The Day I fell in love with David.....

How do I fit into a half-page travelogue the experience of 5 full days in Italy??
How do I capture the feeling of walking around
the Colloseum in Rome ,
the Sistine Chapel in Vatican,
up the Leaning Tower of Pisa and
the pathways of Venice
in just 500 or 1000 words?
How do I pen down my Fascination of staring at the amazing masks in
Venice??

I know it is difficult, but try, I shall…

Italy is very similar to India –it is quite dirty, has chaotic traffic and people even dry their clothes out on a clothesline!!!
but the amazing fare it has to offer would ensure that an art enthusiast’s hunger is fully satiated.

Walking around the Colloseum in Rome, you would want to imagine all those gladiators and animals who were killed to the applause of the cheering spectators (this is when the movie Gladiator helps you…)

Staring at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel might leave you with a bad (s)p(r)ain in your neck but it is worth it – especially after seeing ‘the Creation ‘and ‘Temptation of Adam’ by Michelangelo.

And then I chanced upon David , standing tall and mighty, in the Academia Gallery of Florence and I instanly fell in love with this statue.

Trivia says that Michelangelo's David is based on the artistic discipline of disegno, which is built on knowledge of the male human form. Under this discipline, sculpture is considered to be the finest form of art because it mimics divine creation. Because Michelangelo adhered to the concepts of disegno, he worked under the premise that the image of David was already in the block of stone he was working on — in much the same way as the human soul is thought by some to be found within the physical body.

So herez a picture of a replica of David (which comes nowhere near the original but still, somethingz better than nothing...)


And as to the masks of Venice – they are so fascinating that I found myself dreaming about them for nearly a week .


Ok, so before I sign off, lemme wish myself a ‘Appy Blogday for having the patience to hang around on this space on the world wide web for exactly a year now.

Quaint lille town

A couple of Sundays back, I found myself boarding a train to Ghent at the Midi Station of Brussels and ‘bout 25 minutes later, I land in the St.Peter’s station of Ghent.
Ghent is supposedly one of the lesser-known tourist places of Belgium but it seems to be a treat to the visual senses.Check these

Cathedrals, bridges and castles are not a novelty in Europe where most places are abundant with them.
But Ghent is different from the rest, in the sense, that there seems to be not many new buildings in this quaint little town and it seems as if you have turned the clock back by a couple of centuries and have entered the medieval times.

My account would be incomplete if I don’t mention this interesting anecdote – we in India generally think that live-in relationships are the norm in the West but this was disproved in the tram I took in Ghent (from the station to the City center).
There was this guy going around with a paper n pen - now it wasn’t any statistics he was collecting – this is what he said ‘My girlfriend is from Holland and I am from Ghent, I need your autograph supporting us to live together’ and I relented, common, it is not everyday that someone asks you for your autograph J

Having started on this romantic note, the first place I visited was the Gravensteen Castle.

Built in the 12th century, I couldn’t help but compare it to our very own Golconda Fort and was amazed to find similarities –the entrance of the forts, the steps leading to the towers etc. but Golconda is much bigger than this Castle. On display was a range of torture devices employed in those days(including the guillotine) along with the weapons of warfare.

After the castle, a 5-minute walk and I was in the midst of the beautiful river with buildings on either side – called the Graslei and the Koornlei –the gothic buildings and the bridge just add lot of character to the place.

And yes, the cobble-stoned streets are a pleasure to walk on but the sounds that cars make while passing over them can be quite irritating!

Taking a slow walk on the bridge I arrive at the City Center where the Belfry (Clock Tower), St.Nicolus and St.Bavo’s church are located. I just let out a deep sign to drink in the atmosphere of this amazing place where the only thing, which looked really out of place, was the McD outlet.

St.Bavo’s Cathedral has amazing works of art and houses the most famous painting –‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’, dating to early 15th century.

St.Nicholus Church, the older of the two, stands majestically reflecting the blue-gray shades of the stones it has been built with.

The beautiful stained glass paintings on the windows are worth spending hours just admiring them.

