Guru - A Review

Rating : 7 /10

Guru is a story about a village boy who after a brief stint working abroad starts his own business in India and makes a huge success out of it. He is helped initially by the editor of a newspaper , a role played really well by Mithun Chakraborty. Later on , Guru starts employing unlawful means for business development and uses Mithun's paper as a medium to brow-beat competitors when he is away on vacation. Mithun-da gets mad and decides to turn the tables on Guru . Enter Madhavan , a bright young reporter investigating Guru's enterprise . Vidya Balan is his love interest and Mithun's daughter . Oh yes ! Aishwarya Rai is Abhishek's wife , Sujata , who is the dutiful perfect wife we see in so many Hindi movies . The movie ends with a 4.5 minute speech by Abhishek, during an enquiry into his nefarious ways, which totally and absolutely fails to deliver .

The first half of the movie is interesting and holds your interest , but the build up falls apart as the second half progresses. Abhishek Bacchan does a decent job as Guru delivering lines such as ' Lado to guru ki tarah par yaad rakhna ki guru sirf ek hi hai ' without looking over-pompous . Aishwarya Rai cannot dance . Or Mani Ratnam has asked her to not dance too well because she is after all a 'gaon ki ladki' which then ,is very good acting, but I really do doubt that . Mallika Sherawat's item number oozes oomph - very sexy . The lady does expose and how ! Vidya Balan and Madhavan have small roles which are essayed well and with confidence. The cinematography is obviously fantastic , Maniratnam and Rajiv Menon really deliver on that count. The music does not seem all that great , not Rahman level , except ' Barso re Megha Megha ' which is pretty catchy.

Worth a watch , if you are jobless .

My present state

I am an old man , sitting on a rocking chair , slowly swaying,
back and forth , back and forth ,
not thinking , not wanting to think,
not talking , not wanting to talk,
the only conscious movement being the effort
to keep the chair in motion .

One day , some day , I will be liberated,
Then , I will get up and realize,
I have been wasting
my f*****g time.

Dawn in October

' What a tragedy ! ' , they all said. ' Rather unfortunate for such a young man so full
of spirit and goodness ' . And sad it was indeed . Ankit Roy was a technical entrepreneur who knew where to go and most importantly when to go . Largely successful in most of his ventures , he had made a name for himself in the industry at a fairly young age. And just when everything was going fine and life was all sunshine , his wife died .

I was hired to take care of Mr.Ankit. His was indeed the worst case I had seen in quite some time. I was told that they had been married for just about 4 months , that she was more than perfect for him and that they got along so well . ' Lord Shiva and Parvathi would have been jealous ' , the maid said . I am always very friendly with the household staff . They seem to have most of the information needed to help my patients.

They apparently met at a party hosted by Ankit's father to celebrate his sixtieth birthday . She was the daughter of an acquaintance and was , like most of the vernal populace in such parties , bored . That was when he noticed her , walking about.She stood apart , a lone streak of light on a dark night . They got talking and the rest is history . I saw a full picture of her hanging on the wall . She was definitely not what people would call a traditional beauty . But then , there was this quiet charm and grace which was quite unmistakable, even enchanting . The maid said that she was very kind to them , giving them nice presents on festival days and always treating them
with respect.

The loss hit Ankit very badly . He was totally shattered by this sudden cruel twist in his life. Jolted to an alternate reality by this sudden shock , he rarely spoke and was barely alive himself . He was not eating enough food and most of the times , we had to feed him intravenously to keep up his energy levels. I thought that the phase would pass in a month and that he would return to normalcy , but it seemed as though some part of his body was ripped from him and would never come back . His state remained hopeless . This was when I suggested that he be taken away from this house . His thoughts were torture enough ; he need not be reminded of
her externally .

