Getting the ingredients right

Only thing blogworthy I seem to be doing is watching good movies. Need to write on them lest I forget.

Most movies have a pattern. In few minutes, you know who the director is going to kill for the tears and who is going to live so that the audience goes home content. In so far I have seen, the movies that work, usually thrill, amuse or relate at a level. Its a director's skill to be able to mix ‘em just right, and yet, surprise.

As Vincent Canby says, "Through the magic of motion pictures, someone who's never left Peoria knows the softness of a Paris spring, the colour of a Nile sunset, the sorts of vegetation one will find along the upper Amazon and that Big Ben has not yet gone digital."

Munich. It’s Spielberg after all. What can I say? The right thrills (The killing of the athletes in flashback interspersed through the movie), the right actors (Eric Bana, the yummy Daniel Craig), the right emotions (Is all the killing worth it?). A long movie, yet I sat through its length and did not reach for the remote. Though the end disappointed a bit.

Cinema Paradiso. An old man and a little boy. And lo! A movie is made. Just put it now some tragedy (The death of the boy’s father, the fire at the Cinema), some love and loss (The parting of young lovers, the bringing down of Cinema Paradiso), the hero’s redemption(his success as the producer De vita) and love found again(short reunion with his ladylove). Against a backdrop of rustic Italy – and you have a masterpiece.

This story I have to mention from the movie –
Alfredo: Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king's daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king? Well, finally, one day, he managed to meet her, and he told her that he could no longer live without her. The princess was so impressed by his strong feelings that she said to the soldier: "If you can wait 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony, then at the end of it, I shall be yours." Damn! The soldier immediately went there and waited one day. And two days. And ten. And then twenty. And every evening, the princess looked out of her window, but he never moved. During rain, during wind, during snow, he was always there. The bird shat on his head, and the bees stung him, but he didn't budge. After ninety nights, he had become all dried up, all white, and the tears streamed from his eyes. He couldn't hold them back. He no longer had the strength to sleep. All that time, the princess watched him. And on the 99th night, the soldier stood up, took his chair, and went away.

Salvatore: [later in the film, Toto gives Alfredo his interpretation] In one more night, the princess would have been his. But she also could not possibly have kept her promise. And it would have been terrible. He would have died. This way, however, at least she would remember him forever.

The ending, where Salvatore discovers the reels and reels of edited ‘kissing' sequences Alfredo left him, was absolutely priceless. Such a small detail and so deftly woven into the movie. Fine.

Born into Brothels. Life imitates cinema or cinema imitates life? This movie picks up the naturally dramatic life events of children born into families of sex workers. It is naturally endearing, as accounts of and by children often are. Somewhat like a documentary – but with all the right elements there – joy (clicking photographs, getting recognized), sadness (well, what do you expect in Sonagachi), redemption (Tapan’s journey to Amsterdam), few laughs (when the kids tease each other, when Tapan, with his new found fame and attention, walks as if he owns the place in Amsterdam)

Gie. Indonesian. It is a story of any one of us – young, full of ideals, a burning desire to make a difference. Before age escapes to cynicism for comfort. You notice the starkness, the dedication of students who worry beyond their grades, taking to the streets to make a difference. How it gets possible for just one man to get to power and change a country’s future – for better or worse. Sukarno, Suharto (And what a surprise!). Hitler. Musharraf. The list hasn’t ended. Will never end.

'Happy are the people with no history'. Now you decide, what you want.

Ballygunge Court. You wouldn’t have heard of this one. But if you watch it, you can make out how good filmmaking differs from bad. It is not enough to put in a stalwart cast (Soumitro, Sabyasachi, Mamata Shankar) and a tearjerker theme (Age and negligence) to deliver good cinema. So, what are you trying to say? Old people are helpless people. That without their children, there is only sadness in their lives. The idea should be to empower. The movie is sad, sad, sad and only that. As a result, quite bad too.

There is a perceptible line between fine and not so fine film making. Fortunately, we have many who manage to breach it.

Long live good cinema.

I love doing this. So dear Backpakker (and u too!), this is my list of people who make my day, everyday - Anyesha, Archana, Dharma, James, Mridula, Shantanu, Solitaire, Vineeta . I'm passing the "You make my day" now to them. Shall keep adding to the list - there are so many!

Again, with a cup of tea

Drinking tea is a form of meditation, did you know?

