How the Earth was made

I volunteer for a program called Book Buddies. Every week, I spend an hour with two kids helping them to read books. This includes helping them with pronunciation and comprehension. Since these are kids from the second grade, it is really a fun thing to do and the hour usually flies by very quickly. Today was a special day, since it was our last meeting for this year. The co-ordinators for the program gave the volunteers some gifts (a card, a picture of the two kids, a pencil, candy and a calendar). What's better, they had the kids hand out the gifts to the volunteers.

Typically every week, I help the kids read two books, learn some new words and play a word-game in 30 minutes. Today, one of the kids got to read a book in which a baby bear asks its mother for a bed time story. After we were done reading the book, I got talking with the kid about the story. Here's what happened.

"So, do you like to listen to a story when you go to sleep ?"

"Yes"

"Who reads to you at night ?"

"My Dad"

"Oh really ? Thats nice. What does he read to you ?"

"I forgot its name, but he read to me about how the Earth was made."

"Oh wow! So tell me, how was the Earth made ?"

"Well, there were these boy and girl called Adam and Eve. There was a poisonous snake. They had two kids and the two kids died..."

"..."

To put the media in its place

I came across this rather video of Ram Jethmalani, being interviewed by Sagarika Ghose from NDTV . Now if you are like me, and are not well-versed with popular and notorious personalities, you might not have heard about Ram Jethmalani. This guy is a criminal lawyer, who is well known for taking up famous cases (quite notably among them - Harshad Mehta). This particular video is about the Jessica Lal murder case. To put it in context, Jessica Lal, an upcoming model, who was found murdered at a bar, in 1999. The chief suspect was Manu Sharma, the son of a high-profile politician from the Indian National Congress. Ram Jethmalani took up Manu Sharma's case inspite of popular public and media opinions that Manu Sharma was guilty. Here, he states his case as to why he took it up.

A lot of things to be noted about the whole manner in which this murder has been tried in the court. Initially, the court did a lousy job of analyzing the evidence. It was only due to public and media intervention, that the case was reopened, and evaluated carefully. That being said, where does the job of the media end ? Is creating prejudice something the press should do ? Where do we get unbiased jury members from ? Should the press try to bias the defending lawyer as well ? The "popular opinion" about Indian judicial system and the Law and Order system may not be good. However, the solution is not to subject people to public trials, media scrutiny, and completely lose faith in the judicial system. Have faith in the system, and if it fails you, then try to appeal within its limits! I don't think the solution is for everyone to turn vigilantes and add to the existing law and order issue.

My morning routine

I have decided to pass on some knowledge. Something that everyone can benefit from - my morning routine. Every morning, I hope to be at my office by a modest 8:00 a.m. As you can see, I dont ask of much of myself. I try to usually go to bed by 11:00 pm, trying to give myself at least 8 hours of sleep. However, I end up sleeping a little bit late every day. Some times as late as 12 pm. So, now as I try to maximize my sleeping time, while meeting my modest goal of being at work by 8 a.m., I have set myself a very nice optimization problem. How do you optimize your early morning routine, without giving up on the important aspects of it ? Before, you jump ahead of me and assume that I arrive at work shabbily, skipping breakfast, or not having brushed my teeth, let me assure you that this is not the case. Every morning, I brush my teeth, give myself a shave, take a good bath, put on a clean pair of clothes (and these days a sweater), make myself a protein shake and drink it, leave a glass of water for my wife, warm up my car for 5 mins (since its winter) and wear my shoes before I leave.

The most important part of my optimized daily routine, is parallel-processing. Just because I have a lot of things to do, it does not mean I have to do them serially. Lets knock of the easiest thing which everyone has seen in a movie or two. Brushing your teeth while taking bath, or while picking your clothes for the day. Piece of cake. I still have not practiced shaving while doing some thing else as I am scared of cutting myself. Maybe with a electric shaver some day ? After I get ready and step out of my bedroom, my big tasks are to have a protein shake, pick up my keys, cell phone and wallet, wear my shoes and warm up my car. So, I first pick my keys and start my car. So it warms up while I do my other stuff. I prepare my protein shake and proceed to grab my wallet and cell phone. Now an important optimization step. Putting on my socks and shoes. I put on the first sock on my left leg, and while I am putting the sock on my right leg, I slip my left leg in to the shoe. Voila! knocked off 10 secs right there! Next, I slip on my other shoe. But, I do not tie my shoe-lace right away. That my dear friends, can wait. I get in to my now warm car, and begin to drive. I have learnt that my drive will typically involve at least two traffic lights. So instead of twiddling my thumbs while waiting at the traffic light, I tie my show laces at the traffic lights. Cha-Ching! A good 30 seconds in your pocket! Want to save more time, wear your sweater while waiting at the traffic light. 10 more seconds! A little more time ? Dont wear your socks or shoes till you get in the car. Put them in a cover in the passenger seat beside you and wear them at the traffic lights. Dont make the mistake of leaving the shoes at your feet without wearing them. It can be a real hazard, as the shoes can come in the way of your gas pedal or brake pedal. So, you see, I care about my safety and the safety of others too!

Do you have some tips to save more time in your morning routine ?? Let me hear them.

My most humiliating moment

It was the summer of late 1980s or early 1990s. I was probably around 10 yrs old. We lived in an apartment complex which was pretty close to our school. In fact my parents moved to that area just because it was pretty close to our school. After some days, we got introduced to kids in the neighborhood and we used to meet regularly to play cricket or hide-and-seek or other such games. One such kid we got introduced to was Seenu. Seenu was an instant star in the group. Everybody wanted to be on his side, in a team. It was because he was a loud guy. He didn't hesitate in speaking out against anything, and he was usually witty in his comments. But one other thing that he was known for, was instigating troubles. He had this habit of trying to create drama by ratting people out, or by plain creating rumors. But the main too pests in the story are two guys whom I will call Karthik and Nimeesh. Because thats what their names really are. I got introduced to these guys through my brother as they were closer to his age than mine. They were the typical guys who thought they were too cool to hang out with kids who are younger to them. Karthik was a typical south-indian looking guy - dark toned, vibhoodi (sacred ash) on his forehead, lanky and fairly tall for his age. Nimeesh was also a lanky guy, unkempt hair, fair skinned and had two large front tooth. The reason I mention how they look is that I hope they stumble upon my blog some time and realize without any doubt that it is them that I am talking about! Karthik and Nimeesh were the biggest snobs in the complex, IMHO. Of course, my view is tainted by the fact that I hate them and I wish the worst for each of them. That apart, they always had a fake english accent - Karthik's was much worse than Nimeesh's. They always seemed to look down upon the thing that regular kids did - playing in the sun, getting dirty etc. The only times I interacted with them was when I tagged along with my brother and they did their best to try and talk to him without trying to involve/acknowledge my presence.

