KRITHI

 If you are a person who understands dark humour and caste just as equally, you can feel the sting of the slap that 'Kari' has offered the society. This highly praised film by the late Shanavas Naranipuzha (may his soul rest in peace) is packed with sarcasm and gets into the heads of the audience. It teases the complexes that live deep rooted even in our so-called progressive society. It is the story of Gopu Keshav Menon who, accompanied by Bilal, is going to meet the parents of a man working under him and is from a lower cast. Upon reaching the place, they see that the house is being prepared for the 'Karinkaali' pooja. In an unfortunate turn of events their Kaali gets into an accident and Gopu and Bilal arrange another Kaali for the family. These and the events thus following are the basic contents of the movie. When I said that the movie is packed with sarcasm, I actually meant it. One of the opening scenes begin with a man putting up a poster of nutmeg seeds. Nutmeg...

Most of us really love to investigate on our family trees, but do trees have families? Lets check it out. According to Suzane Simard, a famous tree researcher, trees are intelligent, they communicate and help each other. Plus they do have family members as we do. Isn't it interesting?? The research about the family of trees all began with Suzanne's idea of wood wide web, a way of describing the network of roots linking trees to other trees of same family. In her research, she found that the parent trees favours seedlings that are of their own kin than strangers. In this way parent trees help their offspring. Mother trees can recognize and feed other trees of their own kin. Dying trees even seem to know the future, and warn their offspring to start making new root connection before they die. In short, the trees are much more intelligent than we ever thought. And, you are probably gonna have a different experience next time when you walk through the woods, surrounded by a lot of ...

 Let's award the most unreliable narration of my life, shall we? Here goes to 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins. It is no wonder that this particular book was made into a movie. Surely, cinematic adaptations don’t always come too close to the perfection of its book but when even the storyline is as such, chances of a bad movie are slim. A grip of anxiety that doesn't let go of you till the very end, each passing chapter leaving you with more questions than the earlier, a juggle of timelines and narrators with the perfect balance; these might be phrases adequate enough to summarize what one feels while reading the book. The story has a 'woman' on the train but is named "The Girl on the Train" credits to which could perhaps be given to Paula Hawkins' earlier book, a success as good as this one, "Gone Girl". "One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl. I'm stuck on three. I just can't get any further."- this is Ra...

 If you are looking for something to read not because you want a story line, not because you want to get thrilled and definitely not because you want to be overcome with emotion, 'The World of Nagaraj' might just be the book that you're looking for. No hard feelings, no leaving you with a gap in your heart, no anything. Just the classic story of a man named Nagaraj. Nagaraj fancies himself a man with a mission, a secret mission at least. It is to write a book on Narada, the celestial sage that spreads mischief. He doesn't know where or how to find the information needed to write his book nor is he very ambitious about it. Nevertheless life is easy-going with his ancestral money and what he gets from passing leisure time as a cashier at his friend's sari centre. He lived in their ancestral house with his mother, wife and no children. Bereft of any children himself, he develops a fondness for his elder brother's son, christened Krishnaji, but generally known as Ti...

TWO is a thought provoking short film by Sathyajit Ray. Its a kind of a silent movie with no conversations at all, but still a lot of messages are beautifully conveyed through the movie. 'TWO' picturises the story of two boys, a rich one who lives in a big house and a poor one who lives in a slum which can be seen through the window of the rich kid's house. The movie opens with the scene of the rich kid left alone in his house with a lot of luxurious toys by his parents, he was wearing a mickey mouse cap and was roaming around and playing with his toy robot. All of a sudden the rich boy notices the sound of a flute. When he looked outside through the window, he finds that it was the poor boy who was playing the flute. Soon he brings his trumpet and plays it through the window, slowly a competition was rising in minds of the children. The poor boy soon keep the flute away and comes with his toy mask, hoping that he could beat the rich kid but this time too, the r...

Happiness never lies in materialistic aspects. All it depends upon the person who enjoys it.Moreover,it matters whether it comes from within or not.That can mark great significance.          TWO,a prominent short film directed by Satyajith Ray in 1964,shows the above described theme in hardle 15 minutes.A film without any words is still capable of touching the hearts of millions,even in this Dramebaaz era.The fable is of two boys,as the name goes.One a rich bossy kid,who is greatly privileged,and the other one who builds his empire from a shack.The movie progresses through the window of the mansion. The two kids seems to be in a hurry of showcasing their assets-Toys.The beginning is with a flute by the Indigent boy which is imitated by a trumpet in lieu of flute. Likewise,the rich kid tries to impose his superiority in every toy the other one has. The superiority goes along with the other one's drum, bow and arrow etc.He tries to bre...

'Two : A Film Fable', is a black and white silent short film written and directed by the Bengali director Satyajit Ray. This short was part of a trilogy that were made upon the request of a non-profit American public broadcasting television, PBS. This film was made as a tribute to the genre of silent films, Ray being an admirer of the mentioned. 'Two' might perhaps be the least watched among Ray's movies but it is one that probably got the highest praise from critics all over the world. Not to mention that Satyajit Ray has almost no bad movies anyways.  The film features two boys, one rich and one poor. The rich boy is left all alone in his mansion looking for ways to pass his time. This is when he hears the sound of a flute being played by a poor boy living in a shanty shelter behind his house. This provokes interest in the rich boy and he immediately rushes to showcase his flute which obviously is much better than the poor kid's. This leads to the two being en...

