Ouch ... this week has been excruciatingly painful ... Paris dreams went up in the air ... er ... ash ... and there are still signs that this may continue ... something tells me I am never gonna visit Iceland in my life :P
This was followed by me not being present for the Bachelor's party of one of my dear friends ... Sabhtarsha ... and today he enters wedlock ...
After irritating the hell out of each other for 9 years ... from FC to Persistent to AT ... it almost felt like I was wedded to him ... and I am hoping my wife does not read the last statement :P
Here's wishing my good old fat (I heard he has been gymming :P but I also heard he has not given up on Good Luck yet :P) friend a sweet married life ... have a good one mate ...
I hope Sabhtarsha is an even better husband than he is a friend ...
Cheers ... !!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Shylock Land ... !!
He is one of my all time favorite fictional characters ... for some reason I like the villains who have this aura about themselves and didnt Shylock have that? A mean guy who was mostly correct in expressing his views ... but not necessarily in the correct way ... and I am going to Shylock land for Easter ... along with another childhood-dream place ... Roma ...
Shylock happens to be the evil twist in one of the very few comic plays by Shakespeare called The Merchant of Venice ... a legendary play that takes me back to school everytime I remember it ...
We were spared the nuisance of Julius Caesar coz our batch was the first to start off with The Merchant of Venice after most of our senior batches went through that ordeal called Julius Caesar ... and we had Mr. Guzder to teach us Literature at school ... who better than Mr. Guzder I say :P
The Merchant of Venice is a play set in Venice and is a story about 2 friends ... Antonio and Bassanio ... where Antonio is a ship merchant while Bassanio is his spend thrift friend ... and Antonio always helps him out in all his endeavors ... Bassanio is in love with Portia who lives in Belmont ... Shylock is also a merchant but he is a Jew and his angst against non-Jews has been portrayed so amazingly ... Shylock and Antonio never get along ... Shylock has a beautiful daughter in Jessica who is in love with one of Antonio's close buddies Lorenzo ... and there is the clown Launcelot Gobbo ... all in all its a twisted plot with Shylock always trying to gain on Antonio in some way or the other ...
Bassanio needs some money from Antonio to go to Belmont and woo Portia ... Antonio's ships have still not returned and he is a bit short on cash so he decides to borrow money to help Bassanio ... and surprise surprise ... only Shylock is ready to lend him money in Venice ... but he has a shrewd condition if Antonio doesnt pay him the money on time ... he will cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body ... :P
The play can be divided into 2 parts ... the first part is all about introducing all characters and there is more of Antonio and Shylock ... but the 2nd part is more about Bassanio and Portia and how they come to Venice to help out Antonio ... Portia steals the show in the last quarter of the play ... but its a gripping play and makes you chuckle a lot ...
I remember that Biwi and I spent a lot of time discussing Venice for our honeymoon ... but since we got married in December ... we were a bit wary of the snow ...
But it looks like we are pretty close to realizing our dream ... we will be in Rome on April 1,4 and 5 while we will by roaming in the gondolas at Venice on April 2 and 3 ...
I hope we come across Shylock ... Bon Voyage ... Cheers ... !!
Shylock happens to be the evil twist in one of the very few comic plays by Shakespeare called The Merchant of Venice ... a legendary play that takes me back to school everytime I remember it ...
We were spared the nuisance of Julius Caesar coz our batch was the first to start off with The Merchant of Venice after most of our senior batches went through that ordeal called Julius Caesar ... and we had Mr. Guzder to teach us Literature at school ... who better than Mr. Guzder I say :P
The Merchant of Venice is a play set in Venice and is a story about 2 friends ... Antonio and Bassanio ... where Antonio is a ship merchant while Bassanio is his spend thrift friend ... and Antonio always helps him out in all his endeavors ... Bassanio is in love with Portia who lives in Belmont ... Shylock is also a merchant but he is a Jew and his angst against non-Jews has been portrayed so amazingly ... Shylock and Antonio never get along ... Shylock has a beautiful daughter in Jessica who is in love with one of Antonio's close buddies Lorenzo ... and there is the clown Launcelot Gobbo ... all in all its a twisted plot with Shylock always trying to gain on Antonio in some way or the other ...
Bassanio needs some money from Antonio to go to Belmont and woo Portia ... Antonio's ships have still not returned and he is a bit short on cash so he decides to borrow money to help Bassanio ... and surprise surprise ... only Shylock is ready to lend him money in Venice ... but he has a shrewd condition if Antonio doesnt pay him the money on time ... he will cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body ... :P
The play can be divided into 2 parts ... the first part is all about introducing all characters and there is more of Antonio and Shylock ... but the 2nd part is more about Bassanio and Portia and how they come to Venice to help out Antonio ... Portia steals the show in the last quarter of the play ... but its a gripping play and makes you chuckle a lot ...
I remember that Biwi and I spent a lot of time discussing Venice for our honeymoon ... but since we got married in December ... we were a bit wary of the snow ...
But it looks like we are pretty close to realizing our dream ... we will be in Rome on April 1,4 and 5 while we will by roaming in the gondolas at Venice on April 2 and 3 ...
I hope we come across Shylock ... Bon Voyage ... Cheers ... !!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Helsingfors ... !!
Well, thats the name of Helsinki in Swedish and I thought it is appropriate if I somehow used both Swedish and Finnish in some way :P
I had been to Helsinki last weekend to meet Biwi and throughout my flight I kept going back to that horrendous day in October when it seemed like every path I was taking had an invisible wall that I was banging against ... and who would have thought on that day that I would be meeting my beloved in Helsinki of all places ... but am I complaining? No way ... :)
The thing I like about Europe is that office hours are only till 4 pm which gives anyone ample leeway to plan something on a Friday evening. I boarded a train from Malmo to Copenhagen (since that's my closest international airport. Malmo has its own airport but it does not have too many good direct international connections) at around 5:30 pm. It takes around 20 minutes to reach Copenhagen airport (the train station is located at the airport called Kastrup Lufthavn) and I was at the airport at 6 pm ... still 2 hours away from my 8 pm flight ...
Copenhagen airport is quite huge (I have not been to too many airports to be honest) and I thought its the right time to explore the airport. And a person like me has to head straight to the liquor section, isnt it? Well yeah.
It took me around 40 minutes to check out all options and short listed a few that I will get to India in 2 months time. But I took some wine biscuits for Biwi and after paying in Euros, I received some Danish change. Man ... I was suddenly carrying Euros, Swedish Kronors, Danish Kronors and INR ... all at the same time ...
It was a 90 minute flight to Helsinki and Biwi had promised me that she will be at Terminal 1 at 2230 local time (Helsinki is an hour ahead of Copenhagen) but I did not find her when I reached. It was 2300 and there was till no sign of Biwi and I was starting to worry a bit ... coz I did not have a cell ... neither did she ... and there was no way to contact her if she doesnt turn up ...
But she finally came at 2315 and I was relieved at first and then extremely happy to meet my wife after 2 months ... I was so emotionally drenched ... thats what I call ... Moments ..
We boarded a bus that took us to Helsinki Central station (called Rautatientori) and its quite some distance from the airport. From there it was a 15 minute walk to Biwi's place ... and we had some planning to do for the next 2 days ...
Saturday morning and a bit of afternoon was consumed in making some food and it was early evening when we headed out ... along with Biwi's 2 colleagues ...
It was colder than Malmo the wind was making it worse ... but we went to The Rock Church first. I must say I have never seen a church like this in the sense that it does not look like a church from outside but once you are inside ... you feel like remaining inside ... its beautiful and has a arena atmosphere about it ... there is a gallery too and the view from the gallery is even more special ...
From there, we went to Zoological museum but that was already shut but we managed some pics ... and then we visited the Parliament house ... I couldnt believe that the President of Finland stays just down the road with zero security ... :P
Helsinki is quite picturesque ... the trams, the statues and small over-bridges make it very pleasing to look at ... Swedish is the second language in Finland and everyone knows both Finnish and Swedish since its part of basic education ...
We then went to The Cathedral ... this is the standout place in Helsinki for me ...
It reminded me so much about what I have read about St Peter's Basilica ... the statue of Alexander in the open space in front of the Cathedral gives you that great historic feeling ... if thats a valid phrase ;)
Unfortunately, there was a procession in place inside the Cathedral and we couldn't quite get inside ... we then roamed around in the streets which was magical ... a typical European evening ... there are people who come out on the street and play music ... just amazing ...
We checked out a few malls. Biwi and I also went off on a metro tour :P ... this was my first time in a metro train and its really something to behold ... Biwi also told me that the metro in Helsinki is the world's northernmost metro ... Kudos ... :P
We then headed back home ...
Sunday morning was also consumed by food and we headed out post 1 pm ... it was funny though ... day light saving had started and there were 2 huge tower clocks in the centre of the city which showed different times ... it was hilarious ... fortunately we had set our watches to the current time ...
We went back to The Cathedral and managed to get inside this time ... and it was even more prettier inside ... there is something about these churches in Europe that does not allow you come out again ... but we had to ... sadly ...
We checked out some more malls and managed to get some Euros for myself and my colleagues back in Malmo since our cards don't work in Sweden and Denmark coz Euro is not the default currency there ...
Back home ... I was eating away since I was not going to get any food till 11 pm coz my return flight was due at 2115 ... Biwi walked me till Rautatientori from where I was supposed to board the bus to the airport ... these are the times you hate being part of ... leaving your loved one after spending some magical moments ... but we are going to meet again and I am sure we are gonna have more fun ... with that I waved good-bye ... reached Copenhagen at 10 pm and then Malmo at 10:30 and was back at my room at 11 pm ...
And as I put up as my status message ... I need a unique scissor ... a scissor that cuts wings ... wings of TIME ... so that it never flies when I am with my loved one ...
Alas ...
Till the next fun trip ... Cheers ... !!
I had been to Helsinki last weekend to meet Biwi and throughout my flight I kept going back to that horrendous day in October when it seemed like every path I was taking had an invisible wall that I was banging against ... and who would have thought on that day that I would be meeting my beloved in Helsinki of all places ... but am I complaining? No way ... :)
The thing I like about Europe is that office hours are only till 4 pm which gives anyone ample leeway to plan something on a Friday evening. I boarded a train from Malmo to Copenhagen (since that's my closest international airport. Malmo has its own airport but it does not have too many good direct international connections) at around 5:30 pm. It takes around 20 minutes to reach Copenhagen airport (the train station is located at the airport called Kastrup Lufthavn) and I was at the airport at 6 pm ... still 2 hours away from my 8 pm flight ...
Copenhagen airport is quite huge (I have not been to too many airports to be honest) and I thought its the right time to explore the airport. And a person like me has to head straight to the liquor section, isnt it? Well yeah.
It took me around 40 minutes to check out all options and short listed a few that I will get to India in 2 months time. But I took some wine biscuits for Biwi and after paying in Euros, I received some Danish change. Man ... I was suddenly carrying Euros, Swedish Kronors, Danish Kronors and INR ... all at the same time ...
It was a 90 minute flight to Helsinki and Biwi had promised me that she will be at Terminal 1 at 2230 local time (Helsinki is an hour ahead of Copenhagen) but I did not find her when I reached. It was 2300 and there was till no sign of Biwi and I was starting to worry a bit ... coz I did not have a cell ... neither did she ... and there was no way to contact her if she doesnt turn up ...
But she finally came at 2315 and I was relieved at first and then extremely happy to meet my wife after 2 months ... I was so emotionally drenched ... thats what I call ... Moments ..
We boarded a bus that took us to Helsinki Central station (called Rautatientori) and its quite some distance from the airport. From there it was a 15 minute walk to Biwi's place ... and we had some planning to do for the next 2 days ...
Saturday morning and a bit of afternoon was consumed in making some food and it was early evening when we headed out ... along with Biwi's 2 colleagues ...
It was colder than Malmo the wind was making it worse ... but we went to The Rock Church first. I must say I have never seen a church like this in the sense that it does not look like a church from outside but once you are inside ... you feel like remaining inside ... its beautiful and has a arena atmosphere about it ... there is a gallery too and the view from the gallery is even more special ...
