The Third Dimention

Filmmaking is definitely not a one sided affair where only the director-crew-cast alone speak the ‘film’. In fact, the other end -Audience- plays the most significant role. Hence identifying them as an intelligent companion from the time a concept is conceived in mind is vital for realizing a meaningful movie. Audience are not fools anymore to accept anything and everything being spoon fed by filmmaker.

All of us had seen brilliantly done 2D and 3D animation films. That can be considered as the technical representation of 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional spaces. But what is a real 3 dimensional film considering filmmaking as an art form and a medium of communication? A film in which the director identifies his audience intelligent enough to imagine all that he has not visualized in his film can be considered as a 3 D film. Here the audience becomes a part of his film. They go back home with n number of questions in mind imagining their own solutions. The difference is that director is not feeding his intellectual partners with a solution. His film is more or less like an abstract art or an open book where he leaves the viewer with an opportunity to imagine a world beyond his film.

Recently I saw two outstanding films by a famous Malayalam film director. Both were unique in its theme and treatment and were well appreciated by the audience. They are undoubtedly the masterpiece of the Director. But at two places I could feel the film over-communicating with the audience. After a lot of emotional fight and fury between two lead characters the first film ends with the climax of their children playing together. With this the film already communicated the message. But for our disappoint director added a textual quote in the end saying “Thus they came close as the vision of future”, which faded the film to a 2D space leaving us nothing more to imagine or dream.

The theme of the second film was on an unexpected reunion of two childhood friends. The director successfully used lots of symbols of visual language that communicated the conflict in the hearts of leading pair. But as he used a few dialogues in the background as the thoughts of one of those characters the imagination of the viewer got blocked. This leaves us a question to answer - Do filmmakers still think that the audience is not yet matured to visualize a world beyond what is conveyed to them by the director.

At this point I would like to narrate the climax of the film “Children of the Heaven”, by Irani director Majid Majidi.

The film is about two children- Ali and his sister Zahra. In the starting we see Ali losing Zahra’s shoes by mistake and the siblings decide to keep the predicament a secret from their parents knowing that there is no money to buy a replacement pair. In the climax Ali enters a footrace in hopes of receiving the third prize of a new pair of sneakers. He accidentally places first and wins another prize instead.

The film ends with Ali coming back home with a gloomy face and bleeding feet. In the pain he slowly keeps the wounded feet in a tub of water. The director added a quick shot of their father's bicycle at the end of the movie shows what appears to be the pink shoes Zahra had been focusing on earlier, implying she got the shoes after all. The shoes are definitely tied to his bicycle and it is clear he has just bought these shoes for his children. Mean while the fishes in the water tub touches the feet of Ali as if they are kissing him. By not showing the father reaching home and happily distributing the shoes to children and by keeping the shot really poetical and vague with the close-up of Ali’s feet and the fishes, the director successfully leaves the audience in immense pleasure of imagining all those they wanted to visualize. Don’t you think this is an ideal way of communication?

Two hours of laugher and thrill and two minutes of talk about it hardly does anything to the IQ of a viewer. Like any other art form the prime objective of film is arguably entertainment, provided it is not bonded by the sleek wall of brainless entertainment. But this entertainment medium touches a higher lever when it gives the audience something to carry back home to dream and debate. As we all know only dream take you to a vision. By giving audience a situation and a reason for dreaming, director identifies himself as a responsible social being.

Imag(e)ination

Film is the media that is capable of capturing all that is seen and experienced by its characters. Unlike text that requires a strong sense of imagination; visual media has the beauty of recreation and presentation of the same imagination. You can definitely argue that text provide you with a wider canvas of imagination while film cages you on a few forced set of frames and time that is purely the imagination of the creator. Well, I accept that fact. But the reach of the visuals and characters you see on screen have a greater impact on Human mind in comparison to his vague or vivid imagination. For example, today everybody sees Jesus Christ with a specific look in their prayers, which is purely the vision of an artist. If he wouldn’t have been done this task, we all might have had more scope of imagining him in different looks. In fact I remember, in my childhood, after watching the epic serial Mahabharatha by B. R. Chopra telecasted in India by national channel DD and UK by BBC, there were a lot many people who used to identify Sri Krishna by the look and smile of actor Nitish Bharadwaj.

