Life in Jan 1 - March 25, 2018

2018 was going to be a year of a lot of activity and change.  It was going to be a change from passive to active.  My new year resolutions for this year are -

- Attend 20+ music concerts
- Read 20+ books by Indian authors or Indian subjects
- Do 2+ GHR runs
-Run 2-3 Half marathons

Here are the highlights so far -


Travel -

- 1D-1N trip to Urban valley Resort, Kanakpura
This was our team outing to celebrate the NY season. Did ziplining for the first time along with Kayaking. Also, played cricket and swam at the resort pool. Played scrabble and also did some kite flying or rather kite crashing.  Good fun but got tired because of too much fun. 

- Trip to Malaysia - Langkwai and Kuala Lumpur.
Kanishka and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a trip to Malaysia. It was part relaxing and part touristy trip. Album and blog post to come out soon.

- 3 day trip to Mumbai
While this was a work visit, I had plenty of time to explore this city. I was lucky that the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was happening at the same time there. Went to some amazing cafes such as Poetry by Love and Cheesecake, Kala Ghoda cafe, Cafe Leopold and finally Theobramas. Also, went to NCPA and saw the play Chanakya. Finally ended the trip watching sunset at Juhu chowpatty. Liked the city a lot this time and it has a lot of stuff to offer

- Office trips - 1D trip to Delhi and 1D trip to Mumbai

1 Day trips are just too hectic causing loss of sleep and just throws schedule off balance

- Udupa Music festival

As part of my NY resolution, Kanishka and I ended up attending all 3 days of Udupa music festival.

Feb 16,2018:

Vidwan Shankar Mahadevan: Vocal
John McLaughlin: Guitar (Special Guest)
Vidwan Selva Ganesh: Khanjira
Vidwan U Rajesh: Mandolin
Gino Banks: Drums
Sheldon Dsilva: Bass Guitar

Feb 17, 2018:
Vidwan Guru Karaikudi Mani: Mridangam
Vidwan Mysore Nagaraj: Violin
Vidwan Abhishek Raghuram: Vocal
Pandit Yogesh Samsi: Tabla
Vidwan Guruprasanna: Khanjira

Feb 18, 2018:
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma: Santoor
Pandit Rahul Sharma: Santoor
Pandit Vijay Ghate: Tabla
Pandit Bhawani Shankar: Pakhawaj


Day 1 was quite good. John McLaughlin is truly versatile and Shankar Mahadevan is a treat to hear for his classical voice is so familiar because of his mainstream music. Day 3 was my favorite as I just love the Santoor. Both SKS and his son were amazing. Day 2 was also quite good. But traveling to Malleshwaram back to back on 3 days was quite a challenge. But it was totally worth it.

- Attended Tamasha Theatre's Soul
An evening of bhakti music from different languages.  Created by Sunil Shabag of Stories in a Song fame. Delightful experience.

- BIFFES 2018
Attended two days. 9 films screened.  Detailed report here - http://arvindbatra.blogspot.in/2018/03/10th-biffes-2018.html


- Books -

Read Miss Laila Armed and Dangerous by Manu Joseph. Review here - http://arvindbatra.blogspot.in/2018/03/book-review-miss-laila-armed-and.html


Almost finished Dreamers by Snighdha Poonam
5/5. Fantastic book. Review coming soon !

Aap & Down by Mayank Gandhi.
Read it just to understand more about how AAP the movement has failed

Foundation - 2 (Foundation & the Empire) by Isaac Asimov
Little bit let down as compared to Foundation 1 but still very good. I was expecting a good clash between the two worlds but it did not turn out that way.


TV Series -
In 2018, I restarted my Netflix membership and in 3 months, I have just exploded here.

Daredevil Season 1
4/5
Veery good action masala series. Very engaging with a very good villian.

Daredevil Season 2
3/5
Ok season. Not as good as S1 but still worth going

Defenders Season 1
2.5/5
Average, borderlining bad as it is just painful to see good talent go to waste.

Money heist Season 1
4/5
I was not aware that it had a next season until it reached the end. A very good series to binge watch on.

Breaking Bad S1-5
5/5
It took some time to get used to it but once I got it, it was amazing. Very well written and shot very beautifully. In particular, the characters are sketched out brilliantly. I can go on and on about it.

Jessica Jones Season 2
3/5
Should not have seen this one. But did so out of respect for season 1.  While in season 1, it was good to keep JJ mysterious, but in season 2, it maintains that same layer. The only wrapping is done in background which is basically to introduce the series villian. In season 2, it becomes frustrating

People v O.J.Simpson - An American Crime
4.5/5
Loved it. Very good acting. With a real world story that is full of unexpected plot twists, this is a treat to watch.

