Vajpayee

 

A B Vajpayee was one of the most significant figures of post 1947 India. The media is paying tributes to what a great leader he was, and rightly so. But I will remember him for the Kargil war. It was a master-stroke which achieved dual targets. He was able to win India, and the world. In order to understand what happened, one only need to revisit the events during May 1999 on Wikipedia.

In May 1999, the Vajpayee led coalition government lost the support of AIADMK, and the central government lost majoriy, reducing to a caretaker status till the October 1999 elections.

So the government turned around and launched the Kargil counter-attack. All this time, there were insurgents entering the Indian side of LOC with Pakistan provided weaponary. The Indian army launched Vijay, to capture these insurgents. The war went on for two months, and India was successful in capturing back her LOC.

In October 1999, the BJP led NDA won a comfortable margin of 303 seats, which was a stable majority. That government lasted 5 years.

Till this point in history, Vajpayee was playing it soft with our immediate neighbours. Everyone remembers the bus trip to Lahore, and the Agra summit. So it rightly came as a surprise when he declared full on war with thy neighbour. In doing so, the projected the image of a newly strengthened nation of India to the world. And in the process, he won his country too.

I can never imaging anyone from Congress going that far.

Fallout was exhausting. In a good way.

Caught the latest instalment of the Mission Impossible movie series at a cinema in Melbourne.  With new death defying stunts and editing, this is without and doubt the most impossible one of the series. There is so much action in it that it was just exhausting watching Cruize do all his stunts. In a good way. Did I mention he is 56 ?

This is only the second MI movie I have watched in a cinema. The first one was MI2, back when John Woo's style of slow motion action-choreography was all the rage. For fallout, they have chosen very fast, sometimes sped-up action, in bright lights. Its nice to see every director bring his own style to the franchise, but of course, in the MI series, it is not the director who is the star. It is the star himself.

Mission Impossible: Fallout is a testament to the miracle that is Tom Cruise Cruise is among Hollywood's last surviving superstars. And yet look at what this man is willing to endure to entertain us. He jumps from helicopters, fights hand to hand and rides bikes against the traffic without a helmet. Side note: The last one is not really an unbelievable stunt because it is very common in India. I have done it occasionally, on short stretches. :) The movie also features a now staple sequence of the famous Tom Cruize run, where he covers miles in a few minutes, running through cars and jumping from buildings. But sadly, there was no wire-drop sequence. That climax which involves sticking bombs helicopters and snowy mountain clips is so suspenseful.

But what kept distracting me constantly was watching Tom do the stunts. I remember speaking multiple times to myself that he is actually doing it himself ! I could visualize the protective wires from which he dangled, and how certain sequences were sped up to make it seem impossible. It sometimes annoying how these thoughts creep up, distracting one from watching the scenes on screen.

There's also Henry Cavill showing us that he can do more than just be Superman. I hear they had to digitally remove his moustache from his scenes in Justice League, and that might have contributed to that movies debacle. Its good to see that his acting and his moustache was justified in Fallout.

Fallout also has a lot of emotionally relevant scenes, where Ethan’s personal life from the previous movies is woven into the narrative. I felt and found it too…what’s the term…filmy. Having grown up on diet of rubbish Bollywood action movies, I could not digest it a big budget Hollywood production. What, the villain wants revenge, so he brings Hunt’s ex-wife to the location of the final bombing? So that he can personally destroy Hunt emotionally ?  Bah! Humbug!!. I found Luther’s exposition particularly cheesy, the one where he says Hunt only cared about two women in his life. Oh yeah ? What about Nyah from the second movie, who he definitely falls for ?  The point of that storyline was to remind the audience that Hunt was still human, and has his own problems, balancing personal and professional life. But, it was way to cheesy. Tom really cannot play such emotional scenes so close to the camera.

Also, is Hunt and his team the only member’s of the IMF ? We have seen six movies so far, and Hunt was disavowed in half of them. In the last 3, there was no other agent or team sent on a mission. They need to address the question of how big of an organization the IMF really is.

And why was Alec Baldwin’s character killed ? Such a fine actor.

And the final sequence of the movie is in Kashmir, India ? But there is not even a single India/Pakistani character/actor anywhere in the entire movie. All those scenes were shot in New Zealand, because they could not get permission to shoot in India.

