*Shudder*

Read about this in TOI yesterday, and it sure shook me out of my sleepy state...despite repeatedly saying that nothing shocks me in this world anymore, this did. I mean just how crazy can we get?

Murder, he typed in chatroom

La Vie Est Belle!

28.05.2004 - Ha. I like this mode of blogging...short n sweet. Precise. Saves me time when I'm in a hurry,but the itch to blog must be taken care of. Blogging - another addiction.

Packed my second box of books yesterday. Still have to pack my painting paraphernelia, MA notes and clothes/jewellery/shoes. A day's work. Struggling to digest it!

Ecstatic - Rhapsodic - Delirious Delightment...

If I was happy in the morning, by night the happiness threatened to engulf all around me. Yeps I'm damn pleased with the way things are going - go ahead and read between the lines! :)

Happy as a Free Bird

I don't know if that analogy is right, but happy I am. Extremely so - not just content with the way things are going, but happy. the kind of happiness that makes your steps lighter, your smile brighter, makes you feel like sunshine has spread in every pore of your skin, every nook and corner of your body.

Spent a lazy afternoon at Amisha's doing the usual gossip-gyan routine that we women are experts at! Odd how despite our differences in opinions, ideas, lifestyles, we've stayed in touch and been friends since 5th grade!!! Amen to that and touchwood!!!

Clocked over an hour on the phone with Mr.Balani in the night - so despite the fact that he stood me up for a second time this week, I'm over the moon. (He was pardoned this time coz he was staying home with his dadi - even made Maggi for her!!So cute na? Another tick in his favour!)

OK enough...more when I sound more intelligent! ;-)

Notes From My Appointment Dairy

26.05.2004: Lunch with Kunal and his friend Arghya. Black lungi and yellow kurta - taxi or arty belle? Al fredo for pizza - yummy chicken pizza. Nice lazy afternoon. Very lazy.
Evening - lazier. Trip to Lo Price to purchase essentials needed in first few days in Pune, to be sent with Papa on his next factory-progress inspection trip.
Lots of TV...
Early Night - but one filled with dreams of all kinds...

27.05.2004: Lunch date with Amisha. Mayhaps something else in the eveg. What should I wear? Lets See...

Schindler's List

Saw Schindler's List yesterday - now for those of you who have not been subjected to this, I think it's a movie EVERYONE must watch - OK, every adult, coz bacchas shouldn't be made aware of the brutalities of life that early. Makes them lose their innocence and become these mini-adult horror thingies that I abhorr! You know the types that are 9 going on 19? Anyways I'm digressing...

So yeah Schindler's List(1993) - phenomenal movie. I just realised I've NEVER blogged about it. Horror of horrors! I've seen the movie atleast 5 times if not more - and it never fails to move me! The movie is based on the life of Oscar Schindler, a Czech Catholic who set out to make money by exploiting the Jews and ended up saving the lives of over 1100 Jews. But that's not all the movie is about, for Spielberg has used the platform to depict the horrors of the Holocaust, the brutality of the Nazis and the inhumanity of their actions against the community. It makes you realise what the hunger for power can do to a human mind. Last but not the least, the actors have done a wonderful job - be it Liam Neeson(Schindler), Ben Kingsley(his accountant Itzhak Stern), Ralph Fiennes(Nazi officer Amon Goethe) or one of the actors in the smaller roles - each one them has portrayed his/her part to perfection moving the audience to horror, pity, fear, hatred, disgust or anger by their mind-blowing and true-to-life performances!

Please go see it if you haven't already!

Erudite Ms Shrivastava

Cheeky, eh? Well ever since yesterday I've been my cheekiest best - happy and pretty much floating in 7th heaven or as close to it as it gets...

MA results were announced yesterday - the Class obtained was out by Friday evening, but I hadn't bothered to go find that out, since I was sure I'd get a First Class! Confidence bubbles over doesn't it? Anyways yesterday our marks were revealed to us - and I got 66% (528/800) aggregate for 2 years of the M.A (Eng Lit) programme. It seems I'm 4th (definitely in the top 5) so I'm generally going about telling people that I am! Got 72/100 in Postcolonial Lit (optional paper) so I'm even more proud of myself - considering that if I do decide to pursue a PhD, it would be in that field! Yeps its kinda tough to burst that bubble right now! LOL!!!

