tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100644622024-03-19T17:15:00.238+08:00Sayesha on the rocksThe Bartender BhaiSayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.comBlogger1361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-51839291036536590452021-08-07T11:44:00.002+08:002021-08-07T11:44:38.865+08:00Madhubala<p>After the assault on the ears with the new 'Chura ke dil mera', I was SO thankful to randomly discover this song by Amit Trivedi and Neeti Mohan. Been playing it on loop for days now. Xena is going to disown me if I don't change the song. So I figured the only way to get this song out of my head is to pour it into yours. </p><p>You're welcome.</p><p>PS: Here is the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEmBUhnBtFI">original</a> if you prefer it in Amit Trivedi's voice. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wsk1ezSbmxw" width="320" youtube-src-id="Wsk1ezSbmxw"></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-41372891397046706002021-07-16T21:10:00.001+08:002021-07-16T21:16:36.504+08:00Chura ke song mera..."But WHYYYY?"<div><br /></div><div>That was my first thought when I found out that there is a Chura ke dil mera 20. </div><div><br /></div><div>And my next thought was: No.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then I watched the song. </div><div><br /></div><div>NO.</div><div><br /></div><div>NONONONONO. WHY. NO. NO. NO.</div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn't matter that the music director is the same. </div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn't matter that Shilpa Shetty is still in the song.</div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn't matter that she looks a million times hotter (in spite of that bizarre sari-thingie-whatever-it-is) than in the original. </div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn't matter that they steered clear of Neha Kakkar. </div><div><br /></div><div>No means no. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you had a childhood steeped in Bollywood oldies like mine, full of Kishore and Lata and Rafi melodies, you wouldn't dare to use the word "classic" loosely. You definitely wouldn't use it for songs from the 90s. </div><div><br /></div><div>But. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are <i>some</i> songs that are a part of our childhood, a part of us. Chura ke dil mera was one of them. The other was Pehla nasha. And the fact that I cannot think of any more already tells you how few we had of what I can only call 'hum bechaare gareebon ke classics'. </div><div><br /></div><div>And you simply don't touch them. You don't twist them and squash them and add random words and ruin them and stomp on our childhood like that. You simply don't.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Of course, in later years, we discovered that many, many of our bachpan ke classics were actually not really original but that's a story for another day.)</div><div><br /></div><div>In case you have not seen/heard this abomination, yeh lo. Hum kyun akele bhugtein?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Af5Dw0hciIk" width="450" youtube-src-id="Af5Dw0hciIk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ok, now let's talk about the cure. After subjecting my senses and my soul to this, I did what anyone in my shoes would have done. I went for chaar-dhaam ki yatra and ganga snaan by immediately watching the original. Oho aatma ko tab jaakar shanti mili. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And the most heartwarming part? The comments section was full of people like me who had also immediately gone to the original to seek solace. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yeh lo dawaai. Original par bharosa rakho, sab theek ho jaayega. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yqj1_V90KJo" width="450" youtube-src-id="Yqj1_V90KJo"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-52889328592881173842021-07-10T18:19:00.021+08:002021-07-11T09:12:22.254+08:00Annual report - 2020<p>I know, I know.</p><p>It's damn weird. </p><div>Half of 2021 has passed and I am doing my annual report post 6 months late. BUT, given that I have not posted anything in a WHOLE YEAR, I think this is okay. I gotta catch up, in the immortal words of Guru Randhawa ft. Pitbull, "slowly slowly slowly slowly". </div><div><br /></div><div>I'd be lying if I said I just woke up and decided to start blogging again. I was administered a gentle but firm kick in the ass by some old-time bewdas of the bar (thank you, guys... and girl!). </div><div><br /></div><div>So 2020 had actually started with a bang. A friend of ours was getting married in Bali in January! Never in my weirdest dreams would I have imagined that that would be the first and last flight I'd be taking that year (and perhaps the following year). To think that I was having second thoughts about whether or not to make Xena miss two days of school to go attend the wedding. Sheesh. It was a beautiful wedding and lots of fun was had by all. When we returned to Singapore, things were still fine. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then BOOM. Covid-19. As we all know, pretty much the entire 2020 was wasted on Covid. In fact, I was very tempted to write just 'Covid-19' as my annual report post. But then, things did happen, you know. Life did go on. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>We learnt to work from home effectively and efficiently. We got used to Teams and Zoom and not seeing our friends and colleagues. Viv and I had designated 'office spaces'. Initially we sat next to each other at our desks, and in the beginning it was quite fun to have a "co-worker" who did something so very different from you. We would take chai and lunch breaks together. But within the first few days, we realised that with the incessant calls that both of us have, sitting next to each other was not an option. I moved my workspace to the dining room, and we would only see each other for lunch and chai (if we were lucky). But soon, the breaks dissolved into the work and the calls and I realised that even with the commute we save when working from home, we end up working so much more because there is simply no 'end time'. There is no 'pack up and go home'. I am still struggling to have a life 'outside of work', which is infinitely harder because there is not much of a literal 'outside' to go to. <div><br /></div><div>Home-based learning was also very challenging in the beginning because not only did we have to arrange for Xena to have a screen for her classes, we also had to be available as tech support all the time. Homework had to be scanned and uploaded, Zoom details had to be received and entered, and assistance rendered in other aspects such as tying her hair up before her PE classes (also on Zoom) and giving her screen-free productive things to do after school hours. Trying to get all that done with 3874289 work calls in a day was tough. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the evenings, we still tried to do something fun together. On good days, we would take her out to the field to play cricket once in a while, but when things would get scary again, we would switch to indoor cricket, using a yoga mat as a pitch. Our workouts had also moved to indoor ones, and sometimes Xena would join us. <div><br /></div><div>Online grocery shopping, which I had never been a fan of, became the norm. On the flip side, I found some very interesting items thanks to the search function of the grocery shopping apps. The most prominent discovery has been Ruffles jalapeño ranch chips. Seriously, where was it all my life? I was doing a harmless search for jalapeños to make pizza (it's a Friday night staple in our house, and before you scream "SO UNHEALTHY!", let me tell you that I make the pizza base with 50% atta and 50% bread flour so that I can feel 1% better about it), when I came across this magical food item. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0-TnxHzTyl_hUh_BeRv24pMgHxVp4sAiDmsGsCGBO8j9j7nd1AcoxDCsNU4kjEopYd-L3bmcjDyVIomZUfDpin20qgF3AkqIu-SjYosuvwwpTqgdhoIiOHiWGCo_nT8mh39L/s1440/Jalapeno.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0-TnxHzTyl_hUh_BeRv24pMgHxVp4sAiDmsGsCGBO8j9j7nd1AcoxDCsNU4kjEopYd-L3bmcjDyVIomZUfDpin20qgF3AkqIu-SjYosuvwwpTqgdhoIiOHiWGCo_nT8mh39L/s320/Jalapeno.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Have you tried it? If not, WHY NOT?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This became such an integral part of my grocery orders that my app would actually prompt me that I "might be running low" on it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJnJrblxHi8fH6zM-1dIR21cR2U5G05IXtd11N9IMNeL9zzw4pRMV6JzlP1dLGhBqBgUs2FjC5FX31D3FW3gUvYnzvdiZlU3vBiJcQfZbWCeo6AUeGS3Y1KJmPAt9mtPYMwH6/s580/Low.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJnJrblxHi8fH6zM-1dIR21cR2U5G05IXtd11N9IMNeL9zzw4pRMV6JzlP1dLGhBqBgUs2FjC5FX31D3FW3gUvYnzvdiZlU3vBiJcQfZbWCeo6AUeGS3Y1KJmPAt9mtPYMwH6/s320/Low.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I kid you not. This actually happened. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So now I am trying to control the consumption but it's been very very hard. You will know when you taste it. So I have upped my exercise so I can feel 2% better about it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So the year pretty much went by like this. Towards the end of the year, it had really sunk in what they meant by "we just have to learn to live with the virus". Before that, it felt like something that would go away, you know, like SARS did. It came, it disrupted, it went. But this was different. Even with the promise of the vaccine on the horizon, everyone could feel that something had shifted. We would never "go back to normal". Everyone was talking about "the new normal" and the new normal didn't sound like fun at all. We couldn't travel, we couldn't meet family. And there was no end date to it. There still isn't. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then the guilt would hit. How dare we whine and complain when there were so many in unbelievably worse situations? People dying, not getting oxygen cylinders or hospital beds. People losing their loved ones, their livelihoods. Many of my favourite restaurants didn't survive the pandemic and had to shut down. It was heartbreaking to think of the employees of such places. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Things were so depressing around December that it didn't seem even worth it to get the Christmas tree out, which we do every year. It was only when she asked me, "Mama, why don't we have the Christmas tree out this year?" that I asked myself, "Why not, huh?" So for the sake of the kid, I dragged the tree out of storage and set it up. Viv, Xena and I made origami animals and decorated it. I have to say it did bring a bit of cheer to our house. </div><div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyslyLW84qo5yg_MTOO1yJj9J0uFauTUsa-dcjDNVcbnlZ1DNZwQmStIwS-AZn9I6i1R-xEVRrjXtc' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our origami Christmas tree</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As and when restrictions lifted, we started going out a little more, learning to live with the masks and the regulations. The beach, which is literally 10 minutes away from us, called out to us. And we answered. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdTeyzn7MT35NePAotv1cNm-xAba9d9KznSW5oI3NWRbjf6MQT06puylVOfaz1BEh1b5o2psb1FZQGwuC_4XxDvax_gZt_1SXnrJZ3lcpBDekqANB-onjAGpAG5F9zwYgBPBw/s2048/skate.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdTeyzn7MT35NePAotv1cNm-xAba9d9KznSW5oI3NWRbjf6MQT06puylVOfaz1BEh1b5o2psb1FZQGwuC_4XxDvax_gZt_1SXnrJZ3lcpBDekqANB-onjAGpAG5F9zwYgBPBw/s320/skate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It had been ages since I had put on my skates. It was exhilarating. Viv would run, Xena would bike and I would skate. I called it 'the family triathlon'. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So that was how our 2020 went. Dominated by a tiny invisible thing, and forcing us to rethink how and why we do what we do. Forcing us to introspect and not take <i>anything</i> for granted. Nudging us to be grateful for so many things — for having jobs that survived the virus, for all the travel that we had done all over the world before the pandemic hit, for having a competent government, and for being in one of the safest places one could be in at the moment. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Never had the realisation of our own privilege<i> </i>hit us squarely across our faces like this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></div>Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-61482172487341456082020-07-01T17:30:00.000+08:002020-07-18T21:40:09.082+08:00Lockdown life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Okay, so I have received many many (okay, four) emails from fans of this blog checking on me and questioning the lack of posts. It was high time I got back into it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://sayesha.blogspot.com/2020/02/viral-post.html" target="_blank">On Feb 21, I wrote a post about Covid-19 in Singapore</a> and the naive me was like, "OMG we have 86 cases."<br />
