Physics of the Impossible

    Anyone even remotely interested in science, science fiction or physics should read this book. One, because it is an excellent book and second because Prof. Michio Kaku, the author of this book, makes it so very interesting and easy to understand. He is one of my favorite science authors. I have read four of his books and each one is a gem in its own way. In fact my blog name is inspired by one of his books.

    This book has been split into three sections namely Class 1, 2, 3 impossibilities. These impossibilities are based on the time by which we can hope to have the science fiction concepts come true. Class 1 impossibilities are those which might come true in the next century but they do not violate any of the known science of today. Teleportation, antimatter engines, certain forms of telepathy, psychokinesis, and invisibility fall under this category. Class 2 impossibilities are those which, if at all they come true, would be in millions of years in future. Time machines, hyperspace travel, worm hole travel fall under this category. Class 3 impossibilities violate the known laws of physics. If these do come true in future, that would mean a fundamental change in the way we understand physics. Perpetual motion machines and precognition come under under the third category.

    Most of the science fiction concepts, as per the author, are possible in a century or so. He starts each chapter by mentioning about some science fiction phenomenon from a science fiction book or a science fiction movie, related to the chapter and then he builds on it from there. It is a great art to make such convoluted concepts easy for the public to understand and Prof. Kaku seems to be a master at it. I would highly recommend this book along with his other books Hyperspace, Visions, Parallel Worlds. Take the plunge with the author into this fascinating world of science and science fiction and I can assure you that you would want more of it.   

Bollywood Obsession

    Why do we Indians and the Indian media have such an obsession with Bollywood or the Hindi film industry ? All the programs in television is in some way or the other linked to hindi movies, if they are not already showing the dumb serials. There is hardly any "news" in the news. Now, even the cricket has attracted bollywood stars. This phenomenon is actually true for tamil television channels also. Is there no world beyond movies ? Why have we let the movies hijack the media ?
 
    Where are the programs like Kirdar, Buniyaad, Hum Log, Nukkad, Mirza Ghalib, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Surabhi, Science program, Quizzes (real good ones, not like kaun banega crorepati) and many many more ? Those were the days when we used to have less programs, but high quality ones. People would actually wait to watch those shows. Programs ranged from thought provoking to good healthy comedy.  Now the program quality ranges from dumb to the dumbest. This is one place where the opening up of the economy has proved to be bad for the society. People have completely lost the power to think. Movies are the opium of the masses these days.

Chak De India - Breaking the Stereotypes

    Chak De India was one of the best movies of 2007. As mentioned in one of my other blogs, this was only the second sports movie (after Iqbal) made in the history of Indian cinema. Iqbal was about the struggle of a hearing impaired boy from a small town to get into the Indian cricket team and Chak De was about hockey that too women's, a far less discussed or written about sport in India, despite being the national game. Chak De had a very subtle theme of patriotism which was not beaten into the audience. It was so refreshing to see that being patriotic was not being anti any country but is rather the harmony between our own people. It also was by far Shah Rukh Khan's best performance till date.

    But above all I think, one thing that touched me was the breaking of the stereotypes. In the very beginning of the movie when the girls come to the hockey academy to register, they are asked about their domicile. It was really refreshing to see, when a girl from Andhra Pradesh is told "oh so you are a madrasi" and she replies back instantly saying no, she speaks telugu (one of the four languages spoken in southern India). It is very true that people from north do consider anyone from down south as a "madrasi". It is also in fact used as a derogatory word, sometimes. This is because of ignorance, no intention of knowing the difference and arrogance of their own culture. Another one was when a manipuri girl is told that "you are our guest" and the girl immediately says that "how would you feel if I call you a guest in your own country". This is exactly what India has done in the last 60 years of independence, treat the north easterners as guests. Northeast insurgency would not have been an issue today had we cared for them and treated them as equals.

    It was good to see the representation from Jharkhand. Importance of punctuality was very well shown as was the feeling of being an Indian rather than living in our own state wells. Team was shown as the ultimate, not individuals or seniority. I hope people become more understanding and compassionate about other's culture rather than ridicule it. I thought these were some very strong statements made in the movie which I hope, people would have taken notice of and would act on.

IPL and Communal Harmony

Indian cricket has come up with a new gig, the Indian Premier League(IPL). Would it be successful, may be. I have my own reservations against the whole process, at least in the Indian cricket context. I am very much opposed to the players being auctioned like commodities (for any sport). Indians are used to seeing the Indian team as one national team and do not necessarily have any regional allegiance. Regional cricket (e.g Ranji Trophy) is not popular at all in India. Regional tournaments are held to have a pool of players, mainly for the selectors to choose from.

Now with IPL, players of all nationalities (cricket playing countries) are mixed up in one team. Now would we be able to  split our allegiance ? I might belong to Delhi but my favorite Indian player might be playing for some other team. Or lets say Ricky Ponting (Australian, assuming is playing for my state) thrashes my favorite bowler who plays for another state. Who do I support, in these scenarios ? As it is in India, tempers run high when it is cricket, imagine what would happen if it becomes regionalised. Would it change the communal balance of India, it remains to be seen. 

