19th Sept was b’day of Kishu and this year’s 19th Sept was the second one without him in our lives. Everybody says “life moves on” and yes even I agree now that life moves on but then it never moves on like earlier. There is no salve which can heal this pain, no moment or object of happiness which can overcome this grief and no rationalization of thoughts which can let you accept this reality. Yes, things are moving ahead but not even a single day passes without remembering 5th Feb 2009 and things associated along with it. I don’t think I can ever describe how it feels esp. on days like these…You keep on thinking whether to cry at the loss or mourn the fact that we will never be able to even listen to his voice even for a second, forget about being with him or celebrating his special day together the way we used to do it earlier. But then it’s his b’day and whether he is with us or not, at least we should be thankful for this day as because of this day only we got to spend 27 memorable lovely years together. Mom was as always inconsolable but when we insisted her to express instead of keeping the grief within herself, this is what she had to write about this day. Though honestly speaking both me and Mom know that it’s not possible to express the exact feelings associated with Kishu or his absence from our lives in words…it’s just NOT possible!

Like last year, this year also I decided to spend the day with kids at Santosh Charitable Trust and as earlier they really made the day special for me & Kishu. The way the sing b’day songs for him or the way they celebrate this day with me, I think if Kishu is around somewhere, hopefully he would like the way his day is being celebrated.


It is one place which has really got a special place in my heart, a place which redefines the meaning of orphans or special kids. It’s an orphanage run by few noble souls who are doing it selflessly just to provide a better life and education to those kids. Total strength of the orphanage now is close to 55 (including staffs) and the financials are mainly based on the voluntary donations collected from working professionals, organizations and some authorities. Unlike other similar places, this one is really different. First the way they are transparent with their expenses, collections etc. you know that your money is in safe hands; secondly you need to meet the kids to understand this self urge towards donating money for them. I mean the way they talk, the way they introduce themselves or the way they all describe their ambition in life – with gleam in their eyes, clear goals and zeal to achieve the same! Not even a slightest trace of that becharapan or self pity in anyone of them. When you see them working so hard to realize their dreams, you on your own feel the need to do something for them which can help them in some ways and in return give you this unparalleled satisfaction of doing your bit towards them. Even my association with them is just one and half years old but trust me at least for this place nobody pesters me to contribute anything, it’s my internal conscience which tells me to do so. And thankfully I’m surrounded with few likeminded friends who also have been contributing to this place on their own.

Do check out their website - http://www.santoshcharity.org/ for more details about them and if anyone of you is keen to help these kids in having a better future, you can contact me or contact the numbers mentioned on their website. They do provide all authentic receipts for your contribution and money is utilized primarily in the education and overall personality development of the kids. Don't think about the amount, every penny is important for them. I don’t have any personal association with the trust and this post is no enforced marketing campaign on their behalf. I do it out of my own will as I know that every bit of contribution is important for them.

Just Generally · Kishu · Orphanage in Bangalore

Kishu’s B’day with Santosh Charity

19th Sept was b’day of Kishu and this year’s 19th Sept was the second one without him in our lives. Everybody says “life moves on” and yes even I agree now that life moves on but then it never moves on like earlier. There is no salve which can heal this pain, no moment or object of happiness which can overcome this grief and no rationalization of thoughts which can let you accept this reality. Yes, things are moving ahead but not even a single day passes without remembering 5th Feb 2009 and things associated along with it. I don’t think I can ever describe how it feels esp. on days like these…You keep on thinking whether to cry at the loss or mourn the fact that we will never be able to even listen to his voice even for a second, forget about being with him or celebrating his special day together the way we used to do it earlier. But then it’s his b’day and whether he is with us or not, at least we should be thankful for this day as because of this day only we got to spend 27 memorable lovely years together. Mom was as always inconsolable but when we insisted her to express instead of keeping the grief within herself, this is what she had to write about this day. Though honestly speaking both me and Mom know that it’s not possible to express the exact feelings associated with Kishu or his absence from our lives in words…it’s just NOT possible!

Like last year, this year also I decided to spend the day with kids at Santosh Charitable Trust and as earlier they really made the day special for me & Kishu. The way the sing b’day songs for him or the way they celebrate this day with me, I think if Kishu is around somewhere, hopefully he would like the way his day is being celebrated.


It is one place which has really got a special place in my heart, a place which redefines the meaning of orphans or special kids. It’s an orphanage run by few noble souls who are doing it selflessly just to provide a better life and education to those kids. Total strength of the orphanage now is close to 55 (including staffs) and the financials are mainly based on the voluntary donations collected from working professionals, organizations and some authorities. Unlike other similar places, this one is really different. First the way they are transparent with their expenses, collections etc. you know that your money is in safe hands; secondly you need to meet the kids to understand this self urge towards donating money for them. I mean the way they talk, the way they introduce themselves or the way they all describe their ambition in life – with gleam in their eyes, clear goals and zeal to achieve the same! Not even a slightest trace of that becharapan or self pity in anyone of them. When you see them working so hard to realize their dreams, you on your own feel the need to do something for them which can help them in some ways and in return give you this unparalleled satisfaction of doing your bit towards them. Even my association with them is just one and half years old but trust me at least for this place nobody pesters me to contribute anything, it’s my internal conscience which tells me to do so. And thankfully I’m surrounded with few likeminded friends who also have been contributing to this place on their own.

