Random thoughts

Bring it on 2011!!

2011-01-02T03:09:00.000-08:00

2010 was one record breaking year. It started with my water breaking and ended with my toe breaking. It has been THE most happening year so far. I have had enough things happening to me all my life but this one takes the cake. There have been so many firsts it doesn't make sense to enumerate them here. What I however do want to do is throw light on things that happened in MY life.

I became a mother. Enough has been said about motherhood right from purely soppy to utterly ridiculous. All I want to say is that it is one helluva ride and I don't feel sick most of the times.

I turned 30. It definitely is a big deal. However the fear of turning 'old' somehow diminishes once you cross over the dreaded Three Oh. Suddenly people who are 35 don't seem that old. 30 does not become the new 21, but 50 definitely becomes the new 40.

I broke my toe. My first fracture. Pity it came 4 days after I turned 30. Kinda shook my faith in '30 ain't that old'.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 200 in an ODI innings. I know that has nothing to do with me, but it is still a part of my life.

And that's all I can think of right now! A rather poor score for a happening year. But the happening part has been all about the little bundle that came into our life in the beginning of the year. I had heard how babies change your life forever, but I had underestimated just how much!! Now if I list my achievements that include Mihir, I would have a long list. I just wish I had something exclusive with Aditya as well.

So here's my goal for 2011 - my highlights of the year would feature me, we two and us three in equal measures.

Bring it on 2011, its your ass and my foot (with a broken toe).

A Tale of a Table

2009-03-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

Its funny how one piece of furniture can change your life…

We have been here for more than 6 months now and settled quite well. Aditya’s been busy with his office, I have my library and other domestic chores to keep me occupied. Weekends are a blast! Everything was going well and yet something was missing. The feeling of permanency was absent. This still felt transient at times. But on Saturday we bought our dining table and life suddenly is complete!

When we moved here, being on a tight budget meant we could buy only the ‘essential’ items. That included the sofa and the bed. The kitchen was already equipped. A kind friend lent us his extra TV (which was kept on the floor for almost 3 months). And thus began a new phase of our life. Coming from a completely ‘settled’ home in Bangalore, it was very difficult to make do with just the basic stuff. But slowly we started adding stuff. So in the kitchen the number of dishes went up from 4 to 10, our spare bedroom got its own lamp and our house guests were no longer required to bring their own bath towels. In spite of all these riches, we still ate our meals sitting on the sofa in the living room. We kept postponing buying the one piece of furniture that was to bring so much joy to our hearts. Buying a dining table meant investing long(ish) term and we were waiting for a signal that would justify the investment. We got our signal last week. In the current economic situation what else should the signal be but layoffs! Aditya did not feature on that unfortunate list and we made it! (How narrowly and for how long, only time will tell.) But this was the signal we were waiting for. And thus on Saturday we made the historic journey from Ikea to home with the table tied on top of our car. (The ‘tied table’ actually made the trip historic. More details on that topic will be supplied by Aditya on demand.)

Thus on Saturday we had the most satisfying dinner we have had here so far. And on Sunday it was a moment of joy and pride to see our guests enjoy their dinner sitting on a proper table.

Its funny how one piece of furniture can change your life…

A Good Year

2009-02-11T11:23:00.001-08:00

It’s been exactly a year since I quit my job and became a full time house wife. In short, it is appraisal time. Well, at least self appraisal. This one year can be divided into two major parts, 7 months in India and 5 in the US. It definitely was one of the most happening years in a long time. A lot of things went according to plan, some didn’t and some absolutely didn’t.

The reason I used to quit my job was that we were to move to US. After a lot of contemplation and re-planning we finally made the move. The transition was anything but easy. Leaving Bangalore was heart breaking. But I am really glad we moved here! We have been here 5 months but it feels like we have been here forever and yet how time passed! We have made some great friends and gotten back in touch with some long lost friends. My weekdays are quite busy and weekends are super happening! We have explored some places around and have already had one great vacation. And with spring round the corner, things are about to get hot!!

I always believed given time, I could read all my life. My dream job apart from a lot of money includes lot of reading. But in reality that hasn’t quite panned out the way I thought it would. I am not spending every waking moment reading. As a matter of fact, I read only at night. In the last 2-3 months, I must have read just about 4-5 books, which is less than my average. But on the plus side, since moving to US and started volunteering at the library, I have started reading different type of books (which kind of explains the amount of time each book takes.) But I still could do better.

My fitness level and my resolutions to improve it has always been a joke at home. I had tried working out before in office and as with most of my trials this too failed. So after literally sitting at home for 2 months, I decided to join aerobics, even if just to kill time. And that brought about a new revelation: working out can be fun! I could not pursue it for long in India, but after coming here and settling down, I am hitting the gym so regularly that even Aditya has stopped taunting me about my ‘resolutions’. It has definitely improved my fitness level. I shall, however, refrain from commenting on how it reflects on my weighing scale.

During my stay in India I got to spend an obscene amount of time watching cricket. I watched every single minute of the games India played in Commonwealth Bank series in Australia last year. (And ALL the repeat airings.) Not only was the result very satisfactory, but I also witnessed the rise of the Great Indian ODI Win Machine. I devoted a lot of time to IPL as well. Even here though my eternal quest for a website streaming live cricket action continues, I follow every ball on cricinfo and get vicarious pleasure in our victories. Its been the most rewarding year cricket wise (since 1998). And with T20 world cup coming up in a few months, life looks very promising.

