Travelogue - GOA

I had many expectations before leaving for Goa a couple of weeks back, mainly because of what I heard from others who had been there earlier. Not sure if my expectations got over the board, but I somehow felt that Goa is an overrated tourist place.

Firstly, it may have the longest running coastline and the largest number of beaches, which is why it is stormed by foreigners in majority. But then, what is the point because all beaches more or less look similar and serve the same purpose. There are better tourist places in India or at least ones that are equally good.

Secondly, there were a lot of apprehensions built into our 'all-girl' minds about the safety of this place. Why is Goa made to sound so notoriously unsafe for women? We felt very safe despite no male company. Staying in a good hotel in a decent locality can do no harm to you, whatsoever. Just make sure you are aware of your actions and surroundings.

Goa looks best in monsoons, but that would leave you compromising on a variety of water sports. We stayed in a cottage on Miramar beach near to Panjim. For shopping, you may go around the flea markets on Baga and Calangute beaches or the upmarket boutiques in Panjim. I didn't find anything worth buying though except for a few junk accessories.

Stayed at: Miramar Beach Resort by GTDC (Go for the Deluxe AC rooms. They are good).
Food: Avoid the food in its restaurant, but do treat your taste buds to the lovely chat flavors and coffee available in the food court there. You would have to explore different places for tasty food. Delhi Darbaar, Forest Veg Food Court in Panjim can be tried.

Wating For You

This is one from the series of songs called "Waiting For You" written by me.

I have been strong, waiting all along
No matter what people said to me
No matter how bad the world taunted me
I was still strong, waiting all along
No matter how distant you seemed to be
No matter how restless this made me feel
I was still strong...
Waiting all along...

Some are gone, some are yet to come
And one more time, I have just begun
Coz’ all these days have no meaning to me
My day will start when you’ll be with me

I can be strong
I can wait all along
All I need is a word from you
That you’ll be there and see me through

Come alive, come and be with me
Hear me say, you are my destiny
Coz’ all these days have no meaning to me
My day will start when you’ll be with me

Just you and me…
We can be strong and,
We can live all along


© Copyright 2011 [Indu Dasika] - All Rights Reserved.

In Search Of...

I seldom fear failure
I seldom fear love
If there is something that fears me
Is the loneliness that ripples within me

I feel lost, I feel lone
I see darkness shine alone
Not a book, and Not a sword
Can break thy silence and fetch a word

I walk miles in search of love
In search of heart that’d heal my soul
I rest my feet on the ground
When all I see is loneliness around

Dum Maaro Dum - A slick flick

Rohan Sippy and Abhishek Bachchan had given us the uber-chic "Bluffmaster". They are now back after a long time with some powerful supporting cast and a sleek storyline. Mix varied cast, slick screenplay and great technicality and what you get is Dum Maaro Dum.

The story is all set amidst drug abuse issues in Goa. ACP Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan) is vested upon with the responsibility of cleaning up Goa from drug scams by the Home Minister. He chooses two police officials, Mercy and Rana, for this mission. Joki Fernandez (Rana Daggubati) runs a music shop and sings part-time at parties. His is a happy life with girlfriend Zoe (Bipasha Basu), until she falls victim to drug trafficking and is taken away from him by Lorsa Biscuite (Aditya Pancholi) - a leading business man in Goa and the backbone of drug trafficking there.

Lorry (Prateik Babbar) is a student who is rejected financial aid for study at a foreign university, while his girl friend Taani (Anaita) gets it. He gets involved in drug trafficking for the sake of money to go to New York, but gets caught by Kamath. The story runs in parallel tracks in the beginning with narrations from the three men - Kamath, Lorry and Joki - about their life.

The movie is a treat to watch, but there are some loose ends in the screenplay which should have been taken care of, like the episodes of Ricky's murder which goes away without any investigation, episode where ACP Kamath understands who Michael Barbossa is without any background and the climax episode which looked very easy to get away with. Music, cinematography and editing keep up with the film's pace. Performances by all actors are good especially Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu, who acted really well in this film. Go catch it this weekend.

My rating for this film - ****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

Jan Lokpal - India Against Corruption

India is finally awakening to the dire need for a fool proof Anti Corruption system. The Jan Lokpal bill drafted by a known section of the civil society has now found voice to make its presence felt in the Parliament. This bill should be definitely passed and the necessary legal Lokpal and Lokyukta entities should be set up as soon as possible.

It is really distressing to see that politicians who make long illustrous speeches and take innumerable rounds in the streets of their constituency to take commoners in their stride, fail to stand up and pledge their vote against corruption. How many will have the guts and passion like Anna to raise voice against the government and the charizma to pull the masses into this movement?

When India can witness one billion people coming together just for a game of cricket, a magnanimous movement like India Against Corruption deserves much more than that.

I pledge my support for my nation. I pledge my support for India Against Corruption.

For more info on Jan Lokpal and India Against Corruption, visit this page.

Reading...

