Thursday, March 30, 2006

Charity begins at home...

Tears trickled down Deepa's cheeks. She was really moved with the article on old age homes. It was sunday, and appa, Anand and she were relaxing in the living room sipping coffee while amma was busy cooking their favourite tiffin and giving instructions to the maid, Annamma. Appa was engrossed in the election news, while Anand was watching rangoli on Doordarshan. Deepa had managed to grab the supplement and this article had caught her eye. It was not the first time she was feeling emotional. It has happened lot of times while watching movies, news on accidents and fire, etc. There have been many instances like this when she had felt emotional and decided that she should do something for these people. Unfortunately her work kept her so busy that she barely managed to devote time for leisure activities. Infact Amma had been urging her to continue learning music and the music teacher had left her 3 messages about the new batch she was planning to start soon.

Hmm...Suddenly she found herself staring at the clock for a long time. Her fixed gaze at the clock caught her father's attention and he guessed that something was troubling her. He folded the newspaper and called out to her

"Deepa, inga vaa."(Deepa, come here)

She went and sat next to him. "Enna aacchu, yenna yosinchundrukkai"(What happened, what have you been thinking?)

"Nothing appa, naan andha article padichennai...kashthamaa irundhadhu."(Nothing dad, I was reading that article, and was feeling sorry for these old people)

She showed the article to her father who started reading it. Deepa heaved a sigh and left the room to wash the coffee mug. When she entered the living room again, appa asked her "hmm, thats a real touching article."

Deepa sprang to the seat next to her father on the sofa "Appa, can we do something about it, remember, amma was telling us sometime about a similar old age home in Sriperumbudhur, we could all donate for it!"

"Lets see Deepa, I cant promise anything now". "Come on appa, you always do this, is it not our duty to do something for our people?"

Anand was quick enough to say "Appa, adhu onnum illai, pona vaaram permission pottu RDB paarthuttu vandha illai...ellaam adhu impact dhaan" (Dad, remember she watched RDB last week taking a half a day off, its all the aftermath of that"

"Very funny, Anand, mind your own business. Btw, RDB does not have anything to do with old age homes etc" Deepa fumed.

Deepa's appa was like "What is this RDB you both seem to be talking about?"

Deepa and Anand in unison "Rang De Basanti"

Anand starts singing "lose control...lose control...i am a rebel"

Deepa snubs him "Aamaam, aamaam, nee seriyaana loosu dhaan" (yes, yes, you are a loose indeed)

By then amma announces that they can have their breakfast now. Deepa confronts her mom" See ma, i asked appa whether we can give some money to the sriperumbudhur charity, appa has not responded positively"

Amma was like "Come on Deepa, you cant be troubling appa for all that, he has so many other things to worry about!"

Before Deepa counterattacks her, she notices her father giving Annamma 2000 rupees "Annamma, unpaiyan padippukku rooba kettirundha pol irukku, indhaa idhai vechukko, nalla padikka sollu" (Annamma, you had asked money for your son's education right? here take this! Ask him to study well !!"

Deepa stood dumbstruck. She was overwhelmed with her father's deed. Amma whispered in her ears "Deepu, remember that we can always contribute like this to society, afterall charity begins at home!!!"

Deepa races to the service verandah and hugs her dad and says "Appa, I love you so much!"

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Hum Tum


Well, this is not the review of the movie "Hum Tum". Nonetheless a few words about the movie. I liked it very much. Though I had seen "When Harry met Sally" before, I liked this better afterall it featured Saif playing the lead role with Rani.

(If the Torpedo's http://thebangaloretorpedo.blogspot.com gonna find me lavishing praise on Saif, they gonna lash at me :p)

The songs were really cool especially "Saason Ko Saason Mein Dhalne Do Zara".Well this post is not about that.

I had been thinking of writing something about commonalities and differences between men's and women's perspective of things. It is not just not restricted to perspective but includes thought process, reaction to a common problem etc, etc. I want to write just about the nice ones...hopefully ! :)

As a harbinger to that, I was searching for a funny cartoon picture featuring boy and gal. Then remembered the famous Hum Tum Comic Strip. I love it so much...More comic strips of the same with interesting brawls between Hum and Tum can be found at the site:-
http://www1.yashrajfilms.com/homeent/cartoon_19apr.htm

Enjoy !

