Hello blogging

Life has changed (for good) since I last wrote anything on my blog. It feels so good to revisit the old posts that I could not stop myself for writing a new one. The iPhone user in me has spoilt me so much that I have lost all the patience to sit back and think and more-so verbalise my own thoughts.

Well talking about patience I have also gained it in bulk quantities to deal with my toddler at home. What an enriching experience it is to almost forget about yourself.

4444444444444444                1111jvsGQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQR5555GY6HRTSAEWDDDGE1VG`HBH`

Hahaha that was my toddler..now you know what I mean by forgeting about self :p6

Priceless moment!

I am having a perfect lazy weekend and all I want to do is flip between different Hindi music channels. A song on tele reminded me of Jagjit Singh Ji . I remember saying to my father once that the day Jagjit Singh dies the nation will cry and so we all did. But the reality is that he will always live in our hearts.

The moment that I would like to share in this post is actually about meeting the legend in person in 2003 in Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. It was a Jagjit Singh night and being an Alumni I had to be there. It always helps to be an alumni who had bunked sufficiently to know the ins and outs of the school that spreads on acres of land. The night began with his classics in the first half and then he took a break. I obviously was desperate to meet him amidst tight security around his room. This was my known territory and knowing all entry and exits helped me find my way to the man. He was very approachable and I had my little conversation with him which will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Members of school staff were taking his autographs when I requested him to sing ' Chitthi na koi sandesh jane wo kaunsa des jahan tum chale gaye'. I could not stay for the whole concert as I had to leave for work, so I asked him to please sing this song before 10pm. He asked his assistant to make a note to remind him at 9.45 about it.

I sat through all the songs and eagerly waited for my song but was also curious to see if he will actually remember or was he only being nice to me. So as one can imagine I was ready to be disappointed as well. At five minutes past 10pm I stood up to leave and heard my song. I went back to my seat, accompanied by my sister, in excitement ignoring what people around us were thinking of the two of us and tears started to roll down my eyes not only because I loved this song but to actually see the legend singing the song himself.

Wherever you are today I want to thank you for singing that song for me, it really meant a lot. I cried when I heard it for the first time in the film and I cried when I saw you singing it and I still get emotional when I hear the song, even when I don't want to. Such is the magic of your voice! :)

Happy New Year 2012

It's mid February 2012 already and I am thinking there are so many people I could not wish New Year this time. After the new year celebrations comes my slowest, darkest coldest and gloomiest month of the year i.e. January. Although I have some best and worst memories of the month, it really drags maybe because there are 12 long months ahead of it. But come February, its nice and bright, the days start getting longer and there is freshness in the air, air that brings spring :)

This is when I start looking forward to the summer as its time to work hard in the backyard to see some great results in the sunny days. Last year a dear friend gave me two tiny tomato saplings, I was a bit skeptical about taking them initially but with care they grew into tall tomato vine. It really was a wonderful experience to see it growing and one fine day I saw tiny flowers and eventually tomatoes. The tomatoes took a long time to ripen afterwards but it still was fruitfull mission.

Another such experience was getting a small cactus plant with tiny pink flowers. I wondered for a long time whether it will survive indoors or not, little water but how much exactly is little water for a small plant. The good thing however is that it survived and I saw quite a few flower buds on the plant last week.

These instances were encouraging enough for me to try out new plants this year.

Happy planting in 2012 to all!

From Trunk Calls to BBerry

I always used to wonder when people talked in lengths about next generations. Now the only thing we can pass to next generations is the knowledge of how to google and even we dont they will still learn it from somewhere.

What was life like before FB applications, chats, emails, SMS, BBerry messages?

• Telegrams- My earliest memory of writing a telegram goes back to school days when we were taught how to write one. I remember wishing a friend once by sending a telegram in the middle of the night.

• Yellow postcards- wrote a lot of them as they were the cheapest way to be in touch with friends in different parts of India.

• Trunk calls- this was the only way to make long distance calls back in mid nineties. A friend who is few years younger to me could not recall what this was and not I can only imagine people googling the term if they ever come across it.
  

• Air mail- This was a bit expensive to send but a great pleasure to receive as the content was not open like in a postcard.

