Yeth Sith Is!!!!

Decided to go catch the long awaited “Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith“, yesterday. I mean I was looking forward to seeing it, but after the last two, (Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones), I wasn’t prepared to be blown over by this one. I certainly was. It was, quite simply, fucking awesome!

The movie begins with our heroes and villains as the Clone Wars are drawing to a close. Count Dooku and General Grievous (the leader of the droid army) have captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and are holding him captive aboard a spaceship around which space battle of gigantic proportions is taking place. (this gorgeously engineered battle sequence was the reintroduction I’d hoped for into the well remembered “galaxy far, far away”…I loved it!) Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are called back from the outer rim territories in an attempt to rescue Palpatine and finally put an end to the Clone Wars. Although Grievous manages to escape, the rescue operation is successful. Upon their return to the capital, Anakin learns the news that Padme is pregnant - and soon after he begins to have premonitions of Padme's death (like the dreams that plagued him in the days leading up to his mother's death.) Desperate, Anakin will do anything to save his wife and unborn child.

Well, I’ll leave the plot at that. What I will list for you however, is some of the scenes that I most loved in the movie.

• Obi’s Lizard friend/ride. I’d love to get me one of these.
• Obi’s battle with Grievous. Excellent character building. Especially when Grievous advances toward Obi with his light sabers a-twirling. He’ll make the most awesome action figure. The engineering is flawless.
• The Yoda/Sideous battle sequence in the Senate. The visual artistry just blew me over!
• Every scene with r2d2 in it. He’s just my very favorite character in the whole series. (Hans Solo was in the original episodes but I think that was just a Harrison Ford wet dream thingy!)
• The Final battle on the lava pits of Mustafar. Obi finally kicks Anakin’s butt and leaves him to die. Masterful. (There was one scene where I thought I caught a glimpse of the wire holding obi up…but could have just been a figment..(filament!?!) of my imagination..)
• The end of the movie. Anakin’s final transformation into the most inspired villain of all times, Darth Vader. It was good to hear James Earl Jones’s resonant timbre just the way I remembered it.
• The smooth transition into the original Star Wars as we know it. This included the original hallways of the Rebel Blockade Runner being recreated and included as the setting for a conversation between Yoda & Obi, Vader and the Emperor stand beside a younger Grand Moff Tarkin on the bridge of a Star Destroyer, overlooking the earliest construction stage of the Death Star. …and also the closing shot of Luke’s foster parents against the two setting suns on the planet Tatooine. Applause all around!

But there were a few things I didn’t like as well. For one, there was absolutely no chemistry between Anakin & Padme. They didn’t even manage to look like they liked each other. And whats with the erstwhile strong Padme’s sudden transformation into a weeping, whimpering damsel in distress?

There was an alarming lack of comic relief. Yes the movie’s dark. It’s supposed to be the saga of evil triumphing over the forces of good, nonetheless a little humour, especially in the first half would have been welcome.

And Yoda’s backward dialogues that start off as endearing, tend to get rather irritating by the time he gets to his battle scene. (there’s a part though I didn’t mind so much when he scowls at the emperor and grunts..”Not if anything I have to say about it..”)

But seriously the few minor discrepancies aside, the movie was a greatly satisfying experience, the best of the three prequels. A fitting end to a story begun nearly 28 years ago. Palpatine makes a rather convincing corruptor, drawing Anakin away from the Jedi agenda and introducing him to the Dark side of the Force. Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin, does an excellent job with the hero’s petulant dark moods and his slow but sure devolution into Darth Vader. (..so I guess I blame Portman for her dismal portrayal of Padme!). The visual aspect of this movie is more than stunning. That plasticky look of AOTC has been completely toned down to give this whole movie a true to life feel.

So, would I say this movie was worth the price of the ticket and 2.5 hours of my precious time?

Yeth, Sith definitely was!

General Grievous

Written and directed by George Lucas; director of photography, David Tattersall; edited by Roger Barton and Ben Burtt; music by John Williams; production designer, Gavin Bocquet; special visual effects and animation, Industrial Light and Magic; produced by Rick McCallum; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 142 minutes. This film is rated PG-13.
WITH: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Natalie Portman (Padmé), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Frank Oz (Yoda), Ian McDiarmid (Supreme Chancellor Palpatine), Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and of course James Earl Jones (Voice of Darth Vader).

..ring any bells?

