Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu Review

I have had my eyes on this movie for a while. For one, it seemed like a feel good movie, and seemed to be one that the whole family can go out and watch together. The sound track was already on my daily playlist. There was no way i was going to miss this movie!
Giving Alex Pandian a miss, i booked tickets for SVSC. The movie starts off slowly. There is no linear narration. Nothing that tells you what the leads are doing for a living, no scenes that spoon feed information to the viewer. Bits and pieces of their daily life are portrayed for the viewer to understand and put together.

The story mainly focuses on family values and the value and importance of having a family. The special bond that the two brothers share, all the things that they convey to each other in their silences, the awkwardness in expressing their love and concern for each other is really touching! There are no Hindi movie style bear hugs or in your face dialogues about how much they love each other. But their demeanor and actions say it all.

It is a movie about family and relationships. About regular people worries like running a home, getting  the daughter married, finding a job and battling the world to make a living. All of the 159 minutes are not action packed with events. Some are just long pauses and mundane dialogues.

But there are some really stirring scenes that will make you forget all the boring bits. The ever smiling good Samaritan father played by Prakash Raj has a memorable role. When he tells his sons that he has not given them money or property but has given them the wings to fly and do what they want, you cannot help but smile with him. And no, its not a all happy movie. It is one hell of a tearjerker. I was telling myself in the head, it is after all a movie, after all a movie, but could not help but cry at each of the over feeling type of dialogues.

Venkatesh as the serious, reserved, brimming with temper guy is very convincing.The love story between Mahesh Babu and Samantha is not really convincing. A guy who doesn't really give bhaav to many a ladies previously, simply falls for her for no special reason.She is wasted in a not so important role. Mahesh Babu is endearing in a movie that doesn't need him to do much of dishum dishum. His crackling chemistry with his grandma is a treat!
However, it is Seetha played by Anjali who walks away with the best role. She was super in engeyum eppodum and has done a fab job again! As the orphaned girl who grows up in their home, she is bubbling with energy and is the driving force in the house. The director hasn't really leveraged the relationship between her and Venkatesh well. For most part of the movie, he is oblivious of her feelings.

The script however could be a little more taut. Many a places, scenes appear to be there just to fill gaps. All  of the duets/dancing songs were totally unnecessary. But the title track and the wedding song make up for the others being shoddily shot. I did not understand many dialogues, cause  i am used to watching Siddharth's movies that have a lot of English in them. The pure telugu in the movie was a little hard to understand in places.

The movie may not have a great new story. But it tells you the value of smiling, being nice and helping people. It tells you that come what may, your family is always there with you. Do not forget to carry your tissues, cause cry you will. But am also sure that you would walk out with a smile! 

Spoilt for Choice

I still remember the time when Diwali used to stand for waking up before the sunrise, the traditional ganga snanam, touching the elders' feet afterwards and receiving blessings and new clothes from them. Diwali, Pongal, maybe Ganesha Chaturthi and the birthday were the only occasions when we would buy new clothes. So much that, everybody would eagerly anticipate the arrival of the festivals, get their clothes ready in advance and get terribly excited about the prospect of trying the new "dress" on. Did i go through all that this year? Of course not. I woke up as usual since i did not have to really compete against the street kids as to who would burst the first cracker of the day. I stopped the cracker bursting business ages ago. The ganga snanam happened in cauvery water and since mister tailor had not gotten my new clothes ready, i had to resort to wearing something that was not brand new. But what surprised me was the fact that i was not really disappointed. And why is that? That is because i dont really look forward to the handful of occasions anymore to pick a new dress or a pretty accessory. The "have money- will spend" attitude has taken away  the thrill out of new clothes for festivals.
I saw a poster yesterday that said, buy only things that are absolutely necessary and things that you really love. I think half the stuff i have is something that i have picked up as an impulse purchase, only to stop liking it a few days later. Another quarter of my stuff is what i have picked up because the discount was great!  Goal for 2013- Junking all the items not used over the past 6 months, giving away everything that i have stowed away in the secret hope that i will be able to fit into it someday again and to buy wisely from now on.
Coupon shopping has wrecked havoc with monthly budgets the whole last year. After a year of reckless spending, i am now wiser to know that no deal is the last deal. And most things that are bought with coupons are only add ons to existing stuff. Do i need that extra handbag that is on unbelievable 50% off? I know i will survive without it. So am not buying it. How many watches does one need? One or two for regular use, a dressy one for occasions. The eyes and the heart will continue rivet at the shiny Rolex watch on the glossy supplement of the ToI. But it is about finding out whether it is a want or a need.
There is plenty of choice out there when you go shopping. Life was much more simple when there was not much choice. I had one watch that i wore all through high school and college. Bought clothes only for festivals. Wore that same gold earring everyday. And now, i have to dwell on what to wear to work each morning even though i have a closet full of clothes. Once the clothes are picked, think about matching accessories. And no, not done yet. Shoes? Winterwear? I dont know if it is simple to go back to how it was in school. That would mean giving away all those accessories and am not yet ready for that. But yes, i am resolving to cut down on purchases. To pick up only the best of the things rather than being carried away by a discount. And am reserving all future purchases for important occasions so that, when i recollect a purchase, i can also recollect the occasion and the happiness associated with it.

