Of Giving Your Viewpoint

My friend Shubro commented on my post on Aaddaabaajee ... Well, this reminded me of this little episode ... The guys almost beat me up.

Well, in our part of the world, swear words are quite customary ... you use them almost as punctuations (anybody who knows any Punjabi would know this, and of course, Delhi is so, so Punjabi ...). And as such, these pearls of poetic wisdom used to flow freely in our intellectual interactions. They almost used to decorate our prose, and punctuate our discussions, much like the cigarettes used to. Though, of course, i am yet to find out which of the two were the more valuable communication aids.

As it would be ... there was a debate underway ... passionate discussion, if you may (which is where most discussions used to be, after around 5 cigarettes having been smoked in the space of an hour!). So passionate that, as usual, tempers were frayed, and participants were quite eagerly delivering swear words at random. The topic of the debate?

Does familiarity allow us to use swear words with friends, or is this a sign of bad manners!

Trust the guys to not understand the irony of the nature of the debate. As you might have guessed, i wasnt there (since the debate hadnt yet reached rarefied heights). Well, i walked into the narrow alley which was Atlas Radios, pipe in mouth. Being the "impartial" one, the two sides jumped at me, and asked me what i think about the topic. Holding the pipe, chewing on its end, knotting my brows, and thinking from my impartial platform, the only response i could muster was ...

It depends on what viewpoint you hold.

Of course, thats the impartial view. Listen ... i go one way, i get bashed up by one set of guys, and i go the other way, well ... you get the picture! Sitting on the fence was the safe option. Or so i thought. The response this brought on was something i obviously cant write here (folks might object to it), but it definitely was quite in flow of things, and i almost got bashed up by both the set of folks.

Of Science and Humour

This one's for folks who believe scientists are drab folks ... no sense of humour! I am reading about dark matter here. Well ... they have two categories of dark matter ... Machos and Wimps ... No no ... these are not mere words, they even dreamt up full forms of these, making these acronyms ...

MACHO: Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Objects

WIMP: Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

Almost as though someone thought up the words, and then made the expressions?

Dark Matter ... Beginners

I am reading about dark matter these days. Highly interesting ... First question ... what is dark matter. Simple ... its matter thats dark. Oops ... that sounded like a typical consultant ... or, Sir Humphrey (or are they pretty much the same thing?)! Well ... to make it simple ... Dark matter is stuff which is out there in the universe which we cant see. For some reason ... dont ask me why. The brains (read scientists) havent figured that out yet, or at least thats what i think.

Only thing i have been able to figure out yet is how they figured out its existence if they cant see it. Well ... its simple. We all know galaxies rotate around a centre. Now, the rotation speed of galaxies can be calculated using the Doppler effect. So, if the galaxy were like a disk, then one end of the rotating disc would be coming at you (blue shifted), and the other end would be going away (red shifted). Based on the extent of the spectral shift, they could calculate the rotational speed of the galaxy. Knowing this, the mass of the galaxy can be calculated using Newtonian mechanics. Now, the speed of rotation of galaxies is such that the stars along with their solar systems should probably get hurled out of the galaxy, given the calculated gravitational pull of the mass calculated for the galaxy by the Mass-Luminosity equation.

In other words, the calculated mass of the galaxy is not enough to keep these stars in place in the galaxy, and overcome the centrifugal force they would feel. Now, since the stars are actually in place in the galaxy, the only thing that can explain this is that there is mass in the galaxy which we cant see. Ergo, Dark Matter ...

According to what scientists say ... Mother Nature has hidden away 90% of the universe from us. Question is ... why? I dont know! Maybe someday soon, we will find out.

The Indus Saga ... Cont'd.

As i have written earlier ... i am reading The Indus Saga. Now, the book is written about a topic which is bound to raise emotions about everything written in the book ... Some for, and some against. But, i think thats what Mr. Ahsan would like to see ... the book sparking a healthy debate about the reality of things in the subcontinent.

Well, i have been reading this book for around a month now (thanks to IPL). I am reading the part where he is talking about the Hindu-Muslim divide. Mr. Ahsan has written masterfully about this. And, come up with a few arguments which its very difficult to disagree with. But then, i am writing about the things i disagree with (why waste my time trying to agree with something which is masterfully done, so if you wanna know more, read the book, not my blog ...).

The first important thing ... Religion definitely was an aspect of the Partition. We would be fooling ourselves if we were to say religion wasnt at the forefront. However, religion itself shouldnt be seen as the reason. Because, if it were, then Pakistan would probably have been far closer in terms of geo-politics to Afghanistan than they actually are. Also, this wouldnt explain the second largest population of Muslims in the world ... in India. It also wouldnt explain the centrifugal force which drew Bangladesh away from Pakistan.

