There is No charge for Awesomeness

Kungfu Panda over Lance Armstrong – Hope vs Dope

And once again, the world tries to appear shocked, disappointed and angered. While NDTV 24X7 and CNN were busy showing the great fall from grace of legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong, HBO aired Kungfu Panda.  And I guess after all the mudslinging contests that have eclipsed the daily news in the Kejriwals, the Khurshids and the miserably overgrown childish fancies of the Kings of Good Times... the only thing worthwhile on TV this week was Kungfu Panda. 

Po, the Dragon Warrior

I love animation movies. They just bring in such hope, the Disney’s and the Pixar’s and the Dreamworks’. Lance Armstrong has long been a real life “Dragon warrior” for most of my generation. A man who could beat cancer and came back to world sport finishing with an ecliptic record of seven Tour de-France titles was always a figure of “the power of will” among us youth. The man who created the mantra of “live strong” was all but strong in his own life. Alas, once they fall, even humpty dumpty could never be put together by any amount of horses of men- and we know that one since nursery.  

Somehow I just have a special corner for Kungfu Panda. Maybe I am just a big overgrown girlie myself and I like my teddy bears the most, or just perhaps because Po- portrays the stereotypical Loser image- is relatable (ok, go ahead and laugh asking me if I look at myself as a loser, but if you grow a brain you’ll see what I mean about stereotypes and presumptions). At least I can relate more to him than the rich brats of Student of the Year, who by the way, just like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, are never seen studying in their schools. Better worth for money seem the virtual creations these days that make an attempt to break some sort of stereotype as opposed to glorifying the tried-tested-stale and wasted love-wala-triangle and ishq-wala-love concepts.

Po's father - Mr. Ping - The noodle wala

Po never loses his humour even when he is the butt of all jokes throughout the movie. And he manages to show what most real-life idols keep failing to live up to. That good does win, and will does have power and destiny always “flies in the face of logic and science”, as my uncle once put it.

I mean Po- the Panda still believes in and loves the biologically anomalous father that he has in the rooster. Do we see such transcendental love in the real times? Or how about the fact that the creature is huge on the outside and so adorably cuddly on the inside, like all idol-worshiping teenagers? Let us take a minute to acknowledge how the mockery of a kung fu warrior refuses to give up after being made a fool of countless times, after being annihilated in combat by all its fellow trainees, even after being humiliated for his size, his wit, his eating habits, his hygene or his very presence that only earns rejection and anger from his teacher- Master Shifu- who calls out to him as 

Master Shifu and Po - at his sucky best

“there is now, a new Level zero.”

I, for one, can recite the dialogues alongside the movie like subtitles. When master Oogway says to a disbelieving Po who runs scared of his destiny well aware of his incapacity to fulfil the title of the Dragon Warrior, he says, “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.” Apply that to life and maybe all that mist and haze we pass through along the way will all just clear up. Running is never the solution.

Or how about the line, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” You’ll want to take life as it comes. Each day that you live makes sense if you like what you do, because then you know what you are doing is what you were meant to do even before you knew it. Each minute that you sit through, hating everything that you do and wanting to run away from it, maybe that is your moment to find your true calling.

Master Oogway and Po under the the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom

Master Oogway according to me is the true legend in the movie; the slow little wise turtle, who could foresee the turmoil in the characters’ hearts. “There are no accidents” he says. True. Things always happen for a reason. You may want to question how you got to the most treasured things that life gave you. When I recount these moments, my epitome was all seeded in one random move I must have made unaware of the consequences that may have followed. The best things I got in my life came when I started out with zero expectations. It makes me realise that we are all constantly changing our destiny in every move we make; it is all the same albeit unaware of it.

There were some moments of exceptional hilariousness. “There is no charge for awesomeness and attractiveness.” I mean, a Panda striking a pose and saying that takes you back to your own show-offs, when you may have given such superstar moments and hit poses totally in your element, must have looked just as lame. Or how about the obsessive compulsive urge to overeat under high levels of stress; stuffing one’s face with the peaches from the ancient tree of wisdom, impervious to the fact that the tree actually meant more than just a peach tree...I’ve pigged out every time I’ve been depressed. I totally see myself in that obsessive panda.

So the one thing I will take away from it for sure... actually two, are these: Po says “I probably sucked more today than anyone in the history of Kungfu. In the history of China. In the history of Sucking.” But ends up being thee panda- the best yet humblest warrior and just the same goofball he was from the very start. 

Po and the Furious Five

And the second is again the same “one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.”

So even if you might initially totally suck at something, have a sense of humour about it and laugh it off. There is nothing more gratifying than having the ability to laugh on oneself even if others laugh on you. Nothing good ever came out of running away from things. Be a “man” so to speak, and just face the shit that happens head-on. 

Kung Fu Panda

Because even if you took the easy way out, what is meant to blow up in your face, eventually will be same mess anyways. Who knows maybe standing and admitting that you suck at it makes it the first step towards bettering yourself.

Time & Festivals

[Text and Photos by D.B.]

