Victoria Sponge Cake

Ok, I spent the past weekend baking - orange flavoured victoria sponge cake. Baked twice. Y loved it! So, here's how I went about it,

Ingredients:

• 1 : 1 : 1 proportion of Maida (all purpose floor, I guess) : Butter : Sugar. I used the measure of 1 cup. [Don't think it was a good idea - cos that caused more butter to be used I think. Using actual weight measures should be better]
• 2 eggs + 1 tsp vanilla essence ( I made it with 3 eggs as well - not able to grok the difference yet)
• 2/3 tsp of baking powder. 1/8 tsp of salt. Mix in maida. Sieve.
• Grated skin of fresh orange. Just a teaspoon.
• Some warm milk in a cup. Just for final mixing to get the consistency.

Basic Tips:

• Butter should be @ room temperature
• Sugar is powdered sugar. I scooped out 2 or 3 tsps of the cup - helps reduce the sweetness. (The first cake was too sweet.)
• Pre-heat the oven. @ 180 C. Have both the upper & lower coils on while preheating. It should be the symbol '==' in your preset settings.
• Keep a large mixing bowl, a spatula, a wooden spoon handy.
• Grease the cake pan with butter, dust with maida and keep aside. Idea is to pop the cake in as soon as it's mixed and ready.

Steps:

• Cream the butter in the bowl first. Use a wooden spoon. Do this till the butter is a smooth creamy fluffy paste
• Add the sugar and continue the mixing. The mix should be a smooth creamy & fluffy mixture
• Now beat eggs with the vanilla essence.
• Add 1 tsp of the beaten eggs at a time into the sugar/butter mix. The idea is to avoid curdling the sugar/butter mix. This is very important and the hardest step of cake making. Mix thoroughly till the egg is blended in completely.
• When all of the egg is mixed into the butter/sugar mix, then its time to add the floor.
• First, mix in the grated orange rind into the flour.
• Now - remove the wooden spoon from the mixing bowl. Time to use the spatula or a broad knife.
• Pour in the flour. use the spatula to gently mix in the flour in folding movements. Here the idea is to not lose the air we have built in the creamy mix. The air is what aids a well risen cake.
• Add enough milk in the end and continue gently mixing. The consistency should be such that when lifted, the batter should just fall from the spatula.
• Pour this mixture into the greased pan/bowl.
• Now reduce the setting to heat from the lower coil, the symbol "__" on the settings.
• Pop in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes. [The best way to check is - after 30 minutes, open the over and insert a thin knife or a toothpick into the cake. If it comes clean, then the cake is done.]
• The final 3 - 5 mins, change the settings to "==" to get the browning on the cake top. This should be done only if the cake hasn't browned already.

Raajneeti - my 2 paise!

OK... Raajneeti is over hyped. Its not a great movie. Doesnt measure up to Jha's other movies such as Gangaajal.

In fact Raajneeti is a not-so-well-made bhelpuri of Godfather and Mahabharata. An american mafia saga mixed in with an indian epic!

But I must say it - the movie's unlikely star is Raajneeti's Sonny - Arjun Rampal! He is simply great in the movie and has done a brilliant job.

The movie belongs to Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal. Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgan have sleep walked through their roles. Katrina Kaif was good in spots and Ranbir Kapoor is OK.

But the hype around the movie being a great story, well made movie etc was a bit too much for me... so thought I would throw in my view as well! :)

Its a good movie and it has ridden to greater success on the failure of Kite! Dunno how to explain it - but its a above-average hindi movie to hit the screens after a long time. No wonder its raked in the moolah! But its not a great movie... its just a hype wave everyone's caught up in!

But Arjun Rampal is fantastic!

Defying Gravity.... 2009 -> 2010

Am back to blog about the year past and the year forward. Been thinking about and around this post a bit.

In a blog, you tend to be careful with your words, sound appropriately humble and optimistic. As of now, this is an audience-free blog. I guess, I might as well go ahead and jot down the twirly things in my head as they twirl! Optimism be damned!

So, the typical way to approach the year end blogs, I suppose, is to write up the good things, the bad and hopes for the future. True to form, it is taking a lot of effort to think of the good things. And I realize that what I recall as good has a tint of sad to it. On the same lines - perhaps whats not so great also has a tint of good ( not that I can spot it in the long shadows cast ).

