The World of majidi-COLOR OF PARADISE (Rang e Khoda)

With this movie majidi scales exotic heights in tems of visual beauty and subdued scintillating story telling style. In one of my previous posts i had penned my thoughts about the tamil movie mozhi. Actually i would have raved so much about that movie and would have sort of said that to be a definition of a feel good movie . And it on a whole got a spectaular reception across movie buffs. Both these movies handle the world of differently abled. But let me tell you frankly that Color of Paradise proves a ton times to be better than mozhi. No idea of belittling a movie or a director. Just wanted to compare and scale them so as also to understand the void in tamil cinema to create more sensible pictures. With no further digression let us get back to he world of majidi.

Majidi in this movie captures the world of a 8 year old Blind boy Mohammed. Mohammed studies ina school for the blind in tehran far away from his family. His family comprosis of his widowed father, 2 sisters and a doting grndmother. Now the father has a problem. He wants to get re married and mohammed could be a possible barrier. As it might take his whole life to care of the poor blind boy. He tries to plead with the scool authorities to have him with them for ever. The school refuses , as it is customary to shut down all activities for 3 months and all children will have to be taken back to their families. Which the father does, rather without a choice. The movie takes off with this plot. And the director captures the myriad emotions that undergo between the boy who craves for love, the father who hopes he still commands a more better life than just to support his blind son, the doting grnadmother who only loves and keeps loving to see both her son and the grandson are happy for ever. As like any other majidi film the plot remains simple. It never thickens or wades. You might even get a feeling if at all will the movie gather to a momentum. But majidi's world as such is like that. He keeps the plot and narration as simple as that.

Let me Reinforce the opinion that i have never ever seen a movie to depict so sensibly the world of differently abled. The mouth in general should only be a mouth piece of the heart. But in many circumstances it isn't. In such cases the eyes speak for what the heart needs and the mouth will not. But a blind child does not even have that option. He can only speak his heart with his mouth. So is mohammed. Like any blind child, also as told by the boy himself he uses his fingertips to understand this world. He feels everything, be it his braille lessons, his sister, the blossomed flowers, his adoring granny, the beach sands, the bird, everything. He constanlty feels them and still he is in pursuit of feeling only one. GOD. He eternally searches for him. The boy who has acted as mohammed is a revelation especially given the fact that he is no professional actor. Watch out the scene where he breaks down to the blind carpenter (to whom mohammed is ent by his father to live his rest of the life) as to how he yearns for love, to see God and many more and all that evades him only because he is Blind. Any heart should melt for this. The Father who is always in a dilemma , has been well acted by the concerned actor. He is just another ordinary man who wants more in life. But at cost will he get more and will he consciously pay that? Caught between them is the boys grandmother who fights her best to keep the boy. But when finally loses she is just shsttered. Shattered as to care for whose future.her son or her grandson? The characterization of the grandmother is shown to be very strong,sympathetic but only with the limitatations of a woman. Each character simply speak their heart.

I was stunned by some shots in the movie. The opening sequnce, in which the screen is just blank and the characters only keep speaking. It might get annoying, but the director simply fixes in our mind how the world of blind works.No visuals , only sounds. Such a exhilarating sequence is that. Also the constant use of animal sounds to portray emotions like fear (grunt if a wild animal), happyniess (birds chirping). Also the director establishes the mohammed's character as one which constantly studies everuthing he hears and feels. he tries to decode everything fromt he beach sandes to the wood peckers peck. He wants to know everything in his world. And for the closing sequence as in where the boy and fahter are caught in a flood and the boy is about to drown. The father is now contemplating if he has a choice. What choice does he take and what exactly happens is brought out in a stunning visual sequence. We have seen innumerable movies where we all are supposed to be gasping in the final sequnce as to wether the protoganist is live or dead. And they end with a toal goof up of a sequence Here in with the aid of camera and music the director lays a definition for how such sequences should be made. I can sure tell you it is the most haunting and stupendous scens i have ever seen. Majid's world is always stupendous.

The World of majidi-BARAN.

