancestors who directly descended from wolves which makes them very
energetic by nature. Hence they do not contract many diseases during their
lifetimes and live up to a long lifespan of around ten years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The desi dog
is perhaps one of the most intelligent breed of dogs in the world. They are
very easy to train and can be very good guard dogs. They learn tricks fast and are
ever alert. They have a strong sense of smell and have been very helpful in
sniffing out explosives in the Naxal affected areas of the country. I come from
a family that has always kept desi dogs as pets and our experience in training
them has been very pleasant. They are loyal, level headed and very good when it
comes to being watchdogs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJD7fXWxyIFCaY9fMauF2qn5WowgFi1ShtQfcOKRTfOhkO-wOHQkpFoA9uKnJqoAu_HXM4ybR7jVCU0s9sBUHNajVr_GpplPDGLSGUTOUo1alriFD-dCrbVDbbl4D1YUOhuO5Lwh9PE_I/s1600/raj-Baboo-640x250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJD7fXWxyIFCaY9fMauF2qn5WowgFi1ShtQfcOKRTfOhkO-wOHQkpFoA9uKnJqoAu_HXM4ybR7jVCU0s9sBUHNajVr_GpplPDGLSGUTOUo1alriFD-dCrbVDbbl4D1YUOhuO5Lwh9PE_I/s400/raj-Baboo-640x250.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These dogs
also make great additions to the family and are comfortable with people around
them. They are fun to play with and can become a member of your family in no
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Desi dogs
deserve the love and respect that imported breeds normally get in our country.
These are a species of dogs indigenous to our country and we should strive to
making them popular among the masses and also globally as pets. They are the best
suited pets for India as per climate and other standards. If you are planning to adopt a puppy in the future, go for a desi dog. I guarantee you will not
regret it. </span></div>
Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-72031626382834999522016-04-29T03:31:00.000-07:002016-04-29T03:31:35.114-07:00Biswanath Ghat, the abode of Shiva <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Assam has many tourist gems which are not well known among
the general public. One such gem is the Biswanath Ghat which is located near
Biswanath Chariali town in the recently formed Biswanath district. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNgqf5dyjRt5A12YGTuEg8UGD3z4RLzOpT-Z-9B6raRyhDrYmseHxBmpxaE_0zFIYOl6SjmQorimSYis7VxEKcZ-6ZYcSGBauV6XCh8RT1HEIqpKQu24GTG0xMCzFy0KFpRiIywGUgFk/s1600/IMG_7340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNgqf5dyjRt5A12YGTuEg8UGD3z4RLzOpT-Z-9B6raRyhDrYmseHxBmpxaE_0zFIYOl6SjmQorimSYis7VxEKcZ-6ZYcSGBauV6XCh8RT1HEIqpKQu24GTG0xMCzFy0KFpRiIywGUgFk/s400/IMG_7340.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the river beach along the Brahmaputra </td></tr>
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Located on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra, the place is
named after the ancient Biswanath temple. It is called Gupta Kashi, in
comparison with Kashi during the golden rule of the Guptas. Going by popular
sayings, Kashi was home to temples housing about 330 million gods and
goddesses. The ghat has a cluster of more than 100 temples in the vicinity. A
Shiva temple, which was the erstwhile Biswanath temple, was located at the
confluence of Bridhaganga (Burigonga) river with Brahmaputra. But now what is
left of it are just the stone posts, beams and other ruins. During the summer
the temple remains under water. Only in winter, worship is done by constructing
temporary shed which draws lots of tourists.
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Biswanath Ghat, though a religious place, makes for a
perfect tourist destination during the winters. The water level of the
Brahmaputra recedes with the coming of the winter and gives way to lush golden
riverine sand beaches for tourists to explore. The lowered water level also
brings most of the rocks in the small riverine bay out from below the water and
they make a magnificent view.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTexD7iTberbt3Yr1763ABQ28CMvHP3RQR-uOPlhbI56XihQQ-1LF8dePsJ1XnDS5xvoRbYt1Rf67AVayunJ-nGMA-EiJqgt6tkfdYVOkXnXujtzgdDdiOaF-jpGSdaoTlaxeCOVcxc9Q/s1600/IMG_7381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTexD7iTberbt3Yr1763ABQ28CMvHP3RQR-uOPlhbI56XihQQ-1LF8dePsJ1XnDS5xvoRbYt1Rf67AVayunJ-nGMA-EiJqgt6tkfdYVOkXnXujtzgdDdiOaF-jpGSdaoTlaxeCOVcxc9Q/s400/IMG_7381.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the riverine bay at Biswanath Ghat </td></tr>
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There is also an island is present nearer this Biswanath
Ghat which is known as island of Umatumuni. This island is a tourist spot as it
houses a tourist lodge and also some remnants of an old temple. Just on the
opposite bank of the Brahmaputra lies the majestic Kaziranga National Park, and
in the far distance, you can see the hills of Karbi Anglong. <o:p></o:p></div>
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People are also highly recommended to visit the place during
the festival of Rongali Bihu. The third day of the festival, known as Goxai
Bihu, becomes a big affair here as devotees gather in large numbers to join in
the festivities and take out a religious procession in the area. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bordol Temple </td></tr>
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The ghat has several temples and many of them are worthy of
looking around. A new Biswanath temple was built in the village in the area and
it is worth paying a visit to. There are several smaller temples in the area
and it is said that there are many more yet to be discovered which lie hidden
or remain submerged under the river. Perhaps the most magnificent temple to be
seen here is the Bordol Temple built by the Ahom king Rajeswar Singha. This
temple has the same architectural design of the famous Shiva Dol temple of
Sivasagar and is a brilliant example of the Ahom style of architecture. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Reaching Biswanath Ghat is not a problem. Once you reach
Biswanath Chariali town, you can either take a taxi or an autorickshaw to the
place which about 30 minutes away from the town. There are also several options
of hotels and lodges in the town as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Biswanath Ghat makes a great option to visit along with
family and friends during if you in the mood for some exploration and
adventure. The place’s picturesque beauty will leave you spellbound and will
continue to haunt you to make another visit sooner than you will think. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-16943570014237112622016-04-21T11:49:00.000-07:002016-04-21T13:20:33.651-07:00Reliving the golden era of comic books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Reading comic books is a pretty much dead trend nowadays in
India. The number of people who read comics today is quite miniscule to the number
that used to exist about twenty years back. Our entire childhood and early
teens went away in the pursuit of collecting as many of the best comic book
titles that were available back then.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Comic book reading as a hobby thrived throughout the 90s
decade and died a slow but gradual death in the 2000s with the advent of
internet and wider medium of entertainments along with it. In the last one
decade, I have not come across one child who reads comic books. The few ones
who do only do so because they happen to have a few stray copies in their
possession or they came across older issues that were preserved by their
parents or older siblings. But in my opinion, active comic book reading as a
hobby has pretty much died out in India. Comic book reading exists today among
a small group of enthusiasts throughout the country. Most of these readers are
familiar with American titles from publishers such as DC and Marvel. The yearly
holding of Comic Cons in various metropolitan cities does help keep the spark
alive. But it is no longer the rage it used to be. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Most of the classic comic book characters have died out from
public memory and the newer generation is pretty much unaware of them.
Characters like Phantom, Mandrake, Flash Gordon, Garth, Rip Kirby, etc used to
be widely popular among the masses during the 70s and 80s due to the
publications of the legendary Indrajal Comics. Once that brand died out in
1990, these characters faded away. Diamond Comics continues publishing Phantom
and Mandrake issues during the 90s, but the others just vanished after that.
Along with these, the advent of the 90s saw the death of certain comic book
characters that were indigenous to our country. Two of the most popular
characters in this category are Inspector Vikram and Bahadur. While the
inspector’s adventures centred on combating dacoits in the notorious Chambal
valley, Bahadur too battled dacoits and other forms of organised crime as well.
It is safe to assume that because of the existence of these characters, we saw
the emergence of more popular comic book heroes such as Nagraj, Doga and even
Chacha Chaudhary in the 90s.</div>
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While characters from DC and Marvel may be the favourites
during the 90s and today as well thanks to Hollywood’s current infatuation with
them, back in the 70s and 80s, most of the Indian youth rocked to the
adventures of the Indrajal heroes. These comics were the first foreign origin
ones to be translated into vernacular languages such as Hindi, Bengali, etc.
While famous cartoon characters like Tintin and Asterix also got translated
into vernaculars around the same time, they never reached out to the mass
readers the way the Indrajal heroes did. Their reach extended to far flung
areas of the country and influenced youngsters into being a part of the greater
pop culture that Indian youth was experiencing back then. In several areas of
the northeast, Indrajal Comics sold like hot cakes upon their arrival. The
English, Hindi and Bengali versions were big hits in the towns of Assam and
most of the older generations who grew up in the 70s or 80s identify solidly
with Phantom just as 90s and today’s youngsters identify with characters like
Batman or Superman. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The effect of these comics in remote areas such as northeast
was immense. Back in the 70s and 80s, communication was quite backward in most
of the region. TV had not yet made a dent into the homes here and radio was
widely popular but lacked in the visual medium. These comics became the source
of entertainment for millions of youngsters who sought adventure and icons
among characters such as Phantom and Mandrake. When I browse through the old
issues of these comics, I find that there are several instances where letters
of fans from states such as Assam, Manipur and Mizoram appear in the ‘letters
to editor’ sections. This clearly shows the wide reach these comics did in even
remote areas of the country. Sadly, this open indulgence of fans from India’s
remote northeast quite vanished once Indrajal shut down shop in 1990. <o:p></o:p></div>
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These comics also began the trend of introducing their
heroes in vernacular languages. The one character that benefitted the most from
this translation game was Phantom, who became famous in most households as ‘Betaal.’
Most of the non-English reading masses made Betaal a cult figure that many of
the older generations still remember. In the 90s, Diamond Comics translated
most of the Phantom and Mandrake issues into vernaculars. Thankfully, Assamese
made it to the list as well and we no longer had to do with the Bengali comics
any more. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The comic trend that was kicked off by Indrajal in the 70s
and 80s was picked up by other publishers such as Manoj Comics, Kiran Comics
and most notably, Amar Chitra Katha, which reintroduced Indians to Hindu
mythology and Indian history in illustrated comic format like never before. The
AMC’s Tinkle comic book magazine was an absolute rage during the decade of 90s
and it was a weekly affair for every child to covet the latest edition of the
magazine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The 90s saw the rise of the Indian superheroes with the
advent of Raj Comics in the late 80s. Their characters such as Nagraj, Super
Commando Dhruv, Doga and Tiranga ruled the roost in the 90s among Indian comic
book fans. While there is no denying that most of these characters were just
rip offs of some of the world renowned superheroes from the DC and Marvel
comics, Indian comic book fans finally got a range of home bred superheroes. The
Indian comic book superhero reached a stage of maturity where writers and
illustrators did not shy away from showing matured content and complex storylines in their issues.</div>
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Diamond Comics also sparkled the 90s era with beloved comic
characters such as Chacha Chaudhary, Sabu, Billoo, Pinky, Raman, etc. They also
had their own range of superheroes such as Fauladi Singh, Agniputra-Abhay and
Tauji. The brand became the only source for the older generations from the 70s
and 80s to read Phantom and Mandrake comics in the 90s after the demise of Indrajal.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The deep rooting of TV throughout India during the early 90s
and also the coming of cable TV brought Indians into newer avenues of
entertainment. Children were exposed to various cartoons from foreign shores
and also foreign comic brands like DC and Marvel began to aggressively push
sales in a vast country like India. The onslaught of this foreign assault was
too much to be borne by our Indian comic book publishers. The new millennium saw
a spark in the sale of foreign comic books in comparison to the Indian ones.
Characters like Batman, Superman and Spider-Man took centre stage among Indian
comic readers rather than the home bred ones. Somehow I feel Indian comic book makers
could not reinvent themselves to the needs of the changing times that the new millennium
brought in with it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While Raj Comics and Diamond Comics still continue to
publish their titles, they are no longer the rage today anymore among the
youngsters. Sadly, the comic book reading culture among young Indians has died
out today after the advent of internet and various options available in the
visual medium. Comic book reading is an almost dead hobby in India today, much
like stamp collecting. Though a sizeable number of comic book readers still
exist, they are nothing compared to the huge numbers that once existed
throughout the country about twenty years ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Comic book reading culture saw a rising phase throughout the
70s and 80s and reached its golden climactic era in the 90s. The comic books we
see today are but remnants of that bygone era that we have lived as children during
the 90s. It is rather difficult for me to explain to today’s youngsters how
important characters like Phantom and Mandrake mattered to young Indians once.
Or how cool it was to own comic book issues of Indian superheroes such as
Nagraj and Doga. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Today’s youngsters mostly call themselves fans of characters
like Batman and Superman only after watching the movies or going through their
animated series on the TV or internet. But most of them have sadly missed out
the larger fun of picking up their comics and discovering them panel by panel
in an illustrated comic book format. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-19817011994158234262016-04-06T11:57:00.004-07:002016-04-06T11:57:42.374-07:00No Home for Leopards!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Guwahati is a unique city. While it is a hustling and
bustling metropolis on one hand, on the other hand it is a city that has ample
amount of unabashed natural beauty. The hills that surround Guwahati are
special as they house some of the wild beauties that other city goers don’t usually
get to see at such close quarters. And yet this natural beauty has been upset
by the increasing urbanisation and encroachment into the forest areas. And the
worst casualties in this mayhem have been the leopards. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Guwahati has been home to a sizeable leopard population that
has thrived in its surrounding hills and the forest areas. Over the last three
decades, Guwahati has expanded in all directions and this growing urbanisation
has eaten up most of the city’s natural forest cover that has been a part of it
since time immemorial. While the need to create houses for the increasing
populace of Guwahati continues to exert pressure, the traditional leopard
habitat has been hit hard with most of their homes been taken over by the
concrete structures. This has resulted in increased man-leopard conflict over
the past few years that has reached a worrying level today. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once, leopards were found in almost all the hills in and
around Guwahati. Over the last few decades, their habitats have been destroyed due
to encroachment and destruction of forest covers over the hills. The city is no
longer a safe zone for leopards as per most conservationists and experts and it
is only a matter of time before the resident leopards of Guwahati go completely
extinct. Leopards have already been exterminated from the main hill of Nilachal,
the GMCH hill and the Nabagraha hill. Today most of the leopards in the city
areas are concentrated in the hills at Maligaon and Pandu, where thankfully,
the forest cover over the hills has also been largely intact so far. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But these habitats are also being threatened as more and
more houses are being built adding more woes to the survival of Guwahati’s
local leopards. Leopards normally live within rocky structures or caves where
they rear their young. Most of such rocks on the hillsides are taken away and
used up in the quarrying process for cement, leaving the leopard homeless. The
loss of their habitat also means that they lose out on their natural prey due
to the vanishing forest cover. As a result of this, they have to venture out
into the city areas in search of food that brings them in direct conflict with
man. The result is that we have had several news of leopards straying into the
city areas and then being brutally put to death by a mob of panicked people. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The largescale encroachment of people into the forest areas
over the hills has put the leopard population at stake today. What is
surprising is that most of the encroachment has happened in the reserved forest
areas of the hills as well but forest authorities are completely helpless in
removing the encroachers from there. This is because of the political backing
that these encroachers get due to vote bank politics and often we see violent
resistance for any eviction drive. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The worst part is that the forest department seems to have
no response mechanism to this growing threat of encroachment to Guwahati’s
forest areas. There is no presence of any rapid action force in the forest
department to look into immediate cases of encroachment. And it seems the government
is not interested in forming strong anti-encroachment laws in the areas because
of their rotten vote bank politics. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is extremely important to save the leopards of Guwahati
as they are the oldest residents of the city and not us humans. There should be
strict laws whereby further encroachment should be stopped and strong
mechanisms should be undertaken to empower the forest department to tackle the
issues concerned. Translocation of the big cats should not also be ruled out
and they can be taken away and resettled to other reserved forests where they
can get ample food and shelter. It is still a better option than to silently
watch these magnificent felines be killed due to mindless mob violence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As per an estimate that is several years old, the total
forest cover in the hills was just 13.60 percent. Today it is bound to be
far less, given the ongoing encroachment, illegal logging and earth-cutting on
the hills. Of the 7,023 hectares of hill land, about 2,642 hectares fall under
reserve forests but a major part of even these protected forest covers lie
destroyed and degraded due to encroachment and tree-felling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Something needs to done fast in this regard before we have
to experience the misfortune of lamenting the demise of the last leopard of
Guwahati. Afterall, if you think deeply, it is we who have invaded their
territory and not the other way around. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-32149838661937799852016-04-06T10:12:00.000-07:002016-04-06T10:12:00.565-07:00The beautiful world of Pobitora<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you are someone who itches for a peek of nature and
wildlife then there are lots of options for you since you are living in Assam.
