Slumdog Millionaire - after watching

I saw Slumdog Millionaire yday at Gurgaon.

After all the hype, the newspaper articles, the blogs --- what did I think of it?

It is good. Really good.

First and foremost, for those who've read the book (like myself) - it is a deviation from the book. However, I would like to add that all the twists and turns in the plot actually help make it better for portrayal on the big screen. Else it would just not work. The book has its own charm - but Slumdog Millionaire manages to make it more masala type - just like a typical Bollywood film.

Secondly, and I'm quoting my sister on this: the kids acting is phenomenal. They are so cute and so honest - it's heartbreaking in some places. I don't think I'll ever forget the scene with the blind Arvind who says - "You got lucky, I didn't".

I think that every public servant in this country, particularly those in administration and police, should see this film. I did a project where we would visit slums of Delhi - and nothing ever seems to change.

We need more triggers for change. I think this movie shows that while a lot has changed in India, a lot hasn't. Jamal doesn't know who is on a Rs 1000 note, nor does he know the phrase "Truth alone triumphs." But he has street smarts, he knows the what and how of life.

A R Rahman's soundtrack is amazing -- it's in the background, but it's powerful. I liked the way they ended the movie with a typical Bollywood dance sequence at VT -- so totally Mumbai...

Go watch this movie.

Slumdog Millionaire - before watching

So I'm writing this piece 2 hours before I'm going to see Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire which was released in India yesterday. We're all pretty pleased with the 10 Oscar nominations the film has gotten, including Best Director and Best Picture. It's with great excitement that I'm going to watch the film today.

I first came across Q&A, the book by diplomat Vikas Swarup that the movie is based on in 2006 when I was in Nagpur studing at the Academy. I even wrote a book review for that particular book - which I liked a lot. I love quizzing and it I thought that the book had woven quizzing and the hard reality of life in the slums very well.

I read the reviews for the movie and the criticism regarding how it "portrays a very poor India." What would I have to say about that?

Well, India is a country in transition, with more than 300 million people subsisting on less than a $1 a day. We do have three continents living together on this land mass - the rich, the middle class and the poor. Somehow, cultural norms and a stratified social code keep us in line. Often it seems we've been desensitised to the poverty that surrounds us.

Sometimes though the state of affairs appauls me. The state of bad driving in the country appauls me. The number of road accidents that could have been prevented if drunkards had not been on the road appauls me. The state of healthcare in the country appauls me.

I do my bit though. At least I try. I'm a conscientious citizen. I pay my taxes and help in administering the regime in place. In a way, it is a contribution.

Trip to Ladakh

Today I'm going to talk about a wish trip. Something I haven't done yet, but want to do.

I've only seen Ladakh in photographs. It looks like its a different part of the world altogether. The scenery spans miles and you can actually see the purity of the air. The best pictures are those with Ladakh's lakes and the stark mountains in the background. The sky looks azure blue, and the whole scene looks untouched.

Monasteries dot the landscape, and earn Ladakh its title of "Little Tibet". You see the typical costume worn by Tibetans here, and everyone looks happy, with rose tinted cheeks to match their cheerful dispositions.

I've always wanted to go trekking here. Most of the trek routes I've read about go like this.

You fly to Leh. Catch a few of the local sights - and I imagine local cuisine which includes thupka and momos. Then travel to a place called Spituk from which you trek to Jingchen. Along the way you trek to Yurutske, Shingo, Skui from which you can reach the Zanskar river. From the river you can trek to Humlung Monastery and finally reach Nimaling which is supposed to be one of the beautiful high valleys of Ladakh. Then you can reach the top of Kong Maru and then walk down to Shang Village which is located in the Indus Valley.

What would I do along the way? Well, I'd take along my camera, so that I could capture the beautiful scenery of Tibet. I'd take a history novel so that I could read a bit more about its history. Nothing too grand though -something small. I'd take my sketchbook, so that I could sit and draw a little. Then I'd take a journal, so that I could hear my own thoughts and write them down.

I think just the colour that you would see, the turquoise blue, the deep red, the untouched refined aura of the browns and the changing landscape would give you peace of mind and satisfaction. You can almost imagine it.

Most of all, I'd just breathe the lovely air and appreciate all that the beautiful majestic Himalayas has to offer.

Escape from reality

Today I shall talk about two books I've read by Stephanie Meyer. I don't know how my sister will view this blog entry, but let me get on with it. Twilight is the first instalment in the series and New Moon the second.

So, the 18 year old fragile Bella falls in love with a 110 year old (but bitten at 17) gorgeous and handsome vampire Edward. (Now before I go on, let me just tell you that the nature of my job forces me to go into the nuances of fiction and admittedly, silly fiction sometimes).

