Mayank Chhaya Daily

Here is to David Letterman

David Letterman

I don’t know why people ask anyone retiring what they will do after retiring. They have already done what they wanted to do and they are retiring from that. Speaking of retiring I watched David Letterman’s last show aired last night this morning online.

Letterman wrapped up his 33-year-old legend without getting mired in emotional slush. It was as if I caught his show midweek like any other week and not the very last show of his career. That says much about Letterman’s unsentimental but unfailingly funny personality. His formidable reputation as a late night comic genius slipped right through his trademark gap in his front teeth. It is just as well that Letterman kept the tone of the finale so measured and devoid of sentimentality that usually marks all such finales. Anything different would have sounded unconvincing.

Unlike Jay Leno, who consistently outpaced Letterman right up in until his retirement, there was something to Letterman that suggested menacing amiability. Sitting in that chair behind his desk there was no telling how Letterman might trip his guests irrespective of who they were. I couldn’t be described as a Letterman regular or, for that matter, a late night regular but whenever I did watch I usually watched Letterman. His lanky sauntering felt as if he was in precisely the place where should ever be. That is probably why people are wondering what he might do after retiring. Should he be anywhere but in precisely the place where he should ever be? Personally, I think it is wise to retire now. After all how much more can or should he do?

Like Letterman himself—or at any rate what he has shown publicly—I have no emotional response to his departure other than applauding his unrivaled influence on late night television. So here is to David Letterman.

Purple Seaweed

Today, let’s do with just this one latest painting of mine titled Purple seaweed.

Saddam Hussein is very much gone but very much here

In a strange sense it is a tribute to Saddam Hussein that 12 years after he was captured and nine years after he was hanged his presence is still being strongly felt inside US politics. Republican candidate after candidate are having to emphasize how “the world is a better place’'” without him. So paradoxically, while he is very much gone, he is very much here.

The latest to join the chorus of the world being a better place without Saddam Hussein is Louisiana’s very American Governor Bobby Jindal. In keeping with his life’s philosophical certitudes he also thinks that President George W. Bush was “absolutely right” in invading Iraq. Jindal, who is considering a presidential run, told ABC News, “….at the time, given the information that they had, President [George W.] Bush made absolutely the right decision. Let's remember, the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein."

Anytime you have to remind the world that it is better now than before, it is not better now than before because being better is as much a quantifiable reality as it is an unquantifiable feeling. Ask the people of Iraq now whether they think they are better off and you would get a diametrically opposite, perhaps even invective-laden, response. The world is or is not a better place because some presidential candidates in America say it is or it is not.

From now right up until the 2016 election we will be inundated with a debate surrounding Hussein, Iraq, W and so on. We are unlikely to get a clear, definable answer other than the common Republican theme of the world being a better place without Hussein.

It is not for me to say whether Governor Jindal has what it takes to qualify as a Republican nominee let alone as president of the United States. My reflexive response is negative. There is something in his body language that suggests that with a state governorship he has perhaps risen to his optimum political ambition. Of course, I could be 100 percent wrong and come 2017 January and you might have President Jindal. If Saddam Hussein can return, so can Jindal become president.

We are mostly what we do not eventually do

It is time to revisit a post I wrote on April 20, 2013.

It has been a while since I wrote some random epigrams, aphorisms and maxims. It is funny how I have concluded that what I am about to say has the merit of being classified as epigrams, aphorisms and maxims. Let’s blame it on conceit. Speaking of which, I can start with one about conceit that I wrote in my 20s.

* Humility is the ultimate form of conceit.

* No dam can harness the raging waters of narcissism, says a narcissist.

* The trellis must not think that the climbing vine is in love with it. For the climbing vine it is strictly utilitarian.

* My failures have been ordinary, triumphs mediocre and tragedies minor. I have no future as a writer.

* We are mostly what we do not eventually do.

* Every time I jumped over the wall of my conscience, I landed on the same side. Either there is no wall or there are no sides or may be there is no conscience.

* Debt is a great destroyer of moral immunity.

* Don’t dust your conscience here. I am suffering from moral asthma.

* Failure clarifies. Success muddies.

* Failure is a great filter. Success has no gatekeepers.

* A burning candle tells you that light is a result of destruction. So does the sun.

* Epigrams are like a goat’s droppings. They drop fast and dry up fast.

* A civilization is built and preserved by the largest number of people suppressing their vilest impulses.

* For a blog that costs you nothing, like this one, freeloading ends here.

