Category: Review Page 1 of 2

Remember, remember! The fifth of November

On November 5, 2023

“Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,…”

The poem hooked me to “V for Vendetta” when I watched it for the first time. I didn’t understand the movie then. I still have a hard time understanding it. Nevertheless, the poem stuck on my mind, and I remembered it all of a sudden when I saw November 5 on my phone this evening.

Looking for the poem, I also found the history behind it. On November 5, 1605, some people led by Robert Catesby had planned to destroy the UK House of Parliament. They were Catholics, and were revolting against the Protestant King James I. Guy Fawkes was found guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder, was immediately captured. Several of the plotters were caught and tried for treason. The execution was in one of the worst methods imaginable. Guy Fawkes and some of his friends were tied to a plank which was then drawn by a horse. They were then hanged almost to death, emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded, and dismembered.

The fifth of November later became a day of celebration in England. The thing that surprised the most is that the poem is still taught to little children despite the dark history.

Here is the complete poem:

The Fifth of November

    Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason
    Should ever be forgot!
    Guy Fawkes and his companions
    Did the scheme contrive,
    To blow the King and Parliament
    All up alive.
    Threescore barrels, laid below,
    To prove old England’s overthrow.
    But, by God’s providence, him they catch,
    With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
    A stick and a stake
    For King James’s sake!
    If you won’t give me one,
    I’ll take two,
    The better for me,
    And the worse for you.
    A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
    A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,
    A pint of beer to wash it down,
    And a jolly good fire to burn him.
    Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
    Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
    Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

For more information, visit:
1. https://potw.org/archive/potw405.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night

Dead Poets Society was Disappointing

By Sandeept

On June 5, 2023

In Movies, Blogging, essay, Review

Quotes of the movie Dead Poets Society keep popping up on my Facebook and Twitter feeds. Recently, I came across a few tweets celebrating its 34^th anniversary. I had never watched the movie and didn’t even know its plot, so I decided to watch it. However, it did not meet my expectations. The premise of testosterone-filled boys within a strict school system had to be impactful and somewhat relatable, but the initial promise faltered towards the end.

The film begins with the boys of Welton Academy carrying the banners, labeled, “Tradition,” “Honor,” “Discipline,” and “Excellence.” It reminded me of Amitabh Bachhan’s “Parampara, Prathistha, Anushasan (Tradition, Prestige, Discipline) speech from Mohabbatein (2000). Both the movies are set in a tradition-loving boys’ school, and in both, a teacher disrupts the status quo. The differences are numerous. However, a major difference is that the Bollywood movie ends with a light note, whereas the Hollywood flick has a tragic ending, which I think, was too contrived.

Dead Poets Society has problems from the beginning. The first scene I noticed is the one where the boys are smoking in Neil and Todd’s room. How they are not caught and punished for smoking in the school premises is beyond my comprehension. Also, Neil’s father does not scold his son for smoking. I don’t know if smoking in school was normal in the US in 1950s since they show the Principal and parents doing so when Todd comes to sign the confession letter, but it absolutely bothered me.

The students also get assignments (which is normal for all schools), but they are never shown to get punished for failing to submit them in time in never shown. Moreover, the other teachers seem to notice the members of Dead Poets Society leave the school at night, but they don’t act on it. Because the first act never shows any consequences for the actions of students, I was not convinced that the school was strict. So, when Charlie aka Nuwanda gets punished later, it does not have an impact.

The book ripping scene is also overdramatic and has a dangerous message. It’s one thing to dislike someone’s views or not conform to unnecessary technicalities, but tearing pages from a book is a different matter. John Keating tells early on that he won’t tolerate anything that is against what he believes. He encourages his students remove the entire preface based on one paragraph and his students follow his instruction without even bothering to see if there are better insights into poetry. He wants his students to be anti-conformists, but makes them conform to his ridiculous ideas. He talks about them finding their own voice, but does not even ask for their opinion on the matter. What hypocrisy!

Keating has great lines like:

We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.

No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.

“Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Don’t be resigned to that. Break out!”

“There’s a time for daring and there’s a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.”

“Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular.”

These lines in the movie, however, are just those—lines! Keating’s students don’t use words and ideas to change the world. They are attracted to poetry because they want to flirt with girls. Also, they could have changed so many things, but they just want is for the school to become co-educational. Neil does not try using words to change his father’s thoughts, cannot fight for his passion, and commits suicide when he could have either rebelled or escaped his father in a few months.

The other boys, too, can’t follow their teacher. They don’t speak in favor of the teacher they are so keen to follow. They can’t tell why or how Neil was unhappy and that the pressure put upon them is sucking the lives out of them. Except Charlie, everyone signs the confession which expels Keating. As a result, the last “O, Captain, My Captain” scene looked artificial to me. (Keating shouldn’t even have been allowed to get in the class or see the students after what he has been blamed for!) They might have been able to overcome their fear, but it does it help Keating? Can they overcome their guilt? What will the Principal and the school administration do to them? Will they be expelled or silenced?