For someone in Guwahati though, the options are not bad considering that the
Deepor Beel birds sanctuary is quite nearby. Also, there are several hills
around the city that allow nature lovers a peek into some local wildlife. But
if you are itching for a real safari experience then again you should be
thankful for being a Guwahatian. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Not far from the city, about 48 kms away in the Morigaon
district is situated the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. For those who feel that
Kaziranga is too far away to fit in their hectic routines, a day’s getaway to
Pobitora is a refreshing experience as it allows you to spend some time among
the Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros. Covering an area of about 38.80 square
kilometres, Pobitora is perhaps the other most prolific place to witness the
rhino in its wild glory after Kaziranga. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Reaching there is no hurdle as it is just about an hour ride
away from Guwahati. But yes, do take your own vehicle as there are no bus
services till there. I had lived all my life in Guwahati, but got to visit the
place only recently. The sanctuary is quite close to Mayong and even covers a
small hillock in the Raja Mayong area. The area for effective rhino habitat is
only about 16 square kilometres. So one good thing is you don’t to travel long
distances within the sanctuary to catch a glimpse of the magnificent beasts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Pobitora is quite an interesting place. It is surrounded
from all side by villages and has a strict area boundary unlike Kaziranga where
sometimes the boundaries blur with human settlements. There are reportedly
about 93 rhinos within the sanctuary and if reports are to be believed, it has
become overpopulated for the species. Most of the rhino grazing areas are near
to the human settlements and the boundary is demarcated by a road running along
the area. Cattle and livestock from the nearby villages roam carefree within
the park area among the rhinos and other animals such as water buffaloes and
wild boars. We went on a jeep safari ride and it was already late in the
morning and we were surprised by the number of cattle present within the park
area. The rhinos didn’t seem disturbed at all by the presence of the large
number of cattle and livestock around them and peacefully carried on with their
grazing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The safari ride took us through a patch of area that had
ample amount of shady trees that gave quite a picturesque look to the place.
And on top of it you could see the cattle roaming in the area along with wild
boars and rhinos in between. Pobitora is a beautiful place and some of the most
picturesque locations if you are interesting in wildlife photography. But do
remember to reach the place by 7 am if you want to enjoy an elephant ride
safari. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Because of its comparatively smaller area to other
sanctuaries, the problem of poaching is quite unheard of here, unlike Kaziranga
where it is rampant. The rhinos have grown accustomed to the presence of humans
and their livestock in their vicinity and hence peaceful coexistence prevails
here. Apart from rhinos, the sanctuary also has a sizeable population of water
buffaloes, wild boars and over 2000 varieties of birds and reptiles. There is
no population of tigers or deer here. There are some leopards but their
presence is only in the deeper areas of the sanctuary. Pobitora is a fine place
to spot several species of birds, especially in the winters when migratory birds
come in large numbers here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Pobitora makes for a great day long getaway along with your
family to witness the beauty of the wilderness in the presence of the
magnificent rhinoceros. And the best part is it is quite close to a major city
like Guwahati. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-74994225882250028862016-03-29T21:58:00.000-07:002016-03-31T03:47:52.411-07:00Batman v Superman: A missed opportunity!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice. I’ve watched it twice so far. No plans for a third viewing
though! The first time I watched it, I enjoyed it a lot although I could see
some glaring loopholes in the movie. But I decided to go for a second viewing.
Not because I loved the movie a lot, but because the internet had exploded with
reviews and fights between the fans and critics. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Nobody had anticipated such a wide divide on the movie and
over the last week the movie fights escalated considerably on the internet.
There were people who loved it. There were others who hated it. I enjoyed it,
but I couldn’t ignore the fact that there were some major defects in the movie.
The second viewing turned out to be rather interesting. I still enjoyed the
movie, I’ll not lie. Especially the action, those scenes were magnificent. But
the loopholes became even more apparent this time and I was left fuming over
the phenomenal fuck up that DC and Warner Bros had done with their cinematic
universe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s go back to the beginning. Back in 2013, when Man of
Steel came out and kick started the DC cinematic universe. While that movie too
faced a lot of criticism, I was blown away with what I saw. This was not just a
good reboot, but it was also the most realistic take ever on the character of
Superman. Credit goes to the great Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer, who
wrote the story, and gave such a realistic treatment to the character of
Superman. I quite liked the dark tone of the movie as I prefer DC comic movies
to have darker tones than the others. They established a perfect origin story
for the newer generations who had either not seen the old Christopher Reeves
movies or were not much familiar with the Superman lore as we comic book fans
are. Nolan and Goyer’s aim was to invest into the audience who had never read a
Superman comic in their lives and hence we got a rich backstory into the
character. I really did not mind all the destruction of Metropolis in the
climax as so many people complained. Yes it did take me by surprise in the
first viewing, but even back then I could understand that this was a raw and
inexperienced Superman who was taking on a formidable opponent like General
Zod. This was a Superman who was still coming to grasp with the full potential
of his powers. He was a very conflicted character, which is why I did not mind
him killing off Zod in the end. What Superman purists forget here is that
Christopher Reeves’ Superman also killed Zod in the old Superman 2 movie, but I
never heard anybody complain about it. That’s hypocrisy, bitches!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, I was quite happy with Man of Steel and felt that
the DC cinematic universe was in safe hands with writers like Nolan and Goyer
and a director like Zack Snyder. So when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was
announced two years ago, I was pumped up like hell even though I must confess I
was a little miffed as to why they did not go with a Man of Steel sequel and
further develop Superman’s character. But this is also where shit started to go
down. Warner Bros could not contain their greed over the huge money that Man of
Steel made and decided that it was time for them to compete directly with
Marvel who had painstakingly established their own cinematic universe
successfully. But DC decided to take a terrible leap without doing their
homework and decided to bring a prelude to Justice League without going for any
more movies to establish the characters of their cinematic universe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I think this was also the reason why Christopher Nolan
backed out of this project because he and Goyer had a specific vision and a
process to establish the characters of this cinematic universe. I’m sure they
wanted to develop Superman’s character with another movie before they push him
into a frame with the other DC superheroes. DC’s decision to cram in atleast
five different storylines resulting in a jumbled up mess must have prodded
Nolan to back out although his name still remains as Executive Producer in the
movie credits. Unlike Marvel, who decided to stick to most of the lore from
their comic books, DC made a glorious mess by fusing so many storylines that
could have made great standalone movies individually. I call it a glorious mess
because inspite of all the shortcomings, it is still a good looking movie. The
credit here goes to Zack Snyder. He is a fantastic visual director, but not a
good storyteller. His previous films, which can be termed as good movies, are
so because they were backed up with solid stories. 300 was fun to watch because
Snyder copied the movie exactly frame to frame from the original Frank Miller
graphic novel. Snyder’s Watchmen was also a fantastic watch because he gave out
great visuals to a well written story based on a rather difficult graphic novel
series. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But Snyder’s shortcomings as a storyteller become evident
when we see movies like Sucker Punch. That film has some of the most amazing
visual sequences I’ve ever seen in cinema. But at the end of the day, I was
left wondering what the hell was that all about?! Pretty much the same thing happened
with Batman v Superman. A shoddy script with several plotholes could not be
saved by Snyder’s mediocre storytelling skills. The result is evident. The film’s
story has got plots from several DC Comics story archs such as A Death in the Family, The Dark Knight Returns, Justice League: War and of course Death of
Superman. The worst part is that while fans like us could get all the
references in the movie for the different story archs, non-comic book reading
people, who formed the bulk of the audiences, were left confused. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The nightmare sequence has left most of the audiences
heavily confused. In that sequence, they teased the coming of Darkseid with the
Omega symbol and the parademons in the movie, but how many from the audiences
got that? They showed a grim and darker Superman who complained of a dead Lois
Lane to Batman. Then immediately in the next shot in that same nightmare
sequence, they showed Flash making a sudden appearance and warning Bruce Wayne
to be careful of Superman and fear him. That was a direct reference to DC’s
Injustice story arch. How many people in the audience got that? In a theatre full
of, let’s say about a hundred people, there are a maximum of 30-40 die hard comic
book fans who are familiar with all the story archs and can enjoy these scenes
to the fullest. But what about the rest of the audience who were left confused
as hell? Then there is another scene where Bruce Wayne walks past the suit of
Robin which has the words ‘Ha ha! The joke’s on you Batman!’ written over it.
This is a direct reference to the second Robin, Jason Todd, who gets brutally
murdered by the Joker in the A Death in the Family storyline. But how many in the
audience really got that? <o:p></o:p><br />
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I see it as a great disservice to the audience in general as
the non-comic book reading folks are those who make up the bulk of the audience
for these movies and DC has taken them for granted. Man of Steel set up such a
rich origin story for Superman with even the movie’s first fifteen minutes
dedicated to the events on Krypton so that audiences connect fully to the
character’s background. Here characters are introduced from the middle without
any explanation as to what led them to their current state? Bruce Wayne is
quite a bitter man from past events and he has pretty much given up his moral
code never to kill as Batman. This surprised many die hard Batman fans like me,
but frankly, I really don’t have much problem with that. I never really could
connect to the theory as to how you can fight some of the worst imaginable villains
in human consciousness without killing off even a single one of them. This is
exactly why I did not have problems with Superman killing Zod in Man of Steel. <o:p></o:p></div>
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All the good work of Nolan and Goyer, which had been
achieved with Man of Steel, was undone in this movie. People got to see a good
origin story for Superman, but they could not see his character grow with another
standalone movie. In the movie, people are still divided over their opinion for
Superman and it is quite evident from the TV debate shots that are shown in the
movie. It’s only been eighteen months since the events in Man of Steel, most of
the people in the movie are still coming to terms with the presence of a
godlike character such as Superman, but what is strange is there is a huge
Superman statue in the city as well. If there is such a strong division of
opinion regarding the guy, who let such a big statue be constructed in the
middle of the city that the fellow almost ruined eighteen months back? Makes no
fucking sense! The last shot in the film that is shown of the general public is
a mob burning an effigy of Superman. And when pretty much the same night, he gets
killed by Doomsday, he becomes a hero in the eyes of the very same public?
Makes no fucking sense! <o:p></o:p><br />
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Now I come to my biggest resentment in the movie. The death
of Superman. This is the second movie in the DC cinematic universe, and they killed
off Superman so soon! Seriously, in their haste to match up with Marvel, DC has
ruined the character of Superman. No space was given for the character to grow
and become relatable to the audience and believe me when I say this, nobody, I
repeat, nobody could feel the full emotional extant that one should feel at the
death of a character like Superman. Somehow I had suspected it beforehand when
I saw Doomsday in the movie’s second trailer. I felt Doomsday was too early a
character to be brought in the cinematic universe’s second movie itself. But I
dismissed the idea of Superman’s death because it seemed too early to go that
route. And boy was I wrong! Now that Superman is dead, there is really no point
in making any more Superman sequel. Yes he will be resurrected, but they can’t
kill him off again! That’s been done! <o:p></o:p><br />
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This is what has pissed me off so bad! They did not let the
character grow, they killed him off so suddenly, and it’s pretty much certain
that now his impact won’t be as it should have in the upcoming Justice League
movies. And in the movie, they’ve teased Injustice, which means they’ll be
turning Superman into a villain during the last phase of the DC cinematic line.
They have ruined Superman in ways none could have fathomed. In their haste to
catch up with Marvel, DC has suffered from a bad case of premature ejaculation.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Marvel had standalone movies for their major characters like
Iron Man, Captain America and Thor before they came up with the first Avengers
movie. The movie was a grand success because audience all over the globe
connected with the characters as they knew their backgrounds from the previous
movies. There was no such scope in this movie and none remains so for the
Justice League movie. So when Superman died, it did not leave the impact it should
have otherwise left on the audience. Marvel is coming up with Captain America: Civil
War next month, and mark my words, the audiences around the world will give a reaction
filled with emotions when a certain major character goes down in the movie. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t want to delve into the details of the storyline of
the film or discuss its plotholes as that has been done meticulously by critics. You
can get those stuff on Youtube. I will though say that the scene where the other
Justice League characters are introduced when Wonder Woman opens an email that
Bruce Wayne sends her, feels completely rushed, badly executed and out of place
in the movie. In that particular sequence, the files that contain the CCTV
camera footages for the characters had the actual symbols of the characters
from the comics. What should I call it? Lazy story writing? Bad direction? Or
have the makers of this movie taken us audiences to be so stupid that they feel
we should be spoon fed this nonsense. Why do the files have those symbols over
them? Did Lex Luthor hire a team of designers and put those over the files that
best fits each character? During my first viewing, when the scene came out, I almost
blurted out loudly in the theatre, “That is so stupid!” <o:p></o:p><br />
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Another scene that left me fuming in anger was the one where
Batman and Superman stop fighting after they discover their moms have a common
name, Martha. This time I could not contain myself and actually said out aloud
in the theatre, “Ok now this is fucking stupid!” Those were the exact words I uttered
and a few people sitting around me laughed at my comment. Really DC, the
audiences are not so stupid. Even the ones who don’t read your comics. Batman
planned this attack on Superman for months and you expect me to believe that he
would give up the idea of killing Superman just at that point? Pure case of
lazy story writing! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Like many critics, even I agree that Lex’s motivation
against Superman are unclear. Bruce Wayne’s motivations are established clearly
in the film’s opening when he witnesses Metropolis’s destruction during
Superman and Zod’s fight. But what were Lex’s reasons? Also I don’t understand
why did he take that stupid approach to make Superman and Batman fight! He knew
the true identities of both the characters and in my opinion, he could have
either exposed them publicly or meticulously destroyed their lives step by
step. But no! He came up with his half-baked plan to make them fight which had
to fell apart. And then he created Doomsday as a backup plan, which I’m pissed
about because the writers ruined Doomsday’s origin story and his character. I
feel Metallo or Bizarro would have been better choices for a villain in the
film’s scenario. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On a positive note, I feel delighted with Ben Affleck’s
Batman. Like all, I would reiterate that he was the best thing in the movie and
I am looking forward to his standalone Batman movie. Plus, at the end of the
day I have no qualms over Batman killing bad guys. In fact I do prefer the
brutal Batman now. Henry Cavill was good as Superman, but the writers did not
give any space for his character to grow so it would be unfair to make any
negative comments on him. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was also fantastic and her
entry in the last fight had me roaring in applause with the rest of the
audience. Jesse Eisenberg took a very odd take on Lex Luthor. But I won’t blame
him because he did what he was told to do. I feel he would have looked much
better if he had carried on with his cold and calculative business tycoon act
from The Social Network. But I must say that the fight scenes in this movie
were so good! Especially the one where Batman takes down Lex’s goons in the
warehouse. That was brilliantly done. When I look at these delightful action
scenes and then I compare them with the rest of the movie, I can’t help but
notice that this movie is nothing but a huge missed opportunity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the end, I will not say like others that the movie could
have been better. In my opinion this movie should not have existed without a
proper Superman sequel in the first place. DC has fucked up big time with this
movie. I don’t know how they are going to proceed with the other movies. They’ve
ruined Superman and now there are really no stakes attached to that character
for future. And sadly by teasing Injustice, they’ve hinted that they are only
going to further deteriorate him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, this movie is making tons of money and I enjoyed
watching the movie both times. But I can’t help lament over the mess that DC
and Warner Bros have made with this movie. This is not really a rant. I am just
expressing my concerns over a movie franchise that I really wanted to shine. I
really wanted this movie to be good. I am a Batman fanboy and I was delighted
with the new Dark Knight in the movie. But it somewhat hurt me to see Superman’s
character being demolished so unceremoniously. Warner Bros tried to take on
Marvel with this one, but the truth is they are not even half as smart as the
bosses who decide the course of Marvel’s cinematic universe. It's not a bad
film. But it's not that good either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-59055742098190606522016-03-25T12:30:00.001-07:002016-03-25T12:30:52.646-07:00Before you buy a new Smartphone!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Everybody uses a smartphone today and India is undergoing
the smartphone revolution right now which is transforming most Indians into
techno freaks. More and more feature phone users are switching to smartphones
and this has made India into the world’s second largest market for smartphone
makers globally. As more and more buyers have emerged in the country’s growing
smartphones so have been the vendors offering various devices with different
features and on different platforms such as Android, iOS and Windows Phone. It
is therefore very important that the prospective smartphone buyer must be
educated about certain aspects of the device before buying it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While it is true that small screen smartphones are largely a
thing of the past, the standard size for a smartphone is normally around 5
inches. There are many smartphones on the market that have a screen size of
almost 6 inches, but that is totally on the preferences of the customers. There
are some key points that you should always consider while buying a new
smartphone if you are planning to use for a period of atleast 2-3 years without
much hassles. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64cz1AxWDhsQDNmTaK0-3W7ltIDj-Sb0XDOQaPEReaXvTU-jRrOs3-PDd_4b7XlhpkrKzaEfR-0o_TYmx8sWMyORIPLqOcs52NiUNiOjXQG8XEqYZwHOKCkPU3B1n9qNM53UE-OPI5b4/s1600/best-cheap-smartphones-for-under-100-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64cz1AxWDhsQDNmTaK0-3W7ltIDj-Sb0XDOQaPEReaXvTU-jRrOs3-PDd_4b7XlhpkrKzaEfR-0o_TYmx8sWMyORIPLqOcs52NiUNiOjXQG8XEqYZwHOKCkPU3B1n9qNM53UE-OPI5b4/s320/best-cheap-smartphones-for-under-100-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>RAM: </b>A smartphone’s RAM is very important to
determine how the device would fare in day to day usage and multitasking.
