Naariyal Paani - An awesome experience!

I had never been to a play till today. (The only one I went to in Chennai, hardly counts!) Rangashankara, quite a popular place in JP Nagar, Bangalore - as a venue and producer for plays - always appealed to me whenever I heard people speaking about it. I don't know why until today, I had not bothered to try the experience of seeing a play there. Thank heavens that I tried!!

This particular play, written and directed by Sandeep Shikhar, is a hard candidate to describe in a few words. With no frills attached and quite straightforward in whatever it wanted to convey, it proved to be the ideal first experience. How happiness washes over us, particularly when we try something, expecting hardly anything concrete to emerge out of it, but it proves to be extraordinarily fruitful and enjoyable! This experience was exactly like that...

Hardly a handful of performers, some very fine scripting and acting along with meaningful and down-to-earth dialogue and lyrics, it really makes for a perfect combination for viewing. Humor is one aspect which is very difficult to pull off successfully while acting. Achieving it in a play is all the more so considering the very nature of the medium. Yet at no point during the hour long play did anybody in the audience feel that the humor on offer was affected or exaggerated.

एक फल की दुकान में वो नारियल पानी पी रही थी.

I don't want to share the entire story of the play. It was very simple as the bookmyshow.com summary - "The play begins with a character madly in love. Every time this character tries to share his story with others, he is stopped. At one point, he makes the decision to clarify his story to the general public by hiring Rangashankara as a platform to tell his story.It is from this point that the play begins. Taking the stage with the main character, played by Vivek Vijayakumaran, are two musicians playing the tabla and guitar. The musicians are actually co-actors in the performance" says.

I was elated when one of the musicians, Anupam readily obliged to the audience request to perform one of the songs again. Any good story will have something concrete to take away and this one had a number of messages conveyed in a delightfully engaging manner. The audience I was part of thoroughly enjoyed every bit and the appreciation was heartfelt. Hats off to the actors and the director for this wonderful piece of theater that has made me yearn for more!

An experience like this sometimes gets me thinking - What am I doing in this world everyday struck in a routine? The wide world out here is for us to explore. By cultivating a wide range of interests, each one of us would be doing ourselves a world of good. Let us all try to appreciate things that we might not be good at, but nevertheless deserve the recognition and respect. It is the first step towards knowledge and a broadening of the horizon!

The essence of friends and friendship

• A friend is a person who understands me. He knows when I am feeling bad and why I am feeling bad. He tries to genuinely know the reasons behind and makes an attempt to help me.
• He seldom needs any explanations for my behavior because I know he understands me and so I don't need to make an attempt to explain the why.
• He is somebody with whom I can speak my mind without any fear - fear of backbiting, betrayal, rejection and fear of sundry other consequences. He is somebody in whose presence I exist as me.
• He may not share my interests and my likes but he neither discourages me from pursuing them nor belittles and disparages them.
  
• He makes an effort to know why I like what I like and why I dislike what I dislike. He expects me to understand him, his likes, interests and tastes.
  
• Expectations - they confuse and confound. But with good friends, it is fair and good to expect consolation and soothing words in times of despair.
  
• The true test of a good friendship is the test of time and understanding. Years may pass, but the qualities in a good friend that endear me to him never change and it takes little time to catch up on lost time.
  
• A good friend is almost always a good listener too. This is another test that can be applied to this bonding.
• A friend would be sensitive to my feelings. He would try to think through things from my perspective.
  
• A friend would not have a self-interest that conflicts with my genuine intentions.
• Friends don't keep secrets from each other unless those are the kind of secrets that they would themselves be unwilling to confront.
  
• Friendship gets complex with diminishing innocence. Consequently when there is scope for power struggle and one-upmanship, it doesn't thrive.
• There might be some instances when friendship might not be fair in terms of expectations getting skewed. In my opinion, a good friend will always realize when I am expecting a little more from him and would rise to the challenge.
  

If this reads like an ideal list, I think it is meant to be. In this age of fast evolving relationships, friendship is something that is getting defined by social networking sites. What a truly sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in!

