Approaching the Inevitable Destruction?

Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Chrsitopher Nolan

A few times in the Bhagavadgita, Krishna is said to have shown His true self, Vishvaroopam. He is said to have uttered the now-famous quote, “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, himself a Sanskriti scholar, upon witnessing the detonation of a successful nuclear explosion and seeing the highly explosive nature of his experimentation, is credited to have mentioned the same line.

Now that Oppenheimer’s experience is immortalised on the silver screen with Hollywood’s latest offering, this quote has been scrutinised extensively. One Hindu scholar even mentioned that he had never read such a line in the epic. Something close to the text in the scripture about the destruction of the worlds in Chapter 12, verse 11, is about Time. Time as being the destroyer of physical things. In other words, the scholar Devdutt Pattnaik says Oppenheimer had misinterpreted the text.

The movie apparently was released in two versions. One specific for the Indian and Middle Eastern audiences was released with a U certification, and another with an R rating for the rest of the world so as not to hurt the Hindu sentiments. Still, many are up in arms. The above-mentioned sacred quote is uttered during an intimate sex scene. As the scene had scant relevance to the flow of the story and the availability of two versions, naysayers feel it is a deliberate attempt at mischief.

The movie is a gripping one, depicting a time when the Western world was developing its physical sciences by leaps and bounds. A time when quantum sciences was in its infancy and molecular science was beyond atoms, protons and electrons. We are discussing when Heisenberg, Bohr and Einstein could fit into the same narrative. With the development of science, the trust in the entity of God to take care of His subject diminished. Increasingly, people believed that aristocracy, theocracy and capitalism would not save mankind. Human malady had to be held by its horns, and the socialist and communist rule would spread wealth and justice justly. Leftist ideology was spreading worldwide, especially after witnessing the 1928 stock market crash and the two world wars that ensued.

Father of Atomic Bomb

As it is now, academics have always been leftist in their mindset. Added to Oppenheimer’s liaisons and the era of McCarthyism, Robert Oppenheimer became a scapegoat for allegations of leftist activities. In a gist, this set the storyline. As the enquiry goes on, we get the backstory of his early life, his affair, his wife, his appointment to head the Los Alamos project, the successful Manhattan project, his subsequent regret of unleashing the nuclear beast and his animosity with his working colleagues.

Back in 1980, BBC released a 7-part miniseries on Oppenheimer, starring a young Sam Waterston. Oppenheimer’s predicaments were expressed in a more unrushed manner covering his story in depth as if it was a miniseries.

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When nationalism comes together with science!

The Rocket Boys (Season 1, Ep 1-8; 2022)

Director: Abhay Panu

Network: SonyLIV

The Jataka Tales tells of a kingdom named Vishaili, hailed as the first republic in the world. This was in circa 400 BCE. It is said that there was no one king, but every subject had a say in the running of the state. It seems that everybody had an opinion of how to rule, but nobody took the mantle to take the lead. It was all somebody else's problem, and it ended with nobody doing anything. Pretty soon, the kingdom lost its lustre. Lord Buddha is said to have visited Vishaili thrice in his lifetime.

Vishaili's neighbour was the Magadh Kingdom. It was ruled by a monarchy with a big army. One day the Magadh King attacked Vishaili. The chaotic Vishaili, with no one taking charge, falls down with a whimper. It seems Lord Buddha, who was there meditating (the timeline is questionable, though), frowned when Vishaili was annihilated.

As all stories from the Jataka Tales carry a message, the lesson here is that to keep the peace, a kingdom has to be fully prepared for war as well.

In 1962 when China attacked India, India was in a position comparable to Vishaili. All holding hands, singing kumbayah and ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai’. Buddha would have frowned!

So when Indira Gandhi gave the green light to the BARC Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1972 to detonate their first atomic bomb, the project was aptly coded 'Smiling Buddha'. The fact that it was set off on Buddha Pournami was a side issue. Hence, the message passed to the Indian PM upon its successful launch was 'Buddha has finally smiled', implying that after their 1962 humiliation, the frowning Buddha had finally smiled.

It is unbelievable that upon independence, Nehru actually thought that India did not need its own armed forces, in keeping with India's stance on pacifism which got its freedom in the first place. Actually, historians disagree. They believe that the Indian Navy mutiny of 1946 and the people's dissatisfaction over the trial of the INA soldiers were the lynch pinch of Britons' exit from India.

