Sing me the song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I ?

Wow…RL Stevenson is my man. He sums up all the things that I have been pondering over years. Wondering when exactly did I GROW up? Become an adult from a young girl? Just when did my merry vagabond soul get overshadowed by my cynic, logical one? Questions buzz around me like winged insects, but with answers nowhere in sight. I am more puzzled than ever.

Was it when I started questioning my gran whether Krishna REALLY opened his mouth to show the universe to his angry mother? Or when I realized that the world was not strictly black and white as I had imagined and the good and the bad are not so easily distinguishable and that the world is infused with multiple shades of gray.

Was it when I stopped looking at cute boys and thought “WOW”? Or was it when I stopped believing in true love and happily ever after stories?

Was it when Backstreet Boys, Alisha Chinoy, and BoyZone made way for Billy Joel,John Denver and Gulam Ali or when Mills and Boons, Nancy Drew and Archies slowly stepped aside the pedestal for Kahlil Gibran and Oscar Wilde.

I still remember the times my mom chastised me for my loud laughter, but when was the last time I smiled? I mean actually SMILED? From the soul to the eyes to the mouth? If this is adulthood, I don’t want to be an adult. I want to be all dreamy eyed again about that neighborhood cute boy, believe in people falling in love not out of it. I want to read everything that restores my faith in humanity and human beings. I want to step into a Harry Potter kind of magical world, where good is GOOD and bad is just that. BAD. I want to let my soul free of the cage that is currently holding my soul a captive in the preconceived notions, preset limits and predetermined course of thoughts.

I want to believe in my dreams. I want to soar to new heights, I want to dream.

Dev-D - The Bold New Face of Indian Cinema

I hadn't watched any movie since Ghajini in the cinemas and i was feeling the withdrawal syndrome. I managed to drag my very reluctant sister to watch Dev-D. A decision, that i would live to regret, dragging my sister that is, not the movie.

Dev-D is everything an experimental cinema should be. It breaks the shackles of traditional thinking in a never before way in the indian cinema. Its unconventional, liberating and invigorating.

Dev-D is in love with Paro, who gets married to someone else. Enters Chanda (aka Chandramukhi), a new emotional release to Dev from the brink of personal destrction.

Here you will not find vampish sister in law or strict dad who was responsible for Dev's downfall.
Dev is responsible for his own downfall, his breaking up with Paro. Dev admits to this in a reflective moment. In his own words, "I am incapable of loving anyone else, I am a slut".

Dev-D features Paro, the new Indian woman, who is not afraid or ashamed of her needs or desires. She can beat up the man spreading rumours about her and walk with head held high, when her boyfriend calls her a slut. She moves on with no regrets. She can boldly walk into a seedy little hotel to meet her ex-boyfriend, clean up after him after her marraige.

Dev-D also features Lenny, a victim of MMS scandal, whose parents denounce her. Lenny becomes Chandramukhi, a commercial sex worker, who cannot understand the hypocrisy of people who downloaded her MMS video, watched, "Got off on it" and called her a slut. or cannot understand why her customers are so scared of the word "Whore" and use differenet euphemisms to describe her.

Abhay Deol excels as Dev-D, as is Kalki as Chanda. Eventhough the movie slackens a little towards the end, the narration is great till the last half an hour. Dev-D is a refreshing change than the candyfloss lovestories that bollywood dishes out at an alarming speed.

If you ever wondered how you can marry Sharath Chandra with Emily Bronte, watch Dev-D.

Candle in the wind

I find candles fascinating, romantic, enchanting and peaceful.

I am always buying candles, some of them exhorbitantly priced, from every place I visit. I have always harboured a secret desire to create some of my own candles. But being a lazy person that i am, i never got around to join the classes to learn to make these candles.

When I got much awaited 20 days holidays in December, I made up my mind to start learning to make candles. But the biggest problem in bangalore is finding the supplies for making candles, the only easily available candle making supplies are the Fevicryl Hobby Ideas candle making kits, but they are too childish.

Someone told me that I might be able to get some supplies in commercial street. I spent an entire day, in the tiny roads around commercial street with its innumerous shops selling craft supplies. But Nada. No candle making supplies available in these shops.

Then someone told me that i might be able to get the supplies in Raja Market, next to Avenue Road. (Though I cant help wondering why we have names like Avenue Road in Bangalore). This place is a pedestrian's nightmare. The aroma(?) of the food wafting through various nooks and crevices of this road, honeycombed with million tiny inroads, with people walking from all directions, I did manage to reach Raja Market.

Raja Market, i an old bangalorean market where you can buy all sorts of craft supplies, but i managed to find only one shop that sells candle making supplies. Felling extremely happy, i bought my supplies and went home all eager to try my first candle.

Anyways, all's well that ends well. I have been making candles for everyone i know, for birthdays, friends' new houses, general gifts to fresh acquaintances, you name it.