Do check out their website - http://www.santoshcharity.org/ for more details about them and if anyone of you is keen to help these kids in having a better future, you can contact me or contact the numbers mentioned on their website. They do provide all authentic receipts for your contribution and money is utilized primarily in the education and overall personality development of the kids. Don't think about the amount, every penny is important for them. I don’t have any personal association with the trust and this post is no enforced marketing campaign on their behalf. I do it out of my own will as I know that every bit of contribution is important for them.

In the whole history of mankind, have you ever, ever, ever met a man driver who can actually apologize to a woman driver saying it was his mistake??? I actually met one today, it was a very small mistake yet he apologized & that too on his own! A guy on Bajaj Avenger banged my running car from behind and before there would have been a scene created on road, he got down from his bike, came to me, apologized and said – ‘I know aapki koi galti nahi hai, I’m really sorry, it was my mistake!’ He looked at the car and said – ‘there is no damage in your car, once again sincere apologies’. OMG, I was really, really shocked! One the mistake was just too small for him to get down from his bike, walk up to my car and then apologize, next he was actually a man and the banged vehicle was of a woman. Now isn’t it assumed in this world that whenever there is a bang or accident between vehicles of a man vs woman, it has to, has to be the woman at fault! I’m just so full of respect for this gentleman.

Now, before we go into debate of men vs. women driver, let me be honest and tell you all that despite being a woman I don’t have any objection in accepting that men are good drivers. In fact if I speak of my surrounding, when it comes to tricky driving, pati is a better driver than me and so are lots of my men colleagues and friends. I don’t think I have ever tried to prove that I’m a better driver than them and have no intention to prove the same in future as well. Thankfully I have been driving my car successfully for last few years with bang record of only once till now and that too it was almost 4 years back (touchwood). For me, driving is more of a necessity than a pleasure and those living in Bangalore or Chennai can vouch for it as to how difficult it is to deal with auto guys here. I have absolutely no qualms about accepting the fact that men are generally good drivers, but what I’ve problem with accepting are two generalizations – 1. All men are better drivers than women, 2. All women are bad drivers. Yes, I hate these two general statements. Trust me tolerating women driver centric jokes is a different thing and I’ve always done so generously but facing the repercussion of it in real life for no fault of yours can get too much at times. Picture these:

1: Pati driving and crossing a junction in full speed, some auto guy also trying to cross the same junction from perpendicular side. Both will blow the horn, finally pati wins and crosses the junction while auto guy will take a sharp break and give him the pass. Now imagine the situation with me trying to cross the same junction, I’m almost there just about to take the turn, an auto guy comes from same perpendicular direction blowing his horn. I had reached earlier and I was nearer to the crossing but auto guy will keep on blowing the horn till I don’t stop and let him go! There won’t be much space in front of me, he will tilt his auto, do this & that but still he has to go before me. While crossing he will give me a disgusting and scornful look with sometimes even fingers raised at me. His expressions tell me that stopping and giving him the pass despite me being the first to reach that junction was not enough; I should have actually got down, saluted the auto driver, curtsied and then allowed him to pass with a bow! So, what he is just another rowdy auto driver, after all he is a male driver and it’s his janam siddh adhikaar to give that filthy look to all women drivers on this earth.

2: Another woman driver whom I know had parked the car on the left side of the road with her parking light on, this friend had new car. An old dilapidated white Indica with a male driver was trying to take U turn from opposite side of the road, driver was on phone and god knows where was he lost? Suddenly me & friend feel a dhaad bang on the door, so the guy had managed to bang his car royally on the new car. The moment friend rolled off her window glass, this driver just pounced back on us. You know how it is like ulta chor kotwal ko daante…OMG this man just didn’t listen at all, kept on blah blahing as to how the car was parked at the wrong place never mentioning even once about the fact that he was driving and our car was standing still - so, if there was a bang, it has to be his mistake. But then this man started his sentence only at high pitch observing that on opposite side a lady was on the driving eat. As they say – aggression is the best defense; within no time all the jobless people nearby gathered around us and started supporting him. As I said earlier, you know that when it is a tiff between man and a woman driver then no one even bothers to ask whose fault it is. Soon it became a big row and this lady actually ended up paying to the Indica driver for some smaller scratches on his already super scratched car and there was not even a single eye who tried to see that it was the door of my friend’s new car which was badly dented. And no, I have not tweaked any fact over here to make the incident look more sympathetic towards my friend, each and every word is written as happened.

3: On a lighter note, whenever something happens in our car (me & my husband share the same car), the default question of others will be – aur Kanu, kaha thoka is baar car ko? Hmmm, be it a small scratch or a big dent, the hobson’s choice of suspect is always me. And as I said in my first para, last when I had a road tiff with me on the driving seat was actually 4 years back. If pati is around, he will jokingly reply – nahi yaar, mere se thuki car, kanu se nahi. If not, then poor me will keep on explaining that it’s not me.

When it’s for fun its bearable but when it’s being misused by people like in situations 1 and 2, then it really gets on to your nerves. You know, I understand some women hit panic button faster and hence those troubles on road due to women drivers but I have really seen some jerk men drivers too! I understand men may have better control on brakes & accelerators but this does not mean that women are bad drivers always.

