Wednesday, December 31, 2008
posted by Anamika Anyone at 11:21 pm
Happy new year to you all!

Cheers,

Anamika.

P.S: Please spend 2 minutes to complete the survey below. My friend is conducting this survey and I am forwarding this to you on her behalf.

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Monday, December 29, 2008
Schadenfreude
posted by Anamika Anyone at 6:30 am
The Writer had watched the man hard at work. He had watched the man penniless and homeless. He had watched as the man rose in luck, prosperity and fame. Watched him buy a palace, marry twice, sell his ideas for millions and find happiness, incredible as it seemed.


Now the Writer watched the man weep, after losing everything he had and everything he cared for. Watched. Listened. Smiled.


And wrote.


The Writer was virtual-world famous. His story about the rise and fall of the Man was holding thousands of readers in its enthralling grip. With a gentle laugh, marveling over his plot and his way with words, the Writer wrote about the man who was weeping, the man who lost everything.


Misery is always a great crowd-puller, yeah.

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Awesome!
posted by Anamika Anyone at 6:17 am
Do you know what I like about Christmas?
Rose cookies!



Anyway, I watched Ghajini. I did not like it better than Memento. But its good.

Coming to the main topic:I did three awesome things this weekend!

Awesome book read:
“The little prince” by Antoine De-Saint Exupery may seem like a kiddie book, but don't let the simple writing and the illustrations fool you. The book is an anthology on life, a simpler version of “The Alchemist”. The messages that the author has for us are simple, direct and effective. The little prince charms his way into your heart and reminds you of some things you've long forgotten. A beautiful read.

Awesome movie watched:
No, not Ghajini. “The great dictator” is Charlie Chaplin's little joke on World War 2 and Adolf Hitler and his only talkie. It is funny and heart warming. It seems incredible now that I haven't watched any of Chaplin's other movies. He's a class-A actor.

Awesome walk walked:
It had been some years since I'd gone to Lalbagh. That too, Lalbagh early in the morning.
“Itni rango bhari apni duniya hai kyun? Socho tho, socho na..”
Now I know why..to help me learn the colours in German, of course!
Especially the sonnengelb (sun-yellow) at the park, when the early sunlight streamed in between the trees, flooding the park golden. And I have to say, that early in the morning, some parts of the lake look really neat.

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
posted by Anamika Anyone at 11:41 pm



Your English Skills:



Grammar: 100%

Punctuation: 80%

Spelling: 60%

Vocabulary: 60%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

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Monday, December 22, 2008
Thanksgiving
posted by Anamika Anyone at 11:26 pm
Do you know how it feels to receive a word of thanks completely unexpected, out of the blue? I know now. I got one today.



I feel all good inside. :)

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Sunday, December 21, 2008
Decisions
posted by Anamika Anyone at 12:08 am
Tonight Ray and I met after a long time. We got to talking about our future and lives over dinner (Princess, near Ragi Gudda: Virgin Colada was too sweet, Lasagna sucked). We thought aloud about further studies and work, ex-classmates and current colleagues. During the course of our conversation, we stumbled upon the topic of marriage. Now, both of us have parents who're keen on arranged marriages and are "on the lookout" for "a suitable boy". Sounds very "Pride and Prejudice" but yeah, its true.
We started arguing over what we would do if our future husbands asked us to give our month's salary to them and gave us allowances instead? This is not an uncommon practice; The husband manages the money of both his wife and himself and gives the wife just enough each month to cover basic expenditure. Of course, if she wants, she could ask for more sometimes for buying that new dress she likes or that piece of jewellery, but she's got to ask. There could be a lot of reasons for this practice. Like when the wife cannot or does not know how to manage the finances (Does not mean she's dumb- I can find my way around a maze but I too am not a genius with money) and the husband handles the finances of the house. Or when money is tight and has to be regulated. Its a totally legit practice, but only when the money is not taken against her will.
But what, Ray asks me, will you do if your hard-earned money is demanded from you? Instinctively I say, no way, its simply not right. Unless there's a reason I can see, there is no way at all I'll let go of my salary and have my own money given to me as pocket money! I can hear myself saying it with such force. But what, Ray asks, will you do if its either give-your-money or get-lost? Then what? Again, I immediately reply, then I will get lost. That's when our argument got hot. My friend thought it was more practical to hand over the money rather than to invite the ire of society and hurt one's family (one's parents, especially), than to walk out on the marriage. I, on the other hand said I preferred to be single again than to live in a marriage with no support and understanding.
As I walked back home, I couldn't stop thinking about our conversation. What's the right move? Does one submit and hand over the money, or does one seek separation, if it comes to that? Right now, while I am single, I cannot think of submitting without a good reason. What I can think of is talking to my hypothetical spouse and coming to an understanding. If that does not work, then yes, I can think about separating. Does that make me divorce trigger-happy? Maybe. But I guess its just not in me to agree to such a thing.
My mother would disapprove. Definitely. My mom has always said that she wants to see me "submissive" in life. She also says she wants to see me "sober". I have never been drunk, so I assume she means "serious".
Who knows, maybe I'll change (I silently think "Heaven forbid!" and cross myself). Maybe I'll be submissive and sober. The submissive and sober me can think about the above presented situation from a different angle, probably.
There was a time when I thought no one, whether friend or foe, would separate me from my beloved two-wheeler, my Scooty. But I let my family sell the vehicle, didn't I? See, stuff happens, people change. The hypothetical decisions I make today, the firm philosophies I espouse now might not all hold tomorrow. There might come a day that I've changed so much that I wouldn't recognise me.
As it is I'm not very comfortable with the dodgy concept of "arranged marriage". When a foreign colleague of mine asked me with genuine perplexity "But how is it that you marry and spend your whole life with a person you don't even know?", I answered with an assuring smile and a confident voice. I blah-blahed about fate and destiny, but all the while I was thinking to myself "Faker!". No, I can't say that I believe in arranged marriages. But hey, they do seem to work- look at our divorce rates.
The reason I got emotional during the argument tonight might have been the fact that I am probably going to marry a person I don't know, and there is a chance of this situation or a similar one being the case for me. I'm not prepared to think about what I would do if such a thing were to happen. So, I say what feels right to me now, to this stubborn, independent, non-submissive, (non-sober?) girl of today. Its not about practicality or principle, its about what you're prepared to live with. Every action has consequences, and it about what consequences you're prepared to face.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Of flighty short term memories and matches made in heaven
posted by Anamika Anyone at 4:54 pm
1. A long weekend?
As I walked from the office gate to my cubicle on Monday morning, I met five poeple who I knew I had met before but couldn't recognise. It was a vague feeling; I know I've talked to you before, but I can't place you. Boy, has it only been a weekend or what? I gave each one of them a hazy please-don'tstop-me-and-ask-me-questions smile and moved on. Some of the people I met too gave me the same look so I assumed with some satisfaction that I wasn't the only absent minded one in my organisation.




