Inappropriate !!!!!!

I am very angry, in fact i seem to get angrier by the day.Every morning the newspaper greets me with yet another gruesome rape/molestation/abuse.However, angry as i am, my shock slowly becomes outrage as many of these acts are attributed to some apparent provocation from the violated party. In the event of a violation that occurs after late hours, the general reaction is "This is what happens when girls venture out so late at night". If the lady in question is dressed a little "differently", she is blamed for provocative dressing.So I am compelled to ask certain people, some very pertinent questions.

Not so long ago, a seventy year old lady, grandmother of five was found raped and murdered in her Delhi apartment, so I ask these guardians of morality..... how provocatively or indecently could that lady have been dressed ?
Some months back, a six month pregnant woman was raped in Bihar, so i am extremely curious to know how lasciviously could that woman be behaving to invite such torment?

It saddens me to know that such cruelties take place but what makes me sadder is the reaction of not only the authorities but the general public. When will we stop blaming the victim for what happens. When will we stop bringing character, tradition, western influences and time(special favorite "New Year's Eve") into the picture and punish the perpetrators .

I would like to clarify here that i am not some bra-burning feminist.I would always encourage all my friends to be careful, dress safely and not put themselves in a vulnerable position, but never in my life would I condone the people who commit such heinous crimes,just because someone wanted to wear what she wished. I would never be able to rationalize such a crime , just because of the time at which it was committed. My indignation here is not just for the crimes that are committed, but more so for the blame game that ensues.What i am asking for is not just punishment, but also some sort of sympathy for the victims. The last thing they need is the society(and i mean you and me) to point fingers at them.

What i really want is, that people who commit such crimes be asked why they did what they did?Is the divide between who to rape and who not to, so thin that a change in attire can trigger it?So I ask these criminals, what if your sister is wearing a mini skirt?What if you meet your grandmother, strolling the roads after dinner? Then what ??? I shudder to think of the answers and I hope that somewhere in their rotten hearts, so do they...........

The Grasshopper

Someone once asked me what i would do if i did not have to work for a living and i said that i would like to be a food critic. So when i dined at The Grasshopper, on Banerghatta road in Bangalore, i promised that i would write about my experience there.

The Grasshopper is listed as one of the most romantic restaurants in Bangalore..... so, one balmy evening, in a particularly romantic mood i set out for the Grasshopper. The ride to the place is not terribly comfortable, to say the least. It seems to be situated in the wilderness, given the fact that the road leading to it is extremely dark. However, the effort of coming all the way to such a remote place pays off when you set foot inside the restaurant's compound.The view that greets you is breathtaking ........ The first thing you see is the vast expanse of trees(quite a sight in the Bangalore concrete jungle) and amidst the trees is a small island which houses the restaurant.

The hosts probably understand the awe thats strikes people when they enter their restaurant, so after being ushered to your seats, you are left alone to drink in the beauty of the place.Being a sucker for ambience, i could not help but notice how bereft the place is of the noise that is so characteristic of the city.Since you are asked your food preferences while making a reservation, there is no menu card and you are served with whatever the chef decides to delight you with.

In my opinion, the food at The Grasshopper is excellent. My reasons for saying so are twofold. Firstly, all the ingredients in the food are extremely fresh and the flavor is maintained by the delicate and minimal use of spices and seasoning, as the chef relies almost entirely on natural herbs and condiments. Secondly, the food is exactly in tune with the surroundings; vibrant and unpretentious.Imagine, eating French cuisine at a roadside dhaaba or even worse, eating greasy Butter Chicken, in a beautiful waterfront restaurant.The sumptuous meal consisted of fresh salad, warm apricots and figs stuffed with cheese, delicious seafood and chicken and some delectable cheesecake and homemade icecream.

I would suggest The Grasshopper to anyone looking for a nice, QUIET and definitely romantic place to dine at.It has a certain allure and charm that can only be felt by someone who has been there. I guess people who anticipate eating, the done to death masala food in a "fancy, pretty place" are going to be highly disappointed.

As for me, dinner at The Grasshopper is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable meals that i have had. The place has a mysterious, almost mischievous aura, like that of the early morning mist......pure, cleansing and everlasting........

The English Patient - A movie review

Ellipsis, this is the word that came to my mind when I watched the movie. It means parts of a text which are missing and that is exactly what the movie fills in. I have always been a staunch believer that movies no matter how brilliantly made can never match up to the book. I guess providence does not give us a chance to say never. The film in every way fills up the gaps that the book leaves in your mind. On reading the book you are left with a yearning to be a part of the story, and the movie does just that, it brings you closer to Count Almasy, Katherine and Hannah in an inseparable way. Somehow it makes their love, passion, devotion, sadness and happiness all the more tangible in a way (and I am deeply unhappy to say this) the book does not.

The book, though a Booker prize winner moves in flashes, with uncertain randomness, as if the author added some parts as an afterthought and maybe that was his intention, we’ll never know. The film however does not fall prey to that, with each reminisce of Count Almasy’s being very intricately woven into his present. It is extremely apparent that the director has read the book many times and clearly mapped where to fit each piece of the Count’s past into his present. The cinematography is breathtaking, extremely fluid and creative, playing with the harsh desert sun and the cool nights in an extraordinary way. I am never one to observe too much or read too far into technique, but some frames leave you gasping, like the early shot of the Count looking out of the cloth covering his face.

The performances are par excellence. Fiennes is a magician, for only he can contort his face from a smile to a grimace in the blink of the eye. Miss Thomas is exactly what is expected of her and Binoche far exceeded my expectations of Hannah. The background score of the movie plays an important part almost like an invisible character, heightening the moments between Almasy and Katherine and giving them a distinctive hue. There are some scenes in the movie that are just embedded in one’s memory, like the lovemaking scenes between Almasy and Katherine, the scene where Katherine leaves Almasy, the one where Kip takes Hannah to the church to show her the paintings and lastly the one that shows Katherine after she has died, this scene is so beautifully shot, it seems as if she is sleeping peacefully.

After watching the movie, I was wrought with the desire to see them together (as is the feeling with all tragic love stories), to see them happy, playful and cheerful. In my selfish mind, the villain (poor Colin Firth) was also dead and their togetherness seemed so much within reach. I so much wanted them to live and then I realized that they do………..