Magic Moments

This movie has attempted to delve into topics that perhaps not many bollywood movies had done before. Death of a family member and how the family deals with it. There is grief, guilt, people advising different things, a business going on for funeral rites and rituals, the hullabaloo and elaborate customs that make little sense to someone who has not seen or known it before. There is this underlying strife between religious customs and scientific logic. And the uninitiated youth of the family goes through a lot of emotional upheaval trying to make sense of it all. Coming to terms with the traditions, accepting that performing the rituals is someone’s form of solace, there might be an explanation that we do not know of yet, was shown deftly, and with kindness and compassion in the movie. They have handled emotions, as raw as grief, and confusion that comes with it so well. I have cried buckets during this movie, but I also loved it in its entirety, it is truly made with so much love. We

There is a demigod, who is a bit scary, but he has the forest people’s good interest. Some see him as the Varah avatar of Lord Vishnu. His statue, the rock that represents him and his ornaments are sacred to the people. They perform puja and pray to him for their wellbeing. He is their deity, their protector. He speaks through a performer who dresses up during an annual festival, paints his face, and dances to the beats of instruments and anklets. He speaks once a year and appears in dreams of the faithful. The high pitched sound that he makes gives goosebumps. There’s a riff between the forest officials, the tribals and the landlord. The story proceeds on the twist and turns, and how it is resolved. The message is strong at the end of the movie, telling us to value the forest - mother nature, and the people who live there and depend on the forest for their livelihood.  I love movies based on folktales, myths, and lores of past, local oral tales. Legends are so important in storytellin

The Bangalore Palace I have been in Bangalore for one year now, on and off, as we move to and fro from our hometown in Odisha.  I have access to the best restaurants and cuisine here. I tasted Mexican, Italian, Japanese and Korean along with Punjabi and Mughlai ones. Lip smacking goodness. And the interiors of these restaurants exude class and style and art like no other. I can take a bit from here and another tip from there for the interiors of my future home. Though there’s traffic, the street food here is from around the country, catering to most diverse palates. The theatres here show movies from several states, dubbed in Hindi and subtitles are always available in English. Recently I watched ‘Kantara’ - the latest Kannada movie phenomenon- and was bowled over by the talent of the actors, directors, cinematographers and script writers. We have access to so many varied cultures and storytelling from so many different regions. But it makes me think - I know not much of Odia folklore.