The F word

pentagram

Pic courtesy: http://pentagram.in

The F word? I know we’re offended by it. Most of us, including me, dont use it on a regular basis. But making a big deal out of it at the end of a rock show is ridiculous. Wait, its more than that – its fucking ridiculous. Especially when that band was Pentagram, made famous by Vishal (of the Vishal-Shekhar duo who’s making sappy bollywood songs compared to this band’s music, I now realize)

I’m not a major Pentagram fan, I admit. Because I havent really listened to them much before. But I like music concerts even though to my sorrow, I live in a concert-starved place unlike some of you lucky people living in the metros.

So when a local college invites a prestigious national band to perform in their fest, I usually hunt down my friends working there and extort passes from them each year.

The show kicked off by Vishal saying:

I know you guys are respectable professors (crowd booing!) and shit but at a Pentagram show, no body sits down. (I cheered) So you have two choices, either you guys can – (quick rethink) – I humbly request you to please stand and join this party with us!

The concert was fun. The band mostly played their original compositions some of which I’d never heard before but it was tremendously interesting watching them perform. Vishal rocks! I think I love him.

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The Q & A tag

Here are the instructions:

USING ONLY ONE WORD! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to only use one word answers.

Unfortunately, here at Blah Unlimited I found it hard, no excruciatingly difficult, to give one word answers. Apologies to Shaliya who tagged me for not sticking to the rules.

1. Where is your cell phone?
      It is wherever it starts ringing from.
2. Your significant other?
     Is quite significant even though you dont read about him much here.
3. Your hair?
      Short and coloured and currently not obeying the rules of conditioning.
4. Your mother?
     A very sweet person, god bless her soul.
5. Your father?
      Like me, only was more gregarious and smarter.
6. Your favorite thing?
      Currently, playing travian online. My village needs to be catapulted for me to come back to real life.
7. Your dream last night?
     Cant remember.
8. Your favorite drink?
     Vodka and limca. Limca kicks Sprite’s a$$.
9. Your dream/goal?
     I told you I dont remember my dreams. Ditto for goals.
10. What room you are in?
       Room of Requirement. Everything I need is right here!
11. Your hobby?
      Blogging, movies, books, music, traveling.
12. Your fear?
      Dentists. If they ever declare bankruptcy, its because of people like me.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
       My 5 year plan (when I do have one) does not extend to 6 years. Duh!
14. Where were you last night?
       Am I a suspect?

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It aint no picnic

I’ve lost all enthusiasm about going for picnics. Today was the annual office picnic and although I have been attending these since I’ve joined, I gave this year a miss. Many people asked me why. I just didnt feel like going this year.

The funny thing is I always give this theory when people act pricey about attending social events especially when they’re expected to be present. The theory goes something like this:

There are some people (in this world) who will always say that they wont be going and the rest have to beg, plead, cajole and whine for them to finally consent. That is only if the following sentences are uttered – Come on, it will be no fun without you. Please come, it wont be the same. And so on and so forth.

Theory not applicable here, of course.

The definition of a picnic isnt a fun event for me anymore. I dont know what kind of picnics you guys go to but the ones I end up in usually involve a group of people playing cards from 10am till 5pm. Last year, the winner made about 4000 rupees by the end of the day. A worthy task indeed and much boasted about till this date. Another group of people will be dancing for approximately the same period of time, watched by The Audience who probably dont know how to play cards and dont know how to dance either, in my opinion.

And before anyone asks, I belong to the dancing category.

And there is one teetotaller who will be given the most important job of being the bartender. He will be immensely popular that day and will be everybody’s friend as long as the drinks keep coming. The moment the bar closes, he runs for his life and a commotion is guaranteed at the empty bar.

Happens every year.

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What does it take to be a Roadie?

You’ll probably have to be:

1. A loud, fight-loving vixen who would offer to thrash others in the very next minute. Should be able to gesture like mad, flailing arms and point fingers at the other person’s face continuously till her opponent walks off. Should latch on to one guy and make him a body guard of sorts.

