Idle musings

It can be said that a person is at their most vulnerable when they are asleep.Sure enough,even the most mischievous brat will seem oh-so-innocent in slumber.I know someone who gives magnificent postures in  siestas.It is delightful to watch,I tell you.I will attempt to describe a few of the poses I have beheld - mouth agape,neck bent backwards,seated on a wooden chair; one hand and one leg over each armrest,snoring like a king on the sofa; or on the bed,one knee bent and the other leg placed above it!How can a person slip into unconsciousness like that,I wonder.

What is it about travel that is so.. magnetic?So much so that Tennyson's 'Ulysses' felt the whole unexplored world always beckoning to him,never letting him stay idle? Even the common portals of a journey - a train station,for instance - are fascinating,even if you are not a traveller yourself.There are the expected sights - stray dogs,vagrants,porters,policemen,loiterers,who blend in with the constant smell of urine,the blaring television screens fighting for attention over the announcements of arrivals and departures of locomotives.But they never get boring.You look at these people crowding the platforms,the ticket counters,the waiting rooms,the overbridges,pretty much everywhere...and there is a plethora of emotions,ranging from hope to despair.Lone travellers descend and look around for porters,others alight to embrace their loved ones,and still others arrive in groups,fresh and renervated from shared experiences.The sense of discovery,of belonging and being alone at t...

A few hours of power outage is bliss.Well,assuming you are done with immediate tasks for the day.Then,one can resort to being old school for a while.To use any kind of electrical equipment(which sum up our lives nowadays)is impossible.If your phones and gadgets are out of charge,then all the better.Pick up that book you have been putting off reading for forever,or take the chance to spent quality family time by engaging in indoor games(dust off that old carrom board,will you?)or just conversing.I bet you haven't done face-to-face conversations in a while.Good old spring cleaning is bound to help.You could engage in some rudimentary cooking(fuel is still available)or just take a walk,minus the headphones.Do anything that fits your fancy,something you haven't done ina while but would cheer you up.If you quit complaining,this day could turn out to be a refreshing,much-needed break.Let's see how you do!

'Ozhivu Divasathe Kali' is striking in its sense of realism.Helmed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan,the film tells the story of five men engaging in an 'off-day game' on the day of elections.They find a comfortable spot in the woods for what is basically a booze party.Conversations border on politics and society.Predictably,the drunks individually make a move on the woman serving drinks and get paid for fooling around.Fights ensue,but alcohol comes to the rescue again,though temporarily,mind you.They decide to top off this day of drunkenness with a childhood game,but all goes asunder when the wild friends 'punish' the burglar(a fairly simple game involving the four characters of 'king','minister','cop' and 'thief' ;the cop must find the burglar and the king along with a fifth 'judge' will pronounce the punishment)  as per the rules.While four remain in a frenzy,the fifth sways from the railing,dead,swaying sadly like the rooster...

'Dhanak' is truly a splash of all colours. Laced with love,life and the innocence of two kids who set out on a daring journey,it is definitely everything the title offers,and more.Music and mirth light up the sands and humble homes of Rajasthan. Chotu and Pari are gems who are sure to steal many hearts. And when Chotu sees the world again,you can't help feeling a sense of contentment.Heart swelling up,the whole bit. Thank you, Nagesh Kukunoor ,for a film that is simply BEAUTIFUL!

You are reading 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveller' by Italo Calvino.You arrange yourself so as not to be disturbed by external forces.You are confused.Where is the story taking you?The lone traveller at the unknown station,the intriguing tale of Gritzvi and Zwida...one moment you are sitting up,caught up in the story and the next,your brows furrow,your fists clench unconsciously around the binding,and you helplessly try to snatch the thread that seems to be eluding you.Just when you have given up,things fall back on track,you smile in realization,giving yourself a little shake,even smacking your head,wondering at the unexpected revelations laid out before you.Your brows clear and the book has your rapt attention again. Neverthless,each cliffhanger brings out a sigh,until the parallel theories get you thinking deeply,foraying into annals of the mind previously unexplored.What seems to be the final novel seems to end things abruptly and violently,which you find rather out ...

