Trevor Noah : Born a Crime

 Author : Trevor Noah

A biographical Memoir of a world-famous personality, the current host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, Born A Crime is a very insightful and inspiring read. Noah deftly covers both the political background of the post-Apartheid South Africa and his own personal experiences in this book. He delves into diverse issues like the Apartheid, Colonialism, Religion, education and gender, which were prevalent in his childhood days in South Africa. The book is a collection of short anecdotes, a narration of his painful experiences which happened in his childhood and adolescence with a comical twist. Few stories make you laugh out loud and few make you cringe in pain. In between the stories, he gives us a detailed account of the history and also the social, political and economic background of South Africa post- Apartheid.

Trevor’s unique identity and his troubled childhood could vastly be attributed to the bold choices made by both his mother and him, two very strong minded, independent individuals who refused to succumb to the dampening circumstances around them.  Despite being ostracized and subject to domestic violence and abuse, Trevor’s mother laid a solid foundation to Trevor’s future. Vowing to write his own destiny, Trevor embraced all the challenges thrown at him and launched himself to reach the stars.

Trevor’s mom tells him “Learn from your past and be better

because of your past, but don’t cry about your past. Life is full

of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don’t hold on to it”.

And he lives by those words. Trevor Noah’s story has to be told to the world, and it is told exactly the way it has to be told. My respect went up ten-fold to this man, who came out sane and balanced after going through so much trauma in his childhood. I love stories of such people, who go through so much suffering but come out unscathed with a mission to light up the world. They are the torch bearers of humanity, an emblem of hope and compassion, which the world needs badly.

Take a bow, Trevor Noah. Lead the Way. May the Force be with you.

My rating: 5/5.

Buy the book at

 

Ramayana Rendition - 2021

 This year the theme is the dialogue between Shri Hanuman and Ravana before the war.

लंका नगरी मेँ गंभीर समस्या , विचलित हो ऊठे राक्षस गण, सभा में व्यस्त है उनके राजा विध्वंस हो रहा अशोक वन ! एक वानर बैठा ऊँचा वृक्ष पर, मुख पर तेज है सूर्य समान, विशाल काया चंचल चक्षु , वायु से तीव्र है उसका उड़ान ! कोलाहल से रावण चिंतित, बंधी बनाने को दिए आदेश, वानर नहीं यह कोई मायावी सरल नहीं है लंका प्रवेश ! कौनसे वृक्ष पर छुपा है वानर, अति विशाल है अशोक वन, वानर जब किया खुद को समर्पित, आश्चर्य चकित हुए राक्षस जन ! बेड़ी लगाके बंधी बनाया, खींच ले चले भवन की ओर, कौन यह वानर कहा से आया, भरी सभा में मच गयी शोर ! "किसको चुनौती दे रहे वानर, लंका नगरी है मेरी शान, दशानन रावण नाम है मेरा, मर्कट तुम हो बड़े अज्ञान !" " क्षमा करो हे लंकापति रावण, सह नहीं पाया भूख और प्यास, बंधी बनाकर मांगे परिचय, विनम्रता की थी मुझको आस !" राजा बाली से आपका ठक्कर, आप का यश का है मुझको ज्ञान, अब परिचय मेरा सुनलो राजन, मेँ हूँ रामदूत पवनसुत हनुमान !" फिर मारुती ने दुम को हिलाया , बड़ता गया लम्बा वह पूँछ, देखे राक्षस हनुमत लीला , खड़ा हो गया आसान उंच "बात मेरी अब सुनो दशानन , देवी सीता नहीं है साधारण, प्रभु श्री राम है जग के रक्षक, पृथ्वी पधारे है लक्ष्मी नारायण !" "देवी सीता को लौटा दो राजन , श्री राम हृदय के बड़े निर्मल, उनके शरण मेँ ही आपका हित है, दिए वचन पर राम अटल !" "बस करो मर्कट मूर्ख प्रलाप, एक वानर करे मानव का जाप, तीनों लोक का मेँ अधिकारी, व्यर्थ है हमारा यह वार्तालाप !" "दो सन्यासी वन वन भटके , मिले न भिक्षा और न पानी, सुखी रहेगी राज भवन मेँ, बनेगी सीता लंका की रानी !" "मति भ्रष्ट हो गयी क्या रावण, श्री राम का तुम न करो अपमान, मानव दानव तो सामान्य प्राणी है, देव गण भी करे उन्हें सम्मान !" "अपने मृत्यु को न पुकारो दशानन, विभीषण बोले जोड़के हाथ, लंका की रक्षा असुर सुरक्षा, विनती मेरी तनिक सुनलो भ्रात !" " व्यर्थ हो रहा मेरा समय, मेरा कीर्ति और बल है अपार, इस वानर का अब प्राण चीन लो, युद्ध मेँ होगी राम की हार !" दूत का प्राण हरना पाप है, आपके नीति पर पड़ेगी दाग, भ्राता की विनती सुनके रावण , मारुती के पूँछ को लगा दी आग ! भस्म हो गयी लंका नगरी , भारी पड़ गयी रावण की भूल, बजरंग बली ने जब लगाई छलांग, स्वर्ण भवन की जगह रह गयी धूल ! मारुती रावण संवाद विफल, वानर दानव का हुआ संग्राम, दशानन रावण की हो गयी मृत्यु , विजयी हुए रघुनन्दन राम ! श्री हनुमान राम का स्नेह अपार, भक्त के हृदय मेँ स्वामी का धाम, देश मेँ हो परदेस मेँ बैठे, हम तो जपते जय श्री राम !

