call a spade a spade

i'm restless. i like things unpretentious. told like it is, seen like it is, appreciated (or not) for what it is, not what it isn't.

if something at a very base level appeals to me, i'm sold. i liked kalyug. there was a gripping pace to a good story, told with raw power that shook me well into the next day. i liked rang de basanti. the parallel of history as a backdrop with contemporary i thought was a brilliant premise... and refreshing. remember their expressions during the roobaroo song in the end? that's enough to buy my vote. oh and i enjoyed malaamal weekly. there was a genuineness to it -- a simplicity of execution that felt honest.

on the other hand, praise for people riding purely on physical beauty or name value riles me. ms rai being introduced as the icon of indian film or the international face of india is nothing short of laughable. while shah rukh khan has all the panache and chutzpah of a star, versatile acting is not his strength. there have been performances far superior to his even as he walked away with the awards. name value. star quality. ugh.

amir khan joined the narmada bachao andolan (nba)... eager fingers lost no time in rising and pointing accusingly at him. debates raged: should celebs join activists, do celebs help the activist cause... yada yada yada. the man is doing what he feels is right, or what he wants to. who is anyone else to judge or second-guess his motives? just on the basis of amir being a "celeb" makes him somehow unfit for having allegiances? or is it that he is a rich guy and thus must have ulterior motives in joining a high profile cause? i don't buy into either. i believe he truly wants to make a difference or bring meaning into an otherwise materialistic grinding urban existence...

on a different note, bloggers here are dissecting ads. that ads are no expositions of high truth is a given. they pick the voltas ad... people are decrying the "scientific principles" of the ad, the "patriotic jingoism" etc etc... when were ads "scientifically principled" for god's sake? did one dip in the frothing bucket of detergent ever bring out a school-boy's shirt ironed and crisp white?!! did a room ever fold up into a cell phone like it does in the amazing moto razr ad? show me one fairness cream which makes you fair enough to yes, go win a beauty contest?!! ads by their very nature are emotional, aspirational and yes, to some extent fantastic. their job is to aid brand recall and brand linkage and support a positioning strategy chosen by the company. No, no one will ever buy voltas in a fit of "patriotism" as the bloggers allude and snicker at, but hey -- if the company wants to tout its "made in India" image among the glut of korean, chinese and japanese AC makers as its positioning strategy, the ad is damn good at driving the point home. as for category and brand recall, it is emotional and explicit enough for the category recall and the brand is driven home like a bolt.

why do i care, tho? because my normally high tolerance falters, trembles and shakes in the face of blind adoration & false attributions.

sarfaroshii kii tamanna aaj mere dil mein hai...

la pura vida*

vida, you little girl
arrogant yet smart
the world at your fingertips
you make your own rules
and play by them so hard
nothing can stop you vida
vida, you little girl

you knew you could do anything
and you put your mind to it
talent was your ally
will power was your friend
as you reached for your dreams
nothing could stop you vida
vida, you young teen

you loved you cried
you wanted you tried
now your own little girl smiles
she grows with your dreams
come sun or rain you shine
nothing can stop you vida
vida, you young mother

but look around you
see things are changing
her carefree smile
exchanged for an unshed tear
his upright gait slumped
beside an empty crib
think! can nothing stop you vida
vida, you dreaming vida?

then again... remember little vida
you always favored the journey
over the destination, remember
the little things are what mattered
you enjoyed every small moment
yes, nothing stays the same
but let nothing stop you vida
not anything, not even vida itself

*vida is 'life' in Spanish; La Pura Vida = the pure life

patterns

The night sets softly
With the hush of falling leaves,
Casting shivering shadows
On the houses through the trees,
And the light from a street lamp
Paints a pattern on my wall,
Like the pieces of a puzzle
Or a child's uneven scrawl.

Up a narrow flight of stairs
In a narrow little room,
As I lie upon my bed
In the early evening gloom.
Impaled on my wall
My eyes can dimly see
The pattern of my life
And the puzzle that is me.
(Patterns, Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme, S&G)

a pretty-covered LP with art and paul lounging on it, inhabited long, warm afternoons in a bombay apartment shrouded with reverdure. this number stayed with me long after i moved out.

And the pattern still remains
On the wall where darkness fell,
And it's fitting that it should,
For in darkness I must dwell.
Like the color of my skin,
Or the day that I grow old,
My life is made of patterns
That can scarcely be controlled.