Waking up at 9. Relaxed tea, plenty of newspapers.
Extensive clean up at home, trimming plants in the garden. Encounter with a bee, the human winning the battle in the end with the help of his sophisticated equipment. Ten enormous Shoppers Stop bags worth of discards.
Afternoon tea with a close friend in the comfort of a clean and fresh smelling home.
Property hunting in the evening. Tea and pav bhaji at Shiv Sagar. A little shopping, some home decor.
A light soup for dinner.
Laundry. Criminal Minds Season One DVD at night.
A perfect Sunday!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
(Just Like) Trikaya
So after a fairly promising first visit a few weeks back, we finally got the chance today to go to Trikaya again - and while the rest of the food we ordered was decent, we were shocked to be served the artificial, made-from-fish "Just Like Crab" nuggets in our crab meat soup! Completely unacceptable in a restaurant this posh, the recovery was worse than the mistake. No apology. Instead, the chief waiter tried to explain that JLC was actually crab. When I showed him the ingredients, he sheepishly took it away, then got "real crab meat soup", this time in a very different preparation than the first dish!
And at 200 for a bowl of steam rice, and 100 for a plate of masala papad, it almost seems as if Trikaya is out to fleece its unsuspecting customers on the weekends, since it doesn't seem to have much of a clientele on weekdays anyway.
Very sad, really - because with the lovely decor and ambience, Trikaya could have rocked the city.
And at 200 for a bowl of steam rice, and 100 for a plate of masala papad, it almost seems as if Trikaya is out to fleece its unsuspecting customers on the weekends, since it doesn't seem to have much of a clientele on weekdays anyway.
Very sad, really - because with the lovely decor and ambience, Trikaya could have rocked the city.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Movie Review: Hiss
When a good Holywood director makes half the movie, and then an Indian B grade producer puts his mark on it, you get Hiss. It's like the rest of India - two different worlds trying to coexist together, but not doing such a great job.
A gora wants to capture a naagin for her naagmani, to attain immortality. He captures the naag, then waits for the naagin to come. The naagin takes a human form (Mallika Sherawat, who looks good, doesn't have a single dialogue in the movie, and has gone on record saying she did the nude scenes which were very obviously done by a body double) and goes on a rampage, sometimes provoked, sometimes not.
I do not know what happens in the end, because I left the theatre immediately after half time.
Instead of the movie, go to your local snake park.
A gora wants to capture a naagin for her naagmani, to attain immortality. He captures the naag, then waits for the naagin to come. The naagin takes a human form (Mallika Sherawat, who looks good, doesn't have a single dialogue in the movie, and has gone on record saying she did the nude scenes which were very obviously done by a body double) and goes on a rampage, sometimes provoked, sometimes not.
I do not know what happens in the end, because I left the theatre immediately after half time.
Instead of the movie, go to your local snake park.
Monday, October 25, 2010
English
Professor Ernest Brennecke of Columbia is credited with inventing a sentence that can be made to have eight different meanings by placing ONE WORD in all possible positions in the sentence: "I hit him in the eye yesterday."
ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday. (No one else did.)
I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday. (Did not slap him.)
I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit others.)
I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit outside the eye.)
I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday. (Not other organs.)
I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday. (He doesn't have another eye..)
I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday. (Not today.)
I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY. (Did not wait for today.)
ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday. (No one else did.)
I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday. (Did not slap him.)
I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit others.)
I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit outside the eye.)
I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday. (Not other organs.)
I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday. (He doesn't have another eye..)
I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday. (Not today.)
I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY. (Did not wait for today.)
Movie Review: Dus Tola
Dus Tola is the story of a young gold smith, how he is cheated in love by his neighbours, and how he ultimately turns the tables on them at the end. With Manoj Bajpai and Aarti Chabria in the lead along with a bunch of other motley characters, shot in Wai and Panchgani mimicking a typical Indian rural small town, the production quality rivalling Doordarshan of the yesteryears, Dus Tola should be on your plate only if you are stranded on an island with a DVD player, and only one DVD.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Generation Gap
Boy's dad joined Facebook. Boy's status, 'WTF'. Boy's dad asks, 'what is WTF?' Kid replies, 'Welcome To Facebook'
Movie Review: Piranha 3D
First, the disclaimer - I saw this on 2D DVD, so I cannot comment on the 3D effects - although, I dare say, this would be a must watch for the horror buffs.
