Amidst the clatter of daily life,
And the cacophony of echoing responsibilities;
It takes perseverance to stay rooted.
And not lose oneself!
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Sunday, August 23, 2015
After the crash - Book review
Before I dive into the review let me tell you that I am an avid reader and fan of mysteries and thrillers, and one of those who try to figure out the end/ killer from every clue that the author lets you bite - or not. And it is mostly the well written ones that keep me going till the end, full of excitement and suspense. After the crash has been an interesting one in those terms. Set in the late 90s while taking you back to 1980, Michael Bussi weaves a mystery, not of murder but of life. While most authors kill a character and take us through dark alleys trying to solve it, Bussi takes us through the 18 yrs of a girl through the eyes of a detective and his journal of the investigation.
It starts of with promise, as you feel drawn to know more of the mystery of the sole survivor of a plane crash - a 3 month old baby - while the detective who investigated the case for 18 yrs without any success, resolves to end his life bogged down and depressed. The story is set in a time when technology wasn't the master of lives and solving any puzzle needs only a few clicks and taps. It is set in the beautiful France that allows the readers to experience the sun and the sea and the beauty of the city and the mountains alike, quaint but modern, and taking us through the highs and lows of the mystery as the characters themselves trudge along clues and dead-ends.
The first part of the book sets the pace going as we get drawn into the detective journals and the confusions of the protagonists, letting us wonder and guess. The plan crash, the discovery of the baby, and then how two families claim for the baby and how the story really starts are very well written, keeping us glued, waiting for the events to unwrap themselves. It is however the character of Lylie tha intrigues us. The main protagonist surely would be coming back later to add more substance, right? Umm..kind of. Then there is the crazy Malvina, who I personally found to be a confused character. The author wanted her to be the right dose of weirdness and confusion to add strangeness to the story but seems to have got confused himself. So she is a crazy lady who refused to grow up, is dangerous, spews hatred from her tiny mouth, and yet is supposed to have a tender heart deep inside. OK! the premise is understandable, but as the story progresses, it seems her strangeness was used to fit and fix the loose ends.
Till the middle of the book, the clues and investigation keep on going, until the author realized his book went too long. So he seems to race to the finish a little too fast. And yet the final clue to the identity of Lylie is gob smacking awesome. The events towards the end leave us running ahead with Marc to find it all before it is too late.
There were a few things that I found intriguing in such a well thought out book. Firstly was the lack of definitive humour, and secondly I feel the translation surely would have made the book lose the real essence. Every language has its own small peculiarities, and when a language like French gets translated into English, which it is very disparate with, the essence of many parts could have been lost. This is just a theory but, having watched movies remade into other languages and with subtitles
that kill the essence while grappling to convert it blindly, I personally think that the real essence of any art can be felt only in its native language. Just IMHO.
If the above two points and Malvina had been a little darn stronger, the book would be on my top list of Must-Read-Thrillers list.
I go with 3.5/5 for this mystery of identity confusion and family feud.
It starts of with promise, as you feel drawn to know more of the mystery of the sole survivor of a plane crash - a 3 month old baby - while the detective who investigated the case for 18 yrs without any success, resolves to end his life bogged down and depressed. The story is set in a time when technology wasn't the master of lives and solving any puzzle needs only a few clicks and taps. It is set in the beautiful France that allows the readers to experience the sun and the sea and the beauty of the city and the mountains alike, quaint but modern, and taking us through the highs and lows of the mystery as the characters themselves trudge along clues and dead-ends.
The first part of the book sets the pace going as we get drawn into the detective journals and the confusions of the protagonists, letting us wonder and guess. The plan crash, the discovery of the baby, and then how two families claim for the baby and how the story really starts are very well written, keeping us glued, waiting for the events to unwrap themselves. It is however the character of Lylie tha intrigues us. The main protagonist surely would be coming back later to add more substance, right? Umm..kind of. Then there is the crazy Malvina, who I personally found to be a confused character. The author wanted her to be the right dose of weirdness and confusion to add strangeness to the story but seems to have got confused himself. So she is a crazy lady who refused to grow up, is dangerous, spews hatred from her tiny mouth, and yet is supposed to have a tender heart deep inside. OK! the premise is understandable, but as the story progresses, it seems her strangeness was used to fit and fix the loose ends.
Till the middle of the book, the clues and investigation keep on going, until the author realized his book went too long. So he seems to race to the finish a little too fast. And yet the final clue to the identity of Lylie is gob smacking awesome. The events towards the end leave us running ahead with Marc to find it all before it is too late.
There were a few things that I found intriguing in such a well thought out book. Firstly was the lack of definitive humour, and secondly I feel the translation surely would have made the book lose the real essence. Every language has its own small peculiarities, and when a language like French gets translated into English, which it is very disparate with, the essence of many parts could have been lost. This is just a theory but, having watched movies remade into other languages and with subtitles
that kill the essence while grappling to convert it blindly, I personally think that the real essence of any art can be felt only in its native language. Just IMHO.
If the above two points and Malvina had been a little darn stronger, the book would be on my top list of Must-Read-Thrillers list.
I go with 3.5/5 for this mystery of identity confusion and family feud.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
All the Bright Places - A review
All the bright places is a Contemporary Young Adult Novel. So there! Young Adult. Hmm.. so a girl, a boy, a school, project, and you might think it is yet another book full of the unmindful cockiness, edginess that has been fed in most of these. But Jennifer Niven slowly unravels a boy who is different.
A fluorescent, electric, shining-bright boy, Finch, who finds love in a melancholy girl, Violet. And in bringing her out of her grief, he finds a little more meaning to his life. I could go on and give you more on the story and let you hanging on the edge, but I don't want to. Because this is a book that needs to be read and absorbed.
There is a lot of depth that Jennifer Niven has given to her characters and her story. The narrative is simple and shifts us back and forth among Finch and Violet. But we can feel their emotions. We start as observers and are slowly led into their changing equation. When the twist comes, we are forever changed too.While we all the time knew what was going to happen, we hope it doesn't and like all fairy tales this will be one too. She has taken a very serious subject and done justice to it and never let us feel the pressure of the subject too. It is a very unique book.
It shows you a whole new world in just a closet. It shows you a world that is bright yet painfully dark. Then it also shows you how to brighten that dark place and let yourself stay and breathe. It shows you pain, happiness, helplessness, and takes you on a journey to discover what you are looking for. This journey is unique and it is up to you to leave something behind, and mark your presence. Jennifer Niven sure has!
'Unremarkably' light. 'Unremarkably' unnerving. To quote from the book -
"It is rooted..but it flows".
I personally would recommend to all readers of young adult fiction who are stuck with werewolves, futuristic games and what-not, and just check this unremarkable tale that can happen anywhere. Mind you! That is what makes it stand out too.
I loved it so much that I could go on and on. In short all I say is this.
Go. For. It.
Rating: 4.5/5
Picture Courtesy: www.goodreads.com
Monday, October 20, 2014
God is a Gamer - Book review
Genre: Thriller
Author: Ravi Subramanian
This is my first book by Ravi Subramanian. Having heard a lot of this author whose books have gained wide popularity as great thrillers, I was more than thrilled to get my own autographed copy of his book.
Though I must admit, when I saw the note
Dear Aishwarya,I was left wondering why my boss(who is also Ravi incidentally) would send me a book, especially a thriller!
Wish Best Wishes
- Ravi
It took me a few seconds for the fact to sink in that it was actually the author himself. That was how much I expected an autographed book at my doorstep! :)
Now coming back to the book itself, the first few chapters looked promising, shaping a story that went on parallel lines.
While one chapter introduces a Senator in the US, the other jumps to a Banker in India.Then suddenly you are reading about some Nigerian riots in Goa.
The book has very short chapters and it keeps moving from one scene to next leaving the reader to catch up, if he / she wants to keep pace.The multiple story lines that do not seem to have any connection with each other, slowly starts fitting into the puzzle, once the concept of TOR and Bitcoins come into picture.
The author has done his research well, on the concept of Bitcoins, TOR, how gaming works and of course, the banking domain. As we are exposed to each of these, he tries his best to keep it simple, crisp and yet to the point. Though cramming so much information wherever possible, mostly explaining it through the characters' conversations itself, didn't make the characters sound convincing.
In order to build the story quickly, the author has compromised the characters. It was little over the top when Aditya allows his long estranged son to lead a business empire when he hardly knew him for a couple of days.
The same was felt when Tanya and Varun hit it off -to the point of love, in just a couple of meetings. The whole characterization of Varun had been shady from the beginning, and when in the end the FBI pin it on Tanya, it has been very clearly assumed that the readers will not be attentive. because just a few chapters back, we were are made to understand that Varun places a device in Tanya's house without her knowledge.
It seemed like a grandiose plot, that just had to be put together in whichever way possible, but ultimately tripped on it's own feet, while sounding like those who desperately try to fling their newly acquired accents and slang at all meetings, only to lead to awkward pauses.
Rating : 2.5/5
Monday, July 16, 2012
Hello! Focus!
Breezy, light yet original. Three friends, 2 of them extremely out to enjoy the world, while the other is the conservative-yet-understanding part of the gang that keeps them together and sane, have to come to terms with matters of their heart too.
I went in with zero expectations, and was in fact expecting another rom-com with cheesy lines. But half-way through when the movie started getting funny with the scenes where Veronica catches flirt-boy Gautam off guard with his own drama, I started gaining interest. I knew it was a regular rom-com love triangle, but the way it was executed was way better than I expected. It plainly showed how matters of the heart can catch anyone off-guard but without dramatizing it more than necessary. Well, even if the characters are crazy enough to make Gautam dance about with ridiculous make up and whatever-costume-that-was, they are still people with hearts, and you never know how it ends up getting everything you already knew as complicated as it can get. They enjoy every moment that life has to offer and it is all hunky-dory until Ms.Kavita Kappoor arrives on 'this side' :). And then the drama becomes real and all that stuff which we expect in such movies, of course. The two who were poles apart find themselves wanting to keep the drama that they put up for the Mom to get real, and then the story starts off getting serious. Diana Penty could've used a little more emotions to keep us grounded, but given that her character is already a muted version, we can live with it.
There are some really hilarious moments in the movie, that I was almost thrown out of the hall for laughing that loud. The place when Gautam is found dancing by his mom, or where Mrs. Kapoor (Dimple Kapadia) tries to save Veronica's life surely would've had anyone laughing off their seats. The movie doesn't delve too much into the characters' work or other social life much, but keeps it within those three only. That was the only negative part that I could think of.
The songs have all been placed with enough sense not to bore the viewer and still letting the movie move along. In many places in the movie, the characters are shot brooding over the happenings in solitude, and we find ourselves also brooding along and speculating how this love triangle will sort itself out. The song 'Luttna' was one of the songs that I loved for the way it has been shot, with very short shots of Veronica standing all alone in the bar which is actually full of people interspersed with the club scenes, and how she tries to come to terms with her situation, and what is really going on inside her.
The conflict that the characters face to keep their friendship and love from not breaking off has been shown nicely. They don't want to lose what they had, but cannot run away from what they feel right now. They never expected it to happen, but now that it has, it can never go back to what it was before.
All songs keep the mood of the movie intact and don't let the audience move out of it. The locations and cinematography is again very good, in fact the actual locations might've been just normal and not as good as in the movie.
Deepika Padukone has given an impressive performance. Maybe it is her eyes that help her express her happiness or agony in equal terms I'm not sure. But she was Veronica in and out there. Saif goes on in the role that he does best. But the best part of the movie that keeps it real for us are the dialogues. It is light, funny and sometimes hilariously casual. Well, 'To phir tu hi propose kar le na' would be exactly what I would expect out of Gautam when Veronica doesn't let him finish his already terrible attempt at a proposal.
It is not a mindless comedy where they show three friends having fun and doing crazy stuff and never being adults. They are normal adults who enjoy life and still have to fight the same matters of the heart as anyone else.
All in all a nice movie which has it's heart in the right place, while the characters go around finding theirs. A modern age love triangle which keeps it light but real.
