An Idiot For Dinner

Attending this play was nothing short of an adventure. Poorvi booked my ticket for 12th June without actually talking to me. Unfortunately I had a team building outing on 11th and 12th and wasn’t sure if I could make it back from Angsana in time to reach RangaShankara by 7:30.

So I passed on my ticket to another friend but kept feeling bad that I wouldn’t be able to see this play coz the moment I read the synopsis I knew I would love it...I had nearly cracked up when I watched Bheja Fry!!!

12th June 4:45 PM - we are on Old Madras Road moving towards Outer Ring Road and I think maybe I can make it. So on an impulse I call Poorvi. She was on her way. I couldn’t decide if I should ask her to wait for me especially since I didn’t even have a ticket! But she was like…I’ll wait, you come fast...

I tried calling Rangashankara for a ticket but couldn’t get through. So I thought I had better not delay Poorvi, but she wouldn’t listen. Boss and another colleague were sharing the cab with me so I couldn’t even ask the cab driver to step on the gas. Finally after dropping off my colleague I suggested we take a short cut and trust my luck...one stupid truck in front of us moving at 0.5 km/hr grrrrrrrrr.

I was sure I am not gonna make it but finally at 6:30 or so I reached the Bellandur crossing and then Poorvi drove like crazy. And while waiting for me she had managed to get me a ticket too (from someone who was trying to sell off their extra tickets- WOW)

7:15 PM - All well as we crossed Woody’s. I had just started to relax thinking that we’ll make it. But just then on the last stretch we met a massive traffic jam. I thought I would burst into tears...it took us 15 mins to cover a stretch which shouldn’t take more than 5 mins!!! This is namma bengaluru for you!

As we entered RangaShankara the 3rd bell was ringing and our friend was waiting at the door with the tickets. Just made it in the nick of time...one second more and they would have closed the door.

Well...was the evening worth all the tension and running? YES, absolutely. What a knockout performance, totally hilarious and one helluva a de-stresser.

"An Idiot for Dinner" is an adaptation of a French movie titled "Le diner des cons". It was also made into a famous Hindi movie- Bheja Fry with Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey.

A rich publisher and his friends meet every Wednesday evening, where they each have to bring an Idiot along. They have a good laugh at the idiots' expense. At the end of the dinner the host with the biggest idiot wins, while the idiots never figure who the joke was on.

One such idiot (?) that the publisher finds is Mr. R. Golden Gopu, an income tax officer who has an obsession for making matchstick models of the wonders of India. Just hours before the dinner, the publisher twists his back and has to stay home, and at the same time his wife who is very upset with her husband's idea of amusement leaves him.

Gopu visists the publisher at his home and tries to help him – for the sore back and to help him get his wife back. What results is absolute chaos and pandemonium.
The idiot manages to make Sanjay's back problem worse, bring his mistress home, drive his wife into the arms of a sex maniac and get his income tax audited.

What I liked best was Golden Gopu’s voice message which went as follows (in a sing song manner)
R Golden Gopu
Cannot talk to you
Don’t weep
Leave a message after the beep.

Totally hilarious!

Gopu was definitely the show stealer. His body language, expressions and his acting skills were just excellent. Gopu’s friend Hari whom he calls for help in getting the address of the sex maniac was very good too...just so into the skin with the character.

A must watch rib tickling comedy!

An interesting intro...

The intro to the play "Day I Met The Prince" was just so charming and interesting...

Take a dot, add a line
Roses in a circle
Stars surround a lonely night
A sky that's magical
Faraway planet with no forest
A land without a sea
Flies in a friend with a shimmering cape
And a bit of aristocracy
Miles across the Milky Way,
stars twinkling through the galaxies
A question in time,
did a goat eat my rhyme?
Or a rose that that?s just a little bit shy?
Chatter chatter, yell and scream,
Dive and swoop and song?
Foxes and wishes, a thousand lost roses,
Will the answer be a hat or a song?

Bhikre Bimb

In spite of a crazy busy schedule when I heard that Rangashankara was playing a Girish Karnad play I just knew I had to make the time and effort to watch it. The cherry on the cake was that it was featuring Arundhati Nag!!!

Tickets were initially booked for 1st May, then changed to 30th April…nearly didn’t make it…but eventually really glad that I did go for it as it was tooooooooooo good.
Bhikre Bimb is a dramatic monologue and Arundhati Nag as the protagonist was just brilliant.

