Life !

26/11 - A year gone by. Little has changed since then. People have moved on. Govt. is where it was. Same people have been elected back to power and those who'd been removed post 26/11 are back in some position or the other.

Kasab still thrives. Justice delayed is justice denied. But then this is common place in largest democracy of the world.

The elite who raised their voices have moved on since then, with some new concerns to voice for.

However today we'll all mourn. This is our claim to fame! Our claim to having a parallel/equivalent 9/11 - 26/11!

We'll remember this date and celebrate/mourn (depends). Forever.

We've so many of these dates now.. 3rd December, 93 riots, Parliamentary attacks in Dec, train blasts, the incessant rains and now 26/11.

We have anniversaries associated - we remember the date, the martyrs, the victims, the govt's inefficiencies. Media flashes all these and more. After all it is the question of TRPs. And then, we move on.

Fasttrack. Move on.

Priya's marriage was on Sunday. Joyous occasion. And she looked fab as always!

After nearly 10 months visited Mumbai. Got a good taste of the changes, humidity and the vibrant nature of the city, yet again :)

Met school friends at Priya's marriage. Some after 12 yrs!

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Visited Ketaki and her son Athaan. Fall short of words to express my joy at seeing them.

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Saw Love Aaj Kal again. And enjoyed it all over again!

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Had a horrid time traveling. High time I exercised probably.

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... And yet sometimes, somethings are just beyond reach, or so I feel. Time will tell.

Long long time ago, there was a movie "Andaz apna apna" which garnered rave reviews for being a spontaneous and funny comedy movie. Boasting a strong star cast it should've been a runaway hit. But that didn't happen. Though years after then, the movie has been a huge hit with young and old alike!

And then after, what feels like eons, comes the next offering from the director of AAA, R Santhoshi, - Azab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. After seeing all slapstick comedies from DD and just one decent movie from Priyadarshan, this one is a charm.

There is not a single line of movie that will remotely embarrass you or give you guilty laugh! The complete movie is innocence personified, silly yet sweet jokes and laughs. Though some moments are a deja vu, it still engages you through. Barring the Priyadarshan style fight sequence, everything is enjoyable.

It is definitely a good one time watch. You'll come out feeling good. Ranbir Kapoor is awesome or as my colleague put it, "it's in his face!! the look is meant for comedies". Katrina doesn't have to do much, as always. And yet she makes her presence felt (as always!).

The movie belongs to the director! The sets locales etc aren't that great and yet the movie leaves an impression, keeps you hooked just because of his direction. The side-kicks aren't much, it is the lead actor alone who keeps you engaged and ofcourse the situations.

Definitely a one-time watch! Go-watch it, enjoy!

picked up these thoughts from someone else's blog

1) If you've never missed the bus, you are wasting too much time at the bus stop.

2) If you've never missed a paper deadline, then you are doing too much evaluation.

3) If you've never regretted what you said, you are not speaking what you wanna say enough.

Tendulkar completes 20 years of cricket tomorrow! And seems like he has another couple of years left in him. And what with a lackluster performing team that we have currently, he might just be there for another decade!

In an interview, Tendulkar said he is an Indian first and then a Maharashtrian and that Mumbai belongs to India. He has definitely risen in stature for me!

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The Aus vs India series was a very engaging one and it is unfortunate that it had to swing the other way!

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Has been such a controversial, interesting, media catchy week. Our assembly turned into a 'khusti ka akhada', and our politicians wrestled it out. Neither party is of great interest to me. But they provided the media, supporters, analysts, critics, twiterrati, glitterati and who's who a chance to voice their opinion. Formed a great lunch time topic too.

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Someone twittered: There's a sad irony in language being used to exclude (excommunicate) rather than include (communicate).

How true! Language is finally just the "handle" to communication. Giving it undue importance, is stupidity in the age of globalization.

That Mr. Nephew T himself couldn't avoid 23 English words in his 'only' Marathi interview with the news anchor (who prattled on in English) proves the point. He used those 23 eng words as he wanted to continue communicating and not stop for the loss of words, isn't it?

