Acting Workshop By Vishal Nayer starts 24th June 2023

Hi,

 

You are reading this as you had reached out and enquired about MISF!T Acting workshops in the past. I am Vishal Nayer and I have been an Acting coach/ Mentor/ Director at MISF!T for more than a decade and have been closely associated with my dear teacher and friend - Ratan Thakore Grant (Founder, Director of MISF!T) for 14 years. 

          

                 As most of you might be aware, Ratan passed away in May 2021. Continuing with the spirit that MISF!T was created for, we have restarted conducting Acting workshops under my name. You will be learning the same process. The MISF!T brand on the other hand will always continue to be attached to our dearest Ratan and we will operate more as a professional theatre platform for regular alumni-driven plays. We have some specific original plays in mind for the same!

               I am reaching out to you to inform you of the Acting workshop that starts on June 24, 2023 ( Click here for the details, details are also provided below). If you are interested in attending this workshop, please call the number mentioned on the poster to fix the time for your interview and registration or for any further inquiries. 

              If on the other hand, you are interested in attending future workshops, please accept the google groups invitation you would have received ( Do check your Spam folder if you don't find it in your inbox. Ensure to mark it "not spam")  

You may also email me at vishalnayer9@gmail.com with your updated email id and contact number. 

If this doesn’t interest you, please decline the invitation or unsubscribe.

To see pictures, feedbacks of our previous workshops(s) and to know more about me, please Click here

WORKSHOP DETAILS  -  Also available on Instagram Do follow the page

 Poster

Click the photo to zoom in

Details

• - This will be a 6-weekend in-person workshop from Jun 24, 2023, to
  July 30, 2023, every Saturday and Sunday 11 AM - 6 PM
  
  - Please Note: The 1st round of Interviews and Registrations is happening on the 11th of June 2023. The 2nd round is subject, only to the availability of seats.
  
  - To fix the time for your interview and registration (or for further details and course fee) please call 7738276736 (only between 12 pm - 8:00 pm), way before the date of Interviews and Registrations.
  
  Venue at present: Butterfly Talent Academy No 54, Viviyani Road, 2nd and 3rd Floor ( Above Canara Bank.) Landmark: Adams House, near Florence High School, Richards Town, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560005
  Google Maps link - https://goo.gl/maps/juqqjMwZgpNSkoV9A
  
  Level 1 is the foundation course that aims to bring out the fun of acting, make participants shed their inhibitions, and teach them stagecraft, pantomime, and character-building. It is also for people with or without any background in acting. The objective is to make them as natural as possible.
  
  The course is unique because it focuses on bringing out the originality, creativity, and attention to detail in the actor, by letting the actor create their very own concepts and execute these, in the form of numerous short plays, during the course of the training.
  
  The Syllabus includes:
  
  -Breaking inhibitions: getting people comfortable to act, in front of an audience.
  -Actor’s Magic – A unique concept
  -Characterization.
  -Voice: Understanding the components, and projection of voice.
  -Observation.
  -Listening skills.
  -Pantomime.
  -Improvisation.
  -Scene creation and Character creation.
  -Script creation.
  -Fine-tuning of theatre craft.
  -Adapting to the Camera – Fundamentals
  
  Duration of the course: 60 hours 

After the training is over, during the final week, the participants will undergo intensive training, which will include fine-tuning all the aspects of the course, which eventually culminates into a grading. The grading will be a public performance(ticketed or non-ticketed)

This course is also designed in such a way, that it will help the participant, if he or she decides to, take acting as a profession.

Depending on the outcome of the grading, there might be a play, which will be ticketed, showcasing what the students have learnt during the course.

The course gets constantly upgraded because the ideologies are constantly evolving. 

Interested folks, please get in touch on the number provided to fix a slot for your interviews asap.

Have fun!

