Of emotions, reason and logic.

 

 

 

I believe everything happening in this universe has some logic, some reason behind it. To quote the legend, Einstien, God does not throw dice. Nothing in this world is illogical, irrational or without reason.
     But on the other side, can an average human mind afford to find out logic and reason behind each and everything happening? I think he/she can't or rather shouldn't. There are many things in life that should be enjoyed without searching for logic. Everybody loves the sweet and enticing fragrance of the first rains. Poets say this fragrance oozes out of the heat scorched Earth to attract her darling clouds and the clouds respond by sending out their message in form of raindrops. This imagery is poetic, pleasant and imaginative but not rational. Art is not truth. It is merely a lie which helps us realize truth.
     And the truth is very different. Very few people know that the fragrance is because of the microbes called Actinomycetes. Now that is rational, logical but very much dry and heartless explanation which very few will like. So, enjoy the poetry about the earth-cloud-raindrops-sky rather than getting involved in the science behind it.

     I reckon one has to manage a balance between being rational and being emotional in every aspect of life. This is the only way to enjoy life without losing much. Now it depends upon an individual how much weightage he/she bestows to logic and emotions.
     So, the bottomline is: Don't always try to seek for logic and reason in everything. Learn to enjoy some things illogically and emotionally, but without forgetting that some logic exists behind it. And honestly speaking, duniya me kuchh cheeze illogical hi achchhi lagati hai... :-)

Felix and Malala: Where are we moving???

The first week of October will be remembered largely for two persons. I just ran into a tweet about them:

                Dear Religion, This week I safely dropped a man from space while you shot a child in the head for wanting to go to school.

                           (Tweet by Ricky Gervais, British comedian).

                Its about Felix Baumgartner’s stratos jump and the cowardly attack on Malala Yousafzai. Felix ‘s jump showed us how high humanity can reach and Malala’s attackers proved to what extent humanity can stoop down to reach abyss.

                Felix, the real daredevil,  deserves accolades.  He exemplifies the human efforts to overcome fear, challenges and perform something extraordinary. His supersonic jump also signifies the quantum leap in science and technology. I’m impressed…

                But I’m far more impressed by this girl Malala. I really want to salute her. That girl at the tender age of 14 had the courage to stand up for a cause knowing that her life had threat. She has put forward a strong message: Of ‘Fem’-powerment, of courage, of the desperation and suffocations in backward societies, of the value of education. Don’t you think she deserves Nobel Peace Prize more than Mr. Obama or European Union???

 

 

 

The Era of Honest Movies

 

A tired mind seeks solace in three things: Company of good people, good old memories and some honest entertainment. While the first two things can be taken care of, the third one is often hard to find in today’s world.

                I find myself lucky to find two honest movies when I was in dire need for some meaningful entertainment. Oh My God and English Vinglish, both are movies which come straight from the heart and reach straight into the heart…

                Superficially, both are pretty different movies. OMG is about commercialization of religion while EV talks about the dignity of a typical housewife who is happy to ignore and be ignored by others. But some striking similarities must be mentioned. Firstly, both are about middle age, middle class people who truly represent India. It’s enough of youth centered, elitist, and sugar coated movies in Hindi. India wants realism in movies now.

 

 

                Both movies talk of a fight which can be seen as a representative struggle against the traditional mindset. The protagonists are no superman or superwoman. They are average individuals ignited with an intense desire. This fact makes Kanji bhai and Shashi truly inspirational. Besides, both movies feature the dilemma between family life and individual values, a typical characteristic of a common Indian.

                Surprisingly, both are directed by debutant directors and don’t have a great starcast as such. But it’s the presence of capable actors and honesty which makes them work. And the dialogues were phenomenal. For instance- “Tum logo se unka dharm chhinoge to wo tumhe apna dharm bana lenge” or “Jab koi apne aap ko pasand karne lagta hai to khudse judi sari cheese achchhi lagane lagati hai”.

                I think Indian cinema has two streams- one being the mindless, sugarcoated, feel good movies targeting 100 Cr and other being the low budget but true cinema viz. Chittagong, A Wednesday. Its upto the audience to select what they want. Because the quality of art or cinema in a society reflects the quality of the society.