All the best laid plans

Which is more difficult?
Planning or Executing?
Formulating or Implementing?
Thinking or Doing?
Learning or Performing?
Talking or Working? and on goes the questionnaire.

In my opinion, for any action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Ok. That was Newton's law. Let me try again. In my opinion for any action before it gets materialised something should have been ideated prior to it. Coming back to the initial question of which is more important, is the intellectual part more important or the gross and palpable part? Some would opine and rightly so, as there are two sides to a coin which are equally important so does the subtle and gross elements that are equally important. But the secret lies in the quality and the pace at which one makes the transition from the conception of an idea to its implementation.

Sometimes because the idea lacks the desired punch it falls apart. And sometimes getting absorbed too much in the nitty gritty of the practical aspects also causes the execution part to go haywire. Added to this there is one Murphy's law "If anything can go wrong it will go wrong". So what is one supposed to do amidst this seemingly inextricable maze called life?

We all had faced this dilemma in the past,are facing at present and I have no reason not to believe that it will happen in the future.
The topic in discussion is to have a party among friends. The usual barrage of questions like why, when, where, how and who, follows and we more often that not end up in the same square from where we had actually set forth. Democracy is good until every Tom, Dick and Harry comes up with a opinion of his own. Though one's friends doesn't consist of any of Toms, Dicks and Harrys each one will have his or her own opinion which makes it a challenging task to reconcile all these different opinions and to find a common ground.
However your woes won't end at the arrival of the decision. Only after it actually happens can one truly answer the question, which one is more difficult?
The planning or its execution? :-)

1st Anniversary

It's really amazing how time flies!

It's been exactly a year since I started blogging in the net and you started banging your head on the wall. It's said that all good things come to an end; but not my blogging, for obvious reasons. :-)

But if at all I have learned something by this year long experience, it is this. Though anybody can write not everybody can write. Not because someone lacks proficiency in language but rather lack of inclination to write. It's only when someone starts to write do they realise to their astonishment, how much they want to share their thoughts and feelings with the world. It doesn't matter even if no one in the world gives a damn to what you want to say as is the case. But what is important is the process of giving shape to the thoughts in your head through words. I guess it provides an emotional and intellectual(probably :-)) outlet atleast for the blogger(Not sure about the readers).

So with this spirit, my legacy continues and so is your torture.......

History and its lessons we ignore!

Today the nobel committee awarded this year's peace prize to one Chinese national "Lu Xiabao". This is the first time I am watching such a ceremony and unfortunately it was incomplete because of the absence of the prize winner himself. In other words he was conspicuous by his absence. None of his relatives and friends were present on the occasion. It seems that the Chinese government has put him in jail and imposed a 11 year sentence on him.
Here comes the interesting part. He did only one thing for which he was awarded nobel peace prize on one hand and a 11 year sentence on the other, and that one thing is to raise his voice against the Chinese government on behalf of the weak and downtrodden. One action and two extreme reactions.

In the award ceremony the person who addressed the gathering had rightly criticised China on its unwillingness to realise that peaceful protests and valid dissent is as important as discipline and compliance to the incumbent constitution. Just because a country is an economic and military super power it can not turn a blind eye to the indispensable needs of its citizens and human rights is an important part of it. If imprisoning Lu is not enough, it went ahead and decried the nobel committee's decision to give the prize to Lu and by influencing around 40 nations not to attend the ceremony, China has brought itself upon the ignominy of an immature state not withstanding its economic and military might.

The same kind of mistakes were committed by erstwhile USSR, and now a fading super power called USA. Both, during the course of history were blinded by pride and an insatiable greed to gain control over anything and everything they could lay their hands upon. Only now do they realise that ones stature is not based on GDP or military might but based on the extent of empowerment of its people. Both the nations taught us these lessons and we humans, the most intelligent species should have learned the lesson by now. But no, we don't learn our lessons as is shown by China and by thus doing so, history repeats itself. When a person begins to hate himself the road to degeneration has already begun and the same is true for a nation. When a country tries to suppress the voice of its people, though its economic curve may point northward in the short term, its social curve falls to depths pulling the entire nation down.

