New beginnings!
11 Jan 2012 3 Comments
in Blogroll Tags: new attitude, New Year, USA, Writing
Hello all!
Now, as cliched as the title of this blog may sound, I am definitely going to create something new here, from now on… Confused about the abrupt beginning ( if there is something like that!) ? Well, that is because I was taken aback after finding out that I last blogged on the 20th of July 2010, which is one and a half years ago! Whoaaa!!! And more so, because I just checked my draft posts section, and there are 36 incomplete fellas sitting tight there! For a minute I began to wonder whether I have lost my thing of writing – when I was relieved to find out that a sudden wave of wanting to write swept over me. So, here I am, writing a blog post after a long time, promising myself that I will publish it unlike the last 36 times, and deciding (again) to start writing regularly. A warning: do not take me seriously until I actually start writing regularly.
Anyways, let me come back on track and wish all of you a very happy new year (although I am pretty sure there are hardly any readers left 
( ). This new year has definitely brought some really new things for me, such as a different country to live in, no job in that country, an opportunity to take a competitive exam to get a higher degree, and so on. I was also going to add – a new attitude- in there, but I guess only time will tell if that has really happened. 
Anyways, I spent my new year’s eve on a quite low-key note this time, unlike last year’s brouhaha, but yet, it was so much better. My husband and I took the much needed rest ( We were recovering from a 30-day shopping and packing frenzy and a long flight from Pune to Chicago), and watched TV with soda and popcorn to give us company. It was quite soothing, and much reminded me of the way we used to bring in the new year during my school days. We anyways did not have the energy for a back-to-back celebration, what with the 30th of December being our 2nd marriage anniversary!
As for new year’s resolutions, which I unfailingly make and break every year, I made a bunch of them. Some were the same old ones, such as losing weight, eating healthy, writing and reading more, learning to meditate and relax and so on. Others were slightly new, such as studying hard, planning my day well, bringing more discipline in my routine, and changing my outlook towards some things.
Let us see how I keep all of these, but you will definitely be able to see how I keep one of these – writing regularly.
Okay then people, hope to be writing again soon, and till then, cheers to the new beginnings!
Inception! Fascinating! (No spoilers)
20 Jul 2010 4 Comments
in Blogroll, On Movies People Make,Here's my take!(Movie reviews), Zor ka jhatka!('Current' Affairs) Tags: Christopher Nolan, Ellen Page, Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio, mind, sub-conscious, totem
Have you ever been out wandering around the country, with lush green pastures and a cool blue sky to keep you company? Have you been so engrossed while watching the trees and birds and flowers that you lost your way but still did not panic, as you were simply happy taking in the calmness of your surroundings? After a long long while, has the feeling of being lost registered finally? Have you craved to get back, only to see a thunderstorm approaching you with all its ferocity? Have you hidden in the first hut you laid your eyes on, and breathed a sigh of relief? Have you then realized that the hut has several animal skins and skulls spread around it? And then have you heard strong rapping on the door and been frightened to death? And have you tried to scream, only to realize that…..
Your mom is trying to wake you up in the morning by banging on your bedroom door!!!
Yes, you guessed right. Welcome to the world of dreams, my friends. A world so charming, yet deceptive, so alive, yet unreal, or at least that’s what we are made to believe.
The movie, Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, professes otherwise. It says, rather convincingly, that our dreams represent our sub-conscious, and our sub-conscious does affect our conscious decisions all the time! All the main characters in the movie are, so to speak, ‘dream merchants’, meant most literally. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio, brilliant) and his gang specialize in entering people’s dreams to ‘extract’ information that is otherwise impossible to obtain. They do make good money out of it, but also face the dire consequences of meddling with the human subconscious. Cobb especially, has had to pay a very heavy price, rendering unfit his capabilities of designing the places in dreams.
Yes, so advanced is this occupation of extraction via dreams is that it needs an architect to design imaginary places wherein the dream will take place (you can’t use real places because then, your memories will meddle with your dreams), a chemist to appropriately sedate the one whose dreams are to be explored, a researcher and a few helpers, if any. The film is about Cobb, leading one such team, and trying not to extract but to plant an idea into a target’s mind – in return for his own redemption.
Christopher Nolan definitely does succeed in weaving an intricate yarn of a story, with threads spooling in multiple layers – yes, the extractors, or should I say inceptors, also generate dreams within dreams, so as to buy more time, or change some things in the dreams, and so on. Although it sounds confusing, not for one moment do you get bored, and you are always glued to the seat trying to put two and two together.
The most creditable thing about the movie is that, although it’s about dreams and inception, and stuff that mostly fits into the science fiction category, it does not waver from logic, or create situations just because it is science fiction!
