Aishwaryam Youth Festival 2018, MKBU

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University has celebrated the Aishwaryam youth festival of three days 26th, 27th, and 28th October. This whole festival of three days is hosted by Takshashila institute of commerce and Science collage. The whole university was spangling with lights. This festival is for young people. This is not only for watching. This festival let young generation show their talents through various competitions. In which they include every type of talents like writing, singing, dancing, drawing, acting, playing instruments and many things. It includes modern and folk both the theme. I was present in some of the events which here I am trying to look critically towards it.

I have witnessed poetry recitation, one act play, clay modeling, collage making, poster making, painting, cartooning, Rangoli and installation.

Poetry recitation

Judges and Anchor of the event

When it is come to recite the poem which is recently written and nobody has any idea of what the poem is about then recitation is the most important part which performer has to play. We have the competition of self written poetry and recitation. 20 to 25 students have participated in this competition. The subject on which poetry should be written is given on the spot. The subjects are like, story of a pen, song of rain which does not come, feelings of jungle girl, significance of friendship or love, life could may life will be homage and on Diwali. Most of them have wrote on friendship or love and the story of a pen. On Diwali as per my knowledge no one has written.

With this topics I have seen that most of them are using old metaphors like for pen they use sword and pen has seen the best of the best things and worst of the worst things. On friendship also almost all of them are praising their friends and some also has written on love. When everyone has recite their poem one of the judge who came to give their overall feelings has recite her one of poem which was titled as “Shyam Mari Windows Par Kem Na Ave?” and she also has used new metaphors like hang, memory, ram and many more. These new metaphors are missing in the poems.

We can apply the definition which Wordsworth has given that, “ Poetry is spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings… recollected in tranquility.” In this competition also we can see that it is spontaneity which is working the most. Most of them have written in Gujarati language and they also has used high level of Gujarati words. We can not find that they have used the theory o depersonalization by T. S. Eliot. Almost all of them are singing the songs of their own life and experiences. So it is difficult to see the depersonalization in those poems. In some poems we can see the paradox has been used. In the subject like story of a pen they are describing the good and bad written by pen. One thing I have remembered in poem it is said that pen has written novels also and at some where judge of judiciary has broken the nib of pen after giving death to someone. So this is how they are trying to put things in binaries.

As far as recitation is concerned I found only four or five out of 25 who has recited well. Others are having some problems in reciting like they do not make the word feel. Their voice is too law or they are yelling. Some of them are just reading. They don’t make listeners feel the weightage of some words by stressing on it. Every word has been spoken with same loud or law voice. Some of them are good at reciting where after listening we can have the aesthetic delight of art. 

One Act Plays

I have seen three plays and only starting of last play. The participants have 30 minutes to perform their play. The plays which I have seen has names like “Sikka Ni Triji Baju” (Third side of the coin) which has theme of third gender, second one is “Aur Mujhe Fakr Hai” (And I am proud of it) which has theme of nationalism, third one is “Papan Vache Dariyo” (Sea between the lashes) which has theme on the life of a fisherman. Three of them are very well performed. Acting was very good by all the actors. We can feel the catharsis during play.

It seems the plays are following the traditional way of plays in which they have rising action, falling action and happy ending. It is like Aristotle’s Poetics. The play “Sikka Ni Triji Baju” can be view from the perspective of cultural studies as it includes the society and the dilemma and misery of third gender. In the play family even father don’t want his baby who is eunuch. The mother struggles and fight for equal right of the baby and she win. These types of play shows mirror to our society and also gives message to change the stereotypes. The performance was very good.

Second play “Aur Mujhe Fakr Hai” has a theme of nationalism. It also shows terrorism, violence, brain washing, suffering of innocent people, honesty of soldiers and suffering of their families. The fundamentalist ideas of terror group. It also has used the flashback techniques. It focuses on one religion. We can again study it from the angle of cultural studies where it shows nationalism and religion. Though the audience is very enthusiastic after the performance of the play all are hailing the name of country. The audience mostly includes youngsters, and this kind of attraction towards nationalism shows how youngsters can be easily flow in the stream of nationalism.

