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Alvida Dilli...

2011-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This is an old post which somehow got lost and was found again. It was written in May 2010, just before we moved from Delhi to Bangalore.
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Have you ever had that dream where you are taking an exam, unprepared. Or that you are outside and people are staring at you because you are naked? Well, I have actually lived that dream, though not that literally. It happened the first time I went to a shopping mall in Gurgaon. We had just reloacted to India after a 2 year stint in Germany. After having worn nothing but western clothes for ages, I wanted to go Indian. I was dressed in (what I thought was appropriate clothing for a casual evening out) a salwar kameez. I couldn't have been more wrong. When I saw what every other woman was wearing, I wanted to curl up and die. They were designer clothes, shoes, bags, and on designer bodies. These women took the term "dressing up" to a whole new level! And it wasn't even Diwali yet! That is one of the first things I noticed about this place - the well groomed (not necesarily well-mannered) men and women.

That was in November 2007. I can't believe that I am already writing about saying goodbye to Delhi. It seems like we just came here and already it's time to leave. To say that I am unprepared to part from here is putting it mildly. Note that I say unprepared and not unwilling. I always knew that my stay here was for a limited amount of time. What I was unprepared for was how soon that time would pass.

What will I miss in Delhi? The language Hindi, spoken and written. Hindi in all its Punjabi and Haryanvi glory. The SIMPLY AWESOME north indian food available at most restaurents. Talking of food...the paneer, that's as soft as down, the magnificent Dal Makhni, and the galauti kabab which, when prepared in the right way, just melts in the mouth. I could go on, but perhaps it would be only fair that I touch upon matters other than food.

Shopping!!! I completely and utterly blame Gurgaon for making me a shopaholic. Actually, make that mall-aholic. It was completely awesome living in a place where there were 7 malls within a radius of 5 KM. Almost every weekend found me in a mall...usually window shopping, watching a movie, or pigging out at the food courts. Of course, things changed after Vivaan was born....I could no longer go for movies as much. But I still continued my mall-a-thon every weekend. A direct result of that is that my off-spring feels very much at home in a mall, sitting on his favourite stroller. His favourite sport is going up and down an escalator. While it can be quite tiring, there's nothing that can compare with the rush of color on his chubby cheeks and yelps of excitement when he is on the escalator.

Shopping in Delhi meant an hour long drive to the capital. There are plenty of options to choose from : Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Dilli Haat and South Extension. And Delhi is no stranger to malls. DLF Emporio was one that I longed to visit, especially after I heard that parts of India's first bonafide chick-flick Aisha were shot there, but haven't been able to do so. City Walk at Saket is architecturally splendid. It boasts of some of the best brands and a very fine food court. The outer part of the mall (let's call it a courtyard) has pretty water fountains and is very well lit - a perfect way to spend a balmy evening resting your feet after hours of ogling at those designer wares.

The other end of the shopping spectrum would be Chandni Chowk. I only visited it once. But the spouse has visited it more than a few times. Each trip of his would end up in an upset stomach as a direct result of snacking at the famous paranthe wali gali. What would be interesting is to explore is the silver market (dariba kalam) and the chawdi bazaar that specializes in handmade paper/wholesale stationary.

I did visit the usual tourist spots, the historically relavent places. Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb, the Lotus Temple and Akshardham - all must-see destinations. My favourite one was Humayun's tomb. We were also lucky to have been able to visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

I hope I will be able to visit Delhi again, hopefully sooner than later. Until then, it is alvida, Dilli!

Rendezvous - 1

2010-03-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

She couldn't stop the shaking. Her hands. Numb with the cold, with the rain. And fear. Fear like she had never known before. She had to stop herself shaking, else it would only be a matter of time before someone from behind would honk like they always dids in this part of the country. Delhi road rage was as famous as Qutub Minar. Well, not that famous, but you get the picture. And the other thing that was well known was the fact that it was one of the most unsafe cities for women in India. That thought spurned her into action. She started the ignition and gripped the wheel hard so that her hands would stop shaking. Lucky for her, she had worn her heeled slippers. Stepping on the gas would be much easier. She tried to think as she slowly waded through the rain into the crowded Connaught circle. Thankfully, she didn't have to concentrate on the route as she knew this part of the city very well. Think, think, Rashi. What am I to do now, she kept asking herself. You brought this on yourself, a quiet voice in her head said. "I know that", she spat out aloud. She was now angry with herself. Fear always brought that out in her. Fear meant that someone somewhere was responsible for something bad that had happened. And that someone deserved her wrath. And this time, it was targeted at herself. Why, why, why did I get myself entangled with that man. This was the 100th time she had asked this since 4:00 PM. Ever since he has smiled into her face, his eyes twinkling with glee. He knew what had passed through her mind at that moment. It was almost as if he could smell her fear. And the smile had slowly turned into a snarl. That had been enough to send her flying out of the cafe into the open parking lot. No need to worry, she had told herself. He can't do a thing to me right here, with so many people around. But it wasn't the things he would do now that worried her. It was what he had already done that needed thinking about. And what he had promised he would do, soon..very soon.

Ramblings...part 1

2010-03-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 2 years since I updated my blog and I have been accused by near and dear ones of being lazy and inactive. I am guilty on all counts, of course. So here I am trying to prove that I still have it in me to write a few words. But at the same time, I am suffering from what can only be called a blogger's block. What do I write about? Some suggestions from the spouse are -

1) Our son Vivaan: Yes, it seems like an awesome topic. I can gush about how adorable he is, how much he amazes me each day with his activities, what his latest exploits are. But right now I am not able to find words to write about it. This will have to be a topic on some other day.

2) Our recent vists to Rajasthan and Agra: The sisters had flown down to India for the express purpose of spending some time with Vivaan and lavishing some TLC on the darling. To make matters interesting, we decided to go travelling to some of the well known tourist attractions in the nearby states Rajasthan and UP.

Our first visit was to Udaipur. It was the first time we were going to a trip with Vivaan, and I was tres excited, to say the least. Of course there were some initial misgivings about how much we would really accomplish in terms of sight-seeing with a 10 month old infant, but the fact that my parents were also acompanying us on the trip made a huge huge difference to my confidence as a mother and caretaker. As is often the case, the little one is the apple of my parents' eyes. To use a hindi phrase, Mom and Dad Vivaan par jaan jhidakte hain. He has them eating out of his soft pudgy hands at the slightest wimper.

Coming back to Udaipur, folks, it is home to one of the most expensive hotels in the world, The Taj Lake Palace, and every other hotel/guest house is located in such a way as to provide a view of the island hotel. It is beautiful no doubt, but the lake is so badly maintained that I think Bengeluru's Ulsoor lake looks much better minus the Taj Hotel.

We stayed in a very popular hotel called "The Tiger". It is owned by a German who has made India his home. The rooms were clean and very well kept, the service was excellant. And best of all, it is very reasonably priced. More information can be obtained from Trip Advisor which rates it very highly. I also strongly recommend it. The only negative point would be that there is no lift, so if you are travelling with someone who has a problem climbing stairs, it's not the best place to stay in. But you can always request for a room on the first floor, just like we did. We visited the following places -

The city palace It is certainly one of the most beautiful palaces that I have seen. Bollywood trivia is that Raveena Tandon had her wedding reception in the courtyard of this palace.

Vintage Car Museum I didn't personally visit this one, having never been interested in automobiles, but dear husband did pay a visit and he was duly impressed. Apparently you can rent any one of those babies for a day for a small prize of a lakh ruppees!!

Chittorgarh This is 2 hours drive away from Udaipur and is an absolute must-see location. We saw the Victory Tower, the palaces of Rana Kumbh, Rani Padmini, Meera Bai's Temple, etc. Our tour guide droned on and on about how Alluddin Khilji never did see Rani Padmini, because she would never have suffered such dishonour. However, I prefer the more popular legend, of how the Moghul warrior on just seeing the reflection of Padmini, was so smitten that he decided to attack Chittor. So very romantic...

Bagore ki Haveli The Sound and light show at Bagore ki Haveli ,which is right beside The Tiger was enthralling. Women wearing beautiful, traditional clothes of the region danced to some folk music. There was also a puppet show which immediately reminded me of the picturization of the song "Phir Raat Kati" in the film "Paheli". Now SRK tied to puppet strings doesn't exactly evoke a very Rajasthani image in my mind....

There is a lot more to see and do in Udaipur, for example , the Jag Mandir Island, but this was all that we achieved in our 4 days stay there. There are a few constraints when travelling with an infant, as I discovered. Before I forget, one of the highlights was the food. We had visited a resort in the outskirts of the city called "Aapni Dhani" which translated means, our village. They served very delicious and authentic rajasthani cuisine. We went to Sukhadia Circle late one night for eating the famous chaats. The result was that one of the siblings got infected with a bad stomach infection and had to pospone her return back to the US. So this is not recommened for those with a delicate digestive system.

A few weeks down the line, we made another trip. This time, it was a road trip. We had hired a vehicle which could seat about 10 people and tons of luggage. The first stop was Agra, the home of Taj Mahal. But more on this in another post.

A very satisfying day, indeed!

2008-04-16T03:07:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to all my friends who stayed in Bangalore at some point of time and contributed to the special memories of my favourite city.

Last Saturday saw us gallivanting in Bangalore, like the good ol' days. First stop, as always was India Coffee House on M G Road. But before we could get there, we had to brave Bangalore's Saturday afternoon traffic rush. Fortunately, the Gods were kind to us and we spent only a little over an hour to reach M G Road from Whitefield, which, considering all things, wasn't too bad.

