dis parity

As we meet and interact with people holding different passports on them, we realize that because of various constraints in language, in culture, in backgrounds ideas do not get communicated well. At least as much as we intend to. People often either wince or draw blank faces, they cannot help but stare at you as if looking into black holes not knowing where you could be coming from. Then we realize how different we are, how much diversity there exists in all aspects and move on.

Yet,

I have noticed that there are a few phenomena that are, to put in the simplest form, universal. No matter how different we are, there are a few things at random experiencing which you either sigh, or smile, or wince as the case may be thinking no matter where we go things are the same. Here are such non-exhaustive random things I have noticed.

• education, craving grades, craving GPAs and CGPAs
• higher education
• brands
• Sex
• interest in the opposite sex
• vanity
• avarice
• fear of law, not necessarily respect for law
• freedom hot spots

Predictable?

That would be an understatement.


Stuff which is getting more predictable than breaking news on national TV, surprises and walkouts in reality shows is, surprisingly, Google/Gmail's April Fool gags.

Now they have been doing this over years, and in the initial years they were smart, creative as is apparent in Ramanand's chronicles. But with this year's Autopilot have they stretched it too far now? It looks so obvious, so lame and so silly, and more of a ritual to be scored off their to do lists.

Sad, I have to say this about Google.

destined terror?

The courts, the system will want to believe

Uparwaale, kasab (ka) haath hai

I want to believe

Uparwaale ka sab haath hai

youth, innocence, faith, trust gone haywire?

All Time Merry

I have been crying for this for so long and Jesus, it had to happen!

In a landmark order, the RBI mandates all the banks in the country not to charge non-home account holders any service/penalty fee for withdrawing money from their machines. The service/penalty fee, though petty, is substantial from an Indian standpoint. The serpentine queues in front of some select high volume banks will be a sight of the past, and having spent close to two and half years in Bangalore, I relate to it and I should know


All The More

it is already tomorrow in australia

:-)


god bless all those souls who were involved in the conceptualization, the execution, and the realization of the dream.


should have been a real dream come true and what a tribute to the man who was the first to reach god before everybody else, all in the service of god.



Margazhi Raagam ('08, '09)

Caste Iron

Breakfast that has nurtured the American maamis and maamas!





(courtesy: Google images)

consummation

...నిన్నటి దాక నేనొక హల్లుని
నువ్వొచ్చాక అక్షరమైతిని...

...ninnati daaka nenoka halluni
nuvvochhaka aksharamaithini...

hallu : consonant
aksharam : letter


There aren't many sweeter, nicer, poetic, grammatic ways of expressing one's gratitude and love, I guess.

fame

When do you think one has really arrived in a place like India? How do you quantify someone's fame in a country like India? Arundhati Roy and Shashi Tharoor are famous, and so are Hrithik Roshan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But are they all on an equal footing? The answer, I reckon, is a big no! Do the needles point to same values on popularity scales in their case? no.


One of my long held ideas is that you are really famous when your photos appear in small time magazines in really small scale towns. You are found at really obscure places like chocolate wrappers of locally made chocolates, you appear on those shiny gaudy plastic sheets that cover various food items. You appear on labels, stickers, you are found on those transparent cheap plastic sheets that wrap that cheap plastic toy gun, or the water game your little one craves in a town mela. You appear as a model for those Z grade beedis and cement brands on those rickety walls in those rickety towns. You appear as generic line diagrams standing for those qualities you are known for in primary school text books. Your picture stands next to the word cricket, consciously or unconsciously, in those text books.

You are famous when the miyas of old Hyderabad decide to honor you by having you adorn their display boards. Where? The ubiquitous bone setting centers.

But you as an entity or a concept have really arrived when the firework companies in Sivakasi decide to have a firecracker preferably of the noise variety named after you. You appear on the cartons that contain "hydrogen/laxmi bombs" or on the display sheets in those "parachute rockets".

e.g. Ghajini Rockets, or Ghajini Bombs.


