That 'home' feeling....

Its weird how you feel at home in the most unlikely of places, isnt it? Tired of buying vegetables at Walmart and HEB (It has become so mechanical that I bet I can shop blindfolded in both these places!), I drove a longer distance to the 'Hong Kong Market' today. True to its name, the place was littered with neon signs and smelt of fish and saltgrass...even at the car park!!. I dint even take a cart coz i was so sure I wouldnt find anything there that I could cook.....but five minutes into it....there it was.....the most stunning of all sights......i found 'vazhai poo' ('banana flower' for my non-tamil speakin friends) in one of the aisles......would you believe it???.... it is such a rarity that even indian stores here dont carry it!

its not like I am a big fan of that vegetable....it probably wont even feature in my top ten.....but the very sight of it, took me back home.... straight into the alwarpet markets and back !!! and it dint end there....i found a six pack of kingfisher in the next aisle.....how is that for a smashin night?! ;)

moving on....

Guillermo Del Torro's Pan's Labyrinth......

As expected, the film was stunning....multiple academy award winner this year.....the movie astounds you with the imagination of its maker....set in 1940s Spain, it weaves a soul stirring fairy tale in the back drop of the civil war....a heady mix of dickens, death, violence, hans anderson, blood and tinker bell. A wonderful script.....phenomenal acting (Ivana Baquero as the little girl Ofelia is amazingly endearing in her restrained performance)....and a haunting background score, make the movie a memorable piece by themselves....but the knock-out punch is Guillermo Navarro's cinematography...the color palletes are a feast for the senses and i would have been surprised if he had not gotten the Oscar (though I thought Giles Nuttgens deserved at least a nomination for his work in 'Water')

I think the best review of the film came as a one-liner in one of the news papers.... 'A fairy tale for grown ups'....thats pretty much what it was! ;)

moving on.....

The god is back.....and how! Talking of feeling at home.....I had to leave for work in the middle of the sixth ODI...but I left after sachin's fifty....grinning ear to ear all through the drive, knowing that the man was back to his elements....where he belonged...with the sword drawn out.....not rusting in its case, in the pretext of maturity....the cover drives were finding their rightful gaps and the audacity had come back to the lofted drives...

I went through a mini depression when I read the article speculating on Sachin's retirement....we all know its round the corner.....but its kinda hard to let go off a man who gave you the most goose pimples and pumped the most adrenaline in all your life....it will be a loneliness of sorts, when he really leaves....