You know the person is lying.
They know they're lying.
They think that you don't know they're lying.
If you don't tell them know you know about it, they continue to do this on daily basis.
Is it worth telling them you know about it? Why or why not?
Monday, June 30, 2008
Difficult Last Minute Decisions
After reading Aspi's autorickshaw confession #5 about hug-o-war today, I realized that I've had similar encounters with others but the situation's little different. It happens when I'm not in the hugging proximity of the person (read less than 2 ft) but almost face to face. You know when you're trying to squeeze through a narrow space at work or outside or at home for that matter and you come face to face with a person traveling in the opposite direction from you and you both try to go cross each other from the same side. It continues for about 4-5 times and then eventually one person gives up or just stands and the other one finally is able to make it across. I hate being in that situation. It feels like all of a sudden you're brain-dead and have lost all your decision making powers. So helpless.
I remember back in the mid 90s, when Urmi and I would talk of our first time experiences in the US with a lot of things, this used to be one of them. We’d share our daily adventures with each other and laugh like crazy. She said once she was at the university and came face to face with another gora student and they did this kabaddi move for almost a minute before she finally said out loud "chum nu lya haaru!" to the other person, who thoroughly got confused at what she was saying. We laughed so hard and also talked about how frustrating it gets to be in this situation. Btw, if you're still wondering what she had said is in charotari Gujarati and roughly translates to "what's going on man!" And I totally sympathize with her after going through similar experiences so many times. One of which included almost spilling the hot beverage on the other person. Of course in India, I remember a lot of people do this to annoy the other person intentionally, specially the guys to girls in school/colleges, which is a lot more annoying than the unintentional kind. In any case, it's not a fun situation to be in and hardest one to get out of. I'm still trying to figure out a way to avoid this, but I read once that the best way is to hold the person from their shoulders and just switch sides with them. Personally, what I've found works best for me is to just turn around and start walking in their direction (in front of them) instead of going over to the other side. Give it a try sometimes, it works! ;)
This one I still feel little bad about sometimes. I got into the kabaddi move (almost kind of) with a coworker one day. We have one of those garbage cans that you press a bottom lever with a foot to prop open the lid and when you let go of your foot from the lever, the lid drops back in closed position. So I had just thrown something in there and now it was time to move out of the vicinity. There comes the other person to throw away his trash. We don't work together directly so most of the times when we run into each other in hallway or kitchen, we just smile and once in a while may be say hi. So here he is, ready to toss the object and I was right there. I’m thinking *what do I do?! what do I do!?* and oh-so-considerate me decides to help him open the trash can so he can throw away his trash. I step on the lever. The lid opens. I give him a it’s-time-to-throw-that-away look. He won’t throw it in. *UGH* I do it again, he’s almost stuck his hand in there, still not throwing it in. *argh! someone kill me, kill me now* I try it the third time and lid opens and by that time I’m so tired of pressing my foot on that lever, and my foot gives up! *BAM!* his hand got caught in there for a fraction of second and my foot woke up only to realize it was too late. *YIKES* "Oh I’m so sorry, are you okay? Did I just close the lid?" And in my mind I’m like DUH! He must have wanted to say "Heck!! Yeah!!" but didn’t. I apologized three times or may be more. He said he was okay. Yea right! Okay my foot. I know that because he won’t even look at me now. I just avoid any eye contact altogether. It’s been months since the incident happened but I can't forget about it. To make myself feel better, I just say to him (in my head of course) whatever dude, go open the garbage can yourself next time. And to myself I tell not to do anyone else another favor of opening a garbage can lid for them, no matter how tempting it gets.
I remember back in the mid 90s, when Urmi and I would talk of our first time experiences in the US with a lot of things, this used to be one of them. We’d share our daily adventures with each other and laugh like crazy. She said once she was at the university and came face to face with another gora student and they did this kabaddi move for almost a minute before she finally said out loud "chum nu lya haaru!" to the other person, who thoroughly got confused at what she was saying. We laughed so hard and also talked about how frustrating it gets to be in this situation. Btw, if you're still wondering what she had said is in charotari Gujarati and roughly translates to "what's going on man!" And I totally sympathize with her after going through similar experiences so many times. One of which included almost spilling the hot beverage on the other person. Of course in India, I remember a lot of people do this to annoy the other person intentionally, specially the guys to girls in school/colleges, which is a lot more annoying than the unintentional kind. In any case, it's not a fun situation to be in and hardest one to get out of. I'm still trying to figure out a way to avoid this, but I read once that the best way is to hold the person from their shoulders and just switch sides with them. Personally, what I've found works best for me is to just turn around and start walking in their direction (in front of them) instead of going over to the other side. Give it a try sometimes, it works! ;)
This one I still feel little bad about sometimes. I got into the kabaddi move (almost kind of) with a coworker one day. We have one of those garbage cans that you press a bottom lever with a foot to prop open the lid and when you let go of your foot from the lever, the lid drops back in closed position. So I had just thrown something in there and now it was time to move out of the vicinity. There comes the other person to throw away his trash. We don't work together directly so most of the times when we run into each other in hallway or kitchen, we just smile and once in a while may be say hi. So here he is, ready to toss the object and I was right there. I’m thinking *what do I do?! what do I do!?* and oh-so-considerate me decides to help him open the trash can so he can throw away his trash. I step on the lever. The lid opens. I give him a it’s-time-to-throw-that-away look. He won’t throw it in. *UGH* I do it again, he’s almost stuck his hand in there, still not throwing it in. *argh! someone kill me, kill me now* I try it the third time and lid opens and by that time I’m so tired of pressing my foot on that lever, and my foot gives up! *BAM!* his hand got caught in there for a fraction of second and my foot woke up only to realize it was too late. *YIKES* "Oh I’m so sorry, are you okay? Did I just close the lid?" And in my mind I’m like DUH! He must have wanted to say "Heck!! Yeah!!" but didn’t. I apologized three times or may be more. He said he was okay. Yea right! Okay my foot. I know that because he won’t even look at me now. I just avoid any eye contact altogether. It’s been months since the incident happened but I can't forget about it. To make myself feel better, I just say to him (in my head of course) whatever dude, go open the garbage can yourself next time. And to myself I tell not to do anyone else another favor of opening a garbage can lid for them, no matter how tempting it gets.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
American Highways
I realized how amazing and well organized the interstate highway system was of the US when I was telling about it to N last month. The amount of science/mathematics involved in it is fantastic! To think up, plan out, implement such a big project and maintain it... totally brilliant!
