The Magic of Enid Blyton

"Parp, Parp" :D Anyone who has read stories about the wooden little boy who stayed in Toyland would know this sound. Yup, I'm talking about Noddy and his bright red and yellow taxi.

Now where did this suddenly come from? Well, the other day my friend and I were talking about all the different types of books that we have read over the past many years, the variety of genres, and the importance of reading books other than those of course which are a part of school curriculum. She suddenly asked me which was the first book that I remembered having read as a non "school book". I promptly (well, perhaps a moment's hesitation was there) answered Noddy!! in Class I :D I have no memory of "book-reading" before that, but I definitely remembered this because starting from Class I to X we have always had a "library period" once a week. There was this large stack of Noddys in our class cupboard to be rotated amongst us and I remember eagerly waiting for that period. That was the time when I entered the wonderful world of BOOKS and discovered the Magic of Enid Blyton :)

It is not that I didn't read books by any other author or enjoy them as much; considering, however, that Enid Blyton has written over 600 books for young children, it is no surprise to me now that every other book that I could get my hands on (via school library or collections from friends' homes) was an Enid Blyton. Be it the Adventures of the Wishing Chair, The Naughty Children series, The Magic Faraway Tree series, Famous Fives, Secret Sevens, The Five Find Outers and the Dog :D or Malory Towers and St. Clare's....I was always in the possession of two or more ( no less, mind you ;) ) of these books. I did have my share of hindi books too...Panchatantra, Heeray-Moti, Nanihaal mein Guzre Din.....but being in an English medium school the ease of access to these books was more.
The world that was woven by her pen was so very enchanting! Anyone who has grown up on these books would know exactly what I mean. Vivid descriptions of the colourful scenery, characters, the delicateness of fairies, wit of the pixies, cunning of goblins and gnomes, power of magicians and wizards and not to forget the portraiture of the scrumptious food :D Toadstool houses and Blue cup cakes!!! I was soooooo fascinated by the thought of it! Funny animals, creatures and plants that could walk and talk!! There were of course lessons to be learnt too from these stories, the rewards of being good, brave, courageous and consequences of being otherwise. Then there were stories of these young children (at least one of whom you could completely identify with) and their adventures, escapades and secret clubs. I remember spending a lot of my holidays with friends pretending we were camping (a bed-sheet tent on the terrace/garden) or having a secret meeting (under the bed) complete with passwords and all :D It was a lot of fun. I sometimes used to wonder why I don't have access to a forest or a river or a haunted castle or caves! Whenever mom couldn't find me/see me/hear me in the house, it would be obvious that I am in "my reading corner" absorbed in one of these books oblivious to whats happening around me :P And what would be a perfect birthday gift for me would be no secret either!! As much as I used to enjoy getting lost in her books, I do owe a lot of my knowledge and development of vocabulary to her too.

If I went into details of the details of what was so great in each of her book series or description of the characters that I find so interesting etc. I would probably be writing a reallllllllly long article :P But I do believe (as would any other person who has grown up reading Enid Blyton books) that those who did not read her books in their childhood have indeed missed something, which unfortunately cannot be caught up with now. I am convinced that reading and immensely enjoying her work developed the "reader's bug" in me and I gradually moved on to other types of books. The kid in me still admits that I would love to flip through pages of her books anytime even today! No prizes for guessing what 5yr olds around me will be reading ;) Thanks Enid for all the magic and joy.

My take on Raavan music

After listening to the album at least 10 times now (in one day) I would say
Beera 9.5, Behne de 9.3, Kata Kata 8.8, Khili Re 8.2, Ranjha Ranjha 8.0, Thok de Killi 6.0

