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Kaagaz Ke Phool
Rang Le Aayenge, Roop Le Aayenge, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Khushboo Kahan Se Layenge...
The above line quoted by my friend from a song of Asha Bhonsle made me go pondering again and I penned down this poem.
Kaagaz Ki Kismat To Dekho -
Phool Banne Ki Koshish Ki Hai.
Rang Diya Hai, Roop Diya Hai,
Khushboo Na De Paaya To Kya,
Ghar Ki Sajaawat Nikhaarne Ko,
Apna Astitva Arpan Kar,
Phool-Sa Kaise Khila Hua Hai !
Talks of the paper roses beautifying our homes in coloured vases...doesn't matter if they don't smell like blooming fresh flowers, yet they add vibrance to our homes.
So the paper did try its best to be a flower for us !
Even if these flowery papers are fragrance-free, we still do buy them to adorn our homes...gratitude infinity.
Sincerely,
Aparna
(Blog Entry : 23/06/08)
Shuruwat
Har shuruwat Ki samapti ho
Yeh zaroori toh nahin !
Har aajeevan sadhu ko
Maut ke upraant -
Moksh ki praapti ho
Yeh zaroori toh nahin !
Makes me wonder, if all Rishi-Yogis are so "desireless" as they say, and as they are meant to be...
Don't they also desire their communion with God or the attainment of salvation (freedom from the cycle of rebirth) ??
Their desires could be different from us commoners, but the desire still remains...
For them, their sole purpose and passion of life is seeking the Almighty or striving towards their Nirvana.
But I believe, No man on this earth is truly 'desireless' be he a Sanyasi or the one who does Ghar-Grahasthi.
Happy Pondering !
As Always :) Aparna
(Blog Entry : 21/03/08)
Dua
Dua Maangi Thi Jo Usne
Rab Se Mere Liye
Usko Na Pata Tha
Ki Rab Ko Bhi Chahiye Tha
Mujhse Kuchh, Apne Liye…
He prayed to God for me.
Not knowing that God
Was also in need of
something from me…
© Aparna Chatterjee 2008
The above lines reflect my thoughts on a Friend's prayers for me.
It's not only that we need God. God is also in need of us.
The symbiosis of Life is also structured in spiritual relationships.
If we look up to God for our Fulfillment, God looks upon us to Fulfill Him too.
It is a holistic "give and take" for the cause of goodness sake.
I do feel that if there is a 'God' out there - He needs us too just like the way we need Him.
It may or may not be true...but that is how I feel about the Almighty.
It is as if when we speak spiritual words of wisdom and spread God's love around, his message for peace and tolerance - as propagated by the priests, the paadris, the maulvis and other holy men like Gurujis...may be, that is the way God wants to be remembered.
His need for us is met when we fulfill His need of being believed and revered by all.
Irrespective of the dirty politics and caste divisiveness being played in the name of religion.
If there is a Supreme Power out there up above us, He surely would not be interested in being muddled up with casteism, fanaticism and dogmatism with regard to religion esp. the practice of Jihaad by Muslim Extremists and Untouchability by snobbish upper caste Hindus.
Candidly,
*Aparna*
(Blog Entry : 01/03/08)
Response Review
The other day, one of my very dear friends, on reading my poem Oh ! Why ? commented :
"When one questions or challenges "FAITH", at least two things can happen. Either one goes into a depression OR one embarks upon the journey to seeking of TRUTH (a la Buddha)."
It again set me thinking and my train of thoughts raced along the tracks of my restless mind somewhat like this :
Be one Depressed or be one becoming the Buddha, still it doesn't eradicate the endless suffering in this World.
Which mother would want to see her children suffer before her eyes?
So if God / Goddess (whoever that Almighty be) - and if He/She is our one and only 'Real' Parent - so to say - who has brought us into this world and given us 'virtual' families to live with...how can He/She endure to see the starvation of the millions of impoverished Africans in Somalia and Darfur, many of them infants and children.
I for one, keep questioning the existence of God, every now and then, though like many others, I also feel secure clinging to His 'Umbrella' like chhatra-chhaya when it pours and rains...
May be, HE is the reason why we feel a bit secure in unsure times. But then what about those victims of hunger who are dying by the scores every day there in Africa...Where and Who is God for them?
I think God is as mystical a mystery as Death is.
We keep conjecturing about their nature with our thoughts, feelings and beliefs that have been ingrained in us for generations together and also as per the circumstantial events that leave an indelible imprint on our minds and hearts.
Death we know is a Reality - because we see people dying before us...their lifeless bodies we go and cremate or bury.
Though we do not know what happens to us after Death. Is there life after Death or is it that very "The End”?
But God?
If HE is a real parent, why Should HE be partial to some so-called 'noble' souls and reveal Himself in their 'visions' (hallucinations/delusions/out of body experiences) of Him?
Imagine me as a parent, loving my daughter more than my son, for whatever reasons, and being so partial, that only my daughter has access to me but I remain 'invisible' for my son. Can any loving parent do that?
However much my son is Naughty and Cheeky, I as a mother, have to be available to his needs of me, even though I feel more softy towards my daughter - for me, both are my children, and so they must be able to access me when they need me.
It is my duty to look after their needs and it is their right on me to come seeking me in their times of need.
And if I being the Mother Goddess, give 'darshan' to only a chosen few of My earthly children and the rest of My creations don't know whether I really exist or not - isn't that Me perpetuating an atmosphere of doubt, mistrust, oblivion, conjecture amongst My own children and of course, a lot of discrimination and partiality ?
So the bad ones remain unreformed and disillusioned and the good ones become 'more good' on seeing Me - isn't that a lopsided approach? The Great Divide between the Haves and the Have Nots.
Compare Dubai and Darfur.
Compare an Orphanage of homeless children to every Family of pampered children.
Compare a Healthy child's life to the uphill daily routine of children who have been born blind/deaf/mute.
(Assuming that both the categories above include God's children like us - we the benefactors, we the sufferers).
And if we cannot justify the above demarcations / differences with any Factual Basis of Realities - we blame it on the Law of Karma (which of course, is another Virtual World of Beliefs and Myths) - Not Verified by Hard Facts.
That's my take on Faith.
I do want to have Faith in Godliness but my Faith gets shaken when I see that Godliness is not all pervading...
If God is always Good, His children should be good too, inheriting HIS wholesome goodness, and the world should be a better place to live with no suffering, no war, and no pangs of hunger and starvation as endured by many...
And God's Goodness should be such that we always enjoy the beauties of Nature like rivers, seas, forests, mountains and waterfalls and not be victimised by His wrath when he brings those natural calamities to us (to His own children) causing death and destruction by those disastrous Earthquakes, Land-Slides, Volcanoes, Hurricanes and Tsunamis.
I am sure many of those innocent victims would be God-Fearing Aastiks (Theists) than being Naastiks (Atheists). So what of their faiths and beliefs? Is this the way God returns their gratitude by wrecking their families and homes?
This time, when I went to visit Radha Mami's place, her bereaved husband said in tears...such events really make you doubt the existence and benevolence of God. And they were really a nice couple with a happy family, and now everyone is shattered.
There is another Muslim Friend of my husband. He is a very good, god-fearing, teetotaler, conservative and traditional in his religious ways, diligently doing his daily Namaaz and by virtue of his nature, a sincere worker and a helpful person.
Settled here in London, with his wife and daughter, he hasn’t adopted the western way of living, and takes good care of his old parents, being an obedient and dutiful son. But for the past many months, it is nearly 2 years now; he has been plagued with physical problems that have made him virtually bed-ridden and walking on crutches. He has undergone some very major operations and is on the verge of depression, out of fear of losing his job as he has been off sick for a long time due to his debilitating surgeries that require him to take adequate rest for recovery. He is hardly of the age to sit at home.
In his mid 30s, he is very much looking forward to get back to work as soon as possible only if God wills him to get a speedy recovery that has been eluding him for many months now. So much so for such a dedicated devotee of The Almighty.
So Does God / Goddess really Exist? And if He / She does, then I am sure He / She is not that Good as we assume them to be.
Just like the day and the night, the shades and the sunshine, they also have good and bad parts in their divine dispositions, like the positives and negatives we humans have in our mortal personifications.
And when we talk of ourselves emulating ‘godly’ qualities of peace, tolerance and amity, if we study our Hindu Mythology, right from the Holy Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to our beautiful, enchanting Goddesses of Durga, Lakshmi and Kali, when these holy deities decided to prove that the Good always overpowers the Evil, Gandhiji’s non-violence never worked for them.
