Valentine's day just passed by and love truly is in the air. I will jot down a few mushy and corny things we do together on a daily basis that makes you go 'Awwwww'.
- Never leave home without a good bye kiss. Hubby will be blissfully unaware of it most of the days as he will be fast asleep. I call them stolen kisses.
- We greet each other with big bear hugs and kisses.
- We cuddle throughout the night. We may shift from one position to another, but cuddlers' we are. Not the "Hug and Roll" as advised to Chandler by Ross. Only blue blood fans know what I mean here.
- We say "I love you" million times. Exaggeration is my middle name.
- "I miss you already" could have been invented solely for us is my firm belief.
- Couch potatoes take a different meaning altogether when we are together fooling around. Oh! And watching movies is another advantage.
- Dedicating romantic songs and singing along is so natural for us.
- Holding hands while walking together. We get a lot of scorn from general public for this PDA.
- Dancing to the sleazy, cheeky, and classy numbers like there is no tomorrow.
- Looking deep into eyes and saying squishy one liners.
- Laugh out loud with our equally irrational antics.
Valentine's day is always a special one. Despite hue and cry about it being overly-commercialized, we celebrate it like never before. Falling in love and being in love is the most beautiful thing in the world. A impromptu valentine's eve bash followed by a cliched candle light dinner is how we let pass our day by. Yes, we asked each others to be our valentine's until next year. We will renew our vows and celebrate with much gusto the upcoming years. Hope be in love more deeper and deeper that just takes the breath away.
Last week Supreme Court agreed to hear curative petition on LGBT rights. Curative petition is "where the question was whether an aggrieved person is entitled to any relief against the final judgment/order of the Supreme Court, after dismissal of a review petition". It undoubtedly is ray of hope for LGBT community. I don't like the way we call them as LGBT as if they are from different world. I was furious of Supreme Court's 2013 judgement ruling homosexuality to be a criminal offence setting aside the 2009 judgment given by the Delhi High Court.
Our politicians have no qualms whatsoever about accepting them as general public only at the time of election. They just don't care about them. Ex-Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said "Men having sex with men is not only a 'disease' but also unatural". Yoga Guru Baba Ram Dev said "Homosexuality is a disease and Yoga can cure it"
Ruling party rose to power on Hinduism trump card or rather shall I say people wanted change after being ruled by Congress for 10 long years. Anybody says anything against government, just a word here and there is called anti-national. Opposition party is too busy disrupting parliament procedure. Poor Shashi Tharoor tabled the private members's bill to replace Section 377 in the IPC and the bill was defeated. But he says he is persistent in his fight.
"WHO" scrapped homosexuality from its psychological disorder list. It is not an illness. It is just the way person is born with. It is not a phase which shall pass after sometime. It is the way person is sexually oriented. It is not fashion to be called gays/lesbians. Are you for real? If they paraded in open just to be fashionable, they will be slapped with 377.
A lot of movies were made to take a jibe at them, sneer at them, to make them look like sexually starved morons. But both the movies were set in USA. I vaguely remember what happened to Meera Nair's 'Fire', which depicted Nanditha Das and Shabana Azmi as lovers. I was guilty as charged for being a part in this homophobic bandwagon. But I evolved, thanks to my rational thinking.
We Indians are collectively homophobics and largely hypocrites. We take pride in our heritage. We want tourists to throng the mighty Khajuravo, the site for erotic art, but dismiss its 'homosexuality' vehemently. We boast Kamasutra as our great literature, but detach ourselves from "H" mentioned in that. It would be a blasphemy if I say 'Shabarimale Swami Ayyappa" was the product of sexual union between Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva).
Irony is that Article 377 was introduced during British rule of India dating back 1860. So, how culture is interlinked in this is beyond my understanding. It is amazing to know how we accept western perks without flinch, yet fail to give a fellow human his/her basic rights. If two consulting adults find happiness in being together irrespective of their gender, what right do we have to judge them, shame them, hurt them? Article 377 includes consensual heterosexual acts such as oral sex and anal sex, and it is a punishable offence. Now how well the judiciary is able to curtail oral sex and anal sex in consensual heterosexuals? Is is acceptable because they are of different sex?
