Get Out

Over the weekend, exhausted from work, I decided to go to my old addiction - to watch a movie in the theater. As I was tired, I decided to go to a movie with less crowd, so I skipped Indian flicks {No No, I didn't miss Raees - I saw it last week :)  as well as I skipped 'Lion' (said to be 6 academy award nominations). I walked in to see "Get Out".

It is more of a conceptual movie arguing that slavery never died from human history, and we continue to find new and veiled ways of slavery. Unfortunately, this movie is released at a time in the United States when the political environment is very toxic and polarized. (Or is it a deliberate move?).

Made behind the bias, discrimination, and prejudice of color, the movie portrays the insecurity of humans at both ends of the spectrum. Though written as Whites n Blacks conflict in present-day western societies, it tells us that it is very hard for any dominant majority to let go their dominance, and human minds continue to find unique ways to perpetuate mastery and to pass it to next generations.

From every time-period to every society in human history - the plague of racism, discrimination, and slavery is a constant menace. I enjoyed the movie.

See trailer (here) as well as NY Times 'Anatomy of Scene' (here) for this movie - you will get an idea

Links:
1. https://youtu.be/sRfnevzM9kQ
2. https://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/100000004951014/anatomy-of-a-scene-get-out.html

On Van Gogh's yellow effect

First time when I saw Van Gogh's famous painting "starry night" at the museum of modern art in NY city, I was perplexed with the use of yellow colors around stars. Later, I learned this has been questioned by many many people. If you see series of his paintings you will find the use of yellow color at unusual places like grass, wheatfield (his obsession), walls (cafe terrace and yellow house).


This yellow effect is more prominent in the year 1888 and somewhat till his suicide in 1890. This boggled analysts for many many years and many different theories have been proposed. Over years, I  read here and there about his paintings and being a physician, answer to his use of yellow color was very interesting to me.

Van Gogh suffered from a severe manic-depressive disease. He once self-mutilated his left ear, was admitted to an asylum, drew his self-portrait with the bandage over the mutilated ear as he unsuccessfully fought hard to understand and cure his disease and eventually committed suicide in 1890 (though some believe he was killed). Popular drug of the twentieth century to cure manic-depressive disease lithium was unavailable at his time and drug of choice was heart medicine digitalis (dig), as neurons respond in a similar fashion as myocardium to various drugs. It may be of interest to know that phenytoin (a drug for epilepsy) was initially invented as a heart medicine.

Digitalis has a unique side effect of producing yellowish hue in vision, and probability is that yellow effects in his paintings are due to 'dig', particularly at a specific time period of his life when he was very sick. It is documented that he was treated with digitalis.

For a long time, I wondered about colors of life in any human due to his disease state both in physiological and psychological terms. Also, effects of medicines and disease process itself to state of minds, as they carve all facets of human relationships, expressions, failures as well as successes.

Undekhi quwattoN ke ghere main

Insaan phir bhi, kaTherey main
(Despite surrounded by unseen forces, human still get judged)

Faheem Bhai-2

Faheem bhai (here) se koi das baras baad aik dam se mulaqat hui. Allah jaane kab woh dubai se america aaye, pata hi na chala. Bus 4/5 baras pehle kisi ne bataya tha ke un ke maazoor bete ka intaqal ho gaya hai.

Yun to Faheem bhai pehle hi bohat badal gaye the, magar ab ki baar aesa lage jese 10 baras main 100 baras ka safar te kiya hai. Burhape ki dehleez pe the. Apni umar se bohat ziyada zaeef dikhaii dete the

Main ne kaha: "Faheeb bhai, aap kitne badal gaye hain?" (shayed woh mera matlab samjh gaye)

UnhoN ne jawab diya: "Jab bete ko insaan apne haatoN se qabar main utare, aur saamne jawan beti ka bojh ho - to insaan aap hi buRha ho jaata hai".

On Illapa and Allah

'Aynar' meri zindagi ke un bure dino ka dost hai, jab main Pakistan se yahan aa ker residency dhundh raha tha. Woh 'Peru' se aaya tha. Meri us se mulaqat Miami main hui thi. 

(residency ki chutioN main us ke saath Peru ki pahaRion, gali kuchoN aur raastoN pe guzare un kuch dinoN pe aik post to banti hai - agar kabhi itna waqt mila - magar aaj uski aik baat, kisi wajah se bohat yaad aayi.)

Woh mujeh Spanish sikhane ki koshish kerta (is blog ka unwan 'Mi Vida Loca' usi ki yaadgar hai), aur ghanton apne mulk ke 'inca civilization' ki kahaniaN sunata rehta. 

Aik din kisi baat per 10 commandments ka zikar nikal kiya, to Aynar ne mujh se kaha: "Hamare buzurg kehte the, zindagi guzarne ke liye sirf 3 commandments kaafi hain
1. Chori na karo
2. Sust na bano
3. Jhoot na bolo

Aur ye 3 aehkaam, insaan ko 3 ilhami roshnioN se joRte hain
1. Mohhabbat (love)
2. Kaam (work) aur 
3. Daanish (wisdom)

Jab ilhami roshnioN ka zikar nikla to main ne use ayah Noor sunaii - to uski aankhon main aansoo aa gaye. Poochne laga: "sach bolo: kiya tum log apne Allah ko roshni (Noor) maante ho?" Jab main ne kaha: "Haan" - to kehne laga: "Kitni ajeeb baat hai - hamare roshnioN ke khuda ko hum Illapa ya Apu Illapu kehte hain, ye tumhare Allah se kitna milta hai", Phir us ne kaha; " Hamare buzurg kehte hain - saari kaainaat aur yun saare mazhab aik hi roshni se phute hain - bus rang, nasal, zaban, libas badal gaye hain. Shayed hamara Illapa aur tumhara Allah aik hi hai".

