Nondescript filmmaker

Was writing to my niece who told me she was stressed about writing her theisis. This is what I wrote: Here's a 'stupid' piece of advice from a nobody.  In life, we all go from birth to death. You can go about it like every little thing is a matter of life and death and make stress a life long habit. Or you can live life like a magnificent whale and all other (non human) beings on earth. We're all so caught up in seeking validation and meaning in the nonsensical dramas of life--whether it a career, savings, friends or family We are made to believe that they are imperative goals. They are NOT.  Some of the best things in life like water and air are free. Our breath, our minds and bodies as our instrument come are also free. They are more valuable than anything we can work for. But it is hard to remember and execute.

Today an article appeared on Bloomsburg about a Microsoft survey, which showed the dissonance between employee satisfaction and management perception of their satisfaction. Today I will choose to talk about the role of friendship in a work environment.  When I decided to leave my permanent job for a freelance career, the thing I expected to miss the most was easy access to friends at work (no, not colleagues but friends at work). That I will miss them was common sense to me. Yet no HR or top CEOs from even the best business schools ever tie work satisfaction with having friends at work. Our methodologies and cultures at work in the elearning industry are just marginally better than those of industrial workers in an assembly line. In such an environment, friends at work lightened drudgery at work. A cup of tea, a laugh, the occasional unburdening of family woes among friends or the exploration of dreams can make the workplace bearable.  How often do organisation consciously rec...

I have no idea how I will survive after a few months. There's so much to do, to prepare to leave. So much pain to bear over the loss of my home, my roots. New buildings will come, new people will come, new character will come at the cost of my refuge. I am but a little speck in the scheme of the infinite universe. Wish I go soon like the flicker of a match.

On my first day at school, I was sitting with 40 other children, wondering why most of them were crying. I wanted all of them to shut up and get on with the story sessions that we were invited to. None of those kids or the 600 others that I knew are what they claim to be to their kids today. Most parents put themselves on pedestals and pretend to be model kids in their time. I kind of got the drift in my early years that my parents were bluffing. Bluffing drains meaning from words and leave them empty. So when words spring out at me with pompousness, I sleep peacefully with my eyes open. I have been desensitized to words; often even my own.

(Am posting this review of a review that I wrote long ago since it continues to be relevant. It is a strong reaction to the glut of poor film reviewers, who have un-arted the skill of film reviewing. Without understanding the craft of filmmaking and some history, how can anyone assess the significance of the work done in any film?) The review of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil : https://www.newslaundry.com/2016/10/28/adhm-review-ranbir-aishwarya-show-you-how-boring-a-love-story-can-be Deepananja Pal, there is a viewer who liked Aishwarya Rai's red shade of lipstick, there's another who liked Anushka's clothes, and another who liked the European backdrop of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) and therefore liked the movie. Your review is as useless as their opinion of the film. A good reviewer should not use movies as a vehicle for seeking self-importance and validation. I am sorry, but there is a craft to writing a review. Just because most writers who get a platform on well-known websites or for...

  Inspiring Mumbaikars: A Storm is Brewing I went to the outdoor vegetable vendor, near my house, this morning. It was windy and the plastic sheet tied on top of his shop was coming off. It took three people to put it back.  There had been weather forecasts of a cyclone hitting Mumbai today. So I asked him, "Do you know that a storm is coming up today?" He replied, "I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Everyday something comes and goes away. I do my work, ' put up my feet ' and go to sleep."   It's this intangible spirit of Mumbai that also roots me to this city. The grind of everyday living in Mumbai is a storm for migrants who make up more than 70% of its population. When they leave their homes in their villages and arrive in this city, they have already gathered the courage to take on myriads of storms.  They are not in control of Covid, cylones, etc. and are often beaten by it. But they will not cower down at end of the day instead they will...

It's simple. Death is the absence of heart beats. Life is the presence of heart beats. Love is the light in the heart. Hate is the darkness in the heart.

When we cannot understand our neighbours, family or even spouses, what is this diriculous ambition to understand God?  It's just not our business.