Freedom Writers

I saw a beautiful movie today 'Freedom Writers'. It's a brilliant film , so inspiring and touching! This film should be shown to all teachers. As teachers they should realise that no student is inherently a bad student or 'unteachable', its just that students are different and need to dealt with differently. It is the teachers job to identify what will motivate the student and use the right method to get the student to discover himself and to get him to appreciate the importance of learning and thereby to get him to learn.

The movie reinforces the belief that nothing is impossible if we have the determination and motivation to go on. And that teachers can make such a big difference in the lives of students and play an important role in moulding them into responsible and caring citizens of the world!

Have pasted below some of dialogues I liked from the movie.

Marcus: No, that don't fly Ma.
Erin Gruwell: First of all I'm not anybody's mother.
Andre: No, that's not what it means.
Eva: It's a sign of respect... for you.

Erin Gruwell: But to get respect you have to give it.
Andre: Bullshit.
Erin Gruwell: What?
Andre: Why should I give you my respect? Because you call your a teacher. How do I know that your not a bad person standing up there?
Eva: White people wanting their respect like its for free.

Erin Gruwell: Does anyone know Homer's the Odyssey?
Andre: I know Homer the Simpson.

Miep Gies: You are the heroes. You are heroes every day.
Miep Gies: But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.
Marcus: I've never had a hero before. But you are my hero.
Miep Gies: Oh, no. No, no, no, young man, no. I am not a hero. No. I did what I had to do, because it was the right thing to do. That is all.

Erin Gruwell: The evaluation assignment was to grade yourself on the work you're doing. You gave yourself an F. What's that about?
Andre: It's what I feel I deserve, that's all.
Erin Gruwell: Oh really? [pause]
Erin Gruwell: You know what this is? This is a Fuck You to me and everyone in this class. I don't want excuses. I know what you're up against. We're all of us up against something. So you better make up your mind, because until you have the balls to look me straight in the eye and tell me this is all you deserve, I am not letting you fail. Even if that means coming to your house every night until you finish the work. I see who you are. Do you understand me? I can see you. And you are not failing.
Erin Gruwell: Maybe we should talk about art. Tito's got real talent, don't you think? You know something? I saw a picture just like this once, in a museum. Only it wasn't a black man, it was a jewish man. And instead of the big lips he had a really big nose, like a rat's nose. But he wasn't just one particular jewish man. This was a drawing of all jews. And these drawings were put in the newspapers by the most famous gang in history. You think you know all about gangs? You're amateurs. This gang will put you all to shame. And they started out poor and angry and everybody looked down on them. Until one man decided to give them some pride, an identity... and somebody to blame. You take over neighborhoods? That's nothing compared to them. They took over countries. You want to know how? They just wiped out everybody else. Yeah, they wiped out everybody they didn't like and everybody they blamed for their life being hard. And one of the ways they did it was by doing this: see, they print pictures like this in the newspapers, jewish people with big, long noses... blacks with big, fat lips. They'd also published scientific evidence that proved that jews and blacks were the lowest form of human species. Jews and blacks were more like animals. And because they were just like animals it didn't matter if they lived or died. In fact, life would be a whole lot better if they were all dead. That's how a holocaust happens. And that's what you all think of each other.

Gloria: If you look in my eyes, you'll see a lonely girl. If you like at my smile, you'll see nothing wrong. If you pull up my shirt, you'll see the bruises. What did I do to make him so mad?

Eva: In America, a girl can be crowned a princess for her beauty, and her grace. But an Aztec princess is chosen for her blood. To fight for her people as Papi and his father fought, against those who say we are less than they are, against those who say that we are not equal in beauty or blessings.

[while playing the Line Game, in which Erin makes the class reveal that they have more in common than they care to admit] Erin Gruwell: Who has been to jail or a juvenile hall? Sindy: Does a refugee camp count?
Erin Gruwell: You decide. [Sindy stands on the line]

[following Erin's impassioned speech about the Nazi Holocaust]
Tito: [raises hand] What's a holocaust?
Erin Gruwell: Who here knows what the Holocaust is? [all keep their hands down except Ben, the only white kid, who sheepishly raises his]
Erin Gruwell: Who here has ever been shot at? [all raise their hands except Ben, who lowers his]

Hemingway on Luck...

"To hell with luck. I'll bring the luck with me." - The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

In a valley of flowers where butterflies flutter their lovely wings around…
Sunshine peers at you through bright snow white clouds
Where the sunbeam bends down from the skies to kiss tender petals
The blushing flower radiates the light of happiness
Butterflies flutter from flower to flower sipping the nectar of love
The multitude of colours on their fluttering wings fills my eyes with twinkling stars
and lo the brightest of ‘em all, is a little fairy… with a golden wand in her hand
spreading the magic of spring and joy… come my fairy come…

Explore... Dream... Discover

Came across these few lines that I thought was really inspiring...
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."-Mark Twain

Come Alive with The Sound of Music

COME ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don’t feel so bad…”

Whenever I am down in the dumps or feeling miserable I simply hum these lines and lo! It makes me feel so much better! These revitalizing lines are from the movie Sound of Music - a movie that is such an important part of my childhood memories. Sound of Music is my ‘feel good movie’. Just watching the movie or even humming its songs can do wonders to my mood.

Set in the backdrop of World War – II the story is about Maria who is training to be a nun. However suspecting that her real call lies beyond the walls of the Abbey, Mother Superior asks her to go out and experience the outside world for sometime. She is sent to the house of a retired navy captain Von Trapp to be a governess to seven children. Maria is both excited and tensed at the prospect. On one hand, she has to deal with Captain, who ever since the death of his wife, runs his house like a dictator – ‘as if he were on one of his warships’! While on the other are bunch of seven naughty children deprived of love and enjoyment. The story that follows is that of how Maria captures the hearts of the children and Captain alike through music and her enchanting ways.