<br />
Ha. Who'd have thought I'd be shaking my head at my own naivety a few months later.<br />
<br />
Watch <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nolkejulie/videos/1317938371733880/" target="_blank">this</a> and relate.<br />
<br />
It's been about 4 months since then, and as of today, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore is 44,122. Every day, we have a few hundred new cases, which, given Singapore's small size, is not exactly negligible. Things seem to be under control though. There is a steady stream of people (in the hundreds) being discharged daily and we have moved on to 'phase 2' of our lockdown (what we call "circuit breaker"), with schools and some public places opening up. Masks are mandatory, of course, and you can get arrested for not wearing one. Except when you're doing strenuous exercise, of course. So if you forget your mask and you spot an enforcement office, run at top speed. Not away, but towards him/her.<br />
<br />
Viv and I have been working from home for months now. I worked from home as a freelancer for years after Xena was born, but this is so different. The good -- no waking up at 5:30 am YAY! The bad -- there is no "end of work day" anymore. Everything has fused into everything else. Xena had school holidays for a month, and as we still don't give her any alone screen time, I took leave to sit down and write a full month's 'what to do you're stuck indoors' plan for her. I incorporated all subjects, reading, art, household chores and even workouts, so that she would have stuff to do during our working hours. I have to say that she took it very well and was very disciplined. Every day, she'd carry out her tasks and check them off. (Maa par gayi hai bilkul.)<br />
<br />
So Xena's birthday came and went and my birthday came and went and it looks like Viv's birthday is also gonna come and go like this. I had told him (way before Covid-19 hit us) that I wanted a quiet, private birthday this year. Yeh kuchh zyada hi quiet and private nahin ho gaya? Damn.<br />
<br />
I don't really miss the office all that much (except my team; I miss hanging out and joking around with them) but I do miss skating a lot and I do somewhat miss the gym. Luckily, Viv found Hasfit on YouTube, which has been an absolute blessing for both of us. Viv, missing his heavy gym weights, came up with the very creative solution of using Xena as his 20-kg weight for stuff like goblet squats. After not doing much on the workout front for most of April and May, I ordered a pair of dumbbells online, and I have been working out using the Hasfit videos at least 5 times a week. Now that Xena's school has opened, I walk with her to school and the return journey is about 2.5 km. All this is great because then I can have less guilt over all the potato chips I have been downing over Netflix every night. To make matters <strike>worse</strike> splendid, Ruffles has come up with a jalapeno-flavoured pack of chips! Why, why, why would you do this to me, Ruffles? (Well done, by the way.)<br />
<br />
Speaking of Netflix, we have discovered a whole bunch of new stuff to watch. We have finished Fauda (awesome), Pataal Lok (great) and Criminal Justice (quite good). When things get too violent/crime-y, we switch to Brooklyn 99 for a break. Two night ago, we started watching Aarya on someone's recommendation, but I found the writing, screenplay and acting really bad so I couldn't carry on after the first episode. I found a Quora thread on "Best shows to watch during lockdown" and Mirzapur seems to be quite a hot favourite, so we might try that out next. Any other recos?<br />
<br />
Viv and Xena have been playing tons of games, including indoor cricket (using a yoga mat as the pitch!) and 'dog and the bone' and what not. I was trying hard to pull Xena away from her 389753208750th reading of the Harry Potter books, but she simply wouldn't yield. So I started reading one of my childhood favourites (Enid Blyton's Five Find-Outers) to her over meals, and now she (and Viv too) loves it! It has now become a family tradition to take turns to read a couple of chapters of this series each day.<br />
<br />
One of the amazing things that seems to have happened everywhere is that people have started reconnecting over Zoom. Both Viv and I had our respective 'cousins on Zoom' calls (and I'm still pondering over why his was so civilised and mine was dangal-in-jungle level). My sister who lives in the US has started a weekly call between her kids and Xena, and it's heartwarming to see cousins who have only seen one another thrice, interacting and showing off their artwork and what not.<br />
<br />
We also have a Friday call with some of our friends from university, and it's nice to have that to look forward to at the end of the work week. The girls in the group have now decided to dress up a bit for these calls because our nice clothes, jewellery and make-up are rotting away. I haven't put on contact lenses or make-up in months. In fact, on Monday, I had to go submit some documents for a tender. I had no contact with anyone, it was just the tender box and me, and YET, <i>I put on eyeliner</i>. (There was no point in putting on lipstick I felt, because we have all been reduced to masked bandits). I came back and reported my eyeliner badassery to some friends and was showered with their hearty congratulations.<br />
<br />
So that is what has been happening here. And how have you been?<br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
Sayesha<br />
PS: Half the year is over, guys. <i>Half the year is over</i>. </div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-38172987001345065342020-03-26T23:48:00.001+08:002020-03-27T00:00:12.066+08:00Sigh baba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sigh.<br />
<br />
No, I'm not sighing because of the Covid-19 situation (which I admit is quite sigh-inducing indeed).<br />
<br />
I'm actually talking about Sigh, the butterfly, which we released this morning.<br />
<br />
So the other day, my boss' boss was telling me about her lime tree and the caterpillars she sees on them and asked me if I'd like one. <i>Would I like one?! </i>I jumped. <i>Of course</i> I'd like one. Who wouldn't? She knew I'd like one. Six years ago, Xena and I had <i>purchased</i> a caterpillar from a <i>caterpillar farm</i> just to be able to see it go <a href="https://sayesha.blogspot.com/2014/05/spread-your-wings.html" target="_blank">from caterpillar to pupa to butterfly</a>. Xena was tiny then. (She had named that butterfly Lydia, even though we found out later through Google images that it was a male.) I couldn't wait to do it all over again, with an older Xena who understands stuff better and is about to embark on learning about life cycles in Science at school! Talk about timing. <br />
<br />
Not to mention that it is the ideal fuss-free pet for people with pet-commitment issues — feed it, admire it and when it turns into a butterfly, just release it.<br />
<br />
A few days later, on the 12th of March to be precise, boss' boss walked over with a transparent plastic box with holes on the lid and leaves inside. "OMG!" I shrieked. My audible fawning attracted the attention of my team, who walked over to admire it. Imagine a bunch of Science editors looking at a very hungry caterpillar munching on leaves. Yeah.<br />
<br />
And just like that, I had a thought. Maybe I could keep the caterpillar at work instead. It had been an incredibly stressful week at work with 12 books going to press at once. We had worked on a chapter on life cycles together. It would be so wonderful to actually view a real-life 3D version! It would be our team pet, and we could watch it go from caterpillar to pupa and when it turned into a butterfly, we could all walk outside and release it into the big, bad world.<br />
<br />
Xena had seen it before. These guys hadn't. So I told them.<br />
<br />
"OMG we have to name it!" I asked one of my teammates. "Any clues?"<br />
<br />
"Err... Sci?" She said, presumably because it belonged to the Science team.<br />
<br />
I misheard her.<br />
<br />
"Sigh? I LOVE it! It's the perfect representation of our feelings these last few months."<br />
<br />
And so, Sigh it was, much to the amusement of my teammates, especially the babies (interns).<br />
<br />
And how Sigh ate. It went through the leaves in the container in half a day and just as I was about to walk to the boss' boss' room to put in a formal request for more leaves (caterpillars are incredibly picky and will only eat the leaves of the kind of plant that the eggs are laid on), the whole Covid-19 thing blew through the roof. It was around 3 pm and we were asked to immediately vacate the premises for disinfection as someone in the office (I don't know who... there are like 500 people in my office) had been sent for Covid-19 testing.<br />
<br />
As I packed my stuff, I knew the original plan was off — I couldn't leave Sigh in the office. I didn't know when/whether we'd be going back and it would surely starve to death.<br />
<br />
So I got him home.<br />
<br />
Except that I don't have any lime trees or lime leaves.<br />
<br />
So I used the neighbourhood WhatsApp group for the reason it should be used (forwards on how to beat the Coronovirus with ginger and garlic... not).<br />
<br />
One of my neighbours quickly replied and said she had a lime plant. I dashed over and picked up some leaves for Sigh.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVb0lpsVFdYAb97xi5_zXtlWfc032-hw8I2y3IfEggdbzq6QrsEvQgYhmEmnPkVe709B1W1ncUtZ-0vxmK8avmpcYSWzJ7u80ObmrAsTM3DbOFhliZi2L2kXTtgEcDDJRh_EW/s1600/IMG_1706.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVb0lpsVFdYAb97xi5_zXtlWfc032-hw8I2y3IfEggdbzq6QrsEvQgYhmEmnPkVe709B1W1ncUtZ-0vxmK8avmpcYSWzJ7u80ObmrAsTM3DbOFhliZi2L2kXTtgEcDDJRh_EW/s400/IMG_1706.jpeg" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
It ate and it pooped for days on end. And soon, I had no more leaves. Another neighbour told me that I could get some from the community garden. So Xena and I marched off and came back armed with tons of leaves, which we stored in the refrigerator.<br />
<br />
And how it ate and pooped.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZEzMo7ST954" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
Many of us were already working from home by then, but I took regular photos and videos of Sigh and kept the team updated. Watching it goggle the leaves also provided Xena with a lot of indoor entertainment, now that we couldn't go out all that much.<br />
<br />
By 17th of March, Sigh had stopped eating, and crawled up the side of the container. From my last butterfly life cycle experience, I knew it was going to pupate very soon.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnWAWXv3KO6Dk0R1r7ZkAUQzTTjDIfyP9l3FcyiOG_8UynCvHB3PtnG-oWU_WN5zVwQur71gtCo_9yPGpWhj2zv-jSEohcgOT3qRFy2FZrRk2nucJu2WqwnnvNcXAHRe9TN0L/s1600/IMG_1761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnWAWXv3KO6Dk0R1r7ZkAUQzTTjDIfyP9l3FcyiOG_8UynCvHB3PtnG-oWU_WN5zVwQur71gtCo_9yPGpWhj2zv-jSEohcgOT3qRFy2FZrRk2nucJu2WqwnnvNcXAHRe9TN0L/s400/IMG_1761.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
