Little women

This post is dedicated to the book which instilled in me the love of reading. Hats off to the Louisa May Alcott for writing Little Women. Today had a chance of watching the screen adaptation of the novel.

The book is a gem of a book which I think most people should read. When I read it I was in my 4th or 5th standard I think. I had never read a proper novel.All that I read where things like famous five and Nancy Drews. But the book little women made me fall in love with other type of novels. I used to consider myself as jo march because at that time I used to be a tomboyish person. Maybe some people will dispute the "used to" part. Plus at that time I wanted to become a writer. I still have some stuff left of the novels I used to write at that time. But its the imagination of a 8 year old so you can understand I hope[:)]. Plus like Jo I liked romance stories. Even now I am a sucker for romance novels.


What really moves me is the fact that a book which was written in 1867 and early 1868 still seems to capture the imagination of all the young girls everywhere who do not dare to dream. Jo was my idol at one time. The novel follows the lives of four sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March — and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters(courtesy wiki). Each sister really has to deal with one thing or the other. Meg with vanity, Jo with her tomboyishness and hot temper, Beth with her illness and shyness and Amy with her selfishness. Ms. Alcott has portrayed the novel in a way in that though the whole concept of what was "appropriate" for girls and a lot of other things have changed in around 140 years, the story remains timeless.


(Pic: Louisa May Alcott)

The movie gives full justice to the book. Every single important instance in the life of the March family girls is depicted with great precision. On the whole I loved the movie and it brought back memories of the book I consider one of the best novels I have read so far.There are adaptations of the book into plays,musical,opera,movie and as an animated feature. Needless to say I have watched the animated feature before[:D] 1st movie was made in 1918. Makes me think of how ignorant I am. Dont even know when TV was invented. (I thought there was no TV back then) Seems there is a 1933 version of the movie starring Katherine Hepburn.Here are the main characters of the movie which I saw, it seems it is the much celebrated 1994 version:

Actors
Winona Ryder	Jo March
Susan Sarandon	Mrs March
Gabriel Byrne	Friedrich Bhaer
Trini Alvarado	Meg Marsh
Samantha Mathis	Older Amy Marsh
Kirsten Dunst	Younger Amy Marsh
Claire Danes	Beth Marsh
Christian Bale	Laurie
Eric Stoltz	John Brooke
John Neville	Mr Laurence
Mary Wickes	Aunt March
Florence Paterson	Hannah

Kristen Dunst is a small girl in it.. Very cute.. :) Susan Sarandon as usual is great. Others well I don't know much about them.. Winona Ryder gave a very convincing performance as Josephine March.
It was a trip down the memory lane to the book I loved a lot.:)

Fashion- The movie..

Here's my take on the movie which I have been wanting to see in a loooong time. Fashion is a movie for which Priyanka Chopra won best actress and Kangana Ranaut- best supporting actress at the filmfare awards this time around. I am not a person who generally reviews a movie and blogs about it as you can see.
Why "fashion"? The answer I would say would be because of two reasons:
1. I admire priyanka chopra..:) and this is definitely a movie where she definitely is the "showstopper" as they call it in the movie.
2. The movie teaches a lot about life in general if you dont just take it as a movie related to fashion industry.

The whole movie revolves around the life of a middle class girl who dreams big.. Even I am like that though my dreams maybe in a different direction than becoming the next top model. Actually i dont think there was much meaning to the first half of the film other than that if you have a fast rise to fame it is soon to come down.So be careful where your attitude turns into arrogance you never know when all of it can bite back.

The one thing I learned from this film is that in this race called life,if you fall you have to get up and run again because its the only way you will succeed. But her freezing on the ramp taught something else too.. When you get up after a fall the first few steps might just make u trip again. But don't let that get you down. Push yourself.. And success will come eventually.. But what you lose might be much more than what you imagined you would lose.. Most places I have read/seen it says you fail get up and try again. It is expected that you will succeed the next time around. But not all need to be successful in their very next trial. Sometimes this trial might be even worse than anything before but it is a phase and you just have to let it pass. Somehow having faced failures more now than before all of this seems to make sense to me.