I am currently reading Tinderbox by M.J. Akbar. It has been a nice informative read so far. I like the way he uses dark humour and pun as interludes in his writings and also the way he questions things for what they are and the way they are.


This is a good book if you are looking for some extensive information on Pakistan and its early age leaders with well-backed facts. It is available for Rs. 499/- on stand and for Rs. 349/- on Flipkart. Check it out.

Are you a loser?

Don’t get rankled with this question. You would be in fact taken aback if I tell you that this is a marketing campaign by one of the new breed Obesity clinics in Hyderabad (no names please :) ). The first time I read it on a hoarding, I thought I got it wrong. The next day I made sure not to miss it and was totally surprised and amused to read this one liner on a huge decorated board at a busy traffic centre in the city. Don’t miss the note they mentioned against the (*) mark. :D

I am a LOSER. Are you? *
* I lost 10 Kgs in 3 months

Whoa! What kind of publicity is that? I mean I will definitely not enroll myself into any of your health programs if I stand the risk of being called a loser after all. Marketing one-liners this weird are an obvious put off for any prospect customers. I am no exception either. Re-inventing your creative quotient need not be so adverse that it goes out of bounds and takes your idea to a point of no return or may be to a point with very few returns. Go, Get a life!

Nothing new in Nagavalli

I watched this flick called Nagavalli a couple of weeks back which is supposed to be the sequel to the 2005's Chandramukhi. There were a lot of expectations built around the film with the kind of promos on telivision and print media. Nothing could match up to all this when we were actually watching it on big screen. It had the same story and the same prominent characters picked up from Chandramukhi. Venkatesh hardly fitted the role and lacked the poise and charisma with which superstar Thalaivar Rajnikant had donned the role earlier. The guru-disciple twist sounded very funny and the screenplay carried many flaws.

The only role which looked believable in spite of being extended from the prequel was that of Sri Ramachandra Siddhanti (Avinash). The presence of four heriones was just a gimmick to garner goody points for the film even before its release. Kamilini Mukerjee acted well in a miniature role. Anushka was also good, but she needs to throw some attention at her constantly increasing weight. Shraddha Das was disappointing and two of her reel sisters (Poonam Kaur and a newbie) had no role to talk about. Richa Gangopadhyay was okay as the victim. Sharatbabu and Prabha were adequate as parents of the four sisters.

There is nothing to comment on the music as you will hardly remember any tune once out of the theatre. Cinematography was decent and editing was crisp to an extent.

My rating for this film - ***
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

Profits Online

I recently shipped a Rakhi to my brother living in Chennai. Infact, that was the first time that I had resorted to any online shopping/ gifts website, reason being lack of time to go buy one and get it couriered. If I overlook ease of logistics and time saving options, I understand that the price of the above two starts from Rs. 200/- and can touch even a steep four digit number. I would not prefer taking the name of the local Chennai online gifts portal that I visited, but the profits hidden made me rethink about my current profession.

I shelled out 261 bucks (may be that 1 rupee was a token of shagun for that portal :D) for a simple rakhi that would have otherwise costed me a maximum of 20 bucks had I bought it from any random street across the country. Let us now subtract the cost for couriering it to - speed post at 30 bucks? All in all, both would have costed me around Rs. 50, but I paid an extra of Rs. 211 for the same. Even if we deduct a meagre 50/- as retailer collaboration amount, it will leave around 150 Rs/- with the person. A minimum of Rs. 150 per rakhi is not a bad amount at all to have in profit!

I Hate Luv Stor(y)s

What happens when there is sizzling chemistry between the lead pair sans any story? Result would be a cliched film like I Hate Luv Storys. Now, what does storys mean? Punit Malhotra, first time director from the "Karan Johar's school" should only be able to tell us. After all, he tried so hard to make this film look urban. Coming to the lead pair, I must admit that I had got mesmerized for the third time watching Sonam kapoor (as simran) with an exuberant display of skill and charm, after Sawariyan and Delhi6. Imran Khan as Jai Dhingra, prefers to be called Jay not Jai, as the latter does not go with his cool casanova image. Sameer Dattani as Raj, Simran's fiance is as expressionless as a rock. Time for him to realize this.

Jay is an AD (assistant director) to Veer, a director who tastes grand success with every run-of-the-mill love story of his. He hates romantic films, but sticks to Veer's team for the sake of his resume and monthly bills. Enter Simran, an art director, hired to work on Veer's new romantic saga and Jay assists her. Simran falls in love with him as he makes her realize that her so called perfect life with Raj is not as perfect as she had thought it to be. Dreams shatter to reality when Jay tells Simran that he does not feel the same for her. But, he eventually realizes his love for her and wins her back on the same day as the film premiers.

The first half of the film is a little entertaining but the second half tests your patience with a sagging plot. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is just okay with Bin Tere and Sajda standing out from the album. I will recommend this film for just one reason - Sonam A Kapoor.

My rating for this film - ***

(* You will shoot me

** Waste of time

*** Can sit through

**** Worth watching once

***** Must watch)