News and Reviews

Here is some exciting news from last week’s newspapers.

About the world...
Australian women are being driven to brothels, thanks to the global meltdown and credit crunch. In Britain, sale of sex-related accessories is mounting (a freaky 400% increase!) coz broke Brits are staying home. (Huh??!!! Got nothing else to do, friends?!!)

About the country...
(i) Petrol is now a relief to pockets. The government announced a 5 buck cut per liter. Cheers on that note! (And double cheers coz auto and realty rates are also slashed. Now’s the time to invest! If you have the resources and funds, of course.)

(ii) Gear up, folks! After the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG), it’s time for the rural Olympics! Starting soon in UP is a series of exhilarating sports like gulli-danda, bullock-cart racing, kite-flying, etc. The winner will be awarded, not cash or medals, but gallons of ghee and cooking oil. (Now, how relevant and considerate is THAT?!!! Really thoughtful, sponsors and organizers. Wish you luck!)

About the state...
Mr. Bhujbal has managed to lay his hands (or rather his butt) on the Deputy CM’s chair, while Chavan has stepped into the CM’s kursi... A lot of drama is being kicked up by Mr. Rane (“bitter loser” as titled by the TOI) leading to his suspension.

About the city...
A youth was detained in the city coz he was on the web for 17 straight hours. Given the terror menace, the wary internet café owners contacted the police, and it was revealed that he was an engineering student who had flunked his exams and was reluctant to return to his family in another town. (Chalo, kuch toh kaam kiya officials ne! That it was entirely off the point was not their faux pas. )

About people, in general...
SRK’s lucky number is 555. (Mentioning this coz my favorite number is 5, too! Smart people think alike...) Big B favors the number 11, and Aish 786.

And finally, coming to yours truly...
(i) I’ve completed the Adi Parva (that’s Book One) in Menon’s Mahabharata, and started the Sabha Parva (Book Two) in which Draupadi’s Cheerharan takes place. This section is just 120 pages long, so I’m expecting to finish it soon. Two terms that I can’t get over, coz of their magnificence and splendor, are Companionable Silence, and Delicious Torment. Duno why, but I found these words extremely marvelous and overwhelming. Lets see if I can use them as titles for my next posts ;-)

(ii) I like hugs, especially group hugs. ONLY by people who are truly caring and close. Not like a trophy friend (I hope I’ve used the term appropriately; if “trophy wife” is correct, then why not friend?) The warmth, protection, assurance and complete surrender of that single action is enough to wipe away your worries and sorrows. Na??!!

And time for the review of Maharathi...
I’d planned to watch OLLO (that’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!) starring Abhay Deol over the weekend. Had heard encouraging evaluations from a friend and newspaper. However, there was no show that suited my schedule so Miss Rathi went for MahaRathi instead ;-) I had pretty high hopes from the movie, given that half the cast boasts of renowned theatre artists (Naseeruddin Shah, Boman Irani and Om Puri). Their performances were certainly worth their packet, but the movie was by no standards paisa-vasool. For one, there were the two exceptionally irritating ladies Neha Dhupia and Tara Sharma screeching throughout the film. Besides, the plot was so complicated, that there was precious little one could do to tie all the strings together. Paresh Rawal hogged much screen space, but his act soon became monotonous and boring. What’s the movie about? An impotent ex-producer falls on bad days, and the only good thing about him is his insurance of 24 crores. All for the wife if she can prove his suicide as murder. Taking “Babu Bhaiya” as an accomplice, she attempts this stunt, and meets her end. Who finally triumphs, is the petty hoodlum, who manages to deceive everybody right from the police to the lawyer...

Yawnn... Had they declared this film free for the Rathi clan, they may have received more than the handful visitors that I saw on Saturday evening. Surprisingly, all the other new releases have been confirmed to be duds, including Dil Kabaddi, Meerabai Not Out, Oh My God, even Transporter! Brilliant talent gone waste. Wake up, Directors and Producers!

Had a tough time waking up today... Monday blues!! Getting a coffee pour moi. Grab your cup!

Love,
Anuja