Some other questions trouble me. Is it wrong to honor tradition? Is it bad to become disciplined and pursue excellence? While I believe that sticking to tradition can make us rigid towards change and less rebellious, I don’t think it is bad to work towards a goal with discipline.

Overall, despite wonderful quotes, Dead Poets Society did not work for me. It skips realism (just as Keating does in his poetry class), does not embrace rebellion, and forgets what it preaches.

के हामी स्वतन्त्र छौँ ? (जर्ज बर्नाड शअको सन्दर्भमा)

By Sandeept

On March 3, 2022

In Blogging, Review, Writing

[प्रस्तुत लेख मोहन मैनालीद्वारा अनुदित आकाशमुखी संग्रहको जर्ज बर्नाड शअको स्वन्त्रता शीर्षकको निबन्धमा आधारित छ ।]

आफूलाई मन लागेका कुरा बिना कुनै रोकटोक गर्न पाउनुलाई हामी स्वतन्त्र भएको मान्दछौँ । तर स्वतन्त्रताका पनि सीमा हुन्छन् । समाज र कानूनले बर्जित गरेका क्रियाकलाप गर्न हामीलाई छुट छैन । त्यस्ता क्रियाकलाप गरेमा सामाजिक बहिष्करण देखि कानूनी कारबाहीसम्म हुन सक्छ । यसर्थ मानिस पूर्ण रूपमा स्वतन्त्र छैन ।

रुसो भन्छन्, “मानिस स्वतन्त्र जन्मिन्छ तर सर्वत्र बाँधिएको हुन्छ ।” जन्मसिद्ध स्वतन्त्रताको हकमाथि राज्यले अङ्कुश लगाउँछ भन्ने आशय उनी व्यक्त गर्छन् । जर्ज बर्नाड शअ “स्वतन्त्रता” शीर्षकको निबन्ध वाचन गर्ने क्रममा भन्छन्, “प्रकृतिले पनि मानिसलाई बाँधेको छ” । दैनिक क्रियाकलाप जस्तै सुत्ने, उठ्ने, दिसापिसाब गर्ने, खाना खाने लगायतका कुराहरूलाई प्रकृतिले नियन्त्रण गरेको हुन्छ । तर यस्ता गर्नै पर्ने अत्यावश्यक क्रियाकलापलाई हामी बोझ ठान्दैनौँ, उनी भन्छन्, किनकी प्रकृतिको नियन्त्रणले गर्दा नै जीवन सम्भव छ ।

मानिसले मानिसलाई गर्ने नियन्त्रण चैं हामीलाई बोझिलो लाग्छ । केही महीनाअघि लेखेको What’s the Point? कथामा वाचक (म पात्र) नोकरी (जब) गर्न मन गर्दैन । ऊ भन्छ, “नोकरी अभिशाप हो । यसले मानिसलाई पैसा र रोजगारदाताको दास बनाउँछ । पैसाकै लागि तपाईं काम गर्नुहुन्छ । बोसले पैसा दिन छाड्यो भने तपाईं काम नै छाडिदिनुहुन्छ । नोकरीले तपाईंको स्वतन्त्रता खोस्छ ।”

यो नितान्त व्यक्तिगत अनुभवबाट प्रेरित भएर लेखेको कुरा थियो । शअको निबन्धमा लगभग यस्तै तर अझ कडा शब्दमा रोजगारदाताप्रती रोष छ:

“तपाईंको रोजगारदाताले कपाल यसरी काट् भन्न सक्छ । यस्तो रङको, यस्तो खालक लुगा लगा भन्न सक्छ र यति बेलादेखी यति बेलासम्म काम गर् भन्न सक्छ । उसको आदेश टेर्नुभएन भने उसले जुनसुकै बेला पनि तपाईंलाई सडकमा पुर्‍याइदिन सक्छ . . . छोटकरीमा, राजनीतिक तानाशाहले तपाईंलाई जति नियन्त्रण गर्न सक्छ, रोजगारीदाताले त्योभन्दा बढी नियन्त्रण गर्न सक्छ ।”