The recent turn of events reinforced this notion. To keep the peace, the nation needs to show its aggressive side. The world is not a level playing field. If you think it is humane to preach non-violence and abhor destruction, you will end up being the fool. If only Ukraine did not agree to disarm its nuclear arsenal, Russia would not have the gumption to start a war. It will be the 'Prisoner's Dilemma' that will be haunting Putin - will you engage a cheat in a one on one game of Russian roulette?

The Ukraine debacle taught us this. It does not pay to be goody two shoes and live obediently by the rule of law. Of course, being humble, abhorring violence, not resorting to bullying tactics or afflicting discomfort upon your neighbour are all considered noble traits in a civil society. In reality, it does not take us far. The intelligent thing to do is to agree with all of the above but be prepared for eventualities. After all, power is a zero-sum game. To prosper, one nation has to be one notch above its neighbours.

The 1940s were dizzying times for Indians. Blessed with opportunities to sound education laid out by the British, India teemed with Nobel prize materials in sciences. There was Meghnad Saha, an astrophysicist, who gave us the Saha Equation to determine the contents of stars. Then there was CV Raman, the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Physics in the field of light scattering. SN Bose, who collaborated with Einstein to find Einstein-Bose condensate, were their contemporaries.

Combined with unbridled nationalism and raw energy to mark their presence in the world, many young scientists were out to prove their worth. This miniseries is a story of India's first rocket launch, its nuclear facilities' subsequent development, and the detonation of its atomic bomb.

With much liberty of creative licence, the storytellers tell the story of Homi Jahangir Bhabha, the architect of India's nuclear programme, and Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's Space Programme. APJ Kalam, the pioneer of India's rocketry science, is also portrayed. The end of World War 2 saw the Americans holding the helm as the only country with nuclear bombs. As the First World countries scurried to develop their own atomic bomb, young Indian scientists joined the bandwagon, albeit in their own backyard. This is their life story.

Critiques of this miniseries cite the unnecessary creation of fictitious characters and bending of the truth. There was no need to create a Reza, a conniving inferior-complex filled scientist out to falter Bhabha's efforts. Bhabha's assistant Madhur never existed. In real life, Sarabhai's wife, Myralini, was an established Bharatnatyam on her accord. She did not need her husband's approval to dance again after starting their family. In an interview, their daughter, Mallika Sarabhai, mentioned that she spent much time with her father in her early years as her mother was too busy with her performances. That is showbiz for you. I guess the lives of men of science must be pretty mundane, Hence, the need to spice up things.

Sekhar Gupta of The Print, India, opines that there is no need to create a Muslim and a communist-leaning villain named Reza. In reality, Bhabha had professional disagreements with Meghnad Saha, his contemporary. Bhabha and Saha tried to hog the spotlight, but both came from opposing backgrounds. Bhabha was born in a privileged background and had overseas education, whilst Saha came from a disadvantaged caste and strived hard for his education. Saha had socialist leanings, which got him into financial troubles, and he eventually was elected to the Indian Parliament on a socialist ticket.

Bhabha mysterious died in a possible mysterious air crash near Mont Blanc in 1966. It remains a mystery to conspiracy theorists. The suspicious hand of the CIA is clearly implicated in his demise.

Nevertheless, it is a very engaging flick. The sepia-hued backdrop is nostalgic, and the wardrobe and hairstyling arrangements are perfect. It is highly recommended. 4.5/5.

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What is a 'normal' family?

 Kumbalangi Nights (Malayalam, 2019)

For the longest time, the idea of a family unit, at least amongst the average middle-class family is that it would comprise a father who would predominantly contribute towards the material needs of the family. A mother would always seem to play second fiddle to the patriarchy but would be a tresure trove of love and affection in abundance. She would oversee the everyday running of the household. On the surface, the mother, the wife, seem to live under the shadow of her husband, dancing to his puppet-strings. In reality, however, she has her own ways of controlling the narratives in her own passive-aggressive way. 

In modern times, family dynamics have evolved. Not only have the extended family concept where relatives live under the same roof is getting rarer, one has to put up with single parents and same-gender parents. The notion of a male-domination in households is viewed upon as male toxicity. 

This movie compares two families, one consisting of four sons growing up all in their own ways, rudderless, with neither a father nor a mother. These boys are actually adults, just doing their own things, without any ideas of their future or working towards any purpose in life. They live day to day drinking and earning only enough to sustain their simple lives. Things change when a woman enters their respective lives. A sense of order seems to trickle in. 

This is compared to another traditional family with a mother, sister, and a wife only to be led by a patriarchal figure who exudes masculine toxicity. There is order. Food is always there. The female figures ensure cleanliness is maintained. The ugly side of this family surfaces when the sister falls head over heels in love with one of the brothers from the other family. He is considered too wayward and unworthy of her and her family.