India Coffee house has been an absolute favourite right from my early days in Bangalore. Situated bang on M G Road, it still holds it's own admist the Barisstas and Cafe Coffee Days that have cropped up in the last few years. I still remember my firsr visit to ICH. It was a Saturday in the year 1998, and I was fast asleep in a tiny Cambridge Layout flat, when an incessant knocking at 8:30 AM woke me up with a jolt. With eyes still closed I opened the door to find Siddharth. Now don't get me wrong. Siddhu's a dear friend and I am always pleased to see him, but on a saturday at 8:30 AM..uh huh! To say I didn't welcome him would be putting it too mildly. Anyways, he said that we were all (I had 2 room mates then - Sandhya and Sonam) to go to a real good place for breakfast. I protested against the earliness of the hour and what followed next was paens about that special place where you get the world's best scrambled eggs. Thinking it would be easier to just go along with the plan, rather than argue, or worse, be left behind, I agreed. We left for M G Road in an auto. In those days, the ride would take about 5 to 10 minutes. As I entered the celebrated doors of ICH, two things caught my attention - the large mirrors on one side of the wall and really old posters campaigning for Indian Coffee. The place had an old world charm, meaning, it's furniture looked like it was from the 1950s. Siddhu placed the order, since he knew what was good there, and in time, I came to know that EVERYTHING was very yummy there. One bite into into the "scrambled egg on toast", and I was hooked for life.
Back to 2008, the scrambled eggs still taste divine. Also divine are the dosas, the chutney (we always ask for extra helpings of this special chutney which makes us go weak in the knees), the finger chips, the tomato minced omelette, the vegetable cutlet and last but surely not the least, the coffee. The only other coffee that comes close to the one served in ICH is the one my Dad makes.

After having satisfied our stomachs, we headed for the Premier bookshop. I took a short detour to Bombay Stores and our wallets turned predictable lighter. Next stop was the Strand bookshop, another old favourite. Some years back, there was a south Indian fast food joint just beside the Strand Book shop, called Kadambam. Sadly, it's no longer there. Strand looked like it hadn't changed much. After spending a good hour or so browsing through old favourites and a brief chat with Vidya Virkar, we set off for Commercial Street. Some shopping and loafing around followed. By then it was around 5:30 PM and it was the time when the cooks at K C Das start frying the yummy loochis. Needless to say, Ferose wouldn't have missed this chance for anything. His love for anything Bengali is legendery.

The last stop was Cambridge Layout. I was hankering after a particular road side stall that serves the softest idlis this side of town. It was not in it's usual place, but after searching for a while we found it, as usual, crowded with customers. Among the patrons were the usual suspects : auto drivers, a few office goers, a couple of college students and people like us, who will go to any lengths for that perfect idli! And all for Rs 7 a plate. Heaven indeed!!

Dusk was setting in, and the traffic was getting worse. It was time for the us to head to Madhu's place, where a party of old friends meeting us. I cannot think of a better ending of such a satisfying day in Bangalore.

Before I sign off, here's what I am listening to these days: Bryan Adams' latest alum "11", the soundtrack of "Tashan" and "Jannat", and "Journey" by Fuzon.

ramblings....

2008-03-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the lobby of Taj Palace in Delhi. Ferose is attending the India Today Conclave 2008. I just tagged along for the pure excitement of getting out of home. The last 3 days have been terribly boring since I have been pretty much stuck at home (and that will be the status quo until I get my car). This conference that continues for another 2 days has lotsa biggies giving keynotes/sessions: Al Gore, Farouq Abdullah, Arun Poorie, Aamir Khan, Shekhar Kapoor, Preity Zinta (part of the youth forum), L K Advani, etc etc.....hmmm...so much gyan, and in so many forms. Ferose is one lucky guy.

I have about an hour to kill and fortunately for me, Ferose has left his laptop with me. The last couple of weeks saw me getting entertained in all possible modes. Last Wednesday, we watched the play "Bikhre Bimb", that was part of the Mahindra Theatre Festival. It was directed by Girish Karnad and had only one actor, Arundhati Nag. The play was in Hindi, and I marvelled at Nag's command over the language. Although Hindi is our national language, rarely do I use, or hear anybody else using words like "sahanshilata", "vivek", "akasmat". The play took me back to school days. Those were the days when the only lessons I enjoyed taking were languages. Luckily. most of my language teachers were really good. Reading prose, untangling poetry were such interesting ways to pass time. English text books were divided into prose, poetry and non-detail, the last one always had the most interesting stories. Hindi text books were divided into Parag (prose) and Swati (poetry). I prefered Hindi Poetry to English, because there were much more patriotic and india-based poems written in Hindi. My all time favourite one is "Jhansi Ki Rani" by Subhadrakumari Chauhan...khoob ladi mardani, woh toh jhansi wali rani thi. (I read somewhere that Sushmita Sen is making a film on Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi). The other one that I remember is "Satpuda ke ghane jungle" by Bhavani Prasad Sharma. Among English poems, I only remember a small poem, "Beauty" and I don't remember who wrote it...perhaps Robert Browning.

I have been watching an awful lot of television of late. I generally avoid daily soaps and stick to movies. But I have started watching a weekly soap on NDTV Imagine, called "Radha Ki Betiyan kuch kar dikhaengi". The reason I like it is because it is very similar to "Banegi Apni Baat", one of the earliest serials that was aired after the onslaught of Zee TV in India. I am talking early 90's. This one (also) has 3 sisters living life with a fair amount of struggle. There is one good guy, and one cocky one in the college. The eldest sister is on the lookout of a job. But the icing on the cake is Apoorva Agnihotri who plays a doctor and has an important part. I am a bit frustrated that the serial airs only once a week, so I am usually watching all the reruns until the next episode comes.

Movies: We watched a couple of films last week, but the most interesting one was "Black & White". Firstly I couldn't believe it was a Subhash Ghai film, what with Kisna and Yaadein having flopped big time. The story of "Black & White" revolves around a terrorist from Afganistan who comes to Delhi to blow up the red fort. The terrorist is played by newcomer Anubhav Sinha. He has a mind boggling screen presense, not to mention a voice to die for. So the Ranbirs and Neils better watch out. The music of the film deserves a special mention. Sukhwinder Singh's melodies gel well with the mood of the film. "Jogi Aaya" and "Mian Chala" are breezy tracks that enhance the film. I had also watched "Jodha Akbar" earlier and loved it. Hrithik was awesome and Aishwarya wasn't too bad either. Both looked great. A R Rahman's music was good, though I expected it to be great. "Khwaja Mera Khwaja" & "In Lamhon Ke Daman mein" are my favourites. BTW, did anyone notice that among the fakirs (or sufis) who sing the Khwaja number, there were triplets? I mean the bearded guy and the two clean-shaven guys behind him, looked the same. So either hey were triplets, or it was some SFX effects by Ashutosh Gowarikar!!

Books: I am re-reading Agatha Christie's "Partner in Crime". I also finished reading Khaled Housseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns". That guy has almost made me cry each time I read his books. This book is based on two women caught in a god-forsaken situation and the unlikely bond that they form in the face of adversity. I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks he/she has had a raw deal in life. The story is depressing, but with a positive ending. It had me thanking my stars for every comfort that I have.

Aah, I have nothing more to say since my stomach has started to rumble....hope Ferose treats me to a good dinner after he is back.

P.S. He DID treat me to a good dinner at "Masala Art" in the Taj. It was sumptuous meal of Lasuni Palak and Garlic Naan.

It's never too late...

2008-03-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's been several days since I've been wanting to update my blog. But I just didn't have anything that I could put into words. So I am doing the next best thing - I dug up some forgotten pieces of writing from the past and will update the blog with them. These writings are a bit strange, because they were written by a younger me, me minus important milestones like marriage, living abroad. Some of them were written even before I read my first Harry Potter, before I discovered the fascinating Khaled Houssaini through "The Kite Runner". When I read them today, they sound terribly dated . But it's never to late share a blast from the past, is it?

Hey Ram - A Review (Written on 20/04/2000)

Raghupati Raghava Rajaram, Patita Pavan Sitaram" are the starting verses of the title song of the latest venture by Kamal Haasan. "Hey Ram" also happen to be the last two words spoken by the Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, before his death. And if you are the kind who cannot sit in one place for more than 2 hours, then, Hey Ram!! This movie is definitely not for you!!! But if movies like "1947 Earth", "Bombay" or books like "Lajja" and "Train to Pakistan" get your adrenaline pumping , then this definitely is your cup of tea.

So here’s another story of a protagonist against the backdrop of partition and the ensuing communal holocaust. Saket Ram (played by Kamal Haasan) is a Tamilian archeologist in Calcutta and Aparna (Rani Mukherji) is his Bengali wife. Amjad Ali Khan (Shakrukh Khan) is his good friend who believes in a secular India. With communal riots in the background, Saket Ram's life comes to an abrupt stop when Aparna gets brutally raped and murdered by a gang of Muslims. As a repartee he kills the offenders, and others who come in his path of vengeance. But that does not drive away the haunting grief, and the guilt of having murdered another human being. Disgusted and depressed he returns to Madras where his folks promptly get him married to a girl of their choice.

