Know the feeling?

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Mobile Etiquette

Mobile Phones. Can't live without them and yet they slowly and steadily seem to be taking over our lives.

This sudden lifestyle change has taken many of us by surprise. I for one, need to stop sleeping with my phone under my pillow! My latest article on Rediff lays down a few guidelines for Mobile Etiquettes - small things that show respect to people around us.

Read the article here.   

Beach Bums

AskMeOnTravel is all about beach vacations this month. Time to shed off those winter layers and don your sun shades.

If you want to explore a virgin beach, head to Lakshadweep. Gorgeous stretches of sand, crystal clear water and no commercialization, it is the perfect place to go snorkeling too. Read the feature here.

Tired of the same-old Goa? Here's a new way to explore Goa this time around.

Before you head off, make sure you glance at this quick beach packing checklist.  

Daddy's girl

When I was in Junior School, my dad would insist on dropping me. My school was just a km away and the bus picked me up but he loved our little ritual.

He taught me how to change a car tire so that I would never be stranded. When I totalled his car in my early driving years, he didn't even tell me off. All he did was ask me to go for a drive in the evening, so that I wouldn't be scared to.

When I got married, he locked himself in a room for hours and refused to come out. I remember sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Bali and my biggest concern was that he had almost gone into depression.

He's 62 years old and still works 14 hour days. And if I ever hint that I am craving for gol gappas when he's just come back from work, he'll jump up and won't even wait to be asked twice.

Everyone thinks their daddy is the best. I know the flaws and strengths of mine. He makes me so mad sometimes that I want to scream. Yet the one thing you can't take away from the man is that he tries his level best. Every day. In everything he does. He does the best he can. Selflessly. Untiringly. Every day.

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Calvin wisdom

Sometimes the best love stories are the imaginary ones...they don't exist but in your head.

Special 26 - A special film I wouldn't mind watching 26 times!!

It's been a while that I have reviewed a film. It's not due to a lack of watching films (surprisingly!) but rather a lack of cinema that inspired me to review it. Thankfully after the disaster called 'Inkaar' last week, along came 'Special 26', literally begging to be reviewed.

Set around 25 years back, the story based on true incidents follows the exploits of a group of con men who would 'raid' ministers of businessmen posing as CBI or IT officials. The cases would usually go unreported as the victims were usually hiding black money. The premise of the story is good enough but when you get a set of classic actors like Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and the very talented Mr. Manoj Bajpai together, you can not possibly go wrong.

Each actor has played his part to perfection. One can not help but marvel at the phenomenon called Anupam Kher. His mere body language speaks volumes, in a micro second, as he transforms from the leader into the follower during a particular raid. Manoj Bajpai, my all time favourite plays his part of the 'real' CBI agent to perfection. His characterization has been well thought through with little incidents to show his conservative and old school thinking. He is, alas, not the shining star in this film but he holds his own.

The direction is splendid and editing tight. At no point during the film does one's attention wander or you be tempted to look at your watch.

A must watch. You are sure to come out of the hall laughing. An absolute entertainer.

Rating: 4 on 5
Paisa Wasool Moment: Manoj Bajpai's moment of revelation about who the 'Special 26' are!!

Visitors will be prosecuted!

Being an outsider gives you an unbiased perspective of things. Since I have left the mighty corporate world, I pay pilgrimage to my colleagues in their office time and again for varied projects. This is unfortunately not a task I relish.

The smooth process of driving into the office and going straight up the elevator that would take me 3 minutes as an employee is now nothing short of an arduous task. For some reason, most offices either do not have a visitors parking or have it in some obscure place from where you need to walk a nice long path to reach Step 2, the visitor pass. Getting the visitor pass itself is something like entering the FBI HQ. Most involve an instant photo clicking session. Step 3 involves leaving the guardhouse or main reception and trudging up to the particular office building where my colleague may sit. A long wait at the second reception and finally navigating myself through doors which need security cards (which visitors ofcourse don't have and guards are suddenly missing), I reach my destination, albeit 30 minutes after entering the premises.

Next time, I'm going to suggest a concall!

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The ultimate realisation

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