It was a summer evening and one of the few favourite professors had just dismissed the Manufacturing Strategy class, having passionately discussed lean production with a somewhat interested class.
"He" had, without being his unusual self, given the slip to the professor and others, disappearing in a nonchalant manner soon after the class was over.
The next ten minutes were a Godsend.
Going down the solitary stair corridor (there is only one in the institute after all!) He saw a peculiarly beautiful bird outside the glass windows. They were all shut, and the bird was repeatedly hitting the glass with its beak, trying to get in.
It was probably male, given that its feathers on its crown were a golden red while the rest of its body was covered in feathers of another gradient shade.
If He tried to open the window for the bird, He would scare it away.
He wanted to let it in.
But after a full ten minutes, the bird finally flew away.
So what if he now opened one of the windows?
He waited for a while before the corridor became busy.
Just outside the institute building, other birds were flying and people were volunteering for shots.
The shots originated in a camera of course...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What all about what to and what not to do!
What does one do when nothing does the trick?
What does one do when of trying he is sick?
What does one do when he does not know what to do?
What does one do, when he does not know what else to do?
What, and more importantly, why do we do what we do?
And why is it important what others do or don't do?
When people stop making you happy, do they make you sad?
When a good person doesn't do what you want them to, does it make them bad?
If I keep thinking about this, I think I will go mad.
Of some thoughts and dreams, enough shall never be had.
What does one do when of trying he is sick?
What does one do when he does not know what to do?
What does one do, when he does not know what else to do?
What, and more importantly, why do we do what we do?
And why is it important what others do or don't do?
When people stop making you happy, do they make you sad?
When a good person doesn't do what you want them to, does it make them bad?
If I keep thinking about this, I think I will go mad.
Of some thoughts and dreams, enough shall never be had.
Friday, September 12, 2008
How Nandita Das brought Seizonsha and Bharat Shah of Ahmedabad closer.
This post is a tribute of sorts to Nandita Das, blogging and more importantly, Bharat Shah of Ahmedabad.
Kudos to the human desire for company and social bonding.
Blogging is somehow related to this need and desire.
And Nandita Das? How did she manage to bring two strangers closer you might ask.
It's not just the blog after all. It had to be the blogpost about a movie review in which Nandita Das featured, and lo behold, Bharat Shah of Ahmedabad and Seizonsha of Nowhere(now, here if you insist!) "connect" with each other.
This evening, Seizonsha shall watch another Nandita Das movie. And after having given up blogging (aaah....yet again!) he shall resume blogging. Quite a few movies, plays, concerts, books and incidents to review and relive. Quitting blogging seems to be very much like quitting smoking indeed.
You keep quitting so many times before you really quit.
(Try fitting a word before the period. You have two options :P )
So, thank you Blogspot and Bharat Shah. And, of course, Nandita Das and "connecting".
Kudos to the human desire for company and social bonding.
Blogging is somehow related to this need and desire.
And Nandita Das? How did she manage to bring two strangers closer you might ask.
It's not just the blog after all. It had to be the blogpost about a movie review in which Nandita Das featured, and lo behold, Bharat Shah of Ahmedabad and Seizonsha of Nowhere(now, here if you insist!) "connect" with each other.
This evening, Seizonsha shall watch another Nandita Das movie. And after having given up blogging (aaah....yet again!) he shall resume blogging. Quite a few movies, plays, concerts, books and incidents to review and relive. Quitting blogging seems to be very much like quitting smoking indeed.
You keep quitting so many times before you really quit.
(Try fitting a word before the period. You have two options :P )
So, thank you Blogspot and Bharat Shah. And, of course, Nandita Das and "connecting".
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thinking Allowed (Aloud) - Movie review
In 54 minutes, this movie can potentially change your opinion about Kolkata, Mother Teresa and poverty in India in general.
The movie is set in Kolkata, which, unfortunately (as you will realise within minutes into the movie) is known for abject poverty, the gutters, and then that famous Saint of the Gutters, Mother Teresa.