The next day, 18th March, this is what I saw. The fat, wriggly caterpillar had turned into, err... a green seahorse.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46US4E-MeYAvo1HcAuMOXe0yiqCwuYvMDokgyKoX7FZh28M6KOfeJbPlsA_g5-w7fu1ezgvTSdxiTthgtbs-gV7jSOQZ5ekRHpEgf2vrZAN9iSPYqSI0lk-pL8G1IV5lYmM9K/s1600/IMG_1762+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46US4E-MeYAvo1HcAuMOXe0yiqCwuYvMDokgyKoX7FZh28M6KOfeJbPlsA_g5-w7fu1ezgvTSdxiTthgtbs-gV7jSOQZ5ekRHpEgf2vrZAN9iSPYqSI0lk-pL8G1IV5lYmM9K/s400/IMG_1762+3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
It stayed like that, unmoved by the happenings in the world. In the middle of the chaos, lockdowns, and insanity shaking up the whole world, it was the only thing that stayed unchanged.<br />
<br />
Or so it seemed.<br />
<br />
By the morning of 26th March, aka today, the pupa had started to become translucent and I could see the markings of the butterfly's wings.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1qeQgMYCGCa8UQiSDIAfMYlRQWHyHM8wvDBFT55AYWVqAWpi3t1211rS4R2aWy31qR97GQGbGul2oW5tR_tZLL2pPcqWzQ91dPYTbWiCQAeUN8NmREEgV3mFk8e33SCsvz21/s1600/IMG_1838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1qeQgMYCGCa8UQiSDIAfMYlRQWHyHM8wvDBFT55AYWVqAWpi3t1211rS4R2aWy31qR97GQGbGul2oW5tR_tZLL2pPcqWzQ91dPYTbWiCQAeUN8NmREEgV3mFk8e33SCsvz21/s400/IMG_1838.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
About 2 hours later, the butterfly emerged from the pupa! What a gorgeous little thing, and how phenomenal that this large fluttering butterfly had been all squashed and folded up inside a casing that was a quarter of its size.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkemqg9bhhqUSOEobeQea2mHsfqCIzRqShbhx_nwHy3f6UrEwgnyfvUCSpCFfIL8mgRi0tvYQBY8I-qgIumbZGi_e2cJjcnsWStY66UxPSuegrZGn8YIClJSBvTrYPtGB7f1cx/s1600/IMG_1851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkemqg9bhhqUSOEobeQea2mHsfqCIzRqShbhx_nwHy3f6UrEwgnyfvUCSpCFfIL8mgRi0tvYQBY8I-qgIumbZGi_e2cJjcnsWStY66UxPSuegrZGn8YIClJSBvTrYPtGB7f1cx/s400/IMG_1851.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
I was so glad that both Viv and I were working from home today. If we'd not been around to release it, who knows — it would have died of starvation.<br />
<br />
And here's the video of the official 'release', which my team had requested me to take. Xena was in school so she also had to make do with the video.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9zJP_mgUQRA" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
Bye bye, Sigh! Be good!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-62250358032659894612020-02-21T22:22:00.000+08:002020-02-22T12:32:18.805+08:00Viral post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So lately, I have gotten myself deep into Punjabi music. How?? Why?? Well, it just happened. When you leave for work at 6:40 am and take a 45-minute bus ride, you zone out in the bus and do not have any energy to change the autoplay music. You just let it do its thing. And once "it" realises you ain't budgin' your ass, it will <i>really</i> do its thing. Once in a while, you jerk awake because you hear a guy singing, "Mainu lehenga le de mehenga ja marjaniya". (Buy me an expensive lehenga??) Or "Sun le hun ek gal sohneya, Singapore le chal sohneya." (Listen to me, my darling; take me to Singapore.)<br />
<br />
Ha.<br />
<br />
No one, I repeat, <i>no one</i> in their right mind is asking anyone to take them to <i>Singapore</i> at the moment. We used to be the hub of trade and travel; we are now a hub of the Covid-19 virus. I never thought I'd see Singapore so high up in a negative list.<br />
<br />
It's been crazy. But we have seen crazy before. I was here when SARS hit in 2003, and I remember the temperature checks before we were allowed into the office, the uncertainty, the panic, the deaths. There was no social media back then, which was probably a blessing. I cannot imagine the kind of forwards that would have circulated.<br />
<br />
So yeah, we have 86 cases and things are still kind of uncertain. Anyone with a respiratory symptom is being given a 5-day medical certificate. Anyone who has been to mainland China has to be quarantined. Anyone who has any contact with anyone who has it has to be quarantined. Companies that can afford it are having some or all of their staff work from home.<br />
<br />
The fear is palpable. Any cough or sneeze you hear in the bus is enough to cause a mild panic attack, especially if you're not wearing a mask. We are out of masks and sanitiser. The entire island. Totally out. Not a single shop has a single mask. I was ranting about it to a colleague (I take public transport three times a day) and she recommended her 'dealer' to me. A lady in the Admin department is actually her dealer. You need to email the lady that you need a mask and she will literally say, "Meet me at the back door in 5 minutes." where she will discreetly hand you the contraband. It's hilarious.<br />
<br />
So I have 4 masks in the office and 4 at home but because that's all I have, I am not using a mask daily like many people I see in the bus. Sometimes I look at the masked folks longingly, and I can sense them giving me a proud "Mere paas ma(sk) hai" look. The class divide between the haves and have-nots is sharp. But I did attempt to hand-stitch my very own washable, eco-friendly masks. I made three pieces, one each for Viv, Xena and me. They are not very successful though, because they don't have the metal strip that keeps the mask tight over the bridge of the nose, and the elastic loops keep slipping off too.<br />
<br />
So I am clinging on to the 8 masks I have and like a good law-abiding citizen, following the government's advice on saving the masks for trips to the clinic or hospital, in case we need to. Speaking of government, my Mom told me that our Prime Minister's speech was going viral in her circles. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-10/as-asia-panics-one-country-wins-praise-for-approach-to-virus" target="_blank">Bloomberg covered it too</a>. Did you see that kickass speech? Clear, calm, decisive. (And yeah, he delivered it in 3 languages. And yeah, he's a coder.) So I feel incredibly proud of him and also incredibly sorry for him for possibly being the first Prime Minister in the world to have to use the words "toilet paper" in a speech addressed to the nation.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZyZwtKJn-Ac" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Yes, the trigger for his speech was the insane hoarding that happened that week. Supermarkets were wiped clean. People were sweeping all the instant noodles, all the rice, all the toilet paper into their trolleys. Clearly, the sense of panic was its peak. Like a friend said, it felt like we were going to war.<br />
<br />
But immediately after this speech, a sense of calm swept the nation. The National Trades Union Congress supermarket even issued a video the next day, showing that they had 9 million packs of toilet paper in their warehouse, in case junta was shitting their pants over the virus. Suddenly, toilet paper and instant noodles and hoarding were the hot topic, sidelining the virus. There were memes and jokes and forwards and we all laughed and moved on.<br />
<br />
Speaking of forwards, I received some lovely ones from India, about how homeopathy can cure the disease (scientists and researchers all the world racing to find a vaccine are just doing timepass, no? I sent <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/dubious-advisory-by-ministry-of-ayush-recommends-homoeopathy-unani-to-prevent-coronavirus-infection-7973241.html" target="_blank">this</a> right back.) and how drinking ginger (or was it garlic? Whatever.) water can kill the virus and oh, drinking hot water too because "the virus is not heat-resistant and dies at 23-26 degrees" (and our body temperature is...?) Finally, someone sent the one forward that made logical sense.<br />
<br />
<i>The 2019-nCoV has mutated to affect the human brain.</i><br />
<i>Symptoms:</i><br />
<i>The reported symptoms include immediate alarming drop of IQ to zero, lack of judgment, rush to stock of supplies like toilet paper and instant noodles. (This symptom is the same as rush for Hello Kitty many years ago.)</i><br />
<i>This symptom may appear immediately. There is no incubation period.</i><br />
<i>The new 2019-nCoV is spread by WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram from person to person contacts</i><br />
<i>There is no known cure. The infected will die from stupidity.</i><br />
<br />
Someone even sent me a forward about a new song called "<i>Humra lehenga mein coronavirus ghusal ba</i>". Bas, yehi sunna baaki reh gaya tha.<br />
<br />
Things are a lot better now. There is a WhatsApp service by the government you can subscribe to, which provides daily updates on how many people are diagnosed and discharged each day, and precautions we should be taking. Lately more people are discharged each day than those diagnosed. My heart breaks though for the Bangladeshi construction worker who is in a very critical condition. The whole country is rooting for him though, so let's hope a miracle happens and he recovers. There was even a 6-month-old baby who had been admitted, but now he's home.<br />
<br />
Clusters have been identified (including two churches, a health shop, a meeting at the Grand Hyatt and a construction site) and contact tracing has been very efficient so far. But once in a while, isolated cases do surface. Because of the incubation period when there are no symptoms, anyone could have it and be roaming around, spreading it. We could have it. Our friends or colleagues could have it. We are trying to be responsible. Washing our hands 87639846 times a day. Not touching our faces. Not going to crowded places. Avoiding meet-ups. Of course, none of this will guarantee that we won't get it. We just do the best we can.<br />
<br />
Posters have been put up in the office reminding people to wash their hands. Bottles of disinfectant have been handed out to each team to disinfect the usual suspects every day — the work area, laptops, phones, etc. All essential work travel has been cancelled. I was supposed to travel to promote a new school book series we are publishing and sure enough, the schools we were supposed to go to plainly refused to meet anyone from Singapore. I heaved a mental sigh of relief because I have no desire at the moment to go through two airports and one aeroplane.<br />
<br />
I will just stay put and wait for this thing to blow over. I will trust the system. After all, <a href="https://mustsharenews.com/singapore-contain-covid-19/" target="_blank">Pulitzer prize-winning epidemics expert Laurie Garrett said, "If Singapore can’t do it, if Singapore can’t keep it under control, then we’re all screwed, because they’ve got the best system in the world."</a><br />
<br />
And if things still look bleak, I will sit in the bus wearing my inefficient homemade mask, plug in my earphones and listen to "O teri navi saheli de naallo mere sandal sohneya" (My sandals are better than your new girlfriend).<br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-38462011008357419322020-02-01T23:33:00.000+08:002020-02-02T00:10:19.811+08:00The thinking cap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It happened some time last year.<br />
<br />
I saw a tiiiiiny plant peeking from my compost pile. Now I had put all sorts of kitchen scraps in there so I had absolutely no clue what plant it was. I gently pulled it out and planted it in a pot, hoping that it was a green chilli plant. I'd been trying to grow green chillies from seeds and had proven myself to be a total failure. Or in the words of monk Jianyu, "pre-successful".<br />
<br />
I watered it and the plant grew. And I watered it some more and it grew some more. Unlike my cherry tomato plants Tommy, Timmy, Tammy and Tom, who were sprouting flowers by the dozen, this plant, unwilling to reveal its identity, had nothing but leaves. Xena, frustrated at not being able to name it, asked me to do so and so I named it 'Wildcard'.<br />
<br />
Weeks passed by. Nothing but leaves. So I decided to call in the expert. My dad, who has grown everything from ginger procured from an unwilling tour guide in Bali to coconuts found washed ashore at Singapore's east coast beach.<br />
<br />
I interrupted my family WhatsApp chat group, which is mostly kept alive by mom forwarding us forwards and asking me to check if they are legit. My favourite is this one:<br />
<br />
तुलसी के दो पत्ते मोबाइल के पीछे कवर मे रखे रहेने से मोबाइल का रेडिएशन एक दम चला जायेगा।<br />
