tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19765609964855208442024-03-05T02:32:28.734-08:00Phoenix FlamesSayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-63327846857525872572019-03-27T21:50:00.000-07:002019-03-27T21:51:45.635-07:00Reading Masala Shakespeare<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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First. <i>Masala Shakespeare </i>is not a book about Shakespeare. Not solely, at least. And you can read it whether you love Shakespeare or don't. It is more a book about India, and India's world of cinema and theatre. Probably the thing I love most about Jonathan Gil Harris's work is that he portrays Shakespeare not as a colonial hangover, which in many ways the Bard of Avon is, but also as a "twin". Like long lost siblings from different continents, Harris says that Shakespeare and India (Indian adaptations but also originals) have such striking similarities and that the colonial process probably only incidentally brought the two entities together. Like he says, narratives of Shakespeare exist in Indian stories irrespective of whether they are adaptations or not, whether directors have or have not been introduced to Shakespeare. And this is seen in stories that travel as far back as even the Mahabharata and is also reflective in India's mystical traditions such as Sufism and Bhakti. He refers to India's tradition of meta-narratives, the story-within-a-story which is mirrored in Shakespeare's play-within-a-play. He speaks of Shakespeare's "iambic gaana", or the musicality of the iambic pentameter, which is mirrored in India's naach-gaana tradition.<br />
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A striking similarity that Harris finds between the "twins" is the need for multiplicity of narratives (however chauvinistic, sexist, racist, classist, castist etc. that they may seem). With beautiful imagery and wordplay, Jonathan Gil Harris manages to simultaneously debunk Indian masala movies and preen out the inherent mixtures prevalent in them, and in doing so, he finds Shakespeare in India. In many interactions with especially post-colonial, Marxist critics, one will hear the question, "Do you talk about Shakespeare the sexist?" or "Wasn't he a chauvinist?" And the Shakespeare lover in me will always want to counter it. But it's true. On reading/viewing Shakespeare one will see a lot of chauvinism.<br />
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But you will simultaneously have oppressed or subjugated characters speak with such poetry and eloquence and even a sense of independence and agency that can be read as overthrowing the norms of the oppressor. When Caliban speaks back to Prospero and says "You taught me language, and my profit on't is I know how to curse" or when Shylock asks "Hath not a Jew eyes... affections, passions?" and every time we see a woman stand in a court full of men, speaking up for her love (whether in tragedies, or in comedies) we see the oppressed speak out against the oppressor/ oppressive systems. And yet, bearing in mind that Shakespeare wrote for the crown in a patriarchal world, we see these voices in many instances eventually subdued. While I have often discussed the complex nature of drama- with its equally visible portrayal of agency and suppression- in Shakespeare, I have never looked at Indian cinema through that same lens. I have not offered it the space and understanding nor the in-depth analysis that Jonathan Gil Harris does to Indian cinema.<br />
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Most of the movies that Harris talks about are ones that I dismissed as unimportant or even meaningless (barring the amazing songs, of course). For instance, he refers to <i>Ishaqzaade, Chennai Express, Raees, Bajirao Mastani, Delhi 6 </i>and many others that might not have a direct relation to Shakespeare at all. And yet, he manages to discuss the ways in which inter-religious, inter-class (rarely explicitly inter-caste), inter-regional (especially India-Pakistan) relationships function in India and how they are in very many ways similar to the hotpot that was Shakespeare's Globe theatre- a space of inter-mingling communities and languages, and how Shakespeare wrote for all of them.<br />
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When Jonathan Gil Harris does refer to adaptations of Shakespeare's plays in India, he ensures that he touches upon traditions, performances and movies from across the country. This is probably one of the most striking features of his book- to present India as it is, with all its diversity and nuances, and also its political problems, especially the question of margins. He refers to performances or movies that were made in, amongst others, Bombay, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Shillong, Manipur, Mizoram, Gujarat and Bengal. And he does justice to each region, keeping in mind that the politics of one state with the centre is very different from that of another, and also that their traditions, and cultural histories differ vastly from each other. He also refers to the ways in which traditional folk performances have influenced Indian understandings of Shakespeare.<br />
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And so, <i>Masala Shakespeare</i> is not just about Indian cinema, it is also about the threatening forces that seek a singular narrative in a nation as varied and mixed as India. When Harris refers to <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, he speaks poignantly about the issue of the wall- a wall, both literal and metaphorical, created between lovers of two families at war with each other (similar to Romeo and Juliet)- and then goes on to speak of all the walls we see in India, between classes, castes, genders (inclusive of the LGBTQIA community) and also between India and its surrounding nations.<br />