I agree one should know the language of state et al. But why is it that we have no qualms about speaking in English but hold the national language with so much grudge. And finally it is a choice what I want to learn and speak. Aren't we living in one of the largest democratic countries?

Finally it is not about the language or people. It was the south some 40 yrs back, and today it is the north. It is all political and sensing what appeals to the directionless masses, the most.

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If pride for one's own culture, language et al, instills so much hatred and prejudice against others, I better not have pride at all for my own!

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I've been reading "More Salt than Pepper" by Karan Thappar. Very good so far. I must say I like his writing more than any other middles writer. VN Kakkar was the first middles writer's book I read. Boxwala was next. But definitely KT is more engaging. More on this, after I finish.

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Cyclone was to hit Mumbai and as always IMD prediction went wrong. But the rains and winds that lashed Pune were much more than you expect in this city! Unfortunately it is never too much to get a holiday!

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Twitter no longer excites, facebook and orkut have lost its charm. Next is what?

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I've not seen a movie post Kaminey (atleast don't remember watching any). Gosh, could it have been so long!! I want to watch a movie sooooon!

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My team members celebrated Vishal & my birthday last week. My ex team members also joined in. I was very glad to meet all of them.

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What next?

I used to play chess (people who know me, won't believe this!) and I thought I was quite a decent player (ofcourse I would think so. My opponents consisted of people who knew lesser than me, then)

So I usually won.

Interestingly, all that I knew was the type of piece and the move it could make. Ofcourse I also knew about black and white pieces and the other small stuff n rules.

I only played defense. Don't ask which kind of defense. I wouldn't know. I only waited for the other person to make the wrong move, and play it safe until then. Was never the aggressive kind. I could wait for minutes (if a game went into hours, there was no chance it would be allowed by the spectators! When will they get a chance to rule the board?) for the opponent to make a wrong move and then pounce. And I did it pretty well.

And then Sharan got better than me. Ofcourse, how long would he be the second best to someone, who anyway knew very little. And I didn't really do much to give him a tough fight. I just didn't hone my skills. And eventually stopped playing. I doubt whether I even remember all the pieces now! How time changes.

I don't think I'll go back to learning again though, as I find chess to be the game for the patient.

And as I age, the wiser me thinks.. Life is a game of chess.

Read 2 states by Chetan Bhagat. This one has to be one of his better books unto date. The characterizations are awesome. He has detailed out the Chennai and Punjabi families so well, that you almost feel like you are meeting them live! Five Point someone was good, but this is definitely better.

Also read 3 mistakes of my life. Isn't as good as either the 1st or the 4th book though.

What really stands out in both the books (3 and 4th) is the call for unity, oneness and harmony. Without too much harping or sensationalizing any single topic there is the feather touch to these issues that our country faces. Doesn't glamorize or support one above the other. There is equal balance to the 2 sides of the story (be it on communalism/secularism, the states divide, rich n poor, educated vs uneducated). The message is clear. The last book shows that his writing has improved a good deal. I hope he takes it ahead from here.

Partly read "Reluctant Fundamentalist" by the Pakistani author Hamid. Couldn't complete it though. An interesting read and hope to complete it some day. It is on how the 9/11 incident affects the protagonist's life who is a Pakistani.

Also reading "The Painted House" by John Grisham. More on it, once I'm done.

Visited the garden city of India. Cousin's marriage was the occasion. Marriage and all the allied functions went off very well. Had a gala time except when I was wearing a sari!

Akhi's marriage:
The reception, the day before kick started with all Mayarpadis in different avataars - Gujjus, Keralites, Ravana, Bheema, politicians, Gandhi, Kasturba, witch, clown, scare-crow, Arab, Egyptian, tattoo lady, superman, brahma, rajasthani - you name it and we had him/her/it. Akhi, my cousin must have got a surprise (shock?) of his life. Nevertheless we were given a warm welcome inside. Kavya my cousin Shwetha's daughter started crying seeing me as a witch! No amount of cajoling could get her to be pally with me after that! Following day was the traditional marriage. Me in a sari had a tough time. Though at the end, I had managed the sari pretty well :)

Blore city:
For the first time of my numerous visits, I found Bangalore to be beautiful. Maybe aging symptoms but truly, I found the roads to be clean and wide. The convenience stores all around, the malls, temples and most importantly flowers!

