Monday, 25 September 2023

Shahid and some kharab 'Mausam' - Review done in Circa: September 25, 2011


Punjab da pind and Punjab da munda Harry (Shahid Kapoor)! Zoom in on the simple village life and his constant wait for a train to arrive with the 'chiththi' (letter) from the IAF. Shahid's sister's marriage is the backdrop for the first one hour. Enter Ayat (Sonam Kapoor), a Kashmiri Muslim who has just escaped the trauma of the Kashmiri insurgency to live with her father's sister, in the same village. It is love at first sight.

After the initial song and dance routine, the secret stares and letters written in mehndi are exchanged the whole night, when the time to propose comes, Sonam disappears with her family in the morning and Shahid goes on to join the IAF. Seven years go by and suddenly it is Scotland. Shahid has become an Air Force officer and has been sent by the IAF to Scotland. Lo and behold! We see Sonam dressed in a Scottish kilt selling tickets for a Mozart concert and simultaneously handing over food to her friends while selling tickets. Shahid looking royal in his uniform, enters the concert hall and she looks at him from a distance (I guess hoping that he would look up and spot her...yeah right!).

After a couple of hits and misses, they finally meet and go on three dates. He meets her family and they keep staring at him, grilling him, trying to test his loyalty to their daughter. After the 'approval', they go to some obscure church where they dip their hands in paint, jointly making palm prints on the wall of the church (wonder which church would love people to destroy the walls) and suddenly it rains and they share their first kiss and her dumb-witted dialogue comes (after the kiss): "Abba pooch rahe they, yeh kaise hoga"...one wonders too about the same!

The next day, Shahid is seen dressing up and going to Sonam's house for the formal 'asking for marriage'. Mid-way, we do not know what happened - a blackout and suddenly a phone call informing them that Shahid had been called by IAF back to Kargil. A 'CATCH ME IF U CAN' game begins.

Amidst all this, Sonam has the time to learn ballet and kiss Shahid as well! The plot goes awry and Sonam looks as lost as the plot in the movie (and as clueless as the director), every bit confused as to how she can reach Shahid (yeah, in this modern zamana aka era of e-mails and answering machines!). The next dumb thing Sonam does is to hand over her "chiththi" that had her address and number to a girl who once had a crush on Shahid (who soon burns her letter so they are not able to contact each other!) Sonam's family is continuously shuttling between India, Scotland, and Amrika. Meanwhile, in the Kargil war, Shahid's hand is paralyzed. When Shahid goes hunting for her in Scotland, he comes to know she has moved out from there too. As he is going back in the Euro rail, he spots her standing in the snow at some random spot at the next station (one hour away from that spot), he gets down and starts running back in the snow...he does find her in a train, but with a child and another man. He walks away silently. Zoom out and it is two years gone by already!
   
Now he is in Ahmedabad for his childhood friend's wedding. Sonam is mourning the loss of her father and finally thinks of abandoning the search for Shahid. (Wah! kya telepathy hai). After a while, rioters are seen setting houses on fire and Sonam running out of her house. She is about to be spotted by the rioters when a hand is seen lifting her off from the spot - it is Shahid!

The plot goes so ridiculously surreal at this point that one would start tearing one's hair, thinking whether to murder the director, Sonam Kapoor, or yourself for having bought the tickets for the movie. Shahid, whose one hand is paralyzed, is seen saving Sonam Kapoor from the rioters and a baby from a giant wheel that he climbs with one hand!

Anyway, the punchline of this film is the movie's second last scene between Sonam and Shahid (yes, they finally do meet. But better not ask how): Shahid says, "Tumne bhi kuchch khoya hai, maine bhi kuchch khoya hai aur isne (a small kid saved by Shahid during the riots) bhi kuchch khoya hai, chalo apna ghar basaye"...a white horse also follows them (poor horse!). I felt like saying "Maine bhi bahut kuchch khoya (money for the tickets)" Yawn!

Rating: 1/2 star

Friday, 14 April 2023

Truant Thy Love

She looked for it everywhere.

A mirage appeared wherever she went.

Each lane, each corner had love stamped on it.

“Where art thou, love”, she wondered.

But love played truant.


Love’s many forms, she was unable to see.

There was only one for her: 

her lost love.


Love played games with her,

Cupid was no less.


Both truant!


Tired, she stopped walking,

Sitting under a tree, she spots a mirror. 

An image she did not recognize:

worn-out clothes, disheveled hair, dark circles under her eyes,

cracked toenails, chipped fingernails.


Unrecognizable, she was distraught.


Who am I? Where did I come from?

Questions haunted her like a tyrant spirit.


She got up, walked on.

A tiny path to a house, a cobblestone road,

A small brook, birds chirping in the woods,

Familiar smells of a time gone by,

Memories enveloped her in a warm embrace.


An old photograph, a diary, few clothes, cluttered stationery,

Bits of paper, yellowing books, old letters, doodles and scribbles,

Remnants of her past in a box.


