The Devil Wears Prada

Just finished watching “The Devil Wears Prada”.
To start off with its got all the ingredients which we hate.
It’s a typical girly movie with all the main characters as woman, and the men as gay.
And its about.....well - fashion. A field that people choose when they don’t have the brains to get into engineering ( as we do).
And there’s no entrance test or merit to get into a fashion school.
First 30 minutes into the movie and you know this is a boring dud- a super flop.

But wait, what is Meryl Streep doing in this movie. An Oscar nominee for a whopping 13 times( till then that is.... The count just got to 15 this year -an all time record for any male or female actor).
If you can bear the first half an hour a really touching movie awaits you.
Must see.

Meryl Streep got nominated for an Oscar( her no. 14 ). Her acting can be described as na-kam-na-zyada, just that much as much is required. Just Perfect.
Also she was supposedly playing a real-life character (that isn’t even dead), and that’s famous too, and contemporary and probably more in the media glare than even Meryl Streep. The more watched the character you play, the more compared.

I wonder why it didn’t add up to her as long list of wons rather than nominations.

Also a side–effect of watching it was that it also really changed the way I looked at the fashion industry.
I mean I must have been this real lame 65K per year coder guy writing this unwanted unasked for review, to look down upon a multibillion dollar industry which requires creativity coupled with hard work and has cut throat competition.

Watch it whenever you get time.

Colorado Christmas 2008

Colorado - the land of Colors, a cozy state in the middle of the mystic Rockies - its beauty so breathtaking I cannot resist giving way to that innermost desire for writing a blog, to tell everyone what we saw and share with them what we felt and enjoyed, knowing well that I am a complete disaster when it comes to English. The memories,their effect so strong, arent even fading with the passage of time(which I wasted being hesitant in deciding whether I am good enough for a travelogue). Finally even at the risk of being made fun of I hereby succumb to my romanticism.

Long weekend was up the corner and so with it came the innumerous discussions and net searches amongst friends about possible places to visit. The big cities on
East coast were all - been there, done that. So were most of the national parks in and around Arizona. The West was all explored, so we decided to "Go East".

After much debate and discussion, Colorado won as the venue to be crisscrossed during the four days of Christmas long weekend, winning over other names like Texas and New Mexico. We decided for it for no apparent reason, Texas was the forerunner for most of the time, but I think it lost out because we just couldnt find any exciting spots there. I guess there is nothing to visit in Texas, but "Texas".

Day 1-
So there it was finally - a long weekend in America(I dont know why but I love this term more than "US" although it sounds old fashioned). And there are hardly 3 or 4 in a year, just 3 to 4 chances of visting places out of Arizona without wasting a leave (a precious resource preserved for India visits). While we were supposed to leave at 11 am, after last minute hurries (as usual I was the culprit) it was only at about 3 pm that we left Chandler for Colorado.
Travelling along the all familiar I-17 (most of the AZ spots are on this way - Sedona, Flagstaff, GrandCanyon, Page et al) but finally going beyond our then final frontiers and entering unknown territory. Our first and only spot on the very first day of our trip was supposed to be Four Corners Monument, but my diligence in finsihing my work came our way and we reached there at about 10 pm. Since the next day was already reserved for Monument Valley, we decided to give 4corners a skip and hoped to visit it sometime later. Still here's a word for 4 corners- its a unique intersection point of the boundaries of 4 US states - Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Such a intersection of 4 states can be found in Canada also, but its not much popular, (I guess the Canadians dont give a damn. Anyways its man-made and since the states in US and Canada werent formed out of any provincial historical boundaries, the partitions were simply drawn lines and so with almost all of them being so rectangular, a four corner was bound to result).

We had motel reservation at Kayenta, a small town at the mouth of Monument Valley. Since it was already dark we had no choice but to cool our heels in the motel. Suddenly we discovered that it was snowing outside. That was a first for me under snow fall. We had visited snow mountains earlier but never with snow falling. Sitting in my Mumbai home with typical Indian heat outdoors, I had always envied watching people enjoy snow fall on TV. Finally it was time to stop being jealous :)

After indulging in lots of snow bath and also an half a quarter mile snow marathon(literally thats half of a quarter of a mile), we went to sleep making plans - which even we knew we wont follow - of an early morning start the next day .

