Whatever Works

Yet another Woody Allen, Manhattan based, quirky film...... where he explores the irrational and absurd, and makes a meandering kind of story of it.

           

Boris Yellnikoff, a hardened cynic, actually full blown misogynist, played by Larry David, is a nuclear physicist, once nominated for the Nobel Prize. He's now divorced, retired....and spends all his time.....well,  just being a misogynist I guess.

As Allen often does, the movie starts with this group of friends in the middle of an intellectual discussion, this time on the paradoxes of life...like life is beautiful...yet, that it's miserable to see it wasted by humanity, yes, Boris' bitterness speaks. Larry David is amazing in the role.

Boris's marriage is interesting, interesting in a completely paradoxical way.....because, it seems like a perfect match, same interests, both highly intelligent, similar values......like he says...it was so perfect, he couldn't stand it. Hard to understand, even the wife doesn't get it, but that's what Boris feels, so he leaves.

And into that bitter world of his enters Melody St Ann Celestine, who is all that her name evokes...sweet, innocent, optimistic, naive, and lacking anything close to intelligence or intellectual.

Evan Rachel Wood, is convincing in the role, and through all that lack of intelligence which he is totally brazenly contemptuous of, she proposes marriage.  He's shocked and appalled and he's initially like, what can I give you except hypochondriasis, morbid fixations and misantropy? However apparently dumb, she has a mind of her own, and she sees greatness in him and in all her innocence wants him. And marry her he does. And it flows on till it does....till it reaches where he wants her and she moves on.

It's about whatever works, even if different things work at different times.

It's an Allen for sure...but I wouldn't put it at one of his best

Nisar Ahmed... and his Alfaaz

Nisar Ahmed..... the cab driver I happened to meet today.

I get in and say, "Lavelle road", and he's like "Madam ji. mujhe lavaleee road pata nahi hai". So I'm like..."Chaliye, mein dikathi hoon...naye ho kya aap yahaan?"

And that started off this beautiful conversation. He's like " Ji, bas paanch din huye mujhe taxi lekhe"

"Pehle kya karte the?"

"Mein bus chalarahatha...Bangalore se Pune"

"Arre wah, bus ke baad taxi? Kaise? Kaunsa acha lagtha hai?"

"Madam ji, bees saal bus chalaya...hindustan ka kona kona dekh chukha hoon"

"abhi, taxi mein traffic ki tho dikath hoti hai.......... par ghar ke baahar hawa kaane ka mauka miltha hai..........logon se mulaqaath karne ka mauka milta hai......... aur aap jaise behenji ke meete alfaaz sunne ka mauka milta hai"

By then I was floored, as you can imagine :)

Then it figures that his daughter is settled in Perth, Australia. His son is working in Dubai. His wife is headmistress of a school. He's been to Dubai for six months, stayed in Australia for an year, and then he's like..."Watan ki yaad agayi, aur bas chala aya".

"Paise ki kami nahi thi, maasha allah, par retirement ke baad, ghar baite baite bas sofa neeche chalagaya.......aathi hai tho driving, isiliye taxi shuru kiya hai."

I was like .." dhaag dene padegi aap ke sonch ki, mein tho badi kush hoon ki app ne jo soncha, woh kiya"

"Ghar mein kisi kho nahi pasand mera yeh taxi chalana, kehte hain 65 saal hogaye, abhi ghar me aaram kijiye........par batayiye madam ji, meri mann khi qwaish pura hota ghar bhaite?"

I liked him, and his urdu so much, that I was like, "aap ko sunthe sunthe, mujhe tho hyderabad ki yaad aagayi"

(for those who don't speak urdu, apologies, but this is more about the language itself, so not translating)

Ahmed bhai....nostalgia for hyderabad...... and some home sickness.....made this post

Ways to Win at Work

An nicely compiled list of (research based ) Ways to Win at work -2016, by Sarah Carmichael, senior editor at the Harvard Business Review

Do:

Be good and fast.

Praise your team often.

Be the boss stars love to work for.

Help your team be creative. Or at least execute better.

Take your vacation time.

Help people change.

Cultivate generosity.

Use your persuasive powers — in fact, paint a picture employees can believe in.

Make yourself immune to secondhand stress.

Relax, turn off your phone, and go to sleep. (And yes, it has to be OFF. Just hearing it buzz imposes a surprisingly heavy cognitive load.)

Brag about yourself (the right way). But also, underrate yourself. Because as it turns out, we’re not very self-aware, especially at work.

Believe your team is awesome: it will actually make them more awesome.

Don’t:

Confuse unhappiness with burnout.

Underestimate the importance of persistence to creativity.

Be a jerk to your jerk boss.

Take notes on your laptop.

Get fooled by a “truthy” chart.

Stifle curiosity inadvertently.

Fritter your power away.

Feel like an imposter.

Work so many hours…or expect your employees to.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

One of Woody Allen's beautiful, and brilliant ones. What Somerset Maugham does in writing, Allen does in celluloid. Digging into the depths of human nature, into the most seemingly ambivalent, irrational, intriguing spaces.....

He's made over 50 films in as many years...how amazing is that. He should be knighted or some such thing in my opinion. He's simply epic.

It's quirky, it's deep, it's honest.....he seems to pick some bold and hidden thoughts, and have them play out in reality. Offers no judgement, no solutions......just acceptance.....spontaneity all the way round.

Vicky and Cristina are two friends on a summer holiday to Barcelona. While they are the best of friends, and have similar outlooks and thoughts on almost everything, their attitude towards love is diametrically the opposite. Vicky likes her love safe and stable, while Cristina is searching for that wild and untameable romance.

