Hachiko : A Story to be shared!

 

What can i say? I just finished watching a very beautiful and heart wrenching movie  about a dog's unwavering faithfulness to its master and a master's unconditional love for his dog. It is one of those rarest of rare movies that makes one shed some (actually a lot!) of tears.

I'm talking about the 2009 Hollywood adaptation of the 1987 Japanese movie of the same name - Hachiko - A Dog's Tale. So what is the story about you ask? An Akita pup (Japanese breed i think) is sent from Japan to America and on reaching a train station in America, its cage falls from the trolley. After squeezing its way through the broken wooden cage, it scampers here and there until IT FINDS its master for the years to come. Parker Wilson (Richard Gere). I tell you, if there is a man who brings so much complexity and soul to a character, it has to be him. (He is 63 for god's sake! yet as dashing as a handsome youth can be) Coming back, from there on, Parker and Hachi (the Akita pup) form a bond so strong that they become inseparable (The dog is extremely cute by the way!)

I'm not exactly reviewing the movie, but i would definitely leave the movie experience to you folks. To give away the central plot would probably ruin the emotional moments, which are best savored when one watches without a clue about what is to happen next.

I robustly recommend all you dog lovers/owners (i have never owned a dog, but i've recently taken great affection to a beagle named "Google") to see this movie without fail. It will move you. It will inspire you. Just as it inspired and touched me. Eternal love is not restricted to humans only, you know.

If you saw the movie after reading this, or if you have already seen it, leave your thoughts below!



(P.S The 1987 Japanese movie was based on a true story. Just type Hachiko, Shibuya AFTER you see the movie)

The Hero We Needed !

M. I . N. D. B. L. O. W. I. N. G

Nothing Less. Nothing More. An excruciatingly painful wait post the insanely awesome performance by Joker in The Dark Knight has finally borne fruit - The Dark Knight Rises!

Every single Batman fanatic and every single functioning press in the world have already put out rave reviews and in-depth analyses of this masterpiece of a movie. With very few  IMAX theaters in my country, it was either travel 390 miles by train to Prasads IMAX, Hyderabad or settle for our local favorite Sathyam Cinemas with its powerful yet smaller screen. Nope. Nada. Never. A movie of such scale and grandeur needs to be seen on the format for which it was exclusively made. And my god!! What an experience it was!

There are many scenes when one feels like one is Bruce Wayne and feels the need to take the tumbler and save the distressed citizens! That's the power of IMAX! With 72 minutes of IMAX footage, i dare you to say "Nah that wasn't impressive" I DARE YOU ! :)

Yes, we all know that this is Batman's return to a bleaker and more gloomy Gotham City and that Batman has finally met his match - aka Bane (Tom Hardy i salute you!). But is that all is this about? No! Christopher Nolan's movies always have a human connect, the emotional strings tugging your heart and exquisite moments that leave a satisfying taste and keep you pondering about them many days after the movie!

The Dark Knight Rises does all that and more! Batman Begins was revolutionary cinema in its own right. Nolan had done something unheard of. He took a superhero franchise that was treated as a cheesy and twisted plot with no real meaning or purpose, and made it into something more entirely. He made it a Legend. And How !!

Batman Begins was about Bruce Wayne, coming to terms with his fears and violent emotions and discovering that his purpose in Gotham City was much more than providing resources to the poor. The death of his parents consuming him with anger ultimately makes him be a part of the very underworld responsible for his parents death. With the help of Ras-Al-Ghul and the League of Shadows, he understands that he has to become a symbol. A symbol that strikes fear in the heart of the villains and that inspires the poor and the weak. At its core, the movie offered so much insight to the origins of Batman and immediately made us empathise with his fear and pain. Batman Begins was all about the transformation from a seething and stormy young man to a symbol that evokes awe and fear.

Epic Cave Scene (Batman Begins)

3 years later, the world met the likes of a dastardly Joker never before portrayed with such intensity and madness as Heath Ledger did (you are sorely missed!). The Dark Knight brought alive the age old clash between Batman and his most deadly arch nemesis - The Joker. Taking cinema and the Batman franchise to new heights, The Dark Knight blew us all away! Nolan with his trademark subtle touches to key characters (Two face) ensured that we understood that there are some people in this world who just want to watch the World burn. Brrrrrrrrrrr ! Freaky! But TDK wasn't about the Batman, it was about the Joker. The influence of "Batman - The Killing Joke" is visible throughout! A convincing plot, bullet proof screenplay, intense dialogues, spectacular live action, and a lifting sound score easily made this one of the best movies of the 21st Century. Period.

Oscar worthy scene! Brrrrrr

And when a third instalment was announced, speculations arose like never before! Who could be the next villain? How can anyone top the unmatched and unparalleled onscreen intensity portrayed by Heath Ledger? What could the plot be? Bla bla bla bla. That was the day the world lost its mind. Christopher Nolan is a household name now. Critics rose and took notice of this brilliant mind (Memento, Prestige and Inception) and acknowledged the fact that he had a herculean task in hand. But as we Nolan fans say, "In Nolan we trust!" He just can't go wrong! Never!

And so it was announced that the villain would be Bane played by Tom Hardy (see Warrior) and that Catwoman would be played by Anne Hatheway (Critics can eat their old shoes now). It was also announced that this would the epic conclusion of The Dark Knight Trilogy. But no! How could this be? Fans wanted him to keep churning Batman movies. But it was made clear that it had to end with one last hurrah!

