Day trip to Watson’s Bay

After the festivities and high spirits of the Vishu celebrations, was the next catch-up going to see a bit of a lull? Nah. Not among our “Changayimar”! It was a catch-up, day trip, adventure, and bonding exercise ..all rolled into one fun-filled day!

On a bright and sunny autumn weekend on the 27th of May, we headed out for a day trip to Watson’s Bay - a peninsula situated on the east side of Sydney harbor. A bunch of new faces, some recent friends, and long-timers all came together for a fun meet-up and walk, along the beautiful bayside. Having got together at Circular Quay, we then proceeded to board the ferry from Wharf 2 to our destination. Off the ferry went, skimming on the blue waters, the Sydney skyline disappearing behind us and onwards among a multitude of white little sailboats. At Watson’s Bay, the ferry arrived on a wooden pier hugged on the beach end by a floating restaurant called Doyle’s - a renowned landmark in the area having stood in the same location since 1885!

The group convened here for our first group photo of the day! What a lot of hugging and hand shaking, exchange of introductions and so much warmth there was, like a bunch of old school mates really !!

Right near the landing was Robertson Park - a beautiful space with manicured lawns and quaint white park benches, welcoming the troop onshore. From there we set off across the park, to our first stop for the day - ‘The Gap’ - an ocean cliff, facing the Tasman Sea. The lookout point offers amazing views of the blue waves crashing onto the steep vertical cliff faces. We followed the walkway to a slightly higher viewpoint and after having spent some time sightseeing, taking photos, and merry-making, we returned to base camp. The party broke up to buy lunch and regrouped at the aforementioned park benches for a sit-down meal and more conversations. Afterward, we found a sunny spot nearby and settled down in a circle for a round of friendly introductions and everyone participated with full enthusiasm, asking questions and getting to know each other really well.

The second leg of the day was the expedition towards Hornby Lighthouse. It was an easy walk, peppered with amazing views and lots of laughter. The first stop was Camp Cove Beach - a cute little beach tucked away from the crowds with beautiful beach views. From there we walked along the shoreline, navigating neatly constructed pathways, climbing slowly toward the top of the cliff face, and finally reaching the Hornby lighthouse. Along the path were breathtaking views of the ocean on our left side, with different types of boats gliding along the waves, glimmering in the afternoon sun. The weather was perfect with the gentle warm sun and lovely breeze. At the top, we regrouped again for group photos against the stunning backdrop. Needless to say, everyone went crazy taking a zillion photographs. We found a resting spot near the lighthouse where many of us were seen taking in the scenery sitting on top of the cliff face. After spending some more happy time near the lighthouse, we started our slow descent and walked back to the wharf side. A gentle sunset accompanied us as we took the return ferry from Watson’s Bay to Circular Quay, hugs and kisses followed as we said bye-byes and went our way home.

A beautiful day, spent at a beautiful location with amazing friends - could it get any better? Not that I know!

When life feels weary with all of its struggles, here is this space of friendship and camaraderie, that has been built up with a lot of care and love - the Changayimar group - just come and spent some time and one is sure to get all refreshed and recharged. It is the loving energy that each one of us exudes whenever we come together that makes this possible. To us, our group, and the future - hip hip hurray !!!

Luca Movie Review

Review Summary

A movie mixed in equal parts with romance and intrigue, artistic vibes and gloom, but found wanting in the making department.

Directed by Arun Bose

Starring          Tovino Thomas, Ahaana Krishna

Rating              2.5 /5

*Spoiler Alert

Review 

The opening credits roll by with beautiful visuals and background music, showing a man on a bike in heavy rain – the man is a cop investigating the death of an artist and the rain, his constant companion. When the movie opens, Luca - the eponymous hero played by Tovino Thomas, is already dead. The cop, Akbar - played by Nithin George, takes stock of the situation and gets the investigation rolling. The investigation follows the stories of Luca and Niharika through the journals of Niharika. Akbar, as we find out later, is entangled in his own weakly explained personal struggle. He has decided to “give divorce” to his wife because he is unable to forget his ex and would like to set the wife free. Wife is compliant with Akbar’s wishes as they are also good friends as he keeps reiterating.

Cut to Luca.

Luca is a reasonably successful artist and has a brilliant installation at the Kochi Biennale, built all from trash over months of effort and is a beautiful exhibit. Niharika, an industrial chemistry PhD student in Kochi as part of her research, walks in with zero knowledge or taste and well, trashes it. The artist overhears this and quibbles and tada, hero meets heroine. This is so relatable though; people with little insight dissing masterpieces being my current pet peeve and all. *rolls eyes*

Anyway, what matters is that they meet, her a precocious, hard-nosed girl and him, a dreamer and childlike. In a classical case of opposites attract, they fall in love, but not before an endearing friendship. Now here’s a relationship arc that can be tagged #relationshipgoals. The ‘Ore Kannal’ song is a happy, peppy number set to beautiful visuals which brings alive the artsy vibes of Luca’s world and introduces it to Niha as well as the audience. Music and camera are two nicely executed departments in this movie.

