The Raghavan Instincts

After all the uncertainty in being able to watch the movie, it all started like, "Yeah, go ahead, amaze me as usual". But I was let down. It's one thing to not have great expectations, and another to have none at all. I had none, and was still disappointed. I don't know about most others out there, but more than whatever a movie intends to convey, all I expect to get out of one is just an experience, and it hurt to have not gotten much. I know little of the jargon involved, but I think there are certain terms like - character arc, conflict, etc. Whatever composes a good one, I'm sure they're all there - but just weren't put together as well as they should've been. The sum of parts was indeed greater than the whole, but the latter seemed to be much lesser than the former. ---Spoilers ahead--- There's this movie Uttama Villain that we go to watch but end up having to watch the movie made within - also, Uttama Villain. The real one revolves aro...

So I went home this weekend too - to  Thanjavur . As usual, as someone with no plans & someone fond of public transport, esp. the general class ones, I went hopping a few buses.  Bangalore - Hosur - Salem - Trichy - Thanjavur . Thankfully, this time, I got a direct bus to Salem from the 1st point, but not thankfully, it seemed to have more # of stops than from there to Silk Board, leaving the bypass & cutting through every village possible. At around 11 PM,  i.e.  after some 5+ hrs, I reached  Salem . I had dinner at a  Sri Saravana Bhavan  (no, not HSB) which was a  rava dosa  I could finish in less than a minute but had to pay for it Rs. 55. Such are the times I feel blessed for having a job & not having to beg in front of the same hotel. Anyway, I boarded a bus to  Trichy , and no sooner did the bus start, there was this guy – tall, sorta well-built, thick-bearded, checked-shirt, village hero's friend-types wit...

I sit on my cot, leaning on a wall, fiddling with my phone. I'm at awe with Android, which makes me think of an operating system, and in turn Linux; Windows; I stare at the window next to me, and I see that it's raining outside; water water everywhere not a drop to drink; poetry; how I'm so terrible at it; what else am I terrible at?; literature, music, dance; arts for that matter; who knows it all?; Kamal Hassan?; what phone does he use?; a Moto in vEttaiyAdu viLaiyAdu; Goutham Menon; viNNaiththANdi varuvAyA; love; singledom; #ForeverAlone; marriage; kids; house; car; social pressure; job; money; economy; politics; corruption; desire; misery; humanity; evolution; science; technology; engineering; electronics; communication; telephones; mobiles; Nokia 1100; Lumia; oh, how I wish Nokia had made an Android phone; Android; I'm still looking at my phone. A circle of thoughts gets completed as another begins, and I try to shut it down, only to fail miserably. I've bee...

The jeep to Aurangabad was for Rs. 30 and on my way, I glanced at the Daulatabad fort and cursed myself once again for not getting down and in there. The jeep-driver was clearly a thick vermilion on his forehead, a man wearing a cross was seated right next to me with his kid, and a lady with a purdah got in at what seemed like a Muslim locality, and I was engrossed in The Krishna Key . I got down at Aurangabad bus stand, had lunch at a Maarwaadi restaurant for around an hour charging my cam & phone, then got an auto to Bibi-ka-Maqbara which I was told, was a place to notable importance. I had no idea. The auto dropped me there in less than 15 minutes. Bibi-ka-Maqbara Built by the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb in memory of his first wife, this seems to mimic the Taj Mahal in its structure. But there, I was told by someone that this was in memory of his mother. I still am not clear on which is right. Since the wikipedia page on this has in it sentences supporting the ...

For the first time in a long time, I was responsible enough to wake up by 04:30 even right at the second alarm. It wasn't a room with an attached bathroom, and hence the price 250. The mosquitoes had been having a good dinner all night, while I would've easily lost a litre of blood when I was off. I was told the previous night that there would be hot water available anytime after 4, and that I could come downstairs and ask the attendant. So did I. I was told that it would take another half an hour, and I sneaked out hoping to get a coffee, and bwoy , I did! A couple was running a mobile tea-stall, and the lady gave me the coffee with a good smile. Something more than just business, and I love such. While I was savoring the extra strong Nescafe , a police patrol jeep stopped right next to me, screeching. Nothing to fear, but was still kinda scared. And the logo on the jeep's door read: || सद्रक्षणाय खलनिग्रहणाय || Sadrakshnāya Khālanīghrahanāya Sanskrit for "T...