I have never been an enthusiastic cook. I cook only because I have to. However during the last year, I have started experimenting a lot in the kitchen. I actually devote quite some time browsing recipes on the net and try out at least one new dish once a fortnight. I don’t think it is a direct effect of sitting at home because my cooking routine is same as before. But I think the leisure I have during the day helps. Well, I am not complaining and Aditya definitely isn’t. Or so I like to believe!

So such has been my year at home. It does get boring sometimes and my bank balance does not help in lifting my spirits on a low day. But all in all I have enjoyed it and definitely would not mind another year like this!

Overall rating: Exceeds expectations!!

Paradise Found, Paradise Lost

2008-10-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

I read 'The Lost Horizon' for the first time when I was in 9th standard. I was going through a very rough phase at that time (as most teenagers do). And the book had a huge impact on me. Shangri-La was just what my troubled mind and heart really needed at that time!

The beginning of the book is intriguing enough. Some colonial friends meet up for dinner and reminisce about an old friend, 'Glory' Conway, who was one of the victims of a hush-hush hijack case and was never heard of again. However as it turns out, one of the guys, Rutherford, had met Conway after the hijack and had written a manuscript about Conway's adventures and he hands over the manuscript to the author, who in turn recounts it to us.

During a political evacuation, a special plane carrying a diplomat (Hugh Conway), his assistant (Mallinson), a Christian evangelist (Miss Brinklow) and an American, traveling incognito, (Barnard) is flown off the course by a pilot who, initially, seems to have lost his sanity. However as time progresses and with certain events it becomes clear that it is not an accident but a case of hijacking and a planned one at that. Eventually when the pilot crashes the plane and dies in the crash, the foursome are stranded in deep Himalayas, miles away from civilization. To their surprise, a rescue party approaches them soon after their crash landing and they are taken to Shangri-La, a lamasery with its limited habitation. Its in the middle of nowhere and access to civilization is extremely difficult and not encouraged. And so the four rescuees become unwilling prisoners of the lamasery and thus begin their adventures at Shangri-La...

The author has built the whole atmosphere in the 'Valley of the Blue Moon' beautifully. You get awed by the Blue Mountain, fall in love with the beautiful valley on a full moon night. Chang gives you the creeps every time he smiles his benign smile. Every minute with the High Lama is so peaceful. Lo-Tsen's fragile beauty makes your heart ache. Shangri-La definitely has more to it than meets the eye. And the four different personalities of the main characters lend different dimensions and perspectives to the experience they all share at Shangri-La.

The lamas' philosophy of 'moderation in everything, including moderation' and the longevity of the monks at the lamasery, redefined the concept of Time for me. Shangri-La gives you the time to just BE. And I think everybody wants that at some point in time. On a personal front, I could totally empathize with Conway. His stoic state was what I was trying to achieve at that time and was almost there. But at the same time, I could understand Mallinson's insecurity about the unknown and his reaction on knowing it.

'Lost Horizon' is not a classical adventure tale. Its more a philosophical kind of adventure. The end haunts you for days after you finish the book, the title couldn't have been more apt.
And you start the search of your own Shangri-La...

My first days in America

2008-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Its been exactly 10 days here in the US of A and a week in my new home. I think its a good time for me to put down my initial experiences for posterity. (I have always wanted to use that phrase!)

Let me begin with the things I really like here.
Well, to begin with I really love our apartment. It felt like home within a few hours of moving in and with every passing day it is bearing a decent resemblance to actually being a home. I enjoy the excitement of setting up a new house. The budget constraint is a bummer, but that's what makes it more exciting. (I think this belief helps keep the disappointment down.) I am enjoying doing all the housework. Of course I haven't been here long enough to get sick and tired of it. The absence of a maid is sure keeping my BP in control. I feel more in control when I do things my way. (Who doesn't!) I really cherish the fact that our going out is not determined by the hour and by that I mean traffic. Oh yes, I love our car. (Aditya would be really disappointed if I don't mention our car!) The scenery around is beautiful. I guess beginning of fall is a good time to visit this place for the first time. The stores are big and well stocked. I haven't been able to explore that area much since I have been mainly involved in very functional shopping. But that looks like a very promising field! But amongst all these, the best so far has been the library. Its too good. The collection is amazing, the drive and the location is beautiful and its all free. I was so overwhelmed the first time I went there, I just didn't know what all to pick. I sure need to do some homework before I raid it the next time!
Apart from these, there are the usual ones like its so clean, quiet and everything is so organized and easy. People are friendly and law abiding. There are no power cuts. I actually feel sad when I think that these are the things that are novel and hence worth mentioning.

Now to things I do not like here.
My honeymoon period is still on, so there aren't many things I find myself passionately disliking. But I really wonder at the need to have the switches work the other way round! I just do not get the logic behind it. I am still getting used to people driving and walking (if any) on the wrong side which is actually the right side of the road. At times, I miss watching mindless Hindi movies on TV. And I am dreading all the cricket matches I am going to miss because of the stupid time difference. (Tendulkar retiring doesn't seem like a bad idea now. ) I hate all the spam calls on the home phone. (Just got one.) This might sound a bit snobbish, but whenever I go out I see a lot of Indians around and that disappoints me a lot. It kinda kills the romance of being in a 'foreign' country. Maybe I am yet to feel foreign to really appreciate this desi diaspora around.

