Author: manuscrypts

  • Versus all the world…

    (written a few moons ago)

    Season finales have a way of dispiriting me, by showing me the transience of things. Things that we like, things that we get used to, things that teach us lessons, sometimes not even by design.

    Like this one, which took me to Queens, a borough of New York City, week after week, and also gave me a peek into the world of fashion magazines, however contrived a view it may have been.  More than the sometimes convoluted plots and the character profiling that ensured certain audiences, I was a fan because in its own way, it gave insights into the innate goodness that exists in all humans..characters, especially in the final season of a dramedy 🙂

    But more than anything else, the show was all about the journey of its title character, an unlikely success story. It sold the hope that a person could make her (in this case) own world, despite her unconventional ways, because she believed in herself. And it sold it well, because many a viewer cheered for her, and egged her on.

    Say that I’m changed, say I’m different
    Maybe I’ll finally understand

    It has succeeded to some extent, in teaching me, that its not really the choices I make, but how much of myself I am willing to put in them, that really decides the outcome, and the way I deal with that outcome.

    I’m ready, I’m ready
    I’m ready to believe

    And if I zip through the entire journey of the character, I can also see the transience of these outcomes, despite their seeming finality.

    Say I’ll let go, say it’s obvious
    Oh, I tell myself over, over and over again

    So yes, thank you, for taking me on a very interesting journey, and giving me several LOL moments, thanks to nasty one liners from Marc/Wilhelmina/Amanda. And now, when I am asked, usually with much incredulity, followed by amusement, about why I watch Ugly Betty, I’ll perhaps hum..

    And all the world can watch the choices you make
    All the world can watch each tiny mistake
    Let the world watch….let the world wait for you

    until next time, couchsurfing of a different kind

    Lyrics: All the World (I Tell Myself) by Correatown, played during the season 4 finale

  • But what do I know?

    Unlike in my other blog, Seth Godin is rarely referenced here. But when I read this post (rant, he says) from him titled “Deliberately uninformed, relentlessly so“, I sensed some vague connection with something I’d written a while back.

    Unlike other posts of Godin, whose blog I religiously follow for its ‘food for thought’, I found a smugness to this post – perhaps the rant provides the liberty. But as always, he manages to make a point. However, for a second, I wondered about the irony of this post coming from someone who does not allow comments on his blog. And thus this post.

    It is to be noted that he did not switch off comments just like that, he has valid reasons. Even if one just looks at the scale (1858 people retweeted and 2373 ‘Like’s) and considers  only a certain % commenting, it would tend towards chaotic. But whatever the reasons, he has chosen not to use comments as a channel.

    Ok, lets move on to me now. 🙂 I don’t read business books, however I follow several blogs in my line of work and otherwise. I rely on my Twitter, Reader and (occasionally) Facebook connections to point me to interesting reads. I also use Wikipedia extensively, despite the accusation that crowdsourced content can only be so trustworthy. From all this consumption, I have ‘superficial’ information on a lot of subjects, which make good conversation. This is also because I have way too many interests, and I’m forever in awe of things I don’t easily understand. My interest sometimes wears off after I’m able to bring a subject to my horizons of understanding. Sometimes, a more knowledgeable person corrects me/points me to things he/she thinks might interest me further and whenever I need/want to know more about a subject, I try and use the web’s sources to the fullest.

    But here’s the thing. Once upon a time, I could remember websites in context and add to discussions (offline), but increasingly I rely on delicious, among other things. I’m forced to prioritise my memory thanks to the ton of information out there that I process daily. Ok, that, and age.  🙂 And this is not a problem that will end soon, and its something I keep bringing up here. (Read)

    Time is the new currency, and I increasingly feel that people now react mercilessly to an “I don’t know”. Is that an excuse for people to claim knowledge of things they know nothing about? Maybe not, but perhaps like many other things, it is one of the ways for them to feel accepted and have a sense of belonging. So yes, it might be easy to label it as being deliberately uninformed, but in judging people so, without context and more understanding, we might be falling into the same trap ourselves – about people this time, as opposed to subjects.

    until next time, judge mental capabilities?

  • Animal’s People

    Indra Sinha

    “I used to be human once. So I’m told. I don’t remember it myself, but people who knew me when I was small say I walked on two feet just like a human being..” That’s how the book begins, and sets the tone and perspective for the book.

    The title of the book could have been built around Khaufpur (based on Bhopal and its 1984 tragedy) as well, after all, the entire story hinges around the one night that changed life in the city forever. But Indra Sinha’s success lies in creating a character whose very existence is a testimony to the horrors of that night. The humanity, or rather the inhumanity of it all is taken to a different level, largely because of the protagonist – Animal. Animal, a 19 year old boy in Khaufpur, whose personal takeaway from That Night is being forced to go on all fours.

    In most other aspects, Animal displays the emotional state of a typical teen with love, lust, jealousy all vying for his attention. It is his pragmatic, mostly raw and guttural perspective and wry humour that gives the book its character. It makes it real enough for the reader to connect with the other characters in the book – Pandit Somraj, the singer who loses his voice thanks to That Night, his daughter Nisha, who is the love of Animal’s life, but who loves Zafar, the activist whose mission in life is to get justice for the victims from the ‘Kampani’, but whose objectivity Animal questions, partly because he is a rival to Nisha’s attentions, Farouq, Zafar’s helper and Animal’s friend and enemy all at once, Ma Franci, a nun who has become senile in her old age and the person Animal loves most, and Elli Barber, the doctor who gives Animal hope, while others treat her with suspicion. Animal’s narrative gives life to these characters.

