Tales of Beedle the Bard and ...

I want to write about 2 very specific things tonight -

Tales of Beedle the Bard as promised .... i cant say i was waiting for it eagerly .. like i was for" The Deathly Hallows" .. the reason being i didnt even know that this book was going to be published .. But when i did come to know (about the time that the book got released).. i was like.. wow, JK Rowling's next book.. a connection with Harry Potter... the book got my vote.. and now its mine!

At Landmark, when i saw the book, i squealed.. an internal squeal actually, lest you think i do such kind of things in public places.. squeal because i had forgotten that this book has actually released.. And i smiled..a 75mm.. a smile i maintained all the while i examined the book.. the beautiful cover.. the first page of the book which says.. translated by Hermonie Granger (i think) and notes by Albus Dumbledore.. I was happy.. I went on smiling at the world in general.. happy with my catch..

But i didnt read it for a few days.. its a thin book you see.. i was afraid i will finish it even before i started.. so i wanted to be patient.. read each word properly.. finally read it on thursday night!

The book has 5 stories basically.. for those of you who have read all Harry Potter books, one of the stories is the "Tale of 3 brothers". The stories in itself are not as exciting. its like panchatantra.. with a moral attached to it.. Whats exciting are Dumbledore's notes (yeah i know, but thats how JKR refers to the notes as if Dumbledore was a real human being..).. wherein he analyses the stories.. talks about its history etc.. it also has these postscripts.. some of which take you back into the Harry Potter world!!

So the stories in itself are nothing much to talk about.. i like it.. because it is an extension, ok not an extension, but linked (.01%.. so what) indirectly to my all time favourite books! So it has great sentimental value attached to it and i treasure it!
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We come to point no 2. Today was somewhat exciting... In the evening went to Chitra Kala Parishat.. basically an exhibition .. wherein people come from all over the country and set up stalls.. like a mela.. Delhi Haat of Bangalore, i couldnt resist that :)

All 4 of us (my parents+ husband+me) put together bought some, no, a lot of general random stuff.. 2 wall hangings, 2 diffusers, 3 pairs of earrings, 1 chatai, 1 mug (a decorative item), 1 lamp or is it 2, 1 set of payal, a few key holders, a kurta, a shawl, some elephants with bells (to hang at the door).. i am listing down all that we bought just to highlight the very strange assortment of stuff we ended up collecting.. but thats the beauty of such fairs.. all these nick nacks that you end up buying which you would never ever have bought otherwise.. i loved it.. except we couldnt eat chaat :(
And the best part is coming back home and examining the spoils of the war.. how much was paid.. does it look nice.. hanging stuff.. trying it out.. the 2 elephant things are already hanging by the door.. and we also tried the diffuser.. just to see if we can smell any fragrance... and of course i am wearing my anklet :) .. it has this one bead that makes the "chan chan" noise..

Gosh.. these trinkets excite me so... :) I am happy. And boy, its only saturday night!!!

There was no point i wanted to make really.. i generally wrote that .. just spreading happiness and light (Uncle Fred - PGWodehouse)

Now showing.. rab ne bana di jodi

First day.. not the first show but first day nevertheless... theres something about watching a movie in a theatre when the world is working.. a feeling of general goodness envelops you thinking such thoughts.. mmmmmmmmm..it lasted till the movie started!!!

I took my mom to see this movie.. dad was out of town.. and before my parents move off to kerala i thought i will take my mom out as her chances of watching a hindi movie in kerala that too in the theatre are not very high.. why this movie .. well, mom liked baghbaan after all.. this movie too should be ok.. ok ok , i cant completely absolve myself.. i admit i was curious!!

So on to the movie.... what can i say.. totally twisted movie .. in a cruel sort of a way..

So there is this beautiful girl.. who because of some reasons is forced to get married to this loser guy aka SRK.. aka common man (as perceived by the director).. a guy who doesnt know how to smile.. goes by the name of surinder sahney (or suri).. a quintessentially nice guy.. bechara guy.. kind of cute you might even say... works with Punjab Power.. lighting up your life!! She decides that she will be a good wife even though she cant love him.. they both sleep in separate rooms.. she packs his lunch in a yellow tiffin box everyday.