The third play “Papan Vache Dariyo” has theme on the life of fisherman. This play shows the life of a family of fisherman, who goes for fishing and don’t came back for many years and during that time how the family has suffered and survived. Theme is common but acting was very nice. They made us feel their pain. We can see the glimpses of “Robinson Crusoe” in this play as the ship was broken and the main character has dropped on the island where no one lives and after many years he came back. We can look at this play from the perspective of feminism. As for marry a girl two men are fighting, one who wins will marry the girl. The girl has her own choice but it doesn’t matter front of the male ego. And after marriage her husband was lost so she was also raped by the person who has lost the battle. After that girl has committed suicide. At the end the person who has lost came back home to his father and his son and play happily ends. This play has also used the flashback technique.

The play which I have only seen for first few minutes has done very dull performance. The actors are nog good in dialogue delivery and not in acting also. They don’t announce the name of play in beginning. I have seen first 5 to 7 minutes and we don’t understand what it is about because dialogues are not clearly heard, and it also don’t give any feelings. It was flat. Nothing has felt and nothing has understood in first few minutes. In short the actors are failed to connect the audience.

Clay Modeling

The art was very good. Most of the participants have followed only same themes like making idol of God, nature or persons who are playing instruments. Some are very nice. In modern themes one has made a car other than that we can not find any new or modern theme in it.

Installation

In this all are very good work but one which has grab my attention is with hat and boots, which suddenly reminds me of the play “Waiting For Godot” by Samuel Beckett. Though it don’t has that theme as per my interpretation it wants to show the necessary of money that money is the key of every lock.

Other work has themes like equality of all religions, cleanliness, countryside, farming and festivals. These all works are looking very good. They all have created it from newspapers and other useless things. I don’t find any experimental work there they all have followed the same tradition or may be they are bound to themes.

Rangoli

Rangoli is traditionally made from different colors and most of people have made it from colors only. Their theme is also mostly same like they have drown some figure or traditional Rangoli. Though some of them have tried well with other things rather than color. They have used puffed rice, chalks, different grains, rope, water color and clay, flowers, and candle wax. With all these things only few have did something different. One Rangoli has theme of equality of all religions and second one has theme of social media. This is how we cansee some of the different themes in this competition.

Painting/ Collage/ Cartooning/ Poster Making

Here we have some varieties in theme like we have political satire, mobile, social awareness, #MeToo movement, satire on education system, and some modern ideas. One person has drown that people are busy in eating while on the other hand ants are reaching at library. One has drown Shurpankha with mobile accusing that she is also the part of #MeToo movement. In collage almost they have followed traditional themes like nature or some figure. In cartooning we can see political satire that how the price of petrol is increasing and PM is on world tour. There is also a satire on education system that how it is corrupted. On technology we have positive negative and neutral views like some are favoring use of mobile phones others are rejecting it and some has said that it is good and bad both, it is our choice how we use it.  Child abuse and traffic rules was also a theme. These all themes are showing the mirror to the society and it also captures the current moment. With all these things many of them have stick to traditional way and drown festivals or natural world.

Thank you.

Thinking Activity on "The Birthday Party" by Harold Pinter

This blog is part of my academic activity. For more details about task click here.

Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

It is very difficult to know director’s intention behind omitting Lulu’s scene. Because it does not make any difference may be the scenes are omitted. Lulu is a girl who can be impressed very easily and we can see in the movie that she is actively participating with Goldberg. Goldberg is not doing it forcefully or Lulu is not in position where she has to be submissive, she is doing it willingly and after that complaining. May be her complain is right but no one will believe her. The centre of the play is Stanley and symbolically Lulu is his inspiration. When Lulu goes near to Goldberg, it is enough to see that how Stanley is left alone now and after this may be there is no need to show the scene of Lulu blaming Goldberg. May be because of this reason director omitted the scene of Lulu.

Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? a you able to feel it while reading the text?

