Author: changethinker

Born and raised in Mumbai, India with an undergrad degree from Oman and a masters degree from the National University of Singapore. I am an Environmental Professional with a passion for Sustainability, Social Innovation and Governance related issues. A Change Agent in the making who believes that small is beautiful and that impact can be achieved -one soul at a time.

Instagram for Migration Research

Gulf Kerala Modernity and Punjabi Canadian Swag is the same, a massive villa in white with a Mercedes or BMW SUV in front with a guy with shades on. The Malayali will be in white munda with aviators on. Remittances fuel all kinds of aspirational cultures. But these also depict a particular materialism, which has lead to a culture of absences, silences and separations. Instagram is an excellent anthropological research site for longitudinal data to gauge cultures.

Gulf Kids, Stop Blaming The Region.

I find it deeply problematic when Gulf kids, blame their entire being on the precarity of the regions migration politics. That is the social contract your parents signed up for and trust me you are far better resources than many others, to study overseas. The basic reality is of a comfort zone in the Gulf, where folks have not reskilled for passport country, Gulf or the west, lack of reading and a lazy existence.

It is essential to navigate the choppy waters with the right set of skills, and to humbly embrace the precarious of the situation. It was hard for my parents to move back after a quarter of a century in Oman and still find the adjustments not conducive. But such is life.

I have accepted his reality long back, and am fortunate to work in the Gulf. Generational shifts happen and the golden days are over. However the Hindu Banias were around in 1780 as well. The oil has lasted for five decades, a blip on the historic timeline. I don’t agree with the total negative sentiment of his Foreign Affairs Article but I do agree about the necessity of a new language to articulate the present and the future of absence and separation, and Permanant Transience of the Khaleej. Prof Deepak Unnikrishnan has made a career, distilling the pathos on his US Green Card and his NYU AD salary. Such a contrast.

We need to learn Arabic as well, appreciate the local culture than living in our community bubbles, attending church and Masjid every Friday. We live in a flux, evolve or perish.

Parasite as Cultural Education

Movies are a cultural education, and today was an anomaly as I had hardly watch back to back movies in a theatre. The last time was for Diwali 2013 when I watched Jab Tak Hain Jaan and Son of Sardaar with Jeet, and today was a slightly more global option with Golden Globe Winner Korean Film The Parasite and Jojo The Rabbit with Jiya Chakraborty Prasad Both films are a conversation with the zeitgeist, economic inequality and populism. Parasite, a near cult film up for the Oscar laurels, will be a sample for contemporary sociological theory class. The film has so many layers, negotiating overlaps between the digital divide, urban squalor, climate change, wealth bubbles.

I really liked the edgy feel to the film, where the urban margins with the talent are able to converse with the classes as equals when the conversation arises.

The olfactory politics of deprivation is a key theme in the movie. The disconnect of the elite to the needs of the digital margins is stark that is a contributor to populist protests in Hong Kong and other parts of East Asia.

Developmental Modernity is all glitter, however every shine lends a long shadow. Economic inequality is a long shadow. Parasite illuminates overlapping oppressions between the various socioeconomic classes. The class conflict between the digital subalterns is delicious. The emphasis on urban food insecurity was in the face too, a welcome breach in the neoliberal narrative.

Contestations over space and light juxtaposes with class, to create a cinematic lexicon which is missing in Bollywood. Along with Joker, Parasite brings class inequality into the spotlight. My favourite takeaway line is ‘Money creases over all the pain and makes people nicer’ (with slight paraphrasing)

Can’t be a truer truism. Jojo The Rabbit is a mirror to the recent identity politics and its insanity. Such a joy to watch a Korean film in a multiplex in Pune. Subtitles are a minor barrier to accessing better storytelling. Baghi 3 trailer was a contrast in sensibilities though, during the unnecessary forced intermission.

#changethinkermoviereviews

Think Beyond IIC.

Delhi is an exalted super municipal corporation. This amount of media coverage was not found even for a major state like Odisha. We need to re centre Delhi in our national conversation. #AAP is an one state party at best, too much hype. It can’t even win MCD and a single Lok Sabha Seat for all the work. There are parties like YSR congress with 25 Lok Sabha seats, DMK with 30 plus, TMC with 18 and i am not even mentioning JDU which is a NDA ally.

Let’s get real about India. By the way, let’s cover Bharat from Puri and Varanasi once, although I know IIC has good rangeela and Bloody Mary cocktails.