Ab Aeterno

One of the most important things you should know about me is my love for Lost. I believe it is the most amazing TV series to have ever been created. Once in a while comes something that just changes the way you look at things, at life in general. I've been an ardent fan ever since it debuted on television screens in 2005. A million thanks to my sister who told me about it and got me hooked too. These days I try to catch up with the reruns whenever I can. It was two weeks ago that I got a chance to watch one of my most loved episodes titled 'Ab Aeterno'. The title is Latin for "from eternity", a phrase used to mean "since the beginning" or "for long ages". The 9th episode from season 6 i.e. the final season is a treat to watch. Surprisingly, it does not talk about any of the main characters from the show. It is about a man named Richard Alpert.

From the beginning of the series we've all been a bit intrigued about his character. There is always a sense of mystery surrounding him because nothing about him is ever known. Especially when we see him never die or whenever someone ponders over his age or how long has he been living on the island. He leaves the viewers baffled. Thus gives rise to some misconceptions about him. People think that he is somewhat sinister or portrays shades of grey. All the notions are dispelled in Ab Aeterno.

Richard is Ricardo in 1867. His story begins with him riding a horse through Canary Islands, making his way to his beloved wife who is suffering from a deadly disease. He is helpless as he tries to reassure her that he will save her and goes to fetch help. His wife, Isabella, gives him her gold cross that she wears around her neck. Despite heavy rains, he reaches the doctor only to be treated with disrespect and demeaned because he lacks enough money to buy the medicines. He tries to reason with him by giving him his wife's cross, but he refuses to accept it. Unintentionally, he gets into a fight with him which ends in the doctor dying accidentally. He rushes back to his wife with the medicines only to find her dead and cold. He doesn't even get enough time to mourn and is taken away by the police to be hanged. A chance stroke of fate in the form of his ability to speak English sees him being sold off as a slave to another man. On his way, the ship on which Richard is chained below the deck along with others like him, gets caught up in a horrible storm and shipwrecks on the 'Island' that we've all come to know and love. Since they are short of food and supplies, the officer on the ship decides to kill all the slaves. When its Richard's turn to die, the Smoke Monster introduces himself and kills the officer and everybody else except Richard. So now he is trapped under the deck, chained, hungry, thirsty and miserable. He tries to free himself but in vain. It is during one of the many days when he tries to release himself that he sees a vision of his wife. She comes to him and tells him that he is dead and that they are actually in Hell. Seeing his wife after such a long time, a part of him forgets that she is no more and he readily believes whatever she has to say. We see him helpless all over again as he believes that he's lost Isabella once again when the Smoke Monster comes for her. A few days pass and he is rescued by the Man In Black (Smoke Monster) who extracts a promise out of him to help him get off the Island in return for his freedom. He agrees readily. Preying on his weakness that is his love for his wife, the Man in Black convinces him that a man named Jacob has his wife and needs to be killed. Armed with a dagger given to him for this purpose he reaches the spot where Jacob is supposed to reside. Instead of what was planned, he is ambushed by Jacob and is soon brought to his senses. He realizes that he was being fooled into believing that his wife was being held captive by Jacob when she is indeed dead and that they are not in Hell. He enters into an agreement with Jacob to protect the Island and never let the Man in Black leave the Island. When asked what would he want in exchange for his services, he asks for his wife. Since Jacob can't bring back his dead spouse he promises him immortality. Richard is endowed with special powers that allow him remain untouched by old age or any other ailments forever. When the Man in Black gains knowledge of his plan going awry, he still tries his very best to convince Richard to join him by telling him that his offer of them leaving the Island together with his wife would always stand. Thus planting a seed of hope in his heart that never really dies. Decades pass by and Richard sees many people come and go from the Island. He doesn't age. Immortality, though considered a boon, can also prove to be the bane of one's existence. Richard finds that out the hard way when he loses all sense of purpose and thinks that he is leading an aimless life. He thinks he should have taken up the tempting proposal he was offered years ago and one fine day, after what seems like a really long time, in a moment of weakness and hopelessness he goes back to find the Man in Black asking him that he is ready to do what he wants if his offer about his dead wife still stands.

