Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Life...is indeed beautiful

There will be always those moments of sorrow in life. They overwhelm us sometimes and inundate us under an avalanche of feelings. Those are the moments when we question our sanity and our existence as a whole. But the true spirit of life will come back. Like a fresh mountain breeze , or that smells of first rains on a hot earth...or that whiff of cool air from the Air conditioner in hot humid conditions.
There will be questions all along. There will be answers too. But those which not answered will make our lives worthwhile. Does certainty makes life any better ? Not in all conditions, i am afraid. If i know what is going to happen the day next ..and the week next...I may as well hang myself with boredom of living. That can be the greatest punishment given to any person.
What really saves us from falling into the black holes of life is the feeling that we are needed by someone...and that we will be missed by someone...or the confidence that in the end, it will be all worthwhile.
So i do look for any opportunity to makes an unsuspecting soul happy by sparing a little moment of mine...am sure that it is what makes me happy at that particular moment. Being no saint, i have my own demons to face..when i just crawl into my hole and shut the door. Then steps in the loves of my life...my passions which rejuvenate me..and make me come out of my forced hybernation..into a glorious love filled world.
It is an ordinary life...and I am an ordinary man...Still life is indeed beautiful.

Zindagi kaisi hai paheli ...haaye
Kabhi to hasaye..kabhi yeh rulaye...
Kabhi dekho man nahin jaagein..
Peeche peeche sapnon ke bhaage..
Ek din sapnon ka raahi....Chala jaayein sapnon ke aage... kahaan... ?


Wednesday, July 2, 2008

It's baby time....

Babies...they bring so much happiness. Ofcourse, the efforts to bring them up are more than compensated when we enjoy our time with them. This is indeed a very special arrival, as my nephew was blessed with twin baby boys. First time in our Dynasty as our living memory stretches..
I personally enjoy my time with babies, and i had lots of fond memories worth a lifetime. Right from my childhood, when i found myself turning into an uncle overnight courtesy my nephew, till the day when i found myself to be a grand pa courtesy my nephew's first baby boy..They are kind of milestones in the journey of life.
When my sister was blessed with a baby boy, it was the first time chance for me to become a good baby sitter. I rose to the ocassion and wore the new mantle with pleasure. Those times in the eighties, it is not common to see a man ( however young i might be ) tend to a baby. So it brought much attention on to me. I shed my image of an introvert to take up the responsibilities. I used to feed the boy, take him into my arms...go around with him...and try to sleep him off on my shoulders. The fragrance of the babies, burnt into my soul and I still can get a whiff of them...kind of soft and sweet, mixed with the smells of baby powder and soap...and I love to see those pink knuckles..or that stiff upper lips...with little fingers stretching out for us to take them up into our lap..or the first steps of uncertainty to a sure run of just found power...it is a glorious sight to hold and behold the babies..
The best moments are those, when we keep them in our arms and embrace, as two hearts become one..as their eyes slowly droop and close into another blissful slumber..and when we keep them in their cradle to come off, on our toes..without making a sound, lest those angels wake up and start to flutter their wings.....Oh, arent they glorious moments !!