It is difficult to convince older generation about this. But our generation, the tech savvy, astute social networker, tweeting away moments to minutes detail, modern with traditional approach (pardon me), can't shy away from discussing this issue. For me it is a non-debatable issue. Just because something has been happening for so many years, doesn't always mean it is right. If it were, we still would have been shackled in Sati system, slavery, untouchability, etc. I support and genuinely hope LGBT community gets their basic right, the right to love and the right to live with dignity without the legal hassle.
I'l leave with you a poem by Akhil Katyal "Girl, when you"
Girl, when you
blow your boy,
or boy, when
you go down
on her, or when
both of you use
a toy, and all the
world’s a blur,
I know it feels
like heaven, you
too violate 377.
PS-According to me Cameron and Michell of "Modern Family" are the cutest and adorable couple on screen.
Abhinetri: This Kannada film created a lot of controversy before the release. Claimed to be based on yesteryear star Kalpana, fondly called as 'Minugu Tare'. Produced by almost yesteryear actress Pooja Gandhi and her mother, Jyothi Gandhi. Pooja plays the lead role Nanda. I never liked Kalpana for once. My mom would have watched 'Sharapanjara' millions time and that is how I get to see her. An eccentric person, I'm told, her life ended tragically at a young age of 35. The movie is a total crap. All Pooja could have done is shed few kilos and allowed some dubbing artist to do the talking. Kalpana was a style icon and spoke Kannada fluently, sadly Pooja is neither. How her NRI-like accent fits an iconic character is beyond my intelligence level. Talented actors like Makarand Deshpande, Atul Kulkarni are wasted here.
Ouija: An English horror movie. It reminds me the hostel days when we friends tried calling the spirit, which never showed up by the way sans Ouija board of course. Nothing new, but quite okay.
Spectre: Latest installment in James Bond series. My ultimate Bond is Pierce Brosnan, so even this lean and mean Bond (Daniel Craig) could not hold my heart at a stretch. I am now just speculating who could be the next Bond.
ABCD (American Born Confused Desi): A Malayalam movie, yet another Dulqar Salmar. Yes, I decided to finish DQ's films first and then move on to others. John and and his cousin Korah are born and brought up in US of A. They are total spoiled brats. Flagged by their tricks and irresponsibility, John's father decides to send them off to India on a false promise of holidaying. After realization of being duped, the duo will leave no stone unturned to get back to their motherland. There is nothing new in the story, but laudable film making. If I have to talk about Indian films in terms of quality, Malayalam tops the list.
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo: Quite contrary to all the negative reviews, I liked the movie. Salman plays the role of prince Vijay Singh and his doppelganger Prem Dilwale. Prem makes you smile throughout the movie with his simple, innocent attics. It is cliched and regressive at few places, which is not at all surprising as it is Rajshri'. Sooraj Barjatya yet again proved he still is the master of family drama.
Title: Open and Shut
Author: David Rosenfelt
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Legal Mystery
Publication Year: 2002
Open and Shut-a legal mystery by David Rosenfelt and first in the Andy Carpenter series. I'm a sucker for high voltage courtroom drama and legal thrillers. It could be one of the reasons I fell in love with a lawyer among million other reasons.
Book Blurb-Whether dueling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent defense attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. But Andy prefers the company of his best friend, Tara, to the people he encounters in the courtroom. Tara, a golden retriever, is clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. However, just as it seems Andy has everything figured out, his dad, New Jersey's legendary ex-D.A., drops dead in front of him at a game in Yankee Stadium. The shocks pile on as he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons and an astonishing family secret that can close his case (and his mouth) for good.
My Take: Andy's father (former DA) urges him to appeals for a death row inmate, Willie Miller, whom he prosecuted 7 years ago. Willie was convicted for the murder of Denise McGregor, young reporter in a dark alley behind the bar where he works.
Andy's father dies leavening him an astounding fortune of 22 million dollars, which Andy is totally unaware of. He also stumbles upon a picture of his father along with three other men neatly tucked away for almost 35 years old. This almost coincides with crediting of 2 million dollars in his father's account, unused, now has grown into 22 million.
On personal front, he is separated from his wife, Nicole, daughter of senator and childhood friend of his father's, Philip Gant. He is currently dating his private investigator, Laurie Collins. After his father's death, Nicole returns in an attempt to save their marriage. It creates friction between Andy and Laurie, who still continues to be his investigator.