Once Abraham lincoln famously said "Anybody can stand adversity. But if you want to test the character give him power". China did struggle a lot and survived the last century to become a major player in this century. But the real test has only started now because it's only now that it has great power. If God has equipped us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out. So all the nations should at-least voice their opinions against this immature stance taken by China and hope that sanity prevails in the end.

Fifth stone

During the past two months a lot of events came and went, most of them without a trace and few of them leaving some memories. Teacher's day, Dussera, Deepawali, Obama's visit, Children's day etc, etc. And then there are other things Mumbai's Adarsh housing scam, CWG scam, Karnataka CMs land acquisition scam and the "raja" of all scams:the 2G scam.
To tell you the truth, I wonder why people are making so much noise for a mere scam. I guess it's because Indian media and public have forgotten the fifth and most influential corner stone (Oops! it's the central stone) of our democracy. Once people remind themselves of this undeniable fact and face it courageously all this brouhaha will continue forever. All the four cornerstones, the parliament, the constitution, the judiciary and the fourth estate, are taught in our schools, colleges and in some way or another we all would have come across few incidents that indicate their presence. But nothing is taught about this fifth one. Nowhere can you find it being mentioned in any of our books, institutions and it doesn't have any physical record whatsoever. But we all feel it. Just because we can not see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there. In fact it is as much a part of us that it's the building block of our DNA. It is "the message" that's transmitted by the billions of neurons in our brains.It's omniscient, ubiquitous and every word in the dictionary that represents infinity.

Wise men mention that soul is "சதயஸ்யா சதயம்" i.e, "the truth of the truths". But I am sure they said this before they actually became wise. They left out this fundamental entity which at least in Indians' case is "the truth" and that thing is "CORRUPTION".

It is an institution by itself and it's the central stone of our democracy which you would have figured it by now, is taller than the rest of the four corner stones which makes our democracy rest solely on this single most important pillar. Like in any institution there are rules and regulations for this institution too. They are

First and foremost is 1.when it comes to me there are no rules and regulations.
2. Rules are not meant to be followed but to be stretched and if not feasible to be broken.

3. Nepotism is a must.
4. There are no copyrights, because copying is our right.
5. There is no such a thing as bad or unethical or immoral. The things that matter are shamelessness, insensitivity, arrogance and how fervently you follow them.

I can go on and on but for beginners I guess, these are enough.

ROBOT

The long wait is over. It's time for thalaivar padam "Endhiran". Before I proceed any further let me make myself clear that this is definitely not a review of this movie and I'll tell you why.
In my opinion a review of any work of art like a cinema, by an individual is meant to explore good aspects and not so good aspects of that work. Though it's subject to that person's own interpretation, people who want to see that particular work of art can go through these reviews to have an idea of what's actually in store for them or more specifically whether it's worth the effort or not.

Having said this, it's not applicable to our thalaivar's padam. Reviews of his movies are irrelevant and can be dispensed with. It's like a big festival which comes once in two or three years and everybody wants to participate in it. They can not afford to be left behind without their share of fun and frolic. No matter where you are, what you do but when his movie releases you have to go and watch it, period. It's like devotees going to temples for no specific reason. Rajni's fans are devotees of a different kind. It doesn't matter who has directed the movie, whoever else has acted in the movie, and even if there isn't any story at all, it's just enough for them to have a glimpse at their movie idol on the big screen. Such is his charisma and magnetism towards which like everyone else I am also drawn. His style of acting, his style of dancing, his style of dialogue delivery and to top it all his style alone can make the fans go in a frenzy.

It's an enigma that when today's young, fair and handsome actors well trained in dance and sporting six pack bodies struggle to draw crowds, this sexagenarian actor has consistently drawn crowds of all classes, in all centres. Unlike popular belief that he is just a commercial star, if we go through his filmography one will surely be impressed with his work earlier in his career. Our current crop of actors would do well to emulate it. So that's the review of the move "ENDHIRAN". My sincere belief is that you would be going through this review having watched it already. If not I hope you would be leaving this midway to watch it.

For those who have already watched the movie and still going through this review, one wonderful insight.

