Secret Window

After having enjoyed "The Shining" - the Arien decided to download more movies of the same genre. While I am usually all enthued 'bout thriller movies, this time I was somehow not too enthued 'bout catching it ASAP. In fact, I put it off for almost a month and then suddenly last weekend when we were relaxing at home, I finally decided to watch "Secret Window". *No Spoilers *!!

The story begins very simply at the lakeside cabin of a famous writer. The writer is battling with writer's block and is also in the midst of a divorce. The house is in a mess and looks as if the writer, Mort, has totally let himself go. The man himself looks quite a mess - his hair is uncombed, he is wearing a striped robe which probably belonged to his ex-wife - which has a tear on one shoulder and he is constantly sleeping on the couch. You feel the utmost sympathy for him.

Into this lazy surroundings comes the villain in the form of John Shooter. Mort is dozing away yet again when he has a nightmare of turning over on his couch and almost falling into an abyss. He wakes up to find that he is on the floor and some one is knocking on the door. He opens it to meet John Shooter who accuses Mort of stealing his story and gives him a sheaf of papers (not bound) and asks him to read it. Mort is convinced that the old man must be mad and throws the papers into the dustbin. A few hours later, after one more small nap, Mort finds the sheaf of papers on his desk. The mystery is solved when Mort sees his housekeeper cleaning the house. Mort decides to check the veracity of the claim and reads the first few lines and is aghast to find that most of the information is almost identical except that the style of writing varies slightly. Shooter starts arriving at his cabin at all odd times and threatens him. Shooter tells Mort that he wants him to print a retraction and change the ending of the story. Mort is horrified at the thought of all that bad publicity.

During one of their conversations, Shooter states that his story was written in the year X and Mort instantly realizes that his story was published almost two years earlier in a magazine. In his enthusiasm, he blurts out that he still has a copy in his home as he now feels the weight of the bad publicity lifting. He is absolutely unaware of Shooter's plan. When Mort returns to his cabin - he notices that Shooter has killed his dog. Shooter asks him to get a copy of the magazine and he will leave him. Mort visits the local sherif and hires a private investigator.

Mort decides to visit his home (now the home of his ex-wife and her boy friend) to get his copy of the magazine that first published his short story. After seeing his ex-wife with her boy friend, Mort feels distraught and returns to his lakeside cottage. Meanwhile, Shooter burns down the house. Mort suspects that Shooter does not want him to find the magazine. Soon, the private investigator and the only person who saw Shooter, are found dead in his SUV.

If you liked The Shining - you will totally lowe this movie. The part of Mort is played by Johnny Depp who you will agree was perfect for the part. The tension builds n builds and then suddenly explodes. This is not for the folks who enjoy the college gal in a shower + some vague killer wearing a mask + hazzar murders + sequel after sequel, kinda stuff.

Tea @ Infinitea

After returning frm a rain-soaked pilgrimage, I was looking forward to a lazy day - we were eating at the senior Arien's house - Yippee!! No cooking for me. The cook had prepared the south Indian version of the chinese fried rice alongwith a side-dish of paneer butter masala - that left a lot to be desired. The combo was the least of our concerns because the rice was so overcooked - it tasted and looked very much like pongal. Plus, it had a lot of partially cooked veggies - the cabbage was almost raw and peas was uncooked. Assuming we let all tht go - the salt was fit for a bp patient. I mean it was cmpltly tasteless : I almost regretted my earlier Yipppeee!! :( I was actually suprised that the Arien had not made any comment. I suggested going out and having a good Chai and snack which was vetoed by the senior Arien and the Taurean. While the senior Arien was keen on catching up on his sleep, the Taurean wanted to catch up on his speech. That left the two of us for the snack.