So we went to this beautiful small house by the shores of a small lake . The house was set at an elevation, near the hills and the weather was close to perfect , maybe a tad too cold . It had two small bedrooms , a spacious hall and a chimney . The view of the hills from the window was breathtaking. The caretaker had maintained the house well and I thought it was just perfect . Ankit looked curious when we first brought him here , I thought I saw a flicker of recognition . But then , it reverted back to his empty gaze . His father told me he had searched long and hard
to find this house in the hills .

A month passed by . Ankit's state improved slightly , but not too much . He did eat more , and he started writing . He would spend hours by the window just gazing blankly , scribbling a few lines on to his pad now and then . This was the worst case I had seen to date . Can the loss of someone close affect a person so much ? Could it drive one to such a state of despair ? Apparently it could. Ankit's case was unique and it raised many questions . How could I help him come back ? A few days passed by , without much happening . Then one day , early in the
morning , I heard a sound and got up with a start . Ankit was very restless , tossing and turning in his bed , the night lamp lay broken on the floor . I happened to gaze out of the window and noticed that the light in the small dock near the lake was on and was flickering. The dock looked beautiful in the mist . It was a small open hut like structure with two benches . I thought it would be really nice to actually go out there , the sun would be up soon anyway . So on an impulse , I woke Ankit up , got him dressed and took him out to the dock .

He came without protest . The light in the hut had now , surprisingly gone off . The air was fresh and the scenery amazing . I took a deep breath , letting the air fill my lungs and freshness , my soul . The dulcet chirping of birds started and slowly, the deep black of the sky transformed to lighter shades of blue. Ankit sat on the bench , silently , looking out into the lake , clutching his handkerchief . I did not attempt to talk to him now . Silence seemed much more meaningful.

As we sat there , me drinking in the beauty, and Ankit staring far away , a beautiful yellow butterfly fluttered by . Ankit , seemed captivated by it . It came back , perched on his shoulder for a second and then fluttered away. Something changed in Ankit. I could see it. He got up , slowly and held the railing . A small tear rolled down his cheek as he gave me his handkerchief . It had a yellow butterfly embroidered on the bottom left corner. As the winter sun , slowly rose
and the mist lifted leaving minute drops of dew on our skins , he did something which he had not done in the two months I had been with him. He smiled.

--X--

PS: The above is part of the Creative Writing Assignment submitted by me . My Creative writing teacher rocks. I am so in love with her [:)] .

FIR

Fantastic Internet Radio .

Help improve the world. Do something useful. And when you are not involved in such pursuits , relax by listening to heart-warming music .

Check out Pandora .

It

It envelopes me.
It is ugly.
But I do not close my eyes.
It screams ,
The deranged screams of a maniac,
But I listen.
Its stench is revolting,
But I smell
And keep smelling .
Transfixed I stand ,
Like a zombie I follow ,
As it drags me towards eternal damnation.

No new posts !

Sorry , people who have been regularly visiting my small nondescript place on the web . I shall be back in a month .

PS : If you are here , you might as well leave a comment . I shall visit you soon :)

TAG ! - 8 things

"And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. " - Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society

Tagged by Deepthi .

I have been asked to enlist 8 things not known to anybody . I'd rather call it 8 things not known to most .

1) I hide behind a mask all the time . Many people know Harish , but nothing about him .I am
slowly realising the stupidity of it all . Being more open of late and socialising better .

2) My social skills suck BIG TIME . So in gatherings , I usually shut up.The how do you do ?
How is your mother ? How is your grandmother ? How is your grandmother's younger brother's cousin's husband ? .... Just does not work for me . I just cant make day-to day conversation.Very pointless . My telephone conversations last , at max , 5 minutes . . except with my darling sister .

3) I have very few good friends , countable on the fingers ... of one hand .

4) I recently went out on a date ( technically atleast ) [ :P ] . And no , I shall not reveal any
more details , so Shhhh ! Secret !

5) I flip when I listen to a sweet voice . Sometime , someday , I hope and wish somebody will
sing to me and for me alone ala Before Sunset .

