Ravana's Strategy Room and the Invisible Battle -Part 1

Chapter 1 : The Dark Lord's Desperate Gambit : 

As the war between Rama and Ravana raged on, the fate of Lanka hung in the balance. Ravana, his eyes blazing with fury, summoned his most trusted advisors to the strategy room.

"नेतुर्हृदयं क्षमामयं, विद्वेषेण न विद्वेषिणः" (Neturhṛdayaṃ kṣamāmayaṃ, videṣeṇa na videṣiṇaḥ) - Valmiki Ramayana, 3.42.15

(A leader's heart is full of forgiveness, not malice.)

But Ravana's heart was far from forgiving. His mind was consumed by a burning desire for victory, no matter the cost.

"My son Indrajith, with your invincible powers, we will crush Rama's army!" Ravana declared, his voice dripping with venom.

Indrajith, his eyes gleaming with confidence, replied: "Father, I will not rest until Rama's head is at my feet!"

As they spoke, the sound of drums and war cries echoed outside. Lakshmana, Rama's brave brother, clashed with Indrajith on the battlefield. The air was filled with the scent of blood and sweat.

"भावग्राही विजानाति, सर्वभूतेषु भावतः" (Bhāvagrāhī vijānāti, sarvabhūṭeṣu bhāvataḥ) - Valmiki Ramayana, 5.35.40

(One who understands emotions knows all beings.)

But Indrajith's emotions were a raging storm, driving him to unleash his full fury upon Lakshmana. The younger warrior stumbled back, his defenses breached.

Vibhishana, Ravana's brother, and Hanuman rushed to Lakshmana's aid, their faces set with determination.

"संयुक्ता ये न विजानाति, विनश्यन्ति महाजनाः" (Sanyuktā ye na vijānāti, vinaśyanti mahājanāḥ) - Valmiki Ramayana, 4.20.30

(Those who do not unite will perish.)

Together, they managed to retreat, but the battle was far from over. Ravana's army pressed on, fueled by their dark lord's unyielding ambition.

As night fell, Rama's army regrouped, their hearts heavy with the weight of their losses. But they refused to yield.

"आत्मवान् विजायते युद्धे, विद्वेषेण न विद्वेषिणः" (Ātmavān vijāyate yuddhe, videṣeṇa na videṣiṇaḥ) - Valmiki Ramayana, 3.33.20

(The self-controlled one wins battles, not through malice.)

The stage was set for the final showdown. Would Rama's courage and conviction prevail, or would Ravana's darkness consume them all? The fate of Lanka, and the future of the world, hung in the balance.

To be continued 

Malik - Symphony of different shades of life - A different perspective to a Godfather or a Nayagan

 Its the coming of age of Malayalam movies in the past one year where they have taken the Digital platforms with a storm .

Be it the narrative in Mammootty's "One" or those simple emotions in Boban's "Nizhal" and then comes the masterpience - A classic for the decade made with flawless performance and screenplay in the coming of age narrative in Fahadh Faasil's  Malik.

 Malik is a drama with shades of castism ,politics and the Malik who is a Massiah of the masses .So whats different then!? Even Nayagan showed the sameand so did the God father trilogy .

Malik takes you through a a very similar  journey and with the same intensity as the earlier movies and hence worth a watch. It is a melencholy you just don't want to miss!

It is always those subtle moments that gets remembered for a long time and that's what this Mahesh Narayanan saga does.

Don't compare it any other movie and watch it for the actors and  especially  Faasil who excels in all the stages of his charecter.

Like the moment when Kamal Hassan's grandson asks him in a scene in Nayagan , whether he is good or bad,   so is a scene between   Faasil and his  nephew in the movie where is a sense of done it all ,seen it all but not sure of right or wrong in the expression of Faasil.

These are stellar scenes that any actor would be waiting to perform and showcase .

The background music is such an integral part of the movie.At 2 and half hours its a long but not so tireing move .

Each director has a way of telling the story or the philosophy of good and bad and here is one story telling which made me write a review for a movie whose language I don't understand and have to watch in subtitles.

Such is the power of storytelling .I might still be in favour of the Mani Ratnam classic or Al Pacino trilogy but you just cannot take away this epic attempt and ignore the way with which the story of  Ramadapally is narrated.

And its on Amazon prime for viewers to watch !

Will be back with "Life As It Is" with yet another story another day.

Till then for all my readers -Stay safe 

Innovating through the art of story telling with "Fearless Humility" with Classic Movies -When to move on !

Thank you all for being part of my 10 year journey as a Blogger -from a Beginner to a better than before blogger and for your encouragement !  

Its always those little moments in life, that one special moment that makes it worth to remember. 

Storytelling is all about capturing those fine moments .We also see a pattern of Woman as a Protagonist with some of these fine moments as well .

For a person who who has seen 90's as a kid and saw DD1 and DD2 days to the OTT days ! its a big change when we see things like "Binge Watching" a series ,accessibility to movies @ your finger tips .Yes innovations keep happening and every decade brings with itself a change which changes your lifestyle.

