Bihar Maha Bitterness: Why Board And Then Blame The Sinking Ship!

 

After riding on a palpable anti-incumbency wave and the predictions of clear victory by all of the exit polls the ultimate narrow defeat of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in the Bihar Assembly Elections-2020 is bound to cause huge disappointment and bitterness. Unable to accept defeat the leaders of the RJD first started attacking the Election Commission on a variety of alleged anomalies in counting, and then picked out the main alliance partner, the Indian National Congress (INC), for letting them down. A prominent RJD leader attacked Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi for their alleged callousness towards the election. The leader further alleged that they did not come for the election campaigns attending a very few rallies, but were only interested in having picnics. He also questioned the internal management of the INC and its lack of introspection.

 

Having said that, we must examine the underlying factors. The RJD under the leadership of a young and energetic Tejashwi Yadav must have been aware of the anti-incumbency wave and the strong public anger against the serving Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar, and also of the strategic Chirag Paswan factor as a vote-cutter. In that scenario, why at all did Yadav’s party allot as many as 70 seats to the Congress or the INC! They must also have been aware of the Congress track record since 2014. Considering everything the RJD should have fought in at least 200 seats sharing the remaining 43 with its allies, more to the Left parties and the least to the Congress. Once one boards a sinking ship, one loses the right to put the blame on it if it does sink later. Some leaders of the RJD have now realized this mistake and are regretting that they should not have succumbed to the pressure applied by the Congress for a larger seat-share. Therefore, it’s an opportunity lost for the RJD, entirely, and not at all for the Congress that had been used to poor performances. Confined to Tejashwi Yadav Vs Nitish Kumar, majority of the people of Bihar wanted the former to be their CM.

 

Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, has become a monolith in the INC, nobody can either wish him away or accept him. Thanks to his historical position he has always been the punching bag for all political opponents, analysts and even such unlikely observers as the former US President Obama! As a Youth Congress leader initially, Rahul had been the fresh young face inducted into the Congress party, but unfortunately, he got fossilized in that role over the years/decades. The old guards, scared of being forgotten and desperately clutching at the power stick, surrounded and guided Rahul and his mother and Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi as the staunchest of loyalists, for their mere survival.  

 

With a bright career as a student behind him Rahul had the intelligence to understand the significance of the momentous defeats of 2014 and 2019 in General Elections, and so, he resigned as Congress President in 2019, and was adamant never to assume that role again. The old guards got petrified with fear lest a non-dynastic younger leader got elected for the post. So, they convinced Sonia Gandhi to carry on, and again in 2020 the loyalists persisted on Sonia Gandhi to continue as the interim President of the party.

 

Thanks to the anti-incumbency factors Congress under Rahul did win three assembly elections in 2018, but the old guards insisted on appointing CMs of their ilk in those three states, and definitely not the promising and younger leaders who worked hard for the wins. Due to the cardinal sin of depriving the dynamic Jyotiraditya Scindia of a CM role, the party lost its government in Madhya Pradesh early this year. They nearly lost Rajasthan in July 2020, again thanks to the same myopic vision of not taking the party’s younger leaders into the scheme of things. This has created dissidence in the party structure with leaders like Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewary and others urging the party to introspect. And, the colossus decided to take punitive action against them, instead of doing the much-needed exercise.

 

Now, the RJD leaders too are trying to sing with the dissident leaders of the Congress. Kapil Sibal has again alleged that the INC has not been introspecting for the last six years which is true indeed. The RJD also did not have much to boast of with the Laloo legacy still staring and not sparing. However, Tejashwi almost came out of that legacy, establishing himself as a leader of much promise, on his own. But miscalculations within his own party prevented him from becoming the youngest CM of the state.

 

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as CM for the fourth consecutive term yesterday with his party JDU able to secure only the third position. No doubt, he is flanked by two BJP Deputy Chief Ministers. And the inconsolable bitterness of the single largest party continues…

Actor-Legend Soumitra Chatterjee Passes Away In Kolkata!

