Sun and moon.

So I watched An Education last evening. And wow.

A couple of weeks ago I was pleased to note that The Hurt Locker was a really well made movie. Tight edit, well shot and streets ahead of the much hyped Avatar. Thankfully.

I love my share of CGI but it will never make a great movie. And 3D cinema is most certainly not the future of cinema as many enthusiasts have blurted in their adrenaline-ridden reviews. Avatar is an experiment, and a good one, in CGI and art direction. But James Cameron's argument that critics fail to pay heed to his actors because they are blue, is probably true. They are blue. And it's for the better, Mr.Worthington, it's for the better.

While The Hurt Locker breaks you in its quiet and tense deliberation, An Education picks you up and swings you about, gay and excitable. I'd go as far as saying, it's the best movie I've seen this year.

As always, I give nothing away from the story, but watch it for the delightful Carey Mulligan. To keep it simple, it's a great debut. And she's effortlessly placed on a pedestal by the support cast of Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina, in particular.

Also caught Moon with the lovely folks in the next room, and it is a most intriguing film. I don't believe the sci-fi bits of Moon are of much significance but what is, is what it stands for with its existential undertones and almost anti-establishment cries for help. That it all happens between one man and one computer makes it all the more compelling.

When I watched the Grammy Awards being dealt out this year it was a harsh reminder of some horrid music. Even for the otherwise incomparable, U2 and A R Rahman. If and when the Oscars reluctantly offer an award to Pocahontas, remember those that fought and lost.



Footnote: Installed a little sitemeter at the bottom of this page. I hear I actually have readers. This isn't forced humility, it is a genuine shock albeit, pleasant.

That said, drop a comment if you read any of this. Would love to know what you think of it all and everything else.

Goan sunburn.

More photos. These from my two day beerfest in Goa. Good times.

Got lots more photos from the trip put up in my gallery. Have a look here.

Flower Thingies.

Not big on the flowers. Happened by virtue of circumstances. These taken at the Alankrita resort in Andhra Pradesh which happened to be one of the state's largest gardens.

Zoosh.

First photos from the trip.

These from the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Pune.

The Last Indian Holiday V

Days 17 – Present day: Sexy sexy and the epilogue.

So I lied. Slightly.

There was never a need for inebriation but we were just drunk enough to see there wasn’t any reason not to.

Goa happened. It was brilliant. An expose into how much wine I had would be fairly unintelligible so I’m going to comment on how absolutely ridiculous the towns of Goa could really get. While the “Ladies party” seemed a cultural favourite, we were sold everything from ecstasy to what might have been a serious offer for a 12-year old girl. The fact that most offers happened at noon made for a stark quality. I fear for what happens in the puke stained by-lanes off the Baga beach.

Stay away from those alleys, and even the water, apparently, and enjoy the likes of endless gastronomic passage.

Goa lasted a mere two days. Finances had everything to do with the decision to return.


“Purr!”

The plight of tigers in India drains the ad slots on television the past week. An issue someone needs to be something about.

1411 and counting.

I plan to make something of it all. Haven’t figured it out yet.

A little over a week to go in Pune and neither I nor my roommate off late care little to make it count. I spend some time making it a point to meet the peeps. The peeps most often come with alcohol. Why, oh why?

None of those escapades warrant mention.

But we did go to the zoo!

Yep. The zoo. The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj holds a likeness to the Bermuda triangle. No one seems to be certain of its existence but it sucks the odd passerby off and on.

Armed with camera and the enthusiasm of an 8-year old, we walked in to the unknown. My greater concern was I hadn’t seen a wild animal in almost a decade. Katraj is home to a snake and crocodile park too, housed alongside the zoo. So we decide to pay a trip to the reptiles before the tigers. Snakes don’t excite me. But crocs do. Goddamn magnificent they are.

I found it a tad surprising people didn’t really know off the zoo. For Pune it was a step forward. It was clean and they housed a pretty decent collection of animals. I don’t particularly like the idea of a zoo and cages, but I took what I got.

The high point – the White tiger. Wonderful beast, that.
The low point – the Leopard enclosure. Found two potentially pregnant women amble about, often attacking each other, mocking each other. Was entertaining until they got a male-full from the man of the house. The male leopard nonchalantly ended the brewing spat by boinking one of the unsuspecting women. Smooth.

Buses, wada pav and tapri chai later, we’re back. Throw in a Shaniwarwada and wham – you got Pune in a bun.



How do you do it Mr. Bhardwaj?

Caught Ishiqya the other day. Pretty great watch. While it isn’t an epic movie, it very easily allows you to appreciate it and love it. Abhishek Chaubey is someone to watch out for. His actors shine in their finest. While Naseeruddin Shah is no surprise, I find both Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi are the best they have offered since Parineeta and Munnabhai MBBS. Both, perhaps, underestimated and underused by the popular stream that often sucks them in.

Vishal Bhardwaj, inspite of all else that goes for this movie, steals the show. The music and background score make for great listening and are perhaps, among the best we could have heard in a while.



Not just you sir! Well maybe just you, but we try.

My proposed involvement in the tiger campaign runs through my head while “I’m on holiday” and it’s cause for awe for my sister-in-law.

I learn a few hours after that conversation that perhaps my mind takes vacation in activity after three inane years in Symbiosis. Idleness is of virtue only in contrast, else it’s a ball and chain.

I act on the few more idle hours in Pune. 15 years of friendship can send us down dark paths. But we share a sense of challenge. Nothing lies beyond our reach. Albeit small fingers and soft grip.

Something we did.





Call it a month.

I’m in Bangalore as I type this. Back from a trip of introspection, recollection and resolution. Back from a trip of alcoholic disarmament.

Back from a trip of goodbyes.

We wait as a visa seems around the corner.

Hamburg and the new life anticipated.