This little town can be covered on foot in a few hours with some additional hours thrown in just to admire the beauty of the place, so please do not give it a miss if u r in this part of the world.

Babbling from Brussels

When, Belgium - home of the best beer, chocolates, waffles and diamonds in the world, beckoned me, I succumbed to it and landed in Brussels, bag and baggage et al.

So be prepared to hear anecdotes of my stay at Brussels. While I promise not to bore you, don’t expect a travelogue, rather it would be some general stuff about living and working in Brussels.

Brussels is not one of those cities bustling with activity, people seem to move at their own pace and the trams drudge along the roads in the same ish-style as those in apna Calcutta. Though it is the EU capital, it still has the air of a small town. The ambience is not too cosmopolitan which explains the reason that the people here know not a word of English (hardly 2 and half hours away from London!)

The sub-zero temperatures here found myself wrapped up in 4 layers of clothes –which makes me look 2 sizes larger ***sigh****
There are moments when I regret my stupid decision of not learning French (though I was brought up at Pondicherry!!!) and this was one of them -
I wasn’t prepared to meet so many people who have no clue of a single word of English and hence have to resort to sign language to get the message across.
And obviously there were bloopers galore, we picked up a bottle of milk and only after making good ole masala chai, realized that it was a sort of buttermilk (eeeks…)
And in case you see 2 guys greeting each other by kissing do not mistake them to be happy and ‘gay’ – it seems to be a custom out here.

I haven’t yet explored the place too much – been busy settling in my digs.So I would save the rest for the Next.

And yes I definetly miss the Hyderabadi summer.....

So long...

ok folks,many Thanks for post-requests but ....
I'm on this travel spree and as busy ,with the new project, as a mother is with her new-born.

Herez a short 55er which I'd written sometime back and I shall promise to be back after a brief hiatus.

Was it his hazel eyes??

He had hazel eyes -'just like mine' ,she thought.
Suddenly he looked deep into her eyes and gave
her a smile, which lit up her world.
She had always longed for someone like him
- the twinkle in his eye, the soft skin and
the immaculate smile-
He was just like the son she never had...

Some years are memorable while others just pass ...

As I peep into the kaleidoscope of nostalgia ,I see colorful images of memories whose dates/years are insignificant;
- those tamarind trees on the way to my school,
the eagles hovering around my school's playground,
watching re-runs of Fauji(school kids drooling over 'I say chaps' guy),
English movies in Ratna theatre with Mom, waiting for the school bus,
those petty jealousies, the teeny-weeny girlish crushes........

But 1997 changed all of that.

Suddenly the years and sometimes even the dates have started growing in significance and getting associated with a memory in that process,
-1998,2000 and 2001 were such years.
And the latest addition to the aforementioned list is 2005.

2005 holds some special memories for me which,if I could, I'd love to preserve it as a fossil forever.

So what would 2006 bring???

Atlast into hibernation i go.....

Who doesn’t love to go into hibernation,once in a while?
With the sun always rising-in-the-East and setting-in-the-West type of mundane schedules, nothing like pepping it up with a vacation, ain’t it?

Since my Rajasthan plans toppled and disappeared without a sign, I had to make do with the last-minute travel plan to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani.

The train journey from Hyd to Pune was uneventful (no kids crying and no drunken fights to be witnessed) and was spent in devouring the lip-smacking aloo-palak and rotis I’d made. The next day saw me donning the avatar of TMK (Tol Mol Ke Bol, a nick-name given by A to officially announce my bargaining skills!!) and in order not to let him down, I successfully managed to arrange a taxi from Pune to M’war for 900 bucks (n the rates had started at 1500!)

Day two we started on a 5km trek to the Tableland of Panchgani.
Tableland is an absolutely stunning flat stretch of land running to 6kms and overlooking the valley.
The story of Pandavas being there seems like a load of horseshit; as if people would visit the place only in case it has any mythological references!
Anywayz we took a tonga ride for the entire stretch and my friends were ready to throw me out in case I utter ‘nother word of pity for the horse (poor thing, itz not as if 4 well-fed adults are made of feathers!!!)

