Seafood Restaurants?? Naah!!!

Had gone to the famous restaurant Gajalee, at Phoenix Mills, on
Tuesday for dinner. The place had been recommended to Dad by many of
his friends, plus Bombay Times had also waxed eloquent about it. So,
we decided to give it a try. I must say we were totally disappointed.

The menu was way too limited. And all their specialities were charged
'as per size'. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't generally pay too much
attention to prices of individual dishes in a restaurant, just the
overall bill. But, here where you could be docked 900 bucks instead of
700 for a small increase in the size of the pomfret, you had to be
careful!!! Unfortunately, neither me nor my Dad have salaries that are
so fat that we can afford to blow close to a grand on a single dish!!!
So, alas, we had to opt for the plain jane Crab Masala, instead of the
Butter Pepper Pomfret.

But, wait!!! There was a feast in store for us the next day. Stung
that the maitre d' should choose to smirk at us when we declined the
pomfret on offer, Dad went off to the market and got home a huuuuge
pomfret. The kind Gajalee would charge 1200 bucks for, I guess!!!
Then, it was down to some good tasty homemade masala, courtesy Mom and
we had one of the most sumptuous meals we had had in a long time.

Cost of the fish - Rs. 250
Cost of the masala - Rs. 50
Cost of electricity for the microwave - Rs. 10 (approx.)

The feeling of satisfaction after preventing oneself from being looted
by a fancy hotel - Priceless!!!

You too, Brutus!!!

Came to know 2 days ago that a very good friend of mine was having her
marriage fixed. The unfortunate part is that I came to know this from
another friend, not from her. To top it all, she knew her groom for
over a year!!!

All this makes one think. Are all friends we consider close to us
really that close? Or is their definition of closeness different? I
was discussing this exact point with A yesterday. She was also close
to the friend in question. Needless to say, she was also in the dark
about this development. As A so aptly put it, "If I were to have such
a happy development in my life, I would want to share it with all my
friends. Then my happiness would increase manifold!!!"

Now, the question arises, "Do I have a right to feel hurt?" I
certainly feel hurt, but is it right on my part to think in that
manner? Should I tell her that I know about this and that I am
aggrieved that she chose not include me in her happiness? Do I have a
moral right to do so?

Man, I have never been this confused before!!!

The Working Phoenix

Owing to a complete lack of consideration for his well-being and
health on part of his company, this author has now slipped into a
temporary state of professional coma.

But he will rise.......only to be thwarted again!!!

I ...

Got tagged by Everyman to write this one. Had thought of so many different things to mention here, but when the time to actually put down those things has come, my courage seems to desert me. Still, I must try...

I am thinking about ... what should this kind of a tag be called. I mean this is not an explicit tag, its implied. Kinda like the difference between a simile and a metaphor. Does anyone know the word for it?

I said ... err, what did I say?

I want to ... drive a BEST bus once from Dahisar to Colaba, preferably a double-decker. I want to learn to play the guitar. I want to be able to choose a car to drive to work. I want to try my hand at teaching sometime, give back something to SPCE. I want to have a company of my own. I want to expose my superiors and colleagues who indulge in unethical practices. I want to be sure of what I want to eventually become. Lastly, I want to find out the real answer to that omnipresent question, "Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?"

I wish ... we were really free. I certainly did not sign away my freedom to my company, yet it seems to think so!!! And that's not the only reason I am saying this. Look everywhere, your life just doesn't seem to be yours anymore. I wish people followed driving rules. I wish people at the helm of affairs here started taking things seriously. I wish the good guys were not killed by the bad ones. See what happened to Andrei Kozlov.

I hear ... snippets of conversations all around me. However, I may try to cut it out, I just cant. Wise guys call it eavesdropping....

I wonder ... if all Americans are crazy like their leader (I hope not!!!) I wonder why very few girls can drive properly. I wonder why elims are always tougher than the finals. I wonder whether I am doing justice to this post, or simply writing crap!!!

I regret ... not saying sorry. I regret that I am such a loner that today, I don't have a single person who can claim to understand me. No, not even Mom can stake a claim to that!!!

I am ... FAT!!!

I dance ... at imaginary parties. At the real ones, I have an inexplicable fear of making a complete fool of myself (not that I need dancing to help me out there!!!)

