Brides always blush

Okay..know someone in office who is getting married this weekend..as in not " Yippee-she-is getting-married-wowowowow " know but "just-as-a-piece-of-information" know. Besides realising how "popular" I am in my office,I hope you get the drift. Just in case you didn't, I am not invited. :) TING!!!

But the blog is not to discuss my slightly asocial / "takes-time-to-mingle" purrrrsunality. Its about the bride to be...and the brides to be.

It's in their walk, their talk, the way they turn and the way they look. Pure unadulterated excitement, sheer happiness and a "look-at-me-I-am-going-to get-married" kind of an aura...and yes, the noise..

No matter what age, no matter what race, educational qualifications, professional achievements, no matter whether they know the guy for 6 and half months or 6 and half years, they all follow a set pattern as the the wedding day approaches :

• They declare very loudly on the phones about the wedding (just in case the guy sitting in the corner had forgotten).
• They like to think that everyone in office is making plans for their wedding..you know..how to get there, what to wear, who will be there etc..and they don't really mind doling out a few tips here and there.
• They strategically make stopovers as soon as they see a flock of girls standing , deliberate attempts to bask in the attention..For some reason such a group always laugh a lot, a tad too loudly and a lot of "ooooooh" and "aaaaaah" emanate from their beings. One of the occasions when women enjoy being women I think, glad to see one of their species on the threshold of matrimony.Dunno why weddings make women so happy...Am all for it, but just asking and why women only. Tons of inherited baggage, I guess.
• Confirmations are sought time and again, and so are "dont-forget-to-get-abcd-also", there's always a talk about what good fun its going to be and how the world is going to rock.

And its everywhere, no matter which corner of the "wulld" you are in. Whether its Paris or Parel.A Khan or a Karmarkar, Wedding bell(e)s will always ring loudly.

Its all about loving your parents....

Just saw Namesake...nice. Smooth, rich and soothing.

To me, it didnt seem so much of an ode to parents and "who-made-you-wat-you-are" school of thought. Is that what the director waned to convey? I missed it for sure.

It was more about how a family makes sense of their lives and the the dual identity that they are destined with, especially Gogol and Ashima (luhav that name). About people changing to adapt and to harmonize..about parents letting go and a natural connection children share with their parents, much to their surprise.

The movie was made up of "moments" really..

* Tabu walking down to the laundary in a cotton saree on what seems like a cold wintry morning.
* Irrfan giving Tabu directions to reach the fish market.
* Irrfan and little Gogol by the sea.
* Tabu : Do you want me to say that I love you like the Americans do?
Irrfan : smiles
Tabu : Haan, haan okay :)
* Tabu's reaction when she first hears about the sudden demise of her husband.
*Mashumi confessing to having an affair. Her : " Maybe it is not enough that we both are Bengalis". Him : "That's not what I loved you for".
* Tabu -Back in Calcutta. Singing. Free. At peace. Attached and yet detached.

The cast is superb and the movie would not have been what it is without Irrfan, Tabu and Kal Penn. Tabu looks magnificient..no one carried the cotton saris so well before. Kal Penn suits the role to the T and Irrfan rocks...from his accent to his mannerisms, he simply takes the cake.
And who eet ees this Zuleikha Robinson? Looks beyond beautiful and supports my theory that products of multi-racial parentage grow up to be stunners.


Last week , also saw " Guess who's Coming to Dinner". One of my fav dialogues from the movie...and GAWD how well does he deliver it :

" You listen to me. You say you don't want to tell me how to live my life. So what do you think you've been doing? You tell me what rights I've got or haven't got, and what I owe to you for what you've done for me. Let me tell you something. I owe you nothing! If you carried that bag a million miles, you did what you're supposed to do! Because you brought me into this world. And from that day you owed me everything you could ever do for me like I will owe my son if I ever have another. But you don't own me! You can't tell me when or where I'm out of line, or try to get me to live my life according to your rules. You don't even know what I am, Dad, you don't know who I am. You don't know how I feel, what I think. And if I tried to explain it the rest of your life you will never understand. You are 30 years older than I am. You and your whole lousy generation believes the way it was for you is the way it's got to be. And not until your whole generation has lain down and died will the dead weight be off our backs! You understand, you've got to get off my back! Dad... Dad, you're my father. I'm your son. I love you. I always have and I always will. But you think of yourself as a colored man. I think of myself as a man. "

Delivered in 1967, relevant even today.I am liking very much.

