Should it be dreams or anxiousness. Feelings are never singular. They are a mixed bag, complex, hard to describe to others and limited to our own understanding.
Retirement is an inevitability though one may still choose to work in a flexi kind of way. However, it’s important to relax and enjoy me-time as much as be motivated to work till such time one does not feel fully saturated.
Continued working under pressure of stiff deadlines result in early burn outs. There are many avocations one cannot pursue because of time constraints.
Retirement is the time to enjoy the fruits of working life spent in earning and fulfilling familial duties.
Also to get time to follow your passion without worrying about pecuniary gains is mind relaxing as well as stimulating.
Second innings of life needs to be well planned in terms of both fronts – financial as well as leisure.
How to spend time in a creative way so as not to feel under utilized after a long tenure of scheduled outputs and performances is in itself challenging as well as thought provoking.
Retirement planning, in addition to putting in place a regular source of income generation, should also necessarily include charting of activities wherein one can engage oneself meaningfully on a day to day basis.
Taking part in community programmes, following hobbies which were once renounced because of lack of time, getting enrolled in courses of interest and inclination, teaching the needy are some of the options.
Instead of feeling worthless, neglected and unproductive , the pursuit of constructive happiness and enjoying a mentally and physically healthy life should become the motto.
So my present state is how to make the most of my retired life in a positive, creative, meaningful and memorable way. And all the feelings of pleasure full anticipation combined with worries of not having a regular work schedule and steady source of income.
Feelings float like clouds. Perhaps tomorrow the clouds will be browsing through another sky, another land , another thought zone. Feelings, like perspectives and perceptions, are not constant.
On one hand I am looking forward to some gained leisure, sedentary pace and spending time as per my own schedule learning, unlearning, slowing down, innovating, experimenting once again with life and experiencing the thrills of a spiritually uplifted existence, being grateful and peaceful. On the other, after four decades of workaholism, I dread the not doing the things I was used to doing for such a long period. With age I may have to forego so many which I once thought or think are indispensable for a happy and contented living.
It’s luxury to wallow in such undulating thoughts for a while yet at the same one should control excessive of everything.
As I said in my earlier post on Rakhi, I spent the off day binge watching Who Is Erin Carter? Yes it’s with a question mark.
Erin Carter is a British expat teacher in a local school in Spain working on contractual basis filling in for teachers on leave. She is earnestly looking forward to get permanent which will allow her daughter, Harper, who is her life and a student in the same school, to get a full scholarship to continue with her studies.
But Erin has a knack of getting into uncalled for trouble. She and her daughter visit the Super Market when a masked man and woman attempt to rob it. In a bid to save her daughter from getting hurt and the store from getting robbed she gets into a fight and succeeds to injure the man badly. The woman gets away. Later, the man dies in the hospital. But both the robbers seem to recognize Erin and call her Kate. Why??
Later the female robber comes back to Erin’s school when the children are participating in an evening show. They get into a heated argument which transpires into a bloody battle. Erin, in self defense, kills the other woman named Margot Mueller. Emilio, a witness to the murder, helps Erin to hide the dead body.
Emilio is a Police Detective and best friend of Erin’s husband Jordi. He is also their next door neighbour. He receives a video of the fight between Erin and the masquerader in the Super Market whereas the CCTV Cameras of the Store were inactivated by the robbers. Seeing the way Erin fights it out with the robbers and later Mueller, Emilio requests her to help him out in return for the assistance he offered to her.
Emilio confides that he has got into bad company and incurred huge gambling debt. That is why his wife, Ana has left him and taken his son, Rafa with her. If he does not repay the money the goons will finish him off. He asks Erin to enter their domain and get the details of their business deals from the Computer on a pen drive. Seeing the amount of risk involved, Erin refuses at first to help but later, being sympathetic towards him and to return his favour, does what is asked. However, before she can leave the gang leader arrives and sees her. Erin somehow manages to run away from his den.
Amidst all these mis-adventures, Erin is late for the interview at school for getting enrolled as a permanent teacher and somehow scrapes through it in the last minute. In the meantime, Emilio is kidnapped by the deadly gangsters. Erin arrives at the nick of time to save him. Subsequently, the gang leader, whose den Erin had earlier invaded, recognizes her in the Chemist Shop from where she is buying medicines and first aid for a badly bruised Emilio resting in the car. He clicks her photo on his mobile intending to circulate so as to know her identity. She pleads with him not to. But he is adamant. In the midst of their verbal exchange, Emilio runs the gang leader over in order to save Erin.
One trouble leads to the other. The neighbourhood, instead of praising Erin for saving the Super Market from being robbed, is suspicious of her because the robber, who was heavily injured, dies in the hospital. They think it is because of Erin that the man is dead. So, Erin is more of a formidable character than a saviour. Harper is treated as ‘different’ by her school mates. She feels isolated and friendless.