During their holiday, they are approached by the oozing machismo, handsome Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) for a weekend out, a forthright and honest invite at a first meet, and while Vicky is suitably outraged, Cristina is game. Javier Bardem clearly has immense fun making the offer. They all go.

There's beautiful Barcelona and evolving relationships.

Then steps in the ex wife, Maria Elena, played by Penelope Cruz, an intense, temperamental art genius. It's then evident that Juan and her still share a deep love, yet there's tempestuous, almost violent fights all the time.

Penelope is full of oooomph (intended additional o's) and energy, and seems to just fill the screen with her presence. Scarlett J as Cristina, is good too..... she's after all a favorite, what else would I say (see).  There's also very interesting chemistry and attraction between Maria Elena and Cristina. 

As always, Allen seems to make anything close to normal pale into boring. Vicky's fiancee is this nice, settled, intelligent, fun loving guy..you know, all the makes of a perfect fit... but he just comes off as so passe when pitched against characters like the bohemian, artisty Juan, or the temperamental Maria Elena, or the passionate Cristina. 

And somewhere along, even the safe and stable Vicky can't resist the draw of this bunch, especially of Juan....and it only seems right .



It's an interesting menage a quatre, with it's crazy but fascinating dynamics. 

Barcelona, a very significant part of the film, renders itself as another seductive character to the story, especially countryside Barcelona, it's stunningly beautiful.

Strong recommendation to watch... witty, thought provoking, solidly unconventional.....all the way Allen.

The Last Three Steps

If you've seen 'Walk', you'd need no further context.

For those who haven't: There's one time that Philippe falls during his learning days, and that's when his mentor, Papa Rudy tells him ....

"You haven't finished until you've actually reached".

Apparently even statistics ( on tight rope walking) show that the most accidents happen during the last three steps.

It's all about the mental strength and focus....... and when one is almost there, it's somehow more typical or rather commonplace to slacken on the focus. 

I just experienced that first hand. There was this course that I was really keen on doing in January.

I'd done my spade work, lots of research and gotten in touch with the organization way back in October. After that I was relentless in my follow up. Never lost sight of it, had emails going, regular phone calls going, everything I needed to.

And finally when the course announcement came last week, I thought I'd get back to Bangalore ( I was in Pune) and respond. Which I did. And I got back a regret mail, as they had it on first-come-first -serve basis, and it was already full up.

It turned things topsy turvy for me. I had my next two years plan hinged on this course, as it was also a qualifier for a long term course I want to take up.

I couldn't believe that it had gone wrong like this. I kept asking myself what I'd done wrong. 

Sure, I can blame a skewed process, a disorganized system, an arrogant director, and all of that........ but at my end, I knew I'd let off at the last three steps.

Huge Huge lesson there. 

In this case it still turned out a happy ending.....I persisted, until I was a pain....but more than that, lady luck favored me....but I'll never ever again forget. Last three steps.....

Anam Cara

“A friend … awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.”

The Anam Cara is a Celtic notion of Soul Friend, and is brought out beautifully by John O 'Donohue, an Irish Poet and Philosopher.

                     

Some excerpts:

"In the Celtic tradition, one of the fascinating ideas is the idea of soul-love; and the old Gaelic term for this is Anam Cara.  With the Anam Cara you could share your inner-most self, your mind and your heart.....it was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an Anam Cara, your friendship cut across all convention, morality, and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of your soul.” 

It did not set limitations of space or time on the soul. .... it allows understanding to dawn, you are without mask or pretension.......  and understanding is precious. Where you are understood, you are at home. Understanding nourishes belonging. When you really feel understood, you feel free to release yourself into the trust and shelter of the other person’s soul… 

But being an anam cara requires of a purposeful presence — it asks that we show up with absolute integrity of intention. 

It altered the meaning of identity and perception... the world of your intellect takes on a new tenderness and compassion… You look and see and understand differently. Initially, this can be disruptive and awkward, but it gradually refines your sensibility and transforms your way of being in the world. 

The anam cara perspective is sublime because it permits us to enter this unity of ancient belonging."

Osho and New Years Resolutions

A friend sent me this.... saying..."Thought it would resonate with you so completely"

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Someone asked Osho: "If one were to make only one new year's resolution, what would you suggest?"

Osho said: "This, and only this can be the new year's resolution: I resolve never to make any new years resolutions because all resolutions are restrictions for the future. All resolutions are imprisonments. You decide today for tomorrow? You have destroyed tomorrow.

Allow the tomorrow to have it's own being. Let it come in it's own way! Let it bring it's own gifts.

"Resolution means you will allow only this and you will not allow that. Resolution is struggle. Resolution is ego. Resolution is saying 'I cannot live spontaneously". And if you cannot live spontaneously, you don't live at all- you only pretend.

So let only one resolution be there: I will never make any resolutions. Drop all resolutions! Let life be a natural spontaneity. The only golden rule is that there are no golden rules."

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I received this a day after I'd made my new year resolutions :). And it came with the message from a very very close friend ( Vishakha knows me real well ) stating  "I thought this would resonate with you so completely"

Do they contradict? Do they not add up? What would my reply to her be?

I had before me .....An Impression.....A Fact... and The Reality.

It took me a while to figure it out.....to figure out how they fit.

My resolutions were all about process....little ones, to put some discipline into areas I want to focus on.  Fitness, Habits, Focus areas and such. 

Spontaneity is a framework...an attitude

And that's when you realize that what is known of you, is primarily through your underlying attitude... and the net result......while what you see in yourself is primarily the process, as it's something that's always on. Each decision (however spontaneous) has behind it a lot of thought.....process...and sure, within ones own framework.

Interesting to sometimes see yourself through the eyes of others. It's still you. In fact, at times, maybe even more you. What say??