As of today Beera tops the album, but there maybe days or moments when I think Behne de will be a shade above it. Both of them are gems!! Its a pity Beera is only about three minutes..... but I am guessing (rather hoping) that it will be kind of the background song that plays at intervals in the movie situationally so that by the end of the movie it is topmost on your mind (like Omkara from Omkara :P ) (I have also heard that this song is sung by ARR himself in the Tamil version.....can't wait!!). The intro music in Behne de is heavenly, a really really fabulous song.
Kata kata is a lovely and fun song, I like the teasing feel in it. Though Rahul may be right in saying that it was composed in Tamil first; we can only wait and see. These three are definitely going feature regularly in my mixed playlist.
Khili Re is a nice, sweet, melodious song; but I feel it needs a bit more "growing" :P as does Ranjha Ranjha.
The beginning of Ranjha Ranjha was very good, but the rest of the song (in my opinion) did not match up to that and I need to get that out of my mind before I really form an opinion on this one....working on it ;). Also, I think in this case the visuals will definitely help me.
Thok de killi is worth listening only for the interlude music, the song per se does not work at all. One of those situational songs I guess which will sound ok on screen, but will definitely not stay on my playlist.
Overall, a nice album, but did not rise as high as were the expectations....but then again, it is ARR/Mani ratnam/Gulzar that we are talking of.

The CD cover of the album, however, is unimpressive compared to the fabulous movie posters. The one for the hindi album definitely looks like it is from a horror movie :P the color tones, the expressions on both Aishwarya's and Abhishek's faces do not hit any chord. The one for the tamil version is still better. Looking forward to it too as well as the movie (which seems a bit far still) :)

How to train your dragon

Very cute and well made, ain't as great as Kungfu Panda but gooooooood nevertheless :)
Or maybe that's because I have not seen it as many times as KP...while KP scored high due to its really awesome dialogues this one scores in its visuals and Hiccup-Toothless friendship. Maybe if I watch this a few more times (which I hope I will) I'll find it equally great!

Definitely worth a watch :)

Forgotten tune........

Was listening to some albums from Rahul's ARR-Tamil collection today when for no reason at all I felt like listening to "Indian". I think because a few days back we were discussing the funny lyrics of the songs "telephone dhun" and "latka" in the hindi version that I felt like listening to them again. The tunes lingering uppermost in my mind were obviously the most famous ones...the above two and "maya machindra" :P :D
And then this song started playing in the list.....



I was totally caught by surprise!!!!! :)
and a nice one too...........

I had completely forgotten that this song belonged to this movie and such a wonderful one too.....!! I can't remember the last time I heard songs from this album and as is with most things they had buried themselves deep down somewhere in my brain. But maybe not quite..... for the first few seconds of the song "tandaa na re taaa naa re aananda-maye" (and ONLY that part) used to sometimes out of the blue re-surface in my mind subconsciously. I used to hum this and then try to remember where I had heard this music piece and not quite place it ..... perhaps in some music class? friend's recital? movie? couldn't place it.... and as stealthily as it used to re-surface, with equal discretion it used to go back in :)
As soon as this part played today I was like....oh WOW...this is THAT music!! and the moment the beats of the song started I was even more astounded.....it is THIS SONG!! how did I forget!! :D :D Loved listening to it again sooooo much today that rest songs were all forgotten.....play-repeat-play-repeat..... :D and here's the post :)
I don't catch properly the lyrics of any song that I hear the first time (also true for several other times too) and it is the music that catches my ear and what really plays in my mind when a song plays. It is perhaps for this reason that I sometimes like several songs which have completely useless/absurd lyrics but wonderful music (at least I find it nice :) ). Precisely for that reason I loved hearing this song today in its original form (don't know what it means :P) and not the hindi version (who's lyrics I have forgotten). The "feel" of the song is good....its great :)
Listening to it for the umpteenth time while writing this :)

Oceans

Just came across this trailer of Disney Nature's Osceans on Apple trailers (watch it on Apple here).
And I was simply awed by it. Its magnificent, its beautiful, its superb!!!!!!
It may have been the combined effect of a) being a water baby myself, b) watching it on HD, c)watching it 6-inches away from the screen creating an "eye-max" effect and d) high volume on cool headphones :P
Watch the Youtube version here....
I wish I could catch it in theatres... :(




Watching awesome stuff like this sometimes makes me wish I were an explorer or had a job in a field or place which involved such amazing exploration, adventure, travel and fun. Of course I understand that it would have its own share of hardships and problems.....but that doesn't stop wishful thinking... :)

La vita è bella

Buongiorno Principessa ............. :)

Watched Life is Beautiful after a long long time today........it is one masterpiece!! Roberto Benigni is simply awesome, both as a director and as an actor in this gem of a movie. Not a single dull or over-dramatic moment.....you simply glide with the flow of the story. Great screenplay and wonderful enactment. If I ever list out my all-time favorite movies this one definitely has a spot in there :)
Those who have not watched it, go rent/buy it today...definitely worth more than a single watch and most certainly worth a keep :)

The meaning of I, Me, Myself....

