Posts from — September 2002
Weekend treats
I’m getting really sick of saying every Monday that I’ve had a good weekend. This has become more of a given statement than a variable one. It prompts me to consider re-evaluating the parameters on which I base my assessment of the quality of the weekend that I’ve just spent. Maybe I’m setting my sights too low… maybe I’m satisfied (or even overjoyed!) over little pleasures… maybe I don’t do much on weekends which really precludes the qualitative assessment of things I did during the weekend!
I strongly suspect that the last line of reasoning holds good in my case!
But the bottomline is that I really did have a great weekend! (that turns the previous few lines into nothing more than a meaningless rant!)
Early morning drive to Pune on Saturday was, as usual, wonderful. The only thing that interrupted the incessant music and chatter on the FM radio on the car stereo, was my mother’s occasional shriek when I did some high speed cornering in the ghat section of the expressway. Honestly, I took some of the curves on the road at some pretty hellish speeds!! *LOL*
This time, however, on reaching Pune, we did not have to relive the excitement of discovering a robbed apartment. How boring!! In fact, we found that the builder had, very politely, bought for us, the items that we had lost to the burglars last time around. He said that it was his duty (sic!) to compensate us for our loss! My mother was having none of it as she refused to touch those items and had them sent back to the builder’s office, immediately!
After a lunch that consisted of mutter paneer (that I helped my mom prepare!), I dozed off… grateful to catch up on the sleep that I had lost when I had to wake up early in the morning to leave for Pune. Later, we left the house to go do some serious Ganpati hopping throughout the city. It was as if the entire Pune had taken to the streets to get the darshan of their favourite elephant-headed deity. All the roads were packed with throngs of people, out with their families and friends literally Ganpati-hopping all over the city. The streets and the narrow by-lanes of Pune wore a festive look… a welcome change from the dark, medieval look that descends on the city streets once it is past 8:00 PM (well, I’m speaking about Pune in general… the hip, up-market areas of Pune party late into the night, nowadays… much like Mumbai does!).
Well, anyways, we saw lots many Ganpatis, including the famed Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati. But it was too crowded to even walk, let alone drive… so we had to forego visiting some Ganesh mandals. But some others that we saw were simply amazing. At one place, they had put up a dancing fountain. The colourfully lit water fountain danced to the beats of a man playing live music on a tabla. It was wonderfully creative!!
After dinner, I took everybody to Portico to have ice-cream (they have some wonderful flavours there!. There was also an ulterior motive in taking everybody to Portico. They have a TV in the parlour, on which I wanted to see the final overs of the match between India and Zimbabwe. The ice-cream that we ate (I had double scoop of Mocha Almond) tasted doubly sweet because we had it while seeing India defeat Zimbabwe in a cliff-hanger of a match. Mohammad Kaif played wonderfully well (yet again!) and scored his first one-day century. Here’s a bit of interesting coincidence… The last time we were in Pune on a Saturday, Indians played England in the Headingley Test Match. India won that Test Match with a historic margin of an innings and some runs. The time before that we were Pune on a Saturday, India played England in the NatWest Trophy one-day final, in which India scored another historic win by chasing 329 runs. Kaif had played the innings of his life with 87 not out. Kaif again played a fantastic innings of 111 not out this time on Saturday when we were in Pune! There’s something about my being in Pune on a Saturday that inspires the Indian cricket team (and especially, Kaif)!! ;-)
Well then, Sunday passed pretty well and I could be found sitting stretched out in the balcony of our 6th floor apartment in Pune, either looking at the vehicles speeding on the distant highway, or seeing the sunlight shimmering on the placid waters of Pashan lake, or watching the shepherd herd his flock of sheep across the undulating patch of grassy land that lay just across the street from where I stay. All the while, the stiff breeze blowing over the gently rolling hills beyond the highway played havoc with my unruly hair!
In short… I spent the Sunday in a wonderfully laid-back manner, recharging my batteries for the gruelling monotony (oxymoron?!!) of the weeks that lay ahead!