Diwali Wishes

Here is wishing you all a bright, happy and prosperous Diwali. May the festive season bring in a lot of peace and contentment to all of us. And may the festive season bring in a little more responsibility in every one of us towards Mother Earth. Let there be more light. 

A Ride aboard the Nilgiri Mountain Rail

I have a fascination for trains and train journeys. As a kid, it was a yearly ritual to travel overnight to visit grandparents for the summer vacation. I have fond memories of the Rail Museum in Mysore - a staple stopover whenever any relative with a kid visited Mysore. As I grew up, I have taken the train to visit places far and wide apart. And now, I shuttle between Mysore and Bangalore, almost every week by train. Train journeys can be chaotic, sometimes boring and sometimes full of fun. My weekly journey though spans three hours to and fro, is uneventful and mostly spent on getting some shut eye in peace. However, sometime back, I was in for an altogether different experience when I took the Nilgiri Mountain train on a visit to Ooty. For starters, there is something about the air in hill stations that makes you want to breathe deeply. It just fills you up with so much energy!
We reached the Ooty station at 9 in the morning. My friend had already booked through the IRCTC website. So did not have to worry about ticket availability.

The train chugged off at quarter past nine from the Ooty station. While you can feel the nip in the air in the station, inside the train, once the windows are closed, it is warm and cosy. And you don't really want to open the windows, lest the cold air troubles other passengers. But there isn't any need for it as there are big windows on both sides that give breathtaking views as the train winds through the hills. Scenic and green, it is a sight to behold. Once in a while, the view gives way to a tunnel, evoking screams from the kids and adults alike. We passed by the Lovedale station which has been featured in many a movie. It appeared to be a small, sleepy town, right out of a picture postcard. 

The train does not stop at Lovedale. We had to get off at Ketti, the next stop, from where we would proceed to complete our itinerary. The friendly guard made my day by asking which college we were from :).  Half an hour of train journey. Just 9 kms of distance covered. A small little toy train. But the happiness out of the journey knows no bounds! Do take the train the next time you go to Ooty. 

Coffee made from cat poop, anyone?

I was watching this program on Fox Traveler where the anchor went on a night trail to catch a sighting of civets in Coorg. While they did not sight the elusive civet, what they found were its droppings. And what's more, the droppings comprised of a bunch of coffee beans. 

The jungle civet apparently picks the choicest of the coffee cherries and feeds on them during the night. But the animal can only digest the pulp. What remains behind is your coffee bean. The bean travels through its digestive system, gets mixed with all the enzymes and juices and is pooped in clusters. And these people who could not spot the civet, spotted the coffee bean cluster, picked it up (yuick!) and were amazed by it! 

The coffee bean clumps are then cleaned, dried and roasted and processed, as if nothing happened! 

I frantically googled this after watching the program and was shocked to see that coffee thus produced, is the most expensive coffee in the world. It is widely produced in Indonesia and sold on Amazon, at a price that is astounding- $44 for 100 gms! So much for cat poop! And why would someone pay so much for coffee? Because it is custom roasted in most places, is produced in very small quantities and is less bitter due to the magic juices secreted from the palm civet. I have one more thing to add to the list of its qualities that it is made from an animal's poop. Ew! 

Bizarre people with tonnes of money to spend would not mind the indulgence. But i hope they do tell their guests what's in the coffee before it is served :) And me, I am happy with my cuppa chai :) 

The Village, Mall of Mysore

Sunday lunch was at this new place in Mall of Mysore called Village. Located in the fourth floor of the mall, Village (Not to be confused with its namesake in Innovative Multiplex Complex and other places) has a nice artificially created rustic setting. You pay soon as you enter, at 1045 for 4 people, it seemed very reasonable. Soon as you pay, there is a guy playing the dhol and a lady with an aarti plate who welcomes you with a tika on the forehead.

Soon as the ceremonial welcome is done, they just let you be on your own. There is nobody really attending to you, it is as if you have strolled into a village mela.

