And so, it begins (again)

Bloggersville! I have some exciting news (mostly for me, but since you guys lubb me so much, it's only fair I share :))

I had quit my corporate job in December 2009 in hopes of making a career in photography. I then interned with a well known magazine in Delhi as a photographer. It was a lot of fun, and getting my photos published really put a lot of things in perspective for me. The internship was a three month stint, and post that, I joined a photography course in Bombay to better my skills. Once that got over, started to look for work again..and it took a very long time, but I made it, finally :D I am now going to be working for India's number 1 photography magazine, doing what I really love to do! I'm so happy and feel so blessed!

Anyway, now that a new chapter of my life is beginning, I can't help but think about the first job I had, the big bad corporate world! A lot of memories came..here's a few to share with you!

Our bay consisted of 6 seats, and I vividly remember the folks I shared my bay with. There was Ms. P, who was flown in from Kolkata for a project. She was so inquisitive, and always ready with a conversation (unless she was busy!) I remember we had this singing duel of sorts..she had this amazing voice, and she would be singing some song, while I would be humming some obscure tune myself, and the music would just clash, but we kept on singing anyway! I remember feeling really bummed out when she left for Kolkata again!

There was also this guy whose name I don't remember. He looked EXACTLY like this:

Of course, he didn't bring a gun to work, but when I saw him for the first time, my first impression was he is definitely a member of the Italian Mafia! He didn't speak much (not at all with me) and would just be working throughout the day (I'm sure you all will remember how I spent my days at work, as suggested by previous posts! *cough*wastingtime*cough*) He had joined our bay in December, during Christmas time. The office got into Christmas mode, decorating the bay. Mr. A and I were really an excited bunch, decorating our bay with the zazziest of Christmas decor. I remember how sweetly the Italian Mafioso left his seat (even though he was in the middle of work) when we came to decorate his side of the bay.

I am one of those people who hate and abhor Antakshari with a passion, but I was somehow convinced to take part in the office Antakshari during Diwali. We made it to the finals, and it was between 6 teams (as far as I recall!). Our team was losing (I told you I hate antakshari!!) and as a last ditch effort, I belted out Masakalli from Dilli 6. The feeling was so amazing, the crowd went crazy, and I felt really really good. We didn't win, of course, but I did win this box of Tiffany sweets, so I guess it wasn't all bad!

As I recall all these moments, I am just left smiling. Now a whole new 'era' begins, more memories to make, more blog posts to write!

Cheerio, my lovelies :)

..is writing a post

Boon or Bane?

Facebook - the phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. It has defined social networking to what it is today, and even redefined relationships. Personally, I love facebook, and I fail to remember what I was doing before it existed! (cause I'm on facebook 24 hours a day ;))

Now with everything good, there is of bad too. Yin-yang. Facebook is so transparent and so instant, people on your friends list update you on whatever they are doing in a matter of seconds. That could be a good thing if you're that voyeuristic, but what about people who could do without minute-by-minute updates about everything you're doing? When facebook asks you 'What's on your mind?', I'm sure it doesn't want specific, intimate details! Here's a list of updates on facebook I can do without:

1. OMG!!!!@!@!!! OMG!!@23232!! OMGGGGG Edward Cullen is soooo HAAAWWWT! (No he's not. He's a cold blooded leech man)

2. I'm in labour!! Baby number 4 on its way! (Concentrate on pushing, woman!)

3. "Tanhai mein faryaad to kar sakte hai,
Virane ko abad kar sakte hai.
Kya hua aapse mil nahi sakte,
Lekin aapko dil se yaad to kar sakti hai!" (What??!!)

4. Just saw Gupt first day first show!! OMG Kajol was the murderer! (Way to ruin it for the rest of us, my friend!)

5. 2 al mah frds, i luv u n v shud b frds 4eva!!! (Only if you go to grammar school)

6. I lOvE 2 tYpE aLl My StAtuS uPdAtEs lYk dIs (You do have a lot of patience!)

7. Can someone milk my cows while I'm on vacation? (Willing to throw in poisoning your farms for free!)

8. Aal eej well! (It won't be once you get my fist through your face!)

9. Love you boyfriend/girlfriend!!!! MWAH! MWAH!! (This is a whole new level of PDA which I'm not comfortable with!)

10. Just returned from Paris. Off to Maldives in a few hours! Life is good! (-Activating buri nazar-)

11. Very angry. Don't disturb. (And now I shall disturb you, even if I had no intentions to earlier!)

12. Stomach upset :( Making poops the size of my fist!..NASTY! (And I need to know that, because?)

14. Comfortably numb. (Quoting songs now, are we emo boy/girl?)

More to come! Watch this space!

Aisha - The Review

Here's a confession for you - I love a good chick flick. They transport you to this wonderland of sorts where everything is possible. They all start happy chirpy, then there's a drop in the middle where the chick faces a moral dilemma, a climax where the hero and the chick kiss passionately, and a happy chirpy end. This tried and tested formula has been satisfying lonely, heartbroken girls for the longest time.