Crouched on her haunches, 

Aroma from an opened box filled her senses.


She turned the pages of her diary,

Each word spoke to her,

Told tales of the yore.


Grainy photographs had tons to tell,

Familiar old faces, moments captured random, 

Tingling sensations of butterflies in her tummy,

Memories of an old crush, first love lingered.

With a teardrop glistening in her eyes, she smiled!




Thursday, 10 November 2022

Hurts like hell!

 It's not even a betrayal. It's not even feeling bad. It's a feeling of being thrown from the cliff into the deep sea!

Do you think relationships are so shallow? Do they have an expiry date? It was an arrow that plunged through the heart!

Family, friends, cousins, acquaintances - all feel meaningless! All those whom I expected will stand besides me, left my side. 

Feels like a smokehouse that just got cleared of people and no one was there in the space. 

Smoke cleared, people too!

Wondering if my existence is a bane for everyone now. Wondering if I am so unimportant for people now. 

Just a major let down!

Wondering why does nobody wants me now.  Am I being punished? Or am I just being plain ignored? 

I feel insulted for having been scorned for my choices. Self respect labelled as arrogance. 

Childhood ties abandoning me. Just when I thought childhood was forever, it turned out to be my very end! The worst feeling is being let down by friends - with whom you grew up! I understand distances come in friendships but never imagined I would be devastated some day. It is a huge let down!

A plunge into the abyss!

A plunge into the deepest dungeons of time!

I don't know where all this is headed to, but I can't handle my emotions anymore! When I was younger, I had fears of death but never fear of being abandoned. Now, as I grow older, life has taught me harsh lessons - never to rely on anyone except myself. 

Years ago, I prayed for God to take me away from this world. I even tried going away myself. But God's whims: he refused to listen to me back then! Now I pray no more. I don't wish anything anymore!

Now I refuse to seek anyone. I don't seek friends or any soulmate too. 

I have decided to abandon all those who abandoned me when I needed them the most!

But it definitely hurts like hell!!

40 - the betrayal blues!

 Having turned 40 this year, I am feeling extra overwhelmed with emotions - a plethora of emotions like abandonment, sadness, fears and a sense of being unloved. I did turn up my self-love quotient higher this year, but it still hasn't healed my broken feelings and open wounds that get greener each day. 

Every day, I get inflicted with fresh wounds either by family or friends. What hurts the most is a let down by childhood friends who have been more than family for me. Or rather whom I considered more than family. Yes, I agree a huge chasm has come in terms of emotional distances but there are a lot of beautiful memories and moments that were created during the growing years. I used to swear by those memories and moments. 

Perhaps, people move on and outgrow these memories. Those moments too become meaningless to them. I met new friends and made new memories too but never ever forgot my old bonds and ties. A huge lesson learnt after I crossed my milestone. My heart not only sank but crashed when I heard my childhood friend is getting married. No! Correction here: I crashed because I got to know the news through a third party! It felt terrible to know that you are no longer important in XYZ's life that XYZ could have shared precious moments of meeting the prospective spouse then and later how XYZ decided to take the plunge to get married. When I was small, I had dreamt I would be a part of XYZ's life - a v v close pal. Sadly, I lost the opportunity over years. I realized I wasn't important enough in XYZ's life to be shared with - the bittersweet moments and relationships of their life! It felt sad that those moments and memories don't exist anymore for them. Worst is when family doesn't even sense you are down and felt badly let down after being told "only they are going for the wedding". Where was I in the decision making? My identity right then crumbled away in front of my eyes. I felt like a piece of neglected furniture - a useless accessory in the background of a "family" backdrop. My existence did not matter to anyone - my presence did not either! So, am I wrong in feeling bitter about being "left out"? Certainly not! 

If people have decided to abandon old ties, I also can! I have an option - a choice. I just don't want to be a shadow in anyone's life anymore. I want to break all my cycles this year. I will live life on my terms. Also, I do not need a family that doesn't even consider me important enough to be a part of them. I always wondered as a kid if I was adopted or not. I felt like I was seeking attention. 

But voila! In my 40th year, I got the golden awareness - FUCK the world, you are important for yourself. Let the world screw itself! Family isn't blood ties, neither is it friendship but it is kinship - people who stand by you in your toughest times and tell that they love u and will prefer you over any TOM, DICK/HARRY in this whole wide world!

I am burning all ties with "show" relationships - I don't need shadows in my life anymore. I need people who will stand by me unconditionally and make me a part of the smallest moments of their lives! You are right! I manifest attention and love for myself!  

Monday, 7 November 2022

Her story

She is tired, ready to collapse. Her grief is gone unnoticed. All she wants are some loving arms who will hold her when she is about to fall, tell her she need not worry. She isn’t a failure yet she has been labelled one. No matter what she does, the tag of failure follows her everywhere. She badly wants to walk away from toxicity but it appears toxicity is drawn to her like a pair of magnets to iron. All she wants is a way out of her house…out into the open somewhere, where she will not be judged for what she isn’t! She wants to breathe. Yeah, you would say, she is alive ‘coz she is breathing. But her breathing is ragged, uneven. 