Just Generally · Musings · women drivers

Of driving, men drivers & women drivers

In the whole history of mankind, have you ever, ever, ever met a man driver who can actually apologize to a woman driver saying it was his mistake??? I actually met one today, it was a very small mistake yet he apologized & that too on his own! A guy on Bajaj Avenger banged my running car from behind and before there would have been a scene created on road, he got down from his bike, came to me, apologized and said – ‘I know aapki koi galti nahi hai, I’m really sorry, it was my mistake!’ He looked at the car and said – ‘there is no damage in your car, once again sincere apologies’. OMG, I was really, really shocked! One the mistake was just too small for him to get down from his bike, walk up to my car and then apologize, next he was actually a man and the banged vehicle was of a woman. Now isn’t it assumed in this world that whenever there is a bang or accident between vehicles of a man vs woman, it has to, has to be the woman at fault! I’m just so full of respect for this gentleman.

Now, before we go into debate of men vs. women driver, let me be honest and tell you all that despite being a woman I don’t have any objection in accepting that men are good drivers. In fact if I speak of my surrounding, when it comes to tricky driving, pati is a better driver than me and so are lots of my men colleagues and friends. I don’t think I have ever tried to prove that I’m a better driver than them and have no intention to prove the same in future as well. Thankfully I have been driving my car successfully for last few years with bang record of only once till now and that too it was almost 4 years back (touchwood). For me, driving is more of a necessity than a pleasure and those living in Bangalore or Chennai can vouch for it as to how difficult it is to deal with auto guys here. I have absolutely no qualms about accepting the fact that men are generally good drivers, but what I’ve problem with accepting are two generalizations – 1. All men are better drivers than women, 2. All women are bad drivers. Yes, I hate these two general statements. Trust me tolerating women driver centric jokes is a different thing and I’ve always done so generously but facing the repercussion of it in real life for no fault of yours can get too much at times. Picture these:

1: Pati driving and crossing a junction in full speed, some auto guy also trying to cross the same junction from perpendicular side. Both will blow the horn, finally pati wins and crosses the junction while auto guy will take a sharp break and give him the pass. Now imagine the situation with me trying to cross the same junction, I’m almost there just about to take the turn, an auto guy comes from same perpendicular direction blowing his horn. I had reached earlier and I was nearer to the crossing but auto guy will keep on blowing the horn till I don’t stop and let him go! There won’t be much space in front of me, he will tilt his auto, do this & that but still he has to go before me. While crossing he will give me a disgusting and scornful look with sometimes even fingers raised at me. His expressions tell me that stopping and giving him the pass despite me being the first to reach that junction was not enough; I should have actually got down, saluted the auto driver, curtsied and then allowed him to pass with a bow! So, what he is just another rowdy auto driver, after all he is a male driver and it’s his janam siddh adhikaar to give that filthy look to all women drivers on this earth.

2: Another woman driver whom I know had parked the car on the left side of the road with her parking light on, this friend had new car. An old dilapidated white Indica with a male driver was trying to take U turn from opposite side of the road, driver was on phone and god knows where was he lost? Suddenly me & friend feel a dhaad bang on the door, so the guy had managed to bang his car royally on the new car. The moment friend rolled off her window glass, this driver just pounced back on us. You know how it is like ulta chor kotwal ko daante…OMG this man just didn’t listen at all, kept on blah blahing as to how the car was parked at the wrong place never mentioning even once about the fact that he was driving and our car was standing still - so, if there was a bang, it has to be his mistake. But then this man started his sentence only at high pitch observing that on opposite side a lady was on the driving eat. As they say – aggression is the best defense; within no time all the jobless people nearby gathered around us and started supporting him. As I said earlier, you know that when it is a tiff between man and a woman driver then no one even bothers to ask whose fault it is. Soon it became a big row and this lady actually ended up paying to the Indica driver for some smaller scratches on his already super scratched car and there was not even a single eye who tried to see that it was the door of my friend’s new car which was badly dented. And no, I have not tweaked any fact over here to make the incident look more sympathetic towards my friend, each and every word is written as happened.

3: On a lighter note, whenever something happens in our car (me & my husband share the same car), the default question of others will be – aur Kanu, kaha thoka is baar car ko? Hmmm, be it a small scratch or a big dent, the hobson’s choice of suspect is always me. And as I said in my first para, last when I had a road tiff with me on the driving seat was actually 4 years back. If pati is around, he will jokingly reply – nahi yaar, mere se thuki car, kanu se nahi. If not, then poor me will keep on explaining that it’s not me.

When it’s for fun its bearable but when it’s being misused by people like in situations 1 and 2, then it really gets on to your nerves. You know, I understand some women hit panic button faster and hence those troubles on road due to women drivers but I have really seen some jerk men drivers too! I understand men may have better control on brakes & accelerators but this does not mean that women are bad drivers always.

So, now there is an ad also on television which just substantiates the fact that as far as sports in India is concerned, money is there more in endorsements and not the actual sport! I’m speaking of the recent Fair & Lovely ad where this gal is trying to win some cycle championship and her brother tells her to change the sport if she wants to buy a new house in order to fulfill her mother’s dream. And whoa by the end of the ad, the gal is able to afford any bungalow in that locality because she is all ujli ujli now…errr I mean fair & lovely ;) which has helped her in getting some endorsement deal from a famous sports company. Now when there is endorsement, there is money & when there is money, then maa ka sapna pura karne ka time ;)! And of course this endorsement came to her because she got transformed into this gorgeous, pretty, FAIR & LOVELY gal by applying fair & lovely! Chalo finally maa ka sapna sakaar hua, all thanks to this miraculous Fair & Lovely and the brand endorsement deal. Whatever happened to that cycle competition, who cares?

