Smaraa

From Cricket to Haircuts...

2006-04-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

By now India have tried every trick in their pocket. But it seems they just can't lose. They have shuffled their batting line-ups, bowling line-up and even tried to change the umpires. They finally resorted to changing the whole team. If there were two or three mor one dayers, I'm sure I would have got a call from the Indian team. Well, what a situation to be in for the Indian Team. 289 was chased down with absolutely no sweat. The match got so boring that I did not even care to watch it.
Now, that's really odd. But the whole weekend has been wierd and bizzare in Bangalore. Finally, the rest of the un-battered, non-bruised and unburnt buses have started plying, the vehicles on road erasing the marks put by the burnt tyres, cars moving without Dr.Rajkumar's photo, policemen moving without fear and traffic jams everywhere. My friend caught up the train on friday. The one he missed on thrusday because there was auto guy willing to take him to the railway station. Yes, Bangalore has been restored back to normality. But, it was shameful though, the whole Rajkumar thing. He did not deserve such a reaction from his 'fans'. It was just sad the kind of treatment meted out to him in the end. It became even more depressing when his sons had to wipe off tears and plead and beg to allow a funeral to happen. And the cable association, not wanting to be left out, made sure that everybody mourned for Dr. Rajkumar's death by removing all the channels except the ones that beamed Dr. RajKumar's image. So, the whole city mourned. Some for his death, some for not being able to watch TV and some for not able to catch their trains. Was thinking how it would have been if I had cut off the power supply to the apartment when my grandmom died. Well atleast one consolation was that nothing happened to Dr.Rajkumar when he was with Veerappan. If it had been the case, I am sure every non kannadiga (when it comes to beating the more the number the better. So they'd be adding the mallus and gults also to the thambis list) would have been scorched. I think there'd be an interview to determine if the person was a kannadiga or to turn him to the mob. I guess I would have anyway passed the interview in flying colors as I have learnt my kannada talking to the auto drivers and cab drivers of Bangalore.

Interviewer: Say, Kannada is a very sweet language
Me:illi left thogalli [Take left here]
Interviewer: Say, Karnataka is a great state.
Me: illi right tjogalli [Take right here]
Interviewer:[now in rage] Say, Kannada has a great history
Me: illi nils bidi [stop here]

The news channels though had a ball. Scenes in Bangalore resembling the ones from Gaza strip and West Bank. It could not have been better for them. Every other news item took a hit. Narmada Bachao Andolan, Elections, Meerut fire everything had to take a backstage. And with Jama Masjid to follow, these are golden times for news channels. For one of the news channels, it was even better. Their vehicle got attacked and a driver and a camerman survived to tell the story. Can you ask for anything better? With everything getting worse, settled to read a few books for the rest of the day.
"Short-a sir?". The voice was filled with dread and a tiny speck of hope clinging to it. I wanting to squash any hopes of a miracle in the bud answered in the affirmative. A sadistic smile showed itself of the corner of my mouth. I could hear a heart somewhere break. I guess I had a rare premonition that things would unfold like this on the weekend. Because there's no way to explain why I decided to go take a haircut on a wednesday morning wakeing up as early as 7:30 am. Hey, thats two hours before early morning. I had sauntered into the regular saloon. And this is how I found myself on a couch with a sadistic smile. And the broken heart, my barber's. Ever since, my dad has had a lesser say on when I should take a haircut, for every barber all over the country (It could have been very well "all over the world" but for the fear of getting shot by a barber in Austin), I have come to symbolise many a barbers' challenge, nightmare, dread, mid life crisis or plain crisis. Many a barber have taken a career switch. I know one of my previous barber has become a cab driver for the BPO company and he still thinks it was the best decision he took in his life. I heard the Jupiter saloon guys whom I previously used to visit have relocated to Jupiter itself. I seem to be the guy who push barbers into their life's edge and give them the slight nudge. The Indian Barbers Association has twice rated me as the chief cause for attrition in saloons. I can't help it though. My hair always seems to be such a mess. I always show up in a saloon with the largest amount of hair and my hair is as soft as guitar strings. And every hair standing for its right in its own direction. I use paper weights and an assortment of other items to bring it to some shape. And lots of dandruff and a couple of snakes dont help my cause. Back to the saloon which has been my regular for quite sometime. I hear they are so popular now that people from faraway lands give them a visit. On wednesday though, they were quite indifferent. All three of them were occupied. None of them lifted their eyes to look at me. For I, was waiting like the predator looking to pounce. After soemtime, they started using dilatory tactics, trying to delay the inevitable. One of the barbers was done but still would not leave the kid he was attending. That poor kid who came for a haricut was given a shave, a bleach. By the time, the barber decided to do a second bleach, the kid managed to give him the slip and ran for his life. And finally, our man resigned to fate, offered me the seat. It took two bottles of water and 10 minutes of intense water spraying to get my hair into some shape. And it took another painful hour for him to finish. "Saaka sir?" he asked trembling. By now he had given in to fatigue. And this time I spared the fellow. Generally I would make him redo it atleast 3-4 times. But then I din't leave the guy without my trademark sign off.

Me: How much?

He: 25 sir.