P.S: Though this movie has received it's own fair share of average to very bad reviews, I liked it, and hence my reviews says it too. Well, this is my blog so why would I really care what the critics think. :D
Sunday, March 6, 2011
In reverie..
The faint notes of an old bygone song, were borne by the light breeze into my room. A father’s desperation to spend as many precious golden hours with his daughter as he could, before he had to take leave of her, was singing by itself in those notes that reached me. The father would be leaving his beloved child soon, to pursue an important phase in his career, which was only a foresight to secure her future. The child bawled on.
It was late in the night, with a slight chill in the air. The kind that is the best to make you enter into a reverie, and I was trying to get the better of a book, that I had to return to its rightful owner as soon as I could. And as I sat there on the arm chair, in my room, listening to him sing, slowly my thoughts wandered away to what inexplicable creatures we are.
The weird nature of bondage and the harsh crudeness of loneliness have always been a thing of wonder to me. We are, as adults, but for some unfortunate few, quite capable of living our lives independently. But again, we are due to some unknown strength, known to crave for acceptance, and bondage, making ourselves dependent on those that we love. We are as free as our bonds are, and as caged as the strength of those bonds turns out to be. You might argue that, we are as free as our bonds are, and only the freer, as the strength of the bonds remain intact. I agree! This is but a side of looking at it. In that view, do we intentionally make ourselves the prisoner of our emotions?
Perhaps we do. And then again, perhaps not. We can only fathom so much as that the complex set of criss-crossing wiring in our cranium can wish to explain. But the psychological nature of that also has always been an enigma, hasn’t it? The mysterious working of the so-called heart - which should not be confused with the heart that in terms of science , has been well studied, and has the main function of pumping blood to all parts of the body - is all the more of a wonder to me. They say the heart pains, and it bleeds. They say, the heart rejoices. Well! Well!
It is no wonder that we are, is what our heart makes us. Tender, timid, strong, practical, hard, cold and so the list goes on in the hundred ways that we describe people. The same adjectives also apply to the heart of that person don’t they? During the process of growing up, and becoming cognizant of the various wonderful things around us, we slowly get entangled amidst the bonds that come our way, while we move hither and thither. And we love, and we hate. Hate, being a negative and undesirable emotion, has been proved by all the legends and epics behind us, to be a meeker competitor when compared to love. For love is that wonderful medicine that even the specialists in the medical profession have been unable to synthesize.
Said Mother Teresa. Who else will know more about that beautiful jewel, than her, who devoted her life to spread her love to all she met.
For some priceless hours of staying with our loved ones, we are even ready to part them for a length of time. Strange are the ways that the heart makes us act. Stranger are the ways, how we all listen to that heart, while the pragmatic point always shows how that is quite unnecessary. The strangest is the fact that we are but humans with a mix of emotions, and thoughts, which we let our own people rule, and still remain happy about it.
The child had gone to a restful slumber, as the crying had stopped, but the notes kept wafting into my room, singing by itself the fantastic ways of Nature and the unknown!
It was late in the night, with a slight chill in the air. The kind that is the best to make you enter into a reverie, and I was trying to get the better of a book, that I had to return to its rightful owner as soon as I could. And as I sat there on the arm chair, in my room, listening to him sing, slowly my thoughts wandered away to what inexplicable creatures we are.
The weird nature of bondage and the harsh crudeness of loneliness have always been a thing of wonder to me. We are, as adults, but for some unfortunate few, quite capable of living our lives independently. But again, we are due to some unknown strength, known to crave for acceptance, and bondage, making ourselves dependent on those that we love. We are as free as our bonds are, and as caged as the strength of those bonds turns out to be. You might argue that, we are as free as our bonds are, and only the freer, as the strength of the bonds remain intact. I agree! This is but a side of looking at it. In that view, do we intentionally make ourselves the prisoner of our emotions?
Perhaps we do. And then again, perhaps not. We can only fathom so much as that the complex set of criss-crossing wiring in our cranium can wish to explain. But the psychological nature of that also has always been an enigma, hasn’t it? The mysterious working of the so-called heart - which should not be confused with the heart that in terms of science , has been well studied, and has the main function of pumping blood to all parts of the body - is all the more of a wonder to me. They say the heart pains, and it bleeds. They say, the heart rejoices. Well! Well!
It is no wonder that we are, is what our heart makes us. Tender, timid, strong, practical, hard, cold and so the list goes on in the hundred ways that we describe people. The same adjectives also apply to the heart of that person don’t they? During the process of growing up, and becoming cognizant of the various wonderful things around us, we slowly get entangled amidst the bonds that come our way, while we move hither and thither. And we love, and we hate. Hate, being a negative and undesirable emotion, has been proved by all the legends and epics behind us, to be a meeker competitor when compared to love. For love is that wonderful medicine that even the specialists in the medical profession have been unable to synthesize.
"The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love."
Said Mother Teresa. Who else will know more about that beautiful jewel, than her, who devoted her life to spread her love to all she met.
For some priceless hours of staying with our loved ones, we are even ready to part them for a length of time. Strange are the ways that the heart makes us act. Stranger are the ways, how we all listen to that heart, while the pragmatic point always shows how that is quite unnecessary. The strangest is the fact that we are but humans with a mix of emotions, and thoughts, which we let our own people rule, and still remain happy about it.
The child had gone to a restful slumber, as the crying had stopped, but the notes kept wafting into my room, singing by itself the fantastic ways of Nature and the unknown!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Tale of the Mole under the Sole
"You know, when I grow big, I'll go to Australia"
"Bah! When I grow big, I'll go to Antartica!"
"Silly gals, When I grow big I'll go to Bermuda Triangle"
And so we went on, when we were about 2 ft high, knitting dreams in the air, about far flung places, as though we were just talking about going to the Periyar street behind our house.
Then one day, while removing the shoes and socks for the computer science class, when the Preethi saw the mole that I have on the sole, she pulled me aside, with eyes as big as saucers. While I was wondering, if the reaction was due to the fact that she was accidentally in the vicinity of Varun, when he was removing his shoes & socks-that-were-rumoured-to-be-the-reason-for-computer-ma'ms-frequent-fainting-episodes, she was regarding me with something in the terms of a venerable expression. While I was searching for something to hit her head with, to get her out of the trance, and decided that James's shoes were not the right option, she opened her mouth at last to throw some light on the matter.
"Hey Aishu, you have a mole on your sole of your right foot. You know what that means?!!"
Must say, I never realized that a mole could actually 'mean' anything. But apparently it did to her.
"I don't know what it means. Err.. do you?"
"Hey.. u know.. that means 'payanam' (travel). You are really going to travel to a lot of places. Only very lucky few have a mole right in the center of the right foot. My god! What a luck!"
And so she went on until the computer science teacher at last told us, that she might ask us both to make a short trip to the principal's room if we didn't stop chattering right away. So much for traveling! :O
Well, somehow that thought registered itself in my brain, and whenever my eyes fell on the mole, my thoughts would wander among the monuments that Discovery channel would show. Sigh!!!
Little did I know, how true Preethi was. Travel I did.To far flung places, you ask.. oh sure!
College itself was a good six hours of bus travel from the place that I lived. Though this is common and many even travel longer and have tougher journeys, I'm just highlighting upon the fact, to stress on the effect of the mole. The journey though only of 6 hrs, made me change 4 buses and a van/car to get me to the house. As you can imagine, by the end of the journey, any beggars in the vicinity would look at me, as though welcoming me to join their gang. (The best part was that they wouldn't hound me for money.. Pheww!)
Ok.. let me not digress. After those dreary college days when I started working, I thought the mole's luck would take me away from the Tamil Nadu and I would get to work in other cities too. But no, I got a job in Chennai itself, and the only mole-effect was dreary bus journeys to the Siruseri. While in 2 hrs you can make a trip to Madurai from Karaikudi, I would be waiting for more than that time, sitting in a bus, looking at vehicles honking for no reason.
But the mole-effect didn't stop there. My toothy problems, had me going to the dentist, who for some god-forsaken reason, felt Perambur to be the best place to pratice. Sitting in a bus for more than 2 hrs, all to have a doctor tighten some nuts and bolts in your mouth in 10 mins, then ask you to come after 2 weeks, also reminding you not to eat anything solid, was really not my idea of travel! During all those longer bus journeys, Preethi's fateful prophecy kept rewinding in my head. Mole-ki-to-aisi-ki-taisi!!! $@%$#@($#!!
And then happened the fateful US trip very recently, after quite a bit of fate and luck played their parts. So when I thought, "Hmm..after all Preethi's prophecy ka kuch to hua" I was boarding a plane to Denver. Happy that in the end, the mole decided to do something true to it's dubious reputation, I was quite happily going about my way.
But looks like, the mole is not very happy to have obliged it's role. For now, another mole has sprang up on my left foot's sole. Though not as big as the other one, this one now seems to be more like those fresher kids who join work, right out of college. The kind you know, who are all eager to prove themselves.. and come and ask your permission even to go to restrooms? I know.. really amusing lot! But not this teeny-weeny mole, I tell you!
Next month again, I'm moving to West Chester, PA. I hope this small travel on my part will abate the pangs of this new mole, and I can at last stay there for while. By the way, do anyone of you know, how to prevent moles, especially on the soles?
(Quite rhyming eh? :P)
"Bah! When I grow big, I'll go to Antartica!"
"Silly gals, When I grow big I'll go to Bermuda Triangle"
And so we went on, when we were about 2 ft high, knitting dreams in the air, about far flung places, as though we were just talking about going to the Periyar street behind our house.
Then one day, while removing the shoes and socks for the computer science class, when the Preethi saw the mole that I have on the sole, she pulled me aside, with eyes as big as saucers. While I was wondering, if the reaction was due to the fact that she was accidentally in the vicinity of Varun, when he was removing his shoes & socks-that-were-rumoured-to-be-the-reason-for-computer-ma'ms-frequent-fainting-episodes, she was regarding me with something in the terms of a venerable expression. While I was searching for something to hit her head with, to get her out of the trance, and decided that James's shoes were not the right option, she opened her mouth at last to throw some light on the matter.
"Hey Aishu, you have a mole on your sole of your right foot. You know what that means?!!"
Must say, I never realized that a mole could actually 'mean' anything. But apparently it did to her.
"I don't know what it means. Err.. do you?"
"Hey.. u know.. that means 'payanam' (travel). You are really going to travel to a lot of places. Only very lucky few have a mole right in the center of the right foot. My god! What a luck!"
And so she went on until the computer science teacher at last told us, that she might ask us both to make a short trip to the principal's room if we didn't stop chattering right away. So much for traveling! :O
Well, somehow that thought registered itself in my brain, and whenever my eyes fell on the mole, my thoughts would wander among the monuments that Discovery channel would show. Sigh!!!
Little did I know, how true Preethi was. Travel I did.To far flung places, you ask.. oh sure!
College itself was a good six hours of bus travel from the place that I lived. Though this is common and many even travel longer and have tougher journeys, I'm just highlighting upon the fact, to stress on the effect of the mole. The journey though only of 6 hrs, made me change 4 buses and a van/car to get me to the house. As you can imagine, by the end of the journey, any beggars in the vicinity would look at me, as though welcoming me to join their gang. (The best part was that they wouldn't hound me for money.. Pheww!)
Ok.. let me not digress. After those dreary college days when I started working, I thought the mole's luck would take me away from the Tamil Nadu and I would get to work in other cities too. But no, I got a job in Chennai itself, and the only mole-effect was dreary bus journeys to the Siruseri. While in 2 hrs you can make a trip to Madurai from Karaikudi, I would be waiting for more than that time, sitting in a bus, looking at vehicles honking for no reason.
But the mole-effect didn't stop there. My toothy problems, had me going to the dentist, who for some god-forsaken reason, felt Perambur to be the best place to pratice. Sitting in a bus for more than 2 hrs, all to have a doctor tighten some nuts and bolts in your mouth in 10 mins, then ask you to come after 2 weeks, also reminding you not to eat anything solid, was really not my idea of travel! During all those longer bus journeys, Preethi's fateful prophecy kept rewinding in my head. Mole-ki-to-aisi-ki-taisi!!! $@%$#@($#!!
