ഒരേ കടല്‍ (Ore kadal) – Seamless ocean.

Shyamaprasad’s vision, and execution, of Sunil Gangopadhyay’s original novel (name not credited in movie) is a triumph in story telling on celluloid. A very complex yet simultaneously basic notion of personal choices that one consciously makes in the quest for one’s place and purpose in the universal consciousness is told in the most beautiful manner.


Ore Kadal Poster
Ore Kadal – publicity shot.

The narrative opens by revealing three characters who have already chosen their ways of life and are comfortable in their choices. Nathan, a successful economic philosopher with a trade in academia good enough to support his two other indulgences – fine liquor and female companionship. Deepti is an urban middle class housewife with a devoted and conscientious husband, committed to providing a secure domestic household for his family. Deepti is pretty and alluring in her innocence. Bela is Nathan’s female companion of choice. She owns and manages a pub which Nathan frequents.

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The real stakeholders of a conflict.

All the diplomatic language like confidence building measures and ministerial talks, foreign secretarial talks as well as awkard meetings at international conferences between our two leaders at the helm of affairs were shown the door under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif. They appealed to their respective public’s primal instincts of hope and faith. Even the years of systematic fermenting of mutual distrust between the public on either sides by their respective ruling classes was easily eclipsed by the euphoria caused by this ray of hope.

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Outbreak of peace aborted.

All hope is not lost though. To know this all one has to do is relive the time when Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif made the most sincere effort, at least in my memory, to date. The opening of many new civilian transportation channels is still the most effective approach to resolving this conflict. The friendship between the two leaders was irrepressible and the intent was equally clear. Together, both of them got the languid bureaucrats on both sides to get cracking on resolving petty issues.

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India-Pakistan relationship – are we wishing for the stars?

Pakistan’s blind side” is the title of the editorial piece from Mr. Shashi Tharoor’s desk, arguably the most famous Indian diplomat, owing his reputation to years of service in the U.N. He is now an M.P. representing a constituency of Kerala.

The piece does not shed any new light on the state of affairs between the two neighbours, neither does it offer any innovative proposals. All opinions were paraded as if it were an imaginary line-up of the usual suspects. It would paint an even wry picture if you could conjure up the expressions on the faces of the characters in the line up of the poster for “The Usual Suspects”. India’s impotence at pressing it’s advantage of being powerful among the two can be very easily identified as a character in this line up. Pakistan’s suppressed acceptance of Jinnah’s failed dream but defiance against admitting so could be another. The list would go on.

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