Ruminations of a meandering mind

Few words about MGS - the singer

2012-01-12T02:44:00.003+05:30

I feel quite sad to often see scathing remarks than good ones about M.G. Sreekumar. Who cares about his personal life or how he is as a person. He is my favourite male singer in Malayalam, period. Some of his renditions have been amazing, showcasing his considerable talent. This has been further substantiated by the fact that on one occasion, the legendary music director Johnson mentioned that he is one of the most versatile singers in Malayalam, second only to Jesudas. My personal pick of some of his best songs have come in either obscure movies so that the songs themselves never got noticed or it came in a time when the movies and the songs clicked during the film's release but were soon forgotten, lost in the sands of time. To name a few:

Thallam Marannu Tharaatu Kettu from the movie Pranamam
Pullariyude Pallaku Vanne from the movie Makkal Mahatmyam
Ammakilikoodilil from the movie Ammakilikoodu
Kandu Njan Mizhikalil from the movie Abhmianyu
Poovayivirinju Poonthenn from the movie Atharvam

These songs prove that he is no ordinary singer. Known for his fast paced songs that he sings with hitherto unheard-of panache, I have also considered him to an amazing stage singer. Some of his more famed songs :

Kaneer Poovinte
Sooryakireedam
Anthkadapoorathu
All songs from the magical combination with MohanLal and Priyadarshan
Sundari Sundari

and many more made him attain great commercial success.

In a career spanning over 2 decades to hold one's own footing in an era that also had the always in demand God of Malayalam playback singing Jesudas is no small achievement.All in all, MGS, you rock, and here's hoping for more soulful, dulcet renderings.

TTSS

2011-12-30T20:07:00.005+05:30

After what seems like forever, watched a near perfect English film. Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy is one of those seemingly nondescript movies that comes along without much of a hooplah and delivers big time. With its perfectly cast ensemble of the finest British actors and a mesmerizing background score, TTSS is a gem. Gary Oldman, the British actor whom one could hope to see more of on the big screen, comes up with the finest performances of the year. In a nutshell, this Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of the John Le Carre novel is not to be missed.

ZNMD

2011-08-14T20:19:00.002+05:30

I dont know what to feel after watching Zindagi Na Milage Dobara..the coming of age cliche notwithstanding. Director Zoya Akhtar who showed great promise in her first outing, takes a few steps back with this one. It is not funny enough although it tries hard to be, the dialogues are not intelligent enough, the gags not good enough to linger long in memory. 10 years ago Farhan Akhtar made the quintessential DCH. ZNMD is no DCH, so lets not even compare even though comparisons seem inevitable. ZNMD has a bunch of talented lead actors but they just dont seem to be perfect in their roles, they seem contrived and unoriginal. However, this is still not a bad film, which shows the talent of Zoya, really, she can still put in some great sequences here and there and keep you engrossed. Like the one where the underwater expedition has Hrithik's character coming out in a daze and reflecting on the changes that one moment has caused, the tears carefully accentuate the feeling. And the other where Farhan's character loses all fear midway through the sky dive and on landing, the three of them rejoice at this accomplishment. And then there is Naseeruddin Shah, why cant we see more of this man in our movies. His 5 minutes cameo is absolutely brilliant. And there's also Farhan humming poems at different points in the movie, surely the best thing in ZNMD, the poetry and also because its Javed Akhtar's compositions. So you can sit through this one and some of us would want a repeat viewing, a good film but still a disappointment, considering this one's from Zoya.

Histrionics of Sheldon Cooper

2011-01-08T20:37:00.002+05:30

Never been a sitcom fan but The Big Bang Theory is fast turning out to be an exception. The cast is just perfect but one actor does stand out.Jim Parsons who plays Sheldon Cooper, a socially inept nerd is first rate. Its an exceptionally difficult part to portray as the demeanour and expressions have to be just right. Add this to the fact that you need to convey the humor and make it believable so the comic timing should also be spot on. I dont mean that this is a one man show as the other actors do have their own space and playtheir parts brilliantly.The other thing that keeps you hooked is the writing. There is never a dull moment. Its no mean achievement that you are trying to infuse humor in converstations between four caltech graduates so dialogues must have a lot of scientific and technical jargon. So there is bound to be a lot of research that goes into the writing that deserves a lot of credit. The show is quick to gain ratings in its fourth season and could well turn out to be one of the most successful ever.

Bacon and eggs

2010-12-12T23:07:00.004+05:30

Here goes another one, wow, not sure if I have ever posted twice on the same day.

Had bacon and eggs finally.Reading when I was younger, I remember the most sought after breakfast in novels was bacon and fried eggs. Must admit, it tastes better than I expected. More servings of the same expected before I return.

Saar Land

2010-12-12T22:40:00.006+05:30

Here goes one in time to break one of those ephemeral silences.
I am now in Saarbrucken. Not sure, if its the Christmas round the corner but its been different than the sleepy towns in Germany I have stayed in before. The place is brimming with activity, brightening up the winter gloom. Yesterday, we made a 2.5 hour (cross country?) trip from Saarbrucken to Heidelberg. The five of us purchased multiple tickets not knowing that one 37 Euro ticket served as a weekend pass for all five of us to travel basically to any part of the country by train. Excellent! Serves us right for not knowing the native tongue in Deutschland.

Flight (of freedom)

2010-07-18T19:22:00.003+05:30

Have to say that Anurag Kashyap has never disappointed. He is associated with exactly the kind of movies I enjoy most. Just got back from watching Udaan. Kashyap has co-written and co-produced this one. Udaan is rivetting cinema. A hard hitting coming of age Bollywood film with writing that is first rate. Vikramaditya Motwane makes a grand debut as a director. The acting is top-notch and dialogues crisp with an enchanting musical score. Chefs-d'œuvre. Go for it!

The Written Word

2009-10-09T19:26:00.005+05:30

I thought I should do a Tehelka on myself just to keep this blog rolling. So here goes:

A book that means a lot to you?
The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene. Its vintage Greene just for its profound characterisation,a deep understanding of morality and the conflicts of the individual.

Your favourite genre?
I dont read and stick on to one particular genre and hence there are no favorites.

Your favourite character?
Owen Meany in Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. Read it to find out why.

How many books do you own?
Never counted. 400-500 would be a safe bet.

An underrated book?
All books by John Irving. All of Irving's books are intelligent, darkly comic and leave you with a lump in the throat.

An overrated book?
Many would disagree. For me the pick has to be Fountainhead by Ayn Rand just for being so preachy.

The book you bought last?
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami.

Last book read?
Rabbit at Rest by John Updike.

A book you wish you'd written?
This is very difficult and hence like to pass :-).

Emotional Atyachar

2009-02-08T18:26:00.000+05:30

Anurag Kashyap creates a archetypical character in Dev and then adds the right amount of graffiti minus candy floss to make him appealing, modern and original. Anurag creates a svelte charmer in Paro, moulding her character with just enough brazenness and free spirit and an uncurbed tongue.
Dev D clearly isn’t for the squeamish. Characters unflinchingly mouth the four letter word, there is drugs, sexual innuendos and fleeting reminiscences of the MMS scandal and the BMW hit and run. In an otherwise outstanding cast, Chanda played by Kalki Koechlin is Dev D’s weakest character and probably the film’s only blemish especially in the first half, before she metamorphoses to become its strong point in the second. The editing is top-notch, the background score superlative. Anurag executes his craft without any compromises and the end result is a radical Indian film defying the stereotypes. Here’s a screenplay that is taut and infused with sometimes subtle and sometimes on your face humor. Brilliant!

Twenty 20

2008-12-17T21:59:00.002+05:30

First things first. The film is worth a watch which means it hasnt turned into a damp squib as everyone expected. This however dosent mean anything for Malayalam cinema which is probably going through its worst ever phase and Twenty 20 hasnt done anything to bail it out. If this film was intended as a homage to the film industry then it really falls flat coz its nothing more than a commercial potboiler. What works for the film is its star value. All the actors are aptly cast and the screenplay is pretty taut from start to finish. Finally, the film's big time commercial success has Dileep laughing all the way to the bank and all the superstars featured in it (which is everybody) grinning from ear to ear.

Bryson's History of Everything

2008-04-09T20:51:00.003+05:30

If your roving eye ever encounters a nondescript paperback, at your favorite bookstore, which goes by the interesting title of “A Short History of Nearly Everything” and you ignore it with the logical (going by the name) presumption that this is just another history book, it would be the biggest insult to its writer, Bill Bryson. Simply put, Bill gives you a history of Science right from the Big Bang through science in Newton’s era and Einstein’s era to the present day. Reading Bryson, physics, couldn’t be more simple (David Bodanis in his wonderful book E=MC2 comes a close second) and more fun. The book is interspersed with rich trivia, humorous anecdotes and amazing personalities. It’s also education in physics that our text books could not muster. And for those who after reading this would mistake Bill to be a Richard Feynman making science easy should know that Bill Bryson probably did not understand any science before researching on writing this book. That’s a remarkable feat. Grab a copy and be enlightened.

The Namesake - Movie Review

2007-04-29T18:06:00.000+05:30

"The reader should realize himself that it could not have happened otherwise, and that to give him any other name was quite out of the question."- Nikolai Gogol

The Russian writer Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Overcoat" was a masterpiece. Jhumpa Lahiri's book "The Namesake" whose protagonist is named after Gogol is among the best works by an Indian in the recent past. Without prevarication, yet with a language that is clear, Lahiri visits the world of Bengali immigrants in America, about the identity crisis existing and about the lead charactor's dilemma in coping with an odd name like Gogol.

The Namesake - the movie version of the book by Mira Nair is effervescent, brilliant in pieces, interspersed with subtle humor and is very real. The lead actors are very good, the passage of the times of Nikhil Ganguly from child to adult, the shifting of the locales back and forth between New York and Calcutta is handled adroitly.