 

Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away in a Kolkata hospital today after fighting with COVID-19 for nearly one and half months. He was tested positive on the 6^th of October 2020 and was promptly admitted to a hospital considering his age and vulnerability. The actor was on and off ventilator support as he developed a range of other infections. Great hopes were generated when he tested negative on October 14; but his COVID-related complications dashed all expectations of his final recovery. He continued to be on life support, and despite the best efforts of the team of doctors we have lost one of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema. He was 85, but still had enough ammunition to surge ahead with his creative pursuits, encompassing a saga of over five decades in Bangla movies. But for the deadly pandemic virus!

 

Soumitra Chattopadhyay has been one of my all-time favorite actors of world cinema, and living in Assam, I began to realize his immense contribution to cinema only in the eighties when the Doordarshan National channel opened up for the country, unleashing a wave of regional movies on its regular movie-slots day and night. As I watched more and more of his movies and his incredible range of roles, my bond with the legendary actor grew stronger and stronger, loving his natural acting, his lovable personality and handsome appearance: tall, imposing yet tender and with sharp features. Although I could not have much of him in the big-screen theatres, his acting aura remained with me, always.    

 

While working in Kolkata I was desperate to meet him, and possibly have an interview with him. I requested several friends to arrange an appointment. Unfortunately, it did not materialize due to various unforeseen reasons and circumstances. And then the pandemic came which locked us up away from the city of joy for months, and I could not proceed with my plans. This ‘miss’ will remain in me as one of the most regrettable things in life. The news of his illness caused pangs of pain in my heart. Finally, the legend is gone from the material world, but his images would always adorn the hearts of millions, forever.

 

Soumitra Chatterjee is best known for his long association with another legend of Indian Cinema, Satyajit Ray. The overwhelming critical acclaim received from the world over for Ray’s debut film ‘Pather Panchali’(1955), hailed as the first Indian classic and the pioneer of the Indian parallel or new-wave cinema movement, encouraged him to make a sequel which finally came to be known as the ApuTrilogy, Apu being the central character in the movies, from his childhood to adulthood. Soumitra came for an audition for the second film of the Trilogy, Aparajito (1956). Satyajit Ray understood his potential as an actor immediately, and although Soumitra was not selected for that movie as he proved to be too old for the adolescent Apu, Ray never forgot him. For the last film of the Trilogy, Apur Sansar (the World of Apu, 1959), Ray finalized Soumitra to play the role of adult Apu. And history was made.

 

Soumitra Chatterjee went on to act in as many as 14 films made by Ray, and then a few more with Ray’s son Sandeep. Soumitra also immortalized the character of Feluda, a private investigator or detective created by Ray in his short stories, in two films made by the legendary filmmaker. The Feluda Series, as it came to be known popularly, continued to flourish with more movies made by other Bengali directors and actors too. Few of the evergreen Ray films featuring Soumitra include Abhijan (1962), Charulata (1964), Aranyer Din Ratri(1969), Ashani Sanket (1973), Ghare Baire (1984) and Ganashatru(1989). He also acted in memorable films by Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Asit Sen, Tarun Mazumdar, Ashutosh Bandyopadhyay among others, and also in films made by modern-day filmmakers like Aparna Sen and Gautam Ghose. He was believed to have given tough competition to the reigning superstar of Bangla cinema, Uttam Kumar, in the sixties and seventies. The legendary actor played roles in more than 210 films, and was active till the end of 2019.

 

Soumitra Chatterjee was born in 1935 in a cultured Bengali family that had theatre links, his grandfather being the president of a local theatre group and his father an amateur actor despite his government job. Therefore, Soumitra developed skills in the finer arts from childhood days, learnt acting from school days and played a significant role in a play while as a college student. He did his BA with honors in Bengali literature from City College, the University of Kolkata. He started his career as an AIR announcer while pursuing his main interest of a career in films, and came into contact with Satyajit Ray.