Me: Is it not 20?

The guy looked like he might use the scissors in other body parts also. So, I decide it was best in my interest that I leave. I heard they have now put a notice that I and pomeranian dogs were not allowed in the saloon anymore.

Here we go..

2006-03-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Some of the enjoyable quotes that I conned from cricinfo
Most of them humorous..some of them patriotic.. :)

"The umpire (Aleem Dar) told me about a girl in the stands holding up a banner asking me to marry her. I said I'll have to keep my eye out for her."
At this rate, Alastair Cook's days as a bachelor may be numbered

"That's a beautiful cover-drive through the covers."
Javagal Srinath, on commentary, states the obvious

After that Natwest Series final, I hate him every single day for that."
Nasser Hussain in a post-match analysis show light-heartedly confesses his grudge over Yuvraj Singh for snatching away the trophy with a heroic knock

"My grandma has a crush on Richie Benaud"
A banner at the Gabba which prompted Mark Nicholas to ask "Is that necessarily a good thing?" of his fellow commentator. "Depends on the grandma," replied Benaud, quick as a flash

"Every demagogue in town has vented his spleen. Every Tom, Dick and Soumitra has voiced an opinion."
Peter Roebuck on the hysterical reaction accompanying Sourav Ganguly's exclusion

"I told my boys that I have kept my record of losing finals intact."
Sourav Ganguly lets out a wry smile after East Zone lose in the Duleep Trophy final

"Can you put some lights on the bails, I can't see who I'm bowling at!"
Andrew Flintoff makes a polite point to Rudi Koertzen, as England battle on in the gloom at The Oval

"At eight minutes past three came the worst moment of the Ashes summer so far. Matthew Hayden smiled."
Simon Barnes, chief sports writer of The Times, spots a seminal moment

"We were brought up watching opening batsmen score nine before lunch. If Geoffrey Boycott flashed at a ball outside off stump in the first over of a Test match, questions were asked in Parliament. If he flashed at two, the ravens abandoned the Tower of London."
Brian Viner writes about the frenetic pace of the current Ashes series and wonders what happened to Test cricket as he knew it

"Most teams, you know, only the next player to bat puts pads on. With Zimbabwe, everyone puts pads on."
A Zimbabwe supporter half-jokingly comments on his national team

"My dad is 70, my mother is 60. The chances of another Kapil are close to zero."
Kapil Dev on being asked when India will see another Kapil Dev

When I first played against Australia when I came here in 1994 I genuinely believed we could beat Australia. Obviously after we were 3-0 down I suddenly realised we couldn't."
Darren Gough on his steep learning curve

"No. 11 is the probably the toughest place to bat. There are days when I'm hitting them well and the guy at the other end gets out. There must be a massive innings coming up to even everything all up."
Glenn McGrath (career average: 6.50) talks up his batting prowess ahead of his 100th Test appearance

"It turned out we were all sacked three times in a month. Can that have happened anywhere before?"
Stuart Carlisle tries to explain the unique situation in their country

"The achievement that this team has achieved is a fantastic achievement."
Michael Vaughan loses his thread slightly at the after-match presentation in Barbados

"Mrs Nel, fast bowlers do it quickly."
A spectator hold up a banner the day after Andre Nel's wedding

"It's not as if they know what I am bowling, it's almost as if they don't really seem to care what I am bowling."
Stuart MacGill's self-esteem takes a beating after the Adelaide Test against India

"We were in the game for about 1.2 overs"
Michael Vaughan after England's dismal showing in the first one-dayer in Sri Lanka

"Realistically it's a very slim chance. But I also know that it's my mindset that'll maybe create that opportunity again. It's like Dumb and Dumber - when the girl says, `You've got a one in a million chance of sleeping with me,' and Jim Carrey says, `So you're saying I've got a chance' ... I live by that."
Michael Slater on his chances of an international recall

Movie of the week.

2006-02-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

A good start. A breezy humorous story and a great finish. Enjoyed the movie thouroughly. Being the solitary winner of a national jackpot with huge money costs a simpleton villager Ned Devine his life. How 'Ned' claims the prize money is all the movie is about. Isnt rib tickling comedy but good enough for a sunday afty. A good Irish comedy.

One more thing...

2005-10-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

What is Apple gonna do?

Thought for the Day...

2005-10-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

This one is from Bill Lyon...I cant even bother to google and know who he is...
But I liked the thought though...

"If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything."

Could help lot of us... :)

Next Silicon Valley??

2005-08-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

Mallu Rock.

2005-03-24T02:02:00.000-08:00

Nice video....music similar to Vivek Oberoi's Dum song. Nice listen.
Maybe somebody who knows mallu can translate me the lyrics. :)
Nada Nada Nada Nada Nada Nada Nada

Deja Vu

2005-02-07T23:45:00.000-08:00

Scout Finch - The narrator & the first grade schoolkid
Miss Caroline - Her teacher
Atticus Finch - Her Father
Jem Finch - Her Brother

Scene : First Day at School
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then she went to the blackboard and printed the alphabet in enormous square capitals, turned to the class and asked, “Does anybody know what these are?”

Everybody did; most of the first grade had failed it last year.

