RIFLE RANGE BOY

Mathilukal (Malayalam, The Walls, 1990) Written & Directed by: Adoor Gopalakrishna (Autobiography of  Vaikom Muhammad Basheer) This is another classic from Kerala's son of the soil. It tickles our minds to consider two things. Firstly, human beings are creatures of routine. The other is we are social animals. A routine schedule gives them a purpose to this entity called life. No matter how purposeless the rituals may be, we would do it diligently as if it were a higher calling. We would find a legitimate explanation to justify our actions, perhaps give a scientific twist to it. In absence of these 'unwritten' rules and left to our own devices, we would probably just rot away trying to fulfil the indulges that satisfy our primal needs. This would just make the human race a band of sloppy sluggards. Soon enough, the species would be decimated from the face of Earth. Being social animals, we need to interact with each other. This interaction could be in person, via mail, i...

One of the most significant drawbacks in the manning of a human-crewed mission to Mars is the mental strength (or rather lack of) of astronauts in being able to stay sane over extremely protracted times in solitary confinements. After all, can one stay for 4 years in the company of the same boring company? They say that Man is a social animal and he needs friends and company to live. Deprive him of the ability to interact with his fellow kind and be sure that he would hit the loony bin. They fight, they laugh, they cry together, they loathe each other, but they need each other to survive! So say the scientists. A man needs to compete with each other or emulate each other to come out with a newer protocol for the next generation to improve so that they can continue surviving as the most dominant species on the planet. Perhaps,  they would remain as the only species as they annihilate other 'less' intelligent ones. Once they have done that, they would step into an intra-specia...

So this is life? After 52 years of wedded bliss, what do I have to show to myself? What am I left with? A big house which used to be a home with hive of activities that never tend to stop, the Christmas parties that never ended, the stream of friends that we never knew we had. Now I only have loneliness as my constant companion. Solitude is my trusted friend who lassos remote almost forgotten visions of my one and only. The bond that we shared were beyond physical worldly pleasures. Beyond the age of physical allure, our magnet attracted each other like no magnetized ferrous chunks could.  Prove of our union love is the five lovely offspring that we cared for so much. A little squeal from one used to sound like a wail to you. And the ups and the downs that through together. And the sickness and the health! You are the only that I knew.  I know I cannot be sniffling like a teenage girl over your demise. I had more than my share of happiness in the lifetime. O...