Dey Shay Bah Sah Rah!

As said earlier, The Dark Knight Rises is brilliance personified. With a hulking villain who not only matches Batman mentally but also puts the strength of the Bat to the task. All those toe to toe fight sequences between Batman and Bane is pure adrenaline rush! And to finish it, Nolan neatly wraps up the loose ends and creates a sense of euphoria and nostalgia that made me wish the series would never end. The Dark Knight Rises is about Batman once again and more importantly about Bruce Wayne, his struggle to overcome his demons and his steel will to save the very people who have outlawed him.

Not Everything. Not Yet.

All in all, TDKR is an experience not to be missed! Put aside the minor flaws and you won't be disappointed! The Joker and Bane are two completely different kinds of villain. One is a insane, yet cunning mastermind. The other is a harbinger of doom and terror.

The climax alone would show why Nolan is a great film maker and screen play writer! (I'm not saying anything more!) Thank you Nolan brothers! Through you, we have seen and experienced depthful characters immortalised on the big screen! And thank you for showing this world that there is no audience for brain-dead and cheesy cinema!

Christopher Nolan, your not the hero we deserved, but the one we needed!

(Screen fades to black. Hans Zimmer's music booms)

When Shit Happens

Minding their business

It was God's creation. An abundant species. With a jet black body, eyes like white marbles and coupled with an incessant sound, it circles the high skies...watching...waiting...and preparing to strike at the opportune moment. Yes, you would have figured out by now that i'm referring to that nasty and vile creature: (No offence!)

THE CROW (caaw caaw, no not that horror movie)

Why so much angst you ask? Well, i'l have to rewind the clocks by 2 years to narrate this gooey story. (Alert! Do not read further if you do not like gross stuff and if your the Lord Labaku Das type!)

<<GOING BACK IN TIME>>

<<<March 2012..Zkkk Zkkk Zkkk.. -> November 2011..Zkkk Zkkk..-> January 2011..Zkkk Zkkk.. March 2010>>>

3 months into my first job, i was happy with the way things were turning out..And of course, being a lover of long distance biking, the journey from my home to my workplace was initially blissful. Why? Because i have a machine that loves me back as much as i love 'her'. The Yam R15. The bike and i are one you know.

Anyway, so as always i park my bike outside the office (duh) and go to work (duh). This was the routine for the last 3 months. And then it happened..straight out of a Night Shyamalan Movie. There is a huge bla-bla tree outside the office that spans across half the street with its terrifying bark and branches..it sways and creaks to the winds and gives a terrifying effect when it gets dark in the evening..BUT. Among those branches and leaves, i could feel a 100 eyes watching me, the electric tension making the strands of hair on my head stand up. And there it was. Or should i say, there they were. Perched on the branches in perfect battle formation, they blessed me with a holy darshan of their bottoms..Shock. Realisation. The enormity of it all !

They were getting ready to drop the BIG GUNS! The adrenaline rush was incredible, time slowed down, just as how the environment is blurred while aiming down a target, all i could see were the sinister beaks and ready-to-drop behinds of these crows. The scrawny one 20 feet above me drew first blood, and that was the moment that changed my entire life..!

In Slow-Mo, i saw the white/yellow/brown gooey substance making its way down - to me. Reflexes numbed, and with zero reaction time, SPLAT!!!! and LO, i was anointed in holy kaka pee (crow shit in Tamil). I swear i heard that sonofagun say "You want a piece of me punk?!"

Shaken by the attack, i prayed that the madness would stop. But no..the Others. They wanted to relieve some of the pent-up frustration too. And suddenly, 6 crows made a coordinated strike by trying to box me in a turtle formation and another 3 swooped down like B2 Bombers..! After all the chaos and after the poop splattering spree, i was shocked to see that my bike was completely bathed in fresh golden poop! and i was left with minimal damage to my shoulders and feet! AAARGHH!
The Black Beast (the bike) was now a dalmation dog!
Everyday, like clockwork the battalion of crows would do "Poop Visarjan/Pee Abhishegam" on my bike and i'l have to get down and dirty and clean the mess up! EVERY SINGLE DAY.

So what is the deal with these crows huh? Why is that they get such sadistic pleasures in defacing innocent humans, inanimate vehicles or those poor freedom fighters (the statues ofc)? And why is that these creatures sit on high altitude places and poop? Is it because they want to make an 'impact' ?! Would it hurt if they just sat on some wall or something and attended to their business?? Ah...alas i do not know the answers to these questions.

But i do know the reason why crows poop so much. That's because they eat like pigs! So this is what i presume is there on their daily menu: 

6.00 AM : Wake Up. Crow for some time.
7.00 AM : Meet up with some of my homies. Group crowing sessions begin. (Need the exercise)
8.00 AM : Fly to the nearest temple. Grab a bite of the holy offerings.
9.30 AM : Fly to Brahmin Household with homies. Eat into the carb rich ghee + pappu mammam (rice) left for us. (We crows are your ancestors you see)
10.45 AM : Fly to the nearest butcher shop. Dig into those delicious leftovers. Caaw Caaw (Yum Yum)
1.30 PM : Ah! is that a dead rat i see? Scavenging Time! Caaw Caaw (Double Yum)
3.30 PM : Fly to Corporation Dumpyard with more buddies. Ah this is the mother lode! Eat eat eat!
5.30 PM : Hmm, stomach rumbling, must loosen up bowels. Must find comfortable tree.
6.00 PM : <<Perched atop THE tree>>
6.15 PM : All homies get excited! Caaw Caaw Caaw (Look look! Jayanth's shiny bike! Lets have some fun boys!) Instructions from Group Leader <<SIT UPRIGHT>> <<POSITION BUM DIRECTLY PERPENDICULAR TO BIKE>> <<WHEN YOUR READY>> <<LET 'EM HAVE IT>> SWooooooosshh!! SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT!!
6.30 PM : Ahhh..whate relief. Lets scram boys.
6.45 PM : Jayanth leaves from work. Looks outside. Bile outburst. End of Story.