    Except for a stretched ending, this book is a compelling read, one which makes you look at a faraway incident – in space and time, with a human and humanitarian eye.

  • The wonder eras

    The Lanka trip earlier this year, and specifically the Day 2 visit to Sita Kotuwa was quite an experience. Like I said in the post, its difficult to describe the feeling when one sees evidence that points to the actual existence of characters who were  considered a part of stories and mythology. Its one thing to theorise about what our gods really were, or read  historical perspectives, and another to come face to face with the reality of it. Of course, we could debate that Rama was human, and only considered an incarnation, but if the events in the Ramayana did happen, there is enough ‘godness’ in it for us to still wonder.

    I read ‘The Rozabal Line’ by Ashwin Sanghi recently, which is a fictional story based on the Jesus in Kashmir theory. The author has done considerable research on this, as evidenced by the notes, acknowledgments and references section of the book that spans more than a dozen pages. The domain the book operates in meant that these trails were fascinating, and I plan to follow them online soon.

    Meanwhile, in the book, the author draws parallels to the various messengers of gods who shared a lot of commonalities with Jesus, mostly in terms of events in their lives. They belonged to various cultures and eras before Jesus, thus ‘a great deal of material available to create a story around the historical Jesus Christ’. The existence of Jesus has probably never been in question, as opposed to say Rama/Krishna, but the above, and other things I read in the book, does make him much more human.

    Cut to the present. I read an actress’ comment recently – that she wasn’t on social networking sites because it took away the mystique surrounding her. Fair point, and I had to agree, considering how most actors and ‘celebrities’ in general use the sites to showcase feet of clay. I’m not comparing celebrities to gods, not yet, but in the eras before hyper communication tools, and further back, before ubiquitous magazines and television, there was probably more fiction than fact built around celebrities. The persona overshadowed the person. But now, they seem to be just regular people. Not that they aren’t that, but its more in-your-face.

    And thus I wonder, about the gods of yore. In those times, news got around much slower, and it was perhaps easier for legends to be born and for facts to be coated liberally with fiction. It was also perhaps easier to believe. So when I see images and statues of Jesus these days, I wonder what the real story and who the real person was.

    Ashwin Sanghi took 2 years of reading and 18 months of writing to complete this book. You see, the other thrill of ‘The Rozabal Line’ was having a conversation with its author, while I was reading it. Wonders never cease. 🙂

    until next time, acts of faith

  • Peppa Zzing

    This review was first published in Bangalore Mirror, and though the title I had given was ‘Zzing is King’, someone obviously loves playing with articles, so it was edited to ‘Zzing is the King’ :|. Anyway, this is a revised version.

    So, Peppa Zzing opened shop on October 4th, and is run by popular MC Mark Rego and his wife Rini. It owes its name to their daughter who thought ‘zing’ best denoted the food, happiness and colours of the outlet. The ‘Peppa’ just adds to the spice. And thus food soldiers on Infantry Road now have a new place to focus their attack on. Parking shouldn’t be difficult. There’s all of Infantry Road and even the Safina Plaza area. Walk a bit, trust me, it’ll help.

    Pleazing, that’s how the ambiance can be described. Peppa Zzing has a typical fast food place feel to it, with functional furniture, and a prominently displayed menu. But the bright red hues and the pictures add a zing to what otherwise might have been a predictable setting.

    Guests for the evening were Umesh and Ranjani. Many thanks to Umesh for not chickening out despite a minor accident on the way. The third person I’d invited called me just as I entered the place to give me a flimsy excuse after confirming just half an hour back. I’m just barely resisting the urge to link his twitter account here. Thankfully, good friend (of mine and all things edible) Gautam John was around to beef up the efforts.

    The menu is not really big, but after my encounter with the Whammy, that’s not something I’d accuse the burgers of. They also have plans to add some steaks soon. Gautam, Umesh and I focused on the meatier portions of the menu, even as Ranjani volunteered to test the greener side.

    (click for larger image)

    The menu has burgers for three player levels – the regular Burger for the beginner, the Monster Burger for the advanced and the Whammy is quite obviously a multi-player option, except for those six brave people (including a woman) who have managed to finish it so far. If you can get there by 1 pm today, you can perhaps be part of the Whammy challenge and win a trip to Goa.

    We started with a Bar-be-cued Chicken wings, which suffered thanks to a domineering sauce, and the Cheesed Fries were a bit too hard for our liking. But the Potato Wedges were done well, though tending towards bland. The lamb and beef burgers were fantastic. The patty was crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and the toppings we tried – mushroom, fried egg and cheese complemented it well. The Whammy Burger is a planet in itself and I just managed to explore half of it.  The Pasta with Tomato sauce also did not disappoint. A few more dessert options would help, as the Hot chocolate fudge we tried was only average.

    The service was quick, helpful and there were hardly any delays. Though the place was definitely value-for-money, they don’t mean plastic money, but we were told that they’d start accepting credit cards in a couple of days. If you have any sort of inclination for fast food, this is definitely the place to drop in. You need solid guts to vanquish the Whammy burger, and from experience, it’s a battle you need to win in your mind first!

    Peppa Zzing, G-18, Kedia Arcade, 92 Infantry Road Ph: 41232843

    Menu at Zomato