CPC at NISCORT Concluded

Media With a Message of Salvation

(Thomas D’Silva)

Vaishali (Ghaziabad), March 31: The primary duty of every Christian is to communicate the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, the ‘Word become flesh’, said Bishop Gerald Mathias of Lucknow at NISCORT, near here today while presiding over the graduation ceremony of Course on Pastoral Communication (CPC). 17 priests and nuns who attended the two-month long course were awarded the certificates.

Summing up the experience, Nina Lopes felt that the course was well-planned and systematically followed by competent team of staff. “We experienced the magic of communication unfolding... and we go out empowered with skills and techniques of modern media”, she said. Sister Esperanza, aged 65, perhaps the oldest ever to pass out of the portals of NISCORT, thanked the institute for enabling them- ‘face the book of life in a crisp and effective manner’.

It was an occasion to showcase to the guests from nearby Christian institutions, the skills and knowledge of the media acquired in the past two months. Three documentaries: a musical titled, ‘Creation in Praise’, one with a social theme named, ‘Lift Me Up’ and a fiction- ‘Take Care’ were presented. The newsletter- ‘New Flames’ recording the CPC events at NISCORT was released by Bother Mani, the national secretary of Catholic Religious in India (CRI). A.J.Philip, the faculty member evaluating the newsletter and the documentaries felt, “Church has been a shy and reluctant player in the field media”. He hoped that this bunch of students would be trendsetters.

Commenting on the Post Synod Exhortation, ‘Verbum Domini’ (The Word of the Lord), Bishop Mathias quoted Pope Benedict  XVI, “In the world of Internet the face of Christ needs to be seen and the voice of Christ needs to be heard. If there is no room for Christ, then there can be no room for man” (No.113). The Bishop further exhorted the students to follow ethics in communication, bridge the gap of ‘digital divide’ and be on guard against the media tendency towards cultural imperialism and presentation of distorted information.

Earlier, Dr. Jude Bothello, the director welcoming the gathering stressed that the media has to be- ‘a voice of the voiceless’. And the priests and nuns being ‘religious people’ should be elevating and inspirational.  “You have the very Good News of Jesus Christ, but it all depends how ably or badly you present it”, he cautioned. Giving an overview of the course, “We create an ambience of hard work and study. The miracles simply happen!”, declared Dr. John Edapilly, the Dean of Studies.

A team of 17 young and zealous, religious men and women is out in the open to proclaim- ‘a message with a difference’! Reema Sharma of Zee News rightly commented on her students, “This group is intent on learning and hell-bent on accomplishing”.

FLORINE: My Bold & Beautiful 'Bai' (Didi)

Our Second Dad: Florine, Fullu Bai

Studious, delicate, sentimental, hardworking...a doll-like beauty she was:   Florine D’Silva, the third of the nine children of our parents, Stella and Lt. Mr. Marian D’Silva. She was addressed, ‘fullu’ – so was she- ‘full’= complete in beauty, virtues, talents and abilities.

Then as a 10 year old boy, I vividly remember, Fullu Bai bringing the HSLC Mark Sheet, weeping bitterly and wholly devastated. We all thought that she had failed in the board exams. But in a choked and stammering voice she declared that she had secured 2^nd division, as against the expectations. That was her spirit of competition and achievement.... which took her to St.Agnes College and Fr.Muller’s Nursing College, Mangalore. Of the nine of us, the ‘jungle-bred’, she was the first one who could be termed as- ‘civilized’, ‘educated’, ‘Englis-espeaking’.

Our dad, after his regular visits to her college in Mangalore, would come and narrate dramatically- how he got confused in locating Fullu Bai from among 3000 odd similar looking girls in the uniform, that his daughter is going to be a nurse,  that she would go to ‘foreign’ and settle all the debt he had taken... Well, he was a proud father after all!

