(a documentary)
lienthanglur khawzawl
(A glimpse of the spectacularly contrasting differences we lead within our characteristic state of existence and an attempt in tracing our divergent animated expressions of being alive.)
“Breaking News” The TV flashes its audio-visual version of front-paging. A tagline for straight from the pot, steaming news on political scandals, odd celebrity stunts in a desperate attempt to publicity or the tragic case of perfect equality put into practice by fanatical suicide bombings and other shock provoking stories from here and there. Newspapers front-page the hottest news in an attempt to capture the curiosity of the people with a primarily planned strategic rule of catchy headlines to boost sales which, on the other hand proves to be a very efficient medium in updating our information.
We are constantly bombarded with news from every corner of the world. We read, we watch and discuss, dissect and analyze. We look into news about terrorism, murders, military coups, elections, new inventions and innovations, million-dollar birthday bashes and all information that passes the ‘interesting enough’ test for reporting in the news bulletin. When two planes went down the World Trade Centre and TV news channels and papers reported the terrorist strikes, the world was shocked bewildered by the inhumanity of it all. For the onlooker it looked as though human values had been reduced to nothing but dirt to be trampled upon. Surely, the world wouldn’t lack revelers on humanity’s humiliations. In the height of the disruption some might have celebrated a success but the rest of the world was veiled in shock and sadness.
A new day starts for some with hectic schedules, for some there’s lots to look forward to while others get down sad wondering for something remarkable to happen.
The morning is a hustle-bustle of activities if we don’t laze around drooling over pleasant dreams of dreamy dream-come-trues. We are our own cartographers to our productivity. From the blue-collared to the white-collared, the mom to dad, the kindergartener to the collegian, the junky to the funky… it’s all about life, in our own style, pace, ideologies and philosophies… trying to keep up with life or at least flow with the flow. Some still lag behind almost sweating blood in the realization of what is considered the basic necessities of life. Neglected or just fate doing its round?
The optimist’s silver lining in the clouds to the one who thinks life is a road of thorns or the milder life is not a bed of roses. Of rush hours and exasperating traffic jams. Some stay calm and patient, confident that it will open up, something will come up. Some get pissed and bang the head in desperation. But, who knows of what will happen to the roadside musician strumming his old trusty guitar? He makes music from his heart, sweet music, not commercial. Who could say with certainty that he won’t make it? Or for that matter who could plainly deny the fact that he could someday go platinum. It depends.
Of artistic liberalization in the form of graffiti, either to speak out or endorse, extending to ridiculous endorsements of I-will-do-this-and-that blood-sucking or rather, power hungry opportunistic politicians. Provocative product hoardings: the elegantly catchy to the witty ones speaking in silence discretely asking the people to buy.
The busy junction crammed with innovative contraption of maneuverable, engined and fueled alternatives for walking called cars. The traffic policeman waving his hands in a frantic dance of you go… you stop!
People walking pass or rather thoughts whizzing pass highlighted by diversely expressed feelings. Whether it’s the ordinary graded or the highly classed classy-million-dollar-beings life is still life though on a level above each other. Life is expressive through our thoughts, emotions and actions. Life is everything from the school kid who just graduated from school looking forward to bunkable college classes to celebrity merry-go-round of marriages.
Wow! An energetic compliment to a beautifully molded form walking pass with all the bumps and curves at the appropriate places; a woman with a high oomph-value!
Men making passes to women or the other way around or of cute clean flirts to frenzied fast romances, all the way to ‘It’s a Heartache’ breakups; smiles to tears while some do end up happily ever after with a little of the nags or the first person and second person or third person addresses laced with a little bit of heightened temper.
People rushing to catch time lest they get late; school, hospital, the deal, a date, office, the train, flight… rushes as if they are running against time or time is running against them.
The sky darkens; people outside look up, people inside look outside and then at each other as if everyone is thinking, what’s happening? Like it has never rained before. People take to the streets, some shop-jumping, hiding from the rain trying not to get drenched. Some sharing an umbrella because the other had forgotten one whiles the fortunate ones or so it seems, cuddle together under one, walking in the rain making love out of wet clothes. The cheerful ones don’t hide; they play in the rain.
The busy scene of the market place littered with people buying and selling, elegant shopping malls with smartly dressed sales executives and roadside hawkers shouting, advertising their wares in funny distracting pitchy voices.
No… I want that one. The salesman’s lure works, the hook has been swallowed. The kid cries frantically pulling his mother’s arm trying to make her buy - tempt-the-kid-to-make-the-mother-buy kind of strategic marketing: potential exploitation through psychological capitalization or rather exploitative entrepreneurism.
Victims of war, stranded in desolation and despair, living in a confused state of being: unable to even comprehend the reality of a conscious state of being.
We cry and shed tears of joy and sadness, we laugh, we get lost in thoughts, we have fun, work, learn, study, struggle… all, not necessarily consequences of emotional up-swings and down-swings, but consequences or not everything sums up to the characteristics of life.
The whole world is a stage and all the people are actors… so says Shakespeare. Well, it sure is a stage and we act on it, just that there is no script to go through and pre-written dialogues to say. Thoughts come up provoking emotions, making us do things, either staying put or making the move. Life is diversified, not only because we speak in languages and we come from different parts with different cultures, customs and practices. One other thing that stands out in common and diversifies life is our perceptive differences and diversely animated expressions out of being alive and experiencing life.
NB: This post is the supporting script, story for my documentary on life which I am still working on. The writing has no form or structure just like the spotaneity of life in its various forms of emotions and expressions; if you take an imaginative bird's eye view of it. I had intentionally used the tiltle 'Untitled' because one, it kind of adds a little extra something to the whole story and two, because I could not come out with an appropriate title. I used the title 'TODAY; in life" before I changed it to 'Untitled'.