It always had to be the use of their powerful cosmic weapons of the fearful ‘third eye’, the Sudarshan Chakra, their swords and Trishuls. That is, they themselves preaching the practice of An Eye for An Eye. The goddess as Niharika, when is she the all-enchanting, all-caring Mother, Sister, Wife and Lover and the very same Goddess becoming a Chandalika when she has to deal with devils and demons, mercilessly killing them, beheading them and unleashing a series of murders and slaughters like the Ferocious Kali. Does it really justify the triumph of Right OR Might ?! I guess, it has more to do with the use of power tactics rather than negotiation skills. On a lighter note, I think, they warranted a need for Anger-Management ! So how can we mere mortals remain away from war crimes in our times of political crises and large-scale civil unrest, when the Great Gods themselves waged wars and indulged in such bloody warfare?
To err is human, to forgive - divine. I guess, it can no longer be eternally true...
Because here on this earth, babies and infants also endure “divine punishment” in terms of birth defects and severe malnutrition, before they even grow up to make sense of what all they are going through...and why ?
Some die very young, much before their senses arrive, and some lose the power to sense things in life, because of their mental and physical disabilities.
~ Aparna ~
(Blog Entry : 14/12/07)
Delicate Kisses
She gives me
Flying Kisses -
Some are Hits :)
Some are Misses :(
My Dainty Daughter's
Delicate Kisses !
Her pearly white teeth
give a beautiful smile :)
I keep gazing at her...
for an aeon of a while.
I wrote these lines the other day, after talking to her from upstairs and she was talking to me from downstairs.
She was thanking me for giving her toy and sent me her kisses of thanks ! She is love boundless...and warmth endless...
I get overwhelmed by every little gesture of hers. She has caught me hook, line and sinker !
That's my Daughter-Diary for now.
(Blog Entry : 06/10/07)
God's Message To Thee
Live in awe of me,
Live in fear of me,
You're living without me,
Yet you live 'with' me.
The above lines signify that though God is Invisible, yet HE is Omnipresent in our hearts 'n' minds b'cos we are awe-struck at HIS magnificent, celestial creations of Nature's Splendours and are also afraid of HIS Supernatural Powers of subjecting us to HIS Divine Punishment through disease, illness and disasters like Floods, Storms, Earthquakes and Tsunami.
And my thoughts on the sad demise of Robin Da esp. thinking of his widow and son :
Nothing Changes For Us,
When Someone Else Dies...
Throughout the World,
At this Point of Time -
A Bereaved One Cries...
Reflecting the Reality that there may be scores of Deaths taking place at a given point of time around the Globe, but it hardly affects our diurnal routine, except shattering the lives of their near 'n' dear ones who they leave behind.
The Sun, the Moon, the stars and the sky - they all remain the same for us, rising and setting everyday, and our life goes on as usual with our school, office and home routines, except for those bereaved persons mourning the loss of their loved ones - their life catapults them to an entirely new dimension of existence.
Hard to Live on - yet struggling to survive...for the sake of their progeny and dependents.
Signing Off For Now,
as always ~ aparna
(Blog Entry : 14/05/07)
Happiness
They say : Happiness is a very Intrinsic Factor that comes from within - Is It ?
Then everyone of us would have been happy living as isolated islands in the jungle with no need for food, shelter, clothing and social relationships, which are so very extrinsic things. Man wouldn't have built any civilization nor society.
In jobs and careers, one would have been happy just being an office clerk and wouldn't have strived to become a Departmental Head. Many lovers in this world wouldn't have resisted their parents to marry the man / woman of their choice and would have been just as happy if any man / woman became their husband / wife.
Or if you can think of extremes : Why marry at all ? Why need that very 'extrinsic' partner to fulfill your intrinsic needs of love and belongingness...Stay Single.
All parents would have been glad if their children just barely passed their class exams and wouldn't have motivated them to be achievers in sports, music and academics. Recognition and Rewards for our success are all extrinsic things that motivate us to surge ahead in life. If an office employee's efforts are not rewarded with due recognition, would he have still continued to enjoy working at the one post he joined in the beginning of his career and stagnate at that post for years together without any promotion ?
