Lage Raho Munnabhai

Feeling somewhat homesick, and a little bit sad at all the ghastly things going on in the world I decided, that for Gandhi Jayanti, Jason and I would watch Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Made in 2006, this movie has not aged well. Vidya Balan has aged exceedingly well- she was still sort of no-voice tiresome in this movie- I suppose she came into her own a bit later. I have never understood the appeal of Sanjay Dutt, and there was a lot of him here, so that was a bit annoying. Arshad Warsi was very much stuck in his role as the loving side-kick. He is really lovely, and I want to see him in things where he gets a bit more to do. We fastforwarded a lot, and watched the laffa champion bit more than once.

J loves all the slapping and punching. It is difficult not to enjoy the goofy sound effects, and thrashing about with him chortling away beside me. The other nice thing about the movie was that it made J reevaluate what was asked of him in terms of dancing skills- he now knows that he knows the roughly three different moves required of any man, to a Hindi song.

But but but- Munna proposes to the Jahnvi from behind bars, so drunk that he cannot get the ring onto her finger- by this time I was yelling at the screen, trying to urge Jahnvi towards better life decisions. Jahnvi- you're young and attractive- not to be ageist, but can't you find yourself a boyfriend who isn't a middle aged man with something of a drinking problem, and very questionable sources of income? Also we came to loathe the Good Morning Mumbai yodeling so much that many curses were muttered, and eventually loudly flung.

I don't think I shall be recommending a re-watching of this movie to anyone.

Gandhi Jayanti

In today's news

1. A 90 year old Dalit man was set on fire for trying to enter a temple. Also in Utter Pradesh. The gift that keeps on giving.

2. People are still yammering on about the Oregon shooter, and prayers, and whether guns were allowed on campus or not - will not one acknowledge that barely a fraction of mass shootings in the US have been carried out by women, and not a single one on school campuses. White men with guns are the problem. Stop the guns. Or just preemptively lock up white men.

3. Meryl Streep is not a feminist- she is a humanist. She is an idiot. And there ends my love for her.

4. Bon Jovi, despite repeated appeals, will go ahead with his show in Tel Aviv. So there go any feelings for him as well.

5. The ILO has been fucking around with me for days, proposing a work contract, and then taking away the work contract. If the International Labour Organization will not treat potential consultants like they have the right to an opinion who will? (No one. Young, brown, third world consultants have no right to expect any better.)

6. #Joaquin is coming for us on the East Coast- or so I am told. But I have seen enough spurious storm warnings in the United States to know that this could also be nothing. It will rain, and Americans will cry about how infrastructure might fail, and will stockpile food as if the world is coming to an end. Everything is always more potentially apocalyptic here. 

7. It is Gandhi Jayanti. And Modi's face is everywhere. It feels like the cruellest irony. This life is not to be borne. Not today.

As you can tell I am angry. I suppose that is not in the spirit of Gandhi Jayanti either.

I'm reading Nora Ephron and am seized by the desire to live in New York, and be single, in my 20's. My 20's are nearly over, and I am married to a man with whom I live in North Carolina- which is pretty damn far from New York, in every way that seems possible.

The way she speaks of New York, with its charm to residents and difficulties for visitors reminds me of Geneva. When I lived there it was great- visiting it is tiresome. I do not enjoy the high prices of everything, and the lack of belonging. Perhaps this goes for all of Switzerland. It is pretty, but visiting it only makes you feel outside of a perfect bubble of joy and beauty. Which isn't even necessarily true. Switzerland is full of annoying things even for residents, and there are many such bubbles to be found in the world. Perhaps even in North Carolina.

The Farthest Field

I am currently reading The Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War, and am not enjoying it as much as I had hoped. It pains me to say this, but the prose might be too florid for me, I didn't think I would ever say such a thing but my tastes in literature appear to have changed. Too many curlicues, and similes, and flowers. Too much ponderous description. It is starting to feel like too little substance wrapped up in a whole bushel of shiny, complicated bows.

I feel a bit sad because I like war stories, and World War II stories in particular. The author was a couple of years ahead of me in school, so I am predisposed to love his work. And yet I cannot because there is just too much flourishing about, and clever use of words (I do not want to be looking up more than one archaic word per page- this is non-fiction not a Scrabble game). It is tiring.

I believe I shall go and read some Nora Ephron. She is not as evocative about Calicut, or Madras, but that is ok. We will get to the point sooner, and there might be fewer idlis, but there will be greater comprehension.

Okbye.

I don't think Beyonce is that great.
Clearly I am not getting it.

Procrastination

I have a deadline coming up. So have been doing a vast amount of cooking.

In the last few weeks I have made

1. Paneer from scratch, several times
2. Paneer paranthas
3. Quiche with paneer in it, and a base made from scratch
4. Fancy khichdi with many bits and bobs
5. Less fancy khichi
6. Sambarshadam
7. Chow mein like the LSR cafe
8. Lobia
9. Black dal
10. Orange dal
11. Mattar paranthas
12. Aloo paranthas
13. Aloo-gobhi-mattar paranthas
14. Gobhi paranthas
15. Puliyogare
16. Baked french fries
17. Hasselback potatoes
18. Potatoes Dauphinoise
19. Lamb meatballs
20. Chicken meatballs
21. Beef meatballs
22. Cashew celery soup
23. Endless salads. Admittedly J makes most of the salad dressing. But I find all the other bits and bobs to go on.

Of all of this I have only one picture- of the quiche- but here it is. It was better than my photography skills.

Now I am tired. I have run out of things to cook before this paper. Must write the paper in a rush of activity and can then return to my customary sloth.
Sloathe

Ab ki baar America yaar

So I find myself moving house one more time. I've not lived all over the world like some of my friends, but I feel like I do a fair bit of shifting house, and this time it is the furthest away from my old house that I have ever moved.

Here is a short list of all the places I have lived, which means all the places I have boxed up my books and clothes for, and unpacked them in.I don't know which is more tiresome. It is possible to procrastinate more about the packing, because you can only last so long without unpacking your undies, and once you've begun you might as well empty the suitcases and hide them till the next time.

1. Home (Blr)
2. Boarding School
3. Home (Blr)
4. Hostel (LSR)
5. Home of kindly granduncle who let me crash at his pad while prepping for finals
6. Home (Blr)
7. Home of a kindly uncle in Dwarka (D.U in it's infinite wisdom had begun classes but not allotted hostel seats)
8. Hostel (DU)
9. Home (Blr)
10. Delhi- Apartment in Alaknanda
11. Home of kindly friend who let me stay even though everything prompted either a rant about men or tears, sometimes both together 
12. Home (Blr)
13. Delhi- Room in N Campus
14. Delhi- Apartment in Jor Bagh
15. Home (Blr)
16. Geneva- Room in student housing
17. Geneva- Flat with 2 Francophones
18. Geneva- Flat with Spanish, Danish and French flatmates
19. Geneva- Flat with Dutch girl, then 2 Italian boys
20. Geneva- Flat with 2 Italians
21. Home (Blr)

22. Home- USA- in less than a week.

How scary, how tiring, how far, how fun. At least this time there will be two of us unpacking.