Gurgaon was frickin' cold last week. The lowest temperatures have been way below ten degrees... and my hands are shivering while i am typing this. I swear. ok i swearrrrr. Youu gott to believvve meee. It truly has been really really cold (as Jim Carrey would have put it).
What made the cold bearable though was a musical (a la broadway style) I saw yesterday at the Sriram centre in Delhi. The play 'Fiddler on the Roof' really warmed the cockles of my heart (Queen Elizabeth would have been proud of my usage of this phraseology).
When my friend Rahul Mehra asked me to join him for the play, I must admit i was apprehensive. The whole idea of a musical in Hindi didn't really sound appealing. Don't get me wrong. I love watching plays and have traditionally preferred drama over its impostor cousin 'commercial cinema'. But still, a musical in Hindi, i had to think twice. And thank God, better sense prevailed.
'Fiddler on the Roof' is a play set in 1905 in Anatevka, a jewish village in Russia. Apparently 3 million people worldover have seen this play. The broadway production has won nine Tony awards and the movie based on the same won three academy awards. Impressive eh?
Anyways this excerpt from Wiki will give u a sneak into the story
"The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. He must cope with both the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters—each daughter's choice of husband moves progressively further away from established customs—and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village."
I strongly recommend you see it. Dramatech needs to be commended to get this play here. The cast was competent, the costumes were wonderful and did a great job recreating the 1900's Jewish look, and the music complemented the scenes . All in all a memorable experience. And i would stick my neck out and claim - Musicals in Hindi are here to stay!!
I can't help feel a sense of deja vu. Somehow i always knew i'd warm up to the "North". When i came to Gurgaon, my first such visit up north, i came with an open mind. I have lived in far too many cities to know that. My first few months here - and i almost bought the theory prevalant here - that Gurgaon is synonmous with the Malls. You need to buy grocery - you go to Big Bazaar in Sahara Mall. You want to watch a movie - you go to MGF metropolitan mall. You want to buy clothes - you go to Lifestyle at DT Mall. You want to grab a quick bite - guess what - you go to Mcdonalds at the Mall again. That combined with dust with all the construction goin around, the crazy road traffic and absolute zero personal safety made me totally disillusioned.
But last few months have been different. New Delhi is only 26 Kms drive. And that to me has made all the difference. Last month i saw the AR Rahman concert .. and the performance was truly breathtaking. Hariharan, Kailash Kher, Chitra, Madhushree, Sadna Sargam, Sivamani performed in a troupe comprising 50 instrumentalists and 22 singers. Imagine listening to songs from Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Rang de Basanti, Saathiya and Guru back-t0-back.
Then there was a play Khel Khel Mein at the kamaani auditorium. And now this musical 'Fiddler on the Roof' at the Sriram centre. And i haven't even started speaking about the OSIAN film festival - with upcoming and established filmmakers from SriLanka, Turkey and practically the world over showcasing their stuff.
The Zing is back in the Entertainment. And i feel much better already. If only for this coldddd...and my shivering hannddssss.... :)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
You are going DOWN......
"You are going Down..." seems like a line a WWF wrestler would pout to a competing wrestler. Well this blog has no intentions of discussing wrestling lingo.. not even wrestling for chrissake. I was just referring to Indian cricket team's upcoming tour of Australia, also referred to as a trip DOWN UNDER.
Well, Australia has been referred to as DOWN UNDER for as long as i can remember and as I kid i used to think that the reason was the performance of the visiting teams. Says a thing or two about Australian dominance doesn't it, when a kid starts thinking along these lines.
