French it up..

It’s been quite a while since i have gotten back to studying the French course material that i have. I will get started on the French lessons from the beginning and hope to diligently follow it daily, or atleast twice to three times a week. I really need to get my French train moving now that i have the necessary things to get me started. I will try to update my progress here.
I am studying Pimsleur French Unit I and plan to complete all the units. Hopefully that will make me educated enough to appear for the entry level French examinations conducted by the Alliance Francais institute. I want to learn advanced French in a classroom, but dont want to waste time and money on the extreme Basic French courses.
That’s it for now.
Au Revoir!

Picnic time in 5 hours

This months closing was insane, and i mean INSANE. We clocked close to 30 hours non-stop, twice a week towards the end. It felt as if i was back in engineering and waiting for my exam to end. Felt good after we finally left office that day. The plan to go outta the city was being discussed amongst office colleagues. Lonavla and Matheran were the two contenders, but we settled for Matheran.
A couple of hours back that has got finalised and in about 5 hours i should be heading to Matheran. Just hope it is really cool out there and i get to witness some greenery.
That’s all for now. So much for the Re-Up v3.0.
Take Care
Ciao

The Re-Up v2.0

Just logged onto my blog after over a year. Was going through some posts and was amazed at the language i have used in the articles. Cant believe i used to be so articulate at one point of time. Creative writing has gone out of the window thanks to a job which involves a lot of technical writing.

Since the last couple of months, the need to get out of the cocoon of technical writing has been bothering me on more than one occassion. I want to get back to writing for the love of writing and not out of any compulsion or just because my bread and butter depend on it.

I want to explore different genres of writing and just re-connect with my creative writing abilities. And what better way than to blog about it. I know this blog is as dead as the dinosaurs, but heck, i already have an active photoblog so i dont want to invest more energy in popularising this blog unless i have some quality content on it about which i have some bragging rights. Thanks to micro-blogging revolution and a status update OCD, i have started taking the easy way out for things which i loved writing about. Two years back if i genuinely loved a movie or some experience moved me, i wrote atleast a 1000 words on it. And now i just limit that whole experience and cram it in 140 characters flat. Ah! what progression.

So before i fall victim to this shit and completely forget what creative writing is all about, i want to control the reins. he idea is to be as regular on the blog as is possible, not out of free will but out of compulsion. Three minutes of continuous writing on a daily basis is not asking for much i feel. It’s just going to be a freewheeling writing session. I know what will be the counter argument to that, whats the point? Well the articles i used to blog about when i had started off had emerged out of pure boredom and taken on a shape which even i was amazed at in the end. Its like you plan to eat plain vanilla and end up with a triple sundae. The mere fact that i had written a quality article in proper English gave me a sense of satisfaction which i could not get from anything else. That is the power of words. Unless you dont engross yourself and lose yourself in words, nothing meaningful will emerge. Thinking about a million ideas and not having anything put down into words is pure hallucination.

Having been a spectator for far too long, i feel i need to re-connect with my writing to emerge stronger both mentally and as an added incentive professionally.

Take Care

Ciao

The Skeleton Woman – A Review

The lead characters of the play (Pic Courtesy : Mid Day)

Written and Performed By : Kalki Koechlin and Prashant Prakash

Directed By : Nayantara Kotian

Produced By : Anurag Kashyap

“The play is based on an Inuit Folk Tale”, that was the only thing I remembered when I had read the review of the play. Inuit folk tale was something I had no clue about, plus Kalki Koechlin had quoted that the content of the play is about love and has a lot of metaphors.  I was expecting the script to be festooned with  a lot of deep undertones, metaphors and the likes. But I was in for a surprise.

The play starts off with the lead protagonist looking out in the distance, from the skeleton of the boat he is in, to the background music of the piano (or is it a cello). It seems like a dream sequence. We are brought to reality by his wife who is arranging things in the house. The central theme of the play is about love and ambition, and deals with how each character is longing for each .

The husband is a writer who is stuck with a story that is only in his head; incomplete, senseless. He is facing a writer’s block. He becomes a character in the story or tries to ingrain life into his goose, which is one part of his incomplete story. His wife has to bear his flights of fantasy and bring him back to reality. The wife on the other hand is the one who runs the house, inspite of having her irrational fear of someone trying to kill her.

