This was written for a contest in our internal blogging site. The total number of words is not supposed to go beyond 55 words, and must convey a story.So here goes..
----------------------------
She was asking me to join her. She was so very near, but I couldn’t reach her. It seemed like she would go farther away, if I passed this opportunity. The distance would be too great.
“Come. We’ll be together again” She said, smiling as ever.
--
The wails began. Father was a great man.
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Monday, June 7, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
One unforgettable evening!
Innocence is one thing you can never ignore. It is like that wild flower in a desert. You see it, and a smile flashes across your face! :D
So it was one lovely evening when I went up to the Pantaloons to get a shirt for my dad. (I know, I know, I know as much about shirts as Thala Vijay does about acting.. just read on.. plz) I had my brother along with me, who helped me find the right shirt. Whenever he felt like throwing up, I knew the shirt in my hands was a disaster. So well, after quite a bit of almost-throwing-up-stashing-the-disater-away, my bro took up the job on himself, while I,... err.. like any other species of my kind went up to the ladies department. While I was there I spotted this bright kid. (Pssst..Now I'll let u on a secret of mine. I can do that Kathakali thing with my eyebrows, where they just keep dancing their eyebrows up and down). Now like most involuntary reactions, as soon as I see a kid, my eyebrows start dancing right away, and I must tell you, they love it! Or so I thought!
This kid promptly turned to his father, who was waiting for his wife to come out of the trail room, and started pointing at me.Yikes! I knew I was in trouble! I quickly ducked under some clothes rack, and was pretending to be absorbed in a plain gray t-shirt, when I felt a tug. It was the same kid!
"Ello, Ow-er-u" [hello, how are you]
"Oh.. I'm fine.. how are you?"
"You go to play-shhcool a?"
Now when a cute little 3 yr old, dressed in those over-sized shorts, sneakers and shirts with all big designs asks you some buzzer round questions in a kiddo voice that went 'shhhcool', you get all tongue-tied. Well, I did. Err.. you see that last question was a real bumper!!
"Err.. no-"
"I go to one. Ajay can jump like this only thee tiimes. I jump fiiiive times. And my shhhcool is there only..."
So on.. and on.. for another 15 mins it was like a new language that I learnt from him. Since I'm quite a fast learner, I was somehow able to reply back. Sample this.
"you terra kitnera?"
"ya..terri ponsalaa"
Well, he was satisfied with that answer. Right then, I got a call from my bro, asking me to get going as he had found a good shirt at last. Sadly when I turned to my new friend to bid goodbye, he went "You going? ok Shee you" with a resounding kick aimed right at my ahem-ahem.
His father's "No fighting or beating" apparently didn't include kicking. Owww!
We were at the billing counter though, when we discovered that that shirt was apparently a defective piece, and my bro has to resume his 'search-for-the-right-shirt'. But there was somebody right there to give me company.
"Hey.. nee polaya? Inge vaa" (Hey.. you didn't go yet? Come here]
(Apparently he had included me into his friends list, since we started conversing in Tamil and English there on. :hude-grin-plastered-on-my-face-now:)
We played hide and seek, among the clothes racks, looked at each mannequin there in detail, as to what each was wearing, and why there were no shoes on. There was another insight too from my little friend, as to how tall those mannequins really were! Brilliant I tell ya, my buddy was going places. Well, but by this time, since all the store-assistants had become his thick friends, anywhere I hid, the little sonny found me out in no time, with this HUGE grin that just lit up my day.
But you know what? Even these little fellas fall for a girl. Guess what happened? At the billing section this guy met a new kid (girl), and forgot all about our hide-and-seek. He was so overjoyed. He introduced her to me, and showed her all those mannequins we had so sincerely studied. But well, he tried this big fighter hug thing, and ended up falling over her and hitting their heads. Well, being the superman my little buddy was, he moved on like the Rajdhani and we were back to our little games.
After a while, his parents found us, informing that it was time to leave. My buddy, was perched up at the billing counter, lest he ran off somewhere. We kept signaling to each other, since I was standing just 2 places behind them.
"Bye bye"
"Bye bye"
"Shee you"
"See you"
"Shvuit deems"
Eh?
