Film Review: Sajini Shinde ka viral video

It is very hard to keep someone glued to the screen for 1 hour and 54 minutes. If a film can do that, that itself is an achievement in the era of Distraction. 

The plot is taut. The acting is superb. The characters are well drawn out - both in the writing and in the acting. 

The editing is good, though some scenes are forwardable. 

How the story unfolds - a simple school teacher has fun at a pub and her video goes viral. The viral video has familiar consequences - the school's parents want the school to oust her, the principal is concerned about the reputation of the school, the parents are concerned about their own reputation, and the fiancé is busy getting the video deleted all over the internet.  

No one spares a thought for what the girl must be going through. 

In any other profession, a night out at the bar would be filed under "Dear Vodka, you were supposed to make me smart, witty, and irresistible. I just saw the videos of that night, and we need to talk." 

But not if it's a teacher. I am personally aware of several incidents where teachers lost their jobs for dancing at a private birthday celebration, inside the class with kids, et al. So, the film is not entirely a work of fiction. Teachers really are victimised exactly like this. But after that, the teacher, presumably, commits suicide. 

A suicide note is found, but no body. 

The entire film revolves around finding Sajini Shinde - the teacher who was fired after pressure from the parents, who left a suicide note, and then vanished. 

A good story entertains, but also teaches. 

At the end of the film. perhaps, every member of the audience should ask themselves - what if I was one of the parents? Would i defend a teacher's right to party in her personal space? 

What if I was the principal? Would i fire a staff member for the "reputation" of the institution? 

If the film helps you introspect, then it has succeeded. If not, watch it again. Then think of all the teachers who got fired. The mother who recently committed suicide. Think of everyone you have hurt behind that impermeable veil of internet anonymity and/or internet led inaccessibility. 

And if, in the rare case that you look inside your activity history and find nothing, then, smile. In genuine accomplishment.

On the internet, we all have the cloak of invisibility. If we have not used it to hurt someone, then, undoubtedly, that is the mark of a good heart. 

Aajkal

बच्चे पढ़ना नहीं चाहते। 

बच्चे बिल्कुल पढ़ना नहीं चाहते। 

पापा होमवर्क कराना नहीं चाहते। 

माँ खाना बनाना नहीं चाहती। 

दादी कहानी सुनाना नहीं चाहती। 

दादा पार्क ले जाना नहीं चाहते। 

नानी मिठाई बनाना नहीं चाहती। 

नाना पहेली बुझाना नहीं चाहते। 

बुआ गोदी में बिठाना नहीं चाहती। 

चाचा झूला दिलाना नहीं चाहते। 

मासी गुदगुदी करना नहीं चाहती। 

मामा लूडो खेलना नहीं चाहते। 

बच्चे पढ़ना नहीं चाहते। 

बच्चे बिल्कुल पढ़ना नहीं चाहते। 

ਤੂ ਕਯੂਨ ਮਰੀ

 ਤੂ ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸੀ। 

ਪ੍ਰੀਤ 

ਜੋ ਪਾਣੀ ਵਰਗੀ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ 

ਇਸ 

ਰੇਗਿਸਤਾਨ ਜੇਹੀ ਦੁਨੀਆ ਵਿੱਚ 

Tu Kyun Mari 

Tu Preet Si. 

Preet 

jo paani vargi hundi hai 

Is 

Registaan jehi duniya vich 

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तुम क्यूँ मरे? 

तुम प्रेम थे 

प्रेम, 

जो पानी जैसा होता है 

एक रेगिस्तान सी दुनिया में। 

************ 

Why did you die? 

You were love. 

Love, 

which is a block of ice 

in a desert world. 

The Book of Zen stories

I was reading this book of Zen stories, and one thing jumped out. 

Zen assumes that there is only one path to salvation, and that path goes through peace, self-control, and a feeling of universal brotherhood. 

Christianity and Islam also propose something similar. Coincidentally, these are all congregation based religions. 

But in my meditation, I know that there is no one path. In fact, the idea of the "one best way" has been the bane of human society in everything. In medicine, science, manufacturing, this one best way to do things has been the idea that made us take one step forward, two steps back. 

But especially in meditation or, more generally, in the path of a soul, there is no one best way. Every soul is on its own path and reaches its own destination. Even the rich blood-sucking man who tortures his family and staff - even that soul is on a spiritual journey that ends at some destination. 

