Life, The Universe and Everything

दिए जलते हैं...

2012-02-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

One of the least noticed downsides of letting a radio station decide what you hear is that sometimes it comes up with a song which just pulls you in and doesn't let you focus on anything else. Here's one such song that came up for me a short while ago

Kishore Kumar's timeless voice, and some great lyrics about friendship, even if not completely true.

Of Agneepath & Agneepath.

2012-01-30T21:56:00.000-08:00

नाम विजय चौहान, विजय - दीनानाथ - चौहान. पूरा नाम.

In the original Agneepath (अग्निपथ), released in 1990, these lines served the purpose of establishing the character of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan (VDC) and of reminding the audience of his quest to vanquish those who wronged his father Master Deenanath Chauhan. In Karan Malhotra's adaptation, they are used more as a homage to the original, towards the fag end of the movie, which is a very wise move indeed since it would have been a near impossible task for Hrithik Roshan to match what Amitabh had delivered all those years ago. Just take a look at adult VDC's opening scene from the original

And if playing the role similar to the way Amitabh played it is near impossible, portraying Krishnan Iyer M. A. (pronounced Yum Yay) is well beyond impossible for any other actor. And since Mithunda is on the other side of 60 now, director Karan Malhotra did the next best thing that he could do - rewrite the story to not have a second lead and allow Priyanka Chopra's Kali to provide support and comic relief (which didn't turn out as well as expected I should say since Priyanka is clearly the weakest link in the movie, which is not to say that she has done a bad job).
Hrithik has done a good job of depicting a simmering and quiet VDC, who keeps his sorrows and desires to himself while freely distributing his wealth. His physique does not let him look like someone who has lived in a chawl for fifteen years but that does not take anything away from his performance. He has used his eyes to good effect and the scene where adult VDC is welcomed by a hugging Kancha is a great showcase for that. The conflict between his father's teachings and his actions on his quest for revenge are again expressed through his eyes. His vulnerability comes to the fore during the song abhi mujhme kahin and it is then that you actually start to feel for this VDC.
The rewrite kept the basic premise of the story same, and played with everything else. VDC is not a larger than life over the top bhai whom people worship and are ready to die for, he is a pure revenge driven soul who is not above assisting in pimping of girls as young as 12-13 years if it will help him build a bridge to reach Kancha (a sharp contrast to the original where VDC's mentors shoot him for not agreeing to indulge in drug trade, something he considers taboo). His basic desire is still revenge for the way his father was wronged, but it no longer gives the same importance to providing justice to his mother and a lesson to the villagers. He is more subdued now and keeps his desire for revenge to himself, even as he is tirelessly working for it. Even his identity as Vijay Deenanath Chauhan is not too well known. Within the basic desire of avenging his father's death, the original VDC was content with getting ownership of the village and Kancha behind bars (Kancha escapes and acts up for which he has to be killed, but that wasn't the plan), the 2012 VDC just wants to kill Kancha even if he has to blow up the entire village for it. He is also short on the planning department (who takes the pain of bringing loads of bomb on the boat but not a single gun?) because of which every time he meets Kancha in the movie he gets beaten to pulp, and it's only by way of some filmi inspiration that he is able to match Kancha physically. And you have to see the movie to realize why matching Kancha physically is such a tough task.
Sanjay Dutt has come very close to personifying pure evil in his role as Kancha. The original Kancha Cheena, played ably by Danny Denzongpa was a suave suited businessman who never got his hands dirty in pursuit of his business, no such restraints here. Pure evil is soulless, he does not have desires, attachments, reasoning or fear. There is no justification why he does what he does, and that brings about a certain unpredictability in his behaviour, which is a cause of thrill as well as fear for the audience. Sanjay Dutt's Kancha is pure evil, in looks as well as deeds. A good performance from him after a long long time, the clever use of visuals to establish his on-screen persona and the dialogues of Piyush Mishra, all do a fine job of creating a larger than life and scary Kancha. Looking at him you implicitly justify VDC's preference to killing him over reclaiming Mandwa, and you actually feel relieved when he is killed, which is a big big achievement for everyone who contributed to this version of Kancha.
Rishi Kapoor as Rauf Lala is a revelation, which is a great achievement considering he's already had along and illustrious career. Not even for a split second do you feel that he is out of place as the slimy underworld boss who doesn't skip a heartbeat describing, to possible buyers, a 12 year old up for sale. Nor do you squirm in your seat (as you did when Bomman Irani was fighting with Shahrukh Khan in Don) when he fights with Hrithik. His body language and dialogue delivery are near perfect for the role and I would not be surprised if he finds more offers for such negative roles coming his way in the future. Within the story, Rauf Lala replaces the four mentors of the original and is the stepping stone for VDC's entry into the crime world, though he remains in the equation much into the second half.
Om Puri, as honest and upright Commissioner Gaitonde, is adequate, though his role and Gaitonde's equation with VDC is not as well developed here. Zareena Wahab as Suhasini Chauhan (VDC's mother) is again equal to the task asked of her.

The director makes good use of striking visuals convey characterizations and to make an impact. Some of these would definitely stay with you for a while. It can be Kancha's entry (Sanjay Dutt's trademark gait) against a backdrop of the sea, the ill-fated banyan tree set against the evening sky, VDC's corner of solace atop his chawl building giving a view of the entire chawl or Rauf Lala picking out girls from a storage container much like what you do with goats.
In all, I liked this movie. It kept me involved for 3 hours, which is a tough ask; and it did not make the original Agneepath fan in me cringe, which was achieved by making it as an adaptation rather that a remake.

The movie could have been shorter, two of the songs were not needed at all. Gun Gun Guna actually went contrary to VDC's characterization and the less said about Chikni Chameli the better (actually let me say this, Puke Puke Puke). But as I said, it wasn't too big a deal for me since I was on board for three hours.
I would say go watch.

Also, consider watching this scene from the original while you here. This is when adult VDC first meets Kancha, so totally different from the new one.

ये मेरा दीवानापन है...

2012-01-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

"ऐसे वीराने में एक दिन

घुट के मर जायेंगे हम

जितना जी चाहे पुकारो

फिर नहीं आयेंगे हम."

Such strong lyrics, you would want to be heartbroken to be able to sing this. I leave you with three versions of this awesome awesome song, do listen.

First one is the original, from the 1958 movie यहूदी (Yahudi), in the ever melancholy voice of Mukesh, fittingly filmed on the tragedy king Dilip Kumar.

The next one is from the soundtrack of the movie 'The Namesake', sung by Susheela Raman. I am pretty sure this version does not have an official music video, I am posting the top result from YouTube here.

And this last one is the MTV Unplugged version of the above song by Susheela Raman, which is pretty pretty good.

Enjoy!

Week 10 and Helen

2012-01-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

"मैं सारे ज़माने के ग़म की दवा हूँ "

(I am the cure of all the sorrows in the world)

- Lyrics from Helen's song in the film अधिकार (Adhikaar).

In the book Helen - The life and times of an H-Bomb, author Jerry Pinto tells us just how close Helen came to personify these (and many other similar) words in her screen persona that extended across multiple movies spread over almost three decades. In doing so he doesn't just take us through the phenomenon that was Helen, he also takes this opportunity to take us through the myriad ways of Indian, mostly Hindi, cinema. This is as much a commentary on the phases of Indian cinema as it is on the way Helen, through the characters played by her, acted as a bridge between these. As someone who grew up on all sorts of Hindi movies, I can identify with the author's apparent unwillingness to openly criticize the movies that he discusses throughout the book, however kitschy or corny they might sound. The movie-buff inside the author, that is visible even as you're just a few pages into the book, got me more interested about the book. Over the years I haven't had much luck with finding good writing on Indian cinema. Whatever I got was either too snobbish - written with a holier-than-thou attitude that just put me off, or too pedestrian. It was thus a welcome relief to get my hands on a well-written and well-researched book on Hindi cinema.

As he very clearly mentions right at the start, this is not a book about Helen the person. In fact, the author has never met Helen in real life (though not for lack of trying). This is a piece celebrating the on-screen persona of Helen, the same persona that would sub-consciously cloud your mind whenever you read Helen's name in the opening credits no matter what generation you belong to. It is the author's argument that this persona was used by film-makers to establish the tenets of the moral universe within the movie. It was used as a frame of reference in movies to establish how high the protagonists sat on the moral ground. It was used to signal to the viewer the imminent downfall of the hero (before he saw the folly of his ways off-course) since the first things fallen/falling heroes did was to visit a setting (hotel/casino/bar etc.) where Helen was a natural part of the establishment. This would also serve as a contrast to the supremely pure heroine of the piece, and establish the moral depravity of the western society (puke) - because of Helen's Anglo-Indian looks. The author has done a very good job of classifying the various jobs that Helen's character had within this frame of reference. She was the moll, the accomplice, the personification of lust, the dirty secret from the past, and sometimes the love interest of the comedian. There are plenty of examples from movies through the years underscoring these roles, and they would prove very enjoyable reading for anyone who has had an interest in Hindi movies. Also, you should probably also be ready to realize just how deplorable Hindi cinema has been in terms of internalizing sexism, racism and the likes.

