Into the wild

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no  cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager  whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not  return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling  years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle  to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the  spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and  hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be  poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land  to become lost in the wild. - Alexander Supertramp May 1992

Sometimes a movie leaves you spell bound, sometimes they arouse in  you a feeling that rings true with your soul, sometimes they  enthuse you to do something, and sometimes just make you happy.  Into the wild does them all. The visuals, direction and acting is  flawless. Narrative fantastic. Though the movie tends to oscillate  more and more between the present moment and past, you still are  gripped until the end. And for those who love wild and philosophy,  this is just the right blend for you. Eddie Vedder's songs flow in the movie at every occasion. My personal favourite is 'Long Nights' that suits Chris's temperament just fine.

Going beyond the movie, Into the wild is a real life story of  Christopher McCandless, a young boy fresh out of college who  decides to set himself free from the bonds of society, family and  responsibilities. What follows is an amazing journey of a mind  seeking freedom, to taste the wild as it ought to be. He hitch  hikes his way across US to reach his destination, Alaska, where he  has decided to survive with the least dependence on the outside  world. He meets, along the way, some really amazing people who  lead him through this new life. Trampling on the road with  literally no money and working small time  to earn little to buy  stuff he might need at Alaska, Chris experiences moments, a kind  of new awakening.

What Chris did, is what all of us dream to do someday, but  breaking away, to live a life away from the family and friends,  luxuries that money can buy, all the daily things familiar to you,  all the mundane responsibilities and commitments that tie you down  is nearly impossible. We all want to backpack, a run away into  wilderness amidst the sparkling stream water , chirping birds and  dewy grass, but nature is not just beautiful, it can be  unmerciful, which Chris found out at his life's stake.

Some of the quotes that I love are:
Happiness is real only when shared

The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance  to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know  that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it  is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To  measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in  the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone  alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.
— Bear Meat by Primo Levi

The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more...
             - Lord Byron

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not  take the initiative to change their situation because they are  conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism,  all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality  nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man  than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit  is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our  encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy  than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a  new and different sun."
— Chris McCandless

"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all  possibility of life is destroyed."
— Chris McCandless

"Rather than Love, than Money, than Fame, give me Truth."
— Henry David Thoreau

To taste the unknown without reservations
To place my hand in a dingy hole without fear
To jump into a dark pit just coz I feel it is worth discovering
To sing raucously in a crowded bus
To dance in an unknown street
To do my painting when it damn well pleases me
To visit an unknown town on my own
To wear any gaudy cloth that pleases my heart
To love the unknown no matter how creepy that might sound
To break bounds and lose oneself in an uninhabited place
We all have these desires
But we make them - rules
Tie ourselves down
Give every damned reason not to dare, break boundaries
Just chuck them buddy
Let yourself run wild

Devi : A Satyajit Ray movie

 Devi is a poignant story of a young girl Doyamoyee (Sharmila tagore) who is married into a wealthy family to the youngest son,Umaprasad (Soumitra Chatterjee), who is studying at Kolkata. The father-in-law, Kalikinkar Roy is very much dependent on the young daughter-in-law and affectionately calls her ma, meaning mother. Doya is a silent yet very loving and devoted to her family. The few scenes that shows Khoka (meaning kid in Bengali) who is the son of the the eldest son in the family and the parrot being fed by her shows her affectionate nature.

Now the 60's where the time when women were restricted around the household, they had to cover their face (cower) from men other than their husbands (It still is, in many parts of our country). This imagery of dutiful wife, daughter-in-law is so graciously conveyed by Sharmila.

The first half of the movie gives a good insight into each of the character, like for example of the eldest daughter in law who is strict and yet good natured. Her husband meanwhile is heavily dependent on his father for everything and hence takes his dictum verbatim. Uma on the other hand belongs to the young generation of 60's well-educated, hopeful of a promising career and deeply in love with his young wife.

Things take an ugly turn when the father-in-law dreams that Doya is the incarnation of Goddess Durga herself. What is a dream after-all? a virtual, cooked-up projection of reality? Roy, who is devoted to worshiping Durga , and who finds happiness lighted up in his family by Doya , no wonder conjures up an image of her as the re-incarnation of Goddess herself. Doya who is a dutiful daughter-in-law does not speak against her father-in-law though she has misgivings and silently endures the whole situation.

Uma's character as the one torn between not upstaging his father on one hand and rescuing his bride on the other is well acted out by Chatterjee.

Tagore's acting of bearing this burden in impeachable, she carriers such powerful emotions just through her eyes and body language that Doya's silence fails to. The silent understanding that passes when Uma witnesses her on an altar being worshiped by a throng of people and the the resulting talks on the banks when they decide to elope is just too good.