Vishal

Scene Breakdown/Analysis : Bharatham (Mohanlal)

Disclaimer : This post is purely my analysis on the craft that I am most passionate about . I love breaking down scenes to understand what made the performance so impactful. This is my understanding :)

I guess the fact that I am a student of how this man executes his craft is pretty evident through some of my my blog posts :P. Today I would like to do my analysis and breakdown of one of the famous scenes of Mohanlal from the movie Bharatham which is one of his most landmark performances. Though this movie won him a national award, I feel the movie and his performance here are still underrated. Here is the scene below :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oPBrobsN3E

***Spoilers ahead***

A little backstory for those who don`t know this film.
Gopi(Mohanlal)'s brother, Raman (Nedumudi Venu) whom he adores and practically worships is a well renowned singer who struggles with alcoholism and finally when the alcohol takes over him completely, it affects his singing and reputation and subsequent career. Gopi meanwhile through a turn of events ends up singing in his place and is heralded as the next big thing. This creates a lot of friction between the brothers owing to Raman`s ego taking over. After Raman realizes his mistake, he blesses Gopi during a Thyagaraja function where Gopi had replaced him and decides to mend his ways. After this function,Raman has been missing for many days with the marriage of their younger sister just a day away. Gopi secretly finds out about an unidentified dead body in another town bearing resemblance to his brother and comes to the local police station which found the body to find out secretly if it is truly his brother without informing the family. This scene is where Gopi comes to the police station  with his friend who is a high ranking Govt Officer to find out regarding the same(Praying its not his brother). The Police had cremated the body as no one claimed it, but the photos and belongings are available to check which confirms Gopi`s worst fear as  it is Raman.


0:34 Creating a thread for the scene : Gopi finds out body has been cremated -  Mohanlal uses his eyes effectively to project the confusion. Without saying a word it is very clear what he is thinking. He purely depends on his eyes to create and project what he is thinking while the body has almost frozen and become numb (This will be the character`s thread for the remainder of the scene - Numb body complemented by expressive use of only the eyes). This contrast of a numb body and expressive eyes keep the focus on the gravity of the situation yet convey the character`s thoughts. Also it works brilliantly well with the size of the shots planned for the scene.

0:48 Effective use of the co actor. -Mohanlal follows the inspector with his eyes even though he`s not in the shot and hence makes the scene more dynamic. It could have easily worked without looking at the co actor but that small act added a huge amount of realism. It also brings about a shade of extreme vulnerability and confusion like that of a child which makes the audience more empathetic to the character. Eyes are going berserk by the way expressing his inner turmoil. Character thread maintained . Subtle bro ! Subtle :D

1:00 to 1:06 Slowing down of the actions Govt officer(Played by the late great Murali) reminds him to control himself if God forbid it is his brother. Mohanlal slows down his actions by at least 10 times here . Keeping in mind the thread of the character, each move made seems to be an effort. If you watch his physicality in this bit it looks as if he is carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders, not metaphorically but almost literally ! His movements are slow, his breathing labored . Watch the last second where you can see his fingers shiver too. The entire body is "in the moment" A pointer by the way , this entire video has not one word of dialogue uttered by him.

1:30 to 1:46 Looking at the photos. The tension in these 15 seconds is unbearable as Gopi's confusion and heightened emotions reach their peak here. The body has almost caved in completely and the fingers seem to not be able to hold the weight of the photos. The face and the eyes project the fact that he can`t comprehend what is happening. This is what we call "in the moment acting". The actor is "there", has completely become the character and is living the moment in the character`s life as the character. The biggest plus point here for mohanlal is that he slowed everything down which brings maximum focus on every small move made and every move made was potent. As an actor he is still keeping the audience guessing because he hasn't broken down yet, He hasn't yet given in to the emotion. He is still keeping it at the "confused" phase and teasing the audience and hence increasing the tension and discomfort. This is where mohanlal is so good. He won`t do the predictable thing, especially when you want it. He is still maintaining the thread of the character from the beginning of the scene

1;50 to 2:26 And finally he gives you what you want. He lets it out. But only in the last few seconds.He lets go. By maintaining the numb body and slow actions he has created the environment for the dramatic change at the end when he breaks the thread of the Character for the scene and lets his body finally behave, his movements are not slow anymore, his body is not numb anymore. The last few seconds was such a dramatic change that the impact was stronger. Watch for the moment when he picks up the clothes (still slow and numb body) and then takes a deep breath before breaking that thread of the character in this scene to achieve the dramatic impact.

