Apni marzi se kahaan apne safar ke hum hain
Rukh hawaaon ka jidhar ka hai, udhar ke hum hain.
Pehle har cheez thi apni, magar ab lagta hai
Apne hi ghar mein kisi doosre ghar ke hum hain.
Waqt ke saath hai mittee ka safar sadiyon se
Kisko maloom, kahaan ke hain, kidhar ke hum hain.
Chalte rehte hain, ke chalna hai musaafir ka naseeb
Sochte rehte hain kis raah guzar ke hum hain.
Rukh hawaaon ka jidhar ka hai, udhar ke hum hain.
(Penned by Nida Fazli, Jagjit Singh's voice)
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a term coined by Joseph Heller in his novel 'Catch-22', describing a paradox in a law, regulation or practice in which one is a victim regardless of the choice one makes (Source: Wikipedia).
Someone named me a ‘Catch-22’ recently. “Heck even your birthday falls on the twenty second!” he said. I dunno, mebbe apt…
Someone named me a ‘Catch-22’ recently. “Heck even your birthday falls on the twenty second!” he said. I dunno, mebbe apt…
Dreams
Ever experienced waking up in the midst of a beautiful dream? The sudden pang of being unceremoniously thrown into the reality….The very first reaction is, damn why did it have to end?? And then you try your best to fall back to sleep again, hoping that the mind would continue to dream just where it had left off. But reality mocks at you again, and you realize your mind is concentrating on everything but falling asleep. It leaves you frustrated and agitated. You painfully realize that it will not be possible to return to the dream again. By now your mind is fully awake, and you reflect back on the beautiful dream. Aaahhh, it was so lovely, you dearly wish it was the reality. But you know that can never be. Dreams are only transitory companions that give you the best times while they last, but leave you frustrated and wanting for more when they are gone. And then you think, I was much more content when I went to sleep, and I have woken up seeing the best that could ever be, but hungry for more, and discontent with the reality, which is in fact my only one constant companion.
So do I really want to go back to my dream? Maybe not…..
So do I really want to go back to my dream? Maybe not…..
Friday, January 18, 2008
Hysteria
What’s all the fuss? There’s commotion everywhere I look, in whatever I hear, in whatever I feel. Everyone is just scurrying around…rats claiming their stake on the bread before it’s their own turn to be prey to the cats. There is no logic, no order, no sense.
I am confused. I try to look at the bigger picture. I try to find my answers in alternate sources. The ultimate creator was surely not in a good mood when he decided to create humans. Certainly not his best creation, are we?
But I find the same emptiness everywhere. The same signature lack of substance. I come back more disoriented than ever. Would the world ever make sense to me? Would I ever be able to communicate with it? I think I’m yelling but noone’s listening. I think I’m crying but noone’s looking. I think I’m bleeding but noone’s caring. I think I’m living but noone’s noticing.
Such shallowness, everyone’s just talking, it’s so crowded in here. Where is my peace? Who will give me my answers?
I need to find logic in this disorder. Need to find a world within myself. The answers lie within me. I am the power I need. I need to close my eyes, shut my ears and numb my senses to the rest of them, and find my peace within.
I am confused. I try to look at the bigger picture. I try to find my answers in alternate sources. The ultimate creator was surely not in a good mood when he decided to create humans. Certainly not his best creation, are we?
But I find the same emptiness everywhere. The same signature lack of substance. I come back more disoriented than ever. Would the world ever make sense to me? Would I ever be able to communicate with it? I think I’m yelling but noone’s listening. I think I’m crying but noone’s looking. I think I’m bleeding but noone’s caring. I think I’m living but noone’s noticing.
Such shallowness, everyone’s just talking, it’s so crowded in here. Where is my peace? Who will give me my answers?
I need to find logic in this disorder. Need to find a world within myself. The answers lie within me. I am the power I need. I need to close my eyes, shut my ears and numb my senses to the rest of them, and find my peace within.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
New Beginnings
End of a yet another year, start of a new one.
The entire humankind celebrated and welcomed 2008 into their lives unanimously on the morning of 1st January at 12 am. I was at Times Square at the time and the countdown to the new year began 20 seconds earlier. The thousands gathered there could not wait to usher in the new year with smiles and cheers.
I was one of them too. I chimed in with the rest of the crowd, counting down from 20 to 0, eagerly awaiting 12 am. I felt like this is the end of all troubles, and I am starting afresh a year of hope, smiles and joy.
