The Palace of Illusions

What a book!!!

When I was a kid there was a poem in one of my Hindi text books. It was about the women in epics nobody wrote about. Everyone praises Sita and applauds her sacrifice... but how many remember Laxman's wife? Do we even know her name??? That is because Laxman had requested her to stay at home during the Vanwas so he could concentrate on serving Ram and Sita instead of getting distracted by her.

This book is about Draupadi... her point of view. Obviously, her feelings could be fiction but the events are not... I mean, the events are from the epic. For all I know... Mahabharata is fiction.

A very good book... it sucked me in... I opened it on Sunday and read through the rest of the week till today morning (after work, of course).

I hate it when a good book ends... there is a void in my life after the last word is read. Who knows how long it will be before another one can have a similar effect?

I have also gotten interested in Mahabharata and am looking for an e-book.

Khana Khazana

Yesterday I was googling for Sindhi food recipes. I was not even sure if there is a typical Sindhi cuisine. I have eaten at relatives' houses and they serve similar dishes as mine does.. but is it categorised as 'Sindhi cuisine'- a question that needed to be answered.

Much to my surprise there is a blog for Sindhi cuisine recipes- http://sindhirasoi.com/

I came across recipes of a lot of stuff cooked at home... it felt so good.

I tried cooking pasta today... it turned out ok. I love watching pasta being cooked... it looks simple and it is... some boiled pasta... some tomatoes... some capsicums... some spices (salt, pepper, oregano), garlic... shake shake shake... and voila it is done. I tried it today... unfortunately this brand of oregano does not taste good... I cheated and added tomato ketchup.

I just finished reading the book 'Why we buy' by Paco Underhill... the Kotler of retail. The book is simply written minus any fundas (the best part about it). I should not compare him to Kotler... he is too practical for that. The book was lent by my ex-boss a year back. Yes, it took me a year to pick it up because I am not so fond of non-fiction MBA books... but this one is damn good. I will buy the other books by this guy.

Tried Maggi pasta??? It sucks. Readymade pasta is a dead category... you cannot just add Indian spices to pasta... Chinese can be Indianized but not pasta.

The big hypermarket near my house is closing down... I think it is not making profits despite high footfalls which is quite a bummer. I might have to go to Star Bazaar in Thane to shop... I don't like crowded supermarkets like DMart and Food Bazaar even though they are cheaper and closer. Thankfully... Hypercity is opening in Thane in January... but I cannot shop for groceries in a jiffy now... :(

Cochin

I was at Cochin was a sales conference last week. On the last day I pulled my colleague for shopping... she did owe me one for helping her avoid the guy trying to hit on her. We headed to Kalyan Silks- a saree outlet at MG Road in Cochin. I was bowled over. The shop is spread over 6 floors and stocks sarees, dress materials, cosmetics, western outfits, accessories etc. As I stepped on the escalator a sales girl directed me to the correct floor. On reaching the floor another sales girl escorted me to correct section and showed numerous sarees. My colleague bought a saree even though she had no intentions of shopping while I bought two.

The shop was screaming "Spend money". I doubt anyone left without shopping. The service is amazing... so is the collection.

No outlet- Westside, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop etc comes close to the kind of service provided here. I was surprised... here is a local outlet which has got its model right... it knows what a customer is looking for while the bigger chains are getting lost in a maze of stupid, complicated policies and systems.

New Moon

I watched this one last weekend. I have blogged about the book and was looking forward to the movie. The only was problem was... would KC have the patience to sit through it. I told him it is about vampires and werewolves to get him excited... and then added the angle is romance rather than thrill to lower the expectations.

The movie is watchable if you have read the book or the first movie (Twilight) and liked it. The rest will be disappointed.

Looking forward to the 3rd part.

Paa

Umm... where do I begin? I went for this movie with high expectations... it was chosen over Rocket Singh... after reading the reviews and weighing all options. Completely disappointing and such a waste of money... KC and I walked out mid way.

