Barack Hussein Obama came to office in 2009 with a message of change and of hope; the first african american to hold office was it self monumental in nature. His historic address in Berlin laid the pitch for a rock star president to enter office. He came in at a time of great crisis…The mess in Iraq and Af-Pak along with the sub-prime depression with partisan politicking does not make a ideal start to a presidential stint. Obama is a thinker, an intellectual who was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, taught Constitutional Law  at Chicago Law School and had authored two best sellers before he entered office. He is said to think too long before he takes a decision on a critical matter, finds consensus and middle ground in all his legislative battles and policy disputes. This latest Libya Crisis is a test case, he is said to have acted too late and has France take the lead in the civil war situation. His major achievement to date is the passage of the Health care legislation, although drastically watered down due to the heated debate over universal healthcare and the Tea Party grass roots movement whose face is Ms. Palin (Her supporters got the mandate in the mid term polls) and has laid the ground work for a presidential bid in 2012.

The Tea Party movement has grown in strength due to the apparent in-effectiveness of Obama to convert his promises into reality. But getting legislation through congress in a partisan atmosphere is next to impossible in its original context sans compromises. Although Obama has not closed Gitmo, or made significant headway in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan or on gay rights.. He exudes an aura of positivist sentiment  conveyed by his Nobel address. His efforts in bridging understanding between the Islamic and Western Civilizations by his Cairo and Jakarta keynote speeches are monumental. His aggressive policies to promote clean tech and science & tech tertiary education are a significant step towards America regaining lost territory in Innovation. His 2011 State of the Union Address was a stunner! The man has a vision, probably a man ahead of his time ala Jimmy Carter. According to present sentiment in the US..Obama is not going to get a second term in Office (I hope he does; he needs time to implement his vision) , May be he will be a good one term president that laid the ground work for a vibrant post war America… America needs a thinker in office not a reality show star and small town beauty queen…

I have discussed Kashmir with my South Asian Friends; Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi over a long time in the Middle East and South East Asia…They all have differing opinions over the matter..Indians claim total rights over the disputed Himalayan region, Pakistani’s want to turn Sirinagar into Islamkot and my friends from Dhaka wish that Kashmir would be another independent Muslim majority nation in Southern Asia. There are 600.000 troops based in Kashmir, more than total coalition forces in Af-Pak and Iraq. Kashmir or atleast the Indian controlled territorial part has been a bleeding would since the British left the Sub Continent in 1947. India and Pakistan have fought 2 wars and several low level conflicts, killing and wounding millions of soldiers and civilians.  Kashmir to India is what Kosovo is to Serbia, a nationalistic propaganda instrument, sans any economic usefulness although its geopolitical ramifications in the chess game of South Central Asia is critical.

Kashmir was never an organic part of India actually, a Muslim Majority state ruled by a Hindu King who decided to cede to India after Partition on agreeing on to a special constitutional package (Article 370 for instance) which was never honored by India sadly.  India has conveniently ignored the numerous resolutions by the UN for a plebe cite in Kashmir.  The integration into India was the result of the Machiavellian genius of Sardar Patel, the first Home Minister of Independent India. This is a well acknowledged fact that in the Media that Elections in Kashmir in the 1980’s were rigged in favor of pro India factions. The separatist uprising in 1989 in Kashmir which lead to the genocide and displacement of innocent Kashmiri hindus from their mother land is a human tragedy not acknowledged completely. The cross border militancy into Indian Kashmir bled Indian security forces by a thousand cuts, a phrase coined by former military ruler of Pakistan General Zia ul Haq.

Years of dialogue by the Indian and Pakistani Governments with each other as well as with the separatist Hurriyat elements, which hold an observer status in the Organization of Islamic Conference Organization have not yielded anything. This has resulted in the balkanization of Kashmir from a Kali (delicate petal in Hindi-Urdu) drawing from the title of the Hindi Phillum- Kashmir Ki Kali in the 1960’s to a fallen and dried part of a flower. Kashmir is a cartographic minefield as well, Jammu being Hindu and Ladakh being the only Buddhist region in India.. The trouble lies in only a few districts of the Kashmir Valley region. The non Muslim regions will not accept independence or a merger with Pakistan, already in a mess of its own. Kashmir is a cancerous tumor for India, it needs to be given urgent chemotherapy. The LoC needs to be acknowledged as an international border as soon as possible. The latest intefada in Kashmir is a sign of discontent and a call for change in the status quo. The Booker Prize winning author Arundhati Roy is being tried in Indian Courts for sedition for calling for Kashmiri Independence. In my view, Economic pragmatism should hold precedence over futile nationalistic sentiment. India as an emerging power should not be felt tied down by a historical cartographic error of judgement. Its as complex an issue as Palestine, but the right first state should be the granting of autonomy to Kashmir under the Indian Constitution for the cooling to take place in a heated scene.

