3 idiots

After reading some preliminary reviews on this movie, we went suitably charged due to high marks given by most of the reviewers. We were expecting an Aamir's brilliance in a strong script, having earlier been impressed with Taare Zameen Pe and Lagaan.

I came out of the theater, not impressed. It was 3 hrs too long of a story and the message was quite clear very early on. It was that the rote system of learning in the Indian education system that wasn't right and we got it(quite early too). Once that was out of the way, the rest was just plain ole Hindi movie masala- some college romance, some college pranks and a very predictable climax. The scene where Mona Singh delivers here baby could so have been avoided and the ending was Oh-SO-predictable. For a engineering college setting filled with students that overflowed with this much lateral thinking, the mush was rather oblique.

There was some humorous scenes no doubt- those could easily fit in 2 hands worth of fingers(or under), these were easy to relate to and could occur in any engineering college. Aamir plays the college student role very convincingly(not surprisingly of course). The other two could've been given stronger story lines, IMO. They barely passed off as very effective sidekicks. The 'All is Well' catch phrase is definitely...uhm what shall I say...catchy? Boman Irani and Kareena are passable. What do we have left?- A very long and barely impressive movie.

Notes from back home- Dec 2009-1

Its time for some notes- notes about the small things that one does in one's hometown which can never be praised enough but undoubtedly are the prime things that one misses when one isn't here. I do have to write about our next trip which was to Nagarhole National Park along the Kabini river, but that's a later post.

* Day 0 and Day 1 of my trip found us at Bengaluru habba, shopping and enjoying the visual arts and crafts at the fair.

* Week 1- Visited and indulged in masala dosa at UD, idli/vada at Brahmin's cafe, masala dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan(ran into a Trigonometry lecturer from PU college and had a warm and wonderful chat while digging into afore mentioned masala dosa delight), lunch at Barbeque Nation, chaat at Sukh Sagar(Jayanagar). Phew!

* Watched and enjoyed Julie and Julia and Paa. Paa is undoubtedly a great movie. The characters are warm and wonderful, the dialogues are just about right and there's none of the sentiment/emotion overload that Hindi films are known to overdo. AB Sr and Jr do justice to their roles and once in a while Vidya Balan does come through. Enough said- go watch it and see for yourself.

* Shopping, eating, napping in the afternoons, some movies, some books, visiting friends and family all make for the perfect December break!

On the heritage trail-Part 2

Day 2

The second day was not as intensive on the foot as Day 1 was. We moved from the 16th century Vijayanagar empire back in time to the Chalukyan regime between 12th and 15th centuries. Most important of the Chalukyas was Pulekesi and Vikramaditya I and II. Our first stop was Aihole, about 3 hrs away from Hampi.

Aihole - is popularly known as the cradle of temple sculpture as a lot of artists used it as a test bed for new styles of architecture and stone techniques. A tour guide mentioned in the passing that Aihole was the 'primary school'.









From Aihole, onto Pattadakal(a 15 min drive)

Pattadakal- was the second capital of the Chalukyas. It was the coronation city for Chalukyan kings. Pattadakal was by far my most favorite place of all the ones we visited. Many of the temples in this area were built during the time of Vikramaditya II. Virupaksha temple and the Mallikarjuna temple are some of the more prominent structures in Pattadakal. Our next stop was Badami, the site of the awe-inspiring cave temples.









Badami - was the capital city of Chalukyas, earlier known as Vatapi. The cave temples here are just spellbinding. There are 4 caves- one dedicated to Shiva, the next two to Vishnu and the last cave to Jainism.












Day 3 - Ok, so this is where the mythological side of Hampi surfaces. After a short break away from Hampi, we spent Day 3 back in Hampi. The resort staff had planned for a refreshing hike early in the am along a trail around the place which took us along hanging bridges and the boulders over to a vantage point from where we could view the entire surroundings accompanied by the calming morning winds and lilting river sounds. After a hearty breakfast, we were all set to scale the Anjanadri hill which was the birthplace and abode of Lord Hanuman!

The next stop was at Pampa Sarovar. There is a small lake filled with lotuses and is the location where Sabri is said to have met Lord Rama.

The last stop for the day was at Sanapur Lake(much like ending a meal with curd rice), the calm, clear waters of the lake was a peaceful and befitting end to our 3 day retreat. We went back to Mango Tree for a refreshing lunch and back to our cottage for a well earned siesta.









Our last evening was spent with a cozy campfire and the warm company of the other guests at our wonderful retreat. And thus ended our wonderful getaway into the world of history, sculpture and the finer art of escaping far from the madding crowd.

On the heritage trail- Part 1

Uhmmm...errr....sorry peeps! I've been AWOL again, but what to do? The pen hasn't exactly been my best friend for some time now. That's not to say there hasn't been much going on. Oh, there is sirree. Did y'all know I'm home now? Yes, its home for Christmas and the holidays. I have to tell y'all about my first week here but that's another post.

For now, you've got to hear about our recent trip. Seren and I set off on the heritage trail along the Vijayanagar and Chalukyan empires. What that means is we visited Hampi, Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal.

