Headed for Another Cold War?

Aitrayee Sarkar

The fight was all about life; all about the struggle for existence.  The controversial 2 November election was all about Donetsk and Luhansk returning to ballot from bullet. Both the eastern Ukraine provinces had declared themselves as self-proclaimed states in the Federal State of Novorossiya, which is largely controlled by Russia supported rebels. Moscow, expectedly, lent credence to the election, while the European Union (EU), the US and the West opposed it. They claimed that Moscow’s support will not only infringe the Minsk Protocol, but would also fuel the violence already raging for months.

Counting of votes after the 2 November election

Moscow, earlier this year, sent its army to east Ukraine to capture large tracts of land. Its action was followed by the Kiev revolt. The result was direct clashes with the Ukraine armed forces, supported by the US and the West. Over 4,000 people unofficially died in the clashes and thousands others were rendered homeless. A large part of Ukraine is now under a humanitarian crisis and international experts believe that the situation is unprecedented since the days of the Cold War which could trigger fresh animosity between Russia and the West  

The Ukraine crisis is seeded in the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Kiev always had to look towards Moscow and Washington for assistance, courtesy its weak foreign and monetary policy. The country could never take sovereign and independent decisions. Nestled between Russia and the rest of Europe, Ukraine was also never allowed to decide its policies. Kiev increasingly failed to exploit its enviable mineral resources like coal and natural gas. The domestic companies were no match for the American and European MNCs. The country was also divided in terms of popular mindset. While the western part was more inclined to the West, the Russian speaking eastern part expressed solidarity with Moscow. The situation was already volatile and the explosion happened when the then president Viktor Yanukovych singularly scrapped an agreement with the EU. The revolt which started in Kiev, soon spread to other parts of the country. Disastrous results followed when Yanukovych applied force to cull the rebellion. The president, cornered from all sides, fled the country and Ukraine was up for grabs.

The militia government that assumed power after Yanukovych fled, now wants the stamp of a popular mandate in its favour. But the 2 November election, sans any endorsement from the international community, is unlikely to get legitimacy. Alexander Zakharchenko took over as the chief executive of Donetsk. Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, denounced the results and warned of stern steps against the election.

A large section of those who voted, believe that their demand for independence is now stronger than before. It’s a fact nonetheless that Russia is now being increasingly cornered globally over the Ukraine issue. The EU and US embargos have hit the Russian economy hard.  Several parts of the country are beset with political instability. Ukraine too will feel the heat if the mineral rich south-east separates from the rest of the country. But the West, led by the US, would unlikely let go the resources. Whether Donetsk and Luhansk can ultimately enjoy their independence, is a million dollar question. With the US and Russia eager to extract their pound of flesh, it seems the region is headed for a neo Cold War. 

Gastronomic Adventures in Shillong

Debanjali Banerjee

Shillong, home of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo tribes, is a marriage of dissimilar cultures living in harmony since ages. Nestled in the eastern Khasi hills, Shillong is blessed with a temperate climate, which attracts tourists by the herd, every season. And like all other towns spread across every nook and corner of India, the Meghalaya capital too has its own gastronomic identity, or the lack of it.

Pork curry is a delicacy in the North East

I landed in Shillong for the first time in 2006. The cab ride to the town from Paltan Bazaar in Guwahati took over four hours. The chaotic Paltan Bazaar, will remind you of Kolkata’s very own Koley Market in Sealdah, complete with a railway station, auto-rickshaw stand and transport to other parts of the town and beyond. Furtive glances greet you, courtesy your looks, clothes, luggage and the lost expression that has ‘tourist’ written all over it. Paltan Bazaar is also the biggest wholesale market in the whole of North East where you get fresh fruits and vegetables. The oranges and apples tasted different. They were bigger and sweeter than the ones you get in Kolkata. They were pure mountainous fruits with no artificial chemical or colour.

We stopped midway for lunch at what remotely resembled an eating joint. There were no better options available. The vegetable thali was the only menu and consisted of rice, daal, aloo bhaja, mixed vegetable and papad. The rice was as coarse as it could be, reminding you of the stuff eaten by the subjects of torturous zamindars in Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay novels. It was also a grim pointer to the depravity which is so common in the whole of North East. The aloo bhaja, cut in cubes, was dripping with oil and was a health freak’s worst nightmare. The daal was seasoned with sugar instead of salt. The mixed vegetable was the only decent item on the platter. But you can’t identify its ingredients because they were all grown locally. They couldn’t afford to bring the familiar ones from Paltan Bazaar because of the expenses involved. Food preferences of Bengalis, who also formed the bulk of tourists to Shillong as anywhere in India, were not much important to the locals. Anadi Ghosh, our cab driver, promised of ‘familiar’ (read better) food once we reached Shillong.

