So Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1 is releasing coming weekend (dang, I havent booked tickets yet). Last time when I went to watch half blood prince, I remember having known only the basic story.. I had read the book a year back. So when people told me that it wasnt true to the book, I was flummoxed. The only reason why I had been claiming it had been true to the book was that Snape killed Dumbledore (sob) and thats all that I realised I remembered. The sob was for Dumbledore getting killed.. I was positively depressed!!!!
So this time round, I decided to be prepared and read Deathly Hallows. Anyway I remembered thinking (when i read the book the first time) that it was complicated. So now I have almost finished the book... and guess what, it is as awesome as ever!!!!!!!!!!! You know I had forgotten how brilliant JK Rowling really is!!!! The small loops tied in... the fast pace.. it really is brilliant.
The only problem with reading the book again before the movie is the worry that they will not be able to include everything in the movie and it will fall short of expectations!!
The second reason of course is to get into the mood of Harry Potter!!! And I am so full of it right now.. you can ask me any question from the book!!! And I feel fantastic about knowing these details that you ordinary people may not remember.. hehehehehe!!! I feel so good.
A question for you die hard fans...Like.. whose patronus was the silver doe???????????????????????? Come come people.. answer.. DO NOT GOOGLE.
And while we are at it, what is Luna's fathers name?
Name the 7 horcruxes... And name the things that can kill these horcruxes!!!
What is Ron's aunts name who talks about Dumbledore's book during the wedding?
What are the deathly hallows?
Who helps Harry/Ron/Hermoine break into Gringotts?
You can submit your own questions and I will try to answer :)
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I am sick... oh ho, not mentally.. I am sick physically. I seemed to have picked up something from Sri Lanka.. food/water infection combined with irregular meal times = dyspepsia apparently. I feel like a character in a Wodehouse novel... the numerous uncles with dyspepsia.. was it Uncle Tom? Aunt Dahlia's husband?
It is sickening. I am supposed to have mini meals through the day as I am unable to eat a full proper because of lack of appetite.
Oh well!!!
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Did you all watch KBC???? The guy won 1 cr....for 5 crs called out Ganpati Bappa Moriya to give him guidnace.. apparently the guidance he got was to continue.. he did not have a f*g clue to the question.... first person born in antartica.. who will for that matter.........took a complete guess against all advise!!! And lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AB was clearly frustrated and looked as if he wanted to slap the guy....... He got only 3 lacs ....... and this after he won 1 cr!!!!!!!!!!! Some people...............
And on that note.... goodnight!!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Pictures as promised - Sri Lanka
Colombo
The view from our hotel room - Galle face beach!
St Lucias church
The Wolvendaal church and one of the tombstones inside the church!!!!
The Gangaramaya temple. It is a beautiful place yet again but extremely touristy!!!!!
Kandy
Pictures of Fort Printers where we stayed at Galle. It is inside the fort and a really nice 18th century mansion!!!
Pretty much like Neemrana, they have tried to bring the restored mansion to the olden days as you can probably see from the pics (if you really stare at it).
Streets of Galle inside the fort, and yes thats me! :)
Galle cricket stadium - it is only fenced. So you can actually watch the match from the road and maybe atop the fort!!!! It is so close that you could probably see the cricketers from the road!!!!
What you can see in this picture is the Galle Fort Wall - On the right side of the wall is the quaint Galle town inside the fort and the left side is the regular Galle town. You can actually walk on the fort wall - it takes about an hour, a walk by the sea.
Sorry about the pic sizes!!!!!! It takes a hell lot of time to upload ... the entire formatting goes for a toss!!!!
The view from our hotel room - Galle face beach!
The Kalaniya temple about 7 kms from Colombo - this was our favourite!!!!!! Definitely not to be missed!!!
St Lucias church
The Gangaramaya temple. It is a beautiful place yet again but extremely touristy!!!!!