Prime Minister Modi and Mongolia

Mongolia’s flag

I have never been to Mongolia but it had me at Ulaanbaatar. What a name to have for a city and the capital! It is like Burkina Faso and its capital Ouagadougou. I also like Mongolia’s flag, especially the artwork on the left. Other than the minimalist simplicity of the Ashok Chakra on India’s flag, this is one is quite attractive. But I digress.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of $1 billion in aid to Mongolia during his current visit is a smart move. When you consider that Mongolia’s GDP is about $12 billion ($11.52) the Indian aid represents nearly ten percent of that. But then you have to see Mongolia’s GDP in the context of its barely 3 billion population giving them a per capita GDP of $4,056.40. It happens to be a very big country for a population that size. At 1,564,116 square kilometres, which is half of India’s size, it is the 19th largest country in the world. It is like India having a population of less than six million.

Most importantly though India and Mongolia have had a long cultural bond via Buddhism which reached Mongolia courtesy of Tibet and the Dalai Lamas. In fact, as I point out in my book “Dalai Lama: Man Monk Mystic”, Dalai is Mongolian for “vast” or “ocean-like” and Lama means a teacher or by implication someone who is wise. Together Dalai Lama means a teacher with vast, ocean-like wisdom. The title of Dalai Lama Vajradhra (the All Embracing Lama, Holder of the Thunderbolt) was given by the Mongol warrior Altan Khan(1507–1582).

Coming back to the more modern times, Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ulaanbaatar, as P. Stobdan points out in his excellent analysis on the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) website, “India-Mongolia relations have underpinnings in the age-old historical and cultural relationships spanning over 2500 years. In fact, between the 12th and 19th centuries, many Mongol rulers titled themselves as Chakravartin Khan. Today, the country, located in the remote northeast of Asia, remains the last frontier where Indic cultural imprints remain strong. The incarnate of the last Mongol theocratic Khalka Jebdtsundamba (historical lineage of Acharya Taranath) lived in India until he died recently. The demise of Communism and the revival of Buddhism have added a new dimension to Indo-Mongolian relations.”

In the context of the predominance of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia, the 14th Dalai Lama is an immensely popular figure there. It works in India’s favor that he has made India his home for the past 56 years. These may be mere trimmings on the old cultural ties but they make the Mongolian people feel the cultural affinities.

The two countries have upgraded their relationship from comprehensive to strategic during Modi’s visit, which is a good thing but it should bear in mind the deep cultural roots that they have shared. Being the first Indian prime minister to visit Mongolia makes Modi something of a pioneer and it is as good a start as he could have given it.

Forever constructing a narrative of triumphalism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shanghai (Photo courtesy his twitter feed)

I have observed 12 prime ministers of India as a professional journalist over the past 34 years and interacted closely with eight of them. There has been none, with the possible exception of Indira Gandhi, who has felt the constant need to construct a narrative of triumphalism about themselves the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi does. There is also an underlying theme to this narrative and it is a contest between him and his devotees over who can love him more—he or them? So far it has been a tie.

That equation was on display yet again in Shanghai today when the prime minister indulged in chest-thumping triumphalism. He needs overseas Indians as much as they need him to complete this weird loop of triumphalism. There were some 5000 of them living in Shanghai who provided the other end of the loop this time. Modi’s 53-minute concert was a continuation of the uncritical celebration of Narendra Modi by tens of thousands of his Indians abroad that began in the Madison Square Garden, New York in September last year.

At least this time around there was something to peg the celebration on—the completion of his first year in office today. In keeping with his often overwrought oratory aimed at gaining dollops of vindication he said this early on in the speech: “Aaj 16 May hai.Theek ek saal pehle 16 may 2014… yeh jo dhai ghantey ka time difference hai usne aap ko bahut pareshan kiya tha. Jab ke Hindustan mein log soye they aap ne puchhna shuru kar diya tha result kya aaya? Abhi Bharat mein suraj ugna baki tha lekin aap… aap vyakul they ki jaldi Hindustan mein suraj ug jaye aur khabren turant aap ko miley. Aisa tha ke nahi tha?…Khabar der se aati thi to pareshan hotey they ke nahi hotey they?” (Today is 16th May. Precisely a year ago.. 16 May 2014…this time difference of two and half hours (between Shanghai and Delhi) had troubled you a lot. When India was sleeping you had begun to inquire about the (election) result. The sun had not yet risen over India and you were restless that it should rise quickly and the news (of the election results) should reach you quickly. Was it not the case?If the news got delayed you would be frustrated—were you not?”

