I wrote another poem. It was part inspired by Wall Street Journal's coverage of Jerry Yang's departure from Yahoo. It was the undertone of the article as though he has fallen from great heights. And he might have...but point being, he got there dammit! You (=the author) didn't invent an industry - he did. Its also part inspired by the advice on mediocrity I keep having to listen to from senior management.
It might come off as sad but its meant to inspire. Hope you keep on dreaming. And dream big. There are no guarantees for people who think big but we know exactly what the alternatives are.
Hope you like the poem. When you read this, think of a hero who's just failed at a massive undertaking.
To Those Who Failed, Kudos for Daring!
They say we are a product of our experiences
Then why do I feel so empty inside
I’ve been on rich, daring and scary ventures
So why am I so hollow inside
I keep banging my head on the same mossy wall
Hoping an echo would pass through
I know she is there inside
But why is it so hard to get through
They say I’m wasting away my life
But I’m just living as I used to
It made them gasp & awe before
And now its just a wasteful sorrow
I could have had your life, you know
Would take me all of tomorrow
But if I dare not to dream a sight
The world would remain strait & narrow
The chances are great that I’ll waste away
But if these were my fears then home I’d have stayed
Kudos for daring to those that stray
Remain true & strong of that bright morrow
Showing posts with label Poems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poems. Show all posts
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, November 26, 2009
On glory that’s past and the danger that’s now....and on movies
Warning: This post ended up longer than intended. But if you stick with it till the end there are two poems – one’s a Hindi/ Urdu classic and the other’s a never-before published original by yours truly.
I am not really a movie buff. Never been. Too impatient for the 3-hr Bollywood kind (forwarding through songs, fights, comedy and romance doesn’t help because there is little left) and too psychic for Hollywood (Kevin Spacey is the killer, Darth Vader is Luke’s dad, Bruce Willis is the ghost) – thanks to Bollywood for the foresight. I do have some favorites (thanks to Quentin Tarantino), but for the most part movies for me are an ordeal.
So the other day, as I lay sulking in my usual physics-grad-studentish misery looking everywhere and anywhere for a pick-me-upper, I chanced upon Rang De Basanti to watch during my ritual morning cardio. I had seen this movie before, at the theater even (a rare treat in midwestern Champaign) and I knew I liked it. But my pensive mood revealed layers and brought forth a powerful reaction that I had somehow previously missed. Let me explain. No spoilers here, so no worries.
Rang de basanti, for the uninitiated, is a Bollywood blockbuster unlike any other. Lets start with the title - the literal title translation is “Color it Saffron” – saffron (basanti) is a deep orange color and is of profound significance in India. It’s a holy color for one and also symbolizes blood. In fact, it’s even featured in the Indian flag – as the first of the three stripes, saffron symbolizes the sacrifice (bloodshed) needed for India to win its independence. There is a less well-known meaning as well, Rang De Basanti was a popular anti-British cry during India’s struggle to break free from the British (damn the British – their accents, their tea, their language and all!). The slogan has its roots in a patriotic song written by Bhagat Singh, a heroic revolutionary freedom fighter. Bhagat Singh in his poem mera rang de basanti chola called for people to dye their robes the color of Spring (spring, the season that symbolizes change is “Basant” in hindi), for times are about to change – the time has come to sacrifice lives if that’s what it takes to get freedom. Thus, Rang de basanti is actually a powerful call to change the status quo. (Obama would have loved it, he needs some Bollywood researches on his campaign)
Just from the depth of the title you are probably beginning to see why this might be a good movie. But the homage to Bhagat Singh (and other Indian revolutionaries) doesn’t end there. The movie is set in contemporary India and draws parallels between revolutionaries of Bhagat Singh's era and modern Indian youth. It’s an ingenious commentary on what it cost our ancestors to fight for our freedom, what we have done with it and how nonchalantly we treat it today. A bloody freedom struggle (from less than 80 years ago) is juxtaposed against our (or more generally the Indian youth’s) irresponsibility to the corrupt Indian political system that is typically cooly attributed to “we-are-like-this-only”. Then it calls for action. To Do something. Anything.
It’s a brilliant movie. Very inspiring. Even the sound track uses patriotic lyrics set to modern tunes. Specifically, they featured one particular old revolutionary poem popularized during the freedom struggle that really made clear the glory of a lost era. To see why, here’s my favorite part (I’ve translated it here –the verse is much more beautiful in Hindi / Urdu and the video is below):
Title: Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna: The desire to sacrifice
There sits the enemy, armed and ready to fire
Ready too are we - to thrust our hearts out to them
With blood we shall play Holi, for our home and country is in trouble -
the desire to sacrifice is now etched within our hearts.
No sword can sever hands that carry the throes of passion,
Heads that have risen won't easily bow when challenged.
It'll flare up even more, the flame struck within our hearts
- the desire to sacrifice is now etched within our hearts.
