I don't want to say goodbye to you,
but still know you should go.
This is a time of sadness, a time of joy,
a time to say farewell and goodbye.
A time of despair, for you and me
but let’s see it from the other side.
Let’s put our emotions to rest
as they lose out to the test of time
Time and money are the real world
where emotions are a game and gain...fame.
Take care my friend and get through to last
as moments fly by and our time wears thin
I say, with a heavy heart, a tearful eye
a drooping brow, yet a smiling face
Farewell... farewell to you.
- Vinay Kalyan Parakala
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Tonight
I want to be among the stars tonight
I know it's too far from you...
To hear you smile,
To feel you talk,
To see your eyes...
I wish I were among the stars tonight
Maybe you'll walk down the lane
like we've done a thousand times
and look up at the sky
and smile at me...
That'll do for a lifetime
my love…for my lifetime.
A smile will do if it's from you.
I want to be amongst the stars tonight,
It's cold and it's lonely…
But your smile will do.
I wish I were amongst the stars tonight.
- Vinay Kalyan Parakala
I know it's too far from you...
To hear you smile,
To feel you talk,
To see your eyes...
I wish I were among the stars tonight
Maybe you'll walk down the lane
like we've done a thousand times
and look up at the sky
and smile at me...
That'll do for a lifetime
my love…for my lifetime.
A smile will do if it's from you.
I want to be amongst the stars tonight,
It's cold and it's lonely…
But your smile will do.
I wish I were amongst the stars tonight.
- Vinay Kalyan Parakala
Monday, 19 July 2010
Kluney Manor - Fit for Royalty
The Kluney Manor is everything one would expect, when on a long awaited weekend beak. The wife and me wanted an escape to a picturesque locale, cool climate, excellent food, an element of luxury and access to very many interesting sightseeing spots… yes we wanted all the boxes ticked, after all it was a quick break after many months. Kluney Manor lived up to our expectations to a very commendable 80%.... It doesn’t mean that it lost out on 20% it’s just that I’m a bit stingy with my marks!
Let me dispense with the borderline negatives because it will be a quick and short, as there were very few issues. The approach… one could expect a travelers award if they locate the route to Kluney Manor, within the first 3 tries – it is tough but the very patient front office manager is more than happy to receive your frantic call any number of times to guide you in. The height of the King size bed, you do feel closer to the stars than Mother Earth. So if you have a toddler, like we do, you do tend to get a bit psyched. The minimalistic interiors approach does make the room feel large but it could do with a working table and a few more chairs, especially to sit in front of the fireplace, would be nice. Umm… that’s it! That was it on the negatives.
Right from the second we arrived, the friendly staff made us feel at home, Kluney Manor is located far from the madding crowd of the Ooty town centre, high up on a hillock. This gives you both an excellent view and the much needed privacy. We stayed in a classic cottage, which had a living area, a large bedroom with a delectable fireplace and a 21” TV (I thought LCDs are becoming a standard!) and a vintage almirah with a full size mirror on the front, a small dressing room and a decent bathroom. The classic cottages had their own private lawns in front where my little chap had a great time chasing birds, the lawn has a protected place for an evening bonfire and a couple of log benches to laze on… and of course an amazing view of Ooty town.
The food was probably one of the best that we had. Both of us are pretty choosy and fussy when it comes to food on a holiday and Kluney met with our approval. We are veggies (eggs allowed) and hence can’t comment on the entire menu. While breakfast does make one feel like you are back in your hostel canteen (very limited fare) taste and quality were very high up. The ala carte lunch and dinner menu gives you very good choice and that satiated smile after the meal.
Advertised as a Victorian resort, Kluney Manor does live up to that image. Whenever we are in Ooty next, I don’t expect to stay anywhere else. The long weekend has made us lifelong fans.
Friday, 16 July 2010
Raavan... really!!!
