Representation matters

I actually find it difficult to recall my childhood but there are a few memories that are so vivid, that if by chance I happen to recall them, it is virtually like as if I am reliving those moments again. One of those memories include one afternoon in 1995 (when I was 5 or 6 years old), where I was watching "Lion King" on VCR tape.. I literally remember the feeling of my heart bursting (ok that's unscientific so let me put out my definition of it: the feeling of massive weight of all kinds of overwhelming emotions squeezing the heart so hard that it is virtually impossible to maintain composure ) when Mufasa (who is the main character's father) dies. I actually remember crying my eyes out for probably the first time ever over a movie. No animated movie till date ever had that effect on me again for 23 years the way Lion King did.

In March 2018, I watched "Coco" which is an animated film. The best way to describe what I felt about this movie is to say that I am just very thankful that I had no company while watching this film. Simply because it was that afternoon in 1995 all over again. Only this time I was a 28 year old sobbing and not a 5 year old. The film deals with the very relatable theme of how though family can drive you crazy sometimes, ultimately they are the ones who have your back no matter what. The climax scene of this film is supposedly one of Disney Pixar's finest moments in cinema. Personally, it was a "heart burst" moment for me. But other than the beautiful story, the grand visual spectacle, this film has this tremendously charming simplicity about it. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the setting of this film is a small town in Mexico.The smattering of phrases of Spanish like "Chamako" (meaning male friend) , "Aye Aye Aye muchacho" (meaning boy), the focus on the mexican custom of honouring ancestors, even the fact that the characters were Mexican and were pronouncing names like Del A Cruz, Hector, Miguel with that distinct accent and not in a way that we would see english speaking countries pronounce the same and most of all. It really struck me how used to we are to see characters of certain colour, accents in mainstream english movies. It actually is little wonder that while those of us who have exposure to english movies/cartoons/music etc can pronounce names prevalent in english speaking countries with relative ease, while we can't pronounce japanese or russian or french names easily

It's really great that Disney Pixar did such thorough research on Mexican traditions and customs that they gave no room to anyone to criticize the depiction of Mexican culture while opening the doors for the rest of the world to marvel at it.  Unsurprisingly, Coco won the Oscar for the best animated film in 2018. In his acceptance speech the Director of Coco - Lee Unkrich proclaimed the following, 

"With Coco we tried to take a step forward towards a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do. Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters."

Interestingly enough, Michelle Obama tweeted almost the exact same thing when Black Panther was released. I really can't help but wholly agree with the sentiment that representation matters. I myself liked Black Panther which possibly is the only all black cast movie that I have seen. Personally, my liking for the movie had more to do with the fact that I was amazed at the representation of the immensely strong and courageous female characters in the film.  Though I am not a big movie or sitcom buff, I have been a dedicated fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which has produced 19 superhero films from Iron Man to the recent Avengers Infinity War in the time span of 10 years. Superhero films almost always relegate women to secondary characters but it has really been heartening to see the evolution of female characters in the MCU. It is great for once to see female play such strong, substantive characters like ass kicking fighters like Valkyrie in Thor Raganorak, Okoye in Black Panther,  Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy and a formidable supervillan like Hella (played by the magnificent Cate Blanchett). I specially like the representation of Shurie who plays T'Challa's sister as a brilliant scientist in Black Panther and a very non glamorized Tilda Swinton who plays the character of Ancient One - Sorcerer Supreme of mystic arts  in Doctor Strange. 

This kind of representation in mainstream films helps removing stereotypes of sections of people who are generally represented in a very uni-dimensional way (if at all they are indeed represented), not taking into account the complexities and uniqueness inherently present in every human. There is a reason why I personally consider the representation of strong female characters in mainstream superhero MCU movies refreshing.  If you talk about coverage of women in the media, it almost always has to do with obsessive and nauseating coverage of what they wear in events like a celebrity wedding, or a Met Gala or a Cannes Film festival event. While there isn't technically anything wrong with covering that aspect, it feeds into the notion that appearance is the only aspect worth noticing and covering about a lady that ultimately permeates into shallow, stereotypical representations of women in pop culture which further influences a generation of young girls. Of course one might argue that there are so many films that pay worthy tributes to representation of women and various communities like LGBTQ, or communities of colour etc. However it really is important to note that it makes a hell of a lot of a difference when worldwide giant franchises with the clout and influence like Disney Pixar and now an MCU has, portrays sections of people with great responsibility and dignity. Just recently, the news came out that a victim of clerical sex abuse has said Pope Francis told him God made him gay and his sexuality “does not matter”. Agree with the guy or not, when you have the most influential head of a religion showing this kind of acceptance, this is when there is truly a hope of change in attitudes towards marginalized and stereotyped sections. Similarly it would be really great if all the media giants who have an immeasurable influence on pop culture reflect on their role. In this regard,  I think MCU has upped their game and, I for one really look forward to seeing their first central female superhero movie - Captain Marvel when it comes out next year...