All is not hunky dory in their world and they have their own personal demons to battle.

Niharika was sexually abused as a child by her maternal uncle and it is portrayed through a telling depiction of the child’s trauma and confusion. It is this bitterness that forces her into a shell as she struggles to deal with the ordeal all by herself. Niharika’s encounters with her abuser changes in nature overtime as she slowly learns to stand up for herself and is able to better take care of herself. Her dilemma though at having to act normal around her abuser in order to keep the secret from her mother, to whom he is a pillar of strength, is a reflection of her sad reality. How tragic it is when a child has to grow up before its time and lose out on childhood in order to protect the parent from emotional distress. Could this also be why girls mature faster than boys, not because it’s the law of nature but it simply is never safe enough for a girl child?

Later when the investigators learn about her travails from her journal, the assistant who is also an adoptive parent is incensed and seethes resoundingly, “If ever a child’s face is dull, the parents get so anxious thinking about what could be the matter. Then how can blood relatives do this to a child? And how can the parents not know ??”.

Luca, on the other hand, struggles from phobias and panic attacks – he is phobic to death and anything related to it. He is shown to be disturbed after seeing a dead fish and faints after seeing a dead body. His condition is explained to have been triggered by seeing his father’s suicide as a child and his mother’s sudden demise in the recent past. Art is his escape and therapy from such debilitating mental health issues. These two discordant souls fall into perfect sync and become each other’s support systems in a short period of time.

Through it all, Luca shines as a sweet and romantic yet vulnerable and dependent person who is at times protected by his stronger girlfriend. As a friend, he makes her feel welcome in his house and his world but the doors are left open because it is her decision whether to stay or not. As a lover, he has no qualms in openly admitting that there are more chances of her leaving him than the other way around. And under difficult circumstances, he chooses for her to leave rather than stay and suffer with him. In our mind-fucked world of acid attacks and other revenge crimes in the name of love, and obsessive, toxic relationships as espoused by the movie Kabir Singh, Luca is hope. Luca shows us a love that’s selfless, tender and enriching.

To people who say Kabir Singh is just a movie, don’t over analyze it – it’s regressive enough to not want to take a second look, thank you very much. But bear with me a second. Contrast the relationships portrayed in both movies. Here, there is friendship and getting to know each other phase, personal space and freedom, and a relationship on equal terms. In Kabir Singh, he decides straight away about their relationship and warns all the other guys away, she sleepwalks into it, there is emotional abuse and (lots of) substance abuse, and basically an owner-doormat relationship. In the first case, characters could be reversed and the relationship would still stand – that’s an equal relationship. In the second case, can you think of role reversal at all? That’s why its unequal and holds zero value for the girl.

From such happy premises to the lead character’s sudden, unexplained death is a whodunit that gives the movie it’s intrigue quotient. Neither the red herrings nor the actual ending does any justice though.

Two things stuck out from the death scene – a dead man kept lying in the rain – who does that? Why was he not shifted inside but kept lying outside in the rain, except for the dramatic appeal? Also, in the same scene, the cop does not get drenched as he walks back inside without an umbrella even though it is still raining. This quirk of the rain is seen again in another scene where the cop and his side kick are seen having tea outdoors with rain in the background but the characters remain untouched. In fact, the rain is so omnipresent in all of the cop scenes that it gets downright annoying after a few scenes. It made me sick wondering how much water was wasted to shoot those scenes when there are places like Chennai that went into drought this summer. The rain is so ubiquitous and heavily so, that I kept waiting for some sort of significance to crop up in the story. Other than the allusion to the fact that the lovers did not live long enough to drench in the rains together as they had hoped, and the cop’s personal misery, there’s nothing else that calls for so much rain! This could have been conveyed through a couple of actual rain shots and some shots of puddles or dripping leaves etc!? I mean I have never been so annoyed with rains before!

Tovino lives and breathes as Luca on screen, but the same cannot be said for Ahaana Krishna. There were a couple of jarring cuts and the sub titles lagged behind the dialogues. So technical department was not really up to the mark. Some dialogues sounded too artificial like where Niha talks about feeling like her childhood had kickstarted again and the way she explains her visit in their second encounter.

The parallel track of Akbar’s personal life and the characters therein were not fleshed out enough. Their dialogues felt very artificial and scripted. The clipped conversations and stiff body language between Akbar and his wife seemed contrived. It seems inconclusive that Akbar who goes after a mostly suicide looking death just on a hunch, does not bother to find out why his ex left and lives on in her memories rather than do something about it. And even that, after going through Niharika’s journal which really talks about a until-death-do-us-apart style love story , decides to let go of his own and move on .If it’s because it was his wife that gave him a nudge in the right direction before the puzzle solved itself , was that all it took ? What if that pointer had come from somewhere else, like a colleague?

