Thursday, September 27, 2007

Eye of the devil


This is how my right eye is looking today. Won't be long before my left eye also gets the same tinge.
Suffering from conjunctivitis. Guess must have got it from someone in office:(:(

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Entertainers





Everybody and anybody today know why MS Dhoni is so good and why he deserves to be a captain. On television, cheap comparisons are being made between why Dravid fails and why Dhoni doesn't. He's got brains, he's a great decision maker, he's young, he's a great achiever, he's got no fear, in short he's being made out to be the future GOD of Indian cricket. I have nothing against Dhoni or Dravid, but against the media who creates a hullabaloo over almost everything, especially some of the stupid Hindi news channels.

Tomorrow, we lose 2 matches, and the same great analyzers will be the first to pinch his butt.

However, this 20-20 world cup has brought me back to the game.... watching it, I mean, in fact the last 3 matches against Pakistan, Australia and Pakistan again. No matter, which players form a part of the team, or whom they are playing against; the Indian team was and will always be the best entertainers. Everyone who has watched this series must have observed that in every game we were almost winning with a ball-run difference of 30-35, then 1 bad over and we are on the verge of losing it all, then 1 wicket and we are back, then 1 six and all our faces are hung, a cheeky shot and a catch and we are holding the world cup...a person with a weak heart should never watch India's matches, particularly the one's against Pakistan. India definitely has dug out a lot of young and hidden talent in the form of Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh and Shreesanth. The best part of the matches was to see the boys all geared up and the always-missing killer instinct was evident this time around. Way to go Dhoni, Yuvraj and team.... happy winning!!!

I saw the finals in my office. Earlier in the day, below my office I saw a couple of firangs with small dhols/bongo's on their shoulders. I wanted to ask them where they bought it from coz I wanted one too for my bhanja. Luck smiled as we went down to feast on 'bhel and chai' after India's batting when a couple of guys were passing by with those dhols on their shoulders. So bought one, and my friends and me were beating it to pulp with the fall of every Pakistani wicket!! Chak de India!!!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

just pissed off

"The more importance you give someone, the more you are taken for granted and the more you are given that airy attitude. You wish to choose life and it runs afar. The clue, i guess is to divert and find happiness in other means, forms and channels, especially when you know you are screwed...."

Friday, September 21, 2007

Utsab - The festival



As I watched 'Utsab' yet again, thought of writing my first movie review about this beautiful piece of art and emotions.

'Chokher Bali' was the movie that made me fall in love with Rituparno Ghosh's works. He embodies meticulous direction and portrays perfectly the panoramic nuances of characters, giving life to their emotions, gloriously shouting out the hidden, intricate feelings; the implicit readings between life's complex paragraphs.

Too many characters yet so distinguishably and admirably defined. 'Utsab' revolves round a family who have got together to celebrate 'Durga Puja', maybe for the last time in their 'pushtaani' house, which they have plans to sell out. The family has come together to enjoy the togetherness, but somehow the threads of their lives are so entangled in the complexities of life that their problems seems to weigh more than their happiness, as it almost always does. The family includes an old mother, 2 married sons with their own kids, 2 married daughters, none of them being actually happy in their lives.

Every character has their own problems, but painstakingly they move ahead and have adapted to them, or at least they try. The togetherness gives them an outlet to their individual frustrations because they know they are going to be heard, by someone at the least. The younger son has almost lost his job due to a strike and lockout in his company. He thinks his wife has no idea about it, but she is well aware of the turmoil that her husband is going through, but prefers silence in spite of she being the most straightforward person in the family. The younger daughter is going through a disturbed marriage, which is on the verge of a separation. The elder daughter too has a disturbed marriage, her old love being the reason for the weathered waters. Against her wishes, she has been married off by her family to a rich guy, her love for her poor cousin lost and embedded in her heart. Her husband taunts her regularly on the issue though she has left the episode much behind in her life. She is under the impression that her grown up son has no idea about the subject of their fights, though he very well is!! And to top it, he also is all set to tread on the same path his mother had put foot on. He is inclined towards the beautiful Shompa (his cousin and daughter of the eldest son in the movie).

The cinematography of the entire movie is just too good!! Everything in this movie presents a typical Kolkata's Bengali family, so if you wish to get a taste or small glimpse of the Bengali culture, this should movie is recommended for you.

Favourite scenes from the movie:
** The very first scene where the grandson is asking the shilpkar about the idols of ganesha and kartika.
** The brothers smoking together and the elder one asking the younger 'but you used to smoke a videshi brand, right??'
** Ashtami pooja scene
** Elder daughters confrontation with her past affair.
** Shompa's walk in the corridor with the tokri of flowers(what a beautiful girl...what a beautiful face....) and her grandma and father in general conversation.
** Shompa's song 'Amolo dhobolo'(her face is dipped in typical beautiful 'bong'ness)
** The vegetable cutting scene between the 2 daughters and elder bhabhi.

PN: If anybody has any other references of Arpita Pal (Shompa) in the movie, pleeease feel free to share. Hunted on the net, but all I could gather was 2 pics and 1-2 other movies she's acted in.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Insanity



Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
I always carry an umbrella, let it or let it not rain

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Coz I always complain


Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Coz I know how to hide my pain

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
I know kids always need the cane


Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Through life’s miseries, happiness I feign

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
I don’t bother to argue but still wanna fit in the ostentatious frame

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
The numb monster inside, I have learnt how to tame

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
I don’t raise my voice, I’m sure everybody else is to blame

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
I’ll lick anybody’s boots to gain fame however plain

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Cornered in the crowd, I don’t feel the shame


Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Tumultuous desire of love, I’m just a watcher never a player of the game


Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
As I wear no soul, dressed naked in bane

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Coz I enjoy it alone on the windy parapet, as thoughts, emotions slowly drain


Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
In the midst of friends too, I look out for a gain


Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
As heinous imaginations travel the lengths of the brain train

Yeah I’m safe, I’m sane
Can’t shed a tear on the grave, I smile, is that lame?


Mama, I’ve killed my conscience,
I’ve killed it yet again, left everybody behind on the long lost lane
Coz I wanna be safe, yeah I wanna be sane….