A final word on fashion.. It is a worth watch movie if you don't just want to see an just an entertainer. Wont say a must watch unless you are a die hard fan of piggy chops.

And another thing i learned is drink water instead of vodka if ever you are depressed.[:P] also say no to cigarettes and coke..[:D]

My first crush i suppose and a potpouri of stuff..

As usual its been sometime since i posted anything on my blog..
For all those ppl who bother to visit my blog might be thinking what made me write this post.. Well one word "nostalgia". I logged on the messenger today and was chatting with akky(sasi).. He send me a youtube video clip of jungle book title song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8i_YPfenqc

What a time that was.. Jungle book,mowgli, bageera, balu everyone.. they were all as much my friends as they were mowgli's.. Those were the days.. life was so much simpler then.. no university exams just class tests for which i dint put much effort to study but somehow got reasonable marks.. No tensions.. Jus fun, play and my imaginary world..

Then came the age which revolutionised my life.. 1996 and lo and behold here comes cable tv and with it cartoon network.. nothing better than 24*7 cartoons.. Since my mom wasnt home till 6pm from 9am my life was mostly reading some books and cartoons on cartoon network.. My favourite program as some people already might know was ninja robots.. initially it was 5pm then they shifted it to 4:30pm.. I was addicted to this japanese cartoon.. I was jus 8 years then.. N i suppose i had a crush on the protagonist of the anime-joe maya.. I wish i could replace one of the gals he was in love with.. jenny(his all time friend/gf?) or princess romina(the alien princess).. I just could not help myself but admire the beauty and elegance of princess Romina..

The story goes something like this.. A race of aliens from andromeda with their princess Romina land on mars.. Oh pls note this series is very futuristic.. People inhabit mars and moon and all.. Joe Maya, his bro Mike and Joe's gf (i suppose) Jenny live on mars.. ppl pls correct me if im wrong.. Somehow Joe ends up on the alien ship and a ninja robot starts working after he is engulfed into it(the golden lion) the rest is a story of how he,Mike Jenny become part of the crew of the space ship and a host of a loot of other characters that help the aliens defeat the evil lord who has taken over their planet.. The story runs into hundred plus episodes.. and i think i have watched the show at least 4 times b4 i came to trivandrum when i had to part with my beloved ninja robots series..

For all those who have seen the series.. Have you had ny theories on what happened after the robots merged? I wish they both came out alive after that.. I want to see if there is the next part to ninja robots.. Its jus not fair that they ended it like that..[:(]

I still remmber the title song of ninja robots.. and thanks to youtube, i could jog my memory again regarding the scenes..[:)]How time flies.. 13 years later im here.. in college hoping to finish off my college days with a blast.. 2 months only left.. maybe even less.. Then its adieu to the college which gave me a loot of memorable moments..

I want to go back to the time when nothing caused worry other than the fact that mom would scold me if she saw me watching tv or if i dint put plates and all the vessels i ate from, bak in the kitchen.. (lemme share a secret:i did watch cartoons all day and switched off the tv when i heard mom's scooter reach the shed..i am a good gal aint i?[:D])

One on a lighter vien..(for all those who dint think all of this sounded funny[:D])
Here are 2 things i tried to do watching ninja robots are:
1.try to run and fly like i had falcon wings
2. try to run like they did.. it was a peculiar style..
I was just too alone during those times that my friends other than my friends in school were these characters.. Those were the days i missed having a sibling..

I reached late for my dance classes coz i dint want to go without watching ninja robots at least till 4:45..

Its too bad i cant go bak to those times.. Mom never used to scold me abt studying bak then[:D] n well not such a plethora of problems to handle[:(] all in all it was a gr8 time while it lasted.. Hope every child has a cartoon favourite to him or her..

until i can download the video, here's the link to ninja robots title song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fr3YZ0jCOc

