....and all that jazZ

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Where the innocent are lost and innocence is found,
Fingers clutching the kites that soar, feet planted firmly on the ground.
A little window facing the world, with nothing to see,
Free spirits soar confined within the walls, C'est La Vie !

The beautiful are lost and beauty is found,
Peals of lyrical laughter break the cacophony around
To be or not to be ?..
Oh, to find the will to question... C'est La Vie !!

A Must Watch : Born into Brothels.




Monday, July 25, 2005

Just good Friends !!


Two diametrically opposite worlds. The year 1989. Across the globe all the way from India to America. Two movies that made us laugh and cry. Maine Pyaar Kiya and When Harry met Sally.

Maine Pyaar Kiya was more then just a movie. It was a phenomenon. Everything about it was new and fresh for that day and time. Most of all it gave Bollywood its Brat. Friend caps, the heart with the bandage saying "I love you so much it hurts", prem applying balm on suman's ankle with his eyes closed (WOW !!! Age of Innocence ???), SPB singing for Salman. Europe's Final countdown shamelessly copied to make a item song in which the item dress is not shown. Suman, the painstakingly naive and shy belle, with the white salwar kurta and long tresses setting the stereotype for the "ideal girl" for years to come. The "ru ru ru " background tune. And the classic cult dialogue " Ek ladka aur ladki kabhie dost nahin ho sakte...."

The same time people also saw what I consider a very witty romantic movie "When Harry met Sally". Meg Ryan, the bhagyashree of the west ?? Billy Crystal is no Salman for sure and thank God. Spanning over 12 years of Harry and Sally's relationship which goes from hate to dislike to friendship and very conveniently love, it was a very clever movie in its own right. Keeping the mush quotient low I thought it kept the smile on your face all through. And there is the every so relevant conversation.
Harry Burns: No, what I'm saying is they all WANT to have sex with you.
Sally Albright: They do not.
Harry Burns: Do too.
Sally Albright: How do you know?
Harry Burns: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.
Sally Albright: So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?
Harry Burns: No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too.
Sally Albright: What if THEY don't want to have sex with YOU?
Harry Burns: Doesn't matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story.
Sally Albright: Well, I guess we're not going to be friends then.
Harry Burns: I guess not.
Sally Albright: That's too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York.
(courtesy imdb :))



1989 marked the end of an era of sorts. The worst in fashion is now behind us. So is Disco era.


Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Two much ?

  • Two books I just finished reading : Moon and Sixpence , Harry Potter and the Half blood prince. Former work of a genius. Latter a complete disappointment.

  • Two books I look forward to : Don Camillo and his flock (Giovanni Guareschi), Among the Believers (VS Naipaul)

  • Two movies I recently watched : Golmaal , 'D'. Former work of brilliance. Latter a disppointment.

  • Two movies I look forward to : Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

  • Two people I just cannot stand : Adam Sandler and John Mayer

  • Two re-runs I never tire of : Sienfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond

  • Two random songs I love : Abhi naa jaao chhod kar...(Hum Dono) and Mora Saiyyan ...(Fuzon)

  • Two things I say all the time : "Sweet !", "Damn !"

  • Two names I have been called and I detest : Regina, Rajini

  • Two names I like and use at Starbucks : Renee, Sophie

  • Two ways of signing off : Laters, Take care !


Thursday, July 14, 2005

Of lazy afternoons on the beach and lazier people


Setting : Earlier in the week there were elaborate bonfire plans for the weekend.. I was to bring samosas and kavita was to bake a cake. Me lying on my couch unable to move from heat exhaustion due to hiking. BiP in his house on his couch and Shy on his couch in his house. 3 Cellfones and one conference call.

S : So what happened to the bonfire plans on the beach.. ?
Me : I am super tired from the hike. So is kavita. We can't cook and all. Why don't you guys do some work for a change ?
S : Do you really want us to cook.. ? Anyways we dont really need to cook right, we have to throw things into the fire.. thats the whole point.
BiP : maybe we can do the bonfire, make just marshmellows drink beer and just order Pizzas at the beach.. saves everyone trouble.
Me : Who is going to pick up all the samaan ?
S : We can do it on our way to the beach !
Bip : Kavita has the coal..
Me : Ya, Ill remind her to get it...
S : Again, what do we do with coal at a bonfire.. U guys are soo smart (smirking).. we need wood... geez you guys !!!
Me : Oh okay, maybe we assign the wood task to someone else. I'll bring some chips etc,
S : So pizzas it is !!!
Me : i want jalapenos and pineapples on mine.
S : Someone will have to go pick it up from the beach, they wont deliver it there ... Or abhi order karte hain, and we'll pick it up on our way to the beach..
BiP : Arrey.... Thanda ho jayega.. we cant pick it up now.. !!!
Me : Don't ask me to do any work.. Ill bring chips... we can grab something over there near the beach ...
BiP : I'll bring beer.. I have a six pack at home.
Me : Will that be enough for everyone ?
S : I can bring some too.
BiP : Can we ask kavita to pick up some chivda from Surti Farsan ?
Me : Beer and Chivda ?? Gujju !!!! But whatever.. ya we can.. Ill bring cards to play as well.
BiP : Sounds like a plan.. what time do you guys wanna leave.. abhi toh bahut dhoop hai..
Me : Ya... how about 5:30 ish..
S : Too early.. lets go at 6 ish...
Me : Okay, pick me up guys...

