Lost

Often vacillating
Between what you want to be but you aren’t
And what you are but don’t want to be
All ambition is lost.

Paralyzed somewhere
Between the courage to do things which are right
And the cowardice to forgo those which are wrong
All action is lost.

Slowly evanescent
Between things that are said but not meant
And those that are meant but not said
All love is lost.

Hope never dies but in your heart you know
All life is lost.

10 Habits of Men we admire

“A boy once asked his mother, ‘How will I ever find the right woman for me?’
Mother answered, ‘Don’t worry about finding the right woman son, focus on being the right man’ “

They are out there. They are real. They go on living their lives in ways that inspire us. These are the Men we admire. Note, I am not referring to the stereotypical ‘alpha male’ that we all know about. In fact, these habits are appreciated in both Men and Women. I call them ‘Habits’ because everyone can display a quality every once a while, but those who have made these their habits are the ones that inspire us.

1. Selflessness :

It’s easy to live a self-centered life completely blind to others. Men we admire are those who see the bigger picture of the society as a whole. Life doesn’t always work like Adam Smith’s economics and the men we admire have the ability to look beyond self-interest and think of the community. They ask not what others have done for them, they ask what they have done for others.

2. Stability :

We can count on them, whether it is something as simple as coming on time or as involved as negotiating world peace. These men consistently deliver their best. Even in tough times they maintain their composure, but they are not cold. They have a cool head but a warm heart.

3. Humility :

Men we admire do much more than they claim. Bragging is the need of the insecure for validation. These Men are confident of their own talents and abilities and do not need others for their self-esteem. They accept compliments gracefully and criticisms willingly. When it comes to success of others, they don’t feel jealous or threatened but rather rejoice in their glory.

4. Strength:

Strength is not the one of the muscles, but the one of the soul. Men we admire are not afraid  to stand up for their beliefs. They aren’t aggressive and do not enforce themselves upon others, but they know when to take a stand. It’s not that they are never scared or nervous, but they know how to face their fears. They don’t always choose the easy path, they choose the right one.

5. Sensitivity :

Contrary to the being ‘alpha’ that men are taught, what we appreciate in Men is sensitivity along with their strength. These men understand how others feel and are responsive to it. They can be the source of motivation for the depressed or of consolation for the grieving.  They try to hear more than they talk and they listen. They don’t try away from difficult topics and communicate effectively.

6. Honesty:

Honesty means not feeling the need to lie, even to themselves. Men we admire are candid about their weaknesses. They accept them and always strive to improve from what they are. They respect people enough to not lie to them and do not stoop low enough to cheat them.

7. Inter-dependence :

Being merely independent is not what we admire in Men. Anyone can be the person who does just what he wants to do but these are the men that people count on. What we admire is the sense of interdependence in these men  with their families, communities and societies reaching a common ground for their collective aspirations.

8. Responsibility :

Almost an obvious quality which reflects maturity is not shying away from responsibility. These Men have the world on their shoulders and they live with that burden willingly and dutifully. They are not afraid to make commitments and if they make a promise, they fulfill it.

9. Ambition :

We admire Men with a clear goal. They know what they want and strive towards it. These highly motivated Men can subject themselves to the limit of their capacity even to the point of enduring torture when they believe in their goals. They are the exemplary champions whose endurance we can only look up to.

10. Humor:

Last but not the least, we admire a sense of humor.  These men can be serious when they need to be but they can make you laugh too. Most importantly, they can laugh at themselves. They are comfortable in their own skin and are sporty when they are the butt of the joke too. They take their failures in their stride and take on their problems cheerfully.

 

A Personal Note:

Am I the man whom I can admire? Life brings upon different milestones and challenges which are markers that make Men. Graduation, Relationships, Job, Working Abroad, Helping Family with Finances were all opportunities which presented itself and helped me build myself. I am nowhere close to the ideal I thrive for, but like they say – ‘It doesn’t matter if you cannot be the best, you can always try to be the best of what you can be.’

Like Driftwood

यथा काष्ठं च काष्ठं च समेयातां महॊदधौ
समेत्य च वयपेयातां तद्वद भूतसमागमः

The above is a beautiful sanskrit verse which has always inspired me. The association of human beings is at best transient. The verse compares it to driftwood which meet in the sea for a while and then set apart on their own journey. Here is a poem dedicated to this transient feeling which we all can so easily relate to.

