September 2014 – Ramana's Musings

Two Night Stand.

The trailer was intriguing when I saw it last week when I had gone to see Finding Fanny. So, when for this week Ramesh suggested that we go again to a combination of one English and one Hindi film, I readily agreed. We went to see Two Night Stand yesterday.

The movie lived up to its expectation that I had developed from the trailer. It was fast moving, totally believable and generates a great deal of sympathy for both the lead characters who are fumbling around trying to find meaningful relationships.

I had never heard of any of the actors nor the director and so this totally new combination came as a very pleasant surprise to me. It is a tightly edited and very well photographed/directed movie worth seeing for people interested in observing value a system and lifestyles totally out of synch with my generation’s. Since the audio effect suffers in places with poor recording causing missing of some conversations, I am unable to give more than[rating=5]

Creativity.

When Ranjan was driving me back home from an outing last week, we passed a permanent market where I used to shop for fresh meat, fowl vegetables etc in the good old days before all these were available closer to our home. I became nostalgic for one butcher in particular who used to get volubly welcoming every time he saw me to ensure that I did not take my custom to one of his competitors in the same shed. I casually mentioned this to Ranjan and said that it would be nice if I could come over one morning again just to buy some freshly slaughtered mutton and he promptly suggested that I do so quickly and also make one of his favourite dishes that he remembered me cooking from my pre vegan days.

I came home and found some of the ingredients missing and sent the youngsters to shop for them and they came up with something totally different. So, I took matters into my own hands and went ashopping I did and got what I wanted.

To cut a long story short, the mutton korma dahiwallah was duly cooked and was much appreciated by both Manjiree and Ranjan who polished the dish off much to my delight. I was quite pleased with myself because I did not have Ranjan to taste while the cooking was going on as I normally ask him to when I cook meat or fowl dishes. So, I just cooked the dish up without tasting at all and that it came out well was very satisfying.

What has this got to do with creativity which is the heading for this post? I remembered reading about creativity in Roman Krznaric’s The Wonderbox, and I went for the exact quotation to use in this post and finally found it in an interview that he had given. “Rather than originality, I think creativity is more about self-expression. Cooking can be creative in this sense – it’s not about inventing some amazing unknown dish, but just putting something of yourself into it, even if it’s simply adding some extra topping to a frozen pizza so it resembles a Jackson Pollock painting.” I flatter myself that the finished product looked much better than a Jackson Pollock painting. And that it tasted better than its looks would have suggested was icing on the cake!

And a Jackson Pollock painting?

Logic.

Mike had this to say on his Facebook wall: “Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.”

I responded: And to prove that, try this for size – “In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away.” -T.S. Eliot.

Let me share a story!

Mulla Nasrudin was having frequent episodes of anxiety attacks and suffered hypertension as a result.

“The reports are fine,” the doctor said, “you should probably see a psychiatrist.”

“Psychiatrist?”

“Yes. Maybe you have a business or a family problem that’s causing these panic attacks. Just a few weeks ago, I had a similar case. The patient was worried about a $20,000 loan and had a nervous breakdown.”

“How did you cure him?” Mulla asked.

“I told him to declare bankruptcy and that life was too short to be wasted over a loan,” the doctor said. “He’s enjoying perfect health now and has completely stopped worrying.”

“I know,” Mulla said. “He has not only stopped worrying, he has also stopped picking up his phone. I’m the man to who he owes the $20,000.”

Dead End Street.

This topic has been suggested by Maxi for the weekly Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium where currently six of us write on the same topic every Friday. I hope that you enjoy my contribution to that effort. The five other bloggers who write regularly are, in alphabetical order, Ashok, gaelikaa, Maxi, and Shackman and The Old Fossil. Do drop in on their blogs and see what their take is on this week’s topic. Since some of them may post late, or not at all this week, do give some allowance for that too!

I was born in a city the called the ‘Windy City’
And they call it the ‘Windy City’ because of the ‘Hawk’. All mighty Hawk
Talking about Mr. Wind kind of mean around winter time
I happen to live on a street that was a dead-end street
There was nothing to block or buffer the wind, the elements
Keep them from knocking my pad down, Jim I mean really socking it to me
And the boiler would bust and the heat was gone
I would have to get fully dressed before I could go the bed
Put everything on but my goulashes cause they had buckles on them
And my folks didn’t play that said don’t you be getting up in there with
Buckles on them goulashes and tear up my bed clothes but I was fortunate
As soon as I was big enough to get a job save me enough money to buy me a ticket I split
I got myself together now so I’m going back there to see about it see if it’s still the same
I just wanted to tell you about it, you know it’s all right