<a href="https://cdn-az.allevents.in/banners/4c08c260815c62994104d9a5cf7110c2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for samyuktha pc tempest" border="0" height="150" src="https://cdn-az.allevents.in/banners/4c08c260815c62994104d9a5cf7110c2" width="200" /></a><br />
It was also delightful to read in Harris's pages a reference to my friend's adaptation of Shakespeare. Samyuktha PC adapted <i>The Tempest </i>to a Tamil context and very unexpectedly I encountered her name in the pages of Harris which somehow made the book a little more exciting than it already was.<br />
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Written in the narrative style of most fiction, Jonathan Gil Harris makes Shakespeare and Indian masala cinema extremely interesting, even for a reader/viewer who might not enjoy either Shakespeare or masala movies. The insight he provides might be because of the distanced lens of the "firangi" which he is very aware of, but is definitely also because of the amount of time and energy he has clearly expended in analysing a country that defies analysis especially owing to its sheer magnitude of multiplicity. Yet, he attempts, better than most, to capture that multiplicity by giving due diligence to many states that might not even feature in mainstream Indian, desi narratives/analyses of the nation. The racy masala that he uses to spice his book stays true to the name he has given to India's adaptation of and encounter with Shakespeare.<br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-14428630598723442072018-05-28T11:02:00.001-07:002018-05-28T11:02:53.123-07:00Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sometimes,<br />
Words are solace-<br />
The only balm<br />
In a cacophonic dream.<br />
<br />
Sipping conversation<br />
Like coffee,<br />
The words awaken,<br />
Excite,<br />
Sometimes... incite<br />
Passions<br />
And passionate discourse.<br />
<br />
Words eddy and flow<br />
Like the tides<br />
Under moonlight.<br />
They curl up and<br />
Cuddle in the dark<br />
Crannies of the night,<br />
Like soft whispers<br />
Barely heard in the wind.<br />
<br />
Words sing<br />
And spin out a waltz<br />
In the most natural way,<br />
And they are the dance themselves.<br />
<br />
In the silence<br />
Of your mind,<br />
In lonely days,<br />
The words come back<br />
And stir a thought,<br />
A memory<br />
Of yesteryears,<br />
When the words<br />
Made all the difference.</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-57263975061896184122018-04-21T23:02:00.001-07:002018-04-21T23:02:07.629-07:00A-Z Quotes: R<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-22644589039331754472018-04-21T22:57:00.001-07:002018-04-21T22:57:56.821-07:00A-Z Quotes: Q<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes we need to remind ourselves not to think too much about the future.</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-28947430969387452382018-04-21T22:56:00.001-07:002018-04-21T22:56:18.857-07:00A-Z Quotes: P<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-57756669292812623042018-04-18T20:43:00.002-07:002018-04-18T20:43:49.180-07:00Discovering Darkness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What we discover in the darknesses-<br />
The darkness of the night,<br />
of the mind,<br />
behind closed eyes...<br />
Is true<br />
Depth.<br />
<br />
Depths are always<br />
<i>Black</i>.<br />
And poignantly beautiful, too,<br />
Somehow.</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-69109410700692703482018-04-17T09:50:00.001-07:002018-04-17T09:50:05.754-07:00A-Z Quotes: O<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">When you are down in the dumps, read a little bit of Dr. Seuss and you know you will be alright. So here is what he says about succeeding...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">"OH!<br />THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!<br /><br />You'll be on y our way up!<br />You'll be seeing great sights!<br />You'll join the high fliers<br />who soar to high heights.<br /><br />You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.<br />You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.<br />Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.<br />Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.<br /><br />Except when you don't.<br />Because, sometimes, you won't.<br /><br />I'm sorry to say so<br />but, sadly, it's true<br />that Bang-ups<br />and Hang-ups<br />can happen to you."</span></div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-89676557745687725462018-04-13T03:04:00.002-07:002018-04-13T03:04:37.905-07:00A-Z Quotes: N<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-2MnwF1Co3ehPpj3Gd0UJ7koyq0qcu27kNUYOptT-PmBkV-qtfntyRDHlca3PGeejn0CEvjGObEgg82fSZOlJRu09J7aMm-4uUrJTPAqqkxWfUuDkstDMky-fFKNHUtS7vdDiUj6GNx0/s1600/11898691_687454174723755_6121258117615442039_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-2MnwF1Co3ehPpj3Gd0UJ7koyq0qcu27kNUYOptT-PmBkV-qtfntyRDHlca3PGeejn0CEvjGObEgg82fSZOlJRu09J7aMm-4uUrJTPAqqkxWfUuDkstDMky-fFKNHUtS7vdDiUj6GNx0/s320/11898691_687454174723755_6121258117615442039_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
