Suyog Ketkar's Blog, page 13

The Name that Wasn’t

No voice, no noise.
No reflection of oneself.
No definition; none for assumption.
I am not myself.

Now here, now there.
I pity myself.
Now this, now that.
I am not myself.

Neither today nor tomorrow.
I can’t portray the inner self.
One’s thoughts, another’s actions.
I am not myself.

Neither from the rain
Nor from the draught.
From where do I then
Glean myself?

I am but a name
That tiny nothing
Neither more nor less.
I remain myself.
© Suyog Ketkar

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What Stops Me from Writing?

It is the fear of losing out—
The experience, that is—on the Present
That I sometimes
Stop myself from writing.

However, it is the boon of—
Heart, that is—self-belief
That I reserve as I
Get back to writing.

It is the fear of falling behind—
The dreaded race, that is—monies
That I sometimes
Stop myself from writing.

However, it is resorting to—
Karma, that is—calmness under pressure
That I fall back upon myself and
Get back to writing.

It is the fear of getting lost in—
Cluelessness, that is—the abundance of words
That I sometimes
Stop myself from writing.

However, It is the truth of—
Candid confessions, that is—life
That I seek, and thus,
Get back to writing.
© Suyog Ketkar

Micropoetry: The Wait is Over

Time flies, I would say.
Cuddles, and not Calls today;
My Princess comes back.

© Suyog Ketkar

The Call of the Pen

Perch, stop not
For you deserve much more
Rest for a while, and don’t
Stop until you reach a new shore.

Halt, break not
For you are destined to break more
Conversations otherwise unspoken.
Conversations, not a mere folklore.

Stand up, sit not
For you must explore much more
Than yourself, the limits of which
Won’t be decided today, not yore.

Pen down, digress not
For you must scribe much more
Than what’s beyond fantasy
Write what’s fathomable in only a lore.

Bring, deny not
For you have earned this
Glory beyond words what
Has always been Yours, for sure.
©Suyog Ketkar

Get Your Writing Space

“When I began writing, the first thing I did is I created a space where I could carry out my writing schedule every day.” I explained it exactly in those words when someone asked me about how it all began. But obviously, he wasn’t talking about the result of what I wrote, but the cause of it.

This happens to be one of the questions that keep popping every now and then. Writing is as much a part of my daily schedule as are the other activities, like breathing. At times, I sit to write. At times, it is writing that compels me to sit at one place. So much so that my daughter has begun to read and write only because she sees me do so.

And, that is why getting the right space for writing is so much important. It helps create the right rhythm. Your writing is a product of your writing groove—the style in which you sit to write. Your writing is, hence, a factor of how soon you discover the right writing space for yourself. If anything—other than that—it defines how you are as a writer.

My writing space is what it needs to be: my laptop; my work desk; a drink—usually hot—and silent, calm environment. This is why, I choose to write after my daughter is off to sleep or when I am done with my everyday tasks.

The space helps me determine a lot of things that have, at times, nothing to do with the result of my writing. The writing speed, for instance, is then a factor of how thoughtfully have I set up my writing space. There are challenge, too. For example, I usually refrain myself from using my smartphone when I write, but I cannot avoid using it.

But what makes up a writing space? Anything that helps you write, including the non-interconnected things like a window or a rain on the other side of it. Your writing space is your little world where words strike you. It is different for everyone; it should be. Your writing space defines you as much as it defines the work you do.

So, get that write space—yes, you read it right.

What Makes up a Good Novel?

A lot of people ask similar questions to me about writing. Most of them are clueless about where to begin. Some of them are clueless about how to end. And the remaining keep bothering about hitting a writer’s block even before they get to that point. And, while I busy myself with counting pages of my upcoming novel(s), I keep thinking if there were indeed a way to set up a good novel, what would I enlist as the top three things?

Allow me to delve this rather quickly.

A Big Idea

So long as you have a dream that doesn’t let you sleep, you are good to go. Similarly, so long as you have a plot that doesn’t seem to have an end, you are good to go as a writer.

How big should really a big idea be? The easy answer is: If you could figure out countless micro-plots between its beginning and its end, the plot is large enough.

I am of an increasingly believing belief that if the plot is quite simply explained in one line, why spend the rest of the pages of a book to reiterate it. I understand, toward the end, we all talk about feelings that can ultimately be summarized in a single word. For instance, love, togetherness, separation, sorrow, mindfulness, exasperation, devastation, despair, oneness, freedom, et al. Yet, logically speaking, if you don’t have a plot that’s big enough, you don’t need a book. Instead, create an article or a poem and have your readers enjoy it.

A Doable Deadline

Recently, I read an email advertisement that said: “Hurry! This is a deadline sale. It won’t be available tomorrow.” All I wish to say is that if you keep waiting to find time to write, you will never be able to make time to write. In the writing world, the souls don’t rest in peace, I say they rest only after the job is done.

[image error]Grantchester, UK (February, 2017)

A Sea of Emotions

Consider this: in a sea of emotions, readers wish to ride the waves of the story that flows up and down through the pages of your book. Your words set the sail for them. The gushes of your thoughts sail them through. Your expressions help them take deep dives into the writer’s thoughts. But, despite their sailing in a sea of emotions, the readers get drenched by only those emotions that move them the most.

In summary, a good novel must contain at least the three
points we discussed. There could be a lot more than just the three we listed. As
we end this conversation, I can only tell you to write for the reader; without
them, you are nothing.

