The blue umbrella
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Location : On the couch, on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
Accompanied by : A blanket and a cup of hot ginger chai and biskoot.
Position : Feet up, toes tucking deeper into the warm blanket.
Watching : Eyes glued, mesmerized by the rustic locales of Himachal Pradesh, relishing the simplistic, idyllic setting of pahaadi people and their oh-so-down-to-earth likes, dislikes, obsessions and a plethora of emotions of a common man in a very common town anywhere in India. Yes, the movie playing is "Neeli(Aasmani) Chhatri" a movie adaptation of Ruskin Bond's 'The blue umbrella'. I am simply bowled over and I will not say more about the movie. Just watch and be transported to the land of simplicity. Or a ride akin to going back to Malgudi days. Vishal Bharadwaj scores, once more. Music is lilting and soothing. One of the very few movies in which I didnt feel the need to ffwd the songs.
End result : One very satisfied mint!
Rating : 10/10.
Footnote : Also watched Rendition this weekend. Maha impressed with Jake Gyllenhaal. About the movie itself, definitely not my type- these CIA horror stories and alleged torture methods. Bah! After Rendition, The Blue Umbrella was such a pleasant and refreshing eye-candy.
Monsoon musing
Thursday, October 25, 2007After teetering on the verge of drought conditions, the skies have opened up and have drenched the parched land, trees and bodies with a torrential outpour. With monsoon, comes cloudy, rainy, muggy days and the cold needs no better invite to soak up every piece of the world in its chilly embrace.
Having clung so stubbornly till now to the warm summer days, jay-walking in open toed sandals, pecking on cool salads and sunsets at 8pm, vacations and barbeques, this wet phase definitely puts a damper(figuratively and literally) to such sunny activities.
Its time to line up socks, ready the jackets and the gloves and the scarves. Time to make soups and hot ginger chais. Time for the leaves to turn color and fall. Time for the plants to start their long journey to hibernation.....till spring. And as I sort out my clothes- I set aside a bag to give away, some to put away and warm sweaters and turtleneck pullovers are the need for the next few months. Its a transition in every sense of the term.
The next few months will bring about more occasions to meet with friends huddled close to the fireplace, lazy weekend days sprawled in the couch- reading and sipping warm apple cider. Holiday season is just around the corner and binging becomes a necessity to keep the body warm.
The drastic change in lifestyle, thoughts and activities that the seasons bring about makes living in the east coast so much more enjoyable. The only thing permanent is change, isnt it?
Time to bid adieu to summer of 2007, its been a great and eventful ride. Time to welcome winter with fall and its brilliantly orchestrated colors and warm hues.
Listen! the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!
—Humbert Wolfe in "Autumn (Resignation)" (1926)
Picture courtsey : Milind Desai
The Twentieth wife
Tuesday, October 23, 2007Following closely, on the heels of City of Djinns, with tales from the Mughal rule in India, was my next book in the reading cart - "The Twentieth Wife" by Indu Sundaresan, this again, recommended by NN, a brilliantly crafted tale about Nur Jahan's life(Jahangir's twentieth and last wife) culminating in the marriage between the Mughal Emperor and this Diwan's daughter. A daughter born in times of strife and struggle, Mehrunnisa(meaning Sun of Women), as Nur Jahan was called, 'The Twentieth wife' focusses on the life and times of women in the Mughal empire, which is very unique in itself, the power they weilded, their daily struggles and how they rendered themselves invaluable to their Emperors.
Wonderful narrative and after a long while, I finally found a book I couldnt put away for extended periods of time- yes, the un-put-downable kind. In fact, I set aside all chores for today, and after I returned from work, over a nice hot cup of chai, I decided I HAD to finish it before the night :).
Indu Sundaresan's writing definitely has a captivating style, and a luscious, dreamy narration that reminds one of fairy tale romances. The setting, the dialogues are rich and very palpable, which makes it hard for one to conclude the book to be a fictional piece. Cant wait to lay my hands on its sequel- 'The Feast of Roses'.
So thats whats next in the reading cart. John Grisham's 'Playing for Pizza' will certainly have to wait!
Footnote : NN has also egged me to sign up for Shelfari. Hm, not sure if I want to, yet!
Shubh Laabh, Navratri Special
Friday, October 19, 2007Sigh!
Spam really does get interesting these days! Thanks to a certain Susan Moore, I get to dream during the day, aka day-dream!
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Got breakfast?
Thursday, October 18, 2007This morning, over a very simple breakfast of cornmeal upma and coffee, I launched into an unusual line of thought that invariably took me on a ramble and if I were to be literally walking, I'd probably have reached work. See, whats unusual is the fact that I dont do breakfast. Yes yes, all ye that preach that "breakfast is the first meal of the day, one should never skip breakfast...bla bla bla" Alright, I got it. But I believe I know and understand my tummy and its requirements pretty well and hence I conclude I dont need breakfast. A healthy and wholesome lunch at noon suffices. The next meal is around 7pm and that would be ...... I think that would be what the Brits would call supper.