Certain ideas are absolutely brilliant, such as having to carry a totem, or a self-made object while entering a dream, to help you distinguish between dreams and reality. Not only that, the totem has been brilliantly used in the climax sequence as well.
The direction is awesome, and the editing is crisp. The cast have supported the script extremely well. There is really nothing to complain about the movie!
If you are itching for an intelligent, well-made movie that will make you think, go for Inception.
If you are not, go for it nevertheless, it will provide some very good entertainment!
Signal: Green all the way! Go explore your dreams!!!
I felt ashamed of myself today…
03 May 2010 2 Comments
in Blogroll, Keeping my eyes open!, Random sightings
Picture this incident – The driver of a PMPML bus that was quite vacant, shut both the doors of the bus at an overcrowded Sanghvi Fata bus stop, so that people couldn’t board it. A boy, 15-16 years old, protested and asked for the door to be opened. The conductor did not listen, and barked that there was another empty bus behind. As we had already guessed, there was none! As this bus tried to make way through the heavy traffic, 4-5 ppl including the boy, again caught up with it, and began yelling that they had been waiting for over an hour there, and they must be let in. The driver and conductor didn’t budge…so the boy stood in front of the bus and blocked its way….Quite some traffic was accumulating behind us, so I thought the boys would be let in..To my horror, the conductor and driver not just kept the doors of the bus shut, but threatened the boy that they would run him over, if he didn’t make way for the bus. This screaming, yelling and abusing went on for a long time…vehicles kept honking behind us and a decision had to be taken by somebody..Finally the boy, frustrated as he was, picked up a large stone fallen on the road..That, made the driver change his mind, and he opened the doors of the bus. Once the boys entered the bus, there another round of abuse. Th boy tried to talk rationally, explaining that had the bus been full, he would never have demanded to board it…but since he was being continually abused, he started abusing back…the whole scene turned very ugly, and ended only when the boy in question alighted the bus at his stop, albeit not without some ugly verbal exchange with the driver.
In the meanwhile, like all other passengers in the bus, I sat silently watching the whole episode, agreeing with the boy from within, yet saying nothing to the driver and conductor, who were clearly in the wrong!!
When the driver didn’t open the doors, I could have protested; when he threatened to run the boy over, I could have protested;..but no, I sat like a statue, just like typical Indian public, who I keep criticising for such attitude of theirs!!
I felt ashamed of myself today……
Where the mind is without fear!
19 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in Blogroll, What I hear, n what I read........ Tags: Geetanjali, Prayer, Rabindranath Tagore
Just remembered my school prayer..thought you all would appreciate it too… It is an extract from the great Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel-winning Geetanjali…Here it goes…
Where The Mind is Without Fear
- WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
- Where knowledge is free
- Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
- By narrow domestic walls
- Where words come out from the depth of truth
- Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
- Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
- Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
- Where the mind is led forward by thee
- Into ever-widening thought and action
- Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Some questions about horoscopes….
14 Mar 2010 2 Comments
in Blogroll, Comical tragedies, Just a thought! Tags: Astrology, Horoscope, Zodiac
One day, aise hi, a thought crossed my mind..Someone around was discussing horoscopes according to the Hindu calendar. According to the Hindu horoscope, a person’s zodiac sign depends on the janmatithi (birthdate according to the Hindu Calendar), and the positions of the stars in the sky at the time of birth. Could someone please tell me, that if an expecting woman, travels like 100-200 miles, just before her delivery, and the position of the stars at her destination is different, will the future of her child change? In a matter of 5-6 hours?????
And in case of the English horoscope, the birthdate decides the zodiac sign of a person. So, can being born just a few hours before or after the deadline of 21st of every month (On 21st, the zodiac sign you are born into changes, it seems), change your characteristics and behavioral traits??
And if a few hours here and there change the behavior or future of a person yet to be born, can’t years and years on the earth immensely change these of a living person too? What would you call this phenomenon then???
This is what I have written about! (a reminder to you, and ME)
23 Feb 2010 Leave a Comment
in Blogroll
Twilight Saga: Books Review
03 Nov 2009 1 Comment
in Blogroll, Books, my first love!!!
My oh my!!! For the first time in 10 years of computer literacy, I read an e-book completely!
And after a long long time, I sat up the whole night to read a book!!
Plus, both the above statements are true, not just for 1 book called Twilight, but for all the books in the series, namely, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn!!
This completely gripping love story between a supernormal human and super-ahem-monster connects with you like no story has done for a loong loong time!! Cheers to Stephanie Meyer!!
