Tete-a-tete...

Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:41:11 PM): hey! what are you upto?
Areille (7/26/2006 9:41:17 PM): i am in the middle of a game
Areille (7/26/2006 9:41:20 PM): will call u when i am done
Areille (7/26/2006 9:41:26 PM): i am dying anyway
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:41:28 PM): oh yes. you must be saving the world! i forgot!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:41:30 PM): give me a few more rounds
Areille (7/26/2006 9:41:33 PM): haha
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:41:35 PM): LOL!!! all this sounds so surreal mannn!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:00 PM): :D
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:42:01 PM): the other day, Stern was playing some game on my laptop. he kept screaming, ‘dude...the game's getting exciting’ and i could see nothing.
i mean, absolutely nothing happening on the screen!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:10 PM): oh yes
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:14 PM): he was playing blund
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:42:15 PM): some random world map.
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:16 PM): blind
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:22 PM): yes thats what i am playing
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:25 PM): but i am not blind
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:42:30 PM): oooh...arent we quite in the know in the game world now!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:36 PM): he likes playing blind
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:42:38 PM): i know u r not blind.
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:38 PM): :D
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:42:40 PM): :D
Areille (7/26/2006 9:42:42 PM): lol!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:43:14 PM): please re-read the last 12 lines of this conversation
OUTRAGEOUSLY RIDICULOUS!!!! HAHAHA!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:43:40 PM): :D
Areille (7/26/2006 9:43:50 PM): :D
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:43:54 PM): dude, its cracking me up!!!!!!!!!!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:43:56 PM): HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:44:18 PM): i think we need to post those lines onto a post
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:44:22 PM): i think i will extract this conversation and post this on a blog!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:44:24 PM): OMG!!!!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:44:27 PM): OMG!!!!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:44:39 PM): its official. WE HAVE GONE NUTS!!!!!!!!!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:44:39 PM): ok this is freaky now
Areille (7/26/2006 9:44:43 PM): :D
Areille (7/26/2006 9:44:46 PM): :D
Areille (7/26/2006 9:44:50 PM): ROTFL
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:45:00 PM): I KNOW DUDE! this is ridiculously funny!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:45:07 PM): u need to post
Areille (7/26/2006 9:45:11 PM): pls post!!!!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:45:14 PM): yes, i will! certainly!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:45:14 PM): this has to be saved
Areille (7/26/2006 9:45:19 PM): and i need to save the world
Areille (7/26/2006 9:46:20 PM): my folks are seriously wondering why i am laughing out aloud staring at the screen
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:46:26 PM): varna saare mohalle mein badnami ho jaayegi!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:46:33 PM): HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:46:35 PM): haha that i am blind?
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:46:37 PM): i am seriously LOLing!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:46:42 PM): i knowww me tooo!!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:46:42 PM): HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:46:50 PM): its too funny
Areille (7/26/2006 9:47:14 PM): esp. the grand finale of posting on the blog
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:47:25 PM): oh f***! howlarioius man
Areille (7/26/2006 9:47:30 PM): :D
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:48:02 PM): did you save the world, supergirl??/ huh? huh?
Areille (7/26/2006 9:48:07 PM): no man
Areille (7/26/2006 9:48:11 PM): i am so dying
Areille (7/26/2006 9:48:15 PM): but i will fight till i die
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:48:19 PM): LOLLLLLLLLL
Areille (7/26/2006 9:48:24 PM): i really feel like leaving actually
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:48:32 PM): holy crap areille.. u r really getting into it !
Areille (7/26/2006 9:48:36 PM): but i gues i;'ll wait till i die
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:48:37 PM): re read the last 4 lines.
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:48:39 PM): make that 8
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:48:55 PM): r u playin with stern?
Areille (7/26/2006 9:49:02 PM): no
Areille (7/26/2006 9:49:08 PM): he is too good for me
Areille (7/26/2006 9:49:16 PM): he helped me in the previous round
Areille (7/26/2006 9:49:20 PM): and i timed out
Areille (7/26/2006 9:49:27 PM): so i think he left out of frustration
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:49:27 PM): jesus! please save me!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:49:30 PM): :D
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:49:32 PM): hahahahaha!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:50:10 PM): maybe everyone will leave, and that way there will be noone but me left to have the world all to myself
Areille (7/26/2006 9:50:19 PM): yes, thats the only way i';; win
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:50:27 PM): LOLLLL!
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:50:34 PM): what the fuck did you eat for dinner????
Areille (7/26/2006 9:50:41 PM): :D
Areille (7/26/2006 9:50:51 PM): moong dal usli
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:50:55 PM): dude, this is not even borderline geeky. you have jumped over to the other side
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:04 PM): ok i am dead
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:51:09 PM): RIP
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:10 PM): R.I.P
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:13 PM): OH SUCK
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:51:13 PM): OMG
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:14 PM): FUCK
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:51:21 PM): what the hell is happening today
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:21 PM): u r frikkiiinnnggg
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:31 PM): we have chatted more than the normal levels of chatting
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:39 PM): we now are just saying the same thing
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:51:52 PM): its like a scary sci fi movie. AAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:55 PM): i know
Areille (7/26/2006 9:51:56 PM): shit
Areille (7/26/2006 9:52:06 PM): i wasn't looking at the screen when I typed R.I.P
Areille (7/26/2006 9:52:12 PM): coz i wanted those dots in the middle
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:52:14 PM): Areille: maybe everyone will leave, and that way there will be noone but me left to have the world all to myself Areille: yes, thats the only way i';; win
Areille (7/26/2006 9:52:19 PM): and i look up and i am like whatttt
Areille (7/26/2006 9:52:29 PM): :D
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:52:54 PM): seriously dude. unreal. first the blog, then OMG and now RIP
Areille (7/26/2006 9:53:10 PM): it all needs to be posted!!! sheesh!
Areille (7/26/2006 9:53:19 PM): does yahoo save these
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:53:23 PM): yes. definitely (head shake included)
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:53:24 PM): yep.
Areille (7/26/2006 9:53:27 PM): this one definitely is a masterpiece
Areille (7/26/2006 9:53:29 PM): awesome
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:53:30 PM): message archive. you have to enable it though
Areille (7/26/2006 9:53:39 PM): ok i need to make a phone call, and then will call u
Wittynathan (7/26/2006 9:53:44 PM): okie dokie