PT wishes you all a very Happy ‘Festive Season’. Well, it appears more apt to wish for the festive season instead of particular festivals as then the list would never end. With the starting of Navratras, Durga puja, Ram leela and a ‘coming-soon’ Eid, I must admit that I am toh fully drenched in the ‘feel’ of festivities. Being said that I must also make it clear that I am still writing this blog sitting amidst the ‘nature’ in a rural setting, which is apparently quiet, uninterrupted, still, undisturbed and serene – my college campus. The sound of crackers - a ‘pre-diwali delight’ for any child, the rush of market places, the preparation of sweets, the excitement of visiting places which have become ‘alive’ just because of public participation, deserts and ‘eye-catching’ decorations of shops and malls… I am missing all!

The ‘deficiency’ of festivals can be harmful, well, for an Indian at least. But thanks to our vast culture and our attachment with the ‘roots’, we have this natural tendency to ‘celebrate’ even in the darkest corner. The only thing different would be the way how we do it. Apart from the city’s dramatic and fancy ‘carnival-type’ celebration there lies a place where people still celebrate the festival just to celebrate ‘life’.

My childhood memory reminds me of visiting a Ram-leela Mela near my place with family. We used to walk down by a road, made inaccessible for vehicles just for the festival, with stalls and hawkers on both the sides, people of all classes coming up together at the venue, kids accompanied by parents.  All sorts sweets, chaat, jalebi, gajjak along with hand-made toys and similar sorts of ‘childhood-obsessions’ were displayed. All in all, it was the best ‘memory’. I dare say ‘memory’ as it’s not the same anymore. Five years back I visited the same mela, now the venue had changed, it was ‘posh’, stalls with ‘brands’, VIP and VVIP ‘reserved’ seats, newer technology on display and lesser ‘feel’ of the ‘mela’.

The 'celebration'

My physical shift from that metropolitan atmosphere to this rural setting made it possible for me to ‘see’ more. Two years back I discovered a similar mela in the nearby precincts. It was subtle indeed. Crowd of a very few people gathered together on a chilly evening, sitting on bare ground with a fence around, two-three vendors selling moongfali and gajjak, a tea stall and a stage set-up in the verandah of an under-construction district school and insufficient lighting. All the artists were male and it was, obviously, in local language dogri. Having a cup of tea there, watching the ‘same’ story in a ‘different’ way, was priceless. It brought the kid back in me.

The Actors and the Stage

Yesterday, I revisited the place. It was all same. Nothing, in these two years, could change the ‘feel’ of the celebration. Just the mic was new and the school is now there. Locals participating with same zeal, sitting on the ground, kids and parents and even grand-parents, same tea, same casual way of presenting the play – one person reading the dialogues from backstage (if you call that a ‘stage’) and the actor repeating the words, same cheers from the crowd and same sense of delight on the faces. People saw me clicking the pics and misinterpreted me as a reporter of the local newspaper.

The 'delighted' audience

What made them resist the change? And why the cities changed? Where does the need arise to change the way of presenting a story which is legendary in character – which itself cannot change with time? Time does change the patterns but why change when it is not for good? Mela literally means ‘to meet’, then why we are restricting people to do the same? Do we actually need a VIP seat; do we actually need a VIP when it is meant to be for everyone? Well, change is inevitable and we all start living with the changes we see. It’s we who have to decide what change we would like to bring in.

One of my friends told me about the organization of the ‘October Fest’ in Delhi, recently just like the ‘Tomatino’. I wondered, “Are we done with all the festivals we already have…?”

Recently I worked for a design competition trying to revive the memory of a Mela in the urban chaos and that is when I realized what is on the brink of becoming a ‘memory’ – The Essence of the Mela. Thus, I request you to visit a ‘mela’ nearby you this season and share your experiences on panwadi.tales@gmail.com

No return to innocence

With this, I don't want to insult anyone but I want to throw some light on the fact that kids, no matter of what age, have a mind of their own. They can be whatever they want to be- not only professionally but personally.

Why do we have to impose everything on them? They should also have a say of their own. I understand studying is important and having a passion is also important but why not let them do what they are passionate about? Why  should or shouldn’t they do what you think is right or wrong? Why??? 

Through this article I am not telling everyone about my life and neither am I taking out my frustration... OK...maybe frustration – yes; but because of the things I have been seeing lately.

A simple example: a mother and a daughter (not more than 14 years of age) are travelling in the metro, sitting on the old and physically challenged seat. An old lady is standing in front of them and the daughter wants to get up and offer the seat but her mother won't let her... Why? Just tell me why would you want to teach your kids this? And who would want to teach their kids this?

This is one such example there are many more... Again I don’t mean it as an insult to anybody and I know not everybody is the same. But there are those who don't realize that what happened to them shouldn't have to happen to others. 

This has to stop somewhere...

It is not just to pull a jibe at parents but also teachers, elder siblings and as many individuals who make an impact on children around them. All I expect from this article is that you help kids grow up into passionate human beings, who know the difference between good and bad and not just right and wrong. More importantly difference between being humans and robots.  

Please give it a thought.

Pankh toh diye udne ko, per aasman na de sake..

Let us be what we are, don't snatch our innocence from us...

We were born different don't try to blend us into the chaos...

We have no strategies and no plans..

For us the world is a white canvas

We want to paint it with our own colours

Don’t take away that right from us...

Who are you to kill that artist in us????

We were born free, why would you tie us in your dreams

Why do we have to the second somebody?

When we can be so much more.

So when you promise us a pair of wings

Do give us a sky to fly in....