 

Naturally, awards and accolades showered on him throughout his career. Apart from the innumerable State awards Soumitra Chatterjee won several National Film, BFJA and Filmfare awards; Padma Bhushan in 2004 even as he rejected Padma Shri in the seventies; the highest award for arts given by the French Government Officier des Arts et Métiers; and the highest award of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012. Apart from being an actor of the top order Soumitra was also a poet and a playwright. He also tried his hand in film direction. And of course, he was amiable, modest, soft-spoken and a normal family man.

 

At this painful hour of his irreparable loss to Indian cinema, we pray for the eternal bliss of the noble soul of Soumitra Chatterjee. The rich images he has given to the silver screen and the small screens will be eternally and fondly preserved in public memory. A legend lives on…

Happy Green Diwali-2020!

Diwali, the biggest festival of India, is a festival of lights, and is traditionally celebrated by lighting rows of earthen lamps or diyas, candles and strip electric lights, in and around homes and buildings. People can celebrate and enjoy in this way even during the worst crisis ever faced by humankind as there are no restrictions on burning oil or electric lamps. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to us to light up diyas just before Lockdown was enforced in March. Lighting up your houses essentially means driving away evil spirits and forces, and hoping for a bright year ahead. Celebrating Diwali this way does not in any way rob you of enjoyment.

 

Besides, if you’d like to have sweets and distribute those to your neighbors there are no issues either. Sweet shops are open across the country you can even walk down to and buy to your heart’s desire. Various state governments have also announced measures to ensure undiluted sweets for your good health. Then, if you want to buy new clothes there is still no problem. Retail cloth stores, malls and online stores are open across the country and you can buy without taking any risk in terms of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

 

You can also enjoy company online and through video chats/conferences with your dear friends and relatives, and help yourselves by not inviting lots of them to your home. You must check your impulses to go to large gatherings, and instead, enjoy quality times at your homes with your families for whom you always care. You must understand that after long six months the pandemic situation is coming under control, and you should never give away the advantage by your impulsive indiscretion.

 

And, why at all do you want to burst firecrackers and fireworks? Under normal circumstances bursting of firecrackers and having bouts of fireworks greatly impact pollution, adversely affect the elderly population, particularly with asthma or lung or hearing issues and tremendously harm the street humans and animals. We heartily welcome the preventive measures adopted by the state governments of Rajasthan, West Bengal and Delhi with more states joining in the campaign to have a Diwali totally free of firecrackers and fireworks.

 

This a festival of lights and not of politics or of a particular religion. Therefore, politicking of any kind in banning fireworks must be avoided by the states. In West Bengal, the High Court had taken the initiative in banning crackers as it had declared all Durga Puja pandals as no-entry zones earlier which most probably prevented an explosion of infections in the state. The state of Karnataka first went for the ban, but then, perhaps political considerations taking over, allowed two-hours of fireworks which is not at all advisable.

 

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has been consistently appealing to people to have a green Diwali while the municipal authorities in Mumbai decided to only partially implement a ban by allowing firecrackers of the milder variety and green crackers that are almost smokeless, but such measures cannot ensure full compliance. In Maharashtra Diwali is a five-day event starting today, and therefore preventive measures assume utmost importance here. Most preferably, all states must go for the total ban irrespective of any consideration. People can have a resonant Diwali next year if they comply with the restrictions this year.

 

The NGT (National Green Tribunal) has done the right thing by imposing a total ban in Delhi NCR region till 30^th November 2020, and by ordering all cities to enforce similar bans if the pollution indexes in those are above the moderate levels. Here too, the state governments must cooperate in taking suitable decisions, seriously taking local pollution levels into active consideration and observation. However, a total country-wide ban of firecrackers would be the most needed step at the moment. Under Epidemic Disease Act states are empowered to impose such bans. 

 

Wish you all a great and fulfilling Happy Green Diwali-2020!