I also enjoyed the way the author chose his words throughout the book, they make for an interesting and funny read. Consider this, when trying to explain why Helen did not stand a chance as a leading lady of her times, the author has this to say...

The oldest explanation - she was ahead of her time - has some validity here. At the point of time where she burst on to the screen with her combination of vivacity, expressive body language and sensuous employment of movement, we had no use for these things.They did not fit in with the stereotype fixed for the heroine. A series of angels in white stalked the national imagination, their flowing clothes usually concealing all evidence of the body. They did not dance, they glided. When they smiled, it was from the Olympian heights of Virtue. They were happy in the confines of the home. They might throw it all up for love but the audience was always reassured of the purity of their passions. Duty came first, devotion next, love thereafter and nothing much mattered after that. The world of passion was tamasik (तामासिक); these women were satvik (सात्विक)

There are other gems like these scattered through the book and I would recommend you to find them out for yourself.

[Aside: My 30 week project is well on-course. I have been reading a lot, just that I haven't been able to post much about what I read, that's going to change (hopefully). Be prepared for some movie related books because that's what I have been reading these past few weeks.]

Happy New Year

2012-01-04T11:27:00.001-08:00

across the road, a photo by urmilesh on Flickr.

Whether you're a regular here, or just a stumbler, I wish you a very Happy New Year. May you be able to hold on to your resolutions for the entire month of January.

Be good.

Seven Eight Nine - The Thirty Week Project

2011-12-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

These three weeks included nine days of a very hectic India trip during which not much reading happened. I was able to get through two books over this period partly because I was determined to and partly because the books that I chose for these weeks were so damn funny.

I am talking about the first two books in the planned Dork trilogy by Sidin Vadukut.

You can find out more about the books here. The author's blog, and his twitter feed can also serve as a constant source of funnies alternating with insights (sometimes both clubbed into one).

The books follow the adventures of Robert Einstein Verghese through his life immediately after he completes his MBA (book 1) and then when he's on an assignment in London (book 2). All through this, he remains one of the most unlikeable fellows you can find, and keeping us interested in knowing more about someone like him is a great achievement on the author's part.
The books are in the form of a diary, complete with dates and times, and so the adventures of Einstein are conveyed to us in first person and through the prism of his own perception. It's real funny to see Einstein explain a complete disaster to his diary while downplaying his role in it (off-course his actual role is pretty obvious to the reader). Most of the times, if not always, the reader has a better understanding of the situation than Einstein. Einstein thinks he is god's gift to the management profession and should be treated as such, and his anger/frustration at being apparently short-changed is hilarious. I won't discuss the specific incidents from the book here, it's best to discover them when reading this book.

I think that the books are very close to the sweet spot length-wise. Reading a diary for too long can be monotonous, and there aren't too many conversations to break the flow of Einstein narrating his day to the diary. I for one would've wanted a change in the structure were it to go for 15-20 more pages than it actually did. The price-point helps too :-)
Also, the ending seems slightly abrupt, I would've preferred a slightly more panned out climax. Still, it doesn't take too much away from the overall good/fun reading experience.

Word of advice - if you're prone to sudden bouts of laughter then I would recommend not reading these in a public place, you might just end up drawing a lot of attention to yourself in true Einstein style.

juuuuummmp

2011-12-09T10:58:00.001-08:00

juuuuummmp, a photo by ☼ Helder on Flickr.

The folks over at flickr are taking submissions for your best shot of 2011. Even if you don't want to submit anything I would recommend spending some time with the submissions, here.
The pic here is just one of many interesting ones.

Five Six - The 30 week project

2011-12-05T12:01:00.001-08:00

Just because I wasn't able to post here doesn't mean I wasn't true to my self-assigned project :-)

For week five I picked up the much recommended Google Hacks by Rael Dornfest. It ended up being my book for week six too since getting through the book involved some do-it-yourself stuff on the laptop as well.

Before getting this book from my library I wasn't aware of it being closer to a reference book. Nevertheless, I had fun reading this one and would say it's a good one to keep next to your computer (if you're one of those who still has a desktop at home) so that you can try the self-contained hacks when you have time. Also, hack here means a neat or clever trick as opposed to a dirty trick, and it's meant to act as a tool to help you get the most out of Google (or to get you out of those situations when even google can't rescue you). There is also some space devoted to tricks that would help you amuse/fool your friends, but I think that would work mostly on the non-techie crowd among them.

If you are a non-programmer, the first few chapters are all that would interest you in my opinion, and they alone might not justify the price of this book. These are the ones focused on google search, other google properties (news, groups) and topics (government, macs etc.). They try to help you get to the information you need in the best possible way, and might make looking around the web interesting for you. The next few chapters are more geared towards explaining how you can use the various APIs provided by google to get to the enormous amounts of data that it serves as a gateway to. Some initiation into scripting/programming would be needed for these to make sense to you. If you do have some programming experience, then I would suggest spending some time with these, it would be fun.
The chapters suggesting tricks/pranks are okay in my opinion, not too great. As I said, they might work with a non-techie crowd, but I doubt that too. The last chapter is the one meant for web-masters. I can't comment on it since I did not actually read it.

The chapters are pretty readable, though I do feel they could have been organized slightly better. The content that's complemented with programming examples/tips makes up almost half of the book. I would say this is a nice book to have in your collection if you are a programmer and would have the time to try out some of the stuff, it might actually help you solve some work problems too. If not, then have a go at it only if you can snag a copy at your library, the price might not be worth your while otherwise.

The 30 Week Project - Week 4

2011-11-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

So on with my book for this week, the promisingly titled Getting Organized in the Google Era: How to Get Stuff out of Your Head, Find It When You Need It, and Get It Done Right by Douglas Merrill (former CIO of Google) and James Martin.

I have a self-imposed rule of not giving too much importance to self-help books. This one made it through my filters since it was a) heavily recommended and b) the premise appeared to be a bit different than your typical self-help literature. The author being a former CIO at Google definitely helped matters.
In the end, it proved to be a bit of damp squib for me, but not necessarily because of the being particularly unreadable. I was more shocked than disappointed since I already practice most of the stuff suggested in the book, and I would definitely not describe myself as organized :-) But I guess I would have been a lot worse were it not for my judicious (hey I have to call it that, even the former CIO of Google recommends it :p) use of the various tools available. It was especially pleasing to see him wholeheartedly recommend Things, the to-do organizer that I use on my Mac - also available on iOS devices (which I don't use). I have been using and appreciating things for a long time now, and I was somewhat surprised to not find anyone else using it - Mr Douglas is a first. Another aspect that I could identify with is the judicious (yes I am going to use it again) use of calendars to balance work and personal schedule. I have been a heavy Google calendar user since 2007 and totally rely on it to keep my life in sync and my schedule accessible on multiple devices. It was also nice to see someone show some love to MobileMe :-) for once.

But I digress, the book is what I wanted to talk about here. It is a book that has some nice tips on organizing your schedule, especially if you have easy access to a computer/laptop. It is heavily laced with personal anecdotes that don't always work. I guess there was some link between them and the tips in the author's mind, but it has not come out very well on paper. It could easily have been much thinner without losing too much value. If you are a techie then most of the stuff here would already be second nature to you in some form, so you might not want to invest time and money in this book. Even otherwise, it would be wiser to grab a copy from your local library and skim through it. I don't see the need to have a copy of this at home, you're not going to get back to it.

Disclaimer - my views, my opinions.

cloudy with a chance of rain

2011-11-08T14:22:00.001-08:00

cloudy with a chance of rain, a photo by urmilesh on Flickr.

Nice :-)

The beauty and the beast, in one

2011-11-01T10:46:00.001-07:00

Untitled, a photo by SeenyaRita on Flickr.

Don't miss the one hiding behind the owner.

The 30 Week Project - (2 week long) Week 3

2011-10-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to work, and preparations for Deepawali, the second week of my project lasted a couple of days longer than two weeks. But through it all I'm happy that I was able to stick to my rule of devoting only the non-productive time to the book at hand.

The book that I'm done with now is "Gandhi An Autobiography - The story of my experiments with truth", which, as I know now, was written in Gujarati originally. The style of the book is very simple and conversational, which makes it an easy read. The author didn't write it in one go, or take too much time out from his daily schedule to pen this. Instead, he tried to complete a chapter or two each week, which makes it easy for the reader to have breaks between chapters (and suited my reading pattern just fine).

The author is one of those people who bring out deeply polarizing opinions in people. I am yet to meet someone who looks at him objectively, he is either the Mahatma or the selfish politician who played favourites when it mattered the most - nothing in between. It has been my attempt for some time to look at people and situations objectively, and I feel I've succeeded to some extent with the exception of deifying Sachin Tendulkar (like right now it's pissing me that blogged has a red line under the words "Sachin" and "Tendulkar", what kind of text-editing software does not God's name in it's dictionary). It is with that context that I started reading this book.

