a theory of evolution, monsoon etc...

A group of apes that ate magic mushrooms began to think differently, their perception evolved, abstraction became a faculty of their mind, they created music, they began painting. They evolved and became human beings.

"What do you think?" I asked
"Possible" replied Parashu. Parashu was busy reading the mind of a girl who thought she was committing harakiri. I left him alone.

I could already smell the monsoon in the air. The spirit of my ancestors within me rejoiced. My genes react to the smell of rain. Today is 30 th of May. Yesterday, It had rained in Kochi i believe it is part of Kerala. Man always is trying to predict God's next move, but God is happily playing in the puddle.


trivia:
What is the difference between genius and stupidity?
Genius has limits- Albert Einstein

framed by the chruch

framed by the chruch
Originally uploaded by Parashu.

ruins of dhanushkodi 2

ruins of dhanushkodi 2
Originally uploaded by Parashu.

The ghost town...

dhanushkodi church in the ruins

dhanushkodi church ruins
Originally uploaded by Parashu.

old man and the sea

old man and the sea
Originally uploaded by Parashu.

At Dhanuskodi we met an old man. He told us stories about the ghost town on the beach. He told us about the houses, stations, warehouses, schools and church that the british had build. Amongst which the church was the only recogniseble structure. He pointed far into the sea taking our eyes to the place where once the house of president abdul kalam stood.

The wind was blowing in from the sea. Tiny particles of sand stunk our faces. But the old man struck a match and lit his beedi. The wind did not interupt him as though there was a pact between them. Afterall he was the only surviving member in the town that once was a busy trade center. His hamlet stood saperate from that of the fisher folks. The road that lead in and out of Dhanushkodi divided them...

josh with the cast

josh with the cast
Originally uploaded by Parashu.

Parashu and me went to along for the shoot of joshua newton's shortfilm. The location was danushkodi, near rameshwaram, tamil nadu. This place is the southern most tip of India, sri lanka is around 74 km from here. There was a thriving port town here till 1950, with railway station which had upto 6 trains coming in daily, that was supposed to be very busy station back then. Then, a tsunami like phenomenon took the entire town under the sea. Today only ruins of the town are seen here. and amongst the ruins, a church is the only recognisable structure. The finale of josh's film unfolds in this church of the ghost town.

Kingdom of heaven- Grey hero and white villian

The story has a stronger political and philosophical message, as opposed to the primal emotions of a wronged father in 'Gladiator'. Even though it is very timely given the political climate of the world, 'Kingdom of Heaven' will have lesser universal appeal.

Queen Sibylla "There will come a time when you wish that you had done a little evil for a greater good" Balian stood silent. Profound statement is wasted because the professed time does not come. After the surrender of Jerusalem to the army of Salaudin. Sibylla and Balian ride back to a little village in France and live happily ever after!! The film looks like it is edited out to cater to the box office demands. The duration looked like it was too small to tell the story the director really wanted to say. Especially the relationship between Balian and Sibylla looks incomplete and underdeveloped. Their on screen passion does not have proper build up. Hope we get to see the film from Ridley Scotts heart which would be possible if there is ever a director's cut.

The film does manage to break a few stereotypes. For one the people from the Middle East are portrayed as disciplined, belonging to a more advanced society than the Europeans who are mostly shown as crude and barbaric. Sallaudin is portrayed as a noble visionary general. This is the first time i have seen a villian with a halo portrayed in pure white, as opposed to the shades of grey on the hero.

Parashu liked the film. He is yet to recover from the sheer scale of production. (He has not seen 'Lord of the rings')