Endings

This feels like it's going to be a short post. Let's see.
Ok so yes this is going to be about endings. Umm there might be a few spoilers, with respect to some books / films / serials. And yes, I hope to make this a fun post! Let's see :)

So this post is about endings. Not about whether there are happy endings in life or not. It's a little more superficial :D It's about which guy ends up with which girl. No it's not about real life choices (:D), they'll work out eventually. They're about these characters in fiction, and why I always feel someone else should have got the guy / girl! Since I don't think all of you all would have read / watched all of it, so it maybe a little remote, but I'll try to make it more relate-able!

So for instance, I'll begin with this serial called Gossip Girl. It's wonderfully superficial and mindless and a lot of fun. If you think I'm too shallow to watch this, I don't care :P And please do watch it! Anyway, so there is this girl called Jenny. She's been quite irritating and semi-bitchy in some of the episodes, and gets on my nerves at times. Still I want her to end up with Nate (one of the central characters). He had a brief fling with her, but from whatever I've seen till now, he's now with this other chick called Vanessa. So Vanessa's really nice and not bitchy and is probably the right person for Nate. Nonetheless I still want Nate to be with J!

Then there's Dil To Pagal Hai. Why why why cannot Shahrukh end up with Karisma (even though Madhuri is oh-so-beautiful, but still!)? And in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai I can't bear to watch second half as I think Shahrukh was good with Rani only. This however can be attributed to my strange liking for Rani, who by the way, has disappeared. Why?

Then there is Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen. I do not get why Fanny goes for Edmund who only goes for her because his other love (Mary) is too immoral for him. She has the perfectly nice Henry who she does not marry because he was immoral! Apparently, Austen wrote this while she was in Bath, and was in this 'moral' (I don't know how to express this) phase and hence purposely did not let Fanny marry the erstwhile flirtatious Henry.

Then there is The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot. In this, in a really depressing ending (yes, I cried), Maggie dies in the end along with her brother Tom, in a flood (I think). I hate this ending. Earlier she had had a relationship with this person called Philip, who as far as I can remember, had a club foot. It's sweet. However later, her cousin's fiance, Stephen falls in love with her, and even though she tries to resist it, Maggie falls in love with him too. They eventually elope, with hopes of getting married in Scotland. However the guilt is too much, and eventually Maggie leaves him. He's all sad and terribly broken. She dies finally. Philip's sad. Stephen's sad. Strangely, I think he eventually marries the first cousin.

Yes I know this is wrong (falling in love with cousin's fiance). Still, I really wanted Maggie and Stephen to end up together. I don't know, I just did. And anyway, I don't know why Eliot had to end the novel the way she did. Fine, Maggie could have left Stephen... but she didn't have to die!

And then there is Harry Potter. I did NOT want Harry to end up with Ginny. It's like Rowling was too bored to think of someone else, and there Ginny was all along, and by them marrying Harry, Ron and hence Hermione would have become family too. I do NOT like. Time for big confession here. I secretly wanted Harry and Hermione to end up together. I sense disbelief here.. right? See I like Ron and Hermione together. However I would have loved to see Harry and Hermione together. So this is what I mean when I say that I always want the wrong couple to happen...! I don't know. Some of these instances maybe tried to be explained by the whole the girl always goes for the bad guy syndrome... but I honestly don't think Henry and Stephen are bad guys. While being a flirt might be considered as highly immoral in the time when Austen wrote the novel, Henry had reformed his ways. And with respect to Stephen, yes falling in love with one's fiancee's cousin is definitely not nice (a big no to infidelity, I say), he couldn't help it, he couldn't (so maybe I need to relook my thoughts on infidelity too?).

So that's that. I know there isn't much to this post. It's just about why I don't like the endings of quite a few of my favourite novels / serials / movies... and I do not know why?! Umm I could pshychoanalyse it and try to arrive at some explanation, but am avoiding introspection of any kind right now. I like being shallow. :)

Also, if you want to know if you're falling for the bad guy, please check out http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/7PR8hEL/Are-you-falling-for-a-bad-boy Yes, I'm terribly vela.