As I mentioned, the book is fairly simple and fluid, though it does assume some knowledge of the events around the book's time. I would assume most Indians would have no problem with that, but if you are someone who is not too familiar with Indian freedom struggle I would recommend you to have some supplemental material at hand, maybe just Wikipedia. I would say it also assumes some knowledge about Indian caste system but I wouldn't be able to expand on that since I take most of that knowledge for granted. The author talks about his various trials and experiments in search for truth, and his application of the principles of truth in all matter of his life be it deciding the menu of the next meal or the next step in the struggle against India's British rulers. There is a whole lot of material devoted to the topics which most wouldn't find too engrossing, like development/evolution of his dietary regimen, but to me they demonstrate how devoted he was in trying to apply the principles of truth to each and every aspect of his life. There is criticism and acceptance of shortcomings, but somehow the worst of self-criticism never sounds as scathing as even the most constructive of critical comments from another person. This is an area where I feel biographies score over autobiographies.

The book was finished some 20 years before India became independent and so unfortunately it does not cover possibly the most turbulent of times in our freedom struggle history. It also predates most of the events/actions for which Gandhi was heavily criticized later (handling of Bhagat Singh hanging, choice of PM, handling of Pakistan etc.) I would love to read an account of those times from someone like Gandhi who's in the center of it all, hoping off-course that he would be as honest in recounting those times as he is in this book. Still, it provides a very informative window into the inner world of one of the most important people in our history. I say you should take out the time to read it, and try to remain objective :-)

Deepawali

2011-10-27T14:18:00.001-07:00

Deepawali, a set on Flickr.

some clicks from Deepawali in 2011.

Happy Deepawali :-)

2011-10-25T21:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Deepawali :-), a photo by urmilesh on Flickr.

I wish you a very Happy Deepawali. May you get to enjoy it the way you like it.

my screensaver

2011-10-24T11:54:00.001-07:00

my screensaver, a photo by urmilesh on Flickr.

looks real nice when it's dark, one more reason for me to try and have album art for all my music.

luxury across the fence

2011-10-20T23:59:00.001-07:00

luxury across the fence, a photo by urmilesh on Flickr.

stumbled across this old pic, taken at the Pondicherry coast

Early morning

2011-10-17T05:01:00.001-07:00

early morning, a photo by kestra_400 on Flickr.

My kingdom for a cup of well made, strong tea ;-)

The 30 Week Project - still week 3

2011-10-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have been totally swamped at work since I started Week 3, and so I've not made as much progress as I would've liked on the book. Actually, read that as no progress at all.

But I am not complaining, since I am enjoying this time at work, nice and interesting. Hopefully I will be back on Sunday with my view on the current book and my pick for the next week.

The 30 week project - week 3

2011-10-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

Week 3 of The 30 Week Project beckons, and it is this week that will test my resolve for the first time for I am totally inundated with work. Nevertheless, I will try to stick to it, and hopefully will be successful.

Week 3 started on October 2nd, the birthday of one of the most well known Indians. So I decided it would be the right time to get to a book that has been on my list for some time now. The book is "Gandhi An Autobiography - The story of my experiments with truth".

I have read parts of this book in Hindi a few years ago. Since then I've wanted to give it a complete reading but something or the other kept popping up. But now the stars have aligned in the form of my 30 week project, and my wife randomly buying this book, so I shall make full use of it.

I went through the first few chapters this morning on the way to office and what stuck out for me from the introduction were the bits where he asks the readers to not take like/hate any idea because he does so, but to go through his own experiments and form his own conclusions.

When a friend asks him, before he has started writing this work,

"What has set you on this adventure? ...Supposing you reject tomorrow the things you hold as principles today, or supposing you revise in the future your plans of today, is it not likely that the men who shape their conduct on the authority of your of your word, spoken or written, may be misled? Don’t you think it would be better not to write anything like an autobiography, at any rate just yet?"

Gandhi's answer is to state that his attempt is to give an account of his experiments with truth, which is what his life consists of. Though he stands by his convictions at the time, he does not consider them as the final word and does not want anyone else to do so too,

"...I am far from claiming any finality or infallibility about my conclusions. One claim I do indeed make and it is this. For me they appear to be absolutely correct, and seem for the time being to be final. For if they were not, I should base no action on them. But at every step I have carried out the process of acceptance or rejection and acted accordingly. And so long as my acts satisfy my reason and my heart, I must firmly adhere to my original conclusions."

When concluding the introduction, he says that

"I hope and pray that no one will regard the advice interspersed in the following chapters as authoritative. The experiments narrated should be regarded as illustrations, in the light of which everyone may carry on his own experiments according to his own inclination and capacity."

These provide some food for thought to those who quote Gandhi when it is convenient for them to drive home a point, and to those who blame Gandhi's actions/views/values at every given chance. He wasn't a perfect man, no one is. Giving him the title of Mahatma in some way took away his right to have flaws and the chance to improve upon them like every other human being, though he still kept at it.

The 30 week project - week 2 conclusion

2011-10-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

It wasn't too much of a reading week since I finished the book in a couple of days flat. Turns out that was for the best since I haven't had any time to spare from work since then.

As I'd mentioned, I'd taken up Lee Goldberg's "Mr Monk is miserable" last Sunday. It was a fun breezy read and for the most part it kept true to the portrayal that we have seen on TV. It was a good idea on the author's part to stick to Natalie's first person account of the events. She has the best view of Monk and the mystery at hand, and provides the much needed saner voice when Monk is going berserk in his own way.
As is common with Monk, investigating is something that comes as second nature to him and it isn't really the centre-piece of the tale so to say. That honour goes to Monk being Monk when experiencing Paris, trying to find order in chaos, trying to arrange all human skeletons by type in a Catacomb, trying to single-handedly clean up the streets of Paris, trying to close down restaurants that don't adhere to the Monk code of safety and hygiene (I doubt if there is even one like that in the world), if you've ever seen the series (go see it if you haven't) then you get the picture.

The best parts are those when it's just about Monk and Natalie, and their unique chemistry. It would probably fill up a whole encyclopedia if we were to try and write down Natalie's job description. The first person account helps us understand her predicament better and makes us sympathetic to her, even if we secretly want to her to get on with it and let Monk investigate.

Overall, a good read for Monk fans.

The 30 Week Project - Week 2

2011-09-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

I am assuming you know about the 30 week project that I am on right now. Week 1 was a success and now I am on to week 2. I'd this vague idea that I'll try and mix up the kind of books that I read, to prevent boredom from setting in. And so the book that I have started in week 2 is Lee Goldberg's "Mr Monk is miserable".

Monk is one of my favourite TV characters, and one of quirkiest detectives that you will ever see. His cases are always a mix of good fun (for the viewer) and great detective work. As I have discovered after buying it, this book is not the first but the seventh in the series of Monk mystery books, so I assume they have had some success, thus patting my own back for this impulse buy being a good one.
I have seen a lot of characters make their way from books to TV and cinema screen, this is the first time I will be following someone the other way round (full disclosure, I started on Sunday and I am already pretty deep into it). It looks like fun.

The 30 week project - week 1 conclusion

2011-09-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

So week 1 of The 30 Week Project was successful, partly because I stuck to public transport, mostly because the book that I was reading held my interest.

I had no idea who Rob Lowe is till I'd seen Sam Seaborn. Without having seen too much of his work, I can say with certainty that Rob Lowe would be hard pressed to not put Sam's name forward were he asked to present just one of his roles to showcase his work. As I often tend to do when I like something, I read more about The West Wing and that was when I came to know of his unceremonious exit from the show, the controversies surrounding his video-tape, the early fame and the late blossoming as a dependable and sellable TV star. The stuff that I read was interesting enough to get this book on my reading list when it came out, and I am glad that it did.

What I like best about the book is that it is in first person throughout. It is not an adult Rob telling you what a 10 year old Rob did, it is the 10 year old Rob who navigates you through those experiences, (re)discovering them along with you. This is not something that I come across too often, and I think it's a very neat way to put across an autobiography. Another aspect that I liked is that he's come across as a pretty honest bloke through the book. Maybe it helps that the controversial stuff is already in the public domain, he correctly assumes that anyone reading this book already knows the details and so he circles around them, neither giving a detailed account nor skipping them completely. And it works mainly because he does not hold back in the other chapters. The book is lively, engaging, and full of interesting anecdotes. As a cinema enthusiast it is especially fascinating to read of his early interactions with the Penns and the Sheens, and also the formation of the Brat Pack. His method of sharing an anecdote, saving the most interesting tidbit for the conclusion, keep you hooked and sometimes also makes your jaw drop.

As someone who got to know of Rob Lowe only in his post-Sam years, it was kind of strange to read of his addiction and rehab days. His years since then have been pretty fruitful, probably the reason for the contentment in his voice as he narrates to us the ups and downs of his life, stories that most of us would only tell our friends.

मैं यह सोच कर उस के दर से उठा था...