In a country where Sania is bigger than Tennis, Saina is bigger than Badminton & Vijender is bigger than Boxing, it does not come as a surprise that endorsements and not the actual sport are the main profession for so many of them. Well, there is no harm in earning money out of your profession be it sports or anything else, but commercializing your profession to an extent that you forget your profession only??? And mind it, I have not even spoken about Indian cricketers and their much discussed endorsement deals worth millions and billions of rupees Well, that’s a topic worth a book, Indian cricketers and their success in endorsement market is in fact a case study for marketing students across the globe. It’s really funny when you see this dark truth being shown proudly in the form of an ad commercial too :-). On one hand the ad is speaking of a sports gal but still the concept of bedaag goraapan :P, and to add to that she gets money because she gets that endorsement…LOL, des humara hai rangrez babu :)

Just Generally · Musings

Oh paisa yeh paisa :)

So, now there is an ad also on television which just substantiates the fact that as far as sports in India is concerned, money is there more in endorsements and not the actual sport! I’m speaking of the recent Fair & Lovely ad where this gal is trying to win some cycle championship and her brother tells her to change the sport if she wants to buy a new house in order to fulfill her mother’s dream. And whoa by the end of the ad, the gal is able to afford any bungalow in that locality because she is all ujli ujli now…errr I mean fair & lovely ;) which has helped her in getting some endorsement deal from a famous sports company. Now when there is endorsement, there is money & when there is money, then maa ka sapna pura karne ka time ;)! And of course this endorsement came to her because she got transformed into this gorgeous, pretty, FAIR & LOVELY gal by applying fair & lovely! Chalo finally maa ka sapna sakaar hua, all thanks to this miraculous Fair & Lovely and the brand endorsement deal. Whatever happened to that cycle competition, who cares?

In a country where Sania is bigger than Tennis, Saina is bigger than Badminton & Vijender is bigger than Boxing, it does not come as a surprise that endorsements and not the actual sport are the main profession for so many of them. Well, there is no harm in earning money out of your profession be it sports or anything else, but commercializing your profession to an extent that you forget your profession only??? And mind it, I have not even spoken about Indian cricketers and their much discussed endorsement deals worth millions and billions of rupees Well, that’s a topic worth a book, Indian cricketers and their success in endorsement market is in fact a case study for marketing students across the globe. It’s really funny when you see this dark truth being shown proudly in the form of an ad commercial too :-). On one hand the ad is speaking of a sports gal but still the concept of bedaag goraapan :P, and to add to that she gets money because she gets that endorsement…LOL, des humara hai rangrez babu :)

What a month this has been, traveled out of city almost on all weekends – Nrityagram, Tirupati, Goa & then Mumbai. Phew! Have so many things to share about the books which I read recently, about the recent places visited, about some observations, some changes, and some movies but yet again running short for time. Blogging & writing at other places apart from a full time job is really taking up my time away from this personal space

First thing first, one of my favorite blogger (& a friend as well now), Smita had a baby boy on 9^th Aug! Yayyy! Congratulations to the new mommy & loads of love to the new born. Smita: We’re eagerly waiting for a pic of your baby soon:-)

Now coming down to the post, you know I watched Aashayein yesterday, in fact I chose to watch it before Antardwand as the former was a Kukunoor movie. But what a disappointment the movie was! "Rahul (John Abraham), a 35-year-old learns he has lung cancer the day after he won huge sum of money in a betting game. Bitter, dazed and irrational in his grief, he decides to abandon his love of life Nafisa (Sonal Sehgal) and come to terms with his illness in isolation. He heads to a hospice where there are others like him and each of them is unique in the way they are living their last days". It was not that that I completely hated the movie, in fact some of the scenes were quite powerful but then those “doots & bhoots” and all the complications around them completely spoilt the poignant plot. I think the writer was trying to weave the central theme with too many non-coherent pieces. Kabhi kuch, toh abhi kuch…the only thing which holds your attention is Anahita Nair who plays the role of Padma and some strong scenes delivered by John. For rest of it, Aashayein was quite a niraasha for me. Wondering what has happened to the brand Kukunoor!

Aashayein movie review · Movie Review · Movies

Aashayein was quite a niraasha

What a month this has been, traveled out of city almost on all weekends – Nrityagram, Tirupati, Goa & then Mumbai. Phew! Have so many things to share about the books which I read recently, about the recent places visited, about some observations, some changes, and some movies but yet again running short for time. Blogging & writing at other places apart from a full time job is really taking up my time away from this personal space

First thing first, one of my favorite blogger (& a friend as well now), Smita had a baby boy on 9^th Aug! Yayyy! Congratulations to the new mommy & loads of love to the new born. Smita: We’re eagerly waiting for a pic of your baby soon:-)

Now coming down to the post, you know I watched Aashayein yesterday, in fact I chose to watch it before Antardwand as the former was a Kukunoor movie. But what a disappointment the movie was! "Rahul (John Abraham), a 35-year-old learns he has lung cancer the day after he won huge sum of money in a betting game. Bitter, dazed and irrational in his grief, he decides to abandon his love of life Nafisa (Sonal Sehgal) and come to terms with his illness in isolation. He heads to a hospice where there are others like him and each of them is unique in the way they are living their last days". It was not that that I completely hated the movie, in fact some of the scenes were quite powerful but then those “doots & bhoots” and all the complications around them completely spoilt the poignant plot. I think the writer was trying to weave the central theme with too many non-coherent pieces. Kabhi kuch, toh abhi kuch…the only thing which holds your attention is Anahita Nair who plays the role of Padma and some strong scenes delivered by John. For rest of it, Aashayein was quite a niraasha for me. Wondering what has happened to the brand Kukunoor!

