Friday 30 March 2012

Verkala





On Politics of Light

This is not easy to understand
For you that come from a distant land
Where all the colours are low in pitch -
Deep purples, emeralds deep and rich,
Where autumn's flaming and summer's green -
Here is a beauty you have not seen.


- Excerpt from The Colours Of Light by Dorothea Mackellar

When I was five or six, we moved into a house in Junagadh Dairy Colony, freshly constructed. I remember clearly we had put up yellow light bulbs. The logic was assumed but since there was a discussion it reached me, in words. I was being educated in a way to think about light. My father explained to my mother that we will buy cheaper bulbs until all the electricity connections are tested, and later on we can purchase the more expensive tubelights. Tubelights were the goal: they are of course more cost efficient since it gave more and brighter light per watt and had a longer life. Cheap yellow bulbs something to endure until we reach the goal.

"Yeah, I know, it's dim, but I prefer yellow light. I can't stand bright white light"
My housemate said in a rather disparaging patronising tone, on my first day I moved in my place in Chennai. She was responding to my observation that it was almost dark in the living room, I had not mentioned the colour of light anywhere in my sentence, but perhaps the colour of my skin and my accent spoke more to her than my words. 

"Aree yaar, mujhe toh na yeh bulb ki roshni bahut bekaar lagti hai. Thodi der main na aankhe dukhne lagti hain."
[Buddy, I don't like this bulb light at all. My eyes start hurting after sometime.]
A friend from work confided in me. I murmured how what perhaps needs to be adjusted is the intensity of the light and maybe the colour has nothing to do with anything.

My poorest friends, banarasi saree weavers, who live in a mud-tile-roofed house in Banaras and do not have a direct electricity connection, use bulbs. They hope to make a shed for this bulb shared between two families (living in small adjoining rooms) and buy a tube light someday. 

My richer friends, or upward mobile friends, especially female ones, have a preference for yellow bulbs. They think it is more classy, softer tones, etc. Makes them feel good about themselves I guess. Most of my friends who have spent time in Canada, or USA have understood that yellow light is "superior" to white light. They move from tubelights to yellow light that seeps out of the decorated and artistically shaped orifices of table lamps.

A twist in the story when fluorescent bulbs and LEDs come about. These bulbs are essentially like tubelights in their work, but come in smaller wattage. People can choose to have them in white or yellow. These are expensive compared to bulbs and tubelights. Go to any electric store, the fluorescent bulbs on offer are all white. Ask for yellow the shopkeeper may shake his head twice, before he may remembers he has this one small box with three yellow FLs sitting somewhere for last few months/ years. Demand for yellow FLs is very small. A very good friend from Gujarat has redecorated his house, befitting a preparation for marriage. They have spend a small fortune on their living room's evenly distributed LED lights: white.

When I was a student in IIT-BHU (Banaras Hindu University) in winter of 2003 and 2004, I started the fashion of keeping two 200 watt bulbs turned on in my room for a few hours before bedtime - instead of using a 1000 watt heater, since using heater was against the rules. This caught on. Yellow bright light, too bright in fact,and hot.

One of my best friends and I roamed around the streets of Banaras, looking for small 11W fluorescent bulbs. Finally when in one shop we found these, we bought a large number 30 or so of these for all the lamps for the whole year! Outside the sand storms brew: August rainy and stormy evening. Inside we wrote stories, journals, and planned curriculum for our children [from all economic classes and backgrounds] sitting in these cozy dim - Yellow lights.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Barish - Hindi

 From the Hindi movie Thoda Sa Romani Ho Jayen
- लेखक:  कमलेश पाण्डेय

बारिश जो अस्मान से आती है
बूंदों में गाती है
पहाड़ों से फिसलती है
नदियों में चलती है
नेहरों में मचलती है
कुँए पोखर से मिलती है
खपरैलों पर गिरती है
गलियों में फिरती है
मोड़ पर संभालती है
फिर आगे निकलती है


वो ही बारिश , 

यह बारिश अक्सर गीली होती है
इसे पानी भी कहते है
उर्दू में आब
मराठी में पानी
तमिल में तन्नी
कन्नड़ में नीर और बंगला में 

