This is just a compendium of all the events, products and feelings that cross my mind now (as am typing, trying to eat yoghurt-covered raisins, 'begging' my partner to pack his clothes for our impending house shifting and trying to watch TV) So go on, soak in some garbled ramblings.. in no particular order!
Morya Re...
Mr.Pot-belly himself has decided to paint the town red. Bombay has decided to celebrate on the streets and how?! Every day is a 'visarjan' (procession of Ganpati to the nearest immersion point). Thanks to living on the main road AND on the sea, I am close to over-dosing on the 'dhol' drum beats every evening. But the optimist, party lover and dancer in me cannot help but enjoy the revelry (yes, you guessed right, I AM a libran!) Some of the drummers are just fantastic. My neigbors across the street smile amusedly at me when we pass each other on the road... I don't blame 'em... I have been dancing with pots, pans and ladles while I cook. My kitchen overlooks the road with a direct view from the building across the not-so-wide road. And as if that were not enough, I even tried doing salsa and American jazz (or what I think are versions of these!) to the 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' dhols! Hey, credit me with marks for creativity instead of cruelly smiling. Jeez!
Mr. Prophet
It wouldn't be right if I did not talk of the other festival that is also going on full swing in my neighbourhood - Ramzan. I live in Mahim, in Bombay (atleast for a few more days). For those who do not know Bombay, this area has a pretty strong Islamic population co-existing with a pretty strong Marathi-Brahmin and Sindhi population. So, while the Elephant God decides to reach his oceanic abode sometimes as late as midnight, replete with band-baaja, the punctual Mr.Mohammed ALWAYS calls out in his sing-song tone on dot at ten to five...in the morning. Sigh! But again, the entire area buzzes with excitement, especially at about 7 in the evening with lights and (supposedly) delicious food (am a vegetarian!)
Oh Captain, My Captain
And the Gods did smile on our young captain Mr.Dhoni this evening. By a cruel twist of fate, my cable TV chap decided to cut off my cable connection... but I always believed that India would lose everytime I watched the match, especially excitedly. See, my belief paid off... India DID win! But, alas, no stop to the firecrackers going on and on and on and on and on.... in our area. Seems like everybody is happy, but sleepy me!
Om Shanti Om
In all this hulabaloo, I caught the trailer of OSO on NDTV. Man, SRK looks like a clone of Shekhar Suman! No, don't get me wrong, but he looks all botoxed, with veins popping out and no flab on his abs. Well, if I want abs, there is Salman and Hrithik and old pics of Guvnor' Arnie! Why SRK? Even his chocolate smile looks artificial as does his (erstwhile) melting brown eyes... he IS a bit old I guess. Too old to romance Ms.Padukone?
My Can
The boy in the Pepsi 'My Can' ad agrees. For my beloved friends on the other side of the rainbow, 'My Can' is the slim can version of Pepsi. The ad has a young boy calling SRK and John Abraham 'Uncle'. SRK I agree, but John???? He can't act to save his life, or Bipasha's (but neither can she!) But he does look great with his dimpled smile and veggie food tastes!
Other Ads
Loved the ad for T20 cricket 'appun ka sapna' ad. Lovely concept, getting young kids to talk of their ambitions and tie it up to 'Chota ho to kya, cricket, cricket hai'! Also the i-pill ad. Both ads are pretty emotive, therefore full marks to the ad. Also to the winking 'Spark' ad. Always loved 'Matiz'... still do, even in its new avtaar. Oh, I mentioned it before, also the Lays ad in Ladakh.
Discovery
Found an old cassette of 'Iron Maiden' the other day. Thought I would learn to love hard rock. Thought wrong obviously. Gimme, 'Ganpati Bappa' and my 'azans' anyday.
ps: Anybody want a free (old) cassette? :)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Friends, Nostalgia, Spirits and Bouncers!
This weekend was exceptional. Having flung myself into the rapids of the corporate world (and struggling not to fall asleep in the afternoon or throw something at my boss) I realize I have established a monotonous daily pattern of life (sigh)!
Decided after three weeks of working that I needed a break :)
What better than to go back to Bengaluru (yikes, sounds like a warped version of ladies finger's tamil translation) to meet my good friend and ex-roomie. She is now in the US of A doing her MBA again (she wanted to study Kotler again?!) So it was a crazy day and a half trip... we met, yapped until our voices gave up (both of us are hoarse now!) started paying obeisance to Baccus in the afternoon (her dad opened a bottle of an amazing rye vodka from Poland), went shopping to 'Forum' (it is three times more crowded now than it was two years ago) and cribbed till we ourselves couldn't take it anymore! In the evening we went to 'Opus' a wonderful lounge bar with tonnes of memories from our past. A friend of ours went overboard and we had the distinction of being thrown out! All in all, had a lovely time bonding and letting my hair loose completely!
I realized (all over again) -
a) Bangalore is way greener and 'classier' than Bombay (native Bombay junta, stop reading NOW!) The roads are much more crowded than before, but the city still exudes an old-world warmth and genteel culture that is captivating and charming at once.
b) One should be happy with life, because there are so many people who laugh and party despite being under enormous strain (emotion, financial etc.) So to use my famous words again, maid not coming to work is NOT a big issue!
c) 5000 business contacts are good. 500 acquaintances are fun to have. But at the end of the day, it is the close '5 friends' in one's life who bring a genuine smile onto one's face and warm the heart!
Enjoy :)
Decided after three weeks of working that I needed a break :)
What better than to go back to Bengaluru (yikes, sounds like a warped version of ladies finger's tamil translation) to meet my good friend and ex-roomie. She is now in the US of A doing her MBA again (she wanted to study Kotler again?!) So it was a crazy day and a half trip... we met, yapped until our voices gave up (both of us are hoarse now!) started paying obeisance to Baccus in the afternoon (her dad opened a bottle of an amazing rye vodka from Poland), went shopping to 'Forum' (it is three times more crowded now than it was two years ago) and cribbed till we ourselves couldn't take it anymore! In the evening we went to 'Opus' a wonderful lounge bar with tonnes of memories from our past. A friend of ours went overboard and we had the distinction of being thrown out! All in all, had a lovely time bonding and letting my hair loose completely!
I realized (all over again) -
a) Bangalore is way greener and 'classier' than Bombay (native Bombay junta, stop reading NOW!) The roads are much more crowded than before, but the city still exudes an old-world warmth and genteel culture that is captivating and charming at once.
b) One should be happy with life, because there are so many people who laugh and party despite being under enormous strain (emotion, financial etc.) So to use my famous words again, maid not coming to work is NOT a big issue!
c) 5000 business contacts are good. 500 acquaintances are fun to have. But at the end of the day, it is the close '5 friends' in one's life who bring a genuine smile onto one's face and warm the heart!
Enjoy :)
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