It has been some time now that i have been introduced to the world of majid majidi by a good friend of mine. Majid Majidi , the Iranian director makes films that stamps the notion that a perfect frame or visual can tell more than what infinite words can tell. I had already written in this blog about “Children of Heaven”, my first tryst with the then unbeknownst majidi’s beautiful world. Now I had opportunity to see two more of his fils “BARAN” and “Color of Paradsie”. With Baran i shall be honest that it did not exactly create the same feeling as children of heaven did. Nevertheless it is definitely a great movie to be watched. And guess what the movie enlightened me as to how beautiful and exotic a geographic is this country called Iran. Some visuals in the movie are simply exhilarating. May be the reason why I baran did not strike too much a cord was may be my expectations of majidi wre soaring sky high after a children of heaven. The story of Baran is simple. Well some days back I received a SMS titled “A small Love Story”. The SMS read like this “ there was a blind girl. She hated everyone except her boy friend. She used to tell him that “if I had eyes I would have married u.after somedays some one donated eyes to the gal. She saw her boyfriend. Surprised! He was also blind. The boy asked her “now u have eyes will u marry me”. The girl was calm for some time and said “NO”. The boy walked away silently and told her softly……”TAKE CARE OF MY EYES”. Well the movie’s story is in those lines. Majidi explores how a naïve obscure adolescent boy falls for a girl. Like umpteen Tamil movies here in also the boy and girl start as enemies. But only here it is so sensible and hearty. The love the boy beholds for the girl and the transformation it brings in to him are brought out in a simple, neatly etched screen play. I find a striking character in majidi’s movies. He cans a particular shot many times. If in children of heaven you were often seeing the scene where in the brother and sister meet to exchange the shoes here it is the scene where the boy stealthily tries to get a glimpse of the gal when she comes to work daily (They both happened to work in a the same construction site). As like the former case this oft repeated scene is a pleasure every time you watch. These just might be enough to make a interesting picture. But what takes Baran to greater heights is the Circumstances the director have handled to etch out this simple story. The director picks up the concept of Afghan refuges who fled to Iran and the generations who have never been in their mother land. The girl here is basically a refugee. What does that mean. She is not legally supposed to live or earn a life of her own. She does not possess a identity. She does not have any rights for anything. All that she can do is just wait for governments to decide their fates. She is nothing as such. So are millions of refugees. Does such a refugee girl have a right to fall in love? Find out the answers from the face of that girl in that movie. Majidi makes us understand the plight of these refugees, as simple as a nursery poem. As via the boy character majidi establishes how powerful love is and what transformations would it bring in an Individual. How sacrifice shall become integral part of any love. Sacrifices, for not some one to understand, appreciate and expect reciprocation in any possible manner. Sacrifice-just to ensure the happiness of your loved ones. And do such sacrifices have a limit? Again find out stunning answers from majidi’s boy. Thanks Shaik for introducing me in to this fantastic world of majidi.

PS: i do not know if the readers get a bit weird about me oft repeating the director's name , majidi. I have a reason.A recent tamil movie called "Paruthi Veeran" which was a brilliant work by the director Ameer. However due to some differences with the director the producer tried to overshadow the director by minisculing his names in promos and other stuffs. However nothing could stop from the director getting the appropriate accolades. Movie will always be a director's forte. And my fascination for them will be for ever. And i naturally tend to be a more biased towards them.

The Gal Factor-Decade of Undecayed Friendship-Part IV

If colleges are heaven then gals are angels.

Hail from sky

Angels are thy.

Beauty abound

Birds are they all around,

Lascivious some bound.

Whoever thou art

Wedge my heart.

At distances so long

Sky doth kiss the sea a song

When thou nigh

Shall see how high

the sea rise for the sky

only but returns with a sigh

so am I.

A thing of beauty is joy for ever. Hail Keats. He definitely would have said these about the women. Blah blah blah. This could be a very ordinarily existent ramble among any average college guy. But you tend to forget we were no ordinary average guys. We never liked gals. We did know keats, but we did not buy his argument. Atleast with gals. May be a true maxim is that they never liked us. But why one should always be liked. So shall, we ask great logical questions. Guess it is time for a disclaimer. Now it is only I share what we have experienced in our college life. That might or might not depict the big picture or in general about gals. I will leave that for you to decipher.

