I’ve just finished watching Chak De India for the second time. And I have to say that I love this film!
I have a confidence to make: I normally don’t watch Bollywood films. A cousin of mine, Nishal, managed to convince me that Chak De India was really worth watching and I really don’t regret listening to him.
The film is about the women’s hockey team of India winning the world cup against all odds. That’s it. Nothing too complex. But it is excellent. It has pace and feels real (and this is exceptional for a Bollywood film which tend to be, ahem, surrealist). The casting is really excellent too with a good Shahrukh Khan and 16 fantastic (young) actresses (kudos to all of them).
I was watching the second DVD containing some extras including the UK premiere where Shahrukh Khan was asked his own definition of patriotism by a journalist. Without thinking, he answered (I’m paraphrasing here):
“Patriotism is when you do your best to succeed in whatever field you are. It has nothing to do with holding the flag of your country and singing glorious songs.”
Maybe our leaders can be inspired by this for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the independence of Mauritius and come up with something that will really inspire our youngsters (and also the not-so-young) to achieve greatness.
Or maybe they wont and we’ll have to suffer yet another flag-raising ceremony followed by its usual “fête culturel”.
What do you think we should do for the 12th of March?
Long time no new posts overhere..where have you been..
anyway, great movie indeed, but still some melo dramatic scenes could have been avoided!
True. But without those dramatic scenes, it won’t have been a Bollywood film :-)
I was talking to Christina today about this and we agreed that without those the film would have been 1:30 and really really excellent.
Where are my scissors?
Concerning “Long time no new posts overhere..where have you been..”
What do you mean? I still write 3-4 posts (at least) per month which seems reasonable to me…
Lol
Ok rectification no new thread.. :p
well, i’m not into those programming things, so I really cannot understand well about your threads reading to C++ or Ajax… I don’t understand an i..
on the contrary, that would have been much appreciated if you could start a thread where you can help us to move on to Linux, like Ubuntu for instance…help us how to learn some basics so as we can get started by ourselves..
myself, yesterday itself i tried to installed ubuntou 7.10, it was very difficult for me..you see..so i backed off..
Ok, I get it.
I will try to write something sensible on installing Ubuntu one of these days. Meantime, read this graphical installation walkthrough.
An advice: installing Linux is easy if you understand how a hard disk is divided into partitions and that Linux requires at least two of them (one for / and one for swap). Read the documentation on partitioning and resizing existing partitions thoroughly and don’t proceed with the installation without really understanding those.
Ill push that quote from the actor even further.
“Patriotism is when you do your best to succeed in whatever field you are and applying your skills for several goals, one of them being the progress of your own countryâ€
To me, thats also what patriotism is about and its what I do.
True Ajay.
I’m bored to death with the so-called “Mauritians” who only do what looks to be good but act negatively in the background… like many politicians in fact.
I am far from being perfect but I personally try to do my work correctly even in the absence of proper support and logistics. Therefore I consider myself as a (relatively) good Mauritian.
I like Ajay’s definition :-) and try to apply it as much as possible. It’s when you have to queue up as from 04:00 AM in the morning in front of some embassies, provide your 6 months bank statement plus your property title deed that you realise that there’s no such thing as a borderless world. One thing I would really like our authorities to think about is why is it that so many people are leaving this country and how they could prevent this drain.
so Ajay, what do you do like that? just wanted to know..
you’re talking about progressing your own country! If the country itself is not giving you the opportunities to help, to bring your contributions…it’s the system overhere itself which is causing brain drain…
i will say to it crudely, the majority of mauritians are plain stupid!fighting for a particular party, MMM MSM PTR and others..come on!
Paul Navin are good friends! Alors, pourquoi me fatiguer d’aller critiquer telle ou telle partie!!Camarade, quand majorite mauriciens pour gagne l’intelligence dans sa pays la!
The first stepping stone is to introduce the proportionality system! Then we talk!
The young generation has realized that nothing can be taken for granted with tsunamis and terrorism being part of their lives.
