Minnesota diaries - day 1

The plan of spending fall break at Minneapolis started as a joke and in the swarm of mid-terms I did not even realize that, the fall break had already arrived. Thanks to my thoughtful and serious with her vacations roomie, we already had the tickets in hand. 

Sadly the journey was overnight, so missed watching the amreekan countryside (if it exists!!). Don't be shocked, I love my sleep. Especially if your standing-last-in-the-queue skills win you (yeah..win you..) the last 2 seats (the position..duh) on the Mega-Bus. Anyways hope to watch it on my return journey.

I knew only one fact about Minneapolis beforehand, that it is very cold. And I was held totally wrong, when it turned out to be very very cold!!

The sightseeing routine started with the visit to University of Minnesota. The sprawling campus spread across the sides of the Mississippi river took my breath away. The word HUGE describes it the best. But checking out an university campus just at the start of fall break does not sound a very exciting thing to do!! So with very serious ideas of having fun, we headed off to the Guthrie theatre. The theatre hosts many plays and cultural shows and houses an amazing restaurant and a bar with a spectacular view of the stone arch bridge on one side and Minneapolis downtown on the other side. Nature again played wonders at lifting up my spirits and left me smiling.

{The damned internet connection is not letting me upload the pic. So imagine it}

The above picture is just a proof of what I just said.

The stone arch bridge is just too perfect for a solitary walk. It's the only bridge built entirely out of stone (obviously as the name suggests) on the Mississippi, giving it you an out of the times feel. You feel like walking in some Victorian era, except for the roller blading kids and fitness freak joggers! The river Mississippi looks messy and unclean from here. The kind of stuff rivers normally are in reality. Anyways some fact files. The bridge actually increased the transportation of goods and people across the river. It thus is a cultural symbol of growth of Minneapolis.

After this wonderful walk, as we were passing a park, I happened to witness my first American wedding. And lucky me reached there when the vows were being taken and the 'now the groom may kiss the bride' dialogue was being said. It was sooooo touching. I hope no one noticed the tears in my eyes :) Fuss about weddings on one side and the joy of watching such ceremonies on one side. I will vote for the later definitely. I hope I will be the object of attention of such a holy ceremony, one fine day !! :)

We ended the day there, as others wanted to hit the bars early in the night. Of course, I am going ;) It would be fun to see people get talli and chill out. Miss my girl pals and some special friends with whom I took the liberties of trying weird stuff. Company matters to me in such matters!! 

Post on day 2 will come soon.

adios,

nightflier..

the fringe benefits of failure

Statutory Warning: I don't know how much or on what scale I have failed in life till now. It is relative. My truth can never be your truth.

Since my early days of entry into the corridors of school, I have been doing exceptionally well in academics. So it was inevitable that "things" would be expected from me. At that time, like every other teenager, I had no clue what I expected from myself. I was a toddler then in the quest called LIFE. Nonetheless I had this dream of helping underprivileged people, because I always thought that life should be fair with everyone. Everyone should get the chances I got. Or at least made aware of the fact that 'You can choose what you want'. I still feel so.

I failed my teachers, my school, a whole generation of peers and batches of juniors , in the standard 10 board exams (hope you understand the enormity). Now why I failed remains an amusing story, at least for me. We had a very peculiar study pattern back then in schools for standard 10 kids. For us, the geeky lot I mean, they would finish the teaching part by the month of January. The OWLs (matriculation) would be held in March. For 2 months we would sit at home and study and give practice tests. Thus as any smart person can deduce, these 2 months were the most crucial part of the whole 'boards extravaganza'. So for these 2 months, it was 'loads of revisions and hordes-of-people-who-have-come-to-wish-you-the-best' routine. I had never felt so special in life with all the attention. I never realized that the pressure was enormous. One fine morning I had this revelation that it is foolish to even run this rat race. May be this was after one of my elder and wiser cousins told me that 'I am unique and I don't have to prove anything to anyone.' Without realizing the impact of this thought and plainly believing it without understanding, I just gave up studying. Just like that!! If my parents are reading this, then they would now know the actual reason and stop blaming the strict moderators!! I did not mean to hide this from them then or now. It's simply because that they never questioned me. Anyways, I had failed everyone when the results were out. The saving grace was we had all the expected people from my school in good positions. It at least shifted the focus from me. That day kind of changed me. A small part of me grew up like never before. I came to understand that

"I was responsible for my thoughts and actions in every gamut of life."

This still remains the greatest (oh man, it sounds so larger than life!!) failure of my life, as I learned that failure was not a great,big deal. Obviously, I also learned that my scales and my expectations from myself mattered more than anything else. I always had to strive for not failing in my own eyes. Sounds straight out of some motivational book!!

