Little Sleep's-Head Sprouting Hair in the Moonlight

If one day it happens
you find yourself with someone you love
in a café at one end
of the Pont Mirabeau, at the zinc bar
where white wine stands in upward opening glasses,

and if you commit then, as we did, the error
of thinking,
one day all this will only be memory,

learn,
as you stand
at this end of the bridge which arcs,
from love, you think, into enduring love,
learn to reach deeper
into the sorrows
to come – to touch
the almost imaginary bones
under the face, to hear under the laughter
the wind crying across the black stones. Kiss
the mouth
which tells you, here,
here is the world. This mouth. This laughter. These temple bones.

The still undanced cadence of vanishing.

-- Galway Kinnell


Picked from "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

Movie Review : Mary & Max (2009)

Director : Adam Elliot

Genre: Animation, Dark Comedy, Drama

Cast : Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman

IMDb : 8.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Mary & Max is a claymation movie based on the lives of two pen friends, Mary, a lonely eight year old girl growing up in Melbourne suburbs and Max, an autistic 44 year old obese jew in New York. It's a dark comedy where two people living across continents become friends through letters. They have a lot in common as both love chocolate, enjoy watching a cartoon show called Noblets, and are without friends. 

Max is struggling with obesity, depression and Asperger's syndrome, while Mary suffers from neglect of her parents, and is teased by her peer group at school because of a birth mark on her forehead. They exchange letters (and chocolates) offering support and advice to each other and are brought closer by their isolation and adversities. Over the years we see a beautiful and complex friendship develop which goes through its ups and downs as the characters move ahead in their lives. 

Most of the movie is narrated by Barry Humphries, except the scenes where the characters read the letters. It is unique not only in terms of storytelling but also in the visual appeal, colour scheme and animation style. I doubt if the kids can enjoy the movie as the issues discussed are real life, and the witty narrative even though humorous has a dry gloomy tone. Throughout the movie I laughed a lot, as well as felt sad. A lot of wisdom is hidden in lines like the below one.

Max : [to Mary] Dr. Bernard Hazelhof said if I was on a desert island, then I would have to get used to my own company - just me and the coconuts. He said I would have to accept myself, my warts and all, and that we don't get to choose our warts. They are part of us and we have to live with them. We can, however, choose our friends, and I am glad I have chosen you.

This sweet tale of unlikely friendship is dark and grim, yet full of life. The movie took almost five years to complete and it shows in the great attention to detail in the way New York and Melbourne suburbs are depicted (I read it in the reviews by Americans and Australians). It's a refreshing departure from the usual Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar animation flicks and stands out because of its novelty and the depth of the story. 

प्रयत्न

आज इतिहास के विषय में कुछ सोच रहा था. याद कर रहा था कि दसवीं कक्षा में  इतिहास में क्या क्या पढ़ा था. सहसा  दिमाग़ में एक प्रश्न उठा कि syllabus को हिन्दी में क्या कहते है. पुरज़ोर कोशिश की लेकिन याददाश्त ने जवाब दे दिया. Google पर देखा तो याद आया कि syllabus का अनुवाद हिन्दी में "पाठ्यक्रम" होता है.

तभी ये एहसास हुआ कि अब मेरी हिन्दी काफ़ी कमज़ोर हो चली है जो बचपन में अच्छी हुआ करती थी. मेरे परिवार में अधिकांश लोग अच्छी हिन्दी बोलते हैं. इसका श्रेय मेरी दादी को जाता है जो हिन्दी की अध्यापिका थी. मैं बचपन में प्रेमचंद का साहित्य और हिन्दी के अख़बार काफ़ी पढ़ा करता था. स्कूल के अध्यापक कहा करते थे कि यदि हिन्दी सुधारनी है तो राजस्थान पत्रिका पढ़ो और अँग्रेज़ी सुधारनी है तो Times of India. इस बात को कोई 17-18 साल हो चले हैं.

आज न राजस्थान पत्रिका में अच्छी हिन्दी पढ़ने को मिलती है और न ही  Times of India में अच्छी अँग्रेज़ी. कुछ खिचड़ी सी लिखते हैं दोनों. बोलचाल की भाषा में भी अब हम अँग्रेज़ी का काफ़ी प्रयोग करते हैं और अच्छा हिन्दी साहित्य भी पढ़ने को नहीं मिलता.

इस साल कोशिश करूँगा कि कुछ किताबें हिन्दी की भी पढ़ूँ. प्रेमचंद के कुछ उपन्यास रह गये हैं , शिवानी की भी एक भी किताब नही पढ़ी है. आगे से इस blog पर थोड़े बहुत post हिन्दी में लिखूंगा. इसी बहाने  मेरी भाषा जो काफ़ी भ्रष्ट हो चली है, शायद थोड़ी सुधार जाए.