Love in the time of cholera

It’s not a movie that people would flock to watch. No, it has no glitz, no glamour. It is possibly the kind of movie you pick up, when you’ve roamed the aisles of the video shop for too long, and are angry and frustrated with the illusion of too much choice. You don’t want to return empty handed after having spent so long, so you just pick up ‘some’ damn movie.

The movie times back to the early 19th century and is about this man who waits for the girl he loves. No big deal, huh? Well, he falls in love in his twenties, and waits till about the time he is 70 years old, he waits for her husband to die to be with her again. Come on, no one can be that stupid, isn’t it a plain waste of one’s life, you may want to ask. Yes, it seemed stupid at first to me too.

And then from that secret corner of my brain, a thought long thought about, cast aside only coz it never completely made sense, presented itself, this time with a new dress of reason, in a new form. It said to me, “People are different, let them be!”

Indeed. This is perhaps on the same lines as my last post. Every individual has his own set of thoughts, perceptions, principles to live by, sense of right and wrong. And it ought to be realized and respected. When we talk about freedom, I think this is what it is supposed to mean. People can’t be free until we let them be.

And that brings me to Marriage. I know a lot of people who think marriage is a forced commitment and is against the concept of freedom. I don’t think I ever thought that way, I believe too much in my ancestors’ wisdom and can’t think they would create a thing like marriage to constrain freedom. I believe everything started out “good”.

I am guessing marriage too was meant to be an “exercise”. An assignment. To live with someone your entire life, to learn to appreciate the relationship, to learn to let the person be. Humans have to be tied down by rules sometimes in order to learn. And I guess marriage is such a rule. Ofcourse, these days marriages too can be broken, but I guess they weren’t meant to. Marriage is possibly an exercise where you are brought together with a person to live your life with, realize his individuality and learn to co-exist inspite of the difference.

May be none of this makes sense, perhaps I may even change my mind and write about something totally contrary. But I like to give myself the freedom, to think and change my mind as often as I want. All my principles in life are fleeting. “I” am fleeting.

Coming back to the movie, when I let the character in the movie be and told myself that all he did didn’t need to be judged, I actually ended up enjoying it.

I loved these lines from the movie.

“Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself.”

Comments

Sudhi said…
On similar lines, Give "The Painted Veil" a look. Its a lovely movie
Saya said…
you must read the book..

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