Celebrating Xmas

"Merry Christmas" to all. This is the time when the whole world is holidaying, not being much of an exception from the whole world I am also enjoying the season. I celebrated Christmas with a day long movie roll, halting only while answering natural needs of input and output. My friend Jaga' was preparing a list from IMBD for this extravaganza and the extra space was sorted out for the respective downloads. After quitting our quilts not very early in the morning, performing the needs and working out on the incoming and outgoing SMS and a couple of "birthday wishes we started off the session. The first thing, seal the windows(not working on ventilators, the room doesn't have any) not allowing any form of light inside the living room cum Theater hall.

The first one was, "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind"... about stumbling, loving and a sci-fi touch.All mixed together to create a twisted-romantic script that very well delivered by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Its about a relationship between Joel(Jim) and Clementine(Kate) which turned sour and they separated. But Miss goes a step ahead and erases all her memories with Jim. Unknown Jim met her the other day and was surprised at her irrational behavior, goes to the root and discovers that she had erased him off her mind. Jim being a emotionally withdrawn man thinks to do the same, erase her out of his head. Much of the movie is around the memory erasing process where he tries to hide her memories from being erased. Meanwhile another parallel story comes up resulting to which our couple end up listening their own recordings why they wanted to erase each others memories. I have spelled a lot, but I am sure you can still go ahead and watch this movie and end up loving it.


Part two, after a hefty lunch we feel sleepy and on list was "The Maltese Falcon" a 1941 vintage. Should this be bit slow and we would be dead asleep. Better not try it, the third on list was "The Machinist" it got the green light and we started. A psycho thriller.The lead role is played by Christian Bale, who is an insomniac, being chased by Deja-vu. Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) as an industrial machinist has not slept for almost a year, owing to which he drastically loosed weight. He virtually lived in a dreamy world and behaved abnormally. At the factory his mates became skeptical about him, after some incident he was fired. He was actually haunted by an incident that took place a year ago, that has kept him from sleeping since. But now his fears of sleep has entered his day life, things became bizarrely awkward. The entire movie is about trying to fight with ones feeling of fear and guilt. So the insomniac who was trying to sleep, kept us from sleeping and watch this good movie.


Session three would be the last one for the day, had a quick dinner settled all scores and picked "Schindler's List", a Steven Spielberg's signature movie. Had won 7 Oscars in its casket. A political melodrama staged during the Nazi period. Oscar Schindler played by Liam Neeson, is an ambitious unsuccessful businessman who wanted to make business out of the war. For which he disguised himself into becoming a Nazi himself and influencing the Germans with his smart wit and strong words. Thus making huge profits, the credit of which to a large extend goes to his Jewish accountant. But Schindler ultimately saved the lives of more than 1,000 Jews by giving them jobs in his factory,in a way saving their lives from the gas chambers. Schindler lost his wealth, but earned salvation for himself. Out-n-out its an outstanding movie, my own personal favorite lines from this movie is, "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire" .........Merry Christmas

various voices vibrating in vain

Coming round the corner when the TV was streaming the aftermath of the Mumbai terror plot and the political "halla-gulla", there were more and more calling for the Jesus Meetings around the world. And our folks are like the next generation Socrates, sweating and toiling over hours of discussions. None had been idle except for the stove and rest of the assortments in the kitchen. The TV, the Laptop, even our new member too was being tossed around(a football), above all the voices echoing in the room.

What was the hard talk about?-- "Recession assessment of global economy and consequent consequences."

That was a very heavy thread that we were handling all by ourselves. Blame all but one, our bad luck! As per our expert findings "Bad luck" is the first greatest natural calamity that can happen to anyone. However the outer circle of the bad luck slowly drifted to a smaller radius with newer circles of talk. The big question was who all are the ultimate sufferer of this mayhem?-- Industries, Banks or us. Beggers!, someone said. "I have seen them working harder on their gestures, shaking more and making more difficult faces, it seems; forget the rich even the auto drivers too becoming stringent about donations." Laughs all, then suddenly into silence. Man! we should not laugh we are in a far better situation, we do not have the rights to laugh at them. The IIM grads, they have been deprived from Investment banking jobs. Yes, but still they will have better options too. Not entirely wrong, infact these elites are still no where near the red line."What is this? Guys try to think out of the can, the common man, common man."(trifling Tom), "Beggars again or minority messiah Obama?"(humorous Harry) He had a point, it is difficult to determine the common man into categories of classes and sub classes. Actually both the points were eventual, yet we were in a dilemma of drawing lines to join them. Resulting into more smoke and ash and frowns and decibel rise. No leaf left unturn, talked from soup to nuts. But (determined)Dick serves the dessert.

