2d-life;

The good place is a great entertainer - especially the first season. The climax of the first season was the highest point for me. Things did start going downhill (in my personal opinion) but the show managed to keep me hooked till the end. I certainly wanted to know how the show ends. However, I have some beef with the basic premise of the show - it is either flawed or they took the easy route. To discuss these issues, I will, unfortunately, have to divulge the intricate details of the show. So, needless to say, this post is full of spoilers . So, if you plan to watch the show, it would be better if you read this article after you finish watching the show. Else, the article might give a neat summary of the interesting ideas in the show. The basic premise of the show is that the criteria for deciding who goes to the good place are flawed. The main justification for the claim comes from two observations: For the last 500 years, no one has been to the good place (think heaven...

I recently read this wonderful book "Don't sleep, there are snakes" by Daniel Everett.  It describes the author's life in the Amazon with the Pirahas, their language, and their culture.  Apparently, he once missed the greens and asked for a shipment from his friend.  He was caught in the act of having Salad by one of his Piraha friends.  The Piraha was bewildered that Daniel Everett was eating leaves and enquired if he didn't have any meat.  When Everett said he had, but he loves these leaves the Piraha responded: "Piraha's don't eat leaves.  this is why you don't speak our language well.  We Pirahas speak our language well and we don't eat leaves". Notice the striking similarity with what I had talked about in an earlier post . Everett, being a scientist, was clearly aware that correlation and causation are not the same.  But apparently, the words continued to nag him as if they had something useful in it.  I believe, the respect he h...

In India many believe in the principle "Satyam bruyat, priyam bruyat, na bruyat satyam apriyam, priyam ca nanrutam bruyat esha dharmah sanatanah".  It can be translated as "Speak the truth.  Speak pleasantly.  Do not speak unpleasant truths.  Even though pleasant, don't lie".  However, I do not agree with this principle.  I will explain. In the movie Harikrishnans (a Malayalam movie), Juhi Chawla feeds Mohanlal and Mammootty (heroine feed the two heroes) food with too much chilly powder and salt. Believing this principle they didn't say anything and continued eating that food. But, it had a negative effect on her. She got extremely offended that they didn't take the freedom to tell her the truth. I would have felt the same. I like it when people tell me unpleasant truths (apriya sathyam). I have often wondered why.  I believe the following interaction from the movie Prestige gives us some insight: Alfred Borden: Everything's going to be all righ...

Kalyanaraman is a movie I really like and I have watched it countless times.  It is, of course, famous for its humour, which, however, is not the topic of this article.   In the movie, Jyothirmayi is a mute.  After various attempts, her marriage is fixed.  The groom, however, elopes the day before marriage with someone else.  The girl's father requests some of the relatives present at the wedding if one of their sons could marry her.  But, they were evidently uninterested and giving excuses.  In fact, they were trying to push it on to each other. Finally, they suggest that it is better to find another "disabled" person for her.  This infuriates him.  He says "It is better if she remains unmarried.  I will protect her till I am alive and after that God will". It is understandable that under such situations one might get hurt and angry.  I do not find fault in that.  At the same time, I feel the same is true about ...

Revenge is a common theme in movies, books or any other form of storytelling but, most do not give a justification to the act.  They either take it to be the natural course of action or condemn it.  The fact that some condemn it, means there is scope for a discussion.  I think most people would have an issue with revenge when it is exacted not on the perpetrator, but on someone related to the perpetrator.  In the 2010 Telugu movie "Maryada Ramanna", which was later remade into Hindi as "Son of Sardar" and Malayalam as "Maryadaraman", they pose a question which can be translated as "If a son can get the property earned by one's father why cannot he receive punishments for his father's action?"   The surprising thing is, even after thinking for quite some while, I was unable to find a satisfactory answer. Apparently, this stance is inspired by our scriptures.  In the 35th shlokam of the 64th chapter in the 10th skandham of Srimad B...

"Hey, Jude" is the story of a man with Asperger's syndrome. I do not know much about the condition to comment on how accurate the portrayal is, but nonetheless, I loved the film. Apparently, I have a thing for movies about mental conditions. That said, I believe it is not just my bias, but the film is indeed a very good attempt. So, I urge you to give it a shot. The story is pretty simple and not unlike other films of this genre. There is a guy with a lot of issues, but by the end of the film, he succeeds to cope up and leads a happier life. Even more, this change is brought by a woman (person of opposite gender). That said, there are many factors which put the film apart from the others. Now that I think about it, Mili is another movie which shared some of these features. To begin with, there is very little focus on romance. In both these films, love and affection though important are not the only cause for the change. The necessary guidance comes fro...

Buddha told us about the existence of suffering, the cause of suffering and the path to liberation from suffering through his four noble truths. I feel that hidden in a famous comedy scene from the film " Vettam " is another noble truth about the nature of suffering. The volley of dialogues is as follows Hero: According to my horoscope, I have bad times till I am 20. Heroine: And, after that...? Hero: He said I will get used to it. This is a truth about the nature of suffering I have realised time and again. Namely, We get used to suffering. When I started having neck pain, I used to find it unbearable. After several years, now I can easily manage. I can even ignore it most of the time. Similarly, I have an artificial aortic valve. The clock-like sound it makes used to disturb me a lot initially. I used to find it difficult to sleep. Now, I cannot hear it unless I concentrate. In the famous book "Oru deshathinte katha ", S.K. Pottekatt portrays t...