Why Did Divya and Devika Look into the Mirror? | From Mouna Ragam to Teacher 💜

Why did Divya and Devika “Look” into the Mirror?

#reflections

The mirror has always been an inevitable part of all good literature across the ages, endowed with rich symbolism, exemplifying the duality between the observer and their reflection - the divide between the ‘self’ and the ‘other.’

That’s hence, in literature and in films, characters looking into mirrors are often shown confronting their divided sense of self! The reflection acts as a doppelganger or the ‘Jungian shadow’ – symbolising a physical manifestation of internal guilt, hidden desires, or a fractured sense of self!

One reason why, feminist literary criticism looks upon the mirror as an instrument of the male gaze, and women in literature are often depicted as “trapped by their reflections”.

Now, let’s together do an analysis on how the mirror functions as a divide between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, in Mani Ratnam’s 1986 milestone film titled, Mouna Ragam (Silent Symphony).

Yes, I am an avid fan of Mani Ratnam! 😊

Mouna Ragam follows the life of Divya, a spirited and vibrant young woman (privately grieving the tragic death of her former lover, Manohar), who is pressurised by her family into an arranged marriage with Chandrakumar. Not able to resist the marriage because of family pressures, she forces herself to marry Chandrakumar against her wishes and desires!

During her marriage rituals, the women surrounding her are busy taking care of the habituated societal rituals that connect with womanhood and marriage. However, Divya’s gaze is locked onto the mirror, entirely detached from the beehive of activity that’s happening all around her. The scene beautifully mirrors her own fractured identity amidst an environment that is trying to define and dictate her life for her.

After their marriage, she has to relocate to Delhi with her husband. Here, Divya remains emotionally detached from Chandrakumar, and inspite of Chandrakumar’s repeated attempts at being kind and empathetic to her, and even wishes to surprise her with a wedding gift, she shocks him by asking for a divorce as her wedding gift.

In this scene, we find Divya all alone in Delhi, curled defensively, clutching her knees and trying to look toward the mirror. Here, the mirror reflects a wounded individual forced to confront her own helplessness and alienation – her fractured sense of self!

In fact, P. C. Sreeram’s masterful cinematography deserves kudos here, for making the mirror as an effective semiotic tool all through the film. The mirror is strategically used to articulate the internal conflict, and the unspoken trauma of the protagonist, Divya.

I suggest that you watch the film to relive these particular scenes.

There’s also this mirror scene where Chandrakumar is shown standing at the dressing table while Divya is seen in the background – a beautiful picture of framing ‘psychological alienation’.

Rather than framing them side-by-side in the room, Maniratnam pans the camera towards the mirror to create this deep psychological distance. Chandrakumar is in the active foreground, preparing for the day, while Divya is relegated to the distant background reflection, appearing passive, withdrawn, and physically small. What a beautiful framing of “spatial alienation!”

The director here makes us visualise the profound disconnect in their shared domestic life. They are together in the reflection, but poles apart in reality, thus “mirroring” the vast psychological gap between them.

Towards the end, there are two redeeming scenes of the protagonist Divya. They capture a profound shift in the psychological transition from a sense of alienation to a profound sense of reconciliation. If you carefully observe here, you will notice that for the first time she smiles looking at herself in the mirror, and then she turns away from the mirror into reality!

What a memorable frame! 😊

Hats off to the director and to the cinematographer for these memorable frames!

Finally, coming to our next film –

I would like to analyse the 2022 Malayalam film titled, Teacher.

The movie Teacher is about the protagonist Devika a physical education teacher who is shown leading a quiet life with her husband, Sujith. One morning, she wakes up completely disoriented. As she pieces together the hazy events of the previous day, she makes a horrifying discovery -  she was drugged and sexually assaulted by a group of college students, who had also filmed the crime on their mobiles. The crisis aggravates when Devika finds out that she is pregnant. She eventually breaks her silence and confesses the assault to her husband. 

However, instead of offering his empathy, Sujith reacts with anger and disgust. Then, prioritising his family’s honour and reputation in society, he outright refuses to father the child and asks her to keep quiet rather than go to the police. However, Devika refuses to be a passive victim. She finds an unexpected pillar of support in her mother-in-law, Kalyani - a firebrand veteran activist, who encourages Devika to stop hiding in shame and to fight back against her abusers. Having externalised her rage and faced her trauma head-on, Devika realises her own inner strength. 

Quite interestingly, Devika from Vivek’s Teacher (2022) has a lot of interesting convergences and divergences with Divya from Mani Ratnam’s Mouna Ragam (1986).