Orange...

One of my favorite movies from the last few years has been, 'Rang De Basanti'. Adjectives run scarce when I try to describe this movie.

If it does not become India's entry to the Oscar's, it better be because there is one that is far better! (which I doubt!). If and when it does go to the Oscar's, I sincerely believe that it will be our best bet thus far!

A few reasons why I absolutely love this movie:

1. The theme is contemporary and the plot/script/storyline is intriguing and engaging: "5 people, representing today's youth, who are seemingly apathetic towards the current state of things in the country, are roped in to make a documentary about passionate revolutionaries. A twist in their real life, inspires them to emulate their on screen characters and become heroes in their own right in today's India!"

2. The movie sends across a message, without being too prescriptive or sentimentally nationalistic. (I thought Swades was equally good in that respect. But, viewers in India did feel that it was very preachy!)

3. Superb casting! Specifically - Kirron Kher as Aamir's mother, Sharman Joshi as the carefree idiot, Soha Ali Khan as the no-nonsense young urban woman.

4. Phenomenal music (Although I do maintain that ARR's best album to date is 'Dil Se'. This comes close to being his 2nd best.) - both background tracks (especially the track during the titles at the beginning of the movie) and otherwise.

Luka Chupi has the power to bring you to your knees.
Roobaroo has an uplifting spirit to it.
Rand de Basanti is vivacious and infectious!
Ik Onkar is soothing and it's picturisation even better
(brilliant shots of the gang at The Golden Temple (one place I have always wanted to visit,
but more about that in another post!)
Khalbali is bound to bring the most somonlent ones to their feet and rejuvenated (one of my
favorite words, but more about that in another post!)
Lalkar is well rendered and has great lyrics (not that the others don't)
Tu bin bataaye is haunting (Legend has it that ARR literally dreamt up this song and
requested the director to make room for his melody. Thank you ARR and ROM)
Paathshala is a must have for every party and every drive!