When the entire country was tense awaiting the verdict of ayodhya, people of almost all other states were weary of any untoward incidents but people of Tamilnadu in my opinion weren't so concerned about it. The release of thalaivar padam is far more gripping, exciting and enticing than the fate of a temple for a poor chap known as Ram!

Friendship day!

Language is a beautiful revelation that man has experienced in his existence and still I find it woefully inadequate to express something as ------- as "friendship" (no adjective can be found to compare it with). It's said that a human being can attain unprecedented heights or fall to unimaginable depths when he is emotionally charged. Friendship is one such emotion that belongs to the former. In it there are no negatives just positives. No pressure, just relaxation. No jealousy, just joy. No betrayal just unflinching support. No feeling of being ignored but always making us feel that we are important.

It's said that one can tell about a person by the kind of friends he or she has. It emphasizes the influence of friends on an individual. The uniqueness of it is it's a dynamic relationship in which a person influences as well as gets influenced simultaneously and continuously. Such is its presence that there can be someone without a family, without a spouse, without anything but not without a friend. People say that love transcends everything but it is through friendship that it finds perfect expression. Without friendship it is impossible for people to grasp love. That's why we hear that parents should treat their children like friends beyond a certain age. Even in a marriage though husband and wife are the formal names given for the sake of recognition in a society, actually during the ceremony the couple owe to each other to remain a friend for the rest of their lives. Friendship is something which is self sustaining. It needs nothing special for its existence, but everything else needs friendship for their survival.


Considering the tectonic drifts in today's sociological setup where families becoming nuclear and relatives distant and relationships irrelevant, friends have come to fill up that void. In earlier days one's primary source of support had been family and relatives but nowadays it's friends and unlike relatives friends come with no strings attached.

In the end if one's present state is a sum total of all his successes and failures, pluses and minuses, good and bad then in my opinion one's personality is the sum total of his family and his friends. In my opinion there is not such thing as love failure. Only lack of friendliness. So let's try to maintain good friendship with our near and dear ones, love automatically follows!!!!

INCEPTION

When someone begins to read an exciting fast paced story, he or she will find it almost impossible to put the book down unless and until the book is completely read. Quality of the prose, the vocabulary, though enhances the experience are secondary when compared to the style of the story telling and the set up in which the story unfolds. Inception is one such movie where after watching, one feels like having taken a wild ride in a bobsleigh. Breathtaking pace, sharp twists and turns, intersecting subplots all combine to unveil a chaotic yet admirable movie.

Those who have watched the movie "Matrix", will certainly find similarities as far as the plot is concerned and that is the vacillation of human mind between conscious and the subconscious. But then the similarity ends there. Chris nolan the director picks up the story from that point and gives wings to his imagination and they are no ordinary wings, for the story did soar very high or rather very deep :-).

Imagine yourself playing against a master in a game of chess. The opponent is so ahead in terms of the moves that he would have actually check mated you even before you made the first move for he would have planned all his moves ahead against yours. You may think that you are playing well and giving him a tough fight, but in reality you have actually become a pawn in his hands and will be playing just like the way he wants you to play, to make the moves he wants you to make, only to find in the end that you have been checkmated. Though in retrospect you may think that you had all the possibilities in the world to have played differently, you realise that at that specific moment all your intelligence, logic was somehow shut itself down. That's the feeling one would get after he or she had watched this movie.

The director, a master of non linear story telling takes a leaf out of Hitchcock's book to sedate the audience's sense of logic. No time to ponder,no time to pause and proffers unfairly miniscule time to even think before the next scene grips your mind. After a point of time the images on the screen find no relevance simply because they would have transcended the screen and incepted your brain. The movie virtually starts rolling inside your brain and it's like watching a movie from within.

Watch this movie simply for the outrageously intriguing plot. The concept of exploring the different layers of consciousness of human mind is in itself enough to make us wonder. The special effects the performance of all the actors and top of it all: the background music perk up the overall experience.
I have seen people coming out after watching a movie. Mostly they would be talking about a few scenes and simply passing judgement about the movie. But in this case everybody were discussing about the movie emphasising that more than the entertainment, this movie has got cerebral appeal.

VERDICT: INCEPTION- A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.