And that is why I'll always love this episode. The fact that even after decades, more than a century, Richard still wants to be with his wife is proof of the fact that immortality might not affect how a person feels about someone. It proves that maybe some people have hearts so strong that it is stands unaffected by the many trials and tribulations of life. It authenticates the fact that maybe love in some hearts remains unchanged even in the face of time and distance. Richard may have come across many people all those decades when he could have so easily given in to his need for companionship but he never did. Instead all he ever wanted  was to be with his wife all along. That was his wish from the beginning of his story when he tries all possible means to keep her alive during her illness and it remained his only wish when he was desolate at the bottom of the ship or when he was dejected and devoid of hope at the end of the episode. And it is this undying love that finally guides him to the right path.

 Do we love stories of unending love because we are well aware of its elusiveness but still yearn for it? Or do we as humans never want to let go of that shred of hope that somewhere people like really Richard do exist? Why should something that comes naturally from within us be considered fantastical? Isn't that why we were all blessed with a heart in the first place?

iDEAL

" You are either really smart or extremely dumb." 

Throughout your whole life you meet people who may or may not agree with your POV. People who are as adamant about their world view as you are. For me, most of the times, there's no point in arguing with them as they will hold on to their opinions and you won't relinquish your belief systems either. Hence, it would only escalate to a stubborn war-of-the-words with both parties refusing to budge. Saving your precious time and energy for something much more fruitful and respecting the other's thinking would be the only way out.

It was during one of my charred-with-carefreeness college days, that I had the chance of coming across someone who, because of my one such candid admission, gave me an earful every single time we came face to face. The lady in question happened to be one of my professors. I'm sure that we've all had teachers who have been great influences on our minds, who've had sizable contributions in shaping us the way we are, the kind that make us want to go back to school/college again. And then there are those who we had to endure. Most of them out of fear. Some out of respect, which some perceive as also a by-product of fear.

Amidst a rather tolerable lecture for Foundation Course, she sprung a question towards us.

"Who, according to you, is your ideal?"

She further elaborated to the just-woken-up-from-a-daze faces.

"It could be anyone, your Mom, Dad, an elderly person, a known personality."

Pah! That's easy! Everyone started coming up with answers ranging from celebrities to parents.

I was racking my brains trying to come up with a name. Any name.

When it was my turn, I stood up and replied, "No one."

Her expression still graces my memory. It was somewhere between being aghast and ridiculed, or both.

"No one?" she asked, stunned.

"No one."

"Not even your parents or grandparents?" she hoped.

"No."

Then came the reply that started off this piece in the first place. I was miffed. Having an opinion that differs from the rest is NOT a crime in my dictionary. I shrugged my shoulders and replied,

"Maybe."

I was told in a stern voice to sit down.

Why do we as humans always need an ideal? Someone who we want to be like? Aren't we perfect just the way we are? Why can't we lead life and learn our own lessons and navigate unchartered waters with inexperience? Isn't that what our 'ideals' did too? Weren't they just as human as we are? They made mistakes too. How can they be placed on a higher pedestal?

There are innumerable well known and respected personalities from various fields who are revered like Gods. They are made out to be someone who possesses a persona that exceeds mere mortal boundaries. While it is absolutely essential to acknowledge the gargantuan and laborious efforts that these people employ in their various disciplines that earns them their credentials, treating them as someone incapable of making blunders and touting them as ideals is the worst form of exaggeration.

There are people who stand by certain principles and the same people denounce it somewhere down the line. Many a times, in a discreet fashion, which then forms the base for a crispy headline. The same people who worshipped the 'inspiration' start loathing him. Then begins the name-calling. People who expound themselves as being morally correct are the first ones who illustrate just the opposite. One weak moment, and snap!