Read how he has constructed it. There is perhaps a subconscious reference to Jawaharlal Nehru’s seminal independence day speech with the famous line, “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” The only difference is in this Modi’s case India was still sleeping when his over-the-top supporters overseas who, according to the prime minister, were wide awake and getting restless to find who had won.

When I say the prime minister feels the need to construct a narrative of triumphalism and vindication this is what I mean. “The sun had not yet risen over India and you were restless that it should rise quickly and the news (of the election results) should reach you quickly. Was it not the case?If the news got delayed you would be frustrated—were you not?” He is asking his supporters whether it was not the case that they couldn’t wait for the election results to come out or if they were not frustrated that they were not coming out fast enough. In doing so he is seeking reaffirmation of his own view of self. Is it just me or the world also knows how remarkable I am seems to be the unspoken question?

Being perhaps the most accomplished political stage performer among all Indian prime ministers, Modi displays an impeccable timing in when to pause to rouse his audience to say what he really wants to hear but then himself say something larger. Take this passage, for instance. “Aur us samay jis halat mein Hindustan mein chunav hua tha, jis paripeksh me chunav hua tha… ek hi swar duniyabhar se sunai de raha tha…(Audience Modi Modi Modi) ek hi swar sunai de raha tha (Modi Modi Modi) ek hi swar sunai de raha tha ‘Dukh bhare din beetey re bhaiyya…Dukh bhare din beetey re bhaiyya” (The circumstances in which the elections in India were held and the context in which they were held only one chant could be heard (the audience prompted by the speaker’s pause chants ‘Modi Modi Modi’) only one chant could be heard (the audience again chants ‘Modi Modi Modi’) …only one chant could be hear ‘The days of sorrows are over…the days of sorrows are over.” Of course, I do not recall people saying in those precise poetic terms “Dukh bhare din beetey re bhaiyya.” The line is originally from a song written by Shakeel Badayuni from the 1957 film ‘Mother India.’

Nevertheless, the way he differently enunciated “Ek hi swar (Only one chant)” was yet again evidence, if any more is needed, how accomplished he is as a political performer. Of course, it is clear that he needs a completely partisan crowd to come into his own. In front of a crowd that is not his choir he is a labored performer.

As an astute political mind the prime minister must know that these pep rallies packed with partisan devotees would soon begin to fall prey to the law of diminishing political returns. There is a terrific saying in Gujarati which the prime minister would understand instantly. It goes “Ras na to chatka hoy, kunda na hoy’ (Relish is to only to be relished and not drunk by the bucketful).”  It is beginning to seem that every few months he needs this shot of unconditional acclaim from overseas Indians to do what he is supposed to do at home.

I have no particular problem that a politician should persist with a successful strategy but those Indians outside of the 31 percent who voted Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party into power exactly a year ago are also getting restless now. It is too early to feel restless. I have said repeatedly that the prime minister Modi must be given full five years before making any rational assessment of his claims. It is just the first year. He has four more to go before he is tested again by the same Indians.

A new website for ‘Gandhi’s Song’

With post-production on ‘Gandhi’s Song’ in full swing, I have just set up a very basic website at www.gandhissong.com. The website is very much a work in progress and will be a content-rich affair that offers a substantive look inside the life and times of the 15th century poet-philosopher Narsinh Mehta.

Beyond the release of the documentary, I intend making the website a lively resource of Mehta’s considerable body of work. For someone who practically invented Gujarati poetry, it is only proper that Mehta’s life and work should be brought to the attention beyond the Gujarati-speaking world.

These days I am consumed by all things Narsinh Mehta to the exclusion of the rest and I am conscious that I could be pushing too much of that theme. I promise you this is a passing phase like all phases in life.

Amongst Terracotta Warriors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum in his sunglasses has been a subject of much Twitter humor, ridicule and derision, all of which is fair game. I had a few cracks myself but instead chose to turn the picture above from the prime minister’s twitter feed into an artwork. It is not for me to say whether it works.

The prime minister’s visit to Beijing via President Xi Jinping’s hometown of Xian is a significant one for his overall foreign policy direction. I would comment on the broad contours in a day or so. I would have been thrilled to report on the visit from Beijing and elsewhere but it seems in this lifetime I would not be allowed in for obvious reasons.

I doubt if the prime minister would spoil the atmosphere of carefully confected bonhomie by appealing to President Xi to allow the Dalai Lama to at least visit Tibet if not return to his homeland altogether. It would be a fine and noble thing were Xi to make that grand gesture. However, I doubt if Tibet and the Dalai Lama would even remotely figure in the bilateral talks unless of course the Chinese side raises it.

