Guinea Pig Tale

“I just saw a guy hitting his wife.” We were passing by the JJ flyover, when my friend made this comment after looking outside. Choked as the city is, the flyover lets commuters inadvertently peek into the windows of homes that overlook it. While there was no way of knowing if it was indeed a man hitting his wife, what was clear was that there were a man and woman involved. This got us talking about domestic violence. I straight away said that I had never once come across it in my family. Till I was about 14, the only thing my parents fought about was chores, and this in a rather non-traditional way. Both would insist on not letting the other do any work, and so I grew up with this as the “normal” (and unconsciously idolising my parents as the perfect couple) – couples were meant to resolve conflicts without ever raising their voices, let alone descend to violence. Will she just cover it up with makeup? It was beyond me to imagine my father hitting my mother, I

First day, first show. And the first time I was seeing a movie alone. I had the entire half-row at the back to myself before a couple came in and wedged themselves into the khopcha (corner). The Bhaag Milkha Bhaag trailer looks promising. Finally, I see the CFCB certificate for Lootera. Lootera is a story of stories. Portions of the movie are based on the short story The Last Leaf, by O. Henry. Pakhi (played by Sonakshi Sinha), the daughter of a wealthy zamindar, grows up listening to stories from her father and wants to write stories (Udaan's protagonist was also a wannabe writer). The story of the temple-idol-robbery is something we have read in innumerable Amar Chitra Kathas – here the thief Varun is played by Ranveer Singh with charm and conviction. Vikramaditya Motwane has such a rich canvas of stories to work on, which is perhaps why he doesn't use too much dialogue. We know how the old stories go. But the result of this is that we're left with a film t

Today's task: entertain three kids for two hours without switching the TV on. So the neighbor had to go out and she's left the kids with me. One's 8, the and the other is 4. Seeing this, the other neighbor's visiting 5 yr-old decides to join in. They plonk themselves on chairs and wait expectantly. Boats laid out to dry. In a house where the only thing with four wheels is the TV trolley, and "toys" are of the mobile-phone variety, having kids over can be a challenge. I fish out an old stuffed dog (thank god for complimentary Emirates toys), a pack of crayons and some paper and lay them out. I watch as the 8-yr old diligently makes " Chota Bheem " while his little brother attempts to make Tom (to his credit, it did look like Spike upside down). The 5-yr old - whose work is more of the modern-art variety (see this prank on the Museum of Modern Art) - acts as the critic, "Chota Bheem has a bigger stomach.", she complains (she then g

Psst. I heard someone hiss at another student, and then ask in a fast whisper " Question 3 ka answer kya hai? " I didn't recognize the voice – we had BA and BSc students along with our BMM batch. I couldn't look around either – naturally, it was an exam hall. Our nameless, faceless answer-seeker got his answer in an equally hurried whisper – " Dec 3, 1947! " An average day in an average exam hall. Except that I didn't know the answer to question 3 either. I debated using the information that I had intercepted. To copy or not to copy.... As a rule, I try not to copy during exams. Having your mother as a teacher in the same school as you study sorta contributed (#awkward = having your Mum teach your class). This time though, I hadn't peeped into anyone's paper, nor had I asked anyone the answer. Most of my paper was over, and I found myself with 15 minutes to spend on a 1 mark question. Plenty of time to ponder the merits and d