Kandy
The Kandy lake is pretty - and you can actually walk and sit in that peaceful area. We also saw monitor lizards basking in the sun. The 2nd picture is of the temple of the sacred tooth relic. It is a Buddhist temple. It is opulent, beautiful. No pics of inside the temple - I forgot to click!!!!!! :)
Earls Regency Kandy. A nice hotel - it faces the Mahaweli river. The only problem is that it about 10-15 mins drive from the city center. So if you do not have a vehicle, you need to rely on the autos!!!
Nuwara Eliya
St Andrews, the place where we stayed at Nuwara Eliya, a hill station like Ooty. All the houses at Nuwara Eliya are styled like English cottages.
Galle
Earls Regency Kandy. A nice hotel - it faces the Mahaweli river. The only problem is that it about 10-15 mins drive from the city center. So if you do not have a vehicle, you need to rely on the autos!!!
Nuwara Eliya
St Andrews, the place where we stayed at Nuwara Eliya, a hill station like Ooty. All the houses at Nuwara Eliya are styled like English cottages.Galle
Pictures of Fort Printers where we stayed at Galle. It is inside the fort and a really nice 18th century mansion!!!Pretty much like Neemrana, they have tried to bring the restored mansion to the olden days as you can probably see from the pics (if you really stare at it).
Streets of Galle inside the fort, and yes thats me! :)
Galle cricket stadium - it is only fenced. So you can actually watch the match from the road and maybe atop the fort!!!! It is so close that you could probably see the cricketers from the road!!!!
What you can see in this picture is the Galle Fort Wall - On the right side of the wall is the quaint Galle town inside the fort and the left side is the regular Galle town. You can actually walk on the fort wall - it takes about an hour, a walk by the sea.Sorry about the pic sizes!!!!!! It takes a hell lot of time to upload ... the entire formatting goes for a toss!!!!
But I do hope you get the general drift! :) Enjoy.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Back in time from Sri Lanka for Diwali
Happy Diwali everyone. Hope you all had a blast and did NOT contribute to the noise or smoke pollution. :)
So here's a beginner's guide to what to do in Sri Lanka ... rather what we, beginners did in Sri Lanka :)
1) Day 1 - Our flight was late by very many hours.. and instead of spending the afternoon chilling in Colombo, we spent the afternoon at Chennai airport (I wish I could say roasting, but it was not.. was raining there). We stayed at Taj Samudra which faces the Indian Ocean... its, well.. nice. Doesnt live upto the expectations of a"TAJ" hotel. It definitely was not value for money!!! We strolled on the beach - ate some rubbish at the stalls there.. it really was rubbish!! Or maybe we did not know what to eat - we had some mutton thing with naan. And then we walked.. and walked.. finally landed at Bavarian, a german pub with live music!!!
2) Day 2 - City tour!! We made them include a Buddhist temple at Kelaniya and that wa sthe best decision we made during the trip! It is a beautiful, serene, calm place - visited by locals!
And then we were off to Wolvendaal church , St Lucia's church - both beautiful and extremely interesting!! Only for those who like history (I love it) or like architechture!!! Evening we visited the Gangaramaya Buddhist temple - it is slightly touristy!
And then to Odele!!! GO to Colombo for shopping. This is what I heard from every person!!! Odele was supposed to be THE place for it!!! Well, it is like another Lifetsyle! The stuff is good.. but usually I get very confused when faced with too many options!! And I am a terrible shopper!! So if shopping's your thing, you will feel right at home there!!! What did i buy - a pair of shorts (very cheap, INR = 300) and a dress (INR=600) which i will never wear!!!!!
Oh, thats one thing great about Sri Lanka.. it is cheap - the one place you can actually divide rather than multiply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ps : INR is double Sri Lankan rupees)
3) Day 3 - we left for Kandy. We reached in the evening, and promptly went to watch the cultural show. Another one of the things with Sri Lanka is that everything closes early in the evening!! We rested our tired selves at Earls Regency - a nice hotel though about 15 mins away from the city center!!
