Dev D

Ive watched Dev D 3 times now and have loved it for various reasons. The music is fantastic. Refreshingly different from what we see in movies these days. Emosional Atyachaar, was the real show-stealer. But I must say I quite enjoyed the entire album.

The story itself was, well standard, but the way it was weaved into the fabric of today's life in India was engaging. The protagonists had all done justice to their roles. I thought, even Kalki Kochelin, who struggled with her Hindi lines, hit the ball out of the park with her Tamil phone sex!! Her Tamil and French were way better than her Hindi!

Paro, played by Mahi Gill, was a revelation. I thought she looked a bit like Tabu...maybe the eyes. Abhay Deol, continues to impress, if not by his acting, but definitely with his choice of roles. Whoever, did his wardrobe for the movie was good. I loved the t-shirts that he wore through the movie.

By far, my favourite character in the movie was Chunni - if all pimps are this cool, then wonder why more don't take to the profession? My favourite Chunni scene in the movie was actually deleted from the final cut. But take a look. The dude is so cool that I'm gonna name my a/c after him when I get one!!

Refrigerator Times

Did I mention I recently moved into a 2 bedroom apartment in Hyd?...Oh well I did, and this is how events unfurled...

Day 1 4pm - I move in. Considering my worldly belongings consist of 4 suitcases of clothes and books and a bed, there is enough place in my apartment for a TT table, Fussball table and a mini roller-blading rink. Considering I get whacked by most of my friends in TT and have never been into roller blading, the only sane option was a Fussball table. This took 5 hours to decide.

Day 2 12 am - I wake up...its searing hot. I wasn't able to sleep. I drank some water.It didn't help because it was HOT WATER! Now I needed to get an air-conditioner or water-cooler, refrigerator and maybe a microwave. Fussball table - stupid idea!! What was i thinking!! But what do i get first, an ac / fridge/ water cooler/ microwave . This took 5 days to decide

Day 6 - I go to office and tag along with a colleague to get a fridge. There were so many options...single door/double door, Godrej/Samsung/LG and the likes. After a thorough study of which option would be good enough to hold a reasonable number of beer bottles, I finally settled on a Single Door 200 L Godrej Pentacool. The clincher was that the shelf separators were made of metal wiring, giving a natural hold to stack up bottles. The double frosted glass separators were too slippery for the bottles. This took 15 mins to decide.

Day 6 - 2 hours later - Shiny new Refrigerator delivered at home.. My first household consumer durable. I couldn't bear to see it empty. I rushed out to buy milk, apples, oranges, water,an ice cream brick, corn flakes, watermelon, bread, jam...food that involve cooling but no cooking :-D

I come back home, stuff these into my new fridge [i need a name for it btw!]. After admiring it for a couple of minutes, i decided to dig into the watermelon. That's when i realise I have no cutlery. So off I go again, this time to get some plates, cups, glasses, spoons, forks et al

I bring them back home and unpack 'em in the kitchen to realise that I dont have a place to put these! So off I was again, this time to get a dish rack and some dishwasher soap. I hang around the shop for a few more minutes, calling up my mother/sister/friends to check if I need anymore stuff for the kitchen. After getting 15 minutes of counselling, I get a kitchen knife, a vegetable-peeler, a cutting board and 3 stainless steel glasses.

I got back home, a little tired and weary, hoping that no further oversights would come to light. I was quite relaxed when even after an hour, I could not recollect anything amiss.

So, in just reward, I cleaned off the ice-cream and went off to sleep!

PS - Pls do give suggestions for names for the refrigerator and toaster [yes i got one!] I liked the name Rambo, but couldnt decide if that should go to the fridge or the toaster..

Hyderabad

Ok folks ive been transferred to Hyderabad. Been here for nearly 3 weeks now and trying to find my way around here.

Professionally, its a promising move. Im one of the few people getting a higher role, instead of getting bad news :-)

Personally, its another chance to hit the restart button! Thats something I love about moving cities. It allows you to redefine life all over again. Reset your priorities, relationships and somehow takes a lot of load off your shoulders. My life changed for the good when I moved to Delhi. Im grateful for that.

Now here is something I know about Hyderabad...so far.

1. Everyone knows where is Paradise Restaurant.
2. If you ask for directions, the stock reply is "Seedha jaao aur Chauraiya se left maaro"..the idea is do that 3 times, come back to where you are and ask the next guy!
3. If people say Parson, they dont mean yesterday! For some weird reason, even things that happened 2 weeks or earlier is referred to as Parson
4. Ive learnt now that even Digital meters of Autowallahs can be tampered
5. The segregation between Hindu and Muslims is not as bad as Delhi or Mumbai
6. It gets bloody hot here in March [apparently Im told Mr. Solar is equally harsh in Delhi these days]
7. No Parking signs are not meant for politicians [Its a cardinal rule in India, but reinforce in Hyd]
8. There was a hoarding put up by Chiranjeevi's party with photos of the MegaStar and Barack Obama. This was right opposite the TDP office. Being Telugu illiterate, I didnt know what it said, but I wonder if it was done to intimidate Mr.Naidu or tickle him silly! I can imagine Naidu's reponse if Chiranjeevi wins, "It was a foreign conpsiracy" better still " It was a CIA plot and Chiranjeevi is an American agent! We have hoardings to prove it!"
9. Food is cheaper than Delhi...20-30% cheaper
10. The street dogs are really puny!
11. The average number of beggars per sqkm must be the highest in India...They are everywhere!!
12. Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills have the most majestic houses that I have seen anywhere in India.
13. Its possible for a gal walking down the road with a couple of friends at 11 pm in the night and pass a biker gang and not get eveteased/molested/raped.
14. Movie tickets are 25-30% cheaper than Delhi.
15. Its very difficult to get a movie ticket on the weekend unless you do advance booking.Movies that flop in rest of the country would be a hit here. People are just crazy about movies.