The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1 - Review

The Hunger Games.. Mockingjay Part -1. Its an excellent movie if you have read the book.. the movie lacks something that if it had been an episode on HBO I could have forgiven it. But now that its a movie.. it lacks something that Harry Potter series always had.. every part had a whole lot of story that fits with the entire plot.

The bigger purpose is coming to light. I feel that once all the episodes are released I can get the DVDs and watch them back to back.

Overall a 6.0 rating. Bit too slow.. and bit too dry..

Cocktail (2012)

Sometimes good friends maybe too good to share..
Cocktail is an urbanised movie with lots of LEGS in the first half from Deepika Padukone. Its extremely disconnected or forcibly connected at many places. Characters donot have depth. Deepika plays an urban chic photographer - Veronica (Viru paaji). Diana plays the role of meera, who lands up in London to meet her hubby.. but finds that she has been a part of the ohh so common guy seeking money marrying the girls from india. All in all a waste of money in all aspects.. except LEGS..
Actually there is nothing much to write about this film.. nd I give it a 6/10 .. 1 point bonus for the MUSIC

Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

Gangs of Wasseypur is another great piece of work from Anurag Kashyap. 

The film is about the village of Wasseypur in Dhanbad and its history in terms of gang lords, fighting to keep the control. Made in two parts, the movie catches your attention with the kind of humor that may hit you hard. Cinematography is exceptional, the actors in each of their roles have done justice to their characters. Mishra who gives the background sound to the entire episode has given the typical touch of the flavour of bihar and eastern UP. All in all it's an adult movie, which you will enjoy. A must see for all (Adults).

The Amazing Spiderman (2012)

Well if you are a Spidy fan and have seen the previous Spidy in different forms, then this is a disappoint-er.
The effects may be good, but the story is too very predictable.
The lead pairs do not share the chemistry that the previous Peter Parker would have enjoyed. Gwen looked a little old as compared to Peter.
I would rate it 5/10.
A nice watch for kids who have never seen Spidy ever in their lives.

Avoidable. Spend your bucks somewhere else.

the smiley SUN

I was travelling back from Brazil to Mumbai, to my home in a cab.. in the early hours of the day.
A lot had happened without coffee.. I had lost a baggage, was standing in 2 different lines .. immigration and prepaid taxi. Both were boring.. and above all this there was a surprise factor.. for nobody knew of my coming back home .. and then this thought came to my mind..
I was about to utter these stupid words.. and then help on to my self..
Me in my mind about to speak to the taxi driver.. "Boss.. the SUN is full today"
And then it stuck me .. what a stupid and brilliant thought at the same time..
Stupid because the Taxi driver would have laughed his way to home.. and brilliant because it would have been very exciting had it been for the SUN to have faces.. Full SUN.. Half SUN, Moon SUN, No SUN.. (Scientists please forgive me.. ) phew.. I loved my own thoughts.. 

Chalta hai - de bhai India de - Episode 1

It's a habit, it's a culture, it's a blessing, it's a secret, it's what we are, better it's just a curse that has been drilled into our brains and we feel it's our part.. our culture.. And that's the Chalta hai attitude..
I started from Sao Paulo to my beloved Mumbai.. it was a happy moment to say the least and I was explaining the beauty of a culture, some 5000 years old, to people from Brazil and turkey..

I was happy to be traveling back.. I was ever so loud about how my country has never in it's entire history invaded any other nation.. How beautiful it's people are.. How relationship oriented we are.. And then it struck me..the moment I landed there the first thing that came to my mind was what the f""".. The carpet looked like it came directly from a shaadi mandap with all the gravy just removed a minute back.. Queues were huge for immigration.. Completely disoriented staff.. People ready to help foreigners nd ignorant to their skin colored brothers.. 
my luggage was picked up and kept in a third place as the conveyor belt was getting overloaded.. Lost one of my luggage.. And the list was endless.. And then the moment happened.. I kicked my trolley in frustration and uttered the magic words.. f&$@ Mann(*sorry cannot mention the hindi cousin here, english seems to be soothing).. 