Two ways together

……is a journey of two ends. One end speaks of “going forward” while the other says “leave behind.” The camera caught a man riding towards his living while his co-travelers were destined to leave their lives behind. Thus for him the way forward provides with the pleasure of a smooth ride of new hope where as for them it becomes a wild and wobbly journey towards the approaching disaster. Hardly have we seen in another person’s or objects point of view and this film is a deliberate attempt to design a point of view and pain. In this journey both the gain and the pain plays equal role.
The man of this journey is acted out neatly by my friend guide and companion, Rayson. The theme music of the film is also composed by him and I ‘m sure nobody would have identified the instrument he used for this task…an empty Pepsi bottle. Undoubtedly this music brought the theme of the film by creating the confusion whether it is a music piece or the sound created by a bird’s wing. Two of my very good friends Thomas and Anand joined me as my associates in fulfilling the task of shooting…and thus becoming a very encouraging and energetic team.

One day cockroach was sleeping on his book and he over heard someone talking….It was a conversation between I and U.

I told U, “Let’s have a new start. Let’s meet once again in life. Let’s meet at an unidentified place, on an unplanned day and an unnoticed time as two unknown people. Let’s fall in love again. Let’s call it the "Love at first sight". Let’s walk past as if we didn’t notice each other and then turn around and get caught by each other…and then pass a nasty smile. Let’s meet again at the very next day and smile again. Let’s keep meeting again and again with the same smile. Let’s talk to each other and then walk together to all the known places as if they are still unknown. Let’s figure out what looks good on each other and the way we should take. Let’s have a candle light dinner at that lone restaurant beside the beech and let me put a ring on your finger and say that I loved you since the very first day I saw you. Let me give you a kiss and tell you all that you waited to hear.”
U continued, “Yea, then let’s get married, have kids and then grow older and more older. Then one crazy day, let’s realize the fact that you have changed a lot & I have changed a lot. Let’s discover that U and I are different. Let’s feel the difference that U is not straight like I……… Let’s feel that U can never stand like I…. U can never mean anything by itself like I”
I said, “U, I know that you are not straight like me. In fact I understood this the very first moment I met you. U may not mean anything by itself like 'I', but you mean a lot to me. I knew very well that no matter whether the entire world move away from me, you definitely stand by me.”
I continued, “I don’t know whether you have ever noticed that there are 11 letters dividing you from me. I identify them as the 11 months of the year and 12th is 'U' yourself. Each one is special in its own way. They are the need of time. We need the winter and the summer, we need the day and the night ...we need the rain and the ray. Let’s grow older. As long as I and U are connected by LOVE, we don’t need to worry. Let’s forget J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S and T. Let’s come close by Love. Don’t worry; there are a million writers like cockroach who are so jobless to do this job. Let me tell you this again, ‘I love U’.”

U said, “But, then if I still feel bad for not being straight like you……….I ?”

I replied, “No problem as long as I believe that U is my beauty. I am handsome only when I'm connected to you by love. We are not living on those old days when they said “I love You”…Today they actually realized that “I love U”. Take Mr. Cockroach itself; he had written “I love U” a million times… coz he don’t want 'I' to be lone… He want U to stand by me.”

U said, “Still………….if I feel the same at some sad moment…..?”

I replied, “Let’s have a new start. Let’s meet once again in life. Let’s meet at an unidentified place on an unplanned day and an unnoticed time as two unknown people. Let’s fall in love again. Let’s call it the "Love at first sight"….”

My Lost PAge- 46

( It's the lost pAge No. 46 of an unknown book of an unknown writer)

My books are there in every nook and corner of the world. Every home, office, school, kindergarten, butcher shop, temple, bank safe… even a thief’s most trusted carry bag has at least one of my works. From the kitchen to the toilet, these holy books are there to shower the blessings. I am so glad that even the waste baskets have them in plenty, especially my girlfriend’s. I treat it as the symbol of her affection for me and my works. She says that I am her baby. I wonder whether she discovered my works as the dippers on which her ‘baby’ shit. And she is always there for her baby to change the dirtied ones and put new. But do you know, I am still naughty, I still write, even on a dipper, so that my girl will come again and again and change it with love.

