For those who keep a tab...

Disclaimer: This is not an interesting post. It is merely factual and facts about my life might not interest very many people. :)

Let me start by saying this last month has been a whirlwind of thoughts, actions and events.

My group and I had to shoot for a mock advertising campaign on Saturday, 18th of March. The choosing of product or service began as a brand extension exercise - after much deliberation we were happy with going the Cadburys route. Only this time Cadburys would be selling greeting cards. :) We debated. We changed scripts over and over. We fought, but when the moment had passed, so did the bitterness. To use a cliche, at the END of the day we had a script that could hold an audience. Gone half the distance, the other lap seemed just as daunting!

Come saturday, I was a bundle of nerves as we were given strict instructions that only the DIRECTOR got to interact with the camera person and technicians of our shoot. The onus fell on Yours Truly. :D The shoot was challenging but it turned out fabulously. Despite having a couple of actors with very little professional experience, we managed to pull off a great job. Kudos to my team for having handled the task at hand wonderfully. None of us would have been able to perform our roles had it not been for the effort the others had put in. :)

Phew... there's more. I have landed a job with Reuters to work as a correspondent at their Bangalore office. I like the sound of the work I'd have to do as it seems like a great learning experience. The package is good for a start in media and that makes me tres happy. :)

I warned you... there's better stuff out there to read, but this post was for the ones who were cribbing about my hiatus from 'stuck in my head'. Later. :D

Movies. Magic.

Last night, I got to spend some quality time with the 'girls'. Booze, Kiran and I saw the highly acclaimed movie, Crash which has won itself a string of Oscar nominations. When a movie is spoken about to a great extent, your expectations mar the experience of enjoying the movie for all that it is. Once again, Crash proved that audiences are a tad bit more intelligent that producers and marketers are willing to give them credit for. True, the screen hall was more empty than full, but the few people who did show up were transported to an alternate world - a world that was more real than reel. With an underlying theme like racism, I was skeptical as to how the film makers would have approached the script any differently from what we've seen before. I must admit, I love it when I'm pleasantly surprised. Power packed performances that laid to rest my theory of expectations. Slick editing that lent the film a beautiful, seemless flow. Pay offs that were placed with great meaning and most importantly, a script that stayed true. I must also make a mention of the presentation of credits which was superb! I could go on about everything that one must watch Crash for, but I'll stop here and urge anyone reading this to simply go and watch it.

P.S.: While the movie was all about America, the girls and I discussed how racism is more than prevalent in India. Something for all of us to chew on, to digest the prejudices and spit out the fanaticism.

The Final Term.

There's nothing worse than having a lousy day(of late, it's become a pattern), only to come home to an empty house. The empty spaces leave you hunting desperately, for something, ANYthing, that will fill the void. Shedding tears are a temporary solution for when the smile returns, so do the questions. This was supposed to be exciting, challenging, something I would look forward to doing every damn day of my life. What in the world has gone wrong?

I shall be brave and blame it all on the weatherman!

Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open.

"Sometimes the only thing we've got are words. Old words, which we put together in a hope that they will mean something new."

it's strange how watching a sitcom for half hour can leave such an indelible impact.

all hail scrubs, that 70's show, f.r.i.e.n.d.s, less than perfect and the other coaches of the bandwagon that have made our days go for zilch to super duper!

Soul Cola

Saturday evening. Class yet again. Groan! This was a pattern that had developed over the last couple of weeks. So, we all went through the routine, battle crowds in trains, atrocious traffic and get to class a few "pardonable" minutes late.

Inspite of all the above mentioned, I was quite looking forward to this class as it was on something that is an integral part of my life. Music. From rasas to raags, the first half of the session was informative. It showed us the evolution of world music with a specific reference to India. Mood maps were understood and applied, with a few of us being nominated as RJ's for certain hours. Apparently, I can lift up spirits with my voice for I found myself on the morning or evening slot on most people's lists. Thanks everyone, it's something else to know that you would let me make your day. :) More masti. More chaos. Well deserved break.