From there, we went to Zoological museum but that was already shut but we managed some pics ... and then we visited the Parliament house ... I couldnt believe that the President of Finland stays just down the road with zero security ... :P
Helsinki is quite picturesque ... the trams, the statues and small over-bridges make it very pleasing to look at ... Swedish is the second language in Finland and everyone knows both Finnish and Swedish since its part of basic education ...
We then went to The Cathedral ... this is the standout place in Helsinki for me ...
It reminded me so much about what I have read about St Peter's Basilica ... the statue of Alexander in the open space in front of the Cathedral gives you that great historic feeling ... if thats a valid phrase ;)
Unfortunately, there was a procession in place inside the Cathedral and we couldn't quite get inside ... we then roamed around in the streets which was magical ... a typical European evening ... there are people who come out on the street and play music ... just amazing ...
We checked out a few malls. Biwi and I also went off on a metro tour :P ... this was my first time in a metro train and its really something to behold ... Biwi also told me that the metro in Helsinki is the world's northernmost metro ... Kudos ... :P
We then headed back home ...
Sunday morning was also consumed by food and we headed out post 1 pm ... it was funny though ... day light saving had started and there were 2 huge tower clocks in the centre of the city which showed different times ... it was hilarious ... fortunately we had set our watches to the current time ...
We went back to The Cathedral and managed to get inside this time ... and it was even more prettier inside ... there is something about these churches in Europe that does not allow you come out again ... but we had to ... sadly ...
We checked out some more malls and managed to get some Euros for myself and my colleagues back in Malmo since our cards don't work in Sweden and Denmark coz Euro is not the default currency there ...
Back home ... I was eating away since I was not going to get any food till 11 pm coz my return flight was due at 2115 ... Biwi walked me till Rautatientori from where I was supposed to board the bus to the airport ... these are the times you hate being part of ... leaving your loved one after spending some magical moments ... but we are going to meet again and I am sure we are gonna have more fun ... with that I waved good-bye ... reached Copenhagen at 10 pm and then Malmo at 10:30 and was back at my room at 11 pm ...
And as I put up as my status message ... I need a unique scissor ... a scissor that cuts wings ... wings of TIME ... so that it never flies when I am with my loved one ...
Alas ...
Till the next fun trip ... Cheers ... !!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
A Regrettable First ... !!
Its my Dad's birthday today ... and its the first time I am not at home on either of my parents' birthday. Yes ... its a regrettable first ...
March is a festive month at home with both my parents celebrating their birthdays along with their anniversary ... and its the first time I will be away from my parents in March ...
Happy Birthday Daddy ...
And ... this may well be my shortest post ... since there is lot more to feel than write ...
I hope my absence hasn't dented the atmosphere in any way ... Enjoy Mummy and Daddy ...
This is one of my favorite family photos ... times when we did not have a lot but were much more happier ...
Cheers ... !!
March is a festive month at home with both my parents celebrating their birthdays along with their anniversary ... and its the first time I will be away from my parents in March ...
Happy Birthday Daddy ...
And ... this may well be my shortest post ... since there is lot more to feel than write ...
I hope my absence hasn't dented the atmosphere in any way ... Enjoy Mummy and Daddy ...
This is one of my favorite family photos ... times when we did not have a lot but were much more happier ...
Cheers ... !!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A Prayer Answered ... !!
It is that kind of a day when I dont know whether to feel happy or sad ... the undercurrent is definitely happy but I am sad that I am not in India.
Not that it is terribly bad news but I would have loved to be in India right now ... Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar froze time for around 210 minutes and I have not done so many Refreshes in my life on a web page ...
Sitting on the last bench of a so called Knowledge sharing session, I was hooked on to this match from the beginning ... that fact that Viru got out early on meant that we may have a pedestrian approach to the game ... but that was a mis-que on my part ...
SRT pulverised the Proteas into submission ... and bare in mind this was against one of the best bowling attacks in the world ... they had Steyn who has wrecked havoc in the Tests and the so called man-in-waiting Parnell ... couple that with Kallis who has a 200+ scalps in ODIs ... and the so called excellent death bowler Langelveldt ...
I am not at all ashamed that I didnt understand anything that was "transferred" to us today ... I think there were 22 overs left when he reached his 100 and I just hoped that 22 overs would be sufficient for him to complete the double ... so 13 years now ... the butchery of Saeed Anwar had haunted us ...
It was a pain to watch SRT go through all those near misses at Chennai, Hyderabad, Christchurch, Barbados ... but the man is a piece of genius ... 21 years and still going ... hats off sire ...
I would have loved to go out today to Camp or FC just to get the feel of the crowd and the atmosphere ... a good old fashioned Chaai and Bun Maska would have been just fine ... and lots of chatter about THE GOD ...
Well played sire once again and I am not gonna forgive you for playing another blinder on a working day ... hands high up in the air and bowing sire ...
Cheers ... !!
Not that it is terribly bad news but I would have loved to be in India right now ... Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar froze time for around 210 minutes and I have not done so many Refreshes in my life on a web page ...
Sitting on the last bench of a so called Knowledge sharing session, I was hooked on to this match from the beginning ... that fact that Viru got out early on meant that we may have a pedestrian approach to the game ... but that was a mis-que on my part ...
SRT pulverised the Proteas into submission ... and bare in mind this was against one of the best bowling attacks in the world ... they had Steyn who has wrecked havoc in the Tests and the so called man-in-waiting Parnell ... couple that with Kallis who has a 200+ scalps in ODIs ... and the so called excellent death bowler Langelveldt ...
I am not at all ashamed that I didnt understand anything that was "transferred" to us today ... I think there were 22 overs left when he reached his 100 and I just hoped that 22 overs would be sufficient for him to complete the double ... so 13 years now ... the butchery of Saeed Anwar had haunted us ...
It was a pain to watch SRT go through all those near misses at Chennai, Hyderabad, Christchurch, Barbados ... but the man is a piece of genius ... 21 years and still going ... hats off sire ...
I would have loved to go out today to Camp or FC just to get the feel of the crowd and the atmosphere ... a good old fashioned Chaai and Bun Maska would have been just fine ... and lots of chatter about THE GOD ...
Well played sire once again and I am not gonna forgive you for playing another blinder on a working day ... hands high up in the air and bowing sire ...
Cheers ... !!
Friday, February 05, 2010
What a Marketplace ... !!
If you are guessing that I am going to brag about something in Sweden ... you are wrong ...
This is about a movie that I experienced yesterday (Yes, I call it an experience). Its called Mandi. Its an old movie(1983) directed by the legendary Shyam Benegal. So whats it about? Why do I call it an experience and adorn it with exclamations?
Well, the story is very simplistic fundamentally but the way it has been woven ... it seems surreal ...
Its about a Kotha based in old town Hyderabad and its several inmates. This Kotha is run by the effervescent Paan-chewing Rukmini Bai (Shabana Azmi) who is like the godmother to all the prostitutes. Note that she is not the usual godmother but has this really whacky and comic way of dealing with situations. This is the highlight of Mandi. A sensitive topic is portrayed in a comic or lets say a very relieving manner. It reminded me of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron which is a landmark comedy movie which essentially deals with a sensitive topic ...
Rukmini Bai has an ensemble supporting cast in the form of prostitutes starting with the charming Zeenat (Smita Patil). Zeenat is a great singer and practices singing for hours per day. She is treated like a jewel by Rukmini Bai and she will go to any extent to maintain the virginity of Zeenat. The reason for this unfolds through out the movie and its very funny during the scenes in which Rukmini Bai runs helter-skelter preventing a suitor from sleeping with Zeenat ... Zeenat is also very childlike and Smita Patil has pulled it off like a piece of cake ... most other prostitutes are jealous of Zeenat but not in a grudging way ...
One of them is Baasanti (Neena Gupta) ... who is also a great singer and an equally potent dancer ... she always complaints to Rukmini Bai about why Zeenat gets to do Riyaaz before her and even for a longer duration ... she is also having an interesting interlude with the sleazy street photographer Ramgopal played so amazingly by Om Puri ... Ramgopal loves to click nude pics of the prostitutes and from interesting angles :P ... he has his way with the flirty Parveena but he is very fond of Baasanti ... and Baasanti would never give him any nude pics ...
Nadira ... played by the beautiful Soni Razdan is a foul mouthed wonder piece eternally egging on Rukmini Bai in all her endeavors ... Ila Arun is a delight to watch being pregnant through out the movie without ever concealing (in fact she does not know herself) the father's name ... :D ...
There is one other prostitute (or is she?) that is inducted into the Kotha ... she cant speak ... and is unaware about her duty when she first comes in ... her name is Fulmani and much of the movie revolves around Rukmini Bai illegally using a muted person to run her Kotha ...
There are some amazing characters supporting this main cast ... Harish Patel as the Hawaldaar who always dreams of sleeping with Zeenat and is thrown out innumerable times by Rukmini Bai ... a person who knows all the Dafaas of the law :P
Annu Kapoor as the expression-less doctor who keeps frequenting the Kotha to check all prostitutes with special attention to Ila Arun since she is pregnant ...
But one of my favorites is Tungrus (what name is that?) played brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah ... Tungrus is like the office boy of the Kotha doing petty jobs ... like picking up baggage, getting tea, running errands for Rukmini Bai ... and when the night descends, he likes to drink beer and abuse Rumini Bai for destroying the lives of women ... he hates Rukmini Bai's parrot coz he feels the parrot is a Chamcha ...
Being a story based in Hyderabad, its great to listen to the Hyderabadi Hindi especially from Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah ...
There is another angle to the movie ... that being Mr. Gupta played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda ... he is a richo annexing land after land to his riches ... and finally he lays his hands on the area where the Kotha is situated ... there are several dialogues between Gupta and Rukmini Bai about shifting them to a different location ... at first Rukmini Bai doesnt agree ...
The Womens Liberation group head, Shanti Devi, also comes by to speak ... this is one of the best scenes about how Rukmini Bai justifier her profession ... she calls herself and the other prostitutes Kalakaars ... but the way she does it is so special ...
Shanti Devi is also a member of the municipality which is headed by Saeed Jaffery who has a vested interest in the brothel ... I wont say what coz thats a suspense element of the movie ... and the municipal board votes in favor of chucking out Rukmini Bai from her current location to th outskirts ... Gupta promises Rukmini Bai that he will help her set up her Kotha in the outskirts ... apparently Annu Kapoor is also a member of the municipality and the only one who votes against the municipality's decision :P
Gupta has a daughter to be married in Ratna Pathak Shah and Saeed Jaffery has a son Sushil whom he wants to marry to Ratna's character to settle debts with Gupta ... Gupta invites Rukmin Bai to his place to provide some entertainment during the first meeting between Sushil and Ratna ... Rukmini Bai comes with Zeenat and Baasanti ...
Sushil is smitten by Zeenat's beauty and her singing and falls for her immediately and keeps pursuing her for the remainder of the movie ... there is a very funny scene where Ramgopal, Hawaldar and Sushil end up at Zeenat's room at one time and Rukmini Bai shows up to chuck all of them out :P
When Rukmini Bai moves to the outskirts and starts setting up her Kotha there, Tungrus does not accompany them since he is very fond of the old place ... he drinks and abuses everyone and cries ... everyone at the Kotha miss Tungrus so much coz they feel handicapped by his absence ... and finally Tungrus comes walking along to the new place ... just amazingly shot ...
Rukmini also asks the prostitutes to do stuff that Tungrus used to do like the household chores but they are quick to snap "Hamaara kaam jo hai wohi karenge" :P
The best scene for me is ... between Rukmini Bai and Amrish Puri's character ... he plays a Jogi Baba and finds himself at a place where Rukmini Bai is venting her frustration to herself that no one is listening to her like before ... this scene is so funny that it will bring tears to your eyes ... watch it yourself ... Amrish Puri is great in a 2-minute role ...
Ramgopal and Baasanti also hit it off ... with Baasanti agreeing for nude pics ... its something like "Tu Parveena ki nangi photo kheechta hai ... meri kyu nahi kheechta?" :D and Ramgopal promises her that he will help her to become an actress in Bambai ... he has contacts you see :P
At the time of the delivery of Ila Arun's baby ... Rukmini Bai is coaxing her to deliver a baby girl ... coz then the girl would inherit her mother's job ... it is a very stupid thing to think about but it has been done in a very comic way ... Rukmini Bai is happier than the mother when Ila Arun delivers a baby girl ...
