The K factor!

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is a movie which I haven't written into a DVD. I like to watch this movie once in a year and relish it totally. And whenever I watch it there is one particular scene I look for. The scene where Roshan (Hrithik) enters Rahul's(Sharukh) house. Roshan with his eyes full on seeing his brother. (I like when boys cry, coz they rarely do:)Hrithik and Sharukh have acted it out brilliantly. And ofcourse Karan Johar's hang on relationship movies. I think this is his best. And the sad version of the title song played in the background. There is this yearning in the voice of the singer. Too good. 'Jism tu, jaan mai, tera pehchaan mai. Milke bhi na mile ye hai kaisa bharam. Ye hai tere karam, kabhi khushi kabhi gham'. Enjoy the scene.

This goes to my Dad

When someone pens the  innermost feelings esp that of a relationship, thats exactly when you appreciate the power of literature. A song from a malyalam movie 'Satyam Sivam Sundaram'. A dedication to the memories of my Dad. I am sure it will be lost in translation. But I have come to know this, the songs with the most touching lyrics can't be translated. Languages here become incompatible.  

Sooryanaay thazhuki urakkamunarthumen
Achaneyaanenikkishtam

( Like the touch of the morning sun rays he wakes me up, it's my dad whom I like the most)
Njanonnu karayumbol ariyaathe
urukumen achaneyaanenikkishtam 

(When I cry he unknowingly melts, it's my dad whom I like the most)

Kalledukkum kali thumbiye pole
Orupaadu novukalkkidayilum
Punchiri chiraku vidarthumen achan

(Like the playful grasshopper which lifts stones, with so much problems inside he still manages to smile(spread wings of laughter), it's my dad whom I like the most)

Ennumen pusthaka thaalil mayangunna
Nanma than peeliyaanachan

(Dad is the peacock feather of goodness which rests inside my book pages)
Kadalaassu thoniye polente
Baalyathil ozhukunnorormayaanachan

(Dad is that drifting remembrance like those flating paper boats in my childhood) 
Udalaarnna karunyam achan
Kai vanna bhaagyamaanachan

(You are the embodiment of true love,Dad you are the luck that came my way)

Ariyillenikkethu vaakkinaal achane
Vaazhthumennariyilla innum

(I don't know with what words can I wish you Dad)
Ezhuthumee snehaaksharangalkum appuram
Anupama sankalpam achan

(Just that beyond the loving words, you are that incomparable imagination)
Anayaatha deepamaanachan
Kaanunna dhaivamaanachan

(You are the light that never dims, Dad you are the God I can see)

Shalini...

'Shalini Ajith' is still a favorite. She has this next door girl looks, a hairdo that she carries so well which I haven't seen in any other heroine so far. Though she has got married and has quit the industry long back, no one seems to have forgotten the Alaipayuthey girl. Thanks to Mani Ratnam. Few days back I had changed my orkut display picture to a Shalini pic. Guess wat, friend requests are pouring in to an otherwise disregarded profile. Hahaha:)

Well this is the pic. 

Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hain.?

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, this movie's music and lyrics are in so sync with the storyline. I guess the director Abbas itself has written the lyrics too. It's so much in lay man's terms, that any teenager can relate to. And Guru's music, the masti in 'Pappu can't dance' or the solitude in 'Kahin Tho Hogi Woh', I simply run out of words when I try to describe what I feel. The other lovely song in the movie which has two versions to it 'Jaane tu mera kya hain'. When you start loving the person who you thought was just your bestest friend, that's the song. I love the Aditi version. I have always believed a boy and a gal can remain best friends but this song somehow with it's lyrics and it's haunting music proves me wrong. To hate it or love it, I don't know. But this song just gets the better of me.

' Ye dosthi humko yakeen tha,  dosthi aur kuchch bhi nahi tha

  Ye kaisa dardh naya sa, kyon dhil laghtha toota toota sa?

  Janne dhil jaana kaise mai ne na jaana, ke pyaar yahi hai, ye jaane tu ya jaane na'

 

Possessions

Material or personal, we all have possessions. Somethings that we can't give up for anything. Remember as kids that one special toy or that nipple of our feeding bottle that we would untiringly cry for until we get it back. It can be a pricey material possession like a Benz or as invaluable as your self-esteem. 

I was thinking of mine. 

My diary, for no special rhyme or reason. But that is exactly what comes to my mind first.

My best friend's friendship day letter, 12th std. I never knew someone could love me so much till then. 

