The woman of yesterday

Her eyes are a sunken boat of sorrow
she floats across islands leaving life behind
The island echoes her fears
every corner filling her empty space
All seasons look the same
tear dried and beckoning autumn
Shedding life one day at a time
her only remains this wasteland of sorrow
Unearthing her way home
she looks towards the skies
as sun's happiness blinds her and
moon's mystery reveals her
She is the woman of yesterday
in her today and tomorrow
For, history is kept alive
in her wasteland of sorrow.

A calf caught in the headlights...

Post marriage, daughters become daughter-in-laws or 'daughter like' members of an acquired family. And it does not stop at that. They try to win appreciation from the husband's parents and assume, as if in an illusion, that they are the chosen ones for this new family-the saviours, (a job thrust upon daughter-in-laws) of family pride and salvagers of wounded egos and hurt feelings of those she is made to believe she is ritually/dutifully married to, as all these and more are part of family bureaucracy and tradition of marriages as a whole.

Their path in their chosen life gets altered to meet the curves of expectations that are a mountain a minute and a mole hill the next. And this becomes a routine of a living disguised in the feel good adjectives 'sacrificing', 'understanding' and whatever familial terms that end with 'ing'- a token of appreciation for the adjust'ing' daughter in her different family.

I caught a glimpse of a calf trying to find her way home in the busy sounding traffic. She was given new direction, every time she decided to find her own road to safety. The vehicles on either side made matters worse as she finally stopped short  outside of a vegetable mandi, chewing on the dried plantain leaves before being shooed back to the road. A calf caught in the headlights and so very caught up that her fears have drowned in that confusing noise.

Strangely enough, I could relate with the plight of the calf while taking my evening walk home. She seemed out of place but not out of context. The only difference was I tried acting courageous whenever I felt lost and was even more confused when I tried being their daughter. This truth unto myself has made the intensity in this overwhelmingly warm relationship less stifling and my place as a daughter-in-law in my
(not anymore) new family that much natural. Being oneself is not rocket science. And marriage is not mechanical science either.

Our duties are not iron clad uniforms that rust with age-while in them, we defend or attack only at our own fears. Get out of them... Stay happy with yourself and unassumingly committed to those you've widened your hearts for. Set yourself free. They deserve your love too.

'English Vinglish'

Sridevi's comeback in 'English Vinglish' is as graceful as the movie in itself. The star looks and feels completely at ease with her role and performs without much ado, while carrying the entire weight of this simple classic on her shoulders.

Bollywood is a common metaphor for 'stardom' and translates into '100 crores' in filmi grammar. Whereas Sridevi is the unique voice from the crowd of stars who speaks a successful acting/actor's language quite her own, making 'English Vinglish' the movie that it was meant to be-a value addition in the list of masters of the film craft.

As a mother with a quivering pulse for English, her vulnerability in dealing with an unknown language in an unknown country creates an anxious block for her to break in the first half of the movie. Finding her own voice and rising to the occasion in her finale speech wins the much needed respect and appreciation from her family and her new found friends from the English speaking class.

This movie is a sure standout for the peoples theme in its choosing, for the common locales of character picturisation, for making a star the girl next door and for a heart warming tale of a woman who chooses to reassert herself breaking all language barriers.  

Shades of 'Grey'

'Grey's Anatomy'-the title justifies the show: a show of bodies and their complications, basic instincts and anatomy of several lively emotions and a shade of grey in an everyday intern's life.
The Chief of Surgery, the Resident, the Cardiothroraic surgeon, Neuro surgeon etc are heroes of a 'non clinical' medical drama series. They operate on victims or cases with their acting finesse, while the interns vie to scrub in with their finishing touches. The human life as a medical novice and as a student gets told through different cases and even if their personal lives kept away from medical emergencies, there are no skeletons in their closet-none that can be kept closed for far too long.

