Parallel Cinema

Just saw a movie...and thought of writing this post on my all time fav "parallel cinema" movies...

1. Suraj Ka Satva Ghoda - This is a movie by Shyam Benegal..talks about the life of a small-town person..a boy and his love interests till he transforms into a man of the world...beautifully directed and awesome portrayal by actors like Rajit Kapur...amrish puri...

2. Utsab/ Dahan/ Bariwali/ Unishe - all Rituparno Ghosh movies....all great scripts..and all well-directed...across the story of a joint family and all its drama and emotions portrayed during the few days they get together at Durga Puja...Dahan..about the courage shown by a young girl in saving a woman from being molested by a gang of boys amidst a busy metro station...Bariwali..a beautiful story of an old spinster portrayed by Kiron Kher...who gets involved in a movie shoot...and Unishe the troubled relationship between a famous mother and not-so-famous daughter

3. Ardh Satya/ Arth/ Mirch Masala - Smita Patil movies..with strong portrayal of female characters...across different strata's of society...in completely different settings ...showing the deep-seated corruption in metros...the intricacies of a broken marriage....the rebellion shown by a simple village woman in trying to protect her dignity.

4. Ek Din Achanak - a remarkable movie which shows the characters of different people in a family left puzzled by the disappearance of the father

5. Sparsh/ Ijaazat - Naseeruddin Shah in stellar performances...one as the principal of a Blind School...the other as an estranged husband...

6. Bhuvan Shome - the first new-age movie of its kind...with a one-of-its-kind performance by Utpal Dutt

7. Vijeta/ Umaro Jaan - rekha movies....both my all time fav...one for the army the other for the poetry

8. Katha - A Sai Paranjpai movie...where the slow and steady actually wins the race

9. Kamala ki Maut - set in the Mumbai Chaul...showing different families in different situations come together by the suicide of one of the tenants

10. Shatranj ke Khiladi/ Seemabaddha/ Ghare Baire/ Pratidwandi - Satyaji Ray...no descriptions required I guess!


11. Titli - an Aparna Sen movie which shows the beautiful relationship between a mother and a daughter portrayed by the real-life duo.

Well...these are about it!....love all these movies....maybe I've missed many...but these are definitely the must-see list

Sun in the sky you know how I feel...

Its amazing how the world can be such a beautiful place...inspite of everything we do it!....these snaps (some by me ..some by D) were taken from our balcony at differing times on differing days n differring months...I love the hues...its amazing! wish I lived on the beach somewhere..it would be so pretty!

Nostalgia.....

Today I was rmbring that old Doordarshan clip that used to come .....Ek Titli, Anek Titliyan....rmbr?....gawd...it just brought back so many memories...eating guavas with black salt sittin in the sunny part of the balcony with my sis immersed in a book....eating rajma chawal..and some fortunate days...baigan ka bharta n raita n rice...man....i used to take it all for granted...i miss verything soo much now...the summer holidays at my nani's place...my bade papa....man...i wish i cld visit him...my nani passed away abt 6 yrs back...i never forgave myself fr not showing my love more..for being this stupid self-obsessed girl at that time...hmm....the old LP's i used to listen to at my nani's place...the mangoes...peeling one orange after another...drinking foamy elaichi milk in the night...sleeping on the terrace with all my cousins ..chatting away...telling stories..listening to stories...pickles...my mom sunning the raw mangoes on the cot in the balcony...my mom sitting in the balcony drying her long wet hair in the sun...my father reading the newspaper on a sunday morning...my sis with oil in her hair studyin sitting on the bed...all of us sitting under India Gate...with the cool breeze blowing eating ice creams and my father telling us stories about his childhood....mann!!!!!!!!!!!...i really miss it....hmm...i really miss them.....

Guacamole!

I love mexican food....actually spicy food really does it for me....and next to Indian food ..mexican cuisine is the only one which comes close in the spice qoutient....!...i went to a restaurant here which serves amazzzin Mexican food!...and the best thing i like is the Guacamole dip or chutney..as we would call it.

