I'VE CLOSED SHOP

107 done.. 108th post(supposed to be a shubh no:)...Time for the last hurrah...All good things come to an end.. Likewise my blog.. Started off with full josh just like my innings at MS, made a lot of friends, had a ball writing crazy stuff, enjoyed reading the stinging comments... but somewhere along the line, got bored.. Also the realisation that expressing my personal thoughts was akin to giving you all a key to my mind kinda scared me… So its time to call it quits….Just a few special mentions..

Dank yoo
* Ekta for introducing me to the wonderful world of blogging
* Tom for being the only person to read all 108 posts of my blog :D
* Susie for running Tom close
* G for all the "constructive criticsm"
* Vasily for being the lone truly international regular – It’s a small world, after all :-)
* Sowmya/Raj for graciously accommodating me at your new abode

In case any of the other regulars took offence at not being mentioned, you know how much I hate those long and boring Oscar acceptance speeches. Ta ta…

Owen hottttt news

In the beginning, God created earth and rested. Then God created woman and rested. Then God created Pranav... since then, neither God nor woman has rested...

But looks like all this will change.. Yes, all the boyfriends of the women Pranav petly calls "friends" can heave a collective sigh of relief.. And even distribute sweets.. for he has finally found Ms.Perfect..Its yet to sink in that Pranav has decided to settle down with jes ONE gal :D Neway the name's Vandana - Poor gal does not know what she is getting into..Needless to say i am dying to meet her and tell her EVERYTHING i know about Pranav..Starting from Miss Pune, guitar, kundalis, yoga, cranberries, massages, those shopping sprees with Mrs AP, butter chicken.....I could go on and on..I've been saving up ALL my holidays to attend this wedding and i hope its in Kashmir though there are indications that it could be at Delhi :-(( Of course, the bugger is sponsoring my flight tickets but i jes hope its not that cheap AIR DECCAN that he will be booking for me.. Need to buy a flashy kurta like the one Hritik/SRK wear in K3G to wow all the Kashmiri babes :D Gift wift kuch nahin milega usse..All these things are not needed within family.. and he surely is FAMILY.. Peeeluuuuuuuu, u r de bestestestest... I am sooooooooo excited !! With this, both my roomies are now getting married...Happy happy happy happy happy days are here again...Someone control me please...


Convocation
Originally uploaded by Jupieee.

There he is squatting by my right, sans specs (they don't look good in snaps he says..hehe) at our convo...Pranav, GH-0** is finally ALL mine.. Hehehehehe...

Its a mad world...

The craziest of romances happen purely by providence..And the worst part is that they are over even before they start..My damn shuttle was late today so had to take an alternate one..And then we got stuck at HSR in a chotu traffic jam.. Guess what happened next..Sleepy me was as usual dozing off at my window seat but TK who gets in at the same bus-stop and sits besides me chanced to see this beautiful angel (working in Siemens - usne ID dekh liya) standing in the sidewalks and nudged me awake.. And then dunno what possessed TK but the bugger kept staring at her for what felt like hours to me.. of course she soon got wise to this stranger who was openly ogling at her...But like all women, I could see she was enjoying the attention coz there was a smile curling up in the corner of her mouth and her eyes were definitely twinkling..Jes the way Twinkle does it *sigh* Maybe I am reading too much into all this (thanks to Why Men can't....) but she actually re-adjusted her lovely hair and that, my friends, is a clincher..Neway by this time I was feeling so awkward coz TK was leaning across me and it was plainly embarassing to see the girl also stealing glances towards him..I was never more relieved than when the bus finally started moving. Log pyaar mein pagal ho jaate hain - the buggers actually changed his bus pass :-)) Here's a song from him out to her.. wherever she is, if ever she reads this...

PS: TK, the only reason i'm doing this is coz the song is one of my favorite numbers...

sippi irukkudhu muththum irukkudhu thirandhu paarkka naeram illadi raajaaththi
sindhai irukkudhu sandham irukkudhu kavidhai paada naeram illadi raajaaththi

sandhangal.....neeyaanaal
sangeedham....naanaavaen
sandhangal neeyaanaal sangeedham naanaavaen

(sippi irukkudhu)

thanana thana...sirikkum sorggam...
thananana thanana thana...thangaththattu enakku mattum
thana thana thana...thaevai paavai paarvai
thanana thana...ninaikka vaiththu...
thananana thanana thana...nenjil ninru nerungi vandhu
thanana thananana thanana thanana thanana
mayakkam thandhadhu yaar thamizho amudho kaviyo