Like Driftwood

Like Driftwood spurs which meet and pass
Upon the boundless ocean plain;
So on sea of life , alas!
I meet you and separate again.

But the wonder is what odds they were,
Was God playing his dice?
Just by chance, he rolled a four
And gave me four lovely nights.

If only He would play some more
And my heart can have its way;
We’ll walk again on a sea-kissed shore
And dance the night away!

Age of the Nerds: From Outcast to Awesome

There is a time for everything, they say. From my limited knowledge of recent history, I was broadly able to classify the world into three ages. It is by no means any rigorous analysis, just my impression.

Age of Emperors

This was the time when might was right. The way to be successful was to use strength to conquer and capture success. This was the time expansionist emperors from Alexander to Akbar established their supremacy. Who were the nerds here? They were the scientists and philosophers mainly mocked at. Some of them labelled as heretics and most of them outcasts in the society. The only way to be rich seemed to acquire and plunder the riches of a new land by raging wars. Eventually people started getting a more ‘civilized’, someone discovered ‘Trade’ and thought ‘Hey, I can get money from you without putting a sword on your neck!’ And thus was born a new age.

Age of Trade

Fast means of transport hand communication, industrial revolution in Europe and relatively stable political environment all led to the rise of the age of trade. Ever increasing greed for profits caused Europe to colonize rest of the world in search of new markets. Emperors set up ‘Corporations’ of traders to squeeze profit out of colonies. Ironically it was the growth of the corporations accompanied by a rising middle class which ultimately ended several monarchies. With the growth of trade, anyone who had money could be an emperor. Where were the nerds here? Yes with the likes of Newton and Edison amongst them, they were now slowly gaining respect as traders realized their intellect could be put to practical and profitable use for manufacturing things of value. Still the noble families and rich traders taking all the limelight, they weren’t really hot property I believe. Else why would someone like Newton die a virgin?

Age of Nerds

Industries realized as competition increased, only real way to be more productive was technological innovation. When the world saw two destructive world wars, the nations realized that wars are not to be won with might alone but with intelligence. Several technological projects including the ‘internet’ began as a defense and industrial need before going to main stream. As technological innovation spread to each and every field known to mankind, slowly but surely, a new class of power was being created -a class of people most of whom were singularly passionate about technology and with an IQ much above average. Many a times in their single minded pursuits, they remained stunted on the side of social skills and were always mocked upon. But now, the existence of this class of people was no longer dismissible. After being laughed upon all their lives, the Nerds – were having the last laugh.

The complete image transformation of the Nerd is quite a recent phenomenon. With the increasing penetration of internet and ease of creating scalable products and services online, Nerds entered into a field which they traditionally avoided – Entrepreneurship. Now every person with a computer and technical skills was able to set up his own company and reap the benefits of easy scalability. I don’t even need to give any examples, as we all have seen a lot of garage IT companies grow rapidly into billion dollar valuations.

Are they finally considered cool or are they still mocked? Well, you can mock them if you like- but chances are high that you will end up working for one. Most of theNerds still continue to be males, so are these nerdy males getting any girls? Probably not as many as they would have dreamt of but women know that betting for a Nerd is a safe bet. They have a secure future; there are few women in competition and a lot of the Nerds turn out to be nice, funny and witty when they open up. So slowly, nerds are on their way to become hot property. Who knows one day the female fans of Mark Zuckerberg might surpass those of Brad Pitt!

The Meaning Of Money

“Goddess Laxmi showers prosperity upon those who are honest and hardworking.”

In the Indian culture money is worshipped. Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth is revered. When someone accidentally touches money with their foot, an apology is asked by touching the money notes or coins, manifestation of the Goddess herself,  with the finger tips followed by touching the fingers to the forehead and chest. Such is the respect for money which is considered synonymous with prosperity Goddess Laxmi showers upon those who are honest and hardworking.

“The Question”

The question I am going to raise here is – Is the modern ‘money’ deserving of this respect? Is it really a representation of honesty and hard work that culture glorifies it to be? What value does money possess for it to command any respect?

“Money is what Money does.”

Money is defined by the the function it plays. Most text books give three functions of Money. As a medium of exchange, as a unit of account and as a store of value. There is another important role which we normally forget to consider – Money as a ‘standard of deferred payment’. The meaning is simple, it means, money is an accepted way to settle a debt. Now, the problem is not in these functions of money. But what laws are enacted by governments to exploit these roles of money. Especially in relation to money as a way to settle debt. There are two main concepts of the modern monetary system which I am surprised are completely ignored in basic economic courses in universities.

