St. Vincent

St. Vincent. Picture from Fandango.com

Award seasons open up a lot of fake praise for genuinely cool movies, and also bring up more heartburn for the snubbed real deals.

Anyway, I fancy myself a movie connoisseur and end up watching most of the Oscar worthy performances during the first few months of the year. Not the best way to reach the gems, i know!

Though i have a crush on the Lego Batman this year and that snub will be difficult to get over this year. This year seems to have a very good list of snubbed flicks.

I watched St. Vincent last night. The story and Vincent’s character had a lot of flaws, just like the real world. Of course Bill Murray was Bill Murray. Vincent’s real agonies, family, beliefs are never discussed, but they flip out revealing the real him nevertheless. His story was predictable in a way, just like Oscar nominations on most years.

Melissa McCarthy had toned down quite a bit and was a very realistic mother going through a divorce, but it was Naomi Watts who had turned it a few notches up with her East European Lady of the Night act. It was the boy, Jaeden Lieberher, who stole the show. As if the whole movie played through his eyes.

There is something about the growing up and finding positive role models and keeping yourself together in the world that we live in is going to be a more challenging task for the coming generation. Little Oliver is willing to believe in the goodness in an unlikely Vincent who drinks, gambles and swears (which are no excuses, mind you), we can do with more such searches around us in reality as well, can’t we?

The whole world at the moment can do with a little dose of ‘grow up’ medicines, sugar coated kinds of course. That idea is flawed too, just like everything else i guess.

Boyhood

So I’m playing Family of the Year’s Hero on loop and like millions of movie buffs, ‘Boyhood‘ made me obsessed with that song.

We watched ‘Boyhood’ over the holidays. It was followed by a very big stack of discs and all the leftover movies that we either missed in the theater or decided to wait for the DVD. Turns out our library only had the German version of it. We decided to go with it any way. So watching Boyhood in our newly acquired language made it even more special.

Everyone interested by now knows how the movie was made over the span of 12 years, and Richard Linklater shot the movie for a few days every year and captured the real life growth of a family. And it is so subtle it hits you on a very different level.

Music, hobbies , existential crisis, bad decisions, good and bad haircuts, dwindling confidence, it has everything that makes a normal life. And I get a feeling it has had a very profound influence on Ellar Coltrane who plays the central character Mason who grows up to a unique boy, just like everyone else.

Generally, experiments of art can be interpreted as pretentious at some or the other level. Boyhood defies that. It tells you your own story. No matter what culture you come from, growing up is hard and normal and everything we never expected, but have to go through anyway.

You have to watch it for yourself. Award season has its own process, but for me this movie wrote a permanent place on my all time favourite list.

Charmed by Tenerife

Published in BTW magazine – August 2014

Mars-like lava wasteland, Beaches with golden and black sand, cliffs, mountains, and valleys drenched in flavor of Sangria, Tenerife offers the entire Canary Islands experience in a nutshell…

Pratiksha Thanki

Every time we take off in an unknown direction there is a list of sights, internet research and a determination of not to miss a single sight worth seeing. This had to end. And there was no better place to unwind for two weeks and not follow a schedule than a Canary Island. And we were headed to the largest one of the seven: Tenerife.

It’s not called ‘The Land of Eternal Spring’ for nothing. These islands enjoy a moderate climate of 25 to 30 degree Celsius all year round with only a handful of rainy days. Tenerife has two airports, one is in the North near the capital city Santa Cruz, and we went to the Tenerife South Airport since we were booked in Xavi and Mike’s villa near the coastal town Adeje.
Even before approaching the airport, the Island unleashes its most beautiful views. The peak of the volcano ‘El Teide’ shows up first wrapped in clouds as tiny planes fly parallel to it and then in a few minutes you land on a runway that almost looks like a beach. Right from that moment on, you can’t decide if you want to run to the mountains or to the beach.
We landed up with an old battered car from an airport rental service and then started the adventures on the roads with hairpin curves and steep climbs. This is also the region of resorts offering packaged holidays. Almost every area we passed had at least a couple of high-rise resorts with the balconies facing the sea and large swimming pools and unlimited buffets that attract large groups of British and German tourists.

