Aham Vyaktam

Las Vegas - grandeur is its name. Our flight was about to alight in Vegas by 11pm Friday. There came a beautiful city into our sight below us. I was trying to catch the glimpse of the city, hopping in my seat though I was leashed by the seatbelt. The city was swimming in lights of different colors and the lights were so orderly in a pattern when I saw from above. I forgave the window seat to Hari as he said he wanted to take pics of Vegas from above but he wasn’t able to do a decent job due to shakes caused by flight turbulence. He had already been to Vegas and I was a Vegas Virgin, he should have at least let me enjoy the view. Scolding him for being so huge hindering the window and for having wasted his window-seat chance not managing to take pics without shakes, we were out from the airport and picked up our rental car. After a few miles drive, the Las Vegas Strip invited us. Mandalay Bay was the first one standing there and my mouth was wide-open and didn’t close at all till the end of the strip. What a splendor, what a luxury! It was definitely a feast for the eyes. I kept wowing for every casino I saw.

Hari had managed to get a good deal for a stay at what they call the best hotel, of course 5-star, in Las Vegas, THE BELLAGIO. It was 12 when we checked in to the hotel and I was quite intimidated by the well-dressed crowd in the casino. I wasn’t dressed for Bellagio, in fact, for Las Vegas at all as I was working till the last minute and started off from home in a hurry.

Our room was a marvel. We had switches to open and close the drapes in the windows. The restroom was so sparkling and modern and one can even dine there LOL. We didn’t manage to get a room with fountain view as we did a late check-in. We had a pool view, which wasn’t bad. I was in no mood to sleep but had to, as I was really tired coz of the day’s work.

We got up at 11 the next morning - Saturday. Yeah, Vegas isn’t about morning anyways, so what big deal in getting up at 11? We thought we would do a late night out. I got dressed up for Vegas (I didn’t wanna be a misfit) and we went out at 12.30 and thought we would gamble a little in Bellagio casino. We were just the silent spectators, sighing deeply at people who were easily playing the Black Jack and madly winning. As both of are pathetic in that area, we decided not to try anything other than the slot machine. We both gambled together and we lost, gained and we lost again. Hari always preferred the 5 cents or 25 cents slot machine, which was so boring and so I got a $10 note from him and went to gamble alone in a $1 slot machine. I turned the $10 into $20 and gave it to Hari, lifting my collar. Next time when I played Hari was there beside me and I lost everything. Boy, there’s some ill-luck about you that makes me loose when you are there :)

Then we started off. We decided that we would go for David Copperfield show on Sunday and went to MGM Grand to get the tickets. MGM had been my favorite from the view I had from the flight as it had all green lights, green being my favorite color. The interiors were fabulous. After a stroll in the MGM, we headed off to Luxor and Mandalay Bay. The parking was a nightmare everywhere. We were surprised as we had hard time finding a slot though the parking lot in every casino was so huge. The Luxor was huge with the replica of the great Egyptian pyramid, with an incomparable sky beam on its top. The interiors of Luxor were so modern and very different. If one looks up attempting to see the ceiling, his eyes will hit a triangle with staircase-like body. The stair-like form which you see from the bottom are all the corridors of the rooms in the Luxor hotel and we were so thrilled to imagine how it would be to take a look at the bottom from there. It was a lovely piece of architecture.

My primary intent of visiting Vegas was to see the interiors and the architecture of every casino/hotel and it was well served. I have always had an affinity towards Engineering Drawing during good-old college days and these casinos were making me feel bad for having not chosen a career in architecture.

Then we marched towards Mandalay Bay crossing a vast extent of shopping arena. The shops were ostentatiously standing there, tempting anybody who passed by. Hari should thank me for having not done a crazy shopping, I didn’t buy anything from Las Vegas in fact. There was one “Minus 5 Lounge” in Mandalay Bay. It was a room which was completely icy. The walls were made of ice, the sculptures were of ice, the sofas and chairs were ice, and even the cups they served drinks and juices in, were also ice. I was getting reminded of the ice palace in Die Another Day. We came out with a nice complimentary Eskimo cap. There were pretty girls outside the lounge, half-dressed in just a corset and a micro-mini skirt, to lure people into the lounge. We saw two guys taking pictures with those girls and guess who clicked them? Their wives with come-home-I’ll-get-you-drooler look on their faces.