I suppose she chose me because she knew my name; as I read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after making me read most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interfere with my reading.

“Teach me?” I said in surprise. “He hasn’t taught me anything, Miss Caroline. Atticus ain’t got time to teach me anything,” I added, when Miss Caroline smiled and shook her head. “Why, he’s so tired at night he just sits in the livingroom and reads.”

“If he didn’t teach you, who did?” Miss Caroline asked good-naturedly. “Somebody did. You weren’t born reading The Mobile Register.”

“Jem says I was. He read in a book where I was a Bullfinch instead of a Finch. Jem says my name’s really Jean Louise Bullfinch, that I got swapped when I was born and I’m really a-”

Miss Caroline apparently thought I was lying. “Let’s not let our imaginations run away with us, dear,” she said. “Now you tell your father not to teach you any more. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage-”

“Ma’am?”

“Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now.”

I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime. I never deliberately learned to read, but somehow I had been wallowing illicitly in the daily papers. In the long hours of church—was it then I learned? I could not remember not being able to read hymns. Now that I was compelled to think about it, reading was something that just came to me, as learning to fasten the seat of my union suit without looking around, or achieving two bows from a snarl of shoelaces. I could not remember when the lines above Atticus’s moving finger separated into words, but I had stared at them all the evenings in my memory, listening to the news of the day, Bills to Be Enacted into Laws, the diaries of Lorenzo Dow—anything Atticus happened to be reading when I crawled into his lap every night. Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.

- From To Kill a Mocking Bird

Excerpts from the movie Dead Poets Society

2005-02-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

KEATING
Thank you Mr. Pitts. "Gather ye rosebuds
while ye may." The Latin term for that
sentiment is Carpe Diem. Now who knows
what that means?

Meeks immediately puts his hand up.

MEEKS
Carpe Diem. That's "seize the day."

KEATING
Very good, Mr.-

MEEKS
Meeks.

KEATING
Meeks. Another unusual name. Seize the
day. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
Why does the writer use these lines?

CHARLIE
Because he's in a hurry.

KEATING
No, ding!

Keating slams his hand down on an imaginary buzzer.

KEATING
Thank you for playing anyway. Because we
are food for worms lads. Because, believe
it or not, each and every one of us in
this room is one day going to stop
breathing, turn cold, and die.

Keating turns towards the trophy cases, filled with trophies, footballs,
and team pictures.

KEATING
Now I would like you to step forward over
here and peruse some of the faces from
the past. You've walked past them many
times. I don't think you've really looked
at them.

The students slowly gather round the cases and Keating moves behind them.

KEATING
They're not that different from you, are
they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones,
just like you. Invincible, just like you
feel. The world is their oyster. They
believe they're destined for great things,
just like many of you. Their eyes are full
of hope, just like you. Did they wait until
it was too late to make from their lives
even one iota of what they were capable?
Because you see gentlmen, these boys are
now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen
real close, you can hear them whisper their
legacy to you. Go on, lean in.

The boys lean in and Keating hovers over Cameron's shoulder.

KEATING
(whispering in a gruff voice)
Carpe.

Cameron looks over his shoulder with an aggravated expression on his face.

KEATING
Hear it?
(whispering again)
Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys,
make your lives extraordinary.

The boys stare at the faces in the cabinet in silence.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The boys get up from their seats and gather around Keating in the center
of the class.

KEATING
We don't read and write poetry because
it's cute. We read and write poetry
because we are members of the human race.
And the human race is filled with passion.
Medicine, law, business, engineering,
these are all noble pursuits, and necessary
to sustain life. But poetry, beauty,
romance, love, these are what we stay alive
for. To quote from Whitman: "O me, o life
of the questions of these recurring, of the
endless trains of the faithless, of cities
filled with the foolish. What good amid
these, o me, o life? Answer: that you are
here. That life exists, and identity.
That the powerful play goes on, and you
may contribute a verse. That the powerful
play goes on and you may contribute a verse.

Keating looks up at Todd.

Keating
What will your verse be?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Todd goes to return to his seat but Keating stops him.

KEATING
Now, you don't get away that easy.

Keating turns Todd around and points out a picture on the wall.

KEATING
The picture of Uncle Walt up there. What
does he remind you of? Don't think.
Answer. Go on.

Keating begins to circle around Todd.

TODD
A m-m-madman.

KEATING
What kind of madman? Don't think about
it. Just answer again.

TODD
A c-crazy madman.

KEATING
No, you can do better than that. Free up
your mind. Use your imagination. Say the
first thing that pops into your head,
even if it's total gibberish. Go on, go
on.

TODD
Uh, uh, a sweaty-toothed madman.

KEATING
Good God, boy, there's a poet in you,
after all. There, close your eyes. Close
your eyes. Close 'em. Now, describe what
you see.

Keating puts his hands over Todd's eyes and they begin to slowly
spin around.

TODD
Uh, I-I close my eyes.

KEATING
Yes?

TODD
Uh, and this image floats beside me.

KEATING
A sweaty-toothed madman?

TODD
A sweaty-toothed madman with a stare
that pounds my brain.

KEATING
Oh, that's excellent. Now, give him
action. Make him do something.

