Leela - Hindi Movie

 

Nothing touched by fire 🔥 remains the same. Any thing touched by fire goes through true emancipation. 

It was a reel - chat between Deepthi Naval and Dimple Kapadia, that made me watch this move, had never heard of it before.

Deepthi Says, how she let go of her husband. 

Leela is a 2002 drama film directed by Somnath Sen. The movie stars Dimple Kapadia and Deepti Naval. The film's story is loosely based on Summer of '42. Leela is a professor from Bombay. Married to a popular poet, her life has always been prefixed with the title 'Nashaad's wife'. She wins a chance to be sent as a visiting professor to California, where she rediscovers herself, the woman she is, beyond the duties of a wife that she had always devoted her life to. Kris comes as a bright sunshine in her life, who makes her realise her own desires, the desires of the body.   

Kris is Deepthi's son. How their relationships effect is what the movie is all about. 

Sea Prayer ~ Khaled Hosseini (73 of 2024)

 

'Sea Prayer' by Khaled Hosseini is a book of illustrations and very few words. The lines are short yet poetic and profound, and never fail to present a vivid picture of the Syrian refugee crisis it tries to explain. It’s a father’s words to his little son sleeping in his arms as they wait for a boat that would carry them along with many others across the sea to a safer shore. The story is said to have been inspired by Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who made headlines across the world when his body washed upon the shore amid the Syrian crisis. (Illustration by Dan Williams)

His latest work Sea Prayer is a departure from those best-selling novels — it's a short work of fiction that captures the heartbreak of the Syrian refugee crisis. It's told as a poetic letter, from a father to a son as they prepare to embark on a journey across the sea, and features the illustrations of Dan Williams.

This is a short war story and in the form of a letter by a father to his son on the eve of their journey fleeing from war-ridden Syria and a prayer to the sea for the safety of his son in this journey.

We all remember the harrowing image of Alan Kurdi, the 3 year old Syrian boy whose body washed upon a beach in Turkey in Sept '15 after drowning in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach safety in Europe. This book is a tribute to millions of families like his.

It reads like spoken word poetry. The story, heartwarming. His writing style, elegant as always. It reminds us of the perils refugees face while leaving their country, a place they've called home their entire life; how unwelcome they are in other countries; how they are asked to take their misfortune elsewhere. The story starts with the father describing his childhood in Syria and its beauty with its mosques, souks and crowded lanes in contrary to what his son got to witness which is only death, air filled with dust from exploding bombs and families praying for survival. The gorgeous illustrations change as the story develops from displaying green fields & busy lanes to protests, siege and war. Hosseini is one author who can make you feel empathy like no one else

A country with lush green plains and with ordinary hustle bustle is now converted to a battleground. Children born in these years are subjected to the sounds of bombings, hungers and terror everyday.

Khaled Hosseini's touch to this world is to always show the dark side as he once wrote....

"There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness."

-Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner)

From A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. 

“I know you’re still young, but I want you to understand and learn this now…. Marriage can wait, education cannot. You’re a very, very bright girl. Truly, you are. You can be anything you want, Laila…. I know that when this war is over, Afghanistan is going to need you as much as its men, maybe even more. Because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated, Laila. No chance.”

~ Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (Chapter 16)

Treasure

by Georgia Douglas Johnson

What matters though love's dream shall pass,

Since from the throbbing hour-glass

One golden-throated moment prest

Its attared incense to my breast.

Since I have known the purple gleam

That lifts above me—can I deem

The way unlighted—when I go

Encircled by love's afterglow?

The Vanishing Half ~ Brit Bennett (72 of 2024)

 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

“Telling Stella a secret was like whispering onto a jar and screwing the lid tight.”

Identical twins Stella and Desiree are constant companions until the day that Stella leaves without explanation. In the ensuing years, the twists and turns of their - and their daughters’ - lives lead to an exploration of identity and questions how far we control our own destiny. Both beautifully written and expertly plotted, this wonderful novel kept me turning the page late into the night. Like the very best writers, Brit Bennet is able to capture the most specific of ideas or emotions in one perfectly crafted sentence: there is not a spare word that doesn’t earn its place. With a vivid cast of characters, the story flows from the first to the last page and I savoured each chapter of this brilliant novel to which I am sure to return. I adored it. 

Blurb

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect?

And the story 

The main characters in The Vanishing Half are Desiree Vignes, Stella Vignes, Jude Winston, and Kennedy Sanders. 

The Vanishing Half highlights the human tendency to yearn for support and companionship. As identical twins, Desiree and Stella are used to depending on each other, especially in the aftermath of their father's murder. However, the novel suggests that companionship shouldn't be taken for granted. A piece of Stella vanished when she chose to pass as white. Nearly every character the novel has an aspect of his or her identity that they suppress or hide or want to step out of at times.

Desiree marries a dark-skinned Black man and has a child, while Stella lives her life passing as white. Desiree Vignes is Stella's twin sister. She is expressive and open, and she chooses to remain close to her roots in Mallard. The first part of the novel details the events that led Desiree and her twin sister Stella to leave Mallard in August 1954, their separation in New Orleans, and why Desiree left her abusive husband, Sam Winston, in D.C. to return to Mallard. Kennedy is Stella's daughter. She doesn't know that Stella is Black, meaning that she sees herself as a white person—which is exactly how Stella and her husband, Blake, have raised her. Kennedy grew up spoiled and privileged, and she hasn't outgrown her sense of entitlement as a young adult.

When the girls were little, they saw their father dragged and shot by a group of white men. They’d accused him of “writing nasty things to a white woman” even though he couldn’t read and write; the more likely reason was to get rid of the competition to their business. They applied their own brand of justice. When he didn’t die from their assault at this house, they stormed the hospital to finish the job. The girls didn’t understand why and were traumatized by this experience. Their comfortable family life was usurped by the loss of their father’s income; he’d been a carpenter. His wife had to take in laundry and clean houses to pay the bills. Even so, the bills stacked up.

Leaving High School

The Vignes family was a proud one, their ancestor having founded the town. Yet, their mother needed help, and when the girls turned 16, she told them they needed to find jobs and would not be returning to school. Stella and Desiree both started working for the Dupont’s. The twins had been two halves of one whole with no secrets between them, but their lives started diverging.

Neither girl enjoyed cleaning the Duponts’ house, a house that was grander than they ever imagined, belonging to a white family. While they were working at the Duponts, the husband would corner Stella in the pantry to sexually abuse her.

One day on a trip to town, Stella went to a store and realized that she could pass for white. She enjoyed the thrill, but never shared the experience with Desiree.

Given their experience that summer, the girls decided to escape from Mallard. One night, after the Founders Festival in the summer, the girls ran away from home to the city of New Orleans.

New Orleans

In New Orleans, the girls slept on Farah’s floor, a girl from Mallard. Once they saved enough money, they moved to a small place on their own. They were underage but worked in a laundry, hiding in the bathroom any time there was an inspection by authorities. This went well until Stella lost her job.

Stella lost her job at the laundromat when she almost hurt herself. She was daydreaming about visiting a museum as a white-passing woman and almost caught her hand and hurt it while working. Her inattention cost her the job.

Stella needed to find a new job or she and Desiree wouldn’t be able to afford their place. She saw a job opportunity at a department store in the marketing department. She realized that she had the typing skills necessary for the job, but they would not hire a colored girl. Desiree supported her decision to keep her identity secret and apply for the job. Stella did the typing test and filled out the application. Out of a roomful of applicants, she was chosen for the job.

Every day, as she rode the tram to work, Stella transitioned from Black Stella to White Stella. She reversed the process on the way home.

The Vanishing Act

One day, Stella simply disappears, leaving Desiree a note saying she needed to make her own way in the world. Desiree looked for her but did not find her.

When Stella left her old life behind, she passed over to the other side, to be white. She moved to Boston with her boss and married him. She told no one of her past, making up an alternate history. Furthermore, she forged a life story where her parents were both dead, and she had no family left. She married her boss, Blake Stuart, and kept her secret.

