Slumdog Millionaire!!

Here I am!!
Doing what I thought I wouldn't!
Adding yet another commentary on the (in)famous [sic. not sure whether to consider it famous or infamous :))] film released of late - Slumdog Millionaire!

I should say I am overwhelmed by the amount of talk going on around the film. It has been quite a few days after I watched it. But the continuing hoopla around it in the media makes me wonder if I watched it at all!! for, I felt it is just another entertaining movie, a well executed one on that.

It's interesting how people around the world seem to be taking it. The film has come to be the most discussed subject. It's what I found discussed at the lunch table at office last week. It is what my co-passenger on train chose to talk to me about while I traveled back to Bangalore last Monday. & now, to top it all, it is what A, my colleague from Canada starts our talk with on a tele-call we had!!

& honestly, it was that chat with him which made me write this!
His question was simple!! "Prasad, Have you watched the movie? How did you like it? Is it really what happens in India? I pity those slum children! It makes me wanna come to India again!"

aghh! I seriously didn't think so much into the film! I only thought it was a good watch; a well paced entertainer. I didn't look at it like a documentary on what happens in our slums. It didn't seem like the director had any such intentions either!! In that regard, the film is no special. We have been seeing such depictions of poverty in our movies for long. Poverty does exist & my sympathies are with those children. I contribute whatever little I felt I should towards a cause there & stop at it. I don't see any reason to cry foul over the movie saying that it depicts our country in bad light. Just because most bollywood movies show opulence, one doesn't take everyone here as rich and leading luxury life. Same way, just because a movie shows poverty that way, one needn't bother that the world will believe the whole of India is as such. I think it is better left to individuals' sensibility. Every country has problems & time has always found a solution. Things here are turning better & will continue so.

A good speech!!

Thanks to the competition amongst TV channels in reaching to the public on the occasion of Obama's oath taking ceremony, I got to hear bits of the much revered speech by "Martin Luther King, Jr.". I must confess, I have been listening to it again and again since.

The concept of freedom & justice!! Ahh!! How passionate it had made him and people likewise! I wonder if we will ever understand the need, the passion and the motivation they developed for a free place. I am afraid we will go down reaping the benefits of their sacrifice forgetful of their contribution. :(

A wonderful and far-reaching speech, both because of the words chosen as well as the rhetoric used by Martin Luther King.

The way he used the phrase "Now is the time" endorsing the urgency of addressing the need is second to none I have seen/heard so far.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. Now is the time.

& then, the way he puts forward his dream & the tone of optimism with which he conveys it..simply awesome. His words & voice had such magic, no wonder there was a sea of people showing solidarity when he spoke. How charismatic!!

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a
dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

As much as I want to express my liking for the speech, I would sure fall short in conveying it's true self. The best is to watch the man himself at it [about 15 minutes]. I could truthfully appreciate the videos only after following the transcript available here.

Seems like too long a wait!!!

Disappointingly, my earlier attempts at making time from work for a trek to sar pass in the Himalayas had failed. At a new work place, I was wondering if the disappointment would replay!!. Luckily, & Happily :), this time I am making it!! Only the wait till May, the trek's schedule, looks too long!! :(

Not willing to wait to see the snow & the mountains, I went for a trek online looking for the photoes!! Here are a few that impressed!!! :)





Refreshing place, it definitely is!! Isn't it? I am all geared up for the experience.

& P, if you are reading this, the number of vacant positions for the trek starting on the 3rd May is fast going down [down to 6 the last time I checked it!!]. Make it fast if you really are upto it!! ;)

This person @flickr has got good eyes at photography!!

Funny cartoon!!

This one in my inbox this evening had me laugh out load!! :)

Rituals!!

It's so amazing how different religions have rituals which can all be equated one way or the other!!

R called today to invite me to Kottayam, to be there while his recently born son is baptized. I had heard of baptism earlier but never thought of exploring. His call had me google and seek what exactly it meant!!

We Hindu's have this concept of celebrating "Punya" on the birth of a child.

I guess somewhere they both relate - Punya & Baptism!!
Both talk of cleansing and faith; of prayers for the good and the right.
Both symbolic of our notions of life!

Working hard/Slacking off!!!!

I was browsing through the comic list available @xkcd. A part of one of the cartoons looked too fitting for the life some us have lead/are leading. Here it is!!



It's so simple and yet we give in!!!
Don't we?

Funny Ads!!

Rarely does an advertisement titillate me in general. But this one, which I stumbled upon while following a friend's updated favourite videos on orkut, did make me chuckle :). Until the end, I never thought the add could have anything to do with ?? [watch the video] ;)

What a naive way to warn people :)

Lyrics!!

