Nostalgia

Parlakhemundi, the place where I grew up, is a paradise for lazy bums like me; I still remember the summer holidays I spent as a kid, when I had nothing better to do except think about what games to play; I remember the times when we had a hard time deciding whether Hide-and-seek, or Chasing game was a better choice. When we didnt know what having computers in the house was like. I love these warm, drowsy, afternoons, when you feel like doing absolutely nothing, just laze around in the house, or maybe go out into the backyard and climb the gauva trees, and yearn for the juiciest ones which are always out of reach. On days like these everything is unusually silent, and the normal sounds of nature, like the twittering of sparrows, or the occasional bark of a dog, are amplified. Those sounds soothe me like no other, and it is the only place where I feel absolutely at peace with myself.

Even now, years later, whenever I visit my grandparents, deep inside my heart, I feel like I've finally come home. The house itself, rambling and huge, feels welcoming and warm, and I feel an overwhelming sense of security. I guess there is something special about the place where you spent your entire childhood, where all the townspeople live as neighbours. I feel glad that none of those people have changed, and I feel happy about the fact that they still remember me, as the child that I was, and treat me with the same affection whenevr I visit the place. Parlakhemundi is the only town that I know of, that has'nt changed; new buildings might have cropped up, and new people might have made it home; but the real spirit of the place, the old-world feel... they're exactly the same.

I feel thankful, that I have a haven to escape to, when I find mundane life too much to bear; I have a home, which will always wait for me with welcome arms, and people who I love, will always be there to love me in return.

Kung Fu Panda Review

Kung Fu Panda is like a whiff of cool air after all those action flicks, Wanted, The Dark Knight, and Hancock. Chock full of humor, the film portrays the dreams and aspirations of an overweight, lovable panda, Po. Po wants to be a Kung Fu warrior, but feels thats an impossible feat, partly due to his weight, and partly due to his responsibilities towards his Dad's noodle restaurant. Po's fortune changes when an announcement is made regarding a search for the Dragon Warrior, and Po decides to try his luck. Needless to say, our hero gets selected as the Chosen One, and embarks on his adventures. How he realizes his dream, and proves that he is, indeed, the Dragon Warrior, forms the crux of the story. The film has been made with a liberal dash of humor, but it has its serious elements as well. The animation is excellent, and so are the graphics. The film can be seen by all age groups, since it has a subtle message which says, "Dont judge yourself too hastily, dude, success lies in your hands, entirely!!! No secret ingredient!!!" So all you young uns out there, who were hoping to pass your examinations without studying, take care! You might not be as fortunate as me! Heh.

Phoonk Review

Deccan Chronicle sums up Phoonk in just one sentence - "Phoonk fails to scare!" Yea, I expected to shiver, and planned on viewing the entire movie through slits in my fingers, but found out that there was absolutely no need to do so. The only way Phoonk scares the audience is through its blaring sound effects. The sounds are deafening, and are a torture on the eardrums. The lead actor is way below average, tries too hard to be the tough guy. The vamp in the film acted horribly, laughing like a cackling rooster, and screaming as if she had sat down on a ton of red hot bricks. She leaves the audience grimacing at her expressions. There is no story at all till the interval; we spent the entire time waiting for something, anything, to scare us; the movie was finished before you could say "Boo!" and the entire theater was in splits, which made us wonder whether Ram Gopal Varma had in fact misled the audience when he said its a horror movie, finally revealing that he had made a comedy, instead.

The film is a poor copy of the box office hit The Exorcist, and even then the likeness was utterly dissatisfactory. The only scenes which have some element of horror in them are not even real, they are just dreams. The one where the hero dreams of prowling through his house, and the one where the maid dreams about the mother-in-law. The actual scenes featuring the girl fail to impress. The Baba is spooky, and looks like a bhoot himself. He overacted like there was no tomorrow, twittering his eyes in a ridiculous manner, and looking like he might drop dead any moment. The only thing his rasping voice did was grate on the audience's nerves. The end is quite sudden, and if you turned for a moment to have some popcorn, or sip some pepsi, blimey! You'll have missed it, and wonder what could possibly have happened within such a short time.