The first book was interesting... they meet, he doesn't like her but is intrigued... she can't figure out what his problem is but is besotted... soon they get close and finally they decide to be with eachother. Thrown in is the whole rigmaroll of how he's a vegetarian vampire, his family is a vegetarian vampire coven, she's being hunted by a non-veg vampire.... who they all kill.

The second book would have you think that the mushy love story will go on.... he'll keep protecting her from evil and eventually the situation will reach an impasse - something for the next novel.

But no ---- Edward decides he loves her too much and should leave her (Yes, this is why John Gray's book - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus did so well). And the whole book is about how Bella will now have to live without Edward. Something new in this book, which I've actually not seen in any book till date - is how after he leaves there are four blank pages with just the words of the month written. Rest all are blank - like Bella's months are blank. I thought it was a brilliant way of portraying the feeling.

So how did Stephanie Meyer come up with this idea? This whole idea of two teenage kids who have this wierd connection? Why does this appeal to so many people? I read a review in The New York Times that said that they just couldn't figure out how this film could appeal to so many people and how the audience (which consisted largely of young teenage girls) knew just when to scream in unison.

Well, Stephanie Meyer says that this book idea came to her in a dream. She dreamt the middle part first actually, then wrote the book starting from the middle to the end - all the while thinking about how it would begin. She has actually picked a real life place in the US called Forks in Washington - which I'm sure will now become a tourist spot like the rolling hills of Matamata in New Zealand where Lord of the Rings was filmed.

Why does it appeal to so many of us? Do we like to escape from reality? Sure we do. When I read the second part, there was a truckers strike, a petroleum operators strike, it was freezing outside and I was fretting about something at office. Now I'm sure that many teenagers won't have the same kinds of problems - but we all have problems. Little kids worry about why their best friend hit them for no reason; teenagers worry about the impending pimple; and we adults - worry about taxes and the mortgage and things like what would happen if you couldn't get petrol one day - and how companies like Satyam can crash overnight.

We all have our problems. Which is why movies and books and the whole entertainment industry flourishes!! It's a way to destress. I love reading - so I keep reading... sometimes I don't like reading things that give me stress though - like the high crime rate in NCR, but one does have to keep oneself appraised and face reality as well. I like to watch movies - so I do.... :) I like to paint... but I don't as often as I should (did I mention it was too cold to sit on the floor and work on a painting?).

No excuses for spring though.

The list

I took a mini vacation recently - mostly due to official reasons but that never stops me from taking advantage of an All India holiday to stop by for a little longer and spend some good old quality time with great friends.

And that's what I did!! We had a brilliant time!! I went and did a bit of girlie shopping - bought New Moon, the second in the instalment of Bella-Edward's romance; bought a cool lipstick (Brandy shade - suits me don't you think - you may comment on this if you so wish) and ate gol gappas - always a treat (wasn't even sick later). Later on that evening we traded gossip stories and I ofcourse got high on the conversation (what else does one get high on!!).

Then the next day my friend cooked the most amazing uttapams for me and then I went out to a really cool restaurant, again with my friends and we ate like pigs .... then I sat and watched Karz (the remake version). My two friends could not believe the changes from the original and I (who didn't know the definition of Karz till I watched this film) actually cannot wait to see the original version now!!

Ok, but enough about the great time I had. What I wanted to talk about was the next film I saw. Now my friends, who I was staying with, told me that since one had to go to the gym and the other had her rounds at the hospital, I would be free for a couple of hours and should watch this excellent film called Dasvidaniya.

If you haven't seen it - do!! It is simply awesome.

It's about a chap who has always played by the rules. Every morning he gets up and writes a list of things to do. He's pushed around by everyone at work; and doesn't have much of a life.

Then some sad circumstances make him want to rethink his whole existence. And that's when the real story begins.

He makes up a list of things to do - and really genuine heartfelt things - like finally proposing to his lifelong sweetheart, buying a brilliant sportscar, taking a trip abroad and meeting up with a childhood buddy, showing up his boss and even finding love.

All very cute, very emotional - it'll make you cry... and I haven't done that in a long time thankfully!! :)

Our trip to Digha beach

I have had the greatest time when I spent 10 days with my sister in Calcutta, when we went to present a paper we had co-authored at Jadavpur University.

Now Calcutta is a very sooty city. A large layer of black covers almost everything. But it is a quaint city. It used to be the capital of the British empire till they shifted their headquarters to Delhi in 1911. There are a lot of old British monuments that still dot the city, and you should take a walk around to see the old mercantile buildings that still stand in the city square.

