September - the month that was

September came and whooshed by before I could blink. It even seemed like we skipped it this year. Like it was just August, and now October. I guess mostly because I've be racing to meet deadlines.

Books:
Umm.. well.. reading took a back seat this month, sadly. To make up, I attended the Bangalore Literature Fest and was enlightened by the many discussions I sat through.

Movies:
Strangely I saw very few movies this month. Seems unbelievable to me too.
Finding Fanny - A sweet movie, unlike a typical Bollywood film. Since I am a DP fan, I was happy to look at her for 2 hours. The story was o-k-a-y, performances were nice. Wouldn't say I loved the movie though.
Mary Kom - Saw this in the bus while going home to Pune. Thank goodness I did not waste moolah to watch this on the big screen. What a terrible thing they have done to such a remarkable story of MC Mary Kom.
Good Morning Vietnam - Heard so much about this one and finally got to watch it. A lovely movie, Robin Williams at his best. Great story and acting.

TV Shows:
I started watching Gotham (amazing), which is a take on Gotham before Bruce Wayne became 'Batman'. I love it.

Travel:
This month we were too caught up in work to travel anywhere. Except for a weekend when my college friends were in town and we had an awesome mini-reunion, the month just went by drowning in work.

Restaurants:
So I went to The Beire Club for the very first time. Yes, ironically I did not have beer (i'm not that big a fan) but instead ordered a Sangria, and must I say, it was one of the best I've had till date. Really well made. Also their Nachos were delicious. I had a really fun time there.

Also visited the hip and happening 'Church Street Social' and really liked the place. It's just the right amount of loud that I like in a place. They serve their drinks in really cool and innovative ways - candy floss cosmos, shots in syringes etc. It was a rather fun evening !

Also, tried out Dyu Art Cafe in Kormangala. The place is really pretty, and has a charm of its own. Can't say the same about the menu though. A really limited number of dishes, though the tea is nice. I ordered a Chamomile Tea and they served us an entire potful - 3 cups ! A nice place to just sit, read and doodle maybe.

 

October already looks like a fun month. Let's see how it rolls.

August - the month that was

August was a busy, busy month as expected. Lots of work came in and I was a happy puppy. Along with work, I also did a lot of personal art and craft projects. Altogether it was one fun month :)

Books: 
Neglected Poems by Gulzar - This is a book we picked up in a tiny bookshop in Jammu. It has these lovely poems penned down by Gulzar in Hindi and English. A very quick read, we took turns reading them aloud to each other, trying at times to decipher the slightly complex Hindi words.

Movies:
People like us - A sweet movie about a guy, who gets to know that he has a step sister, after his father dies. He has to deliver her inheritance and the story goes on.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - The last of Wes Anderson's movies, I think I've seen them all now, this one was about a movie maker, who goes out to seek revenge on a sea creature that killed his friend. A funny, strange one as usual.
Birdcage - I wanted to see all the Robin Williams' movies that I had missed and I started with this one. God, I could not stop laughing. In some parts, I was actually laughing out loud. A really hilarious movie.
The Fault in our Stars - I heard so much about this one that I had to watch it. The love story of two terminally ill people. I liked it, but not that much, but it had its moments. Some dialogs were really touching. And I thought the guy character was really cute.
Chef - This was a fun movie about a chef, whose reputation gets ruined on social media, quits his job to start his own food truck. Oh, and the food, I was drooling the entire time.
Water for Elephants - A movie about a circus and love. I quite enjoyed this one.
Mardaani - A good Hindi movie come along very rarely and I was waiting to watch this one coz the trailer looked rather good. Disappointed. Expected too much maybe, but the movie seemed half baked, with a loose plot and terrible supporting cast. Also, I thought that the way they handled the social evil of child abduction and trafficking was immature. Maybe it was made entirely for the masses and they had to make it a certain way. Bummer.
City Lights - We heard somewhere that this was a good movie, but oh were we disappointed once again. So much Bollywood masala in this. Damn, we were having a really bad movie run.
Unknown - We wanted to watch a good movie and I thought this one, starring Liam Neeson, would be it. Sadly, this was a rather stupid movie.
The Expendables 3 - I couldn't believe I was actually walking into a theatre for this one. It's not my kind of movie at all, but since the fella was having a tough work week, I thought I would humor him. Well, I kinda liked it, though I was told this was the least fun of the entire series.
Begin Again - Anything that has Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo has to be watched and this turned out to be a sweet, warm movie. I loved the soundtrack as well.