As is highlighted in the movie, Bengalis worship many women, most of its celebrated festivals happen to be related to the Godesses, and this white woman, Mother Teresa brings out that often unadmitted yet obvious Indian fascination for white skin.
The movie raises many questions like -
If Mother Teresa were to be a black woman, would her stature and image be as huge as it became?
And then, Bangladesh had many more poor and suffering ; so is this the Hindu obsession ? In a non Hindu nation, would someone like Mother Teresa, a Catholic be even allowed to do anything in the name of social work?
And then, the movie goes on to reveal more relevant facts and make you think - think really hard.
During the last 20 years of her life, Mother Teresa spent about 6-7 months each year abroad. So, what was it that she did in the remaining months, that the other sisters of the Missionaries of Charity not do?
Missionaries of Charity is estimated to have received a 100 million USD in donations from all over the world. Mother Teresa's charm and charisma was such.
But, the collections themselves total a mammoth 2 billion US dollars, and this is not taking into account any income from investment returns.
So, just how many poor people did MC "uplift" with those 2 billion dollars?
Just how many lepers did Kolkata have? And just how many lepers did MC save each year?
Yes. At this point, I did think of the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams for a moment. BUt, the TTD, although it does some charity in its own way, it does not profess to be dedicated to the cause of the poor and the suffering, in the manner MC does.
As correctly pointed out by an ex-MC spokesperson herself, Mother Teresa was one of the most successful fund raisers and businessman the world had ever seen.
And as you shall realise, she was in the business of conversion.
It is quite shameful that Mother Teresa actually helped create negative publicity about Kolkata. The western image of Kolkata is one of poverty, leprosy, hand pulled rickshaws, suffering, death, gutters and then Mother Teresa.
I am also forced to recollect the systematic beggarisation of Bengal during the colonial days, when Britain dumped its own textiles in India, in an effort to artificially be in business. Nick Robin's "The Corporation that Changed the World" goes on to talk about how weavers in Bengal cut off their fingers in a bid to avoid weaving; for they were paid less what they needed to subsist and survive. Artifcial economic environments were in large part the cause of such poverty in Bengal.
Yes, Communism exacerbated the already existing poverty, and as the movie highlights, processions, strikes and Bandhs are often organised for no reason, and people take out processions from nowhere to nowhere, bringing down business everywhere.
As the movie further points out, if Mother Teresa were not a white Catholic, the international press would not be as kind as it was to her.
Mother Teresa drew support from The Vatican. In her Nobel acceptance speech, Mother Teresa says that the greatest damage is done in the world by Abortion.
By shunning abortion, apparently, there shall be world peace. But isnt poverty itself quite often due to the avoiding of abortion.
I do not want to hurt anyone's religious beliefs here, but for someone like Mother Teresa to make such a statement during a Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech is - shameful to say the least!
The movie makes you wonder further about how Gandhi was never awarded the Nobel Peace prize, although he was nominated not once or twice, but 5 times!
This is a documentary really, and the people to watch out for are - Aroup Chatterjee, the author of "The Final Verdict". A doctor based out of London, he has carried out 8 years of research on Mother Teresa.
And then, Subir Bhoumik, an ex-BBC correspondent is another man who doesnt hesitate to point out the Indian obsession for white skin as well as the Western obsession with the dark and gloomy image of India.
There is another man, an ex-railway officer, whose name I forget, who reserves the choicest of abuses for Mother Teresa, and he is quite entertaining :)
Made in 2005, by Judhajit Sarkar and running into 54 minutes, the movie is nothing short of education - an eye opener to use a cliche.
And definitely a must watch for a Bengali or - for that matter anyone who has spent even a few hours in Kolkata - the airport and Salt Lake City dont count :P
The movie is set in Kolkata, which, unfortunately (as you will realise within minutes into the movie) is known for abject poverty, the gutters, and then that famous Saint of the Gutters, Mother Teresa.
As is highlighted in the movie, Bengalis worship many women, most of its celebrated festivals happen to be related to the Godesses, and this white woman, Mother Teresa brings out that often unadmitted yet obvious Indian fascination for white skin.