राजनीतिक स्वतन्त्रताको सन्दर्भमा जर्ज बर्नाड शअ भन्छन्,

सरकारहरूले नागरिकमाथि दासता थोपर्छन् र त्यसलाई स्वतन्त्रता भन्छन् । सरकारहरूले मालिकको लालचलाई निश्चित सीमाभित्र राखेर नागरिकको दासताको हदलाई भने नियन्त्रण गर्छन् । मानिसलाई आफ्नो सम्पत्तिका रूपमा बेचबिखन गर्न पाउने दासप्रथा ज्यालामजदूरी प्रथाभन्दा महँगो भएपछि उनीहरूले दासप्रथा उन्मूलन गरे । यसले गर्दा कुन मालिकको कुन काम गर्ने भन्ने छनोट गर्न कामदार स्वतन्त्र भए । यसलाई उनीहरूले स्वतन्त्रताको विजय भनी जयगान गाए । जति स्वतन्त्र भए पनि कामदार त बेघरबार नै हुन्छन् ।

त्यस्तै चुनावका विषयमा उनी भन्छन् :

. . . उनीहरू कामदारलाई चुनावमा भोट हाल्ने अधिकार दिन्छन्, हरेक पाँच वर्ष जस्तोमा आमचुनाव हुने व्यवस्था मिलाउँछन् । चुनावमा धनी दुई जना उम्मेदवारले तपाईंसँग भोट माग्छन् । तपाईले यी दुई धनीमध्ये जसलाई पनि छान्ने स्वतन्त्रता पाउनुभएको हुन्छ । हो, तपाईंले यस्तो कुराको छनोट गर्न पाउनुहुन्छ, जसले तपाईलाई पहिलेभन्दा अलिकति पनि बढी स्वतन्त्र बनाउँदैन किनभने यसो गर्दा तपाईंको कामको बोझ कत्ति पनि घट्दैन । अनि समाचारपत्रले तपाईलाई के कुरामा विश्वास दिलाउँछन् भने तपाईंको मतले निर्वाचनको परिणाम निर्धारण गयो । यति हुनेबित्तिकै तपाईं प्रजातान्त्रिक मुलुकको स्वतन्त्र नागरिक हुनुभयो । छक्क लाग्छ, तपाई कति मूर्ख हुनुहुन्छ भने यस्तो कुरा पत्याइहाल्नुहुन्छ ।

उनी थप्छन्, “१० मध्ये ९ मतदाता साधारण कामदार भए पनि उनीहरूमध्ये थोरैलाई मात्र आफ्नै वर्गका मानिसलाई भोट दिऊँ भनेर मनाउन सकिन्छ ।” यसको कारण के हो भने शासक भनेको रवाफिलो, चट्ट परेका लुगा लगाउने र विशेष अदब भएको मान्छे हो भन्ने मानसिकता हो ।

यी हरफहरू पढ्दै गर्दा ८ वर्षअघि आफूले लेखेको “Democracy or Aristodemocracy?” शीर्षकको ब्लग पो याद आयो । त्यसमा लेखेको थिएँ, “लोकतन्त्र भएका देशहरूमा जोकोही उम्मेदवार सजिलै बन्न पाउँछ तर विजेता प्राय: उही हुन्छ, जसले पैसाको खोला बगाउन सक्छ ।”

माथि नै भनियो, मानिसलाई समाज र कानूनको बाँधेको हुन्छ । शअ पनि कानूनले स्वतन्त्रता संकुचित गर्छ भन्छन् अनि थप्छन्,

कानून विवेकसम्मत छन् र तिनलाई निष्पक्ष ढङ्गले लागू गरिएको छ भने तपाईंले कानूनविरुद्ध गुनासो गर्ने कारण हुँदैन किनभने कानूनले सामान्यतया तपाईंमाथि हातपात, डकैती र अराजकता हुन नदिएर तपाईंको स्वतन्त्रताको मात्रा बढाउँछ ।

यहाँ रमाइलो विरोधाभाष छ । कानूनले स्वतन्त्रतालाई सीमित पनि गर्दो रहेछ अनि स्वतन्त्रताको रक्षा पनि गर्दो रहेछ । आफ्नो स्वतन्त्रताको प्रयोग गर्दा अर्काको स्वतन्त्रता हनन हुनुहुँदैन भन्नु पनि त स्वतन्त्रताको सीमितता नै त हो नि, हैन र ?

Two South Korean Movies I watched this Week

By Sandeept

On November 19, 2021

In Blogging, Humans and Humanity, Review, Story

I watched two South Korean movies this week: Train to Busan (2016) and Silenced (2011). Both of them coincidentally starred Gong Yoo and Yu-mi Jung as the leads. I had heard of Train to Busan as one of the best horror movies showing zombie apocalypse, but it felt like a drama for the most part. Silenced, on the other hand is categorized as drama but it shows the horror of being under-privileged in the society. In this blog, I am presenting short reviews of both the movies.

1. Train to Busan (2016)

In this movie, Seok-Woo (Gong Yoo) is taking his daughter, Soo-an (Su-an Kim) to her mother from Seoul to Busan during a zombie apocalypse. The zombie virus originates through a leak in a biochemical factory. The virus is spreading on the scales of a pandemic. People are getting crazy and cannibalistic. But the apocalypse is only a set-up to show the horrors of society.

