Home is in Every Moment

3 hours of 3 Idiots

3 Idiots opened in India late 2009 with its opening weekend gross becoming the highest for Hindi cinema to date. I managed to catch the much-discussed film last week at an nearly packed cinema at Shaw Towers. Poised to perhaps be the next DDLJ (which holds the record for longest running film in indian cinemas for over 15 years from 1995-2009 – and still screening) 3 Idiots is a film about 1 of the 3 buddies in the college engineering faculty in India, who is a nonconformist and influences his 2 other friends to challenge the school system and other authoritative figures.

Filmed in various scenic locations in India, my first 3-hour long Hindi flick which left me and my friend with sore muscles and buttache is brilliantly executed with a universally appealing theme that speaks to the young and old. Without giving much away, the plot moves along the line of the 3 of them becoming the biggest losers in life when they get into trouble with the no-nonsense antagonist, the school dean, which puts their college positions and subsequently their lives at risk. But what can these rebellious guys do to save themselves from the system which only taught them how to be mere machines trained to memorise and cram from their books? Filled with many thought-provoking material and life lessons, there is, however, no time to ponder and contemplate upon the issues that are woven into the story when watching the film. The thinking is expected to be done only after the 3-hour film as the filmmaker is more concerned with cramming as much as possible within that duration. However, it should be noted that being a popular mainstream film, the reason for doing so is perhaps that it has to appeal to audiences of all ages and demographics, hence keeping it entertaining rather than delve into serious lessons is key. But my main gripe with the pacing is that emotional moments are not fully exploited enough for us audiences to cry together with the characters the way we laugh with them. This is also perhaps due to the filmamker not wanting to ruin the overall feel-good feeling of the film.

Accompanied by the typical Bollywood song and dance sequences, the story of 3 Idiots is complemented by an excellent cast – the witty Rancho standing up against the antagonist Professor ViruS with their chemistry and humour which is largely slapstick but extremely entertaining. Together with other characters who are also largely pleasing to watch on the screen, its catchy songs sprinkled with cheesy lyrics which may not make much sense most of the time, and finally its hilarious dance moves, this uniquely Bollywood film will make any other possible copycat or remake attempts almost impossible.

4.5 popcorns for my first Hindi flick in the cinema.

Malaccan Stories

I started the decade with a trip to Malacca over the weekend for a short getaway before school starts next week.

The historical city which attained UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2008 is none like what I last saw it back more than 10 years ago when I was a kid. Commercialisation is everywhere and there is no lack of big shopping malls and artificially created “heritage areas” which are obviously meant to be tourist traps, making use of UNESCO status to generate tourism revenue. I’ve never been very interested in commercial stuff that can most likely be found in Singapore but I guess it’s still a good effort by the Malayansian government to make the city a little more tourist-friendly.

Melaka River – by day…

…and by night. Once dubbed as “Venice of the East” by the Europeans.

The owner of Melaka Youth Hostel at Jalan Melaka Raya 3, Noh, did a great deal of help by recommending good food and local sights and scenery. He’s got a law degree and masters in accounting and he was part of the team for Malaysia’s territorial claim against the Indonesia and later the Philippines over Pulau Sipadan. He painstakingly explained the history of Malacca to me and shared his discoveries while he had access to the Vatican archives that documented correspondences around the world in history. Apparently, Malaysia used to have large quantities of gold and they were lost when the vessel that was transporting the gold sunk. Malacca under Portugese rule also had technology that was “more advanced than that of a European city”. This was observed and documented, but they were, unfortunately, not thoroughly researched upon and might never make their way into history books at all.

Similar to Singapore, the countries are still developing and adequate resources are not yet invested in research and archaeology. Who knows when will this day arrive, when countries will be rich enough to want to invest in unearthing history. Perhaps it will be the day when people learn to be less self-centered and stop filling their own pockets with money?

The icon of commercialisation.

View from the top of St Paul’s Hill.

Of course, any trip would not be complete without the nourishment of the tastebuds – all of these recommended by our friend Noh.

Chendol stall at 86 Jonker Walk. RM2 for a bowl with awesome gula malacca that’s bound to have you craving for more.

Satay-sauce steamboat: Malacca’s famous for that. Singaporeans actually travel all the way here to eat this. My Bahasa skills were put to test when the whole restaurant was ran by Indonesian workers.

Famous Ee Chi Ban chicken rice balls near the hostel at Jalan Melaka Raya 3. The passionate shop owner explained to me how awesome his rice balls  are as compared to the rest – he uses rice rather than glutinous rice, hence the balls break up in your mouth and the rice grains disperse. Non-authentic “glutinous rice balls” do not have that effect.

On the second day, the plan for a shoestring budget trip crumbled and I had to call my dad to transfer money from another account to my card account. There was no way back as the buses were fully booked on Sunday when  people were returning for work and school. How to travel the world for free was obviously not relevant for this trip.