The essence of the movie is the camaraderie between all inmates of the Kotha and the amazing support cast ...
This is about a movie that I experienced yesterday (Yes, I call it an experience). Its called Mandi. Its an old movie(1983) directed by the legendary Shyam Benegal. So whats it about? Why do I call it an experience and adorn it with exclamations?
Well, the story is very simplistic fundamentally but the way it has been woven ... it seems surreal ...
Its about a Kotha based in old town Hyderabad and its several inmates. This Kotha is run by the effervescent Paan-chewing Rukmini Bai (Shabana Azmi) who is like the godmother to all the prostitutes. Note that she is not the usual godmother but has this really whacky and comic way of dealing with situations. This is the highlight of Mandi. A sensitive topic is portrayed in a comic or lets say a very relieving manner. It reminded me of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron which is a landmark comedy movie which essentially deals with a sensitive topic ...
Rukmini Bai has an ensemble supporting cast in the form of prostitutes starting with the charming Zeenat (Smita Patil). Zeenat is a great singer and practices singing for hours per day. She is treated like a jewel by Rukmini Bai and she will go to any extent to maintain the virginity of Zeenat. The reason for this unfolds through out the movie and its very funny during the scenes in which Rukmini Bai runs helter-skelter preventing a suitor from sleeping with Zeenat ... Zeenat is also very childlike and Smita Patil has pulled it off like a piece of cake ... most other prostitutes are jealous of Zeenat but not in a grudging way ...
One of them is Baasanti (Neena Gupta) ... who is also a great singer and an equally potent dancer ... she always complaints to Rukmini Bai about why Zeenat gets to do Riyaaz before her and even for a longer duration ... she is also having an interesting interlude with the sleazy street photographer Ramgopal played so amazingly by Om Puri ... Ramgopal loves to click nude pics of the prostitutes and from interesting angles :P ... he has his way with the flirty Parveena but he is very fond of Baasanti ... and Baasanti would never give him any nude pics ...
Nadira ... played by the beautiful Soni Razdan is a foul mouthed wonder piece eternally egging on Rukmini Bai in all her endeavors ... Ila Arun is a delight to watch being pregnant through out the movie without ever concealing (in fact she does not know herself) the father's name ... :D ...
There is one other prostitute (or is she?) that is inducted into the Kotha ... she cant speak ... and is unaware about her duty when she first comes in ... her name is Fulmani and much of the movie revolves around Rukmini Bai illegally using a muted person to run her Kotha ...
There are some amazing characters supporting this main cast ... Harish Patel as the Hawaldaar who always dreams of sleeping with Zeenat and is thrown out innumerable times by Rukmini Bai ... a person who knows all the Dafaas of the law :P
Annu Kapoor as the expression-less doctor who keeps frequenting the Kotha to check all prostitutes with special attention to Ila Arun since she is pregnant ...
But one of my favorites is Tungrus (what name is that?) played brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah ... Tungrus is like the office boy of the Kotha doing petty jobs ... like picking up baggage, getting tea, running errands for Rukmini Bai ... and when the night descends, he likes to drink beer and abuse Rumini Bai for destroying the lives of women ... he hates Rukmini Bai's parrot coz he feels the parrot is a Chamcha ...
Being a story based in Hyderabad, its great to listen to the Hyderabadi Hindi especially from Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah ...
There is another angle to the movie ... that being Mr. Gupta played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda ... he is a richo annexing land after land to his riches ... and finally he lays his hands on the area where the Kotha is situated ... there are several dialogues between Gupta and Rukmini Bai about shifting them to a different location ... at first Rukmini Bai doesnt agree ...
The Womens Liberation group head, Shanti Devi, also comes by to speak ... this is one of the best scenes about how Rukmini Bai justifier her profession ... she calls herself and the other prostitutes Kalakaars ... but the way she does it is so special ...
Shanti Devi is also a member of the municipality which is headed by Saeed Jaffery who has a vested interest in the brothel ... I wont say what coz thats a suspense element of the movie ... and the municipal board votes in favor of chucking out Rukmini Bai from her current location to th outskirts ... Gupta promises Rukmini Bai that he will help her set up her Kotha in the outskirts ... apparently Annu Kapoor is also a member of the municipality and the only one who votes against the municipality's decision :P
Gupta has a daughter to be married in Ratna Pathak Shah and Saeed Jaffery has a son Sushil whom he wants to marry to Ratna's character to settle debts with Gupta ... Gupta invites Rukmin Bai to his place to provide some entertainment during the first meeting between Sushil and Ratna ... Rukmini Bai comes with Zeenat and Baasanti ...
Sushil is smitten by Zeenat's beauty and her singing and falls for her immediately and keeps pursuing her for the remainder of the movie ... there is a very funny scene where Ramgopal, Hawaldar and Sushil end up at Zeenat's room at one time and Rukmini Bai shows up to chuck all of them out :P
When Rukmini Bai moves to the outskirts and starts setting up her Kotha there, Tungrus does not accompany them since he is very fond of the old place ... he drinks and abuses everyone and cries ... everyone at the Kotha miss Tungrus so much coz they feel handicapped by his absence ... and finally Tungrus comes walking along to the new place ... just amazingly shot ...
Rukmini also asks the prostitutes to do stuff that Tungrus used to do like the household chores but they are quick to snap "Hamaara kaam jo hai wohi karenge" :P
The best scene for me is ... between Rukmini Bai and Amrish Puri's character ... he plays a Jogi Baba and finds himself at a place where Rukmini Bai is venting her frustration to herself that no one is listening to her like before ... this scene is so funny that it will bring tears to your eyes ... watch it yourself ... Amrish Puri is great in a 2-minute role ...
Ramgopal and Baasanti also hit it off ... with Baasanti agreeing for nude pics ... its something like "Tu Parveena ki nangi photo kheechta hai ... meri kyu nahi kheechta?" :D and Ramgopal promises her that he will help her to become an actress in Bambai ... he has contacts you see :P
At the time of the delivery of Ila Arun's baby ... Rukmini Bai is coaxing her to deliver a baby girl ... coz then the girl would inherit her mother's job ... it is a very stupid thing to think about but it has been done in a very comic way ... Rukmini Bai is happier than the mother when Ila Arun delivers a baby girl ...
The essence of the movie is the camaraderie between all inmates of the Kotha and the amazing support cast ...
There is Pankaj Kapoor and Satish Kaushik too in itsy-bitsy roles but they do impress you ...
The movie flows from the beginning ... hits top pace in between and has an equally twisted, emotional and comic climax ...
I would seriously recommend this movie to everyone who likes meaningful (and in a way meaningless :P) cinema ...
4.5 out of 5 ... go lay yourself :P
Cheers ... !!
I would seriously recommend this movie to everyone who likes meaningful (and in a way meaningless :P) cinema ...
4.5 out of 5 ... go lay yourself :P
Cheers ... !!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sverige musings ... !!
Ok ... Sverige stands for Sweden ...
Its been close to 2 weeks since I have been here and I thought its a good time to write about some of the stuff that I have observed over here.
The day I landed at Copenhagen (I know its in Denmark but it's a stone's throw from Malmo), the instructions (both written and oral) were so precise that I did not feel like a newbie. I didnt spend a lot of time for a train ticket from Copenhagen to Malmo. There were 3 different platforms, each catering to different regions. There was one dedicated platform for Malmo and there were lifts to take passengers to the platform from the airport. The ticketing system specified that there would be a discount if the number of people are more than 1. This was fruitful :P
Before every station, there were clear announcements as to which is the next station and the duration for which the train would halt at that station. This was very helpful since we had lots of baggage with us and it calmed us down a lot when we knew that Malmo is the last station and the train would stay there for close to 15 minutes.
The sunrise and sunset were some of the initial shocks. It was 5 pm when we reached Malmo and it was pitch dark. The sun doesnt rise till around 0830. So it was like going to office in the dark and coming back also in the dark.
The pedestrians have their way most of the time here. The vehicles would stop if they see anyone crossing or even when they feel that someone is approaching the zebra. So now I am used to walk right past the road. If I do the same in India ... I would be killed ... in a very bad way :P. People who are driving bring along lots of stuff with them for TP in case they have to stop if people are crossing. For example ... sandwiches, newspapers, etc.
There are also buttons at each crossing for pedestrians that speeds up the Green signal. Divine.
People here are very reserved and stick to their groups if they have one. Buses are twice our size and its pin drop silence inside. This is very weird for us Indians. We love to make friends with strangers. People dont like strangers saying Hi to their kids :(
There is a digital status board at each bus stop with route information and the due time for each bus. Additionally, there is an asterisk for each bus on this board which denotes that the bus is close by. And the bus will stop at the designated place and not an inch further or behind. There are buttons available to every passenger which can be used to inform the driver that you want to get down at the next stop. If there is no1 who presses this button and the driver finds that there is no1 who is waiting to board the bus either, then he will not stop.
Sweden is a child centric country and people value their families a lot. Its common to find people coming to office during odd hours like 3 am or 5 am and leave by noon to be with their families. Parents pick up and drop their kids to school everyday. Both parents are entitled to leaves when the baby is to be born. Both parents can work at 80% workload till the child is 8 years old. Both parents are entitled to sick leave if their kids are sick. Locals feel homesick in office ... :P
People love their weekends ... in the sense that they stay at home. The streets are deserted during weekends. Most of the stuff is automated ... but thats expected in this part of the world. People talk more about going to a different country during their free time rather than some place in their own country :P
The local currency is Kronor. One Euro is around 10 Kronors so that translates into 1 Kronor = 6.5 Rupees ... most of the grocery here is quite affordable ...
30 eggs are for 25 Kronors, Onions are 5 Kronors for a kg, Potatoes are 8 Kronors for a kg, Tomatoes are 4 Kronors for a kg, a Bread packet containing around 30 slices is for 10 Kronors, boneless Chicken is 75 Kronors for a kg, a lite of Milk costs 10 Kronors, a litre of cooking oil is for 17 Kronors, etc.
If you convert it to Indian currency, it may seem expensive but as a percentage of the salary it is quite affordable ...
Well ... thats most of what I have observed over here ... I am sure there is more to come ...
Cheers ... !!
Its been close to 2 weeks since I have been here and I thought its a good time to write about some of the stuff that I have observed over here.
The day I landed at Copenhagen (I know its in Denmark but it's a stone's throw from Malmo), the instructions (both written and oral) were so precise that I did not feel like a newbie. I didnt spend a lot of time for a train ticket from Copenhagen to Malmo. There were 3 different platforms, each catering to different regions. There was one dedicated platform for Malmo and there were lifts to take passengers to the platform from the airport. The ticketing system specified that there would be a discount if the number of people are more than 1. This was fruitful :P
Before every station, there were clear announcements as to which is the next station and the duration for which the train would halt at that station. This was very helpful since we had lots of baggage with us and it calmed us down a lot when we knew that Malmo is the last station and the train would stay there for close to 15 minutes.
The sunrise and sunset were some of the initial shocks. It was 5 pm when we reached Malmo and it was pitch dark. The sun doesnt rise till around 0830. So it was like going to office in the dark and coming back also in the dark.
The pedestrians have their way most of the time here. The vehicles would stop if they see anyone crossing or even when they feel that someone is approaching the zebra. So now I am used to walk right past the road. If I do the same in India ... I would be killed ... in a very bad way :P. People who are driving bring along lots of stuff with them for TP in case they have to stop if people are crossing. For example ... sandwiches, newspapers, etc.
There are also buttons at each crossing for pedestrians that speeds up the Green signal. Divine.
People here are very reserved and stick to their groups if they have one. Buses are twice our size and its pin drop silence inside. This is very weird for us Indians. We love to make friends with strangers. People dont like strangers saying Hi to their kids :(
There is a digital status board at each bus stop with route information and the due time for each bus. Additionally, there is an asterisk for each bus on this board which denotes that the bus is close by. And the bus will stop at the designated place and not an inch further or behind. There are buttons available to every passenger which can be used to inform the driver that you want to get down at the next stop. If there is no1 who presses this button and the driver finds that there is no1 who is waiting to board the bus either, then he will not stop.
