V’Day & Winter Olympics

Today is Valentines Day 2010. It always surprises me why there is so much brouhaha over it in India—despite a repetition of threats from the asinine Shiv Sena goons, thankfully the day was peaceful there. Abhi & I have decided to spend it at home watching lots of TV and resisting the urge to venture out. Last year we did the same, except that at 7 p.m. we finally gave in, got all dressed up and set out to North End – the artsy Italian hub of Boston with numerous ‘happening’ restaurants. In our excitement though, we forgot to acknowledge that other city couples have more foresight. After spending a half hour trying to find street parking, we were forced to park the car in a lot for 25$!! Then we strolled around the crowded restaurant row, peering inside windows, looking over menus, trying to pick just the right place. Our hearts soon settled on one, we walked in, only to be politely asked if we had made a reservation. ‘No’, we replied. “Okay then, you can wait for 2 hours!”..Hmm.. 6 other restaurants just simply refused to entertain walk-ins..Despondent, and frozen after walking in the cold for 30 minutes, I was ready to call it quits, when on our way back, we walked by this cool & ‘very full’ corner restaurant. And as though it was meant to be, we got a spot, right by the window! after waiting for just 15 mins. So yep, we did manage to eat in the North End that night with live music, candlelight et al. But advice in general, be more planned with your V’day voyages.

On a different note though, just watched the Indian luge contestant Shiv Keshavan on TV take his turn on the track. I didn’t know until the opening ceremony that India was even represented in the Winter Olympics and was very pleasantly surprised to discover otherwise! Keshavan actually did a great job—though I know very little about the sport. In fact, after watching footage of the terrible accident 2 days back, I was very skeptical if such a high-risk sport should even be played. However, as Abhi pointed out, most sports have an inherent risk and while such accidents can point the way to make them more safe, it probably doesn’t imply that they be given up altogether.

Ishqiya & More..

Unplanned outings are usually fun - so when Abhi proposed going out for 'Ishqiya' an hour before the evening show yesterday--I couldn't let it pass. Plus, I really admire Vishal Bhardwaj for the creativity & innovativeness he brings to Indian cinema. The reviews had been lukewarm--yet we were excited to watch it for ourselves. Indian movies play at this shady, worn-out multiplex in Cambridge--its probably a left-over from the 70's, with crappy screens, sound system and VOC-laden furnishings. Yet, when you really don't have a choice, it's easier to make the trip. It seemed like we were going to have the hall all to ourselves when we walked into the deserted theatre, but soon about ten more desis streamed in. The movie started promptly at 7.00. A couple of minutes passed and the glaring ceiling lights didn't dim as expected. A few more minutes went by and we looked around, frantically gesturing to the projection window behind. Ten minutes in, Abhi decided to take a walk to the counter outside. And as expected---they had forgotten that our movie had begun :) So lighting matters sorted, the movie progressed uneventfully till ‘Intermission’. Lights and radio  came on and everything was hunky-dory except that 5 minutes passed, then 10, then 15 and it started to feel like an eternity. Abhi was all set to venture out again when I noticed activity in the projection room upstairs. Movie was soon back on track—at almost 2 hours it was a short B’wood movie and thankfully played without subtitles. Imagine Vishal Bhardwaj dialogues in translation! So, my thoughts about the movie—firstly, it was a very entertaining watch, although not one of his best works. Yet, judged independently, the movie has a unique storyline, great characterization and acting, innovative dialogues, a very keen portrayal of contemporary Indian life and is beautifully situated in its geographic context.

I am getting ready to watch the opening of the Winter Olympics on TV, so this post has to end fast! Before I sign off though, I started a companion blog to Nayi-Taazi yesterday titled Lost & Found—to focus primarily on issues related to architecture & preservation. Hard as it is (at least for me) to find time even for one blog, I hope to keep them both alive and find opportunity and content to share from time to time :)

Snowfall or Snowstorm

For the past two hours, infact for the past two days, all local TV channels have been pounding about the imminent snow-storm in Boston. All schools are closed, state employees have been given a day-off, flights delayed and events cancelled. I’m sure the storm is strong enough to merit all the attention—yet sometimes you just wonder! When we first moved to Boston, we were quite surprised by the how important weather seemed to be in all aspects of life here. Granted that Boston has really cold winters and proximity to the sea leads to more frequent bouts of precipitation. But granting primetime headline status to the weather was not something we were used to. Headline news in India is almost always dominated by politics, scams, violent attacks and the like. Even Arizona seemed like it could care less about the weather (Well it was always just frickin-hot there—probably not much to report, when every day is 100+ F). So when Channel 7 in Boston begins their daily coverage with inches of rainfall and how the daily commute will look on the highway, it still manages to incite small amounts of amazement. Of course most news here is local as opposed to national in India, and maybe talking about the weather is an identifier of a developed country as opposed to a developing one. Nonetheless, the north-east TV journalists do have a tendency to amp up all weather phenomena—what one would call a rainfall in India is always a ‘storm’ here, and a snowfall is more often than not a ‘snowstorm’. More drama—more excitement! I just hope private corporations latched on to it more often—it would have certainly been fun to have the day off from office!