Chak De India!!!!

Finally saw the movie everybody in the world has seen......my verdict in one word?
"SUPERB"!!!
After a longish time, a movie made me sit on the edge of my seat and wish.....go India go!
A fantastic soundtrack, committed acting and more that anything, is the way the movie makes you feel........you laugh, you cry, you get goosebumps and you stand up and cheer. At the end of the day, thats what entertainment is all about isnt it?

Am beginning to think maybe, just maybe, bollywood can think beyond its regular mix of dishoom dishoom, meri tumhari bacche ki maa banne waali hoon, namesake heroines and larger than life heroes. :)

As long as there will be movies like Iqbal, Dor, Chinni kum, and now CDI, there will always be fans like me.........

Definitely a well made movie this!

http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/cdi/cdi.html

The Circle of Karma- Kunzang Choden

A very enchanting tale of a woman and the journey she makes from birth and beyond. This is the first time I was reading something by a Bhutanese author and I must admit I came away impressed. There is nothing hidden in this novel.

It is a beautiful description of the reality of life and the struggles of being a woman in the Himalayan kingdom. Deeply influenced by religion, belief and karma, this tale is about a journey Tsomo, the main character takes.

It is a story of her life and the travails in them. It is about how everything you do comes a full circle someday. It’s about realizing who you are and where you eventually want to go.

My conclusion- Captivating read but requires some patience to get the flow!

Can You Hear The Nightbird Call- Anita Rau Badami

An absolute outstanding weave of a story.

The story of three women and their entwined lives. This magnificent book is about Bibiji (Sharanjeet Kaur), Leela, and Nimmo. From the narrow streets of a small village in Punjab, called Panjaur, the lanes of Bangalore, to the opportunity filled Vancouver, this book covers everything.

This tale brings forth the pain and the trauma that take root in their lives, caused by some grim realities in Indian history including the partition, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the subsequent terror that followed a particular sect and the bombing of Air India Flight 182, Kanishka, where all 329 people on board were brutally blown up in a terrorist attempt………

It is a tale of want, ambition, and how deep beneath the skin, everyone is related by his or her circumstance to each other. This book is so true in it narration the reader can almost reach out and touch the lives of its characters. This novel clearly depicts the closeness one feels towards one’s countrymen in a foreign land. It talks about the bonding that might be forced but is a necessity to survive in a home far from home.

A very well written story, the author manages to make you grimace at some of the descriptions of terror. It is however a book that leaves you sad in the end, because no matter how much you wish what you have read is not true; the reality is that there is nothing that can be changed now.

My favourite line- “Coincidence? Perhaps. Chance brings lives together in unexpected ways and breaks them apart with equal randomness”

My conclusion- A definite must read! Brilliant candid work!

One for the soul................

Life is like having a cup of coffee. You sit by the window, lift the cup, take a careless sip and find no sugar.
Too lazy to go for the sugar, you somehow manage with that sugarless cup. On finishing you discover undissolved sugar crystals settled at the bottom.
Thats how life is.
We do not make any efforts to value what is around or within us. So look around, may be the sweetness you are looking for is closer than you think.

One for everyday at work.........

Never argue with a stupid person. First they pull you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

One for belief......

Let your faith take the first step even if you don't see the entire staircase

One for Romance......

"If you love someone,you say it, you say it right then, out loud, or the moment just.....passes you by" ( My Best Friend's Wedding)

One for Life......

The most amazing songs ever......sweep me away everytime i hear them.

Thousand years- Sting

A thousand years, a thousand more,
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs
To a tower of souls
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,
The towers rise to numberless floors in space
I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face

A million roads, a million fears
A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty
I could speak a million lies, a million songs,
A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time
But if there was a single truth, a single light
A single thought, a singular touch of grace
Then following this single point , this single flame,
The single haunted memory of your face

I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head

I may be numberless, I may be innocent
I may know many things, I may be ignorant
Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands
Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands
I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times
Reborn as fortunes child to judge anothers crimes
Or wear this pilgrims cloak, or be a common thief
Ive kept this single faith, I have but one belief

I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
til you love me

*************************************************
Old friends- Simon and Garfunkel

Old friends, old friends,
Sat on their parkbench like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
of the high shoes of the old friends

Old friends, winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settle like dust on the shoulders of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today,
Sharing a parkbench quietly
How terribly strange to be seventy

Old friends, memory brushes the same years,
Silently sharing the same fears

**************************************************

The Boxer- Simon and Garfunkel

I am just a poor boy and my storys seldom told
Ive squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmmmm

When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station, runnin scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Li la li...

