Wednesday 28 August 2013

Story of a Ship


There is a story that begins with a character, lets call our character Eva. Eva lives her life and her life has a few events which are of interest to others. The events form a story. Invariably, these events sum up into something that we call an end. An end, that brings about a closure. We mostly believe that all stories should end. And why shouldn’t we expect that? The end gives the sense of purpose to Eva’s story. Why did it happen? What was the result? How did it sum up? Ah, well! Lets read the story backwards, from end to start. No, I am not giving you a Benjamin Button nor Eva’s life story. I am simply thinking about a film that I watched just recently. It was a twisted tale of four people.

To begin with, a man dies! Just before he dies, he decides his life could be a lot worthy post his death. So, he donates his various organs to the people who may need it while they serve their tenure of mortality. After all, much is said about life and the ways in which it can be made worthy of living. Now is the right time to ponder on what is the benchmark of a worthy life? This is a question so often and so frequently pondered upon by many of us, that it has almost lost its sheen and reputation in the common day conversation. But despite that, the question is very pertinent to our film, and sometimes life too. For many of us, standing up for others, humans and animals could be something worth living for. For many others, achieving excellence in their work could be a worthy life. And yes, there is huge brigade of nihilists who would proclaim that living for oneself is the best thing one could do. So with different benchmarks and philosophies that we believe in, we deconstruct our realities. And often our happiness and satisfaction go hand in hand with how we break the reality into pieces for ourselves.

So maybe someone, who has received a kidney transplant, wants to think that his donor was not tricked into donating a kidney. Else, that makes him uneasy and unhappy. For another person, he would love to believe that his disease and suffering is miniscule compared to the lab animals on which the cure for the disease is tested. If not, he is unhappy. A person may think that her being blind has never been a deterrent to her photographic profession as she had been an acclaimed photographer even with her handicap. And if her work changes because of her becoming able, she becomes sad. Yes my friend, happiness, in the context of one’s benchmarks of a worthy life seems to be the purpose of life.

And this reminds me that happiness is but a state of mind. So are sadness and life worth and reality. But we all are born with it. It starts the moment we are born .And it keeps being born. It starts the moment we decide to become a stockbroker, a philosopher, a photographer, a cave discoverer. It begins every instant. The pursuit of happiness takes different forms. And as they say, ‘You do not step into the same river twice’, you are a part of a cycle that changes but without a closure.

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