social-change on S Anand

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 03:19:27 +0000

Loved this Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani scene where Ranveer asks, “Chinese ko Chinese bol sakte hai?”

हम बहनदी भी नहीं बोल सकते? आंटी, मैं दिल्ली से हूँ। मैं कैसे नहीं बहनदी बोलूं बहनदी!? कैसा जमाना आ गया है? फैट-ों को फैट नहीं बोल सकते, ब्लैक-ों को ब्लैक नहीं बोल सकते, ओल्ड-ों को ओल्ड नहीं बोल सकते, मुँह खोलने से डर लगता है मुझे! आप मुझे बताओ, चाइनीज़ को चाइनीज़ बोल सकते हैं?

Can’t we even curse “Damn it!”? Aunty, I am from Delhi. How can I not say, “Damn it”, damn it!? What times are upon us? You can’t call fat people fat, you can’t call black people black, You can’t call old people old, I am actually afraid to open my mouth! Tell me, can you call Chinese people Chinese?

अगर मुझे चाइनीज़ आर्डर देना है तो क्या करूँ? फ़ोन करूँ “हाँ भाईसाहब, वह हिमाचल से राइट जो जगह है, हाँ हाँ पड़ोस वाला मुल्क, हाँ वही कोरोना वाला, हाँ, वहां का एक क्रिस्पी चिकन लगा दो” अब आप बोलोगे “कोरोना वाला” नहीं बोल सकते!

If I want to order Chinese, what should I do? Should I call, “Yes bro, that place to the right of Himachal Pradesh. Yes, yes, the neighboring country, yes, the one with Corona, yes. Get me a crispy chicken from there” Next, you’ll say, “You can’t say “Corona”‘!

बचपन से, बचपन से दादी कहती आ रही है, “चाय पीने से काले हो जाते हैं, चाय पीने से काले हो जाते हैं”। अब पता चला है, ये रेसिस्ट है!

Since childhood, Grandma taught us, “Drinking tea turns you black. Drinking tea turns you black”. Now I learn that’s racist!

किसी ने ये भी नहीं सिखाया कि कौन सी गाली देने से मिसोजनी हो जाती है। यह भी नहीं बताया कि गोलू को गोलू बोलने से फैट शेमिंग हो जाती है। हमको तो यह सब नॉर्मल लगता। हमको तो कभी रॉन्ग लगा ही नहीं। हमको पता ही नहीं यह बोलने से सामने वाले की फीलिंग्स हर्ट हो सकती हैं!

No one ever taught us which abuses become a “misogyny”. No one ever told us that calling Chubby ‘Chubby’ is “fat-shaming”. We all thought this was normal. We never had an inkling it was wrong. I didn’t know that saying this may hurt others’ feelings!

Beautifully worded. Lovely acting. Nothing I could add to it.

(Except: Whisper and most transcription APIs handle Hindi poorly. Claude 3.5 Sonnet does better than GPT-4o on Hindi grammar.)

India Poised

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:00:00 +0000

India Poised: a video featuring Amitabh Bachchan. Here's the transcript.

There are two Indias in this country. One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been recently showering upon us.

The other India is the leash.

One India says "Give me a chance, and I'll prove myself."

The other India says "Prove yourself first, and maybe then, you'll have a chance."

One India lives in the optimism of our hearts.

The other India lurks in the scepticism of our minds.

One India wants.

The other India hopes.

One India leads.

The other India follows.

These conversions are on the rise. With each passing day, more and more people from the other India are coming over to this side. And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic India is emerging.

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure.

An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods, but buys out the companies that makes them instead.

History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it's taking a turn.

This is that rarely ever moment. History is turning a page.

For over half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolled over, got up and dusted ourself, and cantered, sometimes lurched on.

But now, in our sixtieth year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of time's great precipice.

And one India, a tiny little voice at the back of the head, is looking down at the bottom of the ravine, and hesitating. The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, "It's time to fly."

Comments

Iqbal 19 Jan 2007 6:24 am: visit www.indiapoised.com for more Bachchan, Gulzar, etc on India Poised
Saurabh 20 Jan 2007 10:40 am: An initiative from TOI, Read more here at http://www.indiapoised.com/outline.htm
yogesh sharma 27 Jan 2007 10:39 am: the video was fentastic, both in hindi as well as english, when i listen it first time i was shocked that this thing i was realising before 1 month ago and now appricate this video so much
MJ 28 Jan 2007 4:18 pm: This was really great. I heard it on a desi radio channnel ini Toronto Canada…..I loved it and decided to search for it…. Thank you for putting it up……I am going to passthe link to many….
NJ 10 Feb 2007 1:09 am: Can someone please put the lyric for shankar mahadevan’s versio.. Phalak pakad… please
Titiksha 10 Feb 2007 2:14 am: Excellent lyrics, Words flowing from deep-rooted sesitivity of the poet, Masterly rendered by the born actor in his deep, resonant voice creating the precise impact. HATS OFF.
Arindam Dey 10 Feb 2007 3:08 pm: Send me this
shaishav 17 Feb 2007 12:06 pm: hats off to the words they r written n said so wonderfully tht they touches the inner heart n soul……… salute once again
Concerned 19 Feb 2007 5:41 am: All this India Poised nonsense is pure marketing bullshit
Rohan 7 Mar 2007 8:12 am: Mr.Bacchan is fantastic,and the way hes prested it ,its jus wow!!!!!
subadra 18 Mar 2007 12:51 pm: it s good
Deepa Sairam 22 Mar 2007 7:41 pm: Very Inspiring.
harsh selarka 10 Sep 2008 9:11 am: very inspiring & fantastic job done by amitabh bachhan
gaurav kumar 22 Jan 2009 5:25 pm: very inspiring..too goodddddddd
Male Sosa 31 May 2011 4:16 pm: It´s not only inspiring it´s been writen with love and pride, with humble & honest words. It reaches the heart & the soul.
Riya 14 Aug 2012 11:12 am: @Concerned it is only a hard heart that isnt moved by these lovely words

Timeline of trends and events

Fri, 26 May 2006 12:00:00 +0000

Timeline of trends and events from 1750 to 2100 (yes, that’s next century).

Life in the 21st century

Fri, 06 Oct 2000 12:00:00 +0000

On 24th August I said “Life in the 21st century doesn’t look promising”. A Force More Powerful would make me eat those words. It’s a collection of stories about non-violent conflict in the 20th century, and it appears to work more effectively than most wars.