Why God is not great: A review

Its good to be home. The jet lag is gone. The paruppu usli has been had. Rendezvous with old friends set up. A much needed pedicure awaits. Its all good.
On the flight back home I started to read Christopher Hitchens' God is not great: How religion poisons everything. It was on my to-read list since it came out in May. Its a bit like reading a Michael Moore movie. A point is made. Its a good point. Its made in 11 different ways. And its rammed down your throat so hard your insides hurt. So, my beef with Michael Moore is that he corrupts the basic premise of some of his documentaries with unnecessary railing. And he takes refuge in sarcasm. Sarcasm is all very well, but I personally don't enjoy it in a serious argument.

So, Hitchens writes well. Some of the chapters are really illuminating. I especially enjoyed reading about the complicity of the church in shaping regional politics to their advantage in Nazi germany, in Mussolini's Italy and Stalin's Russia. The chapter on the effect of religion on health care was pretty good too. Its when he starts trying to dissect the Old and New Testaments and the Koran that I lost patience. A non-believer can find something laughable in every line of religious books. To find discrepancies in logic in these texts( No archaeologists ever found evidence of events in Exodus and suchlike) and be shocked at their blood-thirstyness is not new. Further, he spends a whole chapter explaining that Islam is a derivative of Christianity, and the Koran is essentially a plagiarism of Jewish and Christian texts. Again...well-known facts. Not worth an entire chapter.

An interesting chapter is the one asking the question whether religion makes people behave. Events in India and abroad have convinced me that the answer is a thumping no. He puts an interesting spin on things. While he seems to be a big fan of Martin Luther King, he makes the argument that he was a great humanist and leader inspite of being a pastor, rather than because of it. He even talks about MLK's unalloyed enjoyment of booze and women, and seems to rather relish the fact that he was morally "corrupt", but still stood on high ground due to his belief and work on behalf of civil liberty. I've always thought peoples' personal lives are just that. Personal. But I guess if you are a pastor you have a responsibility, no? I don't know much about MLK, so I won't speculate on this. Its an interesting paradox though.

He also chops Eastern religions to bits. Of course there is the usual 1 and a half page on the Rajneesh ashram in Pune. He doesn't seem to have anything much to say about Hinduism,(I'm guessing he doesn't know as much about it as he does the others), except to evince contempt for the sacred cow concept. And wrongly state that Krishna was born to a virgin named Devaka! He does spew vitriol against Buddhism. The chapter is titled "There is no Eastern solution." I guess he's trying to come full circle and make sure there are no loose ends. His reasearch leaves much to be desired. A shocking blooper is when he writes that the LTTE murdered an elected Indian President! How did that one slip through the editors?

Also, he seems to have the old Brit dislike for Gandhi. 2 pages are devoted to calling him obscurantist, and other names. And he thanks goodness we had Nehru to lead us! I don't think he has any insight into Indian politics or the struggle for independence at all. Its just unbelievably naive. Besides, the MLK of whom he purports to be such a big fan of, was an ardent follower of Gandhian principles.

On the whole I enjoyed the book. He makes several good points, not the least of which is that atheists should be free to think what they think, and not have to constantly defend their POV. That people have been abused in the name of religion. That religion has stood in the way of progress, and has been used effectively to frighten people into submission. Nothing that we didn't know. But lots of interesting history and facts. And mostly well written and easy to read. Plus, it had the effect of scandalising my patti, when I told her what I was reading. So, yeah...definitely worth a read.

Conversations & Movies: The oxygen needed for living

Stuff's been happening. Roomie is back from her vacation. I'm relieved to have someone to talk to at home again. People who know me know that I talk to myself all the time. But, even by my standards, I was a little cuckoo last month. I was talking to myself aloud. All the time. People were giving me funny looks in coffee shops and grocery stores. So, when she got back I talked and talked and talked until my throat hurt and I couldn't talk anymore. Topics of conversation ranged from her wonderful vacation, to Lucky Ali and how disgusting he was, to Adnan Sami and how good he looks now, Ekta Kapoor, Tulsi, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena's schooling(yeah she actually went to school!), Om Puri whom she saw on a beach in Goa, Sreesanth's weirdness at Delhi Airport, how it sucks to be back, how India rocks, how family is family(yeah, seriously!), how obnoxious some relatives are, ad nauseum.

