Worth the wait!!..

Merry Christmas!!...

So it was quite an un-eventful day to start with. Was raining cats and dogs when I had to leave for office. Reached office partly drenched. Was just looking forward to finish work ASAP, as we could leave anytime after lunch. Decided to not waste the christmas eve, and instead go to Orchard with frenz.

Here is when the day became eventful. Anyone who is even an iota of an Aamir fan would know that Ghajini released today (in Singapore). Somehow came with the idea of catching the 8:45 show at Jade. Rushed from Orchard to Bugis to get the tickets.. (y does no one pick the damn phone??)
But as luck would have it we did not get the tickets...

Since we were in the mood to watch a movie, went back to Orchard to catch "Yes Man".. though personally I was quite upset.. was sulking over having to watch Jim carrey over Aamir Khan...
Anyways, y it was eventful was because we didnt get tickets for the 9 something show of "Yes Man" at Shaw House.. Then we rushed to Cathay and the same story... God they couldnt even manage to give us seats together for the 11:35 show.

That was the last straw.. So unanimously decided to go for Ghajini@ Jade - the 12:15 show..
Gawd thats late but what the heck.. long weekend up ahead.. :)
Events didnt cease to happen.. I lost my ez-link card... :(
But that did not deter us from returning back to Jade.. this time we managed to grab the tickets.. and pretty good seats... :)
Oh god wot an evening...

But then came the best part... Finally got to enter the theatre... I don't rememeber the last time I saw a movie on the first day itself (I think it was Andaaz apna apna)... actually technically speaking, saw it one day before it releases in India... Yay!!
And boy Wot a movie!!!
It was totally worth the wait, the running around and every penny... (including the ez-link card i lost)...
I don't really want to spill any beans.. so would not really discuss the movie... atleast not today...
But you have to watch it for yourself...
Its not probably one of the greatest movies... but Aamir has done an exceptional job!!
You can take my word for it.. why else would I be writing this at almost 5 in the morning...
Aamir khan rocks!!!
He is supreme.. he has surpassed himself... I love him all over again!!!

And to top it all, they even showed promos of Billoo barber, Lucky By Chance (farhaan akhtar is back) & Chandni chowk to China... even more paisa vasool... the joy of my movie experience increases manifold if i can catch a few good trailers.. :)

But seriously, Aamir has done a great job, full justice to his role.. and its quite amazing to see his eight pack abs. Hats off to the perfectionist!!

Its far from a White Christmas!!

This came to my mind while wandering through Orchard Road yesterday. All the Christmas decorations reminded me of something. When I was young, I used to feel weird when I thought about the Australians celebrating Christmas during summers!!
Now I really know how weird... Christmas@ tropical weather is quite a different feeling..
Although in India, I have hardly seen a White Christmas, but I still remember the chill in the air.
I never thought I would be saying this, but I am sort of missing the Delhi winters.
I was so delighted at the thought of staying in Singapore especially as there are no winters here. I used to hate winters.. But here I am, missing the famous dilli ki sardi..

Some of the things that I am reminded of from the winter days:

Peeling and eating roasted "mungphali" (peanuts)..
Soaking in the sun and having oranges, post lunch..
Tucking in in a huge razai..
Warming your feet with a hot water bottle...
Dreading having a bath.. then shivering for ages even after a "hot" shower..
Leaving the house only to be greeted by a blanket of fog.. close to zero visibility...
Loving the feeling of wearing mom's hand knitted pullovers.. :)
Having "Maaki ki roti" n "Sarson ka saag".. also "Gajar ka Halwa"
Struggling to warm my hands and feet in front of the electric heat pillar...
Enjoying the lovely mixed veg pickle sent over by the neighbourhood aunty...
Gulping down the numerous cups of tea, coffee, soups n hot chocolate...
"Smoke" coming out of one's mouth while talking... :)
Escaping to a nearby hill station over the weekend.. brr.. even colder...

Somehow most of the memories revolve around food.. but that was the fun part...
For someone who used to hate winters, these were some of the many things that made the winters exciting..
I am sure many will agree with me..

For those lucky ones, who are witnessing winters, Happy winters!!.. Njoy all you can...

And to everyone, enjoy the holidays.. Merry Christmas!!

Truly Golmaal hai...

So, I have been on a old hindi comedy watching spree... Just finished watching Golmaal(old) for the umpteenth time...


Its a gem.. like Utpal Dutt says - Asli Heera!!!
The characterization / dialogues / acting - everything's perfect..

Hrishikesh mukherjee was a wizard of a director.. again he spells magic in this film..

Here are a few fav scenes/dialogues from the film.. I am sure you will agree...