TODD
H-His hands reach out and choke me.

KEATING
That's it. Wonderful. Wonderful.

Keating removes his hands from Todd but Todd keeps his eyes
closed.

TODD
And, and all the time he's mumbling.

KEATING
What's he mumbling?

TODD
M-Mumbling, "Truth. Truth is like, like
a blanket that always leaves your feet
cold."

The students begin to laugh and Todd opens his eyes. Keating
quickly gestures for him to close them again.

KEATING
Forget them, forget them. Stay with the
blanket. Tell me about that blanket.

TODD
Y-Y-Y-You push it, stretch it, it'll
never be enough. You kick at it, beat
it, it'll never cover any of us. From
the moment we enter crying to the moment
we leave dying, it will just cover your
face as you wail and cry and scream.

Todd opens his eyes. The class is silent. Then they begin to clap
and cheer.

KEATING
(whispering to Todd)
Don't you forget this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. THEATER - NIGHT

The stage is dark. A spotlight comes on to reveal Neil with his back to
the audience. He slowly turns around to face the audience and his father.

PUCK(Neil)

If we shadows have offended,

Neil directs his eyes at his father, who stills stands at the back
of the theater.

PUCK(Neil)
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
If you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

Neil backs away and the curtains close as the audience begins to
applaud enthusiastically. Behind the curtain numerous people
congratulate Neil as they line up for the curtain call. The curtains
open. Charlie and the other boys rise to their feet, followed quickly
by the rest of the audience. The actors bow to continued applause. The
actors push Neil forward and he takes a second bow.

BOYS
Yawp!

KNOX
Yeah, Neil!

Google in search deal with 7 libraries

2004-12-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

Chokher Bali

2004-11-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

I wanted to see this movie long back. But then my attempts at seeing this movie ended in vain as it was a special screening and they had limited tickets. They say everything happens for a good. And I guess they are right cos the PVR cinemas have just opened up 11 new screens. And they had Chokher Bali running in one of them. The word Chokher Bali, pronounced(as I heard) as Cho-kher(as in Anupam Kher) Baali, means 'Sand in the Eye'. The movie perhaps is one of the most artistic and sensual movie I've ever seen. Poetry seemed to have creeped itself into every scene and every word uttered. Never mind the story. Probably it has been told in umpteen number of ways but maybe not in this beautiful way. I have never had a taste of Tagore's work till now(except for the national anthem :) ), but then this one was vintage stuff. Every character was etched to perfection. They weren't right or wrong but they were just owners of their actions and reactions wielded by passions and emotions. I always felt a movie is only half good as the book. Then in this case probably the book is twice as sweet. Hmm...makes me wonder how beautiful the book must be. That too in bengali it must be too good cos u always lose smthing in transalation.(I like the passage by Salman Rushdie in the novel 'Shame', where he talks about translation and its shorcomings.) I guess Rituparna Ghosh must have fell madly in love with the book. You can never talk about smthing so beautifully unless u fall in love with it like this. (One day, probably I'll finish my screenplay for "The God of Small Things" :) ). Talking on the subject of beauty, there's Aishwarya Rai & Raima Sen. Aish just fits in the role of an young widow. The longingness in the eyes when she sees ornaments, marital privileges. Damn..whoever said she cant act?(Actually I did :)). Raima Sen was just ravishing in the movie that sometimes(understand as mostly) I ended up looking at her rather than whats happening on the scene. Anyway if you are in Bangalore, I'd suggest the movie cos the theatre is jus too good and they really have cool speaker system. Go take a look..ofcourse, they have english subtitles.
P.S: Two years back, when I was in Austin, one of my teammates Minerva initially used to call me Bali. At that time, I felt bad about being called by some weird island in indonesia :( . Now, the name really doesnt look that bad. :)

kcaB m'I

2004-11-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

Authors Note: It was published as "Lord of the Calligraphists - Return of the Psycho" in The Calligraphists.
Adios Amigos!!! Now guys let me have the pleasure of clicking the orange colored "Publish Post" button. I have explained to the best of my abilities. If u cant understand a thing, dont bother. So now, we actually got a two two-lane right hand drive roads. This happens on both sides. Most of the vehicles who are waiting to join this road by taking a right turn from one of those smaller roads inevitable start travelling on the opposite direction befor they cross the road. There are so many smaller roads joining in, that its full of vehicles waiting to turn this way n that way. Its condition at its best behaviour can be termed chaotic. The Fraser town road is one fine example. I just noticed the apparent ease with which we Indians make a two lane road into a four lane one. I wonder I may be the unofficial world record holder for not stopping in a signal on the way back home. Not even a single damn signal.Do you believe it??? And guess what... I came home that day without stopping at a single signal.Now, plaza is at MG Road separated from my home by 10 kms and 9 traffic signals.I saw "the Terminal " last month on a cold sunday evening at the plaza. :) . Probably they are missing their favorite wall. And the rest would follow in and say a long wow with envy. Another would poke in and say "Look at the babe there..she's gonna be my neighbour...". "Hey look at this guy. He put money in his pension plans and he's gonna die 2row". I wonder whether they used to sit on the wall in groups and tease us. Well, probably they aren' t. I never knew around the corner, amidst all the smoke of vehicles and the blare of horns of the standing vehicles, there are around 500 people sleeping peacefully. There's actually a cemetry inside. On the way from my office, the compound wall that used to border the old madras road has been removed. But now that I missed two months writing of what happened, I wonder whether I should not consider them as things happened in my life. Something to refer back. I wanted to write a daily account of my life in this blog. But then I wanted to make my return after the 2 month hiatus a bit dramatic.(Its ok guys..i'm allowed petty wishes). I wanted to title this post as "Small Wonders & Road Observations". See, I'm a psycho n nature says I should do something weird. It would make more sense that way. I guess you should start reading the blog in reverse.

