5 DAYS ALONE

As you simplify your life the laws of the universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness - See more at: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-one-live-simply-according-thoreau-388568#sthash.VyLaD3ck.dpuf

As you simplify your life the laws of the universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness - See more at: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-one-live-simply-according-thoreau-388568#sthash.VyLaD3ck.dpuf

As you simplify your life the laws of the universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness - See more at: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-one-live-simply-according-thoreau-388568#sthash.VyLaD3ck.dpuf

As you simplify yourself, the laws of the universe will become simpler-Henry David Thoreau

Having spent the whole year in front of the computer in the office, I sensed that my soul or a certain filament sprung from its consciousness which used to be so full of life and activity, is now on its death bed. Regions of my inner world that I used to explore so often, have turned barren and life less. But it's not before I found the medicine did I recognize that I have a disease. I took an annual break from the office and traveled to my hometown Amalapuram, just to see my family. And there, after being forced to cut off from my role as a member of the society temporarily (AIRCEL 3G service is not there in my village. So I have to spend a lot of time without browsing internet in my I phone), did it occurred to my senses that a part of myself which I left back there in my hometown  has become a stranger to myself. As I walked through the garden where I used to sit and write my poems and songs, where I used to sit and ponder over the mysteries and meaning of life, where I used to have my morning coffee brooding over thoughts that teased me, I felt like a soldier who has returned from war and saw his son grown up but his son being not very eager to come and hug him.  That "me" which I so loved and disliked to depart from, ceased to be me.

What defines a man? Is it what he is when he is alone? Or how he behaves with society?
I tried to remind myself what I am when I am alone. Having been cut off from the internet and the city where I have spent a year wading through the rubbish the stupids of the world spoke, where I helplessly had to nod my head to lines these morons recite so excitingly, where I am robbed of my time even to chuckle at how stubbornly dumb the people of today's world are, I plunged into solitude like an athletic swimmer eager for his medal.

 As I flipped through each page of my mind, the society around me faded away and reality has extended her arms calling me to her embrace. Its then that my ears could hear the sounds the frogs are making and my eyes are opened to watch the leisureness with which the cats are walking around.

 There is an astonishing calm, a surprising soothing power and a pungent unorthodoxy in the stimuli that the wilderness of nature provide to a man attentive enough to hear what she has to say. Do we ever feel our consciousness more intensely when we are acting as a member of society than when we identify ourselves at the feet of nature, paying attention to what she is revealing? What can the sound a coconut flower makes falling to the ground has to do with who you are?  How can you know that without bending over, picking it up and marvel at the little wonder it represents? A filament of the universal consciousness, falling back to the ground having had its time. Does death sound like a tragedy to you then?

The garden lizard chasing an insect and eating it mercilessly, has to say what nature expects you to understand. That you should zoom out, far away into the stars, so that you can see the wide horizon over which all this makes sense. Or that this might be one of the illusions you are tempted to believe to be true, in your futile attempts trying to draw a circle on the ground to fit this earth. Why should we get drawn away by the interpretations when nature has its own crude and its own way of expression? Are you and me just filaments of the collective consciousness that popped up into reality to witness itself? Why should we call the Fire or the Sun as Gods when they are just a part of him? Why build temples to what you cannot see when you can get the divine revelation on the lap of the mother nature? Why would you chase God when he talks to you through a mustard seed sprouting out of the ground?

To plant yourself among men and to count yourself to be nothing more than a constituent of this world is to do yourself the greatest harm.

When man runs into society, into things that influence him, into things that make it look obvious to adapt, into things that turn his sight from his soul to outside happenings, first the petals of his soul are torn off. When he sacrifices his drive to the norms of the society, when his reality becomes the collective or dominant opinion of the society, when his will is not a bud that protrudes from his inside but rather a colored pot that follows the design of his fellows, it is too hard to imagine even a slice of his soul alive enough to hold one last breath. He is himself no more. He no longer knows what he wants, he no longer carries the question. He can no longer look into light. He runs from shadow to shadow.

It is important for us to return to our inner wilderness, our original weirdness, our natural drives. Not that we should be monsters in the society, but that we shouldn't be machines in the world. Is it a wonder that you are no longer interested in yourself? No. because you are running away from yourself. You are squeezing the very neck of your calling. You are torn off by your own greed. You are annihilated by your own vain attempts at imitating others. You assasinated yourself.

Return to yourself. And its possible only through solitude.

Having refreshed myself, I am ready for another year of fight in this world, this time without running away from myself. I mastered the art of embracing myself. Why would I need a friend?

MAN OF STEEL REVIEW

We all expected  it rightly. Yes. There is the influence of Christopher Nolan's BATMAN trilogy on this movie. This installment is the darkest Superman film so far. This super hero is engraved as a troubled soul who is made to believe(along with the audience) that the world is not yet ready for him. And then its all about how he comes to terms with the nature of humans and his soul searching.