The post break session entailed a surprise. Just for me. As usual, my enthusiasm got the better of me and I volunteered to be one of the guniea pigs for an exercise. Three of us were picked and asked to speak under the influence of one music track. With Floyd playing as a background score, I let my mind travel to places that seem familiar now. It's rare that I let my emotions surface, it's rarer still that I choose to express them in words. Caught in a moment. A lot left to say. Family. Friends. Dog. Home. Loneliness. Cricket. Score Updates. A mish mash that made little sense to me but it seemed to connect with my audience. After all, I was speaking from the heart. :)

The four hour session ended with the class listening to a few music pieces that have left an indelible mark on human kind, irrespective of race, gender, creed or age. I would like to end with a special mention on our teacher, Utkarsh. Though i address him as "Sir" in class, it seems phony to attach a Mr. and a surname, just now. I have few role models, but with his passion, knowledge and keenness to impart all that he has experienced, he has won himself a fan for life. I think God makes fewer men like him because he thinks his efforts go unnoticed. We're listening. We're watching. We're absorbing. We're applauding. Don't ever stop, India needs many more.

Yeh Mera India!

I marvel at the wonder that is my nation. Each day, each moment, there's an Indian who makes it to the top of whatever he / she set out to accomplish. As proud as I am about the India which is ambitious yet grounded, progressive yet rustic, these little nothings bring a knowing smile to my face. A smile that reflects my love for India despite all her quirks!

Facial, manicure, pedicure, hair trim and Boob cut offered at Bobby's Parlour

All days open , Punchure shop

This is a Chennai special that everybody who's ever passed G.N. Chetty Road would have had a mighty ha ha about:

Nasity Boys cricket team

I'm always on the lookout for such quirky posts... does anybody know where I can find these laminated boards which have these goofy lines printed on them? The look of these boards is very retro, very funky!
And just before I forget, aren't you super duper happy to be Indian? :)

Sangria Sunsets...

When PJ asked me to come over for a Christmas afternoon / eve do at his place, i was a little skeptical about the eclectic mix of people he had invited. Adi, Anushya, Gayatri, Harini, Esha, Yours Truly - the common thread between us was just good ol' PJ. We met over lunch at Sukh Sagar where quite strangely, one has to eat dessert out of little bowls for they refuse to give you plates at the buffet counter! Having satiated our appetites, we headed to PJ's place to successfully depose his sister from the cosy comfort of her room. Apparently, it was HIS room before it was hers so she surrendered without a fight. PJ then chose to treat us with the finesse befitting young ladies and gentlemen coming into their own - Wine, champagne and tastefully mixed Sangrias. Truly PJ, London has taken you to new "heights". Every pun intended. As the hours passed we lost track of time and a few of us, our senses. Adi had a meeting to attend to and Anushya left us to partake in a bridge competition at IIT. As a few more hours passed, two lovely young ladies had us entertained with their giggle fits, outbursts of emotion and crazy jigs! Not to mention an insane number of hugs did the rounds with PJ being the designated photographer. The madness was taken out of PJ's home to Mocha at Khader Nawaj Khan Road. I must mention i LOVE the use of colour, texture and light at this place. The cycle rickshaw seats in the garden space is an ingenius idea. The sort of bent i love! As the mischief hookah was placed before us, the group had grown sober. Over puffs of orange and lime conversation flowed on intelligence, economy and the decadence of Indian youth. As the day wrapped up, I'd like to revisit the group's common thread - We were a bunch of intelligent individuals who indulged in a whole load of fun. In a time and place when I hunt high and low for such company, today was special. Thanks PJ. I owe you one.

Intelligentsia.

We like to think of ourselves as intelligent beings. That's an open secret. We dig recognition. That's not even a secret. When you're recognised for being intelligent, it gives you a kick. You want to throw your hands up in the hair, hold that head high and do a little jig.

All of this held true in a class where I made a suggestion that the professor loved and even recommended to his client. Yaaaay! The seemingly insignificant pleasures of life truly make it worth my while and yours.

Go on people, don't be afraid to raise that hand and blurt out the little thought. Who knows? It could be your big moment.

Curls and Cotton Candy

It's the irony of my life. I'm not too sure it merits a post but here goes... My hair was poker straight for nearly 6 months... was uhm, weirdly straight and curly for the next 3 odd and now my infamous curls have made a comeback. This is straight out of the Sunsilk ad for Curls, the twist in this ad script being, EVERYBODY loves the CURLS! :)

Lesson learnt. What's the point of changing something about you when it was only you who didn't see its beauty?

Girls Uniterrupted.

Belated Happy Budday Kiran! :)

Thanks to madhatter Kiran we had a blast at Hawaiin Shack. Good ol' music from the 80's, in English, I lay emphasis on the language as I'm sick as hell having to listen to Aap ki Kashish and the likes 24 / 7, the 'all girls' company -better still and long island iced teas... Heaven IS a place on earth, sometimes! :)

Worth the 'Weight'!