2011-09-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

मैं ये सोच कर उस के दर से उठा था

कि वो रोक लेगी मना लेगी मुझको

हवाओं में लहराता आता था दामन

कि दामन पकड़ के बिठा लेगी मुझको

क़दम ऐसे अंदाज़ से उठ रहे थे

की आवाज़ दे कर बुला लेगी मुझको

मगर उसने रोका ना उसने मनाया

ना दामन ही पकड़ा ना मुझको बिठाया

ना आवाज़ ही दी ना वापस बुलाया

मैं आहिस्ता आहिस्ता बढ़ता ही आया

यहाँ तक कि उससे जुदा हो गया मैं

- कैफ़ी आज़मी

The 30 week project - week 1

2011-09-17T23:18:00.000-07:00

Starting today, for the next 30 weeks, I will be trying to finish one book each week. By trying I mean that I will be putting all my non-productive time into reading (mostly commute time), without actually going out of my way to meet this imaginary deadline that I am creating.
Why am I doing this? Because I want to. Everything doesn't have to have a rock solid, well thought out reason :-) It's just one of those things I have decided to do on a hunch, and I plan to stick to it.

I started today with Rob Lowe's "Stories I Only Tell My Friends". I don't see too much of a problem in finishing this one on time :-)

Of timing, and ZNMD

2011-07-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said about timing, some even go as far as to say that timing is everything. If you want to see a simple yet beautiful example of that then the ending of Zoya Akhtar's latest offering Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ज़िन्दगी ना मिलेगी दोबारा) would be the perfect example. She ends the movie at just the right moment. Few seconds ago would have been too early and few seconds later would have meant overstaying her welcome (something even the most accomplished directors tend to do).

Which is not to say that the ending is the only thing worth looking forward to (as is the case with so many movies), just that it is the perfect icing on the delicious cake that is this movie. At two and a half hours, many might feel the movie to be too long, but I feel that even there Zoya got the timing right. One can always nit-pick and find weaker portions in the movie, but that would be missing the point.

On the face of it, the film looks to be about three childhood friends reconnecting, bromancing as it were. But you would soon realize that the movie is more about people connecting with their inner self, sub-consciously relying on their childhood friend or a new found love to tell them what they can't get themselves to admit. And they are wonderfully aided in this self-realization by some surreal experiences they are forced to have due to an old pact. What adds to the impact is that the filming of these experiences is top-notch. When Arjun is lost in the life under water, you are there right next to him. When Imran finally lets go and jumps off the plane, you are the one who has the birds eye view. And there will be more than one of you who will fidget in their seats to ensure that bulls stay away when our leads are being chased.
The story of the movie is pretty simple, what carries it forward are the performances, the chemistry between the cast, the smart dialogues and the direction. The screenplay is tight and ensures that scenes flow seamlessly, marking a coherent narrative. And every once in a while, there is a gem in the form of Imran's poetry (wonderfully written by Javed Akhtar, voice over by Farhan). The only other scenes that match the poetry voice overs in terms of impact are, ironically, the ones where nothing is spoken (you'll know what I'm talking about when you watch the movie).

I liked the movie a lot and can probably go on and on about it, but in an attempt to match Zoya for timing, I will stop here and ask you to go watch it. Also, if possible, watch it with friends.

दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है?

2011-07-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया,

जब ग़म का साया लहराया,

जब आंसू पलकों तक आया,

जब यह तनहा दिल घबराया,

हमने दिल को यह समझाया,

दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है?

दुनिया में यूँ ही होता है.

यह जो गहरे सन्नाटे हैं,

वक़्त ने सबको ही बांटे हैं,

थोडा ग़म है सबका किस्सा,

थोड़ी धूप है सबका हिस्सा,
आँख तेरी बेकार ही नम है,
हर पल एक नया मौसम है,
क्यों तू ऐसे पल खोता है?
दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है?

स्त्रोत - चल चित्र "ज़िन्दगी ना मिलेगी दोबारा" में इमरान की शायरी.

Of Male Vulnerability

2011-07-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

‘Pyar ka Punchnama’ is a movie that I’d been hearing a lot about over the past few weeks, and that scene (rant) from it is one of those that has been shared the most across the time-sink that is my Facebook and Twitter timeline. All that had given me an impression of it being one of the many forgettable comedies that the Hindi film industry keeps churning out, albeit one with a few laughs.

I was happy to be proven wrong when I realized that I was laughing harder than I had for a long time (in a Hindi movie), that I was not inclined to be updated on Twitter/Facebook while watching it (as I am prone to do when I am watching something at home that doesn’t have my complete attention). The movie has more than a few laughs, is very close to reality when depicting how guys in general and engineering grads in particular talk amongst each other (unlike for example the fruity exchanges shown in 3 Idiots ) - and this depiction does not come with the impression that the director is trying too hard to show that his guys are cool for speaking like this (as is the attempt here). The conversations are very natural, as are the scene settings - the guys house, though big and spacious, is a mess with the couch doubling up as a storage unit, the office-spaces are shown pretty much the way office-spaces are, most of the guys go for the 11 Rs per plate Aloo ka Paratha leaving the lush office cafe behind in real life (as does Liquid in the movie), and if the girlfriend of one of the guys is visiting all the other guys living in the house do tend to be in some other room, huddled together.
That said, the movie is decidedly one-sided in depicting the exchanges between the male and female of the species. That isn’t to say that all the stuff that has been shown doesn’t happen, just that gals would have their own share of justifiable pet peeves which are not for exhibition in this movie. Each guys’ equation with the respective gal is used to portray a specific negative aspect of the guy-gal exchange and as I said earlier, you get to see more of the guys’ side. He is the victim and she is the tormentor, that’s it.
Still, as the title suggests, this post is not about the movie and it’s treatment of relationships (you would be forgiven if you ask why then am I rambling about it, I said all that I said above since I wanted to say it and I didn’t want to do two posts for the same movie.). This post is about male vulnerability as depicted in the second half of the movie. I have seldom seen a guy’s total submission to his love depicted in a way as close to reality as this one. When Rajat’s girlfriend tells him that she is leaving him (and is looking at possible matches for marriage), all he can do is fall in her lap and cry with helplessness. No signs of any bravado, no show of confidence telling her that he is sure she can’t move on without him, no qualms in bending down and accepting his role as the lesser of the two in the relationship. All he wants is for her to tell him that she won’t leave him, and he is willing to do anything to guarantee that. I don't know a guy in love who wouldn't identify with that.
Liquid, on the other hand, knows in his heart that the girl that he loves does not want anything to do with him in the longer run. He knows that she is stringing him along just because she could use the help and because she is lonely at this point in her life. Yet he cannot help being at her beck and call, calling her multiple times to check on her, trying to spend as much time as possible with her, spending on her to the point of getting broke, and being miserable through it all.
Chowdhary is apparently the least vulnerable of the three. But that is in some part due to the fact that his girlfriend is the most obvious bad one, who has trouble understanding the basic tenets of commitment. It is still not easy for him to question her behaviour when they are in a relationship, and he does have to put up with a lot of stuff before he decides that enough is enough.
When the movie starts, our protagonists are three happy-go-lucky fellows who do not take too much tension about anything. Anything and everything that might cause some friction is handled then and there and then pushed to the back of the mind, never to be retrieved again. By the end of the movie these guys are literally pummeled into submission, losing all notions of self-respect and ego, two of them reduced to tears and hopelessness. This is a side of men that hasn’t often been depicted in Hindi movies in a non-filmy way, and the director needs to be applauded for that. Though you get more glimpses into the male mind and heart, it doesn’t mean that the women are cardboard characters. Just that for once they are shown properly in shades of grey rather than the good/vamp/bimbette that we are used to seeing them as.

One of the favourite line for many women is ‘All men are dogs’, watch this movie to understand how a regular guy is turned into one.

Of reading Hindi

2011-06-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

I read (or better completed) a Hindi book last week. After a long time I'd picked up a Hindi book to read and I was not sure that I will go on to finish it, so it was a pleasant surprise for me also when I finally finished it.

I've always considered my Hindi to be good, and though I never actively kept up with any Hindi literature, I was pretty sure that any reading material would not be beyond me. I was slightly taken aback to notice that it took some effort on my part to finish a relatively small sized book. I was not able to pin-point the meaning of many words (thank you internet, though I did have to look around hard in a few cases), I was not sure what exactly some phrases meant to convey (though I got the gist in most cases), and I was totally out of touch with most figures of speech. Thankfully, I kept at it and kept getting better at making sense of what the author was trying to say, until finally I was able to finish the book.

This made me realize that I cannot take my knowledge of Hindi for granted, even if it is my mother tongue. It has been a long time since I have had a full blown Hindi conversation with someone (even when I am talking to people whose mother tongue is Hindi), and if I count this book (and Raj Comics) out then I am not even sure which was the last Hindi book I read.

Thankfully my local library has a decent collection of Hindi books, and I will be making good use of it in the near future. This post is part what I feel and part a reminder to ensure that I do not fall back to the same routine again.

