The last king of scotland...A movie review

Last couple of days for me has been simply movies...i watched action ,drama,horror  and animation....but nothing tugged at the strings like "The last king of Scotland".The movie chains you to your seat,the reason not being action ,glamour or style but for a story  it tells, that is shockingly so real.Dr.Nicholas Garrigan (James Macvoy),a young physician from Scotland decides to put his earned skills to better use and thus makes his way to Uganda,Africa.At this time,Uganda were cheering in Idi Ameen(Forest Whittaker),their new leader,a military general who had overthrown the govt.Uganda was hopeful of a better future.In a turn of events,Nicholas comes in acquaintance with Idi Ameen and he becomes the leaders personal physician.There was the calm before the storm.Nicholas finds himself in depth of violence,hatred,bloodshed with no escape.As the movie dawns to a close one keeps hoping that he escapes and lives to tell a tale of how destructive it can become if power is entrusted to wrong hands.The best part of the movie is the depiction of Idi Ameen's character and the helpless situation that Nicholas finds himself in.All through the movie,you come face to face with a nation that is forever in search for salvation.Kudos to the movie for such in depth  and sensitive portrayl of  a saga that left the world speechless.

Come out and Play!!!!!!!!!

Hiiiii... am back with a bang .Well , nothing less expected especially with the CWG fire still raging on. Yes ...CWG is a story of controversies ,efforts ,misgivings, mixed feelings and above all, it was an Indian dream. No, my friends i am not a sports freak. Except for the rare enthusiasm that bubbles at cricket when India wins, i am sports illiterate.

I heard for the first time about CWG in Delhi only when the pedestrian bridge in the games site fell, making such a noise that the entire world woke up to the fact that, a third world country is hosting this world sporting event. The next few days were bloody...disgusting tales of dirty rooms, filthy bathrooms, stagnant pools, corruption, great players pulling out and the verbal battles were told in every news, dailies and conferences. Delhi which was unknown to the world few days ago became the next "SIN CITY".

The Politicians and the organizers started to hurry burry having to come under direct world fire. Well there was no way out, the games will have to be a success or else they will be hunted. At the end India's last minute culture fixed it all up and Delhi was set to take the games in. India stunned the world with a spectacular opening ceremony, continued the success achieving milestones and records in events and bid goodbye with befitting , colourful cultural finale. The story doesn't end here it still continues with several fraud deals ,scams and corruption coming to surface.

I watched the entire drama in my tele reacting with anger, contempt, happiness ,reproach and pride as any Indian would .I must congratulate and criticize the games at the same time. India was given this task in 1993 and yet it was finished only in the last minute. Large sums of money was wasted due to inadequate planning ,policies, management and time contained efforts. We have to revise our concept of time management and make it priority number one. Organizers have to become accountable for their works. The law should punish those who looted the games , otherwise the same saga shall repeat.

Another sorry sight was the plight of the illiterate workers who had to sleep in the streets to get the work done. They don't know what CWG is about …..who cares about sports when one has to worry about his three square meals a day. Our govt should tackle problems at their roots .Give good food ,shelter and wages to the workers. Educate them about the games, the way it has to be done, the hygiene standards that are to be set and finally about the revenue and employment that will be generated at the end of the day. Only an efficient workforce can do an efficient work. We are capable of doing great things as a nation .We love the Indian monsoon weddings which is seasoned to run late all the time but when staging an international event we have to be professional.

Inspite of all this road blocks, the feast of success belongs to us. To the world it might have been imperfect but to me it was a success. The games have brought world class metros, bus services, stadiums, sports arenas ,buildings, money and jobs to our country. During the games, we have for the first time won medals in the field of athletics, swimming and gymnastics. We have hauled awards in wrestling, shooting ,archery and boxing. The women's 4*100 m relay and saina's badminton final are unforgettable moments .On the last day ,we stood second with a gold tally of 38 .

I do believe, this is a going to be a very special games because for the first time a country that is ridden with cricket fever is singing a different tune. We should encourage sports in our little ones, give facilities and training and bless them to become heroes of tomorrow. Another positive streak i see is the presence of women who have managed to set records in these games. The feel and the spirit is becoming more stronger within the fairer half. But if the winning streak has to continue, we must be ready to consider sports with the same passion, respect and dignity as other professions at the level of an individual and not merely as a pastime or exercise.

Personally, i am overjoyed. My neighbours surely had a tough time hearing me scream at every Indian win. The pride is stronger when you are far away from your country. We are becoming global but still there are many lessons to be learnt from others as well as from our mistakes. For now, let’s cheer with a smile!!!!

Death ...a legal punishment????

hiii there...it has been a long time!!!hmmm....today i am here to write on a matter that was or is i believe still a controversial subject and i hope to pick your brain on this.Knowledge grows with sharing.Well..the question is should death be a  punishment for crime under the law?do we have the right to take away life even if itz for a serious crime?This is definetely not a religious moral science class on life....so please dont run away.I feel compelled to write on this issue in the light of the execution  of Teresa Louis.She , a middle aged lady from Virginia,US was executed  a day ago by lethal injection.She was charged for conspiring and murdering her husband and stepson.She got 2 men to do the job for her and they have been jailed too.She was assessed by a psychiatrist and her IQ is 72 which is just 2 points above the legal minimum for being termed as low IQ to be convicted.Her last words were"i am sorry".We all do mistakes,small and big.Some can be forgiven and others cannot be.Well, i do agree that crimes ought to be punished and justice have to be delivered.But i dont see how taking a life can serve justice.The person dies remorseful or not without a chance to reform or realize the horrifc nature of his act.I believe that people are not born criminals but they become due to circumstances,selfish desires or living style.The ones that have personality or psychotic disorders need to be treated and reformed.There is evidence both for and against that criminals can be reformed.But the idea is that when a person is sentenced to death ,it is important to give them a chance to change to a better person .This subject deserve more discussion and dialogue as it is a matter of life and death.Sentencing a person to death being lawful is an irony in itself!!!! what bell does it ring for you????

