Perspective is what matters!!!

I found this in my mailbox in the morning and it made my day!

The train has started moving. It is packed with people of all ages, mostly with the working men and women and young college guys and gals. Near the window, seated a old man with his 30 year old son. As the train moves by, the son is overwhelmed with joy as he was thrilled with the scenery outside.. " See dad, the scenery of green trees moving away is very beautiful"

This behavior from a thirty year old son made the other people feel strange about him. Every one started murmuring something or other about this son." This guy seems to be a krack.." newly married Anup whispered to his wife.

Suddenly it started raining... Rain drops fell on the travelers through the opened window. The Thirty year old son , filled with joy " see dad, how beautiful the rain is .."

Anup's wife got irritated with the rain drops spoiling her new suit. Anup ," cant you see its raining, you old man, if ur son is not feeling well get him soon to a mental asylum..and don't disturb public henceforth"

The old man hesitated first and then in a low tone replied " we are on the way back from hospital, my son got discharged today morning , he was a blind by birth, last week only he got his vision, these rain and nature are new to his eyes.. Please forgive us for the inconvenience caused..."

The things we see may be right from our perspective until we know the truth. But when we know the truth our reaction to that will hurt even us. So try to understand the problem better before taking a harsh action.

Most of us have a list of our favorite movies - the ones which we can watch anytime, no matter what our mood. For some, some movies even act as perfect "mood-lifters".

One of my all-time favorite movies is "Chalati ka naam gaadi". I don't remember when I watched this one first and I have certainly lost count of how many times I have watched it since in full or in part. There is nothing path-breaking about the story. The real-life siblings Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishor Kumar play brothers in the reel-life as well in this movie. The eldest brother Ashok Kumar who has been a boxer in his early life now runs a garage with his younger brothers. A girl he had loved when he was young had turned him down and that makes him a sort of misogynist. To top that, she was from a rich family so he believes that all rich people have the tendency to treat the have-nots in a shabby manner. To spare his younger brothers the same pain, he doesn't want his brothers to get involved with any woman.

But fate has something else in store for the brothers because one stormy rainy night brings Madhubala to the garage with her broken-down car. The melodious song "Ek ladki bheegi-bhaagi si" has been picturized very beautifully and Madhubala looks simply divine. No wonder, then that the youngest brother Mannu - played by Kishor Kumar - falls for her. The song 'ham the woh thi aur samaa rangeen samaz gaye na" though humorous has such a catchy tune that you can't help hum it to yourself. As a child, I used to love the line "Jaate the Japaan pahoch gaye Chin' so much that I remember looking through the world map to check out if it really was possible. It always used to remind me of Columbus who in his quest to discover India had discovered America instead! :-) Also the line that Anoop Kumar sings periodically "Mannu, tera hua ab mera kya hoga" in this song lifts up its "humor quotient" by leaps and bounds. Both songs make clever use of common tools used in garage in the background music of the song.

So now there is an element of conflict in the brothers' relationship. But there is no melodrama. The utter chaos and puzzlement that is created when Madhubala's presence is discovered in their house once and the boxing fight between Ashok Kumar and Kishor Kumar punctuated periodically by Anoop Kumar's "Bade Bhaiyya" is absolutely hilarious. Just when things start looking rosy the villains make their appearance in the form of K. N. Singh and Sajjan. Sajjan - under the able tutelage of K. N. Singh - is about to forcefully marry Madhubala for her money by holding her father hostage. But the three brothers foil his perfect plan. And in keeping with the "and they lived happily together thereafter" Ashok Kumar is reunited with his long-lost love as well.

As far as the cast goes, it comes as no surprise that Kishor Kumar steals the show as the adorable simple Mannu. I never did like Ashok Kumar much though he looked adorable as Dadaji in the 80s' TV show "Dada-dadi ki kahaniya". He always looked far too much serious for my taste but in this movie I liked him in the role of the eldest brother who loves his siblings and nurses the bitterness from his broken heart. Anoop Kumar doesn't have much scope as the middle sibling. He rather gets overshadowed by his two brothers - as much in reel life as in real life I suppose. But he does play the part of the middle brother - caught between fear for his elder's brother's rage and love for the mischievous younger one - perfectly.

Madhubala looks lovely as ever. What more can I say? It's tragic that she died so young. But that has kept her image young forever in the minds of her fans - sort of frozen in time. On the other side of the fight, K. N. Singh makes you want to murder him with his act of arching just one eye-brow to express surprise, anger and cunning. Some of us will remember Sajjan as the Vetal who harassed King Vikram - played by Arun Govil - in the popular children's program "Vikram aur Vetal" - again of the 80s, if I mistake not.

For some inexplicable reason, when I heard of Tata's Nano, I thought of the song "Babu, samazo ishaare horn pukare, pam pam pam, Yaha chalati ko gaadi kehte hai pyaare, pam pam pam". Maybe it was the picture of three simple ordinary brothers riding a car that formed the association with the "People's car". Not a bad idea for Nano to make this song its catchline, what say Mr. Ratan Tata?

I finished reading Benazir Bhutto’s “Daughter of the East” – the last few chapters detailing her brother Shah’s mysterious death, her return to Pakistan in 1986 and her marriage in 1987.

It was amusing to read how she kept her ever-chattering little niece next to her for what she calls as a “Protection” when she had dinner with her would-be husband and family. :-) Anyone who has gone through the process of an arranged marriage will identify with her situation. It is interesting though that the same Asif Zardari who at a time didn’t care much for politics saying that “one politician in the family is enough” is now the prime candidate for Pakistan’s Premiership!

In one of the last pages she mentions Pakistan being at the crossroads of democracy and continuing dictatorship in 1988. It’s ironic that the country found itself at the same crossroads 20 years down the line!

