Jalsa , Mumbai Dec 20/21 , 2011 Tue/Wed 1 : 59 AM
Just when there is an indication of peace and stillness, of carefree thought, of the end of another day without incident, of having the feel of a burden that may have shifted gently without intimation on another shoulder or destination, of not dreading that which can be of disturbing countenance … is when you get that midnight call … silent first and soft in its tone, until it compels you to respond to it .. and then befalls that silence of a stunned and shocked mind, which wants not to listen what is being said, but must .. and then it is too late to interject or allow the senses to dissolve whatever forms in its unpleasant state ..
Life is the greatest leveler of all. Some divine force works from I know not where and fixes time dates opinions senses. They are inconsequential it seems, but are of great presence – unexplained, unexplored, unknown ! We call it nature at times, to give it a polite nomenclature, but we all believe somewhat abstractly, that perhaps that unknown force is indeed prevalent and strong, for much of what one sees and feels unfolding itself in front of us, is beyond mans explanation – at times beyond woman’s too !
How did these complexities of our existence develop and how did they all come together in one large atmosphere, isolated from all else in the space we now call the Universe, is where and how humankind found the answers in an unwritten belief and created incidents and thoughts and ideals which got identified in an easy and understandable text – that of a supernatural being, which had the intelligence and the math to present to us the philosophical answers to all our questions. And wherever the answers were unknown, the perfect ploy was brought into place and being – force, of the unknown !
I know not why I dwell on this again. Maybe I need answers where there are none. Or maybe my desire to quell certain misgivings force me to think thus. I am troubled often by my incompetence of not being able to surmise the why’s and the wherefore’s of the world. At times I feel it could be good that I do not. Better to exist in that space without care, than to invite comment and argument and explanation. But we are argumentative by nature … ha ha ha … a borrowed expression from the ‘Argumentative Indian’ the book by Amartya Sen and more, the introduction of ‘nature’ again. Nature has found its rightful place in all our suppositions. When in doubt, shout .. they say of our daily compulsions which need solution. But what of nature ?? There is no clever adage to this … how about … ‘when in questioned displeasure, nature’ … naah .. does not rhyme, does not do anything .. so what ? do we just remain with the shouting and the doubting … such a monotonous existence !!
Ok … leave it .. it shall have a life of its own and then .. perish in its own stew !
Shirish Kunder who works with me in his next film tentatively titled ‘Common Man’ and his wife the outrageously funny Farah Khan move in to a new home and warm it up with a celebration on a sumptuous triplex apartment, pool and all ..
Just the joy of being in the company of the young is invigorating. I am but a misfit in there. the average age is 24 and I am into my 70. Incongruous, but experience all the same for me ; to feel the strength and the vigor and the attitude of the next. It is an air of carefreeness, of knowing what is right and what needs to be done to right it. I marvel at this air, this cosmos that hums with energy about me. I am out of place I know. I should be away and gone, but I stay longer than what I had imagined I would. Even the hostess reminds of it !! But it is such a joy to see and feel the expectation that they emit and above all, the incredible confidence of being sure to achieve, what they have envisaged to be theirs at any cost.
They are the young. They are the future. They are the leaders of tomorrow. And they know it ! That is what is the mostest !!
And then after all the spiel I come across a media spill on Brand Equity and this is what it throws up -
A 70 year old toping the Brand wagon against stratospheric icons like Sachin, Dhoni and SRK, Aamir …
Three Bachchans in the list of 10 ..
Time to say good night
Amitabh Bachchan