I sing ... in the bathroom, while driving, in office. In short, I sing just about anywhere. But I sing only in front of the people closest to me.

I cry ... very rarely. It's more like tears welling up for a while. I tend to brood a lot, rather than cry.

I am not always ... the mentally strong person most people think I am.

I make with my hands ... tiny doodles on any notepad, just to pass time.

I write ... to please myself. I write so that more and more people can read what I write and communicate with me. I write so that I can come back and maybe, figure why I took those decisions, what I was thinking at the time.

I confuse ... people when I generally want to end a conversation.

I need ... to be loved by someone, liked by someone. I cant stand it if someone really hates me. Just that one word of comfort, that one word of consolation can make my day.

Whew!! That's that. If you feel like it, do write something about yourself. Who knows, you may discover something new about yourself when you read what you have put down. I know I just did!!!

Ever had that feeling?

Ever had that feeling of impending doom? When all seems hopeless, when nothing you try seems to work!!! I am currently experiencing my first bout of office stress. What happens when you are responsible to take data backup, and the backup procedure used by you is incorrect? What happens when the main computer crashes beyond recovery and the new data repository refuses to recognise the backup? What happens when the data lost is equivalent to comprehensive information regarding work, since 2004? I don't know the answer, but something tells me that I shall find out tomorrow!!!

Naughty Naughty!!!

A few days ago, during dinner at a restaurant near office, a colleague, who was a new migrant to Bombay, asked me very innocently, "When you eat chicken, do you eat only hens?" Needless to say, he was a strict veggie.

My equally innocent (at least, it was when I said it!!!) reply was, "Yeah, they generally keep the cocks only for breeding!!!"

Ganapati celebrated in Bombay

Well, it feels nice to be here in Bombay once again for the Ganapati festival. Last year, I had to give it a miss because of my ILP in $#%^%$ Bhubaneswar. Now, don't get me wrong!!! I did enjoy my stay in Bhubaneswar and getting away from home was not as bad as I thought it would be. But, one does yearn for home when typical Bombay festivals like Ganeshotsav come along. And believe me, hearing your friends describing the sweets they got to eat and the fun they had at the various places they visited, in graphic detail, does not exactly tickle your funny bone!!!

Well, enough of last year. This year too, there was lots of stuff to do. And mainly, good food to eat!!! However, one thing turned this otherwise enjoyable festival sour for me. Today, wherever I went, there were old aunties and grannies asking my mom about when she was gonna get a daughter-in-law for herself!!! The general conversation went something like this....

Aunty/Granny : When are you getting a lady for this young man?

Mom : Errr......he wants to study further before thinking of that and plus, we think it's too early for all this.

Aunty/Granny : What nonsense? Early? Look at him, such a big fellow, he should settle down and give you some nice cuddly grandchildren to play with!!!

Mom : We really don't think so!!!

Aunty/Granny : Don't be stupid!!! If you ask me, its good to have these youngsters settle down early in life, else they get out of hand!!! Trust me, I have some experience in these matters.

(All the other "wise people" around grunt their assent!!!)

Hello!!! Who gave you guys the right to decide when I should settle down? And what's all this about cuddly kids to play with? And since when did the ultimate aim of "settling down" become providing your parents "cuddly" grandchildren to "play with"????????? GOD!!!!

Sometimes, I really wonder why these people cant mind their own bloody business!!!

Omkara - A Review

Had been to G7 at Bandra to watch Omkara alongwith V, P, SC, RK and RS. Unfortunately, we didn't get tickets for the 3.30pm show we had planned on watching. For some reason, we hung around the area and went for the 6.30pm show. I must say I wasn't disappointed.

The movie starts off with a bang, an expletive in the very first dialogue!!! Wow.....this movie must be something, you think. Vishal Bharadwaj builds up the story nicely from this point on. We slowly get to know the characters, their peculiar traits and their common background. Now, comes the acid test of the movie. One wonders whether it will live up to expectations, especially considering it tom-toms itself as an inspiration from the bard's Othello. I think the movie delivers what it promises, and maybe, more. I do not need to get into the story here.....anyone who is familiar with Shakespeare's work will already be knowing it well. Ah, the jealousy of Othello, the cunning of Iago, the beauty of Desdemona!!! Substitute these names with Omkara, Langda Tyagi and Dolly, and the effect, quite surprisingly, isn't diluted.

