A Movie review

Actually this is not a really a review,I am a movie buff alright,and so is my little sister.This is a pie of our discussion yesterday,and a continuation of that talk with those of you who have watched it.
We went to watch 'Guzaarish' yesterday,me and my baby sister.
For us,going to a theatre isnt merely walking into a mom-n-pop store in our pyajamas.Only after few friends have recommended a movie,we plan in advance,look up the newspapers for a suitable show timing,tell parents we wont be home for dinner on that evening,dress well,and set out in our car.Its our day out.So,of-course,just the act of going for a movie would mean having fun together.
And when spirits are as high,benevolence is in the air and it is difficult to detect subtle defects.
Coming to 'Guzaarish' now,I liked it.Hrithik and Ash were charming as usual,also,the aloo-chaat we ate at the theatre was delicious.
The movie was about the world's greatest magician Eethan Mascarenhas who had filed a petition for euthanasia,twelve years (or was it fourteen) after an accident which had left him paraplegic,and how he lost the case but won people's hearts.He also made a devotee of a student,who had come to learn his trade secrets.Finally,his beautiful caretaker nurse Ashwariya offered to grant him his wish of death and he offered to marry her before dying.'Guzaarish' has a liberal garnishing of melodrama and emotional scenes,a little bit of conspiracy,bit of villainy,song music and dance sequences,a fiery romance.Everything needed for a movie to do well.
After it was over,we were thinking if the movie could be a little shorter.
It could have probably got over when the roof of his mansion,leaked over Hrithik on a rainy night.Unable to move,he lay drenched in his bed the whole night.That could have killed the protagonist from pneumonia or something.My sister added,that, after he died,the disciple could have pulled the bedspread from under his feet,and that could have been the last shot..Which would have meant,a last grand shot,where the protagonist,who was 'the world's greatest magician' , lay dead with a light smile on his lips while his disciple,and all those watching,would be surprised by the last magic act,the endless length of white bedspread being pulled from under his dark brown bed-cover.
Would it not be a sheer visual delight?!
Just a little tighter editing and shuffling the scenes a bit,could probably have cast a stronger spell.

Drifted and Proud still

I set out on an evening,
quietly,
closing the door behind.

To travel far and wide,
alone.
I craved for water.

One cannot pluck others,
for this quest,
from their chores
They do not thirst.

So they are never led astray.
They do not drift
in the treacherous wild,
with a burning throat,
clueless,
starved and hoping,
till the very end.

And I fled
from the jeers,
of the pragmatic
and the boasts
of the boffo,
quietly closing the door behind.

The New Hooligans

On a world map,lets zoom into south east Asia,further into India ,further still into West Bengal,now if u look south and find a place called Kolkata,zoom in there - and then into deeper into another place called Saltlake - if u happen to live there - let me welcome u to a new world of experiences - complete with unpleasantness and frequent encounters with growing bunch of Hooligans doing rounds of this posh residential satellite.
Especially if u are a woman who has to drive home from work often,or go shopping on your own,or to the gym or anywhere else - I can show you routes,to which if u subscribe,within a week,you will begin to feel the kick of outdoing chasers on their bikes (to be undertaken only if you are confident of your sprinting skills /or driving skills whichever the case may be)..as time passes,I promise you,the excitement will only increase.
You may not believe me in the beginning.Why?These roads were perfectly safe even a while ago?But times change, haven't you heard?They are talking of a big change pretty soon..A regime change.Naturally a few thousand extra criminals of various sizes, demeanor and abilities,emboldened by either of the two contenders,are mild side effects to the grand scale of things.
Please,do not ,not even in your most lavish dream,allow yourself the audacity to think the police will cheer for you.If you want to hear how helpful they really are and what they can do for you,just give me a call,or call anyone who has mischanced to go to them imagining they may help.
If you cant bear all this,my advice is,just amass some firepower and learn to use it well.Alternatively,you should judge for yourself who the next winner would be,and join that camp.

DISCLAIMER:THE ADVICE AND DANGERS INDICATED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE NOT INTENDED FOR
THOSE WHO ARE THEMSELVES/OR
THOSE WHOSE DAD,MOM,UNCLE,AUNT,BROTHER,BROTHER-IN-LAW IS/ARE
A MINISTER OR MINISTER IN WAITING OR MEMBER OF ANY 'HOUSE' OR
HEADING ANY OF THE STATE ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT THEREOF.