The beginning of the film is elaborate, exploring Krypton and explaining how the alien child landed on earth and what he is expected to do here on earth. The Krypton part is well imagined and portrayed. Zack Snyder, who became obsessed with creating wildly creative and dreamily realistic time and space in his "Sucker Punch" took care here that its not all about the astonishing bewilderment that the visuals generate but about the proceedings that the audience could relate to. After the child lands on earth, the film cleverly chooses a jumbled screenplay that allowed the film to take its own time to explain what it got to. Because they chose to explain not how he became Superman but about why he remained a man.

This film follows the trend of the new age superhero movies that believe the "MAN" inside the superhero is who drives the alter ego. Batman and Iron man managed to mix the genre thrills with the core-human aspect. The batman trilogy dared to get as dark as it can get, to portray what "Being a batman" is. Being a batman, he has the limitations of a human, he has to deal with villains who have extremist evil ways but are humans at the end of the day. That allowed the three films to let their action episodes take place in a visually comprehensible time and space continuum. As per that template, "Being a superman" begs for a larger world, villains with superpowers, and spectacular visual effects that need to be complex enough to convince you that beyond a point you dont need to follow the action exactly as you are not expected to. Anyways, they are way faster and smarter than we can observe. Thats why when special effects throw away the people from the screen, you dont complain much. But for how long? What about the little Superman-pleasures?

While I was watching the film, I had a small question lingering in my mind. When Superman doesn't enjoy being himself, how can we like him? I dont mean that the character is not fully developed but my question is "Is it too much if we ask for a little humour?" Henry Cavill is always with stiff lips and serious expressions. I personally, expected at least some romance between Superman and Lois Lane. If you were to remind me of their smooch, for your information, I wouldn't call that romance.

Well.This film has all the ingredients it got to have. Spectacular action episodes(though slightly prolonged), music that upholds the hype of the visual, fine performances, and averagely written dialogue.

As a final say, this is not on par with "THE DARK KNIGHT" but entertaining in its own way. I enjoyed it.

DEATH AND ITS REVELATIONS

The most certain thing in this world is death. And the most uncertain is life.- Swaroop

Two days back, I received a call from my home that my Granny is struggling with life and the doctors are not giving any assurance. She is around 90 years old, and now a days where crossing 70s has become quite a miracle for a man, her death cannot be termed as untimely. I didn't even switch off the TV and am certain that she would recover, as it happened many times to her. In the next five minutes I got another call that she has passed away.My mother was crying over the phone and strangely I could sense a gloom surrounding me. As far as I know, I am the psychologically strongest person I ever know. Ever since I have decided to prefer looking at things from a pure logical perspective to an emotionally attached manner, I have found death and life quite alike in the manner they amuse me. Infact death is a bigger joke than life. I have read a story somewhere where a son asks father whether he would cry if he dies, the father replies "Death is a liberation. Why cry?" I cant argue against that statement, not because I am a pessimist but because I believe that death is what makes life complete. Having such an ideology, I found it strange finding myself being stricken with grief over the news of death of an old woman. My mind began to ponder over the innumerable questions popping up. We all know that death is certain. But why do we term it as a tragedy?

Imagine that a doctor has told you that you have cancer. That very second, the whole world surrounding you begins to look different. Your definitions of life and happiness will change, the way you talk and treat will change, the way you enjoy things change. The way you enjoy life will undergo a complete reformation. We all enjoy the luxury of not knowing when we die, and thats what makes us free from the fear of death. Lets say, you know the date of your death. Even if it is 120 years away from today, you cant help but begin to count days. Even if you drink a glass of water, you will begin to enjoy every drop of it, as you feel that you cannot drink even a single drop once your life ends. But in our every day life, we do never value the little pleasures of life as we take them for granted. We unconsciously think that we live forever, and are blinded to the pleasures that accompany by "savoring" each minute of life.  So what is it that has made your glass of water enjoyable? Is it your life that you assume as unending or the death that makes you value the little things of life? That is the reason I say death is what makes life complete. Death is the boon that we all are given to enjoy the greater boon of life. because only when death comes into picture, you begin to value your life. The fact that it has an end, creates the inevitable feelings associated with it.

While there are people who are on bed for years, longing to die but cannot, people who are struggling with their health but couldn't eat a single piece of idli, people who are going through pain each and every second of their life, for whom even watching the sun set is a luxury, we normal people in our everyday life are passing hundreds of sunsets without realizing the beauty of it, eating quintals of food, without the awareness of what a blessing it is, spending days and years of life without acknowledging the value of it. Because we look at death like a distant stranger always far away. But the truth is that death sits right beside you every second of your life. Death travels on every vehicle on the road, death is dancing on every top floor, in every electric device, in every chemical and in every atom of the universe. Such delicate is life. The fragile web of happiness surrounds you, and you dont kow when it collapses. "Life is short" is a statement often heard. but no. Life is long. Death is short. it would not give you the time to rewind all the pleasant moments of your life before passing away. It would come simply like a whirlwind.

