fun n frolic galoreeee!!!

I was transposed back to the kiddo days… the days when life meant only studies and masti… when all u were expected to do was to be a good student and a good daughter/sister… when ”Getting marks” was the only aim of life… when Ludo championship was more coveted than all the riches in the world… when “Summer vacation” was the most important time of the year…

I still remember the days when my sis and I used to hate going for our swimming classes – the instructor was the very re-incarnation of satan himself!! We loved hating him. So, everyday before the class, we wud start the day by playing Monopoly (Or what we called Business, the Indian version of the game)… There were times when we ended up playing the game for 2-3 days at a stretch… we were addicted to it!!

After coming to Singapore, its like I am in kiddy land again! We play Monopoly, we play Cluedo, we play scrabble, literature and Wolf… its like we are kids again! Specially the last game of Monopoly was the best I have played so far…

So, apart from fiddling away with Iyer’s Rubiks, the weekend was all about Salsa-ing with Noobie and a couple of friends, Wolverine, IPL, Cluedo, Monopoly, and ofc Escape theme park, which was respendent with those kiddy rides!!

Feels good to become a child again

Life has been pretty good to me ever since I got married late last year! My husband, Noobie and I now live and work in Singapore.

Just last night, I was at a parlour near my apartment, and Noobie kept calling. We had the deal to meet at this MRT station and walk back home together. We were on call for about 2 mins while he kept trying to locate the place… When I put the phone down, he had spotted the place by then and was pacing the area outside… The parlour lady who was observing all of this, winked slyly at me and asked “Boyfriend?”. I smiled back and said “No. Husband”

In a separate though similar incident, I was in a meeting with two very charming Chinese women at work. We were generally chit-chatting after having covered the agenda set out for the meeting,

M and B: Oh, so you are new to Singapore. Where are you put up?
Me: Yeah… I stay in *blah blah*
M and B: Niceee… so u staying with parents/roomies?
Me: mmmm…errr…Room mate actually…and that room mate happens to be my husband

At this there was a long string of laughter, so loud.. it made me wonder what others in the office would think of our “meeting” To top it all, it was followed by a collective sigh, and “Ooooohhhh! U r sooo young!!!!” And then, yet again… I went to have lunch with a colleague who was equally shocked to find out that I was married.

When I was getting married, I thought it would be a funny feeling… the feeling of being married and I may need some time getting used to it But, here… its ppl who are taking time to get used to me being married!!

Such a contrast from the land, my birth land, where an unmarried girl in mid-20s attracts unwanted attention from all kinds of uncles and aunties

I was aghast when watching IPL this weekend. Somehow, something kept distracting me from the game… and that was nothing but the horrendous uniform of the players!! No, it wasnt the color. I had made my peace with the Gold and Black outfit of KKR long back. However, what kept bothering me was the multitude of logos printed all over the shirt AND the pant!!

It was rather amusing. Big logos, small logos… logos of all shapes and sizes relentlessly smothered on the front and the back of all the cricketers! Specially the Deccan Chargers uniform. Ok, so u have Deccan Chronicle printed in as big a font size as could be cramped on the front of the tee! A gasp escaped me when I witnessed the same logo printed in the same side, in a smaller font, right above the first one! What were they thinking? What purpose can putting the same logo on the same front in different font sizes possibly achieve?

In all of this imbecility, I pity the poor cricketers who are made (or shud I say are rather happy) to wear these hideous outfits!

How about this? Noobie and I will pay a hundred odd bucks to one of the teams and then have our names printed… ummm… let me see… on the rim of the collar maybe?

After a sabbatical of nearly 6 months, I am back.. back to work!

Finding a decent job in today’s market, was like trying to locate a needle in a haystack… only difference here, the needle may not exist at all… even if it did, there were better qualified needle hunters around!!

Fortunately, by divine intervention, an opportunity landed on my door step and I was more than happy to grab it

After an exhiliarating weekend in Tioman Islands (will write on it soon), I start work again! Today!

When leaving Chennai for good, I knew there would be some things that I would perenially miss – Some chosen and rare gems of people, whom I will remain indebted for life, for the kind of love and affection they showered on me… Besant Nagar beach and last but not the least Murugan Idli’s idlis!!

Even now Murugan Idli makes me drool… for they make the softest and the best idlis in the whole wide world!!