                                            जोल कहते है
संस्कृत में जिसे वारी नीर अमृत पेय अम्बु भी कहते है
ग्रीक में इसे aqua puraa
अंग्रेजी में इसे water भी कहते है
french में
eau
और chemistry  में H2O कहते है


यह पानी आँख से ढलता है तो आंसू कहलाता है
लेकिन चेहरे पे चढ़ जाये तो रुबाब बन जाता है
कोई शर्म से पानी -पानी हो जाता है
और कभी कभी यह पानी सरकारी फाईलों में अपने कुँए समेत चोरी हो जाता है
पानी तोह पानी है , पानी जिंदगानी है
इसीलिए जब रूह की नदी सुखी हो
मन का हिरन प्यासा हो
दिमाग में लगी हो आग
और प्यार की गागर खली हो,

तब,
और तब में हमेशा, यह बारिश नाम का गिला पानी लेने की राय देता हूँ ।






Saturday 17 March 2012

Satyuki

The well received recent Hindi movie Kahaani has a character Satyuki. Satyuki is not a hero. He is a companion to one. A female hero.

Satyuki is simple. Not unintelligent but innocent. Innocent and romantic. Satyuki is a hopeless romantic not unlike Stanley Ipkiss of The Mask. Falls in love easily. Bends over backward to be nice. He is nice with everyone. But he is especially nice to a beautiful woman he is attracted to, maybe loves her in one of the meanings of the word love. He is willing to give up his life, endanger his career, expose his weaknesses. He is running the risk of being used: with the morning-after terrible feeling of being the biggest most-brainless douchebag in the world.

His feelings defines him, propel him; make him exceed his limits, understand himself.

Khan is another character in the movie: a dedicated lover (nationalist), has done very well and risen high in his work, and by definition of his work at Intelligence Bureau, must have prevented wars, saved crores of rupees of possible damage, and thousands of lives, sacrificing a few. Khans of this world make it possible for Satyukis to exist.

Khan gives Satyuki a piece of advice: something on the lines of
प्यार  बहुत अच्छी चीज़ है, इसे सही जगह इस्तेमाल करना सीखो
[Love is a nice thing (object/weapon/tool), learn to use it the right way.]
Khan of course is talking nationalism, loving the country versus loving a person. Loving an idea, dedicating to a cause, fused with the discipline and training of emotions which is usually associated with nationalism. But he is presenting it as the most pragmatic idea and oh so logical!

Is there a law of conservation of love? It would seem so, if loving is spending time with, thinking about, and taking care of, surely love is limited by temporal dimension of human existence. Some of my friends who are dating many people at the same while managing a career would agree. Satyuki can survive, keep falling in love with damsels in distress and spend his time and energy thinking and caring. On the other extreme he can be like Khan: serving people with little or no localised sentiment (Aha! that is how harems work). And there are all the shades in between.

I worry about Satyuki. He is what... 22-23 years old? And yet he has a child-like smile and demeanour. Not affected at all. Will he be able to move up in his career? Is it desirable? Is it that being someone who falls in love easily makes Satyuki a lesser person than Khan?

This time is just a beginning. He may be used many times in his life, sometimes by the people he come to trust and like the most. Will he be able to move on and retain his simple loveliness? Will he allow himself to fall in love again, even if attaining companionship is impossible? What if he does, and stagnates in anything else in life? If he does succeed in bringing the ring: his simple loving heart, back to its maker, will he not be Frodo Baggins of the Shire? Will he not be a hero?

Who decides that?



Wednesday 14 March 2012

On Ambition :)

Bare Necessities (from Disney's The Jungle Book)

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam
I couldn't be fonder of my big home
The bees are buzzin' in the tree
To make some honey just for me
When you look under the rocks and plants
And take a glance at the fancy ants
Then maybe try a few

The bare necessities of life will come to you
They'll come to you!

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
That's why a bear can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life

Now when you pick a pawpaw
Or a prickly pear
And you prick a raw paw
Next time beware
Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw
When you pick a pear
Try to use the claw
But you don't need to use the claw
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw
Have I given you a clue ?