How I want to live!!

Crushed sugarcane cheek by jowl with fresh cow dung,
Dense concrete that overlooks a grand old tree,
Weak limbs on support bearing a little child all young,
Defeated hopes and misplaced expectations clothed in
fancy brands. Humble and joyous spirits decked in
rags. The world is a strange place where opposites lie
juxtaposed.

Men yearning for the rosy past and dreaming about
lush futures, Women weighed down with yesterdays
and trying to rise above tomorrows. In the midst, the
careless children digging their heels in the present,
soaring high and breathing in the little pleasures.

If the world is a theater, children are the best actors.
If it is a mammoth canvas, the young are the brightest colors.
Vibrant, joyous with hopes, showing their true spirits,
they march to a tune that is music only to their ears.
In this pendulum of hope and betrayal that life is, little do they
know what waits at the end!

The past is over and the future is yet to unravel; to live
in the present is to experience the finer moments. Blessed
are those that have short memories for the slate can be
wiped clean soon. Like a cloth that absorbs easily, I also
yearn for an unfeeling heart that cares little for the pain
and looks to the next moment in anticipation of gain!

When the World is a testimony to contrasts of every shape and size,
When the only way to forget is to erase and live in the moment, what
better examples to emulate than the young and the tiny? One moment,
happiness and the next moment, sadness, their every breath a comment
on this irony!

Here I come! I know not ego, I know not memory, all I know
is that the next moment is for me to live, not judge and brood!
Ignore me, slight me, curse me, strangle me, betray me, I shall
absorb all and rise again. I shall do only the good for I am incapable
of the bad and the ugly. I know deep down that ignorance of truth
and conscience is the biggest sin and I am not guilty. I am a child!!

Indulgence!

Today morning, I was reading this in THE HINDU literary review. The first Sunday of every month is always special because of the literary review, one area in which this news paper, I am sure, cannot be beaten easily. Navtej Sarna writes about Old Delhi - "Her new fancies stare me in the face, I notice her love of brick and mortar, of steel and glass; I rue her fascination with glitter. I watch her flaunt, with an imperial sweep of her overly bejeweled hand, her soaring new flyovers, the rising stadiums, her shiny new metro, her crazily crafted road corridors, her multiplexes and malls. And I shield myself against the callousness with which she has rejected so much that we once shared - my flower-laden roundabouts, my little theater cafe, my corner shop and even my favorite bookshop, owned by an owner who knew his books."

Now, this is writing of very fine quality that, reading it becomes an act of indulgence. What is beauty? Is it only about physical perfection or only about the pleasure of the senses? Apart from the sensuous aspect, is there anything more to it? To me, the answer is a resounding yes! Indeed, as the dictionary says, it is a "combination of qualities giving pleasure to the sight, mind etc"; "an excellent specimen of something."

When I read good books, what I am in fact doing is indulging in beauty - a fact that is lost to people who say it is boring and monotonous to sit in a corner with a book. How I wish they knew what they are talking about so carelessly! How I wish that they partake in this indulgence and experience the pleasure themselves! The pleasures and advantages of reading are multitude.

To sum them broadly, I would say:

• Reading expands the horizons of the mind. In helping me imagine far off lands, cultures and customs, not only does it introduce me to whole new worlds, by making me every bit a part of the unfolding stories, it broadens the knowledge of the world.
• It has helped me empathize with others readily. To be able to acknowledge the feelings of others and see them for what they are requires a conscious effort to observe minutiae and perceive with a keen attention. I am indebted to the books for this more than anything else.
  
• Books as companions - this is something wonderful particularly when loneliness threatens to engulf. I pick a book and forget the world around. At first, I thought I was escaping reality and getting cocooned elsewhere in the confines of an imaginary landscape, but with age, I have brushed aside these thoughts.
  
