Where are they...

People that got their 15 minutes (and more) of fame and now missing. Where are they??

1) The Rasna girl
2) Lalitaji from that immortal Surf ad. Also 'Ravi beta'
3) The first Liril waterfall girl
4) The first Indian crorepati from Kaun Banega Crorepati
5) Govinda. As MP shouldn't he be more visible??
6) The first Al-Qaeda bigshot that the U.S. caught
7) The girl who was made to act like a boy by her mom so that she could be in ads
8) Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space
9) Neil Armstrong. If you don't know him maybe you should die of shame
10) The woman who got pushed off the train by muggers and lost her legs but not her spirit. Also what happened to the 'support' given to her?
11) The guy whose girlfriend got killed at Breach Candy rocks and he changed his statement so many times that the cops thought he was the killer. This must have happened in 93-94 or so i guess...
12) The DPS MMS girl. Last i heard she was being taken abroad. Also what happened to the boy? Or the IIT guy who was arrested for posting the clip on his website?
13) The Shiv Sena' ability to shut down Mumbai whenever they want to. Also Bal Thackeray's bark and bite.

Answers invited. More questions allowed.

Winter...

Winter is almost over and this may be too late, but still...

TEN BEST THINGS TO DO IN A MUMBAI WINTER
1) Get up early for work/college/school, then cuddle under your blanket and go back to sleep cos its just too cold to do anything else!
2) Drink lots of hot tea. And pakodas. Although monsoon is the recommended season, its too muggy for pakodas.
3) Go for a jog at 630 in the morning (if you manage to get up) in shorts and a t-shirt. Feel the warmth in your body even as your joints freeze in the cold.
4) Eat ice-cream. Fight fire with fire.
5) Drive with the windows down. Really fast.
6) Take a walk with your significant other and get cosy when a cold draft comes by.
7) Finally wear the funky jacket you've been wanting to wear all year.
8) Play football. Or cricket. Or whatever other thing that generally makes you sweat.
9) Light a bonfire with friends. Then sit for hours watching the flames crackle as you make up the wierdest ghost stories.
10) Have a really warm shower.

Feel free to add to the list...

King Arthur...

Saw 'King Arthur' starring Clive Owen (b4 he became famous) and Keira Knightley (after 'Bend it like Beckham'). For the 4th time. The movie wasn't a big hit, doesnt have any cool fight scenes or special effects and theyve made Keira look like a transvestite in most of the scenes (tough thing to do must congratulate make up guy). But still i haven't seen a movie like it yet, so brutally honest and so true to its idea. No good-looking knights in shining armour rescuing a country from some evil conqueror. No round table.
Compare to the legend of King Arthur. King Arthur and his knights. All chivalry exemplified. All pure of heart and great in deed. And here we have a mercenary band of ex-Roman soldiers. All of them are ugly. All of them have scarred faces and scarred bodies. One of them decides he wants to be his own master for a change. Simple logic for a character who's served under a foreign emperor in his homeland. And as the movie continues, every legend related to the king is bashed up so badly. Instead of pulling out a sword from a stone to prove he's the next king of England, this Arthur digs his father's grave to get his sword. Guinevere is no princess but the leader of a jungle tribe. Merlin is a shaman for the same tribe. The only reason Arthur and Guinevere get married is to ensure the start of their empire. It all seems so true. True human nature squeezed out from a story thats become a legend so long ago.
i recommend the movie whole heartedly. Especially for those who hate movies based on legends.

Black And White...

Middle Earth. An out-of-place name in a book so extreme in its judgment of right and wrong. The heroes did nothing wrong all their lives. The villains have been evil for centuries. Everybody is black or white. No greys.
A world where east of the mountains everything's evil. As evil pushes out of its base, the weak willed succumb. Grey turns black. As the pall of black is about to take over the world, a medley of whites pushes back the black back over the mountains and all is fine with the world. The weak willed become pure again. Grey turns white.
A world where the landscape reflects the minds of the residents. The lazy, warm hills of the Shire. The unpredictable plains of Rohan. The arid plateau of Gondor. The dark and gloomy Mordor. The land. As extreme as the people who inhabit them.
A world with magical mystical people. An aging wizard who guides a lonesome ranger towards his destiny. A skilled archer who's ligher than the wind. A schizoprenic half-man, half-animal who eventually does the most unexpected good. A ring which has a personality of its own, constantly seducing, manipulating, tempting, hurting.
i do not understand how the book became so popular. Is it because of the detail? Is it the characters? Or maybe just the fight scenes (very popular reason btw)? Or is it because we all aspire for a world like that. A world where one knows who's good who's evil. A world where the hero will eventually triumph. A world where one day everything returns back to normal.

Pig Test...

i am on a test taking spree online. Found this damn funny test online at http://drawapig.desktopcreatures.com where you draw a pig and it tells you about your personality. Well.... here's the pig... and all my art teachers since 1st standard i'm soo sorry!!



And apparently my drawing of a pig gave me the following results:
Toward the top of the paper, you are positive and optimistic.
Toward the middle, you are a realist.
Toward the bottom, you are pessimistic, and have a tendency to behave negatively.

Facing left, you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates (birthdays, etc.)
Facing right, you are innovative and active, but don't have a strong sense of family, nor do you remember dates.
Facing front, you are direct, enjoy playing devil's advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussions.

With many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful.
With few details, you are emotional and naive, they care little for details and are a risk-taker.

With less than 4 legs, they are insecure or are living through a period of major change.
With 4 legs showing, they are secure, stubborn, and stick to their ideals.

The size of the ears indicates how good a listener you are. The bigger the better. (i think i drew relatively average ears.)

