May 13, 2008
My nastiest best!
May 09, 2008
When I saw....
I recently watched "Jab we met", a second time. I had heard it from my sibling and some of my friends that it wasnt a great movie. I beg to disagree. I like the sheer passion of Geet's character (played by Kareena Kapoor). I am not a Kareena Kapoor fan. Geet is eccentric, hopelessly romantic (she is in love with her fantasy of love than anyone), stupid to get off the train an unknown place for a total stranger. Agreed. But she is true to herself every single minute of her life. She knows it and does not regret. She does what she wants to do. Its ok. Most of us are not comfortable having such eccentric people around, and some of us cant even tolerate them in our fantasies, but tell me if fantasies cant be tolerated in bollywood movies where else would you do it? After all, all that happens in "Jab we met", has a low probability, not impossible like "Kuch kuch hota hai" or unbearable like "Kabhi khushi kabhi gam". I felt the songs were quite meaningful, tunes quite good, characterization particularly of Geet was very good, and yes, there was a story(Like I said, whose reality quotient shouldn’t be a great deal considering it is a movie). The dialogs were enjoyable and apt, though they may not have been very original. There was nothing extraordinary about the entire movie, but it was packaged well.
The first time I heard the title, it dint go very well with me. I felt mixing up two languages is totally bad idea. In “Hum ko maaloom he, ishk masoom he” song from “Jaaneman” I was very fond of the tune and to some extent lyrics(as in, whatever I could follow) till I heard some English words sprinkled here and there. It was a total turn off. And when I first saw the promos of JWM, I wanted to watch the movie. When people said it wasn’t great, I wanted to watch it for sure (When I think a movie is good, or I should watch it, reviews or what people feel doesn’t make a big difference. Only after watching a movie can I rate it, is my logic). So, yes. I liked the movie and would not mind watching it one more time.
May 08, 2008
Am game for it!
It is not everyday I play badminton so well. I was hitting hard, serving well, found some good gaps, timed the shots and communicated well. We(my partner and I) lost the game by a point, but thoroughly enjoyed every bit. There was a particular volley which made me go to either ends of the court, I managed to pick it up when my opponents least expected and placed between them. There were a bunch of five or six guys(I am the only girl playing badminton there these days, mind you!) watching the game and they all cheered in chorus. I enjoyed every bit of it!
I take this opportunity(yeah, big by my own terms) to thank Vinu for getting me to play the game, and MU for getting that extra racket for me to play everyday and of course all those guys who cheered for me today. Hey, I love badminton!
April 22, 2008
Going green...
Today is world Earth day. And women in my company have donned the role of "Green ambassadors" - So there was a sapling plantation program organised by the "Green ambassadors" in which even men could participate. We went to a place near electronics city called Bettarayapura. We planted "honge" tree saplings in the government school premises and also along the path leading to a small hill on which there was a fort and a temple, of Lord Timmaraya. The holes were already dug and saplings kept beside each of them by the time we reached there, thanks to some of the villagers, gardeners and some volunteers. It was about ten in the morning (bad idea!) and quite hot already. To help us there were our (our as in our company's) gardeners in green uniforms and company tags. We were about hundred and fifty people and there were about 400 saplings (according to organisers). There were not many shovels and water sprinklers for all of us. But it was nice to see enthusiastic people use there hands to push the earth while planting the samplings. It was a nice two hour outdoor activity and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Appreciated the idea as well as all the people who made it all possible. Hope many of those saplings grow into trees.
Happy Earth day folks!
April 11, 2008
To RP...
* I was about to step on a bee lying on the ground and he asked me to watch out. Was a little taken aback and asked what is it. He smiled and said "A bee that was about to be not to be!"
* Me: Why do you always walk to my left?
Rp: I want you to be always right!
*Me : Oh am sorry!
Rp: I thought you were Pratibha!
*Me: Want some Marie biscuits?
Rp: No thanks, I think its made of sawdust and sugar!
*Me: I dont care two straws for it!
Rp: Why should you not say, "I dont care two idlis for it!"
*Me: Oh yeah, I am touched! (mockingly)
Rp: Sorry, I dint mean to touch you!
He thinks certain Miss Zinta looks like a bull dog, south Indians swear by their curd rice..and always gives me a lot of fundas. But I really do not mind although I mostly act like I do. I have so much to thank him for. For giving such a patient hearing when I am at my ranting best. Making me smile and sometimes laugh hysterically when I really am(/want to be) quite angry. Like yesterday he was not giving me a chance to speak! (Yeah, really!) Then when I threw him one of my “nasty” looks, he told me what was on my mind and then said that’s why there is no need for me to talk – how mean! I started smiling and then couldn’t pretend to be angry, so gave up. Sometimes he can tell you things about yourself that your conceited self would not have noticed! And also he minds his P’s and Q’s.
