Watching a movie on a flight is a difference experience. It actually is a very up, close and personal encounter. I tend to focus more, listen intently and grab details which I might not have in a large auditorium with several other individuals sharing my screen space!
I watched "Disha" all over again after several years. I love this movie for it is a depiction of the true industrial revolution, urbanization and the impact it has had on lives of the "aam aadmi". It showcases beautifully and yet in detail the implications of the change and the impact of the failure of a democracy to have changed the life of a rural struggling farmer.
There are moments in this movie when reality hits you hard. It shows the frustrations of a man wanting to work hard, but having no means to work in a small village. He is at the mercy of chance to get work on a particular day. He then moves onto a city - Mumbai in the hope that the various employment options will change his life. He sacrifices his happiness by leaving a socially warm, rich life to struggle in a city away from his family. Mumbai the land for mill workers in the 70's and 80's attracted loads of rural folks and gobbled them up in ways you and I cannot even fathom. "Sone ki jagah hai lekin karvat nahin badal sakte. Sote hai shift mai!" This line pretty much describes the standard of living.
The madness of a man to change his fate is depicted brilliantly. He believes he can actually dig dig and dig to find water. He digs for 12 long years, most people call him crazy and one day he does strike water. The depiction of the scene and the madness captured is brilliant. The movie does not glorify anyone or preach change. It very realistically takes us through the lives of all these characters weaving a story around different kinds of realities that existed in the 70's and 80's. I loved the movie , the characters and the small details that brought about the depth of struggle and kept me glued to reality.
There is a scene where a couple wants to "make love" but need to drive their kids outside to sleep, there is a scene where a villager asks his wife to smoke a beedi and enjoy a few vices, there is a scene where dead machines showcase the redundancy of man! I recommend this movie to anyone who has an appetite for reality and social art house movies. The movie has had a special impact on me and has made me want to understand more about the lives of people I rarely meet, individuals in rural India , individuals who are the majority of India! Someday I hope, I can make a film with this much depth, simplicity and brilliance.
I bow down Sai Paranjpaye!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Friday, April 08, 2011
Whirlpool of fast forwards and rewinds. No time for stills
Lots has happened since I last wrote down a post. Goa, Badami, Cycling expeditions, New Countries, Understanding of physics, Music and sound, More Hindustani music and what not!
Well I thoroughly enjoyed Goa, specially the time spent on the road, bike and with myself traversing the strange hidden spots of this fantastic lovely quaint town that I will definitely go back to. I will go back and write a book or just write blurbs some day. The sea just brings out some hidden thoughts and makes me very quiet and pensive. Cousin time was amazing with all of us just chilling out and relaxing. Life just had 3 motives - eat, drink and be merry!
The next trip was a random one, hot weather and history coupled with Architecture - A subject I secretly enjoyed. I am very fascinated by proportions, expressions and structures. Ancient times were all about civilizations, boundaries and structures that defined cities, strength and boundaries. Today architecture has boiled down to convenience more than art. We are saddled with the limitations of realigning versus building from scratch. I mean years ago people got a structureless earth on a platter (possibly) and ended up crafting their own civilizations. Today we have crafted our cities and towns. However, yet there is a huge expanse of unconquered territory. I got bitten by wasps, stung by bees and scraped by bats. I ate in huts and relished the basic food of a villager, traveled by train and enjoyed fabulous conversations with friends, random connections and extremely learned folks.
I also spent an interesting week with an old friend. We gazed at stars and I realized and remembered how much I loved astronomy. As a child, I would spend long hours, gazing into a clear sky. The street lights were non existent, the eyes curious and I would watch. I would then read. I remember the black book I had which was called "All about space". I then began to go back and read up my basics. One night watching a news flash about the experiment of sending an extremely hi-tech hubble telescope into space to capture light beyond frequency of visible eyes, which lead to the discovery of the cosmic light got my attention. I then spent several nights reading up on the theory of light and its application in understanding the origin of the universe. I realized at a fundamental level the world of researchers was split between nothing and infinite. Two sides of the same coin. Shunya and Infinity - Again something that I had discussed at length over my Badami trip. Seems like am part of the Shunya clan that believes that the universe emerged from nothing vs the other set that believes that the universe always existed as infinite. Anyways the research from this particular experiment and facts I read, alluded to high possibilities that the universe did not in fact start from a dot, but was always and is just expanding.
Astronomy drew me to science and I picked up my old time favorite Mr Feynman. Gosh! is there joy in learning about heat, resistance and social interactions scientifically? I so wish I could go back and learn all over again in an entire new way.
I also realized that at the root of it, I am a very curious person. I was curious about sound and frequencies. I was curious about learning as to how certain wavelengths of light we cannot see but can hear by tuning into our radios. I wanted to understand why certain patterns of notes arouse a certain mood in us. There is of course science to things. I love some musical pieces immensely and never understood why. I then began to pay attention and I realized I truly enjoy music that has certain nuances such as usage of adjacent musical notes for instance. Like in Rag Lalit the usage of M' and M with the G and similarly NiSR' all adjacent produces some sort of amazing twists that my ear enjoys. Similarly there is this strange connection I have with Rag Kalavati. Prabha Atre's rendition is possibly the most amazing one. What a voice and what clarity she has. The effortlessness is awesome just like it is with Ashwini Bhide or Kishori Amonkar. I have learnt a whole lot about sound, music, recording, mixing and spent significant long hours only listening to sounds and variations.