While posting the photos of the bay bridge, which happens to be I-80, I realized this information is totally worth sharing with everyone who might not be aware of it. As many of you'd probably know and some might not, the highway structure in the US quite systematic and very well planned according to rules. Of course, like every other rule, these rules have exceptions too, but that's not important for now.
The major highways (aka the interstate highways) span the entire country and create a grid. The highways that run North-South are odd numbered and the highways running East-West are even numbered. So if you're traveling on highway I-80 (I is for interstate) you are either going East or West only, never North or South (direction wise only, not Geographically). Similarly, on I-5 which touches the borders of Mexico and Canada, you would be traveling either North or South only.
The odd numbered highways increase in number as you go from West to East and similarly the even numbered highways increase in numbers as you go from South to North. And of course they don't go any higher than two digits. Why? Because according to the system, the three digit numbers are used for other kinds of roads called auxiliary interstate highways which mainly serve the large cities. e.g. I-5 goes through the city of Los Angeles and I-405 connects to I-5 at two locations making a loop. These freeways also follow additional rules.
I am very impressed with this concept, this infrastructure, and love the way they have maps of almost every single area in this country available for general public. All of this just makes me hope and wish that this kind of structure (which I already know has been in making since quite some time now, but still there's a long way to go) and easily available information are soon part of Indian highway system too.
Just one of the reasons why this country is more advanced compared to any other country in the world.
While posting the photos of the bay bridge, which happens to be I-80, I realized this information is totally worth sharing with everyone who might not be aware of it. As many of you'd probably know and some might not, the highway structure in the US quite systematic and very well planned according to rules. Of course, like every other rule, these rules have exceptions too, but that's not important for now.
The major highways (aka the interstate highways) span the entire country and create a grid. The highways that run North-South are odd numbered and the highways running East-West are even numbered. So if you're traveling on highway I-80 (I is for interstate) you are either going East or West only, never North or South (direction wise only, not Geographically). Similarly, on I-5 which touches the borders of Mexico and Canada, you would be traveling either North or South only.The odd numbered highways increase in number as you go from West to East and similarly the even numbered highways increase in numbers as you go from South to North. And of course they don't go any higher than two digits. Why? Because according to the system, the three digit numbers are used for other kinds of roads called auxiliary interstate highways which mainly serve the large cities. e.g. I-5 goes through the city of Los Angeles and I-405 connects to I-5 at two locations making a loop. These freeways also follow additional rules.
I am very impressed with this concept, this infrastructure, and love the way they have maps of almost every single area in this country available for general public. All of this just makes me hope and wish that this kind of structure (which I already know has been in making since quite some time now, but still there's a long way to go) and easily available information are soon part of Indian highway system too.
Just one of the reasons why this country is more advanced compared to any other country in the world.
Monday, June 23, 2008
State of Califonia Going Hands-Free on July 1st
Driving in California after June 30th, 2008?
Then this might be useful for you:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/index.htm
Enjoy one more week of using that phone without a headset while driving, cause the new rules go into effect next week.
Then this might be useful for you:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/index.htm
Enjoy one more week of using that phone without a headset while driving, cause the new rules go into effect next week.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Squirey Hopjump in Breakfast at Backyardy's
This morning Ms. Squirey Hopjump came for breakfast in the backyard.
She modeled for me from as close as 3 ft for this photo shoot.
This was when I saw she had invited herself for breakfast.
"Oooh... my side's itchy"
Gives me the "What? You want me to go away half way through my breakfast?" look. So I had to tell her not to. :P
There she is coming back.
"No paper napkin, so pardon my messy hands and mouth"
"I think I hear the kids calling... gotta go! see ya later..."
Here's a little video clip:
She modeled for me from as close as 3 ft for this photo shoot.
This was when I saw she had invited herself for breakfast.
"Oooh... my side's itchy"
Gives me the "What? You want me to go away half way through my breakfast?" look. So I had to tell her not to. :P
There she is coming back.
"No paper napkin, so pardon my messy hands and mouth"
"I think I hear the kids calling... gotta go! see ya later..."
Here's a little video clip:
Smiley Tag
Taking it up from Neha's blog:
Instructions: I tag my blog fellas to mention one item they did that bought a smile on their face.
Morning started as usual. I still had a few mins to do anything I wanted before leaving for work. I went out to the little backyard for some fresh air and saw a squirrel climb down from the roof to the tree branches to the rocks in yard where the bird food has been sitting outside. It was a fat brown one. I saw it for the first time. Before I had seen the black one only. So I went in and got some more bird food. I knew they loved those black sunflower seeds so I got more of those and then I went to put them out again but the brown one went away. I went back in for my breakfast and came back only to see the cute black one. I admit, I am partial towards the Indian-stripy-skinny-*tock*tock*-noise-making squirrels than the fat-American-non-vegetarian ones but still this one brought smile on my face. I had enough time to go inside again to grab my camera. At first I was little hesitant to open the door and go out near it as I thought the noise would probably scare her away but guess what! this one sort of just knew that I wasn't there to hurt or drive her away so she let me shoot her, gladly! :)
Then while driving, I saw a samTrans bus with a Hindi ad that said "ice coffee" or rather "आईस कॉफी". First Hindi ad I saw on a bus in the bay area! Now that brought a bigger smile. :D
So did you see anything that brought smile on your face today?
Instructions: I tag my blog fellas to mention one item they did that bought a smile on their face.