Being such a big city, Bangalore still has so many trees and flowers all around. It has a really soothing effect. The temples all around the city are beautiful too. Probably I had not traveled by car, as much as I did in this visit, which contributed to the feel good factor. (Traveling by bus? Bombay beats all cities hands down).
Another aspect was the cleanliness in Bangalore. The icing on the cake was the railway stn. Of all the stations I visited this is definitely the cleanest. The tracks too! So much so, that I couldn't bring myself to throw even a grape seed!! I put it in my pocket to be thrown later. Did I see only the good places? Only a Banglorian can clarify! Before you think I am totally in awe of Bangalore - it is second best only to Bombay - which is the best :)

Saw several software companies around, courtesy all my family members who showed me. But the best has to be Yahoo. Seeing Shri's workplace, even from outside, made me feel nice.

Visited Ghati Subramanya temple. Far off from the city but nice and has its charm.

As I sign off, hope I get to visit Kukke Subramanya soooon!

26th happened to be my birthday and what better way to celebrate than going places! I hope this year turns out to as fun filled as the day itself.

Started off with a trip to Talakkad. This place has the Panchalinga temples. The history of the temples is interesting and with a guide, it is even more enlightening. The finely grained sand all over, makes walking around a fun-filled experience.

Followed this up with Barachukki falls. This place is a must visit for all water fall lovers. The way down is steep and has okayish steps to guide. Though it takes not more than 10 mins down and say 15 mins upward, it can be tiring if you are not fit enough or aged (like my mom). The waterfalls are milky white and beautiful. They fall from a great height and seem overwhelming! While at the bottom, there are harigol (round boats), which can be hired. The harigol owner rows you right over to the foot of the waterfalls. The water sprinkling all over you is a beautiful experience, which is second to none. He also twirled the boat and left it. The boat circled round and round, making it a heady experience with water being sprinkled - as if from the showers of heaven! Dad and I just didnt want to get off it. Truly exciting.

There is a small but strong stream, across which there is another waterfall. However my dad didn't cross over and didn't allow me either; so had to give that one a miss. I'm already looking forward to go there again!

The way up was a good and short trek (if I may call so). On reaching the top, I saw the sign which read "Dangerous to go down and near the waterfalls... blah blah". Hmm, good I didnt read it before. It was such a harmless and beautiful way down!

Next stop was Shivasamudra. This place too has beautiful gigantic waterfalls. However you can't go below. So it was a quick stop for not more than 10 mins.

Next up was Somanathpura. The Hoysala styled temple was awesome. I'm not so much into old architectures, but this one awed me! Really beautiful and very well kept.

There was a Narsimha temple some kms away amidst paddy fields. The locale was lovely and Kavery river streams flowed by making the place endearing.

Next on, we went to NIE, where Narayan Murthy studied. So also my cousin, Keshavaram. Picked Keshu and went to the palace again. This time to Varah Swamy temple. The temple (as all the temples in the south) is beautiful. The palace by night with all the lights on, is a sight to behold. Unfortunately the lack of good camera (except all the mobile cams), did me in.

Topped it off with a birthday dinner with Keshu and my parents.

Mysore - the beautiful city with so much to see around. All are "once-watch" as they say in the movie lingo.

Chamundi betta - The temple on the Chamundi betta is beautiful. Though it took us 1.5 hrs to get the darshan, it was worth it. Seeing God after a long wait always brings a sense of calmness (.. in most cases).

Nandi - on the way down from the betta, was huge and nice.

Saw Lalita Mahal and Karanje lake ( i hope I got the spelling right) from outside.

