..

Tadbeer ke dast-e-zareen se taqdeer numaayan hoti hai
Qudrat bhi madad farmaati hai jab koshish-e-insaan hoti hai.

Maybe I should learn something from this :-)

.

Dreams are not meant for me :-(

musings

I think I should warn beforehand that this post is one of those breakfast-lunch-dinner menus type :-D So read it if u like it :-D

Our insti culturals are going on and we had shankar-ehsan-loy show yesterday as a part of this. My friends had come. Since, this was their first time here, they enjoyed the show a lot. But, for me, who has seen such shows so many times, there was no novelty and I got bored. In fact, last year we had a KK show and so most of the songs yesterday were a repeat for me. I know that its the atmosphere that matters but then I failed to gel in yesterday. My usual hangout crowd was missing :-). I enjoyed KK's show ten times better. And I discovered that I have a mortal fear of my feet leaving the ground :-D Thats why I make a terrible dancer :-D In all, I think I enjoyed kite flying more than this :-D, which I did in my last get-together. Maybe because we went to the beach and I love water in all forms. Guess Im a true piscean :-D
Anyways, the weekend is here. Last weekend was very hectic and after some 10 days of gruelling work I cant seem to debug another code now. So, Im just putting my feet up and rejuvenating myself :-D Hope I get back to full form next week. A major confidence booster this week had been my assessment. Mostly, it leaves me with a feeling of being inadequate for what I do. This time I felt like I knew the subject. I am always a bit scared of one of my co-advisor and I used to think that he thinks that Im a dumb girl. But I got to know from my advisor that he thought differently about me and that was such a major confidence booster!! Many more doubts and hesitations in my mind but "its the time to khisko" :-D
So I leave u with wishes for a very happy weekend and a very fruitful week ahead.

Ha ha :-D

Your results:
You are Supergirl

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Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

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He he good to start my day with. I can do with a bit of morale boosting of this kind :-D by the way ppl, panga nahin lene kaa kyaa :-D

Kannathil muthamittal

3 posts in a day! he he but while preparing the figures for the report it gets pretty monotonous and the mind wanders. So I was listening to this title song from Kannathil Muthamittal and I remembered the movie too. Its a very sweet touching movie by Mani Rathnam. By the way Im a big fan of MR. I have absolutely adored all his movies starting from Mauna raagam. Anyways, this movie is about a girl who has been adopted by madhavan and simran when she was a kid. Her natural mother is a LTTE member . When the girl comes to know of this she insists on meeting her natural mother. Both M and S take her to SL and what happens next forms the rest of the story. Simran looked very beautiful in simple saris and salwars. Madhavan was awesome as a father. There's something very attractive about superdads, about the way they are so protective about their kids, especially girls. I hate it when I see moms and dads pampering their boys.. But then if they are dads already, its too late for us isn't it :-D The kid acted so well. I think she got the national award. She really moved one to tears.
Visuals in the movie are stunning. SriLanka is so beautiful. Pure unadulterated green in many pockets. By the way its a good honeymoon destination too :-D Its closer to home and costs less money and time. One of my friend went there and brought such stunning photos back. Imagine waterfalls outside ur window! I wonder why only the heaven-like places in the world are under strife. Take Kashmir, Srilanka, Assam.. All these places are the closest to nature and yet we have bloodshed there.

Main yahaan

I like the song Tu jahaan from salaam namaste a lot. Especially the part sonu sings :-) Whenever I heard that song, I have felt ki kaash......... :-D Similarly in Main Yahaan hun yahaan from veer zaara. There's so much promise and care in those two songs. I wish we get that in our real life too :-) I guess they jus appeal to the almost dying romantic in me :-)

reports :-(

Ask me to write nonsense, I'll write pages and pages but I just hate writing reports where one has to be technically correct and grammatically sound and polished ughhhhhhhhhhhhh Im writing one now. And this is the 3rd draft cos everyday my advisor gets a new idea for a format..I'm so mentally blank now.
And they have fixed this assessment next week when the whole institute will be enjoying culturals and I'll sit and prepare my presentation. Even after this meeting is over, we still will have after effects of the meeting. Ughhhhh there's no life for the likes of us according to the admin ppl. Anyways we will see light sometime soon.

veer tum bade chalo
dheer tum bade chalo
saamne pahaad ho
guide ki dahaad ho

etc etc

too early

I woke up at 5 am today without an alarm :-D Its a once in a lifetime experience for me. And I spotted 3 kingfishers too. But I dont think this will motivate me to wake up everyday at this hr :-D

Creativity!

