En Iniya Iyandhiraa...

Thy hype was adequate enough to ensure that even non-fans of the Rajni style of movies joined in the madness. Yes, I shamelessly succumbed in. To Endhiran (Or 'Robot' for the Hindi audience). To the phenomenon called Rajni Kanth.  And I came out a proud tamilian!!

What struck me most was the story behind the science fiction. There have been several bollywood and regional flicks in the past with loads of science fiction effects ala their Hollywood counter-parts – all, unarguably, visual treats. Clearly, Endhiran’s strengths are its ahead-of-times science fiction effects re-created by Director Shankar with a fair share of help from the technicians from Hollywood.  Be it the scene where all the arms and weapons stick onto Chitti (The Robot) in his electro-magnetic mode or the on-screen grandeur wherein Chitti transforms into a humungous King-Kong, human sphere, dinosaur, et all. The magnificence, opulence and splendour brought out on-screen is un-paralleled till date. Needless to say (like several others who have watched Endhiran would agree), Shankar is a visionary who is way ahead of his times as far as technological advancements.

However, where Shankar scores in this costliest Indian movie ever made is in his lucid portrayal of the Man Vs Machine debate.  The former part of the movie deals with the creation of Chitti by the Scientist and subsequent attempts to inject emotions into the mere-machine Chitti. What turns out as a result of such adventurous experiments is the latter half of the story where Chitti transforms into a destructive bad-man who murders and creates havoc with a mere with a snap of his finger. The kind of destruction that a human creation can cause and the cons of a possible mis-use of science and technology have been brought out ever so subtly.

As for the Super-star himself, I have no words to describe him. Nor does the English Language. :). The 61 year old guy plays a Scientist in the movie and the Chitti that he creates. He is The Terminator. He is The Transformer. He is the Navi. The Avatar. The Matrix Man. He is The King Kong. He is The Incredible Hulk. He is The Iron Man. The Bat Man. The Spider Man. The Dark Knight. Rajnikanth. The Man. The Robot. In addition to Rajnikanth, the movie had other attractions like an Oscar winner who has done the music, a former Miss-World as a leading artiste, etc. However, these things pale out before Shankar’s on-screen execution and screenplay.

After a totally engrossing 3 hour plus show, I came out of the hall wondering if this is what Shankar achieved with a reported budget of ` 150 Crores – what can be a possible outcome if he had the kind of money that the makers of Avatar (reported budget of  $ 300 mn) had!!. Well, some times, its good to dream.

**********************

P.S.: I have a single complaint, though. I’d read somewhere that the movie is loosely based on 'En Iniya Iyandhira' a Novel by Late Sujatha Rangarajan, a renowned science fiction author in Tamizh who was himself wayyyyyyy ahead of his time (just for the record, he wrote the story in d early '80s). It would have been nice if they had added his name in the end-credits!!

What day is it today??

Well, its ‘Friendship Day’.

Its a debate thats often heard in many circles. Are special days important to reiterate how special a person or a relationship is to you?. Or, are such days mere marketing gimmicks by the Archies and Odysseys of the world who come up with such irresistible and innovative gifts that we almost in all cases land up giving in to the splurging temptation.

I have always been the types who attaches significance to all those surprise wishes,  the 12 am calling up and wishing and remembering special occasions and days to celebrate.  After all, whats life without such special moments and thoughts.  Also, considering the quantum of people who hardly express their feelings on other normal, routine days, such days are a definite plus to celebrate that person in their lives. It need not be any material gifts - it could just be a remembrance of special moments or events in your relationship that shows how much u have evolved with him/her.

The downside is that, for every such rationale there is always a counter as to why do we need that one special day to celebrate our relationships. This argument is more prominent during Valentines when almost the entire world goes bonkers finding out nice, cutesy ways of expressing their love for their dear ones and there is this one section of the universe arguing on what exactly is love and why do we need to reiterate it on just that one day of the year!!

However, me being me, today, I remember all my friends during various phases of my life – childhood days, school, college, work. Friendship is such a wonderful and positive feeling – it is the only relationship in which u give so much to a person selflessly despite not being blood related to him (and vice versa). Its also probably the loosely understood word after ‘love’ - thankfully, I have made a clear distinction between an ‘acquaintance’ and ‘friend’; which is why I have a few friends and several acquaintances.

Be that as it may, thanks to social networking, I am still in touch with most of my friends and acquaintances across various corners of the globe.  So, heres to all my virtual and real friends/acquaintances - Happy Friendship Day, Folks!! J. 