6) I have gone many a times to cinemas alone . Sunday evenings , sometimes , I just take off and go see a movie all by myself . Some of my friends find that very strange. I get totally involved
in movies and many times prefer to watch them alone , without any disturbance , in one
stretch . And , yes , I cry when some scene touches me ... like the scene in Patch Adams when he apologizes to her and reads her the Pablo Neruda peace ...

7) I look like a ruffian . Good for me :) . I love my beard and have , to date regretted it
everytime I shave it off . I feel much more comfortable with my beard ! Mebbe because I
look much better with most of my face covered [:P] .

8) Most of my life is like a periodic signum function ( Desperate attempt at pseud putting *) .
Suddenly I am king of all worlds and then again , suddenly a pointlessly depressed pebble .
I am slowly getting out of this stupidity and starting to lead a happier life . With age comes
wisdom [:P]

If you want to know more about me , you could always read the
20 things about me tag .

I tag

Hedonia Better do something about your URL !
MRL Came back recently to grace us with her presence [:)]
Swap who is now lost as lost can be .

Feel

Why do you look so sad , my lover
Why do you look so sad ?

Look at the deep dark sea
Swirling in restless tranquility
Look at the silver studded moon
Moving slowly yet too soon
Look at the the beauty of twilight
A transient breath of uncertainty
Look at me this moment
Thrown beyond happiness or pleasure
Beyond anything describable
By your touch and the feel of your breath

She smiled , the most beatific smile
and rested her head and her worries on my lap.

And we had a talk ...

Music comes in many many forms . Most of the time , though , of late , it has just become something routine which plays on your computer when you are home . Then suddenly , out of the blue , a piece just pulls you , tuggs at you and reminds you why music is such an inseperable part of the human soul . I had such an experience and this time it was a brilliant piece by none other than the maestro of Tamil music ; Ilayaraja .

The piece I am talking about is titled ' And we had a talk ' from his album ' How to name it ' . This album shows Ilayaraja's musical genius as he uses western classical influences , especially Bach , in an Indian context . Its a delight to listen to !

And we had a talk has a violin conversation in which the violin actually converses ! A true masterpiece . The first part is just way too awesome and I assure you ,will put you in a trance .
I have just come out of it , after listening to the piece a hundred thousand times . It is one of the gems of Indian music you should'nt miss.

Get a Life! (Part I)

Its office time! I love my plush new office, the fountain at the entrance, the well arranged parking space, but most of all I love my own personalized cubicle. It offers me the comfort of my own private space in a maze of cells. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Harish. If I were to introduce myself, Bond style, I'd probably say 'A glass of ginger-lime, shaken, not stirred. By the way, I’m Introverted, acutely Introverted. '

The dictionary defines an introverted person to be a person predominantly concerned with his/her own thoughts & feelings rather than with external things. It also says someone who is introverted is a shy inwardly thoughtful person. That’s exactly what I am and I am happy and contented. People are always talking about how they are so lonely and need company. Why? Why when you can do what you please with your imagination?

For example, the paper weight on my desk is sufficient entertainment for me. All I need to do is say paperweight and let my mind go! The paper weight is pyramidal in shape. Pyramids! Those sophisticated wonders of architecture; I should go to Egypt sometime and see them. If I go to Egypt, I should definitely visit the Sphinx. I have a question for the Sphinx! What was that fanatic thinking when he cut your nose off? And there five minutes of unlimited entertainment. Who needs people? There is so much to think! So much to visualize!

But then, today was one of the days when my imagination was not helping much. The paperweight looked just as it was, a plain transparent paperweight and I was soon bored. So, I decided to look around for more interesting objects. I stood up and then there she was. She looked gorgeous! Her hair was casually tied up, with a few strands trickling down her fair face . She stroked her neck, contemplating some matter of supreme importance and then, with a look of determination, started typing away on her keyboard.

