Sunday, 24 May 2020

Analysing the Dynamics of Indian Politics through Paatal Lok



Paatal Lok (Amazon Prime Video, 2020) has intentionally or unintentionally ruffled enough feathers to garner public curiosity and attention and keep #PaatalLok trending on all social media platforms. The web series has offended the sensibilities of a certain segments of the Hindus, the Sikhs, Nepali Gorkha communities in India and is believed to appease religious minority. The series is also said to be the propaganda vehicle for the ‘liberals’ or even the ‘Left-Liberals’ in the country. So it crams quite a bit in the nine episodes based on the book The Story of My Assassins (2010) by Tarun Tejpal.

The series was released on an OTT platform—that is paid and requires discretion rather than censorship for viewing. So the series chooses to tell a dark story with blood and gore. Resultantly the existing societal faultlines are on display. Knowing the power of the visual medium, the imagery in the series does not shy away shaking the audience out of the preconceptions of India that have been gathered over time through mainstream Indian cinema.

‘Normal’ Mainstream Commercial Hindi Cinema

Overtime, it was ‘normal’ to dumb down the audience and dilute/ distort reality in commercial films. A large chunk of Indian cinema (read Hindi cinema) then came to be made with an urban backdrop with dream sequences that transported you to the Alps and Andes instantly. Rural and/ or small town India took you to the Yash Chopra/ Sooraj Bharjatiya set ups which created fictional towns and villages which had cowbells ringing lazily in the yellow mustard fields. The maximum that these films showed was how the ‘hero’ would fight 50 goons with rifles, single-handedly to prove a point. How will such films court controversies especially when the entry point for new aspiring filmmakers was so restricted? And, why would they? They had their steady, loyal audience who did not ask why the hero was always a Raj/ Rahul/ Rohan/ Rohit/ Aryan—Malhotra/ Singh/ Raichand and where the representation or inclusivity was.  

Even ‘rooted’ films were based on the filmmaker’s depiction of real India that would secure censorship clearance without a hitch. The close connection between the society and films and how they mutually influence and mirror each other justified strong censorship. Conservative argument expected ‘responsible’ films to be made that leave a positive impact on ‘impressionable minds’ watching them. So for a long time now, people have been anyway watching what they have been permitted to watch, well, more or less.

The Game Changer

Globalisation brought interesting changes into the industry. Small budget films with a new base of audience that looked beyond formulaic filmmaking was now feasible. As new filmmakers entered the industry with darker stories that long needed to be told, the competition became starker. A new ‘real’ had redefined the ‘norms’. The film industry suddenly boasted of a ‘mature audience’ that has now grown to accept and like traditionally unviable stories. The censors perhaps did not mature at the same speed though. With the number of controversies—intended and unintended—that the filmmakers courted with the censors will be a topic of discussion some other day. Suffice it to say that the OTT platforms changed the game completely.

It is now possible to side-step the censors altogether to tell the select audience—who ‘choose to’ watch the web series—a story that the filmmaker ‘wants to’ tell. Why? Because all stories have a right to be told. And after all, why not? The rules of the game here on OTT platforms are slightly different than in the outside world. If the content hurts your sensibilities, it is not the Harm Principle you refer to and seek paternalistic regulations of these ‘other regarding actions’. You simply need to switch to something more agreeable to your senses for it might not have affected me as adversely. And you really have no right to decide whether and what I watch. Isn’t that a part of one’s Freedom of Expression too?

We return to the issues raised specifically by Paatal Lok now and we follow the dynamics that have shaped Indian politics for all these years—class, caste, region, religion and gender by their inclusion or conspicuous exclusion. Ideology is a new touchy issue that gets added to the menu as also the dash of mythology that seems to be the new flavour of the web series made in the past couple of years.

Dynamics of Indian Mythology

India has a phenomenal mythological base. They have come to be woven into recent web series with ingenuity. So shows like Sacred Games, Asur and now Paatal Lok, among a few others have references to characters and circumstances that have been seamlessly woven into the craft. It is intriguing that people have found these references objectionable for unimaginative reasons and have asked why only Hindu mythology has been resorted to. Well, possibly because it IS the one closest to us and thus the most relatable? If you don’t understand why Aham Brahmasmi was used, how would you relate to Greek mythology, for God’s sake?