I hate this attitude of Chalta hai.. Which is unfortunately acceptable to everyone these days...

Its been some days now that I have finished writing on this chalta hai attitude.. postponing it daily.. saying Chalta hai yaar.. !!! 

I hate myself for this..

My experiments without language

“Language is a sophisticated complication when it is not known” - Aashutosh

When you face a person with whom you need to check.. “what is the time” and there is no common language for communication, what do you do?

Do you speak to him in unmodulated relentless marching dialogues to tell you the time OR

You understand the differences and try and make gestures on your wrist repeating time..

And still if you are not able to connect to him.. do you reach out for his hand check his watch and say thanks.

That’s where the language started.. from holding the other guys wrist to check the time..

And that’s where we always go when we are stuck with any language.

Adding another And.. and the most basic form of communication comes down to sign language for sure..

How do you learn a language.. ?

Repetition.. Repetition.. Repetition..

The more you repeat the more you learn..

It’s no rocket science.

Staying in Brazil for a month and still I am not learned enough to speak more than 30 words maybe.

But travelling to places and speaking to people, I was still able to understand them and speak to them too..

And I believe that there is a critical mass needed to start understanding a language and its nuances.

And staying, speaking and fighting when they don’t understand you is the way to learn..

Here is my final finding.. Most Easiest way to learn a language is to have a girlfriend who speaks the new language.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find one to study Portuguese.

My Indian fundas..

What do u do when ..
1. You are in Mumbai, India and

2. If you travel form point A to B and you have taken bus XYZ and then you want to travel back to A from B..?

For me, I would stand on the other side of the Bus stop where I got down, and wait for the Bus.

check with people and then stand and wait.. 

Simple funda..

Applied the same here in Sao Paulo, brazil.

the bus actually had a different route while going back, hahah.. 

Asked a lot of people.. they had no clue of what we were talking and we had no clue of what they understood.. we waited for around 1.5 hrs. and then.. what to do.. 

Went to a restaurant, there were lot of young people sitting, called out in the middle of the restaurant, "Anyone Speak Ingleis here".. typical way to check who speaks english in brazil.

And then I saw fingers pointing at one single person.. checked with him.. and he checked with my grandpa.. Mr. Google and told me where to get the BUS.

It was the same spot where i left the bus in the morning... :)

Google the savior..
Please read the other article where the Grandpa funda is explained.

The Savior of this world -- Google

Hahaha.. the statement would have made many heads turn..
But the fact is without google, I wouldn't have been able to ask for the key to my room and room number in Sao Paulo.
Search view do anything.. and the items keep adding.
I have a good friend here in Sao Paulo.. and we speak to each other using Translate..
Its amazing, only issue is u need to be plugged to the internet.


Good Morning Grandfather Google 

Bird Flue and automation – “Thoda Khao Thoda Fenko”

Ohh.. you got to see this..

In USA everything from Foam dispenser to hand sanitiser to tissues are getting automated..

Meaning you don’t have to touch anything..

Just go close to it.. and technology will ensure that you don’t have to touch anything because you MAY catch the flue from the bird who flew past.. 

Hahahaha… Talking of powerful and power rich..

You know how to use more power for less while you are in US.

I remember the line from “Jane bhi do Yaaron”.. Bollywood movie..

“Thoda Khao Thoda Fenko”

Where to keep the tissue paper.. learn from the Brazilians

This is interesting..

In Sao Paulo.. in my office there are 2 sets of tissue papers.. one above the wash basin.. the big ones.

And the other above the loo.. the small soft tissues..

Don’t ask me what the small ones are for..

You must be sensible enough to decode..

While it was a new thing that I had seen .. it was interesting as well..

Cleanliness to the next level..