On Ownership. Not your children, nor your parents. Not your loved ones. Not anybody. We own nobody.</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-77718844138723863902018-04-13T03:01:00.005-07:002018-04-13T03:01:58.319-07:00A-Z Quotes: M<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Because sometimes, you need to go back to the beginning of the year to remember what you were hoping for. </div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-88235847599374145162018-04-13T02:49:00.001-07:002018-04-13T02:49:12.887-07:00A-Z Quotes: L<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="26" style="background-color: white;">"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player</a><br style="background-color: white;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="27" style="background-color: white;">That struts and frets his hour upon the stage</a><br style="background-color: white;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="28" style="background-color: white;">And then is heard no more: it is a tale</a><br style="background-color: white;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="29" style="background-color: white;">Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,</a><br style="background-color: white;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="30" style="background-color: white;">Signifying nothing."</a></div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-53007299554893553362018-04-10T17:12:00.002-07:002018-04-10T17:12:35.349-07:00A-Z Quotes: K<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Ka Ktien</span></b>... Once printed, the word is feeble and carries little power. It wrestles with ink and typography and margins, struggling to be what it was originally. Spoken. Unwritten, unrecorded. Old, they say, as the first fire. Free to roam the mountains, circle the heath and fall as rain."- 'A Waterfall of Horses', <i>Boats on Land</i>, Janice Pariat.<br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-14539374362141564022018-04-10T17:07:00.001-07:002018-04-10T17:07:25.308-07:00A-Z Quotes: J<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-13120508527126395892018-04-09T06:40:00.001-07:002018-04-09T06:40:15.131-07:00A-Z Quotes: I<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
That very very powerful letter "I", which signifies the entirety of one's own self. Though I have a zillion different quotes I have gone back to that begins with this letter, I am going to post only those which talk about the self- of the things that characters or writers think of themselves, or of their world, which somehow reaches through the pages and makes the reader relate to the book or poem.<br />
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The one I would like to start with, of course, is: "I think, therefore I am." Descartes's most popular line, in translation, brought about a whole new way of thinking of the self.<br />
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Ogden Nash says, "I hope of lightning our supply will never be exhausted.<br />You know it's lanterns in the sky for those who are losted."<br />
That lightning flash across the sky... that fearful fury, altered into lanterns... Imagine that.<br />
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Dostoevsky: "I consider myself an intelligent man, only because all my life I have been able neither to begin nor to finish anything." This coming from the man who wrote novels like <i>Crime and Punishment!!!</i><br />
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Sherlock Holmes, <i>The Sign of Four</i>: "I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely."<br />
This is something that, I suspect, any workaholic will relate to. What happens when we stop thinking, or creating, or dreaming? That is idleness! And that is destruction.<br /><br />
"I cannot bear the pain of being happy."- John Keats<br />
Keats was a terribly sad and lonely man. But even his melancholy was sung in poetry. Even happiness bore the wounds of pain!<br />
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"I would much rather have been merry than wise."- <i>Emma</i>, Jane Austen<br />
Hmmm... do you think that that merriness probably sometimes also leads to wisdom?<br />
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"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."- Douglas Adams<br />
We are, always, exactly where we are meant to be. The universe deems it so. Well, so much for free will, I suppose. But Douglas Adams's word is truth! :P Of course, for him, his universe did literally take him to unknown destinations!<br />
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"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living."- Dr. Seuss<br />
For all of you who make those lame puns, or who speak nonsense, or just jabber in gibberish. Dr. Seuss is the person for you!<br />
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"I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I found joy in the things that made me happy."- <i>The Ocean at the End of the Lane</i>, Neil Gaiman<br />
And for the nostalgic ones. For those of you (or us) who think about the beauty that was our childhood... it wasn't because we were young and naive (definitely not naive!), but it was because of the joy. Childhood was the small pleasures in life, when today, we seem to look for grand schemes, and make huge plans to cheer ourselves up, before it was something even absurdly mundane, like a rock or pebble or dried leaf that would cause joy.<br />