Here’s Monsoon

When the heat burnt souls alive,
When the thirst to quench
Nothing but physical selves
Turned all choices but naïve,
When the harks went unheard-of
And everyone began to strive…

The boon served us with a downpour
That drenched us with happiness
Decorated our windows with
Invaluable pearls of joy unspeakable

And announced its arrival,
Much louder than it announced
The departure of despair and gloom…

Here’s monsoon.
©Suyog Ketkar

Be that Faith

Through the watery eyes that flow,
In the smoldering hearts that glow,
Be the faith you wish the world to sustain.

Through the darkest of nights,
In the glaring flaws appearing in daylight,
Let go of the fear. Let that belief remain.

Through the burgeoning dream you know,
In the countless hopes you sow,
Let the truth prevail. Falsity, never again.

Through despair have survived but few.
Be the one who comes out anew.
Let not the mind take over; that’s typical brain game.

For those who lament and shriek.
Reserve shoulders for those who are weak.
Let your life become a boon. Not a bane.

Through insanity you cannot be top gun.
Practicing Sang-Froid can make you but one.
Do that which is impossible; be sane.
©Suyog Ketkar

Flipside

Tears that trickled down

My cheeks, filling me with fear;

Tears that once tore me apart,

Convey my thoughts, too.

Fear, the feeling of which

Scared me to death;

Fear that led me to nothingness,

Wakes me up to new limits, too.

Death, the addressing of people as Late,

Made me think of “for what?”;

Death that once parted my loved ones,

Cracks up avenues for a new life, too.

Cracks, within emotions, that once

Filled me to grief,

Cracks that leaked emotions

Leak my inner sunshine, too.

Grief, which once scarred me,

Only Time will come to heal.

Grief, which I’ve come to see,

Brings me to peace, too.

Time that once was clueless,

Brought me down on my knees

Time, the all mighty, now

Tells my brave tales, too.

Oblivion, the existence of which

Bothered me of endless inexistence;

The search for it again,

Empowers me to pen my dreams, too.

Endlessness that once endorsed

Unwilling, untrue souls around me;

Endlessness that then knew no end,

Authors my tiny successes, too.

©Suyog Ketkar

Movie in Review: Blank

There is a one-word summary for the movie, which you can very-well guess from its name, but we will choose to delve. In a nutshell, I’d give the movie a handsome 2.5 stars. As always, a detailed review follows…

The movie begins with a promise. The promise that the movie will be:

Another movie on terrorism
Terrorism is an “organized”, full-fledged business of, well, those who do not have a religion
A lot of suspense revolves around the central plot, which isn’t blank (sorry for the pun)
There will be a happy ending (this one, I guessed)

Considering this list, at least, the movie delivers on all promises; yes, with a lot of hits and misses, which is what this post is about.

First, let us take a quick look at what I liked:

The story is guessable, except for the ending, the plot is but tried and the actors are good enough for their roles, except for the find of the movie : Karan Kapadia, who is the lead antagonist, sorry, the protagonist (spoiler alert!) of the movie. He is better at acting than many of those who have played roles in a dozen movies. He has rage in his eyes, which gives him the right intensity for the role. That is amazing for a newcomer. I’d like to see more of his work in 2019 and onwards.

Jameel Khan outshines Sunny Deol in the movie, barring one scene where they have their 1:1 for the first time. One dialogue from the Deol and you will know what timing is. It is impeccable. It is pure acting talent versus pure acting talent. And, sort of, a comfort zone for both actors who come out winners. For the rest of the movie, Sunny Deol is slouched and tired. But this has nothing to do with his election campaigns.

Ishita Dutta is all fine until her two sequences that take your breath away. First, her fight sequence with Karan, where even though he gets better of her, she makes her mark as a police officer. Second, toward the climax of the movie. The other actors have played their roles in proportion to the budget of the movie.

Don’t miss Akshay’s cameo after the movie ends. That’s a promotional song that connects threads from the movie. The music is thumping and is generally good.

A special mention for actors who aide Maqsood’s cause but aren’t mentioned on the Internet. We need to enlist the full cast so that such talent gets the limelight it deserves.

Now time for the misses:

The list is long, but I will keep it short. Please don’t go blank.

That’s what happens when you first tell that the antagonist has lost his memory. Then, the antagonist makes a fool out of you and of the polygraph test. Then, he surrenders to Maqsood (Jameel Khan is the real antagonist), who in just two magic tablets makes him spit the truth, which isn’t really the truth. But you know it only toward the end of the movie. Are you with me?

Then, the bomb squad chief who is also a doctor, an agent, an expert and can tell the difference between drugs and explosives by merely smelling the stuff. Yet, he isn’t that qualified enough to use the information from X-rays and scans to safely remove the bomb from Karan’s chest? Stay with me, this is important. But, what humbleness and modesty, doctor, for you still aren’t the lead of the movie.

The bomb connects to Karan’s heart. “The heart is the battery of the bomb”, yes you heard it right. If you disconnect, it will go off. If he dies, it will go off. I am not sure, but his heartbeat is shown in a digital screen, which neither breaks nor cracks despite his surviving a road accident and at least three fight sequences. I know exactly what I need as my phone’s screen now — but I digress. Then, in the last scene, you have Karan who quite effortlessly unplugs the bomb from his heart — doctor, you need to learn this from Karan.

Basically, the movie is a lot like A Wednesday in its plot in terms of what it earns for you toward the end, minus its excellence. Amongst the mediocre screenplay, and amidst the actors who have earned accolades with their talent, here is Karan who manages to outshine. But there is still hope. Because SS Dewan (Sunny Deol) will continue to do his duty and Hanif (Karan Kapadia) will continue to do his. Wait, what about Husna (Ishita)? Isn’t she the surprise factor? Does she resume her police duty? I am blank.