The opening line of the Preamble of the United States Declaration of Independence emphatically reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yes, it is one of the most important documents in human history, but unfortunately when it says that “all men are equal” it merely implies the White people. While referring to the contradiction between the aforementioned claim that “all men are created equal” and the existence of slavery in the United States, English abolitionist Thomas Day famously wrote, “If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves.” In the 19th century, the Declaration took on a special significance for the abolitionist movement.

The Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins unequivocally addresses the above contradiction in the opening episode of his 10-part Amazon Prime Video series The Underground Railroad in a chilling sequence wherein a Black slave is being mercilessly punished for trying to run away from a cotton plantation by his White master in the antebellum American South. “You’ve hardly touched your food, Mr. Churchill,” the slaver inquires his guest. “Oh, pardon me, but I don’t understand how one can eat… while a man’s flesh is being ripped from his body,” the guest hesitantly replies. “Well, Mr. Churchill, your first mistake… uh, a nigger and a man are two entirely different things. A man can think, reason and love. Niggers simply do not have the capacity for such things. As such, it is important to provide them with restrictions and directions on how to comport themselves. And when these restrictions and directions are not abided by, it is just as important to make an example of them,” the slaver avers.

As disturbing as these words may sound today, they correctly sum up the bigotry, prejudice, and sadistic cruelty with which the White Supremacists treated their Black slaves back in the day. Kudos to Barry Jenkins and his team of writers for not trying to use euphemisms as it is a piece of oft-forgotten history that needs to be told, especially today when movements like Black Lives Matter are paving the way for new conversations about racism and equality. The Underground Railroad, based on a 2016 Pulitzer winning alternative history novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, follows two slaves, Cora and Caesar, who try and escape from a cotton plantation in the deep southern state of Georgia. They are chased by a ruthless slave catcher named Arnold Ridgeway who will stop at nothing in order to complete his task. Cora and Caesar’s only hope is the Underground Railroad—a rail transport system with safe houses and secret routes operated by a network of abolitionists to help the enslaved African-Americans escape to freedom.

The Underground Railroad is nothing like anything that you would have ever seen before. There is such blood curdling brutality on display that you would wish that you could somehow personally help these poor men and women suffering because of being caught in the throes of slavery. If you think that you have already seen the worst side of slavery in films such as 12 Years a Slave and Django Unchained, just wait till you see a horrifying execution of a Black slave at the hands of his White master in first episode of the series. The episode (as well as the series on a whole) depicts some deeply disturbing scenes that are not meant for the faint-hearted.

But, thankfully, the USP of the series is not the sadistic cruelty that’s on display. Yes, the source material is brilliant but more than anything it is Barry Jenkins who makes the series absolutely breathtaking to watch despite all the gore and brutality. He makes every frame look like a painting (credit must also go to cinematographer James Laxton, his frequent collaborator). Jenkins and Laxton employ a technique wherein they frequently show characters standing still before the camera while looking at us. Not to mention the immersive sound design by his regular composer Nicholas Britell who ingeniously blends his beautiful score with the real sounds of footsteps, cracking of the whip, rustling of the wind, crackling of the fire, churn of the steam engine, ticking of the clocks, neighing of the horses, trilling of the crickets, chirping of the birds, and buzzing of the flies to create a poignant symphony of emotions that help create a sense of heightened realism brilliantly contrasting with sparsely used moments of magic realism.

Jenkins yet again succeeds in eliciting wonderful performances from his actors. Remember, he gave us a film like Moonlight only 5 years ago. And now he brings to us a sprawling series (it’s been four years in the making) which brings us face to face with a mostly unseen side of the antebellum American South, oozing with nostalgia, revulsion, fear, and hope that’s beautifully laced with magic realism. Here is a work of immense beauty and pain that cannot just be watched, for it needs to be felt first and experienced.

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan is all set to woo his fans with his acting stint in the short film, titled ‘Silvat’.

On Friday, Kartik took to Instagram and shared a glimpse of his performance in the movie, which is written by Faraz Arif Ansari and directed by Tanuja Chandra. “Silvat. Forever grateful to @tanuja__chandra ma’am for this amazing experience,” Kartik wrote in the caption. For the uninitiated, ‘Silvat’ was earlier released under Zeal For Unity festival 2016. It is now all set to stream on Zee5.

The film is about a woman, Noor (Meher Mistry), whose husband works in the Middle East and has not visited her in years. And in wait for her husband, she falls in love with a Muslim boy, Anwar (Kartik). Kartik reportedly shot for ‘Silvat’ during his initial years in the film industry.

The film’s trailer has garnered a lot of love from the audience. “Khubsurat. I am looking forward to it,” Pakistani actor Saba Qamar, who played Irrfan Khan’s wife in ‘Hindi Medium’, commented. “This looks so beautiful. It must be a great story,” a fan commented on Kartik’s post. Apart from this, Kartik will also be seen in other films — including ‘Dhamaka’ and ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’. Lately, he made headlines when reports speculated that the makers of ‘Dostana 2’ have dropped him from the film.

