Rat-a-too-eeeeee

Ratatouille releases in UK this Friday. But there was a screening of the same this Monday.

I am not at all crazy about animated movies, but I went for it all the same.
And I tell you, its one cute movie everybody must see! I never thought rats could look cute, but I guess the movie proves that 'Anyone can cook' and 'Anyone can look cute!' ;)



Do watch it! :)

Lucky Who?

She was in a sour mood. Her spirits touched an all time low. She didn't know what to do. She walked out from her classroom. She had not heard a single word that was uttered by the professor. She had been lost in thoughts. She had had a fight with her mom that morning.. Why? She was not able to figure it out. It was as if she didn't need a reason to. Her school would be over in another month. What after that? Her best friend was going to another college. What would she do? She was not even able to study.. Thats not all, she thought. There are so many things troubling me now.

A classmate of hers passed by her.. She called out.. 'Rads, wanna join us for a coffee?' She waved saying no. She thought.. How does she manage to be so happy? Why am I the person who is always sad.. always bothered? She looked at her walking away.. Lucky her!, she thought. She sat alone for some time. Tears trickled down her eyes slowly..



It was growing dark. It was raining too.. She walked towards her bike. Plugged on her earphones. Her MP3 player had run out of charge. She gave her bike a kick. Nothing is supposed to be right with me today, she murmered. She didn't pull out her earphones.. She felt it would shield her from the world. She started her bike. She felt like the saddest person in the universe..

He was standing near his window and smoking. He felt like running away from this world. He gazed outside.. He saw a girl speeding through the rain in her bike. She was listening to music. Oh look at her.. She looks so free.. So happy.. I wish I could be that way too.. Lucky her!

No Reds.. No Greens.. Only Blues!!

What is happening to me now?
I am quite busy at work these days. Not really great work. But then onsite and good work rarely go together. Do they?

Jale Pe Namak: Have loads of documentation work. A process document for everything I do, a technical document as a contribution to knowledge sharing activities, a BoK as a centre of excellence initiative.. And of course, everything here works with deadlines. I’m dead.

More: There are lots of problem at home (here, I mean). Ego clashes, emotional clashes, ‘you-name-it’ clashes. So far I have managed to play just the part of the audience. And I’ll try my best to avoid being a participant. But just to have such a disturbed environment is a torture. I am incapable of solving these issues since I don’t know what the issue is. Also I don’t really know the people who are involved, I don’t know how they think, I don’t know what they feel. But how indifferent can I be to what is going around me. I feel weird.

I want to go back to India. And I am pushing a lot for that. Sometimes I feel that I am going to land into more trouble if I get back there.. Be it in the work front or the personal front.. Nevertheless, I chant the ‘I wanna go back’ mantra all the time. When will that happen? What will happen after that? I don’t know.

In between all this I go for movies, eat-out, visit places, go for project parties, crack jokes, have fun.. But once these hungamas are over. I feel blank. Emotionless.
And I am sure every person around me here feels the same.. All eyes have the same vacant look.. Everybody is tired..

Am I slowly losing myself to this crazy world? Or have I just stepped into the real world?

Chak De India!

Hey, don't you roll your eyes and think, 'Writing about Chak De now?'! Unfortunately, Chak De got released in Ipswich only this Sunday and I watched it yesterday. Yes, I loved it! :)



I am not a Shahrukh fan. Everything he does looks like 'acting' to me. He is a good actor.. but he always reminds me that he is just acting, and in case he starts crying, God save me!
Even in this movie, I feel that Shahrukh has done a good job. Nothing to 'Ooh Aah' about. But his team rocks! Every single girl is so different from each other.. So simple.. And so real.. Such faces makes it easier to relate to.. You feel that its the girl next door who is going out and proving her mettle to the world and then you feel so happy, so proud.

The film brings to our notice a few things..
* It shows how a small mistake makes an Indian crowd make dangerous judgements!
* The way we Indians still see ourselves divided in the name of states.
* The fate of hockey in India
* The fate of women as sports players. In fact, women in any career face difficulties. But a career in sports makes it worse..

I know its just a movie, but the fact that its inspired from a true story makes it a lot more closer to the heart. Hope all of you liked it too!

1 + 4 + 0 + 8 = 13

As you would have guessed, watched the movie 1408. It had been a long time since I watched a scary movie, and this one made up for it quite well.




In this movie, Michael Enslin(John Cusack) is a writer who writes about the 'supposedly' haunted locations. He is a non-believer and hence, goes into such hotels, stays there overnight and reveals to the world that its all made up. But for once, he is trapped in room 1408 of hotel Dolphin. And we go as crazy as him in trying to get out from there!
If you are looking for some thrill, go watch it.

Destiny or Accident?

I have always thought a lot about life; its meaning.. its purpose.. Even as a child, I used to do that. Maybe because I grew up hearing Dad tell about life, 'karma', different 'janma's' and so on. A lot of them made sense to me, a lot of them did not. There were heated debates on God between my Dad and my cousins, long discussions about these with my sister. And all this got me thinking.

And there is one question I ask myself many times.. Is life destined to be or is it just an accident?

It surely feels better to think of life as a destiny. To think that I had to be born to my parents.. that I had to grow up the way I did.. that everything I do is already destined. Of course, that does not mean that I do not try to do anything from my side. I try.. try hard for the best.. but understand that only that will happen, that what is destined.

On the other side, its inspiring to say that I make my own destiny. Its true that a vision, determination and hard work can achieve almost anything.. But isn't there an element of uncertainty everywhere in life? Can I even claim a single thing about future with 100% surety? I am afraid not. I cannot even say that I'll publish this post, because at the end, I am not sure of my life the next moment. So, that says that life is not in my hands.

I just watched Forrest Gump. And liked it a lot. That got me into writing all this. And as he finally says, I guess life is a mixture of both.. destiny and accidents, miracles and coincidences, luck and hard work. Ain't it?

Whats in a birthday?

This is what I asked myself on my birthday this year.

Birthdays used to be sooo exciting years ago. Hey, I never used to sleep the previous night! There was no blowing of candles, no cutting of cakes. There were no balloons or ribbons in the house and nobody was invited for a party. There were not even flowers or gifts! But still there was more that enough reason for excitement.. new dress, chocolates and greeting cards! :)

A week before my birthday, I used to calculate and re-calculate how many chocolates I needed. Strength of the class + atleast 5 chocs each for my best buddies + principal + all teachers + few friends from other divisions + bus mates + bus driver + cleaner + relatives + neighbours + .. The list went on. My mom would somehow convince me on cutting short the list. The next discussion was on which chocolate to buy. After all the arguments, the chocolates would arrive. I would get them all out of the packet.. on to the floor. And then the counting began! I would get them into separate boxes.. One for bus.. One for class.. One for teachers.. Phew.. And go to sleep late at night to end up not sleeping at all!

But I wouldn't be a bit tired the next day. Would trot around proudly with my new dress. I would smile at all the blue-n-white uniforms around. I was the star of the day! Would sit in class, full of excitement, and when the teacher walked in, would go to her with this box. And then the whole class got up and sang 'Happy Birthday To you....' Oh, how wonderful it felt.

But whatever I say, I did feel special even on this birthday with all the wishes from my loved ones. Thanks a lot for them. You made my day!