Both Divya and Devika grapple with an intense internal conflict! However, what differs is the nature of the trauma and how they respond or react to it!

While Divya’s intense internal conflict stems from unresolved grief over a lost love and the imposition of a forced marriage, Devika’s trauma is violently imposed through a sexual assault and a leaked video.

Hence, Divya’s silence could connote withdrawal and passive resistance, while Devika’s silence here could symbolise her sense of shock and shame at being violated.

Devika’s husband tries to hush things up, thinking of his family’s reputation. This way, he lacks genuine empathy for his wife. In fact, he is attempting to make her “erase” her trauma without making her “face” the trauma!

Staring into the mirror then becomes an act of facing the trauma head-on, refusing to avert her eyes, in order to shatter the “victim” identity that’s been forced upon her.

The director, in a subtle and masterful frame, tells his viewers that, Devika’s healing cannot come through passive acceptance. She must actively face her deep sense of shock and shame that has been forced upon her, by transitioning from a traumatised victim into an active, vengeful agent. Her intense internal conflict is only resolved when she externalises her rage.

This frame here when she looks at herself in the mirror, happens just before she externalises her rage against her attackers.

To conclude then, whether it is Divya or Devika, as regards films, the mirror has always served as a rich hermeneutic space, reflecting the trauma of the divided self!

For both the women, the mirror is not only symbolic of victimhood, but also the pathway to healing, reconciliation, or reclamation or even rebellion, whatever the case may be, in order to piece themselves back together!

James Baldwin’s lovely quote I’m sure would be apt to sign off on this post -

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

Lovely, ain’t it? 😊

“History doesn't always repeat itself, but it often rhymes!” ❤️

The Story of Elections to Three States & One Union Territory!

Uncanny Similarities in Kerala and Puducherry!

Bolt-from-the-blue Surprises in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal!

10th May 2001

From my personal diary entry, 25 years ago!

#memoriesfromdiaries

On this particular day, exactly 25 years ago, Assembly elections were held for the three states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Pondicherry (UT).

All four elections had their own share of uncanny similarities and shocking surprises in store!

Coming first to Tamil Nadu –

In Tamil Nadu, in the year 2001, even before the elections began, there was a huge crisis on the cards!

Yes, the crisis centred around the leader of the AIADMK, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa. Just weeks ahead of the TN elections in 2001, Ms. Jayalalithaa’s nomination papers across four different constituencies were outrightly rejected by the Returning Officers. The reason??? her conviction in the TANSI land deal case, which carried a prison sentence of more than two years, and which by default legally disqualified her from contesting under the Representation of the People Act.

However, Ms. Jayalalithaa, instead of backing out, played the victim card, calling it a political conspiracy by the then ruling DMK Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi.

The victim card surprisingly worked to her favour, and to everyone’s surprise, the AIADMK-led alliance swept the state, winning 196 out of 234 seats. And although she did not contest even a single seat and even after being legally disqualified, Jayalalithaa was unanimously elected as the leader of the legislative party and was sworn in as Chief Minister by Governor Fathima Beevi, triggering a huge constitutional crisis. You may want to read about this entire saga on our past blogpost HERE.

In September 2001, however, the Supreme Court struck down Ms. Jayalalitha’s appointment as unconstitutional, forcing her to temporarily step down and quickly install her devout loyalist, O. Panneerselvam, as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

25 years later, in Tamil Nadu, the 2001 Dravidian bipolar contest has almost come to an end this year because of a massive political earthquake that has surprised even pollsters.

Actor Vijay’s newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) stunned political veterans by emerging as the single largest party, securing 108 out of 234 seats and pushing the ruling DMK (59 seats) and AIADMK (47 seats) to a distant second and third positions respectively.

I am neither a political pundit nor a political analyst, 😊but I would like to draw your attention to some striking surprises in the vote share in the year 2001 -

In 2001, DMK in TN had a good vote share - 30.90% - but it could manage only 31 seats, while

On the other hand, AIADMK had a very marginal rise – a mere 0.5% rise - in vote share - 31.4% - but it could win a record 132 seats!

How-o-how! 😊

Can you imagine just a mere 0.5% difference in vote share could lead to a difference of 101 seats! Quite surprising, ain’t it?

Well, that’s where alliance arithmetic helps, you see!

Ms. Jayalalithaa was able to cobble up a ‘Mega Alliance’ by a grand coalition of parties, which included the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), Indian National Congress (INC), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), CPI, and CPM.

On the other hand, in 2001, the DMK, was part of the NDA - allied with the BJP and a few smaller parties, but it lacked the strength and the numbers of AIADMK’s coalition.