So Suri decides he will be the hero of her life.. and when she goes to dance class.. transforms himself one night.. basically SRK with no mustache.. tight jeans.. even tighter T-shirt with beads.. who becomes her dancing partner everyday in the evening.. a loud character.. a roadside romeo type of behaviour.. here is where you start to bang your head against the wall..

1) why would anyone like such brash weird guy who talks crap... stuff like.. hum hain rahi pyaar ke..phir milenge..chalte chalte.. the girl to her credit does find it irritating but only the first time.. she finds it cute (yuck yuck!!) later.. and to top it, they have made a song out of it.. eeeyyyuuucckkk

2) And girlie.. named taani.. cant you see that its suri.. comeon how difficult is it.. a guy with mustache .. a guy without mustache.. its suri damn you!!! Of course, she realises it only in the last scene where they are dancing for the competition .. when suri turns up instead of raj and dances like him (surprise surprise).. तभी बिजली कड़कती है! Helllllllooooooooooo... like really!!!

3) So anyway, she likes this weird character who is apparently manly etc etc..(from what angle pray).. and it doesnt help matters of course that SRK is completely over the top in the character of Raj Kapoor.. a guy cannot suddenly become talkative, talk to random people.. dance.. flirt.. do things out of character suddenly one night that he decides to wear something else.. that too a guy who is completely roughshod as suri!! Here i need to stop a thought (in case you do get it when reading this).. हिन्दी मूवी मैं दिमाग बहार रखना चाहिए.. i hate this comment.. also the one.. यह तो हिन्दी मूवी है...so please stop in case you are thinking it!!!

4) So while she declares she will be a good wife etc etc.. she spends evenings, entire days with Raj.. and then is flabbergasted when he proposes to her.. All this while Raj does not tell her he is suri..

5) A twist in the story (this is where you start to question your motives of wanting to watch this).. even when she tells him she loves him.. he still doesnt tell her.. this part i found so regressive.. he says .. she needs to like him as he is i.e. suri.. she needs to realise it that raj is different and he is not raj .. then why in the world does he test her.. .. look at the mentality of the man.. so regressive.. he wants to know if she will leave him (suri) and run away with him (raj)...why in the world do you even try to change yourself into something you are not and then not tell her.. and then keep comparing yourself (you of course) with raj (again you)!!!!! For what.. isnt this cheating.. and what irritates me so much is that she isnt even angry when she comes to know that they are the same people.. she is all over him like.. this is love etc etc.. open your eyes woman!!!

6) How does suri (in his way) show that he loves her.. by taking her to a fair and fighting with a sumo wrestler to win tickets to japan!! A bloody (literally speaking) SRK is all that one needed to complete the show!! And who does that!!!! It doesnt make logical sense.. for a peace loving (as they show suri to be), calm person to fight some random guy..

7) I forgot to add point no 7.. this girl after admitting that she likes Raj goes to Golden Temple with Suri.. she prays to god " मुझे भी रब दिखा दो" the funda beign you will be able to see god in the the man you love!!! And lo and behold.. she opens her eyes.. and who is walking towards her.. its suriiiiiiiiiiiiiii !!!!

8) And then the obvious happens.. she doesnt leave suri.. tells raj no.. and in the dance competition, suri comes and dances with her.. she comes to know.. they are in love.. go to japan!

Why? I ask you why? Oh well.. So what was good about the movie.. SRK as suri is somewhat endearing.. .. one scene wherein taani rides the bike with raj behind is quite good (girl power!!).. Anoushka Nair ..that my niece lol.. whats her name.. Anoushka Sharma i think is good.... the credits are good (they are actually good.. this was not sarcastic.. really..i mean really.. not kidding)... also the fact that i saw a movie on friday was good.. that too in the afternoon.. brilliant.. last row.. i love it!!! :)

The basic story i am sure was nice when written.. somewhere it got lost.. the concept was good.. the common man story.. but strangely twisted like i said.. this multiple personality thingummy!!