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"I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They're running at me."- Death, <i>The Book Thief</i>.<br />
The Book Thief was one of my favourite books. And like the most poignant stories, it speaks about death, but here, of course, it talks of it from the point of view of Death. War is not the great battle that gives honour. It is just that... death.<br />
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"'I think you do not appreciate what it is that space contains.'<br />
'What's that then?'<br />
'Nothing. It contains nothing. And everything. But there is very little everything and more nothing than you could imagine.'"- <i>Diggers</i>, Terry Prachett<br />
We live in a vast bowl of emptiness. The gnomes in this series by Prachett understand this best, when they are thrust into the world of humans, who are like giants to them.<br />
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"I wonder... how inextricably bound some relationships are to particular places."- <i>Seahorse</i>, Janice Pariat<br />
And finally, when we talk of people and memories, we also talk of places. We know people through the place, and vice versa. We are intricately linked to the land around us.<br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-61538197332639119752018-04-08T08:30:00.002-07:002018-04-08T08:37:54.134-07:00A-Z Quotes: H<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<img alt="Image result for life the universe and everything" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51jqykL-r7L._SL300_.jpg" width="200" /><img alt="Related image" height="200" src="https://cdn8.bigcommerce.com/s-2w6j6qjqoj/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/373/659/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-9781625587534_hr__59140.1516425896.jpg?c=2&imbypass=on" width="133" /><img alt="Image result for jonathan livingston seagull" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Johnathan_Livingston_Seagull.jpg" width="116" /><img alt="Image result for the power and the glory" height="200" src="https://biblioklept.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/powerglory.jpg?w=464&h=819" width="113" /><br />
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'H' is the heart, hope, heaven, humanity.<br />
So many good ones this time! Here goes...<br />
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"He wanted to shout and shake with rage that the Universe kept doing these insanely bewildering things to him."- <i>Life, the Universe and Everything</i>, Douglas Adams<br />
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"Hearts are wild creatures, that's why our ribs are cages." - This has been attributed to Mark Beech as well as Elalusz. I am not sure of the origin. Anybody who can let me know?<br />
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"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin." - <i>The Picture of Dorian Gray</i>, Oscar Wilde.<br />
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"Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect." - <i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i>, Richard Bach<br />
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"Hope is an instinct only the reasoning human mind can kill."- <i>The Power and the Glory</i>, Graham Greene<br />
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"How do we know that two and two makes four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exists only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable- what then?" - <i>1984</i>, George Orwell</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-44054903985911456702018-04-08T08:10:00.003-07:002018-04-08T08:10:38.444-07:00A Kintsugi Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ridNRteKlcHwKDTzxfsq1JJvtbDG6l4_Rrkv8xi8RsYQdpAiXZOtZBi5h01MeZhoFAW6MbUseAK_X2ixlHdRN_NwIMKa2kM-hEnvo0-he6zkK9hBfPEbfAd17pNraaUpiNDGaE-bgp9z/s1600/5868b80bef21215f9b220fda1c3b81b3--art-japan-kintsugi-kintsukuroi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="766" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ridNRteKlcHwKDTzxfsq1JJvtbDG6l4_Rrkv8xi8RsYQdpAiXZOtZBi5h01MeZhoFAW6MbUseAK_X2ixlHdRN_NwIMKa2kM-hEnvo0-he6zkK9hBfPEbfAd17pNraaUpiNDGaE-bgp9z/s640/5868b80bef21215f9b220fda1c3b81b3--art-japan-kintsugi-kintsukuroi.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-55586346770298934492018-04-07T04:39:00.001-07:002018-04-07T04:39:11.401-07:00A-Z Quotes: G<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"God does not play dice with the universe; he plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players (i.e. Everybody) to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smokes all the time."- <i>Good Omens.</i><br />
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And I don't even know regular poker! So imagine how this game of life works! This is Prachett and Gaiman for you, people.<br />
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51NtyVHtAmL._SX307_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Image result for good omens" border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51NtyVHtAmL._SX307_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /></a></div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-91455119740530284892018-04-06T07:25:00.001-07:002018-04-06T07:25:05.173-07:00A-Z Quotes: F<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Two Indian writers I really really love- Janice Pariat and Sachin Kundalkar (though I have read only one of his books)- write about what makes life tick. For me, they are stories, and friends. And this is what they say on folk stories and friendship:<br />