Other than remaining trapped in outdated perspectives about the Dalai Lama and Tibet Beijing would rather not change at this stage. They sure want a reincarnate Dalai Lama but just not the kind that would carry any of the current Dalai Lama’s attributes. Of course, in the broader context of Sino-Indian affairs Tibet and the Dalai Lama are no longer regarded as issues of any great consequence. There is so much more between the two ancient Asian giants that they need to attend to. That is precisely why Beijing should let the Dalai Lama return with all the dignity that he so eminently deserves.

Les Femmes d'Alger (Version O) by Pablo Picasso

Les Femmes d'Alger (Version O) by Pablo Picasso 

Les Femmes d'Alger tribute by Mayank Chhaya

Sixty years after he created it Les Femmes d'Alger (Version O) by Pablo Picasso fetched a world auction record price yesterday at Christie’s for $179,365,000. That tops the previous record for any work of art at $142.4 million for Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud in 2013. It is always exciting to see an artist selling for any price, especially if it happens to be high. That said, I am not sure about the artistic merit of this work. Perhaps it is me but it is a struggle for me to see the intrinsic genius here.

I am willing to concede that I may be lacking in artistic refinement to be able to value it. Art, after all, is subjective like everything else in life. However, there are exceptional pieces that have universal appeal. This though, to me at least, is not one of them. Notwithstanding that I chose to pay my quick tribute to it this morning. My woman looks somewhat Asian but that was not a conscious thing. It just happened that way.

Writing in The New York Times Neil Irwin offers an excellent perspective on why pieces of art or for that matter pieces of land sell for such extraordinarily high prices. Those with obscene amounts of dispensable wealth get drawn to things which are rare and often one of its kind. The other day “L’allée Des Alyscamps” by Vincent van Gogh was sold at Sotheby’s art auction for $66.3 million.

It is quite common for those buying such expensive pieces to stay anonymous. That makes it even more intriguing.Why do they feel the need to acquire something that they are not going to show off? That is precisely the point. The exclusivity of anonymity bred by exceptional wealth can be appreciated only by those who have it.

Government as a corporate hatchetman

Congress Party vice president Rahul Gandhi in parliament (Courtesy LSTV)

Presuming his nearly two-month-old sabbatical was indeed a Vipassna retreat, Congress Party vice president Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a powerful example of the transformative power of the ancient India meditation technique which makes its practitioners see things as they are and for what they are. One of the consequences of Vipassna in his case appears to be a reinvigorated Rahul who is now painting a macabre picture of the Narendra Modi government as an axe-wielding killer who has hacked the original Land Acquisition Bill. This is government as a corporate hatchetman as perceived by Gandhi.

His latest parliamentary intervention, if that is what it was, was full of rather lurid description of the way he says the Modi government has altered the original Land Acquisition Bill by removing a few clauses that concern consent by small farmers and land-holders as well as social impact. Aided by his equally charged up party colleagues in parliament such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rahul has found his political calling in the Land Acquisition Bill.

“The first axe blow was to the neck,” Rahul said referring to the removal of the consent clause which required the government obtain the landowners’ consent before acquisition. “The second axe blow was delivered when the neck was chopped and the body fell,” he said referring to the doing away of social impact assessment of land acquisition. The third axe blow, he said, was the decision not to mandate the return of the acquired lands to its original owners in case the projects for which they had been acquired had not made any progress in a specific time.

These are well-thought out political talking points which Rahul and his colleagues know will resonate among India’s vast marginal agricultural communities. The single-mindedness of Rahul’s focus on this particular bill is a result of the realization about how fraught it is with both political instability and reward.

At the very least it is interesting to see Rahul emerge from the shadow of his own strange reluctance and lead from the front, even though sometimes it involves a great deal of grandstanding. But then what is politics is not perpetual grandstanding? I am sure Prime Minister Modi is astute enough to recognize the currency his younger adversary is using to buy some political capital because he himself has mastered that technique. I have always considered politics a spectator sport which requires a worthy adversary. I am probably betraying the mindset of ordinary Romans during the gladiatorial era where entertainment trumped everything else.

In all his interventions he makes sure he drives home his favorite theme of the Modi government being a “suit-boot ki sarkar”, a government beholden to a few corporate bosses or a case of crony capitalism. Whether or not that description is accurate is not the point here. The point is that it has the potential to stick.