Six!

I have always loved travelling, I have never hesitated to pack my bags and just go out there and discover the world. Be it a leisure trip, or a trip for a friend's wedding, or a small weekend getaway; I am the first to volunteer and probably the one organizing too :) After I got married, Vishnu and I have tried to make a list of places we want to visit and then pick up a place whenever we are ready for a Holiday :) That's exactly how we landed up in Andaman’s earlier this year :). I do have a very very long list of places I want to go to, but today, 6 days to 2012, I wish to list the 6 places I absolutely want to go/visit :) (Actually my hubby is making the same list and trust me, the places are different ;) hehe)

1. Tajmahal in Agra, India – As one of the  travel guides mentioned "There is nothing as beautiful as viewing the Taj by moonlight" - that's exactly what I want to do. Go to Agra during a full moon night, get special entrance tickets, sit at the Taj and enjoy the silver shine around the building! Absolute beauty!

2. The Pink City - Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan! Place filled with Mahals and palaces. One of the finest planned cities and a city of royal ancestors. I want to go for a weeklong tour to just Jaipur and walk into every palace built there, eat the bajre ki roti at a local restaurant and get myself dressed up in a Rajasthan costume :)

3. Kerala Backwater tour in a huge houseboat :) - This place has a movie connection, remember the Jiya Jale Song from Dil Se? I want to do a 3 day long trip from Cochin to Kumbarakom and simply enjoy the lush green view around me.

4. Venice, Italy - The first time I came to know of this place is when I saw one of the most romantic songs from The Great Gambler,  Do lafzon ki hain Dil ki kahani . I surely want to do a romantic boat ride in the city  of Water :)

5. The Alps, Switzerland - I have seen this place only in Karan Johar movies. I want to play with the snow, do lots of skiing, and go on the cable car and roller coaster rides on the snow!

6. The Grand Canyon, Arizona US - What can I say, when my dad told me about his experience here, I quickly made a note that I have to make a visit there. When I saw the move 127 hours, I was convinced that I wanted to visit this place before I die :) I believe that the sunrise/sunset view is simply spectacular.

These are not the only places I ever want to go to. I do have another list of short trips I want to make, but for now, these are the 6 most wanted places I ever want to go to :)

Why I like to be in Chennai

Recently lots of my colleagues crib about how much they hate/dislike Chennai. Thanks to my non-Tamilian look, people often assume that I would second their feelings and have a similar story of how this place ruined my social life or rather LIFE! Nothing personal against the people who don’t like this city, everybody has their right to liking or disliking something, however, this outburst from my colleagues really got me thinking, is this place that bad? Well my immediate answer was - No! "Why do you like this place Sakina?" you may ask. My answer - this blog post :)
- Chennai is what I call "home". I have had the most memorable memories, the best school life, the most fun filled college life, an interesting career and a very filmy love life. I have lived most of my life here, and do not mind living the rest here. In simple words, I am born and brought up here.
- I believe that this city is one of the safest places in India, especially for the girls. Try going on your scooty at 1 am in the night all alone in some other city and be sure to reach home safely. I have done this many times right here with no fear!
- The weather - yes! I mean it! The weather! (I can totally imagine your eyes pop out reading this). They say Chennai has 3 seasons Hot, Hotter, Hottest - Agreed. I rather enjoy being under the hot sun getting a tan, than wrapping myself in half a dozen layers of clothes. I rather have bath with normal tap water than from a boiling geyser. I rather sweat it out and get my body to cool down than freeze to death in snow. I rather enjoy those few rainy days with joy, than to carry an umbrella/rain coat daily and suck at it! I rather fall sick just once a year during change of weather than be sick all through the year due to erratic change of weather daily!
- The beaches - the world's second longest beach is in Chennai :) - well keeping that fact aside, having a beach at a driving distance is luxury. Beaches are a good way for me to unwind and a good adda to catch up with my friends. I don’t need a food court at the mall to meet someone; I would rather go to the beach with them and eat roasted peanuts instead :)
- The simplicity - the people here are simple and grounded. No show off, no bull shit. People here don't expect too much out of themselves or each other and are happy with what they have. None of us ever missed KFC, or a McD, or EA mall 10 years back.

This place is not perfect and has its flaws. But the point is, which place doesn't? I guess every city, every town, every village has its own good/bad and people who live there (or decide to live there) just see the brighter side of things. This city is special to me and will always be no matter what other people may think about it :)

Rocking Rockstar!

Saw "Rockstar" movie in the weekend and couldn’t stop thinking about it since then. I had already read the reviews of the movie and had gone with very less expectations in terms of story line. The first half of the movie was fun and entertaining. The second half was a little weird. Actually some people termed it depressing and some call it boring. I call it intense.I wouldn’t say that the movie has a very strong story line, but it surely has an effect on its viewers. The mad love, the passion for each other and the suffering both Jordan (Ranbir) and Heer (Nargis) go through when they are apart left me in awe.

The movie demands patience and concentration from the viewers and if by any chance you have come to pass time, this movie is surely not for you! There are several reasons I personally liked the movie, but the one single reason which will make me hate it is Heer! Oh God! What was Imtiaz thinking when he chose her?! Yes! I am allergic to women with pouted lips, and I have a reason too! They are too busy showing the pout that they forget the rest of their face is needed for something called "expressions", and the fact is, their pouted lips wont fulfill the expressions required out of them! The only time I think she acted well in the movie was when she was in "Coma"! No offence to all the fans out there, I really think that she needs some serious acting classes (actually dancing too) before she re-appears in another movie..

Anyways, I am going to completely ignore her presence in the movie and move on to why I really liked it :).
- First, I am a great fan of Imtiaz Ali after his creation of Jab we met. If you know me a little, you probably know how many times I have seen that movie ;-). When I came to know of Rockstar, I was just hoping that Imtiaz will create another masterpiece. I must say it doesn’t replace the love I have for Jab We Met, but he did create a masterpiece :).
- Second, the Rockstar music is extremely addictive. Rahman has done complete justice to Jordan's role and the theme of the movie. The album doesn’t have any dhinchak or item song, but it has some very unique notes :).
- Third, the lyrics; I am a very lyrics person, especially when it comes to Hindi Songs! I don’t mind listening to loads of Tamil songs without understanding them, but it’s a little different when it comes to Hindi. Rockstar song lyrics are simply awesome. Irshad (The lyricist of Rockstar) has added amazing words to Rahman's music.
- Fourth, Ranbir! Oh Boy, can Ranbir act? Darn he can! What a performance in this movie! from the ultimate loser in college to the self-destructive Rockstar, he played every part of the role perfectly! I mainly like the movie cos of him and his portrayal of "Jordan" :)

So what is your reason to love or Hate this movie?