And then happened the fateful US trip very recently, after quite a bit of fate and luck played their parts. So when I thought, "Hmm..after all Preethi's prophecy ka kuch to hua" I was boarding a plane to Denver. Happy that in the end, the mole decided to do something true to it's dubious reputation, I was quite happily going about my way.
But looks like, the mole is not very happy to have obliged it's role. For now, another mole has sprang up on my left foot's sole. Though not as big as the other one, this one now seems to be more like those fresher kids who join work, right out of college. The kind you know, who are all eager to prove themselves.. and come and ask your permission even to go to restrooms? I know.. really amusing lot! But not this teeny-weeny mole, I tell you!
Next month again, I'm moving to West Chester, PA. I hope this small travel on my part will abate the pangs of this new mole, and I can at last stay there for while. By the way, do anyone of you know, how to prevent moles, especially on the soles?
(Quite rhyming eh? :P)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
And I'm back!!
Whoa! I haven't been writing for ages! Hmm.. I need to do some justice to this space that dear own blogspot has allocated to me, thinking that I would scribble now and then, but what am I doing? Reading dready documents all day and your night, trying to exercise the top bean into a hit shape. Well, in any case, jolly old bean liked to be left alone, and I wanted to do some scribbling. So am back! :P
So amidst doubts of 'Tera Kya hoga re Aishu' I was flung into this far away land of Denver, sometime last month. I must tell that, when the weather outside is like -5 C, it is a very bad time to be caught by the worst form of cold. But it had already caught sight of me, and while I was sneezing the bejesus out of all and sundry, I had to travel to this land of 'Mile High city'. 34 hours of solid travel, in a trance like state, nose all clogged up, almost wheezing, sounding like a baby-elephant learning to bleat, I somehow reached this city. The best thing about the travel was that, I was able to watch 'Zabaan Sambhaalke' on the flight. Now this used to be the TV show that brought many a laughter with it, when I was in school. Those days of simple unadulterated laughter, the kind that is really rare now. Simple easy old days! Sigh! :)
Ah.. well, where was I? Oh.. yeah.. so now it has been more than a month here, and I've seen the snow, the rain, and sun too (thankfully). It is a quiet place, with rabbits and geese having a stroll on the roads as they like. I even saw a deer jolly well crossing the road in 2 long leaps, while my mouth was left hanging by itself. Err..By all this don't you guys go into any thoughts in the rein of "Iva entha vandalur zoo le irukka?" There are enough people around, and though the place is a far cry from the honks, loud whirring bikes, and other noises that keep company all the time in India, it has a peace about it, that quietens the soul. Take a peek.. go on!
Now does the peace part of my talk make sense? :) *Smiling benignly* I knew it is difficult to expect so much of the grey cells residing in the cranium without giving some of the tough work to the photoreceptors on the top of the head. Ah.. well, now that you got it, the most part of what I wanted to scribble here has been conveyed successfully.
While I go on, to enjoy a little more of the solitude of the place, you all have a jolly good time! Pip Pip!
So amidst doubts of 'Tera Kya hoga re Aishu' I was flung into this far away land of Denver, sometime last month. I must tell that, when the weather outside is like -5 C, it is a very bad time to be caught by the worst form of cold. But it had already caught sight of me, and while I was sneezing the bejesus out of all and sundry, I had to travel to this land of 'Mile High city'. 34 hours of solid travel, in a trance like state, nose all clogged up, almost wheezing, sounding like a baby-elephant learning to bleat, I somehow reached this city. The best thing about the travel was that, I was able to watch 'Zabaan Sambhaalke' on the flight. Now this used to be the TV show that brought many a laughter with it, when I was in school. Those days of simple unadulterated laughter, the kind that is really rare now. Simple easy old days! Sigh! :)
Ah.. well, where was I? Oh.. yeah.. so now it has been more than a month here, and I've seen the snow, the rain, and sun too (thankfully). It is a quiet place, with rabbits and geese having a stroll on the roads as they like. I even saw a deer jolly well crossing the road in 2 long leaps, while my mouth was left hanging by itself. Err..By all this don't you guys go into any thoughts in the rein of "Iva entha vandalur zoo le irukka?" There are enough people around, and though the place is a far cry from the honks, loud whirring bikes, and other noises that keep company all the time in India, it has a peace about it, that quietens the soul. Take a peek.. go on!
Now does the peace part of my talk make sense? :) *Smiling benignly* I knew it is difficult to expect so much of the grey cells residing in the cranium without giving some of the tough work to the photoreceptors on the top of the head. Ah.. well, now that you got it, the most part of what I wanted to scribble here has been conveyed successfully.
While I go on, to enjoy a little more of the solitude of the place, you all have a jolly good time! Pip Pip!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
A week that just wasn't
The whole week has been one draining, hopeless, hell of a week. Some observations below
I run behind a bus, huffing and puffing with a handbag full of junk in one hand and a loaded lunch bag in the other, and the bus keeps moving, ignoring me. I decide enough is enough and board it running, and it behaves like a lazy buffalo and comes to a stop! What the....
A review meeting gets scheduled at 8.30 AM for which I've to start from home by 7.30 AM. This being the worst punishment anyone can meet out to me, I take it sportingly and accomplish the worst task of waking up and getting ready on time. 7.15 AM. Message comes that the same has been pushed to Friday. Translates to - 1.Vetti, it is not today. The whole big thing about waking up is one big waste. 2. Try the same again on Friday.
How stupid can I get?
Well, to the point of trying to book tickets, without even checking the date. To the point of not realizing it after I've spent some 500 bucks for a movie which neither I can't go to, nor can make others go. To the point of making funny 'adhu' gestures at my bro, who was unable to book tickets using his card earlier. :S To the point of being hopeful that I can actually cancel them. Sighhhh!
Well, life is all about it, right? [All of you better say yes!!!! I can't take any more of this :(]
I run behind a bus, huffing and puffing with a handbag full of junk in one hand and a loaded lunch bag in the other, and the bus keeps moving, ignoring me. I decide enough is enough and board it running, and it behaves like a lazy buffalo and comes to a stop! What the....
A review meeting gets scheduled at 8.30 AM for which I've to start from home by 7.30 AM. This being the worst punishment anyone can meet out to me, I take it sportingly and accomplish the worst task of waking up and getting ready on time. 7.15 AM. Message comes that the same has been pushed to Friday. Translates to - 1.Vetti, it is not today. The whole big thing about waking up is one big waste. 2. Try the same again on Friday.
How stupid can I get?
Well, to the point of trying to book tickets, without even checking the date. To the point of not realizing it after I've spent some 500 bucks for a movie which neither I can't go to, nor can make others go. To the point of making funny 'adhu' gestures at my bro, who was unable to book tickets using his card earlier. :S To the point of being hopeful that I can actually cancel them. Sighhhh!
Well, life is all about it, right? [All of you better say yes!!!! I can't take any more of this :(]
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Nagala - A whole new world - Part 1
Amidst the mundane routine of work-home-whiling-away-a-weekend-work-home and the same on and on, when I saw the mail for the Nagala trek, I actually didn’t give it much thought. It was an irritating day at work that made me decide to go for it, to take a chance. And I must say, it was one of the most memorable experiences in my lifetime (not that I’m an 80 yr old, but still :P).
When we started in an undefined group, with smiling strangers, who seemed eager to help and were enjoying themselves, in the beginning I felt as though I was in a strange place. And me being a person who takes time to really open up felt even more alien. But after a while, it got to me. I also enjoyed when they laughed, be it a joke I shared or not. Slowly we reached the first pool, after having lost the people who were moving ahead of us. Once there, we got the message that we had to wait until further updates from the rest of the group. We were around 10 of us with a cute kiddo (Achantya) among us. While Achu found imaginary squids and jelly fish in the pool while swimming and found new ways of sliding down the small waterfall at the pool, the lost group met us there. And we quickly resumed out journey to the next pool – The crystal clear pool.
Everything around was in varying shades of green, and brown. Clear water went gushing around us, trickling and moving between rocks with a purpose, while we walked around or sometimes through it to make our way ahead. After sometime of climbing and trekking, we reached a scenic pool that was so beautiful, I’m so happy, the movie people haven’t found it yet. The crystal clear water, through which you could see the pebbles below, the fish moving around, was so pure, that anyone who comes back from another country claiming to have seen the best beach / lake in the world is going to get a sorry nod from me.
In less than 2 minutes, the whole group was busy thrashing around like kids in the water. The hesitation, inhibition all lost, fun seemed to be some gas that was being inhaled all over. After a while, it was time to move on – to pool 3 for the Level 1 camping site, and ahead for the others. Again after some climbing, some heaving and puffing, we had reached pool 3. A jade colored pool with shades of deeper green in the ends, it seemed like the water just decided to rest a while before it continued on its journey. As it happened each time we reached any water source, the swimmers dived headlong into the water, while the non-swimmers did everything else they could. Some wistfully watched the graceful swimmers having fun (That’s me! Scared to even keep my feet 2 ft into water) while some tried the floating technique with the tubes around them. Some others just relaxed, chatting and relaxing their muscles.
And that’s when fate decided to give this happy little gang a little more to think about. In other words, most of the gang decided to test themselves more, and go on to the next level. But for that we had to climb across a rock, clinging to the formations on it. And it was no simple rock. This one had rough, sharp edges, and turned at right angles in the midway. So there was no way to know what lay beyond that, unless we scaled that and went ahead. Well, anything looks scary until you do it. So saying, all the enthusiastic 70 or so, slowly edged their way across. No one dared to look down, because down, it was all rocks, and a pool that was quite a few feet deep. One wrong move and it could be dangerous. Brrr!!
Enter the Trekking Tigers! Till now, this happy band of Merry men, were not so much in focus, as no one’s life was clinging on a cliff. But when the tough terrain came up, these guys quickly moved and positioned themselves in such strategic points, encouraging scaredy-cats like me. And surely in a few minutes we had all crossed the dangerous-looking rock. And next we moved over the rocks to reach a small natural water slide. While two nice people helped us to cross over the slide, lots of enthusiasts were sliding below to the mouth of the waterfall. Once that was over, we started the real trek! You are wondering, what that ‘real trek’ means? Well, picture toh, abhi shuru hua hai! Now the terrain was not easy at all. It was all steep and slippery. The previous day’s rain had made the mud give away at a lot of places. When we kept our legs on some rock, thinking that it could carry our weight, it mostly came away, having been loosened by the sloppy mud. So we all clung on to the plants and roots of the trees. It was only after a while that we realized we were in a wrong trail. But by then I had already slipped twice, barely missing a fall, clinging to a small plant, which seemed too frail to withstand my weight. I got scared. This minute I had my hands around a plant, right feet on a rock jutting out under the mud, and the left trying to fix itself at the base of a plant, and the next minute, the rock gave away, while the plant snapped and I was hanging in mid air clinging to the frail plant. Thankfully, Jagan came over and passed along a root to steady myself.
It is a weird kind of rush that happens, when fear grips you. Suddenly the heart stops, voice seems forgotten (at least in my case) and adrenalin kicks in. But once you are safe, and the brain relieved that it is in no danger, all that adrenalin left out in the system, starts to act. After those two near-miss falls, by the time we reached the fourth pool, I was in a very bad shape. My muscles were trembling, and each breath was heavy. It felt like the muscles had given up. Both my hands and legs were trembling. At the fourth pool, where there was a waterfall, while others tried to refresh themselves in the water, I was taking stock of myself. There was a rock which had to be climbed to move further. Doubt, was setting in on my mind as to how I would do it. How I would move over that rock, which was angled in a way that we had to propel ourselves with our hands firmly on the dents in the rock. But when you have to do it, you just do it. While my mind tried that, my hands gave away. There it was Vandana, who caught me. It would not have been a fatal fall, but enough to injure me badly. And given that I’m sand-blind without my specs, if I had fallen, I would’ve fallen on my face, which means goodbye specs and goodbye vision. That thought was going in circles over my head, by which time, somehow I was pulled up on the rock and I quietly sat trying to calm myself. I knew I had to stop here, if I wanted to be alive. The next pool was 2 hours away, and the climb was going to be tougher. It was only common-sense to stay back. I said so to Biju the leader of Level 2. But logic was out, how could I be left alone? A first-time-trekker at a pool which was no camping site; all by herself? I had to somehow cling on, till the 5th pool. But again, going till there was going to be no easy task, and so the tigers came to my help. While one of them carried my bag, along with their own bags and other stuff like tarpaulin, rope etc., the others agreed to take care of me. Slowly motivating me, and the others, we moved forward. One step at a time, we kept going forward, until we reached the place.
