All’s fair in love, war and recession – the state of ethical Fair Trade consumption during economic recession.

Hi Guys,
I don't know if it is even appropriate to put this thing here. It so doesn't suit the tone and ways of my blog. But this is one piece of academic writing I put in a lot of effort into. I like what I am saying. I hope you like it too.
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All’s fair in love, war and recession – the state of ethical Fair Trade consumption during economic recession.

Consumption – symbolism and ethics

Consumption forms the basis of the present day world economy. As Bauman (1998, p12) argues, “economic growth, the main modern measure of things being normal and in good order, the main index of a society working as it should, is seen in the consumer society as dependent not so much on the ‘productive strength of the nation’ as on the zest and vigour of its consumers.”
While McCracken (1990) describes consumption as a thoroughly cultural phenomenon, he argues that any study on consumption should take into account the ways in which consumer goods and services are created, bought and used. Consumption has evolved from being the simplistic process of “selection, purchase, use, maintenance, repair and disposal of any product or service” (Campbell, 1995, p102), to a more sophisticated process involving lifestyle choices, modern identities and identity politics (Jackson, 1999).
Consumption transcends further ‘as a set of social, cultural and economic practices together with the associated ideology of consumerism has served to legitimate capitalism in the eyes of millions of ordinary people’ (Bocock, 1993, p2). Miles (1998) notes that “while consumption is an act, consumerism is a way of life…Consumerism can be defined as the psycho-social expression of the intersection between the structural and the individual within the real of consumption. The consuming experience is psycho-social in the sense that it represents a bridge that links the individual and the society.” Extending this to the next level, the link between the individual and the society can be seen as involving ethics too. Ethical and responsible consumer behaviour has been an issue of large scale discussion in academia and a growing body of research has proliferated around the ethical consumer (Connoly et al, 2006; Doane, 2001; Shaw and Clarke, 1999).

Ethics of Fair Trade
Strong (1996) argues that ethical consumerism incorporates all the principles of environmental consumerism as well as ‘buyer behaviour that reflects a concern with the problems of the Third World, where producers are paid low wages and live in poor conditions simply to produce cheap products for western consumers and profits of multinational companies’ (emphasis mine). Therefore, it can be argued that the Fair Trade brand exemplifies this definition in its vision, mission and values. As Nicholls (2005, p25) has noted, “Fair Trade aims to alleviate extreme poverty through trade; to empower smallholder farmers and farm workers to use trade relationships as a means of enhancing their social capital; and to support the wider campaign for global trade reform and trade justice.”
According to Raynolds (2002) the growth of ethical consumerism provides the main driver behind the development of a Fair Trade market (Connoly et al, 2006). Fair Trade essentially uses consumerism in support of the producers of the third world and better living conditions for them through fair wages and sustained trade relationships. Thus, buying Fair Trade can be established squarely as an ethical consumption practice, in support of Third World farmers.
Consumers clearly are supportive of Fair Trade– The Swedish spent 72,830,302 Euros in 2008 growing at a rate of 75%. Fair Trade products recorded total yearly sales of 2,894,711,217 Euros in the same period (The Fair Trade Foundation, 2009).
The classical Fair Trade theory has its origins in Adam Smith’s and David Richardo’s theory of comparative advantage. Supporters of Free Trade insist that the unfettered movement of goods, services and finance between countries offers the most efficient model of transactional business (Nicholls et al., 2005).
Fair Trade addresses its objectives of free and fair trade in support of Third World farmers through a market-driven commercial model, rather than by charity or a developmental aid mechanism (Nicholls, 2005, p25). Fair Trade, precisely because it works ‘in and against the market’ (Brown, 1993, p. 156), operates from the pragmatic and moral implications of the capitalist market (Varul, 2009). Fair Trade standards require that the produces be paid a minimum price for their product, regardless of how low the market price goes (Nicholls et al., 2005, p41). Thus, the main contribution by a consumer towards a moral cause is paying the price premium for “Fair” Trade.

Ethics or ethical imagery?
The symbolic aspects of consumption practices as much as the needs and functions of the product. As Brinkmann and Peattie (2008, p29) argue, “It is difficult to disentangle consumer motives between an ethically driven desire to be responsible, and more selfishly orientated desires to feel and to be perceived by others to be socially responsible.” Using this definition, buyers of Fair Trade can be categorised as – people who support Fair Trade for ‘status’ or ‘image’ reasons and those who are ethically driven. Those who purchase Fair Trade products in order to be seen by others as socially responsible place more importance to the impact of such purchase on their identity than the cause they support through such purchase. On the other hand, those who are ethically driven tend to have more knowledge about the products and the cause they support. Their purchase decision is influenced more by the ethical concerns of the products than the benefit of an ethical identity it brings along.
What makes ethical consumption and buying Fair Trade an issue to reckon with now is the drastic change in the state of the present day global economy. With a 1.9% decline in GDP in the first quarter of 2009 (Kollewe, 2009), the UK is faced with one of the worst recessions of the post-war era. Recession is causing major changes in patterns of spending, consumption, travel, recreation etc. Inflow of money has reduced largely, affecting the outflow of money from the hands of consumers. Within this context, ethical consumption through consumer support of Fair Trade brand may be at risk.