After indulging in sm arbid shopping for the Arien - I decided it was tm to have tht really nice hot cuppa Chai. I was in no mood to go home and make two hot cups and so we tried to cm up with options. The Arien not wanting to drive too far frm home - opted for Shanthi Saagar. My glare was sufficient to stop him from coming up with a list of similar such options wen I got my first brite idea of the day. Infinitea. I was all for the totally chilled out experience while the Arien came up with his standard rejections "Too far - Too expensive - Too late" and a new one "No coffee". But, for once my mind was totally made up and so on sunday evening arnd 7 pm - we made our entry into Infinitea.

We opted for steamed momos, and a pot of masala chai as the Arien was not in a mood to experiment (Alas, on our drive to Infinitea, I had mentioned Progrm's Green Tea scene). While we were still wondering 'bout wht we shd add - I came up with the Tiramisu. The Arien read it and had the best candid camera expression on his face :D He managed "Ladies fingers? Do you really want tht??" with a very audible gulp. I told him I was very clear and the first dish tht arrived was the Tiramisu which was promptly gulped down by the Arien amidst "Hmm.. Nice.. Hmm... Good.. Hmm.. do you want some???" before I cud say "Tiramisu". Well Well Well...

Momos were not so great but the spicy chutney tht accompanied it - sure was. Chai was so-so. I have had better @ Infinitea. We spent a while staring at the pictures on the wall - commenting on the statements made on the paper coaster - observed a college-going couple feeding each other, in one corner... Next to us, were a bunch of four guys chattering nineteen to a dozen who had finished their eats at least half an hour before we did. Somewhere in the midst of all the staring the Arien noticed that we had not yet recd the bill. Well, thts one of the nicest things.... I mean, in most places, the bill is placed alongwith the final dish and a waiter (im) patiently waits for you to pay. It was a very nice experience tht we cud jes continue to sit and chat :) While I have been here b4, it was the first time with the Arien and he enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

Adai - a South Indian Delicacy

After almost two years of not having had Adai, I visited Annapoorani near Cambridge Layout and gorged on one while the Arien declined to take a bite, adding "Its too thick and looks burnt - you go ahead!" While hogging on my Adai, I tried to convince him that not all Adais were thick ... or burnt ... I mean, my adai is not burnt... Grrr...So like him to make a comment tht infuriated me while he continued to eat his Ven Pongal nonchalantly. Ufff!!! Well, I cud have been talking to the Adai for all the attention he gave me!!

For the uninitated folks, Adai is actually a rich relation of our traditional dosai. It is rich in protien, plump but not obese, drinks like nobody's business, and is usually accompanied by avial, chutney, or molaga pudi. Sambrr, as Northies call our Saaambhaar, should ideally not be allowed to accompany Adai because familiarity breeds contempt.

Naturally, I cud not or rather wud not let the issue remain unsettled for looong and so I got Adai Maavu (batter) so I could make Adai for the Arien. The Arien was adamant tht he wud not like Adai and I was insistent tht he cud not make the decision without trying it.

It was almost as if tht statement was sm kinda time machine dialogue which sent me back to the tm when I was cranky kid. I was suddenly part of those old flashback moments used by black and white movies to indicate that we are back in the past! You know the one tht has this doin doin doin circle that meant tht time itself was going backwards.... I was wearing a beautiful pattu pavadai chattai with flowers clipped on my short hair using a hair clip, a beeg boil on my nose, tears in my eyes, while my mom glared at me. The waiter had happily served Thair pachiddi on my Yelai while I was busy making plans with my older cousin 'bout how we cud play in the Oonjhal (Swing) before the Mappilai and Ponnu (Groom and Bride) sat on it. I did not like the look of the dish - I wanted it removed - or I wanted a new Yelai - none of which was likely to happen. Mom came closer and said in her no-nonsense firm tone "Do not make the decision without trying it." Tht was one of the most hated dialogues of my childhood especially 'cos I was a fussy eater. Me saying exactly the same thing to smne else was actually scary!! I tasted a teeny bit and gagged or rather did a decent job of pretending - mom was ready to thulp me for the natak but grandma came to my rescue and tht was the end of the lesson.... Hmm.. Hmmm...