Oh
"Sweet dreams :D"
And then the best part.. he blew me a flying kiss!!! :D :D. (I so resembled my profile pic then. :P :P)
That little kid's innonence had spread its warmth all over. It was the best evening I had in a long time, and I'll never forget that little bugger! :)
So it was one lovely evening when I went up to the Pantaloons to get a shirt for my dad. (I know, I know, I know as much about shirts as Thala Vijay does about acting.. just read on.. plz) I had my brother along with me, who helped me find the right shirt. Whenever he felt like throwing up, I knew the shirt in my hands was a disaster. So well, after quite a bit of almost-throwing-up-stashing-the-disater-away, my bro took up the job on himself, while I,... err.. like any other species of my kind went up to the ladies department. While I was there I spotted this bright kid. (Pssst..Now I'll let u on a secret of mine. I can do that Kathakali thing with my eyebrows, where they just keep dancing their eyebrows up and down). Now like most involuntary reactions, as soon as I see a kid, my eyebrows start dancing right away, and I must tell you, they love it! Or so I thought!
This kid promptly turned to his father, who was waiting for his wife to come out of the trail room, and started pointing at me.Yikes! I knew I was in trouble! I quickly ducked under some clothes rack, and was pretending to be absorbed in a plain gray t-shirt, when I felt a tug. It was the same kid!
"Ello, Ow-er-u" [hello, how are you]
"Oh.. I'm fine.. how are you?"
"You go to play-shhcool a?"
Now when a cute little 3 yr old, dressed in those over-sized shorts, sneakers and shirts with all big designs asks you some buzzer round questions in a kiddo voice that went 'shhhcool', you get all tongue-tied. Well, I did. Err.. you see that last question was a real bumper!!
"Err.. no-"
"I go to one. Ajay can jump like this only thee tiimes. I jump fiiiive times. And my shhhcool is there only..."
So on.. and on.. for another 15 mins it was like a new language that I learnt from him. Since I'm quite a fast learner, I was somehow able to reply back. Sample this.
"you terra kitnera?"
"ya..terri ponsalaa"
Well, he was satisfied with that answer. Right then, I got a call from my bro, asking me to get going as he had found a good shirt at last. Sadly when I turned to my new friend to bid goodbye, he went "You going? ok Shee you" with a resounding kick aimed right at my ahem-ahem.
His father's "No fighting or beating" apparently didn't include kicking. Owww!
We were at the billing counter though, when we discovered that that shirt was apparently a defective piece, and my bro has to resume his 'search-for-the-right-shirt'. But there was somebody right there to give me company.
"Hey.. nee polaya? Inge vaa" (Hey.. you didn't go yet? Come here]
(Apparently he had included me into his friends list, since we started conversing in Tamil and English there on. :hude-grin-plastered-on-my-face-now:)
We played hide and seek, among the clothes racks, looked at each mannequin there in detail, as to what each was wearing, and why there were no shoes on. There was another insight too from my little friend, as to how tall those mannequins really were! Brilliant I tell ya, my buddy was going places. Well, but by this time, since all the store-assistants had become his thick friends, anywhere I hid, the little sonny found me out in no time, with this HUGE grin that just lit up my day.
But you know what? Even these little fellas fall for a girl. Guess what happened? At the billing section this guy met a new kid (girl), and forgot all about our hide-and-seek. He was so overjoyed. He introduced her to me, and showed her all those mannequins we had so sincerely studied. But well, he tried this big fighter hug thing, and ended up falling over her and hitting their heads. Well, being the superman my little buddy was, he moved on like the Rajdhani and we were back to our little games.
After a while, his parents found us, informing that it was time to leave. My buddy, was perched up at the billing counter, lest he ran off somewhere. We kept signaling to each other, since I was standing just 2 places behind them.
"Bye bye"
"Bye bye"
"Shee you"
"See you"
"Shvuit deems"
Eh?
Oh
"Sweet dreams :D"
And then the best part.. he blew me a flying kiss!!! :D :D. (I so resembled my profile pic then. :P :P)
That little kid's innonence had spread its warmth all over. It was the best evening I had in a long time, and I'll never forget that little bugger! :)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Of Men that laugh and children who cry!