Different devices have different ways of utilising their available RAM and
hence going by today’s standards a smartphone should have a minimum RAM of 1GB
atleast. There are many phones in the market that offer upto 3 or 4GB of RAM,
but I’m talking mostly of those devices that come below the range of 10K
pricing. If you can spend more than 10K than you will probably be able to
afford a device with 2GB RAM. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>STORAGE: </b>Phone storage is a very important factor
while buying a smartphone. The internal storage that is available out of the
box in a device is important as it affects the performance of the phone
greatly. Users get frequent updates for the apps on their devices and they tend
to take up more and more space of the phone’s storage. Hence it is important
that when you buy a phone go for a device that gives you atleast 16GB of
internal storage. Anything less than that is nothing short of a compromise and
it will affect the optimum usage you can derive out of your device. Also, it is
highly advisable to go for devices that give the option of expandable storage
such as Micro SD card or OTG support. In case of no expandable storage, try to
go for a device that offers larger storage such as 32 or 64 GB, although for
those you may have to dish out some extra money.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>CAMERA: </b>Camera is a very important aspect of a
smartphone today. Most smartphone makers compete among themselves to offer good
camera specs in competitive price ranges. Although the game of megapixels if
rather overrated for me, I would say that the most acceptable camera specs
among smartphones today would be a 13MP camera in the back and a 5MP camera in
the front. If you can increase your budget beyond 15K than you can get even
better specs for the camera on your phone. The best cameras however come in the
extremely high price categories. But always remember that your camera should
have HDR mode, optical image stabilisation and various shooting modes that
enhance your experience in a rich way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>BATTERY: </b>Battery life is very important nowadays. Most
smartphone users complain of battery life as their device fails to take them
through most of the day and they end up worrying about charging them once in
every few hours. Today many devices in the price range of around 15K are
offering a battery life of upto 3000 mAh. But if you don’t want to go upto that
sort of price bracket then atleast make sure that your battery has no less than
2000 mAh juice in it. Also you can save up your battery during the day by
minimising the internet data consumption and managing it in a more profitable
way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>SOFTWARE: </b>Though some do not attach much importance
to the software of the Operating System (OS) of the device, I feel it is quite
important as having the latest OS can give you a great experience on your
phone’s platform. Be it Android, iOS or Windows Phone, it always advisable to
have their latest versions as they always bring something new and fresh with
them in their successive versions as it greatly enhances your overall
experience. While it rather depends on your smartphone maker on whether they
give you future software updates or not, it is rather better to start with the
latest OS in the market in all purposes. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-36966207125228683792016-03-16T21:02:00.003-07:002016-03-16T21:02:31.406-07:00India’s Smartphone Revolution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Technology is such an integral part of our lives today that
we often do not realise the huge impact it has on us daily. Be it email, social
networks, messaging, video chats or whatever, the fact is that our daily
activities are governed by our access to technology which unlimits our access
to the world around us. And in this tryst with technology, our medium for
accessing today is none other than our trusted mobile device. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyMescsk1f7zNccMaUh1g6808RAJmlEFESBxWQgVAMgX2rVYcyGVySR9x2V2Qq0eRFxtAsViw5tP-I7DJde4qiJnZCvU2vGHSFnLWwQrlQ559aXTLVuDgk6j8oKi6hMX96oyYZ3VKJwA/s1600/people_taking_pics_with_mobile_reuters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyMescsk1f7zNccMaUh1g6808RAJmlEFESBxWQgVAMgX2rVYcyGVySR9x2V2Qq0eRFxtAsViw5tP-I7DJde4qiJnZCvU2vGHSFnLWwQrlQ559aXTLVuDgk6j8oKi6hMX96oyYZ3VKJwA/s320/people_taking_pics_with_mobile_reuters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes, the very mobile phone which has taken the form of the
savvy smartphone has become the most important asset that we possess for most
of our daily activities today. More and more people are going for smartphones
today ditching features phones to access the options available through the means
of internet and technology. The advent of the culture of professionalism in
lieu of the traditional laid back government jobs that have dominated our
attitude for the past many decades has been heralded by the coming of the
mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, etc which has made the internet an
almost essential component such as water supply or electricity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the last few decades, some people in the urban scenarios
were seen with devices like pagers for their work purposes but they never
really got popular beyond a point. While desktop computers brought Indians
closer to the world in terms of technology, it was really the popularity of the
portable laptop over the last decade that revolutionised how Indians access
technology. Thankfully, India witnessed an internet revolution in the last ten
years in the urban centres that changed the face of the country’s professional
and technical scenario. Easy access to internet through various service
providers and the role played by portable laptops brought people of this
country join the proverbial global village that technology had built up across
the world in the last couple of decades. While mobile phones largely remained a
device for primary communication such as making calls and messaging, it was
really the advent of the smartphone that made it into the powerful device that
it has become today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While the credit for making the smartphone a savvy device
goes largely to the legendary Steve Jobs and Apple, in India the revolution was
brought in Google’s Android devices. Indians, who had already gotten hooked
onto the search engine, now found the Android OS from the same company as a
powerful platform to explore the vast world of internet. Suddenly, the mobile
phone was no longer a means to just make calls or send messages. It became a
medium of multimedia that could not explored in earlier mediums and made
Indians experience technology like never before. So be it social networking,
video chatting, on phone editing and what not, the smartphone has become the plaything
of the average tech savvy urban Indian today which makes him or her empowered
to achieved several feats on touch
screen platform. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While Android was around for the first couple of years in
the Indian markets during the turn of 2010, the devices did not hit instant
popularity as they were highly priced. It wasn’t until the game changing advent
of the Indian vendors such Micromax, Xolo and Lava that the smartphones reached
out to the hands of the middle class Indians. The widespread popularity of these
devices forced the more lucrative brands to rethink their strategy and today
some of the best brands with great features are available at the most
competitive prices. The competition among these various brands, be they foreign
or Indian, has sparked off the smartphone revolution that has engulfed most of
the urban youth in its grip. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The smartphone revolution has resulted in the mobile device
becoming a means to express yourself in the most diverse way possible. The
presence of the online stores in mobile OS platforms like Android and iOS has
brought in several options for the users as they can download various apps for
free that help in their daily work in various ways. Many professionals do
several of their editing works on their mobile devices, be it smartphones or
tablets. The scope for net banking or online share trading has also increased
significantly on the mobile devices that make such work very easy for
professionals while being on the move. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While the urban centres of the country seem to have embraced
the smartphone revolution with open arms, the smartphone is slowly making
inroads into the rural centres as well. This is the sector that has been
untapped and has great potential to use technology to overcome most of the
problems that have plagued villages for so many years now. While it is
heartening to see people from the lower strata of life in the urban centres
using smartphone in their daily lives, it is only a matter of time before the
same scenario is seen among the people in the urban sector as well. The
presence of internet and technology can open up a lot of options for the rural
people and bridge the gap with the urban folks that can go a long way in
bringing in a semblance in the development of both sides. The current
government’s policies like Digital India is also taking the internet and
smartphone revolution in the right direction. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The world is making most of internet and technology today.
We Indians must not lag behind in this regard, be it in the rural or urban
sector. The smartphone can play a pivotal role in making this dream a success
and we must grab it with both hands. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-41190289962262109842014-10-26T21:49:00.000-07:002014-10-26T21:49:06.314-07:00Durga Puja in Guwahati: Viewing through my Lenses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Durga Puja as a grand festival is mostly associated with West Bengal among the people of the rest of India. But it is also a very important festival in Assam as well with the festive fever reaching a crescendo in the city of Guwahati. People from both the Assamese and Bengali communities come together in the city to put up grand pandals and innovative Puja themes. Over the years, the scale of Durga Puja has increased manifolds in Guwahati and today many believe that after Kolkata, Guwahati holds some of the best Puja pandals in the entire country. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2vKMcy_u352s2MRTmIyrD0SNAXmegMNeUMiXI7R7lLO6I8aPHBlZHxywohw-rYa4Fe825pd0dfwyJyX5zGNrtUif8o5Ag3MZlV6IA6g99DHRr0mp8gJC2aGj8bID6AzswkElbxTiEbI/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2vKMcy_u352s2MRTmIyrD0SNAXmegMNeUMiXI7R7lLO6I8aPHBlZHxywohw-rYa4Fe825pd0dfwyJyX5zGNrtUif8o5Ag3MZlV6IA6g99DHRr0mp8gJC2aGj8bID6AzswkElbxTiEbI/s1600/1.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">An idol of the Goddess Durga at a pandal</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4xGt9CNwBf6a6bvo__HygF0kY4rcM5Ad5E_YQ35yjqvdbRw5uV9ZhPDc4222Z_b_Q7C61vqtsSiVuJ7qFVTG4i0A5st3J8Ak_9a2jX5bxVuiarZQkIFmKS-rCRE4A2Qq59G2O8FkkUU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4xGt9CNwBf6a6bvo__HygF0kY4rcM5Ad5E_YQ35yjqvdbRw5uV9ZhPDc4222Z_b_Q7C61vqtsSiVuJ7qFVTG4i0A5st3J8Ak_9a2jX5bxVuiarZQkIFmKS-rCRE4A2Qq59G2O8FkkUU/s1600/2.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">A closeup of a Durga idol</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToR6s5WVjxcCv4EI__ZmedHCBdF81irZ2lZGv4Rvu4a0kJoeQO68BHQghWIXpWdiSdCNFe939Ti0S0_aXyqn_E9pP9Vv0PSVt74ZLIlf-v3Gzof4zV_Id0z0_DjdR0O5hrD0ueZdypiY/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToR6s5WVjxcCv4EI__ZmedHCBdF81irZ2lZGv4Rvu4a0kJoeQO68BHQghWIXpWdiSdCNFe939Ti0S0_aXyqn_E9pP9Vv0PSVt74ZLIlf-v3Gzof4zV_Id0z0_DjdR0O5hrD0ueZdypiY/s1600/3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">An illuminated gate entrance at a puja pandal</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHIC_TYCQG9CzuGE516Rwx2n9DXHf3hEbsGqHuHhrOC9CpY0Id6aRJ7-8tYk-nJdBJg-9ElvivTqIIogJ3iBAme9kyZ6BLTZEidab6UrjMXIJzGwARvsdpxjHpCpXKkL8FKH78ZK2lLM/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHIC_TYCQG9CzuGE516Rwx2n9DXHf3hEbsGqHuHhrOC9CpY0Id6aRJ7-8tYk-nJdBJg-9ElvivTqIIogJ3iBAme9kyZ6BLTZEidab6UrjMXIJzGwARvsdpxjHpCpXKkL8FKH78ZK2lLM/s1600/4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">
The city's Santipur Sluicegate pandal with the theme of the Ganges flowing out of Lord Shiva's matted locks</div>
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A grand puja pandal set up in the city's Maligaon locality</div>
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Earthen lamps being lit at a Puja pandal</div>
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A group of women performing traditional kirtan at a puja pandal</div>
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Durga Puja is a favourite time for people to gorge on street food. Here is a gol gappa stand near a pandal</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">The puja theme at the city's Bishnupur pandal depicting the goddess as mother nature killing the Asur who is shown here as a poacher</span></td></tr>
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A Durga idol made entirely of dried coconut leaves at a pandal from the city's Rehabari locality</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">The Kalimandir pandal of the city's Chatribari locality came up with this unique idol made entirely of aluminium and stainless steel utensils</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">The Durga idol from a pandal in Fancy Bazar locality was made to wear real jewellery. The chain around the idol's neck was reportedly worth Rs 25 lakhs</span></td></tr>
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Several puja pandals in the city put up donation boxes to provide relief for the victims of the recent floods in Assam</div>
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A young reveller waits before the beginning of the Bisarjan (immersion) procession on the last day </div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-83466973877574677602014-07-20T10:52:00.001-07:002014-07-20T13:04:12.110-07:00Annals of a Proud Meat Eater<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Only yesterday I was having a great dish of beef Biryani at a Muslim restaurant and decided to post a pic of the dish on Instagram. Instantly, one of my Muslim friends poked fun at me saying that he would expose me in front of the RSS. Immediately I looked around the place and observed that in the restaurant, out of about nine tables, in the chamber where I was seated, four were occupied by people who were visibly non-Muslims. I could see almost all of them had ordered red meat items, and I’m hoping that all of them would be beef and not mutton. But what seemed funny to me is that in a nation where the Hindu right wingers are trying to get a ban on cow slaughter, there are many Hindus like me who are beef lovers. And mind it; I’m neither a Communist nor an atheist. You can term me more like a liberal right winger.</div>
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I’m an Assamese caste Hindu who has a penchant for non-vegetarian items. But then most of my kind are, and I secretly pity any one from my breed who turns out to be a vegetarian. We Assamese are voracious meat eaters. Though like all Hindus, most of us abstain from eating beef, there are a few of us who love to do so. While Assamese Hindus may traditionally abstain from beef, we indulge in a variety of other meats which make our culinary options quite colourful. Like most Assamese families, ours is also a unit that indulges in varieties when it comes to non-veg. Our family belongs to the Vaishnav sect of Assam, and unlike the Vaishnavites from other parts of India, we are traditionally voracious meat eaters, except for beef and pork. This is quite like the Kashmiri Pandits who love to gorge on mutton, unlike their brethren from other parts of the country. Leaving the Vaishnavs and the Brahmins, and of course the Muslims, traditionally pork has been a most favourite item among the other communities. Almost every indigenous community of the state like the Ahoms, Kacharis, Bodos, Mishings, etc love pork. If you love pork, then you will find yourself in paradise while exploring the dishes made here locally.</div>
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In my family, traditions had been maintained quite strictly and both pork and beef remained out of the house for long. In a large clan of happy non-vegetarian Vaishnavs, I feel proud to admit that there are three black sheep, viz me, my brother and our Deuta (father). How did I become a beef eater? Well the credit goes to my Deuta. He was a rebel among all his siblings and ventured out in his younger days and indulged in both pork and beef. The best part was that he did not feel it necessary to hide his indulgence out of shame and hence earned contempt from his relatives. Deuta says even today, “If you don’t feel the guilt for something, then you should never be ashamed of having indulged in it.” And religion acts as no bar here. In fact ask my younger about it and he would say that religion is a complete bitch when it comes to fooding habits.</div>
