the longest day: solstice

jun 21st, 2009

the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, as the sun hits the tropic of cancer. this is the obverse of the makara sankranti, which i suppose means the karkitaka (cancer) sankranti will be pretty soon.

the end of uttarayanam, the beginning of dakshinayanam, the southward movement of the sun.

there was a brilliant film in malayalam, 'uttarayanam', by aravind, which is on my list of all-time greatest films: one about a young man who evolves into either a monk or a terrorist, the ending is ambiguous when he walks off after metaphorically burning the mask he has been wearing. the ills of indian society have turned this one-time idealist into a misanthrope.

of course, this is the rationale the chatterati give for the rise of the terrorist communists as in naxalites, maoists etc. i think there is a simpler explanation -- chinese and white christist money meant for dismembering india. a lot of naive young men fall for their siren songs, and then they start killing people and end up getting shot, while those who have been chivvying them on get magsaysay awards and lots of money.

nice job for the magsaysay guys. like that doctor fellow whom everybody was falling over themselves for. do see the pioneer columns by swapan dasgupta and chandan mitra today. good stuff.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/184299/Back-to-the-past-in-West-Bengal.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/184134/Fight-Mao-with-Mao.html