Progeria toh ek bahana hai. The movie has the same ghisa pita story... boy and girl fall in love... have sex without protection (why??? she is studying medicine... he is a political science student... give me a Rachel and Ross version where the conception happens despite condom usage over no protection)... boy cannot commit... girl does not want to abort (umm!!! then don't have sex without protection)... brings up a child who has progeria... child comes across father...

Thats when we walked out... I am predicting the rest of it now... father gets to know child is his... gets back with the mother... child dies in the end.

Progeria is added to bring a uniqueness to the movie... and what can be better than Amitabh playing the child of Abhishek!!! What a coup!!!

It is not even a one time watch... totally avoid.

The whole politics and Abhishek is soooooooooooo boring... Vidya Balan is looking very very good.. in Indian and Western outfits and thank god for that. I hated her in Kismat Connection and Hey Baby... what a waste of a beautiful body and face. Amitabh is good... as always.

We will watch New Moon tomorrow... hope that makes up for this disaster.

Dare 2 Date

I love this show... cannot catch as often as I would like to.... but...

Today's episode (maybe it is a repeat) has a typical Gujju 22 year old actress dating a Delhi 22 year old model. They are completely mismatched... she is a gharelu behenji... he is a cool dude. It is hilarious. I am just happy to see A'bad roads on TV. Sigh!!!

Before moving to Mumbai I expected the city to be multi cultural but it is very Marathi dominant (maybe Raj and gang have something to do with that). It makes life slightly difficult 'coz I don't speak a word of Marathi and have no interest in learning it either. I didn't notice the Gujarati dominance in Gujarat because I know the language.

I love the ad 'Strange Love' of Coke. The new Fast track ads of 'Move On' are also very good.

There is nothing on TV on Fridays... what a waste!!!

Rangeela Re

I am watching the movie 'Rangeela' on Sahara One. I love this movie... it is significant in many ways:

• The first time I watched it was in a theatre at Abu Road. I studied in a convent at Mt Abu (a hill station in Rajasthan). In 7th std we went for a picnic to Gurushikhar. The bus broke down on the way back and we walked it till an army bus gave us a lift. On reaching the hostel in the evening we were exhausted but the thought of watching a movie sounded refreshing. This is in those days when we barely watched TV.. maybe one hour per week... movies were watched only on CDs on Sundays (once a month)... I had not even heard of 'Rangeela' but didn't care. I loved every minute of the movie.
• 'Rangeela' set a trend in terms of fashion... clothes and make up. It launched Manish Malhotra and re-launched Urmila's career. Audience took notice of her as a 'sex symbol' for the first time. I wouldn't be surprised if she got some plastic surgery also done.
• Staying in Mumbai I can totally understand Aamir's character. People are that Bindaas and take pride in this city... the reason beats me...
• Anyone remember 'Philips Top 10'???... the show on TV (I think Zee Tv) with countdown of songs every week hosted by Satish Shah or Shafi Inamdar. The songs of Rangeela were at the top for months... 'Tanha Tanha'... and for the first time it was ok to watch a hot female in a see through nightie running on the beach... with the family members

Bride Wars

Another chick flick. I like Anne Hathway... she is pretty and can act. Kate Hudson is ok types... she generally acts in very B type movies.

Can be watched once.

Things to do today

I forgot to make the list yesterday... not that it varies too much every weekend:

• Grocery shopping... 90% done yesterday... 10% today
• Give clothes for alteration to the tailor
• Pedicure... to de-stress the feet
• Buy Airtel digital TV recharge coupon
• Clean furniture
• Wash clothes... done
• Water plants... done

Some Random Stuff

• A pigeon has laid 2 eggs in my balcony. I am confused what to do- Should I shoo her away or let her stay? How do I shoo her away without hurting the eggs? If I let her stay will she bring up the baby pigeons in my balcony? So many questions... as long as she does not bother me I think she can stay. I could use some company.
• I drove 2 kms in 30 minutes between Lower Parel (outside Phoenix Mills) and Dadar fly over... I am not that slow... the traffic was that killing
• It is going to be a hectic week... travelling to South Mumbai everyday in the week is tiring... My friend was trying to convince me to move a little centrally but paying the exorbitant rents for tiny spaces is not worth it

Good night.... Xhausted!!!