Silly Gilly!

Adam Gilchrist slams Sachin Tendulkar accusing him of not being a "sport".


Raj Thackeray ko phone lagao!


What on earth were you smoking Gilly?! I am sure the Buchanan's coaching manuals didn't have a chapter on Marathi Manoos

Gilli Dhand... aahh!

"Gilchrist's views make it clear that he isn't a fan of Tendulkar, who has been a hugely admired figure in Australia ever since he first played in the country as a teenager in 1991-92."

"Gilchrist not only accuses Tendulkar of being a bad sport, but also goes on to criticise his role in the 'monkeygate' scandal involving Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds earlier this year in Australia."

courtesy: IBN Live

Who do my loyalties stay with? A cricketer who I, we, have all grown up on and deified, or a gentleman like whom they don't make any more?

hEnry Thomas

courtesy: YouTube

Da Da Win ci Code

off... dance-down... drive... aggro... gentle... hoist...

silk... slash... steel... smooth... smile...

monarch.... madness... majestic... elegant... eloquent...


glory... guts... gumption... gore... gifted...


God

Wall-E xquisite!

A truly fitting tribute to the man who I haven't necessarily held in high regard for reasons.
A bulwark, anyway.

Can Billo Barber make the right cut?

What Rajni Kan't,


Shahrukh, Can?

Generally Speaking!

courtesy: Shoshana Brackett

I finally reached home coming out in absolute awe of this apparently affable general. It was only a godly intervention and call that made me walk to it.

It only struck me later that holy shit, this was a four-star U.S army general I was dealing with. He needn’t have been a Secretary of State or a National Security Advisor to be that punctual.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a personality, I thought to myself. I was indeed expressive of my appreciation for him. It came out naturally I realized. Such was his impact in those 45 minutes of crisp, smooth, clear, peppy, humorous talk. I feel when people reach summits others could only dream of, they tend towards simplicity in all aspects of life. Simplicity becomes their tool so much so that mere mortals are baffled. Is it so easy being this simple? Was being simple this simple?


While the address abounded in some regulars like “Terrorists can never change the nature of who we are”, it was also peppered with the following which really made it worthwhile.

“I think one of the things the next president has to do is restoring a sense of confidence ... and restore the confidence that the rest of the world should have in us because we’re basically the same America we’ve always been but we’ve lost some standing in the world in recent years.”

“And we have to regain that I think by listening to others and hearing what others have to say to us in the world. ... The first priority is reach out to the world and listen ... and be very, very realistic about what we’re able to achieve and understand we can’t achieve without friends.”

“We have been a land of immigrants. Let us welcome more people into it. Yes, after some jolts we have received, we are a little circumspect and will do everything that will not jeopardize the security of our nation. But that should never stop talented and deserving individuals from coming here. They pay full fare (grins), they learn, they teach, they contribute to our growth. Then they go back, contribute to their economies. I think that is good because that is the only way to drive, keep them away from terrorism.”

Powell addressed as a keynote speaker in the 2008 HD Leadership Summit organized by the business school.
“The essence of all leadership is follower-ship. ... The job of a leader is to inspire ... so they are self-motivated.”
“Talk to enemies. It’s easy to talk to friends.”


Was Colin hinting at the circle of life when he recounted on how he was the most powerful and influential diplomat in this world, next in power only to the U.S president one day, and the following day he was a normal man walking down the road?

Then he went to narrate a heartwarming tale that was met with respectful, sober applause.

“I still walk up to the hot dog store in Park Avenue, New York, which I frequented even I was the Secretary of State. Only this time I wasn’t one. I enter the shop, order mine, and when it is time to pay up, the man across the counter refuses.”

and continued Colin Powell in a much mellowed tone as if almost orchestrated to elicit that sympathy,

“Aren’t you General Powell?”

“Yes!”

“I cannot charge you Sir. Only I know how this nation welcomed me when I was nothing and only I know where I came from. This nation has paid me enough Sir. I cannot charge you.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will he be the same person who I had only seen on television and was definitely awe inducing? Will he make it on time? I have heard of their discipline, punctuality and all that jazz. Will the most powerful diplomat in the world do it? Will he set an example? Or is it that even they are like us, human?!

No sooner than I entered the coliseum flashing my pass, than he started his address.

8.00 PM sharp

oh! it's elementary, my dear

Just when the cynic in me thought all adverts were aimed at eyeballs with no iota of sensitivity, or honesty, here is a piece that should silence me for some time. It only makes me reiterate that eye-popping visuals go to the background when you are bowled by the concept in the message in question and the honesty to go with it. This applies to any medium.

Being away from T.V for a while now, I reckon this is easily one of THE best ads I have seen in a long long time, quite ironically on the tellytube.



video courtesy: Dow Chemicals, YouTube

nano ya na nano

What a contrast! While one has been seeing constant rebirths or retouches with the current ugly duckling out in its 4th generation, but current nevertheless, the other hasn't quite started revving yet.

Give me my fat, petite 3G any day(don't I love mine!) to the slim, anorexic back-to-square (pun intended) pretentious bitch. Wonder when I could say the same about the other. Will I get to do that in near future? What a pity!

The two true faces of technology.

Let me reword that

nanotechnology

class apart

It is a pleasure to be going to the same school as she does, and this course in particular. Lakshmi and I attended a class together this afternoon after a gap of about four years. So much water has flown under the bridge since those days of late 2004! But our outlook towards Science hasn't changed a bit. In fact goals and aspirations wise there hasn't been a wane. May be more clarity has set in. Just that folks back home are a lot calmer, happy, and moving ahead with their lives. I am really glad about that. It is a nice feeling to be in control of what one really wants.

chiru korika

I wish the celestial bodies stayed where they belong, for they cease to be when they take a descent.

Nevertheless, here is a brilliant piece that is a tight slap to people like me!

no Phony thought this

TRAI allows Internet telephony, STD rates may drop.

Wish the same could be said about the venereal counterpart too!

Par Where'z, Democracy?!

"He will be remembered as the man during whose period a watershed development took place in Pakistan, which is that the middle classes, the educated classes and the people of Pakistan began to understand in a very tangible way the significance of rule of law, of a constitutional democracy." -Political analyst Nazeem Zehra


True.

High Five

it hasn't been necessarily all the while. Each one of us has seen the ebbs to go with the highs and hopefully learnt from every experience. While I had met and known some of them prior, the journey that started with them exactly half a decade ago has been defining, and enriching in its own way. It has been a pleasure knowing each one of them. What personalities!

Cheers to Avinash Waghray, Anita Agarwal, Vijai Srinivasan, Chandan Bhuyan, Lakshmi Narayanan, Priya Sundar, Matthew John, Sabariya Selvam, Pratima Patil, Surendra Mohan, Sashikanth Gollapudi, Vandana Iyer, and Subhadra Rajaratnam!

May each one of us get to do what we set out to do and everything we aspired for. Thank you all for making August 11, 2003 a date to remember.

US Open

still! and it has been advantage me in the one year that's gone by. The match point is a long way to go, and whether I play it Singles or Mixed Doubles I want this match to be a long one.

Cheers to me.

Spiel Berg

Sorry Steven! you didn't make it. Just what the hell were you thinking when you made War of the Worlds (2005). Was it a proposal film making for you? Why were you so dishonest to Rick Karter, Joanna Johnston, John Williams, Michael Kahn, and Janusz Kaminski? Did Cruise walk straight from the sets of Minority Report(2002)? Why did he seem so listless? A mere adherance to H.G.Wells' classic concept with Lucas' ILM at your disposal would fetch you moolah, and you thought so? Seriously!? What was David Koepp's screenplay all about? Horrendous. You must have outdone yourself in the quantum of cinematic liberties you have taken. Somehow looking at the bigger picture, things didnot fall in place. Extravagant and seemingly laborious production design, individually good visual set pieces do not a good film make. Pity, it is you!

For a man whose power supposedly enables him achieve just about any god damn thing in the showland, War of the Worlds is a big let down. All your talk about the philosophy of the movie proves to be a big spiel and that's a huge berg of that.

I didn't know things could get so literal, name wise.