Sometimes I really feel that she is also unique. I never treated her as an angel from the heavens or someone who can be titled as ‘the queen of my dreams’. I might have all these quotes for many others, but not her. They all make me dream about love, which I can hold back only for her, which I never told….neither she…! I don’t want a ‘Queen of my Dreams’. I need the real ‘Lady of my Life’. Because of the one who can be considered as the reason for which I am still real, original and I remain as me for ever. She is the one who brings me back from the world of illusions or the dreams which others create for me. When she is some where around, I can feel her warmth, her breath, her touch. Her touch can do miracles. One kiss can make me mad for her. And if I die this moment she would never shed a tear from her eyes because she knows that I hate her cry. But she has to die first, that is my dream. I want to give her a sound sleep on my laps till she touches the heavens. Then I would die, one day, with those dreams and memories about her till her last breath, with the satisfaction that she always remained happy as my guide and companion, with a hundred prayers, a thousand red roses and a million kisses that I can dream of to give her in my next birth. My heaven is with her and the human life cycle would give me a better ride to have another birth to make her happy again and again for ever. I love her so much; I need her with me every moment…Her touch is my strength. I know that she too thinks the same about me. But still we have to be more practical facing the ups and downs of the strong, strange waves of the ocean called life. Life is the ocean, love is the boat and she is the light. She is unique, ‘The Lady of my Life’.

It is a well known fact that I am a branded flirt. But I am happy that I still maintain my barriers. She is my only beauty. I don’t understand why I love you so much, girl! Anyway, I am little bothered about that ‘why’. Do you know why? The day I shall start searching the reason, my world and that word will lose its colour and charm. I may sit here for another century watching its flash, just to realize the fact that it is still hesitant to reach you, remain with you. I use to tell her that there is a special room reserved for her in my heart, a special room with the windows facing the classic peaks of Himalayas and the door facing the waves of Arabian Sea.

And the credit goes to…

There are a lot of things about childhood we still cherish…for me it was been an unpacked bundle of memories that can't be ever missed with the passing time. I was pushed back to those nostalgic moments by a “friend request” in Orkut from a very old friend, Ajay John Gray. After adding him to my profile, I quickly wrote a testimonial for him that goes like this...

He is someone with whom I've grown up & can never ever miss those nostalgic days. And something we shared in common - poetry. Still remember the days we spend writing in class. On poetry competitions we use to finish fast to exchange it and make corrections before submission. But I always wonder what separated us. Life caught us in different zones with different thoughts & different dreams. May be this difference can be read from our poetry too, he is the man of grammatically - thematically perfect poems. But I used to write for a music set in mind. The diff - He was always been a good POET where as I'm was more a lyricist. Ajay- I hope I could analyze our life well with our poetry itself. In reality both of us know that we are no writers anymore as we dreamt...but the victims of time...But u know, u can still break the time and go ahead chasing your dreams. U can read it as the lines of someone who read your poetry as well as your mind better than anyone else.

I guess this explains all about him & me. It must be at the same bench or while having a fight or at the play ground or while washing the lunch box…I don’t remember the exact time or day which we both were caught close. But that date back to the corners of an odd time of the 3rd standard at Nirmala Junior School, Kerala.

Today I am a media professional and at times a designer, a writer or a filmmaker. But here I want to leave all the credits to those moments of childhood with him and of course to those friends of our 3rd- 4th standards listened to our stories during the breaks and in the school bus. Most of those silly stories were inspired by the kid’s story books - Balarama and Poompaatta. The funniest fact was they took life in the class hours- written (Scripted and Screen played), scratched (edited), drawn in the notebook (Story-boarded) and finally described with a bit of acting (released with AD/ PR strategies) to the friends during the breaks. After so many years now we are able to correlate to those moments to our very real life for survival in 2008. But then it was Creative and now its just Cre’ACT’ive.

A lot many seconds, minutes, hours, days and years passed. Nirmala Junior School changed to Nirmala High School. ‘Mayavi’ of Balarama changed to the detective Sherlock Holms of Arthur Conan Doyle. The look and feel of our stories too changed. A new diary still remained the worst of all temptations. I used to have my own version of Tarzan named “Dalwar” and his pet animal companion “Meeta”, a wild hyena. “Dalwar” had a sign language with fingers, which was designed and executed by Ajay & me. The code language was used more effectively when we act the “The Dalwar” scenes during the class intervals. The nearby church ground and the school play ground had seen enough of this Drama. In fact all these went on till our 8th-9th standards. Like Lee Hawk's Phantom he too had his own Logos and Slogans. And he was the hidden hero of his loved tribe – Polo Tribe. Hope this sounds really crazy…….Coz that time those novels ruled our minds.