So do you fall in love with the bad guy *snicker* *grin*?!

Ok one more thing, I'm going to start this 'I like' thing now. I'll mention in every post one thing I like.

So right now, I like the new local trains in Mumbai (see above).

I really like them. And look forward to travelling in them whenever I can. I love the colours used - purple, orange and white. And the inside compartment, in spite of the crowd, still feels non-claustrophobic. And there finally is an announcement system inside the train, announcing which is the next station. Big help, especially considering that I often get so absorbed in reading / thinking / sleeping that I almost miss my station. Also, the announcement reflects in a way the cosmopolitan nature (which I admit is now in danger, sigh), as each time there are three announcements back to back, "पुडे स्टेशन, विखरोली", (it's actually not spelt like that in Marathi, and not even pronounced like that, but it's the closest i can get to in Hindi), "अगला स्टेशन, विखरोली", "Next station, Vikhroli". It gets irritating once in a while, but is sweet too.

Hmm this wasn't a short post. And was not fun too. Tad boring too. Sorry :( Had to be dispensed from system though!

Post Script - have just been informed by a seasoned traveller that the new trains are not so new! They were introduced an year ago. Sorry! To a first time traveller like me(have travelled before, but not on a regular basis like this time), they seem brand new though :)!

Must watch :)

No time to write more, too tired (just got back from work), but THIS (see below) is an AWESOME campaign. :)
http://thepinkchaddicampaign.blogspot.com/