Would I be miss being a ‘Miss’ ....

There are several thoughts that my mind is occupied with over the past few days.  I guess it happens with many people who are getting into that different phase of life  - and into a different family as well.

As I am packing my stuff to go to Chennai, my thoughts keep drifting back to the days when I had initially moved into the city about 7 years back as a raw, fresh out of college, girl. Oh, how much has life changed.  It was as if it was only yesterday - me getting angry and upset with my parents for leaving me alone here in this big, bad city, initial troubles with roomies, the ‘home-sickness’ factor, exploring the city with my batch mates, the chats and gossips in the SEBI Gaurav (Oshiwara) benches, which would well extend into mid-nights, the train travel, Nariman Pt., VT and its old-world charm, Thane days, WTC office days, batch friendships, jealousies and new-found friendships– its almost like a walk down the memory lane.

In hindsight, Bombay - and the Single life - has indeed taught me a lot through my spinster days when I have been living alone. Other than taking care of the routine stuff yourself , you also do not have anyone to open the door and welcome you when u reach home!!  That apart, there are the usual traits of a girl living alone in a big, bad city and the typical adjectives that one would tend to use in such cases – Independent, Bold, Confident, Thinker, Intelligent (ok...the latter part was over-done :p) etc.

But there are a lot of things that I would probably miss from my ‘being a Miss’ days to my ensuing status change. Freedom, Flexibilities, a lot of ‘Me’ time which gives immense scope for introspection, living life on an impulse, vegetating on the couch before the Idiot box on holidays :p, and the list can go on.....

I do not know how much life is going to change post-marriage. New people, new relationships, new role-responsibilities, probably new locations too, limelight focus on the to-be-bride – these can really add on to an already stressed mind. But all I know right now is that I am glad I had this period of spinsterhood to discover myself (and at times, discover my friends!)  - it did help me cut down the raw elements in me and prepare me, to a certain extent, for facing sharper turns ahead in life!!

SEBI ka Tempo High hai!!

SEBI Premier League  

The past 10 days or so at my office had almost taken me back to my college days, thanks to the SEBI Premier League. Being in the organising team of the SPL reminded me so much of how we used to conduct inter-collegiate management meets way back then. Once the idea of SEBI Premier League was conceived, all the subsequent work in terms of finalising the formats and fixtures for the various league matches, grouping the 6 teams that were in the fray, working out the logistics with the MIG Club which was the venue of the tournament, etc. followed. The kind of enthusiasm, high energy levels and spirit that I had witnessed at various levels across the organisation was something that I had not witnessed before at SEBI.

The tournament was conceived as a 3 day long sports meet across SEBI comprising of various games – Cricket, Badminton, Table Tennis and Carrom. The 6 teams – Equities, Bonds, Swaps, Futures, Options and Index – with representation from various departments – were put in 2 groups (A – Futures, Index and Option and B – Bonds, Equities and Swaps) in the league matches with the winner of one group playing against the winner of the second group.

The mood for the tournament had set in a week before the actual matches, with the poster war across the 7 floors at SEBI Bhavan. There were posters and there were counter-posters and there were counter counter posters (yes, a few attempts at sledging and taking a dig at the other teams too!!) ; of course, I must confess the walls of our office have never been more colourful and interesting before.

As for the actual matches, the ‘Futures’ hit it off from Day 1 by winning both their league matches against the ‘Index’ and ‘Options’. The ‘Swaps’ did the same on Day-2 by winning over the ‘Bonds’ and ‘Equities’ to firm up their grand finale with the ‘Futures’. The last day of the tournament that got concluded today saw some excellent cricketing action from the four teams that played today. The morning match between the Equities and Options who were both playing for the 3^rd slot was won handsomely by Options. The finals between the ‘Futures’ and ‘Swaps’ was a fairly high scoring match too like some of the league matches. At the end of it, the Swaps could not defend what looked like a formidable target for the Finals – 112 in 15 overs. The ‘Futures’ team, aided by some huge hits from its top order (Sanchit and Nitin), were home effortlessly with an over to spare.

The games for the ladies (Badminton/TT/Carrom) was more or less dominated by the Swaps who had kind of swept through the matches in this segment, both in Singles as well as doubles.