Autumn in New York.

2004-09-13T04:42:00.000-07:00

No this is not the one starring Gere and Ryder. But first apologies!!! I know its been a long time since I wrote anything here(not even comments). Doing the job of a faithful sleeping partner. After a gruelling bout of smiling depression and viral infection, i'm back to haunt this blog. Yesterday I was provided the oppurtunity of watching the quaterfinal match between Agassi and Federer. Not even the whole match. Just the last two sets. Federer was already leading 2 sets to 1. The match had been postponed to yesterday due to rains the day before. Wow.. what a game it turned out to be... Not that those two produced a great sensational match with Federer's fiery backhand passes. But the heavy wind blowing made it a match to remember. Its the kind of wind where if you had a newspaper in a park, you would have created a show trying to flip the pages or if you had an umbrella it would bend as though somebody put a mysterious charm on it. The whole match rode on a spate of unforced errors and double faults. The balls themselves found their way to the ball boys after the points. Federer twice did not serve because the ball who threw up for serving went somewhere else. And everytime he was in the direction of wind, Agassi's return would dip as it was against the wind. Sometimes it turned viciously. Every extravagant lobs found their way into the court and every perfect drop shots found the net. And making it more tougher was wind blowed in gusts. In the middle of the play it would suddenly start making it even more funnier. At one point it looked like the slow mo matrix stunt. Federer in particular appeared to be in sea with the havoc played by the wind. He tried to change his game by coming to the net at every point. But then Agassi doesn't get kinder to you at the net. So I guess, he switched back to baseline. And there were so many potholes in clouds(exactly like blore roads :) ) that the sunlight appeared as though there was a prison light thats searching for escaped prisoners. Anyway, laughed the whole way during those amazing 18 games. I guess the only folks who wouldn't think it was funny were probably playing for a place in the semifinal. I was sure that Agassi would wrap the match. Surely after winning the 4th set. And he was doing comfortably well in the final set. But then inexplicably he lost two points courtesy winds of New York. And that was good enough for the Wimbledon king to reign over Agassi. Now, you know the stuff champions are made of.

This Day That Age.

2004-08-30T01:33:00.000-07:00

I realized I've been blogging for more than a year. Haven't improved my writing greatly. Probably it has become worse. Hoping to shrink like this and become a black hole.So this one's inspired after the column in 'The Hindu'. Lol....and enjoy maadi...
Dissecting Maniratnam
Let me tell you something, I immensely enjoy Maniratnam's movies. As a director, he does an incredible job of doing things. But at the same time I rather feel he's incomplete. Innovation is one aspect which I feel is missing in this director. Mind you, I dont say he doesnt take up innovative themes. But, when you look at his scripts of his movies, they lack innovation and they tend to be repetitive. For most of Maniratnam's movies, the main theme of the movie itself is larger than the stars and the characters in the movie. For e.g in Bombay, the issue of Bombay blasts was the base on which the whole movie was based rather than the characters that appeared in the movie. What apparently happens is that the themes he chooses for his movies is good enough to carry the film through. When a director takes up huge issues like this, the pros and cons of the issue, the effects of the issue on the nation and the reaction of different people involved is enough to fill most of the parts in a movie. What then need is just to fill up those gaps and present the movie with a tight screenplay. And Mani does that perfectly. Infact he goes one step higher and presents us with a technically sound movie. Due credit in this case has to be given to him for not spoiling a good theme. But on close analysis of Maniratnam's movies would reveal that he is more intelligent rather than brilliant. His films are repetitive, adhere to a common formula.Taka a theme, put some masala and you get a good movie which the masses would love.For example, it would not take much to create a Maniratnam movie for us. It's like a recipe. Read ahead and you would know.

