Reign over me.....

This Friday i went for a movie-my first movie in a theater this year, and the first one after MD left for Europe.....We always wanted to see a movie in the CREST theater, which usually screen good indie movies and has a nice decor.....but somehow couldn't make it! But finally, i got to see a movie in this glittering theater.....

An old photo of CREST theater

By now, you all must be knowing what this movie "Reign over me" is all about. About someone having gone through a loss, leading to a total disconnect from the world around. About tragedy invoking denial.....and denial it is.....a strong one at that. Charlie Fineman shuts all the doors on any thoughts from his past, after a tragedy (or rather the tragedy).....He's living in a cocoon, if living is a suitable word here. With the ear-phones on perpetually, he moves about the streets of NewYork City on his trolley scooter, plays video games like there's no tomorrow, does few things obsessively and tries to escape by watching Mel Brooks flicks. All in a hope, that he can escape-a hope that makes him shun anyone who has anything to do with his past. His flight response, his denial is so over-powering that he refuses to recognize any kind of loss, be it his own, or a friend's. Yes, after years of living in a cocoon, he does find someone he opens upto-solely because the person doesn't have much clue about his past.....

There's no Adam Sandler in this movie-i only saw Charlie.....i am not willing to believe that Charlie is not real. He's very much there, there are many Charlies in this world..... His eyes don't meet yours, he mumbles a lot, he's as blank as empty space.....and the fact that i was watching this movie with someone who lost a dear one in the same tragedy in real life, and the familiar looking places from New York City, which very often made the backdrop, didn't make it any easier......i am notorious for shedding tears while watching movie-i even cry during penguin flicks-but this was something different.....something hit me real hard-its hard to explain what it could be.....especially in a particular incident when Charlie's friend suffers a loss, and all Charlie says is , "lets get breakfast", followed by some more gibbrish.....how hollow and drained can anyone get in pain..... but i have to remind myself that this is just a movie.....

Charlie, the near reality and the rest of the movie.....and i guess i should talk more about the latter. Don Cheadle, who plays Charlie's friend, and a dentist, is good and Liv Tyler (the shrink) quite OK. But the movie does have a perpetual irritant.....the character of the dentist's patient-she's really irritating.....But the movie owes a lot to Charlie. They say its Adam Sandler-the same guy who does movies like "Click", i say the movie has only Charlie, a real, believable person.....and any comments on him being a cross of Bob Dylan (for looks) and Rain man (for personality) are not well taken! Mike Binder, the director does a fair job in building Charlie' character, though the movie could have done away with some irritants.....You can read his interview here.

Go, meet Charlie-this is one more story to tell us about the tricks mind plays on us.

Something yummy awaits you :)

Dear readers,

You know that i never leave an opportunity to talk about food-so this time i went whole hog! Yes, i made myself a lil' online food-corner. And my chirps in this diary continue as usual :).

Hope you are all having a good time.

Cheers,
musical.

Reading Sybil.....

I finished reading "Sybil"-a book by Flora Rheta Schreiber, last week. This book had been on to-read list for years.....but having read the reviews, i could never summon enough courage to read it. I finally did, early this year.....

The book is about a girl Sybil Isabel Dorsett, who suffered from Multiple Personality Disorder-based on the life of a real person-Shirley Ardell Mason. Multiple Personality Disorder is a condition where you have a conscious waking self and the other alternate selves who rise from the subconscious/unconscious mind.....and the waking self has no clue of their existence.

Sybil, who first dissociated into her waking self and an alternate self at a young age of 2-3 years, had no less than 16 selves of different ages who inhabited her being.....two of them being males! This is touted to be the most complex of such cases. Sybil found herself united into one whole being in her 40s, after she went through a whole series of psychoanalyses-some based in hypnosis and sodium pentothal (the truth injection).....Her dissociations apparently originated as a defense to protect herself from the childhood abuse.....and that, to me, was the toughest part of the book.....the other possible cause being the conflicting religious values she faced.

In the book you meet Sybil and 16 selves, her parents, her room-mate Teddy Reeves, her psychiatrist Dr. Cornelia Wibur and even the author of the book. Her 16 beings are different from each other.....the volatile Peggy(s), the French sophisticate Vicky, the baby like Ruthie, Vanessa, Marcia, Helen, Marjorie, Nancy, Mary, the guys Mike and SID (after Sybil's initials), the un-named blonde and Sybil, as her waking self. Each with different desires and skills, each a fragment of what were to be the whole Sybil. Sybil was a really good artist.....some of her sketches are provided in the book-different selves preferred different style of painting.....some of her works can be viewed in this link.

There has been some controversy on whether Sybil was a multiple personality or an extreme case of hysteria. It is said that Dr. Cornelia Wilbur delibrately induced personalities in her patient during hypnosis.....and that it had something to do with the book deal. More details on this controversy can be read here. Shirley A. Mason, Cornelia Wilbur and Flora Rheta Schreiber are no more in this world to share the truth.....Apparently, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur's archives and notes were to be opened in 2005. May be that would bring some facts to light.

