What I see hear do think read wish hope pray whine

You just can't ignore her

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:59:00 +0000

She too passed away - beloved to some, ridiculed by many, but not forgotten by any. Kamala Das aka Madhavikutty aka Kamala Surayya would have breathed her last sigh as her homeland was getting ready to welcome the monsoon with open hands as always. It's ironic as she never would have felt welcomed in the same land she wrote so much about.

My first memories of her were venemous articles in the newspapers about her 'socially inappropriate' behaviour. And then there were discussions overheard where people tsk-tsked about her actions which weren't 'suitable for a Hindu woman'. Kali-kaalam, some called it. Opinions galore!

To me, she would always be an honest woman, true to her heart, who decided to live her life the way she wanted to rather than letting society dictate terms. She stuck to her beliefs and decisions though she was always rebuked and ridiculed. What a painful life it would have been! I have been ridiculed by friends and family for looking up to her and for admiring her confidence. Opinions galore again!

Some people are born at the wrong place at the wrong time. So was Kamala Das. How many woman writers do we have in Kerala who could stand up to her? The wait is on.

Whenever I hear someone thrashing her, I can't help but think

It's always easier to stand aside and throw stones,
than to walk the path that's dangerous.
Through your actions you unknowingly decide whether you will let the "society" rule your life.

Hate her or love her, you just can't ignore her.
May she rest in peace.

Must watch
A documentary on her - It was very sad to see it again today. I can't help notice and love her prim and proper English every time I watch this video.

How to nail an interview, NOT!

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:58:00 +0000

The last three months I've been reading a lot about applying for jobs, interviews, CVs, etc in the hope that I'll arrive at a secret formula to nail that elusive job. After a lot of trials and errors, I realised that there's no such secret formula. Unless you are qualified for the role and can express the same clearly and show the maturity needed for the role, noone can help you.

During my research, I happened to see this book 'Turn Redundancy into Opportunity' in my library. It felt as if that book was written for me (and the millions of others in the same shoes!) and I picked it up. To be honest, I learnt nothing new and dismissed it in 10 minutes. But it did give me a good laugh though.

I quote:

Recruitment company, Robert Half, asked 300 major UK employers for examples of their more unusual job candidates at interview.

Candidate fell asleep during interview.

Poor guy might have been up all night preparing for the interview! Give him a break.

Candidate tried to take his clothes off

Desperate measures!

Candidate confessed to being a convicted murderer.

At least he was honest!

Candidate challenged interviewer to an arm-wreslting contest.

Come on, that would have been fun.

Bald candidate asked to leave the room mid-interview and returned a few minutes later wearing a wig.

If you have hair on your head, you have no right to judge! Hmph!

Candidate phones her therapist during the interview and ask the correct response to a question.

Might have confused the interview with Who wants to me a Millionaire/Crorepati. There were some interviewes where I wanted to call a lawyer before answering the question.

Candidate demanded to see the interviewer's CV to check they were properly qualified.

Tit-for-tat! Btw why not? He has every right to find out that you are not a harum-scarum.

Another link along the same lines. Hilarious!

Pssst: Come next week and I won't be unemployed. Hurray! My loooooong vacation is coming to an end. And the best part is that I can walk/cycle to work soon. After almost two years of long commutes to London, this feels like a priceless benefit! I can't thank you all enough for your good wishes - I am sure it helped! I believe big in positive energy.

I have seen the elephant!

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:09:00 +0000

So I've been hibernating. Well, not from life, but from blogs and the such. Sometimes when you have all the time in the world, you never get anything done - greatest truth in the world. I still don't have a job at the moment, but I don't have a minute to spare! Figure that out!

For those who have been messaging and for others who have been wondering, I am still without a job. Mainly because I refuse to apply to jobs that I feel are not 'my type'. It's better to have a little less money in the bank than to drag yourself to a place everyday for the job - I just don't subscribe to that. I am going strong on that thought for now. Before things change and I too start feeling the desperation, I have decided to enjoy these days. Which means I roam around in my bicycle, am reading and eating a LOT, getting my fitness levels back and in general connecting with myself once again. And it does feel good.

So it happened that I was browsing through the modest collection of books at my library on an unventful day and something caught my eye.

Seeing the Elephant
The ties that bind elephants and humans
Eric Scigliano
For millennia, people all over the world have revered, adored and exploited elephants. In Thailand, a pregnant woman might duck under an elephant's belly to encourage an easy delivery; a tycoon has built an elephant-shaped skyscraper; and pirate loggers feed amphetamines to their elephants to make them haul backbreaking loads. In India, worshippers dance with gilded tuskers at ecstatic temple festivals. Scientists have proposed to restore lost ecosystems by reintroducing the elephants and mammoths that once ruled them. And generation after generation of readers have delighted in Babar, Horton and Dumbo. In a kaleidoscopic account rich in historic lore, surprising science and exotic adventure, Eric Scigliano traces an enduring, extraordinary relationship between species and shows how it still haunts and inspires us today.

I come from a small town that's home to elephants and the pooram (mother of all festivals) and where elephant dung on the road is not a strange sight, and if there's a traffic jam, the culprit could be an elephant slowly making it's way through in the sexy Gajagamini way. My father is a self-confessed elephant-lover, who, if not for my mother, would have by now had an elephant for a pet and would have pampered it like no other. Now this might sound a little ludicrous, but every-time I've had an elephant near me, I always felt uneasy, always felt that the creature was somehow trying to reach out to me - if only it could talk. The feeling was so strong, at times, I have waited expectantly for something to happen.

So I picked up the book without another thought - and I haven't put it down ever since. The long winding narrative could be a turn-off at times, but the topic is so fascinating, I usually don't notice it. This book seems to be product of a life-long research and it is a life well-spent I would say. It talks about hear-says from all over the world about the mostly-ignored Asian elephants and scientific facts about why some of them could be true. The rest of the book is a historic look at the influence elephants have had in the development (or the lack of it) on several countries. There are also interesting passages about mammoths, a very detailed look at the poorams of Kerala, Ganesha - the elephant-headed God, elephants as war-machines, circuses and zoos, Ivory - white gold, and so much more. All I can say is I am hooked.

For those who are interested so far, here's some fascinating excerpts from the book just to get your started from the first chapter

The people of India assert that the tongue of the elephant is upside down, and if it were not for that, it would have spoken.
Muhammad Ibn Musa Kamal ad-Din ad-Damiri, Hayat al-Hayawan (1371)

I swear, I would agree with that!

Such a massive creature, yet it eats only plants!

At least, it wouldn't have to worry about the five-a-day rule!

Its nose and upper lip have fused to form a fifth limb, a trunk, the original multipurpose tool: a crane, forceps, whip, vise, noose, snorkel, shower, vacuum, jet blower, trumpet, bludgeon, and probe - a supple, writhing tentacle, moved by some sixty thousand muscles, which seems a thing of the sea, a precise but mighty instrument that can lift a log or a grain of rice and snap a man's back - as John Van Couvering of the American Museum of Natural History puts it, "the ultimate in giant mammal design."

