Perspective!

There has been this small thing that I have been missing in my life. Conversation with children. I think most of 'big' life realizations has come through random innocent conversations with kids. Let it be about fear, pain, love or even work, its simpler to understand when its told to you by a youngster. 

And just like that, I had a moment..a change in perspective of this whole wide world that I am looking at since the day I was born. Each thing that I was taught seemed to be a view of someone else. It seemed no one taught me to look the other way! You know.. it was not about asking questions, it was about encouraging to think different! 

So, what had happened?

Samvrith, Appu and Abhishek (their 9 year old friend) had just played a game of cricket and came home hungry. They were eating dosa and talking something random, while I watched them and kept biting pieces of dosa from each one of them. Samvrith started it by telling me.. "You know what, the other day I saw air!" .. he continued, "I opened the fridge and there was air! Really, go open the freezer, and you can see the air coming out!" 

I tried to be an adult, and told him how it was not air, and if that was the case, even smoke can be seen and that could be called air.. but air is something that you can't see. 

Appu, as usual asked the curious innocent question, that all of us would have asked at some point of time in our childhood. 

" Why can't we see air?" 

Its not something that I haven't thought of. I am sure, my teacher had given an answer to that question.. but I kept thinking. I kept thinking, how could I explain it to him?

While I was still pondering, Abhishek, without even giving a moment's thought asked a question to Appu.. this were his exact words.

"Arrey yaar, agar tu air ko dekh sakta, toh tu baaki sab kaise dekhta??"

That! That now is what is perspective, which none of our teachers would have ever made us think! I mean, if air was seen, we couldn't have seen anything around us! That's such a huge thought... all our school days we constantly felt (atleast i was made to feel) we cant see air.. like i was missing out on something just because I cant see it.. like that was something big. 

No one ever told, we could see so many things because of air! 

Ping!

The Barefoot Horse loving Indian

My head never made sense with all the halla hu made for him.More importantly, I have never been able to judge a person according to the newspapers. So the first time my head actually registered his existence was when he was no more existing!

M. F Hussain is considered to be the Picasso of India. Why? That was all I thought when I read many articles on the paper; some about his history, some about his paintings, more about the paintings which weren't accepted, and also about his citizenship. I sympathized and I decided to check out his paintings sometime. I never really checked it out though..But it isn't as hard to search for his work as it is to understand it. Confident strokes, bright colours, horses and women, at least that's how I know him.Though its not what I want to say. Its about the time I met him.

City, crowd, pointless race and work was making me miss my simpler lifestyle. A life I had in the village; in Palakkad. I tried talking to myself, keeping in touch with the people yet the craving wouldn't stop. I had a strong feeling of 'Kerala', my village, my neighbors (to whom I hardly spoke). And sitting in my painting class, I was rummaging through the books and posters for my next painting. Instinctively I was picking up people paintings, fishermen, villagers, market place. Longingly I stared at each of them for minutes. Will painting them make me feel better or actually closer to them? Should I quit the city and run away to them once more all over again? (Yes! Yes! Yes! ..) 

That was the moment when my hands fell on a huge painting poster, mostly torn from the ends, it was a portrait of a lady. My heart skipped a beat, when I read something in Malayalam. Wondering the name of the Malayali artist I looked at the signature, which was again in Malayalam. Thanks to the beatings from my teacher and scoldings from my mother, I have managed to remember the letters of the language. Doing all possible permutations, I figured it was M F Hussain!

I am not sure what it was, the coconut tree, the lady wearing the mundu, the elephant, the Ganesha or the garland twined on the lady's hair, the Malayalam letters, the effort of the artist to go into such details.. or just the fact that I felt touched and understood..
Impulsively encouraged by my art teacher, I decided to paint the same. And coming back home I understood what was written on the left side of the painting

'Kalyanikutty yude Keralom' 

I type down a poem from his film 'Meenaxi' .. and would leave the thoughts incomplete..

Koi mile ke bichde, Yahan kisko kya padi hai,
Koi mile ke bichde, Yahan kisko kya padi hai,
Sab log chal rahe hai, Duniya yehi khadi hai.

Khamoshiyon se kahiye, Chalkar jara pukare,
Khamoshiyon se kahiye, Chalkar jara pukare,
Khawbon ki junglon se, aayi hai kya bahare.
Neendon ka yeh zamana,  Bas aur do gadi hai,
Sab log chal rahe hai, Duniya yehi khadi hai.

