Of heroines and (super) heroes

So this week belonged to two Marias, Maria S’s in fact. ‘S’ as in the first initial of their surnames, but also S for life’s eternal seesaw of swinging fortunes. Kannada starlet Maria Susairaj walked free from jail, having already served her three year sentencing, citing that her God knows she’s innocent.

Her fortunes had reversed in a startling manner, swinging upwards despite public outcry. Meanwhile a continent away, another Maria, the long-limbed Ms Sharapova saw a downswing of luck as the finals of the Wimbledon Green threw up a new singles champ — Petra Kvitova.

The vagaries of Lady Luck, always much in need during eclipse season, for this week also began the month of the crab with a heavy duty solar eclipse in Cancer, July 1st — difficult and fraught as your friendly neighbourhood astrologer might tell you.

But then one doesn’t need an astrologer to spell out ‘difficult’, the general national atmosphere seems fraught enough — in politics the to and fro-ing over Lokpal, in sport the doping conundrum and then so many of our celebrity newsmakers (losing weight according to reports) in jail. Not to mention blog/Twitter wars in the entertainment world over everything from disputes over recent movie releases to differences of opinion on Ash Rai Bachchan’s conduct and the halted Heroine.

No matter, baby news is always cause for celebration, no matter how difficult the atmosphere, and we have long quizzed filmdom’s first family for such auspicious tidings. England’s export to the States, Victoria Beckham has been expecting, now our own global icon Mrs Bachchan is too. Wonder will the new Duchess of Cambridge make a similar announcement soon — the royal couple’s Canada trip had photos of her very much at ease with children causing tabloid speculation as always.

Meanwhile, apart from the tale of two Marias, heroines this week included more of the phirang factor — news that the much publicised Lady Gaga visit to India wasn’t happening. Buzz being that Indian event organisers apparently found her unaffordable, despite the rest of the world being in raptures in her presence.

Foreign scribes’ laudatory notes apart (an article in The Economist pitches Gaga up with Mother Teresa as icons of the leadership industry) organisers here apparently preferred to make their money on sure- shot B-Town rather than overseas appeal…what was that line: ‘Only sex and SRK sell…’?!
Gaga fans may be disappointed she’s not coming, but the lady she’s often compared to, Madonna has reason to smile — popular culture is set to witness her life story in a 32 page comic book, say reports.

And whilst on the topic of comic books, Peter Parker a.k.a. Spiderman has been killed off in the publishing offering of Ultimate Comics, and certainly more fans than my four year old and her friends are grieving the demise. I have to say it’s upsetting, though I’m an out and out Batman fan — the idea of a superhero becoming a superhero because he’s self made, of his own efforts physical and mental, like Batman, has always been more appealing to me than those with super powers, to the victory born.

Regardless, the Marvel fanchise is separate from the Ultimate imprint so Spidey still lives in another universe, as obviously in the imagination of his followers. Victory, as loss, is always a mind thing.