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24-30 July, 2012
small world
WEEDED OUT
No Rain, No Tree Planting
Haima Deshpande

MUMBAI ~ The image of a crisp kurta-pyjama clad politician taking a few token hacks at the soil with a pick axe and planting a sapling may soon be a thing of the past. The once important image-building tool for leaders—especially the Congress, whose activists embarked on highly-publicised tree plantations during Independence Day, Republic Day and the birthdays of Indira, Rajiv, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi—is no longer on their priority list. Blame it on lack of rain. A drought like situation has engulfed many parts of the country. Planting trees in such times annoys residents of that area as the trees deplete their already meagre reserves of water.

Keeping in mind the 2014 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, politicians have cautioned supporters against organising tree plantation drives. A Congress minister in the Maharashtra cabinet says, “When there is no water, people do not take kindly to tree plantations. There will be elections and none of us wants to be caught on the wrong foot. Planting more trees will not get us more rain, history is proving it.”

There is another angle to the sudden reluctance of ministers to plant trees. Many politicians are silent or active partners in the construction activity of prominent builders. They don’t want to do anything that will shrink real estate areas.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who during his Shiv Sena days had pledged to plant 76 lakh trees across the state (after his uncle Bal Thackeray turned 76), abandoned the idea after planting less than 1,000 saplings. That was in 2003. Today, he avoids tree plantation drives.

Spiritual guru Bhayyu Maharaj, who has been advising politicians across the country to plant trees according to the Navagraha pattern, is not happy with their opposition. In the Navagraha pattern, trees are planted according to their compatibility with seasons and the nine planets. “More trees must be planted. It is only such greenery which can bring good rain,” he says. This is that rare occasion when his advice is not being heeded.

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Take Two
Desi Boy
Rajesh Khanna proved that you didn’t have to shoot abroad or wear designer clothes to sell a film
Akshay Sawai

Rajesh Khanna was an Indian superstar in the true sense of the word. Few of his famous films, if any, were shot abroad. In almost all of them, he wore simple kurtas.

Overall, Khanna’s films had an Indianness to them. The characters he played were rarely Westernised. In Amar Prem, he plays a Calcutta businessman named Anand Babu who, trapped in a bad marriage, finds comfort in the company of a courtesan. In Anand, perhaps Khanna’s most famous role, he plays Anand Saigal, a dying man but one blessed with a blithe spirit. When Anand needs a break, he goes for a stroll on Juhu Beach, sings and releases balloons in the air. He doesn’t go to London. In Aradhana, perhaps the most popular Rajesh Khanna soundtrack, he plays a pilot (and later, his son; it’s a double role, but this is not the time to get into weaknesses of plot.

Then Amitabh Bachchan, two months and 18 days older than Khanna, came along and unexpectedly ended the latter’s box office rule. (Khanna’s record of 15 successive hits still stands, though.) Their films were very different. Khanna was a romantic or tragic hero. He was in his element playing emotional scenes. Amitabh was a brooding action hero. It is possible that Khanna tilted his neck more in one film than Amitabh in all his films combined. And Amitabh probably threw more punches in one film than Khanna in all his films combined. Amitabh also had a higher cool factor. But he too didn’t need excessive styling or shoots abroad (save for exceptions like The Great Gambler and Silsila). His films too had an Indianness. Vijay by and large was a tall Indian boy in bell bottoms who worried about his mother.

There is a lesson in all this. You don’t have to shoot in foreign locations and spend lakhs on wardrobes to make a film successful. Yes, times have changed. There are more Indians who live or travel abroad now compared to the 1960s or 1970s. It is also true that there are some sound reasons for shooting films abroad. Countries come knocking on Bollywood’s door for promotional reasons. Foreign locations serve as eye candy. But far too often, Indian films shot abroad seem forced, the characters and their worlds fake. The best tribute to Rajesh Khanna will be if Bollywood tries to stay true to its roots.

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Conservation
Dravid’s Wild Side
Anil Budur Lulla

Joining the list of illustrious Indian cricketers who have adopted animals in Mysore’s Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Rahul Dravid recently adopted two African hunting cheetahs, in the names of his children. Brinda and Tejas, the two cheetahs, were brought in from Leipzig Zoo in Germany on an exchange programme. Their adoption, for Rs 50,000 every year, has brought cheer to the park, which recently lost three African hunting cheetahs within a month to infections. The zoo also has a breeding programme, and Brinda gave birth to three cubs last year. Paying for the upkeep of zoo animals is not new to Dravid, who has also adopted animals at Bannerghatta Biological Park on the outskirts of Bangalore. Other cricketers who have adopted animals at the Mysore park include Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath. Kumble, an avid wildlife photographer and the current deputy chairman of the Karnataka Wildlife Board, has adopted a giraffe calf and an Asiatic lion. Dhoni, who supports India’s ‘Save the Tiger’ campaign, and Zaheer have adopted a Royal Bengal tiger each. And Srinath has adopted a jaguar. Zoo officials are thrilled. They feel adoptions by celebrities spread awareness. In 2011-12, apart from cricketers, 286 other individuals made the effort to adopt animals at the zoo.

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Personal Service
Dial a Peon
Lhendup G Bhutia

Ever wished you could be in two places at the same time – finishing up work in office as well as running a personal errand? We did too. Now help is a phone call away for the people of Mumbai. My Peon, a service launched on 1 July, eliminates the need for a full-time peon. Instead, you can get help for just one day. Individuals have to pay Rs 100, plus travelling charges, for every task commissioned, one day before the day of the task. If something has to be done the same day, the rates are Rs 200 plus travelling charges. The founder of the service, Bharat Ahirwar, said he started My Peon because he realised there are many people in cities who do not want to hire a peon full-time, but require someone on the odd occasion. “So far, I get around six tasks every day. From standing in queues to paying bills to taking a senior citizen to the doctor,” Ahirwar says. He also has another business called At Your Service. Here, individuals can opt for a monthly scheme by which a number of tasks can be assigned to ‘personal assistants’.

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24-30 July, 2012