Seok-Woo is a workaholic, who thinks only about himself. Soo-an, the daughter, is polite and selfless. She is the heart and soul of the movie. Her interactions with the other passengers show to her father that one should never be selfish, even in worse of times. However, the world has mean people, too. The acts of one selfish person can jeopardize the lives of other people. The movie also shows that good people can follow bad people out of fear and can make irrational decisions. Thus, this movie is an excellent commentary on the society.

The zombies in this did not scare me but thought that I might act selfishly in times of apocalypse or pandemic scared me. We saw how some selfish people created the global pandemic of COVID-19. Those memories made Train to Busan even more scarier. Is a selfish society more dangerous than a pandemic or apocalypse? Yes, I think it is.

2. Silenced (2011)

Silenced is based on real events that happened at a school for the hearing-impaired in 2005. I had watched a review (before watching the movie) on the YouTube channel Accented Cinema and had not been able to stop my tears. It took me a couple of weeks to gain courage to watch this movie.

Kang In-ho is a new art teacher at a school for disabled in Mujin. He loves art but cannot pursue his passion his wife died, his daughter is sick. To end his financial problems, he steps into the school thinking it might help his career. But the teachers, including the principal, are repeatedly sexually assaulting students. Despite all odds against him, In-ho decides to fight for justice with the help of an activist Seo Yoo-jin.

The school administration, however, has been bribing the police, education office, and “doing charities”. In-ho and Yoo-jin are helpless against the priviledged criminals. I was expecting them to succeed but the movie shows their failure. For the under-priviledged, the lack of justice is not only a tragedy, it is also a horror.

Nations were built in the past so that everyone could get security and justice. But over time, the fight for justice has been huge struggle for common people, even in prosperous nations. Silenced exposed the flaws in judiciary system of South Korea. The movie became such a strong voice that the existing laws were amended and the culprits were given harsher punishment.

This movie shows how powerful a cinema can be. A movie was able to change the laws of the nation. This is what movies or any art form should strive to do–change the society for good.

Movie Review: The Tale of Princess Kaguya

By Sandeept

On January 22, 2021

In Blogging, Movies, Review

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya) is a 2013 animated movie produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Takahata Isao. Based on one of the oldest and most popular folktale, “The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter”, the movie shows the story of a nymph who descends from the Moon to the Earth.

In his early career, Takahata was inspired by French and other European animators and the tales they told. As his career progressed, he was more engrossed in the stories of his own country. That thought gave birth to the classic “Grave of the Fireflies”, one of the saddest tales ever told in cinema. His interest in telling stories rooted to Japan reaches its height in The Tale of Princess Kaguya.

The movie is painting in motion. Beautiful water-colour hand drawn paintings made me feel like I was watching old Japanese paintings in succession. The animation looks rough (a deliberate choice), the line art gets chaotic at some points (the best use of “abstraction” as said by some of the best animators in the industry) and does what it has to do (bring the characters and story to life).

The main characters are multi-dimensional. The woodcutter seems cold at times when he uses divine powers to name Kaguya a princess and makes her stay as a noble. However, he thinks it is the best thing to happen for a child who was divine herself. Kaguya’s mother is kindlier, although she also desires to make her a princess. Kaguya herself is a fun-loving girl who dreams of escaping back to her village when she is brought to the mansion in the town. Her sense of freedom is depicted well in the scenes in which she unleashes a cat, frees a sparrow from the cage, and dances when she sees sakura in the Spring.

The movie gave me a feeling so intense it is impossible to explain in words. Takahata’s mastery of storytelling, his artistic sense and vision has produced a movie that will soon be regarded as one of the classics.

Was Gregor Samsa a Monster?: An Analysis of Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’

By Sandeept

On November 12, 2020

In Blogging, Book Review, Review, Story

In the third act of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the three paying guests living with the Samsas, ask Grete (the sister) to play the violin in their room. While the three boarders are disinterested shortly, and the parents and the sister struggle to impress them, Gregor is “seduced” by the music, and with a desire to protect his sister, moves towards her. At this moment, Kafka throws a question:

“Was he a beast if music could move him so?” (Kafka, The Metamorphosis, Act III)

In my first reading, I told myself, “No, Gregor Samsa is not a monster. He has been a victim of a misfortune, and he has suffered more than he can bear.”

But then, those who love music (and art in general) can also become monsters. Several artists have committed heinous crimes and so have the fans. So, when I went back to Kafka’s question, I found something in the succeeding sentences I had overlooked on my first reading, which completely altered my view. There were hints that showed me why Gregor was a monster–literally as well as figuratively.