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Well.. starting with the movie its a nice way to look at life..
Also, you need to have made it to some level before you think this is valid..
The central theme of the movie is around living the life that you have.. about being free.. which is been very well captured in the discussion between Katrina and Hritik.
Story is about 3 friends with an agreement of travelling to a different country where each one has the right to choose which sport he wants to do, while the other 2 have to follow.
Shot is Greece the scenic pitch of the movie is very good.
The pace is descent, and yes there is an increase in the number of people who want to take up adventure sports namely .. Deep sea diving, Sky Diving, and not so sure about Bull Run.. :)
The cast has done well.. except that sometimes the comedy may look a bit cheesy..
Overall the movie is a must watch for atleast once.. it deserves to be watched.
It will keep you attentive for sure.
I would rate this movie on a scale of 10 as somewhere 7.2

Per Favor .. Don’t Pay please.

City of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Have you ever travelled in a taxi.. or an auto rickshaw.. and if the answer is yes..

Then has the taxi driver said.. oh the distance was very small.. please don’t pay..

Aha.. well this was first of a kind experience for me.

In the city of Sao Paulo, Travelling from my office to my hotel, I and one more person (who knew Portuguese) took a taxi..

As we reached the hotel, and my friend offered 10 rias to the driver, to our surprise, he said.. Nao Obrigado.. No Thanks..

We insisted and said please take it.. and the meter was reading 9.10 rias.

Still he refused stating that the travel was very less and he cannot take money for such a small distance.

I was SURPRISED.. pleasantly SURPRISED

Deserted Sea - Heaven on earth

Taste the water of this and its salty at 14,270. I know what you are thinking.. 
Clear your mind buoy..
Thats Pangong Tso (Pangong Lake). It was August of 2009 that we travelled to this beautiful place in Ladakh. The best way to travel here is on a motor bike. Preferrably a cruiser bike.

People describe different heavens .. this is the one for me so far.. 
The FUN of riding a bike in the vast desert.. with absolutely nobody in view where ever u see is amazing.. 

Why do you travel.. why do you trek.. ????

Yeah man.. WHY do we trek,.. climb mountains in inhospitable climate.. withstand the cold in unknown places.. sustain the heat on season off season.. soak all the gods rains even if we can restrain.. nd walk those punishing hundreds of kilometers.. WHY all this self endorsed punishment.. WHY.. ???
Over and above this.. people say.. "Himalayas.. I think they are the same everywhere.. " OR "Sahyadris.. its the bloody same thing from where ever you look at it.. Green in the rains and brown in the summers"

So why do we become nomads for some time..

I have been hunting for that answer and haven't landed on it yet.. though there are many answers that I have given myself.. none of them have been consistent.. so is it that we are searching for something that we donot completely get after the excursion.. so that we keep trying in the next episode..
Or is it the journey that we always enjoy.. the destination of the journey is again one more journey.. followed by another..
Answers are plenty and not consistent.. nd hence I think its important to travel.. to trek.. to let ur mind wander in the woods.. to see the stars in the night lying on top of a terrace .. or on top of a hill.. or on an open ground.. without the pollutants around.. without the light around.. its important to find yourself in situations where it is easy to give up.. nd turn your backs and start walking.. but not giving up.. may be for your friends... for yourself but the experience adds a chapter that you would want to share.. its important to be lost.. to let loose.. to be exciting when you are boring.. to throw a stone in the still waters of chandratal.. to take a dip in the icy waters.. to be sick.. to make others sick.. its important to travel.. as is important to dream..

You learn along the way...

that life is not only about glow..
that you are not the only slow..

that its worth to have a dream..
that its worth to swim upstream..

for you there is nothing small
for you there is nothing far

on every journey that you embark
you get friends to keep and experience to park..
no place is small.. no place is far..



I love travelling.. and I dont need to find a reason now it seems.. journey is much more fun than destinations.. 

When you want something desperately.. you catch a train by being late

Love Indian Trains

Well well.. let me tell you this story of how a kid determined to catch the train of his last dates things to do... actually catches it by being late..

So my cousin H (Name hidden for anonymity) had to travel from Mumbai to Calcutta.. by Geetanjali exp. The train scheduled departure time is 6.55am from Kalyan.