Raavan is best described as a delectable morsel only though…if you were an aged vulture. It was dead… I wanted to append that phrase with more vocabulary but those three words encapsulate my thoughts in full. My disclaimer is also the very truth – I am a die hard Mani Ratnam fan… but a lot of us variety morphed into merely dying fans after this offering.
As we sat through the despair and excruciating disappointment of the first half, another poor sod from the back benches consoled his dear with the words… “Don’t worry the second half is great”. I suppose the subconscious in trained to latch on to any straw of hope, spit in your direction when faced with inevitable doom. We latched on to that statement and as the second half unfolded… renaissance was left shunned as we were subjected to more mental molestation.
In the end, it did not matter anymore… the theatre embarked on a self help and self heal trip, the squeal of ‘Sita’ or the vagaries of ‘Hanuman’ were drowned by the multiple conversations that dawned as defense mechanisms against the silver screen’s tirade. It became a gathering, a party, except for the fact that we sat chained to our seats, we chatted, joked and argued as one would in happier times.
Let’s now analyse individual performances… yes I did drug myself before I said that!
Mr. Raavan A.K.A Abhishek Bachchan’s performance was a distressing comeuppance juxtaposed with, desperation reverberating through the annals and the echelons of the throng. In simpler words, it stank! His suave appearance and distinct pedigree should have been best left at home to portray the role of an eccentric evil man. His evilness should have defied logic or need, Heath Ledger’s depiction of the same was scintillatingly effective in ‘The Dark Knight’. Abhishek failed… his eccentricity was more comic than frightening, it soon became a burden that we had to live with, similar to the cartoon segments in ‘Hum Tum’. One felt extremely satiated that this character did not come with ten heads!
Moving on quickly to Mr. Ram A.K.A Vikram, he was a personification of the famous Stonehenge in UK with a moustache in need of a mower and a Ray Ban bought off the sticky peddler at any Indian traffic signal, equally boring and one is yet to discover why it exists?!? By the last scene, when the whole of the Indian police force ‘encounters’ Beera A.K.A Raavan A.K.A Abhishek, one strongly wishes that Vikram also was caught in some friendly fire!
Mrs. Sita A.K.A Aishwarya Rai Bachchan must have contracted pneumonia if not at least a bad cold as she was under or over water for most of her role. Being fair, she did her best to showcase bewilderment, love, despair, ecstasy, sorrow, anguish, shock and strength but well the fact is that a miracle needs to happen for India to win the soccer world cup, so one is left feeling sorry for her until a catalytic moment plummets her into the group above… Let me depict probably the funniest shot in the movie…Sita rushes to a police officer (Lakshman A.K.A Nikhil Dwivedi), denuded, tonsured, beaten and buried unto his neck in the ground and cradles his head in her soft hands and shrieks – ‘are you okay?’. I earned for an audience with the princess of Bollywood to shriek… if she was!
A quick mention of Mr. Hanuman A.K.A Govinda and Mr. Vibheeshan A.K.A Ravi Kishen, quick only because they excelled in their marginal roles and do not deserve to be paraded with the above notoriety or included in this caustic review. Govinda was remarkable to bring his trustworthy steed called ‘comic timing’ as a catalyst to his otherwise miniscule role. Ravi Kishen emoted like this was his role of a lifetime, both probably poignant displays of gratitude for being chosen by Mr. Ratnam himself to participate in his opus, I dare say.
Finally, Surpanaka A.K.A Priyamani, who has a growing fan base for the wrong reasons, showed us all that she can act and act well at that, one only wished that Ramayana had a larger role for the sister…it might have paused the fall for a bit.
Talking about pausing the fall (or should we promote that word to THUD), the cinematography and visuals were breathtaking; Manikandan and Santosh Sivan have added another feather to their caps. There have been numerous movies with the Indian wild as the background but none more an ambassador than Raavan. It is a great tourism advert for our forest department; maybe they can pay to help reduce the losses that numerous distributors and theatre owners have repeatedly incurred (remember Kites!)
