weekend that was....

blissful breeze and wide running mountain ranges... great company.. and lots of laughs campfire and wild fireflies... conversations thrown aside here and there silence that brings in contentment a soul search that makes you find yourself nature, thou art my muse... you teach me how to win and how to lose.... Malapropism ( something I picked from the net )

In his 1775 Restoration comedy, The Rivals, Richard Sheridan introduced a humorous character by the name of Mrs. Malaprop. The name is derived from the French mal � propos, which means inappropriate (we also have the word malapropos in English), and describes the manner in which she used many words in her speech. Mrs. Malaprop's Malapropisms Here are some of the original malapropisms from the lady herself: Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's play The Rivals (1775). In case you're not sure what it is that Mrs. Malaprop is intending to say the correct word(s) have been put in square brackets after each quotation. "...promise to forget this fellow - to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory." [obliterate] "O, he will dissolve my mystery!" [resolve] "He is the very pine-apple of politeness!" [pinnacle] "I have since laid Sir Anthony's preposition before her;" [proposition] "Oh! it gives me the hydrostatics to such a degree." [hysterics] "I hope you will represent her to the captain as an object not altogether illegible." [eligible] "...she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying." [comprehend] "...she's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of Nile." [alligator] "I am sorry to say, Sir Anthony, that my affluence over my niece is very small." [influence] "Why, murder's the matter! slaughter's the matter! killing's the matter! - but he can tell you the perpendiculars." [particulars] "Nay, no delusions to the past - Lydia is convinced;" [allusions] "...behold, this very day, I have interceded another letter from the fellow;" [intercepted] "I thought she had persisted from corresponding with him;" [desisted]

"His physiognomy so grammatical!" [phraseology] "I am sure I have done everything in my power since I exploded the affair;" [exposed] "I am sorry to say, she seems resolved to decline every particle that I enjoin her." [article] "...if ever you betray what you are entrusted with... you forfeit my malevolence for ever..." [benevolence] "Your being Sir Anthony's son, captain, would itself be a sufficient accommodation;" [recommendation] "Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" [apprehend, vernacular, arrangement, epithets]

World as we take it

I was just listening to this ghazal ( one of my favorites from school time) as I was working ... thought it was really profound and just right for this weather... I have made a feeble attempt at translating this for my friends who do not understand Hindi... please excuse me.. if it is wierd.. I cannot write poetry for nuts... :)

Duniya jisey kehtay hain, jadoo ka khilona hai, Mil jaayey to mitti hai, kho jaayey to sona hai ! The world as they say.. is a magical toy When you have it, its equivalent to mud.. when its lost, it becomes gold.. Acha sa koi mausam tanha sa koi aalam, Har waqt ka rona to, beekaar ka rona hai ! When there is nice weather and a private corner All our usual issues we beset ourselves with, just seem so meaningless Barsaat ka baadal to deewana hai kya jaanay, Kis rah say bachna hai, kis cchat ko bigona hai ! What will the rain clouds know, its maudlin, which path it should save itself from, which hearth it should sprinkle on Gham ho ki khushi dono, kuch dher kay saathi hain, Phir rasta hi rasta hai, hasna hai na rona hai ! Joys and sorrows, they are your friends for just moments then you have nothing but different pathways...you have to laugh you have to cry Duniya jisey kehtay hain, jadoo ka khilona hai, Mil jaayey to mitti hai, kho jaayey to sona hai ! The world as they say.. is a magical toy When you have it, its equivalent to mud.. when its lost, it becomes gold..

Living by Asking...

