Child labor law

So, Indian govt. finally came around to ban child labor. High time, for sure.

What good does it do, though? So those few kids who could manage to feed themselves will be out on the streets, as the concept of foster care or social services is almost non-existent. A well-meant action falls flat if it is not practical.

How many people are going to heed the law? In a nation where monogamy is the law, but widely ignored, where most politicians are corrupt and where red tapes are millions of miles long, how is this going to change the state of things?

I might seem quite cynical, but without providing some means of support to these kids, there is no point in removing whatever self-support they might have.

Book reco - Arthurian legend

My friend recommended these books to me sometime back. They are about Merlin the magician. They are supposedly some of the best on the topic. I have to agree. The first one, Crystal Cave, is about Merlin's younger years and his growth to become the high king's prophet. The second one, Hollow Hills, is about his helping Arthur to be crowned the high king. Fascinating reading, to say the least. I have yet to read the third in this trilogy, The Last Enchantment, as soon as I can lay my hands on it.

Her tales are very descriptive, and in this trilogy, it helps in bringing these stories to life for the reader. Anyone interested in magic tales, fantasy or just well written fiction, would enjoy this book.

recycling gifts

I came across this article today, about re-gifting.

Sometimes we end up getting duplicate gifts or end up with gifts that are not suited to us at all. I don't see anything wrong in recycling them. The survey says about 78% of pollers have done it.

And then there are the gag gifts which do the rounds, because their usefulness ends right there.

Now, what are the chances you get the same gift that you gave away? Would the same concept as 7 degrees of separation work here?

LRMB

It was a pleasure to watch Munna Bhai and Circuit go at it again. I think sending this movie to the oscars is fully justified. The message conveyed is definitely the need of the day. This is of course too much idealism, impractical for today's world. But, may be this saturation will help a little bit at least.

Arshad Warsi's comic timing is great, as witnessed in some of his recent movies too. To me, he was the best thing in the movie. If I can enjoy a movie inspite of a dopey faced hero, it is all because of this sidekick.

Vidya Balan is beautiful and acts well too. Her "Goodmo...rning Mumbai" has become a rage at home, with my kids trying it out at the top of their voices, every chance they get.

Another important part of the movie is Boman Irani. What an actor! He gets better with every movie, if that's possible.

The songs were enjoyable too. I liked the way they had treated vandemataram.

And no half-baked characters here!

I have always had a soft spot for clean comedies in Hindi, this one is no exception, although I did feel that it was a tad more serious than MB1. Who knows, decades from now, this movie might be as popular as Hrishi da's movies are today!

Gandhigiri zindabad!

Ghajini aunty

A few years back, I met this lady at a party, her husband works with mine. She asked my name and talked to me for some time. Some time later, at another party, she says, "I don't think I have met you before". I didn't think much of it and re-introduced myself. But this repeated everytime I saw her. And she would always, always, walk up to me and say the same thing, ask my name and details. We were invited to her son's wedding reception, and yes, she asked me again. She apologized that her memory was not all that great. Tell me about it! :-)

The weird thing, the conversation was always the same. Asked my name, who was my husband and about my kids, and then, you don't look old enough to have kids, blah blah blah. A sense of deja vu, without really, in her case.

I later, found out that she had this medical condition that made her forget recent events. She remembers other things, older stuff, but not much in her recent past. I wonder how terrible that would be. Then again, may be not.

I met her again a few weeks back and the routine repeated. Since I was more aware of her condition, I indulged her, but didn't engage in a lengthy conversation this time. What's the point?

At the rate that I am losing my memory, I wonder how long will I take to get to her stage.

The dancer moves on

I have long admired Padmini's grace as a dancer. Madurai veeran (Nadagam ellam kanden) still stays fresh in my mind. Marainthirunthu paarkum was one of her best. She recently moved to Chennai, only to move on to better things. It is sad when such a bundle of talent passes away.

pilimpare awards

Missed the beginning half of the show yesterday. But caught last year's comedy man getting his pillim pare award.

Kamal's little girl, Akshara is so beautiful.

Lizzy on screen after a looong time, still looks the same. mostly.

Vikram talked quite a bit. That guy likes to hear his own voice, eh!

Thanga mudiyallai - Namitha's tharuviya tharamattiya, Cheran's new hairstyle.

puriya villai - What was with some of these dancing actresses wearing a long kovanam over their pants?

The kannada actor's (Prem?) tamil, kadichu thuppinaalum, paravayillai, kekka nalla irunthichi. At the other end, Trisha and Asin were pretty, but didn't speak much in the local lingo.

Chimp without moush!

Was there a tremor in Rekha's voice? Still gorgeous though.

Shreya can dance.

Discovered

(Source: Yahoo)

This one has been brought out of hiding! How many more are out there?

Rajini thaatha?

Going thru some spectacular shots of the big wedding on behindwoods.com, came across one that piqued my curiosity.



Is it true?

Remembering them

As a kid, I was heavily influenced by Mrs. Alamelu. She was a strong woman, who inculcated a lot of values and beliefs in me. Her lessons were very interesting, though she mainly taught Hindi, I have had her for Science lessons too, but the best ones were those where she digressed to examples in Hindu mythology or other such. She could sing beautifully, could yell at us if we misbehaved or say a kind word when needed and always motivated her students. She took care of cultural activities too and was a lady of multiple talents. When she decided to move to her village, we felt a keen sense of loss and even though she visited the school once more, we lost her then. A few years later, there was a rumor that she passed away. I hope that was indeed a rumor and she is still spreading sunshine around her.

Mr. A was one of my favorites. He taught French and English and for some reason we had a strong rapport. I kept in touch with him for some time after school years and I do hope to meet him again soon.