I sat down and my imagination started kicking in. She looked regal and graceful. Maybe she could be the daughter of a count and me a young prince. They would organize a huge party and being the most eligible bachelor around, I would ask of her to dance with me. As the band played Tchaikovsky's ' Dance of the Swans ' we would dance and all other couples would look at us with envy. Then dinner would be served and she would be enchanted by my deep knowledge of the random motion of electrons .We would then sneak away to the terrace , where in the enchanting moonlight , my cell shall ring .It was my boss calling !

Better get going!

I never seemed to tire of her. Once, she was a Kuchipudi dancer, being tortured by her maternal uncle to marry him and then, she was an animal rights activist, fighting a losing battle with ruthless poachers to save the three horned rhinoceros. And always, I was there to help her out, save the day and live happily ever after. All I needed was one look at her and all these thoughts flowed automatically to keep me entertained.

One day, I got up to get my glimpse when she turned around and our eyes met. My heart started beating faster and I felt something hollow in my throat. This had never happened before! Not even in my imagination! It was a feeling I couldn’t explain. She then smiled a most charming smile, one that could melt a heart as hard as the material my paperweight was made of and then continued with her work. Life just got so much more interesting. Maybe I could ask her out sometime…

To be continued…

No more bullshit !

I am unhappy with my progress. So no more bullshit ! . I am going to change . Thats the bottom line.

Books - Tag !

Tagged by Solitary Reaper.

Book that changed my life : Every book changes your life. The question is how big a change are we talking about ? Real dramatic change ? None so far.

One book I'd want on a desert island : The BhagavathGita / Ramayana /Mahabharata :) .

One book that made me laugh :any Wodehouse ( wonder why I cant think of anything else ? )

One book that made me cry : Love Story ( The last line had its effect :( Dont blame me , it is my first mushy mushy read )

One book you wish had been written: 100 ways to torture yourself out of Laziness.

One book you wish had never been written : Any Harold Robbins . Geez ! Such stuff will make pornstars blush !

One book you are currently reading : Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder

Mostly consisting of dialogues between the titular Sophie Amundsen and a mysterious man named Alberto Knox, interwoven with an increasingly bizarre and mysterious plot, it acts as both a novel and a basic guide to Philosophy. Courtesy Wikipedia .

Book I have been meaning to read : The Romantic Manifesto ( Rand ) Rand's opinion on art and its purpose in human life.

Tagged !

The good thing and the bad thing about tags is that you don't have to think too much :)

Tagged by Sid.
Sid's link led me to the Bad English Contest , which I eventually won. Thanks dude !

I a’m thinking about: Whether I will ever be able to reclaim my self-confidence in Acad related matters .

I said: Be good , do good and punch that egotistical snob on his face.

I want to: Go on atleast one perfect date before I am 25 . Not too hopeful though . I seem to have too much female repellant on me .

I wish: I could stop procrasting. Its hurting me bad . Real bad.

I hear: Norah's soft cooing . Love her songs.

I wonder: If people will ever realise that life is such a wonderful gift and stop cribbing. (Atleast those people to whom life has been good.It probably has if you are reading this. )

I regret: Having stopped singing and learning Classical music when my voice broke. Ill regret that forever.

I am: A sentimental romantic fool who is confused about most things in his life.

I dance: When I am extremely happy and nobody else is around . I am extremely self-conscious.

I sing: well . Atleast used to . I like to hum the tunes of different ragas my own way . Create my own music.

I cry: whenever there is emotion in scenes involving the arts - music and dance . I was crying like a baby in those scenes in the Titanic where these musicians decide to walk away and then regroup . * Boo hoo*

I make with my hands: Music on my Keyboard .

I write: Only when I am inspired or need to put pseud ;) .

I confuse: some of my close friends because of my pseudo-oscillatory behaviour.

I need: Cash . Lots of it :)

I tag :

Swap
MRL
Humesh Anna
Deeps
Hedonia

I Rule ! Again

I am bad .. I am bad .. You know it ! You know it !

Well , After SAARANG 2005 , my bad bad brains needed a little flexing .
So I won the Bad English Writing Competition .