4) Day 4 - We went to the temple of the sacred tooth relic! It has a lot of history behind it but again is very touristy!!!! And then we left for Ooty of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya! It is a beautiful place - has english type cottages .. all of them, not just one or two.. all the houses are built in that style!! It is a charming place.. nothing much to do there except walk around a bit and enjoy the chill (if you like cold places.. I for one hate cold)!!!! We stayed at St Andrews - a really really really nice place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5) Day 5 - We left in the morning for Galle - about 6 hours from Nuwara Eliya. And this was my aboslutely favourite part of the trip!!! I love the sea - I can sit and watch the sea for hours!!! It is so soothing.. you can actually walk around the Galle Fort.. not around, I mean on the Galle Fort!!!! And we saw turtles in the sea... and the town within Galle Fort (there is one part of town outside the fort which is like a regular town) is so pretty - i dont remember if there were cobbled streets... but sure felt like it!!! It had these quaint houses and shops!!!!!!! I loved it!!!!!!!!
We stayed at Fort Printers which is an 18th century restored mansion inside the fort ... amazing!!!! Though food was sad.. well i guess you cant get everything!!!
And then we trudged back to colombo for our flight back to Bangalore!
Travel Advisory
a) Buddhist temples are brilliant and so are the churches.. do visit if you are work harassed!!! You need to cover yourself up for these visits!! Long pants are a must.
b) INR = 2X Sri Lankan rupees.. joy to the world!!!
c) But transport is expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
d)Food is expensive - a dish can cost about 1000 rupees (INR=500)
e) Shopping should be on your list - After all that i said, it is really cheap!!!!!!
f) I had fish curry rice everyday!!! Its quite nice - you will never feel the lack of Indian Food!! Though by day 5.. I couldnt have looked at curry-rice again!!
g) Carry all the short skimpy stuff you want!!!!!!! I felt so gloriously free in my apir of shorts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
h) If you like something - buy it! You are not likely to find anything cheaper anywhere else!!
i) If you are visiting many places like we did, its best to take reddot tours. They are great - they sent us a car + driver who was extremely helpful. They keep to themselves, advise you if you need it!!!!!!!!!!! And just let you be.
Phew!!!! Pics of some of these places in the next post!!!
So here's a beginner's guide to what to do in Sri Lanka ... rather what we, beginners did in Sri Lanka :)
1) Day 1 - Our flight was late by very many hours.. and instead of spending the afternoon chilling in Colombo, we spent the afternoon at Chennai airport (I wish I could say roasting, but it was not.. was raining there). We stayed at Taj Samudra which faces the Indian Ocean... its, well.. nice. Doesnt live upto the expectations of a"TAJ" hotel. It definitely was not value for money!!! We strolled on the beach - ate some rubbish at the stalls there.. it really was rubbish!! Or maybe we did not know what to eat - we had some mutton thing with naan. And then we walked.. and walked.. finally landed at Bavarian, a german pub with live music!!!
2) Day 2 - City tour!! We made them include a Buddhist temple at Kelaniya and that wa sthe best decision we made during the trip! It is a beautiful, serene, calm place - visited by locals!
And then we were off to Wolvendaal church , St Lucia's church - both beautiful and extremely interesting!! Only for those who like history (I love it) or like architechture!!! Evening we visited the Gangaramaya Buddhist temple - it is slightly touristy!
And then to Odele!!! GO to Colombo for shopping. This is what I heard from every person!!! Odele was supposed to be THE place for it!!! Well, it is like another Lifetsyle! The stuff is good.. but usually I get very confused when faced with too many options!! And I am a terrible shopper!! So if shopping's your thing, you will feel right at home there!!! What did i buy - a pair of shorts (very cheap, INR = 300) and a dress (INR=600) which i will never wear!!!!!