Ankhon mein khusboo ke manzar wahi kilenge,
Lagta hai chalte chalte, Khud se wahi milenge.
Manzil hamare khad se, bas do kadam badi hai,
Sab log chal rahe hai, Duniya yehi khadi hai.


http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/kochi/searching-elusive-kalyanikutty-359

My love

How much ever you try to deny it, how much ever you try to ignore... each momentary bliss conveys just the same message of ... love.

I ain't denying it this time. But I never thought I would be saying it like this. I know it has been an open secret all these years, for the moment I met you, I felt I was reborn. What was so charming about you, I never really understood. Truthfully, I think I have seen mostly your ugliness than your sweetness, yet that never hindered my feeling for you.

Every time I meet you or the times we are apart, I few the passion growing rather than decreasing. I am not sure what makes me say this; may be the way we met this time... everything about you is so magical, that my head swirls... the smell of oil on your hair, the almost rotten flowers that you  casually braid yourself with, the faint fragrance of the soil and the fields... I feel almost breathless each time I come close to you.

And yet you never stop harassing me. I am unsure of the cheap pleasure you get each time you fight with me! What was it this time? A sheep? How you made a big scene for that... calling people, gathering a crowd and what for? To win a hundred rupees. I don't get you at times like this. Or times when your ego dances on top of your head.


Yet all said and done, when I have a cup of tea from your hand, in one of those dusty road sides shops you are so famous for... I tend to forget all the things that hurts me about you. Unknowingly and sometimes knowingly, I savor all the moments close to you. I know for the world, and may be for you, my feeling would seem naive and futile, but it can't make it unreal.


I am a bit self conscious when it comes to declaring my feelings... but I guess, our journey together has made me confident and brave enough to say that...


I am in love with you... my dearest... Tamilnadu. Hope the feeling never dies.

Me, Myself & Irene

You know how, some individuals keep dropping into your life with no real purpose at all?

This is long back, when I was in my junior college. One fine cruel day, I was picked along with my friend, and insulted in front of the class by my Physics teacher even though I wasn't guilty. We were thrown out of the class. What was worse, my friend (a young blood then) fought back with the teacher and asked her to apologize to me!
I don't remember what happened then. But I surely remember this. Irene never forgot me. Even though, years later her daughter told me, "Mom has a very meek memory", I was confident enough to tell her.."Don't worry she will remember me."
And that's when it started. Then during the board exam, of course, I didn't know the circuit. I am not very proud of it, but yes, my circuit was fixed by Irene. And she said, "Ah! Always keep smiling!". Those words were enough to tell me how much she loathed me.
Yet, when we kept meeting at crossroads once in a year, we were polite to each other. She was sarcastic about me becoming a biology student.. "Thank god! Physics is saved", is what she really wanted to say, I guessed. And then we met a couple of times here and there. And each time I had the same smile on my face that she hated. Each time she had the same disgust on her face when she saw me.

So why this nostalgia?

I met her again today. Even when she was fiddling with the handle to open the glass door, with her mere reflection I recognized her. I was in my painting class along with a whole bunch of students, and yet she spotted me with a surprised smile.
There's this thing about growing up, you start liking anything and everything that makes you nostalgic.
She had come there to get some information for her daughter, whom I already knew, but just as a student. As Irene walked slowly across the class with her glasses on, looking at each painting, I wondered if she was calculating marks for it?
I waited with her daughter to say a quick 'Hi'. Truthfully, I was actually happy to meet her. We finally spoke. And I came to know her daughter didn't like physics either. She wanted to get into commercial arts, though her first love was for wildlife.
She took my number, and I made my way back home.

I guess what had changed in all these years was... she didn't judge my smile for a smirk.

To market .. To market

So there we were, celebrating a friend's one year anniversary in Mumbai, another a new-bee to the dream city, and me a 'so-called' Mumbaite; all of us thrilled after a heavy breakfast to explore Masjid of all the places!
After crossing the millions of attar (perfume) shops, and the over crowded road side stalls.. we finally reached our destination...

Mutton street in Chor Bazaar (Thieves market)!!

Though high priced, this place has got a great collection of antique furniture... Chest, rocking chairs, small bar cabinets, wooden chariots.. name it.. and you get!

Even the worst of the worst movie posters find their way to this market!

And shops solely dedicated to clocks...grandfather clocks, grandmother clocks... they are all there!

And Gramophones!







                   

Looking at the number of black and white family photographs, we started wondering if we could find our lineage in the streets of Chor Bazaar!  

         

If you have ever been interested in extinct advertisements then this is a perfect place to explore...