Plus I spent the evening with one of my favourite men - Amit! So yeah generally the happiness doubled because I had such a fabulous time!! I sooooooo adore that man!!! :)

OK I'm gonna stop now coz I'm gushing and I know it! ;-)

Blabbing Comme d'hab

Had a good weekend - met my college friends on Saturday (atleast those who weren't too busy) at Pizza hut. Caught up with news and spent a nice chilled out few hours with them...Kunu dropped by in the evening for a bit. After that it was time to go to my mausi's place for dinner. That wasn't too happening - BAD BAD Dhansaak made by her Parsi daughter-in-law, my cousin generally ended up annoying me big time with her highly unwanted advice on how I should conduct my social life...I was glad to get back home and sleep. Cracked a few sad jokes about how they must be glad to see the last of us, meaning much the inverse actually.

Shit am I bitchy or am I Bitchy? Just living upto my new MSN nickname actually - Sexy, Naughty Bitchy ME!!! ;-)

Met up some more cousins on Sunday morning. In the evening we went back to the Old Furniture Market and picked up a nice old writing desk for my room, plus a folding table and 2 chairs to go with it for our "sit-out"! Most nice...I'm most happy about our purchases!

And oh must blab on this - so for 2 days last week I was sporting a swollen cheekbone and split lower lip - most oft asked questions were - "Were you involved in a beer-bar brawl?" or "Since when did you start having a violent boyfriend?"

Real reason - I was playing with my dog and he bumped his thick boney skull into my face! Sheesh - what a glamourous reason for looking beat-up!

LOL! Ain't my life just one happening turn of events! Hehehehehehe....

"We Bid You Farewell and Hope You Fare Well..."

And so the process officially started today...what process? That of the farewell rendezvous that shall be lined up for the next 2 weeks or so. Today was Shashi aunty (our oldest neighbour - though she moved away from our building some 15 years back, she remains a close friend of my mother and dear friend to the family!)...had a fabulously sumptuous buffet lunch - I'm still full! ;-)

Feels odd though when people wanna meet you "One last time" and say stuff like "We are gonna miss you" or "It will be difficult adjusting - how will you manage?" And ofcourse lets not forget our Indian obssession with marriages - "Poor Geetanjali will have to adjust twice - now and then a few years later when she marries!" LOL - like I'm bothered about that right now!

Appu was here last night and we were up till 4 am talking, discussing everything under the sun - and it hit me how much I'll miss these sleep-overs and all that talking and soul-baring goes with it. We also got talking about the path our future is gonna take - our respective "love-lives", career confusions, families and how things have changed at both our places etc etc etc...Damn but I'm gonna miss her!!!!

Shopping, Chopping et al...

Yesterday I shopped literally till I dropped - or almost - by the time Madhavi and I caught the train back home, we were so exhausted our feet wouldn't have done much else than head home, to the shower and into bed! But what a day - both of us accomplished all that we had in mind! Got exactly what we wanted, plus some more! Good bargains, good stuff, no fights with irritating vendors, no bad moods - weather too wasn't bad. We walked the whole length of Colaba Causeway and back - picking up earrings, scarves & stoles. I picked up 4 pairs of earrings, 2 scarves/stoles and 1 bangle - all within Rs.250/- Now if that wasn't a good bargain I don't know what is! :)

Chopped my hair today - went for a trim. Stopped the coiffeur and thought for a bit. Then changed my instructions and asked her to cut off more than my mandatory 1 inch - so now instead of waist-length, it's now just half-way down my back. Won't seem drastic to most who are habituated to shorter hair and keep trying to convince me to throw caution to the winds and get my hair-style changed, cropped etc etc.
Amma nearly fainted!
And me?
I'm...
Kicked...
Feeling ridiculously light-headed (literally and metaphorically)...
Generally being vain and silly and playing with my hair...
Hell I have just one vanity! ;-)

Dhagala Lagli Kada, Pani Thim thim Padla...

