The Idiot and the Box

The weekend inches closer to a hasty end..... Dementor thoughts gleefully start to overwhelm me and fill my weary soul with dreary Monday blues.

Yet another weekend gone by..... all that remains is to analyze my weekend goals and monitor progress. Goals - here I come!
- Trekking (at least a little farther than my neighbourhood shop)
- Working out (new year resolutions are too damn hard to adhere to!)
- Salsa (physically, as opposed to appreciative analysis on TV)
- Reading (something apart from Mumbai mirror and Mumbai times*)
- Movies (Bourne Ultimatum - postponed for quite some time now)
- Blogging (just to help dear readers meet one goal... c'mon, its ok to admit :))
- TV (lowest hanging fruit, if ever there was one)
- Working (in stark contrast to the other previously mentioned goal)

The first section of the goals was on account of declaring war on my companion for many years, through situations kabhi khushi kabhi gham - my loyal paunch :). Not to mention being bombarded by newspapers, magazines and TVs everyday about healthy living, diet plans and "subtle" workouts at office including resistance tubes**.

As is obvious, the second section of the goals has been added purely to enable easy ticking-off. So then, no surprises when I announce a respectable 50% target achievement. The weekend got off to a delayed start as most of Saturday involved exploring hidden recesses in my new office.

However, things started resembling a regular weekend when I trooped into a theatre to catch "Johnny Gaddar". As warned, movie reviews form a natural ally for the lazy blogger. "Johnny Gaddar" is a fairly smart movie targeted at the "entertainer<>brain-dead" fraternity and is eminently watchable at reasonable prices (read as 150, to avoid any ambiguity). This caper movie wisely does not attempt a whodunnit, and has several twists and turns in the tale to keep one guessing. As yours truly is a budding critic, pet peeves persist - Dharam paaji's hilarious English one-liners (the mileage & dark path ones evoke guffaws), Rimi Sen's bimbette character, the usual absence of the police till the ending credits and the criminal under-use of the wacky soundtrack! All said and done, this movie is definitely worth a dekko!

Sunday started off in similar delayed fashion, though completely on account of waking up late :). The welcome sight of Alonso, F1's whiney-boy, getting whacked ensured a bright start to the day. The remainder was a mish-mash of "Ab tak chappan" and re-runs of "Friends" for the umpteenth time. Lo and behold, we are back to where we started off. The end of the weekend is real close at hand and its time to bid adieu with a solemn promise of returning very soon.


A still night. Occasional wafts of breeze playfully interrupt the melancholy. The thickening silence, interrupted by defiant barking and the occasional flutter. A busy city settles down for a well-deserved rest. Aching and tired limbs rejoice at the inactivity, but the minds tick on. Anticipation of the day that approaches, of dreams waiting to be fulfilled. Hunger and passion, effort and struggle, exuberance and exaltation.... the beat must go on. The starry sky envelopes the city, snug and warm in the embrace. A temporary solace, before the city awakes to the pursuit of destinies. The city of dreams drifts off into blissful sleep.




* Non-Mumbaikars cannot fathom the treasure trove of information that the Mirror is. It renders yeoman service by delivering Mumbaikars their daily survival kit including among others - where the biggest potholes on Mumbai roads are, helpful pictures of overflowing garbage cans so smart commuters can easily avoid them, the crucial outcome of a dispute among residents of a building about feeding stray dogs, an insight into the lives and catfights of our very own television superstars - I could go on at length without repeating myself...... A dedicated post to this topic would still not hold a candle to the venerable Mirror from the illustrious Slimes Group

** Obviously, all offices are filled with completely self-obsessed people who wouldn't even blink when co-workers whip out resistance tubes. How subtle is that, really?

When Giver Gives, Gives in Abundance....

The title of the post draws upon the pearls of wisdom showered upon us mortals in Hera Pheri... a.k.a "dene wala deta jab bhi, deta chappar phaad ke..." :-). And the trigger for this thought was the fact that this is my second post in the same day. My return to blog-land after an extended hiatus is really proving to be a roller-coaster of emotions for faithful readers..... sniff sniff.....

You honestly cannot have expected really interesting events since my last post. I am taking the easy way out and reviewing a delightful movie I saw recently - Ratatouille. Well, needless to say, the movie rocks. I am self-confessed fan of animated movies in general (Shrek, Ice Age, The Emperor's Last Groove, Surf's Up, Simpsons) and Pixar in specific (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Incredibles). Ratatouille is a heart-warming and delightful movie in the Disney genre which you would want to take your kids to. However, given my no-kids-in-the-horizon status, that alone is hard to justify my appreciation for the movie. The movie reminds one of the clean and good-at-heart entertainment during our childhood (courtesy censorship by parents obviously :-)). The characterization is top-class and full credit to Pixar for making an rat (ugghhhh!!!!) into a cute and likable protagonist with remarkably expressive eyes. After stomping all over the blog with my goody-two-shoes, I should also make special mention of "Surf's up". This is a movie which few have heard of, and even fewer have watched, which is a real pity! A smart and witty movie featuring cute penguins and targeted at a slightly mature audience (with references to reality shows, egotism, etc), the movie rocks and is work a dekko.

Till the next post, if and when I have the inspiration and time, I leave you with a sample of my creativity at office. My limited attempts at poetry have been met with winces and groans in the past. Luckily, the blogging medium insulates from such forms of instant feedback. If you do not wish to spare me my misery, your comments are welcome and shall contribute towards realizing my medium-term goal of writing a post completely in prose - to borrow from Vikram Seth......