Jhinga Queen

Yes...I LUHAV Jhinga / Prawns ....Okay almost everything that swims in the Sea...except Bangda/ Mackerel (for the NRI variety)....but I can eat that too in lean times (with a dash of lemon which makes a HUGE difference).

I can eat them in any form..but my fav continues to be the way my mom makes it and the one I had in Fort Cochin in a place called "Courtyard" (nice :))

I hereby thank the Almighty for creating the Sea so that the fish had some place to stay.

Also, hereby declare that I am back on the blog circuit. Changed continents ..but otherwise status quo.

Currently yearning : 2 fried pieces of Promfret/surmai or the very niche and ultra special Bombay Duck (Bombils, baba!!) / Green Bombil curry (slurrrpppp!!)

Currently humming : Some song which starts like : "Don't take pangaaaaaaaaaaaaa...'Naever' take pangaaaa" (its one of those boy-girl meet in college, fight and then fall in love type movie..and this is the "fight" phase song)..Cant remember the movie :(

My Mother's Musings

My Mother is one of the most gentle and uncomplicated people I know.She is one of the people, who knows what she is. And if she stumbles upon something which seems (to her) to be beyond her,blissfully leaves it alone without being judgemental.

One of the thing that always baffles her is "children" 's(ranging from 25 to 20 years, fyi) fascination with "Potterdom"-wands,Voldy,Dumbeldore,potions et al.

But a gentle murmur of curiousity-cum-amusement - "He kai jadoocha baghat rahta?" ( how many times do you see this "magic stuff") is all she can manage.

Now before I ramble on, here's this brilliant observation which this mother of mine made.

Daniel Radcliffe a.k.a. Harry Potter resembles SAIRA BANO!!

Dont just say "NO" and chuck the thought...He does!!

Wohoooo...more power to this "mother of mine" and the absolutely delectable prawns she made today!!

A must read!

Superb piece of rationale!
http://www.ndtv.com/columns/showcolumns.asp?id=1054

Unfortunately, in a country bound by vote banks, wonder how much is possible.

KANKed Yet???

Yo bab(ies)...
Ages since I wrote anything....a lot of things happening in persanaal ("personal" for the illiterates) and professional life. And mainly coz I thought I forgot the login,which I didnt..so the LTM (long term memory still exists).

Was KANKed on Saturday. Hated Rani's character (one of the most selfish,pitiable and heartless woman in Hindi movies). And since I hated her so much, she must have done a fab job.
SRK's Dev redefines "loserdom". Preity has a great character...and I think she did ok in the acting dept. too. Never mind the curls.
Abhishek's Rishi is the stuff "ideal" husbands are made of. So throughout the movie you wonder why and HOW Mad Maya (Rani) stays so aloof and callous to her husband.
Amitabh is great without being over-the-top in a completely larger-than-life role.

And of course, everyone is rich..everyone is beautifully dressed..not a hair is out of place (well..except Preity's)..like all Karrrrran's movies. However, for a change Mummyji has a life beyond kids and is not the "super-intutive" types who runs with the pooja thali for her "bichda beta".
That itself is "breaking the mould" for Karran.

And yes, "John"ny Boy rocks as the delectable DJ.

Maybe tomorrow.....

Sixth day after hell broke loose.
Sixth day after gutters entered your drawing room.
Sixth day after you and me waded through the dirty water.

Time :9.30 p.m.
Venue : Railway station.

Me, waiting for my sister...observing the people around (I cant help but notice people around me. Just do not have the ability to shut myself from the people around me).

I see : A Family. Mother in white shirt and jeans (calm disposition) . 2 kids and rather flamboyantly dressed father (a wannabe shirt with the digit 58 on his butt pocket..What the hell was he thinking!!) busy emptying the unwanted contents on the railway platform..Nonchalantly.
The tiny pieces of paper are thrown as if they belong there. There is no guilt, no remorse, not even the embarrassment of being "seen".

I do : Call him "b******" and all the other unmentionables I could think of .
I pick up the pieces of paper and throw them in the dustbin (I am very filmy,you see),while no. 58 goes red in the face, wife is shocked and the kids stare.

The former under my breath.
The latter in my imagination.

The moment passes. My sister comes along and we walk to the bus-stop, discussing our respective days.

The rains must be (at least partly clogging) because no. 58s litter public places and cowards like me just stand and swear noiselessly.

Don't know why no. 58s cannot see the connection?
Don't know what stops me from showing it to them?
Why won't same people dare spit/litter when they go to "phoren"?
I am no Medha Patkar, but the station and the road is mine too.
Maybe tomorrow... I will get hold of my voice.