Blog Shack

2009-09-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Yes, I'm back and I'm looking forward to revive this blog again.

One might wonder what might have prompted someone to emerge from a self-imposed blog sabbatical.

Well, I was reading my own blog the other day and for a little while, it felt like time-travel. Going over the posts chronologically, I felt like I was reliving my life as the single girl in Arlington, who later became a Dallas single. Memorable times and adventures ! But the more things change, the more the stay the same ?;) I'm now the fabulously single girl in Chennai !

Recently moved to India now, after 8 years and odd abroad. Despite visiting often over the last few years, living full-time in India is a whole other deal and is proving to be a unique experience in its own way.

Since getting back, I noticed some of my friends recently taking up to blogging which further inspired me to revive my own blog.

I'm looking forward to posting vignettes and experiences of my move back to Chennai and life as it happens here. So cheers to blogshack - the Chennai edition :)

2006-12-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Now, THAT's what I call a proposal !!

http://all-about-a-boy.blogspot.com/2005/12/mangalyam-thanthuna-navajeevana.html

2006-08-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

Jillennu Oru Kalyanam

Before your eyebrows shoot all the way up your forehead, let me point out that I was referring to ,*sigh*, what is being dubbed by some media sources as the 'Wedding of the Decade' - the Surya-Jyothika wedding.

With a single move Sivakumar crushed the collective hopes and crushes of a million girls. But like every other girl is surely thinking, I say 'if it's not me I'm glad it's Jyothika !!'

*SIGH*

2006-08-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

Singara Chennai

Pondy Bazaar, Kapaleeshwarar Koil, Shopping in Lifestyle, Krishna Gana Sabha, Surya's Aircell ad posters around town, Grand Sweets Murukku, Hindu's Friday special in print, the sound of road traffic in the distant background as I type this post . Just some of the things that affirm to me that I'm not dreaming - I really am in Chennai.

My fourth trip to this city in 6 years and I'm amazed how I feel a sense of absolute happiness and peace that experience only in this city. Between all London, L.A and everything in between, I'm both surprised and yet not to see how it is only in Madras I hardly miss my life on the other side of the planet.

2006-05-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

"..................."

In today's connected world, when there are a million different ways to reach out to a person - IM, Email, Voice Mail, CellPhones, Landlines, SMS and the old fashioned face-to-face communication - what's a girl to make of a silent phone, a closed door, an empty inbox and zero offline messages ? Sometimes silence speaks louder than words and it's saying only one thing - "I'm not thinking about you".

2006-05-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Loser !!

How should I announce the fact that I'm 15 pounds lighter without sounding like I'm tooting my horn ? I could just tell you that news straight out or could slip it in in between completely irrelevant pieces of blog paragraphs (""Opal Mehta" is either one confused Indian or has roots in Sowcarpet, Chennai. I Lost 15 Pounds . But besides the sketchy family background, Opal is just plain confused. ).

But you know what, I'm going to skip the news. I think I will reserve it for a better time when you know, my advertisements endorsing 24-Hr fitness come on T.V. Until then... *self control!!!*

But given that I've let the cat out of the bag about the news that I work out at 24, I must confess that the toughest part of working out .. is getting to the gym. After that, it's smooth sailing or.. as in my case, running, cycling and stretching. Thank goodness for those nifty slots for headphones and those T.Vs. Had I been born in a pre-TV era, I wouldn't know how to burn off those calories without first dying of boredom.

Since we are on the topic of appearances, did I mention that I got this rocked out hairdo. Don't worry, we are not talking hair extensions and the like here. Just the usual salon treatment that involve extreme heat, conditioner and scissors in the hands of an expert stylist. I barely looked like myself after the 1 hour session.

Okay, okay, before you assume I'm going to launch into a plagiarized description of my new "look" a la Kaavya Viswanathan courtesy of "The Princess Diaries" ("There isn't a single inch of me that hasn't been pinched, cut, filed, painted, sloughed, blown dry, or moisturized. [...] Because I don't look a thing like Mia Thermopolis"), let me just say this : It is no longer a mystery to me that filmstars look as good as they do everytime. Because, honey, if you have an A-grade hair stylist, fashion stylist plus manicurist-pedicurist-all-rolled-in-one beutician going wherever you go, how can you not look like a million bucks ? Infact after this revelation, I pity those poor souls who, despite all this treatment, still look like something the cat dragged onto the red carpet.

That said, I have a confession to make: I dig Akon's "Belly Dancer" track. I am not a great fan of R&B, given that the lyrics are full of expletives and the videos are mainly about a bevy of sparsely clad girls. But in this case, I have not seen the video. All I know is that when I am on the verge of death after a 45 minute cardio on the treadmill, this song gets me supercharged to push another 15 minutes. Ladies, if you must work out, I also strongly recommend Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" although this one's purely aspirational.

Alrighty, this post has cost me a pretty 500 calories - I skipped 24 to blog. That said, adios amigos.

2006-02-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

One thing others don't know about you ...

What do you do when someone throws a curveball like that at a team dinner? I blanked for a minute before I smiled and said "I Blog!" (and inwardly "or atleast used to").

What is the politically correct answer for questions like "what is the URL", "where can i read it?" et al. None, of course.

2006-02-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

Rang De Basanti

Am I the only one to find Sharman Joshi C-U-T-E ?

I didn't think so, going by his popularity on the net. Try this

2005-06-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

Christmas in June !

I finally joined the millions who trade their pennies for a song download ! I know I'm late to the Itunes party but hey, when MSN anounced their new promotion of 5 songs free for a single paid download, I caved ! It was a gotta-have-it thing and I already had a mental check list for songs that I'd been thinking of downloading - legally.

In my opinion, regardless of how many hundred songs you download later I think the first few downloads are special. Invariably it's always the top-of-the-mind recall, much craved for song that's been playing over and over again in one's head that translates to that first search. In my case it was, without a doubt, Mariah's "All I want for Christmas" ,

2005-05-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Mother of All Ironies

NBC hawking the show "I want to be a Hilton" hosted by Kathy Hilton, a certain Paris' Mom. A show that will talk about grooming, etiquette, being classy and the whole nine yards.

That advertisement quickly followed up by Paril Hilton's Car Washing-Sandwich Chomping-Vague Dancing-Multitasking act (for the hitherto unknown Carl's Jnr Burger ad) that will remind even the most forgetful viewer about Ms.Hilton's other, less fortunate brushes with the camera.

So, do you really want to be a Hilton ?

2005-05-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

Time Traveler Convention : 8:10 P.M, May 7 2005, Morss Hall in Walker Memorial Building, Building 50, MIT Campus

There are very few things that demand the attention of even the laziest blogger to wake up from a long hiatus and respond with blazing urgency. This new item from the New York Times is one of them.

A Time Traveler Convention is being organized by some students of MIT which they hope will be attended by those from the future and hopefully, some from the past.
Dorai Amal , a graduate student of MIT is one of the students who believes time travel is possible and seems to have given much thought and effort into organizing the event.

While Amal and his peers do believe that the odds of a traveler actually making it to their convention are 1 in a billion or 1 in a trillion, hey have tried to cover all bases to ensure time travelers are still able to make it despite the odds.

For one, they have provided the precise latitude and longitude of the East Campus Courtyard : (42:21:36.025 degrees north, 71:05:16.332 degrees west), should it be that the MIT campus fades into oblivion in the distant future. Secondly, to validate proof of the attendees, time travelers have been requested bring some information with them that is unknown as of 2005 - such as a solution for a complex long-unsolved mathematical problem or even the cure for cancer !

Amal does claim that a single time traveler convention should suffice for all of time, given that time travelers can always travel in time to attend it.
However, given that as of 2005, we don't the technology for time travel yet, this is the only one we can attend.

Though, as the New York Times reported, no future time-traveling attendees have been confirmed, there is one purported attendee from 2026 !

Amal's website is a must-read for any time-traveler stumbling on this blog within the next year (That site will not be available a year from now) or even a typical average joe of 2005 just plain curious about the event. To publicize the event to as many people from the future as possible, Amal Dorai, urges us - people from the present - to :

"Write the details down on a piece of acid-free paper, and slip them into obscure books in academic libraries! Carve them into a clay tablet! If you write for a newspaper, insert a few details about the convention! Tell your friends, so that word of the convention will be preserved in our oral history! A note: Time travel is a hard problem, and it may not be invented until long after MIT has faded into oblivion. Thus, we ask that you include the latitude/longitude information when you publicize the convention.

You can also make an absolute commitment to publicize the convention afterwards. In that case, bring a time capsule or whatever it may be to the party, and then bury it afterwards"

To that end, I suppose I've done my part ! All ye time-travelers out there, if you still see this blog, show up and let us know !!

As for you, dear reader from the present, if you're like me and wished you could attend it today, too bad, we were expected to RSVP by this past wednesday. But Amal still encourages us we can still hope to attend it, albeit by traveling back in time to it, should time-travel become a reality as we progress into the future !

2005-03-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

"I am Indian. I am American. I do customer support."

That was the title of the article on Salon.com by a certain Sumana Harihareswara that annoyed me so much that it drove me to shoot off a response to it to the editor.

Sumana Harihareswara's article seems to reek of a certain condescending attitude that is quite typical of people who wish to believe and make others believe they are white people "trapped" in brown bodies.

I'd like to ask the author why there are so many americans learning spanish , complete with their R's as authentic as a farmer in Mexico ? Just so they can further their job prospects in America. So what is so wrong about Indians picking up an American Accent ( they already knew English by the way) or as Sumana believes, her "birthright", if that gets them some easy cash ?

So she waxes on about the average hapless Indian, almost as if all of them rushed to Call centers from paddy fields, ("And my cousins, riding out of the Indian rice paddies on a train that history accidentally left behind, are learning to replace me".) and how "We" (conviniently including herself with the "First Worlders") value results over process. Like as if the Indians, who are by now probably world reknowned for being engineers and doctors in our world and theirs, didn't know the first thing about "Results" or "Process". I thought the subject of the article was call center work, which normally attracts high school drop-outs in the U.S, not rocket science !

And finally, it's surprising for a person of Indian Origin herself to talk about the attitude of Indians as being innately Servile ("Does mystical Eastern stoicism make us good at this job? The empathy for the conqueror that all colonial people have to learn? For me it is a job, and for them it is liberation."). I for one believe that Indian call workers are more patient and well mannered because they are raised to be mannerful, not because of some misplaced notion of subserviance.

I strongly suggest the likes of Ms.Harihareswara take a good second look at the society they so easily and blatantly deride. Like it is for her, for many call center workers in India it's just a job as well. Many are college students who use it for some pocket change. And life is certainly extremely appealing in India right now where there's a great balance of the east and the west.

As for her column, I wonder if a white american writer using terms such as "The empathy for the conqueror that all colonial people have to learn?" would have gotten away with such an article without an apology ? If not, why is it considered okay for an Asian to make disparaging remarks about her own , rather, disowned society ?

2005-02-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

Rah Rah Ash-war-ee-ah

These days it appears, not a day goes by without seeing Aishwarya Rai's namein some online news magazine, TV interview or magazine cover. And to think this is actually happening everywhere between L.A and London and not just Bombay. Even moreamazing is the effort that Americans seem to be taking to say her name right (Ash-WAHR-ee-ah Rye) and the standard "Bollywood 101" that now precedes or succeeds each news item on her.

This post has been a long time coming, not because I'm a huge fan of Aishwarya Rai but because the achievement of crossing global borders and being the first real Indian, let alone Asian, actress to have a real chance at Mainstream western cinema is interesting by itself ! (For those snobs who don't consider pop-culture as blog material, I'd like to know why sports centric, Tendulkar-adoring posts are acceptable on blogsphere.)

First CBS's 60 minutes was achievement in itself, given that it's a show that only showcases personalities that it deems important enough. Next it was followed upby Letterman's show - given that it caters to Mainstream american staple of entertainment and showbiz, I wouldn't call it a big deal for a true-blue american actor, butis so very cool for an Indian actor's entry to Hollywood. That's about when I thought, I'd consider it she's really arrived if she features on Oprah. Guess who's featuringAishwarya on their show next ?

On the print media, CBS , USA Today and Salon have accorded her a fantastic welcome. It makes one really proud to see an Indian actress, who at the very least comes across as sincere in her ambitions to be an ambassador for India and it's movies. There are those that suggest other names who are more deserving actors of such adulation.

That may well be the case, but the fact that Aishwarya has it made is no fluke and infact is but natural given that she doesn't seem to have any obvious handicap when trying to break the glass ceiling. To go much beyond where South Asian Men and Women have already gone in Western Movies - which so far has involved playing racial stereotypes, side-kicks and supporting roles, it doesn't hurt to be an officially acknowledged world reknowned beauty, and the most sought after name on Google and MSN and to have a fan base that's nearly 40% of the world's population.

Besides this, I'm really glad that although she's known as quite the stunner, oddly enough she comes across like any other average Indian girl. Her prudishness, which is a rarity among actresses anywhere, intelligence and her middle-class values towards family have been as much in the news as her movies.

Surely there's the Urmila, Rekha, Madhuri or even Raveena, who've come across as commendable actresses, but it's been proven that it takes more than *just* acting skills (Seema Biswas) or *just* stunning looks (Lisa Ray) or just sophistication (Simi Garewal) or just intelligence (Nandita Das) to have a global audience. Apparently one needs a lot, not a dash, of everything. Interestingly enough, as an aside, I'm clueless where the normally sycophantic and perenially crabby Indian press that publishes every little Bachhan moment and Amrish Puri's Hollywood daliances, disappeared to with regards to this story.

(If there's one crib, that would definitely have to be her "official" website which looks so Ghetto and Ameteurishly done that I didn't want to link it.)

Technically, there's nothing Hollywood can do for Aishwarya that Indian films have not already done for her, except of course the Oscar. And quite frankly, in a society where the likes of Paris Hiltons and the Kate Hudsons are considered stars, Aishwarya is rather over-qualified. So what remains is the journey itself, and hope that is a memorable one and not just another classic case of also-rans.

2005-01-15T01:13:00.000-08:00

"Only on eeee-E-Bay!"

The stuff on E-bay gets weirder and weirder by the day. Some are very obvious targets of ridicule and the others just incredulity. After all, the what-have-you's on E-bay that fetched a tidy sum for the seller have been amongst other things : Gum allegedly spit out by Britney Spears, A woman giving away her father's ghost, Grilled cheese Virgin Mary,and according to the Tonight show, A man's "happy midwest childhood" (Yes, you could have been the chosen one to buy his childhood for $192), what's left of water in a cup that elvis drank from and not to forget, E.T's face in a nutra Grain a la Face-in-the-Grilled-Cheese !