IPL itself was a knee jerk reaction by the BCCI to put up something against the Indian Cricket League (ICL) which was thought of by the Subhash Chandra of ZEE TV. BCCI threatened the players of a life ban if they played for the ICL. ICL now has all the unsuccessful players or retired players.

IPL has all the big names attached to it like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya etc. None of the players came up against this whole thing of auctioning players (Dravid briefly mentioned in a press conference about his about his reservations against it), may be it is lot of money to just pass up. I detest the fact of someone owning the team. I know it is common in soccer, football, basketball etc, but even there I am not very comfortable. I for one feel that Sports, Arts, Music, Mathematics, Science etc should be done for its own sake. I am not opposed to making money, but it should not be the be all and end all of everything.

Would IPL bring camaraderie and understanding between players of different nationalities (given we have so much sledging on the ground) or would it flare up the passion and emotions attached to cricket and bring regionalism among the Indians, remains to be seen.

Tamil Movies - Reality vs Reelity

Movies depict both reality and fiction. They do not have to be completely real as long as we can differentiate the real from fiction. You can make films like, Back to the Future knowing very well, that it is a fiction. If you show something in movies repeatedly, then it should have at least some element of reality to it. Overall trend in the Indian movies has changed in the past, people have started to experiment with different and bolder subjects, which is good and healthy for the movie industry. It has also become very common to have sexual innuendos in songs and dialogs and to show actresses in skimpy clothes, especially when it not required at all. Not sure if that is really healthy.

I have no objection whatsoever about all that, my objection is, the way actresses are shown in Tamil movies versus the reality there is, in the society. My point is not to censor movies, rather to be an open society so things do not seem unreal. Tamilnadu, though a giant in many respects, is very conservative when it comes to dressing (especially women) or issues related to sex. Dress, which would be very common in any western society or even in some Indian cities like Delhi or Mumbai, would be a no-no in Tamilnadu. I do not know if it is a coincidence, but most of the actresses in Tamil movie these days are from northern India. It could be because they have no reservations doing such roles. Hindi movie actresses dressing up in bold attire does not look that artificial because it is not uncommon for affluent people in northern India (including Mumbai) to wear such dresses.

Few days back there was a big hue and cry about the way one of the actresses dressed, in a 2007 top grosser. It was wrong to single out one actress when the whole industry is doing the same thing. Another yesteryear lead actress Khushboo, was in trouble when she spoke her mind about premarital sex. There is nothing wrong in showing sensuality or sexuality if the film demands it. It should not look forced upon or unnecessary (this is actually true for Indian movies overall). Do not show it just to titillate the audience. Why shun something in real life when it is shown as part of the culture in every movie. Either make believable movies or be an open society. Don't have double standards about it. We got to be more open about things, if we want to move forward.

Padma Awards - Is there a North-South divide?

Is there really a bias against southern India, while dishing out the padma awards. I thought about this, when a few days back I got to know that one of the greatest actresses of the Indian cinema, who is also a Guinness world record holder for the maximum number of movies, and to my knowledge the only real female comedienne in Indian cinema, Ms. Manorama (Tamil Actress) was awarded a Padmashri only in 2002. This is, after working in 1,500 movies for almost 50 years. It is a shame that she has been recognized after such a long time where as Madhuri Dixit gets an award after may be 20 years of work. It is not that Madhuri Dixit's body of work is far better than that of Manorama. Do not mistake me, I am a big fan of Madhuri Dixit. I am just not comfortable with the unfair treatment meted out.

On further digging I found that Ilayaraja, the maestro in music, has still not been awarded a single Padma award, it is a shame for the country. Ilayaraja has been recognized internationally. How can I forget our very own Rajinikant, even he has not been awarded any Padma award yet. Shahrukh Khan has already received one. What is the criteria that Shahrukh Khan satisfied but Rajinikant did not? I feel it is just because of the larger audience and a greater exposure for Hindi movies and the marketing that is done for such movies. If iconic status was the reason, then Rajini had it before Shahrukh and still continues to have it. Do you see a pattern emerging here.

Similarly, Mani Ratnam, Semmengudi Srinivas Iyer, S.P.Balasubramaniam had been ignored for a long time before they got their Padma Shri awards a few years ago. All these people I mentioned are stalwarts and are not in any ways dependent on any of these awards, but this definitely points out a flaw in the way the awards are decided. These artists are and would remain great forever, irrespective of the awards. I am glad that at least artists like KamalHassan, A.R.Rehman were felicitated, at the right time, and not ignored.

I know some artists have vented out their anger at the system in the past and have in fact returned the awards back to the government of India for not recognizing their talent when it should have been. I think this is a part of a bigger problem, of not recognizing our talent in due time. It took a G.H Hardy, a great mathematician, a British, to recognize Ramanujam's mathematical genius. I hope we learn from our mistakes and are balanced in our treatment towards anyone and everyone.