When I left Chennai, I knew it was leaving for good… and I knew I would remain in touch with all of my friends. The only thing I thought I would never find was Murugan Idli’s idlis… And I did!! Yes, I did!!

I found Murugan Idlis here in Singapore and I fell in love with it all over again!

I was chatting with a friend today after a long time… I am going to quote him/her here to get an opinion about the statement… I would like an unbiased opinion to what he/she said.

Ek aurat ke liye sabse bada achievement and function hota hai ghar grihasti sambhalna … and end result a good child … this is the basic function …wohh agar profession field main bahut successful ho gayi but is basic field main nahin, to usse ek failure hi maana jayega…

For those who cant understand hindi, here is a rough translation: For a woman, the biggest achievement and function is to run the house well, and the end result, a good child. This is the basic function… If she does very well professionally, but is a failure in the basic field, then she will be considered a failure…

What was the first thing that came to your mind when you read this? Your ideas are most welcome!

[PS I have hidden any details about the person, even the gender, to obtain a more holistic and unbiased view of the statement!]

The most coveted golden lady knight (Thanks to Reema for pointing it out) is being given out now!! Yes, I am watching 81st Annual Academy Awards live right now!!

And boy! Indians are on a roll!!

It started with the live coverage of the Red Carpet on E!. It was a splendid delight watching the kids from the movie Slumdog Millionaire adorn the red carpet in their little tuxedos! Oh! they all looked like little angels!! Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto looked at ease! I liked Irfan Khan’s calm and composed conduct, while Anil totally went over the top!

Now, here is a list of the wins so far

Best Documentary Short Film: Smile Pinki

This movie is about Pinki, a girl in rural India whose cleft lip has made her a social outcast, has a chance for a new life when she meets a dedicated social worker.

Our very own Slumdog Millionaire was nominated ten times and has already won 4 5 6 7 oscars so far

Music (Score)

Sound (Mixing)

Cinematography

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Update 1: Best Song (Jai Ho won the award)

Update 3: Best Director (Danny Boyle)

Update 4: Best film

It includes two Indians (AR Rahman, The one for sound mixing)

AR Rahman has won 2 oscars already And Gulzar for lyrics!!

Update 2: The Indian troupe led by AR Rahman performed on the songs “Jai Ho” and “O Saya”. It was grandeur at its best!

I will be updating this blog as we go forward!

[Courtesy: http://www.oscar.com]

Is it a coincidence that I saw Slumdog Millionaire last night (review coming soon) and today morning I turn on the television to watch American Idol Season 8. Frankly, I do not understand western music. I am not into rock or western classical music of any sort. So, it is difficult for me to judge if a singer is good or bad. They all sound the same, unless they are totally off-key.

Coming back to the point, Anoop Desai is the only guy from Indian origin to have made it to the top 36 of American Idol Season 8. He is a calm and composed guy and the judges love him.

I am not sure what kind of effect slumdog millionaire had on Indians and the rest of the world, but I did not find it amusing at all when Ryan Seacrest, the host of this show, actually referred to Anoop as Anoopdog!!

Is that funny? NO!

We Indians are aware of the economic situation in India and the kind of lives people in our slums live. Yes, the lives of some of us are bad enough to be better than that of even a dog. But, things have come a long way ever since we became an independent country and we are positive things will improve! They will. They have to. With brains and attitude like ours, we can not be far behind!

But, labeling a fellow Indian as a dog!????

Mr. Ryan, you certainly have a lot of explaining to do. Apparently, it was Anoop who decided to call himself that!! Well what more can I say to that! Looks like its fashionable to be called “dawwwg”!!! Hmmmpffffff

Have we ever thought of all those things that make us really happy? How many of us actually think about it? What do you think is the cost of that one smile on our face?

Most of us are running towards different things in life… someone wants to be rich… someone wants to be famous… someone wants a good career… someone wants a loving and caring family… someone wants to see the whole world… And how do these ambitions occur to this little mind of ours? Because either from the outside (influence of external world) or from the inside, something tells us that if we achieved so and so, we will be happy!!

Now, none of this is wrong… It is a progressionist behavior to be ambitious! If we were not that, we wud still be in caves, hunting for a living!