Recession loomed large early in the year and I desperately wanted out of the then current team. Some tears, prayers and effort later I moved to oss. It was a good thing. Began with a blockbuster policy launch - a job well done but not as completely as I would like. This was almost mid year when it happened. Interesting insights into gravity again - ability to scale not being a strong point.

Niece 2 was born. Saw her actually drop into the world. A speechless and numbing experience. I still don't know what to make of what I felt. Then I saw her gender and remember the nervousness I felt about what the in-laws would say and so on. So birth tinged with social anxieties. Then came the care-giving. Daily supply of food to the sister - in the face of the mom-freeze. Then the eruption of jealousy from mom - when she saw that her stint in hospital for niece 1 was laced with familial neglect.

Bitter taste in the mouth - the whole episode. Saw sis grit her teeth and complete her due stay and run as soon as possible. Bitter bitter bitter.

Work wise, then started the lull - the inability to take off, think big, start projects. Gravity. Saw what team I was a part of - and that set me deeper in stone - immobile.

Personal front has also been a lull - status quo. Disenchantment with the Mother - constant reminders of the gifts from the womb. The glorification of mediocrity. Gravity.

Disenchantment with VJ - a long standing friendship that just lost some sheen over the year.

And so much illness around. Aged by a year. Mortal and vulnerable.

Nothing specific to write home about except for a plus year. Many resolutions made and promptly forgotten.

Infuriating lethargy - mental and physical. The gravity of justification. Cocooned in comfort zones. Explaining away to self. Dull aches, pain in the head. Gathering moss.

The recent part of the year has been bad. Work has been hell - what with being exposed to manic bouts of managers, weirdness of colleagues - first time in all work life.

So much of illness and death around.

A deep sense of loneliness, a desire for a deep bond of friendship has been gnawing away at me.

The one thing that keeps cropping up is - GRAVITY.

I remember a friend from another lifetime saying that a person should have "the wings of an eagle and the roots of a tree" or some such. That phrase creates a mental image of status quo and tearing insides.

My prayer and wish for myself is - to un-root myself and defy gravity.

Christmas and holidays.... & condolences

Merry X'Mas World.

Its been a great break from work. I am already in my 7th day of vacation today and have another 9 days to go. Me purrrrrrrrrring with pleasure every now and then.

I guess I will be back with a year gone by post sometime next week - the highs, the lows.

But the past couple of months haven't been great...and X'mas began on a sad note last evening.

Wanted to say a prayer for Inder uncle who passed on yesterday after a 10 month battle with cancer. My prayers and condolences for the family - especially S aunty.

I have always known him as S aunty's husband. A very dashing and smart man - who had charmed aunty in a whirlwind romance and quick wedding 40 years ago!

Aunty loves him deeply and completely. Through their ups and downs as a family, the love has been intact. I can feel it in her words and saw it in their togetherness. And that speaks a lot for uncle.

I think the world of aunty and she thought the world of him. Frankly, just that puts him right up there in my books.

He was a retired officer from the army and still led a very active life working for a company till he fell ill. He was a brave man who fought the brutal onslaught of cancer with the even more brutal sessions of chemotherapy.

Y and I met them at their home when uncle was back after one of the earlier stints at the hospital - on Ganesha pooja day. Uncle and aunty were watching a movie and relaxed at home. We gave them home-made kadabu and chatted for a while.

My last mental images of uncle is will be of that evening and of him on the night of K's wedding reception.

I will remember uncle always as a strong, dignified and gracious man. Rest in peace, uncle.

PS: Lotsa cancer around. Y's dad's been diagnosed too. As I keep talking and listening, almost every family has an incident. Sigh.

Touch or Click and increase font size.

From the time I have started using the iPhone, my reading on my mobile has increased. In fact, over the weekends, I dont even take the trouble of opening my laptop at all for my casual reading and surfing.

One absolutely cool feature is the ability to increase font size or maximize the frame which is being read with a finger touch.

I am so spoilt by the feature that I have started wishing for the same in my browser on the laptop - IE or firefox anyone...

Sigh.