I weigh a good lot more since all I've been doing in the last few days is eating wholesome food at home or pigging out at my favourite restaurants. Some people call it Holiday Weight. I choose to rephrase. This is Home Weight and worth every inch in gold!

The Big Bad World of Blah.

An aspiring copywriter's food for thought:

"I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes..." - Philip Dusenberry.

There's NO Place like Home.

Picture this, two eager beavers sticking to the windows of an aircraft, their hearts thumping with joy as Chennai's little buildings grew in size. That was Ren(my roomie) and me, the Sunday last. Yes, Yes... I'm in the land where the roads are cleaner(it's all relative), the routes are familiar(i'm direction challenged), the sambhar is spicy(I'm loving it) and the feeling of belonging is more than apparent. There's so much to do, people to see, places to go. This city is a part of me. period. I don't want this to end. Ever.

Happily Ever After.

No, this is no magical love tale but just a day of trials and tribulations in a court martial conducted by one of our professors. Post the horrors of the morning which included late starts, messed up presentations, a million unnecessary interruptions and the likes... the conclusion was purrfect! Justice had been done to 20 odd from the 60 who endured a seemingly never ending day. We met at Rakshit Doshi's place and had the time of our lives. High spirits flowed and became one with conversations. We never seem to do away with truth or dare but I must add a few daring souls like Mel, Suri and Shuchika brought some much needed life to the silly game. Conversations further blended mellifluously with the hummable tunes we all love. Post this; Pankit entertained the bunch with his Shayaari sessions, which would have had some dead poets stirring in their grave. :) Yours truly fell asleep at this point as I had barely slept the night before. The rest is all hearsay. Apparently Saket and Shuchika shook a leg and how! There were a few others who almost fell off the wagon, courtesy the after effects of you know what. Strangely enough, Rakshit Bahadur was found sleeping in the balcony. Its only at such crazy dos that you meet a paan eating Chinese guy who can levitate - Van, Rakshit's buddy. Such events of the night could have only been matched by a wonderful lunch at Shiv Sagars followed by my very first Gola session at Juhu beach. I like the pace of it all. I'm starting to give Mumbai a lot more thought but hey, I'm going home on Sunday... and no one can take that away from me! Tra la la!

See More. Hear More. Know More.

The Sunday that passed by held quite a few surprises. The journalism students from XIC were hosting an evening bash for the rest of us. Train halts and twists in routes notwithstanding, I managed to make it to the campus an hour late. No worries there. The party had just about begun. I wish the students had shown more enthusiasm by showing up for starters. Apart from a smattering of students from ADMA, only the journo crowd hung around. Clannish bums that we are, we further chose to segregate ourselves into comfort zones comprising familiar faces. The bash was just about fun for the music didn't measure up, yet, the highlights of the evening were Saket and Devang's dance moves, Rakshit and Saket(there he goes again!) role playing and the stage performance by Shammy, Melroy, Austin, Yours Truly and another couple of people from journalism. Heck, I don't even know their names so one can imagine how much intermingling did take place! Post the party a few of us headed to Mocha to simply while away some more time.

This trip was different, truly speaking. First up, the crowd composed of people who didn't hang out with each other, who just about said their hi's in college. Socializing with variegated groups does refresh your perspective. The singing bug refused to let us go, so we ended up serenading all of Mocha with 'Nothing's Gonna Change My Love', 'You're Still The One' and a few more Hindi numbers. A few hit the notes, a few others didn't. Big Shmuck! Kudos to us for we even managed to drown out the music playing. Post a few courteous nods of appreciation from the on lookers, we settled into a game of truth or dare. Yes, yes. We managed to get past the customary 'Whom do you dig' phase to some meaningful insights. We unearthed our opinions about each other, which I have attempted to sum up:

Devang - King of Good Times who desperately needs a haircut.

Rakshit - Able Leader of the brat pack.

Dipti - Beauty with Brains. If only we could hear more from her!

Austin - Twisted! If you're wondering... it's a wonderful thing to never think along a set path.

Pulak - Respect comes naturally when you're as sensible as him!

Shuchika - Being blunt has never been as much fun. :)

Chitra - Anything can be set right with a smile.

Saket - ?!?! There's not a talent this man does NOT possess. The nice guy on the block.

Divya(moi) - Loudmouth who has fans for she speaks sense. Gufffaawww! If only my folks read this.... :D

Poulomi - Mistress of Tact. She personifies enigma.

I hope I've done justice to the conversation we had. Thanks fellas... that was a night to remember.

