Movie review- JUNO

Once in a while will come a film that sees the world from the perspective of a youngster ; a film that sees things as they are and doesn’t make a big deal out of itself. Juno is such a film. Don’t get scared by my altar talk folks. It’s NOT boring. In fact, it’s the most engaging film I’ve seen in a while. The film tells the story of juno, a young middle class girl of sixteen, and deals with Teen ..ahem,…pregnancy (don’t read ahead if you are one of those people who still think storks brought you home…. Grow up!).

The film portrays, sensitively and with a great sense of humour, the dilemmas faced by the young girl as she tries to make the best out of a seemingly hopeless situation. After a narrow ‘escape’ from an abortion clinic she decides to give the baby up for adoption and confronts her parents with the news. Her parents accept her decision and the family embarks on a wild ride with Juno as she bravely faces the world with her growing belly. Juno’s search for adoptive parents for her baby leads her to a successful, urban couple who are desperately searching for a baby to adopt as their own. In the middle of all this blooms the tender love story between juno and an athlete, a teenage boy who also happens to be the father of her child. Juno captures our mind with her intelligence, wit, her passion for music, movies and her undying soldier spirit. She fights on even when the adoption procedures threaten to come to stand still.The witty observations she makes on her life and the people around her are hilariously real. One word to describe this incredible movie : hope. Go watch it people, dig it up from somewhere and just GO watch it. It’ll open up a whole new way of lookin at things. Trust ticket.

JUNO

A film by :Jason reitman

Ellen page dazzles as Juno and

Michael cera plays her adorably weird friend….

REVERSE SOUR GRAPES ....(on my tryst with an entrance exam)

There are three reasons why a relationship fails;
1. The two parties in the relationship dislike each other.
2. One party is too good for the other.
3. One party is too bad for the other.
When I set out to establish a relationship with an institution of higher education, by way of preparing for the entrance to its five year integrated MA course, it was under the assumption that we - myself and the institute - shared a concern, or what could be called a soft corner, for each other. I certainly did. Whether it was reciprocated or not from the side of the institute, I never came to know. (If I did, I wouldn't be writing this in the first place!).
So this brings you to the veritable conclusion that the relationship, I wished fervently to begin, was never consummated. So like all disillusioned lovers I channelised my energies to understanding why this happened...why?...oh..why!
And it was through continual formation and rejection of varied hypotheses that I finally struck gold - the three statements above. And then came the stage of application of the principles arrived at in the situation described above.
In this particular problem the first statement will certainly be false; in this case one party - I, me, myself - truly liked the other party and was hopeful of a fruitful relationship.
So we move on to the next two formulations, namely one party is too good and one party is too bad for the other.
These when applied to my situation, you would be surprised to know, brought out magical results. They, the two principles, were exceedingly apposite to my situation.
I was too good for the institute.
The institute was too bad for me.
And perhaps this realisation left an indelible mark on the heart of the institute that it decided - ever so sadly- to free me from its clutches. Poor institute. I really feel for you.
And that is how our relationship ended. And I moved on.
As for the strenuous preparation I put in; those were just the abortive jumps of the institute to get me. Poor fox of an institute. he!he!he!


shraddha vinodkutty

Road kill

Like many youngsters, I live an adventure everyday. And I don’t mean it in the romantic, ‘my life’s great!’ kinda way at all. The thought occurred to me while commuting to my home from college in a bus with people bursting out through its doors and windows. Hanging from the rails at the door, almost fainting due to the congestion and suffocation inside ; Holding on to dear life while the driver showed off the precision of his brakes (ouch! That really hurt) and his skills at overtaking speeding buses which , unlike our bus, didn’t have the entire population of Kochi inside them.

you think you know who you are but you will be surprised at how many more times selfish, snobbish and cheaper you are until you’ve traveled in one of the ‘private’ buses in the rush hours. Boy, won’t that be revelation! There I was , this evening, waiting for the bus to come take me home. Feeling good about myself. Confident, socially conscious, principled young woman that I am. And then came the bus. It stops reluctantly a mile away from the bus stop. I forget my sophisticated airs and run to the ramshackle vehicle. Many older, hardened ‘chechis’ push and shove to get in first. I wait patiently with an unsteady look on my face. There’s no seat in there! Where are you people rushing to?!. "Get in there fast", the bus conductor growled and I jumped in. the bus was sufficiently crowded. I found a comfortable place to lean on through my hour long commute. the bus reached the next bus stop. A group, well, a mob of students waited at the stop for the same bus just the way I had waited a while before. How my heart fell as the we stopped to let them in. my social conscience and basic humanity evaporated at the thought of being squeezed in further by all those annoying people. I checked myself. They’re people too. They need to get home just like you do. Crap!

My body feels pricked by strangers' touch, their smells, the sweat. The girl in front of me has long frizzy hair. It keeps getting into my face. I fight hard to keep it out of my mouth. I make clear signs of displeasure. She looks at me. What’s she supposed to do? The bus is crowded beyond all imagination. The old ladies keep complaining. Why don’t these people shut up?

I hungrily eye the group who’s to get off at the next stop. My legs will give away any second now. I keep trying to prevent myself from falling into the lap of the old lady at the adjacent seat. People are getting out now. I politely move to let them go. How I wish I had had the guts to rush for their seats. Its all gone now. How did these people manage to grab those empty seats so fast?.....the rest of the people seem to expand to take up the vacant spaces. I can’t find my feet. My hair’s a mess. I smell like an old currency note.

The bus conductor kept shouting for his money. Old, hardened ladies shouted for him to shut his mouth up as they tried to fish out notes from their bags. The exertion had left me drained. I tried to keep myself conscious by reading the hoardings outside and talking to myself in my head about the others who crowded beside me. A lady coughs. A small child started to cry non stop. Right when I thought it was getting easier. ‘would you shut that thing up?’ I shout into my head. I’m never having children.

