Dad says..

Overheard Mr. Really Loud Guy in the next cubicle talking to his teenage son.."Listen, I want you to do whatever your Mom asks you to do..I don't care whether you like it or not. Or if you want to do it or not...Just do whatever she says. And Don't ever argue with her, Okay?!"

Aww...sooo sweet! This actually reminded me of my teenage days, when Ma used to threaten me and sis that she would tell Dad if we didn't listen to anything she said...Not that my Dad used to say anything but somehow, it always worked! I sooo miss those days...SIGH!! WHY DO WE GROW UP???!!!!!

P.S: I just realized I assumed the guy was talking to his son and not his daughter...Well, I guess dads ( or for that matter parents) don't use such tone with girls...At least mine never did :)

This is NO art!!

I feel the most difficult thing anyone ever has to do is to say NO...I sometimes find it so hard to say no that I end up saying yes and suffering, rather than saying no and hurting others...But I know someone who has mastered the art of saying no...and this person is not some very wise uncle or some know-it-all grandma/grandpa, but a three year old nephew of mine. He so diplomatically answers when asked for something he doesnt want to do, its just so adorable...

Mom: Hey what is it that u're eating
Kid: Ice cream
Mom (just to see his reaction): Can I have a bite?
Kid: Oh I would've given it to u, but it tastes so bad..I know you wouldn't like it one bit...In fact, this would even hurt ur stomach...so I guess I'll just finish it

In another instance, his grandpa who meditates every day asked the kid to join him

Grandpa: why dont you sit here and meditate with me?
Kid: Sure.
After a minute or two...
Kid: Grandpa, I'll just go have some water. Will come back after that.

And his grandpa wont see him for another hour or so :/ And this happens every single day!!
Well, I should probably take a lesson or two from him!!

In your face(book)!!

Dear FB,

Thank you for helping me find all my friends, getting in touch with them, getting to know what they're up to these days..err... this minute. Without you, I would have never known how geeky, stupid or even desperate for attention some of my friends are. I wouldn't have known anything about planting crops and harvesting them. Or that my long lost friend got a new hairstyle and a new boyfriend. And about the kind of ridiculous, crappy pages some of my friends "like". And also for making me feel intelligent taking the stupid quizzes my friends challenge me to. And most importantly, thank you for letting me know that my crush's status is single.

But I guess no one is perfect and you are no exception. I don't really appreciate you recommending people as friends. I know we have a lot of friends in common and there is a reason why that person is not in my "friends" list. If I want to be friends with someone, I'll take the pain to find them and add them. Thanks for your concern though. Also, there is a reason why I blocked a certain person from my friends list or why I don't write on someone's wall...I really appreciate you taking the pain and interest to patch things up between us by almost forcing me to "say something to that person" or "to write on that person's wall"..But I would suggest you to stay out of this.

Love,
Niha

Waving Flag

Looks like the football fever got onto me...No, I'm not a fan of the game nor do I follow it..except for the occasional news in the paper / TV... but I'm totally in loooove with the Anthem...This song is sooo addictive...I just cant get enough of it...I've heard the original version sometime back but I totally love the World Cup version...

Also, Youtube has added a football icon to the videos. Clicking it gives you that annoying vuvuzela sound..check it out!

Rajneeti

This movie totally lives up to its title - Raj-Neeti, its Raj minus the Neeti...Ruling the country without any morals...I went to watch it with a lot of expectations and I must say I'm totally disappointed. The director tries an adaptation of Mahabharat, but fails to impress in the second half as he adds too many elements to the story!

The Good:
1. Ranbir Kapoor :P - The best actually ;) Unlike other star kids, time and again he's proved that he can act. Be it a lazy guy in 'Wake Up Sid' or a calculative one in Rajneeti, he surely knows how to slip into his character.
2.The rest of the star cast- Looks like Prakash Jha carefully selected his star cast to make up for the bad story. From the woman who played Ranbir's mom to Katrina Kaif, everyone's done an amazing job. But I feel Ajay Devgan was wasted in a role like that.
4. Katrina's accent - Finally she's managed to get rid of her accent and sounded good during the final speech!
3. The first half - The narration and the way the story unfolded to reveal all the characters was good.

