Green pens and black ink - Part 2

ohk... this is the second part of an entry i made some time ago (http://udaikapila.blogspot.com/2007/02/ohk.html), about the documentary that was made last year. Since i was in India for most of the summer, i couldn't really do much, but i still kept in touch with Dhruv via emails. He replied to my initial mail, and gave me a second assignment. He asked me to look around India and tell him what I saw. If I had the chance to direct a film about India, what would MY story be.

This is what i wrote:

hey dhruv,
sorry i took so long to reply. i havn't been able to access a comp for some time...we r doin some serious traveling around... and so most of my trip has been in a car or in an airport, train station...etc...we've gone to kolkatta, chandhigar, delhi, thats where i am now, and all parts of harayana....i thought about what u asked me for some time, and then i wrote this down... please take into account that i havn't slept the whole night ;) ... i'm serious....

i was at a train station on my way to chandhigar from delhi. We were walking towards our platform when i spotted a lady in rags sitting on the floor. She was chanting, both her hands held up. she stared from one hand to the other. when i looked more carefully, i realized that she was holding a blade in one hand. shocked, i silently passed.

I'm in a car. I am looking out of the window, my headphones on because i can't stand the horns. I have already counted eight butta sellers sitting on the pavement, countless fruit carts, and even more rickshaws. at night, these same rickshaws have their worn out drivers sleeping in them.

now when i think about it, when i SEE these people that use a simple footpath, as the place where they earn their whole livelyhood, people that don't know where tonights dinner is going to come from, let alone tomorrow's, people that wait outside factories for discards that they can sell on the streets, people that dig through garbage for a jute bag or a bottle that they think might be useful, or sellable, the only word i can think of is 'struggle'.

this is an issue. not a small issue, an issue that involves and affects most of our indian nation. But why??? Don't we have the largest democracy, supposedly 'for the people' in the world?? is it so hard to provide a simple thing like education to the people. something that can give them some hope, to overcome their struggle? Some support from the country that these same people would give their lives for?

this is what my documentary would be about.


this is a very brief outlook.... ive seen to much to fit into one email....

Extreme Rant Vol 2 Ch 2 :: SAT 2 chemistry :: dance everybody!

the last week of my life has been hectic. I have had some very good experiences, and some very thoughtful moments. I've gotten to know the people around me.

Today, i feel blank. I want to tell you things that i cant, because there would never be words that are appropriate enough. Even the smallest of my emotions have been magnified. i can feel.

Maybe it is this state of exhaustion that has led me to let my guard down, but i like it. Tomorrow, i shall wake up, with a hundred reasons to give up. And i know that i will have to wait. I want to know what will be, but i must be patient.

As thoughts fill up my mind, i feel the need to pour them out. a place where i can preserve them forever. But each time i put them down on paper, their meaning is lost. That's when i realize that these thoughts are meant for me and me alone... i sit in front of someone, in silence, thinking of the words to use.... blank.

There's this emotion. Simplicity, Blank.

Poetry for the faint hearted - The Unicorns Ride

I'm not one to post poetry online, because it loses a lot of majesty and feeling when read on a computer monitor... but it has been a while... and i feel the need to update...

this poem is one of my favourites... it is soft, touching and colourful...

The Unicorn's Ride

Over your rainbow
A unicorn flew,
He was sent to find me...
He said by you.
"Climb aboard", he whispered,
"We must go for a ride..."
And into a portal of light
We rode inside.
The sky was so blue,
The fields so green,
With each explosion of light
Was a wonderful scene.
So happy we seem
And always together,
There was no end to your dream,
It just went on forever.
Then the unicorn said
"I have one more surprise..."
So we took off quickly
And pierced the sky.
Then I saw you sleeping
And dreaming in your bed...
I caressed your hair gently
And kissed you on your head.
The unicorn interrupted...
"I must now get you home,
But now that you've seen her dream,
May you never feel alone."
My heart is feeling heavy,
A fire burns inside.
Thank you so much my darling
For the unicorn's ride.

- Eric R. Hughes -

Extreme rant vol 2 ch 1 A spot to think

Theres this feeling... like when you eat a handful of of sugar... you shake, tremble... tremble.... laughter is easy to come by... theres this feeling

a smile withheld, it feels nice that you can smile... a look in your eye, a look withheld... pure joy!! Theres no other word for it! JOY!!!

When everything seems to fit.... NO!!!

when there is nothing to fit!!! THERE IS NOTHING AT ALL!!!!!

life is like a donut! sweeeet... when i am eating my donut... i don't care about what is happening around me! i am SELFISH as ever!! a sheepish smile... a trembling leg.....

The pure joy of seeing joy in someone else's eyes.... Shandy come running up to me... tongue hanging out... pure joy!!!! theres no other word for it!!! JOY!! i felt it .. it was unavoidable...

Every person has a special spot to think.... a place of complete solitary... a place of complete silence.... i found my spot yesterday... it was on the tennis court... not in the middle of the tennis court... but in a corner, on the side... where i was picking up tennis balls... those who play the sport will relate...

nyhu... its not important where this spot was.... its what i felt there... breathing came easy... concentration was no effort... and i became crystal clear... simply because i didn't need to understand me... just like when you eat a handful of sugar at once....the feeling... the feeling.

p.s done in a hurry... just how i felt right here and now... so don't think too much into it :P:P

Extreme Rant Vol I Ch 5 ...... What the hell is he smoking?

there's this emotion... i don't know what to call it... i can try and describe it... but i would have to use words that only i know of.

It makes me smile but i know it is not happiness. It makes me sad but i know it is not sadness.

Harmony. Such a sweet word. Rhythm. Groove.

What is harmony? or rather, what does it stand for? Have you ever experienced harmony? The sweet strange sensation that is more than seen, more than heard, more than felt.
A shiver runs down my spine as i close my eyes, and look up into the heavens. A smile. A world without questions. A world without answers, and yet, a world without ignorance. light. darkness. light. darkness.

Do i understand? Should i understand?

I feel a sudden jolt of pain. It feels like death. it disappears in an instant. calmness overcomes my body... The tension of my muscles fade... I feel relaxed.

I am scared to open my eyes so i keep them shut, but i can still see.

I see a flower, swaying in the wind. It is red, beautiful, but i feel emptiness.
I see a shadow. A shadow in the dark. Vast.
I see raindrops, falling like little stars. I can feel them as they hit my face.

There's this emotion, It makes me smile but i know it is not happiness. It makes me sad but i know it is not sadness.