Tagged: India

GUEST REVIEW- SALMON LIVES ‘THE LIFE OF PI’!

  • News
  • September 26, 2012

TIGER! TIGER!

A Review of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

by
Andrew Salmon
The soon to be released Ang Lee film of this story got me interested in reading the novel. A runaway bestseller since publication, THE LIFE OF PI is not your standard bestselling fare. But, of course, the question on every pulp fan’s mind is: is the novel pulp?
The answer: it is and it isn’t.
So why not judge for yourself Here’s the premise in a nutshell:
Pi, a sixteen-year-old boy, is sailing from India to Canada with his family, and a selection of animals from the family zoo aboard a Japanese freighter in 1977. A sudden explosion below decks sends the ship into chaos as she starts to sink quickly. In the scramble, Pi is tossed into a lifeboat as the ship sinks from view beneath the waves. He is the only human survivor. All of his family has perished along with the crew and the zoo animals. Well, not all the animals. It turns out a zebra had leapt into the boat during the storm accompanying the sinking, breaking a leg in the process. A hyena is also aboard and an orangutang manages to scramble to safety the next morning. Pi is now trapped on a lifeboat he shares with a selection of wild animals. Oh, did I mention that a 450-pound Bengal tiger is also along for the ride?
Now if that’s not the recipe for a great, pulpy adventure yarn, then what is? And it delivers – for the most part.
The hyena soon makes quick work of the zebra and the orangutang, the tiger (recovering from shock and being doped prior to the sinking) takes care of the hyena. The only thing left on the menu is Pi and a battle of wills ensues that, once read, cannot be forgotten. Pi soon realizes that instead of letting nature run its course with a tiger deprived of food and water, he must instead keep the beast alive and well fed so it won’t kill him in a crazed, starvation-driven frenzy.
These aspects of the book are riveting as Pi goes into full-blown Robinson-Crusoe-Tom-Hanks-talking-to-a-volley-ball survival mode, staying out of the reach of the tiger in the process. I defy anyone to put the book down while reading these sections. There’s even a mysterious island of deadly algae along the way as Pi deals with his grief and keeps the tiger at bay by using his brain since brawn will do him no good against the beast. Done right, and Ang Lee is the man to do it, the movie should keep viewers glued to their seats.
Now for the bad, the novel is so poorly written in places that you’ll want to throw it across the room. Endless pages scroll by with little or nothing to add except pointless filler. Pi’s family doesn’t even step aboard the ship until 120 pages in and long sections of the novel slide into Moby Dick territory with brain-numbing pages dedicated to the particulars of the various fish and animals Pi encounters. Some of this dreck is mildly interesting, some of it is there to expand the themes, but most of it takes away from the grand adventure this tale is meant to be and the horrors lurking behind Pi’s situation.
I never thought I’d say this, but I urge readers to pick up the book and skim through these ‘intermissions’. As a writer myself, I could have my quill confiscated for even suggesting such a thing but I feel the adventure sections of the novel are just too good to throw out with the bath water. The other option is to wait for the movie where, no doubt, the endless, needless passages will be excised. But, hey, this is a book review.
All in all, LIFE OF PI, has all the makings of a truly great adventure yarn. You will root for Pi and grieve with him. He is in a no-win situation but refuses to give up – the very essence of a pulp character. Whether you try the book or await the film, this is a story not to be missed.  

Men Arrested in India for E-Mailing Cartoon

Men Arrested in India for E-Mailing Cartoon

  • News
  • August 15, 2012

When Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra e-mailed a cartoon mocking an Indian politician to friends, he probably didn’t expect to be arrested by local police in a midnight raid. Appallingly, Mahapatra and neighbor Subrata Sengupta were arrested in such a raid in April, and their case comes to trial in September. In response to the arrests, the West Bengal Human Rights Commission has asked authorities to take disciplinary action against the arresting officers and to compensate the men for their discomfort.

The Times of India shared the story, writing:

The duo got bail the next day, but the uproar caused by the arrests led to the WBHRC taking up the case on its own. The recommendations, which came on Monday, are, however, not binding on the government. Neither will they have any bearing on the ongoing case, which will come up for hearing at Alipore court on September 27. The three-member WBHRC is headed by Justice (retd) Asok Kumar Ganguly, who was part of the two-judge Supreme Court bench that delivered the 2G verdict earlier this year. Its other members are Justice (retd) N C Sil and S N Roy.