I'm going to talk about trip I took to Digha beach with my sister and one of our friends. We were supposed to go to Shantineketan, but my friend got late so instead we took a bus down (6 hours one way) to the popular tourist area of Digha beach which is on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

Our bus was one of those rickety types - and the roads in West Bengal were absolutely atrocious. I must say, infrastructure was really lagging. My sister can sleep most of the time in moving vehicles - no matter how rocky - but I can't. So I kept my nausea at bay and tried to get through the journey!!

We reached Digha and it was nothing like what we expected. The beach was muddy and overcrowded. There were people everywhere and it was not that clean. I don't think we even ventured near the water. Because we were starving we did have lunch somewhere - I still don't remember the meal but I do remember it was pretty basic.

Since we were already on the coast, we decided to try our luck and go to another beach - any other beach that was not so crowded. So we found a taxi and told him to take us to a nice beach - that wasn't so populated. We must've driven 15 kms and we came across one of the nicest beaches anywhere in the world.

It was bordering a quaint little hamlet and had boats docked on the shore.

But that wasn't the reason I remember it.

We didn't know it but we had come at a time when these red crabs come out from the sea to lay their eggs on the beach. The beach was a sandy light brown, and the crabs were shocking red. There were thousands of red crabs dotting the beach. It was the most beautiful scene. And we came upon it unintentionally. I tried to take pictures but everytime you approach, the red crabs just vanish inside their little nesting holes.

You'd think there weren't too many mysteries left in the world.

But you'd be wrong.

Simplify your life: Reduce television

I have a number of books on my bookshelf at the moment - and among them I have this cute little one called "Simplify your life". It's full of nice little things one should do to slow down one's life and "enjoy the things that really matter".

As I ponder how I will manage to get 30 days off to go trekking in the Himalayas, I decide that better for the time being to stick to my yoga schedule and let things come as they are coming. And to read some tips from this book. I don't start in order though, so let me share with you what Elaine St James says about television.

Well, she says to switch off the television - but I cannot agree with that. What I do agree with is that you should minimalise your television watching. News is essential, and so is a good movie off and on. Like some movies I am dying to watch but keep missing - Like Che Guevera's The Motorcycle Diaries that keeps coming on television and for some dumb reason I keep missing.

If you're hooked on to some show - then do watch it. Television helps you unwind and forget your day. So does reading a book - but one hour of television watching won't kill you. I watch my favourites - Criminal Minds and Monk these days. Sometimes I watch Brothers and Sisters, though it gets slightly irritating.

The best shows are the ones on Travel and Living that take you places. I saw a great one on Venice once - it absolutely convinced me that it was the best place on Earth (and I've already visited Venice!!). I like documentaries on great painters, so apart from reading about art, I sit and watch it as well. BBC once did a series on Great Artists and I sat and watched every one of them.

A philosopher from the Brahmakumaris once told me that your mind absorbs images and thinks about them - so it's better not to expose it to horrid things like violence and hateful scenes. It's something to think about especially if what you're watching is disturbing you. I for example, avoid reading the local news about NCR - some of the things I read is really creepy. In fact, I even do this abroad - no point knowing who got shot/killed/mugged/etc. It'll just leave you scared and depressed.

Plus, with reduced television watching, think of all the time you'll have to read and spend with family/friends. Today par example, I spent the whole day cleaning (yippee!!). I rewarded myself at the end of the day with chocolates ... Hmmm.... loadsa chocolates.... I in fact didn't eat much for dinner....

You only live once right?

Disturbing and Interesting

First, the disturbing one. It's been shot by photographer Paul Darrow. You should see the picture first. It's on the right hand side of this page. Reuters has the story.

The photo has been taken on Cape Breton Island in Canada.

The trail of blood that you see has been left behind by harp seals which have been killed and then loaded onto a boat.

I can't really say much - but its very disturbing. So was the news item today on the villagers killing the leopard in Andhra Pradesh.

The second image is of a nun. It's hopeful - in contrast to the one above. I liked it and it's very soothing. The colours in this picture are amazing. It's been taken on the Greek island of Rhodes and the nun is praying for the blaze that you can see in the background to be conquered. She's holding up a holy icon. This picture was taken by Nikos Kaseris and story carried by AFP.

Doesn't it look amazing?

Happiness

I just wrote my piece for today and then lost it all.

Ah well, maybe it was God's way of telling me that the first one wasn't that well written.

So let me start over again.

Happiness is a state of mind. And today in my family - we're all very very happy because we've received excellent news!! It's all very exciting - there's been a wedding in the family and we're all elated!!

