Miles to go before I sleep

"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost talks about the life journey one goes  through.

 Frost deftly combines themes of the human   journey, beauty of nature, and loneliness. The speaker is forced to stop and take in the  peaceful scene after becoming enthralled with  the snow-covered forests' quiet beauty. And yet the refrain "And miles to go before I  sleep" represents how life's commitments and  duties entice him to carry on with his quest.

The beloved classic "Stopping by Woods on a snowy Evening" is still relevant today because of its insightful examination of the human  condition, the splendour of nature, and the  challenges of navigating life's journey.

My favourite lines would be 'miles to go before I sleep' as it gives me a confidence and willpower to accept the challenges and move forward.

A reader not listener

Have we ever thought about what would we feel if we couldn't read? How would we feel if we were the only person who stood out? Would we feel ashamed? It's a hypothetical question that is addressed in the movie "The Reader". 

"The Reader" is a movie that talks about a Nazi guard who was convicted for the murder of three hundred people. This is an adaptation of a book that is autobiographical.

While watching the movie the first thought that struck was the title "The Reader", maybe because it's about a boy named Michael Berg who reads to a woman named Hanna as she loves listening to someone read. The entire plot revolves around the boy who grows to be the man who still remembers his first love. 

As the plot progresses we find that she never read but always asked Michael to read and she enjoyed that part of their meeting. Later it is revealed that she is illiterate but her love for art and literature was always alive. She made sure that she kept the fact that she couldn't read a secret even when she was severely punished. While in prison waiting for death Michael sends her recordings of her favourite novels. She passionately learnt to read and write by herself and that's when the title gets the significance, Hanna Schimitz is  "The Reader"

The movie also deals with love and relationships. Michael still had a strong affection for her despite the years that they were apart. He never judged her when he realised why she held onto him during their short past. He even wanted to make her last days better by sending something that he knew she would love. He even admits first to the victim's family who was killed by Hanna that he loved 'her' and then to his daughter even knowing the past is in the past. The emotions Hanna had for Michael cannot be seen as romantic but he was very special to her. He showed her a world that she always dreamed of and she was happy with him.  He remained consistent till the end even when she was all alone.

The movie talks about how literature impacts one's life. It was a change for her in those prison walls where she was free to express herself living different lives through the characters. That might be one of the reason that "The Readers" never stop reading. 

My grandmother's house

"My Grandmother's House" by Kamla Das is a confessional poem that talks about her deep relationship with her grandmother through this poem. She misses her grandmother and she feels her heart turning cold as soon as she receives the sad news regarding the death of a grandmother.

 Before going back to the poem a short experience will be more relatable. My Amachi and Appachan live in the countryside almost on a hilltop. Every time I go to her place she always welcomes me with open arms with all her excitement of meeting after one year. As a person living in a city far far away from Kerala, I travel there once a year and she calls on the phone every day to check up on how we are doing but it's just a few seconds of conversation. When we meet she gets so excited and cooks all the delicious meals that include sambar, rasam, Moore curry, aviyal and fish ( a compulsory dish for her). She feeds me till my stomach bursts but I can not bring myself to refuse as she has this beautiful smile that captivates the entire room. Everyone has a beautiful memory of their grandmother and they cherish them.

Kamala in her poem writes about her relationship with her grandmother and how she misses her very much. She thinks back to her childhood days and how she was very happy to be in a home filled with warmth, now when she enters the house all she feels is the chillness of the room that lacks affection and love.

 As a person living in the City sometimes life becomes overly hectic. We often crave to go back to the peacefulness of the countryside. The poet cherishes her childhood days when she was happy. She misses the warmth that once blanketed her grandmother's place and she says that it now no longer is a home but a mere building that is too cold to stay.

The poet uses simile to connect her "cold heart" to that of a moon. The poem connects the themes of love, childhood, nostalgia and death. The poem is written in a simple and lucid form creating a visual picture. 

"Kafan" by Munshi Premchand

Munshi Premchand is renowned for his perceptive and provocative tales that illustrate societal issues and human realities. Premchand's moving short story "Kafan" explores the harsh truths of exploitation, poverty, and the human condition. The short stories and his works have the depth that is capable of touching the reader's soul. 

The main characters of "Kafan" are Gheesu and Jhootha, a poor couple who strive to make ends meet. Despite their struggles, Gheesu and Jhootha frequently turn to drink for comfort, ignoring their obligations to their families. When Gheesu's wife died of childbirth they turn to the villagers for help but even after getting help they preferred to have a good meal after a long time.

The short story deals with poverty and how it affects the life and death of an individual. Gheesu and Madhav's extreme poverty and helplessness are depicted in the story quite effectively. Their incapacity to purchase even a shroud for Gheesu's wife is indicative of the widespread poverty in the community. We find a glaring inequality between the rich and the poor.

Premchand skillfully exposes the moral decay and hypocrisy of the characters. Despite their dire circumstances, Gheesu and Madhav prioritize alcohol over their responsibilities, showcasing the erosion of values in the face of adversity. They knew how they were overspending money instead of getting a shroud for the dead wife but their ignorance and the belief that people would help let them ignore the goodwill from people.

