Shiva Tandava Stotram

Such is the beauty of Sanatana Dharma that one of the chief villains of its itihasas, Ravana and his scholarly work are accorded a special status in its treasure trove of spiritual riches.  

The Shiva Tandava Stotram is one such exquisite composition by Ravana, and speaks of the Great Dance of Dissolution of Lord Shiva, the Tandava.  

It describes how Lord Shiva moves during the dance, and ends with the assurance that whoever recites this stotra will be blessed by Lord Shiva.  The famed temple figurine that represents the cosmic dance is Nataraja, one of the many manifestations of Lord Shiva.

In the video, I have broken down the lyrics to facilitate proper pronunciation, just as we did while learning to recite the shloka.

https://youtu.be/hZY0FE9kpOg

Meaning/significance/resources/references:

• https://i.stack.imgur.com/4lM8T.jpg
• https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7360/8989944738_9b76aa46e0_b.jpg
• https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/04/02/10/15/meditation-303260_640.png
• https://greenmesg.org/stotras/shiva/shiva_tandava_stotram.php
• https://vedicfeed.com/shiva-tandava-stotram-lyrics-sanskrit-and-english/
• Background music: Tratak, Jesse Gallagher

Bright: A silent short film on Mania

Mania is part of Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depressive Psychosis in the olden days).  It is an episodic condition characterized by excessive happiness/irritability and increased energy/activities.  In addition, there could also be agitation, distractibility, racing thoughts, excessive speech, reduced sleep, grandiose ideas, and risk-taking behaviour such as rash driving, overspending or sexually promiscuous behaviour.  It can alternate with depressive periods, although this is not always necessary; a single episode of Mania still qualifies as Bipolar Disorder.  

Persons undergoing a manic episode may be able to describe the euphoric feeling of ‘feeling on top of the world’, with no need to rest or sleep.  They feel highly energetic, and often this energy is directed towards purposeless activities that can rile up people they live with.  They can sing, dance, make jokes, and quote poems with rhyming words, or on the other hand, cry for no reason, and become very angry over trivial issues, and even assault others.  In severe cases, psychotic features such as grandiose delusions may set in, which results in the person believing that he/she is rich beyond means, or has some special abilities, or that they are very important individuals, such as presidents or celebrities. 

With all this going on, the feature that makes Mania the most challenging condition to manage is that the person is unaware that he/she is mentally ill and needs treatment.  But when treatment is given, the symptoms become more manageable, and with the recovery of insight, preventive treatment can be continued on a long-term basis.

Credits
Featuring: Aadya Pawar
Writing/Direction/Editing: Deepak Pawar

[Currently only showing in Festival Circuits]

In this short educative video on Mania, I have attempted to show some of the above features as accurately as possible.  I have experimented with images/sounds that best depict the misplaced joyousness and inner turmoil of the person experiencing Mania.  The speed is deliberately enhanced and the music is set at a frenetic pace to convey the feelings of restless energy in the person.  The expressions/emotions displayed by the actress are similar to those that I have observed in patients with Mania over the years. 

If you feel dizzy, irritable, excited or exhausted while watching this video, that’s just down to the condition itself; the ideas is to give you a feel of mental state of the person experiencing a manic episode.  

As with other short films on Depression and Anxiety, I invite your constructive comments/suggestions and ratings/reviews at Bright on IMDb.

Please also see my patient education video on Bipolar Disorder.

For a more professional information on Mania and Bipolar Disorder (under Mood Disorders), please go through the lectures.

Resources:

Background music: Book Me 2 Flirt-Max McFerren; Busy City-TrackTribe; This is Not Drum and Bass-True Cuckoo

Mania quote: https://www.youthdynamics.org/18-quotes-illustrating-life-with-bipolar-disorder/

Bipolar disorder statistics: https://www.business-standard.com/content/press-releases-ani/one-out-of-150-suffer-from-bipolar-disorder-in-india-70-percent-left-untreated-though-it-is-treatable-122090700775_1.html

Film conversations: Sakutumba Sametha

After a long time, certainly not since Oggarane, have I come across a Kannada film that conveys what it has to say subtly without any over the top shenanigans.  To be fair, I haven't watched too many films recently to compare this with other similarly paced ones, but I am sure these are few and far in between, given Kannada films' penchant for the bombastic and sometimes crude wordplay.  I must admit, I was sceptical going into this one for these very reasons, but I am happy to report that Sakutumba Sametha is not guilty of any of these irritants.

The Sakutumba team has managed to show that convoluted storylines, toxic masculinity, raunchy item songs, heavy/crude dialogues, crazed facial expressions, enhanced dramatics, positive endings and similar cinematic tropes are not required to create good content.    If anything, Sakutumba subverts these tropes to include nuanced expressions, subtle humour, day to day conversational dialogues, natural acting, and an open ending, to stitch together a compelling and engaging lighthearted comedy drama that Kannada cinema was so badly in need of.  

Sakutumba has the basic premise of marriage at its core, around which situations and relationships are created/explored.  Is it only the bride's family that is desperate to find a match?  Does a man have it easy in terms of finding a match and dictating terms to the bride's family?  Is it always a man's prerogative to accept or reject a marriage proposal?  Should there be a definite reason to cancel a wedding?  What if the groom's side is more accommodating and flexible than the bride's?  Sakutumba tackles these issues bravely to present a realistic modern day picture of marriage and fractious family relationships minus the patriarchal claptrap that marital issues are usually ensconced in.

My only grouses are minor: there are occasional gaps in between dialogues which make them appear stilted, family members start bickering with each other in front of the other family whereas they are likely to be guarded in such situations, and if it had had a more definite ending it would have rounded things off neatly.  But like I said, I am nitpicking; overall this is a rare exercise in subtlety that is suitable for viewing by all, or make that sakutumba sametha!

As a content creator myself, I understand the makers' motivation to create content with passion and quality as driving forces, rather than mass appeal and commercial considerations.  For this reason alone, well done to the entire team, especially the writing/directing team, and Paramvah Studios for backing such a project.  

Image source:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movie-details/sakutumba-sametha/movieshow/81914023.cms