One could say that more than not liking gals we never felt them to be a part of us. Well to have that said in a crude manner would sound like we had no necessity whatsoever a kind with them. Now in my previous blogs I had discussed about the general characters, habits, habitats, about the fantastic 14. Now no good gal would like to be part with that. So we are left only with the bad gals. But knowingly why would you ever befriend a bad one? A bad one by our standards be it man or woman does not become our friend. Not even our enemy. Once in a while philosophy is allowed.

Ok all said and done, is that am saying that all we were misogynist. No way. As I think no man on this earth could ever be misogynist. At the best one can be a hypocrite. We never knew to be a hypocrite. And misogynic being non existent, all that drives the same point we only did not need them. Not need them for what? To whatever we did. Add to that all those crazy stuffs boys do for gals that makes them so unnatural, on does have several reasons to be on their own.

Now those crazy stuffs are hallmark of any college. The LH gate being the worst breeding ground of so many spoofs. People sitting, standing, doting, and dying there, as if that is the only good spot on earth and the only worthy job they have. When you hate something so much how could you ever think of being a part of that. We have always been to ourselves. Been the natural what we are. No not we were still in the stone ages. But in an age where men and women acted like stones rebutting all existence.

So whatz life without women. We definitely are not gays. We just only did not and will not stoop even a little to befriend a gal. stoops like acting smart before women, trying to over impress them. Well a point here is in doing such acts they make a great mockery of themselves . In course they might achieve something but only at the cost of wrath of peole like me who wouldn mind slapping such guys. And It could only get so insane when people just spend 26 hours of 24 hours thinking only how could they ever be like this without a gal friend. Spit on them. C’mon we might have missed some joy without this gal factor. But look at you. You have missed a whole lot of fun man, only just for some faking fun and pleasure with gal friends. And there exists a character in all college, the supposedly romeo who all gals flock. Smack em. Name it jealousy, desperation. But just smack em. One good reasons boys go around gals is that they are regular to class,sincere ones who writes all notes. So they can be helpful in studies. Here also they fail our standards.

So there was no space within us for the gal factor. Until only they decide that they will not enter. But every gang has a black sheep and in our case it shall be a liberal plural, black sheeeepssss. All bout the black sheeps and their sheepiness , wait and watch.

தொடர் வதை

On that rhapsodic note, i did write many similar so called kavithihal.கவிதைகள் துளிர்க்க பெருங்காரணம் ஒன்று கற்பனை காதல்கள். அந்த வகையிலான ஓர் கற்பனையில் எழுதப்ப்ட்டது இது. I do not know when exactly I scribbled this. May be sometime around 2001-2002.

தொடர் வதை

பூத்திருக்கும் மலரெல்லாம்
அவளை நினைவூட்ட
காணூம் கனவுகளில் அவள் எனை வாட்ட
தனிமையிலே அவள் நினைவாலே
புது ராகம் நான் மீட்ட
குளிர் நிலவும் கூட
அவள் முகம் காட்ட
நித்திரை நான் கொள்ளவே
தென்றலாய் எனையவள் தாலாட்ட
விடிந்து எழுந்தாள்
என் கடமைகள் எனை விரட்ட
அவள்தனை மறந்து வாழ்க்கை தேரோட்ட
முற்படும் போதும் முடியவில்லை
என் நினைவின் நிழலாய்
அவள் தொடர்வதை
ஆகையல் எனக்கு
தொடர் வதை

My Rhapsody-II

So back to haunt you with some translational poetics. This time it is a Alfred Tennyson Poem "The miller's daughter". The central theme is just lavshing praises about a beauatiful woman. I do not know if i have been able to be true to the original author's composition. My lesser knowledge denied me equivalent tamil words for words like "GIRDLE"(no it is not ஒட்டியானம்)..In any case the premise remains same as to heap praises for a beautiful lady. Here it goes.

