For some time now, I ve been trying to write a(nother) review... as usual, couldn't find enuf time to complete it... So, tot ll get back to postin oder stuff... N the review ll follow soon(er or later ;) )...
April has always been an awessum month. Apart from the personal value it has got for me, and the fact that the first day s fulla unforgettable pranks, it has always been the "vacation month", somethin that irrefutably makes it the best! :D (Of course, May is also part of the summer vac, but wen at school, by the time May sauntered into existence, we d ve got tired of the holidays n wud greet every frnd wid an "Im so bored", n start longin for school again... ). N yes, I could also quote Shakespeare on April, but lets skip the obvious...
April is also the month of a few great birthdays (:P), starting from Sophie Germain (mathematician) to Jackie Chan and Pandit Ravi Shankar, and Prophet Mohammad, to ChandraBabu Naidu and Adolf Hitler... There is more to comment on the similarities and difrnzes between these ppl etc. However, it would only sound like the "distinguish between"s that we fill our papers wid... so lets skip that too...
The fact that i want to throw light on is the life of a particular great person whose b'day is seven days from now.
On the 7th of April, years ago, a man was born, a genius of an intransigent mind, and probably infinite talent; a highly egotistical and self absorbed man; not a loner per se, but someone absorbed in an intriguing solitude; (very typical of geniuses, eh?) a man whose eyes sparkled with intelligence and pride, but one who had time to observe the tiny details and pen some of the most beautiful romantic (I mean romanticism and not mushy poems!) literature one can ever read... On April 7, 1770, William Wordsworth, the poet who wrote some of the most beautiful English verses, and launched the Romantic Movement, was born in England. And more than 2 centuries later, he lives on in those innumerable dog-eared poetry books (and the webpages, of course!) With Nittfest round the corner, I may not find time to post somethin on him next week... N hence, with a week to go for April 7, I remember him in advance. Wat follows is a short recap of his verses, ones that i found the most memorable and beautiful...
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance...
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
.........
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more...
(Daffodils...)
The world is too much with us;
(The world is too much with us)
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
(Ode on intimations of immortality)
And of course, the truly immortal ones.....
My voice proclaims
How exquisitely the individual Mind
(And the progressive powers perhaps no less
Of the whole species) to the external World
Is fitted:--and how exquisitely, too,
Theme this but little heard of among Men,
The external World is fitted to the Mind . . .
(Prospectus to the Recluse)
(P.S:- I found a very interesting discussion on wordsworth at the foll link... chk it out!!! -
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article2779499.ece)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Solitude...
This room is filled with darkness,
and so is my racing heart-Not so void, yet empty!
The silence swallows the heavy air,
I wait, and wait, but no answer from you!
I wait for the sound of a voice,
not sweet but soothing;
My pen seems to reply to the rustle of leaves
and the silence whispers long lost secrets
in a sadly unintelligible language!
Now, I can hear the stars twinkle and the flowers bloom-
I only thank you for leaving me alone
To savour the eloquence of this silent solitude!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Étoiles de la Terre
The world is a place filled with people of different kinds. We meet so many of em, and each of em, gives us a different feeling. Of course, there are our frnz n family, who ll b wid us etc. But der re also some people we meet, only once in our life, but the memory lingers on forever....
I happened to meet one such person last week... Monday, the 31st of december, to be exact... He is an awessome guy... a little different tho, but as i d ve it, verrrry special... So let me introduce him to u.... the great Mr.Ishaan Awasthi!!!!
Very sweet lad... His toothy smiles, n pranks n pangs n tears steal our hearts at once... But I shud say, its not jus him.. The credit shud also go to his awessum teacher who brought him to the limelight...
For those of u, who cant make much sense outta wat im talkin, Ishaan Avasti is the dyslexic hero of TZP...
(Note: If u haven't seen the movie or read the plot, much of dis post mayb puzzlin. so for better results, c d movie.. :D )
"Taare Zameen Par" shout the posters... automatically generating in our minds, the thought... "Aamir khan.. Another movie for children..." N i immiediately retaliate... "no, not jus "another" movie for children!!"
So, lets begin at the beginning....
