Movie Marathon
23 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Indian Movies, Movie Review Tags: Bollywood, Film Review, Irfan Khan, Kahaani, London Paris New York, Movies released in 2012, Paan Singh Tomar, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Vidya Balan
After a very long time in my life, I saw 3 movies in the same week and on three consecutive days!
Paan Singh Tomar
Its not an animated film with a “toon-hero”. It is based on a real life person, but I am not sure if it can be termed a biographical picture. Paan Singh was an international athlete and a real sportsman. He joined the army, and was told (as a joke) that if he trained with the army sports team, he would get unlimited food. What started as a quest for unlimited food, became Paan Singh’s passion in life. From there, he becomes a rebel (a dacoit) who lives in the valley and executes abduction of rich villagers in that area for the furtherance of his gang. Paan Singh trained his gang in the military style. As to why he stumbles into the darkness of the valleys, is a question that is best answered by the film.
I have no words to describe Irfan Khan, except that he is what an ideal actor is. When I watched the promos for the film, I wondered how this scrawny, tall, tired looking man would fit into the roll of an athlete and thereafter an athletic dacoit. But, he was marvelous in the film. Irfan Khan melts away and all you can see is Paan Singh. My recollection of Irfan Khan is that of the unassuming father in “The Namesake”. But now, he is also Paan Singh. He manages with great ease to speak the language of the villagers residing in that area of Uttar Pradesh / Madhya Pradesh.
It would be unkind to not talk of the brilliant script, screenplay and direction in the movie. Tigmanshu Dhulia’s vision strikes one as refreshing and unique and yet so simple. The villages, the attire, the language spoken, are all set in the 1970s. In fact, there is a marked change in the setting of the movie used for Paan Singh’s early life and later.
The entire effort is laudable. A great Indian movie. A must watch.
(I do not wish to rate it, as there not enough stars.)
Kahaani
That is exactly what it is. A story. This story is set in Calcutta. Vidya Balan plays “Bidya” Bagchi. A pregnant woman in search of her missing husband. It is a thriller.
After ages, Hindi cinema has managed to produce a worthwhile thriller. The movie is actually gripping, (though you are seated comfortably in your seats) while not being a nail biting thriller. The cast is very well chosen. All the Bengali actors have done a wonderful job. Vidya Balan is of course on her way to collect some more awards next year, unless she does another movie which fares better or is more acclaimed.
The story is of an NRI woman who is on a hunt to discover her husband, intertwined with some twists, as Bidya is trying to figure out who her husband really is. By now most people have heard the suspense. So I will not kill it further.
Its a must watch and can be seen with kids with parental guidance.
Rating: *****
London Paris New York
Boy meets girl. On a flight to London. Obviously girl misses her connecting flight and decides to spend the rest of her “free” day with the stranger who is so obviously hitting on her. Predictably, boy is head over heels and girl is coy. Yet, they kiss while parting in the hope of meeting in 6 months. Do I need to mention that they won’t write or call each other in the mean time?
So far so obvious. Then several years later, they again meet in Paris where the simple girl has turned into some sort of 1950s Hollywood prototype, presumably more at ease with her sexuality than a few years ago (when she was the coy girl going to New York for the first time). No prizes for guessing. Yes, yes, they do it. She suddenly remembers how she felt let down by this superficial jerk several years ago and decides to leave him (to avenge her anger/betrayal). How this avenges her, I did not understand! Isn’t it perfect for the guy – girl sleeps with boy (and instead of him dumping her) she dumps him. Score!
Then several years later, he again finds her in New York and meets up with her on the eve of her wedding. No frenzy, no panic. The bride was reading a magazine and spends the night out with her one time lover – on the eve of her wedding. Predictably they kiss. However, unpredictably that’s all they do and end up falling asleep until morning, till the girl almost misses her wedding. It then dawns on her, she will be late for her wedding! Wow! The boy then screams at her, calling her names and tells her not to marry whoever she is going to marry. Girl slaps boy!
Guess what. Boy goes in search of her again! Blah! Happily ever after.
The reason I took the pains to sketch out this rubbish, is only so no one else wastes 1 hr 40 mins of their time.
I feel sorry for the actors, who are both definitely talented (in today’s market) but have dug their own grave with this movie.
(Do you need a rating after the above description?)
The tediousness that is housekeeping
05 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
I generally believe that writing should be positive. However, on this subject I do not have too many positive thoughts.
