Courage and Honour

Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or mistake, but you're not supposed to question adults, or your coach or your teacher, because they make the rules. Maybe they know best, but maybe they don't. It all depends on who you are, where you come from. Didn't at least one of the six hundred guys think about giving up, and joining with the other side? I mean, valley of death that's pretty salty stuff. That's why courage it's tricky. Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you're doing something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that's the real reason for you either do something or you don't. It's who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honor. And maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some, too.

--The Blind Side[2010]

NINE(2009)

Nine is cinematic treat and a romantic musical , which unfolds the story of Guido Contini, a world famous Italian film director. The movie peels the layers of his life, during his mid-life crisis, when he is unable to balance the many women of his life as well as perform professionally to deliver a hit movie, after two successive flops.

It reminded me of Guru Dutt and Sanjay Leela Bansali style of cinema with the play of lights and colours, and a song for every significant character of the plot.

To watch the trailer click here!!

Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis)

The smoking, shrugging and bravura suit wearing Maestro — is like any of us, who has reached his creative saturation and is lost..listen to what he has to sing..

"I would like to be here,
I would like To be there,
I would like to everywhere at once.
I know that's a contradiction in terms,
And it's a problem, especially when
My body's clearing forty
as my mind is nearing ten..."

His Wife (Marion Cotillard)

Soul mate personified, one who is always with him thru thick and thin, who gave up her acting career and is ready to forgive her husband of all his sins.. but then she gets to say.. "Thank you for reminding me I'm not special. You don't even see what you do to me. Even the moments I think are ours, it's just... you working to get what you want. " and sings..

"My husband makes movies.
To make them he lives a kind of dream
In which his actions aren't always
What they seem."

His Mistress (Penelope Cruz)

Lust personified after all who can say no to Penelope when she says "I would be waiting for you, with my legs wide open" and sings to him --

I was lazing around my bedroom
When an idea occured to me I thought you might be
Wondering about.
Guido...
Who's not wearing any clothes?
I'm not, my darling.

His Film Star Muse (Nicole Kidman)

Need personified, the kind to which we fall prey to , given the circumstances, which grows on you from need to a habit and then one fine day it ends as memories ... frozen yet eloquent. She sings..

In a very unusual way one time I needed you.
In a very unusual way you were my friend.
Maybe it lasted a day, maybe it lasted an hour.
But, somehow it will never end.

His Costume designer(Judi Dench)

Friendship personified, a true confidant, one who never judges him, and helps him connect the pieces of his life, she summarises his life and work when she sings:

Le cinema is in a crisis
Directors are so existentailists
The movie are not worth the entrance prices.
If no one sings a love song when he is kissed
Contini!! I want a musical!

An American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson)

Adultery personified in the form of a modern liberated woman, who is on board for any fling and one-night stands, who appreciates his cinema when she says:

I love the play of light
The way Contini puts his image through a prism
I feel my body chill
Gives me a special thrill

The whore from his youth (Stacy Ferguson)

Mischief personified in the form of adolescent whore, who he as kid would pay to explore beyond the tabooed borders of man and woman, where the mystery of a woman unfolds.. She has to say a lot when she sings, although it's yet not discovered how to make a woman happy

So you little Italian devils,
you want to know about love?
Saraghina will tell you....
If you want to make a woman happy......

And his mother (Sophia Loren).

A mother is a always a mother first and a woman later, she is the one who always make us feel we are the best, she always guides us on the right path but never forces anything ever..

Pray I´m there to guide you
and when you grow old,
how my love still will shine?

Always remember my son...
you will always be mine!
Yes! Mine!

I guess, i have talked about all the best things in the movie, so no need to catch it.

The Four Noble truths

• Life means suffering - Everyone is suffering, we indict sufferings to our self and others, and on keep on suffering to be happy.During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. It seems we tend to seek the pleasure in the pain.

ज़िन्दगी का जो सफ़र गुज़र गया,
कई कहानियाँ अपने पीछे छोड़ गया |

• The origin of suffering is attachment - Who would not agree more?? other words to describe the same would be desire, passion, ardor, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging.. Materialist attachments is relatively less deadlier than human attachments which take real guts to get over with as the space one creates in the life of the other remains vacant..sometimes forever. Let go.. Its not what we carry with us but we let go defines who we are.. very easily said.. equally difficult to follow.

जिसे भी साथ लेकर चलना चाहा,
वो चंद क़दम चल के मुह मोड़ गया |

• The cessation of suffering is attainable - This means that suffering can be overcome, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Instead what we tend to do is start living with it, calling it destiny, making the suffering part of our mundane.. ending up in misery. At times we just need to pretend to be strong. The strength provides enough wisdom to get the root of the suffering.