I am sure for any employee, a respectable, high position at the office would also make his old parents feel proud and happy b'cos they are loving their son's achievements. But would they have been this happy if he was unemployed and jobless ? I am afraid, not. So jobs and careers are also very extrinsic things which make us realise our worth and potential.
We keep telling ourselves about happiness being intrinsic to gain some consolation that whatever be the situation that befalls us, we'll try to adjust, accept, accommodate and be happy with all that we've got in life. It holds more true when we have unfulfilled needs, desires and ambitions, and we can't make our dreams to realities, such modes of self-consolation help us feel better and of course, comparing ourselves with the lesser privileged and feeling how fortunate we are...
But in reality, we always try to want and achieve more and more to fulfill our needs and harness our potentials. We are not self-satiated. We are always seeking, searching with our restless soul...As they say, the sky is the limit. Or may be, the limitless, boundless universe which reflects the very fact of existence, that there are no limits, no boundaries, when it comes to our desires in life.
As Ghalib portrayed his thoughts so well :
Hazaaron khwahishain 'eisee, ke har khwahish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin phir bhee kam nikle...
In a way, it is good. B'cos it makes us grow and seek new opportunities. Like the saying goes : a rolling stone gathers no moss. Life is a process of ceaseless evolution...every moment, any trivial / impt. event, makes a mark on us and it ushers in a new change of feeling, thinking and doing...
The famous humanitarian hollywood actress Ashley Judd says :
"I can't think of anything I want and need that I don't already have, but at the same time, I'm not sated."
I agree with her b'cos being sated / satiated means staying stagnated. There is nothing to look forward to...A kind of self-contentment where we are happy with what we are and we don't want to grow any further...There is no urge to surge ahead.
But life is not about stopping to stagnate. It is about evolving and discovering and changing and emulating new things...It is like the unending quest for knowledge and the thirst to learn new concepts. The thirst / quest may be intrinsic but the source of knowledge could be intrinsic like the road to self-realization / self-actualization or extrinsic - there is a plethora of undelved facts in the world - the universe being one whole knowledge-bank and we the tiny children in our own little worlds of home and class-learning, trying to grasp as much as we can in this short life of ours...and feeling amazed, in awe, in wonder, as and when we learn new concepts, and apply new principles to our day to day living...
And we realize that life is too short. There is so much to learn, imbibe, and absorb from this world. And even if we become diligent life-learners, learning a new concept everyday, we would still be covering just a fraction of the world-wide knowledge base. One life is just too short for a lifetime of learning...
Before you get me wrong, I am not saying that the more wealthy and rich a person is, the more happy and contented he would be. B'cos money cannot buy you love nor guarantee you happiness. There are other extrinsic factors like social relationships, and intrinsic factors like a healthy mind and body, which might contribute to a person feeling well and happy.
But I can certainly say, that there are more chances of a well-fed, well-educated, well-settled, well-resourced person to feel 'happy' in life than an under-nourished, uneducated, unemployed person living his life in abject poverty and deprivation.
As for Great Exceptions like Gautama Buddha who renounced their worldly pleasures and familial attachments in search of the ultimate truth...in such cases too, they took extreme steps b'cos they were not self-contented with what they had in life and their restlessness drove them to life's austerities and deep penance till they achieved their "enlightenment" - so for them, the source of pleasure was not materialistic but rather spiritual and philosophical...and they sought pleasure in seeking knowledge and imparting their tenets of truth to others....thus in doing good for their disciples, leading them from darkness to light, spreading happiness amongst dejected souls, all these noble actions became a source of their happiness.
And before I end this topic, here's an intimate feeler : If happiness is so intrinsic, then why does a baby snuggle in peace on her mother's breasts, instead of lying alone and crying in her crib and why do grown-up, married men seek the pleasure of suckling their wives' breasts and never seem to get over them?
B'cos neither the baby can do without them in her life of infancy and nor the married men in their conjugal life.
Candidly,
Aparna
(Blog Entry : 04/04/07)
Need
"Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.' Mature love says: 'I need you because I love you.'" - Erich Fromm
Though I've shared this quote with you before, but these days it has been really centrifuging my mind.
Don't know about love being mature or immature in the above quote, yet what is very significantly seen is that whenever it comes to human love, be it mature or immature, the "need" factor always complements or supplements it.
