The Dark

We humans have this uncanny interest in all that is "Dark". Although not many are aware of it but somewhere inside us there is this attraction.. maybe interest... curiosity or plain and simple way of expressing what I want to say is we are all intrigued by the "dark".

Recently "the dark knight" movie has broken all time records ever at the box office. Is it only because it is a flick or may be it is because the evil character played by Late Heath Ledger is so dark that it connects with audiences of all age groups (not to mention the exceptional job that heath has done in portraying the dark Knight in all its glory). Remember the Spider Man 3 where our friendly neighbor hood spider man gets acquainted with his dark side.

Before anyone gets the idea that this is going to be a posting about movie reviews let me try and get it back to the theme which is "the dark".

The dark in any form intrigues me... but the one to which I connect the most is "the power cuts". The darkness caused by the absence of light. Its a different world to sit in the room where there is no light. The normal every day routine surroundings take a different form and identity when explored in the dark. The best example that comes to my mind is that of a story by Frank Kafka"The Metamorphosis" where an ordinary boy turns into a Giant spider and how he chooses to be in the dark all the time in his room so that his family will not see his flawed appearance. In all black atmosphere he takes refuge from his harsh reality.Various furnishings of his room like a simple sofa becomes his hiding place... under it he finds safety and comfort ... his room takes a whole new meaning for him in the dark....

I remember the long power cuts and how excited I would get when there will be no power in the nights. Am sure my mother felt differently because she had to fan us till we went off to sleep. But for me the minute the power went off it was time to explore my dark world where I would come up with stories like walking alone in the forest... or pretending to be an adult on an adventure trip. One of my favorite themes would be to be with huckleberry fin and be part of his adventures... sometimes I would pretend to be hanging out with Oliver twist... as time passed I realized my preferences have changed. Today whenever there is a power cut I still do retreat in my dark world I have realized that I enjoy walking in the dark, taking a stroll (for real in the known surroundings)... or when I am in my room I usually try and imagine myself as one of the characters from the books which I would be reading and live in the world of the book as per my understanding and imagination.

Another form of darkness that catches my interest is the paranormal. I still am not sure whether I believe in paranormal or not but I sure am very interested in it. I remember even as a child I would dig watching flicks that dealt with the other world. But few months back I remember watching "The exorcism of Emily Rose" and had a dream more like a nightmare where I really did feel as if my interest in Paranormal or evil is not one sided maybe it too was getting interested in me and thats when I decided to stick with the dark that surrounds me and makes me feel safe and comforts me rather than the one which engulfs me in its rage of destruction.