The Rains are here !!

Well, it just rained .. not a small gentle drizzle .. but a proper downpour ... with its fair share of thunder and lightning...

Oh well, call it the pre-monsoon showers or whatever .... as far as I'm concerned, just the aroma of wet mud is a real killer ... mmmmm ....

Anyway, the first rains had their first casualty.

The gusty winds just ripped off the print from a hoarding right outside my window !

I tried to capture the moment - just managed to grab a few seconds .. its uploaded here:
http://www.youtube.com/v/sotO2N-b0e4

PS. Please forgive the (very, very bad) amateurish video grab.... this is my first attempt!

Miss Universe 2007 ...

Ok, so chinks are in (my apologies to those who are offended - but this is MY blog, so there !)

I couldn't believe it, when Miss Japan won.

I expected Miss USA to get into the Top Five on account of her splendid come"back" performance after falling ...

I also didn't expect Miss India in the Top Five - she looked like she was suffering from a major Shilpa Shetty hang-up .

I also expected Home Queen Miss Mexico in the Final Ten ....

But what's it with the chinks .. Miss Korea, Miss Thailand, Miss Japan ...

I'm surprised Miss Vietnam didn't get shortlisted (or is Uncle Sam still smarting ...)

Then I realised that a majority of the Judges were also of the same "genre" .. so no surprises there !

Well now the American Fashion companies will make a good amount of money in the Far East.

This is all BIG BUSINESS .. The Fashion companies (incl Cosmetics, Accessories, etc.) give an "ego-boost" to certain countries and have all of the country going crazy buying stuff .. and then they move to another country/region.

It first started with the Latinos - Brazil, Venezuela, etc. .. then it moved to India .. and now its the Far-East ... so no reason for us desis to feel lousy .. it just business ....!

Cheeni Kum - Movie Jyada !

Saw Cheeni Kum last night (theatre, of course!) with my family.

Hat's off Mr. Balkrishnan! Incidentally, he's the creative director at Lowe..

Great movie, brilliantly written characters (wonderfully played by Amitabh, Tabu, Paresh Rawal and Zohra Sehgal .... and the little girl).

What I really liked about the movie (apart from zero songs) is that it is a love-story about two mature individuals sans all the pretensions of a hindi-movie typecast love struck romantic.

It is not just "infatuation" - but the "coming of age" of Amitabh as a man-in-love (when he says .. main ab jawan ho gaya hoon .. to Paresh Rawal) .

Tabu's role is underplayed .. she seems to have great depth .. and her tongue-in-cheek humour was done very well...

There were many high-points .. the "colgate" guy .. the british waiter's pronounciation trouble .. Zohra Sehgal's obsession with gym/hunks .. Paresh Rawal's cricket/Gandhi mania ...

Overall, it was a wonderfully enjoyable evening - I was a little apprehensive about seeing the movie with my kids .. but was surprised at the way they understood and enjoyed the film .. a mark of a great story-teller .. to tell the story in such a way that needs no further interpretation.

"Paisa vasool" .. to sound cliched !

PS. If I had to name just one part that I would've liked to change .. it would be Amitabh crying bitterly saying "I want sexxxyyy.." .. somehow I felt it didn't go well with the character... just for the use of the word "sexy" ..and what it connotes (spelling?) nowadays .. that's all .. for no other reason ..

When you lose .. blame someone else ;)

That seems to be the motto of our politicos.

First Rahul Gandhi blamed the party (for the debacle in UP) and now Narayan Rane blames the leadership (for losing one seat in the Ramtek Lok Sabha by-polls).

I would be surprised if any of the politicians really figure out why they lost!

http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=663c4f04-3d3d-4420-8608-35cf9a546cb1&&Headline=Loss+due+to+sabotage+by+party+leaders%3a+Rane

Great article ...

I read this fantastic piece written by Amit Verma in the MINT (great paper, too) entitled "God sends his resignation."

Great take on the situation prevailing across the world .. things done in the name of religion ..

I will NOT reproduce the article here but here's the link:
http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/23233352/God-sends-his-resignation.html

Loved God's sign off...

Thanks, Amit (wherever you are !)

Future Shock !

Naah .. its got nothing to do with electricity !!

Am three-quarters of the way reading this book (by Alvin Toffler) ... and am wondering why I never read it in College.. Hmm ...

Anyway, suddenly there's a method to all the madness .. Ha !

I think this should be made compulsory reading in the final year of any kind of graduation.

There's still time guys .. go get a copy ... and proactively handle "Future Shock" ...

New blogspot for bijlee issues ..

Yes, you read that right ..

There is a new blogspot for bijlee (electricity) issues here at http://bijleepower.blogspot.com

It was actually getting a bit much to have just the bijlee posts at my personal blog, so ...

The ranting will still continue .. but its just that it will be a lot more informal here .. than on the bijleepower site ;)