Down memory lane…

Of late, I have caught myself wandering down memory lane a bit more than is usual for me. The oddest things trigger the oddest memories…

• Waking up in the morning to the strains of Vishnu Sahasaranamam takes me back to what I call the golden age in my life… Kerala-Karnataka days. When mom had her way, it would be Kanda Sashti Kavacham, and when dad had his, it would be Vishnu… Combined with Lalitha and Mahishasura mardhini, it was the traditional way to start the day in a city which spoke no Tamizh, and we had no cable those days…

• Songs of the 70s and early 80s – Hindi and English… Dad’s albums of BoneyM and ABBA still are with me. I have Disco Dancer, Chaudhvi ka chaand, Hits of geeta dutt cassettes from an era before hindi compilations really were “in”. Pop songs of Alisha (Baby Doll) and Nazia Hassan (Disco deewane) from a time when pop in India was in its most nascent stage. It’s been 15 years since Dad was around. But his cassette collection – still intact!!!

• I passed through a church in Bangalore the other, and remembered that its been awhile since I set foot in one. Not counting my visit last year to Roslyn Chapel in Edinburgh. But that triggered more memories of Kollam. Morning mass at school was restricted to catholics, and I used to spend time after lunch there just sitting at the pews. Evenings to the Ganesha temple almost every other day. And never a moment of conflict. Never did mom ask me why I loved the church. Or why I read the bible cover to cover after I finished devouring C Rajagopalachari’s Mahabharat. I remember my term exams, which used to be 2 a day, 830-1130 and 130 to 430. I hated studying last minute and comparing notes, so I used to sit by the chapel side, watching the waves go up and down rhythmically before my first exam. And I got into the habit of spending one hour between two exams in the chapel. Silent. An achievement indeed, given my affinity for the spoken word

• I saw someone post a review of Mills and Boon by an author called Jessica Steele. And it kicked off a whole host of memories. This happened before I used to be a afficianado of this genre, and my sister used to read them all the time. I loved our public library in Kollam. Looking back, given it was a government one, I realize it must have been one-of-a-kind in its day, as it had a whole host of genres of books from M&Bs to Tamizh books by Sivasankari to Enid Blytons. I used to blindly pick up M&Bs for my sister from the racks. And I remember that I picked up the same book (I even remember its title – “No holds barred” by Jessica Steele) every alternate week for her till she blew up at me and told me to stop being so charitable!!!

• Went to landmark last week. And not the new ones, but the one on NH Road, the original store. What a visit. As I browsed through the aisles, a host of memories hit me. Of picking up archies and enid blytons. Of shopping in nearby FAMCO during my summer vacations before heading back to Kollam or Gulbarga. Of meeting my mom and uncle who would join us from their visit to the dentist…And the smell of books. Wow. I used to go shopping once a month in Kollam with Dad, to a shop called Caroline. The store was the only one which stocked Asterix/ Archies/ Tintin. And that monthly visit was a pilgrimage for dad and i. We would feel bereft if that didn’t happen.

• And finally, I saw a movie (albeit a lousy one) at Prarthna. A place we used to go when my aunt got her first car, a 800. My first ever theater movie was with my aunt and cousins in Albert. (Jackie Chan, Meals on wheels). My second was at Prarthna. I think it was Singaravelan, but I may be wrong. We used to literally picnic to prarthna with first cousins, to third cousins. From in-laws to best friends. From Beach chairs to Jamakalams. From home made curd rice, to prarthna fried rice… We saw movies from Singaravelan, Kalaignan, Ullathe allithaa, Baba, Alaipayuthe, Dum dum dum, Mahanadi, Duet and a zillion more…

Damn I miss those days.

Dasavatharam (Or) How i stroked my ego with a so-called magnum opus

In 1964, Stanley Kubrick made a movie, called "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb". Now i have never seen this movie, except for the scene where one of the characters rides a neuclear bomb. Which is probably the most famous scene in this movie.

Then Why do i remember this movie? Because i saw Kamalhaasan's latest movie. Which i believed should have been titled a-la-Kubrick as "Dasavatharam, or: How i stroked my ego with a so called magnum opus" or... "Dasavatharam or: Why the tsunami came, and why the heck cudnt it have carried away kamal with it"

Much has been written about this movie, by many a fan, and many a critic; All first hand comments i have heard have all been un-complementary (i shall refrain from using the word deregatory, lest i get sued for slander). I thought i'd post a review. But instead, i have decided to post it based on a series of comments i was sending to my friends and colleagues via sms which probably sums it up better. So here goes...

