Rahul on Arnab's show

Oh dear. Watched the Rahul Gandhi interview on YouTube. Clearly, not a wordsmith.

All things Japan on my mind

Samurai. The Giant Robot. Volcano maki. Astro boy. Vending machine. Hello Kitty. High end toilet. Geisha. Lost in Translation. Earthquake, radiation. Whisky. Capsule hotels. Palaces. Moshi moshi. Ramen. Cherry blossoms. Shinkansen. Gaming arcades. Harajuku girls. Kamakazi. Mt Fuji. Katsu curry. Issey Miyake. Shogun.

Can't wait for this trip...March, come sooner please!

Angkor Wat made of Lego

Isn't this cool?

At Legoland, Malaysia, last weekend.

Dedh Ishqiya

I'm a big fan of Vishal Bharadwaj & although this isn't a movie directed by him, it sure has borrowed his style. It's an entertainer, its funny, witty, layered & insane.

Set in the nawabi mileui of UP, the language is difficult to grasp - both the shayari & the profanities - so thank god for the subtitles! What a brilliant job though writing those lines & verses - they range from crass (in characterstic style of what you would imagine from UP conmen) to sublime (in high-brow urdu). The jabs at Italian DNA ensuring royalty & puppeteering the fake-nawab; the jokes on the 6 stages of love - all pretty hilarious. The lyrics of those songs are gorgeous. And Madhuri Dixit - as a fading beauty, broke royal, a glorious dancer, a frail begum - is amazing. 

I love the actor who plays the baddie (I remember him as  Dubeyji from Monsoon Wedding, although I've made many attempts to remember his real name, his Dubeyji character sticks). He is a guy who owns his wierdness- he stands out in any role he does. I wonder if he can play a man on the street as convincingly as he plays the quirky outlandish characters he usually does.

Gearing up for the Chinese New Year

Unplanned playtime

It's true that no mother likes being advised on how to raise her kids. But it's also true that every mother can't help but advise.

In the same vein, here's my advice to Singaporean moms including myself - do not underestimate the importance of unstructured play! Avoid the urge to always plan activities for your kids or teach them how to play a game while on the playground - well not all the time. Surely there's value in your child getting bored & having to invent games for himself out of sheer boredom.

2013 in retrospect

The year flew by in a jiffy. 

It was an incredibly overwhelming year at work. I am used to stress at work, but this year I was dealing with new people, a new environment, a new culture & I have to admit I let the stress of the change get to me. Change is a constant though & life is too short to worry, isn't it?

At home, we had tons of drama. A housekeeper who we discovered was stealing from us was a shocker. But among brighter topics - K discovered a love for taekwando this year; I got a bicycle & H devoted more time to golf this year than any previous year since K was born. And we had a record number of guests at home this year - which was great because we caught up with so many friends, family & loved ones in 2013! New things I tried in 2013: Kobe steak, printed trousers, blue shoes, a yacht & sleep training for K. Loved all except for the last. 

Among other news- I hate being associated with this years Bollywood chart buster "Radha on the dance floor".  I do not like that song. Also, I don't get why cupcakes & permed hair have made such a big comeback in Singapore this year. 

2014 is going to be fantastic! I don't need to make resolutions this time...they are already in motion & it's exciting/ nail biting/ exhilarating all at once :)