5. Crisp editing and screenplay. One is never left uncaptivated by the narration and the flow of the movie.
A fave sequence of mine:
Siddharth and Sharman go to drop off Aslam ("...itne nahi talli ke bhoole yaar ki galli"), while
Sue and Aamir have a tete-a-tete!
Aamir breaks down in Sue's apartment after returning from the hospital. The helplessness, the anguish and the frustration could not have been conveyed better. Kudos to Aamir!

6. The back and forth transition from the documentary to real life is seamless and is actually well leveraged, especially in the climactic sequence.

7. Excellent acting by the entire cast. I can't think of one scene which has not been enacted or scripted well.

8. I love the fact that it's not an out and out Aamir Khan movie, with the rest of the gang playing 4th fiddle. Every character has it's nuances - be it Aslam's quiet resilience or Siddharth's 'brooding, ennuied out of life, I couldn't care less' trait (Which he seems to have perfected in the movie. Quite impressed, considering, he was totally insipid in the Tamil version of Yuva.), or the idealistic, nationalist Atul Kulkarni. And, every character gets their pound of flesh, the opportunity to showcase their acting talent. Essentially, screen time is well distributed among all the protagonists.

10. Great photography / locales - especially the 'Paathshala' location and filming.
The sequence where they bike down from the Paathshala locale to the dhaba (the background score for that sequence is exciting!)
The sequence where they throw their shirts and jump! (the signature look of the movie in
the promos.
Even the gang's adda at the university is very authentic. ( Sardarji frying bhajiyas while speaking on the phone is a nice touch)

11. Great dialogues : "Hamara ek paaon past mein hai aur ek future mein, isiliye to hum aaj pe mooth rahe hain!";

12. Oodles of humor to keep you tickled. ("Hello, which country Madam?", "India, I hope!". Incidentally, Sue has done a marvellous job of mouthing dialogues in Hindi. It doesn't hurt that she is cute! :))

13. The title of the movie itself, 'Rang de Basanti' - unusual and apt!

14. Every song is worth watching again and again. The guys jumping into the pool in Khalbali, the brief salsa interlude between Sue and Aamir in Khalbali, the unusual butt slap move in Paathshala, ARR's cry juxtaposed with the arrival of the coffin in Luka Chupi.

15. Hats off to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for doing a fantastic job with the conceptualization and the execution. I will just leave it at that!

There are a slew of others. But, I will let you guys chime in with your thoughts as well.

Color me orange, baby!

Come Together...Part 3

I still stick to the thoughts expressed in the previous 2 posts on this topic. I believe it's a good way to model and analyze a relationship.

Maybe the mental piece overrules the emotional and physical pieces. Perhaps the emotional piece overrules the mental and physical pieces. Or, the physical piece overrules the mental and emotional (which I frankly do not subscribe to).

But, by the same count, in addition to, and sometimes, in lieu of the 3 axes, there does exist an X factor that brings and keeps people together. Perhaps that's what makes it fun and engaging!

PS: Of course, my opinions are subject to change!!! :P

UAL Back in the Black...

Thus screamed the headline of 'The Rocky Mountain News' this morning, alluding to the fact that United Airlines had their first profitable quarter in the last 7, heralding their return from bankruptcy. I fly frequently for work and chanced upon an article in United's in-flight magazine a couple of months back which summarized the key changes that United had rung in, in order to turn the corner. In an era where 'low fare carrier' seems to be buzzword, I was impressed by the approach that United (a major 'legacy' network airline) took to get out of the red.

UAL realized that their key customer base was the average business traveller. And, hence, chose to focus on that segment of their market, rather than completely jump onto the bandwagon of other low fare carriers or other bankruptcy ridden airlines that were trying to unsuccessfully emulate the business model of, say, a Southwest.

They asked themselves (and presumably, their key customer base) : What does the average business traveller value? Obviously, the answer was : Great Service! Here's a list of things that UAL did to reel people back:

1. Remodelled their planes, such that the first 8-10 rows of economy had greater leg room. They called it 'Economy Plus' and provided such seats only to their valued frequent fliers.

