Times of India to republish photograph

It seems people at Times Of India have agreed to republish the photo with credit. See Seema's blog for details.

Taking Sides (Seema vs ToI this time)

The Original..


..and The clone.

In the pic is a building at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. Photo by Seema. I wish ToI carried those three words.

Seema has posted on her blog a letter to ToI for which she hasn't got a reply.

"I'm happy to see that my photo of a building by Padamashree Laurie Baker being published in you esteemed new paper, that too in editorial page. Same time it is really saddening to see that I am not attributed for the work I've done..

The picture you have given in this editorial is taken by me here in Trivandrum. you can find this picture here in this link. If you look into the copyright agreement section of the site you can see that I used Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 (Creative Commons) license for my work. I do want people to use my work with their creative work.."

* * *

Krishnakumar writes in a comment to the post on Ore Kadal: "There is always another side to every story. Why not wait and see?"

We have heard the "both sides" stories for a long time. In my experience that kind of a desparate attempt to "balance out" is often the most cruel thing to do. Like Mani Ratnam does in Bombay about the Bombay riots.

I know Times of India will sure have their side of this story.

I'd rather go by someone I know I can trust. Like Subhash or my friend Seema.


[Title courtesy: Taking Sides is the title of a 2001 film by Hungarian filmmaker István Szabó].

Mithunda's take on Singur/Nandigram

"The film begins with the customary disclaimer.. But Mithunda's latest box-office wonder is about land acquisition in a burning Bengal", goes the review of Bong film Tulkalam in The Telegraph by Chandrima S. Bhattacharya (could not find it on the web edition).

Hindustan Times has a special story by Drimi Chowdhuri titled Bengali cinema raises issue of land acquisition. "Filmmaker Haranath Chakroborty’s "Tulkalam" starring Mithun Chakraborty and Rachana Banerjee has struck a chord with viewers. The movie is running to packed houses in Minar, Bijoli and Chhabighar which are mostly haunted by Bengali cine-goers looking for something more than the regular commercial fare.."

"The city’s commercial theatre district, Chitpore, that has always shown a penchant for recent happenings, is also tapping in on the issue. All the theatre companies involved with production seem to be changing their storyline, even though their titles prominently feature Nandigram.."

The Telegraph review can't conclude without a reference to the "Left intellectuals":

"Such direct political reference is not usual in a mainstream Bengali movie. The issue must be so hot that it can't be swept under the carpet any more. Neither by Left intellectuals nor by Mithunda. The carpet will catch fire.."

Funny. The carpets of The Telegraphs and The Indian Expresses and Anand Bazar Patrikas seem to be catching fire. All these "development-mongers" vehemently supported the WB Govt on the land acquisitions and kept quiet about the first round of violent turn of events in Nandigram this January (that led to the March 14 firing).

["Villagers have become extremely wary of journalists, they turn back some of them, and claim that at least the biggest newspaper group, ABP, has sold itself to the state government. The variations are whether the buying party is the state government, the CPI(M), or the chief minister..", wrote Aloke Thakore in The Hoot].

So now, they are all busy taking digs at Left Intellectualism (IE article on "Why left intellectualism is so damaging", refering to some statement by some CPM intellectuals who are not sure where to stand.) Understandably turning a blind eye to most other left intellectuals who stood firm against the WB Govt's development policies even before the March 14 firings at Nandigram. In a desparate attempt to make sure everything goes "right", the way WB Govt and CPM has been moving. So that any voice against them, intellectual or not, are not taken seriously by anyone.

But no matter how muchever they try, the fire is very much here. Unlike what they would like to believe ("Unfortunately, real rural Bengal does not have a Mithun", says Ms Bhattacharya), the people are standing up for their rights and won't give in without a fight. And they are aware who are trying to take them for granted and who are benefitting from it.

* * *

Tailpiece: It seems March 15 and March 16 issues of Ananda Bazar Patrika went missing from their web archives!

Yaarana

It was like meeting a long-lost childhood friend.

Each time it happens, it feels like a first time.

This time, I sat down to write a paper-and-ink letter. Put it in a red letterbox in front of a post office.

I know it's going to take many days to reach my friend. But I find it worth.

I can feel the high I am on. I can also remember the times when I have felt such highs before. I remember my friends with gratitude. They make this life worth living.

Finding someone who does not like Namesake

Yesterday when I called a friend she said: "Sick it is.. Isse achcha to Namaste London jaise pictures banana hai.. Ye jyada jhoota lagta hai.." (It's better to make films like "Namaste London".. This looks more pretentious). She felt the film just repeated the irritating preachings of how you find "real" love and values only inside the family. "And after every 4-5 scenes there has to be an intimate love scene, it has become so predictable in Mira Nair's films.." "Monsoon Wedding also sold an image of India to the West but it at least tried talking about a real issue that is not discussed much.."

Thus I finally found someone who didn't like The Namesake.

I haven't seen the film. From whatever I read about it (though all of it was praise for the film and its director) I wondered why each and every one was raving about it. It disappointed me that talented filmmakers like Mira Nair have settled for such "safe" films. It didn't come to my town.

Yestreday itself, another friend (who hasn't seen the film) told me about one more person who did not like the film.

I was relieved. It's not the end of the world.

Happy new years!

Happy Bihu
Happy Vishu
Happy Tamil New Year
Happy Baishakhi
Happy Boishakh ..

Happy New Year!

Please fill in if I have left out any. Ugadi and Gudi Padwa also happen around same time, but I guess that's a week or two earlier.

[image courtesy: webindia123.com]