Literature from 'Sherlock' TV series

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I        In the third season of the series Sherlock, based on the adventures of iconic detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. John Watson, there is a scene where Sherlock gives a best man's speech in honour of John Watson during the latter's wedding. Up to this point, Sherlock is depicted as a genius, condescending, socially awkward geek who doesn't much care about matters concerning the heart.  I really don't know how the speech writers did it but that speech that Sherlock finally delivers at John's wedding just knocks it out of the park. It is awkward, sarcastic, cringeworthy, hilarious, beautiful and moving all at the same time. The acting is flawless, not only by an impeccable Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Sherlock but also the expressions of the audience around him played by an incredible supporting cast. 

   As a person who is drawn to good quotes and expressive writing, I really do think this content of this speech is good literature which is why I preserve it in my blog so I can revisit the same whenever I feel like. I really do take this speech as possibly the best tribute possible to those friends who add so much of value, affection and meaning to people who are so guarded, reserved and feel like they don't belong. 

 "When John first broached the subject of being Best Man, I was confused. I confess at first I didn't realize he was asking me. When finally I understood, I expressed to him that I was both flattered and surprised.I explained to him that I had never expected this request and I was a little daunted in the face of it. I nonetheless promised that I'd do my very best to accomplish a task which, for me, was as demanding and difficult as any I'd ever contemplated. Additionally, I thanked him for the trust he placed in me and indicated that I was in some ways very close to being moved by it.It later transpired that I'd said none of this out loud. 

I'm afraid John, I can't congratulate you. All emotions and, in particular, love, stand opposed to the pure cold reason I hold above all things. A wedding is, in my considered opinion, nothing short of a celebration of all that is false and specious and irrational and sentimental in this ailing and morally compromised world. Today we honor the death watch people, that is the doom of our society and, in time one feels certain, our entire species.

But anyway, let's talk about John.

If I burden myself with a little help mate during my adventures it is not out of sentiment or caprice, it is that he has many fine qualities of his own that he has overlooked in his obsession with me. Indeed any reputation I have for mental acuity and sharpness comes in truth from the extraordinary contrast John so selflessly provides. It is a fact I believe brides tend to favor exceptionally plain bridesmaids for their big day. There is a certain analogy there I feel. And contrast is, after all, God's own plan to enhance the beauty of his creation. Or it would be if God were not a ludicrous fantasy designed to provide a career opportunity for the family idiot.

The point I'm trying to make is that I am the most unpleasant, rude, ignorant and all-round obnoxious arsehole that anyone could possibly have the misfortune to meet. I am dismissive of the virtuous, [He looks at the priest], unaware of the beautiful [He looks at the maid of honour] and uncomprehending in the face of the happy [He looks at Watson and Mary]. So if I didn't understand I was being asked to be best man, it is because I never expected to be anybody's best friend. And certainly not the best friend of the bravest and kindest and wisest human being I have ever had the good fortune of knowing.

 I am a ridiculous man, [John nods] redeemed only by the warmth and constancy of your friendship. But, as I am apparently you best friend, I cannot congratulate you on your choice of companion. Actually, now I can. [To Mary] Mary, when I say you deserve this man, it is the highest compliment of which I am capable.

John, you have endured war and injury and tragic loss - so sorry again about that last one - so know this; today you sit between the woman you have made your wife and the man you have saved. In short, the two people who love you most in all this world. And I know I speak for Mary as well when I say we will never let you down and we have a lifetime ahead to prove that."

Other quotes from Sherlock

1) 

John Watson: I've thought long and hard about what I want to say to you. These are prepared words, Mary. I've chosen these words with care.