In comes the influential Mr. Daniel Lang whose son is with Harper in the same school. He is a problem child and not good at studies. Erin, instead of complaining about him, wants to help him out. She suggests Mr. Daniel appoints a private tutor who can help his son get better and improve his scores. Mr. Daniel is impressed and asks Erin to be the tutor. She does not want to, but in the long run has to, as she loses her school job.
Jordi loves Erin and Harper deeply. However, with the passage of time and Erin’s odd behaviour and lies to hide the fiasco Emilio has got her in and her dark past, Jordi starts suspecting her. Going through her identification papers he is surprised to see that her antecedents cannot be traced back to definite sources. So, the question is again : Who Is Erin Carter?
Since I am a thriller guzzler, Netflix keeps throwing such serials on my Home Screen. This is a British mini series (seven episodes) with a conclusive end. Given the edgy narrative one just cannot stop watching though at times I agree the story and behaviour of the characters appear weird and unrealistic.
Erin is a housewife and a school teacher who whisks off at odd hours to be the saviour of mankind!!
She is brutally shot at and left bleeding on a deserted mountain top, yet she reaches home in time to tell her husband and daughter to run away!!!
One of the jailbirds, Lena, manages to open her handcuffs with a plastic gem clip, murder the cop escorting her and escape!!!!
Emilio is in police force but only gets beaten badly by the gangsters all the time and just cannot retaliate back except when he runs over the gang leader.
Erin is supposed to be all for her family but the way her character is built she does not appear to be one who can be easily house bound.
Jordi, who is a nurse in the same hospital wherein the robber dies, is always seen doing the housework and helping Harper get ready to go to school. He does not object to Erin’s untimely absences from home and her unattended homely duties.
But we the viewers are middle class homebirds with a scheduled nine to five job. What do we know of those who are brought up in foster homes and have to be street smart to survive? Bereft of thrills and excitements, leading a mediocre life, we don’t have much choice but to satiate our thirst for adventure by watching these nail biting series and movies. Don’t we?
So, for those who love such adrenaline rushing, gripping, edge of the seat dramas can watch this show created by Jack Lothian for Netflix.
Cast
Erin Carter – Evin Ahmad
Jordi Collantes – Sean Teal
Emilio – Pep Ambros
Harper – Indica Watson
Daniel – Douglas Henshall (Remember the Shetland Detective)
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
Many years back my neighbour persuaded me to join the Basic Course of Art of Living. (More about Art Of Living in some other post). It was a three day program. Each day we were taught a simple exercise of concentration on breathing. During the process we had to inhale and exhale in different rhythms – slow, medium and fast- without putting unnecessary pressure on the chest, muscles or stomach. It has to be effortless. This process is known as Sudarshan Kriya.
Such breathing exercises are basically forms of Pranayams. Pranayam is a yogic method stimulating mind and body and bringing both in alignment with the soul. Our body has its own cadence which at times gets lost or erratic with a surge of adrenaline, undue stress and stiff work targets. Pranayam helps bring the body back to its original laya or cadence. Therefore, rhythm in Kriya is of utmost importance.
Thoughts may flow in and out while trying to keep the mind focussed during Kriya. But focus is not to be shifted from breath to thoughts. Thoughts will just be like clouds sailing in and away.
Pranayam is relaxing, de-stressing, facilitates decluttering of mind and increases blood circulation in every part of the body. It is, therefore, both a physical and mental exercise. It is noteworthy that at times blood flow is also hampered in our body due to various reasons.
As we all know a decluttered mind brings in clarity of thought, purpose and action and single minded focus. Clear thinking helps keep us calm and composed in the face of sudden ‘storm’ and the routine of the day is completed in a seamless manner. Thought is the seed of all actions and reactions. If our thoughts are clear so shall be our actions and reactions.
In the beginning, the initiation of Kriya in one’s daily routine is hard. But once one gets to know it’s benefits, the process automatically fits in the day’s time table. Early morning, especially 4.00 am, is supposed to be the ideal time for Kriya when pin drop silence resides and one is able to concentrate inwards without any disturbance. The perfect posture for Pranayam or Kriya is Padmasana. Those who are not able to sit in that particular position should ensure that their spine is ram rod straight, body is not inclined forward or backward and while breathing in and out one does not fall asleep which can be a natural tendency borne out of too much exhaustion.
At first it was difficult for me to do this exercise keeping my eyes closed. In such a situation, one can do it with open eyes as well. Gradually, the system fell in place and I was able to do it unhindered with eyes closed. Regular practice, thus, is a must.
