Anniversary Reminder on Workers' Safety

Today, New York City is marking the 105th anniversary of one of the city’s worst industrial fire disasters in its history.

It is a grim reminder of the horrible state of some of those factories, even in USA, before the first world war.

It is also a firm warning, yet again, to today’s local governments, world over, on the importance of civil defence and of labour legislations and inspections - to ensure safe working conditions.

On 25 March 1911, a total of 146 people - 129 women and 17 men - perished in a matter of just 30 minutes - in a huge fire likely to have been sparked by a discarded cigarette.

Apparently, The Triangle factory, which made shirtwaists, and blouses, was being run like a sweatshop.

Poor immigrant workers, mostly European and Jewish teenaged women, some as young as 13 or 14, who did not speak English were given barely 15 dollars a week. For a work of 12 hours a day.

These workers, of over 500, were confined to closed spaces on the top three floors of a 10-storey Asch building, near Washington Square Park, in Manhattan, New York.

With plenty of, easily inflammable, cotton, paper, and garment waste around, the fire spread rapidly engulfing the entire building.

The elevators stopped working. The one narrow staircase was just not enough. And the fire-escape stairway broke completely under the weight of scores of people trying to escape the fire.

The ladders of the fire engines could only reach up to 6 floors, while the factory was on the 8th , 9th and 10th floors.

Many women jumped, and died, trying to flee the conflagration. Those who did not succeed in jumping, also died.  Charred beyond recognition.

I was saddened to read, now, about a 13 year old girl at this Wednesday’s (23 March 2016) commemoration ceremony held at the same building - which is now called Brown Building and owned by New York University.

The girl apparently spoke about her great-grand mother who worked in the Triangle factory. And she also spoke about making a classroom presentation about the Triangle Factory tragedy, and that her classmates cried when she said that some girls at the factory were as young as they were; and they could have easily been sitting with them in that class.

Does this tragedy not remind us of an even worse disaster related to garment workers, in Bangladesh, three years ago?

On 24 April 2013, a total of 1,130 workers were killed when an eight-storey commercial building, named Rana Plaza, collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

What I found extremely ironical was when I read that the first large-scale strike of women workers in USA was in 1910, by the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. They were demanding their union’s recognition, higher wages, and better working conditions.

And where did they protest? Outside Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.  But in one year’s time, the fire tragedy occurred at that very place.

Also ironical is the fact that when some cracks appeared in that building in Bangladesh, some shops closed. But, ignoring warning, the garment workers were ordered to return. But in just one day’s time, the collapse, and the deaths, occurred.

Today, in the Arabian gulf, with its thousands of migrant workers,  it is imperative that governments and businesses do their utmost to ensure safe working, and living, conditions.

What is the use of history, if we do not learn from the lessons it teaches?

Indian Influence, Internationally.

On Wednesday, when US President Barack Obama nominated Merrick B. Garland to be his country's 113th Supreme Court justice, he broke the hearts of thousands of Indians.

But why should Indians be disappointed at the appointment of a US Supreme Court judge?

The reason is simple. By choosing Judge Garland as the associate justice, Obama passed over two other federal appellate judges, on his short list, who were both qualified for that position.

One was Sri Srinivasan, 49, of Indian descent, and another was Paul Watford, 48, an African-American.

Many in India were hoping that Sri Srinivasan, whose parents had migrated to USA when he was just 7 years old, would be chosen by Obama to fill the position that fell vacant after associate justice Antonin Scalia's death in February 2016.

The appointment of a US citizen of Indian origin to one of these top nine positions of US federal court system is not going to affect India, in anyway. But there is simply that vicarious pleasure, among Indians, to see someone from their ilk in those higher echelons.

This Indian disillusionment now, I feel, is actually much less than when another Indian lost to North Korea’s Ban Ki Moon, and failed to become – what would have been – the first Indian Secretary General of the United Nations.

Shashi Tharoor had risen, after 29 years at the UN, to the rank of the Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information there. He had served during the time when Kofi Annan was heading the United Nations.

But Tharoor finished second in the United Nations Secretary-General selection of 2006.

After four straw polls, in which each of the 15 member states of Security Council were asked whether they would ‘encourage’ or ‘discourage’ each of the official candidates (or if they had ‘no opinion’ on the candidate), it was found that Ban Ki-moon and Shashi Tharoor topped each of these polls.

In the fourth poll, however, Ban emerged as the only candidate with the support of all five permanent members, each of whom has the power to veto candidates; Shashi Tharoor had received more overall 'encourage' votes in some previous straw polls but China indicated it would veto Tharoor, who is Indian.

