chaotic order

The nation loses yet another fine, sensitive director in Balumahendra. His work may not be very familiar to audiences in Northern India , but he will, forever be remembered and cherished as the Man who conceived the beautiful, poignant and  tragic drama on Indian screen - "Sadma" : that wonderful biopic which captured the essence of altruistic love and its repercussions, bringing out the best in Kamal Hassan and Sridevi. Balu was a cinematographer who turned Director; and we are fortunate that he did, because the precision of his camera was only matched by the simplicity , intensity and relevance of the magic that he created on screen. I still remember a Tamil film that still resonates in me as a path breaking venture on Indian screen titled - "Moodu Pani" , roughly translated as " Intense fog". It explored the sexual deviations of a man with an abused childhood, who grows up to dislike the concept of femininity and ends up murdering them in a fit of...

The strange alienation of man in society is a theme that has been explored many times in various art forms, especially in literature. To capture the essence of this deep human void on screen is an art that requires the confluence of many fa cets of film making. A proper setting, great actors, a subtle story line and above all, a director who can visualize frames and sequences that touch the undercurrent of sadness and non-fulfillment in life. Sophia Coppola, the daughter of legendary Francis ford Coppola has managed to get it all right in this wonderfully sensitive and meaningful 2003 movie “Lost in translation”. The film revolves around an aging and successful actor and a lonely and intellectually alive housewife, running into each other in a Hotel in Tokyo. Each trying to find a sense and purpose in life and its relationships, but unable to touch the spot of solace within. Set in the mechanized, fast paced environs of Tokyo, the movie beautifully explores the creeping uneasines...

One of the authors I have enjoyed immensely over the years is Gita Mehta. I remember reading her first book “Karma cola” sometime in the late nineties. Curiously, I had picked that book off the shelf not so much for the title but for the pi cture of Gita on the Flap cover of the hard bound edition. It was a stunning Black and white photograph of her, leaning against a wall relaxed and demurely poised, a charming smile and ever so gracefully draped in a flowing Saree. To be frank, I had a curious disregard for female Indian authors at that time, and the only one that I had read were Shobha de’s attempts at writing Hollywood fiction in Indian context. But “Karma cola” was a revelation. Here was a writer, who not only could write beautifully but also understood the deep moral and spiritual fibers that run through this large and divided nation. It was an attempt to redefine the relevance of Modern India to western eyes, not so much as a justification, but as a testimony to its depth a...

Its has been a week of quiet introspection so far. The Icy weather in Philly has cast a spell on me. The roads are wet with speckles of ice dropping from high rise buildings , creating small little puddles that will quickly freeze again as temperatures drop in the night. As i look out of my window, I see couple of homeless people standing near the lamp post with tattered clothes , vacant eyes and  shivering hands holding out a placard pleading for help. There is a resolute stoicism about their bearing. Pedestrians pass by , blissfully unmindful of their presence, caught up in their own world and hurrying towards a destination. Down the road, babbled voices emerge out of a pub that has glittering neon signs reflecting its jarring colors on the wet concrete outside. There is obviously a party going on there. The garrulous voices of inebriation is a testimony to it.. I started reading Julian Barnes "Flaubert s parrot" on Sunday in Atlanta airport; and in three straight days I f...

A review of "Before the rains" - a 2007 English movie by Santosh Sivan When a cinematographer directs a film, there is bound to be a profusion of aesthetic beauty. The Camera would inevitably want to rule over the story line. "Before the rains" then, is a visually beautiful drama , shot in the lustrous verdure of Munnar. The story is set during the last days of British colonial rule with a "sahib" scheming to build a bridge that would lead to more arable land for spices and condiments. And in the midst of this laborious commotion around him, he finds time to woo, fondle and drool over his dusky eyed housekeeper Sajani (played by Nandita Das); a married lady of the village, who seeks sexual refuge and solace in his arms (they call it "love" in the story). TK (Rahul Bose), the sahib's local boy is witness to this degeneracy of village decorum but stays quiet; comfortably basking in the shadow of his White boss, and also on being his right h...

The sermon of Bhagavad Gita is largely considered to be a spiritual classic not only its esoteric contents, but also for the fact that it was enunciated on a battle field to a trepidus warrior . Its eighteen chapters are the crown jewel of the Mahabharata and looked upon as one of the most profound insights into the nature of Self. Interestingly, the Ramayana also contains an intense spiritual discourse by Sage Agastya to none other than the God incarnate Rama. In thirty pli thy aphorisms, the eminent sage wakes Rama from the stupor of battle fatigue and gives him a glimpse of his real self. The poem is called 'Adityahrydayam'. It is a prayer that is chanted everyday in a million Indian homes . Unfortunately, we dont regard it as a masterpiece of spiritual literature in the same breath as the Bhagavad Gita, for the simple reason that the battle in Lanka is not as dramatic a setting as Kurukshetra was; and secondly, here the Lord himself is in a state of self doubt and hence ...

While the nation debates the appropriateness of awarding the Highest civilian honor to Sachin Tendulkar; I, for one, would want to merely acknowledge that the honor was given to a man who skillfully played a sport with a great amount of decency and pride for many years without unduly succumbing to the perils of sycophancy and measureless wealth that came with it (a rarity in our age and times). I also believe that Sachin happened to be playing the right game at the right time. There is no doubt in the fact that the game of cricket has seen more talented sportsmen, playing under more adverse circumstances than him; and it also an equally true fact that the Dyan Chand’s, the Milka Singh’s, the Ramesh Krishnan’s, the Sunil Gavaskar’s, the Viswanathan Anand’s glimmer as bright stars in their own firmament; but Sachin is fortunate to have been living in India and played Cricket at a singular time, when historically, a couple of catastrophic changes affected the perceptions of common man in...