Would have loved to see a Bimal Roy or a Guru Dutt  ,K Balandar ,Puttana Kanagal or a Shankar Nag create a series on an OTT platform ! 

These are story tellers par excellence who touched Humanity with Hope and with all Humility ! 

Their Storytelling was way ahead of time .Something corporate innovators need to learn .and so does the startups .

"Fearless Humility" is what makes them special .The disowning of his accomplishments by the protagonists  in the climax of a Pyaasa is what made it special .

An inspiration from "Bicycle Thieves" which became a "Do Bhiga Zameen"  is still remembered for the challenge the protagonist accepts to race . Legendary screenplay definitely leaves an impact even on a stone hearted person ! 

Back closer to my home there was always a "Puttanna Kanagal" and a "K Balachandar" who thrived on 

telling the future with their power storytelling.

Be it a "Sindhu Bhairavi"  or  "Vamsha Vruksha" there is a pattern to the story telling which connects across generations .

Woman as a Protagonist, Raising from the point of no return, Being consistent with the narrative - Sorry this is not a business class ! but yes we have lot to learn from them .

Once in a while there comes a Mani Ratnam and a Rajamouli who picks up from our epics and tells the same story in a way that creates the WOW factor .

They have taught us that innovation can also be repackaging the old with your imaginations.

Something that the startups need to learn as well.There is a method to get inspired from an idea and not just copying and creating replica of apps ! 

Storytelling has different dimensions to it  : 

1. Bandhini a movie based on a Bengali Novel  explores the human conflicts of love and hate intertwined in the mind of Kalyani (Protagonist)is a fantastic example of how you could handle an ecosystem .Its all in the mind  !

2. Taxi Driver of Martin Scorsese is a classic example of keeping it simple,Understanding your audience and giving them what they could like 

I dont think any of these storytellers did market research in those days  ! 

3. Mani Ratnam was an artist who knew how to retell a Mahabharata or a Ramayana not as a whole but with selective characters in different movies. This teaches you don't use all your ammunition at one shot  ! 

You should create a good roadmap ! 

4. Finally how can i not talk about "Bangarada Manushaya" ! .The best thing is you should know when you dont belong to a place and when to move on .The climax scene of the move with Legendary Kannada Actor Dr Raj Kumar  just teaches you that.

 In Gist - Getting the pulse of narrating a story is extremely important - be it movies or business.

Business or Studios which wont innovate and change directions when needed cannot stand the test of time.

As always let me end with this personal favorite of mine  translated to English for ease of global readers !

      

                 To stray about and tire. To beg and feed oneself.

                 To brag and act in conceit. To simper and fawn.

                 To wilt and whine; to be furious; to be miserable:

                 What is this living but a child's antic! --Mankuthimma

                             As always ! 

                                          Life As it Is in its 10th year of its journey continues

SPB : A phenomenon of consistency

As I tweeted today every news channel had to play on the background his own song for his farewell -variety across decades.

We have grown up ,so has our parents listening to him. 

SPB has been a part of our lives for a very long time and as always you miss the person when he is not there .

In a way he bridged the north south divide through his voice.

NTR to MGR to Rajini and Kamal -He was their voice and for so many after them .

But for me he was the voice of Ilayaraja in Tamil and Telugu and of Hamsalekha in Kannada .

Combine this with a Mani Ratnam movie .

These are rare combinations to find .

Can we imagine a Mouna ragam or A Shankarabharanam or even a Maine Pyar Kiya or Hum Aapke Hai Kaun without a SPB.

SPB for me was beyond the legendary voice. 

He was humility personified .

A man who openly gave way with humility  his podium position and declared that it will hinder chances for the youngsters and encouraged film industry to give  opportunities for youngsters.

How many of them are stars of today .

His work ethics are in itself a legend.

His friendliness with his contemporaries like another legend Yesudas in itself a story to 

Revere. 

Average of 2 songs a day from 1966 -this is impeccable consistent performance which even he dodnt probabily notice viz he worshipped music and enjoyed it .

This doesn't count the concerts etc though !

Life is too short to get distracted by the noise my

Good friend told today.

He is right :

Let me pick my favourites of SPB across languages .Go close your eyes and listen -

There is no better way of finding peace in yourself as well !

You have 40K to listen in a lifetime anyways 

1. "Mannilinda  Kadhalandril"  With SPB himself as Hero 

2. "Mandram Vanthe "  A Mani Ratnam classic 

3.  "Roja Janeman"  Rehman Mani Ratnam and SPB combo

4. " Aayara Nilave Vaa"  - MGR at his Best

5.  Any song from Shankarabharanam or Annamaya movie

6. Ananth Nag Lakshmi duet songs

7. Noorondu Nenapu and Bhoomi Bannada Buguri - He was voice of Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan

8.Pavadisu Paramatma -A song from Srinivasa Kalyana -

9. Salman Khan songs of early 90's

10. SPB  Ilayaraj combo for  Kamal and  Rajini 

Here are my top 10 any day !

