Chronicles of Kanjisheik

It might be the ultimate monument dedicated to eternal love and on the must-visit list of all lovers and state dignitaries, but the Taj Mahal's popularity is probably not going to be enough to get it a place amongst the new Seven Wonders of the World.

A worldwide movement was started in 2001 to protect humankind's heritage across the globe by bringing out a new list of the Wonders of the World. It was exactly 2,200 years after Antipater of Sidon compiled the original list of Seven Wonders of the World. Twenty-one monuments across the world were in the fray for six slots, as the Pyramids of Giza are already a part of the list, being the only surviving ancient wonder. The Taj was easily shortlisted as one amongst the 21 monuments, but the journey after that has been turbulent.

The contest is to be decided on the basis of votes each of the monuments receive, and the result will be announced at Lisbon, Portugal on 7/7/07. And it is here that the Taj has fallen way short of the goal. Peru is leading the list with its Incan sanctuary, Machu Picchu, getting 25.5 per cent of the total votes. Other front-runners for the six slots are The Easter Island Statues in Chile, Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Statue of Christ Redeemer in Brazil, Petra in Jordan, and the Alhambra in Spain. The Taj Mahal is at the 14th position, having garnered a mere 0.7 per cent votes.

Says Bharat Kapadia, chairman of an organisation that wants to ensure that the Taj gets its due place amongst the Seven Wonders of the World, "While there is no doubt that the Taj holds a special place in every Indian's heart, voting from our country has been abysmally low. A proactive stance is needed."

Even music composer A R Rahman wants the Taj to get its due place and has composed an anthem for it. He says, "The idea is to inspire Indians to vote for the Taj. We have composed the anthem at a very short notice, but we did it because the reason is so special. I am sure Indians from all over the world will feel motivated and vote for the Taj."

Even the tourism ministry has decided to do its bit. "We are planning to take an active part in this campaign. We will ensure that the Taj makes it to the list," says Amitabh Kant from the ministry.

so guys, what are you waiting for? Go vote for the Taj here!

Posted by kanjisheik at 02:08 PM | Permalink

150 years have passed since the tumultuous events of 1857, and yet we still haven’t shed our Victorian mindsets. To this day, children grow up studying that it was a “sepoy mutiny”. Even though most Indians refer to it as the First War of Indian Independence, it is indeed surprising that our history books don’t mention it as such. What does this say about us? We’ve been content studying the “British” viewpoint for the past six decades. The saying “History is written by the victors” comes to mind. It is time that we wrote our histories, rather than read the version written by an outsider. After all, it is our birthright. Besides, it is time we updated our antiquated history text books with recent developments and discoveries.

It is unfortunate that sometimes the Revolt of 1857 is denied a national character since the ideal of a unified all-India nation state was premature for most people of nineteenth century India. But how can we deny a national character to a popular outburst against an alien regime, particularly when it enjoyed the support of a large mass of the population and affected a considerable part of the country?

Consider the facts- the Revolt of 1857 was the most widespread challenge against the British East India Company. It brought together soldiers of different regions and many rulers and chiefs of different rulers and principalities together- all with the common aim of ousting the British from India. The sepoys of the Bengal regiment revolted and were joined by other section of society-landlords, peasants, artisans, scholars- who made common cause against the exploitation of the British officers.

There were uprisings against the British all over India, right from Punjab to Assam. But the fiercest battles were fought in north and central India. Delhi, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Awadh were some of the prominent centres. The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was acknowledged as the rightful Emperor of India and the sepoys fought in his name. Even the Marathas, the Mughals’ eternal antagonists, supported the emperor. Such was the interest among [most of] the Indian ruling classes to rout the British. Leaders like Nana Saheb, Kunwar Singh, Rani Lakshmi Bai, and Tantia Tope became famous for their bravery and leadership.

Almost a lakh Indian sepoys revolted against the British and along with the armies of Jhansi, Awadh, the Marathas & other kingdoms that had joined the War, they nearly succeeded in defeating the British. The main reason for their failure was the lack of a coordinated military strategy, and the Indian kings who chose to either side with the British or dint fight at all. But for this, the battle might have been won and India would have attained freedom much earlier.