Right after we checked-in to the villa we got to know that our neighbors, a retired German couple were there for six months. Looking ahead at the beach, the Atlantic sea and the Gomera Island, one could get used to the view and may never want to leave.

Teide National Park

With El Teide as the highest peak of Spain and the islands in the Atlantic, the area surrounding the volcano might as well have been on Mars. Just a half-an-hour drive took us in the boundaries of the national park where the only human connection we could see was a car driving in front of us. The moment we stopped for taking a picture, that car zoomed away; suddenly there was no one around and we could have been on an imaginary planet. It almost felt like a scene from a sci-fi movie. And indeed, it was a location for one of the ‘Planet of the Apes’ and ‘Clash of the Titan’ movies and has been often mistaken for a location for ‘Star Wars’ too. Standing there surrounded by red, black and brown lava rocks, our rental battered car almost looked capable of time or space travel.

Further science fiction like experiences were waiting for us, as we took a cable car all the way to the top of the El Teide and saw the craters of the volcano first hand. At 3718 feet, tasting the clouds seemed like a normal experience compared to the visuals from the outer space. We even ventured into hiking up to the astronomical observatory. The reddish, barren landscape was surrounded by green Pine forest and just about 15 kilometers away from the border of that lay the Atlantic. Such diverse and almost dramatic geography changes the way you look at Nature and all you can do is gape at the landscape open mouthed.

When in doubt, head to the beach

Almost every evening and sometimes entire days were spent at a different beach and Tenerife has plenty of them. Though the natural sand of the island is grey and some beaches like Puerto dela Cruz have unique black sand, the popular beaches like Playa de La Teresitas, Playa de las Americas and Playa de la Vistas have artificial golden sandy beaches, of course the sea and the sunset are 100 per cent natural. The sprawl of beach umbrellas and deck chairs was a tricky business. Often we ended up heading there way before time to grab the best seats for the sunset. Playa de las Americas and Vistas are too popular and have those crowded resorts full of tourists. In an otherwise secluded southern part of the island, they make a perfect place for people watching. As a lot of tourists come here with longer plans, beaches offer a lot more than just shacks and music, one could enroll for a beach Yoga or Zumba class, join a beach volley ball team, take up a cocktail mixing class and make the vacation even more exciting.

Agatha Christie Trail

The deliberate not-do anything decision didn’t last too long as we got to know Agatha Christie had a special Tenerife connection and there was no tailor made guided tour available for that. We made a rough itinerary based on references around the now inactive Taoro hotel she stayed in. Depressed Christie arrived in Tenerife in 1927 after a messy divorce, her mother’s death, dealing with a writer’s block and this is the place that inspired her to one of the most productive phase of her life. We just thought there would be a hotel and a plaque, but there is a small monument of hers at Puerto della Cruz. A glimpse of the black sand and the mystique of that beach can make it easy to understand the effects. The slope of Sitio Litre was where she would often go for walks and then settle in the park to write. She loved to walk all the way to La Paz plateau from there; we couldn’t help doing that too. A guide book notes that the Orotava valley and the deep seated town of La Orotava known for its ancient, aesthetic balconies also were supposed to be her favorites. The town of Orotava that Christie saw in 1920s has hardly seen any changes in time till 2013. Tenerife has cropped up directly or indirectly in her stories ever since, especially in ‘The Mysterious Mr. Quin’ and ‘The Man from The Sea’.

Gigantes and a 1000 years old Dragon tree

We were lured into the professional looking Loro Park that housed a lot of extinct bird species and held orchestrated dolphin shows. The park was cool, but the road leading up to it from the South took us to some of the most scenic and rustic views of the cliffs, coastal towns and the real local life of Tenerife that was missing from the touristic areas. Though now Canary Islands are a part of Spain, the original natives of the island the Guanches still delve in the villages around these areas. Especially around the 1000 years old Dragon Tree that bleeds red when it is cut and the exhibition hall leading up to the tree houses many Canary Islands folklores. The grandeur of that tree could render one speechless but the same can be said of the giant rock formations Gigantes just a few minutes’ drive from the tree. Ranging from 500 to 800 meters height, standing near these cliffs can be awe inspiring. No wonder the ancients Guanches called it the ‘Wall of Hell’.