Enter Mythili (played by Vasundhara), a coy, pretty, girl, whose lively exuberance and sensuality, succeed in entrapping Saket, but only for a while. A year after the tragedy, he revisits Calcutta, only to be tortured by the cries of his late wife and hallucinations of the people he had killed. Saket Ram realizes his calling is elsewhere and in true ascetic style takes "Sanyaas" from worldly pleasures. His mission in life remains to kill Gandhi (Naseeruddin Shah) whom he believes to be the worst offender and holds him responsible of all crimes taking place in the name of religion.

But as fate would have it, he again meets his friend Amjad Khan who, despite all the hatred around, still believes that religious harmony is possible. History says Nathuram Godse assassinated Gandhi. What happened in the interim, did Saket Ram have a change of heart? Did Amjad Khan help him see the truth that he was searching for so long? Did Gandhi, through the sheer strength of his persona, influence Saket to give up the fight and embrace non-violence? For all the answers, do watch "Hey Ram".
Even Though Rani Mukherji appears just for a few minutes in the film, one remembers her long after the film has ended as the pretty Aparna, clad in crisp, white, Bengal Cotton Sarees, sans the make up, quoting Bengali poetry! New comer Vasundhara doesn’t have much to do except look pretty and innocent and she looks the part. Shahrukh Khan has a sartorial role, and gives a fine performance. But an actor of his caliber could have been given much more footage to the advantage of the film. Naseeruddin Shah looks uncannily identical to Gandhi and even manages to talk and gesticulate exactly like him. But the spirit of the film lies in Kamal Haasan's character. While all the other characters keep flitting in and out of the story, Kamal's is the main role, and his performance deserves applause. Technically the film is brilliant and brings out the best of the 1940s era, including the costumes and settings. Music by Maestro Illayaraja is soothing and situational. In short, a film worth seeing and not to be missed.

Goodbye Germany

2007-10-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

With each pasisng day, the date when I say goodbye to Germany (hopefully not forever) comes closer. Just wanted to put down a few things that endeared me to this lovely country...things I am sure I will miss...

- The trains, buses and trams...

- May 1st, when all Germans go biking. I did too, this year.

- I can leave office at 4:00 PM and nobody bats an eyelid.

- and in less than 30 minutes, I am home.

- Neuer (New) Wine in the month of September

- The unpredictable April weather :-) One day I was wearing a Tee and it snowed.

- I can decide on a Friday night if I wanna breakfast in, say, Austria, on the following Sunday.

- Taking a stroll on the riverside in Heidelberg on Sunday evenings

- and having 'Koffee und Kuchen' in true local tradition

- The fun of visiting the shops even after closing time, thanks to the well lit shop windows.

- The ease of life, in general.

I can go on and on, but that's only going to depress me further, so now a days I have started thinking of what I can look forward to when I am back in India.

- Food, food and more food. Wanna visit all the restaurents in GGN/Delhi, especially street food vendors!

- Escape from Taliban (In my dictionary, Taliban is the synonym for dusting, cleaning, mopping, swabbing, during, cleaning,...the list goes on), thanks to bais...how I missed them.

- FDFS (for slow starters, First Day First Show). Can't wait to watch Saawariya and Om Shanti Om on the big screen amidts crowds that bajao seetis and udao ticket shreds in the air for item numbers or Hero/Heroine entry scene.

- Shopping in Delhi/Gurgaon....lots to discover. For instance, wanna make a trip to Chandni Chowk as soon as I get there.

- Travel in and around India - Rajashthan, Agra, Mussourie, Leh, Singapore,....

- and finally, the feeling of being in one's own country is something that can't be described in mere words.

Namastey London!

2007-04-12T03:51:00.000-07:00

Is it a city? Is it a film? No..its.....dubyaman!!!!! :-)
Its corny, but please let me laugh at my own PJ. Laughs are really hard to come by these days. Especially when Vipul Shah sets out to make an entertainer that doesn't entertain at all. 'Namaste London' is one long story about how an Indian guy woes back his anglisized wife. And long it is, especially in the post interval sections. The first half is OK thanks to some sequences, like when Katrina Kaif goes groom-shopping in India. She meets a Rabbi Shergill-wannabe, a character from some K-serial, and some others. If the film is barely tolerable, it's because of Akshay Kumar, Rishi Kapoor and the actress who plays his wife (a real find). Of course, it helps that the leading lady is easy on the eyes, and one doesn't mind her accented hindi because it's 'in character'. Noone knows what Upen Patel is doing in the film. Himesh Reshamiya's music jars. 'Rafta Rafta' is the only song that works, largely due to the green Punjab background and Katrina's vibrant salwaar kameezes. Did someone mention London? Yes, a lot of the film is shot in London, but I didn't take any particular notice.

Talking of which, I had a fantastic time this Easter because I was visiting London, again. Everytime I am here, I am amazed at how much there is still to discover in the city and also the nearby places. Some highlights of the trip:
1) Visited Shakespeare's birthplace - Stratford Upon Avon.
Year ago, when I was in school, I had received the book 'Tales from Shakespeare' by Charles & Mary Lamb as a prize for winning some competition. I read this book several times over the next few years until I left for college. I don't remember what happened of that copy, but visiting Shakespeare's house in Stratford brought back all those stories. That book has been my only access to Shakespeare's work, because I don't think I can ever read the original works. Luckily enough, I found a copy of the same book in the souvenior shop. One of my favourite stories is 'A midsummer night's dream'. I have seen the film (not that great) and more recently a marathi play 'Jangal Mein Mangal' at Ranga Shankara in Bangalore, that was based on this. This Shakespeare story is the perfect amalgamation of love, comedy and fantasy.

2) Villages in the Cotswolds region - Chipping Campden , Bourton on the Water
The name Chipping Campden reminded me of 'Chipping Cleghorn', the village where the murder takes place in Agatha Chrsitie's 'The Murder is announced'. Campden is a pretty village with an old world charm. Bourton on the water, also known as the Venice of Cotswolds, has a canal and some delightful pubs and 'Tea Inns'. The drive in the Cotswold region was really soothing. On the way we clicked several pictures in a DDLJ style 'sarson ka khet'. Spring, truly, is the best of seasons.

3)Cambridge- This is the second university town I've been to (the first one was Oxford). If ever there was a town where I'd have wanted to study, its Cambridge. It would have taken me many years to graduate, since I would have done little studying in so pretty a place. It was thrilling to actually stand in front of prestigious college buildings like The Trinity College, after having heard/read about them. The town was full of tourists like us. The day was sunny and several people where 'punting'. We spent a lazy half hour in one of the green lawns watching the blue skies, and centuries old buidings.

4) Window shopping at Harrods
5) And finally, the food ....
Sumptous Bangladeshi cuisine in 'Cinnamon Tree' at Bracknell
Wholesome snacks at 'Chennai Dosa' at Wembley - Mini Idlis, Dosas, Vadas and filter coffee...in short, heaven!
Fish and Chicken Kebabs at Lahore Kabab House at East End(I didn't eat them, but everybody else wore a satiated smile on their faces that spelt bliss)
Dim Sum at Ping Pong near Bond Street (doesn't that rhyme?)

What I really missed watching was a play/musical at Leicester Square. But there's always , and will definitely be a next time in London.

A 'punt' is a flat-bottomed boat which does not have a keel, and is propelled by means of a long pole. Punts were introduced as pleasure craft in Edwardian times, since then punting has become one of the most popular ways to see the famous bridges and colleges along the River Cam.

In Nice

2007-02-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

Me: Hey there! Im going to Nice this weekend
Pal (who loves cracking PJs): How Nice is that!
Me: Grrrrrr.....!

It was our third anniversary (it feels a lot longer than threeyears, I'll have you know), and we decided to do something special. The South of France was always somewhere we always wanted to go. So off we flew to Nice using our miles (the only thing that comes handy from travelling so much for work!) for a short get-away.

Riviera, the word has so many memories. When I was younger, I used to watch the soap "Riviera". I don't remember much about it, story-wise, but distinctly remember the title song, those rocky cliffs, the blue sea, and the expensive mansions overlooking the mediterranean. That was the picture I had in mind when I landed in Nice. And I wasn't disappointed.

One of the first things we did after we landed in Nice was to take a bus ride on the Promenade Des Anglais. Its is a 6 to 7 kms long stretch of road along side the sea, lined with palm trees. The prettiest promenade I have ever seen. Our first destination after a quick check-in into the hotel was Monaco, an hour away on the bus.

Think Monac0, think the rich and the famous. The central attraction is the Casino Monte Carlo. Flanked by Cafe De Paris on one side and Hotel De Paris on the other, its an attractive building. In the front are the casino gardens and behind, one can walk towards the sea and have a look at the famous french riviera.

After spending money in the slot machines and in the cafe (one cappucino + one cake costed 17 Euros!), we were done with Monte Carlo! I longed to be in a place where I could afford to buy dinner without having to sell body parts.

The next day we went to stroll on the Promenade. The seaside is made of a pebble beach. The weather was perfect - sunny and bright. We reluctantly dragged ourselves away from it to take a bus to Grasse, a small town famous for its perfumeries. We visited the Fragonard perfumerie, and didn't need to see the process of perfum making, thanks to the film "Perfume". Unfortunately, I really couldn't enjoy the perfume shop too much because I can't smell things too well. But Ferose had no such problem. He even bought me a perfume and some eu du colognes.

The same evening we also visited Cannes. We didn't really have to do much except see the festival hall (from outside) and snack on some crepes. The seaside was lovely, but it was all dark.

Our last day in the south of France saw us exploring more of Nice. We visited the museum of Marc Chagal, and the old part of Nice. We even walked a long distance to see the museum of Matisse, but unfortunately it was closed for rennovation.