Stella’s Life

Stella had one daughter, Kennedy. Kennedy had blond hair and blue eyes, keeping her mother’s secret safe. They lived in a whites-only neighborhood and when a black family moved in across the street from the Stuarts, Stella was scared that her background would be discovered, that the black people would be able to tell she was passing.

Stella overacted the first time she saw Kennedy playing with the black neighbor, Cindy. She grabbed Kennedy to take him home and spoke of Cindy with a racist slur. Later, she realized she had overreacted and brought a cake over to the neighbors. She and the wife created a kind of friendship and the girls liked to play together. She hid that she was spending time with the black wife, Loretta, from her husband, but her neighbors noticed and revealed this to him during her Christmas party. However, the Black family soon moved after Kennedy called Cindy by the slur she had heard her mother say.

Ironically, Loretta was the one who inspired Stella to go back to school. Stella had wanted to study at Howard, but never finished high school. Although she dismissed the idea when Loretta first mentioned it, she later recalled the advice and chose to go back to school to study Mathematics. Then she also started teaching classes and even contemplated further studies.

Desiree’s Life

Wanting to escape the memory of her sister, Desiree accepted a job in D.C. with the agency reading fingerprints. She got the job despite being a colored woman. At work, she met a Black man, Sam, who was a lawyer, and they got married. They had a child, Jude, who looked like her father and nothing like her mother. Although Sam first hit Desiree three years after they were married, it would take some time before she ran away from him, fearing for her life, and returned to Mallard. It had been fourteen years, and she’d never been back.

Desiree’s Return to Mallard

Desiree settled into her mother’s house, promising her daughter that they would leave soon, even though that was a lie. Back in Mallard, Desiree met Early, a boy she’d had a crush on as a girl while he was visiting one summer; her mother distrusted him because of his dark complexion. Early is a PI and bondsman and had been hired by Sam to find Desiree. Seeing the bruises on Desiree’s neck, Early told Sam he couldn’t find her, that she had left New Orleans.

Desiree and Early started a romance. Over many years, he’d come and go, visiting Mallard for days at a time to spend time with her. Eventually, he started staying at the Vignes’ home when he visited. Then, when Adele, Desiree’s mother, fell sick with Alzheimer’s, he stopped moving around and found a stationary job. Desiree worked at the only diner in town, Lou’s, a job that she found soon after returning to Mallard.

The Next Generation

Jude did not like living in Mallard. She had no friends, and the other kids made fun of her color. She remembered how her father hurt her mother, but she missed him and loved him. She missed her home in D.C.

Jane escaped from Mallard with a track scholarship to UCLA. There, she fell in love with Reese. He was transgender and trying to make enough to have surgery.

Jude and Reese have a strong intimacy and love that grows over time. Both of them were new to romantic love. Jude’s only previous experience was with a boy who would meet her in the stables at night but not acknowledge her in the daytime. Early put a stop to that when he caught her sneaking out one night. He told her that a boyfriend should meet her in the house, not in secret at night.

Jude and Kennedy Meet

Jude went to UCLA on a track scholarship. One night, she met Kennedy while bartending at a party; Kennedy was a guest. Jude dropped a wine bottle when she saw Stella enter the party, resulting in her being fired. After that, Jude wondered if she had really seen Stella or someone else, and she looked out for her around Los Angeles.

Jude next saw Kennedy at a play. She volunteered at the theater to try to see Stella again. She waited and watched for weeks, and when she finally met Stella, she introduced herself and told Stella that her family missed her. Stella did not behave as expected; she did not want to be found. Stella stormed off in a daze.

Later that night, Kennedy told Jude that attractive boys like Reese did not stay with girls like her. Hurt, Jude lashed out and told her about her mother’s background.

Kennedy Confronts Stella

Kennedy asked her mother about what Jude said; her mother lied and said it wasn’t her. Even though Kennedy knew this wasn’t true, she let it go. She remembered her mother once telling her where she was from; she no longer remembered the name of the place but knew it started with M. For years, her mother denied ever having told her this and she could never find the place on a map. When Jude said the name Mallard, Kennedy recognized it.

Jude moved to Minneapolis for medical school. Then, on a trip to NY for Reese’s surgery, she noticed Kennedy performing off-off-Broadway. Kennedy’s career had never really taken off on the stage; her longest role was still to come, working for 3 years on a soap opera.

Jude gave Kennedy her phone number. At the time, Kennedy was dating a black man. They had little in common, and he had dated many white women before her, although he was her first black man. She talked about being part black with him, but he never took her seriously. When she met up with Reese and Jude, she realized they were still in love and envied them. She spent some time with them, and Jude gave her a photo of the twins at their father’s funeral.

In that meeting, Jude says to Kennedy of Mallard, “They only like light Negroes out there. You’d fit right in”. In response, Kennedy says, “I’m not a Negro”. She goes on to explain that her father’s white and finishes with, “And you don’t get to tell me what I am.”

Kennedy Moves On

Kennedy left her boyfriend one day without goodbyes and no backward glance. She traveled home with the photo from Jude and confronted her mother, who continued to lie to her. Kennedy decided to escape for a while, taking a year to travel to Europe and around.

Stella did not hear from Kennedy for a while and blamed Jude. She thought that Jude might be able to get Kennedy to get in touch with her. She also wanted Jude to leave Kennedy alone. She decided to visit Mallard while her husband was away on a trip to Boston. The name of Mallard had changed, although not much else.

Back in Mallard, the twins reunited for one day. Adele had Alzheimer’s but instantly recognized Stella. In time, she didn’t remember Desiree and called her Stella.

The twins filled each other in on their lives. Desiree realized that her sister wasn’t coming home; her visit was all about protecting the life she had created. They went to bed sleeping in their childhood beds. Early heard Stella sneaking out the next morning and drove her to the train station. She gave him her engagement ring to sell to help care for her mother and returned to her life.

Life Carries On

Stella returned to her husband and her white life. She said her ring had fallen down the drain at work; her husband told her she was due for an upgrade and had a new ring custom-made.

Eventually, Kennedy ran out of money from her acting days. It was time to come home. She called her parents and her mother picked her up. During the span of 11 miles of Los Angeles traffic, Stella finally answered Kennedy’s questions. She told her that she would answer all her questions, and they would not talk about it again, especially not in the house where Blake might overhear.

Maman Adele’s Death

At school one day, Jude gets the call that her grandmother has died. She and Reese went to the funeral.

Jude and Kennedy stayed in touch, although they were never really friends. Jude called to tell Kennedy of her grandmother’s death, a grandmother she had never known. Kennedy was sure Stella would not want to know, although Jude wondered about that.

After the funeral, Early and Desiree sold the house and moved to Houston. Early found work at a refinery and Desiree at a call center. She was good at cold-calling people, recognizing that many people are lonely and happy to chat on the phone.

The Ending or The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half weaves back and forth in time. In the final scene, Reese and Jude escape from Adele’s funeral and go skinny-dipping in the river. “They floated under the leafy canopy of trees, begging to forget.”

P.S. The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett is a multigenerational story of an African American family. Desiree and Stella are identical twin girls born in the 1950s in Mallard, a small town in Louisiana. All the people in Mallard are black but light-skinned. They are distrustful of dark-skinned people, considering themselves better because of the proximity of their skin color to whiteness. It’s a point of accomplishment when the children are lighter colored than their parents, and Stella and Desiree achieve that goal.

Seven Years in Tibet ~ Heinrich Harrer (71 of 2024)

Heinrich Harrer was an army man, mountaineer, explorer, writer, sportsman, and geographer. In 1939, he and his climbing team had been on an expedition to the Indian Himalayas, where they were arrested by British forces because of the outbreak of World War II. 

He eventually escaped to Tibet in 1948, became a salaried employee of the Tibetan government and stayed there until 1951. He ended up becoming the Dalai Lama's English teacher and escaped from Tibet soon after the Dalai Lama fled from there and came to India.