Mary Watson: Okay.

John Watson: The problems of your past are your business. The problems of your future...are my privilege. That's all I have to say.

2)  

"Listen, I'm happy to play the fool for you. I will run along behind you like some halfwit, making you look clever, if that's what you need. But dear GOD ABOVE, YOU WILL hold yourself to a higher standard!"

3) 

“Taking You Own Life. Interesting Expression — Taking It From Who? Once It’s Over, It’s Not You Who’ll Miss It. Your Own Death Is Something That Happens To Everybody Else. Your Life Is Not Your Own. Keep Your Hands Off It.”

4) 

Watson to Mary:  I’m not that man you thought I was. I’m not that guy. I never could be. And that’s the point. That’s the whole point. 

The man you thought I was is the man I want to be.

Mary: Well then, John Watson, get the hell on with it…

Special pics Part 1

I am not on instagram, don't post many pics on other social media and I tend to be really callous about taking and storing good pics. I have lost some really good pics because of changing many phones and losing data on my laptop. But ultimately I realized that some pics are too special not to preserve. So I thought it would be wise to store a few select pics in my blog and add a brief description.

Trip to Kalga, Himachal Pradesh - June 2016

I have already placed this small, quaint, gorgeous village situated on the top of a hill/mountain on a huge pedestal in a post I wrote last year so I won't elaborate too much. This was where my friends and I stayed during our trip here.

Breathtaking view from the balcony of our cottage guesthouse. I think from the relaxed posture of my friends leg, one can only imagine what an amazingly chilled out trip this was.

The Beatles Ashram, Rishikesh - March 2016

This was really special for a couple of reasons. To say that the Beatles is incredibly special to me is an understatement. There was something about the Beatles ashram that was magical and I just can't place what. Probably just thought of the presence of the Fab 4 in a mystical land and to know that there were beatles fans around the world who had come here to pay tribute to their favourite band by making beautiful fan art, scribbling lyrics of the songs everywhere made me feel such a deep connect with them. (Mama and Papa, I don't mean to freak you out) but this was my first ever solo trip. It actually was an awesome experience because Rishikesh was such a bustling touristy place, that not even for one moment did I feel awkward or unsafe. Only in one instance, when I was all alone in the ashram, I really was hoping that someone would come so I could ask them to take a pic of me with the magnificent Beatles fan art as background. Sure enough 2 British ladies came and when I asked, one of them very happily took the second pic and I remember her beaming after she had taken the pic, saying, " The purple colour of your t-shirt is a really good contrast against the backdrop."

Star pics

The above pic was sent to me by Appu chacha - an awesome family member of mine who I highly respect and look up to. He had read my blog and I suppose, in response to one of my posts, sent me this pic saying that he thought I might like it. Truth is I love it and I couldn't stop staring at it for a really long time. He told me it is an anti poaching camp he had been to in the middle of a jungle 25 kms from the Gudalur district of Tamil Nadu. The Indian landscape really is a majestic wonder!

There really is so much of thrash on Facebook. But sometimes, if you are lucky, you stumble across some absolute gems. This pic was posted by someone I knew long ago in my childhood. The source is European Southern Observatory. Would you take a look at that? It's just jaw dropping. 

Mental illness and leadership

I came across a article the other day whose main theme was how mental illness can actually be an asset where leadership was involved.

While it sounds quite controversial, the article logically spoke about how people with mental illness i.e. people with depression, bipolar disorder (I do not remember the other quoted illnesses) exhibit the following traits:- empathy, creativity, realism and resilience.

Going one by one, where I am penning down my interpretation of the article as I remember it - 

1) Empathy: When you have experienced the feeling of hitting a prolonged rock bottom, plunging the lowest of lows, it definitely is more likely that you understand a person's suffering even if that person or the circumstance he/she is in is miles different from yours. And I think especially if a depressed person has experienced compassion from others during that period, he/she is much more likely to try and help a person in a similar circumstance knowing full well what it feels like to be down in the gutter and more importantly knowing how even  small gesture of kindness is enough to prevent a person from falling over the edge 

2) Creativity: Anyone can look at the best artistes in the world to know that is true. I think the best songs especially on sad themes like heart break is when you her a musician play and you kind of sense that the person is not just strumming an instrument or singing into a mic but just bleeding his/her heart out. These are the kind of performances that can move one to tears. When pain can manifest itself in such powerful self expression, the world is definitely better off and I sincerely hope the artiste is better off as well.

