Friday, April 22, 2005

A step backwards

Earlier this week the Papal conclave elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany as the next Pope. Cardinal Ratzinger who now goes by the name of Pope Benedict XVI is a known conservative amongst the candidates who were in consideration for the position. While its expected that the Roman Catholic Church would have mostly conservatives in its midst, this particular selection stands out among the rest for his steadfast beliefs in all the major issues facing the Church and refusing to take the step into the new millennium.

Quoting an article from NY Times,
Q|In a document issued in 2000, "Dominus Jesus," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that Cardinal Ratzinger headed said the Catholic Church was the only true path to salvation and called other faiths "gravely deficient."|Q. Now I am a moderate who believes that everyone is entitled to their religion and beliefs. I think each one of us has our own vision of God and path to Heaven. But for the new leader of 1.1 billion Catholics of the world to have such an opinion makes it a big problem. In an era of religious disputes and faith based problems, do we need one more ?. Shouldnt we be progressing towards a world where religion is what is in one's heart and nothing else?.

In addition, toeing a conservative line even by Church standards, the new Pope is against women in Church, for celibate priests in the Church, against abortion and birth control and definitely against homosexuality. Given all this, I am not sure how the Pope would succeed in mending fences that are tattered all over the globe. From a human perspective, don't we need a open minded healer of differences much more than a divider ?

Monday, April 18, 2005

Lunch with Rajini and tea with Kamal

Well, it didnt exactly happen the way the title makes it out to be, but it got pretty close. After a long time, I got to see two movies back to back on the same day and that too featuring the last two superstars of tamil cinema. What was supposed to be an afternoon showing of Chandramukhi ended being a double bill with an evening show of Mumbai Express (in tamil, of course). I am not going to review the two movies in detail since fellow bloggers Saran and Jagan have done it already. I will try to compare the two and see how it all pans out.

Chandramukhi is the unlikeliest superstar movie I have seen in the last few years. I mean it has the least Rajini screen time and very few superstar'isms. Gone are the multiple fights, the mannerisms that only Rajini can get away with, the cigarette thigie and what not. In its place is a family friendly ambience with more people in every frame and a story to boot. I had not seen the Malayalam original. So the story was new to me. It was definitely interesting and while it could have been done better, it was definitely not boring and the masala was not excessive. Sans the occasional praising-over-the-top of Rajini and the abominable acting of Jyothika (whoever chose her for the role deserves a kick in the posterior), the movie was derfinitely worth my trip to North Bergen, NJ.

After a half hour trip to the Edison, NJ and a nice snack at Hot Breads, we settled down to watch Mumbai Express. The movie started off hilariously and the humor was excellent. The gags kept coming non-stop and I loved the first half of the movie a lot. It was physical comedy at its best and hats off to Kamal for the screenplay until that point. Once the movie reaches half time, the gags slow down to a trickle and while the movie is still funny and all, the jokes dont elicit that many laughs. The plot gets contorted and well, the story totally loses steam. By the time the climax arrives, you are almost thankful. What could have been a crisp and excellent 2 hour movie ends up being an almost-fantastic but part boring 3 hour experience. While the movie still is way ahead of what goes by the name of comedy in Indian cinema today, it could have been much better with some editing in the second half. Kamal, Pasupathy, Vyapuri and Ramesh Aravind are excellent and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the kid and Manisha Koirala are awful.

Between the two movies, as always, Chandramukhi is more mass friendly while Mumbai Express carries the Kamal stamp of intelligence. The former will unquestionably do much better than the latter. For me, the experience of seeing the two movies on the same day was phenomenal. I have'nt lapped up to any actor since the days of Rajini and Kamal and now I know why. What these stars bring to the table is much more than just histrionics. They bring a level of enjoyment to me and a sense of nostalgia of my youth that is unsurpassed by any other. They make watching Indian movies a sheer joy, as it was always supposed to be.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Eppadi Padinaro

With the music season in full swing in the Philly area, I have been transported to the temples and auditoriums in Coimbatore where I had first listened to the masters of Carnatic music. The music season used to last all year long and all the top artists had Coimbatore in their itinerary. Be it Corporation Kalai Arangam where the ITC concerts took place or Ramar temple in Ramnagar where there were Aradhanas all year long, it was sheer pleasure listening to the stalwarts. The year end festival at Ayyappan Puja Sangam and the Pongal Music Festival at my alma mater, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, not only featured the maestros but also had slots for now and upcoming artists.

I remember my parents leaving early while my brother and I joined them later. Those days! Ragam Thanam Pallavis were not my cup of tea and the thukkadas were my primary reason to attend concerts. As I grew older and understood music and its nuances better, the significance of RTP sunk into me. I was hooked onto them, thereon. The quick breaks to the nearby bhelpuri stall or the Pazhamudir Nilayam during the Thaniyavardhanam are still fresh in my mind.

Besides getting a chance to interact with the artists, concerts were a place where one could forget all worries and just enjoy wonderful music all evening long. The amusing banter of the critics and the teary eyes of the ardent music fan were very much a part of the experience. Beyond all those wonderful concerts, the nightly listening sessions at home with family over hot Milo or Horlicks are some of my best memories of life in Coimbatore.

Today with concerts in the US being as frequent as they are, I miss my balmy evening trysts with Carnatic music in good old Coimbatore. Someday I hope to get back to that life with far fewer worries and far more music and peace.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Fever Pitch

Yes, the excitement is indeed Fever Pitch. The baseball season formally began with Opening Day on Sunday. The Champions, Boston Red Sox ( I am still to get out of last October's celebrations) faced the 800 pound gorilla, NY Yankees. The Yanks with sizeable pitching additions to their roster (Big Unit & Carl Parano) are strong favorites to win the championships this year. But then, who can forget the choke of the century last October (Can't beat that one, eh?). The Sox on the other hand have been all talk, all winter long and its time their bats do the talking. Will this be a repeat or will the Yanks rise up to the challenge, only time will tell. But for now, its Sox mania all over again. :)

An interesting aside to the season is a movie named 'Fever Pitch' that is getting released this Friday. Starring Jimmy Fallon (of SNL fame) and Drew Barrymore (of Charlie's Angels fame), the movie is a baseball version of a soccer book by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) who also serves as a co-producer. Shalini and I got a chance to watch a sneak preview of the movie last week and thankfully, the movie didn't tarnish the glory of the Red Sox. Directed by the Farelly brothers (There's Something about Mary, Shallow Hal) the mild romantic comedy about a hot shot exec (Barrymore) and a Sox crazy school teacher (Fallon) was funny and didnt tarnish the Sox name or the game. Aside from the fact that the climax was shot in St.Louis during last year's
championship and didn't go very well with fans (myself included) the movie used Fenway Park and the lore of the Curse pretty well. A decent time-pass for lovers of Sox, baseball fans (well, Yankees fans excluded) and romantic comedies.

Go Sox!

Update: The third game of the season for the Sox is progressing as this blog is being posted. The Sox have opened badly, but on par with expectations, by losing the first two games to the Yankees. I am not hoping to see any fireworks until mid-season when things hot up. Until then, I shall just soak in the joy of seeing a game a day, everyday.

ESPN.com - MLB

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