In 1952, he had returned to Austria where he documented his experiences in two books, Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and Lost Lhasa (1953). Seven Years in Tibet was translated into 53 languages, and became a bestseller in the United States in 1954, selling three million copies. The book was the basis of two films of the same title, the first in 1956 and the second in 1997, starring Brad Pitt in the title role. 

Refugee ~ Alan Gratz (70 of 2024)

Alan Gratz's novel Refugee, presents stories of three around 13-year-olds and their family forced to flee in three different decades in different regions of the world. Though not a true story, every single thing that happens to them really happened to a refugee at some point, each attempting to flee their violent homes.  Josef and his family flee Nazi Germany in 1938; Isabel and her family flee Cuba in 1994; and Mahmoud and his family flee Syria in 2015

There is hope in the end and the interesting bit is how the stories are connected.  It's the pain that brings out the kindness in those who have suffered to be kind to others.

An action packed novel, that tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival and the quest for home. 

Josef Landau is a twelve-year-old boy living in Berlin. In 1938, his home is raided by Nazi storm troopers, and his father is taken to the Dachau concentration camp. Six months later, his mother receives a telegram that her husband has been released, but the family must leave Germany immediately. Josef, his sister Ruth, and his mother all travel to Hamburg to board a ship that will take them to Cuba. When Josef’s father is reunited with his family, they notice that Dachau has changed him: he is paranoid and very thin. They board the St. Louis, a large German ship, and set out.

Aboard the St. Louis, Josef’s family and the other passengers, all Jewish refugees, are treated well by Captain Schroeder and most of the ship’s crew. A few of the crew, however, openly dislike the Jewish passengers, especially Otto Schiendick, who proudly states his Nazi allegiance. When the St. Louis reaches Havana Harbor in Cuba, the ship is not allowed to dock. Josef’s father’s mental state deteriorates further, and he eventually jumps from the ship, trying to kill himself. Officer Padron, a Cuban policeman assigned to the St. Louis, saves Josef’s father. Josef’s father is taken to Havana to recover. When Officer Padron returns to the St. Louis, he is treated like a hero by the Jewish passengers.

Eventually, the captain announces that they are not going to be allowed to dock in Havana and that the boat will be leaving. He promises the passengers that he will try to deliver them to a country other than Germany. The refugees aboard the St. Louis are delivered to England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. The Nazis invade France just a few months after Josef’s family arrives there. When the family is eventually caught, Josef’s mother is forced to choose which of her children will be freed and which will be sent to a concentration camp.

Isabel Fernandez is an eleven-year-old girl who lives just outside Havana in 1994. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has become inhospitable for most of its citizens under the regime of Fidel Castro. Isabel’s best friend and neighbor, Ivan, is building a small boat with his father so that his family can flee to America. After a riot in Havana, Isabel’s family decides that they should also leave Cuba immediately. Isabel trades her trumpet to a fisherman for gasoline, paying her family’s way onto Ivan’s family’s boat. Lito, Isabel’s grandfather, also joins them. 

The two families face many challenges as they try to cross the Caribbean Sea to Florida. A storm sweeps them to the Bahamas, where they are not allowed to disembark; Ivan is attacked by sharks and eventually bleeds to death in the boat; and toward the end of the journey, Isabel’s pregnant mother goes into labor. Lito tells the story of the St. Louis and how he had to turn away so many refugees when he was a young policeman. (He is Officer Padron from Josef’s story.) Just when Miami becomes visible on the horizon, a U.S. Coast Guard boat tries to intercept the two families. Lito jumps in the water to distract the Coast Guard, and Isabel’s mother gives birth to a boy, just as they reach the shore. When Isabel is asked to play a song at her new school in America, she plays a Cuban salsa version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Mahmoud Bishara is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in Aleppo, Syria in 2015. For the last few years, there has been a war in his country between the Syrian government, rebels, the Soviets, the United States and several other factions. After Mahmoud’s home is destroyed, his brother Waleed, sister Hana, and his parents drive to the border of Turkey, hoping to escape. Mahmoud’s father tells them that Germany is accepting Syrian refugees and if they can get to Greece, they will be able to travel within the European Union to reach Germany. After a violent conflict between the rebels and the Syrian government, Mahmoud and his family walk to the Turkish border. Mahmoud’s father arranges for a smuggler to take them to the island of Lesbos, in Greece. The smuggler’s raft is destroyed by rocks as they cross the Mediterranean. Mahmoud hands his sister, Hana, to another passing raft of refugees, knowing that his mother cannot hold her and swim. The family is eventually pulled from the water by the Greek Coast Guard. 

Mahmoud and his family travel through Serbia and into Hungary, where they are detained at a refugee camp that is built like a prison. Mahmoud decides that he no longer wants to be ignored and leads the refugees out of the prison, walking twelve hours to Austria. The refugees are welcomed in Austria, and Mahmoud’s family takes a train to Germany. While they travel, they ask if anyone has seen Hana. After a few weeks in Munich, Mahmoud’s family is transferred to a host family in Berlin. An elderly couple, Herr and Frau Rosenberg, welcome them into their home. Frau Rosenberg takes Mahmoud aside and tells him the story of her childhood: she is Ruth, Josef’s sister. The night that they were captured in France, Josef volunteered to be taken by the Nazis; both Josef and their mother were killed in concentration camps. Ruth promises to help Mahmoud find Hana. 

All three kids and their family go on harrowing journeys, in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers - from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end. 

The Bite of the Mango ~ Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland (69 of 2024)

The bite of the Mango is a very touching refugee real life story of and by Mariatu Kamara, recipient of Voices of Courage award, who had spoken for Women's Refugee commission; she had no hands. Born in Sierra Leone at the age of 12 rebels her age set houses on fire, murdered people, and finally cut her hands - so she would not vote! They spoke the same language, and could have been friends, but inspite of repeated request they did not refrain from chopping off her arms. After walking all through the night, she came across a man who was willing to help her, and feed her a mango, but she did not want to be fed by him, she managed to take a few bites of the fruit by cradling it in her injured arms.

She then walked all night reached a hospital,  got treatment,  resorted to begging,  got pregnant which media propagated to be part of riot.  She gave birth to a child who died. Liked begging,  took part in play,  got sponsors from west. Had financial support from Canada but was not sure if she would be able to go, so first went to London did not like there,  but learned alphabets and numbers. For migration had to invent DOB, Birth Certificate,  Passport.  In Canada she got to go to school and college,  get a degree, write her book and be a voice for her country and people. 

Got a chance to speak to the president of Sierra Leone. Seeing the plight of her people back home, she realized how the people in power were looting all the grands and supports received from other countries,  but letting the refugees live hand to mouth with kacha houses.

Partition, Bengal and After : The Great Tragedy of India ~ Kali Prasad Mukhopadhyay (68 of 2024)

 

Leonard Mosley in is book 'The Last Days of the British Raj', has rightly painted the year 1947 as the 'Year of Vultures' - as their most favourite food the human flesh were in abundance in Indian streets. A lot has been said about the great tragedy of Jews in Germany where around 2 million were effected, pathetic.  The Great India Tragedy has lead to tears of at least One hundred million people.  

This book is a comprehensive history of Partition and its impact in the life and property of the minorities, especially in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. This is a narration of terrific atrocities and holocaust on innocents. After the Partition, demand for exchange of population  has been severe communal riot. The way all this was done was a great Blunder. The cost was not insignificant. Over 600k people were killed, smashed, raped, robbed. 