The movie raises many questions like -
If Mother Teresa were to be a black woman, would her stature and image be as huge as it became?
And then, Bangladesh had many more poor and suffering ; so is this the Hindu obsession ? In a non Hindu nation, would someone like Mother Teresa, a Catholic be even allowed to do anything in the name of social work?
And then, the movie goes on to reveal more relevant facts and make you think - think really hard.
During the last 20 years of her life, Mother Teresa spent about 6-7 months each year abroad. So, what was it that she did in the remaining months, that the other sisters of the Missionaries of Charity not do?
Missionaries of Charity is estimated to have received a 100 million USD in donations from all over the world. Mother Teresa's charm and charisma was such.
But, the collections themselves total a mammoth 2 billion US dollars, and this is not taking into account any income from investment returns.
So, just how many poor people did MC "uplift" with those 2 billion dollars?
Just how many lepers did Kolkata have? And just how many lepers did MC save each year?
Yes. At this point, I did think of the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams for a moment. BUt, the TTD, although it does some charity in its own way, it does not profess to be dedicated to the cause of the poor and the suffering, in the manner MC does.
As correctly pointed out by an ex-MC spokesperson herself, Mother Teresa was one of the most successful fund raisers and businessman the world had ever seen.
And as you shall realise, she was in the business of conversion.
It is quite shameful that Mother Teresa actually helped create negative publicity about Kolkata. The western image of Kolkata is one of poverty, leprosy, hand pulled rickshaws, suffering, death, gutters and then Mother Teresa.
I am also forced to recollect the systematic beggarisation of Bengal during the colonial days, when Britain dumped its own textiles in India, in an effort to artificially be in business. Nick Robin's "The Corporation that Changed the World" goes on to talk about how weavers in Bengal cut off their fingers in a bid to avoid weaving; for they were paid less what they needed to subsist and survive. Artifcial economic environments were in large part the cause of such poverty in Bengal.
Yes, Communism exacerbated the already existing poverty, and as the movie highlights, processions, strikes and Bandhs are often organised for no reason, and people take out processions from nowhere to nowhere, bringing down business everywhere.
As the movie further points out, if Mother Teresa were not a white Catholic, the international press would not be as kind as it was to her.
Mother Teresa drew support from The Vatican. In her Nobel acceptance speech, Mother Teresa says that the greatest damage is done in the world by Abortion.
By shunning abortion, apparently, there shall be world peace. But isnt poverty itself quite often due to the avoiding of abortion.
I do not want to hurt anyone's religious beliefs here, but for someone like Mother Teresa to make such a statement during a Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech is - shameful to say the least!
The movie makes you wonder further about how Gandhi was never awarded the Nobel Peace prize, although he was nominated not once or twice, but 5 times!
This is a documentary really, and the people to watch out for are - Aroup Chatterjee, the author of "The Final Verdict". A doctor based out of London, he has carried out 8 years of research on Mother Teresa.
And then, Subir Bhoumik, an ex-BBC correspondent is another man who doesnt hesitate to point out the Indian obsession for white skin as well as the Western obsession with the dark and gloomy image of India.
There is another man, an ex-railway officer, whose name I forget, who reserves the choicest of abuses for Mother Teresa, and he is quite entertaining :)
Made in 2005, by Judhajit Sarkar and running into 54 minutes, the movie is nothing short of education - an eye opener to use a cliche.
And definitely a must watch for a Bengali or - for that matter anyone who has spent even a few hours in Kolkata - the airport and Salt Lake City dont count :P
4 Women - Movie Review
Having only heard and read about Adoor Gopalakrishnan, I had never gotten around to actually watchin any of his movies, and I must really thank Lady Luck for this, and the other movies being shown at the India Habitat Centre. Organised by the Public Service Broadcast Trust - a Not-for-profit trust in partnership with the Prasar Bharati Coporation affiliated to the United Nations, there were movies from Russia, South Africa, Canada and Switzerland as well, all of which I missed out on!
Coming back to the movie - 4 women, originally Naal Pennungal and in Malayalam, this movie was made in 2007 and stars Nandita Das among others.