They say this is a big rich town I live in the poorest part
I was raised on a dead-end street in a city without a heart
I learned to fight before I was six only way I could get along
But when you’re raised on a dead-end street you have to be tough and strong
Now all the guys are always getting in trouble that the way it’s always been
But when the odds are all against you how can you win
I’m gonna push my way out of here ever thou I can’t say when
But I’m gonna get off of this dead-end street and I ain’t never gonna coma back again
I’m gonna push my way out of here ever thou I can’t say when
But I’m gonna get off of this dead-end street
And I ain’t never gonna come back to live here again
Never, No I ain’t gonna come back here to live on this dead-end street no more
Cause I’m gonna get me a job, I’m gonna save my dough
Get away from here you-all, I ain’t gonna come back no more
Not ever, dead-end street
I tired of breaking my back gonna start using my mind
Tired of working all of the time
I say there’s trouble down there
I say there’s trouble down there
I say there’s trouble down there yeah
Down off a dead-end street
Down off a dead-end street

Synchronicity.

Last week I observed my friend Ramesh wearing a very nice T-shirt and asked him where he had bought it from. He answered that he had bought a few of them at an airport shop and that the same brand Karlsburg is available in many Indian airport shops.

I searched the net for the brand and found that the T-shirts are available online from the owner of the brand in Chennai and I ordered for three pieces in striped designs.
Having worn them on receipt I wanted to buy some more in plain shades.
I wrote to their email address asking if they had any and a remarkable exchange of mails took place pointing out that good customer service still exists. I ordered for some plain T-shirts as well and I am delighted with their quality and service.

So, when I wanted to buy some regular shirts, for me as well as for someone to whom I wish to send one as a birthday gift, I rang up their customer service person for more details than what was available on their website and I was once again impressed with the response and speed with which it was given. Having been associated with the textile and garment businesses all my life, I enquired from the Customer Service Person as to who owns the company and was pleasantly surprised to hear the Managing Director’s name, Ranjit Jacob which rang a bell. On searching the net for that name, I found that there were hundreds with the same name and not one of them fitted the profile that I had in mind. When the Representative rang me back with some information that I had asked for he informed me that the owner was in the office and whether I would like to speak to him. I decided to talk to him and find out if he is the same person that I knew and lo and behold it indeed was and the two of us reestablished contact after forty years! We had known each other when we were together all those years ago in Kerala and today after having parted company four decades ago, we are back in touch with each other! I have promised to get in touch with him when I next go to Chennai and I am really looking forward to it.

And that story brings me to something that I strongly believe in.

India teaches us about The Four Laws of Spirituality.

The First Principle states: Whomsoever you encounter is the right one.

This means that no one comes into our life by chance. Everyone who is around us, anyone with whom we interact, represents something, whether to teach us something or to help improve a current situation.

The Second Principle states: Nothing, absolutely nothing of that which we experienced could have been any other way.

Not even in the least important detail. There is no “If only I had done that differently…, then it would have been different…” No. What happened is the only thing that could have taken place and must have taken place for us to learn our lesson in order to move forward. Every single situation in life, which we encounter is absolutely perfect, even when it defies our understanding and our ego.

The Third Principle states: Everything begins at exactly the right moment, neither earlier nor later.

When we are ready for it, for that something new in our life, it is there, ready to begin.

This is the Fourth Principle, the final one: When it is over, it is over.

It is that simple. When something in our life ends, it helps our evolution. That is why, enriched by the recent experience, it is better to let go and move on.

Well, the new beginning of a relationship lost for all these decades has just made a start and the fourth principle can wait. In the meanwhile, I look forward to meeting Ranjit again by November or so when I should be going to Chennai again.

Finding Fanny.

As I had indicated in my post on A Walk Among The Tombstones, Ramesh and I went to see another film earlier this evening. A joint Hollywood and Bollywood production with an all Indian cast directed by a very young and promising Indian, the film has received rave reviews and I was pleased to find that all the raving is justified.

The cast, a blend of the old and new, the locale – the very picturesque Goa, a good story line, superb direction and editing made for a heady combination. The surprise package was Dimple Kapadia on who I had a crush some decades ago, in a remarkable role as a matronly busybody. The very young a bubbly pair of Deepika Padukone and Arjun Kapoor give excellent counterpoint to the seasoned Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor. Anjali Patil in almost a cameo appearance does credit and offers promise for the future.

The movie has been shot in Hindi as well as English and if you are interested to see some scenes from Goa, a slightly wacky but still serious romantic film, I strongly recommend this picture for which I have no hesitation in giving a full [rating=6].