2. Cute guy who should want to forever be at the vixen’s side. Should aim to mediate her fights with other girls and come between the two warring parties so that no one actually gets beaten up in the bargain. Naturally, this will cause the other girls to dislike him immensely and put him on the spot light whenever a particularly nasty task has to be performed. Ouch.

3. A rainbow coloured peacock with makeup to match. To be the group air head with vacant expression and blank smile. Should dress horrendously to suit weird personality. Will be one of the first people to be wanted to be voted out but will probably stay till the end because “she belongs to no one”.

4. Several bitchy girls whose main aim will be to gossip about the others, plot and scheme and basically act infuriatingly catty. Side with like-minded personalities and form groups among each other. Pick a couple of guys who’d probably like them but not so much that they’d sacrifice themselves for the girls in the end.

5. A real stupid guy who wears shoes that hasnt been released in India till now and whose accent goes awry after a couple of sentences. Should be able to embarass himself thoroughly on national television. And talk poor english such as I got 3 shots in the middle of my both legs. Maybe mistake Roadies for the grand circus, in all probability.

There are so many freaks and confused souls on MTV Roadies 6 this time that I’m beginning to wonder if this is really Roadies I’m watching. And since reality shows this time around means painful humiliation and absurd tasks, I for one am not missing even one episode.

With all the cat-fights, name-calling, abuse-flinging adventure ride in store, I would recommend you not to miss the show either. This time seems to be Hell Down Under indeed, much pun intended after the last task!

Why I liked Ghajini

ghajini

Before I watched the movie, I read a really scathing review in a friend’s blog. So I was all prepared to dislike the movie and start finding its faults before I had finished my popcorn. The only glaring one I unearthed was that Jiah Khan girl with her irritating demeanour and nosy ways. She should stick to doing item numbers and I agree with my friend completely when he said that someone should have killed her instead at the end of the movie!

So these are the reasons why I liked Ghajini, the movie:

  • I dont watch a lot of Bollywood movies but I dont remember a film ever before being named after the lead Villian! Now how often does that happen? Yes, people who havent watched the movie (if there are any), Ghajini is the nasty villian who hacks Aamir’s girlfriend to death. Its interesting because most Indian film makers tend to label their films with the hero’s names only. This was refreshingly different.
  • Aamir Khan looks good even at his age. Now for someone who’s scared of growing old and dreading turning 30, this guy is quite an inspiration. And of course, I dont need to tell you how good an actor he is and how much fans like the rest of us wait for his once-in-a-year movies.
  • The lead actress, Asin really holds her own against Aamir Khan. For a debut performance, she didnt let herself be overshadowed in the mighty performance of her co-star. In fact, by the intermission – I was feeling quite mutinous myself and understanding why Aamir would want his revenge for the murder of a life so vivacious.
  • You know how Bollywood movies are all so preachy and have this little moral at the end of it? Well, this one’s got one too and it is this – No good ever comes out of being helpful and kind in this world. After all the girl does get killed for doing the right thing. At least, the movie has an honest theme and is anything but preachy!
  • Mr Ghajini for inventing the golf swing as a new way to murder people. Also, he endeared himself (to me at least) for pronouncing ’short term memory loss’ as shot turm memry lass! He was the ultimate bad guy and I cringed inwardly whenever he yelled on screen.
  • The movie enthralled the audience, for sure. Three ladies sitting next to me oohed and aahed and cursed Aamir for leaving his cell phone in the car while his poor girlfriend is calling him for help. The whole audience gasped collectively when Aamir was being bludgeoned to near death. They all laughed out loud at the funny moments and drew sharp, breath intakes at the climax. And yes, the cinema hall was full even after two weeks of release.

Of course, there were certain pitfalls like songs popping in out of nowhere and how long the movie was and so on. But these were nothing compared to Aamir’s rippling muscles flexed while he was in the gym! Overall, a paisa wasool movie. Go watch it, if you havent already.