Just sitting there, with a steaming cup in the hand, the mind is so relaxed, so much at peace. The Buddhist monks still use it as a mode of meditation. Tea is regularly offered as means of learning, practicing, and experiencing awareness in simple, everyday activities.

I discovered the India Tea Centre at Resham Bhavan, Churchgate – and what a find it was! Countless delicious varieties – Buttered Apple Tea, Kahwa, Pudina Chai, Chocolate tea, teas with coconut milk, ornage rind, cream and honey. The place is so English - with ooohh that musty tea smell. There is also a quaint little bell to summon waiters – although guests use that more for their own pleasure now – ring and giggle, ring and giggle, while the green liveried waiters look on with patient indulgence. The place is a tea lover’s paradise. It’s luverly!

There is also a Tea Bazaar adjoined – where one can buy the most amazing variety of teas.

Ah! The heart could sing in pleasure. Why have alcohol when you can drink tea?

An earlier post on tea

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear

The circle of life, the coming of age - how many movies are made on this!

I had no idea which movie was being screened; went along to shrug off the Sunday morning lethargy. To start with, when the credits rolled, I observed French. Great. And then. Omar Sharif. OMG!

Monsieur Ibrahim. He is here, much, much older. An old, toothy grin replacing his erstwhile, youthful charm. The essence remains the same.

Young Moses has a disillusioned childhood on Blue road – with a morose father, a street full of sex workers and the monotony of household tasks. He discovers comfort at the unlikeliest of places – with the kind street workers and the local grocery shop owner, Ibrahim, who takes him under his wings, imparts his life’s wisdom and gives Moses new meaning in his life.

Some sequences seem disjoint (lost in translation?) and explored before. For most part, the movie is exceedingly heart warming.

Like when he gifts Sylvie – a street worker – his toy Teddy; a boy who grew up too soon. When he refuses to acknowledge the mother who abandoned him – calls himself Momo – short for Mohammed, purported son of the Muslim Ibrahim, not borne of his Jewish mother. When he discovers what Sufism means. Mystic Islam. ‘Opposed to legalism. He's against the law. I'd rather be against legalism.’ When he helps the decrepit Ibrahim qualify (just about) for a driving license. When they go on a road trip to Turkey – the landscapes, the cultures, the almost palpable bond of love between the two.

An image burnt into my mind – How utterly lovely, how absolutely mesmerizing. I could look, look at it for hours. The Whirling Dervishes. The people of Rumi. God’s mystic dancers. ‘They spin around their hearts because God is there’.

Something else he says –

'Your love for her is yours.

It belongs to you.

She rejects it, but she can't destroy it.

She's just missing out on it.

What you give, Momo, is yours for good.

What you keep is lost forever. '

And something else – 'Slowness is the key to happiness.'

Remember that.

A New Year begins

I was away when the New Year arrived. Walking as the sun set, hiking when the sun rose.

We went away, yet not too far. Khandala it was, 2 hours from Mumbai. Going away seemed wiser than to stay back, where ushering the New Year would have meant spending around a thousand per hour of drink and dance.

We were lucky we had Urv’s lovely summer house to go to – Great place, good food and an obliging caretaker. But who would say Khandala was a hill station – it was sweltering!

We first walked to Amby valley with Urv’s constant intonation, “It is so hot!” This only stopped when she saw them, “Eeeks! Hurry, the bulls are coming” and trying to hide behind Sam and me. There were no signs that it was winter, the landscape barren, the land arid. We walked, among scattering of villages, cowherds, forests and barren land. We watched as the sun set, slowly.

The sun sets

We visited Fariyas to savour the New Year party at a five star. Walked around, clicked silly photographs and peeked into the resplendent party ground; finally got shooed away.

Gingerbread Village at Fariyas

New Year came with some wine, lots of laughter and few quick winks.

We were the first ones up on the first day of the New Year at Lonavala. A trek up Bushy dam, helped by Sam’s brave words and our ready feet. We watched the sun rise, the valley awash in orange, lighting the waters and lifting the fog.

The sun rises over Bushy Dam

The Duke's Nose

The New Year begins. And begins well.

It has been a mixed last year – some struggle, some pain, lots of joy. Some events appear silly now when I look back. Some decisions, faulty. But Random Wanderings is all about that. It is not possible to go to the right place all the time. What matters is to enjoy the moment, learn and move on. Every place is a learning, every event some growth.

I wish you all an exciting and eventful New Year!