Altered Carbon
4/5
I liked the imagery, the premise and Poe :)

Gilmore Girls - Season 1
3.5/5


Too much binge watching has happened. I have now cancelled my Netflix membership as well.




- Made Gajrela of 5Kg gajar. Again tried two methods - one with Khoya and other one with Milkmaid. Khoya one was better



- Made Upma after almost a decade. Turned out ok



- Reading Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews


Movies -
Black Panther
3.5/5

Mukkabaaz -
4.5/5 Loved it

The shape of water
4/5

Star Wars - The Last Jedi
4/5


- Have joined RH and resumed running. Ran 10K, 12K, 14K in last three weeks.  Feels good to run long!

Life in Sept 11, 2017 -Dec 31, 2017

Writing the Life In Series in March, 18 but ending on a date prior is going to be a first. But it had to be done as 2018 has gone off on a very different start.


Life in Sept 11 - Dec 31, 2017

It is amazing that memories are getting so fickle. Perhaps, all I can remember now of this period is the insane work that had gone in to make the NY season work for Events High. Indeed, from Oct end to Dec 31, I was thinking of just work. It was crazy but I enjoyed it a lot. While the results were good but little less than expected, in terms of journey, I am so glad that I did it.

Outside of work, my memory draws a blank. My phone camera serves that purpose of documenting my outings and I must say, it does a decent job at it. So, lets start the way back from Dec 31

- NY night was celebrated once all work was done and EH support closed for the night at around 10 pm. At home, there was an awesome pineapple cake to have.

- As is the ritual, Ruhaniyat was attended this year. Like always, it continues to bring some amazing talent that I had known of . This year it was this amazing group called Char Yaar (http://www.sounds-of-the-world.com/band/chaar-yaar/). First Char  Yaar also happens to be one of my fav song from the Sharaabi film. This group among bringing some amazing poetry to music also sang the famous Beatles' song "I am a dreamer" that too in Hindi. Once the dot was connected, it was amazing.
Watch their video here -

The other highlight was this Russian music duo - Two Siberians (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Siberians) They had some amazing instrumental compositions. Kachra Khan his group were there and the Qawaali at the end was by Nizami Brothers.

- Kanishka and I did manage to steal a weekend to run the KTM 2017 run on Nov 26. Weather was much kinder this time. We decided to have a car rental instead of driving down there which made it lot easier. But this time, we left at 2 am in the morning and were back by 12 noon after finishing the run. Feels good to have run KTM

- The Diwali tradition continued with this year we made Badam Katli at home. It was done in two batches with two slight variations in recipes. Making the Badam Katli was an easier process unlike others but the result said that we did missed a step as it did not match the commercial standards. 

- Out Diwali celebration in office involved a potluck. I experimented by making white cheesy pasta, a deliberate deviation from usual tomato based one. Also, office desk was decorated minimally, but other folks in office did a much stellar job at it.


- Gadayi Kallu trip is documented here - http://arvindbatra.blogspot.in/2017/10/gadayi-kallu-kadamgundi-waterfalls.html
A much needed break needed.


- William Gibson's Neuroamancer
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/888628.Neuromancer
Phew! Yes, Somehow I managed to finish this book. It was a great experience to have finished it. Book is definitely classy but written with a vision that requires a lot of effort to visualize and a language that is at times hard to comprehend.  It is a difficult read. Requires will to go through it. Some pages provide sheer joy and some just make the jaw drop on his vision was so wide and could be so true.

- The Absence of Guilt by Mark Giminez
After Neuromancer, which took forever, I wanted to get hold of a page turner masala flick, so I picked this one. Did not like a bit. Found it to be too dull for my taste. Needed more conspiracy and plots to make it more engaging.

- The Foundation by Issac Asimov
Absolutely brilliant. First, the premise which is so awesome is set in first chapter. Then the person behind all this setup is dead. What follows is a just too original, too much style, witty characterization, very smart narration. Loved it. Have ordered both the sequels.


- Movies :

Newton - 4/5
Thor Ragnarok - 3.5/5
Blade Runner 2049 - 3/5

Person of Interest - 5/5
Kanishka and I finished all seasons loving every bit of it

Mr. Robot - 4/5
Watched couple of seasons and it is a good watch.

Book Review - Miss Laila Armed and Dangerous

Manu Joseph's Miss Laila Armed and Dangerous punches way over its height and only because of its author's ingenuity, it is able to hit more than miss.