I still can’t remember what place it was. Maybe it is because I automatically erase the worst memories from my head. All I can remember is, there was some rock like formation, where again I had to grip the rock and propel myself upwards to climb up. And when I tried, my both hands slipped! There was nothing below, only trees and rocks which are at an 80 degree angle to the horizontal. Where I would’ve fallen, I have no idea. But it would not have been nice at all. Two hands grabbed me at the right time, while lot of gasps escaped others’ mouths. I have no memory of how I reached on the top. But in seconds I was safe. I didn’t realize how much I valued my life until then. I couldn’t speak a word. I didn’t want to look below. I knew how bad it was. I knew how lucky I was. It would have been a major mishap, but those awesome guys saved me. From then on, there were always two people ahead and behind me. There was no saying where my next stunt would be. Abishek, Rinku, Vijay, Kaushik, RJ, Ganga, Nithya, and the other tigers, took the big burden called ‘yours truly’ into their heads. I was so embarrassed that I was such a trouble. I couldn’t even mumble thanks to those guys. Jitters were going over my hands and legs like some shock. But at the same time, I knew there was no way out. The only words, going over and over in my head were, “One big mistake. If I reach the pool in one piece, I’m not doing any more of this. From where did I get the idea that I can trek? How stupid can I get?” All this while, these guys kept at it. Encouraging, and motivating. Though they were all exhausted, being themselves new to this trail, plus having to take care of us, they did not show any signs of giving in. My mind was so scared that I would not move until Abishek was in the front leading the way. My only hope was that my fear was not rubbing on to the others. I was terrified, but I tried to keep it within me. Not sure, if that was working, but anyone who was near by, when I almost fell, were already looking at me like some sort of miracle.
It slowly became dark, and we used our torches to light our ways. Midway, we found Vaishu and her gang coming back from another false trail. The darkness was making it trickier than it actually was. After some more stops and careful climbing, we reached the pool. But by then, everyone had already slept. Where would I sleep? I didn’t have even a sleeping mat. God knows who had it, and where that person was. Ganga lent me a mat, and Archana helped me out. I was wet, exhausted and still jittery. Strange are the ways were you find real friends, and good human beings. Which stranger will go to the extent of applying a balm and rubbing the tired muscles, when that person was also in a similar state? While all the kindness and generosity of those really sweet people was weighing like a ton on me, Archana erased away all boundaries to that. That night, she was there, and that was all I had to know. In her face, I saw the care, the fact that she would not let me feel left out or insecure.
‘Thanks’ at that point seemed like a word that was too silly, too mild, to even convey 10% of the gratitude that I felt. I cannot repay any of those people in any way. I cannot ever thank them enough. But I can also never forget them and those moments. (If I go on, this will turn into the climax of any Karan Johar movie, and we wouldn’t have to go all the way to Nagala to enjoy a pool.)
There is more to write, about the fun I had. About why inspite of all this, I’m still going to trek more. But if I write this here, no one is going to read it. It has already been a very long post.
So sit tight, while the next part is on the way. :)
When we started in an undefined group, with smiling strangers, who seemed eager to help and were enjoying themselves, in the beginning I felt as though I was in a strange place. And me being a person who takes time to really open up felt even more alien. But after a while, it got to me. I also enjoyed when they laughed, be it a joke I shared or not. Slowly we reached the first pool, after having lost the people who were moving ahead of us. Once there, we got the message that we had to wait until further updates from the rest of the group. We were around 10 of us with a cute kiddo (Achantya) among us. While Achu found imaginary squids and jelly fish in the pool while swimming and found new ways of sliding down the small waterfall at the pool, the lost group met us there. And we quickly resumed out journey to the next pool – The crystal clear pool.
Everything around was in varying shades of green, and brown. Clear water went gushing around us, trickling and moving between rocks with a purpose, while we walked around or sometimes through it to make our way ahead. After sometime of climbing and trekking, we reached a scenic pool that was so beautiful, I’m so happy, the movie people haven’t found it yet. The crystal clear water, through which you could see the pebbles below, the fish moving around, was so pure, that anyone who comes back from another country claiming to have seen the best beach / lake in the world is going to get a sorry nod from me.
In less than 2 minutes, the whole group was busy thrashing around like kids in the water. The hesitation, inhibition all lost, fun seemed to be some gas that was being inhaled all over. After a while, it was time to move on – to pool 3 for the Level 1 camping site, and ahead for the others. Again after some climbing, some heaving and puffing, we had reached pool 3. A jade colored pool with shades of deeper green in the ends, it seemed like the water just decided to rest a while before it continued on its journey. As it happened each time we reached any water source, the swimmers dived headlong into the water, while the non-swimmers did everything else they could. Some wistfully watched the graceful swimmers having fun (That’s me! Scared to even keep my feet 2 ft into water) while some tried the floating technique with the tubes around them. Some others just relaxed, chatting and relaxing their muscles.
And that’s when fate decided to give this happy little gang a little more to think about. In other words, most of the gang decided to test themselves more, and go on to the next level. But for that we had to climb across a rock, clinging to the formations on it. And it was no simple rock. This one had rough, sharp edges, and turned at right angles in the midway. So there was no way to know what lay beyond that, unless we scaled that and went ahead. Well, anything looks scary until you do it. So saying, all the enthusiastic 70 or so, slowly edged their way across. No one dared to look down, because down, it was all rocks, and a pool that was quite a few feet deep. One wrong move and it could be dangerous. Brrr!!
Enter the Trekking Tigers! Till now, this happy band of Merry men, were not so much in focus, as no one’s life was clinging on a cliff. But when the tough terrain came up, these guys quickly moved and positioned themselves in such strategic points, encouraging scaredy-cats like me. And surely in a few minutes we had all crossed the dangerous-looking rock. And next we moved over the rocks to reach a small natural water slide. While two nice people helped us to cross over the slide, lots of enthusiasts were sliding below to the mouth of the waterfall. Once that was over, we started the real trek! You are wondering, what that ‘real trek’ means? Well, picture toh, abhi shuru hua hai! Now the terrain was not easy at all. It was all steep and slippery. The previous day’s rain had made the mud give away at a lot of places. When we kept our legs on some rock, thinking that it could carry our weight, it mostly came away, having been loosened by the sloppy mud. So we all clung on to the plants and roots of the trees. It was only after a while that we realized we were in a wrong trail. But by then I had already slipped twice, barely missing a fall, clinging to a small plant, which seemed too frail to withstand my weight. I got scared. This minute I had my hands around a plant, right feet on a rock jutting out under the mud, and the left trying to fix itself at the base of a plant, and the next minute, the rock gave away, while the plant snapped and I was hanging in mid air clinging to the frail plant. Thankfully, Jagan came over and passed along a root to steady myself.
It is a weird kind of rush that happens, when fear grips you. Suddenly the heart stops, voice seems forgotten (at least in my case) and adrenalin kicks in. But once you are safe, and the brain relieved that it is in no danger, all that adrenalin left out in the system, starts to act. After those two near-miss falls, by the time we reached the fourth pool, I was in a very bad shape. My muscles were trembling, and each breath was heavy. It felt like the muscles had given up. Both my hands and legs were trembling. At the fourth pool, where there was a waterfall, while others tried to refresh themselves in the water, I was taking stock of myself. There was a rock which had to be climbed to move further. Doubt, was setting in on my mind as to how I would do it. How I would move over that rock, which was angled in a way that we had to propel ourselves with our hands firmly on the dents in the rock. But when you have to do it, you just do it. While my mind tried that, my hands gave away. There it was Vandana, who caught me. It would not have been a fatal fall, but enough to injure me badly. And given that I’m sand-blind without my specs, if I had fallen, I would’ve fallen on my face, which means goodbye specs and goodbye vision. That thought was going in circles over my head, by which time, somehow I was pulled up on the rock and I quietly sat trying to calm myself. I knew I had to stop here, if I wanted to be alive. The next pool was 2 hours away, and the climb was going to be tougher. It was only common-sense to stay back. I said so to Biju the leader of Level 2. But logic was out, how could I be left alone? A first-time-trekker at a pool which was no camping site; all by herself? I had to somehow cling on, till the 5th pool. But again, going till there was going to be no easy task, and so the tigers came to my help. While one of them carried my bag, along with their own bags and other stuff like tarpaulin, rope etc., the others agreed to take care of me. Slowly motivating me, and the others, we moved forward. One step at a time, we kept going forward, until we reached the place.
I still can’t remember what place it was. Maybe it is because I automatically erase the worst memories from my head. All I can remember is, there was some rock like formation, where again I had to grip the rock and propel myself upwards to climb up. And when I tried, my both hands slipped! There was nothing below, only trees and rocks which are at an 80 degree angle to the horizontal. Where I would’ve fallen, I have no idea. But it would not have been nice at all. Two hands grabbed me at the right time, while lot of gasps escaped others’ mouths. I have no memory of how I reached on the top. But in seconds I was safe. I didn’t realize how much I valued my life until then. I couldn’t speak a word. I didn’t want to look below. I knew how bad it was. I knew how lucky I was. It would have been a major mishap, but those awesome guys saved me. From then on, there were always two people ahead and behind me. There was no saying where my next stunt would be. Abishek, Rinku, Vijay, Kaushik, RJ, Ganga, Nithya, and the other tigers, took the big burden called ‘yours truly’ into their heads. I was so embarrassed that I was such a trouble. I couldn’t even mumble thanks to those guys. Jitters were going over my hands and legs like some shock. But at the same time, I knew there was no way out. The only words, going over and over in my head were, “One big mistake. If I reach the pool in one piece, I’m not doing any more of this. From where did I get the idea that I can trek? How stupid can I get?” All this while, these guys kept at it. Encouraging, and motivating. Though they were all exhausted, being themselves new to this trail, plus having to take care of us, they did not show any signs of giving in. My mind was so scared that I would not move until Abishek was in the front leading the way. My only hope was that my fear was not rubbing on to the others. I was terrified, but I tried to keep it within me. Not sure, if that was working, but anyone who was near by, when I almost fell, were already looking at me like some sort of miracle.
It slowly became dark, and we used our torches to light our ways. Midway, we found Vaishu and her gang coming back from another false trail. The darkness was making it trickier than it actually was. After some more stops and careful climbing, we reached the pool. But by then, everyone had already slept. Where would I sleep? I didn’t have even a sleeping mat. God knows who had it, and where that person was. Ganga lent me a mat, and Archana helped me out. I was wet, exhausted and still jittery. Strange are the ways were you find real friends, and good human beings. Which stranger will go to the extent of applying a balm and rubbing the tired muscles, when that person was also in a similar state? While all the kindness and generosity of those really sweet people was weighing like a ton on me, Archana erased away all boundaries to that. That night, she was there, and that was all I had to know. In her face, I saw the care, the fact that she would not let me feel left out or insecure.
‘Thanks’ at that point seemed like a word that was too silly, too mild, to even convey 10% of the gratitude that I felt. I cannot repay any of those people in any way. I cannot ever thank them enough. But I can also never forget them and those moments. (If I go on, this will turn into the climax of any Karan Johar movie, and we wouldn’t have to go all the way to Nagala to enjoy a pool.)