Quoting Jawaharlal Nehru, the commission said, “Nehru once said ‘it is good to have the veil of our conceit torn occasionally’. Referring to veteran cartoonist Shankar, Nehru also said, ‘Don’t spare me’”. Wondering why Mahapatra and Sengupta were victimized when “even during Emergency, when pre-censorship of the press was imposed, pre-censorship on cartoons was lifted after the first the first three months”, it found additional officer-in-charge Milan Das and sub-inspector Sanjay Biswas of East Jadavpur police station guilty of wrongful detention.

The Times further described the “crime” the men were accused of:

“At the time of their arrest, only allegations… were that they circulated by email a cartoon which was derogatory to hon’ble chief minister… Our constitution protects every citizen’s fundamental right of free speech and expression… No law in our country prevents criticism against ministers of chief minister however popular they may be or even a door-to-door critical campaign against ministers,” the WBHRC order said.

The commission found nothing wrong with the spoof. “This cartoon obviously referred to the recent political events in the aftermath of removal of Mr Dinesh Trivedi … and the appointment of Mr Mukul Roy. No one can attribute even remotely any suggestion which is lewd or indecent and slang … in respect of the subject. Therefore the case against those persons under Section 509 IPC prima facie does not lie,” it observed, questioning the grounds for framing of charges.

Mahapatra believes the arrests were retaliation ordered by someone superior to the arresting policemen and is protesting the arrest to prevent future harassment by officials. For more details on the case, visit The Times of India website here.

 

 

Few countries protect Free Speech as adamantly as the United States does, and censorship has a chilling effect worldwide. Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work and reporting on issues such as this by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

Betsy Gomez is the Web Editor for CBLDF.

Mindy Newell: A World Of Pure Imagination

Charlie Bucket lived with his mom and his grandparents in a dirty, downtrodden industrial city that used to be a thriving center of commerce, with factories making cars and furniture and steel and zippers and paper clips. The citizens of the city were happy to work in the factories, because they were well-paid and had wonderful benefits thanks to their unions, and all their kids were able to go to college because of the money they were able to save and the national student loan program. But then all the factories moved to China and Vietnam and India and Malaysia because the CEOs of the companies who owned the factories needed more money for more corporate jets and limousines and private islands and new mansions with elevators for their cars, and the people in China and Vietnam and India and Malaysia didn’t have unions that forced the CEOs to give wonderful wages and pesky pensions and hardy health insurance to their slaves…uh, I mean, employees.

So all the factories in Charlie’s city closed – except for one, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Charlie’s father died because he didn’t have health insurance, and Charlie and his mom got kicked out of their 3 BR, 2 BATH, RMS W/VU apartment overlooking the harbor because the Social Security money which they depended on had been privatized, and when the market crashed, there went the monthly checks for Mrs. Bucket and Charlie. They had to move to a little, tiny house that was really too small for the two of them, and then Mr. and Mrs. Bucket’s parents came to live with them because their homes were foreclosed after the mortgage securities crisis, so things were really crowded in the little house.

Charlie tried to help out by delivering newspapers, which is how the family found out that Mr. Willy Wonka, sole owner and proprietor of the one factory left in town, had hidden five Golden Tickets in the wrappings of his Wonka Bars. The five people who found the Golden Tickets would not only win a lifetime supply of Willy Wonka chocolate, but also be taken on a private tour of the factory.

Four of the tickets are bought and found by Klaus Rave, a man who looks just like the chief pig in Animal Farm; twin brothers named Donny and Cain Coke, who are very rich and give money to philanthropic organizations like Success For All Amerikans and The Birthright Society; Alice Coltrane, a girl with a sassy, big mouth known for making hilarious barbs; and a boy named Pablo Rico, who saved up all his Social Security money after his father died and used it to go to college. But he doesn’t like women too much.

There’s only one ticket left, and Charlie is sure he is going to find it. But then it is announced that an eccentric millionaire who claims to wear magic underwear bought the final ticket. His name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary.

So Charlie is among all the other onlookers as Klaus and Donny and Cain and Alice and Pablo are greeted by Willy Wonka and led inside the magical, wonderful, chocolate factory.

Inside Willy Wonka has them all sign a contract before the tour can begin. There is lots of small print on it, and everybody grumbles, but they all sign it, because Klaus and Donny and Cain and Alice and Pablo and the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary really want to get inside and look around.