The fool play and the interest for human heros got faded away as the time passed and poems took an upper hand. Thanks to the class and school level competitions- Arun and Ajay became a familiar friend figure. In fact those days we identified a bit a competition between us. Yet we used to do exchange and proof read each other’s creation.

Both of us won many prizes. For me two of those certificates are still close to heart. The first one for the thrill of getting a prize for the first time. The story was about the “death of grand father” in the point of view of his ignorant-innocent grandson. May be I could relate well to the story as I participated in the competition after attending the funeral of a grandfather like person in my locality. The prize was given by Malayalam film actor– Nedumudi Venu.

The second one was even more exciting. One day my dad got me a Malayalam novel, “Oru Sangeethanam Poole” by Malayalam writer Perumbadavam Sreedharan. The novel was about my all time favorite writer “Fyodor Dostoevsky”. It was an execllent portrayal of the painful, yet romantic days in Dostoevsky’s life when he was forced to write a novel (“The Gambler”) in return to the money borrowed from a real cunning guy. The time allowed was quite challenging and he had to get the help of a lady stenographer “Anna.” As “The Gambler” progressed though Dostoevsky’s mind and Anna’s type writer, “Oru Sangeethnam Poole” took a new turn, by which the writer and stenographer fell for each other for the same relation the pen have for the paper. Sreedharan defined Dostoevsky as "The writer who have God's signature on his heart." I was so excited when I heard that I’m getting a prize for my poem on “Malayalam”, from Mr.Sreedharan. It so happened just two days after me finished reading “Oru Sangeerthanam Poole” and was totally mesmerized by the romance he penned.

Now back to Ajay and me, at one point of time he became more popular than me in his poems, even reaching the state level poem completion. It was quite likely for me to be jealous of him. “What made my writings go down?” I used to wonder. But today I know, where we both stood then and that is nothing but my testimonial for him. I wish I would have realized this then……………

It’s been 8 years since I met Ajay. We are not writers or poets anymore as we used to dream. After my tenth I 've not written a word especially in Malayalam other than usual class notes and documents in comp. The habbit of blogging itself is something I gained very recently.

He is an Ayurvedic Doctor back in hometown Kerala and I’m a Knowledge Management Media professional here in Chennai. In simple words, we had become two individuals known to eachother at some point of time living in two different world with different dreams and different visions……….

Forever Heber

The film was screened at Alliance France for Madras Day Celebration '09', organized by Mylapore Times.

Room No: 169,
Bishop Heber Hall,
Madras Christian College,
Tambaram,
Chennai,
India.

Nothing special about this address, except for the fact that my heart and my soul still live there. With Heber chapel at the door side and the ground at the window side, 169 still remains my paradise on earth. Many nights I had spend sitting at the open space near the window staring the stars. It was never been closed for an entire year and five months. An owl nested at the tree near by was the only one curious about my lone little world. Didn’t you have any shame sweet heart? Anyways she is the only woman who had seen me truely, both my mind and my body nude…So I've a special love for her!!! In fact I was equally curious about her world trying to videograph her. During those days there were many who doubted that the department’s Hi-8 Handy cam is yet another organ on my body. Oh, now I remember those other cute neighbors of mine who posed neatly for my cam. That includes two cute parrots, I caught -kissing and romancing -sitting on top of the chapel bell tower. I needn’t mention about all other romances that bloomed in and out the mighty chapel.



About the bell tower I have yet another interesting story for which I myself been the protagonist, but of course not a romantic tale. It was a Sunday morning. I got up hearing some noise from chapel side and I could clearly see my junior friend Ginsu standing there surprised at his strength on pulling the gong out of the bell. That was never been his intention but to ring the bell for Sunday mass. Luckily it didn’t fall on his head. All were confused as it takes hardly half an hour more for the mass to start. If I remember it correctly I was the one who climbed on top of the bell tower and married the gong back to the bell.

