Over and out!

Yea, I am really beginning to freak out now. About time really. Board exams are actually here! I am actually going to sit and do them! Yikes…I didn’t think I’d ever get to this point! ICSE exams start day after tomorrow (good luck Deepthi, Pranav, Rohan, Sid, and everyone else taking the exam!) and mine start on Thursday. Oh God, I am freaking out typing this – those of you wondering what on EARTH I am doing posting, I am on a legitimate break! Contrary to what you might be thinking, this post DOES have a point. I’m, obviously, not going to post for about a month. I think NOW I should take things seriously!
Well…till the 24th…this is me signing off!
Over and out

Top sixers!

I didn’t start off thinking this would be so hard to do…but seriously…you should try it. It’s fun really. Think of what your six most favourite Hindi and English movies would be. Here are mine – for the time being anyway – in random order. Let me tell you now…I am a bit biased when it comes to certain actors!

HINDI
1. Swades (Shahrukh at his best. Ashutosh Gwalikor is a brilliant director. AR Rehman’s music…enough said! There are parts of this movie that could be in an art film!) Down point: What down point?? It is a SHAHRUKH movie!!! Verdict: 5 stars!
2. Lagaan (Aamir Khan literally held a practically unknown cast together brilliantly! By the end of the movie the entire hall was shouting and cheering! Very entertaining movie indeed!) Down point: since the movie is so long, it’s hard to want to watch this movie more than once. Verdict: 4 stars!
3. Padosan (Starring Saira Banu, Kishore Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Mehmood, this is by far the funniest Hindi move ever created! With fun songs, and some hilarious scenes, this movie is a must-see for people wanting brainless fun! Down point: The story’s end is quite silly. The fun is in the first 75% of the movie. Verdict: 4 stars!
4. Chupke Chupke (Hilarious! Amitabh Bachan, Sharmilla Tagore, Dharmendra and a whole lot of other people…all pretending to be someone else! Great plot, nice story and hilarious dialogues! Great job Amit ji!) Verdict: 4 stars!
5. Hungama (This is the closest to PG Wodehouse I have ever seen a Hindi movie get! The plotline is brilliant! Simply brilliant!) Down point: the songs are quite sad really. Verdict: 4 stars!
6. Main Hoon Na (Another Shahrukh movie! Patriotism and his typical Shahrukh humour totally hooks the audience! I couldn’t stop laughing at the hall!) Down point: It did get a bit silly at points, I think that knitting teacher could have toned down the dramatics) Verdict: 4 and half stars!

ENGLISH
1. My Fair Lady (“You will earn much better with the Lord if you learn not to offend his ears!”) Down point: Kind of long. It is annoying to watch this movie with someone who is impatient! Verdict: 5 stars!
2. Oscar (I’ve only seen this one once. The main character Oscar, never actually comes onto the screen. Lovely plot, hilarious outcomes! Money getting mixed up with underwear all the time!!) Verdict: 4 stars!
3. A Few Good Men (“You can’t handle the truth!”I love good court scenes! Intelligent lawyers vs. each other! Gripping plotline! Helps that the lawyer was Tom Cruise!) Down point: None whatsoever! Verdict: 5 stars!
4. Notting Hill (Hugh Grant love story! Enough said!) Down point: I have never seen the beginning of this movie! Verdict (nonetheless): 4 stars!
5. Die Another Day (Thrilling movie! I love the whole Bond character! Pierce Brosnan is definitely the best James Bond! “You were expecting someone else?”) Down point: Hmmm… Verdict: 4 stars!
6. Laws of attraction (Cute…! She said “You wouldn’t want to be married to someone like me” and he said “How do you know?” Aww) Down point: This moives drags at points… Verdict: 4 stars!

These are mine…! What are yours??

Baiting and Debating

I have visited quite a few blogs and live journal accounts lately.

Apart from a few exceptions actually...everyone’s life seems to suck! Have any of you noticed how so many people seem to glamorise unhappiness? “My life is so sad” “Nobody understands me” “I have no one to talk to”. Explain something to me...is it considered cool to be slightly messed up??

People could be justified in cribbing about their problems. After all, it’s their blog right? Why should other people’s opinions matter? But isn’t constant cribbing a reinforcement of unhappiness? There is just something very irritating about having to read a website filled with posts about how sad life is. Yes, cribbing is a natural outlet to frustration (I’ve indulged in it myself!). But when it is done all the time...isn’t sympathy of the readers often turned into annoyance?

