Megha chayae Barkha laayae ...

And the joy that the little one brought. ..

Have you heard of ecstatic bliss? Have you felt vulnerable by love? Have you ever felt conquered by love but still feel powerful and serene?Have you ever held a little one in your arms and watch it sleep? If yes, then you know what I was talking about. I have no idea how to explain this phenomenon. But let me tell you there is something in a child and its tender kicks that makes the whole world melt right in front you ... yet the thot of protecting it will make you powerful and give you all the strength in the world. Just imagine the same person making you vulnerable at one time and courageous at the other!

March 15th 2006 was when Megha stepped in to this world. Megha is the second child that I am getting to watch, right from its birth. The first baby was Vishwa. Vishu joined us on August 3oth 2002. I have tried in vain to understand why the fact that the baby is related to you by blood makes you draw so much emotions, well its inexplicable! Your genes are just designed to behave that way, I guess!

And let me tell you, we never knew how these 3 years just zoomed by and Megha is already running around babbling in tamizh... Megha takes after her dad, so they say.. some times I find it my self hitting a natural high, when some one says she takes after me... well, I have heard it so many times, that I take after my brother.

And now we she chatters on the other side of the phone speaking out what ever she knows, rhymes, stories, songs et al in her tender sweet voice, it is just pure music to ears...

And then she goes 'Atthai ..Atthai' over the phone telling me how the wood cutter was so happy to see 'lakmi umachi' give him all the axes back and how Goldilocks ran back home after eating the porridge... the slokha 'gajananam ' and ends it with her typical 'paadha pankajambu' and not 'paadha pankajam'.... the intonation, the exclamation in her voice.... hmmm....what do they call this.. yes .. yes... cloud number nine... this is it.. I found out finally ! :)

Yes it indeed is... Wonder how a 3 year old makes you so happy and that so effortlessly ... :)

Did some one say 'Child is the father of Man'? :)...

Eklavya - movie review

"Om Bhur Buvaha SuvahaThath Savithur VarenyamBhargo Devasya DheemahiDhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath "

is what one ends up chanting, or atleast humming to Shantanu Moitra's rendition of this Gayatri Mantra, complementing the very poetic nature of the movie. Beautiful locales, resplendent period costumes and sets captured by some deft camera work and the Big B's towering on-screen persona is what carries Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya, The Royal Guard.

The Eklavya locomotive starts trudging with a very ill Rani (Sharmila Tagore) muttering "Eklavya..Eklavya..." in her death bed with the Raja Jaywardhan (Boman Irani) looking over with concealed fury. The Raja calling out for Rani, Rani calling out for Eklavya is the starting scene enough to construct one's own script of what would follow and of course one wouldnt have strayed much from the original.

Prince Harshwardhan, a character convincingly portrayed by Saif Ali Khan (who seems to mature as a thorough actor with every movie) is called for from London on the news of Rani's death. The story unfurls here, thanks to a letter left by Rani and Harsh's "the-only-sane-person" sister Nandini (played by Raima Sen), with a series of events following in a manner which otherwise one might have expected only towards the end of the movie.

The movie is just about 2hrs long, and at the end one feels like he's been out of a 4hr epic drama a la Bansali style. Like any other drama of this genre, there is a dynasty and a royaly guarded secret (literally too), plotting brother Jyoti of the king, played by Jackie Shroff wearing an extension of the same look featured in Mission Kashmir (V.V.Chopra's previous offering) and amidst all this a love story between the prince and the pauper (gracefuly played by Vidya Balan) beautifuly weaved in, well we have seen it all, haven't we? Sanjay Dutt as a police inspector, wearing a pan-wala look, provides some entertainment and you end up hoping for more scenes around him.
Eklavya, played by Amitabh Bacchan, as the ageing and blinding royal guard shouldering guarding of the Devigarh Dynasty of Rajastan, what fell on him as a lineage of royal guards, is Big B at his best (not that he has given anything lesser earlier). As a friend remarked, scripts are thoroughed and characters (actors) chosen is a thing of past, while today scripts are written for characters - is a testimony to what Big B is to this industry.