All in all, the movie works in parts and would have worked well as a longer duration short film. The social aspects that peeked through like adoption, child abuse, healthy relationship etc were good. The music, visuals and art work were beautifully done. In the end, it was a mixed bag that could have been executed way better. It had the potential ya know!

A Sudden Happiness

Its been raining heavily this morning . The sky was so grey and overcast that it looked more like the dusk than the dawn today . I woke up to the incessant ringing of my mobile alarm , but I wasn't dragging my feet like most days  . Today I woke up with a spring ,fresh from the sleep and strangely ,wanting no more . The scene outside my big sitting room window was white like fog , only it turned out to be rain upon closer inspection . Now rains early in the morn is usual back home in Kerala .In Bangalore though the rain times itself more conveniently towards the evenings  .So this was unexpected  .

No matter that I got ready quickly I was still running late for my early  morning bus to the office. When I got out of the house , the rain was a heavy drizzle,water flowing on the roads and I had to splash my way through . Luckily I got an auto to take me the rest of the couple of hundred meters to where my bus usually waits . But today no bus ! Oh no , not today .. Quick thinking and I asked the auto to speed on to the next stop where the bus takes a loop around the block and arrives  . I cut to the chase quite literally and went there straight and voila , minutes after I reached ,the bus snaked its way slowly there  . Thus relieved , I climbed into the bus , settled myself in and after a quick status check call with the husband , snoozed off  .Head lolling ,wrapped in a warm stole and eyeing the heavy downpour whenever I shook awake ,I reached the office around the regular time . Rain or no rain , the morning traffic seems to be kinder to the office goers in this traffic nightmarish city .

I alighted in front of my office building and splashing my way even more than earlier , I made my way in, shivering . Usually I loathe the office going part of the day . It only gets worse on Mondays . Today turned out to be different though . Was it because of the rain , you ask ? No .. It was despite the rain . I even have a song playing on my lips ; that sweet voice of one of my favourite singers ringing in my ears , "Aaja piya tohe pyaar doon.." . So that's why I settled in with a hot cup of ginger tea to type away as soon as I reached . Well before my team mates arrive because of my bus schedule that ferries me half way across the city to my office and back home in the evenings . So all in all , I like today . This day looks good !

"A sudden happiness catches me unawares. I feel it trickling into me, and my eyes go liquid with gratitude and hope.”

― Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

Turning 30

There’s something amazing about my birthdays .They more or less coincide with the calendar, so when it’s new year in the calendar, it’s also new year in my life. Yeah, I’m a January born! So unlike kids who went, “When’s my birthday this year mommy?” at every other kid’s birthday, mine was always right at the beginning. There’s no better way for a year to start than with a birthday of your own!


Now it is a different matter altogether that I have never really ‘felt my age’. The last age I remember clearly feeling was 25. I used to await my 25^th birthday excitedly as the true rite of passage into adulthood and the grown-up-world. Even though you are officially an adult since the age of 18, I don’t think that quite holds in our family circles. Twenty five on the other hand is respectable enough for your opinions to merit more attention. The years since did not seem to make any difference to the status achieved on the 25^th milestone and have passed by as uneventfully as the passing seasons. In that sense, 30 seemed to be the next milestone year. Or was it?

The weeks leading up to the milestone day were a curious mix of trepidation and incredulity.An alien space ship had suddenly appeared and hovered menacingly over my mind’s sky .It bore the sign “30” in big neon lights on its forehead and intoned to me , “Awaiting clearance for landing “ . “Roger that. Need time for preparing the mind for touchdown “, I tried biding time wearily. But then, when has time slowed down to accommodate my willingness for age change! Meanwhile the day called for celebrations and that I was game for any time!

A grand privilege enjoyed by people in this part of the world is that we have not one but two birthdays! One on the date of birth as the rest of the world, and one based on our birth star per astrology. In fact the second one is of more import for us and this year it was just 2 days before my actual D.O.B. Right on this day arrived my first birthday gift of all, from my dear younger brother. So what if he was also the main competition for my parents ‘attention throughout childhood and we fought innumerable battles in good old sibling rivalry , we also grew up to be the most loving brother-sister duos of all time . Suffice it to say, it was the most heart warming feeling to get this special birthday gift from him and it not only made the day for me, but it will invariably light me up with a smile at its mere memory though out the year. Along with a lovely dress and a tiny li’l book of birthday quotes, came the cutest birthday card that had pages adorned with pictures of us from our early childhood that climaxed with a picture from my pre wedding evening and a big “I love you Sis”. It now stands proudly on my drawing room cupboard filling my home with cheer unbound! I love you back to bits, brother; you are such a precious part of my life, my dearest!!