The black screen stares at u, n u stare back, filled wid wonder at wat lies in store for us.... Since, it is critically acclaimed, probably, our curiosity is even more kindled. And then the first 3 letters appear. s-a-w (or mayb w-a-s, i don remembr which). Then another 6. All of us try to read the words, in an attempt to find out wat the words are intended to convey. And as we continue to read, the words appear faster, then in such rapid succession, that we lose track!!! And then the message from the director dawns on our heads.... "Don't search for meaning in every action, monotonically... Sit back and relax, and more meanings than ever shall bloom before your eyes!" One of the BEST directorial touches, I must say. But lest we think that is the end of Aamir-Amole's creativity, they immiediately show how greatly mistaken we are. With Ishaan fishing in muddy waters, literally, we are transported back to those days wen rainwater puddles held the greatest pleasures of our lives. As Ishaan watches the tadpoles in his bottle, unaware of all the mud clinging to his uniform, we begin to forget the rules of society that bind us- the clocks, the procedures, protocols, decorum, and conventions of our lifestyles. As Ishaan swings on one gate, though the other is open, we become lil kids, and go back to the swings and see-saws. And wen he sits in class, dreaming of flying trains and starfish, our minds too start spinning tales. (I don think I need to quote Bernard Shaw- "u c things n ask "y", i imagine em n ask "y not?" !!" ) And den during the disasters......... Wen the teacher begins to announce results. As her tone changes between the 24/25 and 3/25, our hearts soar and sink and we clench our fists against our primary school enemies. That is great work by the directors. The noise of the marks bein read out really makes our heads reel (courtesy, RDX!) and we reminisce the days wen those numbers ruled our lives. Again, as the local boys order Ishaan about, we prepare to fight those bullies who whacked us, and hope they are suffering now! As Ishaan leaves home, we remembr the beauty of the institution of family!
Ok, that seems to go on and on... So summarizing, I could say, in routine reviewer style- "The success of a venture is in d details"... n here s TZP...
Leaving the rest of the pre-intermission for u to savour, v land on Aamir's entry. It doesn't seem practical to have such a wonderful teacher. Blame it on the cliches of Hindi cinema. However, I must say, if Ram Shankar Nikumbh cares, so do a few other ppl. N if not teachers, der re neighbours n frnz n relatives like him ,who take time to understand kids' language n light their lives. N Aamir has played the role very well... Sorry, i ve erred.. he hasn't played or acted, in that sense; he has really become that nice caring concerned teacher, and melted our concrete laden hearts...
I don think i shud dwell on the storyline as such- how Ishaan struggles in school, how his bro youhan is sucha goodie-goodie addin to the contrast, how his teachers n parents get buggd, hw he hates boardin school, hw d hadicapped topper makes a nice frnd n how RamShankar transforms his life...
So quickly, for the plusses and minuses...
Plusses- All actors have done a gr88888 job (nobody excluded!)! Innovative narration of story, tho the story itself is obvious! Portrayal of teachers--- funny, maybe hyperbolic, but still reminds us that nobody is omniscient n tat at times, anyone can get silly! The book of drawings, depicting their separation-- one more amazin example of attention to details, and a very touching one too...
The songs and the message conveyed, of course, but spl section devoted for tat below....
Minuses- Very predictable storyline; Loads of stereotypes -- v surely expected better stuff!! Copyin calvin n hobbes (the arithmetic wid planets!) -- wen ll our directors stop copyin?? And the most obvious climax... A lil disappointing, that!
Songs...... hmmm.... The songs are really good. The one that says "Tujhko sab patha hai na ma" really reminds us of how we completely trusted our mothers, n imagined them to be all- powerful... of the days wen holding her one finger was the source of al security... Special congrats to Prasoon joshi for the lyrics... The other one about monotony in life is also wel depicted. Seeing Ishaan's mother make omelettes so continuously makes us feel sorry for our mothers who toil their lives out for our sake, yet take no reward. Credits for the others too, but now lets quickly jump to the social significance of the tale...
Tho packed with entertainment, Aamir has also sunk in the mesage of the importance of helpin oders. Tho most of us ll forget tat v pledged to make a difrnz to someone's life, once v come out, at least the seed has been sown... Besides, the example given by Aamir to Ishaan's father is worth remembring, I mean, the one wher he asks him to read Chinese n xplains that if u dunno d letters, u cannot understand wat u read, however intelligent u may b... nails the fact too well... excellent direction!!!
And of course, the one inference that I personally made.... The taste of success... It can create miracles in our lives. Wen Ishaan Awasthi's painting is published, the amount of confidence he gains, years of pep talk and efforts could not have given. Success seems to be a drug, that transforms our personalities,. and our perceptions of the world around us.... It is of course, a lil addictive, as al drugs are, but useful in small doses, nevertheless!!!