Satyajit Ray's direction of building up the movie to the last scene where Doya breaks down completely when Khoka dies. Her illogical ramblings and her makeup that denotes Goddess Kali the demon destroyer is ultimate. The narrative, pace, timing, attention to detail is immaculate.

A bit of retrospect on the movie made me realize that the story can be interpreted in 2 ways which makes the movie hard to brand as anti-religion. You could say Doya was a goddess incarnate and she showered the Thakur's household with blessings and happiness, but ultimately Durga is also Kali who is uncompromising and shows no pity for the one who errs and hence takes away Khoka. Although the movie does not talk about Kali, but has used the term - Demoness, I find the narrative this way making more sense. The other way round you could Thakur's blind beliefs corrupted Doya's mind accompanied by the co-incidental coming to life of the beggar boy at her altar (Also, remember that his uncle has already given him a variety of medicines earlier before submitting to Doya's. The medicine's late reaction could have saved the boy's life). The rest of the miraculous healings could be just a matter of faith, you believe strongly enough and that can work miracles for you. Where as for Khoka, who fell sick had no such advantage. He was already in an unconscious state unaware that his favourite aunt was the one who held him.

One image that often haunts me, the dream Roy has - the shining bindi on Doya's forehead,

 transforming into the same bindi on the Devi's.

                                   

Keep off the grass

After, all the dumb novels of the Literary Hero read in every corner of India, comes a fresh new look - keep off the grass by Karan Bajaj. As I started reading it grudgingly, ready to be disappointed by the sloppy dialogues and bad English, I was pleasantly surprised as I got hooked on to the smart one-liners.

I must say, before, I get deeper into reviewing this book, that, I have certain standards to rate a book, the first and foremost is - good hold of language, there is just no excuse for crap like some point someone  or Animal like things. Secondly if I need to just be entertained with meritocracy I'll watch movies, why the hell should I lick every line of the grimy book? I feel novels ought to express emotions, situations in a way we felt but really could not form them in words yet, tell us something we haven't known yet, impound us with ideas. the theme must not be just narrating story for the heck of it, story is just draperies not the essence unless of course the story is a fantasy.

Having said that everyone has their own rating system, if you can dig what I mean that's cool otherwise, well, go no further!

OK, coming back to the book, other than the language, I liked the the perspective of the protagonist - Samrat, builds towards India. Showing India in the eyes of one who essentially belonged here but somehow has lost his roots. What I mostly liked were, the deliveries on the harsh realities of life, that life isn fair. You cannot have the cake and eat it too. In order that you could achieve happiness, solace, we ought to let go of the materialistic driven world.

Why did he have to go to IIM when what he wanted was to essentially, is to search for answers, to explore. why does he not take off even when he is slinking down in the academics when his goal isn to merely get the grades? Its difficult to let go of the definite and run behind something you have not even formed a word about. I liked the way Bajaj lets the character seep into you lets you understand the turmoil, the constant battle that rages to live a easy life, fitting into what his life offered a Manhattan apartment, wall street job loads of money and yet he seeks more, a place where he need not constantly try to fit in, where he could be accepted the way he is. I also totally marveled at his time in Benaras.

Though I would say this one will not free your soul blah blah but yeah, makes a good read. It has good laughs packed in too. All in all for those like me looking out for more that story, go grab this book!

Blue

The falling down,
Let me savour.
I am bound to no one,
No one to check the fall.

The final sweep the heart plunges,
Is what I wish to feel.
The closure the finale when the curtain drops.
No play here, no script, just an empty canvas.
And the ecstasy to paint it to any colour;
The imagination is mine to keep.
You have no place in here,
A temporary transit and i will be back into your arms.

But right here and now;
I wish to stay a little while more;
Where the music is thrown against the wall in earnest,
And i can feel its sharp edges strike and sting me.
The blue of the paint thrown,
And fall like droplets from a heaven bleeding.

To the ghosts of my past,
I bid you, adieu!

Tonight as the smokes swirl
In thick clouds,
They bear no shape.

As the music rises in  crescendo,
I am free.

I have longed this,
And tonight I savour this.

A night's promise

Darkness holds a promise,
A veiled face.
Expression and eyes shadowed,
Only a voice coo's in sweetly,
Lulling me to a hypnotic sleep.

I shall forget all caution,
Forget all prejudices;
Raising my arm I shall touch you gently,
And feel love pulsing in waves.

Not fearing the unknown,
And all the lessons my broken heart learnt,
I shall undo them in the blackest of these nights.

My fears, my joys,
My sorrows, my sin,
My virtue, my triumph,
My weakness, All laid bare at your feet,
All yours to savour and break at will.