So my theme today is happiness; And I start by discussing some good movies on the theme. There is a very good movie called "The Pursuit of Happiness" starring Will Smith. It's based on a true story of Chris Gardner, a salesman down and out on his luck, separated from his wife, who is supporting their very young son and all he has is determination. He spots a cool car one day and gets thinking about becoming a stock broker. From there he gets a job as a trainee and is finally selected as the company's choice.

It's a very good story with a great moral. Will Smith throughout doesn't let anything get to him. Initially my sister was a bit skeptical about the story - but I think she also liked it.

I saw another similar story yesterday on Star Movies - called Invincible starring Mark Wahlberg. It's on the story of Eagles football star Vince Papale and how at 30 years old he joined the football team and led it to victory. All very inspirational. And let me just add here, that I do not like American football. And for me to sit through something like this, the movie must've been pretty good.

(You're probably thinking I watch too many films, and you're right - I do!! I never miss the opportunity to go watch a new movie - Bollywood or Hollywood. I avoid Govinda films though. I just can't stand slapstick comedy, though I did like Munna Bhai - anyhow.. coming back to the topic of my blog...)

I've read a few books which have been inspirational as well and are about the pursuit of happiness. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho is brilliant - simple and elegant. I also like The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

The Secret is a set of quotations and pieces of advice from great thinkers - old and new. The basic premise being a variant of Newton's Law of Attraction - that our thoughts attract our future. If you think happy thoughts, you'll lead a happy life. It's another way of saying, that its your attitude to life that matters the most. If you face things with a positive attitude, positive things will happen.

I remember when I was a probationer at Nagpur I was selected for the All-India services quiz team to represent my service. So in the middle of Nagpur's hot season, I got a chance to cool off in the lovely location of Mussoorie. Anyhow, we got a chance to stay in Happy Valley, this quaint guest house that we didn't get a chance to stay at when we were probationers at Mussoorie (we used to reside in the hostel complex instead). So all in all, this trip promised to be brilliant.

And no one minds the scenic beauty of the Himalayas to top it all off!!

So here I was, sitting in my room, thinking if my new roommate would be a bathroom hog or not. (Because we had to share rooms). And in walks in one of my oldest and best buddies from Mussoorie trek days - who had been selected for her Railways team!! She used to have this habit of calling me Chotu because I was the smallest in the trek group (we were trekking for 13 days in the Garhwal Himalayas!). After a while, I started responding to the name Chotu!!

All in all, it was a happy time in my life!! Just as today has been for our family!! :) In fact in retrospect, I enjoyed my whole training period!!

A rose by any other name

In these times of recession it is extremely unheard of to think about a recession proof industry, let alone talk about it. Everything is connected right? But in today's Economic Times newspaper there was an interesting piece about a Bangalore based company called Karuturi Global Ltd, which is the largest rose producer in the world.

Karuturi Global Ltd began as a very small enterprise and an idea. The CEO, Ramakrishna Karuturi, was initially a mechanical engineer who entered the business of rose selling in 1995. In 1998, he earned his first cool $1 million. Efficient farming techniques and astute managerial skills are responsible for the company becoming the largest producer of roses in the world.

Interesting right? Well, how is it recession proof though?

Think about it. You have a choice between a birthday present (which would set you back about Rs 500-1000) and a bouquet of roses. Roses shriek elegance - so in all probability you'd go for the rosie. Imagine this situation getting compounded abroad though. Hmmm... Should I get my girlfriend a diamond bracelet or a bouquet of roses? Hmmm.... I don't have much faith in mankind - I think they'll go for the cheaper option.

So in these times of depression, recession, falling advance tax and broadening trade deficits - it's good to hear about recession proof alternatives.

The first day of the year

It's interesting to start a blog entitled "The First Day of the Year". Firstly, funny, because after a while, it'll soon become the 100th day of the year and before you know it - the year will end!! But since we are at the beginning of the year, let's see if I can't bore you with my New Year's Resolutions.

Resolution No. 1
Draw more - at least one art piece should be produced per month.
If you don't know anything about me - know this. I'm a REALLY GOOD artist. I sketch well, I draw and paint well - and I have great colour sense. I do madhubanis, which are tough to draw but beautiful to execute.

Resolution No. 2
Get into those aspirational pants of mine.
I don't think this needs to be elaborated.

Resolution No. 3
Don't buy more than one book a month and read from my own collection.
No more explanation necessary. To this I'd like to add - I should start a catalogue of what I have as well.

Resolution No. 4
Travel more.
Yes, even more than what I normally do. One should do this.

Resolution No. 5
Finish that list you'd vow to finish before you turn 30.
The list is long, and I'm halfway through it!!

Resolution No. 6
Read more on your core subject.

Resolution No. 7
Do Yoga more regularly and go for your evening walk religiously.

Sounds simple oui?
Let's hope so!!