And put to good use too, when given a chance: the artist in the elephant!

Elephants live sixty to eighty years, the same span as humans, if they are not killed by humans first and don't wreck their health through bad habits; they also enjoy alcohol, and 19th century captives were often given ale or whisky to calm or reward them, and even as daily rations. The ploy sometimes backfired: some elephants were gushy, maudlin drunks and some turned mean - again, just like us. Three of P.T. Barnum's elephants once too a chill after some winter labors and were given three bottles of whisky each. The next day, now recovered, they put on the shivers to get more medicine!

I have heard of stories of elephants ransacking toddy shops in Kerala. A true blood Mallu!

Lieutenant Colonel J. H, Williams, the legendary "Elephant Bill" who led elephant-borne refugees out of wartime Burma, spotted timber elephants plugging the wooden bells around their necks with mud, then sneaking silently into their masters' gardens to steals bananas. A wild South African elephant was observed digging a drinking hole, then plugging it with a large ball of chewed-up bark, concealing it with sand and returning later to drink again. This suggests several behaviours once considered uniquely human: invention, foresight, deception and making and using tools. Elephants have also fabricated fly swatters, back scratchers, water sops and poultices.

Elephant flatulence is nothing next to elephant diarrhea. There's an instance where a zookeeper was knocked over by the 'torrent', passed out and suffocated to death under the dung.

What a way to die!

The nearest equivalent to the taming of elephants is not the domestication of cats or cattle. It is the employment of humans by other humans - or their enslavement. Despite having one of the longest, richest and most intimate associations with humankind of all animals (parasites excluded), the elephant has never been truly domesticated. It has never been bred for domesticity or, until very recently, captive-bred in significant numbers at all. Until the decline in wild elephants' numbers forced bans on their capture, nearly all captive elephants were caught wild or (in Asian logging camps) born from captive females allowed to mate with wild males. Thus, while a fat Hereford scarcely resembles its wild ancestors, and adachshund looks not at all like a wolf, today's "domestic" elephants are still in form and genome full-fledged members of the wild stock, a fact some elephant breeders claim could save that stock if captive-bred animals can be used to replenish it.
This means that unlike beagles, bantams, and other animals bred to the bridle or feedlot, elephants are not wired for the tasks humans want them to do; they must be persuaded. Cooperation and coercion, partnership and intimidation, infuse their training and employment.

Ivory was used to make billiard balls and keys of piano. More than a million elephants have lost their lives so that humankind could play knocking some balls around in a table with holes in the corner.

If you are piqued, pick up the book and say thanks!

PS: 'Seeing the elephant' is also an English idiom.
I maybe unemployed, but I've seen the elephant for sure! :)

Guilt Sprouts

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:51:00 +0000

I made sprouts today. Actually I've been 'making' them for 2 days now. It's a long process - you have to submerge them in water for half a day, then tie them up in a damp cloth and keep then in a closed vessel away from sunlight for around two days.

You do all this to trick them into believing that they are under the soil and that it is safe to grow. And grow they did. I now have a bowl full of crunchy sprouts that I am munching on blissfully.

But then, on second thoughts, I gave them hope of life and all I am giving them finally is a free ride through my alimentary canal. Feel a little bit guilty.

PS: If you want to learn to make sprouts, head over here. One of my time-killers these days.

If only I could turn back time

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:41:00 +0000

We are inside just another office where everyone seems to be busy. And yes, it's recession time.

He (boss): Hey GWBE, are you free for a minute?

She: Sure, I'll be right with you.

He takes her into a cabin where the bigger boss is also seated. Atmosphere is eerie.

She (thinks): Uh, oh!

He (boss' boss): You know how bad things are. Blah blah blah....I haven't even taken a bonus last year...blah blah blah....we have to reduce costs to save the company....blah blah blah.

She (thinks): This is it! The dreaded moment!

He:...blah blah blah...I am so sorry to say that we've decided to make you redundant. blah blah blah

She (thinks): Great, so finally it has happened to me too.

He: Blah blah...so sorry. Please remember that it's not a reflection on your performance. Blah blah blah...feel free to take the day off.

Now if only I could turn back time, things could have been a little different. Let's try it again.

He (boss): Hey GWBE, are your free for a minute?

She: Sorry, am really tied up. Can this wait till next week?

He: What are you busy with? I know that you are on bench, come on, get in this meeting room!

She: So sorry, send me a meeting request!

He: Wha!!!

So in short, I am unemployed right now and am exploring various ways of keeping myself interested in life in general. On the bright side, I am getting to read all the books that were gathering dust in my living room, and my partner gets better food on the table at the end of the day and also, a small business idea is being nurtured and it's slowly taking shape day by day. And oh yeah, I am sending out the CVs and watching movies too.

Off topic: The Great Sperm Race - watched this programme on TV yesterday night and it was fun. Any kind of science programme would get me interested, but this had a twist as well. The video was trying to mimic the journey of a sperm in real life and compare it to what could the equivalent challenge for humans. Watch it if it sounds interesting and consider yourself heartless if you are not rooting for the sperm by the end of the programme.

Tag: QnA

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Another tag. This bas been WIP for sometime now and here's the finished product. If you are busy, you wouldn't miss much if you just skip the tag and go straight to the off topic link at the bottom.

Tag instructions:
Use only one word to answer!

1. Where is your cell phone?
Which?

I have 3 cellphones! One personal, a Blackberry from work, and another that came bundled with the broadband. Add to it another two mobiles that belong to my partner and music players and camera, my living room is usually cluttered with chargers and handsfree sets. If only there was a standardised format for all the chargers and stuff life would be so much easier! I blame all the clutter in my home on the telecoms who just can't work together on this! Boo to them!

2. Your significant other?
Precious

3. Your hair?
Has a mind of it's own.

OK I am breaking the rule here. There's no way I can answer a question on hair in just one word!

4. Your mother?
Far away and in her own world.

5. Your father?
Simple and full of love.

6. Your favorite thing?
Time

7. Your dream last night?
Mom

8. Your favorite drink?
Fresh Lime Soda with salt

9. Your dream/goal?
Getting paid to do something I'd pay to do.

10. What room you are in?
Living

11. Your hobby?
Discovering new ways to entertain myself.

12. Your fear?
Losing people I love

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
A place I can call home

14. Where were you last night?
Bed, where else?

15. Muffins?
A moment on the lips, forever on the hips :(
I am not in eating terms with them anymore. Though I don't think they really care.

16. Wish list item?
A flat tummy

17. Where you grew up?
Brilliant Kerala

18. Last thing you did?
Kiss

19. What are you wearing?
An old IIMK tshirt. Some shirts just grow up on you and get more comfy the more you wear them. I have tshirts that are 15 years old (yeah, they still fit!), and are still are my fav to sleep in. Go figure that out!

20. Your TV?
Can-do-without!

21. Your pets?
None except Sheru, who's more like a family member. Sheru's an orange puppy with dreamy eyes and has been with me ever since I bought him 5 years ago. He's a stuffed dog btw. I am terrified of the real ones. And I get the feeling that they know it too.