Anyway, now that the characters have been set, here's what happened (with all due respect to Adrian Monk, I am not solving a mystery here). On one sunny afternoon, I went out to the quadrangle in the complex, hoping to meet some kids and play something. I went on my own for some reason, and happened to find Seenu there. I went to his house and we walked up to the terrace of a building. It just so happened that Karthik was on the terrace of another building, which was right across the building we were at. Seenu got talking with Karthik and at one point, got him to say something which appeared like Karthik was cussing at me. Now, for some reason, I was mature enough to see what Seenu was doing. He was trying to create some drama on this boring day. I didnt bite on it, even when Seenu tried to rile me, about the cuss words. I just shrugged it off and said "It does not matter" or something to that effect. What I discounted, was Seenu's ability to make the most out of nothing. He turned to Karthik, who clearly could not hear what I said, and shouted out to him "Oh! This guy thinks you dont matter. He thinks you are a nobody!" or something to that effect. Before I could say anything, Karthik started off as a possessed guy, and began swearing at me. He took off from the terrace saying he would come to where I was, and "settle the issue like a man". I was still thinking this was going to be some kind of a joke, so I just waited there. Mostly, my ego was making me stay there, as I did not want to chicken out and run away in case there was going to be a fight. Once Karthik got there, he held my hands behind my back with one hand, and started swearing more at me. You have to know, that I was a much lankier guy, not to mention smaller. I was easily over powered. But the most important thing was I lacked the will to fight. Having been brought up lot more decently, than Karthik, at no point was I thinking of hurting this guy or saying something back. I just tried to wiggle myself out of the situation and walk away. Before I could do that, Nimeesh showed up on the terrace of the building opposite us. He laughed at the situation and pulled out a catapult that he had made. He asked Karthik to hold me steady so that he could do some "target practice". So as I was held helplessly by Karthik, Nimeesh continued to fling paper clips, or small stones or whatever he could launch with his catapult. It was the worst I had ever felt in my life, to date. After a while, Karthik let me go as I guess some sense dawned upon his pea-sized brain eventually. His dad and my dad knew each other, and if this issue had escalated, he would have had to face some heat. I, of course, did not tell my parents about this for a lot of reasons.

It would have been fantastic to have an epilogue for this story - If I somehow found out that Karthik was begging at the railway stations or works at a Sulabh Complex (public urinals in India) and Nimeesh was cleaning the floors of trains, or picking up dung from the railway tracks, for a living. Unfortunately, I dont have the energy to go looking out for two a-holes and what they are currently up to. For all that I know, they are probably well off. At least Nimeesh looked like his parents were well off. I do wish the very worst in life for both of them though.

Khosla Ka Ghosla - The review

Bapu wiped off the sweat that had gathered above his upper lip as he nervously walked towards the room.

"Yaar, I cant do this."

"Shall we go back then, Bapu ?"

"huh ? ok.." he turned back to return. Mani made a gesture as if to punch Bapu. They can't back out now. They had rehearsed it over in their heads for a while now.

"Dont worry Bapu. You have done bigger stage dramas than this. How can you be scared to play a small NRI role ? Dont worry, you will be fine. Just leave it all to me. Just act dignified. Remember - 'Broker or Party ?' "

"Broker or Party" said Bapu, nodding along as if he remembered his cue.

They entered the room, where Vijendarr was already waiting for them. Judging by Bapu's hesitant steps, he assumed that Mani was the NRI and that Bapu was his secretary. He proceeded to shake hands with Mani. Mani gestured towards Bapu to indicate that Bapu was the NRI. Vijendarr nodded as if he had known this all along, and turned towards Bapu, extending his hand out. Mani looked at Bapu, to see if Bapu froze again. He was ready to say something instead, when Bapu said

"Aap broker hain yaa party ?" ("Are you the broker or are you the party interested in buying ?")

Vijendarr was shocked. He was not used to being dominated during these discussions. He regained his composure and said

"Sir, you can think of me as the party itself. Why dont we.."

"Aap broker hain yaa party ?" Bapu repeated in a more stern tone.

"Broker" said Vijendarr with a sheepish smile.

"How many times have I told you that I dont want to talk to brokers??!" yelled Bapu in Mani's direction and walked off.

Mani could not believe it. Bapu had pulled it off much better than he had imagined. He could not contain his excitement. As soon as they stepped out of the office, he told Bapu how he felt. All their planning was coming together now. It all started with Mr KK Khosla (played by Anupam Kher) who pulled together his entire life's savings to buy a small plot. Unfortunately, before he could make plans to build something there, Kishore Khurana (played brilliantly by Boman Irani) captures it illegally. He demands 15 lakhs from KK Khosla, to return the land. After trying various ways to get the land back, they finally decide to listen to Asif (played by Vinay Pathak). Asif suggests that they trick Khurana into believing that a wealthy NRI wishes to sell a large piece of land for a reasonable price. When Khurana pays an advance fee to purchase the land, they could use the same money, to buy back their land. They beg and plead Bapu (played by Naveen Nischol) to play the role of the NRI, and convince Mani (played by Nitish Pandey) to act as Bapu's secretary. Asif suggests that they play this plan patiently and get the attention of the smaller fish at first - Vijendarr, a real estate broker. Asif predicts that Vijendarr would eventually lead them to Khurana.

So here they were, after their meeting with Vijendarr. They sat in a room with the Khoslas and Asif, not sure when they would hear back. Just like that, the phone rang and Mani picked it up. It was Khurana's secretary who called up to arrange for a meeting. They were elated. Mani asked Khurana's secretary to meet them at the room in the five start hotel, that they had rented.

Once they were in the room, Bapu started sweating again. He opened the room service menu to try and order something.

"Rs 250 for a single tea ?? Oh my god! Everything is so damn costly. "

"Bapu, everything is going to be expensive here. Please relax"

"I dont think we can afford to order that. Why dont you open the menu and order the cheapest item ?"

"That would be tea!" said Mani quietly.

Once again, Mani went over the plan in his head, ready to take over in case Bapu got nervous. Just as the door bell rang, Bapu excused himself to use the restroom. Mani chided Bapu on his ill-timing and hurried to open the door. He invited Khurana and his secretary politely and seated them. He made an excuse for Bapu, saying he was on a conference call with some minister. All the while, Khurana was calm, observing the room and Mani. After a while, Bapu entered the room, and looked at Mani who got up. He introduced Khurana in a low voice, and smiled nervously, expecting Bapu to go shake hands with him. Bapu turned towards Khurana and said in a loud voice

"Aap broker hain yaa party ?"

Khurana was shocked, as was his secretary. And Mani!. And with that one sentence, Bapu had established his superiority over Khurana, for all further dealings!

Our lawn!

Hope the weekend is bringing rest and some sleep to all of you. Here is an interesting story that you can read at your leisure. While we were preparing for our vacation to India, Uma and I (mostly I ) worried about how our lawn and in particular our vegetable garden and flower beds would fare during our absence. The vegetable garden has tomato plants and one of them had just started forming a tomato and I wanted to make sure it got enough water. The flower beds were also fairly sensitive to water. Although Uma's friend Sudha generously offered to stop by and check on our lawn and water it if possible, we politely refused her help. Firstly, it was going to be a lot of work. Secondly, she was going to be off for a week in between (for her anniversary) anyway. So, before we left, I scouted around a bit and found this cheap water timer that would water the most important parts of our lawn every morning for 30 minutes. I was happy with this. We tested it 2 days before we left and were satisfied with the results. However, a day before we left, we had a heavy rainfall and forecast for further rainfall while we were away. We were not sure how funny it would appear if our sprinklers came on after we left, right in the middle of a huge thunder storm. Remember, Padamati Sandhya Raagam and how Vijayashanti's father waters the lawn during rain ??

Anyway, we left for India, and Sudha kept checking on the lawn as often as she could. Apparently one day, while she was checking on our roses, she happened to talk to our neighbor. This old man who stayed across the street had talked to Uma and me a while ago and

appeared to be a nice guy. He apparently mistook Sudha for Uma and asked her when she planned to have the lawn mowed. The weeds in the lawn had grown too tall and he told her that it would end up costing us a lot if we didnt take care of it soon. This was a week before we got back in town. Sudha told the old man that she would inform us after we got back.

