What's a damn daffodil?

Bangalore is a cool city, you know other than the traffic and the infrastructure and the high prices and the... you know what, let's just keep it at that. It's a cool city,hmmm , that's better and there's plenty to do, when you're not in office. But you have to be innovative. You see, you can't keep asking for Deepika to wear skimpy clothes on the silver screen, or for one more shot of vodka/tequila. Not that, these aren't entertaining, they very much are, but that's not utilising

the Bengalooru spirit(with stress on the 'looo'). The rest can be done anywhere, even in the middle of a desert. Seriously you can do this there, I have for 3 years of my hostel life, and it's not just Padukone there :)

Ok Arjun... control. Chalo then, yeah the point is, last week I get a mail from a dear friend about this 'Made In India' film festival in the British Library. 8 3-minute documentaries, themed on 'Independence Day'. I've never really been a film critic, you know the 'intellectual' type. The more wham-bam, the more eye-catching scenes :) the better. But I got curious, so what the heck. Anyway we would probably have gone to a pub, so I got myself invited. And besides, things like this make you seem the intellectual, high-society types. But I am guessing, I will have lost the possibility of that after this post.

So I go there-the library fyi, looks brilliant, definitely worth a visit-and its a small little meeting room, with chairs with a projector, and little pockets of people talking intellectual stuff, saying stuff like, 'the artist's rendering of the strokes on the canvas, though anachronistic, was clearly an attempt at true expression' or 'photography is the true art form for its mastery requires something from deep within, it is so misunderstood and taken for granted by the masses, that it shakes me to the core'. I on the other hand, immediately went off looking for tea and biscuits.

So the show started, and it was, simply put-a showcase of 8 3-minute documentaries, on the theme of 'Made in India'. It was fascinating to see the varied topics that the film-makers chose to portray given their 3-minutes, and their interpretation of what independence meant to them or to their subjects. Most were expectedly narrations, like the one of a young girl whose family became 'foreigners' after the separation into Bangladesh, or the homecoming of a young man into his up-in-the-hillstation home, that had held once a freedom activist and a british artist at another. My fav was 'English & I' where a youngster related her complex relationship with the English language, she recounted one little nursery rhyme by William Wodsworth with the words, 'And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.' realizing with some degree on angst, that she didn't then and still doesn't what what a damn daffodil is. I'll be frank, I don't either until, that is, I googled it. Go on, do it yourself.

Then was the true story of a 75 year-old woman, who remarried at 75!! Actually if I did get the story, the exclamation is unwarranted, but I'll let it be, as a tribute to her courage. Independence to her meant, being able to what she wanted. One of the best was about the ambassador car, and how its changes can more-or-less be co-related to that of the story of India. The British left us, in their wake, only three good things-the justice system, the education system and the ambassador car, commented the narrator.

Two of the directors were present, and related to us, how difficult it was to simply chop off 57 minutes of their proposed idea. The challenge, the required discipline and what was being portrayed in the film. It was truly a memorable experience, not at all grand and out-of-this world, but one of those simple ordinary things that leave a mark, not for 'how' the experience was, but 'what'. If anyone hears of such things happenning around Bangalore and needs company, do let me know.

I know the last blogpost sucked royally, but try and forget it.

Personal developments(if it interests you, as much as it does me):

Got my hair cut, all of it, well not all of it, but you know... mostly all of it.

Have registered for a relay marathon, where I run 5 km. For practice, I run 6 km everyday... almost

Regardless of how awesome or worthless Kaminey is, I have a feeling my next post would title the hindi swear.

Going for basketball practice with the company team on Saturdays, they're all awesome people.

Can solve the rubik's cube now... the development being it's not the boring beginner's method, every Tom and Dick knows(Harry doesn't apparently)

Got a credit card for myself and for three of my friends... ab doobenge to sab milke

Love life: still no developments :( Either I expect too much, or too much is expected of me, or someone doesn't meet expectations, or someone doesn't know what or how much to expect or everyone's just confused. The last one is mostly likely, I expect.

Work mein: Still training. I am at that stage where I can almost floor you with my knowledge in telecom, but am not of much use to the company yet.

Chalo then, await Kaminey.

Trip 2 Bandipur

After trips to faraway and exquisitely unknown places, here I am to talk about our day trip to Bandipur National Park, Gopalaswamy Hills and KRS(Krishna Raja Sagara) Dam. It wasn't as expensive, as full of possibilities, as dangerous ( :) ) as intoxicating :D or as far as most of my trips, but it was definitely awesome fun.

I awoke at 4am. Not guys this is not fiction, I did awake that early. For the first and hopefully last time, Sony World Junction, was empty, no vehicles man. I took a dozen pics of the rare sight. I still can't believe it. Okok, bad PJ. I was first put into a bus with Tamilians, and it felt like someone hit me on my head, and the language processing part of it went inactive. No hard feelings guys, but I had to shift.

First stop, Gopalaswamy hills, brilliant, serene, enchanting, breath-taking, as well as taking your-breath away, cool, and uncannily windy place. You feel one top of the world, yet one with nature. I just found a spot, and stared at the word around me. I was conspicuous by my silence. People were worried :)

Then to Bandipur National Park. Frankly speaking, there was more wildlife on my lunch plate than on the safari. I tried to have some fun anyways, but was made to shut-up :( by the driver and everybody else.

Most of the trip was spent on the bus, sleeping, drowsing, singing(there were people worse than me, yeyeye), humming, and more bull shit, that sounds silly when you talk about it in hindsight, but is fun when you're actually doing it.

Then to the KRS dam, where there are too many people, too many fountains and too many hawkers selling way too many things. Ok that was bad, but it went with the flow na. I got tricked by the public board that said you need to pay 50rs for the cam. I paid, but realised that nobody checked! What cheats man!!

Last stop CCD, where the most eventful thing was my dropping hot, steaming, boiling, burning coffee onto myself. The worst thing was that I wasn't even drunk then, crazzzy.

Returned by 3am, met some awesome drunk rickshaw drivers, bike riders, car drivers and watchmen on my way home.

I know this post sounds very unlike most of my other posts, more childish. But you see, its nice to be a child sometimes :)