The length of the tail indicates the quality of your sex life.And again more is better! (i won't comment on that!!)

Why can't all tests be this fun???

Let It Be...

i just saw the video of the Beatles' song 'Let it Be'. This is one of my favourite songs but surprisingly the first time i saw the video. One thing so conspicuosly different from other Beatles videos: Yoko Ono. Never thought she was sooo important that she appears in a Beatles video DOING NOTHING. She just sits next to John Lennon who looks disinterested in what's happening around him. The tension in the video is quite palpable from the expressions on George Harrison and Paul McCartney's face. No wonder they blame Yoko for breaking up what is arguably the most influential music bunch in history.
Which makes me think: Do you need to be with your lover ALL THE TIME??? i'm sure that many of you face similar problems as have i over the years. What brand of superglue do these cuddlesome twosomes use that makes them bear each other 24/7? And do they ever think what effect it might be having on either of their lives?? What happens to old friends who may not like your better half? What about the effect it has on their individuality? ive seen many lovers looking, talking, behaving so similarly that they seem to be twins. Ok, better question: Is the fact that you spend all your time with your lover some way of proving to yourself that you love him/her??

Development...

i live in an area called Juhu Vile Parle Development Scheme. 25 years when my parents moved here, it was a big marsh. i remember my mom telling me how we were the last piece of civilization before marshes and the sea. The authorities developed this place to lighten some pressure from the Andheri-Vile Parle station area and this place seemed nice enough. 25 years later, this area's undergoing another wave of development and the builders seem to have taken its name too seriously. Thanks to TDR, all the little 3-4 storey apartments and majestic bungalows are now 9 storey phalluses/phalli built to remind its residents that Hafeez Contractor rocks. All right, development has to take place to meet the needs of the burgeoning population blah blah blah and obviously we shouldn't stand in the way of the city's betterment. But the changes have been dramatic. The population's nearly doubled in the last 6-7 years. So have land rates. The once gulmohar tree-lined Gulmohar road has now become suburban wasteland. The peepal and rain tree lined lanes are now a big pile of cement. Road infrastructure has collapsed. Won't take long before water problems start. Link road runs through here and once its widened, this neighbourhood's dead. If its not dead already.

Rang De Basanti...

Heard the Air Force had problems with the movie. Now Maneka Gandhi says they haven't taken permission for use of animals. If i remember correctly, it was supposed to release in December and then got delayed for god knows what. Then Aamir won't do publicity because he's afraid the media will ask too many questions about his wedding. Also it won't get the same attention as any Aamir movie since its released after the hopelessly miserable Mangal Pandey. Is the movie jinxed? Hope it does well.. not cos the movie's good or anything but i guess the director needs to get his share of luck. Saw the trailer and the movie looks good though. Somewhat Dil-Chahta-Hai-ish, but maybe second half has something... After all, in how many ways can one interpret 'A Generation Awakens'... Hope to watch it before it leaves the theatres...

Acquired Tastes...

Years of being forced to attend lectures in school and college and years of being forced to attend marriages have made me think deeply about the phrase 'acquired taste'. Seems any figure of authority uses this as the number one excuse to force anything down our throats. In some cases its worked. Like booze. Especially expensive ones. In this case, the acquiring of taste doesnt take longer than a few hours. But its the long term ones i have a problem with. 'One day you'll want to know more about (fill in the blanks with your favourite subject from mating habits of nocturnal earthworms to how to ace your math exam) and regret not sitting for this.' When does that day come? i still remember this born-again preacher from ninth standard who promised Jesus is coming. Neither has Jesus come nor have i realised the importance of what he said.
But ive always given them a chance. Once in a while, ive found something im genuinely interested in. Maybe the ratio is bad, something like 1 in 10 i guess. Rather sit through 9 bad ones than miss one good one i guess. No point sitting home without even giving the seemingly boring guy from Taiwan a chance. And then complaining we're churning out book-worms. When you yourself are one.
KRVIA-ites, this one's for you.

Boredom...

Sat through a lecture by a Taiwanese architect trying to speak in English. Thought i was in some deep shit when he warned 'it might go on for 2-3 hours'. The shit was deeper. 2 hours of some god forsaken work he was shoeing while people were very happily leavin the hall. By the end, there were like 25 people, down from 150 at the start. Those 25 were busy messaging, gaming, chatting, podding etc. Which makes me think. What is the correct way to show boredom without offending someone. Especially someone who you have invited (like in this case). Tough q. i am kinda concerned about offending people especially those i don't know well or those i like. But can't say these people are the most interesting speakers. Or sometimes the party last night doesnt let me stay up (sorry Amita ma'am). Walking off is not an option. And a lot of times i can't even play on my cell. Or listen to the radio. My concern for insulting the speaker doesnt lemme crack jokes with a clean conscience. So what do i do? Have tried sleeping in various positions to be unnoticeable. And got caught every time the lights were on. Now my question for ANYONE who reads this is how do i get away with falling asleep???

Pain...

As Jerry Seinfeld once said, the four worst words in the English language are 'We need to talk'. Well. Atleast they set you up for what's next. What do you do when this sentence doesn't prelude a break up. No warning. Not even a whiff of whats next. Whats next is a sudden silence. An aching void in your ears. Followed by an equally painful void in your chest. A sudden numbness that fills your brain. And suddenly the thoughts come rushing back in. Denial. Sadness. Shock. Anger. Hurt. Memories. Mistakes. Hope. Realisation. All cliched but true. ive seen near and dear ones, friends even complete strangers go through a whole gamut of emotions. Been it through a lot of times. Each time feels worse than before. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Now the phrase makes sense. The void. The pain. The silence. None would have existed had my mind not been etched on. Eternal Sunshine. Eternal Happiness.