Sunny Days

seem to be over for this Deol. I reckon this happens to people at least from performing arts who are not versatile, who peak too early, who don't try expanding the circumference of their comfort circles. This is so true when looked at his contemporaries like Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, and Sanjay Dutt, in the increasing order of their charisma, and who all started in the early 80s.

Pity, this man has had such a magnetic pull at the box office. Such a majestic roar (pun intended) has turned into a ghoulish silence. What an irony!

Czech Mate

I hope my man from Brno, Czechoslovakia finds his partner soon. Let him complete the circle of life.

Let good things happen to good people. He deserves good. Real good.

Rogered again...

and third time in a row.


"28-0 record at the French Open and a perfect 41-0 record in best-of-five clay-court matches" (Courtesy: ESPN)

Tch!

What a Spain in the arse?!

AB kuch baat hai?!

IIFA 2008 Thailand

Best actor: Shahrukh Khan for Chak De! India

Best actress: Kareena Kapoor for Jab We Met

While this pattern has been a sure leif motif of all the popular movie awards this season, what really irks me and adds credence to the words of people like Shatrughan Sinha is stuff like this of the Bachchans.

Best Male Acting Award: Abhishek Bachchan for Guru
Best Female Acting Award: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for Guru

I mean what the fuck!



P.S. Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of IIFA

Loo and behold

What does one do when the seat is laid claim to, at the break of dawn?


Don't blame me for an incoherent thought; not that it never existed before, but this time I do warn. No wisdom of hindsight that!

rgv ki BL aag

Finally he is here, shooting straight from the lip. I haven't read much of Big B's page but I expect real fireworks from Varma. His page should be a breeze, a verbal equivalent to the way his Arri BL4s cut loose on Satya (1998). The man as always is simple, knows his stuff, and speaks his mind; the best thing being that nothing comes measured and weighed.

Trance

for me would be the knowledge of functional & pure Urdu, doing good lifting Science, pure & authentic Jazz music, reading some good pieces of writing, may be new books, some more music, writing more, and soul lifting stuff above and beyond the mundanities of daily material existence. I have said this before and it is so true even now.

I agree with so many wherewithals at disposal material, and otherwise, realizing most of this stuff is in my hands.

mani matters-3

It is noteworthy that the team the magician has comprises of people who wax eloquent and who hold forth on any platform on any given topic, not just cinema. Probably it is the synergy of all these positive energies and thoughts that has made his work click for almost close to three decades now, and stand the test of the time over which many a man has come with far more promise. Probably as someone put it his success could be attributed to the fact that he chose the right pearls lying scattered and threaded them into a nice garland. Read, watch any interview of Sujatha, P.C.Sreeram, Santosh Sivan, Sabu Cyril, A.R.Rahman, Rajeev Menon, H.Sridhar, Sreekar Prasad, Thota Tharani, Ravi.K.Chandran, Balu Mahendra, and in a different league Ramgopal Varma, Shekhar Kapur, and it will be clear what I mean. What delights me is that these people are the behind-the-screens variety, and yet give the stars and starlets a run for their fame. Each understands and acknowledges the medium as a whole rather than projecting his own craft as the limiting factor. Isn't that an advantage for any director who has the padding of so many "directors" and alter egos? Sreekar Prasad is an Editor and H.Sridhar is a Sound Engineer, and their interviews are read to be believed. When H.Sridhar talks about planting red herrings in Hassan's D by not showing two of the ten roles leaving something for the audience to ponder over, you know these guys understand human psyche more than anything else. Then broaching 6- track, 4-track, stereo, mono, DTS would sound dumb! The irony is that in the overall success, and the general impact generated by the movie that is in question these souls are never the recipients of instant and direct fame.

Yet they contribute, and how!

Kabhi Kabhi

I have written reviews for movies and I picture myself doing the same for soundtracks, but going ga ga over a single piece is a first. A.R.Rahman's tracks take time to warm up to and that is a known. So it came as a surprise that one of his latest offerings needed no time to get hooked to. It is such a relief to see him get out of period, patriotic, issue based stuff which of course he has been doing for a while with much panache in a way only he can, and get into contemporary fare. At least I have looked forward to him doing that, and what a track! I haven't ventured into listening to the rest of the album and I blame it on this gem of piece from Jaane Ya tu Jaane Na. Part jinglish, part fun, the first two lines from Abbas Tyrewala are magic and Rashid Ali's vocals on Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi seem so lissome.

awesome

I Pee L

Unparliamentary title aside which reeks of urea, I think the Sreesanth-Harbhajan-BCCI episode smacks of smart, sickening revenue strategy generated by smart asses in the Modi-Shah Inc. I am willing to hedge a bet on the likelihood of the scenario comprising of the PR/Chartered Accountant/Treasury guys involving the top brass at BCCI with a willing pair of scape goats in Sreesanth and Bhajji, pitching proposals across tables.

"Sir, we have noticed that the gate revenue isn't as much as we expected, and this is a blow to the very format which promised a couple of hundred crores to our kitty"

After careful deliberation it might have been decided to play the dirty card which everyone is up to in the entertainment-amusement-media-sports industry today; pluck the eyeballs when you fail to grab them. Oh, the instances are many, the mediaspace abounds in such examples. Rakhi Sawant tamasha, the Star News tamasha, the Yash Raj tamasha preceding any release are legendary.

They would have found two readily available jackasses in the said pair, and within time that would have subnuclear reaction times to shame, decided to have a drama at whose expense, the ever gullible junta janardhan.

"Sreesanth aur Bhajji ko line pe lagaao"

Come to think of it,

1) Harbhajan slaps Sreesanth hard in the field/dressing room
2) Sreesanth lets his emotions get better of him, sobs on the field like a kid who has been robbed of his candy by the highway dacoits
3) The fellow cricketers run up to console him
4) Hours later when IBN reporter asks him how it felt, Sreesanth plays the slap down cheerfully, smiling when he says "The shakehand was at the wrong place" with his sense of wit intact
5) Punjab XI complains to BCCI who take up the issue seriously, and what have we now Harbhajan faces a life ban

It doesn't take a Harvard MBA grad brains to smell the urea in this! I am all for banning a cricketer, sportsman when he doesn't uphold the spirit, or brings disrepute to the game at frequent intervals taking the very game for granted.

But at the end of it if Bhajji and Sreesanth are seen waltzing to Daler Mehndi beats at the closing ceremony, do not shocked or let the feeling of having been taken for a ride bother you.

Or is it that I am showing the signs of early senescence? Should I be taking all this with sacks full of salt as I am supposed to, and enjoy the circus?! Since IPL, ICL, 20-20, Honkong Sixes, Sharjah were always meant to be the junk versions of cricket aimed at the coffers any amount of cheap publicity or gimmickry was deemed okay. So this might have been one more instance.


Whichever way I look at it,

it is not cricket Gentlemen.

Scrapped!

After being a part of the utterly chaotic, silly, juvenile, social phenomenon for close to two years, I feel purged. The world seems so lighter, fuller, and richer after I grew out of it. I don't know if I might miss out on any good things owing to my not so impulsive decision, but I promise myself that I will keep in touch with all those fantastic souls whose associations have made my life so far worthwhile.

Not that I didn't enjoy while it lasted; I had fun, I met most of my buddies lost in time, met not so new faces, relived a few memories through photographs, videos and things like that. I would give full marks to Mr.Büyükkökten for his apocryphal search for his lost girlfriend something that served as the seed for this project networking people to a great extent, and hassle free that too.

But there came a point when saturation threatened to take its toll and I had to decide between two things; take it forward being a part of this customary social circus,

or kut the crap

I chose the latter.

Ab initio

It boils my blood when I see individuals becoming larger than the institutions themselves; the same institutions whose service they start off with, and in due course assume unsurmountable positions at least in their minds climbing on the small steps that the institutions offer at every corner.

