Bollywood Idiosyncs!

Another 'All-male-reunion/resurrection' saga wonderfully filmed. '3 Idiots' is a wholesome entertainer, brilliantly filmed and exceptionally well-casted. 'Dil Chahta Hai' heralded the concept of 'all-male-frivolous pals' reuniting after a journey of passe' flicks in life. 'Rang De basanti' and 'Rock On ' followed suit and were movies par excellence. Aamir has this uncanny diligence to select scripts...perhaps selecting for one's own self than focusing on target audience is his mantra.
Apparently the film can definitely be likened to the novel by CB..there can't be too many coinicidences! the plot, anta/protagonists are all key similarities well-adapted. For a change romance is just a part of the movie and Bebo surely is one qualitative cosmetic appendage! changes can sometimes be for good!

A tryst with Bhootaiah and remembering Vishnu

Last fortnight for me had been more than interesting. I could catch up with my Vayusena pals and the dear cousin brood in a Birthday party at  'Mithila'.  ' Mithila'  houses  our parents, Mama-Mamis and our maternal cousins, . I'd rather call the abode,   a family HQ of sorts as it was here that our Paati had lived her life..a full circle ; Taata who had then( 1960s) retired as a high school head master had built a house...a house that sheltered not just the family siblings but many needy students . Today 'Mithila' proudly stands as a  stoic structure housing seven flats occupied by Pati-Taata's children and their grand ones.  I would'nt  be overstating to define  it as a mini family conglomerate that showcases co-existence and congeniality. Mithila plays host to festivals, family gatherings, Birthday parties, Cultural shows and  ceremonies to commemorate our beloved Taata -Paati. 

Last Sunday Mama's grand kids had hosted their Birthday party....the party as such  and the lunch that ensued as is customary with 'Mithila' was laced with gaiety. What followed that was even better...all of us had a treat of watching 'Bhootaiahyana Maga Aiyyu'...a wonderful fable by Late Shri. Gorur Ramaswamy Aiyengar retold on the screen to perfection. This movie must be at least two decade old and amazingly it had enraptured all of us...for a good 90 minutes. The plot is all but set in a picturesque village nestled in  Malnad ( Kalasapura ) and revolves around two good-to-be-true characters  supported by a wonderful cast of some of the best known comedians of yore. Vishnuvardan and Lokesh have both essayed gutsy characters and have given their best shots. Their void in the Kannada film industry today is unfilled. The movie has it all...drama, humour thrill, tragedy, reformation, subtle romance and an ending that is per se positive. The setting bears a stark resemblance to R.K.N's Malgudi...the magical town that has fascinated generations. Our tribute to the posthumous thespians could'nt have been better.....

In a nut-shell that was a 'Picture'- perfect finale for a wonderful escapade together at 'Mithila'

The fifth place..

This post is a tribute to our dear cousin Goda ..the blog has been long overdue..she has been pervading my mind too often;

 It seems like yesterday..but a dozen years have passed by. Goda looked so good and true to life in my wedding album. My muse often hovers around her and those days of togetherness.

 We were a bunch of five like-aged and minded cousins who stuck to one another at all family gatherings and talked our hearts out at the sleep-overs. All of us shared a deep bond and to others chagrin,  we were reserving five seats next to one another at all the family gatherings. Goda was our sooth sayer of sorts  smitten with myths, prophecies and omens. She had us enraptured with her tales of yore and her eyes themselves spoke volumes.

 She had done all of us cousins  proud as the first one to have donned a white coat and sported a steth around her neck. A compassionate soul that she was, she had  immense faith in her profession . Her service as a doctor began at home when she had treated and nursed her grand mother through her last few days.

 She was again the first one amongst us to enter motherhood. We had visited her at the hospital when the cherubic baby boy, she had delivered,  had been roomed in. We were chiding her for not being party to another cousin's wedding slated a couple of days ahead. She had remarked 'Make sure you have the fifth seat reserved and miss me !'. We missed her for the wedding and......... we missed her forever.  Her demise, when the family was at the behest of another wedding left all of us shell shocked.

 She was all in one - a loving mother,daughter,wife, sister, neice, granddaughter and cousin. A promising doctor intending to go miles saving lives, had lost her own to a brief fatal attack of Asthma. Her last glimpse of a proud mom , managing to smile through the nebuliser is eternally locked in our hearts. 

 She has lived beyond her own prophecies and within us till abyssmal depths. 

 Dear cousin, we still have that fifth place reserved for you.......Fathom, we cannot!

Halwara Camaraderie after 14 years!!

My 'eve' of new years eve of 2010 ( 2009?) could'nt have been better! On the 30 Dec last year the pals of Halwara met. Halwara was my first place of posting whilst my tenure in VayuSena. Five of us, techies shared a wonderful friendship...a bond beyond compare. It had been fourteen years since we'd said our goodbyes to each other as all of us were posted out to units that were hardly well connected...For a services pro, the first place of posting etches itself deep in memories. Ditto to us ...Punjab, for us Southies was a place to reckon and actually understand the nuances to strike vibes with the locals. Our shopping expeditions to Ludhiana, haggling on the prices for the juthis, negotiating the huge glasses of Lassi, bearing the glares of the locals, driving my first scooter, bouncing for food, former call-ons....I can go on relentlessly.

Amazingly, t

he camaraderie that we shared almost a decade and a half back had not waned at all despite the different courses our lives have chartered. Farida's absence was very prominent..she should've been there for that picture perfect retrospective. As was the general practice Moses was the soft target with Uday and Sudhir chiding him.

I am reminded of one of Farida's mail when she had remarked that our Halwara days were the 'golden' ones. How true!

I am so glad that our family members also connected so well and shared our goodwill !!

Hope we meet again ...this time with Farida.