Maggi Stories

Apparently, Maggi noodles has been around in India for 25 years now! Really? Has it been so long now? I still remember listening to the jingle "maggi maggi!" Wow! There have been many other instant noodles but none that came close to denting Maggi's brand. Top Ramen was close - but I guess it never displaced Maggi.

They have come out with this cute series of adverts about people's Maggi stories. It got Y and me thinking...

My maggi story has been a non-story, actually. :) Mum never liked Maggi. And I distinctly remember her making/flopping maggi once in Osborne road apartments ( wow that was when I was pre-13 ! Its really 25 years now! ). And she never made it again.

Over the years, I discovered and really loved eating noodles. My freind Rosh's mum would make excellent Chinese style noodles with Keema, veggies etc. So I embarked upon the Chinese 'ishtyle" in my noodles journey.

But I DO have my Maggi story - but its rather recent. Its all the absolutely yummy combinations Y conjures up when I am too lazy to cook and we still need to eat. It helped that Maggi kept up with the times - offering whole wheat options. Otherwise Y would have steered clear of the noodles.

Maggi has helped us have many a tasty tangy piping hot one-meal dinners. With lots of added veggies, tomatoes and chillies. Yum-yumma-yum-yum!

Happy 25 years Maggi in India - and many more too! :)

Happy Birthday Samyu!

Today is my little niece's birthday! Not so little - she is a little lady of 6 years today!

Time flies. I still remember when I first laid my eyes on her - about 6 hours or so after she was born. I will never ever forget how I felt when I saw that little bundle of life fast asleep with her, nose slightly twitching held up by my mother. All those phrases - "Weak in the knees", "Maternal instinct", "family bonds", "blood ties" - all of it completely made sense and applied to me.

Tears of love, joy and gratitude just flowed down my eyes. I remember being so grateful to have experienced these feelings!

Oh, I love her so so so much. Words cant begin to express what I feel for my niece. And today she is 6 years old! On her way to her 1st standard / 1st grade! :)

Happy Birthday, Samyu Mari! :))

Daniel Suarez's Daemon.

Ever since I heard a Google Author's Talk by Daniel Suarez on YouTube, I have been dying to read the novel-Daemon. First of all, it's not available in India. None of the book shops have it in Bangalore. They offer to get you a copy - if you order for one, pay an advance and wait for 10 days. And after all this, the cost of the works out to be 1.5 times the price.

So, I resigned myself to wait for the book to get really famous and land in Bangalore in paperback version when Y decided to delight me and bought the through a friend who visited US. A gift! :) (I know, I know. Y is a gem and all! Can't love him enough:) )

I finished the book within the day he gifted it to me.

It is an un-put-down-able book. Very well written and believable. Scary but believable. The details related to technology are described so well. I have never ever read any book thats gotten technology so right. Hell, this must be the first!

Its a great book and must read. The rest of the reviews and 'about' the book is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(novel)

I tend to think of myself as the perfect listener. Tell me a story and I will listen - however fantastical... it will make 'sense' to me. I will connect to any well thought out, well formed and well told narrative. Stories have this 'soul' and I believe people can touch it. There is this thread of narrative... listeners can follow it. Listeners to a tale, will diligently follow the thread while it jumps through any hoop of imagination.

A story doesnt work - when the storyteller breaks this thread, jumps threads, doesnt tie ends neatly etc etc.

When I think of Daemon in these terms, I lost the thread towards the end. I felt the book was labouring to some sort of close. And the end is not satisifying at all - which makes sense - cos apparently Suarez is getting ready with a sequel for the book.

The other thing is that - though the book is peopled with all these wonderful interesting characters, they didnt seem true. They seemed more like mere tools... they could have been etched out better. The whole human emotion, state of mind, ebb and flow in the human interaction could have been better, I thought. Is that what makes for great literature?

Towards the end, the chapters turned out to be scenario descriptions - very interesting read of course but from my 'thread' angle, doesnt work too well.

On the whole, still a great book. People who work in the technology area will simply love it. Its so wonderful to see a writer who 'gets it'. Like I read on the net, this writer just earned himself some serious geek credits.

ringa ringa ringa .....ring!

That's my life - going in circles. The things that matter to me are spinning out of orbit. The past 4 weeks have been crazy. I am part of these somewhat high profile 'task forces' @ work. And in these TFs, I am the rookie.

