Fanaa

In a remarkable movie which beautifully portrays the conflict between a man's conscience and a woman's endearing belief in love, the director's urge to send a message across wins in the end.

A word and a song...

First the song:
The song I was listening to was from the Tamil movie Nanda and starts off 'Kalliyadi kalli...'
A rough translation of a section of it is as follows:

"Consider that there is no sea in between us....
the nations are the same...
Tamils are Tamils everywhere..."

Was kind of surprised that such a bold avowal was let off easily by the authorities though it was a movie on Sri Lankan refugees. It sounded like a cheap shot using identity politics rather than a mature artistic approach to the issue. Also, it is one of the modern day ambiguities in geopolitics but its strangely disturbing when popular art pushes such issues into public conscience. Have got used to issues like these handled by sensational newspapers and relegated to Page 5 International sections rather than listening to it as music.

Came across this word while going through some websites on Bahrain...

Irredentism : an international relations term that involves advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity and/or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. It is a feature of identity politics and cultural and political geography.

... and that completed my circle of vapid thoughts.

Citizens or customers ?

Are students customers in an educational setup ?
Are people customers in a governmental setup ?

I instinctively say no to both the questions. Though student unions and e-government supporters can mention the word 'customer' in every sentence, my whole being revolts at that notion. What a horribly narrow minded view should one have to describe the relationship between a student and a teacher with a term which primarily means a person involved in a monetary exchange for goods/services offered. Similarly, can anyone buy good governance or the acumen of statesmen for the price paid as taxes? Amidst all the crap that is flying around since the current medico's strike, there was a surprisingly mature statement from the Arjun Singh when he said "we are concerned as the agitating students are our children too.." The veracity and intent can be questioned but that is not the point. That is the feeling of overarching responsibility and bonding that a Government should have with its people and that feeling towards the Government surpasses all monetary measures...

Quote

"There are no good or bad memories... only convenient ones." someone said this to us during our induction to my job. Was wondering if this applies to identities too. There are no strong or weak identities... only convenient ones. A friend of mine once said that India on account of being invaded so many times has become a boiling pot of different identities. I am sure the average number of identities per individual is the highest in this part of the world.

Does the transience of all identities indicate that the Goal should be the transcend all identities?

N.B. abstained from examples in this case since examples seem restrictive rather than explanatory.