22. Friends?
Can't have enough.

23. Your life?
Peace at last.

24. Your mood?
Relaxed and curious

25. Missing some one?
No

26. Car?
Costly convenience

27. Something you’re not wearing?
Lipstick

28. Favorite store?
Charity bookshops

29. Your summer?
Bicycle time!

30. Your favorite color?
Blue and Green. It's a tie!

31. When is the last time you laughed?
A minute back. F.R.I.E.N.D.S, of course!

32. Last time you cried?
While watching a movie. Gran Torino.

33. Three people who email me?
Why 3? There are so many!

34. Three of my favorite foods?
Hot and crispy dosa, Anything with spinach in it, Sweet potato in any form

35. Three places I would rather be right now?
In my kitchen making another yummy dosa for myself, on a hammock in Lakshadweep, a warm swimming pool

Now for the handing over part. I tag SM, Cherubic and Juneflower. Come on girls, do it for me :)

Off topic:
Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley
It's a different take on Ramayana, utterly charming and entertaining to the last minute. You'll need around an hour to watch this animation. Don't miss it - it's just what you need to beat the Monday blues!

Two more movies!

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Vicky Christina Barcelona
A tale of love and sex and a lot of crazy - it might even look like a freak show to some. But it makes you understand how life is for people unlike us and why they sometimes do the crazy things they do. The movie's characters fall into different categories, each strong-willed and well fleshed out - some love the excitement of the unknown and are the ALWAYS-YES-group, the others are the arty ones who nobody really understands or cares about except for their art that people pretend to understand but they dont, and of-course some are the doubting Mary's who are too scared to get out of their comfort zone and prefer to keep to the dull but well-travelled roads and lastly - some repent their decisions and try to live their desires by meddling in others' lives. Sounds complicated - it's not! It's just a little crazy.

In a nutshell, no one is happy in the movie and almost everyone sleeps with everyone else - and the behaviour is kind of glorified as well. Life's short, isn't it - that's how it's justified.

"I love him. But I am not in love with him."
Translates to "I somehow want to get rid of him but I also want to come out of the mess as the saint".
Sometimes a perfectly happy life you had a moment before is shattered to pieces when you get a new frame of reference - sometimes it's a new shiny car or sometimes it's the person you want to marry. When it's the latter, it's time you really had a good look at the way you think. Cause something is not right!

Look out for the character played by Penelope Cruz. The movie takes a dramatic turn the moment she appears on the screen. And she has portrayed so well that little bit of contempt Europeans always seem to have for Americans.

Barcelona looks so charming in the movie. Perfect setting for a tale of love, crazy or not!

But one thing I fail to understand is why would some parents bring a 3-year-old to watch such a movie. You think he/she's too young to understand the hanky-panky? Well, that's when sometimes **** happens!

Billu Barber
Another remake from Priyadarshan - thank God it's not another Akshay Kumar starrer. This one seems to have pushed all the right buttons for me, because, for once I liked the remake a tad more than the original mallu movie. Of course the credit of the story goes to the one and only Sreenivasan!

The story is focused on a chance meeting of two long lost friends. One, a struggling barber and the other, the equivalent of the mighty Khan. I think the movie had more impact in Hindi as a Bollywood star such as SRK leads such a glamorous life and is world famous compared to his counterpart - Mammooty, in the original movie, who leads a pretty normal life in spite of being a big star. The gap between the common man and a movie star is so much more in Bollywood compared to Mollywood. And that's exactly what the movie is based on!

The village the movie is shot in - Pollachi in TN - comes alive in the big screen. Am glad it was shot amidst all the greenery and misty mountains though the vilage is depicted to be in UP - this is so much more pleasing to the eye for sure!

Lost in movies

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:49:00 +0000

Alright. So I am back.

That's not really true as I have been here all along, but was on a forced no-internet mode. More on that and what I've been upto in the next post.

Lately, I've been watching a whole lot of movies within a day or two of their release here. A movie-crazy husband, a multiplex within 2-minute walk from my new place, self inflicted unemployment, a not-so-expensive unlimited movies deal with the promise of a quick 2 hour release from the woes of recession - aren't they enough reasons to go watch a movie? Well, they were for me.

So here's a list of all movies I've seen within the last two months or so and my take on them.

How to lose friends and alienate people
The movie belongs to the genre 'if you saw the trailer, you've seen it all'. The rest of the movie is pure yawn inducing material.

Burn after reading
Not for everyone. But a must watch if you are looking for different and interesting movies. I personally liked the way the storyline was developed. The strong line of actors help too.

Taken
Fast paced and a hard-core action movie. A gripping drama about kidnapping. Has my vote as it kept me awake even though I braved a 11PM show.

Eagle eye
Avoidable. Blinding lights throughout the movie put me off. If you like car chases, you might want to watch it, but I am sure you would have seen better even in cartoons.

Aegan (Tamil)
Starring self-proclaimed 'Ultimate superstar' Ajith. The movie is a Tamil spoof of Main Hoon Na and does a terrible job of it. As for the actor Ajith, the only things that stood out were his beer belly and the dark bags under his eyes (which could he why the producer might have insisted that he wear dark glasses throughtout the movie.)

Housebunny
An honest mistake. We were stuck in a mall and had a 2 hour slot that suddenly opened up on our day. So what could be better than watching a movie? Looking back, they were the two hours of my life wasted watching a 'pink' movie. If you love pink and if you adore barbie girl, you might like it. For the rest, reading the terms and conditions on your credit card might prove better use of your time.

Ghost town
If you are a follower of the sitcom 'Office', you might like this movie as it stars the same actor. Otherwise it is a so-so movie. Something to fill an afternoon with just before you fall into that refreshing nap. The movie's about a boring guy and the sudden changes to his life when he finds out that he can see and communicate with dead people. I found this movie a little dragging and with no suspense. It's a very predictable storyline and by the end of the show, I just wanted to get home and nap!

Golmaal returns (Hindi)
Bakwaas. Bheja fry. Kareena's character is so irritating. So was the guy trying to act as a deaf and dumb guy. I had a headache at the end of it.

Quantum of Solace
Was this really a Bond movie? Cause this one seemed to be an imposter. No jazzy gadgets, no style - it was just another average action flick for me. My cine-erudite hubby reasoned that it's the story of the Bond starting out as a trainee in his career and hasn't quite yet acquired the flare and the chutzpah that we have come to expect in 007. Whatever the reason, I got bored watching the movie.

The Warlords (chinese)
It's a story of three blood brothers and their struggle in the midst of war and political upheaval. It's a very gory movie. War in your eyes, but not just another war movie. Very gripping and a must watch.

Easy Virtue
The story is all about the comic situations that arise when you put a typical Brit family and a footloose American together. A fun movie to watch and forget.

Before the rains
Yet another movie that tells the story of an unusual love story set during British Raj. The plus points of this movie are Rahul Bose, Nandita Das and Santosh Sivan's magic! Storyline is quite predictable and ends abruptly. Watch it for the actors if not for the movie. I watched it because it had a Santosh Sivan tag to it. Every frame in the movie is impressive - Kerala captured at her best.