Anyway, back to the future, the Adai was looking golden brown and so I quickly turned it over and tadaen - the Adai was ready!! After having the first Adai, the Arien said "Its interesting - not so bad" and I was doing the Yippe Yippe Yeah Yeah bing dance when he decided to christen our Adai. While I waited for wht seemed an age - he came up with Masala Dosa. Because he had so sweetly tried the Adai, I tried very hard not to burst into giggles. Adaingappa (pun unintended) ~ What an idea, sirji!!

Jack Nicholson Vaaaram

After seeing Unnai Pol Oruvan a week ago and being more impressed with Mohan Lal, I decided to dedicate the extended weekend towards catching up on some ole movies that I truly enjoyed. I surprised myself by picking 3 movies of the same actor and then decided why not see 5 movies of the same actor and dedicate the week to one of the finest actors, Jack Nicholson.

The first movie that I saw of Jack Nicholson was "The Shining" and I saw it when I was in my early teens, sitting on the floor, late at night, with cousins. The movie completely terrified me. An older cousin had purposely made us sit on the floor so we could experience the movie from the psychic son's perspective. All I could remember of the movie was a hotel, a kid cycling, twins in blue, and of course the dialogue "Danny boy, Danny boy". Seeing it again, it was not as scary but it definitely gave me the chills. Its not like the horror movies of today where a creaking sound, a scream, a door slamming happens every second jes to create fear and to prevent U from getting bored. The movie started slowly, fleshed out the characters, and then let the movie take over.

The second movie that I saw was the amazing "A Few Good Men" which also starred Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, and Demi Moore. I spent most part of the film, agonizing over how Tom had to achieve the impossible. Towards the end, in the last courtroom scene which was supposedly the winning scene for Tom, I was floored by the honesty that Jack Nicholson brought to tht scene. I have seen the movie a zillion times but I can never forget Jack's famous dialogue "You cannot handle the truth". Over the years, whenever the movie came on TV, I found that Tom and Demi seemed raw and barely impressive and I would surf channels until the final courtroom scene came on. Watching the movie again was like a super treat.

The third movie that I truly enjoyed was "As good as it gets". He was brilliant as a famous M&B kinda writer with a serious obsessive compulsive disorder who falls in lowe with the waitress who waits on him everyday. If you have not caught it yet, catch it on a lazy saturday afternoon and I am sure you will fall madly in lowe with him and his fantastic potrayal of the OCD writer.

While the next movie I saw was "Departed" - I felt it was more a Matt Daemon and Di Caprio movie. Though I liked the movie, I would rather discuss "The Bucket List". I heard that Jack Nicholson had actually shaved his head for the role. When two men (Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) are diagnosed with a terminal disease, they work on a list of things that they want to see or achieve before they die. Their sojourns also includes a short trip to India - to visit the Taj Mahal and Morgan Freeman is actually wearing a pale white embroidered Sherwani.

The last movie that I saw was the totally unexpected "Somethings gotta give". Jack plays an aging senior citizen who likes young women and unexpectedly falls in lowe with the mother of the young woman he is currently seeing. Its actually an "Apoorva Raagangal" with a dollop of humour and of course Jack Nicholson.

Of Injuries, Pain, and finally Relief

Have you ever had agonizing pain in your foot everytime you stood up after sitting for a while? Have you ignored it for over two months telling everyone that you are in the middle of a release? Have you limped all the way to the dias at Weddings, smiled at everyone like you are Colgate's brand ambassador and then hissed "Where the F are all the bloody chairs??" to ur near and dear ones who are accompanying you to the wedding? After a painful walk in your stylish shoes at the latest mall - have you sat in the car, hugging your feet so they do not pain so muchh... Well, well - you have lived the past two months of my life :(

When I finally decided to visit a doctor to check on the misbehaving right foot - this was jes after my book was approved for the release - I find that the foot behaves perfectly normal at the clinic. I had been worried 'bout this and the Arien rushed up and turned the foot in a diagonal manner and I let out one of those blood curdling screams which I had on reserve. The doctor managed to look nonchalant and asked the Arien why he had to twist it tht way and smiled while we both stared. He said smthng tht sounded like "metatarsal" and asked me to get an X-Ray jes to rule out any fractures. So, we got the X-ray. Well, the bones were fine - perfectly normal.