Asking only workmans wages, I come lookin for a job, but I get no offers
Just a comeon from the whores on 7th avenue
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Now the years are rolling by me, they are rockin even me
I am older than I once was, and younger than Ill be, thats not unusual
No it isnt strange, after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

Li la li...

And Im laying out my winter clothes, wishing I was gone, goin home
Where the new york city winters arent bleedin me, leadin me to go home

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
Yes he still remains

Li la li...

*****************************************

Random musings………..

Whining about life is a constant time-pass
Having probably heard enough from me, one of my friends asked me to list out the three greatest worries of my life…….
The question left me stumped! Even after complaining so much, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him that would classify as a “worry” that wouldn’t subside after some point! Everything moves on and time heals, even if you refuse to believe it at first.
Future, life, relationships, work- all uncertainties in someway but nothing that you can actually control, fight or rebel with, then why do these things worry us in the first place?
Heartbreak, loss, pain, loneliness- it all eventually goes away doesn’t it?
Which one of us doesn’t go through the “can’t meet a deadline, boss sucks, work sucks even more, can’t define a personal life” routine at some point in our lives? Most of us live through it day in day out.
I have discovered after falling several times, that learning to laugh at your goofiness is an art. It sets you free. After some point letting it go is the best policy to adopt.
Things can only worry you if you let them worry you.

Saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- what a terrible way to fit a marvelous book in a couple of hours of cinema. All effects, no soul movie. Leaves you cold.

Reading P G Wodehouse. The man really does leave you short of superlatives. I haven’t read a single book of his where I didn’t end up smiling. For me he shall always remain the best author ever.

Cooking is clearly God’s gift to a select few. The others should stop trying.

One of my closest friends recently got married. The youngest and the most spirited, and clearly the baby of the gang.
Fills my heart with joy when I see her so happy and full of love. Bless them. I still can’t believe we have grown up so much we are all ready to build our own nests. Wasn’t it yesterday that we bunked classes and caught the first day first show Shahrukh movie? When we spoke about clothes and cars and boys? Roadside chaat and saved up religiously to buy that glorious pair of jeans………..time flies doesn’t it?
Maybe, just maybe, marriage is not such a bad idea to think about in the future ;) till then I am born free……..

Over and out.

Writing after a longish time……..forgive the rust
Caught up in the mundane daily work :)

Ever wondered how radio has changed our lives?
I travel quiet a bit every morning and evening to work…….. Leave home when its dark and get back when its darker……
Some days are worse than the others…you just don’t want to wake up…..don’t want to leave the nice warm comforting environs of your blanket…..but you get up anyways……you curse the world……you curse the system…..you wish something…….anything……would just give you an excuse to stay back….be a kid…….then you sigh…..no divine intervention……no such luck……you wake up still mumbling how the world conspires against you and hates your sleep……
You move at a sluggish pace……slower if possible……
No matter how much you try……you still want to sleep!
You walk towards your stop……..you wait for your transport…..
You enter the cab……you feel like the grinch so you growl at the driver when he smiles and says hello……
You slothfully walk towards your seat……
The cab moves……
You think to yourself…..this isn’t so bad……maybe I can sleep now……you close your eyes…….
The driver switches on the radio at a volume that even the stone deaf would oppose……
Suddenly there is music everywhere!
You wake up with a start and if you could you would be willing to stab the driver……
You grumble again……mumble under your breath…..
You have no choice but to listen……
An annoyingly cheerful RJ telling you what’s happening in your city…..you begin to listen with a frown…..someone calls the station…….says he loves his wife, she means the world to him….wants to dedicate a romantic song to her……..in your head you smile……think “aaaaawwwwww”……a soulful number comes up……you don’t know when you start humming…..
You are now listening with all ears……..addicted…..
You listen to the ads……they fly past you……you listen absorbedly to the songs and wish…..oh so badly wish……that they play your song next………they do!……you feel joy…..you are now fully singing the song in your head……brings back memories……of people…..of situations……of some good times…….
Before the song ends….you don’t know it……but you are smiling…..a certain peace fills you……the world isn’t such a bad place after all huh?……the cab stops, the RJ is still telling you whats new in your city……work beckons……you are still humming…….you bid a bye to the driver....one lopsided grin deserves another....
You are ready for another day……..