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A question that I have often been asked is how many different types of meat forms have I eaten? This question came up during my stay in Delhi, a place where most people never rise above chicken or mutton. Fish is seen more like a ‘Bangaliyo ka zayka’, and Muslims mostly indulge in sale of buffalo meat, and never really real beef, to avoid controversy. Since I don’t have the typical yours truly ‘chinki’ look from my home region, I was mostly passed off as a Commie Bong who loves to indulge in food adventures. But the truth is most Bongs would shy away at the kind of meat forms that I indulge in.</div>
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Let me start with the basics, of course I began with chicken and mutton which forms a staple part of our culinary routine at home. Fish is more common in an Assamese household and like the Bongs, we have an extremely soft corner for the tasty Hilsa fish. In my house, we have rice, dal, atleast two to three varieties of vegetables, and fish on every alternate day. Chicken or mutton makes their appearances on weekends. Apart from chicken, other birds that we are fond of eating are pigeon and ducks. They are occasional appearances at our dining table and need special events for that matter. While most people in north India would cringe at the very thought of eating a cutie pie bird such as the pigeon, here in Assam, it is a delicacy among our people across various communities. Traditionally, it is expected that a newly wed bride in an Assamese household must cook a splendid dish of pigeon meat curry after her entry into the in-law’s house so as to win their hearts. Duck meat is a very warm variety and is preferred mostly during the winters. People do not shy away from hunting migratory ducks who come in from far off places such as Russia as they make splendid dishes for the wintery nights. We have ourselves indulged with this variety on quite a few occasions. Traditionally, we also have a soft side for crabs and prawns. If cooked in the proper manner, they are absolute delights for your taste buds. Tortoise meat is rarely cooked anywhere nowadays as the restrictions are so sharp. I remember having eaten tortoise only once as a kid and still reminisce the juicy flavor of the meat. But ever since then I haven’t come across this variety anywhere. Venison is also a prefered item among our people and it is hunted in an albeit hush hush manner in the rural sides so as to avoid detection by the authorities. I personally feel it is the Baap of all form of red meats.</div>
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I began eating pork much earlier than I decided to go for beef. My mother has always been against eating both beef and pork and today after so many years, she has reconciled to the fact that her husband and both her sons are beyond redemption in this regard. Pork is readily available in almost every corner of Guwahati. So it was no issue having pork momos or other such dishes as kids. Ma however wouldn’t let us come in with pork inside the house and on several occasions made us eat the pork momos while seated in the courtyard of our house. Today however, she has warmed up as we bring in packed pork items inside the house. But she still refuses to eat them. She has promised to eat pork the day I cook it for her. That day is coming soon I say! For us, pork is still an acceptable eating item compared to beef and I have continued to eat beef inspite of so many heating arguments over the issue with various people.</div>
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<a href="https://writingwarrior.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/paleo-honey-pork-roast-recipe.jpg" style="color: #004477; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="PALEO-HONEY-PORK-ROAST-RECIPE" class="alignnone wp-image-113" src="http://writingwarrior.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/paleo-honey-pork-roast-recipe.jpg?w=533&h=360" height="270" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 133, 181); margin: 0px 5px; padding: 2px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Eating beef was a process where I overcame my own demons. I ate beef when I was about 14 and was encouraged by the sole fact that my father was a beef eater. At that young age, the thoughts of religion and the divine consequence often bears down on you. While both my father and brother are agnostics who are not at all religious, I am mildly religious as I still frequent temples and other religious shrines now and then as I have been since I was a kid. I must say eating beef has been a liberating process for me from the dogmas of religion and peek more into the culture and rituals of people whom we perceive different from ourselves.</div>
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While beef eating is regarded as a heinous crime among Hindus, there is a lot of conflict over the issue if we come to the sacred texts. Since Hinduism has a variety of sacred literature, many of them differ from each other on the issue, while others remain silent mostly. While right wingers can literally bleed their hearts out on this issue, and even though I am with them on some fronts, there is no denying the fact that ancient Hindus were beef eaters. Beef was served as a mark of respect to the guest at a house during the Vedic era. Several chapters of the texts such as Manusmriti state in Chapter 5/Verse 30 that “It is not sinful to eat meat of eatable animals, for Brahma has created both the eaters and the eatables.” The Shatpath Brahmin also states that Sage Yagyvalkya reportedly said that he is a lover of beef. The father of Hindu revivalism, Swami Vivekanand also reportedly said, “You will be surprised to know that according to ancient Hindu rites and rituals, a man cannot be a good Hindu who does not eat beef”. In the Brihadaranyak Upanishad, the Adi Shankaracharya talks of a certain delicious rice dish that is made with beef.</div>
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While these are only the few arguments propagating consumption of beef by ancient Hindus, most of today’s right wingers who espouse the cause of Sanatan Dharma completely condemn the consumption of beef. Most of the views such as those mentioned above are often dubbed as propaganda by Muslims and Communists. The right wing lobby mostly espouses the cause of vegetarianism and states that no Hindu scripture espouses the killing of animals in any way. While it is true that the cow has been revered and given a high status in several scriptures that make it holy and nearly untouchable in terms of eating, I feel it is still highly doubtful if there is a blanket ban on meat eating in Hinduism altogether. Some ancient texts do speak out against consumption of beef. The Mahabharata’s Shantiparv states that “The very name of cow is Aghnya (not to be killed).” This means that a cow should never be slaughtered. So, one who kills a cow or a bull commits a heinous crime.</div>
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These were the kind of things I was digging into during my initial days of beef eating. I remained an occasional beef eater for the early years, before I finally decided that its all just crap and decided to follow the footsteps of my father. The Hindu texts and scriptures create a sense of confusion on the subject as they differ so greatly from each other. The Manusmriti, which advocates beef eating in one part, is self contradictory as it denounces meat eating in general in other sections. Some of the oldest texts like the Vedas remain largely silent on the issue. The good thing with Muslims is that they have just one holy book, the Holy Quran, which quite explicitly forbids the consumption of pork and non-halal items. Period. This is not so with our religion. I ultimately decided to go ahead as an absolute beef lover by the time I was seventeen, and realized that I loved it because it is indeed very tasty. Though to be honest, pork still remains my favourite meat. My younger brother did not have to go through any dilemma as me. Since he is absolutely irreligious, he just went ahead and tasted and approved it with a complete thumbs up in one go. All these years, I have been eating all sorts of meat forms and have moved on pretty well in life. There have no divine anger upon me, nor has ever any lightning struck down on me for my ‘sins.’ I continue to visit temples and other religious shrines. It is as if I have this little pact with God that I would continue to be a faithful Hindu in most ways, provided I’m left to pursue my choice of culinary delights. I know its complicated, but I believe He understands. I completely agree that a cow or a bull alive is worth more useful than one dead. But instead of advocating for a ban on cow slaughter, I suggest it should be done in very limited numbers with a stock that is bred separately just for that purpose.</div>
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Consumption of buffalo meat is not an issue to me at all. Forget the religious texts, people may revere the buffalo in their own way and consider it holy. But the truth is that in Assam and West Bengal, buffaloes are sacrificed during Durga Puja and Kali Puja, and the meat is distributed among devotees. Surely then it cant be an issue to be equated with cow slaughter. Buffalo meat is also a popular delicacy among many sections of Hindus such as the Nepalis. Now lets not get into the arguments of vegetarians and the Sanatan Dharmis of mainland India. Deuta describes them as a lot useless to argue with and describes them as a ‘ghaas poos’ variety who are happy consuming milk products.</div>
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But it is not so that we are averse to vegetarian cuisines. A good vegetarian item always spruces things for our appetite and I would anyday choose a Marwari function over others just to taste the delicious sorcery they conjure up with all those vegetarian food.</div>
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However, as a non-veg lover, my pack of sins is not completely done yet. I have also tasted dog meat at a Naga friend’s place. Found it completely disgusting, and swore never to taste it again. Plus I’m also a dog lover, so it made kind of guilty from the inside. That sort of feeling was never present there for the cow. I’ve also tasted snake meat in Meghalaya, and trust me, you’d happily eat them up thinking them to be boneless chicken if nobody tells you what they really are. My brother scored a point over me when he tasted bat meat which was prepared by some of his Garo and Mishing friends. He said it was quite bony but tasty. I don’t think I can bring myself to that level. Now what remains in my list are a few more exotic items which Deuta has tasted. They include octopus and squid. I may have to wait up for those two.</div>
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There are a few more items in my list which I really dont want to discuss here. I would love to try them out if I ever get the chance. But rest assured, I’m never turning to cannibalism. </div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-85754927858095126872014-04-10T02:00:00.002-07:002014-04-10T02:00:49.909-07:00Celebrating Holi: The Barpeta Way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Holi is a festival which is loved by almost
everyone. Some of the most vivid and colourful images of Holi come to our minds
from the ones that come in from places like Mathura and Vrindavan. In Assam,
celebrating Holi has been a major activity for the people of the Vaishnav
faith. The Satras (Vaishnav monasteries) have their own individual traditions
of celebrating Holi, but none of them can come to the massive celebrations that
take place in Barpeta Satra.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">A group of women enjoy the colours of Holi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Satra at Barpeta town is regarded as the prime
Satra in Assam within the Vaishnav cult, and has a rich tradition of
celebrating Holi which is called here as the Doul Utsav or the Xuaeri Utsav.
Holi here becomes a festival of three to four days and becomes an occasion for
people to wear their new clothes of the year. The city wears a festive look and
devotees come in from all corners of Assam to witness the celebrations that
reflect the Assamese community’s rich cultural heritage.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">Fire crackers being burst on the occasion of the Holika burning ceremony on the first day’s evening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This year, the Doul Utsav was for three days. The
first day sees the celebrations kick off with various groups and teams compete
in the Holi Geet contest. The various performers take part in a parade through
the main market of the town where they show off their prowess in the
traditional Assamese Holi songs. The evening sees people gather in large
numbers at the Satra premises to witness the Holika burning ceremony and then
the traditional busting of fire crackers, which is one of the prime traditional
attractions of the festivals. During this period, the idol of Lord Krishna and
his wife, referred to by the locals as Ghunusa are kept out of the main Satra
building and in the courtyard where they are worshipped. Day two sees the idols
shifted to the Doul building in the premises where people make offerings in the
form of Holi colours and incense sticks. The second day also sees the crowd
building up within the Satra premises as people gear themselves up for playing
Holi the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">People gather in the premises of the Satra to witness the Holika burning ceremony.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">The idols of Lord Krishna and his wife Ghunusa on display.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">The main entrance gate of the Satra decorated for the evenings of the Doul Utsav.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">People gather at the Doul temple within the Satra premises to offer pujas to Lord Krishna and Ghunusa on the second day of the Doul Utsav.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">A group of young boys indulge in traditional Assamese Holi songs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">The third day sees all the people in the town go
wild as they gather up to play Holi. Every nook and corner of the town is
painted colourful as people sing traditional Holi Geets and splash colours on
each other. Some of the best Holi festivities are seen at the market around the
Satra and within the Satra premises itself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">Holi festivities in full swing at the main market in front of the Satra.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">Revelers enjoy the spirit of Holi with colours and songs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">A group of boys enjoy the spirit of Holi.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">Fried boiled eggs are the favourite delicacies of Barpeta during the Doul Utsav.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">The second half of the day sees
large crowds of people gather up at the Satra premises as Krishna and Ghunusa
are taken out on two palanquins by a large procession of devotees to the
neighbouring village of Ganak Kuchi as part of the celebration finale. Devotees
playfully block the path of the Lord throughout the way as the ones carrying
the palanquins break their way through it. It is a real treat for the eyes to
watch it. Once back from Ganak Kuchi, the palanquins are ritually made to
circumnavigate the main Satra building seven times before they are finally put
to rest in their traditional spot in the Satra.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">Devotees carry the palanquins of Lord Krishna and Ghunusa towards the main gate of the Satra for their trip to Ganak Kuchi.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: start;">Lord Krishna’s palanquin being carried by devotees during the circumnavigation process as part of the final day’s ceremony of the festival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This year saw a massive attendance of people at the
Doul Utsav as colours were thrown in the air and traditional Holi Geets were
sung by the merry making people of Barpeta. It is a real treat to watch for
anybody who wants to see Holi celebrated in a customized Assamese tradition.