The factor is full of mind-blowing, mouth-watering, stomach-rumbling marvels like a real chocolate river, tasty flowers and mushrooms, and even delicious wallpaper. Wonka’s workers – considered the luckiest people in town, not only because they have a good job with benefits and a guaranteed pension, but also because they work for Willy Wonka – are all hard at worker. Willie Wonka warns his guests not to touch anything unless he says it’s okay, but Klaus and Donny and Cain and Alice and Pablo and the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary ignore him, and one by one, they disappear.

Klaus gets sucked into the chocolate works, after falling into the chocolate river from which he was trying to drink. Donny turns into a giant blueberry after chewing on a piece of Three-Course Dinner Gum, which was still in the experimental stages. Cain falls down a garbage chute that is for the “bad eggs” in the Chocolate Golden Egg Sorting room. Alice opens her big mouth and makes some sassy barbs about Wonkavision television, and finds herself stuck in a TV land where there are no commercial breaks and she can’t go to the bathroom.

The eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary sneaks into the Bubble Room and tastes the Fizzy Lifting Drinks. He starts to float up, up, up, and is nearly whisked into an exhaust fan on the ceiling. But he starts burping to let out the fizz and floats back down to the floor.

The tour is over. Willy Wonka says goodbye to the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary, but before he can leave, the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary demands his lifetime supply of chocolate. But Willy Wonka tells him he has violated the terms of the contract by tasting the Fizzy Lifting Drinks, and snaps out the signed contract to emphasize this.

But suddenly the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary pulled his own contract out of his magic underwear and flaunts it in Willy Wonka’s face. He revealed that Klaus, Donny, Cain, and Alice are all actually employees of the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary, and they have actually worked together, through the lawyers of the Success For Amerikans Organization and The Birthright Society, to have become the primary shareholders of the Chocolate Factory, with the eccentric millionaire whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary as Chairman, President, and CEO.

“We are moving the Chocolate Factory to China, Vietnam, India, and Malaysia,” said the eccentric Chairman, President, and CEO of the Chocolate Factory whose name is Mingus Wilbur Rosary.

“You can’t do this!” said Willie Wonka.

“I can, and it’s already done. Look around, Mr. Wonka.

Willy Wonka looked around. All his workers were gone, and men in black suits and dark sunglasses were supervising other men in overalls as they took down and broke apart the Chocolate Factory.

“And you, Mr. Willy Wonka, are out of a job.”

Artwork courtesy of The Daily Share.

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

 

Martha Thomases on Neil Gaiman and Alison Bechdel

As if to offer a bookend to last week’s column about Neil Gaiman and creativity, Amazon delivered Alison Bechdel’s new book, Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama. A companion to her harrowing and brilliant previous book, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, which was about her father’s life in the closet and eventual suicide, Are You My Mother is about her relationship with her mother, and the life of an artist.

I’ve been a huge fan of Bechdel’s work since I first saw her strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. The sense of humor on display here, making fun of the challenges facing those who aspire to change the world with their passion, fervor, and political correctness, mirrors my own. (If you, too, like Bechdel’s series, I can’t recommend The Complete Wendel enough because Howard Cruse is incredibly funny.) I know the people in the strip. I identified with these characters so closely that I would sometimes question my sexual orientation.

Are You My Mother isn’t funny. I mean, there are some laughs, but the story is about the struggle the artist faces when she tries to make art that is honest and meaningful and, with luck, lucrative enough to make a living. The struggle involves the women she loves, including her mother and her therapists. I’ve read some criticism of this book that centers on the sections about psychiatry, saying they are too literal, too heavy-handed. I didn’t find that to be true. I thought they reflected the artist’s zeal to find answers, to find ways to heal her pain.

Gaiman discussed the nuts-and-bolts of an artist’s life. He talked about what to do, what kind of jobs to take, how to deal with discouragement, and how to carry on. Bechdel describes the work, the really hard parts, where you have to dig and be honest, no matter what the consequences.

I don’t think these two perspectives are in conflict, nor do I think one is superior to the other. I think, in fact, both are saying the same thing: that to be an artist, one has to find one’s unique gift, and then one has to present it to the world. No one else has the same gift, so no one else can do your work for you.

For example, this week, I’ve been mesmerized by a begonia I planted on my terrace. It is red, with an orange undertone and a blush of rose. There is a gray spot on it, one that is probably the first bit of mortality. I cannot stop staring at it. Even when the sky is overcast, the petals seem to glow. I can’t tell you why this moves me so much. Perhaps, in a previous life, I was a queen in India, and my king presented me a jewel with the same tones. Perhaps I lost a beloved baby blanket with that color. It looks a bit like blood, thinned with lemon juice. I know that every writer I enjoy would find a different story to explain it.