I think E-bay can stop advertising since the items on sale put E-bay in the news anyway !

2005-01-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

India Giving

This story was so heart-warming to read and it made me wish I could be there to feel the spirit in the air.

Totally, the PMO of India has come up with Rs.403 Crore and still counting.

It's simply amazing to see the world open their pockets and hearts to give so much.

2005-01-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

On my Bookshelf

The past couple of weeks I've managed to catch up on my reading. I will gladly review them, but a little later. My fingers are achy and in no mood to type the whole thing.

For every girl who's ever waited by the phone ...and still didn't get the message (literally and figuratively): "He's Just not that into you".

101 Mistakes even smart women make: "Nice girls don't get the corner office" (Read-"How to succeed without becoming a bitch")

How to blow your own trumpet: "How to get Rich " By (who else?) Donald Trump.

2005-01-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

A sober New Year's Eve

For the first time in a long time, I think twice before I waste my food, throw water down the drain or leave the lights on absent-mindedly. The Tsunami and more importantly the incomprehensible devastation that followed is entirely responsible for it. More than once while watching T.V I was moved to tears. And no matter how many times I watch the clip of Meghna Rajshekhar braving her tears and fighting the lump in her throat to say "I am alright, Papa , Mama, please come back again", I always end up with tears stinging my eyes. She comes across as extremely mature and eloquent in her description of the tragedy and her traumatic experience.

So in the face of such destruction and human tragedy, why is the Tsunami tragedy not taken seriously enough as a reason to refrain from New Year's eve merry-making ? More than once, I told more than a few people that I didn't feel upto going out, spending money, watching the fireworks and rejoicing the new year. But it's received, even by my fellow Indians, with a sense of incredulity. As if that's not a plausible or convincing reason enough for one to cancel new year's eve plans. Are we as Indians so innured to the number of deaths we read about everyday in the papers that a fresh tragedy claiming a few or even a lot more lives feels like just another statistic ?

I still wonder how New Yorkers, as only New Yorkers can, put up such a garish celebration of New Years, as resounding as the last, when 150,000 human beings were wiped out from the face of the earth just a week ago. The irony is that New York, being a cornucopia of cultures, has a phenomenal number of asians each year turning up at Times Square for the celebration. I think one minute of silence followed up 3 hours of New Year Gala is a very shallow expression of grief. Especially so, when in Europe, countries big and small, publicly toned down their new year celebrations if not completely cancelling them as some countries did.

In the meantime, I hope I never forget the pain I saw on the faces of the survivors. As the next few weeks and months rush by for me on the other side of the planet, I want to remember to be thankful for all I have and pray for all the good that can be for the people who survived. After all, what really distinguishes humans from animals is that we as a species can empathize, share and shed a few tears over the other's pain.

2005-01-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

Dec 25 2004

Holiday Shopping

The holiday season is particularly stressful to me. The ads on T.V, the bright red sale signs all around, shops pleading, imploring to buy their goods while simultaneously threatening implicitly that the sales would end soon. Almost as if they were hawking their wares for free for the next few days and after that they'd go back to being their cocky-self and revert to their exhorbitant ways. With so much "sales-fever" in the air, I'm almost compelled to shop. It feels as if doing anything else is a waste of time when the rest of the world is zooming on the roads, beating their way to the malls to save a bunch of money.

But knowing that I've a streak of compulsive shopping in me, I wanted to see how long I could hold out before I caved. Invariably, 10 times out of 10, I would return with things that were nowhere in my shopping list but which I spotted somewhere on the way to the cash counter. I kept myself busy - working past 6:30 and after that it becomes "Oh, look, it's so late, surely there wouldn't be any time to really look around let alone shop !". And so it went all through the second week of december. I felt in controlof the situation until finally, when the holiday season gradually cut down on the workloaduntil a point when I could no longer hide behind the work. Now I was forced to assess the situation of my wadrobe and see what I was trying to avoid. Sure, boots to go with the jeans would be nice, and a wrap-around coat would be perfect for the winter chill. Oh, I will definitely need a few formal shirts.

But determined to put some order to the madness (of shopping), I put down a list and decided to only shop for those on my "must have" versus "nice to have" list. So, one day, when there was no more work to get done for the day, no more bills to get paid, no moreerrands to run, I embarked on my "holiday shopping" trip - on Christmas eve. It turned outthat it was too little enthusiasm too late. The shelves were wiped clean of clothes at almost all the stores. It looked like an army of shoppers had gone about plundering the store leaving a trail of hangars and the conclusively unsaleable goods in their wake.

I was left looking at some limp shirts hanging listlessly in their hangers - the ones that no one wanted to pick. Or I was left looking at lovely sweaters but with sizes designed for anorexic

Barbies. Or if the size and style looked okay, invariably the color was so loud on me, people could hear it in the next room.

I rued over the fact that here I was - list, purse, credit cards and all - but there nothing left to buy ! The huge "SALE" signs looked like a joke and I had myself to blame - after all while the rest of town snapped up deals I was testing my abstinence.

2004-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

Idhu dhaan da Dallas !!

The anouncement "Ladies and Gentleman, We've arrived at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport and we'd like to be first to welcome you to Dallas ....." was music to my ears. Dallas Rocks and to think I hated it for four whole years. I had an unexpected change of heart when I left for Burlington and the day I returned to Dallas, I really felt I've finally arrived to a place I belong. It wouldn't be too long a shot to say that it was one of the factors in taking up the new job.
I remember cribbing not so long ago about how boring Dallas is, how there isn't a major social scene going on etc. But when I actually saw the grass on the other side - an existence in a city that was almost rustic inspite of having the world's largest tech company in their city -with no channel for any form, Indian or otherwise, kind of entertainment - food / cinema / shopping/culture , I literally came, But a 25 year old needs a life beyond just beautiful mountains, exotic scenaryand 6 months of knee-deep snow.

I missed the cosmopolitan, cross-cultral experience. Besides, Dallas in comparison to several other cities in the U.S with its huge indian population, tons of Indian restaurants, theatres and always has something to offer for the homesick Indian. And if I may add, it's also got more young people than Burlington, which makes it all the more interesting. More than anything, it's great to be in a city you connect with and are extremely familiar around.

As far as living goes right now, for once I don't wish I was someplace else professionally or geographically (well, with the exception of Madras). I love the area I live in, I love my apartment and everything in between. Sure, like everybody else's, my life isn't perfect, but if it were a person I'd give it a big hug.

2004-10-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Story So Far

After that wonderful trip to New Hampshire, it was time to get down to business. And the following week I did something that I never thought I could actually do - I quit from my dream corporation. My manager was surprised,but so was I. But I just knew I had to as I could not turn down a full-time job offer and as much as I loved my work I really wanted to be in control of my life so to speak. I think this sounds cryptic,but let me just sum what I'd rather not say in so many words : the true use of being an educated, thinking adult, I think, is to apply the wisdom to the business of living, so as to be able to live life on one's terms and experience freedom in every sense - physical, mental and legal. So I didn't think I could let the opportunity slip by.

The team still needed to wrap up some modules for a release coming up, so I decided to leave after completing my end of the work. The good news is that the team as well as the manager were understanding about the whole thing. Not that they could have done anything about it, but atleast they sincerely meant well.

All said and done, I don't feel I'm quite done with the corp once and for all yet..I think (and also hope) we'll meet again.

The evening of my last day there, I was feeling particularly sentimental. I hadn't exactly spent one year and I even remember feeling very worried about the whole shift to Vermont a few months ago. But now I was getting all sentimental to the point that I was wondering if I was even doing the right thing in leaving. I get easily attached to things I think - to apartments, places, roomies, practically anything or anybody that lasts for more than a few weeks.

After a period of mourning that lasted one evening, the next day I was busy cleaning, packing and wrapping up my stuff at Vermont. I think one of the biggest things about living alone is that it lets you think at your own pace, figure things out, actually read the thoughts as they come to your mind, toss an idea around and around till it becomes somewhat, if not, perfectly clear.

I finally concluded that it's not possible for anybody to judge if a particular career move is the perfect one or not. You have to go with the flow, and learn as you go. The new job I'd be taking up will be very different in certain aspects of work from what I've been doing. I will be using the same skills and some new ones, but will be applying them in a different approach. It will also involve a fair degree of travel. Come to think of it, it's like an adventure. I don't think it's possible to embark on such adventures when I'm all settled in life.

I think I did what I felt was the most rational move at the time and one that would add more stability to life at this point. I'm really looking forward to it.

2004-10-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

A Weekend with Friends

This past weekend I spent in the "Granite State" or New Hampshire as it's more widely known. I am actually making the most of my stay in the North East area , catching up with friends of mine in nearby states. Had a great time with Monz , A and Hari.I think the theme of this weekend was "weddings". I heard so much of it that by the end of the weekend I was beginning to feel nervous. This classmate of mine tied the knot, that batchmate is about to get married, these people are celebrating their anniversary, and on and on and on. The most stunning news I'd heard as far as weddings go was that of two of my undergrad classmates had quietly tied the knot 2 months ago...and more than half the class didn't know about it. Wonder why..But I was elated for them..it was one of those things ...you always suspected but were never sure of. Both are wonderful people, are a perfect match for each other and best of all, their parents gave them their approval without giving them any grief. It's also a little odd though to think of them as ...man and wife ! I mean, who knew 8 years ago when we were in the 1st year of college, there was a future couple amidst us ? I bet neither did they.

It also made stark the fact that we were finally adults. The growing-up phase was over. I don't know when the giggly bunch of boys and girls (esp the boys who actually ragged each other when one of them spoke to some girl in the class) actually became mature enough to handle relationships. Mature enough to remain composed or talk without batting an eyelid when they hear about so and so moving in with their significant other or getting engaged or married. It's a wonder when I look at my classmates now who sound every bit the articulate, successful, confident young people they are. It's funny also how immediately holy matrimony brings about an air of respectability for people. You actually feel bad about taking about their past (if they had any) because now they are "married people". The change is beautiful, sudden, unexpected and also a big sign !

Along the lines of that newsflash, more than half the girls of my batchare are now married. Almost every second month I hear someone in my circle of friends tying the knot. This brings me to the next mystery - how do people know "This is the ONE" ? (I think that's a topic I can dedicate an entire post to..so later on that.) Besides that point, I'm wondering what the big tearing hurry is to settle down. Surely they could've waited ..'til I found someone too ;) I know this "wait for meeee" attitude is verry school girlish..but....

Okay, coming back to talk about New Hampshire, I finally saw what New Englanders (?) have been bragging about. Fall is just about to hit it's peak in a couple of weeks and Hari took us on a great trip around NH in his off-the-showroom-new Honda. We made a trip , rather an attempt to go to the White Mountains, but we messed up our map, a thundershower seemed imminent, and so despite being so very close to actually being there, we stopped at a nearby coffee shop and had some nice country-side coffee enjoying the onset of rain before we turned back. On sunday afternoon, the ride to Vermont in the grey hound bus by the big, long windows was a visual treat what with being able to see a wonderful trail of fall colors all the way from NH.

I wished I could have rented a car, but as incredible as it sounds, neither Hertz, Enterprise or Thrifty had any car to rent over the weekend. The reason was this parent's weekend at the University of Vermont for which people had flown in from all over.

Did you know that New Hampshire's motto (as seen on all automobile plates) reads "Live Free or Die". I was actually surprised to learn that NH is the only state that does not have seat-belt laws. Sounds more like "Live free and Die"..

2004-09-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Eye-Catchers

Sharia-Compliant Banking

A new type of banking, termed Islamic (and therefore Sharia-compliant) banking, seems to have emerged that was designed for Muslims in mind, but has found scores of non-muslim consumers. Since Islam considers charging interest on money or even paying interest a sin, quite contrary to the capitalistic philosophy of the west, some banks have emerged across the world - from New Zealand to Malaysia - that offer mortgages and loans without interest.

Since it eliminates huge interest rates, non-muslim consumers too find it appealing. So what's in it for non-muslim banking and accounting companies like Deloitte, HSBC and Citigroup that are now actively engaged in creating Islamic banking centers ? They get to service a huge, trillion-dollar worth of muslim funds, not to mention scores of non-muslim customers. Loans minus the interest amounts to venture capatalism where both the lender and the borrower share the risk as well as the profits - which if handled carefully could translate to greater benefits than just interest over the principal !

Get to read the full story here

The what.. ?

Gurindar Chadha's ("Bend it like Beckam" fame) latest movie's titled "Balle, Balle, Amritsar to L.A". This is in keeping with her tradition of giving corny desi titles to (her) global movies. You did know that the hindi version of "Bend it Like Beckam" goes by the name "Football, Shootball ! Hai Rabba!" right ..? And for some reason Aamir Khan's new film ("Paint it Yellow") is giving me the giggles. "Rang de Basanti" is supposedly the hindi version with Nelly Furtado rumoured as the lead. (Will she be playing "Basanti" ?).

2004-09-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Great to see you, Dr.Singh !

PBS, (Very) late last night, aired an interview with Dr.Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India who's on his first visit to the U.S. I noticed that hardly any mainstream American channels are even bothering to talk about his visit, much less interview him. Of course, I believe, the Paki president is also getting the same warm welcome by the media. Most of the noise about their respective trips seem to be made by the Asian media.

Coming back to that interview , since Dr.Singh took the hot seat, it's the first time I got to see him and I realized how much he has aged over the years. He also seemed to lack the charm that characterized Vajpayee's U.S visits, but hey, bet Vajpayee couldn't comment on the Indian socio-economic/ political scene with the mark of an economics scholar.

For the most part, he was polite and to the point about answering questions on what the priorities are for India today, peace-keeping approaches with the Neighbor, outsourcing , reverse-brain-drain and India's stand on the Iraq war. Must say, not many heads of state can sound as much the authority on their country's economy as he did when talking about the Indian economy, why he chose to push it in a very capitalistic direction despite coming from the struggling middle-class strata himself, and the road ahead.

Among other things, I particularly liked his response to the question : "What would you say, about what the U.S needs to understand about how it is viewed in the International Arena, and how it's policies are perceived by the rest of the world". His reply (and I'm paraphrasing this) was super diplomatic, yet drove home the point that primarily the war should not take on an approach of the world versus Islam. And that India is certainly qualified to comment on this, since it has nearly 150 million muslims and for the most part is secular.