Ethical buying versus buying an ethical image

For many consumers, the Fair Trade label is a factor in purchase decision. In a study by Pelsmacker et al (2005), it was noted that aspects of brand and flavour came before Fair Trade label in factors that influence consumers’ purchase decision. Along with brand, flavour etc., perception of being ethical also plays an influential role in consumer purchase decsion. Shaw and Shiu (2002) have shown that, when analysing drivers for ethical consumer behaviour, it is crucial to take into account both ‘ethical obligation’ (i.e. the fact that people usually want to do what is right) and ‘self-identities’ (i.e. the fact that people usually try to act in accordance with the image they have of themselves) (Varul, 2009). Fair Trade consumers engage in the construction, affirmation and communication of ethical selves, and such ‘ethical selving’ (ibid).
Previous research in consumer self-identity by Shaw et al. (2000) observes that the role of self-identity and ethical obligation were particularly pertinent in ethical consumer decision-making. In reference to Fair Trade coffee they state, ‘while many consumers acting in a rational self-motivated manner may select coffee on the basis of factors such as price and taste, those concerned about ethical issues may be guided by a sense of obligation to others and identification with ethical issues, where concerns such as providing a fair price for Fair Trade producers take priority’ (p. 889). Identity, therefore, was suggested to be an important antecedent to the purchase of Fair Trade products (Connolly et al., 2006).

Luxury of image buying in recession
One of the immediate reactions by individuals to recession is cutting unnecessary costs. Masters (2009) notes that “The study by Norwich Union revealed that forty four percent of those surveyed said they now set themselves a budget, whilst a third said they have stopped relying on credit. Over a third (35%), meanwhile, has resolved to pay off their debts, and a fifth of respondents said they have increased the amount they save since the recession began” (Masters, 2009).
In addition, Duncan (2008) observes “The number of people out of work has already risen in each of the past five months, with last month’s increase the sharpest monthly rise since December 1992…and the UK was set to suffer a consumer-led economic slowdown stretching well into next year as families’ spending dropped at a “much faster” rate than it previously had factored in”. In the US, luxury shoppers are trimming costs by bringing lunch to work from home, rather than eating out” (Barbaro and Uchitelle, 2008).

(Credit) crunch on ethics
Nicholls (2002) argues that the most significant influence on growth of Fair Trade has been the emergence of ethical consumerism and mass market associated with it. Fair trade networks support and are supported by raising concerns amongst Western consumers over global ethics and the rise of ethical consumption practices where the social relations embodied in particular commodities increasingly shape product choices (Raynolds, 2002). Fair Trade thus, rests on the shoulders of ethical consumerism. As Miles (1998) argues, “consumerism is ubiquitous and ephemeral. Everyday life in the developed world appears, at least at a common sense level, to be dominated by our relationship with consumer goods.” Measuring Fair Trade on that basis, Fair Trade thrives on ubiquitous consumerism, thus making it freely available and very commonly known. But as consumerism is ephemeral too, in times of economic turbulence, Fair Trade suffers a set back.
Consumerism is one of the causes of the current economic recession, which might be a result of irresponsible lending behaviour of banks (Kamm, 2009, European Commission, 2009). A secondary cause might be consumerism.
The credit crunch and the anticipated change of lifestyle from credit-based to savings-based opens us to a myriad of issues related to ethical consumerism. In times of recession, consumers might refrain from buying expensive products which are more symbolic than functional, more luxury than necessity. Where Fair Trade is seen as symbolic consumption at a price premium, consumers create an image of being ethical through buying Fair Trade products. With the recession leaving no place for luxury, symbolic consumption practices are also bound to take a beating, so is Fair Trade.

Self-sustenance versus supporting the other
Cost-cutting
One of the main consequences of a recession is the decline in the disposable income in the hands of the consumer. The causes and consequences of recession form a vicious circle containing but not limited to a decline in disposable income, spending, consumption and production. In the present recession, consumption has fallen considerably. There is a decline in personal consumption, predominantly in the US and the UK, among other nations.
On the other hand, what makes Fair Trade “fair” is the price premium attached to the products for a better living of farmers in the Third World countries. In essence, Fair Trade means buying products from farmers in developing countries on terms that are relatively more favourable than commercial terms and marketing them in developed countries at an ethical premium (Bird and Hughes 1997) (emphasis mine).

