THE CHULBULI ZINDAGI


















“I think, there is a human instinct to tell stories,
no matter who you are and where you live.”
-     Sara Kay


Two days ago, I happened to see a video shared by my younger brother, Vivek. It was around 10.30 in the night, and I was all set to hit the bed. Vivek, perhaps, had shared this video with me, because he knew how much I loved spoken and written words… how much I believed in the power of emotions in our speech and writings. Or, perhaps, he thought it was appropriate to share this video, as the subject of the story was quite relatable in my life: Cancer and my Chulbuli Zindagi…






Spoken-word poetry is a great form of storytelling. Apart from the power of words, what makes this form terrific is the control, the evocative emotions, timings, subtle pauses, voice modulation, gestures and, the close - surprisingly, often, abrupt… leaving us gasping for more!

Yes, watching a video like this, in a way, may sound like not a sensible thing to do while hitting the bed. It had left me stirred and teary-eyed. But, ironically, I got a sound sleep immediately after that… Maybe, it had cleansed my heart, made it a lot lighter!


I have written about the power of emotions in our communication, many times before. To me, it’s the very soul of our communication. What use does our communication serve if it is bland, dry, robotic? Facts and figures are, normally, dry and boring. But, if they are conveyed through evoking feelings, they can go straight into our listeners’ hearts. Our hearts beat alike, they bleed alike, they rejoice alike, hope and despair alike… Childhood and adolescence, romance and heartbreak, health and sickness… old age, death, anxiety and fear… the heaven and the hell, the angels and the demons… yes, we all have them hiding in our hearts. A good communicator knows how to evoke them… set them free!

Sarah Kay has been one of my favorites. I show her videos, often, in our PD sessions to our young ones.






Last night, my wife and I watched many storytelling videos. In particular, we both loved this one from Rakesh Tiwari…







As I said, our hearts beat alike… they bleed and rejoice alike… They hope and despair alike… When we go to bed, all that we cuddle ourselves with is our kittenish life – the chulbuli zindagi… which, somehow, somewhere seems masked…

When unmasked, we are able to experience that priceless kittenish sleep, too!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.:www.flickr.com

Videos: 1. Tape A Tale  2. Scripps College 3. Tape A Tale

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...