Showing posts with label Letter D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letter D. Show all posts

Saturday, April 04, 2020

D : Dogs / Saare Kutte #AtoZChallenge2020

Today in this blog post, I am experimenting. I am trying something I have never done before. It is a poem and that too in Hindi language (English translation included). So please be tolerant of this first time effort and excuse my mistakes. 

After reading George Orwell's books titled 1984 (review here) and Animal Farm (review here), my mind was agitated for a long time. I have had nihilistic thoughts. Belief that life is meaningless is not a good place to be in. When you can't rely on any kind of system or -ism, it is really a hopeless situation. These thoughts combined with the situation post lock-down, where humans are inside their homes and several animals / dogs have free run of the roads, made me write this poem. 

Poem Title: Saare Kutte / सारे कुत्ते / All Dogs









In Hindi / हिंदी में

कुत्ते भौंकें
कुत्ते काटें
काले कुत्ते, सफ़ेद कुत्ते, भूरे कुत्ते
सारे कुत्ते

कुत्ते पूँछ हिलाएं
कुत्ते पूँछ दबाएं
लंगड़े कुत्ते, लूले कुत्ते, अंधे कुत्ते
सारे कुत्ते

कुत्ते जीतें
कुत्ते हारें
धर्म निरपेक्ष कुत्ते, सम्प्रदायक कुत्ते, साम्यवादी कुत्ते
सारे कुत्ते

कुत्ते विरोध करें
कुत्ते विरोध का विरोध करें
जंगली कुत्ते, पालतू कुत्ते, हलके कुत्ते
सारे कुत्ते

कुत्ते चाटें
कुत्ते बांटें
प्रभावी कुत्ते, सम्मान्य कुत्ते, वैचारिक कुत्ते
सारे कुत्ते

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English Translation 

Dogs bark
Dogs bite
Black dogs, white dogs, brown dogs
All dogs

Dogs wag tails
Dogs have tails in between their legs
Lame dogs, limp dogs, blind dogs
All dogs

Dogs win
Dogs lose
Secular dogs, communal dogs, communist dogs
All dogs

Dogs oppose
Dogs oppose the opposition
Wild dogs, domestic dogs, rabid dogs
All dogs

Dogs lick
Dogs divide
Dominant dogs, Ordinary dogs, intellectual dogs
All dogs


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Previous Challenges : Letter D



Thursday, April 04, 2019

D : Death Scenes' Anatomy in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

Death is celebrated in Indian cinema like no other cinema. More so, the ones which take place near the climax, especially, if a lead protagonist is dying. The way the film-makers write these death scenes, or the way they shoot them, and the way the actors give their best in these scenes, clearly shows the effort. As most Hindi films end on a happy note, where all issues are resolved and where all knots are untied, death of a lead protagonist in a climax of a Hindi film is a rarity. 

Death that occurs early in a film serves three purposes according to my limited knowledge:

1. It sets into motion a revenge saga. (example : Sholay and all Telugu language films dubbed in Hindi, we get to see on Set Max)

2. It sets into motion a suspense film or a thriller. Either the dying person reveals half a secret and the film is about completely unraveling it or one has to find the killer by the end. (examples : Khiladi, Baazigar and all the decent films, director duo, Abbas-Mustan made before they launched RACE franchisee) 

3. It sets into motion a coming of age drama (example: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where Karan Johar really milked the death scene, while other coming of age dramas are just about the death of dreams)

Coming back to death scenes of lead protagonists in climax of Hindi films. There are several movies that got it right. They did it with right amount of pathos and relevance. I really had goosebumps at the end of Rang De Basanti. And who can forget the climax of Anand, where a recorded message of the dying protagonist, makes the audience tear up! Watch it below.



But then the theme of my challenge is Bollywood Cliches. So I have to talk about those death scenes, which last for eternity. This cliche is  most common in those Hindi films which end with a series of fight scenes, where good eventually triumphs over the evil. But it takes a really long route. Almost 30 minutes. Here is the anatomy of that done to death (pun unintended) , Death Scene. 

0 - 5 minutes: Hero kills and maims almost everyone on the wrong side. But he gets hit by two bullets - one near his heart and other in the back during those 5 minutes.

6-10 minutes: Hero is about to kill the villain, when a loyal goon in the villain's gang back stabs the hero with a knife. What bullets couldn't achieve, a knife does dramatically. Hero falls to the ground and there is no chance of his revival. Villain appreciates the goon and gives him an on the spot appraisal. They celebrate the hero's death with really cheesy dialogues.

11-15 minutes: The hero's mother or wife or daughter (woman power) will shout and ask the hero to get up. Hero takes blows out a deep breath and dust flies around his face. (Cue for audience to clap). His one eye opens and then the other. Hero gets on his two feet without the villain realizing it. Hindi film villains are dumb. He then kills the villain, but not before the villain shoots another bullet in hero's heart. 

16-30 minutes: Villain is dead. Irreversibly. Period! But Hero falls down again though cushioned by a woman's embrace. Now is time for homilies. Last wishes. And the will. And the promises of meeting in next life. No one calls an ambulance. No one gives first aid or CPR. Police arrives, late as usual (another cliche in Hindi films). Hero gathers energy and gives his testimony. He also hands over the evidence against the gang, so that police can dismantle the network of the dead don. Police immediately awards him with a medal and a salute. Hero says, Äah! Maa! Aah ! Mala ! Aah!  Devki! . Exactly three Aah's with interchangeable names of women in his life and dies. Just like that.

On the screen Appears THE END.