प्रैक्टिकल कर के दिखाया बाबा राम देव<br />
<br />
Wow. Just... wow.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I sent them Wildcard's photo.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxeziTsupcDzRHM3RhQ50Koik5Eoq53bxAkofBXdi09qYOSF5jvv3-oAomyD3kbtmUizYW6ocTaeZnLXgAd6DRo4WYJRrKgwRFR2EvBUnL01eQM9ZxwyU-Lbq70uSTBsrBePP/s1600/68a85a67-d4a1-475d-b5e4-3fbe80d64f44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxeziTsupcDzRHM3RhQ50Koik5Eoq53bxAkofBXdi09qYOSF5jvv3-oAomyD3kbtmUizYW6ocTaeZnLXgAd6DRo4WYJRrKgwRFR2EvBUnL01eQM9ZxwyU-Lbq70uSTBsrBePP/s320/68a85a67-d4a1-475d-b5e4-3fbe80d64f44.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Me: Dad, what plant is this? It grew from my compost pile. I can’t identify it. Hoping for it to be chilli.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Dad: Wait for some time; if chillies appear, it is so!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Me: This advice is not useful at all!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Mom: I don't think it's chilli. Maybe capsicum. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Sister: Send for dna testing????</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Me: <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="353" src="https://giphy.com/embed/JUMLTR3dHEGpW" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anyway, fast-forward several months. I was out on the balcony plucking Tommy's latest offerings to make veggie uttapams, when I spotted something on Wildcard that made me do a double take. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvNDACXbW0f5WPh3JvqfGyyC74M-M37kqBg6DJ_27FdD9ffhEFcSpH154UiNdpVIVj2sa3awJ5dzEsbLMIlTlbnozCuFuy4RVtLAMjik-15Q2y1_w8LbBLX26BKKSFE2sRZc8/s1600/3029c0cd-a86e-4790-8821-cd82faa6e63b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="899" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvNDACXbW0f5WPh3JvqfGyyC74M-M37kqBg6DJ_27FdD9ffhEFcSpH154UiNdpVIVj2sa3awJ5dzEsbLMIlTlbnozCuFuy4RVtLAMjik-15Q2y1_w8LbBLX26BKKSFE2sRZc8/s640/3029c0cd-a86e-4790-8821-cd82faa6e63b.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
HOLY. MOLY. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Ladies and gentlemen, Wildcard finally has a name! Please say 'hello' to 'CAPtain'. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
(And yes, mom, you're a genius. Please just stop forwarding the forwards.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-54602788700790473592020-01-26T13:16:00.001+08:002020-01-28T08:49:48.980+08:00Annual report - 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Happy new year, bewdas! Hope 2020 has gotten off to a fantastic start.<br />
<br />
2019 was quite an interesting year for me. It started off with me deciding quite suddenly to go back to the office full-time after 8 years of working from home. And it has been a roller-coaster ride. Things are so insanely crazy all the time, and though a part of me thrives on that sort of thing, I have had some trouble trying to do ALL the things that I want to do in my life. I hope to do better this year and have a better work-life balance.<br />
<br />
The sense of having become so much older from the last time I worked at this company (I'd worked here years ago as a clueless fresh grad) never gets old. I have <strike>babies</strike> interns coming and going, and every time I look at one of their resumes, it hits me hard -- when I was in university, these guys were in... um... diapers. When/how did we all get so old?<br />
<br />
2019 was also significant because both Xena and I passed inline skating level 5. It had been a loooong time since I'd had an 'exam' so I was really nervous that I'd flunk one of the tricky skills or fall flat on my face during one of the stunts, but all went well and now we have both earned our black certificates (to me, it's the equivalent of a black belt).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz5g6UHHctW7X1CkH3rpVjxzKi7aGJhY36p2j_z_W9KeDJzJOPgs6HGz1E3DJKtoXf07BSkL8ds9nU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is me, doing a skill called 'toe-heel transition'.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0MXAasAN2JbFbenxYDDo0mwNmTFXq5GTak1rFVb5ZYnHpLuq7Pu5LVGvrST7xywOOiSgw0wXVfhA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">And here is Xena, demonstrating a rather tricky one called 'eagle'. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
2019 was also the year when I threw caution to the wind and travelled to India in June. 42 frikkin' degrees. And I call Singapore hot. But it was nice to catch up with my parents and aunts and uncles and cousins, and then it also rained so it wasn't too bad. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Xena turned 8 last year, but her 8th birthday was different. Increasingly, birthdays had been making us sick, with all the gifts and the plastic and the wastage and what not. We were really glad when Xena was instantly on board when we told her how we wanted to celebrate her 8th birthday. We had a very small gathering and we expressly forbid people from bringing any gifts (including cash/vouchers). We told them that all we'd accept were homemade cards and handwritten letters and our friends stuck to the instructions. In addition to cards made by her friends, she got some lovely letters from our friends too. There were no return gifts of plastic items smothered in plastic packaging -- we gave the guests a copy of <a href="https://www.thehungrypalette.com/shop/lttkidsactivitybook" target="_blank">my friend Shub's amazing book on introducing kids to recycling</a>, along with some homemade cookies that Xena had helped me bake. We did not use any plastic cutlery. For party games, we had a treasure hunt on recyclable and non-recyclable items. We hope to continue doing something like that this year too, and hope we don't stress out our friends who choose to have conventional birthday parties. Everyone is free to do what they want to do. This is just a small start towards leading a slightly greener life. There is so much we still feel SO guilty about, so much more we can do. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last year was also the year Xena got majorly into Harry Potter. She's on book 5 now; she gets to watch the corresponding movie after she finishes each book. We still don't have cable TV and she still doesn't have any alone screen time (and it doesn't seem to bother her, which is great). Once in a while, we watch carefully curated movies together. So far, so good. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I had some fantastically good fortune in gardening this year, though I have the blackest thumb I know of and I'm perfectly capable of killing even a cactus. We don't have space inside the house, so I planted some cherry tomato seeds in pots at the staircase landing and crossed my fingers. I also learnt from a neighbour how to do composting, but I still haven't nailed it yet. To my utter amazement, compared to the 6 cherry tomatoes we had harvested when I did the same in 2018, this year we had a bumper harvest. In 6 months, our amazing plants (Xena christened them Tommy, Timmy, Tammy and Tom) gave us about 60 tomatoes. Amazingly, 40 of them were from Tommy and he's still going strong. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hhuxgYUKR_s4vfgPy6KHX9FfMXW9WTIYD8DQSN-aeSkRM4ocT22_XSIyaNdRqppX34S-X-MVKCwYMbqO4DolES3L5Gr_ALYiF-WfAhXp3AcQqIHCIaaS5iIOLnUeEDl9Kgo5/s1600/Cherry+tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hhuxgYUKR_s4vfgPy6KHX9FfMXW9WTIYD8DQSN-aeSkRM4ocT22_XSIyaNdRqppX34S-X-MVKCwYMbqO4DolES3L5Gr_ALYiF-WfAhXp3AcQqIHCIaaS5iIOLnUeEDl9Kgo5/s320/Cherry+tomatoes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tommy's gorgeous offerings</div>
<br />
Our big holiday in 2019 was Tasmania, which is now my new favourite holiday destination. Highly highly recommended for kids. I've started updating <a href="http://hop-scotch.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">the travel blog</a>, though I'm afraid it will take a while. Because Tasmania is so beautiful, you cannot <i>not</i> take 23094839027534 photos.<br />
<br />
This year, I consciously chose not to make any formal new year's resolutions, mainly because I need to sort my work-life balance before I can embark on something serious, but I do have a few vaguely-worded secret ones that I am working towards (and afraid of breaking). Let's see how that goes.<br />
<br />
So how have you guys been? Any non-secret resolutions? :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-2901955156643644462019-12-11T18:13:00.000+08:002019-12-11T18:25:13.405+08:00Greetings from Tasmania!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSw8b2oVCWcoUU450J_RJ0FNXtbhAOmdiqRXfISlN7IN7iIWJiJjwWlBXJnWJaiFari_d14hMYG8QJ6RrD_aKjTiES9_4Y4Kc6eXYOLcFJviPpXXILDo1QT5QhIvUHvbKnAdaO/s1600/0E7BA101-61CD-4D59-AC45-3511F720CC8D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSw8b2oVCWcoUU450J_RJ0FNXtbhAOmdiqRXfISlN7IN7iIWJiJjwWlBXJnWJaiFari_d14hMYG8QJ6RrD_aKjTiES9_4Y4Kc6eXYOLcFJviPpXXILDo1QT5QhIvUHvbKnAdaO/s320/0E7BA101-61CD-4D59-AC45-3511F720CC8D.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Hello, bewdas and bewdis!<br />
<br />
No, I’ve not moved to Tasmania (but I might, in about 2 decades or so), though I know it may seem like that, given my looooong absence from the bar. Many of you have written to me, concerned, and I could almost read between the lines — “Are you alive?”<br />
<br />
I am, I am. And I’m super touched that you guys care enough to check on me. As you know, early this year I switched from a work-from-home arrangement (for 8 years!) to a fulltime position in the office and it has been CRAZY, to say the least. But I love it, so it’s okay. Publishing is crazy anyway, but this year has been especially cray-cray, leaving me no time to do anything other than waking up at 5:30 am to get breakfast and snack boxes and Xena ready, getting to office by 7:30 am and bolting at 5 pm so I can get to student care by 6 pm to pick her up, bolting home to get dinner ready and then after getting Xena to bed, settling down to a nice evening of... WORK! Everything that I can’t do in the limited time I have in the office is pretty much done at night, which used to be my Netflix/blogging time.<br />
<br />
Weekends ka toh poochho hi mat. Our entire weekend is spent at the beach at inline skating lessons (I passed level 5 OMG OMG TOO EXCITED OMG but that’s a whole other post!). Hope that Xena can get her level 5 certificate soon so we can get our weekends back and move on to our next new hobby and complain again that our weekends are toh totally gone.<br />
<br />
This Tasmanian holiday is the first proper vacation I’ve had this year. I’d forgotten how it was to expel all work-related thoughts from my head and fill it up with other random things. We did a 15-km hike on Maria Island today, with hundreds of wallabies and wombats running free around us, and it was something else.<br />
<br />
Suddenly my head has been filled up with all sorts of other thoughts such as, “Gosh, wombat poop really is cube-shaped.” and “Hey, remember the time you used to blog?” <br />
<br />
So here I am, not really “back” back, but kinda back, and determined to be “back” back. <br />
<br />
Hope y’all are doing great and wrapping up a great year and looking forward to a brand new, smashing one.<br />
<br />
Love always,<br />
Sayesha </div>Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-76500248233744535232019-06-26T23:37:00.000+08:002019-06-28T21:51:47.311+08:00Home away from home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A sweltering 42 degrees outside</li>
<li>The first rain after the 42 degrees</li>
<li>The smell of that rain falling on the soil</li>
<li>Not having to wake up at 5:30 am</li>
<li>An avalanche of adoring relatives descending upon me (half of whom I don't know; I did not grow up there)</li>
<li>Being told that I've become too thin (Erm, my weight has stayed the same since the year 2001, except for when I was preggers)</li>
<li>Being told that Xena is too thin (you don't say!)</li>
<li>Being asked if I give her food</li>
<li>Xena being asked if I give her food</li>
<li>Getting lunch/dinner invitations from relatives on a daily basis</li>
<li>Getting lunch invitations from relatives of relatives (ok that's very sweet, but why?)</li>
<li>Mom constantly asking me what I want to eat</li>
