மாயன்

"அட போப்பா.. எப்போபாரு நீயே ஜெய்ச்சுட்டு இருக்க.."

"நீ கொஞ்சம் மாத்தி யோசி மச்சி..." என்று joystickல் அவசரமாக எதோ cheat code அடித்துக்கொள்கிறான்..

"நான் எண்ண பண்ணாலும் உன்னோட influence.."

"eventually வந்துடுதுல்ல?...ஹா ஹா..."

"designலயே எதோ கசமுசாப்பா.."

"தோத்துட்டன்னு ஒத்துக்கிட்டா தேவல"

"எனக்கும் அப்படித்தான் தோணுது."

"ஒத்துக்கிடியே! ஆச்சர்யம்தான்."

"அடுத்த upgradeல , உன்ன மிஞ்சிடறேன்..புதுசா எனக்குன்னு தனி chip request பண்ணிருக்கேன்.."

"அதையும் பாப்போமே.."

"அதுவரைக்கும் உன்னை உந்த பிரபஞ்ச விளையாட்ல சமாளிக்கனுமே... அடுத்த version எப்போ வருது?" என்றார் கடவுள்..

"டிசம்பர் 2012 " என்றது சாத்தான்...

விளையாட்டு தொடர்ந்தது...

Imran's poems..

The poems recited by Farhan Akhthar and written by his father Javed Akhtar are a big hit with lovers of poetry / shayari all around the world. Many like me who do not understand Hindi much, would definitely like to relish the moments in the movie knowing the real meaning of the poetry. So here it is, we have the English translation and my effort to translate it in Tamil...

To get the feel of the movie watch this -

The first poetry is recited when the trio come out of the sea after deep sea-diving. This profound feeling, even with all the translation possible could not be relished unless you have been in one such moment...

Hindi:

Pighle neelam sa behta ye sama,

neeli neeli si khamoshiyan,

na kahin hai zameen na kahin aasmaan,

sarsaraati hui tehniyaan pattiyaan,

keh raheen hai bas ek tum ho yahan,

bas main hoon,

meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein,

aisi gehraiyaan, aisi tanhaiyaan,

aur main… sirf main.

Apne hone par mujhko yakeen aa gaya.

English Translation of the first poetry

The moment seems to flow like a molten sapphire and there’s deep blue silence,

Neither there is earth below, nor sky above,

The rustling branches, leaves are saying that only you are here,

Only me, my breath and my heartbeat, (copyright Indicine.com)

Such deepness, such loneliness and me…only me,

It all makes me believe in my existence.

தமிழில்:

கருநீல மேகமாய் கரைகிறது காலம்...

கண் முன் விரிவதென்ன? ஆழ் கடல் கோலம்..

மேலே வானம் இல்லை.. கீழே பூமியில்லை..

எஞ்சி இருப்பதெல்லாம் தெய்வீக மௌனம்...

மௌனத்தின் ஓரத்தில் தனியாய் நான்...

காதில் கேப்பதெல்லாம் என் சுவாசம்..

மார்பில் உணர்வதெல்லாம் என் துடிப்பு..

என்னை உணரும் தருணம், என்னோடு இருப்பதெல்லாம்,

நான் மட்டும் .. நான் மட்டும்..

********************************

The second poem.. a very good expression for love.. I have smudged the meaning a little bit so that it feels good when you read it in Tamil...

Hindi:

Ik baat honton tak hai jo aayi nahin

Bas ankhon say hai jhaankti

Tumse kabhi, mujhse kabhi

Kuch lafz hain woh maangti

Jinko pehanke honton tak aa jaaye woh

Aawaaz ki baahon mein baahein daalke ithlaye woh

Lekin jo yeh ik baat hai

Ahsas hi ahsas hai

Khushboo si hai jaise hawa mein tairti

Khushboo jo be-aawaaz hai

Jiska pata tumko bhi hai

Jiski khabar mujhko bhi hai

Duniya se bhi chupta nahin

Yeh jaane kaisa raaz hai

English Translation

A thing that still hasn’t come up to my lips and only peeks through my eyes,

It asks for words, sometimes from me and sometimes from you,

So that it can wear those words and come to the lips,

And so that it could be embraced by words..

But this thing is actually a feeling…only a feeling,

It’s like a fragrance floating in the air, (copyright Indicine.com)

Fragrance, which has no voice…and about which you know and I know too.

It is not hidden from the world, what kind of a secret it is?

தமிழில்

வார்த்தை உடையின்றி

இமைகளின் பின்னால்

வெட்கத்தோடு ஒளிந்துகொள்கிறது

இந்த உணர்வு...