The need for another person, the need of a lover for one's beloved, as man is a social animal, so the need to find a partner for settling in life.
This need is what makes relationships thrive and also go astray. The moment you don't need a person in your life, he/she loses his/her significance for you. That's why break-offs, separations and divorces take place.
B'cos the need for that all-impt. specific person is replaced by the need for another person who now holds your interest and that's why people enter into re-partnerships and re-marriages.
But of course, living alone is next to impossible as Man is a Social Animal and therefore relationships by virtue of being in a single, committed marital contract or by way of a string of affairs - is what people indulge in...as falling in love and being in love always warrants a need for another person to share one's life.
And I think that God up above might be also lonely and needy like us, and when we talk of human love being need-based, sometimes I feel that God also needs us to remember Him...to feel HIS need in our lives and that's why in our day-to-day living amongst all mundane and routine activities, there are some very precious moments of exuberant jubilation He bestows on us by way of special events like personal or social achievements, and we feel the need to thank Him for his benevolence, to remember Him more in those very happy times, thus fulfilling His need as well - His need to be loved, acknowledged and appreciated by his children on Earth.
And also amongst such diurnal routines, HE sometimes drowns us in abject misery with unthinkable exigencies or failures, b'cos in those very depressing times, we remember God more often and seek His mercy, thus again reiterating this mutual symbiotic need of give and take b/wn God and His subjects - we as humans, seek God in our most trying times and may be, God also makes us endure such times so that we feel His need in our lives.
God gives us the happiest and saddest of our life's moments and we take it all in...
Similarly, in those very positive and very negative times, we reiterate our need of God and our faith in His Godliness, thanking Him in our good times and seeking deliverance in our turmoils - thus we give ourselves unto Him, our belief in His supernatural powers, and He accepts our devotion and prayers, thus His Need to be wanted by His children on Earth is Fulfilled.
A form of Symbiosis - Give and Take.
So I think that the "need" factor is not just limited to the Human Form of Love - we needing to be with the persons we love.
The "need" factor is also very much a part of Divine Love. God's need for us - His devotees and our need for HIM - He the eternal Guru and we His eternal Shishyas.
Seems like a very holistic form of "Aashram" where in this world, we are born to live and seek refuge in God's Shelter, be it happy times or sad.
Human Love or Divine Love - both exist with similar packages of high and low moments, of pain and pleasure, of exultation and depression, of suffering and deliverance...
And of course, the similarities in seeking and sharing...In our moments of joy and jubilation, we not only feel close to God but also seek our loved ones, our closest allies, be they our parents, friends, partners or children, people who mean the most to us in our lives, and share with them our moments of heightened pleasure. Like the saying goes : Joy shared is Doubled.
On the other end of the continuum, when we are down and out, we not only seek God for some personal solace but also become more dependent and needy of our loved ones, sharing our woes with them, crying on their shoulders, trying to seek some sort of loving comfort in their unconditional support for us. It may be with our partners, our bosom friends or even with our parents and grown-up children, depending on the depth of rapport we share with the pivotal persons in our life. A heart that truly loves can understand a heart in pain...
Yet the one marked difference is the Object of Love - the very visible, "touchable" Man/Woman in your Life as regards Human Love and the always invisible, elusive God Almighty who becomes the ultimate object of your Divine Love - for He annoys and appeases us in His own "special" ways and you feel there is this Uniqueness in HIM that makes him so very surreal and yet so real in our world of Blind Beliefs.
That's all my say for now on Need.
Regards,
Aparna
(Blog Entry : 28/03/07)
Is God Fiction or Non-Fiction ?
The other day, my 7 yrs old son asked me : Mummy, is God Fiction or Non-Fiction ?
He is learning Facts and Fiction in School, in terms of classifying Fictional Books (reads on fairy tales and bedtime stories) and Non-Fictional Books (reads on healthy food, road safety, science gadgets, etc). In his simple logic, Fiction is all what we imagine and dream but it doesn't exist in the real world and Non-Fiction is what we can touch, see, hear and feel with our senses.
However much I wanted to tell my son that God is for Real. HE protects us and we always pray to Him for peace...but I didn't have any living proof and so I said that God is Fiction b'cos he is "invisible" but we should always revere HIM for his countless blessings on us.
