Memoir of a Farewell

 

"Do you even know who goes to church on Thursday? Losers". That's Missy to Mandy in the Season Finale of Young Sheldon. I don't know if this Thursday reference was a hidden Easter Egg but I couldn't think of a better way to start putting my thoughts together to describe what Sheldon, his family, his friends, his teachers and even his arch enemies mean to me. Young Sheldon bid the world Farewell this past Thursday and as much as both Shelly and Dr. Sheldon Cooper will belittle me for my English, it is indeed the End of an Era.

"The Big Bang Theory" and "Young Sheldon" aired on Thursday, the former started in 2007, aired for 12 Seasons till 2029 and the latter had it's run from 2017 to 2024 for 7 Summers. I don't remember how I got into the OG but the Thursdays in USA made my Friday afternoon extremely important. My 3-12 PM Shift during News Editorial days meant I would keep make sure that I download the Torrent for the latest episode by Friday noon, put it on U-Torrent while keeping my Laptop running, so that when I have the latest TBBT episode downloaded upon reaching home by 1 AM. This was the Era when we didn't speak of Internet as even 2G, and downloading a 699MB movie file meant 8-9 hours of the awesome 32KB/s speed. Gladly, even if the download failed at times, I could be up for the entire night and re-start download for an 150MB something TBBT mp4 file. Of course, a lot changed with time, the world got OTT and I could watch it with better quality and zero buffering. Friday download also included the torrent for the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries, but that is for another chapter.

These two shows are essentially all about the being misfits despite being brilliant in their skills and talent. Everyone struggles from something or another challenge - be it emotions, recognition, partnership, health, job and even finances - and yet everyone finds comfort because they never get alone when lonely. There is a sense of longing to belong but the happiness one gets when we are find our tribe by just being ourselves. No one is perfect, even someone as cool as Georgie goes through his thoughts (his final words to his father - living TBBT memory of Sheldon and Georgie opening up while the former met him, with Leonard, to invite him for his wedding).

Even Mary found Jesus when George Sr passed away with "See y'all later". "See y'all later" - the amount of time Sheldon re-imagines the past after these words - it breaks my heart. Its all sings for schizophrenia and yet I don't feel bad about it. Because, unlike any other series, we do know what happens thereafter - Poetic Justice to Sheldon and definitely to his family, friends (new and old), his teachers and even his arch enemies. (Side Note: I laughed on the mention of last two as I re-read the sentence for my first copy-edit, the one during drafting.)

Remember when Sheldon recounts to his mother on the phone that he proposed Amy after Dr. Ramona Nowitzki surprised kissed him, Mary mentions that she must have prayed a little harder for two women to kiss Sheldon in one day. I may sometimes have tough time to not believe in the Creator but the precision of the Universe, while making me cry unbelievably hard at Mary's Eulogy for George, at least makes it logical to conclude that there is a Creator. And it will all be Happy in the end, if I stick to being myself - A Misfit. And having faith does not make me a Loser.

ShAmy did not wait for cloning and got a hockey loving son and acting enthusiast daughter by the old fashioned way, yet Shelly knew that the house he grew up, the chair his father sat, his spot on the living room couch, the dining table where the family ate together - all were gone - and the only right thing was to "taking it all in one last time, so I remember  it when I'm older".

I know this will not be my end with the two series, nevertheless, "See y'all later".

Mohabbatein Lessons, 20 Years On!

Mar Bhi Jayein Pyar Walein..

Mitt Bhi Jayein Yaar Walein..

Zinda Rehti Hai Unki Mohabbatein..

In year 2000, filmmaker and scion of then India's biggest film production house, Aditya Chopra, brought out his second directorial Mohabbatein on October 27 2000, a Diwali release. Chopra's directorial debut, 19955's Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayeinge, was still screening in cinemas even after 5 years and had become a cult, rivalling Ramesh Sippy's Sholay. It was also back then that Diwali was the only prestigious calendar date reserved only by the biggest of release and the DDLJ factor combined with Yash Raj release was nothing short of magnetic pull for audience into cinema halls. But Mohabbatein was different, and iconic, in more ways than the traditional touch.

Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein was the launch pad of 6 young actors, one being Yash Chopra's youngest son, unlike any other big movie. Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were working for the second time together, but unlike their June 2000 release Josh where they played Twins, the two were paired as lovers. But most importantly, Mohabbatein was a re-launch pad, unlike ever seen in world cinema, for screen legend Amitabh Bachchan, who was finally accepting his age with a screen role that justified his talent and his invincibility as an actor and not just be relegated to character actor status.

Amitabh Bachchan, then 58, had his last iconic release a full decade ago, in 1990. The path breaking Agneepath felt too big shoes to follow up and despite a few moderate hits, Bachchan's 90s decade was just like Hindi Cinema's 80's decade - a bit trashy, a lot overdone and overexposed, and complete with a story of even personal financial setbacks - his ill-fated company ABCL. It is said that Bachchan, reeling with the possibility of selling his house Prateeksha to pay off his loans, had walked to Yash Chopra's office to ask him for a film to save his career and his life. Chopra Sr, had by that time found his production house's golden boy in Shah Rukh Khan, after having worked with him in iconic blockbusters Darr, DDLJ and Dil To Pagal Hai, but reportedly acknowledged Bachchan and had his son work on a film which released as Mohabbatein.

Why Mohabbatein, 20 years since it's release, holds an important and almost ominous concern today is because while Amitabh Bachchan, at 58, understood the need for him to accept his age and have his filmmaker friends and new generation filmmakers that grew up on his cinema slowly but steadily keep designing film a myriad of roles for him that has still not showed any signs of relegating him to a character actor status, his then co-star and then-biggest draw for theatre audience, Shah Rukh Khan, at 55 years of age today (SRK turns 55 on November 1 2020), need to take urgent lessons from Bachchan's career trajectory.

Amitabh Bachchan gained popularity as the Angry-Young Man in 1970s because the India back then needed a cinematic voice to reflect their own anger on various elements in society. Shah Rukh Khan, on the contrary, became the eternal romantic hero in 1990s and followed this in most of the 2000's first decade, with his film choices. Both actors became cult figures in Indian cinema, to the extent that while their audience grew in generation, they got stuck with their screen image. However, unlike Amitabh Bachchan, SRK has been a great businessman and with stakes in film production (now extending to OTT films and series), a graphics studio that literally works on almost every big release in Hindi, multiple sport franchises and partnerships in various media outlets.

SRK may not have to walk to producers to ask for film roles but fact remains that the icon is suffering non-acceptance of his film choices while his contemporaries Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devg , along with a sea of much younger actors, have caused a huge dent on the image of SRK, the actor. While an SRK film may continue to earn more than ₹100 crores at the box office, it is a failure because expectations will always be mamoth, even with small films like Fan and Raees. The failure of SRK as a star has also got a lot to do with the fact that SRK bankrolls all his acting projects, even as co-producer, and gives a full free hand to his director with the budget, case in point - a wonderful idea like 2018's Zero destroyed with over indulgence.

It is fair enough to pronounce that even the best of filmmakers don't know how to handle the stardom of SRK and today's young team of assistants that roam around stars like SRK are not sharing on truth on the script's and film's potential because they are all YES SIR people only indulging in fanning the egos of stars. Also, SRK needs to not just pick subjects that will suit him as an actor and star but also chose his co-stars who can match his appeal and create excitement. His iconic pairing with Kajol in the poorly scripted Dilwale was a total waste to cash on sentiments, while just a 5 minute scene with his one time co-star Aishwarya Rai (now Bachchan) in Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil rivalled Aishwarya's pairing with Ranbir Kapoor.

