The Importance of Doing Nothing !

Our elders have always taught us that we should not sit idle and instead keep ourselves busy. Khali dimaag shaitan ka ghar. This was probably true in the analog age when there were fewer things to do and fewer distractions. 

But time has changed now. In this digital age, there are always so many things to do. I probably want 50 hours in a day and 20 days in a week to catch up on hundred different things I do. I want to catch up on news, read books on my Kindle, write blogs, check WhatsApp, tweet about my day, like/share pictures on Facebook, listen to music, watch latest YouTube virals, watch TV and so on. So, it feels like whenever there is a small pocket of time it should be allotted to one of these activities. Even the schedule of the children these days, is jam-packed. They go to school, then swimming classes, football or cricket practices, dance or piano sessions, play video games, Facebook and twitter and snapchat and Instagram and blah. It probably leads to burn out? Aren't they overdoing things much more than the capacity of the mind and body? 

In all this running around, I just wonder how it feels to do nothing? I mean, how about getting up late one day, not to read the newspapers, not to switch on TV, touch neither your phone nor the laptop. Just sit idle, maybe spend more time with family, have a cup of tea, look outside the window, observe the hustle bustle around, just be lazy. Won't that be so much relaxing? 

Sitting in a cab, why do I immediately open my laptop and keep using the phone? Why don't I just chat with the driver? At dinner time, why do I need to switch on the TV? Can there ever be a quiet dinner? In a meeting room, why do I keep my laptop open and not participate 100% in the discussion? 

I once questioned one of my senior colleague, who used a car for her commute but never drove herself. I asked her what she did while sitting in the car. She told me that she did a lot of thinking while sitting quietly which is equally or more important for her job. 

For me, it was a new concept. I can also think a lot to close all the threads going on in my mind, while switching contexts between work and family. So, on my way to work, I mentally close down on all the personal stuff and put those aside, and slowly reinstate the work related threads such as which bugs to close today, whom to consult for a work related matter and what to respond to the emails in my inbox. Similarly, on the way back I close the open threads and think if I need to purchase groceries or pay bills or call someone. And this is super important especially for someone like me who has difficulty managing multiple threads and has high overhead for switching contexts.

Likewise, I always question Megha about what she does during her hour long commute daily and she said that she did nothing, not even listening to music. How much ever I persuaded her to pick up reading as a habit, but she was never convinced. But I never realized how important and relaxing it can be to just do nothing but just sit and observe your surroundings. Maybe that's why she has a very sharp focus and is blessed to get a sound sleep unlike me who has ten things running into the mind before getting to sleep. 

Lately, I am trying to reduce my habit to read or listen or surf during the commute. And it really makes a difference. It is like the intermission for the mind when it can relax. I hope it calms my anxiety levels and helps in increasing my concentration. What do you think?

Mubarakan

It's fun to write a review after weeks of the release of a movie. I don't worry about including spoilers. Those who care would have already watched it and the rest don't anyway care. Also, I know my writing is not biased by the sudden rush of emotions I was submerged into while coming out of the theater.

Mubarakan was one such accident which happened to me last weekend, which I am still trying to forget. I was left confused whether I should laugh or cry. Whether to feel sorry for the veterans who were part of the phenomenon or feel sorry for myself who spent a precious Saturday evening. 

It felt like a been there, done that kind of experience. The plot is a mix of Bazmee's old movies and Priyadarshan's ensemble outings.

I have never been a fan of Arjun Kapoor, and a double dose became a little too much. It seemed to me that he is the Dhinchaak Pooja of the acting world. None likes him, he is irritating, still he keeps making movies and earn money. The last time I liked him was probably in the AIB roast.

And out of the three girls, I feel really sorry for Neha Sharma. The pretty lass could act a bit, but her half-baked character was completely sidelined with no logical sequences in her scenes. Illeana hams so much and counterbalances the beauty she is. I don't think she can claim anything apart from the Hawa Hawa song in the movie. And, for God's sake why would anyone cast Athiya Shetty. This skinny skeleton seems to be tailor-made for modelling and not for acting. Every time she says Babaji in the movie, it sounds like her dad saying 'Babu Bhaiya' ! 

Well, it is the veterans who make the movie watchable. Ratna Pathak Shah and Pawan Malhotra are perfect as estranged siblings with their ego bigger than the height of the Big Ben. Mr Bazmee could have given meatier dialogues to them than those given to the junior Kapoor. However, it is the senior Kapoor who carries the movie on his shoulders pretty much alone. At time, he creates a fool out of himself. However, he is still watchable. 

In the end, it seemed like a family reunion when Sanjay Kapoor joins as the ghost brother, with the 'angels' parading in the background reminding me of Taher Shah. 

The movie had its moments and at times it induced intentional and unintentional laughs. The music is average rated - peppy but forgettable. Probably a better casting of the lead, maybe Varun Dhavan, would have made it more enjoyable. I would rate it with two and half stars.

