Valar Morghulis

As we are gearing up for "Game of Thrones" season 6, I hardly contain my excitement. Reading the first book in "Song of Fire and Ice" simultaneously is not helping much to my obsessive self.  The most curious thing to look for this season is Jon Snow's life status. However, I'm not much concerned about that part.  I'm convinced red lady is present at the wall to resurrect Jon. The puzzling part in this is Jon's parentage. I'm positive that he is Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark's son. I was dismissing this theory because of his hair. Yeah, I'm stuck to a theory that Targaryen's will have silver hair and blue eyes. What I failed to analyze was Targaryen's were marrying brothers and sisters for 300 years. But Jon is a Stark-Targaryen.  And book name is "Song of Ice and Fire, ice for Jon and fire for Daenerys.  Only dragons and direwolfs are present as they represent the sigil of house Targaryen and house Stark respectively. As much as I love Jon, my stake is on Daenerys as I believe she is the true heir. HBO is in talks with producers of GOT for season 7 and 8,  I know it is a long wait to know who sits on iron throne and rules the Westeros, might as well Essos and Beyond the wall.

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.  There is no middle ground."

Valar Morghulis

March in a Glance

We are already down with three months of the brand new year or quarter. I am jotting down few notable things languidly.

The reading was going in a snail pace. I could finish only three books-Deception Point; Play Dead; and Just Married, Please Excuse. It is better than last month however.

Movie front was pretty good as we managed to watch a couple of movies, good and bad alike. They are Tamasha, Wedding Pulav, Manorama 6 feet under, Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene, 13 going on 30, Enough, 50-50, 30 Minutes or Less, Dilwale, Bajirao Mastani, Bunty or Babli, and Shivalinga.

This month again witenesed us attending Deccan Herald theatre festival-At Home At the Zoo and 9 Jakoo Hills. I have talked about them in my earlier posts.

We did a bit of traveling too. The places are off the beaten track.  A hoysala architecture of 11th century at Amruthapura; the infamous Chandragutti Renukadevi templ; a city as old as Varanasi, the capital of Kadamba dynasty, Banavasi; a stroll in Kuvempu university; and a hill station, Kemmangundi. It was a short three day trip and we needed it from the hustle bustle of city.

PS:  April is going to be the busiest month ever.

Joy of Reading

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. First one in Robert Langdon's escapades. Italy is a place that always intrigued me on many levels, Roman Colosseum, Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Pope. The book consists of almost everything. I've recently watched the movie, still want to get in to the finest details that only a book can offer. Although, Brown's "Deception Point" was a huge disappointment, I'm willing to give this man another chance. I'm gullible to mysterious secret society, decoding the symbols, and gorgeous country that Italy is. The amount of efforts the author put on researching is amazing.

Play Dead by Harlan Coben. A stand alone romantic/mystery/thriller. Writer warns and apologizes at the same time in prologue for the writing that took place when he was in his 20s. A super hot model/entrepreneur's equally popular basketball player husband dies in Australia on their honeymoon. Story is immature, mediocre, run-of-the-mill sort; however I'm not complaining. It is a breeze read and I'm not looking for any literal stimulation here.

9 Jakhoo Hill

It is the last play in the Deccan Herald Theatre Festival. The best play I have seen in a long time. "9 Jakhoo Hill" written by Gurucharan Das; designed and directed by Ashish Sen; and performed by Playpen theatre group.

Synopsis: 9 Jakhoo Hill is set in the Shimla of 1962. It explores a number of themes which continue to have as much relevance today as they did in the sixties: changing values; conflicts between old and new; family relationships and attendant tensions that come to the surface when skeletons in cupboards begin to tumble out....

As love, laughter, loneliness, betrayal confront each other in this powerful drama, a moment of truth compels each character to reckon with her/his personal demons and transforms their lives irrevocably.

