The Great Anti-Corruption Show

Democratic India has just chosen or has been made to choose by excited well dressed ,made-up, camera friendly anchors to subvert their democracy. The most powerful person in India, who will judge,and then employ the verdict will be an omnipotent Lokpal who in turn will be selected by a motley group of prominent persons—whose claim to prominence in most cases have been decided by the government. The President of USA, arguably the most powerful man in the world, is elected. The most powerful person in India will be selected. The selection committee is hand picked, not elected. In plain terms, the common law abiding, tax-paying, vote giving, conscientious ordinary person in India, will have no say in this process.

The privileged have quietly increased their privileges.

The talking point between cocktails and cashew will be the nonchalant—“Were you there??”!!!!! For absence” there “ of course will mean that you sadly are not qualified to smell the latest  Chanel…….

However, this may be very unkind to a lot of persons who are genuinely disgusted with the current levels of corruption and find this the only avenue left to voice their protest.And there are a lot of people like that.

My serious concern is whether or not they are being taken for a ride or not? Look at the sequence of events. Anna Hazare starts his fast. Within a day the government starts talking with them.Within a couple of days ministers (not State but all powerful Central Ministers) come to him and starts talking. Anybody who has ever participated in protests like this know that to get ministerial level talks take between 7-10 days at least. Let’s grant that owing to the frailty of Anna Hazare, the government fast-tracked the process.

Sonia Gandhi issues a statement in 46 hours!!! Totally unbelievable.  Sonia Gandhi rarely makes a statement in the Lok Sabha!!!!  Manmohan Singh starts talking sympathetically. Usually the government starts talking tough right from the start to scare away the immediate associates. Here, there was a distinct attempt at cajoling, an overdose of sugar AND honey!!!.

Finally the strangest part of it all. Government gives in within 4 days!!!!! This is a miracle. Was the government afraid of the movement as the cheering Kejriwals will like us to believe? Did India win the day as some headlines will have us believe? A few thousand candle lit protestants, a couple of screeching TV channels, a few SMSes and Facebook twittering  made the mighty Central government concede defeat?

This undue alacrity as a settlement—the astounding Governmental eagerness to concede demands---all indicate a foregone decision, a strong pointer to stage management.

So why will the Congress UPA Government do this? What could be the likely gameplan? Even the Opposition parties were overwhelmed by the speed of the flow of events—managing only a weak whimper from the Left and BJP.

I suspect that the likely target was Sharad Pawar. Now that investigations are revealing his connections to the 2G scam companies, the frequent Food Crises which resulted in a runaway food price elevation, the murky IPL financial imbroglio—all of which has resulted in body blows to the Government one after another. Pawar still retains his private ambition to be Prime Minister by becoming the balancing power in the UPA. Mamata Banerjee leaving a seat for the NCP in the State Elections is highly significant in this equation. The Government does not have the guts or gumption to drop Sharad Pawar. Therefore have a committee of NON-ELECTED body like the LokPal  to do this. Everyone knows Anna Hazare’s dislike of Sharad Pawar. How much more stunning and Grand scale will it be if the LokPal in an opening salvo targeted Sharad Pawar, a member of the Ministerial Committee and sacked him!!!!!  What great shame it would be for Pawar and the NCP??? AND what great enjoyment for the Congress party…. Surely Pawar considering his malignancy and his age will NEVER form a threat anymore to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress…….

However the wily old fox preempted them by resigning from the ministerial committee and is busy shoring up his defenses.

But this LokPal concept will be enough to hound Pawar and keep him in line for some time till the next  round of elections.  It is a win-win situation for the Central Government. They come out as a responsive, sensitive ruling group, and they can show that they are active against corruption.That is why I believe that all of the last 4 days of Jantar Mantar action was orchestrated.

We are all watching an enthralling political game. Unfortunately our moralistic beliefs, our dream of stamping out corruption, the idealism of our candle holding evening processionists are the packing box cover. The REAL GAME is inside!!!!!!

 

Eden Gardens loses India-England fixture

"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said. "This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary."

So, one more way has been discovered to hammer at Jagmohan Dalmiya and the CAB.This will probably be his last stint as an administrator and his opponents will make sure that he goes down as ‘the man who allowed the premier game in the WC to be taken away’.Thus Dalmiya will go to his grave with this tag while the opponent who lost to him by the historic casting vote will chortle with glee by having the last laugh…It is a win-win situation for the onion-price-riser.If the maych is taken away, Dalmiya will get the flak. If it is not, he will be the great saviour who has immensely more power than Jaggu-dada!!!!

