Variety is the spice of life

For someone who has always seen himself as a traveler on a path set by his parents, being one and having to set the route for my own kid has been a terrifying experience. The biggest curse and also the best motivating factor for parents is comparison. Even though one might’ve suffered under the same lens as a child, when they become parent, this tool helps in course correction many a times. Like any item if handled in correct proportion may help and hinder if improperly used, comparison is like a guide for parents who are as clueless as me in how to bring up your child or probably get him/give him resources that may eventually help him in his life down the line. By looking at neighbours or fellow parents who send their kids to different classes, we get an idea if not motivation that our kid is also of same age and that is something we can try to explore If he has the interest. When we look at other kids of same age or below exhibiting certain traits, we realize either our own kid being...

I had been holding on from posting about this series for a while. Being into the 4th season already, thought it was intriguing and interesting enough to share it with you folks. The series, as the title says, is about bones – literally. Every single episode involves a murder investigation that may be as recent as a day or as old as couple of years!! Basis the bones or remains available, there is a crack team of scientists or forensic anthropological investigators, as they call themselves, alongside an FBI agent, analyze those bones and figure out the cause of death and eventually the perpetrator. It may sound so far fetched and at times unbelievable to watch, but despite several misgivings I’ve managed to get into the 4th season of it, convinces me that there is an element of intrigue which keeps the interest going about this series. The lead character is a lady who is nicknamed “bones” for she is the subject matter expert in everything about bones under the sun. She can look at a huma...

I happened to see a video of a group of ladies singing a song, in celebration of Independence day in their apartment complex. It was shared by the husband of one of the ladies who happened to be an acquaintance of mine. To my sweet surprise that song that they were singing was one of the prayer songs during my school days. After nearly 3 decades I got to hear that song. I never realized that I still remembered those songs, if not fully verbatim. The school that I studied from 6th till eleventh had a set of prayer songs, starting with the Saraswathi vandhana song, that was/is still the de facto standard song in most of the schools in my neighbourhood. After that there would be some songs about India or based on patriotic theme. This song was one amongst them. It had a nice catchy tune that would become an immediate ear worm for anyone who hears it for the first time. When I listened to that song after so many years, it brought back several repressed memories as well.  The first five...

I recently saw the latest installment of the Indiana Jones franchise – Dial of Destiny. I’ve seen all the 4 previous installments and have been a big fan of the series. Even though, they may not have much of a story line, with a big chunk of scenes almost near replica of each other, across every single one of them, the sense of adventure that accompanies them is contagious and is paisa vasool. Major effort on all those movies would’ve been with the art department, having been tasked to produce newer and crazier set pieces each time, which are one of the USP of the franchise. Be it the invisible single beam bridge, the Rolling boulder that Indie manages to just evade by slipping under a stone shutter of a cave, the huge underground set in Crystal skull movie, each one outwits other. His iconic hat, whip and suspender pants have made Indie a brand of his own. With Nazi Germans and Russians being the constant villains across all the 5 movies, when binge watched, it all feels likes a strin...

There is no wrong publicity – this is the underlying mantra behind every action taken by any public personality of this decade. The more negative it is, the more beneficial. You can allow the flame to blow up explosively and claim your fifteen minutes of fame for as long as you can. Once the flame subsides can claim fringe benefit of sympathy as well. Looking at the ROI, it is no wonder people literally set out traps for falling head long and gain negative publicity. This applies more for movies, especially ones that come with big banner or over hype. The teasers or word of mouth usually try to sow the seeds of negativity about themselves and if nothing works, ask any of the leading cast member to throw in a comment or two about any political party or about some controversial statement. If nothing works, at least bad mouth about their own industry members or some famous film from the past. People are that desperate to ensure success and it gets justified looking at the millions that ar...