Elections over….finally……..

I know that I probably sound like I’m against the electoral system and against our wonderful Sovereign, Socialist ,Secular, Democratic Republic. Don’t get me wrong on this one, I believe in our country’s Government and the system in place as much as the next man. Though I agree that my knowledge about all things political is probably less than that of ‘Bombs’ of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na fame :P
However, the reason I’m so glad the damn thing is over is all the wonderful campaigning and intellectual ‘discussions’ (read stupid people shouting their heads of at other stupid people while stupider people watch on TV) that we witnessed over the past month or so.
I just can’t understand how all the yelling and finger pointing and woefully remixed songs can help a party or a candidate win (imagine having to hear “Pinaraaaaaaayi nammude Pinaraaayi” while waiting at the Thampanoor bus stand!). Plus we have our new age media channels covering all this stuff and fuelling the fires. One would think these media guys get some kinda pleasure from watching people go at each others throats!
I’d also like to add that I’m deeply disappointed with the Congress for taking advantage of the whole Slumdog and ‘Jai ho’ thing and also at the parties that roped in film stars to help their campaigns. And the Congress was the only party I had some respect for. How unfortunate.
While coming home by bus today, there was a madman sitting behind me and shouting at the top of his voice about how Sonia Gandhi had more sense then all the men in politics and his opinion about these men (in very explicit Malayalam, I might add).
If this current format of shouting, bitching, accusing and remixing goes on, I wouldn’t be surprised if aforementioned madman has a lot of company after the next elections!
Anyways, I’m just glad that its all over, though I did hear some news channels promising exhaustive and in-depth analysis of the elections in the coming days.
*Groan*…………here we go again…….

Going places!!! Or not?

You know, one of my biggest dreams is to travel the world someday. See the pyramids, visit the Eiffel Tower, and maybe even live in London for a while.
Why London? Because it’s always cloudy and has a quaint feel. The fact that the place is probably packed with classy British women helps too!
But the biggest attraction going places holds for me is the traveling itself. I guess I was bitten by the travel bug (or whatever they call these imaginary bugs these days!) when we used to get on the train from Delhi and come home during the holidays. This was back in my LKG to first standard days, but those train journeys are going to be etched in memory forever.
So ever since the end of school I’ve been planning on making good on my ‘backpacking’ aspirations. Maybe the Eiffel Tower may have to wait a bit but hey, plenty of India to see right?
And it was with this burning hope that I approached my parents one fine morning when Dad was reading the paper and decided to ask their opinion.
It went something like this:


Me: Dad, I was thinking, is it ok if some friends and I went for a little trip after my exams?
Dad: Trip? Where to?
Me: Well, I’ve kinda always wanted to visit Darjeeling but for now maybe Bangalore or Mysore, or somewhere?
Dad:*lowers paper* I see. And where do you plan to get funds for this little ‘trip’?
Me: Ummmmmmm, funds??
Dad: You see, I’m saving up my LTC and not enjoying its benefits so that you can go to a decent college you know?
Me: (Damn! Didn’t see that one coming!) I see……
Dad: However…….
Me: (Ever so slightly hopeful) Yeah?
Dad: How about you go to Kanyakumari?
Me:??!? (sigh).

So there go any immediate hopes of chilling in Switzerland or wreaking havoc in the French countryside Mr. Bean style. But I’ve got time on my side. Get filthy rich, and paint the town (or the world) red! Yeah!

Career Indecision

As I mentioned earlier, with Entrance exams looming, I happen to be going through a phase where I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with myself. And the fact that all my classmates have been replaced by nerdy zombies doesn’t really help either!
I suppose the core of my indecision is the fact that I’m not really into doing what everyone else in Kerala plans to do for a degree…………*drumroll*…..Engineering (yay!) .
So that leaves me in a real dilemma as I look for a suitable degree that won’t leave me high and dry someday in the future, and now that I’m able to look at the situation objectively, I’m starting to realize just how shallow our education system really is !
In a nutshell? Take an engineering degree or screw up your life!
So what happened to options and free will and all that stuff?? And this whole problem is compounded by…..you guessed it……the tuition ‘industry’ that we have blooming in our dear ol’ city! (not that I can complain, having gone for tuitions myself :P)
But the thing is, when I think about the conditions prevailing here, about how everyone goes for tuitions and then engineering and thingy ( haven’t forgotten medical aspirants, but that’s a story for another day ! ) , it reminds me of a kinda factory…….churning out engineers, like the stuff they show in Star Wars movies.



So I ask you, is it wrong to choose the path less taken? Do something creative with your own life? Make your own choices? Or are our wiser ‘advisors’ right? And we should just do what everyone else does, because it’s a safer option?
I guess that debate won’t sort itself out anytime soon, and my decision will probably have to be made and reinforced by circumstances……
But hey! At least I managed to add a new post…….cheers!

Movie Review- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Why am I posting something like this now? No idea, it just went through my mind, its my blog, and I don’t want to wait until the next Oscars to express my opinion !

Yeah yeah, so we all saw the Oscars. Even those of us who can’t recognize a single celebrity present there. And we all cheered when Slumdog Millionaire brought home the spoils, but did we take a moment to watch some of the movies it was up against, to understand that, as a film, it was hardly worthy of sharing such illustrious company ?

Not that I don’t appreciate Slumdog, but having recently seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I can only say that it missed a few well deserved Oscars to the Indo-Brit juggernaut.

The way a man who ages backwards lives his life might only arouse mild interest in most of us, but the beauty of the film isn’t its curious protagonist, but the relationships between people and the beauty of life. At the end of the movie, its impossible to shake off the feeling that you lived through Benjamin Button’s whole life standing at his side, experiencing his joys and sorrows with him. Some great acting on Brad Pitt’s part (damn, now he can act too, apart from looking good), and the gorgeous Cate Blanchett ( is she really an elf?) as his companion really add to the feel of the movie.

The little moments, like the dude who got hit by lightning seven times, and the sheer originality of the script have taken this movie right up there in my “Best Movies Ever’ list.

So I won’t go on and on about how awesome this movie is, because it has to be seen to be appreciated. And if you don’t appreciate it, go get yourself eaten by a Polar bear !

If you have any respect for yourself as a movie watcher, watch this movie, and hopefully you’ll come to the same conclusion I did. The only Oscars Slumdog Millionaire deserved were the ones awarded to AR Rahman, and that’s for being a genius, not for making a song for the Congress to ruin!

Thoughts, ideas, creativity and plain weirdness!

Alright, so I’ve been playing around with the idea of starting a blog for some time now.

I mean, that’s what all bored out of their mind teenagers with life changing entrance examinations coming up do right?

And so, one fine morning, I’m sitting in front of the computer, listening to music, surfing the net, and generally appreciating the good things in life when my more creative alter ego finally takes over. So here I am!

Here’s the plan, I go about leading my normal life and whenever my more creative alter ego starts to surface ( really need to find a name for him……..suggestions? ), I post and find some creative release, simple huh?

So while I ‘prepare’ for aforementioned upcoming examination, I’ve been listening to new music, watching new movies and making new friends (at crash course classes no less!). Might as well express my self to the world while I’m at it.

As of now, life’s great, hope it stays that way until results come, but to hell with them anyway. So that’s all for my first post (applause!) . Until next time then……..may it not be too long !