On 4th June after the announcement previous day that partition was inevitable as needed by Muslim league and it will be carried out in the peaceful and friendly spirit of the Gandhi-Jinnah appeal, Gandhi was like a bird with a broken wings, preparing to break with the Congress leadership and denounce the plan in the evening prayer meeting. Many newspapers christened it at the 'Mountbatten Plan'. Leaving the choice of their future to the Indian people themselves, avoiding coercion and transferring power as soon as possible were suggested by Gandhiji. Louis Mountbatten's  persuasiveness had won him the ultimate and most difficult triumph of his Viceroyalty, and ended up saying in the prayer meeting "It was no use blaming the Viceroy for partition. Look to yourselves and in your own hearts for an explanation of what has happened."

And on the eve of Independence, there was no one getting off the 'Ten down express' in Amritsar that night, it was a train full of cropses. In great white-washed letters on the flank of the last car the assassins' calling card read: "This train is our Independent gift to Nehru and Patel.' It was preplanned to put to shame what Halaku (Hulagu Khan) did. The uprooted and alive millions were in a terrible state of mind.  Kushwant Singh, a Sikh lawyer from Lahore, was totally indifferent to the gay crowds around him in New Delhi. 'I had nothing to rejoice about' he would bitterly recall. 'For me and millions like me, this Independence was a tragedy. They'd mutilated the Punjab, and I had lost everything.' Since both the communities in Western India were warrior class, they fought from day one, the holocaust in Western Pakistan had its repercussions in East Punjab.  Administration there was virtually broken down.  The partition of Punjab caused great untold miserly, to several million refugees.Some suggest it to be upto 5 lacs. 

In Eastern Pakistan there was supression of news because of retaliation.  They were not fully out of the 'Direct Action Day' on the 16th August 1946 where thousands of Hindus were massacred and Muslim League volunteers set fire to Hindu houses, it was known as 'Great Calcutta Killing'. By the end of 1947 about 4,25000 hindus had migrated from East Pakistan, of the 13 million Non muslims. Right from the beginning discrimination against the non-Muslims became the rule. There was a false rumour spread about the murder of Fazlul Haq a prominent leader of East Bengal, who had come to Calcutta to dispose of his property. Nehru suggested that Liaquiat Ali Khan and he sign an agreement to stop the recurrent massacres and large scale migration. But the people there were instructed to talk sweetly to minorities with a smile on lip, but not to appoint non muslims in govt. jobs. force hindu's to wind up their businesses, blame them for anything going wrong, thus encouraging foul play, and creating havoc with the rights of the minorities. Trailokya Natch Chakrabarti, who fought for freedom and was in jail for 30 years and underground for 5 years,  was sent out at the age of 75 when he was suffering from Cardiac problem.  All hindus were brought to a court compound, there were no toilets and basic necessities. Condition was pitiable. These continued, situation worsened again in 1964 when 3000 refugees left from Bangladesh but only 1500 reached India. US Senatro Edward Kennedy in his report gives the following details about the refugees from Bangladesh in 1971. As on October 25th 1971, 9.54 million refugees from East Pakistan had crossed over to India. The average influx as of October 1971 was 10,645 refugees a day. In the 1971 war of liberation 2,00,000women were raped hundreds of thousands were victims of mass murders.  Parties were created within on the basis of subreligion. Indigenious people had their own group. 

The task that confronted the Government of India was threefold. Firstly, they had to retrieve the law and order position and to stop the communal frenzy; secondly they had to bring about a sense of security among the Muslim minority/afford those who wanted to go away safe transit across the frontier, ensure the peaceable transfer of Hindu's and sikhs to India and provide for their resettlement.  An emergency committee of 15 was set up.  Hindu's were fleed from West Pakistan and they left Bangladesh mainly because of communal oppression, Communal atrocities, Declaration of Enemy Property Act, occupation of religious property, depriving Government services to the Hindu community etc. A veteran Journalist (RGK) once said, he heard some Pakistanis boasting in 1947 - Haske Liya Pakistan, Ladke Lenge Hindustan. This was confirmed by Collins and Lapierre. There is another slogan in Agartala, Thripura and other North Eastern States - 'Ghuske Lenge Hindustan' - Intruders. 

Soon after Independence, many of the leaders were assassinated in all three countries. Dr. Shyam Prakash Mookherjee and Lal Bahadur Shastri died a mysterious death.  In a speech at the India house in November, Mountbatten, during his visit to London said 'Only'  hundred thousand people had died and only a small part of the country has been effected. 

All Human Rights Group ignore the issue and try to silence others under the grab of so called secularism.  

There were business classes, missionaries, novelists, labourers etc. ex-majors who were located sleeping on railway platforms and women reduced to begging or abandoned some by Indian husbands.  After living in India for 40 years and more some found it difficult to leave India - as they could not afford cooking, did not know how to make even a tea, when they would return to London. In 1979, Mountbatten was killed by IRA 

Islamic exploration started in 636 AD but they could obtain foothold in 713 AD with the victory over Sind. For the next three centuries India resisted further spread. From 11th century AD rapacious Islamic invasion of Turkish origin started. Mahmood Gazhni invaded India several times from 1000 to 1026 AD and annexed Punjab to his empire. The Ghur successor expanded to the heart of India after defeating the valorous Prithivi Raj Chauhan in 1192. Upto 17th century, various Islamic dynasties, from Turko-Afghans and later the Central Asian Mughals ruled over large parts of India. They did not subscribe to the fundamental civilisational and religious principles of India. They consciously and perhaps conscientiously, resisted acculturation into the timeless civilizational and religious milieu of India. This thus became the first source of heterogeneity in India, dividing the Indian population into two religious communities as reflected in 1881 census, leading to partition. In Bangladesh Indian religionists fell from 33.93% in 1901 to 11.37 in 1991.  Of the estimated 15 to 20 million illegal migrants, approximately 8 to 10 million have settled in West Bengal, 6 to 8 million in Assam and the rest in Tripura and other north eastern states and in other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.  Then there are Indian Muslims who are made to flee these regions. Sending immigrants is the most effective way to colonise countries because it is less offensive than to send military expeditions and much less expensive. 

P.S. The Cheraman Juma Mosque is a popular pilgrim centre in Kodungallur in Thrissur district. According to hagiographical legends, it is claimed that the mosque was built in 629 CE by Malik Bin Dinar. It is claimed to be the first mosque to be built in India and the second in the world where Juma prayers were started.

Jinnah was stern and wanted to continue with the British law followed the British style of life, and transfer Pakistan into another Turkey on the lines of Kamal Ataturk. He was influenced by West. When Ulama asked him whether to apply the Shariah to the functioning of the new state, he asked: "Whose Shariah? Hanafis? Hambalis? Sha'afis? Ma'alikis? Ja'afris? I dont propose to hand over the the field to Ulama, I don't fall to propose to fall into their trap. 

P.S. The important thing for you to know is that if you see someone else following different rules because that person follows a different fiqh, do not argue, disrespect or feel bad about it. Respect them for what they do and practice with confidence what your fiqh teaches.

This flexibility is in matters of fiqh rules. But make sure that your Aqeedah is exactly as described in the Qur-aan. No difference is acceptable in matter of Aqeedah, which must come from the Qur-aan.

The Hanafi and Shafii schools of fiqh (jurisprudence) are two of the four major Sunni schools of Islamic law, the others being the Maliki and Hanbali schools. All four schools are named after their founders and are based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the interpretations of the Qur'an and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet).

Imam Malik was in Al-Madina. He founded. the Maliki school in parallel to Abu Hanifa founding his Hanafi school. Imam Shafi^i was a student of Imam Malik. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was a student of Imam Shafi^i.Maliki, Shafi^i, and Hanbali schools have great similarities between them because they come down from teacher to student and student becoming a Mujtahid and making his own deliberations. Hanafi school is different and so you will see much difference between Hanafi and those three schools.

