Written and Directed by Seema Pahwa
Sunday, 8 August 2021
Of family politics...
Written and Directed by Seema Pahwa
Saturday, 3 April 2021
The need to fit in
![]() |
Albert Camus 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature |
Wednesday, 31 March 2021
On paternal love...
Aelay (ஏலே! Hey You! Tamil; 2021)
We always complain that our fathers are not expressive enough, that they are not touchy enough. We allege that they are relatively economical with their display of affection. We despise their approach to solving problems. We say they are too laid back, sometimes also detached. In our minds, our fathers exhibit all the traits of how a father should not be. We resolve to be just the opposite of what they were.We spend a great deal of our adulthood not seeing eye-to-eye with our fathers. We tell ourselves we will not be like him when we grow older. Slowly, with the lessons learnt from the School of Hard Knock and Life, we soon realise that he managed, with and despite his knowledge and experience, to hold the fort for others to prosper. In the traditional sense, he looked at himself as a material provider. As for their deeds and misdeeds that he has under his belt, they cannot be held against as he did with his family's best interest at heart. As for vices, he is, after all, human. It is for him to err and for us to forgive.
We should not forget that our parents have to fulfil a particular personal obligation to merit their existence. They also may have likes, desires and sometimes guilty pleasures. Their sole purpose of being is not just to procreate and nurture their progeny.
Parthi returns home to fulfil his filial duties at his father's funeral. He never a good relationship with his father. His father, a widower, brought him and his sister up working as an ice cream vendor. He was quite a character in his younger days, dodging moneylender and conning people of their monies to earn some extra cash. Parthi grew up hating covering up his father's antic, and he thought his father was quite an embarrassment.
At the funeral, Parthi realised that he had no tears for his father's demise. Unbeknownst to everyone, the father is just up to one of his tricks again - faking his own death to claim insurance! Amidst all this mayhem, Parthi's hears that his childhood is getting married. Parthi's father, meanwhile, is puzzled why his son feels no sorrow.Their backstory is told in flashbacks, and the ongoing story describes how Parthi tries to appreciate his father's struggles. The father's foolhardy comes to light, but only to die for real—an entertaining movie without much of the mainstream cinema's glitz performed by new actors.
Wednesday, 24 March 2021
It is a zoo out there!
![]() |
Oh, dear, oh, dear! |
Even as the remains remain warm, White Rabbit is already scurrying around, muttering, "Oh dear, oh dear. I'm late for an important date!" peeking at the watch ever so often. The Mad Hatter is not needed, but he likes to think that he is indispensable.
Are the hyenas' scream decibels too loud for comfort? Mourners want a time of peace to reflect, not hear noises that evoke madness.
![]() |
Minesweeper |
![]() |
Buridan's Ass |
Almost forgotten are the philosopher asses who are quick to whip out philosophical pearls of wisdom. They peruse the exhibited cadaver and highlight the futility of life. They remind that the departed remain a pale shadow of her flamboyant self with all the juices of life sapped dry. They lecture on how we, the living, scream for recognition, pride and inflate our egos with hedonistic desires.
![]() |
Seeing with complex eyes? |
Tuesday, 15 December 2020
A grim look at life and death...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.
Sunday, 10 December 2017
While we wait...
Just the other day, one of my close friends was called back by his Maker. Even though he had been quite regular with his medical check-ups, came out with flying colours in the mandatory tests and tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Grimm Reaper apparently had other plans.
So at the wake, the main topic of discussion was the sudden nature of some deaths and the absence of farewell. The merits and demerits of having a forewarning before the curtain call. The unfortunate thing about forewarning is that the preceding event could be a painful one for both the sufferer and family alike. Sudden death could be swift but traumatic at the moment. In time, after closure, we remember him only as happy, regal and healthy. That is the memory of him that would stay with us.
Wednesday, 28 December 2016
I win again!
Guess, I'll win again!
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Serviceman laid to rest
By ANDREA FILMER
Photos by ASRI ABDUL GHANI
LONG-SERVING soldier William David Dass (pic) was given a fitting farewell at his funeral at the St George’s Church in Penang.
He was acknowledged with military honours at the funeral service where his casket was led by bag-pipers from the 8th Royal Regiment based in the Terendak Army Camp, Malacca.
Solemn affair: The casket of the late William leaving St George's Church in Penang. |
William, who was also named a Universal Peace Federation ambassador of peace, is survived by his wife Sundari Gopal Iyer, five children and seven grandchildren. His eldest son, Kapt Christopher Ravindran, described his father as an active celebrant of life and a man who was a “true believer in the value of comradeships.”
“Dad lived a soldier’s life and breathed his last like a soldier,” Kapt Christopher said during the eulogy at the packed church yesterday.
He said his father had first put on a uniform at the age of 16 when he joined the Police Volunteer Service in 1950.
We'll miss him: Sundari with her sons, Kapt Christopher (left) and Kol Dr Alexander leaving the church after the funeral service. |
Aside from being one of 15 pioneers of the Junior Civil Liaison Officers who played an important part during the Malaysia-Indonesia Emergency period, William was also a member of the Malaysian Armed Forces United Nation’s Peace Mission to Congo in 1962 where he served eight months.
After his retirement in 1980, William lent his services to various organisations including the Penang Veteran’s Association, Malaysian Armed Forces Ex-Services Association and The National Association for the Prevention of Drugs (Pemadam).
He was also an active member of St George’s Church where he married Sundari in 1958.
Grand service: Many joining the procession led by the hearse. |
Monday, 19 September 2011
Departures (おくりびとOkuribito)
I have departed from my narration of Departures, a full-length Japanese movie, subtitled in English, about the departed. Departed? Departures? Confused? That is how our hero, Kobayashi, got entangled in this mess in the first place. Kobayashi, a cellist in a symphony orchestra, returns to his hometown when the orchestra winds down due to bad business.
A good movie to watch to appreciate the sheer pleasing picturesque view of the interior colder parts of Japan. And I have definitely fallen in love with the finesse and the mild-mannered natured trait of the Japanese culture. I cannot imagine such a civilization went on a rampage and terrorized the Chinese and the South-East Asian nations.
I digress...
I have departed from my narration of Departures, a full-length Japanese movie, subtitled in English, about the departed. Departed? Departures? Confused? That is how our hero, Kobayashi, got entangled in this mess in the first place. Kobayashi, a cellist in a symphony orchestra, returns to his hometown when the orchestra winds down the business. He ends up in a job which he thought has something to do with the tourist industry - helping in departures, little knowing that it is helping the departed- dressing up the dead for the undertakers. He found the job an offer too lucrative to resist and decided to keep mum about the nature of his job from his wife.

The film also discusses other subplots -His boss' issue with his wife's death; his colleague's pathetic life and Kobayashi's unresolved anger with his father's walking out on his and his mother's life in his early childhood, eloping with a waitress.
There was a poignant moment when the boss compares the dead body to the carcass of meat that he was eating. If the meat were alive, it would be no use to us! Another plus point was the directors' take of the Kobayashis' intimate moments. It is tastefully taken with just enough exposure without showing too much flesh!
-
Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad (Telegu, 2024) Director: Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sh...
-
Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners...
-
In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's ...