Mundane Musings

Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day. Yeah, I know…do you even remember? It’s surely tempting to scoff the day, especially if you are single and cynical or if you are hitched and practical or perhaps if are a little of both. But there’s no denying the fact that like all festivals or occasions that have got hyped in the recent past, this day too has gained significance in recent times.Open the newspaper and there are ads galore for dinner deals and the perfect gifts, check the internet and you’ll need to waddle through a great deal of pink and red hearts and e-roses to get to any shopping site. There’s so much temptation all around. It takes a really, really cynical person to not get touched by the ‘love is in the air’ feeling. Haven’t we all at one point or the other given significance to this day? The day takes on a great deal of importance when: a)  you have someone you’d like to show your love to. This is the coolest opportunity. b)  when you nurse an unrequ...

A Happy New Year to you! And please wish me back, even though it’s a month late. Yeah, I need it. There have been plenty of happy New Years in the 35 years of my life on earth, and even the others were not really ‘sad’ as much as they were ‘non-happy.’ If you know what I mean. Like sitting up in the night, waiting for the clock to strike twelve so that you can go to sleep and tell your friends the next day that yeah, I did make an effort; I stayed awake and ushered the New Year in. Like, after the euphoria following the New Year, having life and day-to-day problems take over. Nothing remarkable happening that year other than the predictable stuff.  I cannot think of any one year that hasn't started off the way I have expected it to. Not even when dad expired on December 18 th of 2008, leaving us bereft and helpless. Every single New Year  in the recent past, had started off like usual – the anticipation – what will the new year be like, the excitement – wha...

After a long time I had the privilege of watching a movie without reading any reviews. For those who seem to think this rather unusual, you might want to step into my world. My fear of not enjoying a movie after parting with my hard earned money is so great, that I read a minimum of 3-4 reviews before I muster courage and step into a multiplex. And it has almost always worked for me in the past. But somehow in recent times I feel as if there is so much negative feedback going around, some even being too critical and offensive that I am rethinking this ‘strategy’ of mine. Forget someone else’s star ratings. The function of movie guides is to inform you who’s in a film and what it’s about, so that you can decide for yourself. http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/between-reviews-farewell/ This line is from one of my favorite movie reviewer, Baradwaj Rangan’s, blog. Generally, his review alone is enough for me to make up my mind, but sometimes, just sometimes there re...

I am back, making up for the dismal posting of this month. I have been meaning to post this since last week, but this post had taken precedence. There are certain lunches when there is absolutely no need for a gravy or a curry, as the side dishes take over the meal completely. I was privileged to have one such lunch this Sunday. Bakrid has only just passed by, but the bounties of the festival linger on. I had some meat left over from the Qurbani and when mum visited us this weekend, I was all gung-ho about making something with it. Like always, I start with grandiose plans - like making a nice lamb pie with it, or a meat pizza or spaghetti. But the lack lusture response from the ones eating it, had me cajoling mum to make her mutton chukka recipe. Everybody has his/her own recipe that has minor variations of the original (depends who you are speaking to) and we love mum's. S, who stays clear of red meat and fish, makes an exception for mum's mutton biriyani and mutton ...

Yes, this blog post has been loooong in coming. Even I cringe when I see the date of my last blog entry. Where did the time go? Now let me see, there was Dussehra in between (and I did not do anything at all except catching up on some excellent Tamil movies on TV), then there was this nice, neat trip to Kolli Hills that a few friends and us managed to pack in to the long weekend and lots of reading…ahem…apart from this I know there hasn’t been much to not keep up with my blog entries. But the irony is that while I have been meaning to post on the books that I’ve been reading in the past month, it is also the reason why I haven’t been able to finish the blog. Books are very distracting. After being served a pretty dismal fare at the box office last month, with the exception of Lunch Box and perhaps Shudh Desi Romance , I found myself falling back on to the wonderful, trustworthy world of books. I was lucky to get some good books from my local library in September and F’s birthday...

Now when did I sit up and take notice of Amit Trivedi? (Amit who, you ask?). It definitely wasn't after listening to Dev D songs, I know. While I enjoyed the quirky, humourous and interestingly pictured ‘Emotional Atyachaar’ song, the other songs from the album were forgettable, even though ‘Nayan tarse’ and other songs were commended at that time and the movie won him a National Award for Best Music Director (now you know). Then there was Wake Up Sid! , which I privately designated as ‘the’ album of the year. However, at that time I did not realize that I would be doing this to all movies this guy composed music to. How does the Iktara song sound? It plays out like a forgotten, melancholy tune, arousing latent memories of rain drenched evenings and lost love, doesn't it? Kavitha Seth's strong vocals lend this song a superior quality. And not just this, but every song in the album is thoughtfully composed and set properly in to the story line.  And though I appreci...

A slice of Paris Two things struck me about Paris when I walked with slight trepidation and excitement, out of the huge, bright Charles De Gaulle airport in May. 1. Parisians seemed to be in a hurry. Not one local could be caught strolling or God forbid, lounging. Even the tourists seemed obligated to hurry a bit. One such tourist being me, of course. No sooner did I sigh and place my heavy backpack onto the escalator that I heard a soft "Pardon" behind me. I turned to see a polite yet impatient local, looking beyond me at the remaining part of the escalator, as if assessing her chances of jumping over me and continuing without a break. This reminded me very much of our bike riders in Chennai's streets. They think it anathema to apply breaks while zipping through traffic, even if it means cutting into other's path or knocking side mirrors of other vehicles. So I quickly   moved to the right and watched the purposeful stride of the woman who did no...