By the way, the book that I read was 'Apna Apna Hastinapura' by Sanyukta Mahanti. It is the story of a functional lower middle class family where each member is tied up in his own concerns and has certain view of others in the family. Each chapter is from the point of view of a different family member. This approach gets us involved with all the characters, there is no one protagonist, all of them take the story forward. If you have an interest in Hindi books you might like it.

My favorite piece from the story is when the author describes the need that the head of the family has for tea at certain times of day, and how it is almost a ritual for him to enjoy his cup of tea no matter what else is happening around him. I love this bit because of the fluidity with which he has explained the pangs that the head feels, and the calmness that engulfs him once he has his cup, I am slightly like that :)

A towel a day

2011-05-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

As lame as it may sound, one of my best experiences in life has been reading a book. It was a book awesome to such levels that even Barney Stinson would concede that it is way awesome-r than he is. And that book is 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'.

Now I can go on and on about why I love that book and what it means to me, but that would not matter to those who love/worship it like me, and would appear to be pointless rambling to those who (still) haven't experienced it. Being coherent is the last thing I would be able to do when talking about The Guide.

So why am I writing this post then you ask? Fair question. And the answer is that today is Towel Day, and I just wanted to do something to get that out to you. In the universe of The Guide, a towel is next to irreplaceable. In the words of the man himself:

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)

So if you can, do not leave home without a towel today. You never know when you might need it ;-)

Also, have a look at these folks at flickr and their towel tales.
And before I forget, thanks to Flickr blog for reminding me about today.

'Lashing' rains or not?

2011-05-22T11:56:00.001-07:00

It really pains me sometimes to see people still dying due to weather conditions that can in no way be called extreme. Like this news (8 killed after rains lash parts of Uttar Pradesh).

We should be able to prevent these deaths at least. Especially when it is clear from the news report that the deaths were more due to the poor construction of houses (okay there was a tree involved in one case) than due to the weather being too violent.

Wishful thinking?

The songs of Raghu Dixit

2011-04-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Have been hearing a lot of Raghu Dixit lately. Just putting a small post here to let you know that I like what I heard.

You should get a listen at http://raghudixit.com/music/ and judge for yourself.

The Silent Indian National Anthem

2011-01-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

This might have been done to exploit emotions, this might be a marketing ploy. But there is something special about this video.

I couldn't work for sometime after watching this.

Dhobi Ghaat (Mumbai Diaries)

2011-01-25T02:12:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if Dhobi Ghaat is an apt title for this movie, just 'Mumbai Diaries' would have worked better for me. Or maybe 'Bombay Diaries' since no one in the movie refers to the city as Mumbai anyway, not that I am complaining.

Most of our movie experiences depend on two factors - our expectations from the movie and our mood while watching it. This is one movie where these factors become crucial, really crucial. Most of the people watching the movie with me (not just my gang, the entire hall) did not like the movie and were pretty vocal about it (sadly during the movie also), I enjoyed it. This is one movie which wants you to let it be, had no pretensions of being conventionally engaging, does not offer any sort of closure for any of the lead characters, does not have any larger than life characters and does not have any item song (shudder!!!).

Yet it is engaging and interesting, makes you think enough for it to be called smart, and is funny and endearing in enough places. You are invited to view the lives of young Munna (Prateik Babbar, the best of the lot in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and very good and endearing here) and Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra, simply the most outstanding performer here), through the eyes of Shai (Monica Dogra, looking okay but performing just adequately) and Arun (Amir Khan being Amir Khan). As an added attraction you also get a peek into the lives of Shai and Arun.

Yasmin is the one you empathize with most even though she has the simplest story. You feel for her as she tries to find (or create) capture-worthy experiences in her apparently routine and to some extent boring life. Her interview of her maid and maid's daughter is easily the highlight of the film, the one scene where even the naysayers in my theatre were hooked. It was interesting to notice how Arun's attitude towards her story changes as the movie progresses. At the start he had her story at his beck and call, pausing and rewinding as he pleased/needed. But later, the story took over him and ultimately his decision (of moving house) was controlled by the story, a far cry from him having the control.

Munna is next in the list of characters that made you feel for them. He has dreams, and he is working towards them even though it is highly unlikely that he will be able to realize them, he keeps on working towards them. Even adding Shai to the list of apparently unachievable dreams that he has. Where the film succeeds is in making viewers also want the success of Munna. Prateik is endearing and honest in his performance and I feel this is only the second of many such performances.

Shai should have been the more intriguing of the two observers since she is an outsider, more than Arun anyway, but it is Arun who is sucked in more. Shai is in turn intrigued by Arun and is apparently oblivious to the feelings Munna has for her, though she genuinely cares for him and is in no way using him. Initially I felt that Shai was looking at everything with Slumdog Millionaire eyes, but her genuine feelings for Arun as well as Munna made me feel otherwise. Her story is the one that comes closest to a closure in that she has something to look forward to when the movie ends. Munna is looking at a life of responsibility and hardships and Arun is plain lonely, but she has a choice and a chance to pursue what she wants.

The best way to watch this movie would be the way Arun watches Yasmin's videos, at our own pace pausing/rewinding at will - continue if we are interested or just leave it. So once again I would say wait for the DVD, else you might be in the majority who won't like this experimental movie.

In one of the pre-release interviews Kiran Rao said she was not comfortable being known just as Amir Khan's wife. While I do feel she is a talented director, I think she will have to face that predicament for some more time. This movie would not have been made, analyzed so much, and gotten an international release without Amir Khan's name attached to it. Amir's name has a certain credibility which ensured that scores of people went in to watch a non-conventional movie on the first weekend of its release and the ones who liked it are a small subset of those people. Even the ones who liked it might not have gone for it had it not been an Amir Khan production. This was an Amir Khan film first for most of us. But looking at it, I feel the audience of a Kiran Rao film is already building up.

Road To Sangam

2011-01-22T23:12:00.000-08:00

'Road to Sangam' is a movie that was on my watch-list for a long time now, but somehow I never got a chance to see it, not least because it did not get a major release. Thanks to the Fremont Main Library that had a DVD, and to the lazy Saturday morning, I finally got to see it.

I have been watching a lot of movies that I could not catch up on when they released, and quite a few of the recently watched ones had Paresh Rawal in them - and I am in awe of the man now. I will do a separate Paresh Rawal post soon and so here I will keep my awe in check :)

'Road to Sangam' is the story of a simple man who is caught between the turmoil of his times. How he chooses to fight being a part of the herd and follow his heart, is what the film tries to depict, and it does a very good job of it

Paresh Rawal is Hasmat Bhai, the most well-written character and the protagonist of the movie, an expert motor-mechanic and a devout muslim. He lives a non-confrontational life and goes about his job with honesty and commitment. His life is thrown into a turmoil when his idea of religion clashes with the preachers. He believes in honouring his word, finishing the job he started - you can say that an honest day's work is his religion. But when he is unable to deliver on a commitment due to the local Muslim community leaders calling for a boycott of all work (to oppose of arrest of suspects in a blast case, and the death of an innocent in the stampede following a protest), he begins to question the decrees of those leaders. After much debate, with family, friends and community members, and most importantly with his own self, he decides to follow his conscience. The fact that the task at hand involves the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi makes his resolve only stronger.

The movie is about this thought. Can you follow your conscience against the face of any opposition? Everyone has a limit to which he will listen to his inner voice, as is seen by Hasmat Bhai's various friends helping him covertly. Hasmat Bhai is the protagonist because his commitment to his inner voice is the strongest. He may have his limits but clarion calls to toe the community line do not define them. It is the genuineness with which this thought has been portrayed that makes this movie worth a watch.

Sure, it has its drawbacks. It gets preachy at times, and the sermon to Mr Kasuri (a very one-dimensional Om Puri) by Hasmat Bhai comes very close to overkill. But most of the times the director stays far far away from pretentiousness. The characters other than Hasmat Bhai are not that well-written and do not engage you as much, except when they are interacting with Hasmat. Also, by focusing on one community, the director is providing ammunition to those who might want to dub him partisan. But I feel the story could as well have been set in any community and to look at it with a narrow vision would be a folly.

Paresh Rawal as Hasmat Bhai is a not a revelation since we know how good an actor he is, but it sure is refreshing to see him play a not over the top character for a change. Being from Lucknow, I can appreciate the nuances he brought to the role to depict an Allahabadi, and his portrayal of the internal struggles of Hasmat is too good. Pawan Malhotra, as the Maulvi was a revelation because it took me a while to realize that it is him. The voice that he used, the mannerisms, the expressions, and his diction all added to the character and showed how he could be revered by some and feared by others. Om Puri, as I said, carried the same expression throughout and didn't have too much to do. The rest of the supporting cast was adequate and the interactions that Hasmat had with them which made the movie watchable.

I would have recommended watching this one on DVD, but since it is not running in cinema halls anymore that is a moot point. It is not engaging throughout, and has a few troughs among more frequent crests. But the central thought has been depicted with simplicity and genuineness, and for that you should watch it.