But the fate had something else in store for him. Fullu Bai was almost finishing her nursing studies. Once when she had come home, he complained of some obstruction, probably a fish-bone stuck in the throat. The village medicines could not relieve the pain. She took him to Fr. Muller’s Hospital for a check-up and the biopsy dropped the bomb-shell- he was suffering from throat cancer! There was stunned silence! We all knew that cancer was a terminal sickness... But Fullu Bai knew more than any of us... and she also knew the course of action.

Florine moved to Mumbai with a double mission: a job for herself and treatment of dad’s cancer. She took up nursing job at Holy Spirit Hospital at Andheri and wrote home to send dad by bus to Mumbai. She had done all the arrangements for his treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital at Lower Parel, Mumbai... (a long story)

Eventually my sister moved on to Muscat (Sultanate of Oman) in search of better prospect.... It was a double delight to her: she got the job and also our brother-in-law, Philip Lobo, an engineer by profession. A love at first sight? Of course! Who could resist the angelic beauty of my sister? Engineer as he was, the planning seemed his second nature: On May 2, 1988 they formally said to each other- “I love you until my last breath”. I exclaimed- Made for each other! God has blessed them with double fruits: twin girls: Natasha, pursuing career in engineering and Nikita, studying Dental surgery.

It was Fullu Bai who, after the demise of our dad in 1987, supported mummy with guidance and finance. The house was renovated and electrified, electric water pump was introduced and the farm was laid with pipe-lines and sprinklers were fitted. And alround development was seen at our 'Hithlu House'.  Our hardworking Philip ‘baoji’ (brother-in-law) was generous and understanding.
Our sister has travelled distant places and found her destiny establishing a happy family. My wish and prayer for you: Always be happy!

A Visit to 'Handsome Parlour'

A Visit to  ‘Handsome Parlour’

(Thomas D’Silva)

On a bright sunny Saturday morning I decided to get a haircut. Being new to the place, as I was wandering about at  Sector-11 in Noida,  the signboard reading, ‘Handsome Parlour’ attracted me. I knew that was the place for me. After all who doesn’t want to look young and handsome? And being in my 40s, it was just for me!

The Airconditioned room with mirrors at the front and the back, the showcase filled with facials,  dyes, oils, talcum powers, shaving lathers and after-shaves of brands varying from L’Oreal to Gillette took my fancy. A Samsung 20” T.V was playing ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’ song on MTV channel. The empty parlour with huge rotating cum tilting four ‘saloon-chairs’ stood like four monsters in comparison with a boy hardly five-feet tall who welcomed me to be his first victim of the day!

“I just want to receive a hair-cut”, said I and sat on one of those monsters wiped clean with a towel for me to occupy. I could see the skill and swiftness of the barber boy: adjusting the speed of the airconditioner, keeping the mobile in the silent mode, wrapping me with one of cleanest linens (there weren’t many I guessed), checking the scissors and the combs! Then he asked the customary question in a telegraphic language, “chota ya medium?” (short or medium size). I responded, “medium”.

He first used a sprinkler to wet my hair. And then with a finesse of a skilled artisan he went about clicking the scissors over the comb which he ran over the head and the haircut was over in a matter of 8 minutes. Perhaps the MTV music gave him the speed and rhythm to go about his task. I got a new look! With a razor he gave a fine touch to the boundaries! Taking a fresh comb once again he combed the hair and asked for my final opinion. I certified- “Theek hai (O.K)”. But his opinion was yet to come. “Aapke sir ke peeche baal safed ho gaye hain (the hair have turned grey at the back)”, he said and showed me through a small mirror keeping it close to my head. I was sad. ‘Age is catching up’ I felt. I was not willing to neither admit nor accept it.

“Can you do something about it?”, I requested. “Yes, there is Godrej, Garnier and  L’Oreal. The rates are: Rs 150/-, Rs 250/- and 350/-. I thought of Aishwarya Rai the brand ambassador of L’Oreal and as I hail from the same city of Mangalore, opted for solidarity. The barber boy was now excited, humming a tune, prepared the mixture of dye and while his hands worked gave exercise to his long-checked tongue. “Aap is jagah ke liye nayen hai kya?”, he opened. I just grunted, ‘hmm’, as I was hardly relieved of the shock of Rs 350/-! But a minute later I said to myself, ‘Let me take it easy’. The work went on in studied silence.