My Two Cents: It is a story of two neighbors who migrated from Lahore during partition. Amrita, an aristocrat widow lives in Jakhoo Hill, Shimla with daughter Ansuya and younger brother Karan Chand. She is a socialite, mostly stuck in the past, is unable to manage her finances and in huge debt, on the verge of losing their ancestral house. Amritha invites her friend and neighbor in the past, Chitra (the one from Lahore) and her son, Deepak to celebrate Diwali with them. Ansuya and Deepak exchange letters often; theirs is a childhood love. Karan Chand/Mamu nurtures incestuous feelings towards his niece who loath Deepak. The company Deepak works for wants to expand their business in Kolkatta and certain Rai Saheb is the key to help. Rai Saheb, a bureaucrat works for the government of India and Amrita's close friend. The story sets in the midst of Indo-China war. Love blossoms between Deepak and Ansuya. However, Chitra, Deepak's manipulative and overbearing mother is against it solely based on Ansuya's current financial status. They all play the game of "Truth or Dare" that unravels truth in a nasty way. 

The story was written in 1962 holds good even after five decades. All the characters are very much natural. The acting part was top notch. They will have you in splits throughout. The end conversation between Amrita and Ansuya had me shed a drop or two tears. Surprisingly all the actors looked familiar. Hubby says its an illusion created by mind when you gets connected to the character. I couldn't have agreed more.

Melody 15

From being melodious to catchy to party numbers, the Bollywood has seen quite a good number of song tracks in the year 2015. These are my top 10 romantic songs not necessarily in that order.

Song: Jeena Jeena
Film: Badlapur
Music: Sachin-Jigar
Singers: Atif Aslam

Song: Mere Naina Kafir Hogaye
Film: Dolly Ki Doli
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Singers: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Song: Moh Moh Ke Dhaage
Film: Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Music: Anu Malik
Singers: Papon

Song: Ho Gaya Hai Pyar
Film: Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Music: Krsna Solo
Singers: Dev Negi

Song: Sapna Jahan
Film: Brother
Music: Ajay-Atul
Singers: Sonu Nigam and Neeti Mohan

Song: Tu Hai Ki Nahi
Film: Roy
Music: Ankit Tiwari
Singers: Ankit Tiwari

Song: Chori Chori
Film: Hunterrr
Music: Khamosh Sha
Singers: Arijit Singh and Sona Mohapatra

Song: Tu Har Lamha
Film: Khamoshiyan
Music: Bobby-Imran
Singers: Arijit Singh

Song: Gerua
Film: Dilwale
Music: Pritam
Singers: Arijit Singh and Antara Mitra

Song: Tum Saath Ho
Film: Tamasha
Music: A.R. Rahman
Singers: Arijit Singh and Alka Yagnik

At Home at the Zoo

Deccan Herald Theatre Festival is between February 5 to March 12, 2016 in Bangalore. We missed the first play "Twice Around The Park" as it was Valentine's day eve and we had other plans. The play we watched last weekend was 'At home, At the Zoo' at Choudayya Memorial Hall. To be honest I've not watched different genre of plays. My knowledge is limited to few mythological, folklore, historical, and few solely based on contemporary society, by large Indian plays. Presented by Jagrithi group 'At home, At the Zoo', penned down by Edward Albee and directed by Arundathi Raja. 

Synopsis: Peter has a comfortable job as an Editor in a publishing house. He and his wife Ann have a comfortable marriage. They live in a comfortable apartment in New York's Upper East Side with their two daughters and their pets. Life is, well, comfortable. Until Ann walks in and says "We should talk".

Following their talk, their comfort somewhat destroyed, Peter decides to go the part-perhaps to regain some comfort. But then along comes Jerry from the diametrically opposite Upper West Side of town. He's full of stories. He's looking to talk too. "I have been to the zoo", he says and Peter's life is turned upside down.

My Two Cents: I've learnt later that "The Zoo Story" was written first and prequel "Homelife" later after a few years. Adaptation of book for a movie is tricky I know, but into drama more trickier. The whole story must be conveyed through acting and dialogue. 

In first act, Peter and Anna have a conversation about their sex life. Pornographic details are described, yet in such an aesthetic way that there was not a tiny bit of embarrassment or unpleasantness. They lead a happy life, but for lack of sparks in the marriage, more like midlife crisis. Roy Sinai who played the role of Peter is intense. He made us to believe he really is the swanky, upper east sider. Ann played by Vandhana Prabhu is also good.