This is my first candle.

Six Suspects

Vikas Swarup reconstructs the Jessica Lal murder case through the murder of Ruby Gill. Vicky Rai shoots Ruby Gill, a bartender, when she refuses to serve him a drink after the bar is closed.
He gets acquitted from the case, and hosting a party to celebrate his victory. In an ironic situation, Vicky Rai himself is shot dead in his party.
Six people were found in possession of a gun. A motley crowd of suspects, their motives and their lives make up the rest of the novel "Six Suspects".
With six unusual characters all with a motive and the desire to kill Vicky Rai, investigative journalist Arun Advani digs deeper into the murder of Vicky Rai. The suspects are varied too, a hot bollywood actress, a corrupt politician, an american who dreams of marrying Ms. Universe, a mobile thief who is in love with the politician's daughter, a tribal from the Andaman islands and a corrupt (is there any other?) top government official with disassociative personality disorder.
What follows next is inordinately long stories of each of their lives. Eventhough the author tries to connect each little piece of story with the larger plot, there are too many details to keep track of and the plot fails to make sense.
Six Suspects sets out to be a crime fiction, but turns out to be preachy and ambitious literary satire on the current affairs of india. Or sets to be a literary discourse, but ends of trying to be a crime fiction. Whatever Vikas Swarup set out to create, in the end, what "Six Suspects" turned out to be, is a simple pulp fiction.
Vikas Swarup is like a small boy in a candy store, who is trying to stuff his small pockets with as many candies as possible. In "Six Suspects", he talks about issues like Jessica Lal murder case, gender biases against women, bhopal gas tragedy, infamous black buck killing and the BMW accident that mowed down the streetdwellers (a.la Salman Khan style), corrupt politicians, corrupt religious gurus, corrupt police officials, poverty, terrorism, naxalism.... Phew...i am running out of breath. I was almost waiting for the novel to start talking about global warming as well. Thankfully it din't... in the next novel may be.
The novel is crammed with too many things to say in too little space and tries to tell what the world wants to hear. Stereotyping India, the book is liberally peppered with statements like, "Any girl who wears jeans and tee has loose morals in India", or a university graduate who is a mobile thief, or the "Face of Bhopal" Champi bhopali, who lives in the slum.
Towards the end, the book is more confused than ever, in an effort to build a gripping climax, Swarup confuses the readers with too many plots. Unfortunately, in spite of all these, the climax falls quite flat.
Vikas Swarup's trademark style of building various stories with a single thread is clearly visible in this novel. He also brings about some interesting viewpoints from his characters, especially Shabnam, about reverse colonialism and Coppola's movies.
It is a good read, if you are the kind who enjoy Chethan Bhagath's books.

HDK Says Why Are you Bangaloreans Whining?

HD Devegowda and his illustrious son HDK have been royal pain in Karnataka's neck for over two decades. But we have learnt to tolerate these political, power hungry, publicity craving, corrupt duo over a period of time. However the last straw in the collective patience of Karnataka's people in general and bangalore in particular was his so called celebratory rally on 17th - Oct- 2008. The traffic around the city came to a standstill for over 7 hours. The city was converted into a huge tavern and trash can. Truck loads or should i say bus loads of people were brought in from surrounding villages. The rumour has it that they were all plied with money and booze. Over 10 crore was spent for this "Celebration", leaving bangaloreans tired, unhappy and disgruntled due to the inconvenience caused. Thats one part of story.
A decent politico would have apologized to the general public and let the matter drop. yes, we would have been unhappy for a few days, but public memory is short. We would have forgotten this issue over time. But not Mr. HDK. After all, why should he waste his breath apologizing to the "Non-Voting" community? we are of course not valuable to him. He has the audacity to give statements in the media saying "my party will hold rallies whenever needed." and why are you bangaloreans whining? Mr. HDK is Karnataka's answer to Raj Thackre. At least RT has the decency not to divide his State's people. His anguish is against other states, whether right or not. But Mr HDK has stooped lower than that and trying to pit the Bangaloreans and the rural masses against each other.
I have few questions for Mr. HDK.
Mr. HDK have you no shame whatsoever? How did you get over 10 crores that was spent on this rally to protest Government's maladministration? and Why did people have to plied with money, food and booze to protest against injustice?

Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian

Imagine, your boring mundane world is transformed by a call from distant magical world. Suddenly you are no longer slaving in your school for better grades, but brandishing swords in a magical land and fighting whooshing arrows to help a very handsome prince get what is rightfully his. Centaurs, giant birds, little pygmies, talking mice (no less), and squirrels help you in your war.

You are blessed by this lovely, albeit a little too big lion, in your endeavors.
What more, you live through the glorifying moment of right winning over wrong and justice prevailing. Magical!!

That’s what watching Chronicles of Narnia did to me. Transported me to a magical land.