Fair Trade sales growth declines
Even in recession, Fair Trade has reported a growth of 22% in sales worldwide in the year 2008 (The Fair Trade foundation, 2009). As Pelsmacker (2005) argues “while the expansion of Fair Trade consumption is impressive, it must be contextualized within aggregate patterns of rapidly rising rates of consumption for all products and most ethical products have captured only modest market shares of less than 1%.”
This impressive growth, when seen in context of the performance of Fair Trade in the last few years, tells a different story. Fair Trade in 2007 grew at around 47% (The Fair Trade foundation, 2008), bringing the growth down by more than half that of the previous year. This decline in growth can be seen directly related to the effects of recession as the growth in the previous years has been steadily increasing at 40% in 2006, 33% in 2005 (The Fair Trade foundation, 2007, The Fair Trade foundation, 2006). This indeed is the first time that Fair Trade consumption is facing negative growth.

Conclusion
Consumption patterns have been directly impacted by the recession, while ethics rather indirectly. Whether the consumer is buying Fair Trade for image purposes or in support of an ethical cause, there are indications that there is (and in all probability there will continue to be) a reduction in Fair Trade consumption. While image buyers might cut down consumption when symbolism becomes a luxury, the ethically driven consumers may do so as a result of reducing disposable incomes.
When recession causes a negative impact on the disposable incomes of image buyers, they are more likely to give up Fair Trade consumption in order to save money for other (presumably conspicuous) ‘image’ shopping habits. When the inflow of money reduces during recession, consumers, in all likelihood will make choices that allow them to minimise spending. As Fair Trade charges an ethical premium and have cheaper alternatives, consumers might choose the latter over Fair Trade to gain the cost advantage.
Those who are ethically driven and support Fair Trade genuinely for the cause it represents might also be prone to the negative effect on recession on their ethical consumption. In recession, these consumers could be faced with a conflict of supporting someone else’s quality of life against their own. As recession leaves consumers with lesser money to spend, it is well expected that one will look to satisfy one’s needs before standing up in support of another’s. This might in all possibility cause a dent in their ethical consumption habits.
One way or another, it can be expected that there will be a decline in Fair Trade consumption across the globe. Recession is evidently having an impact on most aspects of common man’s life and consumption is no exception. Ethical conception is more vulnerable as it involves a strong ethical drive and the ability to pay the price premium, which are both declining in a recession.

Bibliography
Books
Bauman, Zygmunt., 1998, Work, consumerism and the new poor, Buckingham: open university press.
Bocock, R., 1993, Consumption, London: Routledge.
Campbell, C., 1995, The Sociology of consumption, in D. Miller (ed.), Acknowledging Consumption: A review of new studies, London: Routledge, p96-126.
Doane, Deborah. 2001. Taking Flight: The Rapid Growth of Ethical Consumerism. London: New Economics Foundation.
Lee, J. Martyn., 1993, Consumer culture reborn, London: Routledge.
McCracken, G., 1990, Culture and consumption, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Miles, Steven., 1998, Consumerism – as a way of life, London: Sage Publications.
Nicholls, A. and Opal, C., 2005, Fair Trade: Market-driven ethical consumption, London: Sage Publications.

Journals
Brinkmann, J. & Peattie, K. (2008) Consumer ethics research: reframing the debate about consumption for good, Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 13, 22–31.
Connoly, J. and Shaw D., 2006, Identifying fair trade in consumption choice, Journal of Strategic Marketing, 14 (4), p353-368.
Jackson, P., 1999, Consumption and identity: The cultural politics of shopping, European Planning Studies, 7 (1), p25 – 39.
Lyon, Sarah., 2006, Evaluating fair trade consumption, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30 (5), p452–464.
Nicholls, A. J., 2002, strategic options in fair trade retailing, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 30 (1), p6-17.
Pelsmacker, D. Patrick. Et al, 2005, Do Consumers Care about Ethics? Willingness to Pay for Fair-Trade Coffee, The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39 (2), p363-385.
Raynolds, L.T. (2002), Consumer/producer links in fair trade coffee networks, Sociologia Ruralis 42(4), 404–424.
Shaw, D. & Shiu, E. (2002) The role of ethical obligation and self identity in ethical consumer choice. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 26, 109–116.
Starr, A. & Adams, J. (2003), Anti-globalization: the global fight for local autonomy, New Political Science, 25, 19–43.
Strong, Carolyn. (1996), Features Contributing to the Growth of Ethical Consumerism—A Preliminary Investigation, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 14 (5), 5–13.
Varul, M Z., 2009, Ethical selving in cultural contexts: fairtrade consumption as an everyday ethical practice in the UK and Germany, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33, p183-189