RIP Phuntsok

phuntsok

I wish I had known you better.

You will be missed.

I (heart) Bhutan

I had wanted to visit Bhutan for a long time and finally set off towards the Land of the Thunder Dragon this December 30th. The journey from Sikkim to the Bhutan border town of Phuntsholing takes about 7 hours by road. A long drive indeed and I believe I slept most of the way. So after traveling for what felt like eternity, we reached Phuntsholing at 3 pm. Now the difference between the two sides of the border is startling. Jaigaon, the last town of India is this bustling, clouds of dust-billowing-in-the-air, crowded place where cows rule. As you cross over to Bhutan (while the Bhutan police looks suspiciously at the back seat of your car – not their fault actually, cause we had piled our luggage in such a manner we appeared to be smuggling something across the border), you feel more clean and the slope uphill made me feel immediately at home.

chorten

Memorial Shrine, Thimpu

No major formality to enter the country, really; just drive through in your car and you’re in a foreign country! Easy as that. Once inside Bhutan, we hunted for a hotel to dump our baggage and in a hurry to eat, ended up choosing a not so great hotel although if we’d just circled the block, we’d have found much nicer hotels. I’d forgotten how it was to be a tourist.

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An award, an interview and a wedding

Two things happened to me today. First one – I became the runner up in the Avant Garde Bloggies award for two categories, About Me and Interesting Tag Post. Yay! Thanks to all my readers who voted for me as well as others who didnt vote for me but that didnt matter cause I got second place anyways.

Second one is that Ms Ghazala Khan of pakspectator printed my interview today. I first thought she made a mistake in asking me for an interview. Its only when she printed it, that I realized it was for real! My first interview. I tried to answer as best as I could without goofing around too much. Do take a look.

Oh yeah, and I attended a wedding in the evening today. Drank a glass of red wine after ages. Didnt know anyone else present except for the groom and maybe five other people there. Discovered the bride to be such a sweetheart even though it was the groom who was the friend and that I was meeting her for the first time. Witnessed a lot of noisy kids playing ball right outside on the balcony. Honestly, I was tempted to inform them that it was a wedding not a picnic (even though those kids probably knew more people than me)

And here comes the interesting part. Met my best friend’s ex boyfriend at the wedding. Didnt nearly recognize him cause the last time I saw him, he had these strange dreadlocks where his hair was supposed to be and more importantly, he didnt seem to recognize me then. The moment I saw him today, I was determined to pretend not to recognize him and give him one of my famous cold shoulders (you should try it sometimes) The plan completely backfired when he waved at me first and gave me a smile which made me nod back at him in return and acknowledge his presence there, damn it!

Just got back home and am in the process of calling up my best friend and telling her all about her ex and how he was sitting there with a girl; I’m pretty much sure I saw one.

I think I’ve finally begun to appreciate the art of gossiping.

Social

I may not be social in real life but I sure hope to be online:

http://ringchen.com/social

Dont know, dont care

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I hate family gatherings. The last time I was in the midst of one, at least six people commented on the way I looked, talked or even breathed for all I knew. They had a gala time being boisterous and smart mouthing about most things which they’d never be able to say out loud in the real world, at least thats what I inferred.

Almost every person beckoned me over and asked – Did you recognize me? Heck, I dont even recognize the same person I met six months back and we’re talking about years and years of reunion here. The only option was to bare my teeth and nod furiously saying – Of course I do! How can I forget.

For instance, I was summoned by someone who’s my great aunt, when in truth I couldnt tell the nature of our relationship to save my life. I walked up to her and a couple of her friends sitting inside, assumed what I felt was a respectable position and then started getting grilled about my life since I was born to 30 years hence.

Then suddenly, this lady at her right snorts out of the blue – Hah, now she doesnt recognize me! Do you know who I am? DO YOU!?!

I assured her that I didnt.

(I didnt want to start knowing her anyway since she seemed to get real angry by this point)

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