We create idealistic notions of certain people in our heads but forget that they are but human beings too! I don't mean to disrespect anyone when I say this but I don't think we were made with such a degree of finesse or perfection that it would warrant us being idolized. We are all characteristically flawed. Be it people we admire from afar - celebrities we read about every day, great leaders that have paved/scarred nations, alleged God men with displaced ideologies, politicians with faces aplenty or those we meet during the course of our normal lives - teachers, friends, colleagues, etc. We are all fickle creatures. I don't deny the fact that I myself admire some known faces as well as those unknown. People that I don't know but see every day. But I know that the moment I start idolizing them they will be preceded by a bad decision adversely affecting them and/or the people around them. Sometimes its effect resonating through ages, on people who aren't even born yet.

Hence, it is better to rather piss someone off with your true opinion than adopt a code of belief riddled with double standards.

The Orb of Reality

Places she goes,

The dreams she conceives,

The souls, the minds touched,

The stories imagined,

The images of joy and mirth,

Of authenticity there's a dearth,

The hearts pronounced with cruelty,

She fills them up with humanity,

If only in her mind's eye,

They're all but unkind,

Shadows that belong to strangers,

Faces with innumerable masks,

A charade in her head,

To venture out there, she's afraid,

Of monsters, known and unknown,

Of a world so far thrown,

Actuality doesn't belong here,

It's a safe haven against danger,

But she does herself a favor,

She never treads further,

And never fastens her ruminations,

To the uncertain bond of expectations,

The orb of reality always by her side,

To take a good look inside,

Pulled back by truth's zephyr,

Whenever she drifts afar

With her hands pressed to the cold bars,

That open to the doomed path of covetous hours,

Whenever she lifts her eyes filled with yearning,

Whenever she feels that familiar aching,

The orb, heaves her back to realism,

To her carefully guarded life in a prism...

A Worthy Cause for A Better Tomorrow

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A true fright fest!

 

It's been a little over than a week since I watched The Conjuring and I must say it still scares the daylights out of me. I've always been a fan of this genre. And it had been quite some time since I had seen a 'good horror movie'. Okay, let me tell you what, according to me, a 'good horror movie' comprises of. It needs to have those three very important things: A good story, good characters, and a good score. And that is why this film is a horror movie buff's dream come true. It's the kind of movie that would stay with you for a long time. The kind of movie that would make you sit up at the slightest sound. The kind that would make you think twice before venturing in the dark all alone or make even random objects seem unearthly. The classic horror movie feeling (The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror) brought back in vogue, courtesy - Director James Wan (Saw series). Personally, I prefer horror movies that have the ability to instill fear in you even without someone's brains spilling out or a ghoul with freakishly long hair that inexplicably keeps getting in the way of everyone involved, or a lot of blood and gore. It does NOT mean that I can't handle it, but I just prefer the whole tension building element in a movie. It is more fearful when you know that there's someone out there but you can't see it rather than having a ghost coming right at you. The story is quite engaging as it unravels slowly and gradually and everything that has been shown in the movie is related at some point, like the Annabelle angle. I also liked the way they've weaved two stories together - that of the Perrons and the Warrens. Their stories move in sync and you are introduced to each of their lives simultaneously. The characters are believable, their problems are authentic, their pain is convincing. Especially Vera Farmiga, who does an amazing job at making even trivial things seem scary with her credible expressions. Loved the ruffled collar look. Lili Taylor as the harrowed mother of five is truthful in her portrayal. And finally the score! Joseph Bishara gives a spine chilling background score that only amplifies your fear. Even in moments in the film when you won't see something lurking in the background you'll surely be going crazy anticipating something due to the music. There were quite a lot of scenes that give you that familiar jolt that only a genuine horror movie can give. One of the scenes had my mom shrieking! (Sorry, mom) Still, the above was just MY opinion of the movie which I found to be quite engaging. There are some pinheads out there who just don't know / can't appreciate a good fright fest when they see it . But a movie like this makes me brood over why we can't come up with stuff like this? Genuine horror that doesn't need the crutch of 3D viewing to lure people inside the theatres. This one's surely going to go in the DVD library! Loved every minute of it!