Rock On!!!

Just back, from what for me, is definitely the "Movie of the Year'. I went with high expectations and the movie did not disappoint!

This movie really blew me away with its abundance of TALENT. The script and dialogue - fantastic, the acting - sensitive and controlled, the music - SUPERLATIVE, the editing taut, the direction - apt. A beautifully made movie to be savoured like a fine vintage! The last time I lost it like this over a movie was way back for Dil Chahta Hai - unsurprisingly, Farhan Akhtar's debut as a director! And here he is again - this time with his acting and singing debut - brilliant! Kudos to this young Powerhouse of Talent.

Yet for me the sensitive, angst-ridden Joe, portrayed by Arjun Rampal (looking HOT,HOT, HOT!!) in the performance of a lifetime, is the piece-de-resistance! He becomes Joe Mascarenhas - guitarist par excellence, dreamy, principled, protective and conflicted. Shahana Goswami as Debbie his wife, is the perfect foil to his down-and-out Joe. She's a no-nonsense kind of gal, who's sacrificed her dreams to work in the family fish business, put food on the table and pay the bills, struggling to keep her family afloat. In one of my favourite scenes (there are too many to count!) she's complaining to Joe, "I can never get rid of this damn fish smell from my hands!" Another is when she goes to meet Farhan's character Aditya, to tell him to stop 'spinning-castles-in-the-air' for Joe, 'cause what they need, is for him to have a steady job not unrealistic expectations. "The shards of those broken promises, will affect my life," she says, "my life and my son's, not yours. Please, let him go Aditya." Great scene, great dialogue, great acting!

Luke Kenny and Purab Kohli shine as 'Rob' the keyboard player and 'KD', short for 'Killer Drummer' :) Prachi Desai, whom I previously knew, only as the ever-suffering 'Bani' in the TV serial 'Kasam Se', shows she can indeed act and redeems herself as Sakshi Shroff, Aditya's wife and the catalyst serving to reunite the band, for one last Hurrah. I love the scene where she rather hesistangly, haltingly croons 'Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Ye', while husband Aditya watches, silently supporting her, eyes brimming with pride and love - very sweetly done!

The band is 'Magik', as its members say because, "We're all in it together!" I agree, it's all of them, together, creating movie-magic! This movie renews my faith in 'Bollywood', perhaps all is not lost after all and hope exists while such talent does. It's a good feeling :)

3 Cheers for 'Magik', 3 Cheers for 'Rock On', Hip Hip Hurray!!!

Happy Days...

Sorry this is not about the show - though I worshipped the Fonz - still do!!

Lately my days have been kind of a blur, happily busy with work and friends, until I realized that September is half gone! We're scrambling to get work ready for the Frankfurt Book Fair while not passing up on any opportunities to live it up, which leaves me very little time to blog ;)

Have spent several long days staring at computer screens, editing, trying to find the right words, thoughts, punctuation marks and others, having long relaxed lunches in the company of old friends - alcohol a must of course - wine, mohitos, margaritas - as a friend of mine likes to say - Jolly!!

Yesterday was particularly wonderful - a dear friend's birthday, nine women, stiff margaritas mixed by moi, delicious Mexican food and interestingly diverse conversation - all making for one long, potent celebration of the best kind!! Haven't had as much fun in a long while :)

As an Indian living outside India, removed from family with a manically travelling spouse - my girlfriends are my sanity, my lifeline, my raison d'etre! Life without them is unimaginable! We share laughs, cribs, books, jewellery and clothes! We give freely of ourselves - our homes, food, advice and ideas. Solutions to problems, shoulders to cry on and an extra pair of helping hands - we are all this and more.

A big Thank-you to all my Friends, for enriching my life, renewing my spirit and bringing me happy days!

I dedicate to all the Phenomenal Women who grace my life,one of my favourite poems, by Maya Angelou aptly titled 'Phenomenal Woman'...'cause that's what you are and that's how you will forever stay in my heart!