Most of the things mentioned above are very domestic. That's because most of my time has been spent in setting up the house. I haven't yet visited any place nearby which is a record considering I have spent 2 weekends here already! But the future looks good. We have already made a lot of plans about visiting different places and people. The fact that I am not allowed to work is a little scary but I am excited about the prospect that I could finally pursue my dream of studying English and history and maybe even find my true calling. I have a lot of friends living close by and that is an assuring feeling. I feel accepted and welcome and that I believe is all that matters. I have arrived. I am home.

IPL = Ila's Parted Loyalties

2008-03-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

One major advantage of being at home is being able to devote as much time as you want to CRICKET! For me it is like going back to my school days when my life revolved around cricket (and a certain cricketer). I enjoyed the entire Australian tour and it was made doubly enjoyable thanks to the result (yippee we won!!) and a personal discovery of a new hero. And with 24 days to go for IPL, I can hardly wait. Though I am glad about the SA series that would distract me from the ‘Dharma-sankat’ I will be facing once IPL commences. With ‘my’ team distributed amongst different teams and actually pitted against each other it’s very difficult for me to decide my loyalties.

For the last 2 decades Mumbai has been my favorite Ranji team for obvious reasons, though geographically is should have been Maharashtra. And with IPL I would definitely want to support Mumbai, again for the most obvious reasons.
But Bangalore is home! And even though Bangalore team’s captain totally turns me off and the team isn’t really that exciting I would want my home team to bring home the laurels. If it was just a matter of these 2 teams, I could have wished for a final between these two teams and hoped for the better team (Mumbai, Mumbai) to win.
Chennai is amongst my least favorite cities. (Actually it’s my most hated city; I just did not want to hurt anyone’s regional sentiments.) But the team’s acquisition of the highest bidded player of the IPL and my recent development of a serious form of attachment towards this certain gutsy cricketer (who shall remain nameless) has added a third angle to the dilemma and has rocketed the odds in Chennai’s favor. So now I am stuck with 3 favorite teams out of 8!

So my latest policy: whether the winner is Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai or Jaipur (yeah right!), as the cliché goes, the game would be the real winner.

My Heroes

2008-02-10T23:07:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading ‘The Summer Moonshine’ by P G Wodehouse and fell in love with the character of Joe Vanringham all over again! This set me thinking about all the guys I have fallen for over the past so many years.

Here’s the list. Let’s stick to fictional characters for the time being ;)

Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride & Prejudice):
I am yet to come across a girl who’s read Pride and Prejudice and not fallen for Darcy. He is proud and haughty. But that’s exactly what makes him so attractive! He does not exactly make me go weak in the knees, but let me just say, out of the 30 odd times I have read Pride and Prejudice, at least 10 would be for Darcy ;)

Rhett Butler (Gone With the Wind):
The stereotypical irresistible rascal! You know he is no good, but you want him to sweep you off your feet! (And Clarke Gable playing Rhett Butler in the movie did not help!!!) When you see his relation with Melanie or the way he loves Bonnie, you realize he is capable of emotions, he is vulnerable. I feel bad every time Rhett walks out on Scarlett. But some things are never meant to be…

Kabir Durrani (A Suitable Boy):
I fell in love with Kabir as soon as he walked in the book. He is charming, attractive and there is something boyish about him that you cannot resist. Let’s add to that his being a cricketer and having curly hair, and you have the perfect package :) And his being a ‘Durrani’ (you have to read the book to know what it means) doesn’t affect me one bit.

Amit Chatterjee (A Suitable Boy):
Lata had so many better options to choose from and she chose the boring Haresh! Amit is quite opposite to Kabir. He is a poet and a serious one, at that. And I am a sucker for the brooding, thinking types!

Conway (Lost Horizon):
Stoic. I think that word sums up ‘Glory’ Conway. As I have mentioned in a blog before, I read Lost Horizon during a very susceptible period of my life and the book had an impact on me. I could relate to Conway big time. The USP of Shangri-La was Conway.

Joe Vanringham (Summer Moonshine):
How can I forget the guy who started the train of thought? It was love at first dialog with Joe. Fresh, romantic, charming, funny, strong (and a writer!). He is too good to be true. Well, he IS too good to be true. Sigh.

Nanda Pradhan (Vyakti ani Walli):
I knew I was missing someone. Nanda Pradhan hit the scene same time as Conway. He is tall, good looking (something I noticed only during my 5^th reading!). But that’s not what attracts you to him. There is something tragic about him. He is one guy I don’t want to meet in my real life. I think reality will kill the romance.

When I look at the list I realize, all these guys have been around for the last 10 years at least. Its time I find some new heroes!!!

Heaven!

2005-09-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Its Saturday morning 10 o’clock. The maid has come (surprise, surprise!) and gone. Aditya has some chores and would be gone for an hour. So for one whole hour I am the Queen of the house! I promptly put on Shubha Mudgal’s ‘Ab ke Saawan’ cassette, turn on the volume and settle myself for 45 minutes of sheer bliss!!!

This album is a God send. Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics, Shantanu Moitra’s (Parineeta fame) music and Shubha Mudgal’s voice create MAGIC! Very rarely you come across an album where each song just tops the other. This is one of such albums. I love listening to it when alone and it transcends me to a totally different level!

