The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day is a 1993 drama film adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the Man Booker Prize (Fiction-1989) novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols and John Calley. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton with James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant and Ben Chaplin.

The protagonist is butler Stevens who narrates the story in first person. At the superficial level, the narration is about 'too much of dedication' for work at the loss of personal relations (Butler prioritizes his work against dying father and fails to reciprocate the love for which he longs in old age). The layered narration can be read as postcolonial narrative written by Japanese-English writer who narrates the readiness of servant class for subjugation to upper class and it is so internalized that even if the 'Master' changed to an American instead of an English man, the 'serventhood' of Stevens the Butler is unflinching. The last scene of the film shows a pigeon trapped in mansion. The window is opened and the new American Master flies away the bird and with it the camera flies sway in the clouds - showing us the large Mansion as a sort of cage, and it get tinier as camera flies higher - within which Stevens is 'happily' trapped / prisoned.

The other layer is much deeper. The background is that of 1930s - the beginning of WWII. It is significant to know how something we are so proud of at a given moment of time in history turns out to be something we are utterly ashamed of. The Nazi sympathizer rich elite British aristocrats are presented of whom the servant class was once very proud of but where ashamed of it in the verge of the unfolding of the events in history.

How symbolically Ishiguro signifies the entrapment of time and history! What so ever class one belongs to - the imprisonment of time and history is terrible. The remains of the 'time' is what remains with us to torment us and we have to live with it. There is no escape from the remains of the time.

Watch Full Movie here:

The Teacher is an Iceberg

The Teacher is like an Iceberg

The true teacher is like an iceberg. The students are like the birds flying around the iceberg or like the penguin walking over the iceberg. The birds / penguins seat on the tip of an iceberg for rest. The perception of bird / penguin of the iceberg is what it can see - the outside visible - the eighth part of the huge mountain. The students who just parched on the tip of iceberg have little understanding about the teacher. Some birds / penguins dive deep in the water to catch fish. These birds / penguin can have better understanding of the depth of the iceberg. But birds can never dive deeper to see the bottom of the iceberg. The vastness of the iceberg is experienced as one dives much deeper in the sea. It is beyond the capacities of birds. But there are some students who are like scuba divers. They can dive in deep waters. They can experience the vastness of the iceberg.

 The students who do not dive deep into their studies cannot come out with better understanding of the teacher. Most of the students are like birds. They chirp. They tweet. They parch. They think they have know the iceberg. These birds when they fly at the coast, see rock mountains and pronounce judgement that they are bigger than the one seen in deep sea. They do not know that these rock mountains have feet of clay. They cannot stand the tremors of time. They crumble when earth tremble. The iceberg do not tremble. It swiftly floats during the times of tremors. Its firmness is in the flux. It is not rigidly attached to immovability. The summer sun makes rock mountain hot. It emits heat in the surroundings. And what does the iceberg do? It melts. It makes the surrounding calm and cool. It is not like tree that it can grow but cannot move. The iceberg grown in height as well as in depth. It swiftly moves with time. The true teacher is not like a tree or rock mountain. The true teacher is like an iceberg. The students shall not be mere trekker or a bird to understand real worth of the teacher. The students shall be an expert scuba divers. The deeper they dive, the better they understand the teacher.

Timepiece

Microblog on Timepiece

The clock. Yes, it's the clock! The timepiece has created all the hegemonic virtues around punctuality, and vices around 'free-will' to be 'natural being'. Had there been no clocks, there been nobody to be on 'time' and hence nobody would ever be 'late'. . .  No need to give undue respect to those who are on time, and no need to despise those who are late. Cursed be the day on which clock was invented! There is no surprise - 'Horology' (study of time) sounds like 'horror'.

Selfie in Literature

#Selfie in #literature is not a new phenomenon.
Actually, this is going beyond autobiographies. As autobiographies have yet another battle to fight n win and that's about it being called "real" literature. But, quite interestingly, writers have used "words" as now people use "camera" to take selfie of what they do, eat, drink, travel . . . and what not!

