I was shocked to see the video of Jarnail Singh, a correspondent of one of India’s largest Hindi-daily the Dainik Jagran launching a shoe at P C Chidambaram at a Congress Party press conference. Firstly, the conference was called by the ruling party for the updates to the upcoming elections. Secondly, Mr. Chidambaram was presiding over the function in his capacity as a Congress Party member, not as the Home Minister of the Union of India. But I think he did a tremendous job by maintaining his composure and controlling the commotion as one can see in the video.
I’m a Mac
Just as there are moments of great achievements in career like a promotion, getting a mac would undoubtedly rank among the higher for me – no less a promotion from a Windows system for me. The journey from knowing a Mac to owning one has been 13 years long. From my first computer lessons on a PowerMac in 1996 to getting a Macbook Pro in 2009. And the moments leading to my first Mac just made it more memorable for me.
FedEx would have delivered the package on March 23rd if Mount Redoubt had not erupted ‘untimely’. All FedEx flights were diverted and the package took a week more than usual for delivery. It was a situation beyond anyone’s control but I was getting impatient. Finally the good news from FedEx that the package had arrived in Regina early morning and was going to be delivered today. No way I was going to miss the delivery schedule (and wait another day). I requested the executive to let me know an hour before the delivery van was at my doorstep so I could go home and she agreed.
Tales from Regina
Moving away from Mumbai where I was born and bred was never going to be easy. However It was an exciting idea to battle out in sub-zero temperatures trying to survive under odd circumstances. And Regina or ‘Ra-gy-na’ like the people call it here has given me plenty of reasons to smile.
To start with Regina is the capital of of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada. The temperature in this prairie country could be freezing under -40C in the peak season. However when I landed it was -5C and considered pleasant by local standards. Rest assured nothing could prepare you for this climate, not even the warm clothes that were bought off the shelves of the Indian supermarkets as I found out later. I had to bring a Westbeach coat that provided the comfort I was looking for.
Ghajini (2008)
It must be the much-hyped movie of the year like all Aamir Khan movies tend to be. Which included the splendid musical score of A R Rahman and Aamir’s year-long exercise regimen that was broadcast frequently on various TV channels. To add to this we had the Ghajini hair style and Aamir’s bald mannequin from the movie greeting us at almost all cinema halls across the country. It’s a fact that Ghajini is inspired by Memento (1999). However it does not follow the storyline of the original movie. It has obviously been ‘flavored’ to suit Indian taste buds so the comparison at this point is worthless.
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008)
After Dibakar Banerjee’s critically acclaimed movie Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006) comes Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye (OLLO). Dibakar’s style of showcasing real incidents in the genre of comedy is very inspiring for me. Additionally his ensemble of cast are actors that a) are not stars by Indian definition and b) are always set in northern India mouthing colloquial speech. OLLO is set on similar principles. It’s a point which I want to make to our film-makers – stars do not necessarily make a great movie but the story does play a integral part of the film-making process.