We also watched two plays last month. I hope we get to see a few this month too.
Hamlet - A very talked about and famous play, I liked it in parts but overall, it fell a little short of what I had expected. Good acting by most, but the adaptation was a little strange and not as funny as made out to be.
Jin Lahore Ni Vekheya - The title of this play by  Habib Tanvir, literally means - One who has not seen Lahore, has not lived. A brilliant experience, and a wonderful story about how the partition affected families on both sides of the border.

Travel: We got to witness the delightfully lush-green beauty of Coorg last month. I've never seen green like this before. It was breathtakingly beautiful. A separate post on Coorg coming soon, but I'll leave you with a sneak peek :)

September has already begun with a lot of work. Busy seems to be the flavor of this month and I'm happy to be occupied with things I love doing. 

July: the month that was

July was a slow month. Thankfully the great Bangalore weather compensated for it. I spent all the extra time I had in doodling, illustrations, painting, and other artsy-crafty things. Here's how it rolled:

Books: 
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - A book set in the times of the gorkha uprising in Sikkim. It begins in the peaceful foothills of the Kanchejunga and slowly moves on to describing one of the most violent times witnessed in the mountains of North Bengal and Sikkim. I loved the book and the way the author describes the lives of all the characters that are slowly altered by the situation. Great, enjoyable read.
Toba Tek Singh and other short stories by Saadat Hasan Manto - A collection of beautifully written short stories, mostly around the partition of India. One of the stories (Toba Tek Singh) has been narrated brilliantly by Zia Mohiuddin HERE. Must listen.

Movies:
The Jane Austen Book Club - A lovely movie, more so because I do love Austen and her tales. I might just take up reading all her works once again. A sweet movie I say.
Arthur Newman - A movie about a man who runs away from his old life. I've been on a Emily Blunt marathon. I find her quite gorgeous and she acts well too. Colin Firth has done a good job.
Your Sister's Sister - Another Emily Blunt movie about the relationship between two step sisters. Nice, feel-good movie.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Oh I'm simply in love with Wes Anderson's movie making style. I loved this one; the quirky, eccentric characters and story et al. I'm making it a point to watch all his movie, one by one.
Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya - Very miss-able movie, best watched at home on a very dull day to kill boredom. Loud songs, not to my liking at all, except of course the very catchy 'Saturday Saturday'. Saving grace: Alia Bhatt's good looks and the fact that it was a fast paced movie.
Stuck on Love - Oh I really liked this one and it has a lovely soundtrack too, some songs are surely gonna be played on loop for the next few weeks. It's a story about a family and their relationship and about 'love'. One time watch and a very enjoyable chick flick.
Enemy - From the maker's of the really good 'Prisoners' and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, I was expecting a lot but I really did not get the story. It was either really twisted or didn't make any sense at all. The end was completely bizarre. Watch it, if you figure it out, help me do so.
The Squid and the Whale - I thought this was another Wes Anderson movie but turns out he only produced it. It was a queer movie about a family, two brothers whose parents are separated and the emotional changes they face. Quite interesting, though a little strange.
Moonrise Kingdom - Oh Wes Anderson. I really wish he makes many more movies. This is about two misfit kids, who run away together and their little adventure. It is a really wonderful movie.
Admission - Starring Tina Fey (which is why I watched it) this one is a silly feel good type of movie. It is about an admissions officer from an A-league school. Sweet. Also, Paul Rudd is one of my favs.

Wow, I think I watched a record number of movies in July. Yay !

Travel:
We were just back from a really long vacation, almost completely broke and so July was peacefully spent at home, except for one short trip to Pune for our niece's mukhebhaat (first real food) ceremony. Dunno how much she will remember, but we sure ate some delicious food.

We also took a short trip to Chennai. The fella had some work and I tagged along. We had a really good time except for the terrible sunburn I got back.
We reached early morning and after dropping our bags off, headed straight for the beach. It was a lovely, cloudy morning. I took a little walk, dipped my feet in the sea and pulled out my sketchbook. Oh, I really wish to live by the sea someday.

We were also able to visit my childhood home, 30 kms outside Chennai, Avadi. The place had changed a little but we met a lady who used to live there years ago and she remembered me. It was so overwhelming. She was almost in tears when we spoke about the good old days. I'm so glad we finally made that trip.
This is one of the trees near our home in Avadi.