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Wednesday, April 04, 2018

D : Do's and Don'ts of Life #AtoZchallenge



The moment you are born till the time you die, you live by a code. A code, that is hard wired into your brains by the society. As you grow up, you see some people going beyond the code, or even breaking it. Some of them end up in jail (Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh) and others in politics (Arvind Kejriwal). It is amazing how Laloo Prasad Yadav has managed both. Salute!

And then there are few crazy ones whom you idolize. Like Salman Khan! (The hero of a superb film, Tere Naam)! He is different. He has succeeded as an actor without knowing acting. His biceps have better acting chops and dancing skills. He is not your regular Joe, who lives by a code. Thus he generates hysteria among his acolytes. His acolytes then normalize his divergent behavior by making it a code. They even standardized the hair cut that made niqab (veil) proud.

But what is this code? It is a certain set of Do's and Don'ts which you have to abide by. Let us look at the code by which Salman Khan's fans live by - 

Do's - Go to gym. Drink Protein Shake. Go Home. Drink something else. Drive on the footpath.

Don'ts -Don't Care about money (Read black money bucks). Don't do Hard work. Don't give a damn!

I got inspired by this and thought of drafting a code for a particular segment of people as defined below:

Males, Age 18 - 30 years, MBAs with engineering degrees

Disclaimer: This category already lives by this code. I have just drafted it. So at best, this work is derivative. 

Do's & Dont's 

1. Engineering degree is a pre-requisite for an MBA.
1. Don't use that degree to get a job and be productive before MBA.

2. Drinking liquor is an important tool to complete your Engineering.
2. Don't mix soft drinks with hard liquor. That was for school.

3. Always ensure you have a friend who compiles class notes for you in Engineering.
3. Don't be that friend.

4. Drinking liquor is an important tool to complete your MBA.
4. Don't mix soda with hard liquor as water is good enough. Soda was for engineering.

5. Ensure you write something (min. 10 lines) as an answer to any question in your MBA exams. 
5. Don't do that if you are doing MBA in Finance.

6. Get placed in some damn company, some shitty job during MBA. Doesn't really matter which one.
6. Don't stay there for long.

7. Drinking liquor is an important tool to survive the first job.
7. Don't mix water with hard liquor. Ice is important to relieve pain. Water was for MBA.

8. Marry now. Very few good-natured and good-looking girls are left now. (Doctors, Big Data / Analytics' guys and those smart ones who chose to do an MBA in Finance, have cornered most of them)
8. Don't ask for dowry. (Customary Social Message)

Now you are married. Let her decide your Do's and Don'ts.


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My last year's challenge post from letter D was about Divinity Classes we had in school. Read it here.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is all about writing stories, anecdotes and observations from my life in form of easy to read listicles. You can read the theme reveal post here.



Wednesday, April 05, 2017

D : Divinity

I am a Sikh and not a very religious person, as far as wearing visible religious articles of faith are concerned or for that matter the rituals associated with it. It is not that I am allergic to these things. Just that I never felt a pressing need for the same or I am plain lazy to make effort or take out time for these things. 

That doesn't mean that I don't have faith in God or teachings of my religion, Sikhism. At the same time, I am not sure if I understand it completely and can interpret and imbibe all lessons properly. I always keep trying though and I think my God will be happy with that.

The topic for the day I have chosen is Divinity. To be more precise, divinity classes, I used to have in school. As it was a Sikh school, our divinity lessons were limited to Sikhism. (That is another point of discussion, that ideally kids should be taught about all religions and universalism in them. But let us keep that for another day. My theme for this challenge is to narrate anecdotes from life.) There were following key things taught to us in these classes:

1. Tales from Sikh History (Yes, Sikhism is a relatively new religion founded a little over 500 years ago and thus there is no mythology in these tales. In fact at any many points our Sikh Gurus fought wars against invaders and xenophobia. They sacrificed a lot for our nation.) Many of these tales were about morality and not about God. They are good lessons for children to grow up with. Like greed is bad. Sharing is important. Maintaining equanimity in happiness and sadness is key to be content and many more such lessons.

2. We learned about key people in our religion, like our Gurus and their contributions to the society. Like people who sacrificed for the right. They are perfect role models, if they are talked about to today's kids in a language and medium they understand. The key characters in Sikhism never denounced the household life. They all lived the way a normal man would. There were no miracles like in other religions. Our Guru's were teachers in true sense. Teachers of life. And those who follow them Sikhs or Students.

3. Gurbani (the Guru's word) written in our holy book Guru Granth Sahib (our eternal Guru). Well it is too large for kids, but yes we learned some parts of it which are meant to be recited daily. I was very enthusiastic as a kid. I learned at least 6 Banis by heart. (It is sad that now I can't recite them without reading). We were also taught the interpretation of these Banis, Shabds or Hymns. I used to participate in many contests related to Sikhism. I used to be part of few groups related to the same. I used to go to Gurudwara (Sikh holy temple) daily. No one could have imagined me to live such a hedonistic life in adulthood. But I still cherish those memories and they will always be important part of  my life. Whether I practice actively or not, just being aware of those lessons, those values makes me a better human being and I will keep striving to become even better,

As I mentioned above, I may not understand everything, but some key lessons I learnt from these Divinity classes or from Sikhism are:

Ek Onkar - There is one Universal God. (Why humans divide themselves on basis of religion is beyond me). You can google to get actual technical interpretation though. In fact in our Gurbani, the Gurus draw tales of other religions like Hinduism. There are people from other religions who have contributed hymns to our holy book.

Naam Japna - To meditate on God's name

Kirat Karna - To work hard and earn an honest living

Vand Chhakna - To share with others

You can get better interpretations of all this on some credible site. These are my takeaways.

Irrespective of how much I practice my religion, I believe even if I am able to imbibe these few lessons properly, I will achieve Nirvana.