We went to NewYork NewYork and found it to be a little quaint, not that great an edifice as the MGM and the others. We took a train back to the Luxor where we had parked our car. There were a bunch of guys in our compartment and they were trying to establish a friendly conversation with us. A guy amongst them was asking about the Eskimo cap I was wearing and said its not worth giving 30 bucks just for a complimentary vodka. I said we don’t drink but still I found the ice lounge worthy. Hari whispered “he’ll hug you when you leave. Just deny. The bloke is drunk”. I said “whatttttt” with a terrified look and tightened my grip on Hari. I managed to come out safe :)

Then we went to Fremont Street Experience. I had no clue what it was. Hari said the Fremont street was all about lights. It was awfully cold and windy and I was shaking terribly during our walk in Fremont street. The bright lights were dashing against my face. There was a street orchestra singing songs from 70’s and we could see couples dancing openly in the street. It was fun.

Then we went back to Bellagio to see the most renowned fountain show. The fountain was dancing to the rhythm of a song played and whenever the song reaches a high pitch, the fountain shot to a great height, almost till the top of the casino. It was wonderful. We had no energy left and so went to bed.

The next day we got up late as usual and by noon, we took a stroll inside Bellagio. We had a fruit tart in a cafe there and it was so good. I still have the taste in my tongue when I think of it. Then we went to Bellagio buffet for lunch. Buffet at a five-star hotel is a must-go as they say and we would have been in the queue for an hour. When we went inside, I was amazed to see so many items for desserts. A person who eats non-veg, especially sea-food would have a bonanza time over there. I, pretty much confined to Indian cuisine only, found it really hard to eat anything that was out there. I had taken a fried rice and saw something brown in it. I asked hari what it was and he said it should be some vegetable. I was so hesitant to eat it and so hari grabbed a spoon and had that thing and declared its chicken. That’s it. I almost threw up. Thankfully I hadn’t eaten it. I had only little Singapore noodles and switched to dessert. I took too many items and didn’t even manage to have half of them. I am definitely not a buffet person.

Then we went to Venetian. This was one casino I loved the most. They had artificial sky inside the casino and gondola rides, trying to keep it a replica of Venice. The ambience was so good and we could see some guys marching around the casino singing Venetian songs. I was in no mood to leave Venetian. It was certainly kindling my long term desire to visit Europe. Then we went to Madam Tussauds wax museum and I took pictures with all of the wax models, particularly envying and cursing Angelina Jolie’s wax model which was placed beside Brad Pitt’s. I was telling Hari “try to exclude her from the frame of me and Brad” :)

Then we went to Paris casino. IT was wonderful too giving the look and feel of France for us. We went to the observation deck of Paris which was at the top of 72 stories if I remember it right. It was piercing cold up there and the strip view was just beyond expression. We managed to catch 2 of the Bellagio fountain shows and I would have died for one view of the fountain from that height.

When we came out, it was almost time for our David Copperfield show and headed towards MGM. He was so amazing and the show was nothing like the ones I have seen before. He picked people from audience for making them disappear off the stage and Hari was almost making me stand on my toes with hands hovering high for me to be picked so that he can get rid of me for few minutes :) I would have been more than willing to be a participant too but I wasn’t picked. It was so good a show having the people disappear from the stage and reappear at the back of the theatre. We had managed to befriend a girl who was sitting beside us and was chosen as a candidate for the disappearing show. We enquired her what happened or how she felt. But she denied any info as all the participants had sworn to David that they would utter no word. What’s fun in magic if you know how its done?

We went back to Bellagio and I very much wanted to go to the night club at Bellagio itself for which we were holding complimentary tix. But I had no energy to change to my cocktail dress and we decided we would drop it off. That was a day!

