Malory Towers & India with Sanjeev Bhaskar

2 books i read quite recently!!!


Malory Towers


An Enid Blyton series.. very graciously lended by a colleague.. there are 6 books in all, each talking about a term at Malory Towers..I thought i had read it but it turned out that i had read St Clares and not Malory Towers... Malory Towers is a boarding school at Cornwall (yippee.. i have been to Cornwall...:))... an extremely cute series about girls staying at the hostel.. the books basically follow a girl called Darrell Rivers from first form to the sixth form. Other characters include Alicia, Betty, Sally, Mary Lou , Gwen etc!!! A very typical Enid Blyton book.. which has these hardworking girls.. who are good at studies... and also at sports.. each girl has her own strength.. like Mary Lou is shown to be under confident scaredy rat.. but blooms out into a fairly confident girl by the end.. the author keeps introducing new characters every form... like Bill who likes Horses.. or Jo who is a loud American.. or Moira who fails.. and every character has something or the other about her.. in a positive or a negative sense.. some personality trait that is very nicely defined.. as it always is in an Enid Blyton book...





And as usual.. there are the rolling hills... lemonade.. cakes.. picnics.. everything you would look forward to in an Enid Blyton book!! I am quite crazy about her books... and i can read them any day .. over and over again!! There is refreshing quality about these books.. because of the descriptions maybe.. the rolling hills, pink cheeks one... A must read and must have for everyone!!!






India with Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar is an actor.. you might have seen him in the show Kumars at No 42.. i quite like that show.. i quite like him in the show!!!! And yeah, thats why i picked up this book... i thought all the comedy on the show would reflect here.. "the indian jokes" you see!! Surprise surprise.. this book turned out to be quite different from what i thought it would be.. its actually quite a nice book.. as seen by a person who is more a Brit than an Indian (he grew up there)! Its quite engaging.. i wont call it thought provoking.. but its an enjoyable read.. actually one part was quite nice ...wherein he lopes across to pakistan to trace his father's house , school etc!! And some comedy does find its way into the book... like when he met royalty.. there was a big queue and people with bigger bouquets!!!

The book is quite different from a normal "India" book.. as he explores the IT culture in blore.. speaks with the IT crowd.. or goes and meets herders in Rajasthan who name their camel Sanjeev.. or the Mayo school..

I cant say you would have not read all this earlier.. but it is definitely different in what it explores.. Worth reading i would say !!!


ps: i am off to kerala tom.. next post on monday!! Will catch up with you then :)

Thats my phone!!

A few days back, my husband bought a new phone... which he wanted me to use.. so that he could use my old phone for his Bombay number!!! He had been pestering me .. and i went on saying no.. right until he bought this new Motorola..

He wanted to upload the contacts and put my Sim card in the phone ASAP!! Finally after a few days, i acquiesced ..

Before you think it.. i am very attached to this phone of my mine.. its a Motorola V3i.. my husband gave it to me 2 yrs back during Diwali... and we (me and the phone) have been inseparable since!!! I am also very attached to this phone because i have a lot precious data on it... messages that i will never delete.. i have a collection of about 20-30 odd such sms's... i have videos of my niece from her 1st birthday.. she had just started talking and i am trying to get her to say my name and she is trying to climb all over me.. i have all these videos of her at various stages of growing up.. i also have some clips with drunk friends (Scarlett, one of these days i am going to upload it!!!!)... actually so many of my memories stored in this phone!!!

But anyway, finally we uploaded my contacts on the new phone.. and i started using it.. the first day i was extremely frustrated.. none of my messages got transferred to the new phone!!!! Only half my contacts got saved.. and worst of all, it saved names in a different format.... like if i have stored the home number as Home new.. this stores it as new home... it was so very frustrating.. as i have a habit of saving anybody's contact number (who has got a new number) as Anybody_new... or if somebody has change location.. then ****_ cal.. or US or wherever they are.. so can you imagine my plight.. my dad's number showed as Kerala mobile calling!!!! If i need to call someone, first i need to think.. where are they.. did they change their number etc etc.. (i have hundred's of location specific / new post script numbers)

I thought it was just about getting used to it... but it was not...the frustration continued on the second day ... and the third day... and so on..

One very funny thing was.. the 2-3 days that i used the new phone.. i hardly got an sms.. usually my phone keeps pinging!!! And hardly anybody called me.. very strange!!!!

Finally i cribbed so much that i got my old phone back!!!! And husband has taken the new phone!!!

He says he will not buy me new phone ever!!! :)

But anyway my phone has started pinging and ringing again!!! I have all my old messages back.. which i keep reading.. re-reading.. and re-reading and feeling happy :) And my old videos.. etc etc etc..

The world is back to normal!!! :)

Slumdog again - happy republic day!!

