These I clicked on my way to Basel from the train

On a random street in Basel. This one was pretty neat.

At a local park in Basel

These were at a structure that was adjacent to an exquisitely maintained football field. So it was actually quite a contrast

This is next to the same field but a section had much nicer work

Finally this was found on the street where I worked and it was actually quite beautiful

This one actually displays the name of the street

On my trip I also noticed guys in uniforms spraying over walls sometimes to cover up graffiti and I also noticed places with the kind of work done above. I asked my co – worker about this and he told me that though most of the random graffiti i came across was illegal there were some places where the graffiti was commissioned and completely legal. It’s a great idea and for me really added to the charm of some places. I wonder if something like that could work back home.

After what feels like several years it seems like I have rekindled my passion for reading Though I have read a few books over the years it was nothing like my days from school when books were my most preferred form of entertainment and an average sized novel was consumed within a day or two. These days books have to compete with several other forms of entertainment like movies, TV series, video games and even plain old internet. I began to realize in the past few years it has taken on an average at least a month to finish a novel.

After very recently completing Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer I went about scanning my bookshelf for my next read. While I usually buy books new from Landmark or Crossword and in the past few months the online bookstore Flipkart I have on occasion bought some second hand from places I don’t care to remember. The book I settled on was an old hardbound with no cover art called “The Last Magic” by N. Richard Nash. I remember now where I had come into possession of this one. It was at one of those grand fairs that are organised on one of the large grounds  in the city. These fairs for me personally hold little interest but it was my duty as always to take Mom to them. After an agonising round of all the stalls just outside the exit sat this guy with a cart full of books and cardboard banner advertising that he was selling something like 5 books for Rs 50. I selected 5 books blindly and came home happily not knowing when I would find the time to read them but only thinking that one really couldn’t get anything substantial these days for Rs 10. This book was among them.

Now I haven’t begun reading this book yet and searching on the internet for more info about didn’t really yield much. It seems it wasn’t that popular a book. Opening the book however yielded just one little surprise. Inside the back cover was a little card jacket with a library card. it reminded me of a decade ago when I used to borrow books from my school library. This book which was published in 1978 was apparently checked out 6 times over the next 4 years.

I was curious about which library this book was a part of but the only other information I found was this. I thought searching for FIRST NORTHERN SAVINGS & LOAN would show me something right away. The only real result that did show was the archived 1987 earnings report for this institution on the New York Times website.

I am the kind of person who always believes there is a story behind even every inanimate object of the past. I began to wonder about a few things.

• Firstly the book is in remarkable condition for something created 30 years ago and having travelled through several hands and miles on it’s journey here.
• Also FIRST NORTHERN SAVINGS & LOAN  seems like a purely financial institution and I wonder why and how they were into this whole scheme of loaning books to their customers
• Also the Lousiana written on the first page is the name of a person or the US state of Louisiana is misspelled.
• The chain of events the that brought the book from a library in the US into the hands of an Indian vendor with a handcart

Ofcourse I will probably never know the answers to any of these questions but sometimes there is a greater joy in the unknown. Now onto reading the book.

I went into the show knowing nothing about the series. Only after a couple of episodes had aired and it’s title began springing up everywhere on the internet that I decided to give the show a try. While the first episode introduced us to a few of the characters and a limited part of the world it was from the next episode that I was really hooked. While the show maintains good production values it’s the characters that really define the show. Somehow the creators managed to assemble a fantastic cast that not only play their characters to perfection but their verbal exchanges are some of the best I have heard on TV.

Sean Bean is the veteran of the cast and would be recognizable as Boromir from The Lord of the Rings. He plays the role of Ned Stark the Lord of a particular area of the ancient kingdom of Westeros Sean in my opinion is one of those actors who manages to say so much without saying much at all. The subtle changes in expression the the creases on his face and his general demeanor convey so much about everything his character is going through in the present and his past. While the rest of the cast is uniformly brilliant it’s Peter Dinklage performance who plays a dwarf that is absolutely standout. He absolutely deserves an Emmy for his performance. Granted he has the best lines in the series but the way he plays the role of a son of a royal with a scathing tongue, sharp wit, often times hilarious and with a penchant for women and fine wine he had me hanging on to every word he said. He might be the shortest of the cast but he towers above others. I can say for sure that there are people who watch the show just for him. Other great performaces are by the younger cast members including 14 year old Maisie Williams who plays Arya the daughter of Lord Stark and Emilia Clarke who plays Daenerys Targaryen a character who had a very delicate role as she is the one who changes the most over the course of the first season.