“What is your name?” I broke the silence. “Sunil Pradhan. People call me ‘handsome Sunil’.” He added “You know today you are lucky to come in the morning. From Saturday afternoon to Sunday late night, I have no time to eat even. I employ  three more part time helpers on Saturday and Sunday, whom I pay Rs 100/- per hour.” I guessed, ‘people make optimum use of the weekends’. “Is this Saloon owned by you or rented?” was my next query. “I pay a rent of Rs 15,000/- a month”, was his proud reply. Rs 15,000/- a month? For a room of 12 ft x 10ft? Then what would be his monthly earnings? So many thoughts started running wild in my mind. I held back my doubts for a while. The applying of the dye paste was over. I looked like a cat taken out from the pond, with its furs all stuck tight to the body!

“Sir, you will have to wait for 45 minutes to wash the hair. Would you like to wash here or at home?” Sunil knew the reply. After all who on earth, in that shabby shape walk freely on the road? I grumbled, “I shall wait here”. Sunil had suggestions, “Sir, you have some dark spots just below the eyes and the cheeks. I have a facial, which can clear it. I have tried it with success on many so far. After all you have to wait for 45 minutes.” The prospect of looking young and handsome brightened my face. Moreover, I justified it with ‘optimum use of time’. But I was now conscious of the cost. “How much does it cost?” asked I. “For Shahnaaz Rs 650/-, Diamond Rs 1100/- and L’Oreal Rs 1300/” I felt some numbness in my head, yet the prospect of looking young in the league of Aish made me opt for “L’Oreal” once again. Sunil had not finished yet, “Sir, before applying the facial, we need to clean the face. Have you ever done a face massage”. I murmered, “No”. “Sir, we shall do the face massage first and go ahead with the facial”. “OK”, I said feeling embarrassed of asking the rate of ‘face massage’.

For the next one hour I had to undergo the ordeal of all kinds of applications on my face, rubbing and scrubbing, splashing of water and washing, etc. I kept my eyes shut, lest something of cream or content enter my delicate eyes. But all the while calculating the cost of looking young and handsome....  When the hair dye was washed and hair was wiped dry, Sunil had a fresh proposal, “Sir do you need a head massage with oil?” “No thanks, it is enough for today”, was my instantly shot reply. He now gently rubbed my head, and with a touch of a master artist ran his hands over my face, combed the ‘natural black’ hair and with an air of admiration exclaimed, “Sir, this is the right look for you”. I just nodded head in approval and got off the ‘monster’.

Sunil took a calculator, hit some digits and in a low and shy tone announced, “Your total is Rs 2350/-“. Well, I had to pay the price. Opening the wallet, while disbursing the amount, I asked myself- “Do you want to look young and handsome”? My heart replied an emphatic “No”.

The promises of ‘nirvana’, ‘youthfulness’, ‘happiness’, ‘long life’, ‘beauty’ and heaven on earth are there for asking. But they all come at a price tag. Sunil is a street-smart barber, who has been exploiting the ‘never say die’ attitude and the ‘thirst’ for ‘ever-green’ life innate in every person. Therefore he could afford a rent of 15000/- a month and pay his employees 100/- an hour. “This is my card, you may call me at any time for appointment”, and he offered the card as if an advance bill. I decided not to fall prey to temptation. But sorry, “spirit is willing, flesh is weak”.

Beware of the Global Watchdog: WikiLeaks

Beware of the Global Watchdog, the WikiLeaks!

 (Thomas D’Silva)
Vaishali (Ghaziabad), March 25: The cold war world used to the KGB and CIA is waking up to the new global watchdog- the WikiLeaks, headed by its self-proclaimed founder-spokesman, Julian Assange. And it is making headlines and causing many a headaches to politicians and embassy officials over the slips of tongues and related cables.