Next stop was the Palace - beautiful. Paintings by Ravi Verma were a treat. The old palace wasn't that cool. However the new one was beautiful. The "nellikaay" (avala in Hindi, "Indian gooseberry" is the English name) with masala sprinkled on it was awesome to eat and I munched on it all along the palace trip.

Next stop was the Mysore zoo, which sprawls a huge area and is a treat for the animal lovers. I saw a tiger, in the trench laid out for it, having its afternoon siesta. The different birds (I forget the names), were so beautiful and colorful. A white tiger lay in its cage looking majestic. The last I saw a white tiger was when I was a 5 year old, at Delhi zoo. The elephants both Indian and African cheetah, leopard, lions, bisons, the monkey family - gorilla, orangutan etc all looked so lively!

We had lunch at some place, not really good enough to mention; and I don't remember the name either!

Next was Srirangpatnam - the summer palace of Tipu was beautiful. There is a portrait of Tipu at the age of 35. After seeing Sanjay Khan as Tipu, this portrait was a disappointment for me. He looked pretty dark and not even remotely like the "tiger of Mysore" as one would imagine! The flower garden facing the palace is very beautiful and well kept.

The samadhi (the tomb of Tipu Sultan) also had a nice garden albeit not as cool as the one at the summer palace.

Next was the Vishnu temple, which was archaic and beautiful. Just next to it was a Narsimha temple, which was really beautiful.

Next we went to Rangathitu. We were late for the boat ride. However caught a few really beautiful birds all over. Crocodiles had come up at the lake and they look all set for a sumptuous dinner just if someone dropped "plonk" into the water!

Our next stop was the KRS. The enchanting fountains and the beautiful garden makes this place very inviting and beautiful. The only mood-spoiler is the crowd which had hit KRS in large numbers owing to the weekend.
At around 7 there is a musical fountain show. And the songs to which the fountain jiggled and danced were "colorful" to say the least - Babuji jara dheere chalo, Gupt Gupt and another Daler Mehndi number. The last was that of "Saare Jahan se acha..." but people had started dispersing by then..

Our final destination for the day was Mysore Infy campus - which is a total eye-candy.

And then we were back to hotel Paradise at Yadavagiri.

Train journeys have always been interesting and fascinating. You meet people of such varied culture and diversity that it can put you off or enlighten depending on who you meet.

Since general and 3 tier tickets weren't available, I booked 2-tier AC tickets. And was eagerly waiting for the train travel. My previous travels by AC has been worry free and interesting. Well fate was waiting for me to be proved wrong. What awaited me was 27 hrs of varied entertainment!

First, train was at 4:15 a.m.! We hardly slept the night before. Reached on time and thankfully the train was on time. Dad and my seats were empty; however there was someone sleeping on mom's seat. The person below him woke him up, said something like "Pune aaya" and hurried away. The fellow woke up and refused to budge citing that it was his place. After much cajoling he showed his ticket as proof, which showed that it was a WL. I argued that ours was confirmed. However he said TC had confirmed his ticket. Dad and I went out to check the list put up. And while we were doing that and ascertaining our seats, the fellow came running to us saying he was to get down at Pune! And he didn't realise while he was arguing with us! He asked dad to help him with the luggage! Mom was pretty sour following the incident. However all's well that ends well.

I just couldn't fall asleep and so read 2 states by Chetan Bhagat. Given the cool AC environment and nothing better to do, I completed it in a little over 4.5 hrs, much to my satisfaction ;-)

Much to my disappointment, my dad spent his time outside, sitting on the steps by the door! He was not very happy with the closed windows of the AC train and combined with the fact that the people around were too quiet, he got bored and found the doors more welcoming.