Worlds Cheapest Tip
September 1, 2002 - Arkansas, USA
An Arkansas primary school teacher has been declared the worlds cheapest tipper after ordering more than $250 worth of food and drinks for his wife and self and leaving a 5 rupee tip. Rupee, an Indian currency, is worth approximately 0.02 of an American dollar. When questioned the man replied, "I had just returned from a trip to India and I had mistaken the coins for more valuable American currency." Relaying this to the offended waitress she responded, "His excuse is weak, since when would you be cracking out foreign coins (that do not even resemble American money) as a tip for a $250 dollar dinner? There is no way with a bill like that you would use coins to tip at the customary 10%-15%, and even tipping at something like 3% would still need bills. His tip wasn't even a percent!"

..more InaneChatter (TM, patent pending)

And so once again I have been tagged…and once again I must respond with another inane blog article..(I guess it’s that deep sated need to please people so they’ll love me more…hmmm) But the truth must be told…so here’s the whole story. Met Fabulous Nish on chat and that’s were our little modern-day tale begins…

Nish says: can u ask for interview so we can spread meme around???
rushes says: interview?
Nish says: see previous posting
rushes says: hmmm
rushes says: count me out
Nish says: but u the only one
Nish says: chal na
rushes says: I’d rather put up stupendous nish and fabulous rash cartoons (..coming soon so watch this space!!)
rushes says: arre?
Nish says: i ask u stupid question like what would u do with a jarful of booger?
rushes says: slip it into **censored**’s stew....don't figure anyone will notice anyways!
rushes says: lol
Nish says: slip what? cough syrup?
rushes says: can't not write that for fear of offending **censored** type ppls
rushes says: hehehehheheee
rushes says: one sec
rushes says: you hafta interview me?
rushes says: lol
rushes says: not josephine?
Nish says: not jpsephine
Nish says: i founded her link through through
Nish says: and was all like yayayyaya
Nish says: otherwise nobody interviewing me only
rushes says: woks.
Nish says: sigh
Nish says: so i interviewing u
Nish says: ok?
rushes says: I guess so…
Nish says: so u send me request
Nish says: otherwise i look **censored** no?
rushes says: wokay
Nish says: hehehehe
rushes says: to be leaving comment on blog article?
Nish says: yes, say pls interview me
rushes says: lol
rushes says: wokay jaanu
Nish says: ok ok we do tomorrow
Nish says: have to go see namrata
Nish says: now i gotta go


So a few minutes later I put up this comment on Nish-Pish’s blog…

Rushes said…
...yes pleease interview me!!! I have read your interview and have been struck by an intense longing to answer inane questions for blog material! ...with bated breath!

..and here are my questions as posed by the Fabulous Nish-pish ..and their answers

Nish said…
ok Stupendous Rash - you time starts now:

1. Which is your favourite word and why?
--Cinananamanum… cinnamananum.. cimanimanum… cinaminanumum…yup that’s the one! Why? Cos I can actually have an entire conversations using just that one word!

2. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?
--Hot buttered toast.

3. Would you rather be a drop-dead gorgeous model with no leg(I think hand-model) or really rich with no eyes?
--Show me the money! (ironic no?)..i’ll just go out and buy me some eyes!

4. What is your best dream so far?
--Had a wonderful dream once that involved sting, some sort of restraining device and honey..(or was it whipped cream?!?) Yup..that would be the one!

5. Which is your favourite city in the world?
--Elasticity. I adore really freakishly bendy people!

There it’s done. The rules are simple. If you have with enough time on your hands and want to do this on your blog as well, do ask me to interview you and your wish just might come true. (depending on my exact level of boredom..)

Cheers!

Sunday's Sufi & Sheesha Salivatings..

It’s a swelteringly hot Sunday afternoon and I’m curled up in my rasai with the ac on full blast and a nice tall glass of icy iced tea and typing away on the lappy. Aaahhh the stuff little dreams are made of…The weekend has been hectic so far, to say the least! Here’s how it went..

Thursday was at the Delhi gymkhana where we rubbed shoulders with some of the skinniest people I’ve had the opportunity of meeting..( Ratika actually decided to call one of them “mummy returns” to her face!) ..after which we moseyed over to Rick’s and two am din-din at the Macchan. Friday we decided (Varsha, Gautam and moi) to check out a new place in Vasant Vihar called the Hookah. Figured since we’d had a late night the day previous we’d make it an early evening. We actually landed up at 8.30 only to be finally thrown out by the management at about 3 am. So much for the Early bit.