Why do I think this is discrimination? Four other stadia in this lot of inspection have been granted extensions—in spite of crossing three deadlines like Kolkata—in the ’hope’ that they will complete the work in 14 days. Remembering that Kolkata will have double the size of work(as it is double the capacity of the other venues)—an equivalent construction time was necessary.

(Wankhede Stadium January)

Dalmiya has asked for ten days—i.e. 20 days before the match is held.Is that too much for the ICC to grant? After all the negative publicity about the Commonwealth Games, they were held with style and on time.Given the chance, I have no doubt that they will pull out the stops and hold the match with aplomb.After all, the CAB has an impeccable track record regarding hosting premier matches.With the prestige of the whole State at stake, everybody will respond to the crisis .

Also cancelling the match at this state will result in huge losses to so many persons who have booked tickets, made elaborate flight plans, planned their leave and arranged elaborate tour packages and conferences linked to this event.

Was the CAB negligent? Probably to a certain extent.They did not realize that getting the stadium ready 20 days before was such a rigid point.They were confident of holding the match but did not think that this final ICC sanction was so mandatory. This was a grave mistake. They should have realized that Kolkata always needs to be two steps advanced, where other areas can get away with only one. Moreover,this construction is an engineering project. The builders are Shapoorji Pallonji &Co.—one of the most respected builders in India and VMS Engineering and Design (Ahmedabad)—who are confident of finishing the job within the 7th of February. What is the CAB to do in this regard? Does Dalmia have to learn Construction work at his age?

  

Moreover, the CAB refused to give the excessive number of Hospitality Boxes demanded by the ICC. Rightly so. While all other places bent low to accommodate the greedy ICC officials, Dalmiya demanded adequate share for the local organizing committee (who do all the hard work) specially as the number of seats have been reduced. Moreover the structure of the commentary box was approved long before. Why is the ICC raising a hue and cry now??

All of this when so many venues in UK and New Zealand and Australia are still uncovered and have facilities far less than that of the Eden Gardens.

Adelaide Oval. Australia Note the stands!!!

The writing is clear. The ICC chief and other interested parties have ganged up as they did in the IPL with Saurav Ganguly to deny Kolkata and it’s fanatic fantastic cricket followers the opportunity to visually see and cheer the Indian team on!!!! However there is still time to rectify their mistake….

Another tribute to Kiarostomi

“Will someone come and shower earth

when i have done with living this life,

Tomorrow with the silver dawn?

No conditions, but advance payment,

No police, reporters or TV channels,

Around me, only swaying fields of corn..”

The lone man stands and asks  again,

The passers-by turn down their heads

And move on.

One curious young man stops and stands,

Hears the question and the request,

And is gone.

The aged man,looks through muddy eyes,

at the incandescent questioner,

And scratches his heart.

The dusty wind stutters and circles,

From far away, many suns ago,

Lakes lie still and insects dart.

He looks at his infirm arms,

his wrinkled skin and the spade besides,

he shakes his head.

The lone man, puzzled,looks around,

the street hawkers cry, medley sounds,

“Funny,  not allowed to be dead.”

NEXT DAY----

Deep down, where dirty nails scratch,

Fingers try to open a rickety latch,

The smell of  lemon leaves come.

The earth falls in a stream,

I feel the ageless dreams,

the return evermore to warmth….

INDRAJIT

Inspired by Anupam’s Tribute Song

(Press on Play)

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Tara—some stars do not shine!!!

It is often said that one should not change their areas of expertise—as skill in one cannot be transferred to another so easily. Bratya Basu is a brilliant theatre director. He is not that in his films.

He is the Director, Scriptwriter, Screenplay writer, and Lyricist in this film “TARA”. So when the film stutters and loses way, he has to take responsibility.This film has obvious political statements—a reflection of the director’s point of view.In a state where cultural matters were  controlled with a rigid hand by the leftists, the release of such a film with the villains now as Leftist Party members (as contrasted with the Congress Gandhi caps of yesteryear) is a novelty. However the characters are larger than life, jatra-styled, and lifted straight from the theatre stage to the front of an unforgiving camera.There are traces of the masala Hindi film of the nineties.