Sometimes, due to pressure of work and time constraints, I may miss doing this exercise but picking up the thread is very important. Not doing it does not mean giving up on it. We were told to do the Kriya alone and empty stomach. The process is to be learnt as the art of inhalation and exhalation follows a particular pattern which if done wrongly may not deliver it’s intended outcome and also may result in serious physical fall outs like high blood pressure, head ache, heartpalpitation etc.
As I said before, given its positive outcomes, doing the Kriya on a regular basis has kept me in good stead. We tend to gather, even unknowingly, a lot of stress doing our daily chores in a time bound manner. The stress makes us irritable, tense, anxious and sometimes nervous. As a result, the easiest task seems like a mammoth job. Kriya steadies the nerves and smoothens the creases on the forehead.
Years later when I enrolled into the online spiritual course of Swami Yogananda’s Spiritual Institute, I was told to give up any form of Pranayam or meditation which I was habituated to follow. Though the purpose may be the same, in order to learn a new method one has to unlearn the old one. However, I was so set into Sudarshan Kriya, I could not get out of it. As a result, I have not been able to follow any other way of doing meditation.
Oh! Did I tell you Sudarshan Kriya is also a form of meditation which helps you get in touch with your core? But that needs years of practice and does not come easy. Those who are into it should continue doing. Am sure they will see success one day.
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
Today is full moon or Pooranmashi in India. It is an auspicious day for Hindus. It is also known as Rakhi Purnima.
On this day, sisters tie beautiful ornamental threads on their brother(s)’ wrists. This decorative thread is known as Rakhi. This festival is known as Raksha Bandhan. By tying Rakhi the sisters secure their brothers’ pledge of protecting them in times of need.
Since the date is set as per lunar calendar, planetary position and the Panchang or the almanac, it varies year to year. This year, every festival is falling on the cusp. That is why people are getting two days to celebrate each fest. Rakhi is today and tomorrow. Some are celebrating today. Some will be celebrating tomorrow. But the Government has given us off today. So, it’s fun day today.
With Rakhi the season of festivals begin in India. Soon after Rakhi Janmashtami is celebrated which is the birthday of Lord Krishna. Thereafter, every month there are tithis or dates on which some festival or the other will be celebrated including Ganesh Chaturthi (for ten days in Maharashtra and other parts of the country) Durga Puja(four days in Bengal and rest of the country) and Deepawali (two days), ending with Christmas in December.
India is a land of many faiths. Festivals of all faith are celebrated with equal vigour and joy in this Land Of Festivals.
On Rakhi there is an unusual rush of commuters by every possible means of transportation. Yesterday 6.81 Million people travelled by Metro alone in the National Capital Region covering three States which is a record in itself. Then there are commuters across regions. It is difficult to get train and air tickets as people rush from different parts of the country to reach home for the puja, tika ceremony and celebration.
On this day brothers travel to their sisters’ place and vice versa. My mother’s physiotherapist every year travels from Delhi to Mumbai, i.e. one Metro City to another, to his sister’s for Rakhi. The sweet sellers have a field day. The markets overflow with buyers. The Beauty Parlours have roaring business. The Mehendiwallas have long queues and charge sky high.
Rakhi is basically a festival of North India. But now all Metros, cities and towns have become cosmopolitan. Therefore, all festivals, whether North, East, West or South Indian, get celebrated all over the country. Thus, we find garbas being organised in States other than Maharashtra and Gujarat to which this Dance Festival belongs and is famous for. Interestingly, the Garba Festival is also the one in which matches are made as it is attended by entire families who dance in groups together to a particular rhythm with ornate sticks in hand. This is known as Garba Dance which is typically marked with the clicking sound of the sticks. As the night prolongs, the song beats get accelerated, so does the rhythm of the dance and swirl of the billowing embellished skirts or ghagras and heavily laden dupattas (long scarves). A clipping of garba fest just to show the zest of the dancers…
Oh! I got distracted. Coming to my last internet search…It was today and all about Rakhi….legends, images, different ways of celebrations… Brushing up my history…
There is a very interesting story (available on the net) – wherein Queen Karnavati of Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan) sent Rakhi to Mughal Emperor Humayun to seek protection from him when her kingdom got attacked by Muslim Sultan of Gujarat Bahadur Shah. Queen Karnavati was the widow of Rana Sangram Singh. Her son was a minor. The Sultan was powerful. She sent a special envoy with Rakhi to Badshah Humayun, who was engaged in Bengal expedition, which is in the far East while Chittaur is in the West. When Humayun received the Rakhi he was touched by the gesture and turned his army towards the West midway of the expedition.