So should you watch it... watch if you must.. its difficult for me to trash a movie.. i generally like movies.. so.... mom also didnt like it too much.. if that helps...

Anyway, now i want to watch.. the day the earth stood still (is it).. and Ghajini of course (just that i wont be able to watch the first weeknd show :( )..
I am also dying to put in a post on Tales of Beedle the Bard.. next one maybe!!!!

Happy weekend!!

A general post.. after a long time

मैं हिन्दी मैं टाइप कर रही हूँ॥ यह तो बहुत ही सही चीज़ है॥ इसका मतलब है मैं अब हिन्दी गाने , जो मुझे पसंद है, अपने ब्लॉग पे दाल सकती हूँ!!!!!

Well, i dont know how to put daal.. daal with a dee and not thee.. never mind.. its still cool..

Not just songs... but anything!!!!!!!!! This is so wonderful.. i am not a prolific hindi writer.. but this tool is so powerful.. there are times, dont you agree, when you hunt for certain phrases in english.. which are actually best expressed in hindi!!! This is so cool.. I didnt know this tool existed even..

Song i am humming right now.. आहिस्ता आहिस्ता मुझे यकीन हो गया , आहिस्ता आहिस्ता यह दिल कहीं खो गया, यूँ गिरा गिरा है चाँद या तेरी है रौशनी, यूँ उडी उडी सी है यह ज़मीन आहिस्ता.. .... From Bachna Ae Haseeno.. This is so b****y fantastic..

Today was a holiday on account of Eid.. it was a surprise holiday.. actually while it was a part of the holiday list, i was not aware of it!!! A pleasant surprise it was..

Just lazed around.. watched a movie called The Matchmaker ...which i have a feeling i have seen in Goa ... in a theatre, that too..

Read.. Archies.. PG Wodehouse - a book called Uncle Dynamite..
And have just read one story from Tale of Beedle the Bard. I want to take my time to read it.. nice and slow..

In the last few days, read a book called Ladies Coupe .. given, rather lended to me by a colleague of mine.. quite a different book.. i am not able to decide whether i like it or not..

Its a story about 6 women traveling by train in the ladies coupe.. a story of their lives.. i can identify with one part... so many women, so many different stories.. it reminds me of the lunch hour at work.. at the lunch table, most of us are women ... at different stages of life.. unmarried. newly married. married for a couple of years.. married with kids.. the stories we all bring to the table.. not stories, but snippets of our lives... all different.. all of us different but bound together, merged, linked somehow .. maybe because we are women (i think only women can understand my gibberish.. ).. i dont know if i can explain it better.. But anyway, thats the bit i can identify with the book, Ladies Coupe...

The stories of each woman in itself i could not connect to...some are too way off.. too fantastic for it have happened.. yet i am sure it does happen.. i could not appreciate it.. really!

Which is why i cannot make up my mind.. do i like it... maybe... do i not like it.. maybe not..

And of course, in the news.. focus has shifted to elections!!! I cant vote .. as i need to be a resident for 6 mths!!! :(

And a general post doesnt mean that I have forgotten.

Discussions, revelations, retorts, replies, arguments...

Discussions, revelations, retorts, replies, arguments... all our senses are assailed by hordes and hordes of discussions.. this person said this.. how dare he.. media did a good job.. a terrible job.. bomb the terror camps.. patience... what are we doing.. what are they doing.... snippets of multitudes of discussions happening now on TV post the "26/11" incident!

Most channels are getting some people or the other to talk to.. actors.. corporates.. journalists..

All good.. you need to talk .. try to understand what happened.. and understand how can we curtail ti.. what can we do about it.. I mean to say, yes its required.. but one question that comes to my mind.. will the action really happen?