<li>Cousins and cousins-in-law constantly getting me all the things I like to eat</li>
<li>Chicken biryani from the restaurant whose name no one knows but which is known as "the place where the owner makes the biryani himself and refuses to remove the <i>dum</i> until IT IS TIME, no matter how long the queue of starved patrons is</li>
<li>Mutton biryani from the above-mentioned place</li>
<li>Remembering the trauma experienced during my last visit and swearing off street food (blame it on two decades of living in super sanitised Singapore) </li>
<li>Thinking "Ok I will only have a little bit and early enough during my trip so I don't fall sick just before the flight"</li>
<li>Roadside chicken samosas on day 2</li>
<li>Eating said chicken samosas in a parked car next to the stall, with tears streaming down my face, thanks to the freshly chopped onions that accompany the samosas</li>
<li>The driver opening his window because tears are about to roll down his eyes too</li>
<li>Roadside chicken pakodas on day 3</li>
<li>Roadside chaat on day 3</li>
<li>Telling myself that's the last of the street food, but then spotting the pani puri man</li>
<li>Trying not to think of the 'behind the scenes' as I eat the street food</li>
<li>Roadside pani puri 2 days before my flight (to my credit, I stopped myself at 6)</li>
<li>Guiltily offering roadside food to Xena and feeling relieved at her polite rejection</li>
<li>Mango season</li>
<li>Masala Thums Up</li>
<li>Egg rolls</li>
<li>Intercity drives to see more relatives who feed me and then feed me some more</li>
<li>A flabbergasted Xena looking at Virat Kohli's face on every other giant billboard, selling everything from steel to sherwanis, asking me, "Mama, when does Virat Uncle play cricket?"</li>
<li>A flabbergasted Xena counting the cows and bulls (134) spotted on the road during a single (but long) car ride </li>
<li>Shopping, and shopping some more</li>
<li>Weighing my suitcase on a daily basis to make sure my shopping didn't exceed my baggage allowance</li>
<li>Wondering how the driver passes the time when we go on long shopping trips</li>
<li>Getting excited to see the giant bottles of Thums Up at Big Bazar</li>
<li>Kaam wali bai touching my feet! (omg she's probably the same age as me)</li>
<li>Xena refusing to touch anyone's feet, but doing a shy namaste to save her unsanskari mommy from total humiliation</li>
<li>Saas-bahu serials still going strong, which ladies now watch on their phones as they cook</li>
<li>More people to send me random WhatsApp forwards</li>
<li>More random relatives adding me on Facebook </li>
<li>Hearing fireworks and wondering if someone is getting married or watching the World Cup</li>
<li>Kids as young as 1.5 years old swiping away on mobile phones for literally hours</li>
<li>Xena discovering in utter amazement that there is such a thing as cable TV that has channels only for children omg</li>
<li>Relatives finding out that Xena doesn't get "TV time" and "mobile phone time" and "tablet time" and asking me why I'm torturing my child</li>
<li>Trying to cross the road with vehicles coming at me from every direction</li>
<li>Trying to cross the above-mentioned road with Xena</li>
<li>The sheer affection from people </li>
<li>The utter chaos in everything, everywhere</li>
<li>Feeling strangely old and young at the same time when I'm there (perhaps because I have spent my entire adult life in Singapore)</li>
<li>Thinking to myself, "What was I thinking? NEVER doing this in summer again!"</li>
<li>Thinking to myself, "Oh, come on."</li>
<li>Do I hate it? Do I love it? I hate it. I love it. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
Yup, that about sums up my recent India trip.</div>
</div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-55451091478335226802019-05-03T21:40:00.000+08:002019-05-03T21:44:46.150+08:00A gif(t) that keeps on giving<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This post is for you, t. <br />
<br />
t had posted the following comment on<a href="http://sayesha.blogspot.com/2019/04/o-is-for-o-ajnabi.html" target="_blank"> my 'O ajnabi' post</a>:<br />
<br />
<i>OMG Sayesha, I've enjoyed all these posts I've read so far! How do you make such high-quality gifs? Sometimes the actions in some gifs are too fast, but yours are perfect. Do you have a post on creating gifs? If not, at least for fan junta like me, please write one :) </i><br />
<br />
I discovered the art of creating gifs last year during the A-Z blogathon when I was trying to find a way to bring across some of the ridiculousness of our Bollywood songs in a more visual manner. Once I discovered the amazing world of gifs, I stopped doing screenshots.<br />
<br />
So here you go -- my step-by-step guide to make a gif. And since you seem to have <strike>watched</strike> endured this horrible Prem movie, I've made the tutorial on one of its songs.<br />
<br />
I know there are plenty of sites where you can create gifs, but I personally love giphy.com because it doesn't ask me to register/log in and it's very, very easy to use.<br />
<br />
Step 1: Go to giphy.com and click on 'create' on the top right.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOteskxkGETTUvQIXV_6ADhel3V0806vGcm0KOPPxwJEc-zsu-Uz8dwnptf6oMSQpfDrWdG-BWtqYTLMrDeueDBCbFM-0dJqbPy_SV-NIvN2idCXqHwQa9w23mpuO33SCcdEnr/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.08.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOteskxkGETTUvQIXV_6ADhel3V0806vGcm0KOPPxwJEc-zsu-Uz8dwnptf6oMSQpfDrWdG-BWtqYTLMrDeueDBCbFM-0dJqbPy_SV-NIvN2idCXqHwQa9w23mpuO33SCcdEnr/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.08.06+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 2: Enter the URL of your video in the 'Add any URL' field.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUhvIsKSyYFF2iLi2ulGpGO4S4jCJbLO0atQ5_lZ5Jd91Nqjsk6Lm-B4M1yo0qWzzs1r2rg2YfJyiR0-dG0F2KVIhSd1WAXKdK0KUYajNWrDgog2A4I5UN8HPKQr_n5ZDlsQ4/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.11.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUhvIsKSyYFF2iLi2ulGpGO4S4jCJbLO0atQ5_lZ5Jd91Nqjsk6Lm-B4M1yo0qWzzs1r2rg2YfJyiR0-dG0F2KVIhSd1WAXKdK0KUYajNWrDgog2A4I5UN8HPKQr_n5ZDlsQ4/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.11.15+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 3: This will bring you to this preview page. The bottom number circled in red will give you your start time so you can choose that based on where you want your gif to start. The top field circled in red gives you the number of seconds that your gif will last. I usually go for the default 4 seconds but sometimes you may need a few more seconds to capture something hilarious, so go ahead and increase it by a couple of seconds. Once you're happy with your gif (the preview will keep playing so you can play around with the two numbers to get the best gif), click on 'Continue to decorate'. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkAlHFcaRO4W2MPwWj1Bgrura7BKCOq__utLLMYOEr_ixydsSlkKaxUDDr18TQEaG_YRjpmw4HJkaZJ-Gvg-AyzbNhMgKnq-pa6YkolFh_ygVrkBfSqmNH72xPQOXREJfk_k2/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.12.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1600" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkAlHFcaRO4W2MPwWj1Bgrura7BKCOq__utLLMYOEr_ixydsSlkKaxUDDr18TQEaG_YRjpmw4HJkaZJ-Gvg-AyzbNhMgKnq-pa6YkolFh_ygVrkBfSqmNH72xPQOXREJfk_k2/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.12.47+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 4: At this step, you can do a lot of embellishment to your gif, but I never use this feature because my amazing actors are enough and need no embellishment whatsoever. Click on 'Continue to upload'. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSL3jCnSXvL0D3BjGhz4rvNaZglBC7dGYwuiokQlGMZCPwG7_VhHNDoCTJN0Fqlb3nAFtmlujryohuHtgXMPk3W_iXWSolO42sLrpWuSv7Gwxjn88EyWnGW14DNR2GBJJg1J6/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.13.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1340" data-original-width="1600" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSL3jCnSXvL0D3BjGhz4rvNaZglBC7dGYwuiokQlGMZCPwG7_VhHNDoCTJN0Fqlb3nAFtmlujryohuHtgXMPk3W_iXWSolO42sLrpWuSv7Gwxjn88EyWnGW14DNR2GBJJg1J6/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.13.33+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 5: Click on 'Upload to Giphy'.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGnSvFZIsMf5iLaTK-58biYI-sUBb5K8H9Pl_Lj_trExSLqfbnKzgps2rZY0TRU_i7NJc7cWohjEmsxnK6oS-uV28A_JMVz-5SwXpeGVm8g5vb-bw5O2tJnXM-ttP2XopA_4Z/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.13.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGnSvFZIsMf5iLaTK-58biYI-sUBb5K8H9Pl_Lj_trExSLqfbnKzgps2rZY0TRU_i7NJc7cWohjEmsxnK6oS-uV28A_JMVz-5SwXpeGVm8g5vb-bw5O2tJnXM-ttP2XopA_4Z/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.13.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Step 6: Click on 'Embed'.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapl0AHv1F2Al9MkRIWLllmGEDSJLhjRO8UaP3owhgHDnc0eaDyYfR9opoeWpzNWUmhhzeTd0eiluWC2Ap4k6ZE7UUnBXQW4IsrdI9jVEcC296vDPH9C3BMAy91Lrh4hyphenhyphenFfE4_/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.14.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1600" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapl0AHv1F2Al9MkRIWLllmGEDSJLhjRO8UaP3owhgHDnc0eaDyYfR9opoeWpzNWUmhhzeTd0eiluWC2Ap4k6ZE7UUnBXQW4IsrdI9jVEcC296vDPH9C3BMAy91Lrh4hyphenhyphenFfE4_/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.14.31+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 7: Copy the html code and paste it in your post. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBJuOEtljZALlLMPJys2N_YuMbD64KFEzQ-8evWy70ppUNsd0Zk1KpQvJ445YJuDi3M-defvqKxoCpTuSSaFZIahvkttS4K6Q5TjqQiV5uQSxBtqaNxWnCdCA96v5Fs8LUxxi/s1600/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.14.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="1600" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBJuOEtljZALlLMPJys2N_YuMbD64KFEzQ-8evWy70ppUNsd0Zk1KpQvJ445YJuDi3M-defvqKxoCpTuSSaFZIahvkttS4K6Q5TjqQiV5uQSxBtqaNxWnCdCA96v5Fs8LUxxi/s400/Screenshot+2019-05-03+at+9.14.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
Step 8: Let Kareena Kapoor's talent blow you away, like it has done with Hrithik.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/U1VCHVUc6O92tVQgu1" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
Hope I was clear in my instructions. Please do try it out -- making gifs is easier than it sounds.<br />
<br />
If you have any questions, drop me a note. My email address is in my profile info.<br />
<br />
Enjoy! :) </div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-74635618089165996142019-04-30T22:06:00.001+08:002019-04-30T22:06:30.187+08:00Z is for Zehreela zehreela pyaar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm so sorry to subject you to two Urmila songs one after the other, but there could not have been a more befitting end to the A-Z blogathon than this song from the 1997 Ram Gopal Varma movie <i>Daud</i>. In this movie, Sanjay Dutt and Urmila are on the run with a tiny briefcase that they think contains gold, but it actually contains a nuclear bomb. Yep, a nuclear bomb. In a briefcase.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/ZFXEXjH9qDxEnRb0aK" width="480"></iframe><br />
The song starts off with Sanjay Dutt being followed in the middle of a jungle. Creepy vibes all around.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/KDsROAvR3vdBii2OUh" width="480"></iframe><br />
And then he spots the ghost. A sleeping ghost that lifts her ass a little too high with each breath.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/UVqXv01oQLTj6gM0Ux" width="480"></iframe><br />
Understandably, just like any normal human would do in the middle of a creepy jungle, he goes and touches the sleeping ghost. And very understandably, the sleeping ghost immediately breaks into a song about 'poisonous love'. This is already a toxic relationship for sure.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/XFjvewp7auweDh4q8O" width="480"></iframe><br />
Urmila starts her usual RGV-heroine antics. Levitating bum and all, you know.<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/h25AELjzmy78Xoc79u" width="480"></iframe>
This jungle is amazing. It even has its own massage parlour.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/J4lmC4ZFCJVdg98eRa" width="480"></iframe><br />