Day three saw us climbing up and down hills since we decided to cover all points of importance in Mahabaleshwar. Now what would happen if ppl, whose daily dose of exercise comprises of taking a flight of stairs or walking till the corner shop down the road, start trekking??? Blistered feet and sweat strained photos but in the end, it was all worth it.


Frankly I had underestimated the beauty of both these hill stations and they say that it is even more beautiful during the monsoon. The Sayadhri ranges are beautiful – sometimes they appear dry and dusty and at other times it is filled with lush-green valleys. The Krishna river has never looked more beautiful and watching sunset was ‘nother of those Wordsworthy moments (They flash upon that inward eye … types)



Now coming to food and drinks – I loved every bit of the sweet corn they sell all over the place there –fresh and juicy, u can almost gobble it in 2 minutes (now u know where all those so called ‘American Sweet Corn’ comes from??)
Totally freaked out on the vada-pav, which was served piping hot and spicy. Unfortunately for us, this year the monsoon had affected the strawberry plantation hence they weren’t yet out in the market. And u get these yummy dates which are flavored to taste exactly like sweet-paan and I gobbled so many of them ,not forgetting to bring back boxes of them.
The resort din’t serve alcohol but we sneaked in a few bottles of vodka and had a fun party in the room!

So what r u waiting for?? strawberrys r beckoning...

Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.

Volumes must've been written about Satyajit Ray's school of filmmaking; since I'm ignorant about the actual nuances of filmmaking I wouldn't delve into such details.
But that wudnt stop me from going gaga over Charulata - which I had watched recently.The only other Ray movie I had watched was Nayak - while in school and all that I can recollect are the odd bits and pieces of it.

Without further delay, lemme proceed to 'Charulata' -which seemed to me like poetry on celluloid. Since the greatness of this film perhaps lies in the emotions spoken through silence I wasn’t in the least concerned about my not knowing Bengali.(but yaa the English sub-titles helped)

What is amazing is the way u can actually feel Charu's loneliness, whether it a simple glance at her husband or the way she looks at Amol.
The story actually is like a breeze and u feel sad for Charu - not the melancholy type of sadness (if u know what I mean) because u must remember she has a loving husband who has no time for her whatsoever and realizing this he asks Amol to look after her.

My favorite scene is the one in the garden where Charu is on the swing and looks at Amol through her opera glasses -it is then u start realizing that she is in love with Amol -heard that this was a 8 minute long sequence but with no dialogues spoken at all!

'nother scene worth mentioning is when Amol's work gets published and Charu locks herself and is suddenly teary-eyed -I think any woman can relate to this feeling -tears because of jealousy.
But one thing I pondered 'bout was what exactly did Amol feel for her? Perhaps I must read Tagore's original story to find it because in the movie u get so engrossed in Charu's feeling that u dun seem to care 'bout anyone else but her.

Never before have I seen love depicted so beautifully -there is no mention of it whatsoever but the small acts of everyday life bring out the feeling so beautifully.
Charulata is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys watching a beautiful and well-made movie.

I think this is just the beginning of my foray into Satyajit Ray's works, I’m now eager to watch all his major works, all the while ensuring that I bug u people ‘bout it….

When life hands u a lemon, ask for the Tequila and the Salt

Sometimes it takes two, sometimes three and sometimes itz more....
I’m speaking 'bout the no. Of drinks it takes to hit people.
Here I'm deliberately avoiding any mention of those who would get sufficed with a few of what I call 'Ink-Filler shots' - S is one such girl - just give her one small Smirnoff+orange juice and she would conk off in no time.

These days Ladies Night is when the pubs rake in their moolah - the ladies seem to be happy with their highly-diluted-fruit-juice-type-of-drinks and the guys, with just looking at the ladies.