In the evening on Sunday, we drove back to Mumbai… again, driving at a pace that had my mom giving me a piece of her mind. I really should take it easy!! But I find the drive back to Mumbai more exciting that the one to Pune… even though the route is the same! I guess its because usually while returning to Mumbai, its evening and the sun is about to set. So, I feel like driving into the sun on a looong stretch of road… like those classic Hollywood movies! *LOL*
All in all, a weekend well spent!
That’s all for now, see you all again tomorrow… Take care!
cheers!
September 16, 2002 Comments Off
Of Ganpati-hopping and Paraskevidekatriaphobes
no time to blog today!!… have to go visit my relatives.
And tomorrow, I’ll be going to Pune to spend the weekend there and see all the famous Ganpatis in Pune (Pune is really famous for its Ganeshotsav celebrations). So, in effect, I’ll be Ganpati-hopping, as Amrita puts it! *LOL*
I’ll be checking out the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati and the Kasba Peth Ganpati, both of which are very famous. I’ll take a few snaps and get them scanned after I’m back to Mumbai
Ok, its Friday the 13th today and since I’m not a friggatriskaidekaphobe, I’m not afraid of it!! In fact, 13 is my lucky number. Most of the good things that have happened to me, have happened either on the 13th or 26th. heh heh!!
So, who among you all is a friggatriskaidekaphobe? … or a paraskevidekatriaphobe for that matter? *LOL*
Well then, good bye folks… have a fab weekend! …au revoir!!
cheers!
September 13, 2002 Comments Off
I’m a hazard to myself … and others too!!
Why do I feel as if I’ve lived this life before?! … I keep on getting this strong sense of déja vu time and again. Its almost as if there’s some glitch in the Matrix!! *LOL*
… and this coffee that I’m having, sucks!! :-/
My mood during the day was really crappy. Well, not exactly foul… just crappy! I was chatting with Rochelle and she had to bear the full brunt of my mood!! … poor girl!! I bored her to death with my pathetic attempts at humour. Boy!!! when I do that I really hit the rock bottom and start scratching to go even further below. I’m surprised that Rochelle didn’t tear her hair out in frustration!! *LMAO*
Actually, I was working on something here in the office and that something was working halfway. I mean, I couldn’t say that it wasn’t working at all, but at the same time, it did not run as per plan. I was certain that it was due to some very very minute bug in the code or some miniscule problem in the way I had configured the system. And it was driving me nuts… not being able to find the exact cause of the glitch!!.
Finally, in the evening, without warning, and after about sixty seven zillion attempts at configuring the system correctly… the damned thing started working. That too without a warning and when I was least expecting it. I was tempted to jump up and run around yelling Eureka, Eureka!!. But then I realized that I was fully clothed and the prime requirement for shouting those words was that you have to be naked à la Archimedes!! So, I just smiled and let out a sigh!! ;-)
To make the long story short… I’m in a better mood now than I was during the entire day. :-)
Anyways… tomorrow, I’m supposed to accompany my parents to my aunt’s place. They don’t get Ganapati at their home, but they do have Gauri… and we’ll be going there for the darshan. I’m not too excited at the idea of going, mainly because all my aunts will keep on fussing over me and pestering me with such silly questions as “When are you planning to get married?”. Aaaaaahhhh!! … I hate such questions!! … Why don’t they just let me be!!?
But on the brighter side, I get to meet my cousins… and thats the only redeeming aspect of tomorrow’s visit! More importantly, I get to meet my niece who’s just a year old. Well, she’s damn cute!! … and I feel happy when I can make her smile!!! :-)
Well ohh-kay! … thats about it for now! … I guess!
cheers!