The next morning we started at 5.30 from Bellagio and reached the airport by 6.30 only to discover that our flight at 7.30 AM had been cancelled. We had to wait for 12 hours in the airport not knowing how to kill the time. We had to bunk the office. Thank God, I had my Ayn Rand with me. We then decided that we should be in no laziness to pack our laptops during any journey. Finally we managed to get a flight back to SFO at 7.50PM. Hari gave me the window seat this time so that I could have the aerial view of Vegas. Good for him, he escaped my punches. He had promised me to take me in helicopter when I fought with him for not giving me the window seat on our onward journey, but he didn’t do so. This flight delay thingy was in a way good as I had the window seat and got the splendid view of Vegas.

Just then a guy beside Hari said a hello to us (ours was a 3 member seat). He didn’t look like an American as his slang wasn’t as pure as Americans. He sounded a bit like someone from Middle East. He was getting acquainted beyond anyone’s level of expectation and I started growing suspicious. I know its gonna be silly if I say I thought he was from an enemy country of India but that’s how I felt. He was speaking about his interests in travel, about economy and stuff. Hari turned to me and said “can you pls keep talking to me so that he doesn’t get me? God, this is the last thing I would want after a 14-hour wait at the airport”. I didn’t dare to look at that guy since whenever I looked at him, he started addressing me too. Suddenly during his conversation with Hari he said “mushkil nahin” and I was looking at him as if I confirmed him to be a terrorist. I nudged Hari “how the hell does he know Hindi?” Hari said “How the hell would I know?” I was looking at him dreaded and couldn’t refrain from asking him “Which country do you actually belong to?” He said he was from USA, Hawaii if am correct. He started speaking about his visit to India, that he went to Missouri, Simla, Agra and how he liked Taj Mahal and other historic places. It would have seemed to be a general conversation, had he seemed normal to me but now I felt “god, why is he speaking about monuments?” Hari placed his blackberry on the food tray and was looking through the window. I saw that guy taking out a beer tin and I had a weird feeling that he was looking at Hari’s blackberry. I didn’t want to say it to Hari as I thought he might feel am foolish. So I didn’t take my eyes off the blackberry as I felt that guy would take it when we are a lil loose and use it to send some message to someone in his gang and make us the victims of whatever plan he had. Then he asked Hari what are all the places worth visiting in India. When Hari was telling about Kerala, the guy asked him to write it down on a paper and I was worried as I thought he would do something with that handwriting. I know this is the height of paranoia. Finally we reached SFO and I was glad to get rid of that guy. He just turned out to be a passenger who was abnormally seeking a speech companion, nothing like what I thought. I was telling to myself “I should prolly stop watching CSI”.

That was Las Vegas for me. I like traveling and here I am awaiting eagerly my next trip to wherever Hari would take me. The day after our departure from Vegas, we heard that it was affected by snow storm. We were glad we were able to catch the last flight from Vegas to SFO the previous day!

I am done with Harry Potter series finally. I never had any inclination to read the books thinking that its for kids, until I saw Hari who abstained himself from the world around him since he wanted to read the final book of Harry Potter series without a meager disturbance, when the book came out. He also told me that there were people who completed the 700 odd paged book overnight, coz of the fear that the secrets of the story would fall into their ears from someone who has already read it. It was then I started reading the first one and I swear I was absolutely tied to it. I couldn’t think of reading any book other than Harry Potter and was so much influenced by it that my dreams were filled with it, my words adapted the style of some character or the other in the story, and I admit I started having crushes not only on the characters, but also on those who acted in the movies :) The movie cant even stand a zillion miles away from the book though. When Hari asked me what he could get for my birthday, the immediate response from me was “Harry Potter and the deathly hallows book”. I didn’t know then if I was happy since I would know what happens to whom finally in the long story or if I was disappointed as it was the last book and Harry Potter would be out of my life till the next movie half blood prince comes. However, I would have watched the movies atleast 3 times each and I will keep doing it.