Morning started as usual. I still had a few mins to do anything I wanted before leaving for work. I went out to the little backyard for some fresh air and saw a squirrel climb down from the roof to the tree branches to the rocks in yard where the bird food has been sitting outside. It was a fat brown one. I saw it for the first time. Before I had seen the black one only. So I went in and got some more bird food. I knew they loved those black sunflower seeds so I got more of those and then I went to put them out again but the brown one went away. I went back in for my breakfast and came back only to see the cute black one. I admit, I am partial towards the Indian-stripy-skinny-*tock*tock*-noise-making squirrels than the fat-American-non-vegetarian ones but still this one brought smile on my face. I had enough time to go inside again to grab my camera. At first I was little hesitant to open the door and go out near it as I thought the noise would probably scare her away but guess what! this one sort of just knew that I wasn't there to hurt or drive her away so she let me shoot her, gladly! :)Then while driving, I saw a samTrans bus with a Hindi ad that said "ice coffee" or rather "आईस कॉफी". First Hindi ad I saw on a bus in the bay area! Now that brought a bigger smile. :D
So did you see anything that brought smile on your face today?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Thoughts of the Day
If life is a treadmill that means you gotta keep running or else you will fall off. Does it mean it leads no where?
Do we do things we don't like just because there are deadlines?
Do we do things we don't like just because there are deadlines?
Friday, June 13, 2008
My Favorite Movies I
When it comes to Hindi films I like the craziest and the most ridiculous ones that are out there. As you know, a lot of our Bollywood films fall under the ekdam-third-class-lekin-mast category, but I think that is exactly what makes them so cool to watch over and over again!
Like I had mentioned in my movie quirks meme, when I like some scene a lot, I rewind it a few times to watch it again and again. So for the pleasure of all the movie goers, I am adding at least one rewind-worthy scene for each of the films.
Here's my first list of watch-till-I-get-bored movies, but guess what!!! I am not bored of them at all. :D
In an alphabetical order:
Baadal (2000) - Can't recall when it was that I watched this movie for the first time, but fell in love with it instantly. Since then I must have watched it 7-8 times. It's outrageously fantastic. ;) Bobby Deol and Rani create a havoc in the film and it's just so much fun to watch them. Mayuri Kango, well, let's just say the director wanted to get a clown for his circus and he got one. Johnny Lever and Upasna Singh are also quite funny, specially in their honeymoon sequence. Songs are cheesy mostly (oh you should watch the laal gharara song for Rani's dance), but na milo hum se zyada is cutsy romantic number. Others are the craziest! I love them. Can't believe I know some of them by heart. :P These dance numbers are hilarious most of the times so a complete entertainment, IMO. Amrish Puri totally rocks in jugni jugni!!! If you decide to watch this, which would be commendable in itself, I have a hunch you might want to give up in the middle. If you feel like that I won't blame you at all, but since you've started watching it, I would suggest don't miss the ice-skating scene of Rani and Mayuri. It's a must watch! Do whatever, but DO NOT miss it - the triple-lutz and triple-axels are to die for (well, not literally but you'd know when you watch it). Last but not least, Bobby Deol looks so very handsome! Rewind-worthy scene: the ice-skating sequence.
Hum Saath Saath Hai (1999) - Someone voted for this one as the worst movie on a survey at Sayeshaz. I was like WHAT?! how can they do that? I'd watch this one tirelessly just to see Karishma wear that yellow-red synthetic saari over and over again in every other scene. ;) Nah, only kidding, there's more fun stuff to watch in there than just that. The extra-large star-cast and all the handsome Bollywood boys and the storyline (the moral of the story) make it a really nice watch. I admit I love those Ramayan chopai they sing in this one. They're absolutely beautiful! I also like all the positive attitude shown by the eldest kids in family Vivek-Sadhana, actually all the kids have portrayed their parts really well. Some of their acted behaviors are truly touching and the importance of family and all the relationships are shown beautifully. Rewind-worthy scene: when Sadhana feeds sweet to Prem and says "Prembhaiya, door rehkar bhi hum saath saath hai" when he shows up at Rampur instead of going home to his mother.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) - A lot of bad has been said about this one; But despite of that I really like this one a lot. Agreed, that there is a wee bit of too much drama in a few scenes but apart from that it is a good movie with nice moral of the story and mega star-cast. What more could I ask for? My favorite scenes of the movie include all the ones with Poo & Rohan in it and of course with Sayeeda (Farida Jalal); my most favorite songs from the film are suraj hua maddham and vande maataram along with bole chudiyaan. Rewind-worthy scene: Poo leaving for a party, walks down the stairs in red outfit/red shoes; Rohan meets her half way on the stairs, the dialog starts with "tumne..." "maine..." until Poo walks up to Robbie who has come with flowers to pick her up.
Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon (2003) - After I read here, here, here, here, and also here about how people severely disliked this one, I just had to add this one to the list. I tell you I am so crazy about this one, I must have watched it more than ten times. I love everything about this movie. The comedy, the romance, the dances, the story, Kareena's look (I think she looks the best ever in this one in those simple sarees and pretty salwars) and the both the Bollywood boys look so handsome. Not to mention the beautiful locations! Kareena's crazy friends are fun to watch. ;) Himani Shivpuri has played mom's role beautifully and Pankaj Kapoor looks like every guy's dream father-in-law. Heck, even the dude playing their servant (Raju Srivastava) is funny. I specially like the scene where he sings "sajnaa ji aaye more anganaa are dholki bajaao..." when Prem Kishen arrives at their ranch in Sundarnagar for the first time. Many great songs but my most favorite one is bhatke pachhi bhool na jaana along with kasam ki kasam hai kasam se (both being piano songs woo hoo!) MPKDH totally rocks! You guessed it right, I own this movie on DVD. :D Rewind-worthy scene: Sanjana welcoming Prem Kishan at their home for a meal and is instructed by her mother on how to behave in front of the new guest.