We also discovered a little hillock near Banerghatta. Not the most ideal spot as there were quite a lot of people around, thanks to the two temples in the vicinity. We managed to find a quite spot and sat there enjoying the lovely breeze and the beautiful sunset.

Highlights:
The kittens have really grown up now. All except one have been adopted and have gone away. We are left with this tiny little grey furball, who we call Shakira. She's been crying quite a lot ever since her siblings left. She was really terrified of us for some reason, and only recently she has warmed up and allows me to cuddle her. Her favorite place to sleep is the fella's helmet. Oh also, it seems that the mother is pregnant again !

July is now over and after quite a slow month, work-wise, I now have lots on my plate and stuff that I'm really happy to be involved in. So here's to a busy August !

June: the month that was

Books: Damn, wasn't able to finish my book in time. July will surely see more books here.

Movies:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - a really sweet movie that someone had recommended way back and I finally watched it. Pleased.
Breathe In - A strange movie about a girl who arrives as an exchange student, to live with a family in New York and how the family and their interpersonal relationships change because of her.
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Simple adorable movie. I love how it has been made and how the story is narrated. So much fun.
The Spectacular Now - A slightly predictable story of a popular high school boy, an invisible high school girl, love etc. Sweet.

Travel: Huge post on Leh coming soon. I keep postponing it because I just don't know where to start. This was surely one of the most memorable trips of my life. Here are some photos while you wait.

From cities to the mountains (the view from above)

A shikara on the Dal lake

May: the month that was

The entire month of May was spent waiting for our big Leh trip in June. Counting days, planning, dreaming and waiting.

Books: zero :(

Movies:
Strangely I hardly saw many movies in May. Here are the ones I did watch.
Million Dollar Arm - Fun movie, really good acting by some of the Indian actors. Feel good movie. (3.5/5)
Shaadi ke Side Effects - My god. This movie was a complete torture. I wonder what the director and script writer were thinking. Such stereotypes and lame jokes. Time completely wasted !

Travel: 
Being summer, we did not travel much. We went to Bombay for a friend's wedding and from there I took off for two weeks to Jaipur, to visit the sister. In Jaipur too, I mostly stayed indoors. There were a lot of dust storms and thunder storms during my stay. Here is a typical summer sunset:

Bangalore also had some beautiful sunsets that I got to witness from the Hosur Road flyover. Brilliant sights.

Highlights:
The kittens are growing fast and healthy :) It's wonderful to watch them scampering around the place.

I got to do a really interesting freelance project, which involved illustrating for a book of poems. It was great fun, even though the deadline was really tight. Here are some samples that weren't used. Hopefully the book will be out soon and then I can showcase the final images.

Thankfully the summer is officially over and we are back to great weather in Bangalore. Yippie. 

April: the month that was

April is over and so is the insufferable summer in Bangalore. Thank goodness for that. The summer this year was one of the most terrible compared to the past years I've been here. Also, that could be because we now live on the top floor and the roof is directly under the sun. I'm just glad it is over.

Books:
I finally finished a book, after 2 months. Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil, which was gifted to me on my birthday. Pretty interesting book about the drug scene in Mumbai a few decades back. It really enlightened me about the different kinds of narcotics available *chuckles*

I picked up this book almost two years back, from this really tiny bookshop called Goobeys on Church Street, but never got down to reading it. It's a lovely collection of poetry and illustrations. 

Movies:
This was a really dry spell in terms of movies. I think I didn't watch a single movie I can write home about.
Out of the Furnace - The only reason I saw this was: Christian Bale. Sadly, the plot was so slow that I fell asleep and almost missed a lot of the movie. Blah.
Main Tera Hero - Thanks to our innumerable bus journeys, we get to see the most rubbish Bollywood movies and this was one of them. God. A sheer torture, except for the one catchy song.
Ragini MMS 2 - Another "bus journey" epic. Supposedly a horror movie, but I think it could be classified under soft-porn. Disgust is all I feel for Ekta Kapoor.
Total Siyappa - We saw this on TataSky Showcase, thinking that it would be a fun movie since the trailer seemed quite funny. We then realized that the funny jokes were just in the trailer. *facepalm*
2 States - I think this was the most decent of the lot and even this wasn't too great. Alia's clothes and a few scenes here and there, were the only things that kept me going.

Travel:
April did not see much travel, except for the monthly visit home. It was too hot for road trips and we spent most weekends hiding from the sun, indoors.

Highlights:
Our semi-domesticated cat - Flashy, had four babies and it was really blissful to watch them and her in this new role of a mother. It was the cutest sight. They lived under our cupboard for almost 10 days, before the mother decided to move her litter.

