Travel Journal : Chennai-Pondichery

When I was small, I had this habit of writing down everything that would happen or everything that I would see or anything really – that would fascinate me on a vacation. As I grew up, that habit got lost somewhere. So I thought that this time I would do the same – keep a little ‘travel journal’. So, here goes:

28/10/2011

3:10 pm – frantically rushing around the house, grabbing things at the last minute (my family isn’t exactly the most efficient of packers )

3:15 pm – leaving the house

3:20 pm – reach the railway station (yeah, its practically in my backyard)

3:40 pm – jumped out of the train, ran to the nearest dust bin and threw my used tea cup (I hate people who litter) and ran back to the train just as it was about to start ( for a minute I felt like I was in that scene from Jab We Met, where Kareena Kapoor jumps on a running train – even though my train had barely started)

• So now I am sitting here looking out of the window at the passing lakes, trees, fields, houses etc. Its a beautiful sight really. Cut off from the city and looking at nature in its true form. I have an entire day in the train before I reach Chennai tomorrow morning. It feels so good to finally be on a vacation!! Observing the silence around me, as my parents and most of the other people are taking their afternoon naps , I sit here listening to the low humming of the train, the distant snores of a fellow passenger and the occasional vendor going ‘chai chai chai….’ I’m off for some time with Agatha Christie  and then some quiet time for myself.

9:30 pm – off to bed now

• Well, we had a marvelous time on the train today. We had sat down in the wrong compartment and were made to move – hauling all our luggage with us – to the right one. Once we reached there, we had nothing better to do than to hungrily wait for a vendor as we forgot to bring food for the journey. (yes – that is actually possible ) But after a good biryani meal, we are all settling down for the night.

29/10/2011

9:00 pm – Chennai!!!

• One entire day passed so fast!! Its been my dream to visit Chennai for a long time now, because I have been obsessed with Tamil movies. It was absolutely marvelous cruising around Chennai passing by Rajnikanth’s house along with the houses of C.M. Jayalalitha, Kamal Hassan, R. Madhavan, etc – walking along Marina beach and seeing M.G.R‘s and Annadurai‘s memorials. We spent some time in Express Avenue which is supposed to be the most happening mall in Chennai. Lunch was absolutely delicious in this place called Rajdhani, which gave us the traditional Rajasthani food experience. 

We set off to Pondichery in the evening and watched Suriya’s Singham on the way there. We have just reached Pondichery and it looks stunning. The rain might be a problem and right now its  chilling us to our bones!! Its dark and we can’t see much. But we can hear the inviting sound of the waves. We have decided to keep that for tomorrow and I’m just looking forward to dinner and a good night’s sleep right now!!

30/10/2011

11:00 am - Oh my God!!!!!!

• Pondichery!!!!! If this isn’t heaven, then heaven isn’t worth going to! I would rather just die here!! Do you know how I got up this morning? I heard the waves!! yes!! I can actually hear the waves AND see them just from my bed!! It is absolutely breathtaking!! Unfortunately we can’t get into the water here, but it is so tempting that I am considering breaking the law!! I can just sit here and watch the beach and the passers-by for now. A little bit of sightseeing and a little bit of shopping today. Can’t wait!!

Our Hotel

A view from my hotel room..

The balcony in the room

01:30 pm – Lunch/ Family reunion(the rest of the family has just arrived from Bangalore)

06:00 pm – Beach time! (walking on the pavement by the beach – with that salty fragrance in the air and the spray from the waves on our faces)

At night..

08:30 pm – Quiet dinner

• We chose to have dinner in the room today as all of us are feeling wondefully lazy and don’t want to get on our feet. We had set aside this entire day just for relaxation and rejuvenation and I think that the day has served its purpose. We all look so happy and so calm that there are no traces of the hectic schedules that we have left behind. Tomorrow we will begin the real exploring. Lets see how that goes.

31/10/2011

07:00 am – got up with great difficulty!

08:30 am – the start!