A Walk in the Rain..

Thanks to a very old school friend for sending this back to me after so long...this is one of my initial pencil sketches which I had done one fine rainy day on school notebook while sitting in school library by seeing some picture on the opposite wall...friend liked it so much that decided to keep it and mailed a scanned copy of it after all these years...I'm really really touched and so full of nostalgia right now, well rain has always this effect on me :) It's a beautiful rainy day today and so thought of posting this rainy sketch on my blog today.

Just Generally · Rain

Wordless Wednesday: A Walk in the Rain

A Walk in the Rain..

Thanks to a very old school friend for sending this back to me after so long...this is one of my initial pencil sketches which I had done one fine rainy day on school notebook while sitting in school library by seeing some picture on the opposite wall...friend liked it so much that decided to keep it and mailed a scanned copy of it after all these years...I'm really really touched and so full of nostalgia right now, well rain has always this effect on me :) It's a beautiful rainy day today and so thought of posting this rainy sketch on my blog today.

If I was excited to see TBL, then I must say that I’m THRILLED to see Inception. What a movie it was – MIND BOGGLING, FLABBERGASTING & EXHILARATING! I think I can keep on adding adjectives but won’t be able to do justice to the visual experience of this movie.


It’s a sci-fi movie but not on robots or aliens; rather it is on a very unusual topic – Dream Architecture. It’s about technology invasion on human minds while they are sleeping; planting and extracting information out of their brains by getting transmitted into their dreams. Sounds weird, isn’t it? Trust me I don’t think I have ever imagined anything of this sort in my life neither I have read or watched anything like this earlier. It's an imagination extravaganza so to say.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a dream-thief and specialist in the art of extracting information from sleeping subjects. He and his friends hook themselves up with wires to the drugged targets and creep into their subconscious mind. He does his job of digging out information skillfully and always perfectly, but lands his toughest challenge when he's hired by a powerful businessman, Saito (Ken Watanabe) to plant an idea in a rival's head, instead of stealing one. And thus starts the tale of Cobb and his team entering into Robert Fisher’s (Cillian Murphy) dreams which gets followed by dreams within dreams within dreams within dreams…oh my god, the layering of the dreams and complexity of the plot just leaves you transfixed to the screen. You can’t afford to lose your attention for even a fraction of second in the movie. No more update on the story in the interest of those who are going to watch it but trust me even if you would have read the whole story then too the written content for a movie like this just can not act as a spoiler, for this is a movie which you really need to see (and that too maybe more than once) to understand it clearly. And the ending of the movie is such that it leaves you with a desire to watch it again in order to understand it better, that spinning but only slightly tipping top leaves you wondering if it was a dream or reality in the end.

From my side it’s a must watch, in fact me and husband are already planning to catch up with it again as soon as it comes on DVD. If you were thrilled by Memento & loved The Dark Knight, then go and watch it as Christopher Nolan won’t leave you disappointed with this engaging, gripping and a really different movie.

Inception Review · Movie Review · Movies

Inception: A dream extravaganza

If I was excited to see TBL, then I must say that I’m THRILLED to see Inception. What a movie it was – MIND BOGGLING, FLABBERGASTING & EXHILARATING! I think I can keep on adding adjectives but won’t be able to do justice to the visual experience of this movie.


It’s a sci-fi movie but not on robots or aliens; rather it is on a very unusual topic – Dream Architecture. It’s about technology invasion on human minds while they are sleeping; planting and extracting information out of their brains by getting transmitted into their dreams. Sounds weird, isn’t it? Trust me I don’t think I have ever imagined anything of this sort in my life neither I have read or watched anything like this earlier. It's an imagination extravaganza so to say.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a dream-thief and specialist in the art of extracting information from sleeping subjects. He and his friends hook themselves up with wires to the drugged targets and creep into their subconscious mind. He does his job of digging out information skillfully and always perfectly, but lands his toughest challenge when he's hired by a powerful businessman, Saito (Ken Watanabe) to plant an idea in a rival's head, instead of stealing one. And thus starts the tale of Cobb and his team entering into Robert Fisher’s (Cillian Murphy) dreams which gets followed by dreams within dreams within dreams within dreams…oh my god, the layering of the dreams and complexity of the plot just leaves you transfixed to the screen. You can’t afford to lose your attention for even a fraction of second in the movie. No more update on the story in the interest of those who are going to watch it but trust me even if you would have read the whole story then too the written content for a movie like this just can not act as a spoiler, for this is a movie which you really need to see (and that too maybe more than once) to understand it clearly. And the ending of the movie is such that it leaves you with a desire to watch it again in order to understand it better, that spinning but only slightly tipping top leaves you wondering if it was a dream or reality in the end.

