Minia's Mundane Musings

For a very long time I have held a rigid view about what is right and what is wrong. And never have I ever allowed myself to be deviated from what I thought was correct and incorrect. I am not saying that I always did the right thing, but yes even when I was doing the wrong thing I did know that i was wrong. No one had to hold up the metaphorical mirror and tell me that I was wrong. I knew it all on my own. So veering between being an absolute Gandhian and a naughty imp, I had more or less kept my moral compass due north. In fact I was quick to judge people on their actions, without trying to place myself in their shoes and walk a few miles, to see what the impediments were. I was always pretty  smug about knowing what was white and what was black. But as they say, its only when we experience something do we truly realize what it was to have stood in someone's shoes and made a decision which felt totally right at that time. Would you condemn a hungry urchin for stealing food? ...

Refuelling at the petrol pump makes me realise that I have traveled only 600kms in 15 days. Yet it seems that an entire lifetime has gone by. The seat next to me is empty. No one checks the zero for me. There is no discussion on the appropriate air pressure. The knobs of the music system stay untouched. The seat next to mine doesn't recline back. A hand doesn't snake out to caress my hair. I am given no instructions on how to drive. The speed breakers stay untested. There is no groaning at each bump. Utterly crazy to think that so many details got packed into a drive of just over 5kms. Utterly crazy that an entire lifetime is packed into days.......

It is wonderful to see how the cities have by and large adapted to the methodology of segregating garbage into three main components-  Wet, Dry & Recyclable. I think that long before this system was applied to waste disposal, human beings already were using such a system in their lives for others of their ilk. Thus, we have a system in which we have a mental categorization of exactly what purpose and to what extent we want to use another individual. So we have friends with whom to watch movies, and other friends to hang out with at drinking holes, and then others with whom we share book details. Also there are friends with whom we share silly stuff that no one else seems to understand at all. And here I am using the word friend in it's loosest form with a very very expanded bandwidth.  Add to this gamut the people whom we go to just to cry and unburden yourself on. ( you are lucky if you have one of these in your life!) and of course needless to say these a...

Don't love me, I don't deserve it. Don't think of me, I am not worth it. Don't sacrifice yourself at the altar of my misery. Don't let the flames of my loneliness scorch you. Don't touch me, I am toxic. Don't care for me, I am malignant. Don't approach me without a shield around your heart. Don't suffer on account of my abject selfishness. Don't let me into your life, I am a harbinger of sadness. Don't believe me, I lie...............

This is a movie which is sure to inspire a cult following. Much like the other one from Zoya Akhtar, Luck by Chance. I never did understand why that one didn't work. My fervent hope for this one is that the ayes be many and the nays be negligible. The script is ridiculously simple, when I look back  it's still more ridiculous that it gave such a high. But ah! The screenplay is utterly gorgeous. It's mind-blowing how one sits through 153 minutes without a thought for the time. The cinematography is superlative as well. Mumbai has been shot beautifully. Never have I revelled in the beauty of that city as I did today. Also the faces are craggy and the surroundings are glitzy. The contrast works so well. The Dharavi scenes are synthetic and sanitized, but nonetheless work wonders. Enough of the cinematic excellence that this movie is. Coming to the actors. What do I say about Ranveer that  hasnt already been said. In fact I recently came across a tweet by Ritesh Deshmukh sh...

Ye dhaaga toh tutne wala hai. Aaj nahi toh kal tum isse todoge hi. Bas dhyaan rahe ki is dhaage ki koi taar sabut na reh jaye. Bahut hi pucca dhaaga hai ye, Saalon se tika hua hai, Samundron par se khicha hua hai, Pahadon pe lehraya hai, Isme ganthein bhi padi hui hain. Kai aur dhaagon ke reshe bhi lipti hui hain, Par jo assal ye dhaaga hai, woh saabut hi hai, Is liye meri jaan, sochke tassali se ye dhaaga todna. Kaise todoge? Ek hi baari mai saare taar kaatoge ya ek ek taar alag alag karke kaatoge? Ek hi baari mai tod doge toh shaayad saans hi ruk jaaye. Aur agar alag alag taar tutegi, toh saans bhi ruk ruk kar chalegi. Par jo bhi faisla karo meri jaan, tum is dhaage ka apna hissa jala dena. Bada dheet hai ye dhaaga, iski kisi taar se ulajh mat jaana, Iske kisi siree ko sehla mat dena, Iske kisi marod mai gum na ho jaana, Phir se kahin ye tumhe apne jaal mai na baand le. Tum iski raakh se peeth kar lena, Naya dhaaga koi buun lena, Ganthein bhi nayi baand lena, ...

People who are single and tend to eat alone, are faced with several non-essential things to consider. Firstly the booking itself for a fine dining place are never for single people and singles like me, just end up saying that I actually need a booking for two. And if I do land up without a reservation and it's the peak time, it's very unlikely that they will dedicate a table to me alone. So you have to keep loitering about, or then make sure that you arrive at the restaurant just as they are opening their doors or at a generally not so popular hour. So, if you do manage to get seated, then comes the bit about having to get the attention of the server. They almost always keep waiting for someone else to join the lone diner and one has to specially flag them down and explain that it's just the one for the meal, and the extra place setting should be removed. Once that is sorted, you have to traverse the labyrinthine made-for-two-couldnot-give-a-damn-for-the-lone-diner menu...