Vinod Narayan

This was not a predefined experiment, it so happened that when some time and two good Documentary themes came together the after effects of watching them turned out to be an experiment, the experience of which my mind relishes even now.

The two documentaries are interesting but not necessarily identical. But watching them back to back is what made all the difference.  When you watch one documentary and rest your mind on the after thoughts, you are always focused on what was conveyed in the film and you interpretation of the same from your experience.

But when you watch two such interesting themes back to back, the experiment begins. Your thoughts become mixed and you start running between the two rather different topics at time connecting them and at time contradicting each other. The mind goes through a very energizing exercise and you start looking at things very differently than what anyone has looked into before. Because the chances of someone seeing the same two documentaries back to back is very low.

What makes the experience worth blogging for me is the theme that each documentary carried.

The first Documentary was “Examined Life” by Astra Taylor that takes you through the thoughts, opinions and observations of some renowned western philosophers who discuss about Moral, ethics, culture, individualism, wealth, leisure and more. More than a conversation it’s the director listening to pieces of life as seen by people who have dissected it beyond the comprehension of common people like us

The Second Documentary was “Close to Home: Scenes from a Recession” On New York City’s affluent Upper East Side, “Frontline” producer Ofra Bikel explores how the country’s ongoing recession is affecting the diverse array of common people who pass through her local hair salon, from wealthy bankers to struggling actors. As Deborah Boles, the salon’s owner, describes the obstacles to keeping her business afloat, her sister, Barbara, laments her own inability to pay the astronomical interest on her subprime mortgage.

Now you would understand why I say the experience of after watch is so worth blogging. When life is examined by two classes of people the first a group of the so called intelligentsia who teach and of course constantly learn but I guess mostly from the experiences of others. The second lot is a group of people who are trying to make a living and never have had or now have the time to explore life in parts or its totality as the first lot.

The first lot makes a living out of exploring life itself and the second group lead a life eventful only in the pursuit to make a living.

Though living in total contrast with each other these both groups bring forward some very profound understanding of life. One emerging from the pursuit of answers that would address world and life’s problems in general while the second group common me and you give profound insights acquired from their own experience of life.

I have much to write but I would rather stop here and enjoy the buffet of thoughts before it all passes into a forgetful past as time connects me with my realities

If you have time I suggest you this experiment, you will enjoy it

When Hemmingway was challenged to write a Novel in six words, he wrote
“For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.”

People found that so little words could bring with them so amazing and interesting a story that writing short became an art by itself.

Not many books come by that encompasses the sentiments and feelings of an entire generation. But here is one that is so unique that it is written by 600 Authors. Yes, 600 authors aged between thirteen and nineteen penning their memoir in just six words.

I know I am not a teen anymore, at least not in looks, but much in my mind I would like to believe.

The fact that I was once a teen and that I will be the parent to one in the coming years made this a must read for me. I am sure many of my friends would also like to read this and you will find this a very compelling read.

I am putting in a few of them here so you get a feel. Some of them are funny, some can bring a tear to your eyes, some so profound and deep that we realize that age is not a necessity for great thoughts.

If there is one thing that is evident in all the writings, it is the honesty. The honest opinion of a generation that knows that they are already burdened with the responsibility to find answers to a myriad of questions that our generation will be leaving unanswered and unsolved

Enjoy the following words from some very honest folks

“Met online; love before first sight.”

“You’re the parent; Act like one”

“God abandoned me, so I reciprocated”

“Dreams too big for this town….”

“Turn around, and you’re all alone”

“Refusing to be just another statistic”

“Iraq doesn’t need you. I do”

“Follow your dreams not your parents”

“Got expelled. Felt like living again”

“Honor Roll. No friends. Bright Future”

“Fake smiles, Hidden tears, Real Laughter”

“The good daughter and therefore invisible”

“You chose pot, I chose poetry”

“Waiting indefinitely for life to begin”

“Fell down, Got up, Kept Dreaming”

“I draw my dreams in crayon

“I got help, it didn’t help”

“The potential of the Blank Page”

“All I know is I don’t”

The idiot Controversy has been in the air for some time and not having read the book, I am in no position to comment. But after seeing the movie and reading about how close or not close the script is to the book, here are a few things that keep me thinking.

As a former engineering student I could personally relate to about 60% of the movie, not that I was a replica of any of the characters, but I have seen in my college life people who are at least 80% similar to the characters

1. There were Ranchos, might not be one but a culmination of multiple characters. One who would have had the passion of engineering that Rancho has. I have even heard of one who has wrote exams on behalf of someone else (anyone commenting please don’t use names in here, this is just hear say). Another guy who was in love with a Medical student, and again people who defied the institution and the system. We have had other students who fell in love with children of the staff. Rancho might be fiction, but elements of Rancho are very true in colleges, at least the one we studied
2. There were people from the backgrounds much similar to Sharman Joshi’s and obviously people like Farhan who landed up there and could not figure out why till the last paper in the last semester was written, Some still wonder, while some moved on I guess
3. The Ragging has been in similar and more pervert ways as one could imagine.
4. We have seen suicides on pressure, not necessarily our college, but in other comparable college incidents in those times
5. The joke of the motor starting was there in all engineering colleges. what happened to me once was that after the whole circuit connection my motor started turning opposite J I guess this puzzled both me and the teacher but he was fast enough to switch off the main supply to avoid any mishaps
6. The story of the pen and pencil is an old joke of what Russians used in space.
7. We have used a scooter for hospital transportation but not necessarily for someone in the same state of illness or the exact character type.
8. Delivering the baby was totally new as we never had access to computers and that whole thing looked to me as a high blown fiction and quite unrealistic, but the depiction was worth watching with the masalas brewed in

Again what we should see is if the climax and the unrealistic and often purely fictional story elements have been borrowed from the book or not.

But for the jokes, the way the life in a college, the pressure, the competition etc… it might be too unlikely to be termed as a copy, but more should be dealt with as an inspiration

But yet even an inspiration needs to be given due importance, for there are very few people in this world who can create things from thin air, and often when someone does that we call them unrealistic and far from life.

So most writers and movie makers are always inspired by something or the other and I strongly believe that inspirations should be recognized.

Again I think how the education and competitive system kills creativity and how passions go unrecognized is a central theme and if taken from the book, due recognition should be for chetan.

But I will refrain my thoughts and read the book and later comment, sadly I can’t find one of the copies in US yet.