The album starts with ‘Dere dere’. A love song and much more. The foot tapping music and wonderful lyrics, give you an idea about what’s to come. The second song ‘Usne kaha’ takes the cake! She sings about how she’s literally begged all the elements to create the atmosphere for ‘him’ and all he says ‘Dekho aane pe mere badlta hai mausam’! Beautiful!! ‘Seekho na’ shows just what a great voice can do to a beautifully written song. ‘Bhai re’ is the best song ever written about any relationship! And Shubha Mudgal’s deep voice lends it a special gravity without making it dead serious.

The next one ‘Hai pyaar to musafir’ talks about love without being clichéd. ‘Is pal’ is a cool song. Again the lyrics rock, ‘Is pal gunahon mein kaisi najakat hai’!!!(Maitreyee, hope you are reading this) This song always transports me to a beautiful beach and puts me in a complete holiday mood. You just can’t help but feel very happy! The next one is the complete opposite! ‘Bairi chain’ almost always touches a chord somewhere and makes me a little contemplative. But not for long, ‘Ab ke sawan’ is next to rock you. As a rule, I hate rains. But this song makes me long for a heavy shower (so long as I am not under it :D) Sings Shubha Mudgal ‘Doorion ka nahi hai mausam, aaj hai who kahan?’
Aditya…

And the bell rings :)

Dreams Unlimited

2005-08-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

I started my blog with Dreams and here I am back with the topic! Of course the dreams I am talking about now are the ones I experience when I am (supposedly) fast asleep. I have an amazing capacity of dreaming (pun intended) and somehow manage to remember most of my dreams. Of course, I cannot enumerate all my dreams here. But there are some typical recurring patterns that I would like to mention. All Segmund Freuds are welcome with their analysis ;)

I started losing interest in Maths from my 9th std. Though my performance in Maths was never too bad, it never featured in my favorite subjects list. But it took form of a Monster during my engineering years. God alone knows how I managed to survive 3 Maths papers in 2 years (and all in single attempts!!) But almost 5 years after I wrote my last Maths paper I still dream of Maths problems I cannot solve. It’s not always exam papers, but all the same, I almost always fail to deliver the goods. The tension I feel during those times is worse than it ever was in real life!!

Another recurring nightmare, though not so tragic, is I am participating in a drama competition and I don’t know the lines! I haven’t exactly forgotten the lines, it’s just that I never read the script and have gone on the stage without the slightest clue about my dialogues! Believe me nothing can be more embarrassing. Though I never had such an experience in any of my numerous stage appearances, this dream haunts me all the time. And when I finally wake up, I keep scolding myself for not having enough presence of mind to create the dialogues runtime :D

It’s not only phobias that visit me in my dreams ;) I have witnessed some breathtakingly beautiful natural beauties in my dreams! A blue color for water I never knew existed! Gravity defying waves that are powerful but not threatening. A beautiful landscape that can exist only in dreams. Impossible to describe and also impossible to forget! These dreams leave a very strange feeling in my mind. I just don’t feel like getting up. And even when I am back, these images keep haunting me for a long time.

And of course, there are the strange ones when I actually see advertisements, movies, listen to songs! Just yesterday I saw a revised version of Mangal Pandey with Aamir Khan without his moustache and Rani Mukherjee actually having some role!! There was a song and of course some logic defying scenes in water, as usual ;) I have seen ads in my dreams similar to real ones aired before or after! And a coupla dreams have almost come true!!

There are adventurous dreams, scary dreams, and absolutely senseless dreams. A very regular feature amongst the senseless ones is losing my teeth! This is the dream I have seen most frequently. And the funny thing is almost everyone I know have had this dream some or the other time in their life!!

I don’t know what all these dreams mean. I am not even sure they mean anything at all! Maybe they are my way of exorcising my old ghosts (or creating new ones;)) But the fact remains they are almost one third part of my life and I just can’t sleep without them!!

Books, books, books!

2005-07-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

Books mean so much to me! And it’s strange I haven’t yet enumerated my favorite books or books I grew up with (and which grew upon me ;)) Lemme try.

I have been reading since as long as I can remember. When I was very small (1st-2nd standard) I could read only English and only one letter of Marathi :D But my parents used to read out from a lot of books to me. And I actually had a coupla Marathi children’s books subscriptions which I started devouring after 2nd standard once I could read Marathi too. ‘Chandoba’ and ‘Chota Dost’ used to be my favorites. I still have so many copies of those (and at times even read those!!) At the same time, I was fascinated by English fairy tales. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Thumbelina’ were my favorite then. I didn’t care much about the “Happily ever after…” stories. Another amazing set of books I have are the Russian children’s books translated into Marathi and English. Till the fall of USSR, every summer we used to get some really good Russian books.

As I grew up from my 5th standard onwards, Enid Blyton and ‘Faster Fene’ were my constant companions. I must have read all the ‘Fafe’ books they had in all the libraries in Nasik. And all the ‘Secret Sevens’ and ‘Famous Fives’. Another favorite during that period was ‘Robin Hood ani Tyache Rangel Gadi’ by Bha. Ra. Bhagwat. (It’s so difficult to write Marathi words in English!) That is one of the most entertaining books I must have read at that time. Later I read the original ‘Robin Hood’ also but that couldn’t recapture the magic the Marathi book created. Those were the days of amazing fun in school, crazy energy at the playground in the evening and more adventures through books at night!