Begging ...is an art.. every profession in this universe needs skill to come to the top. Good people management and teamwork is the key to many a success stories in building companies and societies. Not so long ago, one could hardly count the beggars in the streets of Bangalore. I was surprised by their presence in different cities that I travelled to thanking god that well we do not have too many beggars, and insane people moving around. To be a beggar is just another easy alternative it seems. With the influx of moneyed junta due to lucrative industries and professions, this art seems to be thriving in this city. It started pretty decently.. with small boys selling magazines at traffic lights.. which was good enough. They do not irritate you much.. Then came the headphones, earbuds, sunglasses, etc. Some smart beggar decided that this was an opportunity that he would not miss.. why not build up and organization of beggars who would have different areas and would have different props each week oor certain parts of the day to keep the public confused. It would be very boring to pay the same bugger money having the same attire.. Different props which will play with the human mind What is the most touching aspect to which almost every human being reacts. ? The ultimate picture of Madonna with child concept. So all women beggars who were presentable age of being a mother.. have been handed babies..who are sedated so that they dont make a noise and are zombified to whats happening all around while the women do their job. Beg.. showing the drugged baby. Young girls who are sometimes stolen or who have grown in this environment. One can only imagine.. how much their minds have been messed up due to the drugs that they have been fed for the sake of the profession. Sometimes its a miracle that they can speak and walk normally. I have a special soft corner for these girls which they wiped out with one go.. when one day I gave a 10/- into her hand.. she promptly hides it and then screams at my face... pointing for more and if possible for a lunch in one of the nearby restaurants... SIGH.. Young uns who have just learnt to walk ... some just sit by the kerb or on the dividers and scream to glory when they do not get any attention.. and nobody is looking since the whole thing is very carefully planned.. .while teenage girls go about knocking in windows... Then comes the shifting of groups and props.. one fine day I see all the known faces in well hidden new crutches made to extract every ounce of sympathy from the drivers... well they forgot to think that the drivers who pass by regularly also have brains.. and how is it that every beggar has a crutch and hey !! I also see somebody getting tired of the crutches and walking while carrying it.. is this the la la land or what... If the teamwork is right, the will definitely make money.. the day when they start fighting among themselves.. out goes their wage.. If they know that there is this car which gives them money.. they will mark it for sure and keep sending their cronies to earn every now and then... thinking that the driver would not notice... As if this was not enough there has been a new strategy to have maimed and grotesque looking souls having the wierdest ailments knocking at the car window.. . If on side there is this little girl with no clothes on and one side of the face and head totally burnt, there is another who is epileptic and there is another soul who has a severe case of shivering and keeps shivering and knocking at the window.. lets not forget the children.. who take great pride in showing of their severed arm or leg.. one soul who had leprosy.. and showing that off to make money... And they all have learnt to co exist between each other marking one's territory very well... This totally eliminates the genuineness of beggardom where we used to see one or two old men or women once in a while. Now its being controlled and organized to go with the present times.. ruled by kids and women ...shouldnt we applaud this ? Why should we be the only ones getting organized.. ? One wonders that they could be better off doing some clean work or something better.. rather than this.. but I have also heard that there are many kids who prefer this kind of life rather then grow up to be what they can be.. with hard work but then again this India.. and to get a good life for the poor seems like us dreaming of going to moon.. So just like adopting the easiest skill, begging becomes an art... and only the best and the worst can survive... the best because they have the skill, worst because they have the defects and do not need skills.. ... it happens only in India...

on the wings of a snow white dove

Just was remembering this song... so thought of putting it as the title.. after some days of slogging my machine has finally decided to play truant with me... buhahaha !! It tells me... I am going to crash and you cannot do anything about it... I say... go ahead I shall fix you ... and dare you to do it.. PING it goes and shows me a blue screen... So it is having its last laugh while I am twiddling my fingers... for some hours now... till I get a spare machine and surf the net ... SIGH... OH great one... full of chips... please come back to me... with the data intact... I bow before you... and implore you to reconsider my ownership... and I promise I shall not mess up with browsers again... Amen... And now... that is out of my way... let me continue.. Watched Batman... it was awesome.. movie.. great action scenes but the hero looked as if he was hard pressed to deliver his dialouge in a cramped manner with that suit of his... hmmm methinks that the other batman movies had more finesse and the story is a little lets say.. customized to the director's own way of thinking... so what else is new ? Been to this place to have lunch called the Elements... in nandidurg road... nice food nice place.. but service is something left to be desired... its a good place to chill out however... prices are not 500/- as the papers said... a meal for two would cost you some 300/- and change... The quantity of steaks is definitely lesser than Miller's 46 but its good food I must say. As soon as we entered this restaurant.. my friend S says that this is a Mallu restaurant.. I say no.. just because she was a Malyali, does not mean she would see Malyalis all around. She bet me... I kept quiet... since I did not know... Waiter: What will you have ? Me: what do you have for drinks? Waiter: OAH ! We heve a lod of mogtails. Mengoes, Horangas, Grepe, Gogonut Dingler, Me: ( trying to be unaffected my S's smug smile) Well what goes into a coconut tingler Waiter: Gogonut and Lemaun. But I am a sarry, we do not heve it now. S : ( trying to stop giggling) get me this Blue drink. What does it have.. Waiter: It has siirup and gream. Suffice it to say that we had a good laugh after quickly ordering our food... with all apologies... Given such a dialouge, I definitely lost the bet... with S ... (Again this is not written with the intention of offending my Malayali friends.. I am very aware of how funny a Bong and as Assamese accent can be .. so its all in fun eh !! Reminded me of the Italian restaurant I went to which had a Bengali waiter pronouncing all the Italian pasta names in a heavy Bangla accent... SIGH) Heights of communication... After all the insults in the mail that i received from that gentleman the other day( refer to my previous post), which I have decided to ignore.. for best known reasons... I get an explanation that it was all a professional communication... GAWK... if that was professional..I dread to think what would be personal communication.... ( GAAAAHHHH * screams tearing her hair*) May god give me the power of tolerance.. SIGH.. Having guests this weekend too.. so it seems that my social life and professional life is going at par when it comes to defining hectic.. but I love having friends.. so would not give them up for anything... FI sham It was another race which will go down in the history either as Bridgestone's triumph against Michelin or as the worst race that Schumacher could win. 6 cars all running on Bridgestone ... empty track... lots of opportunity to get to the podium yet Narain.. misses it... well at least he completed the race... Not nice to gloat Schumi that you would have won the race anyhow.. it was pure fluke...