"If there is anything about your “self” of which you can be sure, it is that it is anchored in your own body and yours alone. The person you experience as “you” is here and now and nowhere else."

Under certain circumstances, however, the statement mentioned above can be questioned.

Check out this interesting article by V.S.Ramachandran "Hey, Is that Me over There?"

Changes in the front parietal lobe of your brain can actually cause the sensation of disembodiment creating an "out-of-body" experience. It is amazing to note that in such cases you can actually see yourself doing things and not feel physically anything at all as would be the case when you watch another person in front of you. There are also these interesting conditions of several patients described in the article where it is observed that damage to this part of the brain, depending upon the extent and region of damage, creates different illusions.

One of the more fascinating illusions is the description of a patient who actually believed to have a twin attached to his body on his left-hand side who mimicked his actions with a very slight time delay!! I can't really imagine how these conditions would actually psychologically effect the patients.....it must be difficult to live thinking and believing that you have a conjoined twin who is with you all the time, watching you, mimicking you......I also wonder in such cases if it is also reported that the "twin" talks to you??? But they do not mention any such thing in this article of course.
They mention that the sense of ownership of material things by humans is an extension of the sense of "self" ownership. Ironically, I can imagine "hating" my beloved car when it doesn't start or gasping when my favourite coffee mug breaks...but I cannot imagine myself, or anyone else for that matter, hating one's arm for being a communist!! (The condition described for a patient in the article).

Always a treat to read about and ponder over the mysteries of the working of "our" brain. :)

The Japanese Wife

I remember, in 2008, when the book first released, I wanted to read it....had heard so much about the author from my friend Sharmistha. After hearing me tirelessly ranting about the author, his up-coming book and how much i wanted to buy it.....Smita and OKD obliged by gifting it to me on my Birthday :) I was thrilled...... and it did turn out to be a nice read. But, I had not expected it to be a short story and a part of a series of short stories in the book......nevertheless it was good. Then I heard that Aparna Sen was so intrigued by this simple and beautiful tale of two lovers that she had decided to make a movie on it which was due to be released in late 2008. Well, I was curious how she would play with the story to make a full fledged movie out of it....and was disappointed to hear that the release has been delayed. Very recently when I found out that it is finally going to release I secretly hoped that it would go down well with critics :P Any small hint that it is worth a watch and I would definitely do so.....and thus I end the movie spree of last week (5 in a row....two reviewed already plus The Hurt Locker and Good bye Lenin).
I must say....it was definitely worth it......a beautiful movie, wonderful cinematography, lovely and soulful background score and great performances. Though there were two places where I thought things went a little awry.....the kite flying scene (a bit vague and stretched) and the fleeting flirtation between the widow and the protagonist (the transition in characters was not smooth).
Some scenes are just fabulously shot..you have to see it to find out.
I watched it with two bong friends and they are of the opinion that some witticism was lost in translation from Bengali to English.... but that's true for any movie in a language other than what you are well versed with. One point though.....I wasn't too happy with the person who did the voice-over for Miyagi, the Japanese wife, but maybe that's because I have not heard any Japanese people speak in English at close quarters. Snehamoy's Bangla accented English however is superb :)

Here's the trailer:

Saturday Night Fever

Ok......another dance movie......FINALLY got to watch it....I don't know why i chose Dirty Dancing over Saturday Night Fever yesterday....no regrets or anything...just wondering because this one is the more famous of the two and i can say after watching it....for good reason too... :)
John Travolta rocks!!!! or should I say boogies! :P :D
Right from the first shot (Tony walking down the street in his shiny shoes and prim dress in-sync with Stayin' Alive) till the end the movie is engrossing....unlike the story of DD. DD had a simple story true to the early 60's kind of girl-boy relationships.....on the other hand SNF's story is based in late-70's and in some ways still relates to the kind of dilemma young boys and girls go through even today. It is a more mature story with small sub-plots to it that move together. Certain scenes also very subtly leave things to your imagination. And of course....how can I not say anything about the dances........they are great...as is the music. The solo piece by John Travolta is awesome. I would have liked the dance competition part to be a bit more lengthy than it was.... but it was good nevertheless......especially the small piece by the Puerto Rican couple.... I wish i could dance as well as these people!!!! I wish i wish i wish i wish...... :)
This movie takes you through more ups and downs emotionally as compared to DD .... you can feel the joy, the sadness, the dilemma, the frustration and the helplessness of the characters......a well made movie I must say. Great dances.... great music..... :)

Dirty Dancing

Just watched Dirty Dancing.....was one of the movies in the long queue of "have but need to see yet" :D I guess the dvd just got lucky that i was in a mood for a light, up-lifting movie!!
As far as any serious critic would probably go to say....the movie in itself, the plot is a drag....typical cliched stuff. There is this predictability about the whole movie which is very disappointing.The individual performances of the two lead actors in the movie are however worthwhile.
The biggest plus point of the movie....which makes me go as far as saying that i can probably watch this movie again......are the wonderful dance sequences and lovely music :) Thankfully, they make a large chunk of the entire movie!!!
The scene where Patrick teaches Jennifer the dance moves in the wild and in the water are very cute and so is the scene where finally they get together as a couple......aaaaahhhhh i know i'm being a romantic here ....looking on with dreamy eyes :P but then thats the way it is :)
Favorite songs: Be my baby, The time of my life, Hungry eyes and She's like the wind
Overall the entire album is worth a hearing in my opinion.
So anyone who loves dancing and would love to see some good sequences....go watch it!

Fun and Food Village.........

It is that time of the year again when Boss is far far away across continents and taking advantage of the fact the lab-mice (us...the poor tortured souls of students)are free to dare to step outside the institute premises. Okay okay......I don't mean that literally :P
I miss the old IISc lab-gang where it was mandatory to leave for a short trip/trek the night boss decided to fly away. I had a great time for the first three years of my PhD. But I am sorry to say that the current lab group is soooooooooo lazy and un-enthu that I have almost forgotten how much fun these trips are and can be.......
Last week I floated the idea of a one-day outing (long weekend...would have preferred a short trip outside delhi...a trek or something...but definitely no takers for that!!) and got about 12 people to visit this amusement park near delhi-gurgaon highway....the Fun and Food Village.....
Guess what...by the eve of the outing when I was giving out the deadline for taxi-bookings...the number had fallen down to a measly 5 people!!
I was in half a mind to cancel it out but then thought...what the heck......the 5 of us might as well go and have fun....opportunities such as this do not come everyday!!
And I am glad that we did go...... of course every trip has to start with me hitting a temporary red zone.......WHY CAN'T PEOPLE EVER BE ON TIME!!!..... I H.A.T.E waiting and also at the same time keeping someone else (here the taxi-waala) waiting. But the moment the journey starts ...all is forgiven and forgotten.....probably just because there is this thankfulness ki we are actually now having a trip? Anyway.....we did manage to reach quite early while the amusement park was not so crowded. It was a good place....lots of water rides and a big wave pool. Plus points for the water rides...minus points for not having the dry rides open before lunch. Plus points for providing swimwear at nominal rates...minus points for the tiny lockers. I am a water baby :) and had a great time splashing around...so did the others.... 3-4 hrs in water and of course we were exhausted and hungry.... the food zone though limited in variety made up for it in its taste (I do wonder though if it would have tasted as good if we weren't so famished :P anyway....it did serve its purpose well at the time required..so no complaints there). There was this mini-water bar kind of place in the lazy river zone which became our niche post-lunch ......simply floating there and chatting away......we dared not try out the rides for the fear of emptying out our meals :P !! The dry rides were limited but ok ...the Columbus was good and the hooting was the fun part....but as is always the case...once you have spent so much time playing in water you get really tired and don't enjoy other rides much....that's why I prefer to get over with the dry rides first and then enter the wet-zone. Was a fun-day overall :)
May have been my last "lab-trip"....not too sure....secretly wish it is and I leave soon.... :P