Mujhse Dosti Karoge (2002) - AWESOME! that's the word for this movie. Again, watched it countless times for all the goodies in this one - Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani's acting not her high heels, the songs, the medley is nice and so are the other songs. My favorite one is jaane dil mein kab se hai tu. Almost all the parents are funny in this one. First movie where I actually liked Uday Chopra. Rewind-worthy scenes: (1) Raj makes gobi ke parathe for Pooja with his own hands and feeds a bite to her, they're standing outside in a dark night on a deck like place, "pyaar hua iqraar hua" plays in the background. The best scene of the film. (2) Raj and Rohan in gym; Raj practicing agaist the tall net thing and Rohan asks him why he never fell in love with Pooja and Raj says "tum poochh rahe ho ki keh rahe ho?" and Roham says "dono"... the scene continues.
Naram Garam (1981) - Golmaal Part II. That's the easiest way to describe this one. If you liked Golmaal, you'll like this one for sure. It's a little slow paced but new drama and new people make it so exciting. Specially the new cast that includes chana-gud eating Shatru-shotgun-Sinha as Babua and his signature "abey ghonchu" and Gajanan (Suresh Chatwal) is so annoying along with Ramprasad just being himself. :) Kiran Vairale as Sumi looks cute; the song ek baat suni hai chachaji batlaane waali hai makes a fun watch and the acting of Dina Pathak as mother-in-law of Bhavani Shankar is awesome! Asha Bhosle's mere anganaa aaye re ghanshyaam aaye re is a beautiful song picturized on Swarup Sampat. Rewind-worthy scene: Bhavani Shankar has come to the farmhouse for the first time to meet Kusum as a potential matrimonial prospect. He begins talking by calling her "dekho Kusi beti.... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!". hahahahahahaha! *fell off the chair typing it*
Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963) - As Difu would say "lovely lovely lovely... isn't this *pbapb pbapb pbapb* taak-dhina-dhin"! ;) This one is your usual romantic comedy family drama action suspence movie in that order but it's been my most favorite ever since I watched it for the first time (can't recall when). I must have watched it almost as many times as Golmaal, which is close to 20+ times. I love each and every song of the film but my most favorite one right now is "laakhon hai nigaah mein" (as this changes by the day). Rajendra Nath plays Difu the most entertaining character in the film. :D Next ones are his parents played by Indra Bansal and Rajendra Singh. Kamala (Ram Avtar) - Mohan's sidekick is also funny and totally gol-matol (chubby). Asha Parekh looks beautiful; and her friends cute and irritatingly funny; Joy Mukherjee looks just handsome as Mohan! Veena as Mohan's mother looks very graceful. aanchal mein sajaa lena kaliyaan is the most beautiful song of the film with the most beautiful studio background scenes. The dances in dekho bijali doli bin baadal ke and aji kibla mohtarma are beautiful. Rewind-worthy scene: This one has too many of those, but my favorite is when Kamala looks (more like checks her out from head to toe) at Difu's mother (Indra Bansal) and she feels all shy and looks down blushing.
Tashan (2008) - OMG! what a movie! what a movie! what a movie!!! I totally went fida over this one even though it made it to this worst-movies-ever list. Whattttt an action sequence, the one at the end. Oh my! I'd watch it over and over again for that one, where Anil Kapoor comes on the motorbike and Paris Hilton haha I mean Kareena pokes that sword through his chest. The dil dance maare song is simply fantabulous!!! But I know you all would have liked the chhalia chhalia number more as you have no taste in quality movies. Paris Hilton's errr I mean Kareena's looks can kill someone, literally, cuz even her bones are thinner than daggers. OK fine, I added this film here just to find out whether my readers actually got upto the end of this list or not. But yea, I'd sure watch this one again for the "phirst impresson ij tha lasth impresson" *rolling her hands like Nil Bhaaloo Kaps*. And you probably still don't know, but I do plan to own this one DVD soon. Yup, only for Akshay Kumar. ;) Rewind-worthy scene: the action scene at the end of the film and of course the ones where Akshay Kumar gets shot during the fight sequence in that building. His leaping shots are awesome!
Vivaah (2006) - this is another one of those cute romantic films that everyone has watched. I watched this one three times non-stop after I watched it for the first time. Unfortunately, that was after it was out on DVD and the theater won't play one more show of it despite of my requests. Any how, later on I watched it more than a dozen times or even more; I have lost count now. One of my cousin finds it utterly outrageous and still can't believe I have watched this film so many times. And the other one actually gifted me the collectors' edition DVD of the film. *mile-wide smile* :D What can I say? As you know I'm a huge fan of Sooraj Barjatya movies and this one makes it into their top ten list. Also like the other couple in film Sunil & Bhavna played by Samir Soni and Lata Sabharwal respectively. Seema Biswas' negative role acting is also great along with all the other characters. Manoj Joshi is funny as always. Remember the scene during the do anjaane ajnabi where he makes some gestures towards Prem and he drops that flower-vase? Hahaha so funny. Adore Ravindra Jain's music for this one. I like all the songs of this one but jai gauri maa the most. Rewind-worthy scene: all the scenes where Poonam and Prem talk over the phone.
Until next time...
So do you have any oh-so-ridiculous-yet-favorite movies on your list?
Like I had mentioned in my movie quirks meme, when I like some scene a lot, I rewind it a few times to watch it again and again. So for the pleasure of all the movie goers, I am adding at least one rewind-worthy scene for each of the films.
