Trials and Tribulations by Fire

Was generally browsing through some news posts. Happened to login to FB and clicked a link. Landed on this page, 'coz of my unending curiosity.  Here is the URL, click here .  I checked all of them. And felt pretty thrilled.  There is a caveat, as usual.   

Sanjai Mishra weeps and says, "You have planned everything. Where does this old father figure in your plans?"  A silent Richa Chadda looks on, maintaining a stoic silence.  With spellbinding performances by Rich Chadda and Sanjai Mishra, Masaan , meaning a crematorium a smashaan , is a Hindi language film about two central characters. One of them is Richa: Devi Pathak and the other is Vicky: Deepak. Sanjai Mishra plays Richa's father.  A parallel track has a debutante, Vicky Kaushal, playing a dom, a corpse burner, aspiring to break the shackles of his caste and become a civil engineer.  Brilliantly portrayed, the nuances the director has captured will take you by surprise. An underlying casteist theme coupled with the aspirations of small town inhabitants with a opportunistic blackmailer thrown in, the movie is intelligently made.  I watched it on a whim. But, it had a cathartic effect on me, moved me to tears. I cried so much and for a long ti...

My friend said, "We will talk later, you are not in the mood."  I disconnected the call by slightly pressing the button on the ear phones.  I had excitedly picked her call up. To yak. I didn't say much.  Didn't feel like talking.  My eyes kept darting to the two little blue lines on the damned messenger screen. They refused steadfastly and remained greyed out. Damn! Two little lines demanding my whole attention. I could have done so many things, switched off the bloody data connection. I did nothing. I gobbled up data like a sea monster and kept staring at the screen like my life depended on it.  Had to physically make an effort to tear my eyes from the damned screen and get some work done.  Morning started on a rough note. My maid sulked, the weather seemed very happy and gay. I decided to sleep for exactly three minutes and got up after 45 minutes. Sigh! Kicked myself.  Finally, for the day, got something done.  Let me get my sor...

Happened to visit the Chennai Book Fair 2016 recently and bought these books.  The book fair is happening in the YMCA grounds, Royapettah and is on till Jan 24th. Check out their Facebook page:  Chennai Book Fair Dragged my poor mother along. She trudged along, huffing and puffing, but bravely, wearing an excited smile. She was pretty kicked about her outing and happily browsed through the books. She picked up many books and with a glance would see if I approved of her choice. I recalled how I would pick up costly toys and plead with my eyes and beg her to buy them for me. She would never say no. I did the same. Felt so happy, can't explain in words.   I found some nice stalls where they were offering books at discounted prices. I got the above for a few hundred rupees and felt amazingly thrilled.  So, my goal of picking up my reading habit and picking up pace is blessed. Thanks to Mahesh, who posted the picture on FB. Till I complete a...

One eighty days It ain't much you say If you count in the seconds and minutes, it still ain't much Count the number of ticks the clock will take, it still ain't much Count the number of skipped beats I will miss, is it still not much?  You fly away my little bird, fly away to a far land, with an artificial beach and no one to look after your back Fly away, far far away, my sweet little bird, away from me... When you return, when you return, oh my little bird, I will fly to meet you, greet you, and tell you, the pain, it ain't much, now that you are back.  

It has been a difficult time, I agree But, like all difficult times, this too is passing Every thing that happens to you leaves an imprint An indelible sign that something has happened The soul understands these changes, halts for the body to catch up You came in and imprinted love, longing, and intensity  on the parched land Like how a single drop of rain clings to the dry earth, soaking it, loving it I care not for rivers, a few drops here and there, now and then is enough for the broken land to breathe, to ease out the time remaining To the darkest deepest corner your light will reach and lighten up making the dark slink away to a far corner, to the deep recesses, to remain till the next darkness descends.      

Have been wandering with a mad, wanderlust in my head A worm burrowing deeper deeper harder Forcing me, sometimes torturing me To wander, aimlessly, aim-fully, with disdain in my heart Across areas I wander, drive sometimes, listening to  loud music, blaring from the thundering speakers of my car My sole companion, a mute spectator to the intensity of the night Of promises not made, of love made, and of emotions exchanged Hormonal rushes doused, to be aflame again, to be stoked till the heart's content be satiated... A fuzz, a buzz that pushes me, keeps forcing me to think, obsess on the sparkle of the eyes, of the whiteness of the teeth,  of love unspoken but displayed, of passion exchanged over a mere touch Words flow like a torrential river, sometimes each drop spitefully spew venom Love, hate like co-brides, inhabit my self, containing within themselves an intense intertwining of emotions and sentiments, creating an inextricable bondage, making me ca...

Watched Wazir. Thrilled and enamored. Starring AB, Farhan, the gorgeous Aditi Rao Hydari, John Abraham, and Neil Nitin Mukesh.  There are others, especially, Manav Kaul, who plays the cunning, manipulative politician and does a stunning job. The cold killer look is a complete contrast to his soft Kashmiri good looks. The cast is a hit!   Wazir has a tight plot, thank god for that!  Seriously, of late, I have been observing that movies are made on flimsy non-existing plots. The saving grace being the audience with a dedicated almost feverish desire to sit through the entire hogwash.  Wazir has a stupendous performance from Mr. B and my latest crush, Farhan Akhtar. (I always have this feeling that Farhan resembles Suku so much, wonder why!)  I got hooked to the idea of watching Wazir since the time I saw the trailer. Yea, I know, trailers are meant to lure you in. I got sucked right in. Damn! It was worth it though.  Each frame screamed brillianc...

Ever seen a poem being enacted?  Tamasha, starring Ranbir and Deepika, is like a poem flowing freely on reel. You can probably reach out and touch it. The screen ceases to exist after a while.  Deepika is like old wine, hits your deepest conscience, after a while, it becomes difficult to discern which is true which is a movie. The movie goes back and forth, like Murakami's stories, intermingling the senses with facts and overstated truths. The narrative turns the facts around and in a dream like sequence, the child decides that storytelling was what he wanted to do.  In short, Tamasha will appeal to a very small section of an audience, which loves to watch good cinema. Tamasha is designed, like a jatra , a street play, where there is a jester and a storyteller. Deepika is stunning, but the main hero, if I may say is the story. Ranbir is good but not as stunning as he was in Yeh Jawaani... I had a nice time watching the movie, for various reasons. But, in shor...

It has been months now that I put pen to paper.  I have not been feeling the flow, instead, I have been distracted.  Exactly, since, Nov 6. Damn! This day is such a disaster.  Last year, my life turned. This year, my life changed again. Same date.  I do not know for the better or worse, but, life as I know it, has changed. Irreversible.  What do I do about this change? Change is good, my mind says.  But, what about my life. I am like a person who has swallowed a cork while drinking wine, unable to swallow the damn thing and unable to spit it out because it has gone on too far...too far, too deep, too much... Dec 8: Should not have happened, maybe it was destiny, but, is it a mistake?  It doesn't seem like...damn, feels so natural, normal, intense...    Changed fortunes of many people...the air is different, I can sense it... I saw what I saw, felt what I felt, right/wrong I don't care.  Life as I know it, has changed...