The book scores, whether as a work of pure fact or part fact-part fiction, am not sure. If its fact, then its one of the most complicated tales of human psychology and if fiction, then its imaginative! The book is reptitive at times, but only to underscore Sybil's trials and tribulations. The description of her selves is rather vivid and you connect and empathise with each of them.....and you are sure to miss them after the book is over. The pages dedicated to childhood abuse are graphic.....very painful, and i admit, i skipped through those partly.....it was too difficult to take.

Sybil gleefully enjoys her days being all for herself, after all her selves have been united.....on how she can do simple things all by herself, without another person from within taking over her.....

And in this respect, it gives a message similar to many of Oliver Sacks' works- We have a lot in life to be thankful for.....simple things that we don't even think about.....Like being one with ourselves.....

Yeh hai Cricket!

I guess its high time i should detach myself completely from Cricket! i know, i have been telling this to myself since years now.....what with all the match-fixing and the politics ridden scenario of Indian Cricket. But then, the game is far too enticing to avoid.....and like many an enticing thing, this one often leads to heart-break!!

Y'day, during our weekend chirping, no sooner did MD start whispering a few words about India-B'desh match, i began lecturing her on why i am not opening any of the web-pages that provide live coverage of the game. This, much to her chagrin! And then.....half way through our conversation and after hearing repeatedly from her about the dismal score, i got into the trap! yes, i was fervently refreshing the pages.....and i don't need to tell you how it ended. But, kudos to the Bangladesh team-they played real well.....

The results implied fans being upset, really really upset. A cpl. of days back dear ladies exchanged this friendly banter on which Rahul rules: Rahul Sharma or Rahul Dravid.....Bee, who was rooting for Dravid is now finding Gollum hotter than him! See, we girls have more than one reason for being upset. and may be guys too.....atleast those who paid for channels showing the World Cup! (sorry, i don't any girls who have subscribed for the said channels-good sense prevails sometimes).

ab aur hum kya kahein.....this is one time i am really tutoring myself to abstain ;). ah! the trap that Cricket is.....

and our historical arch-rivals didn't well either.....On a more upsetting note, y'day's events have been followed with something really sad.....

Yeh hai Cricket.....enticing, heart-breaking, addictive.....

Am bracing myself to fall into the trap for the next game!

Chirp chirp.....

Right this moment.....

The weather outside is bright and crisp, typical of SoCal. and i want my share of this brightness. Dhoop, this brightness is so soothing. remember that song, "kachhi dhoop, kunkuni dhoop".....its quite fun to chirp with your friends on a bright, sunny day. Bring in some chai and snacks, and its bliss :).

i spoke to Ms. Doll Wednesday night, and we exchanged the ritualistic weather trivia as well :). Kinda' crazy that while she was freezing, last weekend SoCal had record high temperatures! it had us both in splits. whats worse is that she craved for ice-cream as i longed for a hot cuppa' chai!!

and y'day i caught up with Ms. Moon and Ms. Wisdom on the chat. i often chat with Ms. Moon, but to find Wisdom online is bit of a rarity. i wrote a hello to them both. and while is was chatting with Ms. Wisdom i infomred her about my two-timing ;). Its so turned out that Moon and Wisdom were also two-timing me, they were chatting amongst themselves too :)). Girls, can anyone stop them from chattering ;).

hmm, and then there are those weekend chats with MD, its always like the good old times, when we would sit and chirp over a chai.

Oh, and meeting Golden girl over coffee sometimes and what do we do-Chirp :)).

This chirping makes us what we are, giving us a chance to connect with others, sharing thoughts and ideas.....helping each other grow.....

Sheetal, Manjul, Komal.....

Sheeta, Manjul, Komal.....

These words convey heartfelt emotions.....emotions of comfort.....comfort felt by the soul.....soul that was touched by the soft, comforting emotions.....

Yes, and these words belong to a song so melodiuos, so poignant that it evokes the same emotions in you.....

Y'day, while chatting with MD, we discussed about Sharatchandra's books.....and the one that i felt most about that moment was "Chirtraheen".....and as all of his books, this book to has strong female protagonists, my favorite being Kironmayee.....

And i remembered how i had found her character so striking, so well etched.....

and then, i thought of the song, that belonged to the televised version of this book. i came across this song through Sukhan's blog that links to this wonderful archive of Sh. Salil Chowdhury's music.....

and this song played on.....just as beautiful as the lyrics are.....i thought i would share this song (below):

Sheetal, Manjul, Komal

and i am still humming this song to myself.....feeling nostalgic.....