The Bad:
1. There was nothing you could take away from the story, except that killing your enemies is the only way out of a situation.
2. The heavy dialogues - what's with the "kinthu, paranthu" language??!! I agree the story was based on Mahabharat, but the writers went a little overboard by using that kind of language. I almost fell out of my chair when the lady said, "tum mere jaisht putr ho.." who talks like that now a days?!   
3. Katrina's role - It was pathetic. She justifies her falling in love with Arjun Rampal as "his heart is pure!" Hmm...interesting, considering the fact that he brutally murders people and doesn't feel a tad guilty about that.
4. The violence - I'm surprised that the director did not show a single positive point about Indian politics.

The Ugly:
Shruti Seth - She was simply disgusting! She just didn't suit the role..I don't know what made her agree to do it!!!

The Silly: ( Yeah I couldn't help but add this category)
1. Ranbir's Phd - 'Violence in Victorian poetry'... Seriously???!!! I don't know what kind of impression the director was trying to give about the people who study abroad.
2. Mora Piya - Though the song is really good...Its funny how Katrina's "mora piya" shifts from Ranbir to Arjun based on the situation!

You can watch this movie if you are the kind who would appreciate the performances more than the story line...otherwise, the movie is a little boring!

Yawn!!!

One of these days, I think I'll die of yawning at work!!

Man of Steel

Finally I went to watch Iron Man 2 with my friends last week. I really liked it. I feel not many sequels appeal to the audiences mainly cos of the high expectations they have after watching the first part. But this movie was well made..of course, it did have some drawbacks. Here's my take on the movie-

The Good:
1. I'm not a big fan of super hero/action movies...but this is the only one that I love...mainly cos of the fact that the hero is not someone who is extraordinarily nice or the one with an impeccable character. Instead, he's a very arrogant man, one who does not care what others think of him!
2. The dialogues - especially the witty ones!
3. Scarlett Johansson's action sequence
4. The background score
5. The formula-one race scene

The Bad:
1. Two cliched tracks - A guy ditching his best friend only to realize his mistake at the end!
A beautiful (??) secretary who actually is a spy!

 And The Ugly:
1. Scarlett Johansson - I just don't like her.Don't ask why!!
2. The unkempt look of the villain.


All in all, it was an entertainer and definitely worth watching once. (Considering we have no other good releases now!)

Leave Letter

When I was in my 12th standard, the college I was studying in, was a very strict one....they usually did not give permission to leave the college during lunch or would call home if we missed college even for a day...But then students always knew how to work around these rules...
Each class had an in-charge, who would be responsible for granting permission to leave the college...We had to write a letter to this person, asking for permission, in case we wanted to get out...They usually maintained a list of who all left college for the day and the reason for that...
My lazy friend did not feel like sitting in the class one day. She wrote a letter to the in-charge on the lines of "...I am not feeling well...I would be highly obliged if you could grant me permission to leave the college..." The in-charge who usually never gives permission to anyone, immediately agreed to let her go...When we saw her list, we knew exactly why...under the "reason for leave", she had clearly written - 'Highly Obliged'.

What's in a name??!

Well!! I'd say a lot....people either smile or smirk when they hear a name (ofcourse, that is based on the person's character)....Raj, Rahul, Vijay...naam tho suna hoga...ok ok...enough of filmi dialogues, let me get to the point without digressing...

Few months ago, we had a training session which was all about how to improve our communication skills...the instructor started asking for our names....She repeated all the names and even managed to pronounce some of the Indian names correctly...then she came to me..."Niharika", I said...**Silence**...after she recovered from the shock, she went.."Oh My God!! I'm so sorry I did not get it correctly...can you say it again?"..."Niharika", I repeated..."Umm.. I will try to remember that", she said and moved on to the next person :/

To get us all involved in the lecture, she started including our names in the conversation...every time she tried to say my name, she would pause for a few seconds and would instead use my neighbor's name.In the break, she came up to me and asked me to say my name so that she could write down the pronunciation ..."Nee-ha-ree-ka", she carefully wrote down on a piece of paper..."you can call me Niha", I said politely.."But your name is so good...I want to say it all...I like the second part..its so beautiful", she said...And then the unimaginable thing happened...she was talking about some topic..and said, " So if Nyharicky is working in a team...", I looked around and found my colleagues trying hard to control their laughter...Nyharicky??? Seriously!!! Lady, I thought you said you liked the last part of my name!!! and mind you its definitely not "RICKY" :/