Being a rookie started as an interesting thing - especially considering the last time I was a rookie was a good 10 years ago. That was a different ball game altogether and deserves a separate post.

Anyways, the current rookie-joy lasted about 2 hours into each of the TFs - till I realised how everyone wants to just 'review & manage' while there are very few who build the actual work products. We will call them work horses and I am one of them.

During an average work day, most of my 'seniors' in these TFs go from one meeting to another. For every 4 such people, only 1 contributes at a more relevant level than the other three. These people live in villas, drive nice cars, globe trot & hob nob with the CxOs of the company.

How aspirational it can be for the work horses... and so dangerously misleading too ( I am thinking ). How easily the goal can be - to just somehow get to that place where all that's needed to be done is to 'review & manage' (that too badly) and get paid for that! WTF?!

OK - enough rambling in a tune that's dangerously close to 'grapes are sour, grapes are sour'..

As for the rookie experience - its OK. Except that it's a lot of work on my plate and interesting situations. Like getting reviews done when the work is not read at all by the reviewers, differences in language use that goes into long mind-numbing debates. And getting a sense of what consensus and 'getting people on board' really mean.

Right now, I could do with a couple of extra hours in a day. Miss reading, YTubing, regular home cooked meals, 8 hour sleep cycles, mental meanderings.

Most of all I miss not being continuously connected to Y. We are off-sync right now. Sleep @ different times, go to work @ different times, lost in separate thoughts.

Like I was saying..my life's going ringa-ringa-ringa, ringa-ringa-ringa, ringa-ringa-ringa ring!

An 'aks'-ish Delhi - 6

Watched Delhi 6 during the past weekend. Came away thinking that its yet another self-indulgent movie - reminiscent of "AKS" in ways.

I came away disappointed... and will just vent away first,

- There are visual shots of Chandni Chowk that are repetitive.
- The story is such a non-starter. None of the characters are well developed. Not even that of Delhi or Chandni Chowk.
- Sticking to just one point and beating it to death is the movie's undoing. The "Kala Bandar"... It was like Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra, ( ROMP from now) wanted to make sure EVERYONE absolutely gets the point. So subtlety just went flying out of the window.
- Basically, ROMP takes his 'social voice' mantle ( given to him after RDB ) a bit too seriously. His story telling skills take a beating as a result. :(
- The movie could have as well been a play. The landscape or setting of the movie is so constrained. The characters are a little too stereotyical to work completely. Some of them at some places are endearing, no doubt. The point making too earnest.
- Rishi Kapoor is wasted. There was one hell of a great story there... in his character.


Ok..now the rah rahs.

- The cinematography is top quality.
- The background music soars. Its much better done here than in Slumdog. No doubts.
- Waheeda Rehman is a gem of a sweetheart. What a pleasure to see her work. She is so wonderful.
- It's a great concept. The "Kala bandar". Needed a riveting human story to weave it around.


The 'untouchable' angle would be unbelievable for younger city-dwellers of today I would think.

But I have seen these folks near my gran's place (old Bangalore parts) in my childhood. They were called "Vadru" and lived separately in a locality. They would come by to clean the toilets and perhaps collect garbage too ( am not sure).

And I have heard some passing comments about how someone or the other visits the "Vadru Guduslu" ( Vadru's huts ). Of course, in a dissapproving way.

So to me, the double standards around those folks is very believable. I can believe that such practises could have existed or continue to exist in old parts of Indian cities.

But overall, the movie : what a wasted opportunity. He could have scripted a great ravishing and passionate love story to Delhi. Rather than this bewilderment of a movie. I remember reading a quote of ROMP about the movie, something to the effect of, " I still dont know why I made the movie, or what moved me to make the movie".

Well, all I can say is - Yeah, it figures.

In other rooms, other wonders

I just finished reading Daniyal Mueenuddin's "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" . After a long long time, I read a book from a sub-continent writer that was simply un-put-downable.

Before I get into other stuff ... I am wondering, is Daniyal pronounced "Daniel"?

Anyways... a simply fantastic writer. The stories are so wonderful. Like I read @ Ultra Brown - the excerpts floating around don't do justice to the actual stories or the book at all.