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

- by Maya Angelou

Girl Power!

Yesterday I attended Avril Lavigne's concert, here in Singapore, a part of the Asian leg of her 'The Best Damn Tour' and boy was it a Revelation!

I am not a major concert-goer. I've been to a couple (Santana and Elton John) courtesy a dear friend, and had a blast, but its not something I do by habit. Santana and Elton John are two all-time favourites and I know their music well. Avril Lavigne on the other hand is not someone I have followed at all, except for the occasional 'Girlfriend'. I knew she was a young teen Phenom and yesterday I got to see just why!!

The venue was full of young girls mostly between ages 9-12 (we ourselves had two aged 9 & 11) dressed in what I'm assuming are the latest teen fashions! Tights with mini-skirts, denim jackets, flip-flops, dark nail polish and pink hair-streaks! They all looked adorable! Many had Avril T-shirts over their outfits and almost all had pink and black flags to wave during the performance, as did we! None of these came cheap, but that didn't seem to matter!

The performance started an hour late and the children waited somewhat patient but fidgety, letting of steam through repeated collective chants of "Avril, Avril, Avril!" She came on at last at 9 pm and I was immediately deafened by the collective roar from thousands of screaming fans!! She launched into 'Girlfriend' and there was no looking back! My friend and I might possibly have been the only two people left sitting in our seats! Everyone else was on their feet - screaming, dancing and singing along.

Right in front of us, was a young girl (she couldn't have been more than 9 yrs old) in denim capris, an over sized black Avril tee and silver guitar earrings. She was obviously a huge fan and knew every word of every song that Avril sang, singing along with her, as did every other girl there including our two! It was amazing to see them sing lyrics, which they were still too young to fully understand and touching to see their devotion to their Idol :-)

Avril didn't disappoint! She was utterly charming, extremely pretty and wonderfully talented! I loved 'When You're Gone', 'Complicated' and 'Happy Ending'. For a moment the little girl's father and I made eye contact as we watched his daughter's joyful celebration in shared amazement and exchanged a knowing smile. In that moment I understood how she felt and I was right there with her!

'Go Avril!'

Lifestory

I wasn't thinking of anything or anyone particular, when this poem occurred to me, or maybe I was and just didn't know it! Now that I read it, I think I must have been thinking of my Mom & my Granny - both women I love and admire immensely but don't often let it show! Role models in every way. Women of independent spirit - wise, brave, opinionated, strong, kind, elegant and graced with dignity.

Aai & Mamma, this one is for you...

Lifestory

Today, I met a woman,
Her head bowed in grace,
Quiet eyes and gentle sighs,
Solitude lined her face.

I watched her move mountains,
Her back straight and proud,
Her long and restless fingers,
Often caressed my brow.

Marriages and children,
Family and friends,
Shadows on her gentle face,
Alone in the end.

Years of wisdom wrapped in love,
Journeying stormy seas,
Beauty and courage on wings of a dove,
Her spirit forever free.


- Harsha

Mabuhay!

She arrives Monday! My new live-in helper from the Phillipines. I have butterflies in my stomach and I don't mean in a fluttery, delicate way!! Oh no - more like giant moths - beating their wings with frantic energy, looking for a way out of a roomful of darkness and closed windows! I hate moths.

Why am I so nervous? I've never had a live-in helper in ALL of my adult life! The last time I lived with one, was as a college student, when Savita, a girl from our village came home and stayed with us until we married her off! She was family - in the manner in which long-standing helpers become family, irritatingly familiar and familiarly irritating! But that I was a lifetime ago, when I was young college student, immersed in my own world and oblivious to all else - certainly home and hearth were farthest from my mind!