10:00 pm

• After a continental breakfast, we left for a day of sightseeing. We started the day with a visit to a Ganesha temple followed by a Panchavatee Hanuman temple. We then visited the Aurobindo ashram where silence is a must. You are not allowed to utter a word. All you can do is visit the samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and then leave. We didn’t really understand the significance of the silence and our guide told us that we would understand better when we visited Auroville – a small city on the Tamil Nadu-Pondichery border – which was artificially created on the command of The Mother – fondly called so as she took charge after the demise of Sri Aurobindo – making it a place to observe the silence and the simplicity that Sri Aurobindo preached. Even though we had to walk for around 2kms the experience was worth it. The city can accommodate over 50,000 residents and there is a huge golden globe placed in the center of the city. Inside the globe only true devotees of Sri Aurobindo are allowed to go in, to experience the ultimate silence, concentration and oneness with the divine consciousness. But sitting outside the golden globe (known as the Matrimandir) was also a ravishing experience. The scenic beauty coupled with the silence and the tranquil atmosphere is something which everyone should experience at least once in a life time. Auroville is a resplendent mini-city which doesn’t believe in religions, but believes in humanity.
• Lunch was at one of the local Chettinad restaurants called ‘Kaarai’.
• All of us were a little quiet after Auroville and we needed to lighten up a bit. The place we next went to was ideal for this. Boating! the backwaters, the beach, the breeze was just wow!! Basically they took us to the backwaters of Pondichery from where a boat takes us to a nearby island. We spend some time on the beach there and then we come back. Just pure fun.

• After the boating we went around the French colony (which is the area in which we lived) Pondichery was one of the holiday spots for the French when they were ruling in India. And hence a considerable part of the city is heavily influenced by French architecture. Most of the buildings in this area were built by the French themselves. The streets even have French names. This part is preserved as a tourist spot and a lot of the buildings have been modified as hotels, including the one we live in. After the French colony, we closed the day with a dainty French dinner.

01/11/2011

2:30 pm – brr!! the aftermath of a storm!!

• As we hadn’t had enough of the beach, we went to a private beach where we were allowed to go into the water. As we were enjoying our time in the water we noticed heavy clouds over our heads. We took this lightly thinking that it would only drizzle and that wouldn’t matter as we were already wet. Also cars aren’t allowed in the beach so we had to park a good half kilometer away from the beach. So when the rain came pouring down like it hadn’t in a few years we were stranded on the beach. There was no one else around and our bags, footwear, change of clothes – everything, got wet! We were already wet and the howling breeze literally gave me goosebumps. In some time the rain turned to hailstones and we could feel tiny ice specks hitting us. We could barely keep our eyes open, but we still had a lot of fun! Never, had I gotten wet like that in my life. The sea water and the rain water is a deadly combination. We couldn’t walk back because the road was slippery and the wind would have carried us away if we hadn’t stood rooted to a particular spot. But it was still an experience – a mind boggling, bone chilling one no doubt! When it finally slowed down a bit we got to the car, got back to the hotel had hot baths and took a good long nap! After a late lunch we spent the rest of the day recuperating from the storm.

walking off unsuspectingly, into the storm

9:30 pm – ultimate family time!

• The rest of the day was spent lounging out in one of our rooms watching Tamil movies and songs, playing cards and teasing each other. We decided to turn in early as we had a long journey back home the next day.

02/11/2011

07:30 am – All set to go back home – having one last look at the Pondi Beach.

02:00 pm – lunch at Mcdonald’s.

04:00 pm – Reached Bangalore. (my cousin’s house)

07:30 pm – Leaving for Mangalore (home!).

03/11/2011

07:00 am – Vacations are splendid, but there is no place like home! Glad to be back home

Happy Independence Day

a very happy independence day to Indians all around the globe!! cherish your country today, remember the past, feel proud and take time out to show your love for your country today!!

Murder 2

produced by : Mukesh Bhatt

directed by : Mohit Suri

story by : Mahesh Bhatt

screenplay by : Shagufta Rafique

Starring : Emraan Hashimi, Jaqueline Fernandis, Prashant Narayanan

when the daughter of a French diplomat goes missing, the entire police force of Goa work on the case hoping to find her alive and soon. But no one thinks anything of the 11 Indian girls who have already gone missing. No one but ex-cop Arjun Bhagwat. For his own personal reasons which are still unclear to me he tries to find this serial killer and he does. only, he has political influence and a known politician will be coming to bail him out the next morning. so unless Arjun Bhagwat can find evidence against his killer in one night, he is going to walk away and probably continue to kill..

I found the story-line both interesting and idiotic. Interesting because of the way the killer and the cops are portrayed (taking into consideration their pasts and detailing all the characters very well) and idiotic because the plot is once again a typical hindi movie masala plot which is very predictable where the hero has supernatural powers to beat up the villain even though he is shot and bleeding. from the very beginning the mentality of the killer is explained in a very delicate manner. he seems to hate women and loves to see a women being tortured. his insanity rises to such a height that after repeatedly locking his wife in a tiny cage he finally makes himself impotent. every time he kills a woman he dresses up as one and records the screams of every woman. the killer actually holds the whole movie together because he, unlike the male and female leads, keeps you guessing. all through the movie the destructive path of the killer is shown, where every person coming into contact with him, does not feel very normal after.