However, this is definitely not Mira Nair's best effort. If the main rationale behind the making of the film is to depict how the characters played by Tabu and Irfan Khan have to cope with their dour lives far away from home then it succeeds to a large extent. If the intention is to invoke empathy for Gogol Ganguly (played by Kal Penn) for his name, the movie fails. Probably the two important passages of the book is firstly when Ashoke Ganguli (Irfan Khan) explains to Gogol Ganguly, the real reasons for naming him Gogol and secondly when Gogol finds the book on the Russian writer which his father had presented to him many years earlier. In the movie version, these two episodes are played down in that they do not register to the viewer in the right significance and also do not linger on when you leave the movie hall. The screenplay goes hand in hand with the book so much so that there is a need to cram everything in and this is precisely where the movie falters and the essence of the book is lost.

All said and done, the film offers some great cinematic moments , Ashima's (Tabu) fascination for Ashoke's shoes during the initial moments and Gangulis and friends replicating their Bengali culture in the US being some of them. And a special mention for one actor who stands out among the good ensemble and thats Irfan Khan who simply rocks.

As "Evergreene" As Ever

2007-02-04T19:39:00.000+05:30

When you read the novels written by Graham Greene, probably one of the most prolific writers of the 20th Century, the eyecatcher is the sentences that come up now and then that make you think. Agree or disagree with these absolute gems but its definitely one of the many reasons that makes me return to reading Greene again and again.

Here are a few quotes from two of his best works, "Heart of the Matter" and "The Power and the Glory".

"It is one of the strange discoveries a man can make that life, however you lead it, contains moments of exhilaration;there are always comparisons that can be made with worse times: even in danger and misery the pendulum swings"

"When you visualized a man or woman carefully, you could always begin to feel pity - that was a quality God's image carried with it. Hate was just a failure of imagination"

"The truth has never been of any real value to any human being—it is a symbol for mathematicians and philosophers to pursue. In human relations kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths"

"The more evil you saw and heard around you, the greater glory lay around the death. It was too easy to die for what was good or beautiful, for home, or children, or a civilization - it needed a God to die for the half-hearted and the corrupt."

"Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil - or else an absolute ignorance"

Andre Agassi - The End of an Era

2006-09-04T10:18:00.000+05:30

How can one forget the rebel who first burst into the tennis scene with his long hair, sporting a ear ring and carrying with him loads of attitude that would draw countless fans on and off court. Today twenty years hence, the aura of the man lives on. Many things have changed about his looks and his fans have increased multifold but there is scarcely anything that his tennis has not achieved. September 03,2006 therefore will live long in the memories of millions of fans around the world. As his opponent and the crowd looked on in anguish, Agassi sobbed uncontrollably after playing his last competitive singles match at the US open, a tournament he has appeared in for the past 21 years.

Having followed the game for at least 18 years and seeing players come by, achieve all they can during their best years and then fade into oblivion now replaced by someone younger, the past 20 years had only one exception to this rule and that's without doubt Andre. I wonder if there's been a year in the past two decades when the man from Las Vegas hasn't played at least 2 grand slams and not won a single ATP title.

Probably the best returner of serve, the game has ever seen, Andre is the only player who has played with three generations of tennis greats. From Edberg, Becker,Lendl in the late 80s, Courier,Chang,Sampras in the 90s to the present day greats like Hewitt,Roddick and Federer, there are very few professional players who havent played Agassi and been mesmerised by his powerful groundstrokes. For any tennis player, Agassi is the perfect example of an athlete who believed in good physical conditioning and who hasnt been hindered by many injuries thus enabling his longevity in the game.

In an illustrious career, Andre Agassi is only one of 5 individuals to have won all four Grand Slams, he is also among the few greats who has reached a Grand Slam final at least twice. Also one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history is alongside this man's name. Having slumped to his worst possible ranking in the beginning of 1998, Agassi came back strongly to finish in the top 10 making it the highest jump in rankings made by any player.

After playing his final match and before leaving the court Agassi said
"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you."

As they say "All good things must end" but for all his fans, the legend of Agassi will live on.

Othello in Hindi

2006-08-16T20:16:00.000+05:30

Are music directors good film makers? Vishal Bharadwaj proved that he can direct with panache when he made Maqbool. Omkara is Vishal's next directorial venture that succeeds although the language with its difficult UP dialect would probably not encourage many to watch and appreciate it.

An adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, Omkara has its setting in UP. The theme is pretty similar to Othello, Omkara Shukla (Ajay Devgan) is the chieftain of a group which includes Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) and Kesu (Vivek Oberoi). Langda plots revenge when Omkara apponts Kesu as his chief lieutenant. He does this by instilling seeds of suspicion in Omkara's mind by falsely implicating Omkara's fiancee Dolly (Kareena Kapoor) in an affair with Kesu.

The film gets a new treatment from Vishal, the language and the setting gets dark and disturbing at times. The music blends beautifully with the situations and look out especially for the wonderful number rendered by the gifted Suresh Wadkar.

In the title role, Ajay Devgan is surprisingly restrained barring a few times when the uncertainity of Omkara comes to the surface. Vivek Oberoi is ok, although he could have done with a role of more substance. Saif gets the best role and does deliver in probably his best performance to date, there is a moment of sheer brilliance in the part when Langda realizes that its Keshu instead of he who has been appointed the chief lieutenant. Kokana Sen who plays Langda's wife is yet again simply outstanding in the very few scenes she gets to perform. Kareena proves that she can act if the script demands it and when the director is commendable.

Finally its Vishal Bharadwaj who gets full credit for attempting a difficult theme and making it work and for proving that its the director who can bring the best out of his crew and actors.

Thoughts

2006-05-25T19:15:00.000+05:30

A thousand thoughts,
In my head,
I stop to think and reflect,
Not sure of them,
I proceed to unravel,
The mysteries of the world.

Seeking the answers, we travel,
Far beyond our imaginations can forsee,
We look at life and fathom,
The reasons for the many things that happen,
Of the beginnings and the end,
The questions that can be answered,
And those that cannot Be,
Reliving the happiness,
Cherishing those moments again,
And forgetting the miseries,
Those tumultous moments,
Hoping for their end.
The future a darkness,
But a new day dawns,
Every moment a new life is born,
The laughter continues,
With unabated hope,
Hope for the answers,
And the light in the end,
To reach out and surround,
The sorrow and the unforgiving mind.

A thousand thoughts,
In my head,
I stop to think and reflect,
Not sure of them,
I proceed to unravel,
The mysteries of the world.

When the Time Stood Still

2006-01-22T17:36:00.000+05:30

I woke up as my mobile phone functioning as a stand-in alarm clock gave the buzz. I must have snoozed it two times for when I was fully awake and looked at the wall clock on my way outside, it was 6:15 am. Just as I opened the door, ushering in the chill winter air, the sound of a bicycle braking to a stop in front of the gate and the newspaper guy flicking the morning papers on my doorstep greeted me. On an impulse, I decided to go up to the terrace. Just as I reached the first floor landing, the door facing me opened and the retired major stepped out. He was sporting a muffler and the turtleneck sweater I am so used to seeing. As he came near me, he tripped over the untied jogging shoes he was wearing. He muttered "Sorry" and "Morning" in the same breath and disappeared down the staircase.I reached the terrace on the second floor.

It was too cold to enjoy anything so I decided to get back downstairs. I thought I heard the sound of a bicycle braking to a stop just like a few minutes earlier but I wasnt sure.When I reached the first floor landing, out walked the retired major. In what was like an action replay of what happened a few minutes back, he tripped over the untied shoes and for the second time said "Sorry" and "Morning". I went inside my house and got the shock of my life when I saw the time. It was still showing 6:15 am and sure enough there was for the third time the sound of the bicycle braking to a stop and the the newspapers being dropped on my doorstep.

Sorry to spoil it but this did not happen to me, took inspiration from a film I watched called "Groundhog Day" to write this.

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

2005-12-19T17:35:00.000+05:30

One can call it just a subterfuge to promote this amazing movie or just a way to say "I am still around here and not forgotten how to write" that I am re-writing this one. More importantly, its because snippets of this movie lying somewhere dormant in my memory were rekindled when I watched it the second time on VCD this past weekend and the one way to get it out was to write this again.

I make this write up on the film very short for two reasons, one for lack of time and second because its a film for which I cannot pen a review easily because of its complexity and for its many layers which isnt very easy to decipher.

A film that epitomizes realistic cinema, Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (HKA) is perhaps one of the best films to come out in recent times. On the surface, its a pretty complex film. Set in the turbulent period of the 1970s when the Naxalite movement was on its rise, the film and its characters continue to haunt me. The three main leads (Kay Kay Menon, Chitrangada Singh and Shiny Ahuja) are great to watch. I was drawn to the relationship that the three share and how this is so adroitly depicted in the movie. The film might not be for all tastes with its blatant blasphemy and violence which is in ample doses, but then this is what gives the film its authenticity. As mentioned, all three characters excel in their own way, Kay Kay for his conviction in the beginning and how this slowly wanes away in the end, Chitrangada for her grace and poignancy and Shiny (the most complex character in the film) for his levity. A must watch.

So where did HKA lose out that it was missed by everyone. Maybe bad publicity, maybe no known stars, or maybe as a friend of mine says "There are so many bad films being made in Bollywood that the good ones are just ignored".

True Bounce Tennis Tournament

2005-11-05T19:56:00.000+05:30

I finally was part of something which I could never dream of a few months back. I took part in a doubles tennis tournament held in my club. It wasn’t a big tournament. Just played for the fun of it since the club members decided it would improve our game and also get to know each other better. So it was an intra-club affair with attractive trophies to take home for the winners and runners up. Now, before the readers think that I am a big shot tennis player, let me make one fact clear. I am an amateur (not even a budding one) who picked up a racquet for the first time some three months back. My service is pretty pathetic, my forehand goes awry every time I try to hit the ball hard and my backhand is unreliable. However since the prerogative of the tournament was to ensure that enough balance is achieved between the teams, with a so-called novice pairing up with a stronger tennis player I was hoping that I get a really good partner to make amends.