And all I taught him was to say “aiyooo”, GL, SU!
Our search for “greener pastures” may lead us to part ways in a few days. Here is wishing RP a rocking career and a great life. I pray and hope he gets all that he deserves and succeeds in every way he wants to.
“Hey RP, You make people feel wonderful. Keep that million watt smile going! Enjoy maadi!”
April 02, 2008
The painted veil..
I may not be a great reviewer people, but go pick this book up and read...its very good.
And there is a line from the peom "An Elegy On The Death Of A Mad Dog" which is used in book to covey something. You can read the poem here : http://www.online-literature.com/oliver-goldsmith/2090/
This is just to make you get to the book faster...happy reading!
March 25, 2008
ನನ್ನ ಮೊದಲ ಕನ್ನಡ ಲೇಖನ.....
ಇಂತಿ,
ಪ್ರತಿಭಾ
P.S : As a friend of mine suggested, have decided to do all my kannada writing experiments in another space...am grateful for the idea.
Hindi lessons!
1. Once we were asked to listen to the Hindi news on TV(there was only DD then) and list out some five difficult words as an assignment(We got innovative assignments!). Hindi news was telecast at 9pm if I remember, which was very late at the time for me(must have been in Class IV or V). So I had listed five words seeing a serial at 3pm(when I came home from school!). My first word was the name of the serial(ya, that was really stupid of me!). It was called "Junoon". My teacher knew instantly my source the next day when I read my list of words!
2. A Kannada actor Shankar Nag recreated R K Narayan's "Malgudi days" on the small screen with many kannada actors from the small and big screen. My dad insisted that I watch it. It was amusing to see Kannada actors speak a language I felt was very difficult, so effortlessly(Many years later I felt their Hindi was not exactly effortless, it had south Indian accent cropping up, but suited the story well - as in, the setting was in a village down south- it was fine). I did not understand much but liked watching Master Manjunath and pestering dad to tell me what was happening!
I also remember watching "Osheen", the story of a Japanese peasant girl who strives hard to become a beautician(not sure of the title or the storyline- but it was japanese for sure!)
3. At a little later point of time, in the afternoon(may be 3.30 pm) a new comedy serial started. Many of my friends came home after school as it was at a stone's throw and when we switched on the TV there was only one channel then and we happened to come across this serial called "Dekh bhai dekh". We were not a TV watching bunch but I remember clearly we loved watching this one! I must have realised it was a comedy because of the background laughing for every joke! It had Shekhar Suman, Farida Jalal and a bunch of other good actors. And I enjoyed watching this show for sure..
4. There were these Hindi exams that were popular in my school days. Mysore Hindi prachar samithi and Madras Hindi prachar samithi used to conduct exams and certify one's Hindi prowess. I happened to take(had no option, it was from school!) the first exam called "Prathama" in Class III. Given the fact that I went to school that did not have exams, exams never scared me! It did not make me anxious. I loathed the last few days when my Hindi teacher made us read and write a lot of stuff! I managed to scrape through the exam! My mom said I should be serious the next time around. My dad told me I had done a good job, as I had got more marks than him for the same exam!
I started speaking Hindi in high school - this was not due to any books, it was mostly because of TV! My Hindi even today is clichéd. Have a feeling native speakers of Hindi dont use the flamboyant phrases and words that Hindi cinema employs. I can say things like "Kaafi nek khayal he". I cannot think of another usage of the word "nek", since the TV/ films did not popularise other usages and my Hindi is not sourced from reading Hindi literature. It all seems funny. A south Indian feels I have a decently good Hindi accent, but the truth is my Hindi is very filmy and mostly grammatically incorrect. Like many things I do, I speak Hindi quite confidently and that seems to make up for the grammar (or the lack of it)! I did make some effort to read some literature in school but it seemed a lot of effort.
March 11, 2008
Partnerships...
Two things triggered my thoughts on these lines. One, while playing su-do-ku with mom, I usually feel the "hard" ones are really hard. But mom said we can do any of it with a little more patience and thinking out of the box. She dint exactly say this. She doesnt get into lecture mode, since am not very receptive when people are preaching me. In her own sweet way she convinced this and we ended up doing it in quite the same time as any other "medium" or "easy" puzzle. It felt great and most of the "hard" part of the puzzle seemed to be in my head.