On a side note - Brilliant support by Murali(another gem of an actor) and Urvashi(unfairly known only for her comic timing,she can easily blend into drama and this movie shows that range especially this dramatic moment) and Subair as the cop.

Sairat : From K Jo to Kashyap !

Sairat DVD came out a few weeks ago and I got a chance to revisit the movie. The fact that the movie has broken records all over Marathi Cinema and even Indian Cinema is a known fact, but the movie also has it`s share of skeptics who do not necessarily agree with the unprecedented success of this movie. I was trying to understand why this movie became such a huge success and why it needs to be encouraged.

Our cinema, in this country is hugely very unreal in the way we present stories and sometimes our stories themselves are very unreal. Songs and dance have become a staple diet in the movies and have been reduced to a gimmick rather than adding value to the movie and the story. Dir Mani Ratnam has emphasized on the fact that songs and dance need to make sense in the way they are placed and shown in the story and it has always been a treat to watch them in his movies.

What Nagraj Manjule does with Sairat is he uses the same formula that is used to make poular popcorn cinema in Sairat albeit in a manner where everything makes sense. Let`s not forget the film has all the elements of Popular cinema like the larger than life song sequences, or the comedian with a comedy track, the usage of slow motion shots (120FPS and such), the villian, huge crowd sequences etc etc, but all this has been brilliantly woven into a very real context . I shall explain how

*Warning Spoilers ahead

Nagraj Manjule did not employ stars , yet he presented the 2 major characters like how a director presents a star, For eg: The slow motion intro - Remember the first shot of Parshya running in Slow motion with heavy background music towards Archi`s car. Compare it to the intro of Salman Khan in Bajrangi bhaijaan now. Slow motion check, background music check

Or the Formulaic way of introducing the heroine with a tease. The heroine Archi`s face is never shown in her first intro, The audience are teased but the big reveal never happened and when it did she was in a very sexy avatar wearing her partywear.

Nagraj Manjule used the formula but eliminated the stars. This has 2 advantages

1. Obviously the director has better control over the performances as he gets to dictate his terms according to his vision without it being compromised by a star

2. Secondly by taking in regular people and giving them the star treatement the director has immediately connected with the general population in the audience who would disconnect from a well groomed star but see these particular characters as one of their own. They see themselves on screen and presented so beautifully !

In the meantime the director has also established the comedians, the possible villians and the other basic plot points like the caste discrimination etc. He keeps blending the dreamy bollywoodesque sequences of the romantic track with the very real day to day functioning of the village.

The song sequences are presented in a larger than life manner mirroring the dreamy idea of love that the current generation of youngsters have that have been highly influenced by  popular commercial cinema. Hence he has his target audience hooked on as they are watching their idea of love being manifested on screen. Funnily the harsh realities of the bitter caste system in bittergaon (The village where the movie is set) is also being fed regularly to ensure the film doesn`t seep into pure commercial cinema genre.

He introduces a strong female character which provides a respite (at least in the film) for the growing unrest in the country and worldwide about gender discrimination and also brings about a fresh perspective. Watch out for the scene where Archi enters the class and takes her seat without taking her eys off Parshya even for a second. A bold female protagonist was the need of the day and "bam" , Nagraj Manjule provides you that. But he hasn`t forgotten his target audience fed on a staple diet of a certain type of films, Hence this female protagonist is still living a very done to death plot of a "Rich girl meets poor boy". He is introducing revolutionary ideas but in a 'language' that the common film going audience can understand.

