A poem on Death: from an old Hindi Movie Anand

 

Sharing a very soulful poem that was penned by the Indian Urdu poet Gulzar and was recited in an old Hindi movie (Anand, 1971). The poem talks of death itself being like a poem. The theme of death is present in this movie as one of the actors (Rajesh Khanna), who plays the best friend of another actor (Amitabh Bachchan) is on the verge of death and in the end, does die...it's a poignant movie that showcases the thoughts and philosophies of how one views death and life...Anyways, the movie clip with then young actor (AB) reciting the poem can be heard here:

Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai ❤️ | Anand (1971) | Heart Touching Scene #anand #amitabhBachchan #shorts

and the poem is as follows:

 

"मौत तू एक कविता है,

मुझसे एक कविता का वादा है मिलेगी मुझको

डूबती नब्ज़ों में जब दर्द को नींद आने लगे

ज़र्द सा चेहरा लिये जब चांद उफक तक पहुचे

दिन अभी पानी में हो, रात किनारे के करीब

ना अंधेरा ना उजाला हो, ना अभी रात ना दिन

जिस्म जब ख़त्म हो और रूह को जब साँस आऐ

मुझसे एक कविता का वादा है मिलेगी मुझको..."

A lovely song-Sapno ke Saudagar- Forgotten melody -2

 

I thought of sharing a song from an old Hindi movie (Dil Hai ki Manta Nahin, 1991). This song is from a movie which has very melodic songs, sung by the singer Anuradha Poudwal, whose devotional songs of God were the ones I grew up listening to... Her voice is very unique and melodious. The reason I posted this particular song is that its comparatively lesser-known song from this movie, and I was always captivated by this song from my childhood....

First, the song, it can be heard here:

O Mere Sapnon Ke Saudagar (Full Song) | Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin | Aamir Khan, Pooja Bhatt | T-Series

 The lyrics of the song are so simple and beautiful, and the song itself is very simple and beautiful. I wonder now how they created such cinematic masterpieces in that era as songs of this era or even some of their videos are replete with vulgarity or fakeness..

The song is actually a dream which the actress (played by Pooja Bhatt) has when she misses her bus (as she was running away from her house) and is resting by a tree and drifts off to sleep...The whole visuals of the song are one beautiful dream. What I found particularly fascinating was that she sees some man (but in a typical western outfit) on a white horse but we are not shown the face and she is confused and decides to follow and has to row her boat herself all the way in the lake, and when she finally reaches a cave, which is shown as some heavenly place with angels welcoming her and helping her to find her Prince she is dreaming of...And almost finally her patience is giving away, and she is saddened and sits on the edge in despair, and all of a sudden the magic happens and a beautifully dressed man appears (in an Arabic looking attire), radiating purity, and we are not shown his face (and this person is NOT the same person on the horse who led her to that long journey)...The specific shots from the song are here:

The lyrics of the song were what I found equally beautiful, as she asks this merchant of her dreams to take her to a place where there is only love. The lyrics are as follows:

O Mere Sapno Ke Saudagar Lyrics Translation | Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin | Hindi Bollywood Songs

From the words of the song, it's clear that the actress asks this merchant of her dreams (the prince) to sing along with her, hinting that they both are singers or gifted with music...and then she talks of the moon and the stars reference which is very sweet...and it appears she desires heaven (or the Jannah) as that is the only place where there is nothing but love and angels sing/ or sing of praises...

The funny part is that when the actress wakes up from her beautiful dream in the movie, she misses her bus, but bumps into the actor of the movie (Aamir Khan), although he is no way a comparison to the enigmatic and shrouded person shown in the song...:)

Anyways, the purity, beauty, simplicity, and the melody and lyric of this lesser-known song are worth posting about here...

Keep dreaming...

Is ibaadat ka yahi dastoor hai-- a beautiful song "Noor"

 

Sharing a song (titled Noor) from an old Hindi movie called Delhi-6 (2009), this song is lesser known (a forgotten melody, if I may say so), and I find it to be short yet summarizing the gist of the purpose of life...As this song is almost having Sufism at its core in meanings, I was not surprised it was composed by AR Rahman...