Those who don’t rip apart their own lives, seem to be ripping apart other people’s lives. Usually employing baseless sarcasm, any personality alien to one’s own is torn to shreds, without actually making a point. To an extent, I will admit it can be entertaining, but such posts only seem to establish that the writer considers himself/herself superior to those who don’t think the way they do.

I am glad that I know people who are capable of participating in an abstract debate through their writing. I think I’d go nuts if I didn’t know these blogs. I’d much rather have discussions than indulge in individual cribbing...what say you?

Pride of prejudice?

How many of us can honestly say that we are completely free of prejudice? This whole environment of “acceptance” and being “politically correct” or “forward thinking” how much of it is just talk and how much has substance?

My friends and I were talking about a performance we once saw, by quite a famous Odissi dancer – or rather, how bad it was. We particularly dislike this dancer, but I can’t help but think that the performance would seem less terrible, if the dancer were a woman.
In my dance class, all three batches together have about 25 students – out of which 2 are guys. Perhaps with the exception of Birju Maharaj and Kelucharan Mohapatra, I have to admit that I have a slight mind block against male classical dancers.

As far as the topic of stereotypes goes, I have 2 questions:
1) As opposed to being ‘open-minded’, is being conventional a bad thing?
2) How truly free from prejudices are we?

Graduation

Well...it’s over. We graduated tonight. I don’t know why, but I felt slightly silly up there. I didn’t feel old enough to have had to do that...

The whole process started off at about 12 in the afternoon...we went to Aunty Shenaz’s and then to Spratt. It’s a nice place – kind of made our hair look very artificial...but by the time we had to go to school it was looking more normal – all fancy! Rati, Sucheta and I walked in to school a whole 45 minutes late...thank you very much...and found all our classmates and seniors al dressed up! It was really strange seeing everyone in saris and suits and styled hair...!

The function/show/ceremony (whatever) was nice...we were really uncomfortable on that weird stage they made us sit on...but everyone had nice things to say. My speech went off surprisingly well...I didn’t make an idiot out myself! Well, not as much as I had expected I would anyway.

Uncle Ravi was one of the parents who spoke. And Tejas’ mom was the other. Everyone was talking about our future, how the decisions we make now can change our lives, and about how the next few years are formative and crucial. I don’t think I could completely fathom the entire situation. When I was in the second grade, and I was watching Bushan and Sonali and all graduate, they all looked a lot older than I feel!

Anyway, after the formal thing, we all went out and took SO many photographs! I hugged people I barely have even spoken to! Everyone was in such a good mood. Karuna and Sarisha were there. Parents I have never spoken to said things like “We’ve enjoyed watching you”. It was kind of nice…kind of strange.

All in all, it was a nice evening. It felt good to be considered special…but I still don’t feel any different…am I supposed to???

Fun fusion

Today would have been Vasanthhabba. So I am feeling a bit blah. I keep thinking about what I was doing exactly a year ago! There was so much excitement there around now last year. And then I think about what I am doing instead! It is just a wee bit depressing. But I guess I’ll be doing the whole thing again next year...

I did however; spend the evening at quite an interesting concert. Norway is celebrating there 100th year of independence, and in celebration, there was a concert of both western classical music and Indian classical music at Ambedkar Bhavan.

The evening started off with a couple of pieces of classical western music. Mozart and the like from Norway. The violinists were so skillful! I have never seen people with that much control over their instruments! There was also a segment of completely Indian music with L Balasubhramaniam and his son - that kid was adorable! I can’t believe a child that young could play as well as he did - and Sandeep Das on the Tabla! As usual, he was completely awesome! Our very own Grammy nominee (look at me...fond niece)! But he really was amazing! The various different percussionists were definitely the best part of the show!

Kavitha Krishnamurty was there to perform as well...and she sang two songs. She has an amazing voice. Such control over her scales...it’s scary to think about the amount of training behind that talent!

The finale was a big combination of the Norwegian violinists and the Indian musicians. It kind of seemed like the western musicians were background music to Kavitha Krishnamurthy, so that was kind of sad. It didn’t seem fair to put such talented and skilled musicians as a background to her voice. But all in all, it had a beautiful effect.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I suppose, in a little way, that evening of culture made up for Habba’s absence??

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Thanks for organizing the passes Kaku!