Another one on the Mumbai bombings by our own Som, traveling somewhere in warm India as we speak. As usual, click HERE or on the image to access the PDF.
Archive for the 'Som's Blog' Category
Pushing that agenda along
Published by December 18th, 2008 in Latest news, Som's Blog and tabloid. 2 CommentsIts time to heal, not avenge
Published by December 5th, 2008 in News, Panic time, Som's Blog, Vignettes of Violence and academics. 0 CommentsWonder if this is the first time Baudrillard’s has been quoted in an Indian tabloid - all hope is not lost. Som’s great column about the Mumbai bombings (pdf HERE or clicking on the image):
Most of the posts here are focussed on the media in India. We are critical of the media’s practices and more often than not, scornful of news production values.There are good reasons for such critique. The tools we use however are often theories developed in the west, notions of objectivity, dissemination of information, a knowledgeable public sphere and so on. I have been especially scornful of the doses of nationalism which permeates into the language of Indian media. The western media is generally not our sphere of discussion, but today I chose to make an exception.
Many of you will have heard the case of Simon Mann, SAS guerilla who was caught while trying to assassinate the president of Equatorial New Guinea. Yesterday, he was produced in court in the country. The Guardian is the flag bearing liberal newspaper in the UK. The use of language thus becomes even more interesting. The reporter almost accuses the country’s courts for conducting proceedings in Spanish. I wonder if England would have Tamil language court proceedings if an LTTE member is arrested for a coup against the government. The report makes a deal about security proceedings. This by a security obsessed West. The Us and Them game is played out blatantly. My rantings could go on and on but read the story here.
I have stopped putting up my weekly column for Metro Now for several months now. I just could not reconcile our imagined audience of this blog to those commuting every morning from North Delhi to Central and from Karol Bagh to Nizamuddin. The result was gaffes and mistakes. Against my better judgement but on the insistence of a fellow blogger I put up my last column. I apologise in advance for simplifying Foucault’s aesthetics of the self and Marxist dialectics. Here goes:
Home Minister Shivraj Patel, going against the popular sentiment recently stated that people who ask for Afzal Guru’s hanging cannot demand leniency for Sarabjit. This got me thinking about our relationship with the enemy country, my friends here in London and Pakistan and the past few years of joy.
I first met Adnan Sattar in the dimly lit corridors of a student housing complex in London, corridors smelling of stale smoke, cheap liquor and hurried sex. Adnan had the room opposite me and I thought it was someone’s idea of a joke, put these blokes together and lets see if they fight.
As usual, here is the weekly Metro Now column. Click HERE on or the image to see full article.
Folks, here’s again my Monday Metro column. As usual, click HERE or on the image to read full text.
As always, my column for perusal. Click HERE on on the image to see full page.
More conspiracy theories
Published by August 31st, 2007 in News, Panic time, Som's Blog and Uncategorized. 0 CommentsThe nuclear deal is almost through with the US. The Left and other minor irritants need to be managed. India is setting itself up as one of the biggest playgrounds for future arms deals and US companies are setting up shop with local manufacturers. 40 billion dollars will be spent in the next five years in new procurement and as a navy man says “India is seeking her position in the world stage.” The lead article in the New York Times, folks, read on here.
Muslim? Then prove your patriotism.
Published by August 29th, 2007 in Som's Blog and films. 14 CommentsFilm critique is a serious business and I have usually shied away from areas where my theoretical grasp is at best rudimentary. But having seen Chak De India, the latest Bollywood block buster and discussing with my colleague Meenu, I am forced to give vent to certain feelings, if only it makes me feel a bit lighter. Read it as a layman’s ranting at best.
As Meenu said, it is only Bollywood which can take up a noble cause, that of the alienation of the Muslim minority in present day India, and turn it into a fascist prose. But for those of you fortunate enough not to have seen it, here is a brief synopsis.
Kabir, Shah Rukh Khan playing a Muslim, a welcome breaks from the Rahuls and the Rajs, is India’s hockey captain. In the World Cup final (when), we lose to Pakistan and Khan misses a last minute penalty. Disgraced and called traitor by the media and therefore the public, he goes into hiding to emerge 8 years later as the women team’s hockey coach and winning them an improbable victory in the World Cup.
Folks, here’s another one. As usual, click HERE or on the image to see.
As usual, here is the latest Metro Now for your enjoyment. Click HERE or on the image to see the full file.
This summer has been one of the best, as far as low cost travelling is concerned and I ended up spending less money travelling than I would have had I stayed on in London. Berlin must be the cheapest West European capital city and five days of alcoholic stupor did not wipe my bank account clean. Amidst the haze, I did manage to get to some of the museums and while the Jewish museum is a marvel both architecturally and in modern museum accessories, Checkpoint Charlie, where the Berlin Wall museum stands makes you think about the writing of history and the “regimes of truth†being created. The photograph here is amongst several others around the site. It tells us that the US was invited to South Vietnam. Now which moron believes that. Yes, it was invited by the puppet government it set up in the country. The writing states that the US declared the war closed, but not the fact that their ass was kicked by half naked, semi starved peasants. Almost every writing on these walls seem to come straight out of Rumsfeld’s desk. It is fascinating as it is disgusting.
Here is my latest Metro Now columns.  Because of the delay in the last one, you will get two in a row. As usual, click HERE on the picture to read the full text.