Here's my first list of watch-till-I-get-bored movies, but guess what!!! I am not bored of them at all. :D
In an alphabetical order:
Baadal (2000) - Can't recall when it was that I watched this movie for the first time, but fell in love with it instantly. Since then I must have watched it 7-8 times. It's outrageously fantastic. ;) Bobby Deol and Rani create a havoc in the film and it's just so much fun to watch them. Mayuri Kango, well, let's just say the director wanted to get a clown for his circus and he got one. Johnny Lever and Upasna Singh are also quite funny, specially in their honeymoon sequence. Songs are cheesy mostly (oh you should watch the laal gharara song for Rani's dance), but na milo hum se zyada is cutsy romantic number. Others are the craziest! I love them. Can't believe I know some of them by heart. :P These dance numbers are hilarious most of the times so a complete entertainment, IMO. Amrish Puri totally rocks in jugni jugni!!! If you decide to watch this, which would be commendable in itself, I have a hunch you might want to give up in the middle. If you feel like that I won't blame you at all, but since you've started watching it, I would suggest don't miss the ice-skating scene of Rani and Mayuri. It's a must watch! Do whatever, but DO NOT miss it - the triple-lutz and triple-axels are to die for (well, not literally but you'd know when you watch it). Last but not least, Bobby Deol looks so very handsome! Rewind-worthy scene: the ice-skating sequence.
Hum Saath Saath Hai (1999) - Someone voted for this one as the worst movie on a survey at Sayeshaz. I was like WHAT?! how can they do that? I'd watch this one tirelessly just to see Karishma wear that yellow-red synthetic saari over and over again in every other scene. ;) Nah, only kidding, there's more fun stuff to watch in there than just that. The extra-large star-cast and all the handsome Bollywood boys and the storyline (the moral of the story) make it a really nice watch. I admit I love those Ramayan chopai they sing in this one. They're absolutely beautiful! I also like all the positive attitude shown by the eldest kids in family Vivek-Sadhana, actually all the kids have portrayed their parts really well. Some of their acted behaviors are truly touching and the importance of family and all the relationships are shown beautifully. Rewind-worthy scene: when Sadhana feeds sweet to Prem and says "Prembhaiya, door rehkar bhi hum saath saath hai" when he shows up at Rampur instead of going home to his mother.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) - A lot of bad has been said about this one; But despite of that I really like this one a lot. Agreed, that there is a wee bit of too much drama in a few scenes but apart from that it is a good movie with nice moral of the story and mega star-cast. What more could I ask for? My favorite scenes of the movie include all the ones with Poo & Rohan in it and of course with Sayeeda (Farida Jalal); my most favorite songs from the film are suraj hua maddham and vande maataram along with bole chudiyaan. Rewind-worthy scene: Poo leaving for a party, walks down the stairs in red outfit/red shoes; Rohan meets her half way on the stairs, the dialog starts with "tumne..." "maine..." until Poo walks up to Robbie who has come with flowers to pick her up.
Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon (2003) - After I read here, here, here, here, and also here about how people severely disliked this one, I just had to add this one to the list. I tell you I am so crazy about this one, I must have watched it more than ten times. I love everything about this movie. The comedy, the romance, the dances, the story, Kareena's look (I think she looks the best ever in this one in those simple sarees and pretty salwars) and the both the Bollywood boys look so handsome. Not to mention the beautiful locations! Kareena's crazy friends are fun to watch. ;) Himani Shivpuri has played mom's role beautifully and Pankaj Kapoor looks like every guy's dream father-in-law. Heck, even the dude playing their servant (Raju Srivastava) is funny. I specially like the scene where he sings "sajnaa ji aaye more anganaa are dholki bajaao..." when Prem Kishen arrives at their ranch in Sundarnagar for the first time. Many great songs but my most favorite one is bhatke pachhi bhool na jaana along with kasam ki kasam hai kasam se (both being piano songs woo hoo!) MPKDH totally rocks! You guessed it right, I own this movie on DVD. :D Rewind-worthy scene: Sanjana welcoming Prem Kishan at their home for a meal and is instructed by her mother on how to behave in front of the new guest.
Mujhse Dosti Karoge (2002) - AWESOME! that's the word for this movie. Again, watched it countless times for all the goodies in this one - Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani's acting not her high heels, the songs, the medley is nice and so are the other songs. My favorite one is jaane dil mein kab se hai tu. Almost all the parents are funny in this one. First movie where I actually liked Uday Chopra. Rewind-worthy scenes: (1) Raj makes gobi ke parathe for Pooja with his own hands and feeds a bite to her, they're standing outside in a dark night on a deck like place, "pyaar hua iqraar hua" plays in the background. The best scene of the film. (2) Raj and Rohan in gym; Raj practicing agaist the tall net thing and Rohan asks him why he never fell in love with Pooja and Raj says "tum poochh rahe ho ki keh rahe ho?" and Roham says "dono"... the scene continues.
Naram Garam (1981) - Golmaal Part II. That's the easiest way to describe this one. If you liked Golmaal, you'll like this one for sure. It's a little slow paced but new drama and new people make it so exciting. Specially the new cast that includes chana-gud eating Shatru-shotgun-Sinha as Babua and his signature "abey ghonchu" and Gajanan (Suresh Chatwal) is so annoying along with Ramprasad just being himself. :) Kiran Vairale as Sumi looks cute; the song ek baat suni hai chachaji batlaane waali hai makes a fun watch and the acting of Dina Pathak as mother-in-law of Bhavani Shankar is awesome! Asha Bhosle's mere anganaa aaye re ghanshyaam aaye re is a beautiful song picturized on Swarup Sampat. Rewind-worthy scene: Bhavani Shankar has come to the farmhouse for the first time to meet Kusum as a potential matrimonial prospect. He begins talking by calling her "dekho Kusi beti.... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!". hahahahahahaha! *fell off the chair typing it*
Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963) - As Difu would say "lovely lovely lovely... isn't this *pbapb pbapb pbapb* taak-dhina-dhin"! ;) This one is your usual romantic comedy family drama action suspence movie in that order but it's been my most favorite ever since I watched it for the first time (can't recall when). I must have watched it almost as many times as Golmaal, which is close to 20+ times. I love each and every song of the film but my most favorite one right now is "laakhon hai nigaah mein" (as this changes by the day). Rajendra Nath plays Difu the most entertaining character in the film. :D Next ones are his parents played by Indra Bansal and Rajendra Singh. Kamala (Ram Avtar) - Mohan's sidekick is also funny and totally gol-matol (chubby). Asha Parekh looks beautiful; and her friends cute and irritatingly funny; Joy Mukherjee looks just handsome as Mohan! Veena as Mohan's mother looks very graceful. aanchal mein sajaa lena kaliyaan is the most beautiful song of the film with the most beautiful studio background scenes. The dances in dekho bijali doli bin baadal ke and aji kibla mohtarma are beautiful. Rewind-worthy scene: This one has too many of those, but my favorite is when Kamala looks (more like checks her out from head to toe) at Difu's mother (Indra Bansal) and she feels all shy and looks down blushing.