My husband meanwhile, coached by myself on gifting options by way of a casual gift shop visit the prior week where I Ooh-ed and Aah-ed at their curio collections and remarked loudly about my love for cute greeting cards , was not to be left behind ! This step had to be taken as I have quite the serious ,matter-of-fact person image with my husband and so had to be reminded that I am also just as faint-hearted when it comes to all things pretty . Things started rolling the morning of my birth-star-day with my newspaper-hungry husband asking me to, “Get the newspaper dear”, while he held back pseudo-casually. A lovely birthday card came for me with the papers that day. I wonder to this day, who in the newspaper office dares call me “darling wife”! Humph!

Mid night birthday wishes are something I am infamous for shunning. I love my beauty sleep so much that history states an instance where I even kept my mobile in silence during a birthday eve and slept through it! Of course when love comes into life, it also turns some of our pig headedness on its head. What’s a birthday when you don’t sit up with your soul mate, count the hours till the stroke of mid night and then indulge in a hearty birthday kiss? When midnight turned into my 30^th year of existence, I was happily beaming into my husband’s face and rejoicing at the joy of having found each other in this big bad world – two people whose hearts beat together since that first meeting .If my narration is mushy by now, you should forgive and look the other way for a minute while I try to lose my stupid grin and then I shall tell you the remainder of the story in a bit.

Out came a procession of small gifts – each one something I had mentioned most probably in passing, fancies and little wishes of mine .They had all transformed into little beautiful gifts for me. A charming album to be filled with photos from our travels, a small mp3 player to fill music in my days , the movie CD of an obscure Malayalam movie I have been wanting to watch and had looked for everywhere but in vain . The list is topped by a serene watch we shopped for together.   On Republic Day , my date of birth, when I get a holiday every time to celebrate my birthday , we also celebrate my parents wedding anniversary .It’s always a day of double joy in my household as we reminisce two wonderful beginnings on this day – that of my parents marital life and my own birth in the subsequent year. Being away from home this year, my brother and I had sent our presents online to our parents – a bouquet of the loveliest pink roses to mark the beauty of the day and an anniversary cake to savour the deliciousness of our togetherness. Distances can well nigh diminish the joy of our hearts as we all celebrate together!

Back in Bangalore, the two of us made our way to one of our favourite entertainment options – a movie to mark the turn of the decade for me. An inspiring tale of a woman’s struggle out of mundane life and into reaching her true potential set the tone for the evening. The movie was followed up with a dinner at a quaint little café in one of the hangout areas of the city. An open terrace affair, the café had decadent furniture and tastefully done low key décor. Kitchen island and bar counter made up the centre of the whole area, while the tables were set along the periphery looking out into the palm fronted night sky. The food was so delicious that it satiated not just our famished tummies but also our foodie souls with its taste, texture and pretty looks. The candle light glow and soft music began seeping into us once we were so taken care of. The gentle breeze and romantic ambience combined to transport us back to our honeymoon days in Maldives and we reminisced those lovely days of our life. After the dinner, we went for a quiet night stroll gazing at the decked up shops and night crowd. A beautiful night was coming to a slow end.

Thus unwound the 30th memorial day of my birth on Jan 26^th of 1986. And this is the story of the day I turned 30 .Not that I wanted to. But the world has seen much worse. So I make my peace with it.”Remember being 25?” I ask myself .Hold on to it and never mind the numbers change!

കുന്തിബെട്ടയിലെ സൂര്യോദയം

 കുന്തിബെട്ടയിലെ സൂര്യോദയം

ഹൃദയത്തോടു ചേർത്തുപിടിക്കാവുന്ന ഒരു പിടി ചിത്രങ്ങളും ക്യാമറയിലാക്കിയാണ്‌ ഞങ്ങൾ കുന്തിബെട്ട മലയിറങ്ങിയത്‌.ആകാശത്തിന്റെ കറുത്ത ക്യാൻവാസിൽ ആ മഹാചിത്രകാരൻ വര തുടങ്ങുന്ന നേരവും കാത്ത്‌ ഞങ്ങൾ  അതികാലത്തേ കുന്തിബെട്ട മലമുകളിൽ കാത്തിരിപ്പുണ്ടായിരുന്നു. തലേന്ന് അർധരാത്രി തുടങ്ങിയ യാത്ര പക്ഷെ മനസ്സിൽ കയറിയിരുന്ന് മോഹിപ്പിക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങിയിട്ട് ആഴ്ച്ചകൾ പലതു കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു.സ്വതവേ സാഹസികരൊന്നുമല്ലാത്ത ഞങ്ങളെ മലമേട്ടിലെ സൂര്യോദയം കൊതിപ്പിച്ചുകൊണ്ടേയിരുന്നു.അങ്ങനെ ഒരു ധന്യമുഹൂർത്തത്തിന്റെ ഓർമപുതുക്കൽ ഈ യാത്രയിലൂടെ ആകട്ടെ എന്നു നിശ്ചയിക്കപ്പെട്ടു.