The story is too idealistic and romanticised. Prosenjit(Indra Bosu) used to live next to Paoli     ( Madhuja), and fell in love with her but could not convey the same to the girl!!!! Prosenjit becomes a murdering Maoist and continues to paint pictures of Paoli in his jungle hideout!!!!! This idealised view of the terrorist is quite unbelievable. Madhuja’s father is picked up as a suspected Maoist and tortured in jail. Madhuja’s friends, servant etc are scared away by the red goons, and she finds herself seeking the help of maverick police officer Tota Roychoudhury (Jahangir Khan), whose life story resembles that of Nazrul Islam , the blacklisted police officer of the Left Front Government. The Cops are as usual corrupt, in league with party leader Subir Sen and the Chief Cop is also seen to be in the same league.Prosenjit tries to issue a statement that Paoli’s father is not a Maoist. This is opposed by his leader Bratya Basu (Naidu) who wants to keep him in jail and garner further popular support.

Now there are two groups trying to capture Paoli—the State and Party machinery and the South Maoist machinery. Jahangir Khan and Prosenjit are trying to save her. Prosenjit wipes out the baddies, gifts Paoli a drawing of her and hands Paoli over to Jahangir.The corrupt police officers under threat of a change of government, confesses to their mistake and Paoli’s father is released by the Court. Bratya tells Jahangir that he behaves like them (the Maoists). Finally Prosenjit and Bratya make a temporary truce and go the jungle as Tota takes Paoli with him—with all and sundry giving us,(the poor audience) the V-sign!!!!!

The script is very empirical and seems to be driven by a purpose of showing the current government and its policemen to be the source of all evil. The dialogues are acceptable in theatre where some amount of hyperbole and stylisation is rampant to drive home some message. The acting has to be a bit unreal, specially in jatra. The gestures and movements have to be exaggerated.  Situations have to be contrived to make them sentimental and emotional.The net result however has been to  have a film which is recording theatre by a camera!!! In the process however, the common man who is exploited in the villages of the Jangalmahal have not been fleshed out properly.

Prosenjit again in consonance with his new found desire of being an Actor primarily has performed brilliantly in a badly contrived role. Paoli is too busy trying to look beautiful.  Tota performs his he-man stuff convincingly but the cake is taken by the other side actors who performs to a T as to what the Director wants.

The editing is poor in parts with no attention being made to match colour and light. The Cinematography is patchy with camera shakes and very poor framing in parts.

The music (by Tapan Sinha) is interesting with the modified “We shall Overcome” (Rupankar) and intelligent use of a Rabindrasangeet (Srikanta Acharya and Lopamudra versions). Rashid Khan sang an impressive song (Megh Jome Aache) which is great for a rainy day.Click on the links below to hear the songs.

http://www.box.net/shared/5umz6zf433

http://www.box.net/shared/0ixt4ifqhv

 http://www.box.net/shared/31v9z95pu9

Bratya however deserves kudos for his direct protest and message in a state where cultural dissent was pounced upon and wiped out quickly and mercilessly. He highlights the dichotomy of a Party who came to power on the promises of being a common man’s party, being transformed into an ordinary corrupt party like any other. He  boldly brings out the prediction that this government will change and then the sycophants and vindictive policemen will get their due.

If this film is meant to romanticise the Maoists , then it succeeds. If it is meant as a Pre-Election method to swing voters around—then it succeeds.If it means to say that the Left parties and its Police department are totally corrupt and debauched, then also it succeeds partially. But if it is meant to be a film of significance—then it fails. Perhaps Bratya deliberately made it a propaganda film, sacrificing filmic sensibility and targeted the rural audience.This was never a film for the multiplexes. It was meant for a hall like Chabighar, where the ticket prices are Rs.30 and Rs. 40, where the seats are fixed, there is no airconditioning—only overhead slow-whirling fans, where projection and sound systems leave a lot to be desired, where a bell indicates that the show is beginning and where at the intervals ,vendors sell chips for Rs. 10 and Popcorn for Rs.5.

Are films now getting segmented and targetted? Are we going to get a new classification—good films , bad films and targetted films?

But the conclusion is inevitable. Bratya Basu is a far better  director of theatre  than that of a film.

Autograph—not a Signature Film

Creative frustration is most irritating for a viewer.When all the ingredients are right and yet the final product falls a little short of the high expectations –the feeling of so near and yet so far is like a headache refusing to go away.

The Film Autograph is precisely that.

