Voice Over Voice!

V: I have got only one year to live.
VO: Is it Cancer? Blood clot in the brain?Tumor?
V: Does it really matter how I die ? Why am I still wondering if I locked my car in the parking lot?
VO: Can we get back to the larger issue here?
V: Why did I turn off the sound check while locking? It's an annoying sound.I am sorry.
VO: So, what do you plan to do in the remaining one year?
V : Definitely turn the sound check in car lock remote
VO: Anything apart from Car,Parking lot or that friggin remote?
V: Yes. I want to resign my job.
VO: Fair enough.
V: Borrow a million dollars.
VO: Why just a million? Why not 10 million?
V : Well,I won't get approved.Moreover they might suspect I am going to die without paying.
VO: (hysterical laugh) That would be too ironical....okay..what else?
V: Well, I will probably find out where Sujata is.
VO:The second grade mean girl who broke your front two teeth?
V: Yes..her..I want to tell her I love her..She was my first love.
VO: I thought it was Sister Stella who was your first love
V: Well, Sister Stella was my first elderly love.
VO: Whatever that means..
V: Don't interrupt me. I want to see Rajnikanth.
VO: And do what? Make 5 somersault dive in his house?
V: Watch Sachin Tendulkar bat..
VO: You might wanna put a rush order on that one before he retires...who else ?
V: Hmm..Kiss No.6 from Battlestar Gallactica.
VO: You mean Tricia Helfer ?
V: Very much Trish. She appears near me just like she does it with Baltar.
VO: Maybe thats why you have the tumor.
V: Now you're interrupting my flow again
VO: Alrite..What else before the clock stops?
V: I don't know why am remembering toilet seat in my India home.
VO: Do you wanna pee?
V: Actually i do but you know i can't now..damn..now am thinking about the time my brother hid my underwear forcing me to run naked in the front yard.
VO: Ouch..hope you were not a teenager then.
V: Nope..I was 5 but I still watch over my underwear even in closed toilet.
VO: TMI...move on..before you gross me out.
V: Well, I also want to kiss Kajol.
VO: Where...never mind I asked..who else do you wanna kiss?
V: Maniratnam
VO: Ewww!
V: Dude..I meant i want to see Manirathnam..
VO: Thank you Lord..
V: And ofcourse Rahman.
VO: Why don't you add Shahrukh, Aamir and every other celebrity in India?
V: Nada. I have literally "Thousand places to see before I die".No time.
VO: Hmm.What about doing some good to poor people? Charity?
V: Am gonna die..gone forever and you expect me to do charity ? am sure I will see some of those poor people following me soon..I will take care of them then..assuming they paid for the seat next to me in the bus to hell.
V: Why Hell? Are you sure about not going to Heaven?
VO: Well..I will be too bored in Heaven..moreover after working most of my life as corporate coolie, your body is more suited to live in Hell.
VO: Good point..OMG....you arrived finally!!!

V: Hi..can I have a Cafe mocha latte with non fat milk,no sugar please?
Starbucks Kristina: Sure..thanks for your patience waiting in such a long line..you're the only one who was so quiet and kind.
V: Ohh..no worries..it's the holiday weekend..I understand.
VO: Really....?!! understand my ass..you were so pissed off..you had to make plans for your funeral because of this long wait.
V: Shut up..she is super cute..now I don't want you in my head for the next 5minutes while i enjoy this coffee.
VO: You know am not going anywhere right?
V: Don't I ?
VO: May be when I return, instead of this one year death scenario, lets do the plans after winning mega millions..
V: Out now...

Blankkkkkkk Mind!
Coffee!
Silence!
Stillness!
Completely in the "moment"!

VO: R u sure ?

Like Crazy!

Being in bonded Love is a kind of intense addiction that manifests a deep yearning in your core pervading every moment of your existence with a sublime, ethereal bliss when together and an equally painful, breathless imbalance with reality when apart.

"Like Crazy" is one such story of the emotional journeys of two bonded souls learning to deal with their vulnerable hearts against the roughness of reality. Jacob and Anna are LA University students who meet in a class. There is instant chemistry between Jacob(played by Anton Yelchin,the funny accented Mr.Chekov in Star Trek) and Ana(delightfully potrayed by Felicity Jones) as she submits her paper in his car windowshield with a note that she is not crazy. They meet over coffee where the reticent Jacob and the quirky British born Ana exchange sweet nothings.

Falling in lust is commonplace. Falling in needy love is even more predictable. What's rare is falling into an experience of earthy naturalness that sneaks under your skin like sunlight,spreading all over you,filling your abysmal depths with oneness,imprinting that feeling in your DNA, making you realize that this is Loving like crazy! Ana and Jacob get to that place slowly as Ana shares her first writings, Jacob builds a chair inscripting "Like Crazy" and they spend days in bed over the summer. As Ana's visa expires, the impending seperation scares them. In a moment of fear of seperation, she decides to extend her stay violating her visa terms which proves detrimental. Ana is stopped from entering to US when she returns back from UK and is deported.