Work or Play?

There is always a lot of fuss about work life balance. People keep complaining that their work sucks everything out of them and they don't have a life outside work. I have a random thought for them, what if the work was liberating. Can there be moments in life when you just want to work and nothing else. Maybe because, it is a familiar territory. You know, what is expected from you. You (probably) know, which piece of the code has a bug and needs to be fixed. You know, whom to catch to seek help when you are stuck.

On the other hand, the same might not be true about the beyond-work stuff. The expectations can be sky-rocketing and you constantly fear of not meeting those. You don't exactly known where the problem is and how to fix it. The most difficult part if that you don't know who can help.

Well, in this perspective, the work is actually an easier part of the life than the non-work part. It is less depressing and more liberating. And this is very counter-intuitive for most people who don't like their work. One of my colleague strongly believes that by nature work has to be boring. Com'on, nobody will pay you to enjoy and have fun!

Disclaimer: I did not write this in pressure or in an inebriated state. These are my personal views and you obviously have full right to differ.

Story, Camera … no Action?

It is a best time for the Hindi film industry. What was once a factory churning out formula based mediocre products during the 90s, now seems to change for the better. Thanks to the young generation of story writers who have started thinking beyond the routine mainstream. There are more adaptations of real events (Airlift, Rustom and Talvar) and biographies (Aligarh, MSDhoni and Neerja). Also, more unconventional subjects are chosen for making movies (English Vinglish, Hunterr and NH10). This is a welcome change. Credit should also be given to the actors who like to experiments and live different kind of onscreen characters. Examples include Vidya Balan (Kahaani), Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjaab), Swara Bhaskar (Nil Battey Sannata), Rajkummar Rao (Shahid), Deepika Padukone (Piku), Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Badlapur), Randeep Hooda (Sarbjeet), Irrfan Khan (Lunchbox) and the list goes on. 

Still, there are so many damp squids! Why did all my senses became so gareeb after watching Raees. OK Jaanu was not even OK. Baar baar dekho was such a waste that no one should have ek baar dekho. Humari Adhuri Kahani was so boring that I cannot even write a poora blog about it. Nobody bought the calendar of the Calendar Girls. Shaandaar was expected to have dhuaandhar business but could not. No one remembers when did Roy come and fizzled out, but everyone just remember Chittiya Kalaiyan. No one wanted to play the Love Games. And I wish, Main aur Charles would have never met each other.

So, what is missing are talented directors who can execute on wonderful story-lines and extract the maximum out the gifted actors. Well, not anyone can be a good director. While a Tigmanshu Dhulia can churn out a winner in the form of Paan Singh Tomar; Mohit Moond could only make a mediocre Manjhi. Amol Gupte gave Taare Zameen Par, however Jayant Gilatar gave a completely forgettable Chalk N Duster. Neeraj Pandey made a winner in M S Dhoni, but Tony D'Souza could only give a second-rate Azhar. Why are there so much limited talent of the level of Rajkumar Hirani, Neeraj Pandey, Zoya Akhtar or Gauri Shinde. 

The movie, Noor releases this week which is an adaptation of a bestseller. Sonakshi Sinha plays the central character. I believe she could give a very convincing portrayal to the role of a journalist. However, we need someone like Vikramaditya Motwane to extract the best out of her. Remember Pakhi from Lootera?. Wil Sunhil Sippy be able to do the magic? Or will Noor become another Akira which promised a lot, but could not make a mark. We will know very soon. Till then, please stay tuned and let me know what you think !

Why I did not like Begum Jaan

When a Vidya Balan movie hits the silver screen, the expectations are sky-rocketing. One cannot help but long for the acting powerhouse who has countless awards into her kitty including a national award and 4 back-to-back Filmfares. The kind of career choices she has made is truly remarkable. The list comprises of a variety of roles including a possessed woman (Bhool Bhulaiya), an independent woman taking care of a special son (Paa), a married woman seeking vengeance with shades of grey (Ishqiya), an actress with an unapologetic sexual appeal (The Dirty Picture) and a pregnant woman searching for her husband with a secret mission of her own (Kahaani). 

You know the audience are eagerly waiting for a movie, when a national award winner director (Srijit Mukherji) casts Vidya Balan to reprise a role earlier immortalize by the superbly talented Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta. The icing on the cake was the association of the fantastic actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Rajit Kapoor, Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajesh Sharma with the project.

(spoilers ahead)

Half an hour into the movie and I knew that I had bought the tickets for something different, something I was not looking forward to. I felt cheated. I found a fantastic plot, a stellar starcast let down completely by a poor script and dialogues. It is indeed a tough job to create a drama woven around social issues and make justice to the subject. But a director with the caliber of pulling off a national award winner Jaatishwar could have done it with a remarkable finesse, but this time he could not.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because throwing off one-liners again and again cannot make up for good dialogues. It gets boring after a while. And Mr. Kausar Munir (dialogues) you lost me there.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because an important issue of the politics behind the partition of India is utterly trivialized. I believe, it formed the crux of the storyline, yet not given a fair treatment. And Mr. Mukherji (screenplay) you lost me there.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because the director tries to pack too many subplots and references into a single narrative. Maybe, I was expecting a classic like Mandi, but could only get a potpourri of half-finished stories. And Mr Mukherji (direction) you again lost me there. 