List yours in the comments ! 

And when it rains in Bangalore and you are having a filter coffee on a sunday morning 

Do listen to 

Naguva Nayana ...

Life as it is goes and the legend moves on ...

At the epicenter of a nation in Motion - Maha Parva of choices

The last line of the poem “Invictus” (the Latin word meaning victorious) by English poet William Ernest Henley reads “I am the master of my fate.” Henley was a man who greatly believed that no matter what life threw at him, he was going to make a choice steer his destiny in the direction he wanted ,similarly any civilization or nation has to make those choices and its the future generations which will bear the benefits or consequences of the same.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation in 1933 over radio an entire nation listened and followed its leader for over an decade - be it war or a financial depression.

Its a choice a country makes or its citizens and so we have a choice to make in less than a year.

The next few chapters are a pre text to the story of country in motion book - A clinical perspective of contemporary and mythological characters and instances

In this chapter of  Maha Parva  we look at few characters of epic Mahabharata and their contemporary comparison and context

1. What if Bheeshma had not taken the vow of lifelong Brahmacharya

2. What if Kunti had revealed the secret of Karna ?

3. What if king Dhritarashtra had followed Dharma and stopped his beloved son from taking the wrong path 

and the list goes on ....

its all about choices you make which pivots the direction in which the story goes ...


People have conditions and reasoning for the choices they make .Bheeshma did it in the name of love for his father and nation ,Kunti in the name of   protecting her dignity .


The consequences has to be faced by them and sometimes by the next generations.


In the great Epic it ended with the "Silence of a War"

As Krishna says to Arjuna " He is a fool who practises truth without knowing the difference between truth and falsehood"


Mahatma Gandhi was one contemporary World leader who was effective in making his choices .
His dream of a large scale socio political reform where every body shared concern for the poor before a country gets its Independence is one such case .Weather it became a reality is anybody's guess but idea is still in the right perspective .

That is  what successful nations and civilizations do - uplift the poor which starts with a concern for the same.

Its all about the small choices we make and not all of us make great things but can we do those small things with great love as the great Mother told ...

Karna in Mahabharata is one enigma who did this but again,was his life difficulties Karna's choice?

lets talk about this in the next chapter of Maha Parva !

till then

ಸುರಪಸಭೆಯಲಿ ಗಾಧಿಸುತ ವಸಿಷ್ಠ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆ ।
ಧರೆಯೊಳದರಿಂ ಹರಿಶ್ಚಂದ್ರಂಗೆ ತಪನೆ ।।
ಬರುವುದಿಂತೆತ್ತಣಿನೊ ಬೇಡದ ಪ್ರಾರಬ್ಧ ।
ಕರುಮಗತಿ ಕೃತ್ರಿಮವೊ ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ।।


                     --- The way of Karma is devious indeed

Tampering the GentleMan's Game -Not being a " Stitha Pragna"

A person who maintain's his balance in the sorrowful situation and also happy situations and the one who is not affected by desire ,jealousy  etc is called "Stitha Pragna" according to Bhagavad Geeta and I  draw parallel's to the Gentlemen's game where  it is all about witnessing the character shown by individuals along with their skill set .

When Former Prime Minister of Australia once said Australian Cricked Team Captain is the most important person in Australia it says a lot of how people Down Under take their cricket.

The Ball Tampering was a  very minor topic in the bigger scheme of scandals and fixing allegations that goes around in Cricket .
But the point was not about Ball Tampering this time around but about a Australian Cricket Captain revered as the next Sir Don Bradman being at the center of controversy .

What was expected of Steve Smith was to show some qualities of "Stitha Pragna" .He is good enough to come back in a year's time ,his tears will definitely melt hearts in Australia but this will be a scar that will be part of his career .

Probably Steve Smith never was destined to be a Sir Don Bradman or have a Dravid  like career.

Dravid was an epitome of  what the GentleMan's game was all about be it winning or losing  .Records are made to be broken and forgotten too.But it is the way you have carried your career that will stand the test of time.

Desire to win is less important than the way you win.Hope to see Steve Smith right in time for 2019 WC ! Cricket Australia has got the timing right this time too !


                 There is a dignity attached to winning a game or losing it .
                                         Either ways ....
                                                                    Life As It Is ...
                                                                                         Continues !!!
                                                                                                                                 pavan

Marichike !

ನೀ ಕಂಡ ಕನಸಿಗೆ ನಾ ಮರೀಚಿಕೆ ಯಾದೆ

ನಿನ್ನ ಹೃದಯದ ಬೆಳಕಿಗೆ ನಾ ಬಿಂಬವಾಡೇ

ನನ್ನ ಜೀವದ ಉಸಿರಿಗೆ ನೀ ನಂದಾ ದೀಪವಾದೀ

ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಪವನ್ 😝