All in all, it was a really good trip. Nice is really a lovely place. I wish I get a chance to visit it again. SAP France has an office in Nice, so perhaps on a business trip.

From Bangalore to the Back Waters

2007-01-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I'm currently suffering from a condition known as post-India-trip-depression and I am liable to write whatever comes to my mind. If you are looking for a coherent (and excellant) write up, try www.arvindswarup.com, but if you still want to read ahead, then I have warned you adequately.

I returned from India 2 days ago. I feel terrible. I miss my family, I miss the comfort of home where every single need of mine was taken care of (by someone else!), I miss the food, the faaantastic, droolworthy concoctions made at home or in restaurents, even at times on the street.

And I miss television.

I never thought I'd admit it, but I'm really curious to know what challanges are faced by Saloni from 'Saat Phere'. Has that thick headed husband of hers (Nahar??) developed some brains or is he still naively listening to that snake, Neel? And what about that poor woman who got batterred by her husband in 'Betiyaan'? Last I saw, she was visiting the same husband in prison, probably even taking gajar ka halwa for him. After all, she is a true sati-savitri. Yes, I totally got hooked on to Indian television there. Not just the K serials, but also the new channels. The amount of footage Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai got in the last 3 weeks, prior to the release of Guru was, frankly, not funny. Has Mani Rathnam totally lost it? From when has he had to resort to such publicity stunts to sell his films. The only other soul who got the same amount of TV screen time was that murderer from Noida. And for very good reason too.

Bangalore's traffic is worse, the roads are all jumbled up. Although I've lived in the city for 8 years, I still had to ask for directions because all the familiar routes had changed after the introduction of one-ways. Airport road is bad. The new fly over has made life only marginally easy, and I am convinced nothing can improve it further. CMH Road, which earlier used to be a quieter road, with just enough restaurents and shops to pass a pleasant evening, is now as busy as M G Road.

Watching movies in Bangalore hasn't changed much in the last one year. It still takes atleast an hour to reach any movie hall worth its name. One still has to go much earlier to book the tickets because Bangaloreans have nothing else to do but watch movies on any given day. I watched Don at PVR and Dhoom2 at Innovative. Don was really good (SRK rocks!!), and Dhoom2 was tolerable only because of Hrithik. By the time Aishwarya spoke her first dialoge in the film 'I am hot', I was gagging. Really, what has got into her. First Umrao Jaan, and now this? Her acting in Dhoom makes one appreciate her earlier films, its THAT bad. Abhishek wearing flowery shirts and dacing with the incredibly hot Bipasha didn't impress me AT ALL. He should steer clear of anything Hrithik. Thankfully for both of them, today's release, Guru has gained some positive reviews. I am looking forward to watching it now.

4 days into my vacation, I flew to Cochin. The lush greenery of Kerala was in sharp contrast to the crazy city that Bangalore has become. So were the hills at 'Motta Kunj' (loosely translated, it means egg mountains!) and Ayyampara. It was so peaceful to sit on the hilltop at Ayyampara, just waiting for the sun to set. I captured quite a few pictures. The only othertime I saw such a beautiful sunset was on Andaman & Nicobar (I forget the name of the island)

The boat ride on Kumarakom Lake was divine. Everytime I saw a house boat, I promised myself that the next trip to Kerala would involve travelling or living on one. This trip brought me closer to Kerala than all my earlier trips. It was five days of fresh air, greenery and nothing to do but eat and relax. A perfect vacation!

Now it's back to the grind (not the old Channel V program where women wearing less clothes gyrated to songs at swimming pools or on the beach). The first shock (and a rude one at that) is when you eat your first meal at work. Man, I would have to eat this till my next trip to India, which is far away. Then when you switch on the TV, you realize you'll have to watch some DVD because there is no Aaj Tak or NDTV to entertain you. I actually miss watching that Noida killer on TV. And the worst of all is the layers of clothing one has to wear before going out. Actually its not that bad this winter, it hasn't even snowed, but coming from India, it is still a big change in weather. This is the grind I am talking about.

I am too depressed to proceed any further.

Reviews galore..

2006-11-23T03:58:00.000-08:00

Plenty of bollywood action happened at my end last month. Watched Umrao Jaan on the big screen at Offenbach, while still waiting for the release of Don. My friend Madhu tells me that the entire movie can also be watched online, but I am resisting the urge to do that. Nothing like watching it on 70 mm, or even an original DVD. For now, I have to be content with some clippings on youtube.

Talking of DVDs, I watched some interesting and inspiring flicks and one particularly forgettable one. The forgettable one, Jaan-e-mann! Firstly, a name like this doesn't inspire confidence. Secondly, after watching the promos, it looked like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi part 2 (and I hadn't particularly enjoyed part 1). Thirdly, the music, supposed to be real cool, left me cold. Now Im not very fussy about filmi music. I enjoy anything from 'Kya Housala' (Dor) to 'Aaj Ki Raat' (Don). Even 'Just Chill Chill' does it for me. Bare the 'Humko Maloom Hain' track, the rest of the music was just average. Same goes for the Soundtrack of Vivaah. Sorry Ravindra Jainji, I'm into old fashioned music, loved songs from 'Veer Zaara' and the new 'Umrao Jaan' (more on that in a bit), but Vivaah was a disappointment. I completely missed the magic of Chitchor and Heena. May be I'll enjoy the music more after I watch the film, but I'm not too hopeful.

Moving from forgettable to interesting movies, two films produced by UTV that I recently watched were 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' and 'Pyar Ke Side Effects'. They were tightly scripted, with songs only in the background, had interesting story lines and composed of talented actors like Boman Irani, Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, Ranvir Sheroy, Vinay Pathak and others. Among the women, Mallika Sherwat was good in 'Pyar Ke..', Tara Sharma was OK in 'Khosla..'. I've seen Ranvir's performance in a play 'The Blue Mug' and always thought he was a fantastic actor. So its great that good theatre actors like him and Vinay Pathak are getting meaty roles in interesting films.

Umrao Jaan's music is really good, if you are into melodious ghazalized songs . Anu Mallik, the composer has really hit done well with this score. I like almost all the songs in the film, especially 'Pooch rahe Hain' and 'Main na mil sakoon' where I coud actually feel the pain in Alka Yagnik's voice. Just a tiny prick in the balloon, though. The tune of the song 'Jhoote Ilzaam' is a straight lift from the old Lata number 'Yun Husraton ke Daag'. The film didn't meet the same standards. J P Dutta should hopefully have realized by now that its not enough to have great music, period costumes and big stars leading to big hype. The direction leaves a lot to be desired. Till date, I only liked 'Border' and 'Yateem' among his other films. And to add to that, UJ is a very long film. I (and other people also, I think) are getting used to the 2+ hour long duration (thanks RGV).

There were a number of reasons why I wanted to watch the Mahesh Bhatt written 'Woh Lamhe'. I loved the soundtrack, love Shiney Ahuja and can tolerate Kangana. More importantly, it was rumoured to be Parveen Babi's life story. If Im not wrong, Mahesh Bhatt already made another film on the same story. - 'Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi'. The music of that film was also quite popular then. 'Woh Lamhe' is good. Very good portrayal of a schizophrenic by Kangana. I actually felt sorry for her and the character played by Shiney. A must watch, I'd say.

Finally coming to the inspiring movie 'Dor'. Nagesh Kukunoor has the knack of choosing stories that are very realistic and still have the filmy magic to them. In Dor, a woman from Himachal is looking for a woman in Rajasthan. They have a strange connection. One's husband is dead and the other's husband will die, unless fate intervenes. And how it does! What starts as a plea for forgiveness ends up as a friendship that cuts across all barriers set by society. Beautiful! Excellant performances by the lead starcast.Shreyas Talpade is amazing, and boy can he mimic. Gul Panag looks beautiful and emotes well as the strong and silent crusader, never giving in to melodramatics. And Ayesha Takia is perfect as the young widow, yearning for a normal life and some happiness on the side. As always, I will be waiting for Kukunoor's next film with bated breath.

Next week, I might check out Ravi Chopra's Babul. Two reasons why I'll end up watching this film : Ferose is a big fan of Rani Mukherjee (and I have missed John Abraham too) and we don't really have much choice since only very few hindi films make it to the big screens here. So watch out for my review of Babul. I am expecting to see a film with lots of tears and too many songs.

Knock Knock..Who's there? DON

2006-09-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

'Don ka peecha toh barah mulkon ki police kar rahi hain, magar ek baat samajh lo. Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, namumkin bhi hain'

Earlier, I did a post on the remake scene in Bollywood (this is not a politically correct term, but I don't want to type the very long term Hindi Film Industry every time I am referring to the Hindi Film Industry, Bollywood is just easier). I fleetingly touched on the Don remake. But now, being a Bollywood buff, I am all eager for the film's release, for a number of reasons. Farhan Akhtar, SRK, the awesome music, Boman Irani, the works.

Talking of the music, I only have this to say to SEL (duh!!? Shanker, Ehsaan and Loy) - You guys rock when it comes to your own compositions, and I forgive you KANK (that the koffee guy can be persistant in his demands is quite understandable). You even remix your own songs innovatively, but please leave the old classics untouched. Of all the tracks in the Album, I like 'Aaj Ki Raat', which is not a remix, the most, and I am looking forward to watching it on screen. It left me a very retro 'raat baaki baat baaki' feeling. The title song is really good too, with Shaan in good form again after Fanaa's Chand Sifarish (does anybody remember his 'Loveology' ?). The best part about the remixed 'Khaike Paan' is that they got SRK to sing/recite some of the lines, and he is a lot better than his 'Apun bola'. The track which lacks the most merit is 'Yeh Mera Dil' but I probably feel that way because I just can't get Asha Bhonsle out of my head. The rest of the tracks are the theme instrumental, remix of 'Main Hoon Don', and a medival punditz mix which is nostalgic.