Yeps it rained here this morning - buckets and buckets full of water - thunder and lightning. The works - good old Bombay ishtyle! Boy Oh Boy! Nothing like Bombay monsoons is there? Days and days of non-stop rains - gutters, roads, parks, housing complexes overflowing with water, high-tides, waves lashing at rocky sea-faces, grey skies, rays of sunshine struggling to break through that dense covering of clouds, new leaves sprouting everywhere, the delicious smell of bhutta, pakodas, bhajiyas, masala chai and coffee filtering through the air and mingling with that of wet clothes...the bed and a softly glowing lamp beckoning me to get lost in a nice thick novel, or burrow beneath a nice comfy razaai and slip into a dreamy and blissful oblivion! Ah... :)

Feeling quite nice right now (as is obvious by the text above!;-)) - but I do hope that this pre-monsoon shower doesn't wreak further havoc with the already crazy levels of humidity which have left everyone quite sticky and hot and grumpy with the weather! I'm quite looking forward to a few days of pleasant weather, cool breezes wafting through the terrace doors of our living room, walking down to the beach to enjoy the sunset and the salty, fishy breeze...

Planning to go Colaba causeway today with Maddy Mata and looking forward to picking up some good junk jewellery...and then there's more. Appu might come over for a sleep-over. Got lunch dates sprinkled over the next few days, got to plan a good-bye rendezvous with my college mates.

Yesterday we went to the Old Furniture Market to check out if they have any good deals happening. And boy oh boy do they have some really sexy furniture! Teak, rosewood, Mahogany - chest of drawers, writing desks, cupboards etc etc...all to kill for! Atleast worth paying for! Considering my room is gonna have that old world charm look, I'm generally pataoing Papa to pick up some stuff from there for his dear little sweet daughter! ;-)

What say am I not the sweetest thing around? Just the most adorable little babe - the goody-2-shoes angelic mademoiselle? ;-)

Bombay-Pune

Hot and Humid, sweltering, sweating, grimy, dirty, slums abound, trees don't, esacalting property prices, as does the population, not to mention the pollution - yet there's no other place like my good ol' Bombay. Not Mumbai, mind you - but Bombay - of Churchgate, Marine drive a.k.a Queen's Necklace, Cuffe Parade, Colaba Causeway, Gateway of India, Malabar Hill, Worli Sea-face, Bandra Bandstand, Hill road, Pali hill, Juhu, 7 Bungalows, Versova - hell even claustrophobic Lokhandwala, and the far-flung very Guju suburbs of Kandivili and Borivili, or the next-to-impossible-to-reach suburbs of Mira Road and beyond! No city in India can compete with the sheer energy, diversity and electric vibrance that drives this city - no city rocks like this city - no city is more happening...

But go I must, bid adieu to the land where I was born, the terrain where I have walked for over 22 years of my life. Move on to a new city, a new way of life, seek new horizons, learn new habits...

Just back from that city - Pune. Spent a long weekend with my cousins. That was fun. Chatting, getting pakaoed by my jijas, late nights, early mornings, one meal blending into the next, some booze - yeah it was definitely a cool weekend! Apart from that I discovered a few cool places in Pune (obviously near and around the much famed Koregaon Park of Pune), saw my cousin's flat where we will be staying till we find our own "home" and its ready for occupation. I'll FINALLY be getting my own room in Pune - that's one advantage of moving there. Already planning how I want it to look (ofcourse alot will be decided by my talented designer Kunal Shah) - been picking up stuff for the room for quite a while now, starting from Paris! :)

Another good thing about Pune is the weather - days weren't too bad, and evenings were most pleasant and breezy, thanks to the still vast open spaces. Most upcoming residential areas are away from the main city and are approached through villages and fields of cabbage, cauliflower, corn, sugarcane etc - that's gonna take some getting used to - as well as encountering herds of cows/buffaloes, sheep/goats crossing the tiny winding roads, the odd donkey standing in the middle of the road refusing to budge depite fervent furious honking by the much agitated drivers!

Oh yeah it's gonna be a completely different life altogether!

P.S My dear friend Kunal Shah a.k.a Kunu Baba just started blogging - I'm shamelessly promoting it!

Bonne Weekend Mes Amis

Going for a play today at Alliance Francaise - La Poutain Respecteuse (The Respectable Prostitute)by Jean Paul Sartre, the famous French Literary Critic, Philosopher, Dramatist and Novelist. It's being performed by the Manna Makers. I've seen their performances when they started off doing coffee-shop theatre, a unique concept in Mumbai. A friend was a part of the troupe, but he isn't performing this time, because of upcoming CA exams. That isn't the reason I'm going for the play - after La Nuit de Publivores, I'd decided to go for more AF programmes, so I'm just following through with that decision of mine!