The organizers (who I refer to as M, T and team) laid out the rules of the tournament. There would be two pools A and B with 4 teams in each of the pools. Each team would play the other team once in the pool games. The two best teams in each of the pools would make it to the semi-finals. The preliminaries would be played on a best of 19 game bases that meant the winner had to win 10 games to win the match. At the end of the first stage if there are more than two teams in contention from a pool to the semifinal stage, the teams that have conceded the least games would make it through. With the rules agreed upon, the weaker players were asked to pick up a chit to decide the partner and the pool. It was soon my turn and my partner turned out to be one N. I had never met him before and barely knew how he played and would get to know him only on the first day of the tournament. I was to be a part of Pool A, a pool where I felt I had a good chance. A good chance of losing.

The first day of the tournament dawned bright and clear. I arrived at the club and was introduced to my partner N. The moment I saw him I knew we were safe. Tall, athletic he looked exactly like tennis players should look like. I was surprised when he mentioned he was only just around 15 and was playing the game for some 7 years. Pretty soon I was telling how “good” my game was and how he much contribution he can expect from me in winning. N turned out to be a confident youngster who knew the strength of his tennis so he assured me that things would go to plan if I just do what he asked me to do. I was happy to comply.

Our first opponents turned out to B and V. Since they were last minute entrants to the tournament, they weren’t exactly the big guns so we knew we had our chances. B was the stronger one with no real weakness in his game, so we decided to target V. We made a rollicking start winning the first few games. N turned out to be a great partner and an amazing tennis player. Great serve and solid groundstrokes, he had it all. I had never previously held my serves with the ease with which I did that day being constantly encouraged by my partner. B and V put up a decent fight but we were a little better team and showing some amazing camaraderie. We won the match 10-5 and thought we had a great chance now to get through.

All games are great levelers and we did not have long to wait to find that tennis is no exception to this. Our second hurdles were in the form of P and S. P is among the better players in the club who plays those strokes with the insouciance of a professional tennis player and is a treat to watch. S has a decent game himself but has one of the most unorthodox but effective forehands I have seen. We started well and the game was tied at two games all. It was soon my turn to serve and somehow I lost all the confidence I had gained from my first outing, I double faulted three times and we lost the service. Before we knew it we were 2-6 down and staring at defeat. It was time to re-strategize and get back into the match. We partly recovered but it was a bit too much. My partner started making some unforced errors of his own and some easy volleys that were put away in the first match could never clear the net. The end result 6-10 in favor of P and S. Disappointed and tired from the grueling battle, we were now not so sure of our chances.

Fast forward to our last match, which happened the next day. We were pitted to play S and S (the S guys as I choose to call), probably the strongest team in our pool. No great strength in their games except for an amazing asset: they never make unforced errors so we knew we had to do all the hard work to win this one. They had won their two previous games (having demolished P and S by 10-2) and had come expecting a clean sweep. They started strongly winning the first three games with me dropping serve as usual. N however strung together some amazing points and I put in a lot of effort to get the ball back across the net and we were back on serve at 3-3. With our confidence building up we raced ahead and I can safely say this was one of the best matches I have played, I put in some deft volleys and cheered on by a few spectators we were up to a 6-3 lead. The S guys weren’t the best players for nothing. In the next few games, they displayed their entire repertoire of shots and we were back level at 6 games apiece. The next few games produced some amazing tennis. There were long rallies and for once I held my serve and produced some surprising winners of my own. My partner N was not to be left behind, serving some great aces and some wonderful returns. To the surprise of many we won the match 10-7.

Ideally, that should have sealed our prospects to enter the semifinals. It wasn’t to be. We had given away too many games in the matches we won so we could not make it to the semis since now there were 3 teams with two victories each. The other two teams had had more convincing victories. Looking back we weren’t really disappointed, we had thoroughly enjoyed playing the tournament and had a feel of both victory and loss. N and I consoled each other saying that we had played to win and that I feel is the most important thing when playing any sport.

The semifinals and the finals happened on a Sunday. There had been a lot of rain the previous two days and the clay courts were wet and we had given up any hope of play. The organizers however had other ideas and when all of us arrived at the club we found the courts in pretty good condition thanks to the rollers and the sand that was sprinkled in the wet zones of the court. In keeping with the spirit of the tournament, almost all the participants turned up to cheer the players. The rules had now altered slightly with the victors to be decided in a best of three set encounter.

The semifinals were a trifle let down, each ending in straight sets. Our conquerors P and S showing they had their eyes on the trophies pulled an overwhelming victory. In the finals they would face an inspired G and N who had a convincing win leaving us plenty to anticipate in the match up. G is easily the best player of the club and N is not bad either so we knew this would be a keenly contested match. The finals did not disappoint and there was a lot of drama in the court coupled with the customary cheering from the sidelines. P and S wrapped up the first set and the second set was keenly contested and would have gone to the tiebreak had not G and N produced an amazing game to take it 7-5. The third set was a test of stamina and determination what with both the teams playing their second match with a very short break in between. G and N produced a little too many unforced errors so P and S consolidated. Pretty soon it was three championship points for P and S. G and N weren’t giving in so easily and produced some great points of their own to save the three match points but P and S some grit still left in them to close out the match and emerge deserving winners.

The rain gods had waited patiently for the grand finale to finish and soon the heavens opened up but not before the prizes were distributed to the winners and the runners-up and the snaps of the participants taken. As I write this and reflect, I realize it was a very eventful and satisfying week. We are so often taken up with our monotonous daily routine that these lighter pleasures of life take a back seat. On that day, P and S were victorious but all of us were victors in our own right. It had been one-week of fun and excitement, sure to linger in our memories for sometime. More importantly, it was something different to look forward to from the rigors of everyday work.

A Year Up!

2005-10-02T21:34:00.000+05:30

I am back after a short hibernation. I might pen the eventful happenings that led to the lull on another day.

It’s exactly a year back that I posted my first article on this site. I am glad that what started as a leisurely interest did not wane out immediately as it most often does. Since my first blog, I must have posted about 50 articles, some good, some mundane and some really bad but it gave me a chance to share my opinions and thoughts with a lot of freedom. Friends who read my posts tell me that what I write here is seldom dealing with anything serious which I agree to completely. I know that I can never venture into those subjects partly because I can never express these issues well with words and hence never do justice to the topics. Also, I have never considered myself to be a very serious person who is equipped to talk and debate on the innumerous concerns that surrounds us everyday.

There was never any pressure to post articles here at regular intervals although when I started out first there was the urge to update this site regularly. I guess that’s when the writing becomes forced and therefore can never convey what one has set out to in the first place so I never compel myself to blog. I can think of many plusses since I started blogging. I have made a lot of blog pals and in doing so also got a peak into their mindset and their opinions on many topics. I have also discovered that there are so many talented writers around and am amazed at their imagination especially when it comes to writing stories and poems. I hope I can meet my blog pals someday and in so doing they would no longer be my “blog” pals.

As it is with others, the one thing that makes me visit my site when I am not posting regularly is to see if any new comments have come up. It’s encouraging to receive good and critical comments from readers. I also observe that some of my good friends are masquerading in pseudonyms that I am unable to identify but am happy that they are commenting nevertheless. Of course, the only blemish is that the number of spam comments is also increasing which is a concern.

Enough of the narcissistic ramblings from my side. To sum up, blogging has been a good enough hobby that I hope will live long in my life.

The Bibliophile in Me

2005-08-27T16:32:00.000+05:30

I pick up the tag from Neil and here is my account of books since they have been an inseparable part of my life.

To quote Somerset Maugham "To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all of the miseries of life". I have always found this quote so true. Reading for me is definitely a refuge.The first few stories that I read were from comics and I simply loved reading Phantom, Mandrake and the likes. The novel that I remember reading first was a Hardy Boys mystery which my aunt actually forced upon me. Ever since then, I havent ever had an occasion wherein I did not have anything to flip through. I would have devoured countless Hard Boys and Nancy Drews. Of course, there was also the likeable "Three Investigators" and Blyton's "The Five Find Outers" which I simply adored. I cannot help but mention here that there is one author who was my favourite then and continues to remain so. I started reading Agatha Christie when I was 13 and it’s probably her penchant for weaving ingenious plots which continues to have me hooked to her books even now.

Moving on, I became interested in the books of Alistair MacLean and Desmond Bagley. Then came the contemporary writers in Archer, Grisham, Forsyth, Follet, Patterson, Higgins, Hailey, etc who have always had their share of readers. It would be criminal if I don’t mention writers like Richmal Crompton, James Herriot, Wodehouse and Cronin. These are writers who I believe can never write a bad book.

I haven’t mentioned many Indian writers here but there is a fair share of them whom I have read and enjoyed. R.K. Narayan, Upamanyu Chaterjee, Vikram Seth to name a few.

I unfortunately was never into classics like Shakespeare or Dickens so the list below would never feature books from these writers.

Total Number Of Books I Own: I have always been a collector of books, be it technical or fiction. At least this seems to be the norm ever since I started earning. So I own plenty of books and the fact that I run out of space to keep them makes me want to lend books to others :). Honestly, I enjoy seeing my collection grow and I know that I am gonna read the books I collect eventually.
My main hobby now is to collect all the books of Graham Greene who for me is among the finest writers.

Last Book Bought: The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh

Last Book Read: The World According to Garp by John Irving – This is a marvelous book by an author who many perceive to have inherited the qualities of Charles Dickens (of course, not everybody agrees with this perception) in his writings. Irving is known to create very unique characters and Garp is no different. The book is funny, sad, perverse and intelligent and makes great reading from start to finish.