(sippi irukkudhu)

thanana thanana thana...mazhaiyum veyilum enna
thananana thanana thanana thana...unnaikkandaal malarum mullum enna
thanananana thanananana thana...hmmmmm
radhiyum naadum azhagilaadum kangal (shabhaash)
kavidhai ulagam kenjum unnaikkandaal kavinjar idhayam kenjum (Haai, mein mar gaya re)
koduththa sandhangalil en manadhai neeyariya naan uraiththaen

(sippi irukkudhu)

sippi irukkudhu muththumrukkudhu thirandhu paarkka naeram vandhadhu ippoadhu
sindhai irukkudhu sandham irukkudhu kavidhai paadik kalandhiruppadhu eppoadhu

(sippi irukkudhu)

Guest Post - Susie

Well I have been told … “No more critic pedestal for you if you not giving me the same status” (that’s our beloved Jupie!) … this seriously got me wondering, “am I the writing type???”… aww shucks like I have a choice here. Next question that promptly props up … “what do I write about???” well here at least I have a choice … ‘about me’, no way Jupie will have a field day playing the critic – ‘school day’, yeah like anyone cares – how about ‘my kinetic honda’?, yieeee that sounds lame even to me – thanks to my Libran indecision I have been able to fill in so much already :-p

Ok .. I have decided … I shall contribute to Jupie’s ‘Those were the best days of my life’ series … this will be part II of TWTBOML. Part I talks abt his 2nd family at SP (Adcom), now I present to you his 1st family – Chennai Dadar Express(he talks so much abt this family, I guess I know all abt them). I base all this on the narration given by the ‘horse’ himself, so brickbats to Jupieee and bouquets to meee … here goes ;)

ChennaiExpress
Originally uploaded by Jupieee.

(Squatting / Kneeling from left to right)

Jupie aka Ramki aka Horse – the small town Trichy guy who took the connecting train travel plan to get to Mumbai, I still wonder what/who the inspiration factor was??? :D

Kerry aka K. Ramakrishnan – the annathe of the gang … Jupie can go on abt him for hours (Kerry fan club president) … the horse tells me that Kerry would have to hold the Guinness records for his never ending list of friends … if you are from Chennai (Chen being ‘core’ competence – mantle & crust extensions no one has documented yet) this man knows you … “does he know me???” I wonder!

Soso aka Rajaraman – the story behind the name ‘soso’ is amazing … think abt this … u make a statement like “I love the sunrise” and soso says “So?”, u are slightly offended so you explain yourself, again soso says “So?”, so once again you add to your answer, by now you know what soso says next … at the end of it all Soso knows ur girl/boy friend’s name, your salary (if u have one), some other stuff u urself didn’t know abt urself … & now I learn that he was the sasTrigal at the hostel … So???

(Standing – first row, left to right – 1 guy and 3 gals)

Venki aka Ki bro aka Venkatesan – The ‘Crazy Mohan’ of the gang, has a ‘punch line’ for everything and everyone … Jupie keeps wondering if the guy actually rehearses his impromptu wit … the warning I got was “u don’t want to meet him if you can’t afford a stitch in your stomach”, well actually I could do with a few laughs so…

Smi aka Smitha – hmmm jupieee solidava??? … well Smi happens to be among very select group of ppl who have a certain effect on Jupie … ‘Cat got tongue syndrome’ … well let me clarify b4 jupe screams murder – Ramki is mega scared of Smi, according to him she has the razor sharpest tongue and believes it gets sharper if he is in the vicinity … but he also grudgingly acknowledges her super skills at quizzing, DumbC & CGP… no ramki u will have to meet me to kill me and I am not planning to do so in the near future! :D

RT aka Chitti Ponnu aka Arthi – She has got to be the most adorable of the lot, I mean the pic says it all – the only person Jupie has been consistent about, “Chitti ponnu is my favourite” – all she has to do is smile and say “will you…….?” And people just comply … what wouldn’t I do for that … ok ok I will add that to my ‘will never happen’ list :(

Viji aka Vijaya – I am intrigued by this one, Jupie hardly talk about her – not to worry, have managed a few good ones though – it seems she has a verse / quote for everything in life, be it a marketing presentation or Jupie misbehaving during the train journey. Another rumour from the horse is that there was a romance blooming between her and someone in the group – who was that I wonder???? Jupie bolo na…

(Standing – second row, left to right)

Andy aka Anand – the Madurai veeran – another small town boy, but Jupie insists that he is the original. Andy and Ramki are … well I have no words to describe this … they are quite a pair – in the same company, joined together, lived together before their respective families decided to move into town, even exchange a few customary ‘mwaahhs‘ over mail … how do I know that? Well got marked on a mail that wasn’t to be marked to me – simple!!!