So people, if you have even a little thing for romance, go for these books! And guys, keep your girls away from these books, ‘coz it will make them fall in love with Edward Cullen!! All my female friends have, and I won’t blame them!! (Me too in the same situation!! 
)
Do I need to give a signal now, it’s so clear…GREEN ALL THE WAY!!!!
Book Review: “2 states – The story of my marriage” (No Spoilers)
02 Nov 2009 2 Comments
in Blogroll, Books, my first love!!!, Zor ka jhatka!('Current' Affairs)
Just read the latest one by Chetan Bhagat!
And by his own standards, its a very nice book! Fairly gripping (I finished it in non-stop 5 hours), humorous, and easy-flowing, this book describes the life and times of a couple divided by a wide North-South chasm.
On the flipside, the book is written in a very simple manner, sometimes even reminding you of a mere diary entry. However, the heart and the soul is definitely in the right place!
I will not divulge the story here at all, but would just be content with saying that anyone and everyone, who’s been in love with a person of a different caste, will 100% relate to this book.
Go read it!
Verdict: Green
I’m back!! :-)
23 Aug 2009 3 Comments
in Blogroll, Keeping my eyes open!, Man is a social animal!, Notes to readers, Random sightings, Zor ka jhatka!('Current' Affairs)
Okay, okay, i’ve been outta circuit for quite some time now, I agree….
Was just going through the grinds of life shall I say…and am still, but I am tired of making it an issue, and don’t plan to do so, any longer!!!
Yeah, so what “interesting” stuff was I doing while I wasn’t here? Well, reading, teaching, and watching movies!! Didn’t travel or trek much, thanks to the bad weather and bad health….uh oh…change the topic!!! )
Yeah, so let’s start with reading (i know a book review is long overdue!!).
After a loong time, I got out my copy of Khaled Hosseni’s “The Kite Runner”. Read it in two nights flat, and my oh my, wasn’t it incredible!! The author managed to actually recreate the whole Afghanistan scene for the readers. The story, a unique tale of immaturity, faith, loyalty and a journey towards redemption, was so nicely unfolded in this book, that I got completely absorbed in that book, I even cried a couple of times!! And Hassan’s character, I think is one of the most well-writtn and yet unfathomable characters I’ve come across!! My heart goes out to the sheer innocent loyalty and, how should I put it, apnapan that he shows towards Amir, the protagonist. Ammazzing, divine, one of its kind!!
And since I liked The Kite Runner so much, I also got hold of A Thousand Splendid Suns, by the same author. This book tells the story of two women in Afghanistan, who are so unlike each other, and yet finally find solace in standing up for each other. Engrossing and with its heart in the right place, all this book lacked, to be mentioned in the league of The Kite Runner was , ofcourse, Hassan!!
Then I also read Digital Fortress(nice, but very Sidney Sheldonesque), Bourne Ultimatum (good, but not my type really!!), and the Twilight Series!!! About the last one, It needs a sperate blog post to give it full justice!! ))
Currently I am reading The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. This is also an ammmazingly insightful book, and I am already bowled over it. Just fathom these lines on freedom:
“You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.”
Intriguing aren’t they?? I am already a big fan of this author!! Hopefully, when I am finished with reading the book, I will have much more to blog about it…
Then, movies, well it’s been mostly watching movies on DVD, because of the multiplex strike and the swine flue scare!! Nevertheless, I managed to catch up on a “critically-acclaimed” Marathi movie Gandh (Smell), which went right above my head and contained grey cells!! Also watched the suppper dupper hit marathi movie (again) Mi ShivajiRaje Bhosle Boltoy, which had some good intutive dialogue, but was average otherwise.
And last, but not at all the least, have been teaching: not just English Grammar this time, but also some interesting newly-learnt life-skills stuff. This too, deserves a seperate full-length blog post to make full justice to it.
Ahh, it already feels good having written so much…hopefully will be back soon with more!! Cya people!!
Protected: Just a vent to my feelings!!
19 Feb 2009 Enter your password to view comments.
in Blogroll, Just a thought!, Zor ka jhatka!('Current' Affairs)
Movie Review: Billu Barber
15 Feb 2009 3 Comments
in Blogroll, On Movies People Make,Here's my take!(Movie reviews) Tags: Budbuda, Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta, Priyadarshan, Shah Rukh Khan
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Lara Dutta
Director: Priyadarshan
Synopsis and my opinion: Please read the letter below.
================================================================================
Dear Mr. Irrfan Khan,
Subject: Please don’t!!
Sir, let me first clearly state, that we all love you very much…your mind-blowing performances in several movies like Haasil, Yeh hai Mumbai Meri Jaan, Life in a Metro, to name a very few; have been loved and applauded by all of us. Today, you are one of those very few character artistes who can carry an entire film on their shoulders!!
