"Buddhism is against homosexuality. But I am not. I believe that if there is love, compassion and consent, then it is alright. I don't see sex as a means of procreation and reproduction." - Dalai Lama

I have a dream - ABBA

Here's to you, Arvind...


I have a dream,
a song to sing.
If you see the wonder of a fairytale,
you can take the future even if you fail.
I believe in angels,
something good in everything I see.
When I know the right time,
I'll cross the street.
I have a dream,
a fantasy,
to help me
through reality.
My destination makes it worth the while,
to push against the darkness another night.
I have a dream...

- ABBA

When We Fail

What are we going to do when we fail. When we find the wrong kind of tears running down our cheeks. When we look at our gods and see mortals instead. When the sports page reads like an obituary. When we know others are celebrating our grief. What are we going to do when we fail. We're going to look up from our toes. And into the sun. Without flinching. We're going to walk out there alone. Again. Grit our teeth. Take guard. And wait for the next ball.

At the university of life, admission is open to all. All I need is my mind. Clever to pick up lessons. Smart to learn from mistakes. To things I have to learn. To things life has to teach.

Love is a luxury

"How can a need be love? Love is a luxury. It is abundance. It is having so much life that you don't know what to do with it, so you share. It is having so many songs in your heart that you have to sing them - whether anybody listens or not is irrelevant." - Osho

Beautiful, isn't it? And, so true!

Did Someone Say "Babies"? by Ogden Nash

Have another address too now... I also post stuff here...
Mashaalein or The Tungsten Torture

Here, though, will be posting stuff that I read here and there...and like, or have liked...

Today, the aforementioned "here and there" would be the new book I bought this evening...
Candy is Dandy - The Best of Ogden Nash

Posted something out of this on Mashaalein, and putting another one that I like here...
Go read First Child...Second Child by Ogden Nash on Mashaalein...


Did Someone Say "Babies"? (This one's for you, Anvita.)

Everybody who has a baby thinks everybody who hasn't a baby ought to have a baby,
Which accounts for the success of such plays as the Irish Rose of Abie,
The idea apparently being that just by being fruitful
You are doing something beautiful,
Which if it is true
Means that the common housefly is several times more beautiful than me or you.
Who is responsible for this propaganda that fills our houses from their attics to their kitchens?
Is it the perambulator trust or the safety pin manufacturers or the census takers or the obstetricians?
Men and women everywhere would have a lot more chance of acquiring recreation and fame and financial independence
If they didn't have to spend most of their time and money tending and supporting two or three unattractive descendants.
We could soon upset this kettle of fish, forsooth,
If every adult would only come out and tell every other adult the truth.
To arms, adults! Kindle the beacon fires!
Women, do you want to be nothing but dams? Men, do you want to be nothing but sires?
To arms, Mr. President! Call out the army, the navy, the marines, the militia, the cadets and the middies.
Down with the kiddies!

My new movies!! :-D

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Here's a list of the movies I have now... (Hah, bitter liar!)

• 21 Grams
  
• 8 Mile
  
• A Beautiful Mind
• A bout de Souffle
• A Street Car Named Desire
• Almost Famous
• American History X
• As Good As It Gets
• Before Sunrise
• Being Julia
• Big Fish
• Blade Runner
• Bound
• Brazil
• Cast Away
• China Town
• Collateral
  
• Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries)
• Dog Day Afternoon
• Enemy at the Gates
• Erin Brockovich
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Finding Neverland
  
• Forrest Gump
• Garden State
• Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Guns of Navarrone
  
• Godfather I
• Godfather II
• Godfather III
• Hero
• Hombre
  
• Il Postino
• In the Name of the Father
• JFK
• Ju On
• LA Confidential
• Last of the Mohicans
• Life is Beautiful
• Los Lunes al Sol
• Memento
• My Sassy Girl
• Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
• On the Waterfront
• Ong Bak
• Requiem for a Dream
• Rosemary's Baby
  
• Schindler's List
• Seven Samurai
• Sideways
• Straw Dogs
• The Aviator
• The Ghost and the Darkness
• The Matrix
• The Matrix - Reloaded
• The Matrix - Revolutions
• The Mona Lisa Smile
• The Shawshank Redemption
• The Usual Suspects
• Tootsie
  
• Vera Drake

...and many more coming...soon! Hah!

First the bimbo starlets, and now a filmi couple...

Was witness to a hilarious thing this morning! Just had to post it here (which is why am writing again in the middle of a work day, Anvita!).

