When does one stop being the mistress of the house and become the slave of the house instead? A self-appointed slave. 

Throwbacks

Just about a month ago we were in Badami, AihoLe, Pattadakal, Bijapur... AihoLe especially made me think of Anu's drawings, as if someone just tried his hand at sculpting something new and threw them around after having his fill... So many quaint structures all over the place. Each one different from the other in some aspect.

Embezzlement

Spoke to Leave today, teasing her about the fact that she's on a movie spree. She said she was on a 'Deshabhakti' spree, having watched Tanhaji last week and Panga today. And she added that it was because she was a right-winger, in my words. I let the last sentence pass. But I was surprised; I knew Tanhaji was meant to be in the patriotic (b)racket but Panga? I had a faint idea that it was a personal redemption story. So I asked Love. She said, "No... I mean, it's a Kangana Ranaut movie... You know she's a right-winger too, right? That's what I meant..". I laughed and said things were getting all mixed up here. Seriously, when did people start mixing up blind nationalism with patriotism and how did we allow them to? And why should L, who's one of the best people in the world, mess her head up with this? 

Wild Karnataka

We watched it in PVR cinemas today. The frames are beautiful but I felt let down by the short time window. 53 minutes just do not do justice to the topic they are covering and it's a severe handicap. Just as you begin to feel invested in a scene, it shifts to a new one, hardly allowing any engagement. You long to see more of those majestic animals. And there are whole topics missed like man-animal conflict and climate change. I'm sure they have much more footage with them and I hope they go full length next time. It should be a series, nothing less. 

Spiritual Dilemma

Why should a Kannadiga gift his MalayaLi friend a Bhagavadgeeta in Kannada? I think a guide on how to learn Kannada would've been better. Now the recipient, who lives on my floor, has passed it on to me and just like him, I couldn't refuse it. I don't know what to do with it, though. I should see if my library will take it.

No, I'm not interested in reading it. For more than a decade now, my mother reads it daily and recently she's even conned my father to join the club. But I don't think there is anything out there which my parents haven't taught me in my childhood. And I'm quite adamant that I don't want to know anything higher order than that.

I was somehow a little disappointed when my mother announced that my father had started reading the Geeta. May be he's just trying to please my mother. And she did sound pleased. 

Peeved Fan

The only thing that I don't like about Ayushman Khurana is that he spells his name Ayushmann Khurrana. Why! 

Struggling to Belong

Never has the workplace felt more fragmented. The fragments isolated and fortified. And my team, a speck returning from a utopia, now floating over them and trying to find a place to belong. Rather hopelessly. Utopia seems unreal again and that euphoric feeling of kinship with the whole world eroding fast. It seems a collective childishness that we even thought we could replicate our model, our success story. You should see the frustration to understand.

They say leadership can do wonders. It's a wonder indeed. 

I hate to sort cauliflower. That is, till I get a broccoli. 

Ghost Stories

Shab wishes me on new year and says she's wondering what would've been had I gone with N. I was stupefied for a while. With N! After all these years! Does the woman have nothing else to do in life? Anyway, I think I shut her up for good. 

I'm going to learn Japanese seriously now. With all the bad intentions. And I'm not going to ask for forgiveness for that. And just in case my memory fails me in the future, the reference here is to Giri/Haji, my latest favourite. 

The Wrong Mix

It's annoying when a serial forces you to believe that the lead pair has some chemistry when it's clearly missing. Especially when one of them is there only for the sake of that intended chemistry. 

Hitwoman

It's very satisfying moment when your neighbour knocks the door and asks you for Hit(cockroach killer) and when you say you don't have it, repeats the question, as if you didn't understand what he meant. 

Midnight Wisdom

You will most probably end up making the biggest noise when you are trying to be the most discreet.