Oh, thats one thing great about Sri Lanka.. it is cheap - the one place you can actually divide rather than multiply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ps : INR is double Sri Lankan rupees)
3) Day 3 - we left for Kandy. We reached in the evening, and promptly went to watch the cultural show. Another one of the things with Sri Lanka is that everything closes early in the evening!! We rested our tired selves at Earls Regency - a nice hotel though about 15 mins away from the city center!!
4) Day 4 - We went to the temple of the sacred tooth relic! It has a lot of history behind it but again is very touristy!!!! And then we left for Ooty of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya! It is a beautiful place - has english type cottages .. all of them, not just one or two.. all the houses are built in that style!! It is a charming place.. nothing much to do there except walk around a bit and enjoy the chill (if you like cold places.. I for one hate cold)!!!! We stayed at St Andrews - a really really really nice place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5) Day 5 - We left in the morning for Galle - about 6 hours from Nuwara Eliya. And this was my aboslutely favourite part of the trip!!! I love the sea - I can sit and watch the sea for hours!!! It is so soothing.. you can actually walk around the Galle Fort.. not around, I mean on the Galle Fort!!!! And we saw turtles in the sea... and the town within Galle Fort (there is one part of town outside the fort which is like a regular town) is so pretty - i dont remember if there were cobbled streets... but sure felt like it!!! It had these quaint houses and shops!!!!!!! I loved it!!!!!!!!
We stayed at Fort Printers which is an 18th century restored mansion inside the fort ... amazing!!!! Though food was sad.. well i guess you cant get everything!!!
And then we trudged back to colombo for our flight back to Bangalore!
Travel Advisory
a) Buddhist temples are brilliant and so are the churches.. do visit if you are work harassed!!! You need to cover yourself up for these visits!! Long pants are a must.
b) INR = 2X Sri Lankan rupees.. joy to the world!!!
c) But transport is expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
d)Food is expensive - a dish can cost about 1000 rupees (INR=500)
e) Shopping should be on your list - After all that i said, it is really cheap!!!!!!
f) I had fish curry rice everyday!!! Its quite nice - you will never feel the lack of Indian Food!! Though by day 5.. I couldnt have looked at curry-rice again!!
g) Carry all the short skimpy stuff you want!!!!!!! I felt so gloriously free in my apir of shorts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
h) If you like something - buy it! You are not likely to find anything cheaper anywhere else!!
i) If you are visiting many places like we did, its best to take reddot tours. They are great - they sent us a car + driver who was extremely helpful. They keep to themselves, advise you if you need it!!!!!!!!!!! And just let you be.
Phew!!!! Pics of some of these places in the next post!!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dont you just wish!
Why is it that it always post an important meeting , you come with these absolutely dazzling things that you could have said ... or think, why in the world did I ever open my mouth to utter such trash!!! After all how many opportunities does one get. And as one utters all this bilge, simultaneously the mind is churning the thought - oh god, what c**p am I talking. And by the end of it all - why did I ever say all this? Why couldnt have I said interesting things about Indian economy!! And this, after one puts considerable thought and writes these short and crisp bullet points on the possible topics that could be discussed. Basically all of it goes out of the window.
Actually, doesnt it always happen - at least to me it does.. everytime without fail. I finish an important discussion, leave the room and trash myself for all the rubbish I talked. Rather all the things I didnt talk about.
One can only hope and pray that people forget quickly...
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A very exciting trip to the Bombay airport - made it just in time to catch the flight with about 2 mins to spare. I left at 6.15pm (from Lower parel).. my flight was at 8.35pm!! I was at BKC (more than 3/4th distance) by 6.45pm... and then all havoc broke loose! A colleague was trying to drop me to the airport. We missed the airport turn and went over the flyover (this after negotiating all traffic and at 7.45pm)... and then we took some shortcuts, rode like Bond.. and zipped our way through to reach the airport with 5 mins to spare - only to realise we had missed the Indian Airlines departure terminal which is a separate terminal. And the only way to get there is to get out of the airport, take a full U turn and re-enter the airport!!!