However, he arrived late. Sultan had already captured the Fort of Chittaurgarh and the queen, along with all other ladies of the palace, had committed Jauhar, that is, happily immolated themselves to save from being massacred by the Muslim invaders. Jauhar is again a very fascinating historical act to which the Rajputana Queens and Princesses have succumbed time and again in order to protect their self respect. The act was immortalized by Rani Padmini when Badshah Allauddin Khilji captured Chittaurgarh. Of course, this was much before Queen Karnavati ‘s immolation. This clipping is part of a movie on Queen Padmini and how she defeated the lust ridden Khilji by performing Jauhar…along with the other ladies of the palace…
Thus, Rakhi became a symbol of protection transcending the bounds of religion. It was a cry for help from a sister to a brother. It can also be seen as a political manoeuvre. Nevertheless, Humayun took his revenge and defeated Bahadur Shah and Karnavati’s son was enthroned in Chittaur proving that the Queen’s petition for help and self sacrifice did not go waste.
Hence, in India, Rakhi is tied even to those who are not blood brothers but anyone (irrespective of faith and language) who is looked up to as a brother. Those who live abroad or to other remote parts of the country from where a quick travel is not possible Rakhi is sent by post or even mail and WhatsApp. These are known as e-Rakhi.
Rakhis
With change of time and fast pace of life many innovations have taken place. But the significance and fervour of the ritual have not died down. This is also a festival of gifts as brothers and sisters and their respective families exchange gifts as tokens of good will and fraternal bond.
From Google
I belong to the East. We have a similar festival which is known as Bhai Phota or Bhai Duj as it is called in the North. So, having not to celebrate Rakhi, I spent the day binging on Netflix but that’s another post. Traveling on Rakhi is simply no-no as the traffic congestion is so high it’s not sure whether one will ever reach one’s destination. I had a terrible time reaching home yesterday evening from office.
That aside, this time, I have been besotted by the moon and wanted to take a picture in all its glory on a full moon night. Somehow in the evening, the sky was cloudy and I could get none. My brother-in-law, along with my sister, had gone to his sister’s for Rakhi all the way to Noida. I asked them to get me a shot while coming back home. But again it was a dusty moon.
They were on road….travelling….so
From my balcony the sky was like this …
Just now I could only take these…
The dust in the air prevented a good shot. But it’s interesting to note how the dust laden moon was captured in the lens nearer home
Tell us about the last thing you got excited about.
The caption of the blog implies that the last excitement is over but I am writing about it as per the prompt.
Our Company gives us Gift Cards once every year. Last few years it pertained to one particular shop. We all cribbed about how expensive the outlet was and with limited choice.
This year the Card had wider options of usage for any online shopping. I immediately registered it for some book buying on Amazon. For bookworms ( am not exactly one), I guess buying books is as exciting as reading. For me the former is more as the idea of having so many to read is more exhilarating than the actual process of reading.
Anyhow, that was the first phase of excitement. The second one came as a serendipitous find this morning when one of my former seniors sent me this WhatsApp message related to books, reading and words.
I am a lover of words. Naturally, this message on uncommon ones that too related to reading excited me to no end. I thought it was relevant to this prompt The post will not be complete without the WhatsApp which is an add-on and therefore appended below:
“Many of us would have (probably) not known these interesting facts, related to books. I most certainly did not. Good to know there are words for feelings that are known only to book lovers.
Dog’s ear – While reading a book we fold the corner of the page.
Librocubicularist – The person who reads books lying on the bed.
Epeolatry – A person who worships words. Tries to string out the sweetness from every word.
Logophile – A person who is fascinated with words.
Bibliosmia – The smell of old books.
Book bosomed – A person who cannot stay a moment without books.
Omnilegent – A person who reads all types of books, without judging the subject.
BallyCumber – Books which are half read.
Tsundoku – A Japanese word. There is no English word for it. This means that after purchase, the book was not opened even once.
Princep – The first printed copy of any book.
Sesquipedalian – A word which has many syllables, such as ses/qui/pe/da/li/an.
Colophon – The spine of the book, or where the publisher’s logo is seen.
Bibliclasm – To spoil a book knowingly.
Fascile – Part. 1st part, 2nd part etc. A book which is published in many parts, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, Oxford Dictionary etc.
Afficted – After reading a book, if a person feels like crying at the end, but is unable to do so.
Bookklempt – When you have finished reading the last episode and you know that there is no other episode to read, but you are unable to digest this truth.
Chaptigue – The tired feeling, which you get in the morning, after reading a book for the whole night.
Delitrium – The good feeling which you get from the smell of a newly purchased book.
Madgedy – Repeatedly reading a sad story & hoping that the end will be different.