3) Realism: I think this point is best illustrated with examples as mentioned in the article. Winston Churchill was prone to severe bouts of depression to the point that he could not even get out of bed. Further more, a lot of the times, he had suicidal tendencies. So much so, he would avoid balconies or high altitudes. Because of his perspective of not seeing things through rose tinted glasses all the time, he was the only person during the rise of the Nazis could see the kind of threat  it really posed to the Allied powers and the stability of the world. It is said that it was he was the one who insisted on going into the war although his whole cabinet was against the decision. Similarly Abraham Lincoln who suffered depression also oversaw the Civil War with a great sense of reality. The author of the article argues that mental illness is actually an asset during times of crisis for a leader because the leader is able to discern the situation as it is and doesn't have the tendency to look away from inconvenient facts or facts that the leader doesn't like.

4) Resilience: 'I have seen my greatest enemy. And he lies within me' I guess people really tend to underestimate what it feels like when you are in constant war with yourself. I am not sure whether one manages to ever defeat their inner demons but one can manage to live above them. This process of trying to conquer yourself is possibly the most exhausting and difficult thing to do and it is a life long process but I suppose this battle builds up resilience and mental strength

Ultimately, what  I found most interesting was the conclusion of the article where it said that mental illness should not be a disqualifying trait for a hiring a person in a leadership role. 

Interesting insights from the book - 'The subtle art of not giving a ****'

Recently a couple of very close friends gifted me a few books. One of them was the book - "The subtle art of not giving a ****" by Mark Manson. I think other than life experiences, some books have this extraordinary capability of subtly changing your trail of thinking. I would probably say that this is one of those books for me. My structure for this post is I am going to pen down one of the most incredible anecdotes I have read ever from this book followed by a list of insights I gained from this book.

PART I - TALE OF 2 MUSICIANS

In one of the anecdotes in this book, the career trajectories of 2 musicians who were chucked out unceremoniously from their band are traced.

a) A guitarist named Dave Mustaine belonging to a band who had just signed on a record deal was out of the blue, chucked out of the band without any explanation allegedly because of excessive drinking and drug problems. The guy on his bus ride home vowed that he would form his own band which would be so much greater than the band that he was chucked out of and would teach his former wretched bandmates a lesson with his success. True to his word, he became really famous and successful with his heavy metal named named Megadeth. However the band that he got chucked out of was Metallica which is considered one of the greatest rock bands in music history.

b) The drummer of the Beatles initially was not Ringo Starr. They started out with a drummer known as Pete Best. Pete Best was talented and incredibly good looking. It turns out that John and Paul in particular were jealous of Pete especially because of the female adulation he received and in 1962 asked their manager to chuck him out of the band (so effin horribly petty I know!). And their manager after some hesitation just asked him to leave. After beatlemania engulfed Britain in 1963 and the US in 1964, Pete Best was understandably depressed, took to drinking, failed in his other musical ventures and almost committed suicide in 1968 only to be stopped by his mother.

So 2 vastly divergent career paths for 2 musicians who were dealt an unfortunate deck of cards right at the start of a very promising career. But this is where the story gets really interesting.

In 2003 Dave Mustaine in a deeply personal interview gets teary eyed and states that despite the fame he got, he S-T-I-L-L feels like an utter failure because he feels that at the end of the day, he will always be the guy who got chucked out of Metallica

In sheer contrast, Pete Best in an interview states that he is happier than what he would have probably been had he still been with the Beatles. He explains that the circumstances that he found himself after his firing lead him to his wife and children - a stable and very happy family life. He still got to tour across Europe as a drummer playing for different bands so he still got to do what he loved. The only thing  he missed out on was intense fame and adulation but what he had gained instead was much more meaningful to him.

The book argues that the metrics you choose to judge your life with and your underlying values determine how you cope after a devastating setback and ultimately how you lead your life. Dave Mustaine's metric on how he judged his life (whether he knew it or not) was whether he was more successful than Metallica or not an by that count he was a failure.

It really is interesting to ask yourself - would you rather be a Pete Best or a Dave Mustaine?