The airport officials I must admit were so sweet - they bundled me into this shuttle which goes to the IA departure - the coach people were at first reluctant as they thought the check in time was well past - But then when they realised we had 5 mins .. they broke all the rules (literally speaking) in the world to get me there in 3 mins!!!
I thanked them with all my heart!!!:) I dont think this would be possible in any country but India!!!!
And I made it - actually I was the second last person to board the flight!!! Phew!!
Goodnight!!
Actually, doesnt it always happen - at least to me it does.. everytime without fail. I finish an important discussion, leave the room and trash myself for all the rubbish I talked. Rather all the things I didnt talk about.
One can only hope and pray that people forget quickly...
****************************************************
A very exciting trip to the Bombay airport - made it just in time to catch the flight with about 2 mins to spare. I left at 6.15pm (from Lower parel).. my flight was at 8.35pm!! I was at BKC (more than 3/4th distance) by 6.45pm... and then all havoc broke loose! A colleague was trying to drop me to the airport. We missed the airport turn and went over the flyover (this after negotiating all traffic and at 7.45pm)... and then we took some shortcuts, rode like Bond.. and zipped our way through to reach the airport with 5 mins to spare - only to realise we had missed the Indian Airlines departure terminal which is a separate terminal. And the only way to get there is to get out of the airport, take a full U turn and re-enter the airport!!!
The airport officials I must admit were so sweet - they bundled me into this shuttle which goes to the IA departure - the coach people were at first reluctant as they thought the check in time was well past - But then when they realised we had 5 mins .. they broke all the rules (literally speaking) in the world to get me there in 3 mins!!!
I thanked them with all my heart!!!:) I dont think this would be possible in any country but India!!!!
And I made it - actually I was the second last person to board the flight!!! Phew!!
Goodnight!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Oh no, not you Jimmy!! :(
This post is for those of you who watch masterchef australia, star world!!
I have been following this show right from day 1. I love the creativity that these people display - and these are not proper chef... they are amateur cooks.. though if you see what they cook.. you would never be able to figure that out if you did not know it already. They help each other out - And thats another thing I like about the contestants.. they are not fiercely competitive in the sense of trying to bring each other down.. they focus on their skills!!!
And I love the judges - they do not kick, scream, throw plates (except once, and that too when they liked it), throw food etc etc.. they are positive and have tons of energy. When they say its disappointing, I am sure everyone feels it!!
So one of the contestants was Jimmy - he is an Indian and actually was doing very well on the show. Why did I like him - besides the fact that hes an Indian, he was always ever smiling not matter what!!
I will miss him on the show :((
I have been following this show right from day 1. I love the creativity that these people display - and these are not proper chef... they are amateur cooks.. though if you see what they cook.. you would never be able to figure that out if you did not know it already. They help each other out - And thats another thing I like about the contestants.. they are not fiercely competitive in the sense of trying to bring each other down.. they focus on their skills!!!
And I love the judges - they do not kick, scream, throw plates (except once, and that too when they liked it), throw food etc etc.. they are positive and have tons of energy. When they say its disappointing, I am sure everyone feels it!!
So one of the contestants was Jimmy - he is an Indian and actually was doing very well on the show. Why did I like him - besides the fact that hes an Indian, he was always ever smiling not matter what!!
I will miss him on the show :((
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
We are what we eat
And if that is the case.. I dont know what to call myself!!!!
Today I had : Pasta, chips, chicken curry, 1 roti, fried rice, beef fry, chole (2 types), rajma, beetroot, veg curry, fried karela, tapioca, bhindi. And then coffee rum pudding(i think), one slice of a cake..
And then in the evening one more slice of biscuit cake.. another plate of pasta..
No wonder I felt so stuffed.
It was pot luck today and everyone at work got something.. my contribution was the chips! Unfortunately I missed another chicken curry,fish and dal! I just couldnt eat anymore!!!