Both of them sometimes get into the story mode and escape reality. The exuberance of both the characters comes alive when they are in the realm of the unfinished narrative.  Conferring and contemplating what course should the story take. Things come to a point where the wife can’t take it any longer. In a desperate attempt to make the husband get out of his story mode she takes him out to dinner once. That changes the course of things

The use of lights and the haunting piano and cello background music is worth mentioning. The dialogues were interrupted by a lot of poetry, which broke the monotony and came as a whiff of fresh air. The wife’s character played by Kalki Koechlin was confusing as she displayed a range of emotions from happiness to exasperation to rejection to exuberance. The husband played by Prashant is a pretty one dimensional character as his emotions are comparatively limited. The play is blessed with its amusing moments, specially the one where the wife acts as if a shark has got hold of her foot and is pulling her in. The use of space is worth a mention. Sitting crouched on the table top and mouthing dialogues, standing on top of the table top and mouthing dialogues, is intriguing.

Rating : 3.5 out of 5

Have become a victim of blatant Plagiarism

My Original Post

The Plagiarised one

Ok now i know that the post is quite dated, but this chap had the balls to just cut copy paste stuff of my blog. Forget giving credit, this person, is willingly acceptin the appreciation 4 the photograph. Had it been just the photograph that was lifted, i wudnt be that angry, but the bastard has even lifted of Text verbatim. I mean cmon, atleast make it look like you have tried to do something of your own in that post apart from blatant copying!

Take Care

Ciao

There is something bout Anurag K. and Abhay D.

Indian Cinema will never be the same again thanks to the collaborative effort of two irreverent film personalities, namely Anurag Kashyap and Abhay Deol. Its not like they are the innovators of good cinema in India, but they have given a boost to the new wave Indian cinema. Thanks also to the multiplex culture, we have a lot of variety. But all said and done, if I had to choose the flagbearers of alternative cum commercial cinema today, it has to be these two.

Anurag Kashyap, as we all know by now, had written the hard hitting Satya and the rest as they say is history. Offlate he is in the news for his marvelous adaptation of the age old classic Devdas in the avatar of the new age vodka guzzling, coke snorting Dev D. A couple of months later another movie of his named Gulaal, made much before Dev D, released, silencing all the critics who called Dev D a fluke. The debacle of No Smoking notwithstanding, Anurag Kashyap is one film maker who is here to stay. It’s a different matter that I did indeed like the Kafka-esque (according to my Kafka fanatic college buddy) No Smoking.

Anurag’s blogs on the making of Dev D and Gulaal make for exceptionally appealing read. The one piece of his that really got me hooked was when he wrote a post after the debacle of No Smoking. It was greatly emotional. From No Smoking to Dev D, is like the proverbial rise of the phoenix from the ashes. And the inspiration was an anecdote that Abhay Deol shared with him, about a stripper in LA with whom a drunkard was besotted as he was spurned by his former lover.

Anurag’s understanding of music is something I really am a major fan of. Irreverent is the one word that comes to mind when we talk of music in an Anurag Kashyap film. Be it the ‘Duniya’ and ‘Emosional Attyachar’ in Dev D, to the ‘Chak Mak’ item number of Gulaal to the pshychedelic ‘Phoonk de’ from No Smoking, music is as good as one of his film’s characters. And it’s given equal importance. One can sense the cohesion between music and the script which shows that the director is highly involved in the music making process as well. Unlike other movies, where there is an abject disconnect between the script and the music. Having said that, credit has to be given to the new age music director Amit Trivedi (Dev D) and the supremely talented actor cum lyricist cum singer Piyush Mishra (Gulaal).

Abhay Deol came out of nowhere and now is touted as the face of Indian Indie Cinema. I remember having seen Socha Na Tha, and I was like, wow what a movie for a debut. This guy is someone to watch out for, cos lets face it, which Bollywood actor who comes from an illustrious family as the Deols, debuts with an offbeat rom com like Socha Na Tha.

Manorama 6 Feet Under was another sterling performance by Abhay D, where he played the writer cum detective with élan. Barring Ahista Ahista and Ek Challis ki last local, I have seen all of his movies for the simple reason that I can sit back and expect a quirky movie if he is in it. Variety in roles is his forte. Agreed that he has done less than 10 movies, so it’s not fair to put him on a pedestal so soon, but I don’t care. In a world where stupid worthless actors like Zayed Khan and Fardeen Khan come up with complete crap and yet survive, its heartening to see a guy like Abhay Deol, staying put with his brand of cinema.

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was another comic caper about a unusual thief. It was a runaway hit. Then came the movie which would make Abhay Deol a household name, Dev D. That it was conceptualized by the actor himself is known.