I. Gregor and Grete

1. Gregor’s Desire

In the same paragraph where Gregor asks if he is a beast, he is “determined to reach the sister and tug on her skirt to suggest that she take her violin and come into his room, for no one here was as worthy of her playing as he would be. He would never let her leave his room, at least as long as he lived; for the first time, his horrifying appearance would work to his advantage: He would stand guard at all the doors simultaneously, hissing at the attackers; the sister, however, would not be forcibly detained but would stay with him of her own free will.” Had he not transformed, he would have declared on the Christmas that Grete was going to the Conservatory so that she could learn music. “After this declaration the sister would burst into emotional tears and Gregor would raise himself to her shoulder and kiss her neck, which she kept bare since she started working, wearing no ribbon or collar.”

I have no hesitation saying that Gregor has an incestuous desire towards his sister. I also found this article that supports my idea. It says that the desire for his sister (as well as his mother) was “forbidden as a man but not as a beast“.

2. The Secret Plan

But, Gregor had wanted Grete even before the transformation. In the second act, we know that “it was his secret plan that she, who unlike Gregor greatly loved music and played the violin movingly, should be sent to the Conservatory next year despite the considerable expense it was sure to incur, which would just have to be met in some other way.“

This “secret plan” sounds sinister. Although he had not declared it, everyone in the Samsa family already know that Gregor wants to send his sister to the Conservatory. So, what is the secret plan? Did he want to take her away from the family so that he could take advantage of her? Did his parents sense his sinister thoughts? I firmly believe that the parents refused the idea of sending Grete to the Conservatory because they thought Gregor was already a vermin in his mind.

3. Questionable “Other Way”

And, what was the “some other way” to cover the expenses? Was he going to get a better job? That did not seem to be happening soon. Their father’s pension would never be enough. So then, did he want her sister to get a job? Or did he want to push her into prostitution? Because Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment explicitly mentions people forcing young women of their own family into prostitution and living off it, I don’t think this is a wild supposition!

4. Grete’s reactions

However, what happens in Act I makes me think that Gregor was not limited to desire and secret plan, but he had actually assaulted her.

Gregor has already turned into a monstrous insect and is unable to get up from his bed. The head clerk knocks on Gregor’s door, and his parents call him out but Grete is crying in another room. Why didn’t she come to his door? “And why was she crying?” She didn’t know that Gregor had turned into a monster. Or did she? Did she cry not because Gregor was going to lose his job because but because she had seen him losing humanity and turning into a monster?

Her feelings towards Gregor is more pronounced in Act III after he scares the three boarders away. Grete says, “I refuse to pronounce my brother’s name in front of this monstrosity, and so I say: We have to try to get rid of it. We’ve done everything humanly possible to care for it and tolerate it; I don’t believe anyone could reproach us.”

5. Why is Grete cold?

On my first reading, she sounded cold-hearted to me, but now, I can hear her anger and pain. She must have been tired of feeding the monster. And if she had seen him turn into the beast, the pain must have been unbearable. But then, a question arises: Why did she feed him?

I think it was because of her parents. As Grete painfully says, her parents were attached to Gregor although he had metamorphosed into a monster. Sending her into Gregor’s room could be a sign for Grete to forgive her brother. I am reminded of several cases where girls are dismissed or told to forget what had happened and forgive the perpetrator. when they say they have been raped by their family member. The parents, to protect their son and to see if she gains at least some sympathy for him him, made their daughter give him food to Gregor. She gave him the food, but there was no love. She always feels uneasy around him. Gregor :

“concluded that the sight of him was still repulsive to her and was bound to remain repulsive, and that she must have exercised great self-control not to take flight at the sight of even the smallest portion of his body protruding from under the couch.” (Kafka, The Metamorphosis, Act II)

Grete was also sure that Gregor would never feel any remorse for what he had done and would never turn into human.

II. The Father’s fury after seeing Gregor as the monster for the first time

In Act I, after Gregor opens the door, his truth is revealed to the Head Clerk, the mother, and the father. The Head Clerk and the mother are shocked and scared, but the father is neither shocked, nor scared. “The father, furiously shaking his fists as if willing Gregor to go back in his room, looked uncertainly around the living room, covered his eyes in his hands, and sobbed with great heaves of his powerful chest.” (Kafka, The Metamorphosis, Act I)

While the sister is crying in another room, the father is angry and sad seeing the monster instead of his son. Because he is not shocked, I am inclined to believe that the father knew what Gregor had done and wanted to punish him. His anger and grief were also directed towards himself as he had not been able to stop Gregor from turning into a monster.

In Act III, after Grete tells they must “get rid of it”, the father is grieved. “If only he could understand us,” he says, meaning Gregor would never understand their love because he was a monster in his mind and body. (However, while reading for the first time, I felt that Gregor’s family was not even trying to understand him. The Metamorphosis has several layers with several valid interpretations which makes it a great story!)