NEW DELHI: Yami Gautam on Friday surprised everyone with the news of her marriage to filmmaker Aditya Dhar.

Taking to Instagram, Yami posted a picture from her intimate wedding ceremony. She is seen wearing a red coloured saree. On the other hand, Aditya chose to wear a white sherwani. “With the blessings of our family, we have tied the knot in an intimate wedding ceremony today. Being very private people, we celebrated this joyous occasion with our immediate family,” the caption read. “As we embark on the journey of love and friendship, we seek all your blessings and good wishes. Love, Yami and Aditya,” the post further read.

Yami had acted in Aditya Dhar’s directorial ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’. The two kept their relationship a secret until today. Members from the film industry and fans have showered the newlyweds with their blessings. “Congratulations,” actor Kartik Aaryan wrote, adding a heart emoji. “Sending you all the positivity,” Varun Dhawan posted.

MUMBAI: Actor Alia Bhatt’s latest social media post proves that she is surely a beach lover. On Friday, the ‘Highway’ star posted then-and-now pictures of her posing on a beach. One image was taken recently, and the other one was captured when she was a child. “Because no matter who we are,” Alia captioned the post, leaving netizens in awe of her cuteness.

“Awww baby,” Alia’s mother and veteran actor Soni Razdan commented. “Aww,” actor Jacqueline Fernandez wrote, adding a heart emoji.

In the childhood picture, Alia is seen wearing a fish-printed swimsuit. On the other hand, in the recently clicked image, Alia is seen wearing yellow co-ords and a white bucket hat.

Her expression in the pictures seemed exactly similar. On the film front, Alia has a lot of projects in her kitty. She will be seen in ‘Gangubai Khatiawadi’ by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, ‘RRR’ with Ram Charan and Jr. NTR and ‘Brahmastra’ with Ranbir Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. Alia has been actively working on humanitarian grounds too.

Meena Om is not a guru or a swami. She is the psychic daughter of nature and through her connection with prakriti, decodes its subtlest messages and directives for the human to imbibe and work towards growth and the now inevitable, a quantum leap towards the next phase of transformation.

Q. Change is constant, change is inevitable — all evolved masters and ancient scriptures state this and yet we so scared of change. What are your views on this?

A. Writers of the scriptures were truthfully connected to nature and its truth. Everyone knows nature is ever-evolving, growing, changing every nanosecond. We are also products of nature, therefore, have to change like her. Our problem is that all the time we try hard to make our lives convenient, comfortable, manageable so as to toil less — to the extent that unknowingly life becomes monotonous. And the irony is to kill that very boredom we look for change and indulge in shopping, clubbing, and partying and in turn kill time and live on borrowed energy. All the time we search for ways to remain in some comfortable zone or cocoon that we have created so diligently for ourselves. Never give a thought to the question — how to prepare for the change that has come to awaken us from our slumbering and stationery life. The ones who have not prepared for exams get scared of them. 

The whole creation is based on contradictory things, only balance is required. Monotony is always followed by some twist or change. One grows through it or succumbs to depression or diseases.

Q. What is the best way to manage change? Should we be nonchalant about it or welcome it?

A. The word ‘managing’ is an outcome of ego and a sense of ‘doership’ — that one can manage. It is not to be managed but lived with all your might. Welcome it, the sky is the limit for human capacity.

That all-loving Supreme Intelligence above us never thrusts upon us tests that are beyond our capabilities. The problem is with our mind that wants change according to its design. But the change that propels us towards growth is always according to Divine’s design. So, welcome this Supreme grace. 

We indeed resent change. Let me ask you, are you always sure of your plans. As the saying goes, ‘Man proposes, God disposes. Change tries all our faculties — of pondering over things, concentration, physical fitness to act accordingly, exploring unknown dimensions, to be along with time, and be confident and sure of us. 

Q. What should we keep in mind at mental, physical and soul levels to address change?

A. The most important thing is peace and tranquillity. Not getting affected too much by situations, people and even climates; sailing through everything with ease, peace, and grace tunes our system to deal with everything in this manner. It gets embedded in our system. 

No need to feel guilty, fearful, harbour doubts and dualities, or allow mind chattering. Save energy from every frivolous thing to get messages and directives from the inside. We are overloaded with information, answers, knowledge from books, media, friends, or even from mentors. It is much better to have little pearls of knowledge and few answers and work on these sincerely to arrive at your answers and decisions, to enjoy new-found confidence, and gyan — not knowledge.

Q. In what way is change related to growth? 

A. See and observe a small plant closely. It changes its shape, size, and even colour daily on the way to full blossoming. If it does not change and grow, it perishes. Change brings newness. When your aura is transformed by going through changes with your inner strength, and power of sankalp to ride every wave; it can help others also to change and grow.  

