My red dell 1420, nicknamed Della became a wreck after we
moved to Ahmedabad. Della gave up on the IIMA LAN and just couldn’t connect to
the WIFI. Della ate up the already restricted storage space in my new house on
the IIMA campus for a while until I started to work. Miraculously, sometime
later, Della befriended the WIFI and I quit borrowing (read: stealing) R’s
laptop for my work.
Last Wednesday, I sat in the Library at Raffles Millennium
while my student was busy attempting the Product development test that I had
set for her. I then decided to clear out the junk and discovered an unnamed
movie folder. The folder brought back memories of a wonderful winter – spring transition
of 2008.
I met R in the January of 2008. He wanted to do an MBA,
loved ghazals and was a serious movie buff. My thoughts about him being a real
and not a ‘wanna be’ movie maniac were confirmed when he brought a 300 GB
external hard disk drive with him on one of our dates. He asked me to bring my
laptop along and that day I was gifted a folder with over 50 of R’s all time
favourite movies. The main folder was neatly divided into ‘seen’ and ‘not seen’
and I was given the ‘seen’ folder so that we could ‘talk about those later.’
Once the download was done, there was a moment of awkward
silence. To move the conversation forward, I coyly asked him “which is your
favourite?” My question turned out to be a date spent listening to the stories
of why and what he liked in the movies he had saved and spent hours downloading.
I wondered all through the conversation if I should even mention any of my
favourite chick flicks for the fear of sounding immature. But damn the question – our conversation ended
with him asking me to watch his favourite movie – “The Eternal Sunshine of the
spotless mind.” A movie that by the sound of it had irked me to delete it from
the folder at the very first instance was now on my ‘must watch’ list.
With a sheepish smile I promised him I would. Somehow my
smile didn’t manage to blow him out this time and I was badgered with the same question
for as long as I can remember – “did you watch it?” and my answer forever was “not
yet” until I could stand it no more. One Sunday evening I put on my earplugs
and sat down to watch and analyse the movie. I was soon discovered by my roommate sleeping
on the laptop while the eternal sunshine quite literally shone upon me.
Technically I had watched the movie; atleast played it from the beginning to
the end. I sent an sms out to R “loved the movie.” Yes, I loved it – I had
never slept so well through a movie. He never replied and we never spoke about
it again. I wonder why!
The unnamed movie folder still lay on my laptop unopened for
almost three years until now that I decided to make use of my idle time here in
Ahmedabad. I decided to give R’s favourite movie another try. So this afternoon
while R was busy as usual, I gave up my afternnoon nap, put on my earplugs,
made myself a super cup of Gujarat’s favourite wagh bakri masala chai and
pushed play. I hoped to pull through the movie that as per R was almost like one
man’s greatest gift to fellow mankind.
I managed to watch it from the beginning to the very end. I
didn’t just watch it, I enjoyed watching it! I enjoyed it so much that I found
myself looking up the Alexander Pope poem that Mary (Kirsten Dunst) quoted
during the movie.
“"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world
forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each
pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."
The movie begins with a background score that I had
initially hated during my first attempt at watching it. My toleration levels
were higher this time around and I soon discovered a beautifully created
storyline. The idea about erasing one’s memory about a loved one, then to
realise the intense love and feelings associated with the memory while going
through the erasing process and the struggle to hold onto those. Phew! Heavy
but definitely worth my afternoon siesta! Can't wait to "talk about it later" with R!
