Paradise through Music

I take solace in this song whenever I feel introspective or morose. It infuses me with new hope and imagination to hold up against the vagaries of life. This is my interpretation of this gem of a creation by Coldplay.

This song is a depiction of the attempts by a girl to maintain a child-like innocence in her life by dreaming.
The first verse tells of a young girl who had high expectations (When she was a girl/She expected the world); these expectations could be the product of her ambitions and aspirations - expecting the world to be fair and just, where people can end up being what they want to be and doing what they love doing - or simply being subject to an optimistic upbringing where the philosophy 'the world is your oyster' underpinned every lecture by parent and teacher alike. However, evidently the bar was raised too high and the expectations not reached (But it flew away from her reach) suggesting maybe a life not lived - plans not made, dreams not followed, opportunities missed, feelings not acted upon.

At this juncture, the girl takes an escapist route and withdraws into her mind, acting out the life she would have led if Fate allowed her to follow her dreams (So she ran away in her sleep/And dreamed of para-para-paradise.../Every time she closed her eyes). The line 'The bullets catch in her teeth' indicates that in her dreamed-up paradise nothing can hurt her, nothing can go wrong.

The second verse details how, as the girl grows up and matures, she faces difficulties and complications (Life goes on, gets so heavy) and some hardships she faces are enough to break her spirit (The wheel breaks the butterfly). In this line, it's assumed that the butterfly is symbolic of the girl - a beautiful and innocent creature - and the 'wheel' can be regarded as the 'Wheel of Fortune'. This was an Elizabethan Era worldview where each individual would pass around a circle from good fortune to bad fortune to good fortune and around again and so on - much like 'what goes around, comes around'. Therefore it's said that the 'wheel of fortune' has turned and the girl has met with misfortune and has had extreme physical or emotional difficulty in moving past it (Every tear a waterfall). But she perseveres and finds comfort and distraction in her dreams (In the night, the stormy night/She closed her eyes.../Away she'd fly/And dream of para-para-paradise).

In the final verse, the girl is depicted 'lying under stormy skies' which could be a metaphor for her life's struggles or if taken literally, could act as a piece of pathetic fallacy. Her response to the storm - 'I know the sun is set to rise.' - reinforces her sense of optimism in life, allowing herself to believe that though her battle is great at the moment, the wheel will turn full circle, the sun will rise and she'll reach a level of peace in her life - her paradise.

The last lines of the song - 'This could be para-para-paradise' - could reflect a changed mindset in the girl; for a while she had been languishing over her misfortune and finding solace in her dreams at night however, the words 'This could be' suggest uncertainty - that she's toying with the notion that changing a part of her life, altering some aspect of her existence will produce a positive outcome and maybe turn her unfortunate life into her paradise.

Choice of Union

I am usually the least interested in discussing about the 'M' word. But with so many people around me getting into it & talking about it, I am forced to let my mind think about it & try to understand what it is all about.
      According to me marriage , living-ins are basically the same. As the essence of  commitment should be felt by d two individuals & not enforced upon them by societal pressure.. If all people in relationships feel so it would definitely bring more earnestness in the union, call it by whatever name.. I know that it may seem inappropriate to cite d example of brad & angelina.. coz indian society continues to be hypocritical .. (partly coz I am an ardent fan of angie).. But human relations ought to be the same world over.. Both of them love each other  stay together, raise kids together with both being equally committed to their kids emotionally as well as legally.. Just like any other family.. The only difference is that they hven't gone through a process of a wedding!
    Is this possible in an Indian set-up.. ? Though I would love to say yes.. The truth is v r still bound by d shackles of age old traditions.. But quiet aware of d global thought.. Thus, creating a weird concoction of thoughts..
     I definitely don't want to sound anti-marriage.. For me its just a celebration of love & full time companionship. An occasion to socialize with long lost friends & family & seek their blessings & well wishes before embarking on a beautiful journey together.
     But it isn't as simple as that is it? Since times immemorial weddings were always known as an expensive affair.. But now its a crazy industry driven by peoples' carnal desire to show -off their wealth/ hospitality.. But in spite of everything you do the guests are always going to have something to say about the biryani you served or the liquor collection you had..
   So for the middle-class it is therefore preferable to save that sizeable portion of wealth for a luxurious retirement, or the world tour which they always thought of indulging in. But people fear social ostracization .. The fear of losing social standing drives people to conform to the drivel. Most of which is pretty outdated. Unfortunately, it is true that it easier to conform to d standards then to explain to each & every person u know about your radical views. Most of whom are boneheaded & unreceptive of new thoughts.
    The most common accusation is of having loose character & lack of respect for ones culture. Culture is something that needs to be understood from the core & its fundamental values should be adapted into our modern lives. Blindly aping it without knowing its essence is shameful.
   The mid- path would be a registered marriage. Ironically, for some that piece of paper called marriage certificate would make all the difference on d world.
   The most common idea is that people living in don't need to have commitment towards each other. This attitude can turn quiet dangerous. It should be more like, ' We are together & we need not prove to the world that we are together attitude.'
   So the bottomline is, what do I conclude at the end of my ramblings?.. Which cause m I supporting?.. My answer is, none in particular. I feel that it is a personal decision based on existing circumstances. Most importantly people should not be judgemental of others & relationships r to be valued higher than rituals.
    As for me, I'll probably go for a 'big fat Indian wedding'.. Atleast if I think so, I'll be driven to increase my bank balance ;). Cheers!