Yes, while watching movie we do feel the effect of menace. The pause between dialogues we can feel while watching, but while reading we don’t take pause and we can’t feel also. The effect of menace come when we watch the expression of actors and by that we also can feel. The pause and silence of Pinter is hard to understand while reading. When we have audio visual effect the menacing effect becomes stronger. But while reading some time it happens that we don’t understand effect and so we can not feel.

Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text?

Yes, I do feel lurking danger while watching movie. In movie I feel it when Stanley hide in kitchen and then they all are playing blind man’s buff and this danger remain as it is when Goldberg and MacCann take Stanley away. While reading for the first time we feel this when Meg ask to Petey that is it him or not and for some time Petey don’t answer we feel the danger there. Then again when interrogation scene came and at last when they take Stanley away.

What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.

Newspaper is one of the symbol in movie. Newspaper is something which shows us the reality of world. Petey is reading newspaper to Meg at that time he  exercising his power over his wife. Meg is the person who mostly live in her goody goody world. She also ask Petey to tell her some good news only. Petey is different person than Meg so while reading newspaper he is trying to have his own separate world from Meg. MacCann is tearing the newspaper, it shows that he is trying to destroy the reality, may be his real self. He is very disturbed by the job which is given to him and by tearing the newspaper he is trying to tear his fear and frustration. At last Petey hides the pieces of newspaper from Meg. To keep Meg in her imaginative and happy world and to hide the reality of Goldberg and MacCann and Stanley.

Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera?

The director of the movie ha taken very effective work from camera. During the blind man’s buff scene also it works effectively. MacCann was there in that house because he want to grab Stanley. When it come to blindfold MacCann the camera was over the head of MacCann and his expression was also savage. It is like he is trying to get his prey. But when it comes to Stanley the camera is on top of the room and room is looking like cage and Stanley is trying to escape. So it is symbolically said that now Stanley is in trap and he can not escape because Goldberg and MacCann will not allow him to escape.

"Pinter restored theatre to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

Yes, this do happen in movie. Most of the scenes are in drawing room the space is so narrow and the dialogues are also unpredictable. We can not imagine what is going on in the mind of characters. Every character is on the mercy of each other, weather it is Stanley, or Petey, Meg, Goldberg, MacCann, or Lulu. Every character is living on other. At some point of time every one’s false faces falls down. They became what they really are. So yes this lines do happen in movie.

How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?

The movie is really great help to understand its typical characteristics which most of them while reading is hard to get. Like there is two Silence in Pinter’s play which gave better understanding rather than reading. The pause we can feel while watching but while reading it is just like a word. So yes it is better to watch movie of this play then the reading and it also give deeper understanding of Pinter’s characteristics.

With which of the following observations you agree:

o   “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."
o    “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin3]. (Ebert)

Though I haven’t seen any other version of play but I will go with second observation. Because by this movie we feel all the effect which Pinter wants to create. Director has take good work from camera and all actors are also does very good job. So I can’t imagine a better film than this one.

If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie?
·         Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?

This film is great in it self, I don’t feel anything to change. But may be I will add the scene of Lulu because I don’t think Pinter has written it purposelessly. Other than that I don’t think movie needs any further change.

If I have to choose the actors for this movie I will choose…
Stanley – Ranveer Singh
Goldberg – Paresh Rawal
MacCann – Manoj bajpayee
Petey – Anupam Kher
Meg – Kiran Kher
Lulu – Kangana Ranaut

Thank you.

Thinking Activity on "Waiting For Godot" by Samuel Beckett

This blog is part of my academic activity. To see the task and more information click here.

What connection do you see in the setting (“A country road. A tree.Evening.”) of the play and these paintings?

“Longing” is painting by Caspar David Fredrich. He has drawn two paintings and both painting have same background of nature. From these paintings samuel Beckett has got inspiration for his setting of the play “Waiting For Godot”. Other than this there is no more connection between these image and setting of the play because Fredrich belongs to romanticism, his depiction of nature has different meaning, and Beckett’s depiction of nature has different meaning. Fredrich wants to show nature as healer and soothing to humans, while in Beckett’s play nature don’t has anything to do with characters. So, these paintings are inspiration for setting of the play and I don’t find any more connection.

The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance of tree in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the barren tree - The tree has four or five leaves - ?

