Love My Life

Not the kind of movie that I would have watched but somehow chanced upon it. This is such an easy, level headed, warm hearted confident movie which does not resort to histrionics and coincidental miscommunication etc etc.

Not that I am an expert in same sex relationships but I had the feeling this movie really hit the spot in depicting it in a warm way. The two lead actresses play perfect foil to each other, one a little dumb and impetuous and the other a brooding serious type. There are traces of its original manga source that creep through the movie but that was perfectly fine with me. All in all a really great find. In fact IF i ever attempt to make a movie I might end up making one like this in the first attempt.

I was however a little curious as to how I would have reacted if the same movie was made with two male leads. I do not know. Maybe I might have liked it too.

The Chaser - Korean Thriller Movie

Some of the better thriller movies that I have watched recently are definitely Asian. Maybe it is that I am missing all the American good ones but the packaged products of America and India stand no match to these.



The Chaser is an amazing movie where the whole plot is structured with such great fine detail that you absolutely do not have leeway to poke holes in the movie. Strong performances, very realistic brutal violence and unsympathetic character extermination (unlike most movies where the good guys are just injured to be resurrected at the end of the movie) make the Chaser an amazing movie.

Shankarabharanam

Please do not miss it. Watch it. I dont care if you dont understand telugu. I dont care if there are no subtitles. I don't care what excuse you give, just go watch it. It stands a clear shoulder above the random crap being served to us these days by spineless directors and packaged fare. And the music is divine even to a retard like me.

This is one movie which could easily have hit "the indian movie melodrama" target circle right in the bull's eye, but has been handled with so much finesse that it comes across as sensitive, passionate and great art. The lead actors Somayajulu and Manju Bhargavi are superlative in their depictions of the characters.

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local

Definitely watchable compared to the other stale stuff that our movie industry is churning out. Of course it grates to accept that this is all it takes to stand out in a mediocre industry, but you see, Karan Johar has successfully driven Indian movie standards to such extend that even this seems way too good.

Cons: Too many whacky characters.

Seher

A pretty good movie. I was bored and started watching it and it was pretty good. I thought i might as well list all watchable (according to me :-)) movies for posterity. Now that these are pretty rare occurances.

Arshad Warsi plays a straight serious role. Mahima Choudhury is sufficiently good looking and the characters not ridiculous. Go ahead. Watch it. You wont curse me.

Sunny Winter

The start of the trudge from home to this spot is always dreary. Because I assume I know what to expect. And every day I am surprised.

Hampi

Dusty Hospet is the perfect entry point for the much hyped Hampi. The most run down town which nudges my mood to one of sadness. This is just another town that has been neglected by the Indian government. Chaotic traffic, errant auto rickshaws and shabby hotels. At the bus station I climb into one of the rusty state buses and buy a 10 Re ticket to Hampi. As I settle down at 6 a.m in the morning I had no clue what to expect of Hampi. And stared unseeingly out playing random images in my mind. Never one to give in to too much contemplation that day uncharacteristically I was completely oblivious to the route till I saw a pile of rocks. Not just a pile I realized. Piles of rocks. Everywhere I could see. Piles and piles of rocks heaped onto each other. As if a giant baby has scattered its pebbly playthings around the landscape.

2 days into the trip and I still was soaking in the atmosphere. Ruins stretching out everwhere. The sun shining remorselessly on the rocks, the rocks resolutely standing their ground. I did not even know when my hired death trap of a kinetic Honda ran out of fuel or where I had discarded it. I just walked, chanced upon a smiling villager with a bottle filled with red petrol. Money changed hands, I reversed direction. Soon back on the bike I travelled.

It got better. Tungabhadra winding its way through this landscape. Too good to resist. I clambered onto the corakal. Rishyamukha mountains, the matanga hill, Kishkindha empire. All coasted past under the pointing fingers of Umapathi, the oarsman. If there was something that registered in my mind it was the vastness and desolate and magnificent scale of the whole place. A week more alone there and I would have dissolved there I think. Good that I could pull myself away from that vortex. If I go there again, I wont go alone. I might not make it back.