Shah Rukh Khan has not had a single film release for almost two years now, since the mamoth debacle of Zero, and there is no official announcement of his next release. The latest buzz around film circles is that he will star and co-produce Siddharth Anand's next action thriller Pathan and will have Deepika Padukone and John Abraham as his co-stars. If SRK is just looking for a War like mega-blockbuster, Pathan might actually be his best bet but the film doesn't seem like it will be released anytime before 2022. SRK will be 57 years old by then, with almost 4 years of no movie release while his male acting colleagues of all age not just working for cinema audience but the even wider accessible OTT platform.

Mohabbatein had a 58 year old Amitabh Bachchan reinventing himself into Angry Old Man but with Aishwarya Rai as his screen daughter and emotions of a parent that connected with every young child and parent in the audience. Will Pathan or any other movie be that re-invetion for SRK's iconic lover image or just another way to earn big money to cross the ₹300 or even ₹400 crore mark at domestic box-office? Or will he just pass on the baton this kids Aryan and Suhana, both looking at films for career.

As the lyrics from Mohabbatein goes,

"Duniya Mein Kitni Hai Nafratein

Phir Bhi Dilon Mein Hai Chahatein.."

Love is more strong and forever than Anger. Shah Rukh Khan, the maverick businessman, needs to set his acting priorities straight and unlike Amitabh Bachchan, while he has a better financial and social standing in the industry, the competition from his colleagues is way loud and the current audience is far less forgiving. Will Shah Rukh be the true torch bearer of the iconic status of Amitabh Bachchan?

Confessions, Symbiont and Time

Venom confesses, "We all have our own problems, our own issues, our own demons."

The demon, that Venom unflinchingly speaks about, is there in every individual as a Symbiont, living a symbiotic life. 'A symbiont is the smaller of the two and is always the beneficiary in the relationship, while the larger organism is the host and may or may not derive a benefit.'

My symbiotic relationship with my demons dates back to as long as I can recall my life in time; never being myself and always someone else's idea of the me, when inside all I wanted was to break free with screaming. All that time, when I let my demons derive the worst from me, I never thought I will be have to face the same time again, as confessions, like the time never moves forward. My time, in all its beautiful blessings, has stayed still, because of the confessions of my demons.

I am no Stanley Ipkiss or Eddie Brock, but the unseen Symbiont in my life refuses to let me go. Today I wish to be the me that I really wanted to. And it kills me with all this pain and loneliness and even laziness as my time keeps moving but I keep falling back. I really want to see my future work without any regret.

It scares me to even write. I am terrified of writing, because every word I form, every sentence I create, will ultimately be recorded in history as part of human's messy language that never conveys the time and feelings of the writer. A tool can be weapon, as per the judgement of the user. So is our language; and even our demons too perhaps.

Can these demons be controlled? The symbiont could have bonded with anyone but only the deepest desire of Ipkiss to be the centre of attention and Brock's rage and frustration could have created Mask and Venom, respectively. Both cases have a symbiont that thrives on their host, it is for them to timely confess to self where their problems, issues and demons rest.

Ipkiss and Brock, though had one more thing in common, apart from the symbiotic relationship - they both had a lady love, to calm their symbiont down. I need to find mine. Will Time as a Karmic entity be same? I can't think anything greater than time.

I have made my time non-linear because of my demons when it should be the me as a host who should work on living a clear life. Say more often what I want to and be myself more and more often, so that my symbiont and me become one.

I know time will heal all demons but with a non-linear life like me, I better get working to find that one love, physical or metaphysical, to not just calm myself down but win over my Symbiont without having to throw it off.

Sitting in a filth that I will wash off, my human language may remain messy but the confessions will never be in linear time frame. I do hope so.

Vikalp Tyagi, "You Better Lie"!

What can be said about a 28-year-old guy who recently died? That he was the most fearless journalist his age; never intimidated by anyone to approach for a debate or a discussion. That he loved reading and writing; from poetry to sports; from history to literature; from politics to entertainment. That he had the most contagious energy to make you think that nothing is impossible in life, be it work or love. That he fought with almost everybody; and yet it was impossible to hate him because his fights were never degrading and only meant to reach a factual solution that will make everyone grow. That no adversity in life could ever stop him - till death did him apart from his life.