There is more to write, about the fun I had. About why inspite of all this, I’m still going to trek more. But if I write this here, no one is going to read it. It has already been a very long post.
So sit tight, while the next part is on the way. :)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Inception
Sanity is when what you believe is what is real, and is what most others, who are sane, also do. It is when your dreams are your own, but your reality is the same as it is, for all. But what if what you see is what all others also see, but it isn’t so? Are you dreaming? Are you sane?
Until Inception, this was not possible. Nolan made it happen, though.
An intricate, mesmerizing maze, of mind games, that leave you undecided about yourself and shake your opinions of reality itself. A husband not able to let go of his dead wife, ridden with guilt, trying to make amends to a lost life. Others, adept in the craft of stealing ideas, who do it for a living - to help him. And the target, a vulnerable heir to an industrial empire.
The story keeps you hooked till the end. Makes you sit without batting an eyelid, lest you miss that one small action that takes you to another level of a dream. Dreams – That word which helped to explain the innermost wishes of a complex mind. Here the whole world of dreams in shown in a completely different dimension, you never ‘dreamt’ of.
The twists in the movie are explained before they actually happen, in case you get lost in the labyrinth of the ideas and dreams taking form on screen. The emotional fabric throughout keeps it taut, and gives a soul to it. In all the scenes where Marion Cotillard enters, ravishing, reeking of some mystery - which you feel you can never place your finger on - you feel like delving straight into it, and wanting to know every bit of this puzzle. And then there is the performance of the DiCaprio exuding charm and intelligence into every scene. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is surely going to go places. He has carried that smart, suave character so easily. Especially, the scene in which he tricks Ellen Page to kiss him, makes you go.. Aaaah! Also the subtle rivalry between his character, Arthur and that of Mr. Eames played by Tom Hardy is a delight to watch. The dialogues in any Nolan movie, have been its life, and so it is again in this one. There is humour, sarcasm, pain, fear, sheer thrill and a myriad of other emotions that flow out to you in each scene.
While Christopher Nolan delved into the thin line between a hero and a villain in his last venture, this time, he plays with dreams and reality, shaking the very foundations that make our lives normal.
The special effects used throughout the movie, are just so perfect, you can literally feel it, when the water just blasts through the dream of Cobb, when he gets dunked, right in the beginning. The other scene where Ariadne, (Ellen page) plays with the architecture, trying out different things, like folding the whole place on top of itself, or shattering a glass partition to make a whole new way, just scream of technical brilliance.
This movie is going to join the other brilliant works of this great director, and many other greats who didn’t just give us movies to watch, but gave us things to chew on and to contemplate. I so badly wish some of our own directors are given a resounding ‘kick’ and woken up from the dream they have been living so long. Sigh! So long guys!
Until Inception, this was not possible. Nolan made it happen, though.
An intricate, mesmerizing maze, of mind games, that leave you undecided about yourself and shake your opinions of reality itself. A husband not able to let go of his dead wife, ridden with guilt, trying to make amends to a lost life. Others, adept in the craft of stealing ideas, who do it for a living - to help him. And the target, a vulnerable heir to an industrial empire.
The story keeps you hooked till the end. Makes you sit without batting an eyelid, lest you miss that one small action that takes you to another level of a dream. Dreams – That word which helped to explain the innermost wishes of a complex mind. Here the whole world of dreams in shown in a completely different dimension, you never ‘dreamt’ of.
The twists in the movie are explained before they actually happen, in case you get lost in the labyrinth of the ideas and dreams taking form on screen. The emotional fabric throughout keeps it taut, and gives a soul to it. In all the scenes where Marion Cotillard enters, ravishing, reeking of some mystery - which you feel you can never place your finger on - you feel like delving straight into it, and wanting to know every bit of this puzzle. And then there is the performance of the DiCaprio exuding charm and intelligence into every scene. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is surely going to go places. He has carried that smart, suave character so easily. Especially, the scene in which he tricks Ellen Page to kiss him, makes you go.. Aaaah! Also the subtle rivalry between his character, Arthur and that of Mr. Eames played by Tom Hardy is a delight to watch. The dialogues in any Nolan movie, have been its life, and so it is again in this one. There is humour, sarcasm, pain, fear, sheer thrill and a myriad of other emotions that flow out to you in each scene.
While Christopher Nolan delved into the thin line between a hero and a villain in his last venture, this time, he plays with dreams and reality, shaking the very foundations that make our lives normal.
The special effects used throughout the movie, are just so perfect, you can literally feel it, when the water just blasts through the dream of Cobb, when he gets dunked, right in the beginning. The other scene where Ariadne, (Ellen page) plays with the architecture, trying out different things, like folding the whole place on top of itself, or shattering a glass partition to make a whole new way, just scream of technical brilliance.
This movie is going to join the other brilliant works of this great director, and many other greats who didn’t just give us movies to watch, but gave us things to chew on and to contemplate. I so badly wish some of our own directors are given a resounding ‘kick’ and woken up from the dream they have been living so long. Sigh! So long guys!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Directionally Handicapped!
"Right a left a ma?" asked the auto driver
Uh oh! Now which is right? Eeeeks.. I was almost hyper ventilating!
"Enna ma.. right-a left-a?"
"umm.. err.. adu.. adu.."I stammered, while the auto driver tried to slow down in a extremely busy Anna street in Thiruvanmiyur. If I didn't come up with the right way soon, we were going to be hit, either physically or verbally. Twenty pairs of eyes were trained on the auto, framing the choicest abuses in the worst possible way, while the auto-driver himself was glaring at me, a little baffled. He might be thinking what happened to me, since I looked perfectly normal when I got into it. Little does he know my problem! Sigh!
Tension rising every minute, I quickly kept the bags in the auto seat, and took out my hands, identified the right, right hand and pointed to the driver.
"Idu anna. Right" Phewwwwwww! At last!
Yeah.. that is me! I'm the most directionally handicapped person you can ever meet in your lifetime. (Pray to god, he never produces any more specimens like me, even after your lifetime). I've always found it difficult to point out right / left when someone asks me. I have to use my hands all the time. I take out my hands, look at them, mentally figure out the one used mostly, the right one, then take the other one, which obviously has to the left one,(How lucky, we have only two hands!!) and then point out to the person who asked me the fated question, only to find them in a half-slumber already. So I simply wake them up, and tell them the right way. :D
Thats why I call myself directionally handicapped, coz without my hands I'm lost! :P
Now, not only this. I have another problem. I cannot remember any routes, even if I've been through that route 100 times. Say, even if it is a simple, straight, then this way and that way and again this way(Oops, I was again using my hands to point out.. Wait, till I figure out which way...2 mins later.. yeah, so where we we..) So even if it is a simple straight, then right, and left and again right, I need to ask at least three people, keep track of their hands, and memorize the way they move pointing directions, to find my way there. It is such a sorry state of affairs, that my friends know I can get lost soon. :|
I'll tell you one such incident that happened. I and my friend were off to Ega theatre to watch 'Jab we met' and were on our way back at around 9 or so in the night. Now we had to reach our hostel before 10, else had to be ready to face a 2-hr long torture from our hostel-owner who was always on the lookout to murder people with his supposedly 'intelligent lectures'. (Rumour was that he used to be a favorite of the torture chamber wardens in some unknown country until he killed one of their own with his favorite topic.. Brrr. Scary na! I know!)So coming back to the story, we were trying hard to find our way through the traffic and reach on time. Suddenly my friend remembered another way (she still says it is the same route we used while going to the theatre, though I'm not so sure), and we raced towards it. We reached a junction pretty soon, and my friend asked me, which way we had to take now. (Blunder! I tell ya, the worst she could make.. err.. she knows that now though). In the hurry and tension, I blurted out something, and she took it for 'Right'. She again asked me if she was sure, and I was!! I was soo sure it was 'Right'. But after a few more turns, at around 9.40, we were back at the same junction. And then we realized, we were wrong. (I was obviously wrong, and she was wrong, coz she trusted me with such an important info :P). Now, this time she took the decision, and in no time, we reached another junction, and then she said.'From here only, we took right, not that one. Guess, you were confused"
To which I replied. "Oh.. so this is not the same one? It is another junction?"
Her eyes popped out to such a worst extent, that I had already trained my glasses to check the roads if they had popped out of the eyeballs. Recovering from the shock, she raced to our hostel, and we reached in record time, barely missing the torture chamber. Pheww!
And after that day, never has anyone trusted me to know any way or any direction.
I'm pretty sure this is no silly thing, and is a very rare disease that only the best minds get, but still my friends do not seem to believe me. So, this is my request to you all, if you find any information about this disease, please feel free to contact me.
Note: Nami you are a dudette! :D :D
Uh oh! Now which is right? Eeeeks.. I was almost hyper ventilating!
"Enna ma.. right-a left-a?"
"umm.. err.. adu.. adu.."I stammered, while the auto driver tried to slow down in a extremely busy Anna street in Thiruvanmiyur. If I didn't come up with the right way soon, we were going to be hit, either physically or verbally. Twenty pairs of eyes were trained on the auto, framing the choicest abuses in the worst possible way, while the auto-driver himself was glaring at me, a little baffled. He might be thinking what happened to me, since I looked perfectly normal when I got into it. Little does he know my problem! Sigh!
Tension rising every minute, I quickly kept the bags in the auto seat, and took out my hands, identified the right, right hand and pointed to the driver.
"Idu anna. Right" Phewwwwwww! At last!
Yeah.. that is me! I'm the most directionally handicapped person you can ever meet in your lifetime. (Pray to god, he never produces any more specimens like me, even after your lifetime). I've always found it difficult to point out right / left when someone asks me. I have to use my hands all the time. I take out my hands, look at them, mentally figure out the one used mostly, the right one, then take the other one, which obviously has to the left one,(How lucky, we have only two hands!!) and then point out to the person who asked me the fated question, only to find them in a half-slumber already. So I simply wake them up, and tell them the right way. :D
Thats why I call myself directionally handicapped, coz without my hands I'm lost! :P
Now, not only this. I have another problem. I cannot remember any routes, even if I've been through that route 100 times. Say, even if it is a simple, straight, then this way and that way and again this way(Oops, I was again using my hands to point out.. Wait, till I figure out which way...2 mins later.. yeah, so where we we..) So even if it is a simple straight, then right, and left and again right, I need to ask at least three people, keep track of their hands, and memorize the way they move pointing directions, to find my way there. It is such a sorry state of affairs, that my friends know I can get lost soon. :|
I'll tell you one such incident that happened. I and my friend were off to Ega theatre to watch 'Jab we met' and were on our way back at around 9 or so in the night. Now we had to reach our hostel before 10, else had to be ready to face a 2-hr long torture from our hostel-owner who was always on the lookout to murder people with his supposedly 'intelligent lectures'. (Rumour was that he used to be a favorite of the torture chamber wardens in some unknown country until he killed one of their own with his favorite topic.. Brrr. Scary na! I know!)So coming back to the story, we were trying hard to find our way through the traffic and reach on time. Suddenly my friend remembered another way (she still says it is the same route we used while going to the theatre, though I'm not so sure), and we raced towards it. We reached a junction pretty soon, and my friend asked me, which way we had to take now. (Blunder! I tell ya, the worst she could make.. err.. she knows that now though). In the hurry and tension, I blurted out something, and she took it for 'Right'. She again asked me if she was sure, and I was!! I was soo sure it was 'Right'. But after a few more turns, at around 9.40, we were back at the same junction. And then we realized, we were wrong. (I was obviously wrong, and she was wrong, coz she trusted me with such an important info :P). Now, this time she took the decision, and in no time, we reached another junction, and then she said.'From here only, we took right, not that one. Guess, you were confused"
To which I replied. "Oh.. so this is not the same one? It is another junction?"
Her eyes popped out to such a worst extent, that I had already trained my glasses to check the roads if they had popped out of the eyeballs. Recovering from the shock, she raced to our hostel, and we reached in record time, barely missing the torture chamber. Pheww!
And after that day, never has anyone trusted me to know any way or any direction.