These used to be some common means of communication. Since mid nineties technology brought a lot of changes starting from push button phones to cordless phones with built in speaker in the houses. I can still remember bulky mobile phones with a tariff of Rs. 20 per call, they used to be quite a status symbol for men with very little options. However the replacement over the last 10 years have been marketed in such a way that a smart phone is the new mobile phone with tariff plans starting from paise/minute, they are essentials of life just like roti, kapda, makan.

Having seen so many changes already I feel grown up or I should say lost in technology where history is always very recent.

V!!!

'Aisha' works?

I am aware that some of my friends would wonder why I am spending time writing about the film 'Aisha' and the simple answer is that Facebook is not interesting/ controversial anymore and therefore I am back to blogging.

I wish Aisha’s script had some substance to it. I always believe that it's social service to make a superior film which can entertain. But the one with a social message is extraordinary. I have oodles but not in favor of the film specially the way they have portrayed a girl from Bahadurgarh as 'behen ji'. What’s incorrect in wearing traditional salwar kameez, tidy long hair and wanting to get married?????

It was almost funny when I realised that no one in the film talks education or harmful effects of make-up for that matter. The focus on getting the looks right over does everything so much so that the girl in question never even expresses the desire to work. What a surface shine!

So does the film work...well it does in a of lot ways for many professionals living in over populated cities struggling with life and basic civic amenities like clean water, proper roads and electricity. It's beautiful to see a world of young girls dressed perfectly from head to toe in designer brands and not a hair here and there, after a stressful Tuesday at work.

Abhay Deol was totally wasted and dint have expectations from Madam Kapoor. Character development was very impressive; they all talk in different accents which gives the flavour of Delhi, being a multi cultural city.

V!!!!

Recent films and me

Some of my friends think that I have an amazing patience that I allow to get tested by films. I think making a good film is like social service because they have the potential to make people happy. While we pay for all of them the satisfaction level differs every single time. Some of the films recently caught my attention even when they were not huge hits while others were a disappointment. Here is the list :

Loved :

• Raavan: Critics washed it off for being predictable but my argument is that the audience knew what to expect and therefore the element of shock only came in when Sita ( Ash admits to have started liking AB junior) in reel life of the film. The story was beautifully carved to match the standards of this age. The only regret was AB junior. I wish he had acted better to leave a greater impact or Mani Ratnam had taken another actor in his place, may be Ajay Devgan.

• Shutter Island: exceptional film shot on a stunning canvas. It is absorbing to an extent that one forgets about daily life. Must watch on a big screen, if not then at least switch off the mobile phones.

Liked:

• Inception: Leaves you with a numbness that what if someone gets into our dreams and direct them. My goodness....admirable concept but can't relax watching a film like this. It constantly keeps your mind ticking with multiple story telling going back and forth. Not recommended on a weekday after a days work.

• Kites: I enjoyed the film, it does leave you with an empty feeling unlike most Bollywood films but why release it as a Hindi film. The producers should have declared it as an English film that had an Indian English speaking man trying to communicate with a Spanish woman who can barely speak English. I would have felt extremely cheated as an audience if I dint understand English. They should perhaps take a lesson from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. However, one scene towards the end where the central characters almost had an eye conversation is unforgettable. Would like Hrithik Roshan to get out of his Dhoom 2 mode of a cool dude and do some serious cinema.

Did not enjoy:

• Rajneeti: It was all fine when they introduced the characters in an impressive way. But I did not expect the film by this title to be made on a classic i.e. Mahabharta. How did the director expect people to digest the second half with silly dialogues, lots of love between strange couples, and characters turned into our very own Bhisham Pitahmah, Duryodhan, Karan, Kunti, Arjun and Krishna. What a disappointment.

• Rann: Such films are generally intriguing as they claim to show you the inside world eg. Corporate, Fashion, Traffic Signal. Ram Gopal Verma is superb with his camera angles and editting but what about the script. This was the most obvious film I have seen in the recent times. News channels spying on competitors for TRP, influence of politicians and industrialists on news and creation of news. It remains acceptable though till Mr. AB tries to prove that he is the Big Daddy and has the opportunity to say what he likes on air on his own channel. Good for TRP...MAYBE...

Hope to see some more good films :)

Roses 2010

Its the second season of my rose plant in the backyard. I must admit that gardening is a very fulfilling experience. The result is not only to get the plant to flower but keep it in good health. My hard work of keeping the plant away from flies, insects, weeds and not to forget bad weather paid well.

I am proud to say that my love for pink continues....

The bees can buzzzzzzzzzzzzz off ;)