Band is broad ... Ahoy ahoy ...

Well I have finally got my broadband connection at home.. it ROCKS. Its fast and its like working in office.. COOL... So now I can keep up with my reading of blogs and stuff..... BUHAAAAAhahahah !!!!

Bouqets and Brickbats

Manchenbele Lake, originally uploaded by Jilmil.

That was the first thing that came to my mind as I was musing about the week that went by �

Tis a pleasure to be with old friends� and experience the thrill of childhood days.. it was like old times when we went shopping and excalimed at silly old things.. laughed ourselves with stuff that was bygone but yet held great memories for us�

Watched a couple of movies together�

Took her to all my favorite haunts� and she loved it..

Yes, it was a wonderful time� and I hope to repeat it again and again � as we grow old�

Dwarf ... it was really nice meeting you the other day.. ... I hope you had a great dinner.. we were so tired that day :) hope to see more of you online...

D � The Company�

My take on this� nothing new � same old story.. same old bloodshed.. same old lines.. just the characters have changed.. I think Ram Gopal is rehashing his script again and again� and well if you have watched Company which was the best movie of his covering the slowly getting on to the reality topic of the Underworld, this movie is just not worth it. yeah Randeep Hooda was better than Vivek Oberoi is portraying the serious quirked gangsta � Rukhsar is back� after her stint in long forgotten movies with Rishi Kapoor and Aditya Pancholi�

Parineeta

V V Chopra seems to have joined the I-am-inspired-by-you bandwagon and gone and done a la Devdas without the finesse and the creative touch of the masters� and that is the only woe of mine.. It is veryt obvious that the director did not have that great a personal touch with the movie and it seemed as if that the movie had been made just for the heck of making another movie..

Otherwise the movie has an okay pace and well though Saif could have given a better performance, he did well. Vidya was a refreshing change from all Aishwarya type characters� Thank God for that.. !!! and oh before I forget just when you think what will happen to the hero and the heroine� the last scenes of Parineeta which was supposed to be the piece de resistance.. came out to be like a Laurel and Hardy show� spare us the melodrama� and cut us some slack in thinking that we do appreciate a good solid emotional climax.

Songs are good. I guess after watching movied of Sanjay Leela Banshali and Rituporno Ghosh, I have set standards for movies which use the same style and theme.. they should be better if not a poor copy� and the audience can always make out the difference when the director has really put one�s soul into the movie or done this movie just like that� just because this is selling� SIGH�

Travel

Silverline at Savandurg, originally uploaded by Jilmil.

Drove down to Manchenbele dam and to Savandurga. Had a looksy at the Great Banyan tree. The drive was good and there was a lot of offroading that we did � so unless you have really good suspension, do not try this place from Mysore road section. It is better to access this place via Magadi road where the view is a sceanic one and you can also chill out a lot while taking some good photographs. We got lost here and there and were roaming inside the forest for quite sometime� before we could find the right road. It was fun� we met some cyclists who were doing the moonlit cycling trail� sponsored by BSA. So guys if you need a days trip to chill out.. you could try the above places�

The Great Banyan Tree, originally uploaded by Jilmil.