The only difference is that this new form is just done with camera phones rather than with words. There are great many #narcissists in literary world.
Walt Whitman with his '*Song of Myself* which begins with this line
"I celebrate myself, and sing myself"
is an example enough to prove it.
*Kamala Das*/ *Madavikutty's '* *An Introduction* ' is yet another interesting example of selfie in poem:

"I am Indian, very brown, born in Malabar,
I speak three languages, write in
Two, dream in one.
...
It is I who drink lonely
Drinks at twelve, midnight, in hotels of strange towns,
It is I who laugh, it is I who make love
And then, feel shame, it is I who lie dying
With a rattle in my throat. I am sinner,
I am saint. I am the beloved and the
Betrayed. I have no joys that are not yours, no
Aches which are not yours.
I too call myself I*."

(The image is gujarati poem (?) by Chandrakant Bakshi. Shared by Jay Metra in comment on fb post.

Existentialism: Video Resources

Existentialism: Learn to think and 'be' an Existentialist

This blog contains two web resources and nine short video to learn the fundamentals of Existentialist philosophy (apart from additional reading resources for deeper understanding).

1) Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. It holds that, as there is no God or any other transcendent force, the only way to counter this nothingness (and hence to find meaning in life) is by embracing existence.

Thus, Existentialism believes that individuals are entirely free and must take personal responsibility for themselves (although with this responsibility comes angst, a profound anguish or dread). It therefore emphasizes action, freedom and decision as fundamental, and holds that the only way to rise above the essentially absurd condition of humanity (which is characterized bysuffering and inevitable death) is by exercising our personal freedom and choice (a complete rejection of Determinism) (The Basics of Philosophy) (Click here to read full article)

Existentialism

2) Existentialism is a catch-all term for those philosophers who consider the nature of the human condition as a key philosophical problem and who share the view that this problem is best addressed through ontology. This very broad definition will be clarified by discussing seven key themes that existentialist thinkers address, i.e. 

a.                   Philosophy as a Way of Life; b.                  Anxiety and Authenticity; c.                   Freedom; 

d.                  Situatedness; e.                   Existence; f.                   Irrationality/Absurdity g.                  The Crowd

Key Existentialist Philosophers are:

1. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) as an Existentialist Philosopher
2. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) as an Existentialist Philosopher
3. Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) as an Existentialist Philosopher
4. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) as an Existentialist Philosopher
5. Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) as an Existentialist Philosopher
6. Albert Camus (1913-1960) as an Existentialist Philosopher

(Click on the themes or names to read the article by Douglas Burnham)

Apart from the philosopher mentioned above, the contribution of Hegel, Dostoevsky, Husserl and Samuel Beckett is significant in the 'Existenlialism'.

Video 1: What is Existentialism? (Click the link to watch the video)

Video 2: The Myth of Sisyphus: The Absurd Reasoning (Feeling of the Absurd) (Click the link to watch the video)

Video 3: The Myth of Sisyphus: the notion of philosophical suicide (Click the link to watch video)

Video 4: Dadaism, Nihilism and Existentialism

Video 5: Existentialism - a gloomy philosophy (Click the link to watch the video)

Video 6: Existentialism and Nihilism: Is it one and the same?

Video 7: Let us introduce Existentialism again!

If you still find it difficult to understand this philosophy, view this video:

Video 8: Explain like I'm Five: Existentialism and Nietzsche:

Video 9: Why I like Existentialism? Eric Dodson

Video 10: Let us sum up: From Essentialism to Existentialism

Additional reading resources:

If you want to read more about

1. What is Existentialism?

   o   Read Existentialism (Burnham and Papandreopoulos)  
   o   Read Existentialism (C. Wikipedia, Existentialism)

2. What is the theme of The Myth of Sisyphus?

   

   
   

   o   Read The Myth of Sisyphus. Translated from the French by Justin O'Brien, 1955 (Camus)

   o   Read brief on The Myth of Sisyphus (C. Wikipedia)

   o   Read brief on Alber Camus Society website(Schrahé)
   

   
3. 
   

   Do you agree that Existentialism is Humanism?

   

   
   

   
   

   o   Read original lecture (1946) in English translated by Philip Mairet (Sartre)

   o   Read brief note on Existentialism is Humanism (C. Wikipedia, Existentialism and Humanism)

   o   A Student’s guide to Existentialism and Humanism(Warburton)
4. 
   

   What is Übermensch?