One thing that I absolutely fell for in the movie was the kind of T shirts he wears, they were just brilliant. While reading through Kashyap’s blog, also came to learn that Abhay used to design T shirts and sell them in Goa, before joining the film industry. Moreover he had done some work on Kashyaps famed Black Friday. All of this before plunging into the film industry. Another feature of his irreverence can be gauged from the fact that, after the release of Dev D, Deol was nowhere in Mumbai as he had shifted base to NYC to learn the art of sculpting and woodcraft. Yeah you’ll read it right. I mean which actor in his right senses would let go of the post movie adulation, specially with the kind of path breaking movie that Dev D turned out to be. Any other actor in his case would have milked the opportunity to its fullest. But not Abhay Deol.

Eagerly awaiting his next movie called Meridian Lines which also happens to be written by Anurag Kashyap (according to imdb). The bar has been raised by Abhay D, so im sure he must be feeling the pressure to deliver in his next. Same goes to Anurag Kashyap. 1 super duper flop and 2 back to back hits, I am not concerned with the BO status. The expectations for both these unconventional film personalities are sky high. Im sure they will deliver.

Take Care

Ciao

The Bicycle Thief

I decided to see The Bicycle Thief today after a long time. I gotta say it was one really good cinema i have seen in many days. The plot is as simple as it can get.

The main protagonist Antonio Ricci has just got a job, a luxury, in the bleak post World War 2 Italy. But the job requires Antonio to have a bicycle of his own. His wife, Maria, sells off her beddings so that Antonio can purchase the bicycle. On his first day of the job, a thief robs the bicycle while Antonio is busy sticking his posters. The remainder of the movie is all about how Antonio and his son, Bruno, try their best, to find the stolen bicycle. Their quest takes them to two bicycle markets, a church where they follow an old man who has had a dialogue with the thief and finally to the thief. But due to lack of evidence, the thief escapes. The film ends with Antonio making a desperate attempt to steal a bicycle with him being caught and then let off. It really breaks one’s heart.

After the movie is logged onto the net to look it up and read some more on it. Came to learn that this is one of the best movies in the Italian Neo realist genre. I got quite interested and read more. Came across some interesting points on wikipedia. A detailed discussion on this film will be dont in the coming posts.

Some essential reading about the movie and the genre can be done on the following links

Italian Neo Realist Cinema

Review of the movie

http://zakka.dk/euroscreenwriters/screenwriters/suso_cecchi_damico.htm

Ideologically, the characteristics of Italian neorealism were:

1. a new democratic spirit, with emphasis on the value of ordinary people
2. a compassionate point of view and a refusal to make facile moral judgments
3. a preoccupation with Italy’s Fascist past and its aftermath of wartime devastation
4. a blending of Christian and Marxist humanism
5. an emphasis on emotions rather than abstract ideas

Stylistically, neorealism was:

1. an avoidance of neatly plotted stories in favor of loose, episodic structures that evolve organically
2. a documentary visual style
3. the use of actual locations–usually exteriors–rather than studio sites (which often displayed the post-war destruction of Italy)
4. the use of nonprofessional actors, even for principal roles
5. use of conversational speech, not literary dialogue
6. avoidance of artifice in editing, camerawork, and lighting in favor of a simple “style-less” style.

Take care

Ciao

The Re Up

Haven’t come to this blog since ages. Now that i have arrived, yet again, i hope to add some dough worth reading.

I notice that the entire look of WordPress has changed, which is all the more motivating for me to start posting more often here. Actually the thought to re up this blog was triggered in the Journalism class we had that day. There was a doctor who was giving us tips on how to cover health journalism, which to me sounded utterly boring. I would rather get back to TCS and do banking, actually no. I would never go back to doing what i left to pursue Media Studies.

Right now the only thought bothering me is to come up with enough stories for my Technology Page in our college’s annual project, the 48 page tabloid, Our World Now. The dummy had an interesting mix of articles. And i was on full throttle then. Now i guess the enthusiasm has dipped tremendously, which by the way, isnt a sign of good times. As an upcoming journalist, i should be in love with writing, not run away from it.

That is what i plan to do by restarting my blog entires. The entries as usual are not going to follow any particular theme. I am just going to rant but not just for the heck of it. It will hopefully be something to think about, cos lets face it, if i am gonna put up crap i myself would not want to read, how can i have it on a space which i am expecting (yeah i do have an urge to reach out to real people via this virtual world) people to read.

Thats all for now. Yeah, i know, its always so simple to re-start like this. And make big promises but later on let life take its own course and forget all about the committment towards the blog. Nothing new with me. But hoping that this time the innings are longer.

Blogging is my love and how far can one stay from one’s love, right?

Take Care

Ciao

…thats why i hate clinics!!

Doctor, Dentist, Clinic, Hospital are some of the words that instill an unknown fear in me. And yesterday i had to face one of them. The Dentist. My tooth had been giving me a really bad time since the last one week. Everytime i bit into something the right jaw would send a blinding pain jus beside my ear. Initially, it was manageable. But when my Mom and one buddy mentioned something like “Root Canal Problem” i was all the more terrified.