IQ

I am back...only to write on a controversial topic. life style in India (esp. kerala) is quite different from that of the west. Each culture possess its own unique traits which can either be good or bad. Men teasing women in buses , market places,cinemas etc in India are so common that it no longer pricks our conscience.Women remain silent for fear of having to bear social disgrace as she has been touched by a male.Also there is lack of courage on the females to speak against the stronger of the species as it is traditionally taught and bred in our families.Talk about victims being further victimized !!. It's all about being the "Good Girl". Having been married and moved to Britain , i am being surprised even more.Last week , i had gone to a summer party with my husband and there was good food,music,dance and drinks. By midnight almost every soul there was either half or fully drunk the exceptions being me ,my husband and few others.While dancing ,i happend to witness an act that shook my certain grey cells.A merrily drunken dancing lady flicked a gentleman's bum(sorry for the crassness!!).The guy in question turned around looking shocked, gave a sheepishly weak smile and continued his dance.The lady still danced away.I was the one,flabbergasted.Hey, i am not a critic here but am pointing to an idea here.What gave her the guts to do that ?!not that it is correct or even decent.Girls do not react to things that wrong them because we are always expected to behave in the nice girl way which need not be right.Our society feels that if we let girls have freedom,they will bring about immorality.I believe it is rational that any human being is corruptible and everybody should have a good upbringing ,be it a girl or a boy. A girl's entire character is weighed against sexual morality.It is important but that is just one aspect of the character.It's time we consider a person and not the gender.Give them education ,food, care,clothing ,freedom,depending on individual and personal needs and not on irrational and unfair basis.Before i become a parent, sibling, pofessional,child,girl or a boy,i am a human being.Therfore,i insist to be treated as a human first before anything else...............cheers.

Wel i am not done yet.Shucks!!! England was beaten to grass by Germany 4-1 in the game on sunday. Frankly speaking, Eng did not deserve to win as they put forward a bad strike and a more dismal defense.They looked fearful with a negative attitude while germans were on competetive fire.What could have gone wrong?Was it a matter of overpressure,huge overpayments,bad coaching,increasing age or simply bad luck?Everything has its role.Right players, good coaching,practice,strategy and team play are important and a must.but the final say is one the field where it is question of good play and also of confidence, positivity and alertness.These latter qualities can decide a winner.I believe the english were over pressurised. You need to give them a breathing space for a good soul search.And oh yes , about the unlucky second goal of eng as well as that for mexico..it is unfair.Use of tech can make decisions more fair and justice can be done.It is tormenting to fail or go home with a thought "what if' ".I vote for a change for better sports and smiling faces.....adios.

Image via Wikipedia

hiii there, its nice penning again.I finally managed to finish "anne frank, the diary of a young girl" this saturday .it is a beautiful book about a girl who goes into hiding with her family from hitler for 2 and half years and later she and her family was caught. all of them died in the concentration camps except her father who was saved.The book speaks of the feelings and thoughts of girl who faces events that one cannot even imagine.Come to think of it our world today stands on stories of wars , cruelty,civil wars,genocide and yet at every turn you discover courage , patriotism, love andendurance .I feel ego and false pride are the worst traits that any body can posses as it give rise to anger , hatred and finally it breeds racism,religious extremism, in human killings. Basically all people are the same. Colour, occupation, gender,race and religion are just parts of our identity, its not the real you and me. We should be able to respect another person as a human being beyond everything else.All said and done there is still hope.There in each of us a capability to love and overcome which is the reason why even today we continue to voice against killings, racism, poverty and inhumanity.But we should do more i feel or else our children will do lesser...

My favourite quote...

Poetry is the recollection of emotions in tranquility

William Wordsworth

On a beautiful sunny day....

Well, as i did mention ,it is a beautiful sunny day.After my better half left for work, i lazily turned on the silver screen only to find myself staring on the gorgeous face of Cindy Crawford!!!!.At the age of 41 she looks as if sweet 17 had just stepped in. At this moment a zillion thoughts whisked through the my tiny grey cells from the worthless set of creams i use, fashion shows, creativity, commercialization ,feminisim to stardom and what not..oh yes about the neuronal connections behind these thoughts too.Then i decided..lets blog.

On a philosphical note, its a place to release oneself mentally.express yourself loud or soft., polite or rude, sarcastic or appreciative.it doesnt make a difference..this is your world and you are the leader(forgive the hitler tone). My blog name "beyond the fence"means this..speak up...dont let anytjing curb you. Well you might ask wouldnt a diary or a simple piece of paper suffice..oh itz nothing dear..ia m just trying to be a little techo- savy here:)).I guess i should wind it up here...but i shall be back soon.adios.