Reaching There

Elliott Smith was probably one of the songwriter/singer who was bestowed with divine gift of music. He is popular among the masses for his Academy Award nominated song " Miss Misery " which is part of the soundtrack for the movie " Good Will Hunting ". Although he died young but his music has endured the waves of time. This post is inspired by his interview posted on youtube . In the interview he is asked general questions about his music and song writing tips for budding musicians. Although his answers sound rather simple but they do carry a certain hidden weight within them.  The first question is about his method to write & compose music for a song. He simply states that there isn't any methodical approach he uses. In his own words " It's just the divine force, and if you don't block it up it'll come out and surprise you ". So does it mean we all have the ability to surprise ourselves if we just allow ourselves to be free? The...

There are some movies you enjoy and a few you admire. Peepli Live definitely falls into the latter category. The admiration comes partly from the entertainment portion and partly from the things you can draw out from the movie. The movie, in general, is perhaps the most expressive form of art that directly affect the human consciousness. The images, whether moving or stationary, play a very important role for the human society as well. This form of art carries with it two contradictory forms; openness and mysteriousness at the same time. The qualities were aptly described in another good movie, The Brothers Bloom. In it one of the characters describes photograph as a secret of a secret; the more it tells you the less you know. Good movies, or photographs or books take you to a certain place and leave you there to make your judgement whether about a character or a situation. They are not trying to tunnel your thought process but just providing with certain additives which would help you...

Source of Inspirations for this blog post. -Peter Bregman's article on Harvard Business Review -Dead Poet's Society -Mark Ruffalo If we look back at our life so far we would always pull up a list of things we should have done. This list of should haves' and could haves' has always bothered us. But do we have to carry this burden continuously? The answer is of course, yes! This is burden is ours' and ours' alone. Whew! That's a lot!    This brings me to my next inspiration. It is a movie called Dead Poet's Society. In it Mr. Keatings (played by Robin Williams) talks about getting a chance to write a verse of our own in the book of universe. As Pushkar Bajpai I am being given a chance to write something new every day. Although some of it may have already been written by others or others' words have inspired me. But every word I write down I am aspiring myself to elevate to the next level. This aspiration inspires me and fills within me an ener...

Today, 15th August, 2010, India celebrates its' 64th Independence Day. And in a little over a month's time my blog would turn over an year old as well. Although I cannot bundle the two occasions, I certainly can celebrate my blog's anniversary a bit earlier! I had no idea what I would do with my blog. But along the way certain things came up which helped me to shape this blog. One of the most important thing was I started listening to interviews on Inside an Actors' Studio. Along the way my father kept on pouring the knowledge of spiritualism. These two things in conjunction inspired me to write a few words of my own. And I hope to carry all of it forward into the next year and on the way add a lot more. :) As India celebrates its' Independence Day I could also celebrate my own. Freeing myself of my own inhibitions, tensions, pains, weaknesses and other emotions which are always out there looking for a chance to pull me back into darkness. Michaelangelo's wor...

Another of my post inspired from an episode of Inside an Actor's Studio featuring an interview with two time Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank. This is an interview series which gives me a chance to look into an actor's mind and try to understand the philosophy that has brought him or her to this point of realization in their life. Hilary Swank talks about forgiving herself as an actor when she is not in the moment i.e. is when as an actor she cannot feel the character she is portraying. This feeling of being connected or rather being in in the character is of utmost importance to get the true performance. But sometimes actors concentrate on the "disconnection" too much that the connection just goes whirlwind. She asks us to be forgiving in those moments. Asking yourself, that now I am not in it so how do I get back into the moment again? The ability to forgive ourselves and focusing on getting back on track again. This is a situation we always face in ou...

To err is human. This apparently implies the inherent nature of my species is flawed. The innumerable defects in me far overtake any virtues I may have been blessed with. As an engineer I know any mechanical design isn't perfect. The designer made some assumptions about the nature of work and designed within certain limits. Apparently that's how I work too! I have certain limitations within which I perform well enough to be classified as a normal human being. While in case of machines there are predefined tests which can expose any weaknesses in the design. But as a human being there are no set of "tests" which can help me find the flaws in me. So in a normal world I may live out my whole lifetime without getting a chance to know myself. In a world where technology and science have made our lives comfortable, I may never get a chance to explore myself. Although certain times in my life I have faced extraordinary events that force me to find who I am. But these events ...

Just in case anybody is wondering what "Lord, free me of myself. So I can look at the stars shining for me" means. Here it goes. Lord, free me of myself so I can please you is a quoted to Michelangelo, an Italian renaissance painter, architect, poet and engineer. Want to learn more about him click here . So I can look at the stars shining for me is a reference to the Coldplay song "Yellow". Want to listen to the song or read about it? These two lines from different sources describe the current state of my mind. It is up to you to make any inference! Enjoy the quote as well as the song. As for the "Reaching There" it is pretty simple to understand. If life is a journey so there is a destination out there.