Friday, August 17, 2007

Off to SWADES..


I am extremely happy these days, as I will be visiting home soon. This time it will be a special visit, and the occasion is one of the biggest in my life, my sister’s wedding. I have been looking forward to this moment for a very long time.

Weddings are always pleasurable, especially if it is your siblings, you can’t express the bliss you undergo. Commonly, they say, one wedding would make way to another and, luckily, I am already in line. It’s really touching to learn that I would see my sister in bridal ensemble. Sometimes I feel it’s too early, may be, as we have been living together for these many years, the attachment drives me to consider her as a kid. I am sure emotions will be at peak when the bidaayi time comes. Even now, my eyes are getting wet. This is the toughest moment in a family. We know that this moment is on the cards, but still never care about it till we get to that very moment. And I feel, in these things women are stronger than men. Women are mentally more stable than men. They can live thru any trauma. They might be weaker physically but certainly men won’t stand any where close to women in mental maturity. I know it’s hard to digest the fact guys, but let’s digest that fact to reduce the difference in maturity. I am sure we can have an unending debate on this topic, as I had some in the past, but all will prove ineffective/futile in real life.

It’s very hard to learn the fact that a woman would have to enter a new family and start all together with new people with different perspectives, leaving behind the family with whom she lived all her life, and just carrying the memories, memories of affection. Whatever enjoy and whatever fun she had with her family will now be ripped into a small piece of footage in her mind. She just has to play it again and again, till she get to a point where she starts copying the new stuff. But that transition is not as easy as I am writing here. To live with this ordeal and still be capable of bringing smile on face, hiding tears is a Herculean task.

Anyway, I am all excited for the big occasion and hope my sister’s life will be filled with all the joy and fun in coming years.

Meanwhile, I would be on hunt for a girl, who has brains enough for two.

Monday, August 13, 2007

ill-FATEd


Look at the irony, a fortune deficient fortune teller is sitting on the footpath of Bangalore road who thinks, can read the fate of others; in fact she herself needs help in learning the harsh reality of her own fate, a fate that is full of unsympathetic and unpleasantful predicaments caused by many unwanted elements of society which can not be read or seen in the cards.
I believe, she could be a victim of either ignorance or negligence.
(Photo Courtesy Sandeep K.Siddamsetty)

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

అందమైన అబద్ధం


మళ్ళీ దేశం వెళుతున్నందుకు చాల సంతోషంగ ఉంది. చాలా రోజుల తరువాత మళ్ళీ ఆనందం వెల్లి విరిసింది. ఒక ఖైదిని బెయిలు పైన కొన్నాళ్ళు విడుదల చేసినంత ఆనందం. ఇదంతా తాత్కాలికమే అని తెలిసిన, తెలియనట్టుగానే ఆనందపడుతున్నాను. కొన్ని నిజాలు తెలియకపోతేనే మంచిది.

నేను 8 నేలల క్రితమే దేశం వెళ్ళాను. కాని ఈ 8 నెలలు చాల క్లిష్టంగా గడిచాయి. మనసులో నిండిన ఙ్ఞాపకాలు మోయలేనంత బరువయ్యాయి. నాలో ఉత్సాహాన్ని నింపే ఙ్ఞాపకాలు నన్ను పీఢకలలా వేధించాయి. మర్చిపొవాలంటే భయం, గుర్తుతెచ్చుకొవాలంటే భయం. ఇక వేరే దారిలేక నాఫోను పైన భారం వేయాల్సి వచ్చింది. నేను ఇంటికి రెండు గంటల దూరంలొ ఉన్న నాలుగేళ్ళలో కూడ మాట్లాడనంత సేపు గత 8 నెలలలో మాట్లాడాను. ఒక గొప్ప వ్యక్తి అన్నట్టుగా దూరం అంటే సాగదీసిన సాన్నిహిత్యమే. కాని దూరం అవుతే తప్ప తెలుసుకోలేని విలువకు నిజంగా విలువ ఉందా? అల తెలుసుకొన్న విలువకు వెల కట్టెదెలా? పోని ఈ దూరానికి కారణం ఆ విలువకు సరితూగగలదా? నా దృష్టిలో మాత్రం ముమ్మాటికి కాదు, సరితూగలేదు.