P.S.: (if ever there is such a thing as a Post Script to a blog!) … Ok ppl, please do not be miserly when commenting. You can either comment on the tagboard or by clicking the comments link just below this line! :-)
September 12, 2002 Comments Off
A small big blog
I’m feeling unusually bored today and I cannot point a finger to the reason why I’[m feeling that way today. Well, actually, I’ve had a pretty good day so far. Most of the things I had planned on doing today at work have been completed successfully. But there is still a niggling sense of boredom at the back of my mind.(Nope! … it doesn’t have anything to do with today being 9/11). Darn!! … I hate this!!
I don’t feel like blogging today… but I want to blog. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?!… It does… to me!!
So, I’m just gonna publish something I’ve written a long time back. Maybe you’ve already read it, because I did include link for it in the control panel, to the right.
You all will have to bear with me through this self-indulgent rant that follows. Ok, so here goes…
My Dieting Blues
“You won’t be required to learn swimming now!” my sister opened a conversation one day with this cryptic remark. Cryptic because there was no mention of ’swimming’ in the recent past as far as my recollection of the event goes.
I guess she must have seen the question mark on my face because she went on to explain, “You see, fat people are supposed to float naturally on water!” I was speechless for a few moments in which my mind reeled under this caustic barb.
‘Fat’ was certainly not how I liked to describe myself. ‘Big-boned’, ‘healthy’, etc. were the euphemistic terms that I reckoned fit me better. But then the damage was done. I couldn’t get the word ‘fat’ out of my head from then on. At every possible opportunity I managed to sneak glances at myself in the mirror (trying to be as nonchalant as possible while doing so, because I certainly did not want to be branded as ‘vain’). Slowly the realisation dawned (and not a moment too soon) that I had indeed put on some amount of weight that I could easily have done without.
So now what could be done? Yes, a diet would certainly fit the bill here, I thought. So that moment saw me vehemently promising to go on a diet aiming at a fitter and slimmer me. But then I knew nothing about going on a diet. Sure, I had heard a lot of things. But how in the name of God does one start off? Ignorance was certainly not bliss in this case. I started reading health magazines and websites by the dozen. I consulted family members, friends, their family members, their friends and so on and so forth till I met so many people that I felt I had proved the theory of ’six degrees of separation’. I got gorgeously different advice from each of them.
A category of people gave advice on food. One said, “Stop eating potatoes”. Another said, “Stop eating rice”. Still another quipped, “Stop eating anything for dinner”. And another threw in “Stop eating.”. Another group of people attacked my lifestyle. “Start exercising!”, “Stop late nights”, “Stop smoking” (I don’t know why I was given this advice. I never smoke), “Stop drinking alcohol”, “Change your job. Try a field job”, “Shift out of the city to a village”. An elderly gentleman even asked me to go find inner peace by throwing myself at the feet of God (I wonder how that helps!).
My mind was a vortex of ideas and suggestions, all spinning around rapidly and causing even more confusion than I had started out with. Finally I decided to start the actual diet with a plan of my own. The first thing I did, was to get myself weighed on a weighing scale at a railway station. I stood on the scale, inserted a coin in the slot and waited as the machinery inside the colourful scale began whirring. Before long, a card, much like a railway ticket, popped out which in turn had me eyes popping out reading the registered weight. I definitely needed to diet.And diet hard!
So I did just that!Or at least I started!!… The chocolates stopped. So did the sweets. I rationed the amount of tea/coffee that I consumed during the day. I started eating lesser amount of virtually everything I ate. Someone told me to have lots of water during the day. I complied and it helped too. I burnt a fair amount of calories just making the frequent (and urgent!) trips to the loo!
My mom suggested that I have lemon juice mixed with honey in lukewarm water in the mornings on an empty stomach. Who can refuse a mom? So I did that too. Other than starting the day with the sour taste of lemons in my mouth it did nothing for my weight. On the contrary I started having something sweet just to remove that confounded taste from my mouth.