It was a tranquil night. The moon was silently whispering to the barren lands that swished pass by. A lone tree or few bushes,looked on serenely now and then. It was around 10.00 and I was on my way home. Almost all had retired to their berths and when the last light was put out, I had decided to take in the beauty of the countryside in the moonlight, sitting in the dark train. But then, there was this family, to the right of my compartment, with two small kids who found the idea of traveling in a train, a little discomforting. This hunch of mine was confirmed by the kid suffering from wailisirenotopia.( This is a syndrome when the afflicted keeps wailing like a siren every 4 mins and 53 secs.) This one was unique though, coz the wailing was in a different tune each time. And then, there were this group of men to the left of my compartment, who definitely were trying to prove Darwin right, in that we evolved from monkeys. From the time they had boarded the train, they were behaving like a bunch of excited teens out on a trip for the first time. Every 10 mins, it was like a bunch of Narakasuras from Om Namah Shivai had descended on the train, booming at the hapless devi who had fallen victim to them. It was like 10 gorillas roaring in pain (well, it really couldn't be counted in as laughter, you know, so I didn't want the good old hyenas somersaulting in their graves, if I used them as metaphors here)
Now this was not bothering me much, coz staying awake was my idea. I had to get down in an hour or so, and did not want to snore all the way to Trichy, missing my station. Now by around 10.15 or so, this kid with the wailisirenotopia had got into this pretty drab tune, which was certainly not music to the ears. But of course (no sarcasm here) everyone understands how difficult it is to manage kids, and so all patiently waited for the kids to go back to sleep. That was when one of the men from the gorilla gang, wearing his 10-yr old son's shorts, crossed my compartment to the next and kind of gave a look , that was surely meant to be a warning to the parents.
How insensitive could people get! At 10.30, those people never had the sense to pipe down a bit, but the man in shorts had the gall to remind others to quieten down, a kid at that! Appalled, I went back to the barren lands, wondering about the manufacturing defect that Lord Brahma had made while dishing out this particular specimen.
After about 15 mins, the kid had gone to sleep and the whole train was softly sighing in sleep when these men - on a apparently rib-tickling one, went into this ritual of slapping thighs and making sounds that was like 5 old Bajaj scooters + 8 gorillas + 7 Narakkasuras and 11 buffalos on a high!!! The compartment almost jerked, when some 60 (remember a sleeper has 72 berths and a good 8 were occupied by these ppl, one by me, and 3 were unoccupied yet - I'm good at my math, you see :P )people were jostled from their sleep. The ones sleeping in the middle and lower berths banged their heads on the top of their berths, when they were woken up with a start! And our child with the wailisirenotopia, poor thing, also seemed to find a new tune to kick off now!! :(
Now, I decided something had to be done. But what? Hmm... yeah.. there was one thing. But, I had my own doubts. What if they went into another of these thigh-slapping, and guffawing rituals, if I did that?? I couldn't even imagine me being the cause for another of those!!! :O
But well, given that I take approximately some 53.9 seconds to make up my mind, before these thoughts could even play out in my mind, I was already on the way to their cabin. (Remember it was dark everywhere except in their cabin)I went and stood at the entrance of their cabin, and gave them all a bewildered look. I looked at each of those specimens for a good length of time,especially the one in his 10-yr old's shorts, all the time not letting go of the blank expression. There was silence. The guffawing gorillas now closely resembled dumb buffalos basking in the sun, open mouthed. I returned back to my seat, with such of sense of satisfaction, I had never felt before. That had done the trick. Within seconds, the lights went out, and the train went back to it's sleeping mode. I had not actually expected such a quick response, so to say, I was actually scared, if they would start off on another laughing spree, seeing my dumb look. Phew! :D :D Luckily the child also seemed to get tired of wailing, and had quietened down.
The tranquility returned and I went back to the moonlight barren lands, and in all that silence, barely missed snoring all the way to Trichy!
Note: I know the title is grammatically wrong. But it is intentional, which I hope you understand better after reading this post. :)
Now this was not bothering me much, coz staying awake was my idea. I had to get down in an hour or so, and did not want to snore all the way to Trichy, missing my station. Now by around 10.15 or so, this kid with the wailisirenotopia had got into this pretty drab tune, which was certainly not music to the ears. But of course (no sarcasm here) everyone understands how difficult it is to manage kids, and so all patiently waited for the kids to go back to sleep. That was when one of the men from the gorilla gang, wearing his 10-yr old son's shorts, crossed my compartment to the next and kind of gave a look , that was surely meant to be a warning to the parents.
How insensitive could people get! At 10.30, those people never had the sense to pipe down a bit, but the man in shorts had the gall to remind others to quieten down, a kid at that! Appalled, I went back to the barren lands, wondering about the manufacturing defect that Lord Brahma had made while dishing out this particular specimen.
