Author: manuscrypts

  • Citi Zen

    Caught ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ on the weekend, was propelled to the theatre by the cast – Kay Kay, Irrfan, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Maurya. I’m not going to attempt a review, and will limit the post to a few nuggets and a strong recommendation to go watch the movie. I think the movie worked for me because almost all the lead characters were ones I could identify or empathise with.

    Vijay Maurya (Dawood in Black Friday, Jam K in the horrible ‘Bombay to Bangkok.. hmm, thats a coincidence, all the 3 movies have a Mumbai link) for his rage and helplessness against the system he is part of.

    Irrfan, for the agony that he feels, on the way he, as a citizen from the lower strata of the economy, is treated by those more fortunate than him, but for still retaining the innate goodness of his character.

    Kay Kay, for the indignation and the impulsive mistrust of Muslims.

    Paresh Rawal (bless the director and scriptwriter for reminding me of the original Paresh Rawal, the one before the morass of his recent movies and Priyadarshan happened to his career) for the cynicism and acceptance of the system he is part of, but still retaining a part of himself that can be stung by someone pointing this out to him. His cynicism is just amazing. Check out this nugget, “Arre, blast ke baad agar bar khule nahi rahenge, to Mumbai ka spirit kahan se aayega” and the part where he says (to paraphrase) ” a long time ago, we joined seven islands to make Mumbai. After the 7 blasts on 7/11, I felt we were being split into 7 again”

    But most importantly, Madhavan, the 30+ corporate executive, who refuses to buy a car because he does not want to contribute to the city’s pollution, who refuses to take up opportunities abroad because of a sense of patriotism, who advises a roadside vendor to stop using plastic….

    I could identify a lot with the last character, especially when he is shown doubting the choices he has made as well as his sticking with them, as people close to him berate him, doubting whether an individual can make a difference. A doubt that forces him to ask his NRI friend, on his India visit, whether he’s really happy there…the conversation that follows, that highlights how human beings are in the same situation across the globe. And one that reinforced a personal belief for me, happiness is within me, and the most important battles I have to win, are those against myself.

    until next time, exorcise demons daily

  • Empire

    We’d planned on Kubay, but got there pretty late, thanks to a torturous Mallu movie that dragged on forever. By the time we got there, it was beyond 10. It was crowded even then, and we were told we’d have to wait for 25 minutes. Since we were quite famished by then, we played inky pinky ponky and agreed upon Empire, perhaps to reinforce the flagging Mallu spirit. When you’re coming from Indiranagar towards Koramangala, take the first right turn (that leads to Jyoti Nivas College/ Casa Picola/William Penn). You’ll find Empire on your left. Parking is not a problem for two wheelers, you might have to walk a bit if you have a four wheeler.

    Empire has a fast food section/snacks/ice cream section on the roadside, a/c and non a/c sections inside and a terrace section where they also serve Arabian food. Though not exactly fine dining experience, Empire guarantees good food. It also saves me from giving explanations of unpronounceable dishes 😉

    Since we were too hungry to do multiple courses, we ordered a couple of Kerala Porottas, an onion dosa, a chilly fish, a brain masala (quarter plate) and a butter chicken (half). One of the great things about Empire is the speed with which the food is served, I’ve never had to wait impatiently. And it was fortunate this time, since we were inching towards 11.30 – the time when we would be spared the effort of walking out and nice cops would escort/throw us out. The cops really believe in ‘The Dark Night’ here. Ok, sorry 😀

    The onion dosa was pretty thick,a nd though I had my own apprehensions on how it would go with the side dishes, it was actually pretty good. The brain masala was really good, and though had some giant green chillies, turned out to be just right and not too spicy. But alas, I made the mistake of using that learning for the chillies in the Chilly Fish, and was in for a nasty surprise. But I still liked the dish. The butter chicken was the odd one out. A bit too salty, a bit too much of color and a strange metallic flavor. The Porotta was not as soft as it usually is, but still quite okay. All of the above cost us just over Rs.300. That’s the best part of empire – value for money. You can stuff yourself and you’ll still get a reasonable bill.

    We had a Maghai Meetha Paan outside. Damn thing costs Rs.10 now, used to be Rs.5. Only the prices are inflated, the paan size remains the same. The Empire Strikes Back 🙁

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Parent Traps

    And Abhinav Bindra got India an individual gold in the Olympics. Old story already, but what made me mention him was his simple yet profound act of thanking his parents. What about that? Well, good parenting. His dad knew that shooting was not exactly on the same level as cricket, Bollywood or politics, but spent a crore on an Olympic standard-fully air conditioned shooting range for his son. How many would do that, even if they were millionaires?