The song is barely few lines poetry and is one of the few songs that is sung without the use of any musical instrument.

The song can be heard at this link:

DELHI 6 - NOOR (FULL SONG) - LYRICS

And the beautiful lyrics (with English translation) are available at this link: Noor Lyrics Translation | Delhi-6 | Hindi Bollywood Songs

These are the lyrics:

Noor Lyrics Translation | Delhi-6 | Hindi Bollywood Songs

Perspective of a scientist and a poet- a beautiful conversation from the Hindi movie (Mili)

 

Sharing a beautiful and poetic scene, I stumbled upon, that is a clip from an old Hindi movie Mili (1975). I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity and beauty of the dialogues between the actors. The hero in the movie is engrossed in observing the stars via his telescope explaining the scientific facts and location of the stars and why they aren't visible at night. On the other hand, the heroine of the movie (Mili) seems to have a poetic and playful perspective on why the stars are not visible to the eye at night. As the conversation goes on, we can see the scientist (the hero of the movie, played by the legendary Amitabh Bacchan) smitten by the heroine's description and perspective and interestingly, the hidden poet in him is awakened and he responds to her (in a quite poetic and truly honest manner) acknowledging the limitation of science in expressing the beauty that is often a domain of poetry...

 The clip can be heard here:https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSeX40bEqD0/?igsh=cjNuZDdsaHpzOHR2

Here is the written dialogues between them (with my English translations in parenthesis):

Heroine: "bataiye to din ko ye tare kahaan jaate hain? (Tell me, where do these stars go during the day?)

Hero: "jaate kahan hai wahi rehte hain, 

aur sooraj ki tez roshni ki wajah se dikhai nahi dete." (They don't go anywhere but remain at their place, due to the bright light of the sun, they are not visible")

Heroine: "hmm. ye to gyaan vigyaan ki baatein hui" (This is like a talk of knowledge and science)

Hero: "to?" (So?)

Heroine: "apko aisa nahi lagta ye tare sharir bacche hain

vo dekhiye wahan jhund banakar aapas main khusar-pusar kar rehe hain

aur wahan akela ek taara naaraaz hokar sabko ghoor raha hai

lekin subah hote hi jaise hi headmaster sooraj ji aate hain

sab gayab ho jate hain

maidaan bilkul khali..."

(Don't you think these stars are like naughty children, look there some are gossiping quietly in a cluster of their own, and elsewhere look one lonely star is staring at everybody out of melancholy. But as soon as the day arrives, because of the Headmaster Sun, all these disperse and disappear, leaving the arena completely empty...)

Hero: "theek keh rahi ho

vigyaan ke bade shabdon mein yeh ras kahan." (You are saying true, such essence is not to be found in talks of knowledge and science)

Heroine: "nahin aap mera mazaak uda rahe hain...". (No, you are making fun of me)

Hero: "main sach keh raha hu Mili, tum bhi ek sooraj ho

aati ho to mere chhote bade dukhon ki parchaiyan bhaag jati hain

aur main tumhari roshi main apne aap ko bilkul saaf dikhai dene lagta hoon..." (I am saying the truth Mili. You are also like a Sun; when you arrive, the shadows of all of my small and big sorrows flee away, and in your light, I can see myself clear and pure.."

(sharir is an Urdu word that means naughty)

    Interestingly, I remembered that this movie had one particular song (which I used to have especially recorded in cassette and listen in my childhood) sung by Kishore Kumar, and the song was so close to my heart...The melodious song can be heard here: Badi Sooni Sooni Hai with lyrics | बडी सोनी सोनी है के बोल | Kishore Kumar | Mili | HD Song

And its beautiful lyrics are as follows:

"बड़ी सूनी सूनी है ज़िंदगी ये ज़िंदगी - (२)

मैं खुद से हूँ यहाँ अजनबी अजनबी

बड़ी...