Am I really living or am I already dead... I don't know. Nay, indeed.... A sound came from nowhere.       I want to  walk through the streets late at night, hangout with my friends, say aloud whatever I feel, say NO to things I dislike. I want to get into active politics, fight for Justice, organize strikes. I don't want to be subservient to my parents or teachers... But... This is not who I am My name is Rohini, a physics graduate. A subject that my parents chose for me. And I completed it from my parents favourite college. I am a very obedient student, I never say No to my teachers. I have not even raised any opinion against their views, even when I had a different view. I wear clothes that seems alright to the people around me and not me.  As I had all these qualities I got a certificate.. And I became that typical.. " adakkavum othukkavum ulla penkutty". But  for a moment I thought.. 'Where am I here'? And then I decided. If all these qualities makes me...

Sometimes, people go so far... As to ask you to explain yourself for the decisions or choices you make in your life and you might feel obliged to respond. But some things are really no one else's business and..... YOU DON'T OWE ANYONE AN EXPLANATION AT ALL. We all are unique individuals with different values, dreams and aspirations. And so will be our core priorities. You don't owe anyone an explanation for what you determine as your core priority in life. That's just our personal business and not other people's business...

We've heard so much of the "merging of two hearts into one as if no force on earth can separate them…" crap. Now, before you merge into someone else's heart, let's try and merge you into yours. Think about it. Do you really love yourselves for who you are or do you still feel that those tiny flaws of yours cover up the beautiful person that you are? Read along if your answer was the latter. If you have perfectly aligned eyebrows and a freakishly wonderful jawline and you still fret about that silly pimple on your nose, I'm telling you, you are damn arrogant. Even if you don’t have proper eyebrows or a knife for a jawline, you have something to replace those with. Trust me when I say this, there are people out there who would wish to be like you. I know this sounds completely absurd. Like, why would someone ever want to be you, right? Fine, hear me out. I bet that you've at least once seen someone and thought of how beautiful, talented or well-behaved they ...

 I do not know the name of that 3 minute 58 second video. I do not know what language it was in of whether it was a short film or a scene from an actual movie. My mother said that she thought it was some Iranian short film by a director named Majeed Majeedi or something. I don’t know about that and I don’t want to because the scenes depicted in those 4 minutes has enough to talk about. You know how they say that pictures speak louder than words? This picture is the perfect example of how you don’t need to understand the language as long as what is shown is loud enough.  I have a few principles in life that I abide by at any cost. The most important one among those is to not judge a person, no matter what. They may have the brashest behaviour and the rudest attitude but they might always have a reason for this. You fully know no other person other than yourself. This short film clearly depicts that in a very subtle way.  The story revolves around a boy who is late to class...

Life isn't same for everyone. Some may have it in the form of mangoes,while others,as gooseberries. The fact is that,one has to accept both,even if it is reluctantly done. Not everyone in this world is born with silver spoon.But its Everyone's duty to embrace all sorts of people. Being judgemental may help in numerous cases,but won't always.                A video,streaming all over the social medias,is a great instance for the above made statements.The video revolves around 3 characters - A school teacher, who seems to be judgemental, a boy who is a snail, both in the beginning,and another boy- who explores the hues of life,in a sedentary mode.The synopsis of the video goes like this:-                 A boy who seems to be in his early teens,like anyother one,is a late comer. Always and always late, so is the punishment, over and over again. Not uttering a single word,he occupies his seat,tears crawlin...

 Some days when we feel that our imagination is on vacation, when our mind and heart gets so heavy and not a good thought would care to bloom; just don't fret. That is normal. No human feels happy and organized all the time. No person's life is perfect. You may feel like some's are but that is just a version of what they want you to see. The problems beneath are hidden just like you hide yours. "Everyone has their own problems." "Yeah sure like I don't know about that!"  But nobody understands our problems like we do; they can only claim to. I know me more than anyone so this ruined and pretentious world can't help me cheat myself. Convincing others is a piece of cake but convincing yourself is less than a piece of cake. We already know what the reality is! If so, then why hurt ourselves by letting in all the negativity? But sometimes during the flow, we get stuck amidst the rocks. Clean up the shit and you are all good to go! Also don’t leave re...

Throughout life we experience many kinds of friendships. On rare occasions we encounter someone  so special and later we comes to realize that we met them for a reason or there would be someone who texted you with you no reason and the showed you the colours of life. You might  not talk to them daily, but still they remain in your thoughts. No matter how old they  get or how far you live, you will always carry in your hearts a part of them. They would always find one reason to stay with you, when millions are against you. They make you realize unconditional love, and know your problems through your eyes. Indeed, words are insufficient to describe the relationship Some people would find that one person too early and some too late.. But once you find them, you will start realizing that the best in life is yet to come.. And when you know.. You just know.. 