He got Marathi Cinema`s best composers and gave them enough facilities to make their best track yet (hopefully) but he ensured all songs are never lip synced to maintain reality and not suspend belief. The only song that has been lip synced is Zingaat which has been treated as a seemingly popular song (probably some film song) in the movie, hence the protagonists seem to be mouthing them.

The comedy track - He has ensured a comedy track too with Parshya`s friend Langdya, but again effort was put in to make this fresh and unique. Case in point - the 'love letter' Langdya receieves from a girl. He even brought in a slapstick comedy element with the disability and the comedian has a small love track too !

The Villian - Archi`s brother and Father are highlighted as the villians but unlike Archi and Parshya who got the star like presentations, the 'villians' were presented in a very real scenario. There was nothing dramatic in the presentation, the Drama came from the mindset of the character and his actions. Stark contrast from the presentaion of Archi and Parshya. This kept the film grounded in reality. Case in point - when the brother slaps the teacher in fron of the whole classroom.

Finally we reach the interval point- At this point as Archi and  Parshya escape their enemies the film shifts gear completely and the larger than life presentation is completely turned around into a very real presentation

To illustrate further - The first half was presented 'almost' like a Karan Johar movie but the second half was treated like an Anurag Kashyap film. I say 'almost' because there were moments to break that illusion in between to establish the social fabric the characters live in.

The second half broke the 'dream' established in the first half showing the harsh truths of life and this was achieved by purely changing the style of filmmaking. From KJo to Kashyap !

Nagraj Manjule with this film showcased the romanticised notion of love and then breaks it to explore life after such a love dealing with issues such as incompatibility, infatuation vs love, disillusionment, stark poverty, loneliness, finding oneself, growing up etc. In doing so he has connected with both the youth who crave for the first half and their parents who have lived the second half. The film served as a common ground for both the sections of audiences. Let`s also not forget the caste disparity and honour killing like issues which is the basic foundation on which all this was done.

It also managed something very few films have achieved - a loyal fan base with the commercial cinema audience as well as the intelligent cinema audience.

Last but not the least. The heart wrenching climax. The reason for the success of a lot of malayalam and Tamizh films in the 80's - the sad ending. But the novelty of the presentation will haunt you for days here.

So to put it simply Sairat  was a film with  a lot of depth , rooted in reality showcasing the some of the real issues within the country but masked in the garb of  popular formulaic cinema. This is entertainment without leaving your brains behind !

On a side note : Sairat reminded me a lot of the malayalam films and Tamizh films I have seen in the past which perfectly blend commercial and sensible cinema :)

More such movies like these and slowly our audience`s taste for the kind of content in cinema will change, for the better !

Mohanlal : Scene breakdown

Mohanlal is an actor who has inspired me as an actor for years with his brilliance at his craft. One can see all the stuff you leant in acting school being put into action brilliantly by him, though he`s not a trained actor himself ( which doesn`t mean training is unnecessary. He is also trained albeit while working in films on his own. That takes some godly skills ).

        From the people who`ve worked with him to other sources I ve heard multiple stories of how he approaches a scene and  works it out. One can see that naturally and instinctively Mohanlal follows guidelines that bring naturality, shades , depth and a uniqueness to every performance.

One of the most important thing on camera and on stage is the ability to act just with your back (On stage it would be breaking the rule, but smartly and with good effect). In India broadly many people classify acting into expressions (facial), body language (attitude) and dialogue delivery. The fact that it involves much ,much,much more than that is oblivious to the general population and surprisingly to a good number of industry insiders too. Expressions without purpose, body language without a fully rounded character and dialogue delivery without a thought process mean nothing and all this is just scraping the surface of the art of acting. But Mohanlal is an actor who is beyond that.