Capitalism reflects positives in the human psyche- power, growth, efficiency and the competitive drive and hence it has built the industrial and the post industrial society since the 1750’s. Socialism and Communism had an opportunity to play its cards with the Soviet experiment for 70 years; proved to be a success in its patches and crumbled under its weight of militarization and authoritarianism. It was dictatorship of the proletarian structure in the USSR and Eastern Europe than anything. Capitalism drives greed and has lead to financial meltdowns during the great depression, the Asian Financial Crisis and the Sub prime debacle over the last two years, Rubini- The doom guru saw it coming but no one else sadly. Capitalism has lead to enormous transformation in lifestyles but also has increased the gradient between the have and the have nots.

Social Innovators such as Ashoka and the Microfinance pioneer Grameen have done good work, but with recent failures  in India with SKS under the scanner and the Bangladeshi Government ousting Dr. Yunus from its CEOship.. This movement is also under the scanner. There are tiny success stories of social innovators all over the globe, creating an impact one community at a time. The Asia Impact Investment Exchange pioneered by Durren Shahnaz- a Bangladeshi social innovator creating a platform for social businesses to raise funds.

The fundamental question is not addressed- there is a gulf between conventional profit based businesses and the non profit organizations who try to do good under fiscally constrained circumstances.  Why is there a 12 inch gap in thinking between the heart and the head?

The hallmark of a successful society is help those who cannot help themselves. We are living in carbon constrained times as well. We are brewing a perfect storm, its the calm lull prior to the calamity.  We need to be a more human society, get our values back in place. We need incentives for creating happier families, a healthy climate and grow sustainable.

We need to re-boot our system or the CPU is going to crash very soon.. the earth’s processor is over stretched and the human intellect is rising but not the soul, its shrinking…We need more RAM into our real motherboard- The spirit and the soul… for the entire technical framework to have upgrades

This Post is an organic continuation of the last post of mine on the Black Swan and 127 Hours (Three Films, Three Oscar winning films!)

The Kings Speech is an incredible film; truly worthy of an Oscar which the film has received for the Best Actor for Colin Firth. Firth has acted like a vulnerable underdog sort of a person; stricken with the disease associated with the people who are second in line to the throne…near but yet far, the Prince Harry Syndrome- accountability without real influence and power.

The Films backdrop is set in 1925  and continues till the advent of the second World War’s commencement in 1939. Colin Firth is a stammerer who has faced many an insult and humiliation since the age of four when He was mistreated by the Nanny and hence developed an inferiority complex, He was forced to write with his right hand being a natural left hander, inculcating something un-natural has its own psychological cost as well.  He is helped reluctantly by a self trained Aussie Speech Therapist named Lionel Logue in the film and Firth being Bertie aka King George The VI. The film depicts the journey of a person low on self esteem thursted on the Throne when his elder brother abdicates it, in order to marry his colourful mistress Wallace from Baltimore. Lionel is there by Bertie’s side when he gives his coronation speech and when presenting the War commencement address to the nation, at the end of the movie. The commoner Lionel teaches the King a few truths which a psychologically weak individual has to confront if He has to meet the challenge. He insists the King calls him Lionel and He calls him by his nickname Bertie to create a comfort level and a level playing field! Lionel becomes a good confidant of the King and the King decorates him with trust and recognition.

The film demonstrates that for a leader his oratory skills are critical to his survival if not success. It presents a demeanor of ability and confidence to carry out his tasks as one the principal skill sets requirement is to effectively communicate to his people or stakeholders.  That is the reason Barack Obama is a  global leader or closer to home Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a respected statesman. Barack Obama’s Cairo, Jakarta and Berlin address’s are what will be remembered; his ability to inspire is historic. His Nobel Peace Prize address was stuff which great speeches are made of as well.