Also, that scene from the trailer where he ramps a truck into another truck on what appears as an Indian road, that’s not in the movie. Minor offence.

At times the dialogues in the movie reminded me of my experiences from my own profession! Hunt improvises a lot, like we do in software projects, hehe. Wink, wink. When he says “I am working on it”, or “yet to figure that out”, I felt it was just how an Indian software company executes projects :)

Fallout deserves praise in every department. Its nice to see a franchise still holding strong, adding something new , while still retaining what made the original such a hit.

Flood in Kerala

Flood in Kerala. Three words I never thought could be used in such short a sentence. But it’s happening now. Nature’s fury.

Living in a city for humans.

Its been a about a year since I came here, down under. And have been living in the great city of Melbourne during that time. By now I am familiar with most of the city's layouts, know how to get around efficiently, and know which places to avoid. There are some nasty places, yes. But the city continues to amaze me every now and then, when I see the efficient movement of people (and their pets), and how everything goes about as clockwork. Melbourne has been called the most livable city, the best city to retire in, and many other fancy terms as well. And IMHO, the city deserves the title. After having lived in the top cities of India, and a few places abroad, mostly Europe, life here is much more easier, and comfortable. Provided you can foot the bills, of course.

I have known how the city got its name, and why it is situated in Victoria state, since my school days. This story was retold in the British TV series Victoria. Story goes, when the young queen came to power in 1876, she had few friends she could trust in the palace. Everyone was scheming to get her out of power. Everyone , except Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, who mentored her in politics and thus helped her start her long rein. Thats how the city got its name. The state was named Victoria around 20 years later. It is thus fitting that the capital of Victoria be called Melbourne, future generations are sure to read upon this story.

This is truly a properly planned city. A lot of people have put their heads together to come up with its layout, from the streets, the efficient tram system, right down to water and utilities. The central area is always crowded, but there is no gridlock. It has the most efficient public transport system I have seen (Sydney trains and buses are frequently late). They have really taken into account people who could have problems moving around, even with disabilities. So in any Indian city, disabled have a hard time getting around, here they are able to travel without anyone's help. The cities traffic lights have a sound based alerting system, and there are markers on the street to assist the blind. The PB/5 pedestrian button embodies an audio-tactile device combining a two-rhythm buzzer, a vibrating touch panel, and braille direction arrow. How cool is that ? Here is something city planners in India can learn from,if they ever learn anything.

Melbourne is also a place of cultures, sometimes I felt like I am walking in China or Korea. There are shops and restaurants  from all over the world, greek, indian, chinese.. I guess this could be due the vibrant student community here, Victoria is called the educational state. But there are also expats and tourists coming in from across the globe. For people like me, the reverse climate here was surprising. Its summer here when its winter in the northern hemisphere, so its a good place if you want an instant change of weather.

The main area of the city is just 10 streets crossed horizontally, forming a grid. You can get from anywhere to anywhere within 5 minute. And did I mention that all tram travels in the CBD are free ?  This initiative means people will always take the public transport, leaving their vehicles at home. Something else India an learn from. Morons in Delhi government increased metro fares, arguing that they are taking losses. If you truly want to give people to use public transport, you have to decrease the fares. Or , if possible, make it free ! Never mind the loss, the cities environment stands to gain. And thus, the people. Germany is now looking into making public transport free to fight air pollution.

These guys don't mind shutting down parts of the city for public occasions, something even the smallest Indian cities struggle with. For New Year last year, they shut down traffic in many areas, opening them up for the public. Theyy brought in extra security, and there were ambulances on standby. Hell, they even brought in and setup rows of functioning portable toilets ! I have never seen such an initiative in India. A and and then the next day, the place was back to normal, with no garbage on the streets, and no sign of the public event. They did this again for Australia day, and every major public holiday.

I specially love the unpredictable weather here. It can get really hot and rain and cold ,all within the same week. Something exciting to look for. But the roads don't get clogged with water and rubbish, and vehicles still move around.

Its no wonder that people don't want to go back, once they see how carefully the city is planned and administered. Its truly a city designed for people. For humans. And I call myself fortunate, to be able to stay here for some more time.

Maybe forever.

Is India growing ?