THE Man and THE Evening!

There are certain days that you just know are going to be registered in your memory forever. Today, for me, was one of them.

Tonight I got to meet one of my UTMOST favourite authors; the man who re-popularised thriller fiction through his gripping stories: DAN BROWN. Attending his lecture and hearing him talk about science, religion, literature, books; they definitely were the two most surreally amazing hours of my life! I cannot thank my stars enough that I actually got the opportunity to be in the same room as Dan Brown and experience him share his wisdom, views and knowledge. My love, respect and admiration for that man just went infinite notches higher, because today I got to know that not only is he an immensely talented writer, but also an extremely humble, kind and open-minded human being. Everything he spoke during the lecture, the interview and the Q & A session, was pure gold. This is a night I’m gonna remember for the rest of my life. The Goosebumps cease to calm down.

Thank you, Mr. Brown, for gifting us such an intellectually magical evening, and for reassuring me that writing is indeed the most insanely beautiful thing you can do. <3 

Pre-Winter Diaries

8th November, 2014: 

Dad’s Kebab treat and the million delicacies he gifted my taste buds.

Coming back home after excruciating college hours, and Mom feeding me lunch. Dal-chaaval had never tasted better. 

Laughing my heart out at dad’s never-ending gigs.

Drifting into blissful oblivion to the sound of mum’s bedtime stories.

The chats. The peace. The love.

This is what I remember of the past one week.

This is what will keep me warm through the cold winter nights.

This is what will keep me going till I’m Home again.  

Movie Review of Finding Fanny

Welcome to Pocolim, where life moves with the speed you desire.

Just like the fictional Goan village which is this movie’s setting, everything about Homi Adajania’s Finding Fanny is slightly uncanny. At the onset of the movie, we’re introduced to the five main characters: Angie (Deepika Padukone) who became a widow on her wedding day, her feisty mother-in-law Rosie (Dimple Kapadia), the village’s old postmaster Ferdy (Naseeruddin Shah), the so-called internationally famous artist and sardonic Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapur) and Angie’s grim ex-lover Savio (Arjun Kapoor).

The movie’s pace accelerates when Ferdy gets back the letter he had posted to Stephanie Fernandes a.k.a Fanny 46 years ago confessing his love, realising that Fanny never actually received his letter. An already broken-hearted Ferdy opens up to Angie and she suggests that he must go find his Fanny. And thus begins the road trip that takes these five oddballs on a very interesting quest; and as is always the case, here too the journey becomes more important than the destination.

Sprinkled with dark humour, Finding Fanny belongs to a very niche audience. It’s not crowded with spicy dance numbers or larger-than-life scenes, rather it warms your heart with subtle sarcasm and pretty relatable moments. The cast has done a tremendous job. Naseeruddin Shah’s innocent character has certain glimpses of Mr. Bean, Pankaj Kapur wins you over with his flamboyant portrayal of Don Pedro and Arjun Kapoor too plays his frustrated and knuckle-cracking sexy character to perfection. But the two actors who deserve an even bigger round of applause are the women: Deepika with her coyish charm and Dimple with her raunchiness just steal the show!

True that the pace at times becomes too banked to catch up on and the metaphoric cat seems quite macabre, but the crispiness of the story stays alive. All in all, with a combination of stellar performances, witty dialogues, breath-taking cinematography and brilliant direction, this movie manages to make a hub in your heart. I’m going with 3.5 out of 5 stars.

-          Sayantani Sarkar. 

Permanent Transience

We crib all day long, about everything under the sun.

“Gosh I’m so dark!”

“If only I was taller.”

“He doesn’t deserve her. He should be with me.”

“My parents never understand me.”

“My girlfriend nags all the time!”

“I don’t have money to buy that dress.”

“I should have been selected for that job.”

The complaints never end. What we have is never enough for us; the cravings are never satisfied.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pretending to be a judge of the human race. Trust me, I’m just the same: cynical, paranoid and restless. I doubt my ambitions, curse my peers, argue with my parents, and slip into random mood swings... Basically, I’m just another 21-year old.