Another nature’s actor was a woodpecker who found luxury on the tree stood in between my room and the chapel. But twice I had to miss having the cam for shooting deers came visiting me. Once it was a huge male wounded deer sheltered at the corner of chapel and the nearby room. At night I had jumped through the window (this I did many times luckily not falling the prey to roaming securities) and went near the deer. But I couldn’t reach him worried about its mood. Then as always I climbed back to the room through the wire mesh near the chapel side. One of my biggest fantasies was to jump though the window from my first floor room and go and lie on the lone ground at mid night gazing the stars. Another was walking out to the main gate at 4 o’clock in the morning waking up the securities and then having a tea from the shop outside.

Generally we speak about “nav-rasas” or the nine moods of man. But Heberians have a million other moods that can be explained only by a Heberian.

If you come to Tambaram darling
Come to Heber Hall……..
Heber is a Paradise
Fish pond and all…….

For the lucky men "The Gentlemen" , this is the song on which their heart beats.

Me and friends Deepu, Benji (Benjamin) and PJ (P.J. George) had never thought that we are thereby setting a new trend in Madras Christian College when we screened a documentary titled “Forever Heber” about our beloved home Bishop Heber Hall on the hall day 2005, as its been followed since then by almost all the Halls in MCC. I am proud-in fact, terribly thrilled – even after three years of me leaving Heber, I’m still getting calls from Heber as well as the brother halls Thomas and Selaiyur on suggestions and review of the short films by the young minds of MCC for the respective hall days.

For me it was first a craze to shoot the age old traditions and customs followed by the residents of Heber. I videographed almost every possible event in Heber from my first year (2003) of stay including anything and everything from General Body meeting to Octavia. And hence the film is a mixture of year 2003 to 2005 in Heber. Slowly the craze became an idea of making the documentary my M. A. Communication documentary film project. As it went on the craze and the idea became a mission for the future. And finally thus the film “Forever Heber”.

Fantastic script of narration written by P.J George to fabulous narration by Benjamin, it just brought out the best in all of us. My love was always been the moods of Heber with its immense simplicity, whether it be the green from the nature to the grey and blue from the minds of Heberians. The rain fell from the roof had music in it and the tone of Church bell had the right attitude.

The day of screening is memorable in many ways. I was running around holding my breath coz of many techinical problems. Thanks to my sweet little friend Cris who was my hall day guest. She kept saying "Don't worry Arun, it will work". And it so happened - with the lights off, in the sweetness of that dark, for the first time a film of mine got screened and tat too in front of my own family, the Heber family. Later Cris just smiled at me and said "Are u happy now"... Oh, yea....I said this in mind...

Heber for ever......Ever for Heber...Forever Heber….

Read about Heber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_Heber_Hall

Just sharing you a very beautiful blog written by noted filmmaker Shekhar Kapur to his daughter, on his birthday.
http://www.shekharkapur.com/blog/archives/notes_to_my_daughter/

In Search of Peace

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

I hardly dream in sleep though it so happens very frequently during the day, whenever I feel like. I have a very close friend who keeps telling me that I’m missing a lot by not having that habit. In fact, one day he told me in secret that the best sex he have had was in one of his wildest dreams…and I thought, “Lucky he is, for being a happy man at least in his dream even though he had never been the same in real life.” But you know, yesterday for the first time I was kissed by someone in my dream whom I would like to dream again or at least pray that I shouldn't wake up again in my life.

It is not true if I say I’ve not dreamt anytime. I remember seeing a mountain, a river, a valley and a meadow…some time in past time. Mostly those dreams I still remember are quite green in its look and nature. Once I could see me standing alone on a lonely peak gazing the depth, and breathing the chill. Later I reviewed it as my lonely journey in search of peace. After a few months I captured the same experience with the help of a friend and a camera on a little known- high altitude location in God’s own Land, Kerala. Thus I realized a 27.27 min short film “In Search of Peace”, with out any proper script or a planned shooting/ editing schedule.

Balancing a successful profession and silent passion is not a hectic task as compared to the normal notions on the same. The distance between realizing a dream and ignoring it is nothing but ‘the second thought on taking the first step.’ Working in an IT firm was never been a bar in fulfilling my ideas. In fact the team INNOVATION catalyzed the thought on dreaming high and thinking differently. Very recently I realized that my team is the best for sharing thoughts and implementing new ideas. In one way we can be called the best day dreamers, who believe in converting them to the reality.

