Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 294
June 7, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #9
“Heat, inside the head
A lamp lit, now blazing fire
The skin seeks the bed
Just solace, not desire”
First few lines of poem number nine from ‘Death & Darker Realms’. Where do you seek refuge when your head feels heavy and the world seems a blurry mess?
For the full poem, you could get a copy of “Death & Darker Realms” on Amazon. It’s a collection of 40 poems dealing with themes like death, depression & dysfunctional relationships.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
June 6, 2020
Godzilla – God Sized Disaster
I just saw another horrible animated film. Why God? Why? Oh wait, I am an atheist. Damn. Maybe that’s why.
‘Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters’ is a 2017 computer animated film available on Netflix and is just part one of a series. It’s got no charm. No heart. The animation is pretty pathetic. And the titular villain is a huge ugly chunk of what looks like a bunch of graphite slabs slapped together.
The plot is simple – humans and a bunch of other species that resemble humans have been driven out of their planets because of monsters. Earth is the only planet remaining with a sustainable environment that hasn’t been destroyed but is uninhabitable because Godzilla either killed or chased out the last humans. A huge spaceship with the only humans left have been looking for alternate planets to live in for over 20 years.
With their resources depleting, and the spaceship several light years away from earth, some are convinced that they should just go back to the blue planet. Their best bet to living a normal life again could only be by killing Godzilla and taking back control of what was once their home.
Except for the last few minutes of heavy fighting that’s sort of interesting, the rest of the film is pretty blah. There is an overload of jargon. Not a sliver of humor. And definitely no likable characters. I finished watching the film 20 minutes back and cannot remember any name. And have lost my will to google stuff and work for this review.
So in short – you are probably better off without watching this God-sized disaster. Or our tastes might differ.
Death & Darker Realms #8
‘I wanted to live but found myself dying
And when I tried to smile
I found myself crying
There are those worse off, I hear people say
But to me the optimism had terribly failed’
There are the first five lines of poem number eight. And despite the despair in those lines, it’s not about suicide. Far from it.
Wrote this one in college.
I let my Kindle lie on a pile of clothes and didn’t try to make the picture pretty. Because life isn’t always aesthetically pleasing. Most times, it’s messier than we want it to be. And sometimes, we completely lose control. And when things come to that, we might as well learn to savour the chaos.
For the full poem, you could get a copy of “Death & Darker Realms” on Amazon. It’s a collection of 40 poems dealing with themes like death, depression & dysfunctional relationships.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
The drawing in the photo is an old scribble I made a few years back after watching an animated film.
June 5, 2020
The Imitation Game – Stream It
If you have not watched the 2014 film ‘The Imitation Game’, go to Netflix and get it off your check list.
Why the hell did I take so long to watch this film? Don’t Ask. Anyway…
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the protagonist, the brilliant British Mathematician Alan Turing, the man behind cracking the ‘Enigma’, a Nazi coding machine. His performance is powerfully cathartic. There are no residual traces of ‘Sherlock’ or ‘Doctor Strange’, he is simply Alan Turing in this film. Something very few actors achieve.
The film flits between the 1940s and early 1950s, like a puzzle that helps solve the enigma Turing himself was – an asocial prodigy who changed the course of one of the bloodiest wars mankind has ever seen.
The plot largely delves into Turing’s groundbreaking work during the war and fleetingly shows us what led to his eventual death. It’s tragic how his efforts were never recognized during his lifetime. Instead he was shamed & punished for being gay in the prudish British society of the 1950s.
I have nothing negative to say about the film, so I will keep it short. It’s perfectly paced, isn’t too sentimental and steers clear from all sorts of frills. Each member of the supporting cast is like an essential cog in the wheel. Kiara Knightley seems a little miscast as a mathematician but manages to pull of the role.
‘The Imitation Game’ was a thoroughly enjoyable fare and allows the viewer to truly appreciate the brief but brilliant life of a man who changed the course of war & possibly prevented millions of deaths. And it sure as hell makes you seethe with anger over the fact that thousands of men and women continue to be the target of in-explainable hate & bigotry due to their sexual preferences.
Death & Darker Realms #7
“I couldn’t pick a memory
Of the first time we cried
Over some silly trash film
And the tears we would hide
Each too proud to reveal
Our softer human side”
First six lines of poem number seven from ‘Death & Darker Realms’. Maybe the start sounds like a love poem. But it’s not. This poem is loosely inspired by my relationship with my maternal grandmother. And was written a year after her demise. My fondest memories of her involve watching horror movies by Ramsey brothers on the television in the 90s.
For the full poem, you could get a copy of “Death & Darker Realms” on Amazon. It’s a collection of 40 poems dealing with themes like death, depression & dysfunctional relationships.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
The drawing in the photo is an old scribble I made a few years back after watching an animated film.
June 4, 2020
‘Ni No Kuni’ – No No Kuni!
‘Ni No Kuni’ is a 2019 animated film, it’s available on Netflix, and should be added to your ‘don’t even think about watching it’ list. I don’t even know if I should bother doing a full review, since I’ve already wasted a significant amount of time watching this monstrosity of a film. Since it was on Netflix, I fast-forwarded a lot of bits. And I usually NEVER fast-forward an animated film.
Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, this film is about two friends Yu & Haru who find themselves transported to a different world, where dogs walk like men and wars are still fought with swords. Yu & Haru are on a quest to find their friend Kotona, who was stabbed and transported into the other world with them.
