Bhagwad Gita called upon to fight Anna Hazare - A conspiracy theory

Congress is in a spot. Corruption is an age-old issue. And Anna Hazare and team have raised a storm which just doesn't seem to subside. It isn't a wonder coz when it comes to economic progress, more than the policies it is corruption which has hurt the common people the most.

The attempts to make Anna Hazare seem a controversial figure have so far failed. For most part since Independence, Congress has been in power at the center. The current situation might put a full and final stop to that.

What's the recourse? Play the next best card. Religion. Seed a controversy to kill a controversy.

Go to a far off land. Attack the most celebrated and followed scripture of the country. Create an external enemy. A religious one. Make the important men and media give it time and space. Make the important men speak gibberish. Plaster pictures of protest. Make it seem like the identity of the country is at stake.

Arouse a religio-patriotic emotion to kill the existential grouse. Can they pull it off? Hide corruption behind religion? Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost...

Starring YOU

I like movies and celebrities like any other person who seeks entertainment. Here's what amazes me.

A movie isn't made linearly like we see it. The starting scenes of a movie might be shot after the climactic ones. That's still fine until we talk of actors. I don't know in what sequence was Sholay shot but it could very well turn out that the scene where AB dies was shot (even) before the scene where Dharmendra & AB reach Ramgadh. If for once this is taken to be true, I wonder about the actors' 'sense of story', sense of holism, sense of linearity.

I also wonder about the oft-repeated claim of getting into the skin or heart or mind of the character. Even if that is done, lack of linearity would put anyone off the course. For the hero is dying before even romancing the heroine and is romancing her and singing songs with her even before meeting her for the first time.

And these days, with graphics, animation and special effects occupying a good part of the execution, imagine yourself dressed as a warrior against a bland-colored wall and swinging your sword to cut an imagined dinosaur and then grimacing and then showing stoical triumph on your face.

Have the story/idea in your head? Execute, basis convenience. Last, first, fourth, second, third. Make faces in that sequence. Bear the strangeness of it all. Then before you talk, juxtapose and order the events in a sequence and check if it's convenient to make faces in that sequence. Finally, talk as if all events happened in a sequence, make faces in that sequence and it's all well.

Martial Arts

Another post on juxtaposition, this one.

Martial & Arts, two words typically sensed as opposites placed side by side. The first sentence on wikipedia describes it as:

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development.

THE MOST IMPORTANT WORD

Yes, this post needs a Capitalized title :).

If I am not mistaken you must have heard this word in Amitabh's song My Name is Anthony Gonsalves in Amar Akbar Anthony. Of course the words in that part of the song were rattled out at some pace. 

The most important word in my life is turning out to be 'juxtaposition'. And the meaning isn't as complicated as the sound of the word :). Dictionary.com offers these meanings:

• an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
• the state of being close together or side by side.

And here's an example of juxtaposition.

For most of us trained to believe in causation, this might be a tough ability and a tough way of thinking. Simple example, saying "he is so strong" might imply a thought somewhere in our head "he is not so sensitive". But 'strong' and 'sensitive' are so often found together and one may be the cause/consequence of another. Might be a bad example but you get the point I hope.

Observe everywhere. Sources of great surprises are so often juxtapositions. Amitabh's white beard and black hair? :)

Will share more...