Positive (Malayalam)
Story of four friends who dream big. You have the usual elements of love, comedy, let's-form-a-band, drugs etc that you would expect in a youth movie. Though there no big stars in this one, it's worth a watch.

Vaarunam Aayiram (Tamil)
Clearly this movie is a tribute to the father figure. The story spans two generations and is very endearing. Surya does a brilliant job and superbly portrays the character from the age of 15-30ish and the hero's father from the age of 20-65ish. Great movie, good musical score, a little bit of comedy and drama - in fact a good package. I watched it twice - easily my favourite movie of 2008.

Dostana (Hindi)
Bollywood comes out of the closet? Wish it was done in a better way. I am sure the gays would have felt the same too - realism takes to the backburner in a Bolloywood entertainer. Worth a watch just to see what the hell the hype is all about.

Max Payne
Apparently it is based on a hugely popular video game character. It's a thriller movie with lots of violence and not-so-great acting. It's about a revenge cop......wait a minute! That's all I remember about the movie. Don't think I had a great opinion about it after I watched it, so big deal.

Yuvvraj (Hindi)
I warmed the cineworld seat briefly for 30 minutes - 15 minutes of which were ads. The movie was so bad, I was ashamed to be caught coming out of the hall. Everything sucks in this movie - storyline (if any), acting, dialogue and even the music by A R Rahman isn't that great.

The day the earth stood still
Another alien vs humans movie. I think I fell asleep halfway through. Not recommended.

Rab ne bana di jodi (Hindi)
The tagline 'There is an extraordinary love story in every ordinary Jodi' is well deserved by this movie. A simple and predictable story executed very well. Music helps too. Gets a thumps up from me. The decision of the protagonaist to remain simple rather than try to change himself to make himself more lovable was a good message. Something people often ignore when in love, but repent later.

The wrestler
The movie is a drama about a professional wrestler who is well past his prime coming to terms with his life. When health takes a hit, things that were forgotten come to the front row and emotions take a front seat. Liked the movie for the insights it gives us commoners into a specialist profession like wrestling. Apparently the backstage scenes were all real scenes captured after real matches.

Chandi chowk to China (Hindi)
Total bakwaas. Not my kind of movie. We left the cinema in 20 minutes.

Ghajini (Hindi)
A distorted version of Memento and a frame to frame copy of Ghajini (Tamil). If you haven't watched the movie in Tamil, you might like this one. Else, the Surya starrer in Tamil wins hands down - try to watch one with subtitles. I could be biased too as I would prefer a Surya movie to an Aamir movie anyday!

Slumdog millionaire
A behind the scenes story of KBC. An unexpected turn of events brilliantly depicted. But somehow the English dialogues spoiled the fun for me. Renewed the love-hate relationship I have with Mumbai while watching this movie. Definitely worth the money and the time spent.

Madagascar 2 - Escape to Africa
An impressive sequel. It's as funny as it gets! Planning to watch this once again.

Seven pounds
A different kind of Will Smith movie. The movie builds up very slowly and after sometime you realise that the main theme in this movie is death. It's depressing and uplifiting at the same time. I got a little bored midway though.

Frost/nixon
A movie in between a documentary and a drama. It managed to keep me interesed through-out, but if you've already seen the related videos on youtube you might be left wondering 'So what's the big deal' in the end. This movie also brings to light the hard research that goes behind a programme you watch on TV.

Valkyrie
I watched this Tom Cruise starrer around the same time I was following the 'Remembering Anne Frank' series in BBC. The plot of the movie is based on one of the numerous assassination attempts made at Hitler. The play of emotions and the scare of death are shown very well and you just can't escape that sinking feeling in the bottom of the stomach when you realise that something has gone terriby gone and there's no escape. A movie that makes you feel sorry for those who had Hitler written in their destiny. But it also brings to attention that our woes like the recession and the like pales in comparison.

Luck by chance (Hindi)
Another movie showcasing the behind scenes drama of Bollywood. Performances are brilliant - Farhan, Konkona, Juhi Chawla and Rishi Kapoor. Some of the dark secrets of the industry are brought out through humorous incidents that run along the main story where a lot of wannabes try desperately to get into the movies - by hook or crook!

The curious case of Bejamin button
Story line is simple - a person born looking old and grows backward throughout his life. It's a 3 hour movie that shows this extraordinary man's journey through life - his moments of lonliness and happiness, the love he finds and the love he has to let go and the way he finds peace with his existence. The movie looks fabulous - but you feel a little silly watching the movie. So what is it - sci fi? Or maybe you are watching somebody's dream.

He's just not that into you
A movie made for gals who find it hard to understand when a guy says NO. The movie blames it on the way we are brought up - always trying to see the postive and to hide the uglies under the blanket. The only reason for me to go see the movie was Jennifer Aniston who entertains me most evenings even now through FRIENDS. So this was my way of saying thank you :)
It's an average movie and a good timepass. Guys might find it boring though.

Revolutionary road
Definitely not a commercial movie. This much hyped about movie starring Leonardo and Kate Winslet is as different as it could be from Titanic. It brings out the touchy subject of 'what you really want to do in life' and how most of us are scared to walk down that road less travelled and to what extent some people may go to get a little closer to what they want. It's not a movie you can enjoy, but is definitely worth a watch if you like attention to detail and movies that go delve into the subject. And yeah, great acting too!

Bolt - 3D
After 'My dear Kuttichathan' seen around 20 years ago, this would be the only other 3D movie I've had the chance to watch. The 3D effects are amazing and it shouldn't be long before all cinema and TV are shown in 3D. This animated movie is a tale of a dog trying to get back to it's beloved owner. The interesting bit is that the dog thinks very highly of itself - a superdog, whereas it's just another ordinary mutt. A fun movie but feels a little too long.

Phew! Lost track of time. Am almost late for the next movie!

Dishwasher

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:14:00 +0000

She, washing up in the kitchen : "Grrr...that does it. I want a dishwasher. Recession or not!"

He, watching TV: "We don't need a dishwasher honey, you've got me."

She: "I want one that wouldn't watch TV all day. I want one that works."

Let's watch TV

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:04:00 +0000

He with TV remote: Click Click Click Pause Click Click Click Click Click Click Pause Click Click Click

She joins him in the sofa.

He: Click Click Click Pause Click Click Click Pause Click Click Click Click Click Click

She: "Hey can I have the remote please?"

He: "Sure".

She: "Thanks". Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click

He: "Wow, you're really good at it! I love you."

She: :D

Winter's around the corner

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:03:00 +0000

You know winter's around the corner when.....

1. The leaves turn gold, auburn and then copper.

2. Your taste buds long for hot soups every evening.

3. Your knees seem to have their own mind (not applicable to those lucky enough to be on the right side of 25).

4. The weather girl has nothing good to say anymore.

5. You forget to put the milk back in the fridge, but it still stays fresh as ever.

6. You are up. But the sun isn't.

7. Your most favourite item of clothing is a pair of socks and it never comes off you.

8. It takes you all of 5 minutes to layer up before you head outside to throw the garbage and to get the mail.

9. You think the heated underblanket is the greatest invention since sliced wholegrain bread.

10. But you REALLY know winter's here when someone suddenly says....

He: "Hey dear, we never hold hands anymore! Why is that?"

