Our short film, Aattinkutti (Lamb)
[vimeo 20782984 w=400 h=265]
Aattinkutti (Lamb) from Geetanjali Chitnis on Vimeo.
Aattinkutti (Lamb) – a short film made by a group from the Communicative Studies Graduating Batch of 2011, Mount Carmel College (Bangalore).
BMTC Bus
I’ve been meaning to write this for a while.
Everyday, for the past 3 years, I travel by BMTC bus from my home to college and back. As I write this, I realize that no matter how much I grumble and mutter about the hassles of using public transport, Bangalore actually does have a pretty efficient bus system that many people do not take advantage of, or are simply not aware of. I have come to cherish my bus journeys everyday, I think it really has given me a better understanding of people in general. I see (and interact with ) so many people on the bus, some ace bus travelers and some awkward ones.
So I thought maybe I should write about some rules that I personally follow on the bus, which have helped me make these journeys a little more successful and less stressful!
Be warned, these are restricted to bus travel within Bangalore and are strictly based on my personal experiences and may not apply to everybody!
Last night, I watched Dhobi Ghat, a film by Kiran Rao starring Aamir Khan,Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra.
"You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell" ~Emily Dickinson
So this is a LONG over due post! Anyway, a bunch of us from class got to attend the 15th International Film Festival of Kerala held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in December. Although the festival was from the 10th of December till the 17th, we got permission to attend it only till the 14th 
There’s a meme running around on Facebook with instructions that go like this :
The Rules – Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors, poets included, who’ve influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag a few friends, including me, because I am interested in seeing what authors you choose. To do so, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your fifteen picks, and tag people in the note.
Richard Castle
Sometimes, I wish I had one of those jackets that Richard Castle has which state what he is, in loud bold letters for the whole world to see – WRITER. I say this because, even if at the most superficial level, it’s some kind of identification. It sets him apart from not only his non colleagues but maybe even his peers.
WRITER.
See? So simple, so confident. It just rushes off your tongue like a gush of air. Whoosh. Powerful, yes? But it’s not so easy to identify with. Okay, so I write. But I don’t just want to be a writer. I want to be a (here we go again) WRITER. One that I can identify with the confidence that I WANT to have, that I often find myself wondering if I will EVER have.
I write all the time. I write tweets, poems, blog posts, essays, tests, exams. I write my name. I write my address, my college, my class, my section. I’ve written in slam books, on restaurant feedback cards. I’ve written on Facebook walls, on real walls. I’ve written my number on a boy’s hand. I’ve written love letters, hate letters, official letters. I’ve written apology notes, thank you notes.
But this I could be You. And I don’t want to be You. I want to be Me.
Me, the WRITER.
Today was a day for heroes.
First, there was Rahul Sharad Dravid and his magnificent 104 against New Zealand. I didn’t watch any part of his innings, but kept a close eye on the score. I can’t help but admire this man, I don’t know how exactly it started, but he’s been one of the few people/things I *believe* in and no I am not saying that in a fanatical-SQUEEEE-fangirl kind of way (okay, maybe just a little bit).
Then, there was Darcy.
I sat down to watch Pride & Prejudice (2005) for probably the fifth time, and this movie never fails to remind me why I love Darcy so. For a long, long time my idea of the perfect romance stemmed from the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr.Darcy. The witty banter in the beginning, then the quiet looks, filled with longing coupled with awkwardness. No fanfare, but fierce all the same. So now, I will go back and read the novel (again) and fall back into Darcy-land.
Meant to post this a while ago. An article of mine on social networking and kids up on LovingYourChild.com
When I began to watch Masterchef Australia (Season 2) on television, my mother looked at me with surprise and said, ”But you don’t even show any interest in cooking! And you hate the cookery shows I watch during lunch time!” (She would know. Lets just say, battles have been fought over this!) Anyway, I became an ardent fan of Masterchef NOT because it’s a ‘show about cooking’ but it’s a show that concentrates on the food itself, on the challenges that contestants face and the learning that takes place. So when I saw the advertisements for Masterchef India, I shuddered. And when I saw who the judge (well technically, he’s one of 3 judges but of course he has to be ”the main judge”) was, I shuddered even more.
Last night, the first episode of Masterchef India aired on Star Plus, and it was so much worse than I’d imagined :
- Since when does India translate into North and West India? Producers, have you heard that there people in this country who live south of Mumbai and east of Delhi who are also Indians? Check that out sometime.
- The show, as expected, applied the ‘Indian Idol’ style of overhead shots of long, snaking lines of people screaming ‘IMGOINGTOBETHEMASTERCHEFINDIA’ occasionally interjected with ‘AKKI I LOVE YOU’. Yes, aunty, that’s the reason you should enter this show. For Akshay Kumar.
- The show insisted on concentrating on the personal lives of the ‘contestants’. I’m not disrespecting the fact that some of them may have faced a lot of hurdles, but unless that had any relevance to their love for cooking, how does that matter? You want us to feel sorry for you, there’s apparently a show called Rakhi ka Insaaf that might help.
- The lighting and shots used. What are they thinking!? At least try to make the food look appealing! I’m sure some of it tastes good, so why use harsh white light and clumsy framing to make it look the opposite?
- Reality show therefore MUST concentrate on the tears. Apparently this one is written in stone somewhere cause I definitely saw more tears than food last night. And no, I’m not including my own tears of frustration.
- The 3 ‘judges’. One cooked in Bangkok and two are chefs. Akshay obviously is supposed to be good cop, while the other two alternate between bad cop and confused cop.
- The music and background score. Sounds like ‘Aahat’ and ‘Fear Factor’ most of the time. Let’s not forget the ‘dhadam, dhadam, dhadam’ from the K Serials while the camera concentrates on a contestant when he/she stands around with a nervous/irate/*insert choice of emotion here* expression on the face
- And last, but not least, Mr. Khiladi. It’s quite obvious that he’s going to be playing the star card very often, and make the show about him rather than the food.