I would rate Phoonk a 1 on a scale of 5, and would ask you not to waste valuable bucks watching it in a theater. If you love Ramu too much, and feel like watching it nevertheless, get a CD or a DVD. You'll not be missing anything.

Ever felt like quitting?

You ever have the feeling, where you just wanted to scream, smash the screen before you, and stomp out? Ever felt that mind numbing sensation, which you used to feel way back in college when listening to your parents' lectures? Aaarrgggh, I feel the same way now, buddies! Every morning I wake up and think, "Awww, Lord, no, not another working day!!!" If it wasnt for the life saving two days they call weekends, I wonder what on earth would've happened to me.

A boss who expects me to work wonders, and frowns when that (predictably) doesnt happen; a senior colleague who thinks she is the CEO of the company, and we are all born to slave under her; colleagues who feel the same as I do, which doesnt help matters any, cos all we do since morning is gossipp about everything under the sun, and collectively concentrate on new epithets for the manager. Sales is a real tough job, cos even though you are a star performer, the moment things begin to slack, you are dropped like a hot brick. You gotta perform, period. Now, I'm the sort of girl who's too fond of laziness; I hate people who boss me around, and I'm the perfect taurean - I can be very, very stubborn when I choose to be. All this combined, matters have gone from bad to worse with my new boss. I feel like running away, but not before I give everybody a piece of my mind. I've reached my limit, after seeing the same faces everyday, and doing the same thing over and over again, for two long years.

Sometimes I daydream about being born in the Ambani family, or the Mittal's; I probably would have gotten fat and round like their sons, but heck, what does it matter, anyway? You miraculously get surrounded by new friends, get invites to parties, and literally have a good time, without doing a single thing whatsoever. Hmm, I would get bored of it within a few days anyway, and clamouring for the life I am leading at present.

I guess the human mind always craves the impossible, always pining for something out of our reach. Guess I shall have to make an effort to like the slum I am in, and like the pests generally known as the managers, and the team leaders; appreciate the mediocre life I am leading right now, and daydream about what I could've had, if only things were different.

To go, or not to go

Its monsoon time in Orissa, Dad wants me to come over for the Varalakshmi Puja on 15th August; I am scared to journey through all those waterlogged areas, brave the raging elements, and come back to Hyderabad in one piece, by Monday morning. My favorite train, Falaknuma Superfast Express has turned its tail and started detouring from Orissa ever since the onset of monsoons. I am left with just two options - Visakha Express, and the Konark Express. Visakha leaves Hyderabad at 5PM, drags itself with difficulty all the way and leaves me on Bhubaneswar station at 7PM the next day. Whereas, Konark leaves Hyderabad at 7AM, and dumps me at BBSR the next day morning at 4AM.

To top it all, I hadnt even booked my tickets, and the waiting list showed100+. Aaarrrgggghh! Might as well go anyway, since my leave has been approved, and I have been feeling suffocated since the past few days. Tatkal reservation cost me an extra 150 bucks, but atleast my ticket showed waiting list 18. It was reduced to WL 07 by the time the chart was prepared, and I was a goner. To top it all, I contracted a slight fever that evening, and I boarded Visakha Express with a running nose, blaring cough, and high temperature. I had to run the entire length of the train twice, requesting the TTEs for a berth. They were adamant, saying the train was full and it was impossible to get one. Finally, when it was nearing night, and I was fully exhausted, I let it slip that I had a few bucks I was willing to spare; and a berth miraculously appeared, for 200 bucks.

I gave the money with reluctance and cursed the system from the bottom of my heart. I slept throughout the entire journey, and not even gossip in the compartment about floods at Rajahmundry woke me up. The train finally, mercifully, reached Bhubaneswar, and I caught hold of one of those mini buses which frequent the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack highway. Luck seemed to be mocking me, cos with Cuttack just 05 min away, the bus sputtered to a halt, and thick, hot, smoke started coming from the engine, making it unbearably hot and suffocating. Needless to say, the bus was filled to overflowing, and people started screaming and jumping out of windows. I have been reading too many thrillers recently, and in my mind's view I could see the bus catching fire, and exploding, with me coughing and huddled up inside.

I got up, collected my bags, and started elbowing my way towards the entrance. It was a huge relief when I got out into the open, and breathed in huge gulps of air. I was sick and tired of my misadventures by then, and I motioned to an auto rickshaw which was going in the general direction of Cuttack. I finally reached home at around 8PM, and collapsed on the sofa, my fever kicking in big time. Guess my Dad was overjoyed to see me, but that happiness was shortlived. I spent the entire vacation sleeping, sneezing, coughing, and literally making a nuisance of myself. The only good that came out of this miserable experience was that I was able to bag an extra couple of days leave, spent more time with my family than I did in the last couple of years(yes, I stayed for 8 days, guys!!!) and finally came back to Hyderabad on the 20th. I am still coughing away to glory, but a few days of bliss, where I slept uninterrupted, were worth the effort.

My Sunday Luncheon at Barbecue Nation

Sunday morning. I woke up at around 11AM to the incessant ringing of my fone, and cursed. I absolutely hate waking up, period. I perked up somewhat when my cousin said we would be going out for lunch, and I could bring a couple of buddies if I liked. I was adamant that we would go to Barbecue Nation, cos I just love the barbecues they have to offer, and the drinks are on the house, too, hehe. Sunday being Friendship Day, we were unable to get a reservation and had to wait outside for more than an hour, which dampened our spirits somewhat. There is nothing worse than waiting with a hungry tummy, more so when you have already tasted the nose-tickling, tummy-rumbling, aromatic delicacies that are just within your reach, like sour grapes.

We were finally escorted to our table at around 3PM. Barbecue Nation is special in the fact that each table boasts of its own tiny barbecue, and you can have your meat just as you like it. Fresh veggies, marinated and coated liberally with spices, arrived. BBQ Nation have a lunch buffet, and these barbecues are merely starters. Red, green, and yellow capsicum, tiny potatoes baked in their skins, baby mushrooms, broccoli, and fresh paneer make up for the veggie palate; the non-veggies had a field day with chicken kebabs, fish, and prawns. The service is excellent, with the waiters keeping an eye on your plate at all times, replenishing it as soon as it gets empty.

Unfortunately for us, the place was filled to overcrowding, and we had to wait for a long time before the waiter topped up our barbeques; the buffet closes at 3:45, and we spent precious time just waiting for the kebabs and stuff. At around 3:30 our waiter came over to us with an apologetic expression and informed us, very politely, that we had around 15 min to finish our meal. We scrambled towards the buffet; predictably, I ran for the desserts counter. BBQ Nation serves excellent desserts, and the baby gulab jamuns are a real treat for taste buds. I served liberal helpings of pineapple souffle onto my plate, along with a couple of chocolate truffles, a few baby jamuns, and a couple of icecream dollops thrown in for good measure. By the time the waiter arrived again, I had finished my jamuns and was tucking into the souffle; we looked at the clock; it was nearing 4PM. We motioned him for the bill.

We had to look at the bill twice to believe it. Unlike other days, when its 250 bucks a head, the buffet was priced at 450 bucks per head, and we being 5, it totaled to somewhere around 2300 bucks, luxury taxes included. We had ordered drinks(welcome drinks are on the house at Barbeque Nation), but we were given a bill for those, too. It seems they don't offer welcome drinks on Sundays, and, they added a further 500 bucks to the bill. We paid without batting an eyelid(after all, it is deemed uncool if we exclaim over the bill) and went out, licking our wounds in silence. To sum it up very nicely, we paid 2800 bucks for a plate of roasted potatoes and capsicum, a few gulab jamuns, and some time in plush surroundings. Will you go there again, you might ask me. Ofcourse I will! But not on Sundays! No, sirree!!!