 

कभी एक पल भी, कहीं ये उदासी

दिल मेरा भूले

कभी मुस्कुराकर दबे पाँव आकर

दुख मुझे छूले

न कर मुझसे ग़म मेरे, दिल्लगी ये दिल्लगी

बड़ी...

 

कभी मैं न सोया, कहीं मुझसे खोया

सुख मेरा ऐसे

पता नाम लिखकर, कहीं यूँही रखकर

भूले कोई कैसे

अजब दुख भरी है ये, बेबसी बेबसी

बड़ी..."

LyricsIndia: बड़ी सूनी सूनी है, ज़िंदगी ये ज़िंदगी - ba.Dii suunii suunii hai, zi.ndagii ye zi.ndagii / मिली -(Mili)

Perfectly Imperfect - a poetic scene from a Hindi movie (Hamari Adhoori kahaani)

 

A particular scene from the Hindi movie Hamari Adhoori Kahaani (2015) is quite philosophical and poetic and I thought of sharing it. Apart from the melodious soundtrack of this movie, this scene depicts the depth of the heroine (played by actress Vidya Balan) in this movie and how her poetic words instill a new insight and perspective of life in the actor. 

In the scene, the actor is able to sense the incompleteness of his perfectly maintained garden of flowers and yet is unable to decipher the secret to complete the garden. The heroine then steps in and provides him with the key to that query by revealing the absence of dried/decayed leaves that are a natural part of a natural garden. She likens this to the beauty of the moon, which is also beautiful because of the scar or blemish it has....The hero is in awe of the answer which reveals the mystery of life to him, and he understood that the presence of few dried leaves in his flawless garden add to its natural form that is beautiful when naturally expressed...

Indeed, the whole of creation itself reveals that there is no such thing as a perfection, as everything is bound by the cycle of life and death and thus, decay or scars or pain or suffering are part of life that should be embraced and expressed....and their inclusion makes a thing complete and beautiful, not its omission.....

The dialogue can be heard at this link here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKDm2kcBFaM/?igsh=cnZlNHByNm12MHdx

I have typed the Hindi dialogues here (the link already has the English captions)

Hero: "chaalees hazaar phool hai yahaan pe, its stunning, its beautiful, par fir bhi ek kami si lagti hai,  kuch to hai jo nahi hai, tum dekh ke bata sakti ho isme kya kami hai.."

Heroine: "murjhaye huye patton ki kami hai....Jis bageeche me murjhaye hue phool na ho, kuch sukhe patte na ho, vo bageecha bageecha nahi hota..

yeh jagah bahut hi khoobsoorat hai, aur shayad isiliye dil ko choo nahi rahi.....

har khoobsoorat cheez main daag hota hai...chand main bhi daag hai to fir ye bageecha itna bedaag kyu?"

Hero: "kya baat hai, chand hi lafzon mein mere sawaal ka jawaab de diya tumne, saare experts ko maat de di"

"99 songs" movie....music is duniya ka ek aakhri bacha hua jadoo hai....

 I had watched a Hindi movie (99 songs) almost a year ago, that was released in 2021 and had been wanting to write my thoughts on it but kept on procrastinating. I heard the soundtrack of this movie and was in awe of it and was not surprised that it was composed by AR Rahman; however, what was intriguing was that AR Rahman also wrote the script and co-produced it. I am of the view that any person who is sensitive to music or is a musician should watch this movie and understand why its a masterpiece....

    The story of the movie is about a musician (played by the newcomer Ehan Bhat), compelled to create 100 songs prior to marrying the woman he loves (played by a foreign actress Edilsy Vargas), who embarks on a profound and emotional odyssey through his music. The father of the actress is a controlling and arrogant person and puts forth a condition to the actor (who is a struggling singer and musician) that he can only allow him to marry his daughter if he can compose 100 songs for her. This comes as a response when the actor claims that music has the power and even one song can change the world...The actress is depicted as mute girl in the movie who cannot communicate via words but is shown to communicate via her art and paintings. As the actor sets out on his journey to compose the 100 songs, he travels away and comes across difficult experiences which change the course of his life. 