My Experiments with cooking-part 2

My bro and sis-in-law were coming home from UK today. So thought i will make something special for them. I had seen a jalebi recipe some days back and was really surprised that making a jalebi was this simple. But everything did not go as I planned. When I reached home from college it was already 3pm. Mom asked me not to make jalebi then as all of them where going to go to our native place soon. Slightly disheartened i agreed to what she said. I had prepared the batter one day back since the curd in it had to ferment before use. I small pang of hurt hit me as they all left without even knowing i was going to prepare jalebi for them. Dad and me stayed back when they left. Dad was a bit busy so i thought might as well make it for him and so finally i started preparations. I did not have a squeezer for normal jalebi so used the one for iddiappam. Fried the dough and dipped it in sugar syrup. Homemade jalebi ready. No artificial colouring. Special thanks to Aswathy Ganapath for giving me the idea of putting a bit of "manja podi" to give it the yellow colour. I was going to make it colourless[:)] Oh and about the jalebi, it tasted alright. I would say a little less curd would be preferrable for a normal south indian but as a north indian dish it was good enough. Only person who ate it is dad and he had two in one go. Second drawback was that i only got an approximate shape not the actual shape. [:)]Since foto was demanded last time, here is the final product.


So how does it look?[:D]

My experiments with cooking

Past two days I have occupied the kitchen much more than usual.. Sudden urge to cook something special..

These are the things which i made:
1.Carrot Halwa
2.Paneer lifafa(modified version of original)
3.Steamed egg
4.Banana Halwa

Carrot halwa was good. I had my cousin bro to act as a guinea pig for me. I asked him today if he was ok after eating my cooking and his reply was in the positive..[:D] Spirited by my success yesterday I made paneer roti lifafa(menu courtesy sanjay kapoor) Well lifafa was good if you subtract the fact that i think sanjay kapoor meant something else[:D] but what i made was edible and i liked it.. Along with this i tried my hand at steamed egg. No i dont mean hard boiled egg. This again was courtesy sanjay kapoor's web[:)] only problem was the egg turned out to be half boiled.. and i really couldnt digest much of it. Today's menu was banana halwa.. Turns out tat its very simple. But if you do it according to what is given in the recipe you will end up with too much ghee in the halwa which a lot of south indians may not prefer. One good thing about banana halwa is that it can be made for bananas that are too ripe. Most people would throw ripe bananas out so why not make something out of it[:)]
Tonight plans are for making something with rice.. [:D]

Note: For all those who are thinking of whether this is the first thing i have made think again. I like cooking. Not an expert at it but i wouldn't say i am too bad..[:)]
Also if anyone has tried cooking something else and think its good give me the recipe i want to try[:)]

My Precious Cup

Well.. might as well not keep the blog dry.. Pls comment on the following post if you read it.. This was my article for our college magazine in 2007.. The magazine committee due to some technical reasons rejected it.. I respect their decision coz in the end its their call..:) Please comment on whether you can understand the post..Maybe ya my writing style needs to be revamped.. would definitely try doing that if majority cannot understand..:) For all those who intend to have a literal narration this is not for you..
Statutory warning: Pun intended...

MY PRECIOUS CUP!

“Mom, I have to go to college soon….”said the girl. The girl is in her late teens. Mom who was sitting at the dining table having her breakfast gives her a nod and a look which means everything will be okay. Suddenly, from the kitchen there was a crashing sound... the girl sighed and thought to herself, “It isn’t the first time that this has happened.” Last that she saw was her dad going into the kitchen. His hand accidentally hit the cup; the girl’s precious cup had broken. The girl always had a special cup. But this cup was the closest one to her heart. None matched up to this. Neither did she have too much attachment to the rest. Be it coffee, tea or even just water, she always used the same cup. There had been many instances in the past too when her cups had broken under various circumstances. But this time it had broken in a very special way. The cup as such was intact; it was the handle that had broken.
“Next time don’t keep your cup on the edge.” shouted the girl’s dad. The girl being too drained of all emotions to react just said an ok and thought to herself, I didn’t keep the cup on the edge! I never do! Dad always keeps it on the edge. Shouldn’t he say the same to himself? The girl sighed again and went to check the damage to her cup. Had it been a few years back she would have cried incessantly in front of everyone for hours for her cup even if it didn’t mean as much to her.
Well the cup looks ok; she thought to herself, it’s just the handle that’s broken. Somehow she knew the hurt she felt was more than she seemed to show. Why create a fuss? It’s broken... Everything that is made breaks one day or the other. She ran her fingers through the broken handle... Ouch!! Porcelain edges r sharp. But why do I feel this numbness? Did I expect it? Or am I too drained to react? Why don’t I cry? I always have cried for the silliest of things but why can’t I now? My precious cup, the best suited cup was broken, had some of the best drinks in this. It was almost always with me, at least filled with water. Don’t I feel angry at my dad? No, what’s the point? What is broken is broken. But I can’t throw the cup away because it was my precious cup and also only its handle is lost, she told herself. My favorite cup! The cup that lasted more than five years. Wish the cup was either alright or completely broken. In the second case at least I could buy a new one and get over this. But it’s just the handle that is broken. It still means the same to me. But without the handle, it’s not the same. I love my cup. I know what I should do is to throw it away, but…. It’s too close to my heart to ever be able to do so...
“You could have kept it somewhere else.” shouted her dad again. Mom looks at her. Somehow her mother understands all of the girl’s thoughts and says, “Don’t bother too much about the cup. It still isn’t shattered. Everything can be made alright later. Go to college now.”
Alright?????, the girl thought, my cup is broken! I don’t want to see it shatter! I will always keep it safe the way it is now... My cup is broken now... My precious cup!