Though the show is about it’s characters foremost it has a deep story with a lot of twists and turns and no real happy endings. The story serves the characters well and helps us really understand how the characters evolve, mature and ultimately chose the paths they will take in the future when they have to deal with life changing events. Though the series might have more action in store for us in the following seasons people expecting a lot of fantastic battle set pieces will be disappointed. The show is about politics , people and decisions both wise and uninformed that turn the tide in  a war.  You will understand by the end of the season what the title ‘Game of Thrones’ truly signifies.

Another important aspect of the show is how uncompromising it is in bringing George R.R Martin’s world from the book to life. This show is not for the squeamish. Expect a lot of brutality and some of the most unrestrained sex scenes you will ever see in a TV series of this calibre. Do not watch this with a loved one or a significant other.

After an incredible first season I have fallen in love with the characters of this show. Though some won’t return for Season 2 I can’t wait to meet some new ones. So until the show returns again in 2012 all I can do is perhaps read the book or watch those incredible last few moments of the Season Finale again and again

Just watch this video and I defy you to not be mesmerized. Reading the description by the filmmaker I learnt that this video was shot over 11 days in Norway and captures an incredibly beautiful act of nature that occurs there at a particular time of the year. Combined with some fitting music composed specifically for this video it’s a real treat to watch

Inspired by love and shaped to perfection, the Taj Mahal immortalizes one man’s love for his wife and the splendor of an era.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 10 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 55 posts. There were 24 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was April 29th with 98 views. The most popular post that day was The Little Child.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, bheekly.blogspot.com, blogger.com, homemortgage.hvox.info, and shantesh.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for pixar, pixar movies, just because im quiet, just because i’m quiet, and calming picture.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

The Little Child September 2006
2 comments

Pixar : WALL-E Trailer October 2007

Just because I’m quiet January 2010
2 comments

A wonderfully calming picture March 2008

Fishing for monsters September 2008

Characters in a movie of course mean nothing without a fine cast of actors to portray them. Rajat Barmecha who plays Rohan makes an impressive big screen debut. He manages to pull off an extensive range of emotions from teenage angst, rebellion, anger, frustration, and downright helplessness to conviction with a genuineness you would probably expect only from a more experienced actor. Whatever direction he heads down towards in the future he will surely be remembered for the depth he managed to bring to this simple tale. The child actor playing his little brother also does a fine job. Particularly noteworthy is Ram Kapoor who plays Rohan’s uncle a person who serves as a foil to his father. Though some may find the character of Rohan’s father to be too one dimensional in his dictatorial attitude it doesn’t matter that much in the end as the movie is about the trials and tribulations of a young boy and he is the one you will remember in the end.

The music in the movie is uniformly brilliant right from the main theme that perfectly punctuates the more poignant moments of the film to the uplifting cheery songs that suffuse the more upbeat scenes in the movie. The lyrics to the songs that I managed to understand I thoroughly enjoyed. The movie does make use of some pretty high level Hindi (for me at least) so those of you well versed in Hindi might get a lot more out of the dialogs and songs than I did.

In the end Udaan works not because of a deeply involving story but because it sticks to it’s simple premise and shows us in minute detail the interactions between it’s primary characters. This is helped by some rather interesting choices with the camera. Udaan is not a film for the impatient. Several scenes see the camera linger on Rohan in almost near silence for several moments. These are moments I personally enjoyed greatly as they allowed you to delve into the mind of the young boy for just those few moments. Silence in a movie has never spoken so much to me before.

Ultimately the movie is about the theme of liberation and breaking free of metaphorical shackles. A scene that we have seen of the boy running away from his father from the trailer comes together wonderfully thanks to a perfect blend of cinematography, the actor’s emotions and the exceptional music. It is one of the finest sequences in the movie and those who come to love the movie will remember it as a deeply affecting moment and a culmination of everything the movie was about.

If there is any hope of Bollywood breaking free of it’s shackles we need a lot less Dabangg and a little more Udaan.

Dance is just one of those activities I enjoy watching other people perform rather than attempting it myself. I just consider myself too unwieldy to attempt it. Still if there is one thing that must be said about dance it is one of those things that simply transcends cultural and language barriers and is an expression of sheer joy and an output of boundless energy. Watching the video above is a testament to the fact that you can transform the ordinary into something unforgettable with just a little bit of song and dance.

Some quotes on dancing

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good.  ~Edwin Denby

Dance till the stars come down from the rafters
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop.
~W.H. Auden

Stifling an urge to dance is bad for your health – it rusts your spirit and your hips.  ~Terri Guillemets

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.  ~Havelock Ellis

Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.  ~John Wain

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.  ~Author Unknown

There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. ~ Vicki Baum