Being at home now, I have had the requirement to be involved in a) what to cook, b) when clothes need to be washed/dried etc. There are several questions to be answered like – what’s for breakfast and should we clear X first or Y first. What from the fridge needs to be given to the maid??! My answer to all of the above – who cares?
The truth is I never had to deal exclusively with these questions while I was working. Now I have to, because I have the time. The point is, all of these things happened as a matter of course in the last 3 years without me ever having to think about it.
But now, the tediousness of thinking and doing the same activity day in and day out is tiring, its exhausting. Fortunately, I live in a country where all of this can be delegated. I will find and train a maid who will do all this for me. I wonder if all women feel this way. Whether they would want to sell their house just so they don’t have to think about cleaning it.
All of this is just ranting and rumbling. I know, come morning, I will be back to handle the tediousness. What if any, is the way out? How does all this become less tedious?
What do I do with time?
07 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Life, Thoughts Tags: Life, pregnancy, time
There was a time when I did not have time and every activity (non-work related) required to be managed. I have been at home for a week now. I quit my job starting February 1. I suddenly have been given the gift of infinite time.
However, this time doesn’t feel like my own. It feels like there are a lot of things that have a claim on it. For starters, I spend most of my day eating! This is so that I can provide sufficient nutrition to the little person growing inside of me. Plus there is the whole list of things I must do since now I have the time, like set right the finances (in that there is none to begin with). We are also planning to shift homes. So all of this take up most of my time. I realized now why cooking and eating form a central part of most Indian households.
Its because if you are at home, you have to eat. And because you are at home you tend to think about what to eat when etc. This is new to me. I never really cared about this and don’t think I ever will. May be this is a training ground for me to face the challenges of being a mom.
There is so much I want to read but somehow I don’t end up picking any books other than baby care or pregnancy related books. Its quite sad really. I never thought that I would need motivation to read. However, I have always adapted quickly and will adapt to this as well. The silver lining is that I can sleep when I want to, eat when I want to and chill. Its been a while in life since I have done that.
This requirement for a sense of structure – is that also a disease? Why can I not accept a day that is my own, which I can mould to take on any shape that I choose? Have I become a corporate stooge who has lost the ability to plan my day, to live my life? Do I need deadlines set for me, to feel satisfied about my days?
Naah. I don’t give up easy. I won’t. I start now, with this blog. I will update people with what I am up to, what is the new thing I have learnt or done. How I spent my days of unemployment …
I am going to start with the easiest thing – watching a movie. It has already brought a smile to my face. Will catch up soon.
Musings on a Non-working Saturday
27 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: choice, Fairgame, Food, Freedom, Indian food, Midnight in Paris, Naomi Watts, Owen Wilson, Sean Penn, Zizek
I was going to write something titled “Confessions of a foodaholic”. But then I changed my mind. I want to write about so many things and not just food or my cravings for food.
I had a bad incident this morning after which I decided I am going to eat good food today. I conjured up a simple South Indian meal, had my fill in the afternoon and went to sleep. I ate rice at home after I don’t know how long. The thing is I have been on this “high-protein” diet for longest time. I admit I am about 30 kilos overweight and probably even need it. But I felt good today after a long time, not cheated after a meal. The truth is, we let symptoms decide how we live.
If you are fat, avoid rice, do not eat butter. Do not eat carbs. What are we trying to do? Relive atkins. Just the classification of protein is much wider. Strangely, I have not felt this free in a long time.
It made think. What is freedom really? If all I have is choice between 2 types of low fat ice – cream, is that real choice. What if I have a choice between 22 different ice-creams – would that be freedom? I can never be totally free if that is the kind of choice I would make.
I always had this argument with my aunt, when she would con her daughter into doing what she wanted. But her daughter (my cousin) was only 3 when she picked up on it… Her mom would say – do you want Idlis or do you want curd (yoghurt) and rice? She would reply unfettered – I want dosa. And I would applaud her for making a choice she wasn’t offered. (Well its a different issue, she never got her way – but atleast she chose).
ZIzek (I don’t know much about him) changed the way I think about freedom. The true freedom comes to people like my cousin – the 4 year old, who looked beyond and refused to get tied down. Zizek says real freedom is today an illusory concept. Every step of the way there are social dogmas that govern your reaction, your thought processes, your behaviour and your choices.
What really interested me about what Zizek said – was about passive aggressive parenting. I don’t agree with you or like your behaviour. You are free to choose to do what you wish but I will not approve and will be disappointed in you. Does any kid, whose parent says this to him, call himself free? It set me thinking. We all wield power in our relationships. We sort of, begin to own the person we are with. Couples do it all the time. At what point in time do you of your own volition cave in to your partners thought process, your partners way of life and your partner to yours.