Check out Sharad Haksar's homepage . Good creativity! More on him on rediff

Coastliners and Taj mahal

Joanne Harris has been my favourite author and I have written reviews of her books in my own inadequate words in my earlier posts. I read another of her book today called Coastliners. This is also a good read. Its about a small island (so small that it doesnt even appear on the map) and its inhabitants who are deep-rooted in superstition and have lost all hope. They believe that only the patron saint of their island can now improve their fortunes and all efforts to do it themselves will be futile. Along comes a girl who had emigrated from the island with her mother when she was a kid. How they manage to change the local attitude and prevent disaster forms the rest of the story. As usual in JH stories, human relations, local community, mystery, intrigue and romance flavour this book. Every person in the community is given a distinct character. Even the villain of the story has a human side to him and u end up sympathising with him.
Some stories have the capability to create an atmosphere around the reader if u know what I mean. When u read the book, u can picturise the island, the people and sometimes its like Alice's trip to wonderland. U forget about the everyday lab trips and think u actually live on the island :-D I get that feeling with a very few books like Lord of the rings, all JH books and few more that i cant recall now.
Ill keep an eye out for her other writings.

A very hilarious movie I saw yesterday was "Tajmahal" the Akbar Khan version :-D It was hilarious in many parts but gross in many too. The brutal scenes could have been avoided. I couldnt recognise Arbaaz Khan in Aurangzeb's role :-D The lead pair were plastic. Zulfi syed was so covered in zulf (hair) that his acting talents got shadowed if they were any. he tried. I'm still fida over him cos he had killer eyes and an awesome height :-D This movie made me want to see Tajmahal, the makbara. I have seen it when I was 9. Hardly capable of appreciating the beauty. I want to see that again.
Another feeling I got from this movie was that if Aurangzeb had not been so rigid in his Islamic beliefs and had not tried to impose it on the local public, India would have been a strong country when the English arrived. I feel a ruler should not impose his thinking on his nation. His strong measures alienated so many princely states. All the good that Mughal rulers had done before him got ruined by his approach. Many people now dont remember the good work done before him and remember only his atrocities. Evryone should be let to practise their own religion. Thats what Islam also says. Being fanatic about it never serves anybody's purpose.

Happy new year :-)

A very happy new year to everyone and may everyone's wishes come true. I have many expectations from this year and I hope I am motivated enough all through the year to fulfil them. I never knew how the last year flew by. Time goes really fast these days and we'll be old before we realise it :-D. Scary rt!!

I guess I hit a blog-block in recent days and that accounts for this big gap. :-) But I have so many thoughts rushing all together in my mind now that I guess I wont be able to put down all of them coherently. Ill give it a try. Hope it doesnt bore anyone but as I put it down in my very 1st post on the blog, this site is for my musings and raving and ranting abt issues, and reading or not reading it is entirely upto the reader's discretion.

Anyways, this new year started with many bad news. First was the attack on IISc. We were shocked at that since it was so close to us, in the sense that I have so many of my friends in that place. And an academic institution was the least likely target according to me. And as I have always said, this kind of terrorism should be condemned by state and religious institutions alike. This is not Islam. This is just misuse of Islam by criminals and murderers for their own material gains. The imams and muftis who have been issueing fatwa left and right on relatively trivial issues should come out and condemn these attacks enmasse. As this is a very serious issue which really affects the whole community. I felt good when my father told me that the imam in his mosque has said time and again in his bayaans that this "jihaad" is not a jihaad and taking lives is not the path to paradise. Such messages should be sent out to people very clearly and what better people than the head muftis who have access to the media. These attacks also succeed in creating mistrusts and bipolarity in the country. By condemning these activities, we can also reaffirm that the 12% doesnt support this.
I didn't like the treatment of this attack by the media too. The terrorists want us to be terrorised. Agreed that everyone is a bit scared now. But then, now no place and no time is safe. Thats their purpose and we all know that clearly. But airing the fears like aaj tak or the other channels did is like serving their purpose. Even if someone is brave, these channels will shake his confidence. Instead of highlighting the "dehshat in cities" in ekta kapoor style why not highlight the inadequacies of the police, bureacrats etc.!! The media is these days only in search of garam news which will increase their TRPs. Responsible journalism is hard to find these days.

The other bad news were the rape cases in Mumbai, Delhi etc. These rapists should be given death punishments. I have stated this opinion many times before in my blog. To hell with the human rights activists who keep mum when there is actually a human rights violation. This must have been a form of new year revelry for them but the girl is mentally scarred for her whole life! I think we are just one step away from being satans these days.