Hookah being a Lebanese restaurant had some rocking khana. Shish touk - garlic favoured chicken - and hummus. The main course had dishes like fish kabab tarator, a diced fish with walnut sauce (which looked really good on the table next to ours …I was just too full to order any more food!) and samke harra tarbulsiya, (supposedly pomfret with bell pepper sauce). O..o..and we also had a mint flavored sheesha.

And they’d cleared a section of the diner for the band to play. What a band! Mystique. Played fusion, Sufi with pizzazz. They were just jamming and threw in a few jugalbandis. Had an excellent time. Go out and buy their Cd’s guys!

Our evening finally ended at about 7 in the morning after we had some pretty heavy alcohol-induced discussions (none of which I remember!) and a rather hung over me was at work at 10 am on Saturday. Had just about enough time to grab a tiny nap before dinner at Chopsticks. That’s when Anu called and asked to meet up for a tiny (verbatim…teensy weensy drink at Kasbah!) drink and well one drink led to the next and we finally ended up dragging our asses back home from Elevate at 6 am.

Ok so my little reverie has ended. I’ve had to put off my air-conditioning, finish my iced tea, get out of bed and come into work. I’m now at the office..(yup Sunday be damned!) pretending to look really busy while in actuality I’m typing this article and chatting with Sam. Hey.. it IS a Sunday and I’m allowed!

Lazy...

Just feeling too lazy to update the blog these past few days. I've had a brilliant weekend though.. will probably spend the afternoon writing about it. Until then...

Blast from the Past..

Those Chacha Chaudhary comics really got me thinking about the days of yore. Aaaahhh was bliss back then wasn't it? No job, no khich-khich (except the kind Vicks ki goli could cure!...aur phir memne ne bhediye se kahaa..main tumhe kha jaaonga!), no tenshun! The innocent times. So here's my list of stuff that takes me back down Nostalgia Street.

1. Amar Chitra Katha & Tinkle : Kalia, Dubdub and Chamtaka. And of course Supandi! My mom's gone and hard bound all the Amar Chitra Kathas. You rock mother!
2. Fusen Gum : Biggest bubbles in town!
3. Jayant Kriplani (Vicks ki goli ad) and Jalal Agha (Pan Parag ad..."..aur mere liye?")
4. Phantom Cigarettes : These are actually still available. They're sooo cool!
5. Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot : 7 pm, Tuesdays. Used to run home from the park to catch it.
6. He-man and the Masters of the Universe : Sunday mornings will never be the same!
7. Waghle Ki Duniya, Yeh jo Hai Zindagee (..Satish Shah, Swaroop Sampat) Nukkad & a marathi serial called "Chaal Navachi Vachaal Vasti" : They just don't make 'em like they used to..
8. That annoying jingle on The Radio. Every morning 7 am granny had it on full blast..
9. Trailer Busses : like double deckers but with a separate box for the driver. These were taken off the road. But used to love the way they did turns!
10. "Ek Aur Anek" and "Tree of Unity" : For those who remember, these were animations Doordarshan used to play as fillers. Siddu recently sent me an mp3 of "ek aur anek". Rocking!
11. Indrajal Comics. Phantom, Mandrake, Rip Kirby, Garth, etc. Mandrake was my favorite with Narda and Lothar. And of course our very own Bahadur!
12. Chaayageet and Chitrahaar : what can i say...we were deprived!
13. Double Decker Bars : Bronze wrapper, chocolate and nougat heaven!

My list ends here. Feel free to add to it if you think of any more..

Chacha this!

Does anyone remember the infamous cartoon character Chacha Chaudhary & his extraterrestrial sidekick Sabu? A cartoon so crappy it probably deserves a special plaque in the annals of shitdom? A cartoon so weeping, sublimely unreadable that it makes for great reading? Well imagine my surprise when I caught one of the younger office peons reading one of his comic books. I had to scan a story for the blog. Here it is. Read it and weep..







Hafta get me a few of these! Not jocking!

To my Fabulous Females...

There’s a common misconception that women hate other women. That there’s always a sense of competition. A friend of mine has even gone far enough to say “Other women don’t like me. I don’t deal well with women because I’m so talented and beautiful, they’re jealous of me” Whatever her reasons are, (and this is a thinking person, mind you) I’m sure there has to be another point of view. Sure, we’re a little NotNice to each other at times, even downright Catty at others. But to generalise all women as pathological misogynists? Now that’s going to far, isn’t it? Isn’t it?

Let’s just examine it from my point of view (..my blog? Focus me?) I’m single. I live alone. I have a few issues with trust (..your common post-divorce trauma trivialities.. two sessions on the couch max.. hehehee) but other then that most people would say I’m a die hard optimist. I’d much rather believe that my cup is half full. Growing up, my male friends always outnumbered their female counterparts. But in the recent years that statistic has done a little cartwheel. Personal loss, it turns out, is a great bonding factor between us women.