Finally, I am moving, I am moving base for a little bit to London. The move needs a whole new post I know. But I am excited for this is going to be my year of travel. I am extremely weary about letting go. I will miss my friends, my loved ones and my apartment and life back in Bangalore. I have not had the time to write and capture the changes in my life. But I do know this year is fast paced and I am loving it. I have changed very distinctly in the last 1 year. For the first time in my life in years I think I have been extremely happy with myself and my time on my own. I am doing things I love and care for. I am not driven by love or by other people in my life or so I would like to believe. I am finally living for the expressions within me, the music in me that wants to just be allowed to experience itself, the energy in me waiting to do so many things, the nomad in me wanting to explore and experience cities, people and silences. I will update this space more, I will write more, I will watch the stars, I will capture pictures, I will sing more and I will learn a lot more this year. I just know! I wish I can rewind or move ahead and fast forward, but life is a motion picture. I did learn the art to pause and sometimes enjoy the stills!
Well I thoroughly enjoyed Goa, specially the time spent on the road, bike and with myself traversing the strange hidden spots of this fantastic lovely quaint town that I will definitely go back to. I will go back and write a book or just write blurbs some day. The sea just brings out some hidden thoughts and makes me very quiet and pensive. Cousin time was amazing with all of us just chilling out and relaxing. Life just had 3 motives - eat, drink and be merry!
The next trip was a random one, hot weather and history coupled with Architecture - A subject I secretly enjoyed. I am very fascinated by proportions, expressions and structures. Ancient times were all about civilizations, boundaries and structures that defined cities, strength and boundaries. Today architecture has boiled down to convenience more than art. We are saddled with the limitations of realigning versus building from scratch. I mean years ago people got a structureless earth on a platter (possibly) and ended up crafting their own civilizations. Today we have crafted our cities and towns. However, yet there is a huge expanse of unconquered territory. I got bitten by wasps, stung by bees and scraped by bats. I ate in huts and relished the basic food of a villager, traveled by train and enjoyed fabulous conversations with friends, random connections and extremely learned folks.
I also spent an interesting week with an old friend. We gazed at stars and I realized and remembered how much I loved astronomy. As a child, I would spend long hours, gazing into a clear sky. The street lights were non existent, the eyes curious and I would watch. I would then read. I remember the black book I had which was called "All about space". I then began to go back and read up my basics. One night watching a news flash about the experiment of sending an extremely hi-tech hubble telescope into space to capture light beyond frequency of visible eyes, which lead to the discovery of the cosmic light got my attention. I then spent several nights reading up on the theory of light and its application in understanding the origin of the universe. I realized at a fundamental level the world of researchers was split between nothing and infinite. Two sides of the same coin. Shunya and Infinity - Again something that I had discussed at length over my Badami trip. Seems like am part of the Shunya clan that believes that the universe emerged from nothing vs the other set that believes that the universe always existed as infinite. Anyways the research from this particular experiment and facts I read, alluded to high possibilities that the universe did not in fact start from a dot, but was always and is just expanding.
Astronomy drew me to science and I picked up my old time favorite Mr Feynman. Gosh! is there joy in learning about heat, resistance and social interactions scientifically? I so wish I could go back and learn all over again in an entire new way.
I also realized that at the root of it, I am a very curious person. I was curious about sound and frequencies. I was curious about learning as to how certain wavelengths of light we cannot see but can hear by tuning into our radios. I wanted to understand why certain patterns of notes arouse a certain mood in us. There is of course science to things. I love some musical pieces immensely and never understood why. I then began to pay attention and I realized I truly enjoy music that has certain nuances such as usage of adjacent musical notes for instance. Like in Rag Lalit the usage of M' and M with the G and similarly NiSR' all adjacent produces some sort of amazing twists that my ear enjoys. Similarly there is this strange connection I have with Rag Kalavati. Prabha Atre's rendition is possibly the most amazing one. What a voice and what clarity she has. The effortlessness is awesome just like it is with Ashwini Bhide or Kishori Amonkar. I have learnt a whole lot about sound, music, recording, mixing and spent significant long hours only listening to sounds and variations.
Finally, I am moving, I am moving base for a little bit to London. The move needs a whole new post I know. But I am excited for this is going to be my year of travel. I am extremely weary about letting go. I will miss my friends, my loved ones and my apartment and life back in Bangalore. I have not had the time to write and capture the changes in my life. But I do know this year is fast paced and I am loving it. I have changed very distinctly in the last 1 year. For the first time in my life in years I think I have been extremely happy with myself and my time on my own. I am doing things I love and care for. I am not driven by love or by other people in my life or so I would like to believe. I am finally living for the expressions within me, the music in me that wants to just be allowed to experience itself, the energy in me waiting to do so many things, the nomad in me wanting to explore and experience cities, people and silences. I will update this space more, I will write more, I will watch the stars, I will capture pictures, I will sing more and I will learn a lot more this year. I just know! I wish I can rewind or move ahead and fast forward, but life is a motion picture. I did learn the art to pause and sometimes enjoy the stills!
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