One thing which is the highlight of the movie (and is shown in flashes) is that his own father is an abusive man who always prevented him to go anywhere near to music or play musical instruments or any kind or even buy them. But the actor in his childhood days just could not delete the intense attraction for music and sounds. So much so that he would often sneak away and try to rebel but only to be met with violent outbursts from his controlling father...Such was his pure desire for music, that in one scene of the movie (which particularly stays with me) he requested his father to buy a guitar for his birthday at a store but he instead gets him some kites to fly. Such is a purity of his longing for music, that he is shown flying six kites by the boat and then sits by the boat where all the six strings can be actually played like the string of a guitar due to the wind making them taut..The scene is both poignant and brilliant and leaves one to think from the eyes of a child who seems to find that bliss by himself (see scene shots below):

    Interestingly, the mother figure of both the actor and the actress are absent in the movie. We do not get to know about the mother of the actress, but the mother of the actor was shown to die just after childbirth. And in the early half of the movie, one assumes that his father's anger towards the child could stem from him holding the child as inauspicious and the cause of his wife's death. However, the reason for this is revealed later in the movie's plot, which is also the turning point of the movie. As the actor lands in prison due to the mistake of his best friend (who redeemed him in the end), with no fault of his own, he is seen to come to terms with his own soul and his own self. The scene where he draws the keys of the piano on the prison wall and plays them is very beautiful. A psychotherapist (played by actress Manisha Koirala) is shown to enter the prison and acts like a mentor and tries to help him heal and play music again and believe in the magic of music. Her words "Music is duniya ka ek aakhri bacha hua jadoo hai..."are indeed sublime...And then there is the moment of truth when someone from his deceased mother's family comes to the prison and reveals the hidden secret about his mother's life and her death.  It turns out that his mother was a gifted and famous singer (who would sing devotional songs of God) and it was her voice and singing that actually won the heart of his father who married her, but later due to the rising jealousy and his own insecurity, he turned violent towards her so much so that he asked all the musical instruments to be thrown out of the house or shut off. But the mother who was carrying her child (the actor) would secretly sing to the unborn son a melody and one fine day was caught by the abusive husband, who physically assaulted her which led to some medical complications, and we are revealed that she perhaps gave birth to the son and died due to trauma.  This revelation of the actor who had been missing the mother figure in his entire life and the realization of the origin of his passion for music leave him both broken yet healed in a way. The scenes where his mother's spirit visits him and urges to play music and sing are the soul of the movie. We are shown that the actor had composed 99 songs by them, and was short of 1 song (to fulfil his supposed promise to win the woman he loved), and he is then shown to almost hear the voice of his own soul and compose a song and a melody (which happens to be the same melody his mother would sing to him when he was in her womb)...He sings that song with no desire to go live or public with it or any attachments, he just sings it in the prison before being released on the last day, and we are shown his friend (who was guilty of ruining his friends' life by landing him in prison) secretly recording the song and sending it to Indian radio stations where it becomes live on radio. 

    And the turn of events is such that, we are shown that one influential political minister (who was actually very corrupt) is travelling in his car and hears the song and is almost captivated by it, when all of a sudden the car crashes (and we are shown a beautiful moment when all the bribe money in his briefcase is circling his face in that death experience), yet miraculously he escaped alive although his driver is dead...With scratches and wounds, he has a change of heart and understands that he was not being true to the country and his motherland (India)..Somehow, the words of the song by the actor (where he is calling to his mother's love) awakened the love he should have had for his motherland.. And we are shown that he atones for his past sins by revealing names of all corrupt nexus in power, almost a redemption...

        Towards the end, we see that the actor actually goes back to his mother's home after the 100th song (but one song for the world) and has no desire for the woman (actress) for whom he first set out on this journey, as he almost found his niche and contentment and was transformed and healed. However, we are shown the actress finding him and reconciling (as she was also under a misunderstanding about him earlier) and in the movie we are shown they both compose music together. Essentially, the actress is shown holding a wand like structure and waving it and the actor in the background plays the grand piano. Probably this could mean the actress is the one who gives words (via the wand symbolic of pen) to the musical compositions of the actor.

