mumbai

this is just way too big.
i dont want to utter any foolish words.
all i can think of - is protect. and defend.

RIP Micheal Crichton

Oh my no !

My fav author Micheal Crichton is no more. I just read and its hard to believe it.

For me his books never got boring inspite of repeated reading. He brought out many of the unknown theories, technologies from dingy corners of academia into popular literature. And most of his woman characters are still etched in my mind.

I loved his Airframe, Jurassic Park, Lost World, Disclosure, Sphere & Congo. They totally set my imagination on fire, for years together.

RIP Micheal Crichton.

Likhe jo khat tujhe ...

Welcome to Sajjanpur was a good laugh. After a long time, I can say some film was witty & humourous. Shreya Talpade joins my list of favorite actors. Dialoges, dialog delivery by Shreyas, Ila Arun, Ravi Jhankal (Munni) and the lot brought a smile each time. Music-wise, the one that stands out and was very enjoyable was "Munni ki baari".

After watching Rock-On and Welcome to Sajjanpur on the same day, I was wondering - which India do I belong to ? Both seemed very surreal, I don't belong to either. I guess it makes sense, that I belong to the "middle class" :))

Anyway this movie was a good chance for my MIL to share those old gone days. When she was a young school going kid and illiterate village wives came to her, to dictate letters for their immigrant husbands, working in the city. Here are some of the gems they sprinkled their letters with:

Likhti hoon khat, khoon se ,
Siya-i na samaj-na |
Marti hoon teri yaad mein,
Zinda na samjna |

Likhti hoon khoon se ,
Siya-i na samaj-na |
Marti hoon nurai se,
Burai na samaj-na |

Chal chal re chiti, kabutar ki chal,
Yadi hogi mohobbat, toh denge jawab |
Most of the mundane letters did end with
Thoda likha jyada samjna...

And with instructions to the letter writer that
Aisa chiti likhna ki jaldi pahuche

Quite a revelation for me. That Creativity and literary expression of love, is obviously not limited to city folks or English language or these modern times alone :)

I don't remember when was the last time I wrote a letter. Personal communication now-a-days, is only a crisp to-the-point email or a curt to-the-point phone call. I think I have forgotten to write a letter. And that I lift a pen only to write a grocery list for shopping. Hmm ...

Happy Diwali !!

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali & Properous New Year !



Best Wishes to our family & friends !

Especially to those in Tavarekere, Udupi, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Tokyo, Bhilai, Moonchapra  and Bangalore !

PS: My MIL has made some of the Bestest Diwali Sweets ever.

Moon Connection

Chandrayaan - literally means Moon vehicle. This one will just hover around now and send us data. And for manned missions, we will have to wait till 2015. I am amazed they implemented it so soon. I remember hearing about this plan only recently. Oh wait it was 2003 !



On the face of it, what do we have in it ? Is it a Rs 400 crore waste ? Which could have been given to "feed the poor" so to say ? Simplistically, theorotically, yes. But in this practical world, obviously not. That's where vision vs mission comes in. That is where Aspirations come in. I mean, if every poor aspired only to feed his stomach, some of the poor kids would not have made it to IIT's and all. We all eat, but we need more to live a life.



I have my share of Moon connections.

Well the first (in case you missed out), my Blog name is Dew Moon Drop { Check my blog again when there is news on Dewdrops :)) }

Then, my native village is Udupi, which means the land of the "lord of the stars," who is the Moon !

And my Hubby's native village is Moonchapra !

Baby Product Brand Endorsements

Wipro Baby Diapers: I have to say that they are the best !

Second option would be Huggies. And last choice will be Pampers. Wipro Baby Diapers are really cloth feel. They don't get wet & humid & stuffy, like others do.

Huggies Nappy Pads: Good for nap-time use for babies below 7-8 months. Or those who have not started to violently wither or turn around or move around the bed while sleeping. :) Johnsons Nappy Pads are not of that good quality. Price is same, but these are smaller.

Nestum Rice: Since Baby A was not taking cow milk very well, we started with Nestum instead of Cerelac. It does not have any milk powder in it.

Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder

Eyetex Kajal

Apart from these, no other brand endorsements. But there is a whole list of Baby products that are useful. Maybe next time.

Rock-On

Am loving those Rock On !! songs.

Not a hard core fan of rock, nor am knowledgable in any technicalities of music. I did have a Metallica phase in life. But for me ignorance is bliss, and I simbly enjoy the sounds of music.