She: "Hmmm that's a nice thought. Let's remedy that right away."

They hold hands and she looks into his eyes expecting to see the warmth of the renewed romance. But instead, she sees something else; something that resembles the look of a sneaky triumph.

She: "OMG, you hands are ice cold. Get 'em off me you **$@$%"

He: "Gotcha! Stole a little bit of heat from you loser!"

That's when you know winter's really here and that you are stuck with it for the next six months.

The side effects of recession

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:08:00 +0000

The 'R' word is out officially. The government has confirmed that 'it seems likely that the British economy is entering a recession'.

People dread the R word mainly because of the way it affects almost all walks of their life - and not in a good day! So if you are an average Joe suddenly finding yourself in the R whirlpool, these might sound too familiar for comfort.

You might lose your job, if you haven't already.

You postpone your annual vacation. You don't want to come back and find the bosses took the liberty to fire you on your first day of the vacation.

You are forced to cut down on your extravagant shopping.

You don't have the luxury of buying 'organic' groceries and veggies anymore as the prices are on a steep northward trip. If you haven't started collecting the coupons, NOW is the right time.

You forget when was the last time you ate out without worrying about the bill that's gonna be presented to you.

Google phone being launched? Well, the gadget junkie in you will have to wait.

Suddenly you are very much interested in thrifty ways of getting things done.

Your Prozac bills suddenly shoot up!

Planning to buy a house? No loan for you mister. Even if you are a 'super safe' customer risk wise! No one's a safe customer in these days!

Already own a house? You might need some extra Saridons to keep the mortgage headache under control.

Where there's a will there's a way. You pull out your children out of the private school. They have your smart genes and will do equally well in public schools.

Car broke down? Good riddance. The bus is more roomy and I get to snooze and read about the 'R' on the Economic Times.

Newspaper? Why buy when I can read it for free online or nick it after the guy in the bus snores once he finishes the puzzles page.

Toilet paper? No way! Water's better.

These are a few of the worries that the uglies - recession and credit crunch brings out in most countries. But in India, there are other consequences too. If you are in the wrong industry during a recession, it might mean that you stay single for a tad longer than you hoped to. For all the romeos who were hoping to get on the big-fat-arranged-wedding bandwagon and a get a good bargain thanks to their cushy job in IT, the table's suddenly turned!

And for those who are engaged, hold on tight to that ring....and the gal!

I loathe meetings

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:08:00 +0000

You just can't escape them in this world whatever profession you are in. It somehow creeps in and seems to gobble up most of your precious time and leaves you deflated and useless at the end of a long one. On my average day at work I spend around 3-4 hours in meetings.

Meetings are alright, really, they are alright if run properly. By properly I mean, people come on time, only required people attend it, there's someone managing it, there's a set agenda and it's followed, and you reach at some logical next steps by the end of it. I can live with all that. But what I simply cannot tolerate is the small talk that precedes these meetings. Especially here in the UK, it's as if the small-talk is a mandatory Step No. 1 in the agenda. You just can't do without it. And it irkes me cause I never seem have much to contribute to it!

It is a Monday afternoon. I have scheduled a meeting with three other colleagues to discuss some issues. Two of them arrive five minutes early and we all proceed to wait for the third person. And it starts.....

Colleague 1: Nice day, innit?
Colleague 2: Yeah, sunny and bright. Loved the walk after lunch today.
Me: ( notices the weather for the first time in the day and nods along)
Colleague 1: I hope the weather stays put for the weekend. I have a trek planned with some buddies.
Colleague 2: Oh really? I just got back from a trek in the Alps this weekend with my girlfriend. And I proposed at the peak.
Me: Wow, that would have been something. Congratulations.
Colleague 1: Congrats mate. So when's the big day? I hope it's not next Summer. I'm off to Athens on a 20 day tour.
Colleague 2: I am off to Athens this weekend, I'll let you know how it was.
Colleague 1: Thanks! So Priya what you upto this weekend?
Me: Hmm....er....nothing much. I guess I'll do some washing and general cleaning up and maybe curl around with a book.
Colleague 1: Oh ok. Sounds like fun. Have a good one.
Colleague 2: Yeah, I never get time to do my washing!
Me: (If you stay at home some weekends, you might!)
And so it goes on......

Another day. And it's a Friday! And it's a weekly team meeting. Everyone arrives early for the meeting. But you just can't start talking business. You need some warm-up. And we dive right into it.

Bob : So weekend's here eh? What you upto Rob?
Rob : Well, nothing much. I am taking the kids camping on the shores of river Ness. They want to stay up and watch out for the Lochness monster.
Bob: Oh that's sweet. Do take your barbecue kit with you. Nothing like it. We did that last summer.
Rob: Thanks mate, will do. Do you have anything fun planned this weekend?
Bob: Just going cycling. In Wales. Hoping to conquer around 50 miles of a hilly rugged cycling route there. What about you Susie?
Susie: Oh I am going sailing! I have been taking lessons all year now and I just can't wait to try it on my own.
Rob, Bob: Crikey! That sounds brilliant. Have a good one!
Susie: Priya, what about you?
Me: hmmmm....er.....I am off to the library to get some books. And er.....yeah we are driving down to the beach.
Susie: Sounds good.

After the initial experiences at these warm up sessions, now I have learnt my lessons too. First of all, I am trying to be more active and not be a couch potato over the weekend. A slow but sure start.

And secondly and most importantly, I have learnt to cook up creative things to talk about. That makes it much more easier. When I prepare for the meetings, I spend a couple of minutes deciding what I did fun in the last weekend. Especially if the meetings are on Monday or Friday. So I go skiing some weekends, trekking and scuba-diving the other weekends - all in my mind though! But it makes the meetings much more enjoyable now.

Offtopic: Did you know that you lose 82 hours of your life each year if you live in a busy city? All thanks to the dawdlers! If you find yourself without time to exercise or to sleep, blame the dawdlers!

The 'Love' tag

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:16:00 +0000

Damn! Another tag. If there's anything I hate - it's doing a tag post. It feels so much like work :(

But this one I couldn't refuse. So here goes.

The rules for the tag are:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you what would your reaction be?

He is dead meat. He will surely not get away with it easy.

But since there’s a reason why I am with the guy in the first place, I’d probably give him a chance to explain things and I’d genuinely try to put things back in place. But I’ll try the forgive-and-live-with-it therapy only once. The next time he cheats on GWBE or inclines to, I’ll first spend all the cash in his bank account on a luxury cruise trip around the world for myself and some friends to get him out of my system and yeah, I’ll give the lawyer a ring to get him off my life pronto.

2. If you have a dream come true, what would it be?

Author a book, get it published and voila! It's a bestseller!

Well, is that one dream or three? :P

3. If you could, whose butt would you like to kick?

All people who have lied to me to get what they want. Some have come clean but some still don’t know that I know that they lied to me. It’s the second category I’d really like to cream.