I was now more worried than ever. When we returned to the clinic - we were sent to a shop to purchase a "metatarsal silicon cushion". It looked ughhy! I cud not believe I had to wear smthng like tht. I was actually embarrassed to carry it in my hand :( When we met the doctor, he gave me more information on my bad right foot. He said tht either by wearing shoes with heels or shoes that have a tapering end, I had caused the toe bones (digits) to press the viens - resulting in the pain. So, essentially, in college parlance, my bones were ragging my veins and by wearing the scary silicon cushion, I was introducing a warden who would not let the bones rag the viens.

He also showed me how to wear my ugghy cushion. The relief was immense and immediate. The Arien had noticed the change in my expression, the moment I stood up. Usually, when I get up after being in a seated position, I have a pinched expression and then I hobble for 5 minutes before I can actually walk normally. When I stood up, the warden jumped in and provided support for the veins. The bones dared not rag the veins in the presence of the warden. I was so surprised, I actually said "I can walk - n its not paining". The doctor made me walk around the room and told me to wear the cushion for 15 days at least. He also prescribed some anti-inflammatory tablets, asked me to soak my foot in hot water, perform sm stretching exercises for the foot - in water, and asked me to see him after 15 days. I was still repeating "No pain" when we were asked to leave.

When we were driving back, I was dreaming 'bout new footwear when the Arien, in his typical sarci-cum-astute manner, said "Do you know that we jes spent 1000 + bucks on your right foot? Why is ur right foot troubling you - oh yes!! Ur shoes. " All my plans for buying new footwear quickly vanished.

For the folks who are interested to know more 'bout this particular ailment, it is known as Morton's Neuroma.

Change is ....

I decided to change the look of my blog and decided to use one of those templates that I could freely download. While attempting one of the changes, I lost some of my widgets :( While it was entirely my fault.. I am still a lil waaanh 'bout it. A small change has made me feel so blaaah is surprising. Actually, I have never attempted changing the look using a template that I downloaded and so it is actually a change after a loooong time. I liked the template but I am not happy tht I lost my widgets. I am also surprised 'bout how easily one can get used to a lot of things in life. While one can wax eloquent 'bout change - it is all 'bout how one handles change when you first face it that defines you. You could:

• cribb endlessly (like tht makes a diff.),
• fight change passively,
• fight change aggressively, or
• live in denial

Well, I have decided to add the widgets again.. can I really do anything else??!! It will take a while before my blog looks like my blog once again but I am willing to use the time to see if I really needed those widgets :) Talk of learnings.. this had me groaning! And btw, this is not like the "Dhaag achhe hote hain" ad. Honestly, Dhaaag acche nahi hothe - ask your mom :D

MJ

I know I know.. wht was I doing all this while? Hmmm... well, everytime I wanted write a tribute to him - I postponed it till it got 2 late. I know I know ... why now? Most saturdays I tune into Vh1 and 29th August was no different. Too late - I realized it was MJ's b'day (he wud have been 50 today) and it was raining MJ songs.

The first time I saw MJ was on the Grammy's show smtm in 1987, in Bangalore. The curly long hair, the apparent grace in the dance moves,the slim legs and thin frame had me convinced tht MJ was a woman. It was my cousin who educated me otherwise. The following year, I moved to Chennai and I was introduced to loads of english music, including MJ's. I was a Cliff Richards fan and so MJ was almost a culture shock but I was soon singing along with the cassette whenever I cud. Usually, whenever I make new frends, my first question after the pleasantries is "Wht books do you read?" - tht changed to "Do you listen to MJ?" Yupp - it was tht drastic.