"Girl friends!!!" he yelled, still trying hard to spin the football like a globe (feeling of being God).

We are not sure of why or how it came to his mind, but there is a point too. LoL!........ have they fallen from Temptations to Lacto King's and from Coffee Cafes to Iddli Stations and from weekend parties to watching TV at home. What happens to the phone, has it become a miss call device. Dude! what a close to such a difficult chapter. Or may be everything is right in place as it has to be, struggle and strife is always a part of life. Wish you "good luck, happy living"!

sometimes it happens

This is not exactly a tell-a-tale, though there are a lot of scattered entities that if I try to combine into a single thread, we should have a story( not an epic).
Pertaining to change there are times when renascence is supposed to happen, history has seen it all the time. The Industrial revolution, redrew the Artistic manifolds into Scientific terms, the great Wars redrew world maps, and what we are going through today they term it ???(they do not have any term). Whatever let us not give much head to all these as the discussion. As it will continue as new turns keep coming, and it will not restrict you to bear with me, instead it will become a torture for you. Have you finished smoking that thing, now help me cross this road, I am blind as you have already known...

Not everyday will I have the honor to meet this man, it was only once. Had some accident in which he lost his vision. But his mind is indeed enlightened with. That day was entirely a new experience in itself. It started with same old BMTC bus, same long walk from Agara Lake, same old faces at office but a new assignment. A new project has come up and my Director wants me to be a part of it. Good! Then things became unfolding only after evening. I left office at around 7:30, with most of my colleagues already gone. There was no bus, so started walking towards Agara stop. I was not feeling very good, a trifling tummy. So was reluctant to walk, I stared making gestures for a lift to every vehicle passing by, except the Auto's(had only fifteen bucks at hand). "What is it boy why did you raised you hand?" I said,"Lift Sir, till Agara if you are going towards that way." Now what we normally expect is a "Yes, sure" or a "No, I am sorry." He did not say anything started his bike and went his way, I started walking again that was the only one to stop.

In Agara, got to do what everyone there was doing and that I always do, "stare". You need to get a glimpse of the bus number before it halts and then fight your way into it. From a bus that had just halted (not mera wala number), this young fellow walked up to me and handed over a day-pass, "Would you like to have it, my bus journey ends here". I said,"Thank you!" and took out my purse. Its alright, you need not pay me and he moved away. Ah! I have a pass now (8 rupees saved), but where is the bus. So happily waiting, but there is no 242A. Even the Cabs and Mini buses were pooling in to get some extra bucks apart from their office service, but not to Koramangala. Damn! I was getting late, when a Maruti Zen, just stopped by my side and the driver stared at me I thought he must me looking for some address. Instead he asked if there was any one going towards Richmond road, I said No, I only need to go to Forum Mall. OH! its on the same road, hop in fast, he said. Back of my head, I felt something something could be wrong though he seems to be well dressed and has a Intel logo sticker on the windshield. Meanwhile I was already sitting in the car and we were moving fast towards Forum Mall via Madiwala where he dropped a lady who was his colleague. Though we did not talk much just an introduction, I came to know that he always pools in someone on his way back home. He dropped me at Forum and I wished him a Thank You and a Goodnight.A ten minutes walk and I would reach my room, so started with quick steps.Half-way comes the mobile tea stall that is always standing on the same spot, felt the urge for a smoke. I searched my pocket, it had a five rupee coin and the day-pass that I can use no more. It was there where I met Mr. Pasha, the enlightened blind man. He was already there talking with the vendor when I joined to listen their conversation.

The White Tiger

Reading something that is not very long and tediously written(tediously not tidy) that makes you think with a kind of fun behind, is what I consider "good"(again not best, I repeat). Similar was my experience with Mr Aravind Adiga's first novel "The White Tiger"( of Man Booker fame). Its a self-described narration to the Chinese Prime Minister, a glimpse beneath the surface of an Indian Entrepreneur, Balram Halwai alias Ashok Sarmah.