   
   

   o   Nietzsche had his character Zarathustra posit the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra

   o   Read brief on Übermensch? (C. Wikipedia, Ubermensch)

   o   Nietzsche’s idea of an overman and life from his point of view (Stanford)

   o   Nietzsche’s Übermensch: A Hero of Our Time?(Cybulska)
   

   

Simple explanation by Suman Shah in Gujarati language

Ministerial Endorsement: Will PM demand an apology as Sushma Swaraj once did?

Should Minister in Office endorse private products or services?

Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi demand an apology from Reliance Jio for using his photographs in the launching advertisement?

But should he demand an apology?

Image 1: Font page ad with PM's photo

The image 1 shows that Reliance Jio gave front page full page ad in leading national news papers with PM Narendra Modi's photo. It seems that PM is endorsing the product.

Well, there may be nothing wrong in this. But the question people may ask is will PM be accountable for the products / services unobjectionably endorsed with his photographs or quotes?

We question this because we are debating an issue of making brand ambassadors accountable for the products and services endorsed by them. Read this. (The issue was in limelight because of Maggie ban and Mahendrasinh Dhoni)

Now, as many of our parliamentarians are willing to make celebrities liable for the products / services they endorse, shall we not question if Ministers (holding key positions in decision making) do not object to private companies making use of their quote or photographs in their advertisement? And if they do not object can we make them also accountable as willy-nilly they are giving consent to it.

Image 2

Well, this reminds of 2003. When Coke and Pepsi were facing charges of pesticides in the cold-drinks, there was nationwide hullabaloo. The image 2 is from The Times of India of 3 August 2003. The Bajpayee government was under tremendous pressure. After several checks in national and international laboratories, the then Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj made a statement in Parliament of India that Pepsi and Coke are SAFE. The statement was made on 21st August 2003 in the Lok Sabha: ". . . all these (soft drinks) are well within the safety limits. . . .".

Image 3: Minister quoted in Pepsi Ad

On 22nd August 2003, Pepsi smartly used this quote and gave half page advertisement in leading news papers. Pepsi directly quoted Health and Family Welfare Minister in the ad. See Image 3. The ad said that the Minister's faith in the product in restored and refreshed.

Somehow, this did not go well with the minister and she objected. May be she objected on personal moral grounds. May be she thought is not advisable for company to use Minister to endorse the product. But that was a classic case. It remains as a lighthouse to guide us in such matters of ministerial endorsement of private services and products.

The company has give yet another ad on the same spot in all newspapers and APOLOGIZE. See image 4 below.

Well, can we expect similar sort of action from Prime Minister? I am looking forward to see that very soon PMO will ask for an apology from Reliance Jio for making use of PM's photograph in the advertisement.

Here are some of the news regarding the controversy:

1) PM endorsement is Wrong

2) Isn't it wrong?

3) Right or Wrong: Debate is On

Image 4: Minister's Objection.

Why does this become so controversial?

One of the many reasons is PM Narendra Modi's relations with Mukesh Ambani.

The photograph of Mukesh Ambani putting his hand on the shoulder-back of PM of India and PM's hand holding Neeta Ambani's (wife of Mukesh Ambani) hand along with Mukesh Ambani's. Obviously, hand holding is not an issue. But the way Mukesh Ambani puts his hand to 'support' PM sounds very curious. This was equally controversial. Here is interesting take on this hand holding and hand-support. It is in Hindi language. And it was this image which the critics of this endorsement seems to be seeing in the white background of the advertisement:

Ek Villain: Tramps in Films and Literature

Ek Villain - Hindi Film Poster

#EkVillainFilm Mohit Suri has matured his art of portraying psychopaths and the evil within the human psyche with Ek Villain Hindi Film ... fromZeher, Kalyug, Raaz – The Mystery Continues, Murder 2, Ashiqui2 to Ek Villain. Let us remember the Master of this genre - Edgar Allan Poe - and his short stories: A Cask of Amontillado, A Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe/The Black Cat.
Ek Villian takes its credit in screenplay and editing... Beautiful use of flashback technique... timing of scenes is perfectly edited. Most Mohit-Suri-Films have this in common.
Ritesh Deshmukh: It was surprise to see him 'acting' and freeing himself from slapstick comedies.
Siddharth Malhotra: Has done justice to his role.
Shraddha Kapoor: Normally, females don't have much to do in such movies. They are portrayed on Theresa-Complex - good Samaritan makes ideal sacrificial lamb.