Electronic sources
Barbaro, M. and Uchitelle, L., 2008, Americans Cut Back Sharply on Spending, 14 January, Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/business/14spend.html?_r=2, accessed on 12 June 2009.
Duncan, Gary., 2008, Fears of recession grow as Britons stop spending and sales slump, Available at http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article4393541.ece, accessed on 11 June 2009.
European Commission, 2009, EU Commission launches consultation on how to ensure responsible lending and borrowing in the EU, 16 June, Available at http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/25677, accessed on 22 June 2009.
Kamm, Oliver., 2009, Blame incompetent bankers, not the rules, Times Online, 18 June, Available at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6523843.ece, accessed on 22 June 2009.
Kollewe, J., 2009, British economy shrinks at fastest rate for 30 years, Guardian, 24 April, Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/24/uk-economy-recession-gdp-falls, Accessed on 11 June 2009.
Masters, David., 2009, Brits cut spending to cope with recession, 8 April, Available at http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2009/04/08/brits-cut-spending-to-cope-with-recession/, accessed on 12 June 2009.
Northedge, Richard., 2009, Recession is excuse for companies to ignore community conscience, Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/recession-is-excuse-for-companies-to-ignore-community-conscience-1704578.html, accessed on 11 June 2009.
The Fair Trade foundation, 2006, Worldwide Sales of Fairtrade Products Rise By A Third As Fairtrade Sales In The UK Reach £200m, Available at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/archive_2006/june_2006/worldwide_sales_of_fairtrade_products_rise_by_a_third_as_fairtrade_sales_in_the_uk_reach_200m.aspx, accessed on 11 June 2009.
The Fair Trade foundation, 2007, 7 Million Farming Families Worldwide Benefit as Global Fairtrade Sales Increase By 40% and UK Awareness Of The Fairtrade Mark Rises To 57%, 10 August, Available at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/archive_2007/aug_2007/global_fairtrade_sales_increase_by_40_benefiting_14_million_farmers_worldwide.aspx, accessed on 11 June 2009.
The Fair Trade foundation, 2008, Global Fairtrade sales increase by 47%, 22 May, Available at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/may_2008/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/april_2008/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/april_2008/global_fairtrade_sales_increase_by_47.aspx, accessed on 12 June 2009
The Fair Trade foundation, 2009, Global Fairtrade sales increase by 22%, 8 June, Available at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/jun_2009/global_fairtrade_sales_increase_by_22.aspx, accessed on 12 June 2009.

The undecided Kandasamy!

This is my take on Kandasamy. For all the build up of negative reviews I heard about the film, I consider myself brave to have watched the film. But, I have to admit that I like the film. It is a fantasy film. It is something that none of us expected to be real, did we? It is a complete package of entertainment which is what we expect films to provide us with. I have no issues with any of that. The following few paragraphs are to go in detail what I thought about what the film says (without a noise). I am NOT going into stuff like length of the film or narrative or that Vikram is hot (I think he is!) or anything like that. Just what sense I made of the film!

Woman can’t think beyond seduction?
Am I the only one who thinks Shriya’s characterisation is ridiculous? The scene that she dances and tears her clothes off is heights of being brainless (and stereotypical). Who would not know that there’ll be CCTV cameras in the CBI headquarters? (Or could it be because I live in a land of public cameras?) She apparently is from Italy for crying out loud!
As the film goes on, she only thinks of seducing him to defeat him. Why can’t a woman come up with something else? (How about shaving his head off in sleep? Or say stealing his underpants? Or even waxing his body hair?! None is this is any competition to that seduction idea!) But I think women’s characterisation in Tamil films is this way because it is the men who write these characters. Some scenes like the attempted (and orchestrated) rape of Shriya for Vikram to say the truth, the scene in the flight toilet, the swimming pool scene where she blurts out all passwords for Vikram without a hint of doubt all go on to prove how loosely men perceive women in Tamil films. That one line where one of the officers in CBI says “indha thadava kizhichu vittittu vandhuttanga pola irukku” (looks like she has torn her clothes before coming this time) is exemplary of the male chauvinism in dialogues. I am absolutely disappointed and enraged.
And what kind of brain is someone who marries such a girl?!

