Reaching There

I recently watched a movie called Mr. Nobody . It is a movie by a Belgian director but most of the cast comprises of Hollywood actors. It is one of those movies that breeze past you and towards the end you realize you aren't sure about the plot. Although the feeling is to let go a second watch but the mind is still stuck with the 'I have to understand it' feeling. So I ended up watching it again but ended up with a lot more questions than answers. However that is what life is sometimes all about; the amount of unknown far outweighs the known. However this post is not about the movie, it is just inspired from a small scene from the movie or rather the scene which symbolised something far greater.  The scene filled just a few frames in the mile long reel of the movie but it symbolised the dilemma of the main character, Mr. Nobody. Before this scene the mother of the main character had decided to separate from her husband. She is at a station waiting for her train a...

Robert Frost said, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life; it goes on". Perhaps he was referring to the cycles of birth-death-rebirth a human soul goes through. Or he was just referring to the journey a human being goes through in his or her life. In either case, the words don't become less significant. Life goes on, no matter whether we feel we are up for the 'now' or not; the wheel of life keeps turning.  Sometimes the wheel turns but ever so slight that the human eyes, although capable of perceiving scores of frames per second, are unable to even notice it. And, the life feels like a marsh where the aspirations are slowly sinking. Yet during these times the patience acts like a stick that keeps you afloat, without you ever noticing the divine intervention. In the world of contradictions here is another food for thought; life goes on yet it is ephemeral. I think you already knew that, but did you realize that? So life is not an en...

The Beatles 'Revolver' 1966 In the August of 1966 The Beatles released their seventh studio album 'Revolver'. It was the album where the musical experimentation and a technological innovation created a surreal experience for the listeners. My favourite track from the album is 'Yellow Submarine'. A song, if I could go back in 60's, I would like to sing with my friends. The lines describe an idyllic setting with all the friends aboard and many more of them live next door! I would live a life of ease and everyone has all they need. With an eternal blue sky and vast stretch of green sea, life couldn't be merrier (Haha!). That is the 'Yellow Submarine' John, Paul, George and Ringo imagined for themselves and their friends. I wish I could be aboard and sail away to the sun till we found sea green. Alas, life is no 'Yellow Submarine'. But life is about hard day's night and work that keeps us busy round the clock like a dog. No offen...

Mahatma Gandhi Julius Caesar, Mbade Nzinga, Napolean I of France, Elizabeth I, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi. Am I being naive if I ask who these people are? Of course, these are some of the most notable names from ancient to modern history. Their lives were subjected to intense scrutiny and their actions were (and are) considered as exemplary. Most of them unified their countrymen and are considered as great leaders, especially in times of crisis. Atilla the Hun, Genghis Khan, Mahmud Ghaznavi, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Reginald Dyer, Slobodan Milošević and Pol Pot. Some of these names are instantly familiar to most of us. These names are ingrained in the history of mankind, perhaps etched deeper than the names aforementioned. Their lives were scrutinized to greatest possible degree, sometimes in the court of law. Their actions left thousand of lives incapacitated and brought world to the brink of anarchy. Sergio Vieira de Mello S...

Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) It is always tragic when a life is lost. The tragedy is  even more  heartrending and frustrating when a young life is lost. The loss in this case seems to percolates through the realms of human loss and into the premature end to the possibilities. Every life has something to offer to someone in this world. Whether it's just a helping hand or the power to influence millions. But life can at times be cruel and overwhelming, forcing us to go down the alley of disenchantment, a place where not too many often come back.  A few hours back Miss Amy Winehouse , an English singer-songwriter was found dead in her home in London. Although the media is attributing her death to drug overdose but Metropolitan Police spokesman has described the cause of death as yet unexplained. Either way the world has lost a musician and her demise has left her fans wondering what dreams may have come if she had been alive.  Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) Mi...

In about few hours I would complete twenty eight years on the third rock from the sun, the planet we call our home, Earth. Of course the political divisions in the modern world have restricted our view to the countries we live in. However sometimes while switching through the myriad of television channels inundating our minds, we come across a picture of this rock taken more than forty years ago by the crew of Apollo 8 as they orbited around the moon to witness the ‘Earthrise’ by a member of the mankind. To see this beautiful blue ball hovering in a seemingly endless space forces us to move beyond the boundaries and into the realm of space. Perhaps that is the time when our minds echo with the words of free thinkers like Socrates or Kaniyan Ponngundran. The sentiment of ‘World Citizen’ these men believed in hundreds of years ago are as contemporary as the efforts of a slightly aging United Nations to promote world diplomacy and cooperation.  I was born in the year 1983 in the ci...

The Lovely Bones The Lovely Bones This is a movie which you can sit back and enjoy the superfluous imagery it builds in front of your eyes. You will completely miss the underlying theme of conflict, pain and love. Or if you manage to take a closer look at the eyes of the actors you'll notice the sorrow and beauty of the story. It took me a second look to go beyond the visual grandeur and let my mind absorb the message the movie is trying to shout out. The message that has managed to seep through the corners of my mind is of hope and love. It sounds simple but as we know wisdom is supposed to be uncomplicated yet as elusive as the shooting star. There is a silent victory hidden in a loss. Hidden beneath the layers of disappointment and sorrow lies a small victory. In the movie Susie Salmon (played by young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan) traverses through the maze of the world "in-between" she comes across emotions ranging from disappointment to vengeance to pain and f...