You can really get a sense for the movie from the this clip featuring the poem:
The first thing that struck me was – no one talks like that anymore. About anything. The words, the values, the passion simply doesn’t exist in contemporary lexicon. Even if they do, they sure as hell don’t carry the same meaning. Don’t we stand for anything anymore? Don't we as a nation, a generation have any cause? Maybe we do. But I was in a coffee shop on campus as I was pondering the movie later in the day and the difference was stark. No, it's not just a cultural thing - and its not specific to India. America has a similar rich history. Our current values or lack-there-of is reflected in everything we do- contemporary art is a joke, a la mode literature is unreadable or depressing at best, and philosophy is out of style. With nothing left to do, I took out my disappointment on pop-culture in an outdated form of expression - verse. Here goes:
Pop goes the Culture
A lost voice a lost cause
Here we rock on without a pause
What we move to- undefined
Synched to the values of our times.
Of our roots, few remain
Best forgotten, coz of the pain?
For it’s a sanguine history that we share
Of freedom-fighters and folk who dared
To stand up for what they breathed-
liberty, justice and to be left in peace.
To arms they took or were beat to death
For the hopes and dreams in unison shared
Of a free world where people walked
Without any fear to mock or talk.
Well, here we are, few suns bygone,
Sheep we are, with no sense of wrong.
Moving to the tunes of time,
Orchestrated by the media chime.
Now we know not what we want,
A pandemonium in faculty, we flaunt.
Like the name, pop it’ll go -
A culture fashioned with mindless woes.
- Rug
Now for the happy ending - The movie did strike a chord. The entire nation rose to salute it. Blogs crept up everywhere urging for action. It was discussed in cafés, shopping malls and classrooms. I’m not sure if anything concrete came out of it. But it sent a message to a whole nation. And I now have a contemporary Bollywood movie I highly recommend. After all, it inspired me to write my second poem. Simply put, this movie is so good that had this been a Hollywood movie, George Clooney would have been proud.
I am not really a movie buff. Never been. Too impatient for the 3-hr Bollywood kind (forwarding through songs, fights, comedy and romance doesn’t help because there is little left) and too psychic for Hollywood (Kevin Spacey is the killer, Darth Vader is Luke’s dad, Bruce Willis is the ghost) – thanks to Bollywood for the foresight. I do have some favorites (thanks to Quentin Tarantino), but for the most part movies for me are an ordeal.
So the other day, as I lay sulking in my usual physics-grad-studentish misery looking everywhere and anywhere for a pick-me-upper, I chanced upon Rang De Basanti to watch during my ritual morning cardio. I had seen this movie before, at the theater even (a rare treat in midwestern Champaign) and I knew I liked it. But my pensive mood revealed layers and brought forth a powerful reaction that I had somehow previously missed. Let me explain. No spoilers here, so no worries.
Rang de basanti, for the uninitiated, is a Bollywood blockbuster unlike any other. Lets start with the title - the literal title translation is “Color it Saffron” – saffron (basanti) is a deep orange color and is of profound significance in India. It’s a holy color for one and also symbolizes blood. In fact, it’s even featured in the Indian flag – as the first of the three stripes, saffron symbolizes the sacrifice (bloodshed) needed for India to win its independence. There is a less well-known meaning as well, Rang De Basanti was a popular anti-British cry during India’s struggle to break free from the British (damn the British – their accents, their tea, their language and all!). The slogan has its roots in a patriotic song written by Bhagat Singh, a heroic revolutionary freedom fighter. Bhagat Singh in his poem mera rang de basanti chola called for people to dye their robes the color of Spring (spring, the season that symbolizes change is “Basant” in hindi), for times are about to change – the time has come to sacrifice lives if that’s what it takes to get freedom. Thus, Rang de basanti is actually a powerful call to change the status quo. (Obama would have loved it, he needs some Bollywood researches on his campaign)
Just from the depth of the title you are probably beginning to see why this might be a good movie. But the homage to Bhagat Singh (and other Indian revolutionaries) doesn’t end there. The movie is set in contemporary India and draws parallels between revolutionaries of Bhagat Singh's era and modern Indian youth. It’s an ingenious commentary on what it cost our ancestors to fight for our freedom, what we have done with it and how nonchalantly we treat it today. A bloody freedom struggle (from less than 80 years ago) is juxtaposed against our (or more generally the Indian youth’s) irresponsibility to the corrupt Indian political system that is typically cooly attributed to “we-are-like-this-only”. Then it calls for action. To Do something. Anything.
It’s a brilliant movie. Very inspiring. Even the sound track uses patriotic lyrics set to modern tunes. Specifically, they featured one particular old revolutionary poem popularized during the freedom struggle that really made clear the glory of a lost era. To see why, here’s my favorite part (I’ve translated it here –the verse is much more beautiful in Hindi / Urdu and the video is below):
Title: Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna: The desire to sacrifice
There sits the enemy, armed and ready to fire
Ready too are we - to thrust our hearts out to them
With blood we shall play Holi, for our home and country is in trouble -
the desire to sacrifice is now etched within our hearts.