Anyway that’s about relationship. Actually I have no topic in mind but I still feel like I am digressing from the topic.
I woke up and made french toast. It felt lovely. No egg yellow… It was I think a year! May be more – since I had had french toast. I said – Screw – No egg yellow. I will make and eat french toast the way its supposed to be made. It felt good.
I saw two movies today – back to back. Midnight in Paris and Fairgame. Both movies although diametrically different from each other, pretty much make you think about the same thing.
Midnight in Paris is Owen Wilson, a novelist in the making who somehow manages to go into a different time. He loves Paris in 1920s and every day at mid-night has an adventure which transports him back to the 1920s. He loves it in that era. Then somehow, he and his beau move further back into 1890s. Woody Allen is funny as funny can get. It was then that Owen Wilson’s character realises that he was living in denial. A character from the 1920s felt they were happier in 1890s. The present was dull. The future is unknown. The past however is known and familiar (we read so much about it). Therefore the comfort of being in the past. Denial – that is our generations biggest problem. We love Anna Hazare but forget about him when the IPhone S4 launches. Steve Jobs death is a bigger news than the 2G scam. Denial.
I live in denial too. I do not read newspapers (only the yellow ones on finance). Newspapers depress me. I feel hopeless and like a useless twit on this planet, in this universe. What do I do? I stop reading newspapers. I hate the mindless politics in India. I don’t think our politicians are even worth criticising. Even dumb George Bush is better than Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. George Bush went after Iraq (we all know why) and then fought to keep that down. Our guys, don’t care. They don’t care what the people think because they know that the people are easily distracted. They know that if they keep quiet on all issues, people will soon stop asking questions. What do you do with that kind of arrogance?
Fairgame is a movie where Sean Penn and Naomi Watt fight the White House for waging the Iraq War on false pretexts. Truth of course is stranger than fiction.
Now I need to sleep as I have to wake up tomorrow and make scrambled eggs and hash brown. Soon I am going to be jobless and I will fill up more and more internet space with my nonsense.
So adieu till then.
Reversal of ratios
08 Jul 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Binayak Sen, Hassan Ali Khan, Supreme Court
When I was growing up, I heard that our criminal justice system is based on the premise that the State may let 10 criminals go scott-free so long as even 1 innocent does not suffer. I believed in it, believed in our criminal defence system.
But now lets rethink what has been happening in the recent past. It is shocking how the Supreme Court has been repeatedly pushing the government to investigate (not even punish) Hassan Ali Khan and the Tapurias. It is not the job of the Supreme Court to do this. But in the system today, the Supreme Court needs to step in and direct the elected representatives to their job, for they are too busy making money – through prostitution of the polity.
In sharp contrast to how Hassan Ali is not yet been prosecuted (though the ED did seemingly arrest him in March this year), Binayak Sen goes to prison.
Wonder if any of this makes sense. Wonder why I am surprised, had I not seen it coming.
The real criminals are running the nation while the people who stand up against their persecution ar treated as criminals and gunned down. It won’t be soon till I am termed as a leftist – for that has what the left has become – the voice of dissent.
In the midst of all this, the Supreme Court judgement of July 4, 2011 comes as huge wave of relief and re-establishes a waning trust in the judiciary.
The media has not reported this judgment yet. Not surprising anymore.
SURRENDER TO AN ESTABLISHED FAITH
18 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in Book Review, Books, Education, Faith, god, Life, Non-Fiction, philosophy, Reading, Religion Tags: A Prophet of our Times, Book Review, Islam, Jihad, Karen Armstrong, Mohammad, Mohammed, Prophet, Prophet Mohammad
Religion is about surrender to God and not belief in an established faith.
These are apparently words of Mohammed. I myself do not know Arabic or urdu so I have to believe the translations. By Mohammed, I mean the Prophet, of course, who brought Islam into being. “Islam” means “surrender to God”. Mohammed therefore preached surrender to God. In fact, the sentence above, appears to be translation from the Quran.
Karen Armstrong, has written a most compelling biography of the Prophet and in my opinion has managed to write it without any prejudice or bias. She has in fact discounted the aspersions cast on Mohammed by the Western critics of the religion itself or his character and critically examined the compilation of the Quran, the birth of Islam and Mohammed’s success in light of the predicament Arabia was in at the time.