What is wrong here is the propensity to miss out on the little nudgets of happiness that life throws at us in the aim of reaching out for something which we believe will engulf us in profound bliss! Some fortunate ones even achieve what they set out to… And they will testify for this fact! No matter what you think will give you happiness… And no matter how much to try to run after happiness… it will elude you in unforeseen ways!

Have you heard of the story of the famous deer who would search for a pleasant smell all over the place only to realise at the end that he himself was the source of it, nothing else? It is such an old fable and so true!

So, lets us here take a pledge to find happiness in every small thing that we can After all, it is not the destination which matters afterall, it is the journey that leads to it

Cheers to all you beautiful people!

[PS I just cudnt think of a more apt title for this post ]

Hey ya me back again! And this time again m thinking out loud so please dont hit me if you find this post grossly inadequate in terms of content!!

I was another one of those people who thought birthdays were meant to be special until this one!!

I mean what is there to cheer about? If you are 10, ok maybe yes, u put on a nice little joker hat and entertain fellow kids at a birthday bash fondly thrown by your parents… Parents are happy coz their cute little brat is growing up… and you are happy… maybe coz u r nearer to turning into a teen!

When you are teen and facing all those teen problems, birthdays still make you happy… why? Coz there is always that sweet sixteen to look forward to

And at sixteen when you neither a teen nor an adult, you just cant wait to grow up… coz u want to be taken seriously by everyone!! So again, you are happy on your birthdays!!

But is there a reason to celebrate when you are on the wrong side of 20s??? Naaaahhh!! Dont think so! There is only thing that should be done on getting a day older and that is to sulk, precisely what I am doing right now!

So, PLEASE do not wish me a happy birthday!!!!

After the soaring and unexpected success of Raaz, Mahesh Bhatt got the motivation and courage (dare I say) to make a sequel to the movie and gave it the name: “Raaz – The mystery continues” The second movie on the record is not really a sequel. Other than the name and the production house, the movies have nothing in common!

Unlike the first Raaz which had its scary moments and was widely appreciated as a thriller, the second attempt fails miserably! It is a supposed thriller, but every other scene is quite predictable! Arent thriller movies supposed to catch you off guard?? Well… this one doesnt!

Dialogues are patchy! Acting is average! Songs are mediocre! No one impresses and Adhyayan Suman is a let down!

I have nothing more to add!

Dont go for this movie, even if you are bored to death and have nothing better to do! Killing mosquitoes instead would be the more interesting option!

Yes, I have been in hibernation for too long… A lot of reasons for that were: Laziness first and foremost, I was facing a huge writer’s block, lack of topics to write on… I would think of blogging a few times and then would completely wipe out!!

Here I am… On a sunny Thursday afternoon, having lunch in front of my television… watching the show “The Moment of Truth”!

On the hot seat is a beautiful cocktail waitress who works for a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. With her are both her parents, her best friend, her co-worker and her boss! She has given me something to write about!!

She has been answering questions quite well… She is about to win a 100,000 USD! So, this woman has a lot of money now!! And you can see both her parents heads hanging down in shame at the kind of things their only child has revealed!

What is the cost of 100,000 USD? Permanently ruined relationship with her parents? She was asked nasty questions about her parents, their marriage, and they got to know what their daughter really thought of them! Is it worth it? Plunging her parents into deep mounds of misery??

What kind of a daughter will go telling the world her father loves his dog more than her? Or that her parents are not the supportive ones? Or that her parents 44 year marriage is not her ideal kind of marriage?

You want to know the cost of all this humiliation? 100,000 USD!!

The title must be confusing to some. How can a movie be funny and yet disappointing. Well, you will answer this question if you watch the much-awaited Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone starrer Chandni Chowk to China.

But before that, this is how it all started. 

The movie released last Friday (16th Jan 2009). My hubby Noobie had been waiting for this movie ever since the first trailer, being the ardent AK fan that he is! So, there can be no doubts whatsoever that we would be seeing the movie on the very first day of its release.

So, came Friday and I met him near his office. We decided to try Korean dinner before heading for the movie. The dinner was unexpectedly decent, but the real surprise took us when we reached the cinema hall, a good 1 hour in advance. It was mostly empty. I got slightly hopeful that not too many people have come over to watch the movie. So, as a result, we should be able to get the tickets. Noobie also chipped in with his 2 cents: ”Review of the movie is not that great… so we shouldn’t have problem getting the tickets“. Now this statement turned out to be both true and false! The movie had indeed been trashed by the reviewers back in India. BUT, the show was houseful.