But that’s exactly what separates the extraordinary from the trivial friendships. Personal loss. If the friendship already had a tinge of rivalry to it, then a friend's sudden tragic downfall, as well as her much admired recovery and quickly forgiven mistakes, must weigh heavily on the more ordinary friend, whereas the same circumstances must inevitably cause more viable friendships to blossom and strengthen.

And anyways, what is it with men analyzing friendships of the female persuasion?!? I thinketh it bes no more than a Ivy League adaptation of the common man’s affinity to watching cat fights. In all friendships there’s always zones and lines and equations. Can’t talk about your weight with X cos she’s fat, or for that matter boyfriends with Z, cos she don’t got one. There are always rules and regulations. As in all relationships, male or female. And women tend to show a lot more sensitivity when it comes to matters such as these.

In consensus, there will be great friendships and there will be mediocre ones. There will also be those that blow up in your face. But women can be fiercely loyal when it comes to defending their girlfriends and I thank heaven for each and every one of mine. Goddess bless and Goddess keep!

Mimi's Book Meme!

...and so I’ve been tagged by Stupendous Nish-pish and must therefore must write a book meme..(whetever that is!!!) (yeth nish..it is a funny word..meme, meme, mimi’s meme, mimi..duh!). Here it is….

1. Total number of books I've owned
That question is unanswerable considering I’ve lent out more unreturned books than I can remember and my mother..(yes my own flesh and blood!) insists on "borrowing" books from me. I do however have all the books that I currently own listed here. There’s a total of 228 books. (comics, periodicals and cookbooks not counted!!)

2. Last book I bought
Bought two. Fury (Salman Rushdie) & Such a Long Journey(Rohinton Mistry). Rushdie was bought more out of curiosity really. I’m halfway through this book and already it promises to be quite interesting. His style is concise and descriptive and the author seems an observant & methodical man. Minimalist Fiction at its finest.
(Nish says he uses three adjectives for every noun...but hey...so far i like it!)

3. Last book I read
The Sari Shop (Rupa Bajwa) She’s good but I’ve read better. The hero’s angst however, is unquestionably well portrayed. (hehehehee.. D&P for the day!)

4. Five books that mean a lot to me

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.(Douglas Adams) Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford Perfect, Trillion, Arthur Dent, Marvin, The planet of Cricket. An all-time favorite! Douglas Adams Rocks!

Catch 22. (Joseph Heller) I love Black humour. Satire means a lot to me. I read this one in College. It came highly recommended by Ramesh (my erstwhile fighter pilot friend..(hmmm I wonder why?)) and I’ve possible reread it about 20 times since. I’ll probably have a quote from it on my epitaph.

Disgrace (J.M.Coetzee) I love his writing style. He stays in the moment, guiding the reader though every pulse of the characters story. Though I love all his books this one was my first. It’s simply exquisite!

Fear of Flying (Erica Jong) & I, The Divine (Rabih Alameddine). A woman’s perspective. I like it when women don’t make excuses for themselves and the way they feel. FeelGood books, both!

Lolita (Vladimir Nabakov) Another brilliant Ramesh recommendation! Reread this masterpiece a few months ago after years and it is just as compelling. I just looove the way it begins… ”Lolita. Light of my life. Fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: The tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.” (I actually enunciated it when I read the beginning. I still do.) Rapturous!
Should stop here but there’s more..

The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (John Berendt)

The Adventures of Asterix (Gossiny & Uderzo) The indomitable village of Gauls with their antics and magic potions!

Calvin & Hobbes (Bill Waterson) Philosophy in my teacup.

Serendip (Dom Moraes), The Collected works of W.B.Yeats, Collected Poems (Sylvia Plath), Extravagaria (Pablo Neruda), The Prophet (Kahlil Gibran) Always good for rainy Sunday afternoons. Also, I had the privilege of seeing Naseeruddin Shah perform “The Prophet” at the experimental theatre. The man is genius!

Books by Rohington Mistry, V.S.Naipaul, Hanif Kureishi, Tom Robbins to name a few.

