Weekends @ Bangy

When I asked my friend what are you doing this Saturday, he said there is this big mall somewhere around. I said “Mall? Who would go to a mall on weekends? Especially when you got nothing to buy. Just hanging around in malls is not my kinda pastime”. He squinted - “where do you go?”

Here is my recipe for the weekends @ Bangalore

•Open the newspaper. Search for 'free entry' painting exhibitions, plays, cartoon exhibitions, movie shows etc. etc.

•Open google maps – track down the location. Print it.

•Get on the state bus. Volvo buses here are dearly priced. And maybe that’s why they seem half empty most of the time. Be ready for long walks before you reach your destination. I have met lots of enthusiastically helpful guides who point in exactly opposite directions adding to my confusion.

•Sometimes it's better to call on the number given for contact in the newspaper before leaving your home. This Sankranti, me and my friend went to see a cartoon exhibition featuring David Low organized by 'Indian Cartoonist Society' just to know that it was closed on the day. I was wondering why the heaven did they print the ad in the tabloid that day?

Last Saturday we went to see the movie by German director Werner Herzog. FYI the film fest will go on for the whole week, check out http://www.goethe.de/bangalore - for more details. I thank Max Mueller Bhavan for a nice experience of watching 'Aguirre – The Wrath of God'. It was an awe-inspiring movie. Only god knows how it was shot under such grievous conditions. The story is set in 1560. Most of it is shot on a raft on which a group of people hopelessly go on searching for Gold City of El Dorado. They are frequently attacked by Indians.

My favorite shots -

The raft is going by a place where they see some Tribal people running and shouting.

The leader asks his interpreter - “What are they saying?”

Interpreter answers - “They are saying 'Meat! Fresh meat passing by!'”

In the end all the people on the raft die, except their power hungry leader – 'Aguirre', who made them come this far. There is also an assembly of small monkeys. I don't know from where Herzog got so many of them for shooting. Aguirre holds one of them in his hand and asks - “Anybody else here with me?”

Throughout the movie Herzog surprises us with the shots of wild animals in the jungles of Peru.

PS – There were English subtitles.

For the Bookworms

For those who love the smell of age old leafs there are some shops of old and rare books on the Brigade Road .

It is not as vast as you would find in Old Delhi. As always, you never know what you are going to find unless you are ready to get dust laden in these shops. Man! Those lovely Stacks of books…

This is just my 3^rd week here. Hope to find new ways of spending weekends here as time goes by.

The Last Lecture

Just got my copy of 'The Last Lecture' the book telling the story behind Randy Pausch's Last Lecture - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo]> 

(Image credit: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251)

good read

JRD's 1982 reenactment flight - Can you guess his age?

Recently read two books, nice ones

First one - Beyond the Last Blue Mountain - Biography of JRD Tata written by his R. M. Lala -published by Penguin - I must say, JRD's personality is inspiring for any Indian.


Some excerpts -
...At eighty-seven he [JRD] is as particular as ever. 'I know that aiming at perfection has its drawbacks. It makes you go into details you can avoid. It takes a lot of energy but that is the only way you can achieve excellence. So, in that sense, being finicky, is essential.'..

...The thunderstorm hit them and it was dark. Captain Vishvnath says, 'Usually pilots fight this force of nature. J.R.D. flies by his brains - a natural pilot who becomes a part of the machine. He let the small plane he flies go up and down like a piece of paper in the wind. He did not "fight the controls" or put the plane under the slightest stress for under a stress a plane can break up.' He adds, ' There was no panic in J.R.D. at the controls.'

The second book is मराठी.
'त्या वर्षी' - शांता गोखले - मौज प्रकाशन

I felt as if i'm watching some movie while reading this one. It's a novel about a group of friends, belonging to different professions, namely -music, painting, journalism. Background is of religious violence (is that even an appropriate word?). The author is somewhat old by age - but the writing is amazingly young. The book has some pages that will make you experience a music concert, drawing of a painting, in short it is not only a book to read but to listen and see too. Nice read. Know more about the writer at http://www.indiaplaza.in/goldenquill/goldenquill_jury-shanta.aspx
बऱ्याच दिवसानी चांगली कादंबरी वाचली.