Perspectives and perceptions

For a long time now, I've been in love with romantic comedies... I just can't seem to get enough of them. Today, I saw Notting Hill for the 'nth' time, although for some reason the movie completely eluded me... it was when I saw it that I remembered having seen it previously... Anyways, so I've finished watching this movie, and I know that the next time I read 'Notting Hill' in the schedule, I will sit to watch the movie like I would for 'You've got mail' and 'Sleepless in seattle' and the other million lovely romantic comedies... Until I asked myself why? What is it that makes me want to go back and watch these movies... the fact that love exists? the fact that you could have a day like that? the fact that these dreams are not unachievable? the fact that for once you want to feel like that? or what? Pondering, I am still thinking... Framing my thoughts while I pen this down... I dismiss my own theories because I know that I have felt thi

The feeling of the freshly bound book in your hands... ah! it's absolute bliss... It would be so exciting to have a room just for books.. a personal library... wooden flooring, wooden bookshelves, floor cushions and a cup of tea... even if I have only the library and none of the above, it wouldn't matter! I devour my books, madly passionate about them and rightfully so. I don't think there's anything so intensely personal as the words written in a book. In so many ways, I connect to certain traits in various characters, and in so many ways, I learn and begin to understand. Like of the characters, Sidda ( The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells) who loves her books, I too feel, while reading a book, it is as if the author is talking personally to you. You are the audience for whom the play is staged. That realisation, that glory, and that joy is beyond everything else... My mother has been instrumental in evoking this passion for books, she read them o

There an equation of rains and Bombay that just strikes something in people's hearts I think... Yesterday, there was heavy rainfall in the evening and I was on my way to Mindspace, Malad (W) for an appointment WITHOUT my umbrella! Extremely stupid! :) I come out of station and I realise that I should've got my umbrella, having no option but to walk on I started walking towards some rickshaws. Obviously no one would go to where I wanted them to. Finally I approached a woman and asked her if I could share her umbrella! She put it over my head even before I could finish saying, "Excuse me... " She walked upto a bus stop with me and then she had to go her way. I managed to walk under the shade of some shop extensions till I decided that I had to buy a new umbrella. I approached the shopkeeper, but the cheapest umbrella he had was for Rs. 75/- Obviously I wasn't carrying enough spare cash! I asked him to give me one on rent for an hour. He refused. I explained my situa

Has anybody been the new Pizza Hut (the one post renovation!!) If you have, I hope you have had a better experience than I did, (though I seriously doubt it!) The new decor, I don't know who the interior designer was, but he/she had no sense of foresight! The new seating arrangements are sparse and utterly uncomfortable. Previously the section in the middle had two tables which could be combined to seat a large group of people. Now there are low sofas in a L shape, with tables (like coffee tables) and pouffes on the other side. This sort of seating is expected at lounge bars or coffee shops, definitely not pizze eateries! We were a group of 7 people, waited for 15 mins for them to get the "table ready" In effect they didn't get anything ready, just placed table mats and plates. We were made to sit at a table meant for 5. We squeezed in somehow. In spite of regular requesting to shift us to a bigger and higher table, we were told that there is no space and that all tho

Indian Weddings and ceremonies are known for their traditional and elongated processes.... and yet there are people (and families) who manage to combine ingenuity and tradition together! I'm going to be attending a wedding in Calcutta, and it's a wedding of my friend's brother. All of us were just watching the engagement video and then there is this ceremony when all the women of the house are supposed to perform an aarti of the bride-to-be and apply a small tikka on her forehead and feed her something sweet. Considering the number of women, the amount of sweet that she has to consume is huge! This family found a unique way, that was non-messy, already small in proportion and sweet, guess what?? GEMS! It may sound like that's silly and all, but I think it makes perfect sense! :) Reminds me of the changes that we all seem to be undergoing. Everywhere we see, brands are changing, CEAT, Vodafone, and so many other companies are hell-bent upon increasing their latest brand

For a long time I've been thinking, there are so many little things that we notice each day. I'm going to start writing them down as each day goes by... Day 1 (Thursday) I'm on my way back from a meeting at Malad, and in the train, on one of the stations, a transgender walked in. Most of the times they're loud, garish and overtly obvious. She was different. I would call her 'she' because she was one. Graceful, beautiful and very feminine. Clad in a short kurta with pants and a duppatta, she was dressed like any tall big woman would be. Of course she didn't hold herself in the way women would, she was comfortable the way she was. I think that's what matters. Her eyes were the most striking feature of all, sharp, deep black, kind, tender and smiling. When a fellow passenger was attempting to get in, she was looking at her just like we would and she mildly reproached her. I think, with that small an interaction, not that I spoke to her, I was merely obser

It's been just about 4 days since the rains are here! And yesterday was the first time that I got wet, willingly! :) Have you got that feeling inside you to just let go of everything that's bothering you, or that you're pondering about and you just want to feel free? The rains bring that out in me... I see them and I remember the fun I had last year, roaming about in town on the bike, and enjoying the various scenes from the seaface, the gardens and the roads... Everything undergoes a change with the season change, it's external as well as internal... This season, makes me want to cuddle up with my blanket and sleep for long hours of the day... I feel an insane urge to have hot tea and kanda bhaji... I feel like running on the wet roads... The rains bring out the child in me. :) Of course, it's flooded, all the drains are choked, it's horrible to walk amidst the filth to work, and more, but that still doesn't take away the beauty of nature, the beauty of hav