Whenever I think of the book, I feel I just finished watching a movie - thats how vivid the whole thing is in my mind.

Last year, I spent 10 glorious days travelling across Punjab ( the Indian side ) and loved everything about the state - the sights, the smells, flavours, tastes, the stories. And to get a glimpse of the other side of Punjab through this book - was a treat. Absolute treat.

That apart, I have been meaning to write about a couple of movies I watched recently.

Starting with Slumdog Millionnaire. First of all, I must express the absolute frustration I had trying to pick up the music CD for Y. It took me about 6 trips to the various famous music stores of Bangalore - Music Planet, Planet M, Crosswords etc - before I could pick up the CD. A good 15 days after it was officially released.

So much for muscling out small gems of Bangalore like "Rhythms" and becoming the de-facto stores for music. The staff @ the store had not even heard of the movie when I went asking for it.

As for the movie itself, most of the people around me were wondering what the fuss was about. Most people caught on to the weakness of the script pretty quickly but I dont think that was the reason for the dis-enchantment or the surprise about what made the western audience take to Slumdog Millionnaire in such a big way.

IMO, the whole thing is visual. What we saw - the face of India ( no, am not talking about the slums or the crowds or the skin color in particular ) - is familiar to us. We have seen it in many ways - in hardhitting commercial, out and out commercial and artsy movies. The face, the 'visual' of India.

It was that familiarity with the face - that made us wonder about SDM's popularity I think. Whereas, for the western audience - this was a new visual treat on their screens.

I have been thinking of a better way of expressing this - but cant come up with anything better as of now.

And by the way, Anil Kapoor has done a fantastic job in the movie..

Next is Dev D and Luck By Chance.

Luck By Chance - was nice. Not great. But nice - engaging and interesting to watch. Agree with all of the review comments - the sudden ending, etc. And Y and I came away thinking that we want to see more of Zoya's films to decide if she is as gifted or better than her brother or some of the other young turks out there. Right now, I dont think she is. The movie seems almost like "All of us have this one great movie or novel in us" kind of thing. Only, she got to make it.

Dev D - like No Smoking - makes one thing very apparent. Long shadows of all the 'famous' directors across the world looms large over Anurag Kashyap. He is still posing in some ways about statement, making a point etc. This aspect takes away from his story-telling ability, quite a bit.

Anurag Kashyap needs to become a little more invisible in his movies. That will make his movies work better. The pace of the film will become more taut. The point in the making will be much sharper. The ending would not be so abrupt.

Having said that, the film is good. Abhay Deol shines. He is fantastic. Again - having seen Punjab, I can believe that Dev D can happen in Delhi/Punjab setting.

The music - thats all the rage - is also a poser in some sense. As in - there is so much variety and hint of ability. But - none of the compositions give one a sense of depth. But still - its a great set of songs. I like them!

My father.

I never really had a relationship ( the part-grown-up to a grown-up kind) with my dad. By the time I was in my teens, late teens actually, he was quite ill. His illness pre-occupied all of us as a family. And eventually, he died. When I was about 20.

I rarely talk about him. When he was OK - I was a teen. A difficult one at that - at least by normal middle class standards. I look back and feel, I was ok. I studied hard, conformed and didnt get into any major sort of trouble.

Yeah - to get back. The oldest I was - when he was ok - was a teen. And I remember fighting and hating. I remember being strongly disapproved of, being told about how to be, behave and who to hang out with and so on.

Over the past 8 years, I have learnt to relate to my mother and have a better relationship / equation with her. It is a great gift. I still recall thinking how much I hate my mum and how much I wanted to get away from her. And those thoughts were painful to have. So what I share with my mum today is really a gift I value.

When she or I move on, the regrets perhaps will be lesser and memories of times shared together higher. Certainly when compared to what I recall of my dad.

My memories are so fragmented of him. I remember the difficulties and inconveniences of his illness clearly - in terms of feelings and thoughts. Every now and then I remember incidents - but over time, specifics are fading away a little by little.

Regrets and memories. Regrets - I am sure I have. I still havent figured it out.

Memories - yeah. I have memories of him, or rather remember him in the most unexpected ways.