ఇక్కడ అత్యంత బాధకరమైన విషయం ఎంటంటే నిజాలు తెలిసి నిమ్మకు నీరెత్తినట్టు బ్రతుకుతున్నాను. నెమ్మదిగ నన్ను నేను మోసం చేసుకొవడానికి ప్రయత్నం చేస్తూనే ఉన్నాను. అప్పుడప్పుడు నాలోని నేను నన్ను నిలదీసి అడుగుదామనుకొంటే, నాకు తెలియక నేనే నా నుంచి కనుమరుగువుతున్నాను. ఇంతకు ముందు అన్నట్టు కొన్ని నిజాలు తెలియనట్టు ఉంటెనే ఆనందం. ఇంక ఎన్నాళ్ళు ఇలా? ఎమో, అది తెలిస్తే, ఇంత బాధ ఉండకపొయేది. ఇప్పుడు తెలిసిందల్లా, నా దేశ ప్రయాణం. అది ఎన్నాళ్ళు అని అలోచించక, ఆనందానికి అవధులు లేవనుకొని గడపాలన్నదే నా ఆశ.

కల

ఎకాంతపు కొలనులో ఒంటరిగ ఉన్న పువ్వును నేను
అలలు సృష్టించగ వచ్చిన గాలివి నువ్వు
రెక్కలు తెగిన వికారి తొడిమిలాగ మిగిలాను నేను
అలను సృష్టించి కలలాగ కనుమరుగయ్యావు నువ్వు.

చీకటిలో నడి రాతిరిలో నీ జతకై నేను
మెరుపులు మెరుస్తు వెలుగులు చిమ్ముతు ఆరని జ్యోతిలా నువ్వు
వెన్నెలవై వెలుగునిస్తావని, వేల్పువవుతావని నమ్మాను నేను
వర్షమై, వరదవై కన్నీళ్ళు మిగిల్చావు నువ్వు

కలల లోకంలో నేను
కలల లొకమే నువ్వు
కన్నీళ్ళు కార్చింది నేను
కన్నీళ్ళలో కరిగింది నువ్వు

Saturday, August 04, 2007

ANKUR..

Ankur, the title itself makes you think deeply. Ankur is a Sanskrit word, which means Seedling or a new beginning and the movie depicts the same. The plot of the movie is a true story happened in one of the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh state. The way it has been portrayed on the silver screen is really commendable. The notable thing is, this movie was the first venture of Shyam Benegal, a director who showed the new angle in the film making and went on to give us some memorable films. The irony is this one was also the first movie of Shabana Azmi, who probably is one of the greatest performers of Indian Film Industry.
The stroy of the movie goes like this..

Surya (Anant Nag), the college-going son of a well-to-do farmer is forced into giving up his studies in order to look after the family property. He is married against his will to a young girl, Saryu (Priya Tendulkar), who would join him when she attains puberty. Bored and lonely in his farmhouse, Surya finds himself attracted to his maidservant Lakshmi (Shabana Azmi), wife of a poor deaf-mute potter Kishtaya (Sadhu Meher) but she spurns his advances. Kishtaya is caught stealing Toddy and is punished. Humiliated, he runs away from the village. Lakshmi, now destitute gives in to Surya who promises to look after her. Their brief idyllic association ends with the arrival of Saru who senses their past relationship and dismisses Lakshmi. Lakshmi, who is now pregnant, wakes up one morning to find Kishtaya beside her, giving her the money he has earned in his absence. Lakshmi breaks down but is reassured when he appears pleased at her approaching motherhood thinking the child to be his. Kishtaya goes to Surya asking for work and to tell him the good news. In a frenzy of conflicting emotions and fearing exposure, Surya beats him mercilessly. Lakshmi rushes to her husband's rescue and hurls a torrent of insults and curses at Surya. Surya cowers at his own pain and prevarication, coming to terms with his circumscribed life.

Every actor in the movie lived their roles. Probably this one is Shabana Azmi’s one of the greatest performances, and at the end you just remember her as servant maid Lakshmi (but not as Shabana) who is destitute yet defensive, remorseful yet rebellious if someone harms her love, her life and her self respect. The best scene of the movie comes in the very last frame, when a small boy throws a stone at the window of Landlord house. The personification of revolution, the personification of fall of a boulder is praiseworthy. Even the powerful, dominant landlord becomes cowardice when a small boy turns his back and ignites the flames of revolution by throwing a stone at landlord’s window and all this time landlord hides himself behind the closed doors weeping at the fall of a boulder, a boulder of unquestioning tyranny.

Even though this movie was made in 70’s, I feel it still fits to the current situations of the society. Slavery and oppression are still a part of the society in some places of independent India. The only change is, people stopped making these kind of movies, which is unwanted and unworthy and unyielding.