Next year, The Doul Utsav will held for a period of five days with the final
day reportedly culminating on March 8. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to miss that
one. </span></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-5233288393160279972014-04-08T00:37:00.000-07:002014-04-08T02:12:59.088-07:00The Goddess in the Backyard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The famous Nilachal Hill of Guwahati is full of surprises. While the whole world knows that it is the site of the most revered Kamakhya temple, the hill is itself the holder of many secrets and fascinations. While some people regard the hills around Kamakhya and the rest of the Maligaon area as pretty good for trekking purposes, the locals believe that the Nilachal Hill holds a lot of mysteries which have not yet manifested properly for normal humans. Until most recently, I discovered that most of these mysteries are small shrines or temples that have laid hidden and forgotten for centuries within jungles and caves in various corners of the hill.</span></div>
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The view of the majestic Brahmaputra from the side of the Nilachal Hill.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I’m myself not a religious person, but when my overtly religious friend Pravanjan Bhattacharjee told me about this hitherto unknown shrine of Vaishno Devi in the Nilachal Hill, it captured my imagination like anything. Everyone knows that Vaishno Devi’s shrine is at Katra in Jammu. To my knowledge, there is no other shrine of the Goddess anywhere else but Katra. A Vaishno Devi shrine at the Nilachal Hill was an opportunity I could not just give away and so I begged my friend to take me to this place.</span></div>
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The spot of the shrine with the mystical tree and the makeshift hut.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">To go to this shrine, you need to make an exit through the western gate of Kamakhya, which is known as the path of Hanuman as it takes you all the way to the Balak Hanuman temple at the foothill of Nilachal which is quite close to the banks of the Brahmaputra. Since we were walking to a shrine, we left our shoes at a shop near the temple and walked down the rough path to the shrine halfway down the hill. First you exit the western gate of the temple and then make your way through the little colony of houses where the families of the priests and pandas stay. A ten minute long walk walk suddenly brings to a rough stony path that goes through the jungle. Now here is the good part for adventure lovers and people who love to go for an occasional trek in the embrace of nature, the way to the shrine is full of spots that enchant you. First of all is the majestic sight of the Brahmaputra flowing below the hill. On one end you can see the Saraighat Bridge and on the other end you can see the Umananda island. It is really a sight to behold and gets breathtakingly lovely during the time of sunset. You also pass by an old Shivakund, a small lake by the hilly fringes of the jungle that also houses a Shivalinga with it. Nilachal Hill is dotted by many such Shivakunds that are spread over various spots.</span></div>
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Cyclewallah Baba seated in the makeshift hut.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">For people who don’t have the habit of walking much or have gained weight recently may find the walk a little bit tedious as I did. You have to do a bit of climbing along the way as the path meanders up and down the hillway. For those who are worried over directions, it is fairly a straightforward path that rarely deviates from the way. Plus, it is advisable to ask the locals before you set out as they know the proper directions. After a walk that lasted around 40 minutes and was spread over the some beautiful sights of nature, we reached the spot of the shrine.</span></div>
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The exterior of the main cave entrance of the shrine of Vaishno Devi.</div>
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The way leading through the main cave entrance into the shrine of Vaishno Devi.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: start;">The spot is dotted by a makeshift hut where two priests live and two caves are situated within close ranges of each other, one dedicated to Vaishno Devi and the other for Shiva. There is also a mystical tree that captivated our attention for most part of our stay there. I followed my friend into the hut and saw two priests seated and reciting sholkas from the Devi Puran. We sat down in front of them and listened to the recitation of the hymns for sometime. That really sat the mood for some devotion and then after sometime the priests took a break to talk to us. The two priests, who are otherwise not very comfortable talking to strangers, told us about the place.</span></div>
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The chakras on one portion of the tree.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> It was an ancient site of a Vaishno Devi temple within the cave that had got forgotten for a long time. It was one the priests, who introduced himself as the Cyclewallah Baba, who discovered the place after getting a revelation from the Goddess in a dream. Baba recounted that it was the time of the yearly Ambubachi Mela during 2007, when the dream came to him one night. Soon he made his way to the spot and discovered the temple hidden inside the cave behind a huge thicket of jungle. The Goddess instructed him to keep the location of the temple a secret for three years and ordered him to clear the spot of the jungle and make it decent for offering pujas. Baba continued with his efforts in preserving the vicinity of the temple for a period of three years. Both the caves were cleaned up and pujas began to be offered there. Baba soon made the revelation to other people and then his friend, the other priest joined him in the daily pujas there.</span></div>
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The seat of the Goddess which was also the spot where Gorakhnath is said to have performed penance.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Me and my friend offered pujas at the Vaishno Devi shrine in front of the stone idol smeared in sindoor and prayed there for a long time. I must admit there is a strong feel of other worldliness in the area and I became religious for that period of time. Taking photos inside the cave of the Devi is not aloud and the place has a strong cooling affect that worked great after the day’s walking that had left us exhausted in the heat. Between the two caves is a huge stone which is labelled as the throne of Vaishno Devi.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">It is also regarded as the site where the legendary seer Baba Gorakhnath had performed penance ages ago. Near to it is the mystical tree I had mentioned sometime back. Now what is interesting about this tree is that it has got naturally formed circles or chakras in various parts of its body and the trunks. The priests swear that if you look closely at the chakras then it reveals the form of the Goddess. Also, the chakras keep appearing and disappearing in different parts of the tree thus revealing different forms of the Goddess from time to time.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">From there we walked over to the cave of Lord Shiva, who is referred here as the Brahmand Baba. The climb inside this cave is however difficult as it is narrow and you have to be careful of the rocks. But soon, we made our way to the main cave chamber and were greeted by the Shivalinga inside it. I stood inside the main chamber which has an opening over the top among the roof and marveled at this natural formation that has given way to a great sight of devotion. Fortunately, we were told that Brahmand Baba is not shy at all and so I happily took some photos here.</span></div>
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The rocky underway leading to the cave of Brahmand Baba.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Cyclewallah Baba also informed us that the manifestation of the Vaishno Devi here at Nilachal is the same that is seen at Katra in Jammu. So that means if you visit this shrine at the Nilachal Hill, then you really don’t need to go all the way to Katra for a darshan of the Goddess. The two priests run the place now at their makeshift hut and also hold a bhandara (community kitchen) every Sunday with the help of the local people. I could see that the two men run the place with a lot of effort and there is no electricity here at all. A water pipe was recently installed at a point near the temple spot, but before that the two priests had to go all the way up to the temple premises to gather water for the day. The path is also quite rough and stony and frankly speaking not very safe at certain points. The spot is known to the two priests and the local people who live on the Nilachal Hill. A few other regular devotees like my friend know about it, but it is mostly an unknown fact to outsiders and occasional visitors to the Kamakhya Temple.</span></div>
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The main chamber of the cave of Brahmand Baba.</div>
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Cyclewallah Baba feels that the place has a great scope to improve provided the temple gets a bit of publicity and sees a rise in the number of devotees. He said that facilities near the shrine spot can improve greatly and the road can be repaired and made safe for all to tread on only if people start visiting the place which would eventually make the authorities take notice. Here, I knew what he meant because if this small spot has the same potential as the Vaishno Devi shrine of Katra, then we are staring at the next big shrine in the vicinity after the Kamakhya Temple itself.</div>
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They say you cannot visit the shrine of Vaishno Devi until she decides its time for you to do so. During my decade long stay in Delhi, I had thought several times of visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra. But somehow things never worked out. But ironically, the Goddess gave me a darshan at my own hometown after all these years. Maybe it is a sign for all of us to love and respect our homeland's soil more than ever. I will keep visiting the Devi from time to time now. I hope you do it too if you are in Guwahati or anywhere nearer to it than Katra. </div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-26588861913000129172014-02-02T10:07:00.000-08:002014-02-02T10:07:12.173-08:00The Fallen Hero<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Heroes rise and heroes fall. This piece is for one
such hero who has fallen from grace in such a manner that he is now a criminal
to scores of people whom he set out to emancipate. I am one of those scores of
people. And our criminal is Paresh Baruah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The recent news of a Bangladeshi court sentencing
ULFA’S commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah to death over his involvement in a
major smuggling case in 2004, got me thinking as to how a man who was once
revered by thousands, is today remembered as perhaps one of the biggest black
sheep that Assam has produced post India’s independence. Baruah was awarded the
capital punishment along with 13 other people who included Bangladesh’s former
ministers. And all this while he is snugged up somewhere away in Myanmar and
perhaps dreaming of ruling over an independent Assam through the aegis of a
regime a la the Khmer Rouge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The man was once more respected than feared among
the Assamese people, who saw in him their liberator. He gave the disgruntled
youth of the land a reason to fight and assert themselves. He and his comrades
once started a revolution that fired up the imaginations of the youth of the
Assamese nation. But where has it all landed today? Today the newer generation
of Assamese wants to forget all that happened about two decades back as a bad
dream and move on. A case here being our last Republic Day. Throughout my
childhood, Republic Day and Independence Day were seen as days to stay indoors,
partly because there was always calls for shutdown by the ULFA and other such groups,
and secondly nobody wanted to be blown up by some bomb. But this year, people
came out in large numbers all over Assam, enjoyed themselves and dismissed off
Paresh Baruah and the ULFA as nothing but trouble mongers. Yes, they still fear
ULFA for the bomb blasts that it can carry out from time to time. But yes, they
also regard them as traitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While some of his comrades were forced to move over
to the Indian government’s side some time back, Paresh and his troop of
comrades continued to carry the battle from their camps in Myanmar while being
aided by Pakistan and China. The ULFA boys had a golden run in Bangladesh for
more than a decade. They had camps there, support by the Islamists and parties
like the BNP, and had started businesses running into millions which
facilitated their campaigns against India. Baruah, under the garb of Zaman
Bhai, ran a profitable hotel business there and owned a transport business
which is perhaps one of the largest in the country. All that changed with the
coming of the Awami League to power when all their work began to be busted one
by one. And now this death sentence has come as a final blow to Baruah from
Bangladesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For year as Baruah and the other ULFA honchos
enjoyed the comforts in Bangladesh, embittered young boys and girls, without
proper education or employment, were being recruited in Assam to run the
organisation’s operations. The decade of 90s was particularly gloomy in this
regard. Bomb blasts and violence were a common norm, in which mostly innocent
civilians died. The ULFA began its revolution mainly on the issue of driving
away foreigners (illegal Bangladeshis) from the land. What they ended up doing
was killing poor Biharis and extorting from wealthy Marwaris. And while the Assamese
people continued to suffer, the ULFA leaders under Baruah continued to live a
wealthy lifestyle in Bangladesh and illegal Bangladeshis continued to prosper
in Assam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Baruah’s family still reportedly lives in Bangladesh.
Having reportedly converted to Islam, the family now lives in secrecy under the
protection of the Islamists. The Indian government has not been successful in
luring them over to the Indian side of the border. Apart from Baruah’s family,
the jailed ULFA leader Anup Chetia’s family is also based in Bangladesh
currently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now what does the future hold for all? Well while
the surrendered ULFA faction under Arabinda Rajkhowa is slowly transforming
themselves into power breakers in Assam’s politics, ULFA-I (Independent) under
Baruah is still carrying on the fight from Myanmar while trying to lure the
youth of the state and sneaking in explosives into Guwahati and other parts.
While currently, the Bodo militants seem to have stolen ULFA’s thunder in the
state, Baruah still remains the biggest factor to instability and chaos in
Assam. This new court order is not a good sign for Baruah. With Bhutan closing
its doors towards Indian militants in 2003, Bangladesh has also decided to shut
the doors on the ULFA. Now Myanmar is their last hope and the Indian government
better act fast in this regard. Till definitive steps are taken, men like
Baruah will continue their efforts to brainwash the youth and create anarchy in
the state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ULFA was a revolution that has gone horribly
wrong. It was a dream that went sore after top leaders like Baruah transformed
themselves from freedom fighters to mercenaries for states like Pakistan and
China. I rarely come across a person nowadays who doesn’t curses Baruah and the
ULFA for the troubles they put Assam into. They are traitors to the Assamese
people. They are traitors to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One last advice to Baruah in these tough times.
Always keep a gun close to yourself. Shoot yourself before one of us does and
rips you apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-68167085063583576392014-01-30T11:18:00.002-08:002014-01-30T23:00:24.308-08:00The City of Ghosts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">A lot has
been written and said about Bhangarh, the legendary ghost town of India. It is
supposedly one of the most haunted places in the world. Located in Rajasthan’s
Alwar district, it is one of the few destinations in India that adventure lovers
and ghost hunters like to visit. I had heard and read a lot about this
place and had always wanted to check it out for myself. So finally when I quit
my last soul sucking job, I decided to travel and included Bhangarh in my list.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Going to
Bhangarh from Delhi is no tough affair. You can take a road trip by either a
car or bus; or take a train as I did. While most people make it a two day trip
to Bhangarh, it turned out to be just a day long affair for me. Take the Ajmer
Shatabdi early morning at 5:45 am from New Delhi and you will reach Alwar town
in a couple of hours. From there you can take a local taxi upto Bhangarh. Now a
taxi is the best option from Alwar as there is no bus service till Bhangarh.
Buses run to Bhangarh’s neighbouring village of Ajabgarh, but from there
onwards you have to be on your own. It’s an over two hours ride from
Alwar to Bhangarh via taxi as the roads are quite rough in certain places. But
the journey is also a major highlight of the entire trip as you pass by some
really interesting spots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First
obviously while traveling through Alwar you notice the famous city fort which
would rather take an entire day to cover up. So I had to skip that one. Then,
while going out of Alwar in the outskirts, is the beautiful Silliped Lake,
which is really a peaceful spot given the majestic rugged Aravallis on its
backdrop. Then we arrive at Natani Ka Bada. This is a picturesque spot on the
way which is literally a small valley between two hills and a small stream
flowing in between. Legend has it that a female acrobat (Natani) had died while
trying to cross the lake on a tightrope and so a temple is built on the side of
the stream in her honour. Another noteworthy point is that the stream is filled
with tortoises, some of which are pretty large. It is quite a sight, trust me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Deers and wild boars at the Sariska Park periphery area on the way to Bhangarh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the
major highlights of the journey is that you pass by the peripheral area of the
Sariska Tiger Reserve. You don’t get to see tigers, but you get to quite a lot
of monkeys, peacocks and also deers and wild boars on the way. They all make
interesting sights as you pass by. The two hour ride may get tedious at some
points but then again the entire landscape is dotted by the Aravallis and so you get
some of the most magnificent sights that the mountain range can offer. The
landscape is dotted by numerous small villages at intervals and also small abandoned
forts which belonged to erstwhile landlords. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though it is
no desert country here, the landscape is all rugged terrain and beautiful rocky
mountains as you pass by small villages on your way. The area is dominated mostly
by people from the Gujjar, Meena and Meo Muslim communities. My taxi driver,
Fakhruddin, himself a Meo, was a jolly fellow who happily explained to me all
the important spots as we passed by. For him, the most important fact is that
the SRK-Salman starrer <i>Karan Arjun</i> was shot extensively at several places in
the area and we passed by many spots which served as locations for the film. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The weather
was quite hot inspite of the fact that I had made the trip in December and soon I fell asleep in the car. My driver woke me up as we reached Ajabgarh,
which is the nearest village to Bhangarh. As we passed by the village, I
noticed that were ramparts of an old fort surrounding the village and there was
an old gateway on the main village road. Ajabgarh was formerly a small kingdom
during the Mughal era and had a role in the history of Bhangarh. We shall come
to that later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We had
started from Alwar at around 9:30 am in the morning and we finally reached
Bhangarh at around 12:00 in the noon. As our car neared the main gate of the
fort, I realised that the last human settlement was atleast a kilometer away
from the place. Such was the terror of the place among the locals that nobody
wanted to be near it in any manner. The area outside the fort walls in dotted
with small chatris or such monuments, reminding you of the fact that you are
standing right outside an old piece of history. Entry is free and so as I
passed the main gate into the city of Bhangarh quite eagerly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Visitors make their way through the main market area of Bhangarh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before
reaching the main palace complex of the city, you pass through the main
market area of the city. Stone structures which earlier comprised the main
market dot a large area upto the main palace complex gates. Many of them are
standing structures while the rest are plain debris. One interesting point is that
none of the structures in the main market have roofs. Legend has it that a
curse forbids the structures here from having roofs and so there are none. A
main road in between the market leads to the main palace complex as you walk past the structures
admiring the lonely beauty that is scattered around the place. I also realized that
there is no lighting arrangement at the entire place, which means that after
evening, the place would be pitch dark and really creepy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As you enter
the main palace complex, you are greeted by a beautiful garden which is really
well maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The first building
that greets you is a Gopinath Temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. There is also
another temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and a small tank near it that gets its
water supply from a stream which flows from the nearby hill. Visitors were already
there roaming in the garden and exploring the structures that were scattered
around. Most of them were couples and lovebirds, whom I found peacefully hidden behind rocks
and pillars as I explored the place. The temples are built in classic Rajput
architecture style and have the same ornamental beauty that are found in the
structures of the Chittorgarh fort. The city is surrounded on one side by hills
from the Aravalli range and is wide open with fields lying on the other way. Hordes of Langurs and monkeys roam around in the area with care abandon. You really have no reason to fear them at all.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bhangarh was
built by Raja Bhagwan Das of Amer in the 16<sup>th</sup> century. Later, Raja
Madho Singh, brother of the famous Raja Man Singh from Emperor Akbar’s court,
made it the capital of his small vassal state that was under Amer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnnhQ1v1lAPlO6PR-r-cuHTlnJxE44oMBgsX9DOI6uc6ktfrs3oM187udhCAaiQW50B70TyQi9aGFvJG3f5cC7T-3pImstzjqgRdKdxNEc9HUhTnBtb_23by4_26Op_27A2gmPTwe3Tg/s1600/IMG_1919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnnhQ1v1lAPlO6PR-r-cuHTlnJxE44oMBgsX9DOI6uc6ktfrs3oM187udhCAaiQW50B70TyQi9aGFvJG3f5cC7T-3pImstzjqgRdKdxNEc9HUhTnBtb_23by4_26Op_27A2gmPTwe3Tg/s1600/IMG_1919.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The main gates leading to the palace building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After
passing the garden, I made way to the main palace building for which I crossed
the main palace entrance gate and then climbed the steps to the palace as it is built on the slopes of a
hill. A beautiful structure lying desolate for so many centuries, one look at
it and you can’t help but admire its beauty. But then suddenly you also remember
that this is supposedly one of the most spookiest places of the world. I
climbed up the stairs to the main palace and passed by a few women who were
brooming the path. As I entered the main corridor I realized that I was the
only person inside the palace at that very moment, as the rest of the visitors
were out in the garden. I passed by a few dark corridors and realized that most of the passages and ways to the interiors of the palace have been blocked.
What was most amazing was that at a certain spot I found swastika symbols made from
vermillion on the wall and the floor beneath was burnt. Somebody had lit a
religious sacrificial fire recently. Why? Perhaps to appease the spirits
inhabiting the palace. The palace had once been a six-storeyed building but now
only four storeys remain as the upper two storeys cease to exist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMfvmeUMuy94yWd2_ngkA_1unDIQ6ndefWgCCfptJ7Wnk-W04YqboWN55Vq92ECDPdXyK4oUlrQ1t8YdktfymNnLPdTTgfeCcUVJ3QHdjoNnR0ruQWpuTB8_Jsx9sZULVHDNzeL-V4KE/s1600/IMG_1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMfvmeUMuy94yWd2_ngkA_1unDIQ6ndefWgCCfptJ7Wnk-W04YqboWN55Vq92ECDPdXyK4oUlrQ1t8YdktfymNnLPdTTgfeCcUVJ3QHdjoNnR0ruQWpuTB8_Jsx9sZULVHDNzeL-V4KE/s1600/IMG_1930.jpg" height="186" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The view from the top of the palace building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I climbed up
to the roof of the palace and lo! What a view it gave me of the entire area! I
stood there among the debris of the erstwhile top two floors for a long time admiring the beauty of the entire place and
imagining what a lovely place it must have used to be. Suddenly a gust of wind
struck me from behind which almost threw me off balance. It wasn’t a regular
gust of wind. For by then, I had come to realize that the wind blowing within
the palace building made a low pitch whistle as they pass by. It sounds really
creepy and would scare the hell out of a person who goes there after dark. By
then, the remaining visitors had started appearing within the palace building
and so I was assured that there should be no ghost making appearances in the
broad daylight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Right to the
palace is a large hillock on top of which stands a chatri like structure. The
structure is supposedly the living embodiment of the evil that haunts Bhangarh.
