Tagged again

Jason made this post last week, and it felt really good to know that he likes my blog and follows it.

So here goes

6 unspectacular quirks of mine

I love giving interviews to myself as if I am the head honcho when I walk on cowded streets. I play the interviewer and the interviewee

I love planning trips on impulse. The last 3-4 trips have been planned like that, without worrying about the consequences. There is a certain thrill that I get out of not knowing what to expect.

When I am alone and bored of reading a book, I still play BOOK CRICKET with the same fervour that I used to play with in class 3.

I try and email a long mail to at least 5 friends a week, to get out of the orkut 'scrapping' habit.Makes friendships more meaningful even though it does pain the other reciever recieving long mails from my end.

When I am lazy on a sunday, I dont mind staying hungry, If I can sleep it over. Sleep seems to be my most favourite hobby.(Now who doesnt know that ? )

I dont know to wash my clothes nor do i know to cook. At Mumbai, learning to soak it in water and hit the clothes on the floor 5 times and soak it back in- washed! Dirty me! When I was in Delhi last year, I came all the way by flights to wash a huge set of clothes in Chennai, and also to watch the world cup match on the BIG SCREEN tv on my Home theatre system.

I love midnight beach walking under the moonlight and love to live at the most cheapest places around, and travel by public modes of transport or be on my own with a rented bike. I like lonely travel, as I spend a lot of time thinking about myself.

When I watch cricket, and India is bowling, I also appeal/shout with the bowler in the same jugular vein. Invariably I forget that I am watching it with a group of people. I can never have enough of cricket!

Now that makes it 8 quirks... when only 6 was asked...and as Abhishek Bachan says in GURU.... 2 quirks Munafa! 33% Munafa. Kahani abhi Baaki hain mere dost!

Keep following my blog! Am now rushing to my Great Lakes Alumni meet in Mumbai.

Umbrella Diaries

Its scary walking in Mumbai from the station along the footpath with the mass of umbrella's that stare at you. You see nothing but colurful umbrellas all over and for a moment you feel like celebrating the rains, but the problem comes with people in a hurry with those umbrellas.

The edge of the umbrella either comes close to brushing your eye/forehead or scratches at your umbrella, throwing you out of gear sometimes and at times, exposing you in the heavy rains. You cant even see whats in front as the upper view ensures you see a mass of humanity in holding various umbrella's and a score of Mumbai's ubiquitous Black Fiat Taxis. Below you see footwear and the slush, and cant really plan your way through rain's to carefully tread the slush that lays ahead. More than that, one needs to hold the umbrella at angle so that the maximum regions of the Shirt, Pant and my carry bag, doesnt get wet(Its a got a heavy 3 kg IBM Lenovo lugging behind). So much so for travelling in the rains and singing as the Indian movie industry shows it! You do this twice a day, and I am sure all that love of rainy day songs just remain an MP3 number on your music device and do no special effects when it actually rains.

Its comfortable staying in Bandra now, with not too much water logging, but at some stage I would need to stop paying rent and buy a house. On the lookout daily in classifieds to get a house here. That would need a detailed post, so I'l get back later on that, till that try "enjoying" the rains wherever you are!

Dasaavatharam-A Review

I went for the movie last sunday in Oberoi mall in Goregaon. To me, I had great expectations from Kamalahasan after watching Vettayadu Vilayadu. The movie starts of very well with the 12th century scene, and some great screen play. The movie looks like its going to be a sci fi thriller, after the monkey dies due to the chemical. But some dumb direction gives way to some insipid scenes which drag the movie. First of all, God knows how the fake CIA agent gets to know that Kamal has gone to India, and follows him right there. Ok, its a movie, so everything happens as planned :-), but Asin's entry to me is the turning point of the movie. I have never got more irritated than ever seeing Asin repeat the same dialogues again and again in a screetchy tone.

The ending also is slightly numb and crazy and the movie fails in getting across a theme to end the movie with. So to say in MBA jargon, the movie's positioning is faulty. The last 30 minutes are a huge drag and the last scene with K.S.Ravikumar dancing and the so called behind-the-scenes shots are emabarrasing and plays down the story aspect of the movie, by concentrating on the great houdini act of Kamal with his make up.