Wel, den, cheers to Aamir, for producing one of the best movies ever (this time, truthfully, unlike most reviews, wen v praise box office hits!). We shall continue to expect good cinema from him, ever.....
In short.....
Movie: Taare Zameen Par
Genre: Strictly under 18!!
Director: Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte
Story: C'mon, u ve heard dis story smeared across the Indian print media
Bottomline: Two Nobel Prize nominations for the directors! (U read it rite- Nobel, not the Oscar!)
Expansion of bottomline :) --
Nobel prize nominations for the following reasons:-
I happened to meet one such person last week... Monday, the 31st of december, to be exact... He is an awessome guy... a little different tho, but as i d ve it, verrrry special... So let me introduce him to u.... the great Mr.Ishaan Awasthi!!!!
Very sweet lad... His toothy smiles, n pranks n pangs n tears steal our hearts at once... But I shud say, its not jus him.. The credit shud also go to his awessum teacher who brought him to the limelight...
For those of u, who cant make much sense outta wat im talkin, Ishaan Avasti is the dyslexic hero of TZP...
(Note: If u haven't seen the movie or read the plot, much of dis post mayb puzzlin. so for better results, c d movie.. :D )
"Taare Zameen Par" shout the posters... automatically generating in our minds, the thought... "Aamir khan.. Another movie for children..." N i immiediately retaliate... "no, not jus "another" movie for children!!"
So, lets begin at the beginning....
The black screen stares at u, n u stare back, filled wid wonder at wat lies in store for us.... Since, it is critically acclaimed, probably, our curiosity is even more kindled. And then the first 3 letters appear. s-a-w (or mayb w-a-s, i don remembr which). Then another 6. All of us try to read the words, in an attempt to find out wat the words are intended to convey. And as we continue to read, the words appear faster, then in such rapid succession, that we lose track!!! And then the message from the director dawns on our heads.... "Don't search for meaning in every action, monotonically... Sit back and relax, and more meanings than ever shall bloom before your eyes!" One of the BEST directorial touches, I must say. But lest we think that is the end of Aamir-Amole's creativity, they immiediately show how greatly mistaken we are. With Ishaan fishing in muddy waters, literally, we are transported back to those days wen rainwater puddles held the greatest pleasures of our lives. As Ishaan watches the tadpoles in his bottle, unaware of all the mud clinging to his uniform, we begin to forget the rules of society that bind us- the clocks, the procedures, protocols, decorum, and conventions of our lifestyles. As Ishaan swings on one gate, though the other is open, we become lil kids, and go back to the swings and see-saws. And wen he sits in class, dreaming of flying trains and starfish, our minds too start spinning tales. (I don think I need to quote Bernard Shaw- "u c things n ask "y", i imagine em n ask "y not?" !!" ) And den during the disasters......... Wen the teacher begins to announce results. As her tone changes between the 24/25 and 3/25, our hearts soar and sink and we clench our fists against our primary school enemies. That is great work by the directors. The noise of the marks bein read out really makes our heads reel (courtesy, RDX!) and we reminisce the days wen those numbers ruled our lives. Again, as the local boys order Ishaan about, we prepare to fight those bullies who whacked us, and hope they are suffering now! As Ishaan leaves home, we remembr the beauty of the institution of family!
Ok, that seems to go on and on... So summarizing, I could say, in routine reviewer style- "The success of a venture is in d details"... n here s TZP...
Leaving the rest of the pre-intermission for u to savour, v land on Aamir's entry. It doesn't seem practical to have such a wonderful teacher. Blame it on the cliches of Hindi cinema. However, I must say, if Ram Shankar Nikumbh cares, so do a few other ppl. N if not teachers, der re neighbours n frnz n relatives like him ,who take time to understand kids' language n light their lives. N Aamir has played the role very well... Sorry, i ve erred.. he hasn't played or acted, in that sense; he has really become that nice caring concerned teacher, and melted our concrete laden hearts...
I don think i shud dwell on the storyline as such- how Ishaan struggles in school, how his bro youhan is sucha goodie-goodie addin to the contrast, how his teachers n parents get buggd, hw he hates boardin school, hw d hadicapped topper makes a nice frnd n how RamShankar transforms his life...
So quickly, for the plusses and minuses...
Plusses- All actors have done a gr88888 job (nobody excluded!)! Innovative narration of story, tho the story itself is obvious! Portrayal of teachers--- funny, maybe hyperbolic, but still reminds us that nobody is omniscient n tat at times, anyone can get silly! The book of drawings, depicting their separation-- one more amazin example of attention to details, and a very touching one too...