And by the same assumption that the visual medium provokes violence and other vices such as smoking and drinking among youth watching them—they should be also provoking a thought process, thus making Indian mythology ‘cool’ to be read and discussed? I even found it pretty tongue-in-cheek when the makers showed how little we knew about or read about our mythology when they had Hathi Ram Chaudhari state not once but TWICE that these have been written in our Sastras but he had read it on WhatsApp. Sarcasm is usually a lost art.  

One such furore about Paatal Lok was raised around Sanjeev Mehra’s pet/ stray dog being named Savitri. A section of social media went hammer and tongs after why they should use such a name to shame their religion. They could have named the poor dog anything indeed BUT for the blessed mythological significance of Savitri saving her husband’s life from the Lord of Death, Yama— here Savitri’s presence singularly fizzled out the Sanjeev Mehra assassination bid. The saying goes that the devil is in details. But no, symbolism and details are not things that we seek. We have been infantalised and spoon-fed by our films so much that everything has to be in your face or they refuse to acknowledge it.

Why didn’t references to Eklavya raise as much frenzy? Why don’t we talk about the injustice inherent in the mythological episode and selectively speak about his devotion? Nonetheless, there is a serious question about an inherent Hinduphobia in the content made of late.

Dynamics of Ideology and Propaganda

I really don’t know how many people in India cared for or understood (or still do) the concept of ideologies until recently. Resultantly, a large number of people have a half-baked understanding of the term and where they themselves stand on the linear scale of inclination. They make inexplicably conflicting choices—political and economic. So it is a little dicey to believe them when they lecture you about the ideological propaganda at play through the visual medium. 

For long, our education system was firmly placed at left of centre. This consequently defined its own centre and the term ‘liberal’ as per one’s own standing on the graph rather than the actual definition. So anything to the right of it is automatically termed ‘Right Wing’ and hence ‘dangerous’. Resultantly, it is true that people may be charged for being what they are not, due to initial preconceptions and notions which were never addressed or called out given that it was the ‘normal’.

Given the switch in government in recent years and their conscious efforts to redefine the ‘centre’ if not the ‘right’, there is a certain sense of insecurity, both among the academia and the people. It is not unfounded, given certain extremely serious reasons to question the whole process, methodology and justification given for the same. However, let us reiterate the fact that governments have used education and textbooks per se to extend their hegemony and shape public ideas and beliefs. Let us not absolve any political party or government of having done that.

Artists, the media and the intelligentsia have been responsible for overtly or covertly propagating ideas that challenge/ criticise the incumbent government which otherwise may be repressed. So to that extent, if one says that Paatal Lok brings out issues selectively and in a certain light, it may not be entirely wrong. So when Sanjeev Mehra states that “We (journalists) were the heroes” and that now they are trolled, threatened and fired; when he calls the liberals a cliché and when he still peddles fake news without batting an eyelid, Paatal Lok actually dwells extensively on his hypocrisy of ideology if only we looked carefully. Which brings us to ask ourselves what ‘real India’ is about?

Dynamics of Class

Hathi Ram Chaudhari relates the mythology of Swarg Lok, Dharti Lok and Paatal Lok with parts of Delhi-NCR pretty clearly. So there is no ‘one India’ as such. For the nuances of honour killings (NH-10), drug abuse (Uddta Punjab) and politics-crime complicity (Paatal Lok)[*], you evidently have to go deeper into the country-side for layers of reality to emerge. These are not particularly the preferred choices of the commercial filmmakers. So most often people choose to also live in a state of denial. After all, Tope Singh/ Chaku racing out of his village on a dusty countryside road busts all sights and sounds of a Punjab village hitherto held on to with cow bells ringing in blooming yellow mustard fields. Hence perhaps they also, chose Chitrakoot—to assert its existence and explore its narrow by-lanes. Otherwise it could have been Chandrapur and the classist audience would still not know where the dot lies on the map.  

Outer Jamuna Paar police station and Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhari’s character come out in stark contrast to say, a Bajirao Singham’s. Hathi Ram is a classic loser; who is too idealistic to flatter, feign or give up; who is determined to make his mark; who is vulnerable, bleeds, limps, suffers headaches. And then there is the awestruck police constable Manju clicking selfies with a celebrity journalist or leaking out prime suspect names through sweet talk and pastries are nuances which need an expert eye. When was the last time you saw a cop like that on screen?