I met my soul-sister later tht year - we convinced our family junta tht we were into "combined study" - tht was the term used those days - and managed to watch all MJ videos and sing along till I flunked World History. Mom went hyper and insisted "No more all this combined study rubbish or Mykhel Jakison nonsense". Yaa mum was pretty sharp :( Well, all tht meant was improve my grades n I could go bk to MJ.. my soul-sister was a gr8 frend and teacher n taught me Russian Revolution and 1857 so well tht my mom gave me permission to go bk to listening to Mykhel :D I also listened to Madonna, George Michael, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and a host of other musicians during this time.

Have you ever noticed that movies, videos tht impressed you when you were a kid, look tacky, totally blaaah when you re-visit them? I remember being impressed by the movie Khoon Bhari Maang when I saw it for the first time. When I saw it again, a few yrs later, I found tht the editing was not slick enuf, the story line shd have been tauter - you know what I mean. With the passage of the years, the technology has changed so much tht the old movies, videos are not as impressive. So, if the movie or video stood the test of time, it essentially took on cult status.

At that time, MJ was the hit of the season - I realize now tht he and sm musicians were able to re-invent themselves, stay ahead of their fans expectations and remain on the top longer than the others tho' MJ took it some weird levels at times. For instance, apart frm the ole videos (Jackson 5 videos) which appear dated - all his other videos were actually way ahead of time and they continue to impress me. Thriller, Black or White, for instance.

After watching MJ videos hundreds of times, I could actually yell out the kind of outfit he was wearing as I heard the opening notes of any song. The Arien decided to test me on it and here goes:

• The way you make me feel - navy blu shirt, white vest, a white cord with a kinda bow in front.
• Smooth Criminal - all white blazer, hat, shoes, and the paris tower lean
• They don't care 'bout us - colourful red v neck shirt teamed with a blue jean
• Bad - black outfit with buckles on the side
• Beat It - Orangish-red space jacket, blue t-shirt, wite socks peeping out.
• Say Say Say (with Paul McCartney) - navy blue cap, suspenders, blue sweatshirt
• Billi Jean - red bow tie, leather blazer on shoulder, lite pink shirt, very old style formal leather shoes, black leather trousers.

I actually got most of it rite - down to the smallest details. The Arien was pretty surprised that I could still remember the lines of so many of MJs songs. Actually, I was pretty surprised at that too :) Thanks to MJ, I belonged to the hip crowd at school instead of the nerdy junta I was usually a part of. I truly enjoyed his music and felt sorry for the poor lil rich boy as he got weirder and weirder. I shall miss his music, his monwalk, his passion for the songs he wrote and danced for... Adieu!

Ten Tadennnn Taen aka Kaminey

Was in Mumbai last week, visiting an Arien aunt. Being particularly close to this aunt since childhood, I was sure that we would have lotsaa fun. Too late we realized tht it was rainy season, aunt had gone all spiritual and TV was going to be our companion as aunt had not taken off from work. Talk of piscean persistence coupled with Arien enthu - the Arien aunt had no escape. We picked her up from office in her car, after buying tickets to a movie in a nearby multiplex. If you have ever been to Mumbai, you will know that that is quite a daunting task but the Arien is pretty good at driving the car and I am pretty good at remembering routes and navigating and so we surprised my aunt by driving up to her workplace and informing her tht we had got tickets to the movie she wanted to watch - Kaminey.