Later that evening 6 lazy bums met at the beach for an hour, drank beer ate chivda. I forgot to carry chips cards and a beach mat. Then went to Chicago Uno and ate Pizzas and brownie sundae. Went back to BiP's place, ordered "The Incredibles" on-demand. And I slept through it.

Cheers to a perfectly lazy saturday evening spent with my favourite lazy people and many such more.




Monday, July 11, 2005

Pot Pourri of Thoughts

I saw you in the distance. I could tell from the silhouette in the fading light that it was you. And I paused in my steps. I no longer understand who is hiding and who is seeking ? Is there no real end to this game ? Or has it ended but I am still playing ?

Steel grey waters are just as enticing as blue waters. They have a haunting quality which the blue lacks.

I wish we could be like before again, K. "Its one one missed step and slip before you know it, and there seems no way to be redeemed !" (Sarah McLaughlin -- Fallen) I no longer know whom I am mad at... you or me. But every now and then I miss having you around, mon cher ami !

Another day of colourful silks. A day of celebration. My dear cousin got engaged yesterday. Happy emotions flow mixed with pangs of having had to miss it.

So people I know keep stumbling here and finding me. So I wonder, is it possible that you have found me too ? And you read my thoughts hidden to me ? That you wonder sitting in your world what I must wonder and you find yourself coming back here ? Ah, now thats a romantic possibility, isn't it ??

There are writers and then there are geniuses. Maugham falls in the latter. Started reading "Moon and the sixpence" and it had me hooked from the word go.

The last stretch of the run is the true test of mental strength. The last steps of a good climb as well. Ran 3.2 miles on Friday and hiked 8.5 odd steep miles saturday morning. Nursing a grazed knee and a weak ankle its every bit worth spending that energy. Everybit pushing telling myself "I can do this". And I did. Comfortably too !

Carrie found herself asking "Single and Fabulous !!!" or "Single and Fabulous???". As I shut my ears to everyone asking me when I am going to get married, from friends to family to my tax accountant reminding me that "Ah, so nothing has changed, you are still single , you don't own a home, and you didnt make any money on stocks this year, so filing is a no brainer" .. I still affirm the former.. "Single and Fabulous !!!! " Carrie had to go through a whole episode to realise that ... Duuuuhhh !!!

One of my favourite past-times is taking Sac's case. And I love him because he lets me do that. Kept laughing all the while he spoke seriously the other day. "Since when did you start drinking at work ?" he asked all irritated and at a loss for how to react. And it sent me into peals of laughter again.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

The "Log Kya Kahenge ?" Syndrome !


All of us suffer from it. When we are young we think we dont care. We want to rebel and live by the rules we write ourselves. So often I have thrown back the question at someone who has shot me with it. Afterall, Kya kahenge log ?. Then we convince ourselves that it does not matter because we dont care. "Log to kehte hi rahenge !" And who are these "log" or "people". People who we care about and likewise know and understand, as for the others....yeah what about them ? And thats how I got through college and thats how I still live my life. On my own terms. But in the not so distant past, I thought I slipped. And for a brief minute the question crossed my mind.."what will people think?". And since when did I start caring ?

At some base level don't we all seek social acceptance ? Some by the whole goddamn society. And such people spend the better years of their lives living by other people's standards and consciences. But even the most non-conformist person seeks approval from his own. Does'nt he ? Family and immediate circle of friends perhaps, but seeks it all the same. His conscience is a reflection of theirs. The "people" here is a very small number but they exist.

I realised when the question crossed my mind that I am still tied down by that desire to be accepted and respected by the standards other people have set. But I also realised that those who loved me continued to do so. It mattered not that I slipped. But my harshest critic is myself. If I could convince myself that its no big deal, if I could forgive myself for something I have never held in my opinion of others as a mistake, then the question would have never arisen. The "log" or the "people" is just in a nutshell ones own conscience. Is that what it is ??