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Mistress of Acting Vices



I got this photo as a forward. I was really surprised to see Aishwarya Rai with a bowl of chillies. Thought maybe its the latest product she is endorsing, MDH Chilly Powder, Shakti Chilly Powder :) I like advertisements (except for the ones featuring the entire Indian Cricket Brigand). They are a nice breath of fresh air between the highly stupid and insensible Ekta Kapoor's "K" serials...My imagination zoomed and I even imagined her posing for the Chillies Ad.

"You are looking at the chillies used by the most beautiful woman in the world (to make bhaji)" (lol)

(pretty much on the likes of the Ad "You are looking into the eyes of the most beautiful woman in the world) Oh my god, thats too many chillies used for a meal course/bhaji...No wonder her words and gestures are so spicy (read as articulate) except for that silly infectious giggle...

Later I realised that this photo still is from one of her Ms Rai's so called latest english movie "Mistress of Spices". Looks like the Indian Movie Media is releasing the movie with fan fare in India. I am sure hundreds to thousands would rush to the theatre to watch her flick afterall she is rumoured to have stormed into Hollywood after being fedup with so many National and Filmfare Awards in her kitty for "Best NonActing Female" category :)

Hurray to the "Mistress of Acting Vices" oops I meant "Mistress of Spices" !!!

The weather syndrome...

I am feeling really dull over the past 2 days. I had made plans of reading the Order of Phoenix/Interpreter of Maladies this week but nothing seems to be working out...I am just not able to sit with a book for more than 10 minutes. Either I feel sleepy or feel disinterested :( Hmm...well I was always like that. Nothing could fascinate/keep me focussed for more than half an hour...I sometimes console myself saying its a birth trait, nothing is in my hands. Fed up with reading I decided to watch couple of flicks which I recorded during the weekend. I barely watch the same for an hour and then again, I pause it, change the channel, strain my hands so much due to surfing channels...Sigh ! To think of the plans I made last week while preparing my exams ! I had planned to wrap up reading couple of books, download new songs from the net and burn them into CDs to listen while travelling, make some delicious snack, enroll for guitar classes, etc, etc...Hmm...

I think the gloomy end of winter weather is taking its toll on me...



How I long to head back home and be with my mom and eat the lovely pakoras she used to make especially during rainy days...Adhu oru kanaa kaalam !

Monday, March 27, 2006

What irks me about Bride and Prejudice...

I managed to watch Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley starrer) two weeks back thanks to Sarathy who rented the movie from Blockbuster. I had been nagging him for quite sometime to rent the movie. I remember having read the novel "Pride and Prejudice". I liked it so much and later went on to read Sense and Sensibility and Emma. I love Jane Austen's works. A few years back I had watched the old version of Pride and Prejudice movie (English) on some english channel. Then Doordarshan made a serial called Trishna which was an exact adaptation of the novel and I watched that too...Later I bought an unabridged version of the book and added that to my books collection...

Last year my friends and I decided to watch Bride and Prejudice starring Aishwarya Rai and Martin Hendersen. I was not too keen on watching the flick as I was not a fan of Aishwarya's acting abilities or histrionics. The dame is beautiful but she cant simply ACT ! God knows how I managed to sit through the whole movie. All of us came out of the theatre with a headache.

I was feeling so bad that Gurindher Chadhdha after directing a lovely movie like 'Bend it like Beckham' could make something rubbish like this...thank goodness we watched the english version...friends who went to watch the hindi version "Balle Balle, Amritsar to LA" just sneaked out of the theatre in 30 mins fed up with the hindi utterances and the heroine's screen mother's gimmicks...

Well, well, this post is about the characterisation of that lady. Oh my goodness, what a contrast between the latest english version and Bride and Prejudice. Mrs Bennett (that's the name of Elizabeth Bennett's mom) characterisation is that of a mother who is anxious to get her daughters married.

Infact one of the conversations in the movie is like this:-

Elizabeth: Ma, can't you not think of anything else except getting us married?

Mrs Bennett: What do you expect an old lady with five young unwedded daughters in the house to think of if not getting them married?

Hmm...

Unfortunately the Punjabi Lady in Bride and Prejudice (Lalitha's mom)is shown to be onboxiously loud mouthed and almost sounds like a pimp :( The way she talks about getting prospective suitors for her daughters sounds more like a bargain. One more thing, the english version has the gals voicing their opinions to their mother especially when the lady says something ridiculous. Bride and Prejudice shows the gals meek and super submissive and dancing to their mother's tunes...