Obviously the expectations never seized. I was expected to bounce back. Incidentally, in the worldly terms "I did". But because of that one not so well performance, I got a chance to become a part of the normal public. I was no longer looked up as someone from an elite group. I had my space and freedom. Earlier, I used to be apprehensive about the outcomes. Now I was a free bird. Doing things my own way and deriving my own learning out of it.

Sometimes I feel weird that how our academic performance becomes a certificate of our abilities. But in my case, it has taught me a lot of things. And I have stopped romanticizing 'this failure' now :)

P.S. Inspiration behind this post. Watch this.

Just fly.....

The best farewell gift I got, when I left India..

It is our dreams that shape our destiny,
To achieve them, many times we have to mutiny..
We have to go to unknown lands,
And may be sing along with unknown bands..

Its all a part of the game, they say;
After all to win, you have to play.
As you try to reach out for the sky,
You have to leave something behind and fly..

There are too many things, you want to say..
Too little time..
It's perfectly fine my friend,
Its not a crime!!!

Standing at the terminal, ready to fly..
Don't look back now, don't even cry..
Waiting for you is the sky,
So go ahead and JUST FLY !!!

Thank you, Addu!!
It gives me inspiration whenever I am bogged down or feeling low.
Words sure are the healers. :)
The jerk had written this at the end - 'I send you my words instead of me. Hope you carry them with you.' Of course, I have them by my side always. Literally carrying them everywhere I go :)

Read his other poems as well. If it was not for hefty paychecks from the great Indian software firm and the only sign of a progressive man "the bear belly of course", he would have been a great writer and poet today!! :D

Globally yours!

Wonder what are the benefits of living in a global environment (I mean actually surrounded by all kinds of foreigners..duh!!)?? For me it is the exposure to various cuisines. Specially if you know what you are eating, in short if you are a foodie!
One look at me and the thought of 'me being a foodie' won't even cross your mind. But then there are those fringe benefits of growing up in a household where, typical Indian cuisine is a way of life and you have a foodie, innovative, adventurous (with food of course!) brother as the partner in crime!

Anyways, my stay away from home (past 6 years, plus this new global phase) has given me an opportunity to get to know and learn many interesting Indian recipes, many household tricks to make yummier food out of simple stuff, and different tastes. I have shared food interests with the weirdest of people. Well, those people are bound to have a totally different opinion about my food habits like, ye bahot nakhre karti hai, bahot kam khati hai, etc. etc. But the fact remains I love trying out new stuff and spreading my meagre knowledge as well.

So, finally coming to the point (yeah, some bragging about my food culture was necessary as a starter!), as part of the global culture here, I am trying out Indian recipes on my Bangladeshi roomie. The recent one was Susheela.

A brief how to..
Ingredients:

puffed rice (murmura) - half out of a standard pack, soaked in water (make sure you soak it only for a minute)
onion - 1/2 finely cut
green chillies - finely cut, 1-2
jeera (cumin) seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
cilantro (coriander) - finely cut
haldi (turmeric) powder - a pinch
lal mirchi (red chilly) powder - 1/2 teaspoon
salt - to taste
sugar - a pinch
lemon (nimbu) juice - 1 teaspoon

How to:
Saute the onions,green chillies and jeera in a pan. After done, add haldi, chilli powder. Then add puffed rice. Mix all this well. Then add the sugar,salt,nimbu juice and garnish with cilantro. Voila...There you go. Its an amazing snack. Filling and yummy. The lemon and green chillies combo makes it just too irresistible!!

My friends from Latur (a district in Marathwada, Maharashtra) introduced me to this snack. And they would be happy to know, that today I made it global. At least prepared it in foreign land!! Well, as for the new things I tried out, then I have gone a bit ahead in the non-veg section. I tried crab and turkey the other day. Chicken still remains my favorite though!!

And if you are thinking whether my roomie who tried out the snack is still alive or not, then she is working on that damned assignment (whose deadline is tonight..OMG!!) Her remark - 'You guys are so creative with simple food stuffs!!' You bet she wants to try out more typical Indian dishes now.

For you a thousand times over..

This line is from the movie 'The Kiterunner'.
A good watch. Not as good as the book though.
I don't have time for any review, plus the fact that, the movie was released in March here!!

Watch it because 'there's a way to be good again'..
Few good things about it, it takes you to the picturesque, rustic Afghanistan (They have shot those parts in China btw) and its vagaries. The kid who has done the part of Hassan, lives a mark on your conscious, with those big, innocent eyes. The graphically enhanced kite running sequences are a good watch. Homayoun Ershadi, who plays Amir's baba, has done a great job. He lives the righteous, a bit disappointed in his son, father.There is a restraining undertone to the movie, which sets the mood.

In all a good watch. Highly recommended, even if you have not read the book.

OCD

It is true. I have been diagnosed with OCD(obsessive compulsive disorder)! Yeah, the self proclaimed psychologist in me isn't wrong this time.
It's been happening for quite some time. I was under the scanner for days now, only to reveal the most bizarre set of results.