Mauritius is NOT special. It is like so many (small) countries trying to exist without being completely overshadowed by the big countries. Like Raj said, Mauritius is suffering from a massive brain drain and if nothing is done will have catastrophic consequences on the country.
As for politicians, I don’t think they think they are here to make our country progress. They have other agendas. Unfortunately for us.
What can we (really) do?
@ Chouaïbe
Hi, thanks for asking. I work for TuxLab Ltd, a provider of open-source based computing solutions to Mauritian companies. One of our locally-developed products is the Netrhino UTM Firewall appliance, a security-management device that fits in a company’s process for enhancing data/network security and Internet access management. This device, for instance, being locally-developed and supported costs less than equivalent systems bought from companies abroad.
Where the patriotism fits? I prefer to work here so as not to contribute to the brain drain rather than work abroad. I agree that the situation here is difficult. If it becomes unbearable, I perhaps be less patriotic. For the time being, I am optimistic.
Ajay
I am still optimistic about the situation in Mauritius because I work with young people (I can’t stress how nice this is).
What I sometimes feel though is that some of those same young people become very conformist when they start working. And I feel the proportion is getting bigger and bigger everyday – which is never a good thing for a country.
Don’t forget Apple’s motto: “Think different!”
I think I know what Avinash means about working with young people. Given that I work in the IT field, I sometimes meet young minds into IT or willing to be.
And there is always one thing that amazes me. They are fueled by passion. They want to do the next big thing. They want to change the world. They got this cool new idea in mind. You can see it in their eyes.
Somehow when I meet them later, after they have been a professional for some time, many have lost that distinctive sparkle in their eyes when they talk about their work.
What went wrong?
About conformist Avinash, I think that depends upon the place you work. My lecturer told me once, to stay young, work with youngsters. I think that’s the chance you have being a lecturer at UoM. If you work in an office, morning till afternoon, routine paper works, getting home tired, especially in a country like Mauritius, with the big bottle neck we have every morning and afternoon and if you don’t have a car, you need to get onto those pitiful busses, definitely you become one. Why? Simply because these daily chores makes you work harder, to get more money so as to be able to get a better life. Get a car for instance or build your own house. Needless to say, the majority of young professionals nowadays, just like to imitate, or rather to say, ‘ki dimoune pour dire’, need to succeed by any means. So, there’s no way out, they have to get into the system. Fortunately, we have those who takes a philosophical approach towards their life. I know some :D
Getting to patriotism; adding insult to injury, being paid poorly, you just want to leave the country. That doesn’t mean leaving the country for greener pastures and ‘perhaps’ a better future is unpatriotic! I know that’s brain drain but reaching a certain age, excluding parents, everybody is on its own!
So, I just cannot let my country suck out my blood when in return they’re not giving me a proper respect.
Also, that depends on the circumstances. If you love what you do over here, that’s fine. Ajay and Avinash, I’m sure and I see that you love what you’re doing but only only Avinash is enjoying it. Am I right Ajay?
If you’re not enjoying, stop putting that stress on you. Leave and start afresh somewhere else. This kind of stress is the greatest killer according to me, after smoking :)
Anyway, I’d like to say a friend of mine said once, patriotism is not only shouting allez maurice every 4 yrs. I add that there must other elements combined together so as we can live in harmony to help building this so called nation.
When I see those socio-religious groups in the country saying ‘nous dimoune’ and being backed up by politicians, to me this is the real poison for this nation.
I think, we Mauritians are too prone towards the institutionalisation of religion. How can we listen to a person mixing religion with politics, social, economy? This is serious. I think that we’re intelligent enough to know what’s good or bad, no need to come and tell us. Unfortunately, if the policitians don’t get the support of a particular religious leader, rest assured he won’t get elected. These are the different aspects, among other which are killing the so called nation arc en ciel.
Still, like you guys, I am staying optimistic!
