Heart'n'Soul
Thursday, November 8, 2007
A Mighty Heart
I saw the movie - "A Mighty Heart" a few days back. And it hasn't left my mind since then. I don’t remember coming across a story so powerful in a long long time. Except that it’s not a story, its reality...so extremely depressing and exceptionally inspiring at the same time. It’s not about Daniel Pearl, though I wonder if anyone will ever know what he went through and what he felt. Anyways, it’s about Mariane Pearl, his wife. A woman who despite being five months pregnant, did not lose courage and searched for her husband with all her capacity. A woman who did not give up till the end. Not even when her husband was beheaded cruelly. Instead she started afresh with a courage that’s not just exceptional but exemplary as well. Imagine a person who has to live all her life with the horrific truth of her brutally murdered husband as compared to people like us who would shun watching the tape of Daniel Pearl's murder even once.
She says "You choose fear, I choose hope. Let's see who wins.", to those who killed her husband and seek to harm others through violence and hatred. Revenge would have come easy and naturally to not just her but to anyone who would have been subjected to similar circumstances. But the true strength of a human being's character shines through only on such occasions where we chose to rise above our basic animal instincts. But at the same time forgiveness is too lame as an answer to extreme situations. It’s not a value strong enough to stand on. We must win some sort of victory over the people who have hurt us and we can only do that by denying the terrorists their goal. They try to kill everything in us – courage, hope, happiness. And instill in us a fear to live, a fear to live the way we want and a fear to live freely. The only way to oppose them is by demonstrating the strength they think they have taken from us - the strength to keep on living, to keep on valuing life, to be what we chose to be and not what they want us to be.
And so I salute the spirit of this tremendously brave lady. Truly "A Mighty Heart" - she, who is perceived as one of our "ordinary heroes" is certainly not ordinary at all.
She says "You choose fear, I choose hope. Let's see who wins.", to those who killed her husband and seek to harm others through violence and hatred. Revenge would have come easy and naturally to not just her but to anyone who would have been subjected to similar circumstances. But the true strength of a human being's character shines through only on such occasions where we chose to rise above our basic animal instincts. But at the same time forgiveness is too lame as an answer to extreme situations. It’s not a value strong enough to stand on. We must win some sort of victory over the people who have hurt us and we can only do that by denying the terrorists their goal. They try to kill everything in us – courage, hope, happiness. And instill in us a fear to live, a fear to live the way we want and a fear to live freely. The only way to oppose them is by demonstrating the strength they think they have taken from us - the strength to keep on living, to keep on valuing life, to be what we chose to be and not what they want us to be.
And so I salute the spirit of this tremendously brave lady. Truly "A Mighty Heart" - she, who is perceived as one of our "ordinary heroes" is certainly not ordinary at all.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Silent Beauty
For all those who have asked me why i named the blog "Silent Beauty"...its cuz this was the title of my first attempt at serious expression in the form of a poem... i liked it so much that some 10 yrs back i created my first email account also by the same name...anyway...here is the poem
The sun is drowning in the deepest of the blues, the dusk is approaching.
Far away on the horizon, hopes and aspirations are vanishing.
Far away on the horizon, hopes and aspirations are vanishing.
Deep down somewhere hurts something.
A bird fluttering, trying to fly with a bruised wing.
Quietly she comes draped in black.
The meek human pleads, “Go back! Go back!”
A wind of serenity surrounds her.
A stony silence that doesn’t stir.
Slowly and slowly the dreams fade away.
No difference seems in the night and the day.
And then she takes over the life’s sovereignty.
The time has come for the soul’s liberty.
As it yearns to fly to an unknown territory.
As it whispers so softly “Let go, set me free.”
Thus it holds her hand and blends into her.
Together they disappear in a heavy blur.
Now the ears are deaf to the countless cries, to the numerous hearts screaming,
And the eyes are blind to all the pain, to all the hearts bleeding.
Nothing is there that can be done.
The silent beauty has always won.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
I broke it yet AGAIN!!
It wasnt long ago that i danced...seems like a long long time now...but it is not. At that point of time, nothing could come between me and my practice session. Not even the fear of a bomb being planted in the same building. The day the delhi blasts happaned 2 yrs back around diwali, i was in delhi metro goin for my class, one bomb blast reported just when the train left the station...my mom wanted me to come back and i said no. After a few minutes a second bomb blast was reported on TV and my mom called again...i said no again....well a replay happened a few minutes later and i still said no.. My mom called to tell me that the area where i went to attend my classes, that is the Gol Market area has been reported to have a bomb. Wt do you think i did? Well i din say no this time. Instead i called the ppl who lived nearby and confirmed the scene and told my mom no.