In this Web 2.0 age of the media, effective communication can make or break a leader of which a precursor was shown in the film as well- with the advent of the radio, the ability to communicate and inspire became the most valuable skill which a leader could possess. As an individual who used to stammer until my late teens, I would vouch the communication with charm and ease is a blessing indeed!

 

I am not usually a person to watch two films a month and I only watch films in the theatre (As a writer the minimum I can do is to respect intellectual property)… So I watched Natalie Portman’s Black Swan and the 127 Hours directed by Danny Boyle, a favorite in India after Slumdog Millionare and its Oscar Success (Technically its a British Film!)… Both the films are Oscar Success’s this year and I have to still watch the film- The Kings Speech, which is a major winner at the Oscars this time around. I watched these films in the amazing company of friends as well:) Thank you to Shriyanka and Bharat!

Enough of a background introduction as of now… The Black Swan is a technically stunning film based on a second generation ballerina’s career, who is making the transition from being a background artiste to playing a lead- being the main attraction and a show stopper of the production. The director of the production is all powerful, calling the shots and dumping the old star performer for the new performer (The protagonist- Natalie Portman is enacting in the film) and officially driving her into retirement. The Casting Couch Syndrome, sexual exploitation of the entertainment industry, which is the worst kept secret around is categorically characterized with other performers thinking the protagonist has slept her way to the top ( which is not true, although the director did make suggestions in that direction). There is a coup attempt by another performer, taking the protagonist for a wild party evening prior to the debut performance night- an attempt to sabotage her career.  The critical takeaway from this is that lust and temptation can ruin years of hardwork and even more determination and concentration is needed prior to the main performance evening rather than be in a state of awe and jubilation.  The Film is technically brilliant, cinematography and background score is haunting and brilliant. Natalie Portman has given a performance of lifetime. She portrays the transition from an angel to a lustful devil in her pursuit of stardom and success. The moral of the story: People have to adapt to the circumstance in order to make the paradigm shift to success. The shift was in a morally subversive direction, conveying that the world is nasty and success is a temporary phase and fleeting to the core. Always have a Plan B when, your days of Stardom are numbered.

The other film which I watched last weekend was the Danny Boyle film 127 Hours- Its a single man’s story.. He is a adventure freak ,a rebel and he does things his own way. As usual he is young guy..full of adrenalin! The character of the protagonist goes out to explore the canyon’s.. meets two young women, lost in the road..takes them on a journey through the canyon’s unexplored places… goes for diving and swimming in the underground natural pool and promises the women that he would drop in for a beer, at the party which the girls were throwing with an inflated scooby doo!

Then the story unfolds (its very boring for first part of the film), He gets stuck in a part of the canyon with his one arm crushed and stuck under the rock. He has food and water to last him for 3 to 4 days, has a video camera, a knife and all other mountaineering apparatus with him. He is trying to get his arm out of the rock, He is stuck in the horrendous place for 127 hours and that the film.  He loses out on water, food and energy after 3 days… drinks his pee, no number 2- constantly films his story and gets sunlight in the hole for 15 minutes a day! incredible!!

He still masturbates in that desperate condition (Men will be Men even if it is hell) and he remembers that he did not pick up his Mum’s call when he was leaving for this ill fated adventure trip, hence he did not inform her and lost his chances on a rescue (He happens to be a rescuer himself). He fought with his girlfriend before coming too, his case was destines to be lost! Then he cut his arm, which was stuck under the rock with a knife (was very bloody and gore) to free himself of the hell he is in. He finally bails himself out of the hole and gets rescued by a family and the authorities. The last 20 minutes of the film are beautiful, as this film is a book adaptation from a real story, the person who actually did it was shown in pictures in a collage. The background score by Madras Maestro Rahman is stunning, bring to life many a dull scene…

The Takeaway from the film- Value your family, and always let your parents know..where are you heading and this film exemplified the human will to survive, the creativity, ingenuity and the desperation to live and to live life to the full after such an event. Both the films were inspirational to me..