The english Version:

The Miller's Daughter

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

It is the miller's daughter

And she is grown so dear, so dear,

That I would be the jewel

That trembles in her ear:

For hid in ringlets day and night,

I'd touch her neck so warm and white.

And I would be the girdle

About her dainty dainty waist,

And her heart would beat against me,

In sorrow and in rest:

And I should know if it beat right,

I'd clasp it round so close and tight.

And I would be the necklace,

And all day long to fall and rise

Upon her balmy bosom,

With her laughter or her sighs:

And I would lie so light, so light,

I scarce should be unclasp'd at night.


The Tamil version

மில்லர் வீட்டு மகள்

நரேந்திர பிரபு, 10-5-2005

சீமான் வீட்டுத் தாரகை

மோகன மேனகை

மலர்ந்தனள் மறைத்தனள்

உலகின் ஏனை அழகை.

காதோர ஜிமிக்கியாய்

கரை நான்.

கரை தொட மறுக்கும்

கடல் அலை

அவள் பூவிதழ் புன்னகை.

செங்கழுத்துச் சங்கிலியின்

சிற் மணிகளில் ஒன்றாய்

சாகும் வரை

சல்லாபித்திட , வேண்டும்

சிவனிட மிருந்து வரம்.

மானின் மா மார்பதை

மஞ்சமென

மையல் கொள்ளும்

மாண்புறு நகையாகிட

மண்றாடுவேன்

மனிதனாய் யெனை படைத்திட்ட

மகா பிரம்மனிடம்.

நகையாய் நானாகிட

நங்கை நெஞ்ச வெளியில்

நாளெல்லாம் நானாடிட

பஞ்சென புரள்வேன்

பாவை உடலெங்கும்.

புவியிரும் வரை

துடிக்கும் அவள் இதயத்தை

படிக்கும் பயன் எனக்கு.

My Rhapsody

For some strange reasons completely unknown to me I started scribbling contents into the formats of poem. I do not know if I am grammatically correct or even versed with the basic necessities of writing a poem. But as in any other case no body judges me. So being, my poems are born. Within whatever rules I can accept and within whatever less I know or have learnt I scribble these poems. There is too many “I”s in the previous sentence. Never mind them. Poet. You can catch a glimpse of my poetic thoughts and what they mean to me at www.narenbuzz.rediffblogs.com. I am currently in the process of integrating those poems into this current active blogspace of mine.

In this part which I would like to call “My Rhapsody” I am gonna try and translate a few English poems I had come across in my life. A few they are, being learnt mostly in school days. The translated and original versions may not cognate in each and every aspect, but sure will in its central theme. I would like to kick start this series with the poem of William Wordsworth.

The Daffodils
by:William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of the bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

இனி தமிழில்

பூக்களின் பாக்கள்

ஆக்கம்: நரேந்திர பிரபு, 03-05-2007

விண் உலா வரு

முகவரி யில்லா முகிற்போல

வீண் உலா வரு நான்,

குளக்கரை யோரமாய்

காற்றின் இசைக்கு அசையும்

கவிண் மலர் கூட்டம்

கண்டேன்; கவித் தேன்.

வான மங்கை முகத்து

வனப்பு கூட்டும்

விண்மீன் பருக்கள் கணக்காய்

வரிசையாய் வரையற்று,

பார்வை யொன்றில்

பத்தொள்ளாயிரம் கணக்காய்

பரவச நடன மாடும்

பூக்கள்; பாக்கள்.

சிங்கார சிரிப்பினில்

சற்றே சிதறடிக்கின்றன

சிற்றலைகளின் சினுங்கள் நடனங்களை,

பசித்திரு பித்தன் எனக்கு

பூத்திரு மலர் தரு

பரவச நட்பு;களிப்பு.

பல நாட்களில்

புவி துறந்து

பிணக்கமற்ற தனிமையிலே,

உள்மனதில் மகிழ்வின்

ஊற்றாய் விரியும்

உன்னத மலர்களின் ஆட்சி

தீரா தனிமையின் தாகத்திற்கு

தேவாமிர்தம் தரும் காட்சி ;

மனம் கொள்ளும் மாட்சி,

அறியும் இறைவன் சாட்சி.