I couldn’t help draw parallel between her return to Pakistan in 1986 and in 2007. She has said in the book that she didn’t know what awaited her in Pakistan – life or death. But that she didn’t care and that she knew that whatever fate had in store for her wouldn’t change no matter where she went or what she did. Did she think the same in 2007? At one place she does mention that as the tear gas was fired someone pulled her through the sun-roof to protect her. Did the history fail to repeat itself in 2007?

And the larger question that will always remain unanswered for me. No, I am not talking about the mystery over who killed her. I am wondering about what prompted this lady to go through so much – lonely detentions, failing health, unsanitary prison conditions, death of the loved ones and a life filled with anxiety and uncertainties?

Let’s say it was her determination to bring democracy to Pakistan and also a desire to better the lot of her people. Then what about the corruption charges that she later faced?

Let’s say it was just the irresistible combination of money plus absolute power. But then did she willingly suffer so much for money? Can anyone?

Let’s say she started with a noble motive but then it was a case of “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
Then the most important question for democracy is – how to prevent this from happening?

Do stars affect the fates of the nations the way they affect the destinies of people as some claim? I am sure I have once seen an astrologer talk about India’s horoscope and predict her future.

But if it is so, didn’t India and Pakistan born practically at the same time when the British partitioned the country? Then how come their destinies are so different? I admit India is not perfect - we do have our share of problems. But when it comes to freedom, it’s not so grossly violated – at least for the majority of the population. We didn’t have to fight so hard for democracy.

Is that why we always take it for granted?

Is that why we never value it?

Is that why we so blatantly abuse it?

In moments of extreme frustration at things that won’t work or won’t improve in India, I have argued with friends that what India needs is a few years with a dictator who is carved from the same mold as Hitler or Saddam Hussein!

But as I read Benazir Bhutto’s “Daughter of the East” I am not sure anymore. What she writes about the unsanitary conditions in prisons and inhumane treatment of prisoners is disturbing enough but the efforts by the military regime to keep Pakistan away from democracy and the extent to which it could go to achieve that objective simply chills one’s marrow. I have read what Hitler did in Germany and it appalled me. Still, he came from a different culture. But when I read accounts of what the Zia regime did in Pakistan I was simply horror-struck because these people were part of India before partition. Somehow that made the danger very real, the horror more chilling. If it can happen in Pakistan, can it also happen in India?

Give me a democracy that is broken in few places any time, at least people can make an effort to improve it. I am not saying there are no political murders or tortures for those who dare to raise their voice in a democracy. But not on such a grand scale and not so blatantly! As I turn through the pages, I again and again thank God that India never had to go through a dictator phase. Touch wood!

I also console myself saying that maybe the media wasn’t so powerful then as it is today. I have written in one of my previous blogs about how the media has lately been showing tendency to blow tiny matters out of proportion but somehow I think I will tolerate that over any one sided propaganda by state sponsored media.

I could never understand how most countries preferred to look away while Hitler sent so many Jews to their death and got away with it. I also don’t understand how Zia could get away with Bhutto’s execution despite there being so many appeals for clemency from so many world leaders. I wonder what Amnesty International achieved by compiling reports on torture of political prisoners – including women prisoners. It seems very logical to keep your hands off internal affairs of another country but is it ethical when it’s a question of loss of human life and dignity?

Little professor Morrie might have answered all of Mitch Albom’s questions on life. But I still have a long list of questions of my own that didn’t get answered. Maybe I need to look for a professor Morrie of my own for the list is getting bigger each year:

Why does death frequently knock at the doors of those who have so much of life ahead of them and ignore those who have been praying for death?

Where do we draw a line between being contented for what we have and being complacent?

When we get along well with those who were perfect strangers till the very previous day is it because we knew them in some past life?

Is there such a thing as pure evil? If not, why do some people come so close to being it?

Should you listen to your heart or your brain?

And the billion dollar question - How much of money is really “enough”? :-)

One sentence that will always remain with me from Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie” is his referring to photographs as something stolen from the suitcase of death – an attempt to preserve memories of those who will eventually move on.

But if life is a mirage and death the only truth, then isn’t every breath we take, every moment we live something stolen from the suitcase of death? I don’t mean this in any morbid sense. What I mean to say is that once we know and accept this, we can live each moment fully.

I am also aware that it is impossible to do this every waking moment. We are blinded – only momentarily, if we are lucky – by ambition, hate, anger, frustration, love, sadness, jealousy, guilt, greed, in fact, by the whole rainbow of human emotions – every hue and color. That makes it difficult for us to experience the present moment, that compels us to be in the past or to worry about the future but not be in the present. I think we are doomed as humans to not always being “present”. However, as long as we think of death’s suitcase in a positive way we will be able to grab more and more moments out of its suitcase.

I am going to start this stealing game by recalling some of the best moments I seem to have stolen right from under death’s nose:

Coming home on the last day of the exams to grab the latest copy of my favorite kids’ magazine

News of topping the class after hours’ of nail-biting wait for the result

Excited packing of suitcases for a trip to my grandparents’ place during summer holidays

Cooking something that actually tasted great

Debating the end of a movie with a friend on the steps of my engineering college while the evening shadows gathered

Coming to college on a Saturday for a buddy study and chatting endlessly about movies instead

First shooting with a new camcorder

Every developed film roll

Para-gliding in Pattaya

Feeding a tiger cab nestled in my arms in Thailand

A pair of yellow and white tigers reclining majestically in Bannerghata

Walking through the mist at Lonavala

Reading Harry Potter

Reliving history at the light show at Golkonda Fort

Pressing yet another flower in an already over-flowing book

A completed jigsaw puzzle

Watching a path of moonlight carved through the night seas

Sunset cruise on Mandovi river…………

I am just warming to the game Mr. Death. I am ready, are you? :-)