• Reading good works, as the first few paras of this post demonstrates, is to the intellect what sensuality is to the senses. Beauty is more often than not, elusive. In imagining that it is obvious to the wandering eye, we deceive ourselves. It is in the detail, often deceptively petty, but on a keener discernment, quite evident. When I chance upon an especially good work, I get the feeling that I am blessed and relish it with happiness.
  

This post is inspired by reflections on reading the article quoted in the first para. When words transcend their perfunctory existence on paper and assume greater meanings that our intellect assimilates, there is no greater joy to the reader. Great authors never seem to take an extraordinary effort; instead there is an easy rhythm by which we are swept away. In being moved by writing, we exhibit a sense of humility and surrender which is so pure. Perhaps that is why - since books give so much and demand little - mankind will continue to be fascinated by them as long as the written word exists!

Kaminey - Raw and Racy!

I remember seeing Omkara and being fascinated by it. It had a rawness in the music and in the rusty setting. The story itself didn't bother about sophistication and showed all emotions unmasked as they ought to be shown for the viewer to grasp the frailty of human nature and the folly in believing otherwise. Another Vishal Bharadwaj product that I loved immensely was Blue Umbrella. It had something so pure about it that was hard to put a finger on, yet brought a charm and appeal to the innocent village life and its sweet pleasures in the hinterlands of the country.

Kaminey, though the critics seem to have a taken a liking to ever aspect - doesn't meet the expectations I had after Omkara and Blue Umbrella. It definitely depicts the gangster world and deals again with fickle minds that get swayed hither and thither by the hunger for power and money. The first half is riveting stuff. It brings out the contrast between Charlie and Guddu (the two brothers played by Shahid) very well. The songs are sincere attempts in that they sit well with the story and I should admit that in hindi cinema at least, of late, there is a marked departure from dreamy lines that serve no purpose.

Songs - the lyrics and the music - a vital part of our movies, go a long way in bringing the audience to the theatres. "Dhan ye tan" and "raat ke dhai baje" will make anybody dance with joy! The background music is also good making the viewer an integral part of the action on offer. There is hardly any story but this doesn't need a story to convey what it wants to. In terming the movie "intelligent", I would say that some critics have underestimated the audience.

The second half, save for some marathi intensive exchanges and funny dialogues with two characters trying to shoot each other disappoints in comparison with the first. Vishal Bharadwaj, quite admirably paints a caricature of the regional vote bank inclined politician and succeeds in exposing his true colors. When we know that money and power hold considerable lure to people who lead lives constantly on the edge and get excited easily, the confusion on offer with competing bids to divide loot, will, depending on perspective, draw applause or indifference. I wasn't much impressed.

Acting wise, Shahid Kapoor has proven that he can be more than just a chocolate boy and Priyanka Chopra, more than just a glam doll. Probably, the stutter instead of lending more credibility, did the opposite and I am less inclined to attribute much better adjectives to Shahid because of that. The supporting cast is good enough. What lacks in the movie is something more concrete for the viewer to take away. I would say that I have seen better cinema on similar subjects in tamil. To sum up, a raw and racy movie that could have been a little better!

Losing innocence - Aimless meanderings!

Nostalgia strikes more often at inopportune times when one is sad. Recently I read that happiness is something that we realize in hindsight after the event responsible for it has ended. How true it is! When we identify that we are happy, it flies off, elusive and out of grasp...

I am back home after a good three months and everything feels so alien and so intimate at the same time. Talking to friends I realized that even though we hadn't seen each other for some time, things have rarely changed. We chatted away like the good buddies we are and topics weren't hard to come by and conversation didn't cease for a minute. There wasn't any uncomfortable silence. I have eperienced it only with people that I have spent reasonable time with.

I do feel that social networking and its cousins have made the word "Friend" so commonplace that its meaning sometimes gets lost. Some things take time to happen and friendship is certainly one of them. Unless one spends time with someone, gets to know the person they are slowly and begin to share with them events in one's life, and they in turn, the events in their lives, friendhsip will not get nurtured.

