Bio-Piracy: A tool for neo-colonialization

An evening in a small Indian village or a tribal hamlet. On the village 'choupal', the village elders  are sitting with a guest. The guest happens to be a 'gora- sahib'. He is actually a visiting scientist from US or Western Europe. He is visiting this region to study the local flora and is discussing the medicinal use of certain local plants with the village 'Vaidyaji 'or the village 'ojha', who have been dispensing Ayurvedic Medicines or Herbal Medicines as a part of family tradition of several generations. They are a repository of the communities traditional know-how of local medicinal herbs. After enjoying the hospitality of the innocent villagers for one or two weeks, and after giving a liberal 'bakhshish', the 'sahib' departs with a collection of plants and plant products. He returns to his lab and tries to discover a new molecule or combination of molecules from the recently collected plants,which have medicinal value. This story has been repeated again and again in all third world countries. 


What has been described here is termed as Bioprospecting. Later the giant pharmaceutical company for whom the scientist was working takes a patent on those molecules and more often he obtains a patent on the plant variety itself. No mention is made of the third world community which has been using the plant resource as medicine for thousands of years. While collecting the plant material, the scientist did not inform the indigenous community about the intention to extract the molecule of medicinal importance from the plant material. In technical slang we can say that "informed consent " of the concerned community was not taken. After patenting there is no sharing of profit with the indigenous community or the country of origin. Now it is no more an act of Bio-prospecting. Now we can term it as Bio-Piracy; a day light robbery of a natural resource of a third world country by a giant MNC from a developed country.

Bioprospecting is the discovery of new useful biological material or biological mechanisms, typically in developing countries. In Bioprospecting traditional knowledge of the third world country may or may not be used (in practice it is  always used, although claims to the contrary are often made). The country of origin may or may not be compensated for such discovery(iv)
Therefore, Bio-Piracy is Bioprospecting which is done -
---with the help of indigenous knowledge and without informed consent,
---for commercial gain,
---without permission from the country of origin and
---without giving any compensation to the country of origin(iv)

Due to the act of Bio-piracy the indigenous community suffers from a double set back. On the one hand they do not receive any compensation for their traditional knowledge of a plant resource that they had conserved for thousands of years. On the other hand due to the commercial value of the plant material, a medicinal plant which was a free commodity for the community is now unaffordable to the very people who discovered its virtues. Still worse, in most cases the pharmaceutical company which has patented the drug in commercial form will prohibit the use or sell of the plant by the very indigenous community which was its original source(vii).

Examples Of Bio-piracy

There are hundreds and hundreds of examples of Bio-piracy. I will site a few examples from Africa, India, South America and the Pacific region. The examples may appear to be repetitive, but that should only remind the reader of how repeatedly the MNCs from developed countries have raped the third world countries for their natural resources. Ghanaweb has reported some cases of Bio-piracy from Africa (vii).

1)Iboga plant: this plant has been used in central and west Africa for a long time. In low dose it maintains alertness during hunting. In large dose it acts as a hallucinogen. Recently drug addiction researchers found that a component molecule from Iboga has the effect of ending craving for Heroin and Nicotine. Hence it Can be an effective cure for addiction. Patent has been granted by the US and Europian authorities. No benefit is shared with the country of origin.

2) US patent has been granted to a researcher from Tennessee for four medicinal plants of Ethiopian region. These plants--Milettia ferruginea, Glinus loboides, Ruta chalepensis and Hagenia abyssinica have been used in Ethiopian traditional medicine for hundreds of years. The patent claims plant extracts to be used against various types of cancers, Diabetes, Parkinsonism, TB etc. No benefits shared with country of origin.

3)Hoodia: it is a cactus used by African tribesmen to stave off hunger and thirst on long hunting trips. It is specifically used by Kung Bushmen "San" who live around the Kalhari desert. In 1995 South African Council Of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) patented Hoodia's appetite supressing molecule P57 which is viewed as a potential cure for obesity. In 1997 CSIR licensed it to the British biotech firm Phytopharm. Phytopharm sold the rights to develop and market P57 as a slimming agent and obesity cure to Pfizer for 32million dollars. The "San " people launched a legal action against CSIR and Phytopharm on grounds of Bio-piracy and transgression of Convention On Biodiversity (CBD). After lot of behind the scene arm twisting the "San "were pressurized to enter into a compromise agreement. According to this settlement Pfizer and Phytopharm remain completely burden free. Phytopharm will receive a royalty from Pfizer of which 10% will go to CSIR. A fraction of this 10% will be given to the "San " community. So the "San " end up with a minuscule fraction of the total sale while Pfizer and Phytopharm enjoy the gravy.

Apart from these cases, US patents have been granted for several other plants and plant products. 36 such cases are described in(vii). Closer to home Indian Biodiversity has often been targeted for Bio-piracy by the same evil and unholy alliance (ii).

1) Turmeric : In 1995 two scientists fromUniversity of Mississippi center were awarded US patent on medicinal use of Turmeric. The Indian CSIR challenged the patent on grounds of existing prior art. In 1997 the patent was revoked.

2)Neem: the extract of neem leaves or dried Neem leaves have been traditionally used against pests and fungi which attack food grains and food crops. Oil from seeds has been traditionally used in treatment of cold, flu and skin diseases. US department of agriculture (USDA ) and a US corporation W.R.Grace company were granted a patent from Europian patent office for use of Neem oil for control of fungal infection. In 1995 representatives of Indian farmers and some international NGOs filed legal opposition against the patent on grounds of existing prior art. The Patent was revoked in 2000.

3)Basmati Rice: the MNC RiceTec Inc.had been granted patents by the US patent office in 1997. This patent covered 20 claims covering Rice plants, Rice lines and grains. They had also applied for registration of the trademark " Texmati " to the UK Trade mark registry. Claim 15 to 17 were for grains having characteristics similar to Indian Basmati Rice lines. Evidence from Indian Agricultural research institute , bulletin, records of directorate of Rice research and central food technology research institute were used to challenge the patent. Rice Tec chose to withdraw claim 15 to 17 and claim 4.

However the revocation of patents involves huge cost and time and therefore is not affordable in every case. The above cases are exceptions. They were cited only because they are familiar to all Indians and their traditional use is well known to all of us. The involvement of an official arm of US government (USDA) in the attempted biopiracy speaks volumes about the whole thing. Several other patents have been obtained and have gone unchallenged e.g. patents for molecules from Karela, Black pepper and Phyllanthus amarus, all granted by the US patent office. In many cases the country of origin has lost the revocation cases after spending huge amount of money and effort. The Ayahuasca case is an example of blatant miscarriage of justice where patent revoked earlier was reconfirmed in 2006 by the US patent office (ii).

From South America Ayahuasca, Quinoa, Mimosa tenuifolia and from the pacific islands of Fiji and Vanuatu Kava are some other well known examples of Bio-piracy. US patents have been granted for them and no benefit has been passed to the country of origin.

