Pause, break, and write a few letters!

Online, Offline, Away, Do Not Disturb, Last Seen or anything that indicates your online presence or absence – phew! So much, just because you are signed-on to multiple chat applications at a time in the name of better connectivity. This is a battle that is perhaps dealt with almost day in and day out in most of our lives. Easy accessibility just ruins the whole idea of longing for something you love. For now, the moment you long for something, the next moment it is with you (at least it is added to the cart) – anything from a product to a person. In the end, there is a lot of time left – so what follows is looking for reasons to whine about not being available online. “I saw you last at this time – but you never responded”, that’s what most of us hear. Well, how do you respond to this? Isn’t it a matter of choice or self-discretion?

Taking a detour for a change and going back to letter writing would give an immense sense of gratification and is an antidote to anxiety. It brings the mad rush to a grinding stop and ushers a new lease of life – letting you breathe easy. By all means it is time consuming – for it is the longer route that we are choosing to take – we are trying to break internet conventions – we don’t get to see the ‘’green’’ light indicating you are online – neither do we get to see the ‘’tick marks’’ denoting delivery of a message. In the event though, it teaches us a lesson, that of patience. The wait feels purposeful. We are not glued to the mobile phone in this case, you don’t become square-eyed looking at the phone; waiting for the notification to appear. There are other things that you might want to pay attention to, yet the degree of anticipation remains high. There is a lot of passion involved and the outcome, though sweaty, is sweet. When the letter does arrive at your doorstep, emotions reach the brim and flow out – because there is so much to read about and write a response to. As you read, the response forms up mentally and are translated into words.

Malayalam movie Ennu Ninte Moideen portrays this beautifully. Moideen and Kanchana Mala await each other’s letters with so many mixed emotions – tearfulness, sadness, anxiety, patience, happiness and what not? Yet the spirit of their love just does not wane. It only goes to show that true love never fails to understand. Beyond everything, being accessible/available all the time sort of brings the charm down. Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all. There is a whole lot of pain that you may need to endure, but it is definitely rewarding.

While it is not always possible to adapt this method of communication, it is certainly advisable to detox from internet, occasionally and experience life as it unfolds. It only helps to recharge our batteries and come back stronger – for it fortifies relationships much more than any other treatment. For this is a great exercise for the mind, body and soul, entirely.

Charlie

Watch Charlie, it is a celebration by itself – so I was told by a friend. The viewing was anyway a surety; albeit I was working up a sense of preparedness which in turn worked out positive! 

So the movie. This isn't really a review; or a story-revealing exercise. Those of you reading this post would anyway want to watch the movie, for the metaphor for Charlie shall be – Celebration. So even if you end up knowing aspects of the celebration, you would still want to go ahead and celebrate it yourself right? That's what I am hinting at – it is the way you experience Celebration. 

Charlie revolves around Kochi – a Kochi that is shown again and again in just about every other Malayalam movie. However this one, took a different route by making the city look vibrant, talking to us in colours – blue, fuchsia, gold, silver, green, yellow and orange. The lavish display of paintings and murals on walls on road and shop-sides were a sensory treat – it was as though the city was dipped in Biennale. 

And then there's Tessa – the first thing that attracted me to her was her feisty nose pin. Oxidised silver; forming thin concentric circles. Her way of dressing shows her free spirit all the way. Nothing obscene or vulgar. Just the right pieces of clothing with a great sense of colour combination. However there's her messiness – which makes her look imperfectly beautiful. Tessa wearing sandals from different pairs is talked about by her friend in fractions of seconds; the scene remains in my head. Girls who are otherwise shown as all dolled-up, Tessa beats all conventions! 

And then there's Kani – always tomboyish – riding a bullet, wearing full-sleeve cotton kurtas, with a bobbed hairdo. How she hits rock-bottom in life and rises up is something that is inspiring. Her way of essaying this role is adorable. 

Love can never let you down. This is beautifully proved with the story weaved around Nedumudi Venu and his teenage love. 

Then our man is here – Dulquer Salman, shown as an ever-elusive guy. Rugged clothing, a zombie so to say. The beard he sports is just perfect – the texture of his beard's hair and the thickness of his hair with a smile streaking past his cheeks. Every minutiae about this character is charming. 

End of story – do watch Charlie for more. 

Pongal Post

The teacher in the class would go –  write a "composition" on Festivals of India. As a child from 3rd or 4th standard, the very word "composition" meant only some write-up on a topic and nothing beyond; for it's just the assignment that would strongly come to mind. And so the festivals of India –  while Diwali is an easy pick, I always had more content for Pongal. The reason was very simple : we have Pongal, Mattu Pongal and then Kanum Pongal! Writing about all the 3 days of Pongal would easily fill the pages of the book for the composition. Oh and how could I forget Bogi!

As a city dweller, there are some standard images that come to mind and then put into words - Of colourful pots, beautifully adorned cows with the bell around their neckline dangling, making a resonating sound amidst the vehicles abuzz on the city streets. I always wanted to be in a village to experience Pongal for that is where the heart of this fest lies. "Kanum Pongal" actually would make more sense to a person from a village –  as a person in the city, we are anyway constantly in the process of seeing things - you wouldn't go to the beach or the movies simply on account of Kanum Pongal for it's a weekend getaway!

The whole Pongal paraphernalia feels fulfilling but leaves me wondering constantly : here's an Indian festival (that too South Indian), which is both on the menu as well as on the list of holidays!
Happy Pongal by the way!

The adorable street calf

If it's Pongal, then there needs to be sugarcane!

A lady at the Pot stall

Of clay and its shapes