And coming a close second to that response was his reply to "What do you see as the most viable politically correct solution to the Kashmir Problem" : " We regard the Kashmir issue as a symptom of a larger problem. It has to be, given that we've had this issue go on for the last 50 years and involved 3 wars. So, we'd like to build confidence with our neighbor and address the real issues that bother them". Me thinks it's the Dr's polite way of telling the neighbor "Besides the fact that your point of view is flawed, I'm beginning to think you need a shrink"

P.S: Is it just me or is it really true ? Despite the U.S calling the Russian school massacre the Russian 9/11, I noticed that neither the print / web / television media didn't give the tragedy the due coverage. The kind of coverage it would have received had it taken place in the U.K or within the U.S. It's now almost swept under the carpets.

Catch excepts of the interview at the Indian Express

2004-09-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

Finally Fall

Today is the first day of Fall (from 12:30 PM to be precise) and Vermont looks breathtaking already. I haven't seen such verdant greens, trees with such intense colours - flaming red, yellow and purple - anywhere before.

Personally too, I'm looking forward to some exciting changes.

Cheers to a new season ...and new beginnings!

2004-09-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

Crashed the Diet

Right now, as I type with one hand, I am busy munching on French Fries and Eggplant (cheesy) Parmigianno sub. I'm trying hard to knock off a few pounds ...or was until now. After using the usual path to weight loss - regular exercise and no fat food - with no tangible results, I decided to ramp up and take some drastic steps. I'm now on a Slim Fast diet, but I must warn you , as I found out, that it's not one for working people. I nearly had a dizzy spell one afternoon at work after surviving on just two cans of Slim Fast and cereal for breakfast all day.

A perfect diet according to Slim Fast is having one of their 325mL cans of Slim Fast drink for breakfast, some veggies or cheese mid-morning, another one of those drinks with a light salad for lunch, followed by a Slim Fast candy bar afternoon snack followed by a "sensible meal" (?) and finally capped by a Slim Fast low fat fudge bar. Not to mention, 30 minutes of regular exercise daily. This is supposed to leave you looking lighter or as in my case, craving real food at the end of one week of this food plan.

This didn't quite work for me, so I'm now on a cereal - noodle soup and rice - rotini soup + slim fast can diet + (maybe more soup) diet. And I try to walk about 3 miles every alternate day, avoid elevators, keep off Cookies, Cola, Cheese, Chips, Candy, Chocolate (Did you realize that all high Calorie Culprits start with the letter 'C' ?).

Some people suggest the low-Carb, high protein, high fat Atkins diet but if I hear even one more "low carb" item I'll scream. This place has become one carbs-obsessed nation. Almost every edibile item has its low carb avatar. I last heard about low-carb wine (?), after of course low-carb bread and doughnuts. For the uninitiated, an Atkins diet advises people to steer clear of break, pasta and rice while giving them a free reign over desserts and fatty foods. Don't ask me about how it works - check it out yourself here. However, this has truckloads of critics who say such a diet will not work for long-term results and infact can be harmful - what with all those artery-choking fatty foods.

And then, there is the South Beach diet that friends claim worked wonders. It is similar to the Atkins diet - lets you eat a lot of meat and fatty food while cutting down on Carbohydrates. It's most famous proponent is, or shall we say WAS , Bill Clinton. After his triple-bypass a couple of weeks ago, many doctors now place the blame on such diet fads such as the South Beach diet that he'd been doing for some time now.

In any case Atkins and South Beach would severely end up restricting my dietary choices given that I'm a vegetarian. And the only other option is to take one of those diet pills. I recently saw an ad for one popular brand that has some seemingly real-life people exclaiming "LOOK AT ME!" with such rapidity and disturbingly wild enthusiasm that I wonder if the neurotic behavior is actually a side-effect of the diet pills. So that clearly is not an option.

Which brings me back to my Slim Fast diet combined with the eating habits of a herbivore. They say we ought to be thankful for what we have. I choose to be thankful for what I don't have - too much Cellulite, and continue to work on the relatively easier task of losing a few pounds versus having to resort to a gastric bypass that several of my counterparts seem to be taking to these days.

Will my diet work ? We'll see !

2004-09-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Serendipity ?

That movie I think caught a lot of people's imagination. And what a coincidence that I had made a post a couple of days ago ! While withdrawing cash from the ATM today, I noticed a 20 dollar bill with the name "Jeff" and a phone number ! Was I supposed to call him ?! I was a little surprised to see that, so I meant to hold on to it for a while until this post. But I think I spent it on dinner this evening by chance. So it's probably on it's way to the person it was meant for :)

P.S: The discussion reminded me of the story Ithat ran in March 2004's Reader's Digest titled "Passing the Buck" about a Missouri-based artist Dean Brady who was curious about how far money would go. His inspiration apparently came from attending an exhibit of mosaics and he wanted to create one with postcards from the world over. He then borrowed 10,000 dollars and converted them to dollar bills. On each bill he put in a note that said "Where does a dollar go? Send me a postcard." with his address and deposited it in the bank. A few months later, he began receiving post cards from all over the world. Here's a snippet :

"Before long, travel brochures, maps, menus, bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets, baseball cards, five lottery tickets showed up. People detailed their lives, politics and their towns. Bracy's dollars have turned up at the scene of a crime, as a gift to a newborn, and in the garter of an exotic dancer. They have been wagered by gamblers and unselfishly given to charities".

Sounds cool right ? So was the snap featuring him and his postcards.

2004-09-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Poles Apart

I had been warned that Vermont is so up-North that it would be mind-numbingly cold in the winter. I was really surprised to know that Canada is actually closer than the nearest big metropolis - Boston and that when the Indian people around here begin to feel particularly religious, they just drive down to Montreal rather than take that "long trip" to Boston.

But I was taken aback when I saw this caption on the TV-Channel WPTZ (NBC) "Burlington, Plattsburgh , North Pole". NORTH POLE !! Is sharing a television channel with Eskimos supposed to be some indication of my proximity to the arctic circle ?

It was until I went online and looked up WPTZ. I turns out that several people were as curious (or alarmed) as I was , and more importantly, WPTZ was actually refering to a small town called North Pole in New York State where one of their transmitters is located !

I also read about this little tidbit online about Oprah Winfrey who once did a promo for the channel and going "Come home to the best on WPTZ channel 5, Plattsburgh, North Pole... North Pole ? What ?? "

It's no surprise then that the town North Pole's only attraction is "Santa's Workshop."

2004-09-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

A Link to Ramesh Mahadevan:

I'd heard about Ramesh Mahadevan a couple of years ago, at a time when blogging had not yet become the rage it now is. While at graduate school, I happened to read his articles through a link a friend sent me. It was the first time I'd seen someone do a humorous take on graduate student life , desis in the U.S, random musings (among the funnier ones : "Algorithmic Approach to Tamil Verse"), the rites of passage that goes into the transition from FOB (fresh off the boat) to a life beyond graduate school and into a work environment,
and reflecting upon experiences in a new country.

Here's a link to a collection of his articles.. Although it does not carry the official title of a blog, going by the content, I'd say it's one of the best early blogs.

P.S: Non-tamil speaking folks would be pleased to note that it's *not* an all-southie look at things.

2004-09-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Serendipity

I was watching Serendipity this evening on cable. For those not in the know,It's boy meets girl, girl decides to complicate issues by declaring that she will believe they are meant for each other if fate draws them together again (in some weird choice of writing their names and numbers on a five dollar bill and the inside of a novel). And so the soul-mate search begins - to each his/herown - while at the same time going through the motions of life leading to their respective weddings - to somebody else...until fate intervenes again and they are reunited.

The closer I got to the ending, the more annoying the movie became. Both characters were shown to have understanding and devoted partners in their respective lives. And while apparently professing love , going as far as making and accepting wedding proposals to their significant others, they continue to look for signs, until the final moment of no return (a.ka. their respective weddings) that will lead them to their supposed soul-mate. Curiously, there was complete disregard for the feelings of their fiance/fiancee and the characters hardly seemed to make any attempt to avert wedding plans to people who love them and assume are loved as well. Effectively making the unfortunate partners, the classic "sitting ducks" or in other words, "PLAN-B" types. Should the leading man or woman not find the love of her life she met fleetingly a few days/years ago, he /she will marry the person they have successfully conned into believing they love. At the very least, they could have saved their partners the waste of time.

This line of thought is akin to that logic of "if we don't find anybody else to marry us, we'll marry each other" courtesy "My Best Friend's Wedding". A few million years ago, someone mildly hinted at that to me and rather than find flattering, I found it insulting. How can you possibly, knowingly marry someone who you think is consolation prize and whose first choice is maybe somebody else ?

Just imagine, you think you've found prince charming and he runs away on his wedding day because, oh joy, he's found his "soul-mate" (Hint: It isn't you!).

2004-08-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Indra Nooyi and Forbe's List of 50 Most Powerful Women :

In December 2000, during my first semester of graduate school and poor Indian graduate student existence, I had come across an article titled "Cereal Thriller : Highest-ranked Indian female executive adds fizz to corporateAmerica". That article stuck in my mind for several reasons - one it's catchy and very apt title and two an inspriing bio of an Indian woman, Indra Nooyi , making it to the list of Forbe's list of 50 most powerful women. The definition of "power" is debatable, but what impressed me was the glorious career graph of a determined woman.

This year while reading about the list on Forbes , there she was again ! And this time round, already into my second year as a professional, I was intrigued enough to google and read all about her and how she did it.

From a poor Indian graduate student (while at Yale she interviewed for summer jobs with consulting firms wearing a sari - This is one thing that kept coming back to me everytime I used to take out my one and only pant suit for every interview I had to attend), she cracked the glass ceiling and became a force to reckon with having worked with Boston Consulting, Motorola, ABB and now President and CFO at Pepsico. She is also on the Yale school management advisory board, had an offer from GE and wooed by Timberland corp to join their board of directors.

Now here's the fun part: I didn't know until today that she is also from Madras and infact graduated Madras Christian College ! Even better, she was hardly the typical, shy-girl types and infact was part of an all-girl rock band and also captain of a woman's cricket team. And this was nearly 20 years ago ! It's one thing to have a role model, but it rocks to have a role model so close home ! If she ever writes a book, I'll probably be the first to grab it !

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P.S: Here's a fantastic interview . It is question and answer session at a CEO Speaker Series (apparently at Tuck's school of Business in Dartmouth) where she answers questions about her job as President at Pepsico , her experiences at Yale and how it still helps her today in her corporate life, her upbringing in a traditonal South Indian family and the values imparted that shaped her.

2004-08-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Green Mountain State : V E R M O N T -- D I A R Y

Exactly 1 month since my arrival at Vermont. And life has not stopped being chaotic. I never thought the day would come when I would actually feel tearful about leaving Texas. And what a day that was ! Part of my tears was becos the big heartbreak the whole last minute madness caused - rear-ending my beautiful car on a pole. It now has a huge big ugly dent on the spoiler. * sob *

I have never had a history of making it to the airport well in advance and the ultra-safe airports with their 3 hour advance check-in didn't make it easy for me. For probably the fourth time so far, I missed my flight. That was also the end of the 2 other connecting flights. I finally managed to get on a flight out of Dallas - albeit an hour late. And of course, not without losing another 25 dollars for heavy baggage - for each of my suitcases - and another twenty-fiver for a itinerary change! For the total price I finally paid for the one-way ticket, I could have gotten a business class ticket on a good day.

But, come on, how on earth do you squeeze 4 years of your life in just two suitcases and two pieces of handbaggage ?! And That was after I had thrown out nearly all of my earthly possessions.

Cloaked in my Columbia winter jacket in the middle of summer, I must say I was a bit of an oddity in the airport. I was asked by security check atleast twice if I was on a flight to Alaska. Not funny !! Relocating bag and baggage, I had only one simple policy with my clothes - Pack 'em or Wear 'em.

Another deadly mistake I made was using two (literally) carry-on bags , instead of strollers. With each of them weighing 10 pounds, I nearly died carrying them terminal to terminal at the two connections. No wonder I was knocked out on the final leg of the journey.

Finally the nightmare came to an end at the Burlington airport and I cooled my heels at the motel. One would think that after a long journey, I would be sound asleep. UH-AH. I was transfixed at the t.v for several hours into the night. The magnitude of the situation was beginning to sink in. I couldn't believe that part-2 of my life in america had already begun. It was like starting all over again in a new country four years ago. Two suitcases holding everything I'd need to survive even in the wildest of jungles. Didn't know anybody in the new city. The process of making friends, associates, networking all over again. I was excited while a little sad and without a doubt tired by the whole process. Still, this was a job I had been chasing for the last year or so. It's funny, you pray hard for something to happen and when it really happens, it's numbing. I didn't feel the euphoria I was expecting.

Day two: I was told that Security clearance had not come by, so I couldn't report to work Monday morning as was required. It would take another four-five days. The bad news was that I could have avoided that crazy trip and instead could have conviniently driven down. But the good news was that this gave me enough time to get an apartment.

That week I realized how different Vermont is from the other states. It is just as stubborn as Texas in some ways of refusing to adapt to change.But it's left me convinced that Dallas IS a big city in comparison. Vermont, I'm told, loves it mountains so much that it hates the idea of having too many cell towers. That means as a resident you barely have any choices with wireless providers. Simple things I had taken for granted - basic land line service, health insurance, wireless plans, one-bedroom apartment complexes - were all at a premium here. Not that there were none, but the few there were charged a lot for it because of the monopoly. The concept of apartment complexes isn't widespread here it appears. Most places offer a second floor portion of a house on rent. If you're a city person like me, Vermont needs a little small-town life adjusting to.

Some of the biggest advantages of Vermont though is the breaktaking and much anticipated fall season. And, for me personally, it's proximity to N.Y and Boston where I have family and friends.

That week, stuck in the motel with nothing else to kill my time by in the evenings, I caught up with all the T.V I'd been missing the past few months. I confess I found Paris Hilton's show, the reality series,"The Simple Life" sort of cute. Paris and Nicole Richie aren't all that ditzy as the reviews make them out to be. Infact I liked the attitude they were dishing out. I finally got to see the highly acclaimed "SIX FEET UNDER "and I'm hooked.

Day nine: They're finally convinced that I'm no international terrorist. The background check goes all the way back to the time I was 14 years old ! (Did they also find out about my childhood crush ?)

I got a furnished, studio apartment as well close to work. I love my apartment. It's not big, but it's cozy for one. More than anything, it's nice to be finally able to live by oneself. Also, the place I stay is not exactly a bustling city and I'm thoroughly enjoying the lovely vermont weather and the green scenary. Who needs a Bally's when you have such a scenic route to jog through ?

