Aranyer Din Ratri, Days and Nights in the forest

Aranyer Din Ratri, another cinematic gem by Satyajit Ray is about four young men from kolkata who go to a jungle for a vacation, and after a series of misadventures and interactions with the local people and a family, from their part of the world, discover a fresh perspective. On the surface this movie looks very simple but on rumination this movie reveal a lot of hidden undercurrents. Though the movie is still very relevant today but it should be kept in mind that this movie was made 40 ago. It is a coming of age movie of that time. The conflicts which are so natural today were quite revolutionary at that time. Though admittedly a mistake, but the movie made me think about 'dil chahta hai' of recent times.

In the first few minutes of the film, even before the credits roll, the four young men are introduced by means of a friendly banter. Ashim, played by Soumitra, is the overconfident leader of the group, Sanjoy, played by Subhendu Chatterjee is a shy but confidant labour executive. Hari, played by Samit Bhanja, is a handsome cricketer who is recuperating from a heartbreak. Sekhar, played by Robi Ghosh is the adorable roly poly who creates laughter in the movie.

In the jungle they meet the cool and confidant Aparna, who intrigues Ashim to no end. From the beginning I abhorred Ashim's snobbish character. I was delighted, when, on a number of instances his confidence takes a severe beating from Aparna. She overwhelms him, sometimes by her sensitivity, sometimes by her presence of mind. 

Simi Garewal plays Duli, the fine boned enchanting santhal. Her introductory scene when she is shown gorging on  the local liquor is fascinating. Hari falls for her charms and chases her into the forest. Kaberi Bose plays the regular happy boudi, who reveals her loneliness in a weak moment when she tries to seduce Sanjoy. The scene has been done in great style wherein she adorns herself with santhali jewellery. 

The movie has its light moments when the foursome keep falling in embarrassing situation. On an occasion the headlights of Aparna's car catch them doing a twist dance in a totally inebriated state in the jungle.Or when they are caught bathing by the well. My favourite is when Sekhar replies 'we are humans' when asked who they were by Aparna's nephew.

The memory game forms a central part of the movie wherein  each of them name a personality which gives away their mental makeup. Liked it when Aparna named Cleopatra with a cute shake of her head. Aparna looked like a clear winner but gives up so that Ashim can win so as to satisfy Ashim's ego. Later when Ashim confronts Aparna she accepts that she had pretended to lose so that Ashim can win. I could not identify with it and I am sure many women will not be able to. 

Aparna's character is treated with great sensitivity. She is shown to have excellent tastes, have great presence of mind and is presented as an enigma. One feels like knowing more about her.

The fact that Ashim hasn't bothered to find out about the sick wife of the chowkidar of the bungalow is pointed out by the Aparna which makes Ashim quite uncomfortable. 

The movie leaves a lot of questions unanswered. To sum up or declaring that trying to sum things up for this movie is a futile attempt. 

Interesting sites - Delicious, Reddit and Tinyurl

Delicious - Web Bookmark Management

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http://delicious.com/

Why Delicious

Whenever I google, I frequently come across very interesting articles which I add to my browser bookmarks. But recently my browser bookmark count has become so huge that it has become unmanagable. A friend introduced me to Delicious and I realised what I have been missing. I have been using it ever since.

Getting started

Del.icio.us is a very good site for managing your favourite web bookmarks. You will have to create a login password on the site after which you will have to add 2 buttons to the browser bookmark('Bookmark on delicious' and 'My delicious'), all explained in a nice step by step manner. 

Using Delicious

Whenever you visit a web page you like, on clicking on 'bookmark on delicious', it gets added to your delicious bookmark. You can choose some tags for the page and can also add some notes for your reference. You can also choose to make the bookmark public or can keep it only for your personal use. On pressing 'My Delicious', you can see the saved bookmarks. 

Sharing with friends

If you come across a nice url which you want to share with your friends then you can send it to your friend and you can also receive bookmarks sent by other people in your inbox. You can also add other users of delicious and form your own network on delicious. You will be able to see their favourite bookmarks.

Not only Delicious, but uselful too

On the right hand side of the delicious homepage there are a list of popular tags eg. music, web design etc. On clicking on any of the the tags you will get the most popular bookmarks for those tags.  You can also create a subscription on multiple tags, such that whenever someone will add a new bookmark under that tag it will be visible to you.

Reddit - Social News Website

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http://www.reddit.com/

Why Reddit

There are so many news sites that it becomes difficult to follow all of them. Also there are so many articles that searching for the relevant article on the news site is a time consuming task. A subscription to Reddit is the perfect solution for it.

On the home front

Reddit is a social news website, wherein users can post news articles and other users can comment upon it. Users can also vote for or against the article posted. The articles with the maximum votes is displayed at the top of the page. On the homepage the articles are divided into 4 categories, 'hot', 'new','controversial' and 'top', -the labels are self explanatory.