From my side it’s a must watch, in fact me and husband are already planning to catch up with it again as soon as it comes on DVD. If you were thrilled by Memento & loved The Dark Knight, then go and watch it as Christopher Nolan won’t leave you disappointed with this engaging, gripping and a really different movie.

Writing about movies after a long time as feel like definitely writing about this one :-). Watched ‘Tere Bin Laden’ last weekend and man, what fun! This movie reminded me of an old program – MTV fully faltoo. Ya, it was fully faltoo types, totally bakar yet fun. Tere Bin Laden is a comedy film about Ali Hassan (Ali Zafar), a reporter with some godforsaken TV channel DANKA in Karachi, he is desperate to go to US for better career prospects and a better life and keeps on dreaming of making it big one day. But unfortunately in some comic series of incidents, his visa has been refused six times in seven years. One fine day while doing a coverage for his crazy channel, he comes across Osama Bin Laden look alike and thus starts Ali’s humorous journey of becoming rich and famous using Bin Laden. And as I always say, won’t be a spoiler by revealing more of the story in the interest of those who are yet to watch it :-).

Slapstick, satirical and silly, yet the movie clicks mainly because of its content. It has an entertaining plot and some really funny moments to make you laugh off your seat. Though may not be one of the best comedies from Bollywood, but nevertheless far better than so called comedy movies like “All the Best” or “De Dana Dan”where one has to wonder whether to laugh or cry on those nonsensical acts and absurd dialogues. This movie definitely has some originality when it comes to execution. Not even a single known actor, no songs, no clichés but still the movie manages to hold your attention from start to end. From my side it is definitely a one-time good watch, for you need to see how a movie can sail through nicely based on its content even if no big name is attached to it. Happy to note that content still rules in some cases when it comes to Bollywood.

Going to watch Inception tonight, hope I like it as much as I have heard about it.

Movie Review · Movies · Tere Bin Laden review

Tere Bin Laden: Once again, content rules

Writing about movies after a long time as feel like definitely writing about this one :-). Watched ‘Tere Bin Laden’ last weekend and man, what fun! This movie reminded me of an old program – MTV fully faltoo. Ya, it was fully faltoo types, totally bakar yet fun. Tere Bin Laden is a comedy film about Ali Hassan (Ali Zafar), a reporter with some godforsaken TV channel DANKA in Karachi, he is desperate to go to US for better career prospects and a better life and keeps on dreaming of making it big one day. But unfortunately in some comic series of incidents, his visa has been refused six times in seven years. One fine day while doing a coverage for his crazy channel, he comes across Osama Bin Laden look alike and thus starts Ali’s humorous journey of becoming rich and famous using Bin Laden. And as I always say, won’t be a spoiler by revealing more of the story in the interest of those who are yet to watch it :-).

Slapstick, satirical and silly, yet the movie clicks mainly because of its content. It has an entertaining plot and some really funny moments to make you laugh off your seat. Though may not be one of the best comedies from Bollywood, but nevertheless far better than so called comedy movies like “All the Best” or “De Dana Dan”where one has to wonder whether to laugh or cry on those nonsensical acts and absurd dialogues. This movie definitely has some originality when it comes to execution. Not even a single known actor, no songs, no clichés but still the movie manages to hold your attention from start to end. From my side it is definitely a one-time good watch, for you need to see how a movie can sail through nicely based on its content even if no big name is attached to it. Happy to note that content still rules in some cases when it comes to Bollywood.

Going to watch Inception tonight, hope I like it as much as I have heard about it.

Not that reading bizarre news in newspapers surprises me anymore, in fact I can safely say that when I pick up newspaper in the morning, I do expect to read at least 3-4 such weird news which just leaves you thinking – aisa bhi ho sakta hai kya! But when you read some news piece like this, not only it leaves you amazed at the plight of things around us but it also makes you think about the state of human behavior in current times.

Frankly speaking I had no intention to write any gyaan post today but this news did effect me a lot. Earlier I had read it in newspapers, and last night when I saw some coverages being aired on news channels about kidnapped babies rescued in TN, the visuals impacted me all the more! As per the report – “two more babies were recovered yesterday in TN on the basis of the lead given by the two gangsters who were on police custody. In this connection Jayaprakash, Chennai based middle man and Ramalingam, an accomplice of Dhanalakshmi were arrested by the Krishnagiri police. Police sources said that the accused in the baby kidnapping case, Dhanalakshmi confessed that she had kidnapped a four day old male baby belonging to N. Mumtaj hailing from Tiruppathur at the Tiruppathur GH and a two and half year old boy of S. Sangeetha of Pernambattu Colony on July 23, 2008 and handed over to Girija another accused in the case under the police custody. In turn Girija sold the four day old baby to Puzhuthiraj-Mekala couple in Jainagar in Bangalore for Rs.99, 000 and another baby was sold to Periyasamy-Kamalam couple living near Salem in Krishnagiri for Rs.50, 000”.