Eklavya is a well made movie, but like any other movie has its share of ups and downs. Nothing wrong in catching it up over the weekend.

The Departed - movie review

A field day for Scorcese aficianados, not to mention the likes of Capolla, De Palma and Tarantino, The Departed sets remarkable standards on the art that movie making and editing is. Supported by some strong performances by an elite cast, murky background score, raw if not crisp dialogues - language profane if not persuasive and engaging cinematography, the movie has enough to excite an audience and get the connoisseurs goose-bumpy and raving for more.

Frank Costello, the kingpin mafia boss, is feared in Boston for his sheer brutality as a ruthless and pervert gangster placing him high on the records of Massachussets State Police.
Billy Castigan (Leonardo De Caprio), a Southie rookie cop is sent to infiltrate Costello's mob by becoming one of the goons and send vital information back to Captain Queenan(Martin Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam(Mark Wahlberg), the only two who know his true identity.
Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) as the overachieving cop is Costello's mole in the police department who has practically been brought up by Costello so much so that he goes on to call him "dad", especially when alerting Costello on any new moves of the State Police against him.


The tension sets in once the existence of a mole on each side surfaces and chase is on to reveal the identities of the two. Costigan on a tight rope all the time, fear of imminent and brutal death in the hands of Costello if his identity is revealed, a role which is beautifully played by Leanardo De Caprio. Sullivan, later assigned to find Costello's mole in the police department, rather unearth himself, is Matt Damon at his coldest best.

Thanks to the razor-sharp editing, if the first half was fast paced, the frenzied pace of the second would quite abruptly end in a climax leaving one dazed and filled with muted horror.

There are some excellent performances from veterans Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, not to mention the surprise package of Marl Wahlberg as the foul-mouthed, I-don't-give-a-damn Seargent effortlessly stealing the shots when he comes on screen.
Then there is this wolf, with cool and scary eyes, starting a chill up your spine everytime it comes on screen, ready to pounce on its prey to feast a blood-thirty appetite. That is Jack Nicholson at his very best, playing the fiery Frank Costello, a role that is as good as it gets.


Leanardo De Caprio, his third (apparently signing another Scorcese-Caprio deal) stint with Scorcese after Gangs of New York and Aviator, seems to have neatly danced to the tunes of the charmer in Scorcese. Let it be the morbid dread of being ravaged by Costello and his goons if his real identity is exposed or his pangs of an identity crisis, is played impressively indeed. Matt Damon, under-rated, but tunes up a truly commendable performance.
Its a well strung cops-n-gangster movie with an impressive cast, brilliant direction and editing (an almost I'll-be-damned-if-this-doesnt-fetch-an-Oscar), critically acclaimed - but all said and done, the Scorcese-Oscar jinx might just not be broken by this.

Being Cyrus - movie review

I felt sort of uncomfortably dazed filing out of the theatre and could sense a similar mood hovering. I decided to take the chance and idle talked a couple of people as to how they felt the movie was. A positive would have made me rush off the parking lot lest they should change their mind; but they did not like the movie - well, a negative answer always invites trouble in the form of curiosity, I prodded on. But not surprisingly, they did not have an answer!
Being Cyrus could probably start a trend or call it a fiasco and give it the thumps down. The movie is a psychological thriller or rather a drama revolving around a parsi family in a setting moving smoothly between Panchgani and Mumbai. The family is rather dysfunctional with Katy(Dimple Kapadia) and Dinshaw(Nasserrudin Shah) trudging away in Panchgani and Farokh (Boman Irani), Tina (Simone Singh) and Fardoonjee(Honey Chhaya) making up the Mumbai lot. Dinshaw is aging in mind and body and is quite oblivious to whats going on around him, especially his wife Katy's doings. Then there is his brother Farokh in Mumbai and his wife Tina, taking care of Fardoonjee (their father), who is a millionaire in his own right as the owner of an old dilapidated building in Mumbai.
Enter Cyrus(Saif Ali Khan) who is taken in as a pottery apprentice into Dinshaw's family and all the cracks begin to open, quite literally. The story is narrated by him, emphasizing his journey into himself perhaps, and a technique thats not been often used.
The movie is English, which is a rarity in Indian Cinema-but with a parsi backdrop, a Hindi dialogue delivery would have just not fit. The screenplay, story, dialogue and direction are quite flawless and the performances of the six characters are also highly impressive.
Saif Ali sizes up an impressive performance as someone in search of his own inside self perhaps. Nasseruddin as the dopey sculptor does his role with much elan as he does all other roles of his, a sense of deja vu might be apparent going by his recent roles. Boman Irani, well what can I say about this genious - versatility is his middle name.
As I started in the beginning; everything seems fine about it, but why the grimness? All I can say is, its probably the beginning of a trend and would take sometime to sink in!!
Debutant director, Homi Adajania has to be patted for starting something of this sort.