(This is stub - will be developed with observations from characters in Waiting for Godot and other literature and films)

Message from Bhagwat Gita

One important message from each chapter / adhyay of Bhagwat Gita

Wazir: Pawn's Story of Pawn's Revenge over the King

Wazir: The Hindi Film

The journey of pawn from powerless insignificant identity to powerful Wazir - an equivalent to Queen in modern game of Chess is not an impossible one. If it goes on moving ahead with persistence, perseverance, determination and diligence, it can metamorphose itself into powerful identity. But as it is not possible in each and every game of chess to see that pawn reaches to final home-square to gain the power of Wazir, similarly, in real life too, it is only in the rarest of the rare stories that it happens. There are examples like Dhirubhai Ambani, J K Rowling, Oprah Winfrey . . . the list may include many more who's who.

The story of such pawns turning into wazirs, or the story of rags to riches is a very famous and popular literary archetype (ref: Northrop Frye's The Archetypal Criticism). In popular culture, popular films and literature also, this trope is quite in vogue.

But this concept is not much loved by social reformers and revolutionaries. They are bitter critics of this fairy-tale-sort-of-story. They prefer to narrate things more realistically. They argue that only a handful of exceptionally capable and/or mainly lucky persons are actually able to travel the "rags to riches" road, being the great publicity given to such cases a natural Survivorship bias illusion, which help keep the masses of the working class and the working poor in line, preventing them from agitating for an overall collective change in the direction of social equality (Wikipedia). Some of the interesting books with the similar theme are:

• Peña, Manuel. "American Mythologies" Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2012. ISBN 9781409442745

• Weiss, Richard. "The American Myth of Success: From Horatio Alger to Norman Vincent Peale" Basic Books, 1969. ISBN 0252060431

These observations are quite true. The Hindi film Wazir narrates a story of the struggle between the helpless pawn against an evil King. Not all pawns are lucky enough to metamorphose into powerful wazir to avenge itself against the evil King. Most of them, standing in front row, fight against the likes of theirs, and get sacrificed in protecting the evil kings. If they are intelligent enough, they may open the gateway for Elephant (Rook) or Camel (Bishop), who in turn can checkmate the revenge of pawn. But that too is some thing happening in fairy tales. Realistic commentators or narrators or viewers may not get convinced with it. In reality, most of such stories remains unavenged.

At the same time, this film also raised important question against the idea of 'talent' and 'merit'. If one extraordinarily talented or meritorious persona (Wazir / Queen) over shadows innumerable 'mediocre' or average individuals (pawns), how far is it fair enough to sing the songs of talent / merit? The popular culture and society loves to sing such songs. May be because it gives them an illusory dream that some day they also will be meritorious and their talent will also be respected, and if it is not, the fault lies with them - they are not meritorious, they are not talented! They will not have enough confidence to tell their stories with confidence.  Bejoy Nambiar (Director), Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Writers) gave voice to the struggle of a pawn named Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) against the talented politician who can blind people's eyes to become very popular with his language of peace and love, who in reality has strong connections with terrorist groups. Had it been not popular Hindi cinema, and has it been some realistic film, Pandit Omkar, like real Kashmiri Pandits pushed out of their homes to dwell in refugee camps, would have died an unknown death. But as it is a piece of feel-good cinema, he gets an elephant (Rook) to take his revenge. We see, in real world of human existence, millions of pawns meeting dead ends and lost in the oblivion from public memory as their stories rarely find an appropriate bard.





This film narrates the revenge story of one such pawn who reaches the final square to become Wazir. But that was not enough, he has sacrifice itself and make a way open for the Elephant (Rook) to rush in where even eagle dare to and end the game with checkmate. Kudos to Bejoy Nambiar (Director), Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Writers). The film is worth watching. Such thrillers are not watched without the presence of mind. It is normally advised not to carry the mind to the cinema-theatre to enjoy the films. But the watchers of this genre know it very well that they have to keep their minds on the toes. And as we watch with awakened mind, we start sensing at some point in the film - the secret which the film makers wants to keep. So, it is not a surprise when it is revealed. Yes, Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani (2012) had that secret, very well kept till end and did not allow the viewers to doubt it. Wazir is, surely not, Kahaani. But Wazir has master performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar. It has some very well written dialogues. Its ups is not only script, which has some loops, but it is performance and dialogues.The movies is worth watching.

