My idea of a Superhero

I am no superhero buff. The idea of a superhero just doesn't fascinate me. Ever noticed every superhero, though fictitious, has a weakness. Superman's weekness is Kryptonite, Spiderman's is his desire to be just another guy. Batman has no powers at all! Isn’t this strange? They are just a figment of someone's imagination and yet they are not perfect. That's because the whole concept of a superhero is based on a wrong theory - Physical power is the greatest power. I beg to differ. My superhero would be something like a Patronus!

Before moving on, for those who aren’t well-versed with Harry Potter lingo -

"A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him." (Remus Lupin in Harry Potter)

I would want my favorite superhero to have a Patronus -like ability. That is, the ability to infuse positivity in our surroundings, to uplift our moods. I believe we have the power to do anything we wish, right within us. We just need to believe that we can do it. To have that sense of confidence, we should be filled with positivity and willingness. A patronus would just do that. It will erase out the Dementors (read insecurities, fears, doubts..) of our life and fills us with positivity.

In fact, we can conjure our very own Patronus. How? In the same way in which J. K. Rowling makes her characters conjure theirs.

“In order for it to work, you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory… Allow it to fill you up... lose yourself in it... then speak the incantation "Expecto Patronum". (Remus Lupin in Harry Potter)

This actually works(minus the wand and the spell of course!). When you are feeling very low, browse through some old photographs, talk to an old friend or just think about some good times you have had. Think of a time where you made others feel proud about yourself. When you achieved something, you barely thought possible. This will make you feel so nice about yourself.

Do try it out and do tell me what's your Patronus? :P

PS: Harry Potter reminds of a question I was asked in an interview recently: Describe one thing from Harry Potter which you can actually implement using technology (ofc which is not already implemented), and also how you will implement it.

Any ideas?

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Bizzare Swan!

The other day I watched Black Swan on my laptop. I did not know what to expect before the movie and I was equally clueless after watching it. I am not saying it was a bad movie. I am just saying it was queer, just as queer as Nina (Natalie Portman) was in the movie. Black Swan is the story of an ambitious, controlled, prim and proper Nina, whose life is just about dance and ballet. But there is a major transformation in her life when she is offered the lead role in Swan Lake - a play where she is to play both the white and the black swan. The director of the play knows very well that she is perfect for the white part- pretty, delicate, fragile but the real problem is the black part. But Nina, being as obsessive about Swan Lake as she is, wants to impress the director and be the black swan - lustful, free and evil above all. No wonder, its a humongous task for the petite Nina and it has a psychological affect on her. She starts hallucinating, thinking that others are behind her for the role. Life isn't the same anymore.

What I was waiting for the most - the transformation, the black Nina, was sadly what I was most disappointed with. I did not see the black Nina, at all, all I saw was a delicate, subdued Nina in the beginning, a crazy, freakish and confused Nina later. She becomes a shadow of herself.

Other than this, the movie was great - visually and technically perfect, great performances and really good ballet!

But, definitely it is not my type. I prefer movies, which gives me a happy feeling, at least in the end!

Happy By Default!

"We are sad, due to a reason, always, but we can be happy without a reason"- one of the many pearls of wisdom Bawa (Khursheed Batliwala) shared with us in the Art of Living session I attended last year. How true it is! You need absolutely no reason to be happy sometimes. You have a beaming smile on your face, a bounce in your step and someone asks you 'Whats the matter? Aaj bade khush lag rahe ho'. You just smile back in response and say 'ainvayi'. Happens so often na? Thats the beauty of life. Happiness is our default state. All other moods are due to some reason or the other. Once that reason is gone we are back to our happy state.

This realization is in itself a reason to be happy, since, the key to happiness is in our own hands. Agreed, you can't do anything about some problems; the solution may not be in our hands. But you can surely try to ignore or forget your problem for some time at least. Ya, I know we are not computers and we can't magically erase problems from our memory. But since we are human we can fool our memory by distracting ourselves. TV, books, painting, gossip..the list of distractions is endless! We just need to direct our energies into something else and when we get back to our problem, trust me, it will seem a lot less difficult.

So just cheer up - its in our nature to be merry!

One last shot

Time is such a strange thing! It passes by so discreetly and unnoticed when we are busy and stares in your face endlessly when you have nothing to do!
Well, you'd have guessed till now. This very boredom has prompted me to turn to blogging to kill time. I always felt I am not a good writer. A number of thoughts pass by mind which i feel like penning down but when i actually try to, poof..its all blank! It's weird, but happens always. I love reading, especially personal blogs and always envied people who can write so well. I have tried it before and here am giving one more shot. I hope this post (and posts after it) actually makes it to my blog :) :)