The next morning at Kayenta was one of the best that we had woken up to in our entire lives. Just as we came out of our beds the first thing to do was - for a change - not a frenzy for the loo but for a peek outside, for we could well imagine the visual treat that awaited us outdoors. The motel we didnt realise at night was located in a absolute stunner of a place. The snow made the view even more beautiful.

I must accept that the movie Forrest Gump was one reason which prompted me to push for Monument Valley. One scene had a resounding affect on my mind and its just a couple of minutes of sequence BTW. The spot where Forrest stops his 3 year long run is the 13th mile, a spot 13 miles from the Utah Arizona border near Monument Valley. This also happens to be one of the most photographed road on earth. Its this same spot here.

I also remember Forrest saying in the same movie "I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began". I now know what he meant. This was the address of heaven.

Day 2, 3 and 4- will complete when I get some free time

The new age showstoppers

Gujjars, MNS, Dera Sachha Souda have replaced the Bajrang Dals, the VHP, Ambedkarites and the Senas as the new age stop-alls.

They can bring a town/city to a standstill, force a strike anytime.

They just have to sit on tracks, sit on the most important road junctions, smash just a shop or two. And the city stops.

You have to toy their line. Hate those who they hate.

Visiting one of the most photogenic places on Planet Earth

Antilope Canyon, near Page in northern Arizona is one of the most photogenic places on Planet Earth. It is also one of the most beautiful slot canyons in the world. About 300 miles away, it was a four hour drive from Phoenix. Photos taken by our "seniors" (yes we are out of college, but thats the term even in professional life, used for those - who've been there, dun all) immediately prompted us to visit this place first. The night before the drive was decided to be the time to make the plan, although each one started making their own versions of the plan long before. A week long internet search of all the spots around the canyon had to be filtered to a handful. Everyone used snaps searched on internet by them to push forth their sites. After all the deliberations about which sites to visit(or rather which ones to skip) we finally fixed five- enough for three days - again as per the experienced "seniors". We had decided to finalize the plan after dinner and sleep early. But the deliberations went long in the night and finally consensus was arrived not out of any genuine agreement but because if we would have gone further it would have been almost our leaving time in the morning. Although we went to bed almost four hours late than the actual plan and only a few hours away from our alarm time, but due to excitement the actual sleep was a couple of hours even less.

And then there it was - the day we had waited for like many other poor Americans, the most awaited - long week end of the Thanksgiving Day. While the entire country awaited excitedly for whats on offer, we waited for our once in a life time offer. Alarms woke up us all and the night's sleep rather felt like a five minute doze. We left at around 8 in the morning, (although the plan was about 7). According to plan we drove first to our office and took printouts of driving directions and map from mapquest.com and also had some quick coffee (which wasnt planned). We followed the directions and started the long straight drive along I-17 N. The journey was simply awesome. Leaving those familiar roads and buildings to finally come out of the city and witness the shrubs and the dunes of the countryside. The morning was picture perfect, with beautiful air, a bright sun and clear skies. After about an hours drive we waited at a food joint to have breakfast while a few of us had to answer nature's belated call.

Not yet finished......To be continued..............when I get some time out of all these project releases..........

Jinnah's Dream

Quaid-E-Azam Barrister Mohammad Ali Jinnah - father of a nation of 160 million people. Generally revered across the world as a creator of a nation. In India he is not looked upon by any respect though -even on the official front. His home where he spent half his life not getting any respect - has been converted to a cultural affairs office. His detractors blame him for dividing a nation on no grounds. There wasn't any real demand for a separate nation before he slammed the idea in his people's brains (and no real one even after he did). Half of the people didn't even leave. and the rest left unwillingly - most of them for fear of riots than any aggrement with Jinnah's idea. While his supporters credit him for creating a nation out of scratch, creating a notion of nationhood when none existed. Creating an idea of a separate country on the basis of a separate identity, when no identity really existed. He is revered as the Quaid - the Great Leader.
So what has that got to do with India and its current politics. Indian politicians often refer to his dream- Jinnah's dream. Just after partition when he was asked to comment on India's future, he retorted that it will be further divided and finally disintegrate as a nation. In election campaigns opposition parties often accused governments to be working to fulfill Jinnah's dream - by which they meant its policies would result in the disintegration of the nation. Any policy disagreement on the political front was thought of to be destined to fulfil Jinnah's dream.

