and the ones with the double standards...

...are not always or just the people I am related to, even by marriage!

On one of those rare occasions that I sneaked out for a Christmas-y eve at a friends' place nearby, met a whole lot of people. And it feels nice to meet people. Nice people.
Long story short (and this post is basically to cover up numbers...have to reach at least as much as last year!)- ran into someone I knew very well till some time back. So well, so well. Turns out I did figure her out pretty well.
Anyway, so here's this lady who has told me in no uncertain words, her opinion of my food, my taste in music among other things and had really belittled ALL Hindi music claiming complete lack of knowledge of the Hindi music scene. Guess what I caught her dancing to 'Choli Ke Peechhe'!

Ha Ha...now I do know what goes on uske 'surface ke peechhhe!!!

The Dirty Picture

I have no idea why everyone is going gaga over this very mediocre film.

I like Vidya Balan- just wanted to say it at same time of proclaiming that the film is very average.

The film is loosely 'inspired' by the life of a southern siren Silk Smitha. They have shown Vidya Balan and her ample body to perfection; actually like nobody could. She is the one on screen actress besides Kajol, I adore. You really don't need to ask why. Hello? With a two-baby-body, I know I don't have the time to work out and aspire to be the fitter ones, so if these babes can carry it off, so can I. Yippee!

Back on track- the film is quite crap. Lots of cleavage, lots of titillation, lots of implied sex, lots of irreverent dialogues mouthed almost obscenely by the protagonist but where's the acting?

Has anyone seen 'Black Swan'? The internal struggle, the pain, the sheer agony, the almost psychotic devotion to the ballet portrayed so beautifully by Natalie Portman. And this particular film even boasts of an almost lesbian scene besides scenes of self pleasure and not once does the film try and ride on it alone.
Truth be told, my dear husband asked me this question and got me thinking. I had cheated on him a bit and quietly saw the downloaded copy of this film (so I am not prefect). He asked me if it was worth watching, was the turmoil even come close in intention to the Black Swan or was it only short dresses and boobs?

Would not take my two year old also too long to answer- Boobs!

It is a filmi story- poor girl becomes famous by using the only thing she has- her body. Said girl unable to handle neither her success nor her temporary failure. So far so good. What would've made this film infinitely superior- using some of Vidya's acting talents, may be meeting up pre-production some people who actually knew the lady in question...

While everyone can not be a Natalie Portman, nor can everyone make another Black Swan, the producer's laughing all the way to the bank.
Seems like the joke's on the world- the rejection of SS and her subsequent suicide led many many years later to this film based on her life, which goes on to make tons of money!

Nebuliser

Well...A Jr had to be...poor thing has been ill since more than a month. And I have had to do it. Of course he's terrifies of it and I would've been as well. Takes very poorly to it and cries the whole time!
The year's almost ended.

When will this hell of a situation end for all of us?

Beat It!

I nearly did!

Just didn't want to write. Just could not.

Could barely on.

Somehow I have come this far. And then I saw, my vow to beat the last year's total number of posts doesn't have a chance in hell, unless I blog like a mad person that is.
The problem with me is, I put the pressure- ON ME. How stupid can you be? Nobody's holding a gun to my head saying, and here it gets reallly (that's why the 3 'l's) corny- BEAT IT (the last year's number that is).
I do it to myself. Maybe I can cheat and write one line per post and still BEAT It. Ok enough of the beat it!!

Of course am still not allowed to spend extended periods of time on the computer, so...let's see.

How have you all been- my millions of fans worldwide?

Anna Hazare and other Issues

To be very honest (and it is always followed by something negative, sure enough here as well), I don't know the scene by scene details of this whole issue, which has taken the whole nation by storm and is keeping it firmly in its grip.

I do know about the principal question and the big furore now. While most of the nation's citizens are up in arms with Anna,  suddenly a large number of the 'thinking' populace is divided in its opinion.

It is a joke. Really, it is.

I don't have too much to say about this. But I do want to say, out of these who are now deriding Anna's method of protest amongst other things, how many of them have ever truly tried to help someone else without any ulterior motive?
How many of them have ever tried to break up a fight between total strangers when they were a witness to it?
How many have stopped their air conditioned cars when they saw someone needed help on the road?
How many have even written a letter of protest against some injustice, regularly meted out to the citizens of India?
How many opened their laptops or computers to pen down a mail against the scandal that were the Commonwealth Games?
How many even VOTE?

If someone is doing something against the corruption and other very basic issues which plague the fabric of our society, our government, then let them.
If you can't stand with them, at least let them do their job- and if in the process they get a bit of long overdue publicity, then so be it!

Old Hindi Movies

I am a huge fan of those.
It still takes me a fair bit of coaxing to be a able to sit through a new flick- barring a few exceptions of course; but old movies I can rewatch any number of times.

Maybe that's what I will do once both my babies go to full time school- sit and watch movies! I don't really think so, but I do believe there's a fair chance I will watch my favorite bits.
I love the music, the actors, the stories- all. Among these I have my criteria as well- some actors like Nanda, Sadhna, Mala Sinha, Rajendra Kumar, Rajesh Khanna in his post Aradhana bad hair days and many more are a complete no no!

