Should I stay or should I go now?

For Sama (Arabic: من أجل سما‎ ‘min ajl sama‘)
(Syrian Documentary; 2019)

Recently I read of a young mother with her 4-month old infant participating in a civil objection against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bhag in Southern Delhi. Soon after being in Delhi for a couple of days, the child fell ill and succumbed to pneumonia at the protest grounds. The mother said in a TV interview that she was not saddened by the demise. In fact, she felt proud that her son gave his life for the future of the country. Deep inside, she must be feeling like 'Mother India'. Given another chance, she would do it all over again.

Now, would you call that bad parenting or patriotism?

This is the same question the maker of the documentary 'For Sama' seems to be asking. Waad Al-Kateab, who started filming her life experiences as a university student in Aleppo, realised that her country, Syria, was slowly plunging into civil war. She started getting involved with students' resistance front against Bashar Al-Assad. As from 2011, as the violence by ruling regime against civilians escalated, she had to make a decision whether to stay and fight a good fight or escape the country. She opted to stay back. She soon met a similar-minded doctor Hamza, who made his personal mission to remain to treat the victims of the unrest. Waad continued filming her day-to-day events and sent it to Channel 4 of the BBC for broadcast.

Aleppo: Before and After Bombing pics
©boredpanda.com

Hamza and Waad decided to tie the knot despite the constant bombardment and destruction around them. All through her filming, she kept asking herself whether what she was doing was correct. The uncertainty became more acute as her daughter, Sama, for whom this documentary is dedicated, was born. She often wondered if she was ruining her daughter's future or depriving her of opportunities for a brighter future by her (Waad's) inactions.

All through the presentation, viewers are served with dead bodies, death and rubbles of what used to be buildings. Hamza, who ran make-shift hospitals with necessary facilities to treat victims, was bombed by Assad's and Russian bombers.

Finally, in 2015, Hamza, Sama and a pregnant Waad made a dash to Turkey as refugees. They eventually settled in the UK but has plans to return to Syria once normality returns.

When the comfort zone is rocked, what should one do? Should he run away from the offending agent or stand his ground and fight for his place that his ancestors had set foot, developed and attached their root deeply into the ground? Is it easier to maintain the peace and look elsewhere peace of mind? Anyway, discrimination, inequality and injustice are there all over the world. Deep inside, we are all entirely self-centred. Should we just mind our business, give a damn about others but just care for our loved ones?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

It never ends!

Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design (2013)
Author: Stephen C. Meyer

Alert: For Mature Readers Only

Discretion Advised

What triggered to look into this book was Zakir Naik's emotional argument with a self-professed atheist who was born Muslim on the theory of Evolution. The atheist challenged the rejection of Darwin's theory in Islam. The discourse went personal as Dr Naik started questioning the seeker's basic understanding of science and its terminologies. Then on, it became farcical, and the session had to be terminated. It was harbouring on diabolical issues like whether the theory of gravity was a mere theory or a fact and how scientific facts differ from theories.

A paragraph in sciencemag.org succinctly summarises the journey a scientist goes through in his thirst to know the truth. The intentions are nevertheless always altruistic, but sometimes personal agendas come in the way. They cherrypick what they want to see to prove their assertions. The beauty of it all is all these are subject to debates and changes as more information is obtained with newer instruments being their disposal.

The power of scientific reasoning derives from the complex interplay between the desire to know, the ability to reason, and the ability to evaluate ideas with data. As scientists, we have learned how to make ideas dance with reality, and we expect them to be transformed in the process. We typically add to what we already know, often showing along the way that old ideas are incomplete or, occasionally, wrong. And so we collectively build an understanding of the world that is accurate, reliable, and useful. 

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6152/1344.1

In the greater scheme of the genesis of life on Earth, there was an era named Cambrian explosion. It is said organisms before this time were very rudimentary in morphology and function (beginning 4.6 billion years ago). Fossils from the Cambrian era (541 million years ago) are complex and have morphed into multiple phyla. The point the author is highlighting is that these changes are too profound for it to happen by mere chance. Subtle changes in genetic take a mighty long time and are gradual to perfect. Many significant alterations in DNA sequence and protein productions lead to lethal outcomes anyway.

To produce a groundbreaking change in archetypal design, pure random mutation is not sufficient. The presence of intelligent design is required, according to the author.

It is a point to note that when Darwin proposed his theory, the knowledge about Mendelian trait of inheritance and of DNA was not at his disposal. All he was offering was that organisms morph to adapt and to survive in an environment that only caters for the fittest.