There is a central area with a so-called Banyan tree with buntings tied all around it. On the particular day, the restaurant staff had organised musical chairs, passing the parcel and some other fun team game in the area. There is an open auto and a stage alongside from where you can enjoy the proceedings. Anybody is free to participate in their games. As you are playing, you can walk by for a chaat and have some more since everything on the floor is unlimited. I thought that two hands weren't really enough for the chaatwala to serve all the people at the "tabela" as they called it.
After the chaat, you can walk by to the dosa making man and pick your choice of dosa- masala, tomato-onion and i forget the third variety. Dosas are served with Chutney and Sambar. There is another guy by the side dishing out fresh salad. I picked a channa salad that they had nicely named  "Chaniya Waniya" :)

Main course comprises freshly made tandoor rotis and bajra roti  with baingan bharta, paneer pasanda, a kurma and channa masala. You can then go on to rice, hakka noodles and manchurian ( in a village setting? I decided to skip for good :) ) or take your pick from Samosa, dal-baati churma,dhokla and piping hot pakodas. All this can be washed down with unlimited chaas/ lassi served in bottles.                                                                  

Lassi bottle

The food in all is just about average. Nothing to write home about or nothing that would make you want to visit the place many times over. But must give it to them for recreating the village setting, for being really warm. A lady in the staff distributed dandiya sticks to every person in the restaurant and goaded each of us to get on the floor and dance. When there is an enthusiastic crowd, live dholak, foot tapping music, one really can't help but shake a leg and try a hand with dandiya. Go there if you have a big gang to have fun with, loads of time to while away, an appetite to eat a lot and the enthusiasm to dance away all that you have eaten!

P.S. Village is also located in Jayanagar Central in Bangalore

Of strangers and chance encounters

It was like any other normal Monday when i climbed into the train, early in the morning, to get to Bangalore. Had a disturbed sleep and found myself wide awake in an hour. Most other people in the train were still fast asleep, all cosy in their woolens- it really IS cold early morning! It was then that the lady came by and asked if she could sit down beside me. Unable to sleep, she had just climbed down from the upper berth. I immediately moved my bag to make some place for her. She gave me a big smile and offered to put my bag beside hers, on the upper berth. Tall and well built that she was, she picked it in a flick and did not even have to stretch to shove it on the upper berth.
I went back to the music that i was listening to. We sat quietly for a long time. When people started waking up one by one, she asked around for directions to the airport in Bangalore and how she could get there. While most of them suggested a taxi, i told her that the volvo was a better and more economic option. When i mentioned about some auto and taxi people fleecing foreigners, she gave me the "been through it" look and narrated an incident where the auto guy asked her to push the auto to get it started. And yes, subsequently drove away. Her lucky star was probably shining bright cause she was able to catch up with him at a signal and got her stuff back. I was actually shocked that someone could fall for a trick in the book as old as this!
Since she found an eager listener, she told me how she had paid upwards a thousand bucks for quarter of a kg of tea and about 150 a piece a bangle, fully knowing that they were overpriced. She told me she was a music teacher in Austria and let me peep into her travel diary. Pages and pages of the places that she had been to, references of hotels and restaurants, people she had met during her travel and her "to visit" list. Next on it was Mumbai, where she was headed. I was amazed at the extent of her research and planning- down to the restaurants, shopping places and guided tours, for all 5 days of her stay. I threw in a few more places in an around Mumbai from what i remembered of my last visit.
We got talking about single woman travelers, safety concerns, of what good pepper sprays are and how it was so damn exciting for her to save up and go travelling like this. As we got down at Bangalore Station, i offered to walk with her to the bus stop to show her where the BIAL buses stopped. As we were walking, we picked up where we left off on single woman topic. She told me how there were people back home in Austria coaxing her to get married, and i went "oh my god, it is the same story everywhere!" When we reached the BIAL stop and i wanted to shake hands with her, she pulled me and gave me a tight hug when i least expected it. My name went into her travel diary, along with my mail id. And as i was turning back, she stopped me to give me a "gift". Much as i tried to say no and refuse, she persisted and gave me a pretty clip and said it would look good on my hair. And that she did not know how else to say thanks for the help that i did. I never thought it was something worth a gift.
 I certainly would not have had the sensibility to show my gratitude with anything more than a word of thanks. And now that i look back, i wonder if i would have been so open in the first place, to taking a stranger's help while in a different city, and whether i would have had that kind of implicit trust that i would be taken the right way. I would certainly have cross checked with some research off the net or asked around more than one person. I started to work with a smile, clutching a pretty clip in my hand.
My week started on a good note. I met Ilvana, a woman really simple, who taught music, sewed her own clothes and was determined to see as much of the world, garner as many experiences and meet as many new people as possible!