When we came back in town, the lawn was a horrible sight. Although our vegetable garden and flower beds were largely ok, the lawn itself was a mess. There were weeds that were half as tall as me in some places, and the sprinklers seemed buried in them somewhere. Creepers had started growing in some places and they clung to our flowering plants at some places. We somehow survived Monday morning and on the evening, I got to work with my lawn mower. My poor mower cried and pleaded with me as I worked very hard with it. It stopped about 15-20 times in the entire process and I finally figured out a way to make it work. It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes to get the lawn to decent shape. Uma and I are still working on removing the weeds from some hard to reach places.

Meanwhile, today we finally went to the post office to pick up a package that was waiting for us since Aug 14th or so. Turns out it was a letter, the contents of which I have scanned and attached with this email!

My take is that this old man who stays across our house, has complained to the Columbus City Council about the state of our lawn! Of course, I cant blame him for it or do anything about it. I am just amused by this whole turn of events and how we own our land, but not really get to do whatever we want with it. It might not sound strange to Vadina as she might have dealt with these things before. I am sure someone told me about this before, but I am just surprised at how soon this issue escalated. My only regret is that I did not take any before/after pictures of the lawn. The lawn is fairly clean now, although we are going to mow it again this weekend, to pick up some of the weeds that have managed to grow back!

Trip to India

I had an amazing trip to India. I visited a total of 6 different cities during my 2 week stay. Let's see now - I was in
1. Hyderabad from Aug 7th to Aug 10th, 13th to 15th and 17th to 18th
2. Tirupati from Aug 11th to Aug 12th
3. Karimnagar on Aug 12th
4. Chennai from 15th to 16th
5. Delhi from 18th to 19th
6. Agra from 19th to 20th

The trip was so great that I keep telling everyone I enjoyed every moment of the trip including the time I was sick! My only regret is that I could not get as much of Indian food as I would have liked - esp Chaat! :( The highlights of the trip are my brother's wedding, meeting almost all of my cousins (Phani, Vamsi, Siri, Pratyu, Srikanth and Rohit on my Mom's side; Balu Annayya, Nani Bava and Bunny Vadina on my father's side) at the wedding and spending quality time with all of them, meeting my cousin's kids - Atul and Aparanji, the dinner at my brother's wedding, eating Tawa sweet for the first time (and understanding what is meant by experiencing a piece of heaven!), shopping with my wife at the new malls in Hyd, celebrating my Dad's 60th birthday, tasting my Mom's cooking, our train travel to Tirupati, eating junk food in the train, shopping at the street-side vendors in Tirupati, buying comics and magazines at the railway station, our fabulous trip to Karimnagar and my sister-in-law's village, watching a telugu movie (Magadheera) at Radhika theatre, buying black tickets for that movie, eating at Ohris, drive on Tank Bund, eating American Chopsuey at Chutney's, beating my Dad to paying the bill at the restaurants, our trip to Chennai, eating Kaima Idly and Mixed Veg Parota at Saravana bhavan, ordering food for my Mom at the restaurant, eating Sundal at T Nagar, seeing the mad rush for Gold at GRT, dealing with a Govt official for a birth certificate at the Muncipal office, shopping for movie CDs at Sangeet Sagar, drinking entire cartons of Real Juice (Guava, Tomato and Mixed Fruit flavors), our stay at the Delhi guest house, visit to Lotus Temple, our unforgettable trip to Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, the guide (Ashok) who ripped us off at Agra, the unbelievably good handicrafts we saw at Agra, bargaining with the shop vendors at Agra, chiding the shop keepers about their excessive use of English, the enjoyable stay at Imperial Palace in Agra, the amazingly good dinner that we had there, the awesome omlettes that Hari made at the Delhi guest house, and lastly the two samosas I had at the Delhi airport before flying back.

In short, I enjoyed EVERY moment. As you can see, I am a sucker for everything Indian. Maybe, its due to the fact that I was there for a short time, or maybe it is due to the fact that I hadn't been there in a while, or maybe its because I really like being in India.

Sa-Ro-Ja

Jaganna (Jagapathy Babu played by the likeable SPB Charan) could not believe it. He stopped in shock and tried to think hard while the train pulled away. Chinni, Ganesh Kumar and Ajay yelled madly, egging him on to run towards the train. Jaganna stopped dead in his tracks and started searching furiously for his wallet. He remembered hiding in the store room when the goon was looking for them. And as he realized that he probably lost his wallet somewhere there, he cursed his luck and the fact thathe had to go back in to that abandoned building. Reluctantly, one by one, Chinni, Ajay and Ganesh Kumar got down from the moving train and ran back towards Jaganna not realizing what could be some important to stop him from running for his life.

What started out as a simple road trip of fun, to watch a cricket match in Hyderabad, had now gone sour. After they witnessed the killing of a policeman by Sampath, they had only one intention - to flee the place. After a great lot of difficulty, they managed to run to the tracks where they barely got on to the moving train. Almost. Jaganna realized that with this wallet lying around, the goons could always track him. It had pictures of his family, his driver's license and pretty much everything needed to locate him.

The four of them argued over who would go in. Jaganna pleaded with all of them to back while he went in alone to search for the wallet, but they did not agree. After a lot of deliberation, Ganesh Kumar (played fantastically by my now-favorite Prem G Amaran) is volunteered for the task. After scoping out the area as best as they could, the two of them finally reach the store room where they had been earlier, tip-toeing out! Just as Jaganna heaved a sign of relief at having spotted the wallet, he turned around and realized that Ganesh Kumar was no longer around. Yet another time in the day, Jaganna could not believe it. They had everything that they needed to get away, but were now missing a dear friend. He went back to Ajay and Chinni, who were waiting outside the building. No, Ganesh had not returned there.

In a dilapidated room, Saroja sat in the chair, against her will. Her heart was pounding and her throat was parched. She did not know where she was, she had little time to inspect her surroundings when her blindfold was removed momentarily. She barely got a glimpse of the pervert who was touching her inappropriately - one of Sampath's men, who had kidnapped her and were holding her hostage in this god-forsaken place! Thankfully, it looked like someone was coming that way, so he put back the blindfold on her and moved away. She sat in darkness knowing not what to expect next. As she heard footsteps, she cried out

"Please, don't do anything. Please let me go". What she heard next, caught her by surprise. A frail voice of Ganesh Kumar "Ille ille..naan avanga ille. " He explained briefly how they had come here by mistake, lost during their road trip. She asked a few questions and convinced herself that he was genuinely trying to help her. Just as they were preparing to leave, Ganesh Kumar turns to her and says "Seri, vaanga. Naan ungale kaapaathirein...Adhukku munnaadi, inge purse edhaavadhu vittengalaana parthhukonga. Yena..inge tirimbi vara mudiyaadhu!" (loosely translated - "Ok, I will help you. But, before we leave, please check if you have dropped your purse here. It will be very difficult to come back once we leave")

The movie has many such moments that I loved. I cant understand why there is so much hatred on the net for the music and the fact that it was copied off Judgement Night. I loved the characters in the movie who I thought acted well within their limits. I applaud Premji and Charan for doing something beyond music. And I loved Yuvan's music. With so many things to like, I could overlook the lack of a original story or "seasoned" actors.