<br />
"'Folk stories are rubbish... Look at what's going on,' she interrupted. 'Is there time for folk tales when people are shooting each other across their own town roads?'<br />
'Perhaps that's when they need them most.'"- Laitlum from <i>Boats on Land</i>, by Janice Pariat.<br />
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"friendship can offer surcease from noise."- <i>Cobalt Blue</i>, Sachin Kundalkar (trans. Jerry Pinto)<br />
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41356ge7%2BBL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for cobalt blue book" border="0" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41356ge7%2BBL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="131" /></a><img alt="Image result for boats on land book" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51XCzNhj2rL._SX340_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="137" /><br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-24294715879833064142018-04-05T10:55:00.001-07:002018-04-05T10:55:17.950-07:00A-Z Quotes: E<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"Every member of staff spoke regularly about leaving at the end of the year. It was their way of showing that they weren't stuck, that they had a choice. It meant nothing, they always came back." - <i>The Liar</i>, Stephen Fry<br />
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Clearly Fry has noted a universal point about the profession of teaching. Whichever part of the world you are from, the academician always seems to be stuck!<br />
<br />
And in response to this, let's go back to Shakespeare's Caesar...<br />
"every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity."- Casca, I.iii.100 (<i>Julius Caesar</i>)<br />
Isn't Shakespeare so radical, sometimes? Think of the <i>Myth of Sisyphus </i>that Camus talks about. Do we not all, meaninglessly push boulders up mountains without cancelling our captivity?<br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-60745701079348025232018-04-04T10:46:00.000-07:002018-04-04T10:46:02.062-07:00A-Z Quotes: D<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p5/874602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for ursula k le guin" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p5/874602.jpg" width="164" /></a>Ursula K Le Guin, <i>The Farthest Shore</i>: "Death and life are the same thing- like two sides of my hand, the palm and the back. And still the palm and the back are not the same... They can be neither separated, nor mixed."<br />
<a href="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4e14aa478e28fc403da7e5e1532a8abe13844af3/0_1149_4912_6140/master/4912.jpg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=d68d2782690471f713607fc738bb8c00" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for chimamanda ngozi adichie" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4e14aa478e28fc403da7e5e1532a8abe13844af3/0_1149_4912_6140/master/4912.jpg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=d68d2782690471f713607fc738bb8c00" width="160" /></a>Because she is gone. And you cannot mix her death with her life. And yet, there is something of her that still wafts in the air.<br />
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, <i>Purple Hibiscus</i>: "Defiance is like marijuana- it is not a bad thing when used right."<br />
Because we need to learn which battles to fight.<br />
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Neil Gaiman, The <i>Sandman </i>series: "Destiny smells of dust and the libraries of night. He leaves no footprint. He casts no shadow."<br />
<a href="https://comicvine.gamespot.com/api/image/scale_medium/3761390-0790090609-desti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for sandman destiny" border="0" height="200" src="https://comicvine.gamespot.com/api/image/scale_medium/3761390-0790090609-desti.jpg" width="146" /></a>Because Destiny! There are really no other words for him!<br />
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<br />
And finally, I read this as a quote, and am only now chancing upon the entire poem, "<a href="https://www.poeticous.com/w-h-auden/deaths-echo" target="_blank">Death's Echo</a>":<br />
"Dance till the stars come down from the rafters;<br />
Dance, dance, dance, till you drop."- W. H. Auden<br />
Because whatever happens, we need to dance!<br />
<a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/3f/9d/5e3f9d9e85b2479449ac74447f8c4627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/3f/9d/5e3f9d9e85b2479449ac74447f8c4627.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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Alright folks.<br />
Dream on, and<br />
Cheerio.</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-17062160834986362022018-04-03T10:40:00.000-07:002018-04-03T10:40:41.184-07:00A to Z Quotes: C<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today's quote pays tribute to fantasy fiction, but also to creativity in general.<br />
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J R R Tolkien says: "Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to do something else (make something new) may open your hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds. The gems all turn into flowers or flames, and you will be warned that all you had (or knew) was dangerous and potent, not really effectively chained, free and wild; no more yours than they were you."<br />