Oh! How dare I miss out on our Oscar winning musical maestro Padma Bhushan A.R. Rahman. His ensemble was intriguing to say the least… Gulzar, Ratnam & Rahman is a potent combination and possibly if one listens to the songs with eyes closed, they sound terrific. ‘Beera Beera’ and ‘Thok De Killi’ reminded me of Dil Se, I truly can’t say why! And what does Thok De Killi mean anyway? My indepth research found me the phrase ‘The last nail in the coffin’?!? If that really is the meaning, its pretty amusing but very apt message to the audience! ‘Behene De’ and ‘Ranjha Ranjha’ stand out as the best dishes or maybe my ears were earning for something soothing; ‘Kata Kata’ and ‘Khili Re’ were nice but more fillers.
The success of the audio album is pretty deserved. Gun to my head if I have to choose the best song, I will have to go with ‘Ranjha Ranjha’… who knows, it might win Raavan its only award!
I hate to admit it but Mr. Ratnam lost this one... but one single strand of failure in a thicket of successes can be forgotten and ignored… maybe it was a case of 23rd time unlucky! I remain one amongst his millions of fans, awaiting his next attempt ardently.
Mr. Ratnam, just a humble suggestion for your next venture from another nobody…. Do you know of a certain Mr. Aamir Khan?
As we sat through the despair and excruciating disappointment of the first half, another poor sod from the back benches consoled his dear with the words… “Don’t worry the second half is great”. I suppose the subconscious in trained to latch on to any straw of hope, spit in your direction when faced with inevitable doom. We latched on to that statement and as the second half unfolded… renaissance was left shunned as we were subjected to more mental molestation.
In the end, it did not matter anymore… the theatre embarked on a self help and self heal trip, the squeal of ‘Sita’ or the vagaries of ‘Hanuman’ were drowned by the multiple conversations that dawned as defense mechanisms against the silver screen’s tirade. It became a gathering, a party, except for the fact that we sat chained to our seats, we chatted, joked and argued as one would in happier times.
Let’s now analyse individual performances… yes I did drug myself before I said that!
Mr. Raavan A.K.A Abhishek Bachchan’s performance was a distressing comeuppance juxtaposed with, desperation reverberating through the annals and the echelons of the throng. In simpler words, it stank! His suave appearance and distinct pedigree should have been best left at home to portray the role of an eccentric evil man. His evilness should have defied logic or need, Heath Ledger’s depiction of the same was scintillatingly effective in ‘The Dark Knight’. Abhishek failed… his eccentricity was more comic than frightening, it soon became a burden that we had to live with, similar to the cartoon segments in ‘Hum Tum’. One felt extremely satiated that this character did not come with ten heads!
Moving on quickly to Mr. Ram A.K.A Vikram, he was a personification of the famous Stonehenge in UK with a moustache in need of a mower and a Ray Ban bought off the sticky peddler at any Indian traffic signal, equally boring and one is yet to discover why it exists?!? By the last scene, when the whole of the Indian police force ‘encounters’ Beera A.K.A Raavan A.K.A Abhishek, one strongly wishes that Vikram also was caught in some friendly fire!
Mrs. Sita A.K.A Aishwarya Rai Bachchan must have contracted pneumonia if not at least a bad cold as she was under or over water for most of her role. Being fair, she did her best to showcase bewilderment, love, despair, ecstasy, sorrow, anguish, shock and strength but well the fact is that a miracle needs to happen for India to win the soccer world cup, so one is left feeling sorry for her until a catalytic moment plummets her into the group above… Let me depict probably the funniest shot in the movie…Sita rushes to a police officer (Lakshman A.K.A Nikhil Dwivedi), denuded, tonsured, beaten and buried unto his neck in the ground and cradles his head in her soft hands and shrieks – ‘are you okay?’. I earned for an audience with the princess of Bollywood to shriek… if she was!