Anyways and thankfully i figured out the reason .. for Australia being referred to as DOWN UNDER. Apparently, Australia is only continent which lies completely below the equator in the southern hemipshere unlike Africa and South America... which have some parts above the equator. Southern Antartica is not considered, i guess, because in the globe, south antartica is shown contiguous extending into North Antartica... no one goes there anyways..... :)
I really hope we kick some arrogant Aussie butt. Batting wise - i believe Dravid should open with Jaffer. He comes one-down but is usually seen coming in within the first ten overs .. so i guess he might as well open. Infact, I believe facing your first ball in the tenth over is far more dificult than facing the first ball of the match. The bowler would be all pumped up having got the earlier wicket, he would have worked up a nice rhythm and pace till the tenth over....something we cannot say when the bowler is bowling his first ball, so dravid should open. No doubt about it.
So here's the lineup i would go for - Jaffer, Dravid, Laxman, Sachin, Ganguly, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Pathan, Kumble, Zaheer and RP Singh.
This makes Yuvraj bat around Sourav and Dhoni .. both lethal combinations. Laxman... needs time to settle and is solid against pace, so one-down is ideal for him. Pathan gives us batting depth plus third seamer option. Bowlingwise we would have Zaheer, RP, Pathan and ganguly as four medium pace options with spin from Kumble. And if we are bowling on the fifth day, Yuvi and Sachin can turn their arm around. So we have a semblance of a decent attack.
In Melbourne and Sydney, i would pick Bhajji over Pathan. These pitches have traditionally aided spin. Bhajji and Kumble on a fifth day pitch can make life difficult. Anyways on a spinning pitch, I believe we can pile up runs better than on a fast bouncy track, hence can do away with a extra batting option in Pathan and give bhajji a chance to tweak the life out of Aussies.
My predictions??...Well most experts are predicting a 3-0 or a 4-0 whitewash of the Indian team.. considering what happened to Sri Lanka who came with a bowling attack of Vaas, Malinga, Fernando and the great Murali. I don't want to make a blanket prediction.. but i would say that the first test is the key. If we avoid defeat in the first test.. i think we will win the series. Yes win the series . And Yes i know we are playing in Perth (supposedly the fastest pitch in Oz). Aussies have traditionally feeded on the fact that visiting teams lose the first match and are low in confidence or are under presssure thereon. Look at what happened in the last tour. We avoided losing in first match and result is there for all to see. Though the final score-line for the series read 1-1, i think bucknor and parthiv patel denied us a certain series victory.
And don't give me that 'See what happened to Lanka' Shit. Sri Lanka barring sangakarra have a batting line-up nowhere close to the quality of batting this Indian team has. In spite of that Sri Lanka almost chased 500 in the second innings (lost eventually by 97 runs). Lets assume for a fact, that the Aussies will pile-up 500+ score. They do that against any attack scoring at almost four an over. So our weak attack as most claim .. will not really hamper us. The key is can we put an equivalent total to match their 500+ score?. The answer is YES. This makes me believe that we stand in a decent chance against the aussies.
Anyways you'll never have me predicting against India :). Call it misplaced pride or whatever you like. Vande Mataram.
And I seriously hope.. before the last bowl of the series is bowled.... Kumble turns towards Ponting ....Rajnikant style.. and closes his fist and sticks this forefinger pointing in the downward direction and says.. ..guess what??
"You are going down....Mate". Amen to that.
Well, Australia has been referred to as DOWN UNDER for as long as i can remember and as I kid i used to think that the reason was the performance of the visiting teams. Says a thing or two about Australian dominance doesn't it, when a kid starts thinking along these lines.
Anyways and thankfully i figured out the reason .. for Australia being referred to as DOWN UNDER. Apparently, Australia is only continent which lies completely below the equator in the southern hemipshere unlike Africa and South America... which have some parts above the equator. Southern Antartica is not considered, i guess, because in the globe, south antartica is shown contiguous extending into North Antartica... no one goes there anyways..... :)
I really hope we kick some arrogant Aussie butt. Batting wise - i believe Dravid should open with Jaffer. He comes one-down but is usually seen coming in within the first ten overs .. so i guess he might as well open. Infact, I believe facing your first ball in the tenth over is far more dificult than facing the first ball of the match. The bowler would be all pumped up having got the earlier wicket, he would have worked up a nice rhythm and pace till the tenth over....something we cannot say when the bowler is bowling his first ball, so dravid should open. No doubt about it.