cricket and its miracles...

Australia Vs SA ODI 12-Mar-2006



The shorter version of this sport is never short of excitement, from pintch-hitting to match-fixing, the world gets to see it all. But there has to be a mother-of-all matches, those rather defining moments that leave long-lasting footprints; and without doubt this match would go a long way in cementing that. Crazy, incredible, unreal...you name an adjective and they sound an understatement.

Little would have Australia, arguably the best cricketing team in the world in both versions of the game today, dreamt of being on the losing side after posing a mammoth 434/4 in 50 overs. Ponting proving why he is the No.1 batsman in the world with a 105 ball 164 did the bulk with Gilchrist, Hussey and Katich pitching in the rest with half centuries a piece.

Needing to score at a rate of almost 9 runs per over, South Africa were all set to attain the unthinkable. Captain Graeme Smith led from front, laying the foundation with a blistering 90 off 56 balls. Then it was Gibbs' 175 off a mere 111 balls which made all the difference and would go down in history as one of the best. Not to mention the little cameo by Boucher 50 off 43) who has lately made it a routine in coming up with useful knocks as these. He went on to hit the winning shot, a shot that stunned the crowd, a shot that multiplied into as many Australians on and off the field and hit straight at their hearts, a boundary to end the innining at 438/9 with one ball to spare as if to make sure "if u aint dead the remaining one will make sure mateys..."
History was made and records came tumbling, the highest ODI score by a team beating SriLanka’s 10yr old record was made by Austalia in the first innings; a record that could not manage to stay long was pushed to second emphatically by South Africa on the same day. The highest aggregate in a ODI; 972 runs scored in a day. And some strange records too ; Lewis becomes the most expensive bowler in the history of the game with 113 runs scored off his 10 overs…the match had it all.
If you are searching for the highlights, get a hold of the entire recording, chances are you might not find the difference.

Rental Car Ravings!!!!

I dont think we have this concept of rental car in India. I strongly recommend that it should be brought in India. Hmm... but that is distant dream taking in to consideration, the infrastructure of the country, the attitude of people and the economy of our country!!. Sigh!!! Never mind, hum hongae kaamyab .. hum hongae kaamyab ek din..!!! I need that dose of optimism in me to keep my self going about doing something for Dear mother India..

Anyways, I hope you remember that I have already got my license, I was looking out for a car for a long time to buy, and in the mean time was sharing shiva's car. Now shiva's car had been given to the mechanic for some repair work to be done. The insurance rules here are extremely customer oriented. They allow you to hire a rental car for three days while your car is being treated.

Shiva was the one who did all the hard work. He called up the insurance, got the quote and left the car in loan star (Read mechanic shop in our terms). Now here comes the most interesting part of the story!!!! Shiva was taken to the rental car enterprise by a damsel.. Now our man gets to ride with this beauty so how does it matter what car is given for rental. So boss chooses the first one standing in the row, staring at the damsel without batting the eyelid.. ;) Okie okie.. i was not there but the way in which shiva bhaiya was raving about the girl, I could only imagine what an ecstasy it would have been for him!!!!!