1) “Money as Legal Tender”

To ensure that money can be used a way to settle debts and pay taxes, Legal Tender laws are enacted by the government (all governments of all countries practically). These laws give value to the currency notes and coins we use today which, has no intrinsic value. Who prints this money? The reserve bank of the country. What is this money backed by? Nothing. Absolutely nothing except a ‘legal tender’ law which says that the money can be used to settle debts and pay your taxes.

In earlier days, several countries used to have currencies backed by gold or silver. i.e. if you had 100 Rs, you could exchange it for an equivalent amount of gold.  I was not able to get exact information on when RBI abandoned gold standard, but starting 1971 when Bretton Woods agreement collapsed, US abandoned Gold Standard and eventually entire international monetary system became free from reference to any gold.

2)”Money as Debt”

How is money created and pumped into the financial system? When the government wants to money for public expenditure, it issues government bonds – which is basically a promise that . Central banks buy these government bonds – how do they get money to buy these bonds ? Simple, they print it. Most of the times it is not even printed, just electronically transferred to the government account. So essentially the central banks just print money and loan it to the government. Yes, the government doesn’t produce any money. It loans money from the central bank! Money is created in the form of debt. The process of Money Creation is so simple that it is shocking.

Another way money is created is through the Fractional Reserve Banking system. Banks are required to maintain only a small fraction of the money deposited to them as a reserve and give out the rest as loan. This can often lead to creation of money that is several times more than the actual reserve available. This means that if everyone of us wanted their deposits back from the bank at the same time, there simply isnt so much money in the system to pay back everyone! Banking thrives on the idea that not everyone will come to ask for their money at the same time. As a corollary to this, everyone who has been loaned money cannot repay back their debts at the same time, again because there is simply not enough money in the system for everyone to repay off their debts!

“Conclusion”

When I was a kid, I used to ask around – Why does the government not print all of the money it needs for development works to help poor? The answer I used to get is – We need to deposit an equivalent amount in Gold before we print some money, so we just cannot print the money we need!” Only since the past few years, have I realised how flawed and outdated this explanation was!  Firstly, this has got nothing to do with any gold. Secondly, the existence of money itself means there is a debt. If there is no debt, then there is no money! All debts simply cannot be repaid!

As much as I would like to go on harping about these problems, that is not the purpose of this post.  To learn more about Money As Debt, see this wonderful documentary. And let me come back to the meaning of money and respect for it.

“The essential meaning of Money is ‘Debt’ “

So is Money a reward for your hardwork and honesty as Indian culture tells us? Is it a reward even for your intelligence? The essential meaning of money is ‘Debt’. If you have ‘Money’ it means you have a debt owed by someone to someone. In an interconnect economic system, it is hard to tell where this debt comes from and who owes which debt to whom. But one thing you can be completely sure of is that – All money is Debt. The farmer kid dying of hunger, is an indirect result of the money you have in your bank account! The ‘Debt’ owed by some poor farmer is promised to you in the form of ‘Money’ in your bank account. Is this the reward you want for your hardowork and intelligence?

10 Annoying Things About Living Abroad: An Indian Perspective

Packing bags, jumping on a plane and going to live in a completely different country is unquestionably exciting. The adrenalin rush you derive in exploring a completely different place, finding new connections and surviving in complete freedom away from your safety nets is unparalleled. But then when you are done with moving into and decorating your new apartment, getting various residency permits and utility connections and meeting all the new colleagues at work, slowly but surely, the adrenalin settles down. For some it may  take a few weeks while few months for some and along with starting to like several aspects of your adopted country, several other things start to annoy you. Having relocated twice within a year, first to Tokyo and then to Hong Kong,  I would say that sometimes the ‘living abroad’ experience is as annoying as exciting. Looking at several ‘living abroad’ articles on the web mainly from westerners traveling to the ‘exotic’ east, I decided to add an Indian perspective to the list.

1. Struggling to explain what is vegetarian and find vegetarian food is probably the biggest challenge faced by vegetarians. When you get tired of eating salads/sandwiches or pasta/pizza and decide to get a bit more adventurous, most restaurants will throw up some boiled vegetables, some green grass like stuff and rice; and you are supposed to like it – aren’t you a vegetarian? Yes, I am vegetarian, but I am not a goat to eat all that grass!