On the eve of republic day, we watched Slumdog Millionaire.. the two are connected you think? Yeah maybe.... we definitely have come of age.. what with rahman and gulzar getting nominated for oscars.. with such big scams as Satyam happening here too.. etc etc

So back to Slumdog... the movie is quite hyped.. and actually lives up to it... we went (at least i did) to watch the movie with great trepidation... because while everyone has been talking about the movie.. there have been many people talking about "selling Indian poverty" abroad!!!

Usually i am wary of such movies... but i must admit i enjoyed the movie thoroughly.. the initial bit does get you overwhelmed at seeing the state of affairs.. actually we used to see it everyday in Bombay.. but it coexists.. peacefully or not i dont know.. it does coexist.. and you dont give it a second thought as you rush past dharavi towards bandra... it kind of becomes a part of life.. so showing all this full scale on big screen.. does make you twitch in your seat.. but all this only for 15 mins!!
Thought i must say that Sh** scene was so not required... even though barkha dutt says.. its staring at your face everyday, take a look at the tracks... even then.. i can ignore.. but when shown on big screen.. you cant help but watch and feel a little nauseous!!! They could have shown trudging slime.. and keechad.. why this!!!! It did offend the senses...

Once you are past this scene.. you actually become quite involved in the story.. its the story of a boy.. and how he manages to survive.. through begging.. conning... and finally working as a tea boy in the BPO. The young kid who plays Jamal was absolutely rocking!!!!! Is he an actor? He was just brilliant.. a pint sized thing stuffed with loads of energy!!!! I quite liked the girl who played Latika too.. the kid i.e.!!!

Dev Patel appears right in the beginning as Jamal Malik.. and appears throughout the movie in snatches as the grown up.. however Frieda Pinto comes in only in the 2nd half.. or rather the last half an hour!!! The story in itself is quite good!!! How did he win 2 crs? Thats what the story is about.. which takes us through his childhood.. till his present...

Anil Kapoor as Prem was surprisingly good!!!! Had oodles of attitude ... was actually good!

The character of Jamal Malik was really endearing.. played by equally endearing people.. all 3 actors par excellence..

We watched the 9.50 show in the night and the hall was totally packed.. the movie ended at around 12.. and the funny part was .. the song Jai Ho comes right in the end.. usually you find people already moving out of the theatre.. there would hardly be around 15-20 people in the theatre to watch that last song.. but last night.. nobody moved from the their seats till the credits started!!!! Which was really surprising.. and i have never seen this.. except once in Delhi wherein after the movie 1942 A love story.. when the national anthem starts playing.. everyone stood up and sang!!!

I think i will give this movie at least 4 stars!!! :)

शुभ गणतंत्र दिवस :)

ps: did you all watch the parade?

Come to my parlour

Life without a decent parlour is tough!!! There are certain things important in a girl's life... like tailor.. parlour occupies a similar position!!! To men : Dont worry i am not going to talk about the things we get done...

When i was in delhi, there was one right next door!! So the problem of locating a tailor / parlour didnt exist!!! My mom had already done the necessary scouting to identify the place!!

Then when i shifted to Bombay, i started to going to Shivaji Park.. which used to be painful as cabs wouldnt go for such short distance.. it was walkable.. but you know about 15 mins walk!! But i didnt really have an option... there were others where i used to live.. but they all looked extremely weird from the outside...

The thing with a parlour is.. you need to feel really comfortable to be able to go there!!!! It has to be hygenic (of course), spacious, bright.. there should be enough light streaming in.. the kind of people who are there (the visitors) also need to be a certain profile... and you need to be comfortable with their staff... there are so many things that go into choosing a parlour!!! Which is why i used to travel the distance!!

Here, in Blore, i again go slightly far.. takes about 15 mins by car.. thats because i have experience this chain of parlours.. and they are quite decent...

But today, one colleague who is also new to Blore told me there is one good one (which she has heard about) near our office itself.. so we went to check it out today.. it turned out to be fairly big sized decent parlour!!!!!!!!!

I am so thrilled i cant tell you.. at least i can run there in case of any emergency!!!! Also, post getting eyebrows done (sorry had to mention, story cant be complete otherwise)... this lady massaged my forehead / brows for more than 5 mins!!!!! Thats why i was so thrilled i think!!! But usually in any parlour they hardly take so much pain.. even if they do, the massage is quite fleeting.. by the time you realise that someone is massaging your brows, its already over!!!!

So i am quite thrilled!!!! Thrilled to bits!!!!

Tra la la la ... hop skip jump.. tra la la.... :)

ps: can someone tell me how can i do spell check on posts?

Working from home.. i really dont get it!!!

I usually do not get work home... if required i can stay late in office... i can work during the weekend .. even that i usually avoid... But i refuse to work at from home!!! I cant understand the concept..

For women / men with other responsibilities ... i can understand... but others i really dont!!!