9th standard saw me grow out of Enid Blytons and graduating to Nancy Drews ;) I even tried a P G Wodehouse at that time but the humour didn’t appeal to me then. A book I read in 9th that impressed me a lot was ‘Lost Horizon’. Maybe I was very susceptible at that time, but that book has left an indelible mark on my mind. I still fascinate about ‘Shangri-La’. And of course by this time the King had arrived into my life. Though I had read ‘Asami asami’ when I was in 6th, I got addicted to Pula only from around this time. I read and re-read ‘Wyakti ani Walli’, ‘Asami asami’ and a horde of his other books. I still do.

11th standard opened a whole new world to me. I discovered a Queen this time. It became an obsession to read all the books available in the library by Agatha Christie. And I also started trying out new authors. ‘A Suitable Boy’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘The Final Diagnosis’ entered my life during this time. This period kinda set the trend of the books I would reach in future. Mostly classics and murder mysteries. And of course P G Wodehouse! I somehow cannot classify his books under any category. They are in a class of their own :)

Once I joined engineering somehow my reading habit took a backseat to all the “other activities”. But still managed to read ‘Gone with the wind’ (twice), ‘Fountainhead’ and some really good books (and some real bad ones like ‘God of small things’) I also read a Mills&Boon during this time so that I could tell my daughter that I had read these books also;) I also started buying books by this time. And thus books finally started bearing my name on them :)

In the last 3 years Harry Potter has been the highlight. I am still experimenting. Reading and even liking books like ‘Da Vinci Code’, ‘Godfather’ which don’t exactly fall in my genre of classics;) (Though I think Godfather is a classic in its own way!) I still don’t read books with too much action, sleaze or violence. Of course, I don’t like all the books that fall in the classics category either.

Here’s a list of some books I am crazy about! (Though not in any particular order)
1. Lost Horizon:
Though its cover reads as “a wondrous adventure” I think it’s less of adventure and more of philosophy. As I suggested this book really hit me hard the first time I read it! Have gifted this book to some very close friends :)

2. A Suitable Boy:
I have written enough about it before. A true classic!

3. Pride and Prejudice:
I love this book. The characters appeal so much to me. I can read it any number of times!

4. Gone with the Wind:
This book deserves a separate blog. There’s so much in it. Even after reading it thrice, every time I discover something new.

5. Dennis chya Goshti:
This is a Russian book translated in Marathi. It’s an autobiography of a 6 year old boy. Simply amazing! I generally don’t laugh out loud while reading books. But this book actually brought tears of laughter in my eyes! Highly recommended on a low day.

6. The Final Diagnosis:
My first Arthur Hailey book. I like his thorough study of the system and the very believable characters. The drama in this book is nail-biting! (Only if you get as involved as I did :D )

7. P. G. Wodehouse Books (esp. Jeeves and Bladings series ):
What do I write about these? You either love them or you don’t get them! Amongst the non-series is ‘The Summer Moonshine’ which also happens to be my first PGW. This guy rocks!

8. Most Pula Books:
I say ‘most’ because there are some books, esp. about real people I don’t know much about, that I cannot relate too. But rest of the books are awesome! Be it travelogues, Vyakti Chitre or collection of articles, no person in the world ever can write those the way he did!

There are scores of other books which at some or the other time in my life meant a lot to me. But at this moment this is the list that is at the top of mind. And if I finish everything now, what will I write about in the future? ;)

The Green Queen beckons...

2005-07-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am falling in love. Again. All the symptoms are there. The racing of the pulse, the sleepless nights, the unnecessary anxieties and ultimately the ecstasy!
Wimbledon is back!!!

In the last coupla years, I had forgotten the Wimbledon magic. When I was in school watching Wimbledon was a family tradition. All of us would forget all our chores and be glued to the TV every single evening during the tournament. Before the beginning of the tournament my dad and I would rattle off the list of all seeded players (usually only men ;)) and compare their games and predict the winner. Mine was generally (and rightfully) the same for many years!

It’s difficult for me to decide if I like cricket or tennis more. But if Wimbledon is going on, my choice would undoubtedly be Tennis (Of course if it doesn’t clash with the World Cup and thankfully it never does:)) This Grand Slam is definitely superior to the rest. Maybe it’s the history, the glamour or simply the quality and quantity of champions it has provided. It all started with Becker winning at the tender age of 17. I was hardly 5 years old then, but I still remember Boom Boom Becker! One of the reasons, I still like bananas is because Becker used to eat bananas during his matches!! Don’t remember much in between till Courier came on the scene. Though he never shone at Wimbledon, he kept my interest in tennis alive. And then arrived the King! And from 1992, it was Pete Sampras who ruled my heart (the tennis part of it, of course ;)). Though in 1992 he lost to Goran in the semis, who further lost to Agassi in the finals, his game was established. And then began the dream run from 1993 till 2000 except for the hiccup in 1996 when he lost the semis to Richard Krajicek(I still haven’t forgiven Krajicek for that). Sampras was pure magic on grass! Another person I adored at the Wimbledon was Goran. And when Sampras and Goran played against each other it was a treat to watch their serve and volley game. But at the same time it used to be verrrry tough for me to decide whom I really wanted to win!! But Goran finally won in 2001 and I couldn’t ask for more from the grass courts!