Steps to make a Maniratnam Movie
1.Take a burning issue or atleast an issue.We dont have time. So, we'll settle on Deforestation as the theme.
2.Next you need is a new handsome face as Hero.Because old ones may give the feeling of repetiveness. We'll pick Shrikanth(Hindi viewers read as Vivek Oberoi). The character should be bubbly,make witty remarks,hug and propose to old ladies and be charming.(Like Kartik in Mouna Ragam,Aravind Swamy in Bombay and Roja, Shah Rukh Khan in DilSe,Madhavan in alaipayuthey)
3.Concentrate the 1st hour of the movie on hero's love life. In this case,hero is a forest officer who gets transferred to a new place. Heroine is the tribal chief's daughter. Love at first sight. But heroine doesnt show it cos the tribal laws are very strict. But then hero gets into the gal's house in the middle of the night and frightens her..tell me "i love you" or i'll wake up ur father. Some scenes like that and then add some emotional love scenes(like uyire song in Bombay,Evano oruvan in Alaipayuthey,Kadhal Rojave in Roja).
4.Then open up the deforestation issue. Hero finds illegal deforestation and there's a politician and his henchman behind this.Hero runs from pillar to post and shouts at everybody.Here you can put some scenes where Hero tells about the cons of deforestation. Hero would go to politician's house and catch a running kid and emotionally say to the villian "You are spoiling this kid's earth". Also add some landslides occuring and people dying and losing houses.
5.Now all you need is climax. Hero's terms with the tribal villagers is not good because hero's love affair erupts out and also they think he's the politician's guy. Coming to the climax, last piece of forest remains. If deforestation happens,then the whole tribal village would be destroyed in landslide as a result. Hero pleads with the villagers. In the end, politician comes up to him and says "you have changed me" and goes off. And tribal people present him the gal.End of story.
6.Dont forget Rahman's music and P.C.Sriram's camera.

Dalapathi and Nayakan are movies inspired by instances like Mahabharatha and Godfather. So, they dont fall under this above said category. Mouna Ragam is one movie I feel that doesnt fall under the category. But all the same Mani keeps his viewers entertained. And neither can his critics deny that he has revolutionised Indian cinema in general. He would be remembered as somebody who took Indian cinema to a different level.

The Story Of My Life

2004-08-02T03:49:00.000-07:00

Introduction.

I think I have seen enough and I have grown enough to start writing an autobiography. I, alone could not have merited such a huge job so I thank everybody who have at some point come in contact with me during my lifetime. Without you people, I would not have got anything to write. Most of the famous people who flirted with greatness have had their stories written. Probably, I'll do the great stuff sometime later. I have read life histories of Mahatma Gandhi, John Sculley, Jack Welch, Iacocca. I have even read some imaginary ones Kane, Abel etc. The people who really set me off were Bill Clinton and Pamela Anderson. They were probably the ignition sparks that set my imagination er...memory rolling. And the moment I heard about their attempts, I knew my time had come. It was now or never. I just couldn't resist the temptation of the media glare, the controversies that I'd start and most important thing the money I'd get as an author. Ofcourse, I'll add a note that everything that I'd receive would go to charity. And I almost forgot the movie rights. Man, I just can't wait to see those things happen. Imagine a movie on me. Hmmm..it really feels good to think. Probably, I'll also drop in at Gangarams and sign a few copies of my book. So, in the following blogs you'll be reading my about my life story. Ofcourse, they are going to be achronous but that can't be helped because the I just forgot to add the Time field in my Bala_Life_Events table. And there is no other way of data retrieval that can produce result in sorted according to the time. So, fasten your seat belts ladies and gentlemen....

CMH Road

2004-07-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

Busy Day. Afternoon Time. Entrance of the Chinmaya Mission Hospital on the CMH Road. A man parks his bike. Receding hairline. Thick moustache. On the bike is his little daughter. Probably two... maximum three. Not cute but certainly precocious. An I-know-everything look. Kind of amusing to watch that on the kid. No slippers. Flowery frock. He puts the centrestand. Tells the kid to stay where she is till he comes back. Starts to move. A shrill cry. She wouldn't let him leave her. Clutches his shirt tightly. He tries to explain that it's only for short while. His fingers nimbly relieving her grasp on the shirt as he talks. She takes her hand off. But only for a little while. The cry is louder this time. He looks around at the blank faces staring at both of them. Gives her a pen asks her to play with it till he comes back. Doesn't satisfy her. He then offers a compromise. He'll just look from the other end of the road. Crosses the road keeping his sight on her. A mischievious smile in his face. His favor is returned. A mischievious smile spreads across her face. Probably I think she took the clue. He looks and tells her to stay where she is and he'll be returning in a jiffy. Two steps. Turns Back. Repeats the same. I think he wanted to drill the fact that she is not to move from her place. I think he was wasting his time. There was no way she could have climb down from the bike. That too the bike parked in an ascent. He walks in. She looks for a moment. And suddenly slides down the bike with an elegance. My eyebrows raise. Smooth as silk. Thats how it was. Looks at the road. Takes a step. Very cautious. As though not to make noise. Two..three..Same caution mixed with fear,excitement and naughtiness. Looked like a dance rather than steps. I'm in a trance by now. Beautiful. She's midway in the road now. Another apprehensive look to the sides. Sprints off. As chirpy like a little sparrow. A beautiful poem got misplaced in a boring page of my book.

Birla Arithmetics.....

2004-07-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Management Equations:

MP Birla+Priyamvada = MP Group = RS Lodha(???Outsider)
CK Birla+GP Birla = Hindustan Motors
BK Birla+Kumaramangalam = Grasim + Kesoram + Hindalco + etc

Pilani Investments= Grasim
+Hindalco
+Century Textiles
+other Birla Companies
-Indian Rayon
-Hindustan Motors
-------------------------
1060.5 crore
-------------------------

RS Lodha = MP Group
+25% Pilani Investments
-------------------------
5000 cr.
-------------------------

Pilani Investments = 30%(BK Birla)
+25%(MP Birla)
+25%(GP Birla)
+20%(Others)
-------------------------
100
-------------------------

Final Equation:
RS Lodha X (Birla1+Birla2+......+Birlan) = ????