Stages of music appreciation

Stages that I go through when I like a new song

1. Instant appreciation.

2. Listen repeatedly till I scare myself into hating the song.

3. Stop listening to the song and desparately try to get hooked to something else.

4. Forget what the song's tune was and recreate the wrong tune in my mind.

5. Give in to the song and listen to it again.

6. Get blown away a second time and realize that I did not observe the nuances during my first hearing.

7. Try to sing the song whenever/wherever and do a horrible job.

8. Hate the song because it is not easy to sing.

9. Praise all artists involved in the song and accept that singing is not for everyone.

Omkara: The power of a song

(image courtesy: www.xkcd.com)

I watched Omkara over the weeked. At first, I did not like the movie and was prepared to do an autopsy of what was wrong with the movie) and may well end up doing that. However, I can't do any justice to this review if I don't mention this song from the movie which has capitivated me more than any song has, in the past few years. The lyrics of the song go

Ooo...Saathi re

Din doobe na

Aa chal din ko roke

Dhoop ke peeche daude..

Chaanv chue na

(hence the connection with the xkcd pic)

If you are a reasonably insane movie watcher and occasionally read reviews to find out what has been going on in the Indian movie industry, you would have known that Vishal Bharadwaj too to movie direction from music direction and paid homage to Shakespeare with two movies - Omkara (adaptation of Othello) and Maqbool (adaptation of McBeth). However, if you are like me and do not know the story of Othello, please do not read the synopsis before watching the movie. Not because, it will ruin the movie for you, but because the movie deserves to be seen with an unbiased opinion. The following might contain spoilers so do not read further if you wish to keep an open mind and see the movie.

Omkara is a movie about a lot of things - there is the jealousy of Langda Tyagi (played well by Saif Ali Khan), there is the rise to power of Omkara (Ajay Devgan) and there is the innocence of Kesu Phirangi (Vivek Oberoi). You can forgive Vishal for trying to further milk the Ajay Devgan - Vivek Oberoi chemistry and setting up a scenario that viewers are familiar through RGV's Company. You can also forgive him for adding all the bells and whistles possible, by adding Naseeruddin Shah and Konkana Sen Sharma in roles that could have been done just as well by any other actor. However, what you cannot move past, is that the characters are easily manipulated in this movie. The heart of it all is Omkara himself who cannot see the ulterior motives behind Tyagi's claims or can't see his wife's loyality despite the fact that she chose to leave everything to be with him.

While I could go on and rant about this further, this post is mainly about this song which is holding my hand and preventing me from writing anything against this movie. You see, while the movie is about a lot of things, it is fundamentally about the love between Omkara and Dolly (Kareena Kapoor). When you see the movie a second time, you will see that these two have little time to be with each other and each moment is as important to them as the other. This song captures the beauty of this emotion, by Gulzaar's precise and deep lyrics. In these days, a lyricist rarely gets a chance to be heard above the layers of orchestrization and visuals that unfold on screen. However, thanks to Vishal's brilliant work in this song, the lyrics lead the way and set the mood of the song. Listening to this song, you feel that this movie was all about this love story and everything else just unfolds around the lead pair. The song felt so powerful that while I sat through predictable scenes and bad screenplay, I had this song running in the back of my head which set a mood for the film that no dialogue, camera angle, acting or prior review could do.

A week of firsts and something to think about...

It has been a week of firsts of all sorts. I had beetroot sambar for the first time in my life. Its amazing how I have had beetroot and sambar independently but this is the first time I had it together. You have to get past the different color but then it is a good taste.

Other than that I have had my first good dental experience. I have had a cavity bothering me for a little while now and with lot of hesitation, I took an appointment with this dentist that Uma had seen earlier. The doctor was very friendly and made me feel very comfortable. However, I cannot get past the idea of a dentist talking to me while I have a plumber's kit in my mouth. You see, the dentist was filling my cavity, so he stuck a device under my lips to keep my mouth pried open. Seeing that, this was not enough he wedged a bean shaped thing at my molars so that I could not bite down any more. Leaving me in this awkware position, he reclined my chair a little further than 180 degrees so that I felt a little bit upside down. He and the nurse then stare down my mouth while I try hard not to fog up his tiny mirror that he is using to see the underside of my tooth! While doing this, he told me some stories about his daughter and explained what he was doing with my teeth. I could not understand if he expected me to answer back or acknowledge that I heard him. At one point, he asked me if I was doing alright too!

At the end of the day as we were driving back after watching Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, I told U about my experience with the dentist. I told her that I found it awkward to listen to a one-sided conversation without being able to acknowledge it. Without missing a beat she remarked

"Vaadiki entha bore kodithe vachina prati addamaina vedhava tho vaadi inti sangatulu cheptaadu ??"

(Loosely translated: "How bored must this guy be to narrate his personal stories to every dumbass who visits him ?")

Fiction: The way home

He glanced at his watch nervously as he pedaled faster. His glasses were beginning to get misty from his perspiration but he did not stop to clean them. He could see the road as a blur and he was fine with it. He knew that not many people would be on this road this late in to the night. Not this road. Not this late.

Earlier in the evening, his supervisor asked him to stay late and finish the accounts for the month. Naresh noted that the supervisor did not really ask him if it was alright with him. He just told him to stay late and finish the work. He knew very well that Naresh did not really have a life after work. A poor engineer who chose to work for pittance, managing accounts of a rice mill had desperation written all over it. The supervisor never hesitated to take advantage of Naresh's situation. Naresh could not afford to lose the job but he could not really think of leaving late for his house. Sivayya, the old sweeper, stroke Naresh's hair as he sat down at the varendah.

"If I were you, I would get working soon and get home soon. I have told you this before too but that road is not safe in the night. It passes through the muncipal graveyard. Bodies are flung over there and barely buried or cremated. If you don't respect the dead..."

"I know Sivayya!" Naresh interrupted angrily. He was easily scared. He recollected the one time at school when he had forgotten his notebook in the biology lab and had to go back alone to pick it up. The room with the skeleton in it. How he felt that something was watching him..

"Don't forget to lock up before you leave. And I am going to look through it the first thing in the morning".

The supervsior left looking at the heavens and thanking God for yet another profitable day.

Naresh went over the evening in his mind, to keep it occupied. He kept pedalling faster, hoping that the next 30 minutes would pass by soon. As he approached the graveyard, he felt a sharp pain crawling up his calf muscle. He felt like he was about to cry from the pain. He shook his leg for a second and got back to pedaling. He tried to keep his eyes focused on the road while trying to stay aware of anything else. He tried to think happy thoughts, he did not want to show fear. However, he kept thinking about the graveyard and what Sivayya said. He considered ringing the bell, to block out other sounds. But he was afraid he would attract the dogs...or worse. The pain in his leg worsened. He kept reminding himself that he would soon be out of the graveyard. His eyes were moist. He could not tell if it was tears or sweat. Wincing from the pain in his leg, he kept pedalling on. The cycle seemed to inch forward slowly. It was not that he was going uphill but he was not moving as fast as he wanted. It felt like something was tugging at his cycle from behind but he did not want to turn back and look. He gave out a loud scream and pedalled away. As he neared the end of the graveyard he heard a dog yelping behind him. It sounded like he was in pain. Naresh did not turn back and look, he was glad that the worst was behind him. He heaved a sigh of relief and eased the pressure on his leg.