I miss Dallas though. Being able to just go with friends for coffee or going to my fav Mexican restaurants. Vermont is so totally "white-washed" . Even the local Taco Bell doesn't have enough mexican faces. Ethnic diversity is limited and therefore so are the choices in terms of eating out. The nearest city has exactly one Indian restaurant, one small Indian grocery store and absolutely no theatre to watch Indian movies.

Day 10: I started work and it's a great feeling to be part of the company here. It's the ultimate dream for any techie to work for the Big Blue. There are a lot of Indians in my team who incidentally also live in my apartment complex. I've never known so many Indians at one place and I've found some friends too. I noticed there weren't any girls besides myself in my team atleast onsite. Some I heard telecommuted.

Day 14: There is this group of people from the India wing of the company who're here on a project. It was pure coincidence that I had met one girl who had arrived to Burlington on the same flight as myself. One thing lead to another and soon I got to know the group. I have been considering returning home for some time now and it's given me a chance to get to know the picture from the other side. They are also single twenty-somethings as well and for most it's their first trip to the U.S. It's been a really long time since I visited home and their lives were a reflection of the changing attitudes and lifestyles brought in by the booming economy. It's encouraging and if I can say so, I'm a little envious.

2004-07-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Face Your Fears

If the "Sixth Sense" proved that a gift is not always a blessing, and if the "Signs" left you convinced that everything happens for a reason, Night M. Shyamalan's latest "The Village" dares us to face our fears.

Set to release on July 30th since his last in 2002,"The Village" is the story about an idyllic village, Covington in Pennsylvania in the year 1897. With a population of 60, the villagers have a guarded respect for that which lies beyond the edges of their village. They don't venture into that unknown territory they believe is inhabited by wild creatures and likewise the animals don't stray into their land. But one man,Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) questions the village's beliefs and ventures into the woods. Soon the truce seems to be coming to an end and the villagers fear the worst when they see blood marked slashes on their doors. Running parallely is the budding romance between the town leader's daughter Kitty (Judy Greer) and Lucius.

The movie's official website is interesting by itself and also has a section titled "Face Your Fears" where viewers are invited to post their worst fears and how they overcame it.

As an aside, offscreen a different kind of drama seems to be unfolding. what began as a documentary by the Sci Fi channel profiling Shyamalan and the genre of Science Fiction film-making, turned out into a story that now promises to reveal a little secret from Night Shyamalan's past. Shyamalan, who is said to be very guarded about his privacy, is said to have initially cooperated with the making of the documentary and even volunteered names of friends that the directors could talk to. But somewhere along the line, they claim they stumbled upon a fact that Shyamalan did not want exposed. Reportedly, he even resorted to legal counsel to stop the documentary.

In any case, we'll get to know if it's a case of crossing the line by the media or if there really is water to the story titled “The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan" that Sci Fi plans to air on July 18th.

The Truce is Ending. In more ways than one.

2004-07-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Jyoti Dogra, actress and female lead of Hyderabad Blues II on how she prepared for a scene:

"But it was one of my final scenes that was very tough. I had this scene that was an outburst. So to prepare for it, I wrote down the story of my life thus far. Wrote down all my struggles, all my fears and apprehensions about the industry, and it was such a sad story at the end of it."

Interesting. When things get crappy like they sometimes do and I get so frustrated with things, at the unfairness of it all, and yet have to hold on to hope and prayer for things to change, often one statement comes to mind "Praying with Anger". This was the title of one of Night Shyamalan's earliest movies.

2004-07-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

"Amar Chitra Katha Spurs Research"

I knew it ! I knew nearly 19 years ago that my Amar Chitra Kathas were precious and here's proof of it. Reportedly it is now considered recommended reading / reference material / graduate academic reading in America and India for those interested in Indian Mythology, Heritage and the Indian cultural identity. I'm sure the name Anant Pai rings a bell for most of you who've grown up on a healthy diet of Amar Chitra Kathas during your childhood. I remember him being refered to as Uncle Pai in some of the articles and advertisements in those magazines.

My memory of Amar Chira Katha books goes back to the time when I was about 4 years old and loved reading the pictorial stories of Ramayana, story of Krishna and so forth. The story of Nala Damayanthi too is vivid and I was very fascinated with the name Damayanthi. Rather than being cartoonish, I remember how they realistic the characters appeared what with the women being beautiful and the men handsome. Frankly, besides my grandmother's narration of the story during childhood ACK was one of my primary sources of Hindu Mythology. I remember wondering what the difference was between dialogues written in a big bubble of sorts versus one in a box with an arrow pointing to a person. Ofcourse I later learnt that it meant that Krishna/ Radha/ Rama was deep in thought versus them actually speaking it out.I found this cool link that has the whole Ramayana book whose cover is above put up on this website. Seeing those pictures again is like a walk down memory lane.

Was Jataka Tales also a part of the series ? I don't remember where Birbal's stories came in. Was that in Tinkle ? Target was one other kiddo mag I totally loved and seemed to literally grow up with me. Teens Today, it's successor was like an overdose of teen life and sounded rather shallow. But for sentimental reasons I collected them too until they stopped being published a few years ago.

Is there anyone else who's got these books too ?

2004-07-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Alone At The Movies

Happened to watch Ayudha Ezhuthu last week. I'm probably among the last few die-hard mani ratnam fans to watch it. But heck, atleast I did. With a couple of things getting rough around here, I desparately wanted to get away for a few hours. That reassuring familiarity of watching a good tamil film compelled me to drive down to the theater to watch it ..by myself... at a late night show ... at the nearest theater 20 miles from home.

I have never been to the movies all by myself before and hopefully will never have to. I'd missed it the last time it had come and the few tamilian friends around had seen it then and were simply not willing to see it again. My non-tamilian friends were planning on seeing YUVA, the hindi version of the same, and couldn't imagine sitting through a movie in an alien language. For myself, not watching the movie in the theater, especially in its last weekend, was not an option! Once at the theater, my initial awkwardness soon evaporated when I saw that I was one among 11 people who'd come for the movie (you probably guessed who the odd ball was already).

Normally a Mani ratnam movie has that irresistable repeat-viewing value, which just seemed to be missing in his latest flick. Nothing really seemed that captivating or compelling to make one want to see it again. It was an okay movie, with a lot of past and present narration. About the casting, I'm surprised that the lead pairs seemed a bit mismatched. So, okay, everybody did their part dutifully, including Esha Deol. But that extra something, that spark seemed to be missing in the relationships portrayed. Maybe because there were one too many stories to tell, there seemed to be no real memorable moments that remain with the viewer.

Among the three threads running, I particularly liked Sidharth and Trisha's storyline. It seemed very today and something urban youngsters could relate to- career choices and relationships. But do teenagers or twenty somethings really party that hard in chennai ? Compared to all the other characters, Trisha's and Sidharth's roles were portrayed clearly. Esha and Surya had like zero chemistry, and didn't live up to the appeal that the Micheal-Gitanjali synopsis had in the trailors. Esha actually sounded fine in Tamil and her colorful, feminine wadrobe made me wonder for the Nth time what I'm doing in far away Dallas when I could be indulging in a more vibrant lifestyle back in Madras. Madhavan's character didn't come across as rational (and was probably meant that way). Spurts of violence punctuated by bouts of mushiness is about all that lingers. And Meera Jasmin as the hopelessly (literally) in love wife, had quite a challenging role and managed to pull it off in Tamil more effortlessly than Esha.

Still, despite all its flaws,cons and minuses, I liked the movie and had a great time watching it. It was a refreshing break from the rough and tumble existence. It was nice to see the sights and sounds (literally, as it was recorded in sync sound) of Madras again, atleast on-screen. Come to think of it, I actually didn't miss company that much during the movie. I'd probably do it again if I really, really needed to. It was also good to hear crisp dialogues and the subtle humour typical of a Mani Ratnam movie. And how can I forget, it was great to see Surya again too! He wasn't exactly killer material in this movie, but he's already on his way to super stardom.

A few days prior to watching AE, I'd watched Perazhagan. It was a pretty neat movie if one could overlook the unintentional disparaging undertones in vivek's humour. Chinna, Surya's hunchbacked character, was a show stealer, as against his dual role as the athelete. I'd also give credit to Jyothika for complementing him well (like she always does!) as the blind destitute and the city girl. The story inspite of its simplicity had a lot of irony and pathos that made for absorbing viewing.

All this talk about Surya reminds me of the question someone posted way back on why most girls like Surya . It's very simple: He comes across as the definitive strong silent type. His emotional intensity contrasted by his calm composure, reserved rather than being embarassingly talkative, the clean nice-guy image rather than the flirt, with looks that's very next-doorish instead of being knock 'em dead handsome and finally the fact that here's a 27 year old who comes across as a thinking actor and who plays his age are a few of the other reasons that makes him so imminently crush-worthy. Obviously his new and improved build overall is a plus too. As any sensible person would also know, half the reasons are probably just a myth about the real personality and much of it is borrowed from that great role he had in Kaaka Kaaka. ......So? who cares ?:) He's still kinda cute!

2004-06-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

"Autograph" And Other Musings

Watched Cheran's "AUTOGRAPH" (Tamil) yesterday and it turned out to be better than expected. Normally our directors have a knack of ruining a story that has a flicker of sensitivity potential. But it was a tale well told and left no loose ends undone. I'm not surprised that an all-new Telugu and Hindi version is in the works.

For those of you who are yet to catch this movie, it's about a walk down memory lane by a young man (oh well, somewhat young) who is about to get married. A successful advertising professional working in the city, he's reached that stage of emotional maturity where he can finally settle down. But he wants to invite to his wedding all those people who became an integral part of his memories and shaped his experiences. From classmates,to teachers and yes, old flames.

Unlike what all the reviews say about his romantic involvement with three people, it's actually just two. One a high school crush and the other a person he loved while at college. The third woman in his life is one who acts as a guiding light and shapes his identity. I particularly liked the story about his college affair. It was elegantly told and Gopika, the actress, was refreshing to look at. That section of the movie also reminded me after a long time about the beauty of the Malayalam language. Overall, his trip down memory lane is not without surprises.If you have watched Azhagi, by parthiban, you would be able to tell the similarities.

I really like Cheran's natural and earthy style of acting. He also weaves sensible stories with the right propotion of melodrama and romance. Technically too it seemed well taken. Story wise, I liked his attention to detail and the fact that he did not become predicatable. Lathika, his college sweetheart, could actually be someone else in a different city. But the diversion that she is a malayalee only brings a more exotic flavour to the story. And picturising the kerala backwaters is infinitely more pleasing than a city scape.

The review aside, I wonder why it is that these stories always end up portraying the-one-that-got-away as a hapless woman that fate played truant with. How would the story have been if the woman who he could have married was instead quite well off in life ? Would the protogonist be a teeny bit yearnful instead of sympathetic ? What if she was really happily married and only had a sense of affection for her childhood friend? Would it shake the man's sense of superiority ? And how would he feel finding out that she really didn't miss him all that much at all.

Another angle to think about, and also a more interesting hypothesis,is what if the story had been that of a woman instead of a man ? A woman who reflects on people who really meant a lot to her at some point in time. In today's day and time it is not impossible you know. Especially when you have so many girls embarking on new adventures half way across the world in pursuit of work or higher education. It could also be the story of a successful woman at the peak of her career and the long trip getting there as a single woman. But something tells me that such a story would not go down half as well. After all aren't they supposed to be the upholders of morality in India? To some extent, it is also a hard story to conjure up. Given that most women really are emotional creatures and a jilted affair leaves them heart broken, at best, for several years to care for other men or, at worst, for good. Add to this the fact that Indian society can be awkward with hearing a woman talk about her past loves. The irony is that if it is true that the story of the movie "Autograph" almost echoes the lives and feelings of several young men, then there has to be almost an equal propotion of affected women who were involved with them. So the myth that all women are and/ should be pristine is unrealistic.

Hopefully someday, someone would be able to tell the story from the woman's point of view. And when that happens, it might serve as an insightful lesson to a woman's mind. I can't help but remember the lines from Titanic "A woman's heart is like the ocean ". Couldn't be truer, and that probably explains the silence from the other side.

2004-05-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Black Thursday:

Congress is back and BJP is out. The news came as quite a shock as most of the action had happened over-night -literally, as it was late night here while it was being declared in India that Congress has won. SMSs and IMs buzzed with the latest news and mostly received by shocked gasps. A billion people and counting, and a Italian-born reluctant-Indian is what we have to show as the nation's representative ?

The news immediately left me wondering about the fate of "BRAND INDIA" that had seen much momemtum in the past few months to the extent that even near-unknown radio shows in the U.S, generally not known for its interest in world matters, reported the progress being made in India. For the first time, I genuinely felt sad for India's future. With Congress's well-publicised proposed focus on rural development and its alignment with marxist parties, and the firing of H'bad's CEO Naidu, I wonder if India would be able to sustain its tremendous I.T growth. Then there is The issue - Kashmir. How can Sonia, a woman whose vocabulary appears limited in Hindi and English and whose P.R skills aren't exactly striking, match the nationalistic pride and fervour that the issue requires ? For a minute I wonder if she'd actually give it to Pak in a platter.

In a country where minorities' interests are well-protected by law, it's the majority of the Hindus who seem to lack representation. I'm not embarassed by saying I support Hindutva - although not to its extremes. What would Sonia's approach be towards issues like conversion by missionaries ? To have one Rabri Devi turn Bihar into one big cattleshed is bad enough. To have a leader out of touch with the real India is even worse.
Arun Shourie's splendid efforts to privatize government-owned industries and promote disinvestment might just be reversed by socialist parties too.

The latest reversal of power has made several Indians I know reconsider their ideas of returning to India in the near future. That idea by itself sounds unpatriotic - to abandon one's homeland in a time of crisis. But many ask if much can be done with a political neophyte at the helm. Besides,the foreign-born issue still stings.

It's been less than 24 hours since the results, and already Laloo-isque forwards are doing the rounds : Atal gone,Sonia in.Parata gone Pizza in,Milk gone Martini in,Munnabai gone Mafia in,Amitabh gone Al Pacino in. In short INDIA GONE ITALY IN!

On one side, Indians are dismayed and on the other side Italians rejoice. Foreign Press has already reported the big news and invariably every headline has the key-word : "DYNASTY". I have only three words for them: OH SHUT UP !

2004-05-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Just in case you weren't among the 51 million people last night.....

The Finale in a nutshell

Minute-by-Minute update on the Finale

The Complete NBC DateLine's Katie Couric Exclusive Interview Transcript and interviews from the cast and creators.

2004-05-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Post-Show:

OH MY GOD !