The characters’ accents bring out the different India they belong to as well—both class and region.

Dynamics of Region

The series has also gained sufficient attention with regards to the regionalism that is overtly on display. It stoked the fire of identity politics afresh with the profanities thrown at a character which is clearly from North-East India. During interrogation, Cheeni comes to be referred to as a ‘Nepali prostitute’; then passed off as Girija Gurung and Mary Lyngdoh. The Nepali-Gorkha community has taken serious objection to the prejudicial language used against the community. They have insisted that it would reflect women from their community in a bad light and add to the discrimination and their vulnerability to sexual advances and physical attacks. Knowing how little people know of the North East and corona virus related racial discrimination they have faced in recent times, these objections are not totally misplaced.

However, I believe the series provides a serious platform to bring up this as a talking point. These surnames do not even share the common ethnicity. While one is a common surname in Nepal, the other is common in Meghalaya. People are oblivious to these details while they argue how they made a Tyagi the anti-hero. I believe it is evident that our priorities are grossly misplaced.  Having spoken about Cheeni, it is imperative we stick to the question of gender.

Dynamics of Gender

Paatal Lok brings the horror stories discussed in gender studies to the fore. Using rape as power-play; that women’s bodies bear the collateral damage during any conflicts; that family honour lies with the women of the house each comes across with startling impact. Vishal Tyagi’s sisters, Tope Singh/ Chaku’s mother and Cheeni all bear marks of the gender based violence. The audacity and the matter-of-fact manner in which they talk about sexual assaults should ideally make us focus on the issue which is usually invisiblised. There are of course other layers to the gender dynamics which includes Cheeni’s sexuality as a transgender fervently working for a ‘sex-change operation’ and Chanda who uses her femininity to her advantage.    

However, this part in fact evoked some serious questions from the Sikh community.

Dynamics of Religion

A section of the Sikh community took objection to the sexual assault on Tope Singh’s mother by people shown to be from their community in the series. Religion therefore, is an extremely emotive issue and especially in filmmaking in India, it’s a tightrope walk. So when Vishal/ Hathoda Tyagi is shown to hail from Chitrakoot, it is considered purposefully done to hurt sentiments as the place has scriptural mention. Also, when people with dubious reputations offer prayers to their deities it is considered hurtful. There is another serious question raised about a character being served meat in a temple by a priest. But don’t these characters exist in real life? Why are we living under a rock? Also, I have recollection of places of worship which continue to have animal sacrifices and on occasions make offerings to the deities as well. Their prasad IS meat. So I wonder whether we are jumping the gun with the ruckus.

There are some pertinent scenes which bring out what years of socialisation do to people’s mindsets. The prejudices and language and choice of words that may be derogatory to the ‘other’ are so deeply internalised that it takes conscious efforts to realise that one has become a part of the larger malaise. I think Hathi Ram understands this.

Also, when Imran Ansari is shown pitch perfect with his English, hardworking, honest, determined to crack the UPSC Civil Services examination and still gets advised to come across as ‘positive and progressive’ at mock interviews, it tells us about the larger communal issue at hand. When another candidate casually states that Ansari would be selected as even the UPSC needs to prove its ‘representation’, it underlines the same issue. When Ansari accepts prasad at the police station, it may be less about showing how ‘liberal’ he is, but more about his efforts to fit in. There may be perspectives which look at the same scenes through a different prism.

Kabir M. is another case in point. He doesn’t know his surname; he does not read Urdu; his father says he didn’t even allow him to grow up a Muslim and they made him into a Pakistani jihadi. This, and the lynching-stabbing episode on the railway station over the meat in the lunchbox bring out real life situations that have been woven with cinematic liberties. So one may look at it as propaganda but cannot refute their occurrence altogether.

They ask why they did not reflect on the shortcomings of other religions while they focus on the Hindu ones. They may, in Season 2, if there is one and if you wait for one. Or someone who shares your standpoint could make one which tells the story from a different perspective. However, it is relevant to note that Tejpal’s book was published in 2010. The specific communal references are therefore improvisations on the story thereafter and reflect on the makers’ political stance. Therefore the mention to ghar wapsi, lynching, Left-Liberals getting trolled, Gauri Lankesh’s murder and Batla House must be taken with care and consideration as they are passing references and do not bring out clear intentions. 

Another extremely emotive dynamic is the caste which also gets depicted with gravity.