But whatever happened to me last night??? Generally it is while downing my third drink I feel like singing 'Aaj kal paav zameen par nahi padthe mere'...
but end of three drinks and a Flaming Shot n 3 Marlboro lights, I still find my feet firmly on the ground.
So ladies night is not when you are in a mood for real dhaaru n sutta (are the Hyd'badi gals listening???)

In other news, the Half Marathon and the 10K run was a huge success at Hyd, obviously 10K having more participants than the former. Statistics (which I dont bother to verify) would definitely attribute this to none other than Ms.Mirza, who was very much present at the run - no, not as a participant but as an ornament on the dais where other Tollywood stars and the much-booed Salman Khan (couldn’t they come up with a better role model???) were present....

The sun-rise (which seemed like the Halo of the Buddha) and the parachutes landing on the grounds made my waking, at an unearthly hour of 4.30am, really worthwhile.


(Warning: I'm no good when it comes to clicking pictures and these photos are testimony of that fact.)

Tinkerbell(TF) Here I come....

So Truth Fairy(TF)tags me and so here I go...

Word of the Day
maelstrom


maelstrom \MAYL-struhm\, noun:
1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool.
2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.



and foll. is my attempt to use this word


his emotions were turbulent
as his eyes darted in and out of the room
this was the D-day of his life and
she was missing....
An amazing whirpool of images flash past him
- perhaps she had an accident,
she might have been hospitalized,
she would be weeping for not being there....
after the lights had all gone, a ring and a Hello
Ah! she hadnt even considered it worthy of her memory
And she says hez trying to raise a 'maelstorm in a Coffee Cup'!

n so as customary I pass on these tags to
Raul, Shradha, Anumita

Youth -the gift of nature, Age - a work of art

I just added another year to my life and traversed a little further away from the age of teeny boopers-not that I’m regretting it but however hard I do not want to believe that forgetfulness is a sign of growing old, the fact keeps surfacing time and again these days.
It gives me immense pleasure to note that I’m not alone in this endeavor, my best (est) friend D seems to exhibit these symptoms more than me

(a phone call between D n me sometime last week)

Me: so shall I hope that at least this year you would wish me on my birthday?
D: No way, don't even nurture the slightest hope 'bout it.
Me: yyyyyyyyyyyyy? (reminiscing on all those lovely cards given by her a few yrs back)

and D narrates this incident:

On a beautiful sunny morning, D's hubby B wakes her out of her slumber to say goodbye.
D :(groggily, without even bothering to open her eyes) bye, see you
soon she is interrupted by a stupid phone call
D : (cursing, who! the &*^%) hello
MIL : so how are you guys? did u go to the temple today?
D : (now wide awake, thinking, shit! which festival is it today!) no, but what is so special today ?
MIL : today is B's b'day
D : (this is even worse than forgetting a festival) we decided to go to the temple in the evening

The next 20 seconds is total cacophony to the listeners ears as we fall victims to bouts of giggling (which is one phenomenon that never leaves a girl, never mind her age) and I knew better than to expect her call on my b'day !

At a recent marriage reception of a colleague where I gallantly go ahead and introduce ppl :

Me to C:(pointing to the red-color-shirt-guy) this is Chandu and this (the one in green) is Srini
Suddenly the two guys sport bewildered expressions: let us re-introduce ourselves, I'm Sridhar (red-shirt) and this is Raj (green shirt)
Me (shaking my head from side-to-side) and I thought I knew the names of all the people on my floor!

Fortunately for me, there are solutions which rescue people like me
by providing all sorts of gadgets like thinkpads, outlook calenders, mobile phone task lists and so on.These gadgets are heaven sent,no doubt, esp. once you have understood their instruction manuals!

So today I have become gadget-savvy and have all my to-do lists on my mobile phone which gives an alarming beep loud enough to wake me from my deepest slumber and proceed to the activity at hand but is there anyway to set a reminder not to forget the mobile phone itself???

Helpful hints from Mr.Podger

  So hopefully everyone had a ‘blast’ this Diwali and back to the same old sun-rising-in-the-east-setting-in-the-west rigmarole.