He breaks down his scene (consciously/ sub-consciously ) so well that one can see it. Case in point the video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEdShD27fGI

The scene is from the Tamizh movie Iruvar (Dir :Mani Ratnam)

0:11 - Mohanlal enters the scene with a book in hand and wearing glasses. Mohanlal uses props effectively and when not provided even demands for them. This couldve been the director`s touch or the actor`s addition but the book and the glasses immediately bring in a sense of naturality to the whole scene portraying a normal day where the character was reading his book to be interrupted by his man friday. If he would`ve entered with out the book , it would take away from the dramatic value of the unexpected betrayal by his party to him which succeeds this moment which happens at 0:13 - He drops the book established a couple of seconds ago on hearing the news. . Also the little glance towards the crowd outside increases the curiosity and build up to the news that follows.

0:37 - From this moment onwards one can see only his back. A masterstroke from the director. Watch how his back is arched in disappointment and the pace is slow and a sense of helplesness really hits home to the audience when he rests his hand on the wall and the back continues caving dramatically till he closes the door. What adds more to the scene is the fact that before he turned his back , one could see disappointment in his face but the body was comparatively more defiant not wanting to show his disappointment to his people. But as he turns, his body begins to cave and before he can breakdown he would prefer to shut himslef away from the world ,

In hindsight it might look very minimal and not a big deal. But these small things matter a lot in efffectively convincing the audience and mohanlal knows just the right amount of of projection that is required to bring it out.

Another scene where mohanlal uses his back brilliantly is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1o3b3Drs70

Watch from 1;01 to 1;08 which is a shot from the front and watch him repeat almost similar action at the end from 5;04 to5;10 which a is a shot from the back.

The first one is due to an emotional reaction and the second one due to a physical issue. But both were an unexpected bodily response for the character. The similarity in action also ensured character continuity. Maybe that was not consciously thought of. But if your character is clear in your head all these actions would automatically follow.

Pure genius !

Ehsaas

बुझते दिए को तेल की बूँद जैसे

कड़ाके की ठंड में धूप हो जैसे

कड़ी बारिश में पेड़ के घने पत्ते हो जैसे

अकेलेपन मे तेरा एहसास हो वैसे 

लौटा भी दो मेरा खोया वक़्त

लौटा भी दो मेरा खोया वक़्त,
लौटा भी दो मेरा खोया वक़्त,
जितना बचा, जीने दो,
जितना बचा, जीने दो.

उम्मीदों की पतंग जो उड़ाई थी,
तो कुदरत ने डोर ही काट दी,
गम की खाई में छलाँग लगाई तो,
ज़िंदगी ने कलाई थाम ली.

हर बंधन, वो रिश्ते, तोड़के,
अकेला, मंज़िल की आस में,
टूटे सपनों का हैं नक्शा हाथ में,
कदम हमदर्द की तलाश में.

नया रास्ता दिखने लगा,
नयी मंज़िलें आगे दिखीं,
अब ना कोई बैर हैं,
अपने हैं सब, ना कोई गैर हैं.

Phoolon ke rang se - My version !

One of my favourite songs is "Phoolon ke rang se" from Prem Pujaari with lyrics by the great Gopaldas Neeraj. I always wanted to do my version of the lyrics. Here goes(1 st para ) -

सागर के मोती,दीपक की ज्योति
ऐसी नज़र मुझको आए
कैसी ये सूरत,अजंता की मूरत
दिल से धड़कन तू चुराए

आँखें छुपाऊँ,या खुद छुप जाऊँ,तू मुझको ढूँढ ही लाए
तू पास आए, मन महक जाए, ऐसा भी दिन एक आए

हो पाके तुझको ऐसे लगे की, मुट्ठी में पानी समाए
सोती पलकों मे तेरा ही चेहरा मुझको क्यों नज़र आए
हाँ जिसको भी देखूं, उसमे तेरी छाया क्यों दिख जाए
सोती पलकों मे तेरा ही चेहरा मुझको क्यों नज़र आए.