The protagonist of the film “In Search of Peace” was acted out neatly by buddy Indrajith. He is one good friend I’m confident to have to the end of my life, after that too. We discussed about the film on a normal working day during the lunch-coffee break. On the same weekend I rushed to my home land after googling a bit about the location.

The tourist spot “Ilaveezhapoonchira” (a high altitude spot in Idukki district, Kerala, India), was already known to me in many ways. It is quite nearer to my mom’s place even though I first trekked all the way up while doing my Post Graduation. We were asked to submit a photo album with pics on various topics. The entire class was on a trip to Kerala for the Trivandrum Film Fest. Journey form Chennai to Trivandrum and staying there over a week, must be the right occasion for the students to capture the photographs- thought our audio-visual faculty Mr. Amalraj. So many of us are allowed to carry our lab cameras for this task.

Now coming back to my first visit to Ilaveezahapoonchira (meaning – The pond where no leaf had ever fallen). After the Film Fest I decided to stay back home for a few days. With special permission I was allowed to carry one of the lab-cameras. And hence I decided to visit Ilaveezhapoonchira, thinking of capturing some good stills.

I was always been a lone person with lots of friends. There is no specific reason for that. May be for some reason, I was admired by my solitude and I admired my solitude. Here also I could see me traveling and trekking alone. Half the way it started raining heavily and I was doubtful whether I would be able to take any photograph. My bike could take me to the nearest possible height it can reach. There I left her relax and started walking with my helmet and raincoat on. It took an hour for me trek up the way to reach the top of the peak. The weather changed drastically that I couldn't see things even a few meters away coz the clouded mist. Somehow I managed to click a few pics. While climbing down I had two faces. First, of the winner who fought the battle with such a bad climate and successfully reached the top point. And second, of the loser who couldn’t photograph or see anything from the peak because of the sweet friend, the rain. This was my first trip to Ilaveezhapoonchira.

The second was after two years - after started working with Hexaware - after talking to Indrajith about my dream and the film - after taking that “First Step without a Second Thought.” I rushed home on that weekend to find out the possibility of doing the film there and to find whether I can get those little friends who can act with Indrajith in the film. After reaching home, I somehow managed to convince my Dad, took the bike & went straight to the location. And for my surprise everything was there as I dreamt - even those little friends. The next day itself I returned back to Chennai to talk to Indrajith about it.

Both of us can’t say how we managed to push those weekdays in the enthusiasm of the coming weekend. Finally the Friday came and we packed our sacks, camera and tripod...started our trip and thus the mission.

Everything that happened after reaching the location is the film “In Search of Peace”, certainly the best work I ever did and may be the best I can ever do in future. On the editing table I realized that not even a single shot was missed and I have done full justice to what I dreamt. May be this is the first time I painted the dream to reality. But this is the start for me to dream more often.

Now about the dream I had yesterday… It is that kiss by someone who can take me back to the sleep and then sleep and sleep and sleep, hoping not to wake up again. But the morning rays caught me red handed kissing her. Hence now I am back to the reality to architect reality.

On Karma…..On Duty…….On God

Just wanted to share a few thoughts I've on God n religion. I'm not a good writer and I hardly know how to write on a specific topic. In fact, I always mess with the start, body and the end of it. Sometimes starts with the conclusion itself. Just like my unedited film reel in which the first shot may be the climax.

I remained an atheist for nearly four years, since my seventh standard to the tenth coz by then I was completely thrown apart by the Hindu epics and stories I read. It was quite a shock to my dad and mom who are very much from Hindu orthodox families. In spite of their compulsion I haven’t visited any of the temples during that period. I never prayed for anything. I hardly felt the need.

Since my childhood I was been a dedicated reader of Hindu ‘puranas’ and epics. I was very much fascinated by the super heroes and read them the same way I read the ‘Tarzans’ and the ‘Phantoms’. At the stage of adolescence I loved reading about the beautiful angels or ‘Apsaras’ in those books. And hence by the time I started analyzing them intellectually, I found them so fake and funny, there by losing interest completely. Added to that, the massacres and riots in the name of religion made me feel that it is just one among those tools designed by humans, for butchery and brutality. I decided not to believe in God anymore and there I discovered the atheist in me.