Black or white!
This is another disease that Tamil cinema has got. Characters are either heroes or villains. Why can’t Ashish Vidhyarthi be a smuggler and still a good father or a monogamist or a teetotaller? Heroes are perfectly good people and villains are a package of all bad things! The narrative has used this effectively to justify Vikram’s actions in the film. But it doesn’t fit in the scheme of things. This undermines the viewer’s intelligence.
More so, everyone else in the film has been made foolish jerks just to elevate the hero’s actions. All villains, friends and Shriya have been made to look like complete idiots just to show the hero smart! Humbly, I could have outsmarted Vikram in so many spots.
But the larger problem is this. The film makes it sound like the rich are all evil and the poor are all helpless. I am not denying the fact that black money exists. But come on, comparing a personal item song to adopting a village makes no sense (leaving the blunder of having an item song 20 mins before climax forgiven). It is the same theory as asking BCCI to fund farmers in Vidharba. This film is no way of calling for donations or even responsible tax paying. It only perpetuates a lot of stereotypes about the Indian rich, which is unacceptable.

What’s with all these Robin Hood films?!
I am believer that the media (cinema, more so) shapes people’s beliefs and thoughts. Certain generations saw certain films and had certain belief systems. It is a vicious circle, indeed. But I am appalled by all these Robin Hood kind of movies. Anniyan, Shivaji, Ayan are a few that take from the rich and give the poor. Who the fuck are they to do that anyway? The justification of the act at the end of the film by the Telugu actor with a weird accent (forgive me for this Shanky) is unbelievably absurd. If smoking in films can influence children into smoking, I don’t see why this can’t! Am I saying that it should be banned? Nah! I am only saying that society reflects cinema and it won’t be too long before some smart asses will stand in court and say I stole from him because he doesn’t pay his taxes!

The comedy track!
Separate comedy tracks in films are like PMS. They just don’t need to be there. They come before and after scenes of pain!

The sidekicks!
Now, the good part. I liked the fact that Kandasamy is not a superhero. Kandasamy does not fly because he has an MPD or he is Rajnikanth, but does so because he has a group of friends who pull the chords and play the music. I loved the scene in the field where they screw up and one of them says ‘sorry da.’ That makes the film less of a miracle and more hope.

In the end, I think it is an entertaining film. It is a visual treat. It looks nice, hears almost nice (Suchi sounds too radio-ish for Shriya. I mean the voice sounds orchestrated and forcefully base) and is a feel-good film in the end. I forwarded the songs, the lyrics are annoying and that would be a whole new note in itself. The fight scenes are amazing. The one in mexico with Vikram blindfolded was some sight! The logistics of all the actions of the hero are tied together very well through his friends. Impressive. The boat ride to the secret place is really a nice sight. It is not a bad film at all. It is just another Tamil film like a million such others, which ate up a lot more money!

P.S: By the way, if the makers of the film were so concerned, shouldn’t they have cut their expenses and adopted a village?! Okay okay, stop pelting stones at me now!

Why I think the recession will lead to depression?!

The one reason I have been keeping myself away from blogging about “the recession” is the fact that every Goddamned person in the world is talking about it. I used to believe that the recession is for the economists to talk about. I used to actually think that only people who have done economics (me being one) can understand the recession in terms of it being a normal phase in the circle of economy. Ideally (oops! I mean theoretically), there should be depression after recession!
But, it’s not the economic depression I am talking about here. My observation is the mental (or is it psychological?) depression that this recession has got most of us into. I read Ram’s blog about how kids in Australia think the recession started in China! Ridiculous! Ludicrous! (Yeah! Yeah! I am just proving that it’s the same thing!) What’s worse is the fact that everything on the news is revolving around the recession. “How to beat the recession in pink clothes?” “What has the recession done to the ripening of apples in Ahmedabad?” “Do you have a recession proof underwear?” kind of news stories are all over the place. The above examples are of course leaving alone the “will the Obama of Kalasaipalya be able to beat the recession” ones.
On a saner note, every single person I have spoken to in the last few days have spoken to me about the recession. My grandmother (who has very minimal idea about the real recession) once said “andha bhagawaan than indha recession lerndhu kaapathanum.” (That is Tamil for “only God to save us from this recession). Most of my classmates are worried about jobs after graduation (so am I). Everybody I know who lost his/ her job is upset because they don’t have a job. The ones who have a job are scared when they will lose theirs. The retired ones are preaching about how it was not the same in the Jawaharlal Nehru (Read: Socialist) era. The young ones are desperate for the recession to end sooner than they enter the field.
There is a general unrest. There is a total sense of insecurity. Things like “it’s very tough to get a job,” “stick on to what you have,” “be glad you have a job,” are so commonplace. It is evident that people are desperate, jealous and insecure. There has been a total decline in positivity over the last six months or so. The head of RBS getting a pension is such a big deal, for it would have been of no importance a year ago. Gordon Brown and his team are being thrown around like mad. Visas are becoming tougher to get. Nationalism and regionalism are showing up all of a sudden (Didn’t Delta or some such airline just withdraw their call center from India? Did it take so long for them and their customers to realize that Indians don’t have an American accent?!)
Worst of all of this is the blame game! India is known for this. The left blames the right and the states blame the center! Now, everybody has started blaming America – everybody from Canada to Taliban and all those in between.
On the whole, there is so much negativity about this recession that I think it will surely take a lot of us into depression. These are the times when the fittest survive! Predatory methods aren’t too tough to come by, but I only wish I wouldn’t have to step on someone’s head to step ahead. After all, utopia, idealism and altruism still exist in this world….or so I think. (Goodness Gracious! The big brother isn’t the boss and we don’t live in Oceania!)