Think of it, not as a journey with one origin and one destination, but a network of train stations. Trains go from many stations to many stations. Which of these journeys is wrong? Very few. But here is the important thing - what makes the journey right or wrong, is neither the destination, nor the source, nor the train. It is not even the traveler. It is the intent of the traveler. Therefore, no one else can judge the journey to be right or wrong.  

One can argue that the train stations are nothing but stops in a maze. There is no progression in them. They are all at the same level. 

So are rivers. So are spiritual paths. We assume them to be vertical. Maybe, for some people, there is a sense of progression. But for some people, they are hops in a game of hopscotch - all at the same level. 

So, enjoy the Zen stories, believe in the 6 forms of Yoga. Or not. 

and this is one of the things i wrote and love a lot:

human being (a favorite ex blogger) once asked me - describe urself in 6 words. and i wrote: 6 words is six too many.

Film Review: Laapata Ladies

 #LaapataaLadies on #Netflix

This film made me realise an important thing - The heartland is to Bollywood what the snake charmer was to the 19th Century English Sahab. It is the single story of India. Or, let me be blunt - it is the caricature of India that they love to perpetuate.

And just like the English sahab, Bollywood crams all its stereotypes of "Bharat" into the motif - snake charmer or heartland.

There is no such thing as "real" heartland. People everywhere are multi-dimensional. But in Bollywood, single dimension humans exist in these single story products - the good chhotu, the innocent Phool, the sincere dulha, the greedy Pardeep, the evil inspector... If you can describe all of your major characters using single adjectives, you are not looking at story telling. You are looking at caricatures. Which is what Bollywood's story telling of India is.

Kiran Rao's earlier work has not been like this. In the Ship of Theseus, she so sensitively brought together the various back stories. So, like many others, I was waiting for this film. But I am angry. Angry that someone gets away with selling pictures of India that have remained unchanged in 50 years. That they can start with a premise so utterly nonsensical that two brides and two grooms will be identically dressed, will get seats in the same physical space, and most importantly, through the journey, will spend so little time communicating with each other that when the time to alight comes, the man will actually awaken the wrong bride! Angry that this snake charmer story telling is being consumed by urban Indians who have never interacted with the smart people who live in rural India, as good storytelling! Seriously WTF.

If you like Laapata Ladies, you have not travelled in an Indian train for a long, long time. But you might remember that as children, when you travelled by train, everyone around you knew where you were getting off. If the station was to come at night, there would be someone charged with the duty of waking u up two stations before, so you can "freshen up" before getting off. There would be people to receive you at the station. Night or day.

If you have not been to the heartland for a long time, you might want to know that a woman going missing is not something that will be taken as lightly as someone filing a police report two days later. The entire village will get on the next day's train, get off on every single station on the route of that train, and ask if a certain woman was found there. And even before that, the two couples would have shared the stories of their lives, not just their geographies. SO, the groom would know exactly where to go to try and get his wife back, and where to take his "bhojai" to her home.

And if you ever find a bride traveling in Indian rail with 150 grams of gold jewelry on her, please take a picture.

Until then, enjoy the snake charmer.

On Office politics

वो समझता था कि वो सूरज है तो उसके आस पास अंधेरा हो ही नहीं सकता। 

उसे याद रखना चाहिए था कि परछाई भी एक चीज़ होती है, और कुछ लोग, परछाई के जैसे होते हैं - ठीक सूरज की नाक के नीचे, उसी की रोशनी इस्तेमाल कर के, अंधेरा फैलाते हैं। 

She thought she was the sunshine, so she could light up everything around her. 

She should have considered shadows. She should have known that some people are like shadows - they use the light of the sun to create darkness. 

*The post is deliberately written as He in Hindi and She in English. Its not a translation error :) 

Book Review: Dark Horse by Nilotpal Mrinal

The story is about IAS aspirants who live in Delhi and prepare for their exams - THE Indian Civil Service. 

Many of these aspirants are from Bihar. The story features these protagonists from various backgrounds - mostly rural and poor, and is a general story of their triumphs, losses, families, and frustrations. 

The book is well written and even though there are multiple characters, each character has only one dominant trait, so one does not easily get lost. 

Its a good, breezy read. 

Surprisingly good ideas that popped in my head - I

 We all know that the Deccan plateau is made of volcanic rocks.

But... where is the crater?

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