Aur kya..oh yeah heading off to Pune tomm - Tripti didi & co, and Shubhra didi & co are there for holidays. Sandeep jijaji (my mostest favourite jija) got only a week off so one has lesser time to meet him. And since I MUST meet him - as everyone said when I called up, you've not called to talk to us, you've called to talk to Sandeep - I'm going a few days in advance, the rest of the family shall reach Pune for the weekend. Guess this is it then, till Monday...bonne weekend and au revoir!

Let 'em comments flow in my absence...;-)

Patati Patata

AF results are out! Yippeeeeee!!! And I can't resist announcing my marks out loud, bhopu that I am! ;-) Earned a neat little 16/20, which rounds upto 80%...so am I cool or am I cool? Actually not very, considering the highest is 19, and considering that I could have done better had I studied before my exam instead of taking off for a holiday as I did, but well we all know how allergic I am to studying feverishly for exams! So I'm content, comme d'hab!

Spent a lazy day yesterday after getting back from Appu's place...same so for today. My only activity centred around sleeping, sleeping and sleeping some more! Oh yeah I did hem the bottom of my new PJs - awful untidy hemming - who'd guess that my mom does such sexy hemming that it could pass off as embroidery, and that her embroidery is so delicate that people often mistake it as a painting on first sight! Sheesh Geetanjali, go find your chullu bhar pani and take a dupki!

Met Amit for a brain-chabaoing session - wonder why all the men I love are such experts at driving me up the wall! Must say something about my personality I guess - what say people?

Comments

Ok - I figured my Haloscan comments link looks kinda ugly with this new avataar my blog has, so I've gotten rid of it for now...But please do make full use of the new comments link, dear Blogger has provided us with! I want more comments people!!!

I shall try and see if I can just put that comments link somewhere, so that I still have my old comments to my previous blogs...lessee...

Exams, Rendezvous et al

Phew I'm finally done with the round of exams that I had to face - for now - post-October I shall be looking at a fresh set of exams! AF exam was OK...pas mal - comme d'hab, the comprehension orale was a bouncer and the epreuve orale depends whole and sole on what the Prof thought of my level. On the whole I'm content. Same goes for the DELF A3 exam that I appeared for yesterday afternoon. That was a bit boring, what with going there all alone on a Sunday anoon, sitting for an exam with just 4 other students...but yeah theek tha. Same comments as above! ;-)

What else? Met up with Tasu and Aranyak after my AF exam - went for a nice meal at Da Vinci. And after yesterday's exam I went over to Appu's place for the night - been ages since I'd gone over. Got a bit confused about roads etc...had a nice time, even though we were both rather tired and slept pretty early. Normally we would have been up till the wee hours of the morning just talking about everything under the sun! We did that this morning instead! LOL! Amit's in town again and comme d'hab turned my whole life upside-down. Incorrigible!

Bas I guess...

From Venice to Mumbai...

Back from my short little trip to the Land of the Deserts and the Hot winds...and despite that blistering heat I can say I had a great time! For one thing nothing beats Kunal ki khatirdari... secondly we went to some of the most idyllic places, which added to the charm of the trip.

Ahemdabad was awfully hot - the dry heat saps energy, so we didn't do much. Met Kunal's friend for dinner on Saturday and the next morning we visited the Stepwells of Adalaj. Stepwells are a very typical Indian feature and a unique contribution to architecture. the tradition of building these stepwells started with the Hindus in the harappan towns, but was developed later during the Muslim rule of India.

The step-wells of Gujarat consist of two parts: a vertical shaft from which water is drawn and the surrounding inclined subterranean passageways, chambers and steps which provide access to the well. The galleries and chambers surrounding these wells were often carved profusely with elaborate detail and became cool, quiet retreats during the hot summers. The stepwells of Adalaj, built by Queen Rudabai in 1499 AD is 12 miles north of Ahmedabad. As the long flight of steps descend, columns and connecting beams create open structures of increasing complexity - one finds intricate carvings and motifs of erotica, dancing maidens, musicians, animals and images of Shiva, stone elephants, horses and mythical animals along the columns, cornices, wall-niches and eaves....