2. Introduced P.S (premium service): Coast to coast service that included, plush (almost) lie flat seats in Economy (of course, for a price!). Essentially, they upgraded the whole of economy class into a quasi-business class!

3. Provided the ability for customers to buy relatively inexpensive upgrades from economy to economy plus and to business class. Let's face it : $ 135 for an upgrade to first class on that 3 hour flight from DFW to SFO is worth it (for a frequent flier)!

4. Increased the # of destinations that they served, while rationalizing the frequency of some of their less profitable routes.

5. Rationalized the # of types of aircraft that they use, thereby reducing maintenance costs, training costs, etc. etc.

6. UAL did go through some lay-offs and ended up trimming their workforce to the optimal amount

7. Of course, in addition, they did the usual re-negotiating of contracts with a slew of their employee unions.

8. Purchased and put in service new regional jets (yes, those itsy bitsy planes) that had business class seats upfront.

9. Introduced a 'low fare airline', called Ted, that provided point to point service between select vacation destinations and helped to reel in some of the cost conscious travelling public as well.

On the other hand, the US's largest airline, American Airlines (who are, by the way, the worst airline in the country!), chose to stop providing pillows on flights, thereby reducing 3-4 million dollars of costs a year. Compare that to the billions in revenue that American makes. What purpose did that move serve??? Umm, lemme guess: irritate and alienate some of their customers?

Essentially, they turned profitable not just by cutting costs, but by improving their margins through innovative products and services. That's what I find exciting about United's return to good health!

Congratulations, United Airlines!!!

If only...

I think all of us have an idea of the kind of person that we want to be with and want as our significant other. However, when embarking on a relationship or when in a relationship, do we find such thoughts finding space amidst our grey cells:

If only he were taller
If only she could talk Marathi
If only she would be a little less loud in public
If only he was more ambitious

And so on and so forth, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

Does that mean that we are not happy with who are with? Does that mean we need to look for someone 'better' ? (Again, do we just want to be with someone intrinsically better or someone who is a better fit for us? Do we truly realize that distinction?) Are we just finding reasons to eke out of the relationship, just because that person does not conform to our mental image?
If such thoughts do wander in our head, is it because we are not happy in that relationship?

Do we place so much emphasis on peripheral personality traits, without truly bonding with the person for who he/she is? If we want someone to be taller, speak Marathi, be a little more subdued in public and a tad more ambitious, does that mean that we want the person we are with, to be someone else? Isn't it an implication that we are not accepting, understanding and loving the person for who he/she is? Isn't that the goal?

Agreed, self improvement is always a good motto(even for peripheral personality traits). But, then, where do you draw the line...?

Are we a generation so obsessed with perfection that we refuse to compromise and see the greater good that the bond is bringing to us and to the other person? Is there a tendency for people to want their significant other to morph into their idea of who that person should be?

Random ruminations...

Damn...

So many thoughts to punch on the word processor, so little time! Hmm, gotta channelize my energy better! :)

Eat fresh...?

Schlotzsky's began with the tag line: "Funny name, serious sandwich."

Then, when they introduced their pizzas, their print ad campaign carried tag lines like:
"We know you love our sandwiches, but it's ok to cheat once in a while". Very smart, no? :)

...And now, Subway has followed suit (in terms of the product, not the campaign!). Yes, recently, Subway has begun offering pizzas too. I had a chance to partake of some last night.

Verdict? Their sandwiches are definitely better!!

JFDIN!

We are a generation of instant gratification and low attention spans. We want the world and we want it now. Every third individual seems to subscribe to the 'Carpe Diem', 'You have, but one life', blah blah blah schools of thought.

We want our lives to be on a continuous high, always experiencing every chill, thrill and frill. But, that's not a feasible, sustainable model.
I see several of us coming to terms with the fact that there are going to be dull moments in life. There are going to be troughs and crests.

Employing old school fundaes - You cannot appreciate the highs unless you go through the lows. You can't enjoy the adrenaline rush if you don't have some peaceful, quiet and boring times.

We just need to learn to pace ourselves and realize the aforementioned facts!

*Must* do something for India...

