In memory of the victims @the Denver carnage. I am not even attempting to write anything about that, because I simply cannot think of anything to say, except perhaps express horror and pray for strength and peace to the people affected. Anything more will be needless and superfluous.
Watched the Dark Knight Rises yesterday and the 160-odd minutes were full of awe-struck hero-ism. I won't review the movie (better people have done it), but just wanted to write down to stem the flow of thoughts flooding my head.
Is it just me or is there really something insanely addictive about super hero-ism?
There is something about a "larger than life" hero that appeals, hell, there's something about a "larger than life" villian that appeals more! (Can't not talk of the Joker)
Mostly, IMO, reel life mimics real life...but many times it's just the opposite. Especially when it comes to complex and supremely
"difficult-to-get-into-the-pysche-of" characters, one can't help but marvel and salute the creators and the actors. And almost all the villians of super hero movies
fall into this category (The J obv takes the cake)
What appeals most to me about these super hero flicks are the grey characters. No one is perfect; the characters are a result of the circumstances they have faced, and the way they have reacted to them.
The heroes themselves, (ok, it does become a bit predictable), stray away from the path, wander about with the wrong people, realise that they still have a choice, and go all the way out to come back on the right path; almost always setting a few other people on the correct path too...
Everyone of these characters has a past, a story where life dealt them blows, was unfair and unjust. Yet, there's always a choice.
They have a choice - to turn a darker shade of grey or to try and find the right path...
No matter what your situation in life is, you always, always have a choice.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
DIY : Bookshelf
This was in an attempt to reuse lots of Kellogg's cornflakes boxes we had collected over a few months...
We decided to make a bookshelf - one that we loved dearly when we did end up completing it! :-)
Step 1 : You will need a bookshelf design, lots of Kellogg's boxes : some large and a few smaller ones (depending on how big you want the bookshelf to be), tissue paper rolls, cello-tape, stapler, cutter/blade, old newspapers, a fevicol can, brushes, water and a container.
This is the first cut pic of our bookshelf...all set to go!
Step 2 : Choose a design and start pasting the boxes together to form the initial framework.
We choose this design. (Click on link to view the design)
You can staple and stick together the ends of the boxes to create the structure. Also, to make the shelf sturdy, you can roll old newspapers together and stuff into each box.
Step 3 : An intermediate picture of our bookshelf. You have to go on stuffing newspapers, stapling and sticking the boxes to make the structure.
Step 4 : Once the overall structure is ready, we have to cover it with tissue paper/fevicol.
Create a mixture of fevicol and water in the container and use the brush to cover your bookshelf with it. The more the layers of tissue+fevicol, the better :-)
Step 5: You have to repeat Step 4 till the entire structure is covered. Our bookshelf lay in this state till a long time, when we finally decided to finish off the work! :-P
Step 6 : Let the fevicol+tissue clad structure dry completely overnight.
Step 7 : Your bookshelf is now ready!! Go ahead and stack your books - more colorful the books, more awesome is the effect!! :-))
PS : This will get dusty over time and the best way to clean it - coat it with a new
tissue+fevicol layer ;-) :-)
Happy bookshelfing!!
We decided to make a bookshelf - one that we loved dearly when we did end up completing it! :-)
Step 1 : You will need a bookshelf design, lots of Kellogg's boxes : some large and a few smaller ones (depending on how big you want the bookshelf to be), tissue paper rolls, cello-tape, stapler, cutter/blade, old newspapers, a fevicol can, brushes, water and a container.
This is the first cut pic of our bookshelf...all set to go!
Step 2 : Choose a design and start pasting the boxes together to form the initial framework.
We choose this design. (Click on link to view the design)
You can staple and stick together the ends of the boxes to create the structure. Also, to make the shelf sturdy, you can roll old newspapers together and stuff into each box.
Step 3 : An intermediate picture of our bookshelf. You have to go on stuffing newspapers, stapling and sticking the boxes to make the structure.
Step 4 : Once the overall structure is ready, we have to cover it with tissue paper/fevicol.
Create a mixture of fevicol and water in the container and use the brush to cover your bookshelf with it. The more the layers of tissue+fevicol, the better :-)
Step 5: You have to repeat Step 4 till the entire structure is covered. Our bookshelf lay in this state till a long time, when we finally decided to finish off the work! :-P
Step 6 : Let the fevicol+tissue clad structure dry completely overnight.
Step 7 : Your bookshelf is now ready!! Go ahead and stack your books - more colorful the books, more awesome is the effect!! :-))
PS : This will get dusty over time and the best way to clean it - coat it with a new
tissue+fevicol layer ;-) :-)
Happy bookshelfing!!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Faces
As the bus comes to a halt, you scamper and hurry to get in. The peak hour traffic is building and the bus gets crowded with every approaching stop as people scurry and squeeze in. Sandwiched between people, as you struggle to maintain your backpack, wallet, ticket and the change given back by the TC, you spot the Face.