The book is about how from dirt of rural India which our author address as Darkness, "Munna" our hero becomes a successful business man, a "white tiger." In his journey from rags to riches, Munna takes a number of different profession, a school boy, the hotel boy, a driver cum household worker, even a murderer, entrepreneur and a white tiger.

He grew up in a small village near Gaya in Bihar, born to a poor rickshaw-puller, and named only "Munna," until his teacher named him "Balram" and gave him a birth date so that he could vote for the landlord.Then he becomes a tea table boy at the village tea stall, then a driver in Dhanbad and entered the light of Delhi via a job as driver to Mr Ashok, the son of a rich landlord. Here he chronically describes the Indian common man as to caged chicken at slaughter house and called it "the Rooster Coop."Being the honored servant and family waala, who never opposes his master and gharwaale's, naive enough to go to jail for Shahib. Our hero too did the same but his sarcastically cynical mind overcomes and prevents him from being a part of the Rooster Coop. Tired of a life of servitude, he takes a violent action goes ahead to murder his employer Mr Ashok, for the red bag of future, an also his name. The book is spiced up with miss-adventures of climbing the village old fort and dipping beak into blond haired and of course his granny Kusum bragging him all along the way for money. Above all its a good read, a good movie material; unpretentiously showcased, revolution and insurrection; outcome of a sardonic mind,an artistic representation evoking pity and compassion. The Chinese Prime minister would definitely like it and be more skeptical of coming to visit Agida's India.

Coagulation of useless ideas into sensible formulation.

Out for a casual walk in the evening once coming out the weird office that I work in, where not even the Saturdays are spared. This is not the kind of walk that you might have seen that an old man with his old wife does, going round and round in one of the so called gardens of Bangalore in the evenings and in the mornings. Its more of the kind of ambulation that stirs the eyes of none, one that the masses do every day on their way back home after the days work. So on this casual walk since there was nothing else to do except for walking and the ears tuned to the local FM station, across the road I saw these four to five students gathered around the Chat House(road side Indian fast food joint), well these are places where we perform the open house discussions and formulate public opinion of all kinds and never really come to a single point of understanding commonly called "Adda" . Unlike old folks, Adda's are more popular among the young college people who are better equipped with facts and figures; comes up with faster resolutions. Only a year ago I too was an active member of such a college student group(aapni Adda), though we did not really have a name for the group or a specialization on something, but we did have different departments occupied by the specialized individuals. There was there the Planman(does all the preliminary level planing), the Cyclopedia(provides the first glimpse of fact and figures), the Spearhead(a protagonist running against the motion), the Intellect( shows most creative picture from behind), the Questionnaire(filled with doubts, can turn the point), the Audience(the Dumb listeners but good reflex action) and of course the Alternative(can take any position on any account of absence, otherwise does nothing just like I am doing now).

The triggering of any new chapter is usually thrown from the Audience, after which the Cyclopedia would gather his info and put on the table of the house. The Intellect will then quickly go through the facts and brings about a inconclusive conclusion to which the Spearhead always! always disagree and forwards his own tale with spiced up events. The Planman will now try to device a plan out of all these, however the flow of the Adda is always in hands of the Questionnaire, who can pop up with a very relevantly stupid query anytime and turn the tables to his end, hence bringing the discussion on to entirely a new page. Meanwhile The Audience will respond with their familiar... Oops! and WoWs! and sometimes very silent and sometimes about to burst out. There are also various environmental factors that affect or effects a successful Indian Adda. The place where the first blood was drawn, whether its a hostel room/veranda/rooftop, football/cricket field while waiting for ones turn, classroom with or without the professor, a restaurant/chat house with or without tables and tools or plates, in the bus/auto/tractor whatever. And also the time when the fire started is never absolute, I would mark a commonly bizarre combination of time where one just woke up from sleep with a tooth brush to start his day and the other was about to go to sleep after having passed the whole night at the study table could start off an Adda and then leave while the others would carry it to the next level. However its worth mentioning that these Adda's may not lead to decisive ends but the participants and the spirit of participation is definitely what its all worthy of.