Books That Mean a Lot to Me

1. Catch 22 by Josef Heller: I have often asked how can a book be hilarious and yet so thought provoking? This allegory is a masterpiece and Yossarian is probably among the most unforgettable characters created in a book that describes the insanity behind war.
2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Never has a book and its plot haunted me like this one did. This is a classic from the pen of the Nobel Prize winning author. A must read for its brilliant characterization.
3. Franny and Zooey by J D Salinger: This is one amazing book and Salinger is an amazing writer. The book is about siblings Franny and Zooey and how they vent their frustrations with the world around them. Read it to appreciate the insight and intelligence of the writer.
4. Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene: It’s hard for me not to mention the work of my favorite writer in this list. Heart of the Matter is for me the work of a master story teller. As with all Greene’s this book has a pretty simple plot but it’s the characters that layer the story line so beautifully to make it complex and compelling. Coupled with this is the religious undertone that is so much a part of all Greene’s works. Might not be for all tastes because of its pace and setting but for me this is at the top of my list.
5. Misery by Stephen King: “Horror” is the first thing that comes to mind when King is mentioned. Misery is probably the best book that I have read in this genre maybe because there are no ghosts and witches in this one, but quite believable characters. Yet, the author manages to create an aura of spookiness and gore that makes for a riveting read.
6. Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer: This is not an easy book to forget though I read it ages back. It’s a book that’s been my favorite for some time now and I never fail to recommend this to others. Again, its the two unforgettable characters that the writer has created that makes this book so good.

These are the books that immediately comes to mind. The list is however endless. I am sure there have been other wonderful books that deserve mention here but which I cannot now remember. Meanwhile, I continue to look out for more such books. As Mark Twain once said
"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

Finally, I pass on the tag to those who I think haven’t been tagged as yet.

Rathish
Samudraa
Sachin
Poornima

The Case of the Black Canine

2005-08-14T12:33:00.000+05:30

For the past few days, the object of my scrutiny has been a black dog. The otherwise nondescript street animal has this fetish for two-wheelers. I first encountered the dog a month back when I was on my two-wheeler and the dog emerged out of nowhere and started running behind me. It took me a little long to register and the dog had gained on me pretty fast and was right beside me. I pressed on the accelerator at the right moment and raced away leaving it gasping behind me. I had not seen the animal before on that road and this act sure caught me by surprise. It reminded me so much of one short story by James Herriot who describes a delightful dog that would race his car from the one of the farms to the main road, every time he visited the farm to treat the animals there. Since I frequent this road pretty often, I became wary of the animal after that day and it’s become something of a hobby to observe it. I do not know its real intentions, maybe it is to race the vehicle or simply to get a nip at the rider, whatever it is I found it pretty strange. I notice the dog repeating the act for all the vehicles. It would start at a precise point and then run along for some distance, then on reaching the end of its territory run back and wait for its next victim. Since the road is devoid of heavy traffic, the vehicles would easily avoid the dog and I am not sure it has ever succeeded in its mission. However this does not deter it from tirelessly pursuing the goal. I even tried to get a look into its psyche, on a particular weekend I caught sight of the dog at its usual start position from the corner of the eye, and just as it raced behind me and started gaining on me I braked to halt at the side of the road. As I had guessed, it did not follow me further; it did not probably want to win because its victim had conceded so tamely. For it to savor success, it needed a fair and square victory.

Then as suddenly as it first appeared, I noticed the dog had disappeared one day. Many possibilities arise, it could have succeeded in what it achieved and strayed off somewhere else, or people could have complained and therefore it was taken away or another harrowing possibility was that it got run over by a vehicle. One things for sure, it was not the kind to accept defeat and no way would it have gone away thinking that its task was impossible. I am conscious of the animal each time I take that road and who knows it could be there somewhere, this hiatus could be a ruse to take the rider by surprise the next time it decides to spring onto the road and the ‘race track’.

Good "Surprising" Films

2005-07-31T10:47:00.000+05:30

More often than not, you end up watching a movie either because it has a fine cast, or its director is one of those credited to always deliver good films, or purely on the basis of the hype that it has created. However, I also remember watching films just because I had nothing else to do and finally the film turned out to be good enough to watch it a second and a third time. I am talking of those films that just catch you off guard purely because you had never expected it to turn out so well. I can think of a few such English films.

The Shawshank Redemption: I remember watching TSR just for its intriguing title and nothing else. Today, it’s an all time favorite of mine. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman suit their individual roles perfectly. Excellent narration by Freeman, I remember TSR for its wonderful climax. I haven’t seen a film end in the perfect fashion as it did in this one.

Being John Malkovich : Unfortunately, I cannot describe BJM, simply because its too weird to describe. This is one of the most innovative films I have watched in terms of its script. Hats off to Charlie Kaufmann for writing such an ingenious story. John Malkovich playing himself is an absolute delight to watch. Another one of those films that really stunned me when I watched it first.

My Cousin Vinny: I did not know that this movie had worked wonders at the box office when I saw this. To me it was just another comedy. I would call this among the most entertaining flicks. Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are perfectly cast and its 2 hours of absolute fun. This is on this list simply because I never expected it make me laugh so much.

Fargo: Coen brothers who made this one were well sought after but I wasn’t aware of them. Again an absolutely wonderful movie noteworthy for its layered story line and some wonderful performances. Highly recommended.

Serial Mom: Dark humor at its best, I became a huge fan of Kathleen Turner after watching this one. Not for all tastes but I enjoyed it.

Nick of Time: Another one of those flicks that I thought of as just another action movie turned out to be a well-written, well-acted and engrossing thriller. The pace never lets up and it’s a must watch if you like action and suspense.

Jacob’s Ladder: Not rated very highly, but I remember finding this a very well made flick. The story and the setting of the film haunts me even now and I think this is definitely worth a watch. I would definitely classify this as a well-made psychological thriller. Not for the light hearted.

Birdcage: Agreed that this had some great actors in it but I never thought it would end up being such a delightful comedy simply because there was no hype surrounding the film. Terrific performances by Nathan Lane and Robin Williams. Entertaining.

Falling Down: First film that I watched of Michael Douglas and it made for a gripping thriller. A believable character study, this was one of those films that I can watch many more times for it’s a spot-on portrayal of an American who loses his cool. Extremely violent but worth watching.

Parenthood: Directed by Ron Howard, I have watched this film only once but I wait expectantly for the re-runs to appear on TV. Steve Martin and Rick Moranis are terrific in a film that depicts the trials of parenthood. Warm and insightful comedy.

Reality Bites: Actor Ben Stiller impresses making his debut as a director in a very intelligent film. It’s about young people who cannot cope up with the present day world.Great performances from the trio of Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke.

On call

2005-07-20T07:12:00.000+05:30

If my fingers today are adept at handling many mobile phones, I should thank my previous company for this. During my stint in one of the projects there, I was given a mobile phone to carry with me over most weekends coz I was supposed to be "On call" and believe me it wasn't always a happy occasion.

If you have been part of a support or maintenance project (I mean in the software industry) then you probably would know what being on call means. If you haven't then its your good fortune. What this term means is that during weekends and holidays, you would be called on the phone to fix an issue and you are pretty safe if by some burst of clairvoyance, you have an inkling as to what the issue is and also have a ready solution in hand, else be prepared to traverse the entire distance to your office and in the course of this travel come up with a solution which you can readily apply on reaching the workplace. No, this is not as complicated as my previous sentence sounds.

I know that my weekend is wrecked the minute I am entrusted with a company provided mobile phone which would be my confidant for the next two days. The biggest misery for me is not the impending phone call but the actual wait for it. During these days, I would never part with the phone as if my whole life depended on it. Every two minutes, i would steal a furtive glimpse of this insipid object so much so that its contours would be sketched in my mind till eternity. And when the phone does ring, its a big relief for I would have something (other than waiting for that dreaded phone call) to look forward to for the remainder of the weekend.

Goldwynisms

2005-07-08T18:51:00.000+05:30

The term "Goldwynism" is named after one Samuel Goldwyn(1882-1974) a US movie producer. He was known to be a lone wolf and survived for over thirty years in the movie industry. Goldwyn was known for his witty nature and some of his cracks have been publicized so much that they began to be coined by the term "Goldwynism". I enjoyed reading some of it but I am not aware if Goldwyn really made these himself or it just came to be known by this name. One must probably re-read the quotes a few times to get the humor.Some of his "supposedly made" gems are:

In two words: im-possible.

Gentlemen, include me out.

A hospital is no place to be sick.

Television has raised writing to a new low.

Don’t pay any attention to the critics. Don’t even ignore them.

Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined.

For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.

I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead.

I don't want any "yes-men" around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs.

I think luck is the sense to recognize an opportunity and the ability to take advantage of it. Everyone has bad breaks, but everyone also has opportunities. The man who can smile at his breaks and grab his chances gets on.

Never make forecasts, especially about the future.

I had a great idea this morning, but I didn't like it .

A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Spare no expense to make everything as economical as possible.

A Satire on the Malayalam Film Industry

2005-06-25T11:56:00.000+05:30

Whenever actor, writer Sreenivasan picks up the pen and writes a script, one expects the movie to turn out well. His stories are simple and more often than not, there are characters that one can identify with. Udayananu Tharam (UT), the latest film penned by Sreenivasan is no different. One of the very few good films to come out in Malayalam in recent times, Udayananu Tharam is a satire on the film industry.

The story is about a struggling assistant director Udayabhanu (Mohanlal), who has ambitions of directing a film himself. He writes a winning script and is just about ready for the venture. Sreenivasan plays Rajappan, a struggling actor, who steals and sells Udayan's script to a top producer on condition that he will play the hero. The film creates wonders at the box office and Rajappan becomes a movie icon. Udayabhanu in the meantime, nurtures his hatred against Rajappan and gets the opportunity to exact revenge when ironically he gets to make his first film with Rajappan as the hero, thanks to the kind hearted producer Baby Kutty (Mukesh) who has faith in the abilities of Udayabhanu. Rajappan becomes impossible to direct thanks to his superstar tantrums on the sets. Will Udayabhanu complete his dream film and will he succeed in doing so? These answers form the crux of the latter half of the film.

UT succeeds in showing the intricacies of movie making. It depicts the struggles and travails of the producer and director from the time they decide to get the right stars to work in the film, managing the film without it going over budget, keeping a regular check on the dates of the actors involved so as to finish all their shots before it is too late and a final race against time to complete the film and get the movie shown in the theatres on the promised date. UT also works showing the idiosyncrasies and the colossal egos of the stars and how they become difficult to manage. It attempts ample digs at the mallu film industry and succeeds because of the refreshing humor, which only Sreenivasan can so convincingly tell in his scripts.