My fav old films- Anubhav (the Tanuja, Sanjeev Kumar starrer and not a soft porn movie of the same name), Masoom, Ijazat, Namkeen and can't think of any others at the moment. But this is a fair idea of the films I love. I also like the likes of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Ab Aayega Maza, Kisi Se Na Kehna and even Chameli Ki Shaadi- the crass hit of the eighties!

But when I want to sit down and watch a bit something like right now, I can't even make up my mind :-)

A Note On Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all my compatriots.

Cliched but true- if only we realized the importance of freedom, we would definitely behave more responsibly. And this of course directly translates into a whole lot of things, culminating of course in a better life for all, for generations to come.

But of course and quite unfortunately, the condition of my country is quite similar to that of my current domestic situation- bad decisions, short sightedness, complete lack of unity and no sense of self respect. And with that if you get a clear-as-glass picture of the murk that I currently inhabit, so be it. After all, it is true on a much bigger scale for all of us in India today.

And before all your misplaced patriotism makes you pronounce me a cynic and whatever else forms a part of your vocabulary, it is very important to stop and reflect. What is it about India today which will make me proud of being an Indian?

I reflect, think, debate and think some more every single day with the same sad truth- very little.

Are we able to provide basic food and shelter to all?
Is education a given regardless of social or economic background?
Have we been able to bring corruption down to almost digestible levels?
Is personal security not even an issue to be thought of?
Do we have electricity, roads, clean drinking water for all?
Have patients stopped residing in men's restrooms awaiting medical attention in the premier hospital of the country?
Is medical attention available to all?
Have we risen beyond our own separate castes/ religions/and whatever else that divided us centuries ago to embrace our nation as one?
Do we not plan and hope and work feverishly towards escaping from this country in search of better opportunities and relentlessly egg our children on to finding lives elsewhere?
HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LEADERS TO GOVERN US?

The list is tragically endless.
And all the answers veer towards the negative if not outrightly so.

Happy 15th August to all.

Singapore II

Here is why I would make a lazy (my first instinct was to say bad but then I thought I can't really use the 'B' word, just in case some prospective employer is reading and is on the brink of giving me my own regular column; hence I will stick with lazy :-)) writer.

Because it's taken me more than a month to come up with the second part of my series on Singapore. Hang on, I just said a series- frankly I don't know it myself, so we'll see how it goes.

Left looking at the beautiful night lights and the Singapore skyline from our very own balcony, I must confess it was where we sat for long periods of time, perched high in the balcony, exhausted from the day's wanderings with two children; to enjoy wine, beer, cheese and olives. It was the scene of many a midnight feasts.

OK, back to the details. Swissotel turned out to be fabulous choice for many reasons.

Although it has what I think one of the best locations in Singapore (you have to ask for the Esplanade facing rooms  and trust me with a great camera you can make everyone believe that you actually saw the Merlion -hee hee); it has very competitive rates.

It's great value for money for 5 star luxury.
The staff is very friendly and not at all snooty- and I talk from the point of view of a person with colored skin WITH two small children!
They are very well connected- the hotel sits ON a train station for those who'd like to travel with the very efficient MRT, the taxi system is organised and they do not fleece you. There is also a mall within the huge hotel complex which has, as its part the Raffles hotel, the F and has easy walks to the Esplanade, the Quays, the Chinatown and pretty much anywhere except the Zoo and the Sentosa Island.

In fact this is one thing I have to stress and re stress about Singapore- EVERYTHING is walking distance! Please do walk. I agree it's really humid, and it gets quite unbearable especially during the day. But it's still a fun place to walk, because the city has footpaths, traffic rules, people who follow traffic rules, you can wear pretty much what you want or not and rest assured that you won't be visually stripped naked unlike in  Delhi. It's freeing, this feeling and heady as well! The first time I felt like this was in Goa; people have seen too much nakedness in those parts to worry about someone walking around in shorts! There is of course the difference in cultures, or as in the case of the Indian capital- the lack of it.

To get back to the point, when in Singapore- walk!

We did as well. And we thoroughly enjoyed it all- the Zoo, the Universal Studios, Chinatown -where we stumbled upon, of all the things in this world, a genuine Tintin shop. This Shop stocked all things, obviously Tintin. There were mugs and bags and notebooks and books and models and things I have quite frankly forgotten. But more than Chinatown itself, it was this shop that totally wowed us.

More to follow...

Ha!

My last post with the title- 'this post has swear words', has had more hits than others.
Ha!
Again, HA!

It must've come as a disappointment to those looking for more colorful words; this one had not nearly enough nor nearly too colorful!

Good strategy for getting unsuspecting readers.

Maidless Again!!! Also this post has some swear words :-)

Well, if by reading the post header one thinks- wow more housewife woes; you are damn right!

I am super tired.

I am also super tired of looking for one. This one, being too good to be true; also because she came by herself- I just had completely stopped looking; of course therefore was not meant for me. And this sentence sucks.

