When life gives you ...

Most of you have read or heard me quote Emeril Lagasse "When life gives you lemons, make lemon merengue pie !!"...

Life has been giving me so many things in the last week that I dont know what to make of it !!

First the little one became so sick in 24 hours that we couldnt believe it. Thanks to some amazing medical science (and the horrors associated with it), she is recovering nicely now. Imagine your horror when all of a sudden a three month old throws up non stop and then her face puffs up a bright red around her cheeks to the point that she cannot open her eyes ! After a few hours in the emergency, we found out that the kid possibly has a bacterial infection.. so they decided the best course of action was to take a few blood tests and a urine test. On any normal day, on any normal person this would not be an issue. In all my life I have not experienced a baby getting a urine test with a catheter or a blood test to draw that much blood from both hands. Poor thing was screaming non stop for almost an hour till her tear ducts dried out. Finally they decided to give her a shot of antibiotics and that did wonders. In 24 hours her face became normal again and now she is back to drinking milk..

I will never forget this week for a long time to come. At one point they told us that the little one might lose her sight if we didnt do something quick. I had tears coming down without control when I was driving back home to tell my mother in law that we are going to be in the hospital for a few more hours. This, just after having scolded my wife for crying in the hospital during all the tests ! I finally know what my parents must have gone through when I was a sick kid !

Will be back to blogging in a day or two..

Ominous - Photo Blog

Was driving home today and saw real dark clouds and the bright sun...

Surprisingly, the camera was in the van..




Hope they dont spoil the rest of the day..

Memorable movie going experiences..

After the recent Rang De Basanti movie, and being inspired by reading Visithra's post on her best blogs, I thought I would share with you my most memorable movie going experiences..

Just because these experiences are memorable, does not mean all the movies listed here are great, it could have been the people I watched it with. In another note, just because they are memorable, I dont recommend others to watch movies with the same people either, because it could have been a great movie (need to start wearing bulletproof vests now !!)

Kandhan Karunai : 1978 ? Kaamadhenu theater, Chennai (India) : First movie that I can remember watching with my dad and mom.

Yaar Payyan : 1979 ? Kapali theater, Chennai (India) : My dad and mom had a bad bad fight, so my mom wiped her tears, took me by the hand, lifted my baby brother on her hips and we went off to see this movie. I remember some vague details about a lost boy and the movie was also sad.. that was a double whammy.. The only bright side was that after the movie we went to church and prayed !! I never knew that my mom could actually kneel down and pray just like a Christian (she even knew the father and other people in the church!!). Was always confused till I found later that she had studied in St. Raphaels convent !! Guess that experience made me secular.

Mullum Malarum : 1980 -81 ? Kapali theater , Chennai (India) : My chittis (mom's younger sisters) decided to go for a movie together, I tagged along after throwing a tantrum. This was the first time I saw a Rajni movie. Of course I kept talking loudly and spoilt the experience for my aunts.

My dear Kuttichattan : 1984 ? Sathyam theater, Chennai : My Chittappa took me to this movie with my cousin who was only 3 or 4 at the time. This was the first 3D movie to hit India and I remember wearing 3D glasses and having a great time.

Beautiful People : 1984 ? My grandfather got tickets for this movie and took me and my brother to watch this. It was unbelievable. One of the best animal documentaries.

Police Story : 1986 , Alankar theater Chennai : another movie with my brother, chitappa and my cousin Sriram. Became a big Jackie Chan fan and watched almost all his movies (first show !!)

Inner space : 1988 , Pilot , Chennai : First movie I watched with my school friends. My parents took forever to give me permission. But granpa supported me all the way.
First time I saw such special effects. got me hooked to english movies.

Protector , Blue Star, Anna Nagar, Chennai 1988 : Usually Jackie chan movies come in Alankar theater. This one was playing in this god foresaken theater in Anna Nagar.(this was 1988 people, Anna Nagar wasnt what it is today) !!. Went there to find that we got seats only in the front row. We could either focus on Jackies feet or head but not both and boy was he moving fast.. both of us had such a headache.. that was the last time I saw a movie from the first row.

Tezaab : 1989 , Varanasi, India : First hindi movie I watched with college friends. It was very memorable, I liked the experience more than the movie. All that yelling, howling, throwing torn lottery tickets and soda bottle caps when the songs started.. college life, what can I tell you !

Sankarabaranam : 1990 , Sathyam theater, Chennai : The whole family went for this movie. Remembered great songs and the fact that someone in the movie burns camphor in his hands (I was always wondering why anyone would be that stupid for some time).

Name not important: 1991 Shilpi theater, Varanasi : Well, some crap movie with a few hot scenes. Went with a bunch of friends to satisfy some academic curiosities !! As for the story, It was a remake of Fatal Attraction in Hindi with Sarath Babu as the hero and Silk Smitha as the obsessed woman !! I also decided then and there that If I ever wanted to watch anything like this, I would do it in private..

Phool aur Kante : 1992 Lanka Gate , Varanasi : Watched it with all my classmates(it was a class event). Was so turned off that I swore I would never see another hindi movie in a theater. Kept this up too for almost 7 years. Finally my wife broke my Hindi movie fast in 1999 !!