Although I'm not too big on avocados...but in this dip they taste amazing...so here's the way to put it together....

You need:

1 big or 2 small avocados (for 4 ppl)
1 Green Chili
1 Tomato
1 Onion (usually they don't add onion..but I like it this way!)
Bunch of Cilantro (dhaniya)
Squeeze of one Lemon
Salt n sugar to taste

Then:

You peel the avocados and mash it well with a spoon in a big bowl....in a grinder..add diced onions...chili and cilantro...lemon juice..you can add the salt n sugar here...(1 spoon each shud be enuf). Then, take this paste ...add to the mashed avocados...then add diced tomatoes....and you're done....u can have it with tortillas....or just with bread...Deliziouuzz...

Must watch...

I just finished watching a suprisingly good movie...its called...Ten Items or Less....it was coming on the telly and I started watching it only because of Morgan Freeman..one of my fav actors...but this movie turned out to be really good...I mean...its not GREAttt or anything...but it grips you throughout..making you smile many times and then leaves you with a really nice feeling.....well...thats a good movie in my book....I recommend this movie to anyone who likes watching good movies!



Actually come to think of it...another movie which picturizes the relationship (or absence of it) between an older guy and a young woman is....The Girl in the Cafe..



its much more famous than Ten Items or Less (TIL)....but in my opinion its not as good as the latter...TIL is more earthy..less aimed at winning oscars..more likeable...so there u go...my filmi gyan for the day!

From Bee's kitchen...

I love to watch cooking shows.....actually i like to cook too but more than that i love to watch people cooking...or better still shopping for food n ingredients....yes, I'm a lil cooookieee!!(get it?!...arghh..ppl have no appreciation fr my sense of humour!!)....

Here's something I made yestdy...which wonder of wonder's da Fussy D also liked...

Actually this must be a pretty common dish in South India but here's my take on it:

Green Beans in Coconut chutney

Stuff u need:

coconut (about 1/4rth of a small coconut),
one green chilli, canola oil (1 tbspn),
salt,
garam masala,
ginger n garlic paste,
cumin,
mustard seeds,
curry leaves,
french beans (enough for two ppl,
finely diced -the beans i.e.),
onion,
sugar, and
asafoetida (teeny weeny bit, way less than a pinch) ....

i havn't mentioned the portions of the spices, well its upon u...a teaspoon of vrything shud be ok!

Now for makin it:

you first have to grind the coconut, chili in a mixer. keep it aside.
Then put some oil in a hot pan, add the mustard seeds, after spluttering add cumin, then curry leaves, then ginger/garlic paste, then chopped onions, add sugar, salt, fry till brown, add the spices, then the beans.....

Then finally the paste of coconut, let it cook till beans are tender, and you have a tasty n healthy bean dish .. all ready to be hogged upon!!

I have a pic of this...tho it doesnt look very appetising (mobile phone camera sucks!!) , trust me it tastes delicious!!

8*8*8 tag....

So was tagged by the gracious 'homecooked' about 8 things....and since i have SOoooo much time....let's see how I fare...

8 things I am passionate about:

EIGHT things.....wow!!

1)D
2)My Family i.e. my mom , dad, my sis n her family
2)Music - anything soulful, definitely old over new
3)Dancing any way I like
4)Readin a good book with a good cup of coffee
5)Movies - again have said enough about this in my previous post!
6)Painting - another post
7)White beaches n blue oceans
8) Oh my gawd i forgot ..FOOOD!!!!!!...big time....food ...spicy delicious food!

8 places I want to see before I die:

I actually am not big on travelling to touristy places...but wld like to do these:
1) stay in one of those transparent floored luxurious 'huts' in Bora Bora- i think i saw this picture once in a forward!
2) stay in Tuscany in one of those old villas with a vineyard in front
3) in darjeeling in a small cottage with loads of good music..books ...food and tea.
4) in a resort i've heard of in patagonia...the pictures are awesome!
5) Venice
6) Barcelona
7) Machu Picchu
8) Zanskar Valley

8 things i say often
1) really?
2) WTF
3) Ohmagawd
4) Shid
5) Uff!
6) damn
7) Whadahell
8) Wow

come to think of it...such profound gems i spew out on a daily basis!