What then is the lesson to be drawn from the 1857 Revolt? The uprising underlines the importance of fighting imperialism at all costs. The 1857 rebels fought and died for a cause – the cause of national liberation from an alien rule. They raised the standard of revolution when the English power in India was at its ascendant height, and fought relentlessly shoulder to shoulder for a national cause till the last hour, irrespective of religious, ethnic and regional divides.

Since the success of the Revolt certainly would have meant freedom from colonialism it is difficult to imagine what might have occurred. One thing is certain: it would have saved the country from the "benefits" of colonial modernity. Would it have led to the “resurrection of the feudal order” as Jawaharlal Nehru felt in his Discovery Of India or would it have enabled an independent path of development towards modernity? There is no definite answer.

If we want to truly honour the martyrs of 1857, then we should strive to achieve self reliance in all spheres of development. For it was their memeory that inspired the freedom struggle. As Somnath Chatterjee said in the Lok Sabha, "The War of 1857 was undoubtedly an epoch-making event in India’s struggle for freedom. For what the British sought to deride as a mere sepoy mutiny was India’s First War of Independence in a very true sense, when people from all walks of life, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and language, rose against the British rule.... Not only did these martyrs give up their lives for the sake of the country’s freedom but also left a message for the future generations --- a message of sacrifice, courage of conviction, a strong belief in the ultimate victory of the people in their war against oppression." I couldn't agree more.

Posted by kanjisheik at 02:05 PM | Permalink

Until I joined college, I was never really entranced by fantasy or science fiction. I’d read the requisite Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, J R R Tolkien, C S Lewis, et al; I really liked them, but that was it. I was more interested in Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Keats, et al. Did I mention that my reading habits are indiscriminate? Hell, I would read a Hardy Boys or a Nancy Drew with the same enthusiasm as I would read Rajaji’s Ramayana or Mahabharata!

But things began to change when I joined college in 2004. I had bought the first two parts of a retelling of the Ramayana by an author named Ashok K. Banker that had received rave reviews. And I was hooked right from page one. I liked them so much I bought the sequels and joined his online community Epic India. There, I met lots of like minded people who shared a common fascination for science fiction and fantasy novels. I began buying the books which were highly recommended- and thats when my journey truly began.

Over the last two years, I have read quite a lot of books that would be termed SFF. I’ve travelled through galaxies at speeds faster than light, jousted with knights, killed Greek gods [!], and made love to many a woman [:~)]. I’ve discussed the relative merits of Shakespeare vis-à-vis Proust [in an SF novel!], cast magic spells more devious than the 3 Unspeakable Curses of HP lore, fought numerous battles and dodged more characters than I could imagine. Ah! The vicarious thrills of reading… Such is the magic of SFF- it broadens our horizons, its beauty both inspires and reflects nature, it offers a large canvas on which the quirks of humanity are dealt with unconventionally [perhaps, even ironically!]

In the west, SFF has managed to create a niche of its own, but it’s the stupendous success of the Harry Potter books that allowed it to enter the mainstream. All of a sudden, YA fantasy [or, young adult fantasy] has become the most successful genre in the publishing industry. Just consider the sheer number of fantasy or SF movies that come out nowadays, and you will realize that SFF has come a long way…

So, if you are interested in skinny dipping in the realms of fantasy and science fiction, here are some of my picks. Trust me- most of these books have either defined or redefined the genre. Hope you go ahead and try them out!

Fantasy :-

1] George R R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire
2] Steven Erikson’s A Tale of the Malazan Books of the Fallen
3] Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series
4] Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series
5] Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy
6] Jonathan Stroud’s Bartemius trilogy
7] Terry Prattchett’s Discworld series

Science Fiction :-

1] Dan Simmons’s Hyperion Cantos
2] Frank Herbert’s Dune series
3] Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn trilogy
4] Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space series
5] Dan Simmons’ Ilium and Olympos
6] Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide series
7] Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga

Posted by kanjisheik at 07:31 AM | Permalink

Imagine a place where every book ever written is available at the click of a button...
Envision a place where You have the power to influence which books are read by others...
Picture a place where authors and readers can communicate with each other across the world...
Visualize a place where You can always find out what to read next...

...well, stop it – this is the best we can do, for now.

Thus begins the introduction to the site called Internet Books List, a site where members can rate and review books that they like and dislike. A kind of IMDB for books, if I may say so. With over 55,000 books and 13,000 users as of now.. And rapidly increasing.

This is probably the next big thing, guys. So check it out!

Posted by kanjisheik at 12:00 PM | Permalink