Taking all of these together, i would think that the raison d'etre for the Partition would be religion, associated with a regional identity. I think the regional aspect must not be overlooked, which is something which Mr. Ahsan has written throughout the book.

Another aspect i wanted to comment upon ... "Honour" killings, to my mind, are by no means the preserve of the Muslims. I see them more as an Indus phenomenon, rather than as a phenomenon associated with Muslims in the subcontinent. Might be that these are present certian parts of the subcontinent because of a greater central Asian (or Arab?) influence than in other parts of the subcontinent. For example, i am not aware of "honour" killings in Bengal or the southern parts of the country.

Green India ...

Today is World Environemtn Day. Interesting, this ... A lot of people are exhorting India to a greener future. To my mind, though, this is no longer a luxury. Its not just about a better quality of life for people, its about economics.

Coming a day after the Govt. hiked fuel prices, causing huge uproar across the country, green energy is an alternative which is more beneficial than conventional fuels. Wind energy, solar energy, hydel energy ... There is ample of each available in different parts of the country. Seen in light of the fuel price hike, and non-availability of greater sources of neclear energy, thanks to the Left, green energy is the alternative for the future, from the economic perspective, too.

Aaddaabaajee ...

Aaddaabaajee ... a term not very familiar to lots of people. To the inhabitants of Kolkata (or Calcutta, if you may), an integral part of their lives. Though, surely aaddaabaajee is not the preserve of the city. There were the days ... rather, evenings ... the vanue? Atlas Radio! Not an address known to many, but to the boys of Darya Ganj, or at least the folks i grew up with, this is an address which is closely linked with our growing up years, through school and college.

No matter how, come evening, and we would gather there. If we werent playing cricket, of course ... though, cricket playing took a back-seat sometime during school. At the risk of having our parents read this, i would admit that this is where cigarettes were smoked (surreptitiously, of course). This is where we graduated from smoking Navy Cut to Wills Kings (dont see them around anymore), to Gold Flake, to the ubiquituous Prince Henry (and no, we are not the only ones to prefer this brand ... read this). As Avinashjee writes ...

From the next day it started. Ashish brought an assortment of four pipes for the supervisor to select one from. He kept all the four. “You tend to get tired of smoking the same pipe day after day,” he said. Impeccable logic, that. We bought cigarette paper. Ashish had brought “Capstan” brand tobacco. The supervisor told him to buy “Prince Henry” brand next time. “The flavor is rich,” he said. The valuations were rich too – Prince Henry was retailed at a price almost one and a half times that of Capstan.

And this is where we discussed ... we discussed almost everything. The discussion ranged from politics, to social issues, to philosophy, to movies, literature, and the occasional mention of girls. And no, i have not covered all the topics we discussed. Then there was the time when, influenced by the pipe-smoking charm of Sherlock Holmes, we took to smoking a pipe. It made you look so elegant, though of course we all shared one pipe (hey ... who had the money to buy so any pipes).

And even when it went to college, to study at BHU, holidays were times when i could meet all my friends ... and guess where i would find them?

Khuda Kay Liye ...

The movie has become popular ... And, it should have. Khuda Kay Liye is a movie about human frailty. A frailty which is to be seen whereever one might go ... In every part of the world, among followers of every religion. Importantly, it brings out the fact that goodness is neither the preserve of a particular religion, or a particular belief system.

More than anything else, the movie brings out the fact that inherently, any religion cannot be narrow minded. Inherently, any religion is not about building hatred, or imposing one belief system on another. Nor is any belief system, any society homogenous, and should not be branded as such. Whether it is the so-called "Islamic terrorism", or whether it is the so-called "hegemonic west".

But i am getting ahead of the story, i guess. The story revolves around the lives of two brothers ... One who is convinced, though half-heartedly, into becoming a Jihadi, and the other, who is forced into proclaiming he is a terrorist. I guess i shouldnt be writing much more ... much rather you watch the movie. It should be treated as one of those rare movies which can shake the foundations of the thought processes of a society. Because, it can ... It would be very nice if the movie brought about a thought process that religious belief is not necessarily reflected in one's dress, or that Faith is not hostage to a beard. A jeans clad, cap wearing boy can still recite the Aazaan, and that would probably be more valuable than an insincere one. This very point reminds me of a movie of a totally different genre, a hilarious movie titled Gol-Maal. You must be wondering whats the connection. The connection is in one line. Utpal Dutta believes that a young man who doesnt have a moustache is not a decent man. Thats when he is told ...

Sharaafat koi chidiya hai jo moonchh mein ghonslaa banaati hai?

The thought process of the movie is exemplary. I was reading a report recently where it said that the Darul Uloom have issued a Fatwa against terrorism. One would praise the Darul Uloom for this, though i believe all the seminary has done is uphold the grand tradition of Islam.