Tashan (2008) - OMG! what a movie! what a movie! what a movie!!! I totally went fida over this one even though it made it to this worst-movies-ever list. Whattttt an action sequence, the one at the end. Oh my! I'd watch it over and over again for that one, where Anil Kapoor comes on the motorbike and Paris Hilton haha I mean Kareena pokes that sword through his chest. The dil dance maare song is simply fantabulous!!! But I know you all would have liked the chhalia chhalia number more as you have no taste in quality movies. Paris Hilton's errr I mean Kareena's looks can kill someone, literally, cuz even her bones are thinner than daggers. OK fine, I added this film here just to find out whether my readers actually got upto the end of this list or not. But yea, I'd sure watch this one again for the "phirst impresson ij tha lasth impresson" *rolling her hands like Nil Bhaaloo Kaps*. And you probably still don't know, but I do plan to own this one DVD soon. Yup, only for Akshay Kumar. ;) Rewind-worthy scene: the action scene at the end of the film and of course the ones where Akshay Kumar gets shot during the fight sequence in that building. His leaping shots are awesome!
Vivaah (2006) - this is another one of those cute romantic films that everyone has watched. I watched this one three times non-stop after I watched it for the first time. Unfortunately, that was after it was out on DVD and the theater won't play one more show of it despite of my requests. Any how, later on I watched it more than a dozen times or even more; I have lost count now. One of my cousin finds it utterly outrageous and still can't believe I have watched this film so many times. And the other one actually gifted me the collectors' edition DVD of the film. *mile-wide smile* :D What can I say? As you know I'm a huge fan of Sooraj Barjatya movies and this one makes it into their top ten list. Also like the other couple in film Sunil & Bhavna played by Samir Soni and Lata Sabharwal respectively. Seema Biswas' negative role acting is also great along with all the other characters. Manoj Joshi is funny as always. Remember the scene during the do anjaane ajnabi where he makes some gestures towards Prem and he drops that flower-vase? Hahaha so funny. Adore Ravindra Jain's music for this one. I like all the songs of this one but jai gauri maa the most. Rewind-worthy scene: all the scenes where Poonam and Prem talk over the phone.Until next time...
So do you have any oh-so-ridiculous-yet-favorite movies on your list?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Valentine's Day - Introduced by Gujaratis!
I didn't know this until today; Mira P just told me about it. How very interesting! It all makes sense now. ;)
Notwithstanding, what nonsense you've been told by a priest, the truth is that the Valentine's Day originated in India, and to top it, in Gujarat?
It is a known fact that the Gujarati men, especially the Patels don't treat their wives (Patel'anis) with respect. One fine day, it happened to be 14th day of February, one brave Patel'ani had had enough of torture by her husband, and then she finally chose to rebel by beating him up with a Velan......
Yeah, the same Velan with which she made chapattis for him everyday; only this time, instead of the dough, it was the husband who was flattened.
This was a momentous occasion for all the Gujarati women and a revolt soon spread, like wild fire, with several housewives beating up their husbands with Velan; and there was an outburst of moaning chapattis all over Anand and Amdavad. The Patel men folk learnt their lesson and behaved a bit better with their Patel'ani partners.
Then after, each year that day the womenfolk, as a token gesture, beat up their husbands to commemorate that eventful day, the wives having the satisfaction of beating up their husbands with Velan, and the guys having the supreme joy of submitting to the whims of the women they loved.
Soon Gujjus realized that in order to avoid this ordeal they need to bring flowers and gifts for their wives. So the tradition began.
As Gujarat fell more under the influence of Western culture that day was called 'Velan Time' day. Hence this ritual soon spread to Britain and many other Western countries, specifically, the catch words 'Velan time!'.
Of course in their foreign mouths, it was bastardized to 'Velantime' and then to 'Velantine'. And from that day onwards, 14th of February, came to be known as Valentine's Day.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Just One Word? Or Many?
How about both? ;)
Ever since Bhavesh had re-tagged me to answer tag questions in just one line, I wanted to do this. So when I saw Neha had tagged me, I was like oh this is just perfect! I will answer in just one word, not even one line. ;) But then I couldn't help doing the other one as well. Here goes:
i am: crazy.
i think: nonstop.
i know: little.
i want: peace.
i have: patience.
i wish: good.
i hate: hypocrites.
i miss: school.
i fear: God.
i feel: blessed.
i hear: mostly.
i smell: roses.
i crave: attention.
i search: daily.
i wonder: often.
i regret: judging.
i love: nature.
i ache: thrillers.
i care: much.
i always: irritate.
i am not: mean.
i believe: confidently.
i dance: freely.
i sing: average.
i cry: sometimes.
i don't always: listen.
i fight: injustice.
i write: blogs.
i win: hearts.
i lose: temper.
i never: bark.
i confuse: myself.
i listen: carefully.
i can usually be found: talking.
i am scared: inside.
i need: vacation.
i am happy about: life.
i tag: nobody.