For me, once i shut down my comp at work.. i want to relax.. that shutting down itself i feel is a sign, an indication that .. ok now i can stop thinking about work.. i dont need to take client calls.. i dont need to do anything that involves work!!!

And i like to segregate work and home... work is work and should be done at office.. not brought back home.. i like to keep the 2 places very distinct!!! For me, home means.. comfort relaxation relief destress watching TV reading chilling... And the minute i am out of office i am geared towards this "doing what i feel like" mental make up!!! And i need a place to myself where work can never ever interfere!!! I keep work out at the door when i walk in.. actually the minute i shut down and leave office.. work is already streaming out of my mind... and by the time i am home / gym (takes about 5 mins).. work is totally out of my mind!!!

I remember when we used to crib to of our previous bosses.. about working during weekends etc.. he used to say.. why dont you take work home.. in fact i encourage everyone to leave early.. And i would be like.. dude.. working from home is also working.. doesnt mean i am doing timepass!!! And if i am working, then might as well come to office to work!!! And i would finish off with a glare!!!

Well, anyway why did this come up.. for the first time in Blore, got work home.. even though only 15 mins of work!!!!

Graced by her presence

A kite flew into our home today... our balcony.. this huge magnificient thing.. with its wings spread majestically.. saw it approaching our balcony.. though the flight was not the great swoop you usually see it doing.. I actually thought it was an eagle.. was enlightened by my husband that it was a kite.. i ran back screaming into the house.. to get my husband not because i was scared or something!!! The door was anyway closed!!

So as this kite sat on our balcony railing, all these crows suddenly came and started hovering around this poor kite... and we were like why is the kite sitting still.. i am sure it can eat these things for breakfast!!! And then one of the crows pushed... actually shoved the kite.. and it fell into our balcony..

We figured out it was injured as it was hopping around.... and thought maybe we should call animal shelter.. as the crows just wouldnt let it be.. even before i completed my statement.. the kite put her head out of the balcony.. wriggled out through the grill.. and swooped up.. pretty much like its normal flight.. but it hardly went up a few metres.. when it came down again.. and sat on some ledge.. the idiotic crows still troubling it...

And at that point i left for office.. called up my husband later from office to check on the Kite status... it had apparently disappeared from the ledge!!

Hopefully, it is sitting in some corner... untroubled, undisturbed... hope its ok!!!

ps : we did get an opportunity to click a few snaps when it was sitting peacefully on the railing.. will put it up over the weekend...

Stuck in the lift et al...

We got stuck in the lift.. somewhere between the 11th and the 10th floor of a building... we were in the lift for about 10-15 mins!! Quite strange it was .. nobody screamed, shouted etc etc.. everyone was extremely calm and collected.. there was this lady chatting on the phone asking someone to pick her up. and the words "lift" and "stuck" didnt even feature in the conversation. I was quite amazed... or maybe i am biased because of the lift getting stuck scenes from movies.... wherein people keep screaming.. banging at the lift door!!!! Also maybe because this was the first time i got stuck in a lift... others maybe experts!!!! God knows. (I didnt scream / shout etc)

And finally when someone from outside opened the lift.. we realised we were stuck midway between floors.. but all of us coolly climbed out from the lift!!! Pretty much like the scene from the movie "Speed" except the lift didnt crash behind us!!!!! And that there were no firemen or men like Keanu Reeves either.... or any men apart from those stuck in the lift.... but anyhow we walked down 11 floors! Quite adventurous i thought the entire incident was!!!

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Nutella on Marie biscuit tastes awesome.. actually nutella with bread is also great.. but the best is one spoon of nutella by itself!!!!!! Awesome!!!!!
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We went an Italian joint last night called Viva Italia.. not a very creative name i know... but quite a nice place.. serves nice Italian food.. i had grilled chicken.. which had this slightly sweet taste to it... i usually cannot eat sweet stuff esp for main course.. but it was really nice!!! But the best part was - as we were leaving, the person running the restaurant gave me a rose!!! How sweet!!! And when we got our car from the valet parking thingy, we saw this thank you note on the dashboard.. and 3 pieces of chocolate wrapped nicely , kept by the card for the 3 of us!!!! Such a sweet sweet gesture!!! I was totally floored!!!! :)

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This week is a bad week... loads and loads and loads of work!!! I am working this weekend.. this long weekend that we have.... god have mercy on me!!!!!

And skipped the gym today... and today by my calculations was one of the days that i could actually go to the gym during this week!!!

Maybe i can put this week right.. by sleeping really early.. like... right now!!!!!!!!!

Goodnight!!!!

The drinking club

Or is it the drunk club?