Actually, one Permanent Member (later revealed to be the US under the Bush Administration) opposed Tharoor’s candidature, and China had abstained from voting. And there went crumbling the hopes of millions of Indians!

Yet another Indian disillusionment of this kind, I think, occurred when Montek Singh Ahluwalia lost a rare opportunity.

This Indian economist and civil servant who served also as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, and who had even worked in IMF (International Monetary Fund), was among the frontrunners for the position of the Managing Director of IMF.

But France’s Christine Lagarde, won against Montek Singh and a couple of others, to take up the position vacated by Dominique Strauss-Kahn the former head of IMF who got caught in a sexual assault case, in New York.

Seeing this, one cannot grudge the Indians for a soft glow of pride as they realise that the Indian influence on the global stage is undoubtedly on the rise.

And it is not merely because Indians are now heading the global giants like Google, Microsoft, Adobe and PepsiCo. 

Rich Kids and Exotic Pets

Two videos, which had gone viral this week, on social media in the Arabian gulf region, were very interesting to watch.

Actually, interesting to some. But, infuriating to animal lovers.

One, of an adult tiger that fell out of a moving  vehicle, and was seen roaming between cars on a busy highway in Doha, Qatar.

And another, of a huge ostrich that was being chased by men and boys, as it was running on a street, somewhere in Sehla, Bahrain.

It both cases, it is apparent that the tiger and ostrich had somehow managed to escape from where they were kept captive. And in both cases, they were not the average pets that people raise.

The bird and the animal were far, far, away from their natural habitats. Cruelly confined to restrictive spaces. Only to satisfy the whims and fancies of certain rich individuals, who obviously have the financial wherewithal and political pull that allows them this peculiar pursuit. Of keeping exotic pets.

It is illegal to keep wild animals as pets in Qatar. But it is no secret that many rich kids in, not just Qatar, but in the entire region, secretly raise exotic pets.

A 2012 CNN article titled “Lions, tigers become problem pets in the Gulf” says: None of the pet owners we approached would speak on the record about illegally purchasing exotic animals, but many amateur videos uploaded online attest to their popularity among young men in the Gulf.

“In one YouTube clip that was widely viewed in the region, a man frightens his friend by chasing him around the living room with a chained lioness. Another clip shows a group of men walking a cheetah on a leash in an indoor location. There's even a man trying to ride a fully grown lion”.

So, quite clearly, the rich kids of the Arabian Gulf aspire for bragging rights. They desire these wild animal pets as ultimate symbols of status.

All GCC countries, I found, are signatories to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), an international agreement between governments. It ensures that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

However, it is overlooked not just in the Gulf but the world over.  From snakes to iguanas, and from flying squirrels to prairie dogs, there is a global demand for these wild pets.

In December 2010, PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) had conducted an undercover investigation into  a company U.S. Global Exotics, and found  a warehouse in Arlington, Texas, with more than 27,000 animals subjected to crowded living conditions, poor ventilation, and a lack of food, water, and basic care. This government seizure is believed to be the largest animal confiscation in history.

Some argue that lions, tigers and elephants are human like. But we must understand that even if they show signs of love towards humans, wild animals cannot be effectively domesticated.  Even in a simply playful romp, a tiger’s claw can easily tear up human flesh. Wild animals are meant to be in the wild. Not in our backyards.

If removing them from the vast expanses of their natural environs  is a crime, subjecting them to harsh chaining, beating and training, should be treated as an even bigger one.

The sooner the governments and individuals distinguish the difference between domestic animals and wild animals, the better it is for all of us. 

Oscars, and Music

Who can forget that hauntingly lilting theme-music of the movie, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”?

And also the music of “Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More”?

These are but only a few of the many spaghetti-westerns the Sergio Leone -Clint Eastwood combination regaled us with.

The director-actor duo is well-known. But somehow the name and fame of the third person in this combination has often escaped the attention of movie buffs.

That of the Music Director, Enrico Morricone.

But, finally, he’s won the Oscar, this year. For his music in  Quentin Tarantino's “The Hateful Eight”.

And so, we now know, it was not only the actor Leonardo DiCaprio who was being snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for long.

Sometimes it takes years and years before one can gain the recognition one deserves.

After making music for 60 years, working on over 500 movies, being nominated for Oscars 5 times, Enrico Morricone has now, finally, won the Oscar!