In second act, Peter goes to park to continue his reading. Here Jerry enters with an opening line 'I've been to Zoo". He talks incessantly about his life, his neighbors, parents, non-existent relationships. He starts telling the story of his landlady's dog and his inability to get connected to the dog. His tone and body language alarms Peter, still he tries to maintain a brave facade. Shortly an argument starts between them for park bench followed by Jerry pulling a knife. An ordinary day turns out to be rather dreadful for Peter. Will he be able to awaken the beast in himself? I'm not giving away the climax here. Swetanshu Bora played the role of Jerry. He has too many lines to mug. Though his performance is good, his accent gives away his Indianness and it is tough to perceive him to be a yankee.

The duration of play is 90 minutes. I enjoyed it quite okay. There were too many dialogues and lot for imagination, just a concised extension of a book.

PS:  Sometimes a person has to go a very long distance out of his way to come back to a short distance correctly.

It Is A Girl

This article was in my draft for a very long time. I wanted to post it for a special occasion, that being the International Women's Day. I'm not sure how apt this piece would be. This is one of the issues I feel strongly about.

I genuinely liked the government's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme with awareness for the betterment of women's welfare. Another campaign which took nation by storm was "Selfie with the daughter" last year.  Have these two helped in anyway to curb the female infanticide?  According to census data, the child sex Ratio (0-6 years) in India was 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001, which dropped drastically to 918 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011. A 2012 UNICEF report has ranked India 41st among 195 countries.

My parents never differentiated between my brothers and me in anyway. I remember one of my dad's colleagues telling him not to spend money on my education as it is dead investment because they have to get me married anyway. Had my dad listen? Not a bit. What was his reply is still fresh in my memory. "I want her to be independent, married or not." And I intend to be independent for a very very long time. Again I was lucky and I'm. Can we say the same for all the girls out there? Being born girl in India itself is a miracle. Then education, equal privileges like their male counter part,  to have a say in partner selection, respect and love in marriage, live a life according to their choice are unattainable dreams.

I remember one of my closest friends saying girl child is expensive and she prefers baby boy when she was conceived. She got a piece of my mind left, right, and center. Has not she have a say in this, it is her baby after all? My problem is not about her having preference, but saying girls are expensive and things like that. I'm flabbergasted. Another reason is that her in-laws fast for three days in mourning if the baby is a girl. Why this insane notion to please everybody?

When my sister-in-law had my nephew, she mistakenly said she was hoping to have a girl. My extended family was aghast. They couldn't fathom how can she say such unacceptable things. I found her behavior perfectly normal. The irksome relatives should thank their stars for my absence there.

One of my mother sisters proudly acknowledges her preference towards male child. I deflate her happy bubble wrap with my logical reasoning each and every time. However, slowly I'm realizing it is almost impossible to inculcate some sense into her airhead. The prejudice and stereotype are deep rooted. 

One of our classmates cried her heart out after delivering a baby girl. Her parents clearly wasted a lot of money on her education. Oh! Sorry, on schooling. I don't want to sound blatant here, but Karma is a bitch. The same classmate had another baby girl and her sadness know no bounds I'm told. It has nothing to do with financial status. It has sprawled all around the society thick and wide. 

I know people who pined for sons and daughters's place is always of second citizen. Parents of girls are proud declaring they raised their daughters's like sons. Why cant they bloody raise their daughters like daughters?

Patriarchal society ingrained us to believe male is superior, having male child is the ultimate nirvana in life, etc. It will take centuries to change mind set of people. We have neighboring China for company in this female feticide. The one-child policy made it more worse for them. And I have an inane desire to take down one or two well-meaning elderly people for blessing Shata Putra Vati Bava (may you have a hundred sons) to newly weds.  

I'm brutally articulate regarding this topic. I pledge on this day to help educating, coaxing, pestering, hounding the people around me on this. I definitely wouldn't be alive to see the change, but effort must go on so that one day mankind will have a well-balanced society where everyone will have equal rights and opportunities irrespective of gender. That would be my Utopia. 

Happy Women's Day