Happy new year to every passerby.........
Only two ways to go down from here.........lay back and think about the past dreams or wake up and pursue them........
I hope for whoever is reading this, may your worries last as long as your new year resolutions! ;)

Bangalore
Over the past few days, a lot of traveling in Bangalore city has made me think long and hard about what makes this place such a potpourri of cultures and influences…
It is………
A city where at every nook and corner, there is a “darshini” or a “adigaas” offering you south Indian “fast food”
A city of Baristas, Coffee Day……and filter coffee
A city of umpteen bookstores
A city of pubs and multi cuisine restaurants
A city where the autowallas carry mobile phones, speak in her majesty’s English and always have faulty meters
A city where, on the same street at the same time, you will find a sleek looking BMW and a completely oblivious cow, each making their way someplace else
A city that is sweltering in the morning and sees rain in the evening
A city passionate about its theatre and movies
A city where every street has seen a game of galli cricket
A city of malls and roadside stores
A city where no matter where you go, a cyber “browsing chat games” center is always around the corner
A city where the traffic never moves and the roads are better not taken
A city of modern architecture and ancient values
A city where you can get by without knowing a single word in kannada
A city where “swlapa adjust maadi” is the unwritten rule
A city of unfinished flyovers and new ring roads
A city where every way eventually turns one way
A city of green parks and tiny lakes
A city of matchbox flats and rich individual homes….and slums
A city for the nouveau rich, the poor and everyone in-between
A city, where if you throw a random stone at ten people, nine and a half turn out to be techies
A city where the music ranges from suprabhaat to head banging rock
A city where countless traditions mix and form a delightful medley
A city where lies my home………… :)

have managed to reach the dreaded writer's block :(
wonder when this detour from regular inspiraton will end......
just read the little strip........looks like that happens to all great people eh? ;)

Last day on this earth as a 23yr old..........
Old Age is vigorously pushing down the tightly closed back door...........I wonder if Wisdom detects the open windows??? ;)
It has been a year of some meaningful ups and some equally severe downs.
All said and done, somewhere along the ebullient journey last year I discovered that every cloud, no matter how dark and dismal, has a silver lining....…...just need to keep the faith and if you still can't catch a glimpse of it.......take my counsel and do the next best thing…………w-e-a-r g-l-a-s-s-e-s ! :)

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

It’s by far, one of the most gripping stories I have read in recent times. A completely “unputdownable” book!
A beautiful riveting saga of Amir, a boy whose past haunts him till, as a man, he builds up the courage to fight his demons and Hassan, the ever steadfast and true friend who will die before he goes against his master.
The Kite Runner is spellbinding story of friendship, loyalty, courage, honour, trauma, family relations, religion, violence, prejudices, secrets and life’s uncertainty.
This book is a chronicle that not only covers the physical barriers of lands from Kabul, Afghanistan to San Francisco, America but also the invisible limitations of the mind.
In a nutshell, this book is a riveting and vivid tale of a journey that compels its reader to travel along.

http://www.khaledhosseini.com/
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/kite_runner/

My favourite sentence: “…….I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”

Doordarshan Part 2

For all the true fans out there, given below are links to some doordarshan serials/ title tracks that came on air at different points in TV history.
The links came about due to the sheer gusto of a close friend, who refused to stop finding links till sleep overcame him…..thanks ashwin!….. This is really a priceless find!
Although a majority of these links are for doordarshan goodies, there are a few links to glorious cable tv shows as well.
Enjoy and relive those memories!

