Saturday 28 June 2008

Rainy Day Woman

Yes I do remember that night.

All the people on Andheri station's platform number 1 were scurrying home, looking worriedly at the sky - happy and relieved that the Harbour Line hadn't gone belly up for once in the inclement weather.

I'd braved all the potholes and puddles of Andheri E to come and get you.
And you looked oh-so-happy just to see me. Can't forget your smile as it lit up your face...

Also, I remember how appreciative the street dog was - I do miss the street dogs in India so much. They have character, guts and more balls than a lot of people I know.

Respect.

On another note, here's a song, not so much about rainy days or women, but, well - go figure.

oRiOn 2008

Remember this?

Don't know why I remembered this song as I got into work today.

It brings back a 'flood' of memories... July 30, 2005. Andheri rail station, Mumbai. You waiting for me, somehow holding on to a dripping brolly... after feeding the cold and hungry dog a packet of biscuits. And this song was playing in the background on FM radio...

That was the day you stole my heart!


Sunday 22 June 2008

What I'm listening to now...

Lazy Sunday afternoon, hope you enjoy this tune...


Will Young - Who Am I



"And who am I to tell you that I would never let you down
That no-one else could love you half as much as I do now
And who am I to tell you I'll always catch you when you fall
Well I, I wouldn't be myself at all
I wouldn't be myself at all, at all."

Saturday 21 June 2008

Kiss The Rain

Life passed on today
She remembered all the times they had
They will never come back again
I can't wait for tomorrow
I cannot bring back yesterday
Now I see the light before me
It just takes me on my way
Even though the shadows remain
Baby, I know that you and I will meet again someday
I know there's something you wanna say
You close the door at night
You make me go away I try to make you remember... belief is all you need
And show you I'll be around forever
I try to make you remember me
I try to open your mind
Even if the stars remain
Baby, I know that you and I will meet again
I try to make you remember... belief is all you need

In God We Trust

Well, I tried, I have to admit.

She looked, in retrospect, every inch the crackwhore that she was.
I did give her a chance, me the self-procaimed messiah that would give deliverance to the world.

There was some cash lying on the table, and when we all gathered around and She wasn't there, we arrived at a consensus straightaway - she stole the money and ran. Was there room for any doubt? Not really, given that she didn't stick around to mount her own defence.

I did tell her in the cab, 'relax, you're with friends now...' - she was anxious and kept asking me if it was 'okay' for her to come along...

So much for keeping the faith.

Another episode in my undrgrnd undrwrld

An old friend says...

Namaskar Ji,

Noticed your name on the current list. Must have missed your call.

I'm in Sydney; came back 6 weeks ago to settle - Goa's turned nasty following the death of that 15 y.o. British girl at Anjuna in March.

A woman Israeli journo who's been living there for 6 years had the Diary page at the back of Outlook magazine just before I left and she made some interesting points: she mentioned how unfortunate it all was to her local shop-keeper and tells how, for the first time she saw him angry, and she quotes him "You people (he knows my name and he's never called me 'you people' before) think we are stupid, but we are
not stupid. We are smart. It's you people who are stupid, thinking you can come here and act like you do at home without understanding that it's different here and then making a big noise when you get hurt."

Did you read about the murder of Scarlet McKewon on the Anjuna beach and the subsequent charades her mother, Fiona had to go through?

The cover-up by the Anjuna Police was predictably inept and Fiona made lots of accusations about police involvement in drugs and it emerged that the son of the Home Minister was at Curley's at the time and he's the one who collects from the drug bosses there for his dad (who, as Home Minister is in charge of the police) and it was alleged that she was screwed by more than just the guy who's charged with killing her and the minister's son might have been one.

When the mum got the body back to Britain and had another autopsy performed, they found the uterus had been removed. No evidence there.

Oh! It was so ugly and a pall descended on the whole of the northern beaches; a pall of resentment against all the long-stayers, those who are all too familiar with the system there. They don't appreciate their dirty linen being hung out by farangs. But very cloud has a silver lining and all that...............

I reach Sydney 8 May, went to renew my claim for public housing and signed the lease on an inner city unit on May 22. Remarkable! About GBP 32 a week, At first, I was dismayed at how small this bed-sitter was,but I now, every time I open the door, I think of what luxury it is in comparison to India. 15th floor with views into the city, lots of light and great kitchen and bath-room, WITH a good auto washing machine and a common dryer in a separate room on every floor and a space in a security garage for my car (yes, I got a Toyota Camry 2 litre Stn wagon)!!
Now I'm plotting a trip to Goa Jan. and Feb. next year. There's a whole swag of important Birthdays falling due amongst the Aquarians and the Pisceans
who make up the regulars there.

Medicals have turned out O.K. so now all I have to do is augment my pension income somehow to allow me to continue my normal ways.

Hope you're well over there, though I hear your summer's not going too well and I hear cries of pain about the petrol prices.

Continue having second thoughts about returning to settle down in India - you know you'll be required to accept the traditional standards and live accordingly.

Will she ever forgive me?

"I don't care whether you care about me. I don't want your feelings so don't waste them on me. In my mind you are a liar and a loser and I don't trust you. And time and again, you prove that you don't deserve even the most basic trust. You have no sense of decency.