UP :)

2010-11-11T18:09:00.002-08:00

"Up" to Ballard, originally uploaded by beatnikside.

A nice little reminder to hold on to things that are important to you.

Deepawali

2010-11-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

I wish a very happy Deepawali to all readers of this blog. And I leave you with one of my favourite Deepawali pics (all time favourites actually) with two of my best buddies. The underlying message is, enjoy your crackers but also care about your (and others') eardrums.

Have a good one.

showcasing iPhone 4

2010-09-27T08:50:00.002-07:00

my Own iPhone 4 {Explore}, originally uploaded by G d o .

Apple generally does a good job of putting nice pics of their products. But this one is pretty nice too :)

Something to think about...

2010-09-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

I am the last person you would call religious but I just had to share this.

I was working, listening to songs to drown out the voices/noises of the conference call Nazis around me, without paying too much attention to the song actually playing. And then these lines caught my attention.

Very apt, especially considering all the commotion surrounding the temple/mosque at Ayodhya debate. I am not putting the lyrics here or embedding the video because I feel you'd do well to listen to it.

The answer is here...

2010-09-21T01:50:00.002-07:00

Waiting, originally uploaded by Inside_man.

but she is looking somewhere else :(

A train station is where the train stops...

2010-08-31T06:04:00.001-07:00

Over the years the amount of time that I spend at a railway station has considerably lessened, I went to a station maybe twice this year. But I just love the hustle-bustle of a railway station in an Indian city and generally do not mind waiting too much (which is a good thing because of the schedule-adherence record of Indian railways :D).

This pic is of one of those rare times when I saw the Bangalore railway station a bit silent.

How to face your problems?

2010-08-18T04:31:00.000-07:00

Head on I say ;-)

the head belongs to this guy.

Sarnath

2010-08-16T03:00:00.001-07:00

I have been terrible at visiting places worth a visit if they have been convenient for me to visit. Twisted? I know. But I have been trying to rectify that and visiting Sarnath was one step in that direction when I last went to Varanasi. Though it was hot and humid I enjoyed it.

The Parliament Building, Ottawa

2010-08-06T04:35:00.001-07:00

One of the better buildings I have seen from the inside. This view is from the tower across the road.

snow no bother

2010-07-30T02:43:00.001-07:00

Bapu's statue in Quebec city, Canada.

Understand the signal

2010-07-30T01:59:00.001-07:00

As seen in one of the corridors in an offcie building I worked in. Chanced upon it today.

Stranded!!!

2010-06-04T10:34:00.001-07:00

Poor guys!!!
The owner stepped inside to get some coffee, and they were looking totally lost.

Be gone evil spirits

2010-06-02T11:30:00.001-07:00

scene from a snack shop near Ooty lake. I don't think these were for sale :-)

Studio 60 once more

2010-06-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

Six episodes into the first (and only) season and I am hooked. I am actually not watching more than one episode a day because I want to prolong the season one as much as possible.

It is one of the smartest shows I have seen (and I have seen a few) and isn't too difficult to follow either.
Why was this show cancelled?

Visitor

2010-06-01T10:52:00.001-07:00

He (or She?? I really don't know) said Hello when we stopped by on our way to Ooty. Attempts to feed him bread by some of us were unsuccessful, but we did get some nice clicks.

Studio 60

2010-05-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ever since I have been enthralled by The West Wing (West Winging as Amitabh Bachchan calls it), I have been a great fan of Aaron Sorkin's writing.

So it was with much anticipation that I started watching "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". 2 episodes into the series, and I have not been able to figure out why it did not get an extension beyond one year. Within the 2 episodes it has shown itself to be funny, smart, witty, not thinking audience to be dodos, giving enough of a glimpse into behind the scenes atmosphere of a TV show (applies to US only I guess) to elicit interest without being overbearing, and being played out by good actors.

I do hope that while watching the remainder of its one and only season I do not end up agreeing with the decision to cancel it.

God and his disciples

2010-04-28T07:47:00.001-07:00

The poster we took for the IPL match (Mumabi vs Bangalore) :-)

A tale of three centuries...

2010-04-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw GOD (he was still called Sachin Tendulkar then) bat in a stadium, it was an India-SriLanka test match in Lucknow. He did not disappoint me, he scored a fluent 142, India won the match, and I got my money's worth.

The next time I got to see him bat live, it was in Kanpur, in a one day match between India and Australia. Once again he stepped forward and treated me to a brisk century (100 off 89 balls with 7 sixes), India won the match and I was on top of the world.

The only format in which I have not seen him bat live yet is the Twenty-Twenty format. This aberration will be taken care of tomorrow when I get to watch his team (it literally is the Indian team of the nineties, they win only when he does well) Mumbai Indians in their league match against Bangalore (in IPL). So keeping the past tradition in mind, a century is in order and a win looks inevitable.

Can't wait :)

IPHONE and iphone

2010-04-07T12:09:00.001-07:00

how's that? :-)

Windmills (of Gods?)

2010-03-30T10:24:00.001-07:00

Some pics from our trip to Munnar back in 2008. This was the first time in my life I'd seen a windmill and I think I lucked out seeing so many of them. I was spellbound till the time our bus crossed that stretch.

test post

2010-03-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

this is a test post using mobpress on my phone. Please ignore.

So where do you want to go today?

2010-03-09T11:12:00.001-08:00

I have been a big fan of Nokia phones for a long time now. Even in the face of the numerous problems they make me face (too slow, crashing too much, unresponsive at times...), I have stuck to them as a loyal fan. During my recent trip to California Redwoods, the navigation system on my N96 just wowed me, trying to do its best to make up for the other issues.
Best part was when the navigator told my wife to observe speed limit :-) totally worth it.

May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss...

2010-02-24T00:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have been tagged by good friend Kadambari (yep that's her full name) to do something that I wanted to do but could not find the time to do, thanks to her for that (seriously).

So there is a book that Great Bong is writing (has written already actually, it's due out in March 2010) which I am definitely going to read. The details of the book are here, go have a look.

What you need to do once you are tagged is outlined here. To sum up, I need to share my ten most favourite lines from Hindi (or English) movies, and then let Great Bong know so that he can have a look - pretty simple. Oh yes, at the end you also have to tag five friends to do the same.

So here goes... (disclaimer - in most of the ones that I liked, you have to see/hear the dialogue to understand why I like it. Reading it will definitely not have the same impact).

"Aaya hoon, Kucch to le ke jaoonga. Khandani chhor hoon, Mogambo ka bhateeja." - Andaz Apna Apna

"Phone rakh, rakh phone...Teri Maa Ki." - Hera Pheri

"Teri jaat ka paida maroon, kaun hai be tu?" - Mithunda in Ashanti

"Zindagi badi honi chahiye Babu moshay, lambi nahi." - Anand

"Itna sannata kyon hai bhai?" - Sholay

"Mere mann ko bhaya main kutta kaat ke khaya." - Chinagate

"Munni meri behen Munni. Lambu atta ne tujhe lamba kar diya!! Maachis ki teeli ko khamba kar diya!!" - Gunda

"Jigar ka dard upar se kahin maloom hota hai? Jigar ka dard upar se nahi maloom hota hai." - Sharaabi

"Main jhootha to kutte ka jana, main sachcha to teri maa ka khasam." - Omkara

"Jaani yeh chaku hai. Lag jaaye to khoon nikal aata hai." - Waqt

These do not reflect my all time top ten, they are more like the ones off the top of my head. But they are still the ones I liked and remembered.

Now for the tagging - I tag Mohit, Vijay, Bhatia, Shukla and jatin.

May the best man win :-)

In the company of giants

2010-02-23T16:58:00.002-08:00

We (me and wife) made a trip to the Redwood forests in North California a week ago. The majesty of the trees has to be seen to be believed. Luckily, we got a chance to click this 'middle of the road' pic...let me add that it was pretty cold and I was shivering as hell.

The Gate

2010-02-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

It was great to drive (actually I sat on the seat next to the driver :D) on the Golden Gate bridge. Saw a lot of people cycling on it and later learned that it's a very popular activity, will do that for sure sometime.

Friends

2010-02-02T00:57:00.001-08:00

A blast from the past (Diwali 2006 to be exact).

Man's best friend

2009-12-28T06:15:00.000-08:00

Easy to see why :-)

Avatar

2009-12-23T03:35:00.000-08:00

It is not often that you are witness to a human-alien war and you side with the aliens - Avatar is the experience that will bring this change in you.

I'd been hearing about this movie for a long time now, and saw the first visuals only last year. And I was so hoping that it is not one of those movies where the special effects guy takes over as the director. Well it turns out the director here took over as the special effects guy, and found a way to let us peek into his mind and see what he is visualizing. Yes he did do that.

For once you will not feel betrayed at paying the prohibitively costly ticket prices, you might in-fact feel lucky to be able to witness something so path-breaking and so revolutionary for a couple of hundred rupees. As it happened in my case, you will also not mind the long wait for parking, the utterly mis-managed queues for 3D glasses distribution, and the jostling crowds. Yes it is that kind of a movie.