The last chapter of deathly hallows was an ultimate treat. I was enjoying every line, every word of it. And the best conversation I like in the whole series is the one between Harry and Rufus Scrimgeour, the minister of magic in “Harry Potter and the half blood prince” when Harry denies Scrimgeour’s persuasion of him to work for ministry. It’s a heated conversation and I couldn’t believe how Harry had grown to be an adolescent, knowing to speak that much, his words impregnated with bullies. Anyways, it was a nice conversation and god knows how many times I read it.

Hermione had always been close to my heart and of course, Ron. I actually liked Rupert Grint better than Daniel Radcliffe in the movie. I loved Albus Dumbledore to such an extent that I was weeping so badly when he was murdered, and its nothing when compared to that on Snape at the end, whom I had always hated terribly till the last chapters of the last book.

I was hell-bent on not watching the movies before reading the books and I am telling you, I have been wise. The charm of the story will certainly be killed if the movie is watched first.

I actually wanted to write more but then, I started reading my favorite conversation in the series while writing this post, which has forced me to abandon writing. I am setting off to read all my favorites in the story. I am sure many of you would have read it already. But if there’s anyone who hasn’t, trust me, you are missing something really really big in your hobby.

J.K.R is the best. Can’t wait to read “Tales of Beedle the Bard”. I have already preordered the book and waiting for Dec 4th.

I saw this movie Pride and Prejudice last week. It was released in 2005 and I know am the last person to see it, yet, I wanted to do a line or two about this movie now, as I liked it very much.

My guy was excited about the movie as it had Keira Knightley starring, while I was wondering if I would get anyone in the movie to drool over. The movie commenced with every cast uttering “Mr. Bingley” which made me think he is the hero of the movie. When I saw Simon Woods as Mr. Bingley, I was a little disappointed, duhing as my notion that the guys would look stupid in regency-style costumes came true. As I was cursing the director of the movie since my guy had someone to admire at, to my envy and vice versa couldn’t happen, there came a handsome good-looking guy who, everybody quoted Mr. Darcy. Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy was a perfectly adorable thing with his magnificence glowing in that attire. I was wishing he should be shown through out the movie, irrespective of him being a hero or not [As I haven’t read the novel, nothing I knew about which character has what importance]. The story was moving on only to teach me that Mr. Darcy is the man of the movie. The movie was after the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I heard that the depiction in the novel was so emoting that it brings a lady into tears when she reads it.

While my guy kept saying that there’s something about Keira though she isn’t that great a beauty and that her eyes speak and have a tickling mischief, I was ogling at Matthew, completely disregarding the person next to me.

I was awe-struck by the dialogues in the movie. I would say the beauty of the movie was vested with its dialogues and it was a relief to hear that the screenplay didn’t force them to be different from the original masterpiece of Jane Austen. I have to say that the dialogues were so long and the words embedded in them were bombastic that we had to turn the captions on in the TV to comprehend them. They were pleasant to the ears too and I wanted to redo the movie without captions to enjoy the verbal more. I wonder how many rehearsals they would have had to shoot a scene. But one thing which was nagging about the dialogue was the straight flow of them without any modulations while speaking which, I felt, killed the emotion in the voice the actors were trying to bring out. Everybody was plain in their vocals. May be the intention was to bring the emotions in the eyes and the face of the actors, than in their voices. Or may be that’s the way the parlance was at that age. I dunno. The movie makers know better I believe.

Mr. Darcy had done a really good job and my most favorite scene is the one wherein Mr. Darcy would have saved his dignity much by not showing on face that he’s hurt by the words of Lizzie when he proposes his love for her and she denies. The audience can however understand from his words that he’s hurt but he still maintains rigidness in his face not showing it.

Another thing which I liked in the movie is the bow everybody does as a sign of greeting the person they meet. It is such a graceful bow and I loved it.

The palaces where the movie is shot were gorgeous and the sculpture ensemble was a perfect fit.

It’s a nice story on the whole which can be given a go when you feel like doing nothing on a rainy gloomy Friday evening or watching something like a light stream without noise.