My Hero

.. 20-20 world cup winners,No.1 team in test cricket, IPL Trophy, ,.. & now the wold cup !! His performance has SHUT UP every1 who had ever written him off, wanted him to be sacked questioned his decisions or called him a FLUKE.. DHONI is an analyst par excellence, shrewd manager of talent. He will remain one of the BEST captains cricket will ever produce .. & his humility & grace in victory is seen in the way he happily let his team mates bask in the glory while he himself slipped into oblivion retaining his trademark coolness & composure. Could anyone have imagined that a few years ago that this erstwhile ticket collector from Ranchi would change the face of the game..Love u Dhoni-u inspire me.. U r my mentor..

Can't explain this feeling within me...

Did you ever fall for someone you know you shouldn't?
Try hard to fight your feelings, but you just couldn't?
You fall deeper with each passing day,
But try to hide it in every possible way.
He's only a friend, and nothing else--
That's the lie you keeping telling yourself.
You keep on saying he's just a bud,
But deep inside, you're falling in love.
You get so giddy when you meet his eyes,
But keep reminding yourself it isn't right.
A simple glance turns into a stare,
But you pretned that you don't care.
It's "not right" for you two to be.
Is that why you hide it so no one can see?
But how long will you pretend?
Keep lying that he's just a friend?
Perhaps your feelings you can never show.
Perhaps it's "wrong" for him to know.
Your friendship can't be risked over this,
So being his girl is an impossible wish...

Perceptions of Life

My career has always been one of my top priorities. I continue to work hard on my career. But sometimes I do feel that for all the hard work I put in the results I get could be much better. There are people who don’t put in half as much work that I put in, plagiarize others work, make the best possible use of sweet talk and use many other shortcuts to get there work done. So what should I do about it. I obviously cannot stop them from doing what they do. So should I also feel that all the work I am putting in is meaningless. That's when I remembered one of the great Quotes of Rancho from '3 Idiots'..

“Never try to be successful, pursue excellence
Success is the by product & the result
Excellence always creates Success & it is a process of continual improvement
Never run after success
Let it happen automatically in life”

I then realized that I work for works sake. I enjoy being a designer & I work without any expectations of money or fame. After all these five years, I can now say finally become a Purist! It is not about the marks, its all about the self satisfaction I get when I create my baby. And believe me this has worked for me in the past one year. When you work on anything with utmost passion, It gets reflected in your work. And I am happy that today, most of the professors think highly of my work.

But then again, my colleagues aren’t too pleased about it. For every single praise I get from my superiors, there is lot of backbiting and gossip aiming to malign me. It used to disturb me earlier. But now, I just pity them. Whenever I see someone doing better then me, I get influenced by them and try to emulate their qualities. I now feel that I better now as I no longer feel depressed due to the loneliness induced by others, whom I earlier called friends. The positive part is that I could finally separate the wheat from the chaff and get to know the people who are true to me.

Its not the quantity of friends that matters. Its their qualities that matter. I don’t feel the need to change myself for anyone’s sake. Neither do I feel the need to conform to the trends. If people accept me the way I am , its good. If people don’t, its even better. Ultimately, each one of us is fighting his or her lone battles. It’s my passion that remains my ultimate driving force.