5. Which 5 people would you most like to see fill this (ok so sue me! I've named 10!)

Ramesh. He doesn’t have a blog. I really hope he starts one!
Prabha. She’s in the process of writing her own book. I’d love to know her favorites.
Nish. ..and I’ve already gotten my wish. Click here to see Nish's book meme.
Suni copywriter extraordinaire and first best friend!
Poochie. Journalist with India Today. She rocks!!
Rama. I’ve only so far managed to read some of her haiku. She’s inspired!
Siddu. Whacha reading honey?
Meherzaad. Now i know this will be interesting.
Tarun. Go on...I dare you!
Sam. I'll believe it when i see it!

So thats all for now folks. Hope you guys write some meme's as well and don't make me feel like such a fool for wasting a precious half-hour!

Bloody Sunday

I was right about ready for dinner yesterday when I got a frantic call from Tarun telling me not to step out of the house. “There’s been some bomb blasts” he said. I looked at the time. It was about ten minutes to nine. The painters had been doing their thing since about 8.30 am and the air conditioning guys just about finished putting in my new AC (..my ancient hulk of an air conditioner put up a little skit for me the night previous, complete with a fire and light show and a little hidden smoke machine!). After feverishly assuring him that I was quite ready to pass out for the day.. post a quick dinner of course, (China Garden, spare ribs, four season prawns and sizzling chilly garlic noodles) I had another phone call from Mom telling me exactly the same thing.

Here’s the article. To be honest I first thought it was the movie critics protesting a reaaaaallly bad film, but it was the Sikhs. For a clan that has long been the butt-end of most kick-yer-arse jokes they’re surprisingly sensitive. But to kill people because someone’s made fun of you.. well, that’s just not done! And to think I caught the movie just two days ago.. scary!

And it’s been a weekend of tragedies. My erstwhile fighter pilot friend Ramesh’s sister Usha, passed away on Sunday. God bless her soul. May god give Ramesh and his family strength to face this adversity.

So this week begins on a somber note. Things will hopefully look up from here.

Changes..

changed the template today...was kinda bored of the same old one. Hope you guys like it.

More when it happens.

No If, No But...Only Paaji and slut!!

Please also note that while Shilpi is wearing a tank top that says "Perfect Police Officer" and a belly button ring (regulation clothing for all female FBI agents) our own Sunny has taken the trouble to actually..(yes actually!) grow a paunch to get into the character of a Police Officer! Now thats what I call method acting!

So, while my house is in the process of getting a face-lift, I’m out gallivanting the night away in a relatively unsuccessful effort to erase the smell of paint from my ravaged nostrils. Last night saw me wandering aimlessly at Saket after two grueling hours of packing up all the contents of my kitchen and bathroom into cardboard boxes. The booksellers were all packed for the day and the only options were to stick more food into my gob or watch a movie. The movie won (more power to my diet!) and as fate had it the only show that wasn’t sold out was of course “Jo Bole So Nihaal” (..was in absolutely no mood for melodrama. Orlando Bloom will just have to wait!) and I cannot start to tell you, dear blogees, how vastly, staggeringly & jaw-droppingly stupid it was. There are, simply put, no words to describe it. Holes in the plot, I can handle, but this was just one big hole. No plot. Period. I will, however, make an attempt to put it in words.

The movie starts with our villainous Romeo (Kamaal Khan) blowing up a building somewhere in Phoren and then landing up in a church to confess his crimes, after which he promptly murders the padre. That is his pattern. (..there’s actually a scene, very inspired by davinci code, where our villain can’t get to a church and so resorts to the vamp, (slutty slutty Nepali chick) in a horrendous Rocky S creation whipping him as atonement.)

Cut to Sunny Deol (in his element) playing Nihaal Singh, the dim-witted but street-wise Jaht cop who, frankly has trouble distinguishing his arse from his elbow. The two have an encounter in which Romeo escapes (can’t not be catching villain in first ten minutes is saying director!) leaving Nihaal to bear the shame and disrepute.

Nihaal then has to chase Romeo to the streets of New York, where with the help of a negligent New York FBI agent (she’s forgotten to wear any clothes, you see) and a bunch of g-grade would be porn stars posing as FBI agents he finally gets his man! Applause all around and the audience then sing…”jo bole so Nihaal”…while racing towards the exits and to the nearest watering hole to erase all traces of having seen this monstrosity.

Total BPL (Brain pe Laath)

Sunny has no doubt outdone himself playing dumb..(plleeeease tell me he’s acting..pleeeease!) and Kamaal Khan walks around like he’s got grapefruit or mini pineapples stuck in his armpits and a huge bamboo up his arse. The women are totally non-existent though the film does have a little bright spot in the form of the Jaht’s mother(..as in the fine tradition of all Hindi movies, this one goes a step further in the whole MotherSonIntenseBonding phenomenon with the old lady doing a little impromptu jig in the Pind every time her son gets a hard on in Amrika!).