Chinu's innocent, trusting eyes. One of her eyes seem smaller and she tends to lightly wink it every now and then. They are almost like a doe's or a calf's eyes. Her eyes remind me of my dad. Everytime I look into them.

Indira Gandhi - He had strong opinions about her administration. I don't recall the details. But seeing a picture of her or reading an article about her certainly reminds me of my dad and face when he would talk of her or her governement.

Bharat Sinha of a serial Subah - when I see this actor in any other film, I am reminded of my dad. He disapproved of my interest in that serial - all the drug abuse by young folks! :)

And the latest today - The Man Machine. This is an album by kraftwerks. It was a tape with a bright red jacket cover - a photo of 4 robotic looking men.

We had this small tape recorder/player. There were these few tapes at home. Silsila, Star, Zoom, Satya Shivam Sundaram, Boney M and the Man Machine. I remember these were my dad's tapes.

We had other tapes too - devotional, other movie tapes.

But I kinda remember these tapes as my dad's. Like the James Hadley Chase and Perry Mason novels he used to read. He also read Arthur Hailey, Robert Ludlum I recall.

I just heard "model", "robots", "neon lights" on YouTube. And my dad came rushing into my head.

I used to love the tape and listen to it all the time.

Like I was saying, I get this sharp and vivid memories of him in most unexpected ways. I can recall almost everything of that memory - when its triggerred.

Last Day Of The Year....

The papers and magazines I have been reading are capturing the moments with phrases like "New Year Blues", "Worst Year of Indian History?", "Thank God, Its Over" and so on....

I too spent some time looking back and came away less than encouraged. Mainly because I have a tendency to look down at things... specially when they concern me. So I decided that I will make a focused effort and talk about the good things first (no particular order),

1. I have blogged more regularly than I expected myself to.
2. Typical special days of the year have been well spent and properly celebrated.
3. Had a big work stint & holiday break in the US. Y was with me. Vegas, SFO. New York... fun oh fun!
4. Money scene improved. I actually have some savings and have been cautious about mindless expenditure. I feel in control.. which is a nice feeling.
5. Duties to mum, s, s, and n have been fairly nicely executed.
6. Work - did it well. Very well actually. good rating, decent hike - given the circumstances.
7. Home - nice and peaceful.
8. Y - good and nice. Next big step taken. It was easy. :) The build up is always the torture.
9. Obama, the elections were interesting. Got me interested in UN, UNHCR and a lot of interesting journalistic writings along the way.
10. Movies - Dark Knight, Ghajini, Oye Luck Oye, The Good Shephard, OSO, etc etc. Quite a few treats. Picked up most of the Merchant Ivory DVDs at a discount in the local store. Very nice. :)
11. Reading a lot more this year than the last. In the past 2 months alone - must have read 8 books. Nice. :)
12. Wining and Dining has been great as ever. :)

Hmm.. now the bad...
1. My fitness schedule. Has gone down the dumps. :( I can write a million worded blog post on this.
2. Stocks - thanks to the recession, I too have taken a HUGE beating on this. :(
3. Work - transition needs and anxiety. Tough times leave few options. worrying about what to do. What steps to take.
4. Me Time - has been a bit of a yo yo. I have rejuvenated whenever I got it. But not enough I think.
5. Restless. What Next? Bogged Down - feel less free, more constrained. Have tasted fearlessness fleetingly... its very liberating. Roadmap concerns - is all I can say on a open Blog.
6. Mumbai attacks. Affected me more deeply than I thought was possible.

See? When you put it down - seems like the good was more than bad. Work wise - it was not perfect - but hey thats life. Recession blues- its the pain with everyone - so I am in the bandwagon too. Guess cant complain much.

Fitness.. yeah - that bothers me like hell. It brings to fore - all the things that stop me from going forward. The reticence hidden behind laziness, bad self talk that slows me to inaction, not enough me time and so on.

As of now - today and yesterday - the interesting thing is how un-excited I am feeling about the occasion. How normal I am trying to keep the day. Eating regularly and catching sleep on time. And generally keeping it very low key.

Quite a contrast to the past years...when new year's eve meant *having* some plans..heading out.... *doing something*... :)

That perhaps I am aging did come to mind. :) But then again... I am bored - of anything that thsi city may have to offer - by means of new year celebration. Anything.