Newcomer Rosshan Andrrews makes an impressive debut as a director. I particularly liked the way he handled the climax of the film that could easily have gone awry. The music of the film by Deepak Dev is hummable although UT lacks any one great track. A special mention for very good camera work by S Kumar.

Coming to the performances;Meena as the female lead is not half as convincing as the male leads but she does a fair job of looking the part. Mukesh is his usual pleasing self and shares a great on screen camaraderie with Mohanlal. Jagathy Sreekumar in the brief cameo is brilliant. Probably one of the best character actors in India today, Jagathy proves that it doesn’t always take a large role to leave an impression. Mohanlal in the title role is very convincing and brings back some of his old magic. Although the performance is not in the same league as some of his earlier films, I am thankful that he has come out of the “larger than life hero" image which was becoming impossible to bear with each passing film. Very rarely does a supporting actor steal the show from the lead actor and I think the movie belongs to Sreenivasan. As the obnoxious struggling star that steals the script to the superstar whom everybody loves to hate, Sreenivasan delivers as only he can. To call him brilliant would be an understatement. If as a scriptwriter, he is innovative, then he tops this with a superlative perfomance as an actor.

Don’t expect a masterpiece in UT; watch it just to convince yourself that good films are still being made in Malayalam although not with the same frequency as a few years back.

Sania - A Star in the Making

2005-06-23T09:11:00.000+05:30

"Remember the name,We are going to hear a lot more about her.'' These were the words uttered by commentator John Barrett of BBC after Sania Mirza's match yesterday at Wimbledon. Though Sania lost, I think she made the tennis fans take notice of her talent.

I was watching Sania for the first time and was truly impressed. I think she has the potential to be among the best. She has incredible ground strokes, especially on the forehand side. She was unfazed by the occasion yesterday and showed amazing temperament for an 18 year old. As Vijay Amritraj commented, if she can improve her serve and volleying skills by some amount, she will be a force to reckon with. It's still early days for her and I definitely feel she can be a top-10 player. I do hope that over exposure to the print and electronic media does not damage her promising career.

She created history of sorts yesterday. Sania became the first Indian woman to play a singles match at Centre Court and also the first Indian (among both men and women) in two decades to play a singles match at the same court.

"Keep in Touch"

2005-06-17T20:12:00.000+05:30

It’s been a little over five months since I bumped into an old friend of mine. We had lost track of each other at some point and were glad to find each other again. When we departed after exchanging contact details, I remember exactly what we mouthed to each other in unison: “Keep in Touch”. I haven’t heard from him since.

Then this other day, a colleague sent a goodbye mail. As usual, there were these three ostensibly ubiquitous words to finish off the mail with the link to the personal mail id.

“Keep in Touch” : these are words probably written or spoken at will in mails or when we have to part from friends or relatives. It seems to me so puerile that most of the time, we use it as a formality and never with any clear-cut intentions. It’s absurd that we use it at all and make it sound a big farce

I guess there’s always this initial inertia to keep in touch. It’s like the hesitation in taking that big first step towards achieving anything important. Or is it because of something that occurred to me just as I type this that we never actually “Keep in Touch”. I realize on dissecting these three words that the onus is on the other person to make the first move. I mean we never say, “I want to keep in touch”, do we? So the person who uses this sentence is not at fault, since it’s always up to the receiver to get into the act.

So the next time we part with someone or have to send a goodbye mail, it would be apt if we candidly put forth the condition along side. Something like “I want to keep in touch, but only if you would be so nice as to do the needful first” :)

Yesterday That Year

2005-06-10T19:55:00.000+05:30

As I write this, I ponder if this space deserves mention of something that happened twenty-six years back on the ninth day in the month of June. But then, I think again and realize that who else but me will get away with touching upon this point :-). Well, so what is that something that I yearn to mention? Nothing really spectacular except that exactly twenty-six years back in a small town called Palghat in Kerala, I came into existence, or to use a more clichéd term, I was “BORN”.

So what is the spark or the driving force that makes me post this? Well, it was because of a phone call from a friend that I received yesterday morning. This friend has an uncanny knack of asking questions one least expects in moments like these. So along with the usual birthday wishes that accompany every such call, he asks me a question that makes me reflect and write this. The question was something like “What have you learnt from your life so far?”

The answer: I can think of umpteen “learnings” and the fact there are this many lessons learnt in life makes me realize that one never stops learning. Everyday, every moment that you live does teach you something. It’s really up to each of us whether to imbibe something from it or to ignore it completely. I also feel that age has nothing to do with your aptitude for learning. With age, I guess you grow more sagacious or you want to show others your sagacity and this impedes upon your learning prowess. A quote I read sometime back accurately sums up the point I am trying to make.

”Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all.”

Greetings

2005-06-04T11:01:00.000+05:30

I have observed people greet others in different ways. While I resort to a simple "hi" on most times, I have been forced to change my style of greeting depending on the situation. For instance, there is this guy whom I meet every morning and he says "Hi" just like I do but its barely audible and since you dont have to be much of a lip reader to decipher this, its ok.

Some of us are known to be of few words. Therefore, to actually get out a simple "Hi" or "Hello" is an ordeal. So this other chap does what he knows best. He raises his eyebrow as if to say "Here you are again" . This has become something of a habit, therefore i relent and I am now greeting him his way.

One guy whom I keep running into believes all this is a waste of time. For instance, this other day,I met him after a week and the moment he sees me he says without preamble, "Saw the match. Wow, at last a win, eh?". No "hi" "byes" for this fella.

Its incredible how when you encounter a myriad of people everyday that some linger on in memory more than some others do.One such character( I don’t remember his name) used to be at the place where I used to work.I did not meet him often, just two three times before he was sent on deputation elsewhere. His style of greeting was to shake hands. Well, that’s not odd at all but this guy never used to look at you when shaking hands but would look down at the handshake. It was almost as if he had no sense of contact and had to actually look down to make sure we were indeed shaking hands :).

Henin's Backhand

2005-06-04T09:47:00.000+05:30

Whatever is the outcome of today' s French Open final, one thing that I can say with certitude is that Justine Henin-Hardenne has the most awe-inspiring backhand in the women's game. Ever since I first started watching her play, I have seen her win matches with that devastating backhand even when all other shots of hers weren't working. Now that the single handed backhand is a rarity in both the men and women's version of tennis, Henin's backhand is perhaps the best I have seen. I have often wondered if she can keep this going for long because of the pace at which she strikes the ball, but even after a year long hibernation from tennis, this is one aspect of her game that hasn't changed at all. I guess this is also in a way because she goes for the line every time and even when the opponent does manage to cover this shot, she has the open court to finish of the point.

She has also worked on her forehand side and although it's not as destructive, it's something which she has added to her armory. She is also not mentally fragile and is a good big match player.All this put together would make her a tough player to beat in the forthcoming matches.

Darrowby and The World of James Herriot

2005-06-01T18:37:00.000+05:30

Readers, call it lacuna in my mind for lack of any new articles to post or a subterfuge to promote my favorite writer, I am re-writing this blog with a few changes. Hoping for a few comments this time around :-).

Being an avid reader, I am very often disappointed when some favorite writer of mine writes a real trashy book. I am unable to comprehend, why he/she would deteriorate to this level. I generally compare some of their earlier works to this one and try to analyse where they went wrong. I also conclude at times that the same writer could never have written this book.

The only exception to this is a writer who hasn't written a great deal. Each book of his( that I have read so far) is a gem. The first time I laid my hands on his book was some 10 years back when I had nothing else to read and this long neglected book( with its nearly tattered cover) was at my desk begging to be picked up. As I began reading the book I was transported into the beautiful world of Darrowby, its innumerable characters, be it animal or human stood out in this picturesque world so poignantly described. The book was "Vet in a Spin" and the writer James Herriot.

James Herriot, a pen name for one James Alfred Wight was a veterinary doctor who wrote of his exploits. His works are autobiographical and an absolute delight to read. What I find appealing in his books is the joy he seems to get in his job. This is very apparent in his writings. Probably thats the reason why he inspired many people to take up a veterinary career. His works also indicate that he was an acute observer and a great judge of character. Each chapter is a short story in itself, some really funny, some heart-rending especially when he has to put an animal to sleep since it carries a fatal disease and recovery is impossible. Stories of his end sometimes with a very signifcant one liner which stays with the reader for a long time. For instance, at the end of one chapter he says( not verbatim)- "This incident taught me one important thing, people are not how they seem to appear". Herriot was a big fan of the Yorkshire countryside- the description of the valleys and trees of Darrowby filled all his books, when he used to drive for miles in the worst weather to treat animals on farms.

Herriot's works are easy to identify with probably because he dosent portray himself as infallible. There were occasions when he hasnt been able to diagnose diseases because these maladies were unheard of during his time( iam talking of the 1940s and 1950s) and lack of quality medicines which are available now werent at hand then. On other occasions its the fear that accompanies every job( that of not being sure if its the right way to do it) that is so well described.

As I mentioned before, Herriot didnt write a great deal. His first book "All Creatures Great and Small" , brought him instant recognition. For all this fame, Herriot believed in living life without being exposed to the limelight of a bestseller author.He tried to protect his real identity for a long time without success. To all the reporters and people who finally tracked him down, he had one thing to say "If a farmer calls me to a sick animal, he couldn't care less if I were George Bernard Shaw."

Herriot died in 1995.

Autobiographies

2005-05-28T11:33:00.000+05:30

If someone thought that penning an autobiography is facile, then you gotta be kidding. You need to have a great memory for sure to diligently chronicle the highlights of your life and then write it down with a flair that would make the readers appreciate and seek inspiration from your achievements.