Bharadwaj makes excellent use of the rugged, barren landscapes of UP very effectively. The rustic setting simply adds to the charm of the movie. Satara has also been used here, notably in one road sequence, a road which regular visitors to Mahabaleshwar via Pune will recognise as the road to Wai, at the base of the ghat leading to Panchgani. Camerawork is great, with the full starkness of the barren land brought forward. One noteworthy scene is the last one with a prostate Kareena on the swing, moving back and forth, while Ajay Devgan lies underneath. You have to watch it to experience it.

Performance-wise, the movie is filled with excellent actors, who do full justice to their characters. Kareena Kapoor, as the beautiful and faithful Dolly and Vivek Oberoi, as the upstart Kesu, both turn in credible performances. One thinks these roles have come to them at just the right time in their careers. Naseeruddin Shah, as the big boss, is dependable as ever. So, is Konkana Sensharma. There is simply no need to describe their performances. The audience expects the world from them, and they deliver. Period. Ajay Devgan, as the brooding Omkara, overcome with extreme jealousy, is menacing as ever. One never even doubts for a minute that his character could lose in combat, such is the life that this talented actor infuses into his role. Finally, we come to Saif Ali Khan. WHAT A PERFORMANCE!!! Simply mindblowing!!!! The transformation from the suave and sophisticated nawab to a rustic UP goon is complete. Boy, do you hate his character when you watch the movie. That evil smile, the stained teeth.......marvellous!!! And the expression in his eyes, when he is denied his coveted position....that is the mark of a good actor and we certainly have one in Saif. Saif, I bow to thee....award winning stuff, this.

At the end, one feels the movie could have been more crisply edited. That is just about the only grouse I can recall. Something, huh???

A motley missed!!!

Ever had that feeling?? You get out of bed and look forward to 3-4 hours of blissful quizzing. Ahh...Utopia!!! Alas, Utopia is fictional!!! The quizzing is thwarted by the infantile insistence of Dad that I meet some stupid relatives who are coming over to India after 15 years!!! They had some idiotic desire to see their long-lost nephew, who was soooo small when they saw him last!!! As if that's ever possible where I m concerned!!! Now is it my fault that they chose not to return for 15 whole years??

And Dad's attempt to mollify me?? Tickets to Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna!!! Aaarghhh!!!! Read about it in the post below.

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - A Review

An urban setting, a director with an excellent track record, good music and a star cast to die for. These are the ingredients which will draw the crowds to the theatres to watch one of the most awaited movies of the year - Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna!!! And does the movie live up to the hype surrounding it? Read on to find out.

One of the first things to strike you in the movie is the camerawork....stark grey landscapes from urban New York have been captured very nicely in the movie, be it the parks, the crossings or the railway station. It makes a very striking contrast when you compare it to a movie like Parineeta, which makes use of vibrant colours to capture the Kolkata of the 60's.

The movie revolves around two individuals, SRK and Rani, who are unhappy with their respective marriages. A chance meeting on a park bench and a poorly executed chase spark off a series of meetings, which finally culminate in love. However, social and marital obstacles thwart them at every step. How they overcome these and finally manage to get together after aeons, is what seems to be the gist of the story. I use the word 'seems' because I can never tell for sure why the characters in the movie do whatever they do!!!

The movie seems to finally have a different storyline - a rarity in movies from the Dharma Productions stable. However, Karan Johar seems to have stretched a promising story almost to the point of mediocrity!!! He sure seems to need a shot of Koffee!!! Rani cries all the time, pausing only briefly to push off an "eager" Abhishek!!!! Believe me, tear stains on such a pretty face are not very good to look at!!! SRK is grumpy all the time. God knows his character could give me some serious competition for surliness!!! Preity appears confused all the time, alternating between the all-conquering career woman and the hurt wife!!! The kid is cute, and brings a few smiles to movie-goers' faces. But, the real stars are the father-son duo of the Bachchans. They share a fantastic camaraderie on screen. Abhishek's goofy look is the perfect foil for the casanova-like Big B. Truly, he is the best actor in Indian cinema today, and by a long way!!! Kirron Kher delivers a very compact performance, something we have now come to naturally expect from her.