        So, it did turn out that his promise of one song that can change the world indeed came true but in an unusual way. But it took 99 songs (inspired by the love of a romantic nature) to get to that state of one song (inspired by the love of the missing mother figure) ...And one wonders why the title of the movie would be "99 songs" instead of "100 songs". Moreover, the idea of banning music completely and throwing off musical instruments in the house of the actor by his father can hint to rigidity that is often heard in the religion of Islam, where some believe that music is haram in the religion and any instrument should not be played...Well, the story was written by AR Rahman, who himself was born a Hindu, but adopted Sufism as his religion, and his music and songs are heavily inspired by it, it's almost that he channels divinity through his music in the world....My interpretation is that the character of the actor's father might be inspired by a similar character AR Rahman may have known or come across, hinting at the rigidity of some religions...Moreover, in the key song, the lines talk of "hooron ki chaahat mein amrit piya", which indeed refer to the Islamic idea where 72 hoors are promised to the momin (believer) after the death and judgment....Moreover, Islam has 99 names of Allah, and I think that the title of this movie seems to be inspired from that idea...After watching this movie, I had a feeling that I understood perhaps, why there are 99 but not 100 names of God in Islam...It is because, perhaps the 100th name is that for the mother who is on earth here- referring to the mother's love, and as we know someone said that "god could not be everywhere so he made mothers" seem to resonate...No wonder, the key song (100th song) is in fact calling out to the mother after God...That song literally feels like a Sufi poetry, and I could not stop listening to it for such a long time...

Interestingly, the name of the actress in the movie is Sophie (that actually sounds like Sufi)...Plus, the idea of one song taking over the world by the protagonist who has an abusive father but who undertakes a journey to heal his soul in this movie is very reminiscent of the true story of MercyMe band whose song "I can only imagine" MercyMe - I Can Only Imagine (The Movie Session - Official Music Video took over the world in Gospel Music, and the story of that movie (by the same name and its melodious song is I Can Only Imagine Movie | Song Performance) bears some similarity to the movie 99 songs although there are different on many aspects otherwise. This song is also so beautiful, and the funny part is that I actually heard it in a car myself when I was being driven by a good woman (Julie), when she took me for Bible lessons back in Ohio., though the car did not need to crash for me to value the music and its words.

The 100th song (or the SONG that is the highlight of the movie) can be heard here and lyrics are after that:

O Aashiqa - (Film Version) 99 Songs|@A. R. Rahman|Ehan Bhat|Edilsy|Shashwat 

"O ashiqa tune kya dil diya
Dil lene ke liye hi dil diya
Hooron ki chaahat mein amrit piya
Toh kya piya, o pyaseya

O jiya, tu jiya, tu jiya
Agar aise toh yaara kya jiya
O jiya, tu jiya, tu jiya
Hisaabo mein yaara kya jiya

Ki sabke Khuda se bas apni duaa
Ye kaisi dua ki, o jogiya
Gira ke imaan banaya mahal
Toh kya banaya o karigara

O jiya, tu jiya, tu jiya
Agar aise toh yaara kya jiya
O jiya, tu jiya, tu jiya
Hisaabo mein yaara kya jiya

Khuda ki koi ishq ki kahe
Baat koi Maa ki keh na sake
Kya bole Kabira, kya Bullah kahe
Maa na mile toh Khuda naa mile

O jiya, tu jiya, tu jiya
Agar aise toh yaara kya jiya
O jiya, tu jiya, tu jiya
Hisaabo mein yaara kya jiya.

O Maa kaise pukaarun
Kaise karz chukaaun
Tera diya, kaha bhi na jaaye
Tere sadke, jaan bhi meri jaaye
Khwaab tere, mere dil mein dhadke
O Maa, Rab ki saari duaayein barse

Maa.."