The songs and the message conveyed, of course, but spl section devoted for tat below....
Minuses- Very predictable storyline; Loads of stereotypes -- v surely expected better stuff!! Copyin calvin n hobbes (the arithmetic wid planets!) -- wen ll our directors stop copyin?? And the most obvious climax... A lil disappointing, that!
Songs...... hmmm.... The songs are really good. The one that says "Tujhko sab patha hai na ma" really reminds us of how we completely trusted our mothers, n imagined them to be all- powerful... of the days wen holding her one finger was the source of al security... Special congrats to Prasoon joshi for the lyrics... The other one about monotony in life is also wel depicted. Seeing Ishaan's mother make omelettes so continuously makes us feel sorry for our mothers who toil their lives out for our sake, yet take no reward. Credits for the others too, but now lets quickly jump to the social significance of the tale...
Tho packed with entertainment, Aamir has also sunk in the mesage of the importance of helpin oders. Tho most of us ll forget tat v pledged to make a difrnz to someone's life, once v come out, at least the seed has been sown... Besides, the example given by Aamir to Ishaan's father is worth remembring, I mean, the one wher he asks him to read Chinese n xplains that if u dunno d letters, u cannot understand wat u read, however intelligent u may b... nails the fact too well... excellent direction!!!
And of course, the one inference that I personally made.... The taste of success... It can create miracles in our lives. Wen Ishaan Awasthi's painting is published, the amount of confidence he gains, years of pep talk and efforts could not have given. Success seems to be a drug, that transforms our personalities,. and our perceptions of the world around us.... It is of course, a lil addictive, as al drugs are, but useful in small doses, nevertheless!!!
Wel, den, cheers to Aamir, for producing one of the best movies ever (this time, truthfully, unlike most reviews, wen v praise box office hits!). We shall continue to expect good cinema from him, ever.....
In short.....
Movie: Taare Zameen Par
Genre: Strictly under 18!!
Director: Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte
Story: C'mon, u ve heard dis story smeared across the Indian print media
Bottomline: Two Nobel Prize nominations for the directors! (U read it rite- Nobel, not the Oscar!)
Expansion of bottomline :) --
Nobel prize nominations for the following reasons:-
1. For having built the best time machine ever, and transporting every spectator to those days when the world was filled with innocence, and every pebble under our feet held some secret miracle, waiting to be unlocked by us.
2. For discovering the "Elixir of Life", that brought back our childhood, made us forget our age, filled us with curiosity, happiness, imagination, dreams, innocence, love and tears all at once! For a reminder that taught us to laugh, to cry, and made us glad to be alive! (better put...... for embedding in their movie the great principle of all drama- "Its WONDERFUL to laugh; and it is okay to cry!!!)Happy new year!!!
Its been a lil long (lil, at least by my standards!) since i went online. No excuses. (Tho, neuroscience and Terman's papers are worth taking the blame... ) Now, that new yr has dawnd, i shud probably make resolutions. If i were to, one of the first resolutions shoud be tat i ll blog regularly... But, avoidin d risk, i ll say I don blieve in resolutions... he.. he...
Neways, ppl... Wish u al a happy new yr!!!
Neways, ppl... Wish u al a happy new yr!!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The funeral of togetherness...
Oft, when the breeze flows silently past,
And the dead leaves lying on the cracked ground,
Brush against each other, blowing the purity away;
I walk along the leaf corpses, enshrouded by memories,
Their silent crackling voicing my wordless sorrow,
My yesterday, my tomorrow!
A million voices cry in my mind, all strangled by me,
And only their muffled noise reaches the tearless world,
The graveyard that left me alone!
I had been only the wind yesterday, (ne’er the rose,)
And the flute must have enchanted me.
But, maybe I was no wind, and maybe, there was no flute!
Illusion or not, what cares have I,
While I walk along the beautiful autumnal listeners!!!
And the dead leaves lying on the cracked ground,
Brush against each other, blowing the purity away;
I walk along the leaf corpses, enshrouded by memories,
Their silent crackling voicing my wordless sorrow,
My yesterday, my tomorrow!
A million voices cry in my mind, all strangled by me,
And only their muffled noise reaches the tearless world,
The graveyard that left me alone!
I had been only the wind yesterday, (ne’er the rose,)
And the flute must have enchanted me.
But, maybe I was no wind, and maybe, there was no flute!
Illusion or not, what cares have I,
While I walk along the beautiful autumnal listeners!!!
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