However, indicatively analyzing..

It’s been some time since I updated my blog save the random post and a movie review, the latter being more uncharacteristic of me than the former. The reason is that I have been both petrified and repulsed at the same time by the thought of writing anything. Oh, well, to cut a long story short.. on second thoughts, you may have the (not so) long story to start with.

For the past two months, I have had to write loads and loads and loads. And, have had to re - write most of them too. For instance,
“But, ­__ shows that __” has been modified to “However, __ indicates that __”
“Assists in containing” has become “Facilitates in optimizing”
“__ might look at __” has transformed in to “__ may consider __”
Did you notice something here? The first example I have used has ‘modified’ as the joiner, the second one has ‘become’ and the third one has ‘transformed’ totally.
This is something else I had to inculcate in me to improve the quality of my work.
If the 1st sentence is “__ indicates that __”,
the 3rd sentence becomes “__ provides a snapshot of __”,
the 5th sentence becomes “__ depicts the __” etc.

I have had some expertise in formal writing, having been quite a ‘Globe Goddess’ both in college and at campus. My exam papers have carried pages and pages of writing, my project reports have been longer than anyone else’s. But, the past two months have been the most trying in my “write-life”. It has made me so paranoid that I do not use but and might and show anymore. I have acquired an OCD to use the formally correct, politically right words. And, it has hampered my thinking process and writing skills very badly.

I have been worried that the next time I blog, I will sound more like publishing a report than writing just for the heck of it. Incidentally, even my last published writing was not so cautiously executed. It did have ‘but’ instead of ‘however’ in a lot of places.

On second thoughts, all this writing has done me good I guess. If you notice my previous post, it is ‘marginally’ well structured and well thought out (relative to my other posts) – quite atypical of me.

On third thoughts, it somehow feels too unreal to write that way, where everything is in place and written the way it should be, as if my eyes are all set on winning the Pulitzer Prize. Ok, that was a BIT of dramatization, but I guess you are getting the point. There are certain things I do because I have to do them, out of a sense of duty, like writing reports, making presentations, attending parties (rarely) so as not to project myself as a social un-animal and so on. And, there are certain other things I do because I love doing them, like bathroom singing, playing Veena, hanging out with friends, blogging and tinkering.

Now, if I spend time with friends because of a sense of duty towards the whole concept of hanging out, it kills the joy and the beauty of it. Similarly, if I blog using semantically and syntactically right sounding words and phrases, it would kill my individuality and originality.
Not for me the ‘however, indicatively analyzing’ style, at least when blogging. And, I hope that there is clear work life balance on this respect at least and my official writing skills never spill over in to my personal writing.

Like how a friend used to sign off any post on Arbit, I hope I am arbit enough, always!

Movie review "Are" there

It has been a long time since I reviewed anything. However, this is not exactly a review. It is just a collection of some random thoughts that crossed my mind when I was seeing Delhi – 6 today evening.

“Please do not watch Delhi – 6. If you have booked tickets already, try selling them to someone,” was the warning from a friend last night. When I walked in to the movie hall today, these words were still ringing in my head. So, it was with a lot of skepticism that I settled down for the show.

I really do not have much to say about any of the actors’ prowesses. They play their parts quite well; there is nothing phenomenal about their acting though. Nor am I the right person to comment on whether the movie captures the essence of Chandni Chowk, not having visited Delhi even once.

The one thing that the movie has going for it is the creativity that oozes all through it although this does not come out at first instance. For, the story line at the outset is tried and tested. It looks like an attempted Swades where the American born hero comes back to India and finds that “India works!” after all. But, in my opinion, the director deserves much more appreciation than that. He shows how a small thing like the “Kala Bhandar” (remember the monkey man rumors that were doing the round in Delhi a few years back), a hypothetical creature no one is sure of having seen, can make people paranoid enough to riot, burn, shoot and even kill. He brings out how petty instances of everyday life lead to the building up of a rumor eventually culminating in extremity.

My dad used to say, "Symbolic shots are important. Those are what make the movie click." The movie has a lot of symbolism. This is the work of a poet, filled with beautiful similes and metaphors, be them the Ram Leela scenes or the undercurrent dislike between the brothers or the Hindu – Muslim confrontation. All of them come together to present a wholesome feast which actually looks arbit unless one wants to really concentrate and pass a positive verdict on the film. Maybe, that’s where the director fails; he has drowned the movie in subtleties and provided a delight that is not understandable at first go.

Having said that, I do have my reservations against the movie, the biggest of them the climax. The climax is cliched, it has rounds of dialogue which suddenly seem to enlighten people who have been quite oblivious to the obvious so long, it is consumed by histrionics. Somehow, the movie turns commercial in the final stretch. It is a big contrast from the rest of the movie, as if someone else directed the last ten minutes; it spoils the experience.

I guess the last impression makes the lasting impact in a movie. But, I would still discount it for the rest of the movie in this case. The music is brilliant and has perhaps augmented my good opinion of the movie.

Unrelated Arbit, really!

Written under extreme levels of no enthu; prone to be energy sucking and gloomy in general
What if there were a Ctrl+Z option in life?
Life would be so much more peaceful. We could check each of our options like in a decision tree and track back every time it did not work out and choose the right one.
What if everyone could get to live with everyone they liked without ever having to convince everyone else as to why they should or should not?
We would not have to see people who are special to us suffer and whither right in front of us, incapable of doing anything but crying silently
What if miracles do happen in real life, really?
Like in commercial cinema, we would walk away happier people, for the hero would have run to the railway station at the last moment and scooped up the heroine in his hands
What if life were as arbit as arbit itself, with no semantics and no protocols to adhere to, with each one of us living it on our own terms?
Maybe it already is; everything is in the mind after all.