You must try and watch this movie, so I will strictly speak tangentially (comes quite naturally to me!) in an effort to avoid giving the entire movie away!
The movie has 4 separate stories, and explores the emotional, mental, social and physical lives of 4 different women, one at a time.
The movie starts off with a prostitute, and then later deals with the lives of a married woman, a housewife and a spinster.
Each of the stories is very well picturised, and what one will appreciate in the movie, is that the subtle elements of a typical village in Kerala is very, very well captured.
There is very little background music, and even the very little, is a Carnatic Classical "mood", very well chosen and with perfect timing.
The use of natural sounds stands out, and the feel of Kerala is served to you, to the extent possible, in all its natural purity.
If only Stein Auditorium in the India Habitat Centre had Dolby Stereo! It could have been so much more pleasant to experience natural sounds reproduced in a movie! The main/central speaker behind the screen is not too bad, so movie viewing on a big screen continues to have its own charm :)
Atleast 2 of the four stories are open ended, and the questions they pose are only to be answered, if at all, by the viewer herself or himself.
3 of the 4 stories are about the turn of events, the "swinging"of destinies destinies of the women (if I may say) from happiness, to helplessness.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Nandita Das were present for the screening, and Adoor, the humble man he is, refused to be addressed as "Guruji" by another artist/director, saying that he wasn't knowledgeable enough to be a teacher.
Adoor took on questions from the audience, and I could stay around to hear him for only 2 of those questions.
One was about the choice of stories, and open endedness - Adoor had chosen short stories, since they have a lot of scope for creative direction and development of the plot, picturisation etc.,
And then, Adoor also spoke about his motive and idea behind the "threading" of the four stories together.
Adoor was explaining about how each of the stories stands for a "Bhoga" as understood in Hindu philosophy...He had jst about completed mentioning the Bhogas when it was time to go!
Coming back to the movie - 4 women, originally Naal Pennungal and in Malayalam, this movie was made in 2007 and stars Nandita Das among others.
You must try and watch this movie, so I will strictly speak tangentially (comes quite naturally to me!) in an effort to avoid giving the entire movie away!
The movie has 4 separate stories, and explores the emotional, mental, social and physical lives of 4 different women, one at a time.
The movie starts off with a prostitute, and then later deals with the lives of a married woman, a housewife and a spinster.
Each of the stories is very well picturised, and what one will appreciate in the movie, is that the subtle elements of a typical village in Kerala is very, very well captured.
There is very little background music, and even the very little, is a Carnatic Classical "mood", very well chosen and with perfect timing.
The use of natural sounds stands out, and the feel of Kerala is served to you, to the extent possible, in all its natural purity.
If only Stein Auditorium in the India Habitat Centre had Dolby Stereo! It could have been so much more pleasant to experience natural sounds reproduced in a movie! The main/central speaker behind the screen is not too bad, so movie viewing on a big screen continues to have its own charm :)
Atleast 2 of the four stories are open ended, and the questions they pose are only to be answered, if at all, by the viewer herself or himself.
3 of the 4 stories are about the turn of events, the "swinging"of destinies destinies of the women (if I may say) from happiness, to helplessness.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Nandita Das were present for the screening, and Adoor, the humble man he is, refused to be addressed as "Guruji" by another artist/director, saying that he wasn't knowledgeable enough to be a teacher.
Adoor took on questions from the audience, and I could stay around to hear him for only 2 of those questions.
One was about the choice of stories, and open endedness - Adoor had chosen short stories, since they have a lot of scope for creative direction and development of the plot, picturisation etc.,
And then, Adoor also spoke about his motive and idea behind the "threading" of the four stories together.
Adoor was explaining about how each of the stories stands for a "Bhoga" as understood in Hindu philosophy...He had jst about completed mentioning the Bhogas when it was time to go!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Movie: The Inner Tour
The Inner Tour
Well, this movie has already been reviewed by The New York Times, and assuming you will read it, I am only going to tell you about those parts of the movie which caught my attention.