And he was right. You do get Bengali food in Shillong which is much better than the ones you get in other hill stations like Darjeeling, Kalimpong and others. I, for one, wanted to taste local cuisine and Ghosh took us to places that served the Indian (or Kolkata) version of Chinese. I was disappointed with the unavailability of cheap momos that you get in other nearby hill stations.

The next day, on my way to Cherrapunji, Ghosh appraised me of all that he knew about the eating habits in Shillong. The rich and affluent, who own hotels or land, live in bungalows on the outskirts of the city. They buy most of the fresh products that comes from Paltan Bazaar. Pork and crab are their favourites. The middle class owns small shops and cabs (the black and yellow Maruti 800). Beef stew and rice, the equivalent of the Bengali machher jhol and bhaat, is their staple. The poor, and you find them in overwhelming majority in the whole of North East, have the most interesting eating habits. Their everyday meal consists of rice with tea. Not the tea that we know of but more of a watery liquid which looks like green tea.  They season it with both salt and sugar and add honey if they can afford. Fresh honey, for the record, is available at the Cherrapunji Ramakrishna Mission. It’s not refined but is definitely delicious. On special occasions like weddings, they cook liver, intestines, bones and fat of the humble pig that elites won’t even buy for free.

Mawsynram, 65km from Shillong and reportedly the wettest place on earth, is one of the most gastronomically deprived places in India. Even a cup of tea is a luxury here and there’s only one tea shop near the Shiva temple. It tasted much like green tea and had a distinct honey flavour. It was refreshing nonetheless.

Will His Magic Last?

Prabuddha Neogi

Chotushkone, the Srijit Mukherji thriller, released some weeks back and has already turned out to be a major hit of the year. His earlier, Jaatishwar, which released in January, didn’t exactly set the cash registers ringing and could collect only `1.20 crore at the box office, against its budget of `4 crore. Chotushkone, on the other hand, has brought smiles to his producers—Reliance Entertainment—who weren’t exactly satisfied with the returns from Jaatishwar, despite the film creating at a roar at the 61st National Film Awards. 

(L-R) Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen, Srijit Mukherji, Parambrata Chatterjee
and Chiranjit in a working still from Chotushkone

Urban audiences have crowded the theatres to watch Chotushkone—about four directors who come together to direct a film—involving four short stories. As always, the music has garnered rave reviews with Laganjita Chakraborty’s Basonto Ese Geche turning out to be the most favourite. Casing wise, the film is being touted as Chiranjeet Chakraborty’s rebirth. The veteran actor was roped in after Anjan Dutt walked out of the project, reportedly over creative differences with Srijit. Parambrata, too, has come up with a stellar performance as one of the three other directors

I have never missed a single Srijit film since his debut with Autograph and was the first among my peers to watch it. Over the years, the director has developed some signature styles that are found in all his films, like great music, superb dialogues and crisp editing.

But Srijit, bound by contractual obligations, seems to be in a tearing hurry to make films. He already has had six releases in four years and his seventh, Nirbak with Sushmita Sen, is scheduled for a 2015 release. He has also begun the pre-production for Rajkahini, expected to star Rituparna Sengupta, Bratya Basu and Supriya Devi in key roles. Even this film is to be released in 2015. At this pace, Srijit is likely to hit the creative roadblock soon, like his mentor Rituparno Ghosh. Readers would recall that Rituparno had made eight films between 2003 and 2008 and several of his later films didn’t befit the director’s talent. Mediocrity sets in when the non-conventional starts courting market demands and Srijit is walking that path.

Music, the hallmark of all Srijit films, has already begun to sound repetitive. The Srijit-Anupam combine has delivered in all films right from Baishe Srabon to Chotushkone, with the exception of Jaatishwar. Even Autograph’s music, if rumours are to be believed, was largely composed by Anupam. He always reserved his best for Srijit. The music, despite the chart topping Basonto Ese Geche, is typically Anupam. The tracks often sound strikingly similar to that of Baishe Srabon and Hemlock Society. The music director has to come up with fresh tunes if he wants to retain his popularity among the urban masses.

It’s time for Srijit, the talent powerhouse that he is, to venture out of the archetypical. He should also slow down and not go on a filmmaking spree. It reminds me of a famous dialogue from Satyajit Ray’s Nayak: ‘Amra mosai ekhono quality sambondhe conscious hote parini. Amader motto e hochhe to produce more and produce rubbish’ (that we are never conscious about the quality and over-production is our motto). Maybe the filmmaker should take a hiatus for a couple of years to get his creative juices flowing again. Srijit is undeniably one of the best things that have happened to the industry in a long time. Our expectations are huge and we will never want him to plunge into the average.