The rest of the story is about how resolution comes in the form of families dousing the rage of an obviously deranged toxic head of the girl's family. The film tends to illustrate that the traditional family is terrible. Responsibilities must be shared by all members of the family, and no one person should dominate over the other.

The cinematography is awe-inspiring here. The setting of a riverside, boats, lush tropical greenery and simple way of living helps viewers to bury themselves temporarily in a tropical paradise, away from the hassle and bustle of their busy urban modern live. Even life in Eden has its problems that need to be fixed.  

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No country for intelligence

Salam - The First ****** Nobel Laureate

(2019 Netflix)

His tombstone was defaced. The epitaph which read 'The First Muslim Nobel Laureate' had, with the Government decree, the word 'Muslim' be removed from the headstone. Professor Abdus Salam, the first Pakistani and Muslim scientist to win the prestigious award, was of the Ahmadi faith. The country felt that he was not Muslim enough to claim to be one. Even Pakistani textbooks do not mention him as a national hero. The younger generation has not heard of him.

His story is of particular importance to a country like ours as we seem to be pursuing the same rabbit hole as their Big Brother Pakistan took when they clawed themselves off Hindustan back in 1947. Instead of speeding forward from the race-line, they took a backward trajectory that may send them back to the Stone Age. Rather than investing in human capital and knowledge-based activities, they have only successfully managed to shoo off intellectual away from Pakistan. Left behind are the blind followers, yeoman, sluggards and conmen. Academics like Pervez Hoodbhoy, the MIT trained nuclear physicist, and Tarek Fateh, the Canadian-Pakistani media-man, can only do so much to knock some semblance of sense into the system. In return, they are labelled traitors for putting down their nation.

The recent turn of events in Malaysia, with their association with the leaders of Turkey and Pakistan, put us in the same basket as them. The joke is on us, but we are too blind to see. This country has become no place for the intelligent and thinking individual. 

One can see the parallelism between Abdus Salam's early life to that of the great modern Indian Mathematician Ramanujan. An apparent child prodigy right from the start, he grew up in humble beginnings in Jhang, a small village in Punjab (which became part of Pakistan). From the surroundings of a ricketty town, at a tender age, he understood everything about electricity even when his village had never received any electricity.

Excelling in every public examination and even writing a Mathematic paper for publication titled ' A problem of Ramanujan' earned him a place in Cambridge around 1946-47. He was financed by a peasants' cooperative scholarship. 

Even though he escaped the turmoil of Partition, he had a tough time in the United Kingdom. Food was a major problem. Surviving primarily on macaroni cheese, he completed his Ph D and returned to Pakistan in 1951 as a professor in Mathematics in Government College in Lahore. He was obviously overqualified and intellectually isolated there. The Ahmadiyya sect was always a thorn in the flesh for the Sunni-majority Pakistan. In 1953 a riot broke out. Their esteemed leader is said to have claimed to be a prophet, the fabled Mahdi and even the Christian Messiah. 

Abdus Salam left Pakistan permanently for a post of Professor in Imperial College, London.

His academic career skyrocketed from then on. At one instance, he almost won a Nobel prize. If only a senior colleague had not shot down his research, he would have published it. His idea was picked by a Chinese physicists duo who received the coveted award afterwards. 

When often asked how we got all the knowledge that he possessed, he would often point up as if he received his revelations from above. This ring a bell to Ramanujan's assertion that he received his formulas from Goddess Namagiri.

Abdus Salam continued involving himself later in developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes for Pakistan as requested by Presiden Zulkifar Ali Bhutto. This did not last long. With the change of leadership as the conservatives held the helm, President Zia ul Haq with the blessings of the religious councils, declared Ahmadis as heretics in 1974.
Another bloodbath reminiscent of 1947 Partition took place. Believers from the Ahmadiyya sect were decapitated, maimed or slaughtered. Scenes of blood-stained train coaches with mutilated passengers gave Pakistanis a deja vu.

In 1979, Professor finally received the elusive Nobel Prize. He went on to develop scientific research in developing countries. He was keen to offer himself as a candidate for the post of the Director-General of UNESCO, but Pakistan refused to back his application.

He finally succumbed to motor neuron disease and was eventually buried in Pakistan.

Garbed in traditional attire during Nobel Prize awards, he quoted a verse from the Quran that suggests that religion and science should not diverge but instead complement each other. He did not see religion as a deterrent to acquiring knowledge but paradoxically a nidus to do so. ©Getty Image.