Link to The New York Times review : http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9507E4DB143AF932A35757C0A9649C8B63&ex=1332475200&en=709faf668585ee66&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
But yes, before I move on, let me point to you something I happened to notice on the movie's IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277039/
You will find that the Germany (Berlin film festival) version of the movie is only 85 minutes, down by 12 minutes, and having seen the movie I am sure that a large part of those 12 minutes are from a chapter of the movie which deals with a parallel being drawn between the sufferings of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis and the Palestinians sufferings due in large part to the Israeli's "Defence force"
The movie has been broken down to 7 chapters and even the chapters are very, very well chosen. There are points in each of the chapter which underline the choice of the chapter title, and this in fact builds gradually to the overall effect the movie has on the viewer.
I am too tempted to reveal the plot, but I am going to resist the temptation and will now tell you what I consider the best portions of each of the chapters.
As the review itself will tell you, the movie(documentary, really) is mostly about Palestinian families, about 5 to 10 of them, touring Israel. They are all visiting Israel for the first time in their lives, and carry baggages of memories of their the pre-partition lives of their own or their families.
1. Very Nice Israel
There is this young man, whose mother is in Lebanon and since he has a Palestinean passport, he cannot visit her. He also has a sister whom he cant meet. On the first day of the tour, he meets these Asians who tell him that they find Israel very nice.
He asks them if they like all of Israel, and then asks them if they like Israel or Palestine.
They tell him that they have never had a chance to "be on the other side"
2. Years pass by and for us time stands for still:
There are various scenes in this chapter, all of which together seem to say this one thing: It is only the burden of time, the baggage that we carry voluntarily on our backs that pull us down. While Israel has become this powerful country, technologically and economically developed, average Palestineans continue to lead a life less ordinary, for, unfortunately, and quite often, unadmittedly, they are caught in a time warp.
They fell down, but instead of choosing to get up, dust themselves and move on, they chose to lie down and wail. ( I know that I am being rather opinionated here, but I am somehow in the mood for strong opinions after having seen the contrast between the lives, as shown in the movie, and as understood otherwise!)
Yes, one needs to sympathise with the cause of the Palestinians. There is no doubt about that. But, just who is to be blamed? The people who wronged the Palestinians have long been dead (disregarding the ongoing violence and international socio-economic-political damage caused by the Israelis).
But, you watch this movie, and you realise that the man on the street in Israel cannot be blamed for your woes. The average Israeli is leading a happy life, and the average Palestinian is still stuck in a time warp! (If at all the problem was not as complex as it really is, the armchair blogger like me could have offered a solution, but, it is indeed a complex problem, and I am only saying what I felt while watching the movie!)
3. I dont want to see; I dont want to see;
Nothing much here really, except for... well, let me not bust the entire movie for you!
Yeah, one of the things that moves you here is the fact that there is this old man, who likens himself to an ostrich burying its head in the sand when in danger. He is drawing a parallel with himself and how he is pained to see many things as part of the tour, and just closes his eye saying "I dont want to see, I dont want to see" to himself...This again makes one think about how, refusing to acknowledge the existence of a problem takes one away from the reality of having to find a solution!
4. I am not even going to tell you the title :P ( I really want you to watch the movie!)
5. Do you like your life?
Imagine this conversation between an Israeli and a Palestinian:
Palestinian: Do you like your life?
Israeli: Yes, I like your life. Why?
Palestinian : Because some people. They dont like their life.
Israeli: Why dont they like their life? Then they should do what they like!
Palestinian :.......
Israeli: It takes time..It takes time..
6 and 7. Well, I have already revealed quite a lot, although I have tried my best to strike a balance between revealing enough to make you want to watch this movie while at the same time not revealing more than what would you put you off!
But, let me just close this review of sorts with one last memory..There is this blind man in the movie who had done exceedingly well for himself in life, despite whatever happened to him as a Palestinian. He is quite well off, and during one of the conversations with a fellow passenger, he recollects an old village saying
"A lot of beating makes a weak man strong"
I just wanted to stand up and clap in full agreement :)
The movie is mostly in Hebrew and Arabic, and the English sub titles do help, but somehow, I felt that it could have been even more impactful and thought provoking had it been in English..