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Tolkien, who played a massive role in shaping fantasy fiction for what it is today, is talking mainly about fantasy fiction, but his statement holds true of all art, of all creativity. What art one has is potent, maybe dangerous, tugging at chains that the artist mistakenly assumes can trap thoughts and expressions of creativity. And yet it breaks those shackles- of norms? of custom? of cliches?- and expresses itself in the vividness of art, be it music, or paint, or sculpting, or writing.<br />
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Apparently Albert Einstein stated that:<br />
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And isn't that true? Isn't all art about the merriment of the artist? And if you aren't enjoying the process, what point is the end at all?<br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-15287917398434613472018-04-02T02:40:00.001-07:002018-04-02T02:40:26.625-07:00A to Z quotes: B<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<img alt="Image result for life the universe and everything" src="https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6530987-M.jpg" /></div>
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Once again, I have two.<br />
Douglas Adams in <i>Life, the Universe and Everything </i>has a character who understands how muddling Reason (with a capital r) can be. He says, "But as he approached them, as he walked through the Forest and amongst the trees, he found that all he could remember of the Reason was how terribly clear the argument had seemed. What it actually was he couldn't remember at all."<br />
I think when I took down this quote while reading, I wrote it down because I could absolutely relate to what the character was saying. When in an argument, or discussion, I completely get what somebody is trying to get across to me. And then when I go back and mull over it, I feel like the words are all muddled up, and I can no longer understand why that argument was made.<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51VkZtP1lmL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for 1q84" border="0" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51VkZtP1lmL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="131" /></a>The other quote I have is from <i>1Q84</i>: "But decent motives don't always produce decent results. And the body is not the only target of rape. Violence does not always take visible form, and not all wounds gush blood." I don't think this really needs an explanation. It is, even as a stand-alone statement, extremely powerful. </div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-86662168457089477682018-04-02T02:30:00.000-07:002018-04-02T02:30:44.957-07:00A-Z quotes: A<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<img height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp87BZbBZ81EN2vKFPvzixiTMGNbjktkeGjSoOmnmY1MNFO_g_pAaVCcwaWwOl3fKwgS2qZ9IqajXyk4Z2XUSH7EIBmGYtqTyp91Wzo-Lvo6adwnI2kyT2y2REZ02-R_koO97uqZ6HPl8/s200/a2z-h-small.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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My friend is doing the A-Z April challenge. And I started a little late. So today, I'll do A and do a follow up post for B. And because my friend took away Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage," I am going to write two other quotes beginning with A (because I am extremely indecisive)- one from The Beatles and one from George R R Martin.<br />
"All you need is love. Love. Love is all you need." - This of course is The Beatles. And they are, as always profound in their simplicity.<br />
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<a href="https://thewilbur.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/all_you_need_is_love_artist_image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for all you need is love beatles" border="0" height="92" src="https://thewilbur.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/all_you_need_is_love_artist_image2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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The song goes like this:</div>
<div jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Love, love, love</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Love, love, love</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Love, love, love</span></div>
<div class="UH8R2" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 13px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">There's nothing you can do that can't be done</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Nothing you can sing that can't be sung</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's easy</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Nothing you can make that can't be made</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">No one you can save that can't be saved</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's easy</span></div>
<div class="UH8R2" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 13px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love, all you need is love</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love, love, love is all you need</span></div>
<div class="UH8R2" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 13px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love, love, love is all you need</span></div>
<div class="UH8R2" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 13px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">There's nothing you can know that isn't known</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Nothing you can see that isn't shown</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's easy</span></div>