Ironically, the minute of 2008’s 12.00 am felt just like 2007’s 11.59 pm. It still consisted of 60 seconds. The weather was just as cold as the last minute, and the wind blew just as strong on the streets of New York, chilling us all to our bones. So what really changed? Who did we fool? What did we really celebrate?
Why do we always look out for new starts, fresh beginnings and resetting the counter. Why are resolutions not made on the 29th August just as they are made on the 31st December? Why are we so eager to get rid of the very year that we had so enthusiastically welcomed just a year back?
This tendency is not just limited to start of a new year. We have similar tendencies towards our jobs, relationships, and almost everything else in our lives. We always want to start afresh, experience something new. Most of the times there really may be nothing new in what we welcome. However just the idea of ‘new’ is enough to retain our curiosity and enthusiasm.
I think it is our way of telling ourselves that there is still hope. That all is not over. There is still something in store. And being the optimists we are, we hope that whatever’s in store for us will be good. And if that does not turn out to be true, next year we will be as enthusiastic to throw away 2008, and direct our hopes towards 2009.
Well as long as the human race is churning in this wheel of hope and disappointment, atleast the one thing we can all be thankful for is that we are alive and will be able to experience the seasons and songs, tears and joy of a whole new year.
Happy New Year to everyone!
The entire humankind celebrated and welcomed 2008 into their lives unanimously on the morning of 1st January at 12 am. I was at Times Square at the time and the countdown to the new year began 20 seconds earlier. The thousands gathered there could not wait to usher in the new year with smiles and cheers.
I was one of them too. I chimed in with the rest of the crowd, counting down from 20 to 0, eagerly awaiting 12 am. I felt like this is the end of all troubles, and I am starting afresh a year of hope, smiles and joy.
Ironically, the minute of 2008’s 12.00 am felt just like 2007’s 11.59 pm. It still consisted of 60 seconds. The weather was just as cold as the last minute, and the wind blew just as strong on the streets of New York, chilling us all to our bones. So what really changed? Who did we fool? What did we really celebrate?
Why do we always look out for new starts, fresh beginnings and resetting the counter. Why are resolutions not made on the 29th August just as they are made on the 31st December? Why are we so eager to get rid of the very year that we had so enthusiastically welcomed just a year back?
This tendency is not just limited to start of a new year. We have similar tendencies towards our jobs, relationships, and almost everything else in our lives. We always want to start afresh, experience something new. Most of the times there really may be nothing new in what we welcome. However just the idea of ‘new’ is enough to retain our curiosity and enthusiasm.
I think it is our way of telling ourselves that there is still hope. That all is not over. There is still something in store. And being the optimists we are, we hope that whatever’s in store for us will be good. And if that does not turn out to be true, next year we will be as enthusiastic to throw away 2008, and direct our hopes towards 2009.
Well as long as the human race is churning in this wheel of hope and disappointment, atleast the one thing we can all be thankful for is that we are alive and will be able to experience the seasons and songs, tears and joy of a whole new year.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Hung Jury
Last evening I watched the Hindi movie 'Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'. The movie has 12 theatre actors playing members of a jury that have assembled in a room to arrive at a verdict to acquit or convict a young boy charged with his father's murder.
A pretty interesting plot, but how did this movie take birth in India? I thought. Indian law does not go by the jury system. A little research pointed that the movie is a replica of the English and original version called '12 Angry Men'. I am very inquisitive to watch the original version and will definitely do that as soon as I can.
Nevertheless, the Hindi version impressed me, and sent me on a thought trail. The plot is really manifold. There are a lot of important human traits hidden in this little story. Some of them caught my attention and amazed me at the fact that using such a simple setting the story-teller has been successful in actually portraying so many aspects.
The story starts with 12 jury members casting their vote to acquit or convict the charge. 11 of them vote to convict, whereas only one member votes for acquittal. The 11 unanimous jurors are absolutely certain that the boy being tried of murder is guilty. The 1 member that votes against it is not sure if the boy is guilty, and that's why he wants brainstorming to go through all pieces of the puzzle again, in order to determine for sure what his verdict should be.
He believes that dialogue about the facts will help reveal the truth. However, the dialogue mostly tends towards being personal on the jurors themselves, because of the lack of patience and the want to participate on the part of all but that one juror, and also because of the diversified attitudes and personalities of each of the jurors.
But with his patience and knack for the finer details, piece by piece he disproves all the claims of the remaining jurors on why they think the charge is guilty. He forces them to think again, and think from a different perspective, that they had completely missed out the first time. Here what struck me is the portrayal of how difficult and challenging it is to make a person change his mind! Most of us are so rigid about what we think that we refuse to consider another view only because we want to stand by what we think. We want to prove that we are right and are too stubborn to let go.
