The marketplace

I know the last couple of posts have become dedicated either to quotes or couplets, but trust me, it is not so by design.

Take for example this post. All I want to do is to share what happened yesterday.

I was walking back home yesterday evening when, from absolutely nowhere, a doha (couplet) of Sant Kabir (Saint Kabir) came back to me from my school-going days and just repeated itself over and over in my mind. The doha goes:

Kabira khada bazaar mein, maange sabki khair
Na kahu se dosti, na kahu se bair

Sayesha translates it well on her blog in this post:

Kabir stands in the marketplace, and wishes for everyone's well-being. He doesn't seek anyone's friendship, nor anyone's enmity.

[P.S. Ok, so I did make a mistake and message the doha to a couple of close friends saying that it was a doha by Rahim instead of Kabir. But so what, cool doha nonetheless.]

Discipline

Read this somewhere a long time ago:

Make discipline your friend, not your enemy.

A long delayed post

For the last couple of days, the mind has been in a state of turmoil. It can be guessed by this post that I'd written on the 15th of last month but has been in my 'drafts' folder till now. Trust me, the thoughts running through my head are still more or less the same.

---------------------------

My mind is full of so many thoughts right now that I feel it might be a good idea to jot some things down before I hit the sack.

I have just come back from Horse's reception. Feels nice to know that friends and family are now slowly settling down to the humdrum of "family-life". We as a generation are rapidly advancing towards the end of our bachelorhood days and life ahead seems both, exciting and challenging.

Work-wise I think we're quickly entering into the most productive phases of our careers. We're young, have a lot of energy and can introduce new ideas to the workplace. A decade or two down the line, where we end up (professionally speaking) will depend a lot on today's learnings.

Socially, this is one of the trickiest periods of our lives. Our parents still treat us as little children (do they ever stop?) and yet expect us to behave like adults. Work-life permits little or no time for any kind of a social life (I've just learnt that the more you try and make space for your work-life, it just expands itself and dumps a little more work on you). And souls like me who from time to time need to spend time with friends just so that I can hear myself speak and get some clarity of thought keep getting frustrated at the apparent lack of personal time.

Here...We.....GO !!

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain"

Baap(u) of all ironies

Maheep puts the idea across succinctly in 26 words:

It takes a flamboyant liquor baron to buy the memorials of the man who believed in simplicity, and in whose name liquor is prohibited in India.

A nice man to know

(image courtesy: www.wildmind.org)

Like a friend once told me: Sometimes, just sometimes, it isn't a bad idea to read testimonials people wrote for you on Orkut.

Childish? Impractical?

Maybe, but I guess from time to time we all need to remind ourselves that we're more or less decent folks.

Dev D

(image courtesy: www.glamsham.com)

Last night, I was asked what exactly it was about Dev D that I liked so much.

The answer is difficult to put into words, but I'll try nonetheless.

First, I really liked the concept of the film. The film has captured the essence of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic novel 'Devdas' and has yet managed to introduce a freshness to the storyline. At no point do you feel that this is an antiquated love story. The presentation made you feel that this could even be your next-door neighbour's story.

Second, I loved the fact that Dev wasn't portrayed as a "loser". Previous versions somehow gave me the feeling that Devdas was a spineless lover who relied on alcohol just because he needed support. Here, however, Dev drinks and dopes not because it is an outlet of his anger and frustration but because it is a part of his regular life... just that he does it a little more often now given the 'emotional attyachar' being meted out to him by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Third, a lot of credit goes to the way in which Anurag Kashyap directed the movie and how Abhay Deol acts. They have made the Dev on screen so much more believable and identifiable. Like I said, Dev's story pans out so smoothly that it could have been your neighbour's story, or heck, even your own. Dev doesn't haunt pubs and bars because he wants to "drink, dope and forget" but because he wants to spend time somewhere where he wouldn't remember her.

Finally, I loved the film because Abhay Deol rocks!!! If films like "Manorama Six Feet Under" and "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!" told us about the promise in this actor, "Dev D" brings forth, I dare say, the best in him. He proves that you don't need six/eight-pack abs to give a brilliant performance.

Sample this:

*spoiler* This deleted scene is just after Dev has been told that Paro is nothing more than a loose village girl who sleeps around with anybody who cares to share her bed. Throughout the one and a half minutes of the scene above, Abhay DOESN'T SPEAK A WORD but emotes his anger and frustration just through his eyes and his body language.

The movie, my friend, is awesome. I can barely wait to get my hands on the DVD of this film. If you have missed it, I recommend you buy tickets for the next show available or wait for the DVD like me.