• Watching 10-avataram
• Avatar no 1 is too gory for words (the 12th century one)
• Konjam jaasti tamizh. enakku puriyala (ditto)
• Horrible start to dasavatharam - pakaadha
• Avatar no 1 drowns tied to a Vishnu statue in the despotic reign of some unheard of Chozha king who has a shivite fanaticism.
• Indha padathula avatar no two ships himself to India. As part of a courier package. How horrible
• Mallika doing a cabaret in las vegas for a tamil song. This is three much
• How many levels in the parking game on iphone did you complete
• Renegade CIA agent Kamal is now hunting for the biological weapon which scientist kamal couriered to some address along with mallika, who is a tamilian cia agent trained in Pakistan. Now they are going to Chidambaram to find the weapon where Asin, (the grand daughter of Old Woman Kamal ) is singing a Bhakti paadal
• Now Avatar no 5, named Avatar Singh (what an imagination) who is married to Jayapradha, and happens to be a Punjabi sing(h)er who sings in Tamil, is diagnosed with Throat cancer
• Movie sucks. The most scary avtar is the old woman. Incidentally, she is locking herself in a cupboard.
• If you still want to watch this movie, you are a glutton for punishment. U can watch in any language, its all the same
• Now RAW head Kamal is after the renegade CIA and scientist because the old woman Kamal threw the weapon into the Perumal ( Vishnu’s) statue (which was hollow – how I wonder)
• Now avtar no 9 (or is it 6) – social servant kamal is exposing the sand stealing mafia in the media (Live on tv). Incidentally, it is in this sand quarry where the perumal statue is buried by scientist Kamal and Asin to keep the biological weapon cool
• Now sardar kamal who has cancer if the nosebleed variety has decided to singh his swan song. But his medication ka dabba is switched. And with what? A lookalike dabba which contains the perumal statue.
• Somewhere in this mess, comes a tall Kamal, obviously uncomfortable on stilts… As a muslim pathan who talks Junoon Tamizh. Why he comes? I have no clue. Oh, yeah, there is KR Vijaya as his “Umma” and Nagesh somewhere in the frame.
• Now there is a face off on the shores of Some place. Supposedly Chidambaram or thereabouts. Looks like velankanni to me. I hope the two places are close by. Else its a boo-boo. There is CIA agent vs scientist. With the RAW fellow hovering on the top in a chopper.
• Now, Karate master kamal decides to avenge the death of his protégé who the renegade cia agent kamal killed, so there is a three-some. Yuck. Except its all three Kamal. Even more yuck
• Oh yeah somewhere in between, they remember that the weapon can be destroyed by NaCl. Loads of it. Tons of it. And President Bush is told about this. Bush (Kamal again) being who he is, and this is the most realistic portrayal, doesn’t understand NaCl, and asks if the weapon can be bombed with nuclear bombs instead
• Renegade CIA agent is almost routed by Karate Master. Decides to kill himself (Hara-kiri, except it’s the American version – “If I Die, the world dies” types). Swallows the weapon. Coughs blood, dissolves makeup. Dies a gruesome death, and infects the blood with the weapon.
• All desperate to see how the infection can stop.Enter the tsunami, which brings required salt. People die. Virus also dies.
• Hence tsunami had a purpose, and it also throws out the 12th century vishnu statue which was sunk in scene 1 of movie.... Proving what goes in comes out. Yuck
• Oh yeah, and the Singh Kamal, with throat cancer, is shot at some point by CIA Kamal. And miracle of miracles…what happens? Doctor says that the bullet cleanly did away with the cancerous tissue. Wow. Super. Reminds me of the Mithun (or Rajini) email forward.
• And Kamal (who cares which one) and Asin live happily ever after.

Long live tsunami. May you sweep Kamal away next time and spare me from similar horrors.

My bookshelf...

Talk of being an eclectic reader...i was looking up my bookshelf, and was pleasantly surprised at the range of books i saw in it... and this is just 2% of all books we own...

I decided to catalog my bookshelf as of 1st june 2008 for posterity...

1. Facts and fallacies - Readers digest
2. Falling for an older man - Trisha Alexander
3. The days are just packed - Calvin & Hobbes
4. Mysteries of the unexplained (Readers digest)
5. Classical greece - TimeLife
6. Strategy safari - Henry mintzberg
7. Marketing management - Kotler
8. First Break all the rules
9. Revolutionizing product development - Quantum leaps in speed, efficiency and quality
10. Edward de bono - how to have creative ideas
11. Supply chain management based on Sap systems
12. Hitchhikers guide to galaxy - douglas adams
13. Coming home by nora robers
14. Regency rakes - omnibus
15. Story of Philosophy - will durant
16. A thousand splendid suns
17. Freakonomics
18. People watching
19. The cowgirl and the unexpected wedding
20. Surely you're joking mr feynman
21. Secret code puzzles
22. Assorted romance novels
23. The orion mystery
24. Supply chain management - some vague book
25. Peter pan

Wow...im impressed with me.