As I saw it

We all have a need to be needed even as it takes different forms, nuances, meaning and extent. I can surely say that about myself. It brings out the best in me. It answers our need for relevance, meaning and purpose. That’s fine and understandable. But then there’s a place and relevance for irrelevance as well in our lives. Here’s a nice article shared with me by a recently made friend who otherwise chooses to remain under the radar. Thanks a lot for this Bharat Raj. https://medium.com/personal-growth/how-to-stop-feeling-irrelevant-and-embrace-life-7e25487a39d

There is a rivulet exactly like this that flows in a place half way between my youngest paternal aunt’s place and our erstwhile ancestral home in Trivandrum. Me being someone who has always been compulsively drunk on nature and solitude would prefer to sit by its side for hours to watch the water go by making interesting rhythmic sounds and also look for fingerling fishes in the water as well as for the occasional jackfruit or mango or cashew nut leafs or even a bobbing mini coconut pod that would be carried downstream by the rivulet. Nostalgic. Thanks a lot for this photo Rajesh​​.

It’s a curiosity, wonder, admiration, fascination, confusion, disagreement, respect, love, reflection, experimentation, gratitude and more that started exactly 35 years ago on this day when I saw the black and white image of a little boy climbing up a tree to get a good view of something that was coming towards his village. I still remember that smile of a quiet satisfaction that spread on the little boy’s face as he caught sight of the man whose glimpse he wanted. It was a man dressed simply with a bunch of people walking along with him. Since then I have watched that movie 55 times and I have come back challenged with something more I need to still work inside myself. I still remember the first challenge I had to work on myself: stop lying; start telling the truth about myself and living the truth; however scary it was going to be. It still took me another 10 years before I could courageously start doing that. The next challenge that’s still ongoing is to learn to love. I have made s...

I have had many enduring love affairs in my life. They are of nature, stories, books, deep meaningful conversations, food, travel, silent retreats, movies, music and trains. And what if the last three come together in one movie? There is at least one other movie that combines all these but today I want to talk about one of them. My love affair with movies started almost 40 years ago when I must have been 6 or 7 years old. And guess which movie did I see first? Of course, Pather Panchali. It had to be. For me, it was meant to be. I still remember those grainy black and white images that I saw in a neighbour's house. Then about 28 years ago I saw a movie that captivated me to no end. It must have been in the months of May/ June/ July or August of 1993 when I saw Andha Naal (That Day) starring Sivaji Ganesan. I was completely enthralled and the grip still remains intact. I hadn't heard of the Rashomon effect till a few years ago but it was the movie which introduced me to the effe...