And God said let 'em earthlings have a sneak preview of utopia
  and then there was a summer Sunday siesta

(though I am afraid it won't be long before the heavens open up in all their fury)

Never realised why, but such hot lazy afternoons always bring with them a sense of déjà vu, always make me feel as though I am being transported back in time and into fiction, to a Malgudi Days set.
Must be another of those inexplicable things in life I guess...

Current Music: Mora Saiyaan - Fuzon

The tables have turned...The Indians are invading Britian now

First it was the inclusion of words such as bhadralok, chacha, bapu in the Oxford Dictionary. Then it was the Indian curry that bowled them over and my, my, the other day I was zonked when the BBC correspondent actually said "feel-good" whilst describing the recent Spnish royal wedding.

For a moment I'd thought the BJP had hijacked the BBC Studios.

Current Music: Don't Cry - Guns n Roses
I love the lyrics of this one and the part where he sings "Give me a whisper and give me a sigh". Also check out their amazing logo

You know life is just passing you by when...

While executing the daily ritual of logging in, Windows politely informs you that your password will expire within 14 days and could you so kindly change it to some other nonsensical string of alphabets.Creative that you are (?), you change it to what it was before you changed it to this. Intelligent that Windows is (no bah!s here please ;-)), it politely informs you that you should not repeat the last ten passwords.
The password changing is not the point, the main issue is, wasn't it just the other day that you had been asked to choose a new one.

Life is definitely passing me by, get up, scratch head for the latest password,log in, work, log out, conk off, get up, scratch head for the latest password,log in, work, log out, conk off, get up, scratch head for the latest password, log in, work, log out, conk off....(Let me be fair and add that in this life très ordinaire, I do get the time to stand and stare, once in a while)

...to be continued (assuming I remember the password for my blogger account and manage to log in)

Current Music: Ek Hasina Thi - OST Ek Hasina Thi
Urmla Mthdnkar suits this role to the 'T'. This lady has definitely evolved as an actress

For every step that I took forward
I will step back twice
In doing so, I know I will reach square one faster than what I had taken to leave the place
If this be for the better good of me, so be it
If the destroyed cocoon need be built again, so be it

Eerie coincidence that I should come across this pic today. The flowers and the fence say nothing and say everything.

Current Music: Fanaah - Yuva (I find the sa..pa..ma..pa interlude interesting)
AB Junior and Rani Mukhrjee are real, if you know what I mean, you can almost feel them. Also check out the well-directed fight scene on the bridge towards the end. I really wonder how they film such scenes

After a particularly gruelling day, I find the need to relax right now and I guess the best way would be to start off with snippets of my recent visit to Kerala

Periyar
Like every other tourist we headed for the Periyar Tiger Reserve at Periyar/Tekkady. Though I had made up my mind not to act touristy-touristy (which means follow the beaten tourist path) I had to buckle under fellow-travellers' pressure and be there and do that. So there we were, among 60 odd other tourists from all parts of India and some from abroad, waiting in line to embark on a boat safari through the reserve. And like everywhere else, as soon as we stepped on board, there was a mad scramble to get the best seats. In fact the noise levels resulting out of the whole activity were so high, had I been an animal, I would have stayed put in the dense foliage. I couldn't have been closer to the truth, no tigers, 5 elephants and quite a number of wild pigs. On sighting the first elephant, an uproar resulted in the boat, with a Maharashtrian lady sitting behind me hollering "Aaiyaa, tho bagh, bagh kasa pani pithoy!!!" (Look!! Look at how its drinking water). I was serene. Probably because I have been on high-adrenalin wildlife safaris an umpteen number of times before, having lived in Kenya for a decade. And of course how could I forget the fight between two men, 'cause one of them was blocking the other's line of sight.

The jungle itself is huge, and I am sure if people would take care not to create a commotion, the tiger would give a darshan too, once in a while. In fact I half expected to see a mini-Chowpatty on the banks ahead. I know I am exaggerating but I was pretty disappointed that day, safaris are meant to take in Nature's sounds and sights and not the other way round.

(The backdrop of the Jiya Jale song from Dil Se suspiciously resembles Periyar lake)

Periyar town is very interesting. The strong smelling spices are a bargain. Enthusiastss could have a try at ayurvedic massages, and check out kathakali and/or martial arts performances.

Potpourri
1. For anybody visiting the South, see if you can pick up a copy of The Lonely Planet - South India Travel Guide. Lots of information for the uninitiated. That's how we chanced upon Saravana Bhavan too (which the book mentions as a famous chain of hotels down there) for some ultra-soft dosas served on banana leaves by a very jovial waiter. A must visit.
2. I can now distinguish between the scripts of the southern states:). Thanks to an inherent interest in languages and the return train journey through the quartet.

More on Kerala later.
Exactly one week ago, at precisely this very minute, I was watching the sun sink into the sea at Kovallam....*sigh*

*Update* - Comments by readers have reminded me of this Kenya-based poem that I wrote in September last year. I still consider it to be one of my best effforts so far.