Also listening to Woh Lamhe's soundtrack. Pritam is churning out hits after hits. This album has a few ghazals also. 'Bin Tere' is a hummable one, but 'Tu Jo Nahin' didn't impress me. After Gangster's 'Bheegi Bheegi' James returns with 'Chal Chale' which is a song about loving with gay abandon. KK is his usual awesome self in 'Kya yehi Pyar hain'. This will be as, if nor more, popular as 'Tu hi mera shab hain'. And then there is the slow romantic number 'So jaon main' sung by both Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghosal. I have a massive crush on Shiney Ahuja and am looking forward to watching the film. The music is already a best seller.

I finally managed to watch KANK and here's my take - Both the ABs rocked. Preity, Arjun, Kiron were OK. But I couldn't tolerate Rani's weeping and SRK's scowling (even a die hard fan has limits, dude).

And the other filmi highlights of last week:

Being Cyrus - Dark, intriguing, funny.
JOQ: Why is Simone singh not in main stream cinema. Only a Karan Johar seems to want her. Nagesh Kukunoor, you listening?

Omkara - Mind blowing. No words can do justice.
JOQ: Does Vishal Bharadwaj have any openings for the position of an assistant?

Anthony Kaun Hain - Arshad Warsi rocks. The story line is interesting, but the ending was predictible.
JOQ: Isn't Sanjay Dutt tired of playing those Don/Killer/Gangster kind of roles? He can kiss these roles goodbye. He doesn't need them. He's got Munna bhai to play, like forever.

Chup chup ke - Priyadarshan has lost his touch. Neha needs to start shedding some clothes again if she wants to do any better. Shahid is good, but he can only be as good as the film, and cannot rise above the script. Everything about Sushma Reddy, her role, her costumes and her make up was sacrilege. Why on earth did she accept this film? But on the other hand, if my last film was called Chocolate where I played a reporter named 'Monsoon ', I would not mind playing third fiddle to Kareena, who, BTW, looked good and was tolerable since she was on mute. And lastly, Paresh Rawal needs to stop acting in every film that Priyadarshan offers.
JOQ: No more questions, your honor.

And there were others like Darwaja Bandh Rakho, Shaadi Kar Ke Phas Gaya that I wish I had given a miss.

Now I am looking forward to watching Bas Ek Pal and Dor.

P.S. Also 'Woh Lamhe'

Fjords and the Flam

2006-08-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

A fjord (or fiord) is a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes, which results from marine inundation of a glaciated valley.

A couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of the word ‘Fjord’. Now, I have already seen it. August is vacation time in Europe since all the schools have their holidays. Our vacation was due too, we thought about driving down to some nearby country. But that was until a friend (God Bless his soul!) warned us that everyone would be driving down to some place or the other and the autobahns would be clogged. Hence we opted to fly using the cheapest airlines available: Ryan Air. One of the advantages of having a budget (how I hate this necessary evil word) is that it automatically narrows down your choice of places. Oslo was one of the five places that is connected via Ryan Air from Frankfurt Hahn (the nearest airport that is used by Ryan Air, the other being Karlsruhe). Since I had never been to any place more north than Hamburg, Oslo was the obvious choice.

Some basic facts about Norway: It is one of the Scandinavian countries (among others like Denmark, Sweden). It is called the land of the midnight sun because in the Northern part, the sun shines day and night during summer. Since we only spent most of our time in Bergen which is in the south of Norway, we didn’t really see the midnight sun. Oslo, the capital city is one of the smallest capitals in Europe.

We didn’t do anything much in Oslo, except for visiting the Vikings Museum. They have three huge ships known to be the best preserved ships of the Viking Age, if you are interested in that sort of thing. Bergen is a 7 hour train ride away from Oslo. A 10 minute walk from the Bergen Station led us to our hotel which was bang in the middle of the city centre and only a few minutes walk from the famous Fish Market. All the tourist shops and restaurants are located in and around the Fish Market. There are shops selling freshly caught fish, souvenirs, sweaters (a Norway specialty), flowers and plants. Bergen is a city surrounded by seven mountains, the highest of which is called Mount Ulriken. We took a cable car up on Mt Ulriken and had a magnificent view of the city. Those who suffer from vertigo would have to position themselves in the front of the cable car to have only the view of the mountain nearing and not of the growing depth below. I don't have a problem with heights, but Ferose was gripping the sides a bit too hard, wonder why ;-)?

Bergen is also the base for anybody wanting to visit the Fjords. We took a tour called ‘Norway in a Nutshell’. The USP of this tour was the fjords and travel in all modes of transport: Train, Bus, Boat and the famous Flam Railway. The first leg of the journey was by train from Bergen to Voss. Then we took a bus to Gudvangen which went over the hills and we had some beautiful views of the waterfalls. From Gudvangen we took a Boat to Flam. This was the main part where we cruised on the Fjords. The beauty of the Fjords is breathtaking. Luckily it was not that cold, so we could spend the majority of the 2 hour ride on the deck facing the beautiful mountains.
We reached Flam by lunch time. After a heavy meal of pizza and coke, we boarded the very famous Flam Railway. Flamsbana is one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world. It also is one of the steepest. On this train, we saw the magnificent scenery of the wild and mountains. Initially, there was a mad rush by all passengers (including me) to click pictures. But after a while I was content to just sit and enjoy the beauty of the hills. No picture would have done justice to what I captured in my mind. Wish I could take printouts of those snapshots!

The last part of the ‘Norway In a Nutshell’ tour was a train back to Bergen. I was glad that I had taken this very interesting tour. And further glad that I had decided to visit Norway, because it is certainly very different from the other European countries I have visited. One of the best things about Norway is that everyone speaks English and you don’t have to struggle with a foreign language. The people are very friendly and helpful. Bergen's tourist information centre is one of the largest I have seen, with very comprehensive information available. The only downside is that it’s an expensive country and one has to watch the expenses, if one is on a budget.

Omkara, kabhi alvida na kehna....!!

2006-07-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

Using the much abused expression 'I am experiencing a writer's block' seems to be the perfect way to start. I might not write huge sagas, witty columns, or even short stories but since I do write occasionally on blogspot, the categorization is not that far off the mark. The last two months have been a flurry of activity. I travelled a lot, watched a few films, actually shot for a short film (courtesy SAPTV) and met up with some friends in London. All this and more should have given me enough to write about. But there it is: zilch, nada, nothing! May be I'll just jot down my current favourites in books, movies and music.

I picked up audio CDs of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (KANK) and Omkara. KANK's music is very predictble, has a serious KHNH (Kal Ho Na Ho) hangover. 'Where's the party tonight' takes off from where 'Its the time to disco' ended. 'Rock and Roll Soniye' reminds me of 'Pretty Woman'. The title song is melodious and quite hummable. But the gem is 'Mitwa'. And for this song alone I would recommend buying KANK soundtrack. Shankar Ehsaan and Loy have composed this breezy folk fusion number and given the supremely talented Shafqat Amanat Ali a fantastic break in the Hindi Film Music Industry. The album also has a remixed version of 'Mitwa', but I am partial to the original.

'Omkara's music is different. There's the 'Beedi' item number which is for the masses. The haunting and romantic 'O Saathi Re' is mindblowing. The rustic 'Lakad Jalke' introduces new talent Rekha Bharadwaj (any connection to Vishal Bharadwaj, I wonder?). But the most important song that conveys the theme of jealousy and passion is Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Naina thag lenge'. Pay close attention to the lyrics. Suresh Wadkar makes a comeback with the lori type 'Jag Ja gudiya' (not that he had really retired, but I haven't heard him sing for a mainstream Hindi film since Maachis. Wonder why the industry ignores him. His unforgettable 'Sanjh dhale' from Utsav is my all time favourite). Over all, a good album, but might not be liked by everyone. The reviews of the film are very good and I read glowing words of tareef for Saif's perfomance, but that will have to wait till the pirated version of the DVD is available in Frankfurt.

While on movies, I watched Golmaal recently and it was really really funny. My conclusion - any movie that Arshad Warsi is a part off will definitely be a notch above the others. His comic timing is fabulous. Ajay Devgan has the main role, but the others have enough screen time to showcase their talents. Sharman Joshi makes a good follow up act to 'Rang De Basanti'. His character is believably sincere. Paresh Rawal is efficient and Sushmita Mukherji is the perfect match to his charater. She is almost like Nirupa Roy (remember her eyes blinking furiously in the Big B's hit 'Mard' where she plays a blind woman?), only, a lot funnier! The surprise package is Tushar Kapoor. Without revealing too much, I'll just say that Tushar didn't leave anything unsaid! The film is definitely paisa wasool!

I am desperately trying to find out which movie halls here would be screening KANK. I know it will be candy floss, Karan Johar Style, peppered with the who's who of fiimdom. And I know it will be one big senti drama. But I still want to watch it first day second show, and its not possible here :-(.