Mehnertia – After reading a book for some time & then reading it from the start all over again, because you forgot what you were reading.
Rageammed – When you tell your friends to read a book, which you liked and they inform you that they have already read the book and they did not like it.
Swapshame – The condition, when after reading a book for some time, you think that there was another book which you liked and you are in a dilemma which one to read first.”
Isn’t it exciting to know so many new words! This excitement is everlasting!!
I am a librocubicularist but a little disappointed as in the above list of words there’s none for the one who goes off to sleep while reading holding the book or device tightly in hand in a reading position only the ear splitting snores giving away that the reader has been transported to some other world!!!🫣🫣🫣
Do you have a one word for that in your lingo. If yes, do let me know. 🤔🤔🤔
If I were to design the city of the future obviously I would like it to be bereft of the ills of the existing one which are :
Traffic Congestion
Pollution
Lawlessness
Red Tapism
Dirtiness
Unnecessary Construction
Lack of Civic Sense
Lack of Awareness of Sustaining a Green Environment
Spitting habits
Minimal Use of Public Toilets
Continued Use of non-Biodegradable Products
Marginal Use of Alternate Source of Energy
It may appear from the above listing how we are living in such a place where there are so many issues in need of urgent rectification!
Taking a clue from the above, it goes without saying that idea of a future city should incorporate all the parameters which are conspicuous by their absence now.
However, a city is just not a planned urbanscape. It has a personality of its own given the culture dominating the mindset of its living , breathing populace.
A city becomes noisy unlivable hellhole given the attitude of the people. More than designing the landscape, we need overhauling of the psyche of the people so that they
Care more for the surrounds
Wish to sustain the goodness and goodwill of the dwellers
Believe in maintaining positivity , helpfulness and genuineness of intent
Develop a sense of community and innovate programs involving all
Respect the elderly and care for them
Put a premium on safety and empowerment of women
Support good governance and closely monitor whether they are fulfilling their electoral mandates
Emphasize, through various peaceful and organized means, on people’s participation in administrative issues for their time bound resolution
Build platforms where civil society can play an active role in matters of public interest and procurement processes where public money is involved
Bring to power those whose functioning has indicated maximum accountability
Demand a judicial process which hastens bringing to books the wrongdoers who act against the betterment of society.
Public opinion is a very powerful instrument in not only building but retaining the standards of a megapolis. It is the public opinion builders, who can, through various forums, generate a collective will for sustaining healthy and quality life. In doing so, it is important to understand that equity is the basis of an envy-free coexistence. The genesis of majority of crimes is socio-economic disparity which has to be minimised, if not eradicated, from all arenas of public life, in order to develop free thinking minds with a deeply rooted sense of belonging and respect for the history and heritage of mankind, be it of any era.
Again, when we talk of future city we tend to restrict our projection within the limits of a particular geographical boundary. In the age of globalization can we possibly demarcate the ethos of a populace to four corners of city limit?
Today all cities are not even cosmopolitan but multinational in nature. For peaceful cohabitation, therefore, we not only have to preserve what is ours but also at the same time understand what is theirs by giving up on othering and embracing a broader horizon of brotherhood.
It is only then, by breaking the divisive walls, built purposely by certain narrow, fundamental motivated elements , can we consider a future habitat worthy of dreaming.
I was told my grandfather named me and my elder sister. We have a special ceremony for naming an infant. In olden times of joint families, the eldest (patriarch/matriarch) would name the child. In some cases, the naming would be influenced by the planetary position of the baby during birth time or the horoscope.
In Bengalis it’s a racial trait to comb dictionaries and ancient scriptures for uncommon names with profound meaning. Naming girls after flowers is also very common like Madhobilata which in English is Clustered Hiptage or Helicopter Flowers. Imagine naming a girl Helicopter!!!
But we have this weird fascination where names are concerned. One of my classmates was called Puloma which in itself was a rarest of names. When we pestered her for the meaning she said it’s after the name of the grandmother of some mythological character. Who could think of that but a Bangaali!!
But we Bengalis love to pretend to be intellectuals. Weirder is the name prouder we are. It is also a very peculiar habit of ours to ask the meaning of unfamiliar names of acquaintances in social gatherings. Rather irritating but that’s how it is.
Problem with Bengali names are that they are prone to be mispronounced in other parts of the country. We can make out by the names who belongs to which part of the subcontinent. Like Premakka is a typically South Indian name. Please don’t ask me the meaning.
However, nowadays the fashion is to keep names which are not intrinsically Indian – Natasha, Sonya, Eva, Ella, Misha have become favourites.