I haven't read many autobiographies but the one I do remember having enjoyed was the one written by Agatha Christie. She did live a very eventful life and although she conveniently omits a very embarrassing incident in her life attributing it to her bouts of amnesia, the book is definitely worth a read. She writes at length about her childhood, her knowledge of medicines (because of her stint as a nurse during the world war) and her fascination for books and archeology. She also speaks about her characters like Poirot, Marple, Tommy and Tuppence.
The one flaw in the book is it's bad editing since the periods and incidents appear disconnected probably because she wrote the book over a period of many years.

So ppl who are reading this, let me know of other autobiographies worth reading, coz i would be interested in giving it a shot.

Rains and Sleepless Nights

2005-05-26T16:41:00.000+05:30

The one thing that's taken for granted nowadays at the place where I reside is the power failure which accompanies every rain. I mean, the rain is a harbinger of power cuts and the period of this shutdown seems to be directly proportional to the intensity of the rain. A drizzle would leave one without power for half an hour and a thunderstorm would leave you in darkness for the whole night. This nocturnal activity and the scorching heat of the summer (I know that Bangalore is known for its salubrious weather but this year's the worst I have felt) leaves one sleepless which in turn makes one groggy during the day for want of sleep.

The irony is that the rainy season is yet to arrive. So if this is an indication of things to come, the electricity officials are doing a great job of making us get used to the humongous blackouts that are bound to follow later.

Hellerism

2005-05-25T08:29:00.000+05:30

This title is something I have associated with Joseph Heller because his works are unique. As one reviewer reviewing his book “Closing Time” puts it “Heller is the master of the morbid wisecrack. Heller dissects the American dream with as sharp and poignant a wit as ever”. In his works Heller creates a mad mad world and some of the conversations of his characters are hilarious to the point of being absurd. The one thing you immediately notice in his books is the colossal length of some of his sentences, reading which you are as confused as ever.

In “Closing Time”, another allegory like “Catch 22” there are some paragraphs and conversations that do make you laugh. Consider this first extract:
“The Freedom of Information Act, the chaplain explained, was a federal regulation obliging government agencies to release all information to anyone who made application to it, except information they had that they did not want to release. And Because of this one catch in The Freedom of Information Act, Yossarian had subsequently found out, they were technically not compelled to release any information at all. Hundreds of thousands of pages each week went out regularly to applicants with everything blacked out on them but punctuation marks, prepositions and conjunctions. It was a good catch, Yossarian judged expertly, because the government did not have to release any information about the information they chose not to release, and it was impossible to know if anyone was complying with the federal law called the Freedom of Information Act.”

Here’s another good one from one of his characters:
[“And Christopher Maxon is always agreeable,” Patrick guaranteed, “as long as you give him something to agree with. I have lunch with him frequently when I feel like eating alone”].

Music of Mayookham is captivating

2005-05-22T16:53:00.000+05:30

After a short hiatus, the winning combination of director Hariharan and musician Bombay Ravi who churned out wonderful hits like “Nakashantangal” and “Sargam” are back with their latest Malayalam film “Mayookham”.

I was listening to the music of the film and was glad to see that Bombay Ravi has not lost his touch. The album is diverse and offers some wonderful scores and in a way transports you to the golden era of Malayalam films from the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties. The album is unique in that each song is a solo and no singer gets to sing two songs.

The album starts with “Katinnu Sugandham” sung by the omnipresent Yesudas (there are very few films in Malayalam where this legend does not get to sing). The song works mainly because of the poetic lyrics penned by Hariharan himself. “EE Puzhaum” sung by the gifted Chitra is nostalgic and invokes the picturesque beauty of Kerala. Lyrics by Mankombu Gopalakrishnan, with Chitra at her best, you can’t ask for a better song. Vijita Jai Ganesh sings “Tho Geha Krithya”, can’t comment much on this except that her sweet voice suits the song well. I guess a Malayalam album is incomplete without Jayachandran’s melodious voice. His voice is as youthful as when he started off in the 70s. Here he sings “Chuvarillathe”, another gem from the pen of Hariharan. Thought provoking with excellent music and a soulful rendition. “EE Puzhaum” repeats with an equally poignant male version sung by a new singer in Chandrasekhar. The voice is fresh and adds to the flavor of the album. “Dhanumasa Pulari” by Sujatha and chorus is vibrant and brings the festival spirit to light. Now coming to my favorite song. The extremely talented and versatile M.G. Sreekumar sings “Bagvathi Kavil”, with lyrics by Mankombu Gopalakrishnan. A romantic song, this is another feather in the cap for Sreekumar.

A great album, I am looking forward to the film and hopefully it won’t disappoint either.

Will Federer Conquer Roland Garros?

2005-05-21T14:45:00.000+05:30

With the French Open round the corner, all eyes are on Roger Federer. Rohit Brijnath in his article "A Graveyard of Heroes" written for the Hindu, mentions about the French being the only slam which has eluded big players like McEnroe,Sampras,Edberg to name a few. All tennis aficionados would definitely like to see Federer win the elusive French open, since the grace and the insouciance of his game definitely ranks him among the greatest players to have played the game.

There are however obstacles he has to encounter in Coria and a rejuvenated Ferrero. The major threat would be the in-form Nadal. There is also a dark horse lurking in the form of Richard Gasquet (a player to watch out for in the future) who was highly impressive during the tournament in Hamburg last week.

I hope that Federer wins the French since it is the toughest grand slam to win and winning it would without doubt raise him to the pinnacle of tennis.

The Quizzing Imbroglio

2005-05-20T20:15:00.000+05:30

The quiz I attended yesterday turned out to be a disaster. I guess I wanted to know where I stood with respect to my “GK”. After the quiz, I am not sure if I am “standing” anywhere. The first round was a written prelim and out of all the questions (don’t want to reveal the exact number here), my partner and I managed one question correct. It was a shock when I realized which one we had finally deciphered. I am averse to watching the daily soaps on TV, but such is the impact of this serial that we guessed the audio clip playing the theme music immediately. The soap was “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” which when translated means “Because mother-in-law was also a bride once”. It hit me sometime after the quiz. My partner does not know this but I had spelt the answer wrong. There was now an extra “n” in the second word changing it to “Saans” which does change the entire meaning drastically.

So much for my quizzing skills. My only hope is that the quizmaster shows mercy and does not reduce the score to zilch because of the typo.

Animal Welfare - Something to Ponder About

2005-05-19T09:03:00.000+05:30

Yesterday was a bad start to the day when I received the following link from a friend. It was definitely disturbing and a cause for concern. Simply inexplicable and inhumane is how I would put it. Probably the best way to put an end to this is to spread awareness and I would be really glad if this space takes a step forward in this direction. The news item is below. More on this is available at www.peta.org

"Today, at a news conference in Washington, D.C., PETA revealed the findings of its 11-month undercover investigation into Covance, the international drug-testing giant (formerly known as Hazelton).
PETA’s investigator worked as a technician inside the Vienna, Virginia, Covance laboratory, where she documented workers who were striking, choking, taunting, and deliberately tormenting terrified monkeys. She documented monkeys with broken arms left without proper veterinary treatment and animals in desperate need of euthanasia, who were kept alive and in agony just to please drug companies. Other primates, used in lethal irradiation experiments, developed open wounds on their stomachs.
When PETA called the U.S. Department of Agriculture for help during our investigation, the agency took five days to respond. Please help these suffering primates, who live in constant fear of the next horrible thing that will happen to them."

Let Sleeping Humans Sleep

2005-05-18T19:53:00.000+05:30

Usually my bus journeys from office to home and vice-versa are uneventful. Today was an exception. On my trip back home, I realized that the person sitting next to me was someone who usually gets down at the stop prior to mine. Being a casual acquaintance, I greeted him and then got engrossed in the book I was reading. My neighbor however had drifted into a sound sleep. As the bus neared his destination, I began to get concerned. I decided that I needed to wake him up before its too late. I shook him and told him about the impending stop and that he needs to be getting down. He woke up with a start as if from a nightmare. He told me that he was to get down much later today. He was however appreciative of my effort and thanked me. I wasn’t too happy that I had interrupted his peaceful slumber. It also added to my misery when he stated that he had had an exhaustive day yesterday and he needed to catch up on his sleep. By this time, my stop had arrived and I mumbled an incoherent apology before I left.

What does this really teach me? People who sleep in a shuttle are the best judge of where their destination is. Never impede upon their sleep and then face their wrath later.

The New Look Hindu

2005-05-07T11:18:00.000+05:30

The Hindu is definitely a newspaper which does not compromise on its news coverage. So when someone asked me what I thought of its new look, I replied that it most definitely gives it a very "New" and contemporary feel to it. I was however ambivalent that if this would invade upon the space for its news coverage. Now that this new look is almost a month old, I can safely say that my worries were superfluous. I know its still early days but I hope that at least the news coverage stays the way it is, what with most other newspapers going "The Tabloid" way.

Padayottam

2005-05-07T10:36:00.000+05:30

There have been a plethora of quiz shows on TV. "Padayottam", the latest entrant in the Malayalam channel Kairali is different and refreshing. Thanks mainly to the histrionics of the quiz master G S Pradeep the show certainly keeps you engrossed. Pradeep who shot into limelight with that quintessential TV show "Ashwamedham" , Kairali's version of "20 questions" is in full form once more. The 5 rounds offer a very good variety of questions. My personal favorite is the "Crossword" where the participants need to guess a person in 4 clues (a compressed version of 20 questions). The only negative factor is that the Picture clues are hardly visible to the TV audiences.

Pradeep goes over the top at times especially when he introduces the next round to the audience (this very theatrical display has me in fits of laughter).He is however the ideal anchor, he does have the air of superiority but keeps it subdued without being overly supercilious. His vitality certainly rubs off on the show and the participants. For his presence alone and the range of questions the show offers, Padayottam is definitely a cut above the rest.

Strictly for mallu audiences, catch it every wed and thurs at 9:30 pm.

My dog's become moody.

