Victoria and Abdul

From the royal bowel movement to the verbal abuse of several religions and dynasties this story and film has enough to rile up the Brits, the Hindus and the Muslims. In attempting to portray that in a couple of hours it is hilarious.

As to what is fact v fiction I think it is up to the viewer to behold and determine. The film starring Dame Judi Dench as Queen Victoria (the Empress of India) and Ali Fazal (as Kareem the Munshi) is a watchable tale of the Queen's penchant to have trusted aides by her side when she does not trust her inner circle.

Apparently she has had a couple of these advisor/confidants from India during her tenure as Queen and in this installment we see a Muslim clerk from Agra get selected to present a token of gratitude in what is a stroke of luck for him when he is sent from India by boat to England. The royal staff keeps referring to him as a Hindu in several ironic comical moments.

Munshi as he describes himself (as in a secretary but in the context of the film a teacher) gets close to the Queen in a series of lucky coincidences with looks and bearing influencing the Queen's desire to have him by her side. He is well read and advises the Queen on the meaning of service to her people as well as teaching Urdu - the language of the Mughals and also quotes from some of the saints and poets of the era to resolve conflicts in her head.

This enthralls the borderline senile Queen who latches on to the exotic aspect of this relationship much to the chagrin of her closest staff and family. In one scene she asks for a Mango to be shipped from India and in another goes ahead and does some interior decorating to create a Durbar as an extension to one of her royal residences.

The movie ends up with the Queen dying with Kareem at her bedside and then being promptly sent back to India by the son who is pissed off at the whole arrangement.

Comments

On the go(zay masta) in Japan again

Cool cat the Japanese are Tokyo at dusk My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese. But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us. But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples- 1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store wher...

A few good books

On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...

Brown Motion

Search This Blog