Now we come to the point as to how Bhangarh came to be a ghost city. Legend has
it that Bhangarh was ruled by the beautiful princess Ratnavati. She was very popular among the masses and tales of her beauty were famous in all the kingdoms of Rajputana back then. Her beauty had also caught the fancy of a
wicked Tantrik, living at his small Ashram on top of the very hillock, who was
well versed in the practice of the occult. Driven by lust, the Tantrik devised
a plan to make her fell for him. He sent a bottle of perfume to be mixed in her
bath, the scent of which would make her fell in love with him. Now what our
villain didn’t know here was that the princess herself well versed in black magic.
She got the scent of the plot and threw away the perfume bottle. The bottle then
assumed the form of a giant boulder and started rolling towards the Tantrik.
Knowing that his end was approaching, the Tantrik quickly cursed the entire
city and its inhabitants that nobody would be able to be reborn after dying there
and their souls would be trapped there forever. The boulder ultimately killed
him. Soon afterwards, Bhangarh got into a quarrel with the neighbouring kingdom
of Ajabgarh and was badly defeated in the ensuing battle. The city was
ransacked and the local population was massacred. And ever since then, Bhangarh
has remained a desolate place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMkje8SiI7ThV_EDyUAMOsuJwLYViDzFnF5aXvqevur2M4uAqsJ1larEu_T-WKcGruhN_WRPng9Me82GopE08GPDtbBuVOd9cDVswuZcVVCJLzRMkjmI7Ywbj8-uZdyd8qSnDyagsJE0/s1600/IMG_1951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMkje8SiI7ThV_EDyUAMOsuJwLYViDzFnF5aXvqevur2M4uAqsJ1larEu_T-WKcGruhN_WRPng9Me82GopE08GPDtbBuVOd9cDVswuZcVVCJLzRMkjmI7Ywbj8-uZdyd8qSnDyagsJE0/s1600/IMG_1951.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The corridors in the palace building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though the
ASI started reviving the place during the 1950s, its fame as a haunted spot was
well known in the entire region. Nobody is allowed to remain after dark and the
gates of the city are locked up after 6 pm. The main ASI office for the place is located
about a kilometer away and a few guards remain back inside a Hanuman Temple
built near the outermost gate and they never venture out till the break of dawn.
While the rest of the city is available to visitors during the day time, the
hillock where the Tantrik’s chatri is built is always off limits. It is
rumoured to be the site of unspeakable evil and there is no proper road or way
that can lead a person up to the chatri on the hillock. Reportedly, the orders for the place to be cordoned off after dark was issued years ago after people were
found dead inside the palace complex area after they spent a night there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There have
been some shows on TV where they have showed televised footage of the area
after dark. I sincerely doubt they are true after my visit to the place. There
is also a Karni Mata temple near Bhangarh but we decided not to go there as it is on the other side of the hills and the way around was too messed up. I was done
exploring the place by afternoon and so by 4 in the evening, me and my cab
driver Fakhruddin began our journey back to Alwar. While going back, right
outside Alwar, we stopped at the Bhartri Baba temple which is a highly revered site by the local people there. It is dedicated to a local saint who had his Ashram
there and I felt after visiting a haunted place, it was good to bow down before
something religious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I reached
Alwar by 6:30 pm in the evening, explored the city a little, tasted its famous Kalakand
sweet and finally boarded the next Ajmer Shatabdi to Delhi at 7:30 pm. It was a
day well spent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now what did
I take back from this trip? Do I think that the place is haunted? Well, first of all
I made the trip in broad daylight and so didn’t really hope for any ghost
spotting. And I don’t think the ASI would allow anyone to stay there after
dark. The place is hauntingly beautiful and quite well maintained by the ASI.
There were certain parts of the palace that were dark and creepy, and yes, every
time the wind passed by, it whispered mysteries into my ears. The place would
be definitely scary after dark. But I guess I would not be finding out the
truth of the place too soon. Only one thing, this won’t be my only trip to
Bhangarh. This place is great for a day long getaway from the humdrum of city
life and for people who seek a little adventure now and then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Atleast I am
happy that I made a trip to a place that is on the global ghost map. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-11796495151335579842013-12-24T12:34:00.003-08:002013-12-24T22:36:47.446-08:00BREAKING REPORT: How Our Netas Stole Christmas!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Thanks to FAKING NEWS for inspiring me for this one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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BREAKING REPORT: It seems the ghost of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections has
already begun to haunt our netas and they are desperate to strike a general
chord with the public. As per reports that have started to come in, a series of bizarre
incidents took place on the evening of Christmas eve (December 24) that
involved some of the well-known politicians of the day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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‘Operation Christmas’ was devised by Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi’s PR team who, as per sources, cited it as the ultimate icebreaker
to improve his image among Muslim minorities. The plan involved Modi going to a
Muslim dominated area in Ahmedabad dressed as Santa Claus on Christmas eve and
distributed sweets and gifts to the children there. What seemed as the perfect
surprise plan to boost a person’s image soon turned into a nightmare for many other
politicos.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbAWcz7wuDpB1serSc3q3BV9hp8cEn1_bM7Dxdoj6l4qU8ghPFkm3RxmUBX2_PSHLLwfoPWjdrF6bsDzRkMpTGSAqup2t8b3ZrRPHcLbP-SxkNQgYfES6RRShMmQTAXyq0QD_jIxG2lg/s1600/funny-santa-claus-pictures-51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbAWcz7wuDpB1serSc3q3BV9hp8cEn1_bM7Dxdoj6l4qU8ghPFkm3RxmUBX2_PSHLLwfoPWjdrF6bsDzRkMpTGSAqup2t8b3ZrRPHcLbP-SxkNQgYfES6RRShMmQTAXyq0QD_jIxG2lg/s320/funny-santa-claus-pictures-51.jpg" height="252" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An alleged image of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi during a rehearsal before the execution of 'Operation Christmas.' Source confidential.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As per sources within the Gujarat state secretariat, Modi
shared his idea with Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal who too loved it and
decided to implement the same with himself too since he thought he would make a
natural Santa Claus with his flowing beard. However, it is now being suspected
that a mole within the Gujarat CM’s PR team leaked the idea to his Congress
adversary Arjun Modhwadiya who decided to hijack the plan since he himself
sports a kind of white stubble unlike Modi’s rich snowy harvest on his face.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Leaked information from the IB point out that Modi was to
show up at Ahmedabad’s Muslim dominated Juhapura locality at 11:30 pm dressed
as Santa Claus in a saffron coloured costume and give surprise visits to the
houses while distributing sweets and gifts among the kids there. However, all
hell broke loose after Modhwadiya too appeared on the same spot dressed as Santa Claus in a green costume. Sources within the Congress tell us that green
was chosen as it was in line with Islamic sensibilities and that the party is pro-Muslim anyway. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Residents of Juhapura soon woke up to see two Santa Clauses
hurling abuses at each other while holding sacks on their backs. As people
gathered to watch the commotion in the middle of the night, none of them could
guess the true identities of the two men because of their Santa Claus
makeup. Shamim, a local resident, told our correspondent, “We were confused to
find two funnily dressed men so late at night, hurling the choicest abuses on
each other and the words were so explicit that the womenfolk had to rush their
children back into the houses so that they would not hear them. We thought two drunken
rag pickers with their sacks must have got into an argument over the possession
of some ware they may have found in the garbage dump. ” <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was only when the two men came to blows that the local people
intervened and hurriedly called the police which soon took them away.
Reportedly Modi’s close aide Amit Shah had to rush to the police station to
identify the two men before they were let off. “This is shameful,” said a BJP
volunteer about the incident, “The Congress can stoop down to any level to stop Modiji from reaching
out to the masses.” No confirmation has come in as to what happened to the two
sacks of sweets and gifts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While Modi and Modhwadiya battled it out on Christmas eve
night in Ahmedabad, Parkash Singh Badal had his own share of misfortune in
Amritsar. He reportedly appeared near the Golden Temple dressed as a Santa
Claus complete with a red turban and a sackful of chocolates and a bell in hand
at about 9 pm. Soon womenfolk and children started complaining of a creepy old
men calling out to children with the promises of sweets. The local police unit
soon got into action as reports of a child snatcher had been doing the rounds
in the city. The police arrived on the spot and soon apprehended the Santa
Claus who they stated was calling out to a group of young girls in a rather lewd
manner. Before the local Akali Dal leader could rush to the spot, the police
personnel started thrashing the Santa Claus disguised Badal after being convinced
that he was the wanted child snatcher. As per sources, Badal was immediately
rushed to a hospital and is now recuperating from a fractured left leg and bruises
on the back. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Badal however was not the only politico to be drawn into the
jinxed Christmas outreach plan. Modhwadiya reportedly sent the word about the plan
to Congress party president Sonia Gandhi in the national capital New Delhi, who
saw it as the perfect opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to reach out to the people
and strike an emotional chord. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was immediately
sent off to Connaught Place dressed as a Santa Claus in the same manner as Badal,
and was accompanied by Rahul Gandhi who was dressed as a Christmas elf and had
a signboard hanging on his shoulders reading, “My late grandmother had always
dreamed of this moment!” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sadly, however the plan failed when after three hours of
standing in the cold evening in the inner circle of Connaught Place, no one
noticed them even for once. Prime Minister Singh was too numb to speak to
anyone as he had no ready script available as to what to say to the passersby.
Rahul Gandhi, on his part, was too frightened to approach anyone as it was his
first time out on the street incognito without the supervision of Digvijaya
Singh and without his usual company of Congress bodyguards around.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A few people even mistook them for two homeless children
dressed in Christmas theme and handed them some money. By the end of three hours,
they had reportedly collected Rs 118 from the people who mistook them for
homeless beggars or volunteers from an orphanage. A dejected Sonia Gandhi has
reportedly decided to hand over the collected money to former Delhi CM Sheila
Dikshit to rehabilitate her after her recent defeat in the state elections. Congress
party insiders have informed us that party general secretary Digvijaya Singh was very dejected that he
was not told of this plan as he feels he could have perfected it with his
visionary tactics.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Apart from these incidents, a report has come in that BJP volunteers
in Ahmedabad had also passed the information to jailed godman Asaram Bapu in
Jodhpur, who saw it as a good opportunity to boost his image after the recent
controversy of child molestation. A Christmas party was organized in the jail
premises and the police personnel were
asked to bring their children to it. But sadly, the evening turned to be a flop
show as the godman waited in vain dressed as Santa Claus as no one turned up.
A source within the jail authorities informed us that coincidentally, most of
the jail personnel including the jailor happen to have young daughters and
given Bapu’s recent reputation they were too scared to bring them in. It is
being said that almost all of them reported illness for their daughters and children
and so all the sweets and gifts went to the jail inmates who gave a tearful
group hug to Asaram Bapu. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are also reports that similar plans were also to be
seen from Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari in Delhi’s Ballimaran area after he got to know of the
plan from a Congress insider. But due to some unknown reason the plan was
cancelled. While we could not get any comments from the Shahi Imam’s
spokespersons, it is being pointed out that Bukhari had apprehensions of
slipping into the Santa costume as it may invite sharp criticism from the rest
of the Muslim clerical circles. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It seems our politicians may have to think of some other
ploy to attract the attention of the masses before the Lok Sabha polls next
year, but for now they need to rest and let Christmas pass by peacefully. <o:p></o:p></div>
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DISCLAIMER: This is a pure satire which is on the lines of the great work done by Faking News and I sincerely hope this does not hurt anybody's sentiments. </div>
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P.S. I'm a NaMo fan BTW. </div>
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Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-32209085341946309312012-07-21T06:24:00.000-07:002012-07-21T06:27:54.904-07:00The Tragedy That Was Kaka...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US">Frankly
speaking, I never used to think of Rajesh Khanna as a good actor as a young
boy. Most of his expressions seemed over animated. His dancing looked comical.
Those were the romantic movies of Khanna that Doordarshan used to air in the
90s. I was more in sync with the Shammi Kapoor and Dev Anand movies at that
young age. I still consider myself a debonair ‘junglee’ will date. Even during
my college days, I was unwillingly forced to buy dozens of DVDs of Rajesh
Khanna movies everytime I went home during the vacations for my movie buff
father, who is till date, a worshipper of Khanna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8yZ2P6bRs22C80clZ9asgPeB2GtuVa9q71U-XXFYKG86ATLPs6WED-GDf-kdpBcZM17q3DGmCYTmPT6xeVJQYah-ouQqoi84sHbHoISIr2UARRPILNiDsisFUEscS3P-3rJAyM6jaJE/s1600/RAJESH-KHANNA-ANAND.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8yZ2P6bRs22C80clZ9asgPeB2GtuVa9q71U-XXFYKG86ATLPs6WED-GDf-kdpBcZM17q3DGmCYTmPT6xeVJQYah-ouQqoi84sHbHoISIr2UARRPILNiDsisFUEscS3P-3rJAyM6jaJE/s320/RAJESH-KHANNA-ANAND.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A few days
back when Khanna finally breathed his last, I was filled by a terrible sadness
which I had seriously not expected however. This was because over the last few
years, I had come to realize that I had started to admire Rajesh Khanna as a
class actor. Although my admiration for him cant be compared with that of my
father, I have still become an ardent fan of Khanna in his tragedy avatar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While most
people remember Kaka best for his romantic movies, for me, it will be the
tragic roles that made me admire him as an actor. I have never liked any other
actor more in dying roles than Khanna. People call Dilip Kumar as the tragedy
king of Bollywood. But I give away the honour to Khanna. Let’s just look at it
this way. Look at the sort of tragedy that he has portrayed in movies like
Anand, Safar, Namak Haram, etc. People remember him best as the dying Anand.
For me this film has been the ultimate tearjerker. Khanna portrays tragedy in a
way which has been unparalleled in Bollywood. This is something which Dilip
Saab never showed in his candy floss romantic tragedies. No offence meant to
Dilip Saab or his fans here. I still stand by his version of Devdas above all
the SRKs. But what I am trying to say here is tragedy which can really strike a
chord with the heart of an average layperson is something which Khanna
achieved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ui99Ofwp8EbxhxqJvWSYHe1VqqINk5JNkuZbAIvxWM5WzYYMagFOhBQqMaebWEb7zc8ypSfHDCCmya-qrbwSjlLmUhsazyv1WPjLFwJhTUcJ8qT7oAbuVR_EIQRADn1G9TJGuDprSs8/s1600/Rajesh_khanna_in_Anand_movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ui99Ofwp8EbxhxqJvWSYHe1VqqINk5JNkuZbAIvxWM5WzYYMagFOhBQqMaebWEb7zc8ypSfHDCCmya-qrbwSjlLmUhsazyv1WPjLFwJhTUcJ8qT7oAbuVR_EIQRADn1G9TJGuDprSs8/s320/Rajesh_khanna_in_Anand_movie.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">His
portrayal as the cancer patient in Safar is another great example of tragedy
captured on the silver screen. His deaths in subsequent movies like Andaz and
Namak Haram are also examples of his crackling chemistry with death. His brief
appearance in Andaz almost stole the show from its lead actor Shammi Kapoor. In
Namak Haram, we see a crackling chemistry between Kaka and Amitabh Bachchan,
which is seemingly different. Namak Haram is a beautifully tragic film for me.
It has friendship gone wrong, a hero falling in the eyes of his followers and
above all the last tragic death scene of Khanna as the icing on the cake.
Khanna’s chemistry with Bachchan in this film is seemingly different from that
of Anand. While Anand’s chemistry bordered on the feelings of mutual bonding
and loss, Namak Haram was bordered on confrontation and misunderstanding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Apart from
full scale tragedies, I’m also hooked to another intense film of Khanna and the
ravishing Sharmila Tagore, Amar Prem. Though I had become a fan of Kaka with
movies like Anand and Safar, it was Amar Prem which made me realize his worth
as an actor. I was in college when I watched the film properly for the first
time ever and it completely shook me. I remember watching the movie seven times
in a row at my home. The intensity, the emotion and the passions which Kaka
exudes in the movie is something we will never see another actor portray again. This
film also shows his best chemistry with Tagore, with music and lyrics that chill
down your very being. Songs like 'Chingari Koi Bhadke' and 'Kuch To Log Kahenge',
were gems made ahead of their times questioning every societal norms just as
the movie did. Amar Prem, though is a sad film in all aspects, has become an
event in my life that I will cherish everytime I watch it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The day
Kaka died, I was sitting in my office when news of his death started flashing
on the TV channels. Instantly there was a feeling of loss, but it turned
painful when visuals of Amitabh Bachchan visiting Kaka’s house to pay his last
tributes to him. It seemed most ironic. Babu Moshai’s Anand had finally died.