Also, all the HRs who have blamed the bell curve for my lousy end-of-year raise while they suddenly seem to be able to afford a vacation in Australia and a new luxury car.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

I’d invest all of it in risk free low yield bonds and live off the interest! :)

That’s what the Capricon in me would want me to do!

But I guess I’d really start a publishing company and publish my books and my friends’ books! :)

10mn to support education and basic necessities for needy kids in India.

A million dollars to everyone in the first few pages of my good books.

Recruit a fund manager to manage whatever’s left!

A post-nuptial agreement to take care of scenario 1 :)

Write a will. Over here I’ll take care to mention each and everyone in my good books. Including the post man in Trichur who’s about to retire.

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?

I did. Worked for me.

But nope, not again. I’m set for life.

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?

Loving someone and getting it back from the same person.

After a point, it strains when it’s just one way. And it holds true for all flavours of love – among couples, mother and child, siblings, friends – it’s best when it’s reciprocated.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?

Duh! If he isn’t smart enough to realise my love and ‘asks for time’ to decide, I’ll show him the door! If you’re not on the same page in the beginning, you may never be!

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?

Won’t happen with me because I don’t ‘secretly’ like anyone. If I like someone, I ensure that they and everyone around me know about it!

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?

Free and compulsory education for all. That should take care of everything else.

10. Do you lie?

I try not to. Exceptions are when the truth might hurt someone. And yeah, I lie to myself everyday that the weighing machine is broken.

11. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Right here where I am. A little fatter, a little wiser, a little humbler, in a bigger house with a vegetable garden where I grow my favourite veggies and fruits, probably given up corporate life and doing something more satisfying that gives me more time to fill out tags like this. :)

12. What’s your fear?

That there’s Alzheimer’s in my future. Whenever I forget a commonly used word or forget a name, I relive that fear.

I also fear that I’ll die from a snake bite in my vegetable garden. :(

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

She’s different from everyone else I know! She’s one of a kind. She’s a little weird in a curious way and I’ll never be able to predict her actions. :)

And I think there’s a totally different person buried deep inside the exterior she’s been showing to everyone in this world.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?

Married and poor. I am confident I can make the guy work enough to get us rich in a couple of years. Till then there’s the credit card and the lottery tickets! :)

15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?

If I ever did, I guess I’d pick the one that gets along with my friends and family better.

16. Would you give all in a relationship?

Of course! If you don’t, you haven’t bought it, you’re still ‘trying it out’. I believe relationships are like finite state machines – you’re either in it 100% or you are not. There’s no in between state.

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?

I’d forgive. But I’d never forget. Until I get Alzheimer’s that is.

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?

Relationship! I hate coming back to an empty house. I hate cooking for myself. I hate waking up alone. I love sharing the uglies and the lovelies that life brings with it. I’d explode if I don’t!

19. Your all time favourite song. Only ONE. And why?

Unarumee Gaanam- Moonampakkam

It’s a song from a simple yet powerfully emotional movie in Malayalam. Every time I hear/see this song I well up – it reminds me of the carefree childhood days and all the people who’d loved me unconditionally. Realisation that slowly but surely, these people will be taken away from you looms large. Memories can be cruel, can’t they?

20. I TAG these 6 people because…

Ajith, cause he’s having a great time at K, which I miss!

Virdi, cause I am sure he’ll be in a great mood for some days now and I hope that enthu will rub off in the tag!

Meghna, cause I think maybe she needs some food for thought to revive her blog.

Nikhil, cause I know he's busy and that he's gonna say 'Damn! One more!'

Abhi. Tit for tat! But hey, your tag’s next! Coming up soon!

Vids cause I’d like to hear her side of the story!

Real thing?

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:07:00 +0000

I've been dreaming a lot lately. Actually, I've been dreaming every moment I am asleep. It's such a strange feeling when the dream feels so real when you are in it.

In my dreams usually I get up to a beautiful sunrise, get dressed and go to work, bitch about the commute with my colleagues, get bored at work, flirt with the guy in the cafe, miss my husband, get back home, cook, eat, read blogs, watch a movie and go to sleep! It's like living your life all over again - one when you are awake and another one when you are asleep.

How do we know for sure which is the 'real' real life? I am not so sure anymore.

At least, I don't have any bills to pay in my dream life. As of now, everything seems to be free! My fridge is always well stocked. And I seem to be in great shape too. No worries in life B. So far so good.

Back again.

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:25:00 +0000

If you were wondering where I was for the last two months and were concerned about me, well, you should have done something about it other than just leave comments! FYI I was holed up in this tiny apartment held hostage by my evil landlord for the last two months. My husband weighed his options for a long time and in the end decided that he would rather not pay the ransom! And I thought at least my faithful blog readers would come to my rescue! I waited for 60 days and the end of it I was let go on the only condition that I would cook Indian curry for my landlord every single day! That’s how much the British love the curry!

Ah well, who am I kidding! I’ve had the sinfully lazy vacation in the last two months. Anything that required me to lift my tiny little finger was put on hold. Sometimes life screams at you so much that you just have to put a stop to everything else, sit down and listen to it.

So that’s what I’ve been doing. Absolutely nothing. Oh that isn’t entirely true as I did travel around a bit and managed to take some snaps.

Scotland
Third visit in the last 12 months!

A street performer in Royal Mile Edinburgh.

Up above my head somewhere in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Botanical gardens

I wish I could make myself tiny enough to crawl into this flower and sleep tight in there.

Spring time!

Banana flower?

You cheer me up anyday!

Sparrow inside the glass house. Easy access to a warm nest.

Designs of nature

Glasgow Science centre

Once a geek, always a geek. How can one be in Glasgow and give this a miss?

My hot hubby!

What? You don’t see the penguins? They are everywhere! For once, stop looking at the big picture :)

London Zoo

The lovely Okapis. Half horse, half zebra.

Golden headed lion tamarin who decided to tour the zoo himself.

Blackfooted African Penguins sharing a kiss. Or maybe a worm.

Kensington Palace

A pissed off duck at Kensington Palace grounds.

Kids in action!

Notting Hill Carnival

I dreamed in a thousand colours that night.

London Soho

A plugged-in building

Bath

Roman Bath

Romans watching over those who came to have a bath.

Royal Crescent

Roman architecture on the wall at the marketplace.

Wise and majestic

Crystal web

I-am-different flower.

Kerala, God’s own country

Vallachira temple in Trichur

Eating a cow, week by week

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:51:00 +0000

We Londoners have a strange relationship with meat, consuming it voraciously but preferring to ignore its bloody origins and turn up our noses at the rarer cuts. So, in a unique experiment, Time Out decided to buy a cow, cut it up and eat the lot; look out for our series of recipes and cooking tips

Week one: butchery
Week two: the tongue
Week three: ageing

By the time I read this much, I was grossed out enough to shut the book (Time out London) and feel helpless in this hypocrite world. And no, it wasn't because I am a vegetarian, I tested the article on my meat-eating partner and he was equally, if not more, ewwwwwwwwww.