Maybe - quietly recharging my batteries for what promises to be the next 3 months of absolutely hectic work schedule is not a bad idea at all.

My New Year Wish? I have a set of goals. The same as last year. If I can maintain my equanimity, and one day at a time - work away @ the goals, I will achieve what I want. Just need to deal with or prevent the outside from messing up with my inside.

Happy New Year! :)

Mumbai Meri Jaan.

My eyes fill up with tears when I see the picture of this little child in a policeman's arms - drinking water - clothes soaked in blood. Hers ? Her kins? Where are they? From the time I have seen this picture in the morning, I cant just stop the tears flowing from my eyes.

PICTURE 16 in this slideshow -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/11/26/GA2008112603190.html?sid=ST2008112701218

With her nose, mouth being covered by the plastic cup - she becomes anybody's child, everybody's child. What did she do - to be subjected to this terror?? What kind of a world are we giving our children? Oh god! Help us. :(

I am so angry, so helpless, so shocked and hurt and heartbroken at the tragedy caused by this senseless act of terror! I havent been able to think of anything else much today.

Oh yes, we are resilient, Mumbai will dust off the shards of broken glass and move on to another day of work. The rest of us in elsewhere in India will also.

But, when will we all get together and work together and STOP this? When will our leaders unite and take strong and firm steps to prevent such acts in the future?

When will we say that this is UNACCEPTABLE! When will we all look in the face of Terror and say that you are not welcome here!

Like Mr Bachchan says, tell me what I need to do - what can I do to help? To help and make a difference. To bring about peace and safety to our nation. To make the cities safer for our children to grow up in.

They should be able to walk the streets like I did when I was a child - carefree. Skipping along with friends - gorging on ice candies... not thinking twice before going into a crowded fair, cinema or exhibition.

My salutes to the brave men of the army, navy and police working to resolve tihs situation. My condolences adn respect to the brave men who laid down their lives fighting last night.

God bless.

India on the moon!

Yay!

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Lunar_landing_has_Indians_over_the_moon/articleshow/3716744.cms

Way to go, my country! Congrats to team that made us all proud!

Congratulations USA!

Congratulations on the presidential elections!

Way to go! Y'all made history today.

Yes You Can!

Music of Yuvvraaj...

Upcoming film by Subhash Ghai
Music by A R Rahman
Lyrics by Gulzar...

Wow - thats a deadly combination! I cant wait -to see it will be as fab as Taal was.

Anyway - my two minute review on the songs/album - not listed any particular order. Just how I remember them.

1. Main Hoon Yuvvraaj: No song this. Just the voice of Salman Khan - calling himself Baaaaaaaaad! I love it. Score: 4/5. ( No 5 out of 5 because I wish Sallu spoke some more! :) )

2. Tu Muskura: Alka Yagnik's voice is too too shrill for my taste. :( I skipped after listening to 4 lines. May be the song itself is nice. Dunno. Score: 0/5

3. Tu Meri Dost Hai: I like it. Normal song. Reminds me of "Valparisio" - Mercury Falling ( Sting ) in the start of the song. Nice. Score: 3.5/5.

4. Shano Shano: Fantastic. Starts off in way that reminds you of Rang De Basanti - but moves on to its own dhun. Some lines are sung a la - Axl Rose... I love it. Score: 5 /5

5. Shano Remix: Is also great. Hip Hop. I love it too. Score: 4.5/5

6. Mastam Mastam: Sonu Nigam's voice is distinct and nice. The tune is very nice. We could have done without Alka's shrill voice inbetween. But well. Score: 3 / 5

7. Dil Ka Rishta: Again a nice nice song. Score: 4 / 5

8. Manmohini Morey: Classical. Seems like a great fav on the net. I dont like the distinct tamilian accent coming up every now and then. Otherwise nice. Score: 3.5/5

9. Zindagi: Again distinct celtic/irish tunes mixed with classical A R Rahman ( that reminded me of his early Roja days... ) Score: 3/5

A R Rahman's songs are fantastic. They sound so complete and full to the ear. Well recorded - almost like every sound was intended down to the last detail. That itself is a pleasure - the quality of recording.

