Monthly Archive

Nothing much this year. Reminiscences from last years.

The day was 29th March 2k7.Tripped onto a local train from Mulund to Thane. Met friend at station. Had superb mixed fruit juice opposite this tuition centre building (was it Mahesh Tutorials??). Walked down to Talopaali lake chatting all the while. Wanted to go boating, but was refused. Next time, he said.

Observed that the tongas had metamorphosed to chariots - literally, with the ill-fed, bony ponies now replaced by milky white horses with feathers on head and all - was all of 4 years old- remember holding onto dear life onto the steel bar in the tilted, tiny carriage of the Thane tonga

Walked down Panch Pakhaadi, Teen Petrol Bunk; chatter-banter-chatter - he met his teacher a Tam Bram lady - how one can make them out :D. To Ghantali temple then. The temple front portion had been eaten up by the widened road. The old bungalow in front had been pulled down, given way to to spanking new flats. The temple was still the same The Pandava-Kaurava-temple flowering tree was still there - remember Mum regaling us with tales of her childhood out there - the flower with its 5 petals (the Pandavas), the many pollened stamens (Kauravas) the singular pistil with the stigma at the middle (the Temple) - sweet tale that one Powerful place that Ghantali - granted what I asked for that day, with a vengeance

Stepped into Naturals - delicious coconut ice cream- takes the shine away from that Baskin Robbins, he said pointing diagonally opposite the road. Walk, walk walk to his place. Please don’t mind the the place is quite small, he said. Have been to smaller places, said I as we vaulted up the steps. Had a cracking time talking to aunty;rocking on their cane swing and being fed puri bhaji and kheer; went through old albums, nudged and poked at them all. Let’s drop you back to station, he said. Ended up dropping me all the way back home.

Nice day, that

www.ceriality.com - a random stumble in the criss crossed roads of the Web led me to it.

Open in a few places in US of A, cute concept this one - a cereal bar/cafe outside a few schools run by pajama clad waiters to complete the breakfast-feel. The naming/descriptions brought forth a few giggles ; sample this - Slurrealities, Bran-New Day :D- do check out the virtual store for more. Pretty creative stuff on the add-ons (the firefox rub-on arrghh), flavoured milk crystals being one. What really impressed me was the eponymous Invent-a-Blend Kiosk - these guys have thought of everything!

Unlike any other small eat-out, sourcing issues are nil in this kind of a cafe - everything is packaged and available at your nearby stores. Why hoard cereal in your cupboard - just have it at our place any way you like it is what they would say. Considering the rushed-packaged lifestyle out there, this one is spot on.

This aint a new concept for us na? Thoughts wander to the Dosa bars that have sprung up in malls and road joints; the famous Kerala Thattukadas with their simple, but scrumptious fare - kappa (tapioca), meen (fish) curry ; the eateries in Chandni Chowk;puchkas @ Kolkata, Mumbai ke pav bhaji- Lemme just stop

Been meaning to press this one (actually blabbering about this one to many a friend) for quiet some time -an observation on the trend of using colour to convey the mood of a movie.In the age of black and white, they did use greys, halo effects to give the same; enhancing the softness of the skin, glow in the eyes, grim prospect of impending doom, mystery et al. Of course the “bytes and pixels” pheneomenon has relatively eased the use of this supplement to the art of movie-making!

Dil Chahta Hai (2001) was the first movie that struck me with its use of the Blue tint - the colour of water - cool, smooth, slick, sophisticated - personifying the 3 protagonists. Green in The Matrix (1999) and Don (2006) - high technology, greed, speed; Sepia in Guru (2007) - vintage, the hey days of the license Raj; Reds, Oranges, Yellows in Eklavya (2007) - simmering anger, hatred, murder. Will keep eyes open for more!