The tree in the play is reflecting nature. Mostly people take nature as something which coordinate with human. Romanticism also sing a song of nature as supporter in every ups and downs in human life. But in this modern play Beckett shows nature as totally indifferent from human life. Here tree stands for it self and not representing any character from play. It don’t has anything to do with the quest and misery of any human’s  life. In second act there are leaves on tree which shows it does not wait with Vladimir and Estragon for Godot. Nature don’t need any Godot and it also don’t sympathies with human beings. It doesn’t have rationality but human always try to give rational meanings to it. It works on its own way and it has its own world.

In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?

In both acts coming of night and moon, we can interpret it as that both Vladimir and Estragon has killed the time successfully. They have killed one day of their life. In other way we can interpret it as temporary end of their waiting for Godot. As when night comes they come to know that now Godot will not come. We can also interpret it as the hope of rise of next day and coming of Godot. We may can say that their Godot is night, because when moon rises and night comes they both says “let’s go”. Though they don’t move but they stop saying that they are waiting for Godot.

The director fills the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in the contours of debris in the setting of the play?

Director fills setting with debris which shows that how freckle the materializing world is. It brakes down and don’t has capacity to stand again while on the other hand there is barren tree which in next act has some leaves. Nature or we can say reality can stand and sustain on its own, while cultural or fake things can be brake down in to the pieces. To show this shattered nature of world may be director has fills the setting with debris.

The play begins with the dialogue  “Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of ‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?

The beginning of the play it self suggest the meaninglessness of life. “Nothing to be done”. There is nothing in life to do. Though human beings always try to find some meaning in life same as Vladimir and Estragon tries to find meaning in waiting and also while killing the time. Doing nothing is also doing something. It don’t has any meaning but we always try to rationalize it. But at the end of the day every thing is meaningless.

Do you agree: “The play (Waiting for Godot), we agreed, was a positive play, not negative, not pessimistic. As I saw it, with my blood and skin and eyes, the philosophy is: 'No matter what— atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, anything—life goes on. You can kill yourself, but you can't kill life." (E.G. Marshal who played Vladimir in original Broadway production 1950s)?

Yes, I am agree that this play is not pessimistic. Because the central theme of the play is waiting, which means hope, hope of something to be done or get or come. The whole life of human is passed with this waiting. It is true that no matter what happens but life goes on. It does not wait and stop for anything or any one it just go with flow. No matter Godot come or not the life of every one and everything goes on. One can commit suicide but other lives are still living and will keep on living. So this play is not pessimistic play, it is positive play.

How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is the symbolical significance of these props?

The props like hat and boots are representing human’s attraction towards mind or body. Hat symbolically represents the mind as Vladimir is with hat and he keep on thinking, same with lucky, when he starts thinking then to stop him one has to remove his hat. While Estragon has hat but he don’t use it he is more concentrate on his boots which are not comforting to him. In second act when he finds fit to him he is satisfy with it. It shows that how some people are constantly thinking and how some are constantly comforting their bodily needs. With this vast difference also both are at same place.

Do you think that the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a capacity of slavishness is unbelievable?

Yes, the obedience of Lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic. Because he has started loving his slavishness, his chains and because of that he don’t even feel like slave and even when his master is blind he don’t think of free him self. We also have these kind of slaves in our society who has loving masters and they don’t feel that their master is using them as slave. Such chains should be broken but slave them selves don’t want freedom.

Who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire? Death? Goal? Success? Or  . . .

According to me Godot is an object of never ending desires. One after another we keep on changing our object of waiting. Ultimately our destination is death but while waiting for death we keep dangling carrot front of our eyes to not see directly in the eyes of death. So some times our Godot arrives and we create new Godot and some times Godot doesn’t arrive and we keep on waiting. When our final Godot arrives our wait ends. Our death is our final Godot.

“The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A Search for the Self). Do you agree? How can you justify your answer?

I do agree with Martin Esslin. Because if Godot was subject of the play at the end we might have some clarity that who is Godot and may be he will come also at the end. But the subject of the play is waiting. It is so because Beckett wants to make us feel the flow of time during waiting, and how our whole life is only waiting for death. So we can say that the subject of play is waiting and not Godot.

