Pain is like fragrance in a bottle of perfume. With time the fragrance vanishes and the only the water remains likewise with time the pain of an incident extinguishes and only the memory remains.

A Wait

As I was leaving, she said to me

‘I will wait for you, I will keep waiting for you’

Her life was spent in quiet anticipation

Of which wait played a major part

I said to her, ‘Isn’t everyone waiting?’

The autumn for the tress to shed

The bird for the moor to break

For mortals their death

Aren't we all waiting to discover the truth of life

And some to earn money and become wise

Aren't we all in search of something?

Aren't we all waiting for something?

Lootera- The Thief of A Lover

A still from the movie Lootera

To experience happiness in life get a good education, work, earn money, find a life-partner, have kids and retire with dignity. To experience pain, fall in love.

A story partly written by Vikramaditya Motwane and partly an adaptation of The Last Leaf by O Henry makes for a perfect romantic hindi drama. The movie’s strongest pursuit is its story. It reminded me of the era of old Hindi movies when only two characters were sufficient for a movie to be a success. Ranveer Singh (Varun/Nandu) who played the rogue though neat, soft but heartbroken and skilled but a fraud thief of a lover. He will be remembered for the acting he displayed though somewhere his voice is not as strong and brisk. His voice lacked command and fell frail in more instances than one.

Sonakshi Sinha( Pakhi) playing the mistress of beauty and the victim of love blended into the portrait of the movie with flying colors. Her myriad expressions and a tall figure gave the movie its much needed heroine.

Set in the post Independence era in Kolkata and then later in Dalhousie the movie exemplifies how movie directors don’t need to go to exotic locations to make movies while rather have a wonderful and pleasing set in India.

Another commendable attribute of the movie was the background score by Amit Trivedi. All the songs were written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Music is the food of love so play on, as rightly said by Shakespeare sums up how it gripped the audience’s attention.  The suspense angle introduced in the movie made the audience want the movie to go on. The right beat, the right rhythm and the right drop of the music kept the movie interesting. The songs have become an instant hit.

As far as my observation takes me none of the characters had many dialogues. Music became a healthy substitute for the same. Symbolism in the cases for Pakhi’s father’s death and the tree on which her life depended were used well.

Few factors added charm to the movie which included the contrast of colors used, the panorama of green lush fields, Dalhousie’s almost picturesque beauty and well thought out pair of Ranveer and Sonakshi.

The climax may seem as unrealistic as it is romantic. The end is open to interpretation. While some may discard the movie for me the formula which the director, Vikramadiya Motwane, brewed worked !

Photo courtesy: http://www.filmfare.com/media/content/2013/Jul/lootera1_1373033361_600x450.jpg

On Women’s Day: To all the Women who Dared.

I am biased to my sex. Biased in the sense that our sex has suffered a great deal, an ordeal more appropriately. Ponder how we are regarded in spoken language; the fairer sex, weaker and helpless. Women to this age have to struggle to voice their opinions. They say we are weak in strength I say what about childbirth, they say I am fit indoors I say what about Rani of Jhansi, they say I am not intelligent enough what about Marie Curie. There can be hundreds of examples in any country that you reside in. Far more important is the point that Women are no less than Man. Ever better I should say because we play the role of a house maker equally efficiently as we would be successful wearing a tie and coat. If the role reversal has to happen will men be able to paint themselves in the tapestry of an established homemaker? Not to be too hard on the men folk I should acknowledge the criticism that some women are indeed incompetent to become a homemaker and some men truly can prove themselves at the task.

Sentences splashed with prejudices and stereotypes have been used to define us. There used to be questions in our minds about such assumptions and surmises, but we kept quiet. Suppressing such questions and exclamations into an inflated balloon, which infected by knowledge and ideas, that would eventually explode. And when it did, it burst with such intensity as which cannot be expressed on pen and paper. It was the explosion of our Voice. Our collective voice which gave us the power to vote, to make decisions, to ban redundant customs, to break society imposed shackles and to protect our integrity.

The road to Freedom and Justice is embedded with thorns and angry bushes, which would stop us at every fork. Giving us an option, every time, to succumb to the road mostly traveled by. It must be our decision to take the road less traveled by. Women of every generation have added their bit to the revolution of Justice. Last year women and men from all walks of life came out on the streets of Delhi to demand for amendments in the rape laws of the country. Our voices forced the government to amend the laws. The Ordinance has been signed by the President and the bill to amend the definition and punishment of Sexual Crimes will be introduced in a month’s time.

