Don't be the Dog in the Manger?

Plough deep while sluggards sleep! 

It is quite comical to see sycophants struggling to have their voices heard over the mainstream. Perhaps because they have been so enthralled basking in the glory of the flashing lights that they feel naked without being in the limelight. 

When the going was right, they were so full of hot air that their feet were off the ground. Now, reality has struck them, and they had to sing for their supper.

It must be fun to see these goons rising early to the dew of the morning sun to hunt for the worms. Or maybe not, they may still have their henchmen running around to have their outsourced work done. 

You do your thing, and I do mine?

Perhaps that was the wisdom Amma was telling us to be. Aim just high enough, be satisfied with what you have but strive higher nevertheless, the higher the rise the painful the fall, live within your mean, waste not; want not and save for tomorrow as no one knows what tomorrow may bring seems to be lessons that stuck with me. 

Now the so-called management gurus sing a different tune. They say 'no pain no gain.' Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will land among the stars. Every failure is a lesson learnt. If you are not willing to fail, it means that you are not ready to succeed. Inventors, iconic figure who turned the path of our civilisation never had their tracks paved with gold. It is the product of a labour of love, insanity, the fire, and the obsession to prove their point. Even prophets swam against the current of thought of the day to revolutionise humankind.

So, do not pity the downtrodden? There may be a pot of gold at the end of their journies. Hopefully, it is not fool's gold. 

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Yes or No, Right or Left, You are correct!

Vikram Vedha (2017)

Source: Wiki

Whenever one goes back to his wayward ways, I remember Amma would say, "See, Vethalam has gone up murunga tree!" The story of Vedhalam (Vetal) goes back to the tales of King Vikramaditya and the fables of moral dilemmas. In one instance, the mighty King had to capture Vetal, a demon, from a cemetery. He was supposed to keep a code of silence and not utter a single word, or the creature would retreat back to the tree it was hanging. The King followed suit. The imp was such chatty chap who kept telling stories upon stories and demanding answers. He asserted that if the King knew the answer and did not reply, his head would explode. If the answer were correct, the devil would jump back to the tree. The devil would stay if the answer were wrong. Like that the devil escaped captivity as the wise King could his tales that ended with riddles. 25 stories were told. The King could answer all 24. The demon dodged and the sorcerer caught him, and the cycle went on. The last one proved too complicated even for the wise king. Vikram brought Vetal back.

This is the basis of this film; Vikram, a hotblooded police officer and Vedha, the dangerous criminal he is trying to nab who attempts to justify the path that his life turned out to be.

Gangland fights in North Chennai are becoming nasty. Abandoning their traditional steely knives, the gangsters find guns more damaging. The bodies are piling, and the police had set up a special force of cops to keep the situation under wraps. Everybody in the team was specially handpicked for their dedication. Despite all the obstacles, they persevere. The team members all have their own sorrows to wallow; the chief was injured in an encounter, Vikram's buddy, Simon, has a child with a chronic debilitating disease, another with sex addiction, another who wants to give the best education to his child and yet one with a gambling addiction.

The team gets the opportunity to seize the gang leader, Vedha, but he gets out on bail. Thanks to Vikram's wife who happens to be a junior lawyer. Then a cat-and-mouse game starts as Vikram gets near to apprehending  Vedha. Vedha, in the meantime, engages in a 'catch-me-if-you can' routine whilst telling him stories of moral dilemma and his own justification for the predicament that he (Vedha) is in. Being born in the unfortunate side of the society with scant of opportunities, he had to do what he had to do to survive.

We all talk about one's own dharma*, the reason he is sent to Earth; the correct path that he is supposed to follow as it is what he is supposed to do.  But who is to know - that this is the path and that is the destination. We are all thrown into the deep end of the pool, some of us in cesspools, others in a seemingly nectar-filled rose scented pool. We are made to made to grope in the dark and make sense of what we are supposed to do. Irrespective of muck or rose petals, keeping afloat is a struggle, nonetheless. As we go on with the journey of life, we absorb guidance and knowledge from those around us and convince ourselves that that is our dharma, our reason for our existence. But who knows whether we made the right decision. We make up our minds as we wobble along. 