Then they play Vikram aur Betaal for a while.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/KHQfDwj8Hyg5Iu3miB" width="480"></iframe><br />
Can't quite tell who looks scarier.<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/QAyknC7c9MJwQYx6Xh" width="480"></iframe>
Even the owl in the jungle seems creeped out by them.<br />
<br />
Have a good fright!<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LyWjGtc2hlU" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-15812851636129761782019-04-29T20:59:00.001+08:002019-04-29T20:59:17.042+08:00Y is for Yeh khabar chhapwa do<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My top choice for Y would have been '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2wZkJlSktHQ" target="_blank">Yara o yara</a>' just for Sunny Paji and his out-of-order scooter. But the playback/giphy problem occured again so I had to bump that off and have this instead.<br />
<br />
The song, from the 1997 movie Aflatoon, is a riot of colours.<br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/ZAwLwQZt9QQK6gNMnx" width="480"></iframe><br />
Yellow yellow, dirty fellow<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LP0PucoS0fvsY8hHKd" width="480"></iframe><br />
This is perfectly normal behaviour next to a railway track.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/lSmb3ouvqLvBzFQq9o" width="480"></iframe><br />
And this reminds me of pancakes that are flipped a little too late.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/TjSohHIHBLBNgHNIpu" width="480"></iframe><br />
So literally <i>everything</i> on her is green. Even contact lenses. Matlab kuchh nahin bakhsha.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/W4c2mzvAEnnmdmcRvN" width="480"></iframe><br />
I dressed Xena up like this once because it was dress-up day at preschool and she wanted to be a tree.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/J5ussSbIbQm2MGKInB" width="480"></iframe><br />
Assault on the eyes<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/WTRvytXuEC99fw4a5q" width="480"></iframe><br />
Ants in pants<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/VhitLrql2WVlmMgHyP" width="480"></iframe><br />
And what step is this?!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/W3Bh7wQcyw49f1o0GO" width="480"></iframe><br />
I've always wondered what locals think about Bollywood actors who make complete asses of themselves when shooting abroad. Matlab seriously, kuchh bhi?<br />
<br />
What to do -- we are like this wonly.<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hUbH4KxF8DY" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-27434216159917426252019-04-27T23:41:00.000+08:002019-04-27T23:41:43.329+08:00X is for Mr. X<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Okay, the letter for today is X so thoda cheating toh allowed hai. <br />
<br />
Today's offering is the title song from the 2015 movie Mr. X, in which Emraan Hashmi plays an invisible vigilante. I can only imagine the discussions that led to this movie.<br />
<br />
Emraan Hashmi - I don't want to do any more ghost movies.<br />
<br />
Mukesh Bhatt - Errr...<br />
<br />
Emraan Hashmi - And I'm sick of the serial kisser tag too. So no kissing either.<br />
<br />
Mukesh Bhatt - Errr...<br />
<br />
Emraan - I'm just very sick of doing the same old things. Let's please do something different. So no ghosts and no kissing. Okay?<br />
<br />
Vikram Bhatt - OH. Great idea. How about you play a kissing ghost?<br />
<br />
Emraan Hashmi - You got it.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, the movie (which Vikram Bhatt insisted was not a copy of Hollow Man) tanked badly. Excerpts from some reviews:<br />
<br />
Rajiv Masand: "a singularly humourless film"<br />Hindustan Times: "a bizarre tale of an invisible kisser"<br />Firstpost: "Emraan Hashmi, intelligence and talent, everything is invisible in the film".<br />Daily News and Analysis: "There's nothing to see, not even Emraan Hashmi."<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/l3lWJS0sszVeXrrTON" width="480"></iframe><br />
So yeah, he's invisible. We got it.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LpWzYLISHktEBGdQwc" width="480"></iframe><br />
This is him mouthing the lyrics of this bizarre song "You can call me X." while Jacqueline Fernandez Lite (aka Amyra Dastur) writhes around.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/h6rVDMsUTs90gcF3QT" width="480"></iframe><br />
However bizarre it may be, the underwater kiss is not a new concept in Bollywood. But the underwater invisible kisser sure is!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/KFnOfe8W5QGaA3xaDk" width="480"></iframe><br />
Speaking of weird underwater behaviour, here is our heroine casually taking a bath in a bathtub, wearing all of Bappi da's jewellery.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/cKPpYnm9RtWaUHtwb3" width="480"></iframe><br />
Because why not.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/jnDlneKZ8IqoQa0RWR" width="480"></iframe><br />
Oooof so much happening in one gif, I don't know where to start the description.<br />
<br />
Enjoy the title track of Mr. X.<br /><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gyQVSusMsSg" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
PS: Apparently the "You can call me X" part of the song was sung by Mahesh Bhatt.<br />
PPS: Apparently, the movie also stars Tanmay Bhat as Hashmi's friend Popo. <br />PPPS: Okay, I really think we should all watch this movie right away. </div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-5941068554271115362019-04-26T21:53:00.002+08:002019-04-26T21:58:49.493+08:00W is for Why not Jimmy?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Okay, so my gif woes will not end. My first choice for W was this song called 'Why not Jimmy' from the 2008 movie Jimmy, starring Mithun Da's son Mahaaaaakshay Chakraborty (also known as Mimoh). But like what happened before, Shemaroo will not allow playback on other sites so I can't generate gifs. Normally, I'd just pick another song in a case like this and I did consider some options, including 'What is your style number?' but I couldn't do it.<br />
<br />
'Why not Jimmy' is <i>that</i> amazing.<br />
<br />
(Though I have to say I'm still wondering if it's supposed to be 'Why not Jimmy?' or 'Why not, Jimmy?')<br />
<br />
Anyway, for this song, I decided to make do with screenshots instead of gifs. Though I'm heartbroken because the gifs would have been kickass. You'll know what I mean when you see the full video.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2Qci1LjtWRjy30G6-lkTK3vTYR6mL9r_a5xiJ_ZZtLHerFEJtxIIz8AXhDuGpVPqHCahX6QBcIeVOfCAyhdh0wr0H0oagxi-L4Ttrphvq9KwOeZXiqXFIEDCN2IVp-2WSm5V/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.32.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2Qci1LjtWRjy30G6-lkTK3vTYR6mL9r_a5xiJ_ZZtLHerFEJtxIIz8AXhDuGpVPqHCahX6QBcIeVOfCAyhdh0wr0H0oagxi-L4Ttrphvq9KwOeZXiqXFIEDCN2IVp-2WSm5V/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.32.48+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
The song starts off with Mimoh trying to be Keanu Reeves from The Matrix.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToRjxolOy-0C2CxtBIdfaly1BpFiRnLjthF4NtcDNuWsveGBzN23Ec_4fAOH4yw39xxgxmi8v7KGeOuSf88XQWw4dksKleAEG4lqj9l7rteHXMfgbB5ns0lKGQ3-ux5gWkBsq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.34.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1468" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToRjxolOy-0C2CxtBIdfaly1BpFiRnLjthF4NtcDNuWsveGBzN23Ec_4fAOH4yw39xxgxmi8v7KGeOuSf88XQWw4dksKleAEG4lqj9l7rteHXMfgbB5ns0lKGQ3-ux5gWkBsq/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.34.05+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
Except that this Neo has only one fan backing him up -- literally. And that's daddy Mithun.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7cpMntCkf6c8J2ABOwyuouzhV6PcKUkmTd4esmBm3AT1Ixmk7sKOdQU1NaMq5UEKEMjoO67MBqh1PdEwDByL7GwIwl-vEjbiIkLCYuYdtKw6dqNfl0zNvLgHecZmNuh_zSD7/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.35.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1480" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7cpMntCkf6c8J2ABOwyuouzhV6PcKUkmTd4esmBm3AT1Ixmk7sKOdQU1NaMq5UEKEMjoO67MBqh1PdEwDByL7GwIwl-vEjbiIkLCYuYdtKw6dqNfl0zNvLgHecZmNuh_zSD7/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.35.42+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
This reminds me a conditioner ad. With Mimoh showing the 'before'.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvKA5PmZ2O6vJDdEedPGZiYtvdae45-scxnRJ6hmCkLKP4CGgN6hhoa8WOed97lUoyVGL7qDpba0L5etOa4bsWxUN5iawmSM-uB-ziyHiygTpdhwe0BvgVDVujuSNVBs1R5h7/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.36.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1600" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvKA5PmZ2O6vJDdEedPGZiYtvdae45-scxnRJ6hmCkLKP4CGgN6hhoa8WOed97lUoyVGL7qDpba0L5etOa4bsWxUN5iawmSM-uB-ziyHiygTpdhwe0BvgVDVujuSNVBs1R5h7/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.36.39+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
Let's take a closer look. Bad hair day for Mimoh? Or bad heir day for Mithun?<br />
<br />
And now it's only fair that we also see some post-conditioner photos.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0wL4he9Qzt41GNkPvhPkNqRK28HomfLDd7nkkCHIEOmJ84m2xePd6umrbiI-jUvwZqr8EYa9GDtfiWjZ_5IAc4ybUu_o4I-NDpH6EXo_Wl8AhXrtrh_JNFcG_vzDfYApgdt_/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.38.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0wL4he9Qzt41GNkPvhPkNqRK28HomfLDd7nkkCHIEOmJ84m2xePd6umrbiI-jUvwZqr8EYa9GDtfiWjZ_5IAc4ybUu_o4I-NDpH6EXo_Wl8AhXrtrh_JNFcG_vzDfYApgdt_/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.38.51+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
Aha.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqe1yq7sC_S7QO8TCYwgarE0xh1AGfvwFdmzzrC9plVnF4O8pDYaTki_e0MjwX7D5GXdbrK7d6za87JNxy6bYSEkOPlP9HdZ8rcq-k0Bv-rITOZrkkmh9esFfutfxoTcT8sk9E/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.40.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="1600" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqe1yq7sC_S7QO8TCYwgarE0xh1AGfvwFdmzzrC9plVnF4O8pDYaTki_e0MjwX7D5GXdbrK7d6za87JNxy6bYSEkOPlP9HdZ8rcq-k0Bv-rITOZrkkmh9esFfutfxoTcT8sk9E/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.40.01+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
Oho.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvB8-MwnoMk7ZBQmbAmJfUuhRmxTTCL808EMGGMgtHXh1Sa2F0VQl4_EpRDCzkMZJy-SOYK9vbBb5uu59hgGYN3AjPP8Mc8oCKoLEJo0IjYgL714mJ9YkA3a8aDfN4HZF9sZY/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.38.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1592" data-original-width="1446" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvB8-MwnoMk7ZBQmbAmJfUuhRmxTTCL808EMGGMgtHXh1Sa2F0VQl4_EpRDCzkMZJy-SOYK9vbBb5uu59hgGYN3AjPP8Mc8oCKoLEJo0IjYgL714mJ9YkA3a8aDfN4HZF9sZY/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-26+at+9.38.13+PM.png" width="363" /></a><br />
And oh, btw, he's also a dancer like daddy. In fact, when he dances, sparks fly. Off his shoes. Like, really.<br />
<br />
All I can say at the end of this song is 'Why, Jimmy, why?'<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMjstRzCnhM" target="_blank">Check it out.</a><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMjstRzCnhM" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-5213825687007604522019-04-25T22:13:00.000+08:002019-04-27T07:40:19.880+08:00V is for Vada pav<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is like a sequel to the <a href="http://sayesha.blogspot.com/2019/04/b-is-for-batata-vada.html" target="_blank"><i>Batata vada</i> song</a>. <br />
<br />
This movie <i>Daal mein kuchh kala hai</i> is actually from 2012, but it has a very dated look. In fact, when I first saw the song, I thought it was a movie from the late 80s or early 90s.<br />
<br />
This is the plot of the movie according to Wikipedia (warning: your head will hurt after reading this): <br />
<br />