Parents interested in selling their own babies out of need is a different topic, maybe their financial penury is so overpowering that they decide to sell their own kids for any money ranging between Rs. 10,000 to 1.5 lacs. Yeah, 10k – that’s the cost of a human life in India! But imagine people STEALING babies and then selling it in the market to the willing ones? Can a human really do this? Human trafficking anyways is growing at a phenomenal rate in India and right from women being used in sex market, to kids being used for child labor or kid-sex market, we have seen and are seeing it all. Human trafficking is actually an organized industry which has been observing growth rate of no less than 20-30 per cent year on year basis. But kidnapping new born babies or so called baby-trafficking has to be really the worst form of trafficking I guess! More than my anger on rackets kidnapping new born babies, I feel disgusted on these affluent people who out of their parental hunger are actually paying money for those stolen innocent babies. There are so many orphanages in India, why not adopt one from there and why resorting to this ugly act of inhumaneness? Is it because they definitely want a new born baby only or they are ashamed of adopting one from orphanage? Frankly speaking I am quite curious to know more about their reasons of buying babies this illegal way but whatever might be the reason, I think nothing can be worse or more shameful than participating in trafficking of innocent new-born infants!

human trafficking in India · Musings

Human trafficking in India – Now chor bazaar for kids?

Not that reading bizarre news in newspapers surprises me anymore, in fact I can safely say that when I pick up newspaper in the morning, I do expect to read at least 3-4 such weird news which just leaves you thinking – aisa bhi ho sakta hai kya! But when you read some news piece like this, not only it leaves you amazed at the plight of things around us but it also makes you think about the state of human behavior in current times.

Frankly speaking I had no intention to write any gyaan post today but this news did effect me a lot. Earlier I had read it in newspapers, and last night when I saw some coverages being aired on news channels about kidnapped babies rescued in TN, the visuals impacted me all the more! As per the report – “two more babies were recovered yesterday in TN on the basis of the lead given by the two gangsters who were on police custody. In this connection Jayaprakash, Chennai based middle man and Ramalingam, an accomplice of Dhanalakshmi were arrested by the Krishnagiri police. Police sources said that the accused in the baby kidnapping case, Dhanalakshmi confessed that she had kidnapped a four day old male baby belonging to N. Mumtaj hailing from Tiruppathur at the Tiruppathur GH and a two and half year old boy of S. Sangeetha of Pernambattu Colony on July 23, 2008 and handed over to Girija another accused in the case under the police custody. In turn Girija sold the four day old baby to Puzhuthiraj-Mekala couple in Jainagar in Bangalore for Rs.99, 000 and another baby was sold to Periyasamy-Kamalam couple living near Salem in Krishnagiri for Rs.50, 000”.

Parents interested in selling their own babies out of need is a different topic, maybe their financial penury is so overpowering that they decide to sell their own kids for any money ranging between Rs. 10,000 to 1.5 lacs. Yeah, 10k – that’s the cost of a human life in India! But imagine people STEALING babies and then selling it in the market to the willing ones? Can a human really do this? Human trafficking anyways is growing at a phenomenal rate in India and right from women being used in sex market, to kids being used for child labor or kid-sex market, we have seen and are seeing it all. Human trafficking is actually an organized industry which has been observing growth rate of no less than 20-30 per cent year on year basis. But kidnapping new born babies or so called baby-trafficking has to be really the worst form of trafficking I guess! More than my anger on rackets kidnapping new born babies, I feel disgusted on these affluent people who out of their parental hunger are actually paying money for those stolen innocent babies. There are so many orphanages in India, why not adopt one from there and why resorting to this ugly act of inhumaneness? Is it because they definitely want a new born baby only or they are ashamed of adopting one from orphanage? Frankly speaking I am quite curious to know more about their reasons of buying babies this illegal way but whatever might be the reason, I think nothing can be worse or more shameful than participating in trafficking of innocent new-born infants!

Oh how I try to walk along with the flow, how I try to hold on to the pace, but life seems to be just slipping underneath my feet...
Pic: Taken during one of my recent trips to Pondicherry

Just Generally · Musings · Time

Wordless Wednesday

Oh how I try to walk along with the flow, how I try to hold on to the pace, but life seems to be just slipping underneath my feet...
Pic: Taken during one of my recent trips to Pondicherry

Got this image as a forward yesterday, and the first section of the picture immediately reminded me of the driving stretch between Sarjapur Junction- Agara; a stretch which unfortunately I need to drive by daily :(. How painful that stretch is can only be described by people who commute on it daily.

Most of the days I end up cribbing about traffic woes and the miseries of flyover construction all over Bangalore, though at the same time I also keep on thinking as to what I as an individual can do to avoid adding up to the already existing mess on roads. Trust me all the traffic problem in Bangalore is not only because of municipal issues, I seriously think that and firmly believe that a good part of the chaos is also due to highly undisciplined commuters here. Even if the percentage of such irresponsible drivers will be low as compared to the sincere ones but the problem is when there is not even an extra inch available to divert then even slight digression and other smart acts by few fellow drivers can really lead to larger chaos on the roads. Tired of driving (read crawling) on that route daily, I always think of opting for some public transportation service for my daily commuting needs. One it would save me all the hassle of meandering my ways on that horribly packed road, second at least from my side I’ll be reducing one car which occupies the road space with only one passenger in it! But unfortunately there is no good bus service available directly from my home to office. And taking auto daily is simply out of question – one needs a special training all together to deal with auto walas in Bangalore.

