Nostalgia!!!

Its that time of the year when there is no end to the fun, when you hear noises all around though people live in peace, when you see bright colors and lights all around the town, when you see people tick off items on their wish-list, yes, it is Diwali time!! Though there are many festivals and functions that are celebrated in India, none of them is as joyous or wide-spread as this one. For outsiders, Deepavali is a function celebrating the killing of a bad guy (Narakasuran) by Lord Krishna (Hindu mythology). It is celebrated by bursting crackers, lighting lamps, wearing new clothes and distributing sweets.

The word 'Diwali', or 'Deepavali' as pronounced in my mother tongue brings only happy memories from childhood to my mind. It might be the case for most of us. The first time we talk about Deepavali is when we get the school handbook, to check if Deepavali falls on a weekday so that we get a holiday!! There is something about Deepavali that brings out the passion in everyone. It might be the new clothes for some of us, laxmi vedis (crackers) and atom bombs for some and just the idea being at home eating sweets for a lot of us.

When Deepavali got closer, most of us would have pestered our parents to find out when we were going to shop for those new clothes. Once we get the date, we would wait for it as if our entire life depended on it. On that day, we would go out shopping as a family and buy new clothes for all. The deepavali shopping would inevitably end in a dinner at the restaurant and a ride to home happily asleep in auto-rickshaw.

Then comes the next big thing. Crackers!! There is a kind for everyone in that. Girls and Moms in the house might like Busvaanams (flower pots) and Sangu chakkarams (Chakras) whereas brave boys would like to go for laxmi vedi, kuruvi vedi, atom bombs and rockets. Heated discussions and fights were sure to arise among siblings and with parents in preparing the budget and list of crackers to be bought. And those lunch time comparisons with school mates on how much crackers each of us had bought.

On the eve of the function, we go early to bed to make sure we get up early. We would be pulled out of the bed and given an oil bath. Then we rush to wear that new dress and show it off to everyone at home. Personally, I was in a big joint family with my aunt, uncle and cousins in a single home, so I used to get everyone's blessing and the five rupees/ten rupees that come along with it. That was our only earned money to buy something that we like. We go out to the doorstep, burn all those crackers, get exhausted and come in to have a sumptuous meal. Vada, Laddu, Payasam... that list never ends.

The fun doesn't usually end there, we would go up to the terrace or some other place in the after lunch hours, to crack off all those bijili vedis with our friends or next door kids. We even kept some crackers to be burnt later in the month during Karthigai deepam. The next day, our routine life resumed but we would not miss a chance to wear that Deepavali dress to our school (at least, our school allowed it) to impress our class Juliets. Oh, I miss those good old days!!

Nowadays, Deepavali isn't that much fun, at least to me, I don't know if it is something to do with me or not. The passion and enthusiasm with new dresses are long gone, sweets are just namesake with most of watching waistlines, and its been nearly 10 years since I burnt crackers for Deepavali. Good grief, I don't even know what is the latest on crackers. Maybe some 'Green' Laxmi Vedi has come up which will emit less smoke!!

I am more than contended to spend my whole day watching star interviews and numerous films, with most of them being 'Ulaga tholaikatchigalil mudhal muraiyagaa...'. Though it has been 4 years since my last Deepavali at home, I am not sure if I will ever get that child in me to enjoy the Deepavali as I used to. Maybe my son will help me re-kindle the passion in Deepavali in a few years!!

My Top 10 favorite movies!!!

Right from my childhood, I have been a movie buff. Movies have been my only pastime at several points of time in my life. When I was in India, I confined myself to regional movies. Only after coming to US, I started watching English movies. Thanks to our free public library, I would have seen at least half of Top 250 movies on IMDB amongst others. I thought it would be fun to list my top 10 movies of all time with the reason why I like them. As it turned out, there was a big fight in my mind as to which one will get a spot and which one will not.

These are not listed in any specific order of greatness, it is just the order these movies came to my mind.