Check out other songs of this movie, all are brilliant, especially these one too:

Jwalamukhi - Official Lyric Video|99 Songs|@A. R. Rahman|Ehan Bhat|Edilsy Vargas

(amazing tune with sounds of hangdrum)

Teri Nazar - Official Music Video | 99 Songs | A R Rahman | Shashwat Singh | Ehan B | Edilsy V

(very melodious)

 

The White of the Swan

 

I'm sharing a particularly moving and poetic sequence from the critically acclaimed Hindi film Gangubai  (link of the scene:  Instagram). The heroine's beauty and the description of the various white hues captivate the hero, who is a tailor who brings various white outfits for the heroine to select from. When the heroine requests that he display all of the white sarees and provide a recommendation, he responds that since they are all white, she can choose from any of them. But then the heroine responds in a very artistic and lyrical manner:

“ kon sa wala safed?

Chaand wala ya baadal wala safed?

Kaagaz wala safed ya

Gulaab wala safed?

Barf wala safed

Namak wala safed

Doodh wala safed ya

Shankh wala safed?”

 

After a moment of pause, the smitten hero replies,” hans wala safed.”

(Image of Heroine after she hears reply of the actor)

I also did the English translation that is:

Heroine:

“which hue of white?

The white of the moon or the cloud?

Or is it white of the paper, or

 the rose?

The white of the ice

The white of the salt

The white of the milk or

The white of the conch?

 

Hero replies, “The white of the swan.”

 

Interestingly, the heroine describes all different hues of white (which are not necessarily pure white) while the hero replies to a completely different answer which captures the true purity of white- the white of the swan. The fact that he had a mind and heart of his own which only saw the purity of the heroine and thus likens the white to the white of the swan symbolizing her purity, although in that movie the heroine played the role of a prostitute.

What I find so captivating about this scene is not only its poetry and depth and the purity of love the actors shared in their roles on screen, but the fact that in life, sometimes, we are limited to the colors or shades of something based on our limited perception of it, and what appears may not be a true reflection of the real, but a hue or a shade. Sometimes, it may take the eyes of another artist to see the truth of the color and the true purity of it...and in this case, those eyes are the eyes of love, and not lust...

    Indeed, the purity of love is symbolized by the white of the swan and the swan itself, check this beautifully poignant video reunion #love #birds #birdslover#swans #nature, I found on the web, where one of the swans is reunited with the other swan after a period of separation, and the moment of reunion is truly magical. Indeed, the two swans are a symbol of purity of love worldwide..

                                                               

The Blue Lady broken- Kelly & Cal movie

I recently watched a movie "Kelly & Cal" which was released in 2014 and is based on story of a married mom named Kelly having a short relationship with a disabled teenager named Cal which ultimately does not continue due to social circumstances and choices. The movie was somewhat light-hearted but one particular scene really captivated me and I think its worth sharing about as it struck a deep chord in its whole sensitivity- especially the scene in which we see Cal escaping with his "blue lady" on the wheelchair- for one moment I was reminded of the sculpture Pieta by Michelangelo where the dying Jesus lay in the arms of the weeping Mary..

Read through this lovely piece of dialogue between them when Kelly stops Cal in the scene above.

Cal: "I had unrealistic expectations. i should have never broken down my wall of illusion. You paint a picture of someone that you want to see and the reality never measures up.

i took my blue lady off her pedestal."

Kelly: "okay, i hear what you're saying, all right, and I completely understand you. but, you know, why don't we go get some coffee and we'll continue this conversation? we can go to the diner or something."

[Cal then throws the blue statue down the bridge]

Cal: "See? now we're both broken"

Kelly: "Why do you do that, cal? destroy everything that you make?"

Cal: "I don't know. I was thinking that maybe i'm a buddhist and i'm highlighting the impermanence of things, you know. could be like -- like a hindu, you know. reminding everyone the other half of creation is destruction. brahma and shiva"

The dialogues above were taken from the online script available below:
http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=kelly-and-cal

The moment when both Cal and his blue lady are broken seems to be a divine moment which symbolizes unison- pointing to the deep hindu philosophy of Shiva and Shakti where both coexist...