Also the recent Indian cricket team's victory against the "mighty" Aussies in two straight finals. Wow what a way to drive home a point. I was mightily impressed. It served the most arrogant foul mouthed team that have seen in international cricket. I felt it was the way our players stuck together, believed and celebrated each other that lead to the victory.
It could those board exams you cleared with good grades - a partnership between a child and parent or child and teacher, it could be enjoying shopping/going out for a movie/chatting over coffee - a partnership with a friend or sibling. There are these people who love us and help us win, help us face many a challenge, pray for our welfare. So most of our success is not just a result of our hard work. It could have big contributions in the form of trust, faith in one's abilities, prayers, wishes, time of your loved ones - parents or friends or siblings.
Good partnerships make life interesting, open up new possibilities, make you realize previously “impossible" things. They make life wonderful.
March 06, 2008
Doctor Who?
and either half read them and gave up or took weeks to finish them. I was wondering whats up with my reading, until I read these books! Things never are like they seemed..And why did they seem the way they did in the first place? I can neither explain my contempt for sci-fi stuff before nor the craze for it now!It all sounds so crazy, but I admit its wonderful reading the Doctor Who series!
February 29, 2008
High school highs...2
There was this game in school that we were all very crazy about. We used to call it "Grandslam". Very similar to hangman. But every letter has a clue. And more points for guessing the entire word. And even after the word is guessed, sometimes we can continue to play for the each letter clue.( Except for the basic rules, the game had highly evolved thanks to our collective synergic enthu for the game). The whole class would be divided to two groups (usually two) and there were some occasional fights, as someone thought someone else was cheating! This added drama to the game. The best part of it was the entire class would be animatedly excited to play the game. Some of our friends used to prepare it at home for the rest of us to play. The game is in fact as simple as I have put it here, but it used to be real fun. If any teacher asked us a "tricky" question for which none of us had an answer we would all cheerfully suggest "grandslam"(ok make it shout - our history teacher called us "barbarics"!!). So the teacher had to write all the dashes and give us a clue or two for us to guess the answer (not many would let us play the entire game – so give us some easy clues and finish it off). Not many teachers liked the idea, as it would not only eat up some time, but also since it would also make us happy and noisy!! As far as I remember it was our English teacher, Jyothsna maam, who showed equal enthusiasm to play the game when there was a chance for one. During the "extra" hours, lunch breaks, "game" periods, after school, before the classes began in the morning...we were game for it anytime. We played grandslams in history, geography, literature, biology...you name it we had played a grandslam on it! It was pure pleasure!
February 27, 2008
May I have my change please....
I am feeling tired and running slight temperature right now. Wondering could that be the cause..
Hope either the change happens or the restlessness passes away - whichever is convenient for the guy up there...
February 11, 2008
High school highs...1
I always wanted to be working when I grew up. I had made the assumption. Probably a teacher, but none the less a professional. I was probably in class 8. There was this debate in class(We used to have many at the time). The topic was "Should mothers be working?" or something on similar lines. I remember the teacher. Her first name was "Aktar". I have always liked this name. It sounds sweet when said. There were many participants as usual. But none of us wanted to argue saying "mothers should work". The teacher asked me to argue for the topic. I reluctantly agreed. Some of the arguments were so callous, like "If they are so interested in working, why should they even start a family"!!! Deep inside even I felt the same(ok I know, but its true). When you agree so much with your "opponents", to express disagreement convincingly is difficult! I, like most of the class was just thinking "Would I be liking it if my mother started working?".
I was not even liking the idea of me going home after school to an empty house. Then waiting for my mom to come. It was nice as it was. She waiting for me, and asking me how my day at school was - and me giving her every detail I could remember, right from whom all I quarreled with to what interesting thing I leant that day.
I argued saying "If women are talented and educated it will get wasted if they do not work. Even they have dreams and aspirations, so they must be allowed to work". The very tone I adopted made it obvious, I never saw myself in that position years later!! And I had not seen our teachers in this light! Most of them were women and many of them were mothers! All of us had let our teacher down. When she shared her thoughts we realized we had said all these things before a “working mother”! She was saddened by the way we thought - how possessive we were about our mothers and how selfish, how shortsighted.
February 07, 2008
What I enjoy doing these days...
2. Playing su-do-ku with Amma on weekends.
3. Car driving classes
4. Sleeping most of the time on saturdays.
5. Praying.
January 31, 2008
To Kitty, with love...
This post is dedicated to my hand twin!
January 30, 2008
Last evening...-2
The world is a very unfair place to be.(Ok I will keep saying it because it IS an UNFAIR place to be!). This has nothing to do with the below passage.