Sound of Music captures Austria at its best; you are left wanting more of the breathtaking views of the Austrian landscape. And you will love the lush locations, glimpses of the baroque city of Salzburg and not to forget the palatial house of Captain Von Trapp (which has now been converted into a museum!).

The character of Maria has been etched out so beautifully. I am a big fan of Maria! As the song sung by the nuns at the Abbey goes, “How do you solve a problem like Maria… how do you catch a cloud and pin it down…. How do you find a word that means Maria…???” To describe Maria in one word would be just next to impossible - frank, honest, sincere, loving, lively. She speaks her mind, stands up to her words and likes to live life on her terms. She detests rules that do not make sense or restrain your freedom. In contrast to that Captain Von Trapp is calm, rigid, restrained and elegant.

The movie has been interspersed with moments of fun and laughter… these include the pranks played by the kids on Maria – the frog jumping out of Maria’s pocket, Maria’s entry at the dinning table, she checks her mattress for spiders or Maria’s blunt remarks like “the poor wouldn’t take them…., (were you this much trouble at the Abbey) oh! Much more…, only during thunderstorms Captain”. Among the children it’s the younger boy, Kurt who adds most to the humour element.

So many scenes just touch your heart… one such scene is when Maria is taking the children out for shopping to Salzburg and Gretel, the youngest child drops a tomato, how Maria through her gestures tells her that she need not be sorry. The evolving relationship between Maria and the eldest daughter Liesel is so beautifully depicted. The film also shows various emotions and dilemmas that a teenager passes through. Infact the movie appeals to people of all ages - children, teenagers, parents everybody can relate to the movie.

The movie has music that elevates you and touches your soul. Most of the songs fill you with positivity and cheer. You really want to sing every song you hear. ‘The hills are alive’ makes your heart want to, beat like the wings of the birds, to laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way, sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray!

“I have confidence…” will pump in loads of confidence for you to take on the world. Do-re-mi is the light, fun song that you can always teach your young cousins with actions et al and they are bound to love it! Other lovely songs include the soothing Edelweiss, the endearing puppet show and goodbye ‘cuckoo’ song. You also get to see some enthralling dance sequences at Ball Dance and in the chirpy romantic number ‘You are sixteen’!

The last one hour of the movie is comparatively grim and depicts tensions during the World War. The strong sense of patriotism of Captain forces him to leave his own beloved Austria instead of bowing down before the invading Germans. The last scenes of the movie have moments of tension when you wonder what would be the fate of the Von Trapp family if caught by the Germans. Even the background score has been used effectively to create the required mood.

Produced by Robert Wise, the movie has brilliant acting especially by the lead actors Julie Andrews, as Maria, Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp and Peggy Wood as Mother Abbess. The movie won many Academy Awards in 1965.

However as a child there were certain portions of the movie that I felt dragged a bit – when Captain Von Trapp, Uncle Max and Baroness Schroeder are driving down to Salsburg, the long chat between Captain von Trapp and the Baroness as they stroll in the garden and the scenes where Captain and Maria confess their love for each other. However today when I understand those dialogues, with more patience to pay attention to them, I have begun to appreciate the same!

Overall Sound of music is a movie that exudes optimism and inspires you to ‘Climb every Mountain till you find your dream’! It fills into your heart and mind the strong belief that ‘When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window’!

The beautiful story of how Maria brings back music and happiness into the lives of the Von Trapp family, Sound of music is and will always be my all-time favourite!

“I go to the hills when my heart is lonely,
I know I will hear what I've heard before.
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more.”

Why I write...

I write to express my opinions, feelings and desires. I can express my joy and share both happiness and sorrow through writing. I write to voice my dissatisfaction, angst and frustration and to express pain or disbelief.

I write to record significant experiences; experiences that touch me or events that move me. I can then come back to events or interesting moments, days, months or years after they occurred. I write to forget unpleasant people, situations or things.

I write to capture and pin down fleeting ideas before they vanish from my mind. I write to let my mind travel freely and come up with crazy ideas. I write to refine ideas. Writing gives shape to and helps mould my ideas and thoughts. I write to visualise my dreams and wrench out my hidden fears. I write to face issues I have been avoiding. I write when in doubt and when I am seeking answers or to search my soul. I write when I want to be sure of my words and to ensure that I use the appropriate words.

I write to ask for forgiveness when I have made a mistake or hurt someone intentionally or unintentionally. I write to thank those who have made a difference. I write to appreciate beauty around me. I write to raise concerns and applaud achievements. I write to admire and acknowledge brilliance and virtue and to deplore vices around me and within me.

I write to keep in touch with touch with old friends and relatives and to make new acquaintances. I write to communicate at work with colleagues, clients, suppliers and the media. I write to share information and to ask for information. I write when I want to reach out to many people at the same time.

I write to comment on happenings around the world and to contemplate on life. I write to celebrate the joy of living. I write to ridicule the irony of life. I write to express and share the joys of travelling and discovering new places, people, cultures and cuisines.

I write to improvise my writing skills. And yes of course, I write for the sheer pleasure of writing!

dil ki udaan

mera yeh dil deewana
jaane hai kaise rukta na
iski udaan..

manoo hai koi panchi yeh
ude hai jo gagan mein yeh
phaila ke pankh

armaan iske haaroon zalakte boli mein
ghule hai jaise rang saare holi mein

(just keyed in somethin tht came to my mind... may keep refining it.. :)