Yet Another Note on Slumdog Millionaire

I just heard that Slumdog Millionaire's (hereafter to be referred to as either 'Slumdog' or SM) got ten Oscar nominations, including three for Rahman, one of which he's been nominated along with Gulzar. Strange emotions actually engulfed me. I feel ecstatic for Rahman and Gulzar, really. Both are stupendous at their respective art. Not one to know much about lyrics (I have this thing, I know the song but never the lyrics), I do know a bit (a bit:)) more about melody and I personally think Rahman's made much better music in films like Dil Se, Roja, Yuva, Saathiya, Rang De Basanti, Guru... the list is endless. While 'Jai Ho' is nice, it just isn't the same as say 'Satrangi Re' or 'Fanaa' or well even a 'Mayya'. However since SM is a success, everything related to it is being noticed and so is Rahman's music. I'm glad nonetheless. Just read somewhere that Akon's asked him to do a song with him and even appear in his video :D While I hate his music (Mr. Lonely is top on that list), but never thought this day would come :D!
Anyway this post is more about the film itself. The film left me with this weird feeling. I've been in Bombay for almost 11 yrs now (2 of these have however been spent in B'lore now, and so will the next 3)... and I don't think Bombay's only about slums. I hence hated this aspect of the film. is a lot more to Bombay... and any news of the film's success made it sound to me like we were celebrating our own poverty. Surprisingly even Mr. Bachchan agrees! As usual, many have responded that he's just jealous of SM's success. He's obviously then said that he was 'misinterpreted' (on his blog, something which I plan to check out sometime). Some say it's the 'crab mentality' and how Indians can't wait to pull down an Indian who finally does well. Maybe it's true - I'd like to believe it's not.
Nonetheless a tiny bit of me kept on telling me about how Dharavi and slums like these do exist. As I've said this tons of times to my own friends, Bombay is a dirty city.. public sanitation is not one of its' plus points. I wondered if I was being overtly defensive? It is in so many ways such a typical reaction. It's similar to how I (and many of my friends) feel about law school - we criticise it endlessly amongst ourselves, but if any 'outsider' says anything even slightly negative, my claws are out! Besides, the film does have many other positive aspects - it's about hope and victory of, well, good over evil. The child actors are brilliant - I think they deserve more acclaim than anyone else in the cast. Dev Patel as the adult Jamaal is also good. Frieda Pinto, in my own opinion, is nothing great though :) The acting is decent, the music is good, there are many poignant scenes - overally, cinematically, the film is a treat. It is a total 'package' - drama, humour, dishoom-dishoom, romance, the Taj Mahal, communal riots and love transcending all religions, villainy and other barriers, the rags to riches story, the two brothers one all white (Jamaal), the other white to grey to black to grey to white finally (Salim); the poverty, the white tourists who are told what the 'real India' is... etc etc. Oh there's also a Bollywood dance sequence thrown in in the end, probably to satiate the tastes of Westerners wanting to see such a song and dance (I hated it). So it's full masala, something like Om Shanti Om (OSO) or Main Hoon Na (MHN) made by Farah Khan. It is in many ways very Bollywood-esque, yet that and not OSO is making the Oscar nomination list. Why?
Well for starters, admittedly SM is a decent to good film. It's moving and nice. Secondly, it is made by a Westerner, Danny Boyle of Trainspotting fame, of all people. So while some may only grudgingly admit that they 'okayed' OSO or MHN ('It's so corny ya, so Bollywood') SM's awesome. Maybe it's the white skin fascination or maybe I'm too much of a cynic (I still maintain that the film is pretty ok). Thirdly, the film does well abroad because 1. it's by Boyle, 2. it shows the 'real' India, shows the grime, the dust, the squalor - shows how a 'slumdog' overcomes all to succeed, 3. it's a decent film. My problem is with no. 2 (rather, 3.2). I might be wrong there... but I don't think so. And this is what irritates and saddens me. Boyle must be grinning away to glory right now - he's cashed in on our poverty and how. I agree that a large part of India is poor, I agree that we have zillions of slums...but it still saddens me that well our poverty is what is selling. Simultaneously I don't think this is a India centric problem. I'm sure other countries too are faced with this problem of cliched representations (simultaneously there is this thought jumping in my brain right now telling me that the essence of cliches is truth!). I haven't seen Amores Peres, but a friend has - she told me she loved it, but obviously Mexico (it's based there, right?) can't only be about that. I could also argue why an OSO can't win a Golden Globe if SM can - but admittedly, the idea sounds ludicruous. I could argue why Indian films which are more positive in their portayal of India can't win an Oscar - but save for RDB or Lagaan (and some other films), I can't think of brilliant Hindi cinema (I havent seen regional cinema, but have heard there are some gems there). Lastly, I could just say - why the hell should we care for an Oscar? Films are about entertainment, and if the audience is satisfied that is all - and maybe that indeed is enough. And finally, maybe I am being too much of a cynic - maybe SM is doing well because it is being perceived as being brilliant (I don't think the same personally... but well previous Oscar winners like Crash too have left me disappointed)... it is a nice film though... so maybe they do deserve all the accolades and acclaim.
However I can't help but sign off with two observations. One, I absolutely hate the scene where the adolescent Jamaal tells the American couple what the 'real' India is, and the couple respond by giving money and the line 'this is the real America'. So America is all benevolence and munificence and we are all corruption? Or maybe it's a spin on Americans and the American idea (is it?) that money is the solution to all problems (:D) (might be true, Boyle is not American, he's based in Britain!).
Two - Can anyone explain how Jamaal and Salim suddenly start speaking English when they land in Agra?! I know that commercially it would have been a bad idea for Boyle to make the film all Hindi, and I know we are supposed to suspend disbelief while watching films... but this was too incongruous to escape notice :D

Hmm, maybe, I should stop being such a cynic, and stop looking for conspiracy theories everywhere!

Checklist for the hols!