The coffee world stars ;)

This is very much in line with what i was talking about y'day. Well, sort of! Last night, i read this on Yahoo news :). Actually, i didn't completely read it then-and thought oh, well! this is about some local budding desi coffee shop naming themselves Starstrucks and trying to give Starbucks a tough time by sort of copying their name! I looked at this news in detail today morning, and was even more surprised who was behind this idea. I was shocked to learn that it was Shahnaz Husain, the queen of herbal cosmetics world!

As such, this whole idea didn't please me much. And not because i go to Starbucks a lot. Well, we all know that Starbucks is now trying to set up shop in India, and this comes close on the heels! If you think your product is great, why not provide them competition in the right spirit, based entirely on the merit of your products. And coming from such a well respected person, this makes the whole news even more pungent! I wonder how she would feel if someone tried to market herbal products which had a brand name similar sounding to her own brand.

If anything, this might actually hurt her business. Most irritating is that she is not willing to change the name. Quoted below is her response (Courtesy Yahoo News/Reuters):

Why should I give it up? Hundreds of others are deceptively similar. What to do? They have opposed and we will fight."

I personally would have thought of her venturing into the Cafe' chain business as an interesting move-go to her brand salons, get a spa treatment and enjoy coffee with your friends! It would have certainly made some news and people would definitely have lapped up the concept-its sad to see her making into news of the wrong kind!

Enough said!

That is so not fare!

Friends, there is a whole big world of blogs there talking about my favorite topic-FOOD :). Yes, food blogs are fun, they are a simply great podium for sharing thoughts and idea about the fine art of cooking. I am particularly an ardent fan of desi food blogs. These blogs write all about food-describing recipes in detail (with step-by-step instruction), sharing cultural trivia about regional dishes, creative and fun ideas for healthy khana and above all great, great pictures. I love cooking too, but i am lazy :). Cooking great food is one thing, but it really takes a lot of that extra something and plenty of hard-work to post nice detailed recipes with fantastic pictures on a blog.....These writers do it for the love of cooking, with an intention of sharing what they have learnt with years of experience.

Sample a few great blogs like Mahanandi, My Khazana of Recipes, Foodie's Hope, The Spice who loved me, One Hot Stove, Saffron Hut, Saffron Trail, Sailu's Foodand many many more (you would find the links in these blogs, and i am going to link them soon too).

Much respect to these bloggers for sharing their wonderful creations and pictures with everyone. and yes, they make it all available to us for free!

Lately, though, desi food blogosphere has suffered a lot-several big-time portals have been copying recipes with pictures from these blogs and posting them on the web-without ever taking their permission or even acknowledging the author! Now, how disgusting is that! I first read about this on Sailu's new blog on how Sify had stolen pictures from her blogand posted them on their food forum! and today i read this , this and this on Mahanandi, Sailu's blog and Trupti's blog, respectively. Yahoo India had stolen recipes from Surya Gayathri's blog. Now, how disgusting is that! These bloggers are ever willing to exchange and share their work, so why not give them due credit for their pictures and recipes, or request them for participating officially.....and don't give me this piece, as to how daal recipe would be more or less the same! Please, daal recipe may be more or less the same-but the language, presentation, little suggestions and pictures ARE NOT!

Friends, if you can-please do write a few words on your blog about this. We should totally support fellow bloggers in their fight against this sort of injustice.

Whats there in a name ;)

A cpl. of days back i had an interesting exchange with the wrap-around/duttee guy. So, he was looking at a signup list for some instrument and came across my labmate's initials, and he thought its me (our first names begin with the same letter). I told him it was my labmate. He then asked me what was my last name (he knows and pronounces my first name correctly)-when i told him my last name, he was like, "wow! thats a cool surname".

Hmm, surprised, i asked him what excatly was he implying. He said that i had a very traditional first and last name, surprising me even more. So, now i was a bit irritated and amused at the same time, wondering why he was going on about my name. He then said, "Like, you know, lot of people change their name soon as they come here-its nice that you didn't". This puzzled me even more-because what he said first that he found my surname cool, without knowing what it meant didn't really suggest me that he was pointing to an issue like changing your name in a foreign country. What he said also indicated to me that some people actually change their last name also!

Anyway, i asked him to elaborate more. He then said that he had an Indian friend who changed his name-so no one ever knew what his real name was. All he would say is that people are going to find it difficult to say his name. I told him that i didn't know anyone like that in person, but have read/heard about it from others. And you know, it really surprised him! He went on to tell me that he found this to be a common practice in people from Asia. He then said, "I have a long Spanish name too, and i have chosen to keep it that way" with a wink. He finally left me with this, "I wonder what will i do, if i ever visit Asia-i'll have to find myself a cool name" ;).

Now, in my opinion, if someone prefers to change their name, its fine. May be they don't have the patience to teach everyone the correct pronunciation of their name everyday and also they might not like their name being mispronounced. In same cases, it can truly change the meaning of a name. However, changing the surname! does that really happen! No clue.....

Anyway, as i said it was an interesting exchange-thought i would just share it. and am glad that people think my name is cool :)).