It appears that the patent authorities of developed countries and especially the US patent authorities seem to be excessively eager to grant patents for biological material from third world countries. According to an article in the New England Journal Of  International and Comparitive Law (ix), the American patent laws are framed in such a way that the basis of traditional knowledge is not sufficient to disprove novelty, so that indirectly the balance is tilted against the third world communities..."The newness requirement is difficult to prove for indigenous people because cultural knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. Indigenous people's  cultural knowledge may have been invented centuries ago and is thus not considered new". The conclusion which can be drawn from the above is obvious.

The Politics Of Bio-Patents and Bio-Piracy

The so called third world countries have become poor because their wealth was drained out in the last round of colonization. India and south American countries typify the above. Although their wealth was taken from them, these people could survive because they still had a last resource in the form of their Bio-diversity. They had Food plants, Medicinal plants and Timber and fodder yielding plants, which allowed them to meet their needs of health and nutrition. Now through Bio-patents this last resource of the people of third world is being taken over by the old colonial powers in their new avatars as the giant MNCs.

The economic and military power of developed nations and fora like WTO, WIPO andTRIPS further forces the third world countries to tolerate the "LEGAL INJUSTICE " imposed by these fora mutely. This is succinctly described in the article--"Bioprospecting a new western block buster-after the gold rush - the gene rush"(Ref viii). Most third world countries cannot put in place such mechanisms which will protect their Bio-diversity rights. They have meager economic resources and their leadership lacks political commitment. If the leadership shows political commitment then they are subjected to arm twisting by countries lending money to them. These countries put pressure on them to open their frontiers to the megacorps from their country. Another curse for the third world countries is the WTO. The WTO wants to minimize  government interference in trade. In other words it favors a complete freedom to the MNCs for their predatory activities (where profit is supreme and to hell with the well being of people). The WTO recently brought about an International Agreement On Intellectual Property Rights. This treaty imposes no requirement for the  Bio-prospector to obtain informed consent of local communities or their governments. Moreover they need not share with the country of origin the benefits obtained from commercialization of any biological resource. Despite these controversial aspects the countries which are members of WTO are under great pressure to sign the agreement and are otherwise threatened with trade sanctions.(viii).

The laxness of Europian and US patenting authorities when it comes to protection of Bio-diversity rights of the third world countries, their promptness in granting  Biopatents-especially those related to Biodiversity of third world countries, their framing of patent laws in such a manner that it negates the rights of communities having traditional knowledge of plants and plant products,arouses the suspicion of an evil design in the whole process. It almost appears as if the giant multinational companies, seed companies, patenting authorities and departments of government like the USDA all are hand in glove to take over the Biodiversity resources of the third world countries. It appears that the old imperialistic forces are making a new bid at indirect colonialization.

In an interview to motion magazine ( aug. 14 -1998 ) the Indian activist Ms. Vandana Shiva voices the same apprehension. "When Columbus and other adventurers set sail, they set out with pieces of paper that were called "letters patent "which gave them the power to claim as property, the territory they found anywhere in the world that was not ruled by white Christian princes . The contemporary patents on life are a replay of colonialization as it took place 500 years ago."  In the same interview she further states " the epidemic of Biopiracy or piracy through patents will have to be renamed as recolonialization- a new colonialization which differs from the old only in this- the old colonialization only took away land, the new colonialization is taking over life itself " (iii).

Bio-Piracy-vis-a-vis India 

Biopiracy of Indian traditional knowledge and Indian plants and plant products continues. Some of our traditional knowledge comes from oral tradition. Even when the knowledge is codified it exists in regional languages and the various patent offices in the western hemisphere do not take the trouble to search this information in their eagerness to grant patents to giant MNCs. It is a naked conspiracy of the western powers to subjugate us a second time. It is unfortunate that the Indian political classes largely corrupt and for a few pieces of silver they are prepared to turn a blind eye towards these attempts of the western powers. That is the reason why corporations like "Monsanto" were allowed to enter our markets and the Bt Crops were introduced in our farming. Our politicians do not understand that these are Trojan horses who will ultimately take away our freedom to plant desired seeds in our own farms. It is very sad. An inner voice asks a question repeatedly -"are we destined to be ruled by a foreign power again and again and yet again "?

References :

(i)en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/patent
(ii)www.greens.org/s-r/14/14-21.html.
(iii)www.inmotionmagzine.com/shiva.html.
(iv)commercialization of traditional medicines-Wikipedia 
    Www.nesl.edu/intljournal/vol9/degree.pdf
(v)http:#www.Bree peace.org/patents and biopiracy
(vi)karasov.c. Who reaps the benefits of Biodiversity.
    Environmental health perspectives vol.109.no.12
(vii)www.ghanaweb.com/public_agenda/article.php
(viii)www.seq.ubc.ca/Bioprospecting-a-new-western block buster-after-the-gold-rush-the-gene-rush
(ix)new England journal of international and comparative law
    www.nesl.edu/userfiles/file/nejc/vol 9/degeer.pdf

The Amazing Story of Tissue Culture and HeLa Cells

Tissue culture is the ability to grow living cells in the laboratory, outside the body of the plant or animal from which the cells have been taken. By growing cells in a controlled environment, researchers can relatively easily manipulate, analyze and thus, better understand biological processes and their malfunction in disease.

A History Of Tissue Culture

Tissue culture was first performed in the early 20th century by the American scientist Ross Harrison. Harrison got his initial training in 1890 at Johns Hopkins under W. K. Brookes. Brookes was a meticulous and highly ethical researcher. Once he was informed by a visitor to his lab that he better hurry, since another scientist in France was doing the same work as he, and may soon publish. To most scientists, the thought of getting "scooped" this way would be a cause for grave concern (and rush to publish!). Brookes paused for a moment and remarked that he could never see a reason to rush research. If the French scientist did a better job, it was fine with him. If some thing was left out by the Frenchman, he would publish that part of his research so that it will complement the Frenchman's work. Harrison took this philosophy with him for the rest of his life.

In 1907, Harrison cultured embryonic frog nerve cells under aseptic conditions and maintained them nearly for a week, and later for about four weeks. He demonstrated that the nerve fibre is an outgrowth of the nerve cell itself. He was so elated by his discovery that he failed to realize for a long time that more important than his discovery of the origin of nerve fibre was his discovery of the method by which he could maintain embryonic nerve cells alive for weeks. In the latter half of 1907, Harrison was offered the Bronson professorship of Comparative Anatomy and chairmanship of the Department of Zoology at Yale. He remained at Yale for the rest of his long career. He continued to employ tissue culture techniques in his research and freely taught visiting scientists the methods he had developed. 