My Diwali can be summarized in one sentence – no show by the maid-cooking-more cooking-entertaining neighbors-colorful diyas-lighting sparkles and flowerpots-and finally a good dinner at my friend’s place. Oh and if I forgot –it also included flashing the ethnic black skirt, jewellery, the stringed choli et al …

If Tennyson were to write a poem today, he would have said
  Maids may come and Maids may go
  But the search goes on forever…
So you get the drift of what is about to transpire in the forthcoming lines? And the connection with the perplexing title!

Those who have read Three Men in a Boat, would be well acquainted with Uncle Podger. For the benefit of those who haven’t (read the book I mean) we all would have encountered an Uncle Podger at some time or the other in our lives. The story goes in the way that Uncle Podger volunteers to hang a picture and all he does is bark orders to people to get to do whatever it requires to hang a picture.

Now if only I could get some tips from Uncle Podger, for all the household chores I have to do these days, (already taking a toll on my manicured hands!!) ,I would be one happy gal.

I've alwayz depended on the kindness of Strangers

Been wanting to write ‘bout a couple of movies I’ve watched over last few weekends and the moment has finally arrived –(in the order that they have been viewed)  

• Rear Window


• The Apartment


• A Clockwork Orange and


• A Streetcar Named Desire

Rear Window is a very different Hitchcock movie – there is no denouement whatsoever but the dialogues were quite entertaining esp. those of Lisa and Jeff… like this one :
        Jeff: When am I going to see you again?
        Lisa: [angry] Not for a long time...
              [softening]
        Lisa: at least not until tomorrow night.

The Apartment was a witty movie and quite entertaining but I somehow did not like the happy ending of the movie – my morbid self would have enjoyed it better had it been sad.

And what do I say ‘bout the Clockwork Orange – scandalous stuff but definitely food for thought. Here I must mention that I did not feel even an ounce of remorse for Alex –I thought he deserved every bit of the punishment meted out to him.

Aha! So I come to the best at the last –A Streetcar Named Desire – having read the play long back I was so eager to watch this movie and I loved every bit of it.
It has found a special niche in my list of favorite movies (not to forget mentioning the special place in my heart reserved for Marlon Brando). Vivien Leigh looked every bit of Blanche Dubois (I believe she had that paranoia even in her real life).
And what amazing dialogues, boy! Each of them ought to be soldered onto your head:

Stanley Kowalski: (refusing to acknowledge Blance’s beauty) I never met a dame yet that didn't know if she was good-looking or not without being told, and there's some of them that give themselves credit for more than they've got.

Blanche DuBois: I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic. I try to give that to people. I do misrepresent things. I don't tell truths. I tell what ought to be truth.

Blanche DuBois: Straight? What's 'straight'? A line can be straight, or a street. But the heart of a human being?

Stanley Kowalski: You know what luck is? Luck is believing you're lucky, that's all... To hold a front position in this rat race, you've got to believe you are lucky

And the most touching one of them all

Blanche DuBois: I have always depended on the kindness of strangers…..

The Greatest Side Effect of Boredom

So I finally found the Mantra to the blogger's block, which seems to hit me
every once in a while, I haven’t patented it yet so all u fellow bloggers feel free to plagiarize it (but let us not get into the discussion of whether it is worth plagiarizing)  
but please don't blame me if you don’t get comments enough

  Mantra #1 - tried and tested n never ever failed - any movie/movies u have watched  -irrespective of whether it is Bolly/Holly wood never leaves u disappointed - sometimes even the comments u had made at the movie over the popcorn should do the trick

  Mantra #2 - rant at random about your recent book read but I must warn you that many people might find that condescending, don't worry I have a solution for that too - just spice it up with as many likeable quotes from the books

  Mantra #3 - there must be at least one song hovering in your head of which u remember only one or two lines -writing 'bout it would help u find out which numbah it is in no time...

  Mantra #4 - any glimpse of the lille love u had experienced - now people might hate watching those mushy-mushy ones in the films but watch the effect when it is about your own romance...If u don’t have one, invent one (but make sure u don’t reveal that bit)

  Mantra #5 - - they say “Mallika Sherawat (read Sex) or Shahruk” sells n it does even on the big blog world!!!!