Now however - I have metamorphosed into a rather house-proud home-owner. I like things just so, that's not to say I'm fussy or a 'dragon' in the home, but well, it's my house and I like things a certain way! Surely that's not being unreasonable? But now that she will be here - touching my things, sharing my space & life - I'm beginning to wonder...will I cope? will she like me? will I like her? how will I deal with the loss of privacy? will she learn to cook? will she make my morning cuppa, just so? will she break my stuff? will I manage to be kind and firm at the same time? Scary stuff!!

Don't know the answers yet, only time will tell. It's rather like courtship really -tentative and confusing at first, each on tenterhooks - pondering the right words to say, the right tone to use. For now, I'm hopeful, getting ready to 'do the dance!'

And so I say to her...Welcome,"Mabuhay"!

* After I wrote this, I came to understand that she has not cleared an essential English exam and must go back to the Philippines before she can come back and take the exam again. Though a part of me is relieved, another is sadly confused - despite all my misgivings, I guess I was looking forward to her helping hand!

'Fasting, Feasting'

The title, readers among you might recognize, as the title of an Anita Desai novel, a finalist for the 1999 Booker Prize. I've borrowed it because, having just got back from a magical reading of passages from the same by Anita herself, I'm absolutely 'floored'! Sorry, wanted to be very literary and use elegant language, but 'floored' just best describes how I feel right now, not delighted or fascinated or awestruck - although I feel all that too!

My dear friend (to whom I am eternally grateful!) had an extra invite to the event and since we're both bookworms, she took me along. I haven't read Anita Desai, so I had no expectations. I googled her to get a bit of background and not be the only entirely ignorant reader at the event! (God Bless Google!) That was the extent of my preparation.

The event was held at the Pod on the 16th storey of The Singapore National Library, a venue that was stunningly appropriate for the evening as it turned out. A wide circular room, with glass walls that allowed expansive vistas of the Singapore skyline and river. For once, I was glad for the rain that had thankfully petered to a light misty drizzle and as the evening progressed and the lights came on, contributed to the magical aura of the setting.

There were a few speeches to begin the evening, that I happily pass over and then at last she began to read. As I write, I can still hear her quietly forceful voice in my head. Not particularly loud, yet effectively nuanced and incisive. She transported me and the rest of the attentive audience, straight into Uma's world, minutes into the reading. When she read the passage where the protagonist Uma is on display to a prospective bridegroom - the whole audience was laughing! When she told how the same bridegroom asked for Uma's younger sister Aruna's hand instead of hers, we empathized with Uma's pain and disappointment, felt her mother's anger. Poignantly funny, I think we all recognized the Uma in ourselves, deeply hidden yet strangely familiar. I wanted her never to stop and I could see many around me similarly affected!

I will always remember her in black and white. A striking persona resulting from an elegantly dignified blend of her mixed parentage and wisdom, in a beautiful black and white mekhla, long silver earrings, with her silvery gray hair in a large bun and the glasses perched on her nose. I could gush on and on, about her simple yet emphatic language, her clarity of thought, her dry wit and her general poise and grace - but I think you get the picture!

I was 'floored' by the reading, borrowed my friend's copy of the book instantly and am off to read it right now!

"Happy Reading" fellow bookworms!

'Sanctuary'

Today was another one of those days, when I spent a zillion hours talking on the phone! My head is still spinning from all the talk (not that I didn't enjoy every minute!). Is that why I thought of a quiet space - a retreat, a haven, a sanctuary? I'm not sure - it just kind of came to me. I guess my 'self' knows what I need and when, better than I ever will!

So here goes...

Deep within my quiet heart,
Is a safe and gentle place,
Where I retreat to hurt and heal,
In my secret, personal space.

Here I am nurtured when I break,
Cherished, harboured from disgrace,
Here I find my missing sparkle,
In Love's warm, tender embrace.

Here my spirit comes to be tended,
Lovingly made strong and whole,
Here my soul comes to be mended,
Blessed, nourished and extolled.

In this blissful peace of mind,
I find my heaven, haven I find,
Solitude and benediction,
My sanctuary, My conviction.

- Harsha