In case I forget :P. Oh and not in any order of priority.
1. Read!
2. Watch movies and sitcoms and serials!
3. Try to resource episodes of OTH (S. 4 onwards?) and Grey’s Anatomy (S. 3?)
4. Work! (Internship)
5. Exercise!
6. Swim! (special emphasis)
7. Not think about stuff I'm always thinking out.
8. Let it be. Do NOT think.
9. See South Bombay during course of internship (excited here :)).
10. See a play in Prithvi!
11. Learn how to drive (sigh- this is dad induced)
12. Eat healthy (umm, Mum induced)
13. Shop! (Certain essentials - a white kurta, a skirt, a belt)
14. Get pretty chappal repaired (sigh).
15. Meet certain friends definitely - D, Sr, Sa, Sho, GS, RS, Shi. Call them first!
16. Umm start work for eventually getting the desired b'day present from parents (B’day in March - but need to get on the job now itself :D).
17. Ok some B'wood flicks which need to be seen in the theatre - Ghajini, Luck By Chance, Dilli 6.
18. Download new music!
19. Do up room.
20. Be happy!

Post Script - drove today for the first time, I take back my reservations, was awesome fun! It's like playing those racing games in real life (I can hear people going duh - but still!)

Faith.

There are times when nothing seems to be going right, or something which really matters isn't going right. And then those adages denoting that everything will be alright, seem futile... and far out of touch with reality. There are things which are beyond one's control, but how does one just let it be, and let things evolve naturally? It's exasperating and frustrating.. and sad. I know that a zillion bad sad terrible things happens to other people too, but I still cant wonder why does something have to happen to me? And I know that life is great :) And it's criminal to be wasting life by being sad. Nonetheless at times I still rant and ask - why me?
Then there's the other thing about life being full of surprises. While that is nice and not so boring (and possibly 'it's all for the best'), don't you at times feel that it's also nice when things develop in the expected way?
I know this post isnt the best way to start a new year, but I really wanted to vent somewhere, somehow. So this. However I hold on, and have faith. I think it's so important to have faith no? Umm this post is kind of a plea to the powers that be (or 'there be', what is the expression?) and a venting post.

Very abrupt, I agree. :)

Oh and happy new year!Have an AWESOME year!