As he builds a defense in Willie's case, he was threatened, being set up as a pimp (the courtroom scene had me in splits), beaten up in his office, and a murder attempt. These events further convince him of Willie's innocence. Who wants desperately to put an end to this case? Is there a real connection between the photo and the killer? Will Andy be successful in proving his client 'Not Guilty'? Will he be able to save his marriage? Need to read the book for that right?
Truth unravels in a rattling way. I was able to guess whodunit, but not the motive. It is racy, edgy, and perfectly fit the bill of legal mystery-thriller. The story runs in first person narration and gives insight into the protagonist's nature. Andy is a dog lover and has a cute golden retriever, Tara whom he calls the best dog in the world. Their chemistry and relationship is very endearing. He is quirky, witty, and sarcastic to the core. He will go to any extent to save his client. He is die-hard baseball fan, so there are a lot of references to them, which was kind of getting on my nerves. Andy is undoubtedly most likable character than any of Grisham's.
The supporting characters like Laurie, Kevin, Edna, Pete Stanton are very well portrayed. It has brusque and caustic humor; suspense; and right dosage of court drama. So what not to like? It is for certain a page-turner, gratifying, and has control over the readers. I have already got my hands on other Carpenter series. Need I say more.
PS: David Rosenfelt was nominated for Edgar award for best first novel by an American author.
I'm not a bag fetish. I'm actually devoid of any fetishism. I carry a medium-sized bag. It is not trendy or cool, but serves the purpose just right. I was cleaning the bag today to trash away unused items. And these are stuffs I found out:
1. Wallet (for cash and card)
2. Water bottle (300 mg capacity)
3. Umbrella (pink polka dotted)
4. Cardigan
5. Book (Deception Point)
6. Sanitary Napkin
7. Lip gloss
8. Pen
9. Note pad
10. Pills (analgesics, anti-diarrhea, anti-histamine, antacid)
11. ID Card
12. Access card
13. Amritanjan
14. Clips
15. Shreds of paper
16. A bar of chocolate
17. Wet tissues
18. Ear phone
19. House Key
20. Compact
21. Kajal
It is not very uncommon to come across words like IQ in psychology. Psychiatry and psychology is my true area of interest. Though I don't have credentials in these subjects, I like to dole out my pearl of wisdom generously. This Sunday while working, it hit me hard "I don't know my damn IQ". Being the restless soul that I'm, I decided to act upon and find out my intelligence quotient.
I started with online test. You just have to enter your Date of Birth and all set to go. It contains 20 questions. What do I know. Most questions were maths-related. After huffing and puffing, I completed the task. My score was 116, high average. Now I'm a person who always thought and still thinks of myself as a beauty with brain (pun unintended). I shared my distress with hubby whom I believed married me for my super intelligence. I googlied him and I must say he came pretty unscathingly. His exact words were, I quote "If you had high superior IQ, you would have been a scientist sweetheart." Though I have high regards for scientists, I find them boring, not that I know anyone personally. It is a general perception and once in a blue moon I would like to go with the perception.
I think I have proved my case here. So I rest.
We welcomed the New Year in historic town of Hampi where each and every one stone has a poetry of its own. There is saying "If you start with something at the beginning of the year, that will keep happening throughout the year", in this case traveling. I am not superstitious, but this one thing I want to be true.
A promotion happened in the work front. I wasn't not exhilarated as it was long due. Nonetheless a promotion is a promotion. I am nominated for an award as well, which is an yearly event. I'm not complaining, so cheers to me.
I was absent for almost 10 days in the blog space. I have written a separate post.
Despite the time constraint I was able to catch a few movies-Sigaram Todu, Yara Silli Silli, Taxi No 9011, Ranavikrama, Time-Out, Vajrakaya, Jazbaa, and Vastuprakara. My reading took a hit this month as I was able to finish only one book, Dead Center by David Rosenfelt.
When I was at parents', watched Kannada Big Boss with mom. She enjoys it so much. I didn't have the heart to burst her bubble saying it is all scripted. As cynic I'm, I could only laugh out loudly for orchestrated emotional scenes. I'm not alone here, dad does the same, which infuriates mom to the core. To be in sync with that, I've watched grand finale and found out Kannada actress, Shruthi to be the winner (she was once upon a time my favourite actress though). Thank god it is over. I like Sudeep as an actor, but he started giving me creeps with his smart-ass, over-the-top hosting.
January is the month of "FAMILY" if I have to say in one word.