There, I truly believe, the Roys and the Tharoors don't stand a speck of a chance.

madras digest

TOIng with madras

For the kind of change it apparently wanted to bring about, the The Times of India's entry in Madras is definitely a shocker. In retrospect, one could justify the paper's presence in cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and of course Bombay. Madras was always thought to be The Hindu's bastion and now with the TOI's entry it remains to be seen what The Hindu's strategy would be. A sign of changing times, may be.

The Times, London makes this note

"...It is read not only as a distant and authoritative voice on national affairs but as an expression of the most liberal - and least provincial - southern attitudes..."

also,

"It might fairly be described as a national voice with a southern accent" :)



Young Turks

If you are to ever capture gobsmackingly gorgeous portrait pictures of little ones, say aged between 3 and 5, look no further than those from Iran, Turkey, Israel. They with their combination of tones, features, textures, innocence of another order take beauty to a different level. Try this if you are close to any. I should know, trust me. God promise.


Seeti of Joy

A Bengali's cry of late (and you wouldn't mind this ;) )

"Joy! Ho"

Kodak Moment

12:15 PM cheri: celebrating Rehman :)

??

12:17 PM me: since 1992!

12:18 PM cheri: :)

correct

I liked that reply


courtesy: Cheri Abraham

Yes, I too liked that Cheri. It was honest, and not "moment-inspired".


PS: Good music or good art in general should motivate you, make you look at, appreciate other facets of life. Oh, there is so much! I shall take a break from this Rahman-Chalisa for a while.

H Sridhar

What does it take for a man of an ilk so mercilessly relegated to background to elicit such warmth, words of highest appreciation, and feeling of gratitude from men who usually hog the limelight? Mere talent doesn't get you that, and that is an understatement.

When do people miss you the most? Is it when they stand to gain from you both materially and otherwise? Is it when you apart from all the things said make their life richer by your mere association?

When was the last time a behind the screen man given such due and on such a scale? How do you judge his work as an end user who would rather be swaying to the tunes and the accompanying lyrics? How do you qualify to be a judge on a reality show where in the TRPs and glamour dictate who it is that should be facing the camera? He is so nice to listen to when he starts off at 3.13 here and my absolute favorite is the period between 3.51 and 4.08! Between 5.18 and 6.12 here.

When was the last time people posted videos saying "Sir, we miss you"? To a sound engineer! here

Labelling Sridhar who has added immense amount of richness to ethereal quality scores a mere Sound Engineer or a Mixing Engineer would be so disrespectful.

Rajeev Menon probably says it the best when he and A R Rahman pay their tributes here and here to a man who I had first heard about a decade ago, and who in his salt & pepper beard and that gracious talk reminds me of some arbit professor from IISc who is always buried in his grants, proposals and publications.

I wish I had known of him more. I wish there were more interviews and more literature available on this erstwhile guitarist and keyboard player.

courtesy: YouTube and various other sources


Probably to the people who were close to him and who have gained so much from him, his absence and the resulting silence roar in dolby.


crystal clear.

a p p a r e n t l y !!!

He has been an inspiration for a long time now. It has been like that for ages, and funnily I have been only conscious about it in recent times. Funny because I always knew it without actually knowing it; who my pillar of support was, who was behind me, beside me at all times. May be it is a right mix of acknowledgment and realization now. Whatever, it is heartening.