So here's the lineup i would go for - Jaffer, Dravid, Laxman, Sachin, Ganguly, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Pathan, Kumble, Zaheer and RP Singh.
This makes Yuvraj bat around Sourav and Dhoni .. both lethal combinations. Laxman... needs time to settle and is solid against pace, so one-down is ideal for him. Pathan gives us batting depth plus third seamer option. Bowlingwise we would have Zaheer, RP, Pathan and ganguly as four medium pace options with spin from Kumble. And if we are bowling on the fifth day, Yuvi and Sachin can turn their arm around. So we have a semblance of a decent attack.
In Melbourne and Sydney, i would pick Bhajji over Pathan. These pitches have traditionally aided spin. Bhajji and Kumble on a fifth day pitch can make life difficult. Anyways on a spinning pitch, I believe we can pile up runs better than on a fast bouncy track, hence can do away with a extra batting option in Pathan and give bhajji a chance to tweak the life out of Aussies.
My predictions??...Well most experts are predicting a 3-0 or a 4-0 whitewash of the Indian team.. considering what happened to Sri Lanka who came with a bowling attack of Vaas, Malinga, Fernando and the great Murali. I don't want to make a blanket prediction.. but i would say that the first test is the key. If we avoid defeat in the first test.. i think we will win the series. Yes win the series . And Yes i know we are playing in Perth (supposedly the fastest pitch in Oz). Aussies have traditionally feeded on the fact that visiting teams lose the first match and are low in confidence or are under presssure thereon. Look at what happened in the last tour. We avoided losing in first match and result is there for all to see. Though the final score-line for the series read 1-1, i think bucknor and parthiv patel denied us a certain series victory.
And don't give me that 'See what happened to Lanka' Shit. Sri Lanka barring sangakarra have a batting line-up nowhere close to the quality of batting this Indian team has. In spite of that Sri Lanka almost chased 500 in the second innings (lost eventually by 97 runs). Lets assume for a fact, that the Aussies will pile-up 500+ score. They do that against any attack scoring at almost four an over. So our weak attack as most claim .. will not really hamper us. The key is can we put an equivalent total to match their 500+ score?. The answer is YES. This makes me believe that we stand in a decent chance against the aussies.
Anyways you'll never have me predicting against India :). Call it misplaced pride or whatever you like. Vande Mataram.
And I seriously hope.. before the last bowl of the series is bowled.... Kumble turns towards Ponting ....Rajnikant style.. and closes his fist and sticks this forefinger pointing in the downward direction and says.. ..guess what??
"You are going down....Mate". Amen to that.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A Question for each Occasion
What did I do this Diwali … I drove myself crazy with questions. A friend of mine, Ritesh Khera… invited me to spend Diwali with his family at his place in Chandigarh Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru, who yearned to create a city -
Chandigarh is a brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru, who yearned to create a city -The other planned cities in India are New Delhi, Bhubaneshwar in Orissa, Gandhinagar in Gujrat and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra (all built close to existing old cities - Delhi, Cuttack, Ahmedabad and Mumbai). Of course, I didn't know this till i stumbled upon an article in Wikipedia.
Anyways, I believe that even if you haven't parked yourself in a city - there are tell-tale signs - which tell you a thing or two about the city. Take roads for instance. The health of roads tell you whether the city government cares for its citizen - a parameter too important to ignore. The movement of traffic will tell you what kind of law and order to expect in the city. If people blatantly break traffic rules - you know there is not much to offer on the law and order front. Crime will not be too far away in such a place. The most common vehicle brand you come across will most likely be a decent indicator of average income of a city dweller. And finally always stop by and ask for directions in a city - and observe the way - you are directed. In most cases this simple interaction will tell you enough about the people residing in the city.
