Wednesday, July 14, 2010

MUSINGS FROM SYRACUSE LONG OVER DUE

It's been close to three weeks since I moved into Syracuse in New York and almost over a week since classes began. Of all the things that friends have been asking me to share, write on this blog or e-mail them about, of all the things I will eventually pen down not just in this post but more to come, here's what I have to say.... You could be in a different country, learn about and eventually even acclimatise yourself to a new culture or work and eat with people from different nationalities, in the end our concerns are pretty much the same. I say 'concern' and not 'interest'. And that's ironical, because of all the factors that I would imagine could bind a bunch of us friends, it's our difficulty with handling humongous amount of jargon laden film theory expounding Mast, Arnheim or Kraceur's concepts or the fact that none of us seems to ever get enough sleep or the fact that most of us are at a phase in our mid 20s where we crave for happy and normal relationships but with the life we have ahead of us this year it seems like looking for the pot at the end of the rainbow. (Point to remember: articles on film technique and critique are enjoyable on a lazy Sunday afternoon , NOT if you have 20 chapters of such virtuosos of the visual medium for a test in two weeks!!)

Life isn't that bad however...yet! 16 hours of work for days back to back and ACJ's Broadcast training that resembled a drill routine every morning at 6 for one month have served me well :D On the flip side I continue taking my capacity to work and process information for granted. Going to bed early seems the only solution, but regardless of efficient time management, that concept once again compels me to brings up the pot at the end of the rainbow. I have two classes a day four days a week lasting 2 hours each. Prof Breyer's class has been very productive and engaging. Here's a man who worked with the Peace Corps, grew up in San Francisco (any guess why he's who is :)), brought some of America's most memorable sitcoms India, has apparently a will that proclaims he will die and be born again as an Indian (he simply loves our country:))and made numerous documentaries that were broadcasted on PBS. Filming and edit is on full swing for this class. Playing around with Final Cut Pro and understanding how film proposals need to be written is priceless experience.

Prof Thompson...hmmm here's a very famous man I am yet to learn more of . His classes mainly deal with Critical perspectives on film and TV. Understanding popular American culture through its iconic or most spoken about films/sitcoms has also been valuable if anything great fun. We were treated (some scandalised) to Animal House, the first of what many film critics call the 'Teensploitation' films, the forerunners of the 'American Pie' genre of films. Must say I was laughing through most of it while grimacing through other portions but having to analyse a film which some might term banal or simply disgusting, nevertheless helped acquire crucial tools of critique that a Almodovar or Wong kar Wai would not. Applying one's intellect to understand aesthetic and cultural perspectives when watching a film be it 2046 or John Hughe's Animal House will still remain a process of serious analysis.

What else...hmmmmm I think I might be finally moving into a house a little down the road from where I live now, in which case I will be sharing a house with two chinese girls. So new experiences await on the domestic front as well. Pavitra's friends have been wonderful. Dinners are almost always taken care of and not to forget how every body has gone out of their way to make me feel at home and give me a sound orientation of this town.

Coming to which ...Syracuse is going through its summer at the moment. Walking back home with the sun yet to set at about 9 pm is a nouvelle experience, taking the turn around the corner of my street to hear the organ of the nearby church playing out loud for the whole town...priceless! It's a hair raising experience to say the least and as if that wasn't enough , every Wednesday there's a farmer's market set up one block from where I live , right on the premises of the Westcott Community center (passing by which you'll often hear local musicians jamming). Can't wait to get my hands on wild raspberries and apples tomorrow.

I love the walk in the morning, I really do, that's the only time in the entire day I go through almost in a hypnotic meditative trance as I make my way 25 mins away to school. I am getting used to the idea of doing everything on my own, of having to tip cautiously but generously everywhere I go, asking for a box to pack up my leftovers (they don't do that for you here!!!)and smiling back to anyone who greets me on the street and saying "Have a good day!" (people are extremely warm and apologetic here). But I do miss my folks back at home mostly our fun evenings together of laughter over inane jokes, I miss the the wine swirls back in Mumbai, the random evenings at Toto's, the friends who made Mumbai 'livable' when it was nothing short of hell and yes.... a friend who made the summer of 2010 in India like none other.

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