அமர மலரின்றி காற்றில் கிடந்தலையும் சுகந்தம் போல..

உலகே அறிந்த அந்த ரகசிய வார்த்தைதான் எனன?

********************************

Poem 3 (when Farhan meets his biological father).. this scene was shot exceptionally well. There was no drama where there could ve been a ton.

Hindi:

Jab jab dard ka baadal chaya

Jab ghum ka saya lehraya

Jab aansoo palkon tak aya

Jab yeh tanha dil ghabraya

Humne dil ko yeh samjhaya

Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai

Duniya mein yunhi hota hai

Yeh jo gehre sannate hain

Waqt ne sabko hi baante hain

Thoda ghum hai sabka qissa

Thodi dhoop hai sabka hissa

Aankh teri bekaar hi nam hai

Har pal ek naya mausam hai

Kyun tu aise pal khota hai

Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai

English Translation

Whenever the clouds of pain and sadness loomed,

Whenever tears came till the eyelashes,

Whenever this lonely heart got scared,

I told my heart, Oh Heart, why do you cry?

This is what happens in this world…

This deep silence…the world has distributed it to everyone,

Some sadness is a part of everyone’s life,

Some sunshine is a part of everyone’s life,

Your eyes are wet without any reason,

Every second is a new season, (copyright Indicine.com)

Why do you let go of such priceless moments?

Oh Heart, why do you cry?

தமிழில்

வலியின் மேகம் சூழும்போதும்

துயரம் உணர்வைத் தைக்கும்போதும்

அஞ்சும் நெஞ்சம் கண்ணீர் விடும்..

சிந்தும் நீரால் கங்கை சுடும்..

மனமே -

சோகம் - பொது..

அழுகை - பொது..

மகிழ்ச்சி - பொது..

சிரிப்பு - பொது..

பொதுவுடமையா உன் விழி நீர் காரணம்?

நழுவ விடாதே...

ஒவ்வொரு தருணமும் உன் வாழ்வின் தோரணம்..

********************************

And finally the last of the four.. it comes at the last frame of the movie.. which is the crux of the entire movie... open your minds.. embrace the moments... Zindagi na milegi dobara... :)

Hindi:

Dilon me tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum

Nazar me khwaabon ki bijliyan leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum

Hwa ke jhokon ke jaise aazad rehno sekho

Tum ek dariya ke jaise lehron mein behna sekho

Hr ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahein

Hr ek pal ek nya sama dekhe nigahein

Jo apni ankhon mein hairanian leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum

Dilon mein tum apni betabian leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum

English Translation

If you have eagerness in your heart, it means you are alive,

If your eyes are filled with dreams, it means you are alive

Learn to be free like the wind, (copyright Indicine.com)

Learn to flow freely like the river,

Embrace every moment with open arms,

See a new horizon every time with your eyes,

If you carry surprise in your eyes, it means you are alive,

If you have eagerness in your heart, it means you are alive…

தமிழில்

துடிக்கும் இதையம் விழிப்போடிருந்தால்...

இமைக்கும் விழியில் கனவோடிருந்தால்...

வளிபோல் நதிபோல் இயல்போடிருந்தால்..

செயலும் மனமும் திறந்தே இருந்தால்..

உன் கீழ்வானம்

நித்தம் புதிதாய் பிறந்தால்..

நீயும் உயிரோடிருக்கிறாய்...

துடிக்கும் இதையம் விழிப்போடிருந்தால்...

This is my first attempt to translate a poem.. Hope I've done a good job.. any feedback is welcome...

நட்பு தேசம்

நட்பின் தேசத்தில்

பாலினம் உட்பட,

வித்தியாசங்கள் உணரப்படுவதில்லை

அங்கே வாழ்பவர்கள்
தேவனால் ஆசிர்வதிக்கப்பட்டவர்கள்

******

நட்பும், அது சார்ந்த காயங்களும்

இல்லாத மனிதன் உண்டா?

சொல்ல நினைத்து

சொல்லாமல் விட்ட வார்த்தைகளில்...

கேட்க நினைத்து

கேளாமல் விட்ட கேள்விகளில்..

அருகிலிருந்தும்

மெளனமாய்க் கடத்திய நிமிடங்களில்...

தவறான புரிதல்களால்-அன்பைத்

தவற விட்ட தருணங்களில்...

இன்னும் உள்ளாறாமல் இருக்கின்றன

நம் நட்பின் காயங்கள்!

அவை அனைத்தும் நடப்பின் நீளங்கள்..