After about 15 mins, the kid had gone to sleep and the whole train was softly sighing in sleep when these men - on a apparently rib-tickling one, went into this ritual of slapping thighs and making sounds that was like 5 old Bajaj scooters + 8 gorillas + 7 Narakkasuras and 11 buffalos on a high!!! The compartment almost jerked, when some 60 (remember a sleeper has 72 berths and a good 8 were occupied by these ppl, one by me, and 3 were unoccupied yet - I'm good at my math, you see :P )people were jostled from their sleep. The ones sleeping in the middle and lower berths banged their heads on the top of their berths, when they were woken up with a start! And our child with the wailisirenotopia, poor thing, also seemed to find a new tune to kick off now!! :(
Now, I decided something had to be done. But what? Hmm... yeah.. there was one thing. But, I had my own doubts. What if they went into another of these thigh-slapping, and guffawing rituals, if I did that??
But well, given that I take approximately some 53.9 seconds to make up my mind, before these thoughts could even play out in my mind, I was already on the way to their cabin. (Remember it was dark everywhere except in their cabin)I went and stood at the entrance of their cabin, and gave them all a bewildered look. I looked at each of those specimens for a good length of time,especially the one in his 10-yr old's shorts, all the time not letting go of the blank expression. There was silence. The guffawing gorillas now closely resembled dumb buffalos basking in the sun, open mouthed. I returned back to my seat, with such of sense of satisfaction, I had never felt before. That had done the trick. Within seconds, the lights went out, and the train went back to it's sleeping mode. I had not actually expected such a quick response, so to say, I was actually scared, if they would start off on another laughing spree, seeing my dumb look. Phew! :D :D Luckily the child also seemed to get tired of wailing, and had quietened down.
The tranquility returned and I went back to the moonlight barren lands, and in all that silence, barely missed snoring all the way to Trichy!
Note: I know the title is grammatically wrong. But it is intentional, which I hope you understand better after reading this post. :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Cockroachish day!
To hell with micro-blogging! Right when you need it, the site won’t work!
Sigh! Well, if your day starts by trampling a poor cockroach mercilessly, you know it is not going to be your day. The sin will follow you wherever you go! And it did!
It started with this. My brother leaves early in the day, and when I wake up, it is only these cockroaches or ants that give me company. (No, no, don’t even think that this is coz I keep the house dirty, ours in on the ground floor, and so, even Hit and Baygon have become ineffective to their innovative ways of finding a place into the house). After hearing a sound like ‘htttt’, I half-yawning moved my foot aside to see that it was the exoskeleton of a cockroach that I had very effectively broken, and therefore killed. After paying my last respects to the poor creature by throwing it away for good, I proceeded to the wash basin to brush my teeth, when another sound caught my attention. This time it seemed to come from the kitchen where the water can is usually kept. Though my eye sight is poor, I could figure out that the water in the can has been disturbed and the can itself was swinging this way and that, as if it has been something had pushed it. I wore my specs to investigate the incident. Ok, I’m no Madam Marple or Nancy Drew, but I can surely figure out any rat’s or cat’s tail, if it had been hiding somewhere after mischievously playing with the water can. But nope, nothing there!
Some thoughts about the recent Paranormal activity, and other horror movies did come to my mind, but then, when I thought of my steely teeth, confidence did a hulu dance and proceeded to encourage me. After about one hour I reached the bus-stand to find no M1s in sight. That was the only bus that ensured a no-sandwich-or-burger smashing, squeezing journey till Velechery. The hulu dance being forgotten, I couldn’t even think of the word confidence then. Mustering all the courage I could at that time, I stepped foot onto the M70 that was in sight. Oops… then I saw it was another lady’s foot that I had stepped on, and quickly apologized to stop the steady flow of expletives that were raining from her red-stained mouth. So much for my confidence’s hulu dance! Sigh!
Like they say, there is light at the end of a tunnel, a seat in the crowded bus emptied up for me, and I taking it as an opportunity to breathe, happily lunged into it. The day did seem to be getting better. I guess in so much I had somehow washed myself off the sin of killing a poor bubbly flying cockroach. So smiling to myself, I was about to forget all worries, when this stupid man caught my eye. After about 10 mins, it was evident he was surely not smirking to himself and the obscene gestures were directed at me. In this world, there is nothing as irritating and annoying as something that is done to you indirectly. You can’t even fight back or shout or react in any possible way, lest you be called an idiot for imagining things. For that stupid smirk of his, I felt like baring my steel reinforced teeth at him, which I was sure, would make him the twin brother of the scarecrow that you see in the Thanjavur rice fields. But my dignity and the care for my fellow-travellers made me change my mind. Also my stop was near. I had by then decided to take my silent revenge on Mr.Smirking-Beauty by stamping his feet when I was getting down. Imagine my chagrin when he grinned at me, and got down on the stop that was just before the one where I get down. I felt like chasing him right then, and trampling his feet like I had done the poor cockroach! Ahh… now I knew why my day had begun on such a great note!