So I googled on breakfast, just like some people read a newspaper, some watch tv and catch up on the latest headlines....yes I sit in front of my PC and browse for random stuff(ok, all of you can stop rolling on the floor now- this is an established quirk!).
Friendly neighbourhood Wiki showed details about the different kinds of breakfasts around the world and it even mentioned our own idli-dosa-vada. My own personal favorite is Continental. Very mention and you'll find me dropping every diet and exercise ever created and rushing for the closest buffet table. One of the best I've had so far is at the Ritz in Singapore. The breakfast buffet(which included Continental as well as Asian fare) started at 6am and lasted till 11am. Another hour and one might as well stay on for lunch!
My next favorite would HAVE to be idli-vada-sambar from any Darshini in Bangalore and more specifically from Brahmin's cafe in Shankarpuram(droooooool!!).
No talk of breakfast can be complete without mentioning Amma's breakfast specials. Her akki rotti, dosa and puri/sagu fare makes up for all the clinking and clanking of vessels and all other usual noises that arise from a kitchen at 5am in the morning.
So while I was browsing wiki, (if you notice), on the right hand side is a panel that reads thus :
Common meals...
Breakfast
Second breakfast
Elevenses
Brunch
Tiffin
Lunch
Tea
Dinner
Supper
Dessert
Snack
Hrm, common meals? I mean how common is it to have a second breakfast? Or Elevenses? And if one were to have every meal listed above in one day, one would probably have to spend the next several days in the loo!
Heck, I eat just 2 out of the 11 listed, and I still cant control my weight!!!
Sheesh, life just aint fair, I tell ya!
That aside, what's YOUR favorite breakfast?
Oh, the irony
Wednesday, October 17, 2007Poetry.
Not a favorite with my temperament. Whenever amma quoted some lines from Shakespeare or an ode of Wordsworth's, I'd cringe. I would detest those poem learning tasks that the teacher would assign and the primary reason was that I believed that what could be told in few words would ramble into a poem of so many words. I guess I preferred to be the word Midas or word Nazi, as the case may be.
That still didnt help me to evade learning poems by rote or having poetry taught in the school syllabus. So to that effect, I do remember a sizeable chunk of poetry.
And when I reached college, I was only too ready to take up the Science train and be rid of poetry altogether. Not a bad deal, at all. I'll take boring biology to verbose verse any day!
Eventually, over the years, I have begun to appreciate ghazals(definitely a version of poetry) and to this day, I am amazed I took to ghazals as effortlessly as a duck to water. But I never went back to revisit my feelings towards poetry. Until today...until I took this random quiz.....until I answered all the seemingly innocuous questions it asked and voila!
| You Should Be A Poet |
 |
City of Djinns
Tuesday, October 16, 2007The following morning, we were woken at 7:30 sharp by 'Land of Hope and Glory'. Half asleep, I shuffled to the door to find Ladoo, Mr. Puri's bearer, waiting outside. He was holding a tray. One the tray were two glasses of milky Indian chai.
'Chota hazari, sahib' said Ladoo. Bed tea.
'What a nice gesture,' I said returning to Olivia, 'Mrs. Puri has sent us up some tea.'
'I wish she had sent it up two hours later,' said Olivia from beneath the sheets.
I finished the tea and sank down beneath the covers. ten seconds later the Indian national anthem chimed out. I scrambled out of bed and again opened the door. Outside was a tin man with purple betel-stained lips. He had a muffler wrapped around his head and despite the heat, a thick donkey-jacket was buttoned tightly over his torso. I had never seen him before.
'Mali', he said. The gardener.
He bowed, walked past me and made for the kitchen, From the bedroom I could hear him fiddling around, filling a bucket of water then splashing it over the plants on the roof terrace. He knocked discreetly on the bedroom door to indicate he had finished, then disappeared down the stairs. The mali was followerd first my Murti, the sweeper, then by Prasad, the dhobi, and finally by Bahadru, Mrs. Puri's Nepali cook. I gave up trying to sleep and went downstairs.
'Mrs. Puri', I said, 'There have been a stream of strange people pouring in and out of my flat since seven thirty.'
'I know Mr. William,' replied Mrs. Puri. 'These people are your servants.'
'But I dont want any servants'.
'Everyone has them, that is what these people are for!'
'And we dont need a bearer. We both enjoy cooking'
' Then have a cook-bearer. One man, two jobs. Very modern. Its very important to have a good chauffeur. Some pukka fellow with a smart uniform.'
' I dont have a car, so its pointless having a driver.'
' But if you have no car and no driver' said Mrs.Puri, 'how will you be getting from place to place?'
Excerpt from City of Djinns by William Darlymple.
Yes!!! NN- I finally did finish this book. And I am glad I revisited it, cos it definitely was an enjoyable read. Still slightly slow, but love his writing style. Very orthodox and wonderfully fluid.
City of Djinns is a uniquely narrated piece about WD's experience of his stay in Delhi and talks about the aftereffects of Partition and the riots that happened after Indira Gandhi's assassination. About how the city and its multicultural inhabitants coped and recovered from the trauma. I also read on Wiki, that this book has also been made into a play.