We reached there very early - around 6.20 am, so it was quiet and peaceful and we could soak in the beauty and charm of the place. The palce has been maintained well, with surrounding lawns full of champa trees, dozens of squirrels scampering about, quite a few peacocks and peahens (which even spread out their beautiful feathers for us), Cuckoos and Mayenahs...definitely worth being dragged out of bed at 5.30 am on a holiday!



(I discovered this Weblog about the StepWells of Adalaj as I was trying to find some photographs to push that imagination along - check it out!)

The rest of sunday was spent with relatives, lounging about etc. We caught the bus to Udaipur at 8.30 pm - me wishing I'd insisted on an A/C bus despite Kunal's intolerance of airconditioning, which wreaks havoc on his asthma. It was hot and well the rowd wasn't exactly very "happening" - but as Kunu said there's a different fun in travelling this way. Sure, he's right - we reached Udaipur at 3.30 am! LOL! Got to our hotel, which is a charming haveli (Ganghaur Ghat Hotel)converted into a heritage hotel, and collapsed onto the bed. Daylight and the sights beckoned, so we didn't stay in too long. breakfast was on a charming roof-top restaurant that overlooked the City-palace & Lake palace (which I shall not deign to talk of, so disappointed was I by its appearance).

Kunu had to do case-study of Devigadh - its a fort that has been restored and converted into an exclusive hotel. Exclusive it was - and sinfully luxurious from its mulitple gate entrances, to its landscaping, to the suites done in marble and the best of materials available, each having its own theme, design and lay-out, from the restaurant overlooking the entire valley to the fancy bar....if i wanted to stay there before, when I'd just seen photographs, I'm quite hell-bent on making it there in this life. Preferably soon, while I'm still young - ofcourse if I could get to spend my honeymoon there - I could just agree to be my husband's humble slave for the rest of my life! LOL!! ;-) I must add that the tariff for the "BASIC" suite is 175 US$ - hits you doesn't it?







The rest of our time in Udaipur was spent exploring the labyrinth of streets lined with colourful bazaars - you can buy amazing leather-bound and cloth-bound albums, and diaries at pretty decent prices off the innumerable little shops that line the streets.

Visited the Bagor ki Haveli and explored the City Palace.

Ate at charming restaurants overlooking the city - the best was Ameth, which is situated by the lake shore and overlooks all the palaces of Udaipur. It's the most charming place to eat at night - one can watch as the moon rises over the city palace, soft glowing lights come on to wash the Palace in their warmth, eat on candle-lit tables under mango trees with quaint lanterns hanging off the branches, relax as the soft sounds of the lake wash over your senses - romantic isn't it? And imagine I'm smitten despite having been there in the blistering summer - Post October Udaipur would more than live upto its reputation of being the Venice of the East!

Only down-side of the whole trip was getting into clothes that felt like they were freshly ironed (including my undergarments) - horror of horrors - so terribly is the heat in gujurat and Rajasthan in summers. Take my advice - head there, but not this vacation, just wait for October! :)

Women's Suffrage

On Monday I voted for the first time - sadly no one interviewed me and asked me the favourite question of ALL news channels : "So how are you feeling right now?" ? "Aap abhi kya mahsoos kar rahe hain?Wahan ka 'mahol' kya hai?" LOL! - i was totally prepared to give a freaky answer like "Man this rocks - look I got free purple nail-polish! Dude nothin' beats this!" Wonder how those journos would react if they got some totally insane answers to their questions - ah anyways getting a wee bit serious...so this was the first time I voted. Got a voter's ID and all. Went to St.Louis with my folks to put in my vote - nopes I ain't telling you who I voted for - secret ballot remember? All I shall say is that I didn't vote for the jerk who's people called twice daily reminding us he's from the same "caste" as us and even cooking up some cock-n-bull story of how he's a great friend of Mr.Shrivastava!

After having voted we had gone to by Aaachar from this store near our place and considering that aachars don't interest me I got thinking - of the days when women didn't have the right to vote. They had to fight for that right, ofcourse, and many women were a part of the Women's Suffrage Movement. A "Declaration of Sentiments" was formulated in the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, followed by a difficult uphill struggle for all the rights due to women. The draft, among other things stated thus :

"Now, in view of this entire disenfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, -- in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States."

