Life

The Kid has been caught and the wanted poster has been taken down. The has been presented. On 2nd december, 2008 the sentence will be declared. You, Sheriff, have been sentenced to Life! Muhahahahhahaha, the judge roared in laghter with the jury while they pointed their pointing fingers at his state of lost irony. You Sheriff, have been sentenced to life, the judge trumpeted, paused turned to Billy who'd figured he might as well join the laughter club, with Billy the Kid.

What?!

That's right, You Sheriff have been sentenced to life with Billy the Kid.

Bliss

like puffs of powdered sugar sweetening the air dissolving like sweet perfume in pink light. sublime thoughts escaping you your mind too feeble to hold on. your lips stretched into a smile, piercing into your chubby cheeks, already hurting.

"Why does one love? Why does one love? How queer it is to see only one being in the world, to have only one thought in one's mind, only one desire in the heart, and only one name on the lips--a name which comes up continually, rising, like the water in a spring, from the depths of the soul to the lips, a name which one repeats over and over again, which one whispers ceaselessly, everywhere, like a prayer."
- Guy De Maupassant

Dreaming

Just as you emerge from the darkest of the night, love creeps in to your life to whisper sweet nothing into your ear as you stir. Is it a dream flowing into life, you wonder. Then your phone rings, somebody calls to tell you it’s over. This is your wakeup call! Sublime thoughts escaping from you suddenly snap like a string of pearls. As they scatter, you reach for them but they’ve already dissolved. You’re left alone, only with the memory of the dream.
You are looking at your phone, feeling cheated, with loathing. The day looks even more loathsome, long and arduous. You’re wondering if you can go back to sleep and dream again, if you would ever be healed enough to allow yourself to be vulnerable again. The phone rings again.
“Aur kitna rulaogi?”
“Mein kahaan rula rahi hoon?”
“Kya tum nahin ro rahi ho?”
“Agar mein roun to kisi ko kya pharak padta hai?”
“I’m sorry, come back!”
You are plunged back into a dream again, and you never want to wake up.

WIP

Well as you can see re-decorating my space again :D. I know it's a little blinding at the moment, working on it. Any suggestion for improvement are most most welcome... There's definitely scope! :D

Ray, Kurosawa and Zee Studio, Sundays, 3 PM

Is a good slot to watch out for, if you are a Classic Cinema fan or even if you wish to initiate yourself into the genre.
April was dedicated to celebrate the magic of Satyajit Ray. I caught two very delightful pieces – Seemabaddha (Company Limited) and Joi Baba Felunath.
Seemabadha, contrary to popular belief about classic cinema, has a very relevant and current story line. And contrary to popular belief about Ray, the movie is not about poverty. It’s about an everyday guy like you and me, a young sales manager who is this close to becoming the marketing director of his company and his moral dilemma. It’s about the subtle relationship between a man and his saali (sister-in-law), and about business ethics. How much closer can it get to us! I’d say it should be included in the Non-classroom Learning sessions we had at SP.
Joi Baba Felunath was endearingly rib-tickling. A children’s movie based on a story by Ray himself, Ray always took immense pleasure in making literature for children, which is about a wannabe detective, a child with an obsession for his comic book hero and his old grandfather with an itch for adventure. As these characters take you through the meandering lanes of Banaras and give you an insight into the ‘baba’ rackets, still widespread today, the suspense mounts and twists are revelations.
Apart from this I’ve also seen Pather Panchali and Charulata both mesmerizing master pieces.
Yes, Pather Panchali is about poverty, but does not in any way glorify it. It is also about old age and childhood; running after the ice cream man and watching the train hurtle along its tracks. It’s about idly chucking stones into the pond and bothering the cat. Although not a happy movie, it is a fun movie to watch.
Charulata, is about women’s empowerment. Well not it in the current sense of taking up banners and marching down the street, but in the more subtle sense. It’s about how terribly bored a housewife can get and that she too requires some meaningful employment yaar!
I hope I’ve done a good job of attracting your attention to these movies. For better written reviews on the above movies read Jabberwock’s Notes. Alright there are no heroes jumping off cars and heroines running around the bushes, but hey, aren’t you looking for a break?
I’ve strayed from the topic , hence coming back to Zee Studio, Sundays 3:00PM. This month they’re celebrating Akiro Kurusawa, very befitting as Kurosawa was a big Ray fan. I caught Seven Samurai on 1st June. A movie I had been wanting to watch for some time, considering it was the original inspiration for Sholay. Caveat: It is nothing like Sholay although the plot still revolves around a village plagued by Bandits. There is no Thakur and the bandit chief is not half as impressive as Gabbar Singh. It is more about war strategies and camaraderie. There is a lot of comic relief, but it is not unintentional like Sholay. Watch this movie if you can.
Meanwhile you can catch the remaining Kurosawa lineup for this month; Throne of Blood (Adaptation of Macbeth), Yojimbo (I’m waiting for this one) etc.
If you’re not a Kurosawa fan worry not there is still a very impressive lineup of master filmmakers to be features on Zee Studio thanks to its partnership with Palador Pictures, including Wong Kar-Wai, Francois Truffaut, Jim Jarmusch and even Ingmar Bergman and Krzysztof Kieslowski. My Sundays are booked, I say! Please pass the word around.

Chukking Phattey!!

Well in the times of television, going to an actual stadium to watch a cricket match definitely makes you wish you had even better than 20-20 vision!

Venue: Visaka Cricket Stadium

Date: 1^st May 2008

Players: Deccan Chargers Vs Kings 11 Punjab.