In 1917, the Nobel Prize committee recommended Harrison for the prize. However due to the ongoing First World War, the Nobel Institute decided not to award a prize in physiology and medicine that year. Strangely it did award prizes for physics, literature and peace(!) that year. In 1933, his name was again short listed by Nobel committee along with T. H. Morgan for the prize. Morgan was awarded the prize (deservedly) but Harrison's claim was rejected on the flimsy ground that too many years had elapsed since the 1907 discovery. The Nobel committee did belatedly rectify this foolish notion of denying awards on the basis of passage of time by awarding the prize to Rous and then again to Chandrashekhar, decades after their seminal discoveries. However, this belated wisdom did not nullify the injustice to Harrison. Nobel or no Nobel, the discovery of tissue culture can be regarded as one of the ten greatest discoveries in the last 100 years in the field of Medicine. When Nichols, his successor at Yale wrote his memoirs of Harrison he ended it with a quotation from Psalm:1 --" Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper ".


Most people outside the tissue culture field and some tissue culturists also are under the impression that it was the French surgeon Alexis Carrel who pioneered the technique of tissue culture. Carrel was born and educated in Lyons,France, where later he headed the Department of Surgery in the medical school. In 1902, he made his most valuable contribution to medicine by  inventing the first technique for  suturing the cut ends of an artery and used it to perform a coronary bypass. Due to his difficult personality and extreme arrogance he had to leave France. He migrated to Montreal, Canada and then to the Hull Physiological Laboratories, Chicago. Carrel sent his assistant Dr. Montrose Burrows toYale to learn the tissue culture technique from Harrison. He published his first article on tissue culture in 1911 and made sure that it received world wide media attention. He cultured live embryonic Chicken heart cells and claimed that he could maintain them year after year on culture. Thus was born the legend of the immortal chicken heart. News paper editors used to call Carrel every New Year's day to find out how the chicken heart cells were doing. They published annual editorials celebrating the Immortal Chicken Heart. In 1912 Carrel was awarded the Nobel Prize for his surgical discoveries although the public at large and most scientists believed that it was awarded for his work on tissue culture. Many scientists accused Carrel of betraying Harrison and for accepting a prize which was rightfully Harrison's. But Harrison, being a thorough gentleman, defended Carrel's eligibility as he was aware that the prize was given for inventing a method for suturing cut ends of an artery.

The legend of the immortal chicken heart was put to an end by Leonard Hayflick. Hayflick began growing normal human cells and found that they could not survive on culture after certain fixed number of generations even if conditions are ideal. Later Carrel's technician confessed that Carrel's lab was introducing new live chicken heart cells to the culture regularly. The chicken heart cells were after all not immortal. 


Although Carrel was a publicity seeking scientist, he was indirectly responsible for making people aware of Harrison's discovery of tissue culture. Carrel was a eugenicist. He believed in preserving the white race which he considered to be superior. He believed in getting rid of the inferior stock namely poor, uneducated and nonwhite. He later praised Hitler and collaborated with the Vichy government in France. However he died in 1944, before he could be indicted for his political crimes. Thus the problem of finding cells which could grow on a culture medium for ever under ideal conditions still remained unsolved. It was here that George and Margaret Gey entered the picture.


George Gey was head of tissue culture research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He, along with his wife Margaret, had spent three decades working to grow malignant human cells outside the body with the hope that this may help in finding cause and cure for cancer. In 1943 scientists at the National Institutes of Health had demonstrated that mouse cancer cells can be grown indefinitely in culture medium. The Geys wanted to grow first immortal human cells but had had little luck. In February 1951, when the samples from a cancer patient were received by Gey, his assistant Mary Kubicek was entrusted the job of growing these cells. She found that contrary to her expectations, these cells were growing at a very healthy rate and filled as much space as she gave them. Soon the Geys had millions of these cells and as long as nutrients were available in ideal conditions, they divided and redivided every 24 hours. It was then that the Geys realized that they had an immortal cell line. On 10th April 1951, in a television interview, George Gey announced that they had the ability to grow human cancer cells in very large numbers and they were using these cells to find ways to stop cancer. These are the so-called "HeLa" cells.

60 Years OF HeLa Cells

HeLa cells are named after Henrietta Lacks. She was (at the time of cell collection) a 31 year old black female suffering from cancer cervix. Her cervical cancer tumor was the original source of HeLa cells. In Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Dr. TeLinde and his assistant Howard Jones were conducting a study on cancer cervix. Lacks was admitted to public ward of this hospital in February 1951. On 9th Feb. 1951, Dr. Lawrence Wharton collected two samples of tissue from cervix of Henrietta Lacks, one sample from her tumor  and another sample from healthy cervical tissue nearby. As per instructions of TeLinde, the samples were given to George Gey who was the head of tissue culture research at Johns Hopkins, for growing the tissue in laboratory. As was quite customary in those days, consent of Henrietta Lacks for culturing her tissue was not taken. The patients from public wards often provided free material for medical research in those days and scientists regarded this as fair practice because they were treated free in these wards.

It was known that normal cells do not grow in culture for long periods. Even under ideal conditions, with adequate nutrient supply, normal cells can not divide forever on a culture medium. Usually, most normal cells die within a week or at the most a few weeks when they have undergone division for a certain number of generations. The HeLa cells were the first immortal human cells to be grown in laboratory. In culture medium, under ideal conditions, the HeLa cells divide and divide continuously and have been doing so since last 60 years. They are still growing in thousands of labs around the world. They proved to be so hardy that they could be mailed anywhere in world in viable condition. The mail packages containing HeLa cells were famously termed as "HeLagrams". Scientists all over the world loved these cells. Because they grew and multiplied very rapidly, they were perfect for experiments. It is believed that HeLa cell culture is one of the most important things that happened in the field of medicine in the 20th century. However there is another aspect of HeLa cells which is little known even to many biologists and biochemists. HeLa cells are cross-contaminants in a large number of tissue cultures, that is, they grow like a weed in culture of other cells. Moreover they grow so vigorously that they overwhelm the other cells. Therefore, they are a bane of researchers working with cell lines other than HeLa cells. They also interfere seriously in development and production of pure antivirus vaccines.

The HeLa Cells And Their Munificence

Soon the Geys started sending HeLa cells to any scientist who might use them for cancer research. Shipment of HeLa cells was made to almost every country in the world on scientific map. When scientists visited Geys lab, they learnt the technique to grow HeLa cells and while returning back took a vial or two of HeLa cells. According to some estimates weight of all HeLa cells ever grown is of the order of 50 million metric tons. The HeLa cells were so precious because experiments which could not be performed with living human body could be performed using them. Thus the HeLa cells were exposed to toxins, radiations,infectious agents and various anti-cancer drugs. They were useful in-
1)development of many chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer
2)study of immune suppression and cancer growth
3)development of vaccines, like the polio vaccine
4)development of methods of cloning
5)developing drugs for herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinsonism and several other disorders
6)study of aging and human longevity
7)study of gene mapping. Their chromosomes and genes have been extensively studied and some of their chromosomal bands serve as important markers. There are a number of other applications -some major and others minor like the study of lactose digestion.