Golden Eye : November 1995 , Rittenhouse Square , Philadelphia. Was going through my Ph.D qualifying exam. All my grad school buddies were waiting for me outside the room where the oral exam was going on. As soon as I came out and said "I passed !" they just whisked me off to see Goldeneye (first show)!! Will always remember David and Vagelis for the joy on their faces..

Good Will Hunting : 1998 Jan - Orlando Florida. My friend Alana pretty much forced me to watch this one just to check if Matt Damon resembled her boyfriend. We had gone for a dance competition in Orlando and had to kill a few hours..

Patch Adams : 1999 New years Eve - Saratoga , California. Came out of the theater at 12:30 with my friend Bryony. It was memorable because she was shipping off on some religious mission soon and that was the only time we had to say bye !!

Generals Daughter : 1999 July - Santa Clara , California. First movie San and me watched after she came to the US. We went 5 minutes late, she was sitting in the front, me in the back 4 rows behind and there was too much graphic sex and violence !! Talk of bad choices.. but the damn memory still lingers and every now and then it will be mentioned as a blackmark of my "Husbandness" !!

Alaipayudhe 2000 , Naz Cinema, Fremont, California : Wife finally broke my "no theater going for Indian movies" fast by taking me to this one. It was worth it and I changed my policy. In the next year, I practically caught up on all the movies I had missed in the last 7 years. She gladly watched all those movies with me !

Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, 2001, Bombay, India : My first movie experience with my in-laws and my first movie in Bombay. Watching a movie in Bombay is very different from watching a movie in Madras (Chennai).. that is a blog post in itself !!

Signs , 2002 , AMC, Santa clara , California : My wife was pregnant with our first one. Then our friend Ram came along and asked me if I would come watch the movie. It became a big issue, but wifey finally relented and let me go watch the movie. I will never forget the line . Ram counted we were 630 and 631 on the line to enter the movie theater. Have never seen a line that long for any movie in the US.

These days the movie theater trips are few and far between, especially after the first one was born. But I guess I will always have the memories !!

Rang De Basanti

WOW !!!

Watched Rang De Basanti with Balaji on Sunday night. My wife and mother in law saw it on friday night .. their unanimous decision was that I should not miss this movie on the big screen !!

After a long time, I came out of the movie theater THINKING . The last time I remember anything close was when I watched Braveheart !! Once in a while, a movie gets under your skin and the visuals just wont go away for a few days, either because of great acting performances, great choreography, vision mixing, dialogues, or just plain chemistry of all the elements that make the movie great.. This applies in general to any genre of movies.

For example, Braveheart and Whalerider are definitely not the same type of movie but at the end of both, I felt a lot of similar things (yes, I did get tears in my eyes, a chocking sensation in my throat, hated myself not knowing why for a few minutes and felt frustrated.. if only I could capture in words, my emotions for those few minutes as I walked out on those occasions

Rang De Basanti simply stirred me because, I am a very vocal hands on person who has the urge to just do things. I am hyperactive, and every now and then I get the urge to change things around me, and if I cannot, feel frustrated. Part of the reason why I came to the US and stayed put is because I make a difference in the world around me (at least I perceive it that way).

I have been accused of being impatient and being cowardly for refusing to take on the system in India, almost in every phone call with my parents or grandparents. They always say "Arent we all here in this system ? What is so wrong with things here or right with things there? And if there are things that are wrong here, why dont you change it ?". The sad thing is that they expect me to fight the system without attacting attention, because they are actually afraid of retribution !! There are no right answers for their questions. I am in the process of growing up and some of my answers in the past were so off the mark.

It is not the endless highways or the fast cars or cheap gasoline that made me stay in the US. And no, it was definitely not the ladies. It was minimal interference from the system and the "as long as you abibe by the rules, the rules will abide by you" concept in the United States. As for the system in India, I used to blame red tape, politics, corruption etc., but I know they exist in the US of A also, except the common man doesnt come to terms with it on a daily basis.

This movie deals with India today and India yesterday so well, that it makes me want to jump up and say "Hi , count me in. I will change the system!". But, once you enter the fight, there is no turning back. That is reality, and this movie captures it so beautifully. And the fact that I sing Rubaaarooooooooo and my little one signs Roshniiiiiiiiiii , another showcase of ARR's brilliance

Go see this movie. It is worth the $8 !!

Hi Tech ?!?

Was cleaning my house today (yes, yes, it doesnt happen often, but I did it!!) and I found a box of phones. Never realized I have gone through so many cell phones. Thought I would post the entire collection...



The first phone was purchased in 1998, second on valentines day 2000, then 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 !! Sometimes, it was due to newer smaller phones available in the market, othertimes because Darling Narayanan decided to drop the cell phone in the toilet !

But the one thing that was common to all the phones ?

All of them were adorable when new, with all the features and the reduced weight. They were all detested after a year because they had problems, either with the speaker, volume, memory , battery life, you name it.. We would buy the phone with glee only to wait for the contract to expire so we could go to another phone.. and this cycle continues.. the latest phone is only 7 months old and we already hate it !! Now we wait for the contract to expire or for an accident to happen.. and we dont have to wait long with the cell phone mafia living with us !!