As should I.

Gaiman and Bechdel are describing the same thing, but inside out from each other. Either way, it still fits.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

 

JACK AVARICE IS THE COURIER #3

  • News
  • November 16, 2011

JACK AVARICE IS THE COURIER #3 by Chris Madden will be in comic shops on Wednesday, November 16th. 

IDW Publishing is thrilled to introduce JACK AVARICE IS THE COURIER, an exciting, month-long, weekly comic series for the five-Wednesday month of November. Created, written, drawn, and lettered by rising star Chris Madden, the artist on the upcoming Danger Girl: Revolver series, this special five-part series is timed specifically to release one issue a week for each Wednesday of the month.
 
In issue #3, Newly minted Courier Jack Avarice and his partner Sam Kind are off in a race against time to find the deadly Eyes of Fate — but their mysterious enemy is hot on their heels! With their only lead dead and the fuse lit, they’ll lead a trail of destruction and burning tire tracks across India from Jaipur to the lost temple of Angkora — but will they find the answers they need in time? And who is behind their mysterious opposition, blocking them at every turn?
32 Pages.
$3.99.

 

For more about IDW, please visit them at www.idwpublishing.com.

Anant Pai

Anant Pai: 1929-2011

Anant PaiIndians mourned Saturday the death of Anant Pai, known as the father of the nation’s comic book industry, whose vibrant adaptations of Hindu mythology educated and amused young people for years.

Pai, credited with launching a series of comics to narrate Indian epics and folk tales, died of a heart attack at the age of 81 in the western city of Mumbai on Thursday, according to his family.

His very popular comic series Amar Chitra Katha, or Immortal Picture Stories, launched in 1967 with the goal of retelling stories from mythology, and still finds nearly three million buyers each year and is sold in 20 languages.

“We are still in a state of shock,” said Samir Patil, head of ACK Media, which now owns the comic series. “Mr Pai was a pioneer and an inspiration for everyone who worked in the field of children’s entertainment and education.”

Pai began producing comics because he was distressed with what he saw as Indian children’s lack of knowledge of mythology, culture and religion. “If the children of India dream, let them dream of India,” he said in a 2009 interview.

An editorial from the English daily Hindustan Times credited Pai with keeping Indians in touch with their culture and praised his ability to reach out to children.

In 1987 Pai established Tinkle, another comic book series featuring a lively cast of characters that included the foolish Suppandi, Tantri the Mantri, a scheming royal adviser, and a forgetful hunter Shikari Shambhu.

The writer and illustrator was affectionately referred to as “Uncle Pai” among his fans of every age group, who expressed sorrow at his passing.

Users of social microblogging network Twitter posted comments remembering “Uncle Pai”.

“A tear and a prayer for the demise of the legendary Anant Pai. He is as much a part of my childhood as my education at school. RIP Uncle Pai,” an Indian actor, Siddharth, tweeted.

Last week, the comic books convention held in New Delhi awarded Ananth Pai a lifetime achievement award for helping sire India’s comics industry.

Comic Strip Characters Pitch in India

Comic Strip Characters Pitch in India

  • News
  • November 17, 2008

The Wall Street Journal notes that comic strip characters are increasingly being hired in India as spokesmen for products such as Dilbert shilling for cell phone manufacturer Nokia.

“Using such characters as ad faces or endorsers is infinitely cheaper than using real-life celebrities, experts say, and also helps connect with consumers on a note of humor in an increasingly grim economic milieu,” the WSJ’s Live Mint blog noted.

Snoopy, the perennial Peanuts Pitchdog, continues to push insurance products overseas as well as for MetLife here in America while Mowgli, from the Jungle Book, can be seen in holiday-themed ads for Coca-Cola.

R.K. Laxman’s Common Man can be found pushing consumer loans for Asset Reconstruction Co. and Air Deccan.

“The premise for using popular comic-strip characters, experts say, is essentially the same as that for a brand picking a celebrity endorser,” the site notes. “There is an instant recognition, a familiar character connects better with consumers, and the values of that celebrity could have a positive rub-off on the brand.”

“Most comic-strip characters or cartoon characters are very well established,” says K.V. Sridhar, national creative director of Leo Burnett India Pvt. Ltd. “When you see them on screen, you know what’s going to happen. So in that sense, they telegraphically communicate what they are and what they stand for.”

Comic strip characters play better to consumers in India given their superior readership while the WSJ says comic book heroes resonate better for consumers in the United Kingdom and Japan. They’re also cheaper to obtain than living spokesmen. “In some cases, the amount could be a hundredth of what it costs to hire a C-grade celebrity,” Leo Burnett India’s Sridhar said.