And now for the longer answers:
i am: a control freak, short-tempered, very patient at times, silly, outrageous, and a little crazy, yeah I know. ;)
i think: too much sometimes. More than what's needed.
i know: that I am truly blessed.
i want: more self control.
i have: a very unique family. Yup, I do.
i wish: for world peace. LOL! I sound like Ms. whatever *batting eyelids*. No but seriously, I wish I read more things than what I do now, specially books.
i hate: waking up early in the morning.
i miss: hanging out with friends like I did when I was a teenager.
i fear: drinking unclean water.
i feel: passionate about things I love to do.
i hear: selectively. Let me tell you, it helps. ;)
i smell: delicious sourdough bread right now. *yum*
i crave: for junk food every once in a while.
i search: mostly on google only, but in my room when I misplace my things.
i wonder: a lot... mostly about what people would be feeling or thinking.
i regret: hurting my loved ones at one point or the other.
i love: traveling to places and going for long drives.
i ache: for people who can't forgive and let go.
i care: to be indifferent than to hate.
i always: thought I was right. :(
i am not: a perfect human being.
i believe: that all the answers are inside of us.
i dance: once every week.
i sing: the beginner level Hindustani classical vocals.
i cry: just like everyone else does.
i don't always: speak the truth. *humming... jab meri chori pakdi jaati!* :P
i fight: the most with my sister. Sorry Neha, I'd to steal this answer. ;)
i write: letters in Gujarati really well, or so I am told. :)
i win: when I am able to control myself
i lose: temper more often than you'd think.
i never: have been able to get my head to touch my knees when I'm sitting with straight legs, parallel to the ground (without bending my knees).
i confuse: niceness of certain people for their kind-heartedness, which is often just selfishness.
i listen: to Hindi songs with a lot of enthusiasm.
i can usually be found: quite easily when playing hide & seek.
i am scared: of insects that venture near by bed at night when I'm asleep.
i need: to exercise more.
i am happy about: knowing a lot of things today than say 20 or 30 years later.
i tag: all of the readers whose first names end either in H or R.
*phew* I tell you, this one was the hardest to complete.
Ever since Bhavesh had re-tagged me to answer tag questions in just one line, I wanted to do this. So when I saw Neha had tagged me, I was like oh this is just perfect! I will answer in just one word, not even one line. ;) But then I couldn't help doing the other one as well. Here goes:
i am: crazy.
i think: nonstop.
i know: little.
i want: peace.
i have: patience.
i wish: good.
i hate: hypocrites.
i miss: school.
i fear: God.
i feel: blessed.
i hear: mostly.
i smell: roses.
i crave: attention.
i search: daily.
i wonder: often.
i regret: judging.
i love: nature.
i ache: thrillers.
i care: much.
i always: irritate.
i am not: mean.
i believe: confidently.
i dance: freely.
i sing: average.
i cry: sometimes.
i don't always: listen.
i fight: injustice.
i write: blogs.
i win: hearts.
i lose: temper.
i never: bark.
i confuse: myself.
i listen: carefully.
i can usually be found: talking.
i am scared: inside.
i need: vacation.
i am happy about: life.
i tag: nobody.
And now for the longer answers:
i am: a control freak, short-tempered, very patient at times, silly, outrageous, and a little crazy, yeah I know. ;)
i think: too much sometimes. More than what's needed.
i know: that I am truly blessed.
i want: more self control.
i have: a very unique family. Yup, I do.
i wish: for world peace. LOL! I sound like Ms. whatever *batting eyelids*. No but seriously, I wish I read more things than what I do now, specially books.
i hate: waking up early in the morning.
i miss: hanging out with friends like I did when I was a teenager.
i fear: drinking unclean water.
i feel: passionate about things I love to do.
i hear: selectively. Let me tell you, it helps. ;)
i smell: delicious sourdough bread right now. *yum*
i crave: for junk food every once in a while.
i search: mostly on google only, but in my room when I misplace my things.
i wonder: a lot... mostly about what people would be feeling or thinking.
i regret: hurting my loved ones at one point or the other.
i love: traveling to places and going for long drives.
i ache: for people who can't forgive and let go.
i care: to be indifferent than to hate.
i always: thought I was right. :(
i am not: a perfect human being.
i believe: that all the answers are inside of us.
i dance: once every week.
i sing: the beginner level Hindustani classical vocals.
i cry: just like everyone else does.
i don't always: speak the truth. *humming... jab meri chori pakdi jaati!* :P
i fight: the most with my sister. Sorry Neha, I'd to steal this answer. ;)
i write: letters in Gujarati really well, or so I am told. :)
i win: when I am able to control myself
i lose: temper more often than you'd think.
i never: have been able to get my head to touch my knees when I'm sitting with straight legs, parallel to the ground (without bending my knees).
i confuse: niceness of certain people for their kind-heartedness, which is often just selfishness.
i listen: to Hindi songs with a lot of enthusiasm.
i can usually be found: quite easily when playing hide & seek.
i am scared: of insects that venture near by bed at night when I'm asleep.
i need: to exercise more.
i am happy about: knowing a lot of things today than say 20 or 30 years later.
i tag: all of the readers whose first names end either in H or R.
*phew* I tell you, this one was the hardest to complete.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Bookmarked errrr Booktagged
We call it playing "pakaD daav" in Gujarati. That's what's been happening these days - the tagging game. I still have one more from Nova, but until then I decided to do this easier one by Stupidosaur.
How to play:
[picks up the nearest book] The book is maharshi vedvyaas praNit shrimad bhaagawat part I.
(Sorry for those who can't read Gujarati)
[opens to page 123]
[finds the fifth sentence]
[posts the next three sentences]
અધ્યાય ૫ મોઃ વિદુરજીના પ્રશ્નથી મહામુનિ મૈત્રેયે વર્ણવેલી મહત્ત્ત્વ વગેરેની સૃષ્ટિ.
શ્રીશુકદેવજી બોલ્યાઃ કુરુઓમાં શ્રેષ્ઠ અને શ્રીકૃષ્ણ ઉપરના ભક્તિભાવથી શુધ્ધ વિદુરજીએ ગંગાના હરિદ્વાર ક્શેત્રમાં બેઠેલા અગાધ ગ્નાનવાળા મૈત્રેય મુનિની સમીપ જઇ, તેમના સુશીલતા વગેરે ગુણોથી અત્યંત સંતોષ પામી આ પ્રમાણે પૂછયું.
