Myriad thoughts on a million things
Archive for February, 2009
The White Tiger – A ‘Dig’ at the Darkness within the Light
Feb 22nd
Arvind Adiga’s Booker award winning debutant novel is a whiff of fresh air. I have found that some Indian authors have an inclination to wrap the real story in a mesh of imagery, similes and complex characterization in an effort to project that they can also write pompous prose. (It could be attributed to some kind effort to prove to the world that we’re educated and can write too!)
But Adiga…he’s got the skill of telling an interesting story, from a hitherto unheard from source and telling it with the simplicity and homour that can only come from the most More >
The Simple Life @ Hideout
Feb 22nd
I was looking for a quick weekend getaway and thanks to Kits, discovered the Hideout. I was really excited about the place and it proved to be all that its website promised and lots more!
Hideout (www.hideout.co.in) is an eco farm set up by Hemant Chabbra (yes, the one of the bicycle project fame!) in vikramgarh, some 2 ½ hours out of Mumbai. Set among hills, the hideout is a quaint little place done up beautifully, offering an experience of the simple farm life.
The first thing that struck me was the open air non permanent structure of the farm. More >
A GOOD DAY – My first original short story!
Feb 11th
Sheila Rao
Wednesday, 10th December
Sheila started the day on a happy note. Getting special tea in bed can do that to someone. Arguing with your husband the night before did seem to have atleast one benefit. Ankush, her husband, had probably felt guilty about their argument and had decided to get up early and make up with a cup of his special tea. Well, made up they definitely were! Dressing for work, Sheila hummed to herself. It was going to be a good day.
Catching an Auto rickshaw to get to work was always such a pain. Sheila dreaded standing at More >
Luck By Chance – A lucky break!
Feb 9th
Well I didn’t expect to eat my words so soon…After ranting about the inexplicable ability of Bollywood to churn out crappy movies and still make money, I wasn’t expecting to see a movie that would re- assert my faith in Indian movie makers.
Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Luck by Chance’ really took me by surprise. Funny, entertaining and insightful, the movie had me laughing and wondering about life at the same time. Zoya of course has had an insiders view on the machinations of the movie world for some time and she uses the movie to poke fun, albeit politely, at the More >
Kala Ghoda Art Festival – A kaleidoscope of colour!
Feb 9th
I’ve been in Bombay for over 5 years and have always heard of the magnificence of the Kala Ghodha Art festival, but never found the time and energy to go all the way downtown to catch it. This year, I decided to finally go see it. Giving up a nice relaxing Sunday nap, is a huge sacrifice as far as I’m concerned, so I was hoping that it’ll be worth all the effort.
Driving past the Kala Ghoda festival venue, looking for parking, the one thing that caught my eye was this huge mountain of colored buckets, stacked one upon More >
What’s with the Indian Movie Scene?
Feb 3rd
Sometime I wonder that Indian movie makers must think that the Indian Audience are really dumb and that’s why they think that anything will go with them. And surprisingly, sometimes, the audience proves them right.
Take for example the case of Ghajini. This was from the stables of the great actor/director and the usually sensible movie maker – Aamir. So I had to give it a fair chance… but OMG! How can someone make a movie with so many loop holes? A 15 min short term memory loss problem or a complete loss of common sense problem? Given how the More >