That apart - the fact that his music grows on you... is such a treat! You can listen for a long time and love it. :)

As for Gulzaar saab's words... I haven't listened often enough to go beyond the music.

That's another treat I am looking forward to. Oh, to be surprised by the great poet with lines like "Kajra re, tere kaare kaare naina" or "Beedi Jalaile" or my favorite "naina thag lenge".. just to name a few songs from the recent past...

I am happy! :)

Long time no see...

Its been a long long month already. Missed celebrating Dassara, same case with Deepavali I am guessing. Mum's not keeping very well ( small hairline fracture - nothing serious ). Y has been busy too - we are not catching up much. Both of us are so caught up in our work. :(

Its been busy busy... and tiring. Mentally mostly - tense and pre-occupied.

Otherwise, I have been reading Mr Bachchan's blog regularly - and its such a delight to read. Following the US presidential race closely too. Its interesting.

Celebrity Blogs, Google Apps, Ubona.

Been a while since I blogged. Life is a bit down in the dumps, am out of rhythm, am not sleeping well, and dont seem to have a grip on the daily grind thats called life.

Its showing too - my dark circles have gotten darker, have started sprouting pimples, have a constant mild headache in the back, am so distracted and switched off. Days seem to roll into each other - cant figure a monday from a wednesday from a friday or a sunday.

Speaking of days, I watched the movie "A Wednesday" last week. Its a great movie. I had read a few reviews/blogs about the movie and I knew that the theme revolved around the 'common man'.

Apart from entertaining, the movie also strikes a chord with the common urban Indian - what with all those 'low intensity' blasts that have recently happened across the country.

When it happened in Delhi, all of us frantically called S to check if she and her family were fine. When it happened in Hyderabad, the same with N. Folks called me when it first happened so close to my workplace in Bangalore. For 'aam janta' like me and my sisters, those moments are scary.

That apart, I have been reading a few Bollywood Celebrity Blogs regularly. While most of them are trite and shallow - two blogs that catch my interest are - Mr Bachchan's and RGV's.

AB's Blog is by far the best celebrity blog I have read. I love his blog. I think, mostly because I never expected him to be such a fantastic blogger.

A writer yes - what with his literary legacy, but blogger, no! The details he shares, the clarity with which he connects - is simply amazing.

Ram Gopal Verma's Blog is interesting in the details of his life that he shares. When he is touting his beliefs ( or the lack of them ) or his movies, he sets out to provoke... but right now he is talking about his Hyderabad days and they make for a great read.

Both these bloggers regularly post! I think a lesson for me somewhere, there. Both have a disdain for the media and the misrepresentation they suffer at it's hand. And hints at the limited IQ of these scribes.. which I totally agree. One look @ the quality of the press coverage in popular newspapers and TV channels is enough to confirm that.

Now on to Google Apps. I know I am saying this in a half - ass way - but I have realised that I am no fan of google software. I used google desktop on Windows for a while - and am now using Google Chrome. Installed it the next day after the press release.

Clean looks etc - but there is always a mysterious slowing down of my desktop when I install google applications. I will write up a more coherent review on google chrome one of these days.

But right now, I am thinking of uninstalling chrome.

Ubona was recently in news in Bangalore press for interesting application of their Voice recognition technology. They have a foodie hotline - 080 40700000 - where you can call in and say the name of the food-spot you want to hit and get connected to make a reservation. A very cool application. I liked it and have started using it.

As usual - new technology from a startup, its application has gaps which we all can chip in to fill. So I have asked them to point me to a place where I can file in these issues.

So thats it. My random, wandering post.

See you soon, my cyber doppel.

A Taste of Shakespeare - tadka maar ke!

Just watched Omkara again. What an engaging film. I came away with Saif's acting/role, Gulzar's lyrics and Omkara's inferiority complex - strongest on my mind.

The backdrop of UP Brahmin politics seems so fitting - one almost forgets that the film is based on a famous Venetian tragedy.

The insidius way Iago ( Saif - Langda Tyaagi ) poisons Omkara's( Othello ) mind is chilling. The suave Saif, the ever cool and sophisticated, has outdone himself. He has played the role of Iago redrawn in UP hues fantastically.

I am eager to see the next file adaptation by Vishal Bharadwaj.