The following picture decorates my laptop as the wallpaper now, to the envy of you-know-who :)

Here are the snippets of dialogues in the movie which still buzz in my ears:

Netherfield Butler: A Mrs. Bennet, a Miss Bennet, a Miss Bennet and a Miss Bennet, sir.
Caroline Bingley: Oh for heaven's sake, are we to receive every Bennet in the country?

Mr. Collins: Every mind must have some counsellor to whom it may apply for consolation in distress. There are many conveniences which others can supply and we cannot procure. I have in view those objects which are only to be obtained through intercourse. Forgive me, through the intercourse of friendship or civility.

Mr. Darcy: Do you talk, as a rule, while dancing?
Elizabeth Bennet: No... No, I prefer to be unsociable and taciturn... Makes it all so much more enjoyable, don't you think?

Mr. Bennet: Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins... And I will never see you again if you do.

Elizabeth Bennet: Your unfortunate brother once had to put up with my playing for a whole evening.
Georgiana Darcy: But he says you play so well.
Elizabeth Bennet: Then he has perjured himself most profoundly.
Mr. Darcy: No I said, "played quite well."
Elizabeth Bennet: Oh, "quite well" is not "very well." I'm satisfied.

Mr. Darcy: How are you this evening, my dear?
Elizabeth Bennet: Very well... although I wish you would not call me "my dear."
Mr. Darcy: [chuckles] Why?
Elizabeth Bennet: Because it's what my father always calls my mother when he's cross about something.
Mr. Darcy: What endearments am I allowed?
Elizabeth Bennet: Well let me think...”Lizzie" for every day, "My Pearl" for Sundays, and...”Goddess Divine"... but only on *very* special occasions.
Mr. Darcy: And... what should I call you when I am cross? Mrs. Darcy...?
Elizabeth Bennet: No! No. You may only call me "Mrs. Darcy"... when you are completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy.
Mr. Darcy: [he snickers] Then how are you this evening... Mrs. Darcy?

Mr.Bennet: I cannot believe that anyone can deserve you. But it seems I am overruled. So I heartily give my consent. I could not have parted with you my Lizzie, to anyone less worthy.
Elizabeth Bennet: Thank you.
Mr.Bennet: If any young men come for Mary or Kitty, for heaven's sake, send them in. I'm quite at my leisure.

Many of my friends on seeing the title of the post would think "What does the word cook has to do in Anu's blog?" I remember my ex-teammate saying once "I doubt if she knows to boil water". I have never even peeped into the kitchen before I came to the US and I wore an astounded look when my roomie here told me that toor dhal and channa dhal are different. My knowledge in cooking was literally that void. Luckily, all my roomies during my first 6 months here were great cooks and the responsibility of cooking wasn't shouldered by me. I wasn't hitherto paying a damn about cooking. Cooking posed itself as a real scalawag when I happened to move into an apartment 2 months back with another girl who too was sailing on the same boat as mine, being a novice in cooking. Google was the Deity for us, providing the recipes of dishes. We can cook without oil, not without google. :)

We try out different dishes. The feel that we are starters in cooking doesn't intimidate us and confine us to make simpler dishes. There had not been a single day wherein the dishes were made without the patching up here and there. But I tell you everything turns out really well eventually and there had not been even a ruined one. I often get reminded of the days wherein I found umpteen faults in whatever my mom made. She used to curse me telling I'll know when I start cooking. Now on hearing my adventurous, yet successful cooking, she feels very happy and says it's a comeuppance.

You would be highly entertained when you see us cooking I promise. The things that petrify us the most are the curry leaves and ginger paste when added to heated oil. I would stand a yard away from the pan, throw the curry leaves and ginger paste into it and run to the other end of the kitchen to see them spurt oil all over. And we are too artistic in making rotis. We bring the shapes of all the continents in the world so perfectly in our rotis you know!!! Once we get the feel that the dish is cooked, we take a pinch of it to assess the salt and spice level and try fixing the faults [you should see us exchanging ominous looks before tasting]. We keep repeating this till we arrive at the taste we want. It's embarrassing to tell you that if you sum up the pinches we consume to assess the taste, it would be more than a person's actual intake of it. Oops!!!

