What is life, but love in all its thousand manifestations?
Having watched 3 idiots twice (which is well on its way to becoming the biggest blockbuster in all of Indian film history - kind of like Y Tu Mama Tambien for Mexico, which I also watched in the same time period - an interesting juxtaposition on youth) - I can only say that it was tremendously heartening to see what one barely dared to believe; that it was okay, nay, it was NECESSARY to live life on one's own terms - to follow what was right for only you and for no one else, to not bow to meaningless conventions, while still finding a place within this society, with the courage to remain misunderstood, and the ability to form one's own happiness.
This attitude is never gotten easily; as one character says, it took me 2 broken legs to stand on my own two feet. This attitude was hard to get. You keep your job, and I'll keep my attitude.
I wish that it was; that it was easier to obtain and maintain this attitude in the face of overwhelming pressures; that the voice of originality, curiosity, wonder and joy prevalent in early childhood, was easily adhered to during adolescence and early adulthood. It is not easy to bend life towards one's own terms. But I am increasingly convinced that no other life is possible or desirable; in fact, that any other life, would be a poor imitation, a mockery of the gift of life itself. It may have taken me one harrowing year to realize even the faintest intimations of this attitude, but I certainly hope it stays; for the world seems so wonderful when one has it, and so bleak, without it.
No comments:
Post a Comment