Anand’s death scene featuring Khanna and Bachchan has been one of the most
prolific death scenes in Bollywood history. And now just wondering the twist in
irony got me even sadder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Apart from
his tragic movies, Kaka’s personal life has not also been happy and he had
issues handling his superstardom and various ups and downs in life. But all said
and done, in death, he was given a farewell that was befitting a superstar.
Even the skies of Mumbai poured down their tears as his body was taken to the
crematorium. It was so heartbreaking to see visuals of his frail body inside
the glass case. His stardom had won even in death, as most of the media
literally forgot that the country’s Presidential elections were being held the
same day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I would
like to end this medley of emotions for Kaka with these lines from one of his
immortal melodies-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Kahi door
jab din dhal jaye,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Saanjh ki
dulhan badan churaye, badan churaye,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Mere
khayaalo ke aangan mein,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Koi sapno
ke deep jalaye, deep jalaye…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">RIP Kaka.
Aap ko hum se koi nahi chheen sakta!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-85195492829599542352011-06-19T08:34:00.000-07:002011-06-19T08:38:00.647-07:00Patharughat Revisited<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3p_2NG8pNyfBRxgXTYcVsEaZrLHe9X_hyphenhyphen2MW1aRfMhtb5owjhM_wcSkdBptpTd2BqY6CePD-D7B4QteUeNbPyvaQUJXGtimQorwFKdjySQ1KZ-zzmqJMt_XBng6xDhHkzvJ_KT6jdvQ/s1600/patharughat.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3p_2NG8pNyfBRxgXTYcVsEaZrLHe9X_hyphenhyphen2MW1aRfMhtb5owjhM_wcSkdBptpTd2BqY6CePD-D7B4QteUeNbPyvaQUJXGtimQorwFKdjySQ1KZ-zzmqJMt_XBng6xDhHkzvJ_KT6jdvQ/s320/patharughat.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619955542141025922" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The date was January 28, 1894. On this day, one of the dark chapters of the Assamese history occurred when the Patharughat massacre took place. History is replete with many accounts of unsung heroes and here Patharughat is just another example. The incident where about 140 farmers were massacred by the bullets of the British government is a burning example of the sacrifices that the peasants of the state have made for the love of justice and equality.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Patharughat, which is in Darrang district, has become a symbol of tyranny and oppression where the oppressed and exploited had to go down to the might of imperialist bullets. The British, who came to Assam with the treaty of Yandaboo, set about changing the socio-economic patterns of the state which caused remarkable upheavals in the lives of the common people. The people of Darrang had used to enjoy various rebates and exemptions under the Koch and Ahom rulers. This was discontinued by the British regime which went about setting up a new administrative system. Land taxes were revised and the rates were increased to the utter displeasure of the farmers. Land surveys were periodically conducted by the British regime and each time the land tax was arbitrarily increased. This literally broke the back of the farmers. A sense of anger and suspicion rose among the general people against the British. A final expression of the discontent was put forward by the people when they unanimously decided to resist these tax increases at the office of the Tehsildar of Patharughat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In 1868, seven years after the Phulguri Uprising of Nogaon, a huge public of thousands gathered at the Tehsildar’s office in Patharughat to express their grievances. Fearing violence, a huge force under A.C. Comber, the Deputy Commissioner of Darrang was dispatched from Tezpur to control the crowd. When the authorities refused to pay any heed to the grievances of the people, the huge crowd got infuriated and proceeded to set fire to the Dak Bungalow which was housing the Britishers. Scuffle with the police forces followed which further infuriated the crowd. But the situation was controlled by the leaders as they did not want any sort of violence to happen. This was followed by twenty five incident free years, and the Britishers thought that the tides of discontent had settled down. They were wrong.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When in 1893, the Chief Commissioner of Assam, Wilkinson Ward, tried to raise the taxes, the flares of revolt sprang up again. A huge Raijmel (public meeting) was organized at Patharughat on January 26, 1894, where it was decided that taxes would not be paid till an acceptable solution was reached for the tax problem. The Tehsildar Bhabani Charan Bhattacharya requested the crowd to wait till January 28, when the Deputy Commissioner of Darrang, Anderson, would be available for proper hearings. Meanwhile the news of the Patharughat Raijmel reached the ears of the high authorities who decided that Anderson would be accompanied by Darrang’s SP, Barrington, and the SDO of Mangaldoi, Ramson, and a huge armed force.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">January 28 was a normal weekly market day. People had began to throng to the open field in front of the Dak Bungalow and by noon a crowd of about a thousand had gathered there. At noon, the trio of White Sahibs entered the field along with their armed guards and was greeted by slogans. The Tehsildar and his staff waited outside being reduced to silent onlookers of the incident. When Anderson blatantly refused to lower the taxes saying that they did not have the authority to change the taxes raised by the Queen of England, the crowd got infuriated. As the White Sahibs made way to the Dak Bungalow, the crowd lost patience and proceeded towards them in total anger. Angry shouts and protests were raised in the air but to no avail. Arguments and counter arguments were made but the situation got hotter by every passing minute. Finally as the crowd proceeded, they were blocked by the security personals from doing so which resulted in a skirmish. As the scuffle began to get out of hand, Barrington ordered his forces to lathi charge. This made the crowd go wild with anger and they started to hit back at the forces with whatever tools, clods or sticks they had. A Thoga Baidya of Biahpara or Fukolu Sheikh of Athiabari managed to hit the head of the Police Superintendent and wounded him. This enraged the DC and he ordered for firing. Triggers were pressed and the people who were in the front of the crowd fell down in minutes. But this did not deter the people in the behind and they continued marching forward. The people fearlessly took the bullets into their chests and fell down to their martyrdom.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As the rounds of bullets continued to come, the peasants fell down. While some died on the spot, others were seriously injured with their heads cracked, bellies burst, hands and limbs torn apart and blood stained bodies lying everywhere. The dead bodies were not even aloud to be attended to leaving them to be devoured by dogs and vultures. Nobody then knew how many had died and the number of bodies that were rotting away. Finally the bullets did manage to disperse a greater portion of the crowd away but a huge damage had been done. Later it came out in the limelight that about 140 people had been killed and more than 150 had been injured.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This incident is a watermark in the history of peasant uprisings in India. Patharughat’s significance after all these years lies in the fact that though the oppressors have gone away, the conditions of our peasants still remain deplorable. It is still noteworthy that in a country where farmers have made considerable contributions to the freedom struggle, they are still subjected to injustice and hardships of all kinds. If their lands are taken away for some constructive purpose by the government then the required compensation is not paid. Or even today many of them commit suicide due to the burdens of debt and penury. And all this constantly reminds as to whether the blood of the peasant martyrs of many Patharughats have gone wasted in the hope of a better future. More than 100 years have passed since the Patharughat massacre. But the farmers of this nation still continue to lead a dissatisfied life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sadly, today Patharughat has remained as one of the many incidents that have got lost in oblivion among the pages of history. This glorious incident of martyrdom is hardly remembered by many people or even finds proper mention in any history textbook. Patharughat’s tragedy lies in the fact that the people of Assam do not remember them properly leave alone the Indian nation. And this is in stark contrast to the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre of 1919 in Punjab which received huge publicity. The memory of these martyrs must remain forever in the hearts of the people and just erecting a martyrs’ monument is just not enough for the proper honour for these heroes.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Let us all remember the martyrs of Patharughat and strive to make sure that no farmer ever faces any injustice in our free democracy.</p>Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-67733459737011489462011-06-14T08:12:00.000-07:002011-06-14T08:20:15.751-07:00The Martyr Of Love<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKodzsve6FEOkWEPGYNSjGlWkdIOH6grKCxpv55nQI9Gru2i-fUscs-yJtoATs3P0zq13gKljVdZFuLOMNFPSg1tfWzKUJjcK1KENpedKwhkLFW__hXq5loDF4gTPxY0L77VKu-RuMrsI/s1600/200657_10150159439091998_582406997_8510963_5988163_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKodzsve6FEOkWEPGYNSjGlWkdIOH6grKCxpv55nQI9Gru2i-fUscs-yJtoATs3P0zq13gKljVdZFuLOMNFPSg1tfWzKUJjcK1KENpedKwhkLFW__hXq5loDF4gTPxY0L77VKu-RuMrsI/s320/200657_10150159439091998_582406997_8510963_5988163_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618095001583048450" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPKXnv22i8pFH2z2T9C5QJ9uOE9_k3pIHw0a30u84ueGt-FEuGt3CzxtO8p9btnPlS6NvuswzE4rIOcQ0Ka9vOxI22aQUirrpyyNlgSBkq2TclCXG7gxY2MnSvR1TsVrI46H5bzz6Co4/s1600/190614_10150159439536998_582406997_8510967_5268381_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPKXnv22i8pFH2z2T9C5QJ9uOE9_k3pIHw0a30u84ueGt-FEuGt3CzxtO8p9btnPlS6NvuswzE4rIOcQ0Ka9vOxI22aQUirrpyyNlgSBkq2TclCXG7gxY2MnSvR1TsVrI46H5bzz6Co4/s320/190614_10150159439536998_582406997_8510967_5268381_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618094995403413522" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmArVwXVOvRiM-4BXY1Z0mVJ6qJThpU2MscS_ha86-j4dkchEV0wo3Uq2CnG55nmazox7WYakEsetnS4OVQuv9ElK_x60IWLNbPmYTM3rmGYhPm0NYh4_M8BwYV85tatLtqcMexP65oHs/s1600/190569_10150159439371998_582406997_8510965_1524735_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmArVwXVOvRiM-4BXY1Z0mVJ6qJThpU2MscS_ha86-j4dkchEV0wo3Uq2CnG55nmazox7WYakEsetnS4OVQuv9ElK_x60IWLNbPmYTM3rmGYhPm0NYh4_M8BwYV85tatLtqcMexP65oHs/s320/190569_10150159439371998_582406997_8510965_1524735_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618094993667241842" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> I remember reading about Sarmad back when I was in college among the many books on Sufi culture and saints. There he was mentioned as one of the most influential Sufi saints of Delhi from the Mughal era. But what interested me the most was the fact that somewhere it was mentioned about him being a homosexual. A Muslim saint being a homosexual was interesting enough for me. But sadly, I could not find much information about him back then. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">My search for Sarmad’s story made me pose various questions to many of my Muslim friends, who either knew too little about him or never knew him at all. Most were scandalized with the very thought of a Muslim Pir being a gay! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Homosexuality among Sufi saints is nothing new. There have been numerous records of Sufi saints having love affairs with ‘young beardless lads.’ In India, the most well known among them are Shah Hussain from Lahore and Ras Khan from Brindawan. Homosexuality, which is a heinous crime in Islamic Shariat law, was seen by these Sufis as a means to rebel against the strict rules and dogmas of the Ullemas. Most of these Sufis are known as the ‘Malamatiyas’ or the blameworthy who discard the laws of the shariat and show their own liberalized way of achieving union with God. Love, for them, was the ultimate means of achieving this. And here homosexuality acted as no bar for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The quest for Sarmad’s story finally took me to his Dargah in Old Delhi. Situated in front of the imposing Jama Masjid near the Meena Bazar, the small monastery largely remains unnoticed by the many visitors who visit the great mosque daily. The monastery, is one where Sarmad shares his resting place beside that of another famous Sufi saint Khwaja Harey Bharey (the evergreen one). Harey Bharey was Sarmad’s preceptor and his tomb was where Sarmad had settled down when he first came to Delhi.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The unique feature of this Dargah acting as a dual shrine for Sarmad and Harey Bharey is the colour of the wall which is green on Harey Bharey’s side and blood red on Sarmad’s side. This is to depict Sarmad’s martyrdom due to which he has been given the title of ‘Shaheed’ or martyr. Red ceramic tiles lined his side of the flooring and red threads hung by his grave which are tied to the railings by devotees hoping for their wishes to be granted. Incense sticks and candles continuously burn on the side while qawwali singers vent out numbers in praise of their Pir as the evening sets in. Sarmad’s story and his eventual martyrdom reflect his rebellion against the shariat and his imposing stand on the simple message of love that he represented. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Sarmad is perhaps the most famous Malamatiya Sufi saint of his time. Very little is known about his early life. Some say that he was an Armenian. While some claim that he was a Jew who later converted to Islam. Sarmad’s life gets a clearer picture from the time he came to India and landed in the port of Thatta in Gujarat along with a band of Sufi saints on a merchant ship. From here onwards, Sarmad’s life took the eventual course for which he is remembered today.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">At Thatta in a musical concert, Sarmad happened to see the youthful Abhay Chand, who was the son of a rich Hindu trader. It was love at first sight for Sarmad and Abhay. Abhay Chand’s melodious voice which he rendered at a ghazal pierced the tender heart of Sarmad so much that he never recovered from the feeling of love. Sarmad began to attend the concert daily not caring that the ship on which he came had sailed away. Abhay Chand also responded to his love with equal devotion and soon the two began to live together at Sarmad’s place. Soon gossips started to abound in Thatta about the two men living in unnatural conditions. Soon Abhay Chand’s parents took him away and confined him in his house. The pain of separation was too much for Sarmad who tore of his cloths and began to roam the streets of Thatta in a state of frenzy seeking his beloved Abhay Chand. From that day on, he was to live in a state of total nudity for the rest of his life. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Meanwhile, Abhay Chand’s conditions were no better and at last his parents gave in to their sons wish and let him reunite with Sarmad. But they were ostracized by the people of Thatta and so they moved to Lahore. Here they stayed for thirteen years where Sarmad composed some of his most moving verses on love and God. Abhay Chand would sing these verses in his melodious voice and Sarmad would break into a dance of ecstasy. For Sarmad, his love for Abhay Chand was a means to realizing God, for Sarmad believed that God manifested in all his living beings and so he could not be separated from his beloved. Sarmad’s search for God in all of his creations blurred the lines of caste and creeds drawn by men. This he clearly explains in this beautiful verse:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">“Who is the lover, beloved, idol and idol-maker but You?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Who is the beloved of the Kaaba, the temple and the mosque?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Come to the garden and see the unity in the array of colours.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">In all of this, who is the lover, the beloved, the flower and the thorn?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">From Lahore, the couple migrated to Golcunda in south from where, after a few years, they migrated to Agra in the north. In 1657, they came to Delhi and settled down at the Dargah of Khwaja Harey Bharey. Here Sarmad began to have a large following and the whole city of Shahjahanabad would move at his single instruction. Among his followers was Dara Shikoh, the Mughal crown prince and son of Emperor Shah Jahan. After Dara was killed and Aurangzeb usurped the throne, he set about killing all of Dara’s close associates and soon his attention turned towards Sarmad. Sarmad’s popularity disturbed him and he feared Sarmad might someday incite the people to rebel against him.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Once as Aurangzeb went to the Jama Masjid to offer his Friday prayers, he spotted Sarmad sitting in the nude in the street. When he rebuked Sarmad for violating the shariat law by being naked, Sarmad asked him to cover him with a blanket lying nearby. When Aurangzeb picked up the blanket, the story goes that the heads of all the men he had killed during his ascent to the throne rolled out of it. To this, Sarmad said to the Emperor, “Should I hide your sins or my nakedness?” Sarmad’s fearless attitude was too much for Aurangzeb who soon called upon his chief Qazi, Mullah Qawi, and plotted to do away with Sarmad. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Sarmad was dragged to the Qazi’s court where he was accused of defying the shariat by living naked. Sarmad had befitting replies to all of the Qazi’s accusations and this frustrated him even more. To make him relent, the Qazi had Abhay Chand flogged in front of Sarmad. The whip lashed Abhay Chand’s body, but miraculously, the pain was inflicted on Sarmad. Sarmad cried out, “The God who does not let me see my beloved is like an iron cage that smothers the spirit and bruises the heart.” For the Qazi, Islam was a set of stern and inflexible laws. For Sarmad it was nothing but a message of love. The Qazi demanded that Sarmad recite the kalima shahada, the Islamic creed of confession of the faith- “La Ilaha Il Allaha, Muhammad-ur Rasul Allah” (There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messanger of Allah) in order to prove that he was a true Muslim. Sarmad refused to go beyond “La Ilaha” (There is no God) as he had still not found the end of his search for God. This enraged the Qazi who passed a death sentence against him. And so Sarmad was dragged through the streets of Delhi and promptly beheaded.