in the beginning i liked the way the characters and pasts of the leads were portrayed, the chemistry and sexual tension they shared, their gloominess and all. but as the movie went on it felt like they were just not getting past that. they were constantly stuck in the same position trying to relate their sad lives to that of the audience (which they failed to do). i don’t even know what Jacqueline Fernandis was doing in the movie, because the movie would have gone on just fine without her. and i expected more from Emraan Hashmi, and i thought that he would have more to offer and a good explanation to his ridiculous hairstyle.

but what kept the movie going was the screenplay. witty dialogues which delivered on time and went hand in hand with the music. the movie was able to maintain that eeriness mainly through the behavior of the killer. it got a little weird towards the end as the movie dabbled in the napunsak way of life and what seemed to be a bit of black magic thrown in too. (but i’m not very sure about that) a lot of aspects of the movie were left hanging and a lot of questions were left unanswered. but yet, its not that bad a movie and its actually pretty watchable.

A Tiny Plea On New Year

Fourth of April 2011, hindu’s all over the world were celebrating ugadi. Ugadi is the new year according to the lunar calender. It is called Ugadi mostly in the South India and in other places of India it is also known as Gudi Padwa. we had arranged for a small pooja – the usual lighting of the diya, the offering of food to God (naivedhyam) and the final aarthi. in my house too we were following the same ritual. the house was set, we were all ready, the food was ready, the aarthi had begun when – the doorbell rang. my grand father asked me to answer the door. when i opened the door, there was this tiny and meek lady, dressed in a sari holding a box in one hand and a couple of papers in the other. naturally i assumed that she was a saleswoman and was about to shut the door when she thrust a peice of paper in my hand. the paper stated that this girl was deaf and dumb and had completed her tenth standard with great difficulty from the nearby St.Mary’s Missionary School. but she had no more money to study further, but she desperately wanted to do so. it was authorized by a signature and by a seal. i was kind of speechless. sad and happy at the same time. sad, because of her condition and happy, because she actually took the effort to study and ensure she kept studying. by then my grand father came over, read the paper and gave me Rs.21. i realized i had to write my name and the amount on the piece of paper. i asked her for a pen(in sign language of course) and she told me that she didn’t have one. i went inside and fetched a pen wrote down my name and amount and gave it back to her. she asked me if she could have the pen. i gave it to her. she smiled and went to the house next door.

i went back in, folded my hands and closed my eyes. i prayed to God and asked him to bless that girl for taking the effort and to ensure she gets a proper education. i also prayed that He eases her miseries and hoped that she would at least have a good year ahead of her. from then on, i have been thankful to God for giving me every part of my body. Are you?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bleed Blue!!

what a match!! 30th march saw one of the most mind-boggling matches in the history of Indo-Pak matches. i mean, i hate cricket – but i still watched it. it was like watching a movie which kept on the edge of my seat. except that this was completely real!! every person who was a somebody landed up in Mohali and every news channel focussed on Mohali. the team preparations, the pitch preparation, the anticipation, the fear, the hype – was simply wow!! though i initially felt that the media had blown it out of proportion when i actually watched the match i realized that it was all worth it. the prime ministers came down to watch the match! what more do you expect??? how much bigger can it get?? and not only was it a great match it was also a sign of co-operation between the two nations who have had a bloody history in the past. i am of course referring to the prime minister sitting side by side and clapping encouragingly all through out.

even though we started out well, we lost a lot of wickets in between and managed to make an over-all score of 260-9. Yuvraj’s wicket was a complete waste but the poor guy bowled pretty well. when we had finished batting almost everyone expected defeat. but then our fielding and bowling was crazy!! the last wicket was the best one!!

and when we won – omg!! you should have seen the streets – there were people roaming around in bikes with the Indian flag, people screaming and hooting and what not!! we could see fire-works every where!! EVERY WHERE!! its like the idea of patriotism has changed today. i have never felt more in sync with my country than i felt last night. i know it sounds weird -but its true!! there were barely any people on the streets after two. any place without a t.v. was closed down.  for the first time in my life, no one fought for the remote!! i doubt even the India-Sri Lanka will be this important. but i still hope we win!!

My Dream

I had a dream last night and it went like this:

I do not know exactly where it began but I remember something about this older man. I think I reached the place with him and then I ran away from him. For some reason I seemed to be scared of him. Then suddenly I was in this tiny, dark lane and I could see the door of a house there. But somehow that scared me too. I hid behind some bushes and waited. For a minute I didn’t know what I was waiting for. But then I looked down and realized that I was completely naked. Tears fell from my eyes and I felt completely helpless. The door opened and two girls came out. They were about my age and were looking at me curiously. Of course, I was covered by the bushes so they couldn’t see anything. For a minute I forgot about my nudity and just looked at them. Their clothes, their jewelry, their hair and the street-all looked so different. They looked as if they were from another era. I had seen all of this somewhere. But I couldn’t recall where.