Nowadays, I am reading 'Eldest', the sequel to 'Eragon' which is the story of a boy and a dragon. I liked 'Eragon' very much. Hard to believe that the author was only 16 when he wrote it. I am looking forward to the big screen adaptation. I read Mary Higgins Clark's latest 'Two Little Girls in Blue' and was quite disappointed. It was preditable and the theme of twins being telepathic was not sufficient to make the full novel engrossing. I found a second hand version of 'Death on Cape Cod', which is a short stories collection by the same lady. I am optimistic that this one will return my faith in Ms Clark.

August is the month of vacations in Europe and I am going on one too. Next week this time I will be in Bergen in Norway. More on this later!

Where dreams meet reality...

2006-05-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

Picture vivid blue skies, snow capped peaks, cows with koo-bells, Kajol running into the arms of her beloved admidst yellow fields...wait wait wait, wasn't that scene supposed to be in the sarson ke khet in Punjab or were we only led to believe it was so? Whatever! But one of the reasons for the success of Yash Chopra's films (DDLJ, Darr, Chandni, etc) is the dreamlike beauty of the locations. Its what has made Switzerland a must-see destination for most Indian tourists who can afford to take a holiday abroad. And by the sheer number of desis that I saw there, it looks like a holiday abroad is quite common these days.

Anyway, back to where I started...blue skies, bluish green lakes and landscapes to kill, that's Switzerland, folks. It is THE beautiful place in the world and I was lucky to visit it twice in the same month. On my two short trips, I covered Zurich, Lucerne and Interlaken. Zurich and Lucern are similar to other European countries - pretty cobbled pathways, beautifully erected buildings, a river side with restaurants where unsuspecting tourists could be led to make a serious hole in their pockets and a main street with all the branded shops.

Interlaken, the city of Lakes is slightly different. It does have its share of shops and restaurants, but the real beauty lies in the surroundings. Interlaken and the nearby places could be explored by foot, bike or car and I was able to use two of those options. My first trip was by car with dear hubby driving and we discovered how enjoyable it was too just go wherever we liked (..the navigation system in the car was a big help!). On my second trip, I was with my older sis. It was her idea to rent bikes and explore. We traced the path alongside the river to the two main lakes that are on either sides of Interlaken - Lake Thun to the left and Lake Brienz to the right. Wherever we went, all we had to do is stop and take in the beauty around us, the hills, the cows, the greenery and the lakes. And I say it one more time at the risk of repeating myself (again!).
I can't wait to go back there again, but this time, I would like to stay for a longer time in one of the small pretty villages. A cottage by the river, and just the quiet hills around.

Some observations...
1) Swiss fondue, supposed to be a speciality, didn't impresss me at all. (May be I still need to develop a taste for Swiss cheese.)
2) There are more Watch and Jewellery shops than people in Switzerland.
3) Aishwarya Rai can be seen endorsing Longines in most shop windows.
4) SRK was conspicusous with his absence from the same windows (expected him to be flaunting his Tag Heuer) but Brad Pitt more than made up for his absence!!

Currently...

2006-04-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

reading - 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini. A very beautiful, moving story of two friends set against the backdrop of Afganisthan, mid 70s upto 9/11. More info at http://www.khaledhosseini.com/

watching - Season 10 of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. My favourite episodes? The One with Ross's Tan, The one where Amy babysits Ella...oops I mean Emma and the one with Phoebe's wedding.

Law & Order - The Premier year. Pleasure to watch BIG (Chris Noth) from Sex and the City in this mindblowing cop and lawyer drama series. Can't wait to lay my hands on the spin off - Law & Order SVU (Special Victims Unit).

Also watched for the second time - Salaam Namaste and Kal Ho Na Ho. Goes to show how badly I need to go to Frankfurt for the next set of hindi DVDs. Would like to watch 'Water', 'Taxi Driver 9 2 11' and 'Maalamal'

listening to - The soundtrack of the new film 'Ankahee'. It has some soulful tunes that sort of grow on you. Reminded me of the soundtrack of 'Saaya'. 'Ankahee' is supposed to be based on the Sushmita Sen - Vikram Bhatt love story. That Sen has disapproved of this film made on her private life only makes it more interesting.

still listening to - Zinda..what a mindblowing, amazing album. The double CD pack comes with lounge and club versions. Have to say I prefer the Lounge one, especially for the title song by Strings (I lovva lovva them)

visited - Had been on a weekend trip to Amsterdam with hubby and buddys. Didn't see no Tulips. Didn't see no lap dances and didn't do no dope (I am a good girl ;-)). But I did see the Anne Frank Museum. And I enjoyed it (not the right word, given the theme of the museum, but can't think of a relpacement right now) despite not having read the book.

eating - Thai, Thai and more Thai food. I say, bring on the Khai Phods and Phad Thais!

drinking - champagne a few hours back, was a farewell party thrown for a colleague who is leaving

Trivia: This year is Rembrant's 400th B'Day.

Old wine in a new bottle

2006-02-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

What is it with remixes and remakes these days? So long as people don't completely ruin the original song, I have no issues with remixes. Although there are times when I have the urge to puke when I watch remixes like 'Pardesiya'. (Seriously, what IS the problem with that female? With a name like Rakhi too!) It's sad that a whole generation knows about the old classics only because they watch the (questionable) hotties gyrate to the remixes. Not content with tampering the music, some 'creative' souls have now gone one step ahead. Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen to the age of remakes!

One must start at the beginning. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is, arguably, the guy who started it all by blowing up 50 crores in the making of a film about a guy who's tragic story was unknown to few people, thanks to Saratda, K L Saigal and the living legend, Dilip Kumar. Also to burn his hands in an equally expensive venture was Akbar Khan who made the magnum opus Tajmahal, even as the retouched version of 'Mughal-e-Azam' put an end to any curiousity about the film. Unfortunately Naushad's remarkable compositions for the film went unnoticed.

Today, every director worth his salt is making a remake. Be it RGV, J P Dutta or Pritish Nandy. Even a young talented director like Farhan Akhtar is making 'Don', THE Amitabh Classic. What convinced Farhan that he could recreate Bachchan's charismatic portrayal of Don? SRK, who's playing Don might be able to do a 'khaike paan banaras waala', but can he actually become a very stylish Don AND not look funny while singing 'Main hoon Don'? I almost had a heart attack when I read that Kareena Kapoor was to do the Helen number. Puhleeze...!! I am OK with Urmilas or Ishas trying their luck with 'Yeh mera Dil'..but Kareena is a big NO.

Let me move on to some other remakes that are quickly gathering a lot of publicity. Not only is Ram Gopal Verma remaking Sholay (that, to me, is the ultimate blasphemy), he is even remaking James. Whether audience will want to go watch Mohit Ahlwat doing the dishum-dishum and generally sulking at the world, is left to me seen. RGV's Sholay has Amitabh playing Gabbar's role. The lesser said about this remake, the better.

Then there is the J P Dutta's Umrao Jaan that's in process, with Aishwarya Rai playing the title role and I am left wondering if they will come anywhere close to Muzaffar Ali's original. The only reason I will ever watch this film is because Abhishek Bachchan plays a key character.

Not far behind is Pritish Nandy who is making Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam. No prizes for guessing who'll portray the sadistic husband. The one and only Salmaan Khan. They got atleast that one right! Priyanka Chopra, who plays the alcoholic wife better start liking the poison. I don't know how else she is going to match upto Meena Kumari's histrionics. The joke is on John Abraham who is playing Bhola, the ghulam in love with his malkin. Don't get me wrong, I quite like John (more on this later). But why pick a stud with six packs and biceps to play the innocent servant, a role made so memorable by none other than Guru Dutt?

A point in favour of Ashutosh Gowarikar who is making Akbar Jodha. Now this is one story I have not heard or seen before. I look forward to a very well researched product, with fine technicians and good music.

Until then, may the Almighty save me and the rest of the movie buffs from the remakes.

What to write...?

2006-02-16T00:43:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to write something for a while now. I just can't seem to decide what to write about. At first I thought I'll write about my sister's wedding that happened early this month. I could write about all the fun I had, shopping for clothes and jewellery, eating yummy food, and gossiping with my folks (and giving others a chance to gossip about me...after all, weddings are primarily for showing off your sarees and gold, AND gossiping!).
I soon got weary of remembering all the details. Then I thought about Rang de Basanti, the latest Aamir Khan film that I had enjoyed only last week. Aamir's character in the film reminded me of an old college friend who never wanted to stop being a student. Everytime I met him after I passed out of college, I felt that time had stopped moving on. Although Aamir is 40, he looked quite ok as the 30 something guy whoz still in college. And the music....it was haunting and sweet and tugged at my heart. Especially 'Tu bin bataye..' and 'Lukka Chippi'. But I think the title song is the best, full of energy and very young. I found the ending of the story exaggerated, but the message came across. Not sure how much of an awakening it will lead to, but Rakesh Mehra proved that he can do much better than 'Aks'.
Here's something interesting. I landed in Mumbai airport at midnight and I had to while away the time before my connecting flight which was only next morning. At first I was irritated because there was hardly any space to sit down. Every available chair was occupied. Finally we (I was accompanied by my sis) found space on the marble edge of a really desperate landscaping attempt. Seriously, who wants plants inside an airport? After a while, I was almost dozing off, when I felt someone shaking me hard. I opened one eye, and saw JOHN ABRAHAM walking a few feet away. My sister, who had cottoned on to it much before me, skipped across to get his autograph. I was dead-still for a few moments, making sure it was not a dream. And then I walked over, shook his hand, and told him 'Hi John, its great to meet you. I am huge fan!' And he gave me the sweetest smile in the whole world, before walking away. He looked exactly as he did on screen, handsome, sexy with a raw magnetic appeal. From the corner of my eye, I saw his girlfriend Bipasha walking past him. But I was too excited to really notice her. Sigh....it was wonderful! There was no question of dozing off after that. My eyes and ears were perked up, just in case I met anybody else interesting!