Yep, this is exactly what must be happening on a daily basis. Bottomline: Crows love to poop on unsuspecting people and objects.

And me? I have been diagnosed with severe Aerial Avian Coprophobia ! 

<<In the background, a dropping sound is heard..too late.SPLAT!>>

Damn you crow!!



P.S - Once again, a super duper ultra thanks to Sandhya Prabhat for the extremely awesome cartoon! This post is definitely incomplete without the pictorial support from her. (She will soon teach the existing gurus a thing or two in the future)

If you liked this post, just share or e-mail it to your friends!

To read my other post with Sandhya's cartoon, see A Place to Be Naked.

About Sandhya:

Sandhya Prabhat is from Chennai, India. She is a freelance illustrator and animator, and has finished her MFA in Animation and Digital Arts in NYU Tisch Asia School of the Arts, Singapore. She has a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai. She also enjoys reading, writing and appreciates good vegetarian food. She is currently utilising 100% of her brain for multiple projects for several clients. 

No, she does not have a blog yet but hopes to have one soon. 


She can be reached at sandhya.22@gmail.com

That Someone..

Hey you all!..am not really in the fun fun mood! Am not here to narrate to you about the funny incident that happened to me..neither am i going to talk about something that i'd usually do..No... that's not it..More like the "gaze at the star, dreamy eyed, la-la land" mood...

You know, its 11.20 PM in Chennai, the time when usually i develop schemes to take over the world, BUT, it is not a scheme am thinking of..its raining heavily..the Gods seem to be celebrating..dancing..singing..and their joy flowing over all of us as i speak...

In situations such as these, i either get all nostalgic or i get all emotional..life has become such a rat race, that i never stopped, sat back and appreciated the finer aspects of life! You know!..and so...lost in the cool breeze that traversed hundreds of miles with the sole aim of pleasing me and the gentle, yet heavy pitter patter of the rains that sings a lullaby..i began thinking of...That Someone... although my mind strains to express a hundred different emotions, waiting to pop the cork..i am still lost for words..with whatever words i can think of...this is my ode to That Someone..

That Someone, who was always there
That Someone, who always cared
That Someone, oh who is full of love
That Someone, who is a beautiful dove
That Someone, who is all heart
That Someone, to whom i said "il never break apart"
That Someone, who stood by me
That Someone, who just has me
That Someone, who makes me smile
That Someone, who makes me cry

That Someone, who means the world to me

That Someone, who just hugged me
That Someone, who asked "what do you want?"

And i said.. "Just you my love"....

That Someone.......................................................

The Brain Button !

Hellooo...its an awesome Sunday evening, nothing to do but just sit back and reeelax..! Before you start wondering about what i have to say this time...am sorry to disappoint you that it won't be me doing the rambling today! Nope. Uh uh.

At the same time, am very happy to introduce to you all a very very close friend, who believes this:

"My idea of fun,
Is good conversation.
My drug of choice, my poison,
Is good conversation.
My mental peace, my salvation,
Is good conversation.
Love, I’m certain,
Is good conversation."

And the person who said it...is Meghna Kannan! At first glance, she comes across as a person full of energy and crazyness! An awesome artist, she lets her hands and words do the talking! And so the day before she left to France (last week), i said "Megz why don't you write on my blog?! and she was like "ummmmm..." After numerous attempts to convince her to write, she finally said "Ok Ju, i'm not really sure about this, il think about it!"

But am happy that she came around, and this is what she has to say....

..........................................................................................................

.....Sitting at Frankfurt airport is as good time as any to start working on my “guest” post on friend’s blog. I honestly have no intention of bragging about the fancy-ass airport, but this is the first thing I thought of doing to kill the 2 hrs time I’ve got till I catch my bus from here to my destination.

An Indian at an airport is always a peculiar sight to people here. I’m not generalizing our infamous habits of being the only one with 3 HUGE bags or our legendary white sneakers-blue jean style statement, not at all. We can be cool too. But I do generalize our quality of winning raised eyebrows, 2^nd looks and occasionally a jaw-dropped gawk.

So I perched myself on this sort of maroon marble blocks, randomly placed to form a seating area, which I swear is no different from our kitchen thinnai material, surrounded by coffee shops, a mobile charging port, money exchange counter, information desk, ATM, escalators starting and ending erratically from all directions and directly across the exit gate from where I catch my bus. I started off by being just some regular colourful-attired person sitting there until my Indian-ness started crawling into me. There’s only so much I can sit with my legs dangling before which my legs automatically fold into a chaplaankuti.

And then of course this is followed by the very scrupulous procedure of finding that comfort zone. Mine involved a mini bag fort and changing my slightly greasy pinnal into a kondai. As I carefully remove my DELL, like it’s worth its weight in gold from my very cool broken-zipped, strapless HCL bag, I well up looking at the water stains on the top, clearly a fruitless attempt of Amma’s to keep my laptop dust-free and open it to find 3 of Tulsi’s (my dog) hair on my keys, just a few zillion finger prints and a neat layer dust on the keys. Trust me, I needed to literally lift my computer to chin-level and blow, like one would do with an old book! When I looked up I found three people gaping at me like I was some sort of performing monkey. I pretended not to notice and dug my head into my laptop.