But this is as funny as it gets. Then when you add the substantial fall in the humour level in the second half (the comic relief is this Punjabi couple who lisp obscenities to each other, (FuckFessFul) taking the amusement to pond scum status) you have one of the most irritatingly and stupendously idiotic movies in recent times.

So what can I say except leave your brain at home, grab your worst enemy and go watch this movie.

..I mean if I survived..

Misty 'bout Morrisson

Last night a couple of my friends et moi were invited to the launch of a new pub in South Ex (South Extension to the uninitiated) Called "The Morrison Cafe". Unusual for a city so full up with puppies and punjabi pop.

It was, as the name suggests, a rock cafe (..the designer even went for a round cruder version of the Hard Rock Cafe type logo). While I wouldn't say much for the decor (Rolling stone magazine blowups randomly splattered on the wall) and poor ventilation..(hello.. watching kids smoke these days just moves me to tears!), the DJ was surprisingly good at working up the crowd.. The chairs and tables were hugely uncomfortable and the snacks...well lets just say I’ve had better! Since it was the Launch most of the merry making..(..and by that I mean the alcohol!! duh!!) was on the house, so i didn't get a peek at the prices but from the looks of it I suppose it will want to draw in a younger clientele and hence be economical. The bartender tried very hard to make up for his lack of skill at the Tom Cruise inspired bottle tossing by being hugely enthusiastic. But all in all, the Zippo fuel-fuelled lines of fire across the bar and the largely uninspired, watered down shots reeked mildly of desperation.

But in all fairness, I'd give this place another shot. Considering it's been the dream of two erstwhile rocking DJ's, Anish (Casablanca, Park Royal) and Siddharth (Bohemia, Kasbah Complex) with absolutely no working experience in the actual inner-workings of a bar, I'd say the night was a success of sorts. I do hope they finally figure things out because, baby, it was awesome to hear the likes of Morrison, Metallica, Oasis and Van Halen played back to back with no injections of Punjabi Kulcha Remixes.

And that, by itself, is something to look forward to.

Happy Daze!

Was soo inspired by Nish’s article so set out to write (right?!?) one meself. I totally agree on how we can’t ever be too grown up to our parents but I think the first time I figured in the adult headcount was when I officially started eating like one.. (I think I was about 9 at the time!) I love to eat, yessir, I do! The entire weekend in B’bay was pretty much spent stuffing copious quantities of food down my gob. And lovin’ it!

The mini-vacation officially started with me asking for a second meal on the flight in. After which came the pani puri at Bandra , Khaleel Khan’s excellent biryani (which I had about 3 helpings of..) and a Maida Pola midnight snack. Breakfast was Pohe after which we had an amazing Gujju thali lunch at Adarsh (former dump, now three star hotel in Lonavla) where the stupendous Nish & I even got repeat helpings of Aamras! Dinner was at “Sher-e-Punjab” (laccha paranthas and chicken tikka). Cut to breakfast which was Vidya Pacchi’s infamous burjee and prawn curry.. followed by a “Dhaba” lunch (raan and fish tikkas).. stopped at Vickroli on the way back home to polish off a few dozen biscuits before zipping over to Bombay Gym for their Egg pakoras and open beef s/w. (god bless Vikram and his club card!) Even got pastry (Mango cheese cake and a coffee something ) for mommy which she so sweetly shared with us. Dinner was leftover biryani (mom ordered a kilo and a half!) followed by coffee at Shamiana. Pure bliss! Breakfast time and a bewildered Paru watched as I happily demolished a whole bushel of pan polas and swaggered onto my flight. And I was so pleasantly surprised that Deccan (..dhakkan?!?) airway wasn’t going to stick me with a cup’o’noodles that I got me two chicken rolls to mark the end of my gastronomical adventure. Whew. I’ve been a tad scared to step on the scales yet but I’ve gone back to my diet and hope that my tapeworm will cope up with all that food. He’s been a good boy these past few months, what with all the practice I’ve been giving him!

So my final consensus is that you ain’t an adult until you eat like one! Stick THAT up yer scrawny asses you skinny model type persons! I also managed to fit in some exercising (hours of grueling badminton playing in hot sun in the fashion of jeetu singing.. “dhal gaya din..*tuk* ..ho gayi shaam..*tuk*..jaane do..*tuk*..” etc and FastnFurious laps of huge Olympic size swimming pool at Rainbow Resorts, Lonavla (have tan lines to prove it!)) and some quality conversations (kidney thefts, Hitachi & Budweiser commercials, pipuddies, crappy coconut chick-lit etc) with the extended family. Great weekend all in all! Cheers!