Kaminey is a totally watchable movie inspite of the old wine in a new bottle storyline. I was actually glad tht they escaped frm the "Maaa.." aspect which has by now become a mandatory part of any indian movie - frm Amitabh's maa, Nirupa Roy, Salman's maa, Reema Lagoo, to Imran's maa, Rathna Pathak Shah. In this movie we have a Paa. The twins (both played by Shahid) do not have a maa and do not have fond memories of her which we are subjected to as a flashback. Shahid1 has a stutter while Shahid2 has a lisp and when they spoke, it took a while to understand wht they meant, after which it became hilarious.

Shahid finally escapes frm the "mister-goody-two-shoes" image of Jab We Met and Vivah. Priyanka is good. The slick editing is reminiscent of an english movie and the storyline is taut. It was a well directed movie and the script enabled Shahid to rise like a phoenix and show his detractors what he is capable of. Music was essentially hummable - Ten Tadan was pretty good tho' it loses sm of its life as the song progresses.


While my aunt was shocked at the violence, Arien and self were wondering if we had missed something. Aunt has spent too much time pursuing her spiritual goals was our joint verdict for her which she laughingly accepted. When I mentioned to a frend tht I saw Kaminey in Mumbai - I was told tht the Mumbai experience was not complete until I saw sm Kaminey (s)!!! Tht was simply too punelicious that I cud not resist adding it here.

Verdict: Not path-breaking or Earth-shattering but amazing nonetheless especially in the Bollywood space. A good movie after a loong time. Shahid excels in the role of a lifetime that seems to be crafted for him. Must watch at least once.

Kandhasamy

Am blogging after a really looong tm and I thot I must first share my opinion on a movie that has been hyped to glory. So far, all movies that have been publicised extensively usually fall flat after all tht hype... but hey, I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start at the beginning...

It was a hectic monday morning and I had jes started serious work after replying to various arbid mails when the phone started to ring. I was sure it was a credit card salesman and picked it up only to hear my bil ask me if I was at work. I managed a Yes and was informed tht the entire family junta was planning on watching Kandhasamy and would I join them for the 8 pm show? I said Yes. All too soon it was tm for us to get to the theatre. When we reached the theatre, I was a lil zapped to see two full rows occupied by my extended family. My bil is very enthued 'bout get2gethers and movies and so here we were (arnd 30 of us), sitting in the last two rows and hoping to enjoy a Vikram movie. Hoping is the right word... in the first 10 mts, Vikram in his Kozhi avatar killed all my interest.

Totally predictable - script must have been written on a paper napkin frm a cheap takeaway -movie was a mish-mash of Shivaji and Anniyan without the script, a la Swift Dezire. Vikram is totally wasted in a role where he sleepwalks as his various avatars. Shriya, the less said the better. Songs - not even hummable - a Poda Podi song tht no self-respecting tiny tot will sing even with a bribe, an Allegra song tht was supposed to showcase Shriya's dancing abilities but showcased more of her size zero figure than of anything else.

Most folks left after the interval when they saw tht the movie was going nowhere. We were not as lucky as we were a huge group where sm folks believed the movie wud get better and so we stayed put and endured the longest, most boring tamil movie ever. It was so pathetic that I wondered at Vikram's wisdom in signing on the dotted line after the script was shared. I have liked most of his earlier movies but this is simply too huge a blooper for the actor to commit. I have always thot he was an intelligent actor but this movie makes me wonder 'bout tht as well. Anyways, if there is anyone who has not yet seen this movie, this is my sincere advice: Pls do not watch it even if smne gives you a free gold class ticket at sm hi-fi multiplex in your city.

