The School re-union

Last Sunday was a big day for me. It was to be a school re-union day. After 6 years of separation, we were getting together again. The only difference was - we were no more the silly looking weirdos - we were engineers, doctors and scientists.

Almost everyone turned up. The most disheartening aspect was the fact that everyone had grown so tall. During my growing years, I was expected to grow beyond the coconut tree, but I ended up being just a 'bonsai' version of it. Faces hadn't changed much ... friends said I hadn't changed even one bit. That wasn't a compliment at all ... either they meant that I still look like an immature school kid or else they meant that I'm still the boy who doesn't know how to comb his hair.

We stormed the Pizza hut, all the 21 of them. The endless stories of school never seemed to end. The slow realisation of how amazing school life was began slowly sinking in into everybody. We camped at a friends' place, played games, had a whole lot of fun. Teachers were a favorite subject of our discussions. Some of them were so excited that they wanted such a get-together every month. That was hardly feasible. Perhaps once a year was more saner.

Crushes we had at school was the most discussed topic. It turned out that quite a number of them had a crush on a single girl, and all of them had turned up at the re-union. Well...I was one of them too !!

As the evening got darker, there was a rush to collect everyone's contact details. I'm a firm believer that the kind of friends you make during the 10 years of school can never be made at any other point of your life. College life is way too much fun, with all the freedom, but school life, inspite of the strict rules and regulations, is unarguably the golden moments of our life, that can never ever be replicated again. At the end of the day, everyone were looking at their school photos, faces with sprouting moustaches, uncombed hair, looking like clowns, yet loving every moment of it !!

Da Vinci de-coded

This one is for all those who have seen or read "The Da Vinci Code". I'm in a serious dilemma. I'm beginning to believe my dad is the member of a secret society - The Priory of Sion. I have reasons - in fact 5 of them.

1) The grills of our windows are diamond-shaped, signifying the union of the blade and chalice (the male and the female)

2) My dad attends some sort of meetings every month. He says it is a social welfare general body meeting, but I think otherwise

3) There are plenty of keys in our house, fallen all over the place, and I have no idea which locks they open. Perhaps, some secret lock hidden underground in an ancient church

4) My dad's cupboard is a mess, with loose sheets fallen all over. He refuses to clean them up, and he's angry when I misplace them. Perhaps they are records dating back to the birth of Jesus Christ

5) My dad always sets me on a treasure hunt whenever he loses his spectacles. Perhaps he wants me unclassify Da Vinci's code, and he's giving me the necessary training already.

And this is for all those of you who think I'm totally weird ... I just watched the movie yesterday, so I have begun looking at everyone as possible secret membes of the Priory of Sion. Are you a secret member too ??

My First Masala Dosa

I'm not a 'Masala Dosa' craver. I hate potatoes. I hate onions. I despise dosas. Most of my friends refuse to classify me as 'human'. I'm the guy who had dared to eat Pooris on my first visit to the 'Vidyarthi Bhavan' in Bangalore.

If you happen to visit my house, the moment you talk of Masala dosa, a distant rumble is heard. Electricity is generated. A face gets lit up like a 1000 watt bulb. I'm talking about my dad. To dad, 'Masala dosa' falls first, followed by Marilyn Monroe and Julia Roberts. I'm not going to say much. Hear my dad say, in his own words, an account of his "First Masala Dosa !!"

It was in 1958. I was studying in Government High School, Tiptur. The usual discussions with friends brought about the topic of 'Masala dosas'. "There are a few good hotels like Vidyarthi Bhavan, Madras Cafe, Gundappa's hotel around Tiptur" my friends were saying. It was then that someone explained about the 'Masala dosa' of Vidyarthi Bhavan (of Tiptur).

Even imagining about the dosa made me ecstatic. I decided that I will eat my first masala dosa, at any cost.

But I did not have the money for it. It costed 2 1/2 annas (15 paise). I borrowed it from five of my friends and went to Vidyarthi Bhavan at 3pm. I choose this time as the place would be less filled up, and that probably no one would notice me and go complain to my elder brother at Aralaguppe. I was cautious, and walked around the place 2-3 times thinking over and over whether I should go to the hotel or not, because I was scared to face my brothers' wrath later. I had 2 choices - do a sinful act by going to the hotel, or remain a good boy.

