It’s Einstein’s birthday, and we’re time travelling this weekend

2003-04 || Finance minister Jaswant Singh referred to Albert Einstein stating that he endeavoured to make easy something that which Einstein found so difficult. What was he referring to? Ans: Income tax. Albert Einstein had ruefully observed that he found ‘Income Tax the most difficult thing upon Earth to understand’. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

'There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there.’

It’s Albert Einstein’s birthday weekend (March 14, 1879) and we are still trying to understand all that he has written and theorised. He has been quoted and misquoted and his picture is plastered over coffee mugs and tee-shirts of self-professed science nuts. If you wish to be amazed by this man’s genius, then you should travel to Bern, Switzerland and visit the History museum that has a permanent exhibition that explains his life and works. Of course, it is dramatic in its presentation, with a spectacular mirrored staircase that will leave a terrific impression on your mind as you walk through this man’s life and work.

"Time and Space are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live," he has said. And when you have the weekend to ponder the gravity of that statement, what better to watch than a tale of young time travellers who want to set right a wrong. See You Yesterday is perhaps a newish version of Back To The Future, but this time the film deals with race issues. Two bright African American kids with time-traveling backpacks and a moral dilemma are inspired by Einstein’s ideas of time and space...

But how do you communicate with Aliens who land on Earth in gigantic space ships? The linguistic relativity is brought forth beautifully in the film Arrival. At first viewing, you are merely awed by the sheer vision of the director Denis Villenueve, but then you realise how beautifully layered this science fiction story is. An adaptation of the short story called The Story Of Your Life by Ted Chaing, you will see no little green men or gigantic machines decimating us with space rays, just large space discs that land on Earth and stand there motionless. It takes a language expert to figure out what ‘they’ want from us. The movie is an incredible watch, and deserved all the awards it received.

However, if there are aliens who want to take over our planet, then will you believe a premonition? In dreams that have kept a man awake? Or will you just be the first to confront an invader and die? I watched Extinction starring Michael Pena movie on Netflix and it made me take a second look at family and friends and co-workers. How ready are we for sudden changes in our lives? Changes that literally swipe the ground from beneath our feet.

What if you could travel across time and nations and find yourself in a Kingdom where the resurrection of a king will open up many secrets… How would you face the undead who ravage villages? This South Korean period drama has everything from politics to horror to great action. The second season has just dropped on Netflix and if you start now, you will understand why it is called ‘Binge Watching'.

And before you know it, you are asking What Happened To Monday. I am still travelling through time, digging up hidden gems for you to watch. This dystopian world of single-child families is interesting simply because we are living on a planet burdened by its own population. India has tried the two-child per family ‘Hum do hamare do’ policy and failed, China has had to fix its one-child policy. If we don’t find an alternative e home, a second Earth, we will perhaps end up being forced to live in a regimented world.

From the future to a past where two powers with trigger fingers itching to push the nuclear buttons were pushed to a corner in a world we know for their food and music. The Coldest Game will take you back in time - the Cuban Missile Crisis - and will put you on the edge of your sofa with its story of intrigue and political machinations and game playing. If you ignore the baggage of the American propaganda - patriotism and all that jazz - that comes along with the film, and if you are a fan of Bill Pullman, then the film is a decent watch. Just don’t be picky about chess.

If uncovering crimes that have foxed the police for decades is your thing, then be prepared to dive headlong into an action-packed horror-thriller called Twin Murders: The Silence Of The White City. It shook me so much I had to take a couple of breaks and make myself a strong cup of tea. For someone who seeks out a good scare, this film turns out to be wholly satisfying.

Let’s get back to the man who was born to help us understand time and how it works. If it weren’t for him, we would not have understood that the higher we live above the sea level, the faster we age. Say what?! Time does run faster or slower depending on how high you are and at what speeds you are traveling. So when you come across a science fiction film set like Groundhog Day, then you are forced to watch. Is this lad’s day repeating itself? Why? Is this something he imagined? Is it real? I am glad I watched Arq, and perhaps you should too, and let me know what you think, eh?

Einstein explained his theory simply, ‘When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes and when you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it feels like two hours. That’s relativity.’ Now think of how automatically you slip into the ‘next episode’ mode and ‘skip intro’ for the best of shows, and how when you are made to analyse numbers it feels like a drag...

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication.