A silent solution

Day 3: She was getting in at her usual station.  After only two casual sightings, she has had an impression on me. They way she shows her pass to the person checking, the way she radiates her persona, the subtle smile that she always has in her face, all looks so very poetic for me. Once again when she looked in my direction, our eyes meet and a mutual acknowledging smile followed. The smile and almost everything associated with our so called interaction is a pleasure for me. Though I did try not to embarass her by constantly staring, my self control had been put to its greatest test. After a tough days work this is a welcome relief. and meeting the same person in this busy modern life is as serendipitous as one can hope for. So without too much more thoughts, i just let myself drown in this little fun of mine till she gets down.

Day 5: Today is the day. From Monday till Thursday I was lucky. So if she gets in today, i will definitely have a small chat with her. Possibly we will share this bus journey for long or she she could get out of station the very next week. So with quite a bit of excitement  I was looking at the entrance at her stop. And she did not disappoint me. She came in armed with her smile. She, within a few moments, looked at my direction. And There I was ready to return her complement and smile back. This particular day has been a very good one for me. My work, a call from a good friend and many more small things going my way. Confidence has been building in me for quite sometime. And today for the second time there was another casual eye contact. And another smile. I waved at her, as  her stop was approaching. Another small head nod and she was ready to get down.

I quickly followed her . Still there were quite some people between us. The railway station stop is one of the most busiest in the entire route. I slowly made my way through the deluge of people. she was a few meters away from me now. I got close to her and was almost on par with her. "Hello miss, excuse me", I started. There was absolutely no reaction from here. she kept on going ahead. I tried my luck once again. this time with a stronger tone. No response still. My pride was hurt. I was not sure if I should barge in front of her. The tagline of maturity was weighing heavily on my back. So confused I stood there weighing up my options. She continued with with her brisk walk. As she was about to cross the road, some thing happened with her sandals. She was busy correcting that. A speeding car was approaching her and blaring out its horn. There was absolutely no reaction from her. For a moment I was shocked and was dumbfounded. Thankfully a passerby pulled her off just in time and  I breathed a sigh of relief. She said sorry in a language that was music to my eyes and mind. She apologised to the driver and the person who helped her in what looked like a sign language. I exactly know in what direction I want to walk now.

Barfi - A Review

Barfi - Poetry on Screen

A trailer that gets the people buzzing is always wonderful, but  if the movie fails to live up to the expectations, then its a bigger disappointment. But this is an exception. The movie was better than the trailer. A simple story said in an absorbing manner with a delightful mix of romance, comedy and emotions is a perfect "cocktail". By the time some of you might read this review you would have heard great things about the movie and I can vouch that all of it is true.

The movie tells the story of Barfi (Ranbir kapoor), a deaf and dumb happy go lucky charmer,  from Darjeeling. Set mostly in Darjeeling and Kolkata, his story is narrated by his acquaintances. Named after the his mom's favorite Murphy radio, his name gets transformed to Barfi. He has the knack of being chirpy even in the most serious of situations. And his happiness is epidemic!! We audience, like the rest of the characters, are the gleeful victims. Entering his life is the gorgeous but engaged Shruthi (Illeana), whom he falls for instantly. She is also charmed and falls for him slowly. Their interaction scenes are a delight to watch. But reality strikes and she ends up with the more affluent Ranjeet ( Jishnu Senguptha) leaving Barfi broken.

Then there is Jilmill (Priyanka Chopra), a childhood friend of Barfi, who is mentally challenged and seen as an embarrassment even by her own parents. A twist in the fate makes Barfi kidnap Jilmill and spend more than intended time with her. Jilmill is a complex grown up child who is in awe with Barfi and he also slowly but surely realises that he has been second time lucky in finding love. They move to Kolkata and start afresh. In the mean time they are continuously pursued by a police officer (The brilliant Saurab Shukla).  Another twist in fate, Sruthi enters their life as Mrs Senguptha. What follows is the story of bitter sweet relationship of the three and how this turns their life upside down.

The caste is wonderful starting from the irresistible Ranbir Kapoor. His off screen persona could be under question, but on onscreen he is an absolute delight to watch. With this performance he has left most of his contemporaries trailing in his wake. Then Illeana as Sruthi has given an adequate performance. Her transformation of Shruthi to Mrs Senguptha to Post - Mrs Senguptha (But why should liberated women end up as social workers?? - its getting cliched) is truly wonderful. Just like Mrs.Senguptha Illeana's acting matures throughout the movie. Its a complex character and Illeana does justice to that role. Hopefully bollywood has got its new Dream Girl. Now coming to the actual screen stealer - Priyanka chopra. This has to go down as one of the best performances ever seen in Bollywood and possibly Indian Cinema. One has to watch the movie to really appreciate the beauty of the portrayal of Jillmil. You can run out of superlatives. But Jillmil will stay in your heart for a long time. The supporting cast is wonderful lead by Saurab shukla. Special  mention should also go to person playing Jillmil's caretaker. The ensemble of able actors have delivered a masterful performance.

Anurag Basu comes back after souless Kites with a wonderful story. The attention to the details is absolutely wonderful. Like Barfi learning words (so that i guess a predominantly righthanded ranbir made to write in left), the dyslectic 'B' taught to him by Jillmil, the trams of darjeeling and many more. This is a story that made me think a lot while viewing. This is something of a rarity in Hindi movie where everything  happening on the screen is blared out atleast twice. That leads to the next point that should be applauded. The dialogues for this movie would be as long as this review. Such a strong impression without dialogues is first of a kind in Hindi cinema. The scenes involving Jillmil and Barfi in the second half were shot without a word spoken and viewers are captivated. Pritam comes up with a BGM that stirs our soul. Cinematography capturing Darjeeling is a feast to our eyes. Technically, this movie must be up with the best.

On the downside the first half drags a bit towards intermission, the tortuous chronology of events tests viewers' patience as well as shoddy make up for the characters in their oldage is an eyesore. Also few scenes have the influence of Notebook and Charlie chaplin comedies. These minor irritants are plastered by a wonderful end product on screen. Its a story about inherent goodness of the people in a utopia envisioned by Anurag. After watching the movie many of us will fall in love with falling in love. But lets not carried away as we are not the Ranbirs and illeanas and we dont have puppeteer like anurag making us that charismatic. Like any good poetry just enjoy this journey w/o too many questions and you are sure to get your moneys worth.

The simple truth

As he mounted the jeep, it was rather satisfactory."We did it. We have Wriggled our selves a niche position in the history" said the enthusiastic youngster holding his Yugoslavian Mauser M-48BO with pride to his fellow comrade. It has been less than 20 hours since their troops successfully captured the country's capital from the incumbent President. These two youngsters had the painful job of segregating the corpses along the city markets so that a semblance of  normality could be restored to the war ravaged city. The dead military personal as well as the insurgents and the common denizens were heaped together and were being burnt continuously in a nearby corner. They also had ended the misery of a few police men who were still alive.

 The place that was once a picturesque trade center was shredded to peaces. But these boys were particularly chirpy, though stench of the rotting corpses was crossing the bearable limits. Add to that the cold wind was not helping their cause either.  They had been to the University together and were unceremoniously evicted following articles against the autocratic regime. They joined the uprising rather at the end. The cause and the hope of a free future was an ethereal dope that kept them going even under the most extreme of the situations. 

"Finally we can get back to the university." "People of this country would be very proud of us." The task at the hand was rather finally getting to them. "I wish we could have reduced this carnage. The human loss has been colossal" said the first kid who was collecting the limbs of a dead person. They went at it for more than six hours and had another couple of hours work left. Totally drained, they sat down on a huge boulder near by and put aside their weapons. This was previously a park at the city center which was a huge attraction. The people around the area either migrated to the northern part or lost their homes and shifted to a local relief camp. The whereabouts of those who had decided to stay on were unknown and many had lost their lives in the cross fire.

Suddenly they heard a rumble behind one of the bushes followed by what sounded like a human snoring. The kids got their Soviet NR 43 Combat Knife ready to strike and followed the snoring sound. On a stone bench laid a person who looked to be sleeping. These two were surprised. They themselves has not slept for more than 40 hours and the stench around the place was rather unbearable. A rag covered most of his body. They went and shook of the rag. Inside was a middle aged man, injured, but alive and sleeping. But what caught their eye was the military coat he was wearing. The second kid wanted to kill him straight away. As he was ready to use his combat knife, the first kid stopped him. "Look at his pants and shoes. He does not look part of the infantry." "He could be in disguise." "We have killed enough people today. Lets just give him a chance." Saying so the first kid, shook the person who was atleast 20 years elder. The guy wearily opened his eyes to the rifle pointing to his face.  "Comrade, introduce yourself and what are you doing here?" asked the first kid. "I am one of the guys from this neighborhood. I lost my home in the bombing. And i am here just to catch some sleep" said the weary person. He held out his identity proof that was issued by the insurgents to differentiate between normal people and infantry. Convinced that he was just a common man, the first kid asked him angrily "Then why the hell are you wearing a military coat?"   "Is it  a military attire? I had no idea. It was just too cold!!"

The unique sojourn

Source : abighairyspider.blogspot.com

Through my hawkish vision
I look back at my mission
The might of the tortuous choice
In the large labyrinth, shattering my poise

Though there is a need for a guiding hand
To disperse the confusion with a magic  wand
It's a luxury that I can ill  afford
traversing the horizon on my own accord.