A little ahead, when we reached Hubli, there was this couple and old lady who got into the train. They didn't have tickets and yet they got into our compartment claiming that TC was going to provide them with seats. My dad, the eternal Dayaavan, gave up 2 of our 3 seats, due to which both us sat in the upper berths. If that was not enough those people took up even our neighbour's seat, who was gracious not to complain. Finally when the TC arrived they said they didn't have enough money to pay for 3 AC 2 tier seats. When the TC said would they be willing to take on 3 AC 3 tier seats they agreed. However when the TC arrived later after looking out for 3 tier seats, they tried bribing the TC to get 3 seats for a lesser price. So much for all the generosity showed by my dad and the TC! Finally the TC took them to general compartment!

Meanwhile, I started reading "the Painted house" by John Grisham. Interesting read.

That night, I slept well. Next day, we were in Mysore.

Wasn't very different when I traveled from Bangalore-Pune in general class. My eternal Dayavaan dad did his bit again too!

Going by the number of ticketless travelers, any long distance traveling by train can be not so comfy-be it general class or AC!

.. there are several things that come to my mind.

My happiness, disappointments, good and not so good moments, the memorable and not-so-memorable moments, travels, fun and life. Life in general.

Happy moments are here to stay, to be relived.

But the not-so-happy ones clutter your mind. Some moments are not happy or sad, but you are always left with a question as to why it happened. And though you might have theories and postulates which proves or disproves what happened, there is no real answer. Sometimes you are caught in situations where words are put in your mouth for some convenience of the other. You are left denying, but no one believes and the world seems against you. Sometimes the entire world conspires against you, so that things don't work out (yes, just the opposite of Coelho), you are left bruised and bleeding. You don't get what you deserved, you lose what was rightfully yours.

And yet the world moves on.

A ray of hope and you cling to it. Signs of happiness and you try to grab it. Glimmer of better days, and you longingly wait .. wait for things to be better. You hope all the days of sadness, all days of losing, all the unlucky days will be over soon. Things will be better soon! :)

Nothing is so simple though.

You've to take efforts for things to be better for yourself. Don't hope, but work towards that something better. Don't clutter your mind with the failures, those unhappy days, those days when no one understood you. But keep yourself busy with what can be improved upon, what can be done, what can be achieved.

Life couldn't be so tough on you, when you are though. What say?

***

Ok, enough of my philosophies :) Am all set, charged for tomorrow. Office beckons! What with yet another 3 days of all the nothing that I've done, work seems so much interesting! Gosh, I really seem to squander my time!

Time and tide wait for none!

The month of October has been very special to me since my childhood days. Birthdays, festivals, sweets, holidays, shopping - all adorn the month and make it uber cool.

The month kick starts with a holiday for Gandhiji's birthday followed by my dad's birthday. And then there are so many of my friends' who celebrate their birthdays in Oct. So it is a month of chocolates!

In school, it was exceedingly special due to the long break for Diwali that we got. 3 weeks right after the semester exams was the best thing one could get! The break would start off with shopping. Shopping for dresses, diyas, rangoli stuff, sweets and namkins, ingredients for making some more at home, crackers! While mom sweated out in the sweltering October heat making sweets and namkeen, we kids would have a jolly good time playing outside! With the exams behind us, we were free birds with no worries on earth :) A week before Diwali the cracker bursting would start off. The share brought for Diwali had to be spent daily in proportion to the significance of the day. All the building friends would bring out their share and burst the crackers. When I was very small, my dad would be my side watching me, helping me out with the crackers. As I grew up, Sharan and I would do the honors. Sharan would always end up finishing more crackers than planned for the day and then cry/ask for more. Dad would always give up and buy some more for us!

And then suddenly, both of us stopped bursting crackers. We lost interest.

But not so in case of sweets and namkeen. I still love the sumptuous fare that is laid out for Diwali. All the folks in the building would distribute all the items that they've prepared to all. So there would be a lot of variety at home. That tradition follows and even here in Pune, we have a lot of exchange of sweets.

And then there was me- the Scorpion's birthday :) Sharan would always borrow money from mom, buy a gift without me knowing, meticulously gift wrap and surprise me. He would do this unfailingly each year, until something got into his head. These days, let alone gifts, even if he wishes me, it is a bonus!

