The Charming and the Clever

Saw 2 movies this week - One charming, and the other, very clever.

In Julie and Julia, Julie Powell (Amy Adams), as a way of spicing her life up, opens a copy of Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and decides to cook all 524 recipes herself in 365 days and also - to blog about it! The story of her quest is interwoven with depictions of Julia Child's own life in Paris in the 1940s and '50s. The ending, is not quite "Hollywoodesque", but an apt one I thought. I enjoyed the movie -and got hungrier as every minute went by. A must, especially if you are a foodie.

Moon is one the better Sci-fi movies you'll see. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the dark side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy. Or so he thinks! Not many special effects, if that's what you expect from a Sci-fi movie, but what drives the movie is a fantastic idea. Sam Rockwell, who plays the astronaut, I thought was brillaint in this role.

Manali - Kalihin Pass Trek

Just got back from a wonderful Himalayan Trek - from Manali to Kalihin pass (15,750 Ft) and back to Manali (a different route on the way back). 8 days of challenging (mostly), fun trek with a great bunch of people, organised by the KMA (Karnataka Mountaineering Association) .

The initial plan was to trek all the way to the Kangra valley (Dharamshala), via Bara Bangal village and Thamser Pass, but our mules and horses could not cross over the snow fields on Kalihin. Hence the change of route. But this in no way diminished the enthusiasm of the group!

A few pics from the trek here. More details and Pics to follow....

The trail is essentially through Shepherd territory, and we came across sheep and their masters all through the 8 days...








KMA Secretary and our team Lead Srivatsa (aka Vatsa)

Oxygen cylinder usage demo

The four "Maltova Moms" in our group!

Sign outside Dalai Lama's residence in McLeodgunj.

Trainee Buddhist monks argue Theology in the Monastery.

No one to play with :((

Adventure is out there!

Just saw Pixar's "Up". This for me is one of the best movies of 2009 so far, if not all time. You'd usually cry towards the second half of a tear jerker movie, but this one will have you reach for a tissue within the first 20 minutes! And then...the fun begins!

A gruffy old widower, Carl Fredericksen faces a lonely life ahead when he decides to have the adventure that he and his wife had always dreamed of. He sets out for the legendary Paradise Falls in South America. His method of transport? His home, lifted by an colorful canopy of thousands of balloons. He has company though, albeit a stowaway - an 8-year-old "Wilderness Explorer" with a heart of gold, Russell.

Peter Docter has scripted a superlative work that is the dream of pure genius and is a wonderful adventure for all to behold. No wonder this movie was chosen to open at Cannes this year. And I really wish it gets the Oscar nod come March 2010.

Also, check out the Trivia section of the movie on IMDB, to read a heart warming story of how Pixar helped realiase a 10 year old girl's dream come true. She desperately wanted to see the movie, but the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater. Read the same story here.

Of Dream Careers and working with "Depatures"

One of the things about the Oscars for the best foreign film is that you hear about movies which you might not have otherwise. The winner for 2008 was Okuribito, or Departures, by Yojiro Takita, is probably the best I have seen this year. An out of work musician responds to an Ad for a job, and discovers "working with departures" refers not to a travel agency, but to a "niche market" firm hired by morticians to perform "encoffinments" - not necessarily in the list of dream professions of most people. We follow his profound, and sometimes comical, journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

Japan's rural landscape is beautifully depicted in Okuribito. Apparently, the main location of outdoor scenes was the city of Sakata and surroundings in the Shonai Region of Yamagata Prefecture in northern Japan.

Oh yes, Joe Hisaishi's tune "Memory" is absolutely brilliant. Take a listen here.

The movie essentially deals with starting over once what one thinks is a "dream career" ends, and also, in a way, the power death holds over how we live our life.


I gave it a 9/10. Watch it and let me know what you thought about it.

Mumbai Marathon - 2009

Did my first Half Marathon this weekend, and such good fun it was too! I had been training since October, but the stint in Utah and California had interrupted my schedule. I continued training when I got back to Bangalore, though. My longest Sunday run was 20K, a week before the HM, which I did in 2 hrs 8 mins. This led me to tell myself a sub 2 hr HM was a distinct possibility in Mumbai! Naive, eh? Running in Malleswaram - Sadashivnagar cannot be compared to running on Marine Drive - Chowpatty, as I was to find out!

I flew into Mumbai on Saturday morning and checked into Hotel Manama - close to CST and Azad Maidan, which was the starting and end point of the run. Went over to Cuffe Parade to collect my bib, then went loafing around VT and Azad Maidan. Came back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

I was up by 4:30 AM on race day, and headed out towards Azad Maidan by 5 AM. Dropped my bag at the baggage storage area and got into the holding area by 6 AM. By 6:30, everyone holed up here were getting restless by the minute. 6:50 was when we were "released", and I made my way to the starting point outside CST. The clock showed 6:59 and I "officially" started the HM.

Mumbai was out in full force, with most people either running, or coming out in huge numbers to cheer the runners. A few policemen were enthusiastic and cheering runners too - you don't see THAT very often do you? Apart from the official water counters, residents from apartment blocks en route handed out bananas and "Glucose" biscuits. I was near the 6K mark (37 mins), when the elite runners sped past us on the return leg! I was the 12K mark in 74 mins, by
when I knew a sub 2 hr was unrealistic! The humidity got to me by the 17K mark and I had to switch between running and walking for the next 2 Kms. The last 2 KMs were run on sheer adrenaline, and I made it to the finish line 2 hrs 24 mins after I had started! I then stumbled on towards Azad Maidan for my certificate!

I thought the event was organised very well (except for the screw up at the prize distribution for the elite Indian women's winners, which I was to hear about later). It was great to make some new friends too - Sultan and Rajas from Mumbai, and Guna and Satish from Chennai. I hope to meet these guys soon in other runs across the country.