There are a lot of things in this world which you do to prove a point. Marriage is definitely not one of them. Dont marry to prove anybody a point. There are a few people involved whose life will get affected by the decisions that you take. Be practical, be reasonable. In the height of ecstasy, when high on love, people dont think of the practical implications. You must think about the consequences. If you are content with the way of life at home, if you are proud of your roots(and you enjoy a lot of the vernacular stuff) , if you are sure you want your everyday things to be how they have always been, do not try anything drastically different in this area! Just imagine wanting to watch a kannada movie/play and hoping your spouse, who cannot follow kannada, could appreciate it, when initially it did not even seem like a requirement for the relationship! Think. Because this will be having an impact on your partner as well. If you are the kind who would end up with such unrealistic expectations(they become unrealistic in this particular situation, otherwise having such expectations from people of the same backgrounds is very valid)and are convinced it’s a reasonable expectation to have, then cross-language and cross-culture marriages are not for you. This will be a very unfair thing to do for a person whom you have “loved”. Things will not continue to be rosy forever. Get real. Don’t make your old parents go through difficult times adjusting to the new person-new language-new culture(This will not be a problem if you are from a cosmopolitan background). Marriage should stabilize life not add more confusion! And more than everything it depends on fate (yes, I am a “practicing” hindu!!! LOL!). If things do not happen the way you want, they were just not meant to be. Blame nobody(This is easier said than done!)…….
There was one thing very surprising. I have never taken a stand on this matter before. I did not even know I think on these lines(now). I have always claimed to be a hard-core romantic – as in, you cannot help falling in love with people (and falling in love somehow translates to marriage, thanks to my conditioned mind!). It was a great eye-opener to myself!
Last evening...- 1
This world is a damn unfair place to be. This was what I was thinking when I my mobile beeped last evening. I felt very strongly it was from my mobile service provider. They send me messages to pay my bill ten days well in advance of the last date, and that too some 3-4 messages per day - buggers. It was from a friend saying "I forgot to tell you - she got the Visa! Thanks." A smile lit up on my face. It was a strange feeling infact. I had not done anything that can be called a "favour" to deserve the "thanks". But I felt very happy,warmed and nice. This is what had happened.
I saw this friend of mine logged in early on the messenger. After exchanging pleasantries, he suddenly asked me if I could do him a favour. I said ok. He said his kin has applied for a Visa and she needs to get it, for she is needed there. "Can you pray for her?"
Now this took some time to register. Is this the favour he is asking? And this is a "favour"? It qualifies for a "favour"? I could not help smiling at the child-like-innocence of the request. So simple and so straight. (There are times when I wonder do I deserve such niceness? - yes, I am the same person who maintains the world is a bloody unfair place.)
After a while I managed to ask him if that was THE favour he had asked for. Saw a "Yes" pop up on my messenger.I said "Ok, sure, can do that for you". Seeing my confused state he gave me the explanation "If I do selfish requests(to God), they dont happen. If I ask Him something for other people it usually happens. So want you want you to pray for her." It could not have got simpler. I prayed.
January 29, 2008
Makeovers..
There is a show on TV that interests me a great deal. Not being a regular TV viewer, I keep surfing through the channels and stop mostly for songs and ads! And while surfing through the channels I catch this program mostly and it has to do with "makeovers". Two people, either spouses or friends or siblings are given a "makeover" by a team of experts - dress designers, hair stylists and the kind. Initially I was a little skeptic about this show, as in "would I not know what I look good in, why should someone else tell me" kind of attitude. But then what are experts for, and there is always a scope for improvement. Also, there is a pattern that I have noticed among most people. Most of us look for comfort when we select our dresses, which is very good. But more often than not we do not experiment. So we stick to the same colours or fabric. And our wardrobes are full of similar kind of clothes. Be it cotton salwar-kameezs or shirts of all shades of blue! And like everything else in life, we probably resist changing the way we dress. After these “makeovers” some people really turn out to look much better.
After watching this show, I let myself imagine giving makeovers to people around. I find myself telling, had this person worn a lighter or darker shade it would have been better. May be this colour shoes dont look good on this. I imagine how a person would look with shorter hair (For girls I like short hair or long hair, in between lengths don’t look that good, now don’t ask me how else would you expect it to get long otherwise…I never had long hair, ever!) I have always been experimenting with my clothes. I mix and match and see if it looks good. People say it takes a lot of confidence to carry of clothes, which you are not used to wear or colours you have not tried before. I never force myself, experimenting comes to me effortlessly – its as simple as, I get bored if I look the same for long! (LOL!). And many a time I would have bought the dress myself, so no question of forcing also. When people give me second looks, the first thing I feel is “now whats wrong?” (this is the confidence building activity I put myself through for all the effortless experimentation!)