The earings that Mom gifted me after my 12th standard result. It's a very small 'bunch of grapes' hangings. I am wearing it right from my day one in college and remove it seldom. I like it so much that I wouldn't exchange it for a diamond earing or be it anything:)

My Dad's memories though very few.

A big teddy that a friend gifted on my birthday, final year.

My fast track watch(planning to buy another one) and my Samsonite backpack. I feel like a princess when I wear them. Might be coz they are the only branded items I own. But they have made me feel 'Quality speaks even after the price is forgotten'.

That's quite a few I am able to think of in a matter of minutes. What are yours.? 

Choosing the road less travelled.

I am kind of inspired with strong decisions taken by two friends of mine. One is getting ready to leave the software industry and look for a job in his engineering discipline, Electronics. And also wanting to do his higher studies. To leave a job which credits your account with 20+k salary every month and move the way your heart and intutions takes you. Not many I think dare to do that. Mindful that no one will be there to hear you out if anything goes wrong. Somehow the proverb ' A bird in hand is worth two in the bush' doesn't hold good for people who are ready to take risks for the sake of their dreams. Who knows the ones in the bush might be the way to lasting happiness in life. 

Another of my classmate from college is thinking BIG. He is come up with an idea, 'One percent of your monthly income is all that needed'. To fight aginst social issues, to help underprivileged people and I think there is lots more in his mind. I would definitely write more about this in the coming posts. But what really took me by surprise was he had not lost heart. Coz I still remember that he came up with this idea during our third year in college itself. He still sticks on to it. Now some of our batchmates have joined hands and something tells me that this venture is not going to be in vain. Must be coz it's noble idea or must be coz it's a labor of love. 

Somehow these friends teach me contentment is all about 'Having your commitments in accord with your convictions'.Great!

The only real nation is humanity.

'Madham ennum Madham oyattum, desam malar meedhu thuyil kolattum' (Let the madness in the name of religion fade, let the nation sleep on flower beds) In this century where almost anything and everything is getting outdated, there are still anachronisms like 'religion', 'caste', 'color', 'creed' that are being preserved big time. It's like 'Time stood still'. Some or the other communal riots keep happening every year taking lives of people and questioning the livelihood of many others. And more importantly making us lose HOPE. Wish a Gandhiji or a Luther King be born again and preach people of what kind of insaneness are death and devastation in the name of religion. If Gandhiji was alive he would have said, we haven't got freedom even now.  It wasn't freedom from British rule alone that he yearned for. It was for the nation to remain unified. But does 'Unity in Diversity' hold good any more or has it ever been that way. Gandhiji had gone on a fast once to stop the then ongoing Hindu-Muslim riot in the country. When a Hindu man angrily asked Mahathma 'Why are you asking us to stop the fight, the Muslim people have killed my child'. To which Gandhiji replies 'I know a way out of hell. Find a child, a child whose mother and father have been killed. A little boy about this high and raise him as your own. Only be sure that he is a Muslim and that you raise him as one'. Creating a new nation for Muslims was not the right choice to make to solve the problem. From then on the enmity has elevated only. And now India is surrounded by hostile neighbors. Peace talks and summits have also stopped to help. WE are the ones to be blamed if any kind of terrorism happens in our nations. Like any other important thing, humanity and oneness must also be advocated. People be taught about the happiness in being together, in reaching out, in creating hopes for despondent souls. But how can it be made possible when we are so narrow minded? One solution that comes to my mind is to get married to someone of the other religion. So as to create a progeny which can overlook the 'religion' factor. And remain united as siblings, as spouses, and hence ultimately united as a nation.(The Bombay film style!). Any kind of outrage kills innocent civilians. One just can't forget what happened in Gujarat, in Bombay or for that matter the ongoing Srilankan Eelam issue. Each life is precious, more valuable than the faith you adhere to. All our holy books have the same things to tell us. It's highly ridiculous when people commit sins in the name of faith. If it has to be that way then there is no point believing in the presence of God as you keep crediting your shares of wrongdoings into God's account. Doesn't your conscience prick you at the end of the day? I remember the woman who took the guilt drive in Nandita Das's Firaaq flick, an emotional take on 2002 Gujarat riots. The thought that she didn't help a Muslim lady who knocked at her door followed by an angry Hindu mob disturbs her every day and night. People who want power, most of them see things only in a vote-bank angle. And the mighty few who want to do good to the society have no large number of followers to make a difference. ‘Be the change you want to see', that is the call of the hour. You can never make a mighty difference but ya you can definitely see to that you don’t spread any more hatred. In a time where the feelings of love are attributed to the play of hormones, remember only universal love and humanity will stay forever.