Addressing the staff and students of National Institute of Social Communication and Research Training (NISCORT), Mahendra Dev, the Editor of Political Power spoke at length on WikiLeaks, the cyber espionage and its political fallout in India, here today. The newspaper, the Hindu has been publishing since March 18, everyday, ‘selective’ contents from WikiLeaks on ‘Cash-for-Vote’ episode of 2008. And it is threatening to publish more embarrassing ones out of 3000 odd cable contents it has in the days to come.  The politicians too are not far behind when it comes to cash in on chances of this sort.

The parliament set aside the budget and debated on the WikiLeaks on shameful incident of ‘cash-for-vote’ incident. After a slumber of three years, it took some time to warm up. It was all a rhetoric and Urdu couplets, one trying to score over the other... all ‘playing to the gallery’, thanks to the free ‘live’ national coverage the news channels provide. 

It is to be recalled that when the Nuclear Liability Bill was to be passed on July 22, 2008 by the Unite Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, three BJP MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahesh Bhagora waved bundles of notes alleging that they were bribed. So a  seven-member committee headed by Kishore Chandra Deo was constituted by the then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

The committee submitted the report, finding no conclusive evidence against anyone. The recent excerpts of the WikiLeaks which appeared in the Hindu once again exhumed the corpse of the scandal. The leaked cables from the United States embassy officials stationed in India reporting on the ‘cash-for-vote’ make a specific mention of an Indian gentleman proudly stating that Members of Parliament were bought for Rs 10 crores each to support the UPA government. The debate was based on this new revelation.

The debate in the Parliament concluded that the government could neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the cables. Moreover, they do not even stand the scrutiny of law. Mr. Dev, therefore argued- “What is the importance of the WikiLeaks if the publicity of them do not bear fruit”? In this context he explained the history and the objectives of WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organisation, launched in 2006, that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistle blowers. Julian Assange, an Australian national is its founder, director and spokesperson. As of now there are over 1500 volunteers with eight members headed by Assange in the advisory board. It won the U.K’s, the Economist’s New Media Award in 2008.

Supporters of WikiLeaks in the media and academia have commended it for exposing state and corporate secrets, increasing transparency, supporting freedom of the press, and enhancing democratic discourse while challenging powerful institutions.  WikiLeaks states that its "primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behaviour in their governments and corporations."

While the purpose of WikiLeaks is noble- to bring about transparency in diplomacy and improve upon the governance, the ethical question of eavesdropping remains. Mr. Dev concluded saying, “Journalism has to be made creative as it is in the case of WikiLeaks. Yet you have to decide where you draw the line”. Meanwhile, the bold and inquisitive will be sniffing their noses in search of so called ‘classified’ and ‘confidential’ information.

TIMID-BRAVE: LILLY BAI

The hooting of owls, the creeping of the snails, the weeping of a baby in the still and silent night would make her shiver and shriek... Why so? It would remind her of the haunting ghosts of ancestors, in particular those drowned and washed away by the raging river floods. A cockroach, a centipede or a millipede , a rat or a bat or a cat: all would be her life-threatening  foes.

Such tame and timid, delicate princess was our elder sister Lilly, the 2nd daughter of our parents Stella and Lt. Mr. Marian D’Silva. It was Robert Malthus who said, in the wake of population explosion, it is the “fittest” who survives. Faced with misery and poverty, we 9 children too faced this race. Lilly our ‘bai’ (didi) was the fittest of us: cunning, naughty, and diplomatic and in studies just average. And she was beautiful! So much so, the matchmaker who had come to see Apoli bai preferred Lilly for her beauty and physical appeal.

But she was a dreamer and an achiever! When she failed in Class-VIII, dad asked her to discontinue her studies...but she wept bitterly and forced him to change his decision. It was the dream which made her to drop the plan to join the convent life after HSLC, though all arrangements were done. It was the dream which made our notoriously timid Lilly bai venture out of our ‘jungle’ village Mantrady to Gurupur in Mangalore city for a Teachers’ Training Course. From then on it was never looking back...