The transition slowly begins. From loose, airy salwars to snuggle-fit jeans, chappals to sneakers, from Vodafone prepaid sim to the French sim, (10 paise/min to 1€/min), from blaring noise to absolute deafening silence to the point where I can hear my anklets ‘jill-jill-jill’ echo while I walk the streets at 10 am! Before I continue, for the record, I do love Europe and I actually am slowly getting pumped to get started with the new year (also ‘cos the sooner it begins, the sooner it ends ;)) Only that my love for this place is sometimes, ok yes, more often than rare, clouded by my love for home. I’m not calling it homesickness, nope not this time. It’s just going to take a few days* to tune my brain to Europe. I wonder whether there’s a neuroscience theory to it. When love can be explained as a simple chemical reaction, desiness to non-desiness might just be switch-on/switch-off mechanism. All it takes is will power as I’m told!

* subjected to change without notice

I was just passed by a Tulsi replica and I was ignored!!! (Oh the heartbreak of not being slobbered over, getting muddy paw-prints and hair all over my clothes) Ok so this switch on/off thing maybe more complex than I thought!

*DEEEPPPPPPP BREATH*

So, welcome to the first of its kind, a Guest blog! Before you begin judging, give me a chance to defend this silly idea. For a person like me, who’s always thought of blogging but never broke out of that “personal writing” shell, I think this is a perfect start. And for people like Jayanth Kashyap, who could use the publicity of an awesome blog entry, its pretty prefect too! C’est parfait! :P It’s a wonder that I haven’t been kicked out of France for raping their language!

Switching Homes

Well, apart from the language murder, I recently realised I have done total injustice to this beautiful place I’ve stayed in for a year already. Last year’s lonely, gloomy gullies are today’s gorgeous cobblestone pathways decked with lush green canopies dancing to the gentle chilly breeze, with the sun playing hide and seek with the whipped-cream like clouds in the baby blue skies. It’s no wonder whichever tiny gully in some remote Indian village our bollywood/kollywood heroes hail from, and however localll they may be, they dance with their heroines only in European gullies. I honestly felt like bursting out into a song and was hoping for a hero to appear suddenly from behind a tree and twirl me around, with our costumes constantly changing as we danced.

Evidently, last year’s nostalgia-inducing songs on my playlist, where every song had its own history, are today’s regular sing-along songs. Last year’s committed, undeterred relationship with my computer (or rather skype) is today’s relationship with this place. Last year’s grumble-filled, whiny, polambifying foreign oor-kadhais are today’s overseas adventures and alien-land escapades. Last year’s loneliness is today’s individualism. Yes, it did take me a LONG time to find my “switch”.

For example – Me being highly loyal and unfalteringly biased to my mother’s mouth-watering food, the separation was initially unbearable. My first ever saambar was literally emosanal attyachar and I blamed France for it! *SWITCH* Meghna’s Special Sunday Saambar. All you need is patience and adaptable or better yet dead taste buds. :D

At the French grocery store - “3,90 € for a watermelon??! –brain gears start grinding... processing... 3,70 × 65 = Rs.253.50??!!!!- beep beep *curse* how will I gullet the fruit?”  *SWITCH* At the roadside besant nagar chappal shop, “Uncle, woh chappal kitne ka hai?” “Beta, woh chappal, 320 rupees, with 20 rupees discount, final rate Rs.300” “300??? –brain gears start grinding... processing... Rs. 300 = 4 € “Bas? Teekh hai Uncle”

In this ever-changing world and the sheer unpredictability of life, circumstances and situations, the magnitude of the “switch” is fascinating. The comfort of familiarity is beautiful, no doubt. But the weird and wonderful adrenalin-rush and the challenge of new, however daunting and overwhelming can be quite enjoyable when “switch”ed to discover the comfort in the unfamiliar.

Short circuit those hard-wired habits! *SWITCH!* ♪Wayyy ay ay way ay ay! Turn it over now, turn around now! ♪ ♫

For the uninitiated,

Glossary:

Thinnai – Table top
Chaplaankutti – Seated with folded legs
Pinnal – Braid/Plait
Kondai – The hair rolled into a bun
Salwars – The baggy Indian style pants
Chappal – Flip-flops
Polambifying – complaining
Oor kadhai – Story
Saambar – A south Indian delicacy (like a vegetable-lentil broth)
Emosanal attyachaar – emotional brutality

I am a Criminal !

[Jayanth's room..Dirty Harry playing in the background...]

Harry Callahan: "....this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?..."

[Jayanth realises that your staring at his blog, quickly pauses the movie..]

Jayanth: "...click..click click! ...Mute."

.................................................

Hey there!! That was one of the greatest Clint Eastwood quotes of all time..! So do i feel lucky today? Absolutely not..and why? you will soon know!

Almost 21 months into my job...and i've developed a really bad habit..staying awake till my  granma's ghost scares me to sleep and sleeping till my dreams become a reality..Vicious circle you see...Sleep late, wake up late and you end up doing everything late the whole day..take my work for example..today although i was prepped to leave early i still reached  the work place at 11 AM.

It was one of those days where one wonders "which side of the bed did i awake from?!"