I enjoy what I do professionally. I am among the lucky few whose passion became their job. When most people think “ayo.. lundi, bizin re alle travay” I am more like “lundi.. ala mo vini”
Ajay
well, before proceeding i want to say that i don’t like ppl who runs away and then comes with excuses. and it doesn’t mean that i have something against them nor feel superior.
quoted from chouaibe:Also, that depends on the circumstances. If you love what you do over here, that’s fine. Ajay and Avinash, I’m sure and I see that you love what you’re doing but only only Avinash is enjoying it. Am I right Ajay?
I wonder whether that’s a typo, coz sincerely, i believe ajay also enjoys his work also, lmao, there’s no better place to work than tuxlab, no stress, no pressure, just do THE things you love doing.
I have been freelancing at tuxlab, and lmao, am ready to bet that not many places have that kinda of working environment.
quoted form chouaibe I add that there must other elements combined together so as we can live in harmony to help building this so called nation.
When I see those socio-religious groups in the country saying ‘nous dimoune’ and being backed up by politicians, to me this is the real poison for this nation.
I think, we Mauritians are too prone towards the institutionalisation of religion. How can we listen to a person mixing religion with politics, social, economy? This is serious. I think that we’re intelligent enough to know what’s good or bad, no need to come and tell us. Unfortunately, if the policitians don’t get the support of a particular religious leader, rest assured he won’t get elected. These are the different aspects, among other which are killing the so called nation arc en ciel.
Still, like you guys, I am staying optimistic!
Hmm this really seems like a pitiful excuse for running away for greener pastures…
ofcourse, no one wants to study that much and then have trouble filling their stomach, and ohh.. well… i always thought the patriot kinda dude will always come if he ever left, atleast come back to contribute something back to the country… but well maybe my definition is wrong, maybe yours.. which if translated mainly seems to say patriotism means going away, make lots of money, then come to mauritius on holidays and
to stay on high horses and always coming up with excuses?
ohh well… i may be wrong :p
as far as “backing politik”, well… this cancer has spread thanks to the inaction of many.. if only many of those idealists who likes to talk did something other than run away .
ofcourse everyone wants to live and get money … but does this imply returning back to invest isn’t allowed?
ohh well.. maybe my logic is flawed, derive whatever meaning or think whatever you want about that comment, i could care less.
+$3|v3n
[g0d by d3fault]
Selven, I respect your opinion! :)
Avinash to site top!! Mo pa koner si to rapel mais ti ena 1 genre dejeuner UOM, to ti p santer etc..enfin zamai mo pane gain toi kuma lecturer mais to personalite et to ban views bien aprecier.
Merci :-)
lol
Y from Perth:
jamais tone pane gagne li comme lecturer :D
ki faire?
avinash, just want to know
“Mo pane gain li kuma lecturer” v dir zamai li pane lecture dan mo classe..Mo pakoner kuma li eter kuma lecturer…So character paret top anyway!lannee mo ti fini mo bsc, avinash ti fek rant lecturer!Mo ti zis zoine li pendant 1 lunch nou ti fer et ca zour la li ti p met la faya.
i came across this blog by coincidence. i am an education officer and i am writing on patriotism and the sense of belonging for a magazine.please let me know what you think.
As one people, as one nation…
Patriotism…a word difficult to define but still gratuitously employed in mundane conversations. Even the Oxford dictionary fails to provide a clear and concise definition. Even more appalling is the fact that when I asked around me to students on what patriotism means, in the midst of all the blank looks and lame excuses of being too busy or too-tired-to-think, all I was able to extract from them were mechanical and flimsy references to ‘loving your country or sacrificing yourself for your country.’ Conclusion, youngsters have no inkling what patriotism is all about.
Maybe they are not to be blamed altogether: Mauritius is too young a nation to foster Bhagat Singhs and Martin Luther Kings. Singing the national anthem does not make us Mauritians, neither does supporting the Mauritian team (Club M) in inter-island competitions. A stark lack of patriotism latent in youngsters and sceptics is the overt and naïve belief that things would have been better had Mauritius still been under British jurisdiction. Our nation is only forty years old but independence is already an alien concept, vulgarized and too often taken for granted. Such thoughts are detrimental to building up our sense of belonging and to defining Mauritianism.