She leans forward and peers into the distance, her prince nez glasses at the tip of her nose
The waves crash into the rocks, the pallu of her sari billows behind her, the strong wind threatening to distangle the bun carefully tied at the nape of her neck
One would assume she is intently watching the children play in the sand a few feet away, her grandchildren probably
Few would think she is daydreaming, but they are right, she is doing exactly that
Peering closely into her past, turning back the pages, till she reaches that particular line

She smiles
One would assume she is appreciating the sandcastle that the youngest of the lot is proudly showing off
The letters stand out clearly now, almost magically assuming proportions greater than before
Years ago, what had seemed like a fullstop, had actually been a comma, she realises, a pause, just a temporary lull in her life

She gets up and walks towards the kids, her grandchildren yes, for now they call out to her
Life had not been unfair, she understands
Strange that her weakening eyesight had now seen what she hadn't then

Most would assume she is playing with the children and yes, now, she is exactly doing that

Current Music : Mein Yahan Tu Wahan - Baghban
(I had always found it extremely dumb for Bollywood citizens to croon over the telephone. But this one is an exception and a beauty in itself)

To Heaven ..

A scoop of fresh mango icecream cosily nestled in a bowl filled with Alphonso mango pieces

and back to work now

Psst: For those who are in Pune or planning to drop by sometime,a must visit is the Naturals Icecream Parlour off JM Rd. Try the tender coconut flavour too, it looks exactly as its name implies, soft and mushy.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players
They have their exits and their entrances...
-William Shakespeare, As You Like It

W.S.'s quote (bless his soul, amen) has been taken rather seriously by Indian politicians, don't you think? And in the present-day drawing rooms, unfolds a drama so masaledaar, that this be enough to overshadow the Kyunkis and the Kahaanis and I have to thank a certain S.Gandhi for this respite. Additionally I haven't anybody utter cricket in the past few weeks.(However, poor that I am in keeping track of such things, this could also be due to to the absence of this game being played anywhere else in the world currently)

Coming back to our latest opera, scenes to look out for are the chest-beating, suicide/hair-cutting-till-I-go-bald threats, sensex crashes and hunger strikes. (The popcorn is on the house, so please have your fill).

(And I was of the opinion that the Mahabharata was as good as it got in chatakdaar (lip-smacking) politics)

Will she, won't she, will she, won't she, will she, won't she....*sigh*

Ever...

Had a lot to say but when asked to speak, words desert you, fickle that they are, like others before them and others that shall be

Current Music: Dream of a dolphin - Enigma

Pune->Panvel->Ernakulam->Munnar->Tekkady/Periyar->Kottayam->Allepy->Kanyakumari->Trivandrum->Kovallam->Ernakulam->Pune

First and foremost,they don't call it God's Own Country for nothing, they sure don't....
Snapshots shall follow in later posts sometime.

Current Status :
1)Fatigued (the 40 hour return journey that brought me home at 5 today morning was agonising)
2)Trying to adjust in a world I had easily let go of

Hmm, a week can change so many things..blogger looking suspiciously alien, a new governing party at the centre, monsoons in Pune...and most importantly loads of experiences for me to cherish.

To the land of Payasams and Kalarippayattu and boat races and coconut trees and breathtaking backwaters and so much more.... To Kerala!!

I don't remember the last time I had packed my bags two days beforehand, double-checking the must-haves, debating on which clothes/shoes to take, reaching the station an hour in advance...
In short I don't remember having ever embarked on a trip peacefully before.
Historical data to support the same :D

On Saturday I travel on a week long sojourn to God's Own Country, and I have absolutely no idea how I am going to make it to the place without dislodging a neuron or two. To top it all, I don't even have a reservation for the return journey. Maybe I will fall in love with the place and stay there forever :). In fact as things stand at this moment, I will not be very surprised if the Panvel-Ernakulam ticket (that has been promised by the agent) becomes unavailable for mysterious reasons.

So, I guess that's it then, I bid farewell...

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand
-Irish Blessings

(My own take on farewells shall come in a post later)

Current Music: Mora Saiyaan - Fuzon (Its a Pakistani ghazal, highly recommended, for its rendition and lyrics)

The night was lovely, it was raining after a long time, the heat had subsided, and ohh, how could one forget the full moon... everything was exactly the way she liked it to be
But wait, there was something else too, something that was jarring the beauty of the moment, you know like some lines that digress in an almost perfect script

Rain water had never tasted saline before....


Current Music: So Gaye Hain - Zubeidaa

I wasn't planning to blog but...

You've got to throw your hands up in the air and ogle at the ludicrousness of it all, when somebody bugs you to no end and then, when you make your feelings crystal clear, this person in the other corner of the world (wide web) says nonchalantly, "GO, TAKE A CHILL- PILL" (I can almost imagine the last two words uttered in a sing-song way).

So I went forth and indeed took one. I blogged. :D
Anybody knows of a site which offers a box on the ears (a virtual one) of your near and dear foes?
Maybe something like mohameid_not_an_ally.com? (with due apologies to the great sportsperson)

Is it only me or do I have company?

While watching movies, there have been instances wherein I do not watch the protagonists as they emote on screen. I am more interested in the painting in the background, that dancer's wierdo hairstyle (second row, third from the left), that kid playing in the sand etc and etcetera

Struck me yesterday when I was watching KHNH for the second time (for reasons not worth stating here), and during that supposedly tear-jerker scene when SRK runs out of the hospital to meet PZ and explain why he behaved the way he did, I was more engrossed in watching the dolphins and boats in the river behind them (I guess its the Hudson, but not too sure)

If this means I miss out the larger picture each time and spend time in trivial issues, I would think not.
Any jigsaw will always be incomplete without that seemingly small and irrelevant piece, second row, third from left.

Current Music: Pookam Malarai - Udaya (aah, the whistle!! Check out Winds of Change for another fab whistle) & Azhagiya Cinderella - Kangalal Kaithu Sei

(Each time I have to remind myself not to whistle when my grannie is around, for she is of the firm opinion that it is not quite right for girls to whistle chaar-choughaat :D (loosely translated as "in public")