ബെംഗളൂരുവിൽ നിന്നും 130 കി.മി അകലെയുള്ള ഗ്രാമപ്രദേശമായ പാണ്ഡവപുരത്തിലാണ്‌ കുന്തിബെട്ട സ്‌ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നത്.മഹാഭാരത കഥയുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടു  ഒരു ഇതിഹാസവും ഈ സ്‌ഥലത്തെക്കുറിച്ചു പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. ആ കഥ ഇങ്ങനെയാണ്‌ -

അഞ്ജാതവാസക്കാലത്ത് പാണ്ഡവർ ഇവിടെ താമസിച്ചിരുന്നു എന്നുള്ളതുകൊണ്ടാണ്‌ ഇവിടം പാണ്ഡവപുരം ആയിത്തീർന്നത്.കുന്തീദേവിയുടെ മനം കവർന്ന മലനിരകളോ, കുന്തിപ്പാറ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ കുന്തിമല എന്നു മലയാളത്തിൽ അർത്ഥം വരുന്ന കുന്തിബെട്ടയുമായി(Kunti Hill).ബകാസുരനെ ഭീമൻ വധിച്ചത് ഇവിടെ വച്ചാണെന്നും ഒരു ശ്രുതി കേൾവിയിലുണ്ട്! 

യാത്രയുടെ പ്രത്യേകത ഇതൊരു രാത്രികാല trekking ആണ്‌ എന്നുള്ളതാണു.രാത്രി , മഴക്കാലം - ഇങ്ങനെ രണ്ടാണു പ്രതിയോഗികൾ.കൈയിൽ ഓരോ torch light-ഉം മിന്നിച്ച്, മഴക്കോട്ടും ധരിച്ചാണു മലകയറ്റം.രാത്രി പത്തരയോടെ ഞങ്ങളെ pick ചെയ്ത ബസ്സ്, വഴിയിൽ മറ്റുള്ളവരെയും ചേർത്തു ബെംഗളൂരുവിൽ നിന്നും അർധരാത്രിയോടെ രാമനഗരം എന്ന സ്ഥലത്തുള്ള pit stop-ൽ എത്തിച്ചേർന്നു.അവിടെ ചായയും പലഹാരവും തന്ന്‌ സംഘാടകർ ഞങ്ങളെ സ്വീകരിച്ചു.സാഹസിക യാത്രകൾ സ്ഥിരമായി നടത്തുന്ന ഒരു ചെറിയ സംഘമാണു യാത്രയുടെ വഴികാട്ടികൾ.അവർ പറഞ്ഞതനുസരിച്ച് ഇനിയും 70 കി.മി അകലെയാണ്‌ ലക്ഷ്യസ്ഥാനം.യാത്ര പുനരാരംഭിച്ചു.പരിചയപ്പെടലും , ഉച്ചത്തിലുള്ള സംഗീതവും നൃത്തവും ഒക്കെയായി ബസ്സിനുള്ളിൽ ഞങ്ങൾ അപരിചിതർ ഉറക്കത്തെ അകറ്റിനിർത്തി. 

പിറ്റേന്നു വെളുപ്പിനെ മൂന്നു മണിയോടെ ബസ്സ് കുന്തിബെട്ട base camp-ൽ എത്തിച്ചേർന്നു.രണ്ടു മിനിട്ടു നേരം സംഘാടകർ ചില നിർദ്ദേശങ്ങൾ തന്നു.ശേഷം സംഘം trekking ആരംഭിച്ചു.ഒരു ജാഥ പോലെ, ഇരുട്ടിൽ torch-കൾ തെളിയിച്ച് , “ജയ് മാതാ ദി ” വിളികളും മുഴക്കിക്കൊണ്ട്‌ ഞങ്ങൾ മുന്നോട്ട് നീങ്ങി. 