There are several differences between the Hanafi and Shafii schools, including:

1. Methodology: The Hanafi school places a greater emphasis on the use of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) and the application of legal principles (usul al-fiqh) in making legal decisions, while the Shafii school places more emphasis on the use of precedent (qiyas) and analogy (analogical reasoning).
2. Sources of law: The Hanafi school gives greater weight to the Qur'an and the Hadith, while the Shafii school places more emphasis on the Hadith and the consensus of the community (ijma).
3. Legal principles: The Hanafi school has a more liberal approach to legal principles, allowing for greater flexibility in the application of the law, while the Shafii school is more strict and rigid in its application of legal principles.
4. Areas of law: There are also some differences between the Hanafi and Shafii schools in the way they approach specific areas of law, such as inheritance, marriage, and criminal law.

Despite these differences, both the Hanafi and Shafii schools are recognized as legitimate interpretations of Islamic law and are followed by millions of Muslims around the world.

Before partition Jinnah had been cautioned by several experts that it would be difficult to manage both western and the eastern wings separated by twelve hundred miles of foreign territory and inhabited by people different in their habits, customs and lifestyle. But he had such confidence in the supremacy of his leadership that he believed that he would be able to put everything right. Now he became aware that neither he nor the bond of Islam would be able to knot together two such diverse people. The gulf in political, economic and social respect was very wide. Despite his ill health he rushed to Dacca to pacify the agitated people there. On March 21, 1948 when he reached there were no slogan's of 'Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad'.  Language was proving to be a much more powerful link than religion. He had declared Urdu to be the national language of Pakistan, when Bangladesh would not accept. This was of course, the most volatile, divisive issue in Pakistan politics. 

The extremists on the Muslim side Khaksars, a group of militant Muslims had demanded a Pakistan stretching from Karachi to Calcutta.  The council of the All India Muslim League wanted to have undivided Pakistan and Bengal. 

After the meeting he told his sister Fatima, "I am sorry the game is lost. I backed the wrong horse. Liaquat Ali Khan was the prime minister then. Jinnah's absurd two nation theory had created Pakistan, but he could not run it as he wanted, soon after he died on 11th Sept 1948 at 10.20 pm. Initially men governing Pakistan were not practicing Muslims, but products of Anglo-Saxon training. Muslims in India were united before partition, but Jinnah divided Indian muslims into Pakistani Muslims, Indian Muslims and Bangladeshi Muslims who had no connection with each other. He had destroyed all the ties which had knit them together. All this he had done in the name of Islam. After Jinnah's death the politicians of Pakistan were like 'a flock of sheep without their Shepherd. From the date of its birth till the Governor-General Iskander Mirza, handed over the country's Government to General Ayub Khan in October 1958, there were as many as seven Prime Ministers and none of them were bold enough to tackle the difficult situation. 

Kerala Independence - Aikya Keralam

 

*This Day in Cochin History*
*29th July 1946*
    
Everyone would have read or heard the “Tryst with Destiny” speech by Jawaharlal Nehru on the eve of Indian Independence towards midnight on 14th August 1947, but not many know that for the Princely State of Cochin and for Kerala, the actual Tryst with Destiny was on 29th July 1946.

Raja Kerala Varma (1946-1948) The Maharaja of Cochin addressed the Cochin Legislative Assembly on 29th July 1946.

He said that he had arrived at the conclusion that Kerala must unite and be one if it were to save itself from cultural extinction.

He said “I earnestly desire to combine my State Cochin with Malabar and Travancore in order to form the Province of Kerala.”

The Maharaja said “I don't seek any reward except the fulfillment of the dream that I have been cherishing all these years - The Unification of Kerala”

The Maharaja also said that he had decided to allow the people of Cochin to elect their representatives to the Constituent Assembly.

This was indeed a seminal moment in Cochin History.

After this epochal speech Raja Kerala Varma came to be popularly known as Aikya Keralam.

Aikya Keralam had sown the seeds of a United Kerala in the minds of the people of Cochin, Travancore and Malabar.

Aikya Keralam had articulated his vision and dream. He had set into motion a chain of events which would eventually lead to a United Kerala

After an illustrious and eventful regime of nearly two and a half years, His Highness passed away on 8th July 1948.

It took another 10 years for Aikya Keralam’s  dream to come true.

Cochin and Travancore joined together on 1st July 1949 to form the state of Travancore-Cochin often known as Thiru-Kochi.

Finally on 1st November 1956, Kerala was formed by merging Thiru-Kochi, Malabar and Kasaragod taluk of South Canara.

On the 78th anniversary  of the pathbreaking  speech, it can be said without any doubt that all Keralites have been beneficiaries of the Vision and Statesmanship of the Maharaja of Cochin (1946-1948) Aikya Keralam.

Kaliyug

 Arms, Narcotic and human trafficking is the three largest money making industry we need to fight against. Women end up being victims. 

Released on 9th December 2005, the film was initially titled 'Blue Film' however the title was later changed to 'Kali Yuga', written and directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt. It introduces actor Kunal Khemu, in his debut film as an adult actor. It also stars Emraan Hashmi, Smilie Suri, Deepal Shaw, Amrita Singh and Ashutosh Rana.

Pushkaran and his son, Kunal, were forced to leave Kashmir by terrorists 18 years ago,. They re-locate to Mumbai, where Kunal grows up. Kunal's father later dies in a train accident and relatives from Jammu contact Kunal after the funeral, informing him that his father had promised to look after a young woman named Renuka. He agrees to fulfill his father's promise.

When Renuka arrives, she and Kunal fall in love and get married. They spend their honeymoon at a hotel, where they encounter Johnny, a womaniser. The newlyweds consummate their marriage and enjoy their honeymoon until a few nights later, when police storm in and arrest them. It is revealed that their intimate night was secretly recorded and uploaded onto a porn website. Kunal realizes that Johnny is responsible.

Renuka is forced by police to sign papers and testify against her husband. Kunal tells her the truth and begs her not to sign the papers. The feelings of guilt, embarrassment, and confusion prove too much for Renuka, who jumps off the ledge and dies by suicide in front of Kunal. He is sent to prison since he refuses to admit to the false charge.

Eventually, he is able to prove himself innocent. Now free, he tracks down Johnny and discovers he is working for Simi Roy, a businesswoman who is secretly the porn website creator; she lives in Zürich, Switzerland. Kunal leaves for Zürich to take revenge against Johnny and Simi.

In Zürich, he meets Ali, a modern-day emo who runs an adult shop. In Ali's shop, he sees a magazine featuring an adult actress he'd seen on the website where his and Renuka's video was featured. Kunal and Ali track the girl down in a bar, where she works as a prostitute. When Kunal finds a woman being held hostage there, he beats up the bodyguards but gets hit by Simi Roy. The next day, he overhears Simi arguing with her abusive daughter, Tanya, about her sexual activities with her girlfriend. He asks Simi about the porn website but she lies to him.

Kunal and Ali lure Johnny and his goons into a trap. During the fight, Ali is fatally stabbed by Johnny. Before dying, he manages to kill Johnny and his men, and reveals that Simi is indeed the mastermind; she also controls the red light district in Zürich.

Kunal asks Tanya for help; in return, he will help her ruin Simi's reputation. Simi is devastated when she sees her own daughter on her porn website and it gets all over the news. In the ensuing confrontation, Tanya kills Simi before Simi can kill Kunal. Everyone involved with Simi is arrested. His revenge complete, Kunal starts a new life with the hostage he had saved, Annie.

Simi's words - what you see from outside, may not always be true. Things and people would be different from inside - was/is so right. 

My Kochi - Tevara Once Upon a time

 Thevara Junction , Once Upon a Time....

Who remembers the Thevara Junction like this as seen in the featured photograph. 

Earlier known as Perumanoor junction, also has the renowned yesteryears  Hindi actress Nutan connect to it. 

The current crowded Thevara we know of has many a tale , giving that extra edge of character both heritage & legacy wise, stories which I came to know today. A certain period of history it was known as bonda mukku, a railway halt as Perumanoor station and so on. Read the engrossing article below through the eye of an old time Peramanoor resident. 

Junction Annals....