My vertigo is making my life hell and am having a tough job just to stay upright.

I do thank God for whatever help I get.

This post is real crap and probably will delete it soon enough.

Following Farhan

Yes I do mean Akhtar!

Who would know; did he himself know that he would one day be known not just for his directorial prowess but also for his comic timing?

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara- fabulous flick.

Following Farhan- he could very easily use as the title of his next film.
FF- I have been kind of, ever since Dil Chahta Hai! Loved the movie, the soundtrack, the non filminess of it, the-casual-and-the-not-so-much of it.
The theme that recurs in most of his films is friendship, the one thing that almost everyone can or would like to relate to- friends who will be there for you.

I,  adore the brother-sister duo (Farhan and Zoya Akhtar) for the ease with which they have taken over the hindi film industry. Actually I must say that part of bollywood, which is relevant to me; and I certainly don't mind them monopolizing it. After all, it gives me great entertainment. The films are still quite, well- filmi, but great entertainment.
If I want profound messages, I'll just watch pick up any odd season of the Sex and the city and lose myself in the explicit, sexual, explicitly sexual world of Carrie Bradshaw with lots of fashion thrown in for a good measure. I am not being sarcastic, it's true. For all it's superficiality, every single episode leaves you with something to think about.

Coming back to FF, I have seen almost all the movies he's made or appeared in.
Following Farhan- I definitely want to work with him. 

Orhan Pamuk

....as I just tweeted as well, is now on my list of do-not-touch-again-authors!
I braved his 'My name is Red' and vowed never to voluntarily read him.
And then I became part of this book club where the first book was one I had read ages ago and quite 'not liked' :-);  and the second one was Orhan Pamuk's Snow.

The book didn't look too bad from the initial few pages. My mistake or rather very cleverly written to trap people just like me.
Yeah sure- Mr Pamuk has got all the time in the whole wide world to design strategies to get such 'valuable' readers like me to read his books. He wouldn't just write for the pleasure of it.
Ok now I am losing it a bit.

Thing is I am sure he writes very very well and where as he can put together many books with many pages, I find it extremely difficult to string together a few coherent sentences.
Thing is- I still can't stand his work. And I was so looking forward to 'Istanbul'...now thanks to this book club book, I have been made to pledge to never read him again.

I ploughed  through it, just like characters in this book plough through snow and I thought I will make it.
I couldn't.

This is the only other book to have been abandoned by me; the other one being....can't remember for the life of me!

Joni Mitchell Again

Finally, am nearing the end of sorting out the discography, which I assure you is not a small task. It is in fact herculean!
But as I was telling A, it is totally worth it- each one is a one 'me likey' :-)

Travel Plans...and the trip :-)

I have no excuse for delaying this post any longer other than laziness. Also the fact that I wanted to write and write and write as soon as landed back in Delhi, but then the days got lost in doing laundry worth 8 days, and then not doing laundry as the machine conked off and then buying new machine and then doing laundry!

There you have the complete lowdown on my life in the last two weeks. But you still don't know where I went...well, we finally went to Singapore.

And what I found out- for those faithful readers (bless you) who remember where I left the other post- was 'cheaper rates' at a brilliant hotel!
Well the whole trip turned out to be anything but cheap, but also because my adorable husband wanted us to have a brilliant holiday. My whole notion of not being able to afford Singapore- I dismissed myself. It was my sanity versus our savings- my sanity won!

And just as we were unable to find a single decent hotel out of the dozen or so we contacted, also meaning a hotel of our choice, for the price we were willing to pay; I made A call up the Swissotel. We lucked out. He happened to speak to a wonderful guy in reservations, who gave us a great rate. We got the visas, we had the tickets already, we now had reservations- we were ready to go!

The flight was in the morning and was quite uneventful, if you don't count my younger one physically pooping in his pants twice, and I mentally sh@##$%^ bricks. Wow, if this is the start of the holiday, what could be in store for us?
I pumped homeopathic medicine into him and yes put him to bed in the bassinet!

We reached and were out of the airport in 25- 30 minutes flat, including immigration and baggage. Wo...are we out already?
The airport was quite empty and it felt as if we had arrived in some sleepy little island. Island it is and so green that most trees are mossy as well, but sleepy it is by no stretch of the imagination. A hsort 20 minute ride got us to our hotel. The check in was smooth and the room- gorgeous!

It was a large room with enough space for two big beds, a big writing desk, television- my children were quite pleased, a big bathroom and the icing on the cake- a balcony with what has to be the best view in town. We could see the flyer, the quays, the esplanade- the night lights were straight out of a dream.

Singapore II follows!

Do We Ever Really Need A Pep Talk?

I guess we do.

The power of good words, kind words, words which might actually fly right over your head and which might not mean a thing at the time of delivery, still made me feel loved- after I had ranted at the mere 'words' of it.

It is extremely irritating in the face of grave losses. I mean, I would personally physically harm the person, if they were to say, 'Oh it's for the best!!!'
What loss would qualify that form of pep talk- the loss of dead weight relatives!!!

I guess I am making little sense even to myself- fatigued.