Meaning of my name is so misleading that it’s rather embarrassing for me to explain its etymology. Geetashree is another name for Goddess Saraswati – the Goddes of knowledge. She always wears white which signifies purity. And she is supposed to have a fine temper. I have merely inherited her temper but not what she is the giver of. But throughout life I have always sought knowledge over everything else which is for sure. Some similarity there!!
My elder sister’s name is Jayashree which is the other name for Goddess Lakshmi. She is the Goddes of material prosperity. My sis has suffered from bouts of insecurity though her finance acumen is very strong. Lakshmi and Saraswati are siblings not in good humour with each other. It is said that they don’t reside together. One who is materially well off may not be keen on gathering knowledge and those who are knowledge seekers care two hoots for material success.
So there goes the history of nomenclature. Though total misnomer and prone to be unpronounceable , I take pride that there are only two of us by the same name in my office! Even Bengalis pretend to mispronounce typically Bengali names. But who cares for vernacular these days???
At one time I was unhappy with my name. Wanted to change it. But at the fag end of life who cares what in a name is and after all who is going to remember what the name of a mere mortal was once you are one with the elements!!! So chill
Well, I don’t know what should be the yardstick to select the top ten movies for this list. Favourite can be defined as the ones which are considered must watch. Now must watch can also have varied parameters. For example
1. Narration
2. Performance
3. Entertainment
4. Repeat Value
5. Classic
6. Emotion Quotient
7. Comic Timing
8. Thought provoking
9. Visual Impact
10. Star Craze
11. Romanticism
My picks may not be based on all the above. However, the strength of the movie will definitely emphasize the story element:
1. Teesri Manzil (The Third Floor)
I am a murder mystery fan. Mostly, thrillers do not have repeat value. But I have watched this movie n number of times knowing fully well what the end is. Yet the suspense quotient has not lessened for me. I give full credit to the Director.
Rocky, a pop singer performs in a hotel. A girl commits suicide from the third floor of the same hotel.
Things take a dramatic turn when the dead girl’s sister lands up at the hotel in search of the man who compelled her sister to take her life – Rocky ! As fated she falls in love with him not knowing who he is.
2. Kaghaz Ke Phool (The Paper Flowers)
An ace film director bumps into a beautiful girl one rainy night. To save her from cold he offers her his coat (or was it blazer?). Later when she comes to return the coat in his studio her face is caught in the camera. On the spur of the moment he decides to cast her in his upcoming movie. She is a novice. He mentors her. She is young. He is much older to her. She is new and alone in the city. He has a daughter out of an unhappy marriage. Both develop a unique bond. When the movie is released she becomes a star overnight. With the passage of time the girl becomes more and more famous and unattainable whereas her mentor gets lost in the realms of obscurity.
The film underscores the harsh realities of a glamour ridden world. How fickle fame is! lt is also rumoured to be based on the real life love story of the heroine cast in the movie and it’s director who later committed suicide.
3. Christie Movies
For me all Christie movies, especially with Sir David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, can be watched again and again. As in case of her books, I go back to these movies /TV dramatizations quite often. The adaptations are way different from the novels. But never mind, they are thousand times watchable.
4. Pather Panchali ( The Pathway Prose)
Ray’s masterpiece shall always remain an epitome of the utmost impactful visual narration of rural Bengal. It is criticised for selling poverty to the West but the film also brings forth the little joys and revelries of two young children amidst acute deprivation and destitution. Nature is never depicted so cinematically before. The nuanced direction is path breaking. So is the heartrending tale of loss and pain of a rustic homestead which succeeds in leaving indelible imprint on viewer’s mindscape.
5. Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Clouded Star)
In this genre, another unforgettable tale which tells the story of the uprooted refugees of East Bengal, now Bangladesh, their struggle for survival, their strife to rebuild roots in an alien land (West Bengal) with limited resources. Of course, they survive on the bedrock of un-chronicled sacrifices of near and dear ones – the stars shrouded by dark clouds, their twinkles black holed, their luminescence shrouded !
6. Aradhana (Worship)
There are some movies which leave you spellbound by their emotional narratives. This is a story of an unmarried mother who suffers life time imprisonment to save her love child and give him an honourable life. The USP of the movie is the son’s unique equation with her mother. Years later they meet. She is a stranger to him. But he is irresistibly drawn towards her whenever they come across!
7. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (Let It Go Friends)
A satirical comedy wherein two inexperienced friends accidentally stick their fingers in a messy pie of corruption, thievery and murder. Who can forget Satish Shah as the corpse and Pankaj Kapoor as the villainous builder! Not to forget Naseeruddin Shah and Vivek Vaswani as two quintessential novices playing detectives.
8. Jab We Met (When We Met)
A rich, disillusioned guy takes a train to nowhere. A girl with an infectious love of life derails his aimless journey. The boy returns home – a changed man who rebuilds his empire. But when the two meet again the laughter is gone from the girl’s eyes.