That was when the cycle jerked forward and stopped. He almost fell of the cycle but he put his leg down quickly and yelled out in pain. The sudden transfer of weight on to his leg made him let out his fear in terms of his screams. He got off the cycle and rubbed his leg quickly. Without glancing around, he tried to find out what happened. The cycle chain had eased off the wheel. He fumbled with the chain, hurting his fingers as he tried to fix it. His eye caught a white figure in a distance. He rubbed his eye thinking it was something in his eye. When he put his glasses back on, he realised that he was not alone. The lady in the white saree was staring at him fixatedly. She was not angry or sad. She seemed surprised to see him there. Something about her expression made him relax. She approached him as if she were in a hurry. He backed off and lost his balance.

"Excuse me, may I ask you for something ?"

"Um..yeah sure"

"I live about 5 minutes from here. My father dropped his money purse here on his way home. I came to look for it and it got late by the time I found it. Would you mind walking with me till my home ? It is quite late, and I am hesitant to walk by myself."

Naresh felt a smile creeping across his face. All his life he had been a coward. The easily scared Naresh. People got a kick out of planning out elaborate pranks for him. He could never walk alone in the dark. But, here was someone who was asking him to be with her, so that she could feel reassured. He felt himself taking a deep breath and a cool breeze blowing across his face.

"One minute. I heard a dog yelping in the back. Let me go see if it is in pain." he said, before walking back in to the graveyard.

The Counterfeiters

Sorowitsch sits down at the bed and looks at Burger who is fast asleep. He can not understand what this man believes in. But he does believe in standing by his mates. Even if that threatens his very existence. The Nazis want them and the other Jews in their camp to print counterfeit dollar bills, so that they could use them to buy whatever they need, and weaken the Allies. Burger believes in thwarting their attempts. He knows that although printing these bills will keep them alive temporarily, it will be used in killing Jews all over Germany. He wants to stand up against them, he wants this to be a sign for others to revolt. Sorowitsch does not believe in this. He believes in staying alive, even it is for just another day. So he swallows his pride and works for the Nazi cause. He does it even when an officer pisses on his face, while he is scrubbing the toilets. He does it even when the officers beat him, although he is valuable to their cause. He wants them to respect him, but not lose face while doing so. He carries himself quite dignified, but he does submit himself to authority when he needs to. He cares for his companions and tells the soldiers that each one of his men are valuable and irreplaceable.

It is due to this compassion that he wants to save Kolya and the others. Kolya is suffering from Tuberculosis but he can't be treated as they do not have the right medicines. The Nazis would kill him if they found out as they do not want the infection to spread. Sorowitsch tries his best to save the man. When the Nazis arrange for a "carnival" and Kolya can't stop his coughing, Sorowitsch cuts his finger and smears some blood on Kolya's face. "You have always wanted some colour, didn't you ?", he says while trying to cover up Kolya's pale face. He strikes a deal with Herzog who is in charge of this camp, and gets some medicines. He checks with the doctor before rushing to give them to Kolya, who is missing! He searches for him in vain, and catches a glimpse of him through the window. Kolya is offered a smoke by a soldier, who shoots him after making small talk. Sorowitsch is furious and quite shaken up. He cannot understand what he can do. He believes he is genuinely trying to help out his fellow prisoners, keeping them alive a day at a time. He wants them all to be alive by the time the war is over. His craft is the only thing that is valued by the Nazis, and he wants to deliver at any cost.

When the wife is right...

It seemed like a bad idea. It had taken us a lot of effort and quite a few months of labour to get our lawn in shape. The idea of ripping out a piece of it felt just wrong. U tried to explain to me that it wasn't that bad. You see, we did not have a clear path from our front door to our mail box. We usually walked on the lawn and I did not mind. I did not mind when the Pizza delivery guy walked on the lawn to get to our door either. So, I had my reservations against clearing out a part in front of our door to get the stepping stones. I resisted the idea because it involved more work, something that I have gotten used to not doing :) But you know how the wife is right on most things. Yes, it is true. For most part, she knows exactly what to do, where we should be investing, when we should be spending and when we should be saving. She convinced me that it was a good idea to invest in landscaping. It would look great and would increase our curb appeal (another word I hated due to HGTV). So anyway, the wife is right on most accounts and I know it. I look for stupid things like maths, science fiction and "art" movies to convince myself that I can appreciate certain things better than her. But in things that *actually* matter, I had to hand it to her.

We drove to this nursery that she found about and walked around the shrubs and trees they had there. She suggested that we plant a tree in our lawn as we could enjoy the shade later. I shot it down (another thing that I would probably regret in years to come). When we came to the stepping stones, I actually liked them. They were shaped like rounds of a pine tree and were named "Pine round stepping stones". They were also painted to look like they were actually cut from a pine tree. I was sold on the idea but they cost around 7.5$ a piece. A little on the higher end, I thought. They seemed to be about a feet or feet and a half in diameter. So I asked U, how many she thought we needed. I had already calculated in my head that we would not need more than five. She gave me the thinking sound "umm...." and said ten.

"What ?? Ten ?? I thing thats too many. Our lawn is not that long."

"Well, I think its about 20 feet, right ? So ten sounds about right"

I was about to argue back when she looked at a man who seemed to be working at the store and asked him

"We are trying to fill a 20 feet distance with these stones. We might want to place them about 6 inches away. How many stones do you think we would need ?"

The man asked questions to which she had already given him the answers

"What kind of stones do you want ? How far apart do you want to place them ? How much distance do you want to cover ?"

After checking that we were interested enough to survive his stupidity, he turned his back on us and pulled out his cell phone. He called up someone and repeated our question to him! The mathematical wizard that he called, told him that we would need ten or eleven stones. I wanted to tell my wife how this was too many and that we might not have a distance of 20 feet to cover, when she turned to me and said

"So shall we buy 10 then ? "
I had to agree. No point arguing in front of the shop owner. Later that eveni

ng, we got to work laying out the stones. The sun was shining brightly even thought it was past fi

ve. I was exhausted having spent some time on the treadmill. As I began digging, U walked

out with two glasses of lemonade with ice in them. It was perfect because I had to end up taking a break every 10 mins to sip the lemonade. By the time I was done with the lemonade, I looked back to see our stepping stones all laid out perfectly. All ten of them. I was dying to find out. So I swallowed my ego and asked

"How did you know ? How did you know we would need exactly ten ?"

I was hoping she would say she got lucky, or that she had manipulated the layout in to fitting exactly ten of them. She picked up the lemonade glasses and walked back in to the house. Not before saying

"Isn't it simple math ?"

St Mary's Glacier

The last big hike I did in Colorado in 2007 before I moved to Indiana. This deserves a blog entry because this hike is memorable for many reasons. Like I already said, its my last big hike at Colorado and I doubt I am ever going to go back and do anything close to this anyway. Steve Best when at Tensorcomm, called me up one day and suggested this hike. He said his friends were going to do it and asked me if I cared to join. My initial reaction was to not go because the hike sounded rather sissy and I was in the mood for 14ers really. My last summer at Colorado and I wanted to make sure I got a couple under my belt. But then again, I wasnt in my best shape and I had turned him down too many times earlier so I agreed.

The thing with Steve is, he is grossly unprepared but has a lot of mental and physical toughness to overcome his lack of preparation. I asked him about the hike to find out how much water and food I should get and he said it wasnt going to be much and that he wouldnt be bringing much. True to his word, he bought very little water and almost no food. I, on the other hand bought significant water and food as I thought we might end up sharing it with his other friends. The plan was for Steve to pick me up from my place at 7 in the morning and reach the place by around 9 to start hiking.

