RIFLE RANGE BOY

Landscape with Figures" by George Tooker (1992 ) Trapped in pigeon holes? I have known Uncle K7 for more than thirty-over years. Ever ready with a gleaming smile, he enjoys having long banter with me every now and then, I think. Periodically, during draggy family functions, we would often be nooked at a corner to discuss his life and times as a young technician in the world of espionage. Working in the Malaysian Field Force as a sergeant, he was in the frontline trying to intercept communist's radio communication using the then avant-garde British and German technology .  These family gatherings were nothing more than marking of attendance akin to a Mafia family meetings where the same crowd meets, again and again, to reinforce who is who in the family's hierarchal ladder.  My interactions with Uncle K7 over the years opened up my understanding of mortality, immortality and the purpose of life. Through him, I realised the need to discover, re-discover and continue learn...

Krishna and His Leela (Telugu, 2020) Netflix Even though this film has just been released, it has kicked up such a storm over the cyberworld. Hashtags like   #BoycottNetflix  and #KrishnaAndHisLeela are trending. People are calling @NetflixIndia  Hinduphobic, citing many of its latest productions apathetic to the Hindu sentiments. Films like Sacred Games, Bulbul, Ghoul, Delhi Crimes and Leila have allegedly denigrated the Hindu deities. In this offering, is it a merely by chance that the main character's name coincides with the protagonist of the epic Mahabharata? Krishna in the movie is an indecisive chap who conveniently two-times his two girlfriends whose names just happens to be Lord Krishna's two of His eight queen-consorts, Radha and Satya. There is a third girl whose name sounds similar to Rukmini. The fact that the protagonist pushed the boundary of public 'Indian' decency that ired viewers more. In most Indian movies, the story of a hero is only allowed ...

K.D. @ Karuppu Dorai (2109, Tamil; கேடி என்ற கருப்புதுரை) This story reminds me of the many stories that I discussed with my fellow partner-in-crime in the not so distant past. Quite many a time, seriously ill patients with advancing age with the myriad of medical illnesses that complements the geriatric population often gets admitted to his unit. Invariably, the patient's children would insist that their moribundly ill elders get all the best treatment that money can buy. The oft-repeated dialogue would be, "money is not a problem". My friend knows it is no use flogging a dead horse but like a good servant he is, he obliges, every time.  The tide would be going against the acutely ill patient. The next of kins would, however, stay hopeful. The life is literally hanging on a thread, living on a prayer. But hope lies eternal in the human heart.  Days move ever so slowly but the patient's condition doe not improve. Slowly, the number of visitors hanging around th...

https://mybukz.tumblr.com/post/174902329732/poem-aging-with-grace-by-farouk-gulsa JUNE 15TH, 2018 WINGSWORLDWEB  Poem: Aging With Grace by Farouk Gulsara Photo by Pranav Jain on  Unsplash Ageing with Grace My mane, my crowning glory, Once my pride, my joy, Is now but just a silvery tuft. My dimples, my charm, Have lost their twinkle, now just wrinkles. My charming Bella Donna eyes, Cataractic, xanthomatous, have lost their glaze. My neck, so nimble, so supple once, Now only arthritic, sprouts crackles. My breasts sprout proud once, Parturient, now sag, atrophy. The curtain bows. My female chest so majestic once, Now left kyphotic and osteoporotic. My midriff navel tease, sari for cover, Left now with striae, protuberant and scarred over. My posterior, an asset, my pride, Adipose now deposited on both sides. The thigh, the thunder, Is flabby without tone, none to wonder. The feet used to...