I wish Neeraj ji gets to read this and would love to hear his comments on this, Good ,bad ugly, Whatever :)

पंछी

हवा के तेज़ झोंके को झेल ना सका
कैसे कमज़ोर पंख हैं तेरे पंछी
तिंकों का घोंसला टूटा तेरा
कैसा कमज़ोर घोंसला रे तेरा पंछी
क्यों रोए तू अपने हालात से हार कर
ज़रा हंस के तो देख ले अपने हालात पर तू मगर
जीत तेरी मुट्ठी में आकर गिरेगी
हाँ, जीत तेरी मुट्ठी में आकर गिरेगी
ज़रा ज़ोर से पर हिला
हवा रासता बना ही देगी
बहती लहरों में फँसी कश्ती संभाल
किनारे तक खुद लहर ले ही जाएगी.

ज़रा ज़ोर से पर हिला
हवा रासता बना ही देगी
बहती लहरों में फँसी कश्ती संभाल
किनारे तक खुद लहर ले ही जाएगी मेरे पंछी

Kokanaka Makaka - Promo Song of my upcoming Kannada movie :)

हम बिखर गये

तुम सुधर गये , हम बिगड़ गये
ज़िंदगी की कशमकश में,
तुम उभर गये , हम बिखर गये

वक़्त के सितम का बोझ, हमने झेला
हमारे दर्द के साथ, तुमने खेल वो खेला
धंसते गये ज़मीन में हम,सीढ़ी तुम्हारी बनते बनते
लो उपर पहुँच गये तुम,कदम बढ़ाए हंसते हंसते
पलट के देख ज़रा लेना साथी जो बिछड़ गये

तुम सुधर गये , हम बिगड़ गये
ज़िंदगी की कशमकश में
तुम उभर गये , पर ,हम बिखर गये

Another Poem :)

आया है तो, ज़िंदगी पूरा जी ले,
रास्ता अंजाना है , पर सीना तूने ताना है
गर्दिश के समंदर में तूने पाया ख़ज़ाना है
आया है तो, ज़िंदगी पूरा जी ले.

हमसफर का तू भरोसा, कर के देख ले ज़रा सा
मुश्किल डगर में, तेरा साथ जो भी दे दे
आया है तो, ज़िंदगी पूरा जी ले

An ode to "Can I Play God" - A MISF!T Production

दर्द भरी खामोशी तेरी, कुछ छुपाए है मेरे दोस्त
सब किया बयान ,तो क्यों मूँह फिराए है तू दोस्त
खुदा के ए नेक बंदे, खुद को क्यों शैतान बताए तू
ईमान की राह पर चलकर, क्यों सर झुकाए तू
कर मदद ए उपर वाले, तेरा बंदा तुझे पुकारे
इंसाफ़ की नाँव ताके, तेरे बंदे दरिया किनारे
इंसाफ़ की नाँव ताके, तेरे बंदे दरिया किनारे 

Bhaiyya Autograph!!

Today a bunch of kids were playing outside my house and making a hell of a noise. My father immediately went out to give them a piece of his mind. As he started giving them advice his volume slowly started getting more than what the kids themselves were generating. So in order to make him realize his mistake i just stepped out and immediately as i stepped out one of the kids screamed at my dad "uncle is this the bhaiya who acted in a movie ?". As soon as the kid uttered the last 4 words all the other kids stormed towards me (thanks to the euphoria movie stars carry in this country). Sweetly enough some of them recognized me from my TV interview  and my Movie trailer  and immediately one of them screamed AUTOGRAPH, and started quarreling amongst themselves as to who gets the first autograph. Once they got tired of quarreling they realized we do not have a pen or a paper/book to sign. All ran helter skelter in search of the said accompaniments for the required job. I must admit i got rather confused and tried to keep sane. Finally one kid came up to me with a book (his new school notebook) and asked for my autograph. Gingerly i picked up the pencil and did my thing. You may ask why - this was my first ever autograph and i asked him his name. I was waiting for the moment when somebody shows me a book and pen and asks for my autograph for many years ever since i decided to be an actor. I had dreams of that moment. It was a very Sacred moment for me.
   Once i was done I asked him his name. His name was Enayat. I googled to find out the meaning of the name and it means kindness, grace, solicitude and 
                                                     " BLESSING" 
                                                            :)








