Idle musings

Notice the little ways in which nature lights up our world. Birds resting in a row on a flexboard flying off like an erupting waterfall. Pigeons, eagles, crows and other birds co-existing with our sedentary life. The wind caressing treetops and grass fronds, making them tilt their heads and do a little dance, unique to every plant.Sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees, making them shine like jewels. Or sunlight creating a stark silhouette of a tree that has shed all its leaves. How the rays make even tiny curly haird on a person's forehead stand out in golden hues. How trees on oppisite sides of a path extend their branches and give each other a handshake. Even trees that have shed their leaves have a certain majesty. Everything the sunrays touch turn beautiful to the human eye, even manmade things. It is proof of how far nature has put up (and still does) with man's exploitation. It is a shame that few notice the sun when both his arrival and departure in our world...

Gazing at the congested roads in the city one day made me contemplate on the idea that man enjoys shutting himself up in boxes. Think about it - cars, houses, planes, malls...just about everything about modern man seems to point to this. I'm surprised and impressed that the "idiot box" hasn't wiped out the radio as of yet.

How people change! People whom you've literally grown up with become strangers within a span of days. Exposure to money and glamour transform them. People whom you considered your closest friends seem to have no problem waking up one morning and cutting all contact with you. People whom you thought you knew, whom you believed you could trust no matter what, can wound you in a second. Sometimes we forget that love is a double-edged sword. It is an unspoken belief that we hold on to, that these people, will pay heed to our qualms, will stay with us through thick and thin, and will not hurt us on purpose. People can change their priorities in a flash, so learn to be comfortable in your own company.

Frankly, Ranjit Tiwari's  Lucknow Central is a little disappointing. With talent like Farhan Akhtar, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma and Ronit Roy onboard, the movie could have been more effective. The trailer promised a powerful story about music freeing the imprisoned, which is not lived up to. And for a film whose protagonist who is passionate about making it big in the music industry, the album could have been better as well. Watching the film, one feels like the script rushes on while banking too much on the viewer's suspending their disbeliefs for two and a half hours. Nevertheless, it does have its moments, especially the scenes with Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma and the comical Ravi Kishan. Farhan Akhtar does justice to his character but Diana Penty just manages to impersonate the purposeful journalist who aids in his seemingly impossible dream attain fruition.

Man has always been fascinated with the idea of flying. The story of the Wright brothers is history and I suppose most of you have travelled by plane at least once. Recently, I was struck by the idea that even skyscrapers could have been triggered by the wish to see things from an altitude, to have a feeling of being above all others, suspended in the air. Writing this brings to mind a meaningful quote - "I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question." Food for thought, folks! Chew on it. Watching the sunrise from above the clouds is a surreal experience. It almost feels like you're in the heavens, among the Gods (where they supposedly reside). How else did you get to witness such a beautiful, exclusive sight? I would recommend this experience to anyone and everyone listening, whether up in the air or down on the earth. Try it, it's worth shirking a few hours of sleep!

Have you ever thought about how many of our experiences are a result of the selfishness of others? It might range from the most trivial thing to the most serious. A certain student's misdemeanour results in a school ruling out long excursions in the future, or making the school unisex. A father's selfishness makes him marry off his daughter at a young age. An official's leaving his desk to flirt with a colleague or to catch an early lunch results in a long queue, with the poor people keeping aside their tasks for the day to get some paperwork done. A parent having an affair brushes aside an opportunity to spend some time with their children, unthinking of the possible effects on the latter's mental health. A terrorist group's motives brings about nationwide alarm and the need for thousands of men to risk their lives everyday on the borders. How some have to clean up after other people just because we cannot bother to put an empty water bottle in the trashcan ...

I often find myself thinking about the human predicament.  People suffering in loveless relationships on one side of the planet while others pine for a loved one, even waste away in isolation. The financially well-off revelling in the high life, partying, wasting food, abusing women and polluting nature, as opposed to the so-called poor or illiterate, or the aboriginals, who are wealthy in the things that matter, such as their worship of all things natural. The children who don't get a shot at life because of being diagnosed with cancer at birth, because of malnutrition, because of nuclear war, or rape by a family member. The people who literally live on the streets in contrast to those who charade as being deprived and add to their hoardings back home. The new 'mall culture' which fosters a brand consciousness, radically changing the lifestyle of a simpler people, effectively handing over the reins to faraway corporations, while low-key shopkeepers lose their until-then...