American Mary- Movie Review

I recently watched a movie, intrigued by its title and the story line. After watching any movie, I tend to google the critical reviews of the plot and summaries to understand the interpretations. And I  like to write about my own interpretations which I believe are novel and not written before. 

It is one of those rare movies which is both sad and inspiring at the same time but the feminine power outshines the sadness which it harbors. As one of the online movie reviews says,  Mary was a "sculptor with a scalpel".  Themes of male domination and male abuse are rampant in the movie. The evil and immoral nature of male has been pitted against the good and innocent nature of Mary. The movie also mocks at a sad truth which exists in many medical schools in which there are stories of medical female students resorting to sex trade in order to pay their medical college high debts.

The surgical scene of the nipple being removed and the vaginal opening being stitched shut surgically , appear to be a harbinger of closure of what defines the true femininity and womanhood. In a way, that forewarns the closing of the feminine energy which is nourishing and stimulating.  And in fact, we do see that after this Mary is brutally raped under the effect of a spiked drink by none other than her teacher at the medical school, and then she transforms herself into a revenge-seeking body who becomes  a channel for doling out revenge at its gravest, and also enhancing her under-appreciated talents of surgical skill. 

What was sad was that she faced failure in her professional life and personal life which went together throughout the film, hence, at the end I do feel sorry for the downfall and abrupt twist in the plot which leads to murder of Mary. Personal trauma included financial crunch, shock of  underworld surgery and brutal molestation.  That was followed by quitting her medical school when she almost was destined for success as a surgeon so a professional fiasco. The scenes in which she discovers that Billy also could not be trusted as a potential lover, she is shown heartbroken and resorts to the sharp scalpel. The scene showing death of her only personal relationship which was of help- her Nana (grandmother, I suppose) and the scene showing her deleting her name from the contact list was very appealing and subtle.Her transformation as a  sort of single handed super surgeon who miraculously performs intense surgeries all by herself speak well of her intelligence and inherent talent. This is reiterated in the last scene when she has been stabbed and  is shown holding two surgical scissors and suturing her own wound , but, sadly  she dies.  This scene is the culmination of what a real artist or a surgeon can be. I believe in this scene Mary transcended her medical expertise to go on to achieve status of a real artist. As one of the actors remarks to Mary in one of the scenes," you are truly an artist"

In a way , just like the spiked drink, any bit of promise of happiness or love was spiked or poisoned in her own life,  Like when we see that she began to find solace in Billy but then discovers his promiscuous act and she feels stung , and later when Billy talks to her about possibility of driving down to LA for a break and a better place, that hope was cut short by the climax in which we see her abrupt murder at the hands of an unknown person. I thus believe that the  themes of "spike" and the "scalpel" are what appears throughout the movie symbolically. Her fate, just like the real spike showed immense rise and immense fall towards the end too. To summarize the movie in few lines, I'd like to say:

"She did body altering surgeries and in the process every time with the scalpel which she uses on the patient, she cuts out a bit of her own soul each time, all under the spiked influence of revenge"

Poem from the hindi movie Paap

Hi,
I would like to share a very beautiful poem which was recited by the actress Udita (playing Kaya) in the Pooja Bhatt-directed movie Paap. The sublime poetry (see below) is in Hindi:

"Kholo kholo apni aankhen

aur gaur se suno ...

dene ko toh bahut kuch hai,

par apna sa kuch dena chahti hoon ...

 

 ek boond suraj ki,

ek qatra aasman ka,

koyal ki aadhi kook

aur kuch jagmagate sapne ...

 

achcha lage toh aur maango ...

dene ko toh bahut kuch hai,

par apna sa kuch dena chahti hoon ...