III. The Apple

At the end of Act II, Gregor’s father sees Gregor out of his room. In fury, he begins an attack. He hurls apples at Gregor, one of which is stuck on Gregor’s body for the rest of his life. This, is a clear reference to the biblical story of the apple stuck on Adam’s throat and a symbol of Gregor’s sin.

Conclusion

In this analysis, I conclude Gregor was a monster. However, Kafka’s The Metamorphosis has many layers. Just as in my first reading, Gregor can be read as a victim of unpleasant situation and his family’s abuse of him. He can also be conceived as a depressed character who has struggled to keep up with the pace of the world and feels so helpless that he believes he is a worthless vermin. In that perspective, Gregor’s family appears as cold-hearted monsters, who never try to understand Gregor. It’s astonishing that the characters of The Metamorphosis can sometimes be white, sometimes black, and sometimes grey!

[Note: The quotes included in the article are from The Metamorphosis and Other Stories, (Trans. Donna Fried), Barnes and Noble Classic, 2003. Bold parts of quotes are for emphasis.]

What is Justice?

By Sandeept

On August 8, 2020

In Humans and Humanity, Blogging, Humanity, Review, Writing

From my recent article on Medium…

What is justice? Is it based on objective evidence or subjective judgement? I had not thought much about these questions until I watched Death Note, the 2006–2007 animated series.

Death Note is about Yagami Light who finds a notebook (aka Death Note), dropped by a Shinigami (God of Death), in his school. Using the notebook, he can kill anyone whose name and face he knows. Seeing the rotten world around him, he decides to use the notebook to get rid of criminals.

Ryuk, the Shinigami who dropped the Death Note in the human world, asks if it is the right thing to do. Light replies that people will on the surface say, “It’s not the right thing to do”, but deep down they want all criminals to be executed.

Murderers get away with little to no punishment using money and political influence, several cases have become stuck on the court, smugglers are caught only when the “setting” with police does not work, honest people are scared of the crooks because they control everything from the economy to government, and the media, criminals wave at cameras without any fear. Living in such circumstances, would I have done what Light does? If I say no, I am not being honest. …

View at Medium.com

पुस्तक समीक्षा : जङ्गबहादुर

By Sandeept

On April 18, 2019

In Blogging, Book Review, Nepali, Review

साधना मासिक सन् नब्बेको दशकको उत्कृष्ट म्यागजिन थियो । यस मासिकका धेरै अंकहरू बाबाले संग्रह गरेर राख्नु भएको थियो, जसमध्ये धेरैजसो डेरा र घर सर्दा हराए । अब केही मात्रै बाँकी छन् । “जङ्गबहादुर” उपन्यास धारावाहिक रुपमा प्रकाशन हुन्थ्यो । गगनसिंहलाई मार्न फत्तेजंग, अभिमानसिंह राना र जङ्गले लिएको सपथ अनि कोतपर्वको विवरण भएका दुई भिन्न अंकहरू अहिलेसम्म पनि सुरक्षित छन् । उपन्यासलाई आधार मानेर सामाजिक शिक्षाको परीक्षामा जङ्गबहादुरको उदयलाई अंग्रेजीमा लेख्ने गर्थें । यो विषयमा मैले पाठ्यपुस्तक कहिले पनि हेरिन । तर बजारमा उपन्यास भेटिंदैनथ्यो ।

यसपाली पुसमाघतिर विशालनगरमा यो उपन्यास अचानक देखेँ । सपनाजस्तो लाग्यो । केही दिनमा पैसा जुटाएर लिएँ तर पढ्ने फुर्सद थिएन । पाँचौँ संस्करण रहेछ । मार्च महिनाको सुरुवातमा जापान भ्रमण ताका सँगै लिएर गएँ अनि पढें पनि । तर थकान अनि किताबमा भेटिएका गल्तीका कारण पूरै पढ्न सकिनँ । फाइनल एक्जाम सकिएपछि चाहिं फेरी थालेँ र पढी भ्याएँ ।

सबल पक्ष

१. उपन्यासले जङ्गबहादुरलाई क्रुर मात्र देखाएको छैन, उनलाई कुन परिस्थितिले त्यस्तो बनायो भन्ने पनि प्रष्ट बताएको छ ।

२. त्यस समयमा भएका षडयन्त्रहरू र हत्याकाण्डहरू कहाली लाग्दा छन् । रानी लक्ष्मीदेवीको उन्माद र राजा राजेन्द्रको अकर्मण्यताले घटनाक्रमलाई अगाडि बढाउन मद्दत गरेका छन् ।

३. कोतपर्व र भण्डारखाल पर्वको चित्रण उत्कृष्ट छ । हत्याका दृश्यहरू सजीव छन् । यसले पारेको प्रभाव माथि पनि लेखिसकेका छु ।