It is difficult for me as a common person or lay man to assess the historical veracity of this work. But Mohammed is the best introduction I have read to Islam and its birth.
I believed that and still believe that a religious ideology becomes intolerant in its execution. It is not the ideology itself that is intolerant. I may get the best potatoes in the world, but the dish I have made out of it, may be ruined. Why? Is it because it is in the nature of the potato to be ruined, or is it my bad cooking? Islam appears to suffer from this problem too.
It is not hard to believe that everything in the Quran applies to unique problems – socio-economic-politico problems/issues faced by the multiple states forming what today is largely known as the Middle East and parts of northern Africa. To take that principle and blindly apply it to life or issues today is not just foolish but also fatal. What started, as a religion of peace, is today a religion of terrorism of violence and of hatred.
“Jihad” the term used for the struggle which a true Muslim needs to face to overcome affection for a material life, has become synonymous with terrorism. What is a war that kills innocents in the name of religion – but terrorism? I wish that the groups like Al Qaida and Lashkar of the world read this book. I wish the manner in which 14 – 15 year olds are brain washed into taking to arms, the militant groups could be brain washed into looking at their roots, the rich philosophy that Mohammed left for them.
Mohammed had a unique role, probably a greater responsibility than that of Christ. Christ preached love. He was hailed as the Lord, as an incarnation of the Holy Spirit. Christianity it is widely known sprung out of the dream of Constantine and was a political agenda. Mohammed on the other hand, lived so long as to gather people unto his faith, his way of life and provide for these people. His followers were outcasts of society and he needed to provide for them, make political alliances, economic decisions and wage wars.
His actions, must be seen in light of the task that faced him at his time. He truly was the messenger of God. His faith united the peoples of Arabia and helped restore peace – for a while.
The book describes how Islam was a polytheistic religion. She goes on to explain the significance of erasing idolatory in the Kabah. Each incident in Mohammed’s life leads to revelation, which has become a part of the Holy Quran. Literal interpretation or even misunderstood interpretation has led astray the peoples of today. Prayer to God is essential – how the prayer is made is not.
The truth is Mohammed wanted to open the eyes of his people to the reality that no established faith can restore peace to humans unless there is surrender to God. But unfortunately, he was surrounded by people who followed him blindly, without paying any heed to what he was really trying to convey. Many of his followers, appeared to be interested only in being part of the political order that would become really powerful in future – for material gains. The results are showing today.
An interesting insight into that which I being a woman find most derogatory as far as the religion is concerned – the veiling of a woman – is provided by Karen. The origin of veiling a woman is but a simple protection offered by Mohammed to his wives who were subject to teasing and taunting by the community. He did not veil the woman but kept her behind a curtain so as to protect her. This applied only to his wives and was not meant to be forced upon all the women of this world uniformly.
I had long ago read a book called “Roots”. Of course, Roots is about a man who tries to trace his African origin. The book depicts the Islam of the tribal people, the villagers in Africa. It also throws light on communism and nature worship which is all mingled into Islam. This was my first exposure of Islam as a religion of God versus the Islam of today which is reduced to a religion of tenets. People shared everything they had, there was no divisive property and people all prayed in their own way to Allah.
After very long, I have read an equally soothing account of Islam. Media also has a role to play in all this. Skewed portrayal by the media of certain religions or religious sects or political groups has flared this hatred. I have been around during the riots in Bombay and Gujarat and each of these has affected me and hardened my insides. I find it hard to justify a fight in the name of religion. What is religion at all? Why does it push one to kill? How can you justify the fight you call “jihad”? I feel terrible about the bombings and terrorist attack at Bombay. I was one of the affected – stuck in office all night worried that some terrorist may just come into the building and take us hostage. I couldn’t imagine what those boys had against us or any of the others who were killed that day!
Is it so difficult to see through all this? Is it so difficult to understand that the perpetrators of the violence only want political gains?
My conviction in Islam has only been strengthened by what I read in “Mohammed” by Karen Armstrong.
Mohammed did not see what his people were doing in his name. I am sure if Mohammed were to ever see what is happening in this world in his name, in the name of Islam, he would not be able to rest in peace. Similarly, Christ had nothing to do with all the forced conversions and all the wars in the name of Christianity. An intriguing account of Jesus’s life (purely as a work of fiction) can be found in the book “The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ”.