Landslides and landmines

Raining cats and dogs,bombs going off ,city under pressure,terrorist attacks,floods,river water rising,landslides in the hills,snowstorms hold up tourists,traffic disrupted because roads have caved in,power cut for hours.In such times,when mom calls to ask how I am,and if I can just only answer the phone - that itself should relieve her.
We are an adventurous lot.
She is in the hills when there is a warning of landslide and i am in the plane(I mean aero-plane,not a spelling error) when there is a warning of a terrorist attack,flying to a city where bridges break and bomb threats released..
We are all very bold ,we live amidst chaos and danger,but still dare to travel for fun,shop- defying the floods,buy new clothes,plan on celebrating dushherra,when there could be a bomb planted right outside our door.
Some of us even make trips to see the newly build games village in the capital.
We are exposed to necessary and unnecessary risks of life and death all the time,and still have the heart to read poetries,buy gifts for a loved one,cook pishpash ,waddle through floods,and share it with a neighbor.
Long live the spirit.

Surreal - 2

Thats what I love about the power play - Its predictably gross and yet they indulge in it.
The party which rules at the Centre and the party which rules the state where Niyamagiri lies - are of course in opposition to each other.Infact all the opposition parties to the state government have got their long awaited opportunity to nail their ruling rival!
The hapless tribals now have the weight of powerful politicians behind them.The same central department which had earlier given environmental clearance to the powerful mining lobby,has now suspended their approval,sensing a political mileage that the move can get them.
Then of-course,there is some comic relief provided too.For instance,the king-in- waiting was heard announcing that he was the soldier of the tribals.
For those who are wondering ,on whose side I am,my answer is - our side.The side of the exploited,the underdogs.All the drama that goes on, rallying the event is just that - pure drama.
The other states ruled by the opposition parties,have problems of very similar nature,severe conflicts over land acquisition and displacement of indigenous people.Though not for mining projects,but several other kinds,be it car manufacturing units or nuclear power generation projects.How can they expect to fight against a cause in one state and lobby for the opposite cause in their own state and still remain credible?
I think,thats the last thing on their minds,anyway.
In this land,politics is not about public good,not about patriotism,not about development,not about vision to turn us into a great power,not about tackling unemployment,not about fighting poverty,not about restoring people's rights. As I said earlier - this is a quest for power,at any cost.

Cupid's Coffee (Part 2)

She sat by a large window.Her coffee ran cold.A book lay open on the table in front,but her mind was astray.
Tomorrow she was leaving this city.She was to go across the oceans to a new land.But tonight,all she could think of was,him.Her lost prince.
Her thoughts were often interrupted by the ring of her phone.Friends called to wish her well.She wound up the calls quickly.
Gently,she tended to the memory of their time together.She could recall every word they had interchanged.Any other person,if given the chance to read her mind,could have found their talks obscure,even stale at times,but to her, everything they had ever shared,seemed fresh.The thought of him,his ideas,his words, always made her smile.He had sometimes looked very matured,sometimes playful,sometimes liberal,sometimes radical,conservative,sometimes tough and other times completely vulnerable, totally innocent, just like a child.
She was living over their togetherness,at this coffee shop,for the last time.
It had been months since she saw him,and yet,if she closed her eyes,he stood right there before her.
When they had first met at this coffee shop,he looked very familiar,but back then,she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.Long after,she pondered over this,till one evening she realized why.
He reminded her of Michelangelo's David.
He had left her,and gone far away,to a fairy,yet,did she long for him?Yes,she admitted to herself.
In her mind,she had been fighting to forget him and to her dismay,found that could not be.It had taken her long to reconcile,to be at peace with herself and at the same time be happy for him.Today was to be her final act of balancing.
After midnight ,she left the shop,went back to her bed lined with silk,and slept a peaceful sleep.
Next morning the sun rose over her troubles.She woke to a fresh start.

January

Why is January so special?
One, because thats when my sister travels back home sometimes.
Two,we have the famous book-fair ,plus so many other fairs and travelling circuses coming to our city.
Three,the first day in January always starts with a celebration,the year begins with new hopes,fresh aspirations,the disappointments of the year gone by,are buried.We start again,with renewed vitality.
The time reverberates youthfulness.No one goes through that month without being wished a happy year ahead,even strangers greet us sometimes.We too smile and return the greeting.
January brings the city to life.
And on a certain day in January,he had come into my life.