How do you reach kalyan on a rainy day.. that too the monsoons of mumbai.. Obvius answer - Catch a train.. Roads are a big nono.. specially when its raining cats and dogs..

So we planned his travel.. we checked the site go4mumbai.com which gives you the schedule of suburban trains in mumbai and its suburbs..
He had to catch the train at 5.17 or 5.32 or the worst and last resort 5.46 am.
Then from Thane the last train that he needed to catch was 6.22am to take him to kalyan at 6.53am, just in time to catch his train.. it takes 15 minutes from Koparkhairane to Thane.
So all set.. my cousin sets his alarm and tells us.. yes ill get up in the morning.. wake u up.. and you can close the door behind me..
Ok.. heres the known unknown part of the whole story.. there is no visual evidence on this part.. :)

Mr H has the habit of allowing his alarm to ring for atleast 20 minutes daily making an annoying sound nd then getting up at the very last moment, to say "LAte ho raha hai.. bhagta hoon".

By the way, we've got used to the bizzarre alarm of his and his habit..

So the night before, as a practice to sharpen our skills :) we played the card game of 29 (Not the place to explain this game). At arounf 1.30am  he says, bhai ill sleep otherwise I will not be able to get up on time.

So we slept, nd god knows what happened. At around 5.40am+ (the clock's long arm had crossed 8, also the clock is around 4-5 minutes fast) he wakes me up. "I am leaving" he says, "please close the door". I said ok, lets go.

We come down, he has not yet packed his floaters and slippers, so I tell him to do so.

After getting 2 plastic bags and fitting his accessories into them, he is ready to leave. The time in the clock is critical now. He is in a position to miss the train which is the critical one.

So we say goodbye to each other and I went to bed. 6.04am, he calls "I am still here there are no trains". This is a catch 22 situation. A train can drop you easily to kalyan, a car cannot drop you in an hour in that rain (maruti 800, has no AC, hence difficult to drive in heavy rains for sure). He asked me to drop him by car. Now there was no chance for this guy. I said to myself if the rains are like this everywhere, geetanjali will also be late by atleast 10 minutes from Dadar to kalyan. nd thats the only hope he has to catch the train. I said "stay and if the train comes catch it, give me a call in next 5 minutes whatever, after a minute, he calls "the train is coming should I catch it". I said Yes..

Now we quickly checked which train he can catch from thane to kalyan and conveyed the same to him. He calls up at around 6.30 to tell us that the train from thane had just started, which was still around 8 minutes late. A thought came to my mind "u have a lesson to learn boy".

While he was travelling, and was at Kopar, his friend called him saying "Kahan pe hai" and he saw out of the window - the lovely lady Geetanjali was sending flying kisses to his local train. H started thinking of all the work that he had to do after reaching calcutta (kharagpur to be precise). His heart skipped a beat. He started thinking of all the possibilities he had to catch the train - marginal to say the least. Best thing here is that Geetanjali has a long tail, and almost all such trains take a long time to enter a terminal where they have to halt, specially at kalyan. This gave his some breather to coverup. So with his baggage in one hand, guitar in the other and a bag on the shoulder he jumped out of the opposite side to take the shortest line of site route to reach his beloved. Ofcourse the platform and fob route was out of question. He jumped and skipped, allowed the respectable superfast Doronto to go by, and could see geetanjali shaking herself and changing reference points - moving in short.. and then ran the last 60 meters of his never ending journey, while his friend was telling him to run harder.. now the climax of the anti climax, none of the doors of the train were open.. nd H was saying to himself WTF WTF umpteen number of times.. nd a door opened.. wow..

He threw the guitar inside the door to another person standing, threw the baggage, and got into the train.. mission accompalished.

Well he has done this several number of times, and god knows how many times he has been successful..

While for most people in the world, they would have given up, he had no other option.. and when you have no other option, you get what u desire the most.. period..

Have a good time and follow what you plan. Every day is not sunday, and your luck may just run out.