On travelling alone, related observations and some disconnected ones

So yesterday I travelled alone on a flight for the first time... yes I guess shocking when I'm 19 (a friend of mine was 6 when she travelled alone on a flight for the first time). Anyway it was an exhilirating feeling. I don't think it was about flying per se... it was more about the solitude and the 'alone' time. Some time ago I had been scared about being 'alone'... now I think I value the away time. Yesterday was a fun day! I window shopped at the airport (BIAL should get more shops in my opinion), had a sinful delight (a chocolate ice cream milk shake :D I'm not supposed to have milk, especially cold milk), sat at the terminal and read a book after the longest time (Atonement, by Ian McEwan, nice :)), watched Friends on the flight (Kingfisher! Ok i usually go home either by IndiGo or Spice, but this time this was the only flight at the convenient time :P), watched bits of Pardes and Shahrukh singing 'Yeh Dil...Deewana' (sigh), and ate chocolate cake (another forbidden fruit!), the rest of the food sucked. I loved it. There are so many million trillion zillion things one can do when one's alone, it's beautiful. I like things to be the way I want them to be, obviously. However when X and Y are also involved in whatever you're doing, you have to be nice and sensitive and mindful of what they think or what they want ... or you're being 'watched'! When one is alone one can do whatever one wants...... you're literally creating your own world, and hence you are responsible for whatever you do... it's a nice feeling :) I love being around people, some people... but I love my own private space too, behind closed doors, oblivious to the world.
Ok now for the other disconnected observations.
1. At BIAL (basically B'lore airport), when one is being frisked (the word has a certain criminal connotation to it, I agree) before one enters the check in area, there is only one entrance for women but some three for men. End result - women have to wait in the single queue for AGES while the men get in way faster. I think I've mentioned this somewhere else too, I'm not a hard core feminist (I don't know what I mean exactly by that... but still!).. however how blatantly gender biased can one get?! So the BIAL admin thinks that women don't travel?! SO weird! So that's the second suggestion for change on my part - make the no. of frisking counters equal for men and women!
2. Ok so I was frisked...and I cleared it, but my purse didn't. I was worried. I had kept a metal chain inside (the one with which one locks their luggage in a train), had forgotten to remove it, so it got confiscated. In the process however, the checking lady emptied the entire contents of my purse. I was SO embarrassed. It was as if a part of me was being exposed to the world - little slips of paper of great meaning, tiny trinkets which were gifts from friends, a comb, a hair band, two diaries and lots of other things which I wouldn't mention here, EVERYTHING was taken out! There's this saying - the eyes are the windows to one's soul. Well I would say, so is a woman's purse for her! I have this habit of collecting and keeping stuff (as a kid I was a like a little magpie, everything which seemed precious to my five year old self would go into my 'magic' box... so whenever my parents or brother lost something, they would never forget to check my box.. no I am not a thief now!).. I'm trying to discard things now, but it's slow process... so now my purse often replaces my magic box :)
3. The totally disconnected observation. Our Minority Affairs Min, Antulay is, to use a law school term, quite a 'prick'. By flouting conspiracy theories about the awesome cop Karkare's death, he's made a smooth move for himself. However it's jeopardising our anti-terrorism campaign and how. The Times of India has a column called 'The Pak Express' or some such thing - it basically chronicles news reports from Pakisatani newspapers like Dawn. So today I read the column - and these newspapers are questioning India's locus standi vis-a-vis pointing fingers at Pak for its failure to ban the terrorist outfits in their backyard. There's this one newspaper which is questioning India's 'secular' credentials (the conspiracy theory is that Karkare - who was investigating the Malegaon blasts, allegedly carried out by Hindutva organisations - was deliberately taken to the wrong hospital or some such thing, and this was rigged by the aforementioned orgs). I agree that India is not the most secular state - the Godhra riots are the biggest testimony to that. Nonetheless, there is always a time for saying some things. In my opinion, given the gravity of the Mumbai blasts (horrific, depressing, devastating... words are not enough to describe them) India needs to adopt a hardline stance towards curbing terrorism. Given this, when a Union Min comes forth and says that not Pak but an Indian outfit is responsible for the super cop's death, it's a clear breach of the idea of collective responsibility. Yes the theory needs to be investigated, but it can be done discreetly initially. And it's not as if the man really cares for the minorities. As MJ Akbar's written in this artice in the Sunday Times, the man has the unique distinction of being the first Union Min Affairs min who has done nothing for minorities. For Antulay, it's about pure vote bank politics and self aggrandisation. He's himself said in an interview that before this he was nothing, and now he's all important. Congress has to think twice before they can remove hm because he claims that the minorities love him. It's a well planned move. Smart, slick and sick.

thank you!

This is my ‘Thank you God for all the awesomeness in the world’ post :) Ok, so well thank you for all the lovely people – parents who stay awake to see if you’re fine, parents who sense the slightest problem, the slightest discomfort. Parents who keep on worrying about your health, family who goes out of the way to make your life easy. Brothers who call you all the time, brothers who inspire you to work and be good human beings, brothers who also make calls from foreign lands to simply wish you for exams or find out how you’re doing. Friends, boyfriends, girlfriends who make calls from faraway lands to see if you’re doing fine, to wish you on your birthday, to listen patiently to your zillion real and imaginary problems, to simply know if you actually are ok, to talk to you when you think you are losing it, to instill sense and confidence in you when you think you have neither ability nor logic. Roommates who leave everything and rush to you when you’re going through some ‘traumatic’ time; friends who accompany you to the doctor, to the market, to dinner. Friends who are there when some others aren't, friends who are there to tell you you are wrong when you think everything in you is wrong. Friends who understand why you are ‘off’ without you having to tell them that you are, friends who instantly sms or message online then. Friends who cry, laugh and bond (rather ‘re-bond’ :D) with you in foreign lands! Friends, girlfriends and boyfriends who reply ‘comprehensively’ to your long rambling mails, or who call as soon as they read them (I suspect the latter is because they’re too lazy to write back… but still!). Ok so well, I know this is a highly gushy mail, slightly uncharacteristic of me, but well I’m in one of those corny moods presently… which legitimises everything :D. So, to reiterate, thank you!