It is also important that compatibility is not so often about sharing the same likes and interest than about a tolerant nature that is willing to give the other person enough space. Incompatibility, the word that is bandied about so readily is more a sign of impatience than real conflict. Today, we are so conscious of time and so selfish to pursue our own interests that we find that we are also becoming increasingly impatient, with ourselves and with others. As a result, we lose the ability to see things as they are. Inconsiderate behavior, marked by glaring insensitivity to other's feelings, a brutal hurry to get things done at any cost and placing one's own interest at the foremost of everything - these are all consequences of a lifestyle that we have come to adopt.

That certain people think they can get away with anything and everything by attributing rude behavior to a sense of business is pathetic. Aggression and testosterone can get people only so far. Sadly, due to a premium placed on the ends rather than the means, sensitivity and concern take backseats and aggression gets rewarded leading to a vicious cycle.

The whole point of this post is that we are losing our innocence and falling prey to a way of life that breeds indifference, intolerance and hatred. If we look at ourselves in childhood, surely we can learn a lot of lessons. Some memories never lose their freshness and remain evergreen in those crevices of the mind that nothing can penetrate them and steal them away! There was no malice in the games we played, no hate in the words we spoke. Instead there was a hope that we nurtured, a hope for a tomorrow full of brightness and color. We surely believed that there would be competition, but perhaps never realized that it would be at a great cost!

Is love the opposite of hate and is freedom the opposite of slavery? Not at all! In defining love and freedom like this, we delude ourselves into believing that we love each other and we are free when the reality is starkly different. We can fool ourselevs as long as we don't want to confront the truth! Money, fame and rewards are not equal to peace of mind and ultimately that is what counts! The means and not the ends!!!!

Love Aaj Kal - A commentary on the changing mores

"Main Vo Hoon
Jo Chahoon Vo Paoon"

"Haaan hota hoon mein jis raste pe
Aaye khushi wohin"

Ever since the first trailers started to come, I wanted to see Love Aaj Kal. The songs had an energy and the visuals going to and fro between the past and the present, an appeal. I was not disappointed when I saw it yesterday.

As societal mores change, so do the preferences of the young. In a world which places a premium on pace, where is the time to hold on? Where is the reservoir of patience to maintain relationships as they pass through turbulent waves, get tossed and turned due to the pulls and pressures of a demanding career? The "practical" way out does seem to be "move on". That is why Love Aaj Kal starts with a breakup party. Meera (Deepika Padukone) and Jai (Saif Ali Khan) decide to breakup since Meera is going to pursue her dream in faraway Delhi.

As the movie progresses, they realize that they have shared too much with each other to forget, to take comfort in another relationship, that their time together led them to understand each other in ways that increasingly seem more natural in hindsight. I have told the story pretty much here.

Deepika apart from looking as gorgeous as ever, scores in the acting arena too. She has essayed her role with marked elan and grace. Playing a character that requires an uncanny sense of humor is not very easy and she comes out scoring pretty high. Saif Ali Khan, we know did extremely well in Hum Tum and this movie demanded something of that humor. He looks very natural and we can recognize in him a certain kind of male who at face value wants to take life as it happens, has lofty dreams, but scratch the surface and one finds that he has a heart too. (Bollywood style!) Rishi Kapoor as the reminiscing old gentleman makes one smile.

The movie's biggest plus is its music, lyrics and dialogue. All the three resonate well with the modern youth. The dialogues are fast, short and confused. The music is peppy, has some flair and sits well with the storyline. Lyrics - some quoted in the beginning - don't touch a discordant note though they aren't too deep. In funny lines, we see the characters singing for joy and yearning for distances to be bridged. Neeraj Sridhar appears to have taken up playback singing for movies full time after Billu Barber. We now know where Mohit Chauhan is a complete natural and he delivers again in "Yeh Dooriyan". All the songs are well shot and the lead pair has worked hard on their dance moves.

The first half is thoroughly breezy while there is some emotional melodrama in the second to make the package complete. I would recommend to go for this one and enjoy the fare on offer! Imtiaz Ali knows how to deliver hits that the young can identify with. I thank him for that!