Many of the theories proposed by Neo-Darwinists who have incorporated state of the art knowledge and suggestions do not satisfy the author. He tries to show that approaches like Punctuated Equilibrium (with rapid changes in speciation), trans-generational epigenetic inheritance and Shapiro's Natural Genetic Engineering do not nullify the need for an intelligent designer.

It is clear that when he means an intelligent designer, he says God, but a cheeky atheist like Richard Dawkins would ask, who designed the Designer? Meyer challenges that if gravity can be accepted as a scientific fact, why not the concept of intelligent design? Scientists, however, look at it as a lazy way of throwing in the towel. The likes of conservative thinkers see it as an opportunity to legitimatise the concept of God in science and start teaching Biblical Creations in schools as a scientific fact.

The Cambrian seas teemed with new types of 

animal, such as the predator Anomalocaris (centre)

© John Sibbick/Natural History Museum

Cross-referencing with other science-related websites is a revelation. At the beginning of times, lifeforms were simple self-sufficient ones. They divided by simple division, and the oceanic oxygen concentration was extremely low. With the marginal increase in oxygen concentration in the oceans, cells, which mainly thrived in an anaerobic environment, found aerobic respiration more efficient. Organisms became bigger. For sustenance, for the first time, the concept of preys and predators came forth. Living beings developed exoskeletons and other means of survival.

The beauty of science is that it can be challenged but supported with equally thought-provoking pieces of evidence. Admittedly, Man's knowledge is limited, but our desire to entertain new thoughts and ideas is a single fact that managed to springboard our species as the de facto leader of the planet. Or is it because He created us in his mould?

https://www.nature.com/news/what-sparked-the-cambrian-explosion-1.19379
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6152/1344.1

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Fight till the last man standing!

1917 (2019)
Director: Sam Mendes

The story is written by Sam Mendes based on what his grandfather told him. Mendes' grandfather was a soldier in the Trench War, and this offering is in his honour for his heroic act of treading through the dangers of the enemy-line and the perils of Nature to pass over a piece of vital information to the advancing army. His deed indeed saved the day and many fellow comrades.

I am a little perplexed. On the one hand, I am taught that violence is the primitive way of settling an issue. Violence can never solve any problems but instead, create new ones. An eye for an eye leaves the whole blind, they say. Yet in the same breath, the same people proclaim that turning the other cheek is stupidity.

All through our civilisation, war has been part and parcel of our evolution. With each significant catastrophe that we go through, the human race seems to go up one notch in terms of scientific achievement. War propels the world forward. War stimulates the economy, and the desire to dominate is one thing that gives pride. We form tribes and fall in line under a piece of cloth to provide us with a sense of pride to uphold. 

In a war, we say, everyone loses but yet, we are ever ready to justify the mother of all battles to end wars. We know where it led us.

The promise of wealth and power is good enough reason for us to get up in the morning and plunge ourselves into the conveyer belt that would send us all to the hole of destruction. We repeatedly justify our resort to extinction as a means to settle scores by putting the blame on Nature. Even our Universe is rough in its actions. Scorching expulsions of magma, destructive clash of meteorites, earth-shattering movements of tectonic plates and extremes of temperatures proves that the world is no pleasure cruise.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

All kinds of everything reminds us of our past!

If a genie would suddenly pop up in front of me today and want to grant me three wishes and asked me what would it be, I would probably ask for an alternative life where I have the luxury of travelling to small towns. That decision would be made, of course, after considering the merits of knowing whatever happened to Flight #MH370.

In my alternative life, I would take a long slow leisurely ride (or drive) along the coastal and interior roads of Peninsular Malaysia. Since time is expandable, I would stop at every small town that I would come across, spend a few days there, mingle with the local populace to learn about the little things that unique is about them and write all about it. Just for the kick of it. Indeed there are many unexplored gems around. Now did you know that there is a Customs Museum in Jelebu District in the State of Negeri Sembilan? Customs not as Customs and Excise but traditional customs.

Talking about Jelebu, during one of our long rides to Kuala Klawang in Jelebu, our team happened to meet an unassuming gentleman who turned out to be a team member's friend's father. After the customary greetings and small talks, he insisted on showing us a 'museum'. Not fully understanding what he was saying but at the same time not wanting to offend, we just followed him. 

The mentioned museum was actually his personal collections of memorabilia of the generation of Indian immigrants used in early Malaya, at a time when she was a land of natives waiting to be cultured. His family has been here for over five generations. That is much more than many of bigoted national leaders who label non-Malays as newcomers.

Our gentleman proudly has rubber-sheet pressing machines, ancient weighing scales, kitchen utensils, the legendary woven 'Sikh' bed and many more day to day items. 

The family tree

Above all the guidance of the Divine Forces

Protection

Not Grimm Reaper's weapon of choice, Scythe

How the two-wheeler had evolved?