Dynamics of Caste

Tope Singh/ Chaku belongs to the Manjaar caste and gets humiliated and bullied time and again for the same in the village. Out of belligerence, he gets roped into caste politics and then becomes a dispensable pawn. But the propaganda and caste consciousness that gets dinned into young minds through lyrics and catchy rap and hip hop music have been absorbed flawlessly. This is an area which needs more study and attention.    

Bajpayee championed the cause of Dalits while still quietly holding on to his casteist beliefs by carrying cans of gangajal to purify himself after any contact with his votebank is again not unknown.[†] That he made use of muscle power offered by the Gujjars—Donullia and Gwala Gujjar—to ensure his sway over the local populace talks of our acquaintance with the criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime.

Paatal Lok carefully uncovers the layers of dynamics that shape Indian politics and social fabric. So I close the rather long piece with a few questions:

·         Why is it necessary to always create a backstory to prove how Vishal Tyagi became Hathoda Tyagi or Tope Singh became Chaku? Why do we need to prove that they have been victims of circumstances? How would it have affected the storyline if they had just chosen crime as their career?

·         Was the reference to Batla House necessary? Or could we have done without it?

·         Lastly, Gwala Gujjar asks Hathi Ram to hand over Masterji’s rudraksh to Vishal Tyagi as the latter had the right to know why he was unable to connect to his saviour/ handler. Vishal Tyagi shoots himself in desperation and the deep sense of aimlessness and loss on knowing his mentor is no more. However, it instantly made me think:

(1)   Knowing Hathoda Tyagi so well, was sending in the rudraksh Gujjar’s way of eliminating him? 

(2)   Did Hathi Ram become a pawn and inadvertently executed the plan to eliminate Tyagi, making way for the Bajpayee-Gujjar alliance, at which DCP Bhagat had failed?  



[*] All three releases have been written by Sudip Sharma. These have been referred to show a trend—of issues and the writer’s consistent worldview.

[†] Article 15 depicted something close as well.

Sunday, 29 March 2020

'Zoom'ing into your Freedom of Expression

In weeks prior to the pandemic, people were deeply concerned about how their voices were muzzled, their expression of woes suppressed and how dissent was slowly dying out. I even attended an event where an evidently "high society" lady (absolutely no prejudices or presumptions) was deeply distressed on knowing (for the first time!) about Aadhaar and how personal information could be harvested. But then Covid19 brought in its wake something that was usually unknown to the conventional workplaces in India--the concept of "work from home" (WFH).

Conventional workplaces have believed in long hours at workplaces, fixed presence at work and fixed timings of work to gain acceptance as "working enough". On several occasions, these have been essentially exclusive conditions. Women with young children, differently abled people, primary care givers to infirm or otherwise special needs family members among others have faced immense challenges all along to fit into these brackets to be identified as "professional" enough. COVID19 pandemic changed this. Nearly all workplaces are now insisting on WFH. So they're now admitting to the fact that a flexible, inclusive approach was not really THAT out of reach.

WFH demanded an effective method of connecting with people at professional levels and Zoom.us became that option. The first three months of 2020, as the world rapidly went into lockdown, Zoom.us saw a spike of 67 per cent in its usage. With the services it offers, Zoom practically caters to all requirements of conducting classes, remote conferencing with workplaces or medical practitioners to managing blind dates and houseparties. In fact PM of the UK, Boris Johnson conducted cabinet meetings over Zoom.

It is therefore pertinent that we focus on certain extremely serious issues about Zoom that have concerned tech experts globally. Most of us, users, do not really have a choice with regards to the platform they use to remote conference. So our dissent gets diluted right there. Then again, most of us do not bother to read the privacy policies of the platform. So our "informed opinions" are not as informed after all. Let us "Zoom" into our concerns:

Tech experts have clearly stated that Zoom "might not be the best choice for privacy conscious users". 
Zoom collects and stores data-- even personal data--and shares it with third parties (read advertisers). The company does not call it 'sell' to keep it broad and ambiguous for the naive, unsuspecting users. So what advertisements you see will be defined on your screens thereon would/ could be based on the choice of words/ terms you have used in your webinar.

Zoom is known to share data with Facebook... Even if you do not have an account with them. Why, you ask? You could have asked them while you signed up. Chances are they would not respond at all. 