Despite being a fantasy movie, ‘Ni No Kuni’ is as bland as bland can be. The heroes have the ability to travel between two worlds, but even with two alternate universes, the script-writers couldn’t get creative.
The characters are too flat, the colors too loud and the pace is slower than a snail. I have trouble sleeping and never crash before one am. While watching this film at around 9 pm, with dinner, my head was bobbing drowsily. That’s how boooooooring this film is.
The makers resort to cliches and time-tested formulas & tropes that have been done to death. Nothing inspires wonder or awe. There are no real plot twists. Animated films that were made in the early nineties are far better than this.
Nothing, absolutely nothing can redeem this film. I would give it a 1/5 rating.
June 3, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #6
The other day, a friend and I were having a conversation on poetry and I asked her to give me feedback on “Death & Darker Realms”, my debut book.
“I can’t give you feedback. Poetry cannot be criticized,” she said solemnly.
“Don’t understand why people have so much problem with Rupi Kaur. Don’t like her poetry, don’t read her poetry,” she added.
Thing is, I couldn’t disagree with her. I have NEVER written a poetry review. Because they cannot be reviewed. Each reader has something different to infer from a poem. And the effect of poetry is a completely unique experience. If you don’t like it, maybe you just don’t get it. Or it’s simply not for you, but out there, it might touch someone else.
This is one of the reasons why I refused to name any of the poems in ‘Death & Darker Realms’. They are simply numbered #1, #2, #3 and so on. Because as soon as you name a poem, the title sort of defines it. You rob the reader from making their own inferences.
‘The stars shone down & then finally fell
Fall they did to a morose knell…”
They are just the first two lines of poem number six in the book. It’s one of the shorter and older ones; written in my late teens. I still remember showing it to my grandfather one late evening.
“What does it mean?” he asked after reading all of it.
I explained how the poem was inspired from folk-tales that believe we turn into starts after our deaths. But some of us are born again, doomed to live an unsatisfied life on earth. Again.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, please check out ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
Thappad – A Slap’s Story
‘Thappad’ is a 2020 Bollywood film directed by Anubhav Sinha, starring Tapsee Pannu in the lead role. When its trailer dropped on YouTube it made quite a stir. People were either outraged or impressed.
The film follows the story of Amrita, a sweet home-maker by choice, with a loving husband who is up for a promotion. The first few minutes present a happy montage of a married couple in love. Things take a u-turn when Amrita’s husband slaps her at a party for no fault of hers. That one slap triggers her to introspect her entire relationship. And she decides to file for a divorce.
‘I don’t love you anymore,’ she tells the husband.
Almost everybody in the film tries to convince her that it’s not reason enough to end a relationship. Even her lawyer. ‘Think it through, divorce proceedings can get really ugly,’ Amrita is warned.
‘Thappad’ is an important film, that forces us to introspect how we still live in a jarringly patriarchal society. Divorce continues to be a taboo subject in the country and most women are expected to just suck it up and make the marriage work.
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The film shows the viewer how women are belittled in unwitting little ways and worse yet – how women themselves are complicit in encouraging such behavior. “Shit happens. People move on,” Amrita’s husband tells her. Not once apologizing for the slap. But the slap is not longer the contention anymore. It’s only a tipping point, that helps her see through all the ways in which she had been undermined in the marriage.
The only problem with the film was that the makers tried to make the plot too complicated by squeezing in multiple stories. They had their heart in the right place, but it drags down the pace of the film and makes it boring in parts. Almost each character is unnecessarily given their own little story that comes off as too contrived.
Special mention to Kumud Mishra, the actor who played Amrita’s father, his character was brilliant. He is supportive of all her decisions, as long as she is sure of them.
While the editing could have been tighter, to make it a more compelling watch, ‘Thappad’ is definitely a recommendable film.
June 2, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #5
“Abandoned amid life
Bearing marks of strife
A structure in the middle
An unanswered riddle”
– First few lines from poem number five in ‘Death & Darker Realms’.
Was inspired to write this one after a late night walk in Delhi in 2018. When I was still a full-time broadcast journalist.
It’s funny how little things like our surroundings can trigger the urge to write. Like a rundown building in this case. I drew the little doodle off a graphic novel that I was reading for the picture.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, please check out ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
June 1, 2020
Hello Anxiety
Did you read my little random list of music recommendations? There’s a song in it called ‘Hello Anxiety’ by a Thai artist that I have been enamored with. Despite the grim title, it’s a fun song, with an upbeat disco vibe to it.
But anxiety isn’t fun, is it?
Absolutely not.
I had an anxiety-ridden weekend; the kind where you just don’t understand what in the freaking world is messing with your head.
‘What is everybody up to? I finally finished editing my book and have passed it on to someone else for proof-reading and basic editing. But I still feel anxious and stressed out’ I messaged in a group that has a few of my closest gal pals.
“Why? You should be celebrating,” one of them said.
See that’s the thing – even I don’t know why. I was really looking to relax and bask in the warmth of relief after having finished a major writing project. The reality was just not in sync with my expectations. Kind of like those reality versus expectation memes. Just not funny though.
When I told husband about how ‘down’ I felt for no tangible reason, he gave me a warm bear hug. Always a nice temporary solution.
And no, it’s nowhere close to that time of the month.