Dumbledore

Amazing the way ppl research the harry potter books!!
Try these:

Dumbledore is not dead

and

Mugglenet

Warrior of the Light

If u like Paulo Coelho's books, you might like reading this too.

Books and papers

I read Pygmalion by GB Shaw a couple of days back. The movie My Fair Lady is an exact adaptation of this book except for the songs. But the songs have only enhanced the movie's charm. As I read the book, I could recall the movie very clearly. GP and AH have enacted their roles perfectly :-). The book in itself is very interesting though I'm a bit hesitant in trying out GB Shaw's other works as I generally stay away from heavy reading. So, I don't know what they are like. Long time back, I had similar plans to try out Don Quixote. I haven't done that yet. The book size scares me. I finished books like LOTR, Gone with the Wind, Far pavilions, etc in a couple of days but those books could hold my attention. But Im afraid to try the serious ones.

Currently, I'm reading Jim Corbett's Jungle Lore. I didn't realise that I had already crossed the 5th chapter. Finally, I had to put down the book as it was pretty late at night and tigers generally play the lead in my nightmares :-D. Jim Corbett has led such an adventurous life ! Our day-to-day life is so dull in comparison :-D.

Kumaun or rather the pahari stories hold some charm. Its an equal delight to read Ruskin Bond. Their love for the mountains shows in their stories.

Why can't the journal papers be this interesting !! :-( I have to go through a couple of them now :-((

114!!!

I again paid a library fine of 114/ :-( Ill never learn. Booohooooooooooooooooo

Lakshya

Saw Lakshya yesterday. A very good movie. Made an impression :-)
Have a nice weekend :-)

My ramblings

A really long time since I blogged and so many events in this period!! So I guess the jumble which I call my thoughts have accumulated and hence m afraid this will be a long post :-D

This month particularly has been a tough one for so many thousands..
Starting with the October 8 earthquake :-(
Even in normal times, its a tough life for people living in such terrains. Its frightening to imagine the hardships they must be facing now. And not to say the villages which have been wiped out without a trace. I wonder if they were on the map even before the earthquake. Tragedies of that scale can't be put in a few bland words so I'll refrain here. Whether those people lived in "the paradise" here or not, I hope they get to live in paradise after this.

Many of my friends had remarked that this time Diwali and Eid will be celebrated almost at the same time and hence there was a joint festive atmosphere everywhere. But then, the inhuman dummies had to interfere and spoil it for everyone. Yes- the Delhi Bomb blasts. I call them dummies cos calling them beasts insults the beasts. They have been brainwashed so thoroughly that taking lives doesn't affect their conscience. And these people talk about Jihad!! The earliest stories in Qur'an condemn such killings. Was it Prophet Adam's son who killed his brother and was condemned forever? How can they even celebrate their festival after making it a black day for so many hundreds! I have heard so many conjectures about these bomb blasts from people. One, after their force being weakened by the earthquake, the militants wanted to make their presence known. Two, this was such an effective way to bring about a communal divide and thankfully it didn't succeed like the Godhra set-up. Three, this is a good way of bringing about a breach in the apparently improving Indo-Pak relations. Four, this was in protest to the Red Fort sentence. I think if these people are captured, they deserve worser punishments than death. Well, hundreds of brains and hundreds of conjectures.
I think the Imams who were very active few days back issuing fatwas on Imrana and Sania's skirts should come out in huge numbers and issue fatwas on such criminals who spoil the name of Islam for their mercenary aims.
Personally, I have spent a part of my childhood in Delhi and I have fond memories of shopping in Sarojini Nagar and Chandni Chowk (well not-so-fond-memories in CC cos of the sleazy men who seem to exist everywhere). I love that city and I was shocked to see that being targeted.

Then we had floods in Chennai!! Thats a news cos it hardly ever rains here and it truly poured when it rained here. yeah I wasn't caught in it but I was surprised to see the pictures in the newspapers. One could hardly believe it. As is usual, only the poor bear the brunt of nature's furies :-(

Then the train accident in AP! Each story these days on the newschannels has been a bad news.