THEVARA JUNCTION: A nondescript, busy junction has been witness to great political and social change

Every place has a story and a history waiting to be uncovered. The busy, yet nondescript, Thevara Junction is one such place. The many shops in the vicinity of the junction seem to be heaving and pushing…jostling for space. There is really nothing that sets Thevara Junction apart from any other overcrowded junction in the city. But long ago, what used to be Perumanoor Junction, which is what the junction used to be called, was witness to some interesting nuggets of political and social change. It also played an important contributory role in nation building.

Ironically, in the beginning, there wasn’t even a Thevara Junction. It got that name much later because it fell on the way to Thevara College (Sacred Heart College). Until then and for sometime afterwards (up to the 60s) it used to be called Perumanoor Junction. Some people even today refer to it as Perumanoor-Thevara Junction. Today, the Cochin Shipyard occupies the pride of place and that is its claim to fame.It was the 60s, a young independent and confident India was growing and a shipyard, it was felt, would contribute to developing India’s blueprint for growth. This part of Perumanoor was chosen and close to 400 families, voluntarily moved out to make place for the shipyard. It was for development, says veteran journalist K. M. Roy, whose family was among those who made way for the shipyard.

It was not just families that moved out, even the centuries old Varavukkatt Kurish Palli was given up and a cemetery was moved too.

The Venduruthy Bridge connects the Naval Base (Willingdon Island) to the mainland and Thevara Junction is the first stop this side of the bridge. “There was a time when this area was known more as Bonda-mukku .

 Work was in progress on the Venduruthy Bridge, the Naval Base and the old airport. In the evening womenfolk would get bondas stacked in baskets for sale, the sole source of food for famished workers. There were no hotels or anything,” says Roy. The name stayed from the late 30s to the 60s, “that is until some of us youngsters got together and threatened to beat up bus conductors who called the place bonda mukku ,” he adds.

The seemingly insignificant junction was the site of what was probably the biggest lathi charge in Cochin State, Roy says. Sir C. P. Ramaswamy, the Dewan of Travancore, had come to Cochin for the inauguration of Chevalier C. Paul Luiz Memorial Industrial School which is now the Anglo Indian School at Thevara. A group of students from Travancore organised a protest against Sir C.P. There was stone pelting, the police was called out, and a lathi charge was ordered. “It was, probably, the first and biggest lathi charge in the history of Cochin. Former minister, the late Baby John led the protestors,” Roy reminisces.

He says, as a youngster, he has heard stories of C. Paul Luiz’s timber yard which was the biggest in Cochin, extending from Thevara Junction to the Thevara canal and that it employed 26 elephants.

The railway line runs close to the junction. There was even a Perumanoor halt, for students from ‘far off’ places like Chowara, Chalakudy etc. to come to Thevara College. “This is also probably the only instance of people (of an area) asking for a railway station or a halt to be removed. When buses started plying on this route we said we did not want the halt anymore,” he reminisces.

Although the government had acquired land for the shipyard, from 1961 to 63, there was nothing to show. “In 1967 we, evictees, decided to do something. We made a ship (a scaled down version), mounted it on a trolley and took it around the city. And even set it sail in the waters. It created quite an impact. The news even appeared in the newspapers in Delhi,” Roy adds. Indira Gandhi, apparently, took notice and work on the shipyard began, he says.

The shipyard came, kin of evictees found employment there, and Perumanoor Junction came to be known as Thevara Junction. As a result of the proximity to the Naval Base, small businesses came up with life and attitudes changing.

“Those were the times when womenfolk, especially those belonging to my mother’s generation rarely stepped out of their homes, for purchases. The late actor Nutan’s husband Commander Rajanish Behl was posted here at the Naval Base. Whenever she would be here on holidays, she would come to small shops at the junction to shop. My mother and her contemporaries realised that if ‘Nutan can shop then why can’t we?’ it was a social change of sorts,” Roy says.

Change, some wise man said, is the only constant. Perumanoor is today known more as Thevara, the shipyard has changed it beyond recognition. The only thing that hasn’t changed is, probably, that solitary lamp post in the middle of the junction. The stories it could tell.

Credit courtesy : Article by Shilpa Nair Anand shared from The Hindu, August 2013

A A Milne author of Winnie the Pooh

 

A.A. Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a series of books for children. The most notable ones include:

1. "Winnie-the-Pooh" (1926): The first collection of stories introducing Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood.

2. "The House at Pooh Corner" (1928): Another collection of adventures featuring Pooh and his friends, including the introduction of Tigger.

3. "When We Were Very Young" (1924): A book of children's poetry by Milne, including verses about Christopher Robin.

4. "Now We Are Six" (1927): Another poetry book for children, continuing the themes and characters introduced in "When We Were Very Young."

These timeless classics continue to enchant generations of readers with their charming characters and heartwarming tales.

The Big Indian Wedding

So is this wedding a pathetic tamasa?

As Coco Chanel writely said..

" Some people are so poor, they have only money "

Do you think too much was spent on the wedding?

Proportion My Dear, Proportion 🤷🏻‍♀️so advocate some.

Many of us will buy a saree worth 10 K INR in a split second, well maybe we take a long to choose but you got the gist. And that maybe bekaar-ka-kharcha for our domestic help as for them they get the best in 1 K.

They have build their empire. Their ancestors have that gut to take every small risk to think big and now they are making it bigger.

If they are rich then they are. If we cannot build our empire then that's our problem.

After an elaborate engagement, prewedding celebration in Jamnagar and Europe, all star studded and with guests from across the globe, the wedding lasted for three days, not including the sangeet and the prayers. 

There is a reason why the super rich Ambanis look so comic in their desperation to find an audience in the social media with their choice of over the top dresses, celebrations, milling around guests, being the guide,  dancing on which they probably spent hundreds of practice hours to coordinate their two left feet, their need to bring in western pop singers to go global, get famous actors to serve food and entertain guests with jokes. This is not something that we have seen before. 

They could do what they are best capable of, With the kind of salary and dividends to each of them from various business ventures, and all kind of money - and plans for expansion, how better could they do it?

Would doing charity, help them expand their business? They are business family - they know what is best for them. Establishing a global brand is important for them, and they did find an opportunity here. 

Wedding of three children over the years with that of the last one spreading almost a year am sure they have bettered themselves and can start their own event management company too.

They collectively appear to be needing the ostentation to confirm their happiness, are they too living in their bubbles. These need to put the bubble on social media for the watch and swoon  unwashed masses. The social cells are instructed to add hundreds of comments on these videos that go ‘ very nice’, ‘good dancing’, ‘adorable’ and so on basically asking all others to follow in the same vein.

It makes you wonder what might their thoughts be… Mukesh is probably scheming about how to make more as soon as this is over. Nita is bemoaning she has no more sons to marry off in a serial wedding spree. The family must, by now, be bored with clothes, jewellery, travel? 

A woman is often expected to be flawless. But what if, amidst all the festivities, she couldn't manage to stay awake? From what we saw in the videos, she handled her children, the guests, the rituals, and the responsibilities of being the eldest daughter-in-law admirably. After all, they are human too, and like us at weddings, they too might need a power nap.

A  wedding of 5 days, great Indian culture and music for the world to see, sound and light shows of our great ancient architecture  as background to the family photographs making the world salivate over our incredible country and the first business family who can afford to frame it for personal shoots. Vanity satiated. Tourism promoted. Jobs created. Many agencies,workers, cooks and laymans will be earning from these events.  Guests invited will be spending on designer cloths, travel, lodging,  gifts.

Now they could have opened a few schools. In each state. The kids used their own expertise to give back to the people. Built toilets, dug wells, built animal sanctuaries, financed clinics, created maternal counselling - all as Anant Radhika Centres. What a wedding that would be?

But then for each their own way of celebrating. One life. They show how to make life a celebration.  Wish and 🙏 pray not at the cost of bankruptcy. 

All these was, is and will be part of the society, how well has it been written by RK Lakshman far before. I do not say this wedding was vulgar. Looks like it was meticulously planned with lots and lots of effort.