A few years ago, I had seen AID (www.aidindia.org) sell this really neat tee-shirt. It had a series of pictures of a man walking, growing older with each successive picture. In each picture, he is shown thinking to himself, 'Must do something for India'. In the final picture, he is old, ragged, gaunt and stooping.

Too late to do anything for India....!

I often think of myself representing that person. There are probably a ton of us out there. How often have we got the thought about doing something for India. And then, it promptly got lost amongst the logistics of living our lives and amidst bawdy partying...?

Food for thought....

WORLD Champions...?

No, this is not a post about how Italy vanquished France by conquering their penalty kick jinx. (3 times! I ve been heart broken thrice...1990 Semi finals vs Argentina, 1994 finals vs Brazil and 1998 quarterfinals vs France).

Anyhoo, before I start writing about what I claimed I would not write about, let me take my potshots at American sports.

American sports are lazy. They play for 2 minutes, take a 3 minute time off, play again for 3 minutes and then take a 5 minute commerical break, blah blah blah. Compare that with the non-stop energy, entertainment and adrenaline rush of football (i.e., the Beckham/Maradona variety) !
Yes, you are right. American sports pale in comparison.

American sports are self centered.

The whole world gets together once in 4 years to commemorate Greek Gods. In 2004, the US seconds a second string team (because their big wigs are busy playing in their own 'world', i.e. the NBA) and ends up getting beat in the basketball championship. Oh well... 10 months later, the Pistons and the Spurs engage in a best of 7 series and the Spurs become, gasp, 'WORLD champions'. Yes, in a league of 32 teams, they are 'WORLD champions'.

While the rest of the world plays football (soccer) and / or rugby, the Americans bastardize the game and start playing AMERICAN football. An ugly game that is so animal in nature, it probably disgusts the most violent of beasts! And, guess what, every February, 2 teams from the 32 teams get together to play the 'SUPER bowl' (the 'greatest' sporting event of the year...bah! Trust American sports writers to go hyper on hyperbole) and yesss, the winner becomes the 'WORLD champion'.

Notice a trend...?

To top it off, the MLB championship is shamelessly billed as the 'WORLD series'. And, when the time comes for the US to send their team in a true world baseball championship, no prizes for guessing that they tumble out before even making it to the final!

It's ironical. 'World' championships in all sports are held once in, say, 2 years or 4 years, involve NATIONAL teams from multiple countries; competition is gruelling, teams seldom get multiple chances, players have, but, a couple of chances to live their dream of being a true 'WORLD champion'.

However, in American sports, every year there is a world champion drawn from one of the 32 teams in a silly league. Granted, there are people from multiple countries. But, each team gets at least a thousand chances before they are finally eliminated from the race for the title.

Yes, sports in the States are very Americo-centric, especially in their view of the world. Irritating / frustrating / annoying to say the least.

Here's a distress call to all sportswriters to stop referring to winners of American sports leagues as WORLD champions!!!

PS: Hmm, and why do I continue to root for the Boston Red Sox...?

Come Together (Addendum)...

We talked about the 3 axes of a successful and happy relationship in the previous post - Mental / Emotional / Physical. Granted, at a certain point in time 2 people might complement /supplement /stimulate/connect with
each other on all 3 axes to a satisfactory degree.

However, what truly keeps couples together over time?

As people grow, one would assume that the extents of overlap along the 3 axes are dynamically altered. If 2 people grow together as people, perhaps the dynamic remains unalatered. However, if their personal growth is different, they would tend to grow apart and perhaps the extents of overlap lessen and weaken. Which then might lead to rough patches in the relationship.

At those points in time, perhaps people ask themselves what the overall connection is bringing to them. In the final analysis, if what the bond brings them far outweighs what it does not, I think each party would walk the extra yard and run the extra mile to make it work.

Because, at the end of the day, a successful relationship is also about compromise. About letting go of something in order to gain something bigger / better.

PS: Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts with me.

Bach!

Hello readers, I am back from a long hiatus. (I know you guys terribly missed me! :P )That roller coaster ride called 'Life' has been quite interesting in the meantime! Anyway, I have a couple of thoughts that will serve as an addendum to 'Come Together'. Watch this space...