Hence, when voters went to the polls, the supporters of the TMC, Congress, PMK, and the Left transferred their votes entirely to the AIADMK candidate in the seats where AIADMK was contesting. This guaranteed that AIADMK candidates were winning in most of the constituencies.

Bespeaks to the power of cobbling up a grand coalition!

You may also want to read our past post on how DMK lost power because they didn’t want to take on board just one party – the MDMK, - on our past post HERE.

Compare the situation today in the TN 2026 elections –

DMK in TN has a vote share of 24.19% - winning 59 seats,

AIADMK has a vote share of 21% - winning 47 seats.

TVK has a vote share of 34.92% - winning 108 seats.

Coming now to Kerala -

In 2001, in Kerala, the UDF under the Congress party created a historic landmark of sorts! Led by A.K. Antony, the Congress-led UDF crushed the incumbent LDF, winning 99 seats. It was a landmark election because the Indian National Congress (INC) emerged as the single largest party with 63 seats!

Exactly 25 years later, in 2026, the UDF has yet again stormed back to power, ousting the LDF! Even more remarkably, the Congress once again became the single largest party in the state assembly, securing exactly the same 63 seats that it had won in 2001! A bit of an uncanny coincidence, ain’t it? 😊

Coming now to West Bengal -

In West Bengal, the Left Front swept to power in 2001, in spite of a very formidable opposition – the formidable alliance of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and the INC! 

Quite interestingly, much of the media had predicted the downfall of the Left since they felt people were frustrated with the Left after having given them power for 24 long years! However, to everyone’s surprise, the CPI(M)-led Left Front under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee secured a commanding 199 out of 294 seats, winning a record-breaking sixth consecutive term with a two-thirds majority.

The Left Front got a vote share of 49%. The BJP was barely a factor back then, as it did not win any seat. The party contested in 266 constituencies and garnered 19,01,351 votes, resulting in a 5.19% vote share, but couldn’t secure any seat.

In the year 2026, the BJP achieved its long-standing dream of winning West Bengal for the first time, and got a decisive mandate, ending Mamata’s 15-year rule by winning a commanding 207 out of 294 seats to form its first-ever government in the state, with a record vote share of 45.84%, while the CPM, got a vote share of just around 4.5%

The Left Front, which dominated 2001, was nearly wiped out in 2026, winning just a single seat.

In Kerala and Puducherry, the 2026 elections perfectly mirrored the 2001 elections.

While in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal unexpected political surprises awaited the people, with TVK and BJP respectively, storming to power for the first time ever!

Looking back at the political landscape of over 25 years ago and comparing it with the situation today, we have Kerala and Puducherry, where history has almost photocopied its own electoral verdict to a tee! 😊

On the other hand, in Tamil Nadu and in West Bengal the electorate has given a verdict for a sea-change of sorts!

I would like to sum up these uncanny similarities and shocking surprises through Mark Twain’s lovely line –

History doesn't always repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

In the vibrant landscape of Indian politics, sometimes history repeats, sometimes it rhymes, and sometimes…

… it just throws away the good ol’ script and writes an entirely new song! 😊

We call it the dance of democracy! 😊

A Drive from Darkness to Light | A Visual Masterclass | Today ❤️

Just Look Up! | What the Clouds Taught Me Today

#incampustoday #intothewoods

8th May 2026

Driving down the State Highway towards Campus today, I found myself captivated by a silent companion who was tailgating me all along! - a stunning cloud formation that followed me all the way to Campus! 😊

This lovely sight impulsively brought to my mind two things –

Firstly, it took me back to 2018 - to our blog discussions HERE on our blog, on The Cloud Appreciation Society and their vibrant Manifesto!

I couldn’t help but think of Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s lovely categorisation of the sky’s inhabitants. Even as I was driving, I kept watching out for his three distinct tiers 😊

The Low Clouds: Those “cotton wool tufts” that bloom on a sunny day.

The Middle Clouds: Looking like endless “layers of bread rolls” across the horizon.

The High Clouds: Those “delicate streaks of falling ice crystals” brushing against the edge of space.

Secondly, what struck me the most, was the dramatic transition! In no time, the heavy, brooding dark clouds transitioned so quickly to a vast, graceful and luminous sky blue!

In fact, it was a stunning visual masterclass on the “Philosophy of the Passing Clouds”.

This quick transitioning from darkness to light made me ponder about this profound philosophy behind the “passing clouds”.

Like the clouds over Tambaram, our emotions – be it happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise, etc., - are also transient by nature!

They are visitors, not inhabitants! True peace happens only when we treat them as passing clouds rather trying to “fix” them!