Double standards at its selfish best when you take a picnic to a farm and play with the pink piglets and then buy beef barbecue kits from the supermarket on your way back home and then cry 'ewwwwwww' when you see an article like this or when you see a 'free range' programme on the TV showing animals being tortured for meat.

The article goes on to say....

You’ll feel a sense of satisfaction in having paid respect to the magnificent animal that provided your dinner. So go on – have (eat) a heart.

So what crossed your mind when you saw the picture and the article?

PS: Surprising that they have decided to leave the cow's brain, eyes etc untouched. The penis wasn't spared though!

TV reaches a new low

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:23:00 +0000

I thought TV shows hit the dumps when they started filming stuff like 'Big Brother'. It then slid down a few notches for me when it actually got popular! Duh!

I would never understand why a regular-joe would pause his life and watch not-good-enough-for-prime-time celebrities holed up in a house. Everytime I get a glimpse of this have-no-value-for-time-then-watch-this programme on TV, I couldn't help but imagine a scientist working in his lab watching mice run around mazes.

Now, I wouldn't mind watching the watch-the-mice-show when I know that at the end of it, the scientist is gonna share with me a little bit of something that will help me understand the miracle that is this world a little better. But why something like Big brother? Beats me.

If you are someone who stays up late watching Big Brother, please solve this mystery for me, and tell me what makes you do that!

It looks like there's more on the way. After Big brother, it's celebrity rehab!

He: "What's that you watching?"

She: "Celebrity rehab."

He: "Hmmm. Now what's that?"

She: "It's about forgotten television stars living in a house and fighting their demons."

He: "Why again are you watching that?"

Voice on TV: "Mooney Wiley just took a leak. Will he wash his hands?! Just out - Michelle C has lice in her you-know-what-that-rhymes-like-nanny! Find out more after this commercial break."

She: "Hear, hear! Can it BE any more worse?"

He: "This is suicide TV! A little bit of me just died."

Next stop. Wales.

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:42:00 +0000

The one thing you wouldn't miss in this country is a castle and an accompanying fort. They are synonymous to the toddy shops in Kerala and the temple gopurams in Tamil Nadu; you just can't ignore them!

And oh, this one is Aberystwyth castle ruins in West Wales. And in the corner of the picture frame is one of my favourite people.

Wales is also known as the 'home of red dragon'. Most of the stories and poetry connected to Wales also allude to a dragon. Apparently, dragons were first sighted in Wales during the Roman time or so the legends say! So no wonder then, this dragon got into the design of this bench in the promenade near the castle.

A sheep that seemed to say "Did you steal my wool?"!

The old and the new. Georgian architecture, an old Volkswagon and a modern sedan all live amicably in Aberaeron.

A sea of caravans. These are make shift apartments available for rent. Nope, there weren't any hippies.

Spotted in a village restaurant. They should put that on condoms and marriage certificates. What good will it do on a doorsill?

Maybe it's a piece of advice the restauranteur wanted to pass on to his customers as a thank you. Very weird. So was the tattoo of a voluptuous naked lady on his arm which he flashed proudly every time he served us.

That's me on a sugar rush.

A view from Portmerion, the Italian village.

Harlech beach. You can see the elements at play. The wind was so strong, we had to walk backwards.

Barmouth rail bridge across Mawddach river estuary. We walked across the bridge by paying a toll. The bridge was built in 1895, and now they are milking the old cow!

Seemed endless, especially with the strong winds that lashed out at us unhindered over the river. The bridge took us to the Mawddach trail in Snowdonia National Park.

................and what we left behind.

Flower after a shower.

Another pretty flower that called out to me.

More pics here.

You lucky thing!

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:14:00 +0000

A school has ordered hundreds of bananas in a bid to improve its pupils' performance in exams.

Mozart is also being played in preparation sessions and lavender-laced tissues are being given to nervous pupils, at Whitecross High School.

The efforts taken to pacify the tensed student and the attention to detail in that quest is laudable - a teacher from the school said on TV that they are distributing the bananas precisely 45 minutes before the exam so that the banana is digested well before the exam and the brain doesn't have to compete for blood supply with the digestive system!

Even after a couple of banana boosters and the lavender sniffs every 15 minutes, if you failed to make the cut, not to worry, you could still get by. Here's how

If students feel that they were disadvantaged in the process because they had a lot of stress in their personal life on the exam day (mother hospitalised, father drinking all night), students would be awarded bonus marks to compensate for their disadvantage.

I know someone who missed out the CAT bus in 2006 in India, all because of a full-bladder-during-the-exam stress.

And if that's not enough, if you are lucky, you could 'win' a fortune as well.

Schoolchildren given the wrong GCSE and A-level grades could collectively be awarded millions of pounds in compensation under a government proposal, an exam board has said.

Calicut University in India would go bankrupt in a jiffy if they were to give out even 100rs per error!

If the average stressed-out kid in India gets to read this, I am sure s/he'll curse his luck and would prester his parents to move to the UK. Well, I would have cried my eye-balls off for these luxuries in my schooling.

Now, isn't that something worth a deep sigh?

Scottish Highlands

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:58:00 +0000

A picture is worth a thousand words and in some cases, even more.

The Silver Sands of Morar

The backdrop at Silver Sands.

The clouds were certainly celebrating something.

Spot the differences!

Home for 3 days. Caravans.
It was such a joy to wake up, look out the window and the mountains greet you.

Green and how!

Lochy river. Ice cold.

Ode to the martyrs.

Celebration of spring.

How can you go to Scotland and not have a picture of the sheep.

More pics here.

Face to face with the enemy

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Every fortnight, I do a two hour cross-London trip to East Ham. Purpose of the trip: procure freshly made dosa batter [maavu]. I don't mind spending two hours closed up in the London tube to enjoy crispy dosas for breakfast (maybe lunch and dinner too!).

Last week, after a tiring day at work (stumbling all day can cause finger cramps!), I decided to set out to East Ham to replenish my dwindling dosa batter supplies. I was lost in thought (as usual) and lost my way as well. I decided to trust my instinct and ask the decent looking twenty-something Indian-looking guy on the road for directions.

Me: Hi there, I seem to be lost. I am looking for Chennai Dosa. Do you know where it is?

One of the highlights of the trip is to treat myself to an Onion Oothappam at Chennai Dosa (a popular south-Indian eatery) before I proceed to buy the dosa batter.

He: Sure. You are walking in the wrong direction. I am going that way, so if you would walk with me, I can get you to Chennai Dosa.
Me: Thanks a lot.

We walk in silence.

He: Why do so many people like Chennai Dosa so much? I have been there couple of times and to be honest, I didn't like that place. Don't you get tired of dosas?

Apparently he didn't know that he was talking to the I-would-do-anything-for-dosa gal. I decided to be polite rather than try to defend dosas and all its goodness.

Me: Aw that's sad. If you don't like dosas, they do have a lot of other stuff too. Try their biriyani or their paratta.
He: [smiles].

Silence.

He: So you're not from East Ham, considering that you got lost trying to find Chennai Dosa?
Me: Oh no, I live on the other side of London, just here to pick some groceries I don't get near my place.