There has been a debate going on down south here about what should be the decorum followed by the youth these days and such hilarious arguments have been put forth! A "lady" mind u a "lady" says that girls should pin up the duppattas in the right places cos indecent clothes make even the decent men think indecently :-)) What about the hundreds like us who wear the most modest clothes and still get teased in the buses!! Putting forth such ridiculous arguments only gives them license to do what they want. Im sure they will tease a girl even if she is covered from head to toe in purdah. I think such morals should be taught to them right when they are in their cradles. And these ladies play a vital role there. Like my friend says, what makes the men think that they have the freedom to expose their hairy legs in bermudas but can't stand the same in girls :-D

Anyways sleepless me rambling on endlessly. Will stop here. Belated Happy Diwali, Eid mubarak and Have a nice weekend :-)

Garfield

Garfield has such strong fundaes on food and sleeping that Im planning to learn something from him :-D check this out .
There was once a comics strip where G says " you don't take naps. the naps take you" so true!! :-D Thats a cat with an attitude!

I completed 1 year of blogging this September. Why do I blog ? - for the same reason people write diaries. But why do people write diaries? Its just a catalogue of thoughts, impressions, etc etc.. Lets see how long I continue blogging. :-)

Iran, the mess and the good old days

I was disappointed by India's decision to vote against Iran. I used to say that Im pretty anti-US and won't ever live there. I used to be proud that India was not a puppet to US and was quite independent. But if India actually starts following their diktats, where does one run to now! I hope India rectifies this blunder. I dont even see the need to collaborate on the civil nuclear energy front. I thought we were quite self-reliant in that sector !
badde log baddi baddi baatein.. apne palle nahin padhti ye sab :-(
Whats unbelievable is that nations still haven't learnt any lessons from the Iraq fiasco ! Maybe every nation is busy safeguarding their own interests. But come on! what can a country which can't cope with a natural disaster in its own homeland do to others. Oh maybe it will use its WMD on the "errants"!!

All said and done I hope we get back to the NAM policies of which we were an integral part. Infact even as a kid, I was proud of India being a part of NAM.

Very hungry now. Hope there is something good in the mess. Rather than the food in our "Mega Mess", what sucks more is the attitude of the servers. They seem to think we peck on food which can get very irritating when we return back after a day of hard work. So every mealtime, we have to ask for more. Reminds me of Oliver Twist asking for more. One would think they were giving us food in charity. He he that place is unexpectedly turning out to be a good training ground for us to fight for our "rights". Whats pathetic is that its supposed to be the last place for such a thing to happen.

I suddenly recalled the old classic song "ye zindagi usi ki hai" from the vintage movie "Anarkali". Was listening to that now. Beena Roy was oh-so-gorgeous and I actually don't remember the male actor in the movie. Was it Pradeep Kumar? He he my grandpa looked like PK in his younger days :-D These were the movies which we lapped up so eagerly in our childhood days. I don't recall my childhood days much, for which my friends usually make fun of me :-D. But I do remember these movies, and the days I spent in my hometown in those days very clearly. I think I was more self-centered even as a child, in the sense that I had my own private world and was always busy in that :-) So I dont recall anything that happened to others :-D After all, we pisceans are famous for being dreamy :-D

Movies and themes

I saw Salaam Namaste a couple of days back. A friend said its not my type of movie and that set me thinking whether we should really look for ideologies or themes in movies.
According to me SN was a very confused kind of movie. It was a fun movie in the beginning but very loud in the 2nd half and reminded me of Chalte Chalte (watching it was a painful experience) . Lousy ending too. What did they want to show? 1st half says live-in's can be a paradise. True. We can chuck the guy whenever we wish unlike marriage where one has to suffer with the wrong person for the whole life for the same reason that live-ins are taboo here - divorce is as much frowned upon in the conservative societies as live-ins. 2nd half of the movie says "but marriage is the best bet".
Kuch kuch hota hai says love grows out of friendship. Dil to pagal hai says friendship need not mean love. Paheli was a big-time googlee. I'm still confused about what it wanted to show.
I think the best option is not to search for morals in the movie. Its just a story which is supposed to keep you entertained for 3 hours.
The situations shown in the movies are/need not be a part of every person's life. Everyone lives a different life and there can be as many circumstances as there are people. So, I feel society should also let the person live as they wish. True that we get only one life to live and we live that life according to how society wants us to live like. But then whats the whole point of this cycle of birth, survival and death? If drifting is what we are supposed to do, then why create this cycle at all. Surely, there must have been some greater purpose behind all this!
I also saw Madagascar last night. ( Last few days, watching movies has been the only productive thing I have been doing :-D ) The movie was hilarious and I want to watch it again. This was screened in the hostel under the open sky and was a late night affair. Looking forward to many more such get-togethers. :-)