Chak De: A Fine Didactic Story

Jo Jeeta wahi Sikander, Lagaan and now Chak De. The similarity between all the three movies is that it spellbinds the spectators through neat portrayal of struggle concealed within the victory in some sort of sports. The first; Jo Jeeta…, do it through cycle racing; the second, Lagaan, do it through cricket; and now the third, Chak De, recently released and yet to be celebrated, do it through hockey, the national game of India.

Among all these three movies based on sports in our contemporary Indian cinema, Chak De Celebrates a different victory. Unlike the other two, this movie is not remarkable for running romance and melodious songs in parallel with the game, which is core of all the three films. This film, Chak De, belongs to its core. And the core as well as key elements of the film are Hockey and women.

The most scathing manner in which Chak De differs from the other two is its inclusion of women playing the game. The movie is significant for the much-needed fact to accept that it celebrates a victory – victory against all those male chauvinist pigs, who believe that women in our contemporary Indian society are meant merely to be pregnant, to breed babies, handle kitchen, and to knead legs of men.

Talking in nutshell, story of the film is straight. As predicted, the victory comes and befits the laps of a dozen girls playing for their country. The win appears to be larger than life for their mentor and coach, who, after gulping seven years of contempt and disgust of his own fellow citizens, is back on a mission. The mission, sought to be impossible one by everyone, is to train the dozen of girl hockey player, and make them win the Hockey world cup.

When you are motivated by strong emotions to win, no task seems to be impossible. The journey, from toe to tip, they stride gets a good portrayal in the movie, which is worth making one’s lip shiver and fist closed tightly under the influence of emotional win running on the screen. Two things make this movie to celebrate a fine triumph over the other two movies discussed earlier, Jo Jeeta… and Lagaan. The first, depiction of woman appearing as an ultimate warrior and winner, though their mentor, a man, plays the pivotal role in their victory. The second, some didactic lessons quoted by the mentor on various occasions evoke some worth musing moral science lectures.

Some inspirational quotations should be in need here to be mentioned. “Team banaane ke liye taakat nahi neeyat ki jarurat hoti hai” (to build a team you do not need power, but a good intention), “Dushman pe hamla tab tak karte raho jab tak ya to wo toot jaye yaa fir tum toot jao” (keep fighting till the time either you or your enemies are succumbed completely), “tej matlab aur tej…sabse tej…” (Fast means faster…fastest), “Pandava ki terah jubaan mat dijiye, cheerharan ho jayega” (do not offers words too easily. Otherwise, you will meet the same doom as Pandavas did).

The best scene-sequel, to me, is when a girl, senior most player of the team, is ready to bare and offer herself to the coach to be captain of the team, while thinking that gifting woman’s flesh is the easiest way to lure a man. It does not work, but the incidence as well as words of coach (the one-woman’s man in real life) changes the girl completely. So much changed and purged that the girl while talking over phone to her cook blurts out with breast shivering and sighing, and eyes gleaming with hunger to win, “yaa to mar ayungi yaa fir jeet ke” (I shall return after either winning or dying). The girl finally shoots the goal giving her team a victory; and her coach a unique dejavu – a moment to stand tall holding his chest high and glistening tears of joy while beholding the tri-colour national flag.

Much acclaimed by The New York Times in plain words “Good show!” I do not think that I need to mention that “Chak De” is another wonderful rendezvous of two of the “powerful objects” of Bollywood, the Shah Rukh Khan and the Yashraj Films.

Female Flattery of the Ulta-Pulta Alliance (UPA)

Finally a 72 year-old dadima is all set to become the first woman president of India. I am still wondering whether I should accept this occurrence as Sonia Ji's mental sickness or height of sycophancy of congressmen. I have got one more reason to wonder. Why didn't Sonia Gandhi choose her very daughter, Priyanka, to be the next president – the woman one. I am not talking about Rahul. First reason is that he is not a woman, and the second, he has been toiling hard in UP election, and is being seen by congress apple-polishers as perfect fit for future prime minister's frame.


No pun now. Give a pat to the super lady of India, Mananiya Sonia Gandhi for choosing a lady having vast experience of being a low profile blunt political knife. It seems, to hold high post in the country, the main eligibility is to please Sonia Maino (Arre, didn't you know it is the real name of our Sonia Gandhi Ji?). And see the flattery of Congressmen. When the meeting of CWC (Congress Working Committee) was going on, Sonia Ji proposed the name of Pratibha Patil for Presidential candidature. Not to surprise, the proposal was accepted anonymously, which was later green-signaled by Left parties and other UPA allies.

I have nothing against Congress. Nor am I against accepting a woman president. Being an Indian, I am proud having a woman ruler like Indira Gandhi, who lined herself with powerful leaders of the world. It is true, this new to-be woman president, Pratibha Patil always stood the congress-way (even during the emergency, this lady was with Indira Ji). But, it doesn't mean that person who is more capable of being a president has to be sidelined by a lady, who is too submissive to disobey her party.

