chaotic order

Jottings : Slice of life 143 ( Love blossoms - story of a day in the life of the Obamas) One of the greatest charms of the White house is the mercurial quality, intensity, stormy personal relationships, great dignity and profound respect its occupants bring to bear upon the ethos of America and elsewhere. In the eyes of the world, The President and the first lady not only represent what America stands for, but more importantly, is a personal testament of love between equals and what it means to occupy the highest office with all its professional demands, and yet remain as human and intimate as possible. This responsibly has always been a heavy cross to bear for most of its illustrious occupants. In its long history of 45 presidents, many love stories are lost in the hustle and bustle of political and social drama surrounding them. Yet, despite that, there are stories of quite a few Presidential couples whose personal relationships have survived the test of time and suffused their o

Jottings - Slice of life - 140 ( “Walden”, by Thoreau - pronounced as “thurrow” - 1817-1862 ) At the dawn of American history, in early 19th century, two important men chartered the course of American soul, as it were : Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. While Emerson went beyond the pulpit and raised the American mind to a new form of transcendental individualism in which the Christian god of Pilgrim fathers gave way to a subtler and more eastern spirit of universalism ; Thoreau was the ever practical and enterprise driven American soul who was quickly disillusioned at the direction his fellow citizens were embarking upon in the new found freedom of this great nation. Emerson, left his vocation as a stirring pastor, converted his lectures to full length essays in sublime prose, which reverberate even today in university halls and intellectual podiums as living testimony to courageous, free thinking and self reliant man ; Thoreau, on the other hand - a Harvard graduate, a

Jottings - Slice of Life - 132 ( Dangal - exquisite craftsmanship and brilliant performances) My favorite critic and Journalist of Newyorker Magazine , Anthony lane, had a simple rule to write about films. In his own inimitable style, he writes “ ..Whenever possible , pass sentence on a movie the day after it comes out. Otherwise , wait fifty years. Films are most plausibly assessed in the heat of the moment or with the icy advantage of the long gaze; anything in between is hedging ones bets..” I cannot agree more. But unlike Lane’s recommendation I cannot wait for fifty more years to write about one of the finest films, and extraordinary performance of Aamir khan in Dangal. It is true, I consciously deferred watching this movie when it came out last year. My friends, coworkers and every casual acquaintance I had a chance to bump into raved about the story, its intense portal of feminine power and the aura of patriotism which suffused it. But as Indians in a foreign country, someti

Jottings - Slice of life - 129 ( Rafa’s immortality, and the poignant absence of a great Journalist to celebrate the ecstatic moment) Some sporting events and statistics are ethereal. As the word suggests - it is not of this world, but belongs to a sphere far away from the range, aptitude and grasp of ordinary mortals.How else would we assess Aussie cricketeer Don Bradman’s almost unbelievable batting average of 99.94, or mercurial Squash player Jahangir khan’s incredible winning streak of 555 tournaments between 1981-86 without missing a single game for any reason whatsoever, or Edwin Moses deer like agility, grace and speed that led him to win 122 straight races without ever touching a hurdle enroute, before his 123rd race - when in the last 50 meters, his left toe gently scraped against the top bar of the last hurdle ever so lightly causing it to sway a little by its impact only to regain balance - as a breathless audience watched Moses complete one more historic sprint, or Baby

Jottings - Slice of life - 125 ( Rites of Initiation - few thoughts on Upanayanam, the sacred thread ceremony ) The biggest loss of Modern generation is their complete severance from the experience of catharsis and growth - by way of actualizing timeless myths in the form of rituals and initiatory rites in our daily lives. Traditional rites of initiation, which played a huge role in shaping individuals to fit into society, have become more of a formality completed without any understanding of what they mean, why they are enacted, and what are they supposed to achieve. After all, the age of modernity for all its talk of progress is one riddled with fear. We enact inherited rituals, visit temples, try to follow social traditions - not because we know why; but because we are afraid what would happen if we dont do so. We may argue and talk intellectually about the non-existence of God or an afterlife or argue about traditions, but deep down we are unsure, and would like to keep our

Jottings - Slice of Life - 124 ( Roger Moore - The actor and the Man - a remembrance ) Between 1952 and 1963 Ian Fleming wrote 12 Bond novels and two short story collections featuring his legendary creation - James bond, the articulate, suave and ruthless secret service agent of the British Government. Bringing his enormous experience of spy and espionage during the wars, Fleming’s imaginative brain spun Bond as the archetypal killing machine with heart and morals in the right place at the right time. Writing about his books and his method , Fleming once said “ I write for about three hours in the morning, and one in the evening. I never look look back on what I have written. It goes to the publisher as it is..”. We are grateful it did. The spontaneity, felicity and mounting tension of Bond novels will forever remain one of the top fictional creations of the twenty century, and well beyond it. In 1961, Albert Broccoli and his friend saw the potential of James bond on screen, roped

Jottings - slice of life - 123 ( Baahubali - my take on it) Over the last two years, on innumerable occasions during my travels and otherwise, I have been asked by well meaning Indian Friends and acquaintances who know my interest in cinematic art , either personally or through emails, if I had an opportunity to watch the first part of Baahubali, and if yes, what are my opinions on it. In fact, one of them recently said “ Bala, this movie was and is a cinematic sensation in India, and i am surprised you are keeping a studious silence about it, I would love to read what you have to say…” The truth of the matter is I hadn't seen the movie, nor did I have any inclination to watch it ( until yesterday on youtube), in spite of the fact the movie ran in cinema theaters near me wherever I went. Of course, I did read about the movie, its gigantic production, the years of preparation and execution that went into it, the sheer magnificence of cinematic panorama depicted on screen, the