Consumer is the creator

It is very easy to create a login on Reddit, and on its creation, a toolbar will appear on the web page with tags such as 'politics', 'worldnews' etc, on clicking on any of the tags, the most popular articles under the tag, will be visible. The users can submit articles under different tags and depending on how popular a users' articles are on reddit, the user will gain 'karma' points. There is a feeling of community on this site too as you can add any user as your friend and see all the articles posted by her and also send her messages.

TinyUrl - Shortening long Url(s)

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http://tinyurl.com/

Why Tinyurl?

Whenever we have to post a url on twitter, usually almost all of the 140 character limit of twitter is used up. Many times posting long urls on discussion groups becomes very cumbersome. A click on the Tinyurl site and all these problems vanish.

Using Tinyurl

The home page has a text box where the long url can be entered and it returns a short alias to the long web page name. If the url already has a short alias, created by someone previously then that alias is returned instead of creating a new entry. There is also an option of customizing the short alias name by something of the users choice.

Preview feature

Tinyurl is sometimes misused, someone can create a url for some inappropriate site which may contain objectionable or harmful contents and forward it to someone. As the url is not visible, the user can innocently click on the tinyurl. To combat this menace they have come up with a preview feature. Through this feature the tinyurl link will open in the tinyurl site and the user can decide whether she wants to view the actual site or not.

An evening at Rodeo.

This Christmas we headed for Connaught Place. After a failed attempt to enter the Sacred Heart Church we went to Wengers only to find all the goodies(which we wanted) sold out by 6. Unable to breathe in the crowd any longer we climbed the stairs of Rodeo for some relief.

Rodeo held a special place in our hearts. Geek and I had frequented this place a couple of times in the early days of our dating. We had not been there for years. The menu is primarily Mexican and the place has a cowboy-wild west theme. The ambience at that place is the same as it was then. The waiters are dressed in cowboy hats and boots and carry empty pistol holsters. The bar is attractive and the bar stools look like horse saddles. The seating is cramped but pardonable. For lighting they have bulbs fitted in lanterns which looks good but can be found in umpteen number of places. The draught beer which we ordered was satisfactory and all the drinks were accompanied by nachos and salsa. They had some kind of margarita festival going on and we saw that they were serving banana margarita... whoever came up with this must be a genius or a nincompoop. You have taste it to know which one, and we decided we were not that eager to know.

All was well till we decided to order food which turned out as the biggest mistake of the evening. The mex menu is decently big with enchiladas, chimichangas and fajitas. We ordered chicken tomato enchilada and a plate of blackened fish with tequila, avocado, cream etc. 

The enchilada was in one word - horrible. It seemed as if they had just boiled chicken with tomato and stuffed it in the enchilada and I haven't tasted worse fish during the last two fish eating decades of my life. The chef's skills might get the benefit of doubt for the blackened fish because we had never eaten it before, but the management won't : It shouldn't have been on the menu at all. It was criminal. We noticed that hardly anybody was ordering any food.

This place should be chosen only if anyone wants to have beer sitting on a saddle, never for the food. We were very very miffed by the place and decided starvation is any day a better option than eating at Rodeo.

Ashani Sanket, The Distant Thunder

Ashani Sanket, the celebrated film by the legendary Satyajit Ray, is based on a novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhay by the same name. This movie is based in rural Bengal during the Bengal famine of 1943. The film shows the effect of the famine on the villagers and the silent transformation of the central characters. The famine was a man made disaster caused due to the stockpiling of rice for the army during World War II, even when the civilians were starving. 'Distant Thunder' refers to the Japanese warplanes flying over their heads. The movie depicts famine without being gloomy at all.

The characters are very finely etched and distinct from one other. The story is told in a superb fashion- the sleepy village of the simple villagers and the bewilderment of the villagers at the rising cost of rice and not able to understand the reason behind it. This is the second color film bySatyajit Ray and the scenery does full justice to the beautiful rural Bengal. On this movie he had once quipped 'poverty has its own special color'.

Gangacharan Chakravorty, essayed by Soumitra Chatterjee, comes to the village Notungaon to perform priestly duties and teach children, is shown as the regular person who puts self and family before everything else. His character is revealed in the event when he is asked to perform puja to stall cholera in a neighbouring village. He performs the puja for materialistic reasons and puts up a great show, but he smartly tells everyone to avoid drinking the river water for he knows, that, to be the real reason. He gets very irritated when Ananga, his kind wife, played byBobita, feeds the hungry old brahmin when there isn't much food in the house. But, by the end of the movie, he stands transformed when he spots the old brahmin with his dependants in the distance, coming to Gangacharan's place, and he calculates how many extra mouths he will have to feed.