But a recent event made me look at things differently. A few nights back, I got a message from one of my aunts, informing me that a very close family friend of ours had passed away. It took me around 10 minutes to comprehend the absurdity of the news. I kept reading the message over and over again, but unfortunately, the truth didn’t change. I immediately called up my dad, and he too was shocked beyond words. This uncle of mine was young, healthy and very jovial. He was one of those people who had a talent of making everyone around him smile. He was too young, and he left too early. He died in a city that was miles away from his loved ones. His family didn’t even get to say goodbye.

Did he deserve this? Does anybody deserve this? No. But that is what destiny is all about. You never get to decide, and you never get to choose. The things that we take for granted might be snatched away from us the next minute. The people we love the most might not be among us in the near future. The life that we don’t take so seriously might cease to exist. And we can’t do anything about it. Nothing at all. But the one thing that we can do is live in the moment. Carpe Diem, or seize the day, as they say it. Don’t worry what tomorrow is going to bring, just take each day as it comes. Because you know what? You can’t control Destiny. What has to happen, will happen eventually. So you might as well live your life fully instead of dwelling on petty stuff.

Tell your parents you love them. Meet up your old friends. Make some new ones too. Forgive the ones who did you wrong. Apologize to those you hurt. Go on sudden, unplanned trips. Spend time with the one you’re crazy about. Go wild. Go insane. Make memories.

Seize the day, my friends. 

Lots of love,

Creative Insanity. 

10 Best Moments from F.R.I.E.N.D.S

If F.R.I.E.N.D.S was to be defined in a single sentence, it would be this: the show that gave us 10 years of awesomeness.

Every episode, every scene, every character, every relationship and every single second of this show was wrapped with crazy fun and impeccable humour. While it is nearly impossible to pen down the most special or amazing episode of the show that lasted a decade, here are 10 of the gazillion moments that will surely stay in our hearts forever:

     1.     “He’s her lobster!”

Since the beginning of the show, we saw Ross pining after Rachel. But be it Italian guys or Chinese-looking Americans, something or the other always got in the way. So, when these two cuties finally got together, the whole world cheered. Who doesn’t remember the Lobster theory, right?

    2.     Monica teaching Chandler the 7 erogenous zones

The day Monica gave the “erogenous zones tutorial” to Chandler, and did the whole world a favour.

    3.     When Monica and Rachel lost their apartment

Nobody could have predicted that what started as a simple bet would lead to Monica and Rachel losing their apartment to Joey and Chandler. This was undoubtedly one of the most epic episodes ever!

    4.     When Phoebe got pregnant

Another epic thing that happened in this episode? Phoebe got pregnant, with her brother’s child!

    5.     When Ross said “Rachel” at the wedding

We all hated Emily, didn’t we? After rooting for Rachel and Ross for 4 whole seasons, it killed all us fans to see Ross making such a terrible decision. But then Ross’s “I, take thee Rachel” restored our faith in this adorable couple once again. 

   6.     Joey’s reaction to Chandler and Monica’s affair

Monica and Chandler shocked everyone when they started dating. And though all the group members had crazy reactions to their affair, Joey’s perhaps was the best. We could totally feel the torture you went through, Joey; it was difficult for EVERYONE to keep this big secret to themselves!

   7.     When Monica proposed Chandler

This will probably be remembered as one of the most beautiful and emotional scenes of all time. After a hell lot of chaos, when Monica actually got down on her knees, and Chandler followed suit, that proposal absolutely won our hearts. We wept and smiled and danced, because Mondler just deserved to be together.

   8.     When Rachel had Emma

Apart from Ross’s hilarious reaction to Rachel’s pregnancy, these two had an adventurous baby ride. And when little Emma was finally born after 47 hours of labour, it had us all in tears. Like Monica said, we were all happy that Ross and Rachel got drunk and had sex!

   9.     “I got off the plane!”

10 seasons. That’s how long it took for Ross and Rachel to realise that they were indeed meant to be. After a decade of dating, break-up, a drunk marriage, a baby and several other crazy adventures later, when this couple was united in the very last episode of the show, the universe jumped and breathed a sigh of relief.

   10.    The Last One

This episode. The last scene; when you look around and realise you’re never going to see it all again: Monica’s apartment, The Coffee House, the fun, the laughter and most importantly, the friendships. But the beauty of this show is that just when you feel it’s all over, you can always go back to the first page and start the journey all over again. 