Bala's Hypothesis:
RS Lodha X (Birla1+Birla2+......+Birlan)
= Court Case for sometime + Good Food for press
= Settlement.(MP Birla = RS Lodha + Pilani Investments = Rest of Birla)

Glass Collector...

2004-07-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone of us is like the treasure hunters standing in the shore of the sea trying to find the treasure scattered on the seabeds. All you want to do is just pick some treasure and finda name for yourself. Before you jump into the sea, everything looks easy. But when you are into the sea, you dont know which one is glass piece and which one is the gold. You pick some what you think is gold and you come back clutching the to the shore. And each and every piece of it is a glass. Laughs and mocks is all that you get. The same mouths that encouraged you now make fun of you. It wouldn't be the blood caused by the piercing glass pieces that'd make you cry... it wouldn't be the salt water that'll make you cry.. it'll be the mental anguish...the pain of whole world mocking at you that'll make you cry.. You are now given a name "Glass Collector"...You become famous because of your name..But after sometime the pain reduces...though it never goes away cos those scars would hurt forever...you'll overhear the same people telling someone that its ok to comeback with only glass pieces.. the only thing that matters would be that you tried..at that time you will make wry smile cos you know the truth...

Turn off the shower..

2004-07-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was totally pissed off. God turned the shower on but then forgot to switch it off. He just slept!!! It so happened that I was riding in my already battered bike. And it so happened I forgot to get my jacket and all I had on me was a skinny T-shirt. All I could do was stop the bike near a chaat shop and land in the shelters of a closed shop nearby. And I have this knack of landing up in dicey places without money. The gang that joined there started to have all those chaats. I was left to look at their plates. It just drove me mad. And after some I decided it was enough. So, I picked up the goddamn bike and started again in the goddamn rain. The tricky thing about the rain it, that it appears so light that sometimes it looks like a drizzle but once you start on the bike, then you know the intensity. It really stings you. My next stop was at a deserted xerox centre. And, the only thing that were to give me some company were some stray dogs who were continuing their sunday siesta. There was nothing in that whole place and the loneliness started to kill me. By the time, I had spent some 1.5 hrs in that rain. My next stop was at a petrol bunk. And believe me, it was worse. It turned out to be a gathering of couples. All kinds of couples. The old ones,the married ones, the stylish ones...and it looked everybody were actually on some goddamn picnic rather than sheltering for a mad rain. Plenty of laughs, wrapping arms...good enough to drive a loner like me mad. And this gust of wind blows. You are wet to the toes. And the wind makes it so bad that you can actually walk to the nearest hospital and admit yourself for pneumonia. Then, in a sudden fit of rage, I started and ended up in one of those shanti sagars. It was all and well there. I ordered a cup of coffee and feeling nice and warm. Then, after some time, this family comes up stand in my table. They have this pav bhaaji, thats giving out its buttery smell all around. My stomach by then has started pinching in hunger. And then this guy in my table goes and gets a plate full of naans and masala. I went mad. This is just the problem. When you struck up somewhere like this, you remember all those best things you had. Crispy vadas dipped in sambars...and you sort of feel you can never even get to see them in your entire life. Its all ok if you get caught somewhere near you house. You can just grit your teeth but getting caught somewhere in the middle of nowhere affects you psychologically. It makes you think about all those ugly things you did the day before. I din't offer this school kid a lift, I refused to give me sis a lift to the busstand, you imagine all the faces of drivers whom you'd have pissed off...And by the time you reach your house gritting and shivering for 7 kms in the rain, you take a vow that you'd never leave your house even if you see a hint of smoke in the sky.And yeah...I take back my statement that rains make things romantic and I'd switch off those rain songs where those heroines act as though they are having the time of their life.

Microsoft, Oracle, Google...

2004-07-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

Recently I received an invitation to join Orkut from one of my friend. My information sources revealed that it was a social networking service(SNS) and it had lots of girls. The second reason was compelling enough for me to grab the offer with both hands. The next round of investigation revealed some more facts. Orkut has been named after one of the the company's employee Orkut Buyukkokten who developed the product in the free time available. It seems Google encourages its employees to utilise 20% of their time to pursue their personal interests, an attempt to increase employees' creativity. Ofcourse, it led a string of thoughts in my mind. But, lets not digress out. This release of Orkut comes in the aftermath of Google's futile attempts in buying out Friendster, another social networking service. The social networking service seems to be a huge market of which I was ignorant till the day before. But here's the smoke in the fire. Days after the orkut was released, Affinity Engines(AE), a company co-founded by Orkut filed a lawsuit claiming that Orkut has stolen the code of its SNS. Orkut, a stanford graduate, co-founded the company after Club-Nexus, an application he wrote for stanford alumni became a huge hit. AE alleges that the company discovered same nine bugs that were in its product. AE also accuses that Orkut had assured he would not work in a social netwroking product in Google. AE claims that Orkut, a Turk joined Google to resolve his visa problems. Google is already facing issues on a large front fighting off lawsuits from Overture, a company that had patented the idea of auctioning the positions in the search results. Adding up the hue and cry is the issue of google providing context based ads in Gmail. So, right now after Microsoft and Oracle, its Google thats facing the music.

