UP above the "promise"

I generally love cartoon movies more so because half my childhood has been spent on reading about fairyland tales and watching animated characters. I blame them for turning me into a hardcore daydreamer and a hopeful romantic (practically hopeless though). I literally daydreamed to have a magic wand so that I could have a huge bin alike that of Uncle Scrooge with an exception of chocolates instead of money (now I’d prefer money..because it can get me chocolates..and clothes..and tickets to Hawaii :D). I wondered how Dora gets to travel the world being so young when I was not even allowed to go to the roof after 8 PM. Cartoons feed my fantasy mind. It makes me wonder on so many levels. They always have this magical element which I always wanted to be real. Yet they are so innocent and touch the dynamics of human life in such a beautiful and candid way.

I particularly love UP because of its sense of humor, spirit of adventure, innocent characters, musical score and a beautiful idea at the core. I remember when I first watched “UP”, I wept like a 4 year old. I think most of the people must have lost it on 2 particular scenes. First, the 2 minutes music sequence which summarized the love life of Mr. Carl Fredrickson. And second, when he finally gets to see the other part of the adventure book and gets heavy on his memories. I also wept when Russel indirectly told Mr. Fredrickson that his dad is not married to his mom anymore. Well movie gives u a lot of moments to let you shed your tears. The love of that 2 minutes musical seemed more beautiful and pure than that of “Romeo and Juliet”. I loved how the couple was totally satisfied with each other, like they didn’t care about any another company. I loved how they laughed with each other, helped each other. Loved how they held their hands and how they completed each other. But most of all I loved how Carl remembered his promise he made to his lady while they were just kids right till the end when he actually fulfills it. It was so naive and cute of a little girl demanding her new friend to cross his heart to complete her adventure. In practical world we’d forget the promises we made as kids. Heck we forget the promises we made just moments ago. But Carl remembered it. He didnt’t let his superficial practical maturity hamper with the innocent ideas of his mind. He went out of his way and energy to do that one thing for a person who is no more to complete the idea of their adventure. Though circumstances made him chose to protect Kevin but nonetheless the promise was fulfilled and he did put efforts (extra ordinary efforts). 

It made me shrink on the idea of promises. When someone gives you their word, you feel a sense of security. You can’t help but expect them to remain stuck with their words. It’s funny how we keep raising expectations of others with generally no intention of keeping them in memory.  When you marry you take vows. Does one even remember what they took oath for? If that is so there are billion people who take vows, break them and take them again..sometimes it’s a loop..sometimes it actually settles somewhere. Politicians and promises go together and we all know how that works out. The word loses its significance. Promises are for the one with conscience, they would mean nothing for the person with none of it. Can we complain? And even if we do, in reality will it forward any action or ignite one? You promised your kid to give a gizmo after a month. If you don't have any arrangement or some situation comes that renders you to provide kid with the toy, doesn't the whole principle of the promise fails? Doesn’t it fail when your friend or beloved says 'I'll be there for you' but many times they are nowhere around when you need them? Reasons could be many maybe you broke up with your beloved; maybe you are now ex-friends. But the point is, the word promise intrinsically is coming with its own terms and conditions. I do appreciate when someone promises and actually fulfills it. It is also appreciable when someone makes efforts to fulfill the promise or at least remember that they promised. But can it always be the case - I don't think so. So don’t shoot random arrows while promising. Promise when you mean it and more importantly keeping in mind that it’s a dynamic world and ever so dynamic time. Some words are too special to use it like a habit - 'love', 'beautiful' and 'promise'.

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AN INDIAN BAZAAR

1.       It’s chaotic.

Chaos is like a second name to an Indian bazaar. Not only is it full of people, it is also full of various other species like cows, dogs, cats, rats, pigeons, monkeys etc. stagnant in or moving from different directions. People giving way to holier than thou cow or hearing monkeys jump on a tin roof are some of the very clichéd imageries of  an Indian bazaar. With species coming from all directions, some running, some swinging, one better watch out their steps. It is all the noise and crowd in the midst of a narrow valley surrounded by old tarnished buildings and you standing in the middle of a land reaching everywhere.

2.       It’s music.

Maybe not your genre but music nonetheless. Shopkeepers will wave and call you from a block away, autos and bikes will reverberate, bicycles will keep clinking and your ears will become accustomed to the clattering sound. The sound of burning stove of a chai wallah, the whistling song from the guy in govinda alike attire, the argumentative bargains, the prayers at the nearby dargah(mosque) et al blends dramatically to generate a high end, dynamic and complex music score. Something that will make you move on it and move faster.

3.       It’s a vicious loop.

As soon as you start to believe that you’ve reached the end of bazaar, there you’d see this narrow lane going all the way down to a new market. One market leads to another and it is so beautifully connected that newbies would relate the experience with ‘walking in a maze’. Why wait for famous twin separator kumbh ka mela? If twins have to get lost, they can do so in our ever present Indian bazaars.

