Inlaws and outlaws

I've always wanted my life to be free of cliches. I'm a true blue non-conformist and I try in every way to break free from accepted norms because I believe unless you experiment and try an alternate to the path everyone choses, you will never know if there is a better way - if indeed there is a way at all.

So when it comes to inlaws I'd like to believe that there can be a loving relationship there. I suppose using the word "loving" is essentially oversimplifying the matter because love exists - even abounds if you will and yet peace between the parties is so hard to maintain.

Like the case of sheela who thinks her mother in law is nice but her mother is nicer. Can you blame her? or her mother in law for doting on her son more than her daughter in law? Its only natural to foresee unusually winsome qualities undetected by anyone else in your offspring and if that makes you love your own more than the one he/she chose to tag along with than can anyone blame you or your mother in law?

Not. At. All.

We are all an understanding and even an educated populace. As humans, we pride on our ability to adjust. As indians, we rephrase that to mean adjusting others. So, when he does mention divorce his mom thinks she's rid of sheela at last and sheela thinks its good bye to mom dearest. Such is life. :)

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Book review: The Razors Edge

I loathe doing book reviews for the simple reason that I believe I am not qualified to judge a book by its content.

I do have a insatiable appetite for books and the razors edge has given me plenty to think about. The story is a narration by the author purporting to be himself while describing the events in the lives of some very interesting acquaintances. There is a young man Larry Darrell who has just returned from war, his fiancee Isabel and her mother and uncle Elliot and the story revolves around Larry's search for the elusive truth and the choices he makes and Isabel who pines for him but has to decide between being practical and being in love.

There are so many places in the book that you have to stop and go over again simply because it makes so much sense that you are overwhelmed by his ability to observe and come up with very plausible sounding theories. He talks about love and passion and how love isnt love without passion. He says love without passion is something else, its care, its tenderness, its a lot of things surely but its not love and though the idea is debatable it is definitely something to think over. He also goes on to say that passion has only two ends - either it dies or it destroys. I think at some point we must all have known a friend who loved so passionately it destroyed him and also seen couples who loved just as ardently and the passion died out. Couples who are still together but its now care and tenderness and habit - not love in the romanticized way described by the author.

The book also deals with the search for God. It does lead the character to India and to Hinduism and its very interesting to have wonderful insights into a religion that 80% of my countrymen follow from a foreign author. The questions the protagonist asks himself must have plagued us all had we ever given a thought to questioning our religion and though the answers it leads him to, cannot satisfactorily answer our own questions - it does make for an interesting read.

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Anjaana Anjaani – a review

You know how Hollywood makes its famous rom-coms – first come up with a flimsy excuse for the story to begin and then coast it along the well worn path and end it with a nice ribbon and bow finish? That’s Anjaana Anjaani for you.


A winner loses all, a romantic has her heart broken – and destiny entwines them together on the same bridge for their suicide. The nitty gritties of why they should choose to jump off a bridge when easier and more convenient methods are available is anybody’s guess. A failed attempt later, they are thrown together again and there they plot to be each others accomplice in their attempted suicides because that’s what a suicidal person would want - a stranger, who could quite possibly be mentally unstable, a creep at your death bed. They then proceed to make a bunch of lame attempts at their all consuming morbid ambition and fail miserably. To which they then come to the conclusion that -- their methods are lame? Hell no! Quite obviously (eyes rolled for emphasis) the universe in conspiring to keep them alive. So they must postpone their fatal plans to New Years eve. But what can they do until then? Even if you’re IQ falls in the same bracket as Ekta Kapoor’s you ought to be able to guess that they are supposed to make a bucket list which will ensure not just that they will fall in love with each other but also with life in the broader scheme of things and then live happily ever after like all of fate’s well disciplined children.

So, do you watch the movie? Well, why not - the movie has plenty of eye candy, Piggy chops in tiny tops and bare chested Ranbir – would have you digging your nails into the arm rest and folding your legs in a tight knot in breathless suspense over whether the towel drops this time round. But Ranbir has come a long way since sawariyaan, though his acting could still use a bit more depth. Zayed Khan who appears in a thank you not in the end credits and other forgettable moments in the movie finally managed to do one thing right – to remind the audience exactly why they booed him down the last time. Its been a while since his last movie – you tend to forget exactly how subzero a performance he can deliver. Priyanka Chopra does what she does best – smile, laugh ( and quite a lot at that for a suicidal person) The movie has its funny moments. It has its glam quotient, lovely locales and the feel good factor – what’s not to like eh?

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Ah finally.

I'm back..

to tell you that I know post here..
http://marinadsouza.wordpress.com/

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Moving on

The team (ahem) behind Mind bloggling feels that its high time to move on. To a new life, to a new blog. Will update the new link once its ready.

Thank you all :)

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