Yesterday, drinking was the topic of conversation at our lunch table.. what started out as a harmless discussion on our liquor clients turned into a discussion on drinking .. and women drinking in particular.. and your truly was the one to initiate this topic.. i said something about my drinking tendencies.. and guiltily looked up.. thinking what would these people be thinking... esp since the lunch group was not the regular lunch group...even now many people cringe if soemone mentions drinking.. but i was pleasantly surprised.. joy behold.. i was sitting at a table where these women were seasoned drinkers!!! The oldest lady at our table was talking bout her daughter and friends drinking at their place.. we have really come a long way!!!!!! Can never imagine my parents acknowledging it in such an open way!!!

Does all that i have written till now make you feel i am an avid drinker? Actually i am not... i am social drinker ... was initiated into drinking during my post grad/initial years of work. But of course there are many memories associated with drinking... once i went to malaysia to meet a friend and a honeymooning couple (we knew the girl) joined us at a pub.. we all drank too much.. i threw up on the street and was very amused (gross, i know!!).. and the person trying to take care of me was totally zonked out!! The one person who was not drunk was the husband.. on his honeymoon surrounded by 3 drunk women intent on laughing at everything.. poor guy!!

And then again there was one incident wherein i puked .. but thats about it. And once when i was totally drunk.. the glass slipped from my hand and fell and my reactions were extremely slow.. my hand was still in the air holding the invisible glas.. and wondering what happened.. and i drove back home that night.. i dont know how.. and i shudder now when i think of it!!!

Now of course its all in moderation!! I like drinking with my friends.. and feeling happy!!! We .. my 2 girl- friends and I used to catch up at my place .. drink vodka.. and laugh.. and bitch.. and bitch a little more!!! I have this one video actually... where you can hear 2 drunk women talking and a third screaming in the background!!! lol

But that is the best part about drinking.. sharing a drink with friends.. especially girl friends !! Not going over board.. drinking enough to feel good.. feel high... floating in the air high... and just being your idiotic self! I used to enjoy these sessions that we used to have!!! We used to be crazy.

My favourite drink is bloody mary i think!! Bloody mary if made well is quite delicious. I dont like beer.. i find the smell /taste too overpowering and puts me off!!

Basically, were drinking yesterday.. and now i am groggy.. popped a few saridons!!! Was terribly missing you all girl friends!!! :(

Recounting my half day hyderabad trip

I just got back .. when i say just i mean early morning today.. from Hyderabad. Had gone there along with my husband .. a quick visit to my in laws place for Sankranti...

We traveled by train... i havent been in a train (long distance) since 2002 or 2003 i think!! Quite an experience... while going, it was ok.. we didnt talk to anyone much.. we played cards.. had some insipid egg biriyani.. and slept.. not at all soundly.. as we were on the side berth.. which i used to love.. as a child.. but they are really uncomfortable!!!! You cant move too much.. you are always compressed... and the AC vents were on my head literally.. the lever to turn the thing away was not working.. huddled inside the blanket... kept tossing and turning... hardly slept.. and coming from me thats really something!!!!!

Hyderabad was quite hectic.. Spent the day helping a little.. chatting mostly...

My in laws have a dog.. a huge german shepherd.... an extremely friendly dog.. who wants to play with you... when she stood on 2 legs with her 2 paws on my shoulder.. her head and my head were at the same level!!! She gets very excited when she meets people.. climbs, i really mean climb, all over you!!!! Her nails scratch you all over... she will try to lick your face.. with me thats not too difficult for her.. so she was trying it all the time... and another form of play is taking your wrist in her mouth.. thats not for the fainthearted, thats for sure... she wont bite but is just trying play.. and i have these 2 tooth marks on my wrist....

Besides meeting my in laws.. also met my sis and her family!!! My niece is the love of my life!!! Not kidding!!! I was so happy at meeting her!!! She is this small bundle of energy.. and keeps yakking.. shes only 3 but can keep all adults thoroughly entertained with her conversations!!! I am already missing her!!! Maybe one day i will put a separate post on her!!!

And then back to the station.. this time round when we played cards.. 2 kids.. a girl in the 4th std and her brother in the 6th std joined us..the kids were smart... it was not even the fact that the girl started conversation by asking us our mother tongue.. what was absolutely stunning was the boy asked.. do any of you work in satyam.. and i was so zapped.. i was like dude you are in the 6th std!!!! Are you even supposed to know any company name.. i know i didnt when i was in the 6th!!!! Hmmmm..

Oh but to get back to the story.. the best part i.e.... this young girl told me that i look like Deepika Padukone!!!! :) That made my day... maybe thats why i slept very well last night in the train!!!!

We used to travel by ordinary class when we were kids.. and travel for 2 nights and 3 days.. all the way from delhi to kerala.. in that burning heat of may... i really dont know how we ever managed to do all that!!!

There is one thing about traveling by train though... you end up smelling like the train.. totally.. it pervades every pore of your body... to such an extent that you are dying to wash as quickly as you can.. just remove that smell .. that smell of iron!!