Was out on a shoot today doing a story on summer fashions and trends in women's clothing for tomorrow morning's show. Was shooting a segment in Benetton (Sector 18), and while my cameraman was taking cut-aways, I was keeping myself busy trying to line up a few assorted shoppers to talk to the camera about what they like to wear in summers. So, saw this girl enter with a guy and they were checking about the usual hip-hop-kinda-factory-bulk-made-kinda-clothes-that-I-hate... just the kind of people I wanted! So I went up to this girl and started to explain where we're from, etc. Gave her the usual about breakfast show on DD-1, etc. And, while I'm explaining to her, at the back of my mind I'm thinking why the hell is she looking so distracted when I'm talking to her. The guy keeps nodding and saying "Yeh" ("Yeh" = an over-accented simple "yeah"!) over and over again. So finally, I say to her...
Me: So, can we talk to you on the camera for a minute?
She: (Looks dumbstruck)
He: Yeh.
Me: It'll just take a minute.
She: (Still looking dumbstruck)
He: Yeh. Yeh. She'll do it.
Me: Ummm... (trying to gesture towards the camera)
She: ON THE CAMERA???!!! (Looking horrified now. Finally a change of expression!)
Me: Yeah... (?!)
She: No, no, no... I'm not doing that...
He: Arre, do it na... (to me) she'll do it.
Me: (Looking from one to the other...quite like in a tennis match)
She: NO!
He: Arre, I won't be on the camera. You could be with girls. Kisi ko pata nahin chalega.
Me: (Beginning to find this hugely amusing)
She: NO! (To me) I can't do it.
He: (Looks at me helplessly)
Me: (Wait for them to run up the stairs and out of the showroom, and then break into a grin)

It was unbelievably crazy! I'm now resigned to the fact that I can expect to see strange things almost everyday at this job. First the bimbo starlets, and now a filmi couple who've apparently lied to everyone about where and with whom they are.

I so hope the girl's parents aren't reading this! Actually, I hope they are. That should be funnier still.

Over and out...for now.

Yay!!

Am up early. Gourav's gonna be here in an hour or so. And I'm waiting desperately. Not for him really. For the hard disk.

Rajjat - can I say it again? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I am now the proud owner of a copy of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (!!), which I've been looking for for just about ages. Actually, am the proud owner of that and so many more awesome movies! Will be putting up a list later tonight.

Anvita (and the rest) - Eat your heart out! Hah!

Read a blog a couple of days ago.

Followed a link on synchroni-cities, and reached the Duck of Destiny's blog. I think it's really good, and read it you should. Hey! Whaddya know! I'm a poet! You know...

"I think it's really good,
and read it you should."

Hah!

Back...after a hiatus

Been busy. My film's taking some time to start, so have been relocated to the Subeh Savere team for the time being. Been busy shooting mainly for a segment called "Entertainment Savere".

Realized that I need a lot of patience to cope with this job. Went for a press meet for a new film called Men Not Allowed (!!) last evening. Now this film is another one in the deluge of "bold" films. Another one about lesbianism...hence, the title. The interviews, of course, just about killed me! There were these two starlet-types, one of whom kept talking about her character in the film being "normal" before she becomes a lesbian, and why that happens...bad experiences with men, of course. This one was Payal Rohatgi, who I'd never heard of before this shoot, but who claims she's done a lot of hugely successful films (!!). The other one, some Tina Majumdar, had "mummy-ji" along, who was acting more like her pimp than her mother/agent. The producers of this film are this group of sleazy looking men, and you really can't tell which one is sleazier than the next. So, all in all, it was horrendous!

Looking forward to tomorrow though. Gonna interview one of my "heroes". Javed Akhtar! Yay!!

Shabana Azmi's gonna be there as well. But then, as Anvita put it a little while ago, she's just what you'd call "hoity-toity"! Hehehehe... That's so EXACTLY what you'd call her, Anvita! And, I'm not negating her intelligence here...but she IS "hoity-toity", isn't she?!

For some unexplicable reason, just did a search on the latest lesbian love-story and found one review, the last paragraph of which is completely hilarious...

"Promising that his movie will not be a cheap and sleazy film, Shrivastava says that although the movie will have some explicit scenes between the two belles, but it will be shown in a graceful manner on the screen."

Anyway, moving ahead...

Everything else is good. Work's fun actually. But, very easy. That's frustrating, in a way. Hoping that my film starts soon.

Cooked in the evening today after a long time. Bought bhindi on my way home, made it with the more elaborate recipe, remembered I hadn't told the maid to make parathas in the morning, so was gonna take out aata, when I saw that, well, I had none! Just ordered biryani from that place close by. So there!
...Dunno why I felt like saying "so there"!

Wish I could write more. Will try to write at least every other day from now on. Hasn't been that long since I started writing here, but have noticed that I start getting withdrawal symptoms pretty soon after I stop getting time to write.

Nothing else to say today...except...just a few last thoughts...

• Arvind, you haven't written in ages! Write! You're happy now...so write! :-D
• Anvita, talked to you thrice today, but forgot to ask all three times...why were you "a little sad" last night?
• All the people who read this (actually, those among you who I know!)... Bunty aur Babli this Saturday?
• I just bought M.M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions. It seems good.
• I think everyone who lives in Delhi, especially everyone who likes the city, should read William Dalrymple's City of Djinns. I just love it! Thank you again, Juhi and The Lil' One.
• I'm done, and I think this writing in points thing I just did is strange.