It is story of Manjula Nayak, a professor of English literature who has been an unsuccessful Kannada writer till she finds international acclaim when she writes an English novel, which becomes a bestseller.

The story starts with her introducing the audience to her novel in a TV studio, prior to a film on it being telecast. She comes across as a proud kind of a person as she mocks the people who criticized her and seems to lash out at them.
After she finishes her introduction, she is confronted by her own image on the screen which poses questions on betrayal of her mother tongue Kannada and identity when she chooses to write in English.

The image or we could say her divided self continues to question her about her personal life and her relationship with her parents, disabled sister and her husband and makes her confront the truth about herself. She tries to brush off everything but at the same she looks helpless and goes on to justify each of her actions. Even though she is the so called ‘vamp’ in the story, one cannot but feel empathy for her. It could also be something to do with Arundhati’s acting which gave me the goose bumps - her dialogue delivery, expression especially the one of helplessness and the look of 'imagine my plight too'

Eventually she comes clean on her plagiarism - the best selling book was actually written by her sister but instead of publishing it in her name after her death she goes on to publish it in her own name. One can’t feel scorn but only pity for her as she tries to put it all down to a misunderstanding by the publisher on the name of the author.

By the end of this confrontation she is on the brink of madness and again Arundhati was so convincing.

Arundhati Nag deserved every second of the standing ovation that she got!

Email signoffs!

The CEO of a back packing company signs off his emails with a very appropriate 'Keep Traveling'...

A member of the Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronomers where I have joined an astronomy course signs his emails with a very hopeful 'Clear Skies'

So should I – an IT nerd sign off my emails with a 'Ctrl + Alt + Del'?

Falling in…and out of love – Two nice quotes!

'Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If he isn't there the first time you need him, chances are you won't need him again.'

There are 2 ways at looking it…in a morose kinda way or with a grin...and the kinda person that I am, I just couldn’t help smiling...but wondering at the same time...how true!
The quote came with the 'him'...I didn’t put it there...so I guess it is accepted that it’s the men who are not there when one needs them!

Now before some of my really close friends start reading in between the lines ...the above slightly cynical one is nothing to do with my mood...and so I have for you another really cute one...

'I ran up the door, closed the stairs, said my pajamas and put on my prayers, turned off the bed and hopped in the light, all because you kissed me goodnight'

Accept that some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue.

For a long time I had been the pigeon... I guess since June 2004 when I first joined my current company. I was what they call an indispensable resource. I had worked hard and smart to reach that situation.
Don’t know why...but knowingly and willingly I gave up the project/program that gave me that position. And…don’t know whether it’s good or not... did a terrific Knowledge Transfer so that someone could take over the work from me...which however made me not so indispensable!!!
And so since the last 3-4 months have begun what I would say 'my statue days'...and I ain’t liking it. But I guess that is life.

Woyzeck – an adaptation by Anmol Vellani at Rangashankara

Woyzeck by Georg Büchner is set in Prussia in the 1830s. He left the work incomplete at his death, but it has been variously and posthumously "finished" by a variety of authors, editors and translators and has become one of the most performed and influential plays in the German theatre repertory.
An adaptation of Woyzeck by Anmol Vellani was playing at Rangashankara. As I read the synopsis I thought ...it sounds quite depressing but it would be a play where a good actor can create magic...and was I right...but more on that later.
It is the story of Franz Woyzeck, a disturbed soldier with an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie. Woyzeck earns extra money for his family by performing menial jobs for the Captain and agreeing to take part in medical experiments conducted by the Doctor.
As the play proceeds we see that there is deterioration in his mental health and he has hallucinations. Meanwhile, Marie grows tired of Woyzeck and turns her attentions to a handsome Drum Major.
With his jealousy and suspicion, Woyzeck confronts the drum major, who beats him up and humiliates him. This leads Woyzeck to murder Marie and then kill himself.
The set was very simple, using very few props and a cardboard wall… but still very effective. Infact what I must appreciate is that even with the minimalist set, I can compare it in effectiveness to the plays that I have seen in West End which rely so much on detailed sets, costumes and live music.
A special mention must be given to Anish Victor who as Woyzeck gave an outstanding performance. It was intense...so intense that you could see the beads of perspiration on his forehead. In one scene where he is supposed to faint he falls from a small wooden box and gasps were heard from the audience. He was sooo still at that moment that we felt he had actually fallen down and was not acting...BRILLIANT.
Generally his portrayal of a disturbed man was so convincing. His eyes, his facial expressions and the way he spoke...all was awesome. The other actors were good to, but just paled in front of him.
The other actor that I really liked was the Tavern Keeper. She carried herself well and her role gave the much needed comedy in the otherwise somber mood of the play.
All in all...a brilliant evening which convinced me that theatre is about ACTING and in the end the stage, props, costumes and music don't matter.

