Mundane Musings

Yes, I seem to have taken a rather long time to write a post and much longer to write this one. My impending trip to Kodai has got me in the mood to relive my last vacation. S and I are suckers for the hills and we are the happiest when we sit watching the rolling mists and the fine rain, with a cup of hot tea and hot hot bajjis to give us company. And somewhere in that heady mix, our rambling talks about our future plans to retire in the hills, also figure. Well...that, like my post, is definitely a long time coming. So where was I? Yep...my last vacation. When the summer sun beat down on us mercilessly in May 2012, we decided to pack our bags and set off to Ooty - the Queen of Hills and all that. The only deviation from our regular vacation was that we were visiting Ooty during its peak season. In other words, for S and I, a time when million tourists flock the place and all the things that come with them - plastic, noise, nosiness and a general negating of the pristine surround...

My mother loved Rajesh Khanna's Aradhana movie. She gushes about it even now. Among the many reasons why she liked it so much, was that  this was one of the very few movies she had watched in the theater, where she had participated in the budding romance of Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna, had watched it with like minded relatives and then most importantly, because it had made her cry. Yup. That's right. She felt it was poora paisa vasool that she had walked out of the theater with many others, wiping their kohl lined eyes with the edge of their sari pallu, mulling over the courage of a young Sharmila who single-handedly brings up her child. A part of her trauma is depicted in the song "Saphal hogi teri Aradhana". Can you believe that? Well, if my reaction to Barfi! was anything to go by, I could believe it too. And it could be true if you see the success factor of earlier movies with similar paisa vasool factor - Mother India, Mughal-e-azam, Bandini, Guide, Anan...

Words fail me. I am unable to think that I'm not going to see more of you. You've given us such great joy with your antics and by simply being you. I hope Allah gives you a nice after life. Miss you Tigu. The ever inquisitive soul Ever patient and tolerant Scaling new heights His favorite lounging place - at mum's feet Stretched out in 'cat nap' bliss On the day of my wedding - sprawled at mum's feet

The holy month of Ramadan is well on it's way to culminate into the glorious festival of Eid. This is my first Ramadan fasting experience after marrying S. There are so many things that make this month to stand out, and it not just because it might be our first Eid where I won't wake up to the sounds of "Eid Mubarak" from my family members (it'd be S giving me his bear hug, probably) and the heady smell of attar on our new clothes; this Ramadan has a lot of other reasons that will forever be etched in my mind. I have listed them down here, but for those reading it, let me warn you, this could well be the rambling of a hungry soul. During this month, it is just so difficult for me to make my brain work, leave alone think and write a blog which might border on my spiritual quest. Okayyyy, now that I've warned you, let me begin. 1. The essence of Ramadan For many people this month focuses on abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking or having physical inte...

‘To tell the truth, I wanted to make a film that my daughter could watch,’ explains Martin Scorsese, when interviewed about Hugo. This was the first 3-D movie he was directing, but he was quite sure that it was not the technology and special effects  that motivated him; it was the story of the little boy.  I felt as if history was unfolding in front of my eyes when I went to see The Amazing Spider-man - 3D. I felt very much like Martin Scorsese's 12 year old daughter, who is going to watch this movie as a grown up. It brought back memories of me growing excited watching ice creams coming close to me with my plastic 3-D glasses on, in "My dear Kutti Chattan."  But first things first.We do know that there's not much story to maneuver around as far as the "Spider man" series is concerned. The movies were beaten by the comics, which we have all grown up reading. We know the characters, we know Peter Parker's secret, his girlfriend and his enemies. So wh...

Last week I saw two movies, each as different from the other as chalk to cheese. I am not hinting that the 'chalk' here is bad or good. It is more a case of what one likes - chalk or cheese. And that I guess is my motivation for this blog. The case of liking either one or both or none.  You know what to expect when you see a movie in which the actors look Asian. Lots of kung fu or judo or karate or as is the case with the eminently disappointing movie (for me, for me) on martial arts, Ong Bak 2 or 3, a movie set in the past and about revenge. But thanks to Google and the innumerable movie reviews doing the rounds today, we selected this movie knowing what was in store. Lots of action and very little story, which I must say is exactly what I got. Generally I would have skipped a movie which received such a review and would let hubby dearest persuade me to give him company for his dose of action movies. But this time I was intrigued by the stand up ovation the movie had rec...

On our way to Radhanagar Beach Radhanagar beach lived up to its reputation of being named the Best Beach in Asia in 2004 by Time magazine. The fierce afternoon sun glinted off the blue water, making me squint in spite of my shades. The sand though powdery and soft, was hot on the feet. So S came up with a brilliant plan. He had seen a path going off parallel to the beach and wanted to investigate it. He thought it would lead to Barefoot Scuba resort’s rich sister: Barefoot at Havelock resort. He was right. But that’s for later. The parallel path The small woods beyond the path I was happy to follow S, and boy was I rewarded. The path led to a woods that had such tall trees that it seemed to have been there from time immemorial. I simply couldn’t understand how such tall trees could exist so close to the shore. It’s quite a sight and it gives us a feeling of how insignificant we are. We spent a couple of happy hours hugging these huge trees with a girth tha...