The Whiz’s Crucible

Happy Dasserha to all.(i.e. it was Dasserha when I wrote this post into my pda)

Woke up early in the morning (thanks paw), took bath, performed the vidya-arambh, and then it was time to gulp down paw’s tea and run for the station. Paw is a real taskmaster – he was so worried about missing the train that he did not even give me enough time to take pics.
The journey to the station was fun with swap’s navigation – don’t laugh, after all we did not take any wrong turns Had a chance to see the AksharDham temple due to the route that Paw had picked – man! it is huge – need to visit it next time I am in Delhi.
Well that was the end of a fun-filled, albeit hectic stopover in Delhi. Thanks a lot Swap & Paw.

Attaching the remaining of the pics. Check out the artwork behind. Click on the thumbnails for the actual pics.

Click on the pic for link to site

Technically the movie was not too great. Just a little better than am amateur movie made on a handycam. I will have to agree that some of the video perspectives were really good. But nothing great to write home about.

Then again this movie was never about technicalities. Neither is it about actors or even the story (though both the acting and the story were fairly good). It is about a common man getting caught in the clutches of the land mafia. It is about his dreams for himself and his family. It is about bonding, or at least trying to, with your son who lives in a different world than yours. It is about the happiness a hardworking family man has in making the nameplate of his would-be home. The film catches all of these emotions beautifully. It is not a comedy, though there are comic moments( I especially like some of Navin Nischol’s lines). It is not a tragedy, though there are moments which makes one feel so. It is not romantic either. It is an honest to goodness movie about life in urban India(with specific nuances of Delhites). A flavour of any 70’s Amol Palekar movie. And it is a must watch!

PVR
I saw the movie at one of the PVR theatres. I was impressed – great sound great lighting. The only thing that stung was the surcharge in everything. I mean sixty bucks for a hotdog is just a little too much in my book. The interesting thing is their gold class but that’s a rant for another time.

Morning – Home.
As usual left packing till end Maggi is both bothered and smiling at my irritable behaviour knowing fully well that this will not be the first or last time that this scene is repeated .

Morning – To airport.
Somehow got ready and reached the airport with time to spare. Of course the auto driver did not let go of his pound of flesh!

Morning – Airport.
The flight’s in time and I can hear them call for boarding. My stomach is unhappy as usual. Nonetheless here’s hoping for a good flight and a good trip. Babaji willing, of course!

Morning – Plane
We boarded the flight in time. However due to some congestion issues in Bombay we did not get clearance to take off for 20 minutes more.
Now we are at 3500 feet and by stomach is growling for food. I can smell the food as I am just two rows away from the pantry.
I never cease to wonder that we have reached a point where no one seems to be amazed by the fact that we are actually flying at 3500 feet in a hollow metallic cylinder!

Morning – Plane – Hungry
The food service was lousy. First of all, no non-veg. To make it worse the veg dish is just one limp paneer kathi kabab. Add to this the fact that they do not have enough meals, which is ridiculous considering the fact that they flight is nowhere close to being full. All in all a disappointment.
Thankfully the staff was ready to help and offered me an apple. Well that’s just my luck .

Noon – Plane – Descent
Currently cruising at 37000 feet towards Jaipur after which the plane will start its descent towards Delhi.
Crossing Jaipur at 12:15pm and this will mark the point to start descending for Delhi. So it seems that notwithstanding the delay on take-off we will be on time.
Time to tighten the seat belts and pray:). The descent has begun as I can feel intense pain in my ears.
Another jarring landing. The only smooth landings I have ever experienced have always been in international travel. Maybe the size of the plane has something to do with it!?!

Noon – Plane – Runway – Delhi
Did I tell you that we would land in time. Well we did! However to reach from the landing strip to the disembarking area took much longer due to a traffic jam of planes taking off. So basically we wasted close to 40 mins for a 2 hour trip. Go figure!!!

The same old game of moving from counter to counter finding the best rates for a taxi from the airport to Noida i.e. from Gurgaon to Noida. That’s one hell of a cross country run.

Noon – enroute to Noida
Got a good vehicle and am on my way. One thing I like about the New Delhi is the road network. Beautiful wide vistas and the old defence colonies around it. And it seems to me that the number of flyovers has increased. Guess that is good for the city.
Noida is a well planned area of Ghaziabad. In fact it reminded me of Milton Keynes – with very wide roads all crossing each other at right angles. The heat is killing though!

Noon & Evening – At home
Beautiful house Swap and Paw have set up. The flat is very beautiful; made even more attractive by Swap’s artwork. The other great thing about the flat is how cool it is. The trip combined with the sumptuous spread that Swap had laid out resulted at me being at by slothful best. It required a jolt of chai from Paw to set me on by feet again. Them it was away to the movies, about which I will speak on by next post. Till then enjoy Swap’s place.