Monday, December 31, 2007

A Happy New Year

Another year ends & yet another begins. And yet again a resolve to take a step back and look at life anew. I've made many mental notes again of the things I intend to do in the new year; of dreams that are waiting to be realised; of songs that are waiting to be sung; of roses that are waiting to be smelt. And my reminder to myself:

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Twice as good

Good hindi movies are rare & to be able to catch two of them in a row is a chance one gets only once in 300 years.

I think 'Khoya Khoya Chand' is a great & intense movie. Like "Hazaaron Khwahishey Aisi" made two years ago by the same director; this movie too is under-rated. Set in Mumbai's movie-world of 1950s, Shiney Ahuja plays a Guru-Dutt-ish character; passionate & brooding; whereas Soha Khan plays a Meena-Kumari-ish actress; successful yet tragic. The movie follows the amorous love story of the two characters with the black-and-white Bollywood as a backdrop -- its vulgar inside as well as the glossy outside.

The other great movie I watched last week was 'Taare Zameen Par'; it had me sobbing away through out :) This is a story of a 8-year-old kid, gifted with intelligence & creativity, but he suffers from dyslexia & learning disabilities. Scorned by friends and punished by adults who don't recognise his disabilities, the kid finds his sense of self-worth almost completely eroded; until a sensitive art teacher turns his life around.

The movie made me go back in memory to my school days and remember all the 'under-performers' from my school and spare a thought for what they would've gone through. The movie also makes a strong statement on whats wrong with the competitive Indian education system that makes great doctors & engineers out of some school kids; but is ruthless to the rest of them.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The holiday so far

A quick update: Have been super-busy with the four back-to-back weddings; but have been having so much fun!

The week in Kathmandu was great & the highlight was the short flight we took over the Himalayan mountain range to spot Mt. Everest. I must admit though that the view of the entire snow-topped range is so imposing; it gets difficult to figure out that the peak of Everest is indeed taller than its peers.
The half-week in Jaipur was my first exposure to Rajasthan & now I so want to be a Rajput princess in my next life. If I had to choose one photographic memory of Jaipur it would be this one: the 'Sheesh Mahal' (Palace of mirrors) in Amer Palace. Its nothing like the Bollywood version seen in Madhubala's Mughal-e-Azam, but its beautiful nevertheless. And then we went to Mumbai and it was the the best part of the holiday thanks to my darling nephew !!!