One of the coco cola ads went like this 'The ideal beverage for discriminating people!' 

And of course all the colorful junk is worth a look!                                          

In all, place worth exploring with good company. Though most junks are high priced, bargaining works! 

                                                             

                                                                                      

Rewind

A dull expected holiday for all.. Yes, Independence day. But I thought of keeping my patriotic spirits high today. So I switched on the television to watch the parade, which was followed by old patriotic songs on Youtube (my sincere gratitude to technology).

It was when I rummaged through the newspaper that my eyes fell on a copy of a newspaper along with the day's issue. There is something about the past, how much ever sad, depressing or gory it may be... it surely does bring back a warm known feeling. The copy was a six page newspaper dated 15th August 1947!

There were lot of interesting articles, of joy .. of relief... of freedom. The Prime Minister spoke... the Viceroy spoke...the articles about celebration (which I imagined to be like the recent Cricket World Cup victory!)  and much more..

But what caught my attention more than anything was the advertisement of those days! Somehow it doesn't do justice to just read it and keep the paper away... hence I am jotting it down here.

"Are You Afraid To Kiss Him... because of your breath?"

He leans nearer, whispering romantic words. But how can you be sure your kiss will please? Are you sure your breath is sweet and fresh? Remember, 7 out of 10 percent have BAD BREATH and don't know it.

So be careful. Use Colgate Dental Cream. Its penetrating foam gets into crevices between your teeth and washes away germs and decaying food particles which cause bad breath, dingy teeth, soft gums and tooth decay. Colgate leaves the teeth thoroughly and beautifully clean - the gums healthy and the breath sweet.

May this day of rejoicing herald lasting peace, goodwill and prosperity to the people of India and Pakistan.

COLGATE - PALMOLIVE (INDIA) LIMITED.
 

'Irony' of Goodness

Irony... the unexpected... your dream comes true just when you realize you are dreaming about the wrong thing!

I don't remember quite well, but I am guessing it was in my first year of Junior College, that I excitedly turned my English textbook to read the first chapter. Though I don't remember the name of the lesson, the thought has stayed along with me since then...

The author elaborates his thought of being good to other fellow beings. More of a Gandhian thought, the author says, how one should be good to people even if they are verbally accusing you. This he says, will help people calm down and in turn they will spread the goodness, leading to happiness all around us. The author finishes the thought by smiling and saying, "Thank you" to the auto driver. 

So that's were it all began. From saying 'Thank you' to the auto drivers.. to giving away my seat to an old couple... to helping someone pick up their fallen vegetables... (Oh! I am just earning the goodness points)

Anyways, it so happened that a couple of things caught my attention and made me realize how numb we have become to 'goodness' these days. In fact, even when people are genuinely good to us, we tend to take it for fakeness (Yes! its earning much popularity these days).

There I was holding my train ticket and walking in search of my compartment, when I turned to look at this old couple. The husband (wild guess) was using a walking stick and dragging himself, holding a small suitcase in one hand, while the wife (guess again) was holding bags in both her hands. They were walking very slowly, stopping now and then to check the compartment number.
Now, seeing them the goodness siren in my head started blinking rapidly, so I turned and asked the old lady, "Do you need some help? I am going in the same train... I can help."
 Of course, she was shocked, but was polite enough to nod a 'no'. I wasn't about to let go, so I persisted.. "It won't be a problem, I can help."
There... I had crossed the thin imaginary line of goodness!
She looked at me, like she suddenly realized my existence, and with a odd glance (which made me feel like a thief) she nodded a 'no' once again.
Irony! .. 

I have been on the other side of goodness circle too.
It was a cloudy and rather pleasant Mumbai day, and moreover I was exploring a part of the city, I had not been to. So when I came to know that I can walk up to my destination in about ten minutes, I wasn't disappointed. I thought, it would be a good walk, and I can check out if there is any bakery on the way. So, I trotted feeling nice about everything and enjoying the road, when I started getting this feeling that I was lost. I did what I always do when I am lost, look for a knowledgeable person and ask him the right way (it always works for me).

So when I saw an auto guy counting his money, I went up to him and asked the way. He stopped counting and told me the way, which I reconfirmed. Finally he told me that he would give me a lift! He put his money back in his pocket and said, "Sit, I am going the same way, I will drop you."
Shocked a little, I stood numb and told him, it was OK, that I can walk. He persisted saying he will give me a lift.
Unlike, the old lady I didn't want to break the goodness circle. So I did take the lift and smiled at the auto driver saying "Thank you".