The Telangana issue : my take

[mood| Grr.]
[music| No Air : Jordin Sparks]

Because my brother told me to shut up when I spouted all this at him in the afternoon, and you guys are a captive audience.

To start off: I am completely and utterly against dividing the state.

People supporting the cause say that the Telangana regions are vastly underdeveloped compared to the the two other regions of Andhra Pradesh (Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema). While I can understand the need for development and change, do you really need a separate state to develop?

There's been a lot of talk about how the Andhra oppressors 'made sure' that no development would ever occur in Telangana regions, through a 'conscious, deliberate well-thought out and implemented conspiracy' working 'against the interests of Telangana in the fields of education, irrigation, employment, industrialization, and allotment of funds and the region's share in income for its development'.

If I may ask: what exactly has stopped the people of Telangana for voting for people who would work for their development? Andhra Pradesh became a composite state in 1956. India has been a democracy since 1947. I find it very hard to believe that in all that time, there was apparently not one person elected to the Legislative Assembly who was interested in the development of Telangana.

But of course, there's an explanation: it's all a conspiracy!

Yeah. Kinda like this one, huh?

I wonder if any of those students supporting the cause for separate statehood even know what they're fighting for. The youth is always ready to oppose authority, especially if they're made to feel that they're fighting for the oppressed - which would, of course, explain the conspiracy theories.

There was a picture of a woman in the newspaper today (Deccan Chronicle) who had resigned her job as a Deputy Superintendant of Police because she 'couldn't serve under seniors from Andhra'. I wonder what it was exactly that the 'seniors from Andhra' did to make this woman's life such a living hell that she had no choice but to give up her job. Of course, I could be wrong, and she's just wildly loyal to her ideals.

It's the same old story, in my opinion. People who are dissatisfied with what they have blaming someone else who has more - simply because they have more. What exactly do these people expect will happen if/when they get their separate state? That they'll magically become rich and 'unoppressed' (whatever that means) overnight?

All they'll get is some money from the Centre, same as any other state. To develop Telangana, it'll take work. Same as it would've been if it had been a part of Anhra Pradesh.

Coming to the issue of granting separate statehood - as according to the UPA's decision late last night - in a country with such a diversity of peoples and cultures, states were formed to group together people who spoke the same language, had the same culture, followed the same customs - in broadly speaking terms.

The language spoken by Telangana is still Telugu. A different kind of Telugu, to be sure, but still essentially the same language, with the same alphabet, pronounciation and script.

The customs they follow would broadly fall under the list of 'common' customs and traditions followed everywhere in Andhra Pradesh.

And finally, I find it ironic that a Centre that could not be bothered to give a damn about a woman fasting for six years for a far more worthy cause - they've been force feeding her since the third day of her fast - would capitulate SO quickly over a man taking on a fast for just ten days.

You've been taking the hard line with Irom Sharmila Chanu for years. I demand a little consistency in your attitude, please.

Now I think I shall go tell my mother I'm going to be starting my own fast-unto-death.

You see, I'm going to start speaking my own language, and in the next twenty four hours I shall spam all online forums about how I've been oppressed by the more intelligent and more talented all my life and how it's JUST NOT FAAAAIR. D:

I'm thinking of targeting Aishwarya Rai, for daring to be better looking, and Coolcat, for daring to be more intelligent - any other suggestions?

You may now start lining up for autographs, because in about ten days time I shall be too busy, having become Chief Minister of my own little state, don'tcha know.

Anime Reaction Post the first

[mood| Bouncy]
[music| Falling Down: Oasis ('Eden of the East' OP)]

[highlight to read spoilers]

I. Eden of the East

Can't recall who recommended it to me, but I have really enjoyed it, I must say. Of course, it raised more questions than it answered, but then I guess that's expected, given that it's the first part of a trilogy.

But seriously, anyone else who's seen it, can you explain to me how exactly Juiz - who is supposed to be some kind of artifical intelligence - could alter human anatomy and the laws of physics to give the Johnny Hunter WINGS that could support two human beings? o_0

Because, you know what? DOES NOT COMPUTE.

But Takizawa and Saki are really cute, and I like the character design. Very reminiscent of Morita and Ayumi, respectively, from Honey and Clover but then, it is the same production house. =)

Can't wait for November and the two follow up movies that shall hopefully explain everything.