No one connects to us better than well written lyrics.

Lyrics, combined with meticulous music composition, are, some times, the only ones that can fill the void we feel; isn't it?

To that effect, I have found the selection of title tracks by TNS for all his serials wondrous. The latest being the one used on "Muktha Muktha". I have been listening to this track almost every weekday since a couple of months.The lyrics still seem as fresh as ever. The vocals never fail to beat a chord in me.

Here are a few lines from the song -

ಹಸಿರ ತೋಳಿನಲಿ ಬೆಂಕಿಯ ಕೂಸ ಪೊರೆವುದು ತಾಯಿಯ ಹೃದಯ
ಮರೆಯುವುದುಂಟೆ ಮರೆಯಲಿನಿಂತ ಕಾಣುವ ಕರುಣಾಮಯಿಯ
Hasira Tholinali Benkiya Koosa Porevudu Thaayiya Hrudaya
Mareyuvudunte Mareyalinintha Kaanuva Karunaamayiya

ತನ್ನಾವರಣವೆ ಸೆರೆಮನೆಯಾದರೆ ಜೀವಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಯ ಮುಕ್ತಿ
ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಬಟ್ಟೆಯ ಬಿಚ್ಚುವ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಗೆ ಬಯಲೆ ಜೀವ ಮುಕ್ತ
Thannaavaranave Seremaneyaadare Jeevake Elliya Mukthi
Belakina Batteya Bichchuva Jyothige Bayale Jeeva Muktha

ಇರುಳ ವಿರುದ್ದ ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಯುದ್ದ ಕೊನೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಕಾದಾಟ
ತಡೆಯೇ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ನಡೆಯಲೆ ಬೇಕು ಸೋಲಿಲ್ಲದ ಹೋರಾಟ
Irula Virudhdha Belakina Yudhdha Koneyillada Kaadata
Thadeye Illade Nadeyale Beku Solillada Horata

Wonderful lines of expression; I must yield.

None can second the altruistic souls that mothers are. The first stanza is a beautiful assertion of the very fact.

Peace starts with the self. If within us, we aren't free, how can we find solace elsewhere? Such a pearl of wisdom, yet so simply expressed; the second stanza is all to be praised. "Thannaavaranave", meaning if one's own garden, one's mind, "Seremaneyaadare", seems to be a jail, "Jeevake Elliya Mukthi", how can life be peaceful? It cleverly reminds us how we are all lost in expectations and conflicts that constrain our mind and abilities :(

Having said that, can life be without them? - the conflicts, the wants & don't wants? I guess not!! May be that's why the third stanza says the fight for peace, the inner peace, has to go on forever, just the way "Belaku", i.e. light, fights against "Irulu", i.e. dark, each day, without defeat, to dawn a new morning for us.

Beautiful and true isn't it?
Like it? Here it is - :)

Another year on planet earth!!

It's Jan 1st.
I complete one more year on planet earth. In all, 29 years!! Fairly good ones!

It's the time of the year my cell gets busy!! I realize my pals; the real ones. It's so amazing to see calls and messages pouring in. While it's true, people remember it's my birthday because it also happens to be the start of the new year, it pleasures me that they take the time to talk to me. Specially, my cousin's and friends, whom I am not in regular touch with at all for years. Thanks to them, I start my new year on a good note :)

The year that went by has been a good one except for a few things I regret on the personal front. One thing I couldn't take well is the loss of my youngest uncle. It just happened so suddenly, so unexpected, I couldn't believe it. Just the previous day I had gone to Mysore to meet him. I do not know what prompted me, I canceled my planned trip to my home town & chose to go to Mysore instead. Was that just co-incidence or was it something else? I can't fathom. The incident, however keeps retelling just how important it is to spend time with loved ones; who knows time?

On the better side, my decisions on the work front have so far proved good. Hopefully it will continue good in the year ahead. A better balance between work and personal life was my only resolution last year. To that effect, things have turned well.

So, what for the new year? First thing is to shred off my laziness. I realize I have become too lazy these days. Second, Pace-up on my reading. Though I read a couple of good books last year, the number has gone down!!. Third, I have been wanting to learn to play an instrument for quite some time now, in particular flute. This year is probably the time. Fourth & the final one, I wanna write a short story. I am an avid reader of stories and have dreamed of writing one myelf. So, here is my resolve to write one this year :)

I have huge hopes for the coming year. Let's see how things go!!