Mediocre Perspectives

There are times I wonder about the purpose of art. There are multiple perspectives on what art is supposed to achieve, the most accepted being a tool for making life worth living. Art could do this in two ways – either transporting one through a portal beyond reality or painting his mind using complex tools to reveal the harsh truths on life using different forms as reality is not hard hitting. Art has always seen challenges and the recent protests to prevent the screening of the movie Padmavati is only an extension of what it has faced since time immemorial. The protesters claim that the movie is disrespectful to the Queen Padmini. The irony lies in the fact that she never existed. The earliest fictitious account was by Malik Muhammad Jayasi which is dated to the 1540s, more than 200 years after Alauddin Khilji, the emperor of the Delhi Sultanate passed away. There is no historical account that Alauddin Khilji decided to conquer Chittoor lured by the beauty of Padmavati, who wa...

I could not remember when I entered the network but I have certainly lost track of time. There is a reason watches are not allowed in here. Time is relative, it has always been and going by the fact that it has been a long time I have begun my search, I feel time is moving slowly. I rested my back on the steam tainted walls of the current room I am in. The fact that I was wearing a bark textured shirt did not help ventilation. I chose it as I expected to reach the desired room in comfortable time. The room I am in currently is relatively large. Its deconstruction shows that it is not something visited regularly. The room is dying a slow death, the blinking table lamp, the teary scraps on the walls, the melting table and the slimy armchair indicate that it comes from ages beyond. Its silence is what I needed to regroup my thought process. The desired room has the information which is absolutely necessary for combat. It has the tools to organize the next move without which ther...

This is not a movie review. Yet Spoilers Ahead… I remember Director Mysskin’s talk in a reality show that a creator is one who uses a torch light to show the common man what he has to see or missed in his hazy observation. Globalisation has affected our lives so radically that we have seen its impact on our culture too. Kaaka Muttai by director Manikandan which talks about the aspiration of two boys who reside in a slum to taste a Pizza is my favorite. There were few other films which tried to capture such conflicts between the haves and have-nots. But I certainly believe that Director Ram’s trilogy is an important one. I don’t intend to evaluate the cinematic credentials of his movies which I am thoroughly incapable and incompetent of. The following paragraphs intend only to narrate what as a common man I observed in his movies,  what his movies tried to honestly convey, to see where he shone the light. The sharpest criticism which his three films face are on the rarity ...

We were in Love Photo Courtesy: Dennis Skley The sound of the gavel, Ringing in my ears I still cannot feel, That it finally has. We might just be, One in today’s hundred. But for us, it will be, The one day, we dreaded. I looked across the sea, Of black coats. Your eyes refused to see, Even my shadows. When I exited the entrance And nowhere to go The Sky began to fall, In a melancholic flow. The first time we met, Is still infant fresh. Yet, the stage is now set, To depart marriage mesh. You never told me Why you like me, I just assume It had to be me. Is that the same, Reason you hate me? Or I shouldn’t assume, It must be me. Our Marital alliance was Born out of war What we endured was Worse than sore Where When What, Nobody knows. Love Like Lust, Lost in Egotistic snow. Lips and Ears Failed To convey. What our Eyes Used To do one day. Pleasure and Joy Nowhere to find, Pain...

The squashing of the Tamil Nadu government’s order providing space for State Board Students for Medical counselling is actually not surprising. Maybe the TN government was too optimistic hoping a repeat of last year when there was a relief.  Lacunae and structural problems are abounding in government policy. Understanding them is not difficult but proposing feasible and better solutions is an uphill task. At times, the solutions proposed are complex and give rise to more problems than the issue itself. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the all India entrance examination for medical colleges causes more problems than it solves especially for UG. Beating existing problems NEET was primarily envisioned to tackle corruption in allocation of seats in private medical colleges. Private medical colleges which have their own quota of seats which are not filled with government counselling charge exorbitant money which is not tracked in official channels. Further ...

The Transporter Twins Photo Courtesy:  Fedeanimation Floating along The open sky The cloud looks At its twin Wishing a cloudy morning Good, Rides the cycle Which sounds Like tin Born as Kin Transporting things One, the Elixir The other, an Enigma. Clouds go Along wind driven paths Cycles row On man drawn lines Smoke provides resort to River abandoned drops While the ringing bell Carry money-dry droops Fluffy and lean The sponges fly undisturbed Smooth and silky The cycle manoeuvres unhindered Cirrus stratus Nimbus and Cumulus Comes the clouds With Howard given Names Mountains Cities For ladies and Babies Cycles match the smoke With diversified names Behold the thunder Which wakes you from slumber When warring white balloons Flex their muscles Few mild sounds Could make your spine shiver As ringing bells do In a dead night They are twins They live in different realms O...

Waves of Agony Photo Courtesy: AJ Cann Do not know from Where they come. Every time they have They devastate one. From the Depths of mind to The Days we grind A bleeding heart and The Piercing Dart Sources aplenty They don’t feel guilty. Driving a dagger, In the soul’s center. They know no module and Work Without a schedule. Disrupting lives with Wet knives. Churning and Breaking Constructs Along the way Dashing and Stomping Dreams Of the day Running is no use as They are there Don’t try staying as They are here. People tell you Joy is So Pure. But I am too blind, To say it is True. The waves you see Can drown you sore Cause about Agony I am Damn sure. Photo Courtesy: (External Link) AJ Cann