12 Angry men - Sidney Lumet

One can understand the greatness of this movie by the simplicity of the story line. A jury decides on the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Simple, isn't it? But, how this is developed into an intriguing 100 min movie by using 12 different facets of human mind. None of these 12 characters could be called similar, hence none of them could be done away with. Each one contributes to the movie in equal proportions, crisp writing and masterful direction takes the movie to a great height. My favorite juror is juror #4. I never think twice to see it once again. Even the Russian remake of this movie, called '12' was good, but in its own right.

Following - Christopher Nolan

This is a less known movie from the well known director. Can a movie with a running length of just 70 minutes have all the elements of a thriller and be made so much interesting? Oh my god!! The non-linear narration creates a feel that the movie is longer than what it is. With just three characters, the director keeps everyone in suspense till the mind blowing climax. The non-linear narration is something that you will definitely associate with the director on seeing Memento and The Prestige. Just WoW!! You may not see it in your library collection, the only place I was able to get it was Netflix!

The Usual suspects - Bryan Singer

I fell in love with Kevin Spacey's acting after seeing this movie. He plays it very cool, subtle, low voiced like a real criminal caught by the police. There is no clue shown in the movie anywhere to indicate that twist in the climax. Once you see that last minute collage of scenes where we get the hints, you feel you have been fooled along with Agent Kujan. The other actors contribute to a good effect as well. The only twist in the movie comes in the fag end, Kevin's narration of incidents is so good that it keeps us glued till the end.

Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont

This movie is long, slow paced with not so many twists but still it shines bright among all. Right from scene 1, you become empathetic with Andy Dufresne. The film gives a great message 'Never lose hope!' to everyone. Freeman's voice-over through out the movie is excellent and engrossing. One of those rare films where lines linger on your mind when you are done watching the movie. Lines like 'Andy Dufresne who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side' and 'I was honest through out my life, I had to come to jail to became crooked' are just simply wonderful.

Ocean's Eleven - Steven Soderbergh

Cool!! The only word that comes to my mind when I want to talk about this movie. Cast, pace, music and dialogues are all so apt in this movie and they make you love this movie instantly. I never get bored watching this movie, anyplace, anywhere, anytime. They made this movie so good that even the crew themselves weren't able to better it with sequels. A great time-pass movie!!

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited away) - Hayao Miyazaki

I am not a great lover of animation movies but this one just blew me away. This movie is very thrilling and has some innovative story telling. You just start liking the movie in a few minutes into it and it shows that you can even do these kind of movies in animation. There are a couple of other good animation movies from the same director. He is the master of animation. Hats off!! Don't miss it!!

Godfather II - Francis Ford Coppola

On seeing this movie at this place, you would have completely believed that these movies aren't in any order. I mean, who doesn't like Godfather. Now I don't want to combine them both and say Godfather trilogy, each has its own driving points. But my pick is Godfather II, it has the best acting from two greats, De Niro and Al Pacino and excellent editing. Robert Duvall, an excellent actor of our times, is overshadowed by Al Pacino, but he needs special credit for playing that subdued role so well in the first 2 parts. Anytime, I scroll past the channels and see Godfather I or II, I stop and watch it for some time. Don't you?

Silence of the lambs - Jonathan Demme

Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins - Two best artists competing to steal the show, both deservingly got Oscar for their roles in this movie. There is not much of killing shown, not much of action, but the thrill element and the interaction scenes involving the lead characters are unforgettable. The editing in the scene where Jodie enters the killer's house is one of the best of all times. You won't be left with too many fingernails at the end of this movie.

Duel - Steven Spielberg

This movie produced for TV has all elements of a blockbuster. A man is pushed to the limits by a truck that is chasing him on the highway. The entire movie is on the road, focuses on th chase, how could one make that interesting? Well, if you are Steven Spielberg, you could. Given that he could make such an interesting movie with just two vehicles and one human character at his disposal, no wonder he made Jurassic Park, Schindler's list, Saving Private Ryan among other great works.

The Shining - Stanley Kubrick

No collection is complete without a movie from Stanley Kubrick. One of my favorite directors, I have seen 9 of his 16 movies and I have liked each one of them. This movie just raised the bar for horror movies that only a very few can achieve. It is genuinely scary and thrilling and has an eerie feeling to it. The setting is perfect for such a movie and Stanley doesn't miss the chance to make the most out of it. A must watch for horror lovers!!