While this is largely true of different arenas and streams viz. politics, sports, entertainment, and academia, disastrous it is when this disease afflicts those who are in the service of science. These moles by the virtue of a few degrees that they earn seem to be in the know of everything, and precisely at some point start acting Gods. While it is supremely beneficial for people doing science to be critical, cynical when required, and detailed what drives me up the wall is the fact these noble souls seem to reason out everything, and rationalize every known and unknown thing with our minuscule limits of reasoning. There exists nothing called "being in awe of nature", same nature which has an answer to every theory of ours and could unleash out fury with a latent smile. I am all for people advancing in science with newer pursuits adding a few material degrees to their names along the course of these pursuits. Science has progressed to a vast extent with contributions of endless number of such inquisitive souls, and will in future. No harm. But when they do not let an ocean as magnificent as science broaden their mental horizons, it is just not worth it.

Let us not even fool ourselves into thinking that we know all for we all are in the bigger picture mere moles.

On the Right Track

There are moments in cinema when you give it to the medium, apart from the reasons you should be, that is for content. This is for me one of those rare instances and for good reasons when form blows you away. Then you put all those ideas of perfect cinema being the one with content dictating form into your mental trash cans, and just enjoy the beauty. Well I agree if form were to dictate the content that would be manipulation at some level. But isn't cinema all about manipulating you at some level? Good cinema is about conviction and more of conviction, and when that is present everything is justified. Audacity, chicanery, urge to show off are all pardoned, and considered the core elements of the medium.

For me I have not seen such an audacious display of kinetics in a long, long time. Okay, the last time was Saving Private Ryan (1998). Joe Wright and Seamus McGarvey take us on this long ride (pun unintended), and a display of coordination, free flow whose highest quality is its seamlessness. I would have felt let down or downright "cheated", "fooled" if it were CGI phenomenon at display. Thankfully the digital additions were bare minimum, just restricted to a few ships, and some smoke I learn.



Atonement (2007) 5minutes 6 seconds



But had this prepared me enough for the Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil"?! Considering the time it was made in when tracks ruled the roost, and steadycams were unheard of, the opening sequence took my breath away.

Sweeping across the roads and junctions, hovering over buildings... aaah! framing, and what framing!

Touch of Evil (1957) 4 minutes 31 seconds



Tracking shots at their very best. What a ride!

People Trafficking

If you were to break the rules on road in Hyderabad during the non-peak hours, you pay for the crime.

You get to serve as a traffic constable for a day.


But do we want a city filled up with "traffic constables" to the brim?


Do we!

Evolution

The call for the "upliftment" of the Marathi Manoos well may turn Raj Thackeray into a Marathi Manhoos for Maharashtra, and worse, India in the bigger picture. The agitation no matter how justified by the MNS goes against the very fabric of India, something I have been personally proud of. If Raj can be practically evil, I could be devilishly ideal. The fact that a region, a country could be held ransom to an individual's ideology is frightening. Call me outdated but I feel fundamentalism will have it's share of limelight in may be 3049 AD.

I gushingly went in with my dad earlier. I win this this round appa. May be some other time for you.

Deep Throat

When God made Anu Malik, Strepsils were still in clinical trials

Khan Film Festival

,which is just an alternative name for the cinematic farce that has been celebrated and quite irritatingly venerated over years, the Filmfare Awards do it this time? While it is quite remarkable on their part to have Darsheel Safary nominated in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category, skepticism and cynicism in equal amounts come to the fore when the ultimate outcome is thought of. Bennett,Coleman & Co. might pat themselves for doing this groundbreaking act, and emerge winners in the first round. It truly remains to be seen if they are worthy enough for self appreciation the next time around, and when the unthinkable happens the gentlemen at B, C&Co. needn't worry for the whole cine folks shall salute them. Can they rub the power batteries on which their businesses run the wrong way? Wait! have Power awards 2.0 or some such crap have already been created to appease the powers that be? Nuclear Power awards, may be! or Power of Powers; or worse a Life Time Achievement marking the elegies. While these could be imagined when the stars in the fray do not have anything considerable or nothing at all to brag about, the bad news is that near apologies of performances in the form of C' De India, Guru of 2007 could be very well honored and Darsheel Safary might have to go back with some Critics' lollipop.



If the unthinkable were to happen the gentlemen at B,C & Co. needn't worry for the whole cine folks shall salute them

Knotty People, Knotty Ideas

Aalasyam amrutham visham should read their motto.


The top honchos of the Law Commission of India would have us believe that 18 is better than 21, the sooner the better, or in other words the marriageable age of men had better be brought down to 18 from 21. Their rationale is that if we guys could think for ourselves and better, decide for ourselves, why wait till 21!

Probably they haven't heard of my family.

Uncommon Man

An Iyer in Pune.

A quirky, wry, insouciant, double-tongued fantastic soul. Great lineage with two brothers making for two contrasting case studies.

Extraordinary.

Uncommon.

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman



Thank you Anuradha SenGupta, Thank you Sudhir Dar, Thank you Dileep Padgaonkar, Thank you Abhishek Singhvi, Thank you Ravi Shankar, Thank you Rimanika Laxman, and Thank you CNN-IBN.

Thank you Bennett, Coleman & Co., The Illustrated Weekly and The Times of India.

Double Negative = Positive

"Zindagi kam hui hai, khatm nahi" Vishal Bhardwaj ("Blood Brothers")



God bless Vishal

God bless Guillermo Navarro

Surely in this case Lahu Ke Do Rang!

:)

Ozy Anthem

Humko Monkey Shakti Dena

US vs them or us vs them?

For a while now I have tried, in vain I realize in hindsight, to compare and contrast the two places that have meant so much to me in terms of sensibilities, and now geography. I have tried and tried, and realized I have been barking up the wrong trees. May be Pluto and Neptune, may be Madagascar and Honolulu. Not the US and India.

The US is as confused as India is, and may be at some level it has come to terms with the dichotomy in the application of its principles and well, living with it. Both the US and India cannot be pinned down, and that really says something.

Q.E.D

I have also realized it is good to take the best of both the cultures, and make it my own. Geography never came in the way when relating to the other sensibilities. People assume a lack of identity. I don't blame them. Sometimes I doubt my belonging. I do not know if I fit in "them" or "us", and that probably explains the title in whose word play otherwise I would have felt a little smug.

Exclusivity, anyone?

There are twelve astronauts who have walked the moon. The number of CEOs who have walked a golf course with Tiger Woods isn't much higher.

Del Jones
USA Today

Handling with Care?

Why is it that the carry bags in the US, no matter what load they are supposed to take, do not have handles?

Why is it that the boxes that are supposed to ferry loads of stationery in academic circles do not have handles or bars?

Earlier I had seen this in the movies, seeing it first hand now.

Life's Like That

of frozen tears
of supple bosoms
of inclement gods
of unrelenting water
of receding goals
of suppressed anger
of Frozen Tears

aiseech!

lalo, lelo, aur andar lelo, kaatlo, aur kaatlo, achhi tarah dabao...

for all the perverts letting their imagination run wild, that is a parking lot volunteer guiding a car into the right spot.

Hyderabad.

Pop Quiz Hot Shot

Where does one find Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, a weird WWF star, may be Sachin Tendulkar all together or in some incestuous combination, at a single place?

("Visual" Hint: White patches, arms at perfect right angles to shoulder joints, same with other limbs too)


ans: Hyderabadi Bone Setting Centres...

this Reader cannot Digest

the fact that the one publication I have looked up to, and in whose association my family has felt immense joy and pride, can commit such a blunder. Of late "alphabets" has become a common occurrence across all forms of media; not to forget "the alphabet A", "the alphabet Z" etc etc.

DeWitt Wallace might squirm in his grave.

tch

night in gale

I have realized I have never respected nights per se. Not that it has been a source of nuisance to others but personally speaking I have cared two hoots for the clock when my stuff was in question. I have drawn flack for it when body gave up at times. If things had to be done, they had to be done. Period.

So I should not be complaining of jet lags or body clocks going haywire!

I should not be.

