Shows
PGurusBollywood is in for a bigger shock I Brahmastra I Boycott Bollywood trend I Bhavesh KansaraPGurus 3rd episode on #BollywoodBoycott featuring #BoycottBrahmastra as the movie gets released today, first review by Tarun Adarsh gives the movie a two-star stating it’s high on VFX. The movie has helped stock price of two listed cinema hall company go down. We bring the perspective of a witty movie watcher and whether the industry has learnt its lessons from earlier #BoycottBollywood failures. It’s time for the industry to introspect. #brahmastra #boycottbollywoodforever2022-09-0913 min
PGurusBhavesh Kansara on the Masterstroke and The Outrage Cycle of the BJPIs the BJP playing a dangerous game here, not acting and waiting for Hindu anger to boil over so they can harvest the majority-religion vote? Bhavesh Kansara on how he sees it. #BJP #NarendraModi #Masterstroke #BJPITCell2022-08-3106 min
PGurusBhavesh Kansra on Bollywood Boycott Trend I Dobaaraa & Liger Super Flop I Karthikeya 2 Super HitIs there a tectonic shift following the Nupur Sharma saga? Are Bollywood movie goers saying enough? Bhavesh Kansara looks at the recent hits and misses and analyses what the moviegoers want... #Bollycott #Bollywood #ligermovie #dobaaraa #karthikeya22022-08-2913 min
PGurusIs Laal Singh Chaddha a flop due to Hindu Awakening or is it a bad film? Bhavesh Kansara explainsNot all Aamir Khan movies are blockbusters - some got propped up by other factors such as the Sino-Islam lobby. Is his latest release, an inspiration of Forrest Gump, about to bite the dust? Bhavesh Kansara explains his views. #laalsinghchaddha #boycottlalsinghchadda #boycottbollywood #boycottlalsinghchaddha #AamirKhan #CancelCulture #MSM #Media #Bollywood #Movies #HinduAwakening2022-08-1215 min
PGurusFreewheeling conversation with Bhavesh Kansara, Author of Twisted ThreadsBhavesh Kansara talks about his journey to become an author out of his threads in Twitter and his take on the recent judgements #BhaveshKansara #TwistedThreads #CourtJudgement2022-05-0217 min
Concise KansaratvaThe Constitutional Dogmatic Lens (ConDoLens)Last week, Mahua Moitra, who belongs to TMC, a political party ruled by an absolutist, went, well, all Moitra because her flow of glib English was interrupted by the Chair of Lok Sabha in Hindi, no less. Moitra is no stranger to throwing her weight around but when it comes to using the gaumutra scorn frequently one wonders what her intent is. The distinction, then, between the position and the people in that position gets diluted, and what happens is that the identification with the nation becomes contingent upon fealty to the Constitution. Further, there is the political equivalent...2022-02-0614 minConcise KansaratvaYoga, the Sun, and the Moral CompassMy visit to the Surya Mandir at Mōḍhērā makes me wonder, at first, at the awe of what has been stripped away by time, weather, and invaders, and later, at thousands of monuments which are left at the mercy of the godless constitutional state. Around the time came the controversy over Surya Namaskar with the usual weaselish argument that Yoga is not Hindu. What exactly does that argument achieve? If that were not enough, there is the other argument that Yoga is just a system of bodily exercises, a dumbing down of an ancient system of healthy livin...2022-01-2215 minConcise KansaratvaNight Curfews and Day ConversionsNight curfews are the flavor of the day with governments trying to tell us that they are doing something about the pandemic while, at the same time, politicians are busy doing what they want to do anyway. The other side of the pandemic story is the panic spread by fake news which forced the PM himself to confuse us further with "precautionary dose". Given that there is no real repercussion for spreading fake news, even top politicians are doing so with relish, such as the tweet from Mamata Bannerjee on freezing the accounts of Mother Teresa's missionary in India.2021-12-3016 minConcise KansaratvaMorality, Desecration, and AadhaarShashi Tharoor, the Mahua Moitra of Congress, tweeted a cartoon showing Aurangzeb surprised to find that he is not in history but in current affairs. The irony notwithstanding, the sheer hypocrisy of apologists like Tharoor simply shows a blindness they have for ground realities. Is constitutional morality just a veil, a cooked up label, to endure minoritarian violence in the name of desecration and insult, such as what happened last week in the Sikh-dominated Punjab? The answer is, of course, yes, because constitutional morality applies only to Hindus, as amply evidenced by the recent verdict by the S...2021-12-2415 minConcise KansaratvaFrom Kashi to HaryanaWhen Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor recently, there was an expected bout of indigestion within the taliberal clique, so much that Aurangzeb's personal historian had to come out of her reverie and concoct more caste-based idiocy. The Chinese have been beating their little drums about democracy, and back home, the so-called farmer unions have gone back home leaving us with uncomfortable questions. The government, in repealing the farm laws, has set a precedent that street power trumps everything else. If this was from the Center, the Haryana government did the unthinkable by first allocating "designated s...2021-12-1813 min