The bare necessities of life will come to you
They'll come to you!

So just try and relax, yeah cool it
Fall apart in my backyard
'Cause let me tell you something little britches
If you act like that bee acts, uh uh
You're working too hard

And don't spend your time lookin' around
For something you want that can't be found
When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin' about it
I'll tell you something true

The bare necessities of life will come to you

(Lyrics Transcribing Credit:
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thejunglebook/thebarenecessities.htm)

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Chaap Tilak Sab Cheeni

چھپ  تلک  سب  چینی  رے  موسے  نینا  معلیکے

پریم  بھٹے   کا  مدھوا  پلیکے
متولی    کر  لینی  رے  موسے  نینا معلیکے
گوری  گوری  بیّن , حری  حری چڑیاں
بیّن  پکڑ  دھر  لینی  رے  موسے  نینا   معلیکے
بل  بل  جاؤں  میں  توڑے  رنگ   رجوا
اپنی سی  کر  لینی  رے  موسے  نینا   معلیکے
خسرو  نجام  کے  بل  بل   جےیئے
موہے  سہاگن  کینی  رے  موسے  نینا  معلیکے

چھپ  تلک  سب  چینی  رے  موسے  نینا معلیکے
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaikay
Matvali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Gori gori bayyan, hari hari churiyan
Bayyan pakar dhar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Bal bal jaaon mein toray rang rajwa
Apni see rang leeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Mohay Suhaagan keeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay

-Amir Khusro

For translation, please visit the source
Source: http://www.angelfire.com/sd/urdumedia/lyrics.html





Sunday 4 March 2012

Chandu ki Cycle (Hindi)




चंदू  की  साइकिल  बिल्कुल चंदू जैसी थी, 
चलती थी तो चंदू जैसे चुन चुन  करती रहती  थी,
handle उसका चंदू के हाथों  जैसा  ही  हल्का  था, 
pedal उसके चंदू के पैरों जैसे ही पतले थे, 
सीट उसकी चंदू के  पिछवाड़े  जैसी  चौड़ी  थी, 
carrier उसका चंदू  के  career जैसा  ही  छोटा  था ।
पर चंदू  की  दोस्त  वही  थी, वही  उसके  साथ  रहती  थी,
चंदू  के  भारी वज़न  को  बहुत  ही  आसानी  से  सहती  थी ।


लेकिन...
ऐसा  दिन  आया  जब  साइकिल  उसकी  टूट  गई,
आता देख  सांड  आगे  से  चंदू  से  वो  छूट  गई ।
ठीक  नहीं  कर  पाया  जब  montu mechanic  भी  उसको,
चंदू  के  daddy  ने  उसे  बेच  दिया  कबाड़ी को ।
चंदू  सब  कुछ  भूल  किताबों  में  डूब  गया  ऐसे,
जैसे  किसी  पुरानी  ख्वाहिश  को  सच्चा करना  था  उसे ।
फिर  जब  चंदू  बड़ा  हुआ, तो  अपनी  first कमाई  से  वो नई साइकिल  लेकर  आया,
अपनी  नई  मिली  चतुराई  से ।


लेकिन ... 
नई साइकिल  भी  बिल्कुल  चंदू  जैसी  ही थी,
कितिनी  भी  कोशिश  कर  लो  चुन  चुन  करती  रहती  थी,
सीट  उसकी  चंदू के पिछवाड़े  जैसी  चौड़ी  थी,
carrier उसका  चंदू  के  career जैसा ही छोटा था ।




सौजन्य 'उड़ान' (हिंदी फिल्म) २०१० 
लेखक: विक्रमादित्य मोटवाने, अनुराग कष्यप, कुमार देवांशु, सत्यांशु सिंह 



On This Day


Unmoving, sweltering, its evening falls,
Unrolling slowly a knotty  unbleached cotton pall,
Turns unceremoniously and exits - 
                the day ending eight years,
Eliott's[1] sends a breeze, a silent scene ends call.


03-Mar-2012
Chennai

[1] Eliott’s beach