HE MAN

STREET HAWK

• Street Hawk
• Street Hawk - Test Drive

MILE SUR MERE TUMHARA

EK CHIDIYA ANEK CHIDIYA

AGATHA CHRISTIE--- Mrs Marple.

MALGUDI DAYS

BHARATH EK KHOJ

JUNGLE BOOK

• Theme
• Jungle book
• The bare necessities
• Trust in me
• Colonel Hatthi march
• Mowgli smitten

TALESPIN

DUCKTALES

TINTIN

DANGER MOUSE

CHIP 'N DALE RESCUE RANGERS

THE WONDER YEARS

BLOSSOM

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

BOY MEETS WORLD

THE NEVERENDING MOVIE TRAILER

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH

BAYWATCH

lol! i dont quite know how i was convinced to put baywatch.....but there is no denying almost everyone i know has seen atleast one episode in their lifetime :)

Completely random and crazy friends can be a windfall sometimes.
Especially if they have access to the net…..that means they send you completely random and crazy forwards.
Got one today…..and it converted a dreary day into one that had a lot of laughs and memory that will last for sometime!
The forward was totally juvenile! It urged you to take a test online to determine what kind of sports car you are!
That sounds cheesy enough to put off any sane, normal and regular member of the human species.
I, on the other hand, actually took the test.
Good thing I did….because how else could I have found out?…..I am Porsche 911!!!
Infact, the exact words used were “You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite, and you know it.”
Such articulate words work wonders!
It's amusing how even though you know it's all bogus smooth talk, it felt superb and childishly superior to be equated to your all time favourite sports car……
I better sign off now before I get a forward that urges me to find out what kind of fruit I am most likely to be in the unknown afterworld……
And to all the crazy and random people out there……may your tribe increase!
Vvvrrrrroooommmm…….

Just saw Ice Age 2 – The Meltdown.

If you are an animation fan like me, then this movie should delight you. It’s worth every little penny and then some more. This charming sequel has the three characters (Manny, Sid and Diego) return to another adventure in the world where the ice is melting and threatens to flood the valley where all the animals exist.
However, one has to admit that Ice Age 1 had a better storyline and was faster paced.
The first movie establishes the endearing lead characters and the relationship they build.

The Meltdown, on the other hand, brings in a host of new creatures from the animal kingdom and could confuse a new viewer.
All in all, the movie is completely in the “feel good” genre and the dialogues are funny/sarcastic enough to get “children of all ages” laughing.

My rating ****

Continuing with poems, the one poem that always manages to make me smile is by the poet Ogden Nash.
It’s funny, spot on and gets its point across!

What Almost Every Woman Knows Sooner Or Later

Husbands are things that wives have to get used to putting up with.
And with whom they breakfast with and sup with.
They interfere with the discipline of nurseries,
And forget anniversaries,
And when they have been particularly remiss
They think they can cure everything with a great big kiss,
And when you tell them about something awful they have done they just
look unbearably patient and smile a superior smile,
And think, Oh she'll get over it after a while.
And they always drink cocktails faster than they can assimilate them,
And if you look in their direction they act as if they were martyrs and
you were trying to sacrifice, or immolate them,
And when it's a question of walking five miles to play golf they are very
energetic but if it's doing anything useful around the house they are
very lethargic,
And then they tell you that women are unreasonable and don't know
anything about logic,
And they never want to get up or go to bed at the same time as you do,
And when you perform some simple common or garden rite like putting
cold cream on your face or applying a touch of lipstick they seem to
think that you are up to some kind of black magic like a priestess of Voodoo.
And they are brave and calm and cool and collected about the ailments
of the person they have promised to honor and cherish,
But the minute they get a sniffle or a stomach ache of their own, why
you'd think they were about to perish!
And when you are alone with them they ignore all the minor courtesies
and as for airs and graces, they utterly lack them,
But when there are a lot of people around they hand you so many chairs
and ashtrays and sandwiches and butter you with such bowings and
scrapings that you want to smack them.
Husbands are indeed an irritating form of life,
And yet through some quirk of Providence most of them are really very
deeply ensconced in the affection of their wife.