HeLa Cells - The Other Face Of Janus

In 1966 Stanley Gartler, a geneticist from University of Washington, Seattle discovered an enzyme that occurred only in the cells of some black people. It was found to be present in the HeLa cells as well. Much to Gartler's astonishment, he found the same enzyme in at least 18 supposedly pure Caucasian cell lines. These cell lines were present in the cell bank established in Washington D.C. Some of them were incorrectly classified as tumours of the liver and other organs where as actually they were HeLa cells! Researchers who had been working on these 18 cell lines were furious as it would mean that their work of years would be flushed down the drain. Hence the claims of Gartler were termed as "wild and insolent " and he was completely ostracized. The Tissue Culture Association appointed two independent research teams to evaluate all the cell lines in the National Cell Bank. Out of 34 cell lines, 24 cell lines proved to be HeLa cells, thereby vindicating Gartler's claim.

Walter Nelson-Rees, a Cuban scientist working at National Cancer Institute, Oakland, was sent samples of some Russian cell lines for analysis during the Nixon era. He found that these cell lines were in fact HeLa cells. These cell lines were developed from contaminated cell samples which were sent to the soviet union by the US. The Nixon administration was worried that Nelson-Rees' conclusion may adversely  affect the US-USSR dialogue and hence wanted to suppress the result. However Nelson-Rees disagreed and conveyed the result to the visiting soviet scientists. Instead of being upset , the Russians were pleased and sent him an invitation to visit Russia. Inspire of this,every Journal to which Nelson-Rees submitted his results rejected the paper fearing political consequences.

On another occasion Nelson-Rees discovered that five cell lines that were sent to him by various researchers were in fact HeLa cells. He sent a paper describing his results to "Science" -- the foremost scientific journal of the US. One reviewer said his data was correct. Another reviewer said the results were extremely important, and yet, the editor rejected the paper for no apparent reason. Later one of the cell culturists whose cell line Nelson-Rees had identified as HeLa confirmed Nelson-Rees finding. He sent a letter to twenty other researchers to whom he had sent the cell line admitting his mistake. A copy of the letter was also sent to Nelson-Rees. Now Nelson-Rees resubmitted the paper to "Science" along with a copy of the letter. The entire episode somehow also reached the media. This time the paper was accepted. However, it was printed in the very last pages of the journal. Later Nelson-Rees found more supposedly pure cell lines which were contaminated by HeLa cells. He claimed that as many as a third of the cell lines in the world were contaminated by HeLa cells. He wrote another article for "Science" enlisting the contaminated cell lines and added the name of the concerned researcher to the cell line. It can be imagined that Nelson-Rees immediately became an outcast and a pariah. Due to the stress to which he was continuously subjected Nelson-Rees voluntarily retired in 1981. In 1982, the excellent cell culture facility which he had established was closed by the federal government. The entire Nelson-Rees episode explodes the myth of objectivity in science. Like any other human activity the 'subjective' always asserts itself in scientific deliberations and judgement, too.

The contamination of cell lines by HeLa cells is not just an academic debate. It has serious consequences for the public at large. For example, we use normal cell cultures to determine permissible limits for exposure to radiation. We know that HeLa cells are highly resistant to radiation. If the normal cell culture is contaminated by HeLa cells then recommendations made on this basis will result in the exposure of patients to a higher radiation level than what is safe. It is estimated that the HeLa cell contamination has cost humanity millions and millions of dollars in wasted research. The HeLa cell contamination of cultures continues through out the world even today. Thus the HeLa cells have been a boon as well as a curse for tissue culturists. They also teach us that many of our discoveries have a flip side to them and therefore there is a need to handle new techniques and new technologies with great caution.


References :-
1)Conspiracy of cells-Michael Gold (Suny press)
2)Medicine's ten greatest discoveries -Friedman and Friedland
                                                                        (University press)
3)immortal life of Henrietta Lacks-Rebecca Skloot(Crown publi. House)
4) www.yalealumnimagzine.com/issue02_02/old_yale
---an unsung hero of medical research
5)Ross Granville Harrison --Wikipedia
6)Alexis Carrel--Wikipedia
7)www.layers of learning.com/2011/01.../mad-scientist-Alexis-carrel.html
8)Walter Nelson-Rees--- Wikipedia
9)articles.sfgate.com/2009-01-28/bay-area/17197541_c-cells-uc-ber
10)HeLa --Wikipedia 

Senior Dagar Brothers And Dhrupad Revival

Last year I came across a collection of CDs released by Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Kala Trust under the title "THE ROYAL COLLECTION OF MEWAR". These CDs contained heritage recordings of Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (commonly referred to as the senior Dagar brothers ). These recordings came from the private archives of the royal family of Mewar. It is a treasure to be tasted and retasted and savored for a lifetime. This was my first exposure to Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagars. Since then I have tried to hear as many of their recordings as I could.


For those who are not familiar with the senior Dagar brothers, suffice it to say that they were the torch bearers who changed the course of Dhrupad and redefined the foundations of this tradition. One can get an idea of their magical singing from the following quote from an article written by Jacques Longchamps after their much talked about performance in Unesco International Festival, Paris "...the most extraordinary artistes. First it is only a deep low sound, which seems to come from the earth, a slow pattern in very long sustained notes. This immobile song, sweet and fervent calmly arises...the hands also awake,accompanying the hymn with admirable gestures of prayer,of offerings and thanks-giving" (from Le Monde-Paris 17th Nov 1964)

What Is Dhrupad In The Dagar Tradition (Dagar Bani)

Let me state at the outset that I have had no formal training in Hindustani classical music. Over the years, listening to Hindustani classical music (mostly Khayal ) has been a hobby, and later a passion, which has given me immense joy and pleasure for which I am indebted to all classical musicians-past and present. The whole idea of posting this particular blogpost is to kindle an interest in Dhrupad in other uninitiated persons like me. I feel that this is a great art form, full of melody, rhythm and beauty. It has the ability to transcend the earthly and enter the realm of the heavenly.

A typical Dhrupad performance begins with the alaap which is slow and elaborate development of a raga using free flowing melodic patterns. The elaboration of alaap is done with wordless consonants. The alaap is slow and contemplative in the beginning. Later the tempo increases in stages. In the faster passages playful and vigorous ornaments (gamaks) predominate. The alaap is followed by singing of a composition or dhrupad  with accompaniment of Pakhawaj (ancestor of Tabla) using 7, 10, 12 or 14 beats. The compositions sung in dhrupad are usually of a higher poetic order. Once you get addicted to the dhrupad alaap the words become meaningless and one gets immersed in melodious rhythmic sound.

Decline Of Dhrupad

Dhrupad and Khayal are the two major forms of Hindustani classical music. In the 19th century and early 20th century, the more entertaining Khayal form became very popular and there was a gradual decline of Dhrupad. However the tradition continued in some royal courts, especially in Rajasthan and Bihar. In 1947, when the princely states were merged in the Indian republic, Dhrupad lost it's last remaining patronage. The very survival of Dhrupad became difficult. Many Dhrupad singers having a vast repertoire of compositions died in obscurity and a whole body of composed work of the tradition was permanently lost. It was under such conditions  that Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar arrived on the scene.

