A very Interesting mash up of the omnipresent Rolling in the Deep with o re Piya

Pumped up Kicks by Foster the People

Amazing band to look out for, great track, great voices, and lyrics that will get you thinking!!!

Delhi 6

When it comes to movies, I somehow standout from the crowd. Many movies which have been panned critically and/or popularly, somehow have ended up appealing to my senses. Saawariya, and Raavan being the most glaring examples. Another one, which I just saw again today, lazing on the couch in the afternoon on account of Eid holiday, is Delhi 6. I saw this movie when I was in Pondicherry, and the only reason was the name. I used to be so Delhi-sick during those two years that anything even remotely related to Delhi was more than enough to lure me towards it. And needless to say, I fell in love with it. I always held this grudge against Bollywood for never paying a fitting homage to Delhi, while Mumbai has had plenty, especially in the form of this timeless ode from CID. However, Delhi 6 paid enough compliments to the city to fill that void a bit. Now those who like to keep up to date with worthless piece of trivia about movies would instantly point out that huge portions of the movie were shot in Jaipur, and not actual Delhi. But then, some bits were shot in Delhi, and overall, the spirit of the city was represented in all its glory and disgrace.Okay, I won't let this post too turn into an ode to Delhi.

So as I saw Delhi 6, it just struck me as a wonderful exercise in introspection. The movie was so well made, an old story so intelligently told in the mould of contemporary Indian society while simultaneously drawing parallels with the mother of all Indian tales, the evergreen Ramayan. And it definitely has to go down in history as one of the most beautifully shot and conceived movies, even if only for the song Dil gira dafatan.

Just see the video if you haven't and you'll see what I mean (hopefully). The juxtaposition of Delhi and New York to depict the central character's dilemma of dual belonging is masterpiece. The all too familiar green CNG autos and cycle rickshaws running in Times Square, or the Statue of Liberty looking over the Jama Masjid are visuals that will stay with you for long after the movie has ended. Even otherwise, the movie provides a wonderful glimpse of the contrast between the charm of Old Delhi, and the new city which aims to be at par with the best in world, with the pride of Delhi, the metro, being used heavily. It also shows how the middle class is coping with this transition, and trying to hold on to its roots, while embracing the new.

The entire movie relies heavily on symbolism, most of it derived from drawing parallels of the storyline with the epic Ramayan. Though there is nothing new in that, the presentation, and the intelligent use of the comparison is what makes this movie stand out. Another example is using the concept of the infamous black monkey of Delhi to expose the fragility of the human boiling pot that is Delhi, or rather India. It doesn't take much for a house of cards to collapse, just like the superfluous communal harmony of our society. One spark is all it takes, to turn you against the guy you shared bread with till yesterday. The movie deals with too many issues at once, communal tensions, the casteism running in our bloods, the values and traditions of a typical Indian family which the younger generations find tough to relate to and often a roadblock in the pursuit of their dreams, media's role in the society, corruption as a way of life, the old striving to survive in face of the onslaught of the new and a thousand other small things, without ever getting preachy. Aren't our day to day lives exactly similar? All of these things play out as part of regular life everyday. And the movie shows them just as such, without being preachy. It does drag, it gets boring in patches towards the end, which does disappoint by following the regular Bollywood mould. But overall, the movie manages to deliver a powerful message - the need to introspect, look within ourselves, as a nation, as a society, and as individuals - in an entertaining fashion, with loads of symbolism thrown in, sometimes subtle, and sometimes "in your face", like the crazy man with the mirror, urging everyone to look within.

The movie doesn't belong to any particular star, it belongs to the characters, the story, the director and his treatment. Though the entire supporting cast is efficient, Divya Dutta, in her blink and miss appearance, stands out. The music by A.R. Rahman was a major hit, and deservedly labelled as one of his best ever efforts. Anyhow, I fail to understand why this amazing movie failed to capture the imagination of Bollywood aficionados. Anyway, what the hell do I know? I am the guy who liked Raavan!!