Then there are the bad ones. The ones that are so bad, you feel like tearing your hair apart in annoyance. You know the ones where, in spite of being so bad, you can't stop watching just because you've already seen it halfway. I saw Sex and the City 2 last week, and I was actually crying because it was so bad. But I will save my rant on the atrocious shitty movie for another post. This one's about Aisha.

To be honest, before I watching this movie, I had expected to absolutely hate it. (maybe SATC 2 has marred my chick flick experience for life?) I thought it will be 2 hours of L'Oreal, Christian Dior, Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton; and how the chick can afford those shopping sprees and we can't. Honestly, it's a bit of that along with a so-called adaptation of Emma by Jane Austen.

Sonam Kapoor plays Aisha, the ditsy, nosey matchmaker from a rich Delhi background. Her best friend Pinky Bose (Ira Dubey) is mean, spunky and wears clothes that look like Andy Warhol threw up on them. Then there's Shefali Thakur (Amrita Puri), a talkative "behenji type" Haryanvi girl who has come to Delhi to find a boy for marriage. Aisha takes it up on her self to find a match for Shefali along with giving her a makeover (which includes 'subtle' L'Oreal product placements).

The men in this movie are Abhay Deol as Arjun Burman (who Sonam Kapoor calls Arjan throughout the movie with her weird accent), Aisha's next door neighbour and her complete antithesis. Cyrus Sahukar (cast brilliantly as Randhir Gambhir) is an heir to a mithai dynasty and has a soft spot for Aisha, but fights continuously with Pinky. Then there's the really really hot Dhruv Singh (Arunoday Singh..super smokin' hot shirtless!) who flirts outrageously with Aisha.

The movie basically involves Aisha's meddling ways in trying to get Shefali to hook up with guys she thinks are right for her. Arjun warns her of the consequences, but she doesn't listen. There are camping trips and people getting high, shopping, match making gone wrong, hot girl (Lisa Haydon) taking Arjun's time, making Aisha jealous, fights, punches, babies, more shopping, realizations, etc. etc. etc. Finally after two hours the movie ends, and I'm left thinking I've seen this movie before.

As it turns out, Aisha is not an adaptation of Emma, but an adaptation of Clueless, which was a 1995 comic adaptation of Emma. Clueless starred Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, and Aisha's character is based on hers. I saw the movie again yesterday, and noticed a lot of scenes and character traits in Aisha have been lifted straight from Clueless.

On the technical side, the cinematography was horrid, some scenes being completely out of focus. Music is fun, upbeat and fresh, quite enjoyable. Cyrus Sahukar is fun to watch, Amrita Puri is annoying, Ira Dubey is bleh, Sonam Kapoor is ok but needs help with that accent and Abhay Deol is flawless (and useless at the same time!)

All in all, this one's an ok movie, can be enjoyed with a big group of girls. Guys, avoid.

Final three word review of Aisha: Clueless was better.

2/5

And then..

My life was perfect.

The sun shined bright all hours of the day. That palm tree always swayed when a strong breeze blew. That chair, painted a shiny white which never faded. How I sat at my sun deck tanning my skin to the perfect shade. I remember those white birds flying in the distance.

I loved my 6pm walks on the beach. The sun wouldn't set, but the sky turned a beautiful shade of orange every day. There was no night. Just the sky changing colour - orange to purple to pink to blue and it was morning again. The sun always shone, its smile ever present.

My dog Tallahassee didn't do much. He sat next to my bed. He never barked, he didn't go for walks. He just sat there, tongue hanging from his mouth, a faint smile on his face. He never bothered me for walks either. He was just a very very quiet dog.

In this life I didn't do much. I was never hungry, so I didn't forage for food. I had all I needed, so I didn't work. I was quite content with my company, so I didn't bother socialising. I was happy.

This was my life. My cozy, comfortable life. It was perfect.

And then, today happened. I was lying on my chair, tanning, as usual. I felt a slight tremble. Strange, I thought. Within minutes I felt another tremble, but the intensity was stronger. I got up from my chair and ran to my room and hid under my bed. Tallahassee still wasn't moving. I called for him, but he sat there as always.

All of a sudden I saw something glimmering outside. The trembling had stopped so I gingerly stepped outside. Everything around was covered in shiny dust. I looked up and the dust was still falling. It covered me completely. What was this? I had never seen something like this before.

I was so scared. I ran right outside my home and to the streets to see what was happening. The shiny dust was still falling. I reached down and scooped a handful of the dust. So strange.

The trembling started again. The intensity was so strong this time, I found myself flung in the air. I screamed loudly and crashed against a white bird. It was stationary too. I held on to its wings, screaming the whole time.

My word was going topsy turvy. The palm tree uprooted and was rolling around in the sky. The shiny dust had filled up the entire atmosphere, the particles choking me. The sun fell to the ground, crashing to a million bits. I saw my chair spinning around, and the very moment the bird I was hanging on to fell to the ground as well.

I hung on to dear life, but I knew my time was almost up. I didn't fall to the ground, wherever that was, anyway. I was spinning around mid air. Somewhere along the commotion I stopped thinking. For a second, everything stopped.

And then..my world came crashing down.

"Mommy!! Reena broke the snow globe!"
"You tattle tale!"

The End.