४. जङ्गबहादूरको प्रेमिल पक्ष अनौठो र रमाइलो लाग्छ । यो त्यत्तिकै आएको छैन । जङ्गकी प्रेमिका (पछि पत्नी) पुतलीले जासूस र सलाहकारका रूपमा जङ्गलाई सहयोग गरेकी छिन् ।

५. जङ्ग र उनका भाइहरू बीचको सम्बन्ध राम्रोसँग देखाइएको छ अनि डायमन शमशेरको “सेतो बाघ”को अन्त्यमा भएका घटना (जङ्गका छोरा नातिको हत्या) को बीजारोपण पनि यहाँ गरिएको छ । तर सेतो बाघभन्दा बढी तथ्यपरक छ ।

दुर्बल पक्ष

१. सेतो बाघमा जस्तो लेखकको विचार नै त आउँदैन तर “यसो होला भन्ने कसैले सोचेको भए” भन्ने किसिमका वाक्यहरू दोहोरिइरहन्छन् । यसले कथावाचनलाई अलि कम्जोर बनाएको छ ।

२. चरित्र चित्रण गर्ने केही वाक्यहरू दोहोरिइरहन्छन् । यसले कथालाई छरितो बनाउनबाट रोकेको छ ।

३. अलौ पर्वसम्म विस्तारमा भनिएको कथा त्यसपछि भने सारांश बन्छ । जङ्गबहादुरको बेलायत भ्रमण, मुलुकी ऐनको घोषणा, नेपाल-तिब्बत युद्ध जस्ता विषय केही वाक्यमा समापन हुन्छन् ।

४. जङ्गले इष्ट इन्डिया कम्पनीलाई भारतको सैनिक विद्रोहमा सहयोग गरेको प्रसङ्ग आएकै छैन ।

५. उपन्यासमा प्रिन्ट एरर धेरै छन् । सम्पादनको कमी छ । र पुस्तकको ISBN नहुनु आश्चर्यको विषय हो ।

पुस्तक : जङ्गबहादुर
विधा : ऐतिहासिक उपन्यास
लेखक : श्रीकृष्ण श्रेष्ठ
पृष्ठ संख्या : ३०२
प्रकाशक : कामना पब्लिकेशनस्

A review of the Year 2075

By Sandeept

On April 13, 2019

In Blogging, Review

The year 2075 B.S. is coming to an end as I am writing this article. The year has been tough but felt like it fluttered away in no time. Time management has been a big deal throughout the year and it’s stressing me a bit. So, here are the things I would like to remember from 2075.

1. At the University

By the end of 2074, I had already admitted in the Masters’ Degree Programme on Engineering Geology at the Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University. The classes began from the 9th of Baishakh and assignments began haunting. That week I was excited and completed them long before the submission deadline. However, as time passed, assignments became more than enough and the excitement died. I still completed them but only because I had to. The trend continued in the Second Semester and I regret doing them for the sake of doing.

University has mostly been a frustrating experience. The fees are high but the way we study is not different from what I had experienced at schools and Bachelors’ programme. “It’s like school,” is what I had concluded three months ago. Teachers come and give lectures, we jot them down. But a class is 3 hours long. By the time the class ends, notebooks are filled with incoherent sentences, easily forgettable shorthand, and loads of confusion.

The confusion, as I evaluated a few days back, is because I can’t get through the lessons beforehand. The books are way too technical and the meanings, vague. A lot of terms are defined in similar manner and there is very little time to dissect them. To my own surprise, I have been completely dependent on what my teachers say and I don’t want to revise anything soon because everything felt like heavily into my mind.

Whatever the situation be, it is fun to have people sharing the experience. My 23 friends have been a revelation. You guys are the best thing I got at the university!

You guys make my every day. What else should I say?

2. Poetry and Stories

The frustration wanted to vent out and the best way I discovered was through poems. Short, symbolic and satirical. I had begun to think in poems one time during the first semester. Then I went through the Mahabharat in Nepali and it helped me understand the rhythm in poems.

Though I was writing my frustrations through poetry, it felt insufficient. Also, the environment in the university became hostile to free, direct expression. So, I didn’t write articles, nor did I write anything on my diary. Whatever I am writing here is because I am leaving those things behind. No, I am not going to be frustrated nor sad for not expressing myself.

That’s why, during the second semester, I began writing short stories and continued on my novel. The basic idea was to complete the novel before I complete my four semesters. But I found a plot hole and had to stop. Then I wrote two short stories, one each in English and Nepali. The story in English got into the Top 25 and the latter, I sent to a nation-wise contest. The results will be announced, most probably, within this week.

