Naming An Epic...

I wanted to blog!!! Everyone around me blogs, so I had to blog!! However, I needed a name for my blog. A name, which would give the readers an insight into the content of this blog, or at a macrolevel, an insight into my personality. After much deliberation, I decided on the name… ‘Cogency, Cinema And A Childhood’. Here’s why:

1.Why Cinema?

‘No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.’ –Ingmar Bergman

I adore Cinema. I worship this form of art. I cannot live without movies and want to make a living out of conveying my vision and opinion about the world through this very medium. Fellini, Rossellini, Kurosawa, Ray, Godard, Bergman , Jean Renoir, Truffaut and others of their league made Cinema an effective mirror of our society, our lives, our thoughts, worries, emotions and passions. So, in my opinion, they, rather than the individuals described in mythology, are God(s). And a Cinema-hall(or multiplex screens, or whatever you call it) is Heaven! Though I would have liked to patronise more of the Fellini-Rossellini-esque Cinema, one hardly gets to lay one's hands on such DVDs regularly. Thus, I have to remain content in being a Hindi Cinema addict. And by the standard of Cinema they manufacture these days, I'm not complaining.

2. Why Cogency?

People who know me well tell me that the intelligence I have in me is the most attractive thing about me. (Some other people think otherwise.But this article is not about The Others). But I myself don’t want to comment about the ‘intelligence’ bit of it. I’d rather say it is my logicality, rationality and general common sense. As in, I can proudly say that I am among those very few people who question everything, analyse, reason and then derive a conclusion. I can always find flaws in myself(that, however, is no indication of any inferiority complex in me) and don’t blame others for anything that goes wrong in my life. Also, I listen to people speak. I’m not among those who’d inflict themselves heavily on others, by doing most of the speaking themselves. Even those who are not too sure of my intelligence, generally do admit that I base most of my actions on logic and reason. ‘Logicality’ or ‘Rationality’ thus would have been more obvious constituents of the name of the blog. But since the two other words had ‘C’ as their initials, use of ‘Cogency’ made the name an alliteration.

3. Why Childhood?

My childhood is something I have missed most in the last year and a half. At, 17, on the threshold of adulthood, I feel the pangs of having to bid permanent farewell to that delightful phase of my life. Everybody’s childhood is the best phase of his life. Mine is more so. Because I lived a serene childhood in an idyllic, picturesque town. And this despite the fact that I was never really deprived the advantages of a city. Calcutta, one of the hugest metropolises of India was always home and here was where I spent 4 months of every year. However, the neverland-like town which was my home for the remaining 8 months, was unlike other ordinary towns. Though it lacked the hustle and bustle of a city, it had the outlook, vision, technology and standards-of-living of any big city. I, thus had the best of both worlds. The peace and tranquility of a small-(hill)town life, as well as the imbibitions of all the uber-urban lifestyle , culture, outlook, tastes and EDUCATION. Despite having had 12 years of schooling in a school in the town, and 2 years in one in the city of Calcutta, I didn’t find much difference in the ways of both the schools. As the city school is reputed to be one of the best ones of this huge city, I can safely conclude my town school(with its administration, levels of discipline and the quality of education provided there being of the standards of the best schools of this country- the school being a part of those most prestigious inter-school associations and organizations in India), gave me the kind of education and training that not for once got me uneasy in a city school or a big-town life.


Hence, the kind of ‘Cinema’ I patronise , the ‘Cogency’ I am usually associated with, and my ‘Childhood’ are the three things that best define whoever I am today.

And this, I feel is the most aptly suited first post for this blog. I hope this also explains ‘neverlandthroughmylens.blogspot.com’
The future posts will,hopefully, be shorter.