As all of you would be aware, namma Chennai traffic will scare the pyjamas off of even namma Superstar Rajnikanth! He can do anything in this world, except avoiding/weaving through our traffic. And it always so happens that i had to get caught in the busiest of days - Today.

Thankfully, my faithful beast - Yamaha R15 - never lets me down. I hang my bag  on the two rearview mirrors so that it straddles my petrol tank (to avoid sweating you see), wear my helmet and the journey from my place (Saligramam) to my workplace (MRC Nagar) is a loong journey. I get to play road rash with my other late going office buddies, give evil stares to aunties standing in the middle of the road, try to act brave in front of the bus drivers, avert near certain death a couple of times and ofcourse, bask in the glorious Sunshine. Gives an awesome suntan you know. Try it out!

In the middle of all this, just 3 KM away from work, i get pulled over by namma traffic police. The usual scene - Sergeant with his humongous left thigh on his even bigger bike, seriously fiddling with something god knows what. The constables trying to catch every miserable sod on a two wheeler - ones not wearing helmets, overspeeding, riding with two pillion riders, and ofcourse the ones who obey traffic rules most of the time.

Maybe it was my bushy goatee or i dont know what exactly. The constable caught me reaching the signal and instantly jumped in the middle of the road and said -

"..Orama Va Pa Thambi!"

And so, confidently with the knowledge of and pride that i always carry my bike papers, i quickly slapped my license onto the waiting constable's outstretched palm alongwith my insurance papers. And he looked at me, pointed his finger to my bike's ass and said -

"Number plate fancy a poda kudathunu theriyadha pa??" (don't you know that wearing a fancy number plate is wrong?)

My mindvoice told me "F**K, i'm done for". Whatever precautions one may take, the smallest of details go unnoticed. I learnt that. Although i have immense respect for our Traffic Police and the responsibilities they undertake, i couldn't help but laugh at what was happening. Knowing that i was at fault, i voluntarily asked what the fine would be.

The Sergeant, with a smile said - "100 rupees kudunga sir, receipt bill tharen" Under the scorching heat, my already fried brain told me that i had forgotten to draw cash from the ATM. Sheepishly i told the officer that i had only 60 rupees in hand. And smack came the answer! "ATM pakathule iruku, poi draw pannitu vaanga sir!"

How lucky could i get? The nearest ATM was 2 KM away..and so i walked, jogged, drew cash and came back like a wet donkey. I signed the electronic receipt-churning machine and lo came the offence sheet. And what i saw shocked me!

I had been fined under two sections:

• Defective Number Plate - Sec 177 - Rs.50 (my fault, hence i can live with it)
• Disobedience to orders/abstraction/refusal to give information - Sec 179 - Rs.50   (What the hell!? when did i do that!?)

So what did i do upon seeing this? NOTHING. Why? Because its a waste of time.

So what sort of recklessness was that? I DON'T KNOW. Disobedience to orders? Me? I had practically handed out even my older insurance papers to these cops! Then why was i fined under that section?

What sort of disregardful behavior and brash violation was that? I will never know..! Worst part was i had even signed on the receipt unknowingly accepting a crime i never committed! Irony.

What i know is this...Just enacting a bill will not change anything. We are humans. Humans with emotions, thoughts and a very powerful gift of making our own decisions. Ultimately, a person who is inclined to cheat or take advantage of others, will stop at nothing.

Ink on paper doesn't sound very convincing when its actually an issue of changing the underlying moral values of us humans.

Given a chance to cheat, we will cheat.
Given a chance to fight, we will fight.
Given a chance to rob, we will rob.

After all, we humans place ourselves above anything else. These are the precious words coming out of the newly branded "Criminal"

So do i feel lucky punk? No.

Until next time, safe riding (and please do change your number plates, if its one of those 007 or BOSS type plates)

P.S - Subscribe to comments via email to follow up!

Vigneshwaraya Namaha!

Its a brilliant day!!! Blue skies, birds (crows) chirping and most of all, namma chennai makkal rushing to get their hands on the clay figures of Lord Ganesha!

Happy Vinayagar Chaturthi people!

Every year at home, i wake up to the smell of the yummy food being prepared and to the hustle and bustle on the streets! Young girls carrying miniature clay ganeshas, hawkers selling flowers, garlands, thoranams, colorful umbrellas (for the clay ganeshas) and other things that would sell on this day! Although i really do not understand the pooja part and the accompanying mantras, all i ever cared about was the kozhukattai! The soft gooey home made sweet that just has no diminishing marginal utility! Saaptukute irukalam!

And so, on this auspicious day, i pray that all of you have a prosperous life ahead filled with the goodness of Kozhukattais!! Lets hope that this world be rid of the evil and sorrow it is now infected with!

Happy Kozhukatai gorging u pigs!! :)

Anyway, me going back to the legendary movie of 2010 (on Sun TV): Sura (Nee adicha adi vizhum, Naan adicha ...IDI VIZHUM!)

Arrivederci!!

A New Beginning

Hello all of you! It is so good to be back! We are halfway through 2011 and i can't believe this is my first post for the year! So it makes it all the more special for me! So..what has changed in the last 8 months you ask? Well..iv gone from 67kg to 83kg, my old clothes don't fit me anymore, i bombed in a crucial test, became a complete workaholic, did not watch a single movie from Jan to June (in the theater that is !, which is quite odd for me), brooded day in and day out wondering why i ignored my blog so much when i went of to a flying start, and some other things which you wouldn't want to know ! But well here i am, rambling as usual, typing for the sake of typing.