Walk on the beach

Walking on the beach

Surrounded by the serenity of the night

As the calmness of the ocean

Soothed the soul

A whiff of fresh air

Phased out the past

The sparkling water

Promised a bright future

While the waves rising and falling

Reminded of the path in between

Home

The air in the street smelled of strong filter coffee…Meenakshi stepped into the old tiled house…she was visiting her native village after five years…She examined the house from one corner to another like a tourist examining an art work in a temple… the rocking chair, that was once strong and adorned the living room, was now rickety. It was moved from the centre of the house to a corner, like a neglected old family member. The strong aroma from the kitchen tingled her senses…while one part of the house smelled of sambar, the other side was filled with the scent of the incense sticks lit in the puja room….though nothing has changed in this house in the past few years, she felt like a total stranger…She moved to the bedroom, that still had the old bed with bright blue bed sheet with huge yellow flowers printed on it…”did we always use such bright sheets?” she thought to herself... she couldn’t recollect what it was like when she was a kid…she thought of her own bedroom which had a color theme…she chose the most sophisticated colors that reflected her classy taste …

As a kid she used to observe her mom get ready in the morning, the kanjeevaram saris, the gold jewelry, the big bottu…she loved it all...when the other kids at school made fun of Meenakshi’s long oiled braid decorated with a string of jasmines, ”they are just jealous”, her mom used to say…and she didn’t care much as she wanted to look like her mom, dress like her,be her…she looked at herself in the mirror now - cropped pants and a t-shirt, her long braid was now replaced with an above-the-shoulder layered cut. She did not look anything like her mom….

She went into the kitchen, where her family members were running around, preparing a traditional spread for her welcome…They were delighted to see her after a long time...showered her with all their love and affection. For the first time since she walked into that house, she did not feel like a stranger…she realized that it was not about the things in the house…it was the people, that she longed for…her people who were a part of her memories, her childhood, her life and this home…her home…

Wake Up Sid...

For some reason, I just loved this movie...ok well, i know the reason..its Ranbir :P
He's sooooooo cute...and I really did not expect him to perform so well...he's done a very good job as a 'bade baap ka bigda hua beta' who's actually good at heart...though the story was very predictable, I think its the performances that made all the difference...be it Anupam Kher or Supriya Pathak or even Rahul Khanna as the handsome boss....they all made it look so natural and played their roles with such great ease...

Sid's role was so perfectly crafted...thats how most of the guys think..."who cares kal kya hoga as long as we can have some fun"...they dont get serious about life till something jolts them out of this "having fun" notion...thankfully the director saved us from the bad guy-turned-good type of cliche...and showed the hero as a good and caring guy who is only a little lazy and irresponsible...

Aisha, on the other hand, is very goal oriented...but like a typical girl doesnt know how to let out her anger or emotions and usually ends up expressing it in the wrong way....like all the girls she doesnt say what she has to..but instead shows the frustration on something else..."Jab itne efficient hogaye ho har cheez mein tho ab aasman se baarish bhi barsado" (sarcasm..aha!!)

The one thing that I really appreciate is the simplicity of the storyline and the not-so-heavy dialogues...like in the last scene Ranbir says innocently- "Directly nahi bol sakti (that she loved him)...itna long story likhne ki kya zaroorat thi" (so sweet!!)

All in all I just loved the movie...and ended up watching it twice in the theatre (though the second time was only for Ranbir :))...he's just soooo adorable in the movie....

P.S: All those who did not like the movie or Ranbir can keep their opinions to themselves...criticizing and mockery is strictly prohibhited :P

Good Ol' Days

Today, all of a sudden, I started feeling very nostalgic about the ads and shows on TV I used to watch as a kid (yeah, of all the things!!)....the reason for this nostalgia is "borolene" I found in my apartment...yes..the khushbudaar antiseptic cream borolene....the sing-song tag lines just remain etched in our memories for ever...Some of the ads and shows from the Doordarshan era, that I would never forget-

1. Jungle book - The ever famous mogli and his jungle friends...Jungle jungle pata chala hai chaddi pehan ke phool kila hai...
2. Dekh bhai dekh- every character is so funny and sweet...can watch it over and over again...


3. Tehkikaat - The super suspense thriller....


4. Malgudi days - the music was amazing...the show brilliant...

5. Washing powder Nirma -Washing powder Nirma..Doodh si safedi Nirma se aayi Rangeen kapde bhi khil khil jaaye...Sab ki pasand hai nirma...lolz

6. And ofcourse..the ad that would play in all the theaters before a movie started...
Vicco Turmeric- vicco turmeric nahin cosmetic...vicco turmeric ayurvedic cream...