Srijit Mukherjee’s maiden directorial venture (he also wrote the screenplay, dialogues and a lyric) started off well, meandered later on and recovered somewhat in the second half.

The story is of an aspiring debutant director Shubho(Indraneil—that’s how he writes it !!!) whose script, based on Satyajit—Uttam Kumar’s NAYAK, and called  AAJKER NAYAK is approved by the famous film star Arun Chatterjee(Prosenjit) for production for the wrong reasons. Prosenjit wants to prove that a star is the essential factor in a hit and NOT anything else.He therefore chooses the script of the rawest person available.He tests Indraneil by suggesting that conventional inclusions like songs, item numbers and a villain is necessary. Indraneil responds by saying that that is not possible. Prosenjit likes his attitude and approves the project.

Indraneil is living in with an aspiring theatre actress Srinandita(Nandana). In a bold initiative,and in one of the high points in the film, the relationship between the two is shown fearlessly.The easy camarederie, the tuning and the sexual relationship is tastefully and boldly shown  in a language which is realistic and modern. The viewer however is surprised how their lifestyle can be maintained without a visible source of income.

Indraneil however cannot find a heroine and finally latches on to his partner Nandana to essay the role.Nandana is terrified about acting with Prosenjit, her  adolescent hero but finally consents. She acts as a spunky journalist who tries to delve deep into the persona behind the star.Even though she puts on large glasses, she is not a patch on the role performed by Sharmila in Nayak.

The relationship between the two develops through several dinner encounters.Prosenjit is haunted by his past where he has often used and thrown away his near ones.There is a forgettable and crude dream sequence which is a disastrous takeoff on Satyajit Ray’s classical depiction in Nayak, and represents the lowest point in the film.

There is now a mutual admiration and a developing understanding which leads to  Prosenjit baring his private thoughts and revealing how he used and betrayed Rudraprasad (his acting guru) and an aspiring starlet.That episode is unwittingly recorded in a videocamera by Nandana. Indraneil meanwhile is completing his film and is obsessed about how to publicise this film. He is tensed, starts changing his nice-boy image and starts castigating the crew and Nandana publicly. Prosenjit displays maturity and guides the film through.

Indraneil meanwhile latches onto the video recording ,steals it from Nandana’s locker,and gives it to a TV Channel (Star Ananda). Nandana ,shocked at Indraneil’s betrayal, leaves him.She tries to explain to Prosenjit who cuts her off. Indraneil tries to reason with Prosenjit who as a Producer announces his scrapping off the film. Indraneil tries to rationalise saying that a star can brush off these minor hiccups. Prosenjit replies by saying that he can sell his smile, his face, or his characteristic postures—but he can never sell his soul. Indraneil however clarifies that Nandana was never a part of this and had already left.Indraneil walks out and contacts a parallel producer and Prosenjit’s critic and bitter rival, whom he had rejected in the past.

Prosenjit discovers that Nandana had returned his old ID card ( unrealistically left with a Dhaba boy!!!!!!) and had settled the unpaid bill.

Autograph is a different movie. It is an important movie. It is a movie which deserves a viewing. Yet at the same time, there are some extremely awkward, amateurish, cliched moments which are irritating and irrational.

First, the cinematography.Though reasonably competent with some outstanding moments, the shots are reminiscent of many previous films. Indraneil sitting in a dark studio with the light on him and the gradual entry of personnel has been used by Guru Dutt and a host of others.The hand held camera sequence in a scene with Nandana and Indraneil gives a severe eyeache and is a split second behind the actions. It is so jarring to the rest of the film, that it spoils the mood instantly. This required ruthless editing or reshooting. Some of the shots blurred occasionally (maybe it was the projection at Swabhumi INOX).

There is a fine credit introduction with a hilarious use of a sugar crane pressing machine with the appearance of the Line Producer’s name. The first half drags occasionally. The Editor Bodhaditya has done a good job. This film is an Editor’s dream and he maintains interest and precision. However fast cuts do not mean a fast pace. It is here the script fails.The reason Satyajit Ray used a moving train as a backdrop was to generate pace.

 

Here, there is a visible lack of actions or story progress as the interactions are mainly verbal and indoors. The film within a film concept needed more characters. We only saw an aging actor and a few hyper females.Retention of the subdued dialogue of the assistant to the Extra in the plane scene” Keep the suit well as we need it tomorrow” was one example of intelligent editing.

