Remembering Dr.Lagoo !

In a grateful gesture, the media was kind enough to come out of its debate mode to give a breaking news of sad demise of legendary actor Doctor Lagoo .

I am not a regular cinegoer and may not be a right person to talk about the kind of cinema Dr. Lagoo did. However, I can vouch for the fact that whichever role Dr.Lagoo enacted, he always came across as an actor par excellence.

Cinema is full of its stories and drama with actors or overrated ones, coming out with roles which are larger than life. But when one saw Dr.Lagoo on the screen, it was always a real life character which could be seen across all walks of life.

There are very few, who can remain true to self and Dr. Lagoo was certainly one of them.

I remember trusting him as a child for Dabur Chyawanprash. The very same advertisement had created a controversy for Dr.Lagoo considering a fact that a doctor is not supposed to publicise any product. But, the man was always convinced what he was upto.

A father in Dr. Lagoo remained composed even in death of his his beloved son Tanveer( named after theatre actor Habeeb Tanvir, showing Dr. Lagoo’s non-religious and human first philosophy) in a stone pelting incident while traveling in train. May be we should always remain indebted to him, as the instance might have opened government eyes to come out  with protected window shields in the trains. Never know, but the incident might be the beginning of recluse of Dr.Lagoo from active cinema and theatre.

Very few people can come across as no-nonsense personality and whenever, wherever or whichever the platform are presented to them, they always come out as people of conviction, having an inner discipline and can speak their minds. The other name of such personalities is Dr.Shreeram Lagoo.

After winding up his medical profession in Africa, the doctor in him became a full time actor but as they say you are always known by your first profession and Dr Lagoo will always be remembered as a fine actor who was, once a renowned doctor.

Maharashtra looses another son and may his soul rest in peace.

‍ ‍Dr.Lagoo ‍‍

UK Elections ! Celebration of democracy

Having lived and loved London, General Elections in UK have always evinced my curiosity and I have followed them very closely.

This year probably was more special due to Brexit and on a personal note the constituency of Uxbridge was of my keen interest due to two facts, one it being British PM Boris Johnson’s seat and secondly, as it was my workplace during my stay in London.

The elections came, people voted, results counted and new government will be formed soon. All happened without too many of political rallies, fanfare and mud slinging on political rivals.

The best part of British democracy is the grace with which the parliamentarians carry themselves in victory or the loss. A leader who cannot make his party win is the first one to accept the defeat and vacates his role and the one who wins is magnanimous enough to quit if his party doesn’t favour him in the long run. Few exits which are worth to remember are John Major, Tony Blair or the latest one of David Cameron for sure.

The win might have made the conservatives all bit powerful but the journey will not be an easy one in the days to come. The Brexit has proved to be more than a bigger bottleneck for Europe and UK both. With difference of opinion in Scotland for EU inclination, exit or no exit will always be delicate to handle.

The real test for Boris Johnson has just begun. How he deals with the situation and gets maximum benefits for his country will decide the future of his nation and his own legacy.

As they say, it’s not what you deserve but what you negotiate! The EU and UK are exactly on two sides of this thin line.

What does the UK elections mean for India ?
On one side is a large commercial but volatile market of Europe and UK and only time will tell how the countries realign themselves in new political situation. The other side throws good introspective lessons of democracy and conduct of the politicians.

India has inherited democracy from the UK, but may be we haven’t fully transformed it to  people. We struggle to get a leader without a political lineage , are comfortable with a person who has repeatedly failed his party but is never challenged and we are never are bothered about the change in political ideologies or stand taken by the leaders or their parties.

It is equally interesting to see the demographic and geographic size of the British constituency and compare it with Indian counterparts. India is approximately 13 times bigger in size than the UK but the number of parliament seats in UK are around 20% more than those of India. This probably means that the representation is more dense than what we have. The voice sent to the parliament belongs to smallest of the nook of the constituency and represent a variety of people rather than getting dominated by a larger chunk of population. The irony would be to know the fact that many of the winners in UK might have secured lesser number of votes than some of the candidates who probably lost their deposits in Indian elections.

Democracy in a way is a continuously evolving process. The democracy in UK is more than 5 centuries old whereas we have just began. We have yet to come out of that ruler and the follower mindset and it will probably take few quarters of century that we will be a fully governed by the people and served by the politicians.

The bottom line is that the democracy is here to stay in India and the people have accepted it wholeheartedly. The proof is more than enough that we have always been governed by, what we have chosen. Whether right or wrong would always remain an individual choice and people’s voice.The most important are the values for which we fought for freedom and hope they are sustained for years to come.

Image Courtesy: Politico
Disclaimer: The article is a mere observation of UK elections and does not discuss the policies or legacies of the political parties in India or abroad.

Nirbhaya and Priyanka are not alone !

In recent past ,the country has faced a huge furore in terms of shameless crime against women and the talk is all around.The media, the hashtags, speeches, the candlelight march have immensely mobilised the youth and hope this continues till we find a stable and long term solution to these regressive and repeatative instances.

However, the past instances prove that all such focus hasn’t ideally been converted into a robust system. Many a times such protests turn out to be politicised ones aimed at targeting the law and order control of the current establishment, whoever is at the helm.

If Nirbhaya case was an eye opener, Kathua confirmed the facts that there is no fear amongst perverts and the unfortunate incidence of Priyanka Reddy reestablished the fact that a section of society will neither improve nor be afraid to commit the heinous act or crimes.

We need to have the guilty pronounced and have them face rigorous punishment through fast track justice but will it suffice for a strong, educated, cultured and law abiding society ? The answer doesn’t look too much of positive if the fight for the cause is not sustained and eradication of root cause is not addressed with will, unity aimed at stringent laws and an aim for constructive nation building.

India has grown leaps and bounds since independence. The growth and social reforms need to go hand in hand but the lack of political will and huge imbalance in terms of socio-economic structure across the nation,could never allow the nation to ditch the oppression and embrace the progression.

The link between literacy/education, culture, wealth and power is extremely vital for any society.  Education is the key to eradicate illiteracy and control self proclaimed chauvinism. Power and wealth is normally reciprocated with the literacy or education but we as a country, has a huge inverse of it when it comes to reality.

We need to go back to basics of our culture , imbibe sense of belongingness, educate the kids, let the wealth be through the route of wisdom and power be through social rights and not through the muscle power.

Whenever such cases stand in the court, the law has always taken its own course.It has never come out of its boundaries and made it open to public kind of judiciary. It is necessary that justice is highlighted and shouted to every nook and corner of the remotest places.

‘Fear for GOD’ irrespective of the community was an age old belief which has become fearless and if we fail to bring it to ‘FEAR for Law’ mode , we will always see someone above the law twisting it or even if punished not ashamed of his deeds.

If law abiding is a scarcity then the law binding needs to improve . A society which believes in ‘Freedom is its right’, also needs to understand that freedom without integrity, freedom without responsibility, freedom without social reforms will always take the country backwards and not towards a path of cohesive socio-stable nation.

It’s not only about Nirbhaya, Priyanka but it’s also about the future of daughters of the nation who not only are pride of their families but who also have a capability to take our country on path of progression. What they need is nothing more that bit of affection, appreciation and a rightful protection from the society.

P.S. This is a personal viewpoint about the current recurring instances in the country and, it does not refer to any individual or any political affiliation.

Image Courtesy: Zee News

- Jayawant