And she brought back movie DVDs. So luckily, roomie and I enjoy the same kind of movies. Yesterday we watched Naram Garam and Pati, Patni aur Woh. Sanjeev Kumar was such a genius. He plays the dirty married man to perfection. I've seen this before, and its a hoot. It always bugs me when I can't remember the name of the not-so-popular 80s heroines. Thank goodness for Google. It was Ranjeeta. Naram Garam has a huge Golmaal hangover. But its still fun. Because Amol Palekar is casual and fun as always. And I love A.K.Hangal. No, seriously. The man plays the old, beleagered parent to perfection. And he calls his beautiful daughter Swaroop Sampat a"gale ka kaanta" with such aplomb, so many times over, its hard not to love the guy. And Utpal Dutt. God, they don't make 'em like him anymore. He was stereotyped too. But what the heck. He did it well everytime. I love those movies. 70's-80's. Bad costumes, big hair. But good stories. And well told. And brilliantly portrayed. With melodious music, usually classical. Whats not to like.

Here's my list of the fun movies from that era that everyone must watch:
1). Chupke Chupke
2). Chashme-baddoor
3). Golmaal
4). Khubsoorat
5). Khatta Meetha
6). Katha
7). Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron(of course!)
8). Angoor
9). Guddi
10). Chhoti si baat

Next Post: Why I heart Shammi Kapoor.

Off with the old...

Its time for a change. I obviously have too much time on my hands.

Going home.

I'm going home next week. For 1 whole month. No mouse poop. No failed experiments. No pissed off PI. Nothing. Just me. The couch. And the TV remote. I'm going to watch every single soap, ("K" or otherwise) every single day. And eat like a pig from Somalia. Oh...and family will be around too. I'll have to put up with my Jack*@% brother's smart%$# comments for a month. One patti will dote on me. The other one will dote even more to ensure that she dotes the most. There will be gushing. I also expect to meet an assortment of relatives. One awesome mama who was the original inspiration for the family's overwhelming fascination with Wodehouse. Two attais. One attimber. One chitti and chittappa. One cousin who is (gulp!) 22 years younger than me. I expect a fair bit of discussion over my single status. Most of which I will bear with fortitude. The remaining I will tune out of.

Also one very special friend is getting hitched. That promises to be fun. I missed the weddings of 2 close friends because I was here doing nothing important. This one I was NOT going to miss. I've never been the bride's best friend at a wedding. I already have plans for a bachelorette party. I feel like Julia Roberts. Because I'm going to be at My Best Friend's Wedding!(how cute is THAT?) Except my best friend is female. And I really like her fiance. I'm sure they'll be brilliantly happy together. And I look nothing like Julia anyway.

And my mom and I will watch every single movie that is released while I'm there...hopefully 1st day, 1st show. Plus the backlog of movies from the last couple of months. I still haven't seen OSO and Aaja Nachle. And we will giggle over silly things. And she will cook the most delectable meals everyday. Like rasam and beans curry. Or paruppu usli and rasam. Or pongal and chutney. Its amazing how much nonsense I can put up with when I'm well-fed. I think thats the reason for my perpetual state of annoyance here. The lack of homemade food.
Good food. TV that shows silly hindi soaps 24/7. Lots of movies. Large, inviting couch. One month of doing nothing. Oh...its going to be wonderful!

And here's the thing. I'm going home next week. And I haven't shopped yet. No time. PI was getting his money's worth this past 10 days or so, since his lackey won't be around for a month. I haven't even bought a freakin' Mars bar yet. And I know no one gives a shit about the cheap chocolates that I lug back from here. Chocolates that are available in India as well. But I have to buy them. Its the thing to do. You go to India...you take chocolates. And Planters honey roasted nuts as well. And cheap perfume. And scented candles.(The cheap ones that don't really have a scent for friends who never call, and the better ones for the friends I never call) So, I need to go shopping. Now.

Update: I wrote this post when I hadn't shopped. I have since rectified the situation. I have bought the cheap chocolates, and I feel much more prepared now.
And I forgot to add...I won't have to wear 3 layers of clothing and cap and gloves and scarf when I step out back home. Not that I'm going to step out much. But still. Its frickin' freezing here...19F this morning.

I hope Tuesday comes quickly. Can't wait. Since I've said that time will now crawl. Tuesday...come soon! Please!

Yay!

Dada's got his groove back!