'An overture to illumination'

(Important things first. I want everyone coming to this post to watch the trailer and not miss this gem of a movie. Of course with subtitles. The book by Jonathan Safran Foer is equally read-worthy. Of course, despite the experiments in narration. The characters in the book are so much more than they seem and so beautiful. But the movie is equally quirky.)

Being part of world war II europe must have felt very human. It is during very trying times that we as humans shine or act more human i.e. do things which we never thought we would do. 

Alex does a very human thing by reinventing the past. Safran crosses seas for his coming generations. Jonathan wants to connect the dots. And Sasha would like to 'illuminate' (read find/search) this journey as a job, for his grandfather. In the turn of events they meet Lista, a collector. Of memories, people gone by, places forgotten. Jonathan, does that too. He fears he might forget. Their search for trachimbrod and a past so murky, brings them to 'illumination'. 

Nazi Germany or the anti-semite times and the sufferings of people, have always made me wonder about how those people overcame the terrible pasts and got where they got. 

'You have to begin where you begin, in order to get where you are going'

There is a recurring theme in the book 'One day you will do things that you hate (don't really want to do) for your family'.

May be sometimes in order to save yourself, literally and otherwise, you say you are doing it for others. May be that is utmost human-ness. May be in those trying times it was easier to do stuff, for the future, thinking if you took that terrible but human step, you could reinvent the past.

Lista tells Jonathan in a rather poignant climactic dialogue while giving away Augustine's wedding ring which she buried 'The ring is not here because of us. We are here because of the ring.' 

~nightflier

P.S. A name of the chapter from the book, in the title.

cruising through the western ghats

The role reversals in the family are getting funner. Brother planned all the transport and logistics details, while I fussed over waking up on time, packing enough food/supplies for emergencies etc. While parents watched.
(ok, aai helped pack the picnic box and knead the puri dough, while I deep fried them!)

the temple of wai!

On a certain level calling a day's outing 'a picnic' sounds even more fun! Remember the anxiety with which one used to sleep before a school picnic day and wake up all full of 'picnic energy' ? No ? OK. then you were not the *hyper excited about picnics kid* that I was. Anywho, the point is we went on a picnic with the parents. Wheeeeeee!!!


Starting off with the village of Wai, we took our first halt at the table top of pachgani. <inserts bollywood movies boarding school reference>.  Moved onto eat to our stomach's content at Mapro gardens. <ate the most awesome pizza, better than any 'traditional' pizza outlets> 

<3
from google

Then baba started telling his tales of 'being a roadie' in the 1980s.  He along with like minded friends toured various parts of India on their scooters/bikes. Starting point of all journeys central part of India.
1988 - Jabalpur, Bedaghat on his LML Vespa. 
1989 - Aurangabad, Mahabaleshwar, Goa on his LML Vespa.
1990 - Kanyakumari via Mysore, and other southern cities on his LML Vespa.
Petrol prices were between Rs. 20 to 25 during that time FYI. Also how they would decide on where to halt and the difference between things back then and now, was most fun to hear! Also I think must have been romantic for aai to wait for father, to come home after his myriad adventures! <she would, of course, shy away from these speculations and tell how difficult it got not having the 'husband' around>

picturesque valleys around
mahabaleshwar

Dhananjay, the most exciting and quite experienced driver to have on these ghats, joined in with his tales. To the cult music from the 80/90s playing in the background. 

the entrance to the fort

Aai and baba were really excited to visit Pratapgad. The place where Shivaji killed Afzal Khan using ganimi kawa (guerilla tactics). We hired a guide, Jadhav, who along with some exaggerating insights told us the most fascinating story of the 'kill' and the battle that ensued. 

posing outside a more than
100 years old school
in the hills!

There are still some 84 families living inside the fort. Life full of adventure and mystic!


And if you visit these places and don't eat the typical Maharashtrian food of 'pithla-bhakri' 'kanda-bhaji' 'thalipith' with a light drizzle in the background, then you are missing one of the most *worth it* and *cliched* experience in the world. Every visit to such places and not eating any of those feels almost like a crime!


