Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Valentine

Last week, I stumbled before coming to halt in front of the grocery story I frequent. There was a large crowd in the front. I stared nonplussed and then it clicked. The crowd was in front of the small florist - it was valentine's day.

There are those cute cards, more news coverage on some fringe parties reactions, the usual columns on what is or isn't Indian culture keepers views, nostalgic articles by middle aged men on their valentines, a few two liners on the kind of partners a few young men and women were looking for. What was missing was hopeful writing.

I do realize there is possibly one in a thousand who believes in grand passion, the whole Romeo-Juliet sort of thing in this fasttrack generation. And I think its a good thing.   But still it all seemed so prosaic.

There is this one article that someone wrote many years ago for Valentine's day on the kind of man she wants. She wrote a column in possibly 'The Hindu' about her ideal man who would be a combination of Mr.Darcy and Rhett Butler. I still remember that! Why aren't there articles like that anymore? Isn't a single character in the whole Harry Potter series worthy?

I did like Mr.Darcy though  it was perhaps in college. [Still way before the Colin Firth mania started] I don't remember the right chronology, but there was a time I was completely enamored by James Herriot and Tristan Farnon . Then there was the Ganesh-Vasanth duo. I walked up and down Thambuchetty street my first trip to Chennai when I was in high school in the hopes of catching a glimpse of one of them. I liked Ganesh [Gannesh if one were to trust the early books] better than Vasanth. My mom promised many times that she'd marry me off to Ganesh. More so in frustration at my lack of responses as I read through book after book.

The interesting part is even after all these years, even in retrospect, I still like those characters. That - standing the test of time - is something quite amazing.


Friday, February 10, 2012

Digitally enhanced life

My friend just started a photography business. I looked at the albums with the cute closeups of food and pouting children that she had shot and it struck me how much digitally enhanced our lives are.  I hear music that sounds crystal clear, I watch Television in high definition, I go to movies that are digitally mastered with surround sound, I capture all significant moments in my digital camcorder, again in high definition.

I wonder the impact of all this in the core content of what I experience.

Just a plain picture of a sandy beach feels like I am experiencing something transcendental just because of  the cerulean blue of the sky and the definition of the sand grains. To me somehow the content is still the same as it was in a similar black and white photograph.

And that begs the question.

Am I somehow now less likely to appreciate something in its original un-embellished form? Has all this spoiled me for a normal colored normal sounding... life?