Happy Birrrday Mommy!

Today is to be being the birrday of my most esteemed mommy..(aka mum, momma and sunita) She bes bestest and strongest mommy in the whoooole world! I bes velly velly lucky to be having such beauteous and clever doctor mommy that all my boy-friends (hehehe...friends who are boys..silly!) are to be having crush on. She is to be being total rockstar, she is! And i loves her to pieces.



Here in photo with mommy in venice. Happy Birrday mommy! Hope that we will be having many many more happy times together-together! Muuuuuuuuuuuaaaaahh!

Mamamma's excellent Maida Pola Recipe

Maida Polas

This used to be my grandmother’s speciality. She’d put two pans on the stove so she could churn them out as fast as I could finish them. They’re awesome with a pat of home-made butter..(tho amul seems to work for the most part)

Mustard Seeds (excuse me bastard, pass the mustard..heehee) – about a teaspoon
Green chillies – 4-5 (more if you like them spicy)
Freshly grated coconut – half a cup
Sugar – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Coconut oil – half a cup
Curry Leaves – about 20
Maida (Flour) – 1 ½ cup
Amul butter
Water

In a small frying pan add about 4-5 tbs of oil and put on the stove. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. After they crackle turn off the burner and add the curry leaves. Set aside.
In another larger container grind the coconut, green chillies, sugar and salt together using a pestle. Once the texture is even add the flour and the cooled mustard seed/curry leaves mixture. Add water and mix until the consistency is that of pancake batter.
Grease a non-stick pan with some coconut oil and spoon the mixture onto it in individual 8” diameter pancakes. They take from 2 to 5 minutes each (if you like them like nish and I do…extra crispy.. turn the bruner to max and brown them)
Ladle on the butter. Enjai!

...Strawberries & Cream in Room 303..

Ok…so I seem to be doing this whole Bombay-Delhi thingy a bit too often now. Not that I’m complaining mind you. I happen to love it. And with this meningitis epidemic in Delhi I figure it bes safer to rub shoulders with the uninfected Bambaiya masses this weekend. (Nish-pish however figures since it’s brain fever I’m safe…need brain to have brain fever! Duh! ) So I’m off. I’m taking a Jet plane outta here. I figure since I have an inside man on the job I’m going to be reckless and try a new carrier (Ramesh, my-erstwhile-fighter-pilot friend now happens to be affiliated with Jet Airways..woohooo..free upgrade…here I come!)

Also the excellent and fabulous coosin Nish-pish sent me this here article, about Angelina Jolie preferring hotel room sex. Methinks all women probably prefer hotel rooms to homes. I know I for one, do. Here are my reasons..

- Clean sheets…(going out with a fetishist! No problemo.. House Keeping will have those nasty chocolate syrup stains out pronto!)
- 24 hr Room Service…( for those post-coital munchies!)
- Those long getting-to-know-each-other-better togetherness soaks in the tub!
- Adventure! (Tired of your room? Hey, just pick another hotel!)

The REAL reason why I’m going to Bombay, however, is to bring in my MostBestest MommaInTheWorld’s birthday. Yup she turns …err…well old enough (hehehee..am not telling!!) on the 16th of May. So if you want to wish her leave a msg here and I’ll let her know! I’m off now. Have a great weekend….I know I will! Cheers!

Sprung & Cleaned!

The Delhi spring hath sprung finally…and I spent all five hours (…Delhi has two seasons…it’s either too hot…or too cold. Period!) of it spring cleaning my apartment.. Really. I cleaned the windows, sorted out my cupboards, dusted my bookshelf, rearranged my cd’s, defrosted my fridge…(is there no end to my talents?) ..and even put one of those thingamajigs in the bathroom cistern that make the water flush blue! Now who says I don’t run a nice establishment? Even went and replenished my bar. And then, while I was so caught up in the fray I even stayed up a few extra hours and made lists of my books and my cd’s. And even though it sounds funny even to me…I kinda enjoyed doing it. All of it. I’m becoming one of those idiotic house-proud morons I’ve spent many a year laughing at. And organized to boot! Who would hae known? Not me! Siiiigh! Go figure!

The urge to surge...

Finally ready to make my poetry blog available for perusal. Hope you guys like it.

Surreal Urges

Dreaming...

Got this sms from Sunila this morning..