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">But as the story goes, he emerged victorious in death. Sarmad picked up his severed head much to the fright of his executioners. He started climbing the stairs of the Jama Masjid, while mocking the Emperor and his false men of God all the while. In death, Sarmad had found God, testifying to the truth of his own understanding of Islam. Just as he was about to enter the mosque, a voice called him out from the grave of Harey Bharey, and asked him to relent as he had reached the end of his journey and had united with God at last. Sarmad turned round and went to Harey Bharey’s tomb. There he was buried by the side of Harey Bharey, where they share a common Dargah today.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">And the curse of Sarmad fell on Aurangzeb as the Mughal Empire gradually crumbled in front of his very eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">As I left the Dargah of Sarmad Shaheed and reflected on this story, I realized that Sarmad’s homosexuality was not the main fact that made him unique. What was unique about him was that he had dared to understand God in his own way against the established norms, whereby he exhibited the intellect God has bestowed upon mankind. Sarmad had made love the sole motive of his life and he finally achieved God through the means of this. He had just one message for all of us. To see God in all humans around us. For Sarmad, God manifested in the persona of Abhay Chand. For us it can be anybody or anything, whether we are gay or straight. If God is love, then it is all around us. We just have to see it. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Here what has etched in my mind is a verse of Quran which is written on a signboard on the outer wall of the Dargah. It reads, “And call not those who are slain in the way of Allah ‘dead.’ Nay, they are living, only ye perceive not.” I think nothing sums up Sarmad’s life better than this.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; ">(Informations about Sarmad's life and extracts from his poetry have been taken from Yoginder Sikand's book 'Sacred Spaces.') </span></p>Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-33970874410101662942011-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:002011-01-07T12:11:07.120-08:00HOLY BLOOD<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEues2i84u55zfCdCKCDmZ8KzgY5Yu7m5bNYoKesID_KDKNai8phoYLkq9zvG0JWnH8E-w8zLLSeqYpJtHV15KgQzMSac5XmLfmgZeA26A2y4AxMJS-OlLmONgu_ym5URj2zoEcQIjPc/s1600/DSC_0220.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEues2i84u55zfCdCKCDmZ8KzgY5Yu7m5bNYoKesID_KDKNai8phoYLkq9zvG0JWnH8E-w8zLLSeqYpJtHV15KgQzMSac5XmLfmgZeA26A2y4AxMJS-OlLmONgu_ym5URj2zoEcQIjPc/s320/DSC_0220.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559538844692496578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xXBaXoJDS8vMg9qFJMnL3NceQ_wxehIJgcZGCSUwuiYCINP-qA36kbl7SpBxkJ3EmpgghofhYHWN52H06lclDPMDvj5JhdTvBcb0loAcKJ0PoNtxDMIgEzdEYFP-AxP7B_0FhMlmxfI/s1600/DSC_0218.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xXBaXoJDS8vMg9qFJMnL3NceQ_wxehIJgcZGCSUwuiYCINP-qA36kbl7SpBxkJ3EmpgghofhYHWN52H06lclDPMDvj5JhdTvBcb0loAcKJ0PoNtxDMIgEzdEYFP-AxP7B_0FhMlmxfI/s320/DSC_0218.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559538841573513874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1ZryLn0D49JqtlymGNy5w2ZCi_uv-OhAY2GxjkpnD5j5vIrh5nz_ITaf85xos-U66uhdFXieopLsjuMAigv1h033POY0biWHiPxV7P4Qt2M_MTcqUq9QQT1zwutRQWgDdcPz_svLLRM/s1600/DSC_0189.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1ZryLn0D49JqtlymGNy5w2ZCi_uv-OhAY2GxjkpnD5j5vIrh5nz_ITaf85xos-U66uhdFXieopLsjuMAigv1h033POY0biWHiPxV7P4Qt2M_MTcqUq9QQT1zwutRQWgDdcPz_svLLRM/s320/DSC_0189.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559538831798936946" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">17<sup>th</sup> December was the tenth day of the month of Moharram on the Islamic calendar. And it was also the day of theTazia procession that Shia Muslims take out every year on that date. This is done to mark the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (Prophet Muhammad’s grandson) in the battle of Karbala by the forces of the second Omayid Caliph Yazid. Tazia is a re-enactment as well as an act of remembrance of the sufferings that Hussain suffered during his martyrdom. It is an act of extreme devotion that seems highly barbaric to most non-Muslims and Sunni Muslims alike. But if one goes to the depths of its meaning and logic, then nothing but respect comes out of one’s heart for these mourners. Although I myself don’t relate much to this bloodshed, I have all the respect for these devotees who show a form of devotion which we ourselves cannot dare to profess. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I had witnessed a Tazia procession when I first came to Delhi six years ago. Obviously it was a nerve-wrecking experience for me then. So when my two photographer friends, Zubair and Jaun, who are Shias, invited me to come along with them for photographing a Tazia procession, I just couldn’t refuse it. I desperately wanted to overcome my demons to fearlessly watch the streams of blood flow away at a Tazia procession. So I picked up my camera and shot off with my friends to the Shia dominated area of Bara Bazar at Kashmere Gate to face my demons again. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Walking through the narrow lanes of Bara Bazar gives you a distinct feel that you are walking in the Ballimaran area of Old Delhi. But once we heard the thumping sound of the Maatam (mourning) from a little distance, I was shaken out of my hangover of the distinctly Sunni dominated Ballimaran. And in no time we were confronted by a crowd of men and women thumping their chests in perfect rhythm to the chants of the mourning. Shouts of “Ya Hassan! Ya Hussain!” roared through the bylanes as the crowd continued with their chest beating. As we waded through the crowd we soon discovered that leading the crowd were a group of bare bodied men covered in blood, who were flagellating themselves with razor sharp blades and knives attached to the chains in their hands. This was the scene I had been dreading for the past six years. And now it was in front of me. My hands began to shake and I feared I may drop down my camera. My friend Zubair, who is from Kashmir, asked me, “Are you ok? It seems like you’ve seen a ghost!” His question almost came as a sarcastic comment for me making me angry for a moment. As if I attend Tazia processions everyday! But I instantly gathered my courage and started clicking away on my shutterbug.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Tazia processions are a bloody affair and it is definitely not for the faint hearted. The first time spectator will definitely get the shock of his life as men flagellate themselves in the most shocking manner possible. Apart from beating themselves up with knives attached to the chains in their hands, these also furiously pinch themselves with knives over their heads making them appear like huge blobs of blood. If one carefully examines the wounds on the bodies of these men, then the reaction will be ghastly! Part of the procession are a shroud symbolizing the body of Imam Hussain and a horse whose head is covered with a shroud of cloth smeared in bloodstains of devotees. It is symbolic of the horse of Hussain when it returned from the battlefield without him.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">We followed the procession to the Imam Bada (Shia Mosque) of the area where crowds of women draped in black clothing were waiting over the balconies of the building wailing their hearts out. Here the procession entered into the courtyard of the Imam Bada where the flagellation continued with a new zeal. The women who were overlooking the whole scene from the balconies above us started wailing out even more loudly and the men who were around me started to sob loudly. I could very closely see the ecstasy in the faces of the men who were the centre of attraction as they continued oozing blood out of themselves. It seemed as if they had found peace in the midst of this pain. Some of the old keepers of the mosque kept throwing water at regular intervals to wash away the blood that had covered the white marble floor of the Imam Bada. So blood heavily mixed with water was constantly flowing around our feet most of the time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Soon the Speaker, who is normally one among the mourners, called over his microphone to start the Maatam (mourning) in a highly emotional voice. The group of men stopped beating themselves and got down on their knees that were soon followed by the entire crowd of men that had gathered in the courtyard of the Imam Bada. Soon the Speaker started reciting the passages where accounts of Hussain’s martyrdom are narrated. As the Speaker continued with his sermon in a voice that seemed it may crack at any moment out of anguish, the people around the courtyard began to wail out loudly as they listened how their beloved Imam Hussain died on the battlefield. The women wailed out madly from the balcony thumping their chests as if Hussain’s body was in front of them. Zubair put his camera into his bag, got down on his knees and joined in the mourning. My other friend who was at another corner of the building could not be seen. I continued taking pictures in the midst of all these wailing and soon realized the fact that I was the only person in the Imam Bada who was not crying then. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Frankly I was feeling out of the place as all around me were weeping inconsolably as the Speaker carried on his sermon in full emotional ecstasy. I stopped taking pictures and closed my eyes and listened carefully to the words of the Speaker. And soon images of the events started forming in my mind as the Speaker recounted the events. Hussain’s sufferings… how he was dealt 17 blows on his neck… how he had a vision of the Prophet Muhammad as he was dying… his sister Zainab’s agony on the news of his death… the death of his son Ali Asghar… his horse returning without its rider from the battlefield… vivid images were forming in my mind as the Imam carried on his sermon and the people around me wailed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Soon the sermon was over and the Maatam too along with it. I opened my eyes and discovered that the unthinkable had happened. I had tears in my eyes. The mourning had really cast its shadow on me and I had somewhat realized the pain and anguish of the mourners who were around me. I was totally dumbstruck but felt surprisingly relived as I wiped away my tears. Suddenly it all started making sense to me and I realized that there is no reason why I should not respect these mourners. I didn’t really have all the answers to my doubts. But I didn’t want any. I somehow felt at peace. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">As we made our way to the main road outside, we washed our hands at a tap on the roadside. I was trying to wash off some blood stains that had somehow got sprinkled on my hands. While I was washing them off, Zubair said, “It’s a good sign. The blood of the Tazia is holy. You’ll do good work now.” I smiled. I somehow believed him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223752766176995626.post-81410341984354132972010-11-15T11:19:00.000-08:002010-11-15T11:22:49.732-08:00CHEVOLUTION: The Tragedy of a Revolutionary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAo8XdsZ3GL7nttbgN6pXK0CSr5LbEvT8EECNi3-drGpSpSqAIRTmtTyZ8odcI6QcPNb_kT_7qY0vyXZzbzcG7qyKz6vHY_MndT7a6fyOwg62jBtDo-QoZy-9nCD9rHfujHEhj33hM88/s1600/che-guevara.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAo8XdsZ3GL7nttbgN6pXK0CSr5LbEvT8EECNi3-drGpSpSqAIRTmtTyZ8odcI6QcPNb_kT_7qY0vyXZzbzcG7qyKz6vHY_MndT7a6fyOwg62jBtDo-QoZy-9nCD9rHfujHEhj33hM88/s320/che-guevara.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539858916080375826" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I was in college when this particular anecdote happened. There was this girl who was wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt and was sporting a sort of punk look. When I asked her if she was a Commie, she looked pretty offended. When I told her that she was wearing a T-shirt featuring the most famous Communist revolutionary ever, she just shrugged and replied, “Really? I thought he was a rock star or something?” Her reply shocked the hell out of me then. How can you sport a Che Guevara T-shirt without even knowing who he is? Why Che of all the people? Today when I look back at that moment, I realize the tragedy that has befallen Che. He has become the tool in the hands of the very forces that he fought all his life. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The Che Guevara image that we see so much around nowadays is the most prolific photo image in history. Go to a college and you will surely find some youngster sporting a Che T-shirt. But ask him who exactly was Che and there are one in a ten possibilities that you’ll get a correct answer. Che has become a symbol of rebellion for most youngsters, something like a cool addition to the overall image of an average punk youngster.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Born as Ernesto Guevara, Che was the most famous Communist revolutionary from the post-World War II era. Trained to be a doctor, he traveled through Latin America and joined Fidel Castro’s guerrilla troop of revolutionaries to oust the Batista regime and establish a Communist regime in Cuba under the aegis of Castro. Che stayed on in Cuba for sometime as one of the important members of Castro’s government, but the zeal to see a world revolution was too much in him to make him lead a normal political life in Cuba. Che’s later journeys took him to countries such a Congo in Africa and Bolivia in Latin America where he was eventually assassinated by CIA operatives. Till Che was alive, he was mostly regarded as a communist guerilla fighter who moved about instigating people to rise in revolt against the existing systems. But Che’s rise to a powerful symbol of dissent was the handiwork of artistic minds rather than revolutionary minds. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The iconic photo of Che which we are all familiar with was taken by celebrated Cuban photographer Alberto Korda. It was taken at a political rally where Che was standing on the podium. I find it rather funny that Che had to get popular through the medium of an image considering the fact that Che hated to be photographed. Perhaps it was because Che himself worked as a photographer during his student days in Mexico and no serious photographer likes to be photographed in any circumstances. The photo didn’t become a sensation as soon as it was taken. It stayed for some time with Korda who had then christened it as “Guerrillero Heroico.” Years later after Che’s death, it was eventually taken by a Spanish communist publisher named Feltrinelli who had it published in one of his publications. Korda had also not attached any copyright issues with the image and so it became possible to reproduce it in large quantities without any hindrance. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The photo made its first grand appearance during the Students’ Protests in Paris in 1968. The photo literally exploded on the scene with students holding it out on their placards. It became a new symbol of protest and defiance. It gave out a whole new meaning to the idea of resistance. And soon this image was everywhere. During the Vietnam War protests, the Black Movement in America… it became everybody’s favorite expression of defiance. The 60s and 70s were turbulent times if we take into account the rise of counter culture and other protest movements. Posters were a very popular mode of expressing protests. And how could Che remain far behind in this regard? The work to transform Che’s photo into a graphic protest poster fell to the fate of artist Jim Fitzpatrick who made it into radical piece of artwork synonymous with the very idea of protest. So consequently the background became blood red and all the hues and patches on the face were removed and the shadows in the image were enhanced and what we got as a result is, as they say, history. The posters surpassed all other protest posters of that era and went on to become one of the most potent images in the psyche of humankind in the 20<sup>th</sup> century. It would not be wrong to claim that apart from Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” the Che Guevara image is the other most recognized image in history. The image also appeared in various other forms of artwork but the basic structure of Fitzpatrick’s artwork was never altered. For some time it seemed that the revolution that Che had always talked about was nearing in sight as everyone was talking of Che and his ideologies and the image became an everyday affair in almost all parts of the world. But this is just one side of the story because soon Che and the image became victims of the vey forces that they strove to fight against.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">When an idea germinates, it takes the form of an expression. Here the expression became the image of Che. And consequently the image assumed the form of an artwork that spread to all corners of the world though in varied forms. It was here that the capitalist forces realized the potent power that this image had come to assume. Commercialization got the better of the original message of this image and it got gagged somewhere under the weight of it. So Che then began to appear everywhere. From T-shirts, badges, shoes, accessories, cigarette packets, lingerie and what not! Che was everywhere and literally everybody wanted a piece of him. The image found its way into the oddest of places. And the problem was that most of the people who now got hold of the Che image hardly knew anything about him or his ideologies. It is surprising that many people still confuse Che with Bob Marley because of his long locks and virile rock star looks. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">So the new Che Guevara image was everywhere courtesy capitalism. The image now became symbolized with the new punk or pop culture instead of any sign of protest against the established order. It is still a symbol of defiance but the meaning seems to have changed since its inception in the 60s. People wear Che Guevara T-shirts and accessories to look cool and associate him with something rebellious. But sadly most youngsters of today have forgotten what Che really stood for. And he has just become a powerful symbol of commercialization with a misplaced message.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">This is the tragedy of Che. Even after death, though Che has been immortalized in our popular culture but he has but remained as a tool of capitalism. I often wonder what Che would have said if he had seen all this today. So even though I see many youngsters sporting Che Guevara T-shirts I really have no reason to feel happy about. Atleast not for Che.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Joydeep Hazarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05701389408725070417noreply@blogger.com0