<i>Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai is a tale of a budding actress (Veena Malik) who is over motivated to become a successful in Bollywood. The story starts with Mr. Dabu who is a middle aged man in his forties, a total loser absconded and is being left unaccompanied in life. All of a sudden he gets rich after hitting a roll-over prize of birthright, and then decides to walk off to this actress to share his destiny and his future in the company of her. The starlet gets surprised and shocked after witnessing so much of wealth with him in cash. She initially agrees what his boyfriend had planned out to con Mr. Dabu, but is totally puzzled on what to carry out. They both sooner or later travel to the mysterious island, which is further followed by her boyfriend and a couple of unknown friends. The entire journey is filled with full humor, enjoyment and entertainment.</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/Vgf7mLK8uKHAdQdYIh" width="480"></iframe><br />
Aside from vada pav, the song also features some other highlights.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LqxEI0ZqKq94gcewvV" width="480"></iframe><br />
You know how some Bollywood movies have hero ka duplicate? This song has duplicate ka bhi duplicate. Check out "Anil Kapoor".<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/cnimXVvrNFiDtI9wau" width="480"></iframe><br />
OMG. Bhai is going to have a fit if he sees this. And the guy on the right looks like Nawaz's duplicate (or maybe Nawaz himself before he became a superstar?) but I'm not too sure.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/URdDypqxM9MjnYHfPT" width="480"></iframe><br />
And here comes "Mr. Bachchan". Parampara, pratishtha aur pav.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/d8hYpgChiSk52LcmIf" width="480"></iframe><br />
And who is this supposed to be?!! Govinda????!!!! Chichi has become chhee chhee!<br />
<br />
The worst part about this song? It has made me crave vada pav. At 10:13 pm.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/61QXJJc-QFM" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
PS: Oh, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WayLTGPwwg4" target="_blank">Judwaa 2 also has a song called 'Vada pav'</a> that goes something like 'Pav mein vada, vada mein pav, chutney laga ke sabko khilao, maza nai aaya toh bhaad mein jao'.</div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-63214062282830342222019-04-25T21:26:00.002+08:002019-04-25T21:32:25.890+08:00U is for Ui amma ui amma<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is kinda sad. My original choice for U was 'Ulfat Ulfat' from Nanhe Jaisalmer. It's a song in which Bobby Deol (who plays actor Bobby Deol) is dancing badly to Himesh singing badly. In other words, a total treat for Bolly fans. Last night, giphy.com wouldn't load so I couldn't do the post and today when giphy is loading, it tells me that Eros will not allow playback on giphy so I can't generate the gifs.<br />
<br />
Sigh. <br />
<br />
So I have no choice but to use another song, which is SUCH a cringe-fest that it actually makes me feel less bad about all my wasted efforts on Ulfat ulfat (I'd written all the text and was just waiting to generate the gifs). <br />
<br />
The David Dhawan-Govinda-Karisma-Shakti Kapoor-Purnima combination is SO predictable and SO horrible! Raja Babu from 1994 is only one such example.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/KHPffgvoshTuvNH4Uf" width="480"></iframe><br />
The song starts with Govinda peeing on a tree and wiping his hands on sidekick Shakti Kapoor's towel. Because this is a Govinda movie and so why not.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/QB4EbAecsJwYaS2lwf" width="480"></iframe><br />
Enter Karisma Kapoor on an elephant and under a flower shower. Because this is a Karisma movie and so why not.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/Jo1ouXU3NAXEzR6DuP" width="480"></iframe><br />
And then she jumps off the elephant...<br />
...straight into his arms.<br />
Because this is a... ok you get the picture.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/KAqLvIgOR9hESUmcnC" width="480"></iframe><br />
What the..?!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/Yo8ydbiCuYMJWxXTZe" width="480"></iframe><br />
Hawwwww! Shraddha, dekh tere papa kya kar rahe hain!<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/W28oJPkjgxub5Yg3ss" width="480"></iframe>
Choreography ftw.<br />
<br />
Here you go!<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fg2LO0iJ42M" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-17515032767419617262019-04-24T21:36:00.001+08:002019-04-24T21:36:40.827+08:00Rukaawat ke liye khed hai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sorry, folks. I'm working on this song 'Ulfar ulfat' from Nanhe Jaisalmer for my U post, but giphy.com is acting up so I can't create any gifs. Might have to move the U post to tomorrow. </div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-61816108679022597822019-04-23T21:39:00.002+08:002019-04-24T07:21:50.570+08:00T is for Towel mein baahar jaaogi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Contrary to her innocent-looking face, Juhi Chawla sure has done a lot of crass stuff.<br />
<br />
This song, from the 1994 movie <i>Eena Meena Deeka</i> is one of them (though not as bad as some others). <br />
<br />
The songs starts off with her emerging from behind a curtain wearing nothing but a knotted top and a *gasp* TOWEL!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/mAP72rK9YGVYdVrGmV" width="480"></iframe><br />
Except that the towel doesn't really look like a towel. Heroine hai aakhir, thoda embellishment toh mangta hai.<br />
<br />
Rishi Kapoor seems to be wearing what was formerly her skirt.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/jQyVmGsP2m6c0TYUpT" width="480"></iframe><br />
He's also trying to stop her from going out because 'towel mein baahar jaaogi toh halla mach jaayega'.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LMQ1Noj6ZBANkaoTje" width="480"></iframe><br />
And sure enough, halla has been machaoed amongst the (uniformed) mawalis.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/WoQkxghTdTZYjpy7GW" width="480"></iframe><br />
And here's Rishi Kappor, channeling his inner Govinda more than Govinda himself channels his inner Govinda.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/idp4wy0VJpzErxXVux" width="480"></iframe><br />
He also attempts to channel his inner Rajnikanth.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/cPAzQlSRGYmlxncvKF" width="480"></iframe><br />
Yes, cows being milked is part of the beats in the song.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/fwEv1kXIXDNhcS53pi" width="480"></iframe><br />
Juhi, I have no words for the choreography you were subjected to.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/S6SUx4XbFRbHBVXimr" width="480"></iframe><br />
And then it's time for the annual sports day, featuring a very interesting tug of war.<br />
<br />
Oh, at some point he actually pulls her towel-skirt off. Like, totally off her. I've spared you the gif. You're welcome.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/VbJbWXjGOBzub0pxcp" width="480"></iframe><br />
Awww look, he's trying to protect her modesty by covering her towel... with HIS towel. (At least hers LOOKED like a skirt, you dhakkan.)<br />
<br />
Very good. Marad towels are totally decent outerwear, no?<br />
<br />
You guys go and watch this; I'm throwing in the towel.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z5tngTNA8d8" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-30538271545753436842019-04-22T22:37:00.001+08:002019-04-23T21:41:03.697+08:00S is for sawan ka mahina shaadi bina <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ohhhh this song makes me mad.<br />
<br />
It had barely been a year since the Akshay-Raveena chartbuster 'Tu cheez badi hai mast mast' had released. Say what you will about that song, the costumes, the lyrics or the dance moves, but you gotta admit that it was one of a kind.<br />
<br />
So it makes me mad to see this extremely poor copy from the 1995 movie called Hulchul, starring Ajay Devgan (before he turned Devgn) and Kajol. Wearing similar (but more horrible) outfits, singing a similar (but more horrible) song and showing similar (but more horrible) moves amidst similar (but more horrible) background dancers.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/QYeJRSt6a8XbukykBI" width="480"></iframe><br />
Take a look at this!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/RN7YJ5wogyQGEMkt0T" width="480"></iframe><br />
Ajay's lyrics go:<br />
<i>Saawan ka maheena</i><br />
<i>Shaadi bina mushkil hai jeena</i><br />
<i>We want girl beautiful beautiful </i><br />
<i>Charming tip top beautiful beautiful (or is it dutiful dutiful??)</i><br />
<i>We want girl beautiful beautiful</i><br />
<i>Charming tip top beautiful beautiful </i><br />
<i>Julie, Noori, Bobby ya phir</i><br />
<i>Julie, Noori, Bobby ya phir</i><br />
<i>Chalegi apni gali ki Meena</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LO8OhjZuZhRGN9bswN" width="480"></iframe><br />
Kajol's lyrics are no better:<br />
<i>Saawan ka maheena</i><br />
<i>Shaadi bina mushkil hai jeena</i><br />
<i>We want boy handsome handsome</i><br />
<i>Dashing He-Man Superman Phantom</i><br />
<i>We want boy handsome handsome</i><br />
<i>Dashing He-Man Superman Phantom </i><br />
<i>Rocky, Hero, Chaliya ya phir</i><br />
<i>Rocky, Hero, Chaliya ya phir</i><br />
<i>Chalega apni gali ka Bheema</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/YRgozlahBuQSrk3Z2G" width="480"></iframe><br />
Yes, they have legit punditjis on stage. Doing this.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/MF0qf2EmMFPLQfCBMY" width="480"></iframe><br />
I have no words for the choreography.<br />
<br />
Watch this trainwreck of a song and cringe cringe cringe.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q3pJMICBMGA" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-15242651639843531672019-04-20T22:45:00.001+08:002019-04-20T22:45:10.871+08:00R is for Rabba luck barsa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Does anyone remember the time when Lucky Ali made his debut with 'O sanam'? Not only were we totally blown away by the song, we were also fascinated to know that the veiled mystery woman in the video was his real wife. The camera alternated between him in a headdress, and his wife in a veil (and we never got to see her face at all).<br />
<br />
This was in 1996.<br />
<br />
Cut to 2010. Himesh Reshammiya decided to recreate the whole thing in his movie Kajraare, but in classic Himesh style. He decided to play the roles of both Lucky Ali AND his wife.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/kZoAE1xoGScVJLf1SJ" width="480"></iframe><br />
Except that when the "veil" comes off, this is not what you expect to see.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/lnU6qFTHQmMEotQGwC" width="480"></iframe><br />
The song goes 'Rabba, luck barsa' as Himesh looks up to the heavens. But all he sees are two birds (though I can think of one very interesting kind of luck that they can barsao over his head).<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/fXhgVfObFMFbkTCtXb" width="480"></iframe><br />
Think of all the songs we have seen where the scantily-clad heroine is running around in a desert for no good reason. How refreshing it is to see an overclothed hero do so.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/WoEbMxItG3kl7GNKZd" width="480"></iframe><br />
Is it me or does the camel seem to be enjoying the beat?<br />
<br />
Just like our desert heroine, Himeshbhai also insists on multiple costume changes. At least 5 or 6 in this song.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/UtPui3OpqEE1GPSKx4" width="480"></iframe><br />
And he also does shit like this.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/f4bhcUXx5yg6MOSrtj" width="480"></iframe><br />
He does 'cheers' with traditional drinks. Until the locals are also laughing at him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="204" src="https://giphy.com/embed/cO8cCCeapwtcQEGE7L" width="480"></iframe><br />
Our celebrity also tries to hide his face lest the junta recognises and mobs him. To his shock (and our amusement), no one gives a shit.<br />
<br />
Please watch at your own risk.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j6DhahaZq1w" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-9981111941652775672019-04-19T14:06:00.002+08:002019-04-19T14:06:47.871+08:00Q is for Qayamat ho<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Does anyone remember Doordarshan's Baingan Raja from the late 80s? (Gaaah, I feel old even talking about it.)<br />
