The Great Indian Ennui (in Cricket - what else?)

The Indian cricket fans are going through a nightmare. But just think of those poor men out in the middle. They must be so not enjoying this period. That is when they are awake. It is as if a haze has settled over the Boyzzz in Blue - post World Cup. Oh they have managed a series win - against England in a ODI series at home. But thats something they can do blindfolded - win ODI matches at home against England.

So how does this post WC ennui work? When Tendulkar goes out to practise (that is if he does bother, or if the coach dares to bother him) -  dont you think there would be a buzz of WC WC around his head. Plus a more significant and exasperating buzz - 100100...100100. No wonder he looks to be chasing those flies away.

What would be happening when the Great Dhoni goes out to practise. No one has let him forget in the last 8 months that he is so perfect and great and humble. The guy must be just so confused too. Its a wonder if he can tell a practise from a T-20 from a Test from an ODI or for batting from a commercial. Or if he is batting for his country, or his bosses in IPL, or his wifey or for his ads bosses...I dont remember when I last saw a person so busy with the limelight so firmly refusing to waver.

The same haze seems to have enveloped Viru and Gambhir. While individually they are looking like a pair of stuffed puppies -  together they seem to be putting on a show called Zombie learns tap-dancing. It doesnt auger well for Gambhir. WC followed by marriage gets to the best of them. Earth to Gambhir - you are not Sehwag - you have not scored 2 Triples - you CANNOT get away with it. Sehwag can get away with anything - maybe even murder - because those "you blink and you miss" inningses of his are so delightful - arent they?

So winning over the Australians has been solely on the shoulders of some great players like Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav - with all of 4 test matches between them before the Perth Test. Zaheer Khan - well he was also part of the WC - the haze, remember? Ishant Shama anyways has been in an alt world since he was picked to be "the player of the future" a few years back. In our country greatness strikes and affects more surely than lightning strikes a field of unearthed metal towers on a plateau.

Frankly speaking, we fans are left speechless by the display. Get these boys down to earth - give them a year, maybe more, off - allow them to shake it off and get back to playing in maybe a couple or dozen or so years - who knows - they may win another World Cup

I have not mentioned Duncan Fletcher. I know the guy takes a salary. But we are hospitable - we dont like foreign coaches to be accountable (same as star players) and give them a long enough rope to tie everyone in knots

Fried Chicken Curry (Dry) - Easy to Cook Recipe

Dry Chicken (South Indian Style)

This is an easy to cook chicken recipe that I tried today. It turned out really well, much to my surprise. This dried chicken recipe has a tangy peppery taste and should be good to eat with chapatti. We had it with steamed rice though for Sunday lunch.

Ingredients and Preparation

Chicken (500 gm)
Ginger garlic paste (2 tsp)
Chilli powder
Turmeric powder
Curry Powder (Any good one like Gemini, Everest, Ruchi, MTR, etc)) - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves
Green Chillies - To taste
Mustard paste (ready made or home made) - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 2-3 tbsp
Ground Pepper - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 2 big
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Marinate Chicken (500 g) with ginger garlic paste (2 tsp), turmeric powder, chilli powder, vinegar, green chilli (1-2), half tsp mustard paste (I used the Heinz mustard paste that I keep for hotdogs), freshly ground pepper and 2 tsp curry powder (I used Ruchi's Curry Powder). Try to marinate for at least 30 minutes or so, so that the flavours soak in. It is however ideal to marinate for 3 hours.

Slice 2 big onions and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep wok (Kadhai). Add the mustard seeds. Add the onions and fry. Add the curry leaves and marinated chicken. Add a sliced green chilli. Add salt to tase. Fry on high heat till the water evaporates. Add a little water. Cover it leave it to simmer on low heat. Stir in between to see that the chicken doesn't stick to the pan.

Cooking time - Approx 20-30 Min depending on the quality of poultry.

Something Good

Ah a New Year... I know something good is wating for me round the corner, just hoping the corner shows up faster!

Analyse Your Dreams

I just came across a very interesting website. The site www.dreamforth.com is a free online dreams analysis website. How does it work?

Dream Dictionary - The site has a dream dictionary where you find different terms and objects alphabetically and you can find what it means to dream of them.

Otherwise enter your dream and click interpret to find out what it implies.