9. Pakeezah (The Sacred One)
A scion of a Nawab family jumps into the wrong compartment in order not to miss the departing train. It’s late into the night. It’s the ladies’ compartment. He feels guilty. But it’s too late now. The train has caught speed. The compartment is empty but for a sleeping girl. He cannot see the face but just her delicate feet encased in anklets which tinkles with the rhythm of the train’s movement.
In the morning the girl wakes up to find an anonymous handwritten note at her feet wherein she is implored not to put her beautiful feet down on the floor lest they get dirty. The love note becomes her emotional anchor as she knows she will never ever be able to get true love in life as she is a prostitute.
The making of this film took years. It’s opening coincided with the heroine’s tragic end! The film’s success is history.
10. Deep Jele Jai (Lighting The Candles)
A schizophrenic patient is being treated by a nurse. It’s an experimental treatment carried out by the Doctor who has tasted success in a similar case earlier. The nurse is a pro as she had assisted him in the earlier case too. She has to play act as the patient’s lover who has ditched him in real life.
However, everything about this new case reminds her of the earlier one wherein she had not been able to maintain professional detachment and actually fallen in love with her patient. She still pines for him but he does not remember her anymore. Remade in Hindi later, this Bangla movie epitomizes wistful romanticism in its quintessential best.
Barring one, all the shortlisted movies are old ones, seen during an impressionable age when one’s tender heart is affected the most. That is why they are etched forever in memory.
I start with a very interesting story which was recently narrated by none other than Dr Debashis Chatterjee, Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) , Kozhikode in an online learning and development programme.
Before I begin with the story, a little about IIM and it’s Head. IIM is the most prestigious Management Institution of India which churns out brilliant minds year after year. Only students of outstanding caliber get admission into IIMs through competitive examination which is extremely hard to crack. Amongst all the IIMs, situated in different cities of India, the one in Kolkata was supposed to be the best till now. But under the flagship of Dr. Chatterjee, IIM, Kozhikode, has overtaken IIM, Kolkata in academic standards.
Let me tell you, India lays great emphasis and importance on academia. An alumni of IIM does not have to worry about job placement. His career is set like the cherry on the top of the cake.
Now about Dr. Chatterjee. He is the most sought after management guru of contemporary times. His lectures are available on You Tube. He has written seventeen books which are excellent, insightful reads not only for management students and corporates but also for the rest who wish to gain wisdom on how to live life successfully, not in materialistic terms, but holistically.
I had the privilege of listening to him on how to achieve goals in uncertain times. Goal here does not mean only yearly targets but broadly the larger purpose of life.
He narrates a beautiful story from our epic, Mahabharata. It was the Swayamvar Sabha of Princess Draupadi, daughter of King Panchal. In ancient times, the ideal groom for royal princesses were chosen through the process of Swayamvar which literally means finding your own husband. A tough task or test was kept for the prospective grooms. The one who successfully performed the task the princess accepted him as her life partner. Anybody could participate in this process. However, it was primarily a competition amongst kings and princes. It was also a matter of great prestige to win the target as it also proved who was the best in every respect amongst the royal candidates.
Arjuna, the third sibling of Panch or five Pandava brothers, decided to woo Draupadi. In order to win her, he had to pierce the eye of a fish hanging right up. The contenders were not allowed to look at the fish but achieve the extra ordinary feat by looking at the reflection of the fish in the pond over which the fish was hung. All the participants failed but Arjuna succeeded. It’s another story that Draupadi had prayed hard that Arjuna should win as he was the greatest warrior of the time. However, when Arjuna was asked how he could manage to aim accurately at the eye of the fish which was swinging high up, just by looking at its reflection, his terse answer was ” I could only see it’s eye.” Dr. Chatterjee humorously added that Arjuna might actually be seeing only Draupadi’s eyes in the eye of the fish but in order to attain the larger goal he concentrated on the goal near at hand which he had to fulfill for achieving a greater purpose. Dr. Chatterjee concluded ,” That is clarity of thought.”
He explained with another equally beautiful story that clarity of thought is achieved when your mind is clear.
In Pietermaritzburg station when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was pushed out of the first class compartment of a train, as it was only meant for white skinned people, he realized he had only one shoe on. The other one was left inside the compartment. He, on the spur of the moment, threw in the one shoe that he had on inside the compartment before the train departed. When he was asked why he did so, he answered that one shoe was of no use to him. Similarly, the one shoe left in the train was of no use if a poor man found it. So, he threw the other one of the pair in as well so that whosoever found it could use it. Dr. Chatterjee again reiterated, ” That’s what you call clarity of thought.” Listening to him, I thought, Bapu’s (fondly called as he is considered the Father of the Nation) action could be a result of presence of mind. But later, I realized that even presence of mind emerges out of clarity of thought.
Dr. Chatterjee said when Science had not taken over mankind, the ancient sages and rishis performed the roll of Scientists. They realized the universal truths through deepest of the deep dhyana, i.e. meditation. This undistracted inward concentration towards the core of the being is the fount of all knowledge. Such concentration declutters mind off useless chatters and leads to clarity of purpose which in turn facilitates setting of goals in life and deciding the course of action to attain them.
What is Samadhi? Dr. Chatterjee explains that it is that state of unwavering focus where the meditator overcomes the barriers of body and mind. In that state his awareness of self is a revelation of the Supreme Consciousness. I have read that Swami Vivekananda, before embarking on his journey to the West, went into Samadhi wherein his inner voice guided him to chart the historical journey to Chicago.
Another nugget of wisdom shared by Dr. Chatterjee was on competitiveness. To attain goals, it is commonly construed, that one has to be singlemindedly competitive. Competitiveness, in common parlance, degenerates into rivalry and oneupmanship.
Dr. Chatterjee illustrated that competitiveness can be defined as a series of coordinated activities of cooperation and collaboration. Even being cooperative and collaborative with others one can be competitive and a successful goal achiever. He again gives a lovely example to prove this. He says before coming to work, you get ready. Your mother or sister or cook or house help prepares and serves breakfast to you. Even the breakfast items are either delivered to you or you have to purchase from the regular seller. If you are using public conveyance then somebody drives you to office. (In my case, I have a driver who helps me reach office on time). On reaching your work hub you have to coordinate with your team to set a number of activities in motion. If you do not collaborate with others or others co-operate with you, will you be able to finish your day’s work ? The one who is able to bring to table a diverse group of people to perform a job seamlessly and secure the targets on time is surely the leader.
As for me, I have never set goals in a planned and systematic manner in life. I have swum with the currents and managed to stay afloat somehow. At the fag end of my life I guess it is high time I set my goals as per the take aways from Dr. Chatterjee’s profound discourse. These are :
Declutter your mind through inward focus.
Set your goals with clarity of thought and purpose.
Co-operate and collaborate with those you have to function with.
Achieve your goals in a peaceful and de-stressed manner.
Admiration for a profession changes with time. My cousin, much elder to me, wanted to be a tram conductor as a kid. He passed out from a prestigious institution and became professor of History in his adult years. However, his passion was to collect books on crime , horror and everything in between. He had a massive library and his entire salary went into collecting rare books on weird subjects. He also had an encyclopaedic memory and could go on and on on his favourite topic.
In my teens I wanted to pursue a career in theatre. It had an adverse impact on my studies. Responsibilities at home made me realize the importance of education. My interest veered to Sociology. I wanted to do extensive research in the discipline.
I always had an ear for music. I read somewhere that Indian Classical music is therapeutic for specially abled kids. I pursued a course in Vocals with the intention to facilitate these children. But regular riyaaz or practice bored me. Also my guruji shifted to Government Quarters which was quite far from where I stayed. Subsequently, I too changed residence. The distance prevented regular attendance in class. Ultimately, I gave up in the middle of fifth year ( The course is for 6+2 years).
Destiny had something else in store for me. I had to start earning very early. I am a born dabbler. I developed many hobbies while working but dropped them as soon. What stayed was this keen interest in murder mysteries, investigation procedure, crime and detection. In fact I grew on Agatha Christies’ and other detective novels.
My professional career can be divided in almost two halves. The first half was spent in hospitality section where I soon started feeling over saturated as the function essentially lacked mental stimulus. The second half has been spent in quasi legal and quasi investigative work. Needless to say, I am passionately involved in the latter. I had this secret ambition of working in close association with the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI). Learn the procedural aspects and participate in core investigative work. However, that will always remain a dream I suppose.
Another area of interest has been the Universe. I wanted to be an amateur star gazer. Buy a telescope and install it on the terrace. But the terrace tights never belonged to me. And Capital’s polluted atmosphere would not let me see even a speck in the sky. But I often visit the NASA site and stare at the intriguing pictures, read articles and wonder a lot which borders more on the realm of imagination than on actual understanding. I was not a Science student. Mathematics terrified me. Physics went over my head. My lab experiments were completed by my bestie. But anything abstract is very attractive to me. In case you notice, even investigation is like chasing an abstract idea till you prove it concretely.
So I have not one but two very admired professions which I aspired for but could never follow. I have formal training or expertise in neither. But I love to pretend that I am an ace investigator and a genius astrophysicist. 😁😁😁😁
