The rollercoaster

This whole mess is a really big roller coaster. And I want to get off.

Beauty in the morning

You wake up late, jump out of bed and into the bath, get dressed in a jiffy, miss your train, make it to work just in time, tackle boorish colleagues, slump in your seat and switch on some music wondering what the rest of the day is going to bring... and you hear "A long December, and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last" ... and all the stress just melts away.

Sellouts

After INXS with Rockstar, its Tommy Lee's turn to join the growing list of sellouts. Tommy is going to college at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Who's next?

A lot happened last week

Went to Hyderabad to meet a few companies and more importantly, to attend the Infosys Analyst Meet. An impressive full day event that saw the entire investment fraternity flock to the Gachibowli campus at Hyderabad, it was a good opportunity to hear the heads of various business units talk about the state of affairs, and to rub shoulders with the Infosys top brass, including Mr. Narayan Murthy and Nandan Nilekani. Mr. Murthy introduced us to Hafeez Contractor, who is designing a set of pretty futuristic campuses for Infosys. If they turn out to be anything like the proposed design, Bangalore will have yet another tourist spot.

Got back to Mumbai late Friday night, and slept away through most of Saturday. Sunday morning brought horror, with the murder of a young Manipuri girl in broad daylight at the Gateway of India. 58 years of independence and yet there is no place where you can feel safe.

Back to the gym

I've joined a gym again(yeah, I was lazy the last time around), and I must say that I've never enjoyed a workout more. Stretched muscles I never knew existed. May the Powers grant me the will to continue!

Mumbai in trouble

I'm back home for a holiday, and its been really terrible watching Mumbai on TV. While I am glad that I wasn't among those stuck in the rain, it was really sad to watch the great city paralyzed and helpless. While the resilient Mumbaikar spirit will ensure that everything will be up and running as early as possible, its high time the government did something to equip the city to avoid catastrophes such as this.

Twists and turns

Its been a weird week so far, a mountain of work, shopping for relatives, running around pushing red tape, coming home late with every body part groaning for some relief. The domestic help went missing, and then one morning a chit of a girl, all of 14 years, came knocking, clearing the pile of dirty garments away at breakneck speed, and recoiling at the suggestion of having a coffee at her employer's house. Can't do much about child labour in the country, but I'm not having it under my roof. Told her that it just wouldn't do, and her mum had better show up instead. And its only Wednesday!

Its Friday again

The weeks has just slipped past, just like the months and years gone by. While the world outside has been shaken by the London blasts, my own week has been uneventful (thank heavens!), except for a few good things at work. Wishing that the rains would come back- the humidity is oppressing.

Manga!

Yay! Manga has finally found its way to bookshelves here. Bought a couple yesterday. Must say they're fantastic. The right-to-left reading takes a little getting used to, though. Can't wait to lay my hands on more.

The weekend

Saw "War of the worlds". Verdict: Dull and boring. Miss it. Missed the Live 8 concert :(. Need to get a TV soon. Saw a play - a slapstick comedy cum murder mystery. Now back to work and irritated like hell.

The written word

I've lost count of the number of books I have devoured over the past few weeks. Picked up "I am Red" by Orhan Pamuk last week. When a gilder and a master miniaturist in Istanbul are brutally murdered while working on a supposedly blasphemous book for the sultan, panic strikes the miniaturists, who are struggling to keep their art alive. Translated from the Turkish, the book is set in the last days of the miniaturist school of painting in the Ottoman empire. Crisply written, the book offers a glimpse into a totally different world, where religion is deeply ingrained into and governs all aspects of life, including creativity and artistic expression. On a another note, the book is also about change, when a glorious era is coming to an end and everything as it stands will never be the same, when new is poised to leap over the old. Good read.

Go Billy!

"I want my music to be something people can hold on to" said Billy Corgan when he formed Zwan after the sad demise of the Smashing Pumpkins. The Pumpkins were trendsetters in their own way, giving us music that was rich and true. Zwan did pretty decent work too. Now, Billy is trying to bring the Pumpkins together again. "I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams" - he said in an advertisement for his new solo album. A guy who really cares about music. Bless you, Billy!

Batman begins

After a dismal Batman and Robin, Batman begins with Christopher Nolan at the helm and Christian Bale as the new Batman. The result is pretty good - Nolan has tried to liberate the movie from the trappings of its genre, though that has taken away a little bit of the excitement associated with it. Christian Bale is good, makes a convincing Bruce Wayne. Ken Watanabe is wasted in a bit role. Katie Holmes as Batman's love interest is disappointing - I mean, remember Nicole Kidman? Michael Caine as Alfred is great. Love the man. Who else can pull off cliches like "Why do we fall, Master Bruce? So that we can pick ourselves up again." Liam Neeson is a real cool baddie - "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a city to destroy". Man, what a guy! Cillian Murphy with those baby blues is creepy as Dr. Crane. Why are the villains always more sexy than the hero? Gary Oldman as Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox are great.

The movie tries to explore the fears that haunt Bruce Wayne, the guilt that drives him to fight crime in Gotham. But somehow, it never gets quite convincing, and we cant wait for Wayne to stop with the half-hearted efforts at exploring the dark side and get into Bat gear. The characters are sadly uni-dimensional and dull.

Verdict: Good, could have been more exciting.

Pink Floyd reunion

Roger Waters will join the band at London's Hyde Park on July 2nd as part of the Live 8 concerts. I wanna be there!!!

My new place

I've finally settled into my new place - which means that I am done with house hunting, packing, unpacking, and cleaning. Phew! I'd forgotten how relaxing a long, lazy Sunday in a house that actually has space can be. Dare say I deserved it.