A very touching documentary which highlights the dangers when stupid people hold too much power. When race and religion supersede rational thinking, the collapse of civil society and social structure is imminent. Like body odour, stupidity is only realised by the individuals around them, not the bearer of the stench or the idiots.


The Persecution of Pakistan's Ahmadiyya Sect

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p025n89c

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What is the cost of lies?

Chernobyl (2019)
Netflix miniseries

I could not help it but compare the disaster at Chernobyl to the fall of the Malaysian ruling party of 61 years in the last general elections. 

Everything was going wrong in 1986, Russia. In 1917, when the peasants were starving, and the Romanov family was perched in their castles oblivious to the people's sufferings, it seemed like the best thing to do. Singlehandedly, the people defended their Motherland from external aggressors. The propaganda news suggested that they had the best leader in the world. In the field of science and technology, they were beyond compare. Proof of their achievements was evident in the area of space travels. Communism took care of everybody, they were told.

But happy hours do not last forever.

Communism never lived to its promise. Somehow, from the word go, the lure of human desires always superseded the need to do the just thing. Under the cloak of grandiosity, lay beneath a corrupt system which was hellbent on suppressing citizen dissatisfactions and punishing them. Improving the system was last on the agenda. Every economic transformation system has a shelf-life, I guess. 

Back at home, a similar scenario was occurring. Immersed in 60 years of unabated power, they thought they were invincible. Accountability and people-centred programs were forgotten. Fattening one's own and cronies'  wallets became the order of the day. Racial and religious issues were fanned to keep citizens self-absorbed in self-defeating exercises. 

The thing that befuddles me is why, of all the elected and non-elected leaders of the executive, legislature and judiciary arms of the country, none had the gumption to stand up against the shenanigans that were happening under their supervisions. Did the system stupefy them or were they like mere obedient servants like Adolf Eichmann?  Mind-boggling indeed.

This five-episode miniseries narrated the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1985. It re-creates the events, as told by the local population. It describes, with the liberty of poetic licence, through the eyes of a fictitious nosy (or conscientious) scientist the real shortcomings that led the accident in the first place and at their lousy handling of the aftermath of the mishap.

The Russians were not cordial to this show. They have decided to make their own show with their version of the truth. Even the mortality figures are disputed. The official Soviet figures put death at 32, whilst Western journalists estimate 4,000 to 93,000 fatalities.

 Memorable quotes: 

“Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Lies.” 

 “the gift of Chernobyl: where I once would fear the cost of truth, I only ask”—“what is the cost of lies?”

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"Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!"

Seven Days in May (1963)

Humans are social animals, they say. We need each other to survive. We should look at one another as our brothers and sisters to sail through the journey of life. They say we should look at another not by colour or creed, but as a fellow being seeking temporary sojournment on Planet Earth. That, borders and nation states are artificial boundaries created by multinational conglomerates with business and acquisition of wealth on their mind!

But snap out of it! This is what we have. Various nations wanting to do better than the other and do not to be taken for a fool by others. An entity called nationalism evolved over differences and the trust was put on a piece of cloth and the writings which define the nation, the Constitution. Leaders are elected democratically to guard this common belief that the Constitution is supreme, infallible and can stand the test of time as the founding fathers were visionaries extraordinaire!

We all may not be happy with how things are done but we have it stick to the majority decision. That is how it works, we state our displeasure at the ballot box, the democratic way. Any other way should surely spell mayhem and that would be healthy for our State, if we loved it so much! But then, most people are not visionaries and cannot even see beyond their next meal. They need to be coerced and shown the way. For that, we have the political platform, not the hostile military takeover.

At the heights of the Cold War just after the Cuban nuclear crisis, came a book which predicted a time in the future, in the 1970s, of a situation where a nuclear disarmament treaty is to be signed. The President's rating is at an all-time low for putting the mighty USA in a cowardly stance, believing that Communist Russians would stay true to paper. The general scream for 4-star General James Scott (Burt Lancaster) to take over the helm.

The whole premise of the story is about the observant Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), the personal assistant to General Scott, who notices many peculiarities and deduce that his boss was planning a coup d'etat! As a loyal citizen, he brings his case to the President himself. After much deliberation, the President and his band of trusted men unfold a takeover of the Government by rogue Army personnel.

Over the years, either by own volition or by certain undetermined events in history, we are all divided into nation states. We are given sovereignty and the free rein to lead our country to whatever direction we want to. It is our birthright to protect and preserve the visions that our forefathers had. We are not expected to just at the sideline when someone from somewhere who have failed miserably their own backyard, comes to our country upon our kind humane gesture, tells us that we are doing it all wrong. They, instead, want to inculcate their failed ideology into ours! No way, Jose!