There is nothing much to say about the story, it is fairly predictable. But the depiction, the visualization and the execution are AWESOME. Every little detail has been tended to, and there is so much rich content on the screen in almost every frame that you just HAVE TO watch this in 3D. I am hoping to get a chance to watch it in IMAX for my second viewing. Yes a second viewing is a very real possibility - It is such a great movie.

Hindu mythology says that Vishnu will come to earth in an avatar whenever the right is over-powered by the wrong; and he shall do so for not more than ten times in total (out of which nine incarnations are already past us). There is an interesting theory on PFC about how Avatar is the story of the tenth incarnation of Vishnu. It is very well possible that JC himself is the supposed tenth guy burdened with the task of salvaging movie-making (since the world seems to be beyond Vishnu's saving power anyways :P) and Avatar is his way of doing it. Yes, it is such an act of brilliance from him.

Go watch it, in 3D.

Siamese Fruit

2009-12-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

saw these at the pantry area in my office. Ever seen anything like this?

Opera Browser

2009-12-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

This post has been a long time coming (better late than never I guess). I have been a long time user of the Opera browser (around 4 years now) and have been mighty impressed by its performance.

In the sample space of Internet Explorer (6, 7 and 8), Firefox (2, 3 and 3.5), Safari, Chrome and Flock; Opera has come out as the fastest, sleekest, and the first to provide most new features. It is available across all popular platforms and works the same on all of them. I am really not sure why it hasn't as much market share as I believe it should have. They have also come up with the best mobile browser I have come across.

This is not even remotely a detailed (or superficial) review of the browser. Just wanted to put in a good word for a product that I have come to love.

The week that was...

2009-11-29T19:32:00.005-08:00

So there were no daily posts last week since I am still deciding on the best way to upload from phone.

I covered around 3000 Kms over one and a half days - on flight and car. Was awesomely impressed by the condition of roads nearer home, and was very happy to eat on a road-sidedhaba again. I did take some pics, and here they are.

A pic a day...

2009-11-24T20:24:00.003-08:00

Tracking my life one photo at a day was something I started way back in 2006, with the idea of going back to the pics at the end of the year. But I didn't post as many pics as I would've wanted and so re-visited them only on reaching 100 posts. Spent a very engrossed morning re-living all those memories and felt that this is something I want to continue doing. Especially since uploading from phone is easier now than ever before.

So here's to a new beginning.

Test Cricket

2009-11-22T03:29:00.000-08:00

I consider myself a test-cricket fan. Though I do not find enough time now to follow test cricket on the TV, I do try and keep up with analysis from a few places. Kartikeya is one person whose writings on cricket I have come to admire over time and his latest post on test cricket is something I consider a must for all cricket fans.

Maya Ki Maya

2009-11-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Maya ki Maya

2009-11-03T06:54:00.002-08:00

The statue of herself that UP's chief minister got erected, I like the 'handbag' touch.

Kaminey

2009-08-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

Since I posted last (which it seems was SOME time back), I have seen a number of movies; have liked some and hated some. But none of them got me to write something about it, for a number of reasons. Kaminey is one exception, and a pretty good one at that.

First, I am pretty thankful that there are some directors who do not require us to leave our brains at home when we come to watch a movie (because it's pretty much impossible to do so). Because I do not like spoon-feeding, non-linear narratives generally work for me (not the regular flashbacks that are so prevalent). And though Kaminey does not have a very complicated non-linear narrative, we do need to stay focused to understand what is happening on the screen, and to the credit of the director, it is not very taxing to stay focused.

The performances are first-rate. If Omkara made me notice Deepak Dobariyal, then Kaminey had Mikhail (I missed the name of the actor who played this character). Shahid Kapur brought enough nuances to the twin roles he portrayed, this was pretty different from what he had done till now. Priyanka was adorable, Amol Gupte was effective. Actually everyone fitted what he/she played and so a blanket 'well played' is in order.

There are some scenes which I want to mention for the way they were conceptualized/portrayed but I guess I will hold off on that for now.I do not want to share the story here. Not because there is some high-voltage suspense, but because it would be better appreciated as it unfolds in front of you. So what I am saying is, take your brains with you and go watch Kaminey.

Oh and Yes....the music is awesome and very well used in the movie.

the simple things in life

2009-08-14T00:08:00.002-07:00

So it was my niece's first birthday last week, and she got tons of presents. But what made her the happiest were the wrapping papers :-)

I, Robot!

2009-07-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

Judgement Day, anyone?

The King is gone...

2009-06-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

"HIStory" Written and Composed by Michael Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis

He got kicked in the back
He say that he needed that
He hot willed in the face
Keep daring to motivate
He say one day you will see
His place in world history
He dares to be recognized
The fires deep in his eyes
How many victims must there be
Slaughtered in vain across the land
And how many struggles must there be
Before we choose to live the prophet's plan
Everybody sing...

Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty

Don't let no one get you down
Keep movin' on higher ground
Keep flying until
You are the king of the hill
No force of nature can break
Your will to self motivate
She say this face that you see
Is destined for history

How many people have to cry
The song of pain and grief across the land
And how many children have to die
Before we stand to lend a healing hand
Everybody sing...

Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty
Every day create your history
Every page you turn you're writing your legacy
Every hero dreams of chivalry
Every child should sing together in harmony

All nations sing
Let's harmonize all around the world

How many victims must there be
Slaughtered in vain across the land
And how many children must we see
Before we learn to live as brothers
And leave one family oh...

Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty
Every day create your history
Every page you turn you're writing your legacy
Every hero dreams of chivalry
Every child should sing together in harmony

A soldier dies
A mother cries
The promised child shines in a baby's eyes
All nations sing
Let's harmonize all around the world

White lines in the sky

2009-05-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Most of you would have seen the trail of a high speed plane in the sky. It looks like a line of clouds and I don't know about others but as a kid, I was convinced that these were rockets being launched into outer space.

Today I saw one such plane and the same white line. I thought out loud that it's not very often that we get to see this white line now, and was wondering why has the frequency reduced. My friend gave me the answer that hit me hard, mostly coz it may be true: It's not that the planes have reduced, we have stopped looking into the sky as often as we used to.

girl in the frame

2009-05-16T23:55:00.002-07:00

Is she watching the girl in the frame, or is the girl in the frame watching her?

Counting Day

2009-05-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

My first brush with counting day was sometime in the late 1980s (I think it was the time when Rajiv Gandhi lost power but I am not sure). Those were not the times of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and counting had to be done manually, so it went on for a few days. There were discussions on the TV this whole time (TV meant only DD then by the way) and my father and his friends used to be glued to television this whole time. Everyone used to bring the news paper from his home and the news paper boy was asked to deliver all the papers for those few days so that they had the benefit of the analysis from as many fronts as possible. There were animated discussions, points, counter-points, bets, long winded discussions not leading to any conclusion; and all this came to an end only with a formal declaration of the election results. Being in government jobs, most of them opted for casual leaves at this time; and those who did go to the office, simply continued with the group in the office.

I used to sit in with the group of uncles every chance I got, though I never understood much of what was going on. The constant flow of tea was one major attraction for me (yep I am a tea fanatic since then) but the main attraction was the impression I was able to create amongst my friends because of the time I spent with this group. I would get some sound bytes, and then impart this knowledge to friend in school as well as in the colony, with the air of someone who knew what he was talking about. It really does not take that much to impress 9-10 year old boys anyways; gals of any age are a different story all together ;-). Simple things like knowing the names of more that 3-4 news papers, or 3-4 political parties, or knowing who will be the next Prime Minister (not that complicated a question at that time) was a big hit in the gang.

Switch to today, the counting started at around 8 AM, and by 12 we knew what was gonna happen.
Not fun; not fun at all :(

vote for me

2009-04-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister asks people to vote for her so that she can do to the whole country what she has done to the state of UP.

Well that is exactly what I am afraid of...

Gulaal

2009-03-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

It is surprising in a way that this is the first Anurag Kashyap movie I have seen (since I watch pretty much anything) but I can only say this : 'better late than never'.

One of the most difficult tasks at this time would be to find faults with this movie simply because it has been so well made. And it gives me a bad feeling to know that it will not make as much money as a film good as this should make; but I guess the makers also knew this beforehand.

The movie packed a whole lot in itself and as such can mean different things to different people and the impressive part is that none of these different people would feel short-changed by the director. For me, it was about the extent to which politics has crept into our day to day lives, even in personal relationships. The way Dileep is exploited by Kiran (obvious to everyone but Dileep) and the way Kiran is exploited by her brother Karan (which is not as obvious); reflects at a personal level how the office of general secretary is exploited by Dukey Bana at a political level. In the end the clear winner, or the last man standing, is the one who was the least obvious in his manipulations; which says a lot about how politics is played out.