flash!

This isn’t a screaming-from-the-top-of-a-roof-opinion blog post. This is something that I have been thinking about for a long time now. I guess I should say it now. I know none of the people I am talking to in this post even know that I blog. At least, I have said what I wanted to!

Do you ever get flashes of the stupid things you have done, when least expected? Like, when you are rushing to college and haven’t even had the time for breakfast, something terribly stupid you once said to your ex-boyfriend (who you were dating as far back in high school or something) suddenly plays itself out in front of your eyes and you are stuck at the same spot for God-only-knows how long? When you are sitting in front of your google page and suddenly you see your school-days-best-friend’s name (who you had a juvenile fight with and you haven’t spoken ever since) on screen and lose track of what you wanted to Google? You are mixing sugar in your coffee and the-one-who-you-never-wanted-to-think-about was suddenly seen in the cup of black coffee you are stirring? When you spend 5 pounds on a cigarette packet, have you ever been reminded of the fight with your primary-school neighbour that you had when you alleged him of stealing your eraser worth 50 Paisa?

I get such memories very very often. I see so many images from my past that I sometimes wonder if I take so long to move on. In some corner of the world, while hardly anyone knows you here, there are still moments that chase you down wherever you go! These are the ones I am going to be talking about.

While setting some problem with my laptop right, I did unhide some old folders that I didn’t remember existed in my system. I was just glancing through them when I saw some pictures I probably hid because I didn’t want to see them ever again, but was too precious a memory to be deleted. These are the pictures I had taken in my Nokia 6260 (my first hep mobile – God! I’ve had so many ever since! LOL!) Those pictures reminded me of all the stupid things that I did during my college days. The people I mingled with, the kind of activities I was involved in, the way I portrayed myself and the whole (read: WHOLE) bunch of friends who turned enemies during the course of time.

I had pictures (ones in which both of us really happy in each other’s company) with people who the last thing I remember having said was “fuck off!” I have cards given to me by people I have been extremely nasty to. These cards had so much love in them. I have photographs with people (signed I love you at the back) who wouldn’t want to see my face anymore. And there are these memories of “one best friend” of mine. The last conversation I had with her was when she and her alleged boyfriend sent me abusive threatening text messages asking me to stop spreading rumours about them. (By the way, I didn’t have any idea what they were talking about.) You know? These are the people I once loved! These are people for whom I was ready to fight the world! And in just a few days, I was fighting them. Nastily!

I guess that was juvenile behaviour. Don’t even remind me about the kind of people I had crushes on. I am ashamed of myself about certain people now. I wish I did better. Or at least shut up! Those days were the most stupid I could have been. We still pray not to bump into each other ever! We still aren’t civil to each other. I sometimes wish I had a chance to go say sorry to them for what I have been. But I have been so far away from their lives that I now don’t know how they will take it. I don’t want to be writing a blog post 5 years later saying I was stupid to be sorry, you know?

I used to have dreams (not one but consistently repetitive dreams) of this once-upon-a-time-best-friend of mine being in an undying need for me. Like he/she (This is heights!) desperately needs me and no one but me can help. I have spent days thinking about whether I need to at least try giving a call or sending out a mail. Then I would bring myself back saying that wouldn’t make much difference now.

It’s this complication that haunts me most of the times. I really do get flashes of the stupid things that I have done in the past (I just can NOT stop having flashes of something unbelievably stupid I did very recently, never mind that). I am really embarrassed and cringe in my seat when I get those flashes. Nobody around me knows anything. But I am embarrassed in my head! I surely can not go back and do anything about it now. Wish I could at least meet these people and be civil with them. Today, I don’t have anything mean for them in my heart, you know? But when it mattered, I was mean! My bad!

Young a silly old and wise, my uncle used to say. I don’t know if I am any wiser now. But I just can not still believe how silly I have been!

