RIFLE RANGE BOY

Vijay 69 (Hindi, 2024) Director: Akshay Roy To be sure, there is another movie called Thalapathy 69. That is an untitled, yet-to-be-released 69th film by Tamil movie star Vijay. This 69th venture would be his last, as he has embarked on a full-time career in Tamil Nadu politics. This is a motivational movie aimed not only at senior citizens but also at the rest of society.  I vividly remember my father chatting with his friends when I was probably 15. Their common friend had died suddenly after an apparent heart attack. After the expected condolences and the sombre tone of the conversation, somebody cut in to say, "... but he is 54 and is due to retire next year!". It was then perfectly normal for someone past 50 to die. See how things have changed in 40-over years. Recently, a dear friend, aged 63, succumbed to a coronary event. This happened even when being under the keen watch of a cardiologist. His friends had this say, "63 is not the age to die. He went off too soo...

Lost in Bukit Bintang? It has been a long since I came to this side of town. More than 30 years ago, this place was 'happening' like the lingo in those days. A place brightly lit with neon lights, the epitome of capitalism, the enticement of the giant evil as it ushers in its sheep to the slaughter. Innovative advertising and enchanting window dressing were baits to detach the salaryman from his hard-earned in a jiffy. That is capitalism 101. There were a few choices back then, and Bukit Bintang was it. The place to be for the hip and trendy. Now, I feel lost. Walking on the footpath, I feel like a foreigner in my own 'Tanah Tumpah Darah Ku'. Everyone passing me looks foreign, speaking in incomprehensible tongues. Even the servers at the stall that line the footpath do not look local. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I felt like the proverbial deer that entered the village (Rusa masuk desa). I was too afraid of how things had morphed so fast since the last time I b...

The Bacchus Lady (2016) Director: E J-Yong Bacchus was a new word to me. It actually refers to the Greek god of wine, sometimes associated with Dionysus. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, many elderly people found themselves needing to fend themselves. The Miracle at Han River, following years of economic boom following the Korean War, left a country so entwined in the material chase that the traditional Confucian values had lost their appeal. Many young Koreans had emigrated, leaving their elders at home. South Korea is said to be having one of the worst social safety nets amongst OECD countries for its senior citizens. OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) countries comprise intergovernmental economic organisations with 38 nations founded in 1961 to stimulate world trade and stimulate economic progress. Its precursor, OEEC, was started in 1948 following the implementation of the Marshall Plan to develop post-WW2 Europe. The poverty rate of elderly peop...

Milestone (Meel Patthar, Hindi/Punjabi; 2021) Director: Ivan Ayr. It has been ingrained upon us that we are what we can contribute back to society. In philosophical terms, that is the tithe we pay back to the community for providing the security of numbers and the helping hands from the herd. So, as long as we have something to offer, we will not be looked upon as a burden. It sounds simple enough to prevent sluggards from hogging on the society for alms. And we also assume life will be the same forever and the Universe will be kind to us till the end of time. With the progressive lengthening of our life spans but incongruous to the available economic opportunities, there is a continual fight for the struggle for the young blood to fill in for the slowing older bodies.  The average worker will give his life, breath and blood to perform his job to the best of his abilities. He does that not necessarily due to his undying passion for his job. It may be the only thing he is good at. I...

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...

Admit it. One cannot remain in the limelight forever. Everyone has their temporary sojourn in the hall of fame, after which they would have to relinquish their baton the next Johnny-come-lately. One cannot stay perched on top of the pecking order forever. Professional decline generally happens in all professions, some earlier than the others. Athletes commence their declines quite early, whereas teachers, writers and researchers lose it much later. Peak performances of many professionals rarely happen at an advanced age. Not everyone takes the dimming of the spotlight gracefully. Charles Darwin 1809-1882 Charles Darwin was just 27 when he returned on the Beagle with his discoveries in botany and zoology. From that time, for the next 30 years, he was the go-to scientist who published the famous 'On the Origin of Species'. After 50, Darwin hit a brick wall. Not keeping up with mathematical calculations that were so important in later researches, he became irrelevant and ...

The world is your oyster. Too bad for vegetarians!  ©FG A few weeks ago, I met up with an old friend who had been under the weather of late after being under the barrage of attack of the unfriendly crab, which seems to have attacked his immune system. His account of life is one of melancholy and hopelessness. After retirement from Government service as a medical officer, he let life slip by. An occasional part-time job here and there, biking trip every now and then, that was it. His life had been dragging its feet at a snail's pace, then this. At the hospital, he lamented how people ask him to rest with his illness as if he was doing anything else after his retirement. He never owned a mobile phone and does not believe in going online. He keeps thinking the digital world is a just fad. He can only be contacted on a landline! And he continues in his grumpy, miserable and lifeless life living day by day and counting. On the other spectrum, I met a group of retirees who embrace...