Gem of a movie #1 : Truly Madly Deeply

Now, whenever I come across a movie that must be written about, no matter how old it is, I shall spread awareness about the same through my blog. After watching Alan Rickman as Snape in the Harry Potter series and also after watching him in Die Hard (by chance), I was eager to see his other works.. and the first one that I lay my hands on was a 1990 classic called Truly Madly Deeply.

Truly Madly Deeply (TMD) is about a woman trying to come to terms with the loss of the man she loved - Jamie (Alan Rickman) and how she almost 'wills' him to come back and voila! he returns.. but she knows not what is in store for her.. just when she thought her world revolved around Jamie, life (and Jamie) had other plans for her..

A beautiful film about loving, losing and living.. with superb performances from Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson and a supporting act by Michael Maloney, this movie is a great watch. If you are one of those who has truly loved and lost someone, you will value and treasure this movie but no matter what frame of mind you are in, this movie will make you love your loved ones, just a little bit more :)

And when the results are out..

There are a lot of times when emotions just take over you.. and you fail to think rationally.. and most of the times it is because of the sheer amount of love you receive that makes you question whether you really deserve it. My college exams results were out this time and I scored a not-VERY-good 67% (the topper was at 82%) and the moment I calculated the percentage, I knew the score was not too good and was not going to help my aggregate. However, I did acknowledge the fact that the score could have turned out to be much worse and thanked God nevertheless.

And then it was time to call up my grandparents and tell them about my score.. and what followed was nothing short of magical. It so happened that my mom had already told them of my score when I was talking to a friend and I was greeted by the most energetic voices of my grandparents over the phone who could not stop praising my performance at the exam and went on to tell me that I had worked hard, and God always rewards those who work hard.The conversation lasted for a couple of minutes but not once could I sense anything other than pride in those soft, soothing voices that belonged to my grandparents..

As I put the phone down, I knew, the results were out.
The results were out, I was very lucky.
Very lucky indeed.

To have this unconditional love,
I was blessed and God had made a distinction.

:)

Some priceless things..

Two big events have made me look back at things that I have been taking for granted for the last many years, things that not everyone enjoys and things that no amount of money can buy and turn to happiness. Those two events are the Mangalore Air India crash that happened just a few days ago and the amazing one week holiday spent with cousins and extended family that concluded today.

These two events, although unconnected have managed to make me aware of a lot of things, clear up a lot of misguided notions about life, it's fragility, of time racing against you and everyone else, of love and death, of conditions and terms, of fate and destiny. The Mangalore Air Crash and the horrific visuals relayed from the site of the crash was nothing short of appalling to someone like me who would have liked some sensitive reporting from the Indian media at the time of such crisis. It made me realize that there may be, there is a grander plan for all of us and there is a part that we all have to play, but let us not forget that the part to play could end tomorrow, for you never know which day is your last.

Sorry if I sound gloomy, but I'd rather take my mortality in good spirit and make the most  of my life - no matter how short or how long it is. If there is ONE thing that the crash has taught me is to maximize all the happiness one can get in his/her lifetime and cherish those times, have no regrets and move on.

The second event is a happy one. Actually, it is one of those amazing times that I have spent with my cousins and extended family, one of those that just stays on in your heart. After a lot many years, 7 of us cousins were together for the summer vacations this time - one full week! What a feeling it was to feel the connect with these people I love, all over again. Such a great overwhelming emotion of being loved, being cherished..

And not only cousins, spending time with my extended family - a total of 35 people in the same house - was the perfect retreat I needed from a world full of conniving people ready to stab you in the back any moment. It was this summer that I rediscovered the joy of family and togetherness, this summer that I have realized, all over again, how lucky I am to get such a lovely family who love me unconditionally and will always do so. These things may not seem very important to people.. but for me, they are priceless..

My brother

Dear brother,
Sometimes you make it very hard to love you
But most of the times,
you make it impossible not to.

There are those special moments,
when I realize that you are the perfect foil,
to me, and all that I have grown up to be in all these years,
you've seen me grow and change

I've seen you grow and change
and I remember when you tagged along wherever I asked you to
and now I see you happily surrounded by friends
and I get a tad jealous
wishing one of those people was me

But I know, somewhere deep inside,
You love me just the same,
You don't have to show it..
You don't.. because I love you too

Dear brother,
I love you ..

To be loved..

A famous thought says that there is nothing better in this world than to be loved. My perception differs just a tad bit because I think

There is no greater pleasure in this world than to love and be loved

 Am sure you got the meaning. I mean, there must be so many people out there who lose their hearts to somebody and they do not know where the relationship is heading, if there is any relationship or not, if there is a scope for any.. is it possible?


To be sure that the person you love thinks you of the same way must be one of the most difficult things in the world and the reason why I think so is because of my friends' accounts of their failed proposals to boys/girls and how they always thought that the other person loved them just the same. In such situations, I really don't know what to say because one thing is for sure.. there just cannot be anything comforting to say at this time rather than the cliched -

"Hey, atleast you know!"

What do you say to a friend who is in this situation? I would really like to know..
For I just cannot figure it out!

 PS: Akansha, if you're reading this - am sorry if this blogpost seems similar to the one on your blog
but one of my friends really needs help :)

My friends..