For the background he came from, for the milieu he grew up in, for the upbringing he claims he has had, his tastes always reflected a certain amount of class. Probably this was one of those examples of the fact that environment, no matter how influential, cannot take away you from you. Thanks to him for being his true self. His ear for good sound and consequently good music is near legendary in immediate family circles as was his collection of those HMV plastic marvels. The sheer range of books, the company he has kept and still reads is close to boggling. He could and can quote from memory almost verbatim. I will not disrespect him by saying all this ran in the family, the blood being the same. Yes, it was the case but he still was what others were not. The most delightful aspect is how he has kept pace with changing times, tuning himself accordingly showing immense respect to the new wave, and never in the process losing out on his old world self. This balancing act of his was never surprising for the pattern has been the same across all walks of life. How could one person do it with so much dignity, class, maturity, and cool very well respecting his limitations is beyond my comprehension. His pace has been remarkable, at times beating me to the acquisition of many a material aspiration! He was there when Philips offered its best tape recorders; he was there when Dyanora had a small array of color televisions then. When I, sorry we, wanted to migrate to bigger ones he was looking at nothing less than a Panasonic, when all I was looking was for a Philips multi CD-VCD changers. He understood the need for a big screen with the same ease with which he said yes it’s time for a DVD console. Knowing all this my wish is to set up a small media room for him which will let him stock his collection of books and house a near state of the art home theater system.

This is not meant to be a vulgar display of affluence of any kind, but a gentle reminder to myself as to how he read the pulse sans any contempt, and without being a Luddite. All these actually pale before the tremendous amounts of spiritual, emotional, intellectual maturity he has shown. Why am I even comparing! Make no mistake the times he and I have lived in lend themselves to a classic case of generation gap, a wide one at that. But he never made that chasm look wide, all the while retaining his self.


Kudos!


Yet with all this there was a constant desire from my side to know what went on in his mind. How he felt about things I was giving apparent and obvious importance to. What were his two cents on subjects, and matters I held close to my heart? With all the open communication we have practiced, ironically there was that inexplicable gap. Was he feeling burdened? What hid behind those diplomatic veneers? Or simply was he playing roles? What baffled me was how he could encounter all events, phenomena with such a straight cucumber face almost all the time. I could only mull over.


For all he has done for me, given me, taught me I have never been able to return the favor in any form. The sheer magnitude makes me think it’s even futile giving it a thought. However, after much persistence from my side, and due to a modicum of his own interest, he has relented. I will always feel good about myself for having brought about this change. I hope this is a fantastic beginning or rather a restart if he ever had stopped.


Funnily, to see what the future holds for us I have to now delve into his past. He is letting me peep. I hope we take the journey together.


Mistakes be pardoned, typos be overlooked, punctuation be damned.



appa is blogging.

Rx

Very often people rush to the nearest drug store in anticipation of some quick fix solution or some sure cure, before they knock on at the doctors' doors. As often I find myself in a similar situation this act is not without any merit! Now since I am a pharmacist myself, and have had loyal customers come by my store what potions and pills would I serve, offer to pull them away or may be jolt them from their blues?

In the past I have sold Piya Haji Ali (Fiza 2000), Do Kadam Aur Sahi (Meenaxi 2004), Lukka Chuppi (Rang De Basanti 2006), Jaage Hain (Guru 2007), Aye Hairathe'n Aashiqui (Guru 2007), Khwaaja Mere Khwaaja (Jodhaa Akbar 2008).

Now don't take this for a paucity in my store. My store abounds in loads of such drugs in different concentrations and dosages. Every customer who has had come by has gone back happy and has more coming my way with his recommendation. I am happy seeing a smile on their faces. It makes my day. Do Kadam Aur Sahi, I am told, takes most of them to a different world, and they have trouble beating a retreat. I am not surprised! I am bombarded with requests to stock up more like them. Added to this is the frequent request to give them that something which will have them asking for more. The current ones, they feel, have outlived their best by dates.


What do I do? I cannot run the risk of having my stores closed. I have waited, and here it comes. An absolute cracker of a drug carrying no dosage restrictions, suitable for all ages, but best enjoyed by those with years behind them.


What do I call this over-the-counter panacea?


Dil Gira Dafatan (Delhi 6, 2009)



Thrice a day with no meal restrictions.

Pop Quiz Hot Shot

What would a stereotypical Telugu movie director's team be called?

Caste & Screw

ab dilli door nahin

sach mein, AB bilkul nahi!

Dil Se

I am extremely happy for A.R.Rahman on his Golden Globe; irrespective of the veracity of awards in general this is no mean feat.