I attended a fun mocktail workshop near my place. It was organized by Nature's Basket and I found myself with not so much work on a weekday afternoon and decided to go and have some fun. It was quite interesting and I hope to make some of the drinks soon.

May is now here and with it came lovely thunderstorms and rain-showers. Bliss. 

Lots more to write about this month for sure.

March: the month that was

The third month of the year is over. Phew. I can't wait for summer to be over. It has become quite unbearable in Bangalore, especially because we live on the top floor and the sun does not spare us at all. Need to come up with some solution for the heat soon ! 

HIGHLIGHT:
March has been an important month for us because we support the cause of Tibet and 10th March is the day that marks the anniversary of their freedom struggle. It was been 56 years. This year, I walked 32 kms from Hunsur (a Tibetan settlement in Karnataka, close to Mysore) to Bylakuppe (another settlement) The entire walk was on 44 kms but sadly I could not complete it. What was more overwhelming than walking 32 kms, was the fact that there were 65-70 yr old Tibetan men and women who completed the entire walk, taking fewer breaks than us yound blood. It was quite shameful at times, looking at them walk undeterred, in sandals and chappals, when we struggled to walk in our walking shoes. It was a support march to show our solidarity with their cause and next year we hope to do something bigger, to make more people aware about what exactly is happening in Tibet and the atrocities meted out by the Chinese government for the last 56 years. 
Read more about their cause and educate yourself on this FB page: For the Cause of Tibet

BOOKS:
Damn. I didn't finish the book I was reading. Just about 40 pages left but I can't put it here. The only book I finished reading was this lovely illustrated book on Vincent Van Gogh, one of my ever fav painters. 

MOVIES:
Non-Stop - This movie began the movie-marathon weekend. It was super fun, great suspense and an unpredictable ending. We were thrilled after watching it. (4/5)
Escape Plan - Finally saw this movie after missing it in the theatre. Pretty good, also because I am a sucker for 'prison-break' stories ! (3/5)
Highway - I expected way too much from this one. By the time we went to see it, everyone was raving about it. I thought the story was below average. It just didn't fit together. Alia acted really well but that's about it. The music was lovely and of course the travel was wow. (2.5/5) 
The Big Wedding - A silly story of complex families. Light watch. (3/5)
Prisoners - Oh man. I regret not watching this in the hall. It was one of the best mystery movies I've seen in a very long time. Brilliant acting and super plot. Must-watch. (4.5/5)
Queen - One of the most fun Bollywood movies of recent times. The story was funny, acting great and the little elements of the movie that the director paid great attention to, made it really special. I laughed, and laughed so much. Oh and I love the Hungama song. LOVE. (4.5/5)
Lakshmi - a movie about child trafficking. Horribly directed, didn't expect that from a director like Kuknoor but there were way too many loop holes and glitches in the story. I was in a bit of a depression after watching this. We really live in a strange, cruel world. 

TRAVEL:
Hunsur - Apart from the support march, we attended our first Tibetan wedding. it was so much fun. According to their traditions, the entire village helps in the wedding, right from cooking food, to setting up everything. After the wedding and lunch, people sit around drinking and playing cards. In the evening there is music and dance followed by diner. It was a lovely sight. 

 My first night sky photo. It was quite cloudy, but I was so happy :)

CHENNAI:
This was our first road trip after the fella bought his Bullet. Man, it was a memorable trip. We started late (damn early morning plans) and encountered the harsh sun on our way to Chennai. If only we had started 3 hours earlier. The ride from Bangalore to Chennai is quite dry. There is pretty much no scenic views, except for the hills made of huge boulders. Hardly any shade to stop, and absolutely no decent places to stop for refreshments. We couldn't wait to reach Chennai. Thankfully my back did not give way. 
Surprisingly, Chennai was not as hot as we expected and we were glad we made the decision to go there for the weekend. We sat by the beach and enjoyed the cool breeze from the Bay of Bengal. We ate some really delicious Chettinad food throughout the trip. The last day, we drove to Mahabalipuram. It was fun, bit slightly crowded. We started our return trip at 4 am and that was one good decision. The journey back was totally opposite of the onward journey. We quite enjoyed the sunrise and breakfast on the roadside. 

 Boats galore !

 Sunset in Mahabalipuram

 Noone can beat coffee from South India

Early morning ride back home

March was a special month. Looking forward to April now :)