Though it seems ridiculous now, we used to love these ads and the way these models(??) sang and danced around in these ads...

The Sunday morning memories are still strong and vivid as if it was only yesterday...the roads would practically be deserted...and the entire family would huddle in front of the television to watch all the favorite shows - Jungle Book, Chandrakanta, Mahabharat etc...We had no cellphones, cars, desktops ( forget laptops!!) not even a cable connection...yet we were so happy and content...I know its now difficult to go back and relive those moments...frankly, I don't think I'd be able to survive without my phone and laptop...but I am glad at least its a part of my memories which I'd cherish forever....

Sun n Clouds

So here I am...after a long hiatus from the blog world...I realized I was too busy pretending to be busy :) now its time to get back to my blog...

So last weekend my colleagues had planned out a trip to Grand father mountains, NC, which is about 4 hours drive from where I live...Since it was a day trip, we had to start early...the saddest part of the trip was that I had to get up at 5:30 in the morning, something I had not done since I finished my last exam in school six months back...we started for our great mountain expedition at around 6:30....The drive was awesome, the view breathtaking...but once we reached the mountain most of the leaves had already fallen off, which was a lil disappointing...but the view below from the mountain was colorful and amazing...

Usually I am extremely scared of heights...so I almost gave up when I had to climb this rock which was not very high, but one wrong step and we could fall straight down on the rocks and break our head...But everyone was climbing and with some motivation and help I finally managed to climb it...After reaching the top of the rock, the only thing I kept thinking was how to get down...but thought it shouldn't be a problem as so many people are climbing the place should be safe...but then someone told me about this..


But luckily climbing down was much easier than I thought it to be...After our great rock climbing experience, we went to the highest peak of the mountain...It was very warm and pleasant..so we left our jackets in the car. To reach the peak we had to walk across a swinging bridge hanging at a height of about 5,900 ft...after crossing it we sat on the peak and were enjoying the view, when we realized that a cloud was slowly moving towards us...excited, we waited for it to reach us...it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen...In just a little while, we were enveloped in a thick blanket of white mist and could hardly see anything...it was really difficult to withstand the chill and we started running towards the car...it took us good 10 mins and high heat in the car to regain our senses...


I don't think I'd ever forget this once-in-a-lifetime experience....

How it all started...

I guess it is self-explanatory :P

Samosa Story

Recently we treated ourselves to some awesome mouth-watering samosas...Living in a small town like Clemson where people have to travel for about 45 minutes to get to the nearest Indian grocery shop, samosas are a rarity...Gosh!! I miss those days in India where samosas were just across the street and there was an ample choice for an evening snack...But now, evening snack is either a plain croissant, a veggie pattie sandwich or even an apple pie...that don't even come anywhere close to our jalebi's, samosas,pakora :(
So coming back to the samosas...that was how we celebrated our Ugadi...(yeah not with all the sweets and special dishes but a samosa...and it did make up for everything else :D) And the guy who got them got all our blessings :P After finishing our allotted share of two samosas per head, everyone started eyeing the two samosas that were saved for another person...But after a while, we could not resist anymore....So our plan was to eat another one and just save one samosa for the missing guy....and no one would tell him that we all had two each...we all agreed to the "plan" and finished it leaving just one samosa...But human greed has no limits...so now the only samosa left was targeted and all the brains started working as to how we should get hold of that one last samosa...But humanity is still alive in this world...so we decided we'd leave that one samosa for the poor guy....and then an idea struck the two most brilliant (read greedy) people in the group..."what if the guy himself gave up the samosa"..that way they can have it and at the same time not feel guilty about it....So they went ahead and called MG(missing guy)...This was the conversation they had:
Y: Hey MG...when are you planning to come home?
MG: Hmm...I guess it'll be really late..why?
Y: well we saved a samosa for you here...and wanted to know if you would have it
MG: Yeah...I will have it after coming back...
Y: But you will be really late right...and its not good to have such spicy food at night...
MG: hmm...I'll have it in the morning then...
Y(trying all means to give him the hint): But it will lose its flavour by tomorrow...and it might spoil by then...what do you think we should do with it??(sounding as innocent as possible)
MG(Not taking the hint): Well..in that case, I'll come home early...will start now...seeya soon
Y(cursing under his breath): Yeah..seeya