You might think living life from one day to the next is boring - seeing the same people,doing the same things,even taking the same route.Apart from the changes you can bring in to infuse a sense of novelty into the usual,about which enough has been spoken,let me try and help you to find the new in the old. The key is to observe.Open your senses to your surroundings,whatever maybe the mode of travel - (unless you are the one driving,in which case,do focus only on that).Look around,watch life going on.The sights you see will vary slightly everyday,depending upon the timing, and of course,from place to place. One day,on the way home,I was just looking ahead at the usual view but suddenly spotted a bike with dancing taillights.That's right.Due to lack of proper fixing or whatever,both hindlights were bobbing up and down while the vehicle puffed and panted forward on the uneven road.Looked like they were animated characters doing jumping jacks,and that set me laughing,even reminding...

Cloud formations are fun to watch.From the time I saw them as mouth-watering dollops of ice cream,as a kid,to now,when these masses of moisture present themselves to me in different shapes,the sky has been an innovative canvas showcasing nature's varying moods.Sometimes I trace a horse,an elephant, a puffy chariot escorting the Sun,a giant spaceship,whipped cream smeared on the sky,or just an expanse of black,thickening until it breaks out in a heavy downpour - fury unleashed as light,water and sound,but also as a blessing to life on Earth.

What do you do if the unthinkable happens and you are stuck in limbo,unable to be of any real help to a loved one who is fighting for their life?Director Anu Menon attempts to explore the idea of two people waiting for the verdict of their respective spouses- a man(Naseeruddin Shah)whose wife has been in a coma for eight months, and a young woman(Kalki Koechlin)who finds it hard to cope in the face of her husband's accident,resulting in brain injury,in 'Waiting'.Shiv Nataraj is very amicable with the hospital staff ,has been married for forty years(with no kids)and has an impeccable schedule.He religiously takes care of his wife.reading to her,checking on her everyday, and constanly wishing for her to wake up.He reads medical journals and is aware of the advancements on that front.Tara Deshpande is the exact opposite,recently married and the symbol of the young generation who say whatever they feel,with no grace,in Shiv's opinion. Neverthless,they bond over their commo...

Superhero films are not all about made up heroes and villains,or the visual effects,even.Look closer consciously and you will find humanity peeping out of the frame.The triumph of good over evil is definitely a recurring theme, but played out beside essentially humane experiences and emotions,it almost always works,and for a wide audience too.The successful X-Men franchise,or standalone movies like Guardians of the Galaxy stand testament to this fact and are but a few examples in the wide spectrum of Hollywood(you have to admit,they are still the best at what they do).When a man with a tormented past turns villain,it is not altogether unexpected and the audience cannot exactly hate them;they are no longer the cliched Satan in disguise.The other characters too may possess supernatural powers,and may side with good or evil but they are all ultimately human and that makes the story relatable. Of course,these impossible worlds are conjured up by humans themselves,so it is inevitable that ...

Never miss a chance to enjoy nature in all her glory.One fine afternoon,suppose you step on to a terrace or balcony and marvel upon the unusual silence.With hardly any automotives on the road,the air is enlivened by the lively chirping of birds - robins,barbets,woodpeckers,parrots and several others you cannot spot.It is not very different from the early morning hours when the same winged creatures creep out of their nests and fill the air with their chatter.But now,you feel a difference - it is as if they are transmitting their carefree energy onto you.You look around,take it all in.Parallel homes,some flaunting similar patios,some not;birds flying or huddling together in the distance;leaves of the nearby neem tree swaying in a gentle breeze;a cat sauntering across the garden;a lone traveller walking on the street and pet dogs barking,issuing threats to strangers.A languidness evades you while looking at this relatively peaceful scene, of sleepy hours in a residential area.You look u...

It's an interesting thought : how the world transformed from a time of quiet villages,monarchs and highway robbers to suburbs,democracy and active nightlife.I suppose the underlying things are the same-make money,find a way to press on,whether you lead a sedentary or rural life.From an age when people feared to venture out at night and were superstitious about going on long journeys, to a period of freedom,changed ideals and a new,golden world(atleast that is what some like to believe,eh?).Life does not change much.Over the millenia,new generations of humans find novel methods of adopting deceiving appearances,a new order of society is brought in and so on.We like to think we will endure;that we have reached the supreme level among all things living and bring silent chaos upon each other anyway.