Its gotta be the Slumdog Millionaire this weekend..

Mumble mumble.. bcz i am going to be mumbling about many things today ....not really.. i have just been watching Golden Globe Awards on TV.. so its got to be a post on Slumdog Millionaire.

You cannot, absolutely cannot feel anything but pride in A R Rahman winning an award.. and in a movie winning 4 awards despite there being all these big shot movies of Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio.. get the picture???And it won the best score, sreenplay, director and movie awards.. with a clutch of actors .. the only known face being Anil Kapoor, if you ostensibly do wanna call him a known face!!! The underdog movie about underdogs stole the thunder (couldnt resist taking that cheap shot) :)

Apparently the Brit movie about India is about a poor kid making it big .. winning big money on KBC.. and some people were saying that as usual it highlights the same old stuff about India.. the poverty, the crowds etc etc.. cant comment too much about it without having seen it.

Many of course indulge in reverse snobbery (refer to one of my earlier posts.. hehehehe.. i am glad that i could actually use this self invented phrase.. so do i become the father, no the mother of this phrase..food for thought..).. why should you care if an Indian won an award at Golden Globe.. or rather you should care the same amount if he i.e. AR Rahman won an award for Jodha Akbar in Filmare!!!

But there is something about the world recognising talent.. and yes it is the world.. as they said, it was broadcasted in some 160 + countries (not too sure if i got that number right).. but nevertheless a big number!!! Our very own genius (read Rahman) winning an international award.. not some obscure award too.. an internationally well recognised (by all and sundry) award!!!!

And I am sure you know that SRK was invited to present the movie (Slumdog Millionaire) to the audience.. what???? You didnt know????? People at lunch didnt know too.... anyway he was invited.. and introduced as the "King of Bollywood" (roll eyes.. keep rolling them) and talked some stuff.. did an "Indian pelvic thrust" in his own words to celebrate the movie winning awards!!! Sighhhhhhh

But anyway, I am so waiting to watch Slumdog Millionaire.. Its releasing this Thursday or so i hear!! Need to toss a coin b/w Chandni Chowk to China and Slumdog Millionaire... hmmmm (thinking hard, finger on my chin).... maybe just maybe chance to watch back to back movies!!! On that good thought, i will retire :).. oh and Cheers to Slumdog Millionaire!!!

Joined at the hip

Yesterday, as i was getting ready in the morning.. or was it today.. anyway as i was getting ready this morning.. 100s, 1000s of thoughts usually go through my mind.. not related to anything in particular.. this part is quite usual actually...a girl thing perhaps.. anyway the point i was trying to make is a thought came to my mind.. about AD and NJ (husband and me).. it used to be extremely weird earlier.. when we had just got married .. to be referred to as a couple!

In fact, many a times when introducing him, i used to fumble (in my mind).. I would be like this is my friend.. no no husband..all this in my mind.. before i finally came up with the word husband!!

But now, its kind of become a part of us.. A & N.. a part of our lives... it doesnt feel weird anymore.. in fact it feels very warm.. very gooey.... (ok.. so i do feel gooey.. i have to have my own moment, dont i).. i cant explain the bond.. it just keeps on getting stronger with time i guess.. Now it comes quite naturally.. the 2 names together.. as if what could be more natural than that!!! Also becomes a part of my identity.. cant imagine one name without the other.. sounding filmy isnt it.. i am just not able to describe it properly !! There is this musical ring to it, a magical quality.. and it just seems so right!!!

We have more or less a weekend marriage... our work hours are different. People, on knowing this, invariably ask this question... how do you manage... actually we have been managing quite well.. and i quite like the space i get in the evenings.. had this not been the case, i might not have been hooked on to blogging!!!! Imagine what would have happened then.. lol!!!

So invariably, we spend a lot of time together over the weekends... lunching with friends/ alone.. watching movies.. etc etc... we go out together always .. mostly.. .. this paucity of time has ensured that we definitely spend our weekends together come what may.. whether we are with our families, friends, whoever!!! We attend all family dos together, go to all parties (if any) together, watch movies together (unless i know he will not watch the movie at all), have tea together, do grocery shopping together (not always)... I am sounding like a total chipkoo..

Of course there have been some occasions wherein we couldnt be together (just to ease your mind) !!!!

But we are a package deal mostly...wherever one goes, there is an attachment that comes along!!! :) ... joined at the hip

Happy weekend people!!! :)

Septimus Heap and Remember me

I have been thinking for the last 5 mins.. what should i write about... so thought why not talk about writing itself..

In fact today was advising a friend of mine to start blogging .... to start a blog on writing / on books!!! He told me that i should motivate him to blog!!! I hope you are getting inspired!!!! lol

Actually, for quite sometime i have been meaning to write about the books i have read... i do it for movies but have never tackled a book really... i guess because its easier to talk about a movie than a book!