"Kafan" remains relevant even in contemporary times due to its depiction of societal inequities and human frailties. The story serves as a stark reminder of the enduring issues of poverty, exploitation, and moral degradation that continue to plague society.

"Ladies Coupe" by Anita Nair

"Ladies Coupe" is a novel published in 2001 that portrays a woman named Akhilandeahwari who is in search of self-discovery and boards a train. This novel explores themes of female identity, societal expectations and powerful fulfilment. The novel dives into the complexities of women's lives in the Indian context.

The novel takes references from the context of Indian as well as Western literature mainly comparison between Thiruvalluvar and Shakespeare's idea of an ideal wife. The symbology gives a brief reflection on the stories of different women. Kolam is used as a symbol to portray the role of a wife and how it reflects a housewife. The sole purpose of women is to beautify themselves to 'attract' their future husbands. Glass bangles are symbols to signify a woman's heart, even if it breaks multiple times they try to replace it with new ones hoping it would last longer just like how they are in a constant process of mending their heart. 

The novel revolves around the story of five women who have different notions of whether a "woman needs a man to live in a society".  Each a every woman represents different types of women in society and how they push themselves regularly to survive in a world where she is just seen an extension of a man. The growth of women from an innocent little girl to a mature women who have seen a lot of hardships in life.

The loss of identity is retrieved by not focusing on the external forces but rather the internal 'you'. The novel ends with an open ending which gives a notion that the story goes on and on with lot more to happen. 

Animal Farm Day

Today being an Animal Farm day was arranged very beautifully by the juniors who are in their first year. The performance of every individual was awesome and some performances brought goosebumps on the skin making us emotional in various segments. The entire play was divided into ten groups and each group with each chapter to be performed. Every team managed to keep the audience on their toes to what would happen next. 

" Animal Farm" by George Orwell is a political satire that helps you think and retrospect, finding different types of people in society. This farm is a representation of reality rather than a superficial imagination.

Watching the performances brought me back to my first year of college when we once performed the play. The excitement and nervousness of the very first performance made us want to perform our best. The weeks of staying back in college, preparing scripts and finally doing practises were the beautiful days of mingling and knowing each other more.

On the auspicious day, the classroom was transformed into a farm with twigs, branches and leaves.  It wasn't a classroom anymore but rather it was "Mr Jones's farm". We even painted our faces according to the characters which was a small representation without needing much detail. The waiting in the corridor for your time to come and finally trying your best not just for your team but also for yourself. 

Today brought back a lot of memories and it was an engaging day where you excavate your talents and overcome fears confidently standing to represent your team. I hope this tradition of "Animal Farm Day" continues in the upcoming years. 

" Rabbi Ben Ezra" by Robert Browning

"Rabbi Ben Ezra" is a monologue where Browning addresses an unknown audience. This spiritual poem brings him closer to God. He has a lot of experience with the world and he is addressing the elderly who are also experienced a lot in this world. This poem is philosophical and paradoxical. 

He says young people have a spirit that pushes them forward to achieve success. Young people are merciless even to the point of being violent. They want every work to be done immediately and aren't very patient. 

As people grow in age they come to know that the desire they have is part of the human needs. God has provided according to their needs which helps them to accept their shortcomings. They are very capable of making decisions wisely due to their years of practice and wisdom.

At the end of the poem, he tells his observations regarding the people around him. He talks about the afterlife and continues by saying all people are part of a big absolute and everyone has to meet one day but they cannot see it yet. When maturity hits, the realisation occurs about this absolute that takes them closer to God. 

One's own experience teaches them to be satisfied with what they have and be grateful to God. Happiness and sadness are not in control of humans, but experiences teach us how to deal with both situations. 

Story: The captor

Have we ever given a story or piece of folklore a lot of thought? We have been exposed to stories like "Panchtantra," "Tenali Rama," and other mythology since we were young, but did we ever look for philosophy in them as kids? 

Abigail Tulenko wrote a fascinating piece titled "Folklore is Philosophy." Through the story, what can appear to be a philosophical conundrum can be clarified and guided in a far more straightforward way through a story.

Using a story to engage an entire class is more effective than introducing the study topic at the outset. The majority of minor students in their junior year of schooling can benefit from this method of drawing attention. Telling stories instead of presenting boring speeches, which quickly causes pupils to lose attention, makes studying more easier and interesting.

The mind is designed to store important things but without any interesting keynote, it automatically deletes all the files that are recorded. The story is like a deeply hidden folder that emerges as a story before revealing its essential information when it needs to be resurrected.

"Combing through Folklore, it is easy to find stories that map well on to our contemporary concerns"

 For instance, "The Tale of Panchtantra" is read to kids of all ages since it still has a reference to the present context. Children are taught moral principles through the reading of these stories. 

The story of " Tenali Raman" still runs in my memory even though years have passed. The title itself induced curiosity to go back and read once again. 

"Ancient tales have played a pivotal role in challenging previously unquestioned epistemic assumptions."

The assumptions that are considered the unspoken truth are challenged through the tales which was "empty or incorrectly defined".