<div class="UH8R2" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 13px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love, all you need is love</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love, love, love is all you need</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love (All together now)</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love (Everybody)</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">All you need is love, love, love is all you need</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Love is all you need</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Love is all you need</span></div>
<div class="UH8R2" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 13px;">
The second quote which starts with A is this:</div>
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkcBo90UoAIOq7f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for a reader lives a thousand lives" border="0" height="227" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkcBo90UoAIOq7f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is from <i>A Dance With Dragons </i>by George R R Martin, and for any reader, you know how true this is.- to be able to travel for days on end without having left your room. </div>
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What about you? What are your favourites that begin with "A"?</div>
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-19914620421046373172018-03-26T07:12:00.000-07:002018-03-26T07:12:08.512-07:00Shore Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
The waves... they come in a turbulence<br />
Of love and fury,<br />
And stir up the sea sand<br />
Like fairy dust on children's eyes.<br />
<br />
The waves, though, have a wanderlust<br />
And gleefully, they say farewell<br />
As though that passionate storm of sea and sand<br />
Meant nothing,<br />
Leaving behind an apathetic shore.<br />
<br />
How many times has the shore<br />
Seen love come and go?<br />
And yet, she stands there,<br />
Firm in her love.<br />
Welcoming always,<br />
the meandering waves.<br />
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Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-60834292134502274782018-03-18T12:24:00.001-07:002018-03-18T12:24:17.859-07:00Representations of Death<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A lot has been going on and so
many people, globally have passed on to greener pastures. One hears, almost every
day, stories of people who have struggled and have lost their battles with
life. But death, inevitable to all, affects the living more. To ease our broken
hearts and minds, we think of death in so many ways. Very often, death has been
seen as grim, as leading souls to heaven or hell. But death is almost always
human, at least in form. Death is always impartial. Death is always
calculating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Yama_on_buffalo.jpg/220px-Yama_on_buffalo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result" border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Yama_on_buffalo.jpg/220px-Yama_on_buffalo.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In Hindu mythology, Yama, the
god of death, has a ledger to keep accounts of human deeds, not just of the
good and bad, but of every single action of a human. Yama, the giver of dharma,
of what is loosely termed justice, metes out equality to all. And yet, Yama, is
human. He gets swayed by Savitri’s devotion to her husband. He grants to the ‘pure’
and the ‘sacred’ an end that does not meet all other mortals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kali and Rudra, wearing
skeletons as jewellery, and draped in the colours of red and black, too, act as
forces of destruction. Kali or Durga, the goddess of war, akin to Mars, or
Aeres, is quick to anger and difficult to appease. Though, they are, gods of
war, and though they bring death to so many, they themselves aren’t
representations of death, as is the case with Yama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><img alt="Image result for kali goddess statue" height="200" src="https://2.imimg.com/data2/DT/CT/MY-4530358/supreme-goddess-kali-brass-sculpture-500x500.jpeg" width="200" /><img alt="Image result for rudra statue" height="200" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/58/4d/da/584dda387b32351ff7dcd8bbf4a11819.jpg" width="184" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Column_temple_Artemis_Ephesos_BM_Sc1206_n3.jpg/1200px-Column_temple_Artemis_Ephesos_BM_Sc1206_n3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for thanatos" border="0" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Column_temple_Artemis_Ephesos_BM_Sc1206_n3.jpg/1200px-Column_temple_Artemis_Ephesos_BM_Sc1206_n3.jpg" width="100" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In Greek myth, of course, is
Thanatos, the god of death, and Hades, the guardian of the underworld.
Significantly, in these myths, the dead go down into the earth and even further
below. The earth below, not necessarily the place that Yama occupies, is the
region of darkness and hell. And yet, Thanatos, too, is defeated or cheated by
characters such as Heracles or Sisyphus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">According to the Yoruba
pantheon, Iku is the force of death, the only god who can withstand the
unpredictability of life, of the god Eshu. He, too, like Yama, is a debt-keeper.