Some of my other favourite shots:

St Pauls Chapel

Line dancers @ Jonker Walk

On the last day, Noh took us around Malacca, driving us to Pulau Melaka, the Portugese Settlement area and the fishermen dock before heading to the bus terminal. Along the way we saw coolies donned in singlets and shorts unloading sacks of sugar and rice from the lorries into the shophouse-converted warehouses, reminiscent of Singapore in the 1940s  as seen from TV shows. A pity we didn’t stop to take photos though. After that, he also shared about his knowledge of Singapore via his ties with President Yusof Ishak.

I am very thankful for Noh’s hospitality. As the Youth Hostel is now undergoing major renovations, they’d need more support in future by travelers who are looking for lodging. Conveniently located near the main activity areas, I’d definitely go back to them (facebook) the next time i visit Malacca. Hostels over hotels anytime. 2010 shall be awesome.

Check out the rest of my photos on flickr.

The Wind Will Carry Us

 

Not every journey will be smooth-sailing. But obstacles, detractors and cynics often make any trip even more worthwhile. Almost 6,600km away from my base, will I be able to get what I want?

I love quotes.

Because they remind you of things you often forget, even though you might be thinking of them all the time.

Write some quotes on your most prominent wall to constantly remind yourself of stuff that are important to you. Note: it doesn’t just have to be goals or dreams.

On the other hand, it’s been ages since I’ve done something really meaningful. When a small part of you has died (after the firefighting days), it’s extremely difficult to find something else to fill your life with. Some resign to dope, drinking and casual sex to attempt to get back on their feet again. Others try many other ways to make themselves useful again, including helping others, or pick up a new skill. But in the free world where nobody will appreciate you, thank you, or understand you anymore, you either crash and fade into oblivion or emerge stronger from every blow you receive.

All in all, still, I miss those days so much.
“Firemen never die, they just burn forever in the hearts of the people whose lives they saved.” – Anonymous

50

50 questions. An equivalent of 3 meals for the brain.

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
22. Why are you, you?
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
25. What are you most grateful for?
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
32. If not now, then when?
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

Source: friend’s blog, who took this off someone’s tumblr.

Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami speaks about the movies he likes, the characters in his films, and the gift of human beings to imagine and dream.

The Big D

Everyone’s doing things that are getting them closer to realising their dreams. Am I not?

How I wish I was born with a silver spoon so I can focus my attention solely on school, to enjoy and make merry.

How I wish I can be free of worries like what to do with my parents because they’re getting old and the duty to support them rests on me, being the eldest kid.

How I wish I can be financially free so I don’t have to think about the future and the uncertainties they might bring about if I don’t do something about it right now.

Damn, I don’t even have a car to begin with.

You say I should be more resillient because everyone has got their own set of problems and that you have seen people becoming successful doing things ‘the right way’.

You say I am not working hard enough because I have time on hand but I’m not devoting enough of it to do what I’m “supposed to do”.

You say I am doing things the wrong way because nobody gets there using the method I’m using now.

Fact is that, you are not in my shoes. Do you understand me? Or have you even attempted to understand me?

Another fact is that, how many success stories do you hear, really? And those success stories – those folks have gone mad in order to get there.

Hey, I just don’t want to end up like the only guy here who makes “movies” for a living because we all know that we only have that audience to appreciate such “movies” right now. And no, I know that I am not that capable and I don’t aspire to walk that path.

I don’t want to wake up one day in the future lamenting about my sucky job with a meager pay and the horrendous boss I will face all day long

I don’t want to wake up in the future giving up my dream and end up like any other folk out there because I’ve forgotten how to dream.

Because I’ve seen too many dreams being smashed.

Because I’ve met too many people who have given up.

Reality vs fantasy, which prevails? There’s only one answer. It’s a sad fact: our media industry will really not take you places. But more likely, money will.

Hence, I am working on the dough first.

I still have a long way to go. There’ no hurry. I will still get there – one day.

In that way, the bread will be baked. The dream won’t remain as a fantasy. You know it will be well alive and kicking.

Girl: Why am I different from others?

Man: Why…do you have to be like the others?

I’ve been very uninspired to write lately. My senses haven’t been as alert as they’ve used to be and I cannot transform observations into words as easily as I hope I’d be able to.

I don’t know if it’s the issue of being too technical ever since I started trading every weekday 24/5. They say it’s hard to juggle both creative and technical – they’re in conflict with one another. The two seem to make use of different parts of the brain that I feel like I’m re-tuning my mind everytime when I switch trades. I don’t really know how it works but I’m obviously attempting to come up with an explanation for it.

I don’t want to be a jack of all trades, master of none. I just want to be the jack of these two trades. I hope it’s not too much I’m asking for.