It is nice...

... to talk to friends... there is the assurance that I am not alone... that there are other people (like me) suffering in a similar manner... and it is nice to gossip... there is the knowledge that strangers are also suffering in a similar manner.

Lafangey Parinde

I don't know why I went for this movie.... these days I only watch "different" Bollywood stuff... none of the usual for me. KC was bored and wanted to catch a filum so we headed for this one. I already knew the story and the reviews.

Read any website for the story... it is a different story with Bollywood treatment. Very avoidable. There is no logic or sense in it but Deepika and Nitin have made genuine efforts of acting. Full marks to them.

Watch only if nothing else is available.

Peepli Live

I was eager to watch this one... 'coz of all the hype. Peepli Live is a movie about farmer suicides, government's apathy towards them and media circus. It is not about a happy ending or even getting a solution... it is about reality and the end is as real as it happens which may get disappointing. I liked it... but not many people will.

The chase for sensation by the media is hilarious and portrayed very correctly. I hope the channel guys watch it and realize how stupid they look on TV.

The actors are fabulous... worth a watch.

Eat Pray Love

I caught up on reading in the hospital (yes... it was malaria... yes... I was in the hospital). KC bought me this book and I was glad. I have been reading about the movie based on it which stars Julia Roberts.

The book is a true story about a woman and her search for God... she travels to Bali, India and Paris after her life falls apart. It is an ok ok book which got too heavy will all the meditation and God talk.

I hope the movie is better.

English August

I wanted to pick up this book for ages. There is also a movie based on it but I cannot find the CD or torrent.

The book is about a young man who gets into IAS. The prestigious position in India... the book is about Agastya's one training during IAS. The profession is not what it is made out to be.

Agastya is from Kolkatta and Delhi... a youngster who loves his booze and drugs. He is sent to a small town- Madna where he spends most of the days boozing, masturbating and doping. There is a time when he thinks of quitting and going home but his father urges him to stay on.

In the end he stays on... and despite best intentions does learn a few lessons... but gives up.

It is a depressing book... and removes the lustre from IAS profession.

Worth a read.

Hiya... I am ill... just got tested for Malaria. I hope the reports come negative tomorrow. One moment I was busy with work in the market and could feel the beginnings of a terrible headache which I shirked off as stress.... the next moment I was puking my lunch in the office loo at 6 pm. I drove home holding on with difficulty. All I wanted to do was stop my car at Powai and puke.

I took the day off today and felt better by afternoon. But as evening crawled I started shivering and felt the fever on me. The doc was kind enough to prescribe fewer tablets (I cannot take tablets). KC is adamant about coming home over the weekend... but this month is hectic for both of us and we cannot afford to lose work days. The phone kept ringing every hour and I didn't know how to tell everyone to leave me alone. Sigh!!!

Malaria is becoming a problem in Mumbai but I didn't imagine it could affect me. There are no mosquitoes at home. Thankfully I stay on the 8th floor where the stench of garbage strewn around the building cannot reach.

Anyway... I managed to finish all seasons of 'That 70s show'. This is the only series after Friends and SATC that I have completed.

Here are my thoughts:

• I wanted Jackie and Hyde to end up together... they made a combustible pair
• Dana should have ended up with Randy... they were quite perfect for each other in season 8. But she goes back to Eric. Real life is about moving on and not getting stuck in a rut
• Dana gives up college 'coz she cannot part from Eric but he does not think twice before going to Africa... and she talks about feminism???
• It was shock to see the teens working at various jobs instead of attending college but thats American life, I guess
• Fas's native country is not revealed till the end... and that is hilarious
• Eric's parents were consistent through all the seasons... damn good

My bed is filled with clothes, medicines, laptop, books, thermometer. I hate to sleep in such a messy place but have no energy to clean.

Btw... illness did not deter me from washing clothes. :)

The Great Indian Novel

There are some books which make you feel like life was incomplete until you read them... you wonder how you went through life without delving into those pages... how you can have a library and not stock this gem.

TGIN is one such book. I am amazed... such imagination, humor, writing skills... very few writers possess these traits. I wish I could write like that. If I was asked for one boon I would wish to write like Shashi Tharoor.

This book is about Mahabharta and Modern Indian history. The characters of the epic become synonymous to the politicians in freedom movement and later period. So... Bhishma is Gandhi.... Karna is Jinnah... Duryodhan is Indira Gandhi... Pandavas are Congressmen... so on and so forth.

Worth a read.