But, Iku, like all the gods of death, is not worshipped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Drawn deeply from mythologies
across the world, but especially created into beings of great character, are
the versions of death in literature, and I can only limit them to the few that
I know of. I feel that such representations are a lot more sympathetic towards
humans, they are friendlier, and more fascinating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://thegg.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/terry-pratchett-and-death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for terry pratchett death character" border="0" height="193" src="https://thegg.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/terry-pratchett-and-death.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My first, of course, is Death
in Terry Prachett’s Discworld series. He is probably the wisest form of death
that I am aware of. He is more human than most humans. He is a paradox, and
that is as well, for death is unpredictable, death is scary, death is a whorl of
emotions for the dying. Prachett’s Death says, “IF PEOPLE KNEW WHEN THEY WERE
GOING TO DIE, I THINK THEY PROBABLY WOULDN’T LIVE AT ALL.” But Death is the
kind of guy who is a kind skeletal figure, who tells you to take things as they
come. And I love Prachett’s Death because he is what every mortal needs. Not a solace,
nor a warning, but a knowledge that he is ever present and is understanding of
the greatness of every mere mortal. He acknowledges the lives of the living. He
understands. He knows the struggles of people. And he knows their kindnesses.
He tells Granny Weatherwax, “</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">WE ARE ALL FLOATING IN THE WINDS OF TIME. BUT YOUR CANDLE, MISTRESS
WEATHERWAX, WILL FLICKER FOR SOME TIME BEFORE IT GOES OUT – A LITTLE REWARD FOR
A LIFE WELL LIVED. FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH
BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY
BETTER THAN THAT . . .”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And, of
course, Prachett’s Death always talks in capital letters. He is a capital man!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then, there is Neil Gaiman’s
Death, who walks amongst humans, all goth and charm, all youth and fun, all
excitement and at the same time, weighed down with the heaviest of duties.
Death, in the Sandman series, really and truly cares. And she is contemporary.
She stays abreast of the times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqY_5Pu6pqLfB-Gtr-fHvUZLHKxSj2NbvpIR6xa4mOGs_TOSn4gA" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for death sandman series quotes" border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqY_5Pu6pqLfB-Gtr-fHvUZLHKxSj2NbvpIR6xa4mOGs_TOSn4gA" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Despite turning to these representations
of death for solace, it is ever so difficult to let go of the chains of life,
of the bonds that bind us to one another. We are linked to the beings around
us, and we live because of those links, of those chains. What does it take for
us to be able to let go? Will we ever learn to live with the deaths in our
lives? Will we learn, like Death, to accept the one truth, the one inevitable
reality for all of us- that everyone must die?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51KLByUPbgL._SL1002_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for valar morghulis" border="0" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51KLByUPbgL._SL1002_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1976560996485520844.post-68846396538646970482018-03-10T16:33:00.003-08:002018-03-10T16:33:34.901-08:00On Discarding Theories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Discard the theories,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Those narrow boxed-in
categories,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That define for a time,
for a life, for a period;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">And be human.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Embrace people for who
they are,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Of how they have
defined themselves for their own selves,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">And expect the same of
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Discard the binaries<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That somehow constrain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">The four walls of our
minds…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Instead, let ideas,
images, thoughts, perceptions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Swirl in circles of
infinitude. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">It is tiring… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">The need to say this…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That this has to be
shouted out:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That love is all you
need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">How often, can you
reiterate that <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">In the face of anger,
in the face of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Presumptions and
suppositions?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Discard those theories
that define,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Unless someone chooses
to, needs to be,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Defined by the
progress<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That their struggle
gave them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Definitions too can
change, you know?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">After all, they are
verbs…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Always in action,
jumping from<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Achieved to achieving
to will achieve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Discard those <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">‘narrow domestic walls’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">For human is all are
we.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Mere specs in an
expanse so vast,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Our meagre presence is
insignificant,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Except for our acts of
understanding…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Of kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Discard your firm belief
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">In that system of
knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That says, what you
say is who you are,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">And begin to see,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That it is in the
action, in the empathetic ear,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">That the soulful song
of yourself<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Can be heard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Thrumming throughout
the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">Universe.</span></div>
</div>
Sayujyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680738423906591281noreply@blogger.com0