But the romance did not end there. I missed Wimbledon between 2002 and 2004 and hence did not acknowledge the rise of the new star. But this time I have seen Federer in action and though he can never be Sampras for me, he has rekindled my interest in the best Grand Slam ever. And then there are the Roddicks, the Safins, the Hewitts and also the Popps. The actors have changes but the show continues…
Long live the Queen!!

Found some interesting history at this site:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/history/history.html

The Dream Merchant

2005-03-14T16:26:00.000-08:00

Today is Aamir Khan’s birthday and I can’t help but get nostalgic. My friends and I practically grew up watching his films. And even today, given a chance we would celebrate by watching all his movies all over again :)

He wasn’t my first love. (That “honour” belongs to another “shorty” ;)) But I liked him a lot. Never dreamed about him but never missed his movies. Not all his movies are worth watching. But being true fans of his we have endured terrible movies like “Deewana mujsa nahi”, “Awwal number”, “Parampara”, “Tum mere ho” etc etc. But movies like “Dil hai ke manta nahi”, “Jo jeeta wohi sikandar”, “Hum hai rahi pyaar ke”, “Rangeela”, “Andaaz apna apna”, “Sarfarosh” and “Dil chahta hai” make up for all the terrible movies. I have watched his “good” movies at least 10 times each. I know all the dialogues, the mannerisms by heart. And I never miss an opportunity to emulate them ;-) His characters too vary a lot. Be it the Raj in QSQT, Raja in Dil, Raghu in DHKMN, Rahul in HHRPK (I used to think he has some obsession with the letter R), Sanju in JJWS, Munna in Rangeela, Siddhu in Ghulam, Rohit in AHAT, Amar in AAA, Bhuvan in Lagaan, or Akaash in DCH, each had a totally different persona. Sanju and Munna are my all-time favorites and I still fret about his not winning the Filmfare for both the performances. He hasn’t had the best of songs; but his “Pehla Nasha” still weaves magic. Watching Aamir Khan throw his sweater up in the air and roll down the grass still gives me the feeling of falling in love all over again!

Aamir Khan is not the most popular actor today. He may not even be the best ever. But for me he is the reason and the means to go back to my school days and relive the whole magic again :)

Movies, masti, magic!

2004-12-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday night after having a grueling session at the dentist’s I slept off rather early than usual. Never mind how much you complain of not getting enough sleep, you body cannot take more sleep than usual. And hence I was wide awake at 4 in the morning! And was extremely thirsty. After trying to avoid the efforts of getting up (and dismissing the wicked thought of waking up my husband), I had to get up and go to the kitchen for water. The first thought that struck me was Lizard! I am extremely scared of and hate lizards. But when the thirst was unbearable, I overcame my fear and went to the kitchen. Turned on the lights, drank water and turned off the lights. The minute I turned off the lights, I remembered the scene from Bhoot where Urmila follows the same sequence and there’s the ghost right behind her! Man, the thought sent shivers down my spine and covering the distance of some 5-6 feet from the kitchen to the bedroom seemed to take ages…

This is Effective Cinema! A scene from a movie which I had seen more than a year back, haunts me in the middle of a night!

I love watching movies. From the oldest black and white movies to the quite recent ones (I can’t say the latest) I have seen them all. Hindi, of course. I am choosy about English films (Quality and variety does that to you ;)) I hate movies with blood and violence. I look askance at the romantic comedies, but prefer them over action movies (and even have some favorites). But I love old classics (and even new ones like “Chicago”) and musicals. They are simply wonderful. But my staple diet is Hindi movies and the dessert being Aamir Khan movies. I have literally grown up watching his movies. We school friends (girls, obviously ;)) used to get together to watch the latest Aamir Khan movie. (During those times it was more than once in 2 years ;)) We used to watch the same movie all over again, repeating the scenes where he has looked extremely cute! Black and white movies are a hit with me and my dad. We can still watch the oldies any number of times. With college friends, it can be any damn movie! The worse the movie, the better it is for passing comments and hence more enjoyable. Unlike books, I do not associate with the characters of the movie. I think 3 hours is a little less time to analyze a person. But dialogues, yes! Saying dialogues from movies is a way of life. We few college friends used to start with the starting dialogue of “Andaz Apna Apna” and go on for hours together!

I think more than the movie itself, it’s the association with the movie that endears a movie to you. The circumstances while watching the movie decide the fate of the movie for you. “Dil Chahta Hai”, a great movie in itself, is an all time favorite because it was the first movie that we roomies in Pune had watched together. “Dil Hai ke Manta Nahi”, because it was the first movie we school friends watched together at home. “Rangeela”, the first movie we girls watched in theatre together…

It ain’t that they don’t make them anymore. It’s just that we don’t get them anymore…

A Suitable Book

2004-12-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

I am crazy. How else can you explain the fetish to read the same books so many times!! Amongst the multitude of books that I have re-read, one is the modern epic ‘A Suitable Boy’ by Vikram Seth. Aged 16, 21 and 23, I have read it thrice and every time the book has simply grown upon me!