The movie does tend to disappoint, given the high expectations from it, but somehow, it isn't as bad as many people make it out to be. Go for it, but be prepared to stare periodically at your watch and wonder how much more time's left for it to end!!!

Town Hall / Asiatic Library

The Sea at Bandra Bandstand

Ramblings

• It feels so nice to meet your college friends after a long time....you wish time stood still.
• The sea breeze is wonderful, but the sea spray is yucky!!!
• I look HUGE compared to my friend, A!!!
• I like the World Space Radio ad....somehow, it is sooo convincing!!!
• Zara Zara from Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein is easily the most erotic song of recent times (well, for me at least!!!).
• I am beginning to wonder why I started writing this post in the first place!!!
• I SUCK at CAT quant!!!
• I am writing this from office, waiting for the stupid SPARC backup to get over.
• Why does no friend of mine have the entire F.R.I.E.N.D.S collection??
• You are probably wondering whether I have lost my marbles.
• I think I probably have!!!
• errrr.....I guess that's it!!!

Looks like the Rain Gods are angry with the BMC !!!

What a day!!!

Was looking forward to a completely free weekend ahead of me, yesterday in office when Mom messaged to tell me that her cell service had been temporarily discontinued. It seems the bill I had paid online had not been credited to her account. An hour of communication with my bank and her cell company later, I came to know that I had keyed in the wrong number while paying the bill. MISTAKE NO. 1!!! Thankfully, the cell company has agreed to help me correct the error.

Later, while leaving office, full of weekend ecstasy, I forgot my umbrella and, to top it, realised my folly only after I had reached home. On calling my colleagues, I found that they had all left office and that there was no one to claim the umbrella for me!!! MISTAKE NO. 2!!! I asked a colleague who was going to office today to check for it but, as expected, he didn't find it!!!

Then, while lazing at home today, I snagged my watch in a drawer. Struggle......struggle.....SNAP!!!!! That'll be 50 bucks, Sir!!! MISTAKE NO. 3!!!

And, finally, for the "baap" of all mistakes. I made a friggin' mistake while filling in my CAT form. Used a black pen where a pencil was needed!!! Damn!!! MISTAKE NO. 4!!!

Total unnecessary cost incurred so far?? Rs. 180. Could go up to Rs. 2199!!! Great....simply great!!!!

Golmaal - A Review

Went for Golmaal yesterday, simply coz of the hype created by my friends. Thought, why not give it a try. I must say that I certainly wasn't disappointed.

The movie begins by outlining the extent to which 4 friends are willing to go, in order to lay their hands on some easy money. Then, just when you are beginning to hate the lazy slobs, the narrative mellows down a bit and reveals snippets from their past which actually makes you feel sorry for these guys. Fate somehow brings them to the doorstep of a blind couple. The story picks up pace after that. Add a bumbling gang of goondas, a hissing idiot, a wannabe Munnabhai, and you have absolute mayhem!!!

Performance-wise, all 4 actors seem to have equally important roles. Ajay Devgan is dependable as ever. But, somehow, he doesn't seem to be as comfy with situational comedy, as with the serious dramatic stuff. Still, he does a pretty good job. Vrajesh Hirjee with his hissing antics is more suitable for a zoo rather than a Hindi film. His hissing fails to evoke more than a few feeble laughs. What was the director thinking? The goondas are bumbling, which is just the way they should be for this film. The remaining 3 of the quartet, Tusshar, Sharman and Arshad are quite simply hilarious. Whatever they do, you are never bored. And thankfully, for once, the comedy doesn't go overboard as it did with a couple of Sharman's early films. Which now brings me to Paresh Rawal and Sushmita Mukherjee. The two of them do a brilliant job as the eccentric blind couple. Paresh Rawal, with his perfect comic timing and Sushmita Mukherjee, with her vulnerability. The duo even share a song. This song is brilliantly picturised and the production team certainly deserves kudos for it. Rimi Sen is more of a garden ornament, if you get what I mean!!! The less said the better.

All in all, one can conclude that even though the movie does not boast of a proper storyline, the flair for comedy displayed by all actors is what keeps this movie alive. Go watch it, and forget your troubles for a while.

title it yourself!!!!

Earlier in the day, I had thought that I would write about the day I spent with my friends, giving them a treat on the occasion of my birthday. However, the day was marred by a series of events that took place in Bombay this morning.