Mindfulness helps us cultivate this art of detachment! We don’t have to engage with them or be controlled by them!

By recognising the transitory nature of our emotions, we can stop trying to hold onto the mist! 😊

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that while the weather keeps changing every hour of the day, the sky remains - vast, blue, calm, cool, and unaffected.

Your essence is the sky, not the fleeting clouds passing through it! 😊

So whenever negative thoughts or emotions arise – which is quite natural - you don’t have to invite them over for a cup of coffee! 😊

Instead, just place those anxieties onto a cloud and simply watch the wind carry them away. You don’t have to engage with them; you can just let them pass!

Cos, as the renowned Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron says -

“You are the sky. Everything else - it’s just the weather.”

Would love to end this post with the immortal lines of Tagore –

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sky.”

Cool! Ain’t it? 😊

“Open my heart and you will see / Graved inside of it, ‘Italy’” ❤️

Born to Wander: The Transnational Journeys of Tagore, Browning, and Jhabvala

This morning, we had a rewarding time discussing collaborations and global engagement with senior officials from Deakin University, Australia.

What’s quite interesting about today’s interactions is that, Deakin made history by becoming the very first foreign university in the world to establish an international teaching campus in India – in Gujarat - followed by University of Wollongong (Australia).

I was quite surprised and wonder-amazed at this fascinating shift! From students migrating to better pastures abroad for their higher studies, to those very same global universities coming all the way to India, to set up physical campuses - it’s indeed been a paradigm shift of sorts!

Bespeaks to the importance of transnational education made available to our students at just 1/3rd of the costs.

The initiative is a bold and welcome move, as it solves the problem of academic access, and makes available transnational education at our doorsteps.

At the same time, however, I personally feel that, in a way, it dilutes the profound cultural and geographical immersion that comes from physically crossing borders - that transnational travel seeks to endow our students with!

It could be navigating our way through a foreign grocery store, decode local slang, or connecting with new people - this geographic displacement that accompanies such travels are quite essential to shaping one’s perspectives and ‘world’views, ain’t it?

Again, today I had calls and messages from our students who are currently in Japan and in Korea, describing their adventurous experiences in navigating their way to the local grocery, the weather, the food, the people, and yes, the little earthquakes that gave them that little lubtub moments, etc. 😊

Indeed, I personally feel that, such transnational travels help in discovering ourselves!

In this regard, let’s do a quick take on how these transnational travels have helped three great writers – who are celebrating their birthdays today – Tagore, Browning, and Jhabvala – who were able to experience their authentic voices by stepping outside their familiar boundaries, and thereby were able to uncover hidden facets of their own identities when they stepped outside of their comfort zone!

#onhisbirthdaytoday #onherbirthdaytoday

7th May 2026

Yes, today happens to be the birthday of three literary giants - Robert Browning, Rabindranath Tagore, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

And although all three writers come from different literary traditions, one particular aspect that unites them all is the fact that, all three of them were great travellers whose travel experiences have inspired and impacted their writing much-o-much!

First and foremost, let’s take up Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore!

Although Tagore was deeply rooted in the Bengal landscape, he was a frequent global traveller as well!

In fact, his visits to over 30 countries across five continents between 1878 and 1932 have deeply influenced his writing and worldview. His trips - that were sometimes months-long or even years-long, were more than mere vacations. They were experiences that shaped his thought-processes, his world-views and his personality for the better!

England in particular was Tagore’s most frequent destination, where he was exposed to English literature, Western classical music, and British society.

During his long stays here, he made use of the opportunity to interact with the English literary giants of the time - including W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound - leading to the publication of Gitanjali and his subsequent Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

In fact it was Yeats who wrote the Introduction to his Gitanjali.

He also travelled five times to the US, staying there for many months to lecture, meet intellectuals, and raise funds for his school in Santiniketan.

He spent several months living in Urbana, Illinois, where his son Rathindranath was studying agriculture at the University of Illinois. This was one of the most productive periods of his writing!

He also undertook a lot of lecture tours in the US!

Then, he travelled to Argentina, which was one of his most romanticised staycations! 😊

The famous Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo, who was also a devoted admirer of Tagore’s work, hosted him for two months at the Villa Ocampo! And this sylvan residency, literally rejuvenated him. Under this spell, he started writing a host of poems dedicated to Ocampo!

He then visited Japan where he lived for a month, during which time he developed a deep admiration for Japanese aesthetics, traditional arts, and the Shinto reverence for nature.

After his Japanese travels, he embarked on a high-profile tour of China, lecturing in Beijing and interacting with leading Chinese intellectuals like Liang Qichao, attempting to bridge Indian and Chinese philosophical traditions.