SRK: The inner and outer worlds

2006-01-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

I know many of my friends (men) are going to cringe when they read this piece. Rarely have I come across a Shahrukh Khan fan who's a guy. When he first landed in Hindi films, I wondered what the hue and cry was all about. Here was a guy, with a bad hair cut, some pronunciation issues (remember "kkkkkkiran"?) and for all practical reasons (no godfather, not a star-son, television background) no chances of making it big as an actor. Even then, when people told me that the only reason to watch the film 'Deewana' was a song that featured Shahrukh and the now forgotten actress Divya Bharati, I thought it was just hype.
But he did make it big, and how! Its almost twenty years now since his acting debut in the television series 'Fauji', and he can be rightfully described as one of the biggest stars in the world. A recently released Autobiographical DVD attempts to capture the persona of SRK, the phenomenon that he has become and the very humane individual that he is. There are two parts to the DVD, very aptly titled "Inner" and "Outer" worlds.
The outer world is mostly about his shows in the US, where he is accompanied by other actors. The mass hysteria, the popularity of Hindi films and stars, and the spontaneity with which Shahrukh handles the live audience are all very well captured. Not to mention the unlimited energy he puts into each act. On a side note, I couldn't help noticing that how some women who look so glamorous on screen look so normal, almost plain, without makeup. I wouldn't give them a second look if I see them on the road sans the grease paint. And this is Rani Mukherji and Priyanka Chopra I am talking about, who figure occasionally in this part of the show.
The inner world section talks about some very interesting bits. For instance, did you know that Shahrukh had an older sister living with him? Did you know that his son thought his father was Aamir Khan for a really long time? Many more such facts come to the surface. SRK goes back to his school in Delhi and its touching to see how much he loves being there. And then there is the forever long queue of fans waiting for one look from him. Its amazing to see how well he handles all the attention. He never refuses a fan. Such is his popularity that he actually has to sign autographs even while he was visiting his parents' grave.
This DVD, a must-see for all Shahrukh fans, contains immeasurable amount of information about their beloved actor. Also for those who are just plain curious about him, he'll be a revelation, much beyond the Rahuls and Rajs that he has portrayed on the silver screen.

Is Bangalore safe?

2005-12-22T00:48:00.000-08:00

I was deeply affected by the recent news about the rape and murder of a call centre employee of HP. It was disgusting when the CEO of HP gave statements on the lines of "there is no lapse on our side" or "This is a one-off incident". How can he get away by saying that? It infuriated me further to hear that nothing is being done to make the situation safe in our own SLI, which also uses the now infamous SRS transport to ply employees home at night. Although I didn't use the cabs provided by SRS very often, but there were times when I did, and very often I was the only passenger. It creeps me out now to think of it. Common complaints that I have heard from other employees are rash driving and rude behavior. No concessions are given if you are a female employee in terms of order of the drop offs. Corporates need to take a strong stand in this issue. An employee's safety is the responsibility of the employer. Either provide a safe environment to work in, or do not expect employees to stay back late. After all, who wants to reach home late? Very often I have seen that employees who are not married tend to stay long hours in the office, sometimes without sufficient reason. This is more an individualistic trait, but it just goes to show the kind of culture that is prevalent. A change in this can happen only when it comes from the top management.

Goblet Of Fire: A Review

2005-12-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

"But I am only Harry, just Harry" said Harry Potter in The Philosopher's Stone. He has come a long way, Harry has. From being a bewildered eleven year old wizard to a fourteen year old one who has to confront his nemesis (the darkest wizard of all times, Lord Voldermort), watch a fellow student die and actually fight a Dragon (a Norwegian Ridgeback, no less). Like Hagrid says, dragons are fairly misunderstood creatures! Fact is, you can't get close enough to one in order to understand it. This is what Harry has to deal with in the first task of the Tri Wizard Tournament held at Hogwarts during his fourth year. Of course, Harry never intended to participate although he has been dreaming about winning the cup and impressing Cho Chang (a girl he has a crush on and who occasionally produces a orange-juice-dribbling effect on Harry). How his name comes to be in the Goblet is one of the many mysteries of the story. One line describes it aptly: Be careful what you wish for, you might get it….
After a surprising (even to himself) success in the first task, Harry uncovers a clue about the second task, although he first has to confront a female ghost a.k.a Moaning Myrtle in his bath. I'm not sure this scene was so suitable for toddlers, but what the heck, there is a PG 13 rating stamped on the film. The underwater sequence has been superbly shot, and if ever anybody remarks that mermaids are sexy, I can tell them a thing or two about them. Harry not only rescues his friend Ron Weasley, but also rescues another opponent's target, and is credited by the headmaster for displaying 'moral fiber'. The last task in the tournament is held in a maze, and it looks awesome. Those who have read the book will watch this sequence especially carefully since it has a rather ghastly result. I will not be a spoiler for those who haven't read the books or seen this film. All I'll say is that the viewer is not spared the tragedy. There is no molly cuddling of the facts here.
The Yule ball sequence deserves one mention. It is funny, and very well handled, very much in line with what was described in the book. Ron's dress robes, Hermione's make over and Harry's first dance have been portrayed excellently.
Towards the end of the movie, Hermione Granger, Harry's other best friend, says, "Everything is going to change now". Its not very clear if she's alluding to her having found an admirer in Viktor Krum or to Voldermort's return. It doesn't help that she is actually smiling (or smirking?) while saying this. One can only guess.

Fly the good times..

2005-11-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

Finally, I am in Germany. After all the packing and storing, shipping and dumping, I finally managed to say goodbye to dear old Bangalore on 18th of October, in the process making my Bai the proud owner of a trillion things that I couldn't a) Carry to Germany b) Store c)Dump. Luckily, I even managed to attend a team outing before that, and can you believe it, the team gave me a goodbye card and I got to do a speech too (ugh..!!).

I flew Kingfisher Airlines to Hyderabad, and I know why their tagline is 'Fly the good times'. Not only are all their passenger seats royal looking, they all have personal TV screens with Yana Gupta doing a Babuji Zara Dheere chalo on it. Ok, the last part was only partly true. Yana Gupta does set the TV screen ablaze, even if its while describing how to buckle the seat belt and put on the Oxygen mask. And she is wearing the trademark red mini skirt that all the Kingfisher Airlines female crew members wear. Oh yes, the boys will have nothing to complain about. To top it all, they give cute red earphones for free (of course, this might disappear once the airline gets popular). Fly the Good Times!

After spending four days in the city of Nawabs, and getting pampered by my folks, I took the Emirates flight to Germany via Dubai on 23rd October.

At the Hyderabad international airport, on the advice of a very nice old guy (who was helping passengers to lift the furniture onto the counter), I moved to a counter where I could check in my excess baggage without a problem. A charming greeting accompanied by a smile, recently combed hair and an affable guy at the counter seemed to have done the trick!

12 hours, 2 movies and 2 meals later I was in Frankfurt, comfortably seated in the shuttle, on my way to Heidelberg. Voila, I was in Germany.

How different life in Germany can get is something I am experiencing on a day to day basis. Some experiences are funny, while others are downright wierd. The thing to bear in mind is to not compare life here to the 2 to 3 month business trip to Germany that SAP employees often make. Living here is a totally different ball game. And here are some of my observations:

1)An almost pollution free place. Walking in the crowded city can be a pleasure in itself, without worrying about the traffic, dust and noise. And when I say crowded, I mean crowded by German standards.
2)Learning German language is essential. And at the moment, I am facing quite a few problems because of not knowing the language. For instance, all the post is in German. So every single letter that comes, be it a bill, or confirmation of some order, needs to be taken to the office so that a kindly German colleague can translate it!
3)What fresh fruits and vegetables you can buy! When you buy grapes, you can be 100% sure that they will be sweet. Of course, its possible to also buy Indian vegetables and spices from the many asian shops around.
4)Most of the shops here do not have assistants. So if you have a question about a product, and even if you ask a fellow German, he will point you to the elaborate instructions on the product, which are of course in German. Customer service is not a very common feature here simply because the products are usually the best and they do not expect to provide any additional information/help.

I can think of many more things to write, but it will make this post too long. I am sure there's loads to learn and tell. So until then.....Guten Tag!

Few of my favorite things!

2005-08-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
.....
Julie Andrews delightfully sang about her favorite things...So I thought, why shouldn't I?
Actually, I shouldn't sing it, because I don't have a song which lists my favorite things. Instead, I have the next best thing: a compiled list of things that are absolute favorites...

1) Being able to sleep till 9:00 AM everyday, and on some lucky days, also getting breakfast in bed. Sigh..The marvels of holy matrimony!
2) Being able to laugh at Joey's or Chandler's pranks, no matter how many repeats you have seen of F.R.I.E.N.D.S
3) Walking down M G Road on a Sunday afternoon, with Bangalore's trademark: awesome weather... Stopping at Lakeview for a French Toast, or at Coffee House for scrambled eggs.
4) Internet access at home, to check official mails (even if there is no need, just the fact that I CAN, gives me pleasure), and wish loved ones who are miles away, just by a few button clicks.
5) Being able to just stay at home on a holiday, read a book (Mary Higgins Clark thriller/Agatha Christie Mystery/Latest Potter), with no interruptions whatsoever.
6) Unlimited access to millions of memories made easy by just looking at old photo albums, whenever a trip down memory lane is indicated.
7) Being able to just call up special friends and gossip away about the latest soaps, the newest hairstyles, somebody else's hottest fling, not necessarily in that order!
8) Being able to send flowers, gifts, even a Rakhi via online shopping, although it can never replace the charm of a hand written letter.
9) Being able to watch the scariest horror film ever, with the safety net that I won't be home alone at night (didn't I say being married was awesome!)
10) And last, but not the least, having the free time to actually sit and pen down these thoughts!