Finally, there comes 'The Oscar Blog'

There comes the most awaited post on the most read blog in the world! (These communication schools teach you to write dramatic leads, but when it’s taught to an already dramatic person like me, this is what happens.) Okay I will refrain from ‘bracketing’ (just like Orkutting and Facebooking) any further in this post. I really am out to make a serious point.

This is the Slumdog Millionaire post! Let’s take it one step at a time.

Step 1 – Is it a good film?

I liked the film. I have to be honest that when I watched it, it did make me sit at the edge of my seat (I downloaded it and watched it lying on my bed, by the way. So this is just an expression. Fuck! Bracketing is a disease. I won’t try to get over it anymore!) Okay, the point being, I liked the film. It got me quite emotional. There were lots of moments when I wished what’s happening there to be untrue. The scene where they dig out the kid’s eyes was unbearable. The scene where they leave without Latiqa made me feel like jumping into my laptop screen and carrying that girl into the train. Some connections to the answers Dev Patel gave were really touching. The person in a 500$ bill (I hope I got that right) was terrifically done. I was touched when the film ended. I felt happy for Dev to have won the money.

I would recommend this film to a lot of people I know. It’s surely a feel-good film. Except, of course, you relate to anyone else but Dev Patel! And I think it’s a nice film. ‘Nice’ is a euphemism for meaninglessly good, I think. Or even illogically good, I can say.

I, kind of, can point out a million things in the film that so isn’t true. I don’t want to go on pointing them out. I am sure if you have watched that film and have basic intelligence, you will know what I mean. Hariharan, in the article that Samvartha sent to me, says Danny Boyle has caricatured Mumbai and all its characters. I couldn’t have been said better.

I was proud of Rahman for the kind of work he has done. (Though I’d still argue this isn’t the best he has done!) I am a true Rahman loyalist. I will probably get myself to like everything that Rahman does. But this isn’t the best of his work at all.

Step 2 – What’s with the hype?
I had read once that all the countries that were once under colonial rule still think of the British to be above them. I had read a whole research paper sort of a thing (or an interview or something really concrete) on this psychology and it was specifically proven to be true with exemples. The owner and author of the blog you are reading is exemplary of students with this psychological trait. (Obviously, I am not going to declare in a public forum that the Indian education system is way better! I need a job! And I still need people to go WOW when I say I am studying in the UK :P)

Back to the point, the same thing holds good for Slumdog Millionaire. As Indians, we think it’s a great thing for a Brit to have made an Indian film. (It’s just a foreign film with India in the theme, by the way. I would argue that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is as much Indian if a caricature of Indian culture has to feature in a film to make it Indian.)

So is Slumdog Millionaire the best film based in Mumbai we have seen? Are we all happy for such a representation of Mumbai? Really? Have we also left our brains back home or rented it out to the sensationalizing TV media?

Slumdog Millionaire is just another nice film. You watch it. Think about it and realize that you were just shown someone’s convoluted idea of a few convoluted people, who are mostly black or white or jump from one to another! (This is an exhibition of a Media student’s obsession with grey characters in films.)

Step 3 – The Oscar part of the crap!
Oof! When are we going to stop thinking that Oscar is the ultimate award for a film? I mean when exactly will we stop thinking that way? I have always had problems with the Indian media celebrating NRIs (specially the ones with generations of rooting in their respective foreign country) and their successes. Can you believe we are proud that Nasser Hussein was born in Chennai? For God sake! I don’t think he himself remembers that fact! It’s enough if he (or anyone for that matter) was just born here, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter that his parents or grand parents or fore parents (feminism popping out) left the country because they didn’t get opportunities here or got better ones elsewhere! If he were Indian, he’d be captaining the Indian team, for crying out loud!

Let me just get myself clear. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am absolutely okay for arguments here. The Oscar awards are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, conceived by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio boss Louis B. Mayer. So that’s the guy (or those are the bunch of guys who decide which are good movies). Even if we argue that there is a scale of measurement for everything, this main criterion for entry into the Oscar is that a film must open in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of January 1 to midnight at the end of December 31, in Los Angeles County, California, to qualify. Rule 2 states that a film must be "feature-length", defined as a minimum of 40 minutes, except for short subject awards and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24 frame/s or 48 frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with native resolution not less than 1280x720. (Ripped off wikipedia!)

Leaving the second point aside for lack of technical knowledge in film making, I would like to emphasise on the first point. “be open in Los Angeles County, California” is what it says. If Shanky Iyer makes an awesome Tamil/Telugu film but can not release it in Los Angeles County, he doesn’t deserve an Oscar? I like that logic! Don’t you?