    Most parents (let’s forget unborn children and abortion for the moment) want the best for their children, and put in a lot of effort in getting it for them. But I think that in most cases, the good intentions are misplaced. After all, parents are just human beings whose objectivity might be clouded not just by the societal pressure that they have to handle as individuals, but also because of their own inner demons.

    Which perhaps is why I see a lot of kids around who, move around groggily from karate classes to music lessons to tuition classes, and simultaneously use pester power to get what they want, but sometimes, reveal their childhood innocence too. It makes me realise that there is perhaps a huge difference between doing the best for your child and doing what’s best for the child.

    The difference is Abhinav Bindra winning the gold and thanking his parents, and Abhinav Bindra winning the gold, but saying that was never what he wanted to do in life.

    until next time, not child’s play

  • User Generated Contentment

    People!! While I thank all those of you who gave me their feedback (and it helped), I did not get much feedback on the content.  The other person to thank is the one who first used the smart phrase used in the title. So, assuming all’s well, am planning a couple of tiny changes to the entire flow.

    I’m shifting the Manuscrypts Monday post to Tuesday, since 2 posts on one day is a bit too much, even by my ‘prolific’ standards. Which means that there will be posts on all days except Saturday.

    Monday – Brants

    Tuesday – Manuscrypts

    Wednesday – Brants

    Thursday – Manuscrypts

    Friday – Brants

    Sunday – Restorants

    No, I don’t expect you to mug it up nor am I doing this because of a misplaced sense of self importance 😀

    Its only because the blogs used to have different audiences, and now all the content is in one place. Like a reader said, because I attempt so much of wordplay in all the posts, it might be difficult for readers to figure out which category the post belongs to. So, I’m hoping the above serves as a kind of indicator.

    The second change is to do with the Brants content. I have noticed a disconcerting habit of rambling, so I’m going to attempt a more brevity-led approach from Friday.

    until next time,koi shaq ya sawaal? 😀

    And this is for Technorati

    <a href=”http://technorati.com/claim/jwtdg93aav” rel=”me”>Technorati Profile</a>

  • Blog…Blogger..Bloggest

    .….and after over five years of floating around the net, trying to find itself, manuscrypts seems to have found its final resting place. Of course, I’m quite sure there will be regular cosmetic changes, but yes, we won’t be shifting now. The EMIs for the domain and hosting are being paid, and there’s lots of interest. So you see, nothing much has changed, the bad jokes remain.

    So, take a look around. I’m still working on the categories, grappling with whether/how to include a blogroll (there are just so many bloggers I have to add, that I fear the list may be too long. Those familiar with the manuscrypts blog would know that I even keep links of people who haven’t updated in years). I have to clean up the brants tags, and I’ve used too few in Blogger. So, its still work in progress. Since all the blogs’ content will now be here, there should be about 5-6 posts a week. One restaurant review, a couple of personal posts and 2-3 brand/social media posts.

    What I’d love you guys to do now is give me feedback. Positive mostly…. just kidding. 😉 But seriously, have a look at ‘Type Scrypts’ and let me know whether I should categorise differently, so that its easier for you to navigate. Also give me your opinion on the relative positions of items on the sidebar. (tags, categories, archives etc). Do you like the about page? And finally, and most importantly, do you like the content, whether it be the manuscrypts kind, the restorants kind or the brants kind. Shorter? Longer? More of something you’d like to see? Lesser? (Be nice and don’t include me in the last one) 😀

    I’ll miss my old blog, these words from Garden State would express it best for me ” You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn’t really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you can put your stuff that idea of home is gone.… You’ll see when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it’s just gone. And you can never get it back. It’s like you get homesick for a place that doesn’t exist. I mean it’s like this rite of passage, you know.… I miss the idea of it. Maybe that’s all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place.”

    When I first wrote the words ‘Blog…Blogger..Bloggest’, it was perhaps my own site that I had in mind. At that point, to a guy who couldn’t code for his life, it was a big step. It still is, but it also marks the end of one five year old chapter. And so, if you liked the blog, and you liked the blogger, I hope you’ll be with me as I start this new journey.

    until next time, thank you 🙂