This and That aka Daily Musings

11th November 2022 Kantara (mysterious forest) A week has elapsed since Vidula and I saw the Kannada movie Kantara. Ignorance, lack of curiosity or even a linguistic bias had prevented me from watching south Indian movies. I had never heard of Rishab Shetty, the film’s writer, director, and lead actor.  OTT provided me with easy access to Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam movies. Being oblivious to South Indian cinema was my loss. I am now slowly getting acquainted with the works of Vijay Sethupathi, Fasil Fahad, Vijay, and many others. Hindi movies now appear distasteful and unrelatable. Kantara left me speechless. Rishab Shetty has given Kantara a very ‘raw’ look. All the characters seem relatable. There aren’t any glossy, well-groomed heroes and heroines. We find ordinary, everyday people creating extraordinary work. Both, the hero (Shiva) and his love interest (Leela) appear genuine and have played their parts with elan. Leela, played by Saptami Gowda, hasn’t got much to do but stil...

1st November 2022 Aai would have turned 79 today. Seventeen years have elapsed since she made her exit, and her demise was too early and unexpected. I tried to be all grown up and philosophical when my father and mother passed away within a span of 15 months. I failed miserably. Trying to think rationally does not help. Inevitable and laborious comparisons with others muddles up our mind. It is human tendency to rationalise important events but as a consequence we slip and tumble while trying to grapple with our emotions. Men suffer this folly as it is considered ‘unmanly’ to open up or even cry. In most cases, bonds with biological parents are deep rooted because of proximity, love, and constant interactions. The quality of bonds thus created depends on a myriad of factors.  My parents, Yashwant and Kunda, have three offspring. Alkatai, Harshad and me. As I perceive things, the three of us had varying affinities towards each of our parents. But by and large, despite the heated arg...

Carpe Diem – from Roman Poet Horace’s Odes (23 BC) is one of the greatest maxims ever penned. It is loosely translated as “Seize the Day”. The dictionary definition is ‘to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future.   The Latin phrase – Memento Mori – is closely related to Carpe Diem. It literally means, ‘remember that you must die’. Both the aforesaid aphorisms are connected and our lives can be fulfilling if we are able to decipher how. What does Horace mean when he advises us to ‘seize the day’? He advocates ‘making most of the present time and give little thought to the future’ . He doesn’t imply we need to be reckless and live only in the present without any thought of the future. This will lead to undesirable consequences. Horace advocates making most of the available opportunities in the present so that we have a happy future.  Now a little exercise in maths. Assuming a lifespan of 80 years for a typical city dweller, he...

19th August 2022 उपभोगशून्य स्वामी! I just finished watching Naveenchandra Hegde’s (Guruji to us) one hour long conversation with Major Poonia on YouTube. It was enchanting to watch two extremely fit individuals exchange thoughts about fitness, philosophy and giving back to society. Both had unique styles of speaking our national language. Guruji, a Kannadiga by birth and upbringing, had a lilting accent while the Haryanvi Major spoke with a robust Punjabi twang. Major Poonia proved to be a very good host as he gave ample time to Guruji to share his thoughts. The questions were perceptive and unobtrusive while the answers were delightfully frank and to the point. Most individuals have a memorable childhood and Guruji was no exception. He got exposed to sports very early in his childhood and perhaps this ignited the spark to be associated with some kind of physical activity later in his life. The story of his efforts to save 5 paise was fascinating. Guruji’s journey from his school days...

  25th June 2022 Collective Effervescence The four of us went on a Wari on 24th June. I am not sure whether anyone from our group had any religious reasons for undertaking such a task. Kedar and Sharad are God fearing but not ritualistic. Chetan seems to be very practical in his approach and not overtly religious. I am a borderline atheist. I believe there exists some higher power which is beyond our perception. All of us feel and experience the impact of this higher power in our daily lives. People call this power by different names depending on their faith.  I have been intrigued about the Pandharpur wari for many years and Kedar’s experience of a wari four or five years ago spurred me to undertake such a journey. So despite my non-religious and non-ritualistic way of life, I decided to join Kedar this year when he broached the topic. During my childhood my parents, and later my wife, used to talk about warkaris with great respect. I never really comprehended what this was ...

Many hooks came to mind when I was contemplating chronicling today’s events. Our trip was meticulously planned by Manisha and Sunita but the experience turned out to be far more enjoyable and memorable than we had ever imagined. A little about the title of this write-up is in order. We had a chance encounter with Mr. Bhoir when we reached our destination of the Kondhana caves. I found something very peculiar about this man. His entire demeanor suggested that this man was different. I couldn’t resist striking up a conversation with him. When I proffered an apology to him for disturbing his peace, he presciently said that “everything happens for a reason”. Our going there as a group wasn’t a chance encounter for him. He further said that there is nothing random about the way this world functions and that everything is interconnected. I found this profound. Mr. Bhoir is an MBA and had worked earlier with a large company and also been an entrepreneur before some events in his life made him...

Lata Mangeshkar – The Lonely Diva Morgan Housel writes in one of his essays, ”A big lesson from history is how chance encounters lead to both magic and mayhem in ways that would have been impossible to predict.” (Hanging by a Thread; https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/thread/ ). Let me present some possibilities which would have altered the course of history. * What if Master Dinanath Mangeshkar had not failed in his business and further, what if he had not prematurely passed away? * What if Lata Mangeshkar, Master Dinanath’s elder daughter, had received a formal education in Indian classical music? * What if a 16 year old Lata Mangeshkar had received humane treatment when she was staying with Master Vinayakrao at Shivaji Park? * What if Lata Mangeshkar had ignored advice given by an established movie actor regarding her diction and pronunciation? * What if Lata Mangeshkar had succumbed to attempted slow poisoning in 1961? * What if Lata Mangeshkar had not waged a lonely battle for...