I want to know where you stand with respect to being a father. So far you have been a SPERM DONOR. That's it. Not a father. I am not fooled by the what -- 2 ever times you hosted a visit and the what -- 2 ever times you sent a birthday card. You want to play a role and be important but you don't want the hard work and responsibility that comes with that role.

If you want to know what being a parent is really all about, well it is not a free ride. It is not a birthday card once a year. It is not a vacation together. It appears that you are not even concerned with being responsible towards your wife and daughter either so I don't even know why I suggested that we have a conversation about this. I should have known the outcome. False pretense, false promises. Hollow, meaningless words. You are really skilled at empty rhetoric.

I am having a lot of problems right now and I thought maybe I could ask you to help out so that your son would still be able to have some security. What's the point in being his dad if you don't help out. But I already know your line...I've heard it a million times. You think I should be glad I'm not one of those street beggars in Cal. You think I should always be aware that things could be worse.

Well I've reconsidered this. You are a heartless, selfish and childish person and I don't want any help from you. But you may be interested in knowing that I am changing his last name as soon as I get a chance. He doesn't deserve to wear the shameful name of your horrible family.

You are a sad excuse for human being and I think you know it."

An Alzheimer's ringtone...!

Cut my Life into Pieces
This is my last resort
Suffocation
No breathing
Dont give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding

This is my last resort

Cut my life into pieces
Ive reached my last resort
Suffocation
No breathing
Dont give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding
Do you even care if I die bleeding
Would it be wrong
Would it be right
If I took my life tonight
Chances are that I might
Mutilation outta sight
And Im contemplating suicide

Cuz Im losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me Im fine
Losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me Im fine

I never realized I was spread too thin
Till it was too late
And I was empty within
Hungry
Feeding on chaos
And living in sin
Downward spiral where do I begin
It all started when I lost my mother
No love for myself
And no love for another
Searching to find a love up on a higher level
Finding nothing but questions and devils

Cuz Im losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me in fine
Losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me Im fine
Nothings alright
Nothing is fine
Im running and Im crying
Im crying
Im crying
Im crying
Im crying

I cant go on living this way

Cut my life into pieces
This is my last resort
Suffocation
No breathing
Dont give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding
Would it be wrong
Would it be right
If I took my life tonight
Chances are that I might
Mutilation outta sight
And Im contemplating suicide

Cuz Im losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me Im fine
Losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me Im fine
Nothings alright
Nothing is fine
Im running and Im crying

I cant go on living this way
Cant go on
Living this way
Nothings alright

- Papa Roach

PS: It's truly ironic where I heard this song for the first time...

Friday 20 June 2008

My MIND's 'Sway'-ing to this evergreen song

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When you dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Instrumental

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

When marimba rhythms starts to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

When marimbas start to play
Hold me close, make me sway
Like an ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

- Michael Buble

Saturday 14 June 2008

Of Superheroes (and Villains)



Originality is not something that's the standout in this weekend's new release from Marvel, The Incredible Hulk.

But then superheroes are cast in a mould, and their primary objective is to wage war against evil and prevail, against all odds.

Many of the most loved superheroes are characters laden with angst, tortured souls like DC's Batman, who decided to fight crime after his parents were gunned down in front of him.

Others, like Marvel's Iron Man, are weighed down by their conscience and guilt, inspired to work tirelessly (and selflessly) for a better world, and thereby pay penance for their previous misadventures.

Edward Norton's portrayal of Bruce Banner and his alter-ego Hulk, adds credibility and class to a slick, well-produced movie, which also marks Marvel's first foray into cinema - a departure from their traditional royalty/franchise model seen in Spiderman and X-Men. I, for one, enjoyed it more than I did Ang Lee's Hulk. Liv Tyler, as always is at her shimmeringly beautiful best and adds that oh-so-vulnerable contrast to the superhero's invincibility.

It got me thinking about my favourite superhero portrayals and here's a list which many of you may disagree with, but I do have my reasons for including them in my 'magnificent seven'.

No list of great superheroes (and villains) would be complete without Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker in the Batman series. I would be doing an injustice if I didn't mention Danny DeVito's Penguin, another character portrayal where the actor is intrinsically attached to the role itself.

Marvel took a major gamble in casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, given the actor's battles with his personal demons. But it paid off handsomely, and marked a new age for superhero movies. With critics and the paying public applauding the movie alike, the cash registers are ringing now at Marvel Studios, with half a billion dollars in revenues. A far cry indeed from the time Marvel's then CEO placed a 'winner-takes-all' wager and borrowed $550 million to finance setting up a studio. Historically reduced to receiving royalties from the successes of Spiderman and X-Men, Marvel's resurgence has enabled it to finally catch up (and indeed, surpass in many respects) its rival DC (Batman, Superman).

The contrast between Marvel and DC is what adds spice to the contest - Marvel's 1960's upstarts and misfits to DC's 1930's style square-jawed champions of truth, justice and peace. For me, there's plenty of space for both to co-exist. But then, I'm a committed superhero fan, as I hope many of you reading this are.