Right at the onset, we were greatly impressed with our resort. We stayed at Hampi Boulders, and were assigned the executive cottage(that's the first pic on the left in the link above). The resort is scenically positioned amongst the hills and boulders around Hampi. There are about 20 cottages or so each with private walkways and provides ample privacy and seclusion to make it truly serene and picturesque. Cell phone coverage in the area is spotty and there is no intercom to the main gondola. There are also no TV's in the room or in the central dining area. The staff is pleasant, ever helpful and extremely prompt with service. What struck us was that the owner had a very good aesthetic sense and had put immense thought into making it a unique experience for his guests. The staff hold campfires every other evening and constantly encourage guests to mingle amongst each other. It makes for a very English setting with guests meeting in the common area for meals and inevitably chatting and exchanging notes about their day and visits around the area. A five star rating for sure from us and we'd recommend it to everyone. The place is rather pricey, be warned. But for the kind of amenities and service and serenity, it is well worth the money spent.








Day 1
We set off towards the ruins of Hampi, the historical nerve center of the Vijayanagar empire of 16th century. Krishnadevaraya is said to have been the most important monarch that encouraged sculpture and established trading ties with other countries during this regime. The stone chariot at the Vitthala temple is by far the biggest landmark of Hampi. Other important monuments include the Virupaksha temple and Zenana quarters that house the Lotus Mahal. Purandara Mantapa is a monument built for the singer-saint Purandaradasa right on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. King's Balance is a stone structure on which kings used to weigh themselves against gold and gems and donated for charities.














At the end of Day 1 we were exhausted, partly due to our own stupidity actually. We'd been warned to not take the Hampi ruins by foot since it covers about 25 kms. We started walking towards one set of monuments and by 1pm we were hungry and our feet were slowly beginning to kill us. Howoever, lunch at Mango Tree totally rejuvenated us. This restaurant was uniquely built around mango trees with unusual seating areas- low tables with floor seating. The restaurant is also located overlooking the wilderness and woods, so be prepared to catch some wildlife roaming around while you recharge your batteries. Being a pure vegetarian restaurant, the Mango Tree thali was scrumptious replete with thin, soft chapathis, a healthy sabji, a kootu, some rasam, sambar and rice. We coupled the thali with some refreshing lime juice.

This done, we decided to take on the next half of the Hampi trail by auto(which was by far the smartest decision we took). By around 5pm, we'd covered about 80% of monuments. See, there are two aspects to Hampi- one is the historical part, revolving around the Vijayanagar empire. The other is the mythological part- Hampi is also Kishkinda, Hanuman's birthplace is located right here.

More on this side of Hampi in the next post.

Inside the nostalgia dome

So how many of you grew up watching 'Crystal Maze'? No one? Bah!

This weekend, out of the blue, I was reminded of this game show. At one point in time, I nursed a secret wish to be a part of the show, I imagined myself collecting crystal balls and winning the show. The last scene where everyone congregates in the giant crystal dome with slips of paper fluttering around for everyone to collect is etched permanently in my mind.

Youtube can be a life saver most times. Are you surprised that I could find some of the Crystal Maze episodes out there? Well, I wasn't! As I rehashed these episodes, I chuckled at the costumes from those times. While they appear quirky now, the seriousness with which people played these games and had fun while doing so, is infectious. It definitely made me want to be in the show all over again.

Reality shows and game shows of current times appear rigged and are extremely scripted, I am told. I couldn't tell if this one was so back then, all I knew was it was a super cool game to play, thanks to the pyrotechnics, what more can a kid ask for?

Ooooh, I just remembered. I wanted to be on the Bournvita Quiz show as well, remember that one? Did you have a TV/game show growing up, that you wanted to be on?

Its a pleasant surprise when...

....out of the blue, the gym instructor plays a Bollywood track as accompaniment to the workout.

One silent night

Into the stillness of the night
As silence envelopes around tight
A lone lamp shines
While a lone soul dines
Its not a clear sky and hence
The clouds seem to weave dense
The moon tries but can't shine
While a lone soul dines
Holiday cheer has landed
In many a Christmas tree planted
There's hope and faith
In a pair of stockings
For what's a Yuletide in taupe
Red, green and gold is fit for the kings
In the silence of the night
As a lone soul dines
What a wondrous treat to sight
There's magic in the air, He signs.

Giving thanks!

This year, thanksgiving came in its true spirit. It came with the spirit of cozy dinners and lunches with friends and their families. The warmth of candle light and incense sticks, the aromas of chef specials, the scent of fresh flowers, the simmering spices and flavorful dishes...the teasing, lazing around watching trashy movies, the silly questions of trivial pursuit, test driving the kindle, playing Wii bowling(my very first encounter with Wii, btw) with my friend's 6-yr old niece....

Here's a peek into one part of the holiday which was a very traditional North Karnataka meal at Suj's place. My, what a delicious spread it was! I was 'spread' out on my couch for hours after this wonderful feast. What is a Thanksgiving holiday without some overeating, eh?