Personally I know that my younger version would have rather been a Dave Mustaine. But now it repulses me to think of having hate and revenge as your prime motivators of success and even when you work that hard to achieve it, you still are not at peace and are filled with self loathing. I take this is as a sign of growing up But I do know that a lot of people would not be comfortable with the idea of being a metamorphic Pete Best as well especially those who have burning ambition to achieve the highest levels of success/fame and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But what I believe is crucially important is to be brutally honest to yourself as to what values matter to you and with which you would want to judge yourself and others. And as far as possible, make sure those values are not shallow and superficial values. Most importantly accept those values/metrics which give you peace of mind. Otherwise you end up like a Dave Mustaine still bitter and unhappy.

At the end of the day, not all things in life that you think you want out of life are worth the importance and investment in emotion you give them. Choose wisely what what you want those things to be.

PART TWO - INSIGHTS FROM THE BOOK

1) Action is most times a cause and not an effect of motivation. Do something

2) Pain, regrets, rejection, loss, failures  suffering and death are an inevitable part of life. Nobody is immune to these and is entitled to feel good and positive all the time. Life is lived by engaging with and not avoiding negative experiences.

3) Happiness comes from solving problems and is a constant work in progress

4) Problems and their severity of it are not unique to you. If you have a problem chances are millions have and face them.  Responsibility to solve them lies with you and this is what builds up emotional resilience

5) Be more accepting of lying in the middle of the normal curve of life and not  feel the need for claiming entitlement by lying on extreme ends of it

6) Be aware of your own mortality. This will give perspective whether what you are stressing so much about really matters so much in the grand scheme of things

7) Desire to avoid conflict, confrontation and rejection is a subtle form of entitlement because of the need to feel great all the time by avoiding hurting yourself and others

8) Indifferent is the worst thing you can be. There is a name for a person who finds no emotion or meaning in anything - a psychopath

9) Emotional healthy relationships are those where people support each other to solve their own shit. Nobody can or should 'save' you and you can't or shouldn't take responsibility for anybody's problems. The pain of confrontation leads to greater trust and respect in truly healthy relationships.

Penning this down really drills into me some very valuable truths to be accepted about life. My hope is that I or any person reading this can adopt some of these learnings in the practical sense.

My most cherished #20yearsofHarryPotter moment

The ‘Harry Potter’ book series has been and probably will remain my all time favourite book. I read somewhere that it was the publishing world’s answer to the Beatles. I couldn’t agree more.

The first book – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was published on June 26^th 1997. So all the HP fans were going ballistic few days back on social media with the #20yearsof HarryPotter hashtag where everyone was sharing their favourite Harry Potter ‘moment’ from their childhood.

Mind you, I think Harry Potter is a very deep and profound book. But if I talk about my favourite memory associated with the book, there is a standout memory and oddly enough it has to do with one of the most innocuous passages of the first book in the 7 part series.

The context of this particular paragraph that I am referring to is that Harry Potter is attending his first ever day at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he listens to the Headmaster (the eternal and evergreen Albus Dumbledore) addressing his students before the commencement of a new academic year.

“Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there."Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words.

And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is he -- a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

For some reason, as a kid, the above passage just had me in splits and Every. Single. Time. I would think about it, I would burst out laughing.

I read this book first in the year 2000 as a 10 year old. If I remember right, my dad had bought the first 3 books for me during my summer vacation. During that time, my granddad had been hospitalized for a brief period. We used to visit him in the hospital regularly and I would spend some time with him. My granddad was the most erudite, intellectual and smartest person I have ever known in my life till date. Even in his old age, he remembered word to word poetry and plot lines of books which he had read during his child hood!

One of the days, after I had read a considerable portion of the first book of Harry Potter, and when I visited him in the hospital, I could barely contain myself and told him very excitedly, “You know Appacha, there is this famous children’s book called Harry Potter these days and I am reading it and it is sooooo funny. “

Talking about the paragraph that I have quoted in the beginning, which at that point was hilariously and painfully amusing to me – I went on animatedly, “In this book, you won’t believe, when a 11 year old boy Harry Potter attends his school for the first time and his headmaster addresses the students, the headmaster HAS ONLY 4 WORDS TO SAY - NITWIT, BLUBBER, ODDMENT, TWEAK!!”

“What does that mean?”, he questioned probably genuinely shocked and concerned what a modern day children’s book was teaching kids 2 generations below than his.