I think Chadhdha needs to do serious thinking about projecting India and Indians. Well, I dont wanna sound like patriotic here but I feel that if she wants to showcase India and the Indian Culture, let it have a positive feel...Watching Bride and Prejudice made me feel YUCK and I began to wonder whether there were really mothers like that around...:( Sigh !!!

After a brief hiatus


I had been very busy with exams and final assignments in short winding up the Winter Quarter.Thank God. It got over last week and I have a 10 day breathing time before the next Quarter begins. Uff...Tis why I hated studies especially the Quarter system :( Anyways to think that the sleep sacrifices I make now gonna fetch me a reward some day in the form of a financial management career brings a smile to my face. Back to blogging...or should say active blogging !!!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

A poem on financial calculator !

I am not sure how many people have seen a financial calculator leave alone using it. I was one of that kind until my financial planning programme at UCLA began this January. The students were supposed to introduce themselves at the beginning of the term and obviously I was not an exception. I wrote about myself (the usual blah blah), the country I hail from and concluded with few lines of my hobbies which unfortunately/fortunately included poetry writing. My instructor was quick enough to jump on this and requested me to pen down a poem on the financial calculator HP 12C. He said that there was no poem composed on a financial calculator before and pepped me up saying 'why dont you be the first to come up with it?'.

I agreed to his request half heartedly and procastinated the writing to the end of the Quarter. It struck me yesterday that the Winter Quarter's gonna end in a weeks time and so had to compose the poem. Hmm...I decided to give my brain some food for thought. I managed to come up with a poem yesterday.

A little history about HP 12C.Its one of the sought after brands of financial calculator and is an amazing electronic device with rocking powers and costing hell lotta money. It cost me half of my monthly pocket money :( Darn It !Its exclusively and exhaustively used by folks in the finance and accounting world.I bought it in the beginning of Jan as it was mandatory to have and use the same in my course.

Tis how it looks



And here goes the poem :-

I was wandering in the mall
In the last week of fall
Little did I foresee
That I gonna buy the HP 12C

Oh boy, it seems to be magic
this beautiful thing works on logic
donning the look of a simple calculator
tis works like a super computer

calculating the mortgage made me dizzy
thanks to the AMORT key, my life got easy
my friend's life was touching its lows
until the NPV key manipulated cashflows

for those with a penchant for bonds
the YTM key works like James Bond
for those with money in the bank
the INT key worked out the interest with a bang

for those who have a financial career
the HP 12 C makes life merrier
hurry up and buy this wonder today
if you have hopes of being a planner someday !


Thank goodness, my course lecturer liked it so much and is planning to use this in his future classes during the Orientation Sessions. Thats really some good news to hear :) The 'not so bad performances'in the mid terms had deflated my ego (just kidding). The feedback on the poem gave a boost to my spirits (i hope this spirit lasts enough until the impending final exams:)...)and convinced me that I am a good poet afterall :)

Monday, March 13, 2006

How I got annoyed by a guest...


I sometimes wonder why I always have to be the 'good host'. I like entertaining guests at home with home cooked food, movies, music, wines and beers for the drinking lot etc. Its not that there are people visiting Sarathy and me every weekend, we frequent his friend's home quite often too. I always feel that I should be a good host and ensure that all my guests feel comfortable. To ensure the same, I go out of the way and try to engage them in conversations about music, movie, sports, food etc. Though I like this trait of talking to all of them and keeping them engaged through lively conversations, sometimes I hate this about myself especially if I find the guest to be a COMPLETE GROUCH !

Only some have the trait of striking a chord with everyone as I have some friends who would be so busy talking to just one or two in the group that they would just forget the rest and make them feel aloof. I used to feel this really crazy and used to ensure that I socialise with everyone. I used to talk to the entire group (we used to hang out in groups sometimes on the busy roads of Bangalore) even if it had cost me a bruise as a consequence stumbling upon a stone on the road. Sigh ! Anyways let me tell you about this grouch...

A friend had visited us few weeks back. Actually he was not our friend but a friend's friend. As usual, trying to be perfect host (Oh god, my hosting histrionics are LEGENDARY :p), I tried to make him feel comfortable at our home by asking him whether he needed some refreshments. This guy (I guess he is in his 30's) did not bother to reply and I looked at Sarathy foolishly (I am sure Sarathy would have thought 'Oh god, there she goes again ! She's gonna be hurt'). I put that feeling aside and spoke to the rest of the lot. Meanwhile I had wrapped up my cooking and announced that 'dinner' was ready. Few of the lot had already had a taste of my cuisines and gave comments ('its good anu', 'lil salt should be added to saambar', 'potato curry is yummy' etc)(Its not that I expect compliments but courtesy! I know I am too demanding with respect to this but thats the way I am :(...)