The same aquiline nose, the same brows, the same hairstyle, the same eyes. A sudden smile of recognition lights up your face, and on an impulse you call out,"Hi Dd! It's so good to see you again!" Imagine your embarrassment when the Face looks back blank, without a trace of recognition - only to make you realize that it's not the friend you thought it was! (and in a crowded bus caught in traffic, where people have nothing better to do than hang on and balance themselves, you have provided some comic relief :-| ) You try to salvage the situation by smiling impishly, and mumbling an apology. The Face is someone else...and when you think of it, it does make sense. Your friend, Dd, is nowhere near town, in fact she's not even in the country! Then how the hell did the Face trick you into believing it was her, and making a fool out of yourself?
How many times does it happen to you that you 'think' you spotted Faces you know in the most unlikeliest of places? How many times do Faces, Noses, Eyes and Hairstyles trick you - almost till you call out the person! Your Professor from Powai in the lane next to your home, your friend (who's in Pune) at a bus stop near Kurla? The friendly clerk from your Chembur college in a lift at your Bangalore office? Your Manager (from Bangalore) at a temple near Dadar? Most of these 'oh-i-thought-its-someone-i-know' moments span geographies, time zones and (yes) logic! :-P
What is it with Faces and associations that make you jump to conclusions? Remember the email that was doing the rounds some time back, about being able to read words even if they were misspelled (but the first and last letter were kept intact)?
Wonder if that's the sort of thing which our brain does with Faces as well? If the eyes/nose/hairstyle/features look familiar, we decide the Face is the person we know - without taking into account the location, the time, the context or (yes again) logic! :-P
The same aquiline nose, the same brows, the same hairstyle, the same eyes. A sudden smile of recognition lights up your face, and on an impulse you call out,"Hi Dd! It's so good to see you again!" Imagine your embarrassment when the Face looks back blank, without a trace of recognition - only to make you realize that it's not the friend you thought it was! (and in a crowded bus caught in traffic, where people have nothing better to do than hang on and balance themselves, you have provided some comic relief :-| ) You try to salvage the situation by smiling impishly, and mumbling an apology. The Face is someone else...and when you think of it, it does make sense. Your friend, Dd, is nowhere near town, in fact she's not even in the country! Then how the hell did the Face trick you into believing it was her, and making a fool out of yourself?
How many times does it happen to you that you 'think' you spotted Faces you know in the most unlikeliest of places? How many times do Faces, Noses, Eyes and Hairstyles trick you - almost till you call out the person! Your Professor from Powai in the lane next to your home, your friend (who's in Pune) at a bus stop near Kurla? The friendly clerk from your Chembur college in a lift at your Bangalore office? Your Manager (from Bangalore) at a temple near Dadar? Most of these 'oh-i-thought-its-someone-i-know' moments span geographies, time zones and (yes) logic! :-P
What is it with Faces and associations that make you jump to conclusions? Remember the email that was doing the rounds some time back, about being able to read words even if they were misspelled (but the first and last letter were kept intact)?
Wonder if that's the sort of thing which our brain does with Faces as well? If the eyes/nose/hairstyle/features look familiar, we decide the Face is the person we know - without taking into account the location, the time, the context or (yes again) logic! :-P
Monday, January 9, 2012
Of blankets & pillows...
As the month of November rolled into December and the holiday spirit took over, Bangalore city was also in a mood to chill, literally. (Hah! and you thought I had gotten over my habit of cracking PJs this new year ;-) :-P ) Being a hard-core suburban-Bombayite, my definition of winter was the time of the year when you don't sweat and perhaps the only time when people do not compete with each other for a window seat or the space nearest to the door in the local trains. (at least not in the early morning)
But Bangalore, apparently, was hell bent on making me realize that winters are meant to be, well, err... wintery (for lack of a more apt word) :-P
I had turned up four months back with my favorite green blanket (apt for amchi Mumbai weather) and refused to buy a newer, thicker one in the hope that it will somehow tend to make my stay in Bangalore less 'permanent', (the exact story is too long and boring). But if you thought that I spent the better part of winters here shivering away, ah boy, are you wrong! Being the angels that my friends are " O:-) ", I was lent C's amazingly warm brown comforter which I happily snuggled under shamelessly (and still refused to get one of my own, stating the above mentioned lame reason). Now, here you might want to call me a miser, but sorry to burst the bubble, I have almost spent through the better halves of my quarterly salary on lesser needed things...weird, but true and so very moi.
Finally, after numerous telephonic doses from back home, I relented and got myself a blanket this weekend.
The moral of this long, boring tale is, I realized blankets are necessary. Warm, comforting things under which we can snuggle, dream, curl up and create our own small perfect world, oblivious to what's happening outside. Inside the blanket's warmth, we forget our daily ups and downs, the struggles, the competition, the strain of everyday life. (and when C reads this, she will roll her eyes and say mischievously, "OMG, you are suffering from all these?! Since when?!" :-O and burst out laughing :-| )
Aren't our family and friends just like blankets and pillows...- creating a small perfect, safe bubble of warmth and comfort around us...a blanket which we can pull tightly around us when the world gets too cold, a pillow on which we can lean on, depending on its cozy warmth. So the next time you feel cold, go get your blanket or pillow and blow away the blues...