...when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I am feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad...!!

Mischief managed!

2005-07-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

It took me a while, but I finally did surface from the post-Half Blood Prince hangover! This is not strictly a review. There are numerous reviews available on the net, by now. Countless theories being discussed, J K Rowling's interviews, the works. These are just some thoughts and questions.

The name of the book is kind of a misnomer, considering the previous titles. Take Prisoner of Azkaban, for instance. The story revolves around the convict from Azkaban. Chamber of Secrets climaxes within the Chamber. Goblet of Fire, though the phrase doesn't figure many times in the book, it is still a representation of the Triwizard tournament which forms the crux if the book. Why, even the Philosopher's stone gets its due towards the end of the very first book of the series.

Then why do I think The Half Blood Prince is not that important to the whole plot? If you take the identity of the Half Blood Price, then of course, yes, it is an important character, a character we can recognize as someone very crucial to the whole big picture. But beyond that, the book does not entirely revolve around it. After completing 3/4ths of the book, you don't get a feeling that your life (or for that matter Harry's life) depends on knowing the identity of the HBP.

Instead, what comes across first and foremost is how much Harry has grown by the time he is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. And I don't only mean physically and emotionally. Take, for example, his level headed discussion with the Minister of Magic (no less!), his insistence on always doing right thing, no matter how tempted he is to do otherwise (remember the Quiddich try outs?)

Not that Harry isn't a normal kid. He doesn't mind using somebody else's notes to get higher marks in Potions, much to the chagrin of his best buddy Hermione. (How I wish I had someone to help me out with Chemistry in school!).

Some of things in the book were oddly reminiscent of the previous stories. Prof Slughorn somehow reminded me of Prof Lockheart. A whole lot of new stuff - Disastrous Love potions, Luna Lovegood's Quiddich commentary, Harry's moral conscience (to snog or not to snog I_am_not_going_to_say_who), Ron's emotional outbursts, the hell_hath_no_fury_than_Hermione_scorned bit made for a particularly delightful read.

But the most Rowling-like part of the book was the way it ended. On the face of it, lots of things have happened. An important character is dead, Harry discovers who HBP is, and is one step closer towards his final battle with You_Know_Who. But is everything exactly as it seems? Rowling also leaves Harry with a very cryptic note written by a hitherto unheard of character, which should keep us waiting for the next book. Two years more to go?

A Paheli on Paheli

2005-07-06T04:20:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, I embarked on a discussion with Ferose about watching the latest SRK flick.
His question:Do we really have to see this film?
My reply(delivered with appropriate horror): Of course, we SIMPLY have to see this Amol Palekar directed folksy art film starring commercial big wigs with MM Kreem's music.
In my defense, it also happens to be the only film that both of us haven't watched. After lots of arguments, I convinced him that the 10:15 show at PVRs was the only way to catch the film. Another arguable point was, why not watch it at Innovative Multiplex? The terrible traffic situation around PVRs doesn't endear us to that magnificent complex. But the Innovative guys these days prefer 1960s Bengali literature to 1800s Rajasthani fables. Result: No night show for "Paheli" at Innovative. Working in a global company ensures that I work in multiple time zones on a single day, hence watching a late night show is the only possible option.

So there we were, on Tuesday night, armed with our online ticket booking confirmation. After getting hold of the tickets, made a dash to the Transit food court. This place is a potentially time-staking option, mainly because of the numerous choices one has make. Should one eat Indian, or non-Indian (Thai, Chinese, Mexican). If Indian, then should it be the idli-Dosa fare or the paranthas. If paranthas, then gobi, alu or .... the point is, its a lot of thinking on a weekday, especially after having driven 20 KMs. Fortunately for me, I was single-mindedly focused on completing dinner in 15 minutes flat. So I made a quick decision to have gobi paranthas and hubby decided on the usual masala Dosa (why he prefers the Dosa in Salem's kitchen to the one at the Shiv Sagar counter is beyond me, and is a point that I would like to discuss at some point in the future).

Right at the point where we were entering the Hall, the ticket checker (not sure if it's the right term to define his exact occupation in PVR, but think it'll do for the moment) decided he didn't like our tickets (and probably our faces too!). Turns out, the git at the ticket counter had given us tickets for a previous show. We had to wait for an Outrageous 20 minutes before the matter was cleared up and we were ushered to our seats.
I quickly asked the guy sitting beside me (not my husband) the usual question: When did the movie start?
His reply: Just now.
Satisfied, I relaxed and started unwinding into the story.

Cut to our discussion on the journey back home. Nice film, nice colors, nice music, nice acting, passable humor (except for that one brilliant scene with Rajpal Yadav). Some shocks like Sunil shetty. Some pleasant surprises like Amitabh Bachchan. A pity that Juhi Chawla was relegated to a small role, but she still shone through while emoting with her eyes and that gorgeous smile. SRK was good, but hammed in a couple of places. Rani Mukerji delivered, as always. But I have a question about the story: Why didn't the ghost do his last trick in the first reel of the film? Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. Had it been just a film, I would have not been too bothered. But the original story is a novel and I am keen to know how it ended and what was sacrificed at the altar of cinematic glory.

1000 Desires...

2005-06-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

What does one desire from life? Happiness, relationships, money, fame....? How many of us actually desire something for others? I had a revelation few days back when I watched a film called "Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi". Just to clear things up, this is not a complete hindi film. In fact the main characters speak in English. Although not entertaining in the commercial sense, its a gripping and thought-provoking story. The story is about three friends, and their lifetime from college till....that's the thing, the story doesn't actually end. One can see what is in store for the three main characters long after the credits start pouring. The backdrop is a politically turbulent India of the 60s and 70s. Siddharth, righteous and fighting for a cause he believes in, Geeta who loves him and his ideals and then there's Vikram, who yearns for Geeta, yet knows its useless. So different are the three from one another that you wonder at their friendship.Siddharth, though from an affluent family, goes to the grass roots of Bihar to help the poor, oppressed lower classes and in turn becomes as outlaw. After a failed marriage with an IAS officer, Geeta follows Siddharth, works with the villagers alongside Siddharth, and even mothers his child. Vikram meanwhile has quickly gained money and power (not always by the honest means) and is titled "Business Tycoon" by the politicians who seek his help. In the midst of all the chaos, the three still meet once over a bottle of beer beside the river. They argue about morality, about success and about life. Yet they each do what they think they ought to do. Do Geeta and Siddharth succeed in their ambitions? Does Vikram actually know what he wants out of life? Answering these questions would be telling too much. I would end here by just stating that what seems like the best thing to do in one's youth doesn't always define the rest of the life. I think I have passed the age when I could have made any dangerous decisions, but I haven't really done anything to be proud of in Siddharth's book of right and wrong!

Back in Bangalore

2005-06-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

Finally, I am back! After two months in US, I was more than ready to return to home. Although home didn't have the welcoming presence of my Husband (who is in Germany and just happened to be with the windmills in Netherlands around the time I landed), I caught up on my quota of sleep (actually much more than my quota!!). Dash and Madhu very nicely took me out to a south indian dinner where I had Brinjal curry cooked the Andhra way. Needless to say, it was HOT.
More on the US trip: Had an interesting time working for Forest Pharmaceuticals, the last week there was especially pleasant considering there was barbeque and a cruise!! I lived in Long Island and New York city which was one hour away was like my mecca. I landed up at Times Square every other weekend. The shops on Broadway, particularly Toys R Us, Virgin Records and Sephora will surely recognize me. For once, I was not a tourist with a camera, but someone just enjoying the city's sights and sounds. One of the weekends, watched a musical "All Shook Up", based on Elvis Presely's music, and the leading man, though nowhere close to the original king of pop, was certainly worth the $50 I paid for (both in sight and sound!!).
One other time in the city, I also made it to LOEWS Cinemas and watched KAAL, the experience of which is something I prefer to forget. After buying the ticket, I walked into an empty hall, and checked twice if indeed the movie was running there. After I sat down, one really shady looking guy walked in and sat 10 rows ahead. Of course I shifted to a seat nearest to the exit. The movie started and the whole time SRK was gyrating with Malaika, I was planning on what to do if the Shady Guy decides to mug me (this was before a family of three walked in, and I gave a sigh of relief). I vowed never to return back to LOEWS for a hindi movie.
The last weekend before I was to return, I paid NYC a visit (how could I not?). This time I decided to avoid the crowd and go to Central Park. It was glorious day and sitting in a lake in the middle of the park, with downtown Manhattan in the backdrop, I couldn't find fault with anything.
When not in New York city in the weekend, I paid a visit to a dear old friend in Chicago, attended my sister's graduation in Oregon (man, people here really do fuss about the kids in black graduation gowns) and got pampered staying with friends in New Jersey. All in all, not a bad trip at all!
Still, I am glad to be back.
Trivia: Long Island Ice Tea, did indeed originate from Long Island ;-)