Gesture, language and thoughts are interrelated. Thoughts are articulated in mind and they get expressed through language. Poetry give a rhythm to the expression of these thoughts.
Finally, I watched "The Martian". Wow! What a movie! Just loved it.
While watching it, a thought struck me. What if the film was made in Bollywood! So, I let my thought flow and I enter the fantasy land of Bollywood.
Okay now, let's imagine a full-fledged Bollywood masala version of "The Martian" with, of course, Mr. King Khan, oops, Dr. Shah Rukh Khan as the main protagonist and see where the story takes us.
So, Mark Watney becomes Raj Aryan Malhotra and of course, Raj cannot have a crew (especially a lady crew member), who can ignore the aura of romance that radiates from his body. Yes, it has to be Simran among the crew members, who faces the dilemma (just as Hamlet faced). To leave or not to leave is the question and Simran's loyalty towards Raj prevents her from leaving Mars as she always knows - dead or alive, Raj will reincarnate. Therefore, she stays back with unconscious Raj (assumed to be dead by others) and commands the crew to fulfill their mission.
Simran pulls Raj back to the Hab. When Raj regains consciousness, he is surprised to discover that his Senorita has not deserted him. Delighted yet stunned Raj gains faith in love. With tears in eyes, he hugs Simran and the background score plays, "Na juda honge hum, kabhi khushi kabhi gham! Ab Mars hi hai ghar, yahin khushi yahin gham!!!"
As the film progresses, Raj and Simran draw out a survival plan in the alien planet but in this emotionally romantic yet crisis situation, they completely forget about communicating to NASA or ISRO. They trust their brains and more importantly their love and believe that they will be able to convince Mars to accept them as its inhabitants, which with the course of time will change its atmosphere to suit the needs of Raj and Simran.
After 5 SOLs of love and romance, the couple begin to colonize Mars as they start growing plants there. Raj is definitely smarter than US trained Botanist, Mark and never lets the extra amount of oxygen to interfere with his cultivation techniques.
The red planet engenders poetry within the minds of the two young scientists and their love springs out in the form of an eternal anthem romance. They dance (with their space suits on) around the hills on the orange soil and dedicate the lyrics of their love song to Mars as they sing "Rang de tu mohe gerua."
They live a happy life with little struggle and lots of peace in a land so far away from the human civilization and most importantly, they never get bored. They often go for long drives in the Rover and then sleep peacefully at night.
On the other part of the universe, NASA, needless to mention, in collaboration with ISRO, is preparing for its next mission to Mars. Here, it is important for us to know that Simran did communicate to NASA about their survival when she got some time from her daily chores of agriculture and romance in the Martian fields. Actually, she did it when she fought with Raj and thought of coming back to Earth as she considered the blue planet as her "maika". The space research organizations on Earth decided to reset their calendar and planned to club the rescue mission with their future exploratory mission to Mars. With the help of ISRO's innovative technology and a young cute kid's (wannabe astro-dynamics scientist) calculations, NASA manages to send the mission that reaches Mars on Raj and Simran's 675th SOL of survival.
As the crew peep out of the spaceship before stepping into the Martian soil, they get confused to find stretches of green field on the planet. They doubt if they have landed on the right planet. With utter caution, the crew members step into the planet, one by one. As they take a few step forward, they hear sound of children, laughing. They look at each other and fear if Mars had life, I mean alien life. They are about to head back to the spaceship, when they receive a message from Raj Aryan Malhotra. "This is Raj Aryan Malhotra. Welcome to Mars. Copy." The crew turn back. Raj and Simran come out of the Hab (of course with their space suits on and not in a designer attire as Mars' atmosphere has not yet changed). Whoa, what's that?!!!! Both of them are holding a child in their arms. The twins, born out of love, born in Mars. The movie ends as the screen flashes in bold letters - "The Martians".
Enjoy the song as you colour yourself in the Martian hue...
It has always been a pleasure to visit new places. Visiting a new city and becoming a part of it is even more cherishing.
I am indeed an immigrant soul.
The transition from being a tourist to becoming a resident does engender some woes. But... when the woes are organic, the healing comes from within.
Friends say, Bangalore, rather Bengaluru, is a city of opportunities and that is how the city peeped into our lives (i.e. mine and my husband's).
I kind of like the name Bengaluru. I mean, Bengal and Bengaluru have some cousin-like similarity, Oh my Bong connection!
The moment I entered the famed land of optimism, options, and opportunities, the city welcomed me with cold showers of rain. The rain-kissed roads ensured a traffic-stuck journey; the new city made sure to reveal most of its shades in the introduction.
I was courteous enough to greet it back with a blocked nose, sore throat and a bit of fever.
I was impressed. Come on! Which place ushers so much warmth that your body thermostat resets its temperature.
Bangalore Blues have just begun and I realize it when a 5KM journey takes more than an hour.