Ganesh Chaturthi

The day dawned bright and sunny at 7 am. Ahem!! Well, thts dawn for me on a sunday! The Arien was missing. Was he kidnapped by aliens? Nah!! The mystery was solved 5 mts later when the Arien walked in holding a plastic cover and said "Oh.. you are awake?! Well, then you can get started.." Usually, I do not attempt normal conversation until I have a nice cuppa chai but this time curiosity took over and I imm. walked up and peeked into the cover. The Arien had this "I did it!!" gleam in his eye and so I had to ask "What is it?" The Arien quickly shared his morning adventure. He had been to a nearby hotel to get Vada Maavu so we cud make Vadai(s) for Ganesha. I was so surprised and happy that I did not bother 'bout the technicalities such as wht kind of hotel, where exactly is it.. well, you know wht I mean. The guy at the hotel had laughed when the Arien presented his request, but the term 'Ganesha puja' made him change his mind. I was glad that this time we would have a grand Ganesha hubba as opposed to my earlier efforts.

The rest of the morning disappeared so fast, I cannot recall much of it. First, the Vadais were ready. Within minutes, we started on the Payasam. I did not realize my Chai was getting cold as I moved arnd the kitchen cooking black channa for the shundal, helping the Arien as he mixed the batter for the Kozhakattai, and arranging the flowers around Ganesha for the puja. By the time, we finished with all the items and the puja it was 1 p.m and I realized that we had not had breakfast yet. Surprisingly, the Arien had not gotten all worked up and cranky and so it was fine.

We were having lunch at the senior Arien's place and we carried all the goodies to their place as well. Of course, the Taurean did not feel tht our kozhaikattai matched the ones that paatee used to make. The Arien actually got us an Achhu to ensure that our kozhakattai did not end up shapeless :) The Achhu was garlic shaped and so we had garlic-shaped kozhakattais and we had used sugar instead of Jaggery and so the Taurean did not like it much. But who cares, I liked my kozhakattai and I am sure Ganesha did as well.

The Ganesha clay idol that we had purchased this time, seemed very close to my heart and I did not want to perform the Visarsan but of course, that was not right and so with a heavy heart, I performed the visarsan on Thursday with the Arien's help. It was a lovely Ganesha Chaturthi, unlike the earlier ones and I enjoyed every lil bit.

Eve of Ganesh Chaturthi

The day before Ganesh Chaturthi was a busy day - house was swept and swabbed by yours truly with a lot of help from the Arien. With all the help and support, the cleaning was actually complete only by 5 pm. Naturally, it was 6 pm when we finally left to shop for the ganesha idol, flowers, and other misc items that form part of what we know as Vinayaka Chaturthi.

The next 3 hours were spent in:

• haggling over the prices, vendors usually hike the price of the items on the eve of a festival;
• identifying stale items that the sellers try to sneak in;
• walking up and down a narrow street that already had too many ppl on it + a few two-wheelers+ some autos, and of course, an occassional four-wheeler and;
• lugging an amazing amt of stuff that is required for the festival and of course, the chief guest of this festival, the cute Gannu (Ganesha Idol).

(Parallelism ki jai !!)

We spent the next 1 hour worrying if the idol would keel over everytime the Arien hit the brake, turned rashly, or did sm arbit stunt. However, nothing untoward happened and we reached hm safely. The Arien had decided that we would make kozzakattai and vadai as well. I was ready to faint. So did I make the kozzakattai? Chk out next post which has the details :)

The Milk Cooker

T'was during the same weekend, that the Arien found the milk cooker. I remember receiving it as a gift a long time ago and moving it to the back of my kitchen cupboard. During weekends, the Arien gets into this cleaning frenzy and so he ends up finding stuff tht were kinda hidden from him. The week before tht he found the Eyah-chombu, which belonged to my mom. Thankfully, I did not bring the Puttu pathram or the filter with which amma made her decoction (pronounced dekokshun).

