Chez Moi

I just finished reading the latest and the last book of J K Rowling’s series. It is still too early to form any sensible opinion about the book but I can confess to feeling sort of anti-climatic. Not the way she has ended it though parts of it will not sink till I read it at a much slower pace next time. More about the fact that this is it - no more Harry, no more adventures, no more save the world capers.

Though I do not think I will need grievance counsellors like some kids around the world, like most of Muggle-dom, I do experience a sense of ‘whoa! It has ended!’ Am I surprised with the way the book ended? Not really. Am I shocked with some of the explanations? Hmmm, may be. Was I happy to part with 8.99 pounds? Hell yeah!

But am I the only one who feels that the title doesn’t really fit the bill?

1. The MCs - why do they always feel inclined to do most of their speil in Hindi? Even though I understand the language fairly decently, the automatic assumption that everyone should be able to walk and talk the language is more than mildly irksome.

2. Why is that anyone who gets a mic in their hands feels inclined to shout down it? The same MCs are virtuosos in this regard. My mind boggles!

3. Why does the simple concept of queuing escape us? For the past week, I have been queueing up at various places - supermarkets, juice outlets, coffee shops, banks, ATM counters and many other places but every single time, I have been bumped out of the queue at the last possible minute - starting with the immigration counter at the airport when I landed!

4. Why do we mix up gregariousness with loudness?

More on this issue soon. Now the MC at the Club Mahindra joint is bellowing into his mic so let me escape this room and save my ear drums.

A chance glance at an article posted on the doors of Murugan Idli Shop in Besant Nagar led to my discovery of Shruti Haasan and her awesome music. All I knew of her till that minute was that she was the firstborn of Kamal Haasan and Sarika. Till I logged onto her MySpace website and listened to a couple of her songs. That was a good few hours ago and since then, I have listened to her most of her songs at least a couple of times.

What strikes me most about her music is its refreshing quality. Her base in Indian music and her degree in Western have helped create a beautiful amalgam of sound and her dulcet tones are real pleasing to the ears. I really like her songs ‘Again’ and ‘Tamil’ - she sounds a bit like LeAnn Rimes in her rawness but overall, in her own words, she sounds like “nothing you’ve heard before!”

Here’s wishing this talented youngster success in her musical career and one hopes she does’t have to fight to get away from the shadows cast by her parents’ illustrious movie careers!

The friendly neighbourhood mango seller a.k.a mom!

I asked P to strike a pose and here’s what I got for my pains!

Here’s the cheeky chappie himself!