At about 7, Steve did arrive but without friends. He told me casually that others had dropped out. What a bummer! Anyway, the two of us were charged up and we decided to do it anyway. The excellent preparation that he did, he didnt know the route to the place. He had this lousy book with him which mentioned the hike. Like I said, Steve is underprepared but that shouldnt fool you, he took us to the location in time although he wasnt sure it was the right one. Anyway, it said 3/4 of a mile hike to the glacier and I was already mighty disappointed for the sissy hike it was going to be. Still, seeing a glacier was going to be something and it really looked pretty in thepictures. I was still looking forward to it and the weather was really good. There were some other hikers around, people with bouncy kids who couldnt wait to see it too. So we did this 3/4 mile "hike" and there was the glacier. The pictures do no justice to it, its a thing of beauty to be seen. We didnt wear too much warm clothing (in fact Steve came in his shorts!) as we didnt think we were going to hike much and the weather was pretty good. Anyway, we walked till the glacier and we were talking about this new project that I was working on. Steve got really interested in it and kept asking questions and I did my best to try answer them.

Now, I thought we were going to walk across the lake and see the glacier up close and return but Steve had other ideas! He kept walking till we reached the glacier and suggested we hike it all the way up. I thought he was crazy! I had stupid sneakers on me and I wasnt really prepared. The last time I hiked on ice was at Mt Democrat and that experience sucked! I kept falling and I barely made it to the peak where it snowed like crazy! I had to run down fast to avoid the storm and even slide down at times. The experience had shaken me up so bad that I decided to never go hiking alone in the winters! Anyway, Steve was persisted since he thought we hadnt reached the glacier. So we set off and started to climb the glacier thinking better views awaited us. I must say, hiking this glacier was not easy at all. I kept slipping cos of my stupid shoes and Steve suggested I try walking sideways, cross-step on it, and even walk backwards at times. One other thing was he didnt stop talking. It almost seemed like he wanted to keep my mind occupied, he kept asking about the project. After a really difficult climb, we reached the top of the glacier and walked further, where the climb levelled off. All the time, I kept wondering how we were going to get down as I still remembered my Mt Democrat hike! I was pretty sure I was going to be squatting and sliding down on this huge glacier while Mr Steve fancy shoes laughed his head off and walked down royally!

The flat section helped us for a while as we caught our breath and walked along much faster. Steve kept pointing in random directions thinking we were going to see the glacier there and we must have walked a good 2-3 miles all around without seeing anything. We also saw a couple of people riding ATVs, motor bikes and jeeps around. I muttered my curses to myself but Steve made it a point to stop one of these people and give them a piece of his mind! I was almost sure some one was going to push us down the mountain at some point but I guess he did well to make himself heard. We eventually got tired of hiking around when Steve announced that he didnt bring any food along. Amused as I was, I shared my trail mix and apples with him and we felt much better having had them. We stopped at a spot to talk to these people next to a jeep and Steve once again made his opinions heard. The shameless jeepers just smiled back and said we could get a ride from them if we waited. It was getting a bit cold and cloudy and they thought they could guilt us into taking a ride from them. We chose the "high road" ":)

So, having convinced Steve that what we saw down the hike was the real glacier, we started on our way back...or so we thought. We forgot our way back in all this off-trail walking and searching around. We walked for a lot of distance, even considered asking people but in the end just strayed off too much from the trail to return. At some point we just decided that it was not worth trying to get to our trail and just decided to find some way of getting down. This proved to be tougher than we thought, what with the dark clouds and the rain and what not! The rain began slowly yet firmly and it began to get cooler. Now, I wouldnt usually worry myself about this but Steve began to get bothered too and when it started to hail, I was a bit bothered! Here we were, a couple of clueless hikers, with improper clothing, no food and a lot of way to go! We climbed down some valleys, found dead ends, walked across tough shrubs and what not and gave up and climbed back up again.

After doing that a couple of times, we finally settled on a trail that looked well paved. We knew we werent on our way back and it bothered me as to how we would see Steve's car again but we kept going. This trail slowly but surely was taking us downhill and we kept guessing as to where we might have started from. We could see some villages below and we were sure that once we headed down, we would be able to figure our way eventually. On the way down, this guy with a jeep passed us and asked us if were doing fine. It was still raining and we were completely drenched but doing much better mentally as we looked out of the reach of the clouds. We politely refused his help but asked him for directions and he wasnt able to help us much.

It stopped raining completely by the time we got down and Steve had now gotten back his flair! :) He suggested which way we should be heading and I agreed, cluelessly. We walked down this town and realized we were heading the wrong way and asked people which way to go. Eventually, we were helped by Uma, who saw some maps and based on information from us, pointed us in the right direction. We were a good 1-2 miles away from our starting point and so we walked. I dont think the sight of Steve's car has ever made me this happy but when we got back we hi-fived and got into the car. The sun had come out brightly by now and was very symbolic of the return of the good times! WE didnt stop anywhere to grab a bite and I was glad I would be the first one to see my house! I took a long batch and relaxed the rest of the evening. Serves me right for being disappointed with a 1.5 mile round trip hike, we ended up walking for about 10-12 miles eventually!!

Iqbal

Iqbal had been practicing without a coach all his life. And now, he had one. A player who had lost his touch. After arranging the three wooden sticks in the ground, Iqbal went back to his mark and ran in with all his strength. His aim was to know the sticks to the ground. Mohit stood at the crease not knowing what to expect while Iqbal's sister Khatija sat comfortably on top of a haystack behind the stumps. Iqbal raced in and aimed one for the "wickets". Mohit read the ball and knocked it off easily. Unfazed, Iqbal went back to his mark and raced in, determined to hit the stumps again. Mohit could not believe it. Shaking his head, he dismissed this one, just as easily and called Iqbal to him.

"Don't try to....hit....the wickets....with every" he said puffing and panting while trying to signal with his hands at the same time. Exasparated, he looked around and called out to Khatija who was following their game. If this had to work, he needed help talking to Iqbal, a deaf mute. Khatija translated in sign language, the exact ideas that Mohit wanted to convey. "Don't aim for the stumps with every ball. The batsmen can read you if you do that. Hold your decision on what you want to do with the ball, till the last minute. If you do not know what you wish to do with the ball, how would the batsmen have any clue ? At the last moment, ask your heart what you wish to do, and then make the batsmen hit the ball in the area where you want him to." Iqbal nodded along, not quite sure what to make out of this.

They lined up the buffaloes and Iqbal got ready with some paint. "So this one, is Kapil. This one is Kumble. This one is ...". Mohit tried to identify the buffaloes. They went around the "field" and stationed the buffaloes at crucial fielding positions. When the ran out of buffaloes, they took the posters of their favorite players and added some numbers on them. They had 11 fielders all around them now. Mohit explained through Khatija what he wanted Iqbal to do. Khatija was to hold up a number behind Mohit (so that Mohit could not see it). Iqbal had to force Mohit to hit the ball towards the fielder whom Khatija chose. After the shot, Mohit would check to see how accurate his bowling was. And so it started. Khatija was very excited. Her brother was the best player in the world. She had a confidence about him that no one ever did. With a smug grin, she held up a number. Iqbal saw the number and ran in, not sure where to bowl. Mohit hit it away and turned back to see if Iqbal had done his job. He had not. He turned to Iqbal and taunted him. "Where are you bowling ? No. 6 is this way, not over there!". Iqbal nodded and went back thinking he got he hang of this. Khatija held up another number. He ran in and bowled again. Mohit hit it towards one of the buffaloes and turned back and checked. Another misfire from Iqbal. He taunted him again. Iqbal realized what was happening. Khatija picked a number again, her spirits still high. She somehow thought her brother can get *this number* correctly. With a blind trust that surpassed all logic, she held up another number. Iqbal bowled just as he wanted to, and Mohit hit the target fielder. He turned back and checked to confirm this. He had done it. But, he needed to make sure the boy had understood it all. They continued this for a while. Khatija knew her brother had aced it. She picked numbers with a broad smile and unwavering enthusiasm - the lone cheerleader for this amateur. Iqbal got his spots with relative ease. With each shot, his concentration increased while Khatija kept getting excited. She could not hold it any longer when the session ended. She ran down shouting out loud towards her brother who might have just won the World Cup single-handedly. It was her belief that had won that evening. She knew her brother could master the game and he had begun to demonstrate just that. She ran towards him taking long strides and flung herself at him hugging him tightly. They were celebrating the first of their many victories!

