Rehman, Penelope and Kabir...speak

When accepting the Oscar award, for his music in the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'A.R. Rehman said (and so well said) - ''When I was young...I had to choose between hate and love...And I chose love...And I am here...''

Profound thought. Expressed with simplicity. I couldn't help but recollect this doha, (brief couplets) from Kabir. Translated from Hindi, it says:

---
..Such is the story of Love, that it cannot be expressed in words.
Like the dumb eating sweets can only smile, he cannot express that..
--end---

Art is an expression of love. And isn't this a great unifier, so said Penelope in her acceptance speech. Spanish actor, Indian musician, British director, American actor all got an Oscar, watched my millions around the world. Cheers...

Turgenev's Poem: The Threshold

I was reading an Obituary for a young journalist in the Economist. The author ends his note with this Turgenev's poem. With a simple yet powerful contrast - these few lines immediately sets one thinking.

A young women stands behind a door

A voice asks whether she is prepared to endure
Cold, hunger, mockery, prison and death
All of which await her on the other side

She says Yes to everything and steps over

'A fool' cries a voice from behind her. 'A Saint' suggests another.