But looks like moms have some connection or some kinda telepathy with God...and of all the things, they stopped the metros from going fwd and i had to come back though i din wan to. Even then i stayed at the metro station for bout 15-20 minutes thinkin bout wt to do, if i shud take an auto and go or if i should just go back cuz its not just wt mum wants but also cuz tht wud be safer. I called back my group mates again n well not many ppl turned up n the class was cancelled... well god sure listens to mom and makes sure she gets her way
Must sound foolish to most ppl but thn isnt thr a very thin line b/w passion and madness. I don know n i don care cuz dance is one thing i feel most passionately about. I can leave anything and everything for it. But then life is not perfect is it? Most ppl who know me well will be sayin "look whos talkin" cuz i guess i hav trouble acceptin stuff tht i don deserve but then like all, i gotta live with it too...and i am not ashamed anymore to admit that finally i am learnin to accept it and not be an escapist. Anyway, I cant make dance my profession cuz i have a weak foot and i cant dance for more than 2-3 hours and so i clearly can not do more than a hobby class.
It hurts...n i don mean just the foot(bad joke i know!)...it hurts everytime i see one of my fellow classmates makin it big and becomin splendid stage performers. Not that i am jealous...nah...just wanna be one of them and maybe even better. I know i could be only if i wud have listened to the doc. I opened my plaster 3 days before it was supposed to be opened and well, got back to dancin without proper rest. Too much enthu dosnt always help...and so i landed in myself in a permanent foot trouble and no scope of a dancing career.
Why do i write this, well cuz i broke my foot yet AGAIN. Huh n thts soooooooo me!!!
But i will never give up on dancin....cuz even this doesnt matter. My guru n my idol Shiamak says - have feet will dance...so dance i shall. I may not dance on a stage, but dance i will. I may not become a professional, but yeah baby...i will perform for myself. I will dance for myself cuz it makes ME happy. And dance i shall cuz its me...and so dear readers, i shall be partyin saturday night with a broken foot...i guess the sexy heels will have to stay in the cupboard and i will wear the boring flats. Nevrthless, i am gonna rock the dance floor!!!
But looks like moms have some connection or some kinda telepathy with God...and of all the things, they stopped the metros from going fwd and i had to come back though i din wan to. Even then i stayed at the metro station for bout 15-20 minutes thinkin bout wt to do, if i shud take an auto and go or if i should just go back cuz its not just wt mum wants but also cuz tht wud be safer. I called back my group mates again n well not many ppl turned up n the class was cancelled... well god sure listens to mom and makes sure she gets her way
Must sound foolish to most ppl but thn isnt thr a very thin line b/w passion and madness. I don know n i don care cuz dance is one thing i feel most passionately about. I can leave anything and everything for it. But then life is not perfect is it? Most ppl who know me well will be sayin "look whos talkin" cuz i guess i hav trouble acceptin stuff tht i don deserve but then like all, i gotta live with it too...and i am not ashamed anymore to admit that finally i am learnin to accept it and not be an escapist. Anyway, I cant make dance my profession cuz i have a weak foot and i cant dance for more than 2-3 hours and so i clearly can not do more than a hobby class.
It hurts...n i don mean just the foot(bad joke i know!)...it hurts everytime i see one of my fellow classmates makin it big and becomin splendid stage performers. Not that i am jealous...nah...just wanna be one of them and maybe even better. I know i could be only if i wud have listened to the doc. I opened my plaster 3 days before it was supposed to be opened and well, got back to dancin without proper rest. Too much enthu dosnt always help...and so i landed in myself in a permanent foot trouble and no scope of a dancing career.
Why do i write this, well cuz i broke my foot yet AGAIN. Huh n thts soooooooo me!!!
But i will never give up on dancin....cuz even this doesnt matter. My guru n my idol Shiamak says - have feet will dance...so dance i shall. I may not dance on a stage, but dance i will. I may not become a professional, but yeah baby...i will perform for myself. I will dance for myself cuz it makes ME happy. And dance i shall cuz its me...and so dear readers, i shall be partyin saturday night with a broken foot...i guess the sexy heels will have to stay in the cupboard and i will wear the boring flats. Nevrthless, i am gonna rock the dance floor!!!