A president has to have a vision for the country. He or she has to be a figure of high dignity. And when you are talking about vision and dignity, none can surpass the outgoing president, A P J Abdul Kalam. Important to add, a report suggests that women legislature and parliament members of India will prefer Kalam to anybody else in presidential fray to be the next president. It is astonishing that none of the UPA member stirred to agree upon making him again the next president, when third front spoke about continuing Kalam.

Instead of showing a false flattery towards woman, UPA ought to pass the Woman Reservation Bill, which has biggest obstacle in its way; and ironically it is called UPA. Recently, BJP seems to be agreed upon proposing 33% reservation in his party. Taking similar steps by other parties will be an escalating step to improve the image as well as condition of woman in the country. Instead of fake glorification of woman, UPA, the ruling political party should try to ameliorate the woman's condition in grassroots level.

If you want to gift them something, give them power. The power of execution, which was bestowed on Indira Gandhi. Not the deeper sense of gratitude, which our new 'rubber-stamp' president will be burdened with for next five years

Nalanda : Will The Gone Glory Revisit?

Among the several incidence I walked upon the unroofed rooms of ruinings of Nalanda University, the one I can recall most vividly take me more than a dozen year back. As the complex of ruined university is close to a small village, Bargaon, whose Sun Temple and believed-to-be a holy lake call thousands of devotees from all over the state, for persons living in nearby districts of Nalanda, Chatth Puja (one of the most widely celebrated festivals in Bihar) is perhaps the only time to take an excursion walk inside the ruined architectural complex of Nalanda University, which once was what Oxford, MIT, LSB and Kellogg are today.


While ascending to its one of 9-storey ruined complex (which costs hundreds of your steps), I heard some boorish ladies, the illiterate intellectuals, discussing the heartbreaking fact that the library of the university complex had had so many books that “Its ashes kept burning for six months” (read the intellectual statement carefully). The another lady spoke more in boasting manner, “the college had 10,000 students and some 2,000 teachers who came from different locations of the world.” Being a child unable to make out how long the duration of six months is and how big the figure of 10,000 would be, I tried to wonder as hard as I could while imagining scenes like heaps of books put on fire, and thousands of head-shaven men walking here and there.

Return today's date. To tell you the truth (unfortunately, as usual, I have got only gruelling truth to share), heaps of books containing thousands of rare texts, and the entire university complex, the unique architectural gem, was ordered to be ruined completely merely because the entire university did not have a single piece of Quran, the holy Islamic text. The place which was an excellent place of excellent learning for seven centuries (5th-12th century) was finally set on fire following the order of (Turkic) Muslim invader, Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193.

The place today has no grandeur to boast of. Once upon a time, the grandeur was there, but that is gone now, not to return ever. Excavated during 1915-1930, the complex spreads today merely over 14 hectares, where several of hostels, temples, monasteries, stupas, lecture halls have been identified. Imagine the magnificence of the university complex; the number of monasteries inside the university complex touched the impressive figure of 108, among which 11 have been excavated.

Today, the total area of entire devastated university may not be so large that it may take you one full day to explore it. Yet, beholding each of its lofty and magnificent walls made of red brick give you same joy what you get while roaming in its museum containing many of rare Hindu and Buddhist gods, several of large clay-vessels, copper plates, coins and carved bricks.

The last time I witnessed the place some 4 years back, when I drove past without feeling any need to get off the vehicle and take a stroll in the complex. I felt, the place, as it is for more than a thousand year, was in lull. The only commotion I could make out was caused by blowing wind; which came now-and-then close to my ear whispering the fact “did you know that the great scholar, Hieun Tsang - 'Master Of The Law', studied here, and spent his 17 years here?”

Now-a-days the news is that the place in next two years is going to have some part of the all those glory back which it lost a thousand year ago not only because that it was devastated by a Muslim invader, but also due to the fact that corruption in many forms clutched the university too tight to loosen. As the news state, by 2009 the place will have a world class university spread over 21 square km. Even an art village is also being set-up over an area of 64 acres which will include an open air theatre having special facility of performing arts. The university which in its hey-days got patronage from great royal houses like Pala and Gupta, today Asian countries like China, Singapore and India will take over the financial matters. Planning to offers post graduate level studies, the world class university will have students from all over Asia.

The news, if becomes reality, appears to be a boon for the local villages and its inhabitants, who despite producing dozens of IAS and IPS officers every year, suffer through a disease called backwardness. Right now, by the time I finish typing my last word, I am going to be completely wet with a vision that after a couple of year when I pass through the complex, I want a thorough craving inside me – craving to roam through each of its newly built magnificent pillars and study halls, craving to eye thousands of books befitting in its grand library, craving to see thousands of head-shaven Buddhist scholars roaming here and there the same way they stirred a thousand year back.