So now no more excuses of the blogger’s block any more…
  

My flirtations with Haiku

Haiku - the first time I heard the term I thought it was some sort of an exotic East Asian Dish but was soon enlightened that it was a form of Japanese Poetry.

So my feeble attempts at haiku has borne fruit finally

her arms were around him
as he carried her
-to the hospital bed

They dont make machines like that anymore ...

Every era has believed that the previous one was better.
Grandmothers thought that their grandchildren were ultra-modern and when the grandchildren became parents themselves they faced the generation gap once again...

Well you must be wondering what is the point of this rant ?
while I muse on that point, I would take the liberty meanwhile and make a punching bag out of this post.
No one likes dirty laundry lying about in the house -not when you are used to using a washing machine from when they started flooding the Indian market(due credit to Mommy and her fetish for gadgets of all sorts-useful or not)

So finally as I zero down on the point in question - the washing machine(n not the punching bag,silly).
Couple of weeks back my Whirlpool Fully Automatic XYZ aged 2 years and a few months conked off right in the middle of a full wash load of a week old jeans and bed spreads.
As a rule I'm quite tolerant to insults but not when made by a so-called 'smart' appliance.They seem to take their 'smartness' to their heads(or their engines,watever).
Now I could expect a huge phone bill end of this month -where is the connection?
Obviously the phone calls made to the service center would put any newly-engaged-to-be-married guy to shame.

Here is an example of a typical call I religiously place almost every alternate day

Me : hello, the last time I called you, you told me that you had placed an order for the door
XYZ :(from the whirlpool service centre) which door ma'am
Me : (to self:oh! the refrigerator door u duffer) of course the door of the washing machine
XYZ : but tell me what is the problem
Me : (to self: for the zillionth time I need to recount the problem) the washing machine door's lock is no longer functional....blah...blah..

One of these days I must remember to borrow that voice-recorder of my journalist friend and play it over to them (saves me some energy atleast)

Apparently the advertisements for employing the people in service centers these days cry out loud 'Only ppl with no brains need apply' and poor me not aware of this widely occuring phenomenon expects some miracle to occur and my washing machine restored to itz normal,self-respecting self.But they say it is too much to ask....

And to think that a semi-automatic machine costing just 6000 bucks in the 90s(our first at home) lasted a decade and more all I can say is
'They dont make them like that anymore'

Will my machine be restored? Will I need to shell out 'nother 21K n buy a new one? all these questions nag me while I look stupidly at the telephone since it is time to make the next call .....

The shortcut of a long story

I know I'm not at all good at stuff like those listomania tags but this 55 word thingummy got me interested, I mean this might be the beginning of my venture into fiction, albeit a forceful one. Much thanks to Sagnik for honoring (read tagging) me n so I proceed (trumpets blowing in the background)

The Return of the Count
She was totally engulfed in his love,
Dreaming about that first kiss
Counting minutes to meet him
Waiting for him to arrive
And finally it happened
She moaned as his lips brushed her neck
And …Sudden silence
He looked back with gleaming teeth
Blood smeared on his lips
Her limp body at his feet...

In other news I got a mild shock when I finally discovered what my neighbors A and B, who are famous for being addicted to books, read! These pretty-settled-in-life-40-something women dig Mills and Boon, not that I have anything against those type of books but the thought that they assumed I also belonged to that league pained me no end.

As customary lemme pass this tag of 55 worded short story to Vigs , first rain , Anumita, RT and fatally flawed ,njoy maadi

A Tag for the blogger's block

I think Tags have been specially designed for people (ok, all I meant was me)
who, even after long hours of staring at the screen, at the next cubicle or the artificial plant near the window, cannot put a word to the keyboard.