Concise KansaratvaThe Dancing Wuhan MastersIn the first of a series on the Wuhan scourge, I reminisce the first wave which now seems to belong to a surreal age of lockdowns, clarifications, designer masks, online apps, doomsday models, and a not-so-long beard. By the end of last year, there was a positivity in the air, and the new year was supposed to herald new hopes. In the first three months, just when everyone thought that we would get back to normalcy, the second wave hit us hard.As the cases skyrocketed and governments seemed helpless and incompetent, the time was ripe for...2021-05-1415 minConcise KansaratvaThe Right is the New LeftThe Left and the Right emerged from the French Revolution, and since then, have defined the political spectrum. While the Left has solidified to represent anything from revolutions and rebellions to strikes and bearded men, the Right has been a mass of diverse opinions. In today's times when monopolies of publishing houses, news media groups, and even academic coteries define the establishment, the question is not about labels, the Left or the Right, but about power structures. The Left, by presiding over such a monopoly, simply becomes what it was once fighting against. What is the relevance o...2021-04-0925 minConcise KansaratvaNational Education Fallacy: Part 3The recent decision of making Math and Physics as optional subjects to apply for an engineering course has created a controversy over the NEP recommendations. I delve deeper into this outrage and offer my opinion, perhaps unpopular, on the episode. Also, as a continuation of the series on the NEP, I cover the recommendations on higher educational institutions, the state of research and innovation in India, the objectives of the National Research Fund, and the restructuring of regulatory bodies which would potentially clip their wings.2021-03-1320 minConcise KansaratvaThe Sinister DynastBefore the 2014 elections Rahul Gandhi was the reluctant dynast, missing the spark to navigate the beehive of politics despite having experienced sycophants by his side. Over the years, however, whether due to his frequent secret trips or his Idea of India advisors, he has become more confident, more goofy, and also, more sinister. In this episode, I look at the anatomy of political iniquity that today Rahul Gandhi represents, while supporting divisive forces in the name of dissent, questioning the government's stance and actions, and speaking a vicious language of instigation. 2021-03-0423 minConcise KansaratvaThe Unprecedented Republic DayThe Republic Day this year started with the usual muted enthusiasm about the tableaus from different states, with Uttar Pradesh unabashedly showcasing the Ram Mandir, instead of pandering to some acceptable norm which, we are told, is defined by the Constitution. We are conditioned to be CoCo, Constitutionally Correct, while the FaCo, Fake Fans of the Constitution, get away with anything and still become the "decent folk". How does this impact our approach to our religion? Do we follow religion as per our convenience, or do we allow convenience as per our religion?The other unprecedented event...2021-01-3015 minConcise KansaratvaFor Whom the e-Bell TollsIn the last few weeks, the courts have given us some interesting arguments, from recommending the use of virtual baths for Hindus to defining what does not make a Christian, and from speculating on what an ideal protest place should be to why no one has filed a PIL on something that is evidently great. The virtual bath, or e-Snaan, promises to be an interesting start to what could become a rollercoaster ride for virtualizing Hindu traditions through an e-Mandir app complete with an e-Bazaar that sells e-Pushp, e-Shriphal, e-Dhoop, e-Agarbattis, and through which you can perform e-Pradakshina and...2021-01-2217 minConcise KansaratvaNational Education Fallacy: Part 2In the second episode of the series on the National Education Policy (NEP), I talk about the monetary argument for education, an argument that is much avoided because for whatever reasons it is deemed less ethical and moral. Such arguments usually lead to philistinism, which