Well… humne bhi thaan rakhi thi… movie dekh ke hi jayenge… so, we headed off to another theatre… None whatsoever… Literally ran to another… Zilch… With a silver lining. There was a mid-night show… We decided to wait… Hadd hoti hai pagalpan ki aur mere ghar me uski koi kami nahi hai…

Finally we got to see what was the funniest disappointment we had had in months!

The movie has its moments – No doubt about it. Akki dada, as usual, cracks you up with his antics and excellent comic timing! He has proven once again that he can carry really bad movies on his shoulders and turn them into a decent one time watch – which is what he does with CCTC. I specially love that scene in which Ranvir Sheorey starts to dance on “Chura ke dil mera”, when a pot-bellied Akki takes over saying “Yeh to mera gana hai” and begins to dance!! Hilarious!

As far as Deepika is concerned, she might as well not have been in the movie. Even with double roles, she is as good as non-existent! Every now and then the camera man shows her glimpse, to remind the audience of a certain heroine in the movie!! Mithun da is average. He has a powerful role in the movie and does what it expected of him. Ranvir is decent. He plays the role of an Indian-Chinese guy with utmost conviction!

The movie has some good action sequences. And the transition of a zero to a hero is shown quite well! The dialogues are good, with some one-liners crackling!!

On the other hand, the movie definitely has its pitfalls - falls short on story line and the script is so loosely bound, you can literally see the loose ends floating in mid-air!!

Almost 50% of the movie is in chinese, so may not fare very well with the non-multiplex crowd! Well, this was also the reason that the loudest of laughs in the theatre were coming from the Chinese junta who seemed to be loving the movie, or maybe an Indian actress mouthing chinese words must be hilarious to them!

All in all, go if you love Akshay. Skip otherwise!

My second movie in Singapore… First being Dostana… and well… uska review likhne ka mood nahi hai!!!

So lets talk about Ghajini! What works for the movie, the Aamir Khan starrer, is the crisp script, the gripping story line and some fabulous acting by both Aamir and Asin. For the uninitiated, Asin is a famous Tam cinema star, who is making her debut in Bollywood with this hindi film!!

Lets talk of the story first. The protagonist of the story is Sanjay Singhania, a millionaire, who is besotted by a local third class actress, played by Asin, who does faaltu ads and is trying hard to gain some free publicity!! The point to be noted here is that she does not know Sanjay is so rich and considers him to be another struggling ads model!! Something happens that changes their lives!! Sanjay turns into a patient with short term memory loss!

The beauty of the movie is the excellent execution! You are in awe with which every single detail has been taken into account! Simply fab!!

Music
A HUGE disappointment from AR Rehman! It just felt extremely disconnected from the flow of the story and with every song, you would wait patiently (?) for it to get over!! It was extremely difficult then to not dig your finger nails into the soft cushion of the chair in the cinema hall!! I agree Rehman songs usually grow on you, but this one doesnt seem like it will! The only song which is tolerable is “Tu meri adhuri pyaas”!

Performance
The surprise package of the film according to me was Asin. As far as Aamir is concerned, good acting is an expected phenomenon… but what came as a dark horse was Asin!! She acted like a pro (ab well.. after having acted the same character 4 times, I am sure it dint take her much to perfect the role.. which she did!!) I was totally floored by her comic timing and dialogue delivery. The only negative probably was that she went overboard a few times in her bubbly girl avatar! Jiah Khan was theek thaak!! Her role seemed forced!

One more thing that I noticed about Ghajini – It is one of the few movies to be named after the villain!! I cant think of any others…

This one is definitely a star – not to be missed!

Heylloooooo junta,

Nova aka Missus Noobie is back…

I have been back for over 3 days now, but couldnt think of what to write… There is too much to be said maybe, or nothing at all…

For starters, I am now in the land of no birds (Yeah, this is what this place is… Can you guess what place this is?)… On leave, so not working at the moment…

Been to Bali post wedding… an amazing place!! Both Noobie and I are in love with that place… think will make it our annual vacation spot!!

So, how have u guys been? Will start reading your posts, which have gone into thousands!!

Ciao!