But, as I said before, Bengaluru is a land of optimism and it keeps bombarding you with blues until your vision adjusts itself to see VIBGYOR in the blues.
The Silicon Valley of India exhibits its corporate flavor in every aspect of life. The process, rather the struggle, to find a maid is no less than running a recruitment drive for an MNC (however, in my case it is an inadequately funded start-up).
The city has unleashed a new zeal in me. The regular struggle of not getting hit by a car, or a bike, or an auto, or a bus, or a cow, while walking on two-lane highways teaches one to appreciate life. Darwin's "survival of the fittest" is the mantra here.
So... that's how my Bangalore days begin...
I am still a new girl in the Garden city, hoping to find the gardens and trying to discover the shades of the rainbow in the blues.
There are so many little things that make our life easier. We use them regularly but hardly wonder who might have made it for the first time. May it be the wind shield wiper or a car heater or may be the disposable diapers. So let us dig into this little, life changing inventions and into the names of their unsung inventors.
Mary Anderson
Have you ever heard of Mary Anderson? Yes, she is the one who invented wind shield wiper. Wondering about the car heater? It is Margaret Wilcox.
Have you ever read about these names in your school textbooks or any science literature? Most people will draw a blank when asked to name a woman inventor. At best, they might name Marie Curie. Ironically, even Marie Curie is mostly known for discovering radium and not for the radium-isolation technique she designed.
Women has always been hard at work, whether making chocolate chip cookies for the first time or creating alphabet blocks or designing the maiden disposable diapers or even inventing complicated scientific tools.
Letita Geer
The trivial yet useful mounted globes is patented by Ellen Fitz in 1875 while cooking stove was created by Elizabeth Hawk in 1867. The credit of inventing electric water heater goes to Ida Forbes in 1917 whereas invention of syringe that changed our lives and the medicine today goes to Letita Geer.
Harriet Strong is known as the primary inventor of dry land irrigation and water conservation techniques 1887. Conception of the idea of construction of dams and reservoirs was pioneered by her.
Harriet Strong
Submarine lamps and telescopes were invented by Sara Mather in 1885 and elevated railways by Mary Walton in 1881.
Woman has always unleashed their minds into useful creations but as we know history being His-Story has been unfair to her and recorded a very few of her geniuses.
Austrian actress Heddy Lamarr was also a pioneer in the field of wireless communications. She invented "spread spectrum technology" that helped to create an unbreakable code which prevented interception of messages by Nazi agents during World War II. Later, this technology formed the backbone of cellular technology and other wireless communication techniques.
Hedy Lamarr
Another example of the inventiveness of female mind is the invention of "Blissymbol Printer" by Rachel Zimmerman in the 1980s. This printer works through symbols on a touch pad, which are converted into written language thereby enabling communication by speech-impaired people.
Patricia Billings was a sculptor who ended up inventing an indestructible, fire-resistant, non-toxic material while she was trying to create a cement additive to prevent her sculptures from scattering. This material, patented as "Geobond", became the world's first workable replacement for asbestos.
Patricia Billings
Interestingly, the first woman inventor recorded in history is Sybilla Masters (1715) who was an American colonist. She developed a cleaning and curing technique for Indian corn crops which helped in processing corns into various food and clothing products. The patent was issued in her husband's name by the British Government.
Taking notice of Sybilla Masters, it brings to the fore, why history has recorded so few inventions by women. The reason might be the lack of legal rights given to women. Women could not claim ownership of property until late 1800s. Patent, which comes under the category of intellectual property, could not be issued to women. Low education among women and the prevalent socio-cultural beliefs during the period also denied to accept that a woman would be able to innovate and invent. So, most of the inventions and discoveries by women went in the names of their husbands, sons or fathers.
It's a very, very, very hot afternoon! One of those humid summer days when sweats determine to flood the world. Resting under the shade does not seem to rescue either. Where's my handkerchief? I stretch my hand to take it.... holy shit!!! My heart almost skipped a bit! Mew! I can't get the sight of my kerchief. Am I dreaming or is it true? My hanky has become nothing but a big, fat cat! Me: What's wrong! How can my hanky just become a cat! Cat: (Shouting) What's wrong in it? It always happens this way. An egg becomes a hen, don't you know that? Me: Hmm... (thoughtfully) that's true. So, what should I call you? You are not a cat but my kerchief but you look like a cat... Cat: Call me cat or call me hanky or call me Moon. Me: Why Moon? Cat: Ha ha ha (sarcastically) don't you even know that? This is embarrassing. I must have understood that. Me: Of course, I know. Cat: Yes. It's damn easy. Everyone knows it. Moon's 'M', Cat's 'I' and Hanky's 'ND' makes MIND. Isn't it? I cannot understand a bit of it. But he will laugh at me if I ask. It's better to pretend. Me: Yeah, it's easy. Cat: If you feel so hot, why don't you go to Tibbet? Me: As if it's that easy. Cat: Why not easy? Me: Do you have any idea how to reach there? Cat: Why wouldn't I? Go straight, turn right and then a few hours journey. Me: Is it? Then give me the map. Cat: (Sternly) Nope. It's not my job. Nature-man might tell you. Me: Then tell me where I can find him. Cat: That's very difficult. He is too busy. For example, if you have come to Hyderabad to meet him, he would be in London. When you reach London he would have been to Qatar. You can hardly meet him. Me: Then, how do you meet him? Cat: That's a tough job. There are a lot of calculations. First, I need to calculate where he is not present. Then I calculate where he might be present; after that I calculate where he is present. Then I calculate when I reach where he is present where would he be actually present. then I have to calculate... Me: What kind of calculations are these? Cat: It's very tough. Close your eyes and listen to me carefully, you will understand. It's been a while since I closed my eyes but I can't hear anything. No sound of the cat! It seems little fishy. I should open my eyes now. Huh! What's this? Moon is running away and why is he laughing at me?