Suppose you have dreamed of the sea. Find out what it means here at Dreamforth.com

http://www.dreamforth.com/search.php?query=sea&type=dreams&page=1

Don't know if it works or not or how much of the subconscious one gets to understand from the interpretation. Often one wakes up from a ridiculous dream and wonders what it could really mean. This dictionary might help! In my opinion, its quite a lot of fun - if you dont take it seriously!

My dreams are mostly long and protracted - nothing as simple as, for eg, a rose or the sea or goats - how does one interpret them? Maybe there are other sites out there.

Top 5 Reasons to Watch Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Zingdagi Na Miliegi Dobara is Zoya Akhtar revisiting Dil Chahta Hai – though in an entirely different setting. If a tribute to Dil Chahta Hai was to be shot – ZNMD would fit the bill.

1 – Farhan Akhtar does an amazing job as the down to earth, irreverent, don’t give a damn guy. He is one of the main reasons the movie was so likeable. He excels in dancing and singing too as a huge bonus!

2 - The bonding between the characters – a lot has been said about this bonding. The times the trio spent on the set as “friends” comes across in the movie. None of the scenes seemed forced – even the emotionally heavy scenes come out naturally. Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay complement each other perfectly. Hrithik doesn’t get the heavy star treatment – and that makes all the difference. Katrina Kaif’s presence doesn’t let it be a tedious all-male show!

3 - The Spain road scene – Just traveling through a foreign locale, not just along the tulip route, adds a separate dimension. The movie travels through the narrow winding roads of small Spanish towns, from the beach to the mountains. It covers the colorful tomatina festival too with a “Bollywoodish” song!

4 - The Music – Whether it is the tomatina song “Ik Junoon”, Dil Dhadakne Do or the “Senorita” sung by Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay – the songs vibe with youthful energy. Shankar Ehsaan Loy with lyricist Papa Javed Akthar have ensured that the album will not soon be forgotten.

5. The entire package – Director Zoya Akhtar must be credited with making a sensible fast paced, lovable movie that is not just a soppy romance. The various nuances and layers to the funny dialogues add an extra dimension to this road movie. There are some straight adrenaline pumping scenes like a free fall from an aircraft, deep sea diving or a terrifying running with the bulls at the climax. However the fun and adventure is inter weaved into an emotional roller coaster as the trio face their fears and find out what they want from life while getting in touch with themselves. All as they negotiate the narrow roads of Spain.

Verdict – Must watch

A Shopping Trip to Mid Valley Mega Mall

There’s a trite phrase for it. Retail therapy. It is not just a therapy, it is a lifeline – it is addictive, drains the wallet, submerges the wardrobe and gives me pleasant dreams for weeks. As the long summer holidays drew to a close - I badly needed the distractions of a mall to get away from CN and Nick at home. Mid Valley Megamall called out to me for an extended trip!



I was almost out of a few toiletery items and there was a good sale on at Guardian – that was the trigger for the trip.



As I crossed the optical store at Mid Valley, I realized there was a huge sale in frames and lenses. Now, for the past 1.5 years I have been thinking of having my eye checked and getting new frames. Somehow sitting at home – hasn’t made this as imminent as it would have been otherwise. I dropped in and soon found my eyes getting thoroughly checked by a London trained Optician. Of course to no surprise, there was a small power change with an increase in astigmatism. I don’t know how, but I soon found myself choosing a nice new titanium frame and making a small deposit on it. I had over over exceeded my budget before I had even really entered the mall!


I got my stuff at the Guardian with what I considered great savings. Those nice new knee braces which I was waiting to get at a sale came at a 40% discount for just Rm 14 – when I purchased items worth Rm 100. Pleased with myself, I got some grocery and other items, drooled over the MNG and Zara stuff and returned home.


The next day I had to go again to pick up my new glasses. I remembered about an upcoming Birthday and also got a toy at Toys R Us at a nice discount. That was when I saw the British India Sale. British India is one brand that I love. A bit pricey, so I have been eyeing their annual sale for some time. I had missed it last year – and I found I was at the fag end of their clearance this time too. How could I miss it?



I soon found myself trying out their stuff. I hit upon one – that seemed to have been left just for me. A nice lovely purple skirt at a hefty discount. It was just one size bigger – but almost neatly fitted me. I took it – I hardly ever lose weight and the skirt (at its price) was too good to be true. It looked a dream. As I picked it up – the saleswoman asked whether I wouldn’t like a top with it? So I looked and found a nice one at – again – 70% discount! The tunic was just a size short though. Well, all my efforts to slim down will soon bear fruits, I thought, as I bought it just before I was about to get out....