Sweden is a child centric country and people value their families a lot. Its common to find people coming to office during odd hours like 3 am or 5 am and leave by noon to be with their families. Parents pick up and drop their kids to school everyday. Both parents are entitled to leaves when the baby is to be born. Both parents can work at 80% workload till the child is 8 years old. Both parents are entitled to sick leave if their kids are sick. Locals feel homesick in office ... :P
People love their weekends ... in the sense that they stay at home. The streets are deserted during weekends. Most of the stuff is automated ... but thats expected in this part of the world. People talk more about going to a different country during their free time rather than some place in their own country :P
The local currency is Kronor. One Euro is around 10 Kronors so that translates into 1 Kronor = 6.5 Rupees ... most of the grocery here is quite affordable ...
30 eggs are for 25 Kronors, Onions are 5 Kronors for a kg, Potatoes are 8 Kronors for a kg, Tomatoes are 4 Kronors for a kg, a Bread packet containing around 30 slices is for 10 Kronors, boneless Chicken is 75 Kronors for a kg, a lite of Milk costs 10 Kronors, a litre of cooking oil is for 17 Kronors, etc.
If you convert it to Indian currency, it may seem expensive but as a percentage of the salary it is quite affordable ...
Well ... thats most of what I have observed over here ... I am sure there is more to come ...
Cheers ... !!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Cards galore ... !!
Everything here works with the help of cards ...
I have less of cash and more of cards it seems in my wallet. I have my identity card and photo ID card from India. When I left India, I was given a Travel insurance card to cover my medical expenses, if any, from India to Sweden. I was also given a Citibank World Card for Euros which contained my allowances. As soon as I arrived at my hotel in Malmo, I was given the hotel card, with the help of which I can access various stuff in the hotel like washing machine, room, hotel entrance as well as lifts. Yes, you cant use the lift without a card. If you go inside and press the button of some floor, it wont work if you dont use your card. As Sabhtarsha would say ... Ajeeb hai yaar ... :P
On the first day of office, I was given the Tieto Sweden card to access stuff in the office here. The HR came up and gave me yet another card. It was the medical insurance card. Yesterday, I was the proud (??) owner of yet another card. The monthly bus card to roam around Malmo any number of times during one month.
Lagta hai patte khelne baithna padega ab ... or do I need a card for that too?
Cheers ... !!
I have less of cash and more of cards it seems in my wallet. I have my identity card and photo ID card from India. When I left India, I was given a Travel insurance card to cover my medical expenses, if any, from India to Sweden. I was also given a Citibank World Card for Euros which contained my allowances. As soon as I arrived at my hotel in Malmo, I was given the hotel card, with the help of which I can access various stuff in the hotel like washing machine, room, hotel entrance as well as lifts. Yes, you cant use the lift without a card. If you go inside and press the button of some floor, it wont work if you dont use your card. As Sabhtarsha would say ... Ajeeb hai yaar ... :P
On the first day of office, I was given the Tieto Sweden card to access stuff in the office here. The HR came up and gave me yet another card. It was the medical insurance card. Yesterday, I was the proud (??) owner of yet another card. The monthly bus card to roam around Malmo any number of times during one month.
Lagta hai patte khelne baithna padega ab ... or do I need a card for that too?
Cheers ... !!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sprint across Vantaa ... !!
It was 1430 local time as the aircraft descended towards Helsinki airport, more commonly called Vantaa. At that moment, I was not too concerned about the mind boggling clouds surrounding the aircraft or the snow outside. The big concern was that my connecting flight to Copenhagen was due to depart from Vantaa at 1535. Something told me that it was not going to be easy. And it came true ...
My seat number was 59J ... the total capacity was 60 seats and I was sitting in the tail of the aircraft. The aircraft had just one exit and it was going to me an arduous task getting to the exit. We touched down at 1435 and it was 1445 till I came out of the aircraft. Now what? I had to find my way to the "Connecting flights" section. Fortunately, I found the section sooner than later. The gate number for my flight was 28. I had to go through the security check in. I had 2 bags with me. One laptop bag and the other a carry-on bag. The carry-on bag contained ready to eat stuff like Maggi, etc. It also contained something that was going to set me on a marathon across Vantaa. It was a bottle of aftershave lotion. The limit on such liquids is 100 ml and unfortunately mine was 150 ml. Dratch.
I was asked to step aside and I went through a rigorous examination of what I was carrying. I was asked to remove my belt, watch, Kada, wallet, boarding passes and tickets. Practically, everything apart from what I was wearing. My shoes and socks were checked in detail. I was not enjoying this. All I could hear was ... "This way please, Sir" or "Please turn around, Sir". Fortunately, I was not carrying anything suspicious. After querying their seniors, the security personnel gave me 2 options ...
One ... remove the aftershave lotion OR Two ... check in my carry-on baggage. For some reason, I didn't like the first option. I agreed to the second option. I was asked to proceed to a counter with my baggage. It was 1455 and I had to wear my belt again along with putting everything back in my pockets. I met a person at the counter and he asked me to furnish my passport. He proceeded to ask me something which I did not understand in 2 attempts, primarily due to his accent but it was more to do with where I am headed to. I replied with Sweden. He pointed me to his left. I asked him, "Where am I supposed to go? I am in a hurry". He said, "Find it". I did not have time to be surprised by this.
I headed to the direction he mentioned and saw lots of counters. I went up to a counter and met the lady at the counter. She was courteous enough to inform me that counter number 215 is the one I should be going to. I asked her for directions and she told me its towards the right. All this while, I descended from the 1st floor to the ground floor of the airport. I went up to 215 and let the lady know my state. To my surprise, she took it up urgently and said just one thing ... "Sir, I will make sure your bag is boarded in the aircraft but I must tell you that you need to run". No wonder ... it was 1520 and I was wondering if I would be allowed in.
Surprise, surprise. Another security examination since I was using a different entrance of the airport. Double Dratch. I went through everything again. The belt, watch, wallet, etc. It got over in 5 minutes.
I had to climb the floor I already descended but from a different direction and make my way to gate 28. When I reached the first floor, I was at gate 13. I had to run across 15 gates to reach gate 28 at 1530. The people were still moving to board the flight. That sight made me feel great. I boarded the aircraft and thanked my stars for everything.
At a temperature of -8, I was sweating as I took my seat ...
Cheers ... !!
My seat number was 59J ... the total capacity was 60 seats and I was sitting in the tail of the aircraft. The aircraft had just one exit and it was going to me an arduous task getting to the exit. We touched down at 1435 and it was 1445 till I came out of the aircraft. Now what? I had to find my way to the "Connecting flights" section. Fortunately, I found the section sooner than later. The gate number for my flight was 28. I had to go through the security check in. I had 2 bags with me. One laptop bag and the other a carry-on bag. The carry-on bag contained ready to eat stuff like Maggi, etc. It also contained something that was going to set me on a marathon across Vantaa. It was a bottle of aftershave lotion. The limit on such liquids is 100 ml and unfortunately mine was 150 ml. Dratch.
I was asked to step aside and I went through a rigorous examination of what I was carrying. I was asked to remove my belt, watch, Kada, wallet, boarding passes and tickets. Practically, everything apart from what I was wearing. My shoes and socks were checked in detail. I was not enjoying this. All I could hear was ... "This way please, Sir" or "Please turn around, Sir". Fortunately, I was not carrying anything suspicious. After querying their seniors, the security personnel gave me 2 options ...
One ... remove the aftershave lotion OR Two ... check in my carry-on baggage. For some reason, I didn't like the first option. I agreed to the second option. I was asked to proceed to a counter with my baggage. It was 1455 and I had to wear my belt again along with putting everything back in my pockets. I met a person at the counter and he asked me to furnish my passport. He proceeded to ask me something which I did not understand in 2 attempts, primarily due to his accent but it was more to do with where I am headed to. I replied with Sweden. He pointed me to his left. I asked him, "Where am I supposed to go? I am in a hurry". He said, "Find it". I did not have time to be surprised by this.
I headed to the direction he mentioned and saw lots of counters. I went up to a counter and met the lady at the counter. She was courteous enough to inform me that counter number 215 is the one I should be going to. I asked her for directions and she told me its towards the right. All this while, I descended from the 1st floor to the ground floor of the airport. I went up to 215 and let the lady know my state. To my surprise, she took it up urgently and said just one thing ... "Sir, I will make sure your bag is boarded in the aircraft but I must tell you that you need to run". No wonder ... it was 1520 and I was wondering if I would be allowed in.
Surprise, surprise. Another security examination since I was using a different entrance of the airport. Double Dratch. I went through everything again. The belt, watch, wallet, etc. It got over in 5 minutes.
I had to climb the floor I already descended but from a different direction and make my way to gate 28. When I reached the first floor, I was at gate 13. I had to run across 15 gates to reach gate 28 at 1530. The people were still moving to board the flight. That sight made me feel great. I boarded the aircraft and thanked my stars for everything.
At a temperature of -8, I was sweating as I took my seat ...
Cheers ... !!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The year that was ... !!
Its that time again when you bid adieu to another year ... put on a few more wrinkles and grey hair in my case and hope that life still gets better ... :P ... Adios 2009 ...
I had a much better year as compared to the previous year ... and I am in a much better mental state as compared to the same time last year ...
In spite of that I would like to still list the negatives of the year first ... :)
The killer - Gave up job at a good organization for nothing ... actually nothing :(
As a byproduct of this ... dreams of getting out of a financial rut vanished ...
Lost a very good friend due to my bad sense of humor ... :D
The good stuff ...
Mumbai has to be there isnt it? - I went to Mumbai lots of times ... I lost count actually ...
finally travelled to some place north of Mumbai ... I went to Jaipur and attended a lavish wedding ... that of my very good friend Prakash ...
Strained relations showed signs of improvement
I improved a lot in TT and was applauded for the tournament I organized at AT along with Sabhtarsha of course ... our team ended 3rd and we were the only team to defeat all other teams in the competition ... Kudos guys ...
Had the most amazing time at Sangaon with DAPP and in-laws ...
Survived the flood at South Goa and was lucky to escape unscathed ...
Lots of friends got married ... some friends had kids ... :)
To be honest ... got a job fairly quickly considering my mental state ...
My portfolio went up quite a bit ... JP leading the way ... RIL giving a bonus and Infy closing in on 2600 ...
The stupidity ...
Went to Goa on a 2 wheeler and came back the same day ... this was stupid ... but it felt good till it lasted ...
Its evident that the Bad section is quite short and I am going into 2010 with a lot more smiles ...
Here's wishing everyone a rollicking 2010 ... I wish everyone a great decade ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS ... Cheers ... !!
I had a much better year as compared to the previous year ... and I am in a much better mental state as compared to the same time last year ...
In spite of that I would like to still list the negatives of the year first ... :)
The killer - Gave up job at a good organization for nothing ... actually nothing :(
As a byproduct of this ... dreams of getting out of a financial rut vanished ...
Lost a very good friend due to my bad sense of humor ... :D
The good stuff ...
Mumbai has to be there isnt it? - I went to Mumbai lots of times ... I lost count actually ...
finally travelled to some place north of Mumbai ... I went to Jaipur and attended a lavish wedding ... that of my very good friend Prakash ...
Strained relations showed signs of improvement
I improved a lot in TT and was applauded for the tournament I organized at AT along with Sabhtarsha of course ... our team ended 3rd and we were the only team to defeat all other teams in the competition ... Kudos guys ...
Had the most amazing time at Sangaon with DAPP and in-laws ...
Survived the flood at South Goa and was lucky to escape unscathed ...
Lots of friends got married ... some friends had kids ... :)
To be honest ... got a job fairly quickly considering my mental state ...
My portfolio went up quite a bit ... JP leading the way ... RIL giving a bonus and Infy closing in on 2600 ...
The stupidity ...
Went to Goa on a 2 wheeler and came back the same day ... this was stupid ... but it felt good till it lasted ...