Yeah, that's what I felt after watching the massive euphoria on the evening of Friends and the whimper with which it left prime-time television. The craze reached fever pitch what with friends finale public screenings being held at select Starbucks around DFW, traffic almost coming down to a trickle as the time neared 7, and radio jockeys actually saying they were leaving 10 minutes early just so they could drive home to watch the finale ! Heck, even I was driving my best at 6:30 just so I wouldn't get into a "situation" (read ticket) that would take my precious time.

The ending was a bit of an anti-climax. Not as earth-shakingly dramatic as we thought it would be. And maybe this was to be expected given that it was preceded by one of the longest farewells (2 hr special yesterday, and 1 hr today before the actual show). So by the time they made their point (If you have ever watched the ending of any (Indian) movie that has its climax in an airport, you'll know what I mean), it was predicatable. And I really wished that the credits would roll out one last time for the Friends title song. Guess that would have been a fitting finish. The only scene that actually gave me a lump in the throat was the one that gave a roving glance around the empty apartment that had been Monica's and Chandler's......and Rachel's and Phoebe's and Joey's at some point.

To give the show it's due, infact the ending felt as real as it does in real-life. Normal. No drama. Just memories. At the very least, it was painless on the audience without leaving them weepy. And just like close friends, they promise to be back. Yes, Ross and Rachel are slated to "visit" Joey in L.A in the new spin off, Joey, in fall. Then there's also an episode where Joey' s on the phone with Chandler. Looks like they're all trickling back in ...

Until then..We will probably really start feeling the void from next thursday .

2004-05-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

The one where they say goodbye ..

uit work early, put the phone off the hook, switch off the cellphone, gag all telly-time talkers, grab a box or two of tissue ! Cos It's Finally Here !

The last episode of FRIENDS airs today at 7 p.m for a 2 hour finale. For those of who didn't catch NBC's Dateline 2 hr show on "behind the scenes"....well you missed something if you were a Friends freak.

It's eerie how the characters have become the actors and vice-versa. As Katie Couric replayed her first interview of the cast exactly 10 years ago in their very first season, and asked them what they felt about it today, their reaction was exactly that of the six people we know as well as we know our own friends. They immediately commented on Katie's hair-do back then. Typical of their style on the show, where they end up almost keeping the group exclusive by their common likes and dislikes in people.

The show is atleast ending in style leaving the viewers in nostalgia. I wouldn't be surprised if the DVDs of the show's 10 seasons fly off the shelves. (I am one of the pickiest shoppers in terms of DVDs, and I know I'm going to get one of them !!)

The best clip about the finale ? The one with the centralperk couch, with just a spotlight on it in the dark coffee shop.

2004-04-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ever read someone's blog that gave you the giggles with their plain-speak. And you caught yourself going through each of their archived write-ups of what seems like half a century's worth of writing ??
I did.. and I finally listed their blogs. Thanks to my other blog-buddies for their links to them !

2004-04-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ah, Spring !

Short Floral Skirts, Flower-lined Highways, Sun-tan Ads, Surf Boards on sale, Cool Mornings, Warm Evenings, Blue Skies, Golden Sunsets. Smile, It's Spring.. and Summer's right round the corner !

D A L L A S

I've finally decided to move on. Move on to living in Dallas from my little "hometown" in the U.S. Although I've been working in the Dallas area for nearly 8 months now, I didn't make the move for a good many reasons - all of them being friends. I wanted to live close to my friends who stay nearby and I didn't have any in Dallas. But I feel I've hung around here long enough now and I really need a break from the monotony and the freakin' 30 mile commute to work.

But the moving bit brings new dilemmas. I can't seem to make up my mind if I want to live by myself or get a room-mate. I mean, the very thought of finally having my own space, my first apartment all to myself, a complete house, is exciting. But I'm also a bit nervous. Often in the news one hears about a burglary here, forced entry or assault there. And Dallas is where a lot of the crime happens too. When I went househunting, the only thing that weighed on my mind was the security of the community there. It reminds of me of the movie "Ek Hasina Thi". And to some extent, it really did potray the problems faced by single girls. Okay,so I'm not that dumb that I'd invite a smooth-talking stranger for tea. But still, the thought that should some freak incident happen, it really would be a one-woman army, is scary.

I don't know what I hate more - loneliness or creepy strangers. The last time I went househunting, everything went smooth. It was around 1 p.m and as the manager was leading me to a model apartment, I saw a balding man standing in the patio of one of the apartments, grinning at me with a bottle of beer. The look on his face made me uneasy and I nearly bolted from there after a cursory look around the place. If it isn't balding drunks, then it's hounds that don't exact look tame enough to be called pets. I'm a self-confessed animal lover, but after hearing gory tales on T.V of blood-thirsty hounds mauling helpless passersby, it gave me the jitters. Every apartment I visit, I routinely check for a gated community, pets, and ask for a crime report for their complex, something all complexes are expected to maintain according to a new DFW rule. Few have it, other try to make up for the lack of it with smooth talk. Some people I know living in Dallas assure me that many complexes are safe. What with so many young people employed there. Sure, but there's a hefty price you pay for that added safety. And it makes me wince paying that much.

Then again, I realize that I've lead a budgeted existence for too long. Anybody who's been a student will empathize with what I mean. I'm in a mood to really live it up now. Go the whole nine yards. And there's this other angle to living alone. A friend of mine remarked that it might be my last chance to really live life by myself on my own terms before, uhmm, "settling down". To look at it that way is tempting.

I have two weeks to make up my mind. And then it's hello to Dallas.

2004-04-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

April 15th:
D-Day is almost here. Sweaty palms, deadlines, last minute dash, breathless anticipation, race against time. I was referring to the APPRENTICE finale due Thursday and…oh yeah.. TAX DAY. !!

versus

Filed your taxes yet ? The clock’s ticking and if you’re like the many (such as myself) who wouldn’t get a thing done if it wasn’t for the eleventh hour…..don’t worry, you’ll still be in good shape. Thanks to the online Tax filing available these days, life’s a whole lot easier once you have figured out how to do the forms that is. I went nuts trying to figure out the standard deductions and even more confusion since there was a recent visa status change. After all the careful work involved, I was overjoyed to see the tax return due. My India trip this year is back on the agenda. But here’s a little incentive for all the absent-minded folks and potential tax defaulters out there: Chipotle is giving free Burritos (if you’ve been there before, you’ll see why I’m excited), on tax day (They call it the Burrito NREZ form. HeeHee!). Then there’s Subway giving out free stuff tomorrow too. I guess there should be more such offers, I need to look into the papers.

On to more interesting topics, the Apprentice Finale is snowballing into the biggest season finale, just short of friends. You can run, but you can’t hide! Virtually all over the web, every self-respecting website (including this one) worth its byte has some news on the show. Check out Reuters which talks about Trump getting a pay hike to $100,000 per episode. Then you have MSN.com with the latest scoop on the apprentice. Then you listen to Troy talk about his experience in the Firing line on Newsweek. Incidentally, Carolyn Kepcher, the ice maiden and Trump’s advisors on the show, as well as George Ross, her male couterpart, made an appearance on the Tonight Show a couple of weeks ago. It was a good thing my roomie wasn’t home that night, cos there I was droopy eyed on the couch watching the late night show when suddenly I burst out into gleeful clapping at the T.V when Carolyn made her appearance. I was a bit surprised at my own reaction. Anyway, I think she’s one classy lady with beauty and brains. She’s apparently a lawyer who works for Trump as his Chief Operating Officer for one of his businesses. Conservatively dressed in the Apprentice, on the Tonight show she looked stunning in a black dress and could almost have passed off as some model. George Ross was garroulous, unlike his sobre self on the Trump show. He too is a lawyer who represented Trump as his attorney in several real-estate transactions. I think they ended up as the most unlikely stars of the series. There was a fantastic article in the New York Times that talked about why people are so taken by the show. I couldn’t link you to it as it turns out to be a subscription only site. :-(

And finally..., here’s some information I myself had been trying hard to put into words but, a big thanks to Karthik, I got just what I was looking for: Lessons from the apprentice. Even if you never watched the serial thriller, here’s a chance for you to catch up on the essence.

Lesson One: Have a Strategy

Lesson Two: Find Out What the Boss/Client Wants and Give it to Them.

Lesson Three: Deal With the Person in Charge.

Lesson Four: Be Positive.

Lesson Five: Have the Courage to Speak Your Mind.

Lesson Six: Stand Up For Yourself.

Lesson Seven: Be Flexible.

Lesson Eight: There's Life After Being Fired.

2004-04-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

"We have an obligation to make the world a better place!"

That quote was from President Bush from the White House on one of those rare press conferences.
As much as I hate to say this, for once Bush sounded like an excellent orator tonight as he talked about the Iraqi war and and I could see why there are some die-hard Republican supporters. With the conviction with which he defended the Iraq war, he actually made the war sound like it was the best thing to happen during his regime. He fielded questions on all issues - Facing the 9/11 commision, WMD in Iraq, On the reality that despite allied countries' support, American troops are by far the vast majority, Do the Iraqis favor Americans still in Iraq, Will the war on terror really end , and Did he really not know of early terror attack signals in 2001.But that is not to say that he really answered all of them directly. There was a lot of fillibustering, some beating round the bush, but one could see him say it like it is like only a Texan can. Here's a man who is still utterly convinced that they would find WMDs in Iraq just like "they found Mustard gas in Turkey fields in Libya". Here's a man who is utterly convinced that the America on the war path was absolutely required to maintain world peace. Here's a man who is completely confident America will vote for him as they will choose to fight the war against terror. And here's a man who despite being asked several times about the one thing that he will admit as a mistake, can seem to recall none !

For starters, I wish the media and government would agree on the term used regarding Iraqi Occupation. The government would only refer to it as Iraqi Liberation while the media is candid about calling it Iraqi Invasion. The term invasion, in my opinion, is a term that is used to describe the overtaking of a country by another, by force or otherwise. And I also assumed it was an anachronistic term. Alnd that's what best describes the present situation in Iraq - what with America refusing to give up absolute control over the say on matters in Iraqi governance. "Iraqi Liberation" seems mild in comparison and only reflects what Bush would like the world to believe. He completely skirted the issue of why he is so insistent on him and Dick Cheney testifying together before the 9/11 commision, rather than seperately. Instead he continued to parrot the same response that he wanted to face the questions that the commission may have.

All said and done, I think it could just be a brain washer of sorts for the on-the-fence voters. He sounded competely sincere, even going as far as sounding emotional language like Clinton (minus tears), that it was "gut wrenching" to see soldiers die in Iraq and that had his government known that an attack on the scale of 9/11 was to come, they would have "moved heaven and earth" to prevent it.

Easily among his best press conference yet. And a fine political move.

(As an aside, I'm sick of hearing America being touted as "the most powerful country on the face of the earth". As true as it very well may be, when said aloud, it sounds just plain childish.)

2004-04-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: One for the Geeks

Have you ever heard yourself saying "Let's forget this ever happened" or "Try to forget you even met that person". And what would you do if you were that person and you got a mail telling you to never contact somebody as they have chosen to remove all memories of you. One might actually be able to do it in a few hours if one could use the (fictious) Lacuna Inc's services. This is the premise of the movie "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind". A story about a man who tries to erase all memories of his girlfriend when he realizes that she had done the same. The basic idea is beautiful: You can erase someone out of your mind, but not out of your heart. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, whose roles are a dramatic shift from their earlier movies, play the lead parts of Joel Barish and Clementine. The movie’s screenplay is by Charlie Kauffman who is famous for creating fantastical plots such as “Adaptation” and “Being John Malkovich”.

When Joel Barrish (Carrey), who is a typical average Joe, goes to see his girlfriend Clementine at her workplace to patch up a tiff, but her eyes don't register a familiarity or recognition, he realizes something’s amiss. It all falls together when he receives a succint message in a postcard that tells him to refrain from contacting Clementine as she has chosen to remove all memories of him. Stricken at first, and then angry, he decides to do the same and goes to the Lacuna clinic. The whole process of wiping memories is described by a convincing looking doctor. Patients are expected to bring all items that remind them of the person they are trying to forget and tell the doctor about all memories they remember about them. This scene is really imaginative, funny and yet touching. In the waiting room, are patients with baskets of items and who are silently sobbing clutching photos of their pets, ex-flames, and other people whose very memories torment them.

The procedure itself seems very scientific, complete with CAT scan images with points representing locations of memories in the brain. One enters Joel’s mind and the maze of memories involving Clementine and himself. In his mind, the two try to resist the erasure by running from it, hiding within other memories and even camouflaging themselves as other people in other memories, as far as in his childhood, among other things. As they run and dodge the erasure, one sees images of building falling apart behind them, books, objects and places becoming nameless white spaces and eventually disappearing- all symbolic of the procedure under progress.

The movie's screenplay is very loopy - confusing the viewer with scenes of the past and present interspersed. It's a collage of images, thoughts and memories. Certainly much of the confusion could have been avoided, but perhaps it was intended to reflect the organized chaos that is the human mind and how it tracks memories. Not in perfect sequence, not in continuum, but a mixed bag of moments, some remembered consciously, some left in the subconscious. To quote Kauffman “ I was trying to figure out what a memory feels like.” This one’s definitely for the geeks, and his interview on the idea behind the movie is really interesting and is what made me want to see the movie in the first place. The screenplay really does make more sense towards the end of the movie.

Among the pluses, it was a relief not to see Carrey do his juvenile facial distortion routine and it was a surprise to see Winslet without all the Titanic glory. For the RING-Obsessed, you have Elijah Wood from LOTR too in the movie with no hobbit baggage. I am guessing this was a low budget movie, perhaps too small to hire a make-up artist. Only that can explain why they ended up making Winslet look so crummy. Her hair color goes from deep blue to fiery red and is about the only real life in the otherwise dull Long Island winter scenery.

This movie piqued my curiosity on the Lacuna clinic and upon googling I chanced upon the website for the fictious enterprise. With the look and feel of a real scientific procedure, it almost passes off credibly until you see the some testimonials from a past patient: Joel Barish!

Thankfully, this was a peep into the couple's relationship from Carrey's perspective alone. Small mercies. But one amazing seed of an idea for a (boring) sequel.

2004-03-23T01:22:00.000-08:00

You’re Fired !

Thanfully that’s not what I had to hear, but that’s Donald Trump’s trade-mark punch-line in his show “The Apprentice”. It’s one of those rare reality shows that does not obsess on adults cavorting and professing true love to someone they barely know. (Infact this is one reality series that I can actually tell my coworkers I watch). Touted as the ultimate job interview, it’s about a group of contestants who are aiming to become Trump’s next apprentice to manage one of his businesses and get paid 250,000 dollars doing it ! The tag line for this show says it all: “It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.”