But the point is! Why did i choose to suddenly decide to break the jinx and make the first post of the year? Well it happened last night, when i was thinking of the good times i had during school and college and how boring i have become these days! It couldn't have happened at a better time, right when a lot of my close friends have come down from the other parts of the world for a brief stay to take in the sambar-ness that is Chennai!! 

The last 3 weeks have been some of the best days of my life, catching up with old friends, reliving all those memories, cracking jokes about the nerd in school or about the dork in college ! My my..we have come a long way haven't we? It was at that same thought i realized how i am incomplete without the people i've grown up with! The people with whom you spent years studying, playing, dancing, fighting and a lot of other crazy things! They make me complete! A temporary void was suddenly filled like a Patronus Charm, full of happiness and joy! There is not a feeling that can come close to that, other than love, and it was that feeling that made me take of the sheets from over this blog and talk about the people that matter.

Im sure that each and everyone of you can relate to this, why even my own DAV-ites and VM-ites will second me on this! Who wouldn't want to get back to Sripad Hall and do one last hurrah for Entrenous! or who wouldn't want to get back to the playground and kick and smash the football or volleyball? or what about the nightlong dance practice sessions at a friends place, where everything else other than dance took place? or who wouldn't want to get back to those old classrooms and sit in their respective seats?

You tell me, who wouldn't?

I would. Anything to hit the reset button and go back in time. It is this feeling that incepted a new understanding of life in me...a new beginning.

Outbound!

Ok I just cannot contain my excitement! After weeks of planning and after so many hours of waiting this day is finally here! Yep it's my first trip abroad and I'm acting like a 10 year old already! Just sitting here at the airport waiting for our flint to depart is quite an excitement by itself..oh and by the way..our destination is singapore ..then spend the new year at malaysia..and then shop till we drop bangkok..

My fingers are already itching to blog every single moment of this trip..and so I have decided to make a travelogue if time permits!! With me on this journey are two people straight out of a comic book! Lol! Comic character no.1 is Mr.Srikanth Ramesh..he has to be the looniest fellow i have ever met!..he is a super steroid charged hyper nut with a touch of innocence and a hint of humor. Comic character no.2 is Mr.G Kaushik..he is what we Tamilians call as Ooma Kusumban! But one thing is sure..this is going to be one hell of a ride!

Well...the lady just announced our flight number in the three languages..tomorrow we hope to have an authentic singaporean breakfast with kaya toast, runes eggs and pandan! Mouth drooling already! Until then adios!!

Blogging After A Hiatus

http://bit.ly/eG1S0J

God!! Its good to be back!! Been a while since i crunched away at the keypad to update my blog..after a matter of 3 weeks..here i am! typing some nonsense..its a cool cloudy Sunday..the perfect day to just chill...nothing like it i say! 

As i type these incorrigible words, with the chilly breeze hitting my face from outside the window..i just discovered a truth..BLOGGING ROCKS. These 3 to 4 weeks of not updating my blog has left with me with some sort of growing burden and a sense of dissatisfaction..now its all gone..iv finally broken away..iv broken my shackles..feels nice..feels light..


And if your reading this...its good to have you back!! I'v got my spark again..the cogs in my brain have started to move(finally)...as Jim Carrey would say it. "Its Gooood"

I'm a happy man now...back to something i love a lot! Until my next post...arrivederci !!

Through the Window

And so I Flew

Band of Brothers

It was a lazy sunday afternoon..not much scenery around my place though :) Yet..the sky looked like the Sun had spilt its molten juice all over it, giving it the radiance of a 100 Suns! The most beautiful dusk i'v ever seen for a long time..And all of a sudden, our black brothers arrived from the distant sky, their deep and dark wings flapping against the wind..and then they settled atop the highest point in Saligramam (area in Chennai)...Their ever familiar crowing, a signal to their kin...and in a few minutes did i see close to 50 crows singing (crowing) in unison...who knows why? Maybe it was their way to pay a tribute to The Creator of All. I did not care. As i took in the evening light, with my camera clicking away to glory...i wished the day would never end. I wished i could take flight as these creatures did...Maybe one day i can...One day.

The Splendor of Virupakshapura

The Beautiful Virupaksha Temple

If you thought that the people of yore had faded away into the sands of history...you are in for a rude shock. This picture was taken in the mid summer of 2009, a trip my dad and i made to the state of Karnataka. Our initial program was to visit the holy place of Navabrindavanam, the place where the followers of Madhava Acharya are living in thier samadhi state. I strongly recommend you all to visit, for its scenic location, spiritual aura and its eternal tranquility. 


As part of the 3 day trip to Karnataka, once we had finished sight seeing the beautiful locales of Anegundi, we decided to make a short trip to the erstwhile Kingdom of the Vanaras. Hampi. After two hours of travel from our Hotel, we finally reached the ruins of the Vijayanagara City. My eyes popped out..and my jaw dropped. My mind frantically searching for a way to describe what i saw in front of me. Then i got it. Only one word. Breathtaking. The picture below from Wikipedia (i could not take an overview shot myself) is testimony to that.

Wikipedia - Creative Commons Share Attribution Alike 3.0 License

Given the limited time we had, my excitement meter shot up to a 1000 points, my inner child wanting to see every single historical site and my knowledge-seeking self wanting to savor the intricate details of the architecture, myths and stories of this great village/city.