Women's Rights Conventions were held regularly from 1850 until the start of the Civil War. Eventually, winning the right to vote emerged as the central issue, since the vote would provide the means to achieve the other reforms. But the campaign for woman suffrage met such staunch opposition that it took 72 years for the women and their male supporters to be successful. The right to vote was finally won in America in 1920.

I found an extremely interesting article on the internet, written by one of the women who fought for the right to vote : Do You Know?--Voting facts about women (1918) - Carrie Chapman Catt

Another interesting read, for those who want to trace the Women's Movement : The Women's Rights Movement 1848 - 1998

Finished yet another play yesterday in the bus... Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink - had wanted to read it since last year when Dr.B lectured us on post-modern techniques...it had seemed interesting and it was! Oh yeah I got the green signal for the Udaipur trip from Ma - totally cool. I'm so incredibly glad my folks understand stuff and don't act like most others would at the very idea of a male-female friendship! Merci Bon Dieu - I truly realise the value of what I have!

I guess now I shall blog after getting back from Abad and Udaipur - Bon Voyage A Moi!

Back After Ages

Our computer was riddled with viruses and I couldn't use it much these past few days - it all started with the problem of pop-ups, that rapidly spiralled into a totally freaky problem with viruses, which led to us losing all our data on the computer. Bhaiyya finally fixed the problem - Merci Bon Dieu - certainly hope this doesn't recur!

I had gone to a cyber cafe once to check my email, but I hated the claustrophobic set-up with the tiny cubicles and the walls that seem to cave in on you, not to mention the AWFUL music...ran out of there as soon as possible! I must get used to cyber cafe's I guess...coz initially we might not have internet at home once we shift to pune...ah well as I say "jab hoyega tab dekhenge" ....

Hey NEWS NEWS!!! I was in the newspaper last week...not exactly headlines though! Indian express was doing a feature on blogs, so a friend who knows how much I blog told the journalist about me..and well I got interviewed and photographed (which was hilarious coz they actually took my photo in BCL, so that I look "literary and erudite" in the photo - total laugh riot!) ....anyway, the article was in last friday's Indian Express - the Mumbai supplement : New Kids on the Blog featuring 4 bloggers...incidentally all 4 have done MA (lit) from Mumbai Univ, the other 3 are my seniors! Small world isnt it?

The article isn't much but it sure earned me my 2 mins of fame...I was a bit peeved too, coz they've mixed up what I said about my 2 different blogs...but I guess for a Time-pass article like this, the journalists don't really bother with details!

On Friday I'd also gone partying - the Alliance Francaise soiree was at Rock Bottom this time - supposdely a very happening disco in town , but by what standards I have no freaking clue. The music was just about bearble initially - so I danced alot then...more coz of the adrenaline than the music believe me...but as the night wore on, the music steadily grew worse. So when somebody stamped on my much cursed toe, I decided it just ain't worth the pain - no more rocking! Yet, it was a fun night out - met some friends from previous batches...so all in all it was cool!

Apart from this I've been reading alot these days..after having finished Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy, I'd moved on to David Dividar's mammoth work so I took a break in between and read Ibsen's "A Dolls House", which broke through the conventional image of a sweet docile house-wife and August Strindberg's "Miss Julie".

What else? Lotsa thinking, fixing personal problems, sorting out my books, CDs, my junk from school days - discovered some treasures and some total junk which got tossed out. Made extensive lists of my books, in carbon copies and packed one box of books already - ones which I won't want to open while we are in the rented flat. Incidentally my list of books is over 130 and the list of CDs also reaches nearly 100 - that's just my stuff....am so incredibly kicked!!! :)

Am headed to Ahmedabad this Saturday and won't be back till the 5th, after which I have my AF exam on the 6th and the DELF A3 exam on the 9th, so I doubt my regularity in blogging for the next one week or so...actually the whole month - coz its gonna be quite crazy henceforth...anyways until next time :

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do - you'll stay outta trouble for sure!!" ;-)

Rocking Weekend

We went shopping this weekend - like big time. Hit Lifestyle on Saturday before going to meet some relatives, which reminds me, remember my cousin who lost my French book and had all my MA I books, which I was scared about? Well, madam has lost 1 of those as well - and then did this very elaborate "I never do this" tear-jerking scene to avoid having to hear anything from me...I am actually quite proud of how I maintained a tight leash on my temper - just told her that she's lost any trust I had in her and that she won't be laying a finger on my books ever again! Man I so completely abhorr this habit in people - koi sense of responsibility nahin hoti kya? Do-char assu tapkane se har galti maaf ho jati hai kya? Bechari kitna karti hai bol dene se galti bhooli nahi jati...and puhleese I didn't ask her to take on more than she can manage. If she can't manage 2 courses not my bloody problem!