Dad, lil sis, lil bro and me, little excited family pack huddle out of the car after an hour and a half long drive to the brand new Visaka stadium at Uppal. Well it’s so new they haven’t even finished constructing it yet (there’s a long story behind that too). There were these dancing balloon figures around the stadium that were quite amusing. So far, so good. Got into the entrance queue our ticket was checked. We were frisked (eewh..this is the real effect of terrorism, it’s more like discomfort-ism). Had to take the cello tape off my cell phone so that the security guard could remove the battery and check it’s authenticity. I don’t know what they really check. They confiscated all my 3 mineral water bottle and said I can purchase water inside. Cheapo money minters! Got my snacks coupon and got tagged. Yay!

I’m finally in. They were distributing those Rs. 6 per pack Sunfeast biscuits. I don’t like biscuits but I had no choice. I was forced to exchange my snacks coupon for 3 packs of Sunfeast.

We had bought the Rs 1000 tickets. Although the cheapest tickets in the house we couldn’t afford any more or didn’t think it was worth anymore. There were tickets ranging up to Rs. 5000. I’m shocked. Incidentally I hear the tickets in Mumbai are much cheaper they start at 400 and end at 1000. Why this discrepancy in prices, IPL? Well our seats were 4 flights up. There were no lifts and my dad suffers from arthritis.

So we reach our box. Since the stadium is still under construction the steps are only concrete, no cement. The steps are too narrow, only enough space to place your feet while in the chair. The widest of the steps allowed only 1 person to pass through at a time. The chairs were another story. Poor quality uncomfortable plastic chairs, so tiny and that everybody in the row was overlapping the next person. Good to back strengthening exercise.

While the audience grabbed their seats the cheerleaders took position. We were already thirsty so we converted my borther into a spot boy any made him run for water. He came back with 2 glasses of coke. They refused to sell him a bottle of water claiming that we would chuck it at the players once empty. Goes to show how much they’re expecting from the match. But I would have rather thrown the biscuit packets. Since they are heavier and more use less they would travel farther and hit harder. Finally the match started.

Gilly and Gibbs got out really quick. Very Very Slow Laxman chugged along the longest. Rohit Sharma brought a little hope and we cheered for him. There were no sixers till the wee end. We had to make do with chaukas. Meanwhile we got hungry and thirsty. The cool drinks and water had stopped flowing even before the end of the first inning. You only has the option of slice, which is too sweet and heavy for the occasion. The only option in terms of food were stale Frankies and Bingo.

So we’re hot and thirsty. There is an ominous cloud of dust forming over the stadium. Making the picture all the more gloomy. It tried to switch and cheer for the visitor team. They were equally bad. I found myself phasing out in the middle sometimes, and then telling myself to concentrate of the match.. I paid a hajaar bucks after all!

Oh and the cheer leaders! I feel for them. They have no clue as to what is going on. What is a boundary. How does a guy get out, nothing. They only dance when the music comes on. Every time Kings 11 did some thing there Deler Mendi would be warning you to “panga na le”. So the cheer leaders sitting there in this sultry atmosphere in plastic tights totally bored out of their wits. Ouch!!!

We left by the fifteenth over of the 2^nd inning. Don’t know how we survived that long!

Pitey, bahut bure pitey.

Prime example of Bad Customer Service

Cursed is the day I decided to shop at Lifestyle! Well it was women’s day and also LS’s anniversary. They had this really annoying guy with a mic prowling the floors for unsuspecting customers. Then he’d suddenly pounce on them, “Hello mam”, I’m not misspelling ma’am he really pronounced it like that! Aam with an ‘M’, might as well dial M for Murder!

Annoying Prowler: Hello Mam, what are you doing?
Me in my head: I’m taking a walk, the park’s too crowded
Victim customer: err…Shopping
AP: what is your experience mam?
Me: in my 5 yrs of work ex?
VC: good I guess
AP: Ok mam how many times can you say Kachcha papad, Pakka paapad? If you say it really fast 25 times I will give you this etc etc prize.

Hell that little twit is not the victim anymore, I am! Kachcha pakad pachcha pakar in soprano mode. 25 times with 10 customers. Ouch!
Still with all this torture absolutely determined I managed to pick out something I liked. Went to the trial room and guess what… I get to get frisked twice every time. Yeesh. What do u think I’m going to carry in or bring out? That your stupid detectors wont detect?!

I still, persistent old fool, found a shirt I wanted to buy. Stood in the cashier queue for 10 mins with AP still blaring into my ear, avoiding him and I finally reach the counter. Guess what! It’s a member’s only line. Where the hell are the boards? Nobody answers. They just leave. Next line, reach the counter, “if your bill crosses 5000 you’ll get a surprise gift”. Me, “what is the gift?” Cashier “It’s a surprise.” Me,” ok give me the damn coupon.”

I’m hunting for this god forsaken surprise gift counter. It’s in from the escalator in the middle of the hall. Grrr. They asked me to draw a chit. I made mom draw. Chit said, “CP, M, 44”, which apparently translated to Colour Plus, Men’s, size 44. What! Who the hell draws for size?!!! I understand brand, I understand item, I even understand colour…but size!!! Hello nobody in my entire khandaan even grew enough to wear a 44!! I requested him for a smaller size. No heed. “Hey! I didn’t ask for the gift. Now if you’re giving it to me at least make it nice and do not insult me”. No heed. Some other disgruntled customers agreed. Here take it back I don’t want it. Took it back, no heed.

Yuck!

The dull Routine of Existence

“My mind “, he said, “rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation…”

- Sherlock Holmes on being questioned about his drug abuse habits by Watson.

Am I missing that high? Definitely!