Zoom has access to user content... So knowingly or unknowingly your sessions could have been recorded, your instant messages, cloud recordings, whiteboards compromised. Also, Zoom/ host of the meeting could record and/ or transcript the sessions. So the exchanges of who said what could be accessed at a later date/ time by individuals who are not even present at the meeting. (Did you gulp? Good.) 

Zoom excessively empowers the meeting host... Students, employees, interviewees, patients have their data, browsing history, IP addresses, health conditions an extremely sensitive information compromised right away. The meeting host can access all this information and users are unknowingly under constant surveillance even while away from the workplaces. (Consent, do you say? Did you not give it when you accepted the T&C when you signed up with Zoom without reading them?)

Do Zoom's features get any better? Most certainly... Zoom offers "attention tracking". So if you click away from an active Zoom session for more than 30 seconds, the meeting host could get a ping, if on a corporate account. 

The algorithms and AI could be tweaked enough to ensure facial and object recognition. That is the reason why tech experts ask you to keep your video preferably off and if they is not possible to at least change the backdrop (Zoom offers the feature) to something neutral. Your books in the shelves could give you and your preferences away, you know? (More on THIS sometime soon.)

No wonder then, that another blogger stated that Zoom "lives like a vampire off the blood of human data". So the next time you talk about your Freedom of Expression, do remember this blog and rethink how free you actually are while you express yourselves.













Sunday, 11 May 2014

Election Katha April 2014

May 02, 2014
Sir/Madam,
Congratulations for successfully conducting the Elections to the Lok Sabha 2014 in Mumbai. We suppose you agree that this feat could not have been possible without the full co-operation of polling staff at various levels. We are professors at reputed colleges in Mumbai—which went to polls on April 24, 2014. We performed duties as Presiding Officers (PROs) and Polling Officers (POs) across the city.
We were looking forward to our role in the electoral process. However, what we faced was nightmarish and we are no more surprised why most people who have done this duty before consider it to be a burden. We faced several insurmountable difficulties from the time duties were assigned to us till the submission of equipments. We would like to bring some of these to your notice in order to ensure that the same are not faced in future.
1)      Highly qualified Professors like us were assigned with ‘peon’ duties. This was extremely humiliating. These had to be hurriedly changed with an avoidable application procedure. A criterion should be made regarding who can be appointed as PRO. A person who has previously worked as PRO/APRO/FPO would be more suitable.
2)      Election duties were assigned indiscriminately without taking into consideration the age, number of years from superannuation, health issues among others. It is extremely sad that the point is substantiated by the untimely deaths of two polling staff members due to this insensitive process.
3)      Explicit threats of action and summons to people who were unable to report only added to the mental agony. Several colleagues received duty orders on the morning of training itself, making it impossible to report due to prior commitments. It complicated matters.
4)      Another major lacuna was lack of uniformity of training. While personnel at some training centres were barely trained, there were other centres which imparted training regarding fire extinguishing as well. Again, training was entirely in Marathi. So non-Marathi speaking members were left in the lurch. Training certainly could have been more organised and systematic. Arrangements at training centres also left a lot to be desired. While some offered at least a cup of tea for people who travelled long distances on Sundays despite railway mega-blocks, other centres had none. Small desks at the schools being utilised as training centres added to the general dissatisfaction among the trainees.
5)      Informing people about their status as ‘reserve’ officers led to them taking the training very lightly. Subsequently on being given duties, they were a liability to the regular assigned staff as we had to help them out at practically everything.
6)      There were teams which comprised of all women officers. We do not underestimate the capacity of women as most of us here are women who have successfully performed duties as PROs on April 24th. However, since the time the teams were allotted, we had enquired who would take charge of equipments on the night previous to the polls as women do not stay overnight. We were assured of ‘shuffling’ of teams to solve the issue. Despite repeated reminders, none of it was done till the last minute which led to immense discontentment and was sorted only after bitter arguments ensued. This could have been easily avoided.
7)      Polling booths were set up in nearly inhuman conditions. Many of us were assigned duties in pandals on open, uneven grounds with asbestos sheets as ceilings. In this scorching summer it was nothing less than torture to be there. We could nearly foresee the onset of several health issues due to this.
8)      Lack of basic amenities like toilet facilities made this duty a major challenge. Women especially faced severe problems. Some of us had to go without the facilities for nearly 20 hours. The system seems to be largely insensitive towards these problems.
9)      Location of these booths and nature of duties meant that most of us went without food for two whole days. It is shocking to assume that everyone is in the prime of youth to bear such conditions. Health issues such as diabetes crop up at any age and timely diet is imperative. Even if for a day, this duty can severely—even fatally—affect an individual’s health. There were no health enclosures for such patients to take their insulin injections either.
10)  Many of us faced problems due to untrained and clueless Zonal Officers. Many of them were extremely rude, impolite, ill-mannered and ill-tempered. Elections are an immense responsibility which cannot be performed without the understanding and co-operation of people who come from different backgrounds and professions. We give no one the right to foul-mouth, degrade or humiliate us only because the ZO is habituated to that language and behaviour. In that case the ZO training should include lessons on basic public behaviour as well.
11)  Collection centres need to be better prepared. We are aware that the Election staff is also working relentlessly. But absence of proper time management made matters worse for both sides. Absence or inadequacy of basic facilities and long, stressful hours of work made both the staff at collection centres as well as polling staff hostile to each other. Things need to be expedited on this front as we found a lot to be desired in the working of collection centres.
12)  If not transport facilities, one could expect at least local trains to be functional on the night after polling. There was no arrangement for an overnight stay on April 24. Several polling personnel lived far away from the place assigned to them on duty. After submission of equipment, a lot of them had to sit at the CPS or at the railway stations till local train services resumed in the morning. We wonder with great concern as to who would be responsible for any untoward incident that occurred at night, especially in case of women staff.
We have never refused to perform the duties assigned to us. We also do not need the ZO to give us lessons on how election duty is a ‘national duty’. We only demand that the system provides us with basic dignity and treats us as humans afterall.