Times have changed so much. We're talking about crackers being a nuisance due to the noise and sound pollution. Sweets and namkeen leads to us being out of shape and there are other hazardous effects like cholesterol, diabetes et al. Birthdays are just another day, we wish if we remember and it is really a fad these days to say "arre, I've a weak memory, I just can't remember dates!" as if we don't have enough gadgets and avenues that can remind us. And the holidays. From 3 weeks to 3 days. It is just one disappointing fact that I've not been able to come to terms with in so many years. Before you know, its over.

Another stark difference is the Diwali wishes. While I received smses from my team, friends wishing me a Happy Diwali, my dad received phone calls from family and friends! The technology effect vs human connect :) He would have felt alienated without those calls and I would've found it a total intrusion into my time, if I had so many people calling! Life changes over generations.. and how!

As I type this out, I can hear crackers all around me. No, I don't fret all the pollution. What's Diwali without crackers, though I know it causes much pollution. I've eaten so many sweets that it has already affected my digestion. But what's Diwali without indulging in sweets?! What's Diwali without splurging money! What's Diwali without new dresses? What's Diwali without lights?

Go, light that extra lamp, eat that extra sweet, burst atleast one innocuous cracker (and cleanup after that), buy all the goodies and enjoy! It is just this one festival, which cuts across all barriers and boundaries and unifies the country.. in celebration.

October times, though it will not be the same, lets make the most of it!

May this festival of lights
chime in the finest for you,
in all walks of life.
May it spread harmony and oneness,
in all those around you..

Happy Diwali to one and all!

Let your light shine!

I set out to write quite a few things and suddenly it is almost like someone has run the eraser on my memory! Aging symptoms? My colleague recently remarked that it is funny how senior people don't attempt to remember and understand and blame it on old age. "I like this habit of seniors who hide their mistakes behind the curtain of age", he said. True. I'm probably sleep walking through days! Can do with a little more alertness.

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It was dad's birthday yesterday. Had a mighty good time with him. We went to the temple followed by a property expo.

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Saw Batman Begins. A nice prequel to the Dark Knight, surely.

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There is so much of social/professional networking avenues. First it began with orkut. With scraps, testimonials and what not. Then people moved on to Facebook and with the number of invitations to keep up with, I was there too. While I was yet to figure out all that was there, invitations for LinkedIn started pouring in. And then there was twitter. Now I just hop from one to another and do nothing really except waste time :) What is the point of it all without conversations? Wasn't the whole purpose to get in touch and know?

***

It is raining very heavily in Karnataka, AP border. The plight of the people there is unbelievable. My parents who witnessed the cloud bursts and subsequent rains in Mumbai can relate to it and feel the impact, much more than I can. I was cosy in Pune. Not exactly cosy, I was trying to get in touch with dad, mom and sharan and I remember it was hellish to not get through anyone and when finally I got through mom, she was hysteric about water all set to enter the first floor of our building! And she hadn't been able to get in touch with dad or Sharan as well. So all 4 of us at different places, all waiting to hear from each other. Nothing could be worse. We survived the aftermath rather gracefully as living on the first floor has its advantages unlike that of the ground floor residents! God bless the people at the deluge hit areas.

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Didn't read a single book this weekend.

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It is amazing how we live on hope. On certain "signs" that appear so; though God alone knows whether it is so or just a coincidence. Nevertheless we sail. Sail in to the far deep ocean hoping to see some more such positive signs which will finally accumulate into what we are hoping for.

***

Bryan Adams almost knows how we mere mortals feel.
Reminisce those seemingly golden days.. though God knows how badly we wanted it to get over then..
Plead for forgiveness after we've done the damage
Want to live, live forever as the lively youngsters
Want to make each and every night memorable
The place where we want to be - the cloud number nine
Identity (crisis?); Here I am, this is me, there is no one on the earth I rather be
On a day like today (holiday :P), you never want to see the sun go down!!


And there is U2: I still haven't found what I'm looking for!