But let me tell you, he had made a very good choice, inspite of being in that sedated mental state!!!! The car was a red pontiac SV6. Sigh!!!!! The very thot of the car gives me vibes ;)!!! Shiva mailed me about the rental car and that it was parked in the garage. I couldnt wait to see the car, but didnt have the time/mood to walk to the garage, which is almost a mile away!!! So had to wait until I had wrapped up my work in the evening and dragged shiva out of his seat and set off for the journey from D building to garage ;) ( You know the 1 mile walk to garage does need company yaar!!!!;))

We walked and ended up in the P1 level of the parking to find the new groom parked last in the row.. I couldnt wait to get closer to him!!! ( for my own gratification I have changed the gender , and yes the author's decision is final). When I was just a yard away I could have the complete view of this handsome guy!!!!!! Man I was openly ogling at him!!! I immediately dived into the driver's seat !!! :)

Time to give some technical details about my car er... shiva's car. Honda accord has no power windows and power locks, translates to , if you want to move the window of the car door, you have to manually turn the lever on the door clockwise or anti clockwise depending on what you want to do with that window !!!! Boy!!!!!, that takes a lot of effort especially when i enter the office premises, coz i have to grab the id card from bag , roll down the window, show the id card to the security at the entrance, step on the brake at the right point close to where the security is standing on the side of the lane, lower the volume of the radio and ....and.... and... still manage to give that smiiiiillllile !!!!!!! Too much of a multitasking to ask out of a sheer mortal!!!! And imagine if the security guard is not standing on the driver side of car, i mean, we drive into a lane and we have security standing on either side of the lane. So if the security on the driver side is missing, the other guy does the checking... now dont even imagine the way i scramble out of my seat belt , reach across to the other door and start exercising my biceps trying to bring the damn window down!!!!!!!... and you would think that the window is transparent , why bother bringing it down... No guys, it doesnt work that way here.. it is deemed courtesy to bring the window down.. and anyway girls have more incentive to do that.!!!! ;) I am more angry with the door than the "courtesy part " ;) !!!!

So you see in this car, when all i had to do was press a button and woooooshhhh!!!! the window comes down , hence i manage to do all the above mentioned and give a better smile to the guy out there, who is this aamir khan look alike. When i say security guard, dont ever have the picture of a 60 year old asking for your id, i am talking about this smart , suave looking , "could be cop" guy walking to your car door and pleasingly asking for the id. So guys, its important that i keep my best mood yaaar!!!! ;)

Now the pontiac had a lot of features in it that we could not learn in a matter of two days.. thats how long we had the pontiac SV6 with us. Also the non-power windows was a problem with accord, we had to put a notice to all passengers in our car to lock the door(push the lock knob down), coz in a hurry if they forget to do that and we realize that only after we walk away from the car, we dont have a choice but to walk all the way to the car, open the door, push down the knob, shut the door and walk back.. too much work ppl!!!! In this no way... u forget to lock the doors, we are there to help you, we lock it using the magic key lock !!! :) I know this is kind of silly , but guys, it gets on my nerves everytime I have to do it. Its just about making life easier guys!!!!

And talk about power steering guys!!!! Hey until shiva, showed me the bill for servicing of accord and highlighted the section "power steering Oil" 20 dollars, I refused to believe that the accord had power steering inspite of having driven it for a long time now!!!!!!! And guys thats the only way we make everyone believe that accord indeed has power steering. But nevertheless, it takes a lot precision and calculation, if you have to park the accord between two huge trucks that have already occupied the whole parking space allocated to them , so a lil bit of your mistake on your calculation part can relieve one of the trucks off its back light/indicator/reverse indicator.. and now you realize how important power steering is in your life!!!!! But with pontiac, the car is almost of the same size as that of accord, but i can turn the car 90 degrees with just two of the fingers of my right hand!!!!! so parking was never a big deal!!!!

Now the car did not have some of the most wanted features a guy would want in his car.. the pick up was not that good. I attribute that reason to the fact that the car was old and had run a lot of miles!!! so it was not a big deal.. I was not owning it , I had only hired it. . Talk about the resale value of pontiac versus honda.. honda wins hands down!!