And the journey wound up, with visits to two more Ganpati temples in Pali and Mahad. With sore legs from climbing the fort and a rejuvenated mind after breathing in the fresh air of the hills, last night was the longest and most peaceful I have slept in days! 


How was your weekend ? :-)


~nightflier

cooking with constraints

So today around 12 PM baba declared that there would be no routine menu for lunch, but instead we will eat chicken Biryani. Of course I was to make, considering aai is not well and I have become the official non-veg cook of the house given the fact that aai is a vegetarian. 


So we had 2 big constraints today. 
1. Time. It needed to be done in 2 hours, given the tempers/annoyance at home which rise with the level of empty stomach-ness.
2. No mixer/blender. The one we had which was a family relic from 1984* broke down last Sunday. And now its not worth the repair/maintenance cost. So until I make a decision to buy one, the house will be without any mixer.


As I was racking my brain as to what my POA should be, that I remembered this recipe, a friend had shared long time back! I distinctly remembered it being a Keralite preparation sans any coconut or coconut milk (an ingredient which was not in my kitchen).

Thalassery style dum biryani!

So I took that recipe and only changed 2 things. I did not marinate the chicken. Instead put some cuts in the pieces after cleaning them, so that the spices could infuse better. Also did not have mint leaves, so added curry leaves to give a nice aroma.


Here is the instagrammed pic! 
Tasted yum!!! I guess I am ready to try more south Indian preparations.


~nightflier


* I first brought it with me from home, when I started living with friends. When I moved to the US it got transferred to bro's house. Now that we are living together, it was good to have a machine we grew up with in the house! :D

of books and reading challenge

Last year I kept track of what books I read. Considering I was jobless for a whole quarter, whatever I read played a huge role in keeping me motivated about a tangible goal i.e. finishing the book. Also by the end of the year I had read a good 35 books. And I maintain numbers do not matter. But I had become a regular sincere reader and I did not rather do not want to lose that.


Hence I took up a challenge of reading 60 books this year. Why 60 because 50 is boring and 70 too much :P
Anyway so the plan was, rather is to read 5 books per month, spread over 12 months. Which makes it a pretty comfortable journey. But I have fallen behind by 5 books already. And its only halfway! hmmpf!


So to motivate myself to get rid of the lethargy, I am doing a review of the stuff I read/am reading over the past 6 (almost!) months!


* I have become a huge fan of Neil Gaiman. Finished reading American Gods. Loved how it made me think about America from a totally quirky perspective. Love his writing and imagination overall. Period.
* I read Milan Kundera's 'the unbearable lightness of being'. Philosophy cannot get any more trickier. Also a friend says he is the only Indian sounding guy in the writing world! ;-)
* I read Jaya by Devdutt Pattanik! And I loved it!
* I also read Stephen Hawking's 'A brief history of time'. Felt like a wide eyed little girl who was learning about the fascinating cosmos.
* Ernesto Che Guevera's 'Motorcycle diaries'. I have a totally different perspective about South America now. And I want to travel there!
* I also read Kathryn Stockett's 'The help', Emma Donoghue's 'Room' and Margaret Atwood's 'Bodily Harm'. Got introduced to a few Atwood fans and on their recommendation am going to read more of her work.
* Read Meenaxi Madhavan Reddy's 'You are here'. Learnt the most awesome recipe for achari potato and some kickass cocktails. ;-)
* Apart from Asimov I have not read much serious science fiction. So started reading Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars'. Astounding details. Much better than many sci-fi movies I have watched.
* Last year I also got drawn to Rumi and his poetry. So after gifting KT one poetry book, I could hardly resist the temptation. So bought myself a copy of Essential Rumi. Have not managed to assimilate a lot, but whatever I have read has been very evocative!
* And have ordered Ashok Banker's 'Prince of Ayodhya' from library. So with some good old Indian mythology hopefully the reading pace will be back.


Also read a few crappy books which I will not mention here.
I very badly want to read Teju Cole's 'Open City', Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Everything is illuminated', Patrick Rothfuss's 'Kingkiller Chronicles' and Haruki Murakami's '1Q84'.