Aayo Re

Cool breeze... Air of familiarity... Hyderabadi/Deccani... Rajiv Gandhi... Marredpally West... CCMB... Sahara States... Warm home... Warmer room... Cosy surroundings... Homely food... Home food... Calls of concern... Courtesies... People... Rascals (Sreenidhi, Aatreya, Sukruthi) "when are you getting married mama?"... Jolts from unexpected quarters... Concern... Health... Airport again... Farewell... Unnikrishnan, Bombay Jayasri on "Narumugaye"... Departures... Pals... Relations... "American dream at the cost of relations and occasions" (Ashish Narain)... Planning... White wonders... mails from Vijay Marur and Rama... Home theatre... Australia vs New Zealand... Chappell-Hadlee... ESPN-Channel 9... Olive Green score cards... The Da Vinci Code... HBO... LSU disaster...

Chicago Hope

12th December '07; O'Hare International, Chicago, US

Connecting to Frankfurt, Germany : ~ 30 minutes

Listless.

Out came the cell phone and quickly were punched in ten digits with equal listlessness.

"Hey! Hi T K"

"Are you travelling?"

"Yes"

"Where are you?"

"Chicago"

"Terminal?"

"C 12"

"OK! See you there. I am in C 16"

Yes, I did know I would meet him at all costs this time around, my choc-a-bloc schedule notwithstanding.

Never did I know it would be this soon at a place less anticipated.

Destiny?

Chicago to Frankfurt seemed smoother, and full.

Listless no more.

I still don't believe it.

Fourteen years!

B +ve

Cipher... Dignity... Hope... Truth... Trust... Courage... Frustration... Class... Hemant Chaturvedi... Faith... Love... Hate... Inevitable... Poise... Loyalty... Role Play... Shabana Azmi... Poignance... Boman Irani... Life... Cipher

Farhan Akhtar

Red Light Area

Of prudes, of prunes, of peons, of paeans, of pines, of pine...


It is trim time!

Just Within Me

I can't just recall when in recent times I would have campaigned for a movie so wholeheartedly. I surprise myself. My reaction and my response surprises me going by the cast, and I think it stops at that. Nothing done by the duo barring her mind blowing Dolly Mishra and mysterious Meera had prepared me in anyway that the movie could find so much favour from me. Would I count this movie in my picks? Negative. Would I label this path breaking? Negative. But somewhere the honesty surfaces amidst all the familiar flourishes we so want, and we so are used to. It is precisely where a right mix of predictability and unpredictability takes you by delightful surprise. It is where city merges with town so seamlessly that I am already in awe. Or wait! is it because of the true to life depiction of train episodes and railway stations? I don't know and my word shouldn't be taken for it for I have natural fetish for trains and trains in movies. No I am not even going there.

Imtiaz's work doesn't do without the customary songs and dance numbers set to them. It has them and has them in abundance. But where a "Mauja hi Mauja" alternates with Mohit Chauhan's "Tum Se Hi", you give it to them. You give it to them when Nataraj "Nutty" Subramanian reins himself well. You also give it to them when you have forgotten mathematically the number of twists and turns in the tale because you are so engrossed in the fare that you couldn't care less. When pages of dialogue are replaced by conversational gems, you feel good. When blues and yellows and blues and oranges alternate, you feel happy. You feel good when you write something about it just from the recall value and read nothing about it in abundance probably; and also when you have not looked forward to it because it is not worth your time and space.

You feel good penning about something which self admittedly isn't up there actually yet leaves a mark so utterly indelible. You feel good when Ms.Kapoor blows you away with her on screen persona making you crave more.

When Mr.Kapur pitches in such a restrained antithetical show, you are relieved because somewhere you want Ms.Kapoor to hog the limelight. Limelight she does hog, for this is truly hers. She does well in reminding me of my own imaginary muse.



aaah! that flute piece in Ustad Rashid Khan's "aaoge jab tum"...

f 5

I silently hope there were a titular button on our heads. Whenever banality, mediocrity threaten to put us down how I wish I could lunge to hit the button. Better, I could gift to some close pals too.

Days in our lives are like those webpages; when in good state they get loaded at a pace that would make everyone happy. Otherwise they are like those duds wherein one knows what the ultimate view of the page would look like to the actual potential, but are too slow to even show half the view. In the latter the status bar resembles those hose pipes which do not let the full flow of water gushing in, courtesy some junk blocking it.

Precisely that is where I propose a recharge, a refresh

...an f 5

Aqua Culture

I like curves

I like straight lines, little

I don't like much of sharpness

I like things smooth

I like European

I like Telugu

I like the sound of Telugu

I like neutral accents

I like furniture simple

I like abstract

I like functional

I like fluids

I like wet grass

I like fluidity

I like organic

Organic describes me the best

I like subjectivity

I like smooth turns

I like grace

I like lazy elegance

I like Azzha, VVS

I like a little crispiness

I like a little nonchalance

I like vast skies

I like being by huge water bodies

I like sedans, I dislike sports cars

I like a little of gloss

I like matte

I like motion

I like still

I like ellipses

I like circles

I like smooth, unobtrusive angles

I like slow panning of the camera

I like infinity

I like space

I like snug fits

I like sharp cuts

I like the comfort of cuffs

I like arrhythmic music

I like music that is beyond pallavi and anupallavi

I like rhythmic music

I like crisp poetry

I like fluid poetry

I like perfection, if it exists

I like imperfection, it exists

I like sanity

I like a little mayhem

I like raw

I like finesse

I like class

I like naughty

I like corduroy

I like green

I like olive green

I like cover drive

I like cotton

I like customs

I like practicality

I like to like that I like God

I like trains

I like trains in sheds and yards

I like sympathizing with trains in sheds and yards

I like trains in motion

I like dilapidated moss laden junctions, cabins, signal rooms

I like trains running on an imaginary track snaking through woods

I like long platforms

I like abandoned trains

I like abandoned stations

I like abandoned railway tracks

I like imaginary railway tracks leading to nothing

I like train cuisine

I like breakfast wrapped in banana leaves and paper on trains

I like wood

I like rains

I like scientific temperament

I like to wonder

I like scientific temperament, not at all times

I like sound

I like visual

I like normal

I like paranormal

I like surreal

I like curd

I like cows

I like folklore

I like fusion

I like to dislike remix

I like alloys

I like standalone

I like the sound of pure Urdu

I like wet roofs

I like indoor plants

I like khus khus screens

I like cane

I like mosaic

I like crooked, broken, uneven slabs

I like it low

I like it high

I like a merc

I like mystery

I like history

I like an imaginary cave with inexplicable light from an equally inexplicable source

I like carnatic

I like spice

I like white

I like rooms, spaces, junctions in homes which cannot be slotted

I like tall trees

I like old watches

I like mechanically wound watches

I like the seconds hand in a watch move smooth

I like order

I like disarray

I like detailed

I like brevity

I like it sensual

I like it physical

I like distance

I like proximity

I like macro

I like micro

I like children

I like the child in Gulzar

I like the man in Gulzar

I like Amol Palekar

I like it hot

I like to absolutely dislike lukewarm

I like optimism

I like effort

I like straight

I like purity

I like a little madness

My Best Friend's Wedding

My best friend LN is going in for a wedlock in January.

Here's wishing her a very happy, leveling, eventful, fruitful and fulfilling marriage.

Mega Pixels

As I scour the web for good deals, particularly for camcorders and digicams, I notice a phenomenon. Not that this is totally new, it has surfaced again in a slightly different form. Years ago the brands aiwa, akai started a trend wherein its mid-range and hi-end audio systems carried 1000 Watt, 2000 Watt tags. Discerning consumers were too quick to scoff at the phenomenon saying it's the RMS that mattered, and not the PMPO. It didn't matter how high the PMPO was, what mattered was how high the RMS was. Brands like Samsung, LG, and aiwa went in for a rebuttal saying it's the aam admi who mattered to them, the bill paying populace they were catering to. High end brands like Sony and Panasonic, I reckon, were wrong in believing that they could be aloof from this trend. Alas, they had to succumb; succumb, grudgingly. So where a 1000 Watt PMPO would have the jaws hitting the earth in mid and late 90s, 3500 Watt PMPO have been the order of the day; audiophiles still screaming that it was the RMS that would decide a home theatre system buy.