Ooh, speaking of memory, I watched "Memento" a few days ago. Now, as you know, I'm a sucker for a great story and this is one. The plot is brilliant. Watch it, even if you have to pay extra attention because the entire film runs backwards. Heck, thats the best part!

2. Rab ne bana di jodi... Par SRK ne bana di boring!



The same day I went to PVR after a long time to watch “Rab ne bana di jodi”. Now I'm thinking, should I have watched “Dostana” instead?
The story: A middle class, normal, serious kind of man marries a much younger, bubbly cheerful girl. This alliance was wanted by neither party, but circumstances na, what to do? So Uncle Sahni brings his wife Taani (strange name, methinks) to his house in Amritsar. Taani wants to break the monotony of thier “married life” and so joins a dance competition. Now Uncle S loves his wife and wants to see her always laughing and dancing, so he also joins the competition as Raj, a fliratious tapori. As fate would have it, they become partners here also. As they dance and spend time together, Taani falls in love with Raj. Now our Uncle S is faced with a dilemma. Taani is in love with Raj, Raj and Uncle S are the same person, but Uncle S cannot act like Raj day in and day out just to keep Taani happy. At the same time, Taani does not love Uncle S, so no point in their marriage. What to do, what to do!

Yawn.

The movie is half an hour too long. The scenes where Uncle S contemplates on love, life and everything else drags on like an expensive elastic band. And I am sitting there thinking, but what's the problem, they're the same frigging person!

Agreed, the story is pretty good. The girl who plays Taani acts well no matter what critics say. The soundtrack's catchy especially the dance track. Shah Rukh Kan, God bless him, rocks as Surinder Sahni, the serious, simple living guy with his mellow voice and white sneakers. See, this is why I like SRK. All the times people ask me in incredulity why I am his fan- this is why.

So much for the good points. I usually leave my logical thought process behind when I come to the theatre, but I still have some fundamental doubts with the plot, nay with the concept itself. If I were that girl Taani, would I take such nonsense from my husband? Could I forgive him for messing with my head by getting friendly with me as someone else? Oh, before any of that, would I not recognise him, my husband, sans whiskers???

Don't get me started about the other characters in the movie. It might be only me, but I did not identify with the dialogues, the mood or the ending of the film.

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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Ten things
posted by Anamika Anyone at 8:24 am

10 things to do before I die:

Scenario: I have 10 minutes before I die. What are the ten things I want to do?

Rules: Ten things only, out of which one must not be specified.

First of all I want to say that I can think of lots of things I want to do before I die, so I'm writing only the first nine that came to mind.

1) Make a will.

2) Explain to my family and close friends why I'm dying in the next ten minutes.

Why am I dying in the next ten minutes?

3) Karaoke. I am a terrible singer, but I would like to belt out “7 things I hate about you” to a certain someone.

4) Meet Bono in person and tell him I think he's awesome. This might not be possible in ten minutes, but you never know.

5) Post an “I'll be back” note here.

6) Stick a reminder “Haunt Sagar and Kartik for the rest of eternity” on my study table.

7) Make a list of 10 books to read and 10 places to see for my brother. I figure since I'm counting minutes I'll experience a lot of regret over books I didn't read and places I didn't see, so the list will be completed in a really short time.

8) Meet N and tell her I'm sorry.

9) Go up to the apartment terrace and listen to that Mozart tune I like for one last time.

10) ... (No, it can't be filled in for me!)

As I'm writing it, my mind is thinking of a million more things...

Go on, make your 10 things list..

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