Came across a rather dog-eared book of poems by Robert Frost lying in a quiet, unscathed corner of my room.
This well-expressed versifier has written two of my all-time favourite poems.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it's queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep…….

The Road Not Taken.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Rain! Puddle!! Splash!!!

Indomitable winds,
An abrupt tranquility,
A soft rumble in the distance…
Gentle pitter-patter,
Grey, almost melancholic, skies.
Parched greedy soil,
The earthy scent of the first rains.
Seemingly infinite showers.
Emptying roads,
Scurrying people,
Everything looks a shade darker.
Puddles on the road…..
Wet happy urchins,
Rapid metamorphosis from searing to refreshing.
A budding hope for…..
Uncontaminated novel beginnings.

Have you ever been held up in a lift that didn’t go either ways?

I have.
Being stuck in a dark lift all alone can only lead to two things; hyper-ventilation and consequent screaming (neither of which I am very good at) or profound thinking, to take your mind of harsh reality…..
I chose the second option.
The night before I had been talking to a close friend about how Doordarshan was a major part of our childhood entertainment memories. Now standing in darkness, my thoughts wandered in that direction again…….

My first memories of Doordarshan, stem from Dr Ramanand Sagar’s monumental epic-Ramayan. As a kid, the costumes, the dialogues, the “effects”, and the “oh so dramatic” situations filled me with wonder! Mystical stories of demons and beautiful princesses left me craving for another Sunday.
When Mahabharath came along, the costumes, the effects and the situations just got better. Who can forget the soft yet unyielding voice at the beginning of almost every episode that said “Main samay hoon……”

My thoughts come faster now…….. Randomly I think……
He- Man and Jungle Book…..
Stone boy and Potli baba ki…..
Vikram aur Betaal……
My favourite Malgudi Days and Katha Sagar, weaving enticing tales by Chekov, Maupassant, Saki, Bond, and so many others…..
The thrilling Kile ka Rahasya and the comical dreamer, Mungeri Laal ke haseen sapne….
Wagle ki Duniya and the ever so unlucky Mr Yogi……
The enlightening Surabhi and the enchanting Bharath ek khoj…..
Humlog and Buniyaad…….and Nukkad...
Chitrahaar and Superhit muquabala….my dose of Bollywood songs and gossip…
British comedies….Yes Minister, Black Adder, Mind your Language….
The dapper Hercule Pirot, the handsome Byomkesh Bakshi, and the bordering on goofy, Tehkikaat…….
The man, the machine……Street Hawk!
The advent of Indo British ventures…..Tandoori Nights and Jewel in the Crown.
The biased pro government news and the regional national award winning sub-titled movie every Sunday afternoon……..
Independence day and Republic day…..patriotic speeches, the magnificient Red fort and the parades……..
Rukavat ke liye khed hai……

Suddenly, the commercials hit me……
“Raju ke daant motiyon jaise kyon chamak rahe hai?”…..Dabur laal daant manjan!
“washing powder Nirma”
“Lijjat Pappad”
“Glycodin”
“Vicco Turmeric…nahin cosmetic”
“Parle-G”
“Rasna”
“Humara Bajaj”
and who can forget………… “Gold spot- the Zing thing!”

It’s funny how I still haven’t forgotten “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara” and can sing every line of “Ek chidiya anek chidiya” with this much enthusiasm now.

The thoughts slow down a little, I wonder what this cable addicted generation is missing out on? Sometimes too many choices don’t generate lifelong memories.

The lights come on…. I snap back to reality…….. The lift moves upwards…. stops on my floor……I step out……I am humming “jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai…….”
I smile and vow never to take the stairs again…

Why am I writing a blog?
Surely it’s in the enthusiastic hope that somebody might read my musings, connect with it and go “there is another person who thinks just like me!”…..or it could be and this is the more likely cause, two weeks of excessive indulgent lounging, a completely numb top floor and almost total intellectual degeneration force me to want to do something new….. ;)
Today someone told me how "your desire to do stuff is inversely proportional to the time you get".........it's simple really, everybody knows it and yeah! life is ironical!
Either ways, here I am…… :)