There are enough body complications that become themes of their own and high voltage emotional entanglements within the closely operating team that cannot be defined within the (Seattle Grace) hospital limits. Divorce, extramarital affair, live in and live without are certain patterns that recur in their relationships though.

Close to life and unimaginably creative, this anatomy does manage to keep the audience's interest alive.


  

The 'Karva Chauth' connect

'Karva Chauth' is a Hindi version of karadaya nombu from the South. It is performed by the wife for her husband's health longevity and prosperity-a day long fasting diligently followed by the wife, chanting prayers and reading mythological/epic stories that witness the triumph of good over evil, of life over death, and faith over practicality.

The transition of the 'husband' figure from an everyday presence to elevated heights of love and hero worship is quite bollywood inspired, which is an Indian culture by itself. The 'nombu' or 'vrath' is a day of full on high loyalty as the sacred yellow thread around the wife's neck is a miniature thaali for the married and a prayer of protection for the brother from his married/unmarried sister.
 The moon is the source of ethereal connect that once when witnessed is a sign for the woman to seek blessings from her husband and break her fast.
And hence the feasting begins as another year of Karva Chauth time comes to an end.

The results of a marriage are in the everyday-there are good days, there are boring days and there are cold war days and patch up days in between like the phases of the moon. We women need days like these to embrace the light within us and shine on come rain or shine.

The Kollywood Phoenix

'Nayagan' was a movie for the masses and not a cult hero movie.It was 'inspired' by the 'Godfather' and had a star studded crew to make 'Nayagan' a hero of a movie.

Kamal never ceases to be himself, on and off the screen.His obsessive compulsion with himself clearly comes out in print in an article in The Hindu Magazine(a supplement with the newsdaily) dated October 21. Besides self claiming to be the trump card of 'Nayagan', he partners in glory with the artistes of his likes and considers them worthy of his mention and compartmentalizes the ones who were not and makes no bones about saying it loud.

The film has reached its 25th year and has been voted one of Time magazine's top 100 films. And Kamal has donned a 100 odd roles since then ('Nayagan' was released in 1987) in many standout movies that etch his every emotion and his unforgettable screen presence. A celebration of the art in any film goes beyond publicity, even negative.

A phoenix bird is symbolic of a hopeful soar, higher than the dark clouds that come on its way and even if struck by lightning, it rises from the ashes to fly all over again. And Kamal is kollywood's version of a phoenix. He has proved time and again that he can be the standout from the flock of stars in the tamizh film galaxy and rise beyond industry standards.

As audience, we still are positive that he'll reconnect with movies that become better versions of him as an actor and as a person too.

Sampradhaya-a musical tradition

Sampradhaya 2012 was an event that marked the parampara folk music or music spanning generations on folk lore of the regions across India. Be it Gurbani of the north(Punjab), tillana of the south, popular bhajans like vaishnav janato and the kannada devotional bhaghyada lakshmi baramma...Shankar Mahadevan and Aruna Sairam sang them all and this musical rhapsody marked the fusion music flavours of a truly unique India.

Music that can move even non-kutcheri goers like my husband and me to stay tuned in silence at Narada Gaana Sabha, Chennai, and be present for the entire 3 hour show was magical moments rediscovered.
We felt the rhythm and the pulse being part of the audience and stayed affected  by the sheer soul of their individual voices echoing even after the concert long being over.

Chennai is home to a distinctive food culture that is music to many a foodie's ears!! The crispy vadais floating on spicy and tangy rasam and sambar, with boondi on top, the ghee seasoned dollap of pongal that snuggles warm with smooth coconut chutney and the quintessential coffee or kaapi, sweet kesari and a whole menu for an evening tiffin outside of the hall at the canteen is a welcome feast prior to the main celebration!!

Unabashed and sitting pretty, we took in the whole aura of a music lover, of what it takes to be on an outing, specially in such a city and place where traditional/carnatic music (good food inclusive) is not just content matter on a brochure, but  at the back of every musically inspired Chennaiite's mind.