THANK YOU ! Mr. Bombay Addict .


My Entry in full :

The Matrix - A Revew

This movie it be one of my favorite.It has action like my hero Dharmendhar who also fly and escape any bullet which come my way.They have very cool name like Neo , Morphus and Trinty. . Morphus has deep voice and also speak very good dialoges by himself.My favourite dialogue is him saying do you eat red pill or will swallow blue pill to Neo. Morphus is so sofsticated and poise and panache but Neo look like he dont know what happening . Sometime I feel like getting up and kicking his mud head into sense. The movie I dont understood but action good ,so I see movie many many time.Agent Smith who is secret agent like James Bond but have no cool number like 007.I highly recomends movie for action liking peoples because action be made in Amrica studio and is very good."



PS : The Matrix Rocks ! Forgive me Trinity if you are reading this :)

I RULE !

Ode to a friend

A gentle touch , a comforting word
A hug and a pat , worth the world
A bond only love transcends
Thank you , for being my friend

- Harish

Hope of Love

I am a romantic , a believer in the ideal
What will she say ? What will she say ?
Will I find love ? I sometimes wonder ,
Love is a powerful word .

If seeking love gives ecstacy in itself
How much more wonderful it would be
To have her close by, as she is now in my heart
Imagination does not help me now

Will the rose be a 'rose' if not for love
A morning dew on its soft petal
Adds melancholy to my loneliness
As I seek and want and desire

A hand to hold , her lips to kiss,
eyes to express and a heart to feel
What joy it fills me with,
The sweet hope of love .

-- Harish Suryanarayana

-

Its dark outside , really dark . I have seen this kind of dark only in my dreams . You know those dreams in which there isnt actually anything and it is just dark, an all-pervading dark you wish there were some light but it does not come . You want to wake up but you cant . Your body is immobile but your mind is working .Its thinking all kinds of shitty stuff .I wonder... How? Why ? . I shout shut up but no . It wont listen . It just wont listen . What do I do ? What do I do ? I need tranquility but I cant find it anywhere . Life's a rush and sleep is torture . Why ?

A View

Yesterday , I had to go the Chennai Central Railway station to see my dad off . The route i usually take is to go to Guindy from IIT and then use the local train service to get to park . Unfortunately for me , the time of departure of the train was set at 2000 hrs . Me being the introverted , IIT is the only place inm Chennai kind of fellow , did not realize what an ordeal it would be to travel on the metros during peak hours . On reaching Guindy , the line for taking the ticket itself was a mile long . That apart , the platform was also full . Apparently ,no train had come by for the past 15 minutes . As I stood helplessly for about 10 more minutes amongst a mass of humanity . The guy standing next to me at station kept emptying the respectable contents of his mouth on to the railway track . Then the train arrived . It was already full of people . I was starting to feel sick now . How many people ? But as i huffed and puffed and pushed my way into the train , I was able to find an isolatde spot where people wont disturb me . Thank God for that . But when I did get down at the Park station , did I get a photosnap moment . Hundreds of people heads bobbing up and down in motion in that small street . Am I also one of them ? Yes. It felt different . A new feeling of what do I say ? I am unable to put it in words . But the thing is sometimes ,when you go out of your cocooned protected world , you do get shocked .
There is so much pain and suffering in the world . Cripples , visually challenged people trying to make a living and live a decent life . We should all be so happy that we atleast have what we have . It is our duty to perform our duties , to ourselves first , then to family , country and humankind .


PS : Back to blogger after a brief stint at Yahoo! Answers .Its pretty cool !

My internship !

Yes ! Its true .. I have been working ! I have been slogging my a** off . Yes sir . I have an approximately 10 hour work day with 2 hrs of travel . To think this is how my life is going to be in the future is pretty scary . I have been pretty busy people and I am tired . My blog has become rather redundant . I shall try to do something about it . Goodnight .. yaaaawn

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

- Kalidasa