After this, throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, Tagore toured Europe continuously, meeting with luminaries like Albert Einstein in Germany and Romain Rolland in Switzerland. In 1930, he also made a trip to the Soviet Union, staying in Moscow. He was deeply fascinated by their massive educational campaigns and agricultural cooperatives!

To Tagore, travelling was never about tourism! it was an educative experience, philosophical experience and a therapeutic experience as well. On this account, he viewed himself as a global citizen - a Visva-Kabi (World Poet) – aimed at breaking down the narrow walls of hatred and prejudice and create a “world where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.”

Before he set out on his extensive travels, much of his work was deeply embedded in the specific cultural and political milieu of Bengal. However, as he moved across Europe, America(s), and Asia, his writing began to reflect a universalist perspective.

He then started envisioning literature not as a national product, but as a global dialogue!

You may want to read our past post where Tagore talks about Visva Sahitya HERE on our blog.

Secondly, let’s take up Browning - Robert Browning!

Although Browning was English, his greatest creative period occurred during his travels abroad, especially during his fifteen years’ stay in Italy. Here, he learnt a lot of Italian history, Renaissance art, and local culture, and from this vantage ‘foreign’ space, he was able to look at Victorian society from an insider-outsider’s perspective!

At the same time, it’s quite important to note that, while Tagore travelled across five continents and visited over thirty countries, Browning’s travels were almost exclusively confined to the European continent. Instead of globe-trotting or globe-hopping, Browning preferred deep, prolonged immersion in specific cultures, which had a profound influence on his poetry.

In short, Italy may be said to be the centre of Browning’s creative and personal life. Following his famous secret marriage and elopement with Elizabeth Barrett Browning in 1846 (fleeing her tyrannical father), the couple moved to Italy and stayed there for fifteen years.

They frequently spent summers escaping the Florentine heat in Siena or the Apennine mountains, and spent significant time in Rome and Venice. Browning’s love for Italy was so profound that upon his death, he was living in his son’s home in Venice in 1889. He famously wrote, “Open my heart and you will see / Graved inside of it, ‘Italy’.”

France was Browning’s second most visited foreign country. After their secret wedding, Robert and Elizabeth initially fled to Paris before making their way south to Italy. After Elizabeth died in 1861, Browning returned to London. However, he frequently spent his summers in France, particularly in the coastal regions of Brittany and Normandy, enjoying the rugged landscapes which inspired several of his later poems.

Before he became a famous poet, a 21-year-old Browning undertook an adventurous trip to the Russian Empire. He travelled there as secretary to the Russian consul-general, journeying by ship to Rotterdam, then traveling overland by coach through vast stretches of snow to St. Petersburg. Although he only stayed about three months, the vast, wintry landscapes and the political atmosphere left a lasting impression, heavily influencing his early long poems like Sordello and later works like Ivàn Ivànovitch.

Browning also spent time in the Swiss Alps. He and Elizabeth sometimes traveled through Switzerland en route between England and Italy, and he returned there occasionally in his later, post-Italy years for summer holidays.

Now let’s look at Jhabvala - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala! 

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s relationship with international travel was quite different. She lived and travelled across four entirely different countries - Germany, England, India, and the United States - and these were more of geographical displacements than travels, and these displacements impacted and influenced her writing style to a great extent.

Jhabvala was born in Germany to a Jewish family and was forced to flee to England in 1939 as a refugee from the Nazi regime. This early, traumatic uprooting instilled in her a lifelong sense of exile, that could be evidenced in the theme of perpetual rootlessness, that’s part and parcel of almost all her writings, including her poignant 1966 autobiographical essay titled, “Myself in India”.

As a result of this perpetual rootlessness, she described herself as a person with “no roots.” Consequently, almost all of her fiction centres on characters who are spiritually or physically displaced. Whether they are European refugees, Western spiritual seekers in the East, or Indians navigating post-colonial shifts, her protagonists are typically outsiders searching for a sense of belonging that forever eludes them.

In the year 1951, she married an Indian architect and moved to Delhi, where she lived for 24 years. This relocation produced her most famous body of work, including her Booker Prize-winning novel Heat and Dust.

Her final major migration was to New York in 1975, a city where she finally felt comfortable!

Well, all three writers - then - describe the human condition and the human psyche when it is caught between colliding cultures, and all three of them were able to describe the transnational experience in their own unique ways through their oeuvre.

That’s hence, on careful analysis of their writing, one can see in all three writers – a rejection of a singular, omniscient, and reliable authorial voice, thereby disrupting the concept of a monolithic, mono-cultural literary identity, and embraced polyphony, instead, allowing their characters to reveal their own psychological landscapes!

