RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Character is, indeed, the psychological muscle that moral conduct requires. Its bedrock? Self-discipline, as Aristotle observed, not to speak of self-control. A related keynote of character is being able to motivate and guide oneself, whatever your occupation, including the ability to defer gratification, and control and channel one’s urges to act. Les Ames’ […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Adapting to uncertainty, or ambiguity, is a fact of life, because evolution, or nature, does not design immortal beings — this is best represented with and through the surrealistic magic of movie-makers. Balance, or homeostasis, relates to physiological stability, or adaptability. It is also linked to mechanisms for maintaining internal viability and defence […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Pablo Picasso was a genius among geniuses. He was, doubtless, the greatest painter of the last century, who embodied a daring sense of brilliance of form and essence. For a revolutionary artist, who was as iconoclastic as any conquistador can be, Picasso was a relentlessly ‘truant’ persona, always ready for new battles, what […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR F Scott Fitzgerald was a remarkably gifted novelist, a writer par excellence with his own indelible stamp of dainty luminosity. Fitzgerald’s literary magic was not just rooted in his delectable prose, or his amazing range and versatility, but it also dwelled in his poetic imagination, dazzling vision and seemingly effortless — and, also […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Each of us is blessed with wholeness — to hold the divine essence in our being. This corresponds to a mirror with just one reflection — of our soul in the context of our vision, or eyesight. It quantifies the infinite expanse of our eyes — the sum of the parts, or part […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Sir Garfield St Auburn Sobers. What a name — and, description. A gallant knight and the game’s ultimate all-rounder. Sobers, who made his Test debut, against England, at Kingston, over 60 years ago [1953-54], was a total cricketing phenomenon. A three-, or four-in-one, marvel. He’s a Lara with the bat, an Alan Davidson […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR It is not unusual for most of us to suppress our negative emotions for whatever reason. Suppressed emotions are like ‘bottled-up’ feelings, or a superfluous steam in the pressure valve, waiting to rupture. Suppressed painful emotions are, likewise, similar to a time-bomb ticking — or, waiting to explode. It is only when you […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Claudio Monteverdi was one of music’s greatest composers. He was his own symphony, and magnum opus. A martinet classicist, Monteverdi, quite simply, never ever compromised on what he thought was exact — be it a note, or a theme. He is fondly remembered, today, as the primal composer of L’Orfeo, albeit his most famous composition […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Sidney Lumet, the legendary American movie director, was, doubtless, a master of cinema. His statistical roll-call of films was not only remarkable, but fabulous. His films received more than 50 Academy Award nominations, while Lumet himself was nominated for ‘Best Director’ seven times. What’s more, Lumet, for the best part, was the focus […]
RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR So far as the audience was concerned, he’s as meritorious a master of ceremonies anyone ever saw. A prodigious batsman with the princely touch, he’s nonchalant, where many would hurry; and, utterly regardless, where many would defend. His effortless presence denoted just one thing: computerised efficiency, something that could, at times, fail. A […]