Being a Firm Believer in God and despite going thru some very rough times in life, it has never shaken my Belief on Almighty, as has been ingrained in my values since childhood, but I do have those doubting moments when I see so much misery amongst the masses, be those hungry, under-fed children, or the daily bomb blasts of the long-running Iraq War and its ongoing aftermath.
Earlier on, it was Saddam's Dictatorial Reign and Abuse of Innocent Kurds, then Bush and Blair's Attacks on Iraq to oust Saddam and now the Country is on the Brink of a Civil War b/wn the Shias and Sunnis, Baghdad being the World's Deadliest City.
It seems there is no end to this diurnal violence and the worst affected are the Civilians who must have forgotten to lead a normal life by now, always living in fear of death and disaster.
Such trying times always make me question the benevolence of God's Supernatural powers. Why make them suffer so much, for so long a time...
As if being born an Iraqi is a curse, or even taking birth on African Soil is also a Curse, b'cos right from childhood, those tormented souls see nothing but incessant violence and abject poverty due to civil unrest.
That's a lot of my outpourings for now.
I think once I start, I cannot stop. There is so much going on inside me that it always overflows...
As for God and Soul, it is not that I am a non-believer, I've never been a Naastik, but I do have those very pondering moments, when such "hazy" areas of Godliness and Sufferings of the Soul, plague me and I start seeking answers...
Candidly,
Aparna
(Blog Entry : 12/03/07)
2 Quotes of Ramu
2 Quotes of Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) I came across while reading one of his web interviews :
"I've a problem with actresses wearing too much makeup. If you want to kiss a sexy girl you don't want to taste the lip-gloss in your mouth."
"To me love is when you want to share part of your life with a woman, to talk, sleep and watch movies with her."
Simplistic and down-to-earth.
Any Men / Women in our Forum who think / feel otherwise ?!
As far as his 1st sentence goes, I am at home with him...b'cos I never use make-up, not even a foundation nor face-powder, leave alone lip-gloss.
The last time I wore make-up was on my wedding day in Dec'1998 ! And I was quite uncomfy, eagerly waiting for the moment when I could wash it all off and be my own natural self !
I think it is a matter of habit, if you are used to wearing make-up, you can easily carry it on yourself, but if you are not habituated, you feel quite nauseous and alien, stuffing all that on your face.
Actually, this sans make-up lifestyle, I've inherited from my Mom who is a simpleton at heart and never ever uses any kind of Make-up though she was in a full-time highly public-profiled job all thru her life, having toured 18 countries and lots of inland official tours in India.
As far as Ramu's 2nd sentence goes, though rest of his words appeal to me, but I would rather swap movies for reading and travelling as I am not a movie-buff and instead I would love sharing nice, interesting reads with the men and women in my life and one day, if I had a lot of money, time, good health and vigour, I would love to travel the world with my family !
But what touches me the most in his Love Quote is that it is such a human form of love where you want to share a part of your life with your loved one. That's why people on this earth seek partnerships, which may be the bonding of live-in relationships or marrying the partner of your choice.
That's my take on Ramu's Quotes.
Feel free to share your views if any...
Candidly,
Aparna
(Blog Entry : 12/03/07)
Reality Personified - Page 3
I happened to see Page 3 today on B4U though I missed the first 1/2 an hour of the movie.
And so initially ektu ga chhara, ga chhara, laagchhilo, as if many isolated characters and incidents are being shown and I felt confused.
But then reality started dawning...and I was in for a Shock b'cos the reality portrayed of the Mumbai Media world, the dirty politics, the sex-abuse, the money-game, the Bollywood casting couch...was a bit too, too much for me.
I realised that I've led quite a sheltered life and am still leading one, in the confines of my cosy home.
And there is a starkly different world out there, beyond my grasp - and it is so harsh, cruel, superficial and very hard-hitting.
Some Scenes just Jolted me out of my senses - the child trafficking scenes in the Thapar Bungalow (very, very nauseating and blood-boiling). Felt like severely punishing those perpetrators who prey on the innocence of impoverished children.
The funeral scene of Mrs. Thapar was so artificial with people shedding crocodile tears and discussing contacts and business assignments rather than praying for the peace of the departed soul.
