Quo Vadis?

The last time I went into a salon for something beyond a haircut was on the day of my wedding. I was literally bullied by my mum to get a facial done along with hair setting. The disaster that happened in the salon ensured that it would never happen again. Sadly lightning does strike at the same spot more than once. This time I was bullied, cajoled and kind of marched to an unisex salon for my regular haircut and a facial. Now do not get me wrong but I am not a big fan of strange people doing funny things to my face and worse putting unknown concoctions on it. Married men will know that there are certain discussions that will have only one answer and it will be seldom your own. It seemed that I had black heads and they were an extremely bad thing and had to be removed. My query of a simple soap wash resulted in a very dirty look which meant that simple soap would not do for this face. So after a decent haircut where I overheard some words between my wife and the cashier that ...

(Disclaimer: After a long break I have used a style of some random incidents tied by a thin thread in a post again.  If you do not find any thread, then it is an unconnected random post.) Irom Sharmila or the Iron Woman of Manipur is homeless and friendless now that she has decided to give up her fast of 16 years. Apparently the government which was force feeding her through that nasal tube is also no longer interested in looking after her.  For a lady who was deemed as an international icon it is shocking that she is now unwanted. Why did public opinion change so fast? Why can a lady who was selfless not choose to focus on herself? If she has conceded defeat in her fight is this the way losers are treated? This constant focus on winning and disparaging the losers is now becoming the favourite armchair sport of the day especially since the Olympics is into its 5 th day today. After all the expectations when we see India losing people are now trolling, abusing, moc...

I finally watched Kabali and left the theatre with mixed feelings and with a few “What if…” questions that can be answered by the sequel that is hinted in the ending of the movie. So did I like the movie? Yes. Was it the best thalaivar movie that I saw? Not sure. Since this is highly subjective and a matter of personal preference, this question is left unanswered. Could the movie have been better? YES!!!! The movie could do with the following changes to be just that little bit better: -         It was at least 20 minutes too long, for a movie that was not in the commercial template, it seemed to meander like a brook instead of a raging river since it is a gangster movie -           It was too violent. If you smirk considering that it is a gangster movie, the big daddy Baasha, was violent but it was only fists turning baddies to pulp and some harmless explosions thrown in the background f...

These days I eat out a lot and my visits to various restaurants have taught me a few valuable lessons which I will share with you all: -           Jack of all, Master of none : The bane of a restaurant today for purely commercial reason is aspiring to satisfy all and therefore offer a mindboggling variety of food items that usually end up getting classified into 4-5 cuisines. While it may satisfy the average person with the aptitude to ask for a Schezwan noodles in a Chettinad restaurant, it will fall short of satiating a true connoisseur  who will want to explore the depths of the Chettinad kitchens -       Mediocrity is accepted : Mediocrity is accepted because it is the new average, when the average is low it slowly becomes acceptable to all. So you will find restaurants which may look different but all taste alike, all feel mediocre -       There is a premium for exclusivity : The second l...

These days I eat out a lot and my visits to various restaurants have taught me a few valuable lessons which I will share with you all: -           Jack of all, Master of none : The bane of a restaurant today for purely commercial reason is aspiring to satisfy all and therefore offer a mindboggling variety of food items that usually end up getting classified into 4-5 cuisines. While it may satisfy the average person with the aptitude to ask for a Schezwan noodles in a Chettinad restaurant, it will fall short of satiating a true connoisseur  who will want to explore the depths of the Chettinad kitchens -       Mediocrity is accepted : Mediocrity is accepted because it is the new average, when the average is low it slowly becomes acceptable to all. So you will find restaurants which may look different but all taste alike, all feel mediocre -       There is a premium for exclusivity : The second l...

Today I started for work 15 minutes earlier and what a difference it made to my day!!! On a Monday the usual commute of 10 odd kilometres takes a little more than 50 minutes if I hit the peak hour traffic after 9 AM.  Today I started just 15 minutes earlier since the newspaper came late and it was quite an interesting experience. The beautiful Chennai weather helped to elevate my mood and I started my commute. Since there was no rush I settled down and started to enjoy the ride. Driving was always therapeutic to me and years ago I used to go for night drives in Chennai to just chill out. The cool breeze on the face with the windows down (no convertibles here!!), good music (if available), empty roads make a wonderful cocktail that is savoured leisurely. Drive where the heart rather than the road leads and come back refreshed. Office commute was however devoid of all these and was a chore that got unbearable at times due to the traffic jams, idiot motorists and silly ja...

This is the epilogue for a story that is in the depths of my mind. If you have missed the prologue, you can read it here . If you want to know what happened in between the two keep watching this space. Epilogue August 22 nd 2015 “Machan! You have not changed! Except for this funny accent Melbourne has not changed you, you are still the man from Mount” said Edwin as he disengaged from the affectionate hug. He gazed at Rajesh with mixed feelings. It was after all a meeting after over 15 years and the first since he heard the news. “Come home man, I am still not sure why you want to meet here?” said Edwin. “Today would have been our 10 th anniversary and I wanted to be here where it all started” said Rajesh.  They both paused as the Beach Tambaram local pulled into the station and people rushed to disembark or board the train. In a few minutes the train pulled out and Rajesh resumed, “Iniya said yes to me here at this soft drink shop when I proposed and I w...