I wonder why there was hardly any newspaper editorial or television show that depicted the importance of labour-day. Labourers constitute a major part of any successful society, whose presence, value and quality of work account greatly to the progressiveness of the society. I wonder if we have become so busy commercializing events and festivals that we forget to even acknowledge days like these? Continue reading
Category Archives: Culture
Celebrating stupidity
Kolkata to London
Mamata Banerjee is a street fighter, and certainly not an intellectual. Street fighters do have a role to play in a stubborn democracy like ours. What is not fine, however, is that she does not know the difference between a street leader and a government leader. She does not know what it is to be the chief minister of a state or the controller of Indian Railways. This is where she differs from the Communist Party of India (Marxist). She seeks power and does not have any ideology or ground rules to subscribe to. Continue reading
Self defeating communal politics
Recently, A. R. Rahman’s song ‘Hosanna‘ made news. A gentleman representing a Christian organisation, said that the song hurts the sentiments of the ‘Christians and Jews around the world’. I wonder who authorized him to speak on their behalf? Christians and Jews might use the word Hosanna in a devotional context, but the word has become part of the English language and is widely used. Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Politics
Injustice, art, sacrifice
When they boast that, great inventions are by-products of wars, they forget to mention that, great artworks are by-products of anger against injustices and cruelties. Picasso’s “Guernica” was powerful because he was deeply moved by the atrocities of Spanish fascism. Vijay Tendulkar became one of the most acclaimed playwrights of India because he dared to attack the petty chauvinism of Shiv Sena. Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Music, Philosophy, Politics
Skeletons in our closet
All humans are equal, but some humans are more equal than others. May it be the story of Bhopal, Vidarbha or the Asbestos miners in India, India continues to be a third world country that is exploited both by internal and external forces. What is worse is that, we have become a race of men comfortable pointing fingers at others. The tragedy of India is not poverty or corruption, but a mentality that accepts and even condones them. And when things don’t work and we sit and stare. Read my latest article on the NRI.
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 