I personally liked the character of the vibrant Chutki, played by Sandya Roy, the most. She personifies the tremendous love for life when she runs away with the scar faced Jado(whom she abhors) instead of facing death due to starvation. The scene when Chutki asks Ananga to pray that she gets food in hell, is extremely moving. Chutki was captivating, her turmoil was visible on the screen.

The scene which stayed with me for a long time is when the hungry Gangacharan sits down for a meal of rice and fish but stops midway thinking of his waiting wife. As well as the classic opening scene which shows Ananga in a pond and the camera focuses on her hand, which looks like a lotus in the pond, playing with the water.

The movie needless to say is a masterpiece where all the scenes are shown in great detail. This film is not meant to be rushed, it is to be viewed in leisure without distractions. My grandmother sometimes recounts the Bengal famine, when starving bengalis used to knock the gates of the well off with the cries of 'phaen dao ma' (lady, give us rice water). This movies made all those stories come alive.

The crowd that evening at Cafe Morrison

A few weeks back, the band 'Them Clones' decided to play at Cafe Morrisson. Geek, decided to play sugar daddy and took me there telling me all the while how awesome the band is. It was scheduled to start at 9. we reached there at 9:30, thinking about how we missed the 'best part'. We were relieved to find out that it had still not began.

The place was dark and loud, isn't it how all pubs should be..well yes, but I nearly sprained my neck trying to catch snippets of wisdom doled by geek over the loud music. I marvelled how people carried out deep conversations in that loud din. 

I perched myself atop a bar stool with a mixed drink with a fancy name in hand and decided to check the talent at the pub. The first ones to catch my attention was the girlie brigade who were giggling away to glory. Some were the perfect-in-ur-face types, glittering with 500gms of makeup-loved watching them. They reminded me of my no-makeup face and I silently pledged to be better prepared next time. Then there were the serious music lovers who seemed to genuinely enjoy the music, singing along with the music while carrying out conversation which matched the mood of the music. Then there were those art school dropout types which I liked the best. They are the ones with the arty kurtas and unkempt hair who believe they are the greatest gift to music after Hendrix of course. Then there were the chick magnets, high up on the social quotient, who seems to know all the beautiful people present there along with the bartenders. How can I forget those smug lovey-dovey couples, who were oblivious to everything else..oh how I love mush..sniff sniff..

Some looked as if they had been wandering for a watering hole and had come there by accident. They kept looking over the shoulder. Of course there were the ubiquitous all-men gang,discreetly scanning all the women in their radar while discussing politics(I love to think it is politics). These days I find quite a nice number of nerdy females around. They actually wear glasses confidently to a pub and declare 'geekiness and nerdiness is no more an only men territory'. I applaud these women. The classic combination a girl wore was a pair of glasses on the nose with a one shoulder bare top.I wanted to hug that girl.

At 10:30, when 'Them Clones' started the show, the day had just began for many. The band was brilliant but I already had my fill of excitement for the day and gave up trying to follow the intricate notes. I pleaded in my head for something simple which was not to come and we decided to head home.

An Indian Ocean concert at Pragati Maidan - 48 Degrees Celsius

Yesterday, braving the cold Delhi winter and armed to the teeth with wollens, we made it to the Indian Ocean concert. It was held in Pragati Maidan in the  Hamsadhwani theatre, which is an open air auditorium. The concert marked an end to the 10 day long public art festival called 48Degrees Celcius. Before going there we were a bit sceptical about the open air thingy, but once there we forgot all about it. The performance captivated all the senses, where was the cold? The audience was hyperactive and the ambience was electrifying. I too could not stop myself from swaying to the music. I started with an innocent foot tapping and by the end of the concert I was totally into the groove with the music. I have seen Indian Ocean concerts before but this was unearthly, no I should rather say 'very earthy'. The cold night and the warm music along with the ecstatic audience, could we ask for more?

Rahul Ram, as always played the rockstar part to the hilt. His amazing stage presence, his wild locks and headbanging was something to die for. His singing the first line of 'Arre ruk ja re bande' was accompanied with a deafening roar from the audience. He did most of the talking. Susmit Sen talked the least, his style of guitar playing is too intricate to allow him anything else, he was wonderful. Asheem Chakravarty looked like the person in charge and his careful, unconventional rendition is of course the soul of their music. He sang a new song 'bondhu' in bengali .