People in positions of power also go through the very same quandary.  A leader has to take the tough call to steer his downlines towards the right track. Decisions are not mere flowcharts guided by arrows, but different approach needed for different situations. There is no right or wrong decision; only bad choice in retrospect! In case our decisions proved less favourable, we convince ourselves that our conscience is clear. We did what we thought was best at that time and space.

Credit: devdutt.com
Vikramaditya and Vetal

# A king was performing the funeral rites for his father. As he was about to drop the funeral offering in the river, as ritual demanded, three hands rose from the water to receive it. The first hand belonged to a weaver, to whom the king’s mother had been forcibly given in marriage. The second hand was of a priest who loved the king’s mother and had made her pregnant. The third was of a warrior who had found the king abandoned on the riverbank and had adopted him and raised him on his own. “Now tell me Vikramaditya,” said the Vetal, “On which hand should the king place the funeral offering? On the hand of his mother’s husband, his biological father or his foster father? On the palm of the weaver, the priest or the warrior? 

#25. The unanswerable question. If a father and son conquerers seize a kingdom and marry the princess and the queen in captivity respectively, what would be the relationship between their children? (Hey it reminds of P Ramlee's 'Keluarga 69' and K. Balachander's 'Apoorva Raagangal'.)

* Dharma has multiple meanings in different religions. It is said that there is no one single-word that translates dharma in Western languages. It was in use in the Vedas and had evolved over the millennia.  In Hinduism, dharma signifies behaviours that are in accordance with the natural order of the Universe. It encompasses duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living". In Buddhism, dharma is the "cosmic law and order" and is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In Jainism, it is the teachings of Tirthankara (spiritual teacher) and the body of doctrine about the purification and moral transformation of human beings. For the Sikhs, dharm is the path of righteousness and proper religious practice.

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Allegory of creation?

mother! (2017)

I went in with both my eyes wide shut, not knowing what to expect. At first, I thought it was going to be a scary movie with all the close camera shots and sudden jerky movements which are often seen in this genre. Then, I thought maybe it was going to be like 'Rosemary's Child' - a happy couple meeting intruders with evil on their minds. Only as I delved further in, did I realise that there were more than met the eyes. It could be a biblical reference to God, Mother Nature, the creation of Adam and Eve, the struggle between Kane and Abel and the seemingly annoying character of people at large.
In the typical fashion of an eerie flick, it started with a newly married couple staying in a secluded house out in the middle of nowhere. Then came trouble in the form of a visitor. And later his wife joined in, to disturb the serenity. Then came their sons who fought over the father's wealth. We are told that the father is stricken with terminal cancer. A brawl ensued, and one of the sons is fatally wounded.  At that juncture, I knew something was not right. There were no police at the scene, and the lady of the house was seen faithfully cleaning the crime scene of blood splatter like it was just the most natural thing to do.  I had watched too many police procedural dramas to know that one is not supposed to tamper with a crime scene. No 911 calls and no stroboscopic lights arrived at the home.
It continued getting bizarre. The man of the house was a self-centred man whose only life ambition was to finish his writing and to immerse himself in attention given by fans, journalists and critiques. He tended to draw inspiration from emotional turmoils but at the same time wanted peace for creativity. Then there was a forbidden priceless glass crystal which is supposed to be out of touch, which, of course, the visitors failed to respect.
The lady gets pregnant, but by the time delivery ensues, the home had become a chaotic war zone. The well-wishers went overboard with their praises for him. They had no qualms about showing their displeasure of the lady and even mutilated their baby!
The story symbolically goes to show a narcissistic God who is on a creation spree without giving two-hoots to what his creations are doing to Mother Nature. Mother Nature, despite all the insults that the creations hurl at Her, goes on to repair and nurture. God is only interested in self-glorification. His creations are so blinded by the Creator that they forget that Mother Nature is the one who is really protecting them.