It’s a classic in true sense. Set in the period of 1950s it describes the socio-political scenario during the immediate post independence era. It has more to it than just the Partition. From the highly anglicized Calcutta public to the poorest tenants and the bloodsucking landlords of Rudhia, it covers a plethora of people. The number of main characters in the book would not be less than 20 something!! It talks mainly about four families – the Mehras, the Kapoors, the Chatterjees and the Khans – connected together by the bonds of marriage and friendship. As the title suggests, the book unravels the journey of a mother in search of a suitable boy for her daughter. But apart from that there are many sub stories which are happening simultaneously in the lives of the other characters of the book and somehow it all seems to fit in. The author has painted such a beautiful picture of how exactly the masses, the peasants, the politicians reacted to the new evolving constitution that was India! Even Jawaharlal Nehru has a cameo in the book!

The characters of the book are simply awesome! They are so real. The author shows an immense insight into human psyche while depicting all the characters and the way they react to the various situations. Mrs Rupa Mehra, the mother, is completely acceptable what with her “water works”, her continuous self pity and her affection for her daughter! Lata as the “girl” is somebody you can relate to. Her anxities, hopes, dreams and fears are something every girl in her stage would feel. Though I personally did not really approve of her choice of the “Suitable Boy”, I am sure she would spend a happy life with him :) Kabir is wonderful with his cricket, wavy hair, good humour and delightful looks. Maan inspite of his vices wins your heart. Firoz and Imtiaz are just like young guys should be. Savita and Pran are just like a loving couple you know. Arun and Meenakshee, the hip couple you frown upon! Amit, the cynical poet, is somebody you don’t get to meet everyday. Kakoli, rather Kuku, is just as rare. Deepankar sounds more like a western character who is mystified by the Indian religion who seeks the Truth. And Tapan’s too normal to be a Chatterjee! I rather like all the Chatterjees inspite (or more likely because) of their idiosyncrasies. You pity and despise Varun at the same time. Haresh is straightforward, sincere and a bit flashy. He is too sure of himself, I feel. The other characters, though not the principal characters, but just as well depicted are absent-minded but genius Professor Durrani, sly yet vulnerable (to Maan’s affection)Saeeda Begum, the gentle Nawab Sahib, adjusting Veena, all-caring Kedarnath, extremely intelligent Bhaskar, precocious Aparna and even stupid Bibbo! These characters definitely leave a mark in the reader’s mind.

The book integrates the romantic, politic and social issues so wonderfully. Some passages with the Parliament and court room sessions tend to become boring, but I think one should not skip them at least during the first reading. But the main feature of the book is the language. It’s as lucid as it gets! The author’s words flow like poetry. Though there is no lack of poetry, in the form of Kuku couplets, Amit’s “Fever Bird” and his inscription to Lata (brilliant idea!) Even the index is in the form of poetry!! The author shows immense command over the language. The way he describes the riots and the stampede is simply awesome!

Apart from these tangible pluses, the intangible one is that the author creates a world for us to revel in. You feel a part of the whole drama. I have spent restless nights wondering whom would Lata marry, if Maan would be convicted, if Pran would finally get healthy and fit. I have cried over Kabir’s heartbreak and laughed at the idiotic Chatterji exchanges. In short I have been completely immersed in the book!

All in all a great book. To be read (at least) once in a lifetime. What “Gone with the Wind” might be for the western readers, “A Suitable Boy” would be for Indians…

Write right?

2004-11-17T03:59:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to write. To start with, write reviews of books I have liked or rather read and “felt about”. I even tried one on Pride and Prejudice and failed miserably. Writing comes easily to me. But when it involves readers, its way too difficult. Since the day I thought I would write publicly, one question has always bugged me.

When I used to write in my diary or general articles on sheets of paper, I never had to scratch the words written. Even if there were spelling mistakes I would let them be; because even those represented my state of mind (or so I liked to believe ;)) Its not that my diary was secret. It was open for anyone who wanted to read it. I have proudly shown some articles to my friends, both for the language and the content. But when you write for unknown readers you have to be very careful. Especially about the content. I mean, the readers are gonna judge you based on what you have put on paper. They wouldn’t know who you are or why have to written what you have written. For them it would be an article (in my case, generally an opinion) with which they would either agree or disagree.

But there is also the other side to the coin. When my friends read my articles they know precisely why and how I have written it (which may not always be right). For instance when I wrote the article on Ganguly, Maitreyee accused me of being biased. But for a stranger it could have been a very apt observation. At times writing about personal things becomes easier for unknown people than for intimate ones. Whereas writing memoirs appeals more to the people who can associate with the incidents.

So the main question remains: what does one write about? And How? It’s difficult to be spontaneous and correct at the same time. “To write but what is right” becomes the question…

Leading from behind??

2004-10-27T01:47:00.000-07:00

There’s a lot of hue and cry about Saurav’s “injury” on the morning of the first day of the third test between India and Australia. India is already trailing 0-1 and it’s crucial for the team to at least save the match, if not notch up a victory!

Conspiracy theories abound during such times. There are people saying that Saurav has stepped down as a protest against the pitch given, which definitely supports the fast bowlers, which effectively means the Australians. He had made his displeasure very clear on the eve of the match. There are people saying he has been victimized by the BCCI. The fiery Ganguly victimized!! Whom are we kidding here? And if he is unhappy with the pitch, pulling out of the match is the saddest example of leadership. Isn’t it expected of the captain to lead from the front? Have the guts to challenge the challenges and come up victorious? In the past, Saurav Ganguly has earned laurels for his aggressive captaincy. But this behavior defies logic. Or does it? Is Ganguly more words than actions?