2005-05-01T11:27:00.000+05:30

My dog has entered what you would call "the old age". The one thing that's struck me immediately is that its gotten too moody. I mean earlier, when I was returning home, it would be the first to greet me, the wagging tail an absolute delight to watch. I would have just gone out for a walk probably for ten minutes, but that would not deter my dog from welcoming me with the same enthusiasm as if it had not seen me for ages, making my home coming all that more worthwhile. All that's changed a bit now. I mean there are days when he does welcome me home like before but its not too consistent. On some days, even when I return home after work (being away for some 12 hours), i dont see him at the door. Although he is wide awake , I cannot make him come to me. So what I do now is to make amends, everybody goes through old age, and since Iam young enough, I walk upto him, the thump-thump of his tail on the ground is evidence of his appreciation :-).

What a contrast

2005-05-01T10:34:00.000+05:30

When I visited the Bangalore Institute of Oncology, little did I expect that it would turn out to be so depressing. I knew that it would not be a pleasure visit, but I wasnt ready for the sights that greeted me there. There were people recovering from radiation and chemotherapy. People of all ages. I particularly noted a kid of about 8 sleeping on the sofa in the waiting room. She was hairless (probably signs of the treatment in process) and was surrounded by her family. A little while later, an older man came in with his family. He looked like he was in his last legs. He had a lot of difficulty walking, he would walk about three steps and then stop to recover and then continue again. Probably the only thing I was glad to see in this environment was when I saw a doctor coming out to meet the patient. In her forties, someone who would impress upon you at first sight, she had a wide smile on her face, the smile that did not vanish at any point.I guess it does lift the spirits of the patients when you see a doctor with a pleasing demeanor.

The very next day I visited the Forum (the shopping mall) in Koramangala with a friend. It did not take long to register the contrast between the two places. Here there were a lot of smiling faces, faces that had perhaps have not been acquainted with sorrow. Couples walking hand in hand ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. Who knows what this tomorrow brings?

This made me realize one thing, you never know but happiness in life might be ephemeral, enjoy it while it lasts. As someone once said "The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it".

Why aren't doctor's punctual?

2005-04-16T18:51:00.000+05:30

One observation that I have carried with me for long is that doctors very rarely stick to the time that they have given for an appointment. For the past two months circumstances forced me to visit a lot of doctors and not one of them came on time. This is something that I find very hard to discern. What could be the reason for this? Is it because they are not unable to judge the time that they require to treat one patient and this changes their schedule? Even in the cases where I have been the first patient to be treated on that day, I have found that the doctors never arrive at their scheduled start time. Maybe some of my doctor friends can throw light on this.

This past weekend

2005-04-02T18:02:00.000+05:30

I had a big weekend last week. This coincided( not intentionally) with the 3rd test match between India and Pakistan. At the end of the weekend I felt awful, because India played dreadful cricket to lose 9 wickets in the last two innings. It was a weekend well spent. Apart from the many mundane activities I indulge in, I felt good after seeing two critically acclaimed films.

Page 3 was a realistic attempt to bring to light what "Page 3" really is. Great performances, amazing screenplay and a lot of forgotten TV serial actors( who frequented Doordarshan during the "no cable TV" days) made this a paisa vasool film. There were no typical Bollywood senti scenes, no songs that let up the pace of the movie.

The second film which I watched called Goodfellas did not disappoint either. This 1990 film directed by Martin Scorsese is gripping, funny at times( thanks mainly to the histrionics of Joe Pesci in an Oscar winning role) and has a great cast to go with it. Ray Liotta is brilliant as the main protagonist and so is Robert De Niro. What I found different about this film is that the violence is subdued, almost as if the intention is to focus on the characters than on what they actually do, which was really not in keeping with films of this genre. Probably that's the reason I found the flick very enjoyable.

Just Bored - Is it?

2005-03-09T16:14:00.000+05:30

Just the other day, my friend was telling me about how he is really feeling sick of his call centre job. He says that there's just no life in it. The whole cycle changes and even when it comes to holidays, he says that he cannot sleep during the nights and stay awake during the daytime.
This reminds me so much of that wonderful Bruce Springsteen number "Dancing in the Dark". The first few lines would I think apply to all people who are really getting pissed off with their obnoxious call centre routine. The song goes like this:
"I get up in the evening, and I ain’t got nothing to say.I come home in the morning, I go to bed feeling the same way.I ain’t nothing but tired, man I’m just tired and bored with myself.Hey there baby, I could use just a little help"

Aviator

2005-02-27T12:15:00.000+05:30

Went to watch " The Aviator" expecting too much. With 11 oscar nominations, i thought it would be one of the better films showing in town. I was really disappointed after sitting through the film. The second half was better than the first, but the movie on the whole was just ordinary. The only pluses were

The scene where Di Caprio and his plane crashes during the latter half has been shot really well.
Performance of Alan Alda( from MASH) who played his part to perfection.
The last half hour

You wont be missing anything if you dont watch this one.

Aussie Open Final-Too Much Emotion

2005-01-31T13:09:00.000+05:30

The Aussie Open Final yesterday between Safin and Hewitt was unlike any tennis match I have seen. There was so much drama and emotion from the word go. This translated into warnings to both Hewitt and Safin during the course of the match for their conduct on court. This is exactly what happens when two emotional players play in a big match, both of them as eager as the other to get their first Aussie open. This did not take anything away from the quality of the match which produced over two hours of some breathtaking tennis. Some of the rallies in the match were brilliant. It was Safin's power against Hewitt's tenacity. It was also a match where Safin's infamous volatile temperament was evident.From an ordinary start to some brilliant tennis in the latter half of the game, one wonders if this was the same player playing right through the match.In the end,the giant Russian had the right answers and it was his consistently big serve to go with the powerful groundstrokes which proved too much for Hewitt.

Accepted, Iam very punctual!

2005-01-29T16:29:00.000+05:30

I guess you feel flattered when people praise you for your seemingly good qualities. You also dont mind when you dont possess these qualities and are still praised. There are also occasions when people dont tell many nice things about you on your face, but the things they do however foolish or trivial indirectly gives these feelers and make you feel rather happy.
So it happened with me. Iam always the first one to reach the bus stop to take my morning shuttle to work. Iam there for nearly five minutes before others start streaming in. Since I have been pretty regular to work these past few months, my other colleagues had sort of taken my existence for granted. Due to some reason, I missed the regular shuttle one day. The next day, I hear from my colleague that, on not seeing me at the bus stop, the others jumped to the conclusion that the bus had already left early, They waited for a few minutes and then decided to take an auto to work. They were about to get in to the auto when they saw the bus coming in at the time that it usually does and this prevented them from spending some extra bucks. What if the shuttle had arrived a few minutes late? Then they would have seen the shuttle reaching the work place a few minutes after they did and then realized their mistake. So I feel that this is an indirect way of telling " You are too punctual and regular to work" :).

Fame

2005-01-08T11:44:00.000+05:30

Tennis Elbow- probably all cricket crazy Indians would respond to what this means by stating "Oh! This was what Sachin Tendulkar suffered from a few months back". I remember a front page artcle in a newspaper which explained everything about tennis elbow. There was also special sections devoted in the health columns of news papers about this physical injury. All this when Sachin was convalescing and missing many international matches. It was tennis elbow's rise to fame :).
Another word that's popular now is "Tsunami". Until 2 weeks back, many were ignorant and would not have known this to be a source of such destruction. Agreed that we did learn this in our school days in our Geography classes.So I did feel a tinge of nostalgia when there were news articles with pictures lifted right out of the text books explaining Tsunami. Today, pick up a newspaper and you will come across this word atleast 20 times in each news section. Even the entertainment section had names of movies that have been made on this topic. The sports section has news coverage of charity matches being held for the benefit of Tsunami victims and so on. Those of you who are looking for new challenges can count the occurence of Tsunami in any of the news papers in the past two weeks :).
Iam looking out for the next such ubiquitous word or phrase and wishing that it would bring some happiness this time.

Superstition

2005-01-01T10:47:00.000+05:30

Are new year celebrations really long lasting? I mean to me its really ephemeral lasting for a day or two.
Since Iam not overtly superstitious, I find it pretty dubious that what they say about doing the right things on new years day. Its said that what we do today reflects throughout the year. Say if you are travelling somewhere on new years day, then you will be on a travelling spree throughout the year or if you are working today, then watch out, coz you then have a busy year ahead.
So I have decided to be experimental today. Have planned for a movie, so let me see how many films I actually watch this year.

Shocking

2004-12-24T18:16:00.000+05:30

Iam putting in a blog after a long time, because my mind has been wallowing in a labyrinth of emotions. Its been about ten days since my uncle passed away and he has occupied my thoughts ever since the news reached me. Its strange how we think of someone more when we know for sure that we will never see that person again. The fact that he was in his mid forties and had lived a healthy life till the fatal attack of jaundice throws light on the unpredictability of life.
My uncle was a nondescript, simple individual who had absolutely no qualms about the way he dressed. To call him an altruist would be an understatement. I think that his whole life hinged on helping others with total selflessness. His official work would bring him often to Bangalore and I would look forward to his visits. At home, he would lend a helping hand wherever required and do so with the gusto which is a rarity these days when it comes to doing household chores.
Memories come flooding back as I write this. Like when my uncle helped in trapping the elusive cockroaches for my Biology dissection lab in college, our visit to the movies not so long ago when I was in Kerala for a holiday and that vociferous snoring which my uncle could not ever get rid of but which also meant a sleepless night for the others at home.
My uncle's convivial nature was evident when his friends and acquaintances out numbered the relatives that thronged his funeral. Quoting Leonardo da Vinci "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death"

Shopping

2004-12-12T10:31:00.000+05:30

Yesterday was a day devoted to shopping. Just busted some cash-nothing huge- bought some clothes. Went with a friend of mine, who has just the opposite approach to mine when it comes to shopping for clothes. For me, I dont come to shop with a fixed plan in mind. Ya, i do know that I need to get this many shirts or pants but I dont decide on the colour before this venture. It comes to me at the spur of the moment. Hovever, my friend decides beforehand what he would buy to the finest detail. For instance, yesterday he was bent upon acquiring a red sweatshirt and he did not rest till we got the exact one which he had in mind. Thanks to his idiosyncrasies when it comes to shopping, the day was an exhausting one.