I'm pretty sure this is no silly thing, and is a very rare disease that only the best minds get, but still my friends do not seem to believe me. So, this is my request to you all, if you find any information about this disease, please feel free to contact me.
Note: Nami you are a dudette! :D :D
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Gender Stereotype and me?!! Kabhi nahi
Megz tagged me, of all people for this one. And I'm not letting down the only person who feels I'm not extinct here :P.
Before you all let ur gray cells working on what the hell I'm rambling about let me help you save the energy of those poor cells on your first floor.
I have been tagged for ‘My Sins against Gender-Stereotypes.’ This tag says, list at least ten things you have ever wanted or done which your gender is not supposed to.
So I'm trying here to scratch and squeeze my own gray matter to help me find 10 of these. Well, to be frank I never looked at myself as a girl when I was doing something to think that since I'm a girl, I should not be doing this. Sigh! Still to do this tag, I should think of 10 such things. So here goes..
1. Umm.. Err.. I walk fast
2. I like to talk about cars and politics
3. I can board running buses with ease.
4. I love to trek and climb trees
5. I have no idea what is a mascara or err.. whatever.
6. I don't paint my toenails or my fingernails for that matter.
7. I HATE shopping. I hate it so much the very thought of T. Nagar makes me nauseous.
8. I can whistle well, and sometimes it is very involuntary.
9. I cannot stand soaps.
10. And I can cook. ( Given that more guys know cooking when compared to girls, I think this fits into this tag. :P)
Phewww.. With that I've completed this tag. YES!! YESSS!!!
And I hereby tag Himanshu and PSM errr.. Sow and Prabodh to carry on this tag. :D :D
Before you all let ur gray cells working on what the hell I'm rambling about let me help you save the energy of those poor cells on your first floor.
I have been tagged for ‘My Sins against Gender-Stereotypes.’ This tag says, list at least ten things you have ever wanted or done which your gender is not supposed to.
So I'm trying here to scratch and squeeze my own gray matter to help me find 10 of these. Well, to be frank I never looked at myself as a girl when I was doing something to think that since I'm a girl, I should not be doing this. Sigh! Still to do this tag, I should think of 10 such things. So here goes..
1. Umm.. Err.. I walk fast
2. I like to talk about cars and politics
3. I can board running buses with ease.
4. I love to trek and climb trees
5. I have no idea what is a mascara or err.. whatever.
6. I don't paint my toenails or my fingernails for that matter.
7. I HATE shopping. I hate it so much the very thought of T. Nagar makes me nauseous.
8. I can whistle well, and sometimes it is very involuntary.
9. I cannot stand soaps.
10. And I can cook. ( Given that more guys know cooking when compared to girls, I think this fits into this tag. :P)
Phewww.. With that I've completed this tag. YES!! YESSS!!!
And I hereby tag Himanshu and PSM errr.. Sow and Prabodh to carry on this tag. :D :D
Friday, July 9, 2010
This day :)
It is a weird thing. This day called your birthday!
It is just the same as any other day, but not really so. It is a day when anyone who really cares for you, knows you, likes you, does not know you, has just seen you, all of them, try to do that thing, however small it may be, in whichever way they possibly can, to make it a little more special for you. :) To make it a day you'll remember for sometime, and have a quiet laugh shaking your head at those memories of cheer and laughter you shared with all of them :)
And it is a heady feeling to know, that there are people out there, who care, who want to make it extra-special for you. Who are basically there for you.
Thanks a lot guys! :)
It is just the same as any other day, but not really so. It is a day when anyone who really cares for you, knows you, likes you, does not know you, has just seen you, all of them, try to do that thing, however small it may be, in whichever way they possibly can, to make it a little more special for you. :) To make it a day you'll remember for sometime, and have a quiet laugh shaking your head at those memories of cheer and laughter you shared with all of them :)
And it is a heady feeling to know, that there are people out there, who care, who want to make it extra-special for you. Who are basically there for you.
Thanks a lot guys! :)
Monday, June 7, 2010
[55 Fiction] GULP
Another one for the same contest.
--------
“Whiskey, rum or vodka?” Sam asked.
“Vod-ka ille stupid. It is ‘Vaud-ka’” Prabhu corrected him.
“Oh!.. I got it. What ka?” Mokka-Venkat couldn’t resist passing the opportunity.
“Hmm… Avarekka!” quipped a voice from behind them. They turned in unison.
The class teacher was tapping her feet, eye glowering.
----------------
--------
“Whiskey, rum or vodka?” Sam asked.
“Vod-ka ille stupid. It is ‘Vaud-ka’” Prabhu corrected him.
“Oh!.. I got it. What ka?” Mokka-Venkat couldn’t resist passing the opportunity.
“Hmm… Avarekka!” quipped a voice from behind them. They turned in unison.
The class teacher was tapping her feet, eye glowering.
----------------
[55 Fiction] The Other half
This was written for a contest in our internal blogging site. The total number of words is not supposed to go beyond 55 words, and must convey a story.So here goes..
----------------------------
She was asking me to join her. She was so very near, but I couldn’t reach her. It seemed like she would go farther away, if I passed this opportunity. The distance would be too great.
“Come. We’ll be together again” She said, smiling as ever.
--
The wails began. Father was a great man.
---------------------------
----------------------------
She was asking me to join her. She was so very near, but I couldn’t reach her. It seemed like she would go farther away, if I passed this opportunity. The distance would be too great.
“Come. We’ll be together again” She said, smiling as ever.
--
The wails began. Father was a great man.
---------------------------
Saturday, May 15, 2010
One unforgettable evening!
Innocence is one thing you can never ignore. It is like that wild flower in a desert. You see it, and a smile flashes across your face! :D
So it was one lovely evening when I went up to the Pantaloons to get a shirt for my dad. (I know, I know, I know as much about shirts as Thala Vijay does about acting.. just read on.. plz) I had my brother along with me, who helped me find the right shirt. Whenever he felt like throwing up, I knew the shirt in my hands was a disaster. So well, after quite a bit of almost-throwing-up-stashing-the-disater-away, my bro took up the job on himself, while I,... err.. like any other species of my kind went up to the ladies department. While I was there I spotted this bright kid. (Pssst..Now I'll let u on a secret of mine. I can do that Kathakali thing with my eyebrows, where they just keep dancing their eyebrows up and down). Now like most involuntary reactions, as soon as I see a kid, my eyebrows start dancing right away, and I must tell you, they love it! Or so I thought!
This kid promptly turned to his father, who was waiting for his wife to come out of the trail room, and started pointing at me.Yikes! I knew I was in trouble! I quickly ducked under some clothes rack, and was pretending to be absorbed in a plain gray t-shirt, when I felt a tug. It was the same kid!
"Ello, Ow-er-u" [hello, how are you]
"Oh.. I'm fine.. how are you?"
"You go to play-shhcool a?"
Now when a cute little 3 yr old, dressed in those over-sized shorts, sneakers and shirts with all big designs asks you some buzzer round questions in a kiddo voice that went 'shhhcool', you get all tongue-tied. Well, I did. Err.. you see that last question was a real bumper!!
"Err.. no-"
"I go to one. Ajay can jump like this only thee tiimes. I jump fiiiive times. And my shhhcool is there only..."
So on.. and on.. for another 15 mins it was like a new language that I learnt from him. Since I'm quite a fast learner, I was somehow able to reply back. Sample this.
"you terra kitnera?"
"ya..terri ponsalaa"
Well, he was satisfied with that answer. Right then, I got a call from my bro, asking me to get going as he had found a good shirt at last. Sadly when I turned to my new friend to bid goodbye, he went "You going? ok Shee you" with a resounding kick aimed right at my ahem-ahem.
His father's "No fighting or beating" apparently didn't include kicking. Owww!
We were at the billing counter though, when we discovered that that shirt was apparently a defective piece, and my bro has to resume his 'search-for-the-right-shirt'. But there was somebody right there to give me company.
"Hey.. nee polaya? Inge vaa" (Hey.. you didn't go yet? Come here]
(Apparently he had included me into his friends list, since we started conversing in Tamil and English there on. :hude-grin-plastered-on-my-face-now:)
We played hide and seek, among the clothes racks, looked at each mannequin there in detail, as to what each was wearing, and why there were no shoes on. There was another insight too from my little friend, as to how tall those mannequins really were! Brilliant I tell ya, my buddy was going places. Well, but by this time, since all the store-assistants had become his thick friends, anywhere I hid, the little sonny found me out in no time, with this HUGE grin that just lit up my day.
But you know what? Even these little fellas fall for a girl. Guess what happened? At the billing section this guy met a new kid (girl), and forgot all about our hide-and-seek. He was so overjoyed. He introduced her to me, and showed her all those mannequins we had so sincerely studied. But well, he tried this big fighter hug thing, and ended up falling over her and hitting their heads. Well, being the superman my little buddy was, he moved on like the Rajdhani and we were back to our little games.
After a while, his parents found us, informing that it was time to leave. My buddy, was perched up at the billing counter, lest he ran off somewhere. We kept signaling to each other, since I was standing just 2 places behind them.
"Bye bye"
"Bye bye"
"Shee you"
"See you"
"Shvuit deems"
Eh?
Oh
"Sweet dreams :D"
And then the best part.. he blew me a flying kiss!!! :D :D. (I so resembled my profile pic then. :P :P)
That little kid's innonence had spread its warmth all over. It was the best evening I had in a long time, and I'll never forget that little bugger! :)
So it was one lovely evening when I went up to the Pantaloons to get a shirt for my dad. (I know, I know, I know as much about shirts as Thala Vijay does about acting.. just read on.. plz) I had my brother along with me, who helped me find the right shirt. Whenever he felt like throwing up, I knew the shirt in my hands was a disaster. So well, after quite a bit of almost-throwing-up-stashing-the-disater-away, my bro took up the job on himself, while I,... err.. like any other species of my kind went up to the ladies department. While I was there I spotted this bright kid. (Pssst..Now I'll let u on a secret of mine. I can do that Kathakali thing with my eyebrows, where they just keep dancing their eyebrows up and down). Now like most involuntary reactions, as soon as I see a kid, my eyebrows start dancing right away, and I must tell you, they love it! Or so I thought!
This kid promptly turned to his father, who was waiting for his wife to come out of the trail room, and started pointing at me.Yikes! I knew I was in trouble! I quickly ducked under some clothes rack, and was pretending to be absorbed in a plain gray t-shirt, when I felt a tug. It was the same kid!
"Ello, Ow-er-u" [hello, how are you]
"Oh.. I'm fine.. how are you?"
"You go to play-shhcool a?"
Now when a cute little 3 yr old, dressed in those over-sized shorts, sneakers and shirts with all big designs asks you some buzzer round questions in a kiddo voice that went 'shhhcool', you get all tongue-tied. Well, I did. Err.. you see that last question was a real bumper!!
"Err.. no-"
"I go to one. Ajay can jump like this only thee tiimes. I jump fiiiive times. And my shhhcool is there only..."
So on.. and on.. for another 15 mins it was like a new language that I learnt from him. Since I'm quite a fast learner, I was somehow able to reply back. Sample this.
"you terra kitnera?"
"ya..terri ponsalaa"
Well, he was satisfied with that answer. Right then, I got a call from my bro, asking me to get going as he had found a good shirt at last. Sadly when I turned to my new friend to bid goodbye, he went "You going? ok Shee you" with a resounding kick aimed right at my ahem-ahem.
His father's "No fighting or beating" apparently didn't include kicking. Owww!
We were at the billing counter though, when we discovered that that shirt was apparently a defective piece, and my bro has to resume his 'search-for-the-right-shirt'. But there was somebody right there to give me company.
"Hey.. nee polaya? Inge vaa" (Hey.. you didn't go yet? Come here]
(Apparently he had included me into his friends list, since we started conversing in Tamil and English there on. :hude-grin-plastered-on-my-face-now:)
We played hide and seek, among the clothes racks, looked at each mannequin there in detail, as to what each was wearing, and why there were no shoes on. There was another insight too from my little friend, as to how tall those mannequins really were! Brilliant I tell ya, my buddy was going places. Well, but by this time, since all the store-assistants had become his thick friends, anywhere I hid, the little sonny found me out in no time, with this HUGE grin that just lit up my day.