South Canara – A Tropical Paradise in every way

It’s been a while since my last post. I finally found the time and urge to blog about after a refreshing trip to Karnataka. With lots of spare time on my hands owing to the ongoing vacations, I now begin to write my most detailed travelogue ever.
A family vacation is what everyone looks forward to.. But I had second thoughts about it.. My disinclination was mostly based on my exhaustion than anything else. I was fresh from the month long bombardment of exams and juries and all I needed was some time to unwind before commencing on any journey. My family practically forced me to join them and thank God they did. It would have been extremely unfortunate to have missed it.
I was wrong about the trip right from day one, I half expected it to be a sort of pilgrimage but it was in fact a delightful blend of fun & relaxation. The best part of the trip was that there was absolutely no planning involved as we had just decided to go the previous night before departure. With no booking whatsoever, we just went with the flow as we explored one location after another.
Our first stop was the coastal temple town of Udupi. We reached there in the morning & the ride there by bus was quiet pleasurable. There were these quaint little cottages with mangalore tiled roofs surrounded with lush greenery on all sides Some even had the backside of the cottages directly facing the sea. All that was required was a hammock tied between two coconut trees and Voila! you have your own house cum Beach resort. If a person ever gets bored of the sea (If at all such a thing is possible) there are always these thickly forested hills running adjacent to the sea side .With such abundant natural beauty, it is obvious that any person would fall in love with the place.
We visited the Shri Krishna Temple & set off by car to Kollur travelling across the Mukambika Wildlife Sanctuary and then to Shringeri travelling across the dense Agumbe Forest where it was dark even during mid noon time as the sunlight had to trickle down through the dense vegetation.
We also had a delightful drive across the Kudremukh Wildlife Sanctuary (Kudremukh being the highest peak of Karnataka) & then continued our journey covering many important spiritual locations before finally reaching Mangalore.
Mangalore was nothing similar to what I had in mind. It is a hip & vibrant city filled with classy hotel and malls. Our favourite pastime was to keep an eye on the continuous flow of visitors going to the mall from our hotel room window. I sort of felt that people did more shopping there then in Mumbai. Some parts did however retain the old world charm, with their winding irregular streets & mangalore tiled houses. The food there was simply superb & the pricing was nominal too.
The journey from Mangalore to Hassan took around 4hrs.Hassan is home to one of the most exquisitely carved series of temples in India. The temples of Halebid & Belur are famous all over the world with many foreign tourists streaming in at all times of the day. Then, there is also the gigantic monolithic statue of Gomateshwar in Shravanabelagola.
The terrain and the climate slowly started changing as we journeyed from the flat & dry plains of Hassan to the Mountainous & misty terrain of Coorg. We made a stop at Kushalnagar in Coorg District which is home to the Golden Temple situated in the SOS Tibetan village. We then crossed Madikeri to reach Talacauvery- the starting point of Cauvery river. We were welcomed by the Fog slowly creeping into the landscape & enveloping the Mountains above & the valleys below. Water is said to sprout from the spring in Talacauvery thrice in October. On our way back, we covered all the vanity points in Madikeri, including Omkareshwara temple which is built on the lines of a mosque.
I guess I so Karnataka at its best. I realized that there were so many pristine & scenic locations that a normal traveler may be unaware of, but I would prefer it to remain that way. The best guide a person can ever find is his own curiosity. That’s why I don’t usually prefer package tours. The satisfaction I get out of exploring a place on my own is much more than blindly following the tour operator & seeing what he wants me to see.
Some of the high points of the trip are:-
• Authentic Udupi food.
• Being mistaken for a Naxalite at the army security checkpost at the start of the Horanadu forest due to my attire (I had covered my face entirely to protect myself from heat & strong wind)
• A fox crossing our path while driving through Agumbe forest.
• Sipping hot piping tea in the middle of a tea plantation in Horanadu.

An interesting incident took place when I was returning from the trip via Chennai. It happened while the train was passing through Andhra .It made me want to go back to my roots so badly. Watch this space for more….

Matrix

The Matrix trilogy has always been an all-time favourite. It is an action , sci-fi movie deeply rooted in symbolism & philosophy. I found these religious interpretations of certain tracks of the movie definitely worth a mention..

The Matrix Revolutions: Symbolism


Symbolism of Names


Rama Kandra We meet Sati's father Rama Kandra in the Train Station but we first see him in Reloaded in Le Vrai Restaurant. He's being hauled off in this scene and we can assume this is tied to his negotiation with the Merovingian to get Sati out of the mainframe. Rama Kandra, (usually Ramchandra) was an incarnation of Vishnu in Hinduism. He destroyed demons in his quest to rid the world of evil.


Kamala Sati's mother Kamala is another name for Laksmi which is the Hindu goddess of wealth and good fortune.

The Rama Kandra family are tied closely to the themes of Hinduism in the Matrix. Bernard White, who played Rama Kandra told Cinescape magazine that he had a copy of the Bagavad Gita with him all the time during filming. He also did a live performance of the Bagavad Gita in L.A. and urged Matrix fans to see it because it's a 'great spiritual inspiration for the Matrix films'.


Club Hel The club that the Matrix crew visit to learn how to find Neo obviously stands for Hell. The Merovingian rules the 'underworld' here like Hades from Greek mythology. Hades was also the character who stole Persephone and forced her to live with him in Hell.


Trainman Programs are smuggled in and out of the Matrix by the Trainman. He built the Train Station program and the Merovingian controls what goes in and out.


Symbolism of Music


Navras
by Don Davis (found on the Revolutions Soundrack)


Navras plays over the closing credits of Revolutions, and the words of the main chant are taken from the Upanishads.

This is what you hear:

Asato ma sad gamaya,
tamaso ma jyotir gamaya,
mrtyor mamrtam gamaya.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.


Which translates to:

Lead us from darkness to the light,
Lead us from knowledge of the unreal to the real,
Lead us from fear of death to knowledge of our immortality.
Peace, peace, peace.


And if that doesn't symbolize the entire Matrix Trilogy, I don't know what does.