Chandigarh did remarkably well in all the parameters. What was noticeable though was that Chandigarh is not a city on the move. The vibrant buzz of Mumbai or Delhi is unmistakably absent. It has this undescribable relaxed air about it. My friend explained to me that chandigarh being a Union Territory houses government offices for the state of Haryana and Punjab. So you see more government players than corporate ones. May be that explains the lack of rush in people to get somewhere. Anyways, the city made me think of where do I want to settle down eventually. A wrong question at a wrong time. Almost ruined my Diwali.
The question triggered a chain reaction - adrenaline kicked in, my eyes popped out and brain cells went into overdrive - some exaggeration for dramatization is harmless :) A thought of quickly settling the issue by picking 'Mumbai' (check the adjoining pic) as the favored destination was entertained for a second before being dumped equally quickly. I have stayed in Gurgaon for almost two years now and have been to Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Manipal (in Karnataka) and now chandigarh - and must confess - I have been impressed by all of them. In the last two years - i have also been to Rishikesh/Haridwar and Roorkee in Uttaranchal, Dharamshala and Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh and Amritsar in Punjab, but i decided against settling down in these places :)
The pros and cons of each place did not lend themselves to easy comparison and made the whole process a nightmare. Then i decided to rate each place on parameters like crime/personal security; cost of living; job opportunities; city infrastructure - like roads, airport, etc.; traffic conjestion; availability of mass transit options; recreation options and finally eating joints - and all that left me in a tired state and most importantly without an answer.
I almost ruined my Diwali celebration thinking about the stupid question. While I was thinking of how i almost ruined this festival - i decided against "thinking" on all future festivals. Thinking of future festivals made me think of all coming festivals and especially the ones i enjoy, which ofcourse, led me to asking myself the question - which festival I enjoy the most? Ganpati festival or Holi or Diwali? A chain reaction (familiar by now) kicked in again.... and for 'almost ruining' my diwali... lets just say the question provided final FINISHing touches . Hope you had a good one :)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Mamma Mia.......
I can't seem to get enough of the movie - Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. I have already seen the movie five times. And looks like i am going to see the movie at least a few more times.
The movie starts with a pun citing a horological mistake in Nehru's independence day speech, better known as the 'tryst with destiny' speech. One scene later, we are propelled into late 1960s - early 1970s era. The turmoil leading to the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi, serves as the backdrop against which the roles of three characters - Siddarth (Kay Kay Menon), Vikram (Shiney Ahuja) and Geeta (Chitrangada Singh) - evolve.
The roles of each of the three characters are etched beautifully. The movie is about three people starting from one point (in this case Delhi College of Engineering) and moving along three different directions, only to find their lives hopelessly intertwined.
I don't want to go into the details of how the roles evolve, you can easily read the revie
ws anywhere. But i loved Vikram's role. For me, that is 'once in a lifetime' role. He is a sharp kid who knows his place in the society. His love for Geeta has to be seen to be believed. Kay Kay Menon is convincing in his role as a revoluntionary involved in a Naxal movement. Chitrangada Singh is stunningly beautiful. Period.
The two other movies that i chanced upon last week were - 'A Good Woman' on HBO and 'Johnny Gadaar' in a local PVR.
'A Good Woman', set in the 1930s in Amalfi, Italy, is based upon Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan. Starring Helen hunt (playing a seductress), Scarlett Johansson, Mark Umbers and Tom Wilkinson - this movie has some crisp dialogues, courtesy Oscar wilde ofcourse. His legendary take on the bourgeoisie society is evident from some of the witty lines you hear every now and then in the movie.... for instance...
'Gossip is alright.. it is the moralising that's in poor taste' .....woah....or
' I like America. Name me another society thats gone from barbarism to decadence ...without bothering to create civilization in between. Tribute to American efficiency' ....sharp eh....
'Cultivated leisure is man's true calling'.......or
'People call something an experience .... they usually mean it was a mistake' ......
Fantastic wit. The movie is alright .... but the dialogues make it a keeper.