I did not like Begum Jaan, because it does not help to show a frame with half-cut faces of the officers (Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajit Kapoor) time and again, probably with a intention of depicting the concept of partition. Too much of repetition loses the charm of the trick. Mr. Gopi Bhagat (Camera) you lost me there. 

I did not like Begum Jaan, because a talented musician who has given numerous renditions including Refugee failed to impress here. A line up of ace singers such as Asha Bhosle, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Kavita Seth, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal too failed to make a mark. Mr. Anu Malik (music) you lost me there. I thought you still have it in you when you recently gave a winner in Moh Moh Ke Dhage, but I have my doubts now.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because most of the starcast is wasted here completely, with a few exceptions. Balan aces in an powerful role of a brothel-madam, but has not been given good dialogues and the script does not do justice to the powerful actress she is. Ashish Vidhyarthi and Rajit Kapoor, as the Govt officials, feel helpless enacting their half-baked characters. Rajesh Sharma is wasted as a corrupt police officer. Pitobash Tripathy, as the pimp Surjeet, could have been given a more meaty role. Ila Arun is reduced to just a story telling grandma. Was an actor of the caliber of Naseeruddin Shah needed to play the Rajaji with fading control and power? I don’t know. 

Maybe I am being too ruthless while writing this scathing piece. Maybe I am, but I cannot help it, because it was a Vidya Balan project and I had huge expectations from it. However, the movie had a few hidden gems such as Gauahar Khan, the only one who stands out among the nine girls. Watch her character Rubina, in the scene with Surjeet (Tripathy) where she convinces him that her heart belongs to him, even though the body gets sold every night. It's time, the actress was given good roles to let her prove her acting prowess. Another surprise element is Chunky Pandey, who is completely unrecognizable in a role of a merciless supari killer Kabir. He does such a fab job that you actually detest him from your core. It's better if he does away with the roles such as Akhiri Pasta and focuses on more meaningful ones. 

Overall, the movie had its moments which the audience will take away with them after leaving the theater. Alas! There are not too many of those. Balan could have better not broken her rule of not working in a remake. Or maybe Mukherji could have not thought of weaving too many elements. I would like to give a generous 2 and half stars for Begum Jaan. You can probably save money spent on theater tickets and instead wait for the DVD to be out or it to be streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime or on national television.

Do you agree with Karan Johar's nepotistic way ?

Ever since Kangana Ranaut appeared on the Koffe with Karan show and accused him as the flag bearer of Nepotism and how he does not let the outsiders enter the industry, a question on nepotism is invariably asked in every celebrity interview. It has become the new buzz word of the B-town. Everyone and his uncles are giving opinion about the subject, either favoring or opposing it. Celebrity kids are asked if they had it easy while entering the industry. Most of them deny except a few who dare to accept the truth like Vivaan Shah did in his recent interview. 

The Most spoken argument is that maybe it helps grab the first project but one has to prove oneself and there is no shortcut to success. For example, there are many Uday Chopras, Jackky Bhagnanis, Fardeen Khans, Esha Deols and Harman Bawejas who were launched several times by their fathers/uncles but could not go further. Maybe they did not have it in them. On the contrary, there are others on the likes of Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Kajol who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. The question is, had they not have the privileges which offered them an easy access, would they have reached this far? There are thousands of equally deserving candidates on the streets of Mumbai who could have achieved great heights but did not get that single chance. They either keep struggling, go to the TV route or simply give up. 

If I think hard, I find that all professions are infused with the shades of Nepotism. Mukesh Ambani gets to inherit the Reliance empire, Sonia Gandhi gets to lead Congress etc. The examples are numerous. All the family run business fall into the same category. Some of such examples are evident, but others may not be.

I think it comes very naturally to a human being to take care of the interest of his acquaintances, thus he favors the family and friends before considering others who may be equally, may not be more, deserving. Well, in the tech related workplaces, we see less of this phenomenon directly because the selections are mostly driven by merit. However, isn't referral scheme a mild form of nepotism? Technically yes, because you refer your friends for an open position to get him an interview call, which would have taken him a long time otherwise. If it does not strike a chord, you must have heard about jack lagaana for any work related to government organisations. It may be for clearing a job interview, getting a tender passed or any other work where you are desperate to get Aashirwad from a influential person to either remove a roadblock or expedite things.

The question still persists if nepotism is bad and should be stopped, But how do you change a basic human habit? Or ... do you want to change it at all?