So sighing I entered my office to find the same boring tasks staring out of my mailbox like some demented dragons keen on making me lose my already half-insane mind. End of day was nearing, after a wearisome boring day. Only the onsite call was remaining which we had calculated to last exactly 18 mins and 23 secs. But damn all sanity, we had to hear a whole lecture on an already known issue for a whole hour with bits if Telugu in between! Mr. Cockroach was flying around my head in circles reminding me of the sin I had committed early morning! So much for ghosts! :|
If my day could’ve ended better the internal site where I had to upload some documents refused to oblige, making me raise tickets, only to suddenly start working so promptly that the documents got uploaded twice. How nice! And then there was this traffic that snailed all the way home, creating an opportunity for me to scare the driver with my loud yawns. (He was lucky I don’t snore!)
And so after a whole tiring day when I have to eat dinner cooked by myself (What worse misery can strike you! :’( ), I tried to tweet something, only to find the site not-responding at all. Now you know the reason for this mindless rant. Well, I can only hope that I paid for all my sins!
Hmm..now where did I leave my mobile phone.. (Author scratching her head, looking for some bulb to glow, and show her the quickest path to her mobile phone). OMG! How did a cockroach’s leg find its way to my head!!!! :|
Sigh! Well, if your day starts by trampling a poor cockroach mercilessly, you know it is not going to be your day. The sin will follow you wherever you go! And it did!
It started with this. My brother leaves early in the day, and when I wake up, it is only these cockroaches or ants that give me company. (No, no, don’t even think that this is coz I keep the house dirty, ours in on the ground floor, and so, even Hit and Baygon have become ineffective to their innovative ways of finding a place into the house). After hearing a sound like ‘htttt’, I half-yawning moved my foot aside to see that it was the exoskeleton of a cockroach that I had very effectively broken, and therefore killed. After paying my last respects to the poor creature by throwing it away for good, I proceeded to the wash basin to brush my teeth, when another sound caught my attention. This time it seemed to come from the kitchen where the water can is usually kept. Though my eye sight is poor, I could figure out that the water in the can has been disturbed and the can itself was swinging this way and that, as if it has been something had pushed it. I wore my specs to investigate the incident. Ok, I’m no Madam Marple or Nancy Drew, but I can surely figure out any rat’s or cat’s tail, if it had been hiding somewhere after mischievously playing with the water can. But nope, nothing there!
Some thoughts about the recent Paranormal activity, and other horror movies did come to my mind, but then, when I thought of my steely teeth, confidence did a hulu dance and proceeded to encourage me. After about one hour I reached the bus-stand to find no M1s in sight. That was the only bus that ensured a no-sandwich-or-burger smashing, squeezing journey till Velechery. The hulu dance being forgotten, I couldn’t even think of the word confidence then. Mustering all the courage I could at that time, I stepped foot onto the M70 that was in sight. Oops… then I saw it was another lady’s foot that I had stepped on, and quickly apologized to stop the steady flow of expletives that were raining from her red-stained mouth. So much for my confidence’s hulu dance! Sigh!
Like they say, there is light at the end of a tunnel, a seat in the crowded bus emptied up for me, and I taking it as an opportunity to breathe, happily lunged into it. The day did seem to be getting better. I guess in so much I had somehow washed myself off the sin of killing a poor bubbly flying cockroach. So smiling to myself, I was about to forget all worries, when this stupid man caught my eye. After about 10 mins, it was evident he was surely not smirking to himself and the obscene gestures were directed at me. In this world, there is nothing as irritating and annoying as something that is done to you indirectly. You can’t even fight back or shout or react in any possible way, lest you be called an idiot for imagining things. For that stupid smirk of his, I felt like baring my steel reinforced teeth at him, which I was sure, would make him the twin brother of the scarecrow that you see in the Thanjavur rice fields. But my dignity and the care for my fellow-travellers made me change my mind. Also my stop was near. I had by then decided to take my silent revenge on Mr.Smirking-Beauty by stamping his feet when I was getting down. Imagine my chagrin when he grinned at me, and got down on the stop that was just before the one where I get down. I felt like chasing him right then, and trampling his feet like I had done the poor cockroach! Ahh… now I knew why my day had begun on such a great note!