I know it would be boring to read the below list of 5 things 'bout me but in case you still insist u can read further at your own risk and if you complain I can only say 'I told you so'


5 years ago:
Reading the Autobiography of Agatha Christie made me realize that what we remember over a period of time are not dates or years but memories, incidents and strangely the sights and smells.
so picking one incident out of the random stack (of memories)

A : Have you watched Sarforosh?
Me: (snobbish look) ah you know I don’t care too much
for a commercial flick
A : since we dun have any plans, let us tune in to it
4 hours of Sarforosh in between commercial breaks and
lesson learnt - 'Never judge before you know'

1 year ago:
Introduce all those fresh-out-of-college-girls at office to the pub scene at Hyd'bad,
never imagined I would play 'mother goose' this soon in life ***sniff**sniff**

5 songs I know all the words to:
all words??? "Surely you must be joking,Mr..."
but I do recollect a few words of so many songs, like this one
na jaane kyun hota hai yeh zindagi ke saath
nak yeh man kiski jaane ke baad ,
kare uski yaad choti choti si baat

5 Snacks I enjoy:
I think I've mentioned it way too often (that even I'm bored to type it)
'I have never met a Calorie I did not like'

5 Things I'd do w/ $100 million dollars:
Take the first flight to Las Vegas (n the money would take care of itself)

5 places I would run away to:
frankly I'm only thinking of one place now - home after getting done with this list and if I include the pubs on the way they would be the remaining 4

5 things I would never wear:
Anything false
- wig (unless I go for chemotherapy)

- plastic jewellery (the popular Nadia-type)

- animal prints (looks outrageous esp. in India)

- tattoos (unless I have to do a baby-doll-like dance)

and of course
- a smile ('am not counting those smiles reserved specially for nosy neighbors)

5 favorite tv shows:
I could make this short and sweet by saying the serials of Ms.K Kapoor (which is way beyond 5 btw)
but unfortunately I haven’t watched many of them (if you don't include the passive watching courtesy Mummy)
I don’t watch much of telly but 'Friends' and 'Ally McBeal' figure in this list

5 greatest joys:
now if only I could count my joys so easily and manage to stick to the figure 5,

the wind in my hair, fresh flowers, colorful hues of paints,
summer showers, smell of rain drenched earth, remarkable reading,
chocolates n ice creams, shop till I drop, playing with kids, sunny skies,
magnificent mangoes,cool winters, fall colors, lazy weekends, Sunday noons,
friends n foes, graceful dancing, jhatpat cooking, soulful lyrics,
old hindi songs, desi khanna, luscious lavender, winding roads, soft snowfall, rustic accessories, fabulous clothes, dangerous living...

5 favorite toys:
Since this question is included here knowing well that most of the target audience are at least 16 and above I guess they were referring to a different sort (now here is an opportunity to get wild with your imagination) but lemme not scandalize innocent folks so
I’d stick to the usual gurrrlie stuff like teddies and more teddies

now I come to the best part which is reserved to the last,
pass it on to unsuspecting victims like vicky, tigress , truth fairy , zombiee and fish hater ***exit with a evil grin***

Ships that pass in the night

the ambience was set....I sat huddled up on the carpet with those fabIndia cushions for comfort n leaned against the sofa, a cuppa ginger tea in one hand and the remote in another, I pressed 'Play'.

only then I realized that Charlotte also sits huddled up except that she is in a luxurious suite of the Hyaat n I'm at home.(question to self :Is sitting huddled up a sign of loneliness???)
for the next hour and a half I was totally Lost in 'Lost In Translation' - awesome! is the apt word for this movie but all u happy-n-in-love ppl might find it an absolute drab piece of work because it is set at the same pace as any Shabana Azmi/Smita Patil movies of the 80s.

Loneliness is something so difficult to capture on screen and I think Sophia Coopola has done a wonderful job of it.
While I laughed (I think a lille more than necessary) at the jokes of Bob Harris (esp, the ones in the bar), I really sympathized with Charlotte's confusion as to where her life is leading to.

jus when the screen came alive with those 2-3 second scenes of the Strip Club, in walks my maid! the timing wouldn’t have been better -that she had to enter in the only scene of the otherwise clean movie shows how right Murphy is (Bless his Laws) and I have to put up with her looks of 'I know what type of movies u watch' throughout the week.

back to the movie - I think I actually liked the way they maintain their friendship without spoiling it with unnecessary romance - two ppl who relate to each other because of their desolation in an alien land,
like (in the words of H.W.Longfellow )
"Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence."