By the start of the second week, I could make out no difference in my figure as I gazed at myself in the mirror looking for signs of success. Disappointed but not disheartened, I vowed to continue the diet. But it was difficult. Returning home from the office, everyday I could smell the wonderful aroma of food being cooked. This used to send the crows in my tummy into frenzy, caw-cawing raucously. But then the word ‘Fat’ used to dance in front of my mind’s eyes, and I could do nothing other than let the crows shout till they dropped dead inside my stomach. I would then proceed to bury them under salads of various kinds.
It was worse when I saw my friends eating ice creams and sweets. I barely managed to stop myself from drooling in public. At the end of the second week I decided to stop this madness from driving me round the bend. This was it, I decided. I have to check up on my progress and decide the further course of action. The weighing scale at the railway station beckoned again. And I went to it. As I climbed on to it, I could hear my heart beating out aloud. Then I inserted a coin in the slot and waited. The machinery inside the scale once again started its cheerful dance. As the disc rotated around in circles, I found myself praying to god. There was a clicking sound and the disc stopped. Another set of clicks and a card popped its head out of a slot. I removed the card with my eyes closed and held it in front of my face. And slowly opened my eyes.
This time thankfully, the eyes did not pop out of the sockets. How could they?!
It was the same figure that had filled my consciousness for the past two weeks. I was accustomed to it.
My eyes didn’t pop out.
Among other things… I had been to my uncle’s place in New Bombay, yesterday. They have Ganapati at their house and so I’d gone there with my mom, dad and sis. The drive going there was pretty smooth. But, the drive back was a headache since there was some checking going on at Sion where the police had set up a naka-bandi. This had resulted in a bumper-to-bumper traffic right from Sion upto Chembur. And the cars moved only inches at a time. By the time we reached home, I had a headache measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale!! *LOL*
That’s all folks! (tell me… who has made this line famous… I mean, “That’s all folks!” ? … This is your homework for the day! *LOL*)
cheers!
September 11, 2002 Comments Off
A totally filmi blog
I did all that I had said I would do during the weekend… put my feet up and relaxed… grew a stubble… looked like a bum. So, should I classify this weekend as a success because I did everything I thought I would do. Or do I consider it as a failure since I did nothing productive and wasted two days …i.e. 48 hours of my life?! *LOL*
Friday evening, I saw Chocolat, the delightful movie about a little French town that is transformed when a woman and her daughter set up a chocolate shop there and promise to ignite the passions of the townspeople with their sinfully delicious chocolate concoctions. It is a simple movie with a heart-warming storyline… which was why I liked it. Hollywood should produce more movies like this rather than the trash it serves out under the guise of entertainment.
While on the subject of movies, I don’t think it is possible, these last few days, to have been in India and not to have heard about the controversy that erupted over Ek Chotisi Love Story. First and foremost, the movie itself isn’t an original piece of work. It is a verbatim copy from a Polish art film A Short Story About Love. Apart from the storyline that has been copied, even individual scenes have been plagiarized frame-to-frame (even the love-making scenes, right down to the positions that the lovers use while making love, are same!). To top this, the director, Shashilal Nair proudly claims that he thought that the Polish film was so perfectly picturized that he did not feel the need to tamper with the scenes… yeah, right!! :-|
Secondly, Manisha Koirala, the lead actress in the film, claims that her modesty was outraged because the director exposed more of her skin than was agreed upon. Fair enough complaint to make! … But the basic flaw in this argument is that it is Manisha who has exposed herself on-screen. It was her body double, Jessica Choksi, a struggling model, who did the semi-nude scenes!! So… Manisha, why all the noise?!
A few days back I read an article in a newspaper which stated that, Manisha Koirala, the grand-daughter of a former prime minister of Nepal, has political ambitions and would like to enter politics in her home country of Nepal. If this indeed is true then, I guess, it explains why she is so hung up over the exposure that she hasn’t actually done. *LOL*. So, what does she do next?… She goes to Bal Thackeray and asks him to ensure that the film is not screened. Thackeray and his Shiv Sena are only too eager to help Miss Koirala in her venture. They are experts at disrupting screenings of films or plays. And, I guess Amrita was witness to such a disruption. Must’ve been plenty exciting!! ;-)
Now, snce the screening of the movie was stopped, Shashilal Nair started shouting himself hoarse claiming that this was an attack on democracy and an attempt to stifle his creativity. PLEASE!!! … where in this whole episode, does creativity figure, Mr. Nair?!… oh well!! … thieves usually consider their handiwork as a work of art… maybe thats where the creativity comes in!! *LOL*… And the height of all things absurd was reached when Shashilal Nair announced that he would go on a hunger strike until his film was screened!!
