ASHUTOSH, A DEVOUT HINDU

Ashutosh Gowariker's last three movies as a writer/director have all been masterpieces. By giving us Lagaan, Swades, and Jodha Akbar, he has carved a niche for himself in Bollywood. Discounting his earlier ventures (like Pehla Nasha, Baazi, etc.), we can say that there are a few trends to his movie making: He uses A. R. Rahman and Rajesh Vivek, the movies run for more than three hours, and they strike a chord in the heart of the viewers. Then?

What about his religious inclination? I think he is also very superstitious- in that he HAS to do a devotional song every time in his movies! I can see Ashutosh as a devout Hindu with great passion for India and her cultures. It was first seen in LAGAAN, with almost every frame depicting a crass "Indian-ness" in it. And to top it off, he gave a devotional song in O Paalan Hare and a semi-devotional one in Radha Kaise Na Jale. While O Paalanhare was purely devotional to invoke Lord Krishna to save the villagers from a looming defeat, Radha Kaise Na Jale portrayed the Raas Lila, with Gopis and Krishna Himself, along with a jealous Radha. Both songs were brilliantly done, and maybe Lord Krishna Himself did ensure the movie's success!

The next movie SWADES moved millions of viewers- and it hit them right at the heart where it pained the most. For this epic movie, Lord Shri Ram was being invoked. Pal Pal Hai Bhaari, a beautifully melodious song depicts Ramlila- complete with Sita's prayers and faith, Ravana's arguments, and finally Lord Rama killing Ravana, with his monkey army! The song was supposed to happen during the Dussehra festival, and the song's picturisation reminds of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana in Doordharshan. Ashutosh himself personally sang this song for the role of Ravana! A divine song, this song is easily 1000 times better than the so called "devotional songs" dished out by the numerous audio companies.

Keeping up with the tradition of invoking the Almighty, Ashutosh's next movie JODHA AKBAR had its first song Mann Mohana, another devotional number. This time a fervent prayer to Lord Krishna was the theme of the song. Jodha is grief stricken by marrying a Muslim ruler, and prays to Krishna for comfort. There is also another devotional song in Khwaja Mere Khwaja- A R Rahman himself wanted so badly to be able to sing a Sufi song on Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, and he got the opportunity in Jodha Akbar. Both songs were wonderfully made as usual, and will be remembered for a long time like Swades and Lagaan.

So Mr. Gowariker's religious inclination is well evident from his movies. It will be interesting to see if he would venture into a full-fledged religious, devotional movie in the future. Such movies are becoming rare nowadays, with all the glitz and glamour taking centrestage.

WATER WARS

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are at loggerheads with each other. The bone of contention is not religion, but water. Cauvery being the prized cash cow, everybody wants to milk her. Its share of quarrels over the years have taken so many ugly manifestations, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

Jingoistic language feelings are evoked, and anger is vented out by destruction of public property and by harassing/injuring/killing people. And vandalizing theaters, hotels and eateries, association buildings, buses, etc. won't do an iota of good to either parties. The hue and cry is more because of a star-studded, cinematic element to this standoff. The whole point? You express solidarity to a particular language?? How does allegiance to a language solve the water problem? Dirty politics and elections have made it all the more important to get your nose up in front. And we are still wasting water.

Most of the rainwater is let off into the ocean ultimately- a precious resource, wasted. For heaven's sake, why not invest money in water management instead of fighting over petty issues? For instance, rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory to every structure constructed. This will take a big investment, but ultimately the benefits are much higher than the investment. Common man should not be bothered about basic necessities- his time and energy should be spent to deal other issues. But our greatest need water, is so scarce that the common man is bereft of his peace of mind.

Imagine a situation where you can take water for granted, like air. You never bothered about it as you never really thought of "rationing" oxygen to breathe. Water was like that, long ago- when the population was minimal and rivers and lakes were aplenty. Today, we need to find a long-lasting alternative method to sustain water- for peace of mind. We can start ourselves, at home. Because the nation is no more stronger than the individual people. Try doing these:

1. When you brush your teeth, shave, wash your face, etc., CLOSE the tap while not in use.
2. If you have a faulty tap or any plumbing fixtures, get it repaired immediately!
3. Try to use lesser water for bathing, washing dishes and clothes.
4. Avoid wasting water unnecessarily, and make sure your property is fully rainwater harvested.

It is important to know one thing. When water wastage occurs which is beyond our control, WE should not stop being water-conservative. Our duty is regardless of how we see water being wasted elsewhere. If we start to do these seriously, then we can surely implement water management on a broader scale- like saving most of rainwater instead of letting them into the seas. Hogenakkal or Jog, let there be plenty of water in them.

(Picture copyright- CITYOFTULSA.org)