The best part is that Trump himself hosts the show and decides who gets eliminated each week. The contestants are divided into two teams with each team assigned a specific task. The tasks, except for couple of them, are very real-world and business oriented that require ample marketing enterprise and and street smarts. And the success of each team is of course measured by the revenue it generated in the task. At the completion of each task, the losing team is brought into the much-dreaded boardroom and into the firing line to decide which member of the losing team deserves to be eliminated. Many a times, this has lead to much board room squabbles among the members of the team as the project manager selects two people who ought to be given the pink slip. It's these instances when Trump weighs the strengths and weaknesses using cool objectivity and his A-grade business acumen that's made him who he is. As a new hire myself at a company, old business rules take on a new meaning when they come from Trump. The trump empire itself had seen a reversal of fortunes in the early 90s when it declared bankruptcy and he’s widely regarded as the kind of comeback. When you see the show, you see why.

With trump as the executive producer, the show seems to be aimed to revive his fortunes. It’s also becoming NBC’s trump card after friends and proof of its popularity is the new M & M’s ad with one of them remarking to the other “ What’s that trump says…? That’s it, you’re out. You’re a goner…No or is it you’re jacked…was it You’re fried ..?” Even better of course is making it to the cover of Newsweek in early March. Recently MAD magazine too ran a feature on the Apprentice show. He’s made the phrase “ YOU’RE FIRED!” sound so cool with the panache with which he says it, that it’s become among the most popular catchphrases with a huge fan following from kids to adults. Trump obviously isn’t blind to the sensation, and has reportedly filed for patent rights over trademarking the phrase and exclusivese on games, clothing among other things ! In case you’re not already breathless reading about all this, get this: Trump’s latest book “Trump: How to Get Rich” hit the stands Tuesday and got one of the biggest signing bonuses ever: five million dollars !! Gotta give it to the man, who’s right now one executive with the most pizzaz, charisma and smarts.

2004-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

Movie Magic

For the last half a dozen people who don’t know about the hottest news yet : Ayudha Ezhuthu audio and stills are OUT and so are the stills from Surya's latest " Perazhagan". Woohoo !! Surya seems to be geared for a double whammie, much like his Kaaka Kaaka and Pithamagan which released back to back. He looks almost unidentifiable in the stills of Perazhagan. Between the two films, he's managed to look like the beauty and the beast. In Ayudha Ezhuthu, he's paired up with Esha, who is a spitting image of Hema Malini (without the spitting). (Tell me I’m not the only one who feels that she also looks a leeetle OLD !) . No comments on the pairing in the movie, but I’ve always felt that Trisha ought to have been paired with the new and improved Surya rather than Siddharth. But hey, Mani Ratnam rarely goes wrong on pairing lead actors, so can’t comment till I’ve seen the movie.

Speaking of Trisha Krishnan, I wish she’d choose her movies a little more wisely. Going by the trailors of the movie, she looks pretty classy rather than trashy like she’s been in a few regional movies. Being among the better (and classy) looking actresses, somehow cheesy dance moves and super short clothes don’t really gel with her nice girl persona. Glad that she's landed a role in AKK, atleast she can be guaranteed a well defined role.

About AYUDHA EZHUTHU’s (YUVA) audio, I wouldn’t want to add to the already burgeoning endless list of Music reviews on it. Instead, I’d prefer to air my opinions on the sounds of the album in general. I’m glad that someone’s experimenting beyond the edges of standard Indian music beats and this album with its light trance and techno feel would atleast succeed in exposing the average desi listener to new tastes. Lyrics wise, I strongly feel the tamil version of the sound track is way better than the hindi version. I mean the words “Hey, Khudha hafiz, shukriya, meherbani..” sound a little trite and give a very “dubbed movie” feel. But hey, that’s my 2 cents on it.

I am among the many people who only listen to music on the go - in the car that is. And I think this is one album that’s makes for excellent car music. Think about it, although it’s got a lot of techno beats (Fanaa and Hey Goodbye Nanba), one can’t exactly dance to it. Nor can one have it in the background while having conversation given that it isn’t all that mellow, rather it can be a little loud. Which makes it just right to listen to it in the car while cruising by yourself, don’t you think ?

*********

I’m a die hard fan of Mani ratnam’s movies and recently stumbled on this site online by a guy who seems to be even a bigger fan! This person (wonder if he’s got a degree in film making or just has an eye for detail) actually analyses a slice of some of Mani’s best movies scene by scene, complete with the background score for that scene ! The analysis is pretty good and it was cool to revisit a movie like Mouna Ragam which personally I’ve watched at almost every stage of my life. I first watched it when I was 7 or 8 years old , when it released, and at that time it didn’t make much sense to me. I enjoyed the part where Karthik’s character fools around with Revathy. Being used to a whole lot of Indian and especially tamil and hindi movies of the 1980’s growing up, I’d gotten too used to the idea of a flashback scene preceded by swirling concentric circles, (much like Tortoise Mosquito Repellants) a technique tamil movie directors had perfected to an art. So at the time the whole situation of Karthik’s character emerging midway in the movie, I imagined, was not a flashback, but happened in Delhi where Revathy lived after her wedding. Thankfully this aberration was shortlived when a few years later I saw the movie again, this time on TV (good old Doordarshan) when it was telecast. I was just beginning to understand a part of the problem presented. That Revathy was still majorly hooked to her ex boyfriend and missed him. I watched the movie several more times over the years and it was then that I began to fully appreciate the movie. The caring husband, the frustrated wife, a marriage that held much promise but which appeared to be crumbling and the dynamics between two people who were slowly falling in love.

Several of Mani Ratnam’s movies like this one and NAYAKAN, are multi-layered. Stuff people can watch over and over again without feeling bored and find something new to appreciate each time. I loved everything about Mouna Ragam, including the fabulous house (Very much in Madras, and if I’m right P.C Sriram’s house) that features in it, Mohan’s classic whites, Revathy’s yellow sari in the engagement scene, the elegant interiors and even the bedspreads ! Nobody can possibly forget “Mr.Chandramouli”. That was one helluva joke that evoked a lot of laughs evertime one saw it. Years later, the real Mr.Chandramouli, ie Shankar Iyer became a neighbor of ours and among dad's walking club friends. But I’d seen the movie too many times to get his name right and could only imagine him as Revathy’s dad in the movie!

There’s something about Mani Rathnam’s heroines. Typically in Indian movies you have stars that every woman wants to be and every man wishes he could marry. But the difference in Mani’s movies and what really sets them apart are that the heroines come across as real girls. After watching them, one just wants to be oneself. Not the saucy or coy heroines we’ve been used to seeing, but real girls with a heart and a mind of their own.

He has also redefined love stories to the extent that they are believable, real and yet charming. From Geetanjali, Mouna Ragam, Roja, Bombay and Alaipayuthey, seriously, he’s one director whose sense of romance only improves over the years !!

I can’t wait for Mani Ratnam’s latest movie to release. Until then, the tune of “Hey Goodbye Nanba” reverberates keeping the anticipation going.

2004-02-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

Hello Stranger !

Elevator rides in America never fail to awe me. No, I'm not in awe of the mechanical wonder that it is and how it's made sky scrapers possible,. I'm in awe of the fact that it brings complete strangers of all nationalities under one roof for a moment before we get back each to our lives.The one word that best describes America is ethnic diversity and I am never more aware of it than in the elevator on my way to work six floors up. When I look around my fellow elevator occupants, I'm struck by the diversity in culture and ethnic backgrounds - persons of every color - Black, White, Brown, Yellow and Orange -and every possible nationality living and working side by side. To think that just a few centuries ago, our forefathers probably didn't even know the existence of the others' country and even if they did, never would have imagined visiting or meeting the people there ! I'm amazed how the cultural bridge seems to have been crossed and how here we are united for a few minutes in a quiet elevator before we each get off to another day of business as usual.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a rough week day and was only made worse by my throat infection. My throat was sore, my head dizzy with the cough medicine I'd taken and I was regretting for having come to work that day. I decided to leave work early by 4:30 P.M to avoid traffic. I waited by the banks of elevators with my bag slung over my shoulder which I couldn't wait to put down for a while in the elevator until I got downstairs. An elevator anounced its arrival and as the doors parted, I was stunned to see a huge group of smiling people inside. I smiled and wondered if I should get in. Almost in reply, the group chorused "Come on IN !". I hopped right in; It was a tight squeeze and given the number, people joked if it would even move. I couldn't help but comment to chuckles "Guess this elevator might go down by sheer gravity". As we went down over the next few seconds, there was some awkward silence when suddenly an African American voice loudly remarked to someone "Stop doin' that ! You're pokin' my butt !". It was really funny and we exploded laughing. By the time I reached the lounge my mood had lightened up and I headed out the building with a smile on my face.

2004-02-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Whyyyy

Do I have this insasne urge to eat right after my nightly brush.

Does the lane I entered thinking it was faster suddenly appear to become the slowest ?

Get up extra-late on the days I planned to wake up extra-early.

Find the lyrics "Kya yeh mera pehla pehla pyar hai" sung by 30-something actors corny ?

Feel the need to soothe my battered soul with chocolate ?

Get the feeling every time I look at my wadrobe every morning that I don't have enough clothes (despite shopping every second week !)

The harder I plan to stick to a diet, an unplanned butter pecan or something equally sinful shows up in my meal.

Do I Wonder if surya (the actor) is really that nice in real life .

Miss home so bad that I imagine a scene of rushing into my boss's office and telling him I'm quitting to go home. And almost really want to do it.

Feel the burning need to save on a salary when on a student's shoestring budget (with a million and a half expenses) I spent relatively impulsively.

Wonder when Bollywood wld wake up to creating heroes who actually have a regular, serious day-job (besides mooning over the heroine).

2004-02-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

A New Eden: Trouble in Paradise ?

The euphoria over valentine's day has died down, rather drowned in the raging discussions on the hottest topic of national debate - same-sex marriages. This valentine's saw several thousands of same-sex couples in the U.S walk down the aisle and get their marriage certificates. Massachussets and vermont have legalised such marriages by terming them as civil unions thereby no longer requiring the term "marriage" only refer to the union of a man and a woman. Some states like California whose state law does not officially allow gay and lesbian marriages (despite san francisco being the gay capital of america), the mayor of SFO, Gavin Newsom bypassed the law and sanctioned licenses.

The weekend saw men and women standing for long hours in lines that seemed to stretch across blocks to get a marrriage certificate before the law nullified the mayor's word. Surprisingly, despite strong protests from all sides - general public, lawyers and politicians - the license offices saw people
(Yes, most of them straight) volunteering to help keep up with the long lines of waiting couples.

Such strong protests against same-sex unions is surprising, although not entirely unexpected. It is surprsing to see America's otherwise brazen society turn conservative on human behavior that dates back several centuries. Ironically, in America among the most popular shows this past season has been "Queer eye for the Straight guy" !!

In a national debate this weekend on T.V one politician remarked that such unions and encouraging them would threaten the very existence of the human race ! Gay or lesbianism is hardly contagious and such arguments seem lame when seen in the light of scientific evidence that proves that gender preferences are hard-coded in a person's DNA. In any case, legalizing such unions just might atleast reduce the curiosity factor (and perhaps the need to experiment for the heck of it) among the impressionable. Several countries across Europe such as france have or are already in the process of legalizing same-sex preferences.

I think people ought to be given the right to live their life the way they wanted, with the person they want just like the rest of us. In a way what we are witnessing is pretty amazing if one realizes that we are actually living in the times that will possibly be remembered as that which redefined the concept of marriage and which also gave true meaning to human rights and freedom. While today people are rushing to get civil unions under heavy protests, I bet in ten years time nobody would blink when two men file for divorce !

2004-02-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

Going, Going...Gone

H-1B's are drying up and there seems to be a mad rush for the few remaining slots. The last USCIS update numbers were around 45000 H1-Bs having been dished out, out of a total of 65K. That's an avg of nearly 11k plus per month since October 03 when it was first released. So it's predicted that H-1B quota might be hit sometime Mid march.

Wldn't comment on the rest, but Indians , especially students on F-1, are really stressed out.Those who haven't gotten jobs yet and with their OPTs running out sometime around July/ August are finding themselves in a bit of a fix. That many U.S employers don't want to support a H-1B worker isn't making things any easier.

Many are approaching consultants so they wld atleast have H-1B status while they wait for project / training / better jobs. And everyone from consultants,legal eagles and of crz Uncle Sam, is making a killing given that all applicants want to file for express H-1s which are a whole lot costlier than regular processing. Even those with stable jobs aren't exactly in the best of situations. Many have been asked to pay for their H-1B visa themselves. That's a whopping 2500 dollars (express).

So the only open avenue for those who still have faith in the U.S economy or those for whom going back to India is not even an option (monetarily or otherwise), is renewing their F-1s. Many students have already applied for advanced degrees like Ph.Ds, MBAs etc.

Actually a few of my friends already did that 1.5 years ago when the job scene was at its worst. Now that they've graduated (with TWO degrees), they're on the lookout for jobs and therefore H-1Bs. It's an endless cycle. Some are already planning a third degree. This is not all. Owing to the sudden surge in the number of students who suddenly appear to be interested in higher studies, funding becomes even tougher. Some are not even being funded for their Ph.Ds. In my opinion doing an unfunded Ph.D is the equivalent of doing charity at best, if not sheer madness. Texas, which is considered one of the cheaper states, itself bills students anywhere 4500 to 5K in fees per semester. Many Indian students across the U.S are not funded these days during their first semester/ first year and sometimes their entire M.S tenure. So trying to pump money into the system in the hope that one would reap the dividends in the near future is a big gamble.

Given the big boom in jobs in India and especially because atleast one doesn't have to suffer immigration laws in India, trying for jobs there is the in thing. Quite frankly, with or without a visa problem here, increasingly the grass on the other side seems to be getting greener by the day. I suppose, the biggest lesson from this is not for the many who are already here, but those who still nurture dollar dreams in India. They ought to do a reality check and seriously reconsider any higher studies plans especially if they're unfunded.

For the rest, Life goes on and there is always hope. There is already some talk that the H-1 quota is going to be upped soon. While the fate of many would be decided in the next few weeks, one only hopes that the many H-1B hopefuls are able to resolve the issue to their favor.

2004-02-14T23:09:00.000-08:00

Who Loves Ya Baby ?