MLAD has three sets of action unfolding in parallel. In the first, it is a straightforward case of Miss Akhila Iyer, a journalist lands up at the debris of a collapsed building due to an earthquake. As actions unfold, she becomes a primary messenger between an man stuck under the debris and the army outside. This man becomes a crucial person of interest as he mumbles about a terrorist plot and sets a sequence of events which includes national security advisors, a sangh like organization with no actual official position but a lot of political capita and finally a Damodhar Bhai, a fictional take on you-know-who.

The second set piece is the actual Miss Laila a muslim person suspected of a terrorist plot being chased by officers from a fictional IB unit. MLAD switches between the story lines of Miss Laila and the police officers trying to capture her along with his male colleague, also a suspect.

The third arc of the book, unarguably the best part, is the part where Manu takes down both the right wing and left wing individuals and ideologies. Under the guise of giving background to Miss Iyer, we see her taking down of top left leaning individuals such as Arundhuti Roy. How Feminist Men Have Sex - is a video of Miss Iyer, where in he brutally takes down the pseudo liberal thought.

Timing-wise, Manu places this action right after the victory of DaMo, and then fills various chapters on what it means for the country through various characters. This becomes his canvas to poke fun at the right ideology - from Koran burning lawyers to Gau rakshaks.

Frankly, the first and second story lines exist just just because Manu wanted to have that fictional cloak to unwrap the intellectual sham that exists around us. The fiction exists just to provide the existential cover for his inner frustrations of the present political milieu. Following Manu on Twitter and through his recent articles, you can see that these are truly his views and not a stab at fiction. And when Manu vents, it is his usual no-holds-barred takedown.


What also makes MLAD a treat to read is that Manu packs some of his amazing observational wit in his writing as well. For example read this para -

Or consider this one - The legends of men are the proof that they overestimate the beauty of their own lies.  MLAD is filled with such rich nuanced nuggets that it is a page turner not from a story point of view but to get to the next nugget.


MLAD is definitely a one time read but to make it worthy of your time, spend some time to know more about the author. It is definitely an extension to his non-fiction articles. It is also becomes a challenge because at many places Manu's ideology and mine are at odds but what makes him so good is that many a times, he definitely asks the right questions and sometimes is also able to change my position in the process.

10th BIFFES 2018

A lot of things need to align for me to attend BIFFES. The last time I attended was in 2012.  I still remember watching Amour, Pieta and Certified Copy that year, running from one cinema to another. I got pass for it in 2013 as well but could not attend. The reason I write about the pass is because getting a pass for BIFFES itself requires a day of effort.  This year, instead of screening in December, it was shifted to Feb end and with just enough luck, I was able to steal a weekend to catch it.

Day 0 - Getting pass for BIFFES required traveling to Yeshwanthpur will photo ids, two photographs etc. It took 4 hrs of time largely me working from cab to get passes for Kanishka and myself. No photos were needed as they have printed the card based on our online application. Other than the distance part, the process was quite smooth.

BIFFES festival was a week long festival but we decided to spend only the weekend there. All screenings were done at PVR Orion mall, Yeshwanthpur. To optimize the distance, we decided to book a room at Malleshwaram and atleast have a good night sleep.


Day 1 -
I had done the research on which film to watch at what time slot. There were 10 screening going on in parallel. One could watch five films on a given day. Festival opened at 10 am. We reached early on to grab the best seats (recliner seats on first row). Our first flick was Five Fingers of Marseilles

Five Fingers of Marseilles https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/five_fingers_for_marseilles/
Rating - 4/5
The Audi 10 of Orion has a nice widescreen, perfect for FFM. FFM is a South African film in which a group of friends come together to clean their small town from a local landlord. It is a classic retelling of a western genre with slow narrative and excellent cast.  This served a perfect start to BIFFES

Yellow Heat  - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6679498/
Rating - 2.5/5
Having won multiple awards at Moscow international film festival and Istanbul film festival, I had high hopes from this Turkish flick. But turned out to be a tad slow for my taste and a lack of cinematic touch such as background score, perhaps this was done to make it more raw and true. Yellow Heat is a movie of struggle and ambitions - a farmer and his family struggle to make ends meet as they are under debts. Farmer's son wants become a truck driver and is willing to break the traditional rules to get extra money to pursue his ambitions.  The movie does a good job in establishing the canvas of farmers distress and lure of getting out.


After Yellow Heat, we had meant to catch Call me Thief but the queue for the film was so long that we could not make it. Instead we went to another Moscow film fest winner - Crested Ibis

Crested Ibis - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7084980/
Rating - 3/5
The winner of best film at Moscow international film festival, Crested Ibis, is a drama about friend relationships with an angle of environmental pollution. Shot in black and white, the film raises important questions on how it is ok that cities are polluted but how it is frowned upon when same pollution happens in villages. A traditional village funeral, a color shot showcasing the village beauty are highlights of this film. While the black and white choice was intended to remove the beauty bias, the blandness extends its influence to the overall film as well.


