Extracts from a Diary

So I met up with a few old friends recently (multiple instances; different sets; essentially, disclaimer for avoiding being identified by said friends). I realised: Hugging is awkward! Now, don't mistake me - I am not this random emotionless cold person or someone with major issues of physical contact with another human. It's more about the social complications that it entails. Consider the scenario of shaking hands. Apart from the complications requiring the understanding of the cultural  background  of the person, there's also additional complications of occasions. I am unexpectedly meeting this colleague at a common party after work and I will meet the person in another 12 hours. But, I shook hands with the others guys, who I was meeting after some time. Or, the timing of it - you offer the hand just as other person looked elsewhere. Or, there's a mismatch on the firmness of the handshake. That encapsulates the complexity of a hug but there are a few other reasons t...

I committed myself to putting one post a month. That did not work out so well. So, I am putting an earlier article that was published at my b-school's blog here On a recent trip to Delhi, I stumbled on a car with a slogan saying: ‘Singh is better than king,’ and as it would happen, a friend wrote an article on a related topic here  (NOT a shameless plug for the said friend). It got me thinking on certain things. A movie like Singh is King or even 3 Idiots (yes! The one hailed as the next best thing since Rang De Basanti – another falling into this category that I am talking of) has a certain kind of an impact on the audience. Now, because we are so jobless – me in writing this article and you in reading it – you might just as well do well to imagine a normal curve. Now imagine one (and only one specific) quality of a film or a film maker which defines the quality of the movie made and assume this quality to be distributed along the normal curve . Now,  this qualit...

(Courtesy: Zeitgeist Films; distributors of the movie) I normally don't do reviews. I can't pin down my reasons for the same. It's probably a mixture of the fact that it takes an 'inspired' (no, not in the sense Hindi film industry/reviewers use it) movie to inspire me to think about a movie enough. And, it takes more than that to inspire enough to write something about it. It might be something to do with my need for pushing a certain movie (which, in turn, can be broken down but I would rather care not to, at this point), or something to do with sparking off a thought. Or, something that effects me emotionally. I felt Chaitanya Tamhane's debut movie, Court (trailer here , synopsis here ), achieved those and more. It had its issues. The biggest of them all being, essentially, this tendency of characters to just generally stare at blankness while driving/walking/existing. And, 'slowness' (or my need, as a viewer, for the movie to just 'get o...

As far back as I can remember, I always supported South African Cricket Team. I remember being conflicted about supporting Indian cricket team at various points through my childhood (and beyond?) but always remember being a Proteas' supporter. Maybe not such a strong one during the '96 world cup, which is also among the earliest memories of cricket I remember.  Now, for some reasons quite a few of my friends and acquaintances associate me with being rational, lacking emotion, or just lacking in empathy. I don't think that is completely true but that's for another day. What is not, is the next paragraph. (Yes, this paragraph was put in here randomly, without caring much about the flow and as an afterthought.) By the '99 version of it, I'd read about their readmission in '92, come to know about and admire their players like Fannie de Villiers (oh the action!), Brian McMillan (strictly an okay old-rounder says my cynical-of-nostalgia brain but as a kid...

I sometimes put to unsuspecting friends at random house parties, the question of the most impactful book/movie/life experience they've been through. Making a list longer than of 2 elements is a painful task. So, I don't really mean to thank the 3 individuals who tagged me on facebook to make a list of 10 most impactful books, 10 impactful most music, and 20 of most impacting hindi movies but it got me thinking for a good period to come up with a half-arsed list. So, guess that's a good thing and I should be thankful. I thought I'll put it up as a facebook note or something. Realisation struck: i) Too much random attention whoring ii) I should revive my blog! So, here it goes then:  Books   Books that I read voluntarily (which rules out all the acad books) and left a lasting impact or shaped me in some way, ordered by when I read them (first). Super Commando Dhruv & Tintin : Among the first comics I read and loved. I wouldn't blame it on them, th...

There, I said it! I am not a patriot and patriotism as a feeling is something I've not really properly understood, at least since crossing my teens or something. Why this, random and even provocative, claim, you ask? I am irritated by the recent flurry of facebook/twitter discussions, surrounding the whole Afzal Guru hanging episode. Anybody who is seen doubting the judiciary/government/popular version seems to automatically fall in the category of 'traitors of the nation', it seems. First off, I am someone who, in general, considers the judiciary to be much more qualified, experienced <and insert hajaar such similar disclaimers> than I am. I just have principles  (or well, stances for economic or philosophical reasons - 'principles' just sounded too big and constraining a word :D) that are different from what I understand as guiding the judiciary system of our country. And I, in general, view the government (of our country and elsewhere) with quite some...

<2nd Nov 2012, 1144 am, Versova, Mumbai> Long time no see! I think this datestamp thing of mentioning when a particular article was being written is something that I might be skipping soon. There have been multiple posts that I started in between the last published one which for whatever reasons (like losing interest in the topic I was writing about or wanting to write down something more urgent and important) I've not completed. And, this practice of maintaining a datestamp of each of these things tends to psychologically make me want to complete an older incomplete article than to start writing about my latest fascination. But, I am digressing from what I intended to write in this particular post. I've always maintained that the human mind is among the strongest and most fascinating things (self-serving/narcissistic statement made by my human mind, yes I know). So, whenever people seek other people's advice (and I do too, obviously) there is this part of my br...