2. Cleaning your apartment, washing your dishes and doing your laundry all by yourself can be a daunting task for us Indian prince and princesses used to domestic help and mom doing all the home-management. Domestic help can be pretty expensive abroad in the developed parts of the world. You keep procrastinating the cleaning but then when your home resembles nothing more than a pile of rotten garbage, you have no choice but to face the I-spent-the-whole-day-cleaning-my-apartment-Sunday.

3. Realizing you no longer glorify being alone as solitude, you feel plain lonely as making those weekend plans never seemed more difficult. Everyone around you seems to be busy in something, while your mobile phone which used to annoyingly ring every now and then back home, now rings so rarely that you sometimes forget your own ringtone. It takes an awful lot of effort in rebuilding your social network just so that you don’t have to stay in your tiny apartment on weekends.

4. Festivals like Diwali and Holi never seemed so miserable because the only constant reminder of the upcoming festival are some automated emails in your inbox selling you insurance and wishing you Happy-Diwali-by-the-way. You never miss family and friends more than in these festivals as you enviously read all those facebook statuses and stare at all those pictures wishing you were in them.

5. Waiting for the traffic light to cross the road or standing in a slow-moving queue in MacD will surely make you miss all the chaos back home and the amazing efficiency with which such a chaotic system works. But now you need to wait for the traffic light for road-crossing even if there is no car for miles. Equally annoying is waiting in a long queue for a packet of french fries as a customer makes up his mind whether to have double cheese burger or BLT burger. In India you could’ve just given your quick order jumping the queue while the other person made his mind up.

6.  Your long distance relationship in India dies while friends start to fade you out as you no longer seem to be in their daily life. You try hard but even you fail to find time to touch base with all your dear ones back home out of worrying about your own woes abroad. You start feeling that all your relationships back home are on the verge of either deterioration or going into oblivion. Even your deep friendships may turn into an occasional touch base through whatsapp or facebook.

7. You feel its high time to hit the gym and cut down on your diet when your self esteem takes a hit seeing fit and healthy people around you making you wonder why you never thought of it before. The prosperous in India are usually obese and don’t really make a big deal about a few extra kilos. But when you don’t get the reaction you expected from the girl you just asked out on a date, you know it’s time to work out. Already being Indian male doesn’t help in a world where white is considered more attractive and in addition with all the rapes in India in the media, the only way to protect your esteem appears through the gym!

8. People just don’t seem to get your Indian accent even if their English capabilities are native and especially if they are not quite good at English. When you are forced to repeat more than twice or get false nods and smiles when you crack a joke, you realize how serious language issues actually are. As even English speakers refuse to understand you, you find yourself giving up hope in your struggle to learn the local language.

9. Falling sick is probably the worst thing that can happen to you when you are alone abroad. Assuming you were sensible enough to have your insurance and figure out before hand which clinics accept your insurance, when you go to a clinic you end up filling forms asking several annoying details of your condition which makes you wonder that if you give all the information then what is the doctor supposed to do! You miss your Indian family doctor who used to know whats bothering you by sometimes just looking at you and feeling your pulse.

10. Culture shock is suddenly not what you just read in books, it is your reality. Not only do you need to adjust to above the surface differences like language, customs and behavior but also will face a fundamental conflict in beliefs, values and prejudices. Indian culture being quite complex and unique, the conflict is even more aggravated giving you a feeling of being isolated from the world around you. Culture shock cannot be explained, it can only be experienced. Seemingly fascinating at first glance, it builds a slow frustration that can totally mar your happiness in your adopted country.

The First Tango

 

 

The firsts are always special. And if they transpire the exact way you desire them to be, they are etched in your memory. It was high school prom night and She – was my date. Yes, it was real that it was happening. A lot of pinching had sored my skin, but it wasnt going to wake me up from any dream. There I was with her on the dance floor.  It was my first Tango.

And there a few firsts in Tango. The first time you clasp her hand, the first time your eyes meet and then get lost in enjoying the music, the first time you lead her to the fall, the list goes on. I am not going to tell you what each movement of my muscle moved in my heart; not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t. I realised that there are a few things that can’t be expressed as good in words as they can be said through the dance.

