In love we believe...

Watched Patch Adams last night. Out of everything else that I loved, the thing that stayed with me most was an expression of love, done in the most 'lovely' manner.

It's a poem by Pablo Neruda and it goes as below...

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz

or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:

I love you as certain dark things are loved,

secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries

hidden within itself the light of those flowers,

and thanks to your love, darkly in my body

lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you simply, without problems or pride:

I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,

so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,

so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Since I am a sucker for mushy romantic nothings, it made me shed a few silent tears but am not kidding when I say that you will cry too when you watch the movie. Specially the end.

To choose between....

...."a tower" and a "workaholic"!!

Now that is what two of my friends and blog mates seem to tag me!! Thank you Aishwarya and Tanu for including me in the treasured list.

And if I were to choose between the two, I think it would be a rather difficult job. While I will shout to the world that I am not a workaholic, I secretly know the truth and lying to myself is an art I still haven't mastered. So, I bow in thy honor, Tanu.

As for the Tower, like I told Aish, an adjective wouldn't hurt. (For the uninitiated, this has much to do with the 'demographics' in my case and is not intentionally metaphorical). But I love it since I made the cut out of the millions she knows from this world and outer space. So, thank u..muah!!

So, out of a list of Miss Smarty Pants, Goody Two Shoes, Shopaholics and much more, I guess I am the 'Towering Workaholic'!! Not bad.

In case any of you has any more adjectives or tags that you want to attach with my name, feel free!! We live in a democracy, after all.

(BTW, I know Mansukh has certain fondness for 'Tyrant' when it comes to me ;))

Thank you guys, once more

It's you who sets me free

I often ask myself
Who is it that I really am
The face that stares back
Is familiar, but is it really me

I often ask myself
If I really know
Who is it that hides beneath
Who is it that scrapes the surface sometimes

I often ask myself
And then I hear
A faint, very faint voice
That says “You are me”

I often ask myself
What that means
Who could it be
Who dwells within me

I often ask myself
If I heard that before
If I know the face that smiles
Back every time I peep

And then I hear it again
That voice
That look
That says “Here I am”

“Look no further
For it’s me
Look at me
Just look at me”

I turn back to see
It’s you
You, who have been within
You, who have always given

You are what makes me who I am
You are what tells me it’s not a sham
You are what makes me smile at the thought of love
You are what tells me it’s not just a thought

And then I know
Just like that
It’s you
It’s always been

From deep within, you have held me
Close so that I don’t fall apart
From deep within myself
You have given me what I could never ask

I look back at myself
To see that glint in ‘your’ eye
That tells me it’s you
Telling me you knew

I talk again
And I hear
That faint whisper that says
Nothing but echoes what I want to hear

You are me
I am you
I am who
You always knew

You knew when I didn’t
You knew what it meant
Love was never easy
But you made it

With you within
I know why they say
It’s not everyday
You find someone

Who knows you as you are
As you would want to be
Who knows when you smile
And why you cry

And now with every smile
I know it’s you
That makes me shed that tear
To tell me to value a smile

And with every sob
I know it’s you
Telling me not to forget
What pain can do

With every tear and every smile
I know it’s you
And without that
I don’t know what I would do

I am thankful
To every look and
And every echo that says
“You are me”

The fear of Valentines

Strolling into Costa Coffee, I came across a horrific sight. A heart shaped pink cheese cake!!!
And then I saw that the 'season of love' had claimed three victims right there, right then. Just like that. Like a secret wand came out and filled the air with love (which is blind obviously) and made these people leave whatever meaningful work they were doing and order that cake!! Just like that.

I am certain it is the grey hear too many on my head that got this reaction from me (quite similar to what my mother would react like when we went shopping a couple of years back, shucks it was decades). Or may be not!!

I am just sick of seeing people going the overtly commercial way to celebrate love. And mind you, I am not a cynic. I mean even logically speaking, would you really want to tear into someone's heart of all things!! Not me. Whatever happened to the simple 'I love you' or those silly nothings like burning a CD of their favorite songs, making a presenttaion or a video with yoir pics or even the staid chocolates and perfumes routine!! Or am I just too old as these are dated. I am still in love with the idea of being in love. And meaning it too.

I would still vouch for these. So, while I wait for that someone to sweep me off my feet, I wouldn't mind some luxury chocolates delivered by a 'singing clown'!!

Mansukh Mann, got you some business!!

Anyway, happy valentines to all (this generation I tell you...whatever look)

Weepy Wednesday

It's something about the middle of the week. the once favorite day has invariably become a drag. From wow to weepy...quite a transition, I say!!

So after working endlessly on a submission (yes, the same one as yesterday) I am literally dead. And as I dig into the thought of something to divert my mind, right on my laptop screen pops up an image of yummmmy chocolate. And then...anyone who knows me knws about 'the pwer of chocolate'. So automatically, it qualifies for the picture of the day.
Not again the best picture but it did wonders for me. So, here goes,

Deeper and deeper I sink
Into the mystery of those eyes
Not for what you said
It is a mystery
Ah a mystery to me
A mystery I like
Deeper and deeper I sink
Into the mystery of those eyes

Picture of the Day

Sitting in my office today working on a rather boring submission, i thought that I should add a little colour to my blog. And what better way than some pictures.

So, going forward every day, I shall have a 'picture of the day' post..pick up random pictures and then jot down the first thoughts that come to my mind. No reason why. Just to break the monotony.And the best the very tired and overworked brain of mine could come up with at this time.