વિદુરજીએ પૂછયુંઃ મનુષ્ય સુખ માટે કર્મો કરે છે; છતાં તે કર્મો દ્વારા તેને સુખ પ્રાપ્ત થતું નથી અથવા દુઃખની શાંતિ પણ થતી નથી; પરંતુ ઊલટું ફરી દુઃખ જ પ્રાપ્ત થાય છે, તો આ સંસારમાં જે કરવા યોગ્ય હોય તે આપ ભગવાન અમને કહો.
પૂર્વજન્મના કારણથી જે મનુષ્ય શ્રીકૃષ્ણથી વિમુખ અને અઘર્મ શીલ હોઇ અત્યંત દુઃખી હોય છે, તેના પર કૃપા કરવા ભગવાનના ભવ્ય ભક્તો આ જગતમાં વિચરે છે, અર્થાત્ આપ જેવા ભગવદ્ભક્તોનો સ્વભાવ પરોપકાર કરવાનો જ હોય છે; તો હે સાધુવર્ય! આપ અમને એવો કલ્યાણમાર્ગ દર્શાવો કે જે દ્વારા સેવેલા ભગવાન મનુષ્યના ભક્તિ થી પવિત્ર થયેલા હ્રદયમાં રહી આત્માના સાક્શાત્કાર સહિત વેદપ્રસિધ્ધસનાતન ગ્યાન આપે.
[tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you]
Tagged: everyone who reads books, which I know is everyone who reads this blog. (I think that's definitely more than five people).
And of course, this taggie acknowledges the tagger.
So all those who read this blog please get to work. :D
How to play:
- Pick up the nearest book.
- Open to page 123.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the next three sentences.
- Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.
[picks up the nearest book] The book is maharshi vedvyaas praNit shrimad bhaagawat part I.
(Sorry for those who can't read Gujarati)
[opens to page 123]
[finds the fifth sentence]
[posts the next three sentences]
અધ્યાય ૫ મોઃ વિદુરજીના પ્રશ્નથી મહામુનિ મૈત્રેયે વર્ણવેલી મહત્ત્ત્વ વગેરેની સૃષ્ટિ.
શ્રીશુકદેવજી બોલ્યાઃ કુરુઓમાં શ્રેષ્ઠ અને શ્રીકૃષ્ણ ઉપરના ભક્તિભાવથી શુધ્ધ વિદુરજીએ ગંગાના હરિદ્વાર ક્શેત્રમાં બેઠેલા અગાધ ગ્નાનવાળા મૈત્રેય મુનિની સમીપ જઇ, તેમના સુશીલતા વગેરે ગુણોથી અત્યંત સંતોષ પામી આ પ્રમાણે પૂછયું.
વિદુરજીએ પૂછયુંઃ મનુષ્ય સુખ માટે કર્મો કરે છે; છતાં તે કર્મો દ્વારા તેને સુખ પ્રાપ્ત થતું નથી અથવા દુઃખની શાંતિ પણ થતી નથી; પરંતુ ઊલટું ફરી દુઃખ જ પ્રાપ્ત થાય છે, તો આ સંસારમાં જે કરવા યોગ્ય હોય તે આપ ભગવાન અમને કહો.
પૂર્વજન્મના કારણથી જે મનુષ્ય શ્રીકૃષ્ણથી વિમુખ અને અઘર્મ શીલ હોઇ અત્યંત દુઃખી હોય છે, તેના પર કૃપા કરવા ભગવાનના ભવ્ય ભક્તો આ જગતમાં વિચરે છે, અર્થાત્ આપ જેવા ભગવદ્ભક્તોનો સ્વભાવ પરોપકાર કરવાનો જ હોય છે; તો હે સાધુવર્ય! આપ અમને એવો કલ્યાણમાર્ગ દર્શાવો કે જે દ્વારા સેવેલા ભગવાન મનુષ્યના ભક્તિ થી પવિત્ર થયેલા હ્રદયમાં રહી આત્માના સાક્શાત્કાર સહિત વેદપ્રસિધ્ધસનાતન ગ્યાન આપે.
[tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you]
Tagged: everyone who reads books, which I know is everyone who reads this blog. (I think that's definitely more than five people).
And of course, this taggie acknowledges the tagger.
So all those who read this blog please get to work. :D
Friday, June 06, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
The Most Valuable Gift
SSC Board results came out today in Gujarat ; HSC were last week. Four students I know were awaiting those eagerly along with their ever eager parents and relatives with baited breath. I remembered the days when I was waiting like that for my results. If you are studying in India
I want to write a lot more but the following link says it all. Some beautiful Sanskrit subhashita on Education: Importance of Education.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Sonu Sood aka Sujamal of Jodhaa Akbar
While watching Jodhaa Akbar a week back, I just kept thinking what his name would be. He has attractive eyes and sharp features that make you not want to take off your eyes from the screen when he's on there. I couldn't know his name at the end of the film as the theater folks stopped the film when the credits started. That's the man who plays Sujamal, Jodhaa's brother in the film. I just found out that he's not one of the Babbars as I thought him to be. Yup, I seriously thought he was related to Raj Babbar, but turns out he isn't related to him at all and his name is actually Sonu Sood. Speaking of his role in JA, I think he really did justice to it and made an impact. The movie would have lacked something good if he weren't there. Of course he is very handsome, IMO, but can't be compared with the Greek-God-looks of Hrithik Roshan.
In any case, I think even his voice sounds so similar to Raj Babbar's and so do his expressions. But I think Sonu has a bit of cuteness to his face, which Raj Babbar lacks severely. I was disappointed (kind of) to know he isn't a Babbar. It's funny I looked at Arya Babbar's pictures today as well and realized he doesn't look anything like Raj Babbar, but Sonu looks a lot more like him. Funny how people look like others without being related to them. Reminds me of Sameer (DCH) "mere khayaal se har kisi ki soorat kisi na kisi se to milti hi hai".
Check out the similarities in their features in the photos below:
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