So we want to ask you something… Why and just why did you accept a film like Billu Barber ??
Although it has a decent concept (they have tried to emulate the modern version of the Krishna and Sudama saga), its story and screenplay are so damn horrible, that even the seriousmost of the scenes make you laugh!
The biiig superstar played by none other than the neo-narcissist SRK (believe me, I am a biiig fan of his, so if i am calling his role terrible, it sure is so!); the gaanv ki gori with deep-back blouses Lara Dutta, the 3 pathetic item songs featuring Deepika, Kareena and Priyanka ; the usual Priyadarshan bandwagon of comedians made up of Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, etc etc; nothing, nothing at all can match even 50% of your sheer earnest portrayal of a poor barber who had struggled a lot in his childhood to help an even poorer friend to pursue acting, and then after many years when the friend has returned to his village as a superstar actor, hesitates to meet him due to his social status!
3 cheers to you Mr. Khan!! (strictly Irrfan, this time…)
Thumbs down to everything else in this movie!!!
Not many thanks and Regards,
Me!
P.S. : Mr. Priyadarshan, Please stop insulting your earlier “classics” like Herapheri and Virasat by making such pathetic movies!!!
================================================================================
Verdict: Do I even need to state it?? AVOID!!
Signal: RED all the way!
Movie Review(No Spoilers): Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
15 Dec 2008 4 Comments
in On Movies People Make,Here's my take!(Movie reviews) Tags: Amritsar, Anushka Sharma, shahrukh Khan
Well, I am not really a sucker for love stories…in fact senti n melodramatic love stories really bore me…. so I went to watch Rab ne Bana Di Jodi only because of SRK….
But but but…surprisingly, I liked the movie…. the songs, the dialogue, the acting, n ofcourse….SRK!!!
In 2 contrasting roles: a sincere, intelligent power company employee; and a crude n bindaas jat businessman; SRK to chhha jata hai!!
The heroine Anushka SHarma is not conventionally beautiful with great features n all, but has a million dollar smile!
The songs are very hummable: Holle holle, Dance pe chance, tujhme rab dikhta hai, and even Hum hain rahi Pyaar ke…Phir milenge…chalte chalte…….. they do make your feet go tap tap…..
My verdict: Definitely watchable..atleast once!
Signal: Green
Movie Review: Hello!
17 Oct 2008 2 Comments
in Blogroll, On Movies People Make,Here's my take!(Movie reviews) Tags: Amrita Arora, Anusha Dandekar, Arbaaz Khan, Atul Agnihotri, Call Centres, Dalip Tahil, Eesha Koppikar, God, Gul Panag, Katrina Kaif, modern life stress, Salman Khan, Sharat Saxena, Sharman Joshi, Sohail Khan
Line 1: Trring Trring…….. Trring Trring…….. Trring Trring……..
Line 2: Hello? Who’s this??
Line 1: This is…………. GOD…………..
Line 2: And we are 6 ammmmazed typical call centre employees.: TeamLeader-wannabe Shyam (Sharman Joshi – very comfortable in the role), Senior member Military Uncle (Sharat Saxena – endearing, but purposeless), Mr. biker Vrroom aka Varun( Sohail Khan – I never thought he could act, but he just did!!), Ghar-grihasthi se pareshan Radhika (Amrita Arora – cute), anxious-to-be-a-model Eesha (Isha Koppikar – ok ok), and oh-so-confused Priyanka (Gul Panag – again confused).
Line 1: You all have your own typical call centre – cum - life in a metro dukhde… but you can solve them them using some 4 things: Talent, imagination, confidence, and some mumbo-jumbo about having to lose before you win…. solve them…
Line 2: Ok we shall solve them by defaming our boss(Dalip Tahil- over the top but still believable), spreading rumours in America about some virus, and doubling the call volume, then resigning: from our jobs, our unhappy families, our egos, our unrealistic ambitions….and live more or less hapily ever after!
——Call Ended——-Movie too———-
Now no possibility of spoilers here as we’ve all read One night @ the call center. However, even if we didn’t, this movie solely rests on the shoulders of the cast, and not the story. The bunch of 6 call centre emplyees is refreshing entertaining.
That apart, the movie is average. So is the directorial debut of Atul Agnihotri. Not bad.. Comedy is excellent at some places and extremely mediocre at others. Music is bad. So is the screenplay. And certain pieces of dialogue almost put you to sleep. Thankfully, they are short. Salman and Katrina do their jobs as usual(means they are mediocre..hehe).
Verdict: Not a must-watch, but since I endured Kidnap last week, Hello is a great timepass!
Signal: Yellow, may go to Green.
