Thursday, August 23, 2012

Are you watching closely?

I love the movie, 'The Prestige'. In fact, how many ever times I watch it, it never ceases to amaze me. Partly inspired to write this post from the movie's essence, "Are you watching closely?"

It was a challenging task. Shooting an eagle wasn't easy. He was stalking it for a long time. It sat perched on a cliff, and he on a nearby one. Carefully waiting, preparing for the right moment.

In fact, preparation went a long way back, right from honing his accuracy, timing and stamina. To chase around and incessantly pursue the tantalizingly evading bird. To watch the game dictating the game, convoluting his every plan, for a good dinner. This one was worth a lot. No one had come so close.

Now, was the time. A few moments, he went over it in his head. Everything was perfect. And just as the eagle bent down, to feed its hungry eaglet, he did it.

He did it. He felt so proud. All his hard work paid off. Now he would be paid, the promised fortune. People would relish this one!


And, as he got up from his crouching pose, he said to himself, "Phew, being a photographer is tough!"



P.S.: The photograph isn't mine.

P.P.S.: Did you think he was a hunter? Do leave a comment.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Déjà vu

She was standing in the long queue of the canteen. It was sweltering hot. The pink Lola Bunny kerchief on her left hand was already soaked. Her right hand was clutching onto something.

Raghavi wore a bright orange tops with a pitch black jean that day. Where all girls would scream, "Pinkkkkk!", she would go all-out, "Oraaaaaaange!". The pampered child of the wardrobe adorned the beautiful lady that day. Stuffing her kerchief into her pocket, she took to counting the 24 tokens that she was clutching, trying her best to remember what was for what.

She heard a small chuckle from behind; she turned.

"You're thinking out loud.", came from a coarse, yet pleasant voice.
"Haha. Sorry, force of habit."
"That's an awful lot of tokens. How many?"
"24."
"Ha! 5 more."
"^What?"
"Here. I have 29. So what's up? Treat or something?"
"Yup. Its my birthday today."
"How coincidental ! Happy birthday to ourselves!"
"Guessed so. Haha. Funny, never seen you in one year of college."
"I was thinking the same. I'm Krish. You?"

"Raghavi.", she said as she neared the counter window. "Gotta go. Have a good day!", and she went about her listing. Somehow, that smile on her chubby cheeks lingered on and on, inside his head.

At first, they met by chance, a few times mostly in the canteen until a few weeks later, 'chance' decided to take a holiday. They liked each other instantly. Meaningless chats, rainy day coffee shop visits, evening walks on long, straight roads.

"Grandma! Hahaha."
"Shut up idiot. I'm only 3 hours elder to you. Just 3 hours!".

That was his favorite way to irritate her. Over the course of time, her favourites became his favourites. and TRAI became the worst villain.

Once they were taking a walk, a pleasant evening, a boulevard. From behind, she heard a voice.

"Its 7 a.m.! Get up! You're late for college!".
"Mom? What? Oh my goodness!"
"Been dreaming again? Must say, I was a girl too once, but your dreams are too fanciful. Go and brush. I don't want to scold you on your birthday."
"Haha. Sorry Mom. Wish me."
"Not until you brush."

Hurriedly she got herself ready. Everything from attire to eyelash, she'd planned the earlier night.

"Thank God I did at least that.", she thought.

Evening after college, the scream ensued, "Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeattttttt!"
"Okay okay. Canteen!"

As she stood in the sweltering heat, oblivious of morning events, she heard a chuckle from behind.

"You're thinking out loud."
"Haha. Sorry, force of habit."

Suddenly, she smiled to herself. 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Awesome Nature

Just returning back from a tour of exotic places like Wayanad, Coorg, etc, thoughts keep reeling upon the stunning beauty of Nature which has been praised upon from the time of Man.

Still, there can be no words enough to describe a breathtakingly beautiful scene, ephemeral or ever-lasting.

Among the visceral appreciation that one attributes toward Nature, flowers are the beautiful ladies. Here are some pictures that I couldn't resist sharing. To me, each one tells a tale. I be a lone audience? I do not know.

A beautiful red. Red is a colour of different shades. Bright red is flashy and cute. But the deeper shades are more beautiful. Just like love. Red hearts.


Those really great moments of life that are cherished forever are like dew drops. Life, in itself, may be beautiful, but along with these dew drops, it gets compounded and is definitely a sight to behold.


Cheerfulness is a virtue that, not all possess. It is contagious. A full blossom is very cheerful. In fact, it brings a smile to the face. Doesn't it?


Silence is golden. Humility transcends silence. Beauty, combined with humility is something that cannot be described. Bashfully, the flower looks down, so people would bow and awe its beauty.