So I had a plan to skip dinner... but skip I didnt!! I made dosa and chutney!!! This pot luck is not good for my paunch :(
Today I had : Pasta, chips, chicken curry, 1 roti, fried rice, beef fry, chole (2 types), rajma, beetroot, veg curry, fried karela, tapioca, bhindi. And then coffee rum pudding(i think), one slice of a cake..
And then in the evening one more slice of biscuit cake.. another plate of pasta..
No wonder I felt so stuffed.
It was pot luck today and everyone at work got something.. my contribution was the chips! Unfortunately I missed another chicken curry,fish and dal! I just couldnt eat anymore!!!
So I had a plan to skip dinner... but skip I didnt!! I made dosa and chutney!!! This pot luck is not good for my paunch :(
Monday, October 11, 2010
There can only be one : AB
There is and only one superstar.. for me... another A!!! Its his birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And what better than to dedicate a post to him.
For those of you who do not get it, I am talking about Amitabh Bachchan... swoon swoon swooooooooooooooonn...
Its his 68th birthday today!!! And he is still going strong.. he is my favourite actor.. I think one of the first movies I ever watched.. that i remember .. would be an AB movie for sure..
Can anyone ever forget.. Vijay of Sholay.. or Vijay of deewar.. the original don.. AB in Shakti (I still cannot forget the scene where he is clad in black and chasing the villian at the airport).. or in Satte pe satta.. amar akbar anthony.. majboor.. naseeb.. shan.. do aur do panch.. mr natwarlal (the song, mere paas aao mere doston.. I love it).. khoon paseena, hera pheri, kabhie kabhie, coolie, mard, lawaris, dostana,parwarish.. phew...god, the list is endless!!!!!!!
Is it any wonder why we dont have a super star like Amitabh.. not in the near offing!!!
And as I am watching KBC on TV.. the same thought just gets reiterated.. he is so humble.. he is just brilliant with people.. KBC brings out the best in him.. and it is a real pleasure to watch him host it!!!!! He is just super with people.. people gush all over him.. and he makes everyone feel special!!!!
And as I am typing this, everyone in the audience is singing Happy Birthday to him!!! How sweet..
I am one of those lucky people on the face of this planet who have had the opportunity to meet him!! It is the highlight of my life... my mom's side of the family which is completely into Hindi movies actually congratulated me on being the only one in the family to have shaken hands with him!!!! Ah well..
Yes, that is my absolutely favourite memory.
For those of you who do not get it, I am talking about Amitabh Bachchan... swoon swoon swooooooooooooooonn...
Its his 68th birthday today!!! And he is still going strong.. he is my favourite actor.. I think one of the first movies I ever watched.. that i remember .. would be an AB movie for sure..
Can anyone ever forget.. Vijay of Sholay.. or Vijay of deewar.. the original don.. AB in Shakti (I still cannot forget the scene where he is clad in black and chasing the villian at the airport).. or in Satte pe satta.. amar akbar anthony.. majboor.. naseeb.. shan.. do aur do panch.. mr natwarlal (the song, mere paas aao mere doston.. I love it).. khoon paseena, hera pheri, kabhie kabhie, coolie, mard, lawaris, dostana,parwarish.. phew...god, the list is endless!!!!!!!
Is it any wonder why we dont have a super star like Amitabh.. not in the near offing!!!
And as I am watching KBC on TV.. the same thought just gets reiterated.. he is so humble.. he is just brilliant with people.. KBC brings out the best in him.. and it is a real pleasure to watch him host it!!!!! He is just super with people.. people gush all over him.. and he makes everyone feel special!!!!
And as I am typing this, everyone in the audience is singing Happy Birthday to him!!! How sweet..
I am one of those lucky people on the face of this planet who have had the opportunity to meet him!! It is the highlight of my life... my mom's side of the family which is completely into Hindi movies actually congratulated me on being the only one in the family to have shaken hands with him!!!! Ah well..
Yes, that is my absolutely favourite memory.
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