One of the foremost proponents of this theory were the Hindutatva ideologues and specifically Bal Thackeray - leader of the hard core extreme rightwing Shiv Sena party. These parties even acquired power riding on the (so called) national solidarity wave they created.

But it seems the clock has turned full circle.

The same parties who used the Hindutva card and claimed that religion was the only common thread holding together these clatter of states with diverse languages, culture, food and even gods are now kicking their fellow Hindus for taking a pie of their jobs.

The Thackerays and the Karunanidhis are fulfilling Jinnah's dream.

Cricket - A Stupid game

They say Test cricket is real cricket. Thirteen hapless fellows dressed in the most unglamorous of all - white - coloured full clothings, running five days from morning to evening for a result which most often than not is a draw.

The worst part is to see entire day the bowler go back to his run-up after delivering a ball. I mean seriouly what are you supposed to do during that? Watch him? Watch him what? Walk? I mean there are breaks in every game in the world. In basket ball there's the timeout. In football there's halftime. What are you supposed to do during that. But then thats once or twice in an entire game, what is one supposed to do when this happens after every fucking ball. Anyways ok, so you decide to just do nothing and simply watch him. You can see him thinking, his face in deep thoughts (his butt if you are on the wrong side) - of possibly what went wrong with the previous ball and how he can bowl the next one. And then he bowls it with all his well-thought ideas and with all those considerations of line, length, bounce, swing, grip, power etc and the batsmen simply lifts his bat to let it go. That is a dot ball. The spectators are supposed to watch it. And enjoy. If this happens six times in an over its a maiden. A maiden over is death - death by boredom. And batsmen who incur this wrath on the spectators more often are considered to be technically sound. All-time great test openers will tell you that the best way to handle bowling is to wait for the bad balls. This implies that the spectators will also have to wait for the bad ball ( and hope that the batsmen succeeds in hitting it and the fielder doesnt stop) to enjoy that little bit of excitement in the game. Geoferry Boycott/Sunil Gavaskar's great advice to opening batsmen - Give the morning's two hours to the bowlers. And what about the spectators in stadium? They should give the morning's two hours - to sleep.

Technically sound batsmen either leave every ball outside the stumps or offer a light stroke or a pad for a ball that is on the stumps. Their fans should enjoy this. Enjoy the various ways they leave/pad the ball. Two of the most famous of those - One for the spinners - outstretched with a leg in the crease while the other landed as far as possible like a dancer(I call this the Nataraja pose), and the other - straightbat with standstill for a moment after the shot (for the photographers....you see)- the freeze pose.

Cricket- I always thought in the entertainment market, was like an investment where you have to invest lots of time and be patient and the investment pays(if at all) only at maturity. You have to wait before you get to experience (any) excitement. There is a possibility of excitement at the climax(slog overs) but you will have to bear till we reach there. You have to bear till the batsman "gets his eye-in" and the bowlers "get into rythm". You have to be patient. Thats the key - patience. The batsmen have to be patient and wait for the bad balls. The bowlers have to be patient and hope for the batsmen to commit mistake. The spectators have to be patient for any of this to happen. Cricket - for sure - is a "test" of patience. No wonder only nine countries could pass this test of patience in the 150 years of existence of this game. And most of the nations were the hapless slave colonies who had to toy with their masters choice of sport for them. The game became populare there as it gave them the only oppurtunity where they could hope of outdoing their rulers. The country with the most followers for this game is India - a champion-hungry nation of a billion people with not even a single individual Olympic gold medal in 60 years of its existence. And just four instances of individual podium finishes.

A game has to ensure level playing field so that a players skills are tested fairly and its this factor alone that decides the better of the two. There is no other game in the world where win is so heavily dependent on factors other than skill. Toss, Pitch, Dew, Wind, Overcast sky, umpiring errors, rain, grass can change the fate of the game irrespective of how good a team is. In India's games, if its a spinning track, India will win, if its a greentop India will lose. Groundsman can decide the series. Whats the need for playing then- just to see how they lose or win and by what margin?

A game is also a test of skills, strategies. Ask any all time great players and they will share the secret of their lives with you- albeit the same secret. To be a successful bowler you have to ensure line-and-length, while to be a good batsmen you have to wait for the bad balls. Boy - what a hell of a strategy!!!

