So much for embarking on the journey of discovery of the Indian Constitution:P But I have an ego to protect; so, I say, someday, I will get back to it.
This blog is again to talk about some things that have made me think in the past few months. The first of them is a news item that occupied barely two square inches but I am happy it atleast made it to the front page amidst the usual Paris Hilton or Aishwarya Bachchan that day. It was about a school in Kerala-the so-called most literate state in India. Five students in that school belonging to class 2 and 3 were/are HIV positive. The reaction to this is that other parents refuse to send their wards to the school unless these children are prevented from coming. And eventually, that is exactly what happens-the HIV positive children stop coming to school. It is disheartening to note that the government has not been fully successful in its AIDS awareness programme. Of course, now the parents have heard of AIDS but do not know (or refuse to believe or acknowledge) that it does not spread via touch or air unlike infectious diseases. Note that the children belong to classes 2 and 3. So, the only way they could contract AIDS would be from their mothers (by birth) or from the use of infectious needles for say, vaccination. If the kids in question had been high schoolers like, say, in class 10 or 12, I would have suspected other sources of the AIDS infection-now, come on, let us stop trying to believe that kids are perfect saints and do not know anything about sex and stuff; it is high time we admitted that and did something effective about awareness. So, now the little kids of 2nd and 3rd class are subjected to discrimination and humiliation in their school when what they need most is emotional support. I would like to ask the cruel parents of the other kids what would they have done if their own children had been HIV positive? Abandon them? And at the time I would expect the government(state or central) to have gone all out to support the affected children, directing the institution/school to allow them or cancel its licence to send the message across clearly. It could also have used the opportunity to spread awareness. Instead there is resounding silence on this issue and the MPs and MLAs are busy condemning a vibrating condom as a sex toy which encourages sex! I had great belief in the media and at one point of time, wanted to become a journalist desperately. Unfortunately, they did not use their popularity for a good cause on this occasion in their thirst for 'scoops' and 'breaking news'. They could have garnered support easily for the affected children through a signature, email, SMS or candle light campaign, could have made the other parents well aware of how AIDS does not spread by air or touch and could have ensured the kids' education continued smoothly. Unfortunately, I guess all this would have been possible only if the kids had been celebrities themselves or had been children of popular people. They were simply not 'breaking news' material. So, ultimately, all the story warrants is a small space in the newspaper one day and from the next, we do not even hear of it and I do not know how this episode concluded. My prayers are with the HIV positive children and their families.
Okay, the blog has been depressing so far. So, lets talk about an amazing movie I saw recently. There was a Hindi lesson from school that I recollect which said that while it is right to condemn bad things, it is equally sinful if you do not openly appreciate good things. So, while I have been critical of many issues, this was one movie which I wholeheartedly felt like appreciating. Every scene from of the movie, 'Mozhi' was pure poetry on screen-the sets/art direction, the characters, the story, the music. The apartments of the hero especially and the heroine to some extent are so beautifully done up. Hats off to the creativity and thoughtfulness of the art director! While the hero's open, creative nature is brought out through his simply but elegantly done home, the heroine's introvert nature, the beauty of her loneliness and silence in her life are brought out by the dark colours in her home. While Jyothika received loads of appreciation for her 'farewell' movie role, I would grade the hero, Prithvi's performance much higher. The character is near perfect, I would say, caring, compassionate, responsible,lovable. In fact, he now joins my list of perfect husbands/boyfriends onscreen. The list already includes both Mohan and Karthik from Mouna Ragam, Raghuvaran from Anjali, Aravindswamy from Roja and Madhavan from Alaipayudhey. Hmm....what is it about heroes in Mani Ratnam movies?! Looks like the director and I mostly agree on what a good man should be like:) The story of Mozhi is simple but nicely rendered. No matter how many walls we build between ourselves and those around us, in the depths of our hearts, love and affection are what most (or all) of us yearn for. Though every scene was noteworthy, one of my favourites was the anti-climax when the hero goes to the heroine's home and tries to reason with her. Some bits of the dialogue-'sila samayam, sila vishayangalai nambi dhaan aaganum' (sometimes, you have to BELIEVE in certain things-his reasoning that he will not desert her like her father deserted her mother), 'un kannula vaazha aasai theriyardhu, vaazhndhu dhaan paaren,di' (I can see the longing to live in your eyes. Why can't you try living?) Sorry if the translation doesn't sound impressive but I was touched by them. While the comedy bit was a bit crass in some places, it did not take away from the beauty and pace of the movie. I feel annoyed when I now see the season's favourite songs I had put up in an earlier blog-many of them feel like trash now. The song, 'Kaatrin Mozhi' is my current favourite-lyrics, singer, music, all A+. I am contemplating adding this movie to my all-time favourite movies list which includes Baby's Day Out, Anand, Anjali and DDLJ right now.