Basically, the film itself is based on an infatuation that a 15 year old boy develops for a 26 year old lady who stays in a nearby appartment. The boy fantasizes about having a relationship with the female, voyeuristically spies on his object of infatuation through a pair of binocs and slashes his wrists to show his undying love for her. Pretty controversial theme as far as Indian movies are concerned. But then, since I haven’t seen the movie (and I don’t intend to!), I would not know how well or how badly the subject has been handled.
Well… well… while the main act was being played out in the press between Manisha and Nair, an interesting sidelight was added to the whole episode when, Manisha’s double in the movie, Jessica, announced that Nair had extracted more exposure from her than was initially agreed upon (a fact that I am sure would have never seen the light of the day had this controversy about the film not erupted so publicly). And Jessica went on to say that she did the semi-nude scenes in the movie because she wanted money to support her ailing mother. As far as I am concerned, this was a classic filmi excuse for showing skin on-screen… nothing more… nothing less!
Whew!! … such a complicated muddle!… I never read film magazines and I hate film gossip. But this entire drama has been played out on the first page of all the national dailies (and on headlines of all news channels) over the past few days and it was not possible to ignore it. Anyways, it has managed to make a mediocre film into a major attraction for the masses. And I believe, Shashilal Nair will go laffing all the way to the bank in the end… pathetic… really pathetic!!
Sheeesh! … I don’t believe I wrote so much about this foolish thing!!
Anyways, the final cricket Test between India and England provided some good entertainment over the weekend. The Indian team, (like they’ve done on numerous occaisons through this summer) confounded expectations and played extremely well to match England’s 515 with 508. Rahul Dravid a.k.a Jammy, played a fantastic inning of 217 and helped India out of trouble. It was Dravid’s third century in a row on the tour!! … Well done Jammy!!
Hey… Abe’s got a fantastic new layout. Go, check it our at Tristorm.org! … I just love the classy graphic she has done at the top of her blog page. Keep it up Abe… may you continue doing great layouts!!
Nirav blogged about hs magic/tragic moments from Indian cricket. I loved that idea. Maybe I’ll do that some time in my blogs. :-)
One of AMrita’s friends, it seems, lost her cell phone recently, when it was stolen from her purse. Now, it seems such incidents are on the rise in Mumbai. And it also looks as though the mobile phone operators put up their hands when such a case is brought to their notice. I dug up in my inbox and found an old mail that was related to this topic. I dunno how authentic it is… but you might as well give it a try. (and don’t blame me if it doesn’t help!!) :-) … Read the following instructions…
To check your Mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset.(not related to your service provider). Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
Should your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the Sim card your phone will be totally useless to the thief
You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it other. If everybody did this, there would be no point in stealing mobile phones.
As I said… I dunno how authentic this is!!
Yeaaahhh!!! … tomorrow’s a holidayyyyy!!! … Its Ganesh Chaturthi tomorrow and all of India (especially Mumbai and Pune) will welcome its darling deity, Ganapati into their homes tomorrow. But more about Ganesh festival will follow in the blogs this week. So, thats it for now… I’ll leave you all with the punch-line from AMUL’s latest ad. The ad refers to Ek Chotisi Love Story and has a cartoon showing Manisha, Nair and a movie projector… and calls for the film to be named Ek Motisi Love Story!!…
… and those who’ve seen Manisha lately will immediately agree with this assessment!! *ROTFL*
cheers!
September 9, 2002 Comments Off