Shaitan (2011)

Shaitan - 2011.

Every Human Being.. Has a Darker side .. at one point of time in his life.. when he is powerful..
Power comes from the people around you..

All in all a nice one time watch movie..
Good direction and excellent cinematography.

Excellent background score.

Average story - except that it is unapologetic.. with a slight darker tinge.

Sooperb remixes.

The story is about 5 friends, who have no borders on living their lives..
They love to live as if they were the kings and everything was ok.. as it was for FUN.. 

Their FUN comes to a halt when they run over 2 people.. and thats where the movie takes a different turn.. 

Watch it to know the next turns.. and how the lives of the teenagers change after the incident.

The best part of the movie is how the story moves from one incident to the other in a very distinctly creative camera angles..
Its an inspiration from Anurag Kashyaps paanch - unreleased.

I would rate it at 7/10 overall. For the artistic side of the movie 9/10.

Go watch it... 

Thud.. and then there was this amazing experience

Thud was the sound that my bed made when I jumped on it.. with the weight of the overwhelming experience flowing through my entire body.

What a trip it was, GOA on a bike with 2 other friends, or should I say Morons with lower reasoning abilities. Thats what people told us.. "Are u Nuts going on a Motorbike to Goa", "have you gone out of your mind".. "Be sensible, take a train to Goa and then rent a bike"..

To begin with it was me and Devendra, the official Goa trip members. We had only one criteria - Goa on a Motorbike. 100 others were ready to join us, but not on a bike. Between the two of us, we have done long trips, but this was gonna be one of a kind.

After floating this idea we had few other people interested. And then we had Bharti.. crazy but daring girl.. who wanted to bring her Nova for the trip. Imagine the group with all other 150cc bikes, and then this burrrrrrrrrr burrr burrr Nova..

Anyways.. her enthusiasm was more of a 500cc bullet, so we said its ok.. you can bring it.
Slowly and very steadily we found out that there will only be the three of us.. and the rest started to slowly phase out.. ofcourse with their VALID reasons..

Plan was - "not to have a PLAN at all"

2 days before the D day.. we had to come across this question.. how do we
travel with a Nova.. and 2 motorbikes. Pulsar - 150, Unicorn - 150 both bikes capable of reaching speeds of 100km/hr and beyond. Both riders capable of driving the bikes at high speeds for continuous long durations, and a supercharged Girl with a Nova..

Poor Devendra tried his level best and then gave up. "This girl is next to impossible" he said. So it came to me to make her understand the ill-effects of taking a Nova. It took a lot of examples, persuation, practical examples, and not so practical ones. but I succeeded, yes frnds I did.. and she is still supremely angry with me.

And we set off.. to one of the most thrilling, fast, free, untamed journeys I have experienced so far.

It was 4.30 am, when the phone rang. "Aashu bhai ready hai kya, Bharti yahan aane waali hai" that was Devendra (call him Deva from now on). 5.00am and the three of us met at the Vashi Junction below the bridge. Funny Part - It was raining.. and the three of us were laughing about it.



Bharti who by now had got her scooteret (we will call it a bike, though it was a Burrrrrb burr bur burrr Nova) serviced, insured was cursing us.. before we said lets goooooooooooo.. she said.. "Mujhe bhi bike chalane ko milegi, decide kar lo kaun dega".. nd the two of us were laughing..


God knows from where she got herself a Helmet, the one Johnny Sako used to wear in "Johnny Sako and his Flying Robot" if anyone remembers that serial, I was a big time fan of this. She looked like a little Robot. anyways.. we started.. and yes we did.. One of those days.. where I wished, No Traffic, Smooth Road, and cloudy sky.. thats all..

So the two fastest and safest drivers were ready to take on the roads. Lolzzzzzzzzz
For any bike freek this is one the best routes to travel. 600+ kms of dark black TAR.. smooth road with loads of curves and straights..

We exchanged one set of keys for each others bike, trying to show off how smart we are.