 

The journey has never been even paced,
I sure  want a few paths retraced,
An adulation for where I am,
And my destination shown without a qualm.

But scripting every rule,
Making decisions like a fool,
Has gains that's Unwritten,
That keeps me glued and smitten.

The sojourn of a fellow higher animal,
Has effects in you that's minimal,
Never fearing their dis-repect,
Its your strength that you will not suspect.

Avoiding the jitters to venture alone,
Than connect being someone's clone,
Revering hands that guide,
And travel ahead as their comrade.

All can say if its good or bad,
Point at things that went right or wrong,
But I will always be glad,
And claim its my song!!

Insomnia

"Hello Doctor"
"So insomnia again?
I guess there is no other go. I have to hypnotize you. Are you up for it? "
"Yup. There is no other option."
Saying thus she laid on the push back chair. The train of thoughts in her mind simply could not let her remain calm. The thoughts that hit her were  so petty that she could hardly remember it even after a few passing seconds. She drifted onto a road not travelled before. The commotion is the road was too  much to bear. There were cars and buses running haphazard with no sync. She could sense a distinct lack of cohesion and could feel the ground below her trembling.

To her  relief a small girl came and held her hands tightly. She felt a sigh of relief. Slowly the cars dwindled and  the  empty road began to gape at her rather eerily. The small girl who came to her rescue was nowhere to be seen. She felt really bad. "I ought to atleast thank her"-she to herself and started looking for her. The empty horizon aided her in spotting the girl at a distance.

In small girl's eyes she found a sort of  melancholy that attracted her to the girl's abode. She slowly paced her way into the house. Everything was so familiar to her.

 "She is not at all moving. Come on Addie please dont make me cry. Come on lets go on for a walk" exclaimed the tear-filled girl to her mother cuddling a limp poodle. 

"We have to break this slowly to her. Poor thing can never understand what has just happened." The mother whispered to her husband. He slowly lifted up the small girl. He took her for a small stroll. The small girl was visibly tired after all the crying. She laid in her bed and  said to her dad, "Why did addie not come with us for the walk?" "Addie will not be us anymore. Its because she is dead."
"So why he cant wake up?"
"How can I explain it to you? See death is a demon. Its like when you go to deep sleep, he engulfs you and one can  never wake up again!!! "

And thus the girl never slept properly again!!

India food diary

4 weeks in India and a few kilos Gained!! Though mom's food was the main reason I tested the limits of my body's immune power, tasting various cuisines across different states. Here is a list of my top 5 things I enjoyed outside "different mothers' cookings".

5th Position : Ven pongal with moong dhal sambar
Place : Shri Yogi ram surath kumar ashram, thiruvennamalai
Specialty :  Dripping ghee and a unique sambar made from moong dhal
Prasadams(Offerings to religious deities) in temples are simply delicious. Add to that an ashram with good funding who can afford good quality ghee and a wonderful cook, you get your gluttonous appetite quenched. A word for fitness freaks- keep yourself away from this heavy south indian breakfast.

4th position: Masala Dosa with special karnataka smabar, ghee roast
Place: Some hotel in bangalore in Koramangala that ends with Sagar (Rad side hotel with stools around with people stand and eat), Adayar anandha bhavan in chennai.
Long ago, long long ago, very long ago I fell in love with dosa!! I genuinely think that one gets the best dosa in Tamil nadu. But sadly i have to admit that dosa in bangalore is very unique. Additionally the sambar there gets an awesome flavor because of the Bedige chilli used in the preparation of the powder. I absolutely loved the masala dosa in bangalore. Thankfully to save tamil nadu's  respect, adayar anandha bhavan served me with a wonderful ghee roast. So 4th place is a tie between these two dosas. Sadly my trusted ghee masala dosa in saravana bhavan was a disappointment this time.

3rd position: Pani puri
Place : Amchi mumbai, anywhere on the roadside
I cannot say anything about this!! You just have to feel and just enjoy and not think even a bit about the water that the vendor uses.  Most of the times this would come first!! But this time I was plain lucky.

2nd Position: Masala Puri
Place: Neyveli  book fair, neyveli
No this is not a Chaat from mumbai. Neither it is the famous south indian breakfast Puri masala. Its a brilliant concoction of a Mumbai chaat like name and a typical south indian taste that liberally uses all the ingredients of a famous mumbai chaat and south indian masalas. Its a brain child of a local vendor in neyveli (I think) and can be tasted only once a year in the Famous neyveli book fair!!

Ist place: Molaga bhaji (Chilli bhaji)
Place : Beseant Nagar beach, chennai
Easily a dish that could give the terrifying kolapuri veg roll a run for its money!! Eaten along with an equally terrifying tomato chatni,  its the best dish I tasted in the last 4 weeks. A thing of beauty that is not to be  missed by the spicy food lovers. A word of caution - only two of us were able to complete one full bhaji amongst a group of 5 people. And we had to drink about 3 bottles cold water after sharing a plate (6 bhajis).