Human's unabated bashing of Mother Nature will only destroy Her. As depicted at the end of the movie, human need not worry. Well, the Creator will just re-create everything one more time and the whole cycle of Adam, Eve, Kane, Abel and so on will only repeat, again and again...

This story may just resonate differently with different people. You can look at it as the Creator who goes on creativity spree only to marvel at his own composition without worrying about their outcome or future. Mother Nature bends over backwards to maintain peace, tranquillity and status quo. The creations, on the other hand, are hellbent on destroying everything. But in an alternate universe, the creation, preservation and destruction are all part of a single spectrum that propels time forward and maintains equilibrium.

Hungry like a wolf! (for stories)

Nari! Nari!
(Untuk Bacaan Rakyat Malaysia)
Uthaya Sankar SB

The moment the author started narrating part of his story at a book reading event recently, I was transported back to the late 1960s. My sister and I, both toddlers, enjoying the spring of lives, without a care or worry in our lists, were living in bliss in Brown Gardens. This is one of my earliest memory of my childhood that I can remember. Puthu Atteh (new aunt), the newly married lady (then) with an infectious toothy smile, was renting a room in my parent's abode. Every living day was a day filled with adventure, exploring new nature's gift to game play. With our neighbour's battalion of kids of two families, we played 'masak-masak' - 'cooking' up a dishes with leaves, drain water and twigs! and 'robbers and thieves' - hiding behind trees and in culverts!

Night-time was out of bounce for games and we were homebound. To let our imagination go wild, there were Puthu Atteh's children stories.

Till this day, I remember many of her stories. I was pleasantly surprised when one of her stories was narrated in this book. It is the story of two bosom buddies, a monkey and a crocodile. This unlikely friendship helped each other discover the other's world of living. They were so close that the crocodile's wife was jealous of their friendship that she faked a disease which could only be cured by ingestion of monkey liver! And guess who had the unenviable task of garnering the monkey liver, Mr. Crocodile! The climax of the story is how Mr. Monkey outwits Mr. Crocodile. I remember how the ending created a lot of debate with Puthu Atteh, on the authenticity and credibly of the story.  We were told just to accept the tale. It was, after all, just a story!

Anyway, this small well-illustrated book is a perfect book for young readers to stimulate their imagination and creativity. 'Nari Nari' means 'Wolf Wolf' in Tamil. It is a compilation of many short folklores. No, there is no 'Cry Wolf' story! 

Folklores used to be an old age tool to keep children entertained and to keep them pre-occupied, out of the way, whilst the adults kept the tribe going. It is interesting that even though civilisations sprung independent of each other, devoid of contact with the another, they still have many common elements. The wolf is always portrayed as the devious, conniving, cunning and sometimes brutal animal who uses his wit rather than his might to get things his way or to escape precarious situations! In Oriental, Indo-European, Persian, Finnish, North American, African and Old European cultures, the image is the same. Maybe, these traits must have been unveiled by Man during their cavemen days when the interaction with the elements of Nature was much closer. The pack of wolves were fighting for the same place under the Sun with a family of hominids!

** Wolves and their not-so-distant cousins, the Foxes share many traits. The Wolves, however, carry a much darker images of greed, evil and destruction. Even the Abrahamic scriptures have not spared these creations of God.

Decisions, decisions...

