The Faithful Hound

Sunday, November 12, 2006

The Mysticism of DaRaKu

Dr Rajkumar, the late doyen of the Kannada film industry, known to his legions of adoring fans as DaRaKu, was a man born way ahead of his time. His genius transcended the silver screen and shone through every aspect of his life.
A fact known to few is that this great man earned his title by completing a Doctorate in Applied Physics at the prestigious Technische Universität München in Germany. Captivated at an early age by the works of Einstein, the young genius from Gajanur devoted his academic life to research in the Unified Field Theory. His work in particle dynamics almost brought him a Nobel prize in 1953, but, in an act of graceful humility, he rejected the nomination, opting instead to return to his homeland to share the secrets of time and space with his countrymen.
A true man of the people, DaRaKu decided to share his learnings only with the poor, the illiterate and the downtrodden masses of rural Karnataka through the one medium that appealed to them - film. Embedded into song, dance and fight sequences in his 206 movie appearances were subliminal messages that explained the secrets of the Universe to his impoverished audience. It was through these teachings that Bangalore eventually rose from the dust to become the world's foremost destination for technological outsourcing and scientific research.
Below is an example of DaRaKu explaining the Theory of Relativity through an English song and dance number titled "If you come today". Please watch it with the volume on before reading the explanation below.




DaRaKu begins the number with a flashy dance sequence showcasing his characteristically smooth moves. He does this to gain the audience's attention and make their minds receptive to his teaching. Once he has accomplished this, he begins to sing;

If you come today, its too early
If you come tomorrow, its too late


Upon initial consideration, these words are conflicting and confusing. Assuming that today ends at 11:59:59 PM and that tomorrow begins at 12:00:00 AM and that the former is too early and the latter too late, the audience is left with the question - When would be the right time?
Again, DaRaKu sings;

If you come today, its too early
If you come tomorrow, its too late


The audience gives up. There can be no right time!
Then the good doctor gives us a clue;

You pick the time

What was that? Today is too early and tomorrow too late, but any time I pick is correct? How can that be?

tik tik tik tik tik tik, Darling!

DaRaKu tantalizes his audience with the sound of a ticking clock, reminiscent of the unyielding passage of time. 'Time is your master!' he seems to say mockingly, 'You will always be its slave.'
He continues;

Did you say morning? No, no, its not good,
Did you say evening? No no, its too bad,
Did you say noon? No no, its not the time


What is he telling us? 'It's not the time'? The audience looks at each other, searching for answers.

What did you say?
Hey, what did you say?


DaRaKu encourages his audience to think deeper, probing through recesses of their minds that they never knew existed. Light begins to dawn where once there was darkness.
DaRaKu gives us one final hint;

Nothing? oh its all right
You pick the time
tik tik tik tik tik tik


Now it is clear. There is no right answer! There is no right time! Time is relative. It does not exist. Time is not a universal constant, but a personal measuring stick to help quantify other physical phenomenon. Time exists only in the mind of the individual observer.
The brilliance of this observation thrills the audience who rise up and dance in the aisles with 'Annavuru', their symbolic elder brother. Any time they pick is the right time because they are now the masters and time is but their slave.
DaRaKu senses their enlightenment and he is elated. In his joy, he bursts out;

Million drums beat in my heart,
Million dreams haunt my heart,
Million desires spring in my heart,
Million memories seize my heart


His aspirations for his people are slowly coming to fruition and his ecstasy knows no bounds.
He reminds his followers;

You pick the time,
tik tik tik tik tik tik


You pick the time because you own time. The ticking clock is now the drumbeat to which his victorious army marches, as they ascend to a higher level of awareness.


Next:- The wit and wisdom of Rajnikanth

15 Comments:

  • At 2:45 PM, Blogger Revealed said…

    Cannot wait!

     
  • At 3:14 PM, Blogger km said…

    DUDE!

    Let me first finish laughing.

    OK, then.

    You've just invoked the wrath of a million Kannadigas!!! He ain't DaRaKu, he's just Annavaru.

    Annavaru is to particle dynamics what his sons are to film-making. Har har.

     
  • At 8:27 PM, Blogger kundalini said…

    brilliant! you have to do the rajni one asap.

     
  • At 10:35 AM, Blogger MockTurtle said…

    @revealed, kundalini: Thanks!
    @km: Wrath? I don't understand.
    Why would a blog in praise of Annavaru's brilliance make anyone angry?

     
  • At 11:12 AM, Blogger wildflower seed said…

    Masterfully done! :)

     
  • At 2:31 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The song is an absolute gem. Annavaru at his absolute best. Complete with white and red outfit. (Yes, from Bangalore. Am guessing so are you?)

     
  • At 8:44 AM, Blogger MockTurtle said…

    @WS: Thank you
    @Ph: You betcha! Did you study there? What school? (if you don't mind me asking)

     
  • At 5:24 PM, Blogger sattva said…

    this was an eye-opener :) and really well written.

     
  • At 10:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hahahaha...!

    "B to the A to the B to the A"

    "What crap is that?" I asked.

    "You wont understand, Rajni, man!" said the tamilian.


    I hope ur next post will!

     
  • At 5:12 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    May I have your email address?

     
  • At 11:33 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Omfg!!!Omfg!!! This was just hilarious.
    Tik, tik, tik, tik, tik!
    muahahahahahahahaz......

     
  • At 7:43 PM, Blogger Tabula Rasa said…

    brilliant parsing!

    i have to say i was floored by the totally unexpected manner in which he made heart rhyme with (wait for it) heart.

    i also loved the prominent comment on the youtube site: "nice acting by annavru".

    going out to get me a red waistcoat to go with me rolex.

     
  • At 3:06 PM, Blogger Cloudy said…

    Brilliant!
    I've had this clip forwarded to me a dozen times, but since I first feel out of my chair laughing at this when I was 12, and have been steadily doing so ever since, the humour seemed a little stale...

    But this sir, is brilliant!

     
  • At 7:11 AM, Blogger Mr. D said…

    hahahahahahhaahha.... awesome dude.

     
  • At 4:54 PM, Blogger ggop said…

    He pronounces darling as doorling. :-)
    -gg

     

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