For this new year, we made aaloo bonda and gulab jamun [by telling aaloo, I get reminded of you Sachi. The days when you used to share my aaloo fry are still green. You better miss them :)]. Aaloo bonda was awesome and so were the jamuns, softie-soft. But the sweet syrup got hardened time and then, how much ever we microwaved it. We will blame it on the weather. Here's the photo of jamuns to your envy [The aaloo bondas were so nice to be spared for a click]. Aint they mouth watering?


The first dish which we made was vaangi bath (rice bath with brinjals) and we have tried almost all the dishes ranging from simple rasam to malai kofta and cutlet. We are having great fun. To those who made fun about me – your desires to comment on me are ramshackled. I should admit I haven't gained confidence to cook solitarily. Want the dish to be great? – I want Nitisha beside me. I actually would be seething if someone pries in when I cook, directing me to do things. As this sweet lady is also a starter in cooking, she never does that. Nitisha: you are a great companion. Thanks a lot!

Am sure I’ll become a good cook. Beware Nala - Nalabaagam might get replaced with Anubaagam!!!!
Okay guys, I know that was too much!!!

I had lots of expectations before going to the movie, obviously because it’s a remake of the super star’s. The movie was for 2 and a half hours and I don’t mind you Ajith fans, to tell that the movie sucked. A slow motion walk with regal suit and goggle was what Ajith was introduced with. This slow motion walk and putting on the goggle is shown through out the movie every now and then. Had they been minimized, the movie wouldn’t have reached even 1 and a half hours. J

Prabhu as DSP. Uffff…. LMAO. He didn’t get into my mind at all as a police officer. He was not Deputy Superintendent of Police, but, Dumb-Snickered-Personality. I couldn’t refrain from thinking “Is Prabhu trying his hand in comedy?”. He tosses his fingers towards his subordinates standing behind him, to face billa. I didn’t sense a pinch of majesty in it. I could only imagine it analogous to kaipullai tossing his fingers towards his allakkais to face kattadurai.

Nayantara as Sasha in don’s gang. Good to see her having reduced weight and she’s not hassle-some to the eyes when she’s glamorous, unlike the bulky Namita, who is utterly obnoxious [am not gonna dedicate a paragraph to her, I hate her man. But I should say she was a degree below the peak of intolerance in this movie]. I pity Nayantara as the costume designer had made her roam around in the movie with high-heeled knee high boots and she struggles to walk. Better luck next time Nayan: Everyone cannot be Angelina Jolie aka Lara Croft.

I uttered a deep sigh of relief on seeing Santhanam on screen but before I could complete sighing, he disappears off the screen. I wish he was given a bit more number of scenes.
Rahman as drug lord has given an optimum acting. He has done perfectly what was given to him.

Am sure the dialogue from Ajith “Murugan aaru thalai, naan ore thalai” would have been sumptuous to Ajith’s fans. Ajith’s belly gets tucked in his suits but it’s pretty noticeable when he’s in casuals. I have to admit that he’s charming. Long way to go Ajith: You need to tent at a gym.

“My name is billa” remix deserves a wow but I feel it’s not Yuvan’s music which created the magic but MSV’s. I didn’t find any other song reverberating in my ears. Probably it requires repeated listening.

The former half of the movie pushes you off the seat [or lay back in the seat and sleep] but during the latter half, you can be awake and comfy in your seat. Director Vishnuvardhan didn’t do a justice to the director of old Billa, R.Krishnamurthy.

Despite racing towards the movie scenes, my mind was keen in observing who amongst the audience would crack what comment next. The taunts from the audience were the only cajoling factor I would say, which made my money half-worthy.

It was me who suggested this movie to one of my friends who joined me to the theater and I am sure he would have cursed me for it. I was saved as he was decent enough, by not spitting over my choice. Anyways, I seek apologies buddy.

PS: No disrespect intended to anyone.