Yes, it broke our hearts to say goodbye to these 6 people who’d been a part of our lives for a whole decade. But we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect finale. We couldn’t have asked for a better show. 

Advance Happy Friendship Day, everyone! :)

Loads of love,
Creative Insanity. 

A Letter to My Dad

Dearest Papa,

                      

                     Your little girl is growing up, and she needs you now more than ever.

When I look around, I see a world full of people who don’t care who you are or how you are. Amidst this crowd of nonchalant people, I see you; a bright, warm face smiling at me. And along with it I see a heart that’s overflowing with unconditional love for me.

You’re the only one I want to see.

The face that woke me up with sweet, morning kisses during the summer, the face that tried to teach me to ride a bike, the face that rescued me when I was nearly drowning in the pool, the face that saved me from bullies, the face that covered me with a blanket when I was cold, and kissed me goodnight. It was you, all you.

Do you remember those Thursday afternoons when you used to pick me up from school after the extra classes? That was fun, wasn't it? Waiting to see you after hours of boring lectures and running towards the car after spotting you. You would play old Hindi film songs and we would laugh and sing along.

You taught me to love books. I’ll forever be thankful to you for that. You brought me my first fairy tale, and I still have it. It’ll always be one of my most priceless possessions. I remember you bringing me fresh, beautiful copies of the Harry Potter books as soon as they released. You gifted me a world of magic. You gifted me imagination. It’s cause of you that I believe in miracles.

I was pretty terrible at Maths ever since childhood, until you taught me how those numbers worked. Those trigonometry quizzes were fun, weren't they? Thank you for understanding when my grades were low. Thank you for rewarding me when you thought I made you proud. Thank you for admonishing me. Thank you for defending me.

You never understood Harry Potter much, but you still came with me to all the movies. Because you knew how much it mattered to me. How many times did you sacrifice your own happiness just to make me smile? I've actually lost count. 
Oh, the numerous times I've rolled on the floor laughing at your out-of-the-world jokes. You really were and will always be the life of every party. How do you manage to be so charming? :*

Also, HOW will I ever find someone as funny as you?! Actually no, that’s not the question. The question is, will I EVER find someone who is even half as brilliant as you? No. Not possible. Nah-ah. Because the challenge isn't to find someone who is like you, the challenge is to find someone who will love me as much as you do. I’m asking for a modern day miracle, aren't I?

I remember racing you in the rain. I remember watching almost every Cricket match together and cheering at the top of our voices. (Of course the cricket mania comes from you! It’s in my blood. :D) I remember the summers and the photographs. I remember the times you hugged me gently and calmed my nerves. I remember it all. I hope you remember them too.

You taught me to be brave and follow my dreams, and it’s all been working out great for me. You’re my guide, my shrink and my guru, and will always be.

But Papa, the world isn't as good as you. There are monsters in fiction and in reality too.

I need you to hold my hand, Papa. I need you to guide me through.

I know you will. You always do.

Your little princess is growing up. But she will always need you.

Stay happy, stay young and stay awesome.

I love you, Papa. I love you more than words. I love you more than stories. I love you more every day. <3

Yours crazily,

Me.  

Happiness is.

“Happiness is.” Must have seen that page on Facebook, haven’t you? It lists the various things that bring you happiness. That’s because it’s not one single thing. Happiness can’t be caged. It can’t be defined. Its different parts of the same movie, tiny pieces of one delicious chocolate, fragments of one big spell.  

Happiness is watching your favorite show sitting on the comfy couch of your home.

Happiness is going to receive your little sis at the airport and seeing her smiling face after four months.

Happiness is re-reading your most loved childhood book and remembering the day your dad gifted it to you.

Happiness is laughing at the silly poems you wrote during your teenage years.

Happiness is sitting with your old friends and reminiscing all the fun you had breaking test tubes in the chemistry lab back in school.

Happiness is seeing your mom get all excited about cooking your most favourite meal.

Happiness is visiting the bookstore you’ve loved since forever and seeing that it’s still as amazing as always.

Happiness is going on a long drive with your parents and watching the golden sunlight bring dawn to the city you’ve grown up in.

Happiness is having someone to assure you that everything is gonna be alright.

Happiness is knowing you have so much to be thankful for.

Happiness is…this. All of this. Everything.

Happiness is infinity.

:)