Early Training Of The Senior Dagar Brothers

In 1936, when their father Ustad Nasiruddin Khan died, Moinuddin was 17 and Aminuddin was 13 year old. Nasiruddin is said to have a premonition of his early death. Hence he started music training of Moinuddin and Aminuddin at a very early age. He trained them for ten years, passing on as much knowledge to them as he could. The brothers received some more training from their maternal uncle Ustad Riyazuddin Khan and their father's cousin Ustad Ziauddin Dagar. Ziauddin was Dhrupad court singer at Udaipur. He could also play Rudra Veena with equal authority. He is considered as an all time great Dhrupad singer. The famous Sarangi player Pandit RamNarayan has recounted his memory of a Mehfil at Lahore, attended by several renowned musicians where Ziauddin gave a Dhrupad performance. At the end of the performance the entire audience was so profoundly moved that one of the greatest Khayal singers in history- Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan insisted and became Ziauddin's "Ganda baddha" disciple right then and there. Coming back to the senior Dagar brothers, after a rigorus training of 14-15 years, the brothers were ready to appear on stage.

The Dhrupad Revival

It was the 1940s during which Moinuddin and Aminuddin came, saw and conquered the stage of Indian classical music. In a span of one and half decade they not only breathed a new life in Dhrupad but they also gave a completely new meaning to the tradition of jugalbandi. In Hindustani classical music, jugalbandi or duet performance had degenerated in to a competition between two performers where one tried to out do the other. The senior Dagar brothers redefined jugalbandi as a harmonious synchronization of two performers where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. The two brothers possessed different temperaments and singing styles. Aminuddin with his rich voice would carry the audience in to a deep meditative mood while Moinuddin sang like king and traded fearlessly  through the kingdom of swaras and was never wary of experimenting. Their fame reached such heights that they were invited to give a performance for Mahatma Gandhi in1946. This was also attended by Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Sarojini Naidu. They performed alaap and dhrupad in Raga Asavari for two hours. The entire audience including the Mahatma was enthralled by their performance. 

After re-establishing the Dhrupad tradition firmly on Indian soil, they undertook the mission of spreading the Dhrupad tradition overseas. They toured USSR in 1961 and Japan in 1964. In Japan, Alain Danielou, the eminent musicologist and director of UNESCO came across the Dagar brothers and was mesmerized by their singing. He organized the first Europe tour of the Dagar brothers in 1964. They were the first ever Indian artists to perform at UNESCO international festivals of Venice,Berlin and Paris. With reference to this tour, let me quote Alain Danielou "...of all (art) forms only the noblest, the highest and the purest can cross cultural barriers. This tour of Europe, in framework of the biggest festivals and concert halls, was a total triumph". The reaction of media critiques and western audience can be best gauged from the following quote from an article by Jacques Longchamps which appeared in Le-Monde-Paris on17/11/1964 " ...we will remain under the deep impression of an art of such greatness and intensity...we feel touched and moved to the deepest of our beings".

After The Demise Of Ustad  Moinuddin Dagar 

Two years after the triumphant Europe tour, in May 1966, Moinuddin Dagar passed away. Aminuddin felt as if he has been orphaned for the second time. For Aminuddin, the elder brother Moinuddin was also a surrogate father and a guide. He referred to Moinuddin throughout his life as his Mahaguru. After Moinuddin's demise, Aminuddin single handedly continued with the task of popularizing Dhrupad. He gave 40 performances in his Europe and America tour in 1971. He went to the Shiraz festival Iran in 1976 and to the Rome festival of Italy in 1978. In the last years of his life Aminuddin shifted base to Kolkata. First he worked as founder principal of  the Birla Academy Swara Sangam and later to fulfill his dream to propagate Dhrupad in younger generation, he established  Ustad Moinuddin Dagar Dhrupad Sangeet Ashram in memory of his elder brother. Ustad Aminuddin passed away in December 2000, bringing an era to an end. Ustad Aminuddin was awarded the Padma Bhushan award (1986), Sangeet Natak Academy award (1985), Swami Haridas award (1979) and D.Litt.from Rabindra Bharati University (1991).

The Lineage

The Dagar family claims 20 straight generations of Dhrupad singers and been players. They consider Swami Haridas (guru of Mian Tansen) as their original ancestor. In this family the brothers Allabande khan and Zakiruddin khan used to sing together. Their descendants adopted the name "Dagar" as their family name after the genre Dagar bani of Dhrupad which they sang. The Dagars are Muslims but sing Hindu texts of Gods and Godesses. They sing hymns from the Vedas and compositions of Jaidev, Tulsidas etc. Allabande khan's eldest son Nasiruddin khan was a court singer at Indore. His sons Moinuddin and Aminuddin are known as the senior Dagar brothers. His younger sons Zahiruddin and Faiyazuddin are known as junior Dagar brothers. Faiyazuddin's son Wasifuddin is also a Dhrupad singer.

About The Royal Collection Of Mewar CDs

Among these CDs, the Pooriya and Piloo Thumri CD is a rare recording of Moinuddin Dagar singing solo. The Pooriya is meditative and worshipful in alaap. The Piloo Thumri  "more sainyaji utrenge paar " is a very rare recording because Dhrupadiyas, especially of the old school hardly ever sing the light classical forms in public. But the flair with which Moinuddin sings this delicate Thumri sets it apart from all other Thumris. Most people consider "piya bin nahi awat cheiin" sung by late Ustad Abdul Karim khan and later by his niece Roshanara as best rendition of Thumri. In my opinion Moinuddin's "morey sainyaji utrenge" surpasses it.
In another CD Megh raag and kaafi ki hori are presented. The rendition of Megh is superb. The gamakas are exemplary. The Hori "kesar ghoul ke rang bano hai" is a class in itself. Normally Hori is sung in a playful and romantic mood. This Hori is totally meditative and contemplative. On the other hand in the same CD "mano mano ji cheil nandlal" (written by Wajid Ali Shah ) is rendered very playfully and exuberantly. This CD really reveals versatility of Moinuddin Dagar .

The Bageshree CD is important because normally Dhrupadiyas do not sing Khayal or tarana in public. But Moinuddin's mastery on this form can be seen in the later part of the CD.
 
In the other CDs, Ragas Bhupali,Shankara, Kambhoji and Miyan ki Malhar are rendered in text book Dagar bani style. The Miyan ki Malhar ends with the composition "Aayi hein ghata umad umad ghumad ghumad" attributed to the legendary Mian Tansen.

Tribute To Late Ustad Moinuddin Dagar 

With no disrespect to other great classical performers, earlier I used to believe that among the singers that I had heard -
1) Late Ustad Amir khan was the most contemplative and meditative singer. 
2) Late Pandit D.V. Paluskar had the most melodius and sweet voice.
3) Late Shrimati Gangubai Hangal was the most aggressive and entertaining singer.