ആദ്യമേ തന്നെ കുത്തനെയുള്ള ഒരു കയറ്റമാണ്‌!തുടങ്ങുന്നതിനു  മുൻപേ തന്നെ അവസാനിപ്പിക്കേണ്ടി വരുമോ ഈ സാഹസം എന്നു ശങ്കിച്ചു പോയ നിമിഷം.രണ്ടും കൽപ്പിച്ചു കയറ്റം തുടങ്ങി- രണ്ടു കൈയ്യും നിലത്തു കുത്തി കുരങ്ങന്മാരെപ്പോലെയായിരുന്നു ആ കയറ്റം മറികടന്നത്.അവിടുന്ന് അങ്ങോട്ട്‌ ഉരുളൻ പാറകളെ ചവിട്ടുപടിയാക്കിയും , മുൻപേ പോയവരുടെ കൈത്താങ്ങിൽ പിടിച്ചു തൂങ്ങിയും ,പുറകേ വരുന്നവർക്ക്‌ വെളിച്ചം കാട്ടിയും,ഇടുങ്ങിയ പാറമതിലുകൾക്കിടയിലൂടെ ഊർന്നുകയറിയും,നക്ഷത്രങ്ങളെയും താഴ്‌വാരത്തിലെ മിന്നാമിന്നി വെളിച്ചങ്ങളെയും കുറിച്ചു കൗതുകം കൂറിയും , കിതച്ചും പകച്ചും , അല്പവിശ്രമങ്ങൾക്കുശേഷം വീണ്ടും ക്ലേശിച്ചും ... അങ്ങനെ മലമ്പാറകളുടെ പരീക്ഷണങ്ങളെ അണ്ണാറക്കണ്ണനും തന്നാലായത് എന്നോണം ഞങ്ങൾ നേരിട്ടു.ഒന്നര മണിക്കൂറത്തെ കയറ്റത്തിനൊടുവിൽ ഞങ്ങൾ മലയുടെ നെറുകയിൽ എത്തിച്ചേർന്നു.അപ്പോഴേക്കും വിയർപ്പിൽ കുതിർന്ന് ,ആകെ തളർന്ന് ഞങ്ങൾ ദാഹിച്ചു വശായിരുന്നു. ദാഹശമനം നടത്തി കുളിർകാറ്റേറ്റു നിന്നപ്പോൾ മലയുടെ തലയെടുപ്പിൽ തൊട്ടതിന്റെ നിർവൃതി !

താമസിയാതെ camp fire-കൾ  ജ്വലിച്ചു തുടങ്ങി.അങ്ങിങ്ങായി കത്തിച്ച മൂന്നോ നാലോ തീക്കുണ്ടങ്ങൾക്കു ചുറ്റുമായി ചെറുസംഘങ്ങൾ പാടുകയും പറയുകയും ചിരിച്ചു വിശ്രമിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തു.അവരിൽ നിന്നും തെല്ലൊന്നു മാറി ഞങ്ങൾ മലയുടെ മുതുകിൽ മലർന്നു കിടന്ന് നക്ഷത്രങ്ങൾ എണ്ണി.മലങ്കാറ്റിന്റെ തണുത്ത പുതപ്പിനുള്ളിൽ ഞങ്ങൾ നേരിയ വിറയാർന്നു കിടന്നു.

താമസിയാതെ camp fire-കൾ ജ്വലിച്ചു തുടങ്ങി

അധികം കഴിയുന്നതിനു മുൻപേ കിഴക്ക് കറുപ്പ് അലിഞ്ഞുതുടങ്ങി.വെറുതേയുള്ള തോന്നലാണെന്നു കരുതി ഞങ്ങൾ വീണ്ടും കാത്തു.സമയം ഇഴഞ്ഞു നീങ്ങവേ വെളുപ്പ് കൂടിക്കൂടി വന്നു.തീകായൽ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് പലരും കിഴക്കുനോക്കി നിൽപ്പായി.അപ്പോഴേക്കും എന്റെ ക്യാമറയും പുറത്തു വന്നിരുന്നു.

കാത്തിരുപ്പ്‌ ...

പിന്നീടത്തെ അരമുക്കാൽ മണിക്കൂർ നേരം സൂര്യോദയം എന്ന master piece-ന്റെ ചിത്രരചനയാണ്‌ ഞങ്ങളുടെ കൺമുന്നിൽ    അരങ്ങേറിയത്‌.മാനത്തിന്റെ കറുപ്പ് കലങ്ങി നീലയുടെ പല വകഭേദങ്ങളായി പിരിയവെ കണ്ണെത്താദൂരത്തോളം താഴ്‌വാരത്തിന്റെ പച്ചക്കമ്പടം കാണാറായി.മേഘക്കീറുകളുടെ അരുണിമയിൽ ചക്രവാളം കനലെരിഞ്ഞു.അരുണോദയത്തിൽ മൂടൽമഞ്ഞ് മലമേടിന്‌ ഒരു സ്വർഗ്ഗീയ പരിവേഷം ചാർത്തിക്കൊടുത്തു.

സൂര്യോദയം എന്ന master piece !

മേഘക്കീറുകളുടെ അരുണിമയിൽ ചക്രവാളം കനലെരിഞ്ഞു

പുതച്ചുറങ്ങിയവർ എഴുന്നേറ്റിരുന്ന് ഈ മാന്ത്രിക സൗന്ദര്യത്തിൽ ലയിച്ചിരുന്നു.ഈ വർണ്ണവിസ്മയത്തിന്റെ കൗതുകത്തിൽ ക്യാമറകൾ ചിലച്ചുകൊണ്ടേയിരുന്നുവെങ്കിലും ,ശാന്തമായ നിശബ്ദത ഭഞ്ജിക്കപ്പെട്ടതേയില്ല.താഴ്‌വാരത്തിലെ വലിയ തടാകം ഒരു വെള്ളിത്തളിക പോലെ കാണപ്പെട്ടു.സൂര്യോദയത്തിന്റെ സ്വർണ്ണവെളിച്ചത്തിൽ കാഴ്ച്ചകൾ എല്ലാം തന്നെ ഒന്നുകൂടി മിഴിവുറ്റതായി.ആറര മണിയോടെ സൂര്യൻ പൂർണമായും ഉദിച്ചുകഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. 