He was also the music director for such classics as “The Untouchables,” “Cinema Paradiso,” “Malena” and the “The Phantom of the Opera” but he never got around to holding that little golden statuette in his hands. Until now.

And I was happy to note– during my  study into his background – that on an IMDB list of world’s “Top 25 Music Composers”,  he was ranked second. Right after the famed John Williams.

Interestingly, Director Sergio Leone and Enrico Morricone were classmates at school. And their partnership went on, in their later years,  to create some amazing background score for many a classic.

And together, as a Director and Music Composer twosome, these two are now ranked, by film critics, among the top -- with Eisenstein & Prokofiev, Hitchcock & Herrmann, and Fellini & Rota.

Usually, it is the movie director and not its music composer who gets all the credit. And I feel that music forms such an integral part of movie that it is easy for the audience to overlook.

The background score element has a strange subliminal effect on the mind; and we may not even realize its importance in a movie, without conscious effort.

It is not only the actors but also the accompanying music that often makes us angry, happy, romantic, sad or tensed, during different scenes.

Music brings us to tears, and it moves us to the edge of our seats. It makes us chuckle, and it makes us open our mouths wide. And, we watch speechless - with eyes wide  open and with bated breath.

John Williams, whose music I’ve been listening too, since my high school days – at least in most Steven Spielberg movies - has had 41 Oscar nominations, so far. Highest any music composer ever got. And, he’s won ‘five’ times.

He’s won the Oscars for ‘Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Schindler's List (1993) .

But I always felt bad he did not also win for his work in the other ‘Star Wars’ movies. Or for ‘Indiana Jones’ or ‘Harry Potter’ movies.

While we all know that recognition by the academy awards is not the only criteria by which we can measure any music composer’s success, we know their work is simply amazing.

Perhaps, that is why Steven Spielberg once said: “If I weren’t a director, I would want to be a film composer”! 

Oscars, and Music

Who can forget that hauntingly lilting theme-music of the movie, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”?

And also the music of “Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More”?

These are but only a few of the many spaghetti-westerns the Sergio Leone -Clint Eastwood combination regaled us with.

The director-actor duo is well-known. But somehow the name and fame of the third person in this combination has often escaped the attention of movie buffs.

That of the Music Director, Enrico Morricone.

But, finally, he’s won the Oscar, this year. For his music in  Quentin Tarantino's “The Hateful Eight”.

And so, we now know, it was not only the actor Leonardo DiCaprio who was being snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for long.

Sometimes it takes years and years before one can gain the recognition one deserves.

After making music for 60 years, working on over 500 movies, being nominated for Oscars 5 times, Enrico Morricone has now, finally, won the Oscar!

He was also the music director for such classics as “The Untouchables,” “Cinema Paradiso,” “Malena” and the “The Phantom of the Opera” but he never got around to holding that little golden statuette in his hands. Until now.

And I was happy to note– during my  study into his background – that on an IMDB list of world’s “Top 25 Music Composers”,  he was ranked second. Right after the famed John Williams.

Interestingly, Director Sergio Leone and Enrico Morricone were classmates at school. And their partnership went on, in their later years,  to create some amazing background score for many a classic.

And together, as a Director and Music Composer twosome, these two are now ranked, by film critics, among the top -- with Eisenstein & Prokofiev, Hitchcock & Herrmann, and Fellini & Rota.

Usually, it is the movie director and not its music composer who gets all the credit. And I feel that music forms such an integral part of movie that it is easy for the audience to overlook.

The background score element has a strange subliminal effect on the mind; and we may not even realize its importance in a movie, without conscious effort.

It is not only the actors but also the accompanying music that often makes us angry, happy, romantic, sad or tensed, during different scenes.

Music brings us to tears, and it moves us to the edge of our seats. It makes us chuckle, and it makes us open our mouths wide. And, we watch speechless - with eyes wide  open and with bated breath.

John Williams, whose music I’ve been listening too, since my high school days – at least in most Steven Spielberg movies - has had 41 Oscar nominations, so far. Highest any music composer ever got. And, he’s won ‘five’ times.

He’s won the Oscars for ‘Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Schindler's List (1993) .

But I always felt bad he did not also win for his work in the other ‘Star Wars’ movies. Or for ‘Indiana Jones’ or ‘Harry Potter’ movies. 

While we all know that recognition by the academy awards is not the only criteria by which we can measure any music composer’s success, we know their work is simply amazing.

Perhaps, that is why Steven Spielberg once said: “If I weren’t a director, I would want to be a film composer”!