Do you think that plays like this can better be ‘read’ than ‘viewed’ as it requires a lot of thinking on the part of readers, while viewing, the torrent of dialogues does not give ample time and space to ‘think’? Or is it that the audio-visuals help in better understanding of the play?

I think that this type of play should be viewed and read both. First one should have background knowledge of the play, otherwise they will not get any thing. After background reading this play should first watch, this is not advisable for all literature but plays like this one should be watch first. Because the visual and audio will help to get the sense of the play and after this the play should be read for deeper understanding. While watching the torrent of language will not allow to think deeply so after getting the texture of the play if one will read it will help in better understanding.

Which of the following sequence you liked the most:
Vladimir – Estragon killing time in questions and conversations while waiting
Pozzo – Lucky episode in both acts
Conversation of Vladimir with the boy

I like the conversation of Vladimir and the boy because it is so relatable. Many time it happens in our life that we are eagerly waiting for something and at the end we didn’t get it and the irritation we feel same we can feel in conversation of Vladimir and boy. So I like this conversation most.

  Did you feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the irrational and indifference Universe during screening of the movie? Where and when exactly that feeling was felt, if ever it was?

Yes I do feel existential crisis during screening of the movie. It is felt when Vladimir and Estragon both are trying to kill time by asking questions and meditation and all that things. At that time I feel that how we are also doing the same, these all things does not make any sense in larger structure of life but we are keep on doing such things just to kill time hor we are waiting for our death.

Vladimir and Estragon talks about ‘hanging’ themselves and commit suicide, but they do not do so. How do you read this idea of suicide in Existentialism?

In our innumerable list of desire, one is death also. Vladimir and Estragon also have that desire. We can say that they are fed up with waiting daily and trying to kill them selves, but because it is not easy they don’t do so. According to Existentialism suicide is not the solution. Existentialism says that even if there is no meaning in life but it doesn’t mean that one should end their life. That is why Vladimir and Estragon thinks to do so but they don’t.

Can we do any political reading of the play if we see European nations represented by the 'names' of the characters (Vladimir - Russia; Estragon - France; Pozzo - Italy and Lucky - England)? What interpretation can be inferred from the play written just after World War II? Which country stands for 'Godot'? So far as Pozzo and Lucky [master and slave] are concerned, we have to remember that Beckett was a disciple of Joyce and that Joyce hated England. Beckett meant Pozzo to be England, and Lucky to be Ireland." (Bert Lahr who played Estragon in Broadway production). Does this reading make any sense? Why? How? What?

This play is written after world war II. So effect of world war was reflected in play. If we go by the names than Vladimir stands for Russia, Estragon for France, Pozzo for Italy and Lucky for England than Godot will stand for Germany. Hitler is the one who is waited by every one. When he came he came he destroyed every thing. If we want to see Pozzo and Lucky, master and slave, Pozzo stands for England and Lucky for Ireland. Though Pozzo becomes blind Lucky don’t free himself. Same because Ireland is small country and for its own goods it sticks with England.

The more the things change, the more it remains similar. There seems to have no change in Act I and Act II of the play. Even the conversation between Vladimir and the Boy sounds almost similar. But there is one major change. In Act I, in reply to Boy;s question, Vladimir says: 

"BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw us. (Pause.) You did see us, didn't you?

How does this conversation go in Act II? Is there any change in seeming similar situation and conversation? If so, what is it? What does it signify?

Majorly both the acts are similar but in act 2 the conversation of Vladimir and Boy has some changes. It goes like…

“BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw me and that . . . (he hesitates) . . . that you saw me. (Pause. Vladimir advances, the Boy recoils. Vladimir halts, the Boy halts. With sudden violence.) You're sure you saw me, you won't come and tell me tomorrow that you never saw me!”

In first act he mentions both of them but in second act he only talk about himself. Here Vladimir has become selfish. We can connect the story of two thieves which was told earlier that one was saved and one was damned. Here he also want to be the one who was saved. He emphasize on remembering only him.