Office office go away...

Going home early needs a lot of luck,
Here we are, in office, stuck,
Till the early morn and the rooster’s cluck.

Thought about going to a movie,
And watching Sivaji babe get groovy.

Fate has other plans, it seems,
The gold tooth of manager catbert gleams,
And trashes all these fancy dreams.

The Chennai Conundrum

As promised to breathless readers and awestruck fans from the time of gladiators and the roman empire (which is when I last updated my blog) - "I am back"

The slumbering blog gets a new lease of life courtesy - the enigmatic city of Chennai where I found myself two weekends previously defying frantically dissuading well-wishers and ignoring a deep sense of foreboding. Not-so-subtle snubs from a smart-alecky bagger called Faiz Azim also provoked me into settling comfortably on my posterior without the usual faithfuls - popcorn and remote for a change.

The new post is indeed about "The adventures of Gogi: Chennai beckons" ..... only a few millenia and several trips to myriad places later. The city has not changed too much - keen readers will immediately observe a double entendre pandering to Chennai-lovers and Chennai-"bring-it-on"-ers simultaneously. Occupational hazards of consulting, you see.....

Chennai is unique in its own charming way - sweat, dirt 'n grime, nasty thieving auto-wallahs, more sweat, latin-esque signs and billboards, rickety killing machine buses, yet more sweat..... you get the picture. The only redeeming factors were the idli-dosas and one of the high points of the trip - Zara. Snooty Bangalore fan that I am, Zara was a complete revelation and increased my appreciation of Chennai from the netherworld to a notch above "Never again in my life". Classy deco, good food, decent VFM (Value For Money.... if you must know), young crowd and rocking music - one was suddenly transported back to Bangalore. You got to go to Chennai and check out this place!!! Sorry, got a little carried away....... if by a quirk of fate, you find yourself in Chennai, its a must-go!

We also squeezed in a trip to Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry during the trip. The Pondicherry trip was a complete disaster - non-existent beach due to tsunami fortifications, Auroville visit after closing hours, inability to locate the French quarter and peace/ serenity more reminiscent of Chennai than any possible region of France. Mahabalipuram was awesome though - lovely clean beach untouched by tourist vandalism, a nice shore temple and THE high point of the trip - Moonrakers. Moonrakers, with its hip name*, cheerful service and the heavenly pancakes alone warrants another trip to Mahabalipuram. Several honey pancakes, banana pancakes, Mexican omelets and fruit juices later**, we left the place with heavy hearts and even heavier stomachs.

Which brings me back to the primary reason yours truly was in Chennai. Our very own H-Mezz TDH*** dude (code name: lambu) and his honorary H-Mezz better half (code name: archi) had chosen to enter into holy matrimony in this city and we had no option but to grace the happy occasion. However, the trip also resulted in us contracting Conjunctivitis and roaming about Mahabalipuram and Chennai in pseud, MIB-ish dark glasses. While we got appreciative glances during the day, I had the strange feeling the crowd at the airport later that night did not think it was very cool and some even gave us weird looks. The feeling as we boarded our flight was similar to Jurassic Park as the survivors fly into the sunset. Dear readers, I regret to inform you that our escape from Chennai is not set to last forever, as another member of the esteemed H-Mezz community is harbouring plans to get married there as well :-(. While we appreciate your empathy, noble souls might also consider contributing to the H-Mezz Chennai-goer Rehabilitation Fund to expedite recovery of afflicted victims.


Disclaimer: The views expressed here are mine alone and do not necessarily bear any resemblance to any name, place, animal or thing - living or dead. "Chennai" is an allegorical reference and should not be confused with the bustling metropolis that goes by the same name. As feelings hurt by the blog are unlikely to be assuaged by a simple apology, readers who take umbrage are encouraged to vent their feelings about things dear to the author - Hyderabad and Biryani. A word of caution though - Biryani bashers might have to contend with hate mail from sensitive members of the H-Mezz community! A parting thought - my bias against Chennai not-withstanding, conjunctivitis is colloquially also called "Madras Eye" :-)


* The story of Moonrakers.... A dark night with a full moon, shrieking owls and the works. A bunch of no-gooders hauling beer barrels when they spot the sheriff's cohorts. They dump the barrels into a lake and keep them in range using moonrakes. When confronted, they blabber about trying to rake in the cheese (reflection of the moon) from the lake, to the utter amusement of the law-enforcers. Needless to say, they had the last laugh later on.... Howzzat for an inspiration to name a small nondescript Mahabalipuram restaurant!!!

** Unsuspecting souls would ascribe the several references to food in the current and previous posts to co-incidence. However, folks in the know would be aware that the motley group called H-Mezz (the jazzy name unfortunately only means the Mezzanine floor of the H-Block) are avid foodies whose primary form of worship includes "pet pooja". Needless to say, expect references to more mouth-watering delicacies and eating joints in future posts as well [:)]

*** TDH, for the uninitiated, stands for Tall-Dark-Handsome - the ultimate quest for the marriageable Indian male. Grab your copy of "South Indian Men's Health" for more such engrossing fare. This month's edition features our cover story - "Nature's unlikely aphrodisiac -Coconuts" with exclusive excerpts from a free-wheeling conversation with the latest sensation who has captured the nation's imagination - Sreesanth