Then an old man stepped out and realizing my condition he whistled (not at me but as if he were calling someone or thing) and right on cue the man I came with, appeared and he held out this thin blanket for me to wrap myself in. then I turned around, wrapped in my blanket and started going forward trying to figure out where I was. After walking for a while, I felt the roads were getting wider and there was something very majestic about it. And then, I heard the elephants. I could hear elephants roaring (or whatever sound they make) furiously. I followed the sound and I found myself in front of this huge palace/temple (I can’t remember exactly) I entered the palace (lets just assume it was a palace) and I found myself in this tiny room. It seemed as though the elephants had calmed down, but I knew they were close by because I could hear them panting. And then this boy came in. he was tall, about my age and had really dark eyes. He only wore a lungi around his waist. He was sweating like a pig and was also panting. He glared at me and we both stood there unsure of what to do next.

Then he came closer and closer and all of a sudden I felt he may not have the best of intentions. When we were face to face, I was ready to scream and make a run for it. But instead he said, “kutiko”. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t understand him. “kutiko”, he repeated. I started crying again and made small whimpering noises. I guess that annoyed him because he screamed “kutiko!!” now. This woman came running in and started talking to him in their language. As they spoke, I realized that I could understand bits and pieces of what they were saying. And then it hit me! They were speaking in kannada. Some sort of ancient kannada at least. He was saying “kutko”. He was asking me to sit down. I laughed out of relief and I told him that I could understand what he was saying. After giving me a sloppy grin he asked me to follow him. The woman-his mother- went out of the door she had come in through.

After walking down a long passage we entered a room full of women. They seemed to be gossiping about something really interesting because they stopped when they saw us. He told them something in kannada which I couldn’t quite follow and then he left. Unsure of what I was supposed to do I just sat in the corner. They smiled and gave me a small bundle. I opened it and realized that they were clothes. But, they had given me a saree and I had no idea who to drape myself in one. When I told them this, they laughed and helped me with it. As they continued their animated talk I realized that I had seen all this somewhere. They were all dressed like those two girls I had seen earlier. And then it hit me.

I was in the medieval times. I had somehow traveled back in time and reached here. I walked around the room carefully looking at the pillars, the door, the windows etc. it amazed me that I was actually standing with my ancestors. Then they all ushered me through yet another passage and i found myself in this huge hall. One portion was partitioned off, and upon looking at that area closely, I realized that that was the kitchen and we were all sitting in the dining area. Suddenly I felt some heat on my back and when I turned around I saw the elephants!!! They were right behind me-just a couple of feet away!! I shrieked and everyone burst out laughing. The boy came back and introduced me to the elephants. He explained that they were his pets. Pets!! Can you imagine?? Two gigantic elephants, living in his pantry!! I then sat down next to him and we had a sumptuous meal.

That’s all I can remember. But it felt really good. Oh and if anyone wants to interpret it-feel free to.

dhobi ghat

directed by :- Kiran Rao

produced by :- Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao

story by :- Kiran Rao

starring :- Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra

Dhobi Ghat is Aamir Khan’s wife- Kiran Rao’s directorial debut. and i have to say that she has lived up to the expectations that we have from a perfectionist’s wife. she is as creative and perfect as her husband. actually, a tad more creative than he is

dhobi ghat is a very interesting movie and it is about four people in Mumbai. they are as ordinary as you and me and it is the tale of the small things that happen in their lives which affect them in some way or the other. there is a painter who mostly keeps to himself, an investment banker from New York who comes to India to dabble in photography, a dhobi(laundry man) who aspires to be an actor and a newly wed bride.

as i said they have ordinary lives and the things that happen to them could happen to any one of us. in other words, they do not go through any uncommon situation. you just sit back and observe their lives and as the movie unfolds you begin to understand what the director is trying to potray.

i felt she was showing us the simplicity of life in Mumbai and how even those simple lives are so unique and interesting in their own way. it is a movie about love and life and the different people we meet and the things we experience and feel because of these people. every single person around us has a story, and if we listen we will know that every story is unique.

it is not a movie to feel, but a movie to understand. it is a simple movie and i do not understand why people claim that it is complicated and very heavy and you need to have patience to endure the movie and to understand it. it is very simple and each person can see something different in the movie.

(also known as mumbai diaries)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WdAS2-Czg4