The high points of the film was the acting. Prosenjit surpassed himself. Probably this is his best to date. The expressions, the wonderful dialogue delivery, the timing was brilliant. Every line of his face and his expressive eyes, his muted gestures in the “confession” scene spoke and how. Kind yet ruthless, scheming and yet with inner spontaneity, his imitations and sudden questions were a treat to watch.The final confrontation with Indraneil was a revelation.With his glittering eyes, restrained violence and command, this scene makes the film complete. This is a classic performance. With the burden of comparison with Uttam Kumar, Prosenjit creates his own ,unique identity. However, it is clear that the Actor dominated the Director. In NAYAK, Satyajit  controlled Uttam Kumar in the famous ego clash.

Indraneil is a brilliant counterfoil. Easy, modern, relaxed, he reveled in his role. Casual, and charming in the beginning and ruthless and cunning in the end, this is an actor with presence and intelligence.

Nandana was a bit off tune. She is not conventionally beautiful but she makes up with verve and originality.Her dialogue delivery is a bit awkward and stilted.But she has delivered the slightly wild unconventional character with sincerity. Rudraprasad, Piyush, Rathin, Biswajit, and others have done their job competently.This was veteran Dilip Roy’s last shots on film and therefore is poignant.

The music is outstanding. The lyrics penned by Srijato, Srijit and Anupam will be remembered fora long time. This is Debajyoti Misra’s best chance for a National award. The singers specially Sreya and Anupam fill the heart. Rupam is a revelation. He thinks that Beche thakar gaan is his best song to date. He is right!!! But strangely there is a mismatch in the Credits in the film and in the Website.

Overall, the film is there but not quite there. It is recommendable but not a classic. It creates moments of great beauty and involvement. It should have done more. Some of the dialogues are corny. “A man makes mistakes” !!!!! “You are my hero” !!!! Maybe there were too many advisors. Maybe it needed a more prominent Directorial stamp.

The film was watched by only 60 persons on Saptami in the 2PM show at Swabhumi Inox. But I am sure that the numbers will swell as the days progress. The film deserves it.

Of fixers and fixing…

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/video/?vxSiteId=6d2e103b-e170-4f86-9c51-6eac37f8a93e&vxChannel=News&vxClipId=2160_925610&vxBitrate=300

Click on link above to see the original video…

The cricket fixing scandals have shaken the world of sport. Righteous faced journalists, hyperventilating thwarted girl friends, holier than thou ex-cricketers and glum faced officials have all been seen 24x7 on multiple channels. However the undeniable fact is that fixing whether it be spot ,line ,match or series -- existed, is existing,  and will continue to exist—no matter what  steps are taken by the authorities.

Suraj Randiv bowled a deliberate no ball to deny Sehwag a century, apparently under instruction from Dilshan and maybe Sangakara. Teenager Md. Amir bowled a no ball under instruction from his skipper and senior colleagues. Both the no balls had no effect on the outcome of the game. Both of them did it for gain—one for psychological vindictive pleasure, the other probably for money—though there is no evidence it reached him. Look at the different fall outs. One is banned for an inconsequential match—the other is facing a loud howl for a lifetime ban. Cricketers take money to play like any other worker anywhere. If they do a little bonus on the side which does not affect the overall game—then what is the harm?? After all, everybody likes to make money on the side—don’t they? So if you cannot fix the fixers—then  accept them!!!

SURAJ RANDIV         MOHAMMED AMIR

Translate this into the commercial world.Look at the ‘facilitators’ and the ‘Commission’ fees. See the hangers on near all political personalities and government offices. Look at the sweat equities of millions of dollars before you sweat. Simpering ,tainted ex-ministers marry the anti-perspirant stake holder for which he ‘merely' picked up the telephone and had a chat in the IPL !!! Backdoor manoevuring was going on to legitimise auction fixing—and the players were the very same officials who sit on disciplinary committees. The  cricketer who allegedly made Rs. 220 crores is now a ruling party MP who speaks in  rallies exhorting youths to sacrifice their all for the country!!!! The man banned for 5 years now is an expert commentator from the studios, commentating on this current scandal for a hefty fee…Confirmed cocaine users are regularly seen on TV giving their comments with gusto. Bowlers with a clear illegal action gets the laws of the game changed to suit them, and goes on to create world records..