Some of the notable places to see include the awesome Virupaksha Temple, said to have uninterrupted service from the 7th century. The temple by itself is a hallmark for the architecture marvel of the ancients. Within the temple, inside a room the shadow of the main gopura appears inverted through a hole on the wall. Today we call it the Pinhole Effect. Amazing right ?


There are many other places at Hampi, which unfortunately i could not visit..but i did walk through the old Hampi Bazaar, saw the huge Nandi at the end of the bazaar and a few other interesting sites. Sadly i could not see the Vittala Temple...But adding effect to the already mesmerising Hampi, were the sudden rains! To be surrounded by such stunning monuments with the rain pouring was...just out of this world! 

Krishna Temple

A Part of the Ruins

Hampi Bazaar

It was definitely one of the best places i'v been to...would definitely want to go back again, spend a couple of days more and see everything else i could not see previously! Being one of the core areas of the Vijayanagara Empire, even to this day you can feel the people from the past living, basking in the old glory of this enormous empire...

Like i said, the people of yore have not faded away in the sands of history. Incredible Karnataka indeed!


Finally.. with a heart full of memories, i bid adieu to you all! Until the next time...Cheers!


P.S - All the pictures shown here except the one from Wikipedia were taken from my Sony Digital Camera. :) Your thoughts on the photos are welcome! Do leave a comment below!

My Life is a Cartoon

Being an amateur visual designer, i had taken part in an online contest called "HP You on You" hosted by Hewlett Packard, where the contestants had to create a original video describing themselves, the duration of which is supposed to last for a minute! A major challenge was to express yourself without showing your face in the video!! Exciting huh? Other restrictions included using the media kit provided by HP i.e. the music, the banners etc. So in actual sense we had to create a video for under 55 seconds! Me along with my friend Ashwin Ganesh, worked on this video for close to 10 days so that we could meet the deadline set by the organisers...

But do you know what the funny and most cruel part is?? Due to a miscalculation of the US time (yes how dumb can we get), we submitted the video a day after the deadline :( You could imagine the frustration for both of us...All the hard work down the drain...the long hours into the night without any sleep...but no matter...i'm sure you all can appreciate it!! :)

But only if we had won...$25000 would have been ours. sigh :(

Anyway do not hesitate to leave a comment below! Cheers!

P.S Kindly excuse the horrid voice-over! It was a last minute addition!

The Sky Above, The Sea Below

This picture was taken in the Andaman Islands...Beauty at its best! Even though it was not sunny that day...it had an effect of the Caribbean...crystal clear water...bits of small islands...cloudy skies...white sandy shores... and me...braving the elements ! :) For all you nature loving people! Andaman is the place to be! Pack your bags now and go!...go and breathe in the tranquility and splendor of the Andaman.


Cheers!

A Sense of Calm Prevails

When i came into this world kicking and screaming, You were there.

When i pooped as a child, You were there.

When i needed a playmate for my toys, You were there.

When i entered junior school, You were there.

As i grew up, You were there.

When i needed a hug, You were there.

When i needed somebody to cry on, You were there.

When i wanted to laugh madly, You were there.

When i was hungry, Your were there.

When i achieved something, You were there.

But...the unfairness of life has taken you. Yet, you did not give up without a fight. Now when i want something...You are not there...

For 22 years..you have taken care of me, showered me with all your love and affection, fed me with your delicious food and what not. Your joyous face always made me come running to you. 

Yet, on this day...i watched you. Frozen. Shrunk. and burnt to ashes. Your absence affects us all...give us the strength to get over you yet, not forget you.

You always loved the beach... And to the beach you finally went... 

Rest in Peace and watch over us my dear Paati...

A Place to Be Naked

Before the Broca’s area of your brain makes you wander off to the land of i-can-streak-all-i-want…hold on I say!! I’m not talking about any place where you can actually get naked! But the funny thing is most of us have been to this place…this place to be naked is otherwise called as a Gymnasium! Ok so what’s the connection between getting naked and the bloody gym!? Well, if I were a Spartan (King Leonidas maybe?) in ancient Greece, I would be working out without a single shred of cloth to cover my body! To the Greeks, the gymnasium was a place where physical and intellectual education was imparted to the young athletes who competed in the nude. This practice was a tribute to their mighty gods and an appreciation of the male physique. Interesting isn’t it! 

Its a funny world!

Cutting to the present, so I joined a fancy gym located in one of the posh locales of namma Chennai, with the aspiration of gaining a physique which would at least be half as awesome as what Gerard Butler had in the jaw dropping movie, 300. This being my 3^rd gym, I should say i was quite excited due to the fact that the gym is said to be one of the best in Chennai, with dedicated trainers, loads of fitness equipment, huge training floors and most importantly, a lot of eye candy for the visually starved ;) 

And so began, my 3^rd attempt to sleep early, wake up early, hit the gym, go for work, spend time with friends, come back home, study and once again sleep early! To me this is a vicious cycle, screw up one, you screw them all! And on a fresh Monday morning, I entered the gym and informed the receptionist that today was my first day. The receptionist with her Colgate smile picked up the phone and called one of the trainers to assist me in the workout. The trainer, even though weary-eyed took me through the basics of the treadmill, the cross trainer, rowing etc.

Three weeks have passed by, and during one of the 20 minute treadmill thumping exercise, I observed. Now what is so new about that? We all observe our surroundings right? But the strange thing with me is, I like to see the way people carry themselves in a public place like the gymnasium. Like I said before we all have been to the gym at some point in our lives, and we can’t deny the fact that human beings are complex creatures! They come with different personalities, different attitudes and even in different shapes!!