Though I vividly remember how it progressed, the best moments are often in the fleeting feelings than in the details. We moved in sync with the invigorating rhythm of the Spanish guitar and even as we danced I could visualize the shapes in air made by the movement of her beautiful slender body. First shyly, slowly confidently and then almost with a passionate violence I manoeuvred her, as if expressing through the dance the yearning of my heart for her, and she responded with effortless grace answering that she knew it all. My face was tight and condensed into an expression of a person who knows what he is doing but my eyes looked deep into hers and in reflection saw its own vulnerability revealing much more than what I would have wanted to. I, not trying self control anymore, told her everything- all that I wanted to in all those months of longing and the dance- was my expression. Her face was held in the bright smile that understood all that the dance meant and accepted all that I could want to tell. Yet it held an unnerving innocence that all this depth didn’t matter or it held the omniscient wisdom that all that mattered was the moment of the present. For me, nothing mattered more than the fact that I was expressing to her what my words had left incomplete. Each and every detail of this expression will bear a permanent imprint on my memories right from the first clasp to the last dance and it will be kept in memory lanes that one fondly traverses again and again in nostalgia.

It wasn’t the Tango that moved all this into me, but the very nature of the feelings that I wanted to share that manifested its expression as the Tango. I wouldn’t have felt this way with any other girl. It would be naive to expect the dance to invoke feelings into you. The Tango is nothing but a powerful expression of the greatness of feelings you possess inside of you. And that I expressed my feelings, I hold this with pride, in such a magnificent manner to the woman whom I admire; and that woman, I hold this with gratitude, chose to spend this wonderful evening of her life with me.

When we were kids

14th November is observed as Children’s Day throughout India to commemorate the birthday of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who loved children. While everyone is changing their facebook pictures to their childhood ones and getting lost in the nostalgia of childhood, I too have a story to share. The story behind this picture.

Seeing us change our display picture on Facebook and Whatsapp, my technosavy mom, got this picture scanned and put it up as her display picture. A few years back, we got the names of my brother and me written on a rice grain and pasted on an old childhood photograph. I appreciated the look of the picture, but never really knew the story behind it.

While talking about display pictures, she made a fleeting mention that this was the first time ever the two of us stepped on the beach. I was surprised at this remark as I was already four and my brother two years old in this picture. Having stayed in Mumbai all my childhood, it wasnt the first time I was going to the beach, but somehow as kids, we hated to get our feet dirty in the sands of the beach. Mom and Dad had to constantly carry us in their arms all the while we stayed on the beach!

So this picture is of one fine day while we were having a short holiday staying in a hotel very close to the beach. Dad had gone out to his dental clinic to treat a patient. And I and my brother wanted to go to the beach. As heavy as the two of us were becoming. Mom made it clear that she wouldn’t be able to carry both of us alone and we would have to walk. Somehow the desire to go to the beach was strong and I agreed to walk in the sand while my brother asked to be directly put into shallow waters so that we doesnt have to walk through the sand. I know, such uptight little kids we were!

Having found her hands free, mom could now operate the camera to take some pictures. But the moment she took out the camera from her bag, both of us wanted to use the camera and click pictures ! So she ran away from us and my brother followed her extending his hand to plead possession of the camera. And I followed behind, equally desiring the camera.

“And that’s how I got this pose from you guys,” she chatted me on whatsapp while I was lost in mundane of my desk job. It is memories like these which makes one feel alive. Nostalgia has a purpose. In its course, it makes the past sweeter and us more hopeful for the future. It tells us that we can appreciate life better in retrospection. Would we be hoping for a happy future, if we didn’t find the nostalgia of past so endearing!

In the memory of the guitar

As he loosened the tie of his rented Raymond’s, looking into the cracked mirror of the hostel wing bathroom, the four years spent at his alma mater zoomed past his eyes. It brought a small smirk on his neatly shaved face to think of all the people he had left behind him in the race. He always wanted to lead the race. He was at the epitome of his success now. He didn’t have any coach in this race. He heard everybody but listened to no one. He persevered night and day alike, each of his second committed to his choices, which he had made very carefully. He had started right from scratch, but here he was, on the pinnacle. Some got gold medals, some got the best prizes while some got applauds. But he – had got the best job!