I must confess that I find Late Moinuddin Dagar as the número uno on all the three counts mentioned above. HE WAS THE BEST. I know that comparison between artists,especially when they belong to different genre is meaningless but nevertheless...

THE SPICES- "SOME INTERESTING FACTS"

Although considered relatively insignificant traded commodities in the modern market place, the spices have played a very significant role in the trade and politics of not so distant past. The spice trade could be considered as being responsible for the birth of imperialism and beginning of capitalism,as we shall see later. It was the demand of black pepper which acted as the driving force for the Age Of Discovery. The discovery of India by Vasco-da-Gama,the discovery of America by Colombus and the discovery of a direct route to the Moluccan islands or spice islands by Magellan was all prompted by the spice trade.
Spices have been used as flavor enhancers in all parts of the world. But before the availability of large amounts of sugar for preservation and before invention of refrigeration, spices were principally used in Europe for food preservation. Black pepper could mask smell of rancid food,it gave character to tasteless dried meat and could reduce the salty taste of preserved food considerably. From the spice producing regions of India and from the Moluccan islands, spices ultimately reached western Europe. During this process ten to twelve levels of middlemen were involved and at every level of transaction, the price of spices would nearly double. In medevial Europe, one spice, the black pepper was so valuable that one pound of it would fetch you enough gold to live well for an entire year.
Up to 15th century, Venice had the monopoly of spice trade, as it was the centre where spices were received via Baghdad and Istambul. From Venice they were passed on to various parts of Europe. The profit margins were so great that the Portugese and then the Spaniards tried to explore new direct routes to India and the Moluccan islands. This led to the Portugese domination of spice trade which lasted for more than a century. However the huge profits attracted a second wave of carpet baggers in the form of the Dutch and the English traders. This ultimately led to domination of India by the British and the Dutch domination of Indonesia and the Moluccas.

Nutmeg And New York

The island of Manhattan was earlier a Dutch possession and was called the New Amsterdam. To the east of Jakarta is a cluster of seven islands called Banda islands. Nutmeg trees were found only on these islands. The Dutch east India company was in total control of six of the seven Bandan islands. Only one small Bandan island called island of Run was under British control. The Dutch had a long history of employing brutal methods for establishing supremacy in spice trade. This included burning to ground of Bandan villages, decapitation of village headmen and enslavement of entire population of Bandan islands. To establish their monopoly of Nutmeg trade the Dutch invaded the island of Run. The British retaliated by attacking richly laden ships of Dutch East India Company. In 1667 the treaty of Breda was signed by the Dutch and the British. England gave up it's claim on island of Run and in return the Dutch ceded the island of manhattan to the British. What was until then New Amsterdam was renamed New York under the British flag. At that time it seemed as if the Dutch had got the better part of the deal. Later the British managed to introduce Nutmeg trees in to Singapore and west indies. The carribean island of Grenada became known as "the Nutmeg isle". Grenada is the major producer of Nutmeg now. On the other hand the Bandan islands are now a sleepy place without the hustle and bustle of trading ships. On the contrary the remote island of Manhattan which was then populated hardly by a thousand persons has now become the centre of world trade.

The British And India

The British East India Company was founded on the last day of year 1600, with a capital of 25000 pounds. The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602 with ten times more capital as compared to the British. The Dutch were very ruthless when it came to maintenance of their supremacy in the spice trade. The British traders were either prevented from entering the Moluccan islands or were killed if they dared to enter the Moluccas. The British therefore concentrated more on maintaining supremacy in the Indian trade. This led to complete subjugation of India. Thus the roots of British and Dutch imperialism lie in the spice trade.

The Spice Trade And Begining Of Capitalism

The British East India Company was founded for gaining greater share of spice trade of east indies. But financing a ship voyage to India and its return with a shipload of pepper was quite risky. To avoid the potential loss for any one individual, the merchants initially bid for "shares" of a voyage. This practice later turned in to practice of buying "shares" of the company itself. This can be thus regarded as the beginning of the stock market and birth of capitalism.

The Spices Of "Hotness"

These are principally the black pepper, chili pepper and ginger. Black pepper plant originated in India. Today the major producers are equatorial regions of India, Brazil, Malaya and Indonesia. The active ingredient of black pepper is piperine. Chili piper originated in south America. It was brought to Spain by Columbus. The Portugese carried the new species to Africa and Asia. For us Indians and most south east Asians it has become an irreplaceable part of the food culture. The chemical responsible for hotness and pungent flavor of chillies is Capsaicin. The hotness of ginger is due to zingerone. Pipeline,Capsaicin and Zingerone all have an aromatic benzene ring to which a hydroxy and methoxy group are attached at ortho position.
Physiologists believe that "Hotness" of these molecules is not a taste but it is actually due to activation of pain receptors. The shape of these molecules is such that they fit on to a protein receptor present on surface of nerve endings which perceive pain. All these molecules of hotness cause release of Endorphins(opiate like compounds produced by brain in response to pain) which often gives us a feeling of contenment after eating a fiery meal. The seeming addiction of some people to hot spicy food can be explained on basis of this. The hotter the chili,the greater the pain and subsequently greater the trace amount of endorphin secretion and greater is the feeling of contenment.
An interesting aside-Black pepper which originated in India has deeply invaded the cuisine of Europe and north America while chili pepper which originated in south America has deeply invaded African and Asian cuisine. For most Indians red and green chilies are an integral part of everyday life. Most of us are not even aware that the chili pepper is not indigenous.

The Nutmeg And Cloves

The main component of oil of cloves is Eugenol while the main fragrant component of nutmeg is Isoeugenol. Both have the same formula and differ only with respect to position of a double bond. Nutmeg and cloves find great use in traditional herbal medicine of China and India. In Europe nutmeg was considered an aphrodisiac and soporific. It was worn around the neck to prevent Bubonic Plague. Probably Isoeugenol acted as repellent for fleas responsible for spreading the plague germ. Nutmegs also contain other fragrant molecules Myristicin and Elmicin. Nutmeg is also called "spice of madness". It has hallucinogenic properties which are probably due to Myristicin and Elmicin. Ingestion of only 1 or 2 nutmegs can cause profuse sweating,heart palpitation and highly elevated blood pressure. It can induce hallucinations for several days.

Other Spices

Apart from the above,Coriander,Cumin,Celery,Parsley,Saffron,Cardamon etc.are also used as spices. Oil of Sassafras which is extracted from roots of sassafras tree was earlier added to root beer as flavoring agent. It contains a molecule called Saffrole. Saffrole is now deemed a carcinogen and therefore use of oil of sassafras as food additive is now banned. Saffrole is used by drug cartels for manufacture of MDMA which is sold under the name Ecstasy.