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Genius of Michelangelo




































There is much to be found on net about this Giant of Renaissance. I just wanted to say what i think about him. I met his works totally by accident. While on Europe trip,we visited Vatican. There we were totally swept off our feet by a statue Pieta depicting Mary tending for Jesus, who is dead, keeping his head in her lap. We just couldnt move from that marvel. We could actually see the veins and muscles of Jesus and the translucent garb of Mary, along with her face is something beyond description. It is there that my nephew told me that Michelangelo has painted the sistine chapel in Vatican, which should be visited. But it was not on the itinerary of the tour operator. My nephew too left from Rome, a day before the tour ended. So we just had a morning..as we need to catch up a flight at two in the noon.
So, just myself and my sister in law engaged a taxi and went around. It is almost one hour of drive from our hotel to the Vatican. So, when we reached around nine, we had just an hour to go about Sistine chapel. So we just rushed in blindly, to enter Sistine chapel, without even glancing at the works of Rafael or other artists en route.
When we entered the bare room with just a little ledge all along the four walls..We lifted our heads and saw a marvel. There were people there in different moods and postures..staring at us, ready to get down from their perches anytime..It was amazing..and we both just sat on the floor to watch the splendour...I never read anything about it, so it was the first time for me to regret that i havent done my home work before hand. Not only cameras but even conversations were banned in that pristine chapel. So, we just sat there and gaped for half an hour or so..and got up slowly and reluctantly to go back to the Hotel. That is when i realized that I am hooked for life.
So, when i returned, i turned to bookshops where i bought anything remotely connected to Michelangelo and his works. the sistine chapel was kind of punishment imposed by Brahms, the sculptor / Architect in the court of the Pope. He convinced Pope to give the contract to decorate the sistine chapel to Michelangelo because he hated the chapel, which was a huge bare shed. Brahms thought that it will keep Michelangelo engaged for atleast two decades of his prime life, there by effectively ending his career. But Brahms never did know the Zeal of Michelangelo, who reluctantly accepted the commission from Pope. He even got some assistants to do the Fresco work , by mixing colors.
Michelangelo, a man of immense penchant for work and total dedication, found the men to be so much short coming, that he send them out with in two months. Then, he set upon finishing the work all by himself. As if that was not enough, Pope used to visit the chapel frequently to pursuade him to accept assistants and finish the work instead of languishing in despair and always used to nag Michelangelo, which didnt add up to the positive things. Inspite of all this chaos, Michelangelo finished the Sistine chapel frescoes in Four years ! Unbelievable and insurmountable task by any standards. The work was taken up in 1504 and completed by 1508 which speaks the dedication and the tour de force called Michelangelo.
We are fortunate to visit the sistine chapel after renovation, so could see the true colors of the frescoes..as Michelangelo meant them to be...
The picture i posted shows the famous David sculpture of Michelangelo, which is in florence. It is a free standing statue of around thirteen feet. Florence was always the leader in culture, arts or original thinking. So, when the City committee wanted to have a monument depicting the indomitable nature of Florence, they called up artists from all over Italy. Then, Michelangelo was busy with some other work, so couldnt even visit florence. So another obscure artist took up the contract and started to work on the massive marble stone provided by the City council. After gouging the stone in the middle, he just left the work and absconded. So, when Michelangelo took up the work, he was handed over this damaged marble stone to work on. Now, if you watch closely, you can see that the David is depicted with his waist turned a little slew..which is hallmark of the genius of Michelangelo. He wanted to accommodate his imagination in the damaged , gouged marble..so he made david turn a litte, to make his waist fit into the narrowed down marble at that point ! I was aghast to read this anecdote...and elated too. Genius always surmounts difficulties...and so did Michelangelo..and How !
We have not visited that on our europe trip ! To think that i passed by without entering florence, which is Michelangelo's birth place is unthinkable today. But am sure to visit florence again, to relish the great works of Michelangelo.
When asked as to how He imagines sculptures in stones, He simply said that there are people trapped inside those stones, to be released by his chisel ! Amazing to say the least...
The book Agony and Ecstacy of Irving stone aptly came to my aid in understanding this Genius...so did the film by the same name, with Charlton Heston playing Michelangelo and Rex Harrison playing the Pope..
I quote from Edmund Burke " There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination."
And Did Michelangelo Imagine !
We are a standing testimony to this Genius, whose works dating back to five hundred years still keep us spellbound...

Saturday, June 21, 2008

When grief stikes !

The art bug caught me unawares, while we were on an Europe trip. While everyone on the trip went hankering for a shopping spree, we stole a quiet trip to the nearby art museums and historical places. While all on the entourage were busy in buying cosmetics, we literally ran over to Louvre Museum in Paris.