I read 2 books in quick succession.. one a series actually and another a standalone :

Magyk,Flyte,Physik & Queste -

these are the name of the fantasy book series i picked up and read recently. The key character is a boy wizard called septimus heap and no its not even remotely like Harry Potter!! The books are nice .. if you like reading fantasy and if you could just stop comparing it with Harry Potter. But the problem is once you have read Harry Potter, you cannot un-read it! So the comparison will never go away.. and all in all you will end up finding these books on the duller side!! They are not that bad.. in fact the author has been brave enough to put in her own set of incantations though i do not really remember them!!! The book is about this boy wizard Septimus Heap who did not know this till the end of the first book. The other characters include Jenna, a little princess (who also did not know she was the princess), Marcia the xtraordinary wizard, Beetle a friend of the wizard, many ghosts etc.. basically there is an evil villain in every book who is trying to capture the princess to take control of the place.... though i wouldnt be doing it justice if i say the book is only about saving the princess. Its an ok book.. it doesnt involve you in the plot.. at least not in the way that you would be turning pages, burning the midnight oil to know what is going to happen.

Or maybe, just maybe i am not the target audience.. the book might be meant for kids and hence more simple :) The book covers are quite enticing (in case you want to know why did i pick these books up).

The second one i just finished reading is Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella.

A cute chick flick kind of a book.. it is a romantic story.. but usually in her books (i have read 2-3 books by this author), the focus is more on friends / self etc!!! The book is quite well written.. and will definitely put a twinkle in your eye... or a dimple in your cheek!!! :)

A funny book ... about a girl who meets with an accident.. but when she wakes up she doesnt remember 3 yrs of her life.. and is astounded when she comes to know what all had happened in the world during all this while.. like brad pitt splitting up with jennifer aniston etc!!!! When she wakes up she finds that she is actually successful, has a good looking millionaire husband who can even ride a speedboat :) .. but things are not what they seem.. obviously!!! But i truly did enjoy this book!!! The writing style is extremely refreshing!! A light comic book! Definitely to be read if you are stressed out!!!

Now i am picking up a Mary Higgins Clark.. never ever read it.. colleagues swear by it and one of them kindly lent it to me!!! I know i had said that i will write about writing... but you never know what comes out when you sit down and write.. Anyway i will leave it for the friend to write about in his blog !!! Never mind!!! :)

So until then... until i put in my next post on a book i mean!!! :)

I remember.. the good .. the bad.. the ugly (Hindi movies)

I just posted a comment as a reply to Scarlett's comment on the Ghajini post!!! And immediately even while writing it thought, i must write about it!!! I basically reproduced a dialogue from an old Hindi movie called Karma... here it goes again...

"Dr Dang ko aaj pehli baar kisi ne thappad maara hai.. is thappad ki gunj suni tumne.. is thappad ki gunj ki gunj tumhe sunayi degi.. sunayi degi na.."

I have seen this movie a zillion times.... and somehow this dialogue got stuck in my head, dont know why... my husband was absolutely flabbergasted when i said this dialogue!!!! lol

And i tend to remember all the other weird stuff too... like there is this hindi song which goes like... "sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, tu mujhko milti hai on a holiday"..... I mean who remembers such crappy songs!!! Answer is I do... BTW i actually like the Karma dialogue .. that was not crappy..

Another song from an Anil Kapoor Madhuri Dixit movie... "Tere sang yeh mulakaate .. mujhe aaachheee (they are sneezing here) lagti hain.. " .. whoever ever conceptualised this song!!!! And to top it all i remember it too!!!

Another one.. "dil ki ghadi, arre ghadi ghadi na jaane kare kyon tik tik tik.. ek second main ek tik.." i forget the rest.. thank god for that actually!!! And one more... "Tu mera tota, main teri maina... "

Another dialogue that i remember from a Rekha-Farooque Sheikh movie.. was this last scene of the movie wherein Rekha reveals her true self that she is not a paanwali.. and she suddenly starts talking in english.. i am oxford educated something something...or something like that!!!

Of course, Amitabh Bachchan dialogues one remembers without much effort... "hum jahan khade hote hain line wahi se shuru hoti hai".. and the sholay dialogues... gabbar, basanti.. all of them immortalised

And the villainish dialogues meant to instill fear in the audiences mind are usually quite silly... like bad man!!! I mean however different ways Gulshan Grover tries to say Bad man.. it still sounds extremely idiotic!!!

Dialogues from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron are quite memorable.. thoda khao thoda pheko... or when Nasserudding Shah is leaving Demello's house with the editor when he says.. CIA.. which Demello thinks to be CIA... and Shah says hume bahar tak chod aaiye.. he meant see aaiye... lol!!! Or the Mahabharat / Ramayan dialogue of Pankaj Kapoor.. Bhrashtachari, Durachari, Bramachari.. bol sorry!!! Such a brilliant movie!!!