The Island of Tapas

Freshly made ice cream at Mercado Nuestra Senora Africa in Santa Cruz, buying fresh island fruits, baked goods, spices for Paella can all be a part of Tenerife experience, but one thing that you end up doing the most around the island is stop by for some Tapas. Pitchers of Sangrias, some in giant glasses and tiny umbrellas, some with sparkling sticks and some smelling of fresh fruit wines, almost all bars and restaurants have their own recipe for Sangria and a unique selection of Tapas. Xavi did give us some really cool tips and showed us around. One needs to head to ‘the Patch’ section of the Playa de las Americas if looking for the nightlife on the island. Sea food and variety of fish is to die for too. And no matter what you order, you’ll always end up with a side dish of a plate of Papas Arrugadas (tiny boiled potatoes sprinkled with sea salt) and mojo rojo, the chili sauce that can brighten up almost any dish. Once I ordered Paella to take a break from Tapas and then I couldn’t take a break from Paella for the rest of the trip. That Paella is slow cooked and they warn you about the time it may take, but keep refilling your Sangria till it arrives. And when it does, you may want to move to Tenerife just to eat that every day.

Off you go!

• All major carriers from major cities of mainland Europe or Dubai fly directly to Tenerife.
• If you plan to move around within the island, renting a car or a bike will be sensible and non-expensive.
• It is a special low tax zone that also results into much affordable shopping, though beware of fake gadgets.
• Sea creatures and flora are much easily accessible, if you swim well, instead of going for expensive scuba offers, you can buy your own scuba glasses and experience the sea life without going too far or deep in the sea.
• English is widely spoken, in fact the island is dominated by British tourists and some have settled there with their own businesses.

Good things about life…

It is just not possible to stay calm after you get news these days. I mean the world news. And ironically, they all feel like incidents that would happen to someone else, till they happen to us.

So, before I go to sleep, if I can that is, I have decided to list five good things about my life today.

1. A home cooked meal.

2. The Classical instrumental music channel on the radio – no words, no language

3. Writing about rare places I have visited (Today, it was Lokrum, a secluded Croatian island).

That’s tiny Lokrum where no one is allowed to stay past the sunset…

4. Listening to P G Wodehouse audio book while working out.

5. Listening to excited Dad about his latest acquisition of DVDs on Skype.

Just in case if i can’t sleep, the bonus will be a mug of hot chocolate.

Good night.

Time to reset

Past half a decade, most of the beginnings of the New Years have been spent in transit. So, for me the end of the year would be like that scene in Edge of Tomorrow where Tom Cruise dies, knowing he would wake up at the same moment again,  time will reset. Or like in a video game, you know you have some ‘lives’, some ‘chances’ left. And you set out to do things differently. Not getting crushed by bad habits, fighting the alien forces that aren’t in your control, trying to figure out to get some success, reach a level you haven’t reached yet.

The new round has already started. I must not let the giant black hole of social media gobble up my time. Almost everyone i know is worried about this. The resets we get are limited. Wait a minute, Is that an Alpha behind that boulder? Oh No!!

Sanskrit and German: Solidarity of languages…

So much time and bytes are wasted over languages and books that are respected already. (And yet I throw my own two cents in the mix)

Everyone in all direction on social media behaves with so much sensitivity, it feels like the entire virtual world is a hormone raging teenager. It is strange, aren’t all of us desensitized from real problems with the overload of news, debates, discussions and comments?

Here is the link to my Hindi article on BBC and below is the same content in English.

The solidarity of languages

The merits of two remarkably historical languages have been under a lot of scrutiny, especially on Indian social media since past few days.

Dr. Pratiksha Thanki,  Author and Researcher

As the hoopla was all about Sanskrit and German, willingly or unwillingly Germany was also involved in the discussion. Ironically, if any country outside India cares for Sanskrit enough, it has got to be Germany. That’s where one finds Bhagvad Gita in German even on streets of Berlin along with their respected German philosophical and literary works, Sanskrit-German dictionaries are easily available and German Sanskrit scholars are actively publishing their work. The snoozing Sanskrit language gets all kinds of academic attention possible in the European power house.
And yet, it was the Indian HRD ministry’s decision to first include German in the 3 language plan and then replacing it with Sanskrit or an optional Indian language (which was the original status before 2011 anyway) that has brought the matter so much attention. The Germans have already come up with the new proposal to keep it for higher secondary classes.