As promised. MG came back home and finished his share of the samosa...while the (two) others resisted their temptation of snatching it from his hand :P

Cricket Connection

Looking at my capacity to lap up every article online, Gautam suggested that I should read articles by Harsha Bhogle on espnstar.com. That is when all my memories about this legendary commentator rushed in...Those were the days when I was an ardent cricket fan and would read/watch every single article/show about the game...but one thing that kept me glued to the TV set was Harsha Bhogle's commentary...I would even watch a match just to listen to him speak....I haven't seen the passion and zest with which he talks about the game in any other commentator.... and the fact that this guy is from my hometown made me like him even more (can't help it when it comes to this I am a little biased)...he was the one (and as kids, the only) topic that me and my sis agreed on...yeah..we never liked the same actor, cricketer etc...we always had these arguments about whose choice is the best and somehow invariably I lost...my choice always "let me down"...for instance I liked Salman Khan and she Shahrukh..this I think is self explanatory........anyways, coming back to our common love...Harsha Bhogle...he was the only guy we never argued about...Now I lost interest in the game 'cos of other reasons..but this guy will always have a special place in my "cricket memories"...

haule haule se...mind screw hota hai :P

It was a lazy sunday morning...I was woken up by a song playing in the adjacent room..."haule haule se hawa lagti hai.." I did not feel like waking up that early on a sunday morning (No!!! I won't tell you what time it was!!)...so was trying to drift back to sleep thinking the song would stop after five mins or so...but I was wrong...after the song was over, it was played again and then again...after playing it over and over again for about 10 times what jolted me from my sleep was an absolutely out of tune rendition of that song by my roommate, at the top of her voice...It did the job...the thick comforter, the walls..well nothing could stop her voice from reaching me...I rushed to her room to stop her...She was lost in her own world...watching the video and admiring shahrukh and trying to "learn/sing(??)" the song...Looking at my expression she guessed I was not really pleased with the song or her wonderful crooning...so she asked me to listen to the song saying it has a very deep meaning...about how to slow down and stop worrying about things...Being a very impatient girl this song was like a lesson for her...On her insistence, I sat down to listen to the song...After I finished listening to it...she asked me -
her: "So what do you think?"
me: "Its pretty good"
her: "what do you think about that particular line"
me (clueless): "Umm...hmm...well..I wasn't paying attention then. I don't remember it."
her(looking a little offended) : " How did you miss that line??? Wait. Here, listen to it again."
She started playing the song again.
me(screaming in my head): "why??? why God?? why me of all the people??" :/

Yeh Jo Desh Hai Mera

Last weekend as we all were just lazing about and discussing the fate of Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars, when we got to talking about the best Indian movie according to each of us. Surprisingly, we all agreed on one common movie and that is Swades. As we went about discussing the best scenes of the movie, its music etc..G mentioned that he hasn't watched the movie yet...**Silence** We all gave him this "you don't deserve to live" look and then decided that we all should watch the movie (should make him watch the movie)....Meanwhile, each of us had a little round of questionnaire for G that ranged from " How could you miss a movie like that??" " Weren't you told how good the movie was?" to " Don't you watch patriotic movies" etc etc....
Finally we started watching the movie...I enjoyed it more this time than I did before....I think its one of the best patriotic movies made so far....
Though I don't like Shahrukh's acting much, I feel this was one of his best performances(the other being Chak De)...Every scene is so simple and meaningful....We all became very nostalgic and drifted back to those wonderful days in India...I feel they should make more such movies...and yeah G loved the movie!!!

Animal Farm

Recently I read Animal farm by George Orwell and found it to be quite fascinating….More than anything else, I like this book mainly because of the way each character was described especially when all the animals had to toil to harvest the crops…here's one of them...
“The behavior of the cat was somewhat peculiar. It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found. She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened. But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions”
When I first read this description….the first thing that came to my mind was that…hey!! I met this person!!
The person I am talking about hates work...She can just sit for hours doing nothing…but when it comes to doing something, she’s not to be seen around. But the way she convinces others is commendable ….Even if the reason is as stupid as watching a movie, she comes up with such an amazing explanation that at the end of it we all feel that it was more important for her to watch the movie than may be look after a dying patient!!!