“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s nonsense….. In fact even Harry Potter thinks that the headmaster is mad”, I said and burst out laughing.

Then suddenly, I saw my granddad (who had all kinds of drips/needles poked into his body) roar with laughter after ages. I think the both of us laughed together for a good few minutes till we were light headed. And then he proceeded to passionately tell me about his Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie books he had read as a child. 

Even as a kid, I could make out how something as small as me uttering some gibberish words of a Harry Potter book miraculously brought a bit of cheer to him (even if it was just for a short while) at a time when he was in such pain.  I look back at this beautiful grandfather – granddaughter moment almost 2 decades old with great fondness and affection and this by far will always be my favourite #20yearsofHarryPotter moment.

Of magical moments in life

In the movie, 'La La Land', which is otherwise an annoyingly overrated movie (I have faced the wrath from a couple of really good friends who are huge fans of the movie for saying this), there is one scene in my opinion which is easily the best scene of the movie. The setting is when the main female lead (Emma Stone) is walking kinda dejectedly, alone on an empty street in the night. She suddenly stops when out of nowhere she hears a captivatingly melancholic tune play out from a piano. She gets drawn to the source of the music and enters a restaurant/club/bar where she discovers the pianist (Ryan Ghosling's character) playing the piano and she just stands there transfixed as she watches him play. I generally consider myself adequately competent in expressing myself when I write but in that moment of the scene, it is just virtually impossible for me to do justice to describe that expression on her face as she hears and watches him play that music. It is clear that the tune has a deeply moving effect on her like she is under some spell and even after he is done, she just continues to stare at the pianist in stunned silence (kudos to Emma Stone for emoting this so brilliantly and at the end of the day she was rewarded with an Oscar for this movie). It is such a simple moment but so magical.

_________________________________________________________________________________

23rd and 24th June 2016

 “You know when I went trekking in a nearby area of the place where we are going to, the sky was so clear that I could see the Milky Way!!”, claimed a friend of mine who from teen-hood has always had this amazing knack of knowing exactly the right thing to say to make me hyper excited about anything she thinks I would look forward to.

I tried desperately hard to be calm and measured in my response - “You’re joking right?! Don’t do this ok….don’t build my expectations so much with your exaggerations!”

“Nooo! Even if not the Milky Way you probably will see more stars than you have in your life. Seriously!”, she exclaimed responding to my incredulous look.

The context of the above conversation was when 3 close pals and I were enroute to a remote place in Himachal Pradesh named Kalga for a getaway from city life for a couple of days exactly one year back. And I gotta say…despite not being a real great fan of the mountains, that place was one of the most breathtaking I have even seen in my life. It was pristine, green and untouched by commercialism. We were putting up at a guesthouse in that area which was literally in the middle of a forest with a spectacular view of the mountains. The best part was that as we had reached on a weekday, we had the whole of the cottage guesthouse where we were staying to ourselves

But well as pretentious this may sound, the thing I was looking forward to the most was star gazing at night.  Lord knows what it is with some people and stars! Maybe its the whole ‘we are such a tiny speck in such an enormous multiverse’ thing. Or maybe it just something as uncomplicated as liking twinkly, glittery and blingey things.  Truth is that being a resident of some pretty polluted cities, I have never actually seen a sky clear enough to be dotted with stars. The only time I really recall seeing a gorgeous night sky was when I was a kid and visited my native place during one of my summer vacations but I guess even that place has become quite polluted now ‘cause I never saw that sight again ever since. So I thought this was my best opportunity – a high altitude, secluded and a virtually pollution-free village situated randomly among the Himalayas to see a crystal clear sky. So by the time the night rolled in, literally every 15 minutes, I would stick my head outside the terrace and check the sky. And frankly, the only thing I could observe was one or two stars playing peek-a-boo in the sky. “I see more than this in the sky of the most polluted city on the earth where we live” I whined  to my friend who had gotten me excited about this whole aspect in the first place. “Well our bad luck that it’s a bit cloudy today .Maybe tomorrow will be better” she said sounding apologetic. Any way after a point I think I gave up gazing outside and after making a mental note to not overhype any personal expectations in the future, I turned my attention to the excellent surroundings, food, drinks, music and company for the remainder of the night.