Vikalp Tyagi, known to all in his Social Group (on and off the Social Media) as Zypsy's Story, passed away on February 6th, 2018. Despite the above tall claims about his life, a trickle-down effect of what can be seen on his Facebook account after his death, Vikalp Tyagi might end up being unknown to the world at large. His amazing experiences, stories and life confessions will now only be passed as word of mouth from everyone who could be a part of his life. But that does not and will never ever make his life even slightly less worthy of not being remembered.

The biggest truth of life is death and yet it can never be easy to accept. I have seen really old people, who have lived a full life, are in their 90s but still are scared to die. Vikalp was only 28-year-old, unmarried, had a girlfriend with whom he often posted couple pics with, loved to travel with friends and enjoyed life in entirety. He was with his family in the last week of his life, very much making them laugh and amazing them with his energy levels. In Vikalp's own words (to his Father), four days before his death, he "slept and rested in his house, unlike anything he ever experienced before in life.".

But Vikalp Tyagi died. How? That is The Question I have been hearing on phone calls and reading on Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Somehow, and sadly, I feel anyone who asks this question also has a set of multiple choice answers ready in their mind - no matter how much good they knew Vikalp in person. It is same for everyone, including me, when I ever get to know that someone I knew, close or casually, is no more. But after a visit to Vikalp's family in his hometown Muzzafarnagar, the "How" for Vikalp's death can be only answered by quoting the words of someone who was with him in his last moments.

Vikalp's Father's Best Friend: "Sirf dimaag his to tha uske paas" (translate, "He was all brains")

... and on the fateful night of February 6, 2018, Vikalp Tyagi breathed his last before he died because of BRAIN SWELLING.

If it really matters anyone s to how Vikalp Tyagi lived his last days and moments, they will talk to his family, or friends who visited his family or at least spoke to the family. He was unwell, not sad. Life has given a closure to Vikalp. Time for all of us to at least give our conscious and subconscious multiple choice answers a closure also, if nothing more.

As for me, Vikalp will always be my classmate from PG Journalism. He will always be that classmate I had one of my sharpest egoistic argument with; yet decided to be friends with him (selfishly) after he narrated me his script for a short-film for our College Fest. The narration was so good that I was blown away and had to befriend him. His talent made me see his worth and I got lucky. With time, we became brothers who talked and fought and abused and ate and drank and traveled and danced and had post-midnight drives (bunking during office hours) and had sleepovers together. My last pic with him is also after a sleepover after a get-together at another college friend's home. We did meet many times after that but...

The short-film, Vikalp wrote and directed, which brought us together, lost its soul in the edit. In the edit of my life after Vikalp's death, I will also move on to new laughs despite his forever absence. But the name of that short-film will always be the first thing I will think about whenever I will think of Vikalp Tyagi and his untimely death - "YOU BETTER LIE".

My Big Little Screams

'Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.' 

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.

Life is and will never be just a quote. There is always something that will come after that quote was made. Piglet did so too. Still, even that is also no end. There will always be a past and present to the situation, add to that the life of the person(s) involved. In short, there is no real end and beginning.

However small or big, my heart has become full of all of the gratitude that was required of my life to have for anyone and everyone in my life. I have been as much of a good family member, an honorable professional, a trustful friend, and a diligent lover as much as anyone can ever be. But now I need to clearly define myself, work on the gratitude for my own life. I want to be move from being liked to being respected. Anymore I am asked or made to live for others, without working on myself, I will explode.

What I am today is because of the past I have lived. Theatre brought down my ego and made me understand the importance of conversation, especially listening to others. Shooting for Shashank's documentary about "Looking at Straights in a Gay World" made me actually happy about myself for the first time. But it was Nani's death in February 2015, which really made me burn myself, one bad habit after another, to become a better individual. Ever since then, there have been few defining moments that hit the change process for a speed-up.