Naam Shabana

Ever since I heard the news about a prequel to Baby, I was curious. Moreover, what made it sound even more interesting is that Neeraj Pandey chose the 10 minute fight sequence involving Taapsee Pannu to tell the story of the girl who later became the feisty fighter Shabana Khan. My expectations were high, as were the ones from several movie-goers.

The film started with the leading lady Shabana (Pannu) showing her marshal art moves. We get to see a no-nonsense butt-kicking protagonist and her 'driver' friend who had more than a soft corner for her. The story took a sudden turn after a night of tragic events, which made Shabana to take the path of becoming a secret agent. 

After a fantastic backdrop, I was expecting some tough training sequences similar to that from recent Dangal movie followed by some high-octane thrills and actions on the lines of Baby. Not that I was disappointed completely, yet I felt that things were getting done in a hurry. I know, it's not fair, but is inevitable, to compare the movie to Baby. Naam Shabana lacked the intensity and sincerity of the latter. Maybe, the bar was too high, as usually happens with the sequels. Did I mention, Kahaani 2? Well I did not, but you may not be wrong to think about that one.

As per the star cast goes, the movie is completely owned by the leading lady: Taapsee Pannu. This is again after Pink, when she proves herself. She can really act, much evident from the dinner date scene, where she conveys a lot just from her eyes. Then, there is THE superstar Akshay Kumar, who even with just a cameo, infuses the screen with sheer energy whenever he appears. But did he need to every time pull the girl, literally, out of a dangerous situation? I am not sure! A conflicting point of view in a movie establishing girl-power. Rest of the cast does the job well. 

A more of Manoj Vajpayee would have been better. Southern star, Prithviraj is wasted in the role of the antagonist. He nevertheless does look menacing while killing people by choking them to death. 

A two and half for the movie and another half just for Tapsee Pannu and her action scenes; a total of 3 stars. It could have been better, but still one of the good movies releasing these days! Go for it without high expectations and you will enjoy. 

A Ray of Hope

Very difficult are the times when you think it's all finished, with all the negativity inside, you want to quit, to leave everything and just walk away. There is a constant churn in mind which keeps reminding you all the bad things happened in the past. Sometimes you imagine more than what has actually happened. You even plan a few steps ahead that if this bad thing happened, you would react that way post which the next bad thing would happen and you would react further to it by doing so and so. A few iterations more and you are done. You are finished, you have imagined something utterly bad which in reality is quite improbable to happen. 

But, in the middle of all this comes a small positive thought which if you don't ignore, can catapult the situation and create a virtual cycle of positive energy. If brigs all the hope and light in the otherwise gloomy and dark place. Then you start thinking backwards and clear the web of all the negative things and assure yourself that 'all is well' :). Things are not as bad as you imagined otherwise. And all of a sudden, you get the energy and might to fight it all out. And a big hope starts rising. But the key to all this is not to let go the one positive thought which arrived when you were engulfed with all the negativity. It's that small ray of hope which can do wonders !

Paani Puri

I came back after a not so tiring day at work. The manager is busy with some executive's visit. So, not much of pressure. But, at home, wifey is mad at me, after a spat over the weekend. She is not talking to me. Toh ab kaise manayein? "Paani Puri" is the savior, her favorite snack. Got two plates parceled and came home. Wifey, back from her college, is in the bed, trying to catch a nap but probably I disturbed her. "Oh, did I tell you that I picked up Bhindi on the way back, for tomorrow's lunch so that she is happy when she opens up the lunch box. So back to Pani puri. She is still sleeping (or pretending). So, the next thing is to make tea - again her favorite. So, I prepared that. Now, how can she refusethe combination of Pani Puri and tea. So, a smell of pani puri and just a small request from me and she is all set to grab the snacks.

It is amazing, how these small little things can make someone happy. Doctors say that it is a very unhealthy stuff - oily, unhygienic junk food. But I believe that if it can make someone happy, it is not unhealthy. It's good for the mental health for me and her. So, pani puri and chai over. And now, she is back to the bed and is almost the same state as she was earlier (or maybe better, but she does not want to express). And I am bored to death. Tried sending good messages on whatsapp but probably she was ignoring me, so no use. So, I am writing this piece of blog to kill time. But really, thanks to Pani Puri, we could have the evening snacks together. 

Ek pal apne liye bhi

Zindagi kitni busy ho gayi hai. Ya phir insaan itna busy ho gaya hai. Itna busy ke apne liye fursat ka ek pal bhhi nahi hai. Apne aapko itni saari cheezon se jod liya hai ke din ke 24 ghante bhi kam padte hain. Fecebook ki updates bhi check karni hai. Mobile phones pe callss aur SMS ke zariye logo se baat bhi karni hai. Times of India aur rediff pe news bhi padhni hai. Groupon ke naye deals bhi de dekhne hain. Movie ke reviews bhi padhne hain. Aur agar cricket ke updates nahi sune toh din waste ho jaayega. Lekin in sabhi "zaroori" cheezon ke beech kya apne liye ek bhi minute nikalte hain hum?