And the OP, OMG. ♥ I've had it stuck in my head for nearly a week now. =)

II. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

is something that I'm really enjoying. I enjoyed the first anime, but this has a different plot and characters and villians, and you all know how much I enjoy my plot. =)

And watching this series has confirmed one thing for me - I really do have zero interest in the emo little Elric boys, the military intrigue and Roy and Riza and Ling and his plans for his country and Ran Fan the kickass ninja girl are all a gazillion times more interesting.

!!

But, OMG, the latest episode!

NUUUUU, DON'T DISAPPEAR, LING! D: Ran Fan I love you too much!

Also, also, how badass is Father? He totally pwned the Elrics just by stomping his foot! o_o

If I do not get a happy ending to this arc, I shall be very disappointed. :/

III. Hellsing OVA

So Animax India will be broadcasting the Hellsing Ultimate OVA 1 on the 1st of November at 11 pm.

This comes at a good time, seeing that I've been falling more and more in love with Alucard/Integra. =)

Plus, Crispin Freeeemaaan. *G*

ILU, ANIMAX. Don't ever change. *♥s you*

IV. Inuyasha The Final Act

Re: Episode 2 - I can't believe the anime made me sympathise with Kagura, a character I was always very 'meh' about.

I'll admit my shipping preferences had something to do with it - I'm a diehard Sess/Rin shipper, but still, Kagura has never particularly interested me.

And Episode 4 - OMG, not another Tessaiga power-up episode. D: Can't we just skip these, already? GIMME MY HELL ARC NAO DAMMIT.

~

To all the regular readers: why yes, anime does turn me into a rabid fangirl who capslocks at every opportunity. :P

'A Wednesday' vs. 'Eenadu'

[mood| Hee.]
[music| Dhan te nan : 'Kaminey' OST]

So I saw both movies recently, and can't really say that one is 'better' than the other, per se.

To tell the truth, 'Eenadu' is pretty much a scene by scene, makhi-to-makhi remake of 'A Wednesday'.

I'd seen the movie with my parents and l'oncle, all of whom told me that 'A Wednesday' was better - especially Naseerudin Shah's tour de force turn as the 'stupid common man' in the exposition scene where he explains his motivation.

Now, I've heard all sorts of explanations for why Kamal Hassan purportedly fell short in comparison - one of them being that the background music for 'Eenadu' was not powerful enough to lend the required gravity to the scene.

This was, of course, blamed on Kamal Hassan trying to do some cost cutting as producer by hiring his daughter as music director. XD

I have to admit I did not see much difference in the performance of the two actors. I put it down to most people having seen 'A Wednesday' first, meaning that Kamal Hassan is always going to be an also-ran when it comes to this particular role.

There were some significant differences in that particular sequence in the two movies, though. I do prefer 'Eenadu' in some instances - for the fact that there was no flashback to the train/blast site as there is for Naseerudin Shah. When I was in the middle of an intense scene, it was a little jarring to suddenly be asked to care about some guy who had just got engaged. It would have been enough to see how much Naseerudin Shah's character cared about him, without having to provide a face to go with the story - which Kamal was able to pull off, in my opinion.

Plus, with the flashback, despite all that he says about it not being personal, his explanation does lead one to believe there is some element of personal revenge to his actions.

In contrast, Kamal Hassan's character in the same scene speaks of the Gujarat riots (the dialogue and the resulting mental imagery here is particularly horrifying) and does manage to bring out a sense of the character doing everything 'for the greater good' and not because he had lost someone he knew, nameless though they might have been.

There were some good lines of 'general' dailogue that Naseerudin Shah had that Kamal missed out - which would have helped flesh out his character a little more.

In the end, I have to admit that I feel it would have been better - for the viewer - if both movies could have been smooshed into one.

~

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: the movie

Speaking of movies, it was fun watching HP6 with Raghav and Kavya the other day.

Raghav hadn't read the books or watched any of the other movies, so he spent the whole time a little confused as to who was who - and Kavya and I ended up telling him things like 'That guy, that guy there - he's the half blood prince. Not really a prince, though, that's just a stupid title.'

Or 'And that guy! He used to have a pet rat. Which was actually a man. And they used to sleep in the same bed.' XD

It was quite fun, because there were only five other people in the theatre with us, so we were sprawled out comfortably, talking and laughing throughout the show without someone shushing us every few minutes. =)

~

Also also: the A-Z drabbling meme on my LJ is now officially closed. Too bad none of you prompted me, you don't know what you missed. Hmph.