The title may be explanatory but I intend to present my friends and my feelings about them in a really different manner. Through the course of the last few months, I have been, by sheer good luck, been able to create totally non overlapping groups of friends, who, luckily - like it that way. And what's even better is that I have been able to remain friends with them without evils like bitching and backbiting and classic mis-communication coming our way. There are some interesting observations that I have been able to make about the friends in my life.. and interestingly, ALL of them fall into one category or the other -

1) The 'old' friends
There are some friends who used to be my world while I was in school. These people continue to have an important place in my life but sadly, our bond has not been able to grow into something else over time. These were my lifeline in school, my very first secret-keepers and my first girls. I still love them and all the fond memories that they have left in my heart, to be cherished forever.

2) The 'classic' friends
There are some friends who just 'click' , who you can tune with almost instantly. These are people who become your friends before you know it.. and as is the case with me, these friends remain the best - bringing out the best in me with their spontaneity.. and by just being who they are - no frills atached.

3) The 'phone-buddies'
There are some friends who I can talk to for hours and hourssss and enjoy conversations over the largest possible range of topics important in life. It is not that our interactions in real life are any less, but however, our telephonic conversations dominate

4) The virtual friends
People who I have seldom or never met in real life but people who I know inside out. Some of them are new to me and my life and I am still getting to know them. Virtual friends are the wittiest and the most 'fun' people ever.. because there dont have to be any restrictions in the interaction. Yay!

5) The 'coffee' friends
Friends to go out and have that perfect cuppa coffee with. Friends with no hang ups.. chilled out, relaxed and with time to spare. Absolutely great people to bare you heart out to and just enjoy and soak in the moments of togetherness and friendship

6) The 'friends' of friends
Friends of friends, aaaaaah .. the common discussion topic always happens to be the common friend. But mind you, friends of friends have the potential to grow into the most trusted confidantes as well!

7) The soul sisters
These are not just friends, they are much more.. 
These are my girls, who always know what to say and do; girls who will always hear me out and tell me what to do next. Girls who can always comfort me with their resounding laughter and the big wide warm smile. Girls who possess a part of my heart <3

And to all ALL these friends,
I just want to let you know - I am so happy and SO thankful to God for sending you all into
my life and making it such a wonderful journey. Thank you guys and gals for making this world a better place just by being in it

=D

Things my dog taught me..

For the uninitiated - this is Joy - my third pet after Simba (who looked exactly like him) and Snoopy (who was a Doberman)..

 When I was a little kid, my father had two dogs, one was a mongrel called Sonu and the other was a Pomeranian. Ofcourse, I was too young at that time, and as I grew up, and as the dogs grew old and died, I tried to understand why my father loved those dogs so much. When I grew up, my mother told me she had a dog who lived for 14 years and I could see the love she had, still, for her Mapso =]

Come 1997,
Me, 8 years old, and I come back from school one day to find my parents looking at me and my younger brother with that excited smile on their faces. We went upstairs and our parents stood in front of the couch on the side, we could not understand why. Only when my father moved his legs a little, was I introduced to the biggest wonder that a boy/girl can ever have - no, it's no video game, it's not a bicycle - it was the most adorable pup on the planet and we decided to name him Simba.

Simba was a bundle of joy, partial to my mother, VERY attentive to my father's commands who he treated as his master (incidentally - there is only one person in each family who the dog obeys unconditionally - who in the truest sense, is the dog's master) and always wagging his tail with joy. When he was tired and let his tongue out loose, you'd say he was smiling because that is what his face looked like.. there was never a dull moment with Simba around - who used to sneak under the dinner table for scraps, snuggle up on stranger's feet and go sleep on them, let small kids pull his ears and sit on him, run around like crazy when it was too hit, try and catch birds in the garden.. he was all this and more..

Simba gave me a lot of happiness and a lot of good memories but the biggest gift Simba gave me was to teach me how to be truly selfess and really love without expecation, love without reason and love with all your self. No matter what the time, Simba would come to me at one call. When I returned home from school, Simba would already be there, waiting at the fates, always - there was not a single day when Simba did not meet me at the gate/door when I came back from school; not a single day when he would let me get away without him licking my face crazy; not a single day when he would not tell me how much he loved me.

He was my first dog, he was my first pet - he was my baby. He was the first person in whose upbringing I was completely involved. He was the first person I talked to on my birthday, early in the mornings, just to watch him tilt his head and quirk his eyebrows. He was my best friend, the best listener, the true faithful.

When Simba died,
I was heartbroken, and I did not know what to do as I saw a set of strangers bury my beloved dog in the ground in front of my house. I bawled like a baby and the hurt has not gone yet. But that is the beauty of having pets, that is the irony -

You know, you always know that they are not going to outlive you,
And yet, yet they value you more than anyone else..

There are so many things my pets have taught me..
And the biggest one of them was to love

Thank you Simba, may you always rest in peace.
Thank you Snoopy, for being the angel who always listened.
Thank you Joy, for continuing to make my days with your twinkling eyes

Thank you 

<3

Things I love - Part 1

I love - // In no particular order
1) Creating my own style
2) Leaving a mark
3) Black and white
4) Fresh dew on grass
5) Multicolored sunsets
6) Calm oceans
7) Comfortable bermuda shorts
8) Baggy jeans
9) Soulful music
10) Guitar chords
11) Selfless love
12) High speed internet
13) Shows that make me laugh - Big Bang Theory, How I met your mother, Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai
14) Cousins
15) Friends
16) Spotless whites
17) Vanilla with hot chocolate
18) College fests
19) Penne and Fettucine
20) Ball room dancing
21) Deep brown eyes
22) Long black hair
23) A big wide smile
24) Resounding laughter

To be Continued..

=]