A River Runs Through It

My son recommended the book "A River Runs Through It" during my recent visit to his place.it is a novella which is a part of a semiautobiographical collection of three stories written by Norman Maclean under the title "A River Runs Through It and Other Stories".The novella is noted for its detailed description of fly-fishing.Although most of us in India( including me ) don't understand much about fly-fishing,we can consider the description of fly-fishing as an excuse for dealing with a beautiful description of nature ,relation between man and nature,family bonds,inter personal relationships and a number of profound questions which have been raised and discussed in a manner reminiscent of "Walden Pond" by Thoroeau.


About Norman Maclean

Norman Maclean (1902-1990) was hired in 1931 as professor of English at University of Chicago. At the University he taught Shakespere and Romantic poets.Until his retirement in 1973,he had written a few academic papers,but had not written any work of fiction.After his retirement in 1973,at the insistence of his children Jean and John he began to write down the stories of his childhood and youth,which he liked to tell. The children often encouraged him in writing these stories.His first work of fiction was "River Runs Through It and Other Stories" which was published in 1976,when he was 74 year old.His second book "Young Men and Fire" (non-fiction) was published in 1992 posthumously.It was the winner of the National book critics circle award in 1993.

Publishing History

"The River Runs Through It and Other Stories was published by University of Chicago press.It was the first work of fiction to be published by University of Chicago press.
The publishing of this book was not advertised deliberately.People came to know about it by word of mouth and its mention by critics in their columns.Soon it was much talked about as "Never Advertised Book" and this in itself generated considerable publicity for it.
In 1977 the Pulitzer Prize committee for fiction recommended this book for the prize of that year.The Pulitzer Prize Board which can override recommendations of the jury,decided not to award the prize for fiction in 1977 for unknown reasons.

The Novella

The story concerns the Macleans,a Presbyterian family during early 20th century Montana where the father,a Presbyterian minister,and both sons share the passion of fly-fishing. It is through the prism of this passion that the life of the three and their opinions and attitudes have been reflected in the novella.Of the two sons the elder Norman is studious while the younger Paul is rebellious.The Novella begins with the first sentence "In our family there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.We lived at junction of great trout rivers in
western Montana and our father was a Presbyterian minister and fly-fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others..........Unlike many Presbyterians he often used the word beautiful".
The story is presented by the elder son Norman who goes on one last fishing trip with his rowdy and troubled younger brother Paul in an attempt to bring Paul's life back on track.
A brief introduction of their early life is given.When Norman and Paul are growing up in 1920's Montana under the watchful eye of their father,the mornings are spent in school and religious study while the afternoons are devoted to fly-fishing in near by "Black foot river".Norman goes to the east coast for study in college and returns after six years.In the mean time Paul gets a job as a journalist in the local news paper and makes a niche for himself as a journalist.But he has also become a gambler and a hard drinker.Although flawed,Paul's character has a great degree of complexity.He is a man of integrity who cherishes basic human values above all.He has a native American girl friend.In the Montana of 1930's native Americans were not welcome in many establishments.He takes his girl friend to such a restaurant and fights for her with a person who makes a racist comment about her.Although the novella has no politics, one appreciates Paul's. Basic decency.He also cherishes the beauty and way of life in rural Montana of 20's and 30's and hence has preferred to stay there unlike his elder brother.Paul is also an expert fly-fisherman.Norman really appreciates his expertise in fly-fishing.Norman considers the elegance with which Paul performs fly-fishing as a beautiful piece of art(see the quote at the end).
Most part of the story is devoted to Norman's return home and his and Paul's summer together.As adults Paul is a rebellious journalist while Norman is a level headed academic and their conflicting lives and ideas are exhibited through several events and yet the bond between the brothers is very strong.The brothers are also strongly attached to their parents.When the brothers visit their old parents together,the affection of their mother for the sons,specially the younger Paul is described very tenderly.The sons now accompany their old father on a fishing expedition,which turns out to be their last fishing expedition together.In the words of the author "To my father the highest commandment was to do whatever his sons wanted him to do,especially if it meant to go fishing". During this expedition there is a beautiful dialogue between Norman and his father.The reference point is Paul.The father says "Help is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly.So it is that we can seldom help anybody.Either we don't know what part to give or may be we don't like to give any part of ourselves.Then more often than not,the part that is needed is not wanted.And even more often we don't have the part that is needed".
Similarly when Norman and Paul go on a fishing expedition on a hot summer noon,there is a beautiful passage which describes the relation and oneness between Man,God and Nature--"I sat there and forgot and forgot,until what remained was the river,the river that went by and I who watched.On the river the heat mirages danced with each other and then they danced through each other and then they joined hands and danced around each other.Eventually the watcher joined the river and there was only one of us.I believe it was the river"
The story combines beautiful language with foreboding sadness.All through the novella,the reader becomes increasingly anxious about Paul who ultimately dies a violent death.The parents are heart-broken but react to the news stoically.Norman is grief stricken.The story ends with a final passage full of profound and mystical meaning--"Eventually all things merge into one and a river runs through it.The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from basement of time.On some of the rocks are the words and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters"

The Film

In 1992 a film was made with the same title by Robert Redford ,starring Brad Pitt(Paul)and Craig Shefferd(Norman) etc. The film won academy award for best cinematography in 1993.It was also nominated for two other academy awards,including best adapted screen-play and best music.

An Interesting Trivia

The following quote from "River Runs Through It" is displayed at the base of Michael Jordon's statue at Chicago united centre---"At that moment I knew,surely and clearly,that I was witnessing perfection.He stood before us,suspended above the earth,free from all it's laws like a work of art,and I knew,just as surely and clearly,that life is not a work of art,and that the moment could not last.

CHILDREN OF HEAVEN

Yesterday I saw Iranian Director Majid Majidi's film "Children of Heaven".This film was made in 1998.In its simplicity & universal appeal it reminded me of De- Sica's Italian classic "Bicycle thieves". The movie has subtitles in English. The subtitles are very easy even for a 9-10 year old kid. It is a movie suitable for both children and adults . The film glows with a kind-hearted purity which is realistic i.e. not of the contrived variety . The film was shot in Tehran . To capture a more realistic image of the city the film was shot clandestinely. 

