startling banals

Walmart is going to sell its shit in India. Such sub-standard goods are not to be found anywhere else. It will make Big Bazaar's stuff look good. Consume and be consumed :)) - like the snake who eats his own tail. This summer I saw people who had come from far-off villages to Hyderabad to see shopping malls and multiplexes. Dressed in their best and feeling great to be in a mall. Very much like 'The Society of The Spectacle'. Another thing was that girls in Hyderabad dress very conservatively - social pressures no doubt - but the skin-factor in films is much more than the Bollywood average. Age of contradictions. I hate my moral high-ground. But I cannot pretend to be cool about all this.

One day last year we had a snowstorm. All the roads were blocked by the snow. Cars stranded. The metro was down. People were hurrying home. Strong biting breeze and lots of snow. Complete chaos. And then I see these 10-12 sparrows having fun and rolling in the snow on the footpath just in front of me - as if they they don't give a damn - like they take a bath in puddles in India. It was a rave party for them :D Buddha Bar & psychedelic trance blasting away!

I came across this fantastic PhD thesis by a person from England named Kate Vincent. It is a detailed analysis of the reasons why sparrows are declining from cities in England. This supports my observation over the last 15 years that sparrows numbers have indeed decreased at least in Thane.

My guess was that they have less number of suitable nesting places because of more 'modern' and closed houses because of which they have to build nests in risky spots where their kids are eaten up by crows as soon as they step out to fly for the first time.

Kate's study actually proves that the decline in their population is proportional to the amount of concrete used in buildings!

I wrote a letter saying how thankful I am for this study.

Rediscovered 'Hari' from 'Nukkad' - in 'Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro' & 'Black Friday' - Pavan Malhotra. A very good actor. He should get more roles.
'Sabrina' - starring Audrey Hepburn. Wow!
'Yellow Asphalt' - a film about three love stories at the interface of Israel and Bedouin communities.

'Parinda' - after so many years. A movie that was ahead of its times. Vidhu Vinod still works with people from the same team - like Binod Pradhan.

Wonder how we manage to watch so many movies inspite of the crazy schedule. Guess the subconscious knows where one's priorities lie and finds ways to carry out its own agenda defying the constraints of an oppressive and mechanizing world :D

(I think there are too many words here - haiku is supposed to be an understatement with minimum adjectives - so i didn't include the word yellow for leaves. Also I am not able to convey the optical distortion seen through the tiny bulging drops. any suggestions?)

Issa's haiku is so subtle yet full of love for everything around him - sometimes melancholy and reflecting his own contemplation indirectly without being too verbose e.g.

Some of his haikus seem mischevious. Makes you doubt that he is just describing situations - maybe making fun of some people - need not be true..