Thank you.

Interpretation Challenge - "Breath" by Samuel Beckett

This blog is part of my academic activity. To see the task please Click here...

“Breath” by Samuel Beckett

CURTAIN up
1. Faint light on stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish. Hold about five seconds.
2. Faint brief cry and immediately inspiration and slow increase of light together reaching maximum - together in about ten seconds. Silence and hold for about five seconds.
 3. Expiration and slow decrease of light together reaching minimum together (light as in 1) in about ten seconds and immediately cry as before. Silence and hold about five seconds. 

CURTAIN Down

Yes. Don’t be surprise this is whole play of 32 seconds. Yes only 32 seconds. When I first watched it I was like, that’s it? Play over? It is funny but I was thinking that what it feels like when you buy a ticket for watching a play and to relax your self for 2 to 3 hours and play ends in just half minute. Jaws down and may be anger also that what is this? Let it be very clear, some artist create their art for art sake and some create it for life sake. Some work of art are meant to be understood and not to just entertain. This play is for understanding by taking help of existentialism and absurd.

“Breath” is a play by Samuel Beckett. This play was first performed in 1969. There are many versions available for this play and all have something to do different than others. The play is highly absurd. There is no human and nothing happens, no dialogues, we only hear cry, sound of breath and only see garbage on the floor. Absurd play mainly have existentialism as a theme, which this play also has. What is existentialism? It has it's own definition but I want to say that existentialism is an idea which makes you realize that life doesn’t have any meanings but then even to keep living life happily and with freedom of choice. It simply suggest to enjoy the meaninglessness. Through this perspective I am here trying to interpret the play.

Starting and ending is typical with curtain up and down and we can take it as symbol of birth and death of every human which is similar to all. Then there is a miscellaneous rubbish all on the floor. This we may can interpret as our life, that same as this rubbish our life also don’t as any meaning. Or we can interpret it as that by our choices we make our life like garbage, meaningless and purposeless. Increase and decrease of light we may can interpret as ups and downs, which we feel during our life span or we also can interpret it as hope. The cycle of finding and loosing hope. The hold we can interpret as wait, which Samuel Beckett’s another absurd play “Waiting For Godot” also represents. Every time wait for something and at end wait for the death. Breath, we may can take as our existence and holding it in-between we may can take it as a thought or trying of committing suicide and when again exhaling of breath may can take as failed suicide attempt and still living.

Further more in the rubbish on the floor we can find the hospital garbage. Hospital in which we take birth and may be our death might can come in hospital, we can interpret it as that the first and the last moment of life is also lying with garbage. We can find computer also in garbage, again our technology, on which we are very proud is same as garbage. We can find Swastika also in rubbish, which indicates that with technology and rationality our spirituality is also in lying in garbage. In a way by all these things we can come to know that every thing which we think as something great in our life doesn’t has any meaning. Every thing in life is absurd.

There is modern interpretation of this play in which many things are changed. It is longer than the script and also includes the things which are not in the script like humans, nature and song. In original play nothing moves just a voice of breathing but in this modern play the picture is moving. One thing is remain same the voice of breath. In this modern play also whole life of person is shown from childhood to the adulthood or may be death. Where everything is on the floor like garbage. No meaning pf anything whatever has done through out the life. Every thing is meaningless. There is one song also included the name of the song is “Koyaanisqatsi”. The song is by Philip Glass, it is from movie with the same name as song which is directed by Godfrey Reggio. This word “Koyaanisqatsi” in Hopi language it means unbalanced life. Which we can interpret as the uncertainty of life. By all these changes also the essence remain as it is, existentialism.

Thank you.

Existentialism

This blog is part of my academic activity. To see the task click the link given below.

 http://dilipbarad.blogspot.com/2016/09/existentialism-video-resources.html?m=1

What is Existentialism?

“A philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of will.” Soren Kirkegaard, Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Simone de Beauvoir, these are the names of existentialists philosophers. Here I am sharing some of the thoughts which I like the most in given videos on existentialism.

