The Critique

Kalpana Pathak, Breaking the Mould: Alternative Schools in India , Chennai: Westland Ltd., 2016, ISBN 978-93-85152-29-0, pp. XVI + 230, Rs. 295. Education is a field of interest in our times. The mushrooming of numerous institutes and centres providing education and the amount of propaganda done are witness to this fact. The scene of education in India is neither something worth admiring nor is it deserving of absolute condemnation. There is no doubt that India doesn’t feature anywhere among the top countries when it comes to education. According to the Legatum Prosperity Index 2016, India ranks 102 nd among the 149 countries surveyed, in the field of education.  Our education system does leave a lot to be desired. While on the one hand there are people who uphold the IIT’s and IIM’s as exemplars of success there are a greater number who lament the rote learning approach that is characteristic of the Indian educational system. In Breaking the Mould , the author explores ...

Dir: Hugh Hudson Starring: Antonio Banderas Dur: 1 hr 33 mins Genre: Biography PG: A few kisses. Rating: 6/10 Knowledge is never complete. No one can claim to have complete knowledge about anything. Nevertheless, there have been and perhaps even are till today, people who believe that the knowledge they have is complete and infallible. Such a fanatic view is dangerous as it has the possibility of gradually escalating to aggressive fanaticism. Finding Altamira recounts the true story of a magnificent discovery in the hills of Spain and the consequent series of events that nearly destroyed a family and shook the world of anthropology. The story centres around a single family on whose plot the discovery was made and on one man in particular, Marcelino Sanz de Sautola (Antonio Banderas). A cave was accidentally discovered by Maria, Marcelino’s daughter, in which were found paintings that dated far earlier than the studies of that time showed possible. Marcelino was a r...

Embers from the Hearth , Fr Ian Doulton sdb, Chennai: Anglo-Ink, 2014, ISBN 978-81-928188-7-0, pp. 268, Price not mentioned. The book is an anthology of original stories penned by the author himself for a magazine that he has been editing for over the last decade: Madonna . The stories are generally based on a gospel value. The author has done well to present the gospel message in a creative manner by making good use of the short story. Stories are appealing mediums of instruction for people of all ages. They have the power to shape minds and thought patterns, give freedom to imagination and creativity and perhaps even influence behaviour. They are also efficient vehicles of ideas and concepts. Jesus himself was a master storyteller. He had the knack of pulling illustrations from mundane life and using them to teach and instruct the people. The stories found in this book represent real life situations. There is a certain pattern that is common to all the stories which is a p...

God or Nothing , Robert Cardinal Sarah with Nicholas Diat, Trans. Michael J Miller, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1621640509, pp. 284, Cost not mentioned. An absolutely fantastic book. One can infer the same without actually reading it. The high praises heaped upon it from towering individuals connected to the Church is sufficient proof of the value of the book. Robert Cardinal Sarah grew up in Guinea, West Africa. Inspired by the missionary Holy Ghost fathers who left everything to preach the Gospel in the remote parts of Africa, a number of natives embraced Christianity. Robert attributes his conversion and subsequent call to priesthood to the example of those missionaries. He entered the seminary at a young age.  Due to the oppression of the Church by the Marxist Government of Guinea, he had to leave his homeland to pursue his studies. He went on to obtain a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, followed by a licentiate...

Dir: Christopher Nolan Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathway Dur: 2 hrs 45 mins Genre: Sci-fi PG: One swear word. Rating: 8/10  Space has always fascinated man. From time immemorial, man has looked up into the blackness of the night and gazed with awe at the stars. At some point the question may have arisen in his mind: “What is out there?” The urge to find an answer to this question has led to some of the most daring and brilliant discoveries mankind has ever known. Interstellar takes this inner desire and mixes it with a whole lot of imagination, creativity, exceptional visual animation and a bit of science to give us an ‘interstellar’ experience. The question of ‘are there other habitable worlds out there?’ is explored optimistically in the film but the science is still very raw. The film offers a lot of food for thought besides creating philosophical and cosmological issues. Being a student of philosophy and cosmology I was intrigued by the film and...

Dir: Patricia Riggen Starring: Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson, Kylie Rogers Dur: 1 hr 42 mins Genre: Christian Rating: 9/10 Everyone of us at some point in our lives have questioned suffering and pain. ‘How does a loving God allow innocent people to suffer?’ The answer to such a question isn’t simple, if any answer can be given at all. Most of us are left speechless on this topic and those of us who venture into trying to provide a response to such a question may end up creating bigger problems especially for those who are grappling with pain and suffering on a very tangible and first-person basis. The film is based on the book of Christy Beam which documents the illness of her little daughter Annabelle. The name gives you an idea of the kind of movie it is going to be. It doesn’t really provide an answer to the question of suffering and pain but it does offer a way of coping with it. If I may state it, it says quite simply “have faith”. This may not be the best...

Directives for the Celebration of the Liturgy , Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, CCBI, Bangalore, 2016, ISBN 978-81-930805-3-5, pp. 84, Rs. 150. The Liturgy is the Source and Summit of the life and the mission of the Church (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10). The book under review starts with these words and I have gone with them too because they are the raison d’être for this book. India has had a liturgical renewal over the years but hasn’t yet achieved the goals dreamt for it by the Vatican Council. Hence, the bishops, who are the chief liturgists of the local Church felt the need of giving a direction to the ‘celebration of the liturgy so as to enable all members of the faithful celebrate and live the liturgy to its fullest’. The book consists of directives that were agreed upon by the Plenary Assembly. They aim to ensure that the liturgy is celebrated faithfully, devoutly and with due respect to the sense of the sacred that is characteristic of the Asian spirit. The in...

Divine Providence, Fr M. Edward Xavier sdb, Self Published 2016, pp. 100, Rs. Not mentioned as it is for private circulation. The book has a striking heading and if one browses through the Table of Contents one would surely be interested in reading the book. Sadly, the book fails to keep up to expectations. The book has a foreword and preface written by eminent Salesians and the introduction by the author sets the tone for the book. The author has divided the book into four parts. In the first part he addresses the question: What is Divine Providence? With reference to Don Bosco and the early Salesians. This part was interesting and is my favourite part. The second part addresses the question: How did Don Bosco trust in Divine Providence? And the third part similarly deals with the question of How the Early Salesians trusted in Divine Providence? Both these parts are minimally explorative and offer hardly any novel insights. The third part however does touch upon the contribut...

Dir: Patty Jenkins Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine Dur: 2 hrs 20 mins Genre: Superhero - Action PG: Its rated U/A. Except for a kiss shared between the lead couple and a sensored scene where Steve is nude, nothing else takes place on the sexual front. However, being a superhero film the violence is catastrophic. Wonder Woman is the DC’s first superhero film starring a female as the lead. Although there have been films of superhero women in the past viz. Catwoman and Elektra. It is sad to note that both of these were received poorly and did badly at the box office. With this background it was quite an intimidating task for Patty to take up the direction of this film. A lot was riding on her shoulders and I must say she really showed us ‘girl power’. Patty is the first woman to have directed a superhero film starring a female lead and she undoubtedly did a fantastic job. The film has all the elements of a typical superhero film: a story of origin, a romantic interest, ...