Here's an idea

Why dont we all grow weeds in our lawns ? I spend the entire Saturday removing weeds from one corner of my lawn! You start off with lot of energy trying to get them by their roots, and then as you get tired (due to the heat and what not) it starts to get into your head. The weeds are now winning the battle and they seem to hold on to the ground more tightly than ever. Now your mind starts playing tricks on you - you are imagining holding a blow torch and burning the last one down to the ground grining an evil laugh!

I admit the lawn looks better (at least the part which I worked on) after the fact. But all the while you cant help thinking - why not have a weed that looks pretty ? These things grow with minimal sunlight water or supervision. Lets face it - they dont face competition from weeds (duh!) and bugs dont seem interested in them. So, all you scientists working on seedless watermelons and freaky egg plants, here's your next assignment. Make weeds that look pretty. There's a huge demand for those!

Things I discovered during my road trip

1. I love the Twix ice-cream bar! It has just about everything I want from my icecream - chocolate, caramel and crunchy cookie pieces. Sad that it does not last as long. I will run on the treadmill as long as I have to, in order to enjoy my Twix ice cream bar without any guilt!
2. I love oranges. I sort of started this at home prior to the trip but there were stretches on that trip when I devoured 3-4 oranges at a go! God knows if all the Vitamin C is preventing me from getting a cold now, but I ended up eating healthy, while enjoying it.
3. Even though I deny it, I do enjoy visiting man-made structures like the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Monument. I was very reluctant to visit these crowdy places, but it was either the weather or the high spirits of the people that made me really have a good time. I would have loved it if someone sold bajjis off the streets :)
4. I got my road trip mojo back! I had a terrible cold while driving towards Virgina but recovered after a night's sleep. I did not mind the drive on my way back and in fact enjoyed it a bit. All charged up for my next long drive now!
5. Uma has become quite a hiker now. Not only did she push me to get on a hike on Saturday, she maintained a steady pace while climbing uphill - something I can never do. My strategy is to walk as fast as I can, while making frequent stops. Uma maintained a steady pace while making lot fewer stops. Got to admire the patience
6. I need to re-invent myself on the photography front. I thought I was creative with my shots, till I realized that I am repeating myself too often. So no more of those close up shots of wild flowers or long exposure shots of streams. Time to think differently.
7. I am getting tired of the songs on my ipod. I probably forwarded through a dozen songs before playing one. It could be because I have not updated my ipod in a while. I need to listen to different kinds of music.

Memorial Day 2009 road trip - the short version

Here is the fact sheet from our long road trip.

Started from Indy on Friday (the 22nd) at 5 pm. Had dinner at Taco Bell along the way (at 8:00 pm). Reached Roanoke (Virginia) at 2 am in the night battling a cold and drowsiness (had to pull over the last 45 mins and have Uma take over!).

Woke up on Saturday (the 23rd) at checkout time. Rushed out, and had breakfast at Waffle House. Drove to Shenandoah Park, along the Blue Ridge Parkway in 4 hours. Did a 3 hour 3.5 mile hike that took us to the Doyle falls. Drove to our hotel at Harrisonburg, VA after another 2 hr drive. Spotted a bear cub sprinting across the road about 20 feet from our car! Watched the Nuggets lose at the hotel. Had dinner at a Mexican restaurant close to our hotel.

Woke up on Sunday (the 24th) morning at 9 and drove back to Shenandoah. Did another 3 hr 3 mile hike, this time to a panorama point showing good views of the park. Started driving for DC at 2:30 and reached The White House, at 4:30. Walked around and saw the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Reached Aruna and Kanna's house at 7:45 and had dinner there. Drove back to Harrisonburg by 11 pm.

Woke up on Monday (the 25th) morning at 9 and had breakfast at a bagel place nearby. Loved the Berry bagel with Maple cheese spread! Started driving back at 10:30 and reached Columbus, Indiana at 7:30. Watched the Nuggets beat the Lakers at the comfort of home!

Rooting for your team

     Did you ever notice that you have always been rooting for "your team" all your life ? As a child, one of the first teams I liked was the Indian cricket team. You knew that Ravi Shastri, Srikanth and a bunch of other cricketers were real losers and were no match for the stars on some other teams. You knew you couldn't win with this team, yet you rooted for them. When I came to US, I picked a new team to cheer - the Denver Nuggets. When I started following the team, I knew deep down that there was no way we could win much with this team. Yet, night after night, my emotions ran high when the team lost matches, and I screamed myself hoarse cheering them to win! I rooted for every single player, however ridiculous they might have been. 

   Now, as years passed most of the original Denver team got traded to other teams, and now I found myself annoyed at how bad these players used to be. I could not believe that I used to like these players. I see myself going through a similar phase with the IPL, in cricket. I saw an article today in the newspaper saying that Andrew Symmonds (an Australian player) might be fit to play for Deccan Chargers  (the Hyderabad based team). I was a little relieved on seeing the news as I was hoping that my team makes it to the final four. I did not care, if they demolished Sehwag and Dhoni's teams along the way. I was prepared to even support Andrew Symmonds for this. Andrew Symmonds. Abey Maakki!! What's going on here ?? 

  Are my loyalties so shallow, that they can be compromised ? Do we associate ourselves with "teams" for no logical reason ? Makes me wonder about all my prejudices. 

Recently watched movies

In no particular order

Angels and Demons: Leave aside the fact that it was a book first, or that there is a controversy involved in the movie. You can watch this movie for the action involved. It will be interesting to see if any director considers making a third movie, without a novel as an inspiration.

Rating 3 on 5

Pachchai Kudire: Happened to chance upon this movie, while browsing. Uma got interested with the initial scenes. The heart of the story is about an uncouth menacing man who changes for the good eventually. What I liked about the movie was how they captured the crude ideas that this man has when he initially wants to turn "good". The idea of being good, is not easy to comprehend, and he eventually does more philanthropic deeds. Namitha acts surprisingly well.

Rating 2 on 5

Mamma Mia: Loved the songs as I have always. Got to hear a few more songs of ABBA that I hadn't before. When we were kids, we used to make up short stories, during which we inserted movie songs (out of context) to make it sound funny. Looks like someone took this idea a bit further and made this movie out of ABBA's songs. One thing that takes your breath away is Meryl Streep's energy. I was getting tired seeing her prancing around to all these vibrant songs!

Rating 2.5 on 5

X-Men origins : Wolverine The prequel to the X-men comics was atually better than I expected it to be. Watching this movie made me think that the first X-men movie was better. When I went back and watched it, I wasn't really sure any longer.