Finally, the thought of the Masala dosa made me walk into the hotel. I seated myself in the General hall (so that I could order more chutney without the owner noticing). Once I placed my order, the server shouted out aloud "Masale ondhu, ondhu Masale". I was thrilled. I felt like being a really rich person, with the server taking orders from me. The 'chui chui' sound I heard when the dosa was being poured over the kadai made my body to pump more adrenalin. I was sitting close to the kitchen, and imagined the dosa floating and coming to my table any moment now. The Masala Dosa finally came.

I experienced heaven !! I enjoyed every bit of it, and completely cleaned the plate, making it shiny new. I ordered chutney 3 times. If eating a masala dosa in a hotel was sin, I was prepared to do this sinful act several hundred times.

Till today, I remember the fragrance of the dosa I ate about 50 years back. This was 'My First Masala Dosa !!'

Yeah ... that's my dad. Its so wonderful that such small experiences are actually the ones that create great happiness for years and years. And by the way, I had to eat 'Masala Dosa' at Vidyarthi Bhavan. They had run out of Pooris. Many things in life happens for the first time, and sitting in a place which has been visited by some of the greatest people , the dosa tasted as good as always. But I still love seeing the radiance of my dad's face when he hears the words 'Masala Dosa' and the frustration he expresses on hearing the words 'Bread sandwich'. He thinks 'Bread' is only for sick people, and the not-so-sick-people are better off eating 'Masala dosas'. The next time dad's coming to your place ... you know what breakfast to prepare, right ???

Where do I belong ?

I got a sister-in-law last November. Until then it was just 4 of us - the cook, the boss, (you must be wondering whether my dad's the cook or the boss), the evil brother and me. Now I wondered where to fit in this extra attachment.

Huh !! By and by, I realised I was actually the extra attachment. C'mon ... its crystal clear. There are 2 families now - mom & dad; brother & sister-in-law. Where did I belong to ?

I too need someone to arrange my clothes as I finish having my bath, I too need someone to support me, no matter what I say, I too need someone who thinks I'm the most handsome guy in the whole world !! Heck I need a wife !! But that ain't happening for a long long time. Until then, I'm the back-seat passenger who can always be kicked out when the car gets full !!

But sister-in-laws are nice things. They become a kind of a sister to you. They are interested when I talk about Britney Spears' breaking marriage, unlike fathers and brothers (who seem to want to discuss only about why the stock markets are having a bad run). Sister-in-laws aren't as bad as you see in the mega-serials, they can be fun. They laugh at every joke you crack, they make you feel that you are the nicest person, they can even bring an end to elder brothers' domination. If my brother doesn't give me pocket money, he knows his wife is gonna get angry. So its truly a win-win situation. And sister-in-laws make the house noisier, and more beautiful. And by the way, I'm no extra attachment, there's one single family here, and I'm the most important member of the family now. Why ?? What the heck, I'm the only eligible bachelor at home ... ain't I important ?????

A war that can get funny !!

The next time my brother isn't giving me pocket - money, I'll head-butt him. Now that's a common phrase you are hearing nowadays. Verbal abuses in sports isn't a new thing. The abuses are sometimes hilarious, and when the victim retorts back, its even more hilarious. Here are a few examples:

• Aussie Merv Hughes to Englishman Robin Smith: "Does your husband play cricket as well?"
• In 1990, Javed Miandad called Merv Hughes a 'fat bus conductor'. Hughes dismissed Miandad shortly after and yelled out: "Tickets please!"
• Ravi Shastri and an Australian 12th man: Shastri hits out and looks for a single. The Aussie gets the ball and says, "If you leave the crease I'll break your %$#@! head". Says Shastri, "If you could bat as well as you talk, you wouldn't be the %$#@! 12th man!"
• Shane Warne to Daryll Cullinan: "I've been waiting two years to humiliate you again". Daryll: "Looks like you spent the time eating".
• Ian Botham had famously said of Pakistan: "It's the sort of country to send your mother-in-law to". The Pakistanis weren't amused, and when they beat England in the 1992 World cup final, Aamir Shohail told Botham, "Why don't you send your mother-in-law out to play. She can't do much worse"

But yes, it can get tasteless like the verbal duel between Glenn McGrath and Sarwan, or the one in the picture above !!