Neither supporting such Grandeurs nor Ambanis. Just that to each their own 🤜🏽🤛🏽

My friends in Mumbai have to park their cars at Jio Park ( see the strategy) and walk to office, a 30 min commute now takes 2 hrs. The event has been declared public event, so all schools and companies have early dismissal or wfh. And this  continues for 7 days. The message is if you have wealth you can own a city and country and beyond! It is unfair at every level, but more things are unfair in life than fair!

Who is to blame for it? The bad roads, the crowd? 

Wishing and praying 🙏,  after all these thamasha may there be showers of blessings on the couple. For me this wedding stands out for couple of reasons:

Showcasing that not all of India is a poor country as the west perceive; the rituals explained and traditions followed by Nita and Mukesh - Nita's explanation on Kanyadhan had brought tears to some eyes too and how they tried to include all, and kept a separate day for their employee, help and associates like the owner of the Mysore Cafe and those who brought up Anand, and on that day treated them with AR Rahman music with amazing singers, hats off for that. 

Ambani Brothers and In Laws

 

Both Mukesh and Anil sat quietly (in the same room) observing Dhirubhai conducting business for years. So practically, they were trained by the same man with the same input and in the same workshop. Yet, one guy couldn’t replicate the success of another.

Why? Why both the brothers, with enough capital available at their disposal, looked at the business ( telecom ) so differently?

Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries died in 2002 after suffering a massive stroke.

The patriarch hadn't left a will and his elder son Mukesh Ambani became chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd while his younger son, Anil Ambani was made vice-chairman.

Mukesh reportedly tried to oust Anil from the board. Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani have been in a bitter feud ever since the death of their father in 2002. Ambani's death sparked a feud for control which ultimately lead to the split of the Reliance Group.

Their mother brokered a demerger in 2005, which gave Mukesh control of oil and gas, petrochemicals, refining and manufacturing while Anil took reign over electricity, telecoms and financial services.

Since the split, the brothers have feuded via press conferences, meetings with the ministers, letters to the Prime Minister, interviews to news channels and dragging each other to court.

June 2005: Their mother, Kokilaben, intervenes and splits Reliance Group into 2

December 2005: The split is approved as Mukesh gets Reliance Industries & IPCL, and Anil gets Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy, and Reliance Capital.

Before the separation, Mukesh managed Petrochemicals. He also built the Telecom business single handedly. Anil was handling Finance and energy/electricity.

Anil was the the public face of Reliance. He also interfaced with the investors. Mukesh kept himself busy building the assets and mostly stayed in the background.

Initial idea was that allow the brothers to keep the business(es) they were handling. Anil did not agree. On request from Kokilaben, Mr Kamath of ICICI became the advisor. It was decided that no business must be split. A business in its entirety must be transferred to one party. Mukesh was deep into Petrochemical business and he was managing it well. Anil was managing finance. So it became apparent that Mukesh would get Petro chemicals and Anil would keep the finance and energy business.

Anil wanted Telecom, though it was a Mukesh's baby, to maintain the parity. Mukesh was reluctant. Because he had grand plans for telecom.

After a lot of heart burn, Mukesh handed over Telecom and more than 25000 crore ( the actual amount might vary but I remember it was in that magnitude) cash to Anil.

[ The valuation of Reliance Telecom went UP and DOWN in just few weeks. Market manipulation ? That’s another story. :) ]

So after separation, Anil had large cash, new fast growing Telecom, old finance and promising energy business.

Mukesh had just one entity - RIL.

Now Anil was more than happy. He had new found freedom, large cash. Now the brothers could decide the future course of their own business. Till then, Anil was known as the face of Reliance, more of a party hopping type and Mukesh a backroom type businessman.

Now Mukesh started attending the public parties and Anil started investing in many businesses to prove that he too was a business builder.

The initial days were great. Anil started flying high. Mukesh stayed busy with RIL.

The Bombay High Court approved the de-merger for Reliance Industries shareholders after it was accepted by the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

Mukesh Ambani got Reliance Industries and IPCL, while Anil was given control of Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital.

Some shareholders opposed the decision saying it was more a family arrangement than a business separation.

November 2006: Anil Ambani's Reliance Group challenges a gas contract signed by Mukesh's company during the split.

2009: Brothers live close-by but barely speak

The Ambani brothers lived in "Seawind" in an upscale neighborhood of South Mumbai, and restricted meetings to family gatherings or conferences. The Guardian reports:

"There's no conversation, let alone warmth. Sometimes they are forced to shake hands, but they do not look at each other," said the friend.

"It's a tragedy because they were a class act. One used to start a sentence and the other would finish it. How does that kind of chemistry go wrong?"

May 2010: Ambani's mother brokers a peace agreement between the brothers

Kokilaben brokered a peace agreement between the brothers. Officials of Reliance Industries Ltd. and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group both received notes that said the Ambani brothers would draft a non-compete agreement, to replace an earlier one that obviously didn't work.

What was the difference between Mukesh and Anil?

Their basic way of thinking.

Anil loved to dabble with too many things. That gave him high. Mukesh loved doing one thing right. Anil looked for horizontal spread while Mukesh looked for the depth.

If Mukesh was an Aircraft Carrier, then Anil was a frigate. If Mukesh was an elephant, Anil was a leopard.

Mukesh would think of a businesses at a much larger scale. He could wait for years for the cash. But he always wanted his business to run at a certain scale. On the other hand, Anil always wanted the quick return of cash. In fact, he would collect cash from the public first then take years to build a business. Mukesh would take years to build a business and then go public much later.

So Anil became the darling of quick return seeking investors and Mukesh became GOD for the project management professionals.

Anil loved flashy lifestyles, rarely managed business at a micro level. It was said Mukesh could conduct a meeting for hours without taking a loo break. He was always the God of details. You must study him in depth to understand his personal contribution to any business.

Their businesses are easily differentiated today because of their personal characteristics, not because one business was more profitable than the other or the luck factor.

Study both brothers carefully and you would know this was to happen. I hate to say "I told you so.", but I always maintained Mukesh would race ahead though many of my corporate friends disagreed at the time of the split of Reliance.

Mukesh has 25X grand vision than Anil and he has patience to execute that vision.

Look at the World's biggest startup -JIO.

Who would invest and create a new telecom business after handing over the Reliance Telecom to his brother?

A madman or Mukesh Ambani.

Years back, Mukesh chose CDMA over GSM because he believed in DATA. Anil never understood that. To him telecom was just another business like the film production! That’s why Reliance Telecom failed after Anil took over. He didn’t have the passion for the business.

To mukesh, telecom meant different thing altogether. That's why he is back with JIO.

Mukesh creates business. Anil profits from the market trends.

Is the difference obvious between the brothers?

One more indicator :

After the split, Mukesh said he would NOT waste a single minute in future. Anil publicly thanked Tina, his wife, for guiding him through the split and said “we (together) did it!” !!!

Do you still need more explanations why one brother is more successful than the other?

Tina had a successful career before marriage. Unfortunately, she got caged in that limited success. She and Anil were like any other regular rich couple and Tina lived a predictable life.

On the other hand, Nita took Mukesh as her mentor and friend. It's said Nita would listen to Mukesh's dream projects with rapt attention late into night. Mukesh needed somebody to bounce his ideas while they were still at ideation stage and Nita was eager to learn from Mukesh's entrepreneural journey. It was almost like Nita was dreaming along with Mukesh. While Mukesh was away at the project site for a long time, it's said Nita landed there out of curiosity and got involved with the development and ancillary activities. She developed the zeal to learn. While Tina watched Anil's projects falling apart, Nita was playing an active role in a growing empire. Both Anil and Tina thought since they attended the glamorous social parties, they were the social face of the Ambani family. They presumed Mukesh and Nita to be drab, unglamorous. They forgot one simple fact that one needs only a good event manager and good amount of money to throw the most talked about party in the town. So Tina was on a fragile ground. People forget it takes great efforts to make money not to spend money. Tina's so called superior industry connection and social popularity got busted when everyone became eager to be on Nita's phone book and loved to be seen at her party. Simplistically, while Tina was consuming her existing wealth to stay competitive, Nita was building her wealth. It was natural that Nita would outshine Tina after some time.