The other movie - Johnny Gadaar - was the dark horse. I am surprised, the movie died without a trace. Had me hooked till the last scene. Too bad, you need to be backed by a big production house ... to get noticed.
It has been an excellent week movie-wise - the plots have been fantastic and the humor finetuned to my liking - just the way i like it. Next week, there's lot to look forward to... for starters.... Indo-Pak cricket series (can't wait to see Sachin whip bad-boy Akhtar to shape), followed by Diwali....cracking!!!.....then two blockbuster movies.... releasing..... Saawariya and Om Shanti Om.... bache ki jaan loge kya.... ;)
The movie starts with a pun citing a horological mistake in Nehru's independence day speech, better known as the 'tryst with destiny' speech. One scene later, we are propelled into late 1960s - early 1970s era. The turmoil leading to the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi, serves as the backdrop against which the roles of three characters - Siddarth (Kay Kay Menon), Vikram (Shiney Ahuja) and Geeta (Chitrangada Singh) - evolve.
The roles of each of the three characters are etched beautifully. The movie is about three people starting from one point (in this case Delhi College of Engineering) and moving along three different directions, only to find their lives hopelessly intertwined.
I don't want to go into the details of how the roles evolve, you can easily read the revie
ws anywhere. But i loved Vikram's role. For me, that is 'once in a lifetime' role. He is a sharp kid who knows his place in the society. His love for Geeta has to be seen to be believed. Kay Kay Menon is convincing in his role as a revoluntionary involved in a Naxal movement. Chitrangada Singh is stunningly beautiful. Period.The two other movies that i chanced upon last week were - 'A Good Woman' on HBO and 'Johnny Gadaar' in a local PVR.
'A Good Woman', set in the 1930s in Amalfi, Italy, is based upon Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan. Starring Helen hunt (playing a seductress), Scarlett Johansson, Mark Umbers and Tom Wilkinson - this movie has some crisp dialogues, courtesy Oscar wilde ofcourse. His legendary take on the bourgeoisie society is evident from some of the witty lines you hear every now and then in the movie.... for instance...
'Gossip is alright.. it is the moralising that's in poor taste' .....woah....or
' I like America. Name me another society thats gone from barbarism to decadence ...without bothering to create civilization in between. Tribute to American efficiency' ....sharp eh....
'Cultivated leisure is man's true calling'.......or
'People call something an experience .... they usually mean it was a mistake' ......
Fantastic wit. The movie is alright .... but the dialogues make it a keeper.
The other movie - Johnny Gadaar - was the dark horse. I am surprised, the movie died without a trace. Had me hooked till the last scene. Too bad, you need to be backed by a big production house ... to get noticed.
It has been an excellent week movie-wise - the plots have been fantastic and the humor finetuned to my liking - just the way i like it. Next week, there's lot to look forward to... for starters.... Indo-Pak cricket series (can't wait to see Sachin whip bad-boy Akhtar to shape), followed by Diwali....cracking!!!.....then two blockbuster movies.... releasing..... Saawariya and Om Shanti Om.... bache ki jaan loge kya.... ;)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Paper & Jerry Seinfeld
Question # 1: Why do u blog?
The Oracle: hmm… good question.
Question # 2 (slightly animated): Why do u blog?
The Oracle: That’s two good questions in a row…..
Question # 3 (Going Ballistic): Why the *#*% do u blog?
The Oracle: I ran out of paper… damn it… (i am horrible under pressure....)
Well it’s better than saying - ‘Nobody listens to what I have to say’ …
So i have decided that 'Lack of paper is going to be my reason for blogging'.... if only they could use less pages while printing the newspaper nowadays (last week's TOI supplements could have itself cost a forest) ..... everybody would then have paper.... to maintain a decent journal instead of blogging..... so the justification goes.....