Its evident that the Bad section is quite short and I am going into 2010 with a lot more smiles ...
Here's wishing everyone a rollicking 2010 ... I wish everyone a great decade ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS ... Cheers ... !!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Punch ... !!
No, I have not been involved in a slugfest with anyone :P
This post will evolve with time. Dialogues have always fascinated me ... whether its in real or reel ... it doesn't matter ... so I thought that blogging about some of my favorites (actually they do not need to be favorites ) would be fun ...
Over the last couple of weeks ... I heard some great dialogues on the telly ... I have heard them before but it feels better the next time around ... here are a few ... and as I said ... this post will evolve with time ... and the dialogues may not be pin point in terms of the words I use ... :D
From the movie Guru ...
Manik Dasgupta (Mithun) to Shyam Saxena (Madhavan): Shyam ... kya tum is aadmi ko sabke saamne nanga kar sakte ho?
Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan): Mere kapde saari duniya pehenti hai ... sabko nanga karna padega ...
From the movie Kaala Pathhar ...
this needs a prelude ... Shatrughan Sinha challenges Macmohan for a game of Teenpatti and Macmohan is like the undisputed king of Teenpatti among the workers at the coal mine ... Macmohan's 3 cards are J J and 2 while Shatru has K K and 6. But Macmohan cheats by getting a J out of his shirt sleeve ... so he now has J J and J ... when its time for Show ... Macmohan says: Mere paas teen gulaam hai ... and then shows the 3 gulaams ... Shatru says: Mere paas 3 Baadshah hai ... Macmohan says: dikhao ... Shatru shows the first Badshah card and says "Baadshah" ... then shows the 2nd Baadshah card and says "Baadshah" and then shows the 3rd card which is a 6 ... Macmohan:Teesra Baadshah kahaan hai? and then comes the clinching dialogue ... as follows ....
Mangal Singh (Shatrughan Sinha): Mere taash ki tirpanwe(53rd) patte ... teesre Baadshah hum hai ... :P
from the iconic Sholay ... actually there are so many in this movie but I like this one ...
Police Inspector to Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar): Khota sikka to dono taraf se hi khota hota hai ...
Thakur Baldev Singh: Sikkey aur insaan mein shaayad yehi farak hai ...
from Inside Man ...
when a person is called to identify the bank robbers based on a language they are speaking inside the bank ... and this language is not known to any of the investigators headed by Denzel Washington
Person: That's the President of Algeria speaking ...
Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) to the Person: You want to tell me that the President of Algeria is trying to the rob the bank??
from Company ...
Rawte (Bharat Dabholkar) to Chandu (Vivek Oberoi) : ये पाटिल की वजह से बोहोत प्रॉब्लम हो रहा है
Chandu : पाटिल को मारना है?
Rawte : नहीं नहीं ... स्कैंडल हो जाएगा ... then he picks up his cup of tea ... looks in the other direction ... has a sip ... and says ... लेकिन उसको मरना है ... followed by the beats of Ganda hai par Dhanda hai yeh ... thrilling ... :)
from Con-Air
there is this scene where Nicolas Cage and John Cusack face each other and both have a gun in their hands ... Nicolage Cage asks Cusack to lower his gun to which Cusack asks ... "Can I also expect you to lower your gun"?
Nicolage Cage - Sorry ... there are only 2 people in this world whom I trust ... one is me and the other is not you :P ... fantastic ... !!
will keep adding to this list ... Cheers ... !!
This post will evolve with time. Dialogues have always fascinated me ... whether its in real or reel ... it doesn't matter ... so I thought that blogging about some of my favorites (actually they do not need to be favorites ) would be fun ...
Over the last couple of weeks ... I heard some great dialogues on the telly ... I have heard them before but it feels better the next time around ... here are a few ... and as I said ... this post will evolve with time ... and the dialogues may not be pin point in terms of the words I use ... :D
From the movie Guru ...
Manik Dasgupta (Mithun) to Shyam Saxena (Madhavan): Shyam ... kya tum is aadmi ko sabke saamne nanga kar sakte ho?
Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan): Mere kapde saari duniya pehenti hai ... sabko nanga karna padega ...
From the movie Kaala Pathhar ...
this needs a prelude ... Shatrughan Sinha challenges Macmohan for a game of Teenpatti and Macmohan is like the undisputed king of Teenpatti among the workers at the coal mine ... Macmohan's 3 cards are J J and 2 while Shatru has K K and 6. But Macmohan cheats by getting a J out of his shirt sleeve ... so he now has J J and J ... when its time for Show ... Macmohan says: Mere paas teen gulaam hai ... and then shows the 3 gulaams ... Shatru says: Mere paas 3 Baadshah hai ... Macmohan says: dikhao ... Shatru shows the first Badshah card and says "Baadshah" ... then shows the 2nd Baadshah card and says "Baadshah" and then shows the 3rd card which is a 6 ... Macmohan:Teesra Baadshah kahaan hai? and then comes the clinching dialogue ... as follows ....
Mangal Singh (Shatrughan Sinha): Mere taash ki tirpanwe(53rd) patte ... teesre Baadshah hum hai ... :P
from the iconic Sholay ... actually there are so many in this movie but I like this one ...
Police Inspector to Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar): Khota sikka to dono taraf se hi khota hota hai ...
Thakur Baldev Singh: Sikkey aur insaan mein shaayad yehi farak hai ...
from Inside Man ...
when a person is called to identify the bank robbers based on a language they are speaking inside the bank ... and this language is not known to any of the investigators headed by Denzel Washington
Person: That's the President of Algeria speaking ...
Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) to the Person: You want to tell me that the President of Algeria is trying to the rob the bank??
from Company ...
Rawte (Bharat Dabholkar) to Chandu (Vivek Oberoi) : ये पाटिल की वजह से बोहोत प्रॉब्लम हो रहा है
Chandu : पाटिल को मारना है?
Rawte : नहीं नहीं ... स्कैंडल हो जाएगा ... then he picks up his cup of tea ... looks in the other direction ... has a sip ... and says ... लेकिन उसको मरना है ... followed by the beats of Ganda hai par Dhanda hai yeh ... thrilling ... :)
from Con-Air
there is this scene where Nicolas Cage and John Cusack face each other and both have a gun in their hands ... Nicolage Cage asks Cusack to lower his gun to which Cusack asks ... "Can I also expect you to lower your gun"?
Nicolage Cage - Sorry ... there are only 2 people in this world whom I trust ... one is me and the other is not you :P ... fantastic ... !!
will keep adding to this list ... Cheers ... !!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Nayi Shuruwaat ... !!
I guess that's the first Hindi title that I have used? No? I am not sure. I have used a Spanish one I suppose. Drop it.
Yeah ... a new start. A new place comes with its baggage. Some of it is good ... some not so good. Pretty much in line with most things in life. I have never had a more topsy-turvy 40 days in my life so far and I am hoping I never have one in future. Never say never they say. Alas ...
So a new company eh? Tieto ... short for TietoEnator ... OK ... before anyone wonders what it means ... it means Knowledge in Finnish ... why Finnish? ... its a company based in Finland and getting most of its development off-shored to Pune ...
Adjusting to a bigger company (compared to AT) has been a pain ... on the first day I felt like a little boy stripped of his candy ... bemused by the everyday work process of a large company ... why the hell do I need to spend 10 minutes for parking everyday? Bidding for parkings? Do hell with you ...
But there were lots of such things that made me look like that candy-lost-guy ... er ... kid ...
It takes far lesser time to climb 8 floors than in the lift ... the lift gets suffocated with the different perfumes and deos ... I thought fragrance was always good ... I dont approve of it anymore ...
What all do I need to do to get inside? Photo ID, Access Card, Fingerprints ... plus the Photo ID always has to be on display and not in your pocket ... I remember my AT photo ID locked up in the cupboard in the hall of my place ... people used to look at it and say "Aah ... yeh hai aapka beta ... bohot bada ho gaya hai" ... a sign that I was hardly at home when people visited us ... :P
The toilet (I somehow dont like the term "Washroom") is like entering Ramsay territory ... if you have just been to a brightly lit area before entering the toilet then be prepared ... its like the deepest of dungeons ... pitch dark ... or atleast it looks that way when you enter it ... there are these strange bright RED and GREEN lights that keep changing from RED to GREEN and back ... peace of mind I say ... I need peace of mind when I am releasing something that's not good to keep in my body ...
A gazillion processes ... if I have to get something reimbursed I have to do a million things ... I dont need no reimbursement now ... aah ... I speak like an American ... Amrriikkka ki to $#@ ki $#@! ... that anger is already vented ... :D
But there is something good to write about too ...
LTA here is non-taxable if you show that you have been on leave for 3 days during the entire year ... great isnt it? ... I mean you dont need to show any kind of bills or proofs ... just be on leave for 3 days during the year ... thats it ... this is amazing ...
Great pantry service ... when I say great ... its actually great ... atleast 3-4 different biscuits to choose from ... a completely functions vending machine ... tea, coffee, soup, milk, hot chocolate ... everything is working always ... a refrigerator in each pantry along with an oven ... and atleast 2 pantries per floor ... I mean I am aware most of this would be common to most companies but it was something new to me ...
The promises made by the people here are actually promises ... kharach ... aai shappat ... :P
The machine was ready at my desk at the time they promised ... fully configured ... 4GB RAM and 150 GB space ... whoa ... nothing is blocked here ... there is no firewall as such ... but you are allowed to use only Microsoft stuff like IE and not Chrome ... :( ... but theek hai ... no issues ... MS Communicator is a means of communication ... there is no restriction on Messengers as such but they dont encourage it ... every machine has a multi-purpose telephone and Mic ... wonderful ...
The seating arrangement is very open ... there is no cubicle as such ... there are cubicle arrangements but they lack in height ... so you cant call it cubicle as such ... the entire floor is a mix of Pink, Blue, light Green and Orange ...
You get reimbursement if you buy clothes for yourself :P ... its called Attire allowance ... never heard that before ... you get reimbursement if you buy books for yourself ... I mean technical books and not novels :)
The last thing ... something not so good ... no maternity expenses cover in Medical insurance ... sob sob ...
aisi kaafi cheezein hai ... so a mix of good and bad ... but a new experience ...
Lets see what the future has in store ... Aa Dekhen Zara ... Cheers ... !!
Yeah ... a new start. A new place comes with its baggage. Some of it is good ... some not so good. Pretty much in line with most things in life. I have never had a more topsy-turvy 40 days in my life so far and I am hoping I never have one in future. Never say never they say. Alas ...
So a new company eh? Tieto ... short for TietoEnator ... OK ... before anyone wonders what it means ... it means Knowledge in Finnish ... why Finnish? ... its a company based in Finland and getting most of its development off-shored to Pune ...
Adjusting to a bigger company (compared to AT) has been a pain ... on the first day I felt like a little boy stripped of his candy ... bemused by the everyday work process of a large company ... why the hell do I need to spend 10 minutes for parking everyday? Bidding for parkings? Do hell with you ...
But there were lots of such things that made me look like that candy-lost-guy ... er ... kid ...
It takes far lesser time to climb 8 floors than in the lift ... the lift gets suffocated with the different perfumes and deos ... I thought fragrance was always good ... I dont approve of it anymore ...
What all do I need to do to get inside? Photo ID, Access Card, Fingerprints ... plus the Photo ID always has to be on display and not in your pocket ... I remember my AT photo ID locked up in the cupboard in the hall of my place ... people used to look at it and say "Aah ... yeh hai aapka beta ... bohot bada ho gaya hai" ... a sign that I was hardly at home when people visited us ... :P
The toilet (I somehow dont like the term "Washroom") is like entering Ramsay territory ... if you have just been to a brightly lit area before entering the toilet then be prepared ... its like the deepest of dungeons ... pitch dark ... or atleast it looks that way when you enter it ... there are these strange bright RED and GREEN lights that keep changing from RED to GREEN and back ... peace of mind I say ... I need peace of mind when I am releasing something that's not good to keep in my body ...
A gazillion processes ... if I have to get something reimbursed I have to do a million things ... I dont need no reimbursement now ... aah ... I speak like an American ... Amrriikkka ki to $#@ ki $#@! ... that anger is already vented ... :D
But there is something good to write about too ...