These tales are historically connected to the culture of ancient times that has evolved a lot over centuries, spoken tales remain alive as they surpass the timelessness.

"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

The book "Fahrenheit451" explores a dystopian future world that takes place in or around 2052 AD. The first edition of this book appeared as "The Fireman" in Galaxy Science Fiction (magazine). In February 1951, it was first made available, and in 1953, the title was changed from "The Fireman" to Fahrenheit 451.

This book covers a wide range of topics, most of which are connected to the idea of pleasure and the technologically driven society. Instead of putting out flames, Fireman burns down houses that contain books in this world. The work of a firefighter is quite different from what we have known and experienced. 

The concept of equality is a delusion in which individuals' minds are equally tuned to prioritise pleasure over thought, utterly destroying their individuality and reducing them to a group of people with the same goal. The characters' lives in the book are so routine and dull that they are devoid of any unique emotions or thoughts.

The ability to think is destroyed by burning all the books and even people who rebel or seem unique to others are also burnt. We see them emotionally watching an old woman burn with her books. They relished the pleasure of burning books and hunting people and saw the entire process as a game. Firemen's historical details about them being distinguishing fire have even been altered and changed. Another figure, Beatty, provides insight into the past and how the world developed, revealing that people were the real cause of this "Hell" rather than any exterior force.

People's families are the walls they refer to as their "parlour," and they detest anything that has to do with emotions as it does not make them "happy."  The idea of happiness is selfish as it is bound to themselves and the instant happiness that they receive.

The names of technological objects are replaced with names that represent elements of nature, such as mechanical hounds, seashells, beetles, and so forth. The phoenix bird is compared to humans in a passage because both species create fires; the only distinction is that man starts the fire on purpose.

An additional element that stalks the characters—which they are unaware of—is loneliness and isolation. Despite being married for a year, the main character Montag and his spouse lack emotional ties, which makes them feel lonely even while they are together. When the discussion of children is brought up by ladies they mention a very disturbing idea of burden, because the kids impede their happiness, they are also viewed as a "burden." The lack of pain or sadness at the loss of family members also makes them seem so heartless.

This book serves as a warning to a future world where technology and human selfishness have taken over and turned Earth into a "Hell on Earth."

The creation

       

           "In the beginning,

      God created the heavens

             and the earth". 

This is the Bible's very first verse. This declaration represents the beginning of His creation up to the sixth day when He created man. To allow him to rest on the seventh day, he methodically planned each of his masterpieces over six days. 

When he first created the earth and heavens, the universe was entirely dark since light was later created to distinguish darkness from light. From a scientific perspective, the universe was created by an explosion, as described by the Big Bang theory. Light is regarded as day and darkness as night after the division of light and dark. 

He created various kinds of flora and fauna after dividing the land from the sea. The creation of the sun, moon, and stars, to give light during day and night. His words created all of His creation apart from humans.

                   "And God said..."

Since man was created in the image of God, he was given unique consideration among all other creations. Leaving the creation of man for last demonstrates how important it was to bring him into a completely created and comfortable planet. To prevent loneliness, he made a woman out of a man's ribs, and the two of them would care for his creation.

Man is never without anything since whatever he needs is given to him in one way or another. We disrespect his creation by wreaking havoc and upsetting the natural order. The destruction of forests, the depletion of soil fertility, water pollution, global warming, etc. These result from man's insatiable hunger and greed. More devastation equals more imbalance, which prompts nature to retaliate in its way.

Humans are given power, but it is the power to coexist with them, not to dominate them.

"What it means when a man falls from the sky" by Lesley Nneka Arimah

This short narrative opens with the mathematician Furcal and his newly found formula. A man falling from an aircraft caused a lot of criticism, therefore his granddaughter is defending his profession as the man falling is blamed upon the scientist for his finding a formula to plane. 

In this short narrative, the use of mathematics serves as a means of elucidating the feelings of the characters and relieving their suffering. A mathematician with expertise in measuring and treating pain is the main character. It functions similarly to a medical counsellor, here they calculate and eliminate grief using mathematics.

This is an intriguing short story that uses a unique technique to quantify emotions in the mind. We also witness the various relationships she discusses and how important a role they have had in moulding her.

When mathematicians suffer other people's loss, they begin to lose their minds, nearly to the point of talking to themselves and hallucinating. This is demonstrated concerning Nneoma's friend Kioni, who works in the same field. Naomi recognises that she could find herself in a similar circumstance at any moment. 

Through Nneoma's life, the significance of family is demonstrated in this short story. Until her mother passed away, Neoma had a joyful childhood; nonetheless, she also loses her father emotionally as a result of his overwhelming sadness. They couldn't close the large gap between them until the end of the short story but she often remembered and visited him. 

The power of memory is also demonstrated by a young child who doesn't have a name so we can see her as a voice of the refugees. "The girl" was left an orphan and a refugee in a foreign country after losing both her parents and brother. Even Neoma feels as though she is suffocating with the memory and pain the little girl bears.

This short story introduces us to several viewpoints on suffering and the potential that lies ahead.