Remember the final against Pakistan in the ODI series in Pakistan this year? We were under tremendous pressure to win the match. It had been a closely fought contest throughout. (Even then there were conspiracy theories about the matches being fixed ;)) The tension on the field was perceptible. Though India was defending a decent total (290+), knowing Pakistan, it was anybody’s game. And during the initial overs, Captain Ganguly dives to save a ball and ends with a very bad sprain. It was a brave effort, though the experts doubted its necessity. But Ganguly was so badly hurt that he had to be taken on the stretcher off the field. Eventually India won. It turned out to be a rather one-sided game. And during the presentation ceremony Captain Ganguly was leading the team from the front to receive the trophy! There was no semblance of any pain. Will history repeat itself? Will we see Ganguly back in the team after (and if at all!) we win the match in Nagpur? It remains to be seen…

Politics please!

2004-09-30T13:51:00.001-07:00

These days I am reading "Kane and Able". A few days back I read "The Class". Both the books are written by American authors, or so I presume. Anyways, the books definitely deal with Americans. The then happenings in that country and (hence) the world. Its fiction alright, but the events mentioned are real. The important people are real. So invariably we get to know a lot about them. The politics, the history, the culture. Even the latest fashions during that time! A couple of more such books and I would know almost everything about most American presidents!

This set me thinking. How many books have I read that have dealt with India? Have I ever come across a book that talks about the important happenings in my country and how it affected the life of a common man? And by important happenings I don’t mean only Partition. Books abound on that subject. Apart from “A Suitable Boy” I haven’t read a book where a story progresses with Indian political background. I have read autobiographies and biographies which depict the freedom struggle and the emergency era. But nothing in fiction. And are Freedom struggle and Partition the only “historic events” that our country, so rich in history, can boast of? What about a story of a person who simply witnessed a riot? Or even on changing of governments? Is it that the politics of our country does not affect the common man on the street? Maybe it does not. Never mind who is the Prime Minister of the country the potholes on the road to my home stay intact. Indo-Pak talks do not solve my maid problems. But the fact is it does! Indo-Pak talks can save thousands of innocent lives. Our Prime Minister represents our nation to the world. He has the ability to change the way the world thinks about us and treats us. And also the way we treat the world.

What we lack is the involvement. We are totally indifferent towards it. But I think we should make politics an active part of our lives. By active, I don’t mean just casting our vote once (and hopefully only once!) in 5 years. But I mean, being aware of the rules of the game and how they are bent! We need more books that depict the current social and political scenarios of our nation. We owe it to the next generations!

Sachin

2004-09-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

The other day I read a blog, I should say one of the many such write-ups, stating how India and Indians are giving more importance to Sachin Tendulkar than the game of Cricket. I know it’s not quite the fashion these days to say Sachin’s the greatest cricketer, but I beg to differ.

The very fact that a player has more importance, rather is given, more importance than the game itself proves the greatness of the player. The game existed before the player and would continue to exist after it. I think it’s rather silly to blame the people for liking a player more than the game. I mean, liking someone or something cannot be forced down people’s throats! Instead one should into the causes for such a thing to phenomenon to happen. I would not go into the statistics to prove the greatness of Sachin. Its for everyone to see. But it’s the way his play (it is not always just the play, but lets stick to that for the time being ;)) affects the common man. It wasn’t long before when I used to get extremely depressed when Sachin failed to score a century or a 150 or even a 200! Never mind how many runs he made, it was never sufficient. He had to play. To make my day. And I used to be an angel when he did make my day. One of my friends dreads going home from office on a day when Sachin has performed poorly because her son would be very cranky that day! This is what I mean by his greatness. I know some (rather most) people would call it madness – to be so affected by a person you haven’t even met or who doesn’t affect your daily life. But they are wrong. He affects our lives. He has the power to make or break our day. And when he does that, its not less than a billion lives he affects!

Dreams

2004-09-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading “The Class” by Erich Segal. It’s about a class, a batch, that joins Harvard and graduates in 1948. It superbly depicts the immense pressure the students withstand, or at least attempt to withstand, in such a competitive world. So when I first read about the purported “suicide” of a student in IIML, I couldn’t help but wonder if things have changed at all since 1948! I have quite a few (proud) friends in these prestigious colleges which cannot be deemed less than the Harvard university. And I am aware of the extremely hectic life these people lead just to stay afloat. Sometimes I wonder if it’s really worth it. I mean, these people spend the best years of their lives studying day in and day out just that at the end of 2 years they get the best jobs in the country or even world. And the rest of their lives they spend in working harder to retain the job!

I have always been an “ambitionless person”. So it’s very likely I simply cannot understand the thrill that comes with fulfilling one’s ambition. I am more of a dreamer. I dream about what I want to become and what all I want to achieve. On the surface both are just the same things. But I think dreaming is more passive. I mean, something that is there at the back of your mind, but is not necessarily a part of your daily life. "A dream that will need every love you can give, everyday of your life, as long as you live". It drives your life, not your routine. Something that you look forward to doing “someday of your life”. A dream’s more subtle and hence its chances of surviving in this extremely competitive world are higher. It suffers from lesser burn out. And the beauty of it is its utter impossibility (most of the times!). And that’s why it’s a dream :)