Bappi Lahiri’s 'Jimmy, Jimmy' becomes new anthem for Chinese to protest COVID lockdowns
Beijing(PTI): Millions of Chinese suffering the dreaded lockdowns have turned to Hindi cinema legend Bappi Lahiri's superhit song "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" from 1982 movie "Disco Dancer" to express their anger and frustration over the country's stringent zero-COVID policy.
In the Chinese social media networks Douyin - the Chinese name for TikTok, the song composed by Lahiri and sung by Parvati Khan is sung in Mandarin "Jie mi, jie mi", which translates into "Give me rice, give me rice", by people in the videos mockingly showing empty vessels to show how they are deprived of essential food items during the lockdowns.
The video has so far managed to escape Chinese censors that are quick to remove any post deemed critical of the country's regime.
Indian movies have always enjoyed huge popularity in China, starting from the days of cinema legend Raj Kapoor in 1950s and 60s to the recent years when films such as "3 Idiots", "Secret Superstar", "Hindi Medium", "Dangal" and "Andhadhun" performed exceptionally well at the Chinese box office.
Observers say Chinese have found a smart way of using "Jie mi, jie mi" to make soft protests in their bid to highlight the public plight over the zero-COVID policy, which has literally cut-off China from the outside world.
China has been bogged down with zero-COVID policy under which dozens of cities, including Shanghai which has a population over 25 million, were under lockdown for weeks with people confined to their flats.
Scores of videos have surfaced in which security officials can be seen severely cracking down on people protesting the lockdowns.
In the latest protests, workers engaged to assemble Apple Inc.'s newest iPhone staged a walkout from a factory in central China's Zhengzhou following a virus outbreak and complaints of unsafe working conditions.
Reports said workers started leaving the Foxconn factory after some of them fell ill in mid-October and received no treatment.
On Sunday, China reported 2,675 cases, up from 802 from the previous day.
Under the zero-COVID policy mandated by President Xi Jinping, the cities and localities have to undergo strict lockdowns and people of the area are shifted to quarantine centres if any positive cases are reported.
In almost all cities, including Beijing, testing is mandatory for all residents. Without negative test results, people in the cities cannot enter public places including restaurants and markets.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Prague (PTI): World champion D Gukesh survived some anxious moments in the early middle game before finally drawing with Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the first round of the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival here.
The Berlin defense that went wrong for white could be a perfect heading for the encounter between the world champion and Niemann, who is walking his way to the elite chess circles after being indirectly accused of foul play.
It may be recalled that the American infamously won a game against world number one Magnus Carlsen, which will now be documented in a forthcoming Netflix series.
ALSO READ: Cheating made bigger than it actually is: Gukesh
Niemann came all guns blazing and sacrificed a piece with black piece as early as on move 13 to put Gukesh on the back foot despite having the white pieces.
The Indian was down but not out which he proved as the game progressed, and even though, black seemed like pushing for more with his extra pawns in exchange for the sacrificed knight, Gukesh ensured that he stayed in the game.
The eventual outcome was a draw, the lone one in the 10-player, nine round tournament that saw everyone with white pieces triumph in contrasting styles.
Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram of India turned out to be on the wrong side of a position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
The Philidor defense by the Indian generated enough evidence that every opening could be playable only till he walked into a deft manoeuvre.
Aravindh lost in the rook and minor piece endgame after losing one of his pawn, and if that was not enough top seeded Vincent Keymer of Germany was blown away by a resurgent Jorden van Foreest of The Netherlands.
It was another Berlin defense wherein Foreest came out with a new idea that perplexed Keymer. As the opening concluded, the Dutchman had an advantage and he picked up a handful of pawns to register a comprehensive victory.
Also ending on a winning note was Abdusattorov's name sake and teammate Nodirbek Yakubboev who put it across David Anton Gujjaro of Spain, while in the other encounter of the day local favourite Navara David proved stronger against Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo.
In the challengers section, women's world cup winner Divya Deshmukh drew with top seeded Benjamin Gledura of Hungary from a position of strength but Surya Shekhar Ganguly ended on the receiving end against Thomas Beerdsen of The Netherlands.
Results after round 1 Masters: D Gukesh (IND) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Aravindh Chithambaram (IND); Jorden van Foreest (NED) beat Vincent Keymer (GER); David Navara (CZE) beat Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI); Nodirbek Yakubboev beat David Anton Guijarro (ESP).
Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (IND) drew with Benjamin Gledura (HUN); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) lost to Thomas Beersden (NED); Zhu Jiner (CHN) lost to Jachym Nemec (CZE); Daniel Yuffa (ESP) lost to Stepen Hrbek (CZE); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) drew with Vaclav Finek (CZE).