An Attempt at Dissecting the Mallu Landscape

I just could not help taking a crack at it. The interpretation of course might work for some while others I am sure can throw a lot more insight into the above picture. The one above (with the red arrows) show the exhibits that I try to explain while if you click the below (unmarked) photo it will show the finer details of the same.

The setting is the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. A truly great architectural wonder. And just as you step inside there is a board which goes something like “entry restricted to those who profess Hinduism”. Strictly speaking I should not have been allowed anywhere near the temple but the implicit assumption seems to be that appearances and skin color profess one’s religion. And so I entered.

As for the picture, let’s see. (If it’s too small just click on the below picture and it will blow up enough)

A. An attempt at modernization. Some genius official must have had the brainwave of computerizing the temple and put this utterly useless appendage of technology here.

B. And just in case you think the computer is wrong you can always clarify it with the person there:-). So who is redundant, man or machine?

C. A DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India, a communist party) red flag. Notice the buildings on the side of the roadway have political flags sticking out. Some communist. Some secular. And some right wing. But mind you only Hindus allowed inside the temple.

D. The ubiquitous mallu chetans. They are part of the landscape. Always.:-)

E. Cars owned by the new wave info tech / gulf return/ US nursing people.

All in all a very gently jostling of a lot of ideologies. And if you were there in person, you can also smell the curd rice and pappadums emanating from the agraharas (dwellings where the Brahmins live) around.

Visiting One's Relatives

Visiting relatives in Trivandrum during the late 80’s as a kid was just a matter of holding mom’s hand and running around a new household as the adults discussed worldly matters and sorted out serious family relations. Of course this was after the customary cheek pulling and the oh-he-has-changed-a-lot remarks. Then followed the snacks, mainly some biscuits (Milk Bikis, Marie etc.), a mug full of watery chaaya (in all my experiences the Trivandrum chaaya is the worst) and if one got lucky some Vaazhakkya (banana) chips. Then when the load shedding (compulsory power cuts in TVM) starts my parents suddenly remember that they have to be elsewhere and beat a hasty retreat.

Now that I am grown and old, visiting relatives has become trickier. I cannot wander about the new house at will, munch on goodies nor just ignore what was happening and browse the TV. I have to be part of the group discussion.

Recently I had gone visiting and was watching my nephews with envy as they both attacked the tray kept in front of them. And as there was no TV I was forced to listen to what was being discussed. The topics discussed were varied and I doubt if any of the participants had a point to make other than to wait till the tray was emptied by the kids.

The talks started with a detailed analysis of a legal agreement which all of the elders present decreed was fraudulent. On reaching this conclusion smug smiles passed between all and through no logical connect the interest of the group switched to Sudoku. Thankfully it was just a small digression before we all became fully animated in unearthing what was the latest fad in robbery. I had to listen twice to make sure I was hearing right but yes. It was robbery that these people were discussing. My aunt was absolutely convinced that the in- thing was daylight robbery when the owners were inside the house. My uncle and cousins were insistent that such acts were more fruitful if committed in the night and when the house is empty. Each had at least 2 examples to substantiate their views.

I decided to stay in the background as none of the matters discussed were my specialty. That the discussion was a means to reach 8:00 in the night was evidenced by the fact that the whole party stood up abruptly at the said time and started bidding byes to my uncle and gravitated towards the exit. I however could have been mistaken because exactly at 8 my cousin reached over acrobatically to polish off an unniappam (sweet dish) from the tray and found to her consternation that her sons were already digesting the unniappam.

Whatever be the reason I feel the small talk of the “adults” matter little and it’s the kids who dictate the time spent when visiting relatives.

Quote of the Year

They are not hiring too much intelligent people also!

- on the hiring process of a certain Bangalore based company

Leaving Singapore

Last night in this country and I feel I'll miss this place a lot. The past 7 months have taken me to places I never even knew existed and now I'm going back to India to journey back to the US. It pains me to say I do not look forward to that trip at all. Why?