Information ka zaman hai. Aur har insaan zayada se zyada information lena chahta hai. Par yeh saari information dimaag mein kitna chaos paida karti hai, yeh kabhi socha hai?

Ek pal kabhi apne liye bhi nikalo. Aadhe ghante ke liye sabhi informative cheezon se duur ghar ki balcony mein baith kar toh dekho. Kitna sukoon milta hai hawaa mein hilte huye ped ke patto ko dekhne mein. Aati jaati motorcycles aur cars ko count karne mein. Ya phir aankh band karke sirf shaanti ka anand lene mein, bahut sukoon milta hai. Kabhi karke toh dekho?

Yeh mat socho ke tumhara adha ghanta waste ho gaya. Arrey kya kar lete itni der mein, shayad Youtube pe kuch naye movie trailers ho dekhte na? Koi fark nahi padta. Believe me, the silence of that half an hour will give you much more than what you think, you have lost! Try it.

Visiting Bull Temple

I wrote this blog about more than 1.5 years back, but it was on paper, until I found it today in my old documents and thought of publishing it. This one is for my lovely wife, Megha, who is currently enjoying her vacations in Jaipur and I am going mad missing her day and night !

One of the first religious places you would head about in Bangalore is the mighty Bull Temple located in the old charming southern part of Bangalore - Basavangudi, which itself derives its name from 'Basava' - Kannada word for the Bull.

So, after hearing a lot about and seeing people posting pictures on Facebook, we decided to pay a visit to the place. An added interest was the closely situated Bugle Rock park. It was a little far from my place, but does not matter and that is what weekends are for - travel and visit places. On the top of that, we thought of going by BMTC bus, which makes it even more leisurely event.

We set off hopping on the favorite 335E. What a relief it was to get into an AC bus, in the scorching heat. When we reached Majestic, Megha was really excited, as she had never been to the place. As usual, we had a few ice-creams, butter-milks, toffees, sweet-suparis, and rest of her favorite stuff, which has now become an inseparable prt of our outings now. And I am not complaining if these small little things bring a big smile on her face.

We were waiting for V45G, the only volvo to our destination. But alas, even after a prolonged wait for half an hour, which seemed longer, thanks to the heat again. So, we had to settle for a less preferred option of getting into the brown bus, which in 10 minutes brought us to the Bull Temple road. According to the bus driver, the temple was to be very close to the place, which turned our to be a good half km walk. i had to literally drag Megha and also bribe her with a chilled cane juice on the way, which did the trick.

The sheer presence of so many hawkers at the entrance of the temple tells how famous the temple is. So, after munching a few guavas and raw-mango (kairie), again Megha's favorite, we went inside by climbing the stairs. The temple looked big and a old heritage structure. In the front was a bug old tree which made the place shady and comfortable. It is old temple with a really huge black statue of the bull - Nandi god, very beautiful. But somehow the temple building looked old and needs some restoration and renovation. There are two small statues of Shiva and Ganesha behind the main Bull statue which we discovered during the Parikrama.

We then followed the ritual of taking pictures of us with the temple in the background. Sometimes, I think whether taking pictures and posting those on facebook (and then waiting for comments and likes) is one of the most important part of many of our activities these days and maybe including writing the piece of this blog as well :)

Before leaving we made sure to buy a small replica of the bull statute, as a token and proof that we visited the place. And you again know, who persuaded me in doing so. ;)

We slowly moved towards the Bugle Park, which is in the same campus as that of the temple. a reluctant Megha, which does not find it cool enough to visit any park, had to be bribed for more raw-mango chats, ice-creams, Bhel or whatever eatable munchies we get. The park is a beautiful place with a big rock on one side, which faced the BMS Women's College. No, no .. don't get ideas, but well it is a potential reason for the boys to visit the park frequently and scribble graffiti such as 'Ram loves Priya', 'Mumbo loves Jumbo'. With all likelihood, you will your names also somewhere written among the ones written on the rocks and walls.

The park was full of couples, from all ages who were sitting in all the corners of the park, taking a little time out of their busy lives to spend some peaceful time with each other on a peaceful holiday (forgot to tell you that, it was Ugadi holiday that day). And we also did the same, did a lot of pyaar bhari talks. I remembered and loved the ones regarding what we will do when we become old, we will live in a big farm house, outside the hustle-bustle of the city. Perhaps, we get so busy in the daily routine life that forget to take out quality time for each other. And this visit to the park gave us the opportunity.

So, back to the park, as I already promised Megha, we visited a paani-puri stall, ice cream shop, tender coconut stall and raw-mango chat stall and then headed for our way back. We also visited a couple of more temples which were in the vicinity. It was already evening and the temple became really crowded now. Unlike, us people probably preferred to go out when the head subsided.