To improve on the serious reading time, I have decided to let go of some clutter in the form of random links I end up clicking on twitter. Though most are knowledgeable, after serious consideration I am going to dedicate 30-45 minutes everyday to go through zite or flipboard. And not fall for anything outside that.
Also I have stopped reading on bus journey to and from work. I am going to try to dedicate one hour before sleep everyday. Lets see how that works.


Wow doing such self assessment is a feel good and motivation booster!
So even if I may not finish 60 books by the year end, I will know how much I tried.


What are you reading btw ?
Recommendations welcome :)


~nightflier

Mukta, Warkaris and Vari

Mukta - marathi movie starring Sonali Kulkarni, Vikram Gokhle, Shriram Lagoo (available on youtube if you are into regional movies. This one cannot be missed**! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Z-KaJbt_8)
W(not V)arkari (वारकरी ) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varkari


I was always fascinated by the saints of Maharashtra. Dnyaneshwar in particular. Because he was so young when he wrote for the universal goodness and peace of people in his plea to god (called pasaaydaan पसायदान in marathi) and translated the Geeta for common people. To a younger me, all this seemed very cool. 
And then my impressionable mind (which is still impressionable but with different standards ;)) watched Mukta. Though the movie has a socio-political setting and talks about caste systems, growing up, what I found really fascinating in the film was how Mukta's african friend from America goes on a Vari* (वारी ) with her grandfather. 


*vari - its an annual pilgrimage the warkaris take to a town called Pandharpur, where they carry the 'paaduka' (पादुका ) of the saints to their god, viththal, incarnation of vishnu.
Interesting tale about viththal (विठ्थल ). He once went to visit his devoted follower saint Namdeo. Namdeo was busy serving his parents. So he took a brick and threw it for the god to sit on. It is said that the god waited for his devotee by standing on the brick. His idols in temple can be seen that way, still waiting for the devotee.  


In the movie that vaari, the journey is symbolic for our internal conflict between praying to a black god but not accepting people around us. It's incredibly meditating. But I am still blown away by a journey people take on foot, to meet their god. I am repeatedly told at home, that my belief in god is highly questionable as I do not do certain things. Of course, on some level, I don't care. But some time down the line the boho, wanderer in me wants to take this spiritual journey on foot. 


Today as most of the streets in the city were getting blocked and traffic diverted, to accommodate these travelers and make their journey comfortable, my mind was crowded by all these thoughts. Of course work, then actually finding time to write all this down, has taken down the intensity of what I felt.


But in the rush of day to day things, I am glad I *felt* those things. By this simple phenomenon of traffic diversion.


~nightflier


** of course now I think of it, Sonali kulkarni has a hammy accent in the movie. And also does not quite look 17-18 in few scenes. But anyway worth the watch because it is not gimmicky and uses rural india setting in the most genuine, heart warming way.

Of brother and father

This is the form 16 season in India. Pardon me, if its way past. For me its still going on. 
* form 16 something like the W-2 receipts in the US. (I think)


The thing with me is I am not exactly Annie Hall. I know I just get super lazy with such stuff. Its inertia or some genetic hard wiring gone wrong. May be. So this year I happened to change jobs and hence went through the anxiety of a lot of paper work. In between, the wallet theft with almost all important ids happened. So more paper work. And to get all that done without baba's help was already feeling like an achievement to the child in me. (I cannot see myself totally grown up from their perspective.)


And then this new argument over why I haven't received rather asked for this form from previous employer. 
I was slightly amused to see my brother at the forefront of this fretting and arguing. I not only got a lecture as to why I should show some haste but also got told that the consequences of such lax in such kind of paper work is normally not good for one's financial health. 
Since baba retired officially from work, I have seen a gradual change in his 'letting go of control ways'. He doesn't pester us much about any such thing anymore. Few years back, I am sure it would have been he trying to tell me the importance of having all the documents in place. Now I think he is cool with us learning the lessons on our own or even not learning. :)


More assuring is how brother has taken his place and I can see someone who will make sure that I  am not careless with 'such important' stuff in life.


~nightflier