Rating 3.5 on 5

Multiplicity: What happens if a man clones himself multiple times ? The premise of the movie sounded interesting. I watched it on DVR. The movie was funny in parts but I guess I was expecting something else from the movie. It bothered me that each clone did not feel ownership, and let the "original" Val Kilmer boss them around. Kudos to the guy for showing enough variation across the characters!

Rating 3 on 5

Johnny Gaddar: I loved this movie. I dont watch Hindi movies on a regular basis, and for good reason. I hate to see yet another khan opening his arms wide open for a new heroine to run in to. This movie had a novel story line, a tight execution and a good choice of actors for most part (excepting the lead). At the risk of hyping the movie too much, I would recommend it heavily.

Rating 3.5 on 5

A Wednesday: A phone call received on a Wednesday morning sends the Mumbai police into a frenzy. The caller intends to blow up bombs placed at multiple locations unless the police are ready to negotiate. I did not like the idea of Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah in the lead roles. Anupam Kher is not cool and Naseeruddin Shah is way too cool for their roles. The supporting cast does well though. Again, I like the fact that it does not feature yet another khan gyrating to loud music!

Rating 3 on 5

In defence of Oldboy

There are two reasons why I am trying to come to its defence. One, I picked the movie (without knowing ANYTHING about it) to watch on Netflix and got heavily criticised by my wife and two, I liked the innovative story line.

This movie is definitely not on my list of best movies watched by any means and I dont intend to glorify or recommend it to even a third of my friends. The simple reason being that individual tastes vary, and I am pretty sure most of my friends might react in a way that my wife did. I am trying not to give away the story line, so you can continue to read without worries, if you have not seen the movie yet. In my mind, the director could have made a movie with a simpler story line, which would have had less taboo topics. In doing so, it is possible that the movie might have appealed to a much larger audience. Infact, I am pretty sure that some filmmaker in India is toying with the idea of making a movie on similar lines with a story line that gels well with "Indian sentiments". However, this particular director did not. He chose to stick with the story line, and chose to live with the comments. To his credit, he got a lot of positive attention which is good for him.

I am a strong advocate for creative stories. I like paying attention to the story line and viewing a movie as I would read a book. I like movies, and I consider myself pretty open minded when it comes to new ideas. Point being that this movie has a novel idea. I have heard that it has been compared to Memento and I think that it is pretty silly to do that. It stands alone and is as unique a movie as I have seen. The reason why it does not make it to my favorites is because I thought it could have been much better. It should have had better accompanying visuals and it should have had better team to dub it into English. Yes, pardon me for not understanding Korean and bring a prick about it, but the English version is the version I saw and understood. Production values are important for this reason.

Did you see and like this movie ? Let me know why!

Star Trek

Uma and I caught this movie on Saturday. I have never been a Star Trek fan, preferring Star Wars to it. The movie did enough to rake my interest in this franchise. I might not have appreciated the nuances of the movie (like the original Spock showing up). I admit I am not a Trekker, so my views might not mean much. However, I have the advantage of analyzing the movie as any other movie-goer. Warning: Spoilers ahead

] So pardon me when I say that the whole idea of forging a friendship between Spock and James T Kirk, at the behest of the older Spock seemed very contrived to me. It seemed like the director was running out of time to tell his story, realized that Spock and Kirk were heading in opposite directions, and brokered a peace between them!

Having gotten that out the system, you have to appreciate what a fine job the script writers have done. The characters of Spock and Kirk came out as instantly likeable. You root for these guys to become better friends and at the end of the movie, you realize they have a very good team, and are curious to see how they face their upcoming adventures. All in all a likeable movie. I would give it a 3 on 5.

10 years ago

A small snippet from my life during my Undergrad days. I was thinking about my undergrad friends and got reminded of my first room at Mandakini Hostel - 365 B. I was a very quiet freshman and I tried to avoid seniors as much as I could initially. As I got past the fears of ragging, I developed an awe for some of my illustrious seniors and tried to get to know them as much as possible. By the end of my first year, I had made some good friends. Unknowingly, I made friends with people who were either elected representatives or had ambitions of being elected representatives.

During my first year, I shared my room with two others as most freshmen did. Though I never felt the lack of space in my room, I always wondered what it would be like, to have a complete room to myself. At the end of the first year, the freshmen were allotted single occupancy rooms by a lottery system. Someone (I think usually the Social Secretary) made a list of rooms that would get vacant (as a result of final year students vacating their rooms) and allot them to the freshers. Now, as with most things at hostels, this room allotment is not without drama. You see, some freshmen have favorite rooms - the room that is closest to the stairs, or the room that their favorite senior stayed in, or the room closest to the common room (with the TV), or the room that is closest to the carroms room. You get the point. While some of the lesser fortunate freshmen just pray for getting their favorite room, people with "influence" somehow end up with their dream rooms. This is accomplished by getting to know the Social Secretary or some close friend of his. All this was news to me, and I never intended to use this system as I was not sure I was close enough to the secretary.

One fine day before the room allotment happened one of the guys in my neighboring rooms walked up to me and said "Hey Phani, a bunch of us are trying to get rooms next to each other. I will put in your name in this so that you can stick with us". As I do in most situations that Ia m not prepared for, I froze. However, during my first year, I ended up becoming good pals with a different set of people and I really wished to be located next to them. Amidst all this drama, one of the freshmen announced publicly that he was positive that he would be asked to pick the first room to be allotted. As shocked as we were with his claim, at some level we all knew that anything could happen.

On this particular day, we assembled to see how it all played out. We saw the Social Secretary sit down with a large container filled with pieces of paper that had our names on it. The Soc Sec was supposed to stick his hand into the container, pull out a paper at random. The person whose name appeared on this paper picked a room among the available rooms. I took as close a look as I could at this container and all the folded paper pieces looked identical. I was convinced that the Soc Sec would not be able to pull off anything. There were already people who had got wind of the potential cheating in this process. I assumed that the Soc Sec decided it was too risky to pull this one. So imagine my surprise when the very first name that was called out, belonged to the person who had claimed it would be his!! He walked with a broad smile, pumped his fists in the air and picked the room that he had sought! I turned to see the Soc Sec, who continued picking names with a calm poise. How did this guy do it ?? Everything "fell in place" and we ended up getting rooms next to each other, just like the freshmen said we would. The couple of people who did not end up next to us, swapped their rooms with someone and somehow ended up next to us.

The thought of how insecure we were, in wanting to be surrounded by familiar faces, brought a smile to my face.

Title justification

So I got into blogging (again!). After spending an entire sick day at home, with nothing else to do, I realized that I haven't ever blogged seriously. I have a twitter page, which I feel pathetic about. No, it's not that I think Twitter is pathetic. It's just that I feel I can afford to write longer posts every now and then. Anyway, long story short, here I am. Now, finding a name for your blogsite isn't a simple task. You want the name to be short so that you (and potential visitors) don't have to type a long name. You want to avoid the lame options that the blogsite offers (kiran_thoughts2009 ???!), and at the same time you want it to be catchy. Well, Rehman's songs are catchy, and in particular there's that song from Sakkarakatti. That got me my blog's name. Sure its not friendly to the non-tamil speaking junta - so here goes the explanation. Illavasa Taxi means "Free Taxi". The song that I am talking about compares a friend to a free taxi. Its a uber cool song and I highly recommend that song if you haven't heard it yet.