1) The though of making triangle of individuality, freedom and passion rather than center and periphery. These are the three sides of existentialism. And the second one is idea of philosophical suicide. People do physical suicide but some, who encountered with existentialism and can not accept it as it is, those people commit philosophical suicide. They kill their thoughts or grab any other source for stand, they are committing philosophical suicide.

2) People think that life is absurd and that’s why one should die. Is it dying a real solution? No it is not. Life is absurd and meaningless but life is for living. There is also one idea of every human’s fascination of death. It is shown in video that human wants divorce from life and wants to make death a mistress. (Patriarchy… ha ha) But I like the idea that how every one wants death and how every one also fears death.

3) Everybody is singing song of absurdity of life, but here it is said that there is human and there is world, both will collide and then absurdity will take place. Imagine if there is no human being in the world, no question of life will come and no question of absurdity will come. So absurdity is the ultimate truth of life accept it.

4) We all are followers and that’s why our life has no meanings. Why? Because we are following values which are created by others. We don’t have our own values. By following the values given by others, they are same like us, human beings, those who also don’t has meaning of life. By following them we are removing our individual space and started becoming part of herd.

5) If one truly wants to give meaning to it’s own life one has to create it’s own values. After creating one needs to judge and has to make choice. After taking final decision, one has to take the responsibility of own choice and by taking responsibility one will have it’s own path to walk and own rules to follows Some says that being individual means being narcissist, but it is not like that. An individual is just making it’s own path which is according to individual is best for it self. So being different than others doesn’t means narcissist.

6) Now one may say that, what is the problem in following divinity. The answer is that by following divinity what you will get as meaning of life will be divine perspective and not human perspective. The problem with divine perspective is that it is not human perspective and it also ignore the most important thing of human, which is mortality. So we can not find our meaning of life which has immortal perspective. Our existence on world is temporary, so we should participate in life, and should live it as our own wish. We are not here to be just spectator.


7) Friedrich Nietzsche, who gave idea of “Ubermensche”. It is the philosophy for freedom. Freedom of doing whatever human wants. As it says that no universal morality can make us individual or give us the meaning to life. So what “Ubermensche” do is make it’s own morality.

8) Existentialism is very broad idea. It does not appeal only to the mind but heart also. It is called existential sensibility. Which means that if mind wants to know the meaning of life our heart also wants to feel life deeply. So existentialism applies at both level. By creating own meaning of life one also enjoy the life at fullest.  Between all these things one has to suffer a lot. Mostly people find suffering as curse to life, but here it is said that suffering is not our enemy, it is our great friend, through which we learn the difficult and thought transforming lessons, which may be no one else will able to teach us.


9) It is mostly believed that everyone has essence of their existence, and it is sure that one take birth for doing that particular thing only, say for example, the fan, the essence of fan is decided before making of fan. Same people believe about human beings also. But Sartre came and he gave his own thinking which says that in case of human beings it is the “existence precedes essence”. This phrase needs attention and pondering, because we are not animals or trees or electronics. We are human and human first take birth and then they decide their own essence by their own choices. Every human being is born to do something but what?, that will decided by it own self after having existence. The meaning which your life has should be given by you only. It is upon an individual to make their own path or follow others path. If an individual creates its own path and give their own meaning to the life then the life which is lived by an individual is called authentic life.

Which Video I Like the Most and Why?

I like the last video most, because it talks about living life authentically. To create our own path, our own essence and our individual identity, different than other human beings. Because of this idea I like this video most.

My Understanding of Existentialism

As per my thinking, existentialism is knowing one’s own self and then creating one’s own self, on their own choices. It says that whatever we do in our life is ultimately has no meanings but by creating our own path we are creating meaning of our own life. This is what existentialism is about. Being individual is existentialism. We can take example from movie “Jab We Met”, in this movie the character of Geet is individual or existentialist. In movie she says that she wants to enjoy her life on her own conditions and that is why she does whatever she like because at the end of the day she don’t want to blame others that because of you my life is like this, she says she will know that whatever is happening to her is because of her choice and she will accept it and will be happy. So this is what existentialism means, make your own choices by your self take responsibility of your choices and live life at its fullest.

Thank you.