Super Sunday...

2004-07-09T03:10:00.000-07:00

I'm so deperate to post smthing that I had to paste this from one of the other blogs that I contribute...The reason for this is my hectic schedule caused by the project release..NO..my mind still doesnt accept that I'm a lazy couch potato and dont use my creative head other than when filling timesheets and writing my performance plans and results...
Anyway...Read on...
It was every sports afficianado's dream come true. And if you happen to fall in the category of movie buff, you would have been exhausted by the intake by the time you went to sleep this sunday. It all started with Singaravelan in Raj TV, ofcourse you have to multiplex that with the England - NewZealand cricket match. Simultaneously, after some time, you also have to include Harikrishanans from Asianet in the plan. Mohanlal and Mamooty were an ultimate combo wooing Juhi all the way down to the end of the movie. Watch out for the scene where Juhi spills the tea on Mamooty's lap. Followed by MohanLal's snicker to which Mamooty responds with an angry face. Juhi comes out and wipes out Mamooty's lap with her bare hands. Then you should watch that erotic expression(with the oohs and aahs) in Mamooty's face to piss off MohanLal. Humor can't get better than this. And when MohanLal takes the tea cup and spills it on his lap, it really does get better. Worse, the following scenes evoke more rip roaring laughter. If you dont understand Malayalam, probably this would be the scene that would stand out. But, it was a race of a different kind in Magney Cours. Alonso keeping Schumacher at bay for nearly 30 laps. Still more exciting was the tussle between the trio Button,Barichello and Trulli for the last podium position. It went all the way down the wire before Barichello pulled off a miracle on the second last turn before the finish line to leave Trulli despondent. While you would be multiplexing between these two, Federer and Roddick start to slam. Ofcourse, you cant be impartial, so you also include them in the plan. Roddick's start can't be better. Slams four aces to win the first game. Ofcourse, only after this would you get some breathers 'cause by the time Harikrishanans and the GP finishes. After seeing Federer lift the cup, you had to run all the way to channel # 44 to watch Amelie. You can watch the movie any number of times. A great proof of how artistic French can get. Watch out for the scene, where Amelie melts when Nino walks out of the cafe. By the time you watch Amelie and Nino ride in the moped, you'd have had to get mentally prepared for the last ride of the night. So, if you are an underdog supporter, you'd be thouroughly satisfied when you go to sleep, replaying Charisteas' header again and agin in you head. Ofcourse, the only thing that can spoil your sleep is the thought getting caught in the vicious circle of office and project releases and issues the next day. Otherwise, it was really a super sunday.

The Naming Convention of the Blog...

2004-07-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

This extract sometime back...somewhere, somehow touched some anonymous chord in my heart that reacted in a maganaimous way....duh..
in other words...this is why named this blog "smaraa" --> Memory,desire....
Read ahead...a nice piece...

Parvati to Shiva "Pleasure leaves no memory. I mean: during the 25 years of our first embrace, when I had just left my fathers house, I often thought, as though making a long journey: I must remember what happened just now, exactly how this moment was, how we got there and how we left it behind. I was quite determined-and everything was quite clear and sharp, but the way dreams seem clear and sharp while we were dreaming them, we decide to remember them and fasten on every detail-and the idea that we might forget something seems so ridiculous we almost smile, because it is all too real, but then we wake up that thing evaporates along with all the rest. Try to understand: everything that happened is there inside me, just below the flux of my mind. But I cant recall the sequence of it all, I could remember far better the sequence of something unimportant to me: how I dressed one day, what makeup I put on, how I went down into the palace gardens, how I walked along a particular path and how I mounted my dappled horse, my two maids behind me, and how my maids were dressed, and the first words we spoke to each other.

Yet Kama, Desire is also called Smara, Memory. Indeed, its as if its his real name. Or at least that's the name I always use for him. And I saved his life, remember? For days I sat motionless before you, at a respectful distance, immersed in tapas. We didn't know each other then and I was just a girl. You kept your eyes closed all the time. When you opened them, you spoke, without even looking at me: "Whats happening?" you said, "Kama is here." Kama barely managed to get back to his feet-he was behind a bush - and to draw his bow with one of his five flowers, before your eye had shriveled him up. Then you looked at me, as though this was the first time you'd really seen me, and invited me to ask a boon of you. I said: "Now that Kama is dead, then there are no more boons to ask. Without Desire there can be no more emotion. Without emotion, men and women may as well ignore each other." So you granted me this boon, that Kama might go on living, but invisibly. When I was a little girl and used to invoke him, looking at the miniatures I'd painted of you, though I'd never seen you then, all I would say was "Smara, Smara..."

~Excerpt from the book Ka, by Robert Calasso

Blog Testing 1..2...3...

2004-07-03T04:36:00.000-07:00

Test Blog....