The Courier- 2021 Film

 

I picked this movie because of it's interesting storyline and stars Benedict Cumberwatch as the lead . Based on the life of "The spy who saved the world", the plot revolves around two main characters, a top Soviet official who went against his own government to diffuse a nuclear war and a British Salesman, "The Courier", who was instrumental in transporting this vital information to the west on time.

It is the year 1960 . Both America and the Soviet Union have equipped themselves with heavy nuclear arsenal. The leader of Soviet Union, Khrushchev has an ambitious plan to deploy nukes in Cuba to put US under the radar. Khrushchev's reckless attitude was disliked by many of his own countrymen. One top ranked official, Oleg Penkovsky decides to take matter in his own hands. In a daring attempt, he reaches out to CIA and MI6 saying he wants to establish peace in this world. When the CIA receives the message, they team up with MI6 and set up a channel of communication with Penkovsky through "The Courier".

"The Courier", is a British Salesman,  Greville Wynne, recruited by the MI6 to make contact with Penkovsky. Wynne is entrusted  to transport the classified information from Penkovsky to MI6 and CIA. With the"Big Brother" KGB watching them all the time, Penkovsky and Wynne are forced to come up with new tactics to choose their rendezvous point to exchange information. Over a period of time, the duo develop a steadfast friendship with each other and getaway with many escapades. 

But eventually, they get caught by KGB and are imprisoned in the deep pits of Tartarus. Before succumbing to the depths of despair, will the duo successfully avert the Cuban danger  forms the crux of  this brilliant thriller.

Benedict Cumberwatch and Merab Ninidze excel in their roles as Wynne and Penkovsky respectively. They sink deep into the skin of their characters. The screenplay is tight and the cinemetography is brilliant. Moscow is a treat to watch and the film subtly gives the audience a taste of the pleasures of the Russian elite.

The only glaring flaw in the movie is the portrayal of KGB. It is difficult to imagine KGB being lacklustre and incapable to catch the mole in their own system for such a long time. The real story upon research  states that KGB was aware about the dealings of Penkovsky but could not expose him earlier as they did not want to compromise their own mole on the other side. They were patiently waiting for an opportunity to catch Penkovsky unawares and catch him in action. Had the movie portrayed the  KGB chase in more detail, it would have been a much better thriller to watch.

Having said that ,it is true that Penkovsky did manage to keep KGB at bay for two whole years and was able to successfully transport a lot of classified information to the west. Thanks to his efforts, the Cuba threat was subdued. 

A traitor in his own land, a Hero who saved the world. His accomplice, The Courier,  lived on to narrate the story to the rest of the world. Aptly brought to the silver screen, such stories are meant to be told. The world has to be made aware of such unsung heroes. I am glad I watched a sensible film after a long long time.

My rating : 3.5/5 stars.