Chak De India or Check De India

Chak De India, as per me is by far one of the best movies made, if not in the history of Bollywood film industry, in the recent past. I also think that it was the best performance by our King Khan. Patriotic theme was nicely woven into this movie. This is the second sports movie, after Iqbal, I know of in the history of Indian films which was completely about the game. It was all the more refreshing to see that it was about our national game which is seldom talked about.

But this is not what this blog is all about. This is about what Shah Rukh Khan said in the media before and after the release of the movie and his actions that followed that. Shah Rukh claimed that he has always liked hockey and that he has played it during his college days and such. Also that he would like his kids to take up sports and how much respect he has for the sports persons and all that. All this is fine, except that you would think that a person showing so much passion towards a game, would do something to elevate the status of the game in India and elsewhere (India has not even qualified this time for the Olympics, first time in the last 80 years). But that was not to be the case.

Instead Shah Rukh poured in money into IPL (Indian Premier League - Cricket), which has no lack of funds, if required. He has shown that, he is just another business man who knows where to put his money. Cricket already gets the maximum media coverage. Cricket does not need big names attached to it. I have nothing against cricket, in fact I am a big cricket enthusiast myself. But I just feel that other sports in our country should be encouraged and promoted more than what is being done, if not giving the same status as cricket.

I have always felt that celebrities can and should exploit their stature in positive ways for the betterment of the society. I am not saying that they do not do charity, I am sure many of them do. But more than charity if they attach themselves with a noble cause, that would go a long way into the future. At the end of the day charity and social work cannot be forced, it has to be voluntary. I just feel that Shah Rukh could have had a real "Chak De Phatte" moment, had he really done something for hockey instead of cricket.

This Date That Year

March 14: Pi Day

I didn't know until I read on Mar 14, that it is celebrated as a Pi day because of 3/14. I, having done my Bachelors in Mathematics, have always been fascinated by this number. I have seen the movie and also read several articles and books on the subject. Movie is very disturbing though.

I just thought I would share it with everyone, since not everyone knows about this day. We celebrate so many days why not this. At least to me it is just a way to celebrate the association with mathematics. It also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday.

Check this out, you would get all the information about Pi here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_day

March 19, 1474: Venice Enacts a Patently Original Idea

First known written law to grant and protect patents.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/03/dayintech_0319

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Indian movie awards and the obsession with english language

I have often wondered, why most of the people getting a Hindi movie award, not speak in Hindi at the award functions (which is the language for which they are being given the award). I have been wanting to write about it for sometime now. In fact in this year's star screen awards, Sajid Khan mentioned about this issue in one part of the award. 

Let me make it very clear that I am not against any language, in fact people are free to speak in any language they feel like. I am in fact writing in English. My only point is, if you can make or act in a Hindi movie then what is so shameful about speaking the same language when it comes to award functions (although I can understand people like Rehman, Mani Ratnam speaking in English because they do not know Hindi or know only broken hindi). I do not know, are we trying to impress the western world, who hardly think very highly of our movies or hardly watch our award functions.

Hindi speaking belt has often accused southern India, especially Tamilnadu, of not speaking Hindi, the national language. But then where is the passion for Hindi when it comes to the most prestigious film awards. Is there a possibility that they want to cater to the southern India (especially Tamilnadu), I doubt that. 

I think that there is an obsession with english language in India. Speaking in English is considered hep and perceived as being intelligent but they might just be talking crap. In this English speaking race, what happens sometimes is, people do not convey what they have to, and end up making fool of themselves. I remember once my uncle's neighbor was worried that his two year old son has still not started speaking in English. 

Speak whichever language you are comfortable in, but do not feel shy or bad about speaking your own language. 

Super Bowl XLII

This past weekend I saw my first ever football game. I never got interested in football but nevertheless I watched it, because I had my friends watching the game with me. So I thought it would be a good time to sit and watch with a big group and have a nice time. This way I would also get a chance to understand the game. 

I chose the best day to watch it as it happened to be the Super Bowl, and it was our home team New England Patriots vs the arch rivals New York Giants. Game was really close and I should say that I liked it and enjoyed it (might be because of my friends), but in the end it was the Giants who came out triumphant (New Englanders are still in a state of shock). 

But this is not what I want to write here. What really made me write was the end of the game. During the prize distribution ceremony I saw the owner of the winning team walk up to the podium to receive the trophy, then the trophy was handed over to the team coach, and finally the team. 

I was really surprised that those who actually sweat it out on the field were given the last importance. I thought it to be so different from other games where players would receive the recognition in the form of a trophy or medal. I am so very uncomfortable with the whole idea of corporatizing sports, having an owner for the team who gets all the recognition besides making all the money. I think when the team wins, it is the team's time to hog the limelight and that privilege should be given to them. 

I guess even players have never protested against this act, which is why it is still going on. I do not mind the owner (if at all we have to have one) making money, but at least the final recognition should be given to the players. Money should not be the be all and end all of everything.