தட்டுவதற்கு அவசியமின்றி

திறந்தே கிடக்கிறது நடப்பின் கதவு...

அங்கு

கேட்கப்படும் முன்பே அனைத்தும்
தரப்படுகிறது

நட்பில், வார்த்தைகளின் வன்முறை இல்லை..

மௌனத்தின் கொடூரங்கள் இல்லை...

நம்மில்தான் இருக்கிறது...

உண்மையான நட்பு

நம்மை விட்டு விலகுவதுமில்லை
கை விடுவதுமில்லை...

Some really smaaal stories - II

This post is a sequel to this.

Feedback - must!

========================================

Dead. Wandering forever. No heaven. No hell.

-----

Kids resembled her. Nobody knows she cheated!

-----

I'm schizophrenic.. (and so am I)..

-----

Car driver off cliff... GPS: "Recalculating.."

-----

No body knows: Humpty Dumpty was pushed!

-----

Coughin'..Coughin'..Coughin'..Coughin'.. Coffin

-----

Slept without signing off... Morpheus left an offline.

....................

As promised... more to come! :)

Amir and me...

My recent past had me traveling across US with long flight journeys and even longer layovers which gave me ample time to finish "The Kite Runner", the book I wanted to read for a long time. There are few books which can pull you physically into it, make you laugh, make you think, make you shed a tear... and haunt you for days to come and this - was one of those! A very close contender to "Shantaram" - my favorite fiction yet!

I could relate to "Amir" the narrator and by relate I just don't mean that I could empathize with him, I was able to relate certain incidents in my life - the bygone memories. It was as if Amir sat and watched all of my life so far from around the corner and after 25 years he stopped watching and told me a story from the darkest parts of it and made me relive those days! Those days which I never thought I could remember!

Whenever you read a good book, or finish reading it, it will leave you with questions... questions which are very personal.. very clandestine.. questions which you are afraid to ask yourself.. or to others. Or to put it better, only those are good books! :)

And the questions this book left me with, have no right or wrong answers.Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer. From those questions I would like to share a few.. these questions really meant something to me..

One might wonder how can "The kite runner" rise such questions... but you have to be me to undergo the thought process it took to land on each and every one of these questions!

• How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
  
• If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
  
• When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
  
• What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
  
• If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

• Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
  
• If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
  
• To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
  
• Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
  
• If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
  
• Would you break the law to save a loved one?
  
• Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
  
• What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
  
• How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
  
• What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?
  
• What’s holding you back?
  
• Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
  
• If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
  
• Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
  
• Why are you, you?
  
• What does friendship mean to you? or to anyone?
• Why is it so important?
  
• Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
  
• What are you most grateful for?
  
• Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
  
• Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
  
• Has your greatest fear ever come true?
  
• Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
  
• What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
  
• At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
  
• If not now, then when?
  
• If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
  
• Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
  
• If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
  
• Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
  
• Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
  
• When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
  
• If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
  
• Why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? After all we are going to learn from it!
  
• What would you do you knew nobody would judge you?
  
• When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
  
• What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
  
• In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
• Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
• If others are making it for you, do you really want them to?
  

Happy thinking folks! :)

50 simple pleasures...

# When someone unexpectedly says exactly what you needed and wanted to hear.

# Waking up to a bright and sunny morning after a night of thunderstorms and rain.

# Snooze button : Keeping the dream alive :)

# A moment of déjà vu.

# Learn keyboard shortcuts.

# Watching a baby - falling asleep

# Figuring out the plot twist of a movie just before they reveal it or way ahead of it!

# Reviewing digital photos two seconds after you take them.

# When a large file unexpectedly downloads really fast.

# Eating the little bit of yogurt or ice cream that gets stuck to the bottom of the container.

# When the person scratching your back finds that one really itchy spot.

# When you pick something up and it’s way lighter than you expected it to be.

# Talking into a fan and listening to your voice sound like a robot. :D

# Piecing together some juicy gossip via other people’s Facebook status updates.

# Eating whatever you’re cooking while you’re cooking it and liking it.

# Immediately finding the start to a roll of tape.

# Using Google to spell check.

# Finding that perfect spot when you’re in a cocoon of blankets and pillows.

# Picking someone up curbside at the airport on the first try without having to loop around the terminal.

# The way you and your best friends can act like total retards together and have no shame.

# That huge sense of relief when you find your cell phone after you thought you lost it.

# In the car, waving to a random kid and having them actually wave back.

# When you high five a friend and you both miss.

# Looking in the fridge for no reason when you’re bored.

# Yelling at a video game when you get killed.

# That moment when someone says, “You’re not even listening to me. Repeat what I just said.” And then you do perfectly and they look dumbfounded.