The In-Laws

2004-12-04T10:58:00.000+05:30

After a long time, I saw an intelligent comedy film on TV yesterday. "The In-Laws" succeeds because the director has blended comedy and action beautifully. The film stars Micheal Douglas( who is as brilliant as always) and Albert Brooks in the lead roles. Brooks who has directed( he is not the director of this one) and acted in many such films is first rate. A special mention for David Suchet( remember the actor who portrayed the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot) who just walks away with the latter half of the film in a mesmerising cameo. A must watch for those who enjoy sensible comedy.

Hailey

2004-11-27T17:22:00.000+05:30

Whatever little i read of Arthur Hailey, I found quite interesting. He wasn't the conventional best-seller writer who wrote on just one
subject. He tried his hand at a range of topics, essentially these were dealing with the different industries. In 'Moneychangers', it was banks he dealt with, in 'Airport', he dealt with aviation,in 'The Final Diagnosis', it was medicine and so on. Though none of his books were of any high literary merit, it could be read to kill time as they were real page-turners. Probably, the one thing that made his books immensely successful were the research involved behind each of them, like when he tries to explain the nitty-gritty of Banking or the nuances of the Hotel Industry.

On Call

2004-11-21T10:43:00.000+05:30

If you have been part of a support or maintenance project then you probably would know what being on call means. If you havent then its your good fortune. What this term means is that during weekends and holidays, you would be called on the phone to fix an issue and by some burst of clairvoyance, you should have an inkling as to what the issue is and also have a ready solution in hand, else you need to travese 10 miles to your office and in the course of this travel come up with a solution which you can readily apply on reaching the workplace. Believe me, this is not as complicated as my previous sentence sounds. I know that my weekend is wrecked the minute I am entrusted with a company provided mobile phone which would be my confidant for the next two days. The biggest misery for me is not the impending phone call but the actual wait for it. During these days, I would never part with the phone as if my whole life depended on it. Every two minutes, i would steal a furtive glimpse of this insipid object so much so that its contours would be sketched in my mind till eternity. And when the phone does ring, its a big relief for I would have something to look forward to for the remainder of the weekend.

Cricketing Woes

2004-11-14T11:15:00.000+05:30

Few would have realized at the beginning of the year that Indian cricket would reach the low that it has now. Its a pity what the three month hiatus has done to the team after their admirable performance in Pakistan. I guess that its safe to say that Indian cricket is in the doldrums.
Before the match commenced yesterday, I had already predicted that Pakistan would emerge victorious. Although the Indians posted a biggish total, Pakistanis were the better team. What I have come to realize that the Indian team is just not balanced. I mean,what happens if one of the bowlers were to have a bad day. There is just no back up bowler to do the job. Similarly, lack of a specialist keeper is also proving costly. I guess there were far too many runs scored because Dravid could not collect keenly on the leg side. Going in with seven specialist batsmen is almost as if there is no faith in the six batsmen doing the job.What we need to look for a specialist keeper who is quite capable with the bat too. Maybe looking for a Gilchrist is a bit too much but atleast he must be able to do what Moin does for Pakistan or Boucher does so consistently for SA. Also there are just no quality all rounders in the squad. Irfan hasnt done particularly much with the bat and Agarkar lacks consistency. With the kind of team India fields in the ODIs, its adding a bit too much pressure on the specialist bowlers. In the long run, the Indian ODI outfit needs to be changed before things get out of hand.

Forwards and the Art of Keeping in Touch

2004-10-30T11:54:00.000+05:30

I met an acquaintance of mine recently, who had slogged his way through his MS and PhD and landed up with a great job in the US and was in home town on vacation. I was seeing him after 4 years. During our conversation, he remarked suddenly "Its amazing that we have kept in regular touch, havent we?". I nodded and said "Ya your forwards were just amazing". He did not get the sarcasm.
The fact that the only way we were in touch( rather the way he mailed me) was through forwards was lost on my friend. He used to send me forwards by the dozen everyday, some really interesting, most were really mundane and dumb and to shift-del the mail was the only option. However the funny thing was he never used to tell me how he was doing and what was happening to him miles away. I used to reply to some of the forwards and query about his studies and life there. He would respond the next day with more forwards.Fortunately I knew his parents and they kept me updated on the happenings.
There were many other contacts of mine who seem to have taken after him. They just seem incapable of typing a single mail. I wonder if they even forward the mails after reading them once. They probably forward it to all in their address book( the person who send the mail in all probability would receive the same since he/she is a part of the address book, thats ok, since he/she would not have read it in the first place before sending them and he/she then resends it to all in their address book and this cycle continues till eternity). Thank goodness all the mail service providers have increased the size of the mail box ;).
E-mail is definitely the easiest way to keep in touch. What's also interesting is that forwarding e-mails is an even easier way. I wonder what would happen in case you need to invite some one for a marriage or any other occasion. Would you type your mails then or would they be a part of some other invitation which could duly be sent to others when the time comes, but then please make sure to atleast attach the correct invite :).

Celebrating Death

2004-10-22T13:43:00.000+05:30

"If the red slayer think he slays, Or if the slain think he is slain, They know not well the subtle ways, I keep and pass and turn again"-Ralph Waldo Emerson.
What if your worst enemy had a tryst with death? Would it be a cause for celebration? For the past few days , the newspapers here have been littered with the news of the killing of somebody( a Mr 'X') who had eluded the law makers for a better part of two decades. Even though the eventual triumph of these law makers in succeeding on this mission needs to be lauded, the fact that there have been smiles on everyones face just because this Mr 'X' has perished is something that surprises me. I mean should we really celebrate a fellow being's death? Its something to ponder over. I was glad when I realized that I wasnt the only one having such thoughts. In the editorials of one news paper there was one letter whose contents( not verbatim) stated "Should we celebrate death even if the person in question is one of the most sought after criminals today?".

"Prepone"

2004-10-20T13:33:00.000+05:30

Correct me if iam wrong, but the word "Prepone" does not exist. Its merely a concocted opposite of postpone. This was brought to light by a friend of mine recently but I continue to use this word frequently. I have seen it being used( quite judiciously of course) in formal meetings,emails etc without( or with) people having an inkling about the authenticity of the word. But then, probably this is one among many such words. Also, does it really matter whether the words that we use everyday need to be listed in the dictionary. I dont think so. As long as the people you are communicating with know what you mean when you speak or from whats written in your mail, I guess there's no issue at all.

A good read

2004-10-18T14:26:00.000+05:30

Brighton Rock is among Graham Greene's best works. 30 pages into the book, you wonder what makes this novel so special, then as you read on, the characters grow on you. Perhaps the book's most surprising factor is that it rides on a wafer thin plot and the story looks dated in parts( thanks to the umpteen number of writers who have attempted this genre in recent times). To compensate for the plot, the novel has characters that are brilliantly etched. The lead character Pinkie is depicted as a person without any feelings of remorse, but such is the writer's brilliance that he evokes in the reader a feeling of empathy towards Pinkie. Without resorting to profanity of any sort Greene spins a compelling yarn and I still maintain after reading this work that Greene can never write a bad book. A critic on reading this work remarked " Entertaining he always is but Comforting never".

Timing

2004-10-15T10:04:00.000+05:30

We talk of timing in sport. In cricket, having a good timing is sheer brilliance. Its a gift. In my office, the cubicles are arranged to house four people and each of us have our own telephones( we humans have never shown any affinity to share anything anyways), so I just wondered how it would be if all our phones start and end ringing at precisely the same moment( i mean if it has to end at the same time it would mean each of the occupants of the cubicle should lift the phones at the same time). That would be timing at its best that no sport would match. There would eight good timers here :-). The first four probably sat at different corners of the world and decided that it was as good a time as any to ring the inhabitants of the cubicle in the first place and four of the insipid( brought to life) creatures would spring into action and lift the insipid telephones and say "Hello". After our individual calls, we go about our work as usual of course, since the timing was so perfect that none of us heard the other phones ringing because the rings sounded as if it orginated from your own phones. Now we have twelve good timers here( 4 new lifeless additions to the art of good timing) :-)

Head "Ache"

2004-10-08T13:31:00.000+05:30

Pretty soon it looks like I will need to use a helmet inside my bus too( the bus that takes me to office). This is not for any fear of an impending accident. Its just that I am unable to assess the height of the baggage racks( Iam talking of the narrow opening running parallel to the roof of the bus where things can be put-is there a better word for this?) and my head( attached to the rest of my body of course) constantly feels that it needs to find out how strong this rack is. So at that precise instant of gettting into my seat and getting out of it, I make and break contact with this rack with a force that is not very pleasant( to me). Its almost as if I have no control over my head at this precise juncture. The consequences of these rather forceful impacts are felt at many points of the day( like it makes me wince suddenly when Iam in a meeting and my colleagues look at me strangely).
Luckily for me, I dont take the same bus back home so I reach home in peace :-)

Thinking Tennis

2004-10-04T18:27:00.000+05:30

Suddenly iam thinking tennis( no idea why, is it because I saw cows feeding on grass sometime back and my seemingly innocuous thoughts locked onto Lendl and then not so innocently meandered onto Federer:-))and this thought just comes out of the blue.It gives me a jolt. I mean what would have happened if Federer had arrived in a different era- say sometime in the mid eighties and continued playing the way he is playing today. How many grand slams or any miniscule tournament for that matter,would the prominent tennis players( not in any order) of Sampras, Agassi,Edberg,Becker( I cant think about Boris not winning any since he is my favorite),Courier have won. Its just a thought and i cant help but feel why did i waste 20 minutes( thinking + typing this piece) of my time on this hypothetical situation. No changing history is there?

Silence of the Lambs

2004-10-02T12:13:00.000+05:30

This quintessential shocker is chilling and brilliant. Had a chance to catch this film on TV yesterday and the pace never let up. Amazing performances from an ensemble cast makes this a must see.