Then after catching a bus from the bull temple road, we reached Majestic. Here to our surprise, the otherwise much frequently V335E was not where to be seen. So, we had to wait for a long time and hired a rickshaw back home. 

The Bumpy Start

Can you predict the end of the journey from its beginning? Yes or no or maybe? Ok, let me ask a better question. Can you be absolutely sure about the end of a journey, by just looking at its nascent stage? No, all you can do is to derive from the experience of other people and try to draw an analogy. But you can never be sure. So, what shall you do in this case? Do you give up? Probably not. You would still try to predict the end in either the positive or negative way, depending on the good or bad starting and most importantly depending on your way of thinking.

If you are the kind, who always tries to see the light at the end of a tunnel, you would try to picture a smoother ride for the latter part of the journey, in spite of its bad or bumpy start. You would recollect the happy moments, the so called positives of the journey so far and try to weave a similar happy happy picture for the future. And you would try to forget or ignore the bad part.
But things can happen the other way as well. You may pain the whole picture black by just looking at a black dot you would have noticed.

Now, in either case a decision needs to be taken. In the first case, you will happily continue the journey, dreaming about the pleasant future. In the latter, you may be so afraid that you may not decide to continue the journey ahead and head backward or somewhere or even stop?

The important point is that in the positive case, you have HOPE and hence there are chances of success. But in the negative case, you have already given up, accepted the defeat and certainly there is no success. You have to make the call finally. 

How to make an omelet

Today I will describe you how to make an omelet, .. my way! By the way, are you out of your mind? You came to a blog named ‘Bisibele Bath’ to learn how to make an omelet?? Well, if you have ever lived as a bachelor and do not know how to make an omelet, it is a shame, unless of course you are a pure veggie. But in latter case, you would not be reading my blog! :D

So, if you still do not know, then I beg you that this is not the right place to be in. Go, ask your mom/wife/girlfriend or even dad to teach you how to make one. Once you are through, then come back and read this piece ofliterature (lit… what? really?).

Enough of disclaimers, if you are still hanging on, then so be it. First of all, you go and buy eggs and bring these to home carefully. Why carefully? Dude … you are too inquisitive! Anyway, egg is delicate stuff which breaks easily. So, what if it does... you anyway break it to make an omelet .. :D :D. Okay .. whatever, your wish.

Now, get some onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and any other vegetable chopped, which you do not mind eating raw or partly cooked. The good thing about omelet, and many of dishes from a bachelor’s kitchen, is that there is no fixed recipe or number of ingredients. The only compulsory ingredient is egg :). So, I choose to experiment with different variations. This is called innovation (at least in corporate terminology). So, this time, I have some sprouted beans in my refrigerator. So, let’s try those and try to make Sprouts-Omelet, a dish excessively rich in Proteins (if you care, so).

I take some butter in a pan, heat it till it melts and put the sprouts for some shallow frying. This has two advantages: first, since sprouts are made by soaking the lentils in water for a couple of days, they get smelly. So this removes the smell. Second, we may not like the taste of sprouts as such. So, let’s reduce the taste by frying it. The more you fry, the tastier but unhealthier it will be.

Now, separately in a bowl, crack the eggs (if it is not already cracked, while you bring these home) and beat it until the viscous liquid turns light yellow uniformly. Now, add the chopped veggies, salt, pepper and beat till it mixes well. The more your beat it, the fluffier and softer the final dish will be. You might like to an electric beater, if you do not feel like doing it with the hand.

Put a pan on the stove to heat and put some butter in it. Wait till the butter melts. Now, carefully put all the mixture, you just now prepared, into the pan and spread it uniformly. Now, before the egg gets hard, put the fried sprouts, so that it sticks to the omelet. Now, keep the stove on medium flame and wait for sometime, till the liquid solidifies. Now, gently flip the omelet over to let it cook from the other side. Cook for another few minutes, making sure no uncooked egg is left.

You are good to go now, ready with the omelet. You might like to have it with bread-slices and ketchup. I prefer to toast it with bread like a sandwich. 

So, how is it? Yummy .. no? Good .. no? OK .. no? Awful .. yes? Holy s*#t! I told you that this is not the place to learn how to make an omelet. But, you did not listen to me. So, do not blame me now.  Now, whatever crap you just prepared, it is your baby; you decide what to do with it. But please go, learn properly to cook and then come back here.

PS: Thank you for your patience for bearing with me, while you were reading it. 

Do you love your job?

There are people who do their job and earn a living. There are some who do their job very well and are successful. And there are a few who love their job and find a true joy in it. I wonder how many of us fall in the third category? Probably, not many!

I question, are these people special? What did they do to facilitate this? Probably they are god-gifted in some sense. But a more logical answer I could find is that they pursued their passion, instead of following the herd. Without worrying about the initial hurdles, they continued it and sought a career out of it.

