Off to Ooty for weekend

The last time I visited Ooty I was a kid I think so I don't remember a bit about the place. But going this weekend on a Team Outing with my mates at workplace will be awesome as I visit the best hill station in Southern India and the adopted land on MithunDa.
Hope it's loads of fun.

Technorati Tags: Ooty, Travel, Holiday

Cricket Without India: naahhhhhh

Black Friday changes its meaning with every passing day. Last Friday could be a subject of a another movie though of yet another tragedy.

Movie is a distant thing though, right now the hours of Cricket meant to be unleashed on TV have become irrelevant. I mean being Cricket Lovers doesn't mean that we as Indians can overcome such a big tragedy so soon.

The night match finished everyone was quite heavy with emotions. Some stupidity on Television followed. Mandira Bedi was so emotional as it she was about to breakdown any moment. It's ok to be Indian and feel for the game, but as a presenter I feel you should be professional enough to run through the show. Somehow Charu Sharma carried the show well.

We should do something to the news channels though, at night a nice looking reporter from Aaj Tak caught on with a bunch of Engineers after the defeat who were shouting and swearing at everything. even a drunk person could have made out that the bunch of people were heavily drunk. Similarly on Star News were Atul Wassan appeared as the "expert" was answering questions of viewers on the telephone half of which came from quite Drunk people. I mean we know you ought to show us everything but thoda decency mangta hai.

The next day I shutdown the TV for the whole day because I know even the television set can't witness all the reactions shown by the news channels throughout the day. I know we all angry but the way these channels put these up makes us, our team and everyone involved look as villains.

So no more of Cricket for most of us, some entertainment will come (as it happened in the South Africa-Australia encounter) but still we will miss India.

Post originally blogged at DesiDabba

Technorati Tags: Cricket, Television, India, World Cup

The MTR way...

After the horrendous loss of India on Friday, the weekend was surely going to be a dud. Morning I woke up thinking that whatever I saw on friday night was a dream. But my message box full of Stupid SMSes suggesting that I was wrong spoilt it up. So I thought better roll out for a movie Namastey London, well was waiting for that one for long time I thought.

Thankfully I was also accompanied by my idli-hating, but foodiprising nonetheless friend Vaibhav. We along with couple of more pals checked into MTR. Ok now I have been to Urvashi-Lalbagh area like umpteen times but still it took me so much time to trace MTR. One of my friends suggested the place long back but you see something are destined to happen when it should.

We checked-in and as per the legend we were in a waiting queue, lucky enough though as the uncleji cleared us off in 5 mins. I have heard about people sticking like 20-30 mins to catch a glimpse of the idlis.

So after getting in walking on a historically pictographed staircase, we entered into a superbly cool place on the first floor. Well first I thought that it was the place which made it so cool, but later realied that the AC’s were playing their part well. Actually the place looked like one of my native homes in the village which was quite cool, so maybe the confusion. even the Wash Basin was the unique one with a pedal instead of a Tap.

Well some food now, we had Badam Halwa, Rava Idli with Sagu and Masala Dosa. Needless to say everything was quite draped in Ghee, as the waiters were in their loongis. It was followed by a Coffee which was something like I have never tasted before, too strong but refreshing. the cost is a little high but MTR makes it up by the quality of food they serve.
For me Masala Dosa was the standout dish and for people who like Ghee this place is awesome. The place gives that 20’s-30’s bit of feel. Feels like you part of a British Contingent in 20’s or discussing a the Indian National movement in the 30’s. One of my pals told me that earlier they served food in Silver Ware. That should have added to that feel.

Anyway Mavalli Tiffin Rooms is surely the place to go in Bangalore, especially for the not so Weight Conscious guys and who have got the bit for taking the feel of a old Bangalore. By the way the movie also wasn’t too bad after that, but still MTR was all on my mind for the weekend.

Technorati Tags: MTR, Food, Bangalore, Restaurant Review

Its Prayer Time...!!!

No pre-match discussions, no predictions, no prophecies, its time to pray
Let us pray so that we don't become Sri Lankan Lion's prey;

A prayer from heart is what they say, will help the Men in Blue save,
but don't let the prayer be too strong,
as the Blue may become darker and the colour a lil wrong;

The last one for Dada, Dravid and Tendulkar,
the first one for Dhoni and Pathan,
Let all the firsts lasts and middles go on,
Not tumble upon and fly back home so torn;

Somehow I feel the prayer will succeed, as will our team,
but we are habituated to hiccups and our team to indigestion,
even if they win it will be surreal and even if they loose it will be quite away from real;

But still let come together and Pray,
as I, we and everyone from India doesn't want this to end up as a messed up fray.

Techonarati Tags: Cricket, World Cup, India, Sports, Poem

As the Work gets boring

Where the Mind has grown Mindless
And the head droops down by Sleep;

Where knowledge is free but useless

Where the World has been
broken up into fragments by stupid corporate chores;

Where the clear stream of reason has polluted
amidst worklessness and guilt of being so;

From that hell of boundedness, my father,
let me and my country escape.

P.S.- I respect Rabindranath Tagore and these are my favourite lines from his collection slightly twisted. But if someone has any qualms, I am quite sorry for it.
But Boredom and boring work forces you to do such things.

Mungaru Male- Rains were never so good…

A girl, a boy, great songs, amazing locations, a pet rabbit tuning up the climax, all this creates an image of a typical-regular-common sorta movie. But if a typical movie creates an image, Mungaru Male for sure is a painting.

Set on the beautiful canvas of Madekeri (some say its something else, I don’t know though, bit of Shimoga too with Jog falls featuring) the painting is completed by monsoon which gives it the foreground. Story is quite simple and quite bourgeois when it must have been written on paper, but Director’s enterprising zeal makes this one a heart-warming experience. Ganesh as the semi-spoilt kinda to loverboy to a pyara individual is amazing. The transient nature of the character is something to take note of. Especially the drunk sequence and his breakdown in Climax are simply I have got no words.

Sanjana….aaaaaaahhhh(she is so cute). A half-wet somewhat chirpy, bubbly kind of Sanjana reminds me of Neetu Singh of 70’s. Everything from her mole which is approximately 2.3 cm from her eyes to her…, Ok will stop, I am going too crazy maybe. But maybe I will start looking for her in Bangalore now. She running near Eva Mall made me feel like going there now on Brigade and look for her. Ok will stop now.

Supporting cast (Both the mothers, Villain and Anant Nag as the girl’s Father) is awesome. Rabbit as Devdas, Hero’s Pal cum a Symbolic Pointer in the movie, is a beautiful animal well used.

Climax of the movie is something which really touched my heart. It was something which happens very rarely while seeing a movie nowadays. Raindrops surely traveled from the Screen onto lots of cheeks.

Songs are something which is a value–add to the whole experience. Anistude is a Hit but my personal favourite was Konidu Konidu.

The crew of the movie should be really praised for creating such an experience. The greenry, the wetness, the smell of coffee, everything so real and still so surreal.

By the way for someone who read all this review some more information. I don’t know more than two-three words of Kannada. Still it was not difficult to understand at all. My friend clarified a few lengthy dialogues but honestly, got the most of it without any effort. My first Kannada movie. This one truly will be one of the memorable one for few months atleast.( I saw 3 movies last weekend, at this rate a persistence of few months are signs of a classic)

Technorati Tags: Mungaru Male, Sanjana Gandhi, Ganesh, Movie Review, Kannada Movie