The scene where KonKona has to cover the bloody communal riots and the next moment she is called up to cover a socialite wedding and her blood boils on seeing the ACP having a gala time while Mumbai burns...and she is bold enough to give him a piece of her mind. So much of Stark Contrast. Aakash-Paatal Taufaat b/wn the 2 worlds of haves and have nots - Reality very well portrayed.
The scene where Boman Irani breaks down after KonKona is handed over the resignation letter. His stoic persona losing its grip and lamenting the loss of such a good Journalist but not being able to do anything about the situation as his hands are tied b'cos he has to obey orders from above.
The scene b/wn Konkona's homosexual friend and bisexual BF when she is in a state of utter shock and disbelief to find both her male friends double-crossing her. And she always was so nice and helpful to them. A complete breach of trust and faith.
The compromising scene when Konkona and Boman have to go and apologise to the Actor for having publicised his affair with that Delhi-Girl who attempted suicide b'cos the Hero (who was an already married family man) abandoned her when she got pregnant. And he was the one who was preaching safe sex and condoms and touching AIDS patients for publicity stunts. Even though KonKona was feeling gutted, she had to say Sorry b'cos he was supposed to do a show for the company.
Actually, there were so many such scene-stealers, hitting you hard and making you sit back and watch - What the Hell is happening in Dirty Mumbai ? And I guess, it is not only Mumbai, it happens in every Metropolis of the world, but behind closed doors and outside circuit-cameras.
And how despite the photographic evidence, the Newspaper has to compromise b'cos Thapar is a Big-Wig who funds it. So Money buys Silence and the conscientious KonKona pays a heavy price by losing her job.
This movie was really an eye-opener esp. for viewers like me who are so very unaware of the real bad world out there. Makes me feel over-protective about my kids.
Like many years ago in 1610, the clairvoyant Shakespeare said in his play The Tempest : Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
Very Well Predicted b'cos this Film picturised the very devilish characters of our society who are like termites, gnawing away...making it hollow and empty of moral values.
But then again I am no Saint. And so I don't have any right to be so Judgemental. To each his own, as it is a matter of relativity.
But when one sees such horrors as Molestation of children and Exploitation of women, one just cannot keep quiet and gulp it all inside.
KonKona acted quite well, like an ordinary everyday girl - she came out real and believable...
But I liked the bold and brazen character of her pragmatic airhostess friend - Pearl (Sandhya Mridul). She was more like the cut-throat, feisty woman who always had her point well-made, and despite her outspoken and blunt exteriors, she was so warm and genuine at heart...
Amongst the men, I liked Boman Irani - cool, calm and composed and always "under control" and yet so very human as he breaks down in tears...
I liked Vinayak - the crime reporter (Atul Kulkarni) - a man of few words but words well said and well meant - he was quite a pair with KonKona, and I found them to be better suited than Konkona's Model BF.
I liked the Police Officer also, who was doing all those surprise raids of drugs and sex, to curtail crime. A Brilliant Persona well-portrayed.
Kitne Ajeeb Rishte Hain Yahan Pe, Do Pal Milte Hain, Saath-Saath Chalte Hain, Jab Mod Aaye To, Bach Ke Nikalte Hain...
Had to share this feeler with you...
This is the one song by Suresh Wadekar that I liked very much though it is Not one of my all-time Favs. as the music is Not that great, but the real meaning of its lyrics dawned on me when I saw the movie, and this background score was just too befitting.
Though Sapna Awasthi's Raunchy "Kuan Maan Doob Jaungi" was also one of a Kind. A Good Dance No. to which me and my kids would love Jiving when the song plays on our PC as they are not good at Hindi to understand the double-meanings, having grown in UK where English is the primary lang. but the Music is well-tuned for Fast Dancing.
And Sapna like Ila Arun does full justice to the song's mood. Her sexiness overflows...
I also liked the mellifluous "Huzoor-E-Aala" sung by Asha Bhonsle and Abhijit. Nice Listening...
That's my Movie + Music Review for now. If you get the time and the chance - go and watch it. It warrants atleast one serious viewing, if not many.
And it will open up a Pandora's Box in your mind - b'cos it makes you think on those "untouched" horizons where you haven't delved before...
regards,
Aparna
(Blog Entry : 09/03/07)
Soul-Searching
How do we know that the Soul as an Entity really exists within us ? For our body, we can touch and feel our body-parts and so seeing is believing.