But you know what? Even these little fellas fall for a girl. Guess what happened? At the billing section this guy met a new kid (girl), and forgot all about our hide-and-seek. He was so overjoyed. He introduced her to me, and showed her all those mannequins we had so sincerely studied. But well, he tried this big fighter hug thing, and ended up falling over her and hitting their heads. Well, being the superman my little buddy was, he moved on like the Rajdhani and we were back to our little games.
After a while, his parents found us, informing that it was time to leave. My buddy, was perched up at the billing counter, lest he ran off somewhere. We kept signaling to each other, since I was standing just 2 places behind them.
"Bye bye"
"Bye bye"
"Shee you"
"See you"
"Shvuit deems"
Eh?
Oh
"Sweet dreams :D"
And then the best part.. he blew me a flying kiss!!! :D :D. (I so resembled my profile pic then. :P :P)
That little kid's innonence had spread its warmth all over. It was the best evening I had in a long time, and I'll never forget that little bugger! :)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Of Men that laugh and children who cry!
It was a tranquil night. The moon was silently whispering to the barren lands that swished pass by. A lone tree or few bushes,looked on serenely now and then. It was around 10.00 and I was on my way home. Almost all had retired to their berths and when the last light was put out, I had decided to take in the beauty of the countryside in the moonlight, sitting in the dark train. But then, there was this family, to the right of my compartment, with two small kids who found the idea of traveling in a train, a little discomforting. This hunch of mine was confirmed by the kid suffering from wailisirenotopia.( This is a syndrome when the afflicted keeps wailing like a siren every 4 mins and 53 secs.) This one was unique though, coz the wailing was in a different tune each time. And then, there were this group of men to the left of my compartment, who definitely were trying to prove Darwin right, in that we evolved from monkeys. From the time they had boarded the train, they were behaving like a bunch of excited teens out on a trip for the first time. Every 10 mins, it was like a bunch of Narakasuras from Om Namah Shivai had descended on the train, booming at the hapless devi who had fallen victim to them. It was like 10 gorillas roaring in pain (well, it really couldn't be counted in as laughter, you know, so I didn't want the good old hyenas somersaulting in their graves, if I used them as metaphors here)
Now this was not bothering me much, coz staying awake was my idea. I had to get down in an hour or so, and did not want to snore all the way to Trichy, missing my station. Now by around 10.15 or so, this kid with the wailisirenotopia had got into this pretty drab tune, which was certainly not music to the ears. But of course (no sarcasm here) everyone understands how difficult it is to manage kids, and so all patiently waited for the kids to go back to sleep. That was when one of the men from the gorilla gang, wearing his 10-yr old son's shorts, crossed my compartment to the next and kind of gave a look , that was surely meant to be a warning to the parents.
How insensitive could people get! At 10.30, those people never had the sense to pipe down a bit, but the man in shorts had the gall to remind others to quieten down, a kid at that! Appalled, I went back to the barren lands, wondering about the manufacturing defect that Lord Brahma had made while dishing out this particular specimen.
After about 15 mins, the kid had gone to sleep and the whole train was softly sighing in sleep when these men - on a apparently rib-tickling one, went into this ritual of slapping thighs and making sounds that was like 5 old Bajaj scooters + 8 gorillas + 7 Narakkasuras and 11 buffalos on a high!!! The compartment almost jerked, when some 60 (remember a sleeper has 72 berths and a good 8 were occupied by these ppl, one by me, and 3 were unoccupied yet - I'm good at my math, you see :P )people were jostled from their sleep. The ones sleeping in the middle and lower berths banged their heads on the top of their berths, when they were woken up with a start! And our child with the wailisirenotopia, poor thing, also seemed to find a new tune to kick off now!! :(
Now, I decided something had to be done. But what? Hmm... yeah.. there was one thing. But, I had my own doubts. What if they went into another of these thigh-slapping, and guffawing rituals, if I did that?? I couldn't even imagine me being the cause for another of those!!! :O
But well, given that I take approximately some 53.9 seconds to make up my mind, before these thoughts could even play out in my mind, I was already on the way to their cabin. (Remember it was dark everywhere except in their cabin)I went and stood at the entrance of their cabin, and gave them all a bewildered look. I looked at each of those specimens for a good length of time,especially the one in his 10-yr old's shorts, all the time not letting go of the blank expression. There was silence. The guffawing gorillas now closely resembled dumb buffalos basking in the sun, open mouthed. I returned back to my seat, with such of sense of satisfaction, I had never felt before. That had done the trick. Within seconds, the lights went out, and the train went back to it's sleeping mode. I had not actually expected such a quick response, so to say, I was actually scared, if they would start off on another laughing spree, seeing my dumb look. Phew! :D :D Luckily the child also seemed to get tired of wailing, and had quietened down.
The tranquility returned and I went back to the moonlight barren lands, and in all that silence, barely missed snoring all the way to Trichy!
Note: I know the title is grammatically wrong. But it is intentional, which I hope you understand better after reading this post. :)
Now this was not bothering me much, coz staying awake was my idea. I had to get down in an hour or so, and did not want to snore all the way to Trichy, missing my station. Now by around 10.15 or so, this kid with the wailisirenotopia had got into this pretty drab tune, which was certainly not music to the ears. But of course (no sarcasm here) everyone understands how difficult it is to manage kids, and so all patiently waited for the kids to go back to sleep. That was when one of the men from the gorilla gang, wearing his 10-yr old son's shorts, crossed my compartment to the next and kind of gave a look , that was surely meant to be a warning to the parents.
How insensitive could people get! At 10.30, those people never had the sense to pipe down a bit, but the man in shorts had the gall to remind others to quieten down, a kid at that! Appalled, I went back to the barren lands, wondering about the manufacturing defect that Lord Brahma had made while dishing out this particular specimen.
After about 15 mins, the kid had gone to sleep and the whole train was softly sighing in sleep when these men - on a apparently rib-tickling one, went into this ritual of slapping thighs and making sounds that was like 5 old Bajaj scooters + 8 gorillas + 7 Narakkasuras and 11 buffalos on a high!!! The compartment almost jerked, when some 60 (remember a sleeper has 72 berths and a good 8 were occupied by these ppl, one by me, and 3 were unoccupied yet - I'm good at my math, you see :P )people were jostled from their sleep. The ones sleeping in the middle and lower berths banged their heads on the top of their berths, when they were woken up with a start! And our child with the wailisirenotopia, poor thing, also seemed to find a new tune to kick off now!! :(
Now, I decided something had to be done. But what? Hmm... yeah.. there was one thing. But, I had my own doubts. What if they went into another of these thigh-slapping, and guffawing rituals, if I did that??
But well, given that I take approximately some 53.9 seconds to make up my mind, before these thoughts could even play out in my mind, I was already on the way to their cabin. (Remember it was dark everywhere except in their cabin)I went and stood at the entrance of their cabin, and gave them all a bewildered look. I looked at each of those specimens for a good length of time,especially the one in his 10-yr old's shorts, all the time not letting go of the blank expression. There was silence. The guffawing gorillas now closely resembled dumb buffalos basking in the sun, open mouthed. I returned back to my seat, with such of sense of satisfaction, I had never felt before. That had done the trick. Within seconds, the lights went out, and the train went back to it's sleeping mode. I had not actually expected such a quick response, so to say, I was actually scared, if they would start off on another laughing spree, seeing my dumb look. Phew! :D :D Luckily the child also seemed to get tired of wailing, and had quietened down.
The tranquility returned and I went back to the moonlight barren lands, and in all that silence, barely missed snoring all the way to Trichy!
Note: I know the title is grammatically wrong. But it is intentional, which I hope you understand better after reading this post. :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Cockroachish day!
To hell with micro-blogging! Right when you need it, the site won’t work!
Sigh! Well, if your day starts by trampling a poor cockroach mercilessly, you know it is not going to be your day. The sin will follow you wherever you go! And it did!
It started with this. My brother leaves early in the day, and when I wake up, it is only these cockroaches or ants that give me company. (No, no, don’t even think that this is coz I keep the house dirty, ours in on the ground floor, and so, even Hit and Baygon have become ineffective to their innovative ways of finding a place into the house). After hearing a sound like ‘htttt’, I half-yawning moved my foot aside to see that it was the exoskeleton of a cockroach that I had very effectively broken, and therefore killed. After paying my last respects to the poor creature by throwing it away for good, I proceeded to the wash basin to brush my teeth, when another sound caught my attention. This time it seemed to come from the kitchen where the water can is usually kept. Though my eye sight is poor, I could figure out that the water in the can has been disturbed and the can itself was swinging this way and that, as if it has been something had pushed it. I wore my specs to investigate the incident. Ok, I’m no Madam Marple or Nancy Drew, but I can surely figure out any rat’s or cat’s tail, if it had been hiding somewhere after mischievously playing with the water can. But nope, nothing there!
Some thoughts about the recent Paranormal activity, and other horror movies did come to my mind, but then, when I thought of my steely teeth, confidence did a hulu dance and proceeded to encourage me. After about one hour I reached the bus-stand to find no M1s in sight. That was the only bus that ensured a no-sandwich-or-burger smashing, squeezing journey till Velechery. The hulu dance being forgotten, I couldn’t even think of the word confidence then. Mustering all the courage I could at that time, I stepped foot onto the M70 that was in sight. Oops… then I saw it was another lady’s foot that I had stepped on, and quickly apologized to stop the steady flow of expletives that were raining from her red-stained mouth. So much for my confidence’s hulu dance! Sigh!
Like they say, there is light at the end of a tunnel, a seat in the crowded bus emptied up for me, and I taking it as an opportunity to breathe, happily lunged into it. The day did seem to be getting better. I guess in so much I had somehow washed myself off the sin of killing a poor bubbly flying cockroach. So smiling to myself, I was about to forget all worries, when this stupid man caught my eye. After about 10 mins, it was evident he was surely not smirking to himself and the obscene gestures were directed at me. In this world, there is nothing as irritating and annoying as something that is done to you indirectly. You can’t even fight back or shout or react in any possible way, lest you be called an idiot for imagining things. For that stupid smirk of his, I felt like baring my steel reinforced teeth at him, which I was sure, would make him the twin brother of the scarecrow that you see in the Thanjavur rice fields. But my dignity and the care for my fellow-travellers made me change my mind. Also my stop was near. I had by then decided to take my silent revenge on Mr.Smirking-Beauty by stamping his feet when I was getting down. Imagine my chagrin when he grinned at me, and got down on the stop that was just before the one where I get down. I felt like chasing him right then, and trampling his feet like I had done the poor cockroach! Ahh… now I knew why my day had begun on such a great note!
So sighing I entered my office to find the same boring tasks staring out of my mailbox like some demented dragons keen on making me lose my already half-insane mind. End of day was nearing, after a wearisome boring day. Only the onsite call was remaining which we had calculated to last exactly 18 mins and 23 secs. But damn all sanity, we had to hear a whole lecture on an already known issue for a whole hour with bits if Telugu in between! Mr. Cockroach was flying around my head in circles reminding me of the sin I had committed early morning! So much for ghosts! :|
If my day could’ve ended better the internal site where I had to upload some documents refused to oblige, making me raise tickets, only to suddenly start working so promptly that the documents got uploaded twice. How nice! And then there was this traffic that snailed all the way home, creating an opportunity for me to scare the driver with my loud yawns. (He was lucky I don’t snore!)
And so after a whole tiring day when I have to eat dinner cooked by myself (What worse misery can strike you! :’( ), I tried to tweet something, only to find the site not-responding at all. Now you know the reason for this mindless rant. Well, I can only hope that I paid for all my sins!