Hindsight of Twitter

Aristotle said: "Contemplation is the highest human activity."

Twitter did many harms to the human psychology (even not counting what it is doing to President Trump). In my eyes, the biggest drawback of being a twitter junkie is getting your attention span down to 144 characters. Everything i.e every thought, reaction, answer or pondering has become like a drive-through of a fast food restaurant. As we dipped down from voluminous novels to novelettes, and then from short stories to paragraphs and now to small sentences, we are fastly losing depth of our intuition, intellect, and wisdom.

I enjoy here and there funny comments and thoughts people leave on twitter but I hope people don't lose their ability to ponder long on meaningful thoughts in life.

A quote (agree?)

"It's no good trying to get rid of your own aloneness. You've got to stick to it all your life. Only at times, at times, the gap will be filled in. At times! But you have to wait for the times. Accept your own aloneness and stick to it, all your life. And then accept the times when the gap is filled in, when they come. But they've got to come. You can't force them."

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence*

*D.H. Lawrence died young at age of 45 but left deep imprints on English literature, though many of his ideas were inhumane and disgusting. He has a rare distinction of his novel (Lady Chatterley's Lover) going through court trial for publication after 30 years of his death! Not only his life was full of controversies but even his death was a story. Five years after his death, his body was exhumed, cremated and ashes were brought from Europe to America for burial at his favorite ranch and one time home in New Mexico.

Sab se BaRi Hijrat

(As I heard people talking about leaving USA due to recent political environment, I recalled decades old nasihat)

Hamare Khandan ne 40 baras ke arse main koi 3 dafa hijrat ki. 

Aik din main ne abba se kaha: "Abbu! Hijrat se ziyadat manhoos koi cheez nahi. Poora khandan barsoN peeche chala jaata hai. Sab kuch loot jaata hai"

Abbu ne baRi shafqat se mere sir pe haat pehra aur kaha: "Beta! aik baat yaad rakhna. Asal aur sab se baRi hijrat insaan ki gunahoN se neki ki taraf hoti hai, baqi sab zindagi ke yunhi muamlaat aur aazmaish hai"!

A quote

Zafar Chacha Urf "Chacha Chummu"

Jab hum school main the to gate ke bahir Zafar chacha bun-kabab ki rehRi lagate the aur aik rupe ka bun-kabab bechte the. Hame woh aik rupe bohat ziyada lagte the. Har 3/4 din baad paise bacha ke jab hum unki rehRi pe jaate aur aik rupiya dete to woh pehle us aik rupiye ki note ko chumte, aankhon se lagate aur bismillah keh ker apne dabbe main rakh lete aur hume bun-kabab bana ker thama dete.

Unki is adat ki wajah se unka naam hum ne 'chacha chummu' rakh diya. Kabhi kabhi hum bohat haste aur unki khub naqal utarte. Aik din hum sab ne unse poocha; 'Chacha ye aap note ko aese chum chum ke kiun dabbe main rakhte ho?' to unhoN ne jawab diya: 'BachhoN rizq Allah ki taraf se aata hai, uski izzat kerni chahiye'. - Hume samjh aaya na aaya, hum sab ne sir hila diya aur apne apne bun-kabab thaam ker rawana ho gaye.

Phir aik din woh bun-kabab sawa rupe ka ho gaya. Hum baRe satpataye ke ab amma se aur kitne jhoot bolain ge, magar zafar chacha kabhi aik rupe ya 5/10 paise kum main bhi bun-kabab de dete.

Schoool khatam huwa - duniya badal gai - credit card ka zamana gaya

Jab kuch mahinoN pehle India main 'demonitization' ka shor utha to mujeh zafar chacha bohat yaad aaye aur main sochne laga: - Allah jaane aaj ke dor main woh kiya kerte? kese apne rab ka shukar ada kerte?

Jab chacha zafar aik rupiye ki note ko aankhon se lagate the to na sirf apna rizq pakeezah ker lete the bulke hamare bun-kabab main bhi woh pakeezgi utar aati thi. 

Allah jane ab bhi hamare shehron ki saRakon ke kinare chacha zafar jese log hotae hain ya nahi? - jin ki sharafat, kasb-halali aur pakeezgi unke khanoN main utar aati hai.

RIP Banu Apa

Aaj Urdu ka bohat baRa hissa mar gaya - Banu Apa chali gayin

Thar ke tapte sehra main - 
neem ke peR ke neeche -
 paani ka jo thanda ghaRa hota hai na - 
Banu apa ki tehreeraiN us se bhi ziyada thandi chaun thi

Agar Banu apa "Raja Gidh" na likhtiN to Urdu kabhi balig na hoti

May All mighty bless her soul in eternal peace forever.

Related here and here

On "Handwriting"

In case if you are interested in study of signatures and handwriting, this is an interesting article to browse through

"presidential-signatures"

Link :: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/presidential-signatures/