My personal favorite is the one where they meet for lunch (after Bob's night with the singer) and Charlotte says 'perhaps because u can relate to her better' and
Bob says 'Doesn’t anyone ever give u the attention u want? '
(and immediately I say mentally 'but not from the one we seek’)
Of course the last shots were brilliant, Murray really wins hands down by conveying his desperation, to bid goodbye to her, thro’ his eyes which follows Charlott who takes the elevator in a nonchalant way without another glance.
another of those lines which I luved
Charlotte: Let's never come here again because it will never be as much fun.

all in all i wud give this movie a 5/5 because of the brilliant acting and direction.
But one thing which has left me wondering is ,in the last scene
“what does Bob whisper into Charlotte's ears which makes her smile ?” Any guesses?

Ain’t a Housewife a Domestic Goddess???

              
            If you thought that building a temple for Khushboo in some remote village of TamilNadu is heights of frenzying fans –think again! PPl the world over are tuning in to Desperate Housewives just because the First Lady of the US of A mentioned it. (quote “I am married to the President of the United States and here is our typical evening. Nine o'clock, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep, and I am watching Desperate Housewives. With Lynne Cheney. Ladies and gentleman, I am a desperate housewife. I mean if those women on that show think they're desperate, they ought to be with George.” unquote)
But the sad and true fact remains that Yours truly is guilty of the same but I would rather blame it on the boredom of a Friday night.
           I have a repu of not being very sociable with my neighbours – well can’t blame them since I have only 24 hrs to juggle between my work, home and cooking so the spare time is spent in front of my laptop, books and on the phone (not necessarily in that order) but the aunties are as saccharine sweet as any sugarcane field. They ask me if I want help with the servant, driver etc etc so that they could happily approach me for borrowing that odd cup of sugar or some green chillies.
         Watching DH made me wonder if there are hidden elements of Susan or Lynette in any of them but they all seem very docile to me –the types who devote their time in kitty parties and their children. Since I have the honor of being the only working woman in my apartment complex (if I don’t count Asha who has a home-office) they suggested holding a kitty on a Saturday so that I cud join them; now a kitty is as strange to me as a blue movie; which is - I keep hearing ‘bout it a lot but never ever been to one and also try to avoid it like dengue fever.
           A housewife is an alien concept to me – no, I mean my Mom is one but I personally can’t relate to that concept. It is not about the money, it is also not about the Status –it is about having a life, individuality and identity. To learn to appreciate the aesthetics of life beyond the four walls but then ultimately itz each to their own.
            And these days there r also occurrences of house-husbands (also mentioned in Prey) – who have proved that they could manage the household chores as well as any woman…    
            Coming to the serial, which has rocked US these days, DH is a product you would get if u cross any of Ms.Kekta Kapoor’s serials with CID.
The characters seem so melodramatic and immature- rather made-up and larger than life.
The petty jealousies over-exaggerated and the women really desperate; so  
if itz Friday night and you don’t have any agenda then …Please do not tune in to Desperate Housewives. It is much better to watch the re-runs of Friends any day!

One Way Ticket

the bags are packed, good-byes told n all-the-bests mouthed.
the return to my home sweet home begins ,back to
-the kitchen where I rule- the actual Princess Chimera's realm
-the potted plants on my balcony ledge bearing a forlorn look in my absence
-the teddies in my bedroom badly in need of a hug
-the tiny money-plant craving to be watered by me
-the 5am Yoga classes to shed the excess calories gained
-the ladies-nites on Wednesdays at TDS

this last time itz a one way ticket for me from B'lore to Hyd,
yes I wud definetly return to this place for a visit but things wud never b the same.....