Some of the key highlights of the tournament were clearly the star batsmen from some of the teams who entertained the crowd with some huge shots (Sanchit and Nitin for ‘Futures’, Sagar for ‘Options’, Peter for ‘Swaps’), some good fielding by even the not so young players,  some witty and interesting commentary by Vikas and Mukul (trust him to talk about afternoon siesta of a few colleagues in the Pavilion and cricketing specifics with equal aplomb!), some of the early exit team members who were seen cheering the other teams during the finals and the ‘never-low’ enthu of our ED Mr. Vaidyanathan who made this entire event happen and saw it through smoothly.

The event ended on a positive note with all the trophies and Man of the Match/Series being given away, photograph session with the big man himself (Yes, Our Chairman and a Board Member were at the Presentation ceremony to do the honours) and promises to hold such SEBI family events more often than now – whether the promise would materialise or not is something that only time can tell. Be that as it may, what really shone through was the adage that ED(KNV) had coined for us at the event – SEBI Ka Tempo High Hai!!! 

The Ten Commandments

Few philosophies that I know I would never be able to follow – but, would never the less, try to imbibe someday soon, to the extent possible:-

1.       Never have any expectations from anyone/anything– it always ensure that you are not disappointed.

2.       Patience bears rich fruits.

3.       Sometimes it is essential to try and have a blank mind which is devoid of ANY thoughts.  - After all, Ignorance IS bliss.

4.       Never let your heart control your mind – it can be quite painful.

5.       Happiness does not last forever; Unhappiness does not either.

6.       It’s good to dream a lot. But it’s even better to be real.

7.       In the long run, most of the things that bother us today, does not even matter!!

8.       Do not lose sleep over a future event that may or may not happen.  Plan less, live more on impulse!!

9.       Care more for your own conscience and lesser for public opinion - not all of them deserve the kind of attention they usually get!

10.   Atleast once in a while, take the road less travelled and proceed without a destination...Exploring newer avenues often surprises pleasantly!

Why does Technology excite so much?

Is it the magic it weaves around us..Is it the small and convenient things it can do to change our lives ...or Is it the element of novelty that exists, atleast so in some of the inventions of Technology. Being a self-confessed tech/gadget freak, new technologies and product launches have always excited me.  Though it was not a phenomenon I have had since my childhood days, I must have picked it up somewhere as life evolved. So much so that whenever I buy myself a new product, I usually spend the next 3 to 4 days exhausting the manual that comes alongwith the product and doing a thread-bare research to understand all the tricks of the product. Rest all things in the world can wait!!

The recent iPad launch was one such thing. Apple, for one, always has super-stylish product launches. Be it the Macbook thin air or the iPhone, their event launches have been defining moments. When Steve Jobs launched the Macbook thin air, I remember gaping in awe at the style in which he was opening an envelope in his hand and taking out the notebook, presenting to the world, its thinnest laptop EVER.

More recently, the recent iSlate launch happened on January 27^th at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, and millions of Apple fans like me followed it live over the internet (and a few fortunate ones, in person). After all, in the CEO’s own words, “if the iPhone was a dent in the universe, the iPad will be the big bang.”

As for the product itself which has since been named ‘The iPad” (YUCKKK!), it runs on the iPhone Operting System, has a 9.7-inch LCD display, a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor, built in speakers, microphone and 30 pin connector, weighs 1.5 pounds, about a half-inch thick, with an on-screen keyboard. The 16 GB/32 GB/64GB versions have been launched and Apple claims a battery life of 10 hours, with a month of standby time. The 3G version has been paralelly launched with the wifi version. The pitfalls are that the piece has no USB slot, no memory card slot, no camera and all the applications are priced.

Despite all of these, my take would be that the iPad would, slowly but surely, become a hit for the simple reason that its goddamn stylish with all the basic essential features and pushes the envelope a bit further when it comes people’s perception of a notebook. In other words, it actually bridges that little gap between a smartphone/PDA and a netbook/notebook. Plus, Apple has indeed managed to suprise one and all with its aggressive pricing. The basic wifi 16 GB version pegged at $499, half of its rumored price of $1000. Ofcourse, only time will tell if the product will be as endearing as the hype surrounding it and its super sexy looks!