***

Progress. What is progress? Just 6 years back I detested reading Swaminomics. I found it difficult to understand the economics views that he meted out. And living in PG and having no TV and nothing better than devour the paper for current affairs, I got to reading Aiyer. And boy, I don't miss his column for anything. That's progress.

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For all the interested readers, here is a super duper blog: http://greatbong.net/. Goes by the name Random thoughts of the demented mind. Writes awesome. Do read and let me know what you think. If I can write one percent like him, I'm sure I will be a successful writer/journo!

***
Aah, I've written quite a few things now; though what I'd set out to write initially is still a blur. So here I am, this is me, signing off for the day.

I should get back to reading DDD now. Naah, the beauty sleep beckons.

***

Wake Up Sid screening was in trouble due to Mumbai being referred to Bombay all through the movie. But then obviously it didn't gel well with the MNS chief who is so protective of his Mumbai and Mumbai folks, you see.

So we had KJo going up and apologising to him and ofcourse he was pardoned on the condition that he redubs the movie. And did I mention the "don't repeat the mistake" admonishing that he received.

For me Bangalore is Bangalore, and so is Bombay.

Getting increasingly difficult to digest such misguided acts. Why not spend your energy in something more constructive, I want to screech out; but I can already see my well wishers stopping me from writing more here (just like the last week, when I was stopped from writing about the 24 English words used in an interview.)

Isn't democracy and freedom of speech, expression interesting?

Watched Revolutionary Road starring Kate Winslet and DiCaprio. I'm totally at a loss of words after seeing this one. The movie has a tragic ending. It is too realistic to swallow, perhaps.

A few good quotes
No one forgets the truth. They just get better at lying

You should value what you do.

***
Watched Bucket List starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Awesome movie. I'm not sure whether it is the theme or Freeman/Nicholson duo who pull it off so brilliantly. One way or the other, this is one happy and emotional ride to death. Death bites.

Some good quotes off the movie:
Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole says:
Hey, don't get me
wrong. I love being married.
Been there four times. Problem is
I love being single, too. Hard to
do them both at the same time.
God knows I tried.

Suffering from the after effects of chemo Edward says:
Somewhere, some lucky bastard's
having a heart attack right now.

Edward Cole on sky diving:
Surrender to the void. Acceptance.

Freeman as Carter says:
Sometimes you have to go a long distance out of your way to come back a short distance correctly.

Freeman in his last letter:
You are not everyone, but everyone is everyone.

Books, books, books..

Read a James Hadley Chase and a Perry Mason. As expected both the books were good - fast paced, exciting and a thrilling ride to the finish! And though the plot was complicated I yet managed to guess just who the culprits might be on both occasions :)

Read Paths of Glory only to realise at the end that it is infact a true story!

Movies..

Saw Dilli-6 on VCD. To my surprise I found the first half good; the second half marred by the ending. A very thoughtful movie of how we Indians really are; how we react to situations and issues related to religion and faith. If not for the last 15 mins hamming, I would've found the movie to be really good.

After seeing Fashion, I was Curious (yep, with a capital 'C') to know what was the purpose of it all. I mean so many designers coming up with totally unwearable stuff, so many models dieting to become pencil thin and showcase those weird pieces (can they be called outfits anyway?) , the media hype around it, the expensive put ups, the who's who of the glam world all up there to watch the walk!

What I wanted to really know was, from where does all the money get generated for such stuff?

Got the answer: http://www.highheelconfidential.com/

Yep, people do wear those pieces, so there is where the moolah rakes in from!

For those who are duds in fashion - did you know Jimmy Choo? No? - Aah! Me too didn't until 5 mins back :)

After a long hiatus (hehe, I know not that long, just 2 weeks), I am back to blogging. Work, illness and lethargy kept me away from movies, blogging and from myself as well!

But I've made progress. I'm already back to watching movies - saw Dilli-6. Reading a James Hadley Chase, right now. And workwise I did ok in the last 2 weeks, so glad.

There is so much to say; half of which I can't blog about. And then there is the other half about which I could go on and on; but the book beckons for now.

So long :)