A quick mention of Mr. Hanuman A.K.A Govinda and Mr. Vibheeshan A.K.A Ravi Kishen, quick only because they excelled in their marginal roles and do not deserve to be paraded with the above notoriety or included in this caustic review. Govinda was remarkable to bring his trustworthy steed called ‘comic timing’ as a catalyst to his otherwise miniscule role. Ravi Kishen emoted like this was his role of a lifetime, both probably poignant displays of gratitude for being chosen by Mr. Ratnam himself to participate in his opus, I dare say.
Finally, Surpanaka A.K.A Priyamani, who has a growing fan base for the wrong reasons, showed us all that she can act and act well at that, one only wished that Ramayana had a larger role for the sister…it might have paused the fall for a bit.
Talking about pausing the fall (or should we promote that word to THUD), the cinematography and visuals were breathtaking; Manikandan and Santosh Sivan have added another feather to their caps. There have been numerous movies with the Indian wild as the background but none more an ambassador than Raavan. It is a great tourism advert for our forest department; maybe they can pay to help reduce the losses that numerous distributors and theatre owners have repeatedly incurred (remember Kites!)
Oh! How dare I miss out on our Oscar winning musical maestro Padma Bhushan A.R. Rahman. His ensemble was intriguing to say the least… Gulzar, Ratnam & Rahman is a potent combination and possibly if one listens to the songs with eyes closed, they sound terrific. ‘Beera Beera’ and ‘Thok De Killi’ reminded me of Dil Se, I truly can’t say why! And what does Thok De Killi mean anyway? My indepth research found me the phrase ‘The last nail in the coffin’?!? If that really is the meaning, its pretty amusing but very apt message to the audience! ‘Behene De’ and ‘Ranjha Ranjha’ stand out as the best dishes or maybe my ears were earning for something soothing; ‘Kata Kata’ and ‘Khili Re’ were nice but more fillers.
The success of the audio album is pretty deserved. Gun to my head if I have to choose the best song, I will have to go with ‘Ranjha Ranjha’… who knows, it might win Raavan its only award!
I hate to admit it but Mr. Ratnam lost this one... but one single strand of failure in a thicket of successes can be forgotten and ignored… maybe it was a case of 23rd time unlucky! I remain one amongst his millions of fans, awaiting his next attempt ardently.
Mr. Ratnam, just a humble suggestion for your next venture from another nobody…. Do you know of a certain Mr. Aamir Khan?
Monday, 14 July 2008
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Friday, 13 June 2008
An Interesting Poem
In the Rain
The grey shapes loom stealthily across the azure,
they crackle, growl and whimper over every house and moor.
The sudden downpour,
the wet streets and its rythmic beats,
it plays nature's music.
All get wet, rags or riches.
All get wet, in the rain.
Huddled into the warmth of a trash bin,
sits a small soul, neither cover nor any kin.
All she yearns for is, not a cozy room with a foamy bed
but, a tattered brolly to cover her head,
to exist and live it out,
in the rain.
Bright their features, warm their moods,
a twinkle in their eyes and noses flat against the panes.
All they yearn for is, not warmth, nor a foamy bed
but, to kick at the puddles
to get wet and play it out, in the rain.
All get wet...in the rain.
Copyright ©2008 Vinay Kalyan Parakala
The grey shapes loom stealthily across the azure,
they crackle, growl and whimper over every house and moor.
The sudden downpour,
the wet streets and its rythmic beats,
it plays nature's music.
All get wet, rags or riches.
All get wet, in the rain.
Huddled into the warmth of a trash bin,
sits a small soul, neither cover nor any kin.
All she yearns for is, not a cozy room with a foamy bed
but, a tattered brolly to cover her head,
to exist and live it out,
in the rain.
Bright their features, warm their moods,
a twinkle in their eyes and noses flat against the panes.
All they yearn for is, not warmth, nor a foamy bed
but, to kick at the puddles
to get wet and play it out, in the rain.
All get wet...in the rain.
Copyright ©2008 Vinay Kalyan Parakala
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