Leaving ...

Gone - flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun
From the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart.
~Alfred Tennyson

Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see,
My heart untravelled, fondly turns to thee;
Still to my brother turns, with ceaseless pain,
And drags at each remove a lengthening chain.
~Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller

P.S. I Read It !

Have you read "PS I Love You"?

The BOOK?

Yeah...

No, I have seen the movie.

Movie is good but book is very very good..

Having got back to back recommendations from two female colleagues , I could not resist but ask for it .

" Can you give me the book to read ?

Surprisingly, the book was delivered to my desk 2 days later and I was coerced into reading what was already touted as a tearjerker of sorts by both the ladies.

Well, having seen the movie quite a while ago, I had faint recollection of the two central characters of the story , Holly and Gerry and the plot in its entirety. I had loved the emotional perturbation portrayed by Hilary Swank (Holly) after losing her dearest hubby, Gerry (Gerad Butler). Twenty minutes into the movie, and I was lost deep into the sublime plot of how a bereaved wife comes to terms with the death of her husband by reading letters left for her by him, each guiding her and ecouraging her to live life afresh....and of-course, a gentle reminder at the end of each letter ...P.S. I love you . 

I still remember that as I finished watching the movie, I was smiling with a heavy heart and sighed 'wow...good one'!

Now as I read the book, I could almost feel going back in time to that emotional frame of mind. I did not anticipate any twists and turns to the plot , nor any deviation from the grief and sorrow of Holly , albeit it was a deliberate attempt to absorb myself into her grim life and 'feel' the loss and desperation through the words of the author. ofcourse, those visuals from the film never left me , for me Hillary was Holly and Gerad was Gerry. 

Well, now having gone through both the mediums that told the same story, I would say the film took much liberty in restructuring the plot in quite a few ways but still it did justice to the book just because of the sheer fact that it touched and moved every little way the book intended to be.

But the book, as a debut work by author Cecelia Ahern, remains an original and quite a remarkable attempt on this subject , which I would say, is a naive and honest depiction of an enamored love.

Just the very thought of how much somebody loved you that he left you with a 'list' of things-to-do that would help you overcome the grief and make way for a better life for you..., this very thought calls for an applause for all those die-hard romantics (including those two ladies who recommended me :)  ...the 'love' is still so alive!!!!

In today's times where love is merely an easy adjective or an overused verb , the feeling is restricted to mushy romance of the movies or that song which gives you goosebumps ....am so enthralled that somebody recommended me this book ....a testimony to the pleasant fact that there are suckers of such love stories... living , thriving and 'feeling' the vagaries and veracity of an imperceptible thing called 'True Love'!

"...she was a woman with a million happy memories, who knew what it was like to experience true love and who was ready to experience more life, more love and make new memories. Whether it happened in ten months or ten years, Holly would obey Gerry's final message. Whatever lay ahead, she knew she would open her heart and follow where it led her.In the meantime, she would just live."

Thats the author's expression and summarization of an undying need for love and the mystery of what life holds.

As for me , it was not exactly a tearjerker, nor did I got much convinced with all that never-ending 'drink and dine'  ceremonies of Holly's friends and families that almost became a ritual for grief-stricken ladies...call it a 'cultural-backdrop' or ignore it for the debutant writer's brave attempt to rope in a pastiche' of characters to give some light and flight to the tale.

So lets just raise a toast, in the ritualistic fashion of this tale, for those who are in love and will always be....and celebrate the 'passion-in-a-relationship'  as aptly confessed by Daniel , towards the end...

“I am happy, Holly, I guess I just can't live without the drama.”

P.S. I Love It !

Moods of a Muse !

A vulnerable Indira, a Rekha who shed her mystique.. India's ace photographers talk of rare moments when their muses shed their inhibitions before the camera.

The gentleman poses! 

PhotographerI Gautam Rajadhyaksha 

I chose two suits, a shirt and a matching tie for him. At sharp 9.30 am, JRD Tata made his appearance for the photoshoot at his residence. There were several visitors and friends and he talked cheerfully. Skiing in Switzerland and French wine fascinated him. I brushed up my knowledge on these subjects and had a great conversation with him. We got talking and I got the most natural pictures.

Indira loved the Himalayas 

Photographer  Raghu Rai 

Once I made late prime minister Indira Gandhi walk along the Himalayas. She was particular about her posture when being photographed. She would watch like a hawk. Another time, I saw her in a rather tired state. One day, I went to her place, and when I reached the corridor, I saw her standing, holding the top of a door for support. She looked exhausted. I removed my camera but at that very moment, she turned. She didn’t allow me to shoot.

The PM climbed the tree..

Photographer  S Paul 

The editor of a women’s French magazine wanted some unusual pictures of Indira Gandhi, who was about to visit France. Indira called me at her residence and asked, ‘Tell me, what do you want me to do?’ And I asked her to sit on a tree that was in the courtyard, along with her grand-children. She was amused, smiled and climbed the tree which was about four feet high. Rahul and Priyanka followed their grandmother. That became a rare picture.

Pushed over the edge 

Photographer  Dabboo Ratnani 

I decided to create a 'walking off the rooftop effect’ with Abhishek Bachchan. I made him jump seven feet, from the water tank on his terrace to the ground below. I had to capture the moment his feet left the tank. Abhishek kept joking that I had decided to push him over the edge of his own building in 40 degree temperature!

Photographer  Avinash Pasricha 

 
As photo editor of the Span magazine, I was covering the 1962 visit of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Those days, there were not too many news photographers nor was there any security problem. Once, Pandit Nehru was escorting Jackie up the steps in Rashtrapati Bhavan to the Ashoka Hall. Just as they reached the entrance, I asked them to stop and got a perfect shot.

And, they turned around...

Photographer  Jayesh Sheth

‘I am not Rekha’

I went to the location and Rekha followed in a simple cotton salwar-kurta. I started shooting. Some people asked for an autograph. ‘But I am not Rekha,’ she said. 

 Akshay Kumar tied a string of 10 crabs in his ponytail. ‘You will get just a second to shoot before the crabs start biting me,’ he said.

Kitten interrupted!

PhotographerI Avinash Pasricha

I was shooting a brochure for Pandit Ravi Shankar on his 75th birthday around his house in Lodi Estate. His wife, Sukanya and daughter Anushka had recently joined him from England. There was a kitten running around the house and it suddenly jumped on the dining table. I got a beautiful shot of Ravi Shankar and Sukanya together, playing with the kitten, like little children. 

Source : Times Life.