1. Mid-March 2015 get-together with friends from Journalism: It made me realize the importance of time with friends, and not to take either of the two for granted.
2. End-March 2015 date with Richa, where I felt suicidal seeing myself being Straight.
3. My emotional break-down and a really bad coming out to my family, on April 3, 2015.
4. A mid-summer realization that I really did not need to come out to anyone, but to myself. Because nothing changed in me for the outside world - not my clothes, or my speaking style or my actions. But a lot needed a change in my heart and mind.
5. Ankita's wedding in November 2015, which made me emotional enough to come out to not just her, but to all my friends from ISOMES, along with Mohit and Monika.
6. Coming out to Richa by pouring all of the remaining guilt in February 2016.
7. Becoming friends with the gang from Shiamak after our Summer Funk victory in June 2016.
8. Sid calling me to inform about Mandheer's death, on September 11, 2016, and being there for last rites the next day at Mandheer's house and Cremation ground.
9. The 22 days something in October 2016 when I was alone in the crowd in Karnataka and Mumbai.
10. The New Year 2017 party where I finally realized I am not going to mix my friends for multi-tasking and instead be happy by spending time with one at a time because at the end it is my time.
11. February 2017, when I decided to give my brother's wedding importance over my career - all for my family.
12. Mandeep's wedding in March 2017 where I did everything I could as a family member in my financial capacity and left absolutely nothing as a family member's emotional capacity.
13. The 10-something minute true love I ever felt, with Akshay, on 1st May 2017.
14. June 2017, when I took care of Chuck as my own and got to experience a family in every possible capacity because of him.
15. Mid-June 2017, when Miki Mami invariably made me realize that I need to be clear about what I want from life.
16. Sahil's birthday celebration on 22nd July which made me finally give up the emotional need to make sure I am the one to solve everyone's problems in my friends. I can talk but solving is up to them.
17. Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja celebrations in September 2017. The former made me enjoy my adolescent self, the latter made me realize the astute importance of not being judgmental and cultivating age-appropriate friend circle.
18. Mona Maasi's marriage life for a tailspin, even as my family is trying to come out and move ahead strongly after the house grabbing betrayal.
19. The recent conversations with Priya, about sex-addiction, nighttime loneliness and she seeing a huge increase in confidence in me in my Debate appearances on TV, from May to October.
20. Chetan's relationship closure with Jayant and Sahil's relationship woes with Ankit and Vishwadeep.
21. Gaining about 15 kgs in past 7 months, but still not able to be confident to face my fears of Loneliness. Thereby regretful splurging in porn and masturbation addiction.

These are the only ones from past two and a half year that I can really think of giving importance of core memory - ACTUAL MEIN. Anything beyond these is bound for a dump. Past beginnings or present endings aside, time to vent out all the big little screams and create a future of my choice. Time to make Today my Favorite Day.

The Little Things of My Life

It's a new day,
But I woke up late,
Light is all over,
But the Sun is everywhere,
The new news stories now rolling,
But I feel left behind
Missing timely checking the newspaper
For the facts from my last day.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

Breakfast for a healthy mind,
But eating habits turning sour,
The day still half glass full,
But the anxiety of the halftime lost,
The kindness, courage now gathering,
But I fear losing out
Talking with a confidante
For a better reality of my present day.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

It's lunchtime with family,
But no respite from saturated tube,
The afternoon naps are back as blessing,
But with indulgence anxiety,
The hard work need investing,
But I live with doubts
Motivating tiring efforts
For a happy future day.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

The rising day, the setting night
How do I keep asserting in lonely plight
Enjoying happiness in the little things
I keep falling for sadness, center, left and right

But I will fight, I will fight, I will fight.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

TIME?

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

TIME: It owns the most constant quality of change. A single moment can build or ruin not just feelings and relationships but even lead to better life or death. Be it good or bad, best or worse, it’s always easy to hold back to past because of its familiarity. A known pain from past feels comforting in the present when pitched against an unknown future feeling, no matter how good and pure we can make of it. Such is the limitlessness of Time that it helps the successful and wrecks the failure.