There are obviously atleast some characters I have not even mentioned about, and some aspects to the characters I have left about, just so that you dont accuse me of being a killjoy!
I would rate this movie as a must watch. If you get to watch it, you must watch it..Really!
Well, this movie has already been reviewed by The New York Times, and assuming you will read it, I am only going to tell you about those parts of the movie which caught my attention.
Link to The New York Times review : http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9507E4DB143AF932A35757C0A9649C8B63&ex=1332475200&en=709faf668585ee66&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
But yes, before I move on, let me point to you something I happened to notice on the movie's IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277039/
You will find that the Germany (Berlin film festival) version of the movie is only 85 minutes, down by 12 minutes, and having seen the movie I am sure that a large part of those 12 minutes are from a chapter of the movie which deals with a parallel being drawn between the sufferings of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis and the Palestinians sufferings due in large part to the Israeli's "Defence force"
The movie has been broken down to 7 chapters and even the chapters are very, very well chosen. There are points in each of the chapter which underline the choice of the chapter title, and this in fact builds gradually to the overall effect the movie has on the viewer.
I am too tempted to reveal the plot, but I am going to resist the temptation and will now tell you what I consider the best portions of each of the chapters.
As the review itself will tell you, the movie(documentary, really) is mostly about Palestinian families, about 5 to 10 of them, touring Israel. They are all visiting Israel for the first time in their lives, and carry baggages of memories of their the pre-partition lives of their own or their families.
1. Very Nice Israel
There is this young man, whose mother is in Lebanon and since he has a Palestinean passport, he cannot visit her. He also has a sister whom he cant meet. On the first day of the tour, he meets these Asians who tell him that they find Israel very nice.
He asks them if they like all of Israel, and then asks them if they like Israel or Palestine.
They tell him that they have never had a chance to "be on the other side"
2. Years pass by and for us time stands for still:
There are various scenes in this chapter, all of which together seem to say this one thing: It is only the burden of time, the baggage that we carry voluntarily on our backs that pull us down. While Israel has become this powerful country, technologically and economically developed, average Palestineans continue to lead a life less ordinary, for, unfortunately, and quite often, unadmittedly, they are caught in a time warp.
They fell down, but instead of choosing to get up, dust themselves and move on, they chose to lie down and wail. ( I know that I am being rather opinionated here, but I am somehow in the mood for strong opinions after having seen the contrast between the lives, as shown in the movie, and as understood otherwise!)
Yes, one needs to sympathise with the cause of the Palestinians. There is no doubt about that. But, just who is to be blamed? The people who wronged the Palestinians have long been dead (disregarding the ongoing violence and international socio-economic-political damage caused by the Israelis).
But, you watch this movie, and you realise that the man on the street in Israel cannot be blamed for your woes. The average Israeli is leading a happy life, and the average Palestinian is still stuck in a time warp! (If at all the problem was not as complex as it really is, the armchair blogger like me could have offered a solution, but, it is indeed a complex problem, and I am only saying what I felt while watching the movie!)
3. I dont want to see; I dont want to see;
Nothing much here really, except for... well, let me not bust the entire movie for you!
Yeah, one of the things that moves you here is the fact that there is this old man, who likens himself to an ostrich burying its head in the sand when in danger. He is drawing a parallel with himself and how he is pained to see many things as part of the tour, and just closes his eye saying "I dont want to see, I dont want to see" to himself...This again makes one think about how, refusing to acknowledge the existence of a problem takes one away from the reality of having to find a solution!
4. I am not even going to tell you the title :P ( I really want you to watch the movie!)
5. Do you like your life?
Imagine this conversation between an Israeli and a Palestinian:
Palestinian: Do you like your life?
Israeli: Yes, I like your life. Why?
Palestinian : Because some people. They dont like their life.
Israeli: Why dont they like their life? Then they should do what they like!
Palestinian :.......
Israeli: It takes time..It takes time..
6 and 7. Well, I have already revealed quite a lot, although I have tried my best to strike a balance between revealing enough to make you want to watch this movie while at the same time not revealing more than what would you put you off!