Ugh..I'm digressing...deep breaths....yeah so shopping, nice nice shopping. On sunday we hit Westside - we'd gone to Oxford Bookstore first where I was rather appalled by the lack of books. Shelves were standing disconsolate and empty, devoid of the rich collection of books I go to Oxford for. Lunch was at Gaylords....most nice! (Specially the Peach Pie!) Then we went to the Westside at KalaGhoda - so not happening. It has like just 1/3 the stock that the Hughes Road branch has..I couldn't pick up a single thing. Bhaiyya was very amused...said I'm emotionally attached to the Westside at Hughes Road...but once we got there I proved my point. Not one of the tee-shirts I've picked up was there at KalaGhoda...LOL - Amma thinks I'll probably come from Pune to shop at the Hughes Road Westside if I'm not happy with the one on M.G Road! Hehehehe...remains to be seen, coz I truly love shopping at Westside....

Anyways after that we headed to the new Crossword at Kemps Corner - VERY NICE! It's spread on 2 storeys, and has a very impressive colelction of books. I'd already picked up 4 books from Oxford :
1. "The Dolls House" - Ibsen
2. "Miss Julie" - Strindberg
3. "Animal Farm" - Orwell
4. "An Introduction to Classics"

Despite this I couldn't resist picking up 2 leather-bound classics - "Jane Eyre "and "Don Quixote". There were so many more my fingers were lingering on, but I had to restrain myself, coz it would really be highly indulgent to buy more than 6 books in a day! As it is, 6 books is something!

I've finished reading "The Namesake" which I've blogged about on Literary Mosaic, and Arundhati Roy's "In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones" - its film script which got her a National Award. Fun reading, mainly for its use of language and style...quite rocking actually! Currently crawling through David Davidar's epic saga "The House of Blue Mangoes"....got quite a few books on my plate... :)

Current Frame Of Mind

Seething rage struggling to break thrugh the surface layers...tamping it down coz this time I'm shit-scared of the damage my angry words will wreck...ugh, why couldn't I be blessed with a calm, gentle soul? Sigh..ah well...forget it...

On the other hand I'm kinda content - my trip to Ahmedabad is happening. And if all works out fine, I might even go for a quick trip to Udaipur with Kunaal - and get to see Devigadh...yippeee! Looking forward to that break and getting rid of all these unpleasant emotions warring inside me, not to mention the confusion of the past few months...no therapy beats travel and being pampered by one of your closest friends! ;-)

Also glad that I'm got to see the movie I wanted to, and am going for a play tonight at Prithvi. The movie in question was "Meenakshi" by M.F.Hussain - wanted to see the movie mainly for its music and cinematography...and I wasn't disappointed. Though the movie has no plot to speak off (or if there was one I couldn't decipher it out!), its a treat for the senses....colours literally leap from the screen at you...be it the yellow of the lemons and the auto-rickshaws in Hyderabad, the saffron on the dresses or in the jalebis, the green of the grass, on the kites...its definitely the most aesthetically appealing movie I've seen off late! The way Santosh Sivan has captured Jaisalmer and Prague is simple unforgettable! I was saying before the movie that atleast I'll get to see Prague in a movie. I did, and it only served to whet my appetite for Prague! Went into a bit of nostalgia as well, seeing the railway station at Prague and those typical narrow cobbled pathways of European cities!!!

As for performances - Tabu never disappoints. Not to forget her sensuality - if she oozed sensuality in "Maqbool" , she's sensuality personified here...her dialogue, where she compares the earth which parches under the brutality of the sun, and the human body which gets wet with sweat, yet both of them are made of the same "mitti" is mindblowing sensual!!! Kunnal Kapoor? I have just one thing to say about him - He's HOT!!! He lierally sizzles on screen whether in his avataar of the poet composing poetry on rooftops and nooks and corners of Jaisalmer, or as the guy from the seamier side of Hyderabad!

All in all an extremely sensuously appealing movie!