Deep Impact

We are towards the end of the second month of the year. I might have been rather early into introspecting about the past year. However, one cannot help those little grey cells from going into an overdrive, can, we? So I was ruminating about how the year almost flown by has been. There were a number of hits as well as misses. But mostly, there were hits. The events or experiences in isolation apart, I felt that there was common thread which ran through them. That was of having understood myself better and learning about life in general. The following things I realized, made my year, what it was – full of new connections, experiences, a bit of travel and so much more!  Letting Go!  As clichéd as it sounds, this is one thing has been one of the prominent narratives for me in the past year. Simply let go. Well, by this I don’t mean that you let go of your dreams, people you love or the likes. By this, I meant, let go of things we can’t control. Now, yes, it is easier said th

Indian diaspora is not a new phenomenon. Not very surprisingly, a number of dishes and drinks quintessential to India have become popular across the globe. Most prominently, butter chicken, tea, Dosa, Rasam and a number of others. However, I feel chai tops the charts when it comes to popularity. In other countries, like UK or even USA or others, there are probably these set patterns and times of having tea. The most common being black tea, with a couple of specific accompaniments. In India, though, there is no set time and pattern to having it. From 1 am in the morning to 12 midnight, you can have tea anytime and no one will be staring wide-eyed at you. We are quintessential ‘chai’ lovers. Whether you go to a government office or a private office, any time during the office hours, you will find someone or the other sipping a cuppa. You would see vendors with make shift tables and kettles serving only tea between 6 am to 9 am on the roads. The sight of these roadside tea ve

One of the entries at the 17 th Pune International Film Festival (10 th January - 17 th January 2019), in the Global Cinema Section, was the Turkish drama, Sibel. Set in a secluded village in Turkey’s Black Sea region, this is the story of Sibel. A 25-year old mute girl, she communicates through an ancestral whistle language. Rejected by the villagers, she is driven by a single motive, to hunt down a wolf on the prowl. Its existence has sparked rumours and fear among the villagers. Killing the wolf is important for her as she believes it will make the villagers accept her. Things happen rapidly when she is ambushed by a fugitive while trying to hunt down the wolf. Sibel takes care of the man, who is hurt and has nowhere to go. She is oblivious to the fact that he is a wanted fugitive. He sees her in a completely different light than others. For the first time perhaps in her life, she feels wanted and cared for and becomes aware of her sexuality. Things take a downturn when suspi

Many of us, including me, fantasize visiting the ‘Big Apple’ or New York City once in our lifetime. Well, I have not got a chance to actually go there till now. But voila! Carrie Bradshaw and her girl pals introduced me to New York City with the show Sex and the City. I was immediately taken in by the basic premise and charm of the portrayal of the journey of these 4 girls. I adored all the quintessentially girly stuff in the show. (It is another story if I myself would ever be able to carry those Blahniks and D&C’s with such elan). The character I can most relate to and love is Carrie’s (apart from the host of relationships she has had). She is a columnist and is not afraid to speak her mind. Whatever happens in her life, she has her girl friends whom she can bank upon for support. Although she loves all the other 3 – Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, I think, Miranda is the first one she calls or goes to in troubled times. Yes, be it New York or Paris or London, you need one

It had been a while since I loved a film with all my heart. That’s the 2015 film, ‘Woman in Gold’. Based on true story, this film tackles the complicated issue of art restitution. In simple terms, it refers to restoration of something to its rightful owner. This is mostly in context of art looted during World War II. So here, Maria Altman (Helen Mirren), an elderly Jewish refugee living in Los Angeles, discovers letters in her sister's possession dating to the late 1940s, after her sister’s death. To her surprise and dismay, the letters reveal an attempt to recover the artwork owned by the Bloch-Bauer family, left behind when they had to leave the country for their life and freedom. The artwork is subsequently stolen by the Nazis. Of particular significance is a portrait of Altmann's aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, made by one of Gustav Klimt, one of the most renowned painters of his time. The portrait later came to be known in Austria as the "Woman in Gold". From h

Part 1 “Whattt? You are getting hitched in Sri Lanka? Whoa! That’s something.” I almost jumped off my bed as my cousin unveiled this fabulous news to me on the phone earlier this year.  I was totally zapped. Didn’t know what to say. Almost seemed like a scene from one of those Romedy Now films! Nevertheless, after giving my cousin a virtual bear hug, I asked her the dates, and so it was settled. I was supposed to be there in the Land of Spices, Ravana and coconuts in a couple of months to attend her wedding. A chain of activities was triggered – from making a plan for sightseeing (typical Indian me - phir kaha jayenge alag se Sri Lanka main, abhi ghoom lete hain ;P) to getting the flight tickets, visa, et al. My cousin’s friend wanted to do that too, so we hatched a plan and decided to visit Colombo, Galle, Bentota, Nuwara Eliya, Yala National Park and Kandy. The fabulous wedding venue was Negombo, around an hour’s drive from Colombo. It was the first week of February and Sri Lan

Act 1 Take 2 Shortlisting the travel agencies to get me some sightseeing was an uphill task.  There were so many of them that at one point of time I told my dad that I quit.  Why can’t there be someone who can do all this for me and I just enjoy the whole experience without this arduous researching, enquiring and the works. But don’t they say no pain no gain? This exercise of going through websites of travel agencies, sending emails seemed to be unending. Then to add to my confusion there were alternatives like hop on hop off tours, 1 day tours and the likes.  A bit of researching later, I decided it was time to put a stop to running around travel agencies based locally. I thought of checking out travel agencies in London itself. There were quite a few who had 4 day packages or 3 day packages in and around England. However, most of them did not seem to be practical for a solo traveler like me. They were better suited for two individuals. I also found out to my surprise that the ho