So went my retail therapy...

(Originally published at Xomba.com at http://www.xomba.com/shopping-trip-mid-valley. Mid Valley Megamall is one of the biggest shopping malls at Kuala Lumpur - and in my opinion the most diverse)

Transformers 3 - Dark of the Moon - My Review

I was privileged to watch a premiere show of Transformers 3 two days back. Not having done my homework (in fact I was confusing this movie with Schwarzeneggar's Terminator - till we hit the theatre) - I was initially at a loss about the movie.

Here's my take on the show!

Of all the irrelevant things in the movie - the worst is the title. Dark of the Moon has very little relevance to the actual movie. Return of the Cybertron or something lke that would have made more sense.

What was the movie about?

How can an entire planet (Cybertron) be transported back to earth? Wont they clash? Come on - we are scared stiff and predict wholescale destruction when a tiny meteor comes close. An entire planet....puhleeze!

Shia LeBeouf in Transformers 3

What exactly was Shia LeBeouf's role in this edition of Transformers? Other than providing some cute moments and running from pillar to post for no apparent reason - he could have been written out of the script - and the movie would have remained the same!

Can Autobots be Killed?

How exactly were the Autobots or the Decepticons killed? They seemed to reform themselves at their will and no one seemed to have a clue how to deal with them - till the last few scenes when the snipers are instructed to go for the eyes!

The Final Mission

Now what was that last mission? I thought it was to take a hit at the "pillars" that were to teleport the Cybertron with the single shot left. However that seemed to be forgotten and everyone just seemed to be fighting each other, the NSA, the Seals, the Bots - till Shia LeBeouf remembers about the pillars!

What a Looonnnng Climax!

The climax was way way too long! Clip it off by 20 mins - movie would be fine. i mean one can only so much spfx of autobots and decepticons fight with humans caught and mangled in between and still manage to come out of it in one fine piece.

Having got out of the way my grouse against the movie - I must admit I enjoyed major portions of it. I am not really a bot and sci-fi and action movie fan. But I have had to adjust my tastes to watch movies with the children. So last week I had to watch Green Lantern - and now Transformers. And Transformers 3 was way way better of course.

Here are some reasons why.

Rosey Huntington - Whiteley

She was fun, sexy and a slightly toned down version of Cameron Diaz.

She was the perfect antidote to the tedium of men and machines. Having not watched the other two prequels to Transformers - I cant compare her to Megan Fox. I have a feeling she will be a great hit. I especially liked the part where her Mercedez (gifted by her boss) turns into a Dr. Ock kind Decepticon, to her shock!

Bumblebee and the Bots

The loyal Bumblebee and Optimus Prime really stole the show as the good guys leaving the men far behind. Even though it is a mystery to me why they chose to protect mere earthlings over their land Cybertron - I couldn't help but be grateful for it at the end. In fact they emoted much better than some of the queer earthlings!

John Turturro

John Turturro and Alan Tudyk as Simmons and Dutch had some of the best sequences in the movie. Turtorro as a writer and ex - Security man who has been paralysed in a Decepticon attack, was sharp and fun to watch.

Special Effects

This shouldnt be a surprise. The Transformers 3 is all about Special Effects. Starting with the moon sequence - the movie has dream SFX. In the last hour of the movie, the plot was all but forgotten to showcase some amazing scenes! There was an amazing airmen free fall sequence, a slide down the side of a collapsing glass building, a great number of autobots and decepticons fights and much more.

First Half of the Movie

The top half of the movie was a treat to watch. There seemed to be a real plot developing with Optimus Prime waking up Sentinel. There were Megatron and Sentinel Prime in a secret pact. Simmons and Witwicky were fast discovering the extent of the plot. Buzz Aldrin was meeting the training autobots. There were two cute autobot pets who kept up the interest. Rich playboy Dempsey and Diaz look alike Rosie Huntington- Whiteley provided the distraction.

As the mosaic of the plot came together - one didnt have a clue it would fall apart (literally) so dramatically in the later half of the movie!

Verdict - Worth a watch - and in 3D!

Originally published at Xomba.com at
http://www.xomba.com/top-5-reasons-i-didnt-transformers-3-dark-moon and
http://www.xomba.com/top-5-reasons-why-you-can-watch-transformers-3