Sometimes when you find someone that shakes your being, your initial reaction is to reject it. You do your best to get away from it as you are scared about your ability to handle that loss. As Ana and Jacob realize that it is hard being seperated, they decide to move on with their lives. Jacob finds Sam in his office while Ana dates her neighbour Simon. The bond that exists inside though is hard to rip it out. Both of them realize that out of sight is not out of mind. Drake Doremus brings out that subtle loneliness even though Jacob is surrounded by many people. Jacob gives in and calls Ana in London as they both run out of breaths seeing their inevitableness to be together. Jacob moves to London and they get married hoping their Visa issues will get resolved in six months.

Reality strikes the couple as their visa application goes in limbo. In the emotional battlefield of "together and not together", they succumb to the scars of loss and decide to seperate. Jacob gets back with Sam while Ana gets back with Simon. The compromises they make for convenience covers the wounds of their bonded souls. The movie ends on a whimper than a bang. Ana and Jacob do get together and you hope they can heal together.

Drake Doremus literally followed the characters with his handheld for this movie that gives an intimate uncinematic evolution of these protagonists. There is no set pieces that collide together in a climatic act 1,2 and 3. There is no big manipulating background score trying to accentuate the mood. Instead, it's all real and quiet, very much like the characters. Infact Anton and Felicity wrote most of their dialogues.

I am not too crazy about "Like Crazy" but i like it for it's courage to explore the concept of pain of seperatedness and in that respect, it achieves it's goal more or less.

As Ana says,"the wholeness was rather a luxurious idea. Because it's the halves that halve you in half. I didn't know, don't know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me."!

You will find your gory bits somewhere in it's ninety minutes!

Intertwined Interludes!

T'was a hollow wooden heart, strolling alone in Jungle,
Until picked up by a Princess, who poked perforated holes in it;

Arose a mellifluous melody, in his beat and her breath,
Forging an eternal song, swallowing time and distance;

New Rhythms everyday, dictated by her whims and skeptical brows,
Punctuated interludes, raised by her heaves and muted smiles;

As she retreated, to her dutiful Kingdom,
His punctured heart, lost it's freedom;

A World created in their symbiotic exchange,

Now holding their destined gift in silent estrange;

An unacknowledged truth masked in indifference,
Rising his doubt of their spiritual effervescence;

His universal balance exists in a song,
Held in her breath to whisper along!

Alone..Together!

                                 Fears alone,
                                           Stronger together;
                                 Tears alone,
                                           Laugher together,
                                 Thoughts alone,
                                           Silence together,
                                 Desires alone,
                                           Passions together,
                                 Constricted alone,
                                            Liberated together,

                                 Mind alone,

                                           Hearts together,
                                 Fog alone,
                                           Sunshine together,

                                 Cold alone,

                                           Warmth together,
                                 Battles alone,
                                            Peace together,
                                 Past alone,
                                            Futures together,
                                 Never alone,
                                            When we are together!

Warrior's Princess!

His Kingdom lost, in her piercing eyes,

Threatening his sanity, her beguiling smiles!

She sat in her throne , concealing her simmering core,

His Armor bore, the brunt’s of her ornamental adorn!

Her clanking bangles, speak a language of trust,

Far away must he be, to understand their beauty to nest!

Her dangling earrings, filter her wavering fantasies,

His cranky heart creaks, must labor these cascading realities!

An Earthly shiny ring, revolves her lifelong existence,

His fiery Sun ray, evolves as her eternal shadow for sustenance!

Toast to New Chapter!

In our short life history, every New year is a New chapter.

You are the hero/heroine of your life and you play several roles.

Every chapter involves some old characters, some new faces and sometimes new characteristics to old faces.

At the end of every chapter, you reflect on the various colors these surrounding characters bring to your life.

You never know if these characters will come with you in the next chapter, vanish forever or some old ones reappear unexpectedly.

Your journey continues knowing all you have is the present moment with them. All you control is the moment you are creating right now with them.

After all, the final chapter of our life is already predetermined.

Accepting that impermanence, releases us from the burden of "forever" and enables us to be with them "completely forever" in the moment!

The beginning of every new chapter is Hope.

Hope that your favourite characters remain in your life.

Hope that you march into your unknown story with love,patience and deeper understanding!

Hope that you evolve into a fuller, blossoming bundle of awareness for you and others around you!

The beginning of a year is a bookmark of your life that marks your triumphs, failures, disappointments, tender moments, intimate silences and indecisive paths!

Rejoice before you march on!

Remember before you move on!

Revive before you breathe fully!

Here's a toast to your next chapter!

Drink life, feel the spirit and indulge!