Similar trend has caught on in digicams. Where 3 MegaPixels (MP) was "decent" in early 2000s, 8, 9 and 10 rule today. Make that 12. It has been said well and over that the higher digit MP cameras are required only when one decides to go for blow-ups or large prints, and that is precisely where the difference between a 6MP and say a 7MP would show. Similar is the case with zoom (optical/digital). So one needn't be surprised if one found a more expensive model with lesser zoom capacity than a cheaper model with higher zoom. This is because the latter would be the proverbial hot-cake targetted at an entry level buyer. Anyway the companies seem to care two hoots for all this and are leaving no pebble unturned to raise the numerical bar.

Is this indicative of the requirement on brands' part to play to the masses? May be that answers the diluting down of the uber premium image of Sony, which had steadfastly stuck to its no gimmick stand. May be it was a lesson learnt that one cannot be excessively self indulgent at the cost of alienating one's audience/target group/consumer base. Unless you are a Bose, that is.

Are Anurag Kashyap, Sony India-Columbia TriStar-SLB listening?

man of the century

"There is a point in time when you and you only know - the rest know it a second later - and it's the best feeling as a batsman"



Adam Gilchrist on the joy of a six.



Adam has a hundred now

Home Santy Home

No, this is not an exercise in narcissism but a reminder to myself.

28 days to go.


Paakanum!

Team India Kumble Odhkar

WOW!

This is something I have waited for aeons now. It has happened, albeit when the boots are ready to be hung up. Do I see a move from here to the Box behind the mike donned in razor sharp suits? Frankly I don't care. I feel he has got his due for all the yeoman service he has done unflinchingly for 17+ long long years.

What a turn of events, ironically!

Poetic Justice

and she bloomed!

mani matters

angry?



nah! that is S P Thamilselvam, an LTTE bigshot shot down by the airforce.


pic courtesy: IBNLIVE

mani matters

pondering






pic courtesy: google images

Idling away to glory

I consider them the most unpretentious, straightforward, WYSIWYG, simple, innocuous culinary pieces devised by man. Okay! the oriental, and the southern species at that. I am notorious for having them at any time of the day, any number of times, in forms best not described, and textures best left untouched. I had almost reconciled to the fact I would be not be laying my hands on these marvels for a long long time to come courtesy my relocation, a short imminent trip back home notwithstanding. Yes, there have been many a discussion across tables over dinners, brunches about how the Americans could be introduced to these girth friendly wonders. About how these don't leave a hole in the essentially deep pockets out here when made in bulk. About how these transcend without a trace of trans. About how just about any accompaniments go well with these, not eclipsing the core taste at all.

I opine, and not many agree that these taste the same when cold, as when they are hot. That's an eccentric point I have always wanted to drive home. There were days, the Vellore Chapter, when the gap between Sunday nights and Monday mornings seemed extremely torturous. My pals didn't concur. Did I care? Thankfully it's history. Nothing comes between me and my white discs of joy. Many a cart fellow in Bangalore, and Hyderabad would have felt grateful to me for making their mornings. So thanks to the wonderful couple, Bhargavi and Murali for making my day today.

Remembering...

Holy Master's Voice

Pre Marital Status?

In about two months' time, I will have walked up the aisle. I am scared to open this chapter, many claim will decide the course of rest of my life. I believe neither in prophecies nor probability. As I often say, whatever is bound to happen shall.

I pray I am bestowed with the power to retain my self in all times to come. More than that I sincerely pray I am empowered enough to respect her as she is, and let her be. Doomsday it shall be for my self, if she were to cut down on her dignity, respect, integrity, honor for my sake. I have adored her for all the afore mentioned qualities and I have adored for what she is. If I were to be asked, life is an individual's journey first and foremost. Rest follow. I don't mean to sound Objectivist. I hope this union of ours just enables her achieve whatever she aspires for, and whatever she dreams. I hope I am the facilitator and a mere facilitator. I hope I don't take this relation for granted, and I cross my heart I have never taken any. I absolutely do not mind if I were to be used as a platform, and if it were to happen I shall take pride in that. I hope I am the usher to the avenues and she doesn't miss out on any. I hope the wonderful times and the joy we have shared are not momentary. I hope there is no pre or post to this relation. I hope the wedding is just a joyous celebration, a mere sanction to many, and for many. I hope she doesn't have to give up on anything that she claims hers. People and resources. I hope the madness continues forever, for she is like any other friend to me. I am lying. She is much more than that. Christ forbid, if things turned sour she should know she is free to move away, and she knows that. I shall love her the way I have and will continue to with no iota of ill will whatsoever. I hope I am given strength to consider her aspirations as mine, and in her success, in her happiness shall lie mine. I consider individual to be supreme, and in no circumstance shall he/she lose that individuality. But again true love is one in which one forgets oneself. I hope I happily forget myself. I don't want her to be tagged to me. I don't want my name to be her identity. Let her carve her own niche. Let it be earth shattering, or let it be ghoulishly silent. The choice is hers. If she were to forsake me during her journey, I shall happily move aside. She knows that I shall cheer on sitting thousands of miles away. On my part though I commit myself to her. I have no idea what true love means and for me the phrase is a fallacy. I hope she garners enough courage, mental strength, to live her life with her chin up. I hope she is not answerable to anyone, not even me. I hope she just doesn't remain a role player. I hope she remains true to herself. I hope she grabs every opportunity that comes knocking at her doors, and contribute to her mental, physical, and spiritual growth. I hope she lives her life with the same elan with or without me. It is perfectly okay if she cannot set an example for others. It would be great if she could set one for herself. I sincerely hope she respects life for whatever it is in the truest sense, and make nothing, just about nothing larger than life.

Inshallah...

I still don't know what true love means, but I know I love her.

Right now?

My current train of thoughts which in fact is sort of a continuum and of sorts from the past begs that question. If it were not for the self-admittedly lazy bones, I should have penned mine a while ago. Long ago. Knowing myself it wouldn't materialise ever, if the seeds aren't sown now. The wherewithals are there, I realise. I hope I get to do myself a favor this one time and go about it. I care two hoots if all this were to sound a little vainglorious on my part. If not for anyone else, I have to do it for myself. As someone claimed I have to be a voyeur yet again to my inner self, surprisingly cloaked for a while.

It is about time I surprised myself big big time.


It is about time.

Wholeheartedly

, how I wish, the '98 "ahead-of-its-times" classic were released today.

I can't imagine the effect this wonder would have now on 70mm.

A scissor here, a two there. A perfect run through the Digital Intermediate for the sheen. Just to the right level.

That's about it. Add nothing, take away nothing. Let the passion and the insanity be unbridled.
Let the engines roll all over again. Let Ms. Arora Khan sway yet again to Gulzar's chaste Urdu atop the moving inferno. Let Guy Pratt, Keith Peters, John Themis cut loose.

Let H.Sridhar, S.Sivakumar and Yak Bondy's work in the studios be an exercise in revision for those who seek. Let Samir Chanda teach design again. Let M. G. Sreekumar utter those at-first-incomprehensible malayalam lines yet again, with the nightingale for support. Let Pia Benegal and Manish Malhotra smile smugly at their line of work.

Let Shaad Ali not mind assisting again. Let Meeta Vasisht, Ken Philip, Zohra Sehgal, Arundhati Rao, Aditya Shrivastav, and Piyush Mishra get theatric for one more time.

Let Ms.Zinta shoot "Are you a virgin"? with the same dimpled charm.

Let the Southern Railways take credit and be a part of one of the more arresting cinematic experiences on the silver screen in decades.

Let the Programme Executive from the All India Radio be on a run again.

Let Connaught Place, and the vintage Delhi be visited again.

Let Tigmanshu Dhulia be known not just for his Star Best Sellers, or a Haasil, or a Charas.

Let Shekhar Kapur and Ram Gopal Varma feel proud of India Talkies again.

Let Rahmania be succumbed to again.

Let Santosh Sivan's wizardry on Super 35s, Arri 535s, akelas, jimmy jibs be a small lesson in mechanics, physics, co-ordinates and aesthetics to the current wannabes.








Let the master be visited again.

