Dan Reed’s documentary on 26/11 terrorist attacks on Mumbai has been aired on Britain’s Channel 4 just a few days ago. The documentary has original CCTV footage, survivors and police accounts, telephonic conversations between the terrorists and their masterminds, and Kasab’s testimony.
“This is just a trailer,” the controller in Pakistan warns. “Wait till you see the rest of the film…”
In a historic judgment, the Delhi High Court has passed a ruling that recommends section 377 of IPC should be amended and any sex between two consenting adults should be legalized. This comes as a big solace to India’s homosexuals as it opens up the way to legalize consensual sex between two adult homosexuals. The Court has said that section 377, if not amended would be a violation of Article 21 of the constitution which states that every citizen should be treated equally before the law. I am happy that the Court has upheld the values of human rights and the right to live with dignity and equal opportunity (at least in the eyes of the law).
Chief Justice Shah and Justice Muralidhar said, “We declare Section 377 in so far as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private is violative of articles 14, 21 and 15 of the Constitution. The provision of Section 377 will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non vaginal sex involving minors.” [Legally gay: historic court order makes it possible – CNN IBN]
The new ruling however will not be immediately implemented because it is now up to the parliament to take a decision to amend the law. And I am not sure whether the politicians would take a positive stand on the matter because there is strong protest from various religious groups including Christians, Hindus and Muslims (which also means “vote banks”). I have only one thing to ask them. You have time and again taken pride in saying that your respective religion has revised it’s teachings and text according to the times. Each of you claim that you are the most modern religion. Now is your chance to prove it. If you think that a supreme force like God(s) cannot be inclusive, what kind of love and tolerance do you preach?
As for the LGBT community, they have many challenges lying ahead. For the starters, they should begin educating people on homosexuality rather than keeping people off with the explicit symbols of sexuality. The homosexuals need to let the heterosexuals know that other than their preference in love and sex, they are not a sex-hungry group but normal people, just like the rest of us. They should also help others identify whether they are truly Gay or not. (I read an excellent post on this topic in Sam’s blog where he answered someone about the differences between feeling Gay and being Gay).
Anyways, the Indian society cannot live in denial. Homosexuality and homosexuals are for real. Our denial only makes the whole situation worse, adding up to the failed marriages, sexual diseases and suicides. So no matter what an individual thinks of homosexuality, the Government and Law should uphold the rights of every individual. The Court has done it’s part. Will the Government follow?
Radhika Sethumadhavan, whose voice had you mesmerized through this blog earlier, has started a music blog. To begin with, she has songs from several languages in her music blog. Do check it out and post your comments there.
It gives me immense pleasure to see that the spirit of Blogswara has given birth to similar concepts in the web. Today, the first free online musical album in Malayalam, Eenam, has launched. Four of the Blogswara members – myself, Kiran, Divya and Rashmi – have worked in this album along with the others. I have sung two songs in Eenam. Neelavaanin Mizhiyinayil, a soulful song, and Chatroomile Chandini, a campus kind of fun song. Please do listen to both the songs (click on the song names to go the song pages) and let me know what you think. Also listen to the other songs in the album.
The word “Soosoo” in the local Malayalam dialect refers to urinating and is used while talking to children. “Mone, do you need to soosoo now?”, you would hear parents asking their little ones. Or the kids drawing attention of their parents to tell them that they need to pass “Soosoo“. Anyways, I’m not writing about any toilet ads here but some ads that definitely needs to be flushed out.
The Zoozoo ads by Vodafone have become very popular and it has a huge fan following in You Tube. The ads filled the TV space and the fans praised it through their blogs and email forwards. The concept and character creation of the Zoozoo ads are totally cool and I very much liked it. However, I felt odd by watching some of their ads in the Zoozoo series. I actually felt bad by watching a particular ad. It is the one given below.
Such a violent ad! Agreed, that there is no blood or explicit gore, but didn’t they get any better script to point out that you can set a busy message in Vodafone? Towards the end you will watch it with an odd feeling while you hear one of the Zoozoos screaming out and the phone ringing. Reminds you of some kind of a horror movie! Did they really think that it is funny?
But the above mentioned Zoozoo ad is nothing compared to the “Sweet Bomb” ad of Cadbury Eclairs. After you enjoy the initial background music and the smiley faces in the ad, the heads of the people begin to explode! Yes, explode!! I don’t know about the others, but the explosion of the heads in the chocolate form actually terrified me. For a moment, I thought I was watching a movie like Hostel or something. It was so gory! Watch it below:
I just don’t understand what these ad agencies were thinking while scripting/conceptualizing these ads and I wonder if there is no one from the companies to check out the final form of an advertisement before it goes on TV. I mean, WTF!!!
Lohitha Das, one of the best scriptwriters that Malayalam cinema ever had, died today in Kochi. He belonged to a class of writers who found their raw material from the lives of ordinary people. Some of the best musicals in Malayalam cinema were penned by him, like “His Highness Abdullah” and “Bharatham“. Both Mammootty and Mohan Lal had some of their best characters in their acting career from Lohitha Das. He gave movies like Thaniyaavarthanam and Boothakannaadi to Mammootty and Kireedam and Bharatham to Mohan Lal. He introduced some of the best actresses in Malayalam – Manju Warrier, Meera Jasmin and Bhaama. Even though he enjoyed great success as a script-writer, his career as a director was not so bright. His last two directorial ventures had flopped in the box office. But he will be remembered for the characters and stories he had penned down in his life time.
Like my friend Arun said in a comment to the previous blog post, Michael Jackson is a true musical legend in every sense. Be it song writing, arrangement, high-octave songs, the moves, the moonwalks, the charisma, the voice – he is truly a unique artist and remain unmatched.
I heard this song only today where Michael collaborated with some other great artists of our time, including my favorite singer Celine Dion. Check out the lyrics, enjoy the music.
Michael Jackson All Stars – What more can I give? (Lyrics below)
Billy Gillman: How many children will have to cry, before we do all we can?
Reba McEntire: If sending your love is all you can give
Here is a list of my top favorite songs from Michael Jackson. Just like his songs, the music videos are also superbly done. Click on the song names to watch the videos in You Tube.
Goodbye and Thank You for your music. Thank you, ’cause you lit up the hopeless days of my teenage with the energy of music. Thank You, because you opened up a whole new world of music which was unknown to me until I discovered your music. With all of your oddities and imperfection as a human being, you are truly a musical legend and your music will travel through the times. Rest in Peace, the King of Pop…
The monsoon rains are now shying away from Kerala. The days and nights which used to be filled with the thunderous music of rains are still having the usual smoke and dust. And it is so refreshing when it rains after long intervals. Here are two photos that I took in the last week.
[Pic #1 : A view from the third floor of Envestnet, the organization that I work with, in Trivandrum, Kerala.]
[Pic #2 : A view from my bro-in-law’s property in a village in Thrissur, Kerala.]
