February 3rd
https://www.google.com/doodles/elizabeth-blackwells-197th-birthday
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
The 'evil' eyes of the 'evil' beholder.
Yesterday we watched Padmavaat, and while I felt like the story dragged a little bit, the movie upheld SJB's commitment to grace, poetry and opulence.
There is a dialogue between Rani Padmavaati and Raghav Chaitanya (Raj Purohit of Chittor) that is maybe the highlight of the whole production. The purohit throws the young queen a series of rapid fire questions about the meaning of life, love and beauty---and her answers are fit for any Miss Universe contest. This is what Vogue 73 questions should aspire to become.
It is crazy the lengths to which people will go to attain beauty. Just to realize that at the end of every war, beauty will remain outside of everyone's reach. Because it never was a quality to cultivate within yourself, and it never was justification for greed and lust. Beauty was always a construction of perceptions, as transient as the beholder's thoughts themselves.
Rani Padmavaati was the princess of Singhal, a kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka. She was well versed in warfare and archery--so well versed that at her Swayamvar she disguised herself as a warrior and fought every young prince/king who was there literally to win her hand in marriage. She ended up fighting and losing to King Ratan Sen of Chittor--so she married him. Her beauty was apparently the reason Sultan Khilji decided to invade Chittor, but even though he murdered King Ratan Sen and all the soldiers of Chittor he could not get his hands on Padmavaati. Padmavaati and the women of Chittor had burned themselves alive.
Via Jauhar (the sati-related ritual of mass self-immolation), Padmavaati and the women of Chittor not only escaped the horror of being molested by the enemy troops, but also protected the honor of Chittor and Chittor's soldiers who died defending the kingdom.
The fact that beauty and this body-- a mere vehicle of experience--could be at the helm of something so destructive is both amazing and terrifying. Women and men everywhere go through ridiculous ordeals to attain beauty or possess some other individual who they have deemed beautiful.
Sure we aren't invading cities and beheading innocent people in our way, but the greed, lust and possessiveness that Ranveer Singh portrays so so well isn't just limited to fairy tales and legends of good versus evil.
We all fight a battle everyday, within ourselves. We all have to learn how to prioritize honor and dignity above all else.
It's not easy looking back at some of the mistakes I've made over the past few months. I still get dreams about people forgiving me, people not forgiving me, and just feeling sad and sorry all the time. And then I awaken and realize that I have to refrain from hurting someone else all over again.
We need to tell each other more stories about Elizabeth Blackwell, Rani Padmavaati, Rita Levi Montalcini, and Mother Teresa.
We need to remind ourselves that sometimes our 'sacrifices' are not sacrificial if they are so laced with selfish intentions.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
The 'evil' eyes of the 'evil' beholder.
Yesterday we watched Padmavaat, and while I felt like the story dragged a little bit, the movie upheld SJB's commitment to grace, poetry and opulence.
There is a dialogue between Rani Padmavaati and Raghav Chaitanya (Raj Purohit of Chittor) that is maybe the highlight of the whole production. The purohit throws the young queen a series of rapid fire questions about the meaning of life, love and beauty---and her answers are fit for any Miss Universe contest. This is what Vogue 73 questions should aspire to become.
It is crazy the lengths to which people will go to attain beauty. Just to realize that at the end of every war, beauty will remain outside of everyone's reach. Because it never was a quality to cultivate within yourself, and it never was justification for greed and lust. Beauty was always a construction of perceptions, as transient as the beholder's thoughts themselves.
Rani Padmavaati was the princess of Singhal, a kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka. She was well versed in warfare and archery--so well versed that at her Swayamvar she disguised herself as a warrior and fought every young prince/king who was there literally to win her hand in marriage. She ended up fighting and losing to King Ratan Sen of Chittor--so she married him. Her beauty was apparently the reason Sultan Khilji decided to invade Chittor, but even though he murdered King Ratan Sen and all the soldiers of Chittor he could not get his hands on Padmavaati. Padmavaati and the women of Chittor had burned themselves alive.
Via Jauhar (the sati-related ritual of mass self-immolation), Padmavaati and the women of Chittor not only escaped the horror of being molested by the enemy troops, but also protected the honor of Chittor and Chittor's soldiers who died defending the kingdom.
The fact that beauty and this body-- a mere vehicle of experience--could be at the helm of something so destructive is both amazing and terrifying. Women and men everywhere go through ridiculous ordeals to attain beauty or possess some other individual who they have deemed beautiful.
Sure we aren't invading cities and beheading innocent people in our way, but the greed, lust and possessiveness that Ranveer Singh portrays so so well isn't just limited to fairy tales and legends of good versus evil.
We all fight a battle everyday, within ourselves. We all have to learn how to prioritize honor and dignity above all else.
It's not easy looking back at some of the mistakes I've made over the past few months. I still get dreams about people forgiving me, people not forgiving me, and just feeling sad and sorry all the time. And then I awaken and realize that I have to refrain from hurting someone else all over again.
We need to tell each other more stories about Elizabeth Blackwell, Rani Padmavaati, Rita Levi Montalcini, and Mother Teresa.
We need to remind ourselves that sometimes our 'sacrifices' are not sacrificial if they are so laced with selfish intentions.
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