Many others have faced similar if not worse situations but have chosen to keep silent for they either feel nothing will be done even if one writes or because they fear backlash. We on the contrary are those who feel that change will not happen unless people in authority are aware of the problems faced at the grassroots. We hope our belief is not let down.

[Note: The mail was CC'd to CEC V.S. Sampath, EC H.S. Brahma and the Chief Election Officer of Maharashtra. The grievance mail was written largely by me with some inputs from colleagues and friends who performed duties as the PROs. It was forwarded with their names and details as well... but I withhold them for obvious reasons. The reason I post this as a blog is not to spread malice or ill-will about the EC but to bring to light serious lapses that occur at  the grassroots. I haven't heard from the EC office at any level till the time I post this blog. I shall certainly write about it if and when I do.]

Friday, 28 December 2012

Chavanni

I had promised myself that my first real blog would be something personal and definitely about this little minted piece of metal. Afterall, there are  larger issues that we need to tackle. Why this petty coin which is even out of circulation now?

We must agree that deep inside, we're still those little people who came into this world who love the feeling of being wanted. It's an overwhelming feeling as the people who made you feel prized are gradually passing on...leaving only memories and small spots of emptiness within you. This coin is one such tender memory which will always remain dedication to my grandfather. 

As a little girl, the reward I expected from my grandfather...no one else mind you... was always this: a chhota paisa as I called it. Believe me, he'd give me a rupee and I'd frown and sulk for I wanted this little piece of money. I didn't know it's worth, what it could buy, whether it could buy anything at all, which denomination was bigger or smaller. I just liked it because it fit in my little palm. 

Years passed by, I grew up... my grandfather is no more and the coin is not in use now. But the memories are still fresh...almost tangible. The tiny bag that held all these coins gathered from him for 'being a good girl', for an insignificant chore 'well done', was now filled to the brim and heavy. So is my heart...

Finally creating my BLOG

Writing a blog was long long overdue...as most of my friends are well aware. People coaxed, encouraged and gave up on me. One way or the other, it happens when it really has to. So finally, instead of making it another new year's resolution that one rarely lives up to, I actually created one before we  close this roller coaster year. 

More than writing a blog, naming it bogged me down. Finally, thought of this one... Beyond Myopia as something that was pretty apt for the strong opinions I hold about a lot of issues. So here I have a platform to write on stuff nobody considers important, to see the world changing without wearing the glasses given to me by the society and making a small effort to break new ground. 

I don't claim that it's going to be a social transformer... but c'mon it's just that...a Blog. Put up with me, talk to me, comment and argue with me as you've always done on all other forums.