I am smiling as i write this.. i repeat these dialogues everytime i watch it.. and keep laughing!!!

Yes Sir... Hindi movies are good fun.. whether they are good or bad!

How do you react in such situations

I have been in some weird situations -

How do you react when you bump into an acquaintance somewhere... .. that person is an acquaintance.. not a friend.. didnt speak too much to that person during the time we studied together... our wavelength never matched you could say... we moved around different circles... so while we staying in the same campus we hardly talked...

This conversation went something like this :

Oh hi... what a surprise!! Fancy meeting you here
So how are you?
Where are you? Which company?
Where do you stay?
What is XYZ person doing?
And what about this person?
And what about the other person?
And the other.... well, fancy meeting you here... did you hear about this person.. And so on and so forth.. before leaving i did take her number though i was hesitant to make the first move.. well, the call is never ever going to happen.. but i was like.. i should at least be courteous... I guess!!! I usually dont know how to handle such situations... as the warmth is an old friend is missing.. and it is not that you are meeting someone new!!! Its quite strange..

And what if you meet someone at the parlour... thank god when i met the person, it was the other person getting things done and not me.. it was awkward even then!!!

The weirdest of it happened at the gym a few days back... i was wearing a sari for the traditional day at work.. was at the locker room... now there is a suana attached the locker room.. and out walks this woman from teh suana.. wearing a towel.. which almost about to come off.. i turned my back to her to give her some privacy... everything was fine till she initiated conversation with me... your sari is very pretty.. is it the kerala sari... and all throughout i was mumbling.. looking down.. i didnt know where to look!!!!!

Another is walking into a discussion.. and suddenly all conversation stops.. should you leave or sit.. or apologise for the intrusion.. even if you do apologise.. everyone usually hastens to assure you that you didnt intrude.. and if anything, that just makes you even more sure of your intrusion!!!!

Of course, i have always have had foot in the mouth disease... started as early as school.. once i remember being in a group of students (who i didnt know very well really)... and we were talking about names... for one of the names i wasnt satisfied talking about about how much i didnt like the name.... i had to tell them precisely why.. and i ended up saying it sounds like a cabaret dancers name (at that time hindi movies always had vamps with such names)... and a girl came forward and told me.. hey, thats my mom's name.. and she started crying...and i was left mumbling.. you know i didnt really mean that!!!

I find these situations extremely awkward and embarrasing.. either i laugh raucously to show i am unaffected.. or i look around pretending i didnt hear the question!!!!! Hummmphhh... maybe i need to attend a finishing school :)

Why cant people format their documents

Its extremely annoying.. extremely extremely extremely annoying!!!!And so unprofessional. For some reason.. you always and i really mean always, end up doing this donkey work.. your document may look neat and clean.. the documents that need to be merged into yours .. never!!! And of course the responsibility will lie on you to send off the final thing to the client!!!

Why cant people see what they have written.... different fonts (in their own section, even on the same slide sometimes) random colours, spelling mistakes.. all this irrespective of taking the trouble of sending a template, pre empting this issue !!!!!!

As you can see, this what i spent a good part of my day doing!!! Missed gym too :(

Now going to sleep in the hope that tom will be a better day!!!

Its a Blockbuster for sure : Ghajini

I loved it. Its a fantabulous movie!!!! 3 hrs + and you dont even realise it!!

Its an Aamir Khan movie... an out and out Aamir Khan movie.. and boy is he good!!! This movie shows precisely why Aamir Khan is Aamir Khan and SRK SRK!!!!

An extremely violent movie.. but you never flinch.. because you are right there with the protaganist... by his side... feeling his confusions.. his frustrations.. wanting to tell him.. thats who you came to kill, remember...

Aamir Khan is an absolute dynamite in the role of Sanjay Singhania! He is extremely convincing in this role.. in fact the romantic side or the earlier version of the businessman Sanjay Singhania is shown much later into the movie.. even when they show him to be this nice reserved person.. a total ladies man.. you dont feel surprised.. you dont even pause to think of how this transformation from a sensitive sweet character to this killing machine is possible.... perhaps because the killer Sanjay Singhania has character to his personality.. a sensitiveness... you kind of get attached to this at times violent, at times blustering bumbling person!!

Aamir Khan as a romantic.. va va voom... he is so not over the top!!! He is completely normal.. behaves like any one of us normal people in love!!! He is brilliant... subtle and brilliant.

I loved this movie. Yes it is violent.. yes you can hear the bones crunching, the earth moving etc etc.. but all through these scenes, you still are with Aamir Khan in his travails as Sanjay Singhania and dont lose sight of the story.