So on sunday, after the Koshy's visit, while I hoped to have a lazy sunday the Arien pulled out the milk cooker and decided to boil milk in it. This one was a stainless steel milk cooker unlike the older aluminium type which amma had while we were in some remote part of Karnataka, known as Thangadige. I still recall, the Taurean, a toddler at tht time, would either run for cover or hide under the bed whenever he heard the milk cooker shriek. The Arien gave me some gyaan on why milk boiled on a milk cooker never spills with sm details tht totally escape my mind right now. Anyway, I retorted that if milk was boiled in the Sim flame, it does not spill over and shared with him the gory details of the Taurean's milk boiling exercise. The Taurean decided to boil milk and as specified by me, left it at Sim flame, and forgot all 'bout it. It was two hours later when he called me - to inform me that firstly all the milk had boiled away and secondly, the vessel was charred beyond recognition and the good news was that none of the milk had spilled!! Yupp... his sense of comic timing is deeply flawed :P The maid was ready to murder him b'cos it took her a week to get the vessel back in usable condition.

Anyways, the Arien poured two half litres of milk in the new milk cooker and went back to his browsing. I got busy reading the newspaper. It was a solid 15 mts later that I heard this shrill whistle and looked up from my newspaper to realize that it was the milk cooker. Milk was all boiled - Tada!!! And, no spills. Super Tada!!! In all this enthu, totally forgot to make breakfast and we hoped to catch Harry Potter at the Forum Value Mall at 12 ...Waanh!!Grrrr!!!

Brunch at Koshys

It was a lazy saturday after the Bank strike. The Arien had to transfer money urgently as one of his post-dated cheques was likely to bounce thnx to the sudden strike. He had also suddenly fallen sick and as a result was short-tempered and feeling very tired. After giving me a looong lecture on why I shd opt for online banking, the Arien decided to get going - dragging me along after only a cuppa chai. It was while we were driving on MG Road, that I decided we must have brunch at Koshy's. Lotsa folks (especially the non-veggies) loved the food at Koshy's. Having lived here all his life, I was surprised that the Arien had never been to Koshy's. After completing all the bank related work in 2 absolutely boring hours, convincing the Arien 'bout having brunch at Koshy's, finding a parking spot near the British Library, we had no clue 'bout the where the entrance was. We actually spent a few minutes walking all around and were told by a kindly shop-keeper that the place we jes walked out of was the entrance. Well, Well, Well...

We happily waited outside until a group pushed past us and we realized thats how it works. We walked in and I was instantly reminded of my college cafeteria - the plain wooden chairs, the beeg fat fans, the old old walls, and some really old pictures. The only difference was that the cafeteria was usually empty while this place was bursting with ppl. We made our way to a table near one of the various pillars and plonked ourselves on the chair without speaking a word. We observed the groups around us, a bunch of college gals occupied a corner and were making an absolute racket which we cud not hear as the general voice level of the place was pretty high. Diagonally opposite to us, on one side were two college guys who were busy guzzling beer and on the other side, we had a bunch of oldies (7 - 11 in number, most of whom wud step out for a while - probably for a smoke n come bk in later). I found this lovely sketch by Jai Iyer on http://iyermatter.wordpress.com/. I totally lowed his latest sketch on the transformers aka auto hilarious... chk it out when you have the time :D

It was when we slowly began to wonder if we would actually see a menu when a waiter walked by and dropped off the menu. We took altogether too loong to select wht we would like and he vanished. Finally, the Arien decided on a chicken steak and a drink while I opted for a spanish omelette with toast. We decided to continue observing the others while we waited for our dishes and we noticed quite a few foreigners as well, tucking in and guzzling away. I hoped the Arien liked the food - he is pretty fussy 'bout the food he eats. The food was ok. The Arien did not go ga-ga over the food - he felt that Millers46 offered absolutely amazing steaks and this was not as great. The spanish omelette was good - though with a lil too much cheese. We decided to try the Koshy's Hot Chocolate Fudge, which was a total waste. First, it came late and so it was all gooey and then it had peanuts instead of nuts which totally killed the taste.

While the meal was not our best, I feel we ought to give the place one more chance. The dishes we chose did not give us the opportunity to really sample the place and so another visit is strictly the order of the day. Convincing the Arien would of course take a lot of doing.... Have a happy day!!