Folks, a bit delayed column for Metro Now. Matti was at a social documentary workshop in Latvia (now where the hell is that?) and chose to rather have intensive conversations with European filmmakers than put up this column on his few minutes of free time. He solemnly apologizes for such lapse in reasoning and attributes it to eating too many potatoes and sleeping too little. As usual, click HERE or on the image to read full pdf.
As usual, the column. Click HERE on on image to read full.
My column. Enjoy! And read HERE or clicking the image.
A bit of bitching….against Star News
Published by July 11th, 2007 in News and Som's Blog. 6 Comments“Hell hath no fire like a man forced to watch 270 hours of Star News”
Well, that’s what I am doing for my chapter on content analysis and I guess I am allowing myself the privilege of a good bitch. I believe I have earned it.
This morning, I am viewing stories at 5 am on a Tuesday morning from last year on Star News. From many of the stories prepared through the night before, one is on a blast in Sri Lanka and the voice over tells us it is the handiwork of “litte”, prounouced as a word.
It took me a moment to realise that she was reading the acronym of LTTE together without realising. Now, acronyms are sometimes mispronounced and on live television there are instances of funny sorts of words coming up. Like the South African television anchor who said “Now lets go over to England for the FUCKUP (FA CUP).” That was hilarious.
But to make this mistake, six times in the voice over and not even understand it!!! How can someone with such low levels of awareness possibly be allowed to tell us what is going on in our world? Now, not only does she not notice it, neither does that entire office for the next six hours. Beat that.
So the Taj Mahal has been voted as one of the seven wonders of the world. Given our population, nationalistic hysteria and media hype, one shouldn’t be surprised. Amitabh Bachchan came through as the actor of the millennium solely through repeated voting by over eager fans. Amitabh deserved it much more, though I can think of several, several actors who I and most cine appreciators would have put ahead. And I am not talking about the architectural merits of the Taj, though that too is a definite point. Jahangir’s buildings were far more sophisticated while Shah Jahan had more glamour. He found a country in red sand stone and left it in marble.
But the point I am making is different. Two thousand workers lost their hands after the completion of the Taj, so that there would never be another one. And we call this a testimonial of love! Shah Jahan had precious little to do with it except seeing that his generals provide the cash with more loot, plunder and death. Should not the political processes of these wonders be also taken into account when choosing them as wonders. It is a wonder that these dont get talked about.
Before Nandigram “happened”
Published by July 7th, 2007 in Nandigram, News, Panic time and Som's Blog. 5 CommentsI had recently met with Uday Shankar, head of Star India while he was in London for lunch to discuss some collaborative ventures alongwith SMC, SOAS and Star. During our conversations, I told him of the imaginative torture I have subjected myself to and something he should think about for his news producers. For the past couple of months, I have been watching, analysing and staring at archive footage of Star News and Star Anando, a total content of 270 hours, spread over seven continuous days in both channels. You flinch. Yes, it is self inflicted.
But watching something which news producers never think will be revisited and thus the divorce from responsibility does have its moments of insight. The week I have chosen for the viewing coincides with the first arrival of the Selim Group officials from Indonesia in West Bengal to acquire land in Nandigram. This was before anyone had a clue to what was going to transpire a year later.
Star Anando went berserk over the coverage, reporters tailed the Selim Group men day and night, hung on to every word they said and couldnt fall over themselves any more to welcome “investment” into West Bengal.
Folks, please find attached the column again for perusal. Its moved now to its Saturday slot - and in a new fancy format. As usual click HERE or on the image to read.
Here is the latest Metro Now column. From now on, it will be on Friday. As usual, click HERE or on the image to check article.
SMC’s future
Published by July 3rd, 2007 in Latest news, Som's Blog, housekeeping and journalists and reporters. 5 CommentsHey folks,
Been away a long time. A broken thumb and a superb Moroccan holiday does not do much for regular blogging. With Angad raking in cash for advertisement agencies and Meenu fidgeting in a dentist’s chair in India, it has been the brave Matti who has been holding forth. Our guest writers also have been strangely reticent and their lively blogs have been sorely missed. Our new guest writer Sunalini’s fantastic blog again highlights that much of the success of the blogs have been because of our writers and it will be good to have all of you back and start the bickering.
Meanwhile, about Morocco. I was at the Gnawaa Music Festival in Essaouira and must confess was stupified. I do not know what I had expected to find, but I realised that there were certain “regimes of truth” and “myths” that the maintsream liberal media including its few radical branches create which overtime, unconsciously or otherwise creates your expectation. Therefore, old grannies in hijabs going into head banging and trance, called leelas, was not amongst what I expected. One feels silly admitting this, but as a friend pointed out, “hey, they are just like us.” And he reads The Independent.
Our friend Som, brave and injured and sporting a broken thumb (from Cricket) has now gone to Morocco for vacation. Meanwhile, putting his column up as usual. Click on image or HERE to read full page.
Folks, just got up to see this. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has issued a scathing savagery of the UK media. It will take us a bit of time to go through the speech and understand, comment and analyse on it. But I put it up for your perusal here.
It is interesting that as he finally moves out of office, Blair feels brave enough to “take on” the media. Also his singular critic of The Independent is interesting. It is the only left wing critical paper that exists and it does take apart the Blair years. Anyway, more after mugs of coffee. Read and comment as we at SMC shall.
Folks, as usual, here is my weekly column at Metro Now. Click HERE or images to read. Enjoy!
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