I knew the way till Panvel, so I lead the journey to start with. Reacing Panvel, I remembered something, hehe not that I forgot the papers, but wanted to reset the trip meter. Took a 5 minutes break, filled up our bikes, and were ready to take longer strides.

It was around 5.40am when we were on the Goa road, and we were driving pretty fast. The patch of road when Alibagh junction and the Old Goa road bifurcate is/was and will be the worst always, if you are using this route. I missed the left turn, trying to navigate the pot holes, and when Deva said "Boss we missed the route" it was like shit, turn on this shitty road, and submerge your floaters into the murky potholes. The good part hasn't started yet :)..

The moment we started on the Goa road, it was smooth (obv with the kind of potholes we experienced, this was like jannat). Within seconds we were driving above 100. Deva was leading this time. The Sun wasn't up yet, but the day was clear, slight drizzle, black road, cool wind into my face, and greenery everywhere. This was something .. and best part, it was gonna last for the entire trip.

Both of us thought we will drive for 2 hours and then take a break. Unfortunately, there was a dam on the way.. and guess what came out of Deva's mouth.. Photo.. photo.. ppplllleeeeaaassseeeee.. Not that we didn't wanted our pics to be taken, but then Deva is different. Add to that, Johnny Sako was jumping up and down, "meri bhi photo".. What the heck.. "Meri bhi photo" ..

We took the morning tea break, and I realised the foot rest/silencer connecter frame was broken. "Bharti weighs a lot" and my poor bike had to face the danger of riding heavy pillion.

So we started again.. this time to repair my bike.. taking tiny little stops at each market place.. asking for a Bajaj showroom.. at around 1pm we finally got the showroom and the repairs were done.. I think it was Dapoli..

After this stopover and some hot wada pavs.. we set the throttle on again.. what we had planned was not happening.. and the 2 of us decided to take on the roads..

Mmmmmmmm... the scenic views are sooperb.. nd in between Bharti tried her hands on Deva's bike.. she drove around 40-50 odd kms and touched a Max speed of 80 kmph..

After we had crossed Ratnagiri.. the roads were even better.. it was slightly raining.. but then looking at those roads.. we couldnt resist...

The second half of the Journey took care of the delays that we had in the first half.. while reaching Goa we took a break to have some tea and searched for Bharti's kanda Poha.. which she was dying to have.. but in vein..

The time was of Ganesh utsav.. and rockets were flying all over.. people were dancing celebrating and enjoying the whole thing.. it was looking pretty beautiful..

The sun had set by this time..

Another 1.5 hrs of drive bought us to the Anjuna beach, where we took shelter in a hotel - 700/day for 3 people.

It happened that the Lehman brothers who supposedly started the economic crisis of 2008, had to make news on the same day.. so for the remaining trip except for the first day... we had the market to discuss in Goa. My friends at that time were working with Lehman and hence the discussion was the result of a majority interest.

It is relatively safe to travel to Goa on a bike, but I would recommend that you take the route to Kolhapur via the Pune Bangalore Highway, which is one way unlike NH 17, which is 2 way with much crazy drivers on the route. Benefit here is that during monsoons there are not many travellers, the hotels are empty, and you get everything and everyone completely at your service..
Disadvantage of travelling during this season, is you cannot take a dip, the shore is locked out of tourist access and there are no water activities available either..

So in case you like travelling away from the crowd, and yet be close to the beaches with a good descent weather (love monsoons in other words) this is the best way to have a lovely time away from the troubles of your daily grind.

While returning we also made it to the Ganpatiphule beach at ratnagiri, where we stayed at MTDC resort.

All in all a lovely drive a lovely company.. great weather, some very beautiful sites and relaxed stay. i just loved the whole experience.. 

To Start with

Diaries from people, friends, known unknown strangers and other aliens running on this planet.

Why are we doing what we are doing..

Why am I writing a BLOG in the first place

The postings here will contain all the excursions and adventures, thrills and excitements.. things that make life sparkle..

A forum where people can contribute and others can use the details.. Blah Blah..