Can willpower change destiny?

Samantar (Parallel, Marathi, 2021)

Season 1&2, Mx Player.

We understand that life has its ups and downs. Sometimes, the downside drags us so severely that it buries us in the muck so entrenched that it becomes impossible to wash off. Occasionally, choices made at the spur of the moment plunges us into such miseries. If only there was a way to identify these times when these crucial decisions had to be made.

Our ancestors came to suggest ways to predict bad times and possibly avoiding bad decisions. Palm reading and astrology charts based on one's birthdate and times form a crucial Indian way of soothsaying. It is believed that celestial bodies in space affect events, behaviour and outcome of events. Hence, the importance of auspicious times in officiating life-changing events.

What if someone is given hints of events of the near future? Would he be able to avert maladies, or would he still be subject to the same path he is destined to follow? Is knowing one's fate a way to avoid tragedy? Of course not, says this miniseries. We are all enthralled in fulfilling our primal desires that we fell prey to the conducts of the others who, in desperation, aspire to fulfil specific aspirations, use all their God-given attributes toward this end. 

Our present depends on our past, and our future turns out due to our current actions. We are the results of our efforts and will carry the burden of our activities to our next birth. This transgenerational carrying of karma is the reason for many freak accidents and bizarre occurrences in one's life.

This 2-season, 18-episodes of 20 to 30 minutes each tell the tale of a down-and-out office-middle-rank-worker, Kumar, who cannot understand the spate of bad luck that befell him. A close friend who is a work colleague cajoles him to consult a palm reader/religious man. At one look, the palm reader refuses to read Kumar as he has seen that same palm before. Upon much coaxing, he said that that was the same palm of another person named Sudershan Chakrapani some thirty years previously. Looking at Chakrapani's life would predict that of Kumar's.

Next begins Kumar's obsessive hunt to find Chakrapani. Their lives, it seems, run parallel, albeit at different timelines. The end result is not palatable but can Kumar change it with the help of Chakrapani's little peak into the near future? Can willpower ever change destiny?

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Future, Who writes it? You or the stars?

The birthplace of Jane and Benjamin Franklin.
Jane would live here for most of her life while
Benjamin would leave to pursue his apprenticeship.
(brainpickings.org)

Heard a podcast recently on one of the American founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. As is well known, he emerged from a humble beginning, of a son of a poor candle and soap maker, to propel himself away from the clutches of poverty, to pull himself up with his boots strap even though he could not afford boots. Benjamin, a polymath, later became a printer, a master inventor, a diplomat, established the mail service and had a hand in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

He was self-taught. Together with his favourite sister, Jenny (out of 16 other siblings), they used to teach each other. Then, Benjamin left his home to work in a printing press run by his brother by a twist of fate. One thing led to another, and he left the job. He later managed to establish himself as a printer. In his printing company, he took many government contracts, including printing notes. In those days, paper was made from rags. Franklin used to advertise in his newspaper for rags for his mill. The rags eventually were made into money, enriching him tremendously. This ultimately coined the phrase 'rag to riches', which we still use today.

Jenny was not as lucky as her brother. Married at 15 to an older man who was a slave to the bottle and an underachiever, her world revolved around being her nanny to the result of her 22 pregnancies, keeping the family afloat amidst her husband's numerous failed business ventures. Nevertheless, Jenny and Benny continued corresponding over the years.

Two siblings started on the same footing, but both ended up in different ends of society. In one of the letters, Jenny mentioned, many things in life are beyond our control. Things just happen.

We may think we have it all covered. Nothing can go wrong. There are Plan B and even Plan C. Just when you think it is going to be alright, bam, it hit you. Things beyond your control hit you in your face, catching you off-guard. Murphy's law shows your fallibility and puts you in your rightful place. Embark Peter's Law, find your right footing.

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!

Back to the future (Trilogy) 1985-1990

October 21, 2015, has special a significance to BTTF fans, as in the second offering Marty and Doc go into the future. The future that they see in 2015 is a far cry from the real 2015! Absent in real life are the roadless highways, automobiles that run on thrash rather than fossil fuel, the gravity-defying hoverboard (the futuristic skateboard), among others! 

Back in the 80s when I first watched the first instalment of BTTF, I thought that it was the smartest storyline ever produced with its catchy dialogue. One particular scene that stuck on my mind is when Marty performed a lead guitar rendition of Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode'. One fellow band member, Melvin, overhearing the tune calls upon his cousin Chuck to hear the 'fresh' tune that he was looking for his next song!

Moving to and fro between times in their DeLorean speeding at 88mph with the help of a flux capacitor and 1.2gigawatts of power, Doc realises that time travelling is dangerous. Changing the past has disastrous effects on the futures and vice-versa.

Closer to home, you can see many who are quite particular about their future and live religiously by the words of their soothsayers. They print out the position of their stars and planet throughout their life. With the guidance of their masters, they tread life cautiously by religiously following the dos and do nots as set out by their spiritual gurus. Whenever there is a warning about danger with the element of water, they would avoid water-related activities like sea travel or even swimming. 

Unfortunately, as one were to critically analyse the horoscope readings, it is very subjective. The statements are so open ended and can be as and how wishes to interpret it. It is very much like getting fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant, very subjective! Conveniently, one can also use fortune as an excuse for procrastination or for failure to achieve desired heights.