8 books I have recently read or reading:
1) The Age of Kali
2) Swimming Lessons
3) Down Under
4) Inheritance of Loss
5) Broken Verses
6) A Walk in the woods
7) Marley & Me
8) Women in the background

8 Songs I listen to over and over:

1) rhim jhim girey sawan (its been rainin here :)
2) mere ghar aana zindagi
3) Feelin the same way
4) When i see you- yeaaah!!! baby!! when i seeya! :D
5) Teenage dirtbag
6) Khamaj
7) ranjish hi sahi
8) aapki aankhon me

8 things that attract us to our friends:

1) Honesty
2) Witty
3) Not too cynical
4) Intelligent
5) NICE
6) Kind
7) aahh....everything!!!!

God this was exhausting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My blood..sweat..n tears

Yes ...these are quite literally my blood....(cut myself once when I was using my knife to open a stuck gooed -up paint tube..)..sweat...(needs no explanation i suppose...i like any normal person do sweat when i work..yes painting is WORK?anybody differs?!)..but not BO people...deo suffused sweat....





tears...well not much appreciation has been recivd on this work frm D..he always looks at it..and lifts an eyebrows and drops his gems .."u knw u can do sooo much better...i think if u had used red/blue/brown here it wld have turned out better".not that this is bad...no no...just i knw ur potential and it cld have been so much better""...now i dont come frm the school of thought where only form of appreciation and motivation u gve to students is a lame ''u can do better'' speech...no sir...i believe in tellin people they're marvelous even if they're crap...not to say that my paintings are crap...nope....no sir...i beg to differ...i just say they're the nascent marks of greatness..yes i will stick with that line..

Arghhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Its official I have NO LIFE!!!!!!!..i just watched a 5 hour marathon of Brothers & Sisters....and sobbing at the part where "Justin" leaves fr the war....ahhhhhh....exhausting!.....yes .....NO LIFE!!!!!worthless....!

Mon Amour

Pikchurz!!!!

I love watching movies...no...let me say it right ....i LOwwwwwwww watching movies...watching in a hall ...or on TV...on my comp...nywhere...pirated (yes..bad bad..but still cant help it!)...original...bad quality good quality..nything....the feeling that i get in the pit of my tummy...(like when i used to feel when D and I kissed fr the first time..still do...sometimes..hmm tats what growing old does to u i guess)...that funny feeling of excitement of the unknown...is what i get when i'm sitting in the dark hall...with that dolby digital clip playing in the beginnin..then the clip of the movie house...the sound of the paramount trumpets (whtvr)..or the horse from the tristar movies..or the lady from columbia pictures....but the best ...20th century fox...man...gives me such a lift......even hindi cinema..i rmbr the trumpet (this time fr sure!) blowing gemini twins...the prithviraj clip from RK pictures...man..ol times...

i was watching Amelie ...again !!!!!...for the nth time!!...another french movie that is great is Jet Lag....love it!
Movies which i wanna see again...

jet lag
under the tuscan sun

Movies which i wanna see....
beautiful people
before night falls
in the bedroom
talk to her
storytelling
yi yi (a one and a two)
Y Tu Mamá También

heres hoping i can watch them sooon.....

I'd rather be here right now..