So sighing I entered my office to find the same boring tasks staring out of my mailbox like some demented dragons keen on making me lose my already half-insane mind. End of day was nearing, after a wearisome boring day. Only the onsite call was remaining which we had calculated to last exactly 18 mins and 23 secs. But damn all sanity, we had to hear a whole lecture on an already known issue for a whole hour with bits if Telugu in between! Mr. Cockroach was flying around my head in circles reminding me of the sin I had committed early morning! So much for ghosts! :|
If my day could’ve ended better the internal site where I had to upload some documents refused to oblige, making me raise tickets, only to suddenly start working so promptly that the documents got uploaded twice. How nice! And then there was this traffic that snailed all the way home, creating an opportunity for me to scare the driver with my loud yawns. (He was lucky I don’t snore!)
And so after a whole tiring day when I have to eat dinner cooked by myself (What worse misery can strike you! :’( ), I tried to tweet something, only to find the site not-responding at all. Now you know the reason for this mindless rant. Well, I can only hope that I paid for all my sins!
Hmm..now where did I leave my mobile phone.. (Author scratching her head, looking for some bulb to glow, and show her the quickest path to her mobile phone). OMG! How did a cockroach’s leg find its way to my head!!!! :|
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Avatar - Some thoughts!
Avatar is no new release, I know. But well, I got the tickets to watch that very recently and so here are some of my views on it. This might be a very very late review (if you can call it so), but I felt like writing about it.. so here goes. :)
Just when you thought that the greatest movies were those with the most complicated scripts, or story lines with layers and layers behind each frame, here is one to trash all that!
You go in there expecting grandeur, but what hits you is simplicity! It is not a wonderfully fresh story line, or refreshingly brilliant characters, it is the sincere and simple narrative. Everything is simply put there, point blank for all. But very few always get it, so instead of the usual narrative; James Cameron uses 3D, to make you feel one with an imaginary world, in parallel with the one we are already living in. He uses a new species The Na’vis. And unfolds a brand new Avatar of cinema!
All this while, we expected twists and turns, something spectacular that made those bucks you spend in the cinema hall worthwhile. In Avatar, except for the new technology that has been used to make the film, for a layman it is as lucid as it is for a 4-yr old. Good vs Bad, where the Good ultimately wins.
Here we also get to see how things work when there are a bunch of individuals who work for themselves, for their own motives. How their interests take precedence over everything, over lives, over peace, over The Right!! There is an irony that is brought out, when the tiny humans try to overcome the giant Na’vis, using the machines and technology that is far too superior and powerful for the native people of Pandora. How arrogance and greed overcome us humans, how we get blinded for our s
selfish motives!
But as in any film, there are a few things that linger unexplained. Why this perfection in everything in the Pandora? Pandora.. the name itself seems ironical. The people, if they were meant to be of another world, are more like us. The same two eyes, one nose and one mouth. I forgot the two ears! :P
Why is the stretch of imagination never going beyond that part of it? I’ve been waiting to watch a movie that depicts aliens in a different way, but somehow, they always get to what we have already seen or experienced. Speaking in the physical terms, of course.
Coming back, really, why the perfection? The Navis have perfect bodies, the old, the children everyone! Living in harmony with nature makes you perfect!? Is that what James Cameron wants us to believe? Even in the tribes there are fat people. But nope not here! Now that was one thing that made me wonder, what message this is actually sending out. But there is good, bad and ugly in Pandora. The dog-kind-of hunters that almost hunt Jake Sully, predators, herbivores that are almost equivalent to goats, monkey-like creatures. But there were exceptions. The lizard like creature that flies with its own wings that spread out like a spiral fan, the spiral plants that withdraw into themselves when they are threatened. The luminescent forest itself. It has taken many a creative mind to come up with all these things!!!
There is a never-say-die villain here. He is the right match for our ‘It is not over until it is over’ hero of course. But is it right to call him the Hero? Doesn’t Neytiri actually save him twice? Isn’t she the one who has the real guts to go against her own people for an outsider?
There is a deviation though. The money-guy who never understands any other language other than money, is for a change right on the site of action. He is along with the people who are working for him. Quite odd! Coz usually u find these guys teeing off with a Bluetooth on. Maybe that is the reason, Bluetooth doesn’t work across planets.(I know that was a really bad one.. sorry couldn’t help :P)
The indigenous communication devices, technology that brings images in thin air, (though falls short of providing an automatic wheelchair for Jake Sully) could make you scratch your head. But again you are diverted from these by the magnificence of the world. The hanging mountains is one such. Every frame in the movie is significant, and you’ll know that each creature has a role to play in the end by the time you are 15 minutes into the movie. They surely can’t waste their time sketching and creating such creatures just for a 1 minute scene! And sure enough you get to see all of them in the end doing justice to their part, pulling at your heartstrings right when you could let your mind wander about.