But, let me just close this review of sorts with one last memory..There is this blind man in the movie who had done exceedingly well for himself in life, despite whatever happened to him as a Palestinian. He is quite well off, and during one of the conversations with a fellow passenger, he recollects an old village saying
"A lot of beating makes a weak man strong"
I just wanted to stand up and clap in full agreement :)
The movie is mostly in Hebrew and Arabic, and the English sub titles do help, but somehow, I felt that it could have been even more impactful and thought provoking had it been in English..
There are obviously atleast some characters I have not even mentioned about, and some aspects to the characters I have left about, just so that you dont accuse me of being a killjoy!
I would rate this movie as a must watch. If you get to watch it, you must watch it..Really!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Worshipper.
This is one painting TheLoneWolf is not going to forget in a hurry. In fact, if things turn out the way he has been dreaming of since last September/October, he is not going to remember this painting long after he ceases to be TheLoneWolf. Now, this is giving away way too much about TheLoneWolf's fantasies in public. So, we will just get on with the name of the painting.
" Worshipper" it was, and all it had was a Brahmin with his choti wala head turned towards you, while he was doing his job - Worship.
Just the name, and the painting had stirred so much excitement in TheLoneWolf that he had to use his rescue tactics to pretend to be excited only upto optimal and socially acceptable levels :)
He had already decided that he will at least request for the price, and he did exactly that.
Its another thing that speaking to Seema Jindal, the painter herself, lead TheLoneWolf onto thoughts beyond that one painting, but then, talking to artists, always makes one think!
Except that, as he would discover/realise a coupla days later, artists are smart businessmen too. He just had to speak to another artist to realise :)
Seema Jindal was good; and being no art critic (not just yet!), I can only recollect and briefly recall the names and themes of other paintings of hers on display that day:
Smiling Flowers
Sage
Awakening
Faith
Celebration of womanhood
Contemplation
Determination
Action
Unmukth (This one was brilliant too, but I am obviously not going to be favourable to any other painting than The Worshipper for purely personal reasons!)
Together but lonely (This one was excellent nonetheless! But then again...)
And many others...I made a note of only the names that caught my attention..Yeah...Even the names are important as I begin to realise!)
A common thing to quite a few of Seema Jindals paintings are her fascination for the sunflower, and I must say that the sunflower is not out of place in any of the paintings; so it seems to be a smart move anyway! Its better than an obsession with horses or any other controversial idea! ;)
Yeah, they were all oil on canvas, and with less than 15 minutes to spend in an arts gallery, one always feels incomplete!!!
" Worshipper" it was, and all it had was a Brahmin with his choti wala head turned towards you, while he was doing his job - Worship.
Just the name, and the painting had stirred so much excitement in TheLoneWolf that he had to use his rescue tactics to pretend to be excited only upto optimal and socially acceptable levels :)
He had already decided that he will at least request for the price, and he did exactly that.
Its another thing that speaking to Seema Jindal, the painter herself, lead TheLoneWolf onto thoughts beyond that one painting, but then, talking to artists, always makes one think!
Except that, as he would discover/realise a coupla days later, artists are smart businessmen too. He just had to speak to another artist to realise :)
Seema Jindal was good; and being no art critic (not just yet!), I can only recollect and briefly recall the names and themes of other paintings of hers on display that day:
Smiling Flowers
Sage
Awakening
Faith
Celebration of womanhood
Contemplation
Determination
Action
Unmukth (This one was brilliant too, but I am obviously not going to be favourable to any other painting than The Worshipper for purely personal reasons!)
Together but lonely (This one was excellent nonetheless! But then again...)
And many others...I made a note of only the names that caught my attention..Yeah...Even the names are important as I begin to realise!)
A common thing to quite a few of Seema Jindals paintings are her fascination for the sunflower, and I must say that the sunflower is not out of place in any of the paintings; so it seems to be a smart move anyway! Its better than an obsession with horses or any other controversial idea! ;)
Yeah, they were all oil on canvas, and with less than 15 minutes to spend in an arts gallery, one always feels incomplete!!!
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