My Few Minutes of Fame.

Alrightie people... Kya Baat Hai, the show I described in detail in one of my previous posts airs this Friday at 17:30 p.m IST. The repeats are at 13:00 p.m on Monday and 22:30 p.m the Thursday after. Do tune in, if you have the time!

Singara Chennai

...and there are some days when all you want to do is find your suitcase, throw a few clothes in and run home, if you have to! For those of you whose heart just skipped a beat, I have no such plans. I FLY home on the 23rd of October. Oh....If only time flew!

I thought of ending my post on that note, but I do want to make a mention of all that brought about this bout of homesickness. I was engaged in a conversation with some of my classmates when I stumbled upon some of their opinions on South Indians, read Madrasis. Terrible looking, lungi wearing, boring, jaya amma worshipping bunch that we are. None of these opinions are adulterated by my flair for drama. It's unfortunate that people seem to shut their eyes tight to reality. They would much rather believe what the movies tell them. Chennai has its flaws in abundance. The rigidity of language, the oppressive heat, the bookworm mentality... all of that I accept readily, yet, if only people would learn to embrace differences. Wishful thinking, that!

Kya Baat Hai!

The Show: Kya Baat Hai

The Topic: Cricket and its Future in India.

The Panellists: Mr. Raj Singh Dungapur, Mr. Ratnakar Shetty, Mr. Ayaz Memon

This afternoon I was at the MTV Studios as a participant on their talk show, Kya Baat Hai. Given the topic of discussion, it's no surprise that I had a lot to say. We discussed playing cricket vs playing politics, the zonal selection policies, the inefficiency of the BCCI, the seemingly inane innovations made by the ICC and India's preparations for World Cup 2007. Quite some talking to do in a span of just one hour. At this point, I must veer from the cricket to gush about the host. Cyrus Broacha is one helluva talented man. He refuses to work with a script and all of his jokes, corny nevertheless, are his own. What amazes me most - the humility of the man. He sipped his chai and cracked his PJ's amidst a throng of camera and lights personnel. In a city that breathes and breeds Page 3 Culture, such a sight is like a much awaited blast of cool air at the end of a grimy day. Before I forget, I want to marry a man like him. Enough said about Mr. Broacha. Since this is an interactive show, the Mumbai audience holds a video conference with the Delhi and Bangalore crowd. All I remember from those two sections was the presence of a Mr. Rahul Mehra, advocate who filed a petition against match fixing, who has a mouth that refuses to shut. His final one 'word' was the longest I've heard in my 21 years of being. I must add, he had valid points to make especially about the BCCI's lack of accountability and transparency in operations. I spoke about the Ganguly vs Chappell controversy, as did everyone else and was commended by Cyrus as a 'woman who was passionate about her cricket'. *Grin* I also had several other opinions, but I shall leave that to you guys to witness on MTV, this coming Friday at 5: 30 p.m. I haven't the foggiest clue about later re runs but I shall put up a post soon enough.

Hanging on for Dear Life!

P.S: To any Mumbaikar reading this, pardon my rant... you guys have been there, done that.

This is a day that redefines all other red-letter days. This morning, as I attempted to board the Churchgate Fast Local Train, I was forced to hang out of the train. The train travelled at a frenzied pace and the wind was in my hair. If any of this sounds pretty, it's the next best thing to crossing a Mumbai road blindfolded. How awfully lucky! People in Mumbai must be used to seeing their lives flash before them at such frightening moments. To me what was most frightening was the ease with which I hung on for dear life, it was as if I possessed a latent 'hang out of a train' talent. Ironically, these are the first signs of me finding a foothold in Mumbai. Until the next memorable moment...

Konkona Chandramouli?

Disclaimer: This is a vain-as-hell post. Read at your own risk!

"Madame, you know Konkona Sen?...You know, you look just like her!"

That was just a smooth talking linking rd. shop keeper trying to sell me another pair of shoes but that isn't the first time people have spoken of the similarity between me and Konkona Sen. I can never quite tell if I resemble a celebrity or anybody else for that matter but this is one association I'm quite proud of. The reason being, I respect Konkona Sen as a performer and I'm truly glad she hasn't succumbed to Bollywood's sleazy charms, just yet. She has chosen challenging roles and essayed them with fluid ease. She's proven that you don't have to be drop dead gorgeous to create a telling impact on your audience. You simply need to act. Something that most other Bollywood actresses have long forgotten. Keep it coming, Mrs.Iyer...In your honour, I bought the green pair too! :)