“India is a very fragmented media market,” Patil of Amar Chitra Katha told WSJ.

“The creative objective was to visually depict people’s working environments and unique habits to show that Nokia works in the same way as they do,” Devinder Kishore, director (marketing) for Nokia India said. “Dilbert’s character has helped consumers connect with the devices in an engaging and ‘fun’ manner…it is unique and cool, and also a great clutter-breaking tool.”

Asian Superheroes in the Spotlight

Asian Superheroes in the Spotlight

  • News
  • August 29, 2008

“Superheroes in Asia” is the theme for eleven films to unspool at the Pusan Festival in Seoul, Korea. The event, running from October 2-10, will also feature other themes including "Ani Asia! A Leap of Asian Feature Animation 3”, “Romanian New Wave” and “2008 Asian Omnibus Collection”

According to the festival’s website, “It seems that Hollywood created super heros like Superman and Spider-Man are the only superheroes who protect our planet from the evil forces since we have gotten used to Hollywood blockbusters too much, but there are many unknown superheroes who are working double shifts for the world peace every country in Asia. Through 11 Asian superheroes in 11 films, audiences understand how the new Western genre ‘Superhero’ was introduced in historical, political, cultural and social part of Asia, and traces its transformation into Asia’s own superhero. Asian superheroes will bring not only the peace of the world but also clues about the modernization of Asia.“

Among the films will be director Bhandit Thongdee’s Mercury Man, described as a Thai take on Spider-Man; Yuri Abdul Halim’s Cicak-Man, Malaysia’s first superhero effort; and India’ s Rakesh Roshan-driected Krrish.
 

Happy Birthday: Kobra and Jason Burr

Happy Birthday: Kobra and Jason Burr

The Burrs were vacationing in India despite Mrs. Burr’s advanced pregnancy. Her condition attracted the attention of the Cobra Cult because the timing coincided with a prophecy about a man who would lead them into the Kali Yuga, the fourth age of the world. He would be one of a pair of Siamese twins, and Mrs. Burr was carrying such a pair.

When they were born and then separated on May 25, the cult stole one of the newborns (Jeffrey) and made it look as if he had died during the operation. Devastated, the Burrs took their remaining son, Jason, home with them.

Jeffrey was raised as Lord Naga, also known as Kobra, and began setting his plans for world domination in motion as soon as he was fully grown. Unfortunately for him, the twins retained a psychic link, and the authorities soon realized this—they recruited Jason and began using his link to foil his brother’s plans.

Kobra eventually killed Jason, but was killed himself by Black Adam and Atom Smasher years later.

 

 

A Time Warrior to India, by Ric Meyers

A Time Warrior to India, by Ric Meyers

  • News
  • March 30, 2008

I like it when the DVDs I review here are similar, but I also really like it when they’re very different. And other than being made by British talents, the DVDs in this edition are about as different as they can get. First, there’s the cultural classic that is A Passage to India. Columbia Pictures decided that marking the 100th anniversary of director David Lean’s birth (March 25, 1908) was a great excuse to remaster three of his films as “2-Disc Collector’s Edition Columbia Classics.” First out of the box is Lean’s final film, a two-hour and forty-four minute “intimate epic” based on E.M. Forster’s lauded novel of the same name.

Lean came at the challenge with a lot to prove. Despite being one of the world’s most respected filmmakers, with an unprecedented run of sweeping successes behind him, the critical thrashing his turgid, half-badly miscast, penultimate film, Ryan’s Daughter, suffered, had sent him reeling into a fourteen year self-imposed exile. He returned to tackle a cerebral, controversial story that many felt was effectively unfilmable, including, according to the DVD’s extras, the author and several actors in the production.

The reaction at the time of its 1984 release ranged from grudging to delirious, though a majority seemed to feel it still wasn’t quite up to his undisputed classics, Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia (the other two films set to be part of this 100th birthday DVD celebration). The passage of time, however, has been great to this particular film, and this new release could do much to elevate its standing, since it’s fascinating, intriguing, beautiful, and in this artificial age of cgi additives, all natural.

The special features are involving, if not as exceptional as the film. They are, at their best, reserved and civilized like the subjects of their interviews. If the producers and actors had been American, there might have been lots of superlatives and hyperbole, but the likes of producer Richard Goodwin, Lean’s young assistant directors, and actors Nigel Havers and James Fox are polite to a fault.

(more…)

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