No sword can sever hands that carry the throes of passion,
Heads that have risen won't easily bow when challenged.
It'll flare up even more, the flame struck within our hearts
- the desire to sacrifice is now etched within our hearts.
You can really get a sense for the movie from the this clip featuring the poem:
The first thing that struck me was – no one talks like that anymore. About anything. The words, the values, the passion simply doesn’t exist in contemporary lexicon. Even if they do, they sure as hell don’t carry the same meaning. Don’t we stand for anything anymore? Don't we as a nation, a generation have any cause? Maybe we do. But I was in a coffee shop on campus as I was pondering the movie later in the day and the difference was stark. No, it's not just a cultural thing - and its not specific to India. America has a similar rich history. Our current values or lack-there-of is reflected in everything we do- contemporary art is a joke, a la mode literature is unreadable or depressing at best, and philosophy is out of style. With nothing left to do, I took out my disappointment on pop-culture in an outdated form of expression - verse. Here goes:
Pop goes the Culture
A lost voice a lost cause
Here we rock on without a pause
What we move to- undefined
Synched to the values of our times.
Of our roots, few remain
Best forgotten, coz of the pain?
For it’s a sanguine history that we share
Of freedom-fighters and folk who dared
To stand up for what they breathed-
liberty, justice and to be left in peace.
To arms they took or were beat to death
For the hopes and dreams in unison shared
Of a free world where people walked
Without any fear to mock or talk.
Well, here we are, few suns bygone,
Sheep we are, with no sense of wrong.
Moving to the tunes of time,
Orchestrated by the media chime.
Now we know not what we want,
A pandemonium in faculty, we flaunt.
Like the name, pop it’ll go -
A culture fashioned with mindless woes.
- Rug
Now for the happy ending - The movie did strike a chord. The entire nation rose to salute it. Blogs crept up everywhere urging for action. It was discussed in cafés, shopping malls and classrooms. I’m not sure if anything concrete came out of it. But it sent a message to a whole nation. And I now have a contemporary Bollywood movie I highly recommend. After all, it inspired me to write my second poem. Simply put, this movie is so good that had this been a Hollywood movie, George Clooney would have been proud.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
An ode to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Inspired (read outraged) by a heated discussion on how "we" need to remove coke and candy dispensing vending machines and ban (sic!) people from bringing cookies to distribute at work, all for the "goodness" of "everybody's" health, I cried out words like "individualism", "America'" and "self-control". "Most advanced nations in Europe are this way - they have removed vending machines", came the reply. I realized the winds are changing. As I feebly said, " are you proposing to ban coke as well, coke - only one of the greatest company ever ?", an image of a heroine walking away into the dusk flashed in my head. I barely got a glimpse of her - she was handsome, she held her face high and walked tall. She was looking back as she slipped away - her hair flowing, almost blending with her fleeting chiffons. It hit me then that no one knows her anymore, no one wants her any more - SHE: my subconscious rendering of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY was "high-maintenance". And all I wanted to do was to at the least bid her a proper adieu:
Ah there she goes
a beauty so quaint
a stride so proud
now a mirage quite faint
Her words thundered with strength
her cadence echoed of courage
A brave maiden once she
but now feeble with age
In spring she stood alone
towering over masses
not afraid to reach above
or be burned to ashes
They envied her stature
her glance her stance her goal
but what they wanted most
was her very soul
Quiet was the day
hardly a wind there was
but there they came in broad daylight
to smother her for all she was
Her breath was pure fire
her hair pure rage
oh what a fight she put up
A honor-drenched barrage
A storm she conquered
but then came a waft she could barely feel
little-by-little they wore her
her fate this wind would seal
Now she walks away
her time gone she says
with a glimmer of past glory
and an aura of heroic ways
ps: I have never written a poem (not a decent one anyways) so it surprised the hell out of me when these words came gushing out in about 10 minutes after the discussion. Talk about mundane inspirations and sensitive subjects ! This can't be healthy - I am a physicist - I am not supposed to be creative. Comments welcome !!
Ah there she goes
a beauty so quaint
a stride so proud
now a mirage quite faint
Her words thundered with strength
her cadence echoed of courage
A brave maiden once she
but now feeble with age
In spring she stood alone
towering over masses
not afraid to reach above
or be burned to ashes
They envied her stature
her glance her stance her goal
but what they wanted most
was her very soul
Quiet was the day
hardly a wind there was
but there they came in broad daylight
to smother her for all she was
Her breath was pure fire
her hair pure rage
oh what a fight she put up
A honor-drenched barrage
A storm she conquered
but then came a waft she could barely feel
little-by-little they wore her
her fate this wind would seal
Now she walks away
her time gone she says
with a glimmer of past glory
and an aura of heroic ways
ps: I have never written a poem (not a decent one anyways) so it surprised the hell out of me when these words came gushing out in about 10 minutes after the discussion. Talk about mundane inspirations and sensitive subjects ! This can't be healthy - I am a physicist - I am not supposed to be creative. Comments welcome !!
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