3. Battle Royale

Before I was writing stories, I got involved in video games FIFA 15 and PUBG (recently banned – will conjure an article on it soon). The game gave me a brilliant idea, which had already become a controversial book and movie some 20 years back. Still, I was awed. I wrote a series of essays on the topic in October-November. Here they are:

Battle Royale: PUBG, the movie, the novel

Battle Royale: Themes in Movies and Books

Why Kazuo Kiriyama did not win the Battle

4. A Week in Japan

Though the university lacks the infrastructure and teaching methodology I had expected, it still provides opportunities to learn and I was lucky to be selected in the Sakura Science Exchange Programme (Feb 28-March 7) between TU (my university) and Shimane University, Japan. I am grateful to the both the universities for making the programme informative as well as fun.

I have a lot to say on the stuffs related to the tour but I couldn’t because the exams knocked on the day we returned back. I will be sharing my experiences there in due course of time.

5. Cats

So, after the tragedy with the kitten towards the end of 2074, I thought cats would leave us. But one of her siblings found ways into our house, and with his sneaky ways, he has been protecting himself and his another brother. He is not as close the deceased kitten but he has a cute way of asking what he wants. We brought the dead kitten’s cardboard house and so, he has been a happy guest for about six months now.

The grey male cat here helped me understand new things on parental behaviour in cats

Why Kazuo Kiriyama did not win the Battle

By Sandeept

On November 9, 2018

In Blogging, Book Review, Character study, Movies, Review

Kazuo Kiriyama is the best “player” of the “game” that involves killing classmates. He alone kills twelve of his classmates. Yet he ends up dead. A lot of Battle Royale video game fans seem to be annoyed by this fact. They say, “He deserved to win.” I say, “He didn’t. A novel or a movie is different from a video game.”

The kid who never smiled

We get the first and the most important insight into Kazuo Kiriyama’s character through Mitsuru Numai in Chapter 11. Mitsuru had been in an occasion, saved from bullies by Kazuo and since then, he had revered the latter. He believed Kazuo was the one capable of beating the system and destroy the Battle Royal Programme because he had defeated local yakuza (Yakuza is an organization of powerful Japanese gangsters or mafias).

Mitsuru and his friends make him the leader of the gang called the Kiriyama family. Despite being called notorious in the city, the Kiriyama family never bullied upon others in the school. They all relied on Kazuo Kiriyama and did things for fun. However, when Kiriyama kills his gang within an hour of the beginning of the game, Mitsuru Numai notices one thing that they had always ignored: “Kazuo Kiriyama never smiled.” (Chapter 11, Battle Royale)

Kazuo Kiriyama is apathetic. He does not feel anything. Neither joy, nor sorrow, no pity, no guilt. We later know that while he was still in his mother’s womb, she fell in an accident and a stake had entered Kiriyama’s head. The accident destroyed his emotional centre. Whatever the reason, Kiriyama is what Shogo Kawada tells us: “A hollow man … There’s no place in his heart for logic or love, no. For any kind of values. That kind of person. On top of that, there’s no reason for the way he is.” (Chapter 67, Battle Royale).

The coin toss

If one thing that changed the complexion of the story, it is Kiriyama’s coin toss. He had two options:

To participate in the game, and
To destroy the Battle Royale Programme and the government.

Kiriyama’s choices are not based on logic. They were based on chance. Had he used logic, he would have chosen the second option. He would have been a great helping hand to our heroes Shogo Kawada, Shuya Nanahara and Shinji Mimura. None of our heroes believed he was capable of killing his classmates. He hadn’t even bullied one! Kiriyama’s coin toss, thus becomes a bane for all his classmates.

Even if Kiriyama had not been thinking logically, had the coin toss made him destroy the Programme, he would have got support from his gang as well as the others. They would not have to fear their own classmates. Forty of them could have brought down the Programme in no time.

In the movie, however, Kiriyama is a new student like Shogo Kawada and is a mystery. In the novel, he is their classmate and still a mystery. Kiriyama from the novel, to me, is a bigger villain. But he could have easily turned into a hero.

Why Kiriyama did not win

Simply, because letting Kiriyama win was against the books theme of love and kindness. Kiriyama is the exact opposite of love and kindness. Had Koshun Takami, the author, let Kiriyama win, he would have set a wrong example. He had to save the lovely Noriko and the lucky Shuya to send a message: “Apathy is a vice,” and: “Choice made without reasoning is a curse.”

Had Kiriyama won, another theme of the book would have been crushed: rebellion. After the coin toss, Kiriyama’s chance of being a rebellion dies. Rebellion stays alive in the form of Nakagawa and Nanahara. They didn’t get long lecture from Kawada about the system and change to get killed in the end. They are there to bring about some change. Kiriyama’s victory would have shattered Shogo’s dream, and our hopes that the Battle Royale Programme would come to an end. Kiriyama did not win. We still have a hope.

[Featured image obtained from fdzeta.com]