The next day which was a Friday, we had an extraordinary day where we trekked most of the day and by the time we returned to the guest house in the evening, we were pretty exhausted and were looking forward to cap what had till now been a PERFECT day with a quiet, chilled out night like the one we had previously. To our annoyance, when we came back, there were 2 (or more) big gangs of college kids who had hogged the common dining space which we had entire ownership of the previous day and who more less took control of the music playlist. I can become quite a grouch especially when the music I am listening to is completely opposite to my taste and so as the night progressed, the constant loud chatter from those kids and the irritating music got to my nerves (god I am old!) and I just took off, leaving alone from my friends group to our room and, as an attempt to better my mood, made a last ditch effort to look skywards from our room window. "The last night in this place and still no goddamn stars.", I muttered to myself when the sky view exactly like the preceding night managed to disappoint me. I proceeded to lie down and try to go to sleep. I think an hour or so must have passed and it had reached beyond midnight before I realized what an ungrateful brat I was being for sulking for the silliest of reasons and not being with the people with whom I had spent one of the most incredible days of my life discounting the final few hours of the day. I decided rejoin my friends who at that point still had not come to the room. 

<Now as this is a one year old memory, the exact sequence of events from this point are a little hazy so I reproduce them to the best of my memory.>

When I got out of the room, I saw 2 of them still sitting in the common area and was going to rejoin them when I heard my name being called...I turned to see from the balcony, my 3rd friend calling me from just outside the cottage. "What on earth are you doin---" I started saying a bit confused. "Come down fast and call the other 2 ...", she responded urgently. I called my other 2 friends and the 3 of us went down just outside the house to join our friend who had called us. Even in the dark I could make out the excitement on her face and then she pointed upwards. We all looked up.

And there it was.

A clear clear sky filled with stars....... It was a setting where 4 friends were huddled together on a wooden bench in a small clearing just outside a cottage guesthouse surrounded by thick intense greenery under a dark sky full of stars at I think at about one am in the night, For most part, we were gazing upwards. I don't remember the conversation that probably went  on for at least an hour. But I do remember that warmth, that camaraderie , that feeling of utter contentment. As more time passed, the sky grew darker and the stars grew so bright that now it was virtually impossible to look anywhere besides skyward, Suddenly ...out of the blue...out of nowhere, the biggest, brightest most dazzling and in my case the only SHOOTING star I have ever seen just whizzed passed us.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH", we all gasped loudly. This breathtaking moment was succeeded by a moment of comedy of sorts.

"What? Where? What just happened? yelled one of my friends frantically. 

The rest of us pounced on her with flabbergasted variations of Oh my dear god!Wtf? Wth? You missed it?....you missed THAT sight? How tf ? Whats the matter with you? ...........and even till today, we give her a hard time on how she managed to miss THAT shooting star. Amazingly enough, even after that massive shooting star graced us with its fleeting presence, there was a trail of more shooting stars which followed it albeit much smaller. 

"A wave of intense happiness washed over me, and I told myself to carry this moment as a talisman of a time in my life when I was both truly content and lucky enough to realize it."

I guess the above quote describes best what I felt in that moment. I guess a lot of times, we fail to really enjoy the moment as it truly deserves to be savored and then when we look back, then we realize that in hindsight what a moment it really was. But there are those rare moments where you are just fully 100% consciously present totally and absolutely aware that what you are experiencing is magic or something very close ....whether it is being completely struck paralyzed by a piece of music or star gazing lost in the mountains with close pals. Best part is I guess beauty of life lies in the simplest of moments. 

Probably, the above 2 moments I have listed in this post sound over-dramatized or over-romanticized but there is absolutely no way...no darn way I could ever ever ever, even when I look back after 50 years, over-dramatize or over-romanticize what I felt on that trip in a June night of 2016. On the contrary, even if I exert my most powerful vocabulary skills, any word/s would fall short of the sense of wonder I truly felt that day. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) not all the most superior moments in life can be captured on camera....but they get captured in your memories... and in the heart. An sometimes, in addition, they get captured flimsily in a post like this....to serve as a reminder if or when reminding is ever needed that no matter what changes - whether the people, whether the surroundings or anything else for that matter, magical moments in the past and the happiness associated with them never change and more importantly that there will be countless moments like these that are yet to be lived in a lifetime.