Standing in an original-tiled balcony with a black wrought iron hand crafted grill, in a sprawling old rustic villa (equipped with all modern plumbin n toilet facilities..no em not sooooo adventurous!) ....shadowed by tall leafy trees, overlooking the beautiful green mounds of Tuscany...hmmmmm...

trekking towards the snow-capped peaks of patagonia...with looong stops inbetween beside serene crystal-clear, bluest blue sky reflecting lakes....amply covered with sturdy AAand designer warm jackets (looking like how them european women look... FASHIONable even when wearing 5 inch thick jackets and yeti-fur snow boots!!)

sitting..no lying down...ON my tummy in a cushy n comfortable reclining beach chair...or bed..whtvr....under the breezy shadowes of palm trees ....(sans ny danger of fallin fruits or droppings) on a white lonely sandy beach with azure....yes....azhhhure ..clear (coral/fish-spotting clear kind) waters...with aromatic natural oils being gently massaged into my glowing skin by soft hands (preferably female...wnt hv too much peace of mind with d other gender!)....
with a tall glass of iced lime juice (spruced wit somethin infinitely more potent)....ahhhhhhhhhh!!!

off to drink something....all this fantasising is way too much for me...

Just back from "Pari"!!!

we have just come back from Paris....yeyyy!!yes yes it was amazing...yes it was so purtieeeh!!!!and yes it was cold..in Feb!!!!!....the worst was evidently over in Jan or so our hostess said...if Feb was warm i wonder wot cold wld be like...and no ..wld not like to experience it...hate hate cold...tho used to love delhi winters..still do....but somehow the winters outside of delhi seem dull,,,heartless and depressing.....specially in d phoren lands...i have come to love the always breezy ...always sunny...always nice weather of brazil.....ohhh the monsoons r here...ppl all arnd me hate the rains...i luuuurvvvvve them....i rmrbr the last time i was sitting in my grandma's house..on the huge terrace..with a ghazal playing on the old LP player...i was just sitting on the floor getting drenched in the most delicious skin soaking fresh smelling monsoon rain.....ohhhh that moment,.....ive never quite enjoyed rains like that again...except once maybe when i dragged D during a rainy day on one of our pre-marriage...ritual weekend walks in the huge wild park near my house...it was raining ...there were trees all around..vrything was bloomin green..he was holdin an umbrella above us...and we found a bench and sat there for quite some time..sharin soft kisses and enjoying the rain....hmmm.....

NYyyyyeeways...yes...paris...to tell u the truth i didnt like it THATTTT much...u knw i was ready to be swept off my feet...i mean its PARIIIS!!...but maybe coz we didnt hav time...or maybe we were too touristy...n didnt enjoy strollin so much...of course it is the prettiest city i hv ever visited...n the streets r beautiful...but dunno....something was missin....i did take soem awesome pics....puttin up some of them...

Wy is the wrld so **$# up?

Read a story today abt the rape of a lil girl ...just 8 yrs old!....pleaseee!...why is the world so screwed up!!!!..hv all men lost it...things like these really question my faith in god sometimes...i mean...if god existed how cld he allow these things?...what gud will come out of it dammit!...my eyes filled up reading the story on a news site...she was just a sweet baby...i mean...how cld anythign abt her hv bin sexual!...n why dnt govnmts have capital or life punishment for rape! i mean what cld be worse in life...than the robbing of ur dignity..ur self respect....ur peace of mind...forever !...murder is so much easier but rape is like maiming a person's soul forever!...

i rmbr growin up...the occassional incidents of eve teasing...the winking...i rmbr once i had gone to get a photograph taken in a fairly well known studio...i was barely 15 and my father had gone with me...the studio was on 1st floor whereas the shop or counter whatvr was downstairs...so he stopped there to make the payments...i ddint think twice and went with the photographer upstairs...he asked to remove my specs...then he came across to where i was sitting uncaring ...thinkin abt my homework..and starting adjusting my sweater...i rmbr being a lil alrmed...but i thoght ..big deal...must be a perfectionist..then i felt a very slight touch on my chest...i jumped back involuntarily...shocked...he mustve come to his senses or gotten scared...he went back hastily behind the tripod and took my passport photo and we went downstairs....thing is....only after coming home did i realise what had hhpned....i DIDNT even realise what he had been trying to do!!!!!...i was so stupid!...and so full of regret!...i kept imagining scenes of shouting at him...getting him fired...i even thought of going back and sounding him off...but i thoght of my father...he wld be upset...he wld feel horrible..and that he might do somethign to tat horrible man....i just let it go!...i let it go!!!!!!...i have never forgiven myslef fr that...maybe if i had done something ...he wldve bin scared to do it again...but i didnt!....

this is so lil comprd to what happens to women ...the crimes committed againt them vryday...but so many of us choose to remain silent..to ignore it....

i just wanted to write this..to let ny woman reading know...that next time someone tries to molest u...hit back!...HIT that sonofab back HARD!