But I hope he doesn't become inaccessible to the mainstream makers back home who bring out the best in him. A Golden Globe today, and possibly an Academy tomorrow shouldn't take away the child in Rahman.

I hope he doesn't feel burdened or obliged to come up with heavenly, heavy weight music each time only to justify these prestigious awards in retrospect. India is not short on cynics who will pounce on him every time his score fails to attain instant popularity.

I hope he remains true to himself irrespective of any accolades that come his way or otherwise.

I hope he continues to dish out fare with the same child like enthusiasm as ever. As such he is away from the regional film music for a while, these awards shouldn't distance him further from the local breed at least the Tamil directors who supposedly milk him the best. Make no mistake all his regional scores with their immense local flavor have helped him push the envelope gently but surely before acting as the precursors for more dramatic Bollywood fare painted with larger brushes and painted with larger strokes.

I reckon he makes more sense in terms of commerce than some of the so called stars and actors in the fray. The awards and all the hype that follow shouldn't make him more inaccessible, and ergo expensive. Small, intimate cinema needs him as much as the monsters with gargantuan casts.

I hope the cynics who had utter contempt for him earlier do not start quoting these awards to quantify Rahman's genius now, saying we said so, this was expected. He has always been a pleasure, and he himself would be cognizant of the fact that he has churned out better fare before.

I hope people do not grudge this just a jingle maker, machine whiz kid, his well deserved success and fame.

I hope he remains true to himself on course to achieving all his goals, music and otherwise.



That is the true hallmark of a genius.



Insha Allah

a n ikon in the making?

The wait is over.


It is definitely a step forward.


I hope I find a newer me.


She arrives soon.

as good as it gets

Lakshmi and I had been meaning to catch up on a good flick for a while now. Though we had had a few decent outings in the form of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and not so decent in a Valkyrie, we had been longing to check out one in the cozy confines of home on a large screen. It never materialized owing to our hectic schedules and my erratic sleeping patterns.

Until today.

The day started fine; bright, cold yet warm, sunny. After running a few errands, I headed straight to the Mitchell Memorial. Now visits to the Mitchell Memorial have been more for their DVD collection than the academic resources at least for a while. Formalities taken care of, it was home beckoning me. What an organic, fluid, warm start to the day just like the movie that was to follow.

Jack Nicholson at his very charming, charismatic best, shows what good acting of high caliber could do to a seemingly simple script. Everything about him; the mannerisms, the behavior, the act, the costume design was absolutely water tight. It felt as if the director had them measured to the last ounce, and with the needles pointing to the right balance served them on a platter.

The goddess a.k.a Helen Hunt's Carol Connelly just had asking me for more. Women like Helen Hunt make movie watching an absolute pleasure which at times cannot be described to the fullest. Supple, graceful, witty, and vulnerable Helen Hunt is one of those rare movie personalities that make you want to know the person more in real life beyond the characters they get to enact. If I said Jack Nicholson takes the seemingly straight, simple narrative to an altogether different level it is not without the support from Helen Hunt. It happened to me earlier in Balki's Cheeni Kum where going by the chemistry between the lead pair I had naughtily wished for them to be a real life item too. The same happened here as well. The fact that this was repeat viewing never mattered.

Simple, classy, unpretentious, sexy, warm, organic the film and its title, I didn't know, would actually symbolize a perfect Sunday afternoon spent in absolute joy, and calmness after a long time together.


Just like "good times, and noodle salad" of Melvin Udall.

underdog millionaire

Take a bow, A.R.Rahman!

Dus

With the world around me indulging in some kind of retrospective lists it is only incidental that I chanced upon this page.

So this is also looking back; I had heard about it long ago but never got to see it in its entirety. I let the legendary BBC fonts (my favorites for long) on the page distract me, I let the colors take over me but nah! this was a definitive list, so it claimed. A list of songs supposedly culled from the umpteen out there, questioning its actual requirement. I wish I had known the rest of them, I was willing to read, know, and admire.

But then 2, 4 and 9 were just too overwhelming for me to do that.