Time Less

The last time I quoted Casablanca, I had not watched the movie. I am not particularly fond of war stories- I have not been able to finish many epic, bestselling novels which have the backdrop of war. So I was sceptical about Casablanca too. And now I can safely say that all my doubts were totally misplaced.

I started writing this post with a lot of things in mind, which I wanted to put here.. But now as my fingers are running over the keyboard trying to type them- I find that they all fail to match up to what I truly feel about the movie.

I guess that everything that I intended to say, is already captured in that song..

This day and age we're living in
Gives cause for apprehension
With speed and new invention
And things like fourth dimension
Yet we get a trifle weary
With Mr. Einstein's theory,
So we must get down to earth at times
Relax relieve the tension
And no matter what the progress
Or what may yet be proved
The simple facts of life are such
They cannot be removed
You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when two lovers woo
They still say, I love you
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by
Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny
It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.

Yes.. Some things will always remain the same.. As I hear stories of jealousy, adultery, hatred and deceit- I think to myself- are we not looking at just the supposed end of all those stories here? Is it not apparent that all of them must've begun with love? And if only that love had taken the right path, we would have hailed the same stories as stories of faith, courage, perseverance and patience.

As I watched Casablanca, I realized that whether it is Radha and Krishna or Rick and Illsa- they will always continue to inspire people to do the right thing. But what's the right thing? I am afraid that it is not something that can be formulated and published for everyone to follow- it is something that each one has to decide for oneself.

And contrary to popular belief, doing the right thing is not about sacrificing what is precious to you- it is about knowing that what's precious to you would always stay with you, no matter how far it seems. It is to treasure the moments which made it beautiful and to know that ...

... We'll always have Paris..