TheeK

...hai, bilkul! achha lagta hai jab kisi ka pehchan woh naam ho jo bachpan mein aam hua karta tha. Aise log kam they jo mujhe mere asli naam se pukarte. Yeh badappan nahi hoga ke mujhe jinhone padhaaya vey bhi isi tarah se bulaate aur main ho jaata "haan ji!" aadat si ho gayi thi, aur yeh chala dus saal tak. Zindagi aage badhi. naam pukarne ke tareeke bhi kuch aise hee badle. Koi yeh kehta tho koi woh, par jab tak dhang sahi tha sab theek tha.

Phir ek aisa samay aaya jab mera jo asli naam tha, woh kissi dhang se ubhra aur yeh kuch jacha nahi mujhe. Phir bhi kya karta, naam tha wah mera. Sahna padha. Shikayat thodi kar sakta. Par sahi mein jacha nahi.

Aur aisa bhi ek naam aaya jo mera kiya karaya tha. Agar main apne alavaa aur kissi ko doshi maanta tho woh hota saala Paritosh, ek aisa kaalpanik bhooth jisse maine hi paida kiya.

Yeh jo daur hai, yeh sahi hai. Duniya gol hai. Ab log mujhe phir se wahi paarivarik naam se bulaate hain jisse sunne mein koi ajeeb sa achhapan mehsoos karta hoon.

Laghu hai, par sahi hai.

Woh kehte hain na, Life has come a full circle.

Achha lagta hai :)

Kissa KJo Ka

I admit I haven't been charitable in my words about his work in the past, and if one were to think that I have changed, well I haven't. But surely I have become more tolerant.

I have always been tolerant and I can claim tolerance has been one of my few virtues. I might not agree with you but then I am tolerant, and respectfully tolerant. I have had nothing against him personally, and I see no reason to have any. But I did bark majorly against his oeuvre which was hailed as the next best thing to have happened after the invention of wheel. Today from what I see of him, and I read about him I sense there's that demon catching up. The demon which is spelt as S-E-N-I-L-I-T-Y. Good or bad, I feel there is a place for him. There's a place for everyone. Everyone is allowed a few false moves during his baby steps. He has had his chance. I have a feeling if he were to only use his clout that he enjoys in a much better fashion he could probably end up walking up the red carpet one day. I don't expect him to change at all, and that would be a crime. He better be what he is now. He is a fine example. I must admire his guts, his apparent belief in his convictions. I must say he has his balls at the right place.

Finally, I might agree with him seldom, but I am getting increasingly tolerant.

je vous remercie...

Envi Sage...

...I couldn't, that one day I would be just a call away from him. I and only I know what I have gone through to get in touch with him. He was my buddy from my fourth standard through the seventh, a period which was truly defined by innocence, and innocence in its rawest form. Not any of the current maturity that weighs us down; those were the days spent in absolute abandon. He left for Calcutta in the summer of '94. We did keep in touch with each other over snail mails. Descriptive , extremely. I would read out his mails to the entire class proudly showing off the recipient's address. I have come across many a dude after that, I agree; in fact people who I hit off very well with. Somewhere my heart craved him, and as I said only I know how desperate I was. I knew he would be doing good for himself somewhere and wholeheartedly I wished him the very best. 13th of June'96 was the last time I spoke to him.

Time flew by. While at my official chores during one of those beautiful GE John.F.Welch TC, Bangalore days of '06, I googled his name. I don't know what struck me then. I still don't. I was throwing a stone in the dark. The first hit I chanced upon threw his webpage. Was it him? I did take a chance though. Plucked out the e-mail ID out of the page and I quote the letter I wrote, almost verbatim.

Hello,

Hi to you if this is the Rishi I knew from K V Picket from Karaikudi. If not, heck, still a hi to you, and you have a wonderful day.

Regards,
T K

Not sure as to whether he would reply I was lost in my quotidian aspects only to be given a jolt the following morning.

Inbox (1) Re: Hello!!!


I can't get myself to describe what transpired after that, it's kind of beyond words.

Now I speak to him often. Tough to believe. Tough because he was the same guy who I tried to get through to, resorting to things crazy. His father was a senior man in the LIC of India, and I wont deny that the thought of knocking at the doors of LIC headquarters did occur to me.

He went to IIT Madras to pursue his BTech and currently is at Purdue for his MS, and a PhD. I have invited him to my wedding and when he shows up in January '08, it will have been full fourteen years.

God bless Rishi.


Today all I know is he is just a call away...

Hot Dawgs!

Last evening, I was an audience to the one of the more enriching and satisfying sporting events of my life. All my watching experiences have been so far on the telly tube. So this one was special. Never imagined the Davis Wade Stadium could pack in so much and so many. WOW! what an atmosphere! If encouragement in any form or of any sort were key to success, then the visitors had better look out for greener victory fetching pastures elsewhere. Musical bands, cheer groups, live commentary, television OB vans, sign boards, sponsors, cow bells, hooting, booing, anthems and all the jazz. You submit yourself so much to the enthusiasm and the wild spirit around that the fact that this game is as alien to you as much the martians are, hardly matters! You cheer, jump with the crowd and join in whenever the time is appropriate and you had better be careful about the wrong'uns lest they annoyed the cheer parties.

There's so much more I could write going on a tangent. So much more about the bohemian attitude that pervades this fun and experience. So much more about this seemingly wonderful place called the United States of America. So much more!

As for the result which was purely of academic interest, the visitors were pulped and yes, barking dogs did bite!

You too be?

I was reading out aloud a piece of news on Rediff as to how 88 people were killed in a Thailand plane crash when He remarked, "video pettademo chooda ra!"


Guess it's the sign of the age we live in!

Free for all...

commentaire!

I notice that this special art is seeing its special performers slightly lose it out to more pedestrian fly-by-night operators. If ever I have to draw a list of its special priests in no particular order this would be it.

Mark Nicholas

Richie Benaud

David Gower

Michael Holding

Henry Blofeld

and

Harsha Bhogle.


I am also tempted to push him in there for he is going to make the cut too soon. Ah, it's so clear a writing on the wall.

Powar Play?

I strongly suspect it. I usually refrain from forming opinions based on the hearsay or from the apparent truths sitting miles away in the comfort of my couch. 101 out of 100 times. I give in to temptations for a change. Not that I haven't exactly given this a thought before, but with the kind of drama unfurling, or that is about to unfurl my thoughts about this seem to be getting up from the hibernatorial slumber. Sacrifice, empathy, jealousy, selfishness, heroics and what have you?

Rahul Dravid, according to my school of special thought, hails from the IIM breed of cricketers. Everything that he did was right. Everything followed a code. Everything had to make sense. Everything that he uttered had to be weighed and superweighed before they touched his tongue. Nothing that he could was wrong and in a manner entirely surprising to me, things that he did at times no matter how contradictory they were compared to his earlier ones, were automatically justified. So it comes as a real jolt to me and not that I am too sad about it, this shrewd soul comes forward to resign his post.

Was it done keeping the future and the bigger picture in mind? Was it a special acquiescence on this otherwise tactful man's part? Was it a larger fabric being crafted wherein if the warps were in the hands of the Sharad Powars, the wefts were being pushed in by the Dilip Vengsarkars? and Rahul Dravid merely a sedate mannequin who would wear just the final cut! Appeasement for peace, anybody?

Any cricket lover no matter how big a fan of SRT will agree in his sleep that the Bombay Blaster is tuning himself to the render the notes of his swan song right. So to have his image unblemished, were efforts being put in by the Circus Pack to throw down one last gauntlet at him, the post of Team India skipper; the ultimate test to one's supremacy which could well turn into a noose otherwise? 1996-1997 and 1999-2000 will bear silent testimonial to that.

Was Rahul Dravid letting himself being knocked a bit initially not minding losing some of his pawns? This knowing very well somewhere in one cerebral pocket of his mind that he would have the ultimate sardonic smile, in this bout of chess he would wantedly or unwantedly have to battle with the BCCI.

Come on where else would we see a skipper return home after nearly dousing the feline fire in their own backyard worthy enough of smug smiles and commercial bandwith, just throw it away?