And I will never be set free.....

One of those beautiful wispy cotton puffs whirling in the sky days....uuummmmmmmmmmm.....

i am getting fat!!

i used to sneer at women obssessed with eating habits...used to laugh at people doing various diets...till late 20's and early 30's happened!....oh my gawd...life has never been the same...i completely undtsnd what all the pppl were obsessing abt...yes...i too can ...and AM getting fat....i always had the rule...if i fit into my old jeans ..doesnt matter,..but alas...the slow progression of growin out of of that pair...was something i never became aware of...or maybe i was sub consciously trying to avoid!...

every day i tell myself today i will do yoga...today i will go for a walk!....but...lethargy is addictive,....i switch on my comp and dunno where the time goes!!!!!.....but no....i will be resolute...

TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY!! yay!!!

ohh gawd...another day!!

gets me vrytime..

some of the cheap limericks which my wide-eyed 7 year old cousin used to recite forcefully ..when we visited them during my summer holidays..i was in 10th in school then...very impressionable age .some say

dekh upar taraa chamke...
dekh upar taraa chamke...
...
...
woh dekh neeche tera naada lamke

some which my hubby remembers from his innocence-filled, harmless childhood days...

there was a man from madras
he had balls made of brass
when he ate a lot one night
lightening shot out of his arse

Thank You...

Just read something and felt like writing this...dunno if they'll ever read this...but just wanted to put it out...

Thank you Mummy Papa,

For the amazing amount of sacrifices you made to make me what I am today.
For the way you fought with a world and society where having a daughter is considered a liability
For believing in me...trusting me...sometimes even when I didnt stand upto it
For putting your children before anything else..
For trying to protect us against the world and sometimes even against ourselves
For not reciprocating and for taking all the teenage angst I threw at you
For bearing with the mean things I may have said in my absolute and complete stupidities
For saving when everything else failed
For being my last resort ...always
For making me study harder at school and college
For making me believe I could do a lot better everytime
For understanding my mood swings and putting up with them
For accepting D without any hang-ups, inspite of the different background
For throwing such a beautiful wedding, which cost you your savings
For facing the issues of 'gifting' during my marriage, even though it was everything against what we have grown up on and been taught to believe by you
For not only facing them but doing it with love just to make me happy
For boundlessly loving your son-in-laws without ever asking for the same level of love in return
For being socially politically correct..always being a little more polite to your samdhins..(ohhh!!hateful!!).
Inspite of my continued objections... continuing to give them gifts all the time...calling more times...way more than you get in return..even in terms of thank you calls
For continually worrying about my well-being...
For still advising me on everything...much needed
For loving unconditionally always, never demanding anything back, for being my pillars

Aamir Khan's blog...

Did "y'all" know that Aamir Khan writes a blog!..and a gud one too!!...check out the link!!....read some interesting bloggin there!

http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog.htm

Duh!

Just watched Dumb n Dumber...beats any intellectual ...thriller ..ny movie ive ever seen....it always cracks me up!!!

Ooooooh!!!!

Isn't this just delectable!

how far we've come..

never knew it would be like this...i mean life is so drastically different from 3 years back....some good some bad...but mostly good...sometimes the future seems scary because of the uncertainty of it....but one has to go on...life seems to revolve arnd D these days...not that i regret..he is very caring and sensitive...n ever the dahlin of my parents...but wish i had more of my own stuff to focus on...hope i will be more at peace with myself in the near future..

New Year!..in Floripa

New Year..shifted to Floripa....its beautiful here....this place has one of the best beaches ..the best people (so far!!)...its amazing...here are some pictures to entice you to this side of the world!