Its a hastily written post!! But I am sure most of you would have enjoyed the above mentioned items though I am heavily biased against south indian cusine!!  Things that almost made it to the list are Maduri idlis, Rajdhani thali in express avenue in chennai and the wonderful mexican sandwich in the notoriously famous leopold cafe near the Gate way of india in Mumbai.

The RVP Conundrum - A delusional arsenal fan's prespective!!

RVP after his scorcher against charlton in 2006

"You should always try to show respect, and this is just basic stuff that all human beings should have in their life – just being nice to people. It’s the little things, like giving people a minute of your time in the street, you show them respect, and live with your principles on life."

 This was what Robin van Persie had said when he was given the arsenal arm band last August. For once I was so happy that the footballer I loved watching had actually said that is apt for for all walks of life. Even when he was injured I used to support him with utmost loyalty. I even tried to choke a friend of mine as he tried to mock a RVP miss. Over the period of 7 months from August 11 to February 12 the respect I had for him quadrupled. The way he had encouraged his team mates during the 4-3 Blackburn fiasco, and the subsequent winners in almost all the matches that followed, I started idolizing him and started seeing him in the same bracket as Dennis Bergkamp. The height of which was the goal against spurs on 26th February 2012 at the Emirates and the his celebration that followed!! I was so very happy that day as it spurred me to take one of the most idiotic decisions in my life. 

But what followed is nothing short of a disaster personally as an arsenal fan!!  Every year I have been an eternal optimist hoping that Arsenal would win something inspite of Losing its captains. For once I was so damn sure that there is a player who is ready to put his everything for the club. But alas i was served with the most damning of reality checks!! Here is the statement he released recently. He has come out and said that arsenal lacked ambition when, for once they bought couple of decent players at the beginning of a transfer window. Really what is ambition? Buying the best player in every position, that's not ambition, that's football manager 2012 or Find a sheikh for unlimited funds and win everything every season, that's not ambition that's cheating and doesn't really fulfill the true sense of achievement. Look at Ajax 1995 for inspiration.

Robin van persie was the first person Wenger bought post the invincible season. Coming to a team full of superstars he came with quite a reputation of being a hot head. Following the pattern of youngsters being integrated into the team via Carling cups, he became a first team regular by 2006. His best moments came against Blackburn and Charlton. The period from 2004-10 was littered with countless injuries, niggles and lay offs. In almost all those years, he had missed the crucial times of the season, but the  touch of class was always apparent whenever he played!! He formed a lethal partner ship with adebyor in the beginning of 2008-09 season. It was a partnership that was broken more due to financial reasons than footballing ones. Understandably fabregas is the biggest footballing talent to have graced Arsenal in the past few years. RVP comes a very close second. The biggest surprise was when he was offered a new 4 year contract when he actually had played only 20 games in 2008-09 season. I dont think any other club would have done that.

So what will the departure of RVP mean. Another year of rebuilding. Another year of no trophy (most likely) and another summer of trying to hold on to our precious talent.(Is there someone left?? ox of jack possibly). Over the past 7 years I have seen most of my favorite players leaving arsenal. Cole, Viera, Henry, Helb, Flamini, Fabregas and the list is endless. Along with the departure of Fab, RVP will be the most painful. The present team was built around him. If Henry was the hero of Hiburey, emiretes has had only one prodigal son and it is RVP w/o doubt.

I feel so terribly sorry for Arsene Wenger tonight. Whatever mistakes he might have made during his tenure, at his heart he is an Arsenal man. Through and through. The club had come before his own family. The club has come before his own ambitions and interest. For all the faith and time and effort he has put into helping RVP become the player he is, Wenger is left with only disappointment. Just like cesc, just like nasri, just like cole and adebayor. He is one supreme eternal optimist and a sagacious patriarch who will not bend even a tiny little bit from his principles. Players have been continuously stabbing him from the rear and he has been valiant enough to  take it in his stride and still produce a team decent enough to compete in most competitions.

Wherever he goes I hope RVP remains the focus of that team. I would prefer if he chooses Juventus. The old lady are a striker away from becoming a fantastic team. But one thing is for sure, he would never achieve the same cult status he enjoys amongst the arsenal fans. One of the bitter lessons we all should learn is that "Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." - Einstein.  The same is applicable for Arsenal and Wenger must have perfected that art by now.

Personally i will try reduce the emotional attachment with the players and the club as it has been really painful. Its better to be professional and just follow the club.  But as always I will hope that arsenal win the quadruple and this fellow has a blinder becoming the best midfielder in europe. (No i am not kidding!!)

Hoping that diaby has an RVPisque return from injury!!