While the small community on Lake Victoria braces for the hordes of bikini babes and adrenalin-junkie hunks descending on their lake for the spring break, underwater siesmic activity unleashes a hungry pack of Piranhas towards the unsuspecting revellers. The perfect recipe for bums, boobs and blood. Not for the squeamish, avoid if you cannot take flesh-eating monster fishes stripping humans to the skeletons and bodies falling apart in a gush of blood and gore.
Aah, nude babes in 3D - that might be a fair reward for sitting through the horror.
While the small community on Lake Victoria braces for the hordes of bikini babes and adrenalin-junkie hunks descending on their lake for the spring break, underwater siesmic activity unleashes a hungry pack of Piranhas towards the unsuspecting revellers. The perfect recipe for bums, boobs and blood. Not for the squeamish, avoid if you cannot take flesh-eating monster fishes stripping humans to the skeletons and bodies falling apart in a gush of blood and gore.
Aah, nude babes in 3D - that might be a fair reward for sitting through the horror.
Movie Review: Unthinkable
With the anti-terror squad racing against time to find the three nuclear bombs ticking off the seconds before detonation in three days time, desperate measures are called for. Enter H (Samuel Jackson), the interrogator. His third degree torture gets results, but is it acceptable in a humane society? As the deadline approaches with no victory in sight, law enforcement needs to look the other way when the interrogator brings up his last weapon - the unthinkable.
Shot mostly in the interrogation chamber, the movie rouses a keen interest at the beginning, and does hold your attention hostage, but at the end, you might come out feeling a little cheated...
Avoidable.
Shot mostly in the interrogation chamber, the movie rouses a keen interest at the beginning, and does hold your attention hostage, but at the end, you might come out feeling a little cheated...
Avoidable.
Trip to Bhuleshwar Temple
It had been a long time since I got out of the city, and the weekend provided the perfect opportunity for a quick (offroad) trip with some friends to Bhuleshwar, a beautiful old temple about 50 km from Pune, about 10 km off the Pune Solapur highway, just before Yavat.
We left late in the morning, the effect of a late Friday night movie. We stopped for a quick lunch at the Madhuban Hotel in Uruli, where the hotel's blackboard assured us we were on the right track.
After a short but steep climb into the hills, we reached Bhuleshwar. The temple is breathtakingly beautiful, although in need of some maintenance. For the believers, the priest will also take your offerings to the Shivling, and if you are lucky, you will find that your prasad has been eaten - and your mannat has been granted.
This seems to be a lady avataar of Ganapati - very rare indeed!
Does this not remind you of something? :)
Hot chillis for the cool dudes - I love the vibrant color in this picture!
Can you catch the Ganapati in this picture? Look again - the first figure from the top left!
After the temple, it was time for some soft offroading - a little water, a little hill, and some beautiful pictures.
Ahem, this is what happens when you let Samara loose in the wild!
Bhuleshwar is a nice option for a short half day trip out of Pune. There aren't too many hotels around, but if you are not too picky, you will survive. The final few hundred meters to the temple are steep and the road is very bad, so be careful. After visiting the temple, be sure to wander around the vast table top - it's a truly refreshing experience.
We left late in the morning, the effect of a late Friday night movie. We stopped for a quick lunch at the Madhuban Hotel in Uruli, where the hotel's blackboard assured us we were on the right track.
Here we are, well fed and raring to go! The small hotel had a limited menu, but more than made up for it with a very big heart. We thoroughly enjoyed the rotis and chana masala, hakka noodles and adrak ki chai.
We took many stops along the way for photos. The endlessly rolling fields of flowers are just irresistible!
After a short but steep climb into the hills, we reached Bhuleshwar. The temple is breathtakingly beautiful, although in need of some maintenance. For the believers, the priest will also take your offerings to the Shivling, and if you are lucky, you will find that your prasad has been eaten - and your mannat has been granted.
This seems to be a lady avataar of Ganapati - very rare indeed!
Does this not remind you of something? :)
Hot chillis for the cool dudes - I love the vibrant color in this picture!
Can you catch the Ganapati in this picture? Look again - the first figure from the top left!
After the temple, it was time for some soft offroading - a little water, a little hill, and some beautiful pictures.
Now, this is a very special one! I loved this composition, they look so tiny and cute. Liliputians with Gulliver!
Ahem, this is what happens when you let Samara loose in the wild!
This dragonfly was intent on having babies with Samara! And he tried not once, but dubara!