The members of my IIM breed of cricketers do not let chinks to be formed in the walls. They are too good for that. They are bullwarks. Only one species falls under this breed of mine.

I hope the Royal Bengal Tiger is sprucing his suit and getting the cuffs right.

I do not like my IIM breed.

"Hey Ram!"

My joblessness, and add a couple of ounces of insomnia to that, led me to watching Swades (2004). It took me back to the days when good movie viewing was just a couple of decisions, and perhaps a train ride away to Prasads. I was reminded of this track Pal Pal Hai Bhari, and I can't help but recall my thoughts of the yore.

Pal Pal Hai Bhari

"... mann se jo raavan nikaale
ram uske mann mein hai

mann se jo raavan nikaale
ram uske mann mein hai..."

filmed on: SHAHRUKH KHAN lyrics: JAVED AKHTAR original music & vocals: ALLAH RAKHA RAHMAN and shehnai arrangement on the album: USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN



Jai Sriram!

PERL JAMMED

never been like this!

i-P(R)OD

... myself again and over into the deal.


I will eat, and for a change the whole apple shall be mine.

BAT MAGIC

I hate to get into statistics when singing "paeans", so I wouldn't go there.

The piece on cricinfo resulted in goosepimples.

This was inevitable. This was coming.

You still don't want cricinfo to be a messenger of bad news. bad for me...

When this merchant of pure joy walks into the sunset, I repeat geometry and symmetry on turf shall not remain the same.

Generations to come might not see three coeval MRF gems battling it out for the supremacy.

Visualising the scene when dada bids adieu to him, bids adieu to us.



It is a bad feel inside.

carnage

Got to watch a small video, which had the English batsman Dmitri Mascarenhas hoist Yuvraj "Yuvi" Singh for five sweeties in a row. Not since the Matara Marauder Sanat Jayasuriya or the Beefcake Beauty Shahid Afridi from 1996, have I witnessed such a clean clubbing of the cherry.

Dmitri's parents probably would have run out of options when naming him.


Dmitri Massacrenhas rings well.

ash won

I shall forever be proud of you... easily an inspiration for anyone, for me!

Hope this spirit of yours doesnt flag.

Burn those CDs

I am not getting musical here.


For all the contrast in thinking styles, behavioral patterns and ways of life that I truly believe in, I still secretly want this planet to be gotten rid of these unholy arseholes.

Good for Nothing.

Cynical Defeatists! we could do very well without you

Nothing Clinical About It...

Early this morning, I was delighted to learn Subbu's news. The dude had just cleared his Step 2, an apparently and allegedly monstrous hurdle among the various steps towards his residency programme here in the US. This happened naturally for I perfectly relate to the stress the medicos undergo and the turmoil they go through before they can actually claim to be labelled as the real doctors, the way the society wants to see them. Hopes and lots of them pinned on their fragile shoulders, these dudes move on turning thick skinned on the way to the ever riling well wishers, the society and sometimes sadly, their folks.

Sometimes, not...

I found myself smiling in absolute joy even when Subbu was out of the frame, talking to his folks, as I realised what he had achieved. That said a lot.

I was happy for him then and even now when I punch in all this. Beyond words.

I know. I am expected to know. If only destiny which I believe in had some other author, or the current one in a better mood I should have been there. Ergo for every success in this area I see, I feel elated.


Nice, really nice

madras

I have been to this place quite a few times, but never spent time long enough to consume it in its full splendour, all the negative talk notwithstanding.

There's something about the place that arrests someone like me, an on and off kind of a visitor. Is it the familiarity, and the similarity to my place? Is it the rich arresting dose of culture and tradition waiting to be acknowledged? Is it the history locked up in time, outwardly stuck in a time warp with its mothballed ideologies to some waiting to embrace modernity as and when it can? Is the glitz, is it the grandeur... is it the people?

is it a je ne sais quoi?

Is it much much more about a place which has acted as the ground of my thought process subconsciously? Only I could explain that.

If devil-may-care-attitude is anything to go by, I love madras...

If colors, chaos, rhythm in a paradoxically arhythmic place are anything to go by,

I like the madness of madras

Waste Marred Pally

Last evening appa and I happened to be in the good old area; a place in Hyderabad that I would call mine for reasons known to me, that has given me immense joy in a way only it could have. The West to be more precise.

I have had some of the more joyous times there in the late 80s, one period that I have been increasingly craving to get back into. The trees, the curvy bungalows, the Kondareddy Street, the Fresh Chain, the central park, Annapurna Stores, St.Ann's ISC, St.Ann's SSC, St.John's, the Judges' Quarters, Basant Sahney, and the works.

My sisters have studied there. I have studied there partly and the place even extended into Picket, my alma mater for 10 long long years. Can I ever forget the days we have passed by those roads flashing our K.V. Picket straps, flaps, badges and what not with a certain swagger!

I have shared some fabulous moments with Karthik, Javed, Nataraj, Meenakshi, Alok, Susan aunty, Mrs.Bhaskar Rao, Vyjayant, Raghu, Parthasarathy, Chaitanya, Bhanu, and not to forget Gopi. The fact that my cousins, six of them in all, lived there albeit in different pockets, and over different time points made it all the more memorable.

Certain things saddened me. Appa couldnt recognise and acknowledge the very place that our relatives were put up at. I don't blame him. The symbols of modernity, the Homes and the Carriers & BlueStars have replaced the old nuggets. The old pots of joy razed into distant past only to make way for the posher beasts.

Kotwal houses some NIIT franchisee!!! SACRILEGE.

I am not naive and shall reconcile to the fact that I would never be able to get back to those times nor expect them again. That's the best part about it. I know I am supposed to move on and I will.

Karthik's old style two floored beauty, the music college around the corner along with Co-Optex showroom stood silently much akin to a few old men amidst a bunch of rude ball dribbling youngsters trying to move ahead with their heads held high up, seeking dignity and much deserved respect.

That was the only consolation I could carry home.

I hope I was utterly and I mean it, utterly wrong about the title.

I still love West Marredpally.

WILL SMITH?

I dont care...

Will Smith's interview in the Reader's Digest made for such a refreshing read... The man seemed to bare his heart out in those replies. Very endearing!

It did seem he was low on the Mystique Quotient that the Hollywood gurus and the celebrities in general are usually high on.

Nice couple and a very likeable son, all make for a nice picture.

He has come such a long way from being a part of those tellywonders to the megabudget mainstream lollypops like Independence Day, i-Robot, more academy friendly Ali...

...The Pursuit of Happyness was one of the nicer beauties that came out of idea starved Hollyland in recent times. I was happy. The fact that he was on board as the Executive Producer showed his conviction while he played Christopher Gardner.

Very inspiring, and Indian colleges would do well if they could have it on their screening menu compared to the other melodramatic fare.

I hope Smith's charisma doesnt wane because usually he is pure joy to watch.

As for the question to do with the Oscars,

I don't care...

PATHETICALLY PEDESTRIAN...

Why is it that we expect only motorists, and the ilk to follow the rules of the traffic to the tee?

While it may seem logical and natural of us to do so I believe it's imperative on the part of the ones on the land also to maintain some decorum and decency on roads.


What gets my goat and that too at an alarming frequency is the fact that the elder members of the fairer sex are the main culprits here. I don't mean to sound sexist, but unfortunately my observation has been ratified time and again. Shouldn't the elders in general be setting an example for the younger lot?

Is it too much to expect them to follow the road conveniences, meant for them, atleast at places where they are available?!

nun the less

Why does god have to send those pristine grey angels as my co-passengers on trains all the time in the rare instances of I getting a confirmed seating?

azharbhaijaan

wonder where he is!

my childhood superhero.

lazy bones, class and grace par excellence

wonder where he is!


I hope it's all khairiyat...

Kitsch Kitsch Hota Hai...

Shaad Ali's "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" and McCann-Erickson's Happydent TVC for Perfetti, I think have taken "in-your-face" publicity and propaganda to new levels...

Unapologetic to say the least...

