Skip to main content

A REVELATION OF SORTS

For some, rain is captivating. Some others say rain is nostalgic. I had always maintained that rain was inspiring, but that day was different. Despite the sky opening its floodgates over my flat and its surroundings at the scenic Fort Kochi, I was anything but inspired. I was on my couch, with my netbook by my side and had finished typing my latest piece of fiction. It was three years ago that I had, rather inadvertently, discovered that I could actually write prose. After a few unsuccessful trysts with some leading magazines, I resorted to social media for publishing my works. Likes, comments and shares made me quite famous. In fact, my works do have some following in the cyberspace.

As I said before, I had finished typing a new story, but the problem I was facing was that I couldn’t find an appropriate title for my work. A thousand seconds and half a dozen titles flashed through, but none gave me any satisfaction. As I was still pondering over it, my phone rang. Unknown number.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi sir. Read your last work that you had posted on facebook. Frankly, it was brilliant. I loved it.’
Oh thank you very much. As you might know, that was not my first work.’

‘I have gone through every of your stories, but none touched me to the core the way this did. Clearly this one was a cut above the rest.’

‘Nice to hear that. By the way, you are?’

‘I would appreciate if you would not ask that.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Just consider me as one of your readers. Isn’t that enough?’

‘But what’s wrong with me knowing your name?’

‘It’s not about being wrong, sir. Only that it is unnecessary. We both are total strangers. You write stories and I read them. After reading a story I couldn’t resist from calling you. My name is not of significance here. Hope you understand my point.’

‘But if you wouldn’t tell me your name, I might waste time thinking over the mysterious caller, right? Isn’t it better if you could tell me?’

‘I have reservations about what you said, sir.’

‘Enlighten me.’

‘Well, if I didn’t tell my name, you might think about it for a while but eventually you’ll forget. On the other hand, consider the scenario of me telling you my name. I am Mr. Z for instance. In that case, whenever you come across a person named Z, my thoughts also could come to your mind. That is, you’ll think about this stranger all through your life. I felt I could make that not happen by simply not revealing an irrelevant bit of information. Okay, sir?’

‘Hmm. As you wish. Good day, gentleman.’




And I ended the rather eccentric conversation. Nevertheless, all of what he said was not bluff. I thought about a Hollywood movie that I had watched some time ago. In that movie, the protagonist was always shown wearing a mask. His real face never revealed, and I must accept this gave the hero a certain level of awe. Vikas Swarup, the celebrated author of the Slumdog Millionaire once echoed similar sentiments. Through a character in his novel Six Suspects, he stated that women in lingerie were a lot more appealing than nude ones.

Riding by this new wave of thoughts, I had another shot at my untitled work. After reading from the very beginning to the last period, I felt my work was complete in all sense. A title seemed out of place. As if the extra bit of information would kill the essence of the story.  And I posted the story without any titles. In under two minutes, the first ‘like’ was registered. I withheld my urge to check the name of who had liked. With a click, I logged out of the world that made me what I was. The downpour had not ceased. I found the rain seducing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Out

  “Hey, I don’t see you around these days!” “Ohh hi! Well, I have been quite busy you know…now with the new job and all” “Even on weekends? You know I got a place quite close to your work right? I handle all these spots so that you can hang out whenever you want.” “Umm yea I guess. Maybe next week?” “Next week is what you promised me three months ago.” “Ugh…I will…try to come! My parents are coming every week anyway right?” “Your parents are good people but I care about you as well. Don’t you get it? Is there something you wanna tell me? I have seen you sharing some pretty controversial stuff about me online.” “Wait a minute. I do not think we follow each other on social media. How do you see my posts?” “Come on, you know I work in mysterious ways!” “I am not sure if I am entirely comfortable with that invasion of my privacy” “For my sake do not fret about it! Here, I have a gift for you. Wear this when you come to my place next week.” “What is this? A headscarf? Why? You know I don’t

Annual Filgrimage

Most of the film festivals around us were conceived before a time when the numerous OTT platforms or even the Internet was a thing. Those days, we could only watch the movies that were screened in the cinemas near us. Film festivals were probably the only way to get a taste of cinema from around the world. Now, of course, times have changed so much that a South Korean TV show was the biggest hit of the past year worldwide. We have digital platforms offering carefully curated, critically acclaimed movies. Content has never been more accessible.  In such a time, have film festivals lost their relevance? One look at the huge crowds who turned up for this year’s IFFK would tell you the answer is a big, loud NO. Film festivals are all about movies, and yet not only about watching them. The feeling of a community action that you get when you see co-delegates with their clothe-bags and id tags, the adrenaline rush from the careful scrutiny of the screening schedule to pick the films matching

Movie Review : The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Title : The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Language : Silent Movie Year : 1920 Director : Robert Wiene Genre : Horror IMDB Link Watch movie on YouTube Lead Role :   Friedrich Feher, Werner Krauss The movie is widely acknowledged as one of the landmark revolutionary offerings from the long gone era when movies did not speak. It may be technically incorrect to call a silent film German, nevertheless it was made in Germany during a time period when the European nation was in turmoils after the devastating World War I. The story begins with a young man by the name of Francis starts narrating the hardships faced by him and his fiancee (Jane) and the very peculiar, even horrifying doings of a strange man, Dr. Caligari. Dr. Caligari owns a stall at a nearby exhibition, and on display is a somnambulist Caeser, who allegedly has slept for 23 straight years! The doctor awakens him, and he answers questions asked by the spectators. To the horror of the locals, his prophecies comes true. Mean