(Mis)Communication ??

I usually like to communicate with online friends but I seriously do not appreciate ( rather confused with) first time mails which start with

Really nice to receive retort from you...hope your daysgoin like you want!Big things from big people!

and then at the last line says

PPL GENERALLY LAUGHT AT YOU WHEN YOU SAYLIKE THIS DONOT KNOW ABOUT YOU HOPE U R NOT AMONGTHEM! I M FROM ENGG BACKGROUND FROM PUTATIVEINS.ANYWAY, UNCERTANITY IS THE FORCE WHICH DRIVES USTO MAKE LIFE CERTAIN!I THINK SO......GOOD LUCK ANDEVERY SUCCESS TO YOU!TAKE CARE BYEE

GAAAAHHHH what did I do to deserve this ??? I am certainly NOT laughing but I am defintely irked to a certain extent with the fact that you are taking the liberty to write what you want. I wish you well and I also hope that you find your goals. But believe me your first lesson would be to cultivate the art of communicating which starts with ... Hello how are you ? and not a RAP on someone's tired head first thing in the morning just because you are a fan or you demand attention... Excuse me for being a little pissed...

Again I apologise if this hurts your sentiments since you have portrayed yourself as a very sensitive human being... ( ???) and I hope that you understand that I am not being BIG here.. just trying to be polite... and please do NOT use capitals in your mails... its like you shouting in my ears....

( Good that is off my chest ... HUH... )

I am zenned

Men are afraid to forget their minds, fearing to fall through the Void with nothing to stay their fall. They do not know that the Void is not really void, but the realm of the real Dharma. -Huang Po, "Zen Teaching of Huang Po"

Sea of Food.. .and a whole lot of memories

Madhu cooked the most wonderful Crab in Black Pepper Sauce this Sunday for us.. it was a feast of sea food .... I think this the best place for crabs.... My old school friend is in town... meeting her after 14 years.. and the years have dropped off just as if it was a soft thin veil and we do not get enough of reminiscing about our past.. sometimes its nice to dance with the forgotten melodies.... Its not so easy to get over a difficult past but I am with you .. . my old friend.. all the way.. Loved the portrait done at Bombay stores... thought it was pretty silly but heck its cool with friends.... he he Remembered a dear friend who never thought twice... before hurting me... well I love you all the same... Keli... and wish you all the best... Happy Belated birthday... so what if the dream of getting old together will not materialise... ahh the penury of human psyche... I remembered you on the 3rd of June and yes you have made a great difference in my life... and for that you will be the dearest friend I would have known.... Sometimes saying Sorry is just NOT enough... Driving through a storm with heavy rain beating down and with only music to accompany you is the one of the best experiences I have ever had.... nature conspires for self realization... The flavour of the industry seems to be dipped in mergers... Sunny's at Lavelle Road is the sickest place I have ever some across... you got to have blond hair to get a quick service... Had the worst kind of squid there... YUCKKKKKKK... Last but not the least.. here we go again with tags... this one is for you Arunima. THREE NAMES YOU GO BY: Jil Jilmil Pallavi THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD: Blueflame bikerfemme Jilmil THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF: (Well this is tough... I like everything LOL... ) My eyes ( which though weak can see a lot hahah ) my fingers ( they can type fast... buhahahah ) My attitude ..( buhahahah ) THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE: Assam Hilsa Fish My Bilingual Family.... THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU: Depression Boredom Helplessness THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS : my lenses my music, my thoughts THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW: Lenses Smile Attitude THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP: Humor Sizzling Chemistry Heaps of good memories TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order): DUH !!! DUH DUH THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU: Humor, conversation skills attitude THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW: A long drive, finish The Zahir by Paulo Coelho, drink a cup of tea made by Ma. THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING Travel Writer Lonely Planet presenter Writing a book... THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO FOR A VACATION: Shillong Egypt Rome THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE: Aahana Ispshita Manek THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE: Write couple of books Attain wisdom Create many more memories

Music and movies tags !!!