"I dreamed this morning that we were all in a five star hotel somewhere in Goa, celebrating your marriage..."

Siiiiigghh!

Agonies & Ecstasies

Agonies
Losing a loved one.
Monday morning blues.
Power cuts.
Waxing!
Being unwell.
Cold toes in a warm blanket.
Nightmares.
Rats.
Traffic jams.
PMS.

Ecstasies
Rosy sunsets.
Multiple Orgasms.
Finding money in old jeans.
Bumping into old friends.
Favorite song playing on the radio.
The smell of mom’s cooking.
Lazy Sunday afternoons in bed.
Long conversations over hot coffee.
Long soaks in a hot tub!
Carbon & Desoto!
Gossip!
Sushi.
InaneChatter..(TM, Patent Pending)

The calm after the storm..

Ok! Enough is enough! This is not, repeat...NOT a photo blog. Photographs shall hence forth be a thing of the past (that is until there are more photo opportunities…and then we’re back to square one again!) So until then I might as well ramble on about the general meandering that is my life. It’s been a hectic two days back in Delhi. Past seven now and I’m still pushing pixels. Will somebody pleeeease just find me a rich man to marry and have those babies with? Ok... today’s Friday so nixx the babies. Baby dreams restricted to Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until the ticking gets too loud. On a brighter note got another chapter of my book written last night so am feeling a tad lighter. More when it happens.

Et tu, Anu?!!??

What can I say? I’ve been cheatered! Stabbed in the back! Virtually molested even!
Recently came upon this little article posted on Sid’s blog that has caused the kind of hurt only large sums of cash might soothe (hint hint...and don’t forget the diamond deal sid!). Here's the offending article...and here’s what Sid had to say about it.

Rushes : you have a bloody marriage deal with my best friend?
Sid : I know sigh
Rushes : I’m going to hafta shoot the two of you
Sid : haha
Sid : tell her that
Rushes : thats mean!
Sid : she came up with the idea
Sid : i am only too willing to oblige no
Sid : haha
Rushes : lol
Rushes : actually you both should get married...then you'll reaaaaly appreciate what i had to put up with!...BOTH WAYS!!!

So, just for the record I’d like to get a vote. Could those of you who are still my friends (..that’s assuming I still have some left that are not marrying each other..) please put down a comment on how you’d feel if YOUR best friend and YOUR first love decided to tie the knot? Lemme know ok..

Bombay Blues...

ok...so i'm back and in one piece. Survived the Shaadis and the parties and the hectic schedule. Were both very wonderful weddings with great food and "celebrity" guests. All I'm left with now is a huge hangover, two kilos of excess weight (awesome khaana really!!) and one sadness. I'm going to miss my baby Riti..(god bless her with gorgoeus little babies and wonderful wonderful orgasms!) Here's a last pic of her and me at her Bidaai..(that's just the light in my eyes...i'm a big gurl and big gurls DON'T CRY!) Love you to pieces meri jaan. Have an absolutely wonderful life ahead. Muuuuaaaaaaaaaaahh!









Will put up more of the hungama pics tomorrow, when i've fully recovered from all *hic* proceedings.

Hawaiian Shack Rocks!

I did also manage to catch up with some old pals this trip to b'bay so here are some pics of us getting raunchy at "Hawaiian Shack". Enjai!



The girls & Nitin! Amazingly I was the only single girl there..(sweeeet... considering that I was once the only married one around!)











Indy in her element with Sups and Reeti.









Indy, Sups et moi...at the begining of the evening. See? we all still have our lipsticks on!






Finally time to shake a leg (aka four drinks down!!)












Uga & Indy.











Uga in da house with Milya.








Talk about cheesy grins! Had to kick Milind really hard under the table for him to come up with that one!










Reeti and I. Now these grins are genuine...so beware!














Bhau & Indy. One of the cutest couples ever...and I mean...EVER!!!!











Sups blowing kisses to her adoring fans.









Here she is telling me this really hilarious joke. Now if I can only remember it.....







Bhau's negotiating tactics finally revealed. Here he is strong arming one of Supri's 'young' boys. (i swear, I have no idea where she finds them!!!)


.

Nirav's Big Day!

As promised here's the pictures of Nirav and his gorgeous bride Sheetal. Wish you two oodles and oodles of joy and many many brilliant years ahead. Muuuuuaaaaaahh!



Nirav & Sheetal.



..was great to see aunty back on her feet and smiling again, just the way i remember her!



..welcome to the family Sheetal!



...proof that i was there! You still owe me that lunch Nee! Muuuuuaaaaaahh!