1. Because I cant walk to a Kopitiam or 7 eleven and munch on something whenever I want.
2. The public transport in chapel hill is literally non existant.
3. No more curry chicken, pepper crab, chicken rice and ice coffe. No more spices!!!!
4. No more badminton and soccer.
5. I'll have to start looking for a job real seriously! :-)

Veeramaakaliamman Temple - Singapore

The first Hindu Temple that was built by the Indian Labourers in Singapore. Interestingly this was built by bengali convict-coolies who were brought to Singapore as cheap labour after being tried for their mutiny in 1857. Therefore the main deity is Durga. However the temple absorbed the Tamil influence over the centuries and now the bengali influence is hardly discernable.


The gopuram as you step into the temple. Typical Tamil Architecture.


Well I am from Madurai after all!


Devotees lining up to get the Dharisanam! This could be any temple in Tamil Nadu.

National Museum of Singapore

To understand the History of Singapore one has definitely got to visit the national museum of Singapore. How a land of coconut trees, marshes and natives full of villas surrounded by thick foliage has transformed into this bustling megapolis. The one reminder of those times (though fast disappearing) are the majestic trees that you find in Singapore.


The National Museum of Singapore, located right next to the Orchard multiplex in Dobhy Ghaut is just a short walk from City Hall MRT.


Where time stood still. The albums in the round tea tables contain some of the most wonderful pictures of early Singapore and Singaporean life.


And while at the National Museum be prepared to run into wedding shoots like this one. I think the dome makes for great diffused light and its a photographers treat (at least thats my completely baseless theory). I think this couple is Malay. I put the picture up in sepia because somehow i feel weddings should be timeless and colour brings a certain reality to the picture that diminishes that quality.

Little India Singapore

Little India is the Tamil concentrated area in Singapore. It is in direct contrast to the rest of the city, where traffic and pedestrian thoroughfare is very organized. Step into Little India and you get a taste of what we Indians can do to trafiic rules. Also located here is the famous Mustafa Center. A behemoth shopping center crammed with almost everything under the world. Watchout for the crowds during weekends though.



Shakuntalas in Serangoon Road on a cloudy day.

The Attack of The Machines

And as the unsuspecting human prey jaunts down the lane, to my horror, the bright yellow metallic fingers close in menacingly......


The brass flower. It has no fragrance.

The Grand Palace - Thailand

The grand palace in Thailand was a great experience for me. Anyone who loves the Ramayana should visit this palace. The murals that adorn the walls literally speak volumes through its pictures. Statues of Ravana(Totsakan in Thai), Hanuman and Garuda look down at the visitors from their man made perches.


Just in case you do go there, the one method that you can distinguish between the Vanaras and the Asuras is that the former do not wear shoes.

Phang Nga

The town of Phang Nga. Where time stopped. I am lazing out with the words. Its the best place to be in the world. Take me back there any time and I'll jump at the opportunity.


The famous Phang Nga Bay. This is the bay from where boats take you into the magical Andaman Ocean. Crystal Clear waters and limestone rocks. And a surreal(though slightly commercialized) village on stilts in the middle of the ocean.


The Thai Muang Beach Stretch. The nesting grounds for endangered turtles. The sandy beach stretches for miles and miles.


Suwanna Kuha (The Golden Cave)A cavernous temple with Budha statues. Very calm and quiet place to be.


The small town of Takua Pa is the closest town to Kao Lak. This town has chinese history dating back centuries from their trade relations with the Sino people.

Botanical Gardens

The botanical gardens of Singapore grow some of the most amazing plants from around the world. The orchids, a staple of the tropical countries, are a feast to the eyes. And if you go on weekends the whole atmosphere is amazing. People walking their dogs, kids playing and fitness freaks jogging their way to healthy living. A really awesome place to visit in Singapore.


A sweeping view of the garden.


Looks like Japan?


The famous orchids.

Singapore Jurong Bird Park

The famous Jurong bird park. The second time and the experience was better because I had a camera :-). Be careful! These birds bite.


I wonder why the birds dont fly away and they all stick to their own designated territories. Weird!!


This is sure to cause atleast one heart attack a day. And it was just a couple of feet above my head.


Banana Bird!

Those Singapore Days

Nothing captures my days in Singapore more than these picture. Sitting by the river, glory days with an uncertain future sitting alone on the river side, watching the sun set on the busy asian super city. Singapore certainly has set the standards on public safety and government credibility.