A daring remark & sad end

"Actresses acting only for money are equivalent to prostitutes"
A comment that made quite a sensation for a few days in Tamil industry.

How many movies are character based? How many actresses are given character roles? How many actresses see cinema as a career in art and acting? An actress doing a role of a prostitute in any movie still commands the dignity for her performance when compared to an actress appearing in vulgar (to be read as glamorous) outfits carefully coupled with feelingless expressions and movements that are supposed to ignite passion in a mad crowd of blind audience. How can anyone dare to call the later as an art- a career?

A story revolving around a simple village girl still needs that actress to be in shorts or swimsuit or at the least get drenched- dance in the rain, for a song so remotely related to the storyline! And the lyrics of songs these days can be a topic by itself! All such are beautifully termed as commercial or masala items and are unanimously accepted as a vital part of a hit movie. How many actresses take up these commercial items just for the sake of money? And what difference would they explain, even to themselves, for such a pricetagging of their self esteem along with their bodies from that of a prostitute? How many dared to say 'no' for such an exposure? And why does it prick when it is commented in black and white?

A daring remark that hit such idiotic commercialisation has for sure hit the entire industry, pricking the conscience of every single person in it. But the person who took the ownership of that comment should have stood by his words instead of succumbing to the huge protest. A very sad ending indeed.

Btw, can someone tell me the gender opposite for prostitutes? Just felt that the comment is incomplete!

why fear?

A universal language, a language of silence, a silence that everybody understands simply- everybody- every living being that breathes... the dogs and cats so affectionately sheltered in our homes, the lions and tigers in zoos, jungles and circuses, the birds singing up the trees, the cockroaches running for darkness, the ants carving lines on barren walls, you, me!

It expresses everything anybody wants to convey- depth of affection, height of love, worry and jealousy, betrayal and hatred, hurt and revenge. We feel it in any of our emotions- "the pain". We want to convey these emotions to somebody who is responsible, or atleast that we assume are responsible and fight to pass on that pain. Once it is passed across through our revengeful acts, our pain satisfies itself and vanishes to nothing. At times, we even accept that very pain for the sake of somebody or some higher purpose that we alone define - just to prove ourself worthy of something.

Pain proves endurance- our limits;
pain proves our will- the power and strength;
pain proves our softness- the innocence;
pain proves that we are alive still!
pain - a common part of every living thing, binding all in one easy net of compassion. why then fear that pain?

On the eve of...

She stayed alone - the private space she craved for so long was available to her in plentiness - throughout the month, all to herself. No one else to takeaway a single slice of those beautiful moments - moments of silence and self saturation. They asked her many things... "Aren't u afraid of staying alone?" She smiled. "Don't you feel the insecurity that a girl is supposed to fell in our society?" She smiled. "You are managing alone? Don't you feel it's painful?" She smiled yet again. Even her maid didnot dare to intrude her kingdom, for, the maid took a week's leave that extended without notice. It was the first time she had to manage her house, well, she realized it sounds better to call it home from now on! A few sq. foot of space that she cleaned and maintained so religiously. Her hands became red with the chemicals eating away the first layer of her tender skin. But she felt the sweet pleasure of independance that the very pain symbolized! There was nothing beyond her in this world, she said to herself so proudly.
Suddenly life changed it's shade for her - all within seconds. Wherever she went, she was the centre of attraction - she saw many eyes kneeling at her foot - innocent eyes showing surprise; watery eyes showing sympathy coated concern; indifferent eyes showing coldness on something they had escaped with so much luck, and that luck they sincerely claim to deserve! The variety in humans facinated her. She was over-blessed with the royal treatment and attention she didnot ask for. She smiled. They din't wait for her to complete her demand... it was extremity of luxury that was showered on her. She had best of everything but something seemed hollow. She was no more independant with her broken ankle. And the irony - this day, the entire nation celebrating it's independance day! She was not sure how many people understood the meaning of the very word 'in-dependance' when they waved the tricolored flag and shouted patriotism at the top of their voices in multiple channels all through the day!

Friendship Day Special!

Friendship by itself is a reason to celebrate. And a day for Friendship is all that one needs to get into the exaltation! So beautiful a relationship, this friendship!

Friends are special people coming around my life to show how wonderful life is.
I see my problems troubling their eyes...
their happiness filling my heart...
my interests in their priorities...
their thoughts, comments being my concern...
my strength building up in their mere presence...
the lightness in the witty words we exchange...
the seriousness in the blind trust binding us...
the care being shown in every way that is uniquely possible...
Words can never hold the beauty of this relationship in it's entirety. So beautiful a relationship, this friendship!