It was amazing to see many artifacts at one place. There were breath taking sculptures and paintings from all over the world. My biggest disappointment is the famed Monalisa by Leonardo da vinci. But that low was offset by this amazing painting of Louis Anne Girodet titled " the entombment of Atala". We just couldnt move from that painting...such was the effect. I can safely vouch that almost ninty percent of the beauty will be gone in a photo, when compared to the original.
The painting is actually inspired by the french novel " Atala or the love of the two savages " of Chateaubriand, published in 1801. Atala is the name of the girl in the picture. The caped figure is Father Aubry and the young man who is holding the feet of Atala is Chactas, the Indian. Atala takes a vow to be a virgin and follow Christianity but later falls in love with Chactas the Indian. Torn between her loyalty towards the religion and the love she had for Chactas, she takes the extreme step of suicide. The picture shows the final scene where Atala is entombed. We can see an encryption on the walls of the cave in the back drop which when translated mean "When it is yet in flower, and is not plucked with the hand, it withereth before all herbs."
Now what strikes us immediately is the grief of Chactas, as he clings to the legs of Atala, unable to let go of her mortal remains. His love and passion are depicted so deeply, that we will be moved to tears. Indeed I was.
The lighting effect is absolutely out of the world...with it touching only the body of atala...signifying such purity and innocence that words cant explain. That is the turning moment when i realized that art does make me melt, just like music. And when i was looking at the painting...this song kept playing in my head...

Sou Baar janam lenge...Sou baar fana honge..
Aye jaanewafa phir bhi....Hum tum na juda honge...

Any ideas what would be Chactas thinking in those moments, in that cave, when he tried to let go of his one and only Love ??

Here is the link for a big sized picture...

http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/g/girodet5.jpg

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Art for Heart's sake....




I never learnt any nuances of art..and to be honest dont know much about appreciation either. But it is just like music..when it moves you, you know that it is it.
There are too many painters i love ...not necessarily the well known.
The painting which i posted is by Pierre Auguste Cott titled Le printemps or The Fall. The look of innocence on the girl's face and the beautiful effect of lighting transports us there..into those sylvan surroundings.
Love is always beautiful in what ever form. I enjoy watching these paintings, when they reflect something so poignantly..when words fail, Art does step in.
These are the moments when i feel sorry that i can neither paint nor create some music...but then I always take solace that i am atleast watching them and enjoying ..which lots of people are not able to.
Maybe it is time for many of us to take a break and sit and watch around ...in anticipation and in admiration of what is happening around us...
What is more beautiful than watching a little girl laugh ..or a rainbow after a rain..or water falling from heights..or an elderly couple walking hand in hand...or listening to those hindi melodies..
That is when We live...

Monday, June 9, 2008

Life is a splendour...


Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing - Helen Keller

Now, I need not tell anything about Helen Keller but her words are so meaningful. Those of us who have our full faculties can never imagine how fortunate we have been. If a born blind and deaf person can visualize that living in the world is an adventure, what have we got to say ?
We search for security all our lives. First it is the competition that does us in, as the british say. Then we got our own problems of living up to an image, maintaining standards and of course, to do things better than anyone out there. Once our physical dependence on others progresses, we keep reminding people where we could have been, if we did that thing at that stage, without fear of the society or with out moral scruples. We lament the destiny for our decisions, our forefathers for our insecurity.
Some where along , we forget to live our life as it was intended to be. Without fear of failure or rejection. After all, it is for us to lead our lives, as we wish as long as we are happy and as long as we are not making others unhappy.
If a person who was dependent on someone always all through her life can perceive it to be an adventure....I get a doubt as what is our handicap....

the picture shows Keller (left) with her teacher / companion Anne sullivan....a life lived in full..

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Marriage..among other things..

They say that marriages are made in heaven and ofcourse some say that they create hell on earth. But then there are always some exceptions...Here is one, even after thirty four years of marriage, my brother and Sister in law are so happy. This picture speaks a million words...
So what makes marriages jell? What makes them go sour?? It is what we make out of it that is matters. The quote " two is a company" stands true only if we find out soul mate or else it turns out to be a different recipe. It is always better to be alone without being lonely rather than shriveling in an unwanted company. It is true that life is not a bed of roses, but then it is up to us to wear gloves or not. These gloves, some call as dreams, some call as hallucination.. what ever it might be, It offers solace to the bruised soul. That is where our mates Music, Books , Films..and others step in. They give us peace and joy in return for our time. How terrible the toils of life would be if we dont have these mates !! I go by my favorite Dramatist G.B.Shaw..." A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. ". Now this is what optimism means !!