The way Utpal Dutt says - "Jiske paas mooch nahi hai, uske paas mann hi nahi hai"

"Kaun kambakht kehta hai ki hitler marr gaya"

The kurta selection scene.. Hari bhai aka Sanjeev kumar's kurta is broad enuff to fit 2 sanjeev kumars... :)

The interview scene is too good. The way Ram prasad dashrath prasad sharma keeps fibbing has u ROFL..

"Mujhe to yeh pata nahi tha ki Moti kala bhi hota hai.. main to yehi samjhta tha ki moti kewal shwet varniya hota hai".. while discussing "Pele"...

"Manushya ko apne adarsh aur moocho ka uchit aadar karna chaiye"..."Mooch to mann ka darpan hai".. ha ha...

The way he comes up with - "Kurta to sharir ke uparardh ki lajja nivaran ke liye hota hai..." to explain his really short kurta, is hilarious..

Bindiya goswami's natak practice scene where she says - "I m Nataking daddy, yeh natak hai"

The "mali" scene.. "Jiska naam bhawani shankar ho woh to paida hote hi buddha ho gaya"..

The "Ulte phere" dialogue in the climax... :)

The best scene has to be the one where Dina pathak enters the house from the kitchen window. Her expressions are priceless!!

Care to add any more??

Plus it has the absolutely melodious "Aane Wala Pal..Jaanewla Hai" sung by Kishore Kumar..
Completely reflects my theory of life.."Live each moment to the fullest"..

The quality of comedy is unparalleled.. Wish they could make something as funny these days, instead of the inane, leave-ur-brains@home comedies we get to see these days...

I am sure you must have seen the movie.. If by any remotest chance u have not, go grab a copy of the DVD today itself...
Happy watching!!

These are a few of my favourite things...

Not in very high spirits today...
Thought i'll jot down few of my favourite things...
But where do I start...

I know.. got it!
Watching old hindi comedies.. the real funny ones, which crack u up.. like Golmaal (the old one), Jaane bhi do yaaro, Chashme baddoor (remember Ms Chamko), Chupke chupke (my favourite AB movie), Khoobsurat, Rang Birangi.. and so on.. its a long list..

Chocolate.. best way to beat depression!!
Having Hot chocolate Fudge especially the ones in Nirula's..

Reading Archies... what a collection I have back home.. also Asterix and Tintin... :)
Re-reading my fav enid blyton books...

Listening to Ghazals..

Cooking.. actually experimenting.. :)
Baking cakes... and cookies.. its quite a stress buster...

Watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S back to back... also SATC and sarabhai v/s sarabhai...

Dancing to my fav bhangra tune.. actually dancing as if no one's watching..

Getting wet in the rains... here I get ample opportunity to do that...

Sitting on a beach @ Sunset... too lazy for sunrises.. :)

Having hot steaming coffee @ Starbucks..

Getting a pedicure... sitting in those huge massage chairs is also pretty relaxing.. i am sure everyone agrees..

Shopping... my god.. is this a good sign or a bad one?.. shopping came so down in my list.. quite unbelievable!!

Playing Dumb charades with Waviers.. in case someone gets curious, this is the name of our group (of friends).. actually this activity is redefining fun.. :)))

Going on trips/vacations.. the more sudden the plan, the better!

Gazing at a star studded sky.. this is hardly visible from the cities these days..

Flowers.. lilies, daffodils, tulips, daisies, gerberas, gladioli...

Soaking in the sun on a cold winter afternoon...

Well it does work.. I feel better.. Infact I think I'll watch Ms Chamko now... :)

And we are back..."Are we United?"

Its been ages since I created this blog. Its high time I started writing in it.. something I have been putting off for a long time now.

Let me start with a topic which came up at the lunch table today..
We Indians are somehow very proud of our rich culture and heritage. Sadly it is us who fail to respect it. Why is there this constant battle of sorts between north indians and south indians?

Talk to any North Indian (read Punjabi) anyone who is a south indian is a Madrasi. They don't even bother to know if the person is from Kerala or Karnataka. As aptly depicted in Chak de!

Again anyone from North east is a Chinky!!.. does anyone even bother to know if they hail from Nagaland or Mizoram. Are they not a part of India and are these people any lesser Indian than the (mighty headed) north indians?

If someone from North India is reading it dont react yet, even I am from North India, but sadly all this is true.

And anyways, is there nothing like west or east Indians???...
Is there only a north and south in India?..
Gujratis and Bengalis are very much Indians, arent they? Or are they just there to have umpteen PJs written on them, since they sometimes speak accented language.

Religion may be the visible evil but does anyone raise an eyebrow when Raj Thackery calls for "North Indians" to be driven out of Maharashtra.

We Indians pride ourselves when we hear India has "Unity in Diversity"..
The diversity is certainly there.. but are we United?