Growth is the joy of life, there is no stagnancy, no tension, no depression in growth. You are energetic always, clarity dawns about things, people, situations and even life. There are so many things we fear for, losing wealth and youth, mishaps, and death. One of the greatest fears is that of being behind time, for this one goes on accumulating latest clothes, jewellery, furniture, and so many things but never work on onself. Work on the self to prepare for the change that will propel you toward growth — transformation and evolution.

Q. How to always be on the path of progress?

A. Always follow the path of truth, love, karma, and light. Eternal, true dharma based on the laws of nature and perfect universal mechanism. Be Brahma Vishnu Mahesh — symbolically — create perfect and destroy daily something from outside and inside. Plant, paint, write, clean, or even cook something new daily. Try to perfect it. Then get rid of what is not needed. Do the same for your inner self. Think of something new daily. New thought, an idea that gives flight to the imagination — expanding your limitations mentally, do pruning and elimination of old habits, tunings, preconceived notions about people, situations, things and social, religious or spiritual norms — feel newness. Work on yourself for growth, to be ready for every situation.

Ego and non-performance is also about being judgmental about everything — people, situations and systems — and wasting time on frivolous things. These are some of the hurdles on the path of progress. How you use your spare time decides how you will grow further.

Either learn or teach something. Let there not be a single moment when you are not creating, perfecting and destroying something — that is undesirable for growth — or poses hurdles to further transformation and evolution.

The past year has made it clear that the actions of humans have far-reaching consequences on the entire planet. Hence, the theme chosen for this year’s World Environment Day commemoration — ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ — is an apt one, where people are being encouraged to do everything in their power to restore the ecosystem. A practical way of doing this is by adopting sustainable design practices in the construction of personal spaces. Certain architectural firms are leading the way by making sustainability their mantra, and being conscious of the methods and materials used.

For centuries, humans have harmed the ecological balance of natural landscapes through the largescale expansion of cities and industrial centres. Now it has become necessary to override the impact of this expansion by making smarter choices. Amit Khanna, Founder and Principal Designer of the architectural design firm, AKDA explains, “our cities should be dense with efficient mobility solutions and our industrial centres need to process their waste – whether its air pollution, effluent or solid discharge. Significant areas of the landscape need to be left untouched and preserved to conserve the natural environment for other species.”

It has also become necessary to use innovative materials to ensure a low carbon future. Mitu Mathur, Director of GPM Architects & Planners, asserts that sustainability can be achieved through the introduction of greenery in buildings and the promotion of less polluting technologies for construction. She believes in focusing on alternative energy generating materials like rainwater harvesting and solar power generation to ensure sustainability.

This makes it essential to be aware of local climatic and geographical conditions, and work around them. Anand Sharma, Founder & Partner, Design Forum International says, “architects and designers must be conscious of local conditions and use them well — take as little as possible from sources that are finite and maximise the use of sources that are infinite such as the sun and wind.”

Sustainability is as much about the process as it is about the end product. Hence, sustainable practices need to be incorporated through the entire lifecycle of a building — from its initial design and construction, use and maintenance, to its demolition and the reuse of its building materials. Rahul Kadri, Partner & Principal Architect at IMK Architects explains that this entails strategically placing the building on the selected site in a way that integrates it with the local ecosystem instead of disrupting natural processes like the flow of water and the growth and sustenance of plants and trees. Then one must aim to maximise natural light and ventilation in the interiors and choose natural and locally available materials which have lower embodied energy and carbon over materials that have to be transported from afar.

‘Net-zero energy’ buildings, where the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on or around the site, is the new buzzword when one talks of sustainability. Pioneered by Zero Energy Design Lab (ZED Lab), it aims to minimise energy consumption by adopting passive design strategies such as optimal building form, materials with high thermal mass, etc., along with active design strategies i.e. the use of renewable energy systems such as solar panels. While passive tools minimise energy consumption, active tools aid in producing renewables. However, Sachin Rastogi, Founding Partner and Principal Architect of the firm cautions that net-zero can only truly be successful and appeal to the masses if it is made affordable. He believes that ‘near net-zero’ does not need to be expensive to construct and run.

Meena Murthy Kakkar, Design Head and Partner at Envisage Architectural firm also believes in making sustainable practices affordable. She advocates mandating certain principles so that more people can implement these solutions, bring the costs down and make the practice and goal of attaining sustainability, affordable and within reach of everyone. She sums it up by saying, “the idea of creating something that is at loggerheads with its surroundings and then finding ways to resolve it through artificial interventions is a habit that we need to get rid of. Sustainable practices need to be incorporated as a core design philosophy, to be in sync with everything our creation engages with — at all levels.”

The writer is a lawyer who pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be reached on nooranand@gmail.com.