LTA here is non-taxable if you show that you have been on leave for 3 days during the entire year ... great isnt it? ... I mean you dont need to show any kind of bills or proofs ... just be on leave for 3 days during the year ... thats it ... this is amazing ...
Great pantry service ... when I say great ... its actually great ... atleast 3-4 different biscuits to choose from ... a completely functions vending machine ... tea, coffee, soup, milk, hot chocolate ... everything is working always ... a refrigerator in each pantry along with an oven ... and atleast 2 pantries per floor ... I mean I am aware most of this would be common to most companies but it was something new to me ...
The promises made by the people here are actually promises ... kharach ... aai shappat ... :P
The machine was ready at my desk at the time they promised ... fully configured ... 4GB RAM and 150 GB space ... whoa ... nothing is blocked here ... there is no firewall as such ... but you are allowed to use only Microsoft stuff like IE and not Chrome ... :( ... but theek hai ... no issues ... MS Communicator is a means of communication ... there is no restriction on Messengers as such but they dont encourage it ... every machine has a multi-purpose telephone and Mic ... wonderful ...
The seating arrangement is very open ... there is no cubicle as such ... there are cubicle arrangements but they lack in height ... so you cant call it cubicle as such ... the entire floor is a mix of Pink, Blue, light Green and Orange ...
You get reimbursement if you buy clothes for yourself :P ... its called Attire allowance ... never heard that before ... you get reimbursement if you buy books for yourself ... I mean technical books and not novels :)
The last thing ... something not so good ... no maternity expenses cover in Medical insurance ... sob sob ...
aisi kaafi cheezein hai ... so a mix of good and bad ... but a new experience ...
Lets see what the future has in store ... Aa Dekhen Zara ... Cheers ... !!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Battered ... !!
So it went kaput. Read ... my plans of going to the US of A ... Amrikkkkka ... so near yet so far ...
The last 2 weeks have definitely sent out a signal ... everything can change in a day's time. Here I was ... ready to leave for Mumbai from Pune to get on board a late night flight to Tampa and one call ruined it instantly. I was told that the project I was selected for does not have any more requirements. The despair, anger and trauma that it brought to not just me but so many of my well wishers and family members was devastating. Maybe ... I was seeing too much into the future ... it was a horrible feeling to be battered so badly mentally ...
With every passing minute ... it became even more painful when so many of the things I did during the week prior made me look like a fool ... I left a good job (I wont call it a flourishing job but it was not bad at all) and more importantly an organization where I got along with most of the people :) ... so many things I bought specifically for America were left idle in the suitcase ... even the Kirana store man was asking me when I am flying :P
I hope I am not making this look like the end of the world for me ... its not ... far from it ...
But the education received is invaluable ... I am guessing I will be a hot topic of discussion (I guess I have already been that in the week that has passed) ... but thats not surprising ... I am sure I would have done the same if something similar had happened with someone else ...
As of now ... I have atleast managed to get back on my feet ... job hunting begins in Pune ... Amrikka to jaana hi hai ... by hook or by crook ... I am biased towards crook now :P
In the meanwhile ... I had quite a good day at Mumbai ... getting Darshan of Sidhhi Vinayak on a Tuesday and that too at 4:45 in the morning (that was bad planning since we didnt intend to reach Dadar at 4 am after we left Pune at 2 am ... believe me ... Asiads are fast :D) ... nice quite moments at Mahalaxmi and to top it off ... Chicken Tikka Biryani at Noorani ... :)
And ... HP bought 3Com ... that was something great and unexpected ... bodes well for AT ... are we (Yes ... it still feels "we") next in line atleast now? ... I am sure that would have been the topic of the day at office today ... I am wondering how that affects Co Branding now for AT :P ... now if HP also acquires Enterasys ... Co Branding can be done away with ... what say guys? ;)
Anyway ... I will update my status very soon ... some positive signs have already shown up ... I will be back in front of some terminal sooner than later ... and I can definitely do with some prayers and blessings ... :)
Cheers ... !!
The last 2 weeks have definitely sent out a signal ... everything can change in a day's time. Here I was ... ready to leave for Mumbai from Pune to get on board a late night flight to Tampa and one call ruined it instantly. I was told that the project I was selected for does not have any more requirements. The despair, anger and trauma that it brought to not just me but so many of my well wishers and family members was devastating. Maybe ... I was seeing too much into the future ... it was a horrible feeling to be battered so badly mentally ...
With every passing minute ... it became even more painful when so many of the things I did during the week prior made me look like a fool ... I left a good job (I wont call it a flourishing job but it was not bad at all) and more importantly an organization where I got along with most of the people :) ... so many things I bought specifically for America were left idle in the suitcase ... even the Kirana store man was asking me when I am flying :P
I hope I am not making this look like the end of the world for me ... its not ... far from it ...
But the education received is invaluable ... I am guessing I will be a hot topic of discussion (I guess I have already been that in the week that has passed) ... but thats not surprising ... I am sure I would have done the same if something similar had happened with someone else ...
As of now ... I have atleast managed to get back on my feet ... job hunting begins in Pune ... Amrikka to jaana hi hai ... by hook or by crook ... I am biased towards crook now :P
In the meanwhile ... I had quite a good day at Mumbai ... getting Darshan of Sidhhi Vinayak on a Tuesday and that too at 4:45 in the morning (that was bad planning since we didnt intend to reach Dadar at 4 am after we left Pune at 2 am ... believe me ... Asiads are fast :D) ... nice quite moments at Mahalaxmi and to top it off ... Chicken Tikka Biryani at Noorani ... :)
And ... HP bought 3Com ... that was something great and unexpected ... bodes well for AT ... are we (Yes ... it still feels "we") next in line atleast now? ... I am sure that would have been the topic of the day at office today ... I am wondering how that affects Co Branding now for AT :P ... now if HP also acquires Enterasys ... Co Branding can be done away with ... what say guys? ;)
Anyway ... I will update my status very soon ... some positive signs have already shown up ... I will be back in front of some terminal sooner than later ... and I can definitely do with some prayers and blessings ... :)
Cheers ... !!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Adios ... !!
Lump in the throat? Not entirely ... but it feels odd leaving such a nice company ... I know we always bicker about lots of stuff in life ... the place we work at is at the receiving end most of the times ... but at the bottom of your heart I have always felt that the freedom and atmosphere at AT has been out of the top draw ... I will miss AT and ATians ... you guys rock ...
I remember my joining day. Drenched and just out of college. My previous company (I was an intern) had given be the most demoralising sendoff ... partly due to my own misgivings ...
I remember the disappointment of knowing that Sonal (my manager whom I had to report to) is actually a guy ... :(
But Sonal is one of the most influential people I have met in life. A manager at office but a friend at heart. I have never ever felt that gap with him. His PJs have been bettered by Sabhtarsha and myself and we both get even dirtier looks than we used to give Sonal earlier :)
There have been several others (in fact everyone here knows the entire company) whom I have had a great time with ... Sabhtarsha has now become more of a pest than a pain :P ... Avdhoot, Amit, Rahul, Gaji, Vijay, Ajay, Vineet, Pushkar, Charuta, Zarin, Khyati, Manish, Mohsin, MJ, Basu, Ghos, Nitin, Sandip, Vinayak and I am sure there are many more ... I have had a blast guys ...
Not to mention that people who have already left AT ... Ashvin, Vivek, Ganesh, Manikant, Rajat, Alok, Deepa, Amit, Debu, Nishith, Rohit ... everyone was a joy to be around ...
Some of the things that I will always remember:
I remember my joining day. Drenched and just out of college. My previous company (I was an intern) had given be the most demoralising sendoff ... partly due to my own misgivings ...
I remember the disappointment of knowing that Sonal (my manager whom I had to report to) is actually a guy ... :(
But Sonal is one of the most influential people I have met in life. A manager at office but a friend at heart. I have never ever felt that gap with him. His PJs have been bettered by Sabhtarsha and myself and we both get even dirtier looks than we used to give Sonal earlier :)
There have been several others (in fact everyone here knows the entire company) whom I have had a great time with ... Sabhtarsha has now become more of a pest than a pain :P ... Avdhoot, Amit, Rahul, Gaji, Vijay, Ajay, Vineet, Pushkar, Charuta, Zarin, Khyati, Manish, Mohsin, MJ, Basu, Ghos, Nitin, Sandip, Vinayak and I am sure there are many more ... I have had a blast guys ...
Not to mention that people who have already left AT ... Ashvin, Vivek, Ganesh, Manikant, Rajat, Alok, Deepa, Amit, Debu, Nishith, Rohit ... everyone was a joy to be around ...
Some of the things that I will always remember:
- Maggi at my desk
- TT (it was better post 7 pm and on weekends)
- rides to Good Luck, Santosh bakery, Ganesh Bhel, PD, etc.
- leg-pulling sessions (some people were always the target)
- meeting to decide lunch/dinner/breakfast venues
- night outs (called fire-fighting sessions :P)
- those amazing weekly calls (thanx to Manish) :P
and many more ...
I am going to miss AT ... but something new awaits ... dekhte hai usmein kitna mazaa hai ...
till then ... Adios AT ... Cheers ... !!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
WFH ... WTF ... !!
What prompted me to write about this?
Well, I am working from home (it took me a long time to realise that WFH actually means working from home) and suddenly it feels like its not that big a deal afterall ... I mean I was looking forward to it with bated breath coz I have heard such a lot of stuff about this phenomenon that it excited me a great deal ...
I do agree that WFH has perks and it should be experienced at some point in time ... but I found myself missing office while at home ...
The boon ...
I dont have to have a bath to start working ... this is like ... VOILA ... :)
Due to this ... I can get up just around 10-15 minutes before I intend to start working ...
I get home made sizzling hot food ... for breakfast, lunch and snacks ... peace ...
I get to play carrom with Dad ...
No meetings ... yaay ... ;)
I dont need to login to Moneycontrol ... CNBC is so much better ...
The bane ...
The biggest drawback is that I miss the office atmosphere ... there are not a lot of people to pull their leg ;)
I miss the sweets that people bring almost every morning ...
VPN makes the intranet all the more slow to traverse ... dratch ... :(
No free telephone calls ... not that I make a lot of them but still ...
No group discussion on the stock market state for the day ... this is a killer ...
Those TT sessions ... :(
The umpteen rides to PD, KNP, Good Luck or Santosh Bakery ... this is quite a lot I am talking about food wise ... I mean Anda rice, Vada Pav, Anna ki Chaay, Basundi Chaay, Limbu Sarbat, hot Veg Puffs, Vaati Cakes and the all time favorite Bun Maska ...
I am sure there is lot more to this than I have realised in my first 2 hours of WFH ...
and I still maintain ... idling in office is much better than working from home ... so much for the experience ...
Cheers ... !!
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Dratch ... !!
I was watching one of my favorite movies on the telly a few days back ... Abhimaan ... Yes, that masterpiece from Hrishikesh Mukherjee ...
I had never noticed one of its anomalies before ... to be frank its such an everyday phenomenon in movies that it can be argued that its not an anomaly afterall ... but looking at the storyline of the movie, I thought it was quite weird ...
Amitabh Bachchan is a very famous singer. This is like the base of the movie. Now when you have such a base, I felt that you should stick to atleast its most bare essentials :P ... in the sense that he should have been given only one playback voice in the movie ...
Within a space of about 15 minutes, there are 3 different songs that he sings that are actually sung by 3 different playback singers ... Rafi, Kishore and Mukesh ... its hard not to notice this ... I found it strange ...
Of late, I have also been noticing that Times Of India probably has given SpellCheck a pass ... there were 3 image errors where the picture was being portrayed as those of someone else's ...
There were 3 more on one page a couple of days back when Sania Mirza lost at the US Open. These were the 2 headlines that were so out of touch with grammar ...
Bondarenko goes though Serb way (should have been "through". This was when Bondarenko defeated Ivanovic who is a Serbian)
I had never noticed one of its anomalies before ... to be frank its such an everyday phenomenon in movies that it can be argued that its not an anomaly afterall ... but looking at the storyline of the movie, I thought it was quite weird ...