All of us were sitting in the Bombay Blues outlet at Shopper's Stop, Andheri, when we got wind of the news that there was rioting going on in many parts of Bombay. It seems a statue of the late wife of the influential Sena leader, Bal Thackeray, had been desecrated by some miscreants, early this morning. Her son, Uddhav, who calls himself a leader of the people of Maharashtra, gave a statement saying that inspite his mother being a mother for the masses, it is indeed sad that someone desecrated her statue. I thoroughly agree with him and, am of the firm belief that the police MUST trace the miscreants, at the earliest. However, the "people's" Sena went one step further. Rioting began, buses were burnt, shops were forced to close down and the city almost ground to a halt. Is this the way to express your agitation at the insult of someone you hold dear? Is this the way a supposedly responsible party is supposed to conduct itself?

On any day, maybe 5 years earlier, people would themselves have stopped all activities as a mark of protest. However, repeated attempts by this party to make sure that the diktats of its now senile leader and his irresponsible son are obeyed at all costs have certainly not endeared them to WE, the people. I think it is time we had self-governance in Bombay (yes, I will call it Bombay, when I speak in English....to hell with political correctness!!!). Ban the political parties!!! Let individuals stand for the post of elected mayor. Let the Sena know that I am certainly NOT voting for them in the next elections!!!

In case the reader is wondering why I have mentioned names, as opposed to my style of using initials, I feel that in some cases, a direct approach is the best one!!! And there is no particular reason for this post.....its just me letting some steam off.

And July, the first passes by...

Just yesterday, a quizzing friend of mine, NI, called up to wish me a Happy Birthday. During the course of the conversation we had, one question he asked really made me think. "Does it feel any different becoming 23?"

Come to think of it, it certainly doesn't. I am still the same fat and lazy chap I was a year ago. I still get angry at the drop of a hat. I still love to drive the wheels off my car. But then, why is a birthday considered to be so important? NI had me thinking big time, and mind you, that's quite an achievement!!!

My thinking made me realise that though I may not have changed that much, some part of me has, indeed, undergone a transformation, possibly because of the events that took place in my life in the past year. I learnt that I could survive away from home, thanks to my company, which insists on training its recruits in far-off places like Bhubaneswar. I learnt that the rest of India is not such a bad place, but nothing can beat Bombay!!! I learnt that some people who you think are very good friends wont even bother to ask how you are, while others will keep in touch. I learnt that however skilled you may be at driving, there will always be someone who is willing to take more risks than you, simply because he has more money!!! I also learnt that Orkut can make you drop your sulkiness at your best friend, because she has forgotten all about your big day. I also learnt that when your best friend calls up at 11 pm to apologise, she makes your day (or at least, what's left of it!!!)

If I try and list all the things that I learnt, I will end up spending the whole day over it, and yet, not end up with a comprehensive list!!! So, a reader may ask...."Is this post getting somewhere?" My reply would be .... "Errr....No, I don't think so!!!"

"Monumental" Monsoon

The monsoons in Bombay can provide for some really good pictures of the landmarks in Bombay, pictured against the dark skies.

6 weird things about me

Got tagged by Shainu to pen down 6 weird things about myself. Somehow, I have a VERY bad feeling that this one is not going to go too well.....Hey I got the first one...

1. I generally tend to believe in my inability to do things......(now go and figure that one out)!!!
2. I absolutely HATE it when someone leaves a book lying around on the floor.
3. I cant stand it if someone apart from my Dad so much as touches the steering wheel / pedals of my car. Actually, the exception for Dad is coz he err....owns the car (put your own recollection of an embarassed smile here) !!!
4. I suck at quizzes that matter, yet I like to believe that I am one of the world's best quizzers.
5. My right foot starts vibrating horribly after a close shave while driving.
6. I absolutely LOVE to pull chubby cheeks, but despise it when someone attempts to do the same to me. (My friend, A and Mom will fume at me, if they see this!!!)

Now, the principle of tagging stipulates that I tag 6 other people. However, taking into consideration the abysmal no. of people actually bothering to read this blog, that is going to be one hell of a difficult task. Still, I'll try. So, I tag

• Riaan
• Darshan
• Adi
• Vish
• Chetan
• Open slot - up for grabs!!! (got this idea from Shainu)