PS: During the hullabaloo for the autograph  they made even more noise than before, This time my dad did not seem to mind  :P

मैं फ़नकार

कितनी शिद्दत थी, उस फ़नकार में
क्या अदा थी, उस कलाकार में

पर प्रेम की राह पर चलना, उसने कभी ना जाना
प्यार के फूल को कुचलना, उसने सही माना

अपने ही साए से डरता था वो
अपने ही ख़यालों से भिड़ जाता था वो

अपनों से जुदा रहता था जो,
परायों में अपनों को, क्यों खोजता था वो

किस शैतान को छुपाता था वो अपने इंसान में
कैसी गर्दिश थी उसके, उसके जी जान में

कितनी शिद्दत थी, उस फ़नकार में
क्या अदा थी, उस कलाकार में.

Not one of my best efforts.. but worth a post i guess

सर्दी की धूप हो, या चाँदनी की नूर
तारों के शहर मे मैं, और हो गयी, तू मशहूर
चुभते तेरे लबज़ सुन, आँखें, क्या बोली मुझसे
धत्त, ये आँसू कहाँ से आए बस ,अपने आप से

अपना रस्ता कब भूली तू, ए नादान
पहचान ना पाई कौन अपना, और कौन मेहमान
उस तरफ देखना कर दिया अब नज़रअंदाज़
जिस तरफ सुनूँ तेरी, ज़रा सी भी आवाज़

The 'holy' Basil - तुलसी

'Tulsi' or Basil ( Ocimum basilicum) has many religious significance according to hinduism, but what seems fascinating is its significance in many other religions. Below is an excerpt from the wikipedia article on Tulsi. Proof once again of the similarity in all religions.

There are many rituals and beliefs associated with basil. The French sometimes call basil "l'herbe royale", while in Welsh it has the synonymous name "brenhinllys".^{[citation needed]} Jewish folklore suggests it adds strength while fasting.^{[citation needed]} In Portugal, dwarf bush basil is traditionally presented in a pot, together with a poem and a pom-pon, to a sweetheart, on the religious holidays of Saint John and Saint Anthony. However, basil represented hatred in ancient Greece, and European lore sometimes claims that basil is a symbol of Satan. African legend claims that basil protects against scorpions, while the English botanist Culpeper cites one "Hilarius, a French physician" as affirming it as common knowledge that smelling basil too much would breed scorpions in the brain.

Holy basil, also called tulsi, is highly revered in Hinduism and also has religious significance in the Greek Orthodox Church, where it is used to prepare holy water. It is said to have been found around Christ's tomb after his resurrection. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Church and Romanian Orthodox Church use basil (Bulgarian and Macedonian: босилек; Romanian: busuioc, Serbian: босиљак) to prepare holy water and pots of basil are often placed below church altars.

In Europe, basil is placed in the hands of the dead to ensure a safe journey. In India, they place it in the mouth of the dying to ensure they reach God. The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks believed it would open the gates of heaven for a person passing on.^{[citation needed]}

In Boccaccio's Decameron a memorably morbid tale (novella V) tells of Lisabetta, whose brothers slay her lover. He appears to her in a dream and shows her where he is buried. She secretly disinters the head, and sets it in a pot of basil, which she waters with her daily tears. The pot being taken from her by her brothers, she dies of her grief not long after. Boccaccio's tale is the source of John Keats' poem Isabella or The Pot of Basil - which in turn inspired the paintings Isabella (Millais painting) and Isabella and the Pot of Basil. A similar story is told of the Longobard queen, Rosalind.