So here goes, today's 'pick':

The mask behind which we hide.
I wear this so that you know not who I am.
I am scared. I am scarred.
I smile to you while I cry inside.

...end of a long day at work. Time to go home. Good Night.

Photograph courtesy - Source: www.kodak.com, Photographer: Stefan Nielsen

Celebrity Collage...

..on a not so free Tuesday evening sweeping aside the piles of work, I decided to test a link that showed me pictures of celebrities who looked like me.
What you see in the post below is a result of that endeavor...

I am just thinking..I am secretly quite happy with what I see here. So, I am convinced I don't need nose jobs or chin jobs or cheek jobs or anything is is Miss Alba looks like me ;p

PS: when I did the same 'experiment' with two different pictures, the results were startlingly different. One of them even said I looked like Serena Williams!! (I am not quite amused you see).

Needless to say, I chose to put up the best collage :)

But then, that's human nature. After all, we are like this only...

More experiments with other pics to follow soon..so watch this space at your own risk!!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Oye Lucky, By Chance

The cynics might kill me for the proclamation but I do think that Indian cinema has finally come of age!! And this I am not saying because I had a dream wherein the Gods of cinema came avisiting and threatened me with my life if I didn't say this. I am saying this because the last few movies that I have seen, some of those have been really good. On one hand we had Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye and now we have Luck by Chance (yeah yeah we also had Rab Ne...and I loved it...but still..). Movies that are redefining the stretch of Indian movie makers. Movies that are gripping and are actually making it seem more like an editors' and the directors' world than the six pack actors or the petite actresses. Okay, if not so drastic, atleast a world where they can co-exist!! So, we have the little known Neeraj Pandey as the star of the Screen Award and not the smashing Hrithik Roshan or the homely Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Quite a change, wouldn't you agree?

Anyhow, coming to the point that actually led me to make this one. I saw Luck By Chance over the weekend. And oh-my-God!!! What a movie. It was great and I think, as far as I'm concerned, it puts Farhan Akhtar leagues ahead of the other actors (barring Shah Rukh ofcourse :D) . That guy talks through his eyes...no over the top dialogues, no rona dhona, no slapstick. He is the actual 'hero' of a modern thinking woman!! And Konkona, as always is a treat to watch. Again, no rona dhona, no skimpy outfits shouting look-at-me. Just restrained performances through and through!!

The movie on the whole was a great treat. Everyone from 'rolly' polly Rishi Kapoor to the cool, breezy and 'minty' Juhi Chawla to the sexy siren like Dimple Kapadia and the dancing diva Isha, everyone captures your attention when in the frame. Even the loud Rishi Kapoor character does not look tacky. It seems so-made-for-the-character.

Some scenes (and characters) that really stood out for me are below:

• The car scene with Hrithik Roshan. It beautifully highlights the starkness of the two worlds and the bleak attempt of the star within to remain in touch with the outside world. Beautiful. Oscar winning, no less :)
• The scene with KK and Farhan on the terrace. The effortlessness of the relationship between the two. It is so beautiful, simple and yet true. It might not give the less romantic their share of goose pimples but it's beautiful in it's own sense.
• Rishi Kapoor is lovable as the santa claus like producer who sheds some very believable tears when the 'new-generation' makes him run around for elusive dates. Uncle Rishi is back to his Bobby days!
• Dimple aunty is her magnificent self. She looks like a wretchedly beautiful evil mother of a Bollywood wannabe. And as Rishi Kapoor sums it aptly, "Crocodile in chiffon sari"...that by the way is my favorite line in the movie
• The scene where Farhan cries after a fight with his friend. Man, what a relief!! Real men do cry. I most definitely intend to use this scene for future reference ;p
• Farhan has so truly proved he is the 'thinking woman's actor'. He is not only their actor but their newest crush and the rising star...no beefcake looks, no stupid cheeky smiles, no greek God looks that put him in another world. Nothing else but the achievable smartness of the guy next door. That's Farhan for you. (If I were filling slam books today, he would all over them...hehe)
• Isha Sharwani - now that woman dances like a dream. I am one of the few fortunate ones to have seen her dance in real life but in the movie, she is the effortless diva...atleast when it comes to her dancing. And she looks like a 'rose' in that romantic ballad...actually wait..she is supposed to be one there....true!
• The scene with Dimple, Isha and Farhan at the breakfast table where Isha is at the receiving end for having 'puffy eyes' after her nightly encounter (secret rendezvous) with Farhan..and he quietly pulls up his shades. That is the new age Indian comedy and we don't need Govinda for screen space here.
• The look on Hrithik's face at Kareena's party when he sees the rising star hogging the limelight. That apparent insecurity. The lurking fear. Beautiful. I'm just surprised he doesn't do more films. With those eyes, who needs him to talk??
• The scene where Konkana wins the refrigerator after the slogan that Farhan wrote for her. And it's empty while she stares into it. So meaningful. It just doesn't get better.
• Shah Rukh Khan..who needs an explanation here. In the one scene that he is there..he does a good job. Ok, i am partial but so what!!
• 'You live in a cake'. I think the second most favorite line in the movie. Quite my style of humor..no silly jokes, no loud masala explanations.

And I think the best part of the movie is that it is as much Konkana's as Farhan's. No special sisterly love for the brother. It's balanced treatment is what sets it apart. Actually, I do secretly think, Konkana got the better part of the deal. But who's complaining??!!!

I am not!!