So atleast the next time I go in for a car, i know what i want out of it. Now given a choice, I would go in for a car that has the features of pontiac and a resale value of honda, now who wants pick up stuff.. its not gonna be bad at all for cars that have not run so many miles!!!

Hmmm.. think about it ppl, if its so hard for you to know what you want out of it, just for car, i wonder how many parameters one has to handle when it comes to choosing some one you have to spend the rest of your life with.

Although I have come to believe that honda accord should ideally be my true love and passion since that was the first ever car that I had ever owned in my life, I do end up thinking, otherwise, strongly and frequently!!! I would tell myself hell no!!!! At those times I get thinking that i am/was "ok" with it since i have no choice. So now if I know this is what i want, i could go in for something that matches these parameters.

I dont know if I was infactuated with pontiac, but it gave me the feeling that my car should be something like that.. who cares about pick up, after all no fool would go on long drives in one's own car here!!!! And anyway i never had too much of a problem with its pick up...I have not heard ppl complaining too much about its maintenance either.

Heck !!!! If this is what i want and if i am happy with that and if i think i will never crib about having bought it, then i think i should do that.. Its after all what i can afford, hmmm..if i am able to afford, trust me guys, i am going in for something that is more like pontiac than this accord!!!!!!! I am not saying all accords are like this, but with my budget if thats the kind of accord that i can afford.. man !!! i dont need an accord!!! On the other hand, may be its just about fixing the power windows and locks in the accord ;)!!!!.

So much for just a car..... am I spending too much time thinking about things of no use!!!!!! ;)

Hell no!!!! System is up, am back to testing..

KING KONG - THE MOVIE (2005)

The ever so popular story of a Beauty killing the Beast, thats what King Kong is all about.
The newest installation, a respectable remake at that, is a story pretty close to the 1933 classic,but the treatment is entirely different here.
Desperate to keep his place in the depression ridden New York, Carl Denham (Jack Black), a master showman, is on a last ditch effort to convince his investors about an expedition to the famed-for-all-the-wrong-reasons Skull Island. The inverstors are not ready for a wild-goose-chase, but Carl is bent on risking anything to shoot his next film. While running from his investors, he finds out that his lead actress pulled out of the picture, in his desperation he comes across the unknown performer, Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and convinces her to drop everything to star in his film.
Lying to the entire production crew as a trip to Singapore for shooting, Carl sets on to discover Skull Island.



A lot of care is taken in primarily building a credible plot, be it in how Carl gets the play writer, Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) to come along and building the romantic interest between him and Ann and of course the journey itself; the crew coming to know of his ridiculous and dangerous filming interest in the Skull Island, the ensuing war of words and eventually finding themselves in the force of the island itself, before they can change the course back home...So it is quite sometime till you actually get to see the beast. No wonder the movie is 3hrs and 5 mins long.

When the crew finally gets to Skull Island, the film really takes off and sort of falls apart at the same time. Jackson spends a lot of time on Skull Island, we see all sorts of mysterious and strange things, like Huge Dinosaurs, T-Rex's, there's a really creepy scene where the crew are trapped at the bottom of a cliff and are attacked by the Island's numerous insects.
The graphic work and special effects are quite a treat, especially the dinosour stampede scene and the fight between T-Rexs' and King Kong are quite impressive, but they tend to get on one's nerves when they tend to prolong, just when one feels he's had enough.

Unlike other beasts in earlier installments of King Kong or be it other beastly movies, King Kong here is actually a beauty. The director has taken too much of a care in getting all sorts of expressions of the gorilla right and , it is something to watch indeed. The scenes involving the growing softness between Ann and the gorilla are made with some poetic perfection.

The ending sequence is truly breathtaking, the aerial photography makes one feel as if he was really at the top of the Empire State Building.

In conclusion, King Kong can probably be called as an accomplistment in spectacle film-making and for this reason alone allow yourself a rollercoaster of a ride.