In short, the most significant writings of all these three literary giants – born on this day – 7th May - exemplify the transnational human condition - living at the intersection of differing cultures, and thereby acting as literary bridges while navigating the complexities of displacement!

Literary bridges! 😊 Sounds lovely, isn’t it?

You may want to read more on the concept of literary bridges, in our past blogpost HERE.

If you are a travel buff, you may also want to read our Six-Part Travel Writing Series that we did HERE on our blog way back in the year 2018.

From Piggy Chops to Golden Siggie | The Screenstor and the Surgeon ❤️

The Danger of Believing That You Know Enough!

On Sigmund Freud | The Father of Psychoanalysis

#onhisbirthdaytoday

6th May 2026

& Applying Sigmund Freud to Priyanka Chopra!

Or in other words…

Applying Siggie to Piggy!

This morning, in Campus, the Deans, VPs and Officials of the College had a very long and rewarding meeting with our Principal. In the meeting our Principal was highlighting on UGC’s emphasis on the importance of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) - which encompasses all the learning activities that professionals engage in - over and beyond their initial academic qualifications to ensure that their practice remains relevant and effective!

It was such a delightful coincidence because just this morning, I was listening to a lovely speech by Piggy Chops – aka Priyanka Chopra on a similar topic!

And this – ladies and gentlemen - takes us to the theme of today’s blogpost, and... here we go! 😊

Well, I’ve always admired screenstors (my little portmanteau of silver screen and actor) 😊who double up as readers and writers!

Call it a quaint little idiosyncrasy of mine – but I’ve had this crazy weird admiration for actors who take time to read a lot and write a lot, not as part of their profession, but out of sheer passion!

Art for heart’s sake! 😊

The list is eclectic! But these are a few of my favourite actors-cum-authors - 😊

Here goes –

Girish Karnad, Twinkle Khanna, Kalki Koechlin, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Tom Hanks, Priyanka Chopra, to name just a few.

And yes, I’ve admired Piggy Chops a lot not only for her best-selling memoir – Unfinished, but also for her speeches as well! Yess! There’s something about Priyanka’s speeches that have a telling effect on the viewer/listener! – maybe that’s because she is able to have the commanding presence of a seasoned orator, while at the same time, she gives you the expressions and the body language of a girl next door, telling you a story! Do please take time to watch a few of her speeches.

There was one such speech by Piggy Chops on YouTube that Prof. Dinesh had shared with me yesterday, and the first thing I listened to - early this morning! That’s when I decided that I should do a little post on it today.

And hence this post. 😊

On an aside, yesterday, I remember having discussed HERE on our blog - some of the core concepts of Kierkegaard and Karl Marx, the Father of Existentialism and the Father of Communism, respectively – on their birthdays yesterday!

We saw that, they both were “philosophical surgeons” who diagnosed the modern human condition – especially its weaknesses and sicknesses!

In like fashion, Sigmund Freud is a “psychological surgeon” who in like manner, diagnosed the modern human condition – and also provided an entirely new vocabulary for making sense of that human condition! 

In other words, if Society was the Text for Marx, and the Individual was the Text for Kierkegaard, the Mind was the Text for Freud! 😊

So the purpose of this post then, is two-fold!

Firstly, to give some excerpts from Priyanka Chopra’s inspiring speech, and then to apply Freud’s concepts to four of the important points that I found so engrossing and worth analysing – the Freudian way – in Priyanka’s speech.

Well, Priyanka’s speech opens with an impactful premise!

The most dangerous person is one who stops learning, she says, and adds, “The moment you decide you know enough, you stop growing and become replaceable. The world changes every second, and holding onto outdated knowledge that you gained during your school days or UG days or PG days, leaves you behind even while the rest of the world adapts to newer knowledge systems, she adds.

Priyanka then gives real-life examples from the most successful people in the world - such as Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett! They all share one common trait - they never stop learning!

Education isn’t just about reading books; it is found in conversations, experiences, and the lessons hidden within personal failures. And for this, she uses the analogy of a baby learning to walk. Babies fall repeatedly but never quit because they don’t understand the concept of failure.

Even we can adopt this same mindset by adding the word “yet” to our vocabulary. Instead of saying, “I am not good at this,” we should say, “I am not good at this yet,” which acknowledges that growth is possible.

She then exhorts people to investing in the mind instead of investing a lot in material possessions. People readily spend thousands on designer clothes, luxury bags, and the latest sneakers to look successful, but the same people very often hesitate to invest in a book or in learning a new course.