Anyways, speaking of newspaper, reminds me of a famous quote by Jerry Seinfeld, who said -
“It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper”… witty eh? I know what you are thinking… No you cannot use it…
Here are some really witty ones from Jerry again -
“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason”
and this one…
“A dog will stay stupid. That's why we love them so much. The entire time we know them, they're idiots. Think of your dog. Every time you come home, he thinks it's amazing. He has no idea how you accomplish this every day. You walk in the door, the joy of this experience overwhelms him. He looks at you, "He's back, it's that guy, that same guy." He can't believe it. Everything is amazing to your dog”
And…
“I had a parakeet that used to fly around the house and crash into these huge mirrors my mother put in. Ever heard of this interior design principle, that a mirror makes it seem like you have an entire other room? What kind of jerk walks up to a mirror and goes, "Hey look, there's a whole other room in there. There's a guy that looks just like me in there."
But the parakeet would fall for this. I'd let him out of his cage, he'd fly right into the mirror. And I'd always think, "Even if he thinks the mirror is another room, why doesn't he at least try to avoid hitting the other parakeet?"
And…
“The Swiss have an interesting army. Five hundred years without a war. Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there. Corkscrews. Bottle openers. "Come on, buddy, let's go. You get past me, the guy in back of me, he's got a spoon. Back off. I've got the nail clippers right here."
One last good one…
I once had a leather jacket that got ruined in the rain. Why does moisture ruin leather? Aren't cows outside a lot of the time? When it's raining, do cows go up to the farmhouse, "Let us in! We're all wearing leather! Open the door! We're going to ruin the whole outfit here!"
Check out this wiki link for a truckload of good ones - http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jerry_Seinfeld
More later
The Oracle
The Oracle: hmm… good question.
Question # 2 (slightly animated): Why do u blog?
The Oracle: That’s two good questions in a row…..
Question # 3 (Going Ballistic): Why the *#*% do u blog?
The Oracle: I ran out of paper… damn it… (i am horrible under pressure....)
Well it’s better than saying - ‘Nobody listens to what I have to say’ …
So i have decided that 'Lack of paper is going to be my reason for blogging'.... if only they could use less pages while printing the newspaper nowadays (last week's TOI supplements could have itself cost a forest) ..... everybody would then have paper.... to maintain a decent journal instead of blogging..... so the justification goes.....
Anyways, speaking of newspaper, reminds me of a famous quote by Jerry Seinfeld, who said -
“It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper”… witty eh? I know what you are thinking… No you cannot use it…
Here are some really witty ones from Jerry again -
“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason”
and this one…
“A dog will stay stupid. That's why we love them so much. The entire time we know them, they're idiots. Think of your dog. Every time you come home, he thinks it's amazing. He has no idea how you accomplish this every day. You walk in the door, the joy of this experience overwhelms him. He looks at you, "He's back, it's that guy, that same guy." He can't believe it. Everything is amazing to your dog”
And…
“I had a parakeet that used to fly around the house and crash into these huge mirrors my mother put in. Ever heard of this interior design principle, that a mirror makes it seem like you have an entire other room? What kind of jerk walks up to a mirror and goes, "Hey look, there's a whole other room in there. There's a guy that looks just like me in there."
But the parakeet would fall for this. I'd let him out of his cage, he'd fly right into the mirror. And I'd always think, "Even if he thinks the mirror is another room, why doesn't he at least try to avoid hitting the other parakeet?"
And…
“The Swiss have an interesting army. Five hundred years without a war. Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there. Corkscrews. Bottle openers. "Come on, buddy, let's go. You get past me, the guy in back of me, he's got a spoon. Back off. I've got the nail clippers right here."
One last good one…
I once had a leather jacket that got ruined in the rain. Why does moisture ruin leather? Aren't cows outside a lot of the time? When it's raining, do cows go up to the farmhouse, "Let us in! We're all wearing leather! Open the door! We're going to ruin the whole outfit here!"
Check out this wiki link for a truckload of good ones - http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jerry_Seinfeld
More later
The Oracle
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