The make up also looks bad for some characters like the Afghan character, and the false CIA agent. One just feels that the movie is let down only by poor direction, which are like seething holes in bridal wear. The plus points of the movie are its screen play and Kamalahasan's acting. Nothing to beat him in this department. I enjoyed his character as Balram Naidu and the Tamil Orator. The slapstic and situational comedy in the movie are good, and help you forget the drag in the movie for some time. Kamal's versatility does pull along the movie, but movies were never one man armies, and Dasaavataram, if truth be told was like the Indian Cricket team of the 90's(Overdependence on Tendulkar).

Verdict- Watch the Movie Once- Think 10 times before doing that!

Hotel Services :

I found this on a website for a hotel in Kochi

"Other services like chauffer service, travel desk and round the cock room service are also provided."

Of Automated mails!

I hate when people send automated mails that dont make sense at all

Dear Citibank Customer,

Thank you for banking with Citibank. We are pleased to provide
you details pertaining to your Citibank Account.

As on 14-JUN-2008, balance in your A/C No. XXXXXXXXXX is Rs 0. You can withdraw upto Rs 0.

Afridi Ignites Long Lost Passion

The last 12 balls that Afridi has bowled, he has vociferously appealed thrice. All those 3 were very good shouts for leg before appeals against Yousuf Pathan and Raina. Twice it looked out. What was exciting was the ferocity and Afridi's desperate face while appealing. This was what India Pakistan clashes were lacking. Yuvi now responds with a six... and the nelson's scoreline was safely avoided.

117/4 in 19.1 overs... I want Pakistan to feel desperate and I'd love another close t20 like finish with India on the winning side! Back to fanatical cricket nights :-)

What does your "Impulse" say today?

There are times when you are concentrating hard while working, and frustration tends to set in, when a call comes on the mobile about a frivolous matter. Now how do you react to it? Do you curtly abrupt and say” Er…. I am busy, will call later”, or smile across the phone in a phoney manner and pretend as if you enjoyed what’s said and start to make immideate moves to end the conversation “ Oh is it so, that’s good.. but I am busy, I’l speak later OK? “. I did neither.. of them

My mother called up at around 5 pm today from Chennai and was speaking about a reality show, where all Shaan's songs were sung by the reality show contestants and how she was enjoying it. It sounded childish as it came out of nowhere, but it was cute in a way. I let go of my inhibitions to say “later amma” and I was smiling and listening to what she said. I actually quite love the concept of calling on Impulse. Calling out of reason is what we generally do, but lets say, I haven’t spoken to someone or I remember someone suddenly, I just call them to say a “hi”. Or lets say I am watching Television and suddenly I come across something hilarious, I immideatly call someone who I feel would also love to laugh over this. Such spontaneous calls kind of pep you up, rather than the “ I need something calls”. These days due to a hectic workstyle we tend to take calls only if they have some business significance to us or only if its is important at that context. If we were to cut a “impulse call” from the other end, it really dampens the enthusiasm from the caller.

I felt good on not spoiling my mother’s “impulse call”. She being alone in Chennai(as my dad works in Karur), must be thinking a lot about how her son must be doing in Mumbai. Is he eating well? is he sleeping well? Is he drinking boiled water? Does he wash his clothes properly? ……blah blah …and when one thinks so much about an other person, a natural impulse is to call the person who is being thought about at the slightest opportunity. Now to take or not take the call, during work is quite a tricky question, as it depends on our nature.

I actually felt pretty good listening to her about how good a certain debojit sings a song, even though I don’t really watch any of those music based reality shows. It just felt good sparing my 2 minutes whole heartedly to listen to my mother, which I otherwise have learnt to avoid, as I would be with work. This reminded me of the Airtel ad where the young girl calls her dad who is busy working at a railway site, and the dad shrugs first at the call, and then lovingly talks on the phone about the various stars constellations in the night sky. Only thing different in my situation was that it was an all Vodafone call : - )

And before you ask it, yes this was an “Impulse Blog Post”.

School Days!