I can probably quote a couple of examples from my personal experience. There is this friend of mine, who is a toy designer. She was supposed to be a regular IT engineer, but obviously she hated being that. She chose to go along the less-trodden path, following her passion in design. Now, she is a budding Designer, bound to achieve something big down the line. I wish her all the best. Then, there is a batch-mate from college and a very close friend, who always wanted to go in finance and business side despite his engineering background; not because of the attractive pay, but his genuine interest. So, he prepared hard on his own by writing exams, reading books and finally made the switch. Now, he is the CFO of a well-known organization in education domain.

Other alternative is to go the reverse way – finding passion in your job. This is not as easy as it looks. But I have seen people who have done that. I know a colleague from work, who got into a job which he did not like as it did not suite his interest. So, he kept on resisting it and obviously was not very successful. But one day, he was assigned a challenging project with stringent deadline. He had to do it and he did. As a result, he was so much engrossed in it that he found true joy in doing it. Then he never turned back and now a successful manager, passionate about his work.

So, the conclusion is to follow your passion, stick with it and the success will follow. If you don’t know, your passion, what is it that excites you; then look around and try to find one. It will be somewhere there probably covered with some dust, which you will have to discover and polish it.

My reading journey - I

It was the summers of 2004, I was in Bangalore for my summer internship. It was then, I had a pleasure of meeting with one of batch-mate from college, who would become my room-mate later in Bangalore and one of the best friends IIT has given me. He was a voracious reader. Reading was his passion and he could go on talking about the books, authors and the philosophies inside the books. I was kind of fascinated by his views, since I never read much beyond the curriculum books, newspapers and online movie reviews. This guy inspired me so much that I thought of trying my hands on reading.

I started with Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone - a masterpiece and bestseller, an obvious choice for the beginners - especially the college-students who can easily relate to the plot. I liked the book and I found a new passion in reading. Whatever time I could find after office, a significant of it went into going through the adventures of Ryan and two of his friends.

The next was Love Story by Eric Segal. A thin book, but really lovely one. Then came Alchemist, which was a welcome change from the regular fiction. Though I found it a little repetitive and hence boring at times, and it tested the patience of mine, still a beginner. But at the end, I realized why it was the favorite of so many people. A recommended book for everyone.

The next was obvious. Sidney Sheldon is one author, whose books are recommended for beginners. They are relatively easy in terms of language, are full of drama and have engaging plots. Some people term this genre of literature as cheap, but I totally disagree with them. His books helped me in building my appetite and improve my reading ability. I remember finishing The Stars Shine Down in 48 hours, which included a train journey from Delhi to Bangalore. I was satisfied and proud of my reading capability.

I was back to Bangalore for my first job and met the same old friend, now my roommate. This time, he persuaded me to rise beyond Sidney Sheldon and try a 'better' author. So it was Jeffrey Archer now. And I started Kane & Abel. What a lovely book! So engaging and thrilling was the experience of reading it that I used to read till 2 am, on a weekday!! I liked this book so much that I tried another one of the same author - Not A Penny Less, Not A Penny More. And this was even more fun.

to be continued ...
(My reading list is shared here)

Triple Banana

Yellaki is the type of banana found in abundance in South India. Sometimes I have seen that there will be a pair of banana joined together, called double banana. Amusingly, as per my erstwhile Mallu roommate from college days, it is an old saying in Malayalam that if a lady eats this double banana, she will have twins :)

Strangely, today while shopping for groceries and vegetables, I found a set of three bananas joint together - a triple banana. I was wondering, if someone is looking for Triplets, I might have something useful. LOL .. :)

Meryl Streep

There are some things which get better with age – cheese, wine and …. Meryl Streep. The 62 year old veteran, who has been nominated for the prestigious Academic Award 16 times with two wins, seems to be getting more and more beautiful and talented with her age. I remember a joke from the last Oscar ceremony – they said that there should be a cap on the maximum number of times someone gets nominated. Well, last week I just happened to watch two of her recent movies – It’s Complicated and Julie & Julia.

It’s complicated is a simple romantic comedy. All three of the main characters – Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin play their part beautifully. But it is obviously the leady who takes away all the attention. Streep acts so naturally that I wonder if she would have given any retakes.

Julie and Julia, on the other hand, is totally different. Here Meryl Streep is not her, she is the true Julia Child – an American chef who is known for her books on French cooking. Be it the way Streep dresses, walks, smiles or nods her head or with the passion she cooks. I don’t think, anyone else could have fit in Julia Child’s shoes, so effortlessly. The other lead, Amy Adams, acts beautifully and deserves accolades. But once again, Meryl Streep overshadows her co-actor. So, at the end all you remember is Streep’s pearl necklace and her saying ‘Bon Appétit’. 

Bisibele Bath

I have written 7 entries in my blog till date. And probably these are the number of times, I have changed the title of my blog. I cannot help it. Because, every time I write a new post, it does not somehow match with the title. So, this time I thought I will make it something which is a mixture of everything.

