Before

After

Holi hai!!!!

What a holi this was!! I have never played colors like this. Complete riot. From an initial gang of 15, it grew up to a gang of 30 and each new comer went through the induction process ;) Even while in calcutta, I had stopped playing holi because my skin is allergic to colors. So to celebrate holi in this fashion specially in Bangalore, was an awesome experience. The colors, the mithai, the food, the people, the pool that we created by blocking the water outlet, the bhaaaang and the music! Total masti. I will probably post a before and after pic very soon. Happy Holi to all of you :)

the 30's syndrome

Its that time of the year again when we wish all and sundry Happy New year. So hey, Happy New year! I hope you have made your resolutions and have broken them too :) I have!

Well, its been an eventful year so far. I will spare you the details. But I must admit there is one thing about this year thats bothering me. I will turn 29 this year! Its just a year lesser than 30. 30!! I have always been very wary of that number. I have never wanted to turn 30. I mean I have always teased my friends who are 30 or above. In a year, they would be able to tease me too. I am already hating it. I would be soon on the other-side of 30's. Sounds appalling actually. You know, just today I was having a conversation with a friend who I have recently come to know and she thought I was 25. I took it as a compliment. Fact remains though that I am not 25. And 30 sounds old. Really old. At least to a 28 year old. I have always told myself I can experiment with everything because I am not 30 yet. Guess I won't be able to say that to myself,in about a year. Worse still, I am no more "young and rising". Old and rising sounds horrible!!! I wonder how it is to be in your 30's. What changes in one's life. A few things that I can think of - may be the calendar would show more visits to a doc, growing belly?, even lesser sports, worry to settle down sooner, you can now safely tell the college kid - dude I have been there and I have done that and lastly you cant use the word dude anymore.

Anyways, the upside is, I am NOT turning 30. I still have a year to do all the things that I can't supposedly do in my 30's (eeeeks). So I just have one thing to say - I am turning 29. So what!! I say bring it on boy!!

New years eve

The New years eve is approaching and like always I don't have a plan. Will it be a party or will it be a visit to some NGO or will it be a drive out of town, I am still not sure. However, this time I am sure that I will usher in the new year with something more constructive than last year. Last year I spent it at home watching TV! Like the last year, I have drawn up my list of resolutions which I hope I will follow. Looking back at the resolutions taken last year, I haven't followed just one. I had actually made two resolutions. I know, thats a bad average! 

So much so for the new year. A few days back I was talking (online) to a friend who stays abroad and had recently visited India. I noticed her profile picture on the networking site. The picture had her posing with 4 street kids and everybody doing a namaste. Somehow most of the time, I see that people visiting India put up pictures like these. This is the image that they carry back, them with street kids, them doing a namaste or them standing next to a famished lady and similar stuff. Wonder if they lack in finding something more enduring or its just the "in" thing!    

Go watch Ghajini

I don't remember enjoying a good hindi action thriller in a long time before I watched Ghajini yesterday. Its a top notch, fast paced thriller from one of the finest actors that we have in the industry. The way Aamir is able to bring out the pain of having lost someone you love and then not remembering a thing about who killed her and how, it is really commendable. At so many places, he let his eyes do the talking. The story is about a millionaire guy pretending to be a regular struggling ad film actor falling in love with another struggling actor and then both of them getting smacked by the same villain. Finally the hero who survived the attack, loses his memory, tattoos the clues on his body and then goes out and takes revenge for his loss. Although the story is not too novel, the execution is fast paced and thats what makes the movie so enjoyable. The music is good, the acting is good and the cinematography is awesome. Aamir has put in a stellar performance and if not anything else, the movie is worth watching only for him. Go watch Ghajini! 

Mumbai under siege

As I write this blog, Mumbai is under siege. The unofficial count on the number of dead is almost 150 and more than 350 injured. God knows what is in store for the people still held hostage in Taj Hotel. I feel like going back to my blog written in September where I had said no place is safe and terrorists can come and bomb any location at will. 

The locations under attack in Mumbai last night are not nondescript places. They are spots frequented by the mumbaikars and visitors alike. These are places in the heart of the city. And yet terrorists were able to walk in with bags full of explosives! This says a lot about the might of our intelligence system. 

I think its just a matter of will. How much are we willing to lose before we start a drive to weed out these terrorists. Look at the Americans, there might be larger motives working behind bombing iraq, but at least Bush came out very very strongly against the twin tower attacks. We don't get to hear harsh words against the terrorists at all. The will to eliminate them is not visible, leave alone an effort. This Mumbai bombing and terror attack is a national calamity and its time we react accordingly.  

So near yet so far!

What a race it was. The final grand prix this year. Before the race started, you wouldn't have put your monies on Ferrari ending 1st and 3rd and yet Felipe Massa losing out on the world championship. Massa won the race but you could see him almost at the verge of crying on the podium... I have never seen anyone so upset even after winning the race. The winner yet the loser. What irony! 

The last 30 seconds of this race have to be the most riveting. First it was Kubica hanging on to the tail of Hamilton and then the breathtaking overtake of hamilton by vettel!!! For a moment it seemed Kubica had handed over the championship to Massa by overtaking Hamilton (even though he was a lap down. what was he thinking!!!). And then finally Glock letting Lewis overtake him (by slowing down) at the final second. So so so unfair. You could see the Massa family celebrating thinking that Massa was the new world champion and then they realised what had just happened. Hamilton was 5th instead of 6th and according to the points he was the new world champion. All in all, a truly nail biting finish. 

Anyways, the consolation is that Ferrari won the Team Championship and they would still lead the pit lane. Go ferrari!!