Standing tall. Head held high and inspiring. What is sometimes missed is that, this is not a single flower. It is a cluster. Alleviates the whole meaning of 'togetherness'.


A beautiful shade of pink and a gorgeous flower. Though this flower will wither and fall off shortly, that is not what you see when you look at it. Death is permanent, but life is not spent expecting it. Now is (a) present.

Sometimes, looking forward can be a warm feeling. Hope is a good thing, probably the best of things. Sometimes, people deserve to get their faith rewarded. When they are, thankfully they look up to the sky, believing in some power - God, luck, probability, conscience, karma, something.

No man is without faith. It is what keeps us going. Inspiration exists. It is only in the perspective. An unpolished diamond is a rock in the gander of an artless fool.

I like the word, 'beautiful'. It has got a nice ring to it. Nature is beautiful. Flowers are only a part of Nature.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

A State of Mind

A state of mind. Happiness.

Looking back, it was pitch black. Not that he hadn't seen dark places before or in the recent past, but this was different. Earlier he stood in the dark while looking at it. Now however, he was standing in light. Funnily, it occurred to him that, in light, darkness seemed darker. His mind went on reeling. Backward. He looked sideways.

A state of mind. Relief.

He saw his friend. He had a famished look on his face. Both of them had never parted ways. Always being together, was something that hardened both of them; to the point that, one would feel incapacitated without the other. Funnily, it occurred to him that he didn't feel that way about anyone else. His mind went reeling. Backward. He strained his eyes.

A state of mind. Disappointment.

He did reach out, though there was nothing to prove it. No one to prove it? No, you couldn't say so. There was proof standing beside. Still, disappointment pervades relief. He thought someone would follow through. The two stood there, waiting for a very long time. Were they in a hurry? No, not at all. Still, no one came through. He thought it was his fault no one else came. He felt bad. His mind went on reeling. Backward.

A state of mind. Guilt.

It was a tunnel, a long and dark one. Really long and really dark. He had determination. Frustration would mount sometimes. Pain was no longer the driving force there. Pain was meaningless. Whereas frustration meant that sooner or later, giving up would follow. The abandoned sailor, out of uncontrollable thirst, turning to salt water. He tried his best. In all ways. To motivate, communicate. A frustrated mind doesn't listen. Still, he tried. His only consolation was that he could reach out to at least one. His eyes were moist. His mind went reeling. Backward.

A state of mind. Diversion.

The dark tunnel however was a tantalizing one. Not the sort of tantalizing that would tempt an ignorant creature venture into it, but the sort that feeds a spoon, just a spoon of hope, when almost all was lost. There were these really small holes on the walls of the tunnel. They didn't have a pattern, they didn't serve any real function, but their aim, their purpose was to tantalize. Light, like hope, pervades. Creeps up into the most unreachable of places. The frustrated few, got excited now! "Oh wait, I can dig through. I can get out." Valiant attempts, but in vain. He, however knew that the only way to get out was to move forward. But they wouldn't listen to the two! They really believed what they thought.

A state of mind. Illusion.

They thought what they liked to think. When faced in a dilemma, we always take a side. Impartiality is overrated. "I hope its not so." in itself, is choosing a side. Acceptance is clouded by illusion. They dug, and the only thing that happened was the bruising of their hands. They continued, saying, "I can't give up now." There is no worse illusion than false hope. Some complained and continued, whereas some gave up. What they all didn't understand that they forgot to move on, to move forward. His friend placed his hand on his shoulder. His thoughts vanished; he couldn't judge them; for they had already met the consequences.

A state of mind. Reality.

There is no escaping reality. The two knew it. Solutions come with progress, and the only progress was to move forward. They held hands and walked out into the light; they felt sorry for those didn't make it, more importantly, they felt grateful that they made it. He felt compelled to speak. It had been quite a while since anybody spoke. Happiness, fogged by many other emotions, that he only managed to utter,

"I thank, whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul."



P.S.: The quote is from a poem called Invictus. Wonderful poem, do read it. Inspiration for this post is also the same.

If you're reading this line, thank you for your patience. I will take the liberty of saying that, you would've related yourself in some circumstance, to at least one of the states of mind described above. Thank you :)

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Difference

Out of nowhere, he heard a voice.

"Walk with your eyes closed. Walk, not a mile, not four score yards, just ten feet. You'll realize what your real fears are."

He tried. It was terrifying. When he opened his eyes, tears started gushing out like a broken dam. Those were the worst moments of his life.

"It, truly is terrifying.", he cried to the surrounding emptiness.

For a few moments, a ghastly silence. Not even minutes, just moments. But never so dilated, lengthened, uncertain.

"Hold someone's hand and try the same.", was to be heard again.

"What difference does it make?"

"All that's needed."