Voting in the Elections 2009

I am a disappointed person since yesterday. I couldn’t cast my vote in the General Elections. I did so want to ...in fact I was desperate, but it seems that my form was rejected and my name NOT included in the electoral rolls.
Some one commented..."even if you do get to vote, you have to vote for a buffoon!!!"
That’s not the point. If the politicians realize that it is going to be the urban educated population that goes out to vote they will rethink...they will know that they are going to be taken to task so they will do something for their constituencies.
Now they know, even if they do nothing for 5 years, just before the elections they can lure the unaware poor & uneducated voters by just distributing booze and one sari. They know that it’s not the aware that decide the winners, but the poor and they know how to get the votes from them.
We should not think that its only a single vote...coz if we all think like that, it would an important part of the vote bank that does not vote.
Every vote counts...and I believe (optimistic that I am) that we can bring about a change and that is why I ran with my friend in the blazing heat from one booth to the other to figure out where she can vote!
As Mahatma Gandhi once said "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history".

Almost Single

Recently I was in Alipurdwar, where my friend and her friend insisted that I should read 'Almost Single'. The author is alumni of my school, so loyalty to a fellow Welhamite demanded I read this book.
I was stuck at Siliguri airport due to bad weather and managed to complete the book in a couple of hours. I won’t say anything about the book. The reason being simple...recently a visitor to my house saw the book lying around and wanted to know what I thought about it. And I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I read in the book...and that is so NOT like me at all. If someone asks me what I think of a book like Kite Runner, I can point out the exact sections which I liked the most, what moved me, what I didn’t like etc.
Someone has rightly said "Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."

Manic Screaming

The moment I heard the name of the book –"I heard God Laughing" I knew I had to get a copy...
It’s obvious...with a name like that and the fact that it was not readily available at any of the bookstores!!!

It’s a collection of Hafiz’s renderings and each one is a gem... deeply passionate and always very inspirational.

One of my favorites -

God is trying to sell you something today,
But you don’t want to buy,
That is what your suffering is:
Your fantastic haggling,
Your manic screaming over the price!

Never buy a car you can’t push

Among some other interesting phrases from a recent forward was the following –"Never buy a car you can’t push"
Have been contemplating changing my car...initially I was damn keen to buy a CRV.
Don’t know what was going on in the mind of the person who designed the underground parking in my building...it has sooooo many pillars. That kinda held me back. It’s not only me, but many of my friends also find it difficult to park the car. So much so that one of them told me...you really do need to rethink the CRV!!!
And now after reading this phrase, I am thinking... I definitely can’t push the CRV...but nor can I push a Honda City or Ford Fiesta (my other preferences)!
So does that mean I should but a REVA...or maybe a NANO? Naaaahhh... I’ll just stick to my beautiful Santro...not that I have ever tried pushing the Santro!!!

Getting around in Egypt – Nov 2008

One of the things that is worth mentioning about my recent trip to Egypt was the various kinds of mode of transport / moving vehicles that we got to experience.

Starting with the flight from Delhi to Cairo followed by a mini bus ride to our hotel and then dinner on a floating restaurant on the River Nile.

At the pyramids the next day we enjoyed Camel rides and later in the evening we took a train from Cairo to Aswan.

Next we boarded the ship for the Nile River cruise.

To visit the Philea temple, we used motor boats from Aswan.

Another mini bus ride…but this was different. To visit Abu Simple one has to join a policy convoy at 3:30 AM (!!!!!) and hundreds of buses interspersed with police vehicles move across the dessert.

Tonga Ride at Edfu to visit the Edfu Temple.

Hot Air Balloon ride was next on the cards at Luxor from which we got to see the Valley of the Kings, the two colossus of Memnon, the East Bank etc.

