Sania Mirza, M.F.Husain and Ajmal Kasab

This post is a response to this blog-post. My repeated attempts to post the following in comments section failed. Hence I am posting it here at oshantomon. Here goes:

I could not agree with your viewpoint on any of the three things you mentioned.
I also rub my hands with glee since this post of yours gives me an opportunity to pen my cliched thougths and do blog-whoring too.

Sania Mirza: I would have liked a world where Arabian Sea on our west extended further north till Afghanistan. In other words, a world without Pakistan. Since that is not to be, the only other good option is peace. If events like Sania can create even an iota of one-voice, I welcome it.

M.F.Husain: Husain did not show his paintings to me. So he was in no position to offend me. He let me down though. I believe in freedom-of-expression. Husain let me down by running away. He should have fought the court-cases in India. His money and fame would have ensured a constant media coveage and that would have served the cause of freedom-of-expression greatly. He would have been slightly inconvenienced but his money could take it. I do not believe Husain was under any serious-tangible threats from fundamentalists.
More of my thoughts on this topic and freedom of expression here, here, here, here and here.

Kasab: We could have killed him the very next day. We CHOSE not to do so.
Will it create incentive for the next mercenary? May be yes.
Will it show India as a softie? I don't believe so. Anyway, in reality, world opinion does not count much. So no harm there.
Will it create a possibility that in future some terrorist forces us to negotiate Kasab by taking some hostage? Yes. However the point of failure will be the hostage situation, not the act of leaving Kasab alive.
Does the one year trial raise India's position in international opinion? I do not give it a damn. The international opinion, as I said earlier, does not count much. In international relations, might is right.
The fact remains that we CHOSE not to kill him in a hurry when we COULD do so. As a nation, this makes me feel very proud. And powerful too. It is not a logical feeling, meaning I can not explain why exactly I feel proud. But I do feel proud, immensely so.
Slightly unrelated, but more of my thoughts on this topic here.

The title of this post is making me a bit queasy as it clubs names of two Indian achievers (who make many Indians feel proud) with a terrorist. My request to the readers is to treat the title as just a title and surmise no deeper meaning underneath. I would not have to write this title if I could post it in the comment section of the original post.

Tagore, Satyajit Ray and Agantuk

A very interesting debate has been initiated at http://mycounterpoints.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-first-blogging-experience.html

I find myself agreeing and disagreeing with the author. Following are my points with respect to part1 of the bloglink given above.

1. I agree with the statement that we guard our icons too much (though I cannot think of any other race which does not). This tendency, though natural, is a weakness which should be overcome.
2. You yourself said that the fact of "tagore mollycoddling with British" was hidden from public. So I have no ways to verify your statement. I can neither agree nor disagree with you. Same goes about your assertion regarding lobbying for prize.
3. Regarding Tagore's sycophancy, I have heard the argument before. Methinks, returning knighthood clinches the argument in Tagore's favour. A true sycophant will not be deterred by the fear of social boycott. I also believe Tagore was sufficiently strong-minded to fear a social-boycott. Consider Gharey-Bairey. I found the storyline of 'Gharey Bairey' very daring and relevant. Casting a freedom-fighter and his hot-headed-but-hugely-popular-methods as villainious shows independence of thinking. I appreciate Tagore for that.
4. Regarding quality of Tagore's work, we might be in agreement. However I am not passing my judgement on the basis of number-of-universities where Tagore is in curriculum. I am passing my judgement based on my first-hand reading experience. I have read quite a few stories/novellas of golpoguchchho and about 10 essays of Tagore. I never felt compelled to read more. I did not find Tagore unputdownable. As far as probondho goes, I will pick Amlan Dutta anyday before Tagore. Regarding fiction, a Sharadindu/Shirshendu anyday before Tagore for me.
5. Regarding Satyajit Ray, I have serious disagreement with you. Unlike Tagore, I truly adore Ray's works (exceptions notwithstanding) and that has got nothing to do with the Oscar-lifetime-achievement-award. Against your quip regarding medical-practitioner-in-Agantuk, I cannot express myself better than what Soumya did in Greatbong's Goopy-gyne post. I quote partially:
   If after seeing Agantuk, one of the messages you came away with, was that the film was implying that we ought to go to a quack instead of a modern medical practitioner, then you need to watch Agantuk again with an open mind.