I am back from my long vacation and it’s a great relief to have taken this break. The pleasant weather of Nasik has rejuvenated me to take on bigger things in life which I am expecting to be coming my way in the next days (or weeks). The salient feature of this current visit was the discovery of a vibrant and a youthful Nasik city, especially elating for me because Nasik is claimed to be a pilgrimage hot spot in India. The 3M syndrome seems to have finally hit this sleepy city now – the Malls, the multiplexes and McDonald’s, identifiable with the true blue globalized economy of India. Not to mention the other ‘M’ – the powerful Middle-class which was seen shopping at various places and thronging the streets for the Diwali celebrations. So thank god for not making me visit the Godavari ghats and the shrines this time around. BTW, you can view some of my favorite shots from the recent trip here.
October 2006
Light up Your Life
Happiness comes in different hues; each appealing to the individual according to his taste and culture. The season has arrived when rains have retreated to the blue clouds, the breeze has begun to blow again and the sun was never so bright. Diwali or the festival of lights is the occasion for spreading happiness. In other words it means living a life which is quite in contrast to our daily mechanical routine.
There are many aspects to this gladness which appeal to my heart the most. Much like the assuming estranged friend who suddenly comes up from behind and pats like a true companion while inquiring about my professional life. Perhaps like the charming young lady on the station who drapes herself in exquisite apparels everyday and always manages to catch my attention, walking with her friends. Or it can be the foreigner in the office today, who was informed by some of his Indian bedfellows to celebrate Diwali by bursting water balloons instead of crackers, until he was counseled by us. The poor man’s perplexed look on the face notwithstanding, I had a good laugh. Nevertheless, as an annual custom, I share sweets and homemade stuff with my colleagues which brings immense cheeriness to my heart and every body’s invited to this gala fete.
While the city of dreams is cloaked in smoke, dust and cacophony, I will be cooling my heels in the quite and wintry environs of the outhouse; my Diwali getaway in the faraway corner of Nasik city. This is a true opportunity to break my ties with the outside world and sync with mother nature in the true sense of the word, living a life of a slow and steady sometimes like a lazy tortoise. A welcome break from the scorching speeds of this fast city. So till the time we meet again, I wish my friends and fans, a very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year. Spread the light of joy and shun the darkness of hatred this year.
Game On
When you feel the bumps while driving or when someone behind you, starts honking violently on the flash of the green signal (as if hurling abuses at you) you know you’re on one of the most congested roads of the world. Welcome to the city of dreams Mumbai. This also happens to be a demo of an action or a racing game and an experience that even the XBOXs and the Playstations will fail to deliver.
Often it takes the persona of a pedestrian and a driver to understand the reasoning. It’s like an action game with 2 teams and one can switch to and fro. Hence once installed on the driver’s seat, I have to set aside my ego, don the gloves of an intelligent android and focus solely on the difficult task ahead (game on!). On the roads of Mumbai a surprise element like a rickshaw or a stray walker is waiting patiently to pounce in front of you at any given moment. So it’s like a game, albeit one where there’s no lifeline offered. Such are the rules that you hit the specified ‘targets’ and you lose the only life that you have. Of late, I feel like I am a part of Pac-Man, the arcade game, where the miniature rickshaws posing as the eating mouths follow me in the varied maze of lanes. I go nuts running away from them but they always get rejuvenated & multiply by some strange powers that be. Not to mention, the referee (read the traffic cop) who seems to be on their side always and strangely the rules are made by them but dutifully followed by the sane androids like me. Humphh!!
Also like in a typical Road Rash sequence, the cars overtake me the moment the lights go green. I see them speed away at a distance; the driver sneering at me. I later realize the outcome of the ‘race’ is decided at the next traffic signal, thanks to the narrow lanes of this city and the cooperation of the traffic. Little do these local Schumachers understand that it’s insanely mindless to overtake here and it can be fatal to both life and the vehicle itself.
I am too tired of these frequent (mis)adventures but it seems like I become a part of it unknowingly when I ride on the roads of Mumbai. The one suggestion that I could give to the drivers of this city is to be patient and drive safely. Till the day we get the broad roads that we all expect to ride smoothly to our places, let’s park the competition at bay.
Bye-bye Cable Guy!
I have ushered myself in a self proclaimed new era of entertainment. I have finally shifted to TATA-Sky, the DTH (Direct-to-home) service provider from yesterday and I am glad I have taken that decision. In fact I had been waiting eagerly for TATA-Sky to launch their services from last year and finally decided to take the plunge when they introduced the ZEE channels on their platform some two weeks ago. Check out the channels currently offered over here .
The experience of getting the Digicomp™ wasn’t worthwhile and the engineers came 2 days prior to the scheduled appointment day. Nevertheless the excitement of getting to say goodbye to the cablewallah was more than I would’ve imagined. To say the least, things had come to a level where nothing else mattered to the cable guy then the monthly fees despite serving poor picture quality channels and doing nothing about it. Moreover, he would dislike the logical questioning about the substandard services offered and would not hesitate to mouth dirty words. Being totally an interactive medium, I now feel in control of the channels I want to watch and in the language that I prefer (Discovery in Hindi is a preposterous idea). Not to mention the various camera angles that I get to select while watching a cricket match. Currently I am enjoying my viewing experience on TATA-Sky and wish them all the best for the future.
Suspect Zero (2004)
Crime thrillers are my favorites and it takes little effort in selecting movies which deal in the subject, albeit of course staying away from those gory ones. Benjamin O’Ryan (Ben Kingsley) is gifted with telepathic qualities and is part of a secret government funded program called Project Icarus which looks into exploiting those qualities for military purposes. FBI Agents Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) and Agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Ann Moss) are assigned to look into the spate of murders in the country which O’Ryan is suspected of committing. The victims are all serial killers who are accused of committing various crimes. Mackelway and Kulok must find the real ‘Suspect Zero’ who wanders the country in a heavy truck and kidnaps children to his ranch.
A good plot but somehow, at the very onset of the film, it was difficult to piece together the puzzle and create a picture. Kingsley’s depiction of a man, trying to escape his extraordinary qualities which give him endless nightmares till the very end, is noteworthy. It’s unfortunately something which he was born with but couldn’t ‘shut it off’.