SNOWWW. It was a white valentine's in Arlington today. It snowed, quite surprisingly, and gave arlington a little more than it's usual annual average 3.5 inches of snow. Happened to go to Walmart last night (close to midnight) for some shopping and also because my roomie wanted to get gifts for her darling boyfriend. It was breathtaking to see the normally drab looking walmart come alive with Valentine Festivity. Red heart balloons seemed omni-present. Even in the auto tire section ! It was like walking into someone's quirky dream of Walmart's branch in paradise. Heart shaped chocolates, heart-shaped boxes, heart-shaped cards, heart shaped bouquets, heart-shaped ice-cream boxes. If something sweet/edible/fragrant/colorful and normally fancied by "Gurlz", one could get it in a red,heart-shaped package.

It was an incongrous sight at the billing counter. 'Brothers' and guys who looked like they were easily capable of re-arranging someone's face ("Don't mess with me buster") stood at the billing counter with flowers, cards and red-heart shaped boxes of chocolates for their sweetie.

Standard advice on the Internet/Radio for the un-attached single girls for V-DAY: "Hang out with your girl-friends and have a girls day/night out". Seemingly innocous piece of advice. But I'm beginning to wonder if that's what got me here in the first place.

Snow ruined my roomie's plans with her boyfriend. So in the spirit of Valentine's, went around dropping/ picking them up from their date destination. And yes, I did make it a point to buy a little something for a few close friends. Just to show them how much I appreciated everything they've done for me the last few moths. And also to make them feel better about things in tough times. On more than one occasion I thought I saw tears glistening. Seriously, it's nice to give. It even beats the kick of receiving.

But I did pamper myself a bit today. What says "I LOVE ME" more than a box of Rocher chocolates ?:)

2004-02-08T00:55:00.000-08:00

The Last Few FRIENDS

The count down has begun people, and I don't plan to miss a thing. Yup, Friends is winding down with all loose ends being wrapped up. I finally caught up with the sitcom this week after a 3 month sabbatical.THAT was because my T.V antenna broke and I just didn't get around to getting a new one. But finally last week I finally got me that antenna for 3 main reasons 1. Superbowl. 2. Friends Season Finale 3. Oscars. The first one's done and is proving to be the most-talked about superbowl ..yet. More on that later. The other two are just round the corner.

Friends is scheduled to wrap up in April and it's already showing signs of a happy ending. This week was about Phoebe's bachelorette party. It was a pary alright ,with Danny DeVito playing the unlikely stripper that Monica and Rachel hire on the fly. They first throw this sober, tea party as a farewell bacheloretty party to Phoebe who actually thinks it's all a set up for a big wild finale. But is dismayed to realize that it was all that was planned. Danny DeVito plays the stripper who's past his prime (If there was one and whenever that was). Besides this track, you have Chandler and Ross at their highschool reunion bumping into all their exes and then Joey who's surprisingly participates as a celebrity in the game show "The Pyramid". Interestingly, the highschool reunion cuts to a 1980's flashback on the group with the then portly Monica trying to dance, and the even-then vain and long-nosed Rachel (Before she got her nose job) , hair-disaster that was Chandler and the geeky Ross.

What I like best about this show and what really makes it "real" is the way the creators of the show have moulded the characters like real people - that is each character having a past, complete with trademark characteristics, with a present that is consistent with the past and with a future that promises to unfold.

Right now the whole show is headed in the general direction of weddings and more with Phoebe tying the knot in the next couple of episodes. That Mon and Chandler are planning on adopting a child is already old news. The big question is the "will-they or won't they" (re)union of Ross and Rachel. My bet is that they will given that there is no new face (Charlie is history) on the horizon. That leaves Joey Tribiani, played by Matt Le Blanc, the sole single. But Le Blanc has already planned on airing his own show starting sometime next season titled (what else?!) "JOEY". So maybe our withdrawal symptoms from "Friends" won't be so acute !

Last friday saw the taping of the season finale of friends. It's scheduled to be a 2-hr finale. I read somewhere that they've shot multiple endings just so that surprise is not spoilt. Besides all this hype, AOL users also get to vote the top 6 episodes from among 40. They are scheduled to air March 4th- April 8th in count-down order to coincide with the grand finale. How cool is that ? Waiting yet dreading April.

2004-02-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Fire !

At work today , at about 12:30 p.m the fire alarm went off. People were asked to head for the nearest exit. At our office that meant walking down 6 floors down. Reminded us of the time people were taking the stairs during 9/11. No time to pick anything else but our coats (cos it was freezing outside). The whole building emptied into the street, that's almost 600 people ! Fire engines were summoned and drove up to the building.

20 minutes later, the whole drama wound down. Everybody was asked to return to their offices. Reason ? Somebody overcooked their popcorn in their office microwave which caused the smoke alarms to go off.

AAARRRGH.

2004-02-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Valentine Blues !!

Among the top 6 jobs that could leave people lovelorn as ranked by Match.com, Software Engineer features Fourth !

"4. Software Engineer - You're constantly working, even in your pajamas. Type A personalities aren't testosterone–dependent. Your work long hours, and what you can't finish at the office, you bring home. You never take vacations because you believe the office will fall apart without you. Only work makes you feel special and needed. Any relationship you may have withers from neglect."

No surprise. It just confirms what I've always suspected.

2004-02-02T01:50:00.000-08:00

Remembering Columbia

One year ago the STS-107 Columbia space mission ended in tragedy over Texas. Since then much work has gone into nailing the precise reason the STS 107 disintergrated and many memorials been built in honour of the courageous crew of seven. With the Indian connection through Kalpana Chawla, it struck a chord among several Indians and made a tremendous impact on several young people that day and in the days that followed.

February 1 2003 was a sleepy sunday in Arlington, Texas until a boom resounded over the metroplex. Tuning into the news on T.V I learnt of the columbia STS-107 had exploded just 16 minutes short of landing in Florida. News channels played and replayed the last few seconds of the Columbia shuttle blazing it's way to earth just shortly before it landed. It was quite shocking to learn about the abrupt end that it meted out to Chawla and the other bright astronauts. It was a personal loss for the UTA (Univ of Texas at Arlington) community given that Kalpana Chawla or K.C was an alumna of the school. She had completed her M.S in Aeronautics here in 1984 before moving to Boulder, Colorado to pursue her Ph.D.

Some faculty members reported to have actually seen the shuttle blazing across the skies that morning, quite accidentally. Within hours of the news breaking out, t.v crews camped out at UTA to report reactions and responses from the UTA community. The following week there was a memorial for Chawla at UTA which I attended. It was very poignant with several professors, with a few of them Indian too, who had been interacted with Chawla over the years recounting their experiences and remembering her with glowing words.

Most students had not met Kalpana personally, but she was quite a legend at UTA. Woolf Hall, the building that houses the Aeronautics program always had some news item posted about Chawla's space missions. Incidentally, she was not the first astronaut that UTA produced. Another Alumni was Brig. Gen. Robert Stewart who graduated in 1972 from the Master's program at UTA and served as a specialist on Space Shuttle Mission 41-B launched in 1984. But Kalpana was the new face of the aeronautics program and UTA's claim to fame.

The incident made a huge impact on several students and Indian graduate students in particular. Uptill that point, personally, I knew just as much about her as everybody else. But the incident shone a light on Chawla's background, her struggles and obstacles as a girl in India who dared to dream, and dream Big. What started as curiousity to know more about the astronaut turned into a desire to know all about the person who became the astronaut. What drove her, what she did and how she lived her dream. You can read all about the Chawla Odessey here . The beauty was that her story was very similar to the situations several Indian students faced/ face in their pursuit of career choices and academic desires - that she almost didn't make it to the U.S for her M.S degree due to parental opposition and how it all came through in the last minute when her dad had a change of heart and went the whole nine yards to get her visa. Her advisor at UTA , Don Wilson, recounted that she was an outgoing student and how although Chawla was not exactly the top student in his class, she was nevertheless among the most sincere. (On her last mission, she took the Aeronautics Dept.'s T-Shirt that quips "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist !") I admired her spirit of giving back to her alma mater(s) when I learned that Chawla and her husband sponsored meritorious students from her school in Karnal, Punjab every year for the NASA science program and that she took a personal interest in them in doing so. Incidentally, she also visited UTA twice as a keynote speaker in the engineering week, and also interacted with the Indian Students Associated often.

Spring 2003 was the semester I was due to graduate and it was a race against time to complete my thesis. As a student, I was naturally curious to read about Chawla's own thesis "Optimization of cross flow fan housing for airplane wing installation" , a copy of which is archived in the library. It sat among the many rows of archived thesis publications at UTA, almost obscurely. It was interesting to go through it and I felt a step closer to the author who had written it herself.

Since the tragedy a year ago, much has been done in UTA to keep her memory alive. To start with, a new residence hall, The Kalpana Chawla Hall", is nearing completion. Besides that, Scholarship programs have been initiated for funding school of engineering student.

It was ironic that she took her first steps towards her dreams here in Texas and her end came in the skies over Texas, so close home. Learning about Kalpana and her indomitable spirit was a real inspiration. It made me proud that we shared our Alma Mater; to know she walked the very same halls and studied in the same classrooms. One only wishes we had more opportunities to learn from her directly about her experiences after the successfull completion of the STS-107 mission.

2004-01-25T03:48:00.000-08:00

Review: Rhythm

Just watched the movie RHYTHM. Never watched it earlier and despite having read some reviews that said how it had maturely dealt the topic of re-marrying, it came as a bit of a surprise. Since Arjun was in the lead, I had expected to see him in some form of heroic, one-man army kind of role battling the demons of corruption or terrorism in general. Thankfully it was none of the above.

To summarise the movie, it was a story about two people who are bereaved by the death of their spouses and how they rediscover lost companionship in life. Arjun plays a Assistant Commisioner of Police turned photo editor who’s lost his wife in a train accident. Meena plays the role of an ordinary, middle class girl who goes about selling sarees. She meets, marries and eventually loses her husband in the same train accident. She however has a young son who happens to be adopted, as per the wishes of her late husband. While she now works in Mumbai, having taken on the post of her late husband, Arjun has just relocated to Mumbai for his new job with a newspaper. Circumstances keep throwing Meena and Arjun together and while the former shows much reserve and restraint in her attitude towards Arjun, he is mystified by it. Although initially he does not harbour feelings for her, his parents convince him to reconsider his marital status and think about marrying Meena whose past and present is like his. At first Meena refuses when asked for her opinion by his father. But the difficulties faced as a single woman , what with a lecherous neighbor, and the terrific rapport that her son shares with Arjun eventually make her reconsider her decision – or almost. The speedbreaker is the return of the hitherto angry mother-in-law of Meena. While initially she had refused to allow her son marry meena, she reappears after five years to make amends and requests Meena to stay with her in Ooty for both their sakes. Does Meena take her offer or follow her only shot at companionship again ? Watch the movie !

My take on the movie is that it’s an okay movie..nothing phenomenal like Balachander’s movies but better than the regular Masala fare that kodambakam churns out. Meena plays her role maturely and displays the restraint of a widow who copes with life on her own without self-pity. The widower tag doesn’t seem to really stick to Arjun character somehow, because of both his body language and his relatively perky dialogues. Jyothika, who plays his wife, appears either hyper or melodramatic. Teething problems of acting maybe. I particularly liked Lakshmi’s role as the mamiyar. I liked her authentic portrayal of a hardcore bhramin mami and her cool disposition when she tells meena that she cannot be her daughter in law. “Ni nallavaLa ve irukalam, illeNgale. Aana engAthukku vendaam ngaren.” She says it like it is and walks out, leaving meena and her family stunned. The songs by A.R. Rahman in the movie while good, appear to be squeezed into situations that held the remotest possibility of a song sequence. One song whose placement in the movie sticks out like a sore thumb is “Ayyo Pathikichu”. There isn’t any rhyme or reason for it in “Rhythm”. Even weirder is watching shankar mahadevan shake a leg and whatever else he can manage to “Thaniye thanan thaniye”. Just what was he thinking ? One big relief was not having to see a song featuring meena and arjun. It is tamil film logic to expect that the lead pair be entitled to a duet of their own if they each have had a duet with their respective ex-es. Vasanth seems to have had the good sense to keep in mind Meena’s sober role.

I have stopped trying to figure out why this movie (like countless others these days) has an irrelevant English title. One funny sequence in the movie was the train accident scene. Far from being moving or even horrific, they looked like Lego’s toy train sets colliding with each other. Which I am convinced they were. Me wonders why the director had to resort to showing train wrecks which he is so obviously inept at handling when instead he could have just easily have had an air crash. Atleast it automatically eliminates the need to show HOW it happened and even more convenient if it supposedly occurs over the sea.
< Signs of a potential disaster-specialist for bollywood ? >

By the way, the recent hindi movie Kuch na Kaho seems to be very similar to this one. Both of them deal with remarriage of a single mother and present the child’s craving for a father as motivating factors. But Meena appears more convincing as the mother in her late twenties rather than Aishwarya (because she is Aishwarya!) who runs around trees with the hero. Then again, Rhythm is atleast not as dramatic as KNK what with the husband making a comeback in it.

Overall:
Rhythm: Worth a watch ..just once.

2004-01-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Indian Men

Was just reading something about Indian Men. Nothing serious..just some stuff by some amateur , yet observant, writer I bet.
There is a beautiful deserted island in the middle of nowhere where the following group of people is stranded:

Two Italian men and one Italian woman
Two French men and one French woman
Two German men and one German woman
Two Greek men and one Greek woman
Two Bulgarian men and one Bulgarian woman
Two Irish men and one Irish woman
Two American men and one American woman
Two Indian men and one Indian woman

One month later on this absolutely stunning deserted island in the middle of nowhere, the following has occurred:

One Italian man killed the other Italian man for the Italian woman.

The two French men and the French woman are living happily together in a "menage a trois".

The two German men have a strict weekly schedule of when they alternate with the German woman.

The two Greek men are sleeping with each other and the Greek woman is cleaning and cooking for them.

The Bulgarian men took a long look at the endless ocean and one look at the Bulgarian woman and they started swimming.

The Irish began by dividing up their island, Northside and Southside, and by setting up a distillery. They do not remember if sex is in the picture because it gets sort of foggy after the first few liters of coconut whiskey, but at least the English are not getting any.

The two American men are contemplating the virtues of suicide while the American woman keeps on talking about her body being her own, the true nature of feminism, how she can do everything that they can do, about the necessity of fulfillment, the equal division of household chores, how her last boyfriend respected her opinion and treated her much nicer and how her relationship with her mother is improving. But at least the taxes are low and it is not raining.

..AND...