It saddens me when educated people I know justify the killings at Godhra. If that is not genocide we need to redefine genocide. What Babur did or his predecessor was over long before any of us reading this were around. Razing down a mosque is not justified under any circumstances whatsoever. If we are so against any external invasion, what are we still doing displaying all the pretty and gothic Victorian structures. Anything that suits we let stand – is that how it works? Do we pelt a Britisher when he comes to India because 7 generations or even 3 above him may have flogged to death an innocent Indian? No! This is because we dismiss it as misplaced anger. Then why was the mosque razed to the ground.
The Hindu fundamentalists are definitely as much to blame as the terrorists of the 26/11 attacks. Anybody who wages a war under the garb of or in the flimsy pretext of religious equality or religious freedom or true religion or any such thing requires to be shot. Any educated person who justifies the killing of innocents, irrespective of the religion they profess should also be shot. I know that the Hindu fundamentalists are not the same as the fanatics who have wreaked terrorism. I am not even saying that they are justified in doing what they are doing because there was an aberration in the demolition of Babri Masjid. Yet, no violence is right. Whoever is responsible for it.
As educated people let us unite against this misplaced anger. Let education be a religion. By education I do not mean a certificate and an English education as left to us by the British. Let us rise and state that we will not give into this misplaced hatred or anger. Everyone of us will silence the voice that speaks ill of the religions or faith of the people of this world. We must reserve this anger for the factions that ruin our peace, kill innocents and our soldiers. Let us live in surrender to God and abandon this possessive manic love for the established faith.
I sometimes see, Jesus, Mohammed and Ram sitting in the heavens and looking down upon us with dismay and resignation – upon the people who in the name of love – hate and in the name of peace – make war.
New Books
14 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Books, god, India, Reading Tags: Book of Ram, Devdutt, Devdutt Pattanaik, Jaya, Mahabharata, Shiva to Shankara
I was thrilled to see – not one, but two packets from flipkart waiting for me. I didn’t even have to look at the cover to figure who had sent me the books. It has to be my husband! You will find him here.
This is what I received today. All three books have been written by Devdutt Pattnaik. Anyone who has read these, please share your thoughts:
The Way We Read
12 Mar 2011 3 Comments
in Books, Reading, Thoughts Tags: Kindle, Reading
I went to a wayward bookstore today. It felt really good, just seeing the books stacked up. I stopped buying books for a long time now. There are big piles of unread books, which I want to read at home.
It occurred to me that the reason I don’t go to bookstores anymore is because I just order whatever I need online. The books do take their own time coming, but I am not in a hurry. This way I also save money from buying everything that I don’t read.
I have been thinking for sometime now that reading as a habit is going to change. The kindle will change it sooner or later. The kindle is not just easy on the eyes to read but the lightest manner possible of carrying over a hundred books and periodicals. You can virtually carry your entire library with you.
I first read about the Kindle being launched with an India compatible version sometime in October 2009. I was so thrilled. I had no idea what e-ink technology was but I just knew it would better than reading on the computer. Everything about the Kindle was fascinating. The fact that – as you read you could get word meanings; you could highlight important passages and also make notes. The biggest disadvantage with the Kindle was that you need external light to read it. But, the silver lining is that when the external light is not available the book can be read to you.
Clearly the kindle is a more eco-friendly way of reading books. But it would take a huge paradigm shift to move entirely to the kindle. As human beings, we find it difficult to break away from the way of life we are used, to break away from tradition. I wouldn’t say the Kindle today can entirely replace books. Definitely as gadgets go, it is just one gadget and therefore cannot be shared or preserved the way we can regular books. But the time has come to go paperless. The time has come to save the trees.
Are we willing to make this small investment? Are we willing to move away from a tradition and take to this new form of reading? As a person who loves the feel of new books, old books, the feel of paper whether original or pirated, I am willing to change – though just not as yet.
PAAR – STORY ART
06 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in India, Indian Movies, Movie Review, Movies, philosophy Tags: 1984 Award winning movie, Hindi Movie, Naeeruddin Shah, Paar, Shabana Azmi
This is a Hindi movie set in then contemporary India – the year I was born.
The most common perception is that this movie is about the struggles in Bihar of labourers i.e. farm labourers. The labourers peacefully demanded higher wages. The landlord (played by Utpal Dutt) had political aspirations that failed, thanks to a candidate of the lower caste who won the election. There is a benevolent school teacher who helps the labourers think and educates them about the minimum wages fixed by the government. Of course, the landlord would not even pay the labourers the minimum wages due.
The labourers in keeping with the school teachers’ instructions are not violent and make quiet demands, go on strike etc. Losing the election is the last straw on the camel’s back for the land lord. His son decides to get rid of school teacher and kills him in a road accident.