But sometimes making small changes in our look does loads of good. And surprisingly enough all that, that is given in these “makeovers” involve giving a neat haircut, manicure and pedicure, and clothes and shoes that the “experts” think suit you well. And if we notice carefully this is what we were taught as kids. Presentable meant wearing neat clothes (yes pressed), keeping your hands, feet and hair clean, and wearing neat footwear(remember those polished shoes and clean socks..). These days a lot of emphasis is given on personal grooming. And it is so very interesting also! A little thought, some interest and some genuine effort and you well end up looking “groomed”.
January 16, 2008
Just wondering...what if...
When passion becomes vocation one becomes successful… may be. Dont know what makes some people successful and some not. Other than the perspective ofcourse. And the best part is people whom the world recognizes as "successful" mostly were not even looking for it. They probably followed their hearts, did just did what they liked. I was wondering what I would have ended up being (Currently other than fixing bugs for a living, I am a full time whiner).
Was wondering what would I have been had I followed my heart. I would probably be a dancer. Had learnt classical dance for four years, but at that time was too young to enjoy it. The classes were in the evenings and always felt it eats up my play time. And I was not a kid who appreciated discipline (okay dont think any kid would). Classical dance seemed very methodical and tiring at that time. Standing (or was it sitting!) with your knees bent through the entire rendition was traumatic(for a kid that is). I gave lame excuses to bunk classes, hardly practiced at home and gave up, or rather finally was allowed to give up. It was much later that I realised if there was any music I enjoyed I could neither recollect the lyrics nor the tune. But to my amazement could find a movement to each beat of the song if I happen to hear it again. At home while listening to music cant resist moving my head or tapping my feet. Sometimes I even increase the volume, sing aloud and dance. The only regret is I did not learn any form of dance.
I also like probably would love to be a TV anchor for a travel and food show. I always envy these people. They get paid for doing it! Imagine being the host for programs like "Best spas across the globe" or some such fancy named show, "Foodie" or some such food-travel program. You go around meeting people, learning facts about the place. Good food, nice places and everything free and what more you get paid for doing all of it! Ok, agreed am over simplifying the stuff, there may be a lot of research going on behind every episode, lot of effort in making sure the information provided is as authentic as one can get under all the prevailing constraints. And unlike presenters of olden days who probably got the script ready, these days if one goes by the titles displayed at the end of the show (see, I care to read them!) say that the presenter does a lot more than just presenting the show. But then the point is when you enjoy it, you enjoy it!
When I was in school, I used to like VJs and thought that was a “cool” job. But I grew up to be more misanthropic as days went by and the idea of talking to absolute strangers seemed such a turn off! For a while Astro-physics seemed interesting. I was a part of a sky gazing club. We spent evenings on a terrace near my house spotting constellations, stars and planets. But research needed far more discipline and really good grades. So ruled out!
Then I loved reading. Thought if I become an editor of a publishing company I could read manuscripts – books before they came to the shops, thats how I saw them at the time! But then there would be scores of people writing like me(not demeaning myself, but people who write more for pleasure than as a career, well how does that matter?, ok whatever), may be getting a good material is like searching for a needle in a hay stack..not sure why, but dint take up the idea seriously.
As a kid I loved my teachers. My love for people depends far more on them than myself (same applies to dislike as well, this is my theory so no questions entertained.) These were interesting wonderful people who made me feel teaching was a great job. I cant explain why, may be peer pressure, may be glamour quotient(!!!!) associated with it, or God knows what I did not become a teacher. Whatever little I know on anything, I still find myself good at explaining it to others. And surprisingly I remain patient when someone asks for a re-run of the explanation (may be I hear it as “once more”!!). Enjoyed going down the memory lane..and luckily still believe in the self-made thumb rule in life…I may whine, I may be unhappy for a while, I may think a lot, I may do anything I chose to at the moment about something from the past but then, ”No regrets, whatsoever”.
January 03, 2008
Here comes the new year!
1. Not to take anyone(including myself ) seriously.
2. Not to have any expectations from anyone. This I guess will be the toughest one. God help me with this.
This should do. These can infact can I bet ensure a life time of happiness. But then, I need to also learn to let go of things gracefully, gracefully being the point. Ok wishing myself loads of luck for this and all the folks on blogosphere a very happy new year!
P.S: Losing weight somehow dint make it to the list, and am glad about that one!
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