Mrs. L was such a sweet lady. Never a harsh word, the strongest reprimand we got was a gentle word to act properly. I owe her my love for English classics, whatever little I have. One more person, I have lost under the wheels of time.

There were the funny ones who (unintentionally) made us enjoy their lectures, the every-angry ones who turned their disappointments on their students and the shy ones who kept to themselves pretty much. Some who inspired and motivated, as they were meant to do.

Today is their day and I salute them.

Book(s) watch

As usual, there are a bunch of books I need to catch up on. Kite Runner is languishing on my nightstand while I try to finish Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson. She is one of my lately discovered writers. Read her which witch? recently. I had bought it for my daughter, but haven't ever heard about it or her, wanted to read it first to see if it was appropriate. Loved it. What's more, I see that she is a contemporary of JKR and shares quite a bit with her (Read here).
Another favorite, Mitch Albom is also out with his latest, for one more day. I have loved his other 2 books and so looking forward to this one too.

Then there is Elizabeth Aston who writes books based on the Darcy's (Jane Austen). Her latest is out, The True Darcy Spirit: A Novel.

Then the master thriller spinner, Baldacci is out (soon to be, rather) with The Collectors, part of the camel club series. A few from my favorite, Nora Roberts, to catch up to.

And then, I feel a distance from Harry Potter that needs to be closed, so got to re-re-read 1/2 blood.

between dance classes, music lessons and soccer practices, I got to squeeze in some soul time.

So little time, so much to do!

Maggie cuts her hair

Anyone who has read "Mill on the Floss" would know what I am refering to.

Tom followed Maggie upstairs into her mother's room, and saw her go at once to a drawer, from which she took out a large pair of scissors.

"What are they for, Maggie?" said Tom, feeling his curiosity awakened.

Maggie answered by seizing her front locks and cutting them straight across the middle of her forehead.

One delicious grinding snip, and then another and another, and the hinder-locks fell heavily on the floor, and Maggie stood cropped in a jagged, uneven
manner

My youngest one has lost her bangs! What can I say!

Ramayana as a history lesson?

Came across this article - NASA Images Find 1,750,000 Year Old Man-Made Bridge.

To believe or not to believe?

There are those who find similarities between the dasavatharam and Darwin's origin of species.

Violence is never the answer

Violence begets violence. Are their problems going to be solved by decimating a few hundred human beings? How many more people need to die in the name of religion?

A possible witness?

Helpline

Words

Came across 2 articles today on one of my favorite topics. Don't ask me why, but words (etymology, usage, etc) have always fascinated me.

One was about new words that were added to the dictionary. Do you know what Mouse potato and soul patch mean? The first one is obvious and the second one denotes the fuzz under the lips that some men wear. (Kind of non-sequitur - Any of you remember that PGW story where Wooster sports a fungal fuzz that Jeeves is so disdainful of? Hilarious, that one!)

The other was about simplying spelling. This one, I don't know if it is a good idea. Learning a new thing is good as long as you don't have to "unlearn" something that is so automatic.

NaRukkunu 4 vaarthai

I came across this post through Ravi's blog

That is a very well written article and true to the last word. A must read for all Indians, especially the bureaucrats!

One of the points, discrimination against the foreign tourist, is a shame to the country. We are known as the land of hospitality, but are we really?

And for day-to-day life, the worst are the powercuts and potholes, to say nothing about potable water, traffic or clean living standards. Such simple things are a big deal for the common man.

I know a lot of people would consider this India-bashing. But these are the things that are glaringly obvious to a visitor. Something that each of us needs to consider.
In order to appreciate something or to get the bigger picture, you need to step out.
Living outside my birth nation, I have to grown to appreciate its finer points as well as to look at it objectively.

How many of us have no problems cleaning the house and throwing the garbage out on the road?

Lost friendships

Ever lose touch with friends and wonder where they are now? We live in such hurried times that we walk away from friends without a glance back. I have been thankful many a times when I have found some of them through the internet or through another mutual friend.

Drifting apart is sad, but a reality of life. Sometimes, we take the effort to reconnect, sometimes easier said than done. There are some friends we can always call after a hiatus and still have that special camaraderie. Friends who don't expect much from you. Who doesn't like them!

Countless times have I tried to find out about this girl I went to school with, but haven't been able to find out what happened to her. Another one, we drifted apart after meeting up again.

My husband seems to be better at keeping in touch with old friends than I am. Is it just a personality trait or plain laziness? I wish I could make that extra bit of effort, but it is oh so easy to drift away.

Out of the blue today, I remembered Sho and her sister Dee. Sho must be around 28 or so, her sister a year or 2 younger. I helped them with homeworks and projects, they moved out of the locality and we lost touch, although I saw them in school occasionally. Wonder what they are up to now?

Super(b)man!

He flies, zooms and rocks! A great movie with awesome special effects! Lois Lane was so-so. Routh as Superman is perfect! I feel a bit disloyal to say this, but he fits the role better than others(incl. the TV ones!). The little kid is cute! Kevin Spacey, needless to say, shines as Lex Luthor. And then our desi dood, Kal Penn as one of his side kicks. And he goes the way that all evil sidekicks go! And while on this topic, check this out. Also, a lil bit of trivia about the forelock of justice.

The trailer for Spidey was intriguing, to say the least! MY

Eeyore, etc

How many of us share his personality? Just wondering.

caught up on some movies over the weekend. Fanaa - could have been better, Phir Hera Pheri - laugh riot, keep your grey cells at home though, Chithiram pesudadi - Good one, Narain's body language needs improvement and there was a lot of needless yelling in the movie.

Krrish - yyess!

Superhero Krrish is out on the streets and the reviews are good. The movie is kid-friendly, which is definitely a rare thing in Indian filmdom. It promises to be cheesier and cornier than koi mil gaya, its prequel. How about that!