PS: Vineel Matthew of Footcandles impresses with his work for Reliance Communications; diverse, straight to the point, and effective with no nonsense.

my barber makes the cut

I don't have to look beyond my barber for a good movie critic. The Khaled Mohammeds, Deepa Gahlots, Rajeev Masands of the other world, well, seem to be from the other world.

"movie katthi saab"

"100 days compulsorry"

"first half full comedy, second half light"

"ek baar dekh sakhthe"

"aise film kaun dekhtha aaj kal... director bana leke khud dekh lena apne preview theatre mein"

"first song mast hai... baaki sunte sunte achha lag saktha"

"rahman story finish, ek kabki Roja hit diya... aaj kal dera kya Roja jaisa music... Himesh ko dekho, ek ke baad ek, ek ke baad ek"

My barber seems to voice the opinion of many, rendering whatever I opine immaterial.

Well going by his track record, my barber seems to make the cut.

Perhaps he was an editor in his past life.

...he seems to make a fine cut

my barber makes the cut

"I just came in for a trim, you can't charge me the usual fare"

"But sir, when you come in with birds' nests, I don't charge you more either!"


mouth shut...

exit door...

whatmore do we want?

sooner or later, he shall come


he shall revitalise and infuse the lost vigor in the boys

he shall change everything

he shall bend some very strong backs

saurav, sachin, dravid, sehwag shall be their servile best and surprise themselves big time

the young brigade shall never look so happy


and all will be fine with Indian cricket


amen!

Jai Sreeram!

I have waited and waited and he arrives. What better a vehicle than Balki's "Cheeni Kum". The more he hides, the more I crave him.

By entrusting the job to his assistants, I hope he doesn't disappoint me.


Is all this rubbing of hands in glee a bit prematured and should I be reserving all this for the
Bobby Bedi-Ismat Chugtai-Aamir Khan-A.R.Rahman-Maniratnam-P C Sreeram offering?


Lajjo '08


:-) :-) :-)

an i for an I

The Times of India has taken a bold step in dropping the first person singular pronoun "I", possibly heralding the end of one of the primary and the most unique rules of English grammar any kid would have been exposed to.

I realise it will be long before people will have warmed to this lowercase transition, and the purists will look askance at the ones who would follow the rule in its new avatar , atleast for sometime.

but if there were a vote,I wouldn't give it an aye...

WORLD WIDE WEB

indeed!

one parallel I could draw from my other recent viewing of the animated Hanuman is that one knows the end result, one knows the consequence, one knows the ways, yet for all the sheer pleasure of watching the superheroes go through their share of predicaments one goes for it.

Almost always there is an automatic justification for the voluntary suspension of disbelief, and instead of questioning the materials and methods, one just submits oneself to the process and enjoys the ride.

When was the last time one saw a superhero going about his stuff with an aide, and I shouldn't be blamed if I were to draw a parallel from Hanuman yet again! You pardon the cry babies, you pardon the put ons, you pardon the too good to be coincidences, you forgive the tiny slivers of melodrama, when you realise it's worth every penny you spent on.

You are certain that such fare would be loaded with juicy one liners and you are almost sure at the end of it there are going to be those quasi-philosophical quotes, good on ears nevertheless.

You root for this superhero, you wish he won battling all odds, you forgive his efforts to be more human, more like you and me and then you realise why he is such material, blockbusters are made of,

and then you realise why he is a

SPIDERMAN

jaunty roads

ha!

malleswaram 18th cross

malleswaram 15th cross

kumarapark west

seshadripuram

koramangala-indiranagar-domlur inner ring road

jayanagar 3rd block

jayanagar 2nd block

jayanagar 1st block

jayanagar ashoka pillar road

jayanagar madhavan park

j p nagar- sanjay gandhi perpendicular

okalipuram - Dr.Rajkumar Road

west of chord road

IISc-Hebbal

West of Chord Road - Mahalakshmipuram Layout

St.Mark's- old british library-anil kumble circle

NIMHANS-dairy circle-Accenture India



ha! ha!

east marredpally-S.P.Road-begumpet

kondareddy street-marredpally west

sangeet-St.Ann's-Basera-Gangaram's

British Library-Hussain Sagar-Viceroy

durgabhai deshmukh-osmania university-CIEFL-NIN

RAJIV PHENOMENON

recalled "Tu Hi Re" ('94 / '95 Bombay) early this morning and I wish I could take more such rides when life seems a little idyllic than usual...

felt nice just reliving the entire experience... The stars in front of the lens, the ones behind it Mehboob, Rahman, all contributed to a gem of a track that seemed to me one of the more difficult compositions of the then period... shall remain for long... Bekal fort of Kerala, as I am told it was, just elevated the effect.

and of course the one man for taking it to an altogether different level. maniratnam should be grateful to him...

PAPA RAZI!

Shall remember this period... nice one and how I wish that famed Italian breed followed me too!!!


I don't know if 2007 proves to be an annus mirabilis for me, and only time will tell...

random...

Why was Michael Douglas so smug with himself?
He has left no Stone unturned in his career!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was about to board the bus, just then a big fat lady with bigger fatter multihued feathered beasts alighted the same.

Just as I got in, my eyes fell on the transport corporation's message "bus occupancy penchandi" (make efforts to increase the bus occupancy)

Didnt know the kind lady would take the plea so seriously and literally.

Two Much

I do not know how steadfast I will be, but I want to test myself.

If ever I have kids, and I take to kids like a fish does to water, they will be named

Arjun and Meera.

and they shall take their mom's surname!

As much as I love kids and forget myself when with them, I dread the thought of bringing them onto this planet and not being able to live upto their expectations... It scares me no end.


But if I did, I hope Arjun and Meera stand me...

Laughter Champions

Sashi, Lakshmi, Amulya, Sudha, Prabhakar, Naveen HIV, Neelima, Nisha Narayan, Anant Gupta, Chirag, Usha, Sandy TY, Silpi, Amma, Appa, Amma, Appa, Vasu, Ramesh, Kris, Anil, Uday, Satyaki, Rama, Sahiti, Madhu Shankar, Kranti, Fayaz, Sreedevi GSR, Ajay TSP, Gokul, Ashwin, Sandeep Botla, Aditya Saxena, Rekha and Manik and Sudhir...

Whatever little I know of these people and whatever I claim to have known in whatever quantum of time and space I have shared with these people, one thing is clear... Of all things, they laugh their hearts out and that's no mean feat I must admit. Not everyone is blessed with the best of the times always and yet these people manage to laugh their internal viscera out and boy, is it encouraging! While it is one thing to share those few laughs while things are smooth, it's altogether a different matter when they do it when the chips are down.

I reckon it comes from their sheer positive attitude and a good general outlook, a healthy outlook. It wouldn't be out of place to quote a famous Telugu scriptwriter... "Navvadam oka varam, navvaleka povadam oka rogam"... In simple words it means, it's a boon to be able to share a guffaw, and it's the opposite otherwise...

Ha ha... God bless these souls, and let their pleasant and eye pleasing acts not die down. It's remarkable on their part what with so much negativity and ill will around and they are truly blessed... None feels belittled when these guys laugh and their laughter exercise is inclusive and no party is harmed.

It's not easy.

Personally to indulge in the merry making wholeheartedly is nothing short of a catharsis for me..

Anywhere, anytime

Let the laughathon continue...

appa and aatreya

This was imminent and it had to happen. Aatreya has relocated and this has left in a void in appa's life so much so that an otherwise quite appa has come to acknowledge Aatreya's absence. Appa has always been patient with kids whether his or otherwise. He has had never differentiated babies on the basis of sex and coming from a man who hailed from the generation that he did, that's quite remarkable. He could take to kids of all forms and whose tales of crankiness came in all fonts. He has been a man with loads of patience and thats inspiring. He has been an amusing tale master, a perfect raconteur one could say.

I dont know if in years to come Aatreya would acknowledge this man who has put in everything to bring this kid up along with his kid-sister in his own inimitable way, and in a manner that is truly inspiring. May be appa would be forgotten in times to come, and will be remembered as an old man who was once kind. One thing I know for sure is appa would be there till he can for all these kids, and Aatreya moreso.

Probably he saw me in Aatreya.

I would never know...