Good against evil. Acceptance vs alienation. Man vs woman. Nature vs humans. Navi’s vs humans. In the end you learn love triumphs. Love for everything around you. Even the smallest dandelion seed (fluffy things in the air, whatever they actually are), even the tiniest blade of grass, loves you. If you love it back, you win! Seems absurd doesn’t it? :) Well, that is the toughest thing James Cameron tries to convey. Very few take it back along with them though. The message could get overshadowed by the expectation for special effects and 3D, cinema like never before experience.
Just when you thought that the greatest movies were those with the most complicated scripts, or story lines with layers and layers behind each frame, here is one to trash all that!
You go in there expecting grandeur, but what hits you is simplicity! It is not a wonderfully fresh story line, or refreshingly brilliant characters, it is the sincere and simple narrative. Everything is simply put there, point blank for all. But very few always get it, so instead of the usual narrative; James Cameron uses 3D, to make you feel one with an imaginary world, in parallel with the one we are already living in. He uses a new species The Na’vis. And unfolds a brand new Avatar of cinema!
All this while, we expected twists and turns, something spectacular that made those bucks you spend in the cinema hall worthwhile. In Avatar, except for the new technology that has been used to make the film, for a layman it is as lucid as it is for a 4-yr old. Good vs Bad, where the Good ultimately wins.
Here we also get to see how things work when there are a bunch of individuals who work for themselves, for their own motives. How their interests take precedence over everything, over lives, over peace, over The Right!! There is an irony that is brought out, when the tiny humans try to overcome the giant Na’vis, using the machines and technology that is far too superior and powerful for the native people of Pandora. How arrogance and greed overcome us humans, how we get blinded for our s
selfish motives!
But as in any film, there are a few things that linger unexplained. Why this perfection in everything in the Pandora? Pandora.. the name itself seems ironical. The people, if they were meant to be of another world, are more like us. The same two eyes, one nose and one mouth. I forgot the two ears! :P
Why is the stretch of imagination never going beyond that part of it? I’ve been waiting to watch a movie that depicts aliens in a different way, but somehow, they always get to what we have already seen or experienced. Speaking in the physical terms, of course.
Coming back, really, why the perfection? The Navis have perfect bodies, the old, the children everyone! Living in harmony with nature makes you perfect!? Is that what James Cameron wants us to believe? Even in the tribes there are fat people. But nope not here! Now that was one thing that made me wonder, what message this is actually sending out. But there is good, bad and ugly in Pandora. The dog-kind-of hunters that almost hunt Jake Sully, predators, herbivores that are almost equivalent to goats, monkey-like creatures. But there were exceptions. The lizard like creature that flies with its own wings that spread out like a spiral fan, the spiral plants that withdraw into themselves when they are threatened. The luminescent forest itself. It has taken many a creative mind to come up with all these things!!!
There is a never-say-die villain here. He is the right match for our ‘It is not over until it is over’ hero of course. But is it right to call him the Hero? Doesn’t Neytiri actually save him twice? Isn’t she the one who has the real guts to go against her own people for an outsider?
There is a deviation though. The money-guy who never understands any other language other than money, is for a change right on the site of action. He is along with the people who are working for him. Quite odd! Coz usually u find these guys teeing off with a Bluetooth on. Maybe that is the reason, Bluetooth doesn’t work across planets.(I know that was a really bad one.. sorry couldn’t help :P)
The indigenous communication devices, technology that brings images in thin air, (though falls short of providing an automatic wheelchair for Jake Sully) could make you scratch your head. But again you are diverted from these by the magnificence of the world. The hanging mountains is one such. Every frame in the movie is significant, and you’ll know that each creature has a role to play in the end by the time you are 15 minutes into the movie. They surely can’t waste their time sketching and creating such creatures just for a 1 minute scene! And sure enough you get to see all of them in the end doing justice to their part, pulling at your heartstrings right when you could let your mind wander about.
Good against evil. Acceptance vs alienation. Man vs woman. Nature vs humans. Navi’s vs humans. In the end you learn love triumphs. Love for everything around you. Even the smallest dandelion seed (fluffy things in the air, whatever they actually are), even the tiniest blade of grass, loves you. If you love it back, you win! Seems absurd doesn’t it? :) Well, that is the toughest thing James Cameron tries to convey. Very few take it back along with them though. The message could get overshadowed by the expectation for special effects and 3D, cinema like never before experience.