Feeling grateful to have such blankets and pillows in life.
Here's to my coziest, thickest, warmest blankets and fluffiest pillows...love u all! :-))
But Bangalore, apparently, was hell bent on making me realize that winters are meant to be, well, err... wintery (for lack of a more apt word) :-P
I had turned up four months back with my favorite green blanket (apt for amchi Mumbai weather) and refused to buy a newer, thicker one in the hope that it will somehow tend to make my stay in Bangalore less 'permanent', (the exact story is too long and boring). But if you thought that I spent the better part of winters here shivering away, ah boy, are you wrong! Being the angels that my friends are
Finally, after numerous telephonic doses from back home, I relented and got myself a blanket this weekend.
The moral of this long, boring tale is, I realized blankets are necessary. Warm, comforting things under which we can snuggle, dream, curl up and create our own small perfect world, oblivious to what's happening outside. Inside the blanket's warmth, we forget our daily ups and downs, the struggles, the competition, the strain of everyday life. (and when C reads this, she will roll her eyes and say mischievously, "OMG, you are suffering from all these?! Since when?!" :-O and burst out laughing :-| )
Aren't our family and friends just like blankets and pillows...- creating a small perfect, safe bubble of warmth and comfort around us...a blanket which we can pull tightly around us when the world gets too cold, a pillow on which we can lean on, depending on its cozy warmth. So the next time you feel cold, go get your blanket or pillow and blow away the blues...
Feeling grateful to have such blankets and pillows in life.
Here's to my coziest, thickest, warmest blankets and fluffiest pillows...love u all! :-))
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
"If..."
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it...
--Rudyard Kipling
PS : Thanks to Gayathri for introducing me to this amazing poem!
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it...
--Rudyard Kipling
PS : Thanks to Gayathri for introducing me to this amazing poem!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Bundles of joy
There are clothes that you love and then there are clothes that you cherish...Your favorite (and lucky!) bottle green t-shirt, the magenta saree you so love to see mum wear, brother's blue cotton chequered shirt (which you loved dhapofying when he wasn't around), dad's favorite pair of socks... along with the favorite faded blue jeans - clothes that evoke warm memories - all bundled up in granny's orange cotton saree... (which acted as your own personal comforter in times when you most needed it)... packed to be given away.
Clothes that bring out memories, clothes you'll recognize even when you look at them after ages, clothes that remind you of loving people, places and events in life...
Your bundle of joy, now ready to give security, comfort and joy to someone else...
Pass on clothes, books, toys and things you don't need/use and let your bundles of joy be a reason for some one else to find much more than happiness...
Today there are many NGOs which help in collection and redistribution of stuff, from places of excess to places where they are are required - a noble task indeed.
Some of these NGOs include :
VanVasi Kalyan Ashram : This is mostly managed/run by volunteers from in/around Kalyan/Dombivli. Every Diwali, they set up a stall at Sarvesh Hall, Dombivli (E) to accept donations in the form of clothes, books, food grains, essential medicines etc. These are then given away to the lesser privileged people of Devbandh, a village in Kalyan district. If you talk to these people, you'll realize how systematically they sort and redistribute stuff, an awesome lesson in Management!
Goonj - They primarily collect clothes and redistribute it to the under-privileged. More on their work and collection centers at - http://www.goonj.org
PS: These are just what I am aware of, there are many more such people/NGOs out there..what is needed is just the willingness to pass it on...
Clothes that bring out memories, clothes you'll recognize even when you look at them after ages, clothes that remind you of loving people, places and events in life...
Your bundle of joy, now ready to give security, comfort and joy to someone else...
Pass on clothes, books, toys and things you don't need/use and let your bundles of joy be a reason for some one else to find much more than happiness...
Today there are many NGOs which help in collection and redistribution of stuff, from places of excess to places where they are are required - a noble task indeed.
Some of these NGOs include :
VanVasi Kalyan Ashram : This is mostly managed/run by volunteers from in/around Kalyan/Dombivli. Every Diwali, they set up a stall at Sarvesh Hall, Dombivli (E) to accept donations in the form of clothes, books, food grains, essential medicines etc. These are then given away to the lesser privileged people of Devbandh, a village in Kalyan district. If you talk to these people, you'll realize how systematically they sort and redistribute stuff, an awesome lesson in Management!
Goonj - They primarily collect clothes and redistribute it to the under-privileged. More on their work and collection centers at - http://www.goonj.org
PS: These are just what I am aware of, there are many more such people/NGOs out there..what is needed is just the willingness to pass it on...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
A Diwali Wish
Let the light of a million lamps brighten up lives...let it illuminate every dark corner, let it banish away darkness, bitterness and sorrow forever...
 | |||||
| Source : http://www.worldmostamazingthings.com/2010/10/diwali-deepavali-festival-of-lights.html |
Let it shed light on all cross-roads and help us
make our own way, let it shower brilliant starry specks in the night
sky and make us realize our dreams...
This Diwali, let there be Light...:-)
This Diwali, let there be Light...:-)
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