After Crested Ibis, we had wished to see On Body and Soul, an oscar nominee, but after waiting in a queue for 40 mins, the movie could not be screened due to technical reasons. Forced, we had to look for a substitute and ended up in Directions, and boy! what a delight

Directions - https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/directions_2017/
Rating 5/5
A taxi driver in Bulgaria shoots a banker as the banker now wants twice the bribe amount as was originally demanded for the taxi driver's loan. It is an act of rage and soon after the taxi driver shoots himself. We then follow six other taxi drivers picking up rides in Bulgarian as the radio discusses this case. Each of the taxi driver has the radio on where the RJ is allowing listeners to tune in and share their sentiments about this episode. What follows is the study of a country, how systemic corruption corrodes the belief system, how its citizens are loosing hope, some even planning to flee the country. The radio participants mostly empathize with the taxi driver who shot the banker, some even going to say that he should be given a medal. The rides of each of the taxi driver are captivating with very crisp writing. This is a must watch and the reason why BIFFES throws a surprise beyond expectation.


On the Beach at night alone - https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/on_the_beach_at_night_alone/
Rating - 0.5/5
One of the very few films in my life that I had walked out off. There is a non-existent story with some cliched dialogues and a slow pace makes it an incredibly dull movie to watch. Almost painful when you have seen 4 films since morning.

-------
Day 2
Spending the night at a nearby hotel was a good idea instead of traveling back to HSR. To top it, we had breakfast at Veena stores - #1 Idli place in bangalore :) We wanted to begin Day 2 with a film that was tried and tested. The debacle of On The Beach at Night Alone was little too much. We started with the Russian retrospective sample at BIFFES with the 1997 classic Brother

Brother - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118767/
Rating - 4.5/5
A typical yet not so typical crime genre film made with a lot of heart and some amazing music to go along with it. An ex-army kid goes to Leningrad to help his brother with the crime business. The process from a nobody to take over the local crime lord is shown in great detail. The kid is also infatuated with the soundtrack of Wings by Nautilius, at a time when CDs are the new craze in the market. Brother is a learning exercise on storytelling. Highly recommended.

Four Hands - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6047482/
Rating - 3/5
Twin sisters had witnessed their parents being murdered in front of them when they were kids. Twenty years later, the murderers are coming out of prison and this throws their life in turmoil. Troubled and anxious, they get into an accident where one of them is killed. The other one suddenly develops split personality and tries to track down the killers. It is a reasonable attempt in the genre of split personality thrillers. Very well polished with the texture of camera being bleak and darkish, it is a decent film.


The Square - https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_square_2017/
Rating - 5/5
Winner at Cannes, Square is not a film but a sequence of episodes each dealing with concepts of humanity and empathy. Set at an art museum, where a new exhibit called Square is being prepared to open up, The Square is a sanctuary where anyone who is inside the square can ask for something and for others who are outside, if they can capable to help this person, must help. You enter The Square with the idea that you trust your fellow humans. With this, Ostlund, of Force Majeure fame, takes a satirical take on the world of art museums, advertising in the clickbait age, and on hypocrisy of the individuals participating in it. It goes to the extreme when a person suffering from Tourette's syndrome says curse words in a interview pushing everyone to their limits of tolerance. But there is one never ending sequence where in human being pretending to be animal invades a high class dinner and starts to attack people there. It is a very troubling scene as it showcases that no one stand to help others until it reaches a limit. The Square definitely pushes the boundary of cinema and is extraordinary in its ambition.

Loveless - https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/loveless_2018/
Rating - 4/5
Loveless is another Oscar foreign language nominee that deals with the lives of a couple after their kid goes missing. It is a nuanced study of modern relationships and where it is heading. The couple in loveless is heading for a divorce where in both husband and wife have got future partners.  It is very likely that the kid has run to escape this difficult process. The entire drama unfolds as various attempts to find the kid take place. We learn about the background of the parents, and of their future partners. Part of the appeal of this film is it acts as a mirror on us becoming loveless in our instgram driven lives. It could have been similar to Anurag Kashyap's Ugly but Loveless wants to delve more into the human pathos or the lack of it.

We could have watched a fifth film on Day 2, but we deliberately said NO to take some rest before the week begins. Frankly, both Square and Loveless took its toll. Finally we left after taking a quick selfie :)