Hmm..now where did I leave my mobile phone.. (Author scratching her head, looking for some bulb to glow, and show her the quickest path to her mobile phone). OMG! How did a cockroach’s leg find its way to my head!!!! :|
Sigh! Well, if your day starts by trampling a poor cockroach mercilessly, you know it is not going to be your day. The sin will follow you wherever you go! And it did!
It started with this. My brother leaves early in the day, and when I wake up, it is only these cockroaches or ants that give me company. (No, no, don’t even think that this is coz I keep the house dirty, ours in on the ground floor, and so, even Hit and Baygon have become ineffective to their innovative ways of finding a place into the house). After hearing a sound like ‘htttt’, I half-yawning moved my foot aside to see that it was the exoskeleton of a cockroach that I had very effectively broken, and therefore killed. After paying my last respects to the poor creature by throwing it away for good, I proceeded to the wash basin to brush my teeth, when another sound caught my attention. This time it seemed to come from the kitchen where the water can is usually kept. Though my eye sight is poor, I could figure out that the water in the can has been disturbed and the can itself was swinging this way and that, as if it has been something had pushed it. I wore my specs to investigate the incident. Ok, I’m no Madam Marple or Nancy Drew, but I can surely figure out any rat’s or cat’s tail, if it had been hiding somewhere after mischievously playing with the water can. But nope, nothing there!
Some thoughts about the recent Paranormal activity, and other horror movies did come to my mind, but then, when I thought of my steely teeth, confidence did a hulu dance and proceeded to encourage me. After about one hour I reached the bus-stand to find no M1s in sight. That was the only bus that ensured a no-sandwich-or-burger smashing, squeezing journey till Velechery. The hulu dance being forgotten, I couldn’t even think of the word confidence then. Mustering all the courage I could at that time, I stepped foot onto the M70 that was in sight. Oops… then I saw it was another lady’s foot that I had stepped on, and quickly apologized to stop the steady flow of expletives that were raining from her red-stained mouth. So much for my confidence’s hulu dance! Sigh!
Like they say, there is light at the end of a tunnel, a seat in the crowded bus emptied up for me, and I taking it as an opportunity to breathe, happily lunged into it. The day did seem to be getting better. I guess in so much I had somehow washed myself off the sin of killing a poor bubbly flying cockroach. So smiling to myself, I was about to forget all worries, when this stupid man caught my eye. After about 10 mins, it was evident he was surely not smirking to himself and the obscene gestures were directed at me. In this world, there is nothing as irritating and annoying as something that is done to you indirectly. You can’t even fight back or shout or react in any possible way, lest you be called an idiot for imagining things. For that stupid smirk of his, I felt like baring my steel reinforced teeth at him, which I was sure, would make him the twin brother of the scarecrow that you see in the Thanjavur rice fields. But my dignity and the care for my fellow-travellers made me change my mind. Also my stop was near. I had by then decided to take my silent revenge on Mr.Smirking-Beauty by stamping his feet when I was getting down. Imagine my chagrin when he grinned at me, and got down on the stop that was just before the one where I get down. I felt like chasing him right then, and trampling his feet like I had done the poor cockroach! Ahh… now I knew why my day had begun on such a great note!
So sighing I entered my office to find the same boring tasks staring out of my mailbox like some demented dragons keen on making me lose my already half-insane mind. End of day was nearing, after a wearisome boring day. Only the onsite call was remaining which we had calculated to last exactly 18 mins and 23 secs. But damn all sanity, we had to hear a whole lecture on an already known issue for a whole hour with bits if Telugu in between! Mr. Cockroach was flying around my head in circles reminding me of the sin I had committed early morning! So much for ghosts! :|
If my day could’ve ended better the internal site where I had to upload some documents refused to oblige, making me raise tickets, only to suddenly start working so promptly that the documents got uploaded twice. How nice! And then there was this traffic that snailed all the way home, creating an opportunity for me to scare the driver with my loud yawns. (He was lucky I don’t snore!)
And so after a whole tiring day when I have to eat dinner cooked by myself (What worse misery can strike you! :’( ), I tried to tweet something, only to find the site not-responding at all. Now you know the reason for this mindless rant. Well, I can only hope that I paid for all my sins!
Hmm..now where did I leave my mobile phone.. (Author scratching her head, looking for some bulb to glow, and show her the quickest path to her mobile phone). OMG! How did a cockroach’s leg find its way to my head!!!! :|
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Avatar - Some thoughts!
Avatar is no new release, I know. But well, I got the tickets to watch that very recently and so here are some of my views on it. This might be a very very late review (if you can call it so), but I felt like writing about it.. so here goes. :)
Just when you thought that the greatest movies were those with the most complicated scripts, or story lines with layers and layers behind each frame, here is one to trash all that!
You go in there expecting grandeur, but what hits you is simplicity! It is not a wonderfully fresh story line, or refreshingly brilliant characters, it is the sincere and simple narrative. Everything is simply put there, point blank for all. But very few always get it, so instead of the usual narrative; James Cameron uses 3D, to make you feel one with an imaginary world, in parallel with the one we are already living in. He uses a new species The Na’vis. And unfolds a brand new Avatar of cinema!
All this while, we expected twists and turns, something spectacular that made those bucks you spend in the cinema hall worthwhile. In Avatar, except for the new technology that has been used to make the film, for a layman it is as lucid as it is for a 4-yr old. Good vs Bad, where the Good ultimately wins.
Here we also get to see how things work when there are a bunch of individuals who work for themselves, for their own motives. How their interests take precedence over everything, over lives, over peace, over The Right!! There is an irony that is brought out, when the tiny humans try to overcome the giant Na’vis, using the machines and technology that is far too superior and powerful for the native people of Pandora. How arrogance and greed overcome us humans, how we get blinded for our s
selfish motives!
But as in any film, there are a few things that linger unexplained. Why this perfection in everything in the Pandora? Pandora.. the name itself seems ironical. The people, if they were meant to be of another world, are more like us. The same two eyes, one nose and one mouth. I forgot the two ears! :P
Why is the stretch of imagination never going beyond that part of it? I’ve been waiting to watch a movie that depicts aliens in a different way, but somehow, they always get to what we have already seen or experienced. Speaking in the physical terms, of course.
Coming back, really, why the perfection? The Navis have perfect bodies, the old, the children everyone! Living in harmony with nature makes you perfect!? Is that what James Cameron wants us to believe? Even in the tribes there are fat people. But nope not here! Now that was one thing that made me wonder, what message this is actually sending out. But there is good, bad and ugly in Pandora. The dog-kind-of hunters that almost hunt Jake Sully, predators, herbivores that are almost equivalent to goats, monkey-like creatures. But there were exceptions. The lizard like creature that flies with its own wings that spread out like a spiral fan, the spiral plants that withdraw into themselves when they are threatened. The luminescent forest itself. It has taken many a creative mind to come up with all these things!!!
There is a never-say-die villain here. He is the right match for our ‘It is not over until it is over’ hero of course. But is it right to call him the Hero? Doesn’t Neytiri actually save him twice? Isn’t she the one who has the real guts to go against her own people for an outsider?
There is a deviation though. The money-guy who never understands any other language other than money, is for a change right on the site of action. He is along with the people who are working for him. Quite odd! Coz usually u find these guys teeing off with a Bluetooth on. Maybe that is the reason, Bluetooth doesn’t work across planets.(I know that was a really bad one.. sorry couldn’t help :P)
The indigenous communication devices, technology that brings images in thin air, (though falls short of providing an automatic wheelchair for Jake Sully) could make you scratch your head. But again you are diverted from these by the magnificence of the world. The hanging mountains is one such. Every frame in the movie is significant, and you’ll know that each creature has a role to play in the end by the time you are 15 minutes into the movie. They surely can’t waste their time sketching and creating such creatures just for a 1 minute scene! And sure enough you get to see all of them in the end doing justice to their part, pulling at your heartstrings right when you could let your mind wander about.
Good against evil. Acceptance vs alienation. Man vs woman. Nature vs humans. Navi’s vs humans. In the end you learn love triumphs. Love for everything around you. Even the smallest dandelion seed (fluffy things in the air, whatever they actually are), even the tiniest blade of grass, loves you. If you love it back, you win! Seems absurd doesn’t it? :) Well, that is the toughest thing James Cameron tries to convey. Very few take it back along with them though. The message could get overshadowed by the expectation for special effects and 3D, cinema like never before experience.
Just when you thought that the greatest movies were those with the most complicated scripts, or story lines with layers and layers behind each frame, here is one to trash all that!
You go in there expecting grandeur, but what hits you is simplicity! It is not a wonderfully fresh story line, or refreshingly brilliant characters, it is the sincere and simple narrative. Everything is simply put there, point blank for all. But very few always get it, so instead of the usual narrative; James Cameron uses 3D, to make you feel one with an imaginary world, in parallel with the one we are already living in. He uses a new species The Na’vis. And unfolds a brand new Avatar of cinema!
All this while, we expected twists and turns, something spectacular that made those bucks you spend in the cinema hall worthwhile. In Avatar, except for the new technology that has been used to make the film, for a layman it is as lucid as it is for a 4-yr old. Good vs Bad, where the Good ultimately wins.
Here we also get to see how things work when there are a bunch of individuals who work for themselves, for their own motives. How their interests take precedence over everything, over lives, over peace, over The Right!! There is an irony that is brought out, when the tiny humans try to overcome the giant Na’vis, using the machines and technology that is far too superior and powerful for the native people of Pandora. How arrogance and greed overcome us humans, how we get blinded for our s
selfish motives!
But as in any film, there are a few things that linger unexplained. Why this perfection in everything in the Pandora? Pandora.. the name itself seems ironical. The people, if they were meant to be of another world, are more like us. The same two eyes, one nose and one mouth. I forgot the two ears! :P
Why is the stretch of imagination never going beyond that part of it? I’ve been waiting to watch a movie that depicts aliens in a different way, but somehow, they always get to what we have already seen or experienced. Speaking in the physical terms, of course.
Coming back, really, why the perfection? The Navis have perfect bodies, the old, the children everyone! Living in harmony with nature makes you perfect!? Is that what James Cameron wants us to believe? Even in the tribes there are fat people. But nope not here! Now that was one thing that made me wonder, what message this is actually sending out. But there is good, bad and ugly in Pandora. The dog-kind-of hunters that almost hunt Jake Sully, predators, herbivores that are almost equivalent to goats, monkey-like creatures. But there were exceptions. The lizard like creature that flies with its own wings that spread out like a spiral fan, the spiral plants that withdraw into themselves when they are threatened. The luminescent forest itself. It has taken many a creative mind to come up with all these things!!!
There is a never-say-die villain here. He is the right match for our ‘It is not over until it is over’ hero of course. But is it right to call him the Hero? Doesn’t Neytiri actually save him twice? Isn’t she the one who has the real guts to go against her own people for an outsider?
There is a deviation though. The money-guy who never understands any other language other than money, is for a change right on the site of action. He is along with the people who are working for him. Quite odd! Coz usually u find these guys teeing off with a Bluetooth on. Maybe that is the reason, Bluetooth doesn’t work across planets.(I know that was a really bad one.. sorry couldn’t help :P)
The indigenous communication devices, technology that brings images in thin air, (though falls short of providing an automatic wheelchair for Jake Sully) could make you scratch your head. But again you are diverted from these by the magnificence of the world. The hanging mountains is one such. Every frame in the movie is significant, and you’ll know that each creature has a role to play in the end by the time you are 15 minutes into the movie. They surely can’t waste their time sketching and creating such creatures just for a 1 minute scene! And sure enough you get to see all of them in the end doing justice to their part, pulling at your heartstrings right when you could let your mind wander about.
Good against evil. Acceptance vs alienation. Man vs woman. Nature vs humans. Navi’s vs humans. In the end you learn love triumphs. Love for everything around you. Even the smallest dandelion seed (fluffy things in the air, whatever they actually are), even the tiniest blade of grass, loves you. If you love it back, you win! Seems absurd doesn’t it? :) Well, that is the toughest thing James Cameron tries to convey. Very few take it back along with them though. The message could get overshadowed by the expectation for special effects and 3D, cinema like never before experience.
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