As an Indian living in Germany, the entire debate seems a bit crooked. It’s a diplomatic change, and eventually any student from India will be free to learn any and as many languages he or she wants to, then why is it being turned into such a big issue?

Let’s be straightforward about one thing. Germany has a huge number of industries, a hopeful job market and reputed universities that don’t burden you with never-ending student loans. An increasing likability, growing away from the shadows of the mid20th century, makes Germany a much more attractive destination. The condition for qualified people to get work in German is: One needs to learn German. Whether you learn it as a compulsory subject in schools of your country or not, isn’t their problem.

Following German media makes one think that crossing the barrier of German language would definitely create a lot more jobs for Indians than Sanskrit would ever do. For that one just has to look at the spread of German firms even in India.
The utility of a language is always debatable. And if a pros and con list is made, German will turn out to be a more practical choice of the two if only looking from the employment point of view. Yet, it never hurts to pick up an extra language. The

‘Summer School of Spoken Sanskrit’ in Heidelberg definitely seems to know the benefits of that.
The intention of promoting Sanskrit is to honour the language of India’s heritage. It is the language of spirituality for a big part of the world as well. Sanskrit may not be too active, but it lives on in various forms of Indian languages anyway. Respecting your own language is a concept Germans definitely understand.

Goethe was a fan of Kalidasa. And he left behind some brilliant quotations for those writing papers on Kalidasa today, in any language. Going by the direction of the tide, a lot of students will need to brush up on both these literary giants. Crude opinions don’t hamper with the solidary that exists between the languages for centuries, they are not competitors. After all, ‘Sanskrit and German’ sounds much better than ‘Sanskrit vs. German’.

Begin Again

The routine way of looking at ‘Begin Again‘ or any movie featuring music as a catalyst will be that music saves the characters. Even the movie was initially titled ‘Can a Song Save your Life?’.

Just to think of it, the music has been there all along in the lives of these characters. Dan (Ruffalo) and his wife are both in the music business, Greta (Knightley) and her rock star boyfriend Dave are also constantly surrounded by making music, writing songs, even her friend Steve who plays music on the street, lives in a dingy apartment full of recording instruments. Music is everywhere in the universe of this movie.

They have to take their music out of the tangles they have created in their lives. In a way, the characters give a new direction to the music in their lives. Sometimes a different setting or different people help you see the same old people and music in new light or simply help you look inwards. There is a scene where Dan and Greta walk through New York plugged into their iPod listening to each other’s play-list. After all you can tell a lot about a person by their taste in music isn’t it?

If you look at it from your opinion of ‘Once’ (also directed by John Carney), ‘Begin Again’ might look too shiny with a big star cast, a studio distribution and all that jazz. However, that’s not what makes it lovable. It is a kind of movie that anyone with even a bit of music in their lives will be able to appreciate.

It is a story of two characters who accidentally meet and literally start making music outside the box, the confinements of studios and the traditional production details.

Too many feel good, preachy movies that try too hard at reaching out, are out and about these days. ‘Begin Again’ may look like one of those on the surface, but watching it will make you realize how it defies a lot of Rom Com cliches.

Mark Ruffalo’s Dan Mulligan is raw and over the top and expectedly misunderstood. Just watch him stand in the middle of that cafe, adding musical paraphernalia to Greta’s song with tired eyes and the sated smile of listening to a song that stirs him back to life. And who knew Keira Knightley could sing so well too? Adam Levin and James Corden also add to the shine of the movie.

It was drawing similar gushing reactions from a mixed audience last night. Not enough movies make me want to write about them these days. The image that is still left with me is that of Greta singing ‘Coming Up Roses’ in the street studio set up around the trash cans and Dan convinces some kids playing on the street to be the chorus and sing ‘hold on, hold on’.