This calls for a pat on the back, this calls for a yelp of justice, this calls for the first steps towards Equality. I must acknowledge that this change could not have been possible without the support of the other sex and the life of an innocent girl. Though a lot has to change and I being an eternal optimist believe it will. I remember when I was a child and wanted to be a part of something big. I could never come to a conclusion as to what that big thing would be. After 10 years I think this is the big thing. Changing the ideology of the society, fighting for Women’s rights and making the world a more equal place could be the big thing I would want to contribute my small efforts into.

Durbar:A Book Review

65 years of history encapsulated in 300 pages. Durbar reflects the journey of a journalist as privileged as the rulers of the country who saw India in a different light. Tavleen Singh has written a book so gripping and lucid, it’s an endless page turner.

Being a novice in many things political the book helped me connect incidents to its proper roots. Also being born in a family where politics is hardly discussed making sense of history and putting one and two together rested entirely upon my shoulders. As a media student and more importantly an Indian I couldn't have turned a blind eye to such important events in history.

The book delves as much in the Persian carpeted socialist houses of the Prime Minister as much as the bare face of poverty, hunger and dearth of rural India. A blatant contrast of the shining and starched clothes of the ‘drawing room elite’ as Tavleen Singh puts it and of the naked, pot bellied dying children of the villages.

Tavleen Singh through her years of being a political reporter has written a fine memoir of the life of a journalist entangled with the life of politics. An aspiring journalist myself the book opened a window for me to see the world of journalism from a different eye; its wrath and charm. Death threats, mysterious phone calls, stubborn colleagues, connections and smartness.

During the rule of the Congress Party, from Nehru to Rajiv, most of our economic and foreign policies remain unchanged. Indira Gandhi is considered as the strongest Prime Minister India ever had, as far as public opinion goes. Many say it because it was under her that the 1971 Bangladesh War was won. Apart from this she had a charisma, an aura, a personality which exuded something more than confidence; something less than deceit more than faith. Unlike Rajiv she could relate to the poor, so as they thought she did, which is the whole point of politics.

Durbar tries to catch the nerve and pulse of politics. During Rajiv Gandhi’s rule major decisions went wrong. It explained how small incidents ballooned into magnanimous problems which have now taken a deep root in our conscious. The Khalistan movement, the Kashmir conflict, the North-Eastern states problem. The frankness with which Tavleen Singh has highlighted them is commendable knowing that these revelations could come at great personal cost. The cost being relations with her and Rajiv & Sonia being disrupted.

Moreover one can say that finding fault with the government and it’s rulers is easy but finding a solution equally tough. After reading the book I have come to the conclusion that she has given appropriate reasons and alternate solutions. The book is recommended to anyone interested in history and politics. Anyone who is interested in the life of India which at one point and still is a mirage of religion, politics and the Gandhi family.

Nishtha Juneja.

Don't Judge a Book by It's Film or Vise Versa

                                          The film adaption of the book.

Midnight's Children is one of Salman Rushdie's masterpieces. To say that the book was better than the movie or the movie better than the book will be to be naive. In this case the book was 647 pages long,to be exact, and the movie 146 minutes. To compress 647 pages into 146 minutes is a killing task. Killing literally and metaphorically. Literally because choosing the scenes, re-writing dialogues, developing a screenplay is hard work, metaphorically because cutting one's one hard work literally makes one sad.

Since I have read the book, sitting in the theater and making sense of the movie was easy. Though there were few instances which i wanted to be seen played out in the movie,owing to their magical calibre,which were conveniently dropped. More specifically the Seer Ramram's prophecy, Bangladesh war and even the entirety of Methwold's estate. 

The movie surely has some magical moments namely the perforated sheet, swapping of children by Mary Periera and the Midnight's Children Conference. The first half of the movie went into detail and established certain characters. The magic of Aadam's nose, Reverand Mother's vow of silence, Nadir Khan's hiding cavern, Methwold'd estate, the birth of Saleem Sinai, Saleem's childhood and Brass Monkey's jealousy. These instances were a beauty to watch. Though after the interval the movie rushed to the climax too fast. The exile to Pakistan, Bangladesh war, the Emergency were topics which needed more clarity.

The cast of the movie did a commendable job: Rajat Kapoor fitted into the stunning role of Saleem's grandfather while Shabana Azmi did justice to the terrifying role of Reverand Mother,Shahana Goswami was absolutely superb in her role performing it with maturity and conviction, Siddharth and Shirya Sareen acted well, Darsheel Safary was spellbinding as small Saleem which was further acted by Satya Bhabha, though claps should resound for Seema Biswas for her role as the baby-swapping-guilt-stricken-aaiya.
The director Deepa Mehta should be congratulated at how the movie turned out to be.

The book is a must read while the movie is certainly different from the mainstream gaga. The magic and fantasy which Rushdie creates in his book has greater scope of imagination in one's mind. 

Photo Courtesy:http://www.liveforfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Midnights-Children-poster.jpg

Nishtha Juneja.