Our life is no different from one another; our every question ever felt in our lifetime has been or is being felt by someone or another also. It’s just the permutations and combinations of these questions, their subjective answers and their sequence that defines one’s level of success and failure in life. I am just one among the billions, yet the time that I am living is the only one that actually matters. How this time made me grow past my childhood and adolescence into adulthood at this ripe age of 29 is what really matters for me now.

Not more than a year ago, while returning from a Tuesday LGBTQ party, a friend told me in cab that it’s absolutely okay to go to such parties once in a while in order and enjoy your comfort zone without any anxiety of being judged. We are no more friends, for reasons unknown to me, but his words have stayed with me all through-out. Ask any “friend” of mine as to why Bhavdeep goes to such parties, ‘once in a month or two’, and the answer will be, “to enjoy with his friends, dance and just relax”. I feel normal and unpretentious, without being shallow. However, even amidst all the constant normality of party comfort, I did not foresee that things were to change big time.

The last party turned out to quite an eventful. From attending with a new and an old yet stranger friend to bumping into possibly every person I knew from the circuit, I had everyone I knew in my comfort. Even the ambiance was never-seen-before class personified with fairly sophisticated, physically well groomed and genuinely diverse attendees. Yet, for the first time ever, I felt like wishing for that one person with whom not only I could live the entire night at the party but also share a sitting for a good wine. WINE and ME – I knew it at this moment that I indeed have moved out of my childhood and adolescence stages into adulthood.

These three stages of life, namely childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, particularly take unforeseen importance in my Time now because it was just the same day, prior to the party, that I read about them. According to Herbert Fensterheim and Jean Baer’s Don’t Say Yes When You Want To Say No, CHILDHOOD forms the first stage where the child has his parents as the base of his security. The second stage is ADOLESCENCE where the adolescent’s goal becomes gaining security from his peers rather than his parents. ADULTHOOD completes the three stages of life, wherein the adult does not need the group for security. Instead, his life may center around a small number of people. Eventually, (even) this base narrows and the base of security centers around one specific person.

Was it a subconscious effect on me, to feel the need for that one specific person that night, or a genuine growth as an individual, it will be realised with Time. If there’s anything I fear in this positivity, it is sticking to that one night and not growing out of it. Gladly or Sadly, life did show me another part of my heart and mind within a night since the party night. Thanks to a “good friend” and his “relationship”, I felt lonely and sad, in all my positive approach for a bright future.

This friend is in a fairly new but stable relationship and I had even teased him about the new guy being the most decent looking of all his exes. Both are very comfortable with each other, with one calling another for day-to-day matters like regular couples do. But when my friend calls me at midnight of the next night of the now eventful party, I badger him on how I don’t have his contact number. To my not so pleasent surprise, I am told that the two are together at the latter’s place. I don’t really know how to exactly recall that ‘fateful’ moment of getting the information, but I felt empty unlike ever before.

Yes, I was happy for my dear friend and Yes, I felt their love over the phone as the two made time for each other in all the hustle-bustle of life to be together, even on a work night (next day being Monday and Office morning) but I did not show the my very basic and normal human emotion of jealousy. My telephonic conversation continued with the two for as much time I could be selfless but I did not feel like asking for the phone number again. I was just too jealous and lonely.

I stayed nocturnal the entire night, watched some porn and shagged, only to realise next morning how easily I get my positivity wane away. One moment I was feeling glee at my adulthood and hoping to have that adult meaningful relationship with One and suddenly I let myself swept away like a teenager without a junior school prom date. It was like I went back into the past for it was a known place, despite the pains and horrors.

Every breath I take

Feeling veins as blood rake

Waiting for a new Sunrise to shine

Sleepless I am living every night of mine

Missing the mornings by messing sleep hours

Time passing by like a prisoner marking daily bars

Reached my saturation from wrecked past life pile-ups

Remembering that throat holding past poison for immortal close-ups