VEENA MALIK    MOHAMMAD ASIF

Which all goes to show that only the foolish get caught. The less powerful are paraded. The developed world cricketers say that it never happens in their country, though a couple were socked for giving information(sic), to bookies about weather conditions and quite a few were caught with their hands in the till!!! .These holier than thou countries used Vaseline, jelly beans etc with aplomb to swing the ball and were agitated when the Pakistanis did it better than them!!! This was however only ball fixing!!!

Cricket and all the other sports have become horribly tainted and we would forever be left contemplating that the great vagaries of cricket like a dropped catch or a No ball were fixed or not . Were the nail biting finishes contrived? Have all of us been taken for a ride again and again???

So how can we solve this? Simple, I would say. The cricketers are paid more than they are worth. Hitting a ball ensures jobs, fees, ads, film shoots,women, apart from match fees and contract fees-- in droves. Penalize them severely when they fail. Penalize them the amount that betting circles would give. That is all that is required. Too long have they taken advantage of the glorious uncertainties of the game. If Sachin scores a duck, he is penalized. If he scores a 50 or a hundred he gets more.If Yuvaraj drops a catch, penalize him. If Zaheer bowls a no ball, penalize him. You will then see the clear improvement in them. If they are getting paid handsomely for their achievements, then surely they should be penalized if they fail.That is what professionalism is all about.

If doctors, engineers, financial investors, etc can survive by these rules, so can cricketers.Sports Entertainment is not a an absolute necessity for living. These guys call themselves professional and calmly fail in game after game after game.There is no penalty except the prospect of getting dropped from the team.One good performance in 5—6 outings will ensure selection. Imagine if the surgeons had such a track record….One good operation in 3 cases??? If the anaesthetists failed in such a ratio?? If the bridges built by the engineers collapsed in such a ratio?? Disregard  the fact that a majority of  such professionals get a fraction of what the cricketers get. This type of performance would ensure that the surgeon will get no patients and will spend all his life in courts. Contrast this with how  the Indian cricketers behave after a loss.

This is the only way of stopping whatever-fixing making a mockery of our time , intelligence and our money!!!

Friends ,what do you say??

Independence Day and the Common House Sparrow

This Independence day, I suddenly recalled my childhood days.Waking up in the mornings to the chirping of the birds ,quickly getting ready, rushing to the rooftop to be one of the first to raise the National flag, and the singing of the National anthem,  with parents. cousins, aunts, uncles and the servants watching us with beaming indulgence. Invariably, we would turn to feed the birds, the common house sparrows and the crows, before diving into hot singaras and jilipis.

A familiar sight in our childhood

Today, as we descended to the lawn in front of our multistoryed building, there were a lot of pigeons and crows, but the house sparrow seems to have disappeared.

There has been a systematic decimation of this once-so-familiar bird all over the world.Europe and specially England have seen a significant reduction and a lot of theories have evolved as to why this happened.In India, the cities in the South and North have been particularly affected.

A disappearing sight.

Why and how did this happen?

The first reason was the changing nature of the buildings. There is no tiled roof, no hay covered bungalows. In an effort to utilize  every inch of the expensive land, covered crevices and corners have simply disappeared. Scattered grains from gunny bags are no longer available, as it is the age of sealed plastic bags. Old buildings with abundant gardens and bushes have disappeared.The sparrow simply does not have a place to breed.

Looking for a place to breed

Adding to this was the introduction of unleaded petrol. Methyl Nitrite was released all over, leading to the deaths of small insects which were the staple food of the sparrows.The increasing use of pesticides were another cause of the reduction in the number of small insects and worms.

Then came the mobile towers sprouting here and there. The introduction of 3G systems with higher radio frequency waves, played havoc with the sparrow’s breeding abilities and reduced their flying time. If the male bird sings less, mating cycles are grossly disturbed.Moreover eggs take more than a month to hatch (double the normal time) and some do not hatch at all.This has been scientifically proved by studies in Belgium.

Waking up to this problem, March 20 of each year has been named World Sparrow Day. The Postal department is bringing out a stamp on this disappearing chodai pakhi.

Meanwhile several pleas are being circulated that all ground and first floor residences lay out a shoe box filled with hay and a little water, so that this familiar remnant of our past can be resurrected.

One lady recalled that when she had a long illness and was confined to the house, her mother thoughtfully placed a wooden box on the window sill, and regularly sprinkled some grains there. It was the continuosly chirruping spunky sparrows which saw her through those difficult times.

Let us all come together in this difficult times for the Common House Sparrow.

Listen to this beautiful song by Simon and Garfunkel…..