There was a discussion on NDTV wherein they got all corporates.. like Adi Godrej, Kishore Biyani etc.. and came up with some action plan .. some suggestions to the govt.. like cess for security.. wherein they mentioned that they are willing to pay, contribute towards the training of police forces, the weaponry etc... .. very interesting discussion this.. .. somebody had already filed a PIL .. they also talked about setting up a system wherein eminent citizens are a part of the implementation program..and what i liked about it was that NDTV (i think) is planning to write a white paper on it and actually submit it to the govt to ensure it happens... most of the channels are generally getting people and just holding some random discussions..

Another thing that came up... i dont remember if this was a part of the NDTV discussion or some other discussions.. where they were planning to create a code of conduct / guidelines in such situations!! And thats great!!!! If the fallout of this situation does actually streamline media's role.. its fantastic..

Talking about media... Barkha Dutt has replied to criticisms about the way the entire incident was handled by journalists.. Pls read it.. its there on their site.. she says.. the relative of victims wanted to share with us............... we were not pestering them.. the hostages who got released wanted to share with us... there were so many ppl from media, that overcrowding will happen obviously!!!

While do admire the media's role .. how they were there .. on the spot.. capturing things even when firing was going on in the background.. even then, they were extremely ruthless when talking to victims or relatives..
I remember one scene.. wherein the lady in question talked about a curtain for at least 15-20 mins.. just went on saying this is the curtain.. this is the curtain.. i thought she was going to start talking about the material in a second!!! It was as if.. anything goes!! Apparently one channel talked about pigeons near Taj ..this i got as a forward !!!!

I hope sincerely that we are able to see these various action plans that have come to the fore through to the very end!!!!

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On a separate note... i watched dostana.. i quite liked it.. actually i did!! The gay jokes were a bit over the top.. but still this movie is so far away from a normal Karan Johar weepy, ostentatious movie.. its breezy and its actually different!!!
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I picked up Tales of Beetle the Bard!!! Waiting to read it .. its a very thin book...so havent started reading yet.. afraid i will finish it even before i start!!!!!!!

What can we do...just one more thought..

One thought of what we can do ... Can we all organise sessions.. at our own workplaces to talk about voting and the importance of voting? It may be a small activity.. but can we in our own small way try to talk to people at work .. even others .. any community.. people..who we are in touch with ... a drop in the ocean... but a drop nevertheless... will it work? Can we be effective? Is this doable?

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NDTV got a Pakistani editor , another Indian editor from Business Line i think and Rakesh Maria (Crime Branch, Bombay police) together through VC.. This guy, the Pakistani editor went on saying.. why is there a media trial.. if that terrorist is a pakistani, show us evidence.. he could be lying.. anyway whatever police says is not admissible in court.. show evidence!!! Anyway, we are willing to cooperate.. set up a joint committee with members from both countries... show evidence

To this the Indian editor reacted saying the terrorist is not the only evidence.. there have been sat phones recovered which show phone calls being made to Pakistan.. the GPS system which shows the origin destination clearly... and that guy , the other editor retailiated by saying.. why there is a media trial.. you are only saying what they (read police) are telling you.. and you cant talk about what happened in 2006 or any other year because it doesnt help...
And finally... do you want Oakistan to cooperate or not.. that is the question you need to answer!!

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In a separate news... even the Pakistani President in an interview to some American media has said there is no proof that the terrorist caught is a Pakistani.. he probably is not a Pakistani at all!!!

What do you make of all this????? They are just buying time.. they are caught in this situation.. and this is the only way they can think of reacting.. by total denial.. and defiance!!!

Do they think that all Indians are just waiting for an opportunity to pin the blame on them for anything that happens in this country??

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Read http://tajhotels.com/comments.htm

Many people have written to Taj and they have put in a page on their website! These people.. include guests, old employees, general public..

So many people hae written talking about their wanting to help with re-building Taj.. some have said they will book rooms for the first day of re-opening of the hotel..some foreigners have said that they ahd never visited India before but their intention to do so is just stronger now and they will stay at the Taj.... some have written they are planning to buy shares to show support.. one person even said that he is willing to waive off his dividend.. and one couple wanted to know the name of the girl (an employee of the hotel) who was with them for 7 hrs!!!


Its just amazing to read all this .. this outpouring of support.. a sense of pride envelops you!! There is a change you can sense all around you...