Salaam Bombay ?? Not anymore !!

The Mumbai blasts claimed hundreds of lives. And yet the brave Mumbai commuter shows resilience. He is back to work from the next day. The politicians speak out amidst thundering applauses about the 'never say die' attitude of Indians. No bombs exist that can scare us. We represent the true spirit of courage !! Really ??

Recently I happened to read an article in 'Vijaya Karnataka' written by a journalist - Pratap Simha. It talks about S.L. Bairappa's experiences during his visit to Israel. In Israel, Bairappa says, anybody, an engineer, doctor or whatever for that matter, has to undergo military training compulsorily and must pass in it.

About 2 weeks back, the Hamas extremists held hostage an Israeli soldier, and demanded for the release of a thousand extremists being held prisoners in Israel. And you know what Israel had to say about it ? They said "If you dare kill our soldier, we will kill your prime-minister". Israel is surrounded by muslim countries, and yet they stand out bravely, enough to put their enemies into hiding.

What happens when there is a hostage situation here, as in the IC 814 flight held at Afghanistan ? The news channels are able to shake governments, by showing images of people crying, shouting, and asking what action the Government is taking. Did anybody think of the number of lives lost just to catch hold of that one terrorist, who is now being allowed freely to zoom away in a brand new car.

True fire-power was shown by fighters like Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh. Being resilient in this case is not something to be proud of. It simply shows how thick-skinned we Indians are turning out into, how compromising on everything (including the lives of people) has become a part of our blood and how scared we are to stand up against our enemies. Prime-minister Manmohan Singh announces - "Such kind of bomb blasts cannot deter us". India's nuclear scientist Dr. Raja Ramanna says "Strength respects strength". Only when a brave man exhibits patience, it can be called as a virtue. Otherwise, it is simply cowardice, with a mask of 'patience'. As long as India is ruled by cowards, we perhaps have to learn to live with these bomb blasts, and perhaps be 'resilient' and go to work bravely the next day onwords.

Who says we haven't been following Mahatma Gandhi's principles ? If slapped on one cheek, we proudly show the other cheek. The only difference is ... its no more a matter of pride, its a matter of shame !!

Shaktimaan can beat Krrish !!

Wouldn't want to write a dramatic review ... I'll make it simple this time.

Positives - Special effects in Hindi movies meant no more than flashing coloured 40-watt bulbs, throwing dolls from 50th floor and trying to convince us that its the evil villian, or freezing the scene at mid-air. This movie gives a new dimension, something not seen in a Hindi movie, a super-hero that kids can adopt leaving behind the spiders and the bats.
Jumping over mountains, flying over buildings (Matrix style), running at supersonic speed - he derives his genes from a combination of Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and Neo Anderson (Matrix again). Surprisingly, it generally isn't too artificial, the movie isn't too slow, and the flow of the movie isn't too predictable as well. 'A different movie' in a true sense.

Negatives - C'mon its a Hindi movie !! Its gotta be a load of crap. The special effects ain't too artificial, but it ain't too original too. Fires look like desktop wallpapers !! The story takes peculiar turns, Priyanka Chopra is a boring complication, the script could have included atleast a simple Sardarji joke (even worst movies have jokes that actually make you laugh), songs are placed randomly, Hrithik looks ugly, almost the entire movie has been pinched off from 'Matrix' and 'Pay-check'.
This is of no use ... you know what ?? Take your kids to the movie ... I promise you they'll clap ... if you aren't too much into English cinema, go watch the movie ... you'll clap too ... otherwise don't go !! Rather watch Shaktimaan ...

Italian delight !!

What do I say ?? No Brazil, no Argentina, no Portugal, no Germany....and no France too. Italy hardly created a flutter...they played some good football...good defence strategy...and a competitive game. As for Zinedine ... dude ... why did you do that da ??? :)