A place cannot be judged solely on the basis of its appearance, history and culture, the people matter too. The most beautiful spot on earth would lose its appeal if the inhabitants were unfriendly or unwelcoming. Here I must confess that I was guilty of having a few stereotypical misconceptions about the kind of people … Continue reading Padharo Mhare Desh- Discovering Rajasthan, Part 3
Padharo Mhare Desh- Discovering Rajasthan, Part 2
Nearly 300 photographs were taken in the 4 days that I spent in Rajasthan. The count could very easily have doubled had it not been for two places we visited where photography was strictly forbidden, and very understandably too. The first of these places was the Delwara Temples in Mt. Abu. Now, Mt. Abu by … Continue reading Padharo Mhare Desh- Discovering Rajasthan, Part 2
Padharo Mhare Desh- Discovering Rajasthan, Part 1
Think Rajasthan and the mind immediately conjures up images of sand dunes in the desert, camels, colourful dancers, men sporting turbans and bushy moustaches- the usual stereotypes. While stereotypes are based on the truth, it is also a fact that they deal largely in superficialities. Another damning stereotype of Rajasthan is the typical image of … Continue reading Padharo Mhare Desh- Discovering Rajasthan, Part 1
Flying Air India can make you Fat.
Ok so... much has been written about how Air India can be passenger unfriendly, their flights can be unpunctual and their crew can be unpleasant. I’m now adding another to that list. Flying Air India can also be unhealthy. Let me tell you why. When you set out from Pune early in the morning to … Continue reading Flying Air India can make you Fat.
Water be Dam-ed!
We went on a kind of Dam-safari the other day. And had a damn good time. The weather was perfect and the drive took us past a flowing river, streams, little water falls, dense green hills and fields drenched in more water. All very scenic and pleasing to eyes that are sore from fumes and … Continue reading Water be Dam-ed!
Super 30- a review
It's not often that I put finger to keyboard and tap out my views about a movie that's been recently released. I went for SUPER 30 with no expectations and only a sketchy knowledge of what it was about, which I had obtained after reading a review of the film in the Sunday paper. But … Continue reading Super 30- a review
Mere Apne- a review
Yesterday was the second death anniversary of one of my very favourite actors- Vinod Khanna. Which seemed reason enough to look up one of his earlier movies and fall for him all over again! The film 'Mere Apne' released in 1971 and was Gulzar's directorial debut (yeah, yeah, I'm a huge fan of Gulzar too, … Continue reading Mere Apne- a review
Mirch Masala- a review
'Mirch Masala', the movie which I saw recently, came out in 1987. It's directed by Ketan Mehta and starred a host of super-talented young actors, many of whom are still going strong even today - Supriya Pathak and Ratna Pathak Shah, some who are unfortunately not seen much on screen - Benjamin Gilani, Mohan Gokhale … Continue reading Mirch Masala- a review
Swami and Uphaar- a review
Recently I watched two movies back to back, one (Swami) because social media was full of articles about Girish Karnad and this was one of the few Hindi films he had acted in. And the other (Uphaar) because...well...YouTube threw it up at me after I watched 'Swami' What struck me was the similarities that kept … Continue reading Swami and Uphaar- a review
Vijeta- a review
Google informed me that today happens to be the 87th birthday of Amrish Puri, and clicking on the doodle led me to a page detailing his life and his filmography. I scrolled through the 400 films he had acted in and the villainous characters he had essayed. I didn't linger over names like Rakka, Jaggu … Continue reading Vijeta- a review