Wednesday, August 18, 2004

An Attempt To Get Over My Mental "Blog" :)

Its been ages since I have wanted to blog .. but you know I have been suffering from the worst “writers block” (if there is something like that) for eons now…!! Well I know someone who’d say "that means I haven’t lived long enough!! ":) But for now just think of it as a hyperbole and go on!!

Well I wanted to start off on a good note writing something meaningful rather than something contorted (there are very little chances that I’ll succeed)!! But well I won’t restrain myself too much so if it’s gonna be meaningful it will be, else what the heck there’ll be many more to come :) (Scope for improvement hona chahiye yaar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

In school I liked poetry a lot. I even tried to be a poetess – someday when I have nothing else to do I’ll put up one of my “oh so wonderful” poems up on this page if you promise not to laugh. Anyways my dad used to be a teacher of English literature. So our house was almost like a library with tons of books right from Homer to Shakespeare, Shelley to Keats. You name it we had it. I swore to read them all someday. But well that one day is not here yet.

Of all the many poems that I studied, the one that stayed on fresh in my heart till today is “The Marriage of True Minds” by William Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare and I think it’s more because Shakespeare is my dad’s favorite. To the extent that our bedtime stories were usually Hamlet, King Lear and the like.

Anyways before I ramble on too far, coming back to where I started, “The marriage of true minds”. To me this was a poem that was best explained to me by my dad so most of my understanding about this poem is mostly his perspective, which I think I have borrowed for life or rather forcibly taken as an inheritance. This poem in my mind is one of the best love poems ever written. What a wonderful way to describe love – the marriage of true minds. It reiterates what we learn in our epics about Lord Krishna and Radha … though they were never married, their love has become immortal and THAT was a marriage of true minds since it did not become a victim of time’s sickle!!
There are countless times that friends have come to me and told me “Iam in love I am in love I am in love”( meant to sound like that hindi movie song, if you know what I am talking about). Well it has happened to me a number of times too (I know someone will not like to hear this and no points for guessing who that is??!!! :) ). A feeling of finding the real thing(Goldspot the zing thing!! Sorry just had to say that!!!!!!). After a while they come back to me and tell me well, I don’t think this is the one (well not everyone’s name is NEO .. duhhh ..abse naam Neo hai tho hi aage baddh – sorry could’nt resist a PJ, its in my blood!!!!). This is when the line “Love is not love which alters when alteration finds” starts playing in my mind like a background score (or more like how Shahrukh’s mind plays music when he sees the ‘Sen’sational Sush in the masaledar Mai hoo na).
Well Shakespeare definitely defined what true love is, but for me I do want to know whether time is the only way you can find out if its true love. I mean, I keep telling people give it time, you will find out. But when they ask me how long? I have nothing to say. So I think, there should be a better way to determine (atleast so that my counseling sessions are more effective :)). Kiske paas time hai aaj kal to wait for “ages” to find out.
I just wanted to know your thoughts. Read this poem if you can, this indeed according to me is the definition of true love. But it does not tell us how to find out whether this love will not alter nor be shaken by tempests. Is time the only one that has the answer? Or is there a litmus test for true love. If you know of any please contribute!! :)

6 comments:

dnyanada said...

hyeeeeeeeeeee...
what is say is so so true... but do u feel that this kind of radha krishna platonic love is there today... when i was doing my BA. in philosophy we were very very eagar to know what's platonic love...but even our prof when ahead and said that it's play for one and tonic for the other... anyway jokes apart... if you could have written the poem along with this blog it would have been such a great pleasure... if u could send it to me... it would be great...

byeeeeeeeeeeeee nice one dear... and so very true... please keep bloging i would love to read it... c ya take care...lots n lots of love
dnyans

Vandana Sarah said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Vandana Sarah said...

Thanks Dnyanada ...
Here is the poem for you and everyone else who wants to know more about it.....

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixèd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare

Anonymous said...

A very nicely written article. Enlightened me ont he fact taht Krishna and Radha were not married. So considering that he ahd something like a 1000 wives, does his love for radha mena he was a philanderer. Else I guess he believed in Polygamy big time. AS far as the poem is concerned I guess I have to read the Marriage of true minds to make a comment on it. As far as the Pj's are concerned a very strong engico influence , but all in all absolutely dil se article

Anonymous said...

Hi Vandu
Good start to the blog. Can't wait to learn the dark secrets that lurk deep down in your mind :-)

By the way, your dad is an English teacher ? !! Reading your blog, it looks like the literary genes skipped a generation.

In parting let me say :
"Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful"
(Midsummer Night's Dream)

Its either a double compliment or.... :-)

love
-Pandurang

Vandana Sarah said...

Thanks for the comments guys!!! It was encouraging!!!

Dnyanada: Hope your enjoyed the poem!! Yes I agree that you almost never get to see this "platonic love" anymore. But great writers have written about it and in my opinion it is something you can experience only if you renounce many of the worldly pleasures you normally would like to experience.

Nick: Thanks much!!! Well from what I know, Lord Krishna and Radha were just two aspects of the same person. And epics say that the purity of their relationship is one you will probably never find again!! About whether Lord Krishna was a philanderer, thats not for us mere mortals to judge!!!

Balaji: Thanks!!! Hope I succeed in keeping my audience happy with my blogs!!

Pandurang: Thanks!! I am a very optimistic person and I take it as a compliment!! As far as the literary genes, I am working on them. Hoping I won't let my dad down!!!

Salman: Thankyou thankyou!!! I'll answer your comment with a quote,
"The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.
- Ludwig von Mises"
And about who would not like to listen to those colorful stories ... Let me put it as a better half of me!!! ;)

Crush dude: Thanks!!! Radha and Lord Krishna never had to get married because they were always a part of each other. Lets put it this way... their love was above the worldly ties of marriage!!! :)

Chotu: Thanks very much!!! Nice one!!! :)