 

 aasman sa aaina,

ek dibbi titliyon ki,

ek chamach nadi ki dhar,

 aur ek mutthi zindagi ...

achcha lage toh aur maango ...

dene ko toh bahut kuch hai,

par apna sa kuch dena chahti hoon"

-https://www.filmyquotes.com/movies/939

 I have translated it in English for the viewers. Here is the English translation:

"Open, Open your eyes

And listen carefully,

Many things are there which can be given 

But I want to give something personal to you

One drop of the sun,

A fragment of the sky,

Half song of the cuckoo bird,

And some glittering dreams

If that feels good, ask for more

Many things are there which can be given 

But I want to give something personal to you

Sky akin mirror,

A box of butterflies,

A spoon of the river,

And one handful of life

If that feels good, ask for more

Many things are there which can be given 

But I want to give something personal to you"

Silk (2007) - movie and the legendary story

I had watched a very subtle, artistic movie called "Silk"(2007).  The movie definitely had great cinematography and style. I want to write about few things from that movie which are still reverberating in my heart, something which I have observed and interpreted.

Such as the hatching of the silkworms from the tiny eggs, that hatching, which is a success sometimes, and unsuccessful the other times, and the metamorphosis into the cocoon and then production of the amazingly shiny and soft material called "silk" are all hidden themes in the movie, or should I put it this way, those numerous thousands of tiny eggs are a silent protagonist of the movie perhaps.  Probably the presence of "silk" as a fabric was related to that of "love" which is as soft and subtle as the silk itself, and when held in hand, it actually tends to slip away, and that was what Hervé, the actor represented too in this deeply artistic movie.  He developed a love desire for the enigmatic Japanese woman Sei in the movie, but the eggs of that desire remain unhatched or were spoilt, even if they did try to hatch.

In any sense, we know that even if the worms had spun the cocoon which would become silk later, it would have slipped away, just in case of Hervé, symbolizing the mysterious nature of unrequited love or love that never reaches a destination.

Overall, the beautiful scenery of steaming spring waters, juxtaposed with the cold snowy weather was remarkably artistic too and symbolic.

Another beautiful symbolism was of that of the little blue flowers which were shown in the scene in which Hervé meets Madame Blanche in the brothel, so that she could translate the Japanese letter for him. I got a feeling that perhaps those blue flowers should symbolize something too, and when I did a bit of google search, I found out that indeed those flowers were extremely symbolic, they were the "forget-me-not" flowers which so fitted in that scene and its emotional hues. The poem like letter which Madam Blanche read out was also indirectly hinting to Hervé to not forget the beautiful woman who loved him and who really wrote that poetry. The beautiful poem is of that movie clip is available on this link written out: Letter poem -Silk

Well, this movie actually made me aware of many facts about silkworms and legend of silk itself. It so happened that there is a legend that a Chinese empress accidentally discovered silk, as silk cocoon fell in her tea while she was sitting under mulberry tree. The Chinese were the ones who actually discovered the secret of silk thus.

Also, I read about the method of silk production.   How sad it was to read that the pupa was killed inside the cocoon which was boiled in hot water in order for the workers to generate silk.  This process in any way was putting an end to the already short life of a moth.  In any way, the beauty of flying away and not getting held back or trapped still prevails, if the pupa would have survived in its cocoon, it would have transformed into the beautiful butterfly which flies away in wonder and never can be captured easily- the lissome being as it is.  And if the pupa is killed in cocoon, the threads of cocoon produce the shiny silk, slipping away from the hands again, the colors brought out by artificial means of dyeing silk.

I smiled at the revelation of the symbolism.

Movie- How to Make an American quilt- poetry lines

Hi,

I would like to share some meaningful quotes and snippets of poetry  from a beautiful movie  "How to make an American Quilt", which I had watched a long time ago.  (Again, I am compensating for my laziness in penning down then by posting it now)

Following are the few deep dialogues and poetry I found in the movie:

1.
 Self expression heals the wounded heart

2.
Young lovers seek perfection,
Old lovers learnt the art of sowing shreds together
 and of seeing beauty in the multiplicity of patches.

3.
You have to choose your combinations carefully
The right choices wont enhance the colors
The wrong choices would dull the colors, hide their original beauty,
There are no rules you can follow, you have to go by instincts
And you have to be brave.
(This one was about making  quilt)

P.S. In all this movie still reverberates in my heart, was indeed very nice