Contemplations and Ruminations

There are some movies that forever get etched into your being, they somehow end up shaping you by influencing you. I had two movies like that... The Sound of Music and You've Got Mail. I've seen The Sound of Music more times than I can remember. Ever since I first saw that movie as a kid, I've been hooked to it. Loved everything about it, the songs, the dances (specifically the Austrian Folk dance, the Laender), the dresses, the scenery, Captain Von Trapp and Maria. In fact my love for wedding gowns stemmed from watching Maria on her wedding day with that long flowing trail... made a vow to wear one on my wedding too. I was even fascinated with Liesl (Charmian Carr) the eldest daughter in her pink ruffled dress singing I am 16, she looked so beautiful and grown up... I remember thinking 16 is so far away and wanting to grow up soon to be 16 like her. Even now when life tends to get a little bit rough, just singing 'I have confidence in me' or 'These are a few ...

I was home last week and it was awesome... spent my time visiting the people I like and seeing places. Here are a few pix's... Took this picture from the train as it was creeping into my place slowly in the morning... seeing the water logged fields and those rolling hazy hills always brings on a palpable sense of excitement. St. Xavier is the patron saint of the town and I was there during his festival, which is a major affair... the whole place is so beautifully lit up and the crowds keep swelling. Anyway, I was kneeling down in church when I see a yellow bus slowly snaking its way to the entrance and I run out to stop it, its the Santhi Nilayam school bus with the special kids inside and I was overjoyed to see them there. Every year during the festival the children are taken on a trip to the cathedral and I remember that on my first day of work at the school I accompanied these kids to the cathedral in November 2004 and it was so beautiful going with them and now whe...

Two TV shows that have caught my interest are ' The Good Wife ' and ' Glee '. The Good Wife is a lot like The Practice ... lots of interesting legal drama and courtroom scenes. The female lead is wonderfully cast and she brings a kind of dignity to the show. Everything about the show is nice, the way the camera captures mundane yet meaningful scenes, the guy from 'Dead Poets society' as one of the partners and the cases they come across. I used to love the Practice, had a huge crush on Dylan McDermott until I saw him as a gay guy in Will and Grace, that ruined the whole image I had of him. Anyway, The Good Wife is really well taken and I hope it becomes popular soon... here's a preview. Another show that is worth watching is Glee, it took me some time to like it though... my sister and the cousins were discussing Glee on facebook and I couldn't understand what the big fuss was about. I mean it's supposed to be like high school musical without Zac Efr...

I heard bout Flipkart.com from Anju and that site has changed my life. All the books that I have been searching for since centuries, are now sitting prettily on my book shelf. Landmark is a thing of the past now... in fact Landmark is not what it used to be anymore, they do not seem to have stock on most of the good books. So I am deliriously thankful to the creators of flipkart, I seriously love you guys... continue with your fabulous work. Talking of books, here are a few people who have enriched my life with their recommendations of the written word... My brother Manoj for buying the ' The Partner ' by John Grisham . Now I hadn't heard of Grisham before so the book was just lying there at home. One day I got bored and picked it up, that was the start of my love affair with Grisham and legal thrillers in general. This was the first John Grisham book I read and it was in a word mindblowing. I couldn't set the book down, my heart was racing away with Patrick Laniga...

I am sitting here munching on hide and seek biscuits and trying to listen to the rain outside, but the sound of machine guns and people screaming keep breaking the silence... Antonio has entered a hospital and he is firing away at random doctors and patients, he is entering the ICU now. I will never understand how GTA IV and similar games are considered fun, I know its funny when you see them dying like that with blood spurting everywhere, kinda like the kill bill series... but after a while it numbs the senses. And the wrestling games are the worst, they are morbidly cruel and violent... atleast in GTA a bullet ends your life and you are not tortured as in the wrestling arena. Well guys will be guys I guess... but they could be a little less morbid. Talking bout morbid stuff, the mindless suicide bombings in Peshawar and other parts of Pakistan is sickening what with so many civilians dying. Reading these stories in the paper is heartbreaking, seeing the acute grief on their faces is ...

Aren't these pictures really pretty... can you believe they were taken down home, in Nagercoil... at a place called Aralvaimozhy... Go here to see more pictures.... or check my photography blog to find out more...

So my sister is very dedicated to her work and that really baffles us (her family members... especially me). If you know my sister, you'll understand why we find this strange... she is and has always been a carefree person, the one who likes to laze around and do nothing in particular. She is more of a people person, she likes hanging out with her ever increasing circle of friends and having a good time. So when I heard that she was working late these days and working during the weekends too, I started to panic. I rang her up yesterday to find out what happened to the sister I used to know... Me : So, what's up? Nam : Nothin much... I have a three day weekend. Me : Great! Do you wannna come here, shall I book the tickets? (note how loving and kind I am) Nam : No, don't go booking anything. I will have to go to office tomorrow. Me : But I thought you said you had a long weekend...? Nam : Yeah, it is a holiday but I volunteered to go and help. Me : I am deeply touched by y...

There are some people who are birthday maniacs (like Shilpa and Nameeta) and then there are the others who just want a nice quiet peaceful day (meaning me)... I don't know why but I was never keen on celebrating my birthday. I like celebrating others birthday like Elvis, Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) & Michael Ballack ... okay I'm kidding, I celebrated Elvis's birthday only once and I happen to remember Ronaldo's and Ballack's birthday because they fall close to mine. A long time back during one of those crazy world cup days (I used to cut out pictures of footballers from the newspapers and maintain a scrap book on them... the craze returns every four years but I don't do the scrap book thing anymore) a cousin Sunoj asked me when my birthday was and here's the ensuing conversation... Sunoj: When is your birthday? Me: Two days after Ronaldo's and two days before Michael Ballack's. Sunoj: Oh... Me: When is your birthday? Sunoj: 9 days bef...

The Fox and the Child ( Le renard et l'enfant) This is an amazingly beautiful movie, its a story about this little girl's fascination with a fox and how she roams the mountain side searching for the wild fox. The entire movie is set against the backdrop of some mountains in France and each and every frame is blindingly pure and pristine, it'll make you wish you were living in that little mountainside village instead of in a city thick with smoke and people. Another interesting thing about the movie is that there are hardly any people in it... just the little freckled girl (with her hair rolled up into buns at the side of her head, very cute) and the elusive fox. Kate Winslet narrates the story in English and the movie takes on a documentary tone... oh, don't roll your eyes, when I say documentary I mean it in a good way, like those amazing documentaries on discovery or the natural geographic channel. Watch that movie, you will love it... and then start saving for that t...

Came across these spectacular churches while trying to search for simple and rustic ideas for my (very soon to be constructed) church back home. Thorn Crown Chapel This is the Thorn Crown Chapel located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas... looks pretty neat huh. Church of Hallgrímur The Hallgrímskirkja (a Lutheran church) is located in Iceland, and it is designed to resemble basalt lava flows that are characteristic of Iceland. The church is also used as an observation tower. Chapelle of Saint Michel The Chapelle of Saint Michel perched atop a needle of a rock is located in Auvergne, France. 268 stone steps wind their way up to this quaint little ancient church. Doesn't it look absolutely dreamy... Borgund Stave Church This is the Borgund Stave Church located in Lærdal, Norway... t'was built somewhere in the late 12th century, definitely awesome. Las Lajas Cathedral The Las Lajas Cathedral (Sanctuary of our Lady) located in Columbia, South America is certainly awe inspiri...