Aligarh- Film Review

Watched this moving film (based on a real incident) on a plane- coming back from Singapore. Manoj Bajpai excels, and the portrait that emerges of the man (a prof. at AMU) is endearing. A much misunderstood, lonely, but competent and respected professor (and poet) at AMU becomes the victim of some rivals' shenanigans, and they invade his privacy and take pictures in his bedroom without permission. And he is victimised, not the invaders.

A journalist takes up the story, and exposes the plot, and suppports the prof. through his trials (literally- he is fighting a case to get his unjust suspension from the job revoked). Played well by Rajkumar Rao.

A minimalistic film, thought-provoking. It's about homosexuality, but it's also about a lot more than that. Dignity, privacy, politics in academics, for instance.

What a Workplace Should Strive For

We all know what makes you successful, and what you as an employee should bring to the table (the job-you may have a table or not). This is about what the workplace should think about. And do, hopefully.

Dignity of labour is in my view, number one for a human in any job. He or she must be treated with dignity, and not as a robotic or mechanical cog in the wheel. The latter is beautifully demonstrated by Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times.

Show him a reasonable future in terms of what he can do to progress to a level above his current one. This need not be in terms of just salary, but a good mix of work where he gets to use his skills best.

Anything that fosters an element of camaraderie among his team-mates will create an atmosphere where he wants to come back every day.

Autonomy to the extent possible, is crucial for many. In my view, this is what brings people into teaching, particularly to autonomous institutions which also provide autonomy to its faculty and staff. An empowered employee usually does far better work than a hyper-controlled one.

This is apart from practical solutions to his/her problems, such as transport, or a creche for young mothers to be able to work.