Notice that I didn't mention that I was there with the sole purpose of getting the dosa batter. No use mentioning it to a dosa-hater.

He: Oh, that's quite a journey. Food lover, eh?
Me: Yeah, sort of. [Sheepish grin that I get to use a lot these days]

Silence.

After two minutes I decide that it's my turn to break the silence next.

Me: So where are you from?
He: [Smiles.] What do you think?

He had the typical north Indian look. So I decided to venture a safe guess.

Me: Delhi?
He: No!
Me: Punjab
He: No!
Me: Kashmir?
He: No, but close. [Smiles]

Silence.

Me: I give up. I am from Kerala. Where are you from?
He: I am from Pakistan.

P-A-K-I-S-T-A-N! P-A-K-I-S-T-A-N!

Oh my God did he say P-A-K-I-S-T-A-N?!

I was so taken aback that I stopped walking for a second. It was the first time I was face to face to with someone from Pakistan and to my mind, apparently, Pakistan was a code-word for 'danger'.

The first thought that flashed in my mind was: "Enemy alert. Get away from him ASAP!"

I am sure he caught a glimpse of the fear, anger and hatred in my eyes. He looked away and smiled.

He: I have a lot of friends here from Kerala.
Me: I see.
He: Oh here we are.

We were in front of Chennai Dosa.

He: Let me take your leave lady. Enjoy your dosa. [smiles]
Me: [Sheepishly sorry grin]

As I snacked on the crunchy onion rava dosa that day, for the first time, my mind was far away from dosas. I felt guilty and ashamed that the word 'Pakistan' had evoked such visibly strong reactions in me.

Every Indian would identify with this when I say that, from the time I was born, everything I had heard of Pakistan had a negative connotation to it. Partition, a million innocent people losing their lives just so that Muslims can have their own country, Terrorism, Line of Control, Quarrels on Kashmir, Indo-Pak wars, Cricket feuds, Bombings.....it goes on and on. My mind has been slowly conditioned to associate '

Pakistan

' with 'all that is bad' and anyone from Pakistan, without any doubt, was my enemy. We get slow doses of this hatred injected into our mind daily through newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, movies, songs, email-forwards and even cartoons and jokes.

I felt ashamed that these feelings were so deep-routed in me. Weren't there innocent people living in Pakistan as well? In between all the negative thoughts, we fail to remember these human beings who get branded as 'Bad' or 'Terrorists' or 'Enemy' just because he/she is from Pakistan. Will we ever be able to think of Pakistanis as our friends, considering that we have been slowly brain-washed to think otherwise?

I had a lot of questions in my mind when I watched the movie Earth by Deepa Mehta, where best friends kill each other in the name of religion and lust. I doubted whether religion was a strong enough drug to kill one's best-friends. After the way I found myself reacting at the mere presence of a Pakistani, I have no more doubts. And it's scary.

Woman to woman

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:38:00 +0000

She 1: "Hello, nice to meet you. Good to have a face to go with the name! I've heard so much about you from Ms. A."

She 2: "Yeah me too. You are nothing like I imagined you'd be like. You are so much younger. Where do you live? I live in Barbican."

She 1: "Lovely area. I live near the Wembley stadium."

She 2: "Great."

Awkward silence.

She 2: "What say we cut off the small talk and get to really knowing each other. Woman to woman?"

She 1: "I am in."

Awkward silence.

She 2: "Legs shaved?"

She 1: "Yesterday!"

She 2: "It's on my list for today."

She 1: "OK. You on the pill?"

She 2: "Yeah. I am worried it's causing me some smelly flatulence."

She 1: "Oh my. I put on 2 kilos on the hips. No problems other than that."

She 2: "Lucky you."

She 1: "Yup! You might want to try green tea for the flatulence."

She 2: "Thank you dear. I feel like I've known you for years!"

She 1: "Me too."

And thus starts another great friendship known only to womankind.

What's life without some addictions....

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:38:00 +0000

Hereby I confess some of my recent addictions in my day to day life. They have started to play a big influence in my life especially when it comes to matters like 'how much time I get to sleep' and 'You want dinner, dear? Oh yeah, it’s only fruit and water in the dinner menu today'.

1. Brain Game in Facebook

It's currently one of the top 10 games in Facebook. It can be an ego basher or an ego-boaster depending on the type of person you are. I started playing this game a week back and haven’t stopped ever since. I stand #3 in terms of brain weight among my friends (I'm gonna beat you soon, AK!) and it looks as if I won't have peace until I get to the #1 slot. Yup, I am the one for whom it's an ego-basher.

I play it early morning even before my dose of coffee. And I would gladly barter 916 gold for good coffee! I’ll let you work that one out.

2. Wii Sports

I believed myself to be a strong protester of video games and looked down upon spending a small fortune on a gaming console. I changed my opinion faster than a politician when we bought Nintendo Wii a couple of months back. Well, marriage is all about sacrifices and permission to welcome a gaming console into our home was the big sacrifice I made to save my marriage.

And now, I am hooked for good. Wii related RSI is not too distant in the future for me. For the uninitiated, Wii games are played not by pushing buttons or twiddling joysticks, but playing by swinging the Wii remote as if it were a tennis racket or a Golf club or a bowling ball u are about to bowl. I already have some symptoms of RSI. My plan is to start training to play with my left hand, so that even if my right hand is down due to RSI injury, I don't have to give up playing Wii.

3. Free Rice game

I discovered this gem while stumbling on an uneventful afternoon at work. I have been strung-out ever since. It gives me two fixes - fix for my better-English fetish and a fix for my desire to go something good. The way it works is simple - you play the word game and every word you get right, someone somewhere will get 20 grains of rice in their lunch through the UN World Food Program.

I usually play enough to win up to 2000 grains every day. That's 100 words - takes around 10 minutes to play 100 words if you have WordWeb (I might be cheating, but it’s for a good cause!) and broadband connection.

When I play this game, I've this image in my mind of a small girl waiting in the middle of a parched field egging me on to play well so that she can have a good meal that day. I call her Mitra. Every single day I miss out playing this game, I feel guilty that Mitra had to go without food because of me.

Try them out and get a little high in life.

Off topic
Ppppst, heard that Britons would rather have healthy bouncy donkeys in their country than help eradicate violence and abuse against women. Who would have thought that one day, donkeys would triumph over mankind! A glimpse into the future - an ant conservatory and a mosquito park that rake in billions of $/£ a year might not be too far away.

Unconditional love....

noreply@blogger.com (Girl With Big Eyes) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:02:00 +0000

....requires some work.

He: "Just checking. How's marriage working for you."

She: "Pretty good. How about you?"

He: "It's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

She: "Obviously. But it requires some work, don't you think?"

He: "What do you mean?"

She: "Why else would I read a book titled 'Love of Fat Men' by Helen Dunmore." :)

He: "You b****!"

She: "Geez relax dude. It's not like I am reading 'Love of obese and ugly men. I wonder whether there's a book on that though. If not, I could pen one." ;)