What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that Patriotism denotes positive and supportive attitudes to a ‘motherland’, or to be politically correct, to the ‘parentland’. In this tradition, patriotism is often synonymous with public spiritedness. However, the belief in the superiority of one’s own and a concomitant disdain for others is not a necessary element of the concept of patriotism. Nor does patriotism require that one refrains from criticizing one’s land. In fact, Patriotism is in many ways treated like an abstract concept more than a way of life.
Of course, there is no prescriptive way to patriotism but what is deplorable is the committal sense of belonging sadly lacking in today’s youths. Today we talk about ‘brain drain’, that is the ready acceptance that the grass is greener elsewhere in terms of opportunities and avenues and the alienation of our efficient and professional resources accordingly. What youngsters fail to realize is that the socio-politico-economic situation should in no way influence one’s attitude towards patriotism. More and more youngsters nowadays have a bleak view of the prospects Mauritius holds. They think in terms of what Mauritius has to offer. My question to them is what do they have to offer to the country?
As representatives of the next generation, youngsters have the responsibility to define themselves in terms of their nation. Our history is undeniably complicated because of our double colonisation and our identity problematic because of our diverse origins. Instead of swearing allegiance to alien countries we are only attached to because we share similar cultures, we must work on defining a pristine Mauritian nation. Our pressing responsibility is to create a better Mauritius and the onus is on youngsters.
Great comment, Nashela!
It might even be the longest comment ever submitted on my blog :-)
I’ve just checked a number of definitions on Wikipedia (yes, it’s not authoritative but, for me, it’s good enough).
You wrote “we must work on defining a pristine Mauritian nation”. I remember a radio programme a few days before the 12th where some people were arguing about the definition of the word “nation”. For some people, Mauritius is a nation whereas for some other a “a nation is a form of self-defined cultural and social community” (as seen on Wikipedia). Mauritius being full of so many culturally and socially different people therefore cannot be a nation, only a state…
The Wikipedia article explicitly states that people from the same nation have generally the same descent, language, culture and religion.
On the other hand, “A state is a political association with effective sovereignty over a geographic area (called a country).”
Food for thought…
very cool film
Hi, I am looking for the articles of L’Express: Special Supplement 40th Independence Anniversary of Mauritius.
May be one of you have stored his file because with the new express site I can no more access it. I would be happy if someone had a link to it. Thank you
Unfortunately, L’Express.mu does not have any of those articles online anymore. Is this an oversight or a deliberate strategy, they only know.
Previously, the articles were at http://www.lexpress.mu/extra/12mars/…
As a matter of fact, there is an ongoing discussion on the new version of L’Express.mu.
thanks for your reply! I have been sending them emails now to ask for it, got a reply after the 3rd email from one person and none from the other 3 adres that i´ve sent them to. The reply that I got was: My leader, it was her secretary that wrote back, is now on maternity leave. She will contact you in February. I just feel stupid now that i did not save it while reading it. I was going to use some of the articles for my thesis. Will be home in February, may be parents or friends have it and had kept the newspaper it was with or a library because I think that i don´t have much chance to get it otherwise. Will try to send another email now with the link that that you have given me, because they must have it somewhere and there should not be any problem to send it. I hope so…
Yes i´ve seen the new web site. Well at first we could only see the articles that they have chosen to add but now they have added the whole paper. It does not work well but at least we can get to read the whole paper than: “un mauricien au concours de m univers en suisse” i was amazed to see that one as may be more important than la fournaise is erupting now, saw that on bbc world.their search engine does not work at all while before it worked really well. But i liked the new video concept i dont know if they r continuing it and the pictures of Agalega!! I think that the new web site is going to get better, i guess they need some time. thank you again fo your reply
Great article!
Patriotism to the young ones seems so strange. You are right being patriotic is not merely singing the national anthem and holding the flag.
For me, being patriotic means loving your country and be proud of what your country can offer. Being a Mauritian is not simple, we have the responsibility to market our country to the whole world. It cannot be denied that many loves to spend their holidays in Mauritius.