SYNOPSIS OF THE PLOT (contains SPOILERS!) :-It is a story of a 10-11 year old boy Ali & his younger sister Zahra.In the first shot of the film a cobbler is repairing Zahra's shoes which are then collected by Ali. On his way back from the cobbler Ali goes to the vegetable shop for geting some vegetables. Here a subtle 
hint of Ali's poverty is given when the vendor warns him for paying the old dues . Ali keeps Zahra's shoes outside the vegetable shop and a garbage collector carries them along with the garbage. oncoming out Ali searches the shoes in vain and is shoo-ed away by the vegetable vendor. Ali returns home and asks Zahra not to report the loss of the shoes to their mother. Ali's father is a poor worker and his mother is ill. The brother and sister now work out a solution. Zahra will wear Ali's"Sneakers" in the morning while attending her school. When the school is over, she will immediately rush to catch Ali who will be waiting for her in a narrow back-lane, so that he can then put on the Sneakers & make a run for his school which begins in the noon. Both the brother and sister try their best in accomplishing the above ,but for one reason or the other,very often Ali gets late for his school and is warned by the head master.
In the mean time Zahra observes a girl in the school who is wearing her lost shoes. Zahra follows the girl to locate her house & then takes Ali to her house for recovering the shoes . On finding that the girl's father is a blind garbage collector they return back without confronting the girl or her father. 
Ali & his father go out on a week end in search of a gardener's job with the hope of earning some extra money . Ali& Zahra are hoping that this extra money can be used for buying a new pair of shoes for Zahra.They find some work, get paid for it & are returning back when the breaks of their bicycle fail and Ali's father gets injured and the extra money goes for his medication. 
Finally Ali comes to know in his school about a running race for school children in which the third prize is a pair of Sneakers. Ali tells Zahra that he will take part in the race and try to come third so that he will acquire new Sneakers for her.  Ali some how manages to get selected in his school team and enters the race. 
In the race which is so beautifully filmed Ali comes first to his great dismay . Ali is awarded a large trophy, is felicitated & now becomes eligible for attending a two week camp at Ramsar-all expenses paid . But poor Ali is heart broken . He comes back home dejected & is unable to speak to Zahra who is eagerly waiting for him . At the same time we are shown a single shot in which we get a glimpse of Ali's father in the market who is carrying home number of purchases on his bicycle & among the purchases is a hazy hint of two pairs of shoes. In the final scene a dejected & tired Ali takes out his torn Sneakers and dips his tired legs full of injuries & sores in the cold water of their domestic pond . 

MY IMPRESSIONS:-THE movie was a nostalgic trip for a person like me who grew up as a poor kid in India of 1960s &70s. The movie is about a family which is poor , struggling to survive & yet has the courage to try to overcome the odds which are stacked against it . The film is a story of love between two siblings and in filming this bond with all the fragrance of innocence and sweetness it puts to shame the culture of violent video games & toy guns. 
The scenes of Ali & Zahra exchanging notes during study so as to work out a solution to their problem are filmed very tenderly . The simplicity of Ali's working class father is touching . When Ali & his father are searching part time work as a gardener, he is really intimidated by the challenge of speaking into intercoms or facing ferocious barking dogs . 
Even a 10 year old understands that there is no likely hood of attack of a Godzilla or some giant monster on a city. On the other hand losing your kid sister's shoes entrusted to your care is a real life problem especially when your family can not afford to do so . Hence  the  film  appears far above other       manufactured entertainment . 
ABOUT MAJID MAJIDI:-Majid was born in 1959 in a middle class Iranian family . He started acting carrear at the age of 14with amateur stage groups. He studied at "The institute of dramatic arts " in Tehran. He has made many famous films . 
His film "Song of sparrow" was the inaugural film in film festival 2008 held in India. His documentary "Barefoot to Herat" on life in refugee camps & city of Herat is also very famous. For those of us who have not seen this movie, it is a must see movie . The movie is an unforgettable experience. 
ONE LAST WORD:People visiting this blog site are requested to post their comments on the blog site so that we can have a real live debate on various topics and issues. 

Analogy between D.D.T. story & liberalization in India

In the post world war II era ,industrial production & world wide use of DDT as an insecticide picked up.It was
thought that this molecule was a boon for the civilization & with its help we could control population of many insects and pests . In India the malaria eradication programme started in 1953 & huge quantities of DDT were used to bring down mosquito population . The results were dramatic. By 1970 there was a reduction in incidence of malaria by more than 90% . Even WHO thought that with the help of organochlorines there could be near total eradication of malaria . Nothing could have been farther from truth than this belief.
Organochlorines like DDT are persistent & toxic . They also cause reduction of bird population drastically . Birds are natural predators of insects . So the long term effect of use of DDT was an increase in mosquito population rather than a decline . Moreover the now enhanced mosquito population was resistant to DDT . Apart from this , compounds like DDT show biomagnification . These toxic molecules accumulate in human body and harm our liver,nervous system etc.Incidentally Indian population is one of those populations which have highest DDT deposition in the body . We lagged behind the developed nations in banning use of DDT by  more than ten years . We came to realize the harmful effects of DDT only when the harm was already done . In fact in India politicians like Sharad Pawar have still not learnt the lesson . He is in favour of using toxic chemicals like endosulfan & with great reluctance has agreed to phase-out the use of endosulfan in 11 years.
               A grand drama analogous to the " DDT show " is now being played in " The Indian theater " under the name of "Liberalization " . The short term effects of liberalization were dramatic . It gave tremendous boost to the Indian economy & affluence percolated to the middle classes . This newly acquired affluence is acting as an opiate for the Indian middle class so that they are gradually becoming insensitive to the plight of the poor who constitute more than half of our population .
The long term effects of policies of Manmohan Singh & his cronies like Montek Singh Ahluwalia are only now beginning to appear . The so called " Liberalization " has made the poor even poorer &has increased the chasm  between the haves & have-nots . The price rise of essential commodities & the double digit inflation are an outcome of these policies . The large number of unprecedented suicides by farmers is a direct effect of the so called liberalization policies . Amartya Sen's work has established that the large number of deaths in the "Great Bengal famine (1943) " were not due to shortage of food but they were due to wrong economic policies and bad management by the government . Same can be said about the Indian government vis-a-vis the farmer suicides . On one hand millions of tons of grain is rotting due to negligence and lack of proper storage space & on the other hand the Indian government is not prepared to distribute free grains to the starving poor, in spite of the Supreme court's suggestion to do so . The life of middle class people,poor people & peasants is going to be more and more difficult in India , thanks to Manmohan-Montek duo .
Let us briefly see the effect of liberalization on the education scene . In Indira Gandhi's socialistic regime education up to postgraduate level was quite cheap and affordable . Even a poor person with a dint of hard work could aspire and could receive higher education . Thousands & thousands of poor boys and girls who could become Doctors, Engineers, Scientists, Teachers,Chartered accountants.........stand testimony for this . Post liberalization the thinking is that any grant to educational institutes is a largesse  which should be minimized as far as possible and the educational institutes should become self sustaining and self financing . The net result was a tremendous rise in educational fee .
Today on an average the so called free seat students in a government college has to shell out thousands of rupees annually as fee . For Medical & Engineering students it is Rs.400000 to 50000 annually . Add other expenses like dress, food, transportation etc. & the figure goes to 100000 Rs. per year . In other words the system has barred the children from lower middle class and poor class from becoming Doctors & Engineers. And this is the scene in govt. colleges . I am not discussing the education economics of the private Medical & Engineering colleges which are special domains of the rich,for the rich & by the rich .In the post liberalization India the sons of babus, peons, primary teachers, factory workers or marginal peasants are doomed to remain poor . Is that fair?
deepak