19th August 2011

Gulped the yellow fumes;

In a street immersed in golden hue,

Slept on the lonely divider

Yapped with the jolly hawker;

The maker of the overflowing crisp dumplings

Stuffed in my mouth is the savory delight,

Entered a contest to swear full-mouthed

I battled; with curses as my weapon,

Barked aimlessly at the swiftness of the passing vans

What a day, hectic yet so divine….

24th July 2011

Walking in the narrow lanes of the old city makes me ecstatic,

It replenishes my yearning for wandering,

In the unknown spaces of these mystic lanes

It somewhere completes a story,

That remained incomplete through ages,

In the labyrinths of my consciousness

The old houses here are the faces that narrate,

The splendor of the vibrant past

Of Lords, Kings, Queens and customs

To the kaleidoscope called the old city

PS- Dedicated to my meanderings in the old parts of Vadodara....

First 3D experience

I had this odd fixation towards 3D movies since ages, and recently I got an opportunity to embrace it. I, along with good friend Ikram, out of curiosity ventured to watch Vadodaras first 3D flick at our very own Inox multiplex. I had to control myself, as I was being hysterical and way too overboard with expectations. The movie I am talking about is Sanctum directed by Alister Grierson.

The film is set in Papua New Guinea, where five people set out on an underwater cave expedition get trapped as a result of flooding. The film is about their confounding journey through the unexplored water caves to reach safe land. The film lacks emotional connect. The father and son played by Richard Roxburgh (Frank) and Rhys Wakefield (Josh) appear to be stereotyped. By now one must have seen ample amount of films dealing with a ruthless father and a son who cannot come to terms with his emotionally crabbed father. As usual, their long lost affection and concern for each other is kindled through this survival journey. The actors, though never heard of them before, were sufficient.

About the 3D experience, although it looks catchy, I strongly felt that 3-D was not necessary in the film; however, it does heighten the claustrophobic effect in the film. For a first timer like me, I was happy, though I longed to see some more enthralling and breath-taking visuals. The cinematography of the underwater sequences is superb, though some of the scenes did appear over the top and phony.

 Regardless of the fact that the film comes with a James Cameron(who is one of the 9 producers of the film) tag, it is a damp squib, and it cannot be matched to Cameron’s previous movies. It’s worth a watch for the nausea-inducing cave experience…:P

127 Hours

 Just watched Danny Boyles much anticipated film, 127 Hours…


“Brilliant” is the word. The visuals and sound effects are outstanding. Despite the initial reports suggesting that the makers have zeroed in on character actor Cillian Murphy to play the lead in 127 Hours, Boyle was wise enough to switch on to James Franco at the last moment. However, Boyle’s judgment proved right, and Franco did justice to his part playing the celluloid version of real-life mountain climber and public speaker Aron Ralston. The film moves back and forth in time, it deals with the predicament of the protagonist(Aron), who once takes on a hiking trip to Canyonlands National Park of Utah, where a boulder dislodges and crushes his right forearm, pinning it against the canyon wall. Aron is trapped with a smashed hand for 5 long days. His adverse state is elucidated with intricacy, which makes it compelling and also grotesque, especially the self amputation scene – kudos to the handiwork of the makeup effects artist. It was so real that it would make one skip a beat. Aron’s ordeal is superbly portrayed. Solitude is not all very endearing; Boyle has subtly treated the philosophical aspect of solitude. It is a survival film, and it is equally challenging to its viewers too, as it puts them in the same ensnared situation as Aron. Excellent photography, amazing landscapes and terrific background score by AR Rahman.


In the scene where he states that he gulped his urine that he saved in his Camelback, the music that is playing in the background is the same tune heard in the beginning of the song Behne De from Raavan.


Its a must watch.... 

Why?

Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend
With thee; but, sir, so what I plead is just.
Why do sinners' ways prosper? and why must
Disappointment all I endeavour end?

Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend,
How wouldst thou worse, I wonder, than thou dost
Defeat, thwart me? Oh, the sots and thralls of lust
Do in spare hours more thrive than I that spend,
Sir, life upon thy cause. See, banks and brakes
Now leavèd how thick! lacèd they are again
With fretty chervil, look, and fresh wind shakes
Them; birds build -- but not I build; no, but strain,
Time's eunuch, and not breed one work that wakes.
Mine, O thou lord of life, send my roots rain.

-Gerard Manley Hopkins

Revelry

Saturday evening

Lustrous sky

Stooping towers of magnificence

Voices lost amid thumping hearts...

ZzZZzZZzing my way...

It was a lazy day...did nothing but bunked classes..had a couple of files to complete so half of the day was spent in working, the other half munching on junk food. After a long time, I enjoyed a comedy flick with my brother, he is a nice silent chap, always a victim of my tantrums, but has got a heart of gold.

So the comedy flick I watched today was, " The Great Dictator", Charles Chaplin is a delight. I am watching this flick for the 4th time, it never bores you. It was released on 7th March 1941, and went on to become a blockbuster, the film is full of slapstick humour. It requires a lot of balls to satirize the Nazi Germany, especially during the 1940s..Chaplin makes joke out of almost everything. It is highly recommended if you want to sit back and relax on a lazy day.

The Great Dictator is Charles Chaplins first talkie film, is an excellent specimen of his talent..

After Life is Beautiful, this is the second movie in the same week related to the Nazi tyranny...history is very intriguing...I have always been fascinated with The Holocaust....I learned about this film called Der Untergang(2004), it deals with the last days of Hitlers rule..will get a hold of it soon....want to read more books and see more films on the evils of Nazism...

National paper reading competition in MSU

VADODARA: The department of English at M S University's Faculty of Arts will hold its annual A K Ramanujan national paper reading competition on Monday and Tuesday.

Thirteen teams comprising two delegates each from various universities including Banaras Hindu University, Central University Hyderabad, EFLU Hyderabad, Central University Gandhinagar, Presidency College Kolkata, Pune University, S P University, Saurashtra University, Kutch University, Gujarat University, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Ahmednagar College and MSU among others will be making presentations on various areas such as fiction, film, drama and poetry.

The paper reading contest is designed to encourage masters students to make academic presentations of a fairly high standard, on subjects related to India which are interdisciplinary and contemplate the Indian scenario, so as to give young participants an idea of possible areas of research after the MA programme.