Priyanka reminds us that fashion fades and money can be lost, but knowledge is a permanent luxury that continuously appreciates in value and opens doors that a designer outfit never could.

I particularly liked the way in which she ‘reframes’ the concept of failure.

Failure is not the opposite of success! Instead, it is a necessary ingredient of success, she says.

She highlights the example of Thomas Edison, who didn’t see his attempts at creating the lightbulb as thousands of failures, but as finding thousands of ways that didn’t work.

Failure, hence, is simply life’s way of refining you and building your resilience to become a better version of yourself, she adds.

The icing on the cake is the part where she says that, the fastest way to master anything is to teach it! Sharing your knowledge with others literally forces you to organise your thoughts, simplifies your understanding, and multiplies the impact of what you have learned,

she signs off!

Now for the literary takeaways, as usual - 😊

Well, today happens to be Sigmund Freud’s birthday. He was called Golden Siggie by his mother.

So after Piggy, let’s focus on Siggie! 😊

Analysing Piggy’s speech through a psychoanalytic lens offers some fabulous learning for us!

I would just like to take four of the core points in Piggy’s speech –

resisting stagnation,

delaying gratification,

investing in the mind, and

sharing you knowledge with others

and try and connect them with a few of Freud’s foundational concepts.

Freud foregrounded the fact that, human behaviour is driven by two opposing forces - Eros (the life instinct, encompassing survival, propagation, and creative growth) and Thanatos (the death drive, a return to a state of stasis, rest, and zero tension).

Alluding to Piggy’s first point then - the moment a person decides they “know enough” and stops learning, they are surrendering to Thanatos – the death drive, a state of stagnation, leading to cognitive decline - 

Lifelong learning, therefore, is the ultimate expression of Eros – the life instinct - the active, continuous generation of new mental pathways!

Alluding next to Piggy’s second point - according to Freud, the Id operates strictly on the basis of the Pleasure Principle, demanding immediate gratification and throwing a tantrum (a theatrish behaviour) 😊 when frustrated! To Freud, then, one should journey away from the Pleasure Principle (that requires instant gratification), to the Reality Principle, which allows a person to delay gratification, endure discomfort, and thereby understand the long-term demands of the external world!

Now, alluding to Priyanka’s third point, where she notes that people spend thousands of rupees on expensive, luxury items to look successful, but they hesitate much-o-much when it comes to investing in a book or learning a new course that builds actual wealth and knowledge - 

In this scenario, a kinda Freudian displacement occurs – where the deep-seated desire for self-worth, is displaced onto superficial luxury goods. Rather than doing the rigorous internal work of intellectual development, the individual seeks a shortcut, using expensive material items as a psychic defence mechanism to project an illusion of success. True education dismantles this displacement by forcing the individual to build internal, permanent value rather than relying on external, fading commodities.

Finally, alluding to Piggy’s exhortation of mastery through teaching, where she says that, teaching and the sharing of knowledge literally forces us to organise our thoughts coherently and thereby accelerates our own learning - 

In the same vein, applying Freud here - the act of mentoring or teaching or sharing one’s knowledge with others could be called sublimation - a mature defence mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or internal anxieties are transformed into socially acceptable, productive actions!

True intellectual rigour then, lies in –

resisting stagnation,

delaying gratification,

investing in the mind, and

sharing you knowledge with others!

Say Piggy and Siggie! 😊

"Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too!" ❤️

Kierkegaard (1813) – the Father of Existentialism

&

Karl Marx (1818) – the Father of Communism

#onhisbirthdaytoday

5th May 2026

Well, these two legends were born on this very same day – 5th May!

Although both were born just five years apart, they don’t seem to have met with each other any point of time in their lives.

Both thinkers were philosophical surgeons who diagnosed the modern human condition – especially its weaknesses and sicknesses!

While Marx focused on material and social alienation, Kierkegaard focused on spiritual and psychological alienation.

To Kierkegaard, modern individuals were alienated from their true, authentic selves due to the effect of mass society, the crowd mentality, and the avoidance of personal responsibility.

Both Kierkegaard and Marx were sceptical of the ‘crowd mentality’. That’s hence Kierkegaard famously stated that, ‘Crowd is Untruth’.

Both felt that, truth is found in action - revolutionary action that alters the individual and the society for the better!

Both were very critical of Hegel. However, Marx moved towards atheism and materialist politics, while Kierkegaard moved towards personal religious faith!

In other words, Marx focused solely on economic, sociological, and political revolution. In his first major political pamphlet titled, The Communist Manifesto in 1848, he famously declared that, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”, in which social classes are defined by the relationship of people to the means of production.