It was also shown that most of the 11 jurors gave a 'guilty' verdict based only on what looked from the outside as obvious, without taking the trouble of understanding the claims of the prosecution in depth. This reflects on our lazy attitude to take things as they come to us, and generally do what the rest of the majority is doing, because that is the more convenient path to take.
One by one, the 1 juror is successful in changing the minds of the rest. He makes them realize that their opinion is based not on facts, but rather on their own past experiences, biases and conveniences. Aren't all of our decisions taken in the same way? We forget what the facts say and do things out of habit, apprehensions/learning from past experiences, and most likely our prejudices based on our beliefs.
Lastly, what impressed me is the belief, confidence and patience of the 1 juror, who at the end is successful in instigating the rest of them to reconsider their decisions, look at the facts from another perspective, and finally reverse their votes, and end with a unanimous verdict of 'not guilty'. He believed in himself and did not 'follow the herd' and believe in what looked like the obvious from the outside without justly investigating the matter. Any amount of ridicule, blame and anger from the rest of the jurors did not deter him to waver from his belief. The patience with which he conducted himself spoke of complete professionalism and non-egocentricity. I wish we could also conduct ourselves so emotionlessly and practically, especially at our work places!
All in all, it was a movie that had a lot to tell through the 12 personalities and their interaction.
(A 'Hung Jury' is a jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is deadlocked with irreconcilable differences of opinion.)
A pretty interesting plot, but how did this movie take birth in India? I thought. Indian law does not go by the jury system. A little research pointed that the movie is a replica of the English and original version called '12 Angry Men'. I am very inquisitive to watch the original version and will definitely do that as soon as I can.
Nevertheless, the Hindi version impressed me, and sent me on a thought trail. The plot is really manifold. There are a lot of important human traits hidden in this little story. Some of them caught my attention and amazed me at the fact that using such a simple setting the story-teller has been successful in actually portraying so many aspects.
The story starts with 12 jury members casting their vote to acquit or convict the charge. 11 of them vote to convict, whereas only one member votes for acquittal. The 11 unanimous jurors are absolutely certain that the boy being tried of murder is guilty. The 1 member that votes against it is not sure if the boy is guilty, and that's why he wants brainstorming to go through all pieces of the puzzle again, in order to determine for sure what his verdict should be.
He believes that dialogue about the facts will help reveal the truth. However, the dialogue mostly tends towards being personal on the jurors themselves, because of the lack of patience and the want to participate on the part of all but that one juror, and also because of the diversified attitudes and personalities of each of the jurors.
But with his patience and knack for the finer details, piece by piece he disproves all the claims of the remaining jurors on why they think the charge is guilty. He forces them to think again, and think from a different perspective, that they had completely missed out the first time. Here what struck me is the portrayal of how difficult and challenging it is to make a person change his mind! Most of us are so rigid about what we think that we refuse to consider another view only because we want to stand by what we think. We want to prove that we are right and are too stubborn to let go.
It was also shown that most of the 11 jurors gave a 'guilty' verdict based only on what looked from the outside as obvious, without taking the trouble of understanding the claims of the prosecution in depth. This reflects on our lazy attitude to take things as they come to us, and generally do what the rest of the majority is doing, because that is the more convenient path to take.
One by one, the 1 juror is successful in changing the minds of the rest. He makes them realize that their opinion is based not on facts, but rather on their own past experiences, biases and conveniences. Aren't all of our decisions taken in the same way? We forget what the facts say and do things out of habit, apprehensions/learning from past experiences, and most likely our prejudices based on our beliefs.
Lastly, what impressed me is the belief, confidence and patience of the 1 juror, who at the end is successful in instigating the rest of them to reconsider their decisions, look at the facts from another perspective, and finally reverse their votes, and end with a unanimous verdict of 'not guilty'. He believed in himself and did not 'follow the herd' and believe in what looked like the obvious from the outside without justly investigating the matter. Any amount of ridicule, blame and anger from the rest of the jurors did not deter him to waver from his belief. The patience with which he conducted himself spoke of complete professionalism and non-egocentricity. I wish we could also conduct ourselves so emotionlessly and practically, especially at our work places!
All in all, it was a movie that had a lot to tell through the 12 personalities and their interaction.
(A 'Hung Jury' is a jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is deadlocked with irreconcilable differences of opinion.)
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