# The goofy look on people’s faces when they wake up.

# The first hour of a long road trip when everyone is still super excited.

# Laughing at something you just saw with a complete stranger who just happened to see it too.

# Telling Microsoft Word to “Ignore All” spelling mistakes for your name.

# When your fortune cookie’s fortune totally applies to what’s going on in your life right now.

# When you call in sick all of a sudden when India plays Pakistan on a Wednesday morning 4 AM

# Watching India win the world cup with that special person!

# A really, really... really quiet corner of the library.

# Lazy Sundays when you don’t leave the house a single time all day.

# Gazing at the city below from the window seat.

# Random drive to unknown places making sure that the GPS is with you.

# "Wanting" to not give a darn what anyone else thinks and living life the way YOU want to live... note: "Wanting to.." :)

# When you're eating pizza or mozzarella sticks and the cheese stretches way farther than usual.

# When you're hot under your bed covers and you stick one leg out from under the covers to cool off.

# This : "Where’s my phone?" "I'll call it!" "It’s on vibrate!!" "Everyone SHHHHHHHH!!!" “I hear it!”

# The five minutes just before the school bell rings at the end of the day...tick-tock-tick-tock..

# Controlling the urge of sneaking to the last chapter of that incredible book!

# Inbox (1)

# Cherry blossoms

# Being next in line.

# Rajini movie - first day first show - wherever you are!

# Finding a random note from long back.

# Walking bare-foot..

# Hearing someone sing cheerfully to themselves.

PS: எத்தனை கோடி இன்பம் வைத்தாய் எங்கள் இறைவா! இறைவா! இறைவா!

On the verge of Stranger Tides...

.. I started watching a series of movies from the beginning...

I am nearly 25 years old. A sober young man. Single. I have now sat through hundreds of movies alone and with friends. Many of which I have enjoyed. And I am not completely hardened in my sophistication. The opening music to The Lion King brought tears to my eyes even now. But still, these are after all just children's movies. In another life, I would never have seen them. And, really, one can't take such movies too seriously, can one?

And one summer, I dutifully trudged into yet another Disney "adventure" movie. Named after that tired old ride in Anaheim. I mean really, how much can you expect?

And then, it happened. The swirling intoxication. The stunned feeling. What? Who? How? Was this a movie? Or a religious experience? Perhaps more like an addictive experience...

I cannot remember ever willingly paying to see any movie not starring Rajini or Kamal more than twice, and I can count those movies on one hand. I have now seen "Pirates" SEVERAL times. The only thing keeping me from seeing it again is the sense that this whole thing is just getting out of hand. I cannot get enough of it. It's like walking into a painting that you never want to come back out of. My parents ask, with a note of concern in their voices, "So, you really like Pirates of the Caribbean a lot, don't you?"

And Depp!! My God. I never had any idea who he was, but his name sounded like something created for a pubescent cover-boy for magazines published to hook thirteen year-old girls on make-up and bad music.

I am straight. I have few good friends who are gay, but have never fantasized about any gender but the female. But now I understand how women can experience swooning crushes on male film stars. He is simply extraordinary. So sly, so seductive, so canny! I read an interview in which Depp said he went through a slight depression when he had to stop playing Captain Jack Sparrow. I can see why. His inventiveness and sheer pleasure in inhabiting the character come through in every frame.

And, in a time when many big-budget movies are little more than a hodge-podge of loosely- connected "money shots" this movie puts all the pieces together, with a sense of fun and light-heartedness in special effects that are simply dazzling. I find myself laughing with dizzy appreciation when Barbossa barks out, "You'd best be believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner, you're in one!" and the grinning skeletons come into view, with Badelt's pounding score keeping time to the beat of their maniacal deck-swabbing. And then there's the scene of the pirate-ghouls slithering up from the darkened sea on the mooring cables of the Dauntless, like infernal cats stalking their prey.

And now to the music. To me, it is absolutely transporting.

Perhaps I am just losing my grip, having a movie get to me this way. But when those final credits roll, and Captain Jack narrows his eyes and says, "Now, bring me that horizon. Drink up me hearties, yo ho" and the music swells ... it is difficult to put into words the effect it has.

This is not just another "entry" in the blockbuster sweepstakes. It is an exquisite work of fantasy and inventiveness, a true classic, on the order of "The Wizard of Oz", "Indiana Jones", I do hope Depp's performance garners a place in the pantheon, of our generation to show our children and grandchildren like a revealed treasure. I cannot recall any movie having such an effect on me...

Hats off Depp! We love Jack Sparrow! And we want more.. Savvy?