Her heart beats mechanically. Is she wrong in looking for a place to escape her grief or coping with her emotions? Doesn’t she deserve her space? If only her folks understood this, she would have healed faster! Their concept of healing is work. Work isn’t a solution to everything especially when it comes to base emotions. It cannot act like a cotton dab on the blood flowing out of the veins. It cannot be an insurance to emotions. She only wished her family understood this. She was dying a slow death daily. It was just gonna be a matter of time when she would crash somewhere never to wake up again.

How long do u think she was going to lug her baggage? How long do u think she was going to sustain this pressure. It was a matter of time – today, tomorrow, day after tomorrow? She was awaiting death with open arms but death wasn’t awaiting to embrace her! Her inner turmoils were to end soon and so she thought of a sharp knife and her veins. Her earlier attempts had made her withdraw at the last minute. She halted and paused! 

Each time, she went to sleep, she waited to go into a deep sleep (perhaps not wanting to wake up the next day). Her mind wasn’t equipped to handle this low. Life should have been rosy by now (the age). She dreamt of killing herself daily! Her heart was often extra loaded with lowly thoughts! This had to stop! Thoughts engulfed her daily…only time she was calm was at night. She had to prove she was strong. But why o why did she have to prove that? Why did she have to give daily reports on her “progress”? There were times she wanted to tell her parents to STOP! The name-calling had to end!

Her need to go into the deepest slumber was growing stronger each day! All she needed was a drip -  a vaccine to erase her worst memories!

Tuesday, 1 March 2022

Announcement!! My New Blog series!

 Guys, I have happy news to share. I have started writing blogs for "Art of How To" (https://artofhowto.com/). Chippy Kurian is the Founder and Editor of Art of How To. We have a strong team of writers now - https://artofhowto.com/team/

Sharing my post links here. Do read, share and subscribe to them.


https://artofhowto.com/2022/10/19/5-ways-to-beat-back-to-work-blues/



https://artofhowto.com/2022/10/23/ever-been-gaslit/ 



https://artofhowto.com/2022/11/08/sway-to-the-beats-and-tunes/









https://artofhowto.com/2022/07/03/hydrate-your-soul/

 https://artofhowto.com/2022/06/06/sologamy/

https://artofhowto.com/2022/06/22/do-not-take-your-heart-lightly/


https://artofhowto.com/2022/06/14/please-talk-money/










https://artofhowto.com/2022/05/25/lets-talk-sex/



                                                                           

https://artofhowto.com/2022/04/24/beat-the-blues-with-music/






https://artofhowto.com/2022/05/18/imperfectly-perfect-moms/






https://artofhowto.com/2022/05/11/early-reader-bird-catches-the-bookworm/





https://artofhowto.com/2022/05/03/travel-and-unwind/









https://artofhowto.com/2022/04/05/get-your-match-points-ready/ 

















ht
tps://artofhowto.com/2022/03/28/books-that-turned-my-life/






https://artofhowto.com/2022/03/14/its-time-for-a-summer-makeover/




https://artofhowto.com/2022/03/07/saying-yes-to-saying-no/







https://artofhowto.com/2022/02/28/detox-your-friend-list/

https://artofhowto.com/2022/02/21/in-love-perfectly-imperfect/ 


                                                                   https://artofhowto.com/2022/02/07/self-love/                                         

Friday, 10 September 2021

Push the "Fight, not flight button"!!

September 10 marks World Suicide Prevention Day every year! This day began to be observed in 2003. Every individual has either undergone some trauma or been undergoing a bad experience over a period of time. 

The pandemic has worsened the situation, isolating people more. Work-from-home jobs, no-socializing, and no-human touch have increased cases of depression, and suicide has become a common buzzword now. Counselling centres are buzzing with ever ringing telephone lines and more people reaching out to counsellors, parenting coaches and life coaches for help. Everyone has been affected - celebs to commoners - none have been spared of depression. Social media is abuzz with videos of experts giving tips on happiness and gurus conducting wellness sessions. Motivational groups have mushroomed on WhatsApp, Telegram and other chat group apps. 

Motivational quotes are shared daily on WhatsApp statuses and Facebook as a morning and evening ritual. A sense of stagnancy and feeling of being stuck has seeped in people who are slowly losing focus and purpose to live in life. This is when individuals have begun choosing the "flight" in between the former and "fight" - flight symbolizing the need to escape somewhere and fight to symbolize how to remain in the situation using coping mechanisms. Mostly, people lose the will to "fight" and press the "flight" button. Pushing the flight button for most means leaving the world. Ironically, in most cases, it is the family which is the last to know why the person committed suicide. So, let's talk, begin a discussion, make a call and vent! It is a plea to all families, friends and relatives to look out for near and dear ones - call them! Your loved ones may or may not be in distress, but your call may remind them "fight" is the only button they should press and not the "flight" button.