However varied we might be, we do have some common patterns, we belong to a specific type and you, you who are reading this post know it as well. It is with this thought I made some very close observations. Observations of the place to be naked!

Say you are working out in the gym right now. Just pause the pumping music of your iPod, put down the barbells your holding and look around. What do you see? For the gym-hopper (like me) this would be a common but strange sight.

Turn your gaze to the cardio section; you would see a 40 year old uncle, bespectacled, balding and with a decent patch of hair around the head, dressed in a huge tee-shirt, with his chubby cheeks and copious stomach, struggling and sweating to keep pace with the speed of the treadmill, huffing and gasping for breath, with the dream that one day he can fit into his old 32 sized pants once again. Poor sod. Let him be.

Now look to the EFX cross trainer section; you would see a woman in her late fifties, with heavy duty make up, clad in a salwar, with gold bangles and necklace, slightly on the heavier side, lazily working out, watching the television. Now these women have never been to a gym in their lives before and hence the shyness to wear proper gym clothing! About the gold ornaments, I really don’t know!

Now comes the juicy part, err…I mean interesting part! Divert your attention to the corner of the gym; you would have definitely seen her! Yes, the bong bombshell, the bipasha look-alike, the one person who makes the rest of the men increase the speed on the treadmill and put on a few extra kilos on the bench press! She would most probably be dressed in a clinging outfit, straightened hair and with a seductive gait. Basically she is every man’s dream. God bless her because she makes it a worthwhile effort to visit the gym.

And there is always the trainer. Always. With his big hunky muscles and a flirtatious smile slapped across his face, short to medium haircut, he would always help the damsels in distress. The damsel in distress in this case is Ms.Bombshell. Both of them actually hit it off quite well. The workout sessions are a sight to watch… But alas! new bees like me are ignored, like as though we had joined the gym for free! And one other thing about trainers is their love to prescribe supplements to the men pumping iron. I’m sure many of you have been asked this question.

“Supplements saapdunga saar! Appo dhan pa udambu weight potu muscle laam valarum"

Well. That’s the trainer for you!!

The next person you will come across is the man-behind-the-butt! Yes, this is your typical pervert, always behind a woman’s behind, always looking for a chance to ogle and drool. This guy nicknamed The Ass Man does not come to the gym to workout. His objectives are clear and simple. Ass. Ass. And only Ass! As soon as he spots his prey, his eyes pop out, his heart rate quadruples, his mind starts thinking of a way to ogle but not get caught. This guy could be anybody. But most of the times, it’s either a man in his early twenties or a middle aged man. So all you women out there…beware!

Now just turn around and watch the weights section. Do you see that Arnold Schwarzenegger look alike? He is the beef cake of the gym, muscles so huge that even my thigh looks small compared it. Pumped with protein supplements he does not care about the people around him. As he adds 110 lbs on the bicep curl, the entire gym watches in awe as his biceps pop out, the nerves ready to burst, his eyes with fury, the sweat from his brows grazing the ground, and as the repetitions increase, one wonders if he is human at all! Unmatched and unrivalled, his body is every weightlifter’s dream.

And on the aerobics floor, it is possible to see a couple working out together. These two canaries are so into each other, that they are oblivious of their surroundings. All the guy cares about is the girl and all the girl cares about is the guy. The guy would be tall and lanky while the girl would be of medium stature, sweet looking with a pretty smile…Ok now leave those two lovebirds and move on.

These people are hard to miss. Trust me you have seen and been annoyed by them. They are the megaphones of the gym, the cellulite aunty in her late sixties, the skinny lady in her late forties and the uncles in his late fifties. They come fully dressed up in every brand present in the market, yapping away to glory about how they bought a new sari for Rs.20000 or some latest gossip about their relatives. With their loud guffaws and shrieks of laughter you just wish they would go away!

Well…I’ve sort of made you see the complexities and differences of the people around us. We can easily relate ourselves to one of the specimens mentioned above. That’s the beauty of it. But…there is always a big but (no pun intended) by the end of this long post, you must be wondering –

The writer of this post never mentioned anything about himself??

Well…me… I’m the skinny guy at some lone corner of the gym trying extremely hard, with all my effort to do some simple push ups! And where do I fit in here? I’m the observer, I just see what people do and rant about it to readers like you! That’s pretty much it :) and what am I going to do now? It’s back to the push ups for me!

1…groan…2….grunt...gnnnn... …3….arghh…4…until then! Cheerio!

Special Thanks to Sandhya Prabhat for agreeing to be the guest cartoonist for this post despite her busy schedule and also being able to deliver in such a short span of time. Many thanks to her for bringing alive what I had portrayed in my mind. That according to me is the characteristic of a true artist. Both of us hope that this post has been as much fun as it was, for her when she made the cartoon and for me when I wrote the post. Please do leave a comment below if you liked it!

About Sandhya-

Sandhya Prabhat is from Chennai, India. She is a freelance illustrator and animator, currently pursuing her final year MFA in Animation and Digital Arts in NYU Tisch Asia School of the Arts, Singapore. She has a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai. She also enjoys reading, writing and appreciates good vegetarian food. She is currently working on her thesis (animated) short film which will be completed in May 2011. 

No, she does not have a blog yet but hopes to have one soon. 

She can be reached at sandhya.22@gmail.com