Death of a Poet

As the pen laid dry,
the mind wandered,
grew restless and quivered,
exasperated,
struggling for freedom,
from the shackles of its own failings.
Longing for the free flow of a waterfall,
the carefree sprint of a deer,
the boundless flight of an eagle.

With quivering hands, it attempted to regain
the lost glory of the past,
like a fawn taking its first steps.
but was brought down to the ground,
by the ruthless claws of the predator,
Gasping for life,
Eyes longingly staring into space,
desperate to reach out,
for one last time.

Life is Stuck

So is the blog......

Stuck in the future.....

trying my hand at a little Ogden Nash

When it comes to watermelon seeds.........
the only Question is......
to eat.... or not to eat.......

Reclamation...... reloaded!!

This blog was supposed to be about reclamation. And after nearly three months of inactivity, I did reclaim something today. Just the stimuli I needed to get back to this outlet. Ever since I developed some sort of a social conscience (I'd say, around middle school), environmental issues were the prime tongs that poked it time and again, fiercely, strongly. It's not like I was a great crusader for Mother Earth, or lived my life only to serve the cause. I did just whatever was "convenient" for me. I participated actively in the school nature club, went on plantation drives, recycled paper (only as an assignment to make paper mache though!)and primarily used the strongest weapons at my disposal to get my passion across - the pen, and the mouth. I wrote articles, spoke in the school assembly about deforestation and everything else my inexperienced (though in hindsight, much more committed and dedicated) brain could fathom as the boundaries of the massive environmental crisis. How was I to know ,that what I envisaged the problem to be, was not even an iota of the reality back then? But I was passionate - the keyword here- and ready to do what ever it took on my part (of course, within my limits of convenience)to make a difference. And the response to those articles and speeches did make me feel that I was doing something significant. I did eventually realize the gravity of the whole situation as I grew up in its true proportions. But as you grow up, the realms of life expand beyond your control. Though my understanding of the whole issue was deeper now, the dual conflict of anger and helplessness it stoked within grew stronger, the barbs at the conscience grew sharper, the will and the passion to contribute, to make a difference became smaller. Convenience took more of a precedence, everything else, education, career, friends, became more important. My "contribution" was limited to the occasional use of the pen, plenty of heated discussions with like-minded friends, and keeping abreast of the situation.... both as a concerned citizen, and an aspiring biologist. The situation did not change much in college. Though I became more aware of the issue, my understanding of the problems acquired a deeper, scientific basis, and more importantly I was thrown in the company of a couple of individuals whose commitment, passion, and will was far greater than mine. Instead of being inspired to take more effective strides further, I was content with the heated discussions, putting up opinions and ideas, and doing whatever was convenient to me, using public transport by choice, saving water blah blah....., but in some way, I was still involved - still concerned. That tiny shred of involvement went away as soon as higher studies came into the picture. It was all a clean slate. I was a couple of steps away from pursuing my higher studies in wildlife and conservation biology, or even environmental studies. I was about to make a career out of my passion. But, conventional wisdom got the better of me, and steered away from the course (its a different story altogether that the road I chose from thereon was not anymore conventional than the one I left).

Its been roughly three years now since I faced that fork. In these three years, everything has changed. There is no more passion for what used to be THE CAUSE of my life, what I was meant to do. The barbs on the conscience became infrequent as opposed to constant, and conversations with those like minded individuals would make me wonder "whatever in the world happened?". Though this change also coincided with my stint in Pondy, I would not blame that place for it, as I very willingly did in my very first post here. But today, an iota of that concern, that passion, that anger, that will came back. And ironically enough, what brought it back was watching an episode of Save India's Coasts Campaign on NDTV set in...... of course, Pondicherry. I was aware of the campaign for some time, came across episodes while channel surfing, but never really stopped to watch until today.

This post was actually supposed to be on that issue - India's Coastlines and the neglect. NDTV has once again picked up something that needed URGENT attention, and kudos to them. But as I started writing, narcissism sunk in, and this whole post became just another sob story of my reclamation. But I will get to the actual issue in the next post, because now that a bit of that spark is back, the only tool I have at my disposal even now is the pen (or rather... the keyboard now actually). Till then, do check out the campaign if you are concerned.