If you come from the same part of the country as I do, you are likely celebrating Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival, today. One image that comes to mind when I think of Pongal is families dressed in their finest attire, lining up for tickets to the latest movie—the "Pongal release". For brevity's sake, I won't go into the details of this year's movies. However, I'll tell you about the criticism I hear most often—the predictability of plot lines, the formulaic treatment of conflict, stock characters and so on. Strangely, I find something comforting and familiar in the repetition of these themes. Events happen as you expect them to. There's no story here; just pure entertainment and passionate discussions on the ride home. The moral? Don't go looking for a story in familiarity. After all, it's the disruption of familiarity that gives us a story.
Do write in if you treated yourself to a Pongal release this weekend. However, if you're looking for a story, we'll bring one to you tomorrow "Inshallah".