Noah (2014)
The forbidden fruit always taste sweeter, they say. This film is banned in many Muslim countries as it is not acceptable for a human being to portray a prophet.
From a production viewpoint, I think the film is of high quality with complex computerised graphic imaging. The main character, i.e. Noah, is made to appear very human and complexed. Even prophets do not know why they were sent to Earth for and which is the best path that they should take to be the correct path. There is no direct guide but decisions have to be made on hunches and signs which they would like to think as a nod from the Creator.
I remember hearing about Noah during my days in Sunday School. Of course it was very simplistic and was not layered or convoluted. Noah had a dream, God told him to build an Ark through a dream, get all the animals, people around him laughed at him, it rained 40 days and 40 nights and the bad people perished. Then we would all break into a song... "The wise built his house upon the rock...."
In this one, it is complicated. After being banished from the Garden of Eden, man leads a brutal life on Earth. It starts with the mauling of sons of Adam, Cain and Abel. Cain's lineage squandered God's creations, raped Earth of its beauty and wealth and changed it a place not fit for living. The other son of Adam, Seth, and his descendants were more God fearing and the countering force of Man's evil. Noah was of Seth's descendant.
He was living in a time of turmoil. Resources were scarce, all plundered by Man. Land was barren and food was so limited that they had to resort to cannibalism. Noah and his people were vegetarian.
Noah, after witnessing the murder of his father by Tubal-Cain, the bloodline of Cain, grows up to have a family of his own with 3 sons and an adopted daughter.
A recurring dream of him submerged in water and a springing of flower suggests to Noah (Russell Crowe) that it was a sign of God that he had to do something. A visit to his grandfather (Methuselah acted by Anthony Hopkins) in the caves, who gives him a seed from Eden, which springs water from Earth and sprouts a forest in a seemingly barren land.
The Watches, who are fallen angels, were cursed together with Man after their original sin, appear as mobile stone structures with multiple appendages. The Watches are basically frustrated with Man for destroying God's creations and were considered as not trustworthy. Seeing, the qualities of Adam in Noah, the Watches decide to help Noah to build the Ark.
Like clock work, all animals saunter in, beast, creepy crawlies and bugs, all in pairs.
The dilemma on board is the middle son, Ham. Since, the elder brother, Shem has paired up with Ila, (Ema Watson), Ham feels that he will be left without a partner after the floods recedes. The youngest son, Jaspeth is too young to worry about these things. Ham goes out to pick out a girl from the village but she had to be left behind as the rains started pouring in. Ham cannot forgive his father for that.
Ila had been diagnosed to be barren due to her injuries in childhood. Hence, Noah thinks that that is God's plan - after his family is dead and gone, the Earth is to be inhabited by no man. He thought God's decision to make Man in his image was a mistake and the floods was to give fresh new start.
Unknown to Noah, his wife, Naameh, approaches Methusalleh, the mystic grandfather, to use his powers to cure Ila of her infertility and it worked. Unknown to Noah too was the fact that an injured Tubal-Cain managed to make it on board the Ark. The disgruntled Ham nurses Tubal-Cain to health and plots with him to kill Noah.
Meanwhile, Ila gets pregnant to a furious Noah. He feels that his wife is interfering with God's plan and vows to kill the offspring if it turns out to a female child. Tension on the Ark is all time high. The animals on board are all in slumber land thanks to incense filled hypnotic fumes.
At the climax, a duel occurs between Noah and Tubal-Cain but Ham decides to stab Tubal-Cain at the right moment. Ila deliver a pair of twins - both girls. In a dramatic attempt to kill his granddaughters, Noah succumbs to love. Rain stops and sun comes out.
In the next scene, Noah is living as a recluse drinking himself crazy. He is unwanted by his family for his wish to kill his grandchildren. He himself is disappointed for what he thinks as failing to carry out God's duty. He is also puzzled by the silence of God. After Ila made peace with him, saying maybe God actually wanted him to do all the things that he did because that is the plan after all. The family reunites except for Ham who moves away.
It seems that the story of Noah is patchy in the scriptures and the screenwriters decide to use their artistic licence to fill in the gap and paint a very humanistic Noah who underwent a stressful time deciding on the things he had to do. The scriptures do mention that Noah was indeed in an intoxicated condition and naked and his sons had to cover him up. There is hearsay of what actually happened here and how Ham was sent off with a curse. His descendants became slaves and coloured people.
Now, even that is disputed. The fact that only white actors appear in this film is a bone of contention for some.
Overall, an intense movie with the message that life decisions are difficult to make. One does not really knows whether he is making the right. Only time will tell. 

Another angle of Aesop's fable