To sleep under the open sky is to cuddle up to the stars ...

അരുണോദയത്തിൽ മൂടൽമഞ്ഞ് മലമേടിന്‌ ഒരു സ്വർഗ്ഗീയ പരിവേഷം ചാർത്തിക്കൊടുത്തു

ഇനിയുള്ളത് മലയിറക്കമാണ്‌.പകൽവെളിച്ചത്തിലാണെങ്കിലും മലയിൽ സുഗമമായ മൺപാതകൾ ഇല്ലതന്നെ.കയറ്റത്തെക്കാളും താരതമ്യേന ആയാസം കുറവാണ്‌ ഇറക്കത്തിന്‌ എന്നു വേണമെങ്കിൽ പറയാം.പക്ഷെ പാറക്കെട്ടുകൾക്കിടയിലൂടെ വളഞ്ഞു പുളഞ്ഞ് , ചാടിക്കടന്നും ഊർന്നിറങ്ങിയും , ചിലയിടങ്ങളിൽ ഇരുന്ന് നിരങ്ങിയും , മലയുടെ ദാർഷ്ട്യത്തെ ഒരുവിധം ഞങ്ങൾ മറികടന്നു.മലയിറക്കത്തിൽ ഇടയ്ക്കു തിരിഞ്ഞുനോക്കിയപ്പോൾ താണ്ടിയ ഇറക്കത്തിലെങ്ങും പാതകൾ തെളിഞ്ഞു കാണാനായില്ല .എങ്ങനെ ഇറങ്ങി എന്നതായി അദ്ഭുതം! 

മലയിൽ സുഗമമായ മൺപാതകൾ ഇല്ലതന്നെ

മല സുന്ദരിയാണ്‌.പതുപതുത്ത പച്ചപ്പിന്റെയും മിനുസമുള്ള ഉരുളൻ പാറകളുടെയും ഒരു ചാരുചിത്രം.സൂര്യോദയത്തിൽ അതിന്റെ സൗന്ദര്യം ഒന്നു വേറെ തന്നെ.മലയിറക്കത്തിനു ശേഷം അടുത്തുള്ള തടാകത്തിൽ ചില ജലക്രീഡകളും തരപ്പെട്ടു.ഫാക്ടറി വിസർജ്ജ്യങ്ങൾ മലിനപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടില്ലാത്ത ഗ്രാമാന്തർഭാഗത്തെ പരിശുദ്ധമായ ഒരു ജലാശയം.അതിന്റെ കുളിർവെള്ളത്തിൽ ശരീരത്തിന്റെ ക്ഷീണം തെല്ലൊന്ന് അലിഞ്ഞുപോയി.ശേഷം പ്രാതലും മടക്കയാത്രയും. .ഭാഗ്യവശാൽ യാത്രയിൽ ഉടനീളം മഴ മാറി നിന്നു!

മല സുന്ദരിയാണ്‌ ...

തിരിച്ചുവരവിൽ കൂടുതൽ നേരവും ബസ്സിൽ ഉറക്കം തന്നെയായിരുന്നു.തലേന്നു നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട ഉറക്കത്തെ ശരീരം തിരിച്ചു പിടിക്കുകയാണ്‌് എന്നു തോന്നും.കൂടണഞ്ഞതിനു ശേഷവും ഉറക്കം കുറേ നേരം കൂടി നീണ്ടുനിന്നു.നീണ്ട ഉറക്കത്തിൽ നിന്നും ഉണർന്നപ്പോൾ പക്ഷെ കണ്ടതെല്ലാം ഒരു സുന്ദര സ്വപ്നമായിരുന്നോ എന്നൊരു സംശയം മാത്രം ബാക്കി...

താഴ്‌വാരത്തിന്റെ പച്ചക്കമ്പടം

Reference

http://www.escape2explore.com/
http://www.thrillophilia.com/tours/night-trek-at-kunti-betta-bangalore

Ennum Eppozhum Movie Review : Old wine in old bottle

 When it comes to writing reviews, I have usually been moved to do so by works that in turn moved me .There’s something about a good new movie that makes you want to talk about it. But that is not why I am reviewing Sathyan Anthikad’s latest directorial venture “Ennum Eppozhum”,in fact it is just the opposite . Going by the mixed reviews the movie has been garnering so far, I felt it imperative to clear the air from my part. The only way in which the movie moved me was to make me want to make a move out of the cinema hall while waiting for the ordeal to get over.