Its raining cats and dogs in Mumbai, and my office being in a low lying area, I need to wade through the stagnant water. I hate doing this over the years given that I was twice marooned in my home in Chennai, and just that the whole thing is something that spoils my mood. Not so long ago, I loved doing this. Wading through the waters to reach school, and discovering that its a holiday, literally had me in seventh heaven. There was no greater pleasure than that, in those days. My school in Adayar(Chn), had this rather crazy policy of awarding a holiday to students whenever it rained between 7 and 8 am on school days. They would take a decision that since its raining heavily, it would continue to do so, and students may suffer. More often than not the sun god would suprise our school management, by showing its face after 8 am, while we exhuberantly keep spreading the word around that " Yay! Its a holiday", through the new found sexy gadget of the yesteryears-The BSNL Landline telephone(1992-98 around that time).

Rains have ceased to bring that streak of adventure in me anymore. I have begun seeing it as a chore to wade through waters and try my best not to get wet. The other day, I had left my umbrella at my doctors clinic in Bandra, and I had gone back from home to get it, and never imagined it would rain. But Mumbai being highly unpredicable, let out a roar through the skies and I realised that I anyway have no option but to get wet, so instead of rushing to a shop nearby and competing for inchspace I was the only one who seemed to be smiling and getting wet. People were thinking I was mad, but I enjoyed getting back to being a child in those few moments.

Monsoon in Mumbai

The first spell of Pre monsoon showers are on. This was taken near the place I live on.
Turner road is what they call it here, enroute to Bandra Station. Images of tiled roads, Red buses, scores of umbrellas and a mass of humanity that chugs into stations. Thats the image that I have seen of Mumbai through television. Lets see If I am able to ad something more to it, over the tenure in Mumbai.

The MID-DAY news paper has predicted that there would be 19 days like the erstwhile July 26th 05, this monsoon, so its going to be quite an adventure this monsoon to crawl to office. The other night on Friday(or early saturday morning) at 12 45 am, I found only an inch space to stand in the dadar Andhri train. Damn it was midnight and the competition and the brawl for spaces still continue.

I found this unique sight at a Pizza Hut shop in Mulund, in Nirmal Lifestyle. The waiters were dancing to some music that was playing in the mall, and were egged on by the PYT's at the store. Customer Delight! Or what do you call it?

PVR Cinemas does believe in adding some glam to the cinema experience. It has 2 screens where you can log on to the inernet. 1 screen would never work, and the other would have a passable internet connection. I found a few girls checking on some "ORKUT FRAAND REQUESTS"( In a Delhi'ite language :-) ) . I guess its quite a gimmick to get youngsters check on Orkut and be in a good mood while they wait for the screen to allow people. I saw a guy who was complaining that the PVR team has no regards for customers, beacuse it was 3 minutes beyond show time and he was still cooling his heels buying popcorn. Hehe... People in Mumbai seem to be paranoid about time!

Goa Trip over the Weekend-Divar Island, Old Goa

This trip was my first trip around part of Goa which is east of Panjim into Old Goa. 5th Visit in 27 months, sure does prove how crazy I am about visiting this place. I am too tired to guide picture by picture, but am willing to provide my thoughts on the place and some travel tips around Divar Island in my next post. Till then enjoy my pictures

Basic Facts

Old Goa has 2 islands around it, namely Chorao and Divar. Divar island is home to 1 big resort called Devaaya Ayurveda Resort, where we stayed for a couple of nights. It is suprisingly home to 36 bars within that small area of an island. It seems those bars compete on prices so fiercely, that they offer lower rates for alcohol than other parts of Goa. I found this out during a random enquiry on cheaper hotels in that area. To answer more specific questions on cheaper alcohol and rooms in Divar Island, please contact Augustine Fernandez, who is the proprietor of Step Inn Bar and Restaurant at 9881889348.

Pro's- Very peaceful place, ideal for lazy morning and evening walks.

Con's- The place is cut off from the mainland in case the connecting ferry has some problem, and ferry service exists only between 6 am and 12 am. Not many options for a comfortable housing apart from Devayaa resorts(Approx per pax per night). But if you are game for some rough shack like acco, you can search around the place or contact Augustine Fernandez( number given above in this post).