Sad to see Mukesh Ambani losing faith in his basic traits and adopting populism. The exogenous factors finally have started to impact Mukesh Ambani. The spurious elements creeping into his thought process? If yes, the downward slide begins.

It wasn’t really that difficult to make an Anil Ambani out of Mukesh Ambani, after all!

Narrative Techniques

List of various narrative techniques used in literature:

1. First-Person Narration: The story is narrated by a character within the story, using "I" or "we."

2. Second-Person Narration: The narrator addresses the reader directly using "you."

3. Third-Person Limited: The narrator tells the story from the perspective of one character, using "he," "she," or "they."

4. Third-Person Omniscient: The narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters.

5. Stream of Consciousness: The narrative attempts to capture the character's thought processes in a flow of thoughts and feelings.

6. Unreliable Narrator: The narrator’s credibility is compromised, making their version of events suspect.

7. Epistolary: The story is told through letters, diary entries, or other documents.

8. Frame Story: A story within a story, where the main narrative is set within another narrative.

9. Multiple Narrators: The story is told from the perspectives of multiple characters, each providing their own viewpoint.

10. Stream of Consciousness: A technique that depicts the flow of thoughts and feelings passing through the mind.

11. Interior Monologue: The narrative provides insight into the character's inner thoughts and feelings.

12. Soliloquy: A character speaks their thoughts aloud, often when alone, revealing their inner thoughts.

13. Flashback: The narrative shifts to an earlier time to provide background or context to the current events.

14. Foreshadowing: Hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story.

15. Chekhov's Gun: A dramatic principle stating that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.

16. Symbolism: The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

17. Irony: A contrast between expectation and reality, often highlighting a discrepancy.

18. Allegory: A story with a double meaning: a primary, surface meaning, and a secondary, deeper meaning.

19. Magical Realism: A narrative technique that incorporates fantastical elements into a realistic setting.

20. In Medias Res: Starting the story in the middle of the action.

21. Metafiction: The narrative self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, often blurring the boundary between fiction and reality. 

You can choose from the above on how you want to write.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist ~ Mohsin Hamid

 

Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. I noticed that you were looking for something; more than looking, in fact you seemed to be on a mission, and since I am both a native of this city and a speaker of your language, I thought I might offer you my services.

So begins the The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid; a great opening paragraph which catches your eye and which in fact made me purchase this book. (Advice to all wannabe writers, including myself: write a great opening line. This is what sells books.) Unfortunately, what follows hardly measures up. In fact, Mr. Hamid lets the reader down with such a great thud that I am surprised there are no bruises to show for it!

The setting and style of the novel is – well – novel. An unidentified American has entered the district of Old Anarkali in Lahore. He is approached by Changez, the narrator and protagonist, with the above quoted line, and guided to a tea shop the “quality of whose tea is unparalleled”. There, he unburdens his heart to his apprehensive guest. He is a Princeton graduate, and has spent four-and-a-half years in America. The reason why he has come back to Pakistan is the subject of the story.

Changez narrates his tale to his invisible (in literary terms!) guest, and we listen. We can imagine ourselves in the place of the American, or as an eavesdropper on their conversation. Throughout the narration, the listener’s reactions are remarked upon by the teller; which is all we get to see of him. This shadow listener, in facts, works well as a literary device and also serves to enhance a feeling of creeping menace slowly slipping into the barmy Lahore evening.

Well, in my opinion, the positives end there.

Changez is explaining why he became disillusioned with America and became the “reluctant fundamentalist” of the title: however, his story doesn’t hold water. He is the blue-eyed boy from Princeton, top-ranked among his young fellow executives in the valuation firm of Underwood Samson and the personal favourite of his mentor Jim. He is in love with Erica, a beautiful American girl. He is slated to go far in his profession. The good ol’ American (expat) dream…

Well, with 9/11, his world comes crashing down…

…now, if you are waiting for the story of the poor Muslim boy persecuted by Big Bad Uncle Sam, well, think again. Nothing of the sort happens.

Our hero is in Manila on a mission when the Twin Towers are brought down. He watches it on TV and says “my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased” because “someone had so visibly brought America to her knees”! Well, as a reader, I lost whatever sympathy I had with Changez then and there. I mean, here’s a guy who has studied in America, is working in America, planning to marry an American girl and settle down in America – and he’s pleased at a wanton act of terrorism on America? He is not a reluctant fundamentalist but a closet terrorist!

As the story moves on, there are no instances of any discrimination against Changez, other than an airport search and a threatening encounter with a semi-crazed man in a car park. However, his sense of alienation grows and he starts considering himself as an outsider. But what really distresses Changez is not the status of Muslims in America post-9/11. It is the slow slide into madness of his love Erica, and the perceived threat to Pakistan from India.

Erica is a girl who lives partially in her mind with her long-dead boyfriend Chris. She is so disturbed that she can have sex with Changez only by imagining him to be Chris. Although initially she encourages him, she slowly moves away from Changez into an institution; then moves away from life totally, disappearing without a trace. This tale of Erica is Norwegian Wood with all the magic removed – a pastiche. We should be feeling for our poor protagonist, but I was only feeling bored.

The second reason for Changez’s self-destruction, the perceived war with India, is even sillier. This is the period after the attacks on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaishe-e-Mohammed activists which lead to massing of troops by both countries at the border. Changez’s latent patriotism comes to fore and he flies to Pakistan against the better counsel of his parents. The thing is, while we can understand his need to flaunt his Pakistani-ness, and his displeasure with India, his anger against America is ludicrous. He becomes disillusioned with America for remaining neutral and not chastising India!

Whatever the case, from here onwards Changez self-destucts. He is sent on an important mission to Chile by Jim as a chance to rejuvenate his career, disregarding opposition from the company vice-president who accompanies him. However, Changez does such a shoddy job on purpose and refuses to continue so that the company has no option other than to fire him. The ostensible reason for this change is his realization that he is the modern-day equivalent of a Janissary (Christian youths stolen away by Turks at the time of the Ottoman Empire and used as warriors), fighting for the evil American empire. The reason I can see is that the guy is seriously screwed up.

By now, we have reached the last twenty pages or so, and we see Changez racing into his fundamentalist career with gusto (although specifics, other than a speech, are missing). The narrative then suddenly slides into an ambiguous ending which is left open for reader interpretation. It all depends on whether we accept Changez as a reliable or unreliable narrator. Obviously, it is meant to be explosive – but to me, it felt like a damp squib. I couldn’t care less.

Tailpiece:

In the West today (in India, too) Islamophobia is a serious concern. Singling out of Muslims as potential terrorists everywhere has done untold harm to religious harmony, and has resulted in many moderate Muslims embracing hardcore concepts. Many of them are reluctant fundamentalists – Mohsin Hamid has tackled a real problem.

Unfortunately, Changez cannot represent them.

‐--‐----

My next reading recommendation for the refugee theme.

A thought provoking novel that delves into themes of migration, love, and the human experience during times of crisis. The story centers on Saeed and Nadia, a young couple who fall in love amidst a civil war in an unnamed city. As their homeland becomes increasingly perilous, they discover mysterious doors that transport them to different parts of the world.

Hamid's writing captures the emotional and psychological toll of displacement, highlighting the resilience and adaptability of individuals facing profound changes. As Saeed and Nadia navigate the challenges of their new lives, their evolving relationship provides a deeply personal lens through which to view the broader refugee crisis.

A compelling narrative that offers a unique perspective on the global issue of migration, while also exploring universal themes of love, loss, new beginnings and the search for a better future.

A testament to the resilience and adaptability of people who are forced to leave their homes and start anew.