Strange are the ways..that are human

Strange are the ways..that are human
Some you possibly cant fathom,
Some you just cant question
yet you always know the right answer
and you always know the true reason

Strange are the ways ... that are human

A Train Ride gone 'good'

There is something very beautiful about a good train ride. It can send you into a world with a lot of possibilities. You can meet your old imaginary childhood friend or maybe a lovely story can come up in your mind and build its way to completion, sometimes you are reminded of times you would never think of in your everyday life or maybe you might just feel the touch of love.

On Such a train ride some days back I experienced the first and the last of the things mentioned above.

The Imaginary friend bit-

Being a kid from an army background, I got my fair share of Bharat Darshan and Trains being the Classical mode of travel then , the army does provide a certain concession to its men. During many of my numerous such trips, some which lasted 2-3 days there would not be a lot of things running in my mind as a child. Like every other kid i had my own imaginary childhood friend who would usually appear during my train rides and would always be riding alongside my train and I would watch in awe and wonder as he would negotiate treacherous terrains in a bid to stay close to the train and make sure i do not get bored.

After a long time, on the said train journey I decided to bring my old friend back and it was great fun thinking of the old days J

The Love bit-

Not a very big music junky that i am i rarely listen to songs while travelling (Whoa! Big revelation ) but when i do the occasional times i get totally immersed and do start dancing and going into a jig, which becomes a rather embarrassing situation later on when i remove my headphones, Hence i prefer going near the door while the train is in full speed, listening to music while the air breezes past. Like i said i am not a music junky and hence obviously do not have an i pod or mp3 player, neither do i have a collection of songs to die for in my mobile, i have a few tracks which i have not changed for about an year now. But since i am an occasional listener the tracks never become boring for me. This time it was a bunch of songs i hadn`t played in a looooong while and hence when you listen to Mundhinam parthene and ,Nenjukul peidhudum while standing next to the door with the train in full speed, you feel the touch of love.

If that wasn`t enough later on continuing on the tamil tracks listening to uravugal thodarkathai and Sundari Neeyum by the maestro Illayaraja while watching a wife sitting in the side berth serving food to her husband and exchanging sweet nothing suddenly sent me back in time 20 years(at least).It was as if my directorial frames were in position and a montage of such sequences all over the coach were being played to the tune of the said 2 songs.

Music has divine powers – it sent me back in time and gave me a 10 minute 1 shot video idea J

कशमकश

नींद में हैं सब यहाँ
सब दिखे पर बेज़ुबान
क्या कशमकश भरा है ये मैदान
ना तू शैतान ना मैं इंसान

जीने की चाह में हैं ज़िंदगियाँ दाँव पर
झूठ के इस धूप तेरा सच खड़ा है पाँव पर
सर झुका के जो खड़ा वो सर कटा तो क्या फ़िक्र
ज़मीर से जो सर फिरा वो सर तेरा है क्यों मगर
क्या कशमकश भरा है ये मैदान
ना तू शैतान ना मैं इंसान

Being Thankful

2 of my friends recently started the process of listing things that they feel grateful for. This is something that in Yoga classes my instructor used to continuously ask us to do as part of a daily exercise. According to her In Yoga there are 4 different 'Bhavas' as listed by the guruji who started this particular Yoga institute . They are

1. Dharma- sense of Duty
2.Jnana - sense of Awareness
3.Vairagya- sense of Detachement/Renunciation
4.Aisvarya- sense of Achievement

The process of expressing gratitude is a 'kriya' according to Yoga which is supposed to be followed on a daily basis by an individual just like the Yogic exercises one needs to do everyday. All the Yogic exercises come under any one of the 4 Bhavas mentioned. The Kriyas all come under the Aisvarya Bhava. This Bhava also means self reliance.

In a nutshell whether Yoga or some other form , this is essentially another practice by the Positive thinking school of thought by looking at the positives rather than the negatives and discarding all negative energy.Easier Said than done though- hence the need of practices like these.

I shall try and emulate my friends but not on a regular basis. Also this is an excellent method to make sure that the blog does not get dysfunctional again :)