Somethings in life...:)

Its 9am.. Just finished my breakfast.. Time to leave for college.. First hour free.. No point going early.. But ya dad has to go to office after dropping me.. According to him we are late..

"I dont want to go to college now, no use other than 'kathiadi'..." Thought to myself.. "Not in a mood for talking..."

I get my bag and get in the car... Still in a very contemplative mood I lower the window thinking... The day is gona be boring... Dad gets into the driver's seat and well next thing i know we are at YMR junction(near my house)... Dunno if i even said a bye to mom..

Time to take out my mobile and sms some friends.. Did that with very little enthusiasm than i usual...(oh and for all those who dont know i love smsing) Something struck and i told dad that i think the diesel is low in the car.. Yes, it was.. when dad gave me the car the day before it was near empty and he asked me not to refill.. Dad checks the fuel indicator and asks me if i would mind being a little late to college... Ya like i would mind.. I love driving and also enjoy road trips.. So, detour...to my relief... to the petrol pump at kowdiar.... Wherever we where going i didnt mind coz i wanted to go to college only just before 2nd hour.. Got that done.. and we are on our way to college via vellayambalam,lms, PMG..

A guy sitting in front of the public library caught my eye... No.. Not coz he was good looking or anything... He was sitting with a sheet in front of him which had a lot of watches... There were a lot of people going to him to show their watch.. I looked at the scene and smiled... He is sitting on the footpath doing his job when most shops wouldnt b open...And the fact that he makes a living out of it was even more surprising to me...Time is so important to all of us.. Without a watch most people cant survive a day, including me.. I look at my watch almost every 10mins.. If the class/whatever event I am in is boring it'l be more frequent...:) bad habit i know..:)

Before I could think further i saw another guy.. He was walking around talking on the mobile.. Very happy.. My guess either he was talking to his boss who offered him a raise or he was talking to his gf or wife or gf while his wife was away..:D Anyways his happiness did make me happy... and also made me think about the object in my hand.. Yes.. my mob.. What would i do without it.... Cant imagine the time when i didnt have a mob..

Ok my mob isnt hifi or anything.. Jus basic features.. Nokia 1112... I send arnd 50-100smes(thank God its 10ps) and talk for more than anyone can imagine.... My faithful set and my vodafone connection:) Had it not been for my mobile i would have lost touch with most of my friends.. even may not have been this close to the people who have definitely made my life rocking...:)

How life's influenced by these two things definitely had my thoughts hooked on... Watch is beyond doubt needed as its compact and there is no restriction as to where you carry it to.. be it a exam hall... or a religious place... or a tight security area... Everything is timed... the watch tells you when to do what... Mobile well i don't think i'l need to explain... But what interests me is the fact that we all take the fact that our watch or fone would be working the next day.. One day without either would drive me(and i can say most ppl) nuts.. Yet we all still never think too much about it... :)


Cest la vie!!