Life’s a laugh

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/leisure-writing/life%E2%80%99s-laugh-320A bunch of women, both family and friends, have just finished an elaborate luncheon party and settle down for tea and talks. So begins Embroideries, a delightfully wicked book that Marjane Satrapi has pulled out of her sleeve. And she wisely chooses the perfect scenario to tell her tale: Gossiping women.

From the virtues of opium, the conversation smoothly glides on to love, sex and the vagaries of men. And from there each women, including the writer, her mother, grandmother, her aunt and friends, goes on to narrate each other’s personal story, however embarrassing it is.

The snatches of conversation between these women is at times what you probably might have with one of your caring friends, but sometimes it feels as if you are at your gynaecologist’s, discussing your deepest secrets.

Grandma Satrapi is the wicked one of them all. A true-blue drama queen, she tells the most amazing secrets and makes the wittiest suggestions. (If you have read Persepolis I and II, her no-nonsense attitude is something you are already familiar with). Grandma Satrapi truly believes that “To speak behind others’ backs is the ventilator of the heart”.

As usual, Marjane Satrapi brings to the fore the contradicting nature of the Iranian society. While, on the one hand, women discuss plastic surgery for bodily enhancements, on the other, they still believe in “white” magic to get back their love! Throughout the novel, the writer beautifully describes a woman’s longing for love, her desire for liberation, and her regrets in life… In other words, she presents an insight into a woman’s mind.

Love them or hate them, but men feature prominently in the discussions of this bunch of spirited women. If it takes a “key” to get them back, so be it. If it takes a razor blade to prove virginity, so be it. They tell themselves earnestly: “We good wives pay for our own foolishness. We project everything onto our husbands. Men are aware of it and they exploit it.” But they end up having the last laugh — long and loud, they laugh at men’s stupidity. Says a woman, who went through breast augmentation so that her husband would not stray: “Of course this idiot doesn’t know that every time he kisses my breasts, it’s actually my ass he’s

kissing.”

Humour finds its way in every page and Grandma is best at it. “What’s MTV?” “The one with assholes who sing half naked?” But, although funny, Embroideries in a way proves that nothing has really changed for women. She is still the victim of the society. In one instance, a neighbour recounts her brief marriage to a wealthy emigrant who ran to Switzerland with all her wedding jewellery and then divorced her by mail. And a non-resident Iranian doesn't even care to show up for his wedding in Iran: The bride's parents place a framed photograph on the groom's seat at the wedding party! The bride joins her husband in London, only to discover that her husband is homosexual.

Despite the stark black-and-white drawings, the book keeps you hooked and prompts you to finish it in one sitting.

Talent hunt

This boy can speak 10 languages and he sells peacock feather fans to tourists. Truly, he has got the makings of a budding genius. This is India’s Got Talent and the boy features prominently in the promos of the show. After many crooners and hoofers shows, this first multi-performance entertainment programme has hogged the limelight. The fact that its judges Shekhar Kapur, Kirron Kher and Sonali Bendre keep stressing ‘Hunar hi winner hai’ may have spurred people to display their talents on the small screen.
Be it Britain or India, such shows always attract a huge audience. First aired on June 9, 2007, the format originated in Britain and is a part of the Got Talent series. Unlike other shows, age is not a barrier in this programme. The winner of each series would get to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of members of the British royal family, including the Queen. With no dearth of talent, India has come up with a desi version of the show. Of late, there have been many talent hunt contests on the internet. There may be no official data on it, but these shows are much more popular and easy to participate than TV shows. A person can even upload his video on youtube and get his 10 minutes of fame. Many small movie makers are also surviving by adopting this method. Some of them even have a huge fan following. Once my cousin danced at a birthday party, the guests were really impressed and told his mother that he should try to participate in Boogie Woogie. This happened about seven years ago. Today, my cousin is planning to become an engineer. The situation might have been radically different if he had been spotted today. A friend of mine wants her child to take part in talent shows as soon as she attains the minimum age for participation. Such shows are no longer considered a waste of time.http://www.mydigitalfc.com/blog/hunting-talent-549

Wish fulfilment

I was introduced to Sigmund Freud and The Interpretation of Dreams when I took up psychology for my graduate course. And, the most interesting of all his works was his research on dreams. Dreams, in Freud’s view, were all forms of “wish fulfilment” — attempts by the unconscious mind to resolve a conflict of some sort.
Wish fulfilment. Ah! How I wished I was an acclaimed ‘Bharatnatyam’ dancer! I once saw a dream of performing those impeccable moves in front of a packed audience. And, when I was learning to drive, I dreamt of a police-thief chase sequence (and I am not joking), where I was driving with extreme precision. Even the Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa, was touched by the power of dreams and he made film on them. He made Dreams, where there are overlapping themes and characters based on his actual dreams. Starting with two abstract dreams, about disappointments we face in life, the movie moved on to a dream about persistence paying off for people in adversity. Next, we see a haunting account of a commander’s return from World War II. This is followed by a beautiful and artistic look at Vincent Van Gogh and his artwork. Next, we see two scary dreams about the devastating effects of nuclear warfare. And finally, we see the perfect village. The film forces you to think over the order of the dreams and how brilliantly they can be made into a visual reality.
Dreams are not just about unfulfilled desires. You will find innumerable records in history, where scientists, musicians and artists have solved problems and created works of art inspired by their dreams. US president Abraham Lincoln dreamt of his assassination only a few days prior to his assassination. Even Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was inspired by a dream.
So, what if my husband dreamt of becoming a prime minister today? Dreams are “the royal road to the unconscious”, Freud said.

TGIF

Thanks God Its Friday

The Friday fever has lost its hotness. The excitement is gone. I mean who be part of that ‘first day first show race’. The better idea seems to be waiting for your friends, real or virtual, to give their views. It has been about five years I haven’t felt that excitement to chase the 10 pm deadline to catch a late night show on a Friday. There was a time I even went for movies like Aisha and Hero which bombed at the box office. But I liked them. If you, by any chance, miss all the hype and hoopla built around, you would hardly know when a movie comes and goes and includes all the humongous people working in it. India audience has now started rejecting the english movies as well. They are not in awe with them anymore. Nobody wants to see ‘every time same’ heros and wax-coated actresses. I mean I am sick of seeing those regular actresses with no substance. We have matured and movie makers should not take us lightly. The preconceived rules need to be changed. The once jhola-chapp writers are in demand and rehashing is no no. It’s a problem of scarcity.