The strengths of the movie are many: dialogues, songs (used very effectively as background score), performances, screenplay, use of lighting (notice the place where Dileep and Ransa reside, and also the scene when his highness learns of his son's death...you will know what I mean) and the writing. What's great is that every character has story and a part to play, no one is a filler. And nobody's story is dictated out to you, you are assumed intelligent based on the fact that you bought a ticket for this movie.

I would recommend this movie to all who love good cinema...and would like to say that Anurag Kashyap and Piyush Mishra have gained a new fan who is starting his research on them as of now :-)

Mithun Chakravarti

2009-03-06T01:48:00.001-08:00

Mithun Chakravarti, originally uploaded by Meanest Indian.

What can I say? I am a fan :-)

I Must Go Down to the Sea

2008-12-22T01:26:00.000-08:00

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

This is a work of John Masefield and I am not totally sure if I can use it on a blog. If I can't then please do let me know. I just wanted to share it since I liked it.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2008-12-16T03:33:00.000-08:00

The Star of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
by Jane Taylor, 1806

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder ? what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the trav'ller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often thro' my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

'Tis your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the trav'ller in the dark:
Tho' I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Single's Day

2008-11-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

I have been informed that today is single's day. Apparently it falls on 11/11 every year and gives a chance to singles to celebrate their singlehood.

I am surprised how come the greeting card manufacturers have not yet utilized this idea. So far I have only heard of single (possibly desperate) guys drowning their happy single faces in loads of booze; not that they need a special day for it anyways.

Anyways, why this little piece of information was given to me was because, apparently, this is my last single's day as a single. So any ideas on how to celebrate it are welcome :)

A different kind of airshot

2008-11-10T00:36:00.001-08:00

, originally uploaded by more fernandez.

I'd love to be the photographer for this ;-)

Time Warp

2008-11-05T21:52:00.002-08:00

Invariably since the time I have moved out of Lucknow (actually before that also), one of the best and most relaxing times have been with my school friends. It is with them that I stay in a time warp, and I kind of like it there.

These are 2 pics from my most recent trip to Lucknow...where, surprisingly, 10 of us were able to meet up (we have a gang of 17)...and it was fun (not so much for the poor Barista staff).

books help you rise up in life

2008-10-24T05:17:00.001-07:00

day two seventy five. leaning tower of thought., originally uploaded by ::reflecting truth::.

seriously!!! Take a look for yourself :-)

Holi memories...

2008-10-08T05:28:00.003-07:00

just stumbled across this pic accidentally today; made me realize how much I miss being in Lucknow on festivals. And to top it all, I am not going home for Diwali :-(

Square Root of Three

2008-10-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

I fear that I will always be,
A lonely number like root three.
A three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight?
Beneath a vicious square-root sign?
I wish I were a number nine.

For nine could thwart this evil trick,
With just some quick arithmetic
I know I'll never see the sun,
As 1.7321
Such is my reality,
A sad irrationality.

When, hark, just what is this I see?
Another lonely square root of a three.
Has quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply.
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer.

We break free from our mortal bonds,
And with a wave of magic wands.
Our square-root signs become unglued,
And love for me has been renewed.

As much as I’d like to say that this is a composition of mine, I’d have to divulge that this is a poem used in the movie Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay, it is recited by Kumar near the end of the movie. Though his girlfriend says it is lame; I think it is awesome.

Welcome to Sajjanpur - movie review

2008-09-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

There are times when, quite unexpectedly, you discover who you really are; what you really like; when you really laugh...and if you are a movie person like me then most of these times will come when you're watching a movie. Last weekend told me that my sense of humour is twisted in some ways because I found myself laughing all through Zohan...and I wasn't the least bit surprised to see that I was not laughing the loudest in my gang; and yesterday I realized that I can even laught at real world problems or very real looking people...only requirement is for a master story teller to tell that story in a funny way.

And Shyam Benegal has done just that. He has taken a setting in a very real world village, not one of those filmy villages you see in movies almost always (Lagaan included). I could very easily think of similar people in my village in eastern UP, and that is when I don't visit there that often; and he has told their story...no no...he has made us see their tale from the eyes of Mahadev (nice performance by Shreyas Talpade). Their problems, their griefs, their daily trials, their dreams...and while it is nice that we enjoy and admire their dreams....we also laugh at their problems. Agreed the story unfolds in a very light-hearted manner...and there are some places where even the stoic of faces will show a grin....but still, it's someone's grief we are laughing at. Did Shyam Benegal realize that the only way he can ensure a large audience for his close to life movies is to view them humorously?? rather than seriously...I don't know.

Well, this thought apart...the movie is a very nice collage of everyday characters from a village that could be anywhere in India. No one seems to have been cast out of place...everyone has done justice to their part; and in turn to the story. A movie which will not disappoint you...and make you feel that even the highly overpriced tickets at these city malls are justified. One thing I particularly liked was the dialogues of the movie; they have been written very well and the delivery matches the writing. And thankfully, the accent has not been toned down....that is something that adds to the movie.

Go watch...

What happens in Vegas - should have stayed in Vegas

2008-09-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

YAWN!!!
That's the first and the last thing that I remember about the movie...in between there are a number of other things also, but none of them could take priority over it :-) That, in effect, sums up the movie for me.

I am one of those who pride myself on knowing how the movie will be (again for me) by watching the trailer. And from the trailer itself this movie seemed to be one I would not pay to see; but the ticketing software of PVR Bangalore took care of that and gave us 4 tickets to this movie when we'd boooked 4 for 'Righteous Kill' (one which is also not very high on the wanna-watch list).

The movie is one of the 'Rom-Com' genre and does nothing which hasn't been done before. It is completely predictable, except for bits and pieces here and there, and that is what spoils the fun. It is the story of Jack (Ashton Kutcher) who is fired by his own dad at the start of the movie; and Joy (Cameron Diaz) who is dumped by her boy-friend right in the middle (more at the start) of the birthday party that she has painstakingly organized for him. They both go to Vegas to forget everything, and do just that...accidentally getting married in the process.

Oops!!! Did I just gave away the story? No I did not since this much is shown very prominently in the trailers, as also the part where Jack wins 3 million dollars in Jackpot the morning after and that makes the idea of annulement of their recent marriage rather unattractive for Joy.
The rest of the movie is about how they try to stay together for 6 months for the sake of money, how each one tries to make life hell for the other, and how they fall in love eventually.

Nothing wrong with the story actually...nothing wrong with the movie as such also; except for the fact that it gives you a feeling of 'been there done that' and that too a number of times. The actors are ok...Cameron Diaz has started looking old, and the jokes more or less fall flat.

Watch it if it's coming on TV...don't spend money on it.

That was easy

2008-09-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

Long back I'd said that I am trying to move to a piracy-free life. Well I did realize that is mighty difficult but my efforts are ON.

One of my friends, who has no competition for the crown of "PIRACY KING" recently bought an original music CD (soundtrack of the movie Rock ON)...and the reason was that in the end credits of the movie the producers had asked the viewers to not download the songs but buy the music CDs in case they like the music. I didn't know it was that easy on the part of the film industry to curb music piracy. Simple 2 step procedure:

Ensure you create good music

appeal to the music fan inside the music pirate.

It may not work on all of the people; but hey, something IS better than nothing...isn't it?

I am back

2008-09-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

long time no see...I know I know; and to top it all, there was no reason at all for it in particular :-)

anyways...what counts is that I am back and I intend to be majorly regular with my writing...lots of drafts are languishing in "My Documents"...except for the outdated movie reviews I intend to let them come out.

So be ready ;-)

Goose bumps

2008-08-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia

Goose bumps, also called goose pimples, goose flesh, chill bumps, chicken skin, people bumps, or the medical term cutis anserina, are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong emotions such as fear or awe

Well I got a first-hand experience of a goose bump caused by awe when I saw the National Anthem (though just the tune) played in Beijing when Abhinav Bindra won the first individual gold for India in the Olympics. More than the medal and the name he got; I feel being the cause of this should make Bindra proud like anything :-)

And I know there will be finger pointing souls telling us how this is too little for a nation of more than 1 billion people. I want to say to them..."shove it".

The Grudge - The Musical

2008-08-12T05:23:00.001-07:00

I just wanna play my music 5/52, originally uploaded by caitlyn marie.

cute shot...and as she says...she has clothes on :-)

Hands

2008-08-01T06:56:00.001-07:00

Lois, originally uploaded by Oeil Photography.

Haveli

2008-08-01T06:55:00.001-07:00

winter medley, originally uploaded by mugley.

my childhood was spent in our own home and youth is passing in flats here and there.

how I long to have a home again!!!

The Haunted

2008-08-01T06:53:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by Benoit.P (censuré).

The eyes always (well almost always) express something that the rest of the face cannot.

Passionate

2008-07-28T07:12:00.001-07:00

Passionate, originally uploaded by Velocity Girl.

when you are done drooling...you can notice how well this has been clicked :-)

The Dark Knight cometh :-)

2008-07-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Quote of the day

2008-07-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

Recycling is the masturbation of energy policy.

Source here

It starts again...

2008-07-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

The annual ordeal in Mumbai, that is.