Apu aka Aparna – Common link to Family II (Adcom) – Jupie says she is very creative, yeah I liked that T-shirt idea, had tried the same stunt when I was in college – maybe I should ask her for tips – what say Jupe, will she help me???

Otha aka Papa Bear aka Rohith – ‘Otha’, now that’s not a name you hear often (no, I am sure u wudn’t want to hear it at all), wonder what earned him that??!!?? Papa Bear, now that appeals a lot more – protective, cuddly … the gals must have loved him ;) …

Boss aka Rahul – Now here is a novelty, Boss is from Lucknow but found himself in Guntakal (thanks to dad’s railway job) and then as fate may have in company of Jupie and family on CDExp. Jupe vows that no one can belt out ‘rasaathi en usuru enudhille’ (thiruda thiruda) better that Boss … now here is a person u shud get to know, esp if u travel by 2nd class and he by 2nd AC :D

TRA aka T.R. Anand – Another link to Family II (Adcom), Lord Ranganathan from TVS – Thair Vada Sambar – how apt!!! Jupe chants ‘shree gurubhyo namaha’ if you just mention TRA, talk abt adoration at its highest level!!! Seemingly the guy rapped with Kotler and slept with Trout, well who doesn’t do it on campus … but on the train??!!??

Colorblind

One of those songs that i hated at first hear.. and then these guys in Skyworks kept playing it again and again as if it were the Gayatri mantra... and now... i actually like it :-) Familiarity always need not breed contempt :-) Ensoii...

Feelin' blue, while I'm trying to forget the feeling that I miss you
Feelin' green, when the jealousy swells and it won't go away in dreams

Feelin' yellow, I'm confused inside
A little hazy but mellow when I feel your eyes on me

Feelin' fine! Sublime!
When that smile of yours creeps into my mind

Oh oh

Nobody told me you'd feel so good
Nobody said you'd be so beautiful
Nobody warned me about your smile
You're the light, you're the light
When I close my eyes
I'm colour blind

You make me colour blind

Feelin' red, when you spend all your time with your friends and not me instead
Feelin' black, when I think about all the things that I feel I lack

Feelin' jaded, when it's not gone right
All the colours have faded, then I feel your eyes on me

Feelin' fine! Sublime!
When that smile of yours creeps into my mind

Mm mm

Nobody told me you'd feel so good
Nobody said you'd be so beautiful
Nobody warned me about your smile
You're the light, you're the light
When I close my eyes
I'm colour blind

You make me colour blind

Blinded by the light you shine, the colours fade completely
Blinded by you every time, I feel your smile defeat me

I'm colour blind
I just can't deny this feeling

Nobody told me you'd feel so good
Nobody said you'd be so beautiful
Nobody warned me about your smile
You're the light, you're the light
When I close my eyes
I'm colour blind

Nobody told me you'd feel so good
Nobody said you'd be so beautiful
Nobody warned me about your smile
You're the light, you're the light
When I close my eyes
I'm colour blind

You make me colour blind
I'm colour blind

@Darius Danesh

Phir Milenge...

There is a brand new White shirt hanging on the clothesline but there is a small ink stain near the collar..If you are the kinda person who can ignore the stain (small flaw right..) and marvel at the sparkling white spectacle (the bigger picture), then Phir Milenge is absolute miss-not fare..

Serious, bitter-sweet and definitely thought-provoking, the film is sure proof that women directors like Revathy have arrived and are very much there to stay. What is most appealing is that Revathy has chosen to be neither pedantic nor melodramatic but simply attempted to spread a strong message on HIV and AIDS within the realms of the commercial format.

There is so much positive in the film but special mention has to be made of Bhavatha Raja for her riveting background score (watch out for the BGM is all the Kerala sequences - the drums beats are simply awesome...as is the use of Sanskrit shlokas), Atul Sabharwal for his spellbinding screenplay and sensitive dialogues and the ensemble South Indian supporting cast for the wonderful performances. Music is purely functional but "Khulke Muskurale Dil" did bring a lump in my throat - maybe even a tear or two. The real scene stealers are however Shilpa Shetty in what is undoubtedly the performance of her lifetime, the gal who plays Shilpa's sister and Abhishek Bachchan who speaks effortlessly with his expressive eyes. Mainstream viewers might find the movie's pace a little irksome but if meaningful film-making is your cuppa kaapi then Phir Milenge is worth even black ticket rates at PVR.

Moments of sheer cinematic bliss:
# When Shilpa returns to her office and finds the difference in people's attitude towards her
# The camaraderie between mentor and protege played by Nasser and Aby baby resp:
# All the scenes where the two sisters share screen space - sizzling chemistry this one

Two thumbs up for Phir Milenge.