Spoiler alert from here

 

 

The movie has a wafer thin plot written by Ranjan Pramod based on a story by actor Raveendran , or so the wiki page says . A lazy reporter past his prime, professionally and personally, tries to get an interview with a new-age, up and coming female advocate. Both the lead actors, Mohan Lal and Manju Warrier, look the part quite effortlessly- delightfully in the case of the heroine and woefully in the other case. Much to the viewer’s dismay, both these talented actors have been reduced to playing themselves on screen. 

Manju plays a socially responsible, hardworking and talented advocate who is a divorcee and mother to a seven year old girl child. If you are a fan of this talented actress and went to the movie just to catch her on screen like I did, you wouldn’t be disappointed, as she lights up the movie with her screen presence and gentle charisma. She is in her best shape and looks inspiringly beautiful in her role as a successful single mother. The credits end there as her role does not have much acting scope in terms of character depth or variety since Adv.Deepa is just like any other modern woman. Manju’s comeback in the dance field has been exploited to good length and even overused what with her dancing to a full length song and then again periodically ‘practising’ every now and then .These prolonging techniques had best been avoided.

Mohan Lal plays the slothful Vineeth N Pillai whose only reason for still having a reporter job is his late mother’s connections with the magazine’s senior management. In a bid to oust him from his job, the new kid on the block in the magazine’s owning fraternity gives him the job of getting an exclusive interview with Adv .Deepa, who gains overnight fame through her activist stand in protesting against potholed roads and getting civic bodies to promise quick action. Including contemporary news items in the story line is a staple in movies but this movie goes so far as to get the real Mr.Kouchoussep Chittilappilly to offer the heroine 5 lakhs amount as reward for her socially responsible stand which she turns down in turn . Comedy sequences from Lalettan falls flat and the chemistry between him and his comic sidekick, Gregory of Akkarakaazhchakal fame, does not have the desired impact. The scene where Lalettan is asked by his friends over a few drinks about his still unmarried status and his reply of not having found a woman with the qualities of his mother, a line repeated ad nauseam in Malayalam movies, reeks of  distasteful machismo. His supposedly touching statement to the heroine as the only woman he has seen possessing his mother’s virtues in the movie’s climax, fails to deliver the punch. It his high time Lalettan became weight conscious and did something about his looks or stopped making such frivolous statements to today’s heroines.

Music by Vidyasar and lyrics by Rafeeq Ahmed gets a good mention from me, especially the song ‘Malarvaka kombathu’, rendered in the enticing voices of P.Jayachandran and Rajalakshmy . Vijay Yesudas has sung another melody for the movie which is worth a mention too. Cinematography is fresh and sits well with the overall mood of the movie. Support roles done by Innocent, Lena and Gregory are all the usual stuff displayed time and again and goes with the plot line. Sathyan Anthikad, regretfully, has nothing new to offer and is no more guaranteed to make good movies going by the string of his latest movie outings.

Overall the movie is a onetime watch, worth catching on TV during the next festive season for this year’s Christmas if not for Onam; nothing worth spending multiplex movie watching expenses over. Our take away from this movie-going was the lovely caramel pop corn  that we munched on ,the taste and rich aroma of which still lingers fresh in memory . So let me wind up this review for now and go find out where I can find some more caramel pop corn!

PS: The opinions stated here are personal and does not reflect the general trend. I personally know people who found the movie “okay” and even “enjoyable”.

The Story Seeker - Short Film Review

When a friend shared a link to a short film he had made all on his own , little did I expect it to really catch my eye .Mostly because I was watching more popular ones at the time , ones featured on a recent TV show. But I stand happily corrected by this one-man-act that works wonderfully well for several reasons. It narrates the story of ,well ,a 'story seeker' - a character I can relate very well to . He is someone for whom every sight, sound, passage of time, feeling and thought is rarefied, affording a deeper connection and a minutely detailed perspective .The film is a marquee of sights that catch his attention ,from the novel to the mundane, with the back ground music playing the important job of conveying his reactions to each visual.

The writer is in perennial search for creative inspiration and everything in his field of vision is potential 'material'. He drinks of the world ;there are abstractions born in his mind ,but the river of expression runs dry.With the eye-glasses in most frames alluding to an intellectual outlook , he looks to the vast oceans of wisdom for respite . Writers' block frustrates his mind and bogs him down . But it's not long before his attention is drawn back into the world and it's many curiosities. Because sometimes the writer is just content to watch .Until the river of thoughts unfreeze,he prepares to sit down and watch ..and think .. and ponder .. for the world tells such stories with every sight and smell... stories beyond the reach of words or even language , only to be felt and known in the writer's soul.And thus unwinds each day in the life of the story-seeker.

Without so much as a word uttered (or penned), the story-seeker's tale is narrated to the viewer and the short film signs off beautifully through one of its last frames that says - " കഥാകൃത്ത് -- സാക്ഷി " .

Well done , Anaz Basheer

Watch the short film here