This guy sat on the couch and was on the verge of sleeping. It was 1:00 AM and he had not had his dinner. When I insisted that he have his dinner, he did not acknowledge and continued to sit gaping at the TV with a beer in hand. Suddenly he got up and went straight to the kitchen, picked a plate, served himself and started eating. I was about to hit the bed so I told him that he could feel free to ask Sarathy or me if he needed something. He gave a sarcastic reply. By then I had lost my cool. I wanted to comment something badly but kept my mouth shut. The weekend passed quickly with some outing. It was time for the guests to go. To sound courteous I asked my friends including this odd one to visit us one more time. He was quick enough to retort whether he is allowed to visit us only once. I thought 'Enough is Enough, let me show this guy his place!'.I told him on face 'You could assume whatever you want!'

Oh god, some people have forgotten things like 'Courtesy', 'Politeness'. I used to feel that my father, my uncle's wife, my friend's father were the only bad hosts/guests but looking at some of these people, I feel that these nerds are no different from the yester generation...

Sigh !

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Are you sleeping?

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing,
morning bells are ringing
Ding Ding Dong, Ding Ding Dong.

This is one o fmy favourite songs. I used to sing these while I was a kid. I wanted to learn the french version but could not find the lyrics (there was no internet in 80's). Heard Jackie Chan singing the french version in "Around the world in eighty days". I liked it so much...it goes like this

Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,
Dormez vous? Dormez vous?
Sonnez les matines, Sonnez les matines
Ding Ding Dong, Ding Ding Dong

Listen to the instrumental version yourselves folks !
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/frere.htm

Laziness and Me...

I have been thinking of writing so many things over the past few days. I kinda have these thoughts while cooking something, struggling with my finance lessons or watching TV. Infact I managed to write down a gist of what I had been thinking, themes for poems etc but as soon as I log into the computer, I start reading the NEWS, blogs, sports and entertainments news etc etc. By the time I am done with reading and posting comments on blogs, the initial enthusiasm in me takes a beating and I dismiss my writing plans telling myself 'LATER'. On account of 'International Women's Day', I wanted to write something about the 'Women' who have meant something to me in life. This included my mom, my aunt, my friend's mom, my friends etc etc. I managed to save their photos in a folder too for the write up but never sat down to write. I just hope I write about them atleast before the next Women's Day. Hmm...how I wish I shun down the laziness in me and take up writing stuff seriously...Ellaam Sindhanai Dhaan (Everything is just a thought !) Darn me...

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Silent Assassin Strikes Again


The 'Silent Assassin' Anil Kumble clinched his 500th Test Cricket at the Mohali Grounds in the 2nd Test Match against England...Wow...Atlast perseverance has paid off...Kumble's feat is an inspiration to millions of young cricketers in India. I remember the match when Kumble continued to bowl with a bandaged head. Kumble had taken a ball to his head earlier in the day...Lot of critics wrote that its just a SHOW OFF...What rubbish ! We have to laud Kumble's dedication to the game as he lived upto the fact that he had to bowl somehow that day due to the dearth of spinners in that match...Hearty Congratulations to you, Anil !

Please pass on tips to young guns in the game and also to the ramp models in your team !!!

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Happy Women's Day

I have been getting mails from friends in India about 'International Women's Day' since yesterday. Though it is really nice to dedicate a day to Women sometimes I wonder whether its necessary. Critics always condemn the celebration of 'Mother's Day', 'Father's Day', 'Women's Day' etc. I tend to agree with them but then why do we celebrate a 'politician's birthday' and 'film star's bday' with fanfare? If celebrating 'Women's Day' is absurd then celebrating a 'film star's birthday' is the height of ABSURDNESS. Is Rajinikanth a God to have his birthday celebrated by the common man in India? Sheer Madness...These crazy youths ignore their mother's contribution to their life but celebrate some third person's birthday, anniversary day etc...geeks...

Anyways, wishing a very Happy Women's Day to everyone...

I am celebrating the same this year with a toast to my favourite actress 'Reese Witherspoon' who has clinched the Oscar this year. Thank goodness, I would not be mocked for watching 'chick flicks' again :)

Three Cheers to my mom, sarathy's mom, my aunt, all my girl friends and ofcourse to Reese !!!
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Location: Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

I love Doing ARTS and CRAFTS but somehow do not want to do it.


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