“I ask’d thee, ‘Give me immortality.’
Then didst thou grant mine asking me with a smile,
Like wealthy men who care not how they give….”
The above is an extract from my most favourite poem till date.
‘Tithonus’, written by Lord Alfred Tennyson, is a dramatic monologue, which talks about the handsome Tithonus and the Goddess of dawn, Aurora. When Lord Alfred Tennyson’s friend died at a very tender age, he almost went mad with sorrow. But, afterwards, he realized that death is important. At a certain age, death is a boon. Under this inspiration, he wrote this beautiful poem.
Tithonus had fallen in love with Goddess Aurora. Goddess Aurora loved him too. But, Tithonus made a big mistake when he asked for immortality from the Goddess. For her, it was just another favour to be granted. So, she happily presented Tithonus with the bane called immortality. Tithonus’ joy knew no bounds. This joy, blended with pride, gets reflected in the second stanza of the poem, where he says,
“So glorious in his beauty and thy choice,
Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem’d
To his great heart none other than a God!”
But, poor Tithonus! Goddess Aurora had granted him immortality, but not immortal youth. Of course, gods and goddesses never age. Although Ma Durga comes to Kolkata every year, we never find her hair graying. Similarly, Aurora was forever young. On the other hand, Tithonus was growing old every day. He was tired. All he wanted now was death. He only wanted to die like a normal human being. So, in the last stanza, he says, “Of happy men that have the power to die.” But then, he also assures Aurora that she would be able to see him even after he became mortal again. At least, she would be able to see his grave every day, when she would rise in the East.
So, we see that Tithonus loved Aurora. But, afterwards, he realized that he loved the life of a normal human being more. The poet does not tell us the ultimate destiny of Tithonus. Whether he became mortal again or not, is still a mystery. But, with such a rich concept and such a wonderful execution of the same concept, Lord Alfred Tennyson weaves magic. The central theme of the poem is the natural cycle of birth and death that goes on in this world. Many poets must have dealt with this. But, this topic becomes interesting when Lord Alfred Tennyson blends it with the topic of love. So, in this aspect, ‘Tithonus’ stands out. Hats off to Lord Alfred Tennyson for this!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
"Barso re Megha"
BDOM, BDOM, BDOM……….
That was the sound by which I was awaken yesterday morning. And, what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be!! It was raining! The sound was that of thunder. So, along with millions of other Kolkatans, I was convinced that the Monsoon had arrived. FINALLY!!!
We had actually received the first rains of the season on 8th June. But, that had not been enough to keep away the heat. And, the heat this time was aweful. Simply aweful. Very hot, with the sun dropping fireballs and very very very humid. So, naturaaly, the one-hour rainfall on the morning of 8th June had been highly dissatisfying.
But, yesterday’s rain (106 mm), accompanied by thunder and lightning(thunder and lightning like I have never heard or seen before) has made it very clear that the monsoons have arrived in Kolkata. I must say that the timing is perfect because my school reopens this Monday and I won’t have to face the heat, at least. But, it was sad that seven people died in one morning.
Nevertheless, everyone is relieved.
That was the sound by which I was awaken yesterday morning. And, what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be!! It was raining! The sound was that of thunder. So, along with millions of other Kolkatans, I was convinced that the Monsoon had arrived. FINALLY!!!
We had actually received the first rains of the season on 8th June. But, that had not been enough to keep away the heat. And, the heat this time was aweful. Simply aweful. Very hot, with the sun dropping fireballs and very very very humid. So, naturaaly, the one-hour rainfall on the morning of 8th June had been highly dissatisfying.
But, yesterday’s rain (106 mm), accompanied by thunder and lightning(thunder and lightning like I have never heard or seen before) has made it very clear that the monsoons have arrived in Kolkata. I must say that the timing is perfect because my school reopens this Monday and I won’t have to face the heat, at least. But, it was sad that seven people died in one morning.
Nevertheless, everyone is relieved.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Cheeni Kum....and Himesh Reshamiya
Yesterday, I saw “ Cheeni Kum” with my parents.Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu , Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal and a child artiste, “Cheeni Kum” is a romantic comedy. It teels the story of Buddhadev Gupta( Amitabh Bachchan), a 64-year old chef, who falls in love with Neena Verma(Tabu), a 34-year old citizen from Delhi.
The first half of the movie is good, but the second half is bad. In the second half, the film becomes very boring. There are good performances from all the actors and actresses. I specially liked Zohra Sehgal. She is so amazing even at 94. As a whole, I didn’t like the movie much. But, it’s worth watching.
I wonder how many of you watch the talent hunt competitions on TV. There are so many now-a-days. I watch “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa—Challenge 2007” and the Bengali version of “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”. I enjoy these two programmes a lot because these are the only shows which I catch on TV now-a-days. The only con is Himesh Reshamiya. He is one of the Gurus of SRGMP---Challenge 2007(all-India version). And, he loves to quarrel with the other judges and Gurus over every third contestant. He makes the whole atmosphere so irritating. It doesn’t seem as if he has some to the show to encourage youngsters. His only objective is quarreling. When one contestant’s performance was not liked, he said, “Tujhe India mein kaam milega.Main tujhe kaam dunga.” Now, is there anything related to “kaam” here? It is a singing competition. Everything is not over for the contestants if they lose here. And, just imagine the luck of that person who’ll be working under Himesh.
The first half of the movie is good, but the second half is bad. In the second half, the film becomes very boring. There are good performances from all the actors and actresses. I specially liked Zohra Sehgal. She is so amazing even at 94. As a whole, I didn’t like the movie much. But, it’s worth watching.
I wonder how many of you watch the talent hunt competitions on TV. There are so many now-a-days. I watch “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa—Challenge 2007” and the Bengali version of “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”. I enjoy these two programmes a lot because these are the only shows which I catch on TV now-a-days. The only con is Himesh Reshamiya. He is one of the Gurus of SRGMP---Challenge 2007(all-India version). And, he loves to quarrel with the other judges and Gurus over every third contestant. He makes the whole atmosphere so irritating. It doesn’t seem as if he has some to the show to encourage youngsters. His only objective is quarreling. When one contestant’s performance was not liked, he said, “Tujhe India mein kaam milega.Main tujhe kaam dunga.” Now, is there anything related to “kaam” here? It is a singing competition. Everything is not over for the contestants if they lose here. And, just imagine the luck of that person who’ll be working under Himesh.
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