खवाब कुछ सजा रखे थे पलकों पर,
कोई आया और मुझे नींद से झंझोर गया |

• The path to the cessation of suffering - The path to end of suffering. This is where we need all the wisdom from religion,nature and history to show us the way.. It makes you descent into your existence... and have a look inside yourself.. and heal yourself.
  

Reason,Season or Lifetime

I categorize relationships in three types --

REASON -- These relationships come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, they will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done and now it is time to move on.

SEASON -- Some people come into your life for a season because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.!

LIFETIME -- Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Back to BIT

Almost four years after college,
we all met again.

Surprisingly, connected better than then,
with spicy lunch and non-stop chatter,
contagious laughter every now and then.

At times, we were different,
at times, we were the same.
We were people who have moved on,
none sighed over the times gone.

We made sweet memories back then
Only to cherish when we meet again.

Called it a day at CCD.
For "US" who could make it .. we rocked!!

Love Life and Dream On......

A thousand incoherent words shot through my mind, when i first thought of the title for the blog but was unable to catch any of them to make some sense... They were like rain falling on glass, yet i have managed to scribble my mind out. After which i started thinking about the content of the blog and believe me i have no clue, what is going to be penned down in the next few thousands of words. So, let me take you through a roller coaster journey of my spinning yarn.

It was raining cats and dogs, even the birds and the animals were on a run for shelter, nobody was enjoying the nature's shower anymore and there were apprehensions of a natural calamity. Monu was still, nature was already weeping his heart out. Deepali just deleted the mail in her mailbox and began the mundane mores of her life. Aniket was on his way to Mumbai and was enjoying the rain from the safety of the train while sipping his coffee.

Even the treacherously roaring waves of the sea were not ready to wipe him away , as they always returned back in awe of the misery in his eyes. Not long back, those were not his eyes, but were the eyes of a dreamer, someone who remained in a world of his own. Perhaps, not meant to realize the bitterness of life. Was this destiny or human evolution? Primitive man scared from everything apart from humans and now he scares from them the most. Anyways, Monu was a true dreamer, painting life on the canvas of his dreams, with colors of eternal love.


The blaring sound of the honking iron monster, which would rip a devil's soul was unable to defy Aniket of his belief in life. He would laugh and chat and sing while others were skeptical about confronting the destiny of the journey. Aniket has always been like this, full of life as they say. Deepali was elusive, she would tame the wildest horse on the earth, with the look of her luscious eyes. She was the love every man read of and thought of, a look of her eyes filled with the debris of thousand broken dreams would bring a down empires and kingdoms and governments ruled by men. Men who DREAM of LOVE in their LIFE to realize that life is a life-long romance.

Dear Deepali,
It's been a while now that you are playing this on/off of our relationship game.I want to be there with you out of sheer love and a sense of mutual admiration but you don't seem to have the very basic "trust" on our relationship. Take your own sweet time and decide as I am always there for you whenever you need me but its hard for me to keep holding on and on for nothing. Its time I should stop doing this as it's hurting me, supposedly i am also very human like you are.

I have decided to take a break from you. Don't bother i am very much around but might not remain available for life, as i also have my parental obligations, so hurry till stock lasts :)

Let us keep all kinds of communications as minimal as possible, although it doesn't bar you from communicating whenever you feel the need. Hope you find what you are looking for in your life and have a happy life .. All the best!! May God grant you the serenity to accept the things that you cannot change. Courage to change the things that you can and the wisdom to know the difference.

P.S :: I am available :)

GOD BLESS!!
--Aniket

The train was moving on and on.!! The destination seemed far to Aniket.. but it was a new life waiting for him at the end of the journey.. He had packed all his memories up probably to never open it again.. sent a goodbye e-mail to Deepali.. and thought it was gonna be easy for him. How could he forget that it was not easy for Monu either. Not long ago they were friends.

Dear Monu,
Memories sometimes behave in a crazy way...They leave you alone When you are in crowd and When you are alone....They stand along you like a crowd...Yesterday i was going thru the photographs of our past times and i lived every moment as they were....be it at college canteen or those dancing extravangazas....Its like whenever you share the goodness in your heart, you always end up winning hearts....because life is an echo it gives back what you have given....not just once,but reverbrates thru-out your memories.... Its like a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.

But, as you can see, they are just eloquent memories frozen in time. Your absence in my life since college has been so long that i do not feel any need of you now and for me the need is very important to continue. After college i met this other guy Aniket and i really enjoy his company. I might not be able to continue whatever we have had in the past. I hope you would understand.

Thanks!
--Deepali