Be that as it may, some of the advancements in technology that I would love to see some day and feel would be useful are:

1. Something that can print our text messages from our handheld sets/phones – it could prove useful when u reach the airport and realise that you forgot to print ur ticket or reach a movie hall and realise that you forgot to get a copy of ur movie ticket.
2. Playing live regional FM radio across the country – dont know its possible, but if it happens, it would do wonders to tamil music starved tamilians in Mumbai like me and to several others too!!
3. Live video streaming of the caller when we receive/attend calls on the handset – this can really turnaround our lives and make the world such a small place, after all. (I am told this exists in some places/carriers.)
4. Broadcasting live television end enabling mobile connectivity in-flights (I am told that the latter is in the offing and would be operational in the near future) – it could be a boon to frequent travellers to catch up with their favorite shows/people.
5.  An automatically controlled, driver-less, car that takes you around to your destination without the need for human beings enduring traffic related stress..(plus robots may not violate traffic rules, thus not cause choked roads and taffic jams :p)
6. A music player that understands your mood and plays a list based on the same, without you having to lift a small finger!!.

Technology, like all else, evolves.  Till such time the world is adequately wired to accomplish atleast a few of my above wish-list, wireless relationships between human beings and our societies shall prevail!!

Cities maketh the men (and women)

I had attended a former colleague’s kid’s birthday party last weekend which turned out to be an unexpected re-union of sorts for most of my batch mates who had joined SEBI 7 years back!! It gave us good time to discuss the inevitable topic of who has changed how much ever since we first met and the kind of impact moving over to Bombay has made to each of us.

I, for one, always maintain that other than living sans the family, my life at Madras was pretty much the same as it is in Bombay now – both are big, well-developed metros with fast-paced lives; people have a fairly cosmopolitan mind-set and are adequately occupied with their own lives with no time to gossip; places are urbane....both the cities offer tremendous amount of independence...the similarities can be endless. However, it is true that each city has a character of its own and living in a particular city with a certain set of people can really influence the way you mould yourself. While Madras is a classic case of an urban city teeming with happening places co-existing with its conservative/orthodox sides well in-tact, it is impossible to find a city that is more accomodative and professional than Bombay - it embraces every human being who comes to live here for his living and the city really grows on you.

Alongwith a change in the city that one lives, some of the very common instances where changes occur are physical appearances and other superficial things like one’s tastes for a particular cuisine or for a particular genre of movies/music/books or pastime activities.

This was very evident at a recent outing to a “pucca for-the-masses” genre Tamil movie which I had happened to visit in a fairly big multiplex in suburban Mumbai. While I remember relishing anything remotely and authentically tamil when I had moved to Mumbai 7 years back, I now felt like such a mis-fit amongst the co-tamils crowd at the moview hall. It did not take long for me to realise that my tastes had changed and I no longer enjoyed watching movies where the Hero single handedly bashes up 15 hefty guys with a single stroke of his hand. During my initial days of moving into Bombay when I missed Madras the most, I remember enjoying even such typically masala genre movies laden with illogical action and silly comedies – in hindsight, it was probably more in an urge to keep up the roots of any and everthing Tamil and as a solution to my home-sickness.

In fact, at the re-union I was mentioning above, there were people who were commenting on the obvious diffferences in physical appearances in each of us from the days we had initially joined SEBI – and met up with each other. In my case, there were discussions on how different I looked now from the typical southie girl who joined 7 years ago– (my experiment at hair straightening probably made them assume that I have blended more with the Mumbayya crowd and their way of living/culture :p)

Subsequently, the discussions moved onto the way in which living in Bombay as a city has impacted our personalities.

As for traits like courage, independence, confidence, etc. which are terms often associated with a single woman living in Bombay, I truly feel these are inculcated at a much earlier stage of growing up and not the ones that people necessarily - and, automatically- pick up from the day they start living alone. Ofcourse, I do not wish to be hypocritical and say I have not changed one bit from the day I started living alone – but the question is whether this change has been significant enough to shape your personality – my answer would probably be a ‘No’.

It is true that living alone in a big, bad city like Bombay prepares one to be more adaptible to situations and probably more prepared to handle crisis situations, however, it is also true that the basic character of a person and his/her extent of dependence on the support system available to sail through such situations play a significant role in moulding us, irrespective of the city we live in. With all the freedom and independence bestowed on me and for all the changes in me on what and where I eat and where I hang-out and how I pass time, I have no qualms in admitting that, at heart, am still the same girl who would rather let the people in my life deal with my tough situations with me taking the back-seat!!

All this only makes me wonder that a city, probably, does make a man – but only superficially so. Its good to be a Roman while in Rome...But its even better to remember that you are not a native Roman!!