Bhuleshwar is a nice option for a short half day trip out of Pune. There aren't too many hotels around, but if you are not too picky, you will survive. The final few hundred meters to the temple are steep and the road is very bad, so be careful. After visiting the temple, be sure to wander around the vast table top - it's a truly refreshing experience.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Movie Review: Aakrosh
Based on the raging issue of caste-based honour killings in UP and Bihar, Aakrosh is a very commendable deviation from the comedy stable of Priyadarshan. A dark movie, Aakrosh will shake you with its no-holds barred look at the shameful darker shades of modern India's heartlands. Ajay Devgan as an ex-army guy on deputation pairs up with the oh-so-quiet-and-in-control CBI officer Akshay Khanna to investigate the disappearance of three Delhi students on holiday in a small Bihar town. Very soon, it is obvious that this will be no simple Sherlock Holmes episode. Things go from bad to worse, when the police, the politicians, the local administration, the goondas, and eventually the local townsfolk, turn against the officers from Delhi, threatening their lives on more than one occasion, terrorizing every potential witness, and ruining any chance of getting justice.
Will the law eventually catch up? Will it be enough? Will Ajay's firebrand methods work, or will the methodical and systematic investigative methods of the CBI officer bear fruits in the end?
A rivetting drama, excellent performances by the cast including Ajay, Akshay and Paresh Rawal, some of Bollywood's best action scenes, and a nice item song by Sameera Reddy along with another unique number by Bipasha/Ajay, the movie is a super package.
Do watch it, if you are OK with life being not all Archies and Coffee Day. Here's a peek at another India, that's as real as you and me.
Will the law eventually catch up? Will it be enough? Will Ajay's firebrand methods work, or will the methodical and systematic investigative methods of the CBI officer bear fruits in the end?
A rivetting drama, excellent performances by the cast including Ajay, Akshay and Paresh Rawal, some of Bollywood's best action scenes, and a nice item song by Sameera Reddy along with another unique number by Bipasha/Ajay, the movie is a super package.
Do watch it, if you are OK with life being not all Archies and Coffee Day. Here's a peek at another India, that's as real as you and me.
Young India Beat Australia
A rookie Indian team minus seven of its big stars crushed the Aussies in the second one dayer at Vizag, chasing just under 300 comfortably with 5 wickets to spare, after a late innings charge by Cameron White allowed the Aussies to post a respectable score. India now lead 1-0 (the first was washed off), and after a 2-0 drubbing in the tests, the Aussies will look to win the last one dayer in Goa to end on a slightly happy note. Virat hit a superb third century, and was ably supported by Yuvi and Raina, who made sure there were no hiccups along the way.
Everytime I feel proud of my country, it gives me yet another reason!
Everytime I feel proud of my country, it gives me yet another reason!
Quote For The Day
Overheard: I am not attracted by a girl's mind, I am attracted by what she doesn't mind :)
Movie Review: The Switch
When Casey decides to have a baby at a "getting pregnant party", her best friend "accidently" ends up switching the donor's "seed" with his own, drunk and unable to remember a thing. Seven years later, Casey reunites with her friend in the city, along with her six-year old son. The switch becomes painfully clear when the son turns out to be a carbon copy of the "friend". Meanwhile, Casey wants to carry on with her life, convincing herself to fall in love with the "donor", now happily divorced, single and ready to mingle, while the son forges a strong bond with his "uncle", his mom's best friend.
Some funny moments, a few touching scenes (the scene with the boy in bed, discussing his frames collection was my best followed by the family photo at the birthday party at the rock climb) - a fairly good late night movie, watch it without your kids (unless you want to explain to them what the seed was!).
Some funny moments, a few touching scenes (the scene with the boy in bed, discussing his frames collection was my best followed by the family photo at the birthday party at the rock climb) - a fairly good late night movie, watch it without your kids (unless you want to explain to them what the seed was!).
Movie Review: Knock Out
A Phone Booth rip-off, the movie feels pretty raw and the plot very amateurish in its detailing. Irrfan Khan can do much better, Sanjay Dutt can get a little less filmy with his dialogues (goli niklegi, dimmag ki khidki khulegi!), Kangana was much better in Mumbai, and everyone else can be a little more twenty first century rather than early 90s in their sophistication.
If you haven't seen Phone Booth, you might actually enjoy the "unique" story!
Overall, you can knock it off your Craig List.
If you haven't seen Phone Booth, you might actually enjoy the "unique" story!
Overall, you can knock it off your Craig List.
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