Squirrel.. here I go... Total volume of music files on my computer: More than 10 gigs and still increasing !! :) I keep burning them and keep adding .. . The last CD I bought was: Dire Straits Limited Edition. Songs playing right now Car: Western Classical: Brahms' Wiegenlied, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Pachabel's Canon, Chopin's Piano's Concert.. from Economic times western classical collection Office: Generally listen to Yahoo Launchcast with the following stations running on and off .. Smooth Jazz, Country, Classic Rock, Alternative Rock, Quiet Storm, Big Hits of the 80's, New Hits, etc Instrumentals: Richard Clayderman, Enya, Vanessa Mae, Mix : JJ Cale, Eva Cassidy, Clapton, Don Henley, Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis, Corrs, Deff Leppard Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Dreamtheatre, Madonna, Green Day, Mark Knopfler, Satriani, Santana, Gulzar, R D Burman songs, Ghazals, ... Home: Riff, A world of Jazz in Worldspace Radio.. Farishta: Worldspace radio ( station on old Hindi hits) Country: Worldspace System: Worldspace Potion: Worldspace Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon Jethro Tull Doors Old English Folk songs Indian Instrumentals..Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, etc Old Ghazals Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me: Hume tumse pyar kitna ... yeh ham nahi jaante ... ( lots of memories... heartbreaks, love lost, love found) Stars ... Simply Red ( my constant companion for no reason at all when I was a student ) Ankh se Ankh mila baat banata kyon hai... ( first ghazal i sang in front of an audience) Ajeeb Dasta hai yeh ( My first song I sang in public with just one guitar for company which was very off key.. LOL.. till today.. I have a soft corner for this song..) Careless Whisper ( mmmm this song so reminds me of those days in school.. first crush.. youth.. adolescence) Five people to whom I�m passing the baton: Vighy Reiya Nupur Maddie ( if you are there ) Shub This is for you Reiya... Total No. of films I own on DVD/Video: hmmm not much but in the process of collecting ... maybe some 12 odd.. I do watch a lot of movies.. love watching them in the theatres .... The Last film I bought: A Beautiful Mind The Last Film I watched: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith The Lion King ( never get tired of it ) Hitch ( pretty ok I guess ) Waqt ( YUCK ) Jo Bole So Nehal ( YUCK YUCK ) Five Films that I watch a lot or mean a lot to me: English Casablanca : ( sentiment at its peak) Gone with the wind ( romance at its peak) Schindler's List ( strong movie.. ) Sound of music ( awesome movie) My Fair Lady ( good memories ) ...... and lots more.. Hindi Jaane bhi do Yaaron Padosan Chasme Badooor Golmaal Chupke Chupke..... ( there are lots ) Well I hope that says it all... Squirrel, Nupur, MMN, Semantic, Anumita, Questor would you be interested in carrying this through.. .:) ************************************ On a different note.. have updated this blog on my monologues..

Monsoon in earnest

Vodka and Cognac, originally uploaded by Jilmil.

Having lived here for almost a decade, I have never experienced chaos at just one or two bouts of rainfall. Yesterday it was one of those days which again proved how pathetic our drainage system is and how buildings and drains are sadly not growing proportionately...SIGH Thinking of a quiet dinner we ambled slowly towards St Marks Road to a place which we did not try before... and to the horror of horrors the whole road was flooded with knee deep water.. and there were irate drivers,... honking .. some stuck and some plain frustated... Not one to give up we decided to approach the place from the road next to the Mallya Hospital...and it was like as if nature was stuck at conspiring against us... Just as we gave up the idea.. we got splashed by another irate driver who must have been stuck on the road for hours... GRRRR.. the water level was so high the splash was felt all to my passenger seat through the unfortunately open window which Rocks thought would allow some fresh air and instead... got a huge splash of water... LOL... Not to be daunted since it was my birthday... we went to Casa Del Sol... and had this aboslutely wonderful dinner and captured some nice shots.. inside the hotel.. I seriously reccomend this hotel if you want to have a special dinner... cocktails here also awesome... Since I was recovering from a cold I wanted something like brandy and warm water... but the smart waiter ( he looks pretty cool too... hehe ) made something beautiful with vodka, cognac, pepper, honey and warm water... I think I like Cognac... hic... it is very potent mind you but I am not complaining.. The Tapas combo was also great with chicken vulcano, fish ceviche and paneer pepperocino.. this is the only restaurant which gives you a Tapas.. Weather ... company .... friends.... all made it into a great day....