Paarpatra ki kahani humari zubani

The business of reissue of my passport has become very much like a soap opera: lot of drama but the story doesn't move forward. And of course with every ongoing episode one gets the feeling that this is going to last the longest of times. The theme music is the background score of 'rahee manwa dukh kee chinta kyon statee hai dukh to apna sathee hai." 

Although at the moment it seems that the world is conspiring against us but there is this glimmer of hope that me and the reincarnation of my passport are going to reunite soon and sing 'tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain, ho jahan bhee le jayen rahen hum sang hain' with THE END.

Muffled roar

The elections are over and done with, much to my disappointment the results are as the exit polls had predicted. And the euphoria that the results have generated all around has only added to the disappointment. Is there something I am missing here? Is it in spite of involvement in mass murder we as a nation accept him as a leader or is it because of the sheer efficiency with which it was committed that we want him as a leader? Anyhow, the whole election thing kind of distracted me from feeling happy about being done with a very hectic semester. Met every deadline at the last minute.... and now, I am in the cozy comfort of my wonderful malyali side of family. I feel pampered and carefree and ready to head for Munnar equipped with a full strip of avomin.

Wedding in Seoul!

Among the choices for the movies to rent today, the special one is 'Old Boy': a Korean movie. You see, we are in the mood to embrace everything Korean as the countdown has begun for the day when I will be dancing on the streets of Korea 'aaj mere bhai kee shaadi hai, aaj mere bhai ki shaadi hai.' 

Carnage- the movie

Absolutely love Emirates for their superb in-flight entertainment. Saw some lovely movies this time but 'Carnage' was just right for the mood. Sharp and funny, it is a very engaging movie about a meeting between two sets of parents whose children have had a fight in the neighborhood park. In relation to the incident, the mothers of course  take themselves very seriously and want it all to be discussed in the most civilised manner but what ensues is a series of conflicts between parents, between spouses, between men, between women, between the men and the women and so on. The women appeared to be torn between who they want to be: good citizens of the world who care, and who they actually are: cold, manipulative and judgmental. Men of course behaved the way men do, trivialising everything in a very manly way. The whole inter-personal dynamics is hugely entertaining.


This Roman Polanski film is a brilliant commentary on modern life, how different people have chosen their own ways of leading it and how each of them is most critical of the others interpretation of it. 

Akele hum akele tum

Tonight we raised a toast of mirinda (in my case spiked with a little rum) to our success in pulling of a week of RRS's visit to south america without compromising on any of the activities that make a regular week for the remaining two of us in Chennai. Above all we made it with a grand and frankly speaking unbelievable score of 7 for 2. 7 for the number of days and 2 for the number of 'fusses' as counted by RRJ so no chance of fudging that data. Only one trump card, an IPL team jersey, was used.

Just a month ago I was sipping Mai Tei in Hawaii and stating the obvious to myself "US is just too far, not just geographically but also the life one leads there has absolutely no connection with the life we lead in India. It is still not that small a world. And while it is great that it is the home of my siblings, but it is also sadly evident that what future holds for us is a virtual bond that we will share through photos, skype and emails about our respective lives which will make less and less sense to each other as time moves on. But that is life so embrace it and head home to people who are part of the everyday present." Up on landing, there was my present, waiting for me holding each others hand, the little face leaning side ward to get a view of me and on eye-contact breaking into a smile that just makes me the happiest person on the face of earth. And on reaching home the door being opened by my beaming parents who are also now a frequent part of my present. It is all for real.

Coming to the point, the score in my absence was 7-8. So you see, RRS arrives tomorrow morning little knowing the absolutely stunning upset pulled off by the underdog parent.

VISA jitters

Phew! Nothing can be more painful than filling DS-160 form for US visa with intermittent and slow internet connection. I was feeling like an ant climbing up the wall and getting blown down by the wind every few minutes.