Monday, November 30, 2009

Orwellism...


I am reading “Down and Out in Paris & London” by George Orwell and its fantastic. I knew Orwell as an author of “Animal farm” and “1984”, but this book is entirely different. Its more of an autobiography, about his days spent in poverty in these high cities. This is not about the upper class life that we read in many novels, but its more the opposite, its real and its honest. Here you don’t look at poor people with pity as is done in most movies and literature. But you see them as real human beings. And you see their life, not with prejudice of misery, filth and charity but you see it more subjectively, through the eyes of an author who has himself been through it. It comments about difference between how people like us perceive poverty and the real hand to mouth poverty. More than this, you see Orwell as a person (instead of a novelist) and you perceive people through eyes of Orwell. After reading this, I am beginning to feel that I am understanding Orwell better, understanding what could be motives behind style of “Animal Farm" and “1984”.
I believe, I somehow relate to ‘world view’ of Orwell, atleast as far as people are concerned. Though it is not same as ‘moral dreamworld’ view that most people today seem to be believing in, but its more close to reality and its wonderful nonethless.
All this talk of poverty and inequality reminds me of a dialogue from the movie "Enemy at the Gates", it goes - "We tried so hard to create a society that was equal, where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbor. But there's always something to envy. A smile. A friendship. Something you don't have and want to appropriate. In this world-even a Soviet one- there will always be rich and poor. Rich in gifts...poor in gifts. Rich in love...poor in love."
Hmmm...the picture is flower of some weed :)
Cheers!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Samayeechyaa Shubhrakalyaa...



Few quotes by George Orwell (Part-I)

- A dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion.

- All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.

- Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

- Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.

- Mankind is not likely to salvage civilization unless he can evolve a system of good and evil which is independent of heaven and hell.

- Men are only as good as their technical development allows them to be.

- Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.

- Most people get a fair amount of fun out of their lives, but on balance life is suffering, and only the very young or the very foolish imagine otherwise.

Hmm...the flowers in the pic remind me of an age old marathi song Samayeechyaa Shubhrakalyaa. I am not sure many people have heard this. You can find one version that was sung by Arya online.

Cheers~!

Monday, November 16, 2009

1984...






















Those who control the past, control the future. And those who control the present, control the past.
- quote from 1984 by George Orwell.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Animal Farm


That is a stray dog, inside some sort of sewage pipe. As I later found out, it is injured. Hope it gets well soon.
Cheers!!!

Monday, November 02, 2009