Free society is not free elections and democracy May 6, 2009

In Capitalism Magazine Michael J Hurd has written an insightful essay titled “War and Peaceful Majority“. He describes why it is irrelevant what the majority of a nation believes in, because it is the government which gets to make the decisions which affect the future of everybody.
People generally are peace loving, but history has shown [...]

Pragmatism: The new age philosophy January 31, 2009

Consider what President Obama had to say about the size of government in his inaugural address. It signaled the rise of pragmatism as a new-age philosophy in the world stage. Not that it did not exist before, but never before has a leader of any consequence declared it in the grandest stage as the basis [...]

Lights off! Let us go back in time… February 19, 2008

Not very long ago, I thought I would save and become rich. It took me not much rational thinking to conclude that saving cannot really make me rich. I need to create wealth for it, and to create wealth I need to come up with an original idea.
It needs a creator, an innovator, to come [...]

Movie review – “Aakrosh” November 3, 2007

 
Much is being said currently about the cinema of the 70s, thanks to the upcoming Deewali release of the Shahrukh Khan starrer ‘Om Shanti Om’. Farha Khan openly declares this as a celebration of the cinema of the 70s.
While listening to a video on CNNIBN about the impressions the films and stars of this era [...]

Movie review – “Bhumika: The Role” October 28, 2007

It is always a fascinating experience to watch a Shyam Benegal movie. All of his movies are works of art and need a discerning eye to appreciate the most of it. By no means I am implying that he makes ‘art’ movies, for I make no such distinction. I will take the risk of sounding [...]

Philosophy: Who needs it? October 27, 2007

If you have seen the Hindi movie ‘Judai‘ you will know Hasmukhlal, played by Paresh Rawal quite efficiently. He had this habit of coming up with a barrage of questions in every conversation he made. Dramatic enough, he had a question mark on his forehead too. While the movie itself was forgettable, the character was [...]

The beginning October 26, 2007

Expansion is life, contraction is death.
I start with the above quote, supposedly from Swami Vivekananda.
The quote is dear to me for two reasons. One personal and another philosophical.
Years ago, when I was still a student, my father had sent me a hand-written letter by post(Yes I am old now! ). This quote, he wrote at the right hand bottom of the  letter which had reached me in a slightly crumpled state. I close my eyes and the image of the blue sharp alphabets comes alive in my mind. The meaning of the quote may not have hit me instantly, but I [...]