And all the beautiful Lagaans and the Taare Zameen Pars that we made and walked the red carpet for, were nominated in the Foreign Film category! I mean they have one category for the ‘rest-of-the-world’ (Oops! Am I the only one that heard something like third-world? Am I overdoing it now?) and we are all dying to grab that award! Who are we kidding? Is it the international recognition that we are after? Is it the publicity? What is it about the Oscar, that doesn’t actually give much of a fuck about other films? What is it about wanting the recognition of the Big Brother (1984, George Orwell? Ring a bell?)?

I didn’t need the Oscars to tell me that Rahman is a great musician. And Ilayaraja doesn’t have an Oscar because he never did English films. EOD, English films get Oscars! (Exceptional foreign films that received the Oscar – Like Sandeep Arinaya pointed out to me were released in Los Angeles) I’d have liked it better (Oh! I’m lying, I’d still hate the Oscars just the same) if Rahman had got his Oscar for Kannathil Muthamittal or something. That wouldn’t happen because there is no category for music in foreign films! Logic being, guys, it’s not a big deal. And flashing Slumdog Millionaire all over the media has made me nauseous about it. I am sick of it. Please close it down. NOW.

And for the sake of the country and the minute brains of the countrymen (and women), please stop creating stories like “Tourism in India increases after Slumdog Millionaire wins Oscar!” Spare me! Spare us! We could do much better!

It's about me

I thought my next blog would be about Slumdog Millionnaire (SM). I am dying to write about it. But I’m not in the mood for that now. I am in the mood for some venting. I will surely blog about SM. Do watch this space.

Now, it’s about me. I’ve never hated being myself so much. I used to once believe in this theory that I can make all the mistakes that I want and life is about making mistakes and learning from them. But now, I guess I have done that slightly beyond limits!

I obviously am not going to tell you about the mistakes I have made (using the word committed here makes me feel like I have killed someone or something!) This isn’t a gossip column. But it’s now that my mistakes are firing back at me. The main problem is that I am the “open” types. I’d probably go around telling people that I have made that mistake and feel like shit about it. For all of you who think, I don’t try to correct it, let me clarify that I do. I make sure I correct my mistakes. I make sure I don’t do it again. But the only fuck up is that I don’t absolutely stop making mistakes. I make new ones.

Sometimes I argue with myself that it’s okay to make mistakes because everyone does. But what the fuck?! Does it really matter whether other people make mistakes or not? I tell myself that everybody has a past. Now it’s not about the past anymore. It’s about NOW. It’s about me. It’s about whether I make mistakes or not. PERIOD.

I do. And I hate it like I don’t hate anything else. I don’t like justifying my rights to make mistakes anymore. It’s high time I stop making them. It’s high time I realize what I am doing. It’s high time I mend my ways. Or at least it’s high time I realize that making mistakes is not acceptable. I won’t be accepted if I was this way. And I am the types who wants to be with people and wants to be loved. (Don’t even think of saying “Oh! Come on. Everybody wants to be loved. It’s not about everybody. It’s about the fucked up part of me!)

I don’t want to make mistakes anymore. I don’t want to be the way I am. Even if that contributes to ‘not being me,’ I am ready to pay that price for it. To be acceptable. To be accepted.

I’ve never hate myself so much!

When vulnerability shows up uninvited!

For all of my friends who don’t know that I am in the UK right now, I agree it’s my fault that I hadn’t told you before leaving. Sorry. Yeah, I am in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, pursuing (clichéd no. 1) an MBA at the University of Aberdeen. I got here on Wednesday. Course begins on the 2nd of Feb. For firther details, do send in a email! ;o)

Let me start my story now. I have hardly informed any of you that I am leaving. I couldn’t even drop a mail to everyone in my address list that I am leaving. Yet I left, bags packed and no clue what next. Sailed past worried faces seeing me off at the airport, extra luggage fee, rude airhostesses, last seat, long long wait at the London Airport, a very sleepy flight to Aberdeen and got to a friend’s friend’s place in Aberdeen. I just had a few uncomfortable moments (the lesser said about it, the better) and went to sleep.

Come Thursday morning, I wake up and have no idea what to do. Creepy deadlines and helplessness surrounded me and I really wished I had never come. Damn! I couldn’t even go back. I spent all of that day walking around not knowing what to do. Friday was no better, except for the fact that I had slightly socialized and made a few contacts by then.

Saturday was also spent walking around and looking around like a child lost in an exhibition. (This is what I call literal translation!) Sunday came and I kind of gathered guts and my stuff and got to a room to stay. There we go. Here begins my trip to Aberdeen. I’ll surely have a lot to write. It’s the year long story of a single female traveler!