 Suicide - killing yourselves when you don't see the point of your existence anymore. It is as if no one wants to live anymore. People take their lives as if it's some sort of child's play. The slightest discomfort drives us nuts and we say goodbye to all the luxuries we didn't realize we had, just for the sake of abolishing one or a few nasty little discomforts. This era is demolishing the 'barrier for suicides'  Upon second thought, the 'barrier for suicides' never actually existed because whatever the era whichever the century, people had committed suicides within them. We've all killed some part of ourselves for some reason or the other.    We've killed emotions we wanted to express. We've killed feelings we wanted experience. We've killed dreams we wanted to explore. Tiny suicides committed due to the society's barriers! Of course, there are no expansions without limitations and some of these limitations/barriers are obligatory. ...

 Let me tell you a story that you all have heard many times before. The characters of our story are : a pregnant mother, a father and a nurse. All these characters lived in a village in a part of the country of India. One fine afternoon, the mother's water broke and she was taken to the hospital. She was inside the labour room and the father was eagerly waiting outside for his son. A while later, a new character has entered the story with a cry. The nurse handed the new character to the father and mentioned that it was a girl. The father's dreams of having a heir to the family rice business all came crashing down in a moment. Besides, providing gold and dowry and getting her married to a man are all too expensive. They had no money to conduct a gender recognition test. Had they known, they'd have eliminated it before it was born. But now, it would be murder. There was no point in serving a life sentence over a useless piece of flesh and blood. An utter dilemma. This is when...

It was during the icy cold month of december of 2017,that i went to Mili. A place which is far away kilometers and kilometers. Even now, while i am sitting in my balcony, sipping a cup of coffee and writing this, i am soaked in its memories.  The crisp misty air, the gushing water, the sun kissed hills and th snow capped mountains, all still remains in my mind as if i saw them yesterday. Mili is a place painted with unique beauty. The day i reached there, i saw apple trees waving hands and berry wines bowing their head to welcome me. The orchards were awaiting for their bloom. At once, i thought  myself 'what if my eyes could take pictures?' Landing at Mili makes you get a sense of peace and ease. Once you glide your fingers through the chill waters of fal lake, you unknowingly reach the world of heavens.   Mili's intrigued cuisine kept my taste buds wanting it more. Right from the laula pulav to the choki buiscuit.. Having them all is undoubtedly a gastronomic adventure....

  'Vidheyan' also known as 'The Servile' in english, is a Malayalam drama film directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is the cinematic adaptation of Paul Zacharia's novella, 'Bhaskara Patelarum Ente Jeevithavum'. I watched the movie with my mother and grandparents because they claimed to be huge fans of it. The movie revolves around the 'Janmi - Kudiyan' system in early Kerala and shows the amount of power landlords of the time held. It is the story of a Christian tenant named Thommi who works like the slave of his highly oppressive landlord Bhaskara Patelar. Thommi is a righteous man with values whereas Patelar is the exact opposite. There is an instance in the movie where a man says that Patelar used to be a good man and that it was the people who ruined him by offering booze and women. Apart from that, we do not get to know much about his past. Thommi, even though with a little fear, does stand by his master's atrocities because he has gratitude...

INSPIRING WORDS  "K eep your dreams alive.  Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself,  Remember all things are possible for those who believe". " A ll men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers". "  T he world needs dreams and the world does...  But above all, the world needs dreams who do". "T here are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who faces reality; So try to gain it...  E xplore who you are. "

തെളിഞ്ഞ ആകാശത്തെ നോക്കുമ്പോഴും ഉള്ളിൽ മേഘങ്ങൾ മൂടുന്നു കളങ്കമേറിയ ഹൃദയത്തിൻ ഭാരത്താൽ എൻ ഉള്ളം വിങ്ങുന്നു കേൾക്കാതെ പോലെ നടിച്ചിരുന്ന സ്കൂളിൻ മണി ഇന്നെന്നെ കീറി മുറിക്കുന്നു ജീവിച്ചു തീർത്ത തിരക്കിട്ട ജീവിതം ഇന്നെന്നെ നോക്കി കളിയാക്കി ചിരിക്കുന്നു സ്മരണ തൻ സാഗരങ്ങൾ നീന്തി കടക്കുമ്പോൾ കുറ്റബോധത്താൽ ഞാൻ ഞെരുങ്ങുന്നു  പുസ്തകത്തിൽ കണ്ട ചോദ്യചിഹ്നങ്ങളൊക്കെയും ഞാൻ തന്നെയായി പരിണമിച്ചീടുന്നുവോ? മിനാരത്തിന് കാഴ്ചകൾ എൻ ഉറക്കം കെടുത്തുന്നു പറമ്പിൽ പാറിക്കളിക്കുന്ന പൂമ്പാറ്റയ്ക്ക് പോലും എന്നേക്കാൾ അർത്ഥമുള്ളതായി തോന്നുന്നു എന്നെ തലോടും ഇളം തെന്നൽ ഇന്നില്ല. എങ്ങും നിശബ്ദ തേങ്ങൾ മാത്രം