I passed my measly change to the conductor. He eyes me suspiciously. ‘student concession’ . he accusingly thrusts the ticket into my hands. "you should be paying me for traveling in your mad truck" I tell him in my head. Humph…!

Can’t you drive this thing any faster?........ are we there yet?...

nandini

Ticket talks

Hello folks! This message is coming to you from headquarters ......this is your very own Student Ticket speaking to you. You see... Ticket’s been thinking a lot lately…. Ticket wants badly to reach out to more people. Ticket needs contributions(no, no, no .....don't worry...it's not money we are asking for. we need articles and other fun stuff) from young and enterprising(ahem!) people like you. In fact, Ticket’s editors (read very smart and sexy, but unfortunately very lazy editors) are venting smoke from their ears and pulling their hair out as we speak. Poor things.So why don't you guys help them out with a few articles, a couple of movie reviews or something like that. I'm sure they wouldn't mind buying you a Dairy Milk if you did that for them. So come on people ......get writing.

Meanwhile, there is progress, Ticket’s editors are going ahead with their plan to launch a full scale youth tabloid which will rock your world!....which means you will get a chance to have your article published and read by all the young guys and pretty gals of Kochi .....yup, you heard right, the TICKET’s on !

i do?...... already?

Teen marriages in Kerala

Do you think that college going girls of the 18 or 19 are always hanging out with their friends, watching movies, giggling behind magazines and enjoying a carefree life? Then you're in for a rude shock because a lot of girls of this age are already carrying the weight of matrimony and associated responsibilities on their adolescent backs. the practice of getting girls married even before they turn 21 is so wide spread that it has become an acceptable phenomenon. And it is not restricted to a particular community or class or region alone. Even jean clad, Gen Y girls can be seen getting married in the first or second year of college.

The reasons for this phenomenon are many. Even though in Kerala feminist ideals are upheld and women's education is given much importance, the social and familial roles of a girl are still well defined as a wife and mother. Most families expect their daughters to find suitable matches as soon as possible so they can fulfill their societal obligations. In many families achieving a good education and career are considered less important than finding a suitable marriage proposal. Michelle, a 23 year old, now a Lecturer at a college in the city, says, “I’m dead against this practice and i think early marriages happen when the parents of the girls have orthodox mindsets and they consider their daughters a liability . In order to avoid the risk of them straying, they get their daughters married. " And all girls ,except the most determined, readily give in to parental pressure to marry early.

The legal marriagable age for girls in India at the moment is 18 (committees appointed by the govt are fighting hard to make it 16 and who knows, may be even 12 !). 18 is also the age at which a person has to concentrate most on her education and make life defining choices regarding a career. When a person gets married at this crucial stage,her priorities change vastly and there is a chance of education and career taking a backseat to raising a family. No matter how supportive the in -laws are, a lot of sacrifices would have to be made on both sides. Mohan Mangathussery, a management consultant and the father of a 19 year old strongly believes that girls should become more mature and financially independent before they tie the knot." What if the marriage falls apart? I would want my daughter to have something to fall back on in such a case", he says.

But there are others who feel education and marriage can go together. Yasmin, a 3rd year degree student who is expecting her first child says,"My marriage hasn't affected my studies in anyway .My family is extremely supportive and I'll definitely continue my studies".

There are other bigger problems associated with early marriages. Marriage is one of the biggest decisions in a girl's life. A girl of 18 or 19 is still a teenager and is going through all the confusions and difficulties an adolescent faces. At this age she is trying to figure out her own identity and what she wants to do with her life. A person at this age hasn't the maturity to take decisions on important matters like marriage. A marriage is a lifelong commitment and requires a lot of adjustments and understanding which a 19 year old might not have. Adjusting to a new family atmosphere and arranging your life around another person is not child's play.

There are also those who wish to marry at 18 or 19 for the sake of love. These are the girls who, with or without parental consent, get married to the 'man of their dreams' without fully realizing what they are getting into. Most girls confuse real life with movie style matrimonial bliss and jump into such marriages without giving it much thought. Some expect their partners to make their life 'complete' and worth living. This might lead to terrible disillusionments later in life. It is important to complete oneself first and to then find someone else to share it all with.

And if you feel that you've really found 'the one' for you quite early in life, wait a few years before saying 'I do' . If he is the right one, a few years won't make any difference. But if he's not, it will make all the difference in the world. Remember that a person can change as they mature - what seems perfect now may not look that way after a few years.

Dr.Latha Nair,a lecturer who got engaged at 17 , married at 19 and still went on to get a PhD and even a degree a from Cambridge, might seem like the perfect example that everything is fine with early marriages. But she firmly says “I’d never, ever, advice anyone to get married at that age. I was lucky enough to get a great husband and family, but I still had to go through a lot of hardships to get to where I am today - I had to make countless sacrifices. I've seen many students too getting married at a young age. Most of them could've done so much better academically if they hadn't married. I think that the ideal age to get married is after 23".Now that’s good advice from someone who really knows what she’s talking about.

So what do guys think of getting married to 10 somethings?. Bibin K V, a software professional from Cochin says, " I would rather my wife was educated and working than sitting at home idle."

So, all of you girls out there, think before you leap and say “no” when you need to. Take it slow, do all that you want to do and learn as you grow. Get all the wisdom you can get before you start your happily ever after. Until you get your own footing in this wild world, marriage can wait.

contributed by nandini m thilak, nidhi surendranath

THE STUDENT TICKET

Kochiites Ahoy!

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