Amitabh Bachchan is a very famous singer. This is like the base of the movie. Now when you have such a base, I felt that you should stick to atleast its most bare essentials :P ... in the sense that he should have been given only one playback voice in the movie ...
Within a space of about 15 minutes, there are 3 different songs that he sings that are actually sung by 3 different playback singers ... Rafi, Kishore and Mukesh ... its hard not to notice this ... I found it strange ...
Of late, I have also been noticing that Times Of India probably has given SpellCheck a pass ... there were 3 image errors where the picture was being portrayed as those of someone else's ...
There were 3 more on one page a couple of days back when Sania Mirza lost at the US Open. These were the 2 headlines that were so out of touch with grammar ...
Bondarenko goes though Serb way (should have been "through". This was when Bondarenko defeated Ivanovic who is a Serbian)
Sania lose 0-6, 0-6 (should have been "loses")
there was a piece in one of the sports news saying "star of yesteryeras" ... it was a pain reading all this ...
as Mutley's master would say ... Dratch ... and double Dratch ...
Cheers ... !!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Moryaa ... !!
Ganpati is here ... although the festivities will take a backseat of sorts due to the unnerving swine ... but Bappa will still continue to light up homes and streets with its grandeur ...
There are so many pockets in the city where Ganesh idols are sold nowdays ... I remember there used to be just Shaniwarwada at one time (I mean the more famous ones) ... now there's Corporation, Saras Baug, Ganj Peth and sundry ...
This time we bought our Ganesh idol from Ganj Peth thanks to my bro-in-law Omkar ... and we booked it way back in the 1st week of August ... if looks could kill ... Ganesha would be on most people's wanted lists ... :P
Due to the incessant rains during the early hours of each day ...we decided to get our idol the previous night itself ... coz driving a 4 wheeler in the heart of old Pune can be mind-numbing during the day ... especially during Ganpati ... so we bought the idol at Saturday midnight itself ... resplendent in yellow dhoti and a broader than usual trunk ... and for a change we also liked the Mooshak ... this year's idol will adorn our home along side last year's "Shenduri" idol for 10 days ... The "Shenduri" idol will be immersed this year ...
We had a surprise guest on the very first day ... none other than AAG (Aditya Amit Gupte for Christ's ... er ... Ganpati's sake) ... it was tough deciding who was more cute ... the idol or AAG ... close contest but AAG won and the Lord was more than happy seeing one of his forms win against him ... :D ... AAG has the most cutest smile and the way he keeps mouthing baby-sounds (sometimes its too loud to be called a baby-sound :P) ... he had everyone at home hostage to his pyrotechnics ...
As for now ... CHORUS (a la Javed Jaffery in Mumbhai :P) ... GANPATI BAPPA MORYA ... MANGAL MURTI MORYA ... !!
Cheers ... !!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Fallback option ... !!
There are times when the mundane stuff gets so overly done that you always start thinking what brings you joy in such a situation. All those moments that you have had fun in the past keep juggling in your mind and then you filter those to come to one such option that will get you out of such an ignominy.
Today, Sabhtarsha and I were caught in such a scenario. Sabhtarsha had just mopped up his work for the weekly Build and I had almost finished the tasks assigned to me. Post lunch ... we were in a quandary as to what we should do. TT was a good option. Coffee/Tea was another. A walk down the Bungalow scheme at Pinnac society was another. We ended up walking to a place, not very far away from office. Its around 10 minutes from office and we like the coffee they serve. After sipping through a 15 minute talkathon, heading back to office was the last thing we were looking forward to. Walked back to office. Tried doing some work. Got harried. Though we sit a mere peek away from each other, we mostly communicate over GTalk. Both wanted to go out again. And off we went again. This time Sabhtarsha took his bike along and we decided to check out some USB hard disk drives. Checked them out at Sujata and Sai which brought us quite close to College ... our beloved Fergusson College. Yeah ... Fallback option numero uno ...
Right ... so we were at the right place at the wrong time ... :P
We moved to Savera. After a long time, I had the pleasure of sitting at an outside table. Tea and Toast Butter was the near perfect foil. Another round of talks ... some more frustration vented ... some more philosophy vomitted out ... and it was turning out to be a jolly evening on a working day. Weekend was alive and kicking.
We entered college. What a feeling. Those trees, that parking lot that greets you and then the crowd. Times have changed. Every student looks like a kid but that doesnt mean we dont ogle at them. What a serene campus ... year after year ... it fails to disappoint you ... we didnt turn left from the Circle ... coz that would have taken us to our department and we were not very keen to interact with students or teachers ... so off we went to the ground ...
There were lots of cricket matches on display and we had the liberty to pick and choose any game we liked. Some years back, we were one of them. Shirts tucked into the trousers ... sleeves rolled up and a free swing of the bat ... stumps in disarray ... an easy catch dropped ... a stupid runout ... arguments over the Umpire's decisions ... such an everyday scene on a College ground. We ripped apart every possible classmate of ours in conjunction with the way they played cricket and ended up laughing our lungs out.
There was a special moment too. Vande Mataram was being played somewhere and at that instant itself, the entire ground stood still ... mind numbing ... one of the better sights of my Fergusson life ... kudos ...
It was 5 pm ... we had been out of office since 2 pm ... at the back of our minds we knew that we may get a mouthful from the folks back in office but it was one of those days when the atmosphere at office itself was asking us to take a break ...
We came back to office only to spend some more time with colleagues in the parking lot. And then ... instead of climbing the stairs to our 2nd floor desks ... we went straight into the lift and onto the 4th floor to play some TT. The next hour was spent sweating over smashes and slices and some fantastic rallies.
Its 7:45 pm now ... and we knew our Fallback option would never fail us ...
A long weekend like this is always welcome ... :D
Cheers ... !!
Today, Sabhtarsha and I were caught in such a scenario. Sabhtarsha had just mopped up his work for the weekly Build and I had almost finished the tasks assigned to me. Post lunch ... we were in a quandary as to what we should do. TT was a good option. Coffee/Tea was another. A walk down the Bungalow scheme at Pinnac society was another. We ended up walking to a place, not very far away from office. Its around 10 minutes from office and we like the coffee they serve. After sipping through a 15 minute talkathon, heading back to office was the last thing we were looking forward to. Walked back to office. Tried doing some work. Got harried. Though we sit a mere peek away from each other, we mostly communicate over GTalk. Both wanted to go out again. And off we went again. This time Sabhtarsha took his bike along and we decided to check out some USB hard disk drives. Checked them out at Sujata and Sai which brought us quite close to College ... our beloved Fergusson College. Yeah ... Fallback option numero uno ...
Right ... so we were at the right place at the wrong time ... :P
We moved to Savera. After a long time, I had the pleasure of sitting at an outside table. Tea and Toast Butter was the near perfect foil. Another round of talks ... some more frustration vented ... some more philosophy vomitted out ... and it was turning out to be a jolly evening on a working day. Weekend was alive and kicking.
We entered college. What a feeling. Those trees, that parking lot that greets you and then the crowd. Times have changed. Every student looks like a kid but that doesnt mean we dont ogle at them. What a serene campus ... year after year ... it fails to disappoint you ... we didnt turn left from the Circle ... coz that would have taken us to our department and we were not very keen to interact with students or teachers ... so off we went to the ground ...
There were lots of cricket matches on display and we had the liberty to pick and choose any game we liked. Some years back, we were one of them. Shirts tucked into the trousers ... sleeves rolled up and a free swing of the bat ... stumps in disarray ... an easy catch dropped ... a stupid runout ... arguments over the Umpire's decisions ... such an everyday scene on a College ground. We ripped apart every possible classmate of ours in conjunction with the way they played cricket and ended up laughing our lungs out.
There was a special moment too. Vande Mataram was being played somewhere and at that instant itself, the entire ground stood still ... mind numbing ... one of the better sights of my Fergusson life ... kudos ...
It was 5 pm ... we had been out of office since 2 pm ... at the back of our minds we knew that we may get a mouthful from the folks back in office but it was one of those days when the atmosphere at office itself was asking us to take a break ...
We came back to office only to spend some more time with colleagues in the parking lot. And then ... instead of climbing the stairs to our 2nd floor desks ... we went straight into the lift and onto the 4th floor to play some TT. The next hour was spent sweating over smashes and slices and some fantastic rallies.
Its 7:45 pm now ... and we knew our Fallback option would never fail us ...
A long weekend like this is always welcome ... :D
Cheers ... !!
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Comparing stalwarts ... !!
Of late ... I have been visiting Good Luck and Vohuman a lot.
Vohuman holds a special place since I spent a lot of time there during my time in Wadias. That cramped ambience, round tables and the scent similar to that of a bakery lured me so many times to this helluva place.
I started frequenting Good Luck only when I moved to Fergys. No doubt, it is another stalwart in the Irani cafe shed.
So I thought I would compare the two ...
Good Luck is much more spacious ... there are 3 separate alleys of rooms ... Vohuman is comparatively much smaller ...
You dont get to see too many funnier people than Bava from Vohuman. His shayaris and non-veg jokes are a rave among Vohumanians (if I can call them that) ... Good Luck hardly have any funny or even decent speaking people at the "Galla" ... mostly your queries are answered in a very straight forward way ... this might be good for some people ... but I feel Bava steals the show here ...
I have said this before and I say it again. No one serves better Cheese Omlettes than Vohuman ... when you eat it ... you feel more of cheese and less of egg ... its the other way round in Good Luck ...
Similarly, Scrambled eggs on Toast is an absolute delight at Good Luck ... I dont think Vohuman has something like that ... and even if they do ... I am sure Good Luck wins hands down ...
The trademark Bun Maska ... I think its better in Vohuman ... they have more Tooti-Fruity in it :P
I find the Masala Omlette better at Good Luck ... while the tea is better at Vohuman ...
Service is more or less the same ... nothing to choose over there ...
Vohuman serves everything on the menu throughout the day ... Good Luck has certain reservations ... they serve breakfast stuff only in one of the rooms after a certain time ... the other 2 rooms are reserved for meals ...
The meals are out of the top draw at Good Luck ... the Biryanis and Chicken dishes are a major hit ... Vohuman pales in comparison ...
Parking is a huge issue at both places ... for Vohuman ... you can either park at Jehangir or some other place ... this involves some walking ... for Good Luck, it depends when you go there ... if its post 9 am ... you may have a harrowing time finding a place to park ...
Overall sentiment? ... Breakfast at Vohuman ... Meals at Good Luck ...
Go have a bite ... Cheers ... !!
Vohuman holds a special place since I spent a lot of time there during my time in Wadias. That cramped ambience, round tables and the scent similar to that of a bakery lured me so many times to this helluva place.
I started frequenting Good Luck only when I moved to Fergys. No doubt, it is another stalwart in the Irani cafe shed.
So I thought I would compare the two ...
Good Luck is much more spacious ... there are 3 separate alleys of rooms ... Vohuman is comparatively much smaller ...
You dont get to see too many funnier people than Bava from Vohuman. His shayaris and non-veg jokes are a rave among Vohumanians (if I can call them that) ... Good Luck hardly have any funny or even decent speaking people at the "Galla" ... mostly your queries are answered in a very straight forward way ... this might be good for some people ... but I feel Bava steals the show here ...
I have said this before and I say it again. No one serves better Cheese Omlettes than Vohuman ... when you eat it ... you feel more of cheese and less of egg ... its the other way round in Good Luck ...
Similarly, Scrambled eggs on Toast is an absolute delight at Good Luck ... I dont think Vohuman has something like that ... and even if they do ... I am sure Good Luck wins hands down ...
The trademark Bun Maska ... I think its better in Vohuman ... they have more Tooti-Fruity in it :P
I find the Masala Omlette better at Good Luck ... while the tea is better at Vohuman ...
Service is more or less the same ... nothing to choose over there ...
Vohuman serves everything on the menu throughout the day ... Good Luck has certain reservations ... they serve breakfast stuff only in one of the rooms after a certain time ... the other 2 rooms are reserved for meals ...
The meals are out of the top draw at Good Luck ... the Biryanis and Chicken dishes are a major hit ... Vohuman pales in comparison ...