The first break from the confines of our forest and the biddings of our ‘authoritarian’ dad came when she was recruited by Apostolic Carmel (AC) nuns to join one of their schools as an Asst.Teacher at Bhagalpur in Bihar. It was a bold step- in the right direction. I remember her bringing  gifts (so many were needed as we were too many at home) and distributing with pride...
But she was astute in planning. Our dad expeted her to hand over her earnings, but she was cunning and economical enough to invest something in her jewellery and the rest kept in the savings for her wedding expenditure. Our disgusted dad at this termed the Lichi fruits which were brought by her all the way from Bihar as, "santhana kopala kai". Well, Bihar was too far and dangerous...Hence, she thought of following Apoli bai's beaten path: go to Mumbai, try for a job or else at least look for a life-partner: from 'Bollywood'?I can say with pride that I was her guide, showing her the way to my brother-in-law’s house at Vikroli in Mumbai.

The journey to Mumbai was to be her last one in search of destiny. She met Mr. Dennis Mascarenhas, a Bharat Petroleum employee who fell for her at 'the first sight'! On 25^th January, 1987 they tied the knot and moved to Santacruz to stay with Dennis’ uncle and aunt. Eventually they moved to Bhayander and now happily settled in Mira Road. Their children Brinal, pursuing career in hotel management and Rency, studying engineering are being groomed well by our bai Lilly.

It has been long and eventful journey: lonely, daring but now she has others to accompany and encourage. Our salutes to you Lilly bai.

'Guzaarish': a Film with a Difference

Cast             : Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor

Music           : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Director       : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Producer      :Sanjay Leela Bhansali/Ronnie Screwvala


Guzaarish is the kind of film that demands that we create a separate category for it—a two and three-quarter rating perhaps. Because there is much to admire here: the film is beautifully shot by Sudeep Chatterjee. It has strong performances and there are several scenes, which genuinely move you. But there is just as much that is clumsy, including an unintentionally comical group-hug in the climax. Despite the many admirable elements, Guzaarish never becomes more than the sum of its parts.

Co-written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Guzaarish is cobbled together from many well-known movies. From Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, Bhansali sources a world of magic and illusion in which rival magicians sabotage each other.

So the protagonist, Ethan Mascarenhas played by Hrithik Roshan, is great magician who becomes a quadraplegic with a fall due to a sabotage engineered by his rival maigician while performing a trick. There are shades of Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and several scenes and characters lifted from the 2005 foreign-language Oscar winner The Sea Inside, in which Javier Bardem gives an astounding performance as a bed-ridden man who fights to die. Ethan makes a similar plea for euthanasia or as he calls it: ‘ethanasia’.

To this busy canvas, Bhansali adds a beautiful nurse Sophia, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan; an apprentice Omar, played by Aditya Roy Kapur and a devoted lawyer, played by Shernaz Patel.

Guzaarish is the kind of film that demands that we create a separate category for it—a two and three-quarter rating perhaps. Because there is much to admire here: the film is beautifully shot by Sudeep Chatterjee. It has strong performances and there are several scenes, which genuinely move you. But there is just as much that is clumsy, including an unintentionally comical group-hug in the climax. Despite the many admirable elements, Guzaarish never becomes more than the sum of its parts.

Co-written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Guzaarish is cobbled together from many well-known movies. From Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, Bhansali sources a world of magic and illusion in which rival magicians sabotage each other.

Though it would not become a box-office hit, yet it is a film with a difference. It does not have the usual: action, drama, glamour of big actors and the so called Bollywood masala. Yet, Bansali has succeeded to make the audience sit up and think, by confining two of the Bollywood biggies to the bed and the room. The theme of 'mercy killing'/euthanasia has been hotly debated after the March 8, 2011 Supreme Court verdict on mercy killing filed on behalf of Aruna Shanbaug, who is confined to bed for the past 37 years leading a vegetative life! Bansali has succeeded in raking up the issue even before the case was filed in the SC in this regard.

It is a 'must watch' film for every human living to learn the meaning and contradictions of life...

Months-Mind of Lt.Sr.Claudian