Asin was quite nice ... in fact one of my colleagues at work (who also is a mallu) said that she is quite impressed that Asin is a mallu actress!!! lol!! She plays a sweet character.. a lovable character.. i like the part wherein she keeps talking about how she meets Sanjay Singhania!! But some bits are over the top.. helping blind man cross the street .. helping some kids etc etc.. yeah it was required for the build up to the scene of her getting killed.. but still!!

The scene in which she dies... is shot amazingly well... there are no histrionics.. she just comes out and asks her fiancee to leave.. there is no screaming and no shouting... she actually looks terrified... she was damn good in that scene... and she is not decked up.. like they tend to show their heroines in any other movie... all decked up even when sleeping!!!! That scene will stay with you.... i thought it was quite beautifully shot.. i think i already said that.. but never mind...

Jiah Khan was not that great.. she was ok.. her accent shows.. and looks very ill placed in the movie. Was her character even required... yeah maybe for the last scene to save Aamir khan that one blow..

The songs are of course good... has to be with A R Rehman! You cant have it any other way. Lattoo was slightly misplaced.. was not really required.. it didnt really contribute to the movie!!

But everything said and done.... It is Aamir Khan's movie. And he is the only person you focus on throughout the movie irrespective of which aspect of his personality he essays... the sensitive guy, the businessman, the shy guy .. the guy who declares his love in a bus in a pretty matter of fact way... the violent guy with splecks of spit coming out.. snorting in rage... the frustrated guy who doesnt know where he is everytime... the organised guy who organises his insane life/ memory .. well in a very organised manner... the lost soul.. the anguished soul.. all of these facets of the personality are brought to life by the one and only Aamir Khan.

You are with him throughout the movie... and thats what you will remember too post the movie! Everyone else... nice but Aamir.. rockstar!!!!

Tea at my house is over

I am very very particular about my tea. I am a true tea drinker.. to the extent i have coffee in office... because i do not like the vending machine tea!! I like my tea the way i make it.. that has its disadvantages too.. like i cant/ dont like having tea made by anyone except my mom and a few other people (can count them on my hand)... usually its too milky, too sweet, boiled too much etc etc.. and the thing about tea is that the flavour remains in your mouth!!! So if the tea is not good, you are going to be reminded of it the entire day!!!!

And over the course of time, i have realised that the best thing to do is to have coffee when you go out... if not sure about the quality of tea!!! People dont usually go too wrong with coffee..

But this realisation came with many experiences of course... once i got locked out of my house and my cell battery too was down.. and i had to meet my parents somewhere.. the venue not fixed till then.. i was supposed to call and check.. in fact i came back home from office to give them a surprise.. boy did i get a surprise!! So off i went to our neighbours place.. a nice punju family.. while i charged my cell, they made me a cup of tea.. in the true punju way.. milky with cream!!! And i dont like my tea like that.. i prefer it to be not milky.. and cream (ughhhh).. i dont know how i had that cup of tea.... usually once i decide i cant have it, i just am not able to!!!

Usually i leave the tea cup lying around somewhere and if the host asks me.. then i say oh i forgot.. never mind!!! Another thing i have done is hide the tea .. and when the host is not looking, run into the kitchen and throw it down the sink!!!! I REALLY CANNOT HAVE BAD TEA!!! I JUST CANNOT!!!

So with steep learning curve.. nowadays i ask for coffee whenever i go out!! Still at times I do take a risk and ask for tea!!! Pays off sometimes!!

My morning tea - my favourite cup of the day!! Which i obviously make myself.. once my husband made me tea.. post which i decided i will make it everyday!

The temperature has to be just right.. the flavour has to be just right.. boiled to just the right level, not more , not less..perfect! The entire tea experience i find very awesome.. i sip tea and i feel all my troubles being shooed away... find myself at peace.. to lift your spirits!!!! Nothing like a hot cup of tea!!!!

So anyway, the thing is tea at my place is over... i had bought this new tea from Coonoor but i am slightly wary of using it.. its one full dabba.. and am worried my morning tea will not be the same again!!! Will it .. wont it... sordid it is!!!!

An itty bitty post

An itty bitty post to ensure i keep writing the entire year....

Wonder what this year is gonna be like.. for my part, i have tried to ensure its all good.. by doing the things i like today... there is a concept thats been floating around for ages.. that whatever you do the first day of the year is what you you would be doing the entire year...

So i woke up late... had a brilliant brunch at West end ... go there one day.. its a beautiful beautiful place!!! Came back home.. couldnt resist sleeping .. afternoon naps are the best!!! Read, watched a movie on TV.. tried to book tickets for the weekend show...spent a lot of time with my husband.. !!!

What more do you want this year!!! Actually its quite a meaningful concept come to think of it.. you can choose to interpret it in another way - its like.. the way you choose to spend your first day of the year.. you can choose to spend every day of the year doing what you like.. making the right choices.. being happy.

So heres to happiness in 2009!!! :)