Amit Kilam displayed his talents on drums, flute and on the gabgubi. While 'Ma Rewa' was being played Amit came to the front line with a gabgubi tucked under an arm. Rahul Ram explained that 'gabgubi' is a musical instrument from bengal which the 'bauls' played. He joked 'but we have a owl playing it for u tonight, a kashmiri owl'. Amit played a tune on the gabgubi and Rahul and Susmit matched it with their instruments. It looked impromptu and the effect was wonderful. They connected to the crowd readily, Rahul said that 'Kandisa is a Syrian christian hymn which he picked up from a school teacher who used to break into that song over Old Monk. The crowd readily approved the 'Old Monk' bit. The crowd was shouting for 'Kandisa' but Asheem Chakraborty said that they play it as the last number as the audience usually leaves after that. The most wanted songs seemed 'Bhor', 'Kandisa' and 'Ma Rewa'.

The crowd mainly consisted of college goers with some elders and a few children. I was pleasantly surprised to see a five year old child playing the air guitar, did I see a future musician in the making? The crowd was active and went wild when 'Ma Rewa' was belted out. One half of the audience was on their feet, waving their arms and banging their heads. Almost all the songs were accompanied with 'once more' and Asheem Chakraborty dismissed it saying that they had so many songs and limited time, repeating songs would be a mistake. Even when the concert ended, the crowd was not ready to go and shouted for more, it looked as if the band was willing but the organisers closed the show. All in all we had a great time and came down the stairs with a song on our lips.

P.S : When we reached the Max Muller Bhavan to collect the passes it was already late and they had stopped distributing, however a kind student had a couple of tickets to spare and gave us. If 'you' happen to read this blog, then 'thanks once again'.

Book Review : Almost Single by Advaita Kala

'Almost Single' is an appropriate representation of the 'chick-lit' genre of writing. However unlikely but if ever chick-lit made it to the college o school curriculum, I can't think of a more correct representative work.

The book is about the main protagonist, Ayesha Bhatia, the Indian 'Bridget Jones', who is single, on the wrong side of 20, works as a guest relationship manager at the Orchid, a five star hotel, and is away from home. Ayesha takes us through a tour of five star hotels, through parties, drinking sessions, gossiping with friends and searching for a partner. She tells us about the nice mix of friends she has, the revengeful Ayesha, the single and oh-so-ready-to-mingle Misha, and the delightful gay couple Nic and Ric. And like true friends they are ever-ready with advice and prop each other up whenever any of them is in need.  

A lot of people can identify with the introduction she gives of herself-loves her job, hates her boss, has not so perfect figure, messes up things big time. She immediately strikes a chord with many and for the others it is the sneak peek in the lifestyle of the clubbing crowd that might appeal. Though this lifestyle is not generic as there are many young females who have different aspirations, are at peace with their single status and lead a healthy lifestyle.

The book does not intend to send across any message, nor is it a heavy duty stuff or a literary gem, it is meant to be read as a light novel just for fun. The book has many funny moments whenAyesha wears a Jackie O sunglasses on a date to hide her puffed eyes caused by a vino-night. The phone call sessions from mama Bhatia are rib tickling. The thing which touches most is the incident on the train when Ayesha's happily married cousin confesses that she envies her life.Advaita has a gift of storytelling and engages her readers. She makes the reader feel what she feels, I even cringe at a point when her snoopy neighbour Mrs Mukherjee pounces on their rooftop havan complete with booze.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is waiting between flights, or has a whole afternoon to while away.

P.S : How about the tag line  - Want 'chick-lit, chew 'Almost Single'.

Some cool features on Orkut

1) Status messages

There is a fantastic feature on Orkut, status update. Through this one can let everyone know what one's upto by writing one liner Twitter like messages on Orkut. But the shortcoming is that whenever one changes a status message, previous status messages are lost forever. I have seen many examples where one modifies the name like 'XXX back from Boston'. How much tidy it would have been had it been be written that on the status message.

2)Activity feeds

On the homepage one can find a list of updates of one's friends. Whenever some activity takes place on a friends' profile like album modification/change in profile description/new comments on the album then a feed is sent to all the friends. There is a limited control over these feeds eg. if u do not wish to receive activity updates from a certain group of friends then u can do so. But there is no way to choose the friends to whom you would want the updates to go and whom not to. One might not want a certain feed like 'change in relationship status' to reach all the friends but there is no way to control that. I wish user had more control on the feed like the option of screening some feeds or friends to which that will go to.

3) Ask friends

This feature can be used to create polls. This can be used to ask ur friends' opinion about the latest flick or can also be used intelligently for market survey.

4)Search feature

Previously tracking down an individual on orkut was a very tedious process as most of the time there are many users with the same name.  Orkut has made that easy by introducing a search filter wherin one can narrow down the search criteria by age range etc.

5)Integration of mobile with Orkut

There is a facility to recieve notifications via sms. This feature is charged and the rules depend on the mobile service provider. The user can control the type of notifications she wants to recieve like 'new friends request' or 'new testimonial'. Useful for those who always want to stay updated on the orkut news!