RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Golden Road - How Ancient India Transformed the World (2024) Author: William Dalrymple The author is quite unapologetic that his book would sound like an episode from the famous British desi sitcom, 'Goodness Gracious Me'. In fact, Sanjay Bhaskar, the main character in the above sitcom, was the invited guest to launch Dalrymple's latest book on Indian history. This book is a joy to read. Packed with information from cover to cover, extensive research must have been conducted into the world of the Indosphere before waves of invaders destroyed it and rewrote its history. Its cultural influence spread beyond its borders. Indian advanced navigational skills, using the seasonal monsoon winds to bring goods, knowledge, and culture to adjacent regions, were assets for mankind. India was a big brother figure to the Southeast Asian region, as far as the present Indochina region and even to China. As early as the first century CE, the trade imbalance was so great, favouring India...

White Squall (1996) In my teen years, I remember helping an older teenager to organise a religious outing for a group of children. We were to arrange for a bus to get the kids to the other side of town for Sivarathri prayers. As it involved overnight event, somebody thought that verbal consent was not sufficient. Each participant was asked to get their parents to sign a release form. We got the replies promptly from all except one. It seemed his father, an Army man, refused to sign the consent form and wanted to see the organisers. That was the first time I was exposed to an unreasonable person who thought that the whole world out there was just out to kidnap his child. His coveted son did not make it to the prayers as we could not convince his father. Later in life, the calculating father must have miscalculated his drinking habits and succumbed to the effects of the bottle. The obedient son was also devastated much later, in an unrelated event, when he woke up one fine morning t...

Hunt for Red October (1990) Many keyboard warriors are so convinced by what they see online. They fail to understand why others are so dumb (in their eyes, of course). To them, truth our there is as clear as day. And everyone else just ought to follow, no questions asked. What these modern warriors or influencers, as they are referred to these days, need to know is that sometimes we become too blinded with our beliefs that we fail to practice mindfulness. They should wear another hat and maybe a different colour lens, other than rose, to get a different perspective on things. A revolution cannot be started by an army of one. It begins with the revolution of the collective minds and hearts of the people. This change is difficult, more so in modern times, as we are so divided by ideologies, cultures, faiths and identity. This film is based on Tom Clancy's 1984 novel which in turn was loosely based on Soviet Union's 1975 attempted mutiny aboard a warship. In the 1975 revol...

The Lighthouse (2019) When we were young, we were fascinated with the lighthouse. Any sketch of nature would include seas, boats, seagulls, clouds and flashing beacons. As Penang, our hometown is a port city, we had the pleasure of seeing many in our lifetimes.  Many stories have been written on the heroic deeds of many a keeper or 'wickies' as they were referred to put their lives at stake to provide a continuous beacon of light to the safety of travelling vessels. The job is an unrewarding one with boredom being the most significant and dangerous occupational hazard to beat. Being located far from civilisation and at precarious locations, access to these places may be easily compromised by inclement weather. Hence, the keepers may sometimes be stranded for months altogether. Solitude was thought to be the single most typical reason for the prevalence of madness in the profession. Another possible aetiology of insanity could be mercury poisoning. In the older models of Fr...

Inventing South East Asia (Documentary; 2016) Written and Presented by Dr Farish Noor It is always interesting to listen to or read Dr Farish Noor's rendition of history as we were never taught.  In this documentary series, he dons khakis and ventures deep into the heart of South East Asia. He tells us how the colonialist masters carved out boundaries amongst the borderless Malay archipelago to invent race, identity, cause destruction and pillage, all in the name of bringing 'modernisation' to the 'primitive' natives. What they did not realise or refuse to admit is that the area that they thought were doing a great humanity service, already had a stable civilisation and were already cultured in their own way. They created a smokescreen to do their job, to pilfer enormous wealth and precious natural resources. #1 . Conquerors and Merchants We are seldom told of the British invasion of Indonesia. In fact, they had interfered in Indonesia's affairs twice, al...

Pear ta Ma On Maf (The Land Has Eyes, Fiji; 2004) Guess what? This film is Fiji's only known own production. It is a simple low budget fare made to look like a Disney family film about the legend of the spirit of a woman warrior who was left to fend for herself marooned on an island by her 7 brothers. Her spirit came to help a local girl whose father was cheated by a rich neighbour. The girl from the remote island of Rotuma Island, Viki, has big plans to further her studies in main Fiji Island. Her endeavour, however, is planned to be sabotaged by the same neighbour. The spirit of the female warrior comes to her rescue and helps to change her fate. The highlight of the movie is the scenic landscape of the Pacific together with with its clear blue sky, waters and flora. Kudos too to some of the underwater camera shots. The story otherwise is quite predictable and tame. Maybe because their pioneering effort on a shoestring budget, they were nominated for the 2006 Academy Award...

Das Boot (The Boat, German; 1981) Written and Direction: Wolfgang Peterson Yet again, another movie to highlight to us that the fighting spirit and the will to live of the human being. In this most expensive German movie at that time, the events surrounding the voyage of a German U-boat is depicted in a heart wrenching and suspenseful manner. It narrates the joy of the crew starting the journey led by a relatively young crew of a captain, chief engineer and war correspondence journalist. They were initially mocked by the older crew who doubt their credibility. They soon discover that their journey is no pleasure cruise, fraud with mishaps and enemy attacks. They had an initial excitement as they shot down a war ship but surprisingly they could not stomach the idea they were actually killing people. Their gung ho spirit soon dwindled as this lethargic crew is shoved around by the powers that be to go and there. Once they were hit by the enemy ship and were stranded in the bottom ...