I was a kite,
With my strings tied
To the railings of the window,
That opened to the sky.
I struggled through the wind;
My skin wounded -
I shut my eyes in fear!
I was a kite,
Flying in the gray fair of clouds,
Then I saw a rainbow...
I did not know,
When my strings were torn!
Chiseling drizzles, frightening thunders
Unruliness ruled over.
My wings were spread,
My eyes wide open;
The ether throbbed my heart!
I was a free bird,
Steering my flight in the blue sky.
Then I met love...
Now. . .
I live in a golden cage.
Tick-tock tick-tock
Plays the music in the clock.
Time passes on -
And I need a bigger sock.
Taller legs, curvy body...
Oh, I've grown up!
No school, no home-works,
I know how to make-up.
Lub-dub, lub-dub
What did I hear?
Is it the same heart beat
That I used to bear?
Erotic thoughts, stressed head.
It's a race, I guess.
Losing pace, falling down...
It seems the same mess.
Growing up is game then,
We made it serious.
'Aging', 'maturity', 'experience'
Being termed to be synonymous.
Neither drugs nor alcohol...
Growing up is the addiction.
No vaccine, no cure
It's resistant to every action.
It's the game of mind.
I always thought so.
Did I really grow up?
Oh yes! Oh no!!!
Have you seen a black-hole?
I did.
Actually, I do.
It's not that I am an astronaut.
Neither did gravity ever forget to exert its effect on me.
I see it -
When I enter a shopping mall,
And gaze at the glittering display of consumerism.
When I fill my basket with things I don't need,
I see myself being sucked into it!
I see it -
When I dream of wearing a royal blue, Gucci dress,
And driving a black Mercedes Benz.
When everything I have comes with a brand name,
I see myself succumbing to it!
I see it -
When I open my over-stuffed closet,
And things scatter out of it.
When I still find nothing to wear,
I see the black-hole taking over me!
A ray of light appears,
When I realize my entrapment.
But,
I slowly accept my survival within it;
Because it's a black-hole
And it has absorbed me.
I had a dream
in the dark of night,
Where I saw
a faint ray of light.
I reached a garden
with the carpet of green,
The kindly light led me.
The spirit of mirth
touched my heart,
the flowers were glittering.
I heard the rhythm of peace.
My feet tapped on!
Beauty of fantasy
reached its height,
the sky could not stop it.
My heart did speak a thousand words;
my lips uttered none.
I stood, bound with spell,
innocence embraced me.
Fragrance of love, was in the air.
I could breath in.
Garden of Eden,
The twilight sky,
All stared at me.
A dew drop fell,
My eyes opened,
But my mind remained astonished.
The poem written by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), originally published in Bengali in 1910 and translated by him in 1912 comprise a part of the collection Gitanjali. This poem is one of my favorite poems that stands relevant even after a century since it was written. This poem illustrates a state that Tagore dreamed of India to be but our country still kept this dream intact without realization.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
It was not just another day. Yes, I say this because it does not happen daily when you witness the beast in an angel. The cosmic powers align to create a pseudo-black hole, to which the angel loses her aura. Her divinity is sucked. The fateful day reveals her basic instincts when her mind becomes the body. With the broken shell of aura, she touches the ground. The coarse soil hurts her. The angel, who was stubborn yet subtle; who saw things as they were yet who was dreamy, suddenly realizes her humane self. She discovers the traits she believed she did not possess. She fumbles at the sight of her bestial self. Her weak body acquires the prowess. At a moment her aggression takes over and she becomes all powerful; at the next instance, her prowess becomes her weakness and she breaks down. Yes, it is not easy for an angel to manifest the beast. It takes all, the body, the mind, and the soul. Thus the vicious circle encompasses life. Angel tastes the demonic divinity of a beast driven by instincts and she evolves being more divine!
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