Living long enough doesnt make it a good life. You would not be there after you die to count how many years you have lived. Once you die its all the same whether you have lived for 10 days or 100 years. The people you leave behind , may inherit your wealth or curse you for the sebts you have passed to them but they are of no meaning to you because that "you" caeses to exist once your chapter completes. What difference does it make to you? You wont be there to see or feel it. Its unimaginable to imagine that you dont exist. The world after you or the world before you fade into utter insignificance in the light of the fact that its only the present that is in your control, atleast partially.

Now I am understanding the gloom surrounding me. Death is inevitable for everyone. It is something you cant escape, whatever you do. Thats why we all can relate to it. Let me savor each moment of my life. Let me enjoy every glass of water, every drop of dew, every word I hear, every place I visit. The world has nothing in it to be termed as beautiful. But "it all can vanish and never return" is what makes you look at it with reverence.

Enjoy each moment to its fullest. Life is temporary

--Swaroop

Viswaroopam review

The mind set of terrorists has even today remained a puzzle for most of the part. Because they never volunteer to psychoanalysis, to study and analyse their way of thoughts and ideology is a task yet to be achieved. Though we don't understand them, we have to bear them. To say that terrorism is a global problem is quite an understatement. An issue that has been redrawing global relationships and influencing things ranging from political ideologies to peace of mind. It is very easy to make a terrorist a villain in a movie, but its quite difficult to develop the character. "Dont they feel a pinch pity, for the people they murder mercilessly? Do they really believe that Allah will reward them for killing innocents?" are the kind of unanswered questions that make the common man confused and angry. When I heard that Kamal Haasan is making a film about terrorism, I am more than eager to witness in which light is he showing them. Because so far in Indian cinema, terrorists are portrayed as nothing more than blood lusty goondas and sometimes even like psychopaths. It is important to relise that terrorists are not psychopaths. They are very sane, but are convicted by a belief system that mekes them think that what they do is for the good of the world and God. In their perspective, they are the fighters for a greater good. Kamal haasan seems to have understood this basic point very clearly.

Viswaroopam is a technically brilliant and conceptually sensible film made by a man who understands what he is saying and who knows the depth of the characters he is portraying. But it cant help itself pull out of its imperfections. The film takes you to Afghanistan, introduces you to hard core Jihadis, takes you inside their homes, and lets you listen to their family conversations. The film starts with Kamal entering the bloodshed world of terror as a new Jihadi. It very much triggers our curiosity to know about the kind of life they lead, and the film doesnt disappoint you there. As the film progresses, it shows Kamal slowly getting deeper into the world of Jihad, but you never really believe that he is really into the ideology of it. When Kamal says to the head of the Talibans "Jihadis like us should shed blood, not tears", he says it with such a blank face that it makes you wonder what he has inside his head. And eventually, it turns out that Kamal is not a terrorist, but a soldier undercover sent to Afghan as a wolf among sheep. This is the major twist in the story and the same is the pitfall. Why?

Because our curiosity to listen to how a Jihadi supports his ideology and how he justifies the blood he sheds and how he convinces his conscience is half satisfied. The way the terrorists are portrayed as people having normal emotions but are misled by some blind religious intolerance, doesnt allow this film to be a basic Good vs evil flick. Eventually, it should turn out to be an intelligent discussion dealt with sensibility. As the realistic depiction of the characters hints the film's belief in the fact that "Good and Bad is a matter of perspective", the ride should be fuelled by the clash of ideologies. But here the ideologies and the opinions of the main cast never enter the front stage. The problems and tragedies of terrorism are widely well known to people. And when a film makes terrorism as its subject, it makes an adrenaline rushing edge of the seat taking an inevitable ingredient. That requires a racy screenplay, emotionally captivating character conversations. The film falters with this.

In Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins", when Bruce Wayne disagrees to execute punishment, the conflict of opinion between Bruce Wayne and Ras Al Ghul( a terrorist leader) creates an interesting watch and that gave the film an emotional content that we can relate to. Viswaroopam's sole and biggest mistake is the lack of that. Kamal's research is evident from the way the Afghan village is recreated and the family scenes are shot, but the conflict of opinions never materialised. The terrorists do their work, and the police do theirs. To compromise that this film is merely a thriller but not a penetration into emotions, the obvious question would be to ask why much time is spent in Afghan. The film's confusion of its genre is  the major drawback. The fil tries to evoke sympathy towards the terror striken Afghan but is partially successful. It tries to twist your nerves with thrill, but lags far behind 'interesting'

That being said, this is not a bad film. This is a good attempt by a rare talent but a little more care would have done wonders.

Bottom line:- Watching once doesnt make a heavy loss