Our protagonist (Nseeruddin Shah) is enraged by the death of his mentor and chooses to kill the landlord’s son. After this all hell breaks loose. The landlord is set to kill all youngsters in the village who may have caused the death of his son. People are murdered within the village temple. Its a gory bloodbath.
Politicians and the government offer some support at the time. Om Puri, plays the village mukhiya (head of the village) and narrates most of the story leading to the blood bath.
So Narangiya and his wife escape from this mayhem and reach the house of the benevolent school teacher’s wife. She gives them some money and an address of a friend to whom they are referred. The friend sends them to Calcutta to work in a jute mill factory.
The rest of the movie revolves around Narangiya and his wife’s struggle to cope with the huge monstrous city that Calcutta is. There is no job in the jute mill and many labourers are out of jobs. Finally they get a job worth Rs. 20 (which was a lot of money in those days) after commission. They need to get some pigs about 3 dozens across the river. The entire struggle of getting the pigs across is the essence of Paar. Paar literally means crossing or across in Hindi.
Throughout the movie, the wife is pregnant and thinks this time she will lose her child. But the movie ends on a happy note. They get Rs. 20 and some tips. The baby is alive. Everyone is happy.
Paar – also has a philosophical meaning. “Nadiya paar” literally means deliverance by God. A literal depiction of symbolism. All actors are brilliant.The cinematography is bleak to match with the reality of the persons the story revolves around. Many of the scenes are shot in darkness and in silhouettes. Even Calcutta is shown as seen from the perception of Mrs. and Mr. Narangiya.
On the whole a worthwhile experience. It was 2 hours well spent.
VOLUNTARY DEATH – IS DEATH AN OPTION
04 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Absurdity, Death, India, legal issues, Life, philosophy, Thoughts Tags: choice, pro-life, Samadhi, Suicide, Voluntary death, war
The first argument I ever had with this person who went on to be my best friend and now my husband is – whether suicide is okay.
He argued for the right to kill oneself as being a part of, a sort of sub-sect of the right to live. I was 18 then. I couldn’t grasp what possibly life could become, how intolerable it could be for some people and how some people just live life because its there.
Animals have self-preservation in their instinct. But humans, we are capable of a rational choice. This is not a justification for every child who fails an exam and hangs from the fan. But I am speaking of a calculated choice.
What if something happens in your life, which makes living or continuing to live, meaningless? I know of one such thing in my life. I would not want to live if the thing I dread the most happens as it would have belied everything I stood for and everything my husband stands for and what we i.e. me and him represent.
It would not be out of failure or dejection or depression, so much as it would be out of not wanting to live beyond.
I am not advocating suicide or escape from life. My proposition is simple. I should be able to take a cold, rational choice to end my life. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami keeps coming back to me. Now that I think of it, the female protagonist in the novel, tries hard to live, to justify her living and her life. But she is unable to sustain it. After her boyfriend killed himself, she tries to live life, but cannot. So at some point she ends it.
I, as a living being, breathe. I, unfortunately cannot stop breathing when I feel like and therefore, if I wish to stop living a gruesome intervention is required. Is this the reason people abhor suicide – because it is an external intervention. Is it only the goriness of it all? The means of death are not natural and trouble the minds of those left behind, is that why suicide is shunned? Can the means of doing something justify the desirability or the undesirability of an end?
What if I were to go into a forest and end my life there? (I am vegetarian. So in all probability I would starve to death.) What if my body became one with the earth, then would I be hailed as a saint?
What about soldiers? Don’t they choose to end their lives when they go into a war? Is that not a rational choice? I can fully imagine what the consequence of allowing people legally to end their lives would be in the world today – total anarchy. But it still does not make it an illegitimate demand.
Suppose I am 65 and find out that I have cancer. Well, I am not going into the euthanasia debate. So, if at 65 I find out I have cancer, and I am a doctor lets say. I know death for me is going to be a long painful affair. I am happy with my life and choose it be a peak of my life. I die.
In India, the saints and yogis and all the great spiritual masters have attained high stages of meditation. The ultimate stage is the Samadhi, where the saint or yogi, chooses the time and place of death (in common man terms). They go into a deep trance from which they never come back. Is that suicide? No.
So why, if I should choose to end my life, I shouldn’t be allowed to. The state like in the case of most other subjects has no answer to this. I would probably be shot for asking. That should serve my purpose, but that is not how I would want to go.