One down in the reading cart, 2 more to go.
Pet nomenclature
Thursday, October 11, 2007I'm sure everyone, (and I only mean the regulars that frequent the internet, register themselves at random websites and such) has been posed with the secret question and of course, the secret answer while registering at internet sites. I always choose the "what was your first pet's name?". Now, like I mentioned elsewhere here, I dont do pets. Nope, I dont hate nor love them- having pets is just not me. You will find me petting other people's dogs, cats, turtles, gerbils- all and sundry- but I do know that I will never own one, never have, either. Then why would I choose to adopt this as my secret question?
A dictionary definition of the word pet says thus :
pet
–noun
1. any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately.
2. a person especially cherished or indulged; favorite: Eg : He was the teacher's pet.
3. a thing particularly cherished.
I choose option 2 :).
The End.
================================================
Anju
Jallu(for Jalajakshi, from the varnam of the same name)
Sooki
Droomi(for Drumadala, from our anthem-of course!)
Kelucharan(from the dancer)
Jhamkandi
Moodbidri
Cheedu(for Seethu)
Champa(or Champakali)
Shokka(cos I am Akka)
Anshuman
Arunima
Shambu
Jooj(or juju)
Rurubu
Sopayana
(pliss to make your own conclusion on what the above could be, I refuse to explain and be disowned to own 1/2 a mango tree, as has been threatened by a deceptively small-built firebrand). Enough damage done already!
Anyone out there looking to adopt?
Haiku mints
Wednesday, October 10, 2007Rickety old bench
Showers galore
Drenched and soaked.
Thunder aloud
Lightning flashes
Awaiting the drops
A beat, a tick
Heart and clock
Hand in hand.
Its a poem
To string words
Sense and beauty
Of sense and sensibility
Excerpt from Reuters :
Woman seeks rich husband, banker says "crappy" deal
Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:39am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Deal or no deal? An online exchange between a woman looking for a husband who earns more than $500,000 a year and a mystery Wall Street banker, who assessed her potential for romance as a business deal, has cause quite an Internet stir.
The anonymous 25-year-old woman recently posted an ad on the free online New York community Web site Craigslist, http://newyork.craigslist.org/, appealing for advice on how to find a wealthy husband.
"I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all," the woman, who described herself as "spectacularly beautiful" and "superficial," wrote.
"I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. $250,000 won't get me to Central Park West," she said, asking questions like "where do rich single men hang out?"
The mystery banker, who said he fit the bill, offered the woman an analysis of her predicament, describing it as "plain and simple a crappy business deal."
"Your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity ... in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful!" the banker wrote.
"So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset," he said. "Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!"
"It doesn't make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease," he said.
While the woman has since removed the ad from Craigslist, it -- ...........
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Ok, oddities aside, one interesting piece I did hear on NPR was that Nokia was making a bid to buy Navteq. Now, as we all know, Navteq provides a large chunk of navigational information. With the potential of Nokia phones being inherently equipped with such software, I am sure a large chunk of cell phone makers will be rushed to sign into similar deals?(Ahem, is anyone from Motorola listening? ;)
Footnote
My reading cart glares at me as I pass by, there's quite a few in the pile. I am so overdue. But I choose to hang on to every minute and second of the warm days that this year seems to be lending. Apparently we are near-drought conditions in our county for some weeks now. Winter is also rumoured to be warmer than usual.
Karoge yaad toh...
Wednesday, October 03, 2007...har baat yaad aayegi
Guzarte waqt ki har mauj teher jaayegi.
Yeh chaand bheete zamaanon ka aaina hoga
Bhatakte abr mein chehra koi banaa hoga
udaas raah koi daastaan sunaayegi
Its funny isnt it? The way one remembers a few events of the past, is through the pictures.....pictures, most often tell a tale. One recollects one's thoughts, the weather, the cool breeze that swept across the dusky views of the city, the friend you went along with, the food you ate...yes photos capture more than just the location. Its not about the patelgiri spot or the scenic outpost #23, its about the entire package that accompanies the physical location.
About more than a year ago, my first SLR camera breathed its last. Not without leaving me with wonderful pics of its last trip with me...Vegas. I was on an official trip but my best memories are of the day I got to myself. Me and my camera....went around Vegas. Unfortunately soon after its demise, I also lost my hard disk, which meant I lost all the pictures that this old faithful had captured for me. Thank God for online photo albums. Just today I was browsing some of them. And then I remembered by Minolta A1- my very first SLR investment. After having owned multiple point and shoot cameras, this was my real research one. This was the one on which I learnt about the polarizing filters and macro shots and all the shutterbuggy terms that camera geeks use.
Unfortunately then, I wasnt this paranoid about data backup and uploading pictures online. Hence I have a handful of the shots, from the many trips that the camera and I went on. It has been my loyal companion next only to my earlier car- the Jetta.
So I leave with some shots...of some of the trips that I went along with this camera.
At the Bellagio fountains, Vegas(2006). 
Singapore(2005)
Dancing peacock in the gardens of Warwick Castle, UK(2005)
Fall colors at New Hampshire(2005).
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