Kierkegaard on the other hand, focused on individual existence, theology, and philosophy. In his first published work titled, Either/Or in 1843, he famously remarked –

“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both... This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.”

This line beautifully encapsulates the deep existential crisis that Kierkegaard foregrounds as his core philosophy. The character “A” in his Either/Or is literally trapped in a state of aesthetic paralysis!

Aesthetic Paralysis!

Well, this particular phrase intrigued me lotsss!

Aesthetic paralysis - a state of stagnation disguised as enjoyment, where the individual is trapped in a loop of boredom and desire, unable to make genuine commitments or choices in their life.

Which means to say that, the aesthete is not merely looking for pleasure - but they are always on the chase for pleasure - chasing the “interesting” to avoid the authentic life, thereby leading to a “trapped” life.

As a result, the Aesthete avoids making choices in their lives. The aesthetic life is a “spectator view” of the world, rather than an engaged, active participative view of the world!

That’s hence Kierkegaard argues that the only way to cure aesthetic paralysis is to make a definitive leap into the Ethical Stage. This requires taking a “leap of faith” (a term that he had coined) to make a firm commitment (like a vocation, a career or a moral duty) and taking absolute responsibility for that choice.

Now for the literary takeaways – as usual 😊

And for our readers - this post is just an overview to a very tiny bit of takeaways gleaned from the two legends, with special emphasis on Kierkegaard!

Coming back -

In a way, Kierkegaard’s 1843 Either/Or may be said to foreground for us our modern digital crisis, and how the “Ethical Leap” offers a way out from the digital trap!

So yes! how do we come out of this aesthetic paralysis especially in today’s highly wired, digital world? 😊

Before proceeding further, let me first define who is Aesthete A!

In Soren Kierkegaard’s Either/Or, Aesthete A is the pseudonymous author of the first volume of his monumental 1843 work, Either/Or. Aesthete A in essence, is the ultimate embodiment of the aesthetic stage of life.

To Kierkegaard, the “aesthetic” life is one lived for the moment, focused on sensory experience, pleasure, and the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of the “interesting.”

In this respect, for Aesthete A, the ultimate evil in the world is not sin; it is boredom. He views life as inherently meaningless and empty, and his entire existence is a frantic effort to distract himself from this underlying emptiness of life.

In a famous essay within Either/Or titled “The Rotation of Crops,” Aesthete A argues that just as a farmer must scroll oops rotate crops to keep the soil fertile, a person must constantly rotate their experiences to avoid boredom!

Because Aesthete A wants to remain free to pursue whatever catches his fancy at any given moment, he is terrified of commitment. He refuses to make any permanent choices - no job, no career, no marriage, no deep moral obligations, etc. To “A,” committing to something means losing touch with the pleasurable and the interesting! This makes him brilliant but ultimately aesthetically paralysed.

In short, Aesthete A is characterised as a detached intellectual who lives entirely for pleasure, novelty, and excitement to avoid boredom!

That’s hence, for Kierkegaard’s Aesthete A the greatest fear is committing to one path and losing all others.

In fact, Social media algorithms capitalise and work on this exact fear. Every time the Aesthete A indulges in swiping or doomscrolling, they are presented with infinite number of new possibilities! It could be a political meme, a funny incident, a political outrage, a new travel destination, a new lifestyle aesthetic, or a new subculture.

In the process, Aesthete A is subtly being exposed to a million different ways of living, but because “A” is just scrolling, he is not actually living any of them. Aesthete ‘A’ is immobilised and paralysed on the sofa, suffocated skyhigh by the infinite digital possibilities while his actual, physical life remains entirely stagnant!

To Kierkegaard, the Aesthete treats life as a passive theatrical performance to be watched rather than an active and authentic life to actively participate in.

It is so heart-warming to note that, Kierkegaard had predicted - way back in 1843 itself - that, this endless chasing of the pleasurable and the interesting, ultimately results in despair of the aesthetic life. It is the realisation that Aesthete A has been consuming mindless content for hours, but has gained no actual meaning in the process.

So what is the solution that Kierkegaard offers?

Well, in order to cure this aesthetic paralysis, Kierkegaard argues that, one must make a “leap” into the Ethical stage.

The Ethical stage is fundamentally about duty, consistency, and grounding oneself in reality. When we step away from the unending digital trap, we choose to anchor ourselves in the physical world.

This way, we tend to reclaim a cohesive, holistic identity where our identity is carved – not by fragmented and fleeting videos, likes, and memes, but is built slowly, steadily and consistently through real-world action - that can help in forming a genuine, unfragmented self - an authentic existence, says Kierkegaard.