Later in the evening we went for a Felucca ride. Felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used along the Nile. It was a really beautiful evening - the sun was setting and a cool breeze was blowing…

At Hurghada the first day we went for Glass Bottom boat ride in red sea where we managed a few glimpses of the many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs.

So 2 of us decided to go snorkeling the next day so that we could get up close to the rainbow colored fishes and Coral reefs in the Red Sea. The safari boat that took us to the sites was bigger than the glass bottom boat, but smaller than the ship and so qualifies for a separate mention in this write up.

And all this in 9 days!!!!

Calvin and Me!

Hobbes: "Shouldn't we read the instructions?"
Calvin: "Do I look like a sissy?"

As I read this Calvin snippet I couldn't help but smiling as I remembered some recent incidents.

Very sweetly I had asked a friend to help me set up my cuckoo clock...even as he read the instructions I had already ripped open the box and was several steps ahead of him.

As he said...now do this...I was like...ohhhhh already done that, what next? But before he could finish reading the next step, I had already experimented and completed some other steps...not necessarily all executed in the correct order.

A few days later we were setting up the Wii. Remembering the look I got when the cuckoo clock hadn't worked I decided to sit patiently and wait for his instructions...

Honestly I tried, but several steps later I realized...there I was on my own trip, not waiting for his instructions but optimistically just trying to plug all the wires and accessories and hoping it'll work!

My Power Packed Fun Filled Sabbatical

Last year I decided to take a sabbatical from work for 4 months...there was some apprehension...I had been working since 1997 and I often wondered...would I get bored, feel unsettled and thrown off balance since the discipline in my life would be gone...

But it was one helluva busy time for me...now I wonder how I managed to pack so much in such little time...

I landed in Delhi from London on 2nd Oct...
For 4th Oct and 9th Oct I had scheduled two of my MBA semester 3 exams...
In between I was running around trying to organize a trip to China and the visa.
10th Oct – 19th Oct I was off to China- Shanghai, Beijing, Xian and Guilin.
27th Oct was Diwali, which is generally a busy time in Delhi. More so last year my sister had just opened a boutique in Delhi and she was loaded with orders as everyone buys new clothes during Diwali. So there I was running around with her, trying to get dupattas dyed, buying buttons, laces, kinaries etc...
28th Oct I went to Chennai for my annual medical check up...there I decided to see the dentist too, who advised me to get 2 of my wisdom teeth extracted for which I had to stay put in Chennai till 6th Nov. Returned to Delhi on 6th evening and 8th early moning I was off to Egypt. When I returned from Egypt on 17th I was like –"I am in a state of constant Jetlag"
18th Nov my sister had planned for us to go to Amritsar – to visit the Golden Temple and do some sourcing for her boutique. As if that was not enough we decided to stop off at Jullandher to meet my cousin. I hadn’t seen her kids for ages and thought I should make use of this time to catch up.
Returned to Delhi in the wee hours of 21st. Then I got barely 10 days in Delhi before we (sister and I) were off to Chandigarh and Patiala for some more shopping for her boutique. In between all that shopping I decided to meet up with a school friend after 19 years!!!! I just wanted to do soooo many things.
Returned from Chandigarh on 4th Dec and 9th I left for Gandhidham to be with my parents. I guess this was the most relaxing period of my holiday, though here too I found enough to do. I managed to catch 2 days of the 'Rann Utsav' – a desert festival with lots of cultural programs and folk dances.
Then we visited Lakhpat which is small town with a historical Gurudwara – Guru Nanak visited this site on his way to Mecca. The relics are kept here and the room where he stayed is a Gujarat heritage protected site so no changes are allowed to be made to it. It was sooooo beautiful.
And finally I decided to get my parents 2 storey house painted!!!
To Delhi on 28th Dec just in time for New Year and my 4th semester exams on 3rd and 9th Jan.
14th Jan I was off to Alipurdwar to meet Namrita - In between learning to cook, visiting the forest reserves and guest houses and a desperate hunt to see a Wild Rhino, I also managed to order some furniture for my house from Siliguri.
Returned on 24th and 30th I finally came back to my own nest in Bangalore!
As I look back I think – Whew...that was some power packed holiday and am I glad to be back to my routine life!

The Balance of Nature

I always feel that we humans take everything for granted, believe that we are so damn superior, and don’t respect the environment and nature...
Many a times I have wondered what must the wild animals think of us? Are they wild or are we wild???
I just love this one!