Monday, September 21, 2009
I'm an actor! (Short story)
Sometimes life is strange! I just can't understand it. You feel you'll never make it anywhere, and suddenly you get an opportunity to make it big. Right there, out of nowhere that faint ray of hope enlarges into a big tunnel to your ambitions. And then when you have travelled a long way, with a lot of hope and happiness, you find out that the tunnel actually ends in a cliff! A very deep cliff! That is where I'm right now! At the edge, on the verge of falling into this abyss! All my hard work and effort are going to go down the drain. Aaaaargh! I can't believe it! How can this happen to me! And why should it happen to me at all?
In the beginning I wasn't making it. I knew that. I was nowhere in this wide ocean, and was swimming against the tide. I was a mere drop in the vast ocean. But you have to agree, I worked on it. I worked like hell on everything, right from my face, to my body language, accent, on every damn part of me, till I got it right! Till I could be called a decent actor! And I did make it big, didn't I! Weren't there papers that called me the next face of cinema?!
But now.. now that my fourth movie didn't make money, they want to blame it on me? What about the faulty script? The drab screenplay? Who the hell is that critic to blame it on me? What the hell does he know about acting, anyway??Does he know the grueling practice sessions, the acting school hardships? All he knows is to watch movies for free, happily sitting in a special couch and write the crap that he is asked to, depending on the amount he is paid by you-know-who! Critic he calls himself! Bah!
Acting! Acting is an art! I know.. I know it is the most clichéd line, but you have to accept it, that it is a fact! Acting Is an Art! Period!!
It is not just wearing the grease paint and going there and enacting the part given to you. You have to understand the soul of the character. You have to get under the skin of the character. Understand the layers of role. The emotions, the reactions.. everything. You have to keep digging into it, until.. until you just become the character! Yes! That is it! You just start living the role! If he laughs, you feel happy, if he is sad, you cry! If he has OCD, you wash your hands 5 times. If he gets hurt, it pains you. Yes, it is no longer him. He is you! An actor lives so many lives in his lifetime, people don't understand. It is difficult for others to understand. You stand on the stage with the limelight on you, hundreds of faces turned towards you, looking at each move, and then you understand what it is to be an actor!
What do people know?
And now.. now it pains. It is like some acid that is trickling down my throat. I can feel it burning every cell that it comes in contact with. My whole body is aching. It is like some poison running through my veins. I can feel its course over my body. Slowly it is spreading all over. Slowly.. very slowly. My eyes.. they are getting hazy. Eyelids are heavy.... My whole body is on fire. I cannot.. cannot take it anymore..
******
"Hey! Where is Vaibhav?"
"That weirdo? He said he was going to do a final rehearsal. Look in that room, he must be mumbling to himself.. it was a monologue."
"Ah.. there he is! Some rehearsal lying on the floor! Idiot!"
Monday, September 14, 2009
Paradise!
Green.. green.. green.. That is the only colour that i'm seeing everywhere right now. How ever did God make this place sooooooo green? Uh.. I'm being so abrupt .. I'm talking about God's own country here! Reached here on Saturday and I'm in awe right from the moment I stepped out of the train. Whoa!
Pure air. When I breathe, I feel as though I'm breathing for the first time in my life! It is so refreshing. All around the place is so flush with greenery, I can hardly see brown earth under it. And RAINS! It is like God is watering his plants. It just leaves the whole place so clean, pure, and again greener. To think that I was born in such a paradise and I'm having to stay in a concrete jungle faaar away from here, really disheartens me! :(
Everytime we were driving somewhere I felt I was going into some paradise. There were canals after every 200ms. And the water seemed to flow like some melody, softly gushing below the bridges, whispering to the nature, the secret of their beauty! It was magic! :D
There was a peace about the whole place that beheld me.There was the usual pace, but it didn't seem like anyone was as preoccupied and in a hurry. I could just go to the next room and experience solitude like I've never felt before. It was bliss.
Sigh! I want to go there again now.
Everytime we were driving somewhere I felt I was going into some paradise. There were canals after every 200ms. And the water seemed to flow like some melody, softly gushing below the bridges, whispering to the nature, the secret of their beauty! It was magic! :D
There was a peace about the whole place that beheld me.There was the usual pace, but it didn't seem like anyone was as preoccupied and in a hurry. I could just go to the next room and experience solitude like I've never felt before. It was bliss.
Sigh! I want to go there again now.
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