Christopher Reeve's 'faster than a speeding bullet' Superman holds a special place in an entire generation, but thats not enough to secure him a place in my list, unlike Tim Burton's Batman, the sexiest film of 1989 - with an excellent original score underpinning a tight screenplay and slick cinematography. It went on to gross more than $400 million worldwide.

Ian McKellen's Magneto in X-Men is a wonderful villain, because he is supremely self-assured, rather than just megalomaniacal - an orator, a populist leader, a rabblerouser, a master of rhetoric. McKellen is so good that its almost unfair.

Far from Hollywood dumbing down by making movies about comics, as was the assumption in the Eighties and Nineties, its actually smartening up. The next few years sees a raft of new releases and sequels from both Marvel and DC - the Iron Man
sequels, Wanted (starring Angelina Jolie and based on a smart and sassy comic), Hellboy II (the sequel to the cult original), Hancock (with Will Smith as the distinctly unheroic superhero!) and Alan Moore's Watchmen are all guaranteed viewing
pleasure.

Here's the difference - while one of the producers of Judge Dredd hadn't even heard of the people who created the character, Marvel Studios invited in a brains trust of 'all the people who'd written the Iron Man comic, and amazingly, treated them with respect'.

But there's another entry on the list - the lone woman, Michelle Pfeiffer's beautiful and seductive, but completely insane and deadly Catwoman in Batman Returns. In contrast with Halle Berry, whose part limited her natural abilities. Just goes to show that the hero doesn't necessarily take the cake when it comes to these flicks.



Whilst on the subject of heroes and villains, I'm biting my nails in anticipation of this summer's hottest release - the late Heath Ledger along with Christian Bale's excellent Batman in Dark Knight. Named after the graphic novel from 1986 that was too bleak to film at the time, it stars Ledger as the truly pschotic Joker.

The List:

1. Jack Nicholson, Joker
2. Danny DeVito, Penguin
3. Edward Norton, Hulk
4. Robert Downey Jr, Tony Stark
5. Tim Burton, Batman
6. Ian McKellen, Magneto
7. Michelle Pfeiffer, Catwoman

@ oRiOn 2008

Thursday 12 June 2008

She's A Star



Whenever she's feeling empty
Whenever she's feeling insecure
Whenever her face is frozen
Unable to fake it anymore
Her shadow is always with her
Her shadow will always keep her small
So frightened that he wont love her
She builds up a wall

Oh no, she knows where to hide in the dark
Oh no, she's nowhere to hide in the dark

She's a star

She's been in disguise forever
She's tried to disguise her stellar views
Much brighter than all this static
Now she's coming through

Oh no, she knows where to hide in the dark
Oh no, she's nowhere to hide in the dark

She's a star

Don't tell her to turn down,
Put on your shades if you can't see,
Don't tell her to turn down,
Turn up the flame.
She's a star

It's a long road
It's a great cause
It's a long road
Its a good call
You got it,
You got it,

SHE'S A STAR

My Hero, My Heroine

Once there was perfection
When neither of us could do no wrong.
The world was this warm, fuzzy place
Everything was bright and shiny
In many ways like chasing the dragon.

We were eagerly chasing something,
Maybe nothing, but it didn't matter.

But then seasons change, and,
In our hurry to get someplace
We lost our way -
Wait! Isn't this where we started?
Or is this yet another dead-end...

Its heartbreaking, yet true
We must turn back
For its not meant to be,
Not today, maybe not anyday.

Calming down is the hardest of all
Coming down, we're held in thrall...
How do we know that we won't fall?

The cracks appear, the faultlines exaggerated
And now we're walking on ice
Desperately seeking firm ground.

Is that a beacon, is it our minds playing games?
The wind is high, we shiver yet brave the chill,
We must hurry, whilst there's time still.
Before we turn against each other
Before our misgivings turn to mistrust.
We're alone in this now,
With not even our shadows for company in this desolate hell.
Our nerves are raw, our bodies numb,
Our mouths dry, teeth clenched...
Everywhere - there's nothing but
The dank, stale stench of fear.

But we still have hope,
Its all we need -
Keeping us going,
Despite our weaknesses
Inspite of ourselves.

Hallelujah, its a miracle!
Salvation is ours...our prayers answered for once.
The light was no illusion!
Didn't I say it was real?
We embrace, we hug, we kiss
First the relief, then the tears...
The palpable tension of moments ago
Seems already a part of some distant dream.

Lets not get lost any more
And lets not lose ourselves
For the world is this warm, fuzzy place again
And everything is bright and shiny.
Only this time, there are no speedballs...
Who needs 'em anyway?

Promises, promises...
Can we keep them this time?

Isn't this what makes us human -
Our very own pantomime?

@oRiOn 2008

When The Night Is Upon Us

'When I read your last blog entry I realized that I'd lost you a long time ago...

And now, the vultures are circling.

Nevermind the darkest days, full of foreboding and doubt -

The flame needs but a spark, and the mind reassurance.

When the night is upon us, and

When darkness sourrounds us,

Our love will prevail, darling.'

Epitomises what our relationship stands for - hope and willpower.