Now back to my tenth standard…One day my mother called me and told me not to believe in Rama, Krishna or any other 'Gods'. That was the biggest shock treatment from her side. She then she added, “You don’t have to believe God in any of them. But just think about the reason for your existence in this world. Also think about the power that made u exist in this world. I just want you to realize that there is some power that makes us alive…that is around you….that is inside you...that you can find in anything and everything. We call it God.” That statement brought me back to the study of religion and God.

Instead of reading epics, I tried more on the history of the epics and its origin. It was nice to understand about the Vedic era, much before the Epic era. More over it was interesting to know that Vedas and their supporting books ‘Upanishads’, had never used the name of any God. They described God as ‘OM’ or ‘Brahma’. Both symbolized the same ‘Power of nature’, about which my mother told me. I heard from someone that ‘OM’ is the sound of the rotation of earth. I believe in that, since that statement is from the same saints of Hinduism who discovered the powers of nature- even the sun and the planets much before Galileo saw them clearly through his telescope. We had the power of Yoga and we knew that nothing is superhuman and everything is very much human. Yogic power can bring out the current or electricity in you and hence make you bring out that power called God in you.

Now what epic is was the biggest question in front of me. Only after seeing Stephen Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park’, I came to know that there was some animal called dinosaur that ruled the earth much longer than the period the first man was evolved though evolution, to this moment you are reading this write-up. Now epics are dummy material like Spielberg’s dinosaurs, created by the new age Brahmins for common man to understand God. Moreover the then ‘King worship’ in India supported the human Gods to arise through those epics. The biggest mistake of Hinduism is its cast system. I don’t know how many people know that nobody can be a Brahmin by birth. The word Brahmin itself means ‘The one who knows Brahma’- means one who knows that super power of nature called ‘Brahma’ or ‘OM’ or ‘the God’ in simple English. For our convenience we created casts and religions and made it hereditary. It is just like the son of an aged popular Bollywood star becoming the next superstar…

In fact, Hinduism is not a religion. It’s the society. It was Afghanis who did the nomenclature of that particular human civilization who lived on the shore the Sindhu River as ‘Hindus’. They wanted to called them ‘Sindhus’, but failed to do so coz they didn’t have the alphabet ‘Sa’, and hence that word came out as ‘Hindus’. In that way a Hindu is a born Hindu. He don't have to be made Hindu. And hence true to what Hinduisam says, a Hindu has the privilage of worshiping God in any form...feel God in anything and everything created by God.

Presents of a camel can be felt by the hoove marks on desert. Sameway the presents of that supreme soul can be felt in all creations, including you and me. In fact, we are not two. We are one. Both of us came from the same soul. That's what 'Advitha' concept of Shankracharya tells. God is the soul in us and body is the medium. And hence a true Hindu should accept Jesus as well as Budha.

If God is the ‘Power’, that is the reason for u being ‘Real’…. 'Original', religion is just the social set-up man created for his security. Just like any other human invention, religion also needs to be updated with time. As the society changes, its need also change from time to time and hence this social setup also need to be restructured with time. Not only Hinduism, but that is exactly what any other religion should do. In short, man should understand man and he should live to his needs.

As Swami Vivekananda said “God is ‘Karma’ (service)”. He took this statement from Veda. ‘Karma’ is not charity; it is your simple duty. Now I prefer doing that. Do what you think you are made for. Today I do pray. I pray to the symbols like Hindus as well as I pray to the free space like Muslims. I pray to the cross and all the powers of the nature. My pray is my ‘Karma’, my duty- my music- my travel- my film. I’ve a feeling that I’m made for that and I’m not good for anything else.

Today morning a friend of mine messaged me ‘Arun, God bless your heart’. And I wanted to reply
“Yaar….I’m already blessed with so many things. So I’m not looking forward to any more blessings. I’m happy that I’m blessed with two eyes to see, a tongue to talk, legs to walk and a hand to write. But I understood the actual use of it very recently when someone saw the same thing I saw….when someone listened to what I was talking…..when someone walked with me……….and when you had the patience to read me fully.”