Parking is a huge issue at both places ... for Vohuman ... you can either park at Jehangir or some other place ... this involves some walking ... for Good Luck, it depends when you go there ... if its post 9 am ... you may have a harrowing time finding a place to park ...
Overall sentiment? ... Breakfast at Vohuman ... Meals at Good Luck ...
Go have a bite ... Cheers ... !!
Monday, July 06, 2009
Crackerjack weekend ... !!
And even that is an understatement.
It was an enthralling weekend ... er ... extended enthralling weekend. We didnt even know it would turn out to be such a showpiece.
When Biwi and I came back from swimming on Thursday morning, we were at Meghdoot having an Uttapam and discussing what we would do tomorrow (it was Biwi's birthday). We both had applied for leave but we were unsure as to what we would end up doing. Dinesh had said that he will also be on leave if there is some plan. Prakash had said that he will not get a leave come what may. Somehow, MUMBAI came up ... :)
No more discussion was needed. We were going into flashback mode. Back in 2004, I had just learned how to drive a car and Biwi was working in Mumbai at that time. I had borrowed money from numerous friends (I was not working then) and managed to go to Mumbai to surprise Biwi on her Birthday. We had gone to Marine Drive to cut the Birthday cake. Yes ... we were going to do that again.
The plan was to leave Pune by 9 pm and reach Marine Drive by midnight. Spend time at Marine Drive. Move on to Taj and Cafe Leopold and round it off with a drive on the Worli-Bandra sea link (it was toll free for another 4 days :P). With this discussed, we left for office on Thursday.
Biwi and I reached home at 8 pm and were ready to leave in another 30 minutes. Prakash came home. We left at 8:45 pm and moved to Chandni Chowk. We met Dinesh over there and left for Mumbai. We all were very hungry and had to stop near Indira Institute to have some food. By the time we left, it was 10:30 pm. The drive till Lonavala was hassle free but fog engulfed the road at Khandala. Visibility was sketchy and driving was extremely slow. To make matters worse, the land slides had caused 2 lanes to be shut. When we started descending the Ghat, fog disappeared but only to be replaced by rain. It was breezy rain till Panvel but when we entered New Mumbai, it started pouring down. Fortunately, the time was such that there were hardly any vehicles on the road. It was scary to watch cars parked on the road itself. All the images of News channels came storming back about the dreadful Mumbai rains. By the time we cleared Chembur and Sion, the rain was getting even more heavier. We reached Marine Drive at 1 am. It was just drizzling now and we thought it was quite apt coz we had to cut the Birthday cake. We all got down and Biwi did the needful.
We enjoyed for around an hour. There was a police van just behind our car which prompted us to get moving. We moved on to the Taj and it was a mixed feeling. We were driving through the lanes of Colaba asking for directions. The next thing we knew was that we were in the Taj driveway. An ensemble of security personnel greeted us. We had no intention of going inside the Taj. We asked them for directions for Cafe Leopold. Since there was a divider in place, we had to go towards the end of the Taj and take a U-turn. It was both fascinating and gruelling to watch to Taj from so close. There were still some dark spots around. Sigh. Towards the corner of our eyes, we could see the Gateway of India in all its splendor. It looks even better on a rainy overcast night without a crowd.
We reached Cafe Leopold but I guess it was too late. The shutters were semi closed and we thought we can give it a miss.
Right then. Onto the Worli-Bandra sea link. We kept asking for directions to reach Kemp's Corner in Worli. We even thought of getting down and visiting Haji Ali but the rain was so heavy that walking down the sea for 15 minutes didnt sound very exciting. We finally reached the sea link and wasnt it awesome? Hats off. It looks like a showpiece. In hindsight, it could be said that it should be looked at during the daytime but nevertheless it was a spectacle at night. Clicking pics was difficult due to the rain. The police didnt allow us to get down from the car and stand on the bridge. After spending around 30 minutes, we moved on.
We got down at Bandra and moved towards Pune via Sion, Chembur and Vashi. The rain was incessant and showed no respite at all. We needed some snacks and tea since I was feeling sleepy while driving. We halted at a hotel just before Lonavala. Biwi took over from me in the car and I dozed off a bit. Then we experienced 10 minutes of mayhem.
Towards Khandala, we were driving from the centre lane and the car stopped all of a sudden. There was a truck around 20 meters behind us and we had to make sure the car didnt retrace. The hand break was not pulled up completely so I pulled it hard. I took the driver's seat but the hand break was not ready to come down. Wet hands made it all the more difficult. There was a mini traffic jam coz of us and the truck behind evaded us by a whisker. Finally, we were able to get the hand break off and moved on. Phew ... !!
We reached Pune at 7 am and went to Good Luck. Had some Naashta and dropped Dinesh at Chandni Chowk. Prakash also went home while Biwi and I hit the sack as soon as we reached home.
The Birthday was spent at my in-laws place. My Saala had bought a new Pulsar 180. We all went to Dagdushet Ganpati to perform pooja. Some shopping ensued and at 8 pm, DAPP were back together at Inox. We saw Ice Age 3. Delightful movie. A must watch. I would advise everyone to catch a night show during some weekend coz families get their kids and its a fun atmosphere in the movie hall listening to giggles and crackles of kids. We came to our place after the movie and Dinesh and Prakash had got some crackers.
We were not sure if 11 pm was the right time for crackers but still we went ahead. After some shots, 2 guys came storming out of a society and started yelling at us. We knew it was our fault and apologized immediately but there guys were not ready to cool down. Finally, we asked them to take any action they desire against us before moving on.
I met Pranay and Devyani at Good Luck on Saturday morning (Biwi was working). It was funny. I had gone to Mumbai the same day that they had come down to Pune. :). We walked till IMDR (for old time's sake :P)and chatted for an hour or so. Then I went to Gaurav's place. Initially, only Gaurav and I were supposed to meet. But we were joined by Charan, Amol and Pushkar. We had a great time chatting away till evening. Amol was the show stealer as always. Kudos sire :P.
Dinesh and Prakash had got an aquarium for Biwi as her Birthday gift. The 2 fish are very cute. We have named them Nemo and Peaches. :P
It was a typical DAPP Saturday night.
Sunday was consumed mostly by sleep and rounded off with the marathon Wimbledon final. IT WAS ALL IN THE EYES ... ANDY BLINKED FIRST ... !!
Cheers to a wonderful weekend ... !!
It was an enthralling weekend ... er ... extended enthralling weekend. We didnt even know it would turn out to be such a showpiece.
When Biwi and I came back from swimming on Thursday morning, we were at Meghdoot having an Uttapam and discussing what we would do tomorrow (it was Biwi's birthday). We both had applied for leave but we were unsure as to what we would end up doing. Dinesh had said that he will also be on leave if there is some plan. Prakash had said that he will not get a leave come what may. Somehow, MUMBAI came up ... :)
No more discussion was needed. We were going into flashback mode. Back in 2004, I had just learned how to drive a car and Biwi was working in Mumbai at that time. I had borrowed money from numerous friends (I was not working then) and managed to go to Mumbai to surprise Biwi on her Birthday. We had gone to Marine Drive to cut the Birthday cake. Yes ... we were going to do that again.
The plan was to leave Pune by 9 pm and reach Marine Drive by midnight. Spend time at Marine Drive. Move on to Taj and Cafe Leopold and round it off with a drive on the Worli-Bandra sea link (it was toll free for another 4 days :P). With this discussed, we left for office on Thursday.
Biwi and I reached home at 8 pm and were ready to leave in another 30 minutes. Prakash came home. We left at 8:45 pm and moved to Chandni Chowk. We met Dinesh over there and left for Mumbai. We all were very hungry and had to stop near Indira Institute to have some food. By the time we left, it was 10:30 pm. The drive till Lonavala was hassle free but fog engulfed the road at Khandala. Visibility was sketchy and driving was extremely slow. To make matters worse, the land slides had caused 2 lanes to be shut. When we started descending the Ghat, fog disappeared but only to be replaced by rain. It was breezy rain till Panvel but when we entered New Mumbai, it started pouring down. Fortunately, the time was such that there were hardly any vehicles on the road. It was scary to watch cars parked on the road itself. All the images of News channels came storming back about the dreadful Mumbai rains. By the time we cleared Chembur and Sion, the rain was getting even more heavier. We reached Marine Drive at 1 am. It was just drizzling now and we thought it was quite apt coz we had to cut the Birthday cake. We all got down and Biwi did the needful.
We enjoyed for around an hour. There was a police van just behind our car which prompted us to get moving. We moved on to the Taj and it was a mixed feeling. We were driving through the lanes of Colaba asking for directions. The next thing we knew was that we were in the Taj driveway. An ensemble of security personnel greeted us. We had no intention of going inside the Taj. We asked them for directions for Cafe Leopold. Since there was a divider in place, we had to go towards the end of the Taj and take a U-turn. It was both fascinating and gruelling to watch to Taj from so close. There were still some dark spots around. Sigh. Towards the corner of our eyes, we could see the Gateway of India in all its splendor. It looks even better on a rainy overcast night without a crowd.
We reached Cafe Leopold but I guess it was too late. The shutters were semi closed and we thought we can give it a miss.
Right then. Onto the Worli-Bandra sea link. We kept asking for directions to reach Kemp's Corner in Worli. We even thought of getting down and visiting Haji Ali but the rain was so heavy that walking down the sea for 15 minutes didnt sound very exciting. We finally reached the sea link and wasnt it awesome? Hats off. It looks like a showpiece. In hindsight, it could be said that it should be looked at during the daytime but nevertheless it was a spectacle at night. Clicking pics was difficult due to the rain. The police didnt allow us to get down from the car and stand on the bridge. After spending around 30 minutes, we moved on.
We got down at Bandra and moved towards Pune via Sion, Chembur and Vashi. The rain was incessant and showed no respite at all. We needed some snacks and tea since I was feeling sleepy while driving. We halted at a hotel just before Lonavala. Biwi took over from me in the car and I dozed off a bit. Then we experienced 10 minutes of mayhem.
Towards Khandala, we were driving from the centre lane and the car stopped all of a sudden. There was a truck around 20 meters behind us and we had to make sure the car didnt retrace. The hand break was not pulled up completely so I pulled it hard. I took the driver's seat but the hand break was not ready to come down. Wet hands made it all the more difficult. There was a mini traffic jam coz of us and the truck behind evaded us by a whisker. Finally, we were able to get the hand break off and moved on. Phew ... !!
We reached Pune at 7 am and went to Good Luck. Had some Naashta and dropped Dinesh at Chandni Chowk. Prakash also went home while Biwi and I hit the sack as soon as we reached home.
The Birthday was spent at my in-laws place. My Saala had bought a new Pulsar 180. We all went to Dagdushet Ganpati to perform pooja. Some shopping ensued and at 8 pm, DAPP were back together at Inox. We saw Ice Age 3. Delightful movie. A must watch. I would advise everyone to catch a night show during some weekend coz families get their kids and its a fun atmosphere in the movie hall listening to giggles and crackles of kids. We came to our place after the movie and Dinesh and Prakash had got some crackers.
We were not sure if 11 pm was the right time for crackers but still we went ahead. After some shots, 2 guys came storming out of a society and started yelling at us. We knew it was our fault and apologized immediately but there guys were not ready to cool down. Finally, we asked them to take any action they desire against us before moving on.
I met Pranay and Devyani at Good Luck on Saturday morning (Biwi was working). It was funny. I had gone to Mumbai the same day that they had come down to Pune. :). We walked till IMDR (for old time's sake :P)and chatted for an hour or so. Then I went to Gaurav's place. Initially, only Gaurav and I were supposed to meet. But we were joined by Charan, Amol and Pushkar. We had a great time chatting away till evening. Amol was the show stealer as always. Kudos sire :P.
Dinesh and Prakash had got an aquarium for Biwi as her Birthday gift. The 2 fish are very cute. We have named them Nemo and Peaches. :P
It was a typical DAPP Saturday night.
Sunday was consumed mostly by sleep and rounded off with the marathon Wimbledon final. IT WAS ALL IN THE EYES ... ANDY BLINKED FIRST ... !!
Cheers to a wonderful weekend ... !!
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