The Two Indian men are still waiting for someone to introduce them to the Indian woman

Ok, so this has done a zillion rounds on the net. But it still makes me smile. I certainly agree that by and large Indian men are still more conservative and shyer than All-American men. And my All-American friend Liz here would re-affirm that, now that she's seeing an Indian guy after suffering quite a few american jerks. This is not to say that all American guys make pathetic boyfriends or that Indian guys are god's greatest gift to sweet girls. I only mean that Indian guys by and large are not as bold in their moves even when trying to express an interest as American guys are. Or that for that matter even when neck deep in a relationship.

Is that cute or what? Depends. There are a whole lot of girls who dig shy guys (And please, not simpering, acutely shy wallflowers); there's a certain classiness in a guy who's cute, polite and friendly but seemingly doesn't seem to be on the prowl. It also lends a certain sense of comfort and security for the girls since they subject themselves anyway to much self-scrutiny. On the other hand, I wish ( as do many other girls)
they'd know more about how to treat a lady. No offense meant, just that I haven't met a girl who doesn't like being asked out (directly) by a chivalrous guy who knows the art of courtship.

There's a certain charm about the Indian man,it appears,like one american colleague pointed out: "they have such beautiful, warm eyes". He is also considered relatively non-fussy when it comes to the girl's 24X7 appreance (The "Early morning Just-woken-up look" is a big myth made up to give normal girls a complex) and doesn't obsess on the "super skinny" factor. Besides all this, the predominant Indian hang-ups of not wanting to express one's love in public, may not be such a bad thing after all. (Reportedly, my friend Liz was swayed by her boyfriend's sincere-sounding yet reassuring rationale that it was more important for the two of them to understand rather than advertise to the world that he loved her and she loved him).

In any case I wonder how relevant the above quoted piece is in today's dynamic context. At times like when I heard about my best friend's sweet wedding proposal to her by her boyfriend (both very much Indian) (Asking her dad, surprise date, flowers and proposal over a romantic dinner) and which sounded similar to many other such happy "beginnnings" of some of my other friends, it makes me think that the urban, metrosexual Indian male is gradually coming out of his shell.

2004-01-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Love and Loss

A friend's (S) father recently passed away. I wrote to her expressing my condolences... the pain will not fade, but we will begin accepting it .It's true. Another friend of mine took much pains to ensure that she didn't talk about the issue with her when they met up. In my opinion that is of even lesser use to the person than gently broaching the topic.How do I make such claims ?? I know. Because I was in that very same position that my friend is in a couple of years ago when Mum crossed over. (No, I still won't use the word D word).The process of healing and recovering from such an extreme incident in one's life - I say extreme because death isn't everyday for many people - takes time. "Don't cry, Be Strong for your father" they said. Everybody's sympathies were with dad, who lost his soulmate of 23 years. True, but what about me ? Letting oneself feel the pain is a part of grieving. Who will be strong for me ? Mum always used to be the one. You know, for all that the Desi American Dreams are made out to be, this is the sad reality of it. One may be several miles and oceans away from one's loved ones and all one hears is the dispassionate news - it had happened. It only requires your next reaction - are you going for it or not ?

I don't think I still have accepted it . I still think I live in denial. I still assume that mum is there in India. She's going about her chores, she's so busy so she's not at home at the moment. Prefer to keep my sanity in check that way. Going home was a bitter sweet experience then. It was my first trip back home and ironically it was for the wrong reason. Even more ironical was that I was back in India the very day I had left it a year earlier. I dreaded going home from the airport that day. I still remember that sick feeling. Wanting to puke, run away, die all at the same time. Maybe the incongruity of it all struck me even more. It was strange looking at the people in the plane having "duty free shopping" gifts.

A year later I made my next trip. I was determined to create pleasant memories - to have a normal holiday like everybody else. I still could not make myself go through her wadrobe. The smell, the scent of her lingers so strongly that it leaves me disturbed. As if forcing me to face the truth, " If she is around town and will be back...and her clothes still look and smell the same like she really did,...but isn't at home ".

Anyway, coming to the question of what happens to the people left behind. I think their needs are misunderstood - if understood at all. Rather than not take the topic , they want to hear the name of their dear ones again.. and over again. They want to talk about them - and avoiding it makes it seem that they are expected to behave it never happened. Almost as if the very person didn't exist. Hello! Something life altering just happened.

You know, I had a room-mate who lost a very dear aunt. She told me something that I didn't understand fully then: "I thought that no matter what joy life gives me, it will always be laced with this one sorrow". I think I now understand that sense of incompleteness...

I searched and laid my hands on every book or article describing others' loss, listened anxiously when someone related something similar - anything to get the pain over with. I did see bouts of sunshine in my quest..
Just a passing thought ...I found the movie "Steel Magnolia" especially cathartic. The final moment when the broken-hearted mother, who lost her 24 year old daughter, goes from denial to helpless realization all in the final miinutes of the funeral was very real ..very moving. It also showed that there can be a gentle glow of sunlight at the end of the tunnel.

Things do get better with time. After all, every cloud does have a silver lining. But I don't agree with the cliche that the pain fades away with time. I think we only learn to accept and live with it.

2004-01-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Car(e) Free

RIGHT NOW, I feel great !! I got a nice new car around New Year's and after 3 years of being "immobile", I can finally experience life Queen Size! My own car from my - own pay. Feels good :) Today was also the first day I managed to venture by myself in my car all the way to work , 30 miles ! I never thought I could do it. Driving in the U.S is way different driving around in India.
The most obvious differences are the complete lack of cows, urchins, dogs, cyclists (in the middle of the road), rarely, motorbikes, and even pedestrians. So, after being so used to driving roads Indian Style - that is always looking and anticipating around intersections cyclists zooming past, or cars deciding to butt into the main road that you are on - it took me a little while to really let go and Just Drive. Drive, so you can feel the breeze through the sun-roof, drive knowing that nothing can stop you - except the signals and stop signs - is pure liberation. Sometimes I think all one needs to be happy is some money and a car (in the U.S that is). Single life is great, do anything at the spur of the moment and spend as one wishes. I have a long wish list of things I have wanted to do upon getting a car. Some of them are as simple as ...
1. Drive down straight to the desi corner store for Chaat right after a rough day of work
2. Get a bird's eye view of Dallas city from the Re-union tower. It's a tall building right in downtown with a revolving restaurant right at the top.
3. Get to Starbucks whenever, wherever ..
4. Go shopping on saturday afternoons carefree..
5. Friday-night Freedom !!!!!!!!!! Movies and more movies at my favorite cineplex.
6. Driving down to spend a nice afternoon at the River Legacy Park.
7. Getting to visit nearby Animal or Pet shelter...hopefully can give them a hand or try to join a People for Animals wing.
8. Join a worthy cause like the one above or even ASHA.
9. A car = Dandiya nights in 7 months. Yippeee.
10. Camping, Road trips to visit some amazing places like Colorado or even locally in Texas.

I take care of my car like it's my baby. I got a whole bunch of car toys and stuff to keep it clean..

What a feeling..

2004-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

India Votes - Was amused by the acronyms that the BJP seems to have come up with.
TINA, TITA and SITA to stand for There is no alternative, There is terrible alternative while SITA is nothing but — Sonia (Gandhi) is terrible alternative. The war seems to have started for the hot seat in the country. and BJP believes that the people wld vote for it not becos of TINA, but there is TITA in the form of SITA. hehehe !
Catch the buzz here..

2004-01-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

Been following
VIRUMANDI's trail for quite some time now. It seems to have taken many a blogger's fascination. One such is Guru's blog where he regularly posts updates on the movie. I was just reading up on the massive and fairly-innovative publicity campaign that Kamal has launched for his movie. Apparently, they have gone as far as releasing fresh trailors for the movie every five days, a toll-free (!!) number that people can call and order for delivery of tickets and even teleconferences and video conferences with actors of the movie . Totally cool ! One other thing is that he's even used the air waves on the cellular media for promoting the movie. If you have a Reliance India Mobile
you can catch VIRUMAANDI's trailors et al on your mobile !!

2004-01-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

Totally loved this blog : Bharateeya Blog Kela® Here's one blogger who has the guts to call a spade , a Spade ! I've done quite a bit of reading of blogs online, and for the first time I felt someone echoing my thoughts on them. I was put off by the idea of blogging for a few days after I read numerous blogs that only seemed like a publication of their personal diary chronicling in painful detail their day-to-day activities. This blog almost feels like watching a typical cliched hindi movie with a bunch of friends, if you know what I mean.

2004-01-16T23:50:00.000-08:00

Life, Love and Beyond

I am back to blogging. After much procastrination, I finally got down to write and thus take my first step towards fulfilling my new year resolution. Not sure about the rest of you, but I realized too late that the blogger's name goes in full after the blog and cannot be altered in the blog. I was torn between assuming a new name versus continuing to blog. Heck ! Might as well stand up for what I am than hiding behind a screen-name was my consolation to myself. Anyways, to continue on my line of thought , I have been meaning to post a few links to some really good articles I learnt on death and greiving.I haven't seen many blogs on grey topics as these. Personally I benefitted enormously from these and especially passed them onto my dad.One specially moving article is a first person account by Harry Bernstein who is 93 years old and lost his dear wife after 67 years of marital bliss. It was a simple afternoon on a work day when I was reading this over lunch at my desk. By the end of it, I was in tears. It's a touching account of love and loss.<>

2003-10-19T15:46:00.001-07:00

My first job...

"Congrats! So you've landed a job !!" was the excited happy-for-you reaction I got from whoever I ran into that week. Graduating at a time when people were in the firing line is tough. Tough-errr when you have approximately a little less than a 3 figure bank balance and too much of an ego to ask for help. Scared shitless for the lack of a job, I began a furious job hunt. Scoured my university bookshop for job-help books.
Read them there, took notes <>. My resume and coverletter sure needed that make-over..and ofcrz, call, call, call was the mantra. I seemed to have an account on atleast 10 job hunt sites.
My first call was going nowhere.. "Thanks, we'll get back when we go through the resumes." or it would promptly go to the voicemail of the person concerned. I would obediently leave my well-rehearsed message with my number. I wasn't really getting anywhere, really. I hammered away the numbers, yammered my way into talking to the HR, bulldozed my way to talk to the hiring manager. Finally, D-Day. It seems all those months of working on a research project on mobile agents didn't go waste. "When can you start ?" Sweet music to my ears used to the auto-voice mail. Which brings me to where I was standing - in the lobby of a phenomenal building in the heart of the telecom corridor in Texas. I get my own laptop - a latitude !! The baby is so smooth and runs on a 1GB RAM.

First jobs, I'm told, are not always dream jobs. First jobs, are ...well...just first jobs. Typically a case of loads of work, that mostly qualifies for "good experience". It has a steep learning curve for sure, especially if you've never had a full-time job before. Who carez ?! I love this . I love the business of working. After leading the life of a graduate student - dominated by jeans, standing in long lines, getting a maximum of "have a nice day" ..just because they owed us one for all the fees we paid, it was a bit of a pleasant surprise shaking hands with some really smart people, who all took the time to introduce themselves, said that they were happy to have me on their team, and were actually taking the time to have a meeting, to talk about telemetry and agents courtesy my degree... Whoa !!! Never felt better.

All those frustrating nights of working on my thesis seemed to be finally worth it. All the pain, the tears, the worry , the sleep-deprived existence seemed to be worth it.

Ten days later, my first business cards arrive. It's magical.. I'm excited. It has my whole name, with an important-sounding title and a phone extension ! And a whole 3 boxes of them ! Yahooo.
And yes, I've got my own little official-sounding voice mail recorded too :-)

Ah, the little pleasures of a first job !!

2003-10-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

2003-10-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered why Indians have a penchant for all things free ?! I mean, a few days ago my friends and I were having this discussing about online music piracy and such. This was regarding an article I read in the Dallas Morning News about a piracy suit slapped on a 75 yr old man just because they traced a huge number of music downloads and file sharing to his computer. The poor man was an innocent victim due to
the fact that it was his grandchildren who had actually done so. Anyways, coming to the topic, this friend of mine quipped that it was silly that the music industry was making a big hue and cry about file sharing and downloading off Kazaa and others. Music should be free ! or so he says. Almost like it was his birthright. To my surprise, many working-class desi people I know who work at the best of companies in fact, too share this funda.

Shouldn't these people be working for free if they expect music for free ?? I mean, it's a barter of services then isn't it. But others feel that since artistes anyway make obscene sums of money, it won't pinch them if they a teensy weensy bit of revenue through kazaa etc. But who'd pay the artistes to create music if money wasn't coming in for CDs. Imagine , if downloading was 100% legit, soon it would take over pretty much legitamate CD and tape sales. Here's another way of looking at it :The same person had been ruing over the fact that he had not gotten a bonus at work. He felt he needed that approx. 5K bonus just as a matter of motivation and not for the monetary perks. We argued that it was the same thing for an artiste. The money they make need not be set aside for their monthly living expenses. It's a matter of motivation too that they make money through selling their art.

The other common refrain is that not all music is worth listening to in a CD. People would want to customize their CDs more...

But hey, you still have the option of buying (english) songs piece-meal off the net legitamately from sites like Yahoo , for maybe 79- 99 cents for each song. Actually it's a vicious cycle. But I guess the indian industry too should wake up to this soon and try to be more flexible in the face of such huge amounts of money being lost. Perhaps they too could sell songs per piece on-line...The same goes for indian MP3's. Tons of songs free on the net and indian copyright rules so flimsy that people can easily legitamise their downloads just because the copyright may not cover north america.

Ask any indian in the U.S about just how many pirated videos they have watched here. Most weekends are guaranteed to be spent watching the latest hindi/tamil/telugu/* flick which is most often than not a "VCD PRINT" on a video tape. It's taken for granted. The man at the desi store here has a 1000 videos stacked and he normally would charge about a $1 per movie. Authentic VCDs are expensive relatively...maybe a buck or two more. But most prefer to go for the tape version of a movie that probably just released last week. It's sooo common all of north america, that it is hardly questioned by anyone.

It's a vicious cycle ..... -> Lesser income from sales of a movie / it's audio . --> Less money to producers, distributors and actors --> Lesser money in the market to make better films.

I get the feeling that many desis here may not agree with me. I won't be surprised. It's strange you know...these people hold fantastic jobs, make 5-6 figure nings,and yet prefer to burn songs off the net and
watch pirated tapes. But "mera kya jaata hai" is the attitude of most people.

Many may argue that it's not just indians, but people the world over who do this. But americans seem to be holding off downloading. The fear of being sued perhaps. Whatever the case maybe, it's still disturbing to see the attitude among my fellow desis at times.