It is well said:  

BE NOT ashamed, my brothers, to stand before the proud and the powerful with your white robe of simpleness.Let your crown be of humility, your freedom the freedom of the soul.Build God's throne daily upon the ample bareness of your poverty, and know that what is huge is not great and pride is not everlasting. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Sardar - The Iron Man of India

Ketan Mehta's Sardar - The Iron Man of India

Ketan Mehta's ‪#‎Sardar‬ is not only bio-pic but a well researched docu-drama. It precisely records the in-house meetings and brainstorming discussions between leaders on how and in which form India can become ‪#‎independent‬ country. Ultimately, as no midway was sought and ‪#‎Gandhi‬'s idea of giving reigns of Indian union to Mohmad Ali Jinnah - Muslim League was not acceptable to other Congress leaders. The script is well researched and supported by evidences of real video footage and news paper headlines. The research n script by ‪#‎VijayTendulkar‬ makes this movie worth watching, again and again. The magical touch of his script and Ketan Mehta's direction has saved this film from being dull documentary. It has some memorable dramatic sequences which keeps interested in the film alive till end and even though very talkative, the film gives wonderful cinematic experience.

Best of all sequences: All the meetings on division of resources (money, army, air force, secret agency etc) between India and Pakistan - is beautifully portrayed; inclusion of Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagadh is captured very well; the central struggle between Sardar and Jinnah gives best cinematic moments.

The communal riots and massacre in the backdrop gives elegiac colour tone to the texture of this film, which is brightened with fresh cinematography and shooting at real life locations like Shimla, Junagadh, Delhi.

Yes. The film presented Sardar Patel larger than life. Ketan Mehta directed most of the freedom fighters as "types" - representing a particular "image" for which they are popularly known rather than humans with strength n weaknesses. Jinnah, Nehru, Maulana, Abdul gafar khan, mountbaton, gandhi - all are portrayed with similar touch. And as this was Sardar's film, he is a bit exaggerated.

Rather than the characters, the historical background is presented very well.

The film can be viewed on YouTube:

Online Test: Renaissance Literature

Online Open Internet / Open Book Test on the Age of Renaissance & Points to Ponder

Read study material on this page to appear in this online test:

• Refer to this blog for old syllabus website
• Refer to Study Material (new website wef 2020)

• online test  click here to go directly to the online Test page.

• Points to Ponder

  1. Rewriting the Last Monologue of Doctor Faustus with Insights from Bhagat Singh’s Arguments

  Reflect on the concluding monologue of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus incorporating insights from Bhagat Singh’s essay "Why I am an Atheist". Consider how Singh’s perspectives on freedom, oppression, and revolutionary thought can offer new dimensions to Faustus’s final lament.

  2. Comparative Analysis of Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare as Poets

  Conduct a comparative analysis of Geoffrey Chaucer, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare. Focus on their poetic styles, themes, contributions to English literature, and their influences on subsequent literary traditions.

  3. Review of a Film on the Elizabethan/Shakespearean Era

  Write a blog post reviewing a film set in the Elizabethan or Shakespearean era. Use the following lists to guide your selection:

  • Six Best Films
  • Five Best Films
  • Elizabethan Era in Films
  • Twenty Best Shakespearean Adaptations [Which is the best film adaptation? Are Hindi adaptations included in this list?]

  In your review, consider:

  • Which film adaptation is the best?
  • Are any Hindi adaptations included in these lists?
  • The accuracy of the historical and cultural portrayal.

  4. Best Bollywood Adaptations of Shakespeare

  Explore the best Bollywood adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. Discuss how these adaptations interpret and transform the original plays for an Indian audience.

  5. Differentiating Literary Periods

  Differentiate the general characteristics of Renaissance literature from those of other literary periods such as the Reformation, Restoration, Neo-classical, Romantic, Victorian, and Modern literature. Highlight the unique features, themes, and stylistic elements of each period.

  6. Review of a Hindi Film Adaptation of Shakespearean Plays or the Elizabethan Era

  Write a blog post reviewing any Hindi film adaptation of Shakespearean plays or a film set in the Elizabethan era. Discuss how the adaptation retains the essence of the original play while infusing it with cultural and contextual elements relevant to Indian cinema.