As he splashed the cold water on his face, each drop anointed his new found satisfaction. His research was impeccable as to what the company wanted. He was the best at group discussions, and his resume was crafted for the company. Since four years he knew what he was preparing for. The courses he chose depended on what the company thinks of that subject. He knew his limitations and hid them by excelling where others were limited. His list of achievements was long and unique. He had learnt several new things, many of which he disliked, just because he knew he would make a mark instantly in places where there is low competition. While people struggled dismally in the interviews to display their zeal and show their worth, he showed them the trophies. While people foolishly pursued their passions, his activities were targeted towards his singular goal. And now, he had beaten them all. After four depressing years of struggle, where he had to salute people he thought to be asses and laugh appeasingly at dull humour of his seniors and colleagues who helped him here, he was the one who was wearing the smile. He walked back to his room his face still wet with cool pleasure. He wouldn’t be throwing off any customary celebration parties for he knew there was no one who wanted it. Neither did he want to share his success, which was truly only his. 

As he walked through the corridor the trickling water on his face had started to irritate him. He needed to wipe it off with a towel. Thinking about the water on his face, he wondered how same things seem to work so differently in different times. As he rummaged through the mess of his belongings on the table, taking care that the water doesn’t trickle down on his laptop, he finally found the towel over his old guitar. He had quit playing it three years ago itself. He covered his face into the warmth of the towel, wondering why the useless piece of guitar was kept on the top of things.

“Sameer, can I borrow your Guitar?” It was his freshman wing mate. He nodded and gave the guitar. The boy, shouted a ‘thanks’ as he ran with the guitar to his room. “Sigh these freshmen,” he said nonchalantly talking to himself and then feeling a gush of pride over the achievements of his years he thought – “They too will come of age.”

Somewhere nearby, the sounds of strumming started. At first he just heard. Then he started tapping his foot, quite unknowingly. Then some strong feeling that might have been just an impulse, suddenly overcame him and he rushed through the hostel wing corridors to the room where the beautiful strumming came from. Two beds were lined up in the small 6 by 8 feet room and there were 14 people sitting closely packed and immersed in tunes from the guitar. He stood outside the room steathily, watching his freshman wingmate, who was playing with his back to the door. But someone might’ve then seen him, as the strumming suddenly stopped.
“Ah, Sorry! Did we disturb you, Sameer?” But Sameer was so overcome by a strengthening desire that he didn’t even hear that, he walked in took the guitar in his hands and turned to walk away but stopped. Everyone just sat there too stunned to react, waiting silently. He didn’t know what he was doing. He just knew he had to do it. He turned to face the 15 odd people in the room, closed his eyes and started strumming. Hesitated notes came out at first, then suddenly he went into a trance and it was like the three year old magic had come back to him. He played a flawless Hotel California. Seconds passed slowly, minutes had almost stopped. This is where he wanted to be- before an audience lost listening to his performance. He loved the guitar. He never played it because there were people who were better than him and he wouldn’t be noticed easily by the company. As he was still playing, the four years once again zoomed past his closed eyes. He saw all that he had lost- his friends, his fun and his guitar. He was afraid to stop playing, didn’t want the joy to end. He was afraid to open his eyes, it might all be just a dream that would break. But then finally his song came to an end, he couldn’t remember any more. He opened his eyes. There was silence. Then he didn’t know who started it, but every one of them broke into a very loud applause. Then, for the first time in four years, he cried…

The Continuity of Parks

LogLine: An impossible tale of love and vengeance that blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction.

Note: The below description contains spoilers, to be read only after watching the movie.
Created as an experimental project, we wanted to adapt a short story by Julio Cortazaar of the same name into a short film.(http://www.continuityofparks.com/by-cortazar/)

It’s a simple 2 paragraph short story with a very simple yet complex plot- the protagonist reads a novel and finds out that the character in the novel comes to kill him as the story progresses. Having seen several other attempts to do the same on youtube, we were determined to be different. Keeping the essence of the story the same, we re-wrote the script with the goal of bringing the reading experience of the short story alive onto the screen. Just like the the story in the novel becomes real in the short story, this short film had to become real, giving the audience an experience that the movie they are watching can come real.
This Postmodern style narrative of The Continuity of Parks, where it seamlessly blurs the fiction into reality makes it truly unique. This transition is marked in the short film, by using an Editing technique of transition the colour scheme from high contrast retro (show casing the fictional world) to a fadded out scheme(showcasing reality). The transition takes place, when the murderer walks through the ‘park’ which brings about the ‘continuity’ of fiction and reality. Hence, the name – The Continuity of Parks.