Order in chaos?

Hava Aney Dey (Let the Wind Blow; Hindi; 2004)

This Franco-German of a Hindi film co-production had too much on its plate. No doubt, it had won many global independent awards the world over but the fact remains that its storyline is too ambitious to cover in one and half hour of screening. It tries to deal with so many things without going deep into any of the issues it tries to invoke.

The protagonist, Arjun, is an 18year old youth, is at the crossroads of his life. On one hand, he sees his widowed mother working day and night trying to put food on the table after his gambling father died early. The mother is putting all her hopes on her only son to make it to university. In her eyes, that would be the panacea for all the poverty woes. Arjun is disillusioned by all these. He sees his blue collared friends struggling so hard with no hope ever hitting it big in life. He also sees the rich just loafing around enjoying life and spending (wasting) their money without a care. The lingering dilemma is whether education makes one happy and whether it a passport to success.

In the background, there is a constant reminder on the cable TV that a nuclear showdown is brewing over the India-Pakistan border.

Arjun is not a bright student, though. With all his nocturnal intoxicating habits and trysts, studies hardly interest him. What interest him, however, is a fellow student, Salma. He joins the school drama just to be by her side. He discovers his natural talent in acting. The theme of the show is a scene from the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna has the cold feet before the Kurukshetra War and his qualms about killing his cousins, somewhat mirroring the two brothers' (India and Pakistan) faceoff! As a side issue, we are introduced to Salma's grandmother who was a freedom fighter who fought for Indian independence and decided to stay back in India and not migrate to Pakistan. Then Salma's parents also work tirelessly for the uplifting of society.

Arjun's best friend, Chabia, a mechanic who gets Arjun to do his vices and also has the contacts to get him out trouble has his own his issues his cabaret dancer girlfriend. The girl loves him but not his poverty, Chabia loves her but not her job.

Along the way, the audience is given the impression that the country has no future but to venture out of it to prosper. In this case, Dubai seems to be the haven. Even that never materialised for our stars. Just as they make plans to leave for Dubai with the farewell party and all, nuclear warheads of India and Pakistan head towards the heart of each other's major city.

The cinematography is so surreal, with many street scenes and lingo that we are all too familiar. Interestingly, that was the very reason why the film had issues with the national censors. It eventually never got screened in India as the filmmakers would not comply with the censors' demand to bleep almost 20 minutes of its dialogue.

Through this film also you get to understand how the chaos theory comes into effect. With so much random things happening around so many people, there is still a semblance of order, and the sun still shines. People still grew to fulfil their dreams and lead a full life.

In the interest of science, they say!

Radio Bikini (1988, Documentary)

In the interest of science they say....

The above is a trailer of a series nuclear bomb blasts (2 of them) in Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in the summer of 1946. I saw the full version of it over the Sundance channel recently. And it left a bad after taste. 

After the success of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the US and its allies decided that there was a dire need to learn more about this deadly weapon, hence was born Operation Crossroads to test the catastrophic effects of the A-bomb.

The film starts with the actual footage of transmission of propaganda radio from Bikini Atoll. it paints a very cheery picture of the army and the locals gaily enjoying the sea, sun and the outdoors. The visitors managed to convince the Bikinian leader, Kilon Bauno, to coax his people to uproot themselves from their homeland to the Marshall Islands for the purpose of the experiment. The inhabitants never ever returned home to their homeland as it was finally deemed worthless for cultivation and potentially harmless for human inhabitants later. The events of the operations were narrated through the experience of a former American serviceman, John Smitherman who was very sick during time of the documentary shooting and succumbed shortly afterwards due to cancer.
The days leading to the blast off was met with opposition by the American public and the Soviet Union. With the touch of American diplomacy and propaganda, everything proceeded as planned.

Man checked for
radioactivity hours
after an atomic blast
at Bikini

5 war ships with various animals and experiment materials were strategically around the intended site of blasts. Tonnes of film rolls were shipped in to immortalize the event. The navy crew viewed the whole event from a distance wearing only protective goggles; no protective suits or shoes!
The footage shown after the mushroom cloud was not a pleasant one.
The steel war ships were riddled with hole and the metal aboard were twisted around like coil wire. The sheep on board were roasted, some miraculously were still alive but very very sick. The technicians were seen aboard were the clucking Geiger-Mueller counters. The soldier attire and even their bodies tested positive in the counter. They were still seen swimming and washing using the sea water.
The later part of the film suggested, but did not admit, that atomic power should only be used for peace on Earth, not to destroy Earth.