I find a daughter say, "I share all my secrets with my mom... she's my good friend". I smile in a silent realization... Anybody with whom you feel just yourself, without any masks... no fear, no concealment... just the purity in love!" So beautiful a relationship, this friendship!

I painfully reflect on these words I've heard many people using so loosely - 'girlfriend/boyfriend'. I wonder... for, to my understanding, friendship doesnt see anything but a person... the person as a whole... their interests, their thoughts-words-actions... what am I to understand by this 'girl/ boy-friend'? I get troubled by the very skewness of these words and the way it is used to address an entirely different relationship - love, as far as I could make out! May be with 'love' still being taboo in a conservative society, people started addressing 'lover' with '----friend' just to make their statements sound more sacred! Such a sacred relationship is this friendship!

Mangal Mangal

Heard the "Mangal.. Mangal.." song? The beats... as if forcing the spirits of freedom and self respect of a single man into every vein and nerve of the listeners. Started liking ARR again:-)
The lyrics... and the voice... and the typical village accent... all in right proportions to set the blind freedom passions to shootup to new heights, I guess!!
Heard it's a much heavy subject and highly emotional type movie, but I guess I can take it up just for Aamir khan! :-D
My expectations are touching the skies now for Mangal Pandey... just couldnot wait to watch it :-)

Much enjoyed verses here-
...
jaagi hai paed aur
jaagi hai paedon ki chaaon!
...
surya kirnonki talwaron thaane
aur andhiyara sab kat jaaye!
...
phansi to lagti hai sirf tanko
koun sapnonko phansi lagaaye!
...

Azhagu!

Ottrai adip pAdhai azhagu
Oora vizhip pArvai azhagu

Ottrai idhazh malar azhagu
Oru thulip punnagai azhagu

Era vizhi Oorathile
Oru thulik kanneer azhagu

irettai varik kuraL azhagu
Eram paadum sindhum kuzhal azhagu

Ottrai neer veezhchi azhagu
nettri vaaghum Oor azhagu

saaral thUvum mEgham azhagu
silirththup poghum thendral azhagu

saaindha Ottrai thennai azhagu
sarindhu vilagum menpani azhagu

sikkanamum Oor azhagu
sindhanai seidhu paarthaale!

My Little Secret

The day was cloudy, around 3.30pm. The wind was chill but it had an air of warmth in it. "How else could it be with my long lost friends huddling around me", I wondered! The place was crowded like hell and we lost in the ocean of humans... one of the most noted places in Bangalore with all the jazzy and huge exteriors, the 'hep hep' crowd filling it in and out, the branded shops - a new way to disperse hard earned money, a cool place to hangout for coolheads, for families catching up desparately with the modernism, equally notorious for the traffic created by the vehicles pouring in to coverup the parking lot, amidst those struggling to find a way through the stretch of road leading to it... the Forum Mall.

We three were sitting on the raised platform inside the mall's campus, just facing all these show-offs and lost in our own tiny world. The sweet smell of hot corn in damp wind was a luxury in itself, and me relishing every single grain of it! My head dropped back to get the complete view of the mall in all it's grandeur when a sudden surge of awe and excitement gushed within!

I lost them and many others some 9 years ago... amidst the silent town of Neyveli, a pleasant place for people who love the serenity and calmness it has to generously offer. The innocence of our childhoods shaped in the stillness of such a place... The beautiful people who shared every aspect of my childhood... the classrooms, the gruelling exams, the monotonous classes and witty comments from backbenches, the lunches under shady trees, the tours and picnics, the grey and white attire cheering our commonalities... So beautiful are school friends... and they are even more beautiful when found after long years... brighter, more matured and shaped up in their own distinct way!

The glaring contrast between the place where we lost track of each other and the mall where we got together ultimately... it was a rude shock for me! Before I could realize I said something, I was startled by my own words, ringing in my ears "Idha naama school-la irundhappa nenachchi paathoma?" (meaning, did we think of it when we were in school?)

I knew my sentence was too vague to attribute to anything but Mr.S was ready to react with his comments on the atrocious pricing of these days. "30 bucks for such a small cup of corn!" he commented. Ms.M added her thoughts to it and the argument moved on. I was simply surprised at their misinterpretation of my context but somehow I didnot want to tear my feelings into a bunch of small words and hang it up for display. I sealed it as a secret in a silent smile and was listening to them attentively.

The excitement of meeting old friends, of talking to them after long years... the excitement covered up by a silent smile that lit up every now and then... the secret that sparkled in my eyes all day! Awesome it was, trust me!! :-)