In that context, Rock-on songs are simply growing on me, each time I hear them on the radio. It's great to sing along and feel as free as a teen singing hoarse, without tune, without a worry of how it sounds. There is always some beauty in listening to an unpolished voice. Otherwise SaReGaMa & VOI wouldn't be such a hit.

My all time favorite instrument in Rock are Drums. I have never played the real ones, just stuck to tapping on the metallic tables in my classroom. I like the beat. That makes the song catchy.

All the usual suspects of rock are here. Drums, guitar strumming, screeching, chorus. Ah maybe all this is purist and no corruption. That's why it sounds all well. Lyrics, for someone so in love with words, I dont care a damn about any song lyrics. But amazingly this one had Hindi/Urdu lyrics. No English or Hinglish or Rap. And it made some sense too !

Check out the drums in "Socha Hai". And the good old style video of "Pichale Saat Dinon Mein".



About the movie:

Luvred Farhan's singing

But his wife & his new life was too Hollywoodish. But chalega.

Film ka music acha, bahut acha, toh sab acha.

Good to see Luke Kenny in a Hindi movie. I mean the MTV guy was never seen around. And such good Hindi diction (hope its not dubbing).

Debbie, come on, who wouldn't be grumpy bearing those responsibilities for so many years ? Thankfully no one was the spacegoat and no blame game.

And how did the director convince these guys to chop off their hair ? Luke Kenny, I always pictured him with those silky tresses. Farhan, thanks to his TV appeareances always had those curls. And they went ahead & chopped them off ? Too much.

That way this movie could be a study, for it's screenplay and production management.

Movie ended well. That's what matters.

Btw, after watching this movie, I Heart Arjun Rampal.

Linky Linky

Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios

About the increasing Ceaserean procedures in India. (Source)

Power of Languages. And Internet - What Will Globalization Do to Languages? A Freakonomics Quorum

And all of the Amul ads.

A Wednesday on A Wednesday

A Wednesday on A Wednesday - wow I realised this just now !

With the current affairs being what it is, the most proactive action I could take was to watch the movie "A Wednesday" ... damn I feel so guilty about sarcasm. About the recent Saturday blasts, my MIL believes in the Aamir theory. She is sure, no educated young people nowadays can ignore their family and indulge in things which will cause so much heartburn to so many families. After all, those affected are not from any single community. She is sure such people have been coerced with some fear. Back to the movie world, the good part is that these movies now show how we are standing up. Here the hero is no Sunny Doel; here they are the common people and they are getting back.

Watching this movie is hundred times better than reading it's review anywhere. The movie was non-tight, non-sleek, non-stylish, no-trendy camera angles, no-nonsense movie. And yet absolutely satisfying. Too short I say. Like a very well made Hindi thriller TV episode (is that even possible ?).

The good guys did not preach or convert, they just took action. Oh ok, not forgetting the 'long explanation' at the climax. And Shergill's crisp summary after. But that speech was so well written, so real world words; like the director had parsed all blogs or picked from his neighbour's conversation or something. So real, so common, and so refreshing. I wish someone put it verbatim up on web. That way all dialogs were fresh & crisp, without any cocky background sound effect to convey intelligence.

Some things were left loose ofcourse. What was that 'Beta' refrence in the last call ? And how come he was the 'chief strategist' & all pally with the 4, if eventually he turned out to be someone else ?

And some logistical questions. How could he carry so much vegetable, so high up, in that flimsy plastic bag. I mean I buy that much every other day, and my jute bag keep threatening to tear apart. Plus the weight lifting pain. And how could he sit all afternoon in all that direct sun ? I mean yes the view is great, but it would be tough to get all that work done, in that sun.

And what's with the name ? Absolutely no significance. But very chic yes.

Open world, open minds

Govt staffers can take up to 3 yrs' child care leave

This is one rule that could turn women in India Inc green with envy. The Centre has not only increased maternity leave for its employees to six months but has also cleared paid leave for two years to take care of children.

Excellent ! Marvelous ! Stupendous ! This calls for celebration !

If this (or any) society wants to progress or even stay alive, it has to consider the contribution of women - both at work and also at home. And it should tailor the work processes to accomodate child birth, adoption & child care.

3 months maternity leave was really a joke. 6 months is adequate. And child care leaves are absolute necessity. Taking a clean job break is not possible anymore. We need to continue to use our education and worldly skills, while we raise our kids. Part-time, flexible hours, free-lancing, work from home - the world is opening up. Now our decision makers need to open their minds.

Fingers-crossed for these benefits to seep in from government to corporate as well as unorganised job sectors too.