I do not profess to follow, except that what I consider art is probably very different from your choices. The NEP, however, has a recurrent theme on arts, or liberal arts, to be more precise. What happens when the ACHE (Arts, Culture, Humanities, Engineering) Committee changes the syllabus? What happens when a liberal arts...2020-12-1820 minConcise KansaratvaNational Education Fallacy: Part 1The disconnect between what we learn in schools and colleges, and what happens in the real world, is horribly wide. Does the National Education Policy (NEP), which has been long due, fix this? Before we go into this, we need to understand what the goal of education is, and why outcomes are more important than inputs. While the NEP is a rambling and repetitive document, tedious in extreme, it must be appreciated for covering the entire spectrum of education in India, and also, must be commended for being vocal against pestilential issues like mediocrity and corruption. In this first...2020-12-1221 minConcise KansaratvaAll Roads Lead to ChaosA cyclone leaves waves of devastation even in a metropolitan city like Chennai.. We talk about "low-lying areas" and "lakes" as convenient reasons for flooding instead of questioning the grotesque mushrooming of the city coupled with the thorough neglect by the authorities and the utter greed of the politicians. Playing the supporting roles are roads that are elevated so much that they become flyovers, toll booths which function dutifully come storm or cyclone, and expressways that have become symbols of all that is wrong. A swim through the Old Mahabalipuram River takes me to the days when the Pallava...2020-12-0416 min
Concise KansaratvaTweet ou Parler?I joined Parler last week, after opening accounts in Gab, Gutrgoo, Inditoot, Mastodon, Koo, Elyments, Squeaks, Opined, and others. All these platforms have tried to provide an alternative to Twitter’s hegemony and highhandedness, but without much success. We also have to consider the fact that there is really no compelling reason for anyone to move away from Twitter, despite its blatant bias and political interference. The greatest advantage that Twitter provided was flattening the social media, and there is no point in doing this again. I believe that the future of social media is likely to be more loc...2020-11-2316 minConcise KansaratvaIs it in the Scriptures?While real crackers during Dīpāvali have been banned, the metaphorical ones light up with clockwork precision: Dīpāvali is a festival of lights not sound, crackers are not Hindu because they are a modern invention, and there is no mention of crackers in scriptures. We follow the Constitution but neither is it found in any scripture, and I found out that comparing the articles in the Constitution to different types of crackers makes one a Sanghi. The whole drama was played out on Twitter with a very predictable sequence of events, which got me thinking about the...2020-11-1816 minConcise KansaratvaA Festive Season of ElectionsThe world's strongest democracy has ensured that the election process is no less entertaining than the best that Hollywood could offer. In all the drama that is still unfolding, the media has consistently proven their knack of predicting results that are off by a radian. On the other hand, there are those who are reluctant to accept that the election process in India, with EVMs, is more reliable, and want to go back to the good old days of paper ballots so that their favorite parties can win by capturing booths and rigging polls. EVMs, meanwhile, are not happy...2020-11-0616 minConcise KansaratvaWho is the Chanakya of Italy?When we think of the history of politics in India, we think of Chanakya. In the western world, he is often referred to as the Machiavelli of India, which is ludicrous considering that Machiavelli lived some 1800 years after Chanakya. Such odious comparisons exist everywhere and we take them for granted like the air quality when Diwali is not around. I also talk about the miracle medium in the Indian air, constitutium, which plays a sanguine role in keeping the atmosphere salubrious and salutary by ameliorating the deleterious effects of Diwali crackers between 8 to 10 PM. Constitutium molarity, not to be...2020-10-3118 minConcise KansaratvaNoble Thoughts from all Directions?The ancient R̥gvēda has a lovely line which goes "आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत:", loosely translated as, "May noble thoughts come to us from all directions." The list of "noble" thoughts this week includes the unfunny Navratri meme of Meena Harris, the inaccurate Sanskrit translations of names of US election candidates, the incredible moral grandstanding of Surat Police while wishing Navratri (and they are not alone in this, not by a light year), and of course, the unacceptable degeneracy of Eros linking Navratri to some sexual playtime. Also, a detour on what you would do if you are in a ristorante and you are served a pizza with a slice eaten by someone...2020-10-2417 minConcise KansaratvaThe Mithyātva of EkatvamNavrātri, the nine-day festival, defines passion, energy, and devotion, and heralds the season of brisk business. Everyone looks forward to profitable months, unless, of course, you are Tanishq, in which case you would be busy with corporate social activism with your ad for Ekatvam, your new line of jewelry. While I outline four reasons why the ad is fictitious, I also delve into the fictitious board meetings, with a hard-stop in 15 minutes, that must have happened to come up with a new product line, and then, release the final ad as if it were Kraken. The outrage that f...2020-10-1718 minConcise KansaratvaSanskari Taiwanese NoodlesOctober 10 is Taiwan's National Day, which obviously made the Ch_____ Embassy so livid that they had to issue a press release. It is time to be vocal not just about local, but also about Taiwan and Tibet. The press release, funnily, insisted that the Indian media stick to Indian government's position. It is a pardonable mistake for a country that does not know anything about free press or democracy, but it did leave the media confused. If this were not enough, India Today was caught in an unenviable position of first gloating over their rival, Republic, only to find later...2020-10-1016 minConcise KansaratvaThe Non-silence of Non-violenceOctober 2 is celebrated as the International Day of Nonviolence, to honor Mahatma Gandhi. What does Gandhi mean in today's world, or for that matter, what does the symbolism of charkha, on which he used to spin yarns all day long, mean in today's world? Did the utopian idea of nonviolence become a stick for the global powers to beat India with? The emergence of angry Gods, such as the sticker of an angry Hanuman, is seen as some form of belligerent Hindutva in the post-Modi era, which assumes that the Gods were not angry earlier, and were going about...2020-10-0314 minConcise KansaratvaIt's TIME PMCARES about FCRAThe parliament session saw Derek O'Brien, along with others, turn to what can only be called as constitutional vandalism. On the other hand, Mahua Moitra from his party gave a fiery speech that Rajdeep Sardesai considered "stirring". The topic of concern was why PMCARES and why not PMNRF which, by the time Nirmala Sitharaman had given a reply, was forgotten by Rajdeep and he had moved on to question the timing of the NCB in summoning Deepika Padukone. TIME also announced Narendra Modi as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, along with 99 others, and also reminded...2020-09-2615 minConcise KansaratvaBollywood, Moghuls, and the Chinese LoudspeakersAstronomers have, potentially, found life on Venus, which is ironical because we were not looking for it there. Irony becomes the theme of this podcast with Jaya Bachchan claiming that there is an attempt to defame Bollywood, the Supreme Court asking if controversial programs can be allowed in a free society, Global Times, a low-quality mouthpiece of the Chinese government talking about the views of the Chinese people, and some people questioning why the Home Minister did not go to AIIMS for a check-up. Oh, and there are Moghuls too, in the form of a song with a catchy...2020-09-1915 min
Concise KansaratvaRoses are Red in Ships with Rearview MirrorThe week has been busier than usual, with red roses, smashed patriarchies, rusted moon, bulldozers driven by invisible strings, and if that were not enough, there was this ship with rearview mirrors. Also, I talk about a very interesting, and promising idea, of a strategy game, for which I expect my royalty, of course.2020-09-1214 minConcise KansaratvaLanguage WoesPolitics around language has been around since decades, leading to enforcement and opposition in interesting, and interestingly annoying, ways. The National Education Policy, NEP, recently restarted the debate around language, with responses ranging from this being the best move because we could finally become like Japan and Germany to this being the worst move because there is no global domination without English. In the middle of this is programming, livelihood, culture, and also, a reason why we are calling someone a "harvest king". 2020-09-0713 min
Concise KansaratvaAn Introduction to KansaratvaWhat is Kansaratva? What are the Ten Amendments? Well, after that, we will also cover harvest festivals, paste and caste, community strength, non-alcoholic beers, and the three pillars of the Chennai economy.2020-09-0610 min