When I saw this picture yesterday and read a tweet about monthly bus day today in Bangalore, I thought let me try to travel by bus today. Last month also we had discussed in office about taking the bus on bus day as our contribution for lesser traffic from our side even if it meant for one day only. I knew this would mean at least extra 30 mins (6 mins to walk till nearest bus stop from my home, 14 mins to reach my office from nearest bus stop again & another 10 minutes to wait for bus to come assuming there will be at least some bus every 10 minutes). And taking out extra 30 mins in morning rush to reach office is a task in itself. But still determined to travel by bus today, I reached the stop dot on time as per the timing suggested by BMTC website. Two auto guys came and very proudly I said NO to them. Waiting, waiting and lo no bus at all for 15 mins. Hmmm, some more waiting and after approx 22 minutes saw a bus coming. Happily tried to enter the same and well the bus was jam packed so much so that not even a single passenger boarded the bus. A minute or two and the bus was just gone! Waiting commuters looked at each other with a wry smile. Waited for another few minutes and then along with others decided to succumb to auto wallas once again. And when we approached those auto guys whom earlier all of us had said no, you should have seen their ironical smile! Yes, once again we were at the mercy of them and knowing well that we have already wasted our time for 25-30 minutes, all of them asked whatever money they wanted to. Depending upon our negotiating powers, kannada speaking skills and urgency to reach office we took the autos at all random and highly inflated rates. Finally reached office quite late than planned and at a quite higher cost than estimated! Despite the intention to contribute my bit towards lesser traffic, the bus day was sort of dampener for me!

Though I am in total favor of initiatives like Bus Day or Carpooling drives in Bangalore, but I wonder do we have enough infrastructures to support such initiatives here? What’s the point in tom-tomming so much about initiatives like bus day when not even enough buses are there to support the needs of the commuters? If facilities are there but still public is not opting for it out of luxury or bit of convenience then I can still understand it, but here not even the basic facilities are in place for people to opt for? Can I as an individual really do anything towards easing out the traffic problems in Bangalore or am I just supposed to have more patience to cope up with it each & every day?

Bangalore Traffic · Bus Day in Bangalore · Musings

Bus Day - Is it really feasible?

Got this image as a forward yesterday, and the first section of the picture immediately reminded me of the driving stretch between Sarjapur Junction- Agara; a stretch which unfortunately I need to drive by daily :(. How painful that stretch is can only be described by people who commute on it daily.

Most of the days I end up cribbing about traffic woes and the miseries of flyover construction all over Bangalore, though at the same time I also keep on thinking as to what I as an individual can do to avoid adding up to the already existing mess on roads. Trust me all the traffic problem in Bangalore is not only because of municipal issues, I seriously think that and firmly believe that a good part of the chaos is also due to highly undisciplined commuters here. Even if the percentage of such irresponsible drivers will be low as compared to the sincere ones but the problem is when there is not even an extra inch available to divert then even slight digression and other smart acts by few fellow drivers can really lead to larger chaos on the roads. Tired of driving (read crawling) on that route daily, I always think of opting for some public transportation service for my daily commuting needs. One it would save me all the hassle of meandering my ways on that horribly packed road, second at least from my side I’ll be reducing one car which occupies the road space with only one passenger in it! But unfortunately there is no good bus service available directly from my home to office. And taking auto daily is simply out of question – one needs a special training all together to deal with auto walas in Bangalore.

When I saw this picture yesterday and read a tweet about monthly bus day today in Bangalore, I thought let me try to travel by bus today. Last month also we had discussed in office about taking the bus on bus day as our contribution for lesser traffic from our side even if it meant for one day only. I knew this would mean at least extra 30 mins (6 mins to walk till nearest bus stop from my home, 14 mins to reach my office from nearest bus stop again & another 10 minutes to wait for bus to come assuming there will be at least some bus every 10 minutes). And taking out extra 30 mins in morning rush to reach office is a task in itself. But still determined to travel by bus today, I reached the stop dot on time as per the timing suggested by BMTC website. Two auto guys came and very proudly I said NO to them. Waiting, waiting and lo no bus at all for 15 mins. Hmmm, some more waiting and after approx 22 minutes saw a bus coming. Happily tried to enter the same and well the bus was jam packed so much so that not even a single passenger boarded the bus. A minute or two and the bus was just gone! Waiting commuters looked at each other with a wry smile. Waited for another few minutes and then along with others decided to succumb to auto wallas once again. And when we approached those auto guys whom earlier all of us had said no, you should have seen their ironical smile! Yes, once again we were at the mercy of them and knowing well that we have already wasted our time for 25-30 minutes, all of them asked whatever money they wanted to. Depending upon our negotiating powers, kannada speaking skills and urgency to reach office we took the autos at all random and highly inflated rates. Finally reached office quite late than planned and at a quite higher cost than estimated! Despite the intention to contribute my bit towards lesser traffic, the bus day was sort of dampener for me!

Though I am in total favor of initiatives like Bus Day or Carpooling drives in Bangalore, but I wonder do we have enough infrastructures to support such initiatives here? What’s the point in tom-tomming so much about initiatives like bus day when not even enough buses are there to support the needs of the commuters? If facilities are there but still public is not opting for it out of luxury or bit of convenience then I can still understand it, but here not even the basic facilities are in place for people to opt for? Can I as an individual really do anything towards easing out the traffic problems in Bangalore or am I just supposed to have more patience to cope up with it each & every day?