I always wondered who test cricket is really for. Entertainment value and target audience are factors considered when any game is conceived. Who then were the possible spectators that the inventors had in mind when this game was created. A game that is played from 9 am to 5 pm for five days. Businessmen are busy in their shops and factories. Salaried in their offices. Children in their schools, youngsters in college. This only leaves retirees, old men and women and housewives who are free during this time for five days. Were they for whom this game was designed to be watched. Generally test matches are scheduled such that the last two(supposedly more exiting) days fall on week-ends, so was this game to be watched only on the last two days. No wonder the term "highlights" has become so famous in the cricketing world. This is a selective package of the shots and wickets of the entire days play. If I got to meet the creator of this thing- highlights- I will kiss him hard- for relieving this world of so much of pain.

Rain is the biggest spoilsport in cricket. Innumerous games have been wasted because of rain. And even if it rains for a day, its enough to ensure that there will be no result of a 5-day test. So this game was meant to be played for only 8 months of a year in monsoon countries. Rest of the days the cricketers have to take rest and so should its followers. Needless to say this game can also not be played in countries with unknown rain patterns or where it rains entire year.

The Umpire is the most poor chap on the field. The ball is bowled/thrown so fast - beyond the limitations of the naked eye - that half of the times he has no clue and ends up giving wrong decisions - for run out, lbw, nicks. So they brought in a TV umpire for decision-making. This made the onfield unpire look upon as only a cap-holder. So there were petty attempts at reviving his authority - that the bowler has to appeal to the umpire for nicks - however thick or obvious. That certainly is a joke of a rule.

Many teams who think they have no chance of winning "play for a draw" - the phase which means death penalty for the watchers. To play for a draw implies that if a team cant win, they struggle to atleat not lose and try for a draw. Die-hard fans see a silver lining even in this - in a draw - that in fact their is a hidden result in that the weak team has "won a draw" while the strong team has lost because it couldn't enforce a win. A team that plays for a draw asks their batsmen to carry out the aforementioned exercise of leaving or padding the ball. As for the fans they can enjoy the poses.

Religious Reforms in Hinduism

Can a religion's basic belief's be changed. In the 3000 years old history of Hinduism many people have tried to question its core beliefs and convey to its followers a new way of living life without those. More famously Gautam Buddha, Mahavir tried it and the former with quiet a bit of success. While many countries (whose pre-historic religious beliefs are unknown) accepted Buddhism and it flourished and stayed forever. In India thousands of Buddhists shrines were reconverted to Hindu temples and Buddhism was slowly sidelined while Jainism could succeed only in very small patches across the nation. In modern times, these beliefs were questioned by the founders of various Samaj - notably Raja Ram Mohan Roy with his Brahmo Samaj, Swami Dayananda Saraswati with his Arya Samaj and the Prarthana Samaj in Maharashtra. These samaj really died with their founders and any followers after were only nominal.
So Is reforming a religion so difficult?
Changing a religion is difficult by preaching, which these movements have tried. Albeit its unfortunate, but history has shown that change can be achieved by sword though. The success of Islam in the subcontinent has proved this. (Yes, I would say Islam has succedded in India although some would disagree saying India is still a predominantly Hindu country. Just add 16 crore Pakistanis, 14 crore Bangladeshis and 15 crore Muslims in India. The sum is 45 crores, while Hindus in India amount to 90 crores which means Islam has succedded in 33% of the people to leave its Hindu beliefs).
B R Ambedkar questioned, debated, requested to change, and finally out of frustration decided to abandon these beliefs and accept a new way of life. 5 lakh of his followers converted with him. But inspite of being a God for crores of downtrodden people in India, those who swear by his values, those who go wild at the slightest of disrespect towards him - how many of them have really accepted the religious path that he showed. Many of those who vote for parties following his isms, have preferred to still be in the same religion that he opposed.
Will Hinduism ever change then?
Change has occured though - like there are hardly any Satis today. There's no untouchability although people still follow strict caste system- like not marrying outside. Dowry is still rampant and absolutely unashamed about- what with many software engineers bragging about getting two to three million rupees. Many young generation Hindu Indians are ready to marry intercaste but dont actually do so for not going against their parents wishes. This generation will certainly not object to their daughters and sons marrying any good person from the other caste. Caste system may go or atleast the boundaries may blur but it would take an entire generation to phase out (the current parents) to realise that.