Lessons from the one Part 2

( This is the second in a series of posts that aim to translate the complex lessons of Rajinikanth songs to a more eloquent, absorbing, influential and effective form. This post could be unintentionally funny, but keep looking at the larger picture and make the most out of it)

Rajini's Muthu was released in 1996 and was widely considered by many as one of his celluloid platforms for his political aspirations, which was largely speculated by many (The fizzle of his dizzle is a shizzle for another day). The dialogs, songs and scenes were inadvertantly assumed to be political statements and revisited many times by loyalists. Also, it was the first time AR Rahman was composing for Rajinikanth and he did not disappoint. The song in question was the title number, which has Rajini ride his horse chariot, leave the reins midway, turn around, do an impromptu dance-all while sitting, stop and check out the ladies of the village, eat their festive cookings, shake a leg with them, and finally compete and win a race with a 4 wheel automobile. The song by itself is a fantastic composition, involving symphony style scores orchestrated by the late H Shridhar, and SP Balasubramaniam does complete justice with his full throated rendition.

There's only one master.

The rest are all his minions.

A fool contemplates his fate.

One who overcomes it is great.

There is no weapon to win over this world, no ploughs to pluck flowers.

Why do we need material comforts, when this world is yours when you relinquish desire.

Man loves the earth and the earth reciprocates it.

The earth eventually wins over us but we do not seem to understand it.

When we have money in our hands, we are its boss.

When we are submerged in money, then its our boss.

Understand the meaning of life, live life in your own terms.

The sky is yours and so is the earth, but why do we keep bickering in vain?

Nature tells us its our prerogative to live, its natural to have problems in life.

The birds look at me and say "wassup"

The flowers bloom and say" home boy, you are too cool!!"

Lessons From The One

We progress through life, shaken, stirred, hurt and depressed. We still get back on our feet and move on, because we learn. You see, learning is such a lifelong process . We all have our shares of teachers who have thought us so much and yet we have learned so little.

Apart from the usual suspects in my formative years (parents, school teachers, experience and pornography), I have had fantastic mentors in my Karate Sensei and Yoga Master, who have guided me in much more than just Kata's and Asanas. There have been other significant presences in my life who have taught me a lot.

We lost one recently. The one gloved man, the king of pop. My First pop album purchase was MJ's Dangerous. My obsession towards his videos made me make my grand uncle watch " In The Closet" in between his afternoon movie sessions. For the uninitiated, it is that video where vest clad MJ makes finger gestures and pelvic thrusts towards scantily clad Naomi Campbell and we are supposed to keep it in the closet. MJ gave us moral lessons on racism by not worrying if our loved ones are black or white, told us how to run away and beat it, deny infidelity by telling billie jean that its not his son and serenading Rio De Janeiro about how they don't care about us.

The other big daddy whose theories shaped up my perceptions is someone the entire state of Tamilnadu reveres and the other states..well can't quite keep upto. Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in Maharashtra, coordinating public transportation in Bangalore to lighting up the silver screen and the faces of many a tamil movie goer, Superstar Rajinikanth is the ultimate philosopher.

Rajinikant's movies are a festival, which makes everyone from the 2 year old kid who claps when he appears on the screen to the producers who make millions of his movies very happy. In case of recession, get Rajinikanth to do a couple of movies and see the country hoisting back on its feet.

The highlight of a Rajini movie is his "entry" song which regales the wholesome goodness of the character he plays along with a lot of worldly wisdom interspersed. The best singers compete to sing this song which is supposedly the "highlight" of the movie, featuring fantastic stunts/fight sequences/ intense build ups before Rajini makes his characterestic entry and breaks into song. A lot of the things said in these songs have made sense to me over considerable periods of time.

This post is the first in an ongoing series where I attempt to transalate some of Rajini's theories on life and its meandering intricacies to a global audience in order to restore peace, order and calm in this world.

The first song I hope to make sense of is from the movie "Padayappa" when an inebriated Rajini bursts into a classic song and dance routine.




and here is an amateurish attempt in making sense of the great one!!


Oh !! I am getting high.
Oh!! I am becoming shameless
Oh!! I am becoming smarter
Oh!! I am overflowing with honesty

The dude who ate porridge for lunch is under the ground next to the dude who ate gold dust!!
This life is supposed to be lived..and we leave this earth the same way we came in.empty handed.


You can lock diamonds and gold, but can you lock away life?
Tell me someone who has peace of mind apart from a kid or a sage ?
"Our life is ours as long as we can breathe" said a smart man.
This Earth is the same for all of us, but why do we still keep fighting?

You cannot choose your dad and mom.
You cannot choose your face or color.
You cannot choose your birth or death
The only choice you can make is the way you live your life.