So what do we do?

The question is what can we do? We have talked, cribbed about politics, politicians.. As citizens of this country, what is it that we can do to help fight terrorism?

When i asked myself this, it took me sometime to think of a few basic things we can do -
1) Stop cribbing - we keep cribbing (me included) about the state of the system, about how useless everything is.. about corruption etc etc.. yes it does exist.. but by talking in groups and not doing anything about it makes it more frustrating..its easy to pass critiques.. judgement.. but we are not in that "somebody's" situation... maybe we need to ask ourselves what is it that we can do

2) Vote - we are the people who should be voting.. we slam the politicians .. but we only elect them right? Or rather we dont bother to go and vote and still expect leaders who get elected to take the right decisions, govern the country in the right way.. and yes before the thought even comes.. yes there are only such people to choose from... but let us exercise what is our fundamental right.. show that we have the power!!

3) Career - On the subject of politicians.. we do not encourage anyone in the family to take up politics.. anyone joining the government servises is looked down upon.. even i am guilty of doing that!! We cannot change the system from outside.. we have to be right there.. in the system.. join the forces, join politics.. be the change you want to see as Gandhi ji said!

4) Alertnes and Responsibility - how many of us actually are responsible citizens.. if you see something.. would you inform the concerned authorities? Be it terrorism, accidents.. whatever it maybe... how many of us actually stop to think about what we "just saw" maybe on our way to work.. and thought .. "oh there are people around, someone or the other will take care of it".. or "i will look so silly"! First step in the right direction - Be alert and inform people.

The basic 4 steps i could think of.. you tell me if there are more.. what is it that we can do....

You know what.... We are the change we are seeking!!!

whose responsibility is it anyway

Well.. it happened because of home minister.. no its the navy.. well come to think of it its the state govt.. it has already started.. the blame game!!!!!! And finally after all this massacre that happened.. next steps.. Step 1) Decide who is responsible for this to happen Step 2) Get that person to resign 3) Its election time.. so try to show how you were not responsible and everyone except you was.. Step 4) Get elected.. Step 5) Terrorists.. where what who.. what you talking about, you..you.. you imbeciles... Step 6) Floods.. all manholes open.. Step 7).. the previous govt didnt do anything.. look we covered the manholes on Street watchmacaallit and people didnt fall there.... you see...

And so on... life goes on..

This is usual cycle.. the cycle that exists.. and thats what will happen.. it is pre-ordained!!!

Saw it on the news Mr RGV and an actor, Ritesh Deshmukh visited Taj Hotel.. why? Are they owners of the hotel? Nope.. Are they media? Noooooooo.. Then how come?.. Apparently RGV said he didnt go there to make a movie.. and he wasnt invited... so how the heck did he get in.. well well.. the "Actor" is CMs son...and its a done thing here.... there are sons, family etc etc who go for a foreign trip.. oh so conveniently arranged.. remember this infamous minister who was involved in the oil scandal.. whose son , son's friend etc etc went for a visit to some country... and then when he was asked, the son i.e... he said that he flew down separately.. what timing i must say!!!

But coming back to this, ..... the director and the actor know each other.. so they just dropped in.. maybe there was a show going on (like many people apparently are taking pics of the destroyed hotel.. posing, smiling... sheesh!!!).. or a picnic perhaps?????

HOW IN THE WORLD DO THESE KIND OF THINGS HAPPEN... ANY TOM, DICK AND HARRY CAN GET INTO SUCH A SENSITIVE PLACE... no wonder its all so easy!!

You cant just help but wonder at the insensitivity of people... i have used this word so many times.. but cant help it... its a mockery!!! And i quite liked the CM.. i thought he was an honest guy.. in fact we were talking about this the day before.. maybe it was an error of judgement.. you think? I only hope so!!

And I dont want to be the kind of person who keeps saying.. in our country this doesnt happen, that doesnt happen etc.. i dont want to be an arm chair critique... but these incidents make you marvel at the sheer adaucity of people!!! How could they.. how could they even think they stroll around the place !!!