That is his little way of reminding the generation after him how the country benefited from everyone who dared to sail the rough seas and decide to settle in this wild country. Their taming of the land was no walk in the park but involved sweat, tears, dysentery and malaria. The concerted effort by all our forefathers, irrespective of their race, creed and religious convictions brought the name Malaysia to be known at the international arena for all the right reasons. Let us not destroy all that and propel us back to a time when only savages dwelled here.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Things that you are fed

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

When you are young, with the propaganda that is fed to you, you grow up a simpleton. You think the knowledge that had been fed down your throat is the gospel truth and everything else is just farce. Then you grow up.

You soon realise that it has all been a smokescreen. The victors and those with might had convinced their way is King. 

With the opening of the inner eye, the onus is on you to educate and to spread the word to the ignoramus. But then, no one is going take what you say lying down. 

I was surprised that Scarlett Johansson was actually nominated for the Oscars for her role in this movie. Her character is hardly memorable, and she dies before the end of the film.

As for the storyline, it is nothing new. It is told from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old boy, Jojo, who is gung ho with joining Hitler's youth Army. Deep inside, he is a pacifist. He has an imaginary friend in the form of a comical Adolf Hitler who cajoles him to do the things that the Nazis want Germans to do. Jojo's mother, on the other hand, is a Jew sympathiser. Jojo soon discovers a Jewish girl that she hides in the attic. 

They soon build a bond. Jojo realises that Jews are no different from ordinary Germans; unlike what had been fed by the propaganda machinery.

A potentially forgettable satire that nobody would remember in five years.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Just bulldoze through...

Darbar (2019)

Are we living lives that are so unfulfilling? Are we trapped in a quagmire of hopelessness and pessimism that destined us to be forever confined in a sticky web of doom and gloom? Are we resigned to the fact we are too intellectually bankrupt to lift ourselves up by our bootstraps?

Are we waiting for that imaginary knight in shining armour to magically hoist us out of our rabbit hole of melancholy? Is it possible? Or are we imagining another realm where all our aches, pains and attachments would be magically dismantled? 

Perhaps we had fought our fights and had given up. All the power and wealth of the powers that be have disarmed us from the shield of resilience. We have crumbled and wilted to pressure. We are numbed to our addiction to our devices that have sapped our juices to think.

Maybe it is not a new phenomenon. For ages, we of the human race have suffered under the tyranny of dictators and power-hungry madmen. And we have seen saviours in the form of revolutionists, orators, storytellers and even kings who were given demigod statuses. Some were labelled Son of God, Messenger of God and even avatar or representation of God walking on Earth. Rulers were bestowed divine standings when the country was peaceful, crops were bountiful, and natural calamities were absent. When economics went south, their reputations took a beating and acquired demonic ranks.

That must have reinforced the existence of religions. And of angel and demons and when everything else failed, a blissful afterlife in the waiting! 

This film is strictly for diehard Thalaiva fans who have not seen enough of his 80s, 90s and 21st-century mind-boggling, gravity-defying and logic-escaping masala-spaghetti flicks. The storyline is the same old same old time-tested format. One lone-wolf Indian cop sends shivers down the crooks and singlehandedly clashes head-on with the whole brunt of the mafia force with brute force without planning or regards to law and order, police professionalism as well as to human rights.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The race never ends...

About 20 years ago, an uncle of mine (may his soul rest in peace) used to be a regular feature in our household. Living alone, he found great pleasure clowning around with my toddler daughters. With a lot to spare time after retirement and having all his kids (and wife) leave the nest, he spent time gardening and doing his own home improvement projects at a snail's pace. 

He was then just passed 70 and was so happy to relate to me how he completed his Penang Bridge Run only in the nick of time, just one minute before the cut-off time.

I failed to understand then what his fuss was all about. In my mind, partaking in any competitive event meant I had to end well amongst the top few. I had lived my life with the adage 'a miss is as good as a mile'.

Being a good sport, however, I did felicitate him and recommend his feat. Deep inside, I failed to appreciate his joy. 

Now with the passage of time, and hopefully wiser, I can see clearly that after a certain age, even getting up in the morning itself is an achievement. At any age, there is always someone better, stronger and faster. Trying to be on top all the time is never humanly possible. 

Perhaps at the spring of youth, I can put myself out to test out where I stand in the population distribution. After that, with advancing years and a gradual decline in prowess, I am left to compete with two entities, myself and me. Then there are the inner demons and the naysayers who insist that I am weaker than I am. I do not know if they are overly concerned, jealousy or just wanting me to be vulnerable and be dependant on them.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.