There is some scientific basis to it as doctors do surgeries on bodies.
But where is the proof that the Soul which we talk of so much, really exists within us ?
It may be just the mind with all its signals and hormones making us think and feel in certain ways.
Though I would want to believe, that there is a soul (atma) in me, but where is the proof ?
As far as I can judge myself, there is a conscience in my mind, which has been influenced by my upbringing and environment and does have its own perceptions of right vs wrong.
The mind - we can attribute - to our thinking and perceiving brain.
But what do we attribute the soul to ? How do we know for sure that it exists in us ?
As ever, with so many questions ?!
:) Aparna
(Blog Entry : 07/02/07)
Musings on Mithya
I am still stuck on "Mithya". The way we say that our present existence in this world is all a Moha, a Maya, a world of illusion, a virtual world, in other words, "Mithya".
Is it some sort of consolation or Justification we offer ourselves to cope up with the suffering that Life is ?
Is it some kind of restraint / control we exert upon ourselves by talking about Moha-Maya, so that we don't break societal norms and rules, and follow individual ways of living by having amorous relationships ?
And we talk about the "other world" - the world which we haven't even seen - that might enlighten upon us after death - we don't even understand the phenomenon of death so deeply...except that our parthik shareer being here, and our soul wandering away to the "other world" - how can we so surely say that this is all untruth - mithya - we are living now, and the ultimate reality is what the soul would realise and live after death ?
I see no scientific, no rational basis to the above religious belief that many of us have been ingrained into for years together...
The life we are living now is all denigrated to a Mere Lie, to a Mere Illusion, and the life we don't even know what it would be after death is classified as the Ultimate Reality - the Moksha - the Salvation - the soul should strive for in all its births and re-births on this Earth.
Hope I am not confusing you with all this philosophical jargon. But that is what my mind has been pondering on and on...seeking answers to many such questions which overwhelm me time and again.
~ Aparna
(Blog Entry : 04/02/07)
Godliness
Sometimes I do feel very sceptic about the existence of God esp. going thru all those documentaries when millions of people suffered in the Holocaust and the Anti-Semitist Hitler was not even tried for Injustice. After having subjected so many Jews to torture and death, he had the control on his life too, ending with a suicide.
And of course, so many millions of children in poverty-ridden Africa suffering and dying in those war-torn areas due to Civil Unrest.
So if children are God's gifts, why does HE bring them to this world and make them suffer so much for no fault of theirs...
And why did so many Jews have to face so much discrimination and torture at the hands of the Nazi Army ?
As if, they were not believers in God...I am sure many of them were Aastik and Not Nastik.
So why did God make them suffer so much, for so long a time and in such horrendous ways in concentration camps and gas chambers ?
I still do believe that this is a very lop-sided world and the suffering so very large and looming all around us in the form of hunger, poverty and deprivation, does affect me very, very deeply.
Though I cannot do much to change the world scenario, as I have to look after my family and children.
So does God exist only for a privileged few ? And not for those hungry masses of children who just survive on one square meal a day ?
And if God loves us, how can HE see us suffer so much ? I am not talking about emotional and physical changes that everyone undergoes due to life events of birth, death, bereavement, marriage, etc.
But just the basic needs of food, clothes and shelter - is it too much for people to expect when they are born into this world ?
And if it is all to do with the Law of Karma - then what does a starving, hungry baby know about Karma ? The deeds of his past life ?
And what belief in God and his wonderful ways, you can instil in a hungry child - for him, God would be the mere morsel of food he could manage to get in his diurnal struggle to be fed.
For him, religion may not have much meaning, if he cannot afford his basic needs of food, shelter, clothes and a lot of love and attention, which I believe is the birth-right of every child.
As for Karma, I do strongly believe that what one sows, and what one reaps - should be all "hisaab-kitaab" done in one life only - it should not get carried over to the next life, so that in every re-birth of a person, he / she has a fresh new start, a new lease of life to begin with, instead of suffering for all what he did in his past life, that which he may not even remember...
He may end up blaming himself for all his suffering in this life and may attribute it to the bad deeds of his past life, though very funnily, he may not be even aware of, what those "bad" deeds were, which have given him this life to suffer - that is such an unscientific and irrational way to justify Blame.
That's my take on Godliness...
~ Aparna
(Blog Entry : 03/02/07)
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