Every time I was let free into a mall without any agenda, I would direct myself towards the stationary section. No kidding! I would walk as if under a spell (well its not as bad as an Imperius curse but more like being possessed, I hope I am making it clear here!!). I would literally march away from everyone to every kid's dream land.

Loads of pencils, pens,colored pens, sketch pens, colored sheets, clip boards, markers, stick notes, diaries, files, folders, dividers, erasers, sharpeners, greeting cards just excited me. Its like every time I entered the store and someone would whisper in my ears, 'Comm'ere my baby..precioussssss'
Or was the AC in the malls set to too low a temperature? Then what could be the reason behind my brain listening to voices ??
WHOA...

AC or no AC, the woe still remains. Its becoming more of a habit now, that too a compulsive.
There were days when I would enter Venus traders on FC road, like a kidnapper and fill my shopping bag with handmade papers,crayons,colored pencils,etc. Here also I randomly handpicked some insertable dividers, the other day. Some other time, a few folders. Today a clipboard, some sheets, and colored pens. This in spite of the fact that, I have got stacks of stationary from home. I have things in abundance. I must have also told you about the fascination for free stationary ? And it doen't end here. I don't let others touch 'my stuff'. I still remember the kid's condition (my looks were enough to petrify him) when he had toyed with my drawing book and colored pens. I was in standard 8. Well he must have even given up any thought of studying further, after meeting a maniac like me, me thinks.

Don't freak out please. Because they tell me for deprived people this is more than common. But hello, I don't come from depressistaan (my name for such a place). I come from somewhere, where every dream of getting educated in a fancy fashion was nurtured. That dream was fueled in all possible ways. Yes, that includes decorating my books with fancy stickers, covering them up with nice colored sheets, colorful charts (alphabets to the periodic table..u bet!!). So is my behavioral pattern plausible ?

May be or may be not. I guess I will have to learn to live with this. Wish me luck folks.

Meanwhile, next time you go to a mall, don't forget to sneak into the stationary section ;) It's a wonderful world!!

P.S. this blog comes after watching FRIENDS episode(season 2, episode 23. bingo!!) about Monica's small,cute obsessions. :)

welcome to sajjanpur

The name does not really make it sound like a regular bollywood movie. Believe me it is very much and at the same time a wonderful movie.
The director this time is 'Shyam Benegal'. This name again does not connect with bollywood. But believe me this man is truly amazing. Read on to know more.

The story revolves around an educated, unemployed, endearing letter writer named 'mahadev' (Shreyas Talpade) who writes letters for the poor village people for money or no money. You get to see the quirks of village life through his eyes and writing. Its a very simple satirical tale of 'the urban Indian village'. There is a tender love story woven along, which makes the movie even more engaging. The tale cant be revealed here, for the simple reason that it is too simple. You have to watch it to enjoy it !

On the cinematic (storytelling) front, the movie drags initially. But after holding onto it for some time, you want to know what happens next. Like who wins the election, what happens to kamala, what about the mother who wants to marry her mangalik (someone with peculiar celestial patterns in her/his birth chart!!) girl to a dog, to get rid of the foreboding, etcetera to name a few. Its like you become a part of sajjanpur and the villager's daily life becomes yours!

The actors are the credit takers, of course after the director. Shreyas Talpade is just himself. The unconventional village lad, sensitive, over the top at times, sentimental, innocent, thoughtful. He's just perfect! Amrita Rao suits herself totally. She is innocence and simplicity personified. A village belle totally devoted to her husband, his dog and mother. There's of course more to her than the stupid Vivaah (where they totally ruined her innocent quality me thinks)!! Ila Arun as the distraught mother of a 20 yr old, bold, educated, mangalik village girl (Divya Dutta), is again amazing. The character of Munnibai (Ravi Jhankal) has been shaped so well, to focus on diverse cultural and sociological issues. But this does not make the movie serious, mind you. The acting department is 5 star, just kadak, in short!!

Lets talk about the man himself. Mr. Benegal so well knows what he is making. The movie has no bolly ishtyle glitter attached, but it is so mainstream at the same time. The movie remains a romantic comedy in its entirety, a few emotional shades here and there to increase the 'touching movie' quotient. Actually its not deliberate. Everything just fits into place. The nuances of the village life are shown so matter of factly, without lingering on any and thus not losing the crux. Most entertaining product from him!! (i have watched only zubeidaa, but films with names like nishant and manthan, for which he s acclaimed, don't sound like entertaining for masses).

Watch the movie as it will take you to your grandma's town (it took me for a moment), if not you would want to go to a village. Its light hearted as well as meaningful story telling makes it all the more than just a watch. The storyteller deserves to be listened!! (This line will make sense when you watch the movie :))

happy viewing!!

P.S. you can also find something here (Ketaki's blog).