<br />
When I saw Abhishek Bachchan in this song from the movie Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya (2000), my very first thought was 'OMG BAINGAN RAJA!'<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/QZnrJ3xIMELRWnvs9E" width="480"></iframe><br />
See for yourselves!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/fqyJgUDGmWaOMFZg09" width="480"></iframe><br />
Baingan Raja also has magical powers. Check out the levitating leg.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/MdRyyorp0UpysgwWTr" width="480"></iframe><br />
It's so refreshing to see a thumka from the hero for once, even though the heroine is right there dressed in a thumka-friendly outfit.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/SxKu8R8uqMH1pqwcjt" width="480"></iframe><br />
Baingan Raja undergoes several costume changes in the song. Including this outfit that he borrowed from Daler Mehendi. And when you wear a Daler Mehendi oufit, you gotta do some tunak tunak. It's mandatory.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/WPoFoSmV4Zis3SlsFR" width="480"></iframe><br />
Imagining the wedding photoshoot? Check out how her outfit pales in comparison to his.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/j5zCRpIndPYDpzP8XH" width="480"></iframe><br />
Presenting once again, the green to shame all greens.<br />
<br />
Check it out.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v30nLwcR_-o" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-9403827302041644192019-04-18T22:02:00.000+08:002019-04-19T09:28:20.521+08:00P is for Paas woh aane lage zara zara<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh man!<br />
<br />
I had the perfect P song -- 'Pagal hua' from the 1999 movie Kohram. Where Nana Patekar and Tabu (playing an army officer and a police officer respectively) are doing amazing dance steps in amazing outfits.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpntUtcDt2fr_tIVIINpIBXVYLAwFMGJo_fi01gEdokaA-5oeeHLioKwXKDrHrWLT0_YSEwtRwgc4p-MWXW-Mrp5kvqJnR1xhfdj1H8Ym7zX2tNdvZWNb5d2AvblXHQfZe1Qd/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-18+at+9.07.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="970" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpntUtcDt2fr_tIVIINpIBXVYLAwFMGJo_fi01gEdokaA-5oeeHLioKwXKDrHrWLT0_YSEwtRwgc4p-MWXW-Mrp5kvqJnR1xhfdj1H8Ym7zX2tNdvZWNb5d2AvblXHQfZe1Qd/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-18+at+9.07.41+PM.png" width="332" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygLDdldVfEG5E1IZV5df3tmRBe1fOHrgjDeNh2UWA7TosswVHA9UlCJurB_0-CMjhN4uMErfzBsgyFbvEA4Tk9qHygeAsRDHogg5lHSXuBx-rsu8dsXmEhpKRMS-NBB48VoB5/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-18+at+9.08.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1536" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygLDdldVfEG5E1IZV5df3tmRBe1fOHrgjDeNh2UWA7TosswVHA9UlCJurB_0-CMjhN4uMErfzBsgyFbvEA4Tk9qHygeAsRDHogg5lHSXuBx-rsu8dsXmEhpKRMS-NBB48VoB5/s400/Screenshot+2019-04-18+at+9.08.06+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
One leeetle problem, however. The video owner has disabled playback on other sites so I cannot gif the heck out of this mindblowing song. So <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdGhWKYqm04" target="_blank">here it is -- bonus P song</a>. Please watch it -- you will never look at Nana Patekar or Tabu the same way again.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
Today's actual P song is 'Paas woh aane lage' from the 1994 movie Main Khiladi Tu Anari.<br />
<br />
Now I did watch the movie when I was a kid but I couldn't remember much so I went to Wikipedia, where I read this very simple one-sentence synopsis that makes total sense.<br />
<br />
<i>"While Karan and Basanti fall in love with each other, Deepak falls in love with Karan's sister, Shivangi, which makes Karan mad and he tries to get rid of Deepak Kumar, for which Deepak Kumar reminds Karan that he wanted to hang around with him because he wanted to learn what it is like being a cop, and apologises for loving his sister Shivangi, which makes Karan guilty and tries to win back Deepak Kumar for his sister and Mother-in-Law."</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/JUTDqnwmpaFTtK5k6g" width="480"></iframe><br />
So the song is an instructional video on pain management at home. It starts off with Saif and Rageshwari suffering from chronic lower back pain and trying to find various treatments for it.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/MZMEtujhIhNcA8gbQo" width="480"></iframe><br />
Body still hurting? Try this champi method.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LPOSTUVisYJ27ShDAx" width="480"></iframe><br />
No results? Then try reiki.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/Y4nqmAF3UrYdoiRpuO" width="480"></iframe><br />
Rolling on the grass has a massaging effect, which can help get rid of body aches and pains. You can even use your full body weight to massage a fellow sufferer.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/mDRdsIi5zpG1sHH0Bx" width="480"></iframe><br />
If nothing is working, do not lose heart. Aquatherapy has proven effective for many people.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/SSKPLj18s1vOC5TTJA" width="480"></iframe><br />
If the pain has spread to the face, you can consider applying some soothing petals or embarking on heat therapy by bringing your face in close contact with a lit candle.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/XG1nDifkkZFOt7xFEA" width="480"></iframe><br />
Once you're rid of your pains, remember that prevention is better than cure. Exercise daily and make sure you do your stretches properly.<br />
<br />
For the full video showing all treatment options, see below.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0NhlKAk7TQc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-9197444316832309362019-04-17T21:08:00.003+08:002019-04-18T08:33:21.320+08:00O is for O ajnabi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In general, I intensely dislike most Kareena Kapoor movies.<br />
<br />
But <i>Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon </i>(2003) I dislike with a vengeance. IT.IS.BAD. Every actor does a terrible job and there is a CGI parrot in the movie.<br />
<br />
So this song starts with Hrithik Roshan doing what I find myself doing sometimes when trying to get dressed for a party.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/lMyPbIuK032soSWlnF" width="480"></iframe><br />
Though I'm curious about why he's throwing his clothes out of a moving train, I can't get myself to watch this movie. Again. No can do.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/SVrz3HUnuCHv9I8u11" width="480"></iframe><br />
Look what they have reduced an otherwise decent actor to.<br />
<br />
So we gather that he's heartbroken because his sweetheart is getting engaged to his boss.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/fq72eVfitFrkrINPom" width="480"></iframe><br />
Here is said sweetheart, so dramatically heartbroken that she almost breaks her friend's shoulder.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/MaVK4HkVovdwR1aAze" width="480"></iframe><br />
Why does this give me <i>Koi Mil Gaya</i> vibes?<br />
<br />
Abhishek Bachchan is the only sane person in the song who is not overacting. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/hTISU6arOCbGN5MFKP" width="480"></iframe><br />
Mainly because he has played 'the guy who's about to get married to girl who loves another guy' 8785403725804 times in his career, so he can just sleepwalk through this role.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/jS81rpnl0zxbRdOlKb" width="480"></iframe><br />
Meanwhile, Hrithik is still doing his 'Mirror mirror on the wall, who can weep the best of all' routine.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/hVyhoMhICvmPJKsYqh" width="480"></iframe><br />
The engagement is supposedly on a boat. Called LOVE BOAT. Yes.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/duX9FCYNZ5JRwF04a4" width="480"></iframe><br />
Kareena Kapoor's brief said 'Look distraught.' Methinks she read it as 'Look disgusted'.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/TemRececmhqT0tBP4X" width="480"></iframe><br />
I'm quite amazed that no one in the whole damned LOVE BOAT has noticed that the dulhan-to-be doesn't exactly look happy.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/dayl9tzzF39mPHpqSt" width="480"></iframe><br />
In fact, she's not just unhappy. She's furious. Oh wait, wrong brief again?<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/f8mmWsBqKcqGykBMtC" width="480"></iframe>
Even her mom seems totally oblivious.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/U780QaB6AYcUB7JIIs" width="480"></iframe><br />
She's waiting for Hrithik but he's not done throwing his clothes from the train yet.<br />
<br />
Enjoy this cryfest.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4NXcp2lnMok" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10064462.post-60572926538433898682019-04-16T22:05:00.004+08:002019-04-19T09:52:26.616+08:00N is for Neal n Nikki<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
'Neal n Nikki' from 2005 is the kind of movie I STRONGLY SUPPORT.<br />
<br />
Such movies need to be made from time to time to showcase Bollywood's nepotism ki dukaan so that wealthy producers watch and learn from it and then tell their kids, "Nahin beta, isse achha tu engineer hi ban ja."<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/LpF6OdgkIAB7MmJ7s0" width="480"></iframe><br />
The song starts with producer da puttar Uday Chopra and Kajol's baby sister Tanisha Mukherjee (who actually started dating when shooting for this movie) talking about their first crushes.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/jQDjC6YWbyBslfAo6X" width="480"></iframe><br />
So Neal was 4 and this was his first crush. Pray tell me which 4-year-old girl dresses like this.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/YOZ75pYJj2HSpo5Lkc" width="480"></iframe><br />
Don't let his silly dance moves undermine the meaningful lyrics of the song:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I'm the Neal</i><br />
<i>I'm the man</i><br />
<i>Rockstar</i><br />
<i>Superstar</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/l3DS1jeWiHRTyYYA2R" width="480"></iframe><br />
Now it's Nikki's turn. Her story is about to unravel. Along with some of her clothes.<br />
<br />
So she says she was 9 and fell in love when she saw George Michael on TV.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/STT3HVX0aIEsYeUPnF" width="480"></iframe><br />
And he breaks the news to her that he was gay. Like this.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/WRzdwGOYK221Fk8sVt" width="480"></iframe><br />
She's so upset about it that she rips her top off.<br />
<br />
Her lyrics are no better.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Nikki Bakshi</i><br />
<i>Sweet and sexy</i><br />
<i>Full-on rocking</i><br />
<i>Hot and happening</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/f4ac7YDpAsPQZtZR74" width="480"></iframe><br />
Meanwhile, he's now talking about his next crush when he was in high school. A hot algebra teacher. Nothing wrong with that except what is written on the board.<br />
<br />
ALGEBRA<br />
2x1 = 2<br />
2x2 = 4<br />
2x3 = 6<br />
and so on.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/Xbh0mjpSpyPCiggvSj" width="480"></iframe><br />
Speaking of alge-bra, Nikki's wardrobe malfunction continues. (Apparently, her role was offered to Ayesha Takia who turned it down. One can only guess why.)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/dwR7zZoIWSSI2H4OyY" width="480"></iframe><br />
Uday's future may not be bright, but his lipstick sure is.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://giphy.com/embed/jVISt4CohM4bNrFnUs" width="480"></iframe><br />
And then they have the audacity to do this. NO. NEAL N NIKKI, YOU DON'T.<br />
<br />
Watch the song. And then watch the movie. Because it has an amazing rating of 3.3 on IMDB.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NEtHwzYtUIc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
Sayeshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431440367242063051noreply@blogger.com3