4.       It’s skillful.

Some of the best marketers, brand managers, cooks, artists, and designers reside here. Degree no bar, these guys have years and years of experience that makes them rarely falter in their profession. The tailors from big boutiques take up small projects in their area, the chai wallah or the street food vendor takes pride in quickly serving the big line of foodies at a small booth, the sculptors or the potters keep themselves occupied with all the work while displaying their creations at a humble store. Indian bazaars are full of people with oozing talent. They are confined to their roots but still manage to put strong faith in people who have seen them working there for ages. And talk about bargains! The bazaar runs parallel to it. Every shopkeeper knows on what price to sell and how!

5.       It’s a treasure hunt.

With so many options in a line, it is a bit of a treasure hunt to finally get what you desire. If a gol gappa booth (let’s say pandit gol gappa) gets famous for its delicacies, next day you’d see multiple number of booths with same name. And then the game starts. It is always good to keep picking clues from your fellow strollers as to which one is the real “pandit gol gappa wallah”. That’s not it; if you need to purchase bangles you’ll have 10 shops in line. Some lanes of bazaars are cheaper, some not so much. So if you want to get what you want at a reasonable price, you will have to dig in more.

6.       It’s delicious.

It is not uncommon for a bazaar to have its own famous eating joint. While a chai(tea) stall always remains shopkeeper’s gossip stop, a juice hawker or a street food vendor will always be flooded with hungry customers after all the tiresome shopping. These guys are angels in modest attire serving starving souls bereft of energy robbed by scorching sun. Some of these joints become so popular by word of mouth that they have “a must see certificate” in every traveler’s itinerary. For example – “khan chacha” of khan market, Delhi, “Lassiwala” of Jaipur etc. And yes! Don’t forget to have our favorite gol-gappas when strolling through bazaar, especially when in north.

7.       It’s an exercise.

Need to awake all your senses? Put them all onto use? Go have a little trip to the bazaar in prime time. So exercise no.1 – find a parking spot. You would most probably be driving in second gear(considering the rush) and if a holy cow or respected aunty walks right in front of you, don’t try to beep horn. Everyone is doing that. It is so mundane that it’s not audible. Wait for them to move a little away. Lesson learnt – patience! You would most probably find a parking spot blocks away from your destination. It encourages you to walk that helps in reducing blood pressure and improving endurance. When walking, watch your steps you might step on garbage while protecting yourself from a fast paced auto that sees every road as an empty highway. Then a man spits and you jump and look if all your belongings are safe. Extra alert alarms for women as the street is full of Romeos. To be true it is not really an exercise, its meditation… of a higher level.

8.       It’s colorful.

That is the most attractive feature of an Indian bazaar. It’s just too colorful, vibrant and kaleidoscopic. Notice how sarees are draped and neatly hung to the shop’s window or a showroom with mannequins decked up with the best of dresses shop has to offer. Kites during kite festival fill up the market with different colors and on the other hand artificial jewelry shops/stalls (especially for bangles) bring all the glitz to the streets. And during diwali, some bazaars in north like Jaipur are a treat to the vision. These bazaars are like a microcosm of India in general – a potpourri.

9.       It’s a no parking zone.

Whenever I do the silly mistake of driving in a bazaar, I recall the last lyrics of ‘Hotel California’ – “you can check out anytime but you can never leave”. And it is true. If you don’t learn the art of pushing through continuously, you might never leave this place…on time! Why do you think most of the people walk through bazaars? Because that’s all the space they have for the riders. They don’t let the vehicles to move, the vehicles don’t let people to budge. It’s an everlasting give and take war. And if you are too optimistic to hope for a parking space, you have my blessings. Parking space is for the lucky ones. Go test the luck meter today!

10.   It’s cheap.

If you loved something from Louis Vuitton and its purchase could have burned a hole in your pocket, then they say you can get exactly the same model at a much cheaper price with probably the same tag but not so much of same quality. Being economical is in nerves of Indians and hence bazaars can never go out of fashion for the very patriotic. Also these bazaars are famous for our favorite marketing game – “the bargain game” and we are excellent at it.

There comes a time

There comes a time when you start expecting intuitions to be true,

when you’ve cried to the extent of dry tears being a routine,

when the cynical you don’t fight with the hopeful you.

There comes a time when you start to accept the change,

because past never lived forever,

because you yourself aren’t anymore the same.

There comes a time when you start to enjoy the silence,

as the loud world isn’t reaching your ears,

as the still air makes much more sense.

There comes a time when you wear straight face,

when frowns go unattended,

when fake smile doesn’t radiate rays.

There comes a time when you don’t know who you are,

because you can’t forecast the future,

because the past seems to have gone too far.