Desires of a new year

The new year fairy is here…

Her extended wand swishing and waiting

May we have wealth..

Not the black, stashed, unaccounted, untaxed and looted

The pristine white, hard earned, accounted and fair

May we have beauty

Not the ‘botoxed’, starved, anorexic and plastered

The radiating, healthy and fresh

May we have health

Not the ‘antibiotic infused’, duped and misled

The real pink when all organs work in a beautiful rhythm

May we have relationship

Not the ones strung together merely by societal pressures

But bonded firmly at the roots, devoid of pretensions

May we have equality

Not the ones carved in monuments and uttered as lip service

But which gives every human and animal a fair chance to live and die

May we have peace

Not the ones spewed in beauty pageants and candle marches

The soft white that ensures no innocent human is massacred  

May we have tolerance

Not the ones stifled and scripted by the powers of the universe

The genuine acceptance for the other; sans bias and prejudice

And lastly may we have time

Not the rushed, plodded, mundane and reproachable

The ones where we live and breathe..mind, soul, beauty et al

Run Tiger Run

If you are Mal, then Mohanlal runs deep in your blood…the phenomenon who makes me weep every time I watch Chitram…the macho aura that stuns me with Devasuram..the cutest comic king that breaks me up into a mass of uncontrollable laughter with Nadodikat, Vellanakulade Naad..and these movies build an unshakeable foundation of loyalty towards this actor..and each time he does a “beneath Mohanlal” act, the loyalty raising his head and excuses it as a “miss” and pushes you back to the altar of worship!

And to this loyalty factor one must add the bloated ego of a Mal movie buff who always looks down upon other “woods” with disdain..especially the “Chinese fakes” or Bollywood masala version of classic Malayalam movies..this fatal mix of loyalty mixed with misplaced pride was devastated with the blockbuster called “Pulimurugan”.

And the years of Mohanlal worship could not stop me from shredding this movie to bits and loyalty for once decided to play fair and meekly surrendered! The only credit I can give is probably the fresh and green portrayal of the forest.. the beautifully captured streams, waterfalls, plants entertain you throughout the movie…and of course the tiger sequences and stunts are orchestrated with a touch of professional beauty!

If you keep aside the backdrop, the characters are created only for a single purpose  - to sing praises of “murugan” (the central character apart from the villainous tiger of course). The story itself is an unbelievable mythological cum action cum good vs. bad fable..the one consistent thread that runs through the story is Murugan slaying the “evil” tigers of the forest..and each time the story is stuck, a tiger starts mauling people and Murugan brings out his “Indiana Jones” equivalent outfit and gets to the task that he is born for…and he ends each killing with a signature move and of course the Murugan song…and that is probably the scene that did it..it brought down Malayalam movie into the “common” league of masala movies that make strange magnum opus movies to simply showcase the superstar as the exaggerated superhero…and characters and female actors are thrown in simply to enhance his machoism and exalt his numerous virtues…the characters are lifeless, reeking of artificiality…and to believe that these characters are born and bred in the forest is a tough pill to swallow!

Well, apart from the evil tiger in the forest, there is a parallel line outside ..a mélange of evil world of human gang lords (do not miss the sinister name of the villain – “DADDY”), deceit, “brotherly” sacrifices, the vamp lady trying to seduce Murugan and Murugan scintillating in equal measures inside and outside the forest! Phew I think that’s all that I could recollect as I walked out into the darkness of the night..ego and loyalty folded neatly into a pack and stuffed into my tote bag… holding on to one last hope…. that none of my friends have caught me watching this movie!

Corporate Conundrum

They prepared me for a colourful life ahead

And all I see is Monday blues

They said I would achieve dreams and beyond

But…my wings had to be clipped to fit the bell curve

They wanted creativity, motivation and spunk

But confined to the borders of a presentation

They eat, greet and meet..and words outrun actions

And all you hear is the constant din of murmurs…”strategy” and “out of the box”

They abuse and align authority and responsibility in cycles

And one never knows which side of authority or responsibility you are on

They call themselves the pay masters

And you realize that you are enslaved to a wage that drives your consumerism

They want to show you the growth path

And you see the marathon that you run everyday to Friday evening

They are always “sorry to disturb you at odd times”

But a deadline is just that….a line to reach dead or alive

They stand for transparency and open doors

And you realize the only transparent truth is your bonded business suit