What better than ‘Bisibele Bath’ : a South Indian dish with lots of vegetables, dal, rice and spices. It pretty much covers every ingredient that a South Indian dish may have. I don’t know if the recipe is also fixed, because any place where I eat Bisibele Bath, it tastes differently.

So, let it be this. Now, no matter what I right, it will not be irrelevant to the blog title. The other option was – “potpourri”, it is not as spicy and tasty as Bisibele Bath is.  

Are you also frustrated with Bangalore's Auto-Rickshaw Drivers?

Many of us have some time or the other got frustrated with the auto-rickshaw's in Bangalore. And possibly did not do anything other than cursing the driver or sharing the experience at lunch-table and feeling bad about it. But probably, something better could be done or can be done. Below is a piece of information copied from an email forward chain. Looks very useful to me. Please go through it. So, next time you face a similar problem, you will have something more than just complaining verbally. :)


You are in a hurry to catch the train. You pack all your stuff and frantically run out in the hope of catching an auto. You come out and see 5 autos standing at the corner. You thank God and ask them - "Majestic chaloge kya??” The Answer is "Rs 200 hoga!!”. "Kya?? It just cost Rs 100 till Majestic". "Bahut rush hai sir!!". You move on to the next auto, to try your luck and surprisingly, you have the same conversation "Bahut rush hai sir!!". Finally you give up and bargain the price to Rs 170 and hope you don't miss your train.
Sounds more than familiar?? In my years of existence in Bengaluru, these experiences have been really instrumental in teaching me great virtues - Patience and Tolerance. But at what price??? exorbitant rates, extremely rude behavior and what not ......


After years of feeling used, I set out to find the answer for this misery. Was there no government system that could bring these auto guys to justice? As a citizen, how can I express my concern? This search took me to the Koramangala RTO office (BDA complex) and to my surprise i found that there did exist a government system which I believe  99.99% of Bengaluru is unaware of !!


The System:


Note the vehicle number (KA-XX-YY-ZZZZ) and email the details to transcom@kar.nic.in. Based on the prefix XX (for example KA-01), complaint will be sent to one of the ten RTO offices in Bangalore and adjacent taluk areas. Alternatively, one can also call these offices at the number given below based on the vehicle number prefix and directly lodge a complaint.
Vehicle Prefix (KA-XX) Bangalore location Phone number
- KA-01 Koramangala 080-25533525
- KA-02 Rajajinagar 080-23324104
- KA-03 Indiranagar 080-25254310
- KA-04 Yeshwantpur 080-23376039
- KA-05 Jayanagar 080-26630989
- KA-41 Gyanabharthi 080-28602833
- KA-50 Yelahanka 080-28561366
- KA-51 Electronic City 080-25735522
- KA-52 NeelaMangala 08234-285598
- KA-53 KR Puram 080-25617951


Once the complaint is received at the corresponding office, a notice is issued to the address of the vehicle’s registered owner, requiring him/her to turn up at the RTO office within 7 working days. Every RTO has  out 10 IMV’s (Inspector of Motor Vehicles) who seize the vehicles which don’t report to the RTO. The penalty levied from the auto-waalas is Rs.100 under section 200. But more than the penalty, it is the inconvenience caused to these auto fellows that will play a part in bringing them on track.
The various offences among others for which one can lodge a complaint:
- Refusal to come to destination (Any destination!!!)
- Demanding excess fare
- Using rough language
- Cheat the public, for e.g. taking longer routes.
- Faulty Meter


There is also a *Helpline Number - 080-22353785* available Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on which one can call to lodge complaints. I was shocked when I found that the Koramangala RTO office received only 5 complaints a month. With over 1,00,000 autos plying on Bangalore roads, shouldn’t it be like 5 complaints a minute?
What’s wrong with the system?
- Lack of Awareness among the Bangalore citizens
- The system is inefficient in data gathering- emails or phone calls cannot be stored and processed properly, leading to ineffective use of these complaint data.
- Converting these complaints into notices issued to vehicle owners is still a manual process
- Limited government officials to handle

(Many many thanks to the original person who collected all the information and shared his experience)

Antardwand

Abduction of grooms in rural Bihar is a serious issue. I do not recollect if there have been many movies targeting the issue. The best thing about Antardwand is that it has its heart in place. The characters are so real that even you feel the shivering when the horrifying acts are taking place over there. The Bihari accent comes natural to the actor's, specially the characters of Janaki and Veer's parents.

Simple and straight yet powerful, thats the way Sushil Rajpal likes to tell the story in his directorial debut. Most actors excel in their roles, with obviously a special mention to the protagonist Raghuveer played effortlessly by Raj Singh Chaudhury.

I would recommend Antardwand to anyone who admires serious drama and wants to rise one level above from the so called 'midless comedies' but crappy, useless stuff such as Houseful, Khatta Meetha etc. (Rating 3.5/5)