Frightening experiences i have had many in clinics. The last time i had visited a dentist was when i was six years old. Its been 18 years since. I put up a brave front and took the plunge, as i had to get over with this nagging concern of whether i had to do a Root Canal, which is condidered to be an ardous process.

I reached the clinic and the first glance of the people around wasnt really encouraging: a guy with bandaged chin; another sick looking fellow who had his head between his knees;a  beautiful girl, who seemed like those air hostess types, probably there to whiten her teeth or something. The pictures of horrible teeth and related teeth on the notice board gave a boost to my already petrified self. I mean why have pictures of bleeding gums, dislocated teeth, diagrams of the molars and the process of root canal on the notice board of the lobby; that can easily be shifted within the clinic.

Suddenly from nowhere i heard this drilling machine type sound. I tried to up the volume of my Walkman series phone, but even the mega bass couldnt drown out the incessant drilling sound in the background. I had started to sweat in that air conditioned lobby, which made the other “patients” give me the stare. Finally the dentist’s subordinate called me in, after having made me fill in the application form.

I was made to sit on that scary Dentist Chair, whose shape was like the wooden benches one sees on beaches (Only difference being, there was no sand and sea around, and definitely no PYTs in two pieces) The assistant made me lay down on the seat, and tied a plastic cover around my neck. He said the dentist would attend me in 5 minutes.

“Damn! What perverse pleasure does he get by making me lay down on this chair?!”, i thought to myself. By now my heart was in my mouth. There were dentist surgical instruments all around me. And this is the very aspect of clinics that scares the mickey out of me. I mean i am ready to stay in an abandoned Dak Bungalow, but i cant stand the sight of surgical instruments.

Here on my right were 3 instruments placed like 3 microphones. They had very intricate designs on them and i definitely had no intention of having them in my mouth, but i wudnt protest if the destist had other plans. I decided to look on my left as the sight on the right wasnt really calming my nerves. On the left was another scary looking microphone type instrument, which has outward projecting sharp appendages. Below it was the mini basin. Left too was not helping. I decided to look up north, which has a light enclosure, which though wasnt that frightening, made me visualise not so calm things. I just closed my eyes and prayed for the ordeal to get over soon. Hell where was the Dentist?!?!

The Dentist arrived and observed me. Making me open my mouth wide, making me bite nothing in particular, making me hold a mirror and look at something obnoxious called “my teeth”. In 24 years i had never seen my teeth so closely. According to the dentist, i didnt have to do the dreaded ‘Root Canal’ procedure. There was nothing major, just that my wisdom tooth didnt have enough space to come out (no wonder a mojority of people i come across keep telling me that i am Dumb; thanks to the dentist i now have a justification), which was causing my jaw muscles to stress ultimately leading to the pain sensation near my ear.

I took my prescriptions, saw the video of how one should brush one’s teeth (yeah they actually have a video showing one how to brush! And i thought i was doing just that for the past 24 years). I made the necessary payments and was out of the clinic in no time. The world was a much better place outside the clinic. I headed home, humming my favourite song.

Bindra Shoots Maiden Gold for India!

I was in my class when i suddenly got an SMS saying that Bindra had won a gold medal in 10m Air Rifle shooting. I couldnt contain the happiness and bleated it out to the rest of the class and everyone was delighted. Finally! India won a GOLD in an individual event at the Olympics, a metal which eluded the Indians at the Games.

This is a proud moment for every Indian. Just watching the National Flag rise up alongwith the National Anthem was a very moving experience. Abhinav dude, you did us proud!

Abhinav Bindra has become a national hero now. States have already started announcing cash prizes and it’ll be no surprise that by the time he comes back to the country he will be richer by a few crores at least. There will be felicitations by the state Olympic committees, State CM’s and who knows maybe by the PM or President too.

He deserves every bit of applaud that he will ultimately get. But i personally feel that Bindra’s win at the Olympics should get the Sports authorities out of